Aiming at Heaven While Living on Earth
- Skip Heitzig
- Sep 22, 2022
- 25 min read
Aiming at Heaven While Living on Earth
Transcription
Aiming at Heaven While Living on Earth - Colossians 3:1-4 - Skip Heitzig
Welcome to Calvary Church with Skip Heitzig. We're so glad you've joined us today. In Paul's letter to the
Colossians, he declares that Jesus holds everything together from the majestic, to the microscopic, and
everything in between, work and family, friendships and faith. In this series, Pastor Skip explores the
practical application of Jesus' preeminence, so we can make sure that Jesus is at the center of it all.
 [MUSIC PLAYING]
 (SINGING) Always only Jesus be glorified in everything you do.
 With the Bible in hand, turn to Colossians three, as you've already been instructed to do so. I took my
message title today from an atheist who converted. His name was Clive Staples Lewis, CS Lewis, who after
his conversion said, aim at heaven, and you'll get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth, and you'll get neither.
 So the message is called aiming at heaven while living on Earth. When we grow up in the church, we
start thinking about heaven because we're told about it at church. And growing up, we wonder what
heaven's going to be like, what we're going to do, what it's going to look like, what we're going to look like
when we get there.
 Well, you'll be, perhaps, glad to know that most Americans believe in heaven. Now, get them past what
they believe in and ask them to tell you what that's going to be like, and they're going to have a lot of
different opinions and difficulties. But it is estimated that between 73% and 74% of all Americans, at least,
they say they believe in heaven. That's according to Pew Research.
 And in that group, 65% believe that in heaven, they'll be reunited with loved ones. 62% say that when
they get to heaven, they'll be able to meet God. And another 60% to 62% believe that in heaven, they're
going to have perfect and healthy bodies.
 Heaven is going to be our eventual home, our, meaning if you are a believer, it will be our eventual
home. It is our ultimate destination. It is in the words of that great theologian, James T. Kirk, the final
frontier.
 John described heaven in the Book of Revelation, chapter 21, 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. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former things have
passed away.
 That's our eventual destination. But we discover that heaven is more than a destination, that heaven
should actually be our motivation, that on the Earth, it should be in the forefront of our minds. We should
always keep it in mind. Jesus, did he not say, don't worry about what you're going to eat, or what you're
going to drink, or what you're going to wear? All the Gentiles worry about that stuff. You have a father that
will see to it that you get all that.
 But then he said, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be
added unto you. That's the message, same message. Aim at heaven while you're living on the Earth.
 In fact, heaven, according to Jesus, is a place that we should be planning for. He said, lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where rust can't destroy nor moth. Lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven. Aim at heaven while you're living on Earth.
 How do we do that? Why should we do that? Well, the Bible actually talks about this hope of heaven a
lot. In fact, more than most people might think it does.
 And we've already seen a taste of this as we've gone through the Book of Colossians. I just want to
remind you of this. Just go back for a moment. I know we haven't even read our text yet, but go back to
chapter one, and look at verse three.
 We give Thanks to the God and father of our lord, Jesus Christ, praying always for you since we heard of
your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints because of the hope, which is laid up for you in
heaven, which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel. That hope, the ground of the hope,
which is heaven, is actually one of the mega themes of the New Testament. In the New Testament, there
are 7,957 verses if you were to total of them all up, 27 books 7,957 verses comprise the New Testament.
 Of those verses, a full 5%, or 387 verses, are counseling us to have the hope of heaven, the hope of
heaven, the hope of heaven. Now, I'll give you a little perspective. There are about 200 verses in the New
Testament on love. Love is pretty important, right? Love, 200 verses on love.
 There is 150 to 160 verses on the subject of hell mostly spoken by Jesus. He spoke more about it than
anybody else. There is about 30 to 40 verses in the New Testament on the subject of marriage. But there
are 387 verses telling us to have the hope of heaven.
