Bible Text: John 14:2 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Mat\u00adthi\u00adas Alt\u00adwegg | Series: Wel\u00adco\u00adme Home | Tho\u00adse who turn to Jesus Christ are given a home in the hea\u00adven\u00adly home! Unfort\u00adu\u00adna\u00adte\u00adly, the images of hea\u00adven are often so colour\u00adless and bor\u00ading that many do not even look for\u00adward to their eter\u00adnal home. This ser\u00admon pro\u00advi\u00addes moti\u00advat\u00ading images of hea\u00adven. What we belie\u00adve about the future influen\u00adces our life in the here and now.<\/p>\n
The\u00adre is almost not\u00adhing more beau\u00adtiful than roa\u00adming through the woods on a bike on a late sum\u00admer day and loo\u00adking down on Lake Hall\u00adwil from a high trail. The\u00adse colours, the\u00adse con\u00adtrasts, this impres\u00adsi\u00adve area. I love life in this world! This world is not per\u00adfect. The\u00adre are wars, inju\u00adries, pain and bad things that can hap\u00adpen to you. Some things don\u2019t work out as they should, but I love living here! That\u2019s why I ask mys\u00adelf: What am I going to do in hea\u00adven? Why should I be hap\u00adpy the\u00adre? I want it to be exciting! \tWhat images do you see in your mind\u2019s eye when you think of your hea\u00adven\u00adly home? Are you happy? Bible Text: John 14:2 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Mat\u00adthi\u00adas Alt\u00adwegg | Series: Wel\u00adco\u00adme Home | Tho\u00adse who turn to Jesus Christ are given a home in the hea\u00adven\u00adly home! Unfort\u00adu\u00adna\u00adte\u00adly, the images of hea\u00adven are often so colour\u00adless and bor\u00ading that many do not even look for\u00adward to their eter\u00adnal home. This ser\u00admon pro\u00advi\u00addes moti\u00advat\u00ading images of hea\u00adven. What we\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[23],"wpfc_sermon_series":[53],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":{"0":"wpfc_preacher-matthias-altwegg","1":"wpfc_sermon_series-willkommen-daheim","2":"wpfc-sermon-single","3":"post-2475","4":"wpfc_sermon","5":"type-wpfc_sermon","6":"status-publish","7":"hentry","10":"wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"},"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nOur images of hea\u00adven are often a litt\u00adle stran\u00adge. We might ima\u00adgi\u00adne the reti\u00adre\u00adment home of eter\u00adni\u00adty \u2013 except that I don\u2019t have a wal\u00adker, I have a cloud. On this cloud I lie. Ever\u00ady\u00adthing is white and quiet. Some\u00adti\u00admes the silence is inter\u00adrupt\u00aded by zither sounds. I make trips and pass by other clouds whe\u00adre peo\u00adp\u00adle are also sit\u00adting. Some have been the\u00adre for a very long time. For exam\u00adp\u00adle Moses, the man who led Isra\u00adel out of Egypt and had to deal inten\u00adse\u00adly with the stub\u00adborn\u00adness of the peo\u00adp\u00adle. Moses still does\u00adn\u2019t like to see peo\u00adp\u00adle. Becau\u00adse I\u2019m a bit too loud, Peter comes over and says, \u00abBrot\u00adher Mat\u00adthi\u00adas, we\u2019\u00adre quiet up here!\u00bb
\nMay\u00adbe your idea of hea\u00adven goes in a simi\u00adlar direc\u00adtion. May\u00adbe you have not\u00adhing to do with God and think: How nai\u00adve are they? After death ever\u00ady\u00adthing is over anyway!
\nToday we want to get rid of old ide\u00adas of hea\u00adven as best we can and let our\u00adsel\u00adves be shown anew what God has pre\u00adpared for us. What is hea\u00adven like? What we belie\u00adve about our future influen\u00adces our life in the here and now. Unfort\u00adu\u00adna\u00adte\u00adly, becau\u00adse of our nar\u00adrow\u00adness, our images of the hea\u00adven\u00adly home are very trun\u00adca\u00adted and war\u00adped. A litt\u00adle thought expe\u00adri\u00adment: ima\u00adgi\u00adne a man from the Stone Age. To this man, who lived a few thousand years ago, you would now have to explain a smart\u00adphone. The more you explain the func\u00adtions and pos\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adties, the more he will think that you are pul\u00adling his leg. You are sim\u00adply tal\u00adking about the fact that he can now make a pho\u00adne call to a fri\u00adend who lives in Afri\u00adca. What is tal\u00adking on the pho\u00adne? What is Afri\u00adca? His fri\u00adends live with him in the same cave. Then you want to explain to him that he can set up a fami\u00adly chat and use the mobi\u00adle pho\u00adne as a navi\u00adga\u00adti\u00adon device. The Nean\u00adder\u00adthal looks at you com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly perplexed.
