Jump Start # 2503

Revelation 21:4 “and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

This year hold many anniversaries for me. I’m one of those people who recognizes dates, anniversaries and milestones. This is the tenth year of our Jump Starts. Later in the year I will come to the milestone of preaching forty years. This is also the 40th anniversary year of my marriage. Big year. Many reasons to have parties the whole year long!

This week was also another anniversary for me. It’s one I don’t talk about much but it’s important. Twenty-five years ago my mom passed away. It was January 2nd. I was sitting on her bed as she passed through the doorway of death. A few days later I preached her funeral. It’s been twenty five years. My children were young and some barely remember her. None of the grandkids were born.

I thought I’d write a few reflections about this anniversary. I hope these words help those who have parents who have passed through the doorway of death. I’ve heard people say, “There is not a day passes that I do not think about my departed parent.” It’s not that way for me. To be honest I don’t think about it that much and long periods of time passes without me thinking about her. She was a Christian and I believe that by His grace she is with the Lord. I know she is in the best place and she is more joyous than she has ever been. My mom was a hard worker. She didn’t sit around and watch TV much. My memory of her was always busy around the house. She never was idle. I get a lot of that from her.

First, the pain of grief gets better through time. I remember that first year after she died, all I could do was think about her. On the first anniversary of her death, I got out a box of sympathy cards that had been sent to me and read all of them. Time is an amazing healer. It’s very much like surgery. At first, it just hurts and there is no fast forwarding past that. But time passes. Life goes on. Faith helps. And, the pain is replaced with fond memories.

Second, it’s different when one is a Christian and the one who passed is a Christian. It still hurts. Jesus, knowing that He was going to raise Lazarus, still wept at his grave. The unknown is removed by understanding Scriptures. Lessons on death, the rich man and Lazarus, Hades, eternity all solidify what is in our faith. God is good and one realizes that when a Christian dies, the angels have carried that soul to a place of comfort. Never again will that soul suffer from temptation, sickness, disease or heartache. We sing, “Does Jesus care when I’ve said good-bye to the dearest on earth to me…when my sad heart aches until it nearly breaks…” And the chorus reminds us, “Oh, yes He cares, I know He cares. His heart is touched with my grief.” It is comforting to believe and to know that one is safe with the Lord.

Third, one must be careful not to let wild ideas, false teaching and erroneous ideas take away from what the Bible teaches. I do not talk to my mom. I do not pray to my mom. I do not believe that she has sent me signs, messages or other things. She is in God’s other room. I have asked God to take care of her. There is a strong pull to want to talk to one who has left us. And, that strong desire has led some to believe things that just cannot be supported by the Scriptures. Finding pennies on the sidewalk is thought by some to be a sign from a departed loved one. Now, just what is that supposed to mean? A penny? Now, finding a hundred bill would be exciting, but not a penny. And, who knows what that is supposed to mean. It’s vague and fueled by our wishes more than truth.

Fourth, all of us are leaving footprints for those around us. Someday it will be our time to go through that doorway of death. Faith in Christ takes away the fear of that. And, someday, we will just be a memory to those whose lives we touched. All of this reminds us that building bonds, encouraging others, making a difference is more important than what’s on TV. Our times are strange. People would rather spend an hour staring into a cell phone than talking to someone. And, when our time to depart comes, how will we be remembered? Too busy to play with little ones? Too much into social media to care about those around us? Too busy for the Lord? Footprints—we all leave them. The Lord left them. Our footprints point to what is important to us. Nothing can replace you giving you to another. Take the time to touch the lives of others. Little ones will be influenced. Big ones will care.

Our verse today, tells of coming changes. There is a day coming in which sorrow, pain, crying and mourning will pass. It’s not today. It’s to come. Those things are still with us. We must journey with those things. But soon, all these things will be of the past. The first things will be done away. Interestingly, all those things, crying, pain, mourning, death are connected to sin. Sin causes all of those things. The regrets, the guilt, the consequences, the sorrow, the pain that sin has caused will be gone. God will take His children away from this broken world. Together, we shall see the Lord.

