Would you be happy in heaven if Jesus were not there?

In his book, God is the Gospel, John Piper poses this question:

The critical question for our generation --and for every generation is this:
If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all your friends and loved ones there, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, with no human conflict, no human disasters, no physical pain or suffering, and even a new resurrection body, could you be satisfied with heaven--if Christ were not there? 

Would you be happy in heaven if Jesus were not there?  

John 17:3 says, "This is eternal life, that we might know the one true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent." What is eternal life? KNOWING GOD. Beholding God. Eternal life is NOT having your sins forgiven. Eternal Life is being reconciled to God, the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Eternal Life is being in relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Eternal Godhead.

By the number of hits on my last post, it appears that this is NOT a popular topic, or maybe I'm not putting this good news across in such a way that it can properly be understood.

Regardless, my reason for attempting to write on this subject is because I don't want to miss out on the Good News and I don't want that for you either. And the Good News is God Himself. I think that I and so many others get sidetracked and miss the fact that we're saved not for all the gifts and benefits, but we're saved to fall in love with Jesus, to let Him love us and to love Him right back. He is the greatest gift, and for many of us, He is the gift that remains unopened, unseen, unknown, not even sought after.

Maybe that's why worship is so hard and so few believers enter into real worship of the Lord, because you can't worship what you don't know. That's what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 and it's true for us today as well. If we don't KNOW Him, we have NO desire to worship Him. We may love the trappings of Christianity, love going to Church, love serving in Church, but if we don't worship Him, then we don't love Him and don't know Him.

Consider what Paul writes in Philippians 3:7-9 (NLT)

⁷ I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

⁸ Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

⁹ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.  

Paul's heart desire is to become ONE with the Messiah, Jesus, Our Lord. His goal is not going to heaven, or having peace with God, or receiving any of God's other gifts, his goal is Jesus Himself. As Matt Redman writes in "The Heart of Worship",

"I'm coming back to the heart of worship, and it's all about You, all about You, Jesus....I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it, when it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus."

What is the Gospel? Why is it good news?

When I visit my mom's church, the pastor always calls on one of the men in the church to close in prayer. These prayers are mindless, totally meaningless and usually have nothing to do with the sermon that was just preached as well as having nothing to do with God. In essence, it sounds like he's phoning it in.

The designated "pray-er" mentions NOTHING that has been talked about in the sermon. It's almost as though he's been asleep through the entire Sunday message, but he knows enough to throw in nice, caring, spiritual-pablum like "be with those who are sick and can't be with us today" without even mentioning any names or asking for God to heal them. He finishes by thanking God for his blessings, and asks God for strength to live as Christians ought to live...and on and on--you get the message.

I don't really think this guy is praying to God, I really think he's just trying to sound spiritual because NOTHING  he's prayed is even remotely close to being a biblical prayer, prayed in faith, and evidencing a knowledge of God. Am I being harsh or critical? Yes, you bet. Because judgment must begin at the house of God and prayers like these are a travesty. They are prayed by people who don't know God and they don't reach beyond the ceiling, if they even ascend that high. And the sad thing is that it's the Pastor who calls on these individuals to close in prayer--so what's that say about the spiritual shepherd of this local church??

Please don't think I'm picking on my Mom's church (because I am) and this sadly is what passes for Christianity in some of our evangelical churches today. It's a far cry from what we see or hear in the Bible. That's why I want to tell you about a book I'm reading, "God is the Gospel" by John Piper.

Why are young people leaving the Church in droves?

John Piper asks this question. Why is the gospel good news? You could take it a step further and ask, "What is the Gospel?
What is the Good News?" 
Some would say:

• "The Good News is knowing that my sins are forgiven. 
• Or "The Good News is knowing that I will be raptured and miss the tribulation."
• Or they might say, "Knowing that I am going to heaven and won't spend eternity in hell."
• Or they might say, "Knowing that I will be in heaven with all my loved ones, my wife and my parents."
• Or they might say, "Knowing that I will be given a new resurrection body and no longer be subject to this handicapped body and my physical infirmities.

