Welcome everyone. This morning, we're glad that
you're here. It's good to see, maybe some
that haven't been able to be with us, and we're just glad
that everyone was able to make it today and Hebrews the 9th
chapter and verse 27, The writer there says and it is appointed
for men to die once. But after this the Judgment so
Christ was offered once to Bear the sins of many to those who
eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time apart from
sin for salvation. You know most of us are really
kind of uncomfortable with the thought of death.
It's a realm which we have not experienced, we don't know.
Really anything about other than what has supposedly been put out
there. People say they've come back
from Death or the edge of death or seeing the light at the end
of the tunnel or whatever. But we don't know really much
about it. Other than that is the end of
our life here on this Earth. And so we become somewhat afraid
of death and we'd become uncomfortable with the thought
of death. Well, for the Christian death
should not be something. We are afraid of It shouldn't
bring fear to our hearts into our minds.
But the fact is that one day, we will all die.
We can live in fear of the unknown or we can take a moment
to consider what the Bible has to say about eternity.
And this may be one of the most important thought process has
that we go through in life, is to think about our Eternal home
in heaven. Our eternity, that final
destination for us after this life.
But we have to ask ourselves this, very simple question if I
were to die today. Where would I spend eternity?
Most people would you when you ask that question would say
something like that? Well, you know, I've lived a
pretty good life. And I hope to go to heaven.
But they're not really sure about it.
According to what goes on in the world today in the thought
process of the world is just everybody goes to heaven because
someone dies and they say well he's or she is in a better place
now and regardless of how an unscrupulous they were and how
mean and and vile and sinful, they were, everyone says, well,
they're in a better place now. But a lot of people are just
really unsure about their Eternal resting place and I hope
that we put more thought into it than that.
And and we're willing to not risk our Eternal salvation on
what we would say would be wishful thinking that we can
know. That we are going to be able to
go to heaven, what the Bible has to say about that.
Romans, 3, and verse 23, the Bible says that there is that we
are all settled are all sinners. And because of that, man, in his
natural state is unfit for the kingdom of heaven.
In other words were born into this world.
We're not born a sinful creature, but we come to that
point in life where we able to distinguish, what is right?
And what is wrong, what is God's Will, and what is our will?
And we start making decisions about Committing sin or doing
what is right? And that is what we call the age
of accountability. We become accountable for those
things that we do in life. We become accountable to God.
And so we all sinned and come short of the glory of God.
So we need something that will help us something that will
change us from that sinful person into a saved place.
And we noticed, when we notice this last week in our lesson, we
don't know, although When Jesus going to call time to an end in
Matthew, 25, and verse 13. Jesus speaking here, says,
watch, therefore for, you know, neither the day, nor the hour in
which the son of man is coming So we know that the end will
come, we know that we will all die unless Jesus comes Again In
Our Lifetime. We understand all that, but we
don't know when that is going to happen.
We don't have any idea. The Bible also teaches that not
even the angels know. This is something that is
unknown. We in this may be part of our
fear process that we don't know. So what do we have to do?
In other words, we need to all be prepared all the time.
We need to be ready. So are you ready for eternity?
How can we get ready for eternity?
How can we prepare ourselves for the judgment and for eternity?
Well, there are many things that we prepare ourselves for in
life. Our jobs, our vacations, our
children's future retirement. Why is it that in many are not
preparing for it. Your eternity.
You know, many are preparing today.
This is the thing that is out there in the news and that is on
our minds and our thoughts today.
Is this coronavirus, it's right in our face.
We've all experienced it. When we brought walked in this
morning, there is hand sanitizer on the back table that wasn't
there last service. It's something that's in our
thought process. We've we've all been been
thinking about this in preparing for it.
Many are with Vicki. And I went shopping for
groceries, Thursday night, it was crazy.
The lines were to the back of the building, every single line
was to the back of the building. Everyone was preparing for this
virus. Well, how many are preparing for
eternity because that's really the most important thing in our
life There are so many things we prepare for but why is it?
