THE JOY FOUND ONLY IN CHRIST
PSALM 100
ECCL. 2: 26
ISA. 12: 2 – 3
I. WE SHOULD BE HAPPY BECAUSE
WE ARE FREE.
A. JOHN 8: 32 – 36
B. ROMANS 8: 1 – 4
C. MATT. 6: 31 – 34
D. PHIL. 4: 6 – 7
II. HAPPY IN JESUS CHRIST BY BEING BUSY IN THE WORK OF THE LORD.
A. MATT. 28: 19 – 20
B. JAMES 1: 27
C. I TIM. 6: 12
III. HAPPY IN CHRIST JESUS TO WORSHIP
AND FELLOWSHIP TOGETHER IN
SPIRIT AND TRUTH.
A. JOHN 4: 24
B. JOHN 14: 6 – 7
C. 1 PETER 1: 22 – 23
D. HEB. 3: 13 – 14
IV. A CHRISTIAN REJOICES IN CHRIST JESUS KNOWING THE PROMISE OF ERTERNAL LIFE IN HEAVEN.
A. JOHN 14: 1 – 3
B. ACTS 2: 38 – 39
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL
SEEING THE SERMONS IN OUR SONGS
“IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL”
(PSALMS 15)
Intro:
Horatio G. Spafford had a good life. He was a successful attorney in Chicago, husband and father of a beautiful family, and devoted follower of God. In fact, he was a close personal friend of Doctor D.L. Moody, the notable theologian.
IN November of 1873, Dr. Moody departed for an evangelistic campaign which he would be conducting in Great Britain. Mr. Spafford decided that he would surprise his family by taking them on the campaign. However, at the last moment, unexpected work delayed Spafford’s departure. He didn’t want to disappoint his family, so he sent his wife, along with their four daughters, ahead and he planned to join them soon. SO, Mrs. Spafford and the children boarded the S.S. Ville Du Harve, and set sail for England.
At some point during the journey, tragedy struck. The Ville Du Harve collided with an English sailing vessel, and amazingly, it sank in 12 minutes. Among the 226 who perished, there were four girls named Tanetta, Maggie, Annie, and Bessie Spafford. That’s right; all four of the Spafford daughters were lost in that horrible accident. Miraculously, Mrs. Spafford survived, and was taken the rest of the way to England to await her husband.
As Mr. Spafford stood hour after hour on the ship which carried him to rejoin his grief stricken wife in Cardiff Wales, he had all the time in the world to contemplate all that had happened. The story holds that when the ship reached the approximant spot where the Ville Du Harve had met its doom, that Mr. Spafford found the strength, courage, and faith to write the following words. “When sorrows like sea billows roll, it is well with my soul.”
During my time here on earth, I have known some amazing people who showed phenomenal courage in the face of great trial. During those times, despite what they were going through, they were still able to say, “It is well with my soul.” I think of my grandmother who has buried her husband and two of her children. I think of Jimmy and Judy Hodge, who watched one son be killed at the age of 10, and then again bore witness as another son suffered for 20 years with Lupus, before finally losing his life in 2006. I think of our own Larry and Jean Lloyd, who despite suffering the tragic death of their wonderful Christian son Ray; they continue to work for the Lord in his kingdom.
In each of these cases, these amazing brethren are saying the same thing. They are crying out, “IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL!” They don’t say it because they love the situation into which they have come, but in spite of the situation into which they have come.
This morning, I want us to examine how this is possible. Allow me to begin by giving you the short answer. It is possible, because their house is in order. If you will, turn to Psalms 15. There we find a Psalm which purports to have been written by David. In verse 1, David asks an important question. “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” I am going to submit to you this morning, that if we can answer David’s question here in Psalm 15: 1, then we will also answer the question: “How can I say that all is well with my soul?” Join me, and let’s discover the steps which we will need to take if we are to make that wonderful claim.
I. WE MUST BE PLEASEING IN GOD’S SIGHT
In Psalm 15:2, David begins to answer the question which he had posed in verse 1. “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.” The key to this verse is to be found in the final 7 words. David states that the one who wants to abide in God’s tabernacle, and dwell within his holy hill, that individual will, “speak the truth in his heart.” What does this mean?
In order to understand, there are two passages which we must come to terms with first. In Psalms 119: 11, David declares: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee.” Then, in Proverbs 7: 2-3, we read: “Keep my commandments, and live: and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers; write them upon the table of thine heart.”
In these three passages, Psa 15: 2, 119: 11, Pro 7: 2-3: there is a common theme. The common theme is that the faithful child of God will not be one who simply reads the word, or speaks the word, or even just listens to the word of the Lord. According to these passages, that child of God who wants to be able to say, “It is well with my soul”, will be one who has the truth that is the word of the Lord, stored in his or her heart. After all, are we not told in John 17: 17 that the word of the Lord is the truth? “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
According to all which we know of God, all which he has revealed to us, he is pleased when his children obey his word, and do his will.
Once we grasp this concept, we are then able to carry out the rest of Psalm 15: 2. IF we are to be pleasing in the sight of God that we might say, “It is well with my soul”, then we must observe and obey the other two thirds of the verse. “He shall walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness.”
First, we find David engaging in a bit of imagery. Think about the way in which we as people attempt to hide our wrongs. Many of man’s greatest sins are committed behind closed doors. We don’t want anyone to know what we have done, so we slink through the shadows. The one who is committing sin crawls through life on their belly, hoping that they will go unnoticed.
However, David states here that they who wish to abide in the tabernacle of the Lord, or dwell within his holy hill, will be those who walk upright. In other words, they will have nothing to hide.
Didn’t Jesus speak to this same idea in John 8: 12? There we read:”Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
As Jesus himself has just told us, that one who is pleasing in the sight of God, and therefore able to say, “It is well with my soul”, is that one who doesn’t need to hide in the darkness, but relishes the light of God in which they walk!
However, David also says that this same individual will, “work righteousness.” What does it mean, “Work righteousness?” Well, we begin with the obvious, and state that it is an action. Regardless of what language you are speaking, be it Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, or English: the meaning behind the word “WORK” remains the same. The dictionary defines work as: “The transference of energy when a force produces movement.”
IF we accept this definition, then we must also accept the fact that work requires effort to produce movement. Therefore, David, in his attempt to answer this question, is telling us that there is some action that we must undertake in regards to righteousness. From the context, it would seem as though God expects to be able to see our attempt to portray his righteousness in the world. Notice, I said that it is “HIS” righteousness which we portray, and not our own. You and I know that according to Romans 3: 10, that there are none who are righteous. However, for the one who has obeyed the Gospel of Christ and is now living it out in their lives, the righteousness of God should be seen in their actions. That is what the Psalmist is encouraging us to do. We work righteousness by allowing others to see God living in us!
If we are to sing, “It is well with my soul”, then we must be found pleasing in the sight of God.
II. WE MUST BE A CHRISTIAN TO OUR NEIGHBORS
If you haven’t noticed, the list of things which David says that we must do is very extensive. It includes: “Back biteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up reproach with his neighbor. IN whose eyes a vile person is contempt, but he honoreth him that fear the Lord, he that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh a reward against the innocent.”
There you have it. A list of the things which you must do for and to those around you. If you mess up, forget, stumble, or fail in any way, you are to be excommunicated, hung out to dry, and flogged at high noon in the town square. Obviously this is not true. However, there will be someone who says, “Well, I cannot do all those things perfectly, so I will just give up on that whole abiding in the tabernacle thing.”
