Do You Want To Go To Heaven?

Introduction

Good morning. Can everybody hear me? Is that is that on? It is? Okay. I don’t use a microphone at home. Our building is a lot smaller than this. And if people have trouble hearing me, I just talk louder. That’s turning up the volume on the amplifier, I guess. But it’s good to be here this morning. It’s good to see so many of you out. I have enjoyed so far our worship together this morning. It’s been very encouraging and uplifting to me. And I’m just happy to be able to spend this time together with you this morning. Let me begin by doing a little bit of an experiment. I’m going to ask the question that is on the board. Do you want to go to heaven? And by show of hands, I would like to see how many people here this morning want to go to heaven.

Okay, everybody, keep your hands up. What if I were to tell you that here in about 30 minutes there’s going to be a bus arriving out front, and as many people as we can pack onto that bus, it is going to go directly to heaven today? Would you want to be on that bus? You can’t go home, you can’t pack a bag, you can’t say goodbye to family, you can’t do any of that. Would you still want to go and be on that bus? I like the answer. That’s good. You can put your hands down. I think that this is something that we struggle with from time to time because that’s kind of a hypothetical, right? I wonder if the answer would be different if there really was a bus out there and we had to take volunteers to march out and fill up the bus.

Who would really be making a break for the door to make sure you got your seat on the bus? Because the reality is that sometimes, and I feel like this about myself, I’m not always convinced that if I had the opportunity to go right now, that I really am ready to go right now. There are so many things in this life that pull on me, that cause me to give pause when I answer this question. Because I remember when I was young, we went, we went for a little test drive yesterday with Hayden. I guess not a test drive. He’s got his permit, right? And he was driving. And I remember, man, I remember when I was your age, and I remember when I was going through the driver’s education course, and I could not wait to get my license.

And if you’d asked me at that time, I would have said, please, God, let me at least get my license before you come back. Because I wanted so desperately to drive. I wanted that freedom, right? But then after that, it was the next mile. So you know, I wanted to graduate high school. And then I wanted to go to college. And then for me, I kind of skipped out on the rest of college. I wanted to get married. And then I wanted to start a family. And now that I have a family and I have kids, boy, I want to see my kids grow up. And I want to help my kids as nerve-wracking as it may be, Thad, right? To teach our kids how to drive.

I want to teach my son how to drive. I want him to experience that. I want to see him graduate from high school and get married. And Lord willing, have children so that I can be a grandpa one day. But then I think about that, and I think, is that going to be the end of it? Because then I’m going to want to see my grandkids grow up and repeat the same process. There’s always seems to be something else in this life that we want to do. And I’m afraid that if we’re honest with ourselves, our attitude more reflects that song by Kenny Chesney, you know, everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now. We all want to go there, but we’re just not quite yet ready to leave.

1. We Need To Have A Heavenly Focus

And yet the reality is that as God’s people, we need to have a heavenly focus. It needs to be something that we desire greatly to do. I think about what Peter says in 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 10, beginning, he says, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. He’s talking about the end when Christ returns, when we are all going to go to our final home, whether that be heaven as a reward or separated from God eternally in hell. But since we know that this day is coming, he says, since these things are to be destroyed in this way, verse 11, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?

And I like the beginning of verse 12, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements will melt with intense heat. As God’s people, though some may look at the end as a time of great fear and dread, we ought to be longing for that day to arrive. And the idea of hastening its arrival is the idea that for us it can’t get here soon enough.

Paul likens the Corinthian brethren in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 2 as the betrothed of Christ. He says, I betrothed you to Christ. And he wants to present the church at Corinth to Christ as a pure virgin. But I like that metaphor that it’s it’s like we are, we’re we’re like engaged right now to Christ, awaiting our wedding day. And I know for me, weddings, the planning process, the girls get into that a lot more than the guys. I just did what I was told and kept my mouth shut about everything else. But when the day came, man, I was re I could not wait for that ceremony to begin. In fact, I remember I was in a little room in the back of the building where we got married, and when the wedding coronary came and knocked on that door, which was my signal, it’s time to get ready to go.

I mean, I almost ran that poor lady over trying to get to where I needed to be because I was ready to be married now. It couldn’t come fast enough for me. And that’s the attitude we ought to have as Christ’s bride, longing for, waiting for, anxiously anticipating our joining with him in heaven. But instead, I’m afraid that most of us don’t really truly reflect this attitude in our lives. Instead, many of us are content to put off our wedding to the Lord as long as possible. Because we want to stay here. We want to keep living. At best, we are indecisive about whether or not we want to go, which, you know, Paul was indecisive about whether or not he wanted to go and be with the Lord.

