In Focus - Week 3, Pastor John Mozingo

Welcome to Family Church's Sermon of the Week.

We're so glad you're here.

Each week we share a message from God's Word to encourage your heart, strengthen your faith, and help you grow in your walk with Jesus.

We hope this time blesses you and draws you closer to the heart of God.

Alright, so we have been talking about uh or looking at the book of Colossians for the last few weeks, and we're gonna we're gonna continue that today.

And and uh um uh a couple weeks ago I I read this verse and I want to zero in on it again, and one specific part of it.

It's Colossians chapter one, verses four and five.

If you've got your Bibles, you can turn there.

If not, it's gonna be on the screen behind me.

But it says this, for we have heard, this is Paul talking about the Colossian church.

He said, We have heard of your faith in Christ and your love for all of God's people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven.

You have had this expectation ever since you you first heard the truth of the good news.

So, so the the people in the church, uh the Colossian church, they were mature believers.

They were mature believers.

The Bible says they loved Jesus and they loved people, and they did that because they had an earthly perspective of what was to come.

Okay?

They had a perspective of what was to come.

They they had that confident hope in heaven, and that's why they love God and they love people so much.

And so we're gonna talk about heaven today, and uh we're gonna talk about what the Bible says about heaven, and then also what it means to live as if heaven were here on earth today, because we're we're told, we'll see that later, uh, we're told to do that.

But but you know, as I was studying this week and and thinking about heaven, you know, I started, I kind of I kind of start obsessing over the topics that that I speak on on Sundays, and it's kind of all I think about it.

And this week, I was studying a lot about heaven, and I even had a dream about heaven this week.

And in this dream, I died and I went to heaven, and then and then Tyler, who is our worship leader, was on the drums today, and then Tim, our student leader, who was on stage a few minutes ago, they died and they were there with me.

And so we went to heaven, and uh, and so we're standing there waiting outside the pearly gates, and all of a sudden Peter opens the door and he goes, he goes, guys, welcome to heaven.

I'm so glad you're here.

You gave your hearts to Jesus, you served him your whole life.

So come on in and just enjoy the glory of heaven.

But I have to warn you about one thing.

Don't step on a duck.

And I'm like, don't step on a duck?

What are you talking about?

I didn't read that in the Bible.

What do you mean, duck?

He said, Yeah, we don't tell anybody this till you get here, but there are ducks everywhere in heaven.

All over heaven, there are ducks.

And if you step on a duck, that duck starts quacking, then they all start quacking, and then it's just this horrendous noise all throughout heaven, and nobody wants to hear that noise, so don't step on a duck.

So we're like, okay, we won't step on a duck.

So he says, Come on in, guys.

You've you you you uh you you you know Jesus, you met him, you you gave your life to him, so come on in and just enjoy heaven.

So I was so excited, I just took off running.

I ran into heaven, I was so excited to be there, and I wasn't paying attention, and I stepped on a duck.

And that duck started quacking, and all the ducks started quacking, it was just this awful noise all throughout heaven, and I'm standing there going, what do I do?

What do I do?

And all of a sudden I felt this click, and I look, and there's a handcuff on my wrist.

And on the other end of that handcuff was this big old smelly, stinky baboon.

And I'm like, what's this all about?

And St.

Peter said, Well, I told you, don't step on a duck.

There's ducks all over heaven.

If you step on one, it starts making noise, and they all start making noise, and then, and so because you because you did that for all eternity, you have to be handcuffed to that baboon.

So Tyler thought that was so funny that he just started laughing and he lost his balance and he stepped on a duck and it started quacking, and they all started quacking, and then all at once, click, and he looked, and there's a handcuff on his wrist, and at the other end of that handcuff was a big old, stinky, smelly baboon.

So for all eternity, Tyler was handcuffed to this baboon.

So Tim was determined not to step on a duck.

So he was very careful.

Every step he took, he was watching where he was going.

He wasn't about to step on a duck.

And so one day he's just standing there.