Let me ask you, how many times in scripture can you think of occasions when men of renowned failed to accomplish these things perfectly?
Consider the church at Corinth. Paul had to write to them on multiple occasions. One of the reasons for his concern and rebuke was their fighting among themselves. TO say that they backbit, or had reproach for one another might be understating the case. (1Cor 1: 10)
What about Jacob. Yes, Jacob the son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, future patriarch of Israel. Even that great man stumbled and fell. David says that we are not to do evil to our neighbor. Well, what about your own brother? You can’t get more neighborly than flesh and blood. Yet familial ties weren’t enough to inspire Jacob not to take that which was rightfully his brother’s. (Gen 27: 1-45)
Also, consider the church at Pergamos, to whom the Lord spoke in Revelation 2: 12-15. There we see a group of God’s children being reprimanded because they are allowing vile people teaching false doctrine to dwell among them.
Now, there are some who will hear this, and conclude that they have no chance. They will say, “Well, if those folks couldn’t get it right, then I have no hope.” Brethren, that’s just not true. You see, these people did something that few of us do. They did the same thing which David did time and time again in his own life. They kept going forward.
3: 14. There Paul writes: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Did you catch it? The key word is, “PRESS.” Literally, this word means to push through, or onward to reach a goal. In other words, you are going to push through those moments when you fall. I want to encourage you to take the advice of the Savior, which he offers in Luke 13: 24. “Strive to enter in at the straight gate: for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” Brother’s and sisters, press onward, strive toward that wonderful reward which has been offered to us. Remember, being a Christian isn’t about being perfect; it is about striving for perfection. When you strive, when you press onward, you can truly say: “It is well with my soul!”
III. WE MUST BE UNMOVEABLE
It amazes me how we as people so easily forget that God doesn’t move. In Malachi 3: 6-7, God reveals to us that one who is ever shifting. “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, wherein shall we return?”
Who is it that moves? Folks, it’s you and I. We are the one who turn away. How do we do it? By ignoring, disobeying, by flat out refusing to follow the ordinances of the Lord. When we do this, we will move away.
Now, I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself, “Why would not obeying God’s word lead me away?” Let me answer your question with a scripture. Matthew 6: 24 informs us: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Church, we cannot have it both ways. If we choose to follow man, then we will be moved away from the rock which is our God. If we choose to follow God, then we remain in his saving light.
Have you ever considered the fact that God is much like a set of car keys? You are the one who laid them down. They didn’t choose to be left in your pocket, or car, or under the couch. No, you are the one who left them there. However, what is amazing is that when you decide to go looking or them, they will be right where you left them. They will not have changed. When you go to use them to start your car, they will start the car just as they have always done.
You see, it wasn’t the keys that moved. It was you who left them behind. In the same way it isn’t God who moves away from you. He remains the same today as he was 1,000 years ago. He will be the same tomorrow as he will be 1,000,000 years from now. If we want to “abide in his tabernacle, and dwell in his holy hill”, then we must remain at his side evermore!
Today, I pray that you can confidently sing, “It is well, it is well, with my soul.” If you cannot, then why? What is it that is holding you back? Is that you are not pleasing in the sight of God? Is it that those around you don’t see the proper Christian lifestyle when they look at you? Is it that you have moved so far away from God that you no longer know which way is up? If any of these categorize you, then it’s not too late to make a change. If we can assist you, then please let us know what we can do.
“IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL”
(PSALMS 15)
Intro:
Horatio G. Spafford had a good life. He was a successful attorney in Chicago, husband and father of a beautiful family, and devoted follower of God. In fact, he was a close personal friend of Doctor D.L. Moody, the notable theologian.
IN November of 1873, Dr. Moody departed for an evangelistic campaign which he would be conducting in Great Britain. Mr. Spafford decided that he would surprise his family by taking them on the campaign. However, at the last moment, unexpected work delayed Spafford’s departure. He didn’t want to disappoint his family, so he sent his wife, along with their four daughters, ahead and he planned to join them soon. SO, Mrs. Spafford and the children boarded the S.S. Ville Du Harve, and set sail for England.
At some point during the journey, tragedy struck. The Ville Du Harve collided with an English sailing vessel, and amazingly, it sank in 12 minutes. Among the 226 who perished, there were four girls named Tanetta, Maggie, Annie, and Bessie Spafford. That’s right; all four of the Spafford daughters were lost in that horrible accident. Miraculously, Mrs. Spafford survived, and was taken the rest of the way to England to await her husband.
As Mr. Spafford stood hour after hour on the ship which carried him to rejoin his grief stricken wife in Cardiff Wales, he had all the time in the world to contemplate all that had happened. The story holds that when the ship reached the approximant spot where the Ville Du Harve had met its doom, that Mr. Spafford found the strength, courage, and faith to write the following words. “When sorrows like sea billows roll, it is well with my soul.”
During my time here on earth, I have known some amazing people who showed phenomenal courage in the face of great trial. During those times, despite what they were going through, they were still able to say, “It is well with my soul.” I think of my grandmother who has buried her husband and two of her children. I think of Jimmy and Judy Hodge, who watched one son be killed at the age of 10, and then again bore witness as another son suffered for 20 years with Lupus, before finally losing his life in 2006. I think of our own Larry and Jean Lloyd, who despite suffering the tragic death of their wonderful Christian son Ray; they continue to work for the Lord in his kingdom.
In each of these cases, these amazing brethren are saying the same thing. They are crying out, “IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL!” They don’t say it because they love the situation into which they have come, but in spite of the situation into which they have come.
This morning, I want us to examine how this is possible. Allow me to begin by giving you the short answer. It is possible, because their house is in order. If you will, turn to Psalms 15. There we find a Psalm which purports to have been written by David. In verse 1, David asks an important question. “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” I am going to submit to you this morning, that if we can answer David’s question here in Psalm 15: 1, then we will also answer the question: “How can I say that all is well with my soul?” Join me, and let’s discover the steps which we will need to take if we are to make that wonderful claim.
I. WE MUST BE PLEASEING IN GOD’S SIGHT
In Psalm 15:2, David begins to answer the question which he had posed in verse 1. “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.” The key to this verse is to be found in the final 7 words. David states that the one who wants to abide in God’s tabernacle, and dwell within his holy hill, that individual will, “speak the truth in his heart.” What does this mean?
In order to understand, there are two passages which we must come to terms with first. In Psalms 119: 11, David declares: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee.” Then, in Proverbs 7: 2-3, we read: “Keep my commandments, and live: and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers; write them upon the table of thine heart.”
In these three passages, Psa 15: 2, 119: 11, Pro 7: 2-3: there is a common theme. The common theme is that the faithful child of God will not be one who simply reads the word, or speaks the word, or even just listens to the word of the Lord. According to these passages, that child of God who wants to be able to say, “It is well with my soul”, will be one who has the truth that is the word of the Lord, stored in his or her heart. After all, are we not told in John 17: 17 that the word of the Lord is the truth? “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
According to all which we know of God, all which he has revealed to us, he is pleased when his children obey his word, and do his will.
Once we grasp this concept, we are then able to carry out the rest of Psalm 15: 2. IF we are to be pleasing in the sight of God that we might say, “It is well with my soul”, then we must observe and obey the other two thirds of the verse. “He shall walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness.”
First, we find David engaging in a bit of imagery. Think about the way in which we as people attempt to hide our wrongs. Many of man’s greatest sins are committed behind closed doors. We don’t want anyone to know what we have done, so we slink through the shadows. The one who is committing sin crawls through life on their belly, hoping that they will go unnoticed.