Many are not preparing for eternity.
Eternity, but to only know the will of God is not sufficient to
know about God or know his will is not going to make it not
Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 through 27.
Not everyone, that saith unto me, Lord.
Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that
doeth, the will of My Father, which is in heaven.
Many will say, to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name, and in thy name, have cast out devils,
and in thy name, done many wonderful works.
And then will I profess unto them.
I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth
them. I will liken him unto a wise man
which built his His house upon a rock and the rain descended, and
the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house.
And it fell not for, it was founded upon a rock and everyone
that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be
likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the
sand and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds
blew and beat upon that house and it fell And great was the
fall of it. We must be willing to do the
will of God not just know about it, not just hear about it.
But do what God's will is obey him and preparing ourselves for
eternity. These two, these two individuals
that built this house upon the sand and built to house upon the
rock. One Was preparing for the storm,
the other wasn't So when the storm came, it fell apart, there
are things that we can do to better prepare ourselves for
judgment in eternity. No to Second Peter 1 and verses
3 through 11, according as his divine power has given unto us
all things that pertain to life and godliness through the
knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue
whereby are given unto us exceeding and great pressure and
precious promises that by these things.
You might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption. Option that is in the world,
through lust and beside this giving all diligence add to your
faith virtue, and to Virtue knowledge, and to knowledge
Temperance, and to Temperance, patience, and to patience
godliness. And to Godliness, brotherly
kindness. And to brotherly.
Kindness charity for if these things be in you and abound they
make you that ye shall neither be Barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But he that lacketh. These things is blind and cannot
Not see afar off and have forgotten that he was purged
from his old sins. Therefore the rather Brethren
give diligence to make your calling and election.
Sure. For, if you do these things you
shall never fall. For.
So, an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly
into the Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. So, it takes some work, it takes
some work on our part to prepare for eternity.
Just like we prepare to go on a trip.
We have to pack, we have to plan ahead.
What we're going to be whether what the weather's going to be
like. And so what we, what kind of
clothing that we need to take and make it need to take enough
clothing and all these kinds of things.
So we prepare to go on the journey.
So it is with our Christian lives that we prepare for the
Final Destination. So let's talk a little bit about
eternity. Eternity is defined as Timeless
existence? In other words, there is no end.
We are just Time Travelers while here on this Earth.
We're traveling toward the future at a rate of 1 second per
second. There it goes.
There it goes.
It's gone.
Time keeps ticking on every
moment. Every second we are traveling
through time. But we're headed for eternity.
Where time does not exist. It never ends.
And there's nothing we can do to stop ourselves from this time
traveling. As we go through this life and
at the end of our journey through time, as the destination
that we can hardly, even imagine in our own eyes, the Bible has
tried to describe it. The writers have dried to
describe what heaven is and what has been revealed to them.
But our minds are limited. about what it what it is going to be
like every scripture everything points towards eternity in God's
plan and God's designed us to live in eternity, not in this
world here, but in heaven, his work with us is not finished in
this life. Christianity is far more than
that fairy tale. It's it's much more than just
something that we can. Just imagine, it's a very real
place. It's not a fairy tale.
And it's being prepared for us has been prepared for us.
Interning turn the T has much more for us to experience.
God has prepared. Something that is Really, as we
said, very hard for us to understand very beautiful
incomprehensible to us, it's hard for us to really grasp it.
Something so beautiful and vast and breathtaking that only only
God could create and plan and build for us.
The Apostle, Paul tells us about the wonders of Eternity, in 2nd
Corinthians 4 and verses 16 through 18 and gives us a
description of Eternity which gives us confidence and courage
as we Face, the things of this world notice in 2nd Corinthians
4 and 16 for which cause we faint not But though the outward
man, perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light Affliction, which is, but for a moment worketh for
us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory.
