3/15 The Power to Bring the Light of Heaven
/The Power to Bring the Light of Heaven
Acts 73 - Sermon Date: March 15, 2026 Scripture: Acts 14:8-15
Introduction: Imagining Heaven Together
Last Sunday, the message given to our church was about "Heaven." While preparing that sermon, I found myself smiling constantly as I envisioned what that place would be like.
During the service, hearing the stories of heaven that you all imagined was a deeply moving and heartwarming experience, as if a piece of heaven had truly descended upon us for a moment.
Just like Sion’s imagination, I believe there truly might be rainbow slides there. Like Eun-yu imagined, we might be able to fly or do somersaults on top of the clouds.
It was a happy imagination that brought a smile to my face just thinking about it. Moreover, it wasn't a vain fantasy; it was an overwhelming time because we know we will all meet with eternal joy in a place more beautiful than we can ever imagine.
A Vision of Heaven in the Sunset
After the service, I went home. The weather was so warm and the spring breeze so refreshing that I went for a bike ride and a walk. Before I knew it, evening had come, and the sky was breathtakingly beautiful.
The sunsets in New York and New Jersey are always beautiful, but that day, as I kept imagining heaven, I stood for a long while gazing at a sky so magnificent it stirred a sense of awe.
In the gentle, cool breeze, it felt as though God was speaking to me: "Show my children more of heaven."
So, I took a photo and shared it in our group chat. I resolved to be a pastor who reveals more of heaven, and I prayed that this church would become a community that shows heaven more clearly to the world.
In that day’s message, I mentioned that when the Kingdom of God comes, people look lovely and heart-stirring. That was exactly how I felt watching you all gather in small groups to imagine and share about heaven during the service.
A Dream Realized: The Beauty of Community
I remembered a time about ten years ago when I was a seminary student. For an assignment to visit churches of different traditions, I visited an American house church in Queens.
There were a few children there, and I was deeply impressed by how they discussed topics among the adults, shared their opinions, and mingled naturally with people of all ages.
Because it was a house church, there was a regrettable lack of the solemn "sacrifice" of offering oneself to the Lord; the discussion itself replaced the traditional worship. However, the scene of children, adults, members, and ministers sharing God’s Word without barriers was etched in my mind as a glimpse of heaven.
I envied that scene so much back then, and it was amazing and grateful to realize that such a day has now arrived in our own church.
I have experienced countless times how the dreams God gives us eventually arrive before we even realize it. If we can recognize those moments, our joy and gratitude for heaven will only grow larger.
The Root of the Opposite: Pride and Envy
When you were sharing what heaven is like, my dear brother Tom used a wonderful expression. He said heaven is a place with an "overwhelming presence of love." A place where one is overwhelmed by love—the Kingdom of God must truly be filled with love.
If so, there must be something that cannot exist there, right? What would that be? Try to answer. What is it that cannot be in heaven?
You just have to think about the opposite of love. While there are many opposites, in a biblical sense, the ultimate opposite of love is "sin."
And the root of sin is clearly identified in the Bible as "pride."
The Danger of a Haughty Heart
Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
To be honest, when I first started attending church in Korea, this verse stuck in my mind even more easily than John 3:16.
At that time, a sense of pride or a haughty attitude was often seen as charming or "cool." It was praised as being honest and not fake. So, it was hard for me to accept that pride and arrogance were actually that bad.
However, as time went by, I realized this word is just as important as the Gospel itself. While we can go to heaven by grace despite committing various sins, a person who can never go to heaven is the one who is proud.
A proud person cannot truly repent to God because they decide for themselves what is right or wrong. A proud person cannot truly make God their Master because they cannot surrender their rights to Him. Therefore, pride is essentially what leads to destruction.
The First Sin: Lucifer’s Fall
The first record of sin in the Bible involves Adam and Eve, but what happened before that was the fall of the archangel Lucifer. The reason that archangel fell and became Satan was pride—the desire to lift himself up as high as God.
Isaiah 14:13-14 says: "You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God... I will make myself like the Most High.’"
Satan said he would become like God. Therefore, the other face of pride is envy. Satan fell into the pride of envying God.
That is why, when he tempted Eve, he didn't say, "You can become greater than you are now." What did he say? He whispered envy into her heart, saying, "You can be like God."
The Three Names of Pride
Many sins stem from pride, the root of sin, but there are things we can call the "other names" of pride: selfishness, envy, and greed.
Because these all prioritize oneself over God, they are synonymous with pride and differ greatly from other derivative sins.
As the roots of sin, these are the exact opposite of love. The moment they enter the heart, love vanishes, and one's heart toward the object of that envy turns cold as ice.
The Jewish Reaction: Pride Masked as Tradition
In the Book of Acts, which we are studying, Paul’s party visited synagogues in Gentile cities to preach the Gospel first. In those synagogues, there were also Gentile converts to Judaism.