 But how many of us actually think much about heaven? We don't. In fact, when do people think about
heaven more than any other time? Anybody know?
 Funerals.
 Funerals. Exactly right. Funerals. And you might be shocked to hear what people think about heaven
when they say things at funerals. Of course, funerals is not the place to correct somebody's theology in
their grief. But I am amazed at what people think heaven is going to be like all the way from playing golf in
the fairways of heaven to knitting their favorite sweaters in heaven or whatever it might be.
 Yet we should be thinking about it because our names are written there, our savior is there right now.
Our savior is going to come from there. He's going to take us there. Fellow believers are there right now.
There's a lot about heaven that should get us excited.
 Back to CS Lewis. I began with a quote. He said this. "If you read history, you will find that the Christians
who did most for the present world were those who thought most of the next world, the apostles
themselves, who set on foot, the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the middle
ages, the English evangelicals, who abolished the slave trade. All left their mark on Earth precisely because
their minds were occupied with heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other
world that they have become so ineffective in this world."
 And then right after that, he said, "aim at heaven, and you'll get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth, and you
will get neither." Well, how do we do that?
 Well, that takes us now to our text, Colossians chapter three. We're going to look at the first four verses.
And in these four verses, I'm going to give you three categories of truth, three truth categories that will
help you and I aim at heaven. Think of them as lights in the harbor that align for you, so you can sail your
ship directly through. Let's begin in verse one of Colossians three.
 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right
hand of God. Set your mind on things above not on things of the Earth. It's exactly the opposite of what
the world tells us.
 The world says, think about the here and now. What's going on around you now? Don't think about
heaven. Set your mind on things above not on things of the Earth for you died, and your life is hidden with
Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
 Now, I want to begin with spiritual reality. Everything in this little paragraph that we just read is
predicated upon four spiritual realities. And the realities are this. You have died, you were raised, you are
hidden, and you will be glorified.
 Everything in this text, every commandment given here-- and there are two of them that are given and
then another time, reinforced, but those four spiritual realities, you have died, you were raised, you are
hidden, you will be glorified.
 Now, this is figurative language. It's metaphor. You haven't actually died. I can tell because here you are,
alive, seated. But in one sense, in a figurative sense, in a reality, you have died, and you have been raised.
 So let's look at these four. And I'm not going to begin in verse one. I'm going to begin not with the
resurrection. I'm going to begin with death because you have to die before you can get raised.
 So look at verse three, for you died. There it is. You died. Now, you're thinking, well, I didn't even know I
was sick, let alone, I died. Yes. It says, for you died.
 So here's the deal. Jesus Christ didn't just die for you. That's substitution. We died with him. That's
identification. All of this is the language of identification. You died and were raised positionally.
 So notice these phrases throughout the paragraph we just read in verse one, with Christ-- also verse
one-- where Christ is. Verse three, your life is hidden with Christ. --and then verse four. When Christ, who is
our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
 All of these are phrases of identification. So when it says, you died, what does that mean? It means you
died to the old way of life. It gets a little confusing because in the previous chapter, Paul says as
unbelievers, you were dead, and Christ made you alive. And now he says, now that you're alive, you're dead.
 But now you're dead to the old way of life, the old manner of doing things. Second Corinthians chapter
5:17 we all know that one. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, brand new creation. Old things have
passed away. Behold. All things become new.
 Another one is in Galatians chapter six, verse 14. God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our
Lord, Jesus Christ by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. I'm dead to that old way
of life.
 When there is a conversion in a Jewish family-- I've personally observed this-- oftentimes, it is so
upsetting if it's, let's say, a teenager or somebody who is in college, a son or a daughter, converts to
Christianity, believes in Yashua as the savior. It is so upsetting in a Jewish family that oftentimes, the father
will say something like my son, who's converted-- my son is dead to me. It doesn't mean he's literally dead.
It just means I am reckoning him as dead, separated, cut off from the family, kicked out of the home.
