The Hope That Keeps Us Going

Philippians 3:20-4:1

Perspective is so important. It determines how we see things and even how we see ourselves. Our perspective on life will determine our priorities in life. And so, our perspective plays a vital part in determining how we live. You can see that perspective is important.

Where do we get our perspective? We get it from several sources. Early in life, our parents give us their perspective on life. They do this by what they say about life, but what they do tells us more about their perspective than what they say. Many of your ideas about life, people, circumstances, and what is right and wrong come from your parents. Our friends also influence us. As we are growing up, they give us a new perspective that often is in conflict with the perspective of our parents. Our own experiences give us perspective. Our personal reflections on these experiences form the way we see life.

People have all kinds of perspectives on life. The humanist sees life as revolving around mankind. In other words, we are the center of the universe. The materialist defines life in terms of his possessions. Things are important. The self-centered person sees himself as the center of the universe. He thinks life owes him something because he is so wonderful. The hedonistic is similar in his attitude. His philosophy is that you need to grab for all the pleasure you can and this life. The atheist doesn’t believe God exists. And the agnostic doesn’t know whether God exists.

What is your perspective on life? What is your perspective on people? What is your perspective on God? And how do you see yourself? These are important questions. The answer to these questions will determine how you live your life.

In the preceding verses in our text, Paul had been talking about those who set their mind on earthly things. Many people do just that. In fact, some would argue that most people are focused on earthly things rather than eternal things. I think that is true. And the reason that I believe it is true that most people think this way is because of what I see in the church. Even in the church many people fail to have an eternal perspective. They see life as here and now. While they may believe that they will go to heaven when they die, their view of life is almost indistinguishable from a non-Christian.

But what happens when Christians adopt that perspective on life? If we adopt a perspective that focuses almost exclusively on this life, we will soon find ourselves disillusioned with life. We will become discouraged. We may even despair. Why? Because this life will always come up short. It will never satisfy us. That’s because it can’t. We need more than this life has to offer. We need an eternal hope to keep us going when times get tough. And the good news is that we have one!

The first thing that we must do is to recognize that this world is not our home. The apostle says that our citizenship is in heaven. We need to recognize just who we are!

The people to whom Paul was writing, the Philippians, lived in a city that had been made a part of the Roman Empire. They had been granted Roman citizenship. This was a high privilege. It meant that they were accorded all of the rights and privileges of belonging to the most powerful empire in the world. They were under the protection of Rome. They could travel in safety. They had privileges ordinary people did not have. And they were proud of their Roman citizenship. They held their heads up high.

The same is true for us. If we traveled out of our country, perhaps to a Third World country, we would not hesitate to identify ourselves as American citizens. We would probably be easily identifiable by the fact that we look rich to them. And we are rich, by their standards. They probably believe that every American is rich, because we live in the most powerful and prosperous nation on earth.

Now the question is whether we see ourselves as citizens of Heaven or of Earth? How do you see yourselves? Sadly, as I said before, many Christians and churches are not focused on Heaven. All too often our focus is on this life, becoming prosperous, striving for success, pursuing comfort, trying to fix up our lives. I’m not implying that these things aren’t important and that we don’t need to think about them, but when they become our focus, we are focusing on the wrong things.

As Christians, the hope of Heaven should define our lives here on Earth. After all, we are citizens of Heaven. That is our eternal home and destiny. We will spend eternity there. That thought ought to excite us.

We need to not only recognize that this world is not our home, we also need to remember that Jesus will come for us! One day we will be with Jesus, perhaps sooner than we think. One day Jesus will return and we await his coming.

The apostle Paul says that we eagerly await his return. In other words, those who love Jesus can’t wait to see him face-to-face. We want to be with him. We are excited about Heaven.

Just think of what it means to be with Christ. Jesus said, in John 14, that he was going away to prepare a place for us.

"Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. (John 14:1-3 NLT)

He has been preparing that place for 2000 years. Someone once said that if Jesus created the universe in six days but has been working on our heavenly home for 2000 years, it must be a wonderfully fantastic place. I’m sure it is.

