What is Heaven Really Like? | John Challinor

And ask how you're doing, but we just sang about

the King returning, and we just sang about all

hail King Jesus. And if that hasn't changed your

posture slightly, I don't know that there's a

lot that's going to help you. So I'm hoping that

you are in a posture of like recognizing we are

so dependent on Him. And what a gift, what a

gift to be able to let go of this life and embrace

what's there. All right, so good. Those of you

online, welcome. We're so glad you're with us

today. I'm so glad that we get to do this together.

Let's put it that way. Get to walk alongside.

Pauldin, Baghdad, welcome to you. I do come with

a warning today, okay? So if you are part of

the Heights family and you have been for a while,

all I got for you is buckle up. You've been here

before. But if you are new or you are fairly...

new to the Heights family, or maybe it's even

your first time here, or maybe across the screen.

Today is a lot, and I own that up front, but

we need to cover some ground. We're literally

gonna teach the whole Bible, okay? So we're gonna

cover a lot of ground, and it's intentional,

and the hope is this, that when we walk out of

here, we have some foundations to live from.

And what I know is this, that we're in a collection.

And part of this collection, this idea, if you

were here last week, it's called Just Camping.

That this life, this life is just a camping trip.

Anybody enjoy camping this week? Yeah? Okay,

one of you. Good, good. I'm excited. The rest

of you feel about camping like I do. It's not

fun. But no, seriously, the idea behind Just

Camping is this, that if we look at the... Physical

tent, what we can learn from the physical tent

is that the physical tent is suitable to the

ground it's found in. When we talk about our

life, Paul refers to this life, this body, as

a physical tent. So your physical body is going

to be laid down at some point. But while you

are here and while you have breath, this life,

this camping trip, your life is suitable to live

by faith. Why? Because you can't see yet. So

you're living by faith. You're suitable in this

life to live by faith. We talked about last week

the idea that tents don't have roots on them.

So how absurd is it for us who are just camping

to take this life and try and put roots into

the earth? It doesn't make sense to try and make

this the place we hold on to. Now, we also talked

about last week that... idea that this is temporary,

right? That we were made to move, that we are

vulnerable to the elements, that your tent is

going to wear out no matter how much you fight

it. No matter how many things you try and do,

the physical tent is going to wear out. Your

physical body is wearing out. Your best day was

the day you were born. It's been all downhill

since then, right? And so the reality to it is,

is that this life is just camping, which raises

questions. And it raises an experience that we

are all going to go through whether we like it

or not. Death has 100 % hit rate. You are heading

towards an experience. And it reminds me, my

wife and I got to take a cruise fairly recently.

And part of that cruise was, it was on a ship

we'd never been on with a company we'd never

been at and a port we'd never gone out of. And

so there was all these unknowns to the experience.

Have you ever had an experience like that where

you're like, I know I'm heading into this experience,

but I don't really know what it is. Well, so

what we did is we started to watch videos, right?

And they're walkthrough videos. So it's people

with a camera walking around the ship. I know

it sounds really exciting, right? Walking around,

but what they're doing is giving you all these

insider tips to the experience that's ahead.

So if you want to get through the process to

get on the boat, this is what we recommend. If

you want to get from the airport to the port,

this is what we recommend. When you get to your

room, I know it feels like there's not much space.

You can take these along and they will help you

have more space to store stuff. If you do this

when you get on the boat, it'll have a better

dining experience. Like all these little tips

that made the experience so much easier because

we knew what to expect. When you know, you can

plan. We were able to plan ahead of time. We

were able to, because we knew what was coming,

we were able to act accordingly in the present,

even though the event was in the future. That's

what knowing does. It changes the experience.

I have a question for you today, and this is

what we're going to wrap around. What happens

when you die? What happens when you die? Because

what you think about that and how you understand

it changes everything for what you do in the

present. We ended last week in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5. In verse 1 it says this, For we know,

speaking to the church. So when it says we, that's

speaking to the people that have said yes to

Jesus. The people that would consider themselves

followers of Jesus. For we know that if the earthly

tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building

from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built

by human hands. What he's getting at is this

life, this physical body is like a tent. And

just like a tent, it will be dismantled, meaning

it will be laid flat on the earth someday. And

he goes, when it is, you need to know that you

are getting an upgrade, right? Like you are upgrading

to a house. And so with that, a permanent dwelling

made in heaven. He carries on then and he says,

meanwhile, we groan, longing to be clothed instead

with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are

clothed, we will not be found naked. He's going,

we know that there's this heavenly dwelling coming.

