Advent: The Hope of Heaven

Colossians 1.1-5

It comes as no surprise, I'm sure, that we will be dealing with the same question that we've been looking at for the last several weeks: Why Advent? Why did Jesus come? In our text - as a part of his familiar triad of faith, hope and love - Paul points us to heaven. The notion of heaven is a familiar answer to the question we are dealing with. Even those who have no interest in the Gospel think of Jesus' coming as in some way connected to heaven. And they are right. Jesus came so that we might enjoy heaven. That has been the hope of the saints since the very beginning. And, familiar passages like this one come to mind. 'In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.' The heaven that Jesus promises is everything that this life is not. There we will find rest and lasting happiness and deep satisfaction. And we will enjoy that, and more, without any pain or sorrow or worry or tears. We will be with friends - some old friends and many new ones. All who will be there will be, in the very best sense of the word, our friends. And we will have forever to get to know them and to enjoy them. There will never be a quarrel or even a misunderstanding. And there will be no walls. The things that we enjoy here we will enjoy there - but more so. And best of all, Jesus will be there. Wasn't that the point of the promise that I read? '... that where I am, there you may be also.' This one whom we love without seeing, we will finally see and love even more. We will enjoy walks with Him in the cool of the day, and He will teach us about the boundless love of the Father and the powerful presence of the Spirit. It's good to think about heaven, to think about all that we don't like about here and then to remind ourselves that those things will not be there. And then to think about all that we do enjoy here and then to remind ourselves that these things will be even better there. Jesus has come so that we might enjoy heaven - forever. In a world so focused on the here and now, we need to be a people who look to heaven. The hope of heaven is to be a distinguishing mark of every Christian.

Now, I know that that might sound like I'm overdoing things, but there's something in our text that makes me think that, if anything, I'm understating the point. Listen again to a part of our text: '... we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.' Did you hear it? Did you hear that 'because'. It's the little words that we need to watch for. They make all the difference. These Colossian Christians loved the saints and had faith in Jesus because of their hope of heaven. Cause and effect. The Spirit is telling us that this hope of heaven, this expectation of enjoying all that heaven has to offer, is a cause of love and faith in the life of a Christian. Now, to my mind, the value of this hope just went way up. Jesus has come. He has brought the promise of a beautiful eternity with Him and with all the rest of the saints in a perfect paradise. And it is that expectation that motivates us to trust Jesus and to love each other.

Obviously, this is something that we need to unpack. But before we do, I need to tell you that the point that the Spirit is making here will make little sense unless I make something else clear first. You need to see that faith and love are hard. In fact, a living faith in Jesus and a lively love of the saints in this fallen world is incredibly hard.

Let's start with loving the saints. Loving the saints is easy if Christians are all nice people without any sharp edges, their needs are not especially large and are easily and quickly met, and their crises always happen at convenient times. But that, of course, is not the case. We saints are still sinners, and some of the things that we do often irritate the people around us. Our needs are rarely met quickly and easily - not the important ones. Rather, they take lots of time and energy, and meeting them will wear you down. And no crisis in a person's life comes at a convenient time for the others around him. The phone may not ring at 3 AM, but we still hear about needs at some of the most awkward of times. And then, of course, there is the problem of the saints hiding their needs,trying to be self‑sufficient and refusing to let others love them. Walls. Notwithstanding all of this, we are called to love - to really love - these difficult people whose taxing needs impinge on our lives and schedules at the worst possible times - that is, if they let us know about them. Loving the saints is hard. However, even though it was just as difficult for the Colossian Christians, they obeyed the command to love one another, and they did that so well that Paul gives thanks to God for what they did. Loving the saints is hard, but it's do‑able - because of the hope of heaven.