I think about what he says to the Philippian brethren in Philippians chapter 1, beginning in verse 21. He says, For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. When Paul was contemplating, should I keep living or should I just go ahead and die? To him, he says, for me, the better option is to die because I get to go be with Christ. But he recognized that living would mean faithful service for Christ. He goes on and says, if I’m to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which to choose. I’m hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with God, for that is very much better, I think, for him personally.

Yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. The only difference between our indecisiveness and Paul’s indecisiveness about whether or not to go now or to remain on earth is that ours is typically motivated by selfish interests. Paul said, if I’m going to stay, the only reason I would stay is to continue to faithfully serve God and to preach the gospel and to win as many souls to the Lord as I possibly can. But as I’ve already told you, for me, the reasons why I want to stay oftentimes are because I want to experience more. I don’t want to say goodbye to my family. I don’t want to miss out on any of these wonderful life experiences. But let me suggest to you that it may actually get worse than this.

2. We May Not Even Want To Go To Heaven

It may actually be worse than that we want to go to heaven. We just don’t want to go right now.

I’m afraid that we may not even want to go to heaven at all. Perhaps we don’t really want what heaven actually is, despite the fact that we tell ourselves over and over and over again that heaven is what we want. We’ve convinced ourselves that we want it. We believe that we want it, but I’m not sure that we actually do. And the reason why I say that is because there is such a great divergence between our concept of heaven and what heaven is going to be about and what heaven will be like and the reality of what heaven actually is, that I’m afraid what we want isn’t really heaven. What we want is a vacation. What we want is something that is carnal, something that is self-centered, something that is personally gratifying.

In fact, I would suggest to you that our carnal views and conceptualizations of heaven betray this fact that what we want is something that is self indulgent and self centered. For many people, heaven is nothing more than a trinket or a reward for a job well done. And when you think about it, the things that tend to excite us, the things that tend to captivate our imagination and our attention about heaven are things that appeal to our carnal and physical appetites. Consider for a moment a common view of heaven. If you ask people, what is heaven going to be like? They’re probably going to say things like, Well, heaven is going to be a reward. Heaven is going to be a place where we receive a crown, a crown of life.

It’s going to be a mansion, depending on what translation you’re reading out of. I’m going to get a mansion up there, right? And we even sing that song that we’re going to invite people over to our mansion one day in heaven. I think we’re going to invite the archangel, maybe. It’s been a long time since I’ve sung that song. Not one of my personal favorites, I’ll be honest. We’re going to get a treasure, right? Isn’t that what we’re doing? Is we’re heaping up treasure for ourselves in heaven? We’re going to get to walk on the street of gold. It’s going to be a place of rest. That, I know you’ll like that. We were just talking about that the other day. And there’s actually a verse that goes along with it.

So this is going to be a place of no sickness, no tears, no death, no pain, no suffering, no mourning. It’s going to be a place of joy and happiness and peace. And probably one of the most appealing things is that there aren’t going to be any bad people that we have to put up with when we’re there.

The Bible says that it is going to be these things. But when we think only in these terms, it’s all about me. It’s all about what I’m going to get out of it. And heaven will be these things, but I’m convinced that it’s not going to be these things in the carnal and materialistic way that we imagine them being. And I think part of the problem is that sometimes when we talk about heaven, we get it all wrong because it’s lost in translation. Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 2 through 4, how he knew a man who was caught up. He’s not sure whether it was in his body or out of body, whether it was a visionary experience, or he physically went to the third heaven.

But there he says that he saw things and he heard things and he heard words that were inexpressible that he is not permitted to speak. And so I want you to understand something. Whenever we talk about heaven, not only is heaven truly indescribable, in fact, in some instances it may be impermissible for us, even if we could describe it, to actually describe it and talk about it the way that it is in reality.

It’s kind of like the guy who went spelunking that’s cave diving, you know, and he’s down there deep in the cave and he finds a civilization of people down in this cave who have lived there for generations. They’ve lived there for so long that currently there’s nobody in this little society of cave people that’s ever been outside the cave. All they know is the darkness and the coldness and the dampness of the cave. And here’s this cave diver, and he comes down there and he meets these people, and he begins to tell them about the world outside of the cave. And one day he’s talking to him about the sun. And he’s telling them about the sun and the light from the sun and the warmth from the sun and how it just illuminates everything, and you can see clearly, and when you can feel the warmth of it on your skin.