While we look not at the things which are seen, But at the
things which are not seen for the things which are seen are
temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Paul says that this life this momentary struggle in the pain
and the troubles in all these things that we go through in
this life. That eternity, you know, even
the pressures of all the things that we deal with and some some
are dealing with many many pressures today.
But the weight of Eternity and Glory far outweighs all that.
So we need to fix our eyes on. What is not seen, instead of
what we see because this thing, the things that we see the life
that we live today, the things that we put put importance on
today, are just temporary. Paul states that we're going
through something out, what we're going through now is only
preparing us for something so much better to come something.
So wonderful. And so different, from what we
know is all beyond all comparison.
You know, and I think as we've stated before that as we get
older, you know, the hope of Heaven and the thought of Heaven
becomes different than when we were younger. there are certain
things that in this life we long for that, we put importance on
and we sometimes can't wait to see our loved ones.
We can't wait to see our family. Our children or grandchildren.
And we earnestly weight and long for those kind of things.
And that's what we should feel about waiting and longing to see
our God that we just can't wait for it.
Now a lot of us don't, it's a hard thing for us to Rally kind
of concept conceived. In our mind that that concept of
really wanting to leave this world.
Because we get comfortable with this world, don't we?
We sometimes have such a home here and we built such a
wonderful life here on this earth.
That is temporal life that we feel uncomfortable about leaving
all that for something else. That's what we focus.
Our thoughts. And our processes on is, what is
in this life and we're not supposed to love this world or
the things in this world. First John, 2, and verse 15, but
we do we fall in love with all the things that we want.
And we see here on this Earth than we put off serving God and
we put off doing the things that we need to be doing for God.
Paul talks about how he felt about dying in Philippians 1
versus 2 verse 21 for to me to live is Christ and to die is
gain, Paul felt that way, Paul long for the time that he would
come to the point where he would be able to be with the Lord and
sometimes where we when we Are on a way away on a trip, you
know, we just can't wait to get this last few miles to get home
and getting our own Easy chair or getting our own bed and, and
be comfortable in our home. Well, this world is not our
home. Heaven is our home.
That's where we want to be
comfortable. That's where we should long to
be. That's where we should long to
not be able to wait for it. We set up our Comforts here on
Earth and we don't think we ought to suffer if we're truly
involved in the work of the church.
And in the way we ought to be, we would be suffering.
You know, we talk to others about Christ.
And sometimes we're were rejected and we're maybe may be
persecuted. We may be ridiculed for that,
but we have them, we must have the mindset that We're willing
to do anything and not let anything get in our way of us in
heaven. you know, we There have been places.
Probably in our lives where We've stepped into something or
we've been somewhere. We've been in a circumstance
where we say, you know, I need to get out of here.
This is not where I need to be. I don't need to be, we don't
feel safe. Maybe we're in the wrong
neighborhood. Maybe we're maybe we are stepped
into someplace that isn't isn't good for us, whatever it may be.
And we don't feel that we belong there.
But every morning, when we wake up, we feel comfortable with
where we're at. If we go into foreign countries
and maybe, you know, some of our preachers and others have been
in foreign countries and and involved in the work in those
countries. And I don't know that they wake
up every morning, say, well I'm really just comfortable here.
They probably think that, you know, I'll be glad to be able to
get out of this place and maybe get back home where I feel more
comfortable. That's the way we ought to be
with Godly things and Colossians 3 and verse to set your mind on
things above, not on things on the earth, we wake up and look
around at our possessions and we see all the things that we have
and we feel comfortable with those things.
Paul spent the final years of his life, preparing for the last
moment of his life waiting to be with the Lord.
We don't know. If you remember the song that
said, eternity is only one Heartbeat Away.
That's that's the way it is. We don't know.
We don't know when we're going to experience eternity when when
we will step into that realm of Eternity.
I remember. A few years ago, Bob Smith went
out for a walk ons on a morning and didn't make it back.
He didn't know that was going to happen.