Think about the news today of revivals happening in places like Egypt or Iran. In the Old Testament, these nations often appeared as enemies of Israel, receiving curses and punishment.
Yet, there were Gentiles who heard those stories every week but still wanted to believe in the God of Judaism, even undergoing circumcision to convert. The Jews had no reason not to welcome them.
Moreover, Jews in foreign lands were minority immigrants. Having Gentiles convert to Judaism would have been a source of strength for them.
When Grace Ignites Envy
However, when they heard the Gospel—that God does not discriminate between Gentiles and Jews but adopts them as His children through the cross of Jesus Christ—the Gentile converts were overjoyed. They spread the news, and even more Gentiles returned to God.
But seeing this, the hearts of the Jews turned completely cold.
It’s like the story of the Prodigal Son. If the father had welcomed the younger son back but only as one of his servants, the older brother might not have been so angry.
But he could not stand that the father put a new robe on him, a ring on his finger, and threw a feast to welcome him back as a son.
Even though it was his own brother who grew up in the same house, couldn't he feel even a little joy that he returned alive? How can a human be like that?
This is how terrifying envy is. The moment envy enters, no love remains.
The First Murder and the Hell of Envy
Cain, the son of the first man Adam, was furious that God accepted his brother Abel's sacrifice but not his own, and so he murdered Abel.
That too was the same thing: Cain’s "pride," judging that God was wrong, manifested as "envy" toward his brother.
If heaven is a place full of love, then conversely, hell is a place full of pride—manifested as envy, selfishness, and greed. Therefore, it is not the object of envy, but the person harboring the envy who ends up living in a hell of their own making.
When someone you have pitied and helped for a long time suddenly becomes more successful than you, your heart can turn cold in an instant. That is envy. When it is aggressive, it shows as murderous rage; when passive, it shows as complete indifference.
Ultimately, envy makes it impossible to truly rejoice, be thankful, or love anything. How can we get rid of this envy?
The Father’s Answer to the Older Son
The answer is contained in what the father said to his older son, who was huffing and puffing in envy.
Luke 15:31: "‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.’"
Do you know how big the world is? Do you know that there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on Earth?
My Father is the owner of all of it. Yet, we envy someone who temporarily holds a slightly larger piece of land.
Even though I am already perfectly beautiful in the Kingdom of God, we fall into the foolishness of envying the physical appearance of others.
In heaven, there will be magnificent cars made just for me that can fly and transform, yet we fall into the trap of judging ourselves and others by the cars we temporarily borrow and drive here.
The Truth About Happiness
Even without going all the way to heaven, is it true that the more good things we have, the happier we become? Is that the truth?
Proverbs 15:16 says, "Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil."
In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, Solomon, who lived as a king with everything overflowing, lamented and sang that a simple life with hard work and basic food and clothing is the happiest. Having more "good things" does not make us happier.
Eternity is a place where everything is new, fresh, and always exciting, but this world is not. No matter how delicious something is, you get tired of it after a few times, and it no longer brings joy. The "love" the world speaks of has an expiration date of at most three years. Can you bet your life on such things?
Bringing Heaven into the Present
That is why we must constantly bring heaven into our lives. We must live heaven now through faith. We must live by looking at the world through the eyes of heaven, connected to our eternal selves.
The father did not tell the older son to hang in there because he would inherit everything later. He said, "Everything I have is already yours because I am always with you."
It’s not "hang in there until you go to heaven and then you’ll be happy." It’s an invitation to open your eyes and see the eternal truth right now.
Even if you can't see all the way to eternity, widen your perspective just a bit to see the reality. Compared to any humans in history, we living ordinary lives in America today are living a luxurious and safe life that doesn't even represent the top 1% of all time.
The Distorted Lens of Envy
Even looking at the current world population, the poverty line in America falls within the top 10% globally. In fact, nine out of ten people in the world—about 7.2 billion people—are poorer than the poverty standard in the U.S.
We in America live lives that 90% of humanity would envy, yet we feel almost no inspiration or gratitude for what we enjoy.
This proves that envy is fundamentally unfair and crooked. Our object of comparison is always someone richer than us, and even then, we don't make an objective comparison. We only pay attention to the good things they have. We ignore the many relationships that were broken as they became wealthy. We have no interest in what they lack or the difficulties they face.
In reality, it's not because their lives are truly worth envying; it's because the sin of envy starts working first. It makes us constantly look for things to envy. It traps us in a hell where we cannot enjoy heaven right now.
Faith Worthy of Salvation
The man in today’s text, who had been unable to walk from birth in Lystra, was likely in a much more miserable state than the Jew in a similar situation in Acts chapter 3. Jews were mechanically required by the Law to help the weak, and the gate of the Temple was a "prime spot" for begging.