 And so Paul uses that language in Romans when he says, likewise, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin,
but alive to Christ. So you have died. That's a spiritual reality, died, dead, to the things of this world, your
past life, your old manner of life.
 Second reality, you were raised. That's verse one. If then you were raised with Christ-- and by the way,
the word, if, is not a good translation. This is not a hypothetical. It should be translated, since then you were
raised with Christ because of the fact-- not hypothetically, but factually-- since then, you were raised with
Christ.
 So here's the deal. When you came to the Lord, when you believed in him, at the moment of your
salvation, you entered into his death and resurrection. And that's the meaning of water baptism, by the
way. That's why we baptize people not by effusion sprinkling them. We actually put them all the way
under the water, because that speaks of death, burial, and resurrection.
 So we take them. We hold them down. We bring them back up. I remember my baptism. When that
happened, I was standing in front of a group of people.
 Effectively, I was saying the old Skip is dead. The new Skip is about to come alive. It was a statement of
faith. My old life was over. And a new life begins.
 With new life comes new power. With new life comes new power, power over the old way of life, power
over the habits that held me down. That's available. With new life, comes new power. Jesus conquered
death by resurrection. Likewise, we can conquer death by resurrection.
 Galatians 2:20. I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. But Christ lives in me. And the life
which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
 Now, that's good news, but that does not mean you don't struggle with the old manner of life. Amen?
Right? We all struggle with it.
 I have everybody who is a thinking, rational, honest person who's a believer who's walked with the Lord
for any length of time will say, I believe that, but I still struggle, like the guy who wrote in his diary, "dear
God, you're really going to be proud of me. I haven't gossiped, lusted, or lost my temper today. I haven't
been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I'm very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, I'm
going to get out of bed."
 [LAUGHTER]
 "And from then on, I'm going to need a lot of help." We can all relate to that. When it gets to real life, we
struggle. We're always going to battle the flesh because you never get rid of the flesh until the moment of
your death or the rapture of the church when there is a subtraction of the old nature.
 That's why Jesus said the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. That doesn't mean we're ever going to be
sinless. But don't you think-- and doesn't it make sense that the more you grow in Christ, though you will
never be sinless, you should sin less, less, and less, and less, and serve him, and honor him, and glorify him
more, and more, and more.
 Paul said in Romans 6:2, how shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer in it? So here's the spiritual
reality. I am both dead and alive. Remember the old Western posters? Wanted dead or alive.
 God would hang this poster over your life, wanted dead and alive, dead to the old way of life, alive to the
new way of life, dead to the old manner of thinking, old habits that confined you, alive to righteousness.
Wanted dead and alive.
 The trouble with too many Christians is they live between Good Friday and Easter. There's been a death,
but we're just waiting for the fullness of resurrection. New life. You have died. You were raised.
 The third reality is you are hidden. Look at verse three. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in
God.
 I just want you to get this. When God looks at you, he looks at you through the lens of his son, Jesus
Christ. He sees you clothed in his righteousness. He sees you, in effect, perfect and permanently his. Your
life is tucked in, wrapped up in Jesus Christ. You're hidden in Christ.
 Now, this speaks of a couple of things. Because our life is hidden, you might say we're concealed from
the world. The world looks at you, and they don't see this reality. The world looks at you, and they don't
know you're a new creation.
 You're just walking down the street, or driving in your car, or working at wherever you work. They just
see another person. They don't know you're a citizen of heaven. But you are. They don't get it, but it's the
truth. It's the reality. You are hidden with Christ in God.
 The word in verse three, hidden in the Greek tents, indicates something that happened in the past. So
it's a past tense event. But it has ongoing effects. So a better, fuller translation would be, our life has been
hidden and continues to be hidden.
 And I think what this really speaks of is our security as believers, that God has the power to keep us. We
have died. We've been raised. And he's going to keep us secure all the way to the end.
 In fact, one translation even says God is keeping your new life safe with Christ. This speaks of security.
