Resurrection Sunday: Resurrection Life with Christ

To honor the reading of God's holy word, would you please rise with me.

!

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

Thank you.

Brian Johnson is a tech business CEO who has poured everything into one project.

Not dying.

Following a hyper regimented body care system, he eats a precise 2,250 calories every day.

He follows a particularly calibrated workout plan with 25 different exercises.

He maintains a specific body fat composition, measuring himself every day, and he takes up

to 100 pills of vitamins and minerals every day.

That's like two fistful of pills.

He even exposes himself to experimental medical procedures, like receiving blood plasma transfusions

from his own 17-year-old son, and subjecting himself to rounds of experimental gene therapies that are only legal in a few countries in the world.

The grand result?

Based on some recent tests, nothing's working.

He's aging just as fast as we are.

Now, human beings can live for another million years on this planet before Christ returns.

Make leaps and bounds in developing science and technology that I can't even fathom.

But this I know for sure.

We will always continue to die.

Because death is not merely a scientific issue.

It's ultimately a spiritual issue.

We have a dying problem because we have a sin problem.

For the wages of sin is death before a holy and righteous judge, and there is not a single one of us in this room that is righteous on our own standing before him.

Sin is the deadly, heart-stopping, lung-clothed, brain-rotting condition that wipes every single one of us out.

Sin is the only one of us in this room that is righteous on our own.

We are already living immortal lives.

In our passage this Easter morning, the Apostle Paul makes it clear that for all of you who have put your faith in Jesus Christ,

you have been united to him by faith, and therefore you have already died.

You have already resurrected with Jesus Christ.

And because of that, out of that, we can now seek the things that are above.

That's the main point of my sermon today.

So in turn, I'm going to follow Paul's logic in this short passage and talk about the foundation,

and then the focus,

and finally the future of the resurrected lives that we now live with Christ.

This Resurrection Sunday, we celebrate and we remember,

along with billions of others in the universal church of Christ,

the most significant event in all of human history.

More important than any war, any stock market crash, any natural disaster,

because this single event has single-handedly transformed and changed the course of human history forever,

for all eternity.

This one day in history is the very cornerstone of the Christian faith.

It's the hinge on which all of Christianity turns and hangs upon.

Without it, really, the rest of Christianity has no legs to stand upon.

Paul makes that clear when he says in 1 Corinthians 15,

if Christ has not been raised,

then our preaching is in vain,

and your faith is in vain.

We are even found to be misrepresenting God,

for we testified about God that he raised Christ.

And if Christ has not been raised,

then your faith is futile,

and you are still in your sins.

If in Christ we have hope in this life only,

we are of all people most to be pitied.

Here Paul gives the hypothetical,

the if,

if the resurrection weren't true.

But let's turn that on the head.

If the resurrection were true,

what does that mean for us?

If you are here today,

and you are not a believer,

I just want to personally thank you so much

for coming to join with us in worship

of our resurrected Jesus this Easter Sunday.

It's our joy and privilege to have you come.

And I encourage you to stick around after the service

so that we get to talk to you more,

we get to learn your names and your stories.

But given the importance of the resurrection,

and given the uncertainty of time,

and the certainty of future judgment,

I want to ask you a simple question now.

What do you think of the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

Do you think this actually happened?

Do you think a man from the dead could be raised?

As you think about it,

I'm going to give you some food for thought

as we know some things about the end of Jesus' life.

Historians, both Christian and non-Christian alike,

have testified to these three facts

about the end of Jesus' life.

Number one,

we know that Jesus was crucified by the Romans.

Number two,

there was an empty tomb.

Number three,

there are multiple eyewitnesses

testifying that Jesus has resurrected and risen.

So there's a crucifixion,

there's an empty tomb,

and you have multiple eyewitnesses.

So if we have these facts,

what's the best way

for us to reconstruct what happened here?

How do we make sense?

How do we put these different pieces

of the puzzle together?

Some hypothesize that some claimed

to see and talk with Jesus

after his crucifixion,

not because he died and resurrected,

but simply because he fainted,

he swooned on the cross.

So then later,

when they laid him in the tomb,

he simply got up on his own power

and presented himself to others.

But there are problems with this theory.

One does not simply walk off

being scourged and whipped with lashes

that have these sharp pieces of metal

and bone nettled into them.