What's wrong with these answers? 

They all sound spiritual and nice, but they leave God out of the equation. They don't express any desire to be with God. The whole point of the Gospel is to KNOW God, to be WITH God, to SEE God. Everything else is icing on the cake or a by-product. 

Sadly, we have become nice church people who go to God's house religiously, who say and do all the right things, but in many cases, our hearts are far from God. We love the trappings of Christianity, but NOT the Savior Himself. Our delight is in lots of good Christian things, but NOT in Jesus Himself. We love our Christian music and radio stations, and watch only good, wholesome Christian films, but we still don't know the Savior. As John Piper suggests in his book, if our delight is NOT in Him, in KNOWING GOD and BEING WITH GOD, then there's a good possibility that we aren't saved--that we aren't born-again.

Here's what a godly prayer sounds like, from one who knows the Lord and knows that God is the Gospel:

Psalm 27:4 (ESV)

⁴ One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````(to be continued...) 

Some Good News for you this Christmas!

Here's something to think about: If you knew that you could go to heaven in your new resurrection body along with no more pain, no more problems, and on top of everything else, you'd be reunited with all your loved ones, would you want to go? Of course! But what if there was just one problem--What if Jesus wasn't there? If Jesus was absent from heaven, would you still want to go? Would it still be heaven?
                                                      What is the Good News? 

What message did the angel proclaim to the shepherds on a lonely hillside outside of Bethlehem? If you asked the average churchgoer in a Southern Baptist church around where I live, they'd tell you that the Good News means you're saved and going to heaven. Others would say that "forgiveness" is the Gospel. But is that really the good news? Is being forgiven and getting your ticket punched for heaven the essence of the Gospel?

If Jesus wasn't there, would Heaven still be Heaven? 

The point John Piper makes in his book, "God Is the Gospel" is that heaven isn't heaven without Jesus. Yet many Christians would still want to go there, even if Jesus wasn't there. Why? Because they don't really KNOW Jesus. Salvation to many so-called "Christians" means you're not going to hell and you get to go to heaven. But all too many "Christians" know nothing about Jesus, much less knowing Him. He is not their daily bread, or their daily portion. They don't worship Him because they don't love Him. They love church and Christianity, but not Jesus. They love the gifts, but not the Giver Himself.

Here's the Good News that the angel announced to the shepherds on the hillside outside Bethlehem.

Luke 2:8-14 (NLT)
<sup>8</sup> That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.
<sup>9</sup> Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,
<sup>10</sup> but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
<sup>11</sup> The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
<sup>12</sup> And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
<sup>13</sup> Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
<sup>14</sup> “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” <sup>9</sup> Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,
<sup>10</sup> but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
<sup>11</sup> The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
<sup>12</sup> And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
<sup>13</sup> Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
<sup>14</sup> “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Merry Christmas: God is the Gospel

This Christmas, the Good News is that God is the Gospel. God came down to earth, became a man, lived a sinless life, suffered on a cross, died, was buried and rose again on the third day--Why? So that you and I could be with Him, see Him in all His glory, and KNOW Him. That's what Christmas is all about. It's about the ultimate gift: A relationship with God Himself. He is our everlasting treasure!

Philippians 3:8 (NLT)
<sup>8</sup> Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. 

• Search for Him. Find Him. 
• Get to know Him. 
• Christmas is not about church or religion or helping others. 
• It's not about Santa Claus, or giving or receiving presents. 

It's all about Him. Christmas, the Good News announced by the angel to the shepherds is that our salvation has come, and that salvation is wrapped up in knowing and being with Jesus. He is the Gospel. It's seeing him in all His glory and letting His glory shine forth in our daily lives.

