Fw: Sermon to Heaven

There is so little we know of Heaven and of all the Heavenly beings, like angels.  It seems that at least part of what God is accomplishing as we are saved is to proclaim a glorious message to all of Heaven and the creatures who inhabit Heaven.  Consider this passage from Ephesians, chapter 3 (apostle Paul speaking):

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8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

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Just as we find Heaven a great mystery, so the angels find God's purpose in Earth a great mystery.  But, in Christ, Heaven and Earth come together...are joined.  All of Creation is ultimately reunited, just as the lost sheep on earth have been reunited with their Great Shepherd.  The Church is His work of art that expresses the greatest of love from a Creator who also restores.

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much love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: Immigrants

It occurred to me that, as Christians, we are the ultimate immigrants, seeking for citizenship in the better country.  We knew that our starting point was not meeting our needs...we needed to cross a border the acceptable way to find acceptance in the better land.  We may have tried to cross illegally through our own efforts...or by holding onto the old life while also trying to walk in new ways.  But nothing worked until we allowed His grace to first cross the barrier that stood in our own heart...the barrier of pride.  Once that wall was breached and we knew His presence personally we found the doorway to the place we'd aspired to.

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Paul puts it like this in Ephesians at the end of chapter 2:

18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

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He must first cross our "wall" before we enter His gates.

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much love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: racial healing

In our country there is a need for racial healing.  I believe that the Lord is the answer for this.  In New Testament times there was a need for a similar healing between Jew and Gentile.  That divide was just as strong as the racial fracture in our country.  The apostle Paul has a message that speaks to healing this kind of divide:

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Ephesians 2: 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

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There are some issues that we have great difficulty resolving in our own strength.  It is as if we are too close, or too involved, or too much a part of the issue.  I believe that the answer when large people-groups are at odds between themselves is to look up to the one who has resolved the differences between Himself and all men.

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Jesus said (quoted from book of John, chapter 12): 32 "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

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If we, together, lift up and look at Jesus He will draw "all people" across the greatest divide....and I believe we will realize that there truly are no differences between us...and He will "kill the hostility" by making "one body" of us all.

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What we cannot do in our own strength, He specializes in through His.

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"For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility"

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much love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: Your miracle

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

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There are many directions we can choose to go.  There is great freedom to decide our personal direction...day by day and for life's bigger decisions, like education, career, and marriage.  We also can become educated and informed about many things.  When it comes to religion, we can choose to participate in various traditions and belief systems.

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But there is one thing that we cannot do.

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We cannot be restored to the one living God unless He opens a portal inside of us.  There is a doorway that starts in the closed position when we are born.  It is necessary to be "born again" after our natural birth and this happens when the door inside of us opens. 

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Grace is the hand of God unlocking that door and tapping on the outside.

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Faith is our response to push the door open and be joined with Him.

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Jesus is the one who made it possible for God to unlock the door and for us to find it within ourselves.

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I don't believe that there is any greater miracle than this.

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And on the far side of the door...God has good works for us to do, which he already prepared.  Somehow he knew that the door would be opened inside of you and me.

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blessings and peace and may your 'faith doorway' be opened.  Once opened it can never be shut.

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Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: eternal love

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus

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Our surprising Lord saw us and loved us when we were far from Him...when we didn't have a thought or care for or about Him.  He saw the ultimate potential for our lives and He took the actions necessary for us to be restored to Him.  And just as our sins once separated us...but that is in the past (if we have trusted in Him), so the assurance that we will, one day be raised together to sit together in Heave...is described as already having happened!

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From the standpoint of God's eternal love and His sovereignty over time and the absolute certainty of His plans....we can be assured that our place in Heaven awaits and we will be raised and we will be in the heavenly places in Jesus!

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much love on this cold Monday morning!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: Tale of Two Kings

Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

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It is not exactly "A Tale of Two Cities" but our lives represent "A Tale of Two Kings" as we all start under the control of Satan...here described as the 'prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience'.  This isn't a pretty thought and immediately thoughts of denial begin to surface when Satan is named for who he is.  But if the second King is to wear the robes of deliverer and the crown of victor.....from whom have they been delivered...over whom has the victory been won.

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Honesty is necessary before salvation can become real.  And the truth is that each of us has walked under the dominion of the devil...and as Paul writes, we were preoccupied with unhealthy lusts, self centeredness and we were too often driven by tempests of anger, fear, discouragement, or the sugar highs of pride, power and purchases.

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But.....look again at the first words of this chapter...."And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins"

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If you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ you were once under the dominion of the Devil but have been delivered to the loving reign of the righteous Savior.

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And that's a fact (honestly)!

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

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Fw: Filled

Ephesians 1:22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

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The "He" is God the Father..."Him" is Jesus, God's Son...the "church" is the collection of believers across the centuries.  We are aware and deeply affected with the truth that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  And we are overwhelmed with the meaning that, as the church, we are "his body".  In a sense we've been called to a higher walk than just to live our lives, individually...for our own purposes.  We are filled with the presence of Jesus.  He has become our head, the one we truly look to for leadership personally and collectively, as believers.  He is not to be a part of our life, or one we go to only for problems.  He "fills all in all" and we are meant to reflect that fullness.  If we are full of Jesus we leave little room for self, while finding our greatest fulfillment moving and responding to His headship.  