However, David states here that they who wish to abide in the tabernacle of the Lord, or dwell within his holy hill, will be those who walk upright. In other words, they will have nothing to hide.
Didn’t Jesus speak to this same idea in John 8: 12? There we read:”Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
As Jesus himself has just told us, that one who is pleasing in the sight of God, and therefore able to say, “It is well with my soul”, is that one who doesn’t need to hide in the darkness, but relishes the light of God in which they walk!
However, David also says that this same individual will, “work righteousness.” What does it mean, “Work righteousness?” Well, we begin with the obvious, and state that it is an action. Regardless of what language you are speaking, be it Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, or English: the meaning behind the word “WORK” remains the same. The dictionary defines work as: “The transference of energy when a force produces movement.”
IF we accept this definition, then we must also accept the fact that work requires effort to produce movement. Therefore, David, in his attempt to answer this question, is telling us that there is some action that we must undertake in regards to righteousness. From the context, it would seem as though God expects to be able to see our attempt to portray his righteousness in the world. Notice, I said that it is “HIS” righteousness which we portray, and not our own. You and I know that according to Romans 3: 10, that there are none who are righteous. However, for the one who has obeyed the Gospel of Christ and is now living it out in their lives, the righteousness of God should be seen in their actions. That is what the Psalmist is encouraging us to do. We work righteousness by allowing others to see God living in us!
If we are to sing, “It is well with my soul”, then we must be found pleasing in the sight of God.
II. WE MUST BE A CHRISTIAN TO OUR NEIGHBORS
If you haven’t noticed, the list of things which David says that we must do is very extensive. It includes: “Back biteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up reproach with his neighbor. IN whose eyes a vile person is contempt, but he honoreth him that fear the Lord, he that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh a reward against the innocent.”
There you have it. A list of the things which you must do for and to those around you. If you mess up, forget, stumble, or fail in any way, you are to be excommunicated, hung out to dry, and flogged at high noon in the town square. Obviously this is not true. However, there will be someone who says, “Well, I cannot do all those things perfectly, so I will just give up on that whole abiding in the tabernacle thing.”
Let me ask you, how many times in scripture can you think of occasions when men of renowned failed to accomplish these things perfectly?
Consider the church at Corinth. Paul had to write to them on multiple occasions. One of the reasons for his concern and rebuke was their fighting among themselves. TO say that they backbit, or had reproach for one another might be understating the case. (1Cor 1: 10)
What about Jacob. Yes, Jacob the son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, future patriarch of Israel. Even that great man stumbled and fell. David says that we are not to do evil to our neighbor. Well, what about your own brother? You can’t get more neighborly than flesh and blood. Yet familial ties weren’t enough to inspire Jacob not to take that which was rightfully his brother’s. (Gen 27: 1-45)
Also, consider the church at Pergamos, to whom the Lord spoke in Revelation 2: 12-15. There we see a group of God’s children being reprimanded because they are allowing vile people teaching false doctrine to dwell among them.
Now, there are some who will hear this, and conclude that they have no chance. They will say, “Well, if those folks couldn’t get it right, then I have no hope.” Brethren, that’s just not true. You see, these people did something that few of us do. They did the same thing which David did time and time again in his own life. They kept going forward.
3: 14. There Paul writes: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Did you catch it? The key word is, “PRESS.” Literally, this word means to push through, or onward to reach a goal. In other words, you are going to push through those moments when you fall. I want to encourage you to take the advice of the Savior, which he offers in Luke 13: 24. “Strive to enter in at the straight gate: for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” Brother’s and sisters, press onward, strive toward that wonderful reward which has been offered to us. Remember, being a Christian isn’t about being perfect; it is about striving for perfection. When you strive, when you press onward, you can truly say: “It is well with my soul!”
III. WE MUST BE UNMOVEABLE
It amazes me how we as people so easily forget that God doesn’t move. In Malachi 3: 6-7, God reveals to us that one who is ever shifting. “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, wherein shall we return?”
Who is it that moves? Folks, it’s you and I. We are the one who turn away. How do we do it? By ignoring, disobeying, by flat out refusing to follow the ordinances of the Lord. When we do this, we will move away.
Now, I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself, “Why would not obeying God’s word lead me away?” Let me answer your question with a scripture. Matthew 6: 24 informs us: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Church, we cannot have it both ways. If we choose to follow man, then we will be moved away from the rock which is our God. If we choose to follow God, then we remain in his saving light.
Have you ever considered the fact that God is much like a set of car keys? You are the one who laid them down. They didn’t choose to be left in your pocket, or car, or under the couch. No, you are the one who left them there. However, what is amazing is that when you decide to go looking or them, they will be right where you left them. They will not have changed. When you go to use them to start your car, they will start the car just as they have always done.
You see, it wasn’t the keys that moved. It was you who left them behind. In the same way it isn’t God who moves away from you. He remains the same today as he was 1,000 years ago. He will be the same tomorrow as he will be 1,000,000 years from now. If we want to “abide in his tabernacle, and dwell in his holy hill”, then we must remain at his side evermore!
Today, I pray that you can confidently sing, “It is well, it is well, with my soul.” If you cannot, then why? What is it that is holding you back? Is that you are not pleasing in the sight of God? Is it that those around you don’t see the proper Christian lifestyle when they look at you? Is it that you have moved so far away from God that you no longer know which way is up? If any of these categorize you, then it’s not too late to make a change. If we can assist you, then please let us know what we can do.
Marrige- A Life Long Commitment
MARRIAGE,
A LIFE LONG COMMITMENT
“NO OTHER OPTION”
Gen. 2: 18 – 25
18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Much that we know we learned from our parents. They have taught us by words, actions, and examples. Edgar Allen Poe once said, “I learned to love the flavor of good wine sitting at my fathers table.” Poe died an alcoholic.
Barney Moorhead told me in 1980. “You marry out of infatuation, and then you must grow and develop a love for one another.” He signed his book that day. He wrote, “When the going gets tough the tough get going.” I have never forgotten that and I have applied that to my marriage. I thank God daily for my wonderful wife. When we married we married with the attitude marriage was for life and there was no option.
I. NO OTHER OPTION
I read of a couple that had been married 40 years. The man was at his doctor and related the occasion. The doctor asked how could he be married to the same woman for 40 years? His answer was “Well, for us, there was no other option!” What a commitment.
There are many people that live by this “no other option” motto. Some chose to be grumpy, miserable and stub burned with one another. They live without conversation, affection, and physical contact. They have developed separate checking accounts, separate friends, separate dreams, and even separate private lives. They stay together because there is “no other option.” They say if not for heaven and hell they would have separated long ago. How sad they call this marriage and commitment. Hell could only be worse because it is for ever and ever with no change.
God never intended for marriage to be such a hell on earth. What if we made a commitment to marriage as “no other option in the Lord and make it work for the both of us”?
A. Many marriage councilors will tell you that it is a 100% commitment on both sides. If you only give 50% you will most likely not make it in anything you do.
B. If two people will give 100% in the Lord to make their marriage it is NEXT TO impossible for the devil to destroy it.
C. Matt. 19: 4 – 6 Jesus shows a total commitment to marriage.
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
D. 1 Cor. 7: 3 – 5 NKJ Two who become one flesh in the Lord are
Inseparable for long.
3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Why are they inseparable, because they choose to be. Do we not understand that we make our marriage what it is? We make it either happy or unhappy.
E. Can a couple be happy without God in their marriage? Possibly, but not as happy as ones with God in their marriage. With God all things are made better and all things are eternal.
