Sunday, December 29, 2013
pm
I’LL BE SATISFIED
#386, Sacred Selections
a.
When my soul is singing
in the Promised land above –
i.
The Promised Land – we
quite often sing about the “Promised land”.
The phrase is not found in scripture, but it is a reference to
Canaan promised to the children of Israel, which is in scripture..
In Ex. 12:25, “It will come to pass when you come to the land
which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep
this service.” (Exodus 12:25)
“Therefore hear, O
Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and
that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has
promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’” (Deuteronomy
6:3)
Heb. 11:9 even speaks of
Abraham dwelling in the land of promise though as a foreigner.
ii.
That “Promised Land”,
though in different terms IS referred to in scripture.
It is a reference to our heavenly home.
IT is referred to a REAL place.
Heb. 11:10 speaking of Abraham notes that “he
waited for a city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God.”
Vs. 13-16 describe their looking for a heavenly country and God
has prepared a city for them.
Rev. 21:1-4, John saw “the holy city, New Jerusalem coming down out of
heaven from God”. While I do
not believe this is specifically a reference to heaven (since it came
down out of heaven), it DOES describe a city – a real place. And
originating in heaven, it would be descriptive of its character.
NOTE: We may not fully grasp every detail of the book of Revelation, but
it is a book of hope and one of many lessons we can glean from this book
is a glimpse of what heaven will be like.
Let us keep that in mind as we quote from this book throughout
this lesson.
iii.
We are looking forward
to a home in heaven. It IS a
real place (though not of this realm).
Heb. 13:14, encouraging his audience to “Go outside the camp” of
1st century Judaism, the writer says, “For
here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.”
Phil. 3:20, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also
eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,”
Heb. 12:22-24, “But
you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general
assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to
God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus
the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that
speaks better things than that of Abel.”
1 Peter 2:11, “Beloved, I beg
you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war
against the soul,”
iv.
Our reference to the
Promised Land or Canaan in songs, along with crossing over the river of
death is a picture symbolic of the journeys of Israel escaping the
bondage of Egypt by crossing the Red Sea, through their wilderness
wanderings to their crossing the Jordan to receive their promised land
flowing with milk and honey.
Many of these elements have a spiritual counterpart (i.e.
type-antitype).
v.
Furthermore, in heaven
there WILL be singing – Rev. 15:2-4, 14:3, 5:9-13, etc.
b.
I’ll Be satisfied – see
Chorus
c.
Praising Christ the
Savior for redeeming grace and love –
Heaven is where God and Jesus are.
Think of eternity with our Creator.
One of the things we learn from the book of Revelation is how God will
be praised in heaven.
Rev. 7:9-10
“After these
things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could
number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before
the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm
branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!””
1 Thess. 4:17 – we will always be with the Lord.
THE reason for such praise is His love for us and the price He paid to
make our presence with Him possible.
a.
Living in a city where
the soul shall never die. WE
have already discussed, the “city”.
It is also a place where the soul will never die.
Rev. 22:1-5 – concludes by saying we will reign with Him forever and
ever.
Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days
of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”
Asaph, in another psalm said, “You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.” (Psalm 73:2)
Heaven is a permanent place - 1 Pt. 1:3-4 – an inheritance
incorruptible.
Matt. 6:19-21 – your
treasure in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy.
b.
There to meet with saved
ones never more to say goodbye.
In this life we say goodbye to friends and loved ones.
If our relationship here is forged upon our fellowship with God,
then there is hope beyond this life.
And when we get to the other side, we will be with them for
eternity.
Revelation 21:4 says, “And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall
be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.””
1 Cor. 15:50-56 speaks of our being changed and putting on immortality
and incorruption.
a.
When I meet the ransomed
over on the golden shore – Heaven is a place for the saved.
One of the wonderful things about heaven is going to be those who will
be there – not only will God be there, but the “heroes of faith” in Heb.
11, the apostles and other godly men and women we read of in the Bible.
But they will not be alone.
Hebrews 11:39–40 says, “And
all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not
receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that
they should not be made perfect apart from us.”
Heaven is a place for the godly of all times.
IT is for those who have faithfully served God throughout their
time on this earth.
Rev. 7:9-10
“After these
things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could
number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before
the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm
branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!””
Rev. 14:13 says, “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me,
“Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,”
says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works
follow them.””
b.
There I’ll join the
angels singing praises evermore –
In heaven the angels will be there.
One of the things continually present in scenes of God’s throne
in Revelation is the presence of angels (ministering spirits – Heb.
1:14).
Rev. 7:11-12, a context describing the great multitude of the righteous,
then mentions angels standing around the throne and worshipping God.
Rev.5 which also pictures worshipping God around the throne includes
many creatures that worship Him including “the voice of many angels
around the throne” (5:11)
Heb. 12:22-24
“But you have
come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly
and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the
Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus
the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that
speaks better things than that of Abel.”
a.
Content in this life,
but NOT satisfied to stay here –
We realize there is a need for contentment in this life – 1 Tim. 6:6,
Phil. 4:11, etc. We have
emphasized the importance of this in this life.
BUT beyond that, we ought not to be satisfied with staying here.
Our desire ought to be to leave this world and spend eternity in
heaven. That IS the point of
this song as we sing, “I’ll be satisfied” over and over.
Phil. 1:21-23 records Paul’s dilemma. “For to me, to live is Christ,
and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit
from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am
hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with
Christ, which is far better.”
2 Cor. 5:1-8 is another text that describes this attitude.
READ.
Consider the attitude of Davin in Psalm 17:15,
“As
for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when
I awake in Your likeness.” This is the verse under the title in our
song books. How fitting.
b.
When my soul is resting
in the presence of the Lord –
Finally, we mention one more quality of heaven – REST.
This life is filled with toil and labor.
But we press on because we look to that day when we will finally
be able to rest.
In Hebrews 4, the writer made reference to the rest of the Promised Land
that Joshua led Israel into.
But it was not the ultimate rest.
The writer proceeds to say, “There remains therefore a rest
for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also
ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent
to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of
disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:9–11)
Rev. 14:13 again says, ““Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to
me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their
works follow them.””
2 Thess. 1:7 speaks of those who are troubled in this life will receive
rest when the Lord is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels.
Many of the songs we sing are about heaven.
This is not a mistake as it is our ultimate goal.
But in singing about heaven we must never forget about how we get
there. We must be saved by
obeying the gospel. And we
must continue to press on toward that goal.
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so
easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set
before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
(Hebrews 12:1–2) Heaven is a
place prepared for those who are prepared.
What about you? What
are you doing to get to heaven?