Philippians 4: Made for Heaven - Audio

The Gathering Place Church - main

The fact is that God made us for Heaven, where all of these things will be perfect and forever. All of our human desires come from a desire for heaven. And Jesus encouraged this desire when He taught us to pray, “your kingdom come; your will be done; on earth as it is in Heaven.” Our actions are focused on bringing Heaven to Earth. We strive for all these good things, beauty, justice, faithful relationships, healing, deliverance, belonging, etc. The problem is that we are not accomplishing heaven on earth. Heaven on Earth is being sabotaged by our human nature, our own and that of all those who do not follow God. This means that we experience moments of Heaven on Earth. These are “down payments” of Heaven on Earth. They are like Costco samples designed to stimulate our hunger for the full meal, which only comes in Heaven. This leads to frustration and disappointment with God, with ourselves, and with others. The problem is that we have somehow come to believe that we can transform this world into Heaven on Earth, that we can turn the sample into the full meal. For some Christians, Heaven of Earth is something we believe we can demand of God, something we have a right to, something we deserve. Sort of like the American Dream. This can lead to frustration, dissatisfaction, and disillusionment. The fact is that God calls us to work for instalments of Heaven on Earth, but it will not come in fullness until Jesus returns. We are living in a between time, which is difficult to accept, and we are tempted to lose our joy because of it. Fortunately, Paul addresses the solution to this problem near the end of Chapter 3 and in Chapter 4 where he contrasts non-Christians with Christians, saying “Their mind is on earthly things, but our citizenship is in Heaven.” Phil. 3:19-20 What does Paul mean when he tells us that our citizenship is in Heaven? The experience that makes this idea real to me is traveling in a foreign country, with a language I don’t speak, and a culture I don’t really understand. It may be very beautiful, but I know I don’t really belong there. I am just passing through on my way home. Paul is telling us that no matter how much of heaven on earth we experience, we are still just passing through and although we experience small deposits of heaven on earth, we will never be fully satisfied until we get to heaven. He is telling us that our joy should never be proportional to our present experience of “heaven on earth”. Also, he is telling us that when we are not experiencing heaven on earth, we do not need to be frustrated or unhappy. We can be happy here and now, even with a limited experience of Heaven on Earth. Fortunately, he shares his secret source of happiness with us. “… I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Phil. 4:11-13 Here is Paul’s secret formula for peace and contentment, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Phil. 4:4-7 The key phrase is “in the Lord”. Our joy, peace, contentment, and hope are to be in nothing more or less than our relationship with Jesus. He is our hope, He is our joy, He is our peace! Heaven on Earth is only “heaven” if He is here. No circumstance can take you from Him if you have made Him your reason for happiness. There is no circumstance that can take your joy from you if you have made Him your source of joy. Paul summed it up when he said, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings.” Phil. 3:10 Seek after Jesus, make Him your reason for joy. Spend time getting to know Him.