And they’re going, What? I don’t understand. What is this? What is this sun thing? I don’t get it. And so he reaches into his pocket and he pulls out a book of matches and he strikes that match. There’s a little glimmer of light there in the dark cave. And he says to him, it’s kind of like that. You feel that heat from it. You can see that little. And those cave people are impressed. Wow. That is amazing. Did you feel how warm it was? Did you see how bright that was? Now to us who have seen the sun. Is there any comparison between the sun and a match? Absolutely not. But for those cave people who have never seen the sun, it was impressive. And I’m convinced that the most beautiful language, the most magnificent picture that we can paint of heaven, is really just the strike of a match in comparison to the glory of what heaven actually will be.

And so I’m afraid that we have a difficult time understanding heaven. We get the wrong concept of it because it’s really beyond our ability to comprehend. But because we’re starting out with a physical comparison, we oftentimes end up with a very twisted and warped perception of what heaven is going to be like. And so for us, we typically characterize the beauty and the majesty and the wonder of heaven by comparing it to materialistic, carnal, and oftentimes selfish things. The truth is, guys, is that heaven is not about us at all. It’s all about God. But I’m afraid that a lot of people, when they think about heaven, their view is just this. I’m excited. I’m gonna have a mansion, I’m gonna have a crown, I’m not ever gonna be sick anymore, I’m never gonna be sad, there’s gonna be no pain, I’m gonna live forever, I’m gonna take it easy, strolling up and down the street of gold, won’t it be awesome?

3. Heaven Is All About God

Oh, yeah, and God will be there too. If God is figured into our equation in any way, he’s almost like an afterthought. And yet, I want us to understand that we’ve got it all backwards. Heaven is not about us, and it’s not about what we are going to get. Heaven is all about God. And I think when we begin to look at how the Bible describes heaven, particularly the things that we are going to be doing in heaven, we can get a better perspective on what heaven will be like. And what we begin to notice immediately is that heaven is all about God. We are going to be in the presence of the Almighty Creator of everything, the eternal being.

And these again are typically some passages that we turn to, and what jumps out at us is the no tears and the no sickness and the no dying. But notice as we read, particularly chapter 21. Notice who really is being emphasized in this text. Revelation chapter 21, begin with me in verse 3. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will dwell among them, and they shall be his people. And God Himself will be among them. And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death, there will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain. The first things have passed away. And he who sits on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new.

And he said, Right, for these words are faithful and true. And he said to me, It’s done. I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the beginning and I am the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of water of life without cost. And he who overcomes will inherit these things. And I will be his God, and he will be my son. Do you see who really is emphasized here? It’s not us. It’s God who is emphasized in this text. We see the same kind of thing in chapter 22, beginning in verse 3. There will no longer be any curse, and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his bondservants will serve him. So not only is it all about God, but our part that we play in it is a role of service.

4. A Copy Of The Heavenly Tabernacle

We’re not there to be served, we’re there to serve him. And we will see his face, and his name will be on our foreheads. And there will no longer be any night. And they will not have need of the light of the lamp nor the light of the sun. Why? Because the Lord God will illumine them, and they will reign forever and ever. You know, it’s interesting when we think about the tabernacle and the temple that the Jewish people had. We read in Hebrews chapter 9, verses 21 through 24, how really the tabernacle and the temple that followed it, that those were just based on a pattern of something that Moses was shown in heaven. They are a copy of the heavenly tabernacle, the heavenly temple.

And so when we begin to look then into the Old Testament and see what kind of things happened at the tabernacle and at the temple. Who was there? What made it important? We can begin to see how heaven will be. So, for example, turn back to me in the book of Exodus. Turn back with me to Exodus chapter 40. And notice this, that when the when the tabernacle is first erected, notice the scene what happens. In verse 34, we read, Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. You can turn over to 1 Kings chapter 8, verses 10 and 11.

And when Solomon dedicates the temple, it’s the same thing. God’s glory comes down in the form of a cloud and fills the temple so much so that the priests have to get out. They cannot stay in there because the presence of the Lord has filled it so much, and it’s so awesome in glory that they have to get out. And notice then in the book of Revelation, chapter 15, this scene in heaven. In the heavenly tabernacle, the heavenly temple, how God’s presence is described. Start with me in verse, let’s start in verse 5 for sake of time. After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. And the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with gold sashes.

Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. And notice verse eight. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power. And no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. It’s not a coincidence that John, through the inspiration and the vision of the Holy Spirit, gives the same kind of description about what’s happening in heaven that was used to describe the glory of God filling the tabernacle in the temple. Understand this: God’s glory came down on the tabernacle in the temple because he dwelt there. He said, I will dwell among you. And his glory fills the temple in heaven because God dwells in heaven.

That is where he is. And Lord willing, that’s where we’ll be one day. But notice some of the things that were done in the tabernacle and in the temple. In Deuteronomy chapter 12, as the Israelites are getting ready to go in and take the land, God, through Moses gives some very specific instructions about how, more specifically, where the Israelites are supposed to worship God. The pagans that they were going in to kick out of the land, they just worship their gods under every tree and on every high hill, wherever it seemed good to them. But God says, You’re not going to be like them. I am going to choose a place for my name to dwell, and in that place and in that place only you will come and worship me.

In Deuteronomy chapter 12, let’s look at verses 5 and through 7. He says, You shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes to establish his name there for his dwelling. And there you shall come. There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your free will offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. There also you and your household shall eat before the Lord your God and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you. God says, I’m going to set up a specific place where I want you to come and worship me. And you only worship me there at that place.

Initially it was the tabernacle, and then that was replaced by the temple when Solomon erected it. And it’s a place where the Israelites would come before God and pray to him. Look at this passage in 1 Kings chapter 8. 1 Kings chapter 8, verses 33 and through 34, as Solomon is dedicating the temple and he’s praying to God, he says, And when your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they’ve sinned against you, if they turn to you again and confess your name and pray and make supplication to you in this house, referring to the temple, then hear in heaven and forgive the sins of your people Israel and bring them back to the land which you gave to their fathers. The temple was a place where the Israelites were to go and worship God.

It was a place where they went and they spoke to God, where they talked to him. We see even in the New Testament in Luke chapter 1 that people are gathered at the temple at the hour of prayer. The Jewish people had set up specific times where they would gather together at the temple and do nothing but pray to God to talk to him, to pour their hearts out to him, to express their concerns to him, to ask for his favor and for his blessing. We see that even in Acts chapter 3 and verse 1 that Peter and John were going to the temple at the hour of prayer. This is where God’s people came to him to offer up their prayer to him, to where they would talk to God.

And that’s what prayer is, right? Prayer is us talking to God. What’s interesting to me is that it’s also the place where God talked to his people. I don’t have this verse on the board, but go with me to Numbers chapter 7 and verse 89. Numbers chapter 7 and verse 89. And we read, Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting, that is the tabernacle, to speak with him, and contextually the hymn is God.

And then Moses would go out from the presence of God and relay the message to the rest of the nation of Israel. But understand that the tabernacle, the temple where God dwells, is a place where God’s people are supposed to worship him. It’s a place where God’s people go and communicate with God. They speak to him, and God speaks to them in this place.

5. Worshiping Him, Praising Him, Communing With Him

Start with me in verse 2 of Revelation 4. Immediately I saw in the spirit, and behold a throne was standing in heaven, and one sitting on the throne, and he who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a Sardius in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance, and around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their heads, and out from the throne came flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder, and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which were the seven which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal, and in the center, and around the throne, four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind.

The first creature was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within, and day and night they do not cease to say, Holy is the Lord God the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come. And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, to him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before him who sits on the throne, and will worship him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy are you, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.

And I saw on the right hand of him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals, and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to break the seals? And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it, and one of the elders said to me, Stop weeping. Behold, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so that so as to open the book and its seven seals.

And I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and the elders a lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he came and took hold of the book out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and a golden bow and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals, for you were slain and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and you have made them to be a kingdom and priest to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. Get this picture that there is a lot of people gathered around the throne of God at this point. It started out with the four creatures and the twenty-four elders, and now it’s built to myriads of myriads, thousands of thousands, are gathered around his throne. And they are saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing, and every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all the things in them I heard saying to him, To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.

And the four living creatures kept saying, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshipped.