II. NO OTHER OPTION IN JESUS CHRIST.
A. MATT. 19: 8 – 9 Divorce has always been wrong in God’s sight.
8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Jesus said except for fornication, which is sexual immorality. Well can’t we separate and remain single. Yes, but you will never have the right to remarry another. Why go through all that when you can save your existing marriage.
B. Yes it will take work. Maybe more work than you have ever imagined. Yes it will take reviewing God’s plan and rules for marriage.
1. Prov. 18; 22 A wife or a husband is good to have.
22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
Solomon is not being derogatory or belittling woman when he says they are a good thing. If you have a good one you have the favor of the Lord. You must believe it is good to be married or you should not marry.
2. Gen. 2: 18 God saw it was not good for man to be alone.
18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
God saw that it was good for man and woman to marry and it is good today.
Woman was given as a help meet to man. NKJ says “a helper comparable to man.”
C. The Hebrew root for help is to surround. Webster says a helpmate is a companion who helps, an assistant, a wife. She should be the greatest blessing God has physically given to a husband. She is not the greatest in his life for that must be God. She should sure be next.
II. NO OTHER OPTION IN CHRIST AND MAKE IT WORK FOR BOTH.
A. Eph. 5: 25 Christ compares marriage to the church.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
This is a committed love. Think how much Christ loved His church.
1. He left heaven to come to earth.
2. He took on the body of mortal man.
3. He was rejected by his own people.
4. He was tortured and put to death on the cross for our sins.
5. He was buried in a barrowed tomb.
6. He suffered all this and overcame it that his church might be victorious.
How much should a husband love his wife? How much should a wife love her husband? “as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.”
B. Eph. 5: 22 – 24 Wives should submit unto their owns husbands with love.
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
C. Matt. 19: 9 Sin Can Destroy Marriage. Sexual immorality can destroy a marriage.
D. Eph. 5: 31 Jesus says you can be one.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
E. God understands that if ones mate runs off with another in immorality there maybe nothing they can do but hurt. He understands that sometimes there are innocent beings left behind.
F. God understands in this society divorce is sometimes needed to protect the children’s needs. Deadbeat mother or deadbeat fathers that will not support their children accept with court order.
G. God wants us to search out the one we are dating. Give them time to show their true self. Some people spend more time researching a new car than they do a mate for marriage. Don’t forget their family.
You marry into a family. You need to know about this family. What about their marriage. Remember most of what your future mate has learned about marriage is from their family. Should it be any surprise that many marriages end up like their parents marriages.
H. True Love must be given time to grow and mature. It doesn’t just happen. It must be nurtured and developed with great understanding and patience and Godliness.
1 Cor. 13: 1 – 8 Paul writes: True love never fails unless we destroy it.
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
Love can be destroyed by a lack of patience, unkind deeds and words, envy, selfishness, rudeness, evil thinking and wickedness, immorality. You can both be wrong.
Love can also grow in patience, kindness, sharing and caring.
How will your marriage grow? Will you commit to one another with no other option in Christ and make it work for both of you? You both can be right.
You may say John, I’m not married so hoe does this apply to me?
Are you a Christian today? That is the beginning. Will you make that commitment to Christ. Will you come to Jesus and be baptized for the remission of your past sins?
If every marriage began with two Christians committed to Christ, fewer would fail.
Are you a Christian today but unfaithful to God? You have broken that commitment to the Lord.
Will you come back to your first love, Jesus Christ?
Think upon these things.
A LIFE LONG COMMITMENT
“NO OTHER OPTION”
Gen. 2: 18 – 25
18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Much that we know we learned from our parents. They have taught us by words, actions, and examples. Edgar Allen Poe once said, “I learned to love the flavor of good wine sitting at my fathers table.” Poe died an alcoholic.
Barney Moorhead told me in 1980. “You marry out of infatuation, and then you must grow and develop a love for one another.” He signed his book that day. He wrote, “When the going gets tough the tough get going.” I have never forgotten that and I have applied that to my marriage. I thank God daily for my wonderful wife. When we married we married with the attitude marriage was for life and there was no option.
I. NO OTHER OPTION
I read of a couple that had been married 40 years. The man was at his doctor and related the occasion. The doctor asked how could he be married to the same woman for 40 years? His answer was “Well, for us, there was no other option!” What a commitment.
There are many people that live by this “no other option” motto. Some chose to be grumpy, miserable and stub burned with one another. They live without conversation, affection, and physical contact. They have developed separate checking accounts, separate friends, separate dreams, and even separate private lives. They stay together because there is “no other option.” They say if not for heaven and hell they would have separated long ago. How sad they call this marriage and commitment. Hell could only be worse because it is for ever and ever with no change.
God never intended for marriage to be such a hell on earth. What if we made a commitment to marriage as “no other option in the Lord and make it work for the both of us”?
A. Many marriage councilors will tell you that it is a 100% commitment on both sides. If you only give 50% you will most likely not make it in anything you do.
B. If two people will give 100% in the Lord to make their marriage it is NEXT TO impossible for the devil to destroy it.
C. Matt. 19: 4 – 6 Jesus shows a total commitment to marriage.
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
D. 1 Cor. 7: 3 – 5 NKJ Two who become one flesh in the Lord are
Inseparable for long.
3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Why are they inseparable, because they choose to be. Do we not understand that we make our marriage what it is? We make it either happy or unhappy.
E. Can a couple be happy without God in their marriage? Possibly, but not as happy as ones with God in their marriage. With God all things are made better and all things are eternal.
II. NO OTHER OPTION IN JESUS CHRIST.
A. MATT. 19: 8 – 9 Divorce has always been wrong in God’s sight.
8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Jesus said except for fornication, which is sexual immorality. Well can’t we separate and remain single. Yes, but you will never have the right to remarry another. Why go through all that when you can save your existing marriage.
B. Yes it will take work. Maybe more work than you have ever imagined. Yes it will take reviewing God’s plan and rules for marriage.
1. Prov. 18; 22 A wife or a husband is good to have.
22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
Solomon is not being derogatory or belittling woman when he says they are a good thing. If you have a good one you have the favor of the Lord. You must believe it is good to be married or you should not marry.
2. Gen. 2: 18 God saw it was not good for man to be alone.
18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
God saw that it was good for man and woman to marry and it is good today.
Woman was given as a help meet to man. NKJ says “a helper comparable to man.”
C. The Hebrew root for help is to surround. Webster says a helpmate is a companion who helps, an assistant, a wife. She should be the greatest blessing God has physically given to a husband. She is not the greatest in his life for that must be God. She should sure be next.
II. NO OTHER OPTION IN CHRIST AND MAKE IT WORK FOR BOTH.
A. Eph. 5: 25 Christ compares marriage to the church.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
This is a committed love. Think how much Christ loved His church.
1. He left heaven to come to earth.
2. He took on the body of mortal man.
3. He was rejected by his own people.
4. He was tortured and put to death on the cross for our sins.
5. He was buried in a barrowed tomb.
6. He suffered all this and overcame it that his church might be victorious.
How much should a husband love his wife? How much should a wife love her husband? “as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.”
B. Eph. 5: 22 – 24 Wives should submit unto their owns husbands with love.
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
C. Matt. 19: 9 Sin Can Destroy Marriage. Sexual immorality can destroy a marriage.
D. Eph. 5: 31 Jesus says you can be one.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
E. God understands that if ones mate runs off with another in immorality there maybe nothing they can do but hurt. He understands that sometimes there are innocent beings left behind.