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I am challenged to consider daily if I am full of Jesus....or truly full of self!

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much love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: Raised

Ephesians 1:20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

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We spend our lives on the surface (or occasionally flying through the atmosphere) of this average sized planet.  All the issues, all the nations and turmoil of war, of politics, of daily existence and subsistence seem to be limited to this narrow layer of life.  And this earth is the platform upon which life enters, moves through the stages of growth and decline and then returns to the soil.

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But within the heart of humans there is this sense that there is another, higher dimension that we were fashioned for... a place above petty conflict and short term plans and goals...a place where justice is true, peace is permanent and life forever blooms.

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This is the place that Jesus proved existed when He was raised from the dead.  He is now in the heavenly places, which transcend "all principality and power and might and dominion" and even "every name that is named".  Our compass has been expanded from North, South, East and West to Up.  This is where Father and Son are enthroned.  It is the place that will always be, in "the age which is to come".

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And we can be raised as well.  Our faith and His outstretched arm of grace ensure we, also, will be raised...to the place of eternal life.

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much love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: the gift of understanding

Before we can trust in God's great gifts of eternal life and personal relationship...we need another gift...the gift of understanding.  The apostle Paul fervently prayed this way (from Ephesians, chapter 1):

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Ephesians 1:16 ...making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened...

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Many, if not almost all, Americans know of Jesus, but far fewer have experienced the "spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him".  These words describe a connection with God that includes a 'pulling back of Heaven's curtain' and a fresh opening of our mind and heart to grasp His reality deep within.

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Before we can know the Lord personally we need "the eyes of our understanding" to be enlightened...a spiritual grasp that goes well beyond simple historical fact or even religious tradition.  The Lord is looking for real relationship with those who truly desire to know Him, for whom Heaven awaits.

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much love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: hope, riches, power

When you think about what drives the ambition of people in life and what also can lead to the most common crimes and sins you can sum up the motivations in a few words: "money and power".  Inside of us there must be desires for wealth and control and, too often, these drive people to unhealthy activities that harm others.  The letter to the Ephesians shows a healthy fulfillment of those ambitions, placed in the context of Heaven.  Consider this passage from the first chapter:

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Ephesians 1:18...that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe...

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When the riches are in terms of the Heavenly inheritance shared with other believers, when the power is His power showing up in our lives as we walk through the daily challenges of living and when all of this is the result of hearing His voice and responding to His call...there is no greater ambition.

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much love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: Trust from truth

Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise

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I find the powerful words of the letter to the Ephesians to be highly concentrated.  The description of God's love, plan and promises is overflowing here in richness.  You can look at short pieces and reflect deeply.  In the verse quoted above the word "trusted" seemed to stand out to me this morning.  It makes you think about the things you personally have come to trust in your life.  The word "trust" is often used in banking institutions because it communicates absolute confidence that one can place money there and it will be safe.  When we marry there is an old fashioned word and phrase that communicates trust: "I solemnly pledge my troth".  We're saying: "You can trust in me to be faithful to you in marriage".  Essentially the greatest truth of our natural lives is "We just don't know."  That is, as we live out our lives, we just don't know what will happen, how long we'll live, what problems we will have, what lies beyond this life.  There is so much that we just don't know.  Our greatest need is to be able to trust in something or someone that does know.

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From the passage above we see that 'truth leads to trust'.  There's something about pure truth that finds a welcome reception in our deepest heart.  And we resonate with the need for a Savior because we see the flaws in ourselves that cause us to stray and we have a universal sense that we are incomplete and in need of help beyond ourselves.

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If we are honest with ourselves (now there's a place for trust!) we'll admit our need for the truth that leads to trust that leads to the seal of God's Spirit.

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much love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: the inheritance

The idea of an inheritance is exciting.  Of course it is also sad to realize that to receive an inheritance one must first lose a loved one.  As believers in Jesus we have an inheritance.  The first chapter of Ephesians discusses this:

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Ephesians 1: 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

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Interestingly, although Jesus had to die for us to receive the inheritance....He also lives to see us enjoy that inheritance.  Last night I went to watch my grandson Peter play a basketball game at a local school.  As I walked through the doors of the gym I saw a trophy case that was filled with championship trophies earned by school teams over the years.  Our inheritance from the Lord reminds me a bit of this trophy case.  Each of us, who have trusted in Christ, stand as trophies to His victory over death and sin.  Our inheritance is to forever shine among God's trophies as great victories for our Lord.

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But we are to be living, dynamic, vibrant trophies...not simply locked in a case but actively proclaiming God's glory across eternity.  Consider this verse from the next chapter in Ephesians:

Ephesians 2:6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

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The best inheritances are to be shared!

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much love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."