A Party Like Heaven
Updated: May 12
Pastor Stan Mons
Sermon Transcription:
We're going to get into the word. And the title the Lord has given me is this: A party like heaven.
A party like heaven. During our time of pre-service prayer, where we pray for this service and we pray for every one of you, we pray for the people online. We pray for the things in your life. We pray for this service. In one of the prayers, someone said, "Just be grateful, Lord, that we may just be grateful for what you've done." And that stood out to me so much because I've seen that when people have heard about Jesus, it's not that hard to get saved. It's not that hard to be changed. God did all the work for that. All that work has been done. But when we're talking about grateful people, people that are so grateful, they are not in need. They don't want anything. They're not pursuing anything. They're not driven, but they're grateful. That's not every person that has heard about Jesus.
That's not every person that has come to Jesus. And to hear then that statement, "Just be grateful," I know for a fact some people feel they can't just be grateful. There's still first things that need to happen, and then maybe I believe I will be grateful, or then I have finally something to be grateful for, or someone to be grateful for, or a situation to be grateful for, or a bank account to be grateful for, whatever it may be. But in every case, to be concerned with things in this life, and it may be good things, but being concerned with things in this life. Concern is the one that gives birth to worry and anxiety. To be concerned and worried means you can never be grateful. If you are concerned and you are continually concerned, you will not enter gratefulness. And so I've seen so many people that we've loved, and in some cases we've been able to serve them and help them, and in some cases it was very hard for them to get anywhere with this topic of really being grateful.
But there's one thing I noticed: people that cannot be grateful. It's not an attitude. It's not a mindset. It's not something that happens in the weekend. It's something you become, being grateful. It's who you are. You have become grateful. You have become a child of God. You have become joyful. It's who you are. When people are not grateful, still driven, still concerned, still worried, it's very hard for them to party. You go to a good party with concerns on your mind. You can't really partake of that party. You're not really there. My wife says it to me all the time. "Where are you? I can tell you're thinking about stuff. Where are you?" I'm like, "I'm preaching in my head right now. The crowd is responding well. Just give me a minute." When you are concerned, when you are worried, you can't be grateful. If you're not grateful, that means there's things to worry about. And then even when there is a good party, you can't really partake. And I really believe the Lord is going to challenge our heart's view a bit this morning. And for some of us, it may be a bigger challenge than others.
But there's this thing that I've noticed has creeped into churches where parties belong to the devil, especially the good ones. And the joy, the careless joy, not careless in any kind of wrong kind of way, the careless joy. Doesn't matter who sees me move, my dance moves. It doesn't matter who sees the way that I worship. It doesn't matter who watches me run to the altar. It doesn't matter who sees my tears. It doesn't matter. I'm right here fully partaking in the celebration, whatever celebration that may be. You can't really party like that when you're not grateful, when you're not at peace, when you're worried, when you're concerned. And here's one of the key verses for this morning, Matthew 6:10. Jesus is teaching his disciples how to pray. This is part of the beginning of that prayer: "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Now you guess for a moment for yourself. Where is God's will being done perfectly? On earth or in heaven? Heaven. I'll give you the answer. So, which one should follow which? Very clear. On earth as it is, or as it already is in heaven. Lord, help me to pray that on earth, right here where I am right now, with my thoughts, my feelings, my situation, my schedule, everything here on earth right now, that that may be as it already is in heaven. But I want you to see this morning, and I believe the Holy Spirit is going to show it to your heart, I want you to see that our God is a God of parties. I want you to see that in the word. Just that statement alone for some of you is hard to swallow. Which means it's probably a fact that you are not living a party life. Let me read to you the parable of the two sons because I believe every single one of you here, I believe those that are tuning in online, desire to do God's will. If you could just press a button right now and from there on out, I'm going to be perfectly obedient to God, you'd probably press it.