This is decades later.

He had gone all that time, no duck, and he's just standing there basking in the glory of heaven, and then all at once he just felt click, and he looked, and there was a handcuff on his wrist.

And he's like, What is that all about?

And he looked on the other side of his handcuff was his wife McCall.

And he goes, Oh, I get to spend all of eternity handcuffed to my beautiful wife, McCall.

What did I do to deserve this?

And she said, Well, I don't know about you, but I just stepped on a duck.

So I don't know if there's ducks in heaven.

I don't know if there's ducks in heaven, but let's talk about what we do know is in heaven.

And let's look at Revelation chapter 21.

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

It tells us about heaven, so let's read that.

It says, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.

For the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared, and the sea was also gone, and I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, Look, God's home is now among his people.

He will live with them and they will be his people.

God himself will be with them.

So the first thing we know about heaven is that we will be in God's presence.

We will absolutely, without question, be in God's presence.

And the cool thing about that is that that has always been God's desire.

He has always wanted us to be in his presence.

You think about it.

When he created Adam and put him in the garden, and then he created Eve, the Bible said that God would walk with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day.

And he said, Adam, where are you?

He was there physically with them.

He wanted them in his presence.

But because of sin, man could no longer stand in the presence of God.

So years later, God told Moses, I want you to build a tabernacle so that I can dwell among my people.

I have a dwelling place to be among my people.

So Moses built a tabernacle according to uh uh God's uh uh description, and and God would God took up residence, he was in the dwelling place in the Holy of Holies, the innermost part of the tabernacle, and and that was God's dwelling place for years.

And later it was in the temple.

That was God's dwelling place because God desired to be with his people, he wanted his people in uh his presence.

And later, God came to earth in the form of a man and he walked among us, and he gave his life on the cross so that we can have eternity in heaven.

And when he left, he said, I'm gonna leave, I'm gonna leave the comforter, I'm gonna leave the advocate, I'm gonna leave the Holy Spirit, and he's going to take up residence in you because I want to be with you.

I want you in my presence, so I'm gonna take up residence within you in the form of the Holy Spirit.

And one day, all of us that know Christ as our Savior, we're gonna stand before him in heaven, and we're gonna be his bride, we're gonna be the bride of Jesus, and we are going to be in the presence of God.

The Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

One day we will dwell with him.

And that's always been what he wanted.

That's always been his desire that that we could we could be in his presence.

And it also says that we will, it says this in verse 4.

It says, uh, he will he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.

All these things are gone forever.

So so we're gonna live forever without pain and sorrow.

We're gonna live forever without pain and sorrow.

So all the pain and hurt of this of this earth is gonna be gone.

You know, kids, kids, no more boo-boos, no more hurt feelings.

All that's gone.

And that's gone because sin is gone.

Those are, we have those things because there is sin in this earth.

The whole earth, all of creation is cursed.

But one day that curse will be lifted and there be no more sin.

Look what it says in in uh verse 20, uh, Revelation 22, the first part of verse 3.

It says, No longer will there be a curse upon anything.

No longer will be there a curse on anything.

Sin, sin will be gone.

The Bible also tells us what heaven looks like.

Uh in Revelation 22, 5, it says, And there will be no more night there, no more night, no need for lamps or sun, for the Lord God will shine on them.

The glory of the Lord will light up heaven.

So there's not gonna be any need for the sun or moon.

You're not gonna need a lamp, you're not gonna need a flashlight.

Kids, any of you afraid of the dark?

Any kids afraid of the dark in here?

No more dark.

You don't have to worry about that.

Okay, if you're afraid of the dark now, you're not gonna have to worry about it in heaven.

Parents, no more stepping on Legos in the middle of the night because there's always gonna be light.

You're always gonna be able to see uh what you're doing.

So there's gonna be no darkness in heaven.

No darkness.

Then it's and it also tells us how beautiful heaven's gonna be, more beautiful than we can imagine, you know?

