Life is FULL of pain. That is probably not the encouraging word that you were looking for this morning before you arrived.
However, it is true, and I think you all would agree. As Christians, I sometimes feel that the expectation from others is that we are to just put our head down and go on or bury our head in the sand and act like our pain doesn’t exist. That’s not what we are going to do this summer at EBC.
Earlier this spring, the Hunt Baptist Association hosted a one-day seminar with Dr. Matthew Kim. He...
Life is FULL of pain. That is probably not the encouraging word that you were looking for this morning before you arrived.
However, it is true, and I think you all would agree. As Christians, I sometimes feel that the expectation from others is that we are to just put our head down and go on or bury our head in the sand and act like our pain doesn’t exist. That’s not what we are going to do this summer at EBC.
Earlier this spring, the Hunt Baptist Association hosted a one-day seminar with Dr. Matthew Kim. He wrote this book, “Preaching to People in Pain: How Suffering Can Shaper Your Sermons and Connect with Your Congregation.”
Ronnie and Chris and I all attended this seminar. I especially was impacted to the degree that I felt you, as people in pain, needed to hear from God’s Word.
In the Bible, the word “pain” is used 39 times. 12 times it refers to emotional or spiritual pain. 26 times it refers to physical pain. The most common type of physical pain mentioned is childbirth.
This summer, we will talk about various types and circumstances of pain. See bulletin insert.
I said pain was mentioned 39 times in the Bible. 12 are emotional or spiritual. 26 are physical. 12 plus 26 equals 38.
The last time that pain is mentioned, it actually speaks to the absence of pain. Where?
This life is FULL of pain, and the next life will be an eternity of pain. However, there is a time and place where pain will be no more.
Take your Bibles and turn to Revelation 21:1. I want to share a message with you entitled, “No Place Like Heaven.”
- Heaven will be pain FREE, Revelation 21:1-5a!
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
In verse 1, John said he saw a new heaven and a new earth because the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. The first heaven and the first earth are what we have now, but when will they pass away?
Revelation doesn’t tell us. However, 2 Peter 3 does.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Remember our timeline. We are waiting on the rapture. Then will be the tribulation. Then Jesus will return. Then He will reign on hearth for 1,000 years. Then eternity will begin.
According to 2 Peter 3, after Jesus comes back and before eternity begins, the first heaven and the first earth will pass away, and there will be no more sea. They pass away because they are tainted with sin.
However, specifically, why will there be no more sea? It is hard to say.
It may something to do with the anti-Christ coming from the sea in Revelation 13. It may have something to do with being the place of the dead in Revelation 20. The bottom line is that Scripture isn’t clear.
In verse 2, John saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. John compared her to a bride adorned for her husband.
Don’t simply pass over the significance of this analogy of a wedding and a marriage that has one bride and one groom. We can probably conclude that John uses this analogy because the holy city will be the home of the bride of Christ, His Church.
The absolute greatest fact about heaven is revealed in verse 3. Heaven will mean the presence of Christ. In verse 3, He is called the Tabernacle of God which reminds us of the Old Testament. However, it also reminds us of John 1:14.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
In His first coming, Jesus became flesh and dwelt or tabernacled among us. He will do that again in heaven.
Now listen to verse 4. Eternity will be a return to Genesis with the new heaven and the new hearth. It will be the presence of God in Jesus Christ, and it will be the absence of sorrow with NO pain.
Verse 4 is one of our favorite and most comforting verses in all of the Bible. There will be NO pain at all…zero, none, nota.
Think about all of the pain in this life. We will talk about painful decisions, painful finances, painful health, painful losses, painful relationships, and painful sins.
However, that won’t be true in the life to come. There will be no illness. There will be no death. There will be no betrayal. There will be no abuse. There will be no loss.
There will be NO pain. Heaven will be pain FREE.
- You can’t count on this truth, Revelation 21:5b!
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
You might be wondering how will there be no sorrow and no pain. The answer is in verse 5. Jesus said He will make all things new.
Here is what I know about this transformation just from one verse. First of all, in heaven, Jesus will be in charge. It won’t be me. It won’t be you. It won’t be anyone other than Him.
Second, His promise leaves nothing out. There are no exceptions. He said, “I will make ALL things new.” There is no need to elaborate. Heaven will be the transformation of every single thing.
Third, this promise is a promise made and a promise kept. It hasn’t happened yet, but it will. These words are faithful and true.
- Will your pain end when you get to heaven, Revelation 21:6-8?
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Finally, in our last three verses for today, there is an invitation to experience life and eternal life. This is an invitation for your pain to end!
In verse 6, Jesus is the Alpha and Omega. Those are the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet. He is the beginning and the end.
He was there in the beginning, and was the Creator in Genesis. He will be there in Heaven in the end for eternity in Revelation, and He invites anyone who thirsts to come to the fountain of the water of life.
He isn’t talking about physical thirst but spiritual thirst. That may be you this morning.
Is there something more to this life? Are you missing something? Are you not at peace with your Creator?
Are you tired of pain and more pain and more pain? Come to Jesus and thirst no more and experience freedom from pain.
However, if your life is characterized by cowardliness, unbelief, anger, murder, sexual immorality, sorcery, idolatry and lies, you haven’t been saved. You don’t have a home in heaven.
You will experience the second death. You will die physically and then spiritually for eternity.
Not only will you continue to experience pain in this life, you will experience pain for eternity. Jesus invites you to be saved today.
