Chasing Heaven | Jerry Harris

Oh man. Now look, I just gotta be honest

with you that song at all of our locations.

Hope has the name. If you were into that song of

that song was affecting, you already heard the sermon today

so you can probably just get up and leave be okay because no

don't do that. I worked really hard on this

sermon so I don't I don't want you to miss out but boy that is

the message that you're going to hear today is that hope has a

name and that name. Is Jesus, and we're going to

find it in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Before we get into that, I just want you to be praying hard for

what's going on at Camp right now, because high schoolers are

there, and I was there yesterday afternoon, and I was hearing

testimonies being given and people sharing from their heart,

high, schoolers sharing from their heart college, students,

sharing from their heart and and God is working in a powerful

way. There, right now, he's moving in

the lives of those high schoolers and that's what that

camp is all about. It's about life change.

It's about seeing the Holy Spirit, work in young hearts and

developing those hearts into fully devoted followers of

Christ Disciples of Jesus that are going to follow him all the

days of their lives. So you be praying for them.

Okay. Would you do that?

What a welcome, all the campuses that are joining with Today,

everybody inside everybody online and I'm going to totally

date myself, all right? I'm a Billy Joel fan.

How many of you even know who I'm talking about, okay?

I'm a Billy Joel fan and I can't help it because it's my age and

the, and like, when his like big albums came out as my senior

year in high school and Billy Joel came out with the album,

The Stranger, and it was an incredible.

Incredible album had songs like moving out.

Only the Good Die Young. She's Always a Woman to me, just

I love you. The way you are because I'm in

every single song on that album was a hit.

It went platinum 10 times over. I want you to think of just for

a second, like, you know, you're dating me.

But I want you to think how many artists do you know that had

number one songs in three different decades?

It's pretty short list, Billy Joel's one of them.

So that was in that was in 78 and 83 that was the year.

I got married, he came out with another incredible album called

an innocent man. Once again hit after hit was all

inspired by Christie Brinkley. He'd married right Uptown Girl

tell her about it. Keeping the Faith the longest

time. And of course the innocent man

had just hit after hit. It went platinum, 70.

Times over. The last major album that Billy

Joel released was in 1993, 10 years after that.

And it was called River of Dreams and the title track on

that album. I don't know.

It might be familiar to you just listen to it, you'll get a How

many of you remember that? Oh yeah.

Just an incredible song. Lot of great songs on this album

as well. But so I mean just he just kept

on pumping out the hits and the interesting thing about River of

Dreams, that album used the afterlife.

As an as the inspiration for the the album.

But there's only one problem with that using that as

inspiration, Billy Joel's an atheist.

So, he writes a whole album about the afterlife, does an

incredible job and he's an atheist.

Hey, grew up in a Jewish home and he dabbled with

Christianity, early in life, but that's where he ended up Landing

as an atheist and that's all well and good for Billy Joel.

Except when his seven-year-old daughter at the time.

Alexa asks him, this question is she's getting ready for bed,

Daddy. Where do we go?

When we die? Billy Joel didn't have a good

answer for that. But he put down his thoughts in

a song that's on that album, a lullaby.

And it's I don't know you decide what you think about his idea

because his response was given in a 2016 interview with Sirius

XM. And this is his quote, I told

her that after you die, you go into other people's hearts and

they take you with them through their lives.

And then you pass that on to your children.

He went on to describe the question is daughter, gave him.

As a scary question. Hmm.

Some of you may have heard the name of Stephen Hawking great

physicist passed away not too long ago.

He was renowned for his theories but he was also an atheist and

he was quoted saying this it is my view that the simplest

explanation is that there is no God, no one created the universe

and no one directs our fate, this leads me to a profound

realization. There is probably no heaven and

no after I've either we have this one life to appreciate the

grand design of the universe. Isn't that weird?

They talks about a grand design with no designer.

We we have this one life to appreciate the grand design of

the universe and for that, I am extremely grateful.

Hmm. Well, there in the vast minority

about four percent. According to a Pew research poll

about 4% today of the American population is atheist, another

5% would call themselves agnostic.