And and you've heard what you've heard some of what the scripture says.

And I'm not gonna read all the scripture, I'm just gonna tell you what it says.

It says we're gonna walk on streets of gold.

It says, in in the new Jerusalem, in the new holy city, there's gonna be twelve gates, and they're gonna be made of pearl.

That's where the term pearly gates comes from.

The walls are gonna be made out of precious stones.

Uh we will we will have dwelling places in heaven.

We're gonna have our own place to live.

Jesus said, I go there now to prepare a place for you.

So we'll have a place to live in heaven.

Um uh there's gonna be no churches in heaven.

No church in heaven.

Okay, so Sunday morning, you get to sleep in.

All right?

Set up crew.

We'd love that you're here at 7:30 on Sunday morning.

You won't have to do that in heaven because the Bible says that God and Jesus will be our temple.

And we and and we'll worship them.

Um and the Bible also tells us what we're gonna be doing in heaven.

All right?

It says uh and that's a great question.

What are we doing in heaven?

Because everybody, you know, we have that picture of heaven that we're gonna be sitting on a cloud and playing a harp, and you know what for all eternity.

I mean, I would get bored out of my mind, and gosh, how much harp music is there, really, you know, to play a harp for all eternity.

Well, it's not gonna be anything like that.

The Bible says this.

It says first, uh, it says, no longer will there be a curse on anything, for the throne of God, for for the throne of God and the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him.

So first and foremost, we will be worshiping God in heaven.

We'll be worshiping him.

But that's not the only thing we will do.

2 Timothy tells us that we're going to reign with him.

We're gonna reign with him in heaven.

Okay?

And and uh uh Hebrews 12 tells us that we're gonna recognize people, we're gonna know people from earth.

We're gonna we're gonna be we're gonna be in fellowship with other people.

Luke 19, Jesus tells a parable about what heaven is gonna be like, and in that parable, he implies that all of us are gonna have certain responsibilities.

We're gonna have responsibilities in heaven.

Uh, we're gonna share meals together, we're gonna be rewarded in heaven for what we do on earth.

So, so really, you know, a lot of what we do here on earth, we're gonna do some of the same things in heaven.

We're gonna have responsibility, we're gonna fellowship with people, we're gonna eat together.

We're gonna a lot of the same things that we do here on earth, we're gonna do in heaven, but we're gonna do it in the presence of God and the absence of sin.

And that's what makes it all different.

So, so heaven is gonna be a whole lot more than floating around on clouds and playing harps.

Heaven is gonna be a real place filled with real people and and and serving and worshiping a real Savior.

That's what that's what we're gonna do in heaven.

But here's what I want to talk to you about this morning.

Okay, look, look, let's go back to Colossians chapter 3, verse 1.

Colossians 3:1

Let's let's uh read that.

It says, Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven.

Where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand.

Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.

Paul is saying, look, Christ died for you.

He is he has given you eternal life.

And eternal life doesn't start the moment you die, eternal life starts the moment you accepted Jesus as your savior.

That's when eternal life begins for you.

You were created to be an eternal uh being, and and when you're saved, that eternity is in heaven.

And when you accept Christ as your Savior, your your eternal life in the kingdom started then.

And so Paul is saying, I want you to think more about that than you do earth.

I want you to be more focused on the fact that you have an eternal home in heaven than you are focused on the fact that you live on this earth.

You should think less about life on earth and think more about life in heaven.

So, so how do you how do you how do you how do I set my sights on the realities of heaven?

That's a great question.

How do I do that?

What does it look like for me to say, okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna stay more focused on my life in heaven than I am my life on this earth?

So if if if you want to be someone on this earth who was raised a new life and focused on heaven, it starts with two choices.

It begins with two choices.

If you want, here's two choices for a heaven-focused life.

First, choose to let go of earthly desires.

Choose to let go of earthly desires.

Colossians 3, 5 says, put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you.

Put to death what is earthly in you.

We get sucked into what the world thinks about, you know?