F. God understands in this society divorce is sometimes needed to protect the children’s needs. Deadbeat mother or deadbeat fathers that will not support their children accept with court order.
G. God wants us to search out the one we are dating. Give them time to show their true self. Some people spend more time researching a new car than they do a mate for marriage. Don’t forget their family.
You marry into a family. You need to know about this family. What about their marriage. Remember most of what your future mate has learned about marriage is from their family. Should it be any surprise that many marriages end up like their parents marriages.
H. True Love must be given time to grow and mature. It doesn’t just happen. It must be nurtured and developed with great understanding and patience and Godliness.
1 Cor. 13: 1 – 8 Paul writes: True love never fails unless we destroy it.
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
Love can be destroyed by a lack of patience, unkind deeds and words, envy, selfishness, rudeness, evil thinking and wickedness, immorality. You can both be wrong.
Love can also grow in patience, kindness, sharing and caring.
How will your marriage grow? Will you commit to one another with no other option in Christ and make it work for both of you? You both can be right.
You may say John, I’m not married so hoe does this apply to me?
Are you a Christian today? That is the beginning. Will you make that commitment to Christ. Will you come to Jesus and be baptized for the remission of your past sins?
If every marriage began with two Christians committed to Christ, fewer would fail.
Are you a Christian today but unfaithful to God? You have broken that commitment to the Lord.
Will you come back to your first love, Jesus Christ?
Think upon these things.
Monday, February 9, 2009
HEAVEN
HEAVEN
REV. 21: 1 - 8
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were
passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the. throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my
son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
I. THE WORLD WONDERS WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT HEAVEN.
A. Psalms 14: 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on us and the whole world.
The fool hath said, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that hath done good.
2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
2
God is in heaven.
B. Acts 7: 55 - 56 Steven looked up before being stone and saw Jesus.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Jesus is there.
C. Matt. 24: 35 - 36 Jesus said the angels are in heaven.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
The angels of heaven are there, Jesus is there, and God is there. To the Christian heaven is a very precious place.
II. The Bible Says Heaven Is a Real Place.
A. John 14: 1 - 3 A place for the believer.
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: ifit were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
3
B. Rev. 21: 9-10 John was shown heaven.
9 , And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
C. Acts 1: 9 - 11 the eleven Apostles watched Jesus ascend into heaven.
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
III. Can Christians have the assurance of Heaven and seeing God?
D. 2 Cor. 5: 1- 2 Gives us a definite Yes!
1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
B. 1 Cor. 15: 19 Paul says there is more than just this life.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
IV.
4 C. 1 Cor. 15: 50 - 58 Paul goes on to say spiritual victory is in Christ.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 0 death, where is thy sting? o grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Heaven is described in the New Testament as:
John 14: 1-2
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
B. 2 Cor. 5: 1 Paul describes heaven as a building of God not made with hands. 1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
5
C. Rev. 21: 2 John saw A Holy City.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
C. Acts 20: 32 Given as an inheritance.
32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
Heaven is home for God, Christ and the angels.
Heaven is a real place prepared for people obedient to God.
Heaven is a building of God described in the New Testament as a place not made with hands.
Why is heaven so important to Christians, because it is eternal, for ever and ever and Hell is the alternative.
Think about your choices. 1.) Heaven with mansions, building of God, not made with hands, described with streets of gold, gates of pearls and other precious stones. To be with God, Christ and his angels for ever and ever.
2.) Hell, a lake of fire that burns for ever and ever, an unquenchable fire with no relief not even a drop of water. To be with the devil and his angels, tormented day and night in darkness.
Is there any comparison? No, but we make a choice. Will you come today confessing Jesus Christ as the Son of God and being baptized for the remission of your past sins? Acts 8: 35 Phillip preached to the Ethiopian about Jesus Christ.
6
When they came to water, verse 36, The Ethiopian said, Here is water what hinders me from being baptized? Phillip says, if thou belivest with all thy heart thou mayest. The Ethiopian said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Phillip baptized him right then. Are you ready today? What hinders you? You need to put it aside and obey Jesus.
Are you a Christian, but you know your life is not right with God and Christ? Then make it right today, don't wait another minute. You have put Christ on as your savior and you know you have not obeyed him as a christian. They that are faithful to God will receive the crown not everyone baptized. Are you living as God wants you to live? Why not come back today?
You know whether you are ready. Will you come?
REV. 21: 1 - 8
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were
passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the. throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my
son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
I. THE WORLD WONDERS WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT HEAVEN.
A. Psalms 14: 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on us and the whole world.
The fool hath said, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that hath done good.
2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
2
God is in heaven.
B. Acts 7: 55 - 56 Steven looked up before being stone and saw Jesus.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Jesus is there.
C. Matt. 24: 35 - 36 Jesus said the angels are in heaven.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
The angels of heaven are there, Jesus is there, and God is there. To the Christian heaven is a very precious place.
II. The Bible Says Heaven Is a Real Place.
A. John 14: 1 - 3 A place for the believer.
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: ifit were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
3
B. Rev. 21: 9-10 John was shown heaven.
9 , And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
C. Acts 1: 9 - 11 the eleven Apostles watched Jesus ascend into heaven.
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
III. Can Christians have the assurance of Heaven and seeing God?
D. 2 Cor. 5: 1- 2 Gives us a definite Yes!
1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
B. 1 Cor. 15: 19 Paul says there is more than just this life.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
IV.
4 C. 1 Cor. 15: 50 - 58 Paul goes on to say spiritual victory is in Christ.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 0 death, where is thy sting? o grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Heaven is described in the New Testament as:
John 14: 1-2
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
B. 2 Cor. 5: 1 Paul describes heaven as a building of God not made with hands. 1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
5
C. Rev. 21: 2 John saw A Holy City.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
C. Acts 20: 32 Given as an inheritance.
32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
Heaven is home for God, Christ and the angels.
Heaven is a real place prepared for people obedient to God.
Heaven is a building of God described in the New Testament as a place not made with hands.
Why is heaven so important to Christians, because it is eternal, for ever and ever and Hell is the alternative.
Think about your choices. 1.) Heaven with mansions, building of God, not made with hands, described with streets of gold, gates of pearls and other precious stones. To be with God, Christ and his angels for ever and ever.
2.) Hell, a lake of fire that burns for ever and ever, an unquenchable fire with no relief not even a drop of water. To be with the devil and his angels, tormented day and night in darkness.
Is there any comparison? No, but we make a choice. Will you come today confessing Jesus Christ as the Son of God and being baptized for the remission of your past sins? Acts 8: 35 Phillip preached to the Ethiopian about Jesus Christ.
6
When they came to water, verse 36, The Ethiopian said, Here is water what hinders me from being baptized? Phillip says, if thou belivest with all thy heart thou mayest. The Ethiopian said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Phillip baptized him right then. Are you ready today? What hinders you? You need to put it aside and obey Jesus.
Are you a Christian, but you know your life is not right with God and Christ? Then make it right today, don't wait another minute. You have put Christ on as your savior and you know you have not obeyed him as a christian. They that are faithful to God will receive the crown not everyone baptized. Are you living as God wants you to live? Why not come back today?
You know whether you are ready. Will you come?
"DON'T YOU WANT TO GO TO THAT LAND?"
SEEING THE SERMONS IN OUR SONGS
“DON’T YOU WANT TO GO TO THAT LAND”
NUMBRES 10 29-32
Intro:
In Numbers 11: 29; we find a rather interesting passage. The Lord has just concluded his instructions to Moses and Aaron as to how they are to construct and properly use the trumpets of silver, which he had commanded them to make.