That's a little harder word maybe to Define, but what it

means is that they really don't have or think there is an

explanation for our existence, it's a question without an

answer Psychology today. The magazine says about Force of

Americans believe in an afterlife and the other 25%

really don't believe or don't know, they just, they just don't

know. some might say that these beliefs that we carry with us

about about an afterlife about heaven or hell or you know, this

Reckoning, they're not scientific, but their religious

superstition But I have to tell you, there was a long list of

scientists who did believe, like, Copernicus Francis Bacon,

Kepler Galileo, Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Isaac Newton,

Robert Boyle, Max Planck Albert. Einstein Louis Faraday, Pat

Louis pasture, K many more, a lot of scientists.

I recognized that there was a grand design and a grand

designer. But that's not really the point.

The point is are the question is what do you believe?

And why do you believe whatever it is that you believe?

And if you're looking for the answers to the deepest questions

and this is definitely one of them, the deepest questions of

life and you turn to your Bible, I'm going to say something

that's a little out of my personal character and that is

this it's probably a good idea to stay away from The Book of

Ecclesiastes. Because Solomon.

In this stage of his life is a man with no Rock to stand on in

the middle of water over his head.

Now, make no mistake. It is true that God gave

Solomon. This Incredible Gift of

practical wisdom. And we can use that practical

gift of wisdom, as we read what he has written like for all the

things that we deal with, in our lives, in the lower story

component of our lives. And we do know that Simon

believed in God. I mean you can read Ecclesiastes

and you can see. Yeah, he definitely believed in

God, he wasn't an atheist and you can even say that he

believed that we would have to answer to God for whatever we

did. Because the very end of the He

does say that but there is nothing that gives me the

impression that he actually believed that he would ever meet

God. Or have any kind of a meaningful

relationship with God or experienced an Afterlife with

God? I, I see him kind of as a Proto

sadducee. So like, you know, during the

time of Jesus, there were the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Those were like, the two religious governing bodies that

came together to form. What was called the Sanhedrin

and the major difference between the Pharisees and the Sadducees

as the Pharisees believed in the Of the Old Testament and life

after death, and the Sadducees, did not believe in the prophets

of the Old Testament, or they did not, and they did not

believe in life after death. And that's why I kind of see

Solomon as a Proto sadducee before, you know, like hundreds

of years before they were ever a thing.

Why do I believe that? Well, I believe that because of

Solomon's own words, let's look at Ecclesiastes 8, 14 and 15.

There is something else. Meaningless that occurs on Earth

The righteous who get with the wicked deserve, and the wicked

who get what the righteous deserve now.

That's true, isn't it? You've seen that you've

experienced that and it's probably frustrated you before

how come there's they seem to be and I am, you know, this too.

I say is meaningless so I commend.

Listen to this, the enjoyment of life.

Because there is nothing better. For a person under the sun, then

to eat and to drink. And to be glad.

Kind of reminds me of a story. Jesus said about a guy who tours

small Barnes down, he built bigger Barns, and he said, now,

let's take life, easy and eat and drink and be merry. and, God

came to him that night and said, you fool.

This night, your soul will be required of you and then who

will get all that you've stored up for yourself.

But when I look at Solomon in Ecclesiastes 8 I see a man who

has no little or no regard for the upper story makes me

question. Did he even believed that there

was life after death? Look at Ecclesiastes, 3, 19 to

21, surely the fate of human beings is like that of the

animals. The same fate awaits them both

as one dies so dies the other I'll have the same breath

humans, have no Advantage. Listen to that over animals.

Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place all

come from dust and to dust all return, who knows if the human

Spirit, listen that, who knows? That means it's a question.

If the human Spirit Rises upward, if the spirit of an

animal goes down into the Earth, he has no idea.

This is a man with questions, but no answers, Answers doesn't

look like it to me. Look at Ecclesiastes 6:12 for,

Ecclesiastes 6:12

who knows what is good for a person in life during the few

and meaningless days that they pass through like a shadow who

can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are

gone. Again questions?

No answers. Huh.

How did he come to this conclusion?

What do did anyone before him believe in an afterlife?

Or was that just kind of the general consensus?

A thousand years before, Jesus was born?

Now, that's not true. His father did David believed in

an afterlife. Let me show you a few passages.

In Psalm, starting with 16 9 to 11.

Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices my body will

rest also, rest secure because you will not abandon me to the

realm of the Dead. Nor will you let your faithful

ones cdk? You will make known to me the

path of life. And you will fill me with joy in

your presence with eternal Pleasures at your right hand,

even though that's prophetic about Jesus, this is what David

believed. You look at 4915 some 4915 but

God will Redeem Me from the realm of the Dead.

Buy me back is what redeem means.

He will surely take me to himself.

Look at chapter, 73 verses 23 to 26.

Yet, I am always with you. You hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel and afterward.

See that you will take me into Glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you the Earth has nothing.

I desire besides you. My Flesh and my heart May Fail.

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

So Solomon had a conclusion, but it wasn't the same conclusion as

his father. As a matter of fact, you can go

all the way back, the very first book written in the Bible, not

the first one that you see in order that's Genesis, but the

first one written in the Bible, the oldest book is the Book of

Job. And if the it's the oldest Old

Testament book, what did job think about the afterlife?

Well, let's look at Job, 19:25 227.

I know that my redeemer lives and that in the end he will

stand on the earth and after my skin has been destroyed yet in

my flesh, I will see God. I myself will see him with my

own eyes. I and not another how my heart

yearns. Burns within me, you know, jobs

got no idea how God's going to do this, but he believes in his

heart, that somehow God is going to raise him from the dead, not

awesome. Through it all.

And he went through a lot job maintained that God was right.

Even though it seemed like God was allowing job to suffer for

no reason at all. But the only way for God to be

right, that made sense to job, was that there had to be A

resurrection. Just job.

No. Abraham did lived a thousand

years before Solomon. Abraham said that he believed in

a city with foundations and also a specific resurrection and a

general Resurrection. We know that because of Hebrews,

11 10 and 11, 19 says, this is talking about Abraham.

He was looking forward to a city with foundations, whose

architect and Builder. Is God, that's talking about

heaven. And in Talking about sacrificing

his son, Isaac, Abraham reason that God could even raise the

dead, he thought he was going to kill his son on that mountain.

And then God was going to raise him back to life.

So and so in a manner speaking he did receive Isaac back from

death. Abraham believed in an

afterlife, so did Moses? 14:46 BC, almost 500 years

before Solomon Moses was at the burning bush and God spoke

through that burning bush to Moses.

And he said, these words, I am the god of Abraham.

I am the god of Isaac and the god of Jacob, by the way,

Abraham. Isaac, and Jacob had been dead

for hundreds of years, Before Moses was at that bush.

When Jesus was arguing with the Sadducees and they were saying

there was no afterlife Jesus reminded them of this scripture

and said you remember at the burning cuz they did believe in

Moses and the law and the burning bush and he said you

remember that. He said I am the god of Abraham,

the god of Isaac and the god of Jacob because you see what the

sadducee said was that God is not a god of the Dead.

He's a god of the living. and so, he used their own scripture

against him and said, look, When God said that, Abraham, Isaac

and and Jacob, even though they were long dead to the world,

they weren't dead. They were still living because

he was still that God. In Exodus 32, 32 Moses says

this, he says, but now, this is when he's pleading for the life

of the Israelites in the wilderness, please forgive their

sin. But if not, then blot me out of

the book, you have written, he's referring to the Lamb's Book of

Life. He goes, let me pay for them.

Erase me from your book. So Solomon had plenty of great

examples if you really were one to discuss the afterlife but for

some reason he just didn't get it.

Why is that? You see Solomon over and over

and over. In the Book of Ecclesiastes, not

only says this is meaningless. He also uses this other phrase

and that phrases under the sun. Under the Sun.

So Under the Sun is descriptive term of the lower story.

It's that the life that you live where you're just grinding it

out every day. And Solomon's wisdom is great

for the lower story. If you're wanting to do well

under the sun, then Solomon's got a lot of stuff to share with

you, right? But you know there's an upper

story and it's not under the sun, it's over the Sun.

Solomon believed in God, but he had little understanding of his

relationship. God's relationship to people.

And it's pretty clear to me, that he saw death, pretty much

as the end. I mean we see this in

Ecclesiastes 9 verses 1 to 10, look at this.

Ecclesiastes 9:1–10

So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and

the wise and what they do or in God's hands but no one knows

whether love or hate, awaits them all share a common Destiny,

the righteous and the Wicked, the good, and the bad, the

clean, and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those,

who do not as it is with the good.