Then there's faith in Christ Jesus that these Christians displayed. If 'faith in Jesus' means that once, some years ago, I walked down the aisle, prayed the sinner's prayer or (you fill in the blank) - if it means that at some point I became a Christian and I haven't changed my mind since, then that's easy. But that isn't what Paul has in mind. Faith in Jesus isn't a 'once long ago' kind of thing. It's not even a 'when I hit one of those crisis moments I still believe the Gospel' kind of thing. Faith in Jesus is a daily battle to follow Jesus. And it is a battle. Does anyone here really think that once someone becomes a Christian that Satan says, 'Oh well. I guess we lost that one. Let's go look for someone else'? Does anyone here really think that living in a world that is committed to rebellion against Jesus is something that we just skate through? And am I the only person in this room who has nagging sins that dog my steps, day in and day out?

Paul wrote, 'For we wrestle not against flesh and blood ...' Jesus described the failure of the third soil this way. 'They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.' And that leads to a reminder of the real danger. 'Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.' Faith in Jesus is a daily battle with real dangers. It's hard.

There are lots of shortcuts to try to make being a Christian easier - and there are lots of people who pursue the shortcuts. But there are no shortcuts to being a real Christian. Now, don't misunderstand. 'Hard' does not imply 'gloomy'. Actually, those who fight the hardest rejoice the most. Those who take the shortcuts - they are the joyless ones. But faithful disciples of Jesus are people of joy. That may sound counter-intuitive, but lots of things about following Jesus in this fallen world seem counter-intuitive.

Yes, being a Christian is hard, but Jesus has not left us to our own resources to fight the daily battle. And thanks be to God for that. If we were left to ourselves, none of us would make it. Jesus has provided the resources - lots of resources - that we need for the battle. And Paul points to one of them in our text: the hope of heaven. Jesus has come to give to us a sure hope of heaven so that we might fight the good fight each day.

Now, we're ready for the next step. Now, we're ready to see how our hope of heaven helps us to deal with the daily battle. Here, let me point to two examples. The first comes from the book of Hebrews. This book is all about encouraging ongoing faith, persevering faith in Jesus, in the face of great difficulties. The author points to lots of things about Jesus to encourage the saints to whom he wrote. One of the things that he does is point to the example of Jesus when it came to the cross. 'Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.' Jesus is our example of persevering faith. At the cross, the question confronting Him was simple. 'Will I trust the Father's love and wisdom and thus submit to His will?' Here, think of what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus wrestled with the will of the Father. Do I need to say that this was hard? But where did He come out on that? 'Not My will but Thine be done.' Too often we fall into the assumption that whatever Jesus did, it was automatic. He had to do it, and so He just did it. He had no choices to make, and there were no battles to fight. It was easy for Him since it was all laid out and He was God. That's not the Jesus of the Bible. He had real choices and real battles. He was one of us. That's what the Incarnation is all about. The Son of God became one of us. Jesus had to fight to obey the will of the Father. That was true at the beginning of His ministry after He fasted for forty days, and it was true at the end, when He was confronted with the cross. And it was true every day in between. So, why did He choose to go to the cross? The passage from Hebrews gives us one reason. '... for the joy that was set before Him [He] endured the cross, despising the shame...' And what is this joy? Heaven. And Hebrews points to one specific aspect of heaven, lordship. Jesus is now '... seated at the right hand of the throne of God.' The hope of heaven was a basis for Jesus' trusting the Father and fighting the battle of faith. It's no wonder then that Hebrews says, '... let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus...' Jesus is our example of how to fight the same fight that He fought - and won. The point is clear. Faithful Christian living is hard. But if we set our sights on the joy set before us, heaven, we will be able to continue the fight of faith.

Now, my second example. This is about being able to love the saints. Here, consider the example of the apostle. Paul went throughout the Roman empire preaching the Gospel and planting churches. One motive for this was his love for the people. 'For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.' Who here could say such a thing? Paul loved and so he preached. And in each city he visited - or so it seems - he got beat up. Time after time after time. What made it possible for Paul to get up each day and walk to the next town to preach to those people - many of whom hated him and made sure that he knew that in no uncertain terms? After talking about some of his struggles and suffering, he writes this: 'So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.' Paul looked to the eternal, to heaven, as his encouragement to love the saints by preaching to them and suffering for them. But notice something. These troubles that he faced and endured were 'producing ... an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison...' Great suffering here produces greater joy there. Having paid the price to love the saints as he did Paul now enjoys a reward that has more than made up for all of the suffering. His hope of heaven encouraged him to do the hard work of loving the saints. The difficulties were worth it. In this, he is an example to us. When you suffer in loving the saints, you will be rewarded. 'Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.'

