2. How we see, and where we place our future hope, directly affects us in the present.

3. Heaven is not an escape, it is a RESTORATION.

4. Heaven does not minimize our pain and suffering, it heals it.
Heaven makes all things new, not all new things.
Heaven makes the worthless, priceless.

6. Revelation 21:1-7
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

7. Revelation 21:1-7
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

9. Revelation 22:1-5
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

11. Matthew 6:9-13 9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done,     on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts,     as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation,     but deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

13. Our mission must be shaped by our Hope

14. Matthew 11:1-6
After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

15. Matthew 11:10-12 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,     who will prepare your way before you.’
11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.

17. Heaven is not an escape, it is a REVOLUTION

19. Romans 8:14-25
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

20. Romans 8:14-25
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

21. Romans 8:14-25
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

23. Isaiah 11:6-9
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,     the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together;     and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear,     their young will lie down together,     and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,     and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy     on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord     as the waters cover the sea.

24. Isaiah 65:17-19
“See, I will create     new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered,     nor will they come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever     in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight     and its people a joy. 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem     and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying     will be heard in it no more.

25. Isaiah 65:23-25
They will not labor in vain,     nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord,     they and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer;     while they are still speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,     and the lion will eat straw like the ox,     and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy     on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.

27. The Hope of Heaven transforms the suffering we experience on this Earth from hopeless fate, to expectant purpose.

29. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

30. Heaven is not an escape, it is reconciliation.

32. Worship
Prayer
Word

33. Revelation 22:1-5
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

35. Heaven does not minimize our pain and suffering, it heals it.
Heaven makes all things new, not all new things.
Heaven makes the worthless, priceless.