So, here is a parable I want to read with you. Matthew 21, starting in verse 28. "What do you think?" There was a man who had two sons. I love it when Jesus says, "What do you think?" He knows, but he's trying to make a point. There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, "Son, go and work today in the vineyard." "I will not," he answered. But later he changed his mind and he went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. And he said, "I will, sir." But he didn't go. "Which of the two did what the father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. "And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him." You see, there's this type of person in this world, and Jesus explains it, that doesn't want to do the Father's will, and they're honest about it. And Jesus ends up asking the Pharisees, "So, which one did the Father's will?" The one that treated him respectfully and nicely with their words, or the one that honestly was pretty disrespectful, didn't seem that he was planning on being obedient at any point, yet got convicted and ended up doing what he knew was on the Father's heart. And they tell Jesus, well, you know, the first one did it. And for us as people that know the Father, it can be a little bit like that.
It is one thing for us to say it or to sing it, yet never really party like heaven. We're singing freedom. Freedom after being imprisoned. Not wrongly imprisoned, imprisoned because I did everything wrong. Yet brought into freedom by God himself while I was actually sinning against him. Yet somehow he didn't respond to my sin by letting me be prisoned up like I deserved. He responded to my sin by taking the punishment himself and carrying the freedom that is his to me and giving it away to me. Partying like heaven, singing the song but behaving as if that never really happened to me. In my heart I believe it, but I don't actually express that. We sing, "I was made for more. Salvation came my way, and now I have a life worth living." Sometimes your face is not saying that. Amen. Sometimes you're not making it sound like that when you talk around your kids, that your life is worth living because Jesus carried salvation into your life.
Sometimes you make it sound like life is worth living because we have much, or life is worth living because of the country we live in. But we're saying that my life makes sense and is worth much and is redeemed and is worth living because Jesus brought salvation to me. That's what we're singing. He called me by name. He raised me to life. When you only sing the song but you're not doing it, or when you only say the words, "I'm a Christian," or "I go to church," when you say, "I'm a Christian," what that word means is, "I am like Christ." When you're saying the song or you're saying the words, but you're not doing the will of the Father, are you the first son that was rude to the father but ended up doing what the father wanted? Or are you the respectful, well-dressed, proper-worded son that actually ended up not aligning himself in doing what the father was putting before him?
You can be the man that says, "I'll do it." And you can mean it in the moment. You can be genuine and yet never end up living out the song. Even though there's people that struggle with sins, and they struggle, some of them, until they are put in the ground, they'll struggle with sin and they'll shed a tear every single time, but somehow, someway, they seem to just struggle with sin. They don't really sing to God. They don't really talk to God ever. But then there's one moment where Jesus shows up in their life, and they're so happy, and they end up doing the Father's will. What does that mean, Jesus? What does that mean today when we're talking about doing the Father's will? We're going to have a heart picture of what that means. You're going to have a feeling, so to speak, with what it means to do the Father's will. Let's learn from the word one way this morning of doing the Father's will: a party like heaven. The first recorded miracle that Jesus does, who knows? Water into wine.
Here we go, John chapter 2, verse 1- 11: "On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there."And Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." "Woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My hour has not yet come." Jesus turned to his mom and said, "You're being a mom right now. Stop." That's what he did. "You're pushing me. You're trying to make me do stuff. Give me a minute. "My hour has not yet come." Verse five, his mom, she couldn't stop. Verse five, his mom said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from 20 to 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so. And the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then have the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink, but you've saved the best until now." What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. What’s the message of this parable?
There’s all kinds of people; they get a little nervous around these stories with wine and drinking and drinking too much. And then we bring out the good wine, and then I’ve heard scholars say that, you know, try to talk things straight that are bent. Well, that was juice, grape juice. There was no alcohol in it. Well, that changes the story of Moses going into his tent naked and laying down and his sons getting rebuked by the Lord cuz Noah was drunk in his tent. If he was drunk in his tent, naked without alcohol, that's a little confusing. It become confusing on Acts chapter 2 when the disciples are being accused when they're speaking in tongues. People never seen the spirit of God upon the hearts of people, them speaking in different languages, everyone understanding them in their own voice, and and other people saying, "Well, they must be drunk." They're behaving in a way that I don't really understand. Sounds funny to me.
