Chapter One THE HOPE OF HEAVEN “the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel" Colossians When a man hears the gospel about Jesus Christ the Son of God, he hears good news, and the good news he hears causes him to hope and this hope is the hope of heaven. Furthermore, this gospel is God-given good news and it can be depended upon to be true. So the hope that the gospel gives is real: it is not a forlorn hope or a faint hope, but the looking forward to something that can be confidently expected to happen. Hope is something which burns in the heart of every true believer in the Lord Jesus; it is the hope of heaven. It is not a nebulous thing, it is a living, vital experience of the heart. The true Christian knows that one day he will be with his Lord in heaven, so he enjoys the thoughts of it now. The Apostle Paul uses the expression "the truth of the gospel" [Galatians 2:5]: you may not feel able to believe what others say to you but you must believe what God says. It is the "truth of the gospel" that conveys the reality of the things of God to you. So, when you commit your life to Him, when you put your trust in Him, the hope of heaven begins to burn brightly within your soul. This hope contrasts sharply with other "hopes" in life which may be very uncertain. When you take a course of study, for example, you hope that one day you will pass the examination at the end of it but this will depend upon the work you put into study and your ability to learn. The hope of heaven burns more brightly than that because it does not actually depend on us. Everything has already been done - the way has been made and the price of admission has been paid - we just need to follow the Lord. REASON FOR THE CERTAINTY OF THIS HOPE The secret of such certainty is described in the Letter to the Colossians chapter one. Here we read, "Christ in you, the hope of glory"[Colossians 1:27]. What is the hope in heaven and why are we so sure about it? What makes us so happy about knowing that one day we will be in the place we know God is preparing for those who love Him? "Jesus" is the answer. The Lord Jesus who rose again from the dead and is alive for evermore. In the last Book of the Bible, the Apostle John describes Jesus saying that He stands at the door (of our heart) and knocks. If anyone hears His voice and opens the door He will come in.[Revelation 3:20] EVIDENCE OF THE RESURRECTION Now the Bible clearly informs us that it is not the end when our life on earth ends. Jesus spoke about "the world to come".[Mark 10:30(AV)] The New Testament states that after death there is the judgment.[Hebrews 9:27] There is a life to come. The undeniable evidence needed for the hope of heaven is the resurrection. If there is a place known as heaven there must be a resurrection for us to reach it. Jesus was raised from the dead and His resurrection clearly gives us the hope of heaven. The resurrection is a cardinal truth of the Christian Faith and it is very sad when we read or hear of some who profess to be Christians yet do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. We know that the Sadducees did not believe there was a resurrection: they did not believe that anything happened after this life. The Pharisees did believe there was a resurrection, and so when brought before the Jewish Council, the Apostle Paul showed which side he was on by saying, "concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged".[Acts 23:6] He then went on to say that he wanted to be counted among those who are looking to the day when the dead will be raised. In his letters to the churches he uses such phrases as "raised incorruptible" [1 Corinthians 15:52] and "we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the

twinkling of an eye",[1 Corinthians 15:52] and "we shall always be with the Lord". [1 Thessalonians 4:17] We may know the hope of heaven because we are given the promise of resurrection. The corner-stone of the believer's hope in heaven is the resurrection. If there was no resurrection we could have no hope of heaven. Indeed, there could not be a heaven for us, for as far as we are concerned heaven lies the other side of the resurrection. But thank God, Jesus said there is a day coming when all who are in the grave shall hear His voice.[John 5:28] RESURRECTION TO ETERNAL LIFE The hope of heaven is the hope of eternal life. Heaven is not a continuation of the sort of life we know down here. That would be a continuation of difficulties, problems, distress and anxiety. Heaven is quite a different hope. Paul describes it in his letter to Titus with the words, "In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began;"[Titus 1:2] and our hope of heaven is of a life that is pure and holy, perfect and blessed and that lasts for ever. ATTESTED TO BY THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS In his First Epistle the Apostle Peter speaks of God having called us to a "living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead"[1 Peter 1:3] and we can thank God for that. We can thank God that He has called us to this living hope and He has signed it, or sealed it, by raising Jesus from the dead. We shall be raised from the dead because Jesus was so raised. The Bible describes Him as being "the first-fruits". [1 Corinthians 15:23] The fact of His resurrection is supported by the empty tomb, the failure of those who refuted it to produce the body or any evidence, the testimony of individual disciples who saw Him, spoke to Him, touched Him, ate a meal with Him and on one occasion when He appeared to over 500 brethren at once:[1 Corinthians 15:6] also of the many, many people who have believed and been convinced that He is alive because He lives within their heart. That is why the resurrection is such a wonderful experience. Because Jesus lives, we shall live also. If Jesus had not been raised from the dead we would be going around wondering if heaven and life after death was true, but Jesus has risen from the dead and has become the first-fruits, as the Bible says, and we thank God that our certain hope is that those who love Him will then be with the Lord Jesus for ever. WHAT HOPE DOES FOR US 1. MAKES US HEIRS The Bible tells us three things that the hope of eternal life will do for us. First, it will make us heirs. The letter to Titus says, " we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life".