Just imagine how much Jesus' back

would have been torn up into bits and pieces,

the copious amounts of blood

that he would have lost.

That in and of itself

could have killed Jesus.

But on top of that,

he was crucified.

And crucifixion was a particularly

effective method

of capital punishment

that the Romans developed.

The Romans were master killers,

and it seems dubious

that they would have bungled this execution.

Others proposed that Jesus' body

was merely stolen from the body,

and mass hysteria spread like gangrene

because of this simple lie.

But if Jesus' body was stolen,

which again is a dubious claim in the first place

because it was heavily protected,

what do you make of these hundreds

of eyewitness testimonies

claiming that they saw,

they interacted,

they ate with a resurrected Jesus?

Well, someone might push back and say,

well,

they could have been in all on the same lie.

They could have been all lying together.

But keep in mind,

so many of these men

would leave their homes,

their families,

to go to distant foreign lands

to share this testimony

that Jesus has resurrected.

and many of them

would give up their very own lives

as martyrs.

You lie until a certain point,

but you don't die for a lie.

Still others believe

that multiple people

merely hallucinated

their vision of Jesus.

People nowadays still,

they claim to have seen

a recently deceased loved one

in a ghost,

in a dream,

in a premonition,

sure,

but when have you heard

of hundreds of people

all testifying

to seeing the same vision,

the same dead person?

It is a psychological impossibility

for hundreds of people

to all see the same thing.

So maybe,

just maybe,

the best answer

to make sense

of these facts

is the supernatural one.

Maybe,

just maybe,

the most plausible explanation

for this historical anomaly

is that these testimonies

are true

and credible.

Yes,

we aren't able

to prove the resurrection

today

based on any kind

of empirical evidence,

not in the same way

that I can prove

that gravity exists

by dropping this pen,

but we constantly believe,

we constantly believe things

based on

only eyewitness testimony.

testimony.

We as a society

wouldn't be able

to function

unless we believed

someone else's word.

After all,

how do you know

your date of birth?

Do you remember it?

No,

you simply trust

the testimony

of your parents,

of the doctors.

faith.

And while Hebrews 1.11

says,

faith is the assurance

of things hopeful,

the conviction

of things not seen,

that does not mean

that faith

is like a blind leap

into the dark.

Faith isn't like

a buffet line

where you

just go

and pick and choose

whatever seems

appetizing to you.

for the late,

great theologian

Augustine commented

that if you try

to have faith

without reason,

that is no faith

at all,

but that's credulity,

that's gullibility,

that's foolishness

that leads people

to believing

all kinds

of wacky things.

Instead,

faith and reason

have a symbiotic

relationship,

a deep congruity

between them.

And if you need

reason and faith,

Christianity

has strong,

very strong,

historical,

concrete data

to back up

its claims.

So I ask you again,

what do you make

of the resurrection?

If it were true,

what does it mean

for you?

I think that means

you have to follow

what the former

atheist and cold case

detective

J. Warner Wallace

has said and lived out.

I am not a Christian

because it works

for me.

I had a life

prior to Christianity

that seemed to be

working just fine.

And my life

as a Christian

hasn't always been easy.

I am a Christian

because it is true.

I am a Christian

because my high regard

for the truth

leaves me

no alternative.

if the resurrection

is true,

that means

every word

out of his mouth

is true too.

If someone

accurately predicted

the mega million

lottery numbers

every Tuesday

and Friday

for the past year,

you best believe

you're going to buy

a ticket

with whatever numbers

he tells you

to buy.

And if Jesus

accurately predicted

that he

would die

and resurrect

three days later

a supernatural feat

that defies

all natural expectations,

you best believe

you better take

his words

seriously.

That's why

the resurrection

is so important

because it substantiates

all of Jesus'

claims.

And similarly,

Jesus exhorts

his followers

in John 5, 24

to believe his word.

He says,

truly, truly,

I say to you,

whoever hears my word

and believes him

who sent me

has eternal life.

He does not come

into judgment

but has passed

from death

to life.

If we

are taking

all of Jesus'

words very seriously

and accepting them

as true,

what is he claiming here?

He's claiming

that he can offer

to us

the secret

of immortality,

eternal life

with him.

That's not just

in the future,

guys,

but it's now.