So it is with the sinful as it is with those who take Odes.

So, With those who are afraid to take them, this is the evil in

everything that happens Under the Sun.

The same Destiny over takes all. It's like, he doesn't have like,

heaven hell. Good bad, huh?

No. It's the same.

It's all the same. And basically, you're dead.

The hearts of people. Moreover, a full of evil, and

there's a Madness in their hearts while they live in

afterward, they join the dead. Anyone who is among the living

Has hope we just sang a song. Hope has a name.

Anyone who's living has hope good question.

If they really do, even a live dog, is better off than a dead

lion. For the living know that they

will die, but the dead know nothing.

They have no further reward. And even their name is

forgotten. Their love their hate, their

jealousy have long since vanished never again, will they

have a part in anything that happens Under the Sun?

Go eat your food with gladness. Drink your wine with joyful

heart for God has already approved what you do like okay

whatever you want always be clothed in white always anoint

your head with oil enjoy life with your wife whom you love all

the days of this meaningless life that God has given you.

To the sun, all your meaningless days for this, is your lot in

life in your toilsome labor under the sun.

Boy, if that isn't cynical and fatalistic, I don't know what it

is. So the real question isn't what

Solomon didn't see? The real question is what you

see? What you see right now.

I can't tell you what, you see. Only you can tell yourself that

but I can tell you what, I see, I see a man paying a debt for me

on a Roman cross, so that I can be free.

I see that I see a dead body coming to life again to prove to

me that he can do the very same for me.

It's what I see. I see a broken person healed in

places that no physician can reach except for the great

physician I see. Person that is filled with

purpose and hope as he looks at an unknown future.

I see a relationship available to every person right now.

No matter what they've done, that is greater and more

long-lasting than any other relationship that we can

realize. I see the burden of my sin

falling away and being carried away.

And I can see a person lit up with Holy Spirit fire.

Number of years ago. I'd say about 11 or 12 years

ago. I was in Colorado Springs at a

retreat with some friends of mine.

Jim Putman I was going to have an opportunity to speak with

him. David Platt was there.

I was really looking forward to meet a guy that was going to be

there. His name was Avery Willis.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to meet him because two

weeks before that conference he died.

And that was a sad day for that conference in the eye, you know,

and the opportunity that I wanted to have but Avery Willis

was describing his life and his eternity and he wrote it down

before he died, and this is what he said.

This is a quote. I am part of the Fellowship of

the unashamed. I have holy spirit Power.

The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.

The Vision has been made. I'm a disciple of his.

I won't look back. Let up, slow down back away, or

be still. My past has redeemed.

My present makes sense. My future is secure.

I'm finished and down with low living site walking, small

planning smooth, knees, colorless dreams, tamed Visions

mundane talking, keep living and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need prominence prosperity.

Position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.

I don't have to be right first, tops recognize praised regarded

or rewarded. I now, live by faith, I leaned

on his presence, walk by patients, lift by prayer and

labor by power, my face is set. My gate is fast.

My goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is

rough. My companions are few.

My guide is reliable. My mission is clear.

Here, I cannot be bought compromise.

Detour lured away, turn back, diluted or delay.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice hesitate, in the

presence of the adversary negotiate at the table of the

enemy Ponder at the pool of popularity or Meander in the

Maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, let up

until I have stayed up prayed up paid up and preached up for the

cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus.

I must go until he comes. Give till I drop, preach, till

all, no work till he stops me. And when he comes for his own,

he will have no problem. Recognizing me, my banner will

be clear. Amen.

Amen. I couldn't have said it that

well, but I'll say this someday. I will open my eyes in heaven.

And my vision will be filled with the face of Jesus.

I will walk on the streets of pure gold.

I will eat from the Tree of Life and drink from the river of the

Water of Life. I will see my mother.

My father, my brother. And the actual people from the

bible stories. I've taught for all these many

years. I'll have a new body it's

smaller than this one. I'll glorified body and a new

mind to go with. I won't send any more.

I won't get sick anymore, I won't hurt anymore.

I want more nor weep anymore every dark and awful thing.

If this world will be swallowed up in the overwhelming light of

my heavenly father. You know.