And and Paul, Paul was writing this in a time where one of people's favorite pastimes would be to go into the to the uh town center, wherever that was, and they would sit and they would talk about the common philosophies of the day.

That was that was their favorite pastime, you know?

And and so if you ever took a college class, you know, the guys you talked about in the in your college class, you know, Aristotle, Plato, the Stoics, all those, okay, that's the same guys they were talking about.

But they were doing it because they that was the that was kind of a common pastime.

So they would go and they would talk about these things, and and and and they were being influenced.

The church was being influenced by those philosophies, worldly secular philosophies.

And Paul was saying, let go of those and set your sights on the reality of heaven.

Don't get focused on earthly things, get focused on heavenly things.

We get sucked into the same thing today.

We get sucked into the public square, you know, and and we call that we call that social media.

You know, that's what we get sucked into the most.

And it's easy to get sucked into the philosophies that are on social media.

And there's a lot of great stuff on social media.

You know, there's a lot of great pastors that I follow on social media, and I love hearing just clips of their sermons and stuff and what they have to say.

There's a lot of ministries that I follow.

There's great stuff on there, but but in general, what is on social media is a worldly philosophy that is easy to get sucked into.

So I thought, you know what, I'm gonna look up the 10 most popular influencers this year on social media.

And and I thought I was gonna get, you know, 10 different people and 10 different complete lifestyle philosophies and everything.

What I got, I was surprised by what I got, but then the more I think about it, it's like, well, I'm kind of not surprised.

Everybody on that list, that top 10 list, it was it was famous athletes, world famous athletes, movie stars, and musicians.

And you could probably guess who they were.

It's you know, the common people of the day.

Although Ella Langley was not on there, apparently she's the hot thing now.

So, but she wasn't on there.

But Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, uh uh the soccer players from World Cup.

I mean, just people like that.

Dwayne the Rock Johnson is one of the top ten uh influencers in the world.

That would surprise me.

But I started looking at what you know, just their last few tweets.

What what what's on there?

They were all the same.

They were all the same.

Self-promotion and promoting a product.

All the same.

I was I was shocked.

You know?

And then the more I thought about it, I was like, you know, self-promotion, self-a-product promotion.

It's like, look at me and buy my stuff.

And it all boils down to being famous and rich.

Fame and fortune.

That's that's what it's been, you know, for eternity.

That that has been what sucks people in, is fame and fortune.

I want to be known for something, I want to be, I want to be recognized for something, I want to be wealthy.

But Jesus said, don't set your sights on the things of earth, set your sights on heaven.

Lay up treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not corrupt.

Because the things of this earth are temporary, the things of heaven are permanent, they're eternal.

So lay up those treasures in heaven.

Instead of focusing on the fame and fortune of this earth, look look at look at the reality of heaven and that you're gonna be rewarded in heaven for what you do here on earth.

And you're gonna be known as the bride of Christ in heaven.

You know?

What what other fame and fortune do you need?

So it says, uh put to death everything earthly that's in you.

Then it goes on and it says it says this in verse uh uh Colossians 3.9, it says, For you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.

Okay, you've stripped off your all your all your uh old wicked nature.

You know, when you when you were accepted Christ as your Savior, all that was gone.

You've stripped it off.

Then it says, now put on your new nature.

Verse 10, now put on your new nature and be renewed as you learn to know your creator and become like him.

If you want to have a heaven-focused life, you need you need to you need to choose to be like Jesus.

You need to put on that new nature, you know, and and so kids, kids, how many of you picked out your clothes this morning?

Okay, a couple of you did.

How many of your your mom or dad picked out your clothes?

And that's fine because your moms and dads honestly would probably love it if somebody else picked out their clothes because boy, what how stressful is that sometimes.

Okay, so so you know, but when your mom and dad went in and chose your clothing, they didn't just walk over to the closet and go, oh, we'll do this and this and this.

You know, they were very deliberate at picking out their outfit.