For did you notice

something about

the tenses

of these verbs?

For those who have

believed in Jesus,

he's saying that

you have

eternal life.

It's the present tense.

You have

passed

from death

to life.

It's referring

to an action

from the past.

Christ.

In the same

spirit,

the apostle Paul

in our passage

this morning

says,

if you have

been

raised with

Christ,

and later

he says

in verse 3,

you have

died.

All these verbs

are in the

past tense.

And Paul makes

it very clear

that over 200

times in his

writings

and in our

passage today,

that again,

for those

who have

put their

faith in

Jesus Christ,

we have

been united

with Christ

in a mystical

union.

Just like a

branch cannot

produce fruit

unless it's

connected to

the vine,

just like the

body cannot

function and

feel unless

it's connected

to the head,

and just like

how a husband

and wife

are so close

that they become

one flesh,

just like that,

Christ has

loved us

so intimately,

so wonderfully,

so powerfully,

that he has

inextricably

and united,

eternally

united ourselves

with him.

So much so

that wherever

Christ is,

we will go.

And whatever

Christ has done,

we can say

that we have

done.

So in our

passage,

Paul is

highlighting the

fact that yes,

we will die

and resurrect

with Christ

in the future,

that'll be our

bodily resurrection.

But in our

union with

Christ,

we have

spiritually died

and we have

spiritually resurrected

already with

Christ.

And what does

that mean?

For all those

who are born

in Adam

were enslaved

to sin.

We were all

born in sin,

meaning that

we are not

sinners because

we sin.

No, it goes

far deeper

than that.

We sin

because we

are sinners.

It's not

that we just

did bad things

here and there

once in a while.

No, we

were under

the dominance,

the control

of sin.

Sin was

part of us.

I think we have

a lot to learn

from this story,

from this strange

case of Dr. Jekyll

and Mr. Hyde,

in which the

author, Robert

Louis Stevenson,

he writes about

a Dr. Jekyll,

a nice,

kind man,

but honest,

and knows that

he has

some ugliness

to him,

some pride,

some bitterness,

and so he

decides to take

a potion,

a potion that

would amass,

congeal all

of this ugliness

into a separate

personality

named Mr. Hyde.

Unfortunately

for him,

Jekyll quickly

realized that

Mr. Hyde

was way,

way worse

than he could

ever have

imagined.

He's way more

insidious

and murderous

and ugly

than he could

have ever

imagined.

And eventually,

while he was

first able to

control that

transformation,

the power

of the potion

overcame him

and Jekyll

lost control

of Mr. Hyde.

He was unable

to suppress

the evil

within him.

And in the

final scene

of the novella,

Jekyll has no

solution but to

end his own

life to stop

Mr. Hyde.

And like

Dr. Jekyll,

we all

have had

that same

potion inside

of us.

It's really

a poison.

It's flowing

through our

veins.

It's giving

control to

sin to

our Mr. Hyde's.

For in so

many words,

it's like

Stevenson's

whole story

is just

taken from

Romans 7

where Paul

writes,

for I do

not understand

my own

actions.

For I do

not do

what I want

but I do

the very

thing I

hate.

I do

not do

the good

I want

but the

evil I

do not

want is

what I

keep on

doing.

If I

do what

I don't

want

is no

longer I

who do

it but

sin that

dwells

within me.

That's

all of

our

conditions

before

Christ.

So how

are we

cured

from this

poison?

How do

we regain

control

over our

sin?

For one,

Paul makes

it clear

that it's

not by

following a

bunch of

man-made

legalistic

rules.

This church

in Colossae

was being

tempted by

false

teaching.

Andrew

spoke about

it that

involved a

toxic brew

of legalistic

Judaism and

worldly

paganism.

These false

teachers added

a bunch of

legalistic

rules saying

don't handle,

don't touch,

don't look,

don't do

this,

don't do

that under

the guise of

holiness to

put death

to sin.

Expecting all

this rule

keeping to

have power

to conquer

our fleshly

impulses.

We in the

church, we

are still

tempted to

do the

same thing.

Every time

we sin,

we hurt

others, we

do things

that we

don't want

to do,

what is

often our

first reaction?

We just

throw at it

a bunch of

legalistic

rule following.

I'm going

to read my

Bible like

crazy.

I'm going

to pray

twice as

hard.

