Living on Earth; Longing for Heaven - Part B

Now let me just say, here's the mark of a spiritual person. A spiritual person is willing to put what he or she wants on pause if it means helping somebody else. What I really want is to be with Christ which is far better. Nevertheless, I'm willing to put what I want on pause if I can see other people helped, blessed. I can just say that Paul practiced what he preached.

Think about this. You won't be able to share the gospel when you get to heaven. So how you live today matters for eternity. Today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Skip shares how you can be a fruitful and effective believer here and now. But first, Skip wants to share about another great way you can hear these uplifting teachings. Now I just want to let you know how we can stay connected on my YouTube channel. Just search for Skip Heitzig, that's Skip, H-E-I-T-Z-I-G. You'll find in-depth Bible teachings and insightful interviews.

And don't forget to subscribe. Now we want to share about a special resource that will increase your knowledge of God's Word even more. You know those times you hear a sermon that really speaks to you? It's almost as if the pastor knows what you're personally going through and he teaches a message like you're the only one listening. Well, it's not that the pastor knows you personally. It's that God knows you personally. Here's Skip Heitzig. In nearly 40 years of expository teaching, I still love hearing that one of my messages spoke to someone personally that it urged them on to know God better or become more like him.

But that's not because of me. That's just the power of the Word of God doing the work of God in the hearts of the people of God. Now, we're in Philippians chapter 1 as we dive into the teaching with Skip Heitzig. Soldiers were out camping when they were fighting and when it was time for them to move from one campsite to another or to go back home, they would break the camp up and the word they used was anuluo. They'd break up the camp and they move on. And I like thinking about our lives that way. We're camping out here. This earth is a campground.

Not much more than that. We're just passing through. Our permanent abode will be in heaven and one day it'll be time for us to break up the camp, put away the tent, and move on. I love camping. I always have. But I love it for a little while.

And I think I speak from experience. I once spent three straight months camping out around the United States and Canada with a buddy. You know when I was done? I was done. I was done camping for a long time. Somebody a couple weeks later said, let's go camping.

Nah, I'm good. For a few years. Because when you go camping, it's cool, it's fun, you put up the tent, you light the campfire, but then eventually everything smells like campfire. All your clothes smell like fire. You start smelling pretty ripe yourself after a couple days.

So you start longing for something more permanent. And then the tent. The tent that you bring along, if you use it a lot, like I've had a tent for years, and you ought to see it, it still works, but you can tell it's old. The threads are kind of coming undone, the flaps are kind of not flapping right, and that's a good description of our body. This morning when I got up and got ready for church and looked in the mirror and I saw the tent and I saw the threads and the flaps, I go, yeah, it's not flapping quite right. I thought, that's a tent right there I'm looking at.

That's about done. It's been well used, but it's a tent. And Paul talks about our body this way in 2 Corinthians 5.

We know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down, that is when we die and leave these bodies, we have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God and not by human hands. Another author whom I have loved besides Stott is F.B. Meyer. F.B. Meyer was a contemporary with D.L. Moody, so a century ago, or about.

F.B. Meyer was close to death and he wrote a letter to a friend. Here's a portion. He said, I've just heard to my great surprise that I have but a few days to live. It may be that before this letter reaches you I shall have entered the palace. Don't you love that description? And then he says this, don't even bother to write, we shall meet in the morning. I love that because he says, you know, I'm living in this campground, the tent's about done, and I'm trading it in for a palace.

I'm going to move very shortly. The problem is, see if you agree with this, we live in this campground in these tents, but we are so preoccupied with our tents. How's my tent look? It's okay for a tent, but don't be surprised when the tent doesn't look the same next year and the year after and the year after. We get so preoccupied with our tent and the color of our threads and, you know, is the tent too big or too small?

And, I mean, we're so preoccupied with our bodies even to the point of death. I go to funerals and the caskets open and people go by and they look inside and this is what they say. Man, he looks good. He looks dead.

He looked better a month ago. This is good? We're just so preoccupied with how the tent looks. Paul says, there's going to be a departure. I'm going to pull up the rope and set sail.

I'm breaking down the tent and moving on. And then I said it's also used not only by sailors and soldiers but by farmers. And it was used by farmers when they had an animal that had a yoke on it. You know what a yoke is? It's a steering device, a controlling device. At the end of a work day when the yoke was lifted off the animal, the term they used was anuluo.

Anuluo. Job is done. Yoke is taken off. It is removed.

It has departed from off the animal. And don't you love that Jesus said this? Take my yoke upon you.

You know what that means. Let me rule you. Let me control you. Let me steer your life. I'll be in charge, not you. But then there comes a day when the yoke is removed and he says to us, well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.

And we get rewarded. So he's wrestling with the predicament. He's wanting to push off and depart. And it's a departure. But we're still drilling down in verse 23.

It's more than a departure. Death is an encounter. For he says, having a desire to depart and be what?

Go ahead, talk out loud in church. Be with Christ. Now this part is what makes death sweet for a Christian. It's not the departure that makes death sweet.