His was only one Heartbeat Away. In Philippians 3 in verses 12
through 15 not that I have already attained or am already
perfected but I press on that. I may hold a limp may lay hold
on that for which Christ Jesus has also laid, hold of me
brother and I do not count myself to have apprehended but
one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and
reaching forward to those things, which are ahead.
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward.
Would calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore let us as many as Armature have this mind. so,
Paul's talking about his straining and struggling in this
life and how he's giving every ounce of energy, And effort to
win the prize. We all remember how that was
when we were in junior high and racing against all of our
classmates, but we wanted to win, and we press really hard to
win, and that's what we need to be doing as Christians.
One thing, seems one thing he mentions is that he is
forgetting those things which are behind, we can't be
distracted by the things that are around us.
Notice in Luke 19 verse 57 through 62.
Now it is now it happened as they journeyed on the road.
That someone said to him, Lord, I will follow you wherever you
go. And Jesus said to him, foxes
have holes and the birds, and birds of the air have nests, but
the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.
Then he said to another follow me, but he said, Lord, let me
go. First, go and bury my father.
Jesus said to him, let the dead bury their own dead, but you go
and preach the kingdom of God. Another also said, Lord, I will
follow you, but let me go memory.
Go and bid them farewell were at my house.
And Jesus said to him, no one having put his hand to the plow
and looking bad. His back is fit for the kingdom
of God. Sounds kind of harsh, doesn't
it? But we can't let things of this
life. We can't let plans of our life.
We can't let anything in our life, get in the way of living
for God. Paul said I just need to keep
focused and not become distracted from the goal in
life. So what are we living for in
this life? Are we spending all of our time
preparing for the final moment of our life?
Preparing for eternity and preparing for our Eternal
future. We can't be looking at the past
and looking at it and becoming distracted by all the things
around us. We can't change what we've done
in the past but we can be in control of what we do in the
future and we're going to either reap a reward or reap the regret
on the day that we stand before. God, what's going to bring what
is going to bring reward and what is going to bring regret?
When we stand before God are we going to regret the time we
wasted The Souls of? We didn't tell about the Lord,
the sick that we didn't visit the opportunities to worship
that we missed the study of the word of God that we put off the
obedience to the gospel that we rejected.
What are we going to regret? Regret is terrible.
We can all look back in our lives and we can remember things
that we regret doing. We can remember words, we said
that we wished we could pulled back into our mouths at the
moment we said them. And we can see the look on
people's face of hurt, or pain, or surprise, from the words, we
said or feelings that we've heard or decisions that we've
made. When we stand before God on the
day of judgement, what are we going to regret?
Paul says to the Hebrew Brethren and Hebrews 12 and verses 1
through 2. Therefore we also since we are
surrounded by so great. A cloud of witnesses.
Let us lay aside every weight and the sin, which so easily
ensnares us and let us run with endurance, the race that is set
before us looking unto Jesus. The author and finisher of our
faith, continuing on, with the same thought in Philippians, 3,
Paul goes on to say Brethren. Join join in following my
example and note. Those who show walk as you have
for us for a pattern, for many walk of whom I have told you
often. And now tell you even weeping
that they are the enemies of the Cross of Christ, whose end is
destruction, whose God is their belly and whose glory is in
their shame who set their minds on Earthly things for our
citizenship is in heaven. From which we also eagerly wait
for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our
lowly body, which is, which that it may become conformed into his
glorious body. According to the working by
which he is able even to subdue all things to himself.
Paul says, imitate me. Walk in my steps and do the
things that are being told to you to do. but he also says,
don't follow those who are thinking about themselves and
focusing on the things of this world, the Earthly things that
distract us Thomas Watson, a writer said, a
man's greatest care should be for that place where he lives
longest there for eternity. Eternity should be his scope.
We prepare ourselves for many things on this Earth, but that
should not distract us from the things that are important.
Matthew 6, and 19 through 21. We've talked about this recently
lay not up for yourselves, Treasures upon Earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal.
But lay up for yourselves, Treasures in Heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not
break through, nor steal, for where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. So what are we hungry for
Matthew, 25. And verse 6 blessed are those
who hunger and thirst after righteousness.
