What and where is heaven?

Welcome to the Timeless Truth podcast, a resource of The Village Chapel in Nashville, TN. In season 5, Pastor Jim will lead us through a study of The Lord's Prayer.

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to Timeless Truth with Pastor Jim Thomas, a resource of the Village Chapel in Nashville, Tennessee. If you don't have a church home, for those in the Middle Tennessee area, we'd love to have you join us for worship in person every Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. Or if you live outside of Tennessee, join us at 10 a.m. for our online live stream. We're so grateful you've joined us this week as we continue our study of the Lord's Prayer. May the good seed of God's word take root in your heart and cultivate a deeper love for and trust in Jesus. Now, here's Pastor Jim.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

So smack dab in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6, we find some of Jesus' teachings on prayer. It's popularly known as the Lord's Prayer, and it's probably the most well-known and most often prayed prayer in all of human history. And that's one of the reasons why we're going through it line by line here on Timeless Truth. In our last episode, we focused in on those two opening words that are so rich in meaning. Our Father. And today I'd like us to take a closer look at the phrase that follows that, one that we often kind of go right past. We sometimes have that problem of familiarity, breeding a kind of indifference, or we sort of sit back and rest in it. But it's real important we don't miss who art in heaven. So what did Jesus mean by saying, hey, when you pray, pray our Father, who art in heaven? I'm going to make a stab at trying to develop that and answer that question in just a moment. But first, let's say the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray together, the Lord's Prayer. It goes just like this. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen and amen. So what might it mean to say that our Father God is in heaven? I think that's a great question. Just what is heaven? Where is heaven? Is it up in the sky? Is it somewhere like a black hole up in the uh uh sort of outer space or something? Is heaven even a place at all? A singular location, or is heaven a reference to a spiritual realm where uh God's presence is, where he occupies it in his fullest manifestation? Is God restricted to our understanding of this place called heaven? And how can the God who is our Father in heaven hear the prayers of his children from earth? Uh, more importantly, can this God who is in heaven take any action from heaven that in some way makes a difference in the earthly realm in which we live? I'm gonna suggest that this term in heaven is not merely about some finite zip code up in outer space that is part of the physical universe that we can perceive and observe and all of that. But I believe when Jesus taught us to pray this way, he meant for it to reveal something to us about the nature of God and about God's being, who is our Father who is in heaven. I'm gonna argue that because of who God is and how great God is, if we are to know and understand anything at all about God, it begins with us coming to grips with that idea of his unique perspective, his unalloyed purity, and his sovereign power, all wrapped up in that phrase, our Father who art in heaven. First, God's unique perspective. Let's turn for a moment in our minds and hearts. And if you have access to a Bible, that'd be great. Otherwise, I'll just read it for you. It's no problem. As most of you know, I'm a big fan of the Psalms. I think the ancient poets and songwriters can help us as we seek to comprehend what is otherwise beyond human comprehension. That is especially true when we're talking about the infinite God, right? So from Psalm 139, verses 7 through 12, where the psalmist writes this, and it's kind of a prayer. Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest parts of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, Surely the darkness will not overwhelm me, and the light around me will become as night, even the darkness is not dark to you. And the night is as bright as the day, darkness and light are alike to you. That's from Psalm 139, verses 7 through 12, just tells us something more, gives us another perspective on who God is and his perspective from where he reigns and rules the universe. So, first, as we think about God's perspective and what it might mean to say that our Father is, quote, in heaven, end quotes, that he occupies a throne and operates from the heavenly realm, it certainly suggests that God's perspective is much more amazing and clear than ours. From his unique position, our Father in heaven has a different perspective, a better, more complete perspective than we have. To say God is, quote, in heaven argues that God is transcendent. He is not limited to the same view, in the same realm, the same space contetime continuum that we operate in. His perspective on reality is better than ours. For us, reality, while often beautiful and wondrous, can at other times seem far from heavenly. Second, God's unalloyed purity in heaven. I think that not only must we recognize God's unique perspective, but also this thing we're calling his unalloyed purity. That is, from the Bible we learn how God is pure and perfect in all his moral attributes, in all his motives, in all his actions, and especially in the purity of his love for us. This is truly great news. The one with absolute authority and the best perspective in the universe, he has perfect love for us and compassion toward us. This paradox of calling God our Father, close and personal, and acknowledging that God is in heaven, sovereign, supreme, high above us, sets the tone for approaching the Lord in this and all of the rest of our prayers and in our praise and in our worship. It's a great perspective on who he is. It reminds us that from his heavenly perspective and with his divine purity, God is truly worthy of our reverence and respect, our awe and