HEAVEN CAME DOWN
#1 Heaven Remembered
Isaiah 64:1-12
There is more to life than eye can see
More my God has purposed for me
Hidden treasures of reality
Heaven on earth forever will be
REMEMBERING HEAVEN
Remembering the presence and blessing of God
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down… Isaiah 64:1a (NIV)
1 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before you!
3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways. Isaiah 64:1-5a (NIV)
LAMENTING HEAVEN’S LOSS
Acknowledging the reality of sin
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.
How then can we be saved?
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7 No one calls on your name
or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have given us over to our sins. Isaiah 64:5b-7 (NIV)
LONGING FOR HEAVEN’S RETURN
Yearning for the favour of Heaven
8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;
do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
for we are all your people.
10 Your sacred cities have become a wasteland;
even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire,
and all that we treasured lies in ruins.
12 After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back?
Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure? Isaiah 64:8-12 (NIV)
“The town seemed to be full of the presence of God. It never was so full of love, nor of joy, and yet so full of distress, as it was then. There were remarkable tokens of God’s presence in almost every house. It was a time of joy in families on account of salvation being brought unto them; parents rejoicing over their children as new born, and husbands over their wives, and wives over their husbands…. Our public assemblies were then beautiful. . . . The assembly in general was, from time to time, in tears while the Word was preached, some weeping with sorrow and distress, others with joy and love, others with pity and concern for the souls of their neighbors.” – Jonathan Edwards
REMEMBERING HOW TO REMEMBER
Rehearse the story.
Confess your forgetfulness.
Believe the Biblical testimony.
Participate in the heavenly practices.
Live as a sojourner.
Work for the someday coming.
Watch for signs of Heaven.