My pastor preached a great sermon yesterday on Ephesians 4:1-6. (Wait, I thought you were the pastor?  I am a pastor, actually I am “the Assistant to the Pastor until Feb 28th when I get officially ordained, then I will be the Assistant Pastor.  So since I am the second guy I only preach about once every 7 weeks or so).  Anyway, at one point during his sermon he started talking about the unified hope that believers have in Christ and in His promises.  I started thinking about hope and what makes our hope, as believers, different than other people’s hope, so for instance like hope that Obama will change our country for the better (which I am highly skeptical about, since one of his first acts as President was to repeal a funding ban on abortions, so right now, thanks to Obama, more and more babies are being killed).

So how is our hope as Christians different than other people’s hope?  Our hope is a Biblical hope.  Hope is the certainty of belief in something we cannot see and has not happened yet.  But where does the certainty come from?  The Christian’s certainty of hope comes from the Bible which displays the integrity and character of God.  Therefore, our hope is based on God’s character.  When God promises to do something He delivers.  History has shown it through the prophets.  If you are interested just read Psalm 22, written by King David about a thousand years before Christ was crucified, then go and read one of the gospel accounts of the crucifixion, like Matthew 27.  Look at how many prophesies are fulfilled just between these two passages alone.  God fulfilled His promise to redeem His people from their sins through the death of Christ.  And there are hundreds of other prophesies and promises throughout the Old Testament that are fulfilled in the New Testament.

Think about it this way…God does not live within the limits of time because He is an eternal Spirit.  We are limited by time and therefore cannot see what will happen in the future.  So our hope in human beings is extremely flawed.  It’s like saying I hope I win the lottery.  There is such a miniscule chance that it will actually happen.  But with God, our hope is secure.  Look at what Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man that He should lie, or the son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?”  God does what He says He will do.  And this is not just because God can see into the future, He is already in the future.  Remember, He is not bound by time. But God providentially causes things to happen according to His plan.  He does not react to human situations, He already knows what will happen, God is never surprised.  God has made us certain promises in the Bible and He will providentially deliver those promises, He has a proven track record, so far He’s been 100% in fulfilling what He says He will do.  We can be certain that our hope is not in vain.

Is it better to live here on earth or is it better to be in heaven with Jesus?  To live here on earth means that we experience pain, suffering, difficulty and sorrow.  We have to live in a wretched world full of sin and misery.  Disease, sickness, depression, hatred and selfishness characterize our daily lives.  But in heaven none of this exists.  There is no sorrow, pain or sin.  Heaven is a holy place.  So is there really a question as to which is better?  Of course we will be better off in heaven.  Then the question follows…why don’t we just go to heaven once we become a Christian and skip the pain and misery of living here on earth?

The answer comes from the Scriptures;

²¹ “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³ I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴ But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.” Philippians 1:21-26

Paul says that it is better to be with Christ but to remain here on earth means fruit labor.  He says “it is necessary on your account.”  Don’t miss this.  For Paul, it is better to be in heaven with Christ.  But Paul is not looking at his life according to what is best for him.  Paul is looking at life from the perspective of what God thinks is best.  God wants Paul here on the earth for the progress and joy of the Philippians.  So Paul’s life here on earth has nothing to do with himself, at least not directly.  Paul’s life is to be lived for others for the glory of God. 

The problem is that most of us go through life living for ourselves.  So we live life exactly the opposite of how God wants us to live it.  We must understand the Biblical concept of not living life for ourselves but for God and for others.  Jesus makes this clear when He is asked what is the first and greatest commandment in Matthew 22:34-40.  Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself.  Neither commandment says that we should live for ourselves.  There should be no confusion.  Except that our sinful nature constantly and consistently puts ourselves at the heart and center of everything.

Somehow we have to lose sight of ourselves and get caught up in loving God and loving others.  Joel Osteen has a bestseller called “Your Best Life Now”.  Where’s the focus? It’s on YOU.  I think a title of a more Biblical book would be called, “Life is not about you!”  It probably wouldn’t be a bestseller.  But it would be glorifying to God, whereas Olsteen’s book is a stench to God.