He'll get you all the way through.
 So if you're ever worried-- I don't know. I thought I was saved yesterday. But today, I'm not so sure--
you're hidden with Christ in God.
 We live in a world that is worried about safety and security. I heard about a woman. She's so upset about
the rising crime rate in our country and in our city, that she got a concealed carry permit. So she decided to
carry a gun, and she did.
 And she was in a store one night. And she got out of the store to go to her car in a dark parking lot. And
when she came to the parking lot and came to her car, she found it occupied by four men.
 So she yelled out them. Get out. They didn't budge. Get out. They didn't move. She pulled out the gun,
pointed it at them, and said, get out. The doors open. They all ran away. And then she noticed her car three
parking spots away, same make, same model, same color. She made a mistake.
 God never makes a mistake. God always protects the right one. You happen to be the right one. You're
the right one. John chapter 10, Jesus said, I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall
anyone snatch them out of my hand.
 How many of you understand that Jesus Christ has a very strong grip? And he is not depending on to
hold on to him. Come on. Hold on to Jesus. Hold on.
 Any parent or grandparent walking their kid across the street does not depend on the grip of that child.
Any smart parent or grandparent holds that child. And no one will snatch you out of his hand.
 So you've died. You were raised. You are hidden. And the fourth spiritual reality, according to Paul here, is
you will be glorified.
 Look at verse four. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in what?
Glory. Now, of these four spiritual realities, S is not a metaphor. This is not figurative language. This happens
to be literal just as there's going to be a literal appearance of Jesus.
 He is coming back. He said that. He promised that. And so you literally will appear with him in glory. This
is at his second coming with his church. If you want to read all about it, not right now, but go read
Revelation chapter 19. That's when he comes in glory.
 So get this. You're not just going to change location. You're going to change your looks. You're going to
change your looks. And I hope that gets you excited.
 What it means is you're going to one day get the body you always wanted. I've never met a person who
doesn't think there's some feature of their body that should be changed. There's been so many polls that
have been circled about where they ask people the question, if you could change one thing about your
life, what would it be? 90-plus percent, it's almost always something physical, something with their
physical appearance.
 Well, in Philippians three, it says Jesus Christ will transform our lowly body-- that's what he calls it, lowly
body-- to be like his glorious body. You're going to get the body you've always wanted.
 Now, some of you are young and good-looking. And you're thinking, I got the body I've always wanted
right now. I mean, check me out. I look pretty awesome.
 And I always smile when I hear that or see that attitude. And I think, just wait. Just wait a few short years.
You'll see.
 And that's why Paul said in Second Corinthians five, and the older we get-- and we can relate to this. We
grown in this body longing for heaven and the freedom that it brings. It's going to be better than any
facelift, any face cream, any botox, any diet program, any reconstructive surgery that costs you an
enormous amount of money.
 Imagine having a body that never wears out, never gets tired, never has aches, never has pains, never
atrophies, never gains weight, never loses hair, never gets wrinkled, never sags for free. Well, that's going to
happen. When Christ, who is our life, appears, you will appear with him in glory.
 I'm reminded of this guy who started a business, very successful. He was so successful, he had to change
locations. When he changed locations, new office plex. Somebody sent him flowers.
 And he looked at the card on the flowers. And he was a little bit confused because the card said, rest in
peace. He thought, uh-oh. There's been a mix up.
 So he calls the florist and said, I just got flowers, and it says, rest in peace. And the florist said, oh, that's
our bad. We mixed things up. But just to humor you a little bit, just think. Right now, somewhere in the
city, there is a funeral going on, and the flowers read, congratulations on your new location.
 [LAUGHTER]
 Now, I thought about that. And I think, that's what our cards should read when we give them out of
funerals if they're believers. Congratulations on your new location, not rest in peace. You've been promoted
to glory, and you will appear one day with him in glory.