I'm going

to start

fasting.

Don't

get me

wrong,

those things

are good,

but they're

insufficient on

their own

because trying

to fight

sin, fight

your Mr.

Hines based

on your

own power,

it's like

bringing a

butter knife

to a gun

fight.

Paul says

himself right

before our

passage,

these man

made rules

have indeed

an appearance

of wisdom

in promoting

self-made

religion and

asceticism and

severity to

the body,

but they are

of no

value in

stopping the

indulgence of

the flesh.

You can

try all

you want,

you can

work your

fingers down

to the bone

and you

will have

nothing to

show for

it.

But praise

be to God

that the

solution to

kill our

sin is not

to kill

ourselves like

Dr.

Jekyll.

And it's not

to kill our

bodies by a

bunch of

legalistic

rule following,

but it is

found in the

killing of

the Passover

lamb,

Jesus Christ.

For Jesus

Christ on

Good Friday,

though he

never sinned,

though he

never had a

Mr. Hyde in

him, he was

crucified as if

he did,

bearing the

total weight

of sin on

behalf of us

sinners.

Not just

dying,

for us,

but he

allowed us

to die

with him.

Not to

die in

sin, but

to die

to sin.

By grace,

we know that

our old self

was crucified

with him so

that the

body of

sin might

be brought

to nothing,

so that we

would no

longer be

enslaved to

sin.

For one who

has died has

been set free

from sin,

just like the

assurance of

pardon that we

read just

earlier.

God

is

so

whenever we

look at the

cross, we

ought to see

Jesus hanging

there, nailed

there because of

our sin.

But whenever we

look at the

cross, we ought

to see our old

selves, our

selves, the

ones who are

controlled and

dominated by

sin, crucified on

that cross with

him.

church, are you

aware that you

are no longer

controlled by

sin anymore?

But the same

power that

resurrected Jesus

from the grave

now flows through

your veins.

Resurrection

power, not

sin's deadly

poison, flows

now in your

veins.

This

resurrection

Sunday, we

don't just

remember Jesus'

death and

resurrection.

resurrection.

We remember

our own

death and

resurrection, our

own transformation,

our freedom from

sin and new

life in him.

We don't just

commemorate the

resurrection on

Easter, we need

to live it out.

And how do we

do that?

In our passage

today, Paul gives

us one command,

just one command,

highlighting the

focus of the

resurrected life,

which is my

second point.

signified by the

connecting words

if and for,

Paul shows the

foundation of this

resurrected life is

our resurrection

with Christ.

And out of that

resurrection power,

he then calls the

Colossians and us to

seek the things that

are above, where

Christ is seated at

the right hand of

God.

Again, Paul repeats

this command in a

slightly different way,

set your minds on the

things that are above,

not on the things

that are on earth.

And so while it is

true that we have

already died to the

power of sin, we

have already resurrected

by the power of the

Spirit, we have not

yet experienced the

fullness of

resurrection life with

Christ in heaven.

We know that by

experience, don't we?

Even as Christians,

after our transformation,

we know that we can't

coast in this life.

We're not out of the

fight because while

that poison that gives

total control to our

sin, that gave control

to our Mr.

Hines is out of our

systems, we can still

be discouraged and

plagued by sin by our

Mr.

Hines, the remnants of

him.

And if we weren't,

then Paul wouldn't have

to give a command like

this.

But knowing that we

are not yet in heaven,

he gives this command

to seek and to set our

minds on the things

that are above.

And what are these

things?

Ultimately, they're

summed up in the person

of Jesus.

Paul alludes to that

when he says, seek the

things that are above.

Why?

Because that's where

Christ is.

That's where he is

seated at the right

hand of God, the

Father.

Father, where he is

now ruling and reigning

as the supreme,

preeminent Lord of the

universe.

And after all, if your

life is indissolvably,

inextricably, irreversibly

united with Christ for all

eternity, then why would

you look to anything

else other than Christ

alone?

Both the Colossians

church and us today, we

are tempted by this false

teaching of syncretism,

of claiming to have

Christ, but then seeking

to add things to him,

seeking other things on

top of Christ.

Back then, their ancient

culture tended to look up

to the sky, and they

would feel this pull to

worship the sun god, to

placate it.