You you know, and all the adults in here, you didn't you didn't just pull out whatever, you were very deliberate at picking out an outfit to make sure that it matches, make sure that it matched the family for your family photos today.

You were very deliberate about it.

And and what the when when the Bible says to put on something, it's it says put it on like clothing, that implies that you're doing it deliberately.

You've made a choice to put something on.

It says, put on your new nature, be like Jesus, but do it intentionally.

You have to choose to do that, you have to choose to do it.

And in Colossians 2, Paul said that Jesus is your creator.

Then he then in chapter 3 says, be like your creator.

Okay?

You're gonna put on your new nature.

You're going to choose to be like Jesus.

And also when you get dressed, you know, you're you're intentional about it, but you're also recognizable.

You know, some people wear certain things so that you know who they are.

For instance, like like this morning you came in and you saw some people wearing shirts like this.

Actually, a few, not too many this morning because we're all dressed up for photos, but you see somebody with a shirt like this, you know, you recognize them as someone that is here to welcome you.

Someone that's here to make you feel like part of the family, that's to help you find where you're supposed to go.

You know, and and they they they're great at smiling and opening doors and telling you telling you where things are, you know, and you know that because they chose to put this on.

They're recognizable because of what they're wearing.

When when uh you see somebody dressed like this, you know, you know they are recognizable as somebody who's in the military.

You know that that's who they are because of the way they're dressed.

When you see somebody dressed like this, you know that they're not going to the playoffs.

Okay?

You know they're not going to the playoffs.

Okay, they are recognizable by what they put on.

You know who they are because of what they they have chosen to wear.

And so when the Bible tells you to put on your new nature, that means that God wants you to be recognized as somebody who is saved, somebody who's who has eternal life, somebody whose life has been changed and transformed, and that people look at you and say, there is something different about that person.

You know?

And all you have, when they if they ask you, man, why are why are you like that?

Why are you always in a good mood?

Why do you have that perspective on life?

You can just say, it's because of Jesus.

You know?

But you have to be intentional, you have to choose to be like Jesus, and you have to you have to be willing to be recognized as somebody like that.

And a lot of times, kids, you're gonna want to be recognized as hanging out with friends, and you know, be re whatever they're doing, you're gonna do, you know.

That that's the opposite of what Jesus is saying.

Here's what, look at this verse.

Uh in Colossians 3, 12 through 14, it says, Since God chose you to be the holy people, he loves, you must clothe yourselves with here's here's what you need, what people need to know you as.

Okay?

Tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.

Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Above all, clothe yourself with love.

More importantly than anything else, clothe yourself with love, which binds us together in perfect harmony.

When people look at you, adults and kids, when people look at you, they should see someone who is a loving person.

They should see someone kind and tender hearted and patient, someone who is quick to forgive because Jesus was quick to forgive us.

And that's because we have.

Chosen to do that.

We've chosen to put on that new nature.

We have chosen to be like Jesus, and we're going to be recognized for that change in our life.

And then there's one more question that I want to answer this morning about heaven.

Here's the question: How do I get there?

How do I go to heaven?

You know, and I think most of us in here know that.

But there might be somebody that doesn't.

You know, the but Revelation, back in the book of Revelation 21, 27, says, nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

The Bible says that the moment you accept Christ as your Savior, your name is written in a book in heaven.

And it's written in ink that can't be erased.

It's written in the blood of Jesus, it can't be erased.

The moment you're saved, your name is written in that book.

And it says, only those whose name is written in that book will enter into the kingdom of God, will stand in the presence of God and stay there for eternity.

Only those who've been saved.

And it's written in Jesus' blood because Jesus paid that price for sin.

It said, you know, nothing evil will be allowed to enter, or anyone who practices shameful idolatry or dishonesty.

Well it says, well, that could be anybody, and even somebody that's saved.

Well, you know, because because you were saved, all of that sin is covered by the blood.

You're still gonna be saved, you're still gonna be saved, you're still gonna sin, but it's covered by the blood, and because Jesus died on the cross and his blood was shed for you, you can have eternal life in heaven.