\nWe feel the same way about eter\u00adni\u00adty. Our ima\u00adgi\u00adna\u00adti\u00adve capa\u00adci\u00adty is insuf\u00adfi\u00adci\u00adent for hea\u00adven. We have the inter\u00adnet, Wiki\u00adpe\u00addia, Siri and Ale\u00adxa, but we still have no idea of the mea\u00adning of hea\u00adven. That is why we need good images from our living world to give us a glim\u00adpse of what awaits us in hea\u00adven. God has given glim\u00adp\u00adses of hea\u00adven to some peo\u00adp\u00adle. (Reve\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon 21 +22; 1Corinthians 15:12\u201358; John 14:2; Romans 8:18).
\nThe\u00adre is even someone who has been to hea\u00adven and lived the\u00adre. Jesus came to earth and told us about it. In John 14:2 he speaks of it, \u00abThe\u00adre are many man\u00adsi\u00adons in my Father\u2019s house, and I go befo\u00adre to prepa\u00adre a place for you. If it were not so, would I have told you so?\u00bb
\nHea\u00adven is the house of God. It is not only God\u2019s home, but can also beco\u00adme your home. Jesus has alre\u00ada\u00addy gone ahead to prepa\u00adre a beau\u00adtiful home for us.
\nThe sky is incom\u00adpa\u00adra\u00adb\u00adly more beau\u00adtiful than the world
\n\u00abBut we are wai\u00adting for the new hea\u00advens and the new earth that he pro\u00admi\u00adsed\u00bb (2 Peter 3:13). When a com\u00adpa\u00adny releases a new ver\u00adsi\u00adon of a pro\u00adduct, it must be an upgrade, an impro\u00adved ver\u00adsi\u00adon. The new hea\u00adven and the new earth will be an uni\u00adma\u00adgi\u00adnable high\u00adly poten\u00adtia\u00adted impro\u00adve\u00adment. Now, if this world is alre\u00ada\u00addy so inte\u00adres\u00adt\u00ading and worth living in, why should the cul\u00admi\u00adna\u00adti\u00adon of life be colour\u00adless and just bor\u00ading? The\u00adre are abys\u00admal sto\u00adries of suf\u00adfe\u00adring in this world. We know this in our cir\u00adcles too. Paul com\u00adpa\u00adres the\u00adse suf\u00adfe\u00adrings with the glo\u00adry of the later home: \u00abBut I am con\u00advin\u00adced that our pre\u00adsent suf\u00adfe\u00adrings are insi\u00adgni\u00adfi\u00adcant com\u00adpared to the glo\u00adry that he will give us later\u00bb (Romans 8:18).
\nHea\u00adven is your home
\nGod did not crea\u00adte hea\u00adven for hims\u00adelf and you can now rent an 8 m\u00b2 flat for CHF<\/span> 800 as a lodger. No, you are at home the\u00adre \u2013 part of the fami\u00adly. The\u00adre is the well-known Christ\u00admas song \u00abDri\u00adving home for Christ\u00admas\u00bb. How nice it is to come home on Christ\u00admas Eve after a last stressful day at work. You final\u00adly arri\u00adve and yank open the door. The smell of roast goo\u00adse hits you, you hear the fami\u00adli\u00adar voices, you are in fami\u00adli\u00adar sur\u00adroun\u00addings and you know: I am home! A home awaits you in hea\u00adven that you can look for\u00adward to. Jesus spa\u00adres no effort to prepa\u00adre a home for you whe\u00adre you will feel at home.