 So these are spiritual realities. You died. You were raised. Your life is hidden. And one day, you will be
glorified. Your identification with Jesus Christ is so factual, it is so real, that what happened to Jesus at his
death, burial, and resurrection and coming again, happened and will happen to you.
 Now, that takes us now to the main directive of this text. After giving us the spiritual reality, he now
gives us the personal activity. And here's the command. And there are two of them.
 Verse one, if then or since then you were raised with Christ-- here it is-- seek those things which are
above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things of the
Earth. Two commands basically saying the same thing. Think about heaven.
 Now, just a moment ago, I quoted a Pew Research poll that said most Americans believe that there's a
heaven. But according to a Lifeway Research poll, most Americans never think about heaven. Oh. They'll
say, if they're pressed, do you believe in heaven?
 Yeah. I believe in heaven. I believe we're going to see our loved ones. I believe I'm going to see God. But
they just don't think about heaven. When asked how often do you wonder if I were to die today, do I know
for sure that I would go to heaven, almost 40% answered, I never think that. It never crosses my mind.
 So what Paul is saying is it should not only cross your mind. It should be one of the things that dominate
your thinking, that our feet might be on Earth, but our minds should be in heaven. That doesn't mean we
walk around in a daze or sit in a corner and contemplate our navel and go, om.
 We're so heavenly-minded. We're no earthly good, as some people like to say. It just simply means that
the practical affairs of our daily life, we get direction from Jesus Christ, who is in heaven. The daily practical
affairs of our lives, we get direction from Jesus who is now in heaven.
 And because Jesus is now in heaven, don't you agree that he has the best view of everything happening
on Earth better than anybody else? The view from heaven is superior to the view from the White House.
The view from heaven is better than the view from the Pentagon. The view from heaven is better than the
view from the CDC or the Kremlin. The view from heaven is better than the view from Elon Musk's desk or
Rocket Enterprise.
 Jesus Christ has the best view because he sees every action, he reads every mind, and he weighs every
motive. So the idea then, perhaps, is this let's look at the events of this Earth from the point of view of
heaven, not from a partisan point of view, not from a Democrat-Republican point of view, not from a
temporary four-year election cycle point of view. Let's look at the affairs of this life from a heavenly
perspective, a heavenly point of view. That's our personal activity. If you were raised, seeked the things
which are above. Set your mind that is programmed in your thoughts.
 How do you program your thoughts with things above? There's only one way I know how to do that.
Right here. This book. It's why we always do Bible study. It's why I always say, I'm glad you're here on the
weekend. But also, come Wednesday nights. I find that--
 Listen. The only thing I know about truth, the only thing I know about God, the only thing I know about
Christ, the only thing I know about life comes to me from the word of God. It's where I get programmed. So
seek and set your mind.
 Now, I mentioned-- and we've sort of already discussed-- that unsaved people, though, they'll say they
believe in heaven. They don't really think much about it. But I've discovered that not a lot of Christians
even think about heaven.
 In fact, Matthew Westerholm studied the difference between worship songs used in American
churches from the year 2000 to 2015 and compared those to worship songs used in the church from 1737
to 1960. This is what he said. "Among many similarities, one difference was striking, the topic of heaven,
which once was frequently and richly sung about has now all but disappeared."
 How is it possible that something so central to the New Testament, so that 5% of the New Testament
says hope of heaven, hope of heaven, hope of heaven, think about heaven, be mindful of heaven-- how is it
that something so central to the New Testament is so far from Christian thinking?
 So here's a question. Why should we seek heaven? Why should we think about heaven? Well, if you
think in terms of just chronology and time, where are you going to spend most of your time, Christian? Not
here, but in heaven.
 You live 70, years 80. Years maybe you live to be 100 years. You compare that to eternity, not even a drop
in the bucket, not even a blip on the screen. So momentary. The Bible says our life is but a-- that's it, a
vapor, a vapor. It's so transitory.