Because of everything that the Bible says about Heaven, and because a lot of it is symbolic in nature, we really don’t have a clear picture of exactly what Heaven is like. As a result, there are many misconceptions concerning Heaven. Some people believe in heaven is like some ethereal retirement colony, where people sit around in their lounge chair strumming their harps. But that is not an accurate picture of Heaven.

Heaven will be the most exciting place we’ve ever been. It begins with a marriage feast. Now, for those of you who are married, you know that the marriage feast comes immediately after the wedding. That’s at the beginning of the marriage. When we get to heaven, we are just beginning. It is not an end. It’s a beginning. We are just beginning our adventure!

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has preparedfor those who love him." ( 1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT)

We really don’t have an idea of all that God has in store for us. For instance, in Revelation we are told that we will rule and reign with Christ. What does that mean? I don’t know! Over whom will we reign? Over what? Will God create new worlds for us to rule? I have no idea. It’s fascinating, isn’t it?

We do know that Heaven will bring us perfect peace. There we will enjoy total love, complete joy, and absolute fulfillment. One picture of Heaven is of streets of gold. In other words, the stuff that we value most on Earth is just pavement up there. What a fantastic place that will be!

There’s more! Not only must we recognize that this world is not our home, and not only must we remember that Jesus will come for us, but we must also realize that we will be eternally transformed.

This transformation has already begun. When we came to know Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, the process of transformation that we call salvation started. It started internally. And one day it will be completed when our physical bodies are transformed. You see, our physical bodies are not fit for Heaven. They are mortal. That means that they grow old and wear out. They suffer pain and get sick. One day they will quit functioning and die.

In order to enjoy Heaven, we will need new bodies. We will need eternal bodies. We will need immortal bodies. And that is just what we will receive. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul tells us that our bodies will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. In other words, in a millisecond we will exchange this temporary earthly body for a glorious eternal body that will be perfect and immortal.

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."  (1 Corinthians 15:50-54 NIV)

There we will have bodies that will never get sick. Our bodies will never experience pain again. And we will never grow old or die. We will live forever!

Are you excited about this? This is something that you ought to be excited about. The transformation that began with the new birth will be completed when we receive our new body.

Recognize that this world is not your home; remember that Jesus will come for you; realize that you will be eternally transformed; and finally, respond by standing firm in your hope in Christ. In light of what is in store for us, we can stand firm in Christ.

You see, this world is not all there is. There is so much more. The people who put their hope in what this world can offer are always disappointed. You could become the wealthiest person on Earth and still not be satisfied. Money doesn’t satisfy the deepest needs you have. Possessions do not satisfy the most pressing needs you have. This world will never fill up the empty place you have in your heart. Only Christ can do that.

In this life we experience both good and bad. We experience pain, suffering, struggles, trials, temptations, and tragedies. There are times when we find ourselves in difficult places and we don’t know where to turn. If all we have is what this world has to offer, we will ultimately despair.

We need a focus beyond this world. We need a hope that is strong enough to carry us through the tough times. We need an eternal perspective to give us courage to stand firm. And we have that in our eternal hope in Christ. We are citizens of Heaven. Christ is coming back for us. We will be transformed and live with him forever. That must be our focus. We must live from that perspective. That will give us courage.

This brings us back to where we began, doesn’t it? What is your focus? What is your perspective on life? Do you live on this Earth in light of Heaven? Do you see yourself as a citizen of Heaven? Do you identify with Christ and his purposes? Or are you focused on this life only?

Your perspective will determine how you live. It will also determine the level of your satisfaction with life. If we keep our eyes focused on the fact that this world is not all there is, but just a prelude to eternity, then our perspective on life will be vastly different. We will live for eternity, not merely for the here and now. Christ’s kingdom will be what is important. We will live on Earth as those who have an allegiance to a higher kingdom, as indeed we do. We will live boldly for Christ.

We have a hope that can keep us going. It is the hope of Heaven. It is the blessed hope of our Lord’s return.

Copyright © 2001 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.

This data file may not be copied in part (except for small quotations used with citation of source), edited, revised, copied for resale or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other products offered for sale, without the written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be made in writing and e-mailed to J. David Hoke, at David@JDavidHoke.com.

Return to Sermon Page

Return to Homepage