\nHea\u00adven is a real place
\nHea\u00adven is not a nir\u00adva\u00adna into which we sink, but a real place. Not a dream, not a cloud, not a bes\u00adi\u00adde, but a phy\u00adsi\u00adcal place with abo\u00adve and below, natu\u00adre, trees, roads and peo\u00adp\u00adle. The new hea\u00adven and the new earth (Reve\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon 21:2) are not purely spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal quan\u00adti\u00adties, but like our earth, just per\u00adfect. If the imper\u00adfect world alre\u00ada\u00addy con\u00adta\u00adins such glo\u00adrious colours and natu\u00adral phe\u00adno\u00adme\u00adna, what must the new earth look like! Who plan\u00adted this lie in our brains that ever\u00ady\u00adthing in hea\u00adven is white? But the\u00adre is not only natu\u00adre. Hea\u00adven is descri\u00adbed as a city. The most beau\u00adtiful city you have ever seen is a \u00abshit\u00adho\u00adle\u00bb in com\u00adpa\u00adri\u00adson. The hea\u00adven\u00adly city is com\u00adpared to a bri\u00adde who has ador\u00adned hers\u00adelf, with pure gold and she will have city walls of diamonds.
\nIn hea\u00adven we will have per\u00adfect bodies
\nHea\u00adven is a real place whe\u00adre peo\u00adp\u00adle do not float around as spi\u00adrits of the soul on clouds. Paul uses the image of a seed for the human body (1Corinthians 15:35ff). It may be tiny, but the\u00adre is a who\u00adle tree in it. He descri\u00adbes our pre\u00adsent bodies as weak. In the hea\u00adven\u00adly home we will have per\u00adfect bodies. We will all be supre\u00adme\u00adly strong \u2013 and wit\u00adhout strength training.
\nIn hea\u00adven the\u00adre will be no more suffering
\nThe\u00adse per\u00adfect bodies will func\u00adtion abso\u00adlut\u00ade\u00adly free of com\u00adplaints. The\u00adre will be no more ill\u00adness \u2013 not\u00adhing that keeps you awa\u00adke at night. We will also be per\u00adfect men\u00adtal\u00adly and spi\u00adri\u00adtual\u00adly: \u00abHe will wipe away all their tears, and the\u00adre will be no more death or mour\u00adning or wee\u00adping or pain. For the first world with all its evil has pas\u00adsed away fore\u00adver\u00bb (Reve\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon 21:4). Hea\u00adven is your home \u2013 com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly wit\u00adhout suffering.
\nIn hea\u00adven we will reign with Jesus
\nIn the hea\u00adven\u00adly home we will not be bored, becau\u00adse we are given a task. It is not a job that we do for 8 hours, get some money and are hap\u00adpy when it is over. Jesus gives us respon\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty: \u00abIf we suf\u00adfer with him, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us\u00bb (2 Timo\u00adthy 2:12). In hea\u00adven we will live ful\u00adly in the cent\u00adre of our cal\u00adling. We will get into a flow at work. We will have so much fun doing what we do. That\u2019s why it makes sen\u00adse that Jesus says that here on earth we should alre\u00ada\u00addy be faithful in small things. We are trai\u00adning for our hea\u00adven\u00adly home.
\nHea\u00adven is a place of reunion
\nI read about an extra\u00ador\u00addi\u00adna\u00adry love sto\u00adry. C. set off on a four-year trip around the world after gra\u00addua\u00adting from high school with 50 euros in start-up capi\u00adtal. He tra\u00advel\u00adled to 45 count\u00adries and cover\u00aded 100,000 kilo\u00adme\u00adt\u00adres on foot, by car and on sai\u00adling boats. M. found out about this man through an artic\u00adle and wro\u00adte to him. They stay\u00aded in touch for 15 months and wro\u00adte to each other \u2013 seve\u00adral pages of mes\u00adsa\u00adges every day. At some point, M. had had enough. She got on the pla\u00adne to India and then they stood face to face for the first time. What a moment! C. comm\u00adents. \u00abMy very first thought when I saw her was \u00abOh, she looks so good. I could almost mar\u00adry her. If that\u2019s not the woman for life, who is?\u00bb \u00bb Mean\u00adwhile, they got mar\u00adried. M. is still blown away by her new\u00adly\u00adwed hus\u00adband! She gus\u00adhes, \u00abThe more I get to know him, the gros\u00adser this guy actual\u00adly is. To this day, I don\u2019t belie\u00adve it exists. I think one day I wake up and I\u2019m like, \u00abM. what did you dream? You know, the\u00adre was this guy \u2013 gre\u00adat dream, nice.\u00bb So some\u00adday I\u2019ll still wake up, for sure. Sometime.\u00bb
