Slides: Eternal Pleasures

Eternal Pleasures
Colossians 3:4; Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 16:11

3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 7 And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. 9 It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:6-9)

Pleasures forevermore

• Everlasting joy will crown their heads. (Isaiah 35:10)

• Be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create. (Isaiah 65:18).

• You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

Biblical hints

Banquet: best foods, finest wines

Music: harps, trumpets, singing

Country: river, fruit trees, animals

City: gold streets, pearl gates, gems

How would you describe the taste of ice cream to someone who has never eaten anything but oatmeal? You might say, "Ice cream is sort of like the best oatmeal you’ve eaten," but that doesn't exactly express what ice cream is like. So you might say, "Ice cream is sort of like oatmeal, except that it’s cold and you scoop it in globs."  Cold, globby oatmeal--that doesn't sound appetizing!

How would you describe the Eiffel Tower to someone who has never seen anything grander than a hut? You might say that the Eiffel Tower is a very tall, splendid hut, but that doesn't fully express what the Eiffel Tower is really like.

When the Bible offers hints of eternity, it pictures some of the finest things in our present experience, but the reality of eternity may go far beyond anything in our present experience. Some hints may be literal, but if not, eternity will offer something even better.

How could new-creation pleasures be less than this world?

• Who invented all pleasures? Who created sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, and touch?

• Pleasures now are just appetizers.

  ✫  These appetizers have been dropped in the dirt and are decaying.

  ✫  The main course will be clean and unspoiled.

Eternal pleasures

• A place to rest.

• A place to play.

• A place to discover.

• A place to succeed.

A place to rest: Israel’s foretaste

• Rest from slavery, wandering, and warfare

• God promised, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14)

• Solomon said, “The Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster.” (1 Kings 5:4)

• This Golden Age of rest involved building, researching, reveling: “eating and drinking, and making merry.” (1 Kings 4:20)

Restful, refreshing busyness

• Some people retire from a stressful daily grind of work, yet they are more active than ever. They pursue hobbies, games, books, travel, and volunteer work.

• Picture an eternal active retirement, not slowed by poor health, but free to do the things you love most, without financial concerns.

• Restful activity with no need to sleep. There will be no night there. (Rev 21:25)

A place to rest

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord… they will rest from their labor. (Rev 14:13)

“In my Father’s house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

• Safer than a castle fortress

• Plusher than a luxury hotel

• Cozier than your family room

Eternal pleasures

• A place to rest.

• A place to play.

• A place to discover.

• A place to succeed.

A place to play

• The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. (Isaiah 11:8)

• The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there. (Zechariah 8:5)

• Jesus often said the Kingdom is like a feast.

• Jesus was called a party animal. (Luke 7:34)

• Don’t equate grumpiness with godliness

• What if eternal robes are party clothes?

• What if harps and other instruments are for dance music?

• You will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful. (Jer 31:4).

• Spiritual and relational pleasures will surpass physical pleasures.

• Still, we will be bodily beings and enjoy bodily delights. As we delight in the Giver, he will keep flooding us with delightful gifts.

• Eternity will be seriously fun!

When I talk about the new creation as a place to play, don’t get me wrong—there will be majesty and reverence in heaven. We will be more awestruck by God than ever before. But we will also be more glad and playful than ever. Our deepest joy will be God and his love. Our hearts will overflow with respect and love and praise for him. But worship doesn’t rule out fun; worship will be the main fun and the fountain for all the other fun. Our pleasure and laughter will be acts of worship. As the Bible says, “In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.”

Eternal pleasures

• A place to rest.

• A place to play.

• A place to discover.

• A place to succeed.

A place to discover

• Not boring classes but first-hand exploration

  ✫ Volcanoes, dolphins, mammoths, dinosaurs

  ✫ Meet heroes for real, not just in books

  ✫ Learn about God and angels in direct encounter, not just sermons and scholars.

• Not slack or slow students but great learners.

  ✫ You will have the curiosity of preschooler.

  ✫ You will have the intellect of a genius.

• Guided tours of glory

 The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9)

“Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Eternal pleasures

• A place to rest.

• A place to play.

• A place to discover.

• A place to succeed.

A place to succeed

• No frustrations or failures: no missing tools or lost keys or computer crashes or ruined hopes

• The curse on work will be removed.

• All goals we work toward will be achieved.

• We will enjoy the fruit of our labor: “They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat… My chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. They will not toil in vain” (Isaiah 65:21-23).

Our main work

We will rule God’s creation and bring out the best in everything.

The wilderness will rejoice and blossom. (Isaiah 35:1).

New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. (Amos 9:13).

God will give each of his children great responsibilities and enormous talents, and we will never run out of time to achieve the goals God sets for us. God might not give all of us the talent to be skilled at everything; some may specialize in one thing, others in another. But we will delight in each other's abilities and savor working together.

As we work together to bring out the full potential of the new earth, the results will be magnificent. Heaven on earth will have the best of nature and the best of culture, the best of the country and the best of the city, the best of science and the best of art. The Bible pictures the wealth and achievements of all cultures being gathered in the capital city of a splendidly developed civilization (Revelation 21:24,26).

Eternal pleasures

• A place to rest.

• A place to play.

• A place to discover.

• A place to succeed.