Do I miss my mom? Yes. Do I wish she was here? No. Instead, I wish I was where she is. A journey completed. A faith kept. A battle fought and won. Home with the Lord. Safe, cared for and loved. I couldn’t want anything more. I couldn’t do for her what the Lord is. And, someday, it will be our turn.

We must serve the purpose of God in our generation, as David did. That is what’s before us!

Roger

Jump Start # 2183

Revelation 21:4 ”and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes and there shall be no longer any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

I have been teaching Revelation on Sunday mornings for many weeks. We are going at a pace of one chapter a week. It’s been a great study and for many in the class, it has been the first time that everything seems to being falling in place and making sense. We are down to one chapter left. Revelation is such an encouraging book. It’s one of my favorites.

The final two chapters are about the Heavenly city. Gone and dealt with are the beasts, the harlot and even Satan. Just God and His people and the glorious hope that binds them together. Our verse today, is one of many from that picture that John was shown about the relationship we will have with God. Several things to notice here.

First, for the righteous, things are only going to get better. Death, crying, mourning and pain are part of our world now. Those things will pass. They will not transcend the eternal city of God. All of the things John mentions in this verse, death, mourning, crying, pain are all connected and caused by sin. They are also all connected to innocent suffering, such as what these first readers were experiencing. Those things will end. Things will be different. They are only gong to get better. We cannot imagine even a day without those things. Turn on the news and there is crying, pain and death. Check Facebook and there is someone sharing the heartache of crying, pain and death. It’s everywhere and it’s everyday. However, it won’t be forever. The first things will pass away. In the next verse God declares that He is making all things new.

Second, the element of freewill will be gone. Freedom and choice are built into our thinking and our DNA. We go out to eat and there is a menu with all kinds of choices. Everyday we have choices. We can pick the good, the bad or the ugly. We can stand with Martha or we can sit with Mary, who made the one necessary choice. Our words are a matter of choice. Our attitudes are chosen. And, with freewill is the opportunity to make the wrong choice. To eat the forbidden fruit. To ignore the preaching of Noah. To serve the gods in the land, unlike Joshua. To walk away from Jesus, as some of the multitudes did. I chose to go to worship yesterday. No one made me. Following the flow of Revelation, our verse is found after Satan is sent to torment forever, and after the dead have gathered to be judged. Our verse defines what the eternal city will be like. Freewill, choice, will not be part of it. We will not be tempted. All the wicked will be outside this holy city. There will be no bad influences. There will not be Satan putting things in our hearts. There will not be any wrong. There will be but one choice and that is to praise and serve God. Those that don’t like that, won’t be there. Those that are not interested in that, won’t have to worry, they won’t be there. Heaven is for those who are God focused and God centered.

Since, temptation, Satan and freewill will not be part of that world, the first things have passed, as our verse states, there won’t be any fear of messing up and being kicked out. You won’t have a bad day and say something that you shouldn’t and then be escorted to the pearly gates and told to leave and never come back. That’s not going to happen. Don’t let your mind go there. He is making all things new.

Third, God, Himself, shall wipe all tears from our eyes. Why tears? Life can be hard. Death could be painful. But once we reach God, the tears will be gone. There will be no more crying. The cause of tears will be gone. And, God will wipe our tears. Not an angel. Not one of the apostles, but God. The loving hand that created this universe, will take care of us. That expression brings memories of our childhood. Out playing, we banged our knees, and came running inside to the love and kisses of our moms who took care of us. God is there. He is there for us. He always has been.

Heaven will be different than life here, and the righteous will be glad it’s that way. Things can be tough here. Life can become weary for us. The days seem long and the nights even longer. We tire of seeing wrong choices. We get weary of bad news. We become discouraged when God’s people don’t act like God’s people. We don’t like to see brethren fussing at each other. Indifference, lukewarmness, and neglect dominate far too many congregations and too many hearts these days. Brighter days are ahead of us. Those things will not be part of that Heavenly picture. There won’t be any discouragement in Heaven. There won’t be bad news. There won’t be any disappointment. It’s hard to imagine even a day without those things.