Following these ordinances, the Children of Israel departed from the wilderness of Sinai, and moved to the wilderness of Paran. As they traveled, the children of Israel moved in a particular pattern. Beginning in verse 13, and concluding in verse 28; we are told the order in which they proceeded.
In verse 29, we read of an interesting exchange. It took place between Moses, and Hobab. Hobab was the son of Raguel, who was the father-in-law of Moses, which coincidently makes him the brother-in-law of the Lord’s chosen leader. The passage is interesting because the conversation which is taking place.
As they have from the moment they left Egypt, the Israelites are moving toward the Promised Land. Here we actually see that Moses is inquiring as to whether or not Hobab and his tribe will join them on this journey.
Notice with me the fact that Hobab actually refuses the offer to come to that long sought for territory.
“I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred.” (Numbers 10: 30)
It is what follows this proclamation that I would have you notice. Moses states in Numbers 10: 31-32: “And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.”
Did you catch it? Moses asked whether or not Hobab and his tribe would enter the Promise Land with the rest of the children of Israel. Hobab replied that they would not be making that journey. Moses then offers reasons as to why they should reconsider.
I want you to think about each and every time that you have invited someone to worship. I want you to recall every instance in which you shared the beautiful Gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost soul. I want to encourage you to call to mind those times in which you have sat across the table from a child, parent, family member, or friend, and begged them to obey God’s word. Now, allow me to ask you this: what were you really asking them? I would submit that you were asking the same question which Moses put forth to Hobab. I would propose that you were making the same inquiry, which we find in the first verse of number 969. You were essentially asking, “DON’T YOU WANT TO GO TO THAT LAND?” Another way of putting it would be: “Don’t you want to go to Heaven?”
Unfortunately, so many in the world today answer in much the same way that Hobab did. Therefore, it is up to you and me to act as their Moses. It falls to us to provide them with the reasons, which they need to see if they are to realize that if they don’t choose Heaven, they are in fact choosing Hell.
As we continue with our sermon series in which we are examining the messages in the songs we sing, we want to consider the reasons which are found in the song, “DON’T YOU WANT TO GO TO THAT LAND?” Contained in the verses of this beautiful song, is all the reason you and I need to desire to do all we can to reach that Heavenly abode.
Join me, and allow me to share with you the reasons why you definitely want to go to that land!
I. BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING BUT LOVE IN THAT LAND!
Through the years, man has tried, and for the most part failed, to define love. "Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. Someone you fall head over heels for. Find someone you can love like crazy, and will love you the same way back. (William Parrish, MEET JOE BLACK.)
"To love is to place our happiness in the happiness of another." (Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz) "To love and be loved is like feeling the sun from both sides." (Author unknown) Finally, www.answers.com defines love as: "A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness."
Now, despite the plethora of definitions, we still don't seem to have grasped this concept. Take for example the fact that The National Center for Healthy Statistics released a report stating that 43% of all first marriages will end within the first 15 years. Well, those are just couples who couldn't make it through those first few difficult years. If they had been blessed with children they never would have divorced. That's the attitude of so many in our world, but the statistics do not support that notion. In fact, in 1997, research conducted by divorcemagazine.com, revealed that more than 1,000,000 children are drug through the pains of divorce each year.
It isn't just couples that are having a problem, but individuals are suffering as well. Each and every day more and more people are experiencing the pain of depression and loneliness. Many even take the ultimate step, and take there own lives. In 2004, the problem of suicide was so great that it actually rose to the number 11 leading cause of death in the US. In that year, just five short years ago, it claimed the lives of 32,439 people. Yes, you heard that right: 32,439 people determined that life just wasn't worth living.
Well, let's ask the question. Why are there all the divorce, separation, and suicide in our society today? I think the answer is alarmingly simple. We just do not understand this whole love thing. Oh sure, we give lip service to it, but according to statistics, we just don't get it. The truth is that we live in a world that for the most part has forgotten how to love. Even more than that, we have forgotten the need for love.
The good news, at least from a Christian perspective, is that God has not forgotten the need nor the practice of love. When he saw his creation fall, he understood love enough that he was willing to plan and provide for their needs! (Genesis 3: 15) He understood love enough that even though his children repeatedly returned to evil, he continued to raise up a deliverer to guide them safely home! (Judges 2: 16)
Even today, though we are unworthy, though we have always been unworthy, God has revealed his amazing breath of understanding when it comes to the subject of Love so much, that he was willing to offer his son, that we might have hope! (Romans 5: 8)
Now, imagine with me for a moment, the awesome idea that this God, who understands love so completely, has created a land to which we can go and find nothing but love! That means that there will no longer be depression, tears, sadness, sorrow, death, suicide, loneliness, or pain in any form. (Revelation 21: 4) Instead, God offers us a place, which is lit by his love, without need of sun, or moon, or stars, or even candlestick. (Revelation 22: 5)
The reason for we as Christians choosing to follow the Lord is very simple. We want to see that land. We want to experience that love. The question is, don't you?
II. BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING BUT JOY IN THAT LAND!
Joy is funny. Much like love, we as people have looked for it in almost every imaginable place. In fact, as someone once pointed out, it is easier to state those places where joy cannot be found.
Without question, true joy is not to be found in unbelief. The noted French Philosopher Voltaire, who while not an atheist, did live his life denying the need and essential nature of the Church; once wrote, "I wish I had never been born." That doesn't sound like joy to me.
The famous poet Lord Byron, author of the well-known narrative poem "Don Juan", lived a life of extravagant pleasure. He enjoyed multiple romantic relationships during the course of his 36-year existence. However, this man, this myth, this romantic legend once wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone." Again, I fail to see the joy in his life.
What about power? Surely there is true joy and happiness to be found there. Not according to Alexander The Great, who conquered the entire known world in his day, and was perhaps the most powerful man to ever live didn't find joy in military glory. Instead, he was overheard weeping in his tent, and saying: "There are no more worlds to conquer."
These men seemed to learn that which the Solomon, the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes already new. Whether you are talking about pleasure, romance, or labor: the summation is that there is no joy, only vanity. (Ecclesiastes2: 1, 11)
In that great Old Testament book, we do find the answer as to where joy can be found. In Ecclesiastes 1: 14, the writer reveals to us that: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit." The answer is that true everlasting joy is to be found above the sun. In a place where the suns rays are no longer needed. In fact, it is the land spoken of here in verse number three. We are told that in that land, "There's nothing but joy in that land!"
I love the imagery used in Revelation 21: 2. There we read: "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Think back to your own wedding day. Husbands, do you remember seeing that woman come down that isle? Can you recall the feeling of joy, which sprang up within you? Wives, do you remember seeing that man standing there, looking at you as though you were the only woman to ever draw breath? Do you remember that feeling of unadulterated joy that you felt? Well, that is what we have to look forward too! It is joy everlasting! It is joy without boundaries! It is a land where joy never ends!
III. BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING BUT PEACE IN THAT LAND!
Have you ever stopped to consider what a fragile thing peace really is? Did you know that right now, as we speak, the United States is involved in 47 different conflicts around the world? Consider the fact that in our brief history, we have been involved in 15 declared Wars, not including those, which are classified as a military conflict or action.
This is not a new concept, which we are talking about. Think about the fact that the world "WAR" appears in the KJV 225 times, in 220 verses. Throughout our history, man has made war. We have killed and persecuted in every way imaginable.
