(Part 2/3 – A summary of the Sunday morning teaching on 13-Sep-15, in AFT Church, English service. From the series The Foundation For Victorious Living)
HEAVEN – A TAILOR MADE HOME
C.S Lewis writes in his book Mere Christianity that ‘heaven is a tailor made place for us’.
Tailor made? Wondering what that is?
Well, you see, often we pick things for ourselves that are ‘readymade’. They are of a standard size and may not fit us perfectly. Tailor made on the other hand refers to things that are made to fit us to a T. Since they are custom made to suit our tastes, they are definitely way more expensive!
Heaven, Jesus says, is made to suit us.
HEAVEN – ACCORDS PURPOSE AND MEANING TO OUR LIFE
The devil is a trickster. He wants to ensure that we don’t look forward to a life with Jesus in Heaven. So he confuses people into thinking that heaven might be a myth or that it could be boring and dull. Hence people flit through life without any sense of purpose or focus. But Revelation 14:13 says, ‘Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them’. The Bible says that when a believer dies his or her works will follow them. What we do on this earth to fulfill His purpose will definitely be of worth to God.
C.S Lewis also says that if we examine Christian history, we will find that those who believed in a life after this life and that when they closed their eyes here would open them in Heaven accomplished greater things for God than those who don’t believe in Heaven. Simply put, Heaven makes life more meaningful and accountable.
HEAVEN – HOME WITH JESUS
Heaven is also Jesus’ residence. Every Christian longs to be with Him in His home. It is the ultimate satisfaction of a heart that loves Jesus as its Savior. The Word of God at numerous places points it out to us. Here are a few samples.
a)Luke 23:43 says, ‘And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise’. Jesus assured the thief on the Cross who put his faith in Jesus as his Savior that he would be with Him in paradise.
b) 2 Corinthians 5:8 says, ‘We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord’ and Philippians 1:23 says, For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better’. Paul expresses his deep seated desire to be with Jesus in Heaven.
c) 1 Thessalonians 4:17says, ‘Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord’. Again, we see Paul writing about the glorious reunion with Jesus one day when we can with Him forever.
So, if Heaven is Jesus’ residence, then it will be interesting to learn some special characteristics about it. Let’s take a look at couple of them.
…to be continued…