We don't want to be exposed. For while we are

in this tent, we groan and are burdened because

we do not wish. to be unclothed, but to be clothed

instead with our heavenly dwelling. So he's going,

there's this piece of us that's just longing

to be done with this camping trip, and we're

longing for what's ahead, because it's that good.

So then he says, so that what is mortal may be

swallowed up by life. Isn't that beautiful? It's

like poetic. The image that I was given this

week that helped make sense of that is like when

you go into a dark room and you turn on the light,

the light swallows, it consumes the darkness.

And what's said here is of this mortality that

we live in, this mortality that we all are born

into, that life wants to consume it. It wants

to swallow it. It wants to absorb it. He then

carries on. Now, the one who has fashioned us

for this very purpose is God who has given us

the Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what? is

to come. So the Holy Spirit that's been given

to you, what he's saying here is that when you

said yes to Jesus and the Holy Spirit became

present inside of you and in your life, what

you need to know is that was also you receiving

the Holy Spirit is a deposit. It's a payment

guaranteeing your future. So those of you that

today know with confidence the Holy Spirit indwells

me, what you also should know then is that is

a deposit, and what that deposit is doing is

guaranteeing your inheritance to come, guarantees

your future. The Holy Spirit is a deposit, and

we'll talk about that in weeks to come. Therefore,

based on this is a tent, it's a camping trip,

we got this future home, based on we long to

be there, based on the... Mortality is going

to be swallowed up. He says, therefore, based

on the fact that you have a deposit that's guaranteeing,

therefore, we are always confident. That's in

the present. You are confident today in the present

and know that as long as we are at home in the

body, we are away from the Lord. For while we

live by faith, for we live by faith, not by sight.

Why? Because camping, this life that we're in

is suitable to faith. We live by faith, not by

sight. We are confident, I say, and we're preferred

to be away from the body and at home with the

Lord. Can I just make something really clear?

Because I think we got this all kinds of confused.

The victory, the reward of when we talk about

heaven is not all of the stuff that goes with

heaven. The reward is that you will be face to

face with God himself. The reward is him. And

I got to wonder, because if we're not very excited

about him in this life, why would we think that

we're going to be excited for heaven? No, just

me? Okay. Right? You ever wonder why if the reward

is him and the restoration, then in this life,

if I'm more excited about the concept of rewards

in heaven and a perfect environment and all of

that, and I miss Jesus, I've missed the whole

point of the future. Oh, I will. It's coming.

It's coming. And I didn't tell you this, but

part of the warning, I would advise you to take

notes. I would advise you, if you can take notes

today, take notes. If you can read the physical

transcript, read the physical transcript. If

that's on your phone in a Bible, that's how important

this is. It'll change everything. But what he

says here, and you might have heard this phrase,

absent with the body is present with, this is

the verse we get it from. And what he's getting

at is the idea that when your physical body When

your physical body is laid in the dirt, it's

a shell. And what happens is when your physical

body, and often we put a tombstone, right, or

something like that, and you have a grave. What

you have is it says, That you will be what? Away

from the body is present with the Lord. So there's

something, the essence of you, your soul, that

is present with God. The essence of who you are.

The spirit, if you like, your personhood. If

you have ever been with somebody who took their

last breath, what you notice is they went from

breathing in one millisecond to they stopped

and they are gone. And you can tell the person

who they were is gone and the shell is left.

What we're told by Paul is when this happens,

As a follower of Jesus, people that have put

their faith and trust in the person of Jesus,

what we know to be true when you put your faith

and trust in Jesus is that when death comes calling

for you, when you die simultaneously, seamlessly,

there is a transition from your body to the presence

of God. You are present with God Almighty. You

may go, well, what does that mean? What is that

like? What is this referred to? Is this heaven?

Well, Jesus, if you look in Luke chapter 23,

Luke 23:42

verse 42, Jesus said, then he said, or he's having

a conversation, sorry. Two thieves on the cross,

he's in the middle. The conversation is coming

to an end. And one of the thieves says this.

Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come

into your kingdom. Jesus answered him. Remember,

he's dying. He's in the process of dying. Truly,

I tell you, today you will be with me in what?

Paradise. That today is not yesterday, not tomorrow,

right now. Present tense. Today, you will be

with me in. Paradise. That's how it's referred

to. I don't know what you think of when you think

of paradise. I think of a beach with nobody on

it. With amazing waves, with sunsets, great food,

the people I love there. There's joy, there's

conversation, it's warm. You're soaking in the

energy from the sun. That's where my brain goes

when I think of paradise. Now here's what's interesting.

A lot of people, a lot of people, this is what

you think of when you think of heaven. Isn't

it interesting that even me just explaining this,

that wait, your personhood, your body's there,

you are... Your personhood, your spirit, your

soul is removed from the body. And you're like,

that's weird. I can't comprehend that. So am

I just floating around? Which is where we get

the imagery of floating on clouds. That's weird.

Right? Like my brain can't wrap around that.

Why? Because you were always intended to have

a body. Your body and your soul were connected

together in creation. I mean, some other things

about heaven, right? Like disembodied spirits

and we just float around. That's weird. I can't

comprehend that. Disney's done its best with

haunted houses to try and get us to believe and

understand. But that's not what this is. There's

a piece of this that sometimes heaven gets referred

to, especially the disembodied state, chubby

babies that are naked with bows and arrows. I

don't want nothing to do with chubby babies that

are naked with bows and arrows. I just don't

want anything to do with it. Other people, oh,

it's an eternal worship service. You're going

to sing for all of eternity. And you're like,

I get bored after an hour. And what's happened

is I think the enemy's done a really good job

of making you bored about heaven. But where we're

confused is we're confused in what is this right

here? Okay, this right here, there is some sense

that we understand it's bodily can exist in this

state. Here's what I mean. It's an intermediate

state, and in that, Jesus comes back from the

dead, and they all recognize Jesus. He's got

holes in his hands. He eats food, but he walks

through walls. He transcends physical parameters.

So we understand that there's a bodily state

to the resurrected Jesus in that form. And what

does he say? Don't hold on to me because I got

to go where? To the Father. You know, you have

the Mount of Transfiguration where Jesus shows

up and you have Moses and Elijah show up. And

they're recognizable. There's some form of physical

that you see and recognize in them. This intermediate

state often gets confused for a heaven. And it

does damage to the followers of Jesus. Because

what Paul is saying is the reality is that when

you are absent, when your body is laid flat,

you are absent and you are present with the Lord.

But to understand why this even matters and how

we got here, we have to go back to the beginning.

I told you we're going to learn the whole Bible.

You ready? Genesis. Genesis chapter one, verse

31. God saw all that he had made and it was very

good. So God's completed creation and he goes,

it's very good. And there was evening and there

was morning, the sixth day. Chapter two, verse

25 is speaking now of the first humans. Adam

and his wife were both naked and they felt no

shame. What it's getting at is in creation, what

has happened in creation is God has put the earth

and the heavens. He created the heavens and the

earth, as we know. And in that, specifically,

we are told that the first humans, which is Adam

and Eve, they walk with God in the cool of the

day. We're told that the first humans, there

is nothing between them and God. That God exists

with them and the daily interactions are together,

not apart. Perfect, wow, union. Why is this important?

Because this is what God always intended for

humanity and God. This is what God always intended

for us to experience with him, a perfect environment

and perfect union with God and with others around

us. And we know because we live where we live,

that Genesis chapter three, What you got is sin.

The first humans make a choice that goes directly

against God and everything breaks. Everything

shatters. The perfect union that was there is

no longer there. And they're told very clearly

that if you, if you eat of this fruit, meaning

if you go against God. The ramifications of that

are this thing that was never meant to be a part

of humanity will be a part of it, and it's called

death. And so what you have is from this point,

you have a whole bunch of people, and these are

tombstones, just in case you were wondering,

not windows. But you have a whole bunch of people

that died. This is our past in the story of God.