They would worship and

make sacrifices to the

rain god so that they

would get good rain for

their crops.

And in the same way, we,

while still teaching,

hey, you need Christ.

Christ is good, but they

also sought to placate

these other elemental

forces, like the sun,

moon, rain, and earth.

They taught them to

worship angels on top of

their worship of Christ.

They said, if you have

Christ, plus these other

things, plus these elemental

forces, plus these other

idols, you're going to be

better off.

You're going to be more

spiritually fulfilled.

After all, the more, the

merrier, right?

This is the faulty logic of

syncretism.

Is there value added to a

juicy, fatty, medium-rare,

A5 Wagyu steak if I squeeze a

whole bottle of Heinz ketchup

all over it?

Is there value added to a

sleek, elegant, 3.1 million

dollar Ferrari F80 if I slap

a hundred bumper stickers all

over it?

In other words, Paul needs

nothing extra, nothing more

than Christ.

He knows that nothing could

possibly add to his

spiritual fulfillment, to his

sense of safety and security

than Christ alone.

Because he knows that his

life, as he says in verse 3,

that his life is hidden with

Christ in God.

He knows, he knows that the

safest place that we can be is

sheltered.

Sheltered in the arms of Christ.

That he who began a good work

in us will surely bring it to

completion at the day of

Christ.

That he will never abandon, he

will never forsake us.

If you need to be reminded of

the safety that we find in the

refuge of God, just read the

Psalms.

And there you'll hear about how

God calls us the apple of his

eye, the pupil of his eye.

And just like how we instinctively

flinch to protect ourselves, God

is saying that he doesn't need a

moment to think and ponder, should I

protect my children?

No, his most natural, his

instinctual reaction is to shield

us, to protect us.

And it is sovereignty to you to work

all things for our good.

And I have to admit that this simple

phrase has been the greatest comfort

for me in this season as I've been

preparing the sermon.

And some of you guys know, Friday was my

last day of work as a full-time

engineer in the biotech, pharma world.

And tomorrow will be the start of

really the great privilege of full-time

ministry and working for this church.

I mean this when I say I have no idea

what the future holds for me and for my

family, but this I know for sure.

My life, my family's life, we are

hidden.

We are hidden in Christ.

Sometimes I have to remind myself of

that.

But this Easter, I look to the

resurrection as proof that Jesus

hides me from every unforeseen obstacle.

Every insidious enemy, every thorn in

my side, he will hide me from and he

will overcome them just as he overcame

death.

The resurrection for me is proof that God

can and he will bring death or bring

life from death.

Strength out of weakness and hope out of

despair.

And I know that some of you are enduring

through hard seasons.

A dark battle against depression.

A time of unwanted singleness.

A season of financial insecurity.

A loss of a loved one.

All that stuff makes the path to heaven

look dauntingly long.

But take heart, friend.

Hear this from God's word, which is true

even if you don't feel like it is.

Your lives even now are hidden, safe,

protected, assured in Christ.

Christ is not only the great source of

security for our lives, but he is our life.

As Paul writes in verse 4.

I'm sure you've heard and said something

yourself like, watching this show,

reading this book, playing this video game,

it's giving me life.

It is my life.

I'm totally obsessed.

In the same way, Paul is saying that

Christ is our life.

That a Christian is defined by a growing,

a healthy obsession with him.

Because the Christian recognizes that he is the

source of unfathomable riches.

That he is a well that will never run dry.

He is a precious diamond that you can turn

over and over and over again in your heart.

And you will see new beauties

and new angles.

He is infinite God.

No matter how much we grow and learn of Christ,

that distance, that gap between an infinite God

and finite creatures will never, ever be shortened.

How could the finite ever approach the infinite?

So don't ever think that heaven will be boring

one day for 10,000, 100,000, a million years

into heaven.

We'll still say and feel,

Christ is that good, that amazing.

I've only scratched the surface of him.

I'm totally obsessed with Christ.

Pastor Tim Keller shared a perfect example

of a growing, maturing Christian

that he once counseled,

who set her mind, her focus on the risen Christ.

Her old self was constantly in and out

of relationships with men.

But as her new self,

she spoke of an experience that she had

and some advice that she received

from a counselor.

She says,

I'm going to my counselor.

And she said,

I built my very significance

and acceptability and identity on men.