The more a culture is influenced by Christianity, the better the welfare for the marginalized. Considering that in societies with little to no such influence, the disabled are often not even treated as human, such a person 2,000 years ago in a Gentile land would have struggled just to survive.
Along with the fact that he was lame from birth, another similarity to Acts 3 is that the apostles "looked intently" at him when their eyes met.
Today’s text clearly reveals what they saw.
Acts 14:9: "He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him and saw that he had faith to be healed." (faith to be saved)
Seeing Beyond the Present Reality
The apostle saw that the man had "faith worthy of salvation."
This man was a truly miserable homeless person crawling on the filthy ground of a Gentile city just to survive. How could Paul see "faith worthy of salvation" in such a wretched appearance? How can that be visible to the eye?
Both at the Temple gate with Peter and John, and in the Gentile land of Lystra with Paul and Barnabas, the Bible emphasizes that they "looked intently" at the person. And in both cases, they shouted with a loud voice, "Stand up and walk!"
When they looked at that person, they saw something beyond his current appearance. At that moment, they saw this man as whole, healed, and able to walk. God showed that to them.
And right then, the Kingdom of God descended upon them.
Then, the whole city was stirred.
This man, in a single day, went from being the most unlucky and miserable person in town to being a testament to God's miracle and a symbol of His glory. Everyone used to click their tongues in pity when they saw him, but now the situation was completely reversed—he became a "symbol of blessing."
The Heart of Humility: Crumbs of Grace
How did they have "faith worthy of salvation"? The beggar at the Temple gate, whose story is more detailed, didn't even know Jesus, nor did he ask Peter and John to heal his legs.
Acts 3:3-5: "When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, 'Look at us!' So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them."
He was simply looking at Peter with the same attitude he had toward anyone who showed him interest: "How much will these people give? Will they give food? Money?"
What was there, and what was missing?
Like the Gentile converts who sought even the "crumbs" of grace, he had a thirsty and poor heart—humility.
Humility: The Other Face of Love
Proverbs 18:12: "Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor."
This is a verse emphasized throughout the Bible, quoted at least three times in the same way.
Humility is the other face of the love the Bible speaks of. A person who loves is moved by even the smallest kindness. They are grateful for someone just being with them, and they are overwhelmed if someone loves them despite feeling undeserving.
Therefore, someone who loves God naturally becomes more humble. They are thankful for small things and are amazed and moved by even "crumbs" of grace, not just big miracles. Such a person always has many people to be grateful for and many things to be thankful for. How often and how clearly will the Kingdom of God—heaven—manifest in the life of such a person?
The Misery of the Proud
Conversely, a proud person feels no inspiration from most things. Their true nature is revealed through anger when things don't go their way. Like the older brother of the prodigal son... he wasn't just angry that one day. That was just when he exploded. He already held a grudge every time he saw his father looking out toward the distance, waiting for his brother.
Pride makes one feel frequent dissatisfaction with life. You feel wronged because you aren't receiving the treatment you "deserve," and your expression changes the moment you feel ignored by people you consider insignificant.
God told Cain not to be overtaken by sin, which was crouching at the door, and to master it. Of course, Cain failed and ended up murdering his brother.
However, the end of this event in Genesis does not stop with Cain being immediately punished. Even though he ignored God's warning and committed murder, God heard his prayer and protected him by giving him a mark.
The Blood that Speaks Better Things
Genesis 4:13-15: "Cain said to the Lord, 'My punishment is more than I can bear... whoever finds me will kill me.' But the Lord said to him, 'Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.' Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him."
He was clearly a sinner, yet God protected him.
Hebrews 12:24: "...to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel."
Abel's blood cried out for justice to judge the sinner. However, Jesus shed His blood to forgive the sinner.
What is tying our lives to hell? We must throw away the pride that tempts us with names like envy, selfishness, and greed. We must put an end to the rising root of sin with the blood of Christ.
Living as a Child of Heaven
If we do that, we will not feel resentful or sad about being "lowered." When we face being ignored or rejected, we will remember the rejection and contempt Jesus endured from His own creations.
We will live as humble children of God who enjoy the overwhelming love of heaven right now—cheering for and being moved by even the tiniest pieces of heaven.
Then, the world will see the highest and greatest Christ Jesus, who dwells within the small and lowly "me."
Everyone! Imagine yourself without a single trace of envy, selfishness, pride, or a sense of rejection. If you could be like that... what would happen? How would your life and your relationships change? Even if your environment and situation stay exactly as they are, the world would become a completely different place for you.
That is the moment heaven descends, and we must enjoy more of those days. Then, through us who have become humble, a larger and warmer light—the light of heaven—will shine upon the world.
Let us pray.