It's the arrival that makes it sweet. It's the encounter we have with Christ. There was once a man who spoke about heaven. He was a young preacher and he spoke about heaven in his younger days in terms of what was in heaven. You know, we talk all about the golden streets and the river of life and the tree that lined the river of life because he was taking his cues from the book of Revelation. He was talking about heaven based on what's there until the day his daughter died and moved to heaven. And years later his wife died and moved to heaven. Now the older preacher started talking about heaven not in terms of what's there but in terms of who's there.

And for the believer, who's there aren't just relatives and friends that you long to be reunited with and you will. But even above and beyond that is the joy of that intimate face to face encounter with Jesus himself. That's the highlight of heaven. Heaven's main attraction is not stuff. Heaven's main attraction is God. He'll be there. You'll be with him. Heaven will display God's glory undiminished full screen. The wow factor will be immense.

Wow! It's God. I'm looking at him and I didn't burn up because I have a glorified resurrected body. Now just in case you're wondering if that really is the highlight of heaven, just listen to how Jesus described heaven to his disciples. He said, and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also. It's the encounter that he was talking about. Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4 wrote, we will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Again Paul, 2 Corinthians 5-8, to be absent from the body, finish this one up, is to be present with the Lord.

It's all about the encounter with him. Isn't it funny how we talk about heaven? I've had people say, well is there golf in heaven? Like it's not going to be cool if there's not a golf course in heaven. Was there football in heaven? What about pets? Heaven won't be heaven unless I can have my doggies there. Really?

You really want them there? I don't want to clean up poops in heaven. That's not heaven to me. Don't you think that whatever great joy we can think of on earth, God can say I can top that? More than what you can think about, I can top that?

I think he can. So it will be a departure, it will be an encounter, and it will be much better. Look at what he says, again in verse 23, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, so that's departure and encounter, which is far better.

This is what he meant a couple of verses back, verse 21, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. People often ask me, Skip, how will we look in heaven? My answer is simple, better. Better. You'll look much better than you do now. Oh, I look pretty good now.

Oh, you look a whole lot better then. You'll feel better, you'll be better, which is far better. Now, here's something interesting, and this is why I'm glad we have time to go through Philippians like this and slow down and pick it apart, because we start understanding the mind of Paul. When he says which is far better, he actually stacks up words together. So the literal translation would be something like, which is much more better. I want to depart and be with Christ, which is much more very better, which is bad English, but good Greek and great theology. He's saying, as good as I can describe it, it's even better than that.

It's just awesome. Now, he would know, because Paul had an experience where he was close to death, and he said he was taken up and caught up to the third heaven. Remember that, 2 Corinthians 12?

I was caught up to the third heaven, and I saw and heard things inexpressible. Unlawful, he said, for a man to utter. I've always been mad at Paul for that.

Sort of held a grudge against Paul, because he saw heaven and experienced heaven for a moment. He's like, give us something. He goes, nah, it was just so good, I can't even say anything. And so he does, and he just goes on to the next subject. It's like, man.

But he would know. It's so astonishing that it cannot be told. There's no soul sleep in heaven. There's no intermediate state. There's no purgatory. There's no limbo. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. The moment you are absent from your body is that very moment that you're present with the Lord.

So think of what that meant to Paul. He would never again have to smell that prison cell again. He would never again feel the whip, the Roman whip on his back. He would never hear the sneers of his detractors, even Christian detractors, who talked in a way that would make his incarceration worse. He would never again be shackled to a guard. He would be with Christ, which is much more better.

When D.L. Moody died, I'm kind of covering now all my favorite preachers in one sermon, D.L. Moody had his family around him on his deathbed.

And I'm bringing it up because what Moody said sounds so much like what Paul writes. Moody said, I am not discouraged. I want to live as long as I'm useful. But when my work is done, I want to be up and off.

Most of us feel that way, right? I want to do what God wants me to do, but when I'm done, take me to heaven. Now, that's what he said on his deathbed. That night, he had a horrible sleep, very restless. Early the next morning, he said in very deliberate, slow cadence, these words. He said, earth recedes, heaven opens before me.

His son, Will, thought his dad was having a dream, so he pushed him to wake him up. And Moody said, no, this is no dream, Will. It is beautiful. If this is death, it is sweet.

There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go. So you can understand why Paul is saying, for me to depart means I'm going to be with Christ, which is far better. It's going to be a departure. It's going to be an encounter.

It's going to be far better. So he's wrestling. He is wanting to go.

But here's the third word, the third attitude. He is willing. He is willing, if it's in God's will, to stay if he can help other people. Verse 24. Actually, let's go back up to verse 22. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor. Now, verse 24. Nevertheless, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith. That your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Christ Jesus by my coming to you again. That's interesting.

I just got to bring this up. The theme of this book is joy. He writes about it through the book. Now, what he's saying is, it's not about my joy. It's about your joy. I am willing to remain if I can add to your joy, first of all, by bringing fruit, verse 22. This will mean fruit from my labor and progress in your Christian life.

And that is verse 25. With you all for the progress and joy of your faith. Now, let me just say, here's the mark of a spiritual person. A spiritual person is willing to put what he or she wants on pause if it means helping somebody else. What I really want is to be with Christ, which is far better.

