I was reading through Revelation a couple of weeks ago and I had this thought, “I really think that some people might not like heaven!” Especially when I got to Revelation 7:9-12…seriously, take a second to read that passage and then come back here as I share a thought or two about it. If people apprach heaven the same way some approach church then here are my fears… :-)
#1 - For Some People Heaven Will Be “Too Big.”
We have people that say, from time to time, “I really do like your church—except that it’s too big.” My reply is always the same, “Heaven isn’t going to be a small group/house church!”
In Scripture John clearly says that “a great multitude that no one could count” were there! (I would dare say the majority of which were not American…we will be a minority in heaven!) Read that again…the reason that no one could count them wasn’t because people are illiterate there…but rather because there were SO MANY PEOPLE!
Heaven is going to be crowded…in fact, I am not sure that everyone will know everyone…BUT, everyone WILL know Jesus…isn’t that THE most important thing? (With some folks the answer is no—whether they admit it or not!)
God did not call His followers to start country clubs…we are called to be the CHURCH! If the disciples had approached church back then the way that some small minded people approach it today—we’d all burn in hell because NO ONE would have cared enough to REACH OUT…they’d all be engrossed in their Bible studies and wound licking!
Thank God for a church back in 1990 that cared enough about people far from God to reach out to me!
Uh…one more thing…I’ve been reading in the book of Genesis…and if one will carefully read chapter one it is OBVIOUS to ANYONE with a three digit IQ as to what God desires to ANYTHING He creates! What did He command the plants, animals and ultimately Adam and Eve? “Be fruitful and INCREASE in NUMBER!!!” (See Genesis 1:22 and Genesis 1:28) God desires for things HE creates to grow…and the church is NOT an exception!
#2 - The Focus Will Be On Jesus…And That’s It!
Apparently the music in heaven is going to be loud…and will not be sang out of the Baptist hymnal. (See verse 10—they cried in a LOUD voice…apparently they didn’t get the “reverence” memo!)
No one will be asked in heaven, “Did you like the music? Was the sound too loud? Were you totally comfortable?” Nope—the focus will be on Jesus Christ…NOT consumeristic ego maniacs who church hop because they think everything exists for them. :-)
Church should ultimately exist for one reason…to make the name of Jesus famous. AND…a church cannot focus on making that happen if the leadership is obsessively concerned with making sure that everyone is leaving feeling happy and satisfied.
A church has TWO main responsibilities when it comes to operating…LISTENING to Jesus and then FOLLOWING His direction! That’s it…after all, it is HIS Church! At the end of the day it is supposed to be all about Him! And if a church is doing this then I can promise people will get upset…they always have!
There are some people in the world who have a problem with a church growing and adding people because, quite frankly, it takes the focus and attention off of them. As I’ve said hundreds of times…the church isn’t supposed to be about ANYONE other than Jesus!
That’s it…just wanted to share my thoughts. :-)