In the tabernacle in the temple, that’s exactly what we see happening in this scene in heaven. People worshiping him, praising him, honoring him, and communing with him. In chapter 7 of Revelation and verse 9, after these things I looked and behold a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all the tribes and peoples and tongues standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and palm branches were in their hands, and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. And the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worship God, saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever.

Amen. When the elders answered, saying to me, These are these who are clothed in the white robes, who are they and where have they come from? I said to him, Lord, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones who came out of the great tribulation, have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. And he who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them, and they will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore, nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb is in the center of the throne, will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

That when we think about the reward, when we think about the crown, when we think about the treasure, when we think about the rest and the joy and the comfort and the beauty of heaven, all of those things are going to be found in God. God is the creator. God is the center. He is the focus. He is the everything of heaven. God is the one who makes heaven.

If he weren’t there, it would not be heaven. Being in his presence, worshiping him, that is the reward. Now, in light of that, if that’s what heaven really is going to be like, that’s why I’ve suggested that perhaps we really don’t want to go to heaven. Heaven is going to be an eternity focused on God. Are you ready to spend that much time with Him? Are you ready to spend that much time listening to Him? Are you ready to spend that much time worshiping Him, praising Him, and talking with Him? I could be wrong, but it seems to me that far too many Christians aren’t really that interested in this kind of close, intimate, consistent, and unending communion with God. Think about it from another perspective for just a few moments with me, and perhaps my assertion will become clearer.

6. A Hard Enough Time Being With God

We have a hard enough time in the here and now being with God. Think about just three areas of your life. And hopefully you’ll see the point that I’m making. Consider prayer. Prayer is our communication with God. How much time do you spend communing with God in prayer? How much time do you spend telling him of your needs? How often do you go to him and cast your cares on him? Maybe even more to the point, how often do you go to prayer simply to praise God and to thank him for the many blessings that he has already given you? Is it more than just at mealtime? Is it more than just saying a prayer with the kids before they go to bed at night? And is it only for a few minutes at a time?

You know, oftentimes we stress among the brethren that prayers don’t have to be long. They don’t have to be elaborate, right? And we point to Nehemiah that when he’s standing in front of Arta Xerxes, that he prayed to God right there in the moment. Right? It was a quick prayer. And we often like to have those Nehemiah prayers. There’s nothing wrong with those. But do you ever spend a significant amount of time praying to God? I was challenged once to go into a room by myself and to pray for as long as I could. And I’ll tell you, I was pretty embarrassed that after just a few minutes I felt like I was running out of things to pray about. And yet it strikes me that when I’m having a conversation with my dad, for example, I can talk on the phone with him for a long time.

And he and I are not phone talkers. We usually use the phone to call if we have a specific question, and when we get our answer, we’re done. But for some reason, I can talk to my dad on the phone for a long time.

I think the reason is because I have a very close relationship with my dad. And I begin to wonder if maybe the reason why I can’t pray for a long time. I can’t talk to my heavenly Father for a long time. Is that demonstrative of the fact that I don’t have that close of a relationship with him? Does a lack of prayerful communion reflect a lack of desire for true closeness and connection with our God? Consider Bible study. How much time do you spend studying the Word of God? This is kind of hard to put your finger on, right? So I think it’s best to compare it to other things that we pursue in life. Do you spend more or less time studying God’s Word than you do watching TV every day?

Do you spend more or less time studying God’s Word than you do reading other books? Or playing video games, or pursuing your favorite hobby? How much do you actually meditate on God’s word? Besides just reading it, how much do you actually meditate on it and consider how it applies to your life and your situation? I think it’s, I don’t want to discourage anybody from reading the Bible, but reading it is not enough. We have to think about it. We have to make application of it. How much time do we spend pursuing God’s word? That is, how much time do we want God to be speaking to us? Probably not as much as we should. Studying tends to be for most of us a challenge or a chore or an obligation, if not just a downright bore.

Does this attitude reflect a lack of desire to hear the Lord speak to you directly? And finally, consider our assembled worship. What is the one place here in this life where we as God’s people are to attempt to come together in the presence of God, uninterrupted by outside distractions or worries of the world for no other purpose but to think about Him and to focus on Him and to collectively offer up our worship to Him. Is it not right now? When we have collectively come together as a church to worship God, I really think that our collective worship is supposed to be a small foretaste of what it will be like in heaven. And I really think if, you know, people say, oh, it’s heaven on earth.