The point of today's sermon is simple. Jesus has come. Advent. And one of the things that He has brought with Him is the hope of heaven. He has brought this because being a faithful Christian is hard. There is the daily battle of loving the saints and placing your faith in Jesus. But one resource that we can draw upon in our battles here is to hold on to that hope. A life of faithfulness is hard but at the end is heaven.

No sermon works until you make it your own. So, I'd like you to do two things. First, I'd like you to consider the notion that being a faithful Christian is hard, specifically when it comes to loving the saints and continually trusting Jesus. I'd like you to think about that. And I'd also like you to think about heaven. How do you understand it? Is it functioning for you - as it did for the Colossian Christians - as an encouragement to work at being faithful? Jesus has come so that you could have the hope of heaven. Are you enjoying His gift?

Paul, The Minister

[I preached this sermon at the November 2008 meeting of the Presbytery of the Ascension.]

Colossians 1.21-26

One of my great desires over the years of my ministry was to have a mentor. I could have used an older, wiser Christian who could teach me how to minister to people's souls. I never enjoyed such a relationship, and that is something that I lament. On the job training, especially when it comes to ministry, is not the best way to go. I was not, however, left to my own resources. The Spirit used models of Godly men found in the Scriptures, and elsewhere, to make up for that lack. One obvious example of such a man was the Apostle Paul. In our text, Paul speaks of himself as a minister of the Gospel. So, particularly for those of us who are ministers, he becomes someone for us to imitate.

With this in mind, I want to focus your attention on one phrase of our text: 'I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake...' What a thing to say! And remember who is saying it. It's Paul. Now, remember what he suffered. He was shipwrecked, whipped, stoned and left for dead, imprisoned, hated. 'From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the brandmarks of Jesus.'It is this Paul who writes, 'I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake...' This was not the comment of Paul, the apostle. No, it is Paul, the minister, who writes these things. And that's where it gets challenging. We have before us a timely word from God. And while it is not just for ministers, it is a word that is especially for ministers. Paul is a model for us. With him we need to be able to tell our congregations, 'I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake'. Now, how do we get there?

The key to understanding Paul's attitude here is found in the next phrase of our text. '...and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church...' This is such a difficult text but not an impossible one. Let's start with what is clear and easy. We know what Paul doesn't mean. Paul is not saying that Christ's suffering on the cross is somehow deficient in its power to save, and that his own suffering makes up for what is missing. That is simply impossible. Jesus' work on the cross is fully sufficient to atone for all of our sins. It is sufficient and more than sufficient. So, the lack that Paul contemplates is not the value of Christ's gift of salvation. Paul must be talking about something else.

What is helpful here is the fact that Paul uses almost identical language elsewhere. Listen to something from Philippians. 'I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need. ... So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to fill up what was lacking in your service to me.' Paul uses virtually the same vocabulary both in our text in Colossians and here in Philippians. We have something that will help us understand our text. Now, what was this 'service' of the Philippians that Paul refers to? It was a gift of money that was sent from the Philippians, by Epaphroditus, to Paul. When Paul comments on how Epaphroditus filled up what was lacking in this service, he is certainly not complaining about the amount of the gift. He is not saying that it was not enough, but that Epaphroditus added to the amount and thus made it acceptable. The lack has nothing to do with the monetary value of the gift. Here you need to remember the deep affection that Paul and the Philippian Christians had for each other. The saints in Philippi yearned to express their love to Paul, and they did it by sending that gift. But just sending some money would not do. Something would be missing. And what would that something be? It would be their deep affection for Paul. It's the affection that would be lacking if it were just a matter of some money. But Epaphroditus filled up this lack by his own expression of affection on the behalf of the Philippians. A check in an envelope is a cold gift unless the person giving it to you also conveys the love and affection tied to that gift. The heart of the Philippians was missing from the envelop. But Epaphroditus took care of that. He filled up what was lacking, not the amount of the gift but the affection intended by the gift.