adoration. Thirdly, think about God's sovereign power and when we say in heaven, what that means. Third, his his prayer. I mean, when we pray our Father who art in heaven, his sovereign power over everything is implied there. All of his creation. Therefore, we can rest in God's sovereign power to fulfill all of God's promises, purposes, and plans. A biblical understanding of God's absolute power becomes an effective safeguard against all our misguided, ill-fated attempts at self-deification, all our efforts at domesticating the God of the Bible, all our endeavors to align his will with ours, his view of reality with ours, his purposes with our purposes, and his preferences with our preferences. Because God is in heaven, we pray to him with knowledge of his unique perspective, we trust his absolute purity, and we have hope in his sovereign power. So, in many ways, it's fair to conclude that to pray to the God who is in heaven means we are addressing a God who is completely other than us. In heaven signifies God's sovereignty and majesty, how God is infinitely higher and holier than we are. Yeah. William Willeman and Stanley Harawas from uh, I think they're over at Duke University, they said the God whom we've been taught by Jesus to address as our Father is the one who rules the whole cosmos, who speaks in earthquake, wind, and fire. Any less of a God wouldn't do us much good. And I think they're right there. It's about the perspective, the power, and the purity of who God is. I believe our deepest longings are met in knowing and belonging to the Almighty God as our Father who art in heaven. So don't pass over who art in heaven. Well, this begins as a propositional truth that we believe, it quickly moves to an existential reality that we are in relationship with, a being, our father. We walk in that reality. It's part of a living and vibrant faith. Another one of my favorite authors is Christopher Walken, or Watkin rather, um, he quotes Dietrich Bonhoeffer to help us see the connection. I'll tell you the book name in just a second from uh Watkin, but um, Christopher Watkin says this as he quotes Bonhoeffer in the middle of my Watkin quote. Uh he says, in the biblical God, transcendence and eminence are not opposites, but complementary aspects of the divine nature and character. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, God is the beyond in the midst of our lives. Again, that's Christopher Watkin in his book Biblical Critical Theory, how, I love the subtitle, how the Bible's unfolding story makes sense of modern life and culture. And this will all be in the show notes. If you don't have access to those on the platform that you're listening on or watching on, just jump on over to the villagechapel.com and uh you you can do some searching on our website there. You'll be able to find the notes and quotes from the Timeless Truth podcast without any problem. So God is the beyond. Who is in our midst? I think Watkin is saying it almost poetically there, or very poetically there, and helps us understand something that's really uh sort of beyond human reason in many ways. To comprehend the infinite God is something beyond our capacity. Why? Well, because we're finite creatures trying to comprehend an infinite God, and that's just beyond our uh capacity. However, here's what's amazing that doesn't mean we can't know God or know anything at all about God, especially if, and I'm gonna argue since, God has chosen to reveal himself to us, and certain things about who he is to us. In his word, the written word of God we call the Bible, and in the living word, the person Jesus Christ. God is the beyond in our midst. Jesus, the one who is far and above, transcendent, almighty, king of kings, prince of peace, all of that came to dwell among us, to walk among us, because God wants us to know Him. And because the finished work of Jesus on the cross purchased my salvation and your salvation, reconciling us to the Almighty and Infinite and Holy God. And that's why we place our faith, hope, and a confidence in Jesus. As Augustine said so famously, our hearts are restless till we find our rest in Him. And that's so true. This vertical relationship with God as our Father in heaven has meaningful impact on our horizontal relationships here on earth as well. It affects how we treat others, how we see others, how we care for each other, and even how we pray for one another. Going back to Willeman and Haurowas once again, and I'll put the title of the book in the notes as well. They say, because we call God the Father who is in heaven, we are bold to pray for such absurdly extravagant gifts as bread for the world, peace among the nations, healed marriages, cured cancer, and rain. We are bold to pray for such gifts because we pray to the Father in heaven, the one who rules. And I think Wilman and Harawas are right. That's their book called Lord, Teach Us, Colonel The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life. Again, the notes if you want to see that uh in writing anyway. I'm so grateful the God of the Bible has invited us to pray as Jesus taught us. And I'm grateful we're not limited to merely wishful thinking or to just shouting out into an impersonal universe and the battery that runs the universe, that sort of thing. No, we approach our Father who art in heaven. Matter of fact, let's do that now. Our Father in heaven, just as our physical eyes are filled with wonder as we look at the physical heavens, may the eyes of our hearts be open to catch a glimpse of who you are. The wisdom of your unique perspective, the beauty of your unalloyed purity, and the power of your majesty, your glory, your holiness. We pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. Now may the Lord bless you and keep you today. May the Lord draw you to himself and fill your prayer life with the nearness of his presence. And I look forward to walking through the next line of the Lord's Prayer with you here on Timeless Truth.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

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