H.O.P.E. #3

H.O.P.E.

HEAVEN ON PLANET EARTH

This week we're talking about the third word in our acronym, PLANET

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 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, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 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, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of 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. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. - Ephesians 1:1-23

Our Focus. Knowing the hope & God’s power and dominion.

How big is our God?!

• More than 1 billion earths could fit inside the rings of Saturn 
• All the planets can fit between the earth and the moon!
• We are consistently learning new things about our planets that present more reasons why life is possible on earth, and how incredibly fine tuned that is. /// it’s fun to point out to critics of God’s creation that they’ve never made a functioning universe, let alone a living thing, ever///

Because of this, greatness we are without excuse! 

• Psalm 19:1 For the director of music. A psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
• Romans 1 tells us that creation declares the glory of God. Because of the glory of the heavens and planets, we are without excuse. Not only that, because of the planets we can have HOPE!!
• With great power comes great responsibility. In this day and age we have a lot of power in the form of technology and knowledge. I suggest this means we are even further from excuse.

Heavens help to give us the big picture

• In a material sense, Knowing that what we live on is a planet seriously helps our understanding of the grand scheme of our existence. It opens up the doors to amazing technology like GPS! It also reveals to us some of what is truth. In the same way, we need to know about our spiritual reality, which will in turn open up the amazing “technology” of the Holy Spirit. 
• It’s amazing that the heavens are so huge, and therefore God is even greater, yet he cares about you and I.

Our big picture 

• I’m a drummer. For me to function well in that I need to know how I fit into the big picture of a band. I’m also a guitarist. Similar, but different. We need to learn these differences in life. 
• We’re Jigsaw Puzzle People! [foundations!]

"Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." - 1 Corinthians 3:12-15  

"Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,  the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. - Revelation 21:9-21

• We’re not just here to be saved, we’re here to build the kingdom! Literally! We’re not just raptured the moment we get saved to go and be with Jesus, we remain on earth to OCCUPY till Christ comes to us! And while we’re here, we’re to be productive.  

It wouldn’t be megamorphic without a pun would it? PLAN IT!

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. - Psalm 90:12

• Please return, LORD! When will it be? Comfort your servants
• This is Moses in the wilderness, leading rebellious Israel for 40 years in the desert. He wants to number his days, to have them planned. Not just himself, he says “us”. He wants ALL to be like this. 

B.I.D - BIBLICALLY INFORMED DECISION

Commit to the big picture. Commit to a life of generating eternal rewards. Commit to numbering our days.