This is the role that Paul took upon himself when it came to delivering Jesus' gift of redemption to the lost in Asia Minor. Handing someone an envelop with some truths that they are supposed to believe is cold - unless the person delivering it also expresses the heartfelt affection tied to those truths. So, just as the Philippians sent their gift of money to Paul by the hand of Epaphroditus who was able to convey their deep affection for Paul, Jesus sent His gift of redemption to the lost by the hand of Paul who was able to convey Jesus' deep affection for them. Handing someone truth is not enough. But how can anyone convey the deep love of Jesus? How can this lack be filled up? By suffering. This adds nothing to the value of Jesus' work on the cross. But it does make it more real to those people receiving the gift. What could anyone say once they saw the scars upon scars on Paul's back, scars that he bore because he was determined to bring the Gospel to them? But when these people were struck by Paul's suffering for their sake, what would he say in reply? 'You think this is suffering? Let me tell you about Jesus' and what He suffered for you.' Paul's suffering made Jesus' suffering more real. It filled up what was lacking. What people saw in Paul helped them to grasp what they could not have seen, a savior willing to suffering unimaginable torments on a cross, and that for their sake. Paul's suffering made Jesus' suffering more real.

Now, remember where we started, what I told you at the beginning of this sermon. I told you that Paul speaks of himself as a minister of the Gospel, and as such he becomes someone for those of us who are ministers to imitate. Paul is your example for ministry. And so, you need to fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of your congregation. It's all well and good to tell them of the love of the Savior. But you must also show them His love. You need to make it more real. And you do that by suffering for them, and then letting them see that suffering. Remember that Christian suffering is the result of the conflict of evil and righteousness in a believer's life. As a saint struggles against evil, striving to honor Jesus in the face of that evil, he suffers. Fighting evil hurts. The source of the evil might be from without, like the pressure to conform to this world, or it might be from within as in the many temptations of Satan to compromise. But whatever its source it must be fought. Scripture is clear: every Christian is called to suffer for Jesus because every Christian is call to fight evil. No suffering, no glory. And all of this is especially true of ministers. Your people need to see the Gospel in your life as well as hear it from your lips.

This sermon is very incomplete. One reason for this is that I'm still working on these things myself. So, you will need to take the ball and run with it from this point on. But let me close with some thoughts that you can ponder, thoughts which, I hope, will help you as you work on these things.

First, we have a goal set before us. We are to imitate Paul, the minister. We are to work to get to the point of saying, 'I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake...' That is not optional for a minister. It just isn't. The success of our ministries depends on it. And this is the kind of goal that we can achieve to a degree but never completely. It is a goal that we need to pursue continually.

Second, we will never rejoice in suffering like Paul unless Jesus is our chief treasure. We will suffer in our labors in the Gospel only when we are convinced that Jesus is worth suffering for. If something else is our chief treasure then we will suffer for that instead. And isn't that the battle we face every day?

Third, before we will be able to rejoice in our suffering for our people we must have a burning desire to see them thrive in the Gospel. Suffering is hard, and we need a very good reason for rejoicing in it. Merely seeing people become sufficiently religious is not nearly a good enough reason. Joy in suffering for them will require much more than that. But, as you know, sometimes it is so hard to keep at it, even to want to see them take great strides in the faith. And yet, what are we left with if that is not our desire?

Finally, none of this will happen unless we cry out to God for His favor. He must act to change us before we will able to bring about any change in anyone else. Paul's kind of ministry is impossible without a growing piety, a piety that shows. Piety - which is just another word for knowing Jesus well - only grows as the Spirit does His work. Fortunately for us, our God answers prayer. Prayer, especially prayer about these things, needs to be a priority in our lives.

So, let me encourage you to consider Paul, the minister, and to see in what ways the Spirit wants to change your life so that you might have a ministry that is filled with joy and with lives that are showing the power of the Gospel of Jesus.