 So get this. The moment we got saved, the moment we said yes to Jesus, we established legal
residence in heaven. Now, people that come forward at an altered call, they don't know that. But the
moment they come forward and they say yes to Jesus, they have an address in heaven.
 Philippians three says our citizenship is in heaven from which we eagerly await our savior. So then think
of this life as like a transit lounge in an airport or a gate seating area at an airport. You're here on the Earth,
but you're just making a connecting flight.
 So don't get so hung up on the airport or the transit lounge. Think about where you're going. And by the
way, you've just been upgraded to one class.
 We have a heavenly focus because we have heavenly citizenship. So that's spiritual reality. That's
personal activity. Let me close with the third truth category. And that is authority, supernatural authority.
 This is how you have the power over your old life, power to live the new life, and power to keep heaven in
mind. And that is this, verse one. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above
where Christ is-- now watch this last phrase-- sitting at the right hand of God.
 Now, most of us, we just sort of pass over there and go, oh, that's just a nice thing to say. I really don't
know what it means. Do you know that nine times, the Bible says Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand
of the Father? Nine different times.
 Once is in the Old Testament predicting that he will have that place of authority in power, eight times in
the New Testament. Nine times total. What does it mean to be seated at the right hand?
 Well, first of all, it speaks of a finished work, a finished work, that salvation is complete. On the cross, Jesus
said, it is finished. How do we know it's finished? Answer, because he sat down.
 Now, follow me here. In the tabernacle and the temple, the priests were always on their feet. They never
sat down. There was never a chair in the temple or the tabernacle because the priest's work was always
busy work of another sacrifice, another animal, another killing. Morning, evening, festival days, every single
day, priests never sat down.
 For a priest to sit down meant it's all done. And it was never done in the past. Now it is. It's done. It's
finished. Hebrews chapter one, verse three. When he, Jesus, by himself purged our sins, sat down at the
right hand of the majesty on high.
 The seated position as a priest meant no more sacrifice is needed. Finished. It's a finished work. It speaks
of something else though.
 If you were to take a seat at the right hand of a king, a monarch, it simply meant you had the same
authority, power, prestige, as the king himself. The right hand was a place of honor, status, strength,
authority. So listen to this, Ephesians chapter one.
 His mighty power, which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his
right hand in the heavenly places 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. To be seated at God's right hand
is to have all the authority of God, the father, himself.
 OK. So Jesus ascended into heaven. He's seated at the right hand of God. He's been there ever since.
What is he doing up there? Is he on his iPad? Is he looking at social media feeds? Is he playing chess with
the angels?
 What's he doing? You know the answer to this. What's he doing? He's interceding for us. He's praying for
us. It says in Romans eight Christ is risen who is even at the right hand of God making intercession for us.
 So get this. Until we get to heaven, Jesus is praying for us from heaven. That's supernatural authority. He
has given to us through his death on the cross in life now of intercession and having all the power, all the
authority, to live a life that says, I'm dead to the old. I'm alive to the new. My life is hidden with Christ in God,
and I can't wait until I have a glorified body in heaven. The power to do all that comes from him.
 Now, I want to close back to verse one and two where it says seek those things which are above and
verse two, set your mind on things above. Both of those are in the present imperative and speaks of an
ongoing pursuit. It literally means be constantly and persistently seeking, constantly, persistently setting
your mind. None of this, yeah, you know, I went to church. And I lived the Christian life for a couple of
months. And I just started [MUMBLING]Â
Listen, if you've fallen, if you run out of wind, by God's grace and strength, get back up and get marching.
And move ahead. And be persistent in your Christian walk. Be persistent.
 There's something about a persistent life that is very attractive. Did you know that Albert Einstein was
kicked out of school in Munich? His teacher said he lacked interest in his studies.
 Can you just imagine being the dude who kicks Albert Einstein out of school? You've got to live with
that. Albert Einstein. Later on, he went to another school in Zurich. He failed the entrance exam.