What we're also told is that as you follow the

story and the narrative of God, what you find

in this is the Jewish mindset when it came to

death, they hadn't developed it very far. And

so what is believed to be the purpose of death

here is it's just a holding place. And this is

where you get the thought of you sit. in a state

where you are just held. And what happens is

those that have done good things, they rise up

as righteous before God. Those that have done

bad things, they rise up, but they're condemned

by God. And so that was the philosophy that existed

all the way from the beginning until this person

named Jesus shows up in John chapter three. He

says this. Verse 16, for God so loved the world,

for God so loved the world. So he interjects

into this space. He goes, for God so loved the

world that he gave his one and only son, that

whoever believes in him, whoever believes in

the one that is sent, whoever believes in him

shall not perish, but have eternal life. So the

one. So in this story, in this narrative where

death has just been a holding place, Jesus shows

up and he goes, the one that believes inherits

eternal life. Here's what he's getting at. Sorry,

I got to switch pens. That in the person of Jesus,

there is a cross. And the story of Jesus is that

he came and he died. That he took the sin of

all of humanity and put it on himself. Why? Because

Romans tells us the wages of sin is death. So

what does Jesus do? He takes the payment of sin,

which is death. puts it on himself and he dies.

And then they place him into a tomb. So what

happens is in here, you have a tomb that he is

laid into. And what we are told is that when

he laid in the tomb, what he put to rest was

death. And the miracle of the resurrection is

this. that he conquered death, he left death

in the grave, and when he rose, he now is a doorway

to life. So what you get in the person of Jesus

is he says, if you believe in me, what do you

inherit? Eternal life. So what he's saying is

that when he died, What was laid in the tomb

is your sin, my sin, and the wages of that sin

is death. And what he then says is you now get

eternal life, which is why this really matters.

Because what connects here is this, that the

reason when your body lays flat on the ground

and you have no breath and your essence, your

spirit, your soul leaves your body and is now

what? Seamlessly present with the Lord. You know

why it's seamlessly? Because eternal life doesn't

start for you when you die. When you put your

trust in Jesus, you inherit what? Eternal life,

and it starts now. Meaning you don't have to

die and then wait to inherit eternal life. You

already have eternal life. And so when you die,

death is just a doorway to experience the life

that you were born for. Remember, what is over

here? God in perfect union with who? Everyone.

With humans, right? What do you get here? In

death, we are now united with what? With God.

He's putting it all back together. And your eternal,

don't miss it, church. Your eternal life is now,

which is why when you breathe your last, it is

not something to be feared. You're already living

it. Right here and right now, which means that

absent from the body is present with the Lord.

There's not a waiting space. If you turn over

a couple of pages to chapter 5, Jesus then says

this. Verse 25, very truly I tell you, a time

is coming and has now come. So these are the

words of Jesus, the theology of Jesus. Very truly,

I tell you, time is coming and has now come when

the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God

and those who hear it will live. Why is this

true? For the Father has life in himself, so

he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

So he goes, the Father has life. He's given it

to the Son. This is why this is true. The Son

has life. Then notice what 27 says, and he has

given him authority to judge because he is. the

son of man. We're gonna get into this next week,

the idea of judgment and why Jesus is the one

that gets to judge, right? And we'll get into

what that means and what that looks like. Because

of that, then he says this in 28, do not be amazed

at this for a time is coming when all who are

in their graves will hear his voice and come

out. those who have done what is good will rise

to live and those who have done what is evil

will rise to be condemned. So Jesus got done

in chapter three and he goes, hey, anyone who

believes in me, eternal life is happening. Then

he says this statement that when his voice is

heard, all of the graves of all of humanity,

the dead will come out of the graves. It's interesting,

the word cemetery, right? The word grave, the

root word of that, definition of that is dormitory.

What he's saying is the dorms are gonna be emptied.

All those people who are asleep right now and

we call it death, the dorms are gonna be emptied

and they all rise. Can you picture that for just

a second? That's wild. What is he saying? Well,

what he's getting at is there are bodies, and

those bodies are in what? Graves. Your tent,

your physical body, as we talked about last week,

will be laid flat to the earth someday. And then

it will be put in a grave. What this is saying

is that the voice of Jesus, this physical body

is going to rise. Which then, 1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4 builds on this. 1 Thessalonians 4,

13 says this. Brothers and sisters, so speaking

to the church family, brothers and sisters, we

do not want you to be uninformed about those

who sleep. Notice that word uses the word sleep

because if you're in a dormitory, you're what?