\nIn hea\u00adven we will be face to face with the hea\u00adven\u00adly Father for the first time. It will be an incre\u00addi\u00adble expe\u00adri\u00adence. And you won\u2019t dream. You will never wake up! Ever\u00ady\u00adthing we expe\u00adri\u00adence in pray\u00ader with God in this world is a won\u00adderful preli\u00admi\u00adna\u00adry skir\u00admish. But the per\u00adso\u00adnal encoun\u00adter is some\u00adthing else again! \u00abMy dear fri\u00adends, we are alre\u00ada\u00addy the child\u00adren of God, and what we will be like when Christ comes again we can\u00adnot even ima\u00adgi\u00adne. But we know that when he returns we will be like him, for we will see him as he real\u00adly is\u00bb (1 John 3:2). \u00abNow we see ever\u00ady\u00adthing only as in a mir\u00adror and as in mys\u00adte\u00adrious images; but then we shall see \u00abGod\u00bb face to face. When I reco\u00adg\u00adni\u00adse some\u00adthing now, I always reco\u00adg\u00adni\u00adse only a part of the who\u00adle; but then I will know ever\u00ady\u00adthing as God alre\u00ada\u00addy knows me now\u00bb (1 Corin\u00adthi\u00adans 13:12, NG\u00dc<\/span>). We will also see fri\u00adends and fami\u00adly again in hea\u00adven, but the encoun\u00adter with God will eclip\u00adse ever\u00ady\u00adthing else. An old hymn says: \u00abThe\u00adre befo\u00adre the thro\u00adne in the hea\u00adven\u00adly coun\u00adtry I\u2019ll meet the fri\u00adends I\u2019ve known here; yet Jesus and Jesus alo\u00adne will be the cau\u00adse of my joy and worship.\u00bb
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\nAre the\u00adre things in your ever\u00ady\u00adday life right now that want to rob you of joy in the here and now? Finan\u00adcial worries, pro\u00adblems at work, rela\u00adti\u00adonship pro\u00adblems, loneli\u00adne\u00adss, inju\u00adries, pain or loss? You don\u2019t have to put yours\u00adelf off until the here\u00adaf\u00adter. The point is that you can expe\u00adri\u00adence hea\u00adven\u00adly moments in this world. Hea\u00adven beg\u00adins whe\u00adre you let Jesus into your life. He desi\u00adres to get more and more space in your heart. All the bur\u00adden\u00adso\u00adme things take up space in your heart. Jesus says: I want to live the\u00adre and give you new hope.
\nHave you alre\u00ada\u00addy made a decis\u00adi\u00adon for Jesus? Jesus has made a decis\u00adi\u00adon. His yes to you is radi\u00adcal. His yes is valid into the infi\u00adni\u00adte. Only someone who loves radi\u00adcal\u00adly makes such a decis\u00adi\u00adon. This radi\u00adcal love was the reason why Jesus left his home, hea\u00adven. Why did he do that? HE<\/span> had ever\u00ady\u00adthing in hea\u00adven. Only one thing was miss\u00ading for him: that is you. Jesus missed you and me so much that he said: I go to the peo\u00adp\u00adle to tell them who I am, what I am like and what I have pre\u00adpared for them. This radi\u00adcal love is most evi\u00addent on the cross. Left and right, cri\u00admi\u00adnal men are cru\u00adci\u00adfied with him. They scof\u00adfed when Jesus was put on the cross. One of the men, han\u00adging on the cross, had a tur\u00adning point. Sud\u00adden\u00adly he rea\u00adli\u00adsed: this is God. Befo\u00adre he died, he could only say the one sen\u00adtence: \u00abJesus, remem\u00adber me when you come into your king\u00addom\u00bb (Luke 23:42). Jesus does not reproach, but ans\u00adwe\u00adred, \u00abI assu\u00adre you, this very day you will be with me in para\u00addi\u00adse.\u00bb Tur\u00adning to Jesus means get\u00adting a home!
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\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups
\nRead the Bible text: Reve\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon 21<\/p>\n
\n\tWhat new images can be hel\u00adpful and increase anticipation?
\n\tWhy won\u2019t hea\u00adven be boring?
\n\tWhy did Jesus lea\u00adve hea\u00adven when he had everything?
\n\tHow can we help peo\u00adp\u00adle dis\u00adco\u00adver the hea\u00adven\u00adly home?
\n\tTake a walk during the autumn holi\u00addays, admi\u00adre the colourful natu\u00adre and ima\u00adgi\u00adne the sky!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"