Living For Eternity
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Good Morning CLC and Happy Father’s day to all the dads.
Today is the start of a 2 week series called Living for Eternity,
I know anytime you start talking about Eternity things can get a little tense, because the future of some will be in hell.
But the bible makes it clear that the choice is up to you.
Deut 30:19(MEV) I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.
WE ALL KNOW UNBELIEVERS Although we are in a church and many of us are believers, all of us know someone that is not a believer.
Whether it be a father, a mother, a sister, or a brother, we all know someone who needs to hear the good news of Jesus.
Even if your immediate family is saved, what about your cousins, friends, neighbors, or coworkers? There is always someone in your life that needs Jesus.
HELL The bible gives plenty of detail of what a future in hell looks like.
This is a place that was designed for Satan and his angels, but unfortunately his followers will be going there with him.
The bible describes it as a lake of fire, a place of torment, eternal fire, utter darkness, everlasting destruction.
It says there will be weeping and Gnashing of teeth. But worst of all there will be alienation from God for all eternity.
To me that sounds like the worst day you have ever experienced, multiplied by a billion and then repeated daily for all eternity or worse.
GLASS HALF FULL But since I’m a glass half full type of person let’s not think about that anymore.
Let’s think about if your best day ever was being multiplied by a billion and lasting forever.
ICE CREAM Oh, that endless bowl of Ice Cream that never makes you full.
AMUSEMENT PARK That great day at the amusement park where you never get tired or hot or cold and never have to stand in lines.
BEACH That great day at the beach where the water is calm, the sun just hot enough to make you get in the water.
The shade just cool enough for those that want to sit on the shore and read their favorite book. Bug free of course.
CUBS WIN How about November 2, 2016, happening every day for the rest of your life. For Cubs fans finally winning it all is something we will never forget and could do everyday.
FIRST DATE What about that first date where everything is perfect, you don’t know any of the persons issues yet, the perfume still smells good, the makeup is still flawless and all you want to do is be together.
So, we all have a choice to make that will either lead to Eternal Life with the Father or Eternal Death with Satan. Choose Life.
But, once you have chosen, then what are you living for?
SOME PEOPLE ARE LIVING FOR...the weekend, some for football season, others for the next vacation.
Most Kids live for the next birthday or Christmas. Teens live for turning 16, 18 or 21.
Then you have those that are living for the future of their family.
Most decisions are being made so that their children and their grandchildren can have a better life than them.
All that is ok, some of it even good, but with God there is always more.
WHAT SHOULD WE BE LIVING FOR?
Well according to the title of this series you should be Living for Eternity.
As we move through today’s message,
I want to accomplish a few of things.
I want to define Living and Eternity.
Then I want to discuss how to Live for Eternity.
Last, we will take a look at what Jesus said about Eternal Life.
What is Living?
I want to look at a few key details from that story of Adam and Eve.
Before God made Adam’s physical body God picked out the place where they would live.
The Garden of Eden. A place that was fully stocked with all the provision that they would need to go forward and be successful.
NO WATER HOSE The Bible says, He made water rise up from the Earth so that all the vegetation would be watered.
Adam didn't even have to turn on the water hose. Some would say man that’s living.
GOD MADE TREES GROW It says that out of the Ground, God made every tree grow and be pleasing to the eyes, and good for food.
Adam didn't have to dig any holes or plant any seeds.
He didn’t even have to wait for it to grow. “Now