Asleep. Those who are asleep in death so that

you do not grieve like the rest of mankind. The

whole point of this church. Is that we should

not be people that are so caught up in grief

when we know the story. We shouldn't be people

that are lost when it comes to grief. We should

be people that have clarity. And it says specifically

that we do not grieve like the rest of mankind

who do not have hope. We have hope and his name

is Jesus. Why? Because Jesus has provided life.

For those that are dead. And so he says, church,

don't be uninformed. For we believe that Jesus

died. For we believe, remember what did Jesus

say? If you believe, you inherit what? Eternal

life. He says, we believe that Jesus died and

rose again. So we believe that God, we believe

that God will bring with Jesus those who have

fallen asleep in him. What is he adding to it?

We believe that Jesus is coming back. And it

says that those who have fallen asleep, the personhood,

the spirit, the soul of those that have fallen

asleep, whatever bodily form it took on in paradise,

they are coming back with Jesus. And when they

come back, listen to what happens. According

to the Lord's word, we tell you, we who are still

alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,

will certainly not precede those who have fallen

asleep. So those that are still alive, you're

not getting a jump on those that fell asleep.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven

with a loud command. What did Jesus say? At the

sound of my voice, the graveyard's empty. At

the sound of my voice, with the voice of the

archangel and with the trumpet call of God and

the dead in Christ will rise first. After that,

we who are still alive and are left will be caught

up together with them in the clouds to meet the

Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord

forever. What does it say? That we, we are heading.

For a reunion. We're heading for a reunion with

those that have gone before. And we are going

to be joined. Those coming back, those coming

from here. And we're going to be joined and we're

going to be with the Lord forever. That's the

promise. United back together. Now, where this

gets interesting. Is your tent is going to be

raised. That's crazy. Does the Bible know? Like

after you've been dead a really long time, it

just turns to dust. God's going to get all those

dust particles of that individual. The battles

in the church over whether you should cremate

somebody or not over all the years. How's God

going to find all those pieces? I let them out

over the ocean and the wind took them. Those

that have died in wars. Those that died at sea.

This can't be right. Remember, he spoke the world

into existence with nothing. I think he can find

your parts just fine. Why does he care? Why does

God care? Why does he care about the physical

world? He's your creator and he made you the

way he likes you. And I believe, I believe that

just like a father who if something is taken

from your kid that meant something to them, that

meant something to you, you go and you get it

back for them. When he died, there's a word that's

used. It's called redeemed. He bought back. What

did he buy back? All of you. And so when you

are raised into this reunion, Something else

happens that is found in Philippians chapter

three, verse 20. But speaking to the church,

our citizenship, those of you that love your

American citizenship, listen up. Our citizenship

is where? In heaven. Believers, don't mistake

where your roots should be. We're in a tent.

Tents have no roots. Our citizenship is in heaven.

And what are we doing here? We are eagerly await

a savior from there. Why? Because he's coming

back. It's not just a song. He's coming back.

The Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that

enables him to bring everything under his control,

will transform our lowly bodies so that they

will be like his glorious body. Remember when

Jesus was raised, he looked like Jesus, but some

thought he was a ghost, right? Because he's got

this body that he's in bodily form, but it's

not who he was. Remember, when John in Revelation

gets to heaven and he sees the resurrected Jesus,

He barely recognizes him because he's so glorious.

What is this telling us? Is that you, your tent,

and your soul are going to be reunited into one

glorious chubby body. You have a glorious body

coming. One that unites your soul and unites

the tent. And I'll be honest with you, nobody

knows what it's like. We can only guess from

what we see in the person of Jesus and we see

in others around him. And we read in some of

the pages about what happens. But don't miss

that God is going to put it all back together

because that's what this was all about. And what

you find then, if you follow the story, you get

to something called the great white throne. And

there's a book and the book is open. And the

book is called Life. We're gonna talk about this

next week. But can I encourage you? Your name

is either in the book of life or it is not in

the book of life. And your eternity really, really

matters on that book of life. If you're here

or you're across the screen and you have someone

in your life that you go, I don't know if their

name is in that book of life, you need to get

them here or on a screen next week. It's that

important. There's something else that we're

told is still to come. And it is called the judgment

seat of Christ. We'll talk about that next week.