[Titus 3:7] If your father has a fortune which he has promised to you, it is quite reasonable to expect you will inherit it one day. God in Christ has promised us heaven. It is given us in Christ and we are therefore heirs. The hope of heaven completely changes a person's attitude towards earthly life. You can hold your head high and you can praise the Lord every day of your life irrespective of your present circumstance. The hope of heaven enables you to see Him working and unfolding His plan and purpose in your life. You can also prepare for that day when an inheritance among the saints in heaven will be yours. 2. GIVES COMFORT AND CONSOLATION The second thing that the hope of heaven does for us is to give us great encouragement or "strong consolation". This is not merely a palliative to hide reality or a sedative dulling our senses or killing the pain, but true comfort conveyed by one's hope in God's Word. As we read in the Letter to the Hebrews "That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set

before us".[Hebrews 6:18] The hope of eternal life will also enable the believer to say, "I have something which people cannot take from me, I know that one day I shall be in heaven with the Lord, I know God's promises will not fail. He will keep His Word, even though no one else does". When you experience discouragement, sorrow, affliction or distress, the hope of heaven enables you to praise the Lord. You have something better than that you see around you to encourage you - you have good consolation because of the hope of heaven. 3. PROVIDES AN ANCHOR The third thing that hope does for us is to give us an anchor for our soul. Again the writer to the Hebrews tells us, "this hope we have as an anchor of the soul". [Hebrews 6:19] And the hymn writer testified thus - "I am anchored, safely anchored, Anchored never more to roam; Anchored by the side of Jesus, Anchored in the soul's sweet home." Many folk in life run after one thing and when they find it does not satisfy they run in another direction after something else. When that does not satisfy them they go somewhere else and in time they can find they have spent their life running here, there and everywhere without ever finding satisfaction. Thank God, the hope of heaven gives us an anchor, a firm rock-like base to which we may attach our frail vessel which might otherwise be swept away in the stormy seas of life around us. FUEL FOR THE FIRE OF HOPE Now once we have the hope of heaven in our soul, there are certain things we can do to make that hope burn more brightly. We began by remarking that hope is something that burns in the heart of every true believer. It should also be said that it is necessary to fuel or feed this fire of hope if it is to burn more brightly now and to continue burning as the years pass by. 1. PATIENCE AND COMFORT FROM THE WORD OF GOD The first spiritual logs to be thrown on this fire, then, are patience and comfort and these are to be obtained from the Word of God. In the Letter to the Romans we read "That we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope". [Romans 15:4] Let the Scriptures comfort you; let them give you God's patience. Reading God's Word acquaints us with what He is doing. We are no longer ignorant of spiritual things. When I was a boy, my grandfather showed me how to sow a drill of seeds in the garden but the next day I went out and dug them up because they had not begun to show. You know why? I had no patience. I did not wait because I did not know that it took time for seeds to germinate and grow. Naturally speaking some of us have very little patience. God gives you patience as you read the Scriptures; patience to see that He is working out His plan in your life, patience to see that that burden He is giving you to carry is doing you good, and so on. Somebody once said, "If you want to lose weight, don't just walk around empty-handed, carry two heavy bags with you". That is quite right and God has given us some burdens to carry. He wants us to get some flabby flesh off our spiritual life and He wants us to be strong athletes for Him and spiritually effective in His work. So you can begin to say, "Lord, I believe there is some purpose in this experience I am going through". And you will be comforted as you patiently follow the path God has set for you. Paul saw this truth when God did not remove what he calls his "thorn in the flesh". [2 Corinthians 12:7-10] So, patience and comfort of the Scriptures will keep the hope of heaven burning in your soul. 2. DEDICATED SERVICE Another "log" for the fire of hope is found in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. It is ploughing and threshing in hope. "He who ploughs should plough in hope; and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope". [1 Corinthians 9:10] All who work on the land know