No, there was alcohol in their wine. The reason that at Safe House Church we don't drink alcohol is not because it is a sin to consume alcohol. It is because in this nation there's a lot of people nowadays that struggle with having enough self-control to use alcohol in a way that doesn't hurt their lives or hurt through them the lives of other people. And as a people that is a servant people in this nation where we live, we have said, you know what, we're going to stay away from that because those that recover from being addicted, those that turn away from that stuff because it is controlling their life, they're not the ones in control. We are not going to put a stumbling block. But what is the message that Jesus is trying to get across with a story like this? Here’s the message. It’s not complicated. Jesus does not mind a good party. As a matter of fact, he loves to make it happen. That’s what he does. That’s what he did right here. He didn’t say, “Well, thank God the wine ran out. Look, look at them having so much fun. The holiness is far to be found right here at this wedding.” No, Jesus doesn’t mind a good party and he loves to make it happen. But much more than that in this story, he does everything intentional. He could have just filled everybody’s cup like that. He does it intentional.
He’s trying to show us something because he’s trying to show us how he’s going to make a party happen. Here we have water in a vessel. Then we read of wine in a vessel. And then we read of him handing it out. Remember another time when he handed out a cup of wine and he said, “This cup is my blood.” I’ll read to you Luke 22. In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you.” He says that that wine when when I bring wine into the story, I’m actually trying to point forward to my blood that is being poured out for you. And and then just the next day after this happened that he has the last supper with the disciples. The next day we read that they pierced the side of Jesus Christ on the cross. This vessel of love and mercy and grace and salvation. This vessel sent from heaven. His side is pierced and what comes out?
John 19:34. "But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. And immediately blood and water came out." Water and blood in a vessel. Water and blood coming from that vessel. Jesus is trying to get a message across by that first public miracle that he does. And he’s showing us, I’m the vessel sent from heaven. And when I enter into the celebration of your life, when I enter into the party of your life, when I enter into your situation, the party you thought you were having is not going to be anything compared to when you bring me into that life. There is give him glory. Amen. There are so many people that feel they’re having a wedding celebration, a party going on. And if Jesus would come in right now and take over, he’d mess it up. I’d lose the fun. I’d lose the freedom. I’d lose the enjoyment. I’d lose the party. It would become a sad, fake, holy, well-behaved mess. And I’m not going to like that. And the very first miracle he does says, when I come into your life, you think you’re having a party now. You think you’re living in freedom now.
You think you’re enjoying life now. When I come into your life, you begin to realize what you had so far was the cheap stuff. What you had so far was nothing special. Yet he’s sending a clear message in that first recorded miracle story because every single one of us seeks to have a good time. That’s what that celebration represents. It’s our life. We try to have a party. We try to have a good time on earth. We’re not trying to ruin it. We’re not trying to make it uncomfortable. But it’s shallow. It doesn’t work. We can’t make it work. And it’s that wine running out. It’s this lingering threat in the party of our life, the feast of our life, that there’s this threat that it’s not going to be a success, that it’s going to be falling through, that it’s going to be a failure in the end. Because at this story, we see it’s not really about the bridegroom or the bride at that wedding. We see the master of that feast running around all worried, running around all concerned, trying to make sure everybody stays happy, stays engaged with the wedding and the guests having a good time.
But in our lives, there’s such a threat sometimes that we’re running out. We’re not going to be able to keep this up. And then having to be ashamed before all the people that are close to you, all the people that are dear in your life, a failure. Your shortcomings catching up to you for everybody eventually to see who you really are. That there’s not enough. Life can feel an awful lot like that wedding in Cana. It life can sound great. You can make it sound great. You can make it look great. But somewhere deep down there’s a worry going around. Things are not as good as they seem. Can’t keep up with this forever. Can’t manage this sin struggle much longer. I’m going to be found out. Can’t hide forever. That there’s not enough to keep this party going. That there’s not enough for me to make sure my life doesn’t fall apart. That my sin won’t be found out. That my people and my God will not be disappointed in me.