For us, these words remind us to hang on, hang in there and continue on. Overcome is the word used in Revelation. Overcome all the things that pull you down. Overcome all the things standing between you and Jesus. Don’t miss this. Don’t let anything or anyone keep you from Heaven. It’s time to stop playing with our faith and be serious. It’s time to drop the excuses and do what we should and what God expects. It’s time to stop blaming others for our lack of involvement in the kingdom. Things are only going to get better.

And when those words roll our in your mouth and in your mind a few times, things are only going to get better, a person starts longing to be there. Come, Lord Jesus, as Revelation ends, becomes something meaningful to us. We start seeing things from God’s perspective. We start living as if one foot is already there.

It’s only going to get better. There are not many things we can say that about. As one ages, we know that’s not the case health wise. We start falling apart. We can’t say that about school. The more advanced you go, the harder it becomes. But the days coming, when what really matters and what is really important, will only get better.

Together with God, that’s the picture Revelation gives us. That’s our future. That’s our hope. It’ll only get better.

Roger

Jump Start # 354 

Revelation 21:4 “And He will wipe 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.” 

  The apostle John who is shown the vision within the book of Revelation is describing for us “the new heaven and a new earth” that he sees. The first verse of this chapter says that the “first heaven and the first earth passed away.” Our verse today says “the first things have passed away.”

  John is identifying new things. These are not things we would find around us now, but in the future, after the passing away of these things. One of the “new things” he sees is a time and a world without sorrow and pain. That is hard for us to believe. We are surrounded with sorrow and pain. Turn on the newscast and you’ll hear about crime, disasters and death. Many of us start the day in pain. Our bones hurt. Our muscles hurt. For some, getting out of bed is painful. And there is the crying and mourning. Funeral homes, cemeteries, broken hearts and broken promises are a part of the landscape of our lives.

  There may be some depth to our verses that we don’t often explore. Our verse today is often looked upon as simply the absence of bad news. Heaven is viewed as a wonderful world of bliss, which it is. However, each of the emotions that John sees going away, “crying, mourning, sorrow and pain” all have a spiritual tie to sin. Before Adam and Eve sinned there would have been no reason for them to cry, mourn, have sorrow or pain. It was a perfect world. Then sin entered by their disobedience to God. God sent curses upon His creation. The result of these curses is what we are talking about: crying, sorrow, death, mourning and pain. All of those are connected to sin. Broken lives, guilt, shame, hurting other people, punishment are bring about these things in our verses. Sin doesn’t bring joy, just the opposite, sorrow. Sin doesn’t lead to life, just the opposite, death, especially spiritual death.

  John is describing for us what the “new heaven and new earth” will be like. He uses the negatives in our verse to tell us what is missing, what won’t be there. In doing this, John is telling us that there won’t be any sin. Sin is the cause of all those things that John says will be gone. A world without sin. The only picture we have of that is at the front of our Bibles when God first made mankind. The garden of Eden, paradise, was a world without sin. It was perfect. Man enjoyed a wonderful relationship with God. There was nothing to fear and nothing to be ashamed of. All of that changed after Adam and Eve sinned.

  To have a perfect world in which there would never be sin nor the consequences we would have to remove temptation and the influence of temptation, Satan. That is the sequence within Revelation. In chapter 20, Satan is sent to the lake of fire to be tormented forever. His absence removes the influence of temptation. It is like Eden before the serpent came and deceived.

   Can you imagine a world without temptation and sin? No apologies, because there is nothing to apologize for. No sin takes place. A world without guilt. A world without regret. A world without realizing I wish I hadn’t said that, or, I need to break these bad habits of mine.

  God is showing John that Heaven will not be like the world we are used to. It will be different. It will be a “new heaven and a new earth.” Sin will not dominate our lives. We won’t worry about doing the right thing nor fear doing the wrong thing. Satan will be out of our lives forever. Temptation will cease. All the ugliness associated with sin will be gone.

  It’s hard to believe that such a world could exist. It’ hard to realize that God would do this for us, His children. It makes you want to go there now.

  We sing, “How beautiful Heaven must be…” Indeed!

Roger