But that is the only way.

So Jesus, you know, the scripture says that that uh you know, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.

And so Jesus' blood had to be shed.

In the Old Testament, they would shed the blood of the lambs.

In the New Testament, Jesus' blood was shed so that so that we can have eternal life.

And so there's nothing that you need to do, there's nothing you could do to inherit eternal life or to deserve it or earn it.

Nothing.

Jesus did it all.

When he hung on the cross and he was crucified, buried, and he rose again from the on the third day, that's what happened to make it possible for you to have eternal life.

And his blood was shed so that you can have forgiveness of your sin.

So if you're here this morning, you've never accepted Jesus.

Kids, if you've never accepted Jesus as your Savior, the Bible says, behold, today is the day of salvation.

Maybe you're here today, maybe it's your first time here, and you're hearing this because you're supposed to hear this today.

If you accept Christ, you'll spend eternity with him.

And that's the only way.

There is no other way.

So let me have every head bowed and every eye closed.

If you're here this morning, you've never accepted Jesus as your Savior.

It's just as simple as telling God that you believe what I just said.

You believe what the Bible says.

You believe that because Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose again, that you can have eternal life.

And confessing your sin and claiming the blood of Jesus as the payment for your sin.

You know, and you can you can talk to God about that any way you like, but if if you need help putting that into words, kids, if you need help putting that into words, and it's not about just repeating a prayer.

Kids, you can you can repeat a prayer anytime and it mean nothing.

This is about really meaning it.

And saying, Dear God, thank you for sending Jesus.

Thank you that he was crucified, buried, and rose again on the third day, so that I can have eternal life.

And today I choose to accept him as my Savior.

I confess my sin to you, and I ask forgiveness of my sin because Jesus shed his blood to forgive me of my sin.

And today I choose to follow him.

Still with heads bowed and eyes closed.

If you're here today and you just prayed that, I want you to lift your hand, let me know that you prayed it.

And parents, you might want to look and see your kids uh that may be raising their hands.

If they do, you know, you may need to have a conversation with them.

And if you if you struggle having that conversation, I'll help you have the conversation.

Let me know.

But but uh uh, you know, you're the this message is so simple that even the youngest of kids can can can uh understand it and accept Christ as their Savior.

And so, so if you pray today to receive Jesus, that means that you have just crossed from death to life.

You have eternal life in Christ.

You will spend eternity in heaven.

And nothing can change that.

If you're here today and you just have a heavy heart, you know, something's going on in your life, whether it's family or finances or jobs or or whatever it is or or spiritual things, and you just have a heavy heart, well, I'm gonna pray for you today.

Just lift your hand and let me know that you need prayer.

All right, hands going up everywhere.

God, thank you so much for your love for us.

Lord, thank you for those today that accepted Christ as their savior.

Lord, Lord, thank you, Lord, if these kids that raised their hand, Lord, if they accepted Jesus as their savior, Jesus said, Let the little children come to me.

He made it a He made it so simple that children can understand it.

Thank you for the kids in here that have chosen to follow Jesus.

And Lord, anyone that accepted Christ today, I pray that they would know and understand how much you love them.

They would understand the decision that they made.

And God, that you would surround them with family and friends that love them, that will encourage them as followers of Jesus.

Lord, I pray for anyone in here who's carrying a burden, I pray that today they would be able to lay that burden down at the cross and find relief in you.

Lord, your word says, cast all your cares on Jesus because he cares about you.

So, Lord, as we do that, I pray that we would feel the Holy Spirit's arms around us.

We would know the love and care of Jesus as we lay those burdens down.

God, thank you for Family Church.

Thank you for these amazing people that are here today.

Lord, as we spend time this morning uh fellowshipping and making crafts and getting pictures taken, Lord, I just pray that you would bless our time together.

Pray that relationships, eternal relationships, would develop today.

And Lord, we ask all of this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

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