Lord of Heaven (part 1) Preview

Let’s suppose for a moment that somehow, someway, you were tasked with planning a single trip for EVERYONE you KNOW.  I don’t just mean your closest circle or family. I mean for EVERY.ONE.YOU.KNOW.  I know this is fantasy, but humor me for a minute.

Now, a couple of parameters:

1. Money is no issue, so truly pick any place.
2. The only catch is that your goal is to pick the place that everyone (or nearly everyone) would like.

Where would you go?

Some places you might be considering:

*  The mountains (but some people like the beach)

*  The beach (but some people like the mountains)

*  Europe (but some people don’t like to travel far)

*  Branson (but some people want to go farther than that)

*  New York (but so many people)

*  That island where Tom Hanks got stranded in “Castaway” (not enough people there)

Any other ideas?

The reality is that almost any place you pick … even some pretty amazing places … will not be the preference of a decent number of people.  So, is there any place where we really ALL want to go?

I actually think there is an answer to this riddle.  

Heaven.  We all want to go to heaven.

Now I know that for some of you, you are scoffing at the notion.  “I thought we were only talking about REAL places, Pastor?  Not made up places!”  But, if heaven were a real place, I think all would want to go there.  We would want to AT LEAST visit … but honestly, after visiting, we all would want to live there!  And here is the great news.  Not only is Heaven a real place, but we are going to visit there the next 3 Sundays at Wildwood.  Now, we are not going to actually physically GO to heaven, but we are going to take a tour of Heaven with the Apostle John as our guide.  

After spending the first 3 chapters of the “Revelation of Jesus Christ” reminding us all that Jesus is the “Lord of the Church,” John now reminds us that Jesus is also the “Lord of Heaven.”  In chapters 4-5, John records what he saw when Jesus invited him to tour Heaven and the Spirit prompted John to write down what he saw so we could see it through his eyes.

What do the physical surroundings of heaven look like?  Who is there?  What does it sound like?  What is the focus of heaven?  And what encouragment/direction does all this give to you and I who are living our lives on earth today?

John’s tour of heaven is far more than one of those HGTV shows where you see someone else’s fancy house you will never enter.  This tour is designed to show us life changing, perspective altering realities to shape the way we live and who we are living for.  Join us at Wildwood the next 3 Sundays (beginning this week April 24) at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 as we embark on our new sermon series “Lord of Heaven.”  See you Sunday!  … And bring friends. After all, heaven is a place we all want to go, and Jesus has paid the high cost for us to travel there.