I really like Billy Joel's music. but when it comes to the

afterlife, Billy. Joel got it wrong.

Way wrong. You see, it's not about whether

or not you're in someone else's heart.

It's whether or not Jesus is in your heart.

Because hope. Has a name.

Solomon. He had a lot of answers to a lot

of Earthly questions. but when it came to heaven, all he had

was questions. And the only needed one answer.

He only needed one name. And that's the name you have.

And that's a name that you can call on.

Because the name of Jesus. Is the name of the son of God,

who came to this earth? For the purpose of dying for

your sin and mine. Being buried Rising again on the

third day to prove once and for all that, he has the power to

raise you from death to life and give you hope not just for

today. But for all eternity.

We're moving to a time of decision.

You know. I know that there's people in

this room. Right now, people online right

now. You know about Jesus.

You couldn't listen to this sermon without knowing more

knowing about Jesus. The question isn't whether or

not know about him? The question is whether or not

you knowing Wouldn't you agree with me?

There's a big difference between knowing about a person and

knowing a person personally, And God's not inviting you to know

about Jesus. He's not inviting you to know

about a savior. He's not inviting you to know

about a lord. He's inviting you to know Jesus.

To be in relationship with Jesus.

To know that he's your savior. To know that he's your lord.

Right now, what God wants? Is he wants to take that?

That place in your heart. That's empty or dark.

That's full of questions. And he wants to fill that empty

place with hope. He wants to fill that empty

place with the presence of his son.

And there is nothing in this world.

Nothing in the spiritual world. Nothing in eternity.

That has the ability to keep you.

From receiving that to yourself except one thing.

You. In this moment right now you're

the only one. That stands in the way.

Of being able to receive. The Eternal hope.

That comes from knowing Jesus Christ personally.

So, maybe the prayer today for you. if I'm speaking to you

right now, Is. I need to get myself out of the

way. And let God give me the thing.

That he paid for so dearly. There's going to be someone

standing right over here by this baptistry.

If you're online, there's a button that you can press and

you can talk to someone. They'll pray with you right now

because we would love nothing more than for you to make this

day, the most life-changing important decision-making day.

Of your entire existence on this planet.

And Heaven Will Rejoice going to tell you right now.

God has his angels. Standing.

It guard all around this building.

And he is protecting this moment for you.

So that you can have this Moment of clarity.

Where you can say? I want that.

And if you do, don't hesitate go right up to that person, talk to

him. You'll never regret it.

Many of you here today, have made that decision for Christ.

And I appreciate that. Just the thought of knowing that

we'll see each other in the glory of Heaven.

We're in all this other stuff is just gone.

And that will have that unfettered access.

Not only to God, not only to Jesus, but to each other and

experience, a Oneness, I mean, you could experience a little

tiny taste of it here, but it's nothing like what we're going to

experience together in eternity Right now if you're struggling,

maybe it's you, maybe it's someone, you know, someone that

you love, you're carrying a burden right now, that burdens

weighing you down, you're feeling the weight of it.

On your shoulders, I invite you right now whether it's your

issue or someone else's issue to come up here to these steps.

And lay it down. Talk to the Lord.

He'll hear you. Leave that burden here.

He'll take it. I wonder this is just for this

room, right? I wonder how many of you have.

Come up here to these steps in the past and shed tears.

What the carpet? With your tears.

Later burden down. There's going to be a change up

here next week. It's going to start actually

right after second service. This this stage is going to

change. Its going to be it's going to go

from like kind of a squared stage to a rounded stage.

It's going to have all new steps and everything.

Kind of like Billy Joel here. There's a lot of nostalgia.

A lot of memories on these steps.

Some of you Believers. Maybe say one last time.

For they, take these steps away and replace them with new ones.

I just want one last time. Come up here.

Pour my heart out to the Lord. Would you stand with me?

Heavenly father in Jesus name. I thank you that we have a place

to go when we feel powerless. When we feel broken, we hurt,

whether it's for ourselves or for someone else.

That we don't have to walk through this life by ourselves

and we don't have to shoulder our burdens alone that you're

right here with us that you don't leave us or forsake us.

And I pray father that our hearts would just be open to you

now. And I pray, father.

I will just take this moment. Take it captive.

And share it with you and your son.

In Jesus name, amen. In Jesus name, amen.