All of that is right and helpful.

However, my counselor doesn't have

a very good solution for me.

My counselor says that what I should do instead

is get myself a great education

and a great career.

Well, my counselor means well,

and of course,

I absolutely do need to get some training,

get myself a job.

But what she's saying

is that I should do that

so that I will feel better about myself.

But that would mean

I would be switching

from one kind of idol to another.

For many years,

my heart has been looking at men

and saying,

unless I'm successful at love,

I'm nothing.

But the therapist wants me

to look at my career and say,

unless I'm a successful,

independent businesswoman

who is in control of my own life,

I am nothing.

I don't want to be enslaved to my work

as I was to men.

I don't want to be as enslaved

to my independence

as I was to my dependence.

I'm actually being asked

to exchange a typical female idol

for a typical male idol.

And I don't want either.

when I go to church,

when I'm in worship,

when what Jesus did for me

is so real and so wonderful,

in my heart,

I speak to the men

that were in my life

and say,

I'm glad to know you.

And I certainly wouldn't mind

being married,

but you are not my life.

Christ is my life.

I'm done.

I'm done making anything else

in my life.

You're a good thing,

but you're not an ultimate thing.

I'd love to have a husband,

but if I don't,

I've got Jesus.

And I set my mind

on things above.

You can't give me

any of the things

that Jesus has given me.

this is a model example

of what it looks like

to seek the things

that are above.

This is the heart

of Christianity

over syncretism,

saying,

I'm done.

I'm done.

I'm done.

I'm done making

anything else my life.

I'm done making money,

marriage,

man's approval,

ministry even,

my life.

Above all,

Christ is my life.

So I'm gonna keep him

the center of my attention,

the focus of my life,

the north star

that I'm running towards.

even when obstacles

come my way,

I'm not letting that

stop me

from relentlessly,

persistently pursuing

my first love.

And when we do that,

when we endure

to the end,

the rest of the world,

they're in for

a grand old surprise.

because the fact

that your life

is hidden in Christ

has another meaning

to it.

Because who you are

truly isn't visible yet.

It's hidden.

It's concealed.

Your life on earth

looks like everyone else's.

You ride the T,

you go to work,

sit in class,

do your daily chores.

But what they don't know

and they can't see

is that you

are living

a resurrected life

in Christ.

We see this literary contrast

in verses three and four,

right?

Now we are hidden.

Now we're disregarded.

Now we're lowly.

But that day,

when he returns,

we will appear

with Christ

in glory.

and he's going

to return soon.

In other words,

what is true of you

on the inside

will always eventually

be true of you

on the outside.

If you are inside,

dead,

dead in sin,

you will be dead

on the outside.

If you are inside,

resurrected,

in Christ,

you will be resurrected

to live with him

forever in glory.

This is the guaranteed

future

of the resurrected life.

Many of you know

and love

Johnny Erickson Tata.

Such a faithful model

of how to live

with keeping your eyes

only on Christ.

Quadriplegic,

paralyzed from the shoulders

down from a diving accident

since the age of 17

in 1967.

She is now

75 years old

after almost

six entire decades

of persevering

and keeping her eyes

on Christ

with this disability.

Can you imagine that?

Even after battling cancer,

she is one of the longest

living quadriplegics today.

And she said,

I,

with shriveled,

bent fingers,

atrophied muscles,

gnarled knees,

and no feeling

from the shoulders down,

will one day

have a new body,

light,

bright,

and clothed

with righteousness,

powerful and dazzling,

now hidden

in a frail,

weak body.

but one day

revealed

in total,

stunning,

ineffable glory,

matchless,

staggering beauty,

that's going to be you.

All your permanent scars,

all your physical weaknesses,

all the body image insecurities

that you have

will all be put to rest.

You need not look

in the mirror

and sigh anymore

because the mirror

can't capture

who you truly are.

Soon and very soon,

you will be shown

in glory with Christ.

So knowing that,

Paul exhorts

the Colossians

and us

that because

we have been united

with him,

seek,

keep your eyes

on the things above

and keep your eyes

on the things ahead.

cultivate a heavenly perspective

and an eternal attitude

that should color

and permeate

all of our lives,

every single facet of it.

Instead of focusing

on next week,

next month,

next year,

we ought to focus

about the next million,

billion,

trillion of years

that we have

with Christ.