I think the place where that statement is the most true is when we are gathered together with our brothers and sisters in Christ and we are worshiping our God. That is as close to heaven on earth as we will ever get in this life. And yet, how often do you come to worship God with your brethren?

Do you capitalize on each and every opportunity that’s provided? Or do you pick and choose and attend only those worship assemblies or gatherings of the group that are convenient to your busy schedule? But let’s set that aside for a minute because let’s play a hypothetical game. It has to be hypothetical because we look around and we know that not everybody is not here every time. Okay? But let’s pretend that we all were here every single time those doors were open. Everybody that was a part of this church was here every single time. I don’t know how far you have to stretch your imagination on that. Do you want to be here? Or would you rather be watching the football game? Or would you rather be fishing?

Would you rather be sleeping in? Do you really want to be here? Does the idea of gathering together with other saints for the purpose of singing praises to God, does that thrill you? Does that get you excited? Do you look forward to that? Does the idea of engaging in an in-depth study of God’s word with others stimulate your interest? Or is your attitude? I’ve got to go listen to that class again. Brother so-and-so always says the weirdest stuff in there.

Is that your attitude? Or do you look forward to the times when you can engage with others in spiritual conversation? Is your coming together to worship viewed as something you’re excited about, or is it a chore? An obligation that has to be fulfilled? Something that we simply check off of our list for this week, and now that I’ve done that, I’m done. Again, unfortunately, it’s been my observation that going to church far too often for far too many Christians is typically the most boring part of Christianity for them. Yeah, they like the potlucks and they like the getting together and the hanging out and the relationships and the, you know, the help that they receive and the help that they can give to other people outside of, outside of this building.

But this is just something we have to do.

As it’s evidenced by the infrequency with which we’re actually here. And we aren’t anxiously anticipating the next opportunity to gather together and worship for our brethren, as is evidenced by our lack of preparation to do so. You know, some people think that preparing for Sunday worship starts when the alarm goes off on Sunday morning. It ought to start on Saturday. Do you make sure the day before that your plans are going to allow you enough time to be where you need to be on Sunday? Or to get enough rest the night before so that you’re not one of these nodders who can’t hear. Now, I understand some people are in unique situations and you may have to work third shift, and I commend you for being here, even if you’re dead tired.

But for the majority of us, we ought to be thoroughly prepared to come together and worship with all of our might and with all of our strength to praise God together. So if we have such difficulty spending time in the presence of God, talking to Him, listening to Him talk to us, and worshiping Him, what makes us think that we would somehow be satisfied, let alone enjoy doing nothing but that forever in heaven. So perhaps we don’t really want to go to heaven as much as we think we do. And I guess if that’s the case, what I would say to you this morning is recognize that about yourself and make a change. You know, practice makes perfect, right? If you have, if coming and singing is not something that excites you, then every time there’s an opportunity, make a point to be here to do that.

Maybe you think I’m not a good singer. Trust me, you guys aren’t going to have a problem with a few bad singers in this group. But sing with all your heart. If you make a mistake, make it big. You know? But worship with your heart. And you’ll get better at it. But really the important thing is whether or not you want to do it. But take opportunity, practice and cultivate and develop in your heart a desire to be with God, to worship Him, to listen to Him and to commune with Him. And I am convinced, guys, that until we switch our mindset from being self-centered to being God-centered, we will never really be able to enjoy heaven. In fact, I’m confident in asserting that you probably aren’t even going to make it there if you don’t enjoy doing those things here.

Conclusion

Hopefully, thinking about things in this way will help us to have somewhat of a paradigm shift in the way that we view our relationship with God, and the way we view our relationship with one another, and the way we view our worship together.

Are you prepared this morning? Perhaps you have never submitted your life to the Lord, and so you are still separated from Him by your sins. If that’s the situation you’re in this morning and you have the desire to commit your life to Him, I encourage you to change the way that you think about your sins, repent of those. Confess that Christ is the Lord of your life, and submit to your King by being baptized in water for the forgiveness of your sins so that you can be put back into a right relationship with God. But perhaps you have already done that, but you find yourself not really fired up about serving God, that you have cooled off in your zeal and your fervor for Him. You need to repent of that as well and make a deliberate decision that you are going to put Him first.

And perhaps you need the prayers and the encouragement of your brethren here to strengthen you, to light that fire under you, and to get you back to faithfully serving God. If we can help anybody in any way, let us know what your need is by coming forward while together we stand and sing the song selected.