First
Southern Baptist Church
Of Avondale
1001 N. Central Ave Avondale AZ 85323 623 932-2723
Jesus Centered . . . Bible Focused . . . Prayer Powered
This is based on Philippians 2 and was read at our Lord's Supper Service on December 29th, 2004. It reminds us of how much Jesus gave up to come to earth.
One
Day In Heaven
When you’re telling someone’s story, you normally start with his birth, but
that isn’t the case with Jesus. He has always existed, so I can’t tell you
about His beginning. He has always been there. He has always been here.
There was no time in which He wasn’t present. There is no place in which He
doesn’t exist.
But don’t think of the Spirit of Jesus floating in darkness before the
universe was made. He existed in glory and splendor that we cannot
understand. I will use human terms, but there’s more to this glory than I
could ever explain.
Think of Jesus on a three chaired throne shared with the Father and the
Spirit. Then think of this throne in the most beautiful and largest room you
have ever seen, with Jesus surrounded by adorable and adoring winged
servants and by incredibly powerful warriors, some at the doors and others
bowing respectfully at the feet of Jesus. It was a place in which Jesus
reigned, but never was a King more loved by his subjects and creatures.
The palace—and I’m using human terms here even though palace doesn’t begin
to describe the building that Jesus is in—seems to be made out of an
infinitely tall mountain of gold and silver and precious stones. In front is
a golden street paralleling a river. Golden is probably the wrong word, for
it makes you think of an earthly metal, but this is real gold—deeper in
color and yet still as clear as the finest crystal. And river is also the
wrong word. More beautiful than a bubbling brook, more powerful than a
majestic river, more delicate than a stream crossing a mountain meadow, the
river is made of water that reflects every color of the rainbow plus some
never even imagined on earth. One drink of the water of that river and for
the first time you’ll know what water is—you’ll never thirst again. And if I
had the words, I would describe the trees with fruit that could make your
mouth water, the grass that was greener than green and softer than fur, the
incredible scents that constantly remind you of every good thing you have
ever known, and the snow covered mountains that reached to the sky and
beyond. I can’t even begin to describe the air. It may be the part of all.
The air was so clean and fresh and pure that one breath would suffice for a
lifetime of health. And Jesus was King and Lord of all that I have
described.
I know you could argue with my description, for I’m using human terms here
that don’t begin to describe the glory of heaven in which Jesus had existed
for all eternity. So let me just say that we joke about our favorite places
on Earth being God’s Country, but if we had ever really been to God’s
country, the most beautiful scene on Earth would seem like an old and faded
Polaroid photograph. I don’t know if I can explain it any better than this.
But I want to tell you of a day in which a hush came over heaven. The
melodious choir of heavenly voices stopped. The river stopped flowing. The
birds stopped singing. The grass stopped growing. And in the hush, Jesus
rose from the throne and announced in a quiet voice that could be heard
everywhere—not just in the room or the palace or the valley but beyond the
tallest mountains—Jesus announced that He was leaving the glory of heaven.
Angelic warriors wanted to bar the doors, seraphim wanted to argue with Him,
but one look at His face—saddened yet determined—and they knew it had
already been determined. He could not change His mind. He would not turn
back. Jesus was leaving heaven because of His love for a rebellious and
hateful people who were mostly followers of Satan—the beautiful looking but
foul smelling enemy of heaven and especially the enemy of Jesus Christ.
For the next 33 years, all the creatures of heaven—I have not time to
describe their beauty and intelligence—looked down with shock and amazement
and pain and sadness as they saw the fairest thing in the Universe—their
King—stripped of His glory and emptied of His beauty.
In distress, they saw him choose to enter the earth as if He were little
different than an animal and certainly no different than a human being—His
entrance coming from the womb of a woman who was writhing with pain. The
creatures of heaven were stunned that other human beings treated him as if
he were worse than a peasant. There was no palace, no hospital, no home, no
sanitary place; just a place with the animals. They cringed when they saw
that the birth place was crawling with bugs, lice, ticks, and germs. They
shouted with anger when Jesus cried with pain at his circumcision. They
wanted to destroy the priests who treated Him like just another baby. They
pleaded with the Father to send their warriors to destroy the people who
walked by Jesus without a second glance, but they were constrained by the
love of the Father, a love for these evil people that was so deep that even
these marvelous creatures of love had trouble understanding it.
They cheered at the baptism when the Father announced from heaven that this
was The Son and they felt sure that the tide had changed, but their joy
turned to horror as one by one, the leaders rejected Jesus. They shouted
words of praise when a sinner believed that Jesus was the Savior, but they
never could understand it when men—like the rich young ruler—found something
on the evil earth that they believed to be of more worth than following
Jesus.
Their horror mounted. When Jesus took the bowl and the water and the place
of a servant, they begged the Father to let them wash the feet of the
disciples so their King wouldn’t have to. Their agony knew no limits when
Judas kissed Jesus in an act of betrayal so vile that even today they don’t
like to talk about it. They watched in horrible silence as evil men
condemned Jesus to death. They ached to hear some command from the Father
sending them into battle for Jesus; and if the long arm of the Father had
not lovingly but firmly restrained them, they would have of their own accord
incinerated those who beat and spit upon and who dared to drive nails
through the King. And when Jesus was stripped naked and lost whatever bit of
human dignity he had left, they throbbed with a bitterness they had never
before known. As His life bled out from Him, these immortal creatures who
had never known death begged to trade places with Him. And when the tears
came down the face of the Father, they could hold back no more—and for the
only time in history, all of heaven, including the Father and the Spirit,
cried.
When Jesus died—the glory faded. The glory of heaven had been ridiculed,
shamed, humbled, rejected, beaten, and crucified. And heaven as well as
Earth faded to black and to darkness.