Now, perhaps you are saying to yourself, "I've never fought in a war, therefore these things don't effect me." Oh brethren, the effects of war are felt far away from the battlefield. The truth of the matter is that the cost of fighting is felt on a personal, communal, societal, national, and even global level. Our aggressive nature has even been felt in our pocket books, as the price tag for our fighting comes due.
In verse number 4, we read of a place where war doesn't reach. We read of a land, which isn't scarred by long ago battles, or recent conflicts. Instead, we have an opportunity to live in the presents of one who believes in peace. Now, I'm sure that there are those who will say, "Yes, but God inspired man to speak of war 225 times, in 220 verses of his holy word." In fact, that is true. However, a search of the scriptures will also reveal that he inspired those "Holy men of God" to record the word peace 429 times, in 400 verses. Do you see the significance?
The idea of peace is preached twice as much as the idea of war. God wants us to know peace, to experience peace, to live in a land of peace! The question for you is, "Don't you want to go to that land where there is nothing but peace?"
IV. BECAUSE I'VE GOT A SAVIOR IN THAT LAND!
There was something about Jesus that often inspired people to want to be near him. For some of them, it followed after he had healed them in some fashion or another. (Mark 10: 46-53, Luke 8: 40-56) However, there are two times in scripture when a man and a woman seem to desire the presents of Jesus almost above bearing.
The first passage is found in Luke 10: 38-42. There we find where Jesus, along with his disciples, have come into a certain village. They then come into the home of Martha and Mary, who were friends of the Christ. When Jesus was come in, Martha began running around preparing the house for her company. However, Mary simply sat at the feet of Jesus. She didn't help, she didn't prepare, and she simply sat and absorbed his wonderful presents. When Martha complained, Christ said that Mary had, "chosen that good part which shall not be taken from her." She wanted to be in his presents so much so, that she was willing to forgo the customs of the day, and leave her home unprepared for her guests.
The second passage is found in John 21: 1-11. In the greater context, we find Christ returning to his disciples. He shows himself while they are out on the sea fishing. The part I want you to notice is found in verse 7. There we learn that the disciple whom Christ loved told Simon Peter that it was Jesus! Then we read: "Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,)"
Here Peter and the rest of the disciples are some 200 cubits from shore. That is roughly 91.44 meters, or 100 yards. Today we would say it was the length of a regulation size football field. Despite the distance, Peter couldn't wait to be back in the presents of Jesus, so he dove out of the boat, and swam for shore. Can you imagine the reactions of the other disciples? They would have surely called out and said, "Peter, we can take the boat!" But, he just couldn't wait any more.
One of the most amazing parts of Heaven will be the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, The King of Kings and Lord of Lord's will be there. How do I know that? Well, as the children's song says, "For the Bible tells me so."
In Acts 7: 55-56, Steven looks up, and sees Jesus at the right hand of the throne of God! What about Hebrews 7: 25, which reveals to us that Christ currently serves as our interceedant! Or, what about 1John 2: 1 which shares with us the amazing news that he stands, at this very moment, in the presents of God, acting as our advocate! Hebrews 9: 24 states that he isn't entered into a Holy place made with hands, but into Heaven itself, there to appear in the presents of God for us! What verse 5 is telling us, is the same thing we learn from Psalms 23: 6. Their David writes: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." If it is indeed his house, and if we are privileged to spend eternity therein, then don't you believe that he will be there?
Allow me to level with you. If there was nothing else, no other reason, this should be enough for you to decide that you will live your life according to God's word. This should be enough to convince you that the rewards of Heaven far outweigh the pleasures of sin.
Let me conclude with this question. Don't you want to go to that land? That land where there is nothing but love, joy, peace? That land where you can spend eternity with the one who died for you. If we can assist you in making things right between you and your God, then let us know as we stand and sing.
“DON’T YOU WANT TO GO TO THAT LAND”
NUMBRES 10 29-32
Intro:
In Numbers 11: 29; we find a rather interesting passage. The Lord has just concluded his instructions to Moses and Aaron as to how they are to construct and properly use the trumpets of silver, which he had commanded them to make.
Following these ordinances, the Children of Israel departed from the wilderness of Sinai, and moved to the wilderness of Paran. As they traveled, the children of Israel moved in a particular pattern. Beginning in verse 13, and concluding in verse 28; we are told the order in which they proceeded.
In verse 29, we read of an interesting exchange. It took place between Moses, and Hobab. Hobab was the son of Raguel, who was the father-in-law of Moses, which coincidently makes him the brother-in-law of the Lord’s chosen leader. The passage is interesting because the conversation which is taking place.
As they have from the moment they left Egypt, the Israelites are moving toward the Promised Land. Here we actually see that Moses is inquiring as to whether or not Hobab and his tribe will join them on this journey.
Notice with me the fact that Hobab actually refuses the offer to come to that long sought for territory.
“I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred.” (Numbers 10: 30)
It is what follows this proclamation that I would have you notice. Moses states in Numbers 10: 31-32: “And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.”
Did you catch it? Moses asked whether or not Hobab and his tribe would enter the Promise Land with the rest of the children of Israel. Hobab replied that they would not be making that journey. Moses then offers reasons as to why they should reconsider.
I want you to think about each and every time that you have invited someone to worship. I want you to recall every instance in which you shared the beautiful Gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost soul. I want to encourage you to call to mind those times in which you have sat across the table from a child, parent, family member, or friend, and begged them to obey God’s word. Now, allow me to ask you this: what were you really asking them? I would submit that you were asking the same question which Moses put forth to Hobab. I would propose that you were making the same inquiry, which we find in the first verse of number 969. You were essentially asking, “DON’T YOU WANT TO GO TO THAT LAND?” Another way of putting it would be: “Don’t you want to go to Heaven?”
Unfortunately, so many in the world today answer in much the same way that Hobab did. Therefore, it is up to you and me to act as their Moses. It falls to us to provide them with the reasons, which they need to see if they are to realize that if they don’t choose Heaven, they are in fact choosing Hell.
As we continue with our sermon series in which we are examining the messages in the songs we sing, we want to consider the reasons which are found in the song, “DON’T YOU WANT TO GO TO THAT LAND?” Contained in the verses of this beautiful song, is all the reason you and I need to desire to do all we can to reach that Heavenly abode.
Join me, and allow me to share with you the reasons why you definitely want to go to that land!
I. BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING BUT LOVE IN THAT LAND!
Through the years, man has tried, and for the most part failed, to define love. "Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. Someone you fall head over heels for. Find someone you can love like crazy, and will love you the same way back. (William Parrish, MEET JOE BLACK.)
"To love is to place our happiness in the happiness of another." (Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz) "To love and be loved is like feeling the sun from both sides." (Author unknown) Finally, www.answers.com defines love as: "A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness."
Now, despite the plethora of definitions, we still don't seem to have grasped this concept. Take for example the fact that The National Center for Healthy Statistics released a report stating that 43% of all first marriages will end within the first 15 years. Well, those are just couples who couldn't make it through those first few difficult years. If they had been blessed with children they never would have divorced. That's the attitude of so many in our world, but the statistics do not support that notion. In fact, in 1997, research conducted by divorcemagazine.com, revealed that more than 1,000,000 children are drug through the pains of divorce each year.
It isn't just couples that are having a problem, but individuals are suffering as well. Each and every day more and more people are experiencing the pain of depression and loneliness. Many even take the ultimate step, and take there own lives. In 2004, the problem of suicide was so great that it actually rose to the number 11 leading cause of death in the US. In that year, just five short years ago, it claimed the lives of 32,439 people. Yes, you heard that right: 32,439 people determined that life just wasn't worth living.