Knowing that you are now

living the resurrected life.

What would it look like

for you

to adopt

a heavenly mindset

right here

and right now

as a stay-at-home mother

doing another load

of laundry,

cleaning another

dirty diaper,

cooking another

family dinner,

as someone

who is overlooked

or overworked

at your job

right now,

as a spouse

experiencing

marital troubles,

as someone

dealing with

chronic sickness

and disability,

what would it look like

for you now

to cultivate

an eternal perspective?

You see,

setting your eyes

on the heavenly future

is not an optional

aspect

of the Christian faith.

For the gospel

is more,

it's more than,

and it's so important,

but it's more than just

penal substitutionary atonement.

It's more than just

God's courtroom.

As important as it is

because it doesn't capture

the entire story.

And frankly,

I'm convinced

that much of the

American church today,

me included,

we don't think enough

about heaven.

A professor from

Southern Seminary,

Matthew Westerholm,

studied the difference

between songs used

in American churches

from 2000

to 2015

compared to those

that are used

in 1737

to 1960.

Can anyone guess

what the main difference was?

He writes,

among many similarities,

the one difference

was striking,

the topic of heaven,

which was once frequently

and richly sung about

has all but now disappeared.

But the gospel stays

for us,

becomes real for us

with this lost discipline

of Christian daydreaming,

Christian imagination.

I'm not talking about

daydreaming

what we're going to eat

for potluck

or what you're going to do

over the weekend.

We're to imagine

what it's like

to see Jesus,

to reign

with the rest of the saints,

to see his face

for the first time.

That's what seeking

the things above

is about.

And it's not about

this Christian discipline

of imagination,

daydreaming.

It's not about

just wasting your time

speculating about questions

that we don't really know

about heaven,

that scripture

doesn't make clear.

For what scripture

does make clear

in heaven

is enough fodder

to fuel

our daydreams

and to give us

bright hope

for the darkest

of days,

for this next week,

this next month,

for whatever time period

that you deem appropriate,

I want to encourage you,

I challenge you

to think

and imagine

and daydream

about heaven

and do it

until it makes you happy

because it will.

Although many Christian songs

in our modern era

have lost the wonder

about heaven,

there's still

one classic

that models this well

that I can't get over.

I can only imagine

by mercy me,

I'm sure most of you

guys know it,

and as I read

this chorus,

imagine with me

that surrounded

by your glory,

what will my heart feel?

will I dance

for you,

Jesus?

Or in awe

of you,

be still?

Will I stand

in your presence

or to my knees

will I fall?

Will I sing

hallelujah?

Will I be able

to speak at all?

I can only imagine.

It's this kind

of imagination

that can empower us

with bright hope

to persevere,

to persevere

through this hard life

to make it

to the celestial city.

So let's seek

the things that are above

and seek the things

that are ahead.

God.

Because as another song

goes,

one day the sun

will set

in the west

for the last time.

One day

we're gonna earn

a dollar

that we spend

for the last time.

One day

we'll say goodbye

to our loved ones

for the last time.

One day

Satan will tempt us

in sin

for the last time.

and that last time

will be the first time

of an entirely new life.

That one day

we will walk

on streets of gold

for the first time.

And that one day

we will wake up

feeling no pain

for the first time.

And that one day

we will see Jesus' face

for the first time.

So with our focus

our foundation

our focus

and our future

set in Jesus Christ

for the rest

of our spiritually

resurrected lives

until our bodily

resurrection

with him

let it all be said

of us

as it was said

of Puritan Richard Sibbes

in his obituary

of that good man

let this high praise

be given

heaven

was in him

before he was in heaven.

Of that good woman

let this be said

let this high praise

be given

of heaven

heaven was in her

before she was in heaven.

Come Lord Jesus

come in glory.

Pray with me.

This resurrection Sunday

again Lord Jesus

we give all the glory

to you

and see that you

have done the heavy

lifting

that you have saved

us from our sin

and you have conquered

death

so that there is

no victory to hell

no victory to death

and sin anymore

and so we want to

keep our eyes on you

empower us

by your Holy Spirit

to keep you

the center

of our attention

the focus

of our lives

and wait for that

glorious future

that we will share

with you Lord Jesus.

In Jesus name

we pray

amen.