I'm on my quest to get to know Him, to learn about Him, to love Him and worship Him. Some days are better than others. Sometimes I drift back into religious piety and put my quest on hold. But deep in my heart, I know this: I want to know Jesus because He is the Gospel.

Merry Christmas.

  

The Rapture: Who's Really Left Behind?

As a young Jesus freak, I worked alongside Larry Norman at the Hollywood Free Paper. While he was singing "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" to throngs of young believers, I was drawing cartoons for the HFP where I depicted Christians being caught up in the air with Jesus. Those days are long gone, and Larry Norman is now with Jesus.Years later over dinner in a Toronto restaurant, Larry remarked to everyone else at our table that "we survived the Jesus movement." By that, he meant that our faith remained INTACT. We did not fall away or lose faith in our Lord.  But where is our blessed hope today? Does it reside in a pre-trib rapture, or in His Second Coming?

Dale Yancy in radio studio 1973

In perhaps the best-known teaching about the end times and the inspiration for Larry Norman's song (I Wish We'd All Been Ready),  in Matthew 24:37-44, Jesus describes his second coming: "...two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left." There is one key which unlocks our understanding of this passage and it is found in Matthew 24:37-39:

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also shall the coming of the Son of Man be.

Twice in this passage, Jesus says the coming of the Son of Man will be "as it was in the days of Noah" (v. 37) and again, in case we missed it in v. 39. Anytime Jesus repeats himself, it's worth cleaning out your ears to listen carefully to what he is saying. Jesus here is talking about two groups of people: One is righteous Noah and by implication, his family; they are saved and they are not caught by surprise. The other is the unrighteous, who are described in Genesis 6:5 as wicked with every intent of their heart set upon doing evil. This group was caught by surprise. It was their wickedness that prompted the flood which came upon them and took them all away. The key to understanding this passage is "taken away." Who was taken away? The evil and wicked. Who was left behind? Righteous Noah and his family. We are told twice that the Second Coming of Jesus will happen just like this: Two men will be in the field; One will be taken and one will be left behind. Who is taken up? The wicked man. Who is left behind? The righteous man. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left behind. Who is taken? The wicked woman. Who is left behind? The righteous woman. This is the rapture as described by Jesus in Matthew 24. The wicked are taken away with no chance to experience the triumphant reign of Jesus here on earth at his Second Coming. Question to all those who teach the pre-trib rapture: Haven't you thought it strange that according to your belief system, unrighteous are here on the earth to greet Jesus at his second coming? Doesn't that seem strange? Do they all of a sudden get religion, or get a pass, and get to sit at the banqueting table with Jesus upon His return? Whereas, the rapture that is described in Matt. 24 removes the wicked from the earth prior to Christ's return.

In Luke 17:26-36, we have a different version of this teaching where Jesus twice speaks of two persons, only one of whom will be taken. Here Jesus refers not only to the flood but also to the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom. In the story of Lot, the righteous are taken away from Sodom while only the ones left behind are destroyed. The important differences between Noah and Lot resides in the last day judgment referenced to in Matthew 24 in the account of Noah is a judgment on the whole earth. The Lot story is not about global judgment but only the judgment of two cities.

In my next post, I will finish this teaching with a look at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and how it is used as a proof text for the rapture. Does it really teach the disappearance of all the saints?

In closing, I have started reading a book by John Piper, "God is the Gospel." The Good News is NOT the rapture; it's not even that God loves me or you. The Good News is God Himself. That you and I can know Him and be known by Him. Our pursuit and blessed hope should not be the rapture, but God Himself. Knowing the Father as revealed by His Son, Jesus. That we could say along with David in Psalm 73:26, "God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Or as Paul writes in Philippians 3:8 (ESV) 
<sup>8"</sup>Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."

This is why we have been bought with a price. We have been called out of darkness into the light so that we might have a relationship with the Lord God Almighty. He is the Good News. Knowing Him and having Him is enough. What else is there?