Yet Jesus comes on the scene of this wedding that is about to be a failure and he shows us. He shows us I’m sent into your life. I know what’s lacking. I wasn’t sent to condemn you. I wasn’t sent to point it out. I wasn’t sent to make you feel ashamed. There will be a vessel sent into your life and when you’ve seen with the eyes of your heart the water and the wine or the water and the blood, when you let me into your life, when you let the cross into your life, it’s at the cross where we get to see that the water and the blood came from that heavenly vessel. Meaning that he paid for every single reason your life would ever be a failure. He paid for every single reason that your life would ever run out and fall through and not be what it needed to be. Everything he swallowed up right there at the cross, paid off, done deal, water and blood shown right there. He says, “When you let me into your life, when you let the cross truly into your life where water and blood flows, when you have really met me at the cross, your life will go from a lame, sinfilled hangout that you used to call a party into something else. When I come into your life, it will turn from that into a celebration so grand, so beautiful that it will make every good day you thought you had look like a pale gray and cloudy day compared to when you let me throw the party.”
Well, what party is that? It’s a party like heaven. Luke 15 verse 7. I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent. He says there’s rejoicing. There’s uncomposed rejoicing. There’s a party. There’s a joy. There’s a celebration in heaven the moment that one sinner repents of their unbelief and begins to believe that because of Jesus, because of the water, because of the blood, because Jesus swallowing up all sin and paying for it, dying for it, taking the suffering, taking the blame, because of Jesus, even I can now come to the Father. He says that happens to a sinner. There’s a party in heaven that is unbelievable. There’s rejoicing in heaven. Think about this: heaven, perfect presence of God. But when a sinner becomes a believer, the atmosphere changes. Think about that—perfect presence of God, perfect worship towards the Lord—and yet when a sinner gets saved, the atmosphere becomes more electrifying than with the presence of God and worshiping God alone. I cannot understand what that must be like, rejoicing in heaven above what they were already doing. A celebration. And then we read that verse that Jesus taught us to pray: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
A party like heaven, a celebration like heaven. Being happy for sinners, being happy for yourself as a sinner, being rejoicing over the fact that somebody like you has been forgiven. The church at large has become so careful to party, so careful to do the Father’s will. We’ll sing about it. We’ll sing the song. We’ll even talk about it. But to actually celebrate and rejoice and enter into a party that we can say, “On earth as it is in heaven,” the church has become so careful of doing that. And there’s so many that can sit in church singing the song, saying to the Father, “Oh yes, sir, I will. I will absolutely. I will celebrate. I will rejoice.” And yet not walking out the will of the Father. Not living a life full of rejoicing. A lot of people doubt the Father’s will. Can I actually be happy? Can I actually celebrate? Can I actually rejoice? Can I actually enter into—am I not going to be deceived? Am I not going to be happy ahead of its time? Am I not going to be celebrating when really I should be changing?
Word says there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than the Bible tells us here on earth. Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice.” That word rejoice means this: to be full of cheer that is calmly happy. That means you’re having a cheerful, you’re having a great time, and you’re calmly happy. There’s no worry. There’s calmness. Nothing is wrong. There is room to now be full of cheer and rejoice on earth in your life: a party, a celebration like in heaven. Do you believe? I really want to ask you that this morning. The Lord asked me, “Do you believe that Jesus was sent into your life by the Father because the Father wanted Jesus to turn your life into a party like heaven?” Do you believe that that is the Father’s will for your life? That you’re no longer concerned and worried because of sin, that you’re no longer concerned and worried because of all the stuff that needs to change in you—your character, your behavior—you speak too quick, whatever it may be, you behave like Jesus’ mom, you speak before you think, you think he hadn’t noticed.