So they shall be filled. So and we said earlier, about
our citizenship being in heaven. Paul said in verse 20 the
Philippines three for our citizenship is in heaven.
And it's often that we forget that, that's where our real
place is we forget about, we think that this is our home.
We get distracted, we get confused.
We are priorities become different and and we need to be
careful about that about where our priorities are.
I'm not accusing us of all thinking, wrongly or whatever,
but it just happens in our life that sometimes we forget about
what is really important that is Eternity and we become
distracted by the things of this world.
Well, Heaven is the Christians. Hope it's more than just simple
looking on to life beyond the grave.
It should mean everything to us and everything we do in this
life is directly related to what is coming.
In fact, it's getting it's getting us ready for it.
Nothing then is more is without purpose or is wasted.
And this present life if we're preparing ourselves for heaven
and Eternity, So what do we what?
What have we done in the last week to prepare us for eternity?
What have we done? This last week that will not
matter in eternity. First Corinthians 3 and verses
10 through 13. According to the grace of God,
which is given unto me as a wise.
Masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth
thereon, but let every man, take heed how he buildeth thereon.
For other Foundation can no man. Lay than that is laid which is
Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this
Foundation, gold silver, precious stones wood, hay
stubble. Every Man's work shall be
manifest made manifest for the day.
Shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire and
the fire shall try. Every man's work of what sort it
is. Notice also second Corinthians 5
and 10. For, we must all appear before
the Judgment seat of Christ. That every one may receive the
things done in his body. According to that, he hath done
whether it be good or bad. So now let me ask you These
questions if you died there today, where would we spend?
Eternity? Are you ready to stand before
God on the day of judgment? Are you ready for judgment?
If you're not a child you must hear the word of God.
Romans 10 verse 17. So then Faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the word of God. You must have faith in what
you've heard. Mark 16 verse 16, he that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth
not shall be damned. We must repent of the life that
we've been living. Jesus said in Luke 13 Verse 3.
I tell you nay but except ye repent, ye shall all.
All likewise perish. That means that we turn from our
sins and we turn towards God. We must confess the name of
Jesus Christ. Matthew 10 verse 32 whosoever.
Therefore, shall confess me before men, him will?
I confess also before my Father, which is in heaven, and then we
must be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins.
Jesus said in Acts 2, and verse 38, then Peter said unto him,
them repent and be baptized every one of you.
In the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you
shall receive Receive the gift of the, Holy Ghost.
Also in First Peter 3 and verse 21, the like figure, whereunto
even baptism doth also. Now, save us, not the putting
away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good
conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And if we've been baptized into Christ, but we've been, we've
Fallen away, we've done things, that we feel requires a public
confession of those sins, to make them write in James 5, and
verse 16. It says confess your faults one
to another Another and pray one for another that you may be
healed. The effectual fervent prayer of
a righteous man, availeth much Judgment is coming.
Life is short, life is unsure. We don't know when eternity will
come, we don't know when Jesus will come.
We don't know when we will have that final heartbeat in this
life. Are you ready for eternity?
Maybe we are. But maybe you aren't, maybe you
haven't taken those steps of put you into Christ, maybe you've
taken those step. For some reason you've turned
away it reminds me of this song, and I think of of when thinking
of how trying to describe what heaven is and waiting for, for
the Christian, Many remember this song it's called just think
think of stepping on a Shore and finding its heaven.
Of a reaching hand on yours and finding its God's head.
Think of breathing free and deep and finding it, celestial. think
of feeling no more death live, the new life in God's land, Can
you Vision ever more than Beauty?
That's awaiting many mansions, shining bright streets.
Claiming as a pure gold think of living on and on with Jesus,
precious savior, what a picture. Oh, so Grand.
And yet, not have, has been told think of passing from all sorrow
to her heart aches. Never come think of waking when
we know now last home sweet home.
We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the
Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you
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