Well, let's ask the question. Why are there all the divorce, separation, and suicide in our society today? I think the answer is alarmingly simple. We just do not understand this whole love thing. Oh sure, we give lip service to it, but according to statistics, we just don't get it. The truth is that we live in a world that for the most part has forgotten how to love. Even more than that, we have forgotten the need for love.
The good news, at least from a Christian perspective, is that God has not forgotten the need nor the practice of love. When he saw his creation fall, he understood love enough that he was willing to plan and provide for their needs! (Genesis 3: 15) He understood love enough that even though his children repeatedly returned to evil, he continued to raise up a deliverer to guide them safely home! (Judges 2: 16)
Even today, though we are unworthy, though we have always been unworthy, God has revealed his amazing breath of understanding when it comes to the subject of Love so much, that he was willing to offer his son, that we might have hope! (Romans 5: 8)
Now, imagine with me for a moment, the awesome idea that this God, who understands love so completely, has created a land to which we can go and find nothing but love! That means that there will no longer be depression, tears, sadness, sorrow, death, suicide, loneliness, or pain in any form. (Revelation 21: 4) Instead, God offers us a place, which is lit by his love, without need of sun, or moon, or stars, or even candlestick. (Revelation 22: 5)
The reason for we as Christians choosing to follow the Lord is very simple. We want to see that land. We want to experience that love. The question is, don't you?
II. BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING BUT JOY IN THAT LAND!
Joy is funny. Much like love, we as people have looked for it in almost every imaginable place. In fact, as someone once pointed out, it is easier to state those places where joy cannot be found.
Without question, true joy is not to be found in unbelief. The noted French Philosopher Voltaire, who while not an atheist, did live his life denying the need and essential nature of the Church; once wrote, "I wish I had never been born." That doesn't sound like joy to me.
The famous poet Lord Byron, author of the well-known narrative poem "Don Juan", lived a life of extravagant pleasure. He enjoyed multiple romantic relationships during the course of his 36-year existence. However, this man, this myth, this romantic legend once wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone." Again, I fail to see the joy in his life.
What about power? Surely there is true joy and happiness to be found there. Not according to Alexander The Great, who conquered the entire known world in his day, and was perhaps the most powerful man to ever live didn't find joy in military glory. Instead, he was overheard weeping in his tent, and saying: "There are no more worlds to conquer."
These men seemed to learn that which the Solomon, the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes already new. Whether you are talking about pleasure, romance, or labor: the summation is that there is no joy, only vanity. (Ecclesiastes2: 1, 11)
In that great Old Testament book, we do find the answer as to where joy can be found. In Ecclesiastes 1: 14, the writer reveals to us that: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit." The answer is that true everlasting joy is to be found above the sun. In a place where the suns rays are no longer needed. In fact, it is the land spoken of here in verse number three. We are told that in that land, "There's nothing but joy in that land!"
I love the imagery used in Revelation 21: 2. There we read: "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Think back to your own wedding day. Husbands, do you remember seeing that woman come down that isle? Can you recall the feeling of joy, which sprang up within you? Wives, do you remember seeing that man standing there, looking at you as though you were the only woman to ever draw breath? Do you remember that feeling of unadulterated joy that you felt? Well, that is what we have to look forward too! It is joy everlasting! It is joy without boundaries! It is a land where joy never ends!
III. BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING BUT PEACE IN THAT LAND!
Have you ever stopped to consider what a fragile thing peace really is? Did you know that right now, as we speak, the United States is involved in 47 different conflicts around the world? Consider the fact that in our brief history, we have been involved in 15 declared Wars, not including those, which are classified as a military conflict or action.
This is not a new concept, which we are talking about. Think about the fact that the world "WAR" appears in the KJV 225 times, in 220 verses. Throughout our history, man has made war. We have killed and persecuted in every way imaginable.
Now, perhaps you are saying to yourself, "I've never fought in a war, therefore these things don't effect me." Oh brethren, the effects of war are felt far away from the battlefield. The truth of the matter is that the cost of fighting is felt on a personal, communal, societal, national, and even global level. Our aggressive nature has even been felt in our pocket books, as the price tag for our fighting comes due.
In verse number 4, we read of a place where war doesn't reach. We read of a land, which isn't scarred by long ago battles, or recent conflicts. Instead, we have an opportunity to live in the presents of one who believes in peace. Now, I'm sure that there are those who will say, "Yes, but God inspired man to speak of war 225 times, in 220 verses of his holy word." In fact, that is true. However, a search of the scriptures will also reveal that he inspired those "Holy men of God" to record the word peace 429 times, in 400 verses. Do you see the significance?
The idea of peace is preached twice as much as the idea of war. God wants us to know peace, to experience peace, to live in a land of peace! The question for you is, "Don't you want to go to that land where there is nothing but peace?"
IV. BECAUSE I'VE GOT A SAVIOR IN THAT LAND!
There was something about Jesus that often inspired people to want to be near him. For some of them, it followed after he had healed them in some fashion or another. (Mark 10: 46-53, Luke 8: 40-56) However, there are two times in scripture when a man and a woman seem to desire the presents of Jesus almost above bearing.
The first passage is found in Luke 10: 38-42. There we find where Jesus, along with his disciples, have come into a certain village. They then come into the home of Martha and Mary, who were friends of the Christ. When Jesus was come in, Martha began running around preparing the house for her company. However, Mary simply sat at the feet of Jesus. She didn't help, she didn't prepare, and she simply sat and absorbed his wonderful presents. When Martha complained, Christ said that Mary had, "chosen that good part which shall not be taken from her." She wanted to be in his presents so much so, that she was willing to forgo the customs of the day, and leave her home unprepared for her guests.
The second passage is found in John 21: 1-11. In the greater context, we find Christ returning to his disciples. He shows himself while they are out on the sea fishing. The part I want you to notice is found in verse 7. There we learn that the disciple whom Christ loved told Simon Peter that it was Jesus! Then we read: "Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,)"
Here Peter and the rest of the disciples are some 200 cubits from shore. That is roughly 91.44 meters, or 100 yards. Today we would say it was the length of a regulation size football field. Despite the distance, Peter couldn't wait to be back in the presents of Jesus, so he dove out of the boat, and swam for shore. Can you imagine the reactions of the other disciples? They would have surely called out and said, "Peter, we can take the boat!" But, he just couldn't wait any more.
One of the most amazing parts of Heaven will be the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, The King of Kings and Lord of Lord's will be there. How do I know that? Well, as the children's song says, "For the Bible tells me so."
In Acts 7: 55-56, Steven looks up, and sees Jesus at the right hand of the throne of God! What about Hebrews 7: 25, which reveals to us that Christ currently serves as our interceedant! Or, what about 1John 2: 1 which shares with us the amazing news that he stands, at this very moment, in the presents of God, acting as our advocate! Hebrews 9: 24 states that he isn't entered into a Holy place made with hands, but into Heaven itself, there to appear in the presents of God for us! What verse 5 is telling us, is the same thing we learn from Psalms 23: 6. Their David writes: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." If it is indeed his house, and if we are privileged to spend eternity therein, then don't you believe that he will be there?
Allow me to level with you. If there was nothing else, no other reason, this should be enough for you to decide that you will live your life according to God's word. This should be enough to convince you that the rewards of Heaven far outweigh the pleasures of sin.
Let me conclude with this question. Don't you want to go to that land? That land where there is nothing but love, joy, peace? That land where you can spend eternity with the one who died for you. If we can assist you in making things right between you and your God, then let us know as we stand and sing.
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