 Later on, he became a tutor in a boarding house. He got fired from that. But you know what happened?
Well, you know what happened. He kept going. He kept persisting.
 Howard Carter had a hunch that there was something very valuable in a clump of dirt in Egypt. And he
persisted digging through the rubble, and the ridicule, and the resistance of all the academic world and
even the local field agents who said, just call off the dig. But in 1922, because he persisted, he found the
tomb of King Tut. Amazing find.
 I have a friend in California. I talked to him on the phone yesterday. He said, Skip-- he's a medical doctor.
He's a heart surgeon. And he's very well known in his field. And he's a believer.
 And he said, do you know that I was rejected from 29 medical schools before I finally got admitted? He
was admitted to USC, USC Medical School in California. But he said, you know what it's like to get 10
rejection letters, and then 18 rejection letters, and then 28, and then 29? And you think, I'm done. But he
wasn't done. He persisted. He kept doing it.
 So Satan wants you to believe you should just quit. You should just stop. The Christian life isn't for you.
You're a failure. You'll never break free from the past. That's a lie.
 You've died to the old. You've been raised to the new. Your life is hidden with Christ and God. And one
day, he'll prove it by glorifying your body.
 So aim at heaven. Think of heaven. Sing of heaven. Preach of heaven. Teach heaven because it is not only
your destination. It can be our motivation.
 Father, thank you for this very simple, but forthright set of verses from the apostles pen where he gives
us the reality that has happened to us, that Jesus dying on a cross wasn't a man being executed outside of
Jerusalem. It was a monumental redemptive event. Whereby, we, too, died. And we, too, were raised when
he was raised three days later.
 And now, our life is tucked into, and wrapped up with, and hidden with Christ in God. And one day, Jesus
will show up again. He promised he would come. And when he does, we'll be with him gloriously
transformed, not subject to the decomposition and degradation of our world, but brand new, bodies that
will never wear out.
 And more than just having new bodies and being in heaven. The greatest thing about heaven is what
we are told in this first verse where Christ is with him in glory. We're going to see his face and be with our
savior.
 Father, I pray if there's anyone here who has never opened their lives, their hearts up to Jesus, that this
would be the weekend where they would just say yes to him. Maybe that's you. Maybe you're seated here
in this auditorium or outside in our amphitheater. Perhaps, you're watching on a device of some kind or
listening to our radio station broadcasts in the local area.
 But you have never given your life to Christ. You've never surrendered your life. You've never asked him
to come in. Would you do that right now?
 Would you just say to him something simple like, Lord, I admit, I'm a sinner, and I'm sorry for my sins. I fall
short. I admit it. But I believe. I believe in Jesus. I believe he died for me, shed his blood for me. I believe he
rose again.
 I turn from my sin. I repent. I turn to Jesus Christ as my savior, as my Lord, my master. You've planted
within me a desire to know you and to think of heavenly things. You planted that within me. Now receive
me. In Jesus' name, amen.
 Let's all stand. We're going to close in a song. If any of you here prayed that prayer-- we'll give
instructions to our media audience. But if any of you here prayed that or said that, would you just see one
of our leadership teams that are going to be around the campus? Our decision team will be up in the front.
 And just say, I prayed that prayer. I made that step of faith. Just say that to them. We'll know what to do.
We're going to probably give you a big hug, welcome you into God's family, and tell you the next steps to
take.
 Thank you so much for joining us for this message from Calvary Church. We would love to know how
this message impacted you. Share your story with us. Email mystory@calvarynm.church. And if you'd like
to support this Bible teaching ministry with a financial gift, visit calvarynm.church/give.Â
“Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal,” said Thomas Moore. But if that is true, why don’t we think more about heaven? Why do we only think and talk about heaven at funerals? How can the reality of our future home motivate our activities right now? If you were to think about your life in terms of chronology, how much time do you have left on earth? Let’s look at three categories of truth that will help us aim at heaven while we are living on earth.