that you begin by ploughing and end by threshing. So this verse means that everything you do in life, from start to finish, should be done in the hope of heaven. You do not get to the end of your life and say, "Lord here is my life, do something with it". Rather, at the beginning of every new day you may say, "Lord, here is a new day you have given me, help me to do something that will be to your eternal glory, something that will be a reward and a joy to us all in heaven". That is truly ploughing and threshing in hope when whatever I do, be it sowing or reaping, I expect Him to bless to His eternal glory. 3. JOY IN THE LORD In the Letter to the Thessalonians the Apostle Paul asks, "What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you...". [1 Thessalonians 2:19] Hope is a living thing. The flame of hope needs the oxygen of spiritual life if it is to burn brightly. When men and women put their hope in earthly things theirs is a dying hope. When they die their hope dies with them. When the Apostle saw men and women who had responded to his witness to Christ the sight of them provided him with a living hope. In the First Epistle to the Corinthians we read, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable". [1 Corinthians 15:19] If the only thing you hope for is success down here, a better job and a bigger house, good friends and a marvellous partner and so on, then, as life moves along you may be disappointed as you find that clouds lose their silver lining and fondest dreams never get fulfilled. Slowly, the grave approaches. You can tell yourself that it will be a long time coming but come it will and its approach will signal that you are coming to the end of your hope. Not so the Christian. His hope burns more brightly as heaven approaches. Your hope must be in heaven. If you are aware of what the Lord has for you it will give you cause for rejoicing. Even in the midst of persecution those who walk with the Lord may have His joy. And that joy is itself an incentive to strong hope. Have you never met a person who was elated at having spoken to a loved one on the telephone? Perhaps they had spoken to a loved one on the other side of the world and as they talked they felt as though they were there, if only for a short time. Well, the hope of heaven can burn brightly in your soul because you have been in touch with heaven by the line of prayer that runs from earth. The Apostle Paul also told the Corinthian believers that in Christ they should all be made alive [1 Corinthians 15:22] and that their hope therefore extended far beyond this earthly life. He realised that believers would have to suffer hardship and distress and persecution. He knew they would have to be deprived of some things and be restricted in many ways because they were believers. He said that if they were going to suffer in this way and then not know anything of heaven they would be of all men most miserable. That is to say, to suffer persecution and be glad in the Lord, you must have the hope of heaven. You will not rejoice in the Lord alway unless you have the hope of heaven burning in your soul. What the Apostle is really saying in this verse is that if you trust the Lord you will be of all men most cheerful, because your hope is in heaven. The true Christian can "rejoice in hope of the glory of God". [Romans 5:2] 4. ANTICIPATING GOD'S GOODNESS Sometimes in a debilitating sickness a tonic is prescribed to help the patient regain strength. The best spiritual tonic is the heavenly tonic of knowing all will be well. People say that if you think something is going to do you good, it will. That is not always the case but if something good is going to happen and you know it, you can enjoy the anticipation of it. So those who are going to heaven and yet not enjoying the thought of it now are missing something. You can rejoice in heaven because it is real. It is founded on the promise of God and you have every reason to confidently hope for it. You might have many hopes dashed down here, but the hope of heaven is strong and true and you can rejoice in the glory that will then be yours. Hope brings heaven's glory into your soul now.

Further, we find that it is God's Will to give us hope. In Paul's Letter to the Romans we read, "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace". [Romans 15:13] The sort of joyful person to whom the writer is referring is not to be confused with those who are naturally cheerful. Some are born optimists: their optimism gets them so far but a time comes when mere optimism is not enough. This world's comfort is very shallow, its humour is like a vapour: real encouragement is hard to find. Like all its emollients, this life's remedies are skin deep. But the God of hope fills with true joy and peace. So when the disciple is in touch with his Lord, with the God of hope, he becomes the sort of person who inspires hope in others. It can be peace and joy just to be with such people for they are an encouragement to you. Again in the Letter to the Romans we read, "Hope does not disappoint". [Romans 5:5] Certainly, God's hope does not make you disappointed because it is sure to come true. Paul wrote to Titus and said that we should live, "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ". [Titus 2:13] What is now the hope of heaven will one day be turned into the reality of heaven. We should all be looking for that wonderful day. It is as expressed by the hymn-writer - "Sweet is the hope that is thrilling my soul, I know I'll see Jesus some day". If that is the sort of hope you cherish you can live in daily expectancy of its fulfilment. 5. DWELL UPON JESUS Most wonderful of all in this connection is the truth expressed by Paul when writing to Timothy he said, "the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope". [1 Timothy 1:1] Jesus is our hope today. For the Christian, the hope of heaven is pinned on One Person. On the stock-market an investor is advised to spread his money so that if one investment fails all will not be lost. There need be no fear that heaven's hope will be lost. It is absolutely secure. No need for part hope in heaven and part somewhere else. No hope like this can be found elsewhere. Our hope is entire and complete if it is in Christ. The Christian has put all he has into one account - all is in Jesus Christ. He is our hope because He is Lord. He is our hope because He came to save us. Jesus left heaven and became man that He might save us and take us to heaven. Our hope is in Jesus Christ because he is the anointed One of God. Take Jesus as your Lord and Saviour and find earth's sky suddenly light up with the hope of heaven.