Why does this life matter and what's connected

to Jesus being a judge? One last thought. Revelation

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

chapter 21. Starts this way. Then I saw, then

I saw. So after those things have happened, then

I saw. What'd you see, John? A new heaven and

a new earth. Can anybody picture a new heaven

and a new earth? Of course you can. Why? Because

you were always created to what? Live on the

earth. All of a sudden we go, wait a minute,

that makes sense. I understand what that's like.

He says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth for

the first heaven and the first earth had passed

away and there was no longer any sea. What does

he see as a vision of what we call heaven when

we say heaven and we mean forever? What does

John see as your forever home? He sees a God

who goes and creates. A new heaven and a new

earth. And then he goes, and I saw a city coming

down out of heaven. And the city is known to

be the dwelling place of God. Why does this matter?

Because you and your chubby state, I don't think

you have to work out in that bod just so you

know. But you and your glorified state, what

happens? God creates a new heavens and a new

earth that for all of eternity, it says, that

God will dwell. And so now you have what? God

plus us. And that's called home. And it's forever.

It's forever. And so here's what's beautiful

with this, right? It's forever. And so when I

start to think of heaven and I start to think

of it in the concept of earth, think about it

for a second. The fruit of the spirit is love,

joy. So that tells me what's going to be abundant

in heaven is love and joy. There is not going

to be evil and sin and death. What I know about

heaven is there's going to be peace, everything

as it should be, wholeness together. Right? We

walk in, there's no pain, there's no suffering,

there's no guilt. There's no longing for somewhere

else. You're home. Which means in this life,

you are just camping. If this is true, this whole

story, then you today are just camping. Because

you have a future waiting for you. There's something

else I want you to see. And why this all matters

so much. Because the story you live inside of.

has a past. And that past that you were born

into is marred by death. The past that you were

born into, death is the outcome. And death is

a holding place where you are waiting to be judged.

But we know, we know that our Past story also

has a present. And in the present, the present

is where we live, you guys. The present is where

God showed up in person. The present is where

the tomb is empty. The present is where the tomb

is now a doorway to life. The present that you

live in today is why you are camping, because

this is not forever. But what we know, what we

know is that we do have. A forever. We have a

future that was purchased by God. That your future,

that doorway to life, that your future is home

with God in perfect unity as he always planned

for it to be. Because why? Jesus showed up and

put it back together, which means that this life

is just camping. Because you have a future waiting

for you. So don't you put down roots to this

life. Because it's passing away. You're trying

to hold on to something that cannot be grasped.

Don't you waste the temporary trying to make

permanent. Because the temporary is leading you

to the future. To the permanent. Where you and

your loved ones and all of the people that have

said yes to Jesus will dwell in a perfect eternity

for all of eternity. Why does just camping matter?

Well, we're going to talk about that in weeks

to come. We're going to talk about that in weeks

to come. Because it's too important to miss what

this life is actually about. But if you don't

know, you can't plan for the experience. And

so what are you going to do today that's different?

Because you know the future is ahead. Would you

pray with me, God? We just pause and thank you.

We thank you for being a God who did not stay

far away when you could have. We thank you for

being a God that chose to get into the dirt of

this earth, that chose to take the weight of

sin, to take the punishment of sin, which is

death. You chose to carry that for us. You are

our only hope, Jesus. You are our living hope

today. God, I pray over those in the room and

across screens and in different locations that

do not know you today. God, it is too important

to not stop and ask, do I trust Jesus? Because

eternal life weighs on it. So God, I pray over

those under the sound of a microphone today.

Whenever and wherever this happens to be heard,

God, I pray that your spirit would go to work

on those that go, I don't know if I know Jesus

today. God, would you lead them today to surrender,

to step out by faith because this life is suitable

to simply pray, Jesus, I trust you. I give you

my life. God, I pray over our church family.

I pray over everyone that has said yes to you

and is following you. God, I pray for them as

they are just camping. Would you remind them

that this is not home, this is not forever, that

there is an amazing future in front of us where

we are united with you without all of the things

that we hate of this life. And so God, would

you inspire us and get us excited? Would we not

miss that Jesus, you are our living hope. Would

we take our voices and would we raise our voices

to you today in a celebration and a thank you

and a response of gratitude for being our living

hope for this life and the one to come. And everybody

said, amen.