Nevertheless, I'm willing to put what I want on pause if I can see other people helped, blessed. I can just say that Paul practiced what he preached. What he preached, I want you to see what he preached and then you'll see how he practiced it. Look at Philippians 2.

Just Skip ahead. We'll get there someday. Philippians 2, verse 3. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind. That means humility. Let each esteem or consider others better than himself.

Let each of you look out, not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. That's what Paul told them they ought to do. What Paul is saying in chapter 1 is, this is what I do.

This is how I live my life. I want to go to heaven, but being here may help you. Two ways he mentioned, fruitfulness and progress. Fruitfulness. If I live on in the flesh, verse 22, this will mean fruit from my labor. In other words, if I'm still kicking, I'll still be working.

As long as I'm breathing, I'm still going to be battling. I'm going to use every breath I can for his glory and your betterment. This is what he meant in verse 21 again, for me to live as Christ.

For me to live as Christ and to die as gain. What is fruit? That's a Christian term. You should be fruitful.

You go, huh? What does that mean? What does it mean as a Christian to be a fruitful Christian? Well, the New Testament speaks of fruit in a few different ways. Number one, winning people to Christ is called fruit.

Romans 1, 13. I often plan to come to you that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among other Gentiles. Winning people to Christ. Converts are fruit. And Paul said, you know, I want to go there to have converts where you live, just like everywhere I've gone so far, that's what I do.

I'm that guy. I'm the evangelist. I want to see people won to Christ. Number two, holy living is called fruit. Romans 6, 22. Having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God, you have fruit to holiness and, in the end, everlasting life.

The holier you become, the more fruitful you are. Number three, giving is called fruit. Financially supporting God's work. Romans chapter 15, Paul spoke of their contribution to the saints and he calls it this fruit, this fruit being their monetary contribution. Number four, good works is called fruit. Colossians 1, verse 10. Pleasing Him and being fruitful in every good work. And finally, praise is called fruit. Hebrews 13, 15. Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. So here's Paul saying, I hate prison, but I'm willing to stay here if it's going to help you, if I can do more for His glory. Fruitfulness.

Listen to this. Fruitfulness ends when you die. Get that truth. Fruitfulness will end when you die. You will not be fruitful in heaven. You can't be fruitful in heaven. You can't pass out a tract in heaven. You can't support God's work in heaven. You can't encourage a young believer in heaven.

You were in perfection. All of your fruitfulness is on earth. You get rewarded for your fruitfulness in heaven. Your fruitfulness ends the day you die. So Paul wanted fruit.

Number two, he wanted progress. That's the word that you will notice in verse 25. For the progress and the joy of your faith. See, what's on Paul's heart is their spiritual growth. Their spiritual growth. And so far, being in prison has not hurt Christian spiritual growth. It's furthered the gospel. So if Paul moves to heaven, all of his hassles are done.

But so is his effectiveness. He won't win any more guards to Christ. He won't stimulate boldness like he has so far that he mentioned a few verses back. He won't be able to inspire others with his pen as he writes letters.

He won't be able to build up other churches. And knowing that, he says, I am willing to postpone going to heaven if I can help others grow on earth. Now, let me kind of boil this down to a single statement, this whole message. You're on your way to heaven. Until you get there, do something. You're on your way to heaven. Yay!

Hallelujah! But it's not God's will for you to be in heaven today. How do I know that? Because I'm looking at you. You're breathing. You're not room temperature yet. Now, one day you will be and that'll be, it's appointed to every man once in a life.

That'll be your appointed time. But it's not God's will today that you're in heaven. So until you get to heaven, do something. Get involved in something. Help someone grow in their faith. Become a fruitful believer.

I love the old saying that one of the tribes of the American Indians, the Native Americans had, and that is this. When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. Now you're going to rejoice going to heaven, but you'll rejoice even more as you are rewarded by your Savior for the faithful, fruitful service on earth. When He says to you, well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord. Yes.

Yes. That wraps up Skip Heitzig's message from the series Technicolor Joy. Now we want to share about a special resource that will increase your knowledge of God's Word even more. Do you think taking classes in biblical studies can fit into your life? Here's Calvary College student, Cresta. After years of wanting training in ministry, I found Calvary College. Now I can deepen my walk with the Lord and I can go as little or as often as my schedule allows. The classes are great and the schedule definitely works around my work and family life. Learn more about God and the Bible on your schedule with Calvary College.

Apply today at calvaryabq.college. Thank you for tuning in today. Our heart for this broadcast is to encourage friends like you to remain steadfast in your faith through all that life brings your way. That's why these teachings are available on the air and online.

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That's connectwithskip.com slash donate. Thank you. Tune in tomorrow as Skip Heitzig shares several ways you can stand strong in your faith and be a bold witness for Jesus. Well, Paul understood this dilemma. Paul understood that if you become a Christian and you follow Christ boldly, that the Christian life is not a playground.

Man, it's a battleground. He got that. He understood that. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast all burdens on his word. Make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.