Whatever it may be, we can get so concerned with becoming a good Christian that we say, “Holy Spirit, let me do this. I’m going to be concerned with this walk from here on out.” When all along the Father had asked, there’s a celebration in heaven because my will is being accomplished. Now I want you to start walking in that will on earth as well. I want you to celebrate. I want you to have a party like heaven. I want you to stop worrying. I want you to trust me. I want you to trust that when I come into your life, it’s not to shut the party down. When I come into your life, you’re going to realize you haven’t been to a party yet. When I come into your life, you’re going to be able to be calm. You’re going to have a peace you did not know before. And that peace is going to allow you to be full of cheer. Everywhere you turn, you’re having a good time. Everywhere you go, you’re having a great day. Every moment of your life, you’re able to celebrate because you are seeing what’s going on in heaven and you are letting God lead you into his will right here on earth. If you would stand with me for a moment here in the house, a party like heaven.
I know that for me, I was being challenged by the Holy Spirit when he gave me this word. And I had to begin to see and believe in the word that the Father wants me to have a party life, a party like heaven where my heart has become calm, where my worries have faded away, my concerns have faded away, and I can be full of cheer. And maybe you're here today and you say, "I know the Father and I know that he has given these songs and these songs that have been derived even from scriptures. I know that given me a gospel of joy and I believe it and I say it and I sing it, but I'm not party people. I'm not full of cheer. It's hard for me to in the spirit really relax, not worry, and enter into celebration mode. It's hard for me to see that I can be comfortable in God's hands and rejoice over the fact that he's taking care of everything.
And when he comes into my life, he makes everything better. He doesn't ruin no party.
You can be here. You can be online today and say, "My life is kind of running out of ways to keep the party going. I've worked hard. I've tried hard, but I'm always running out of something that is keeping the party going of my life. It's tiring. It's worrying me." And I shift from one thing to another. One thing that will save my party, another thing that can revive my party, another thing that can make it better. But somewhere deep down, when you stand before God, and when you stand before all the people that are dear to you, and when they can see everything that's actually missing in the party of your life, you're not so sure if you're going to be a disappointment or not. You're somewhat worried about that. Or maybe you say, "I just have a really hard time believing that that's what the Father is like. I have a hard time believing the scriptures that the Father dances over me with singing." And Jesus tells me, "Learn this. Learn to pray on earth as it is in heaven—on earth dancing and singing joy over your life, over what he has done in your life, over what he has saved you from, what he has delivered you from.
I just have a hard time believing the scriptures that that is what the Father’s like. Expressing joy, celebrating a party, somehow someway I feel that that belongs to the dark side, to the enemy. And either I do it the wrong way or I do it in secret. But I don't even know how to enter into the real party. I don't even know how to have a celebration with God. But first, I just have a hard time believing that God the Father sent Jesus into my life to throw a party. Even though that was the first miracle, I have a hard time believing that. I'm careful. I'm cautious. We have a very simple altar call this morning and it's to say simply, "Father, I believe that you have sent Jesus into my life, not to ruin a thing, but to throw a party I have no idea about yet. I could have never imagined.
Lord, I believe, Father, that you've sent Jesus to cause a party on earth, in my life, in my heart, in my house, a party like it is in heaven. I believe it, Father. If you want to say that to him, I want to invite you to join me here at the altar so that we can pray together. Because a peace will fill your heart. And when the peace fills your heart, the concern, the worry is gone. You finally have room to start enjoying a good party. You finally have room to begin to say on earth as it is in heaven. He's ready to get the party started. If you believe today that the Father sent Jesus to throw a party in your life, if you don't believe it, do not come up. But if you believe that this morning, I want to pray with you because the Lord will give you the desire of your heart. The Lord will give you whatever the word says, whatever you pray according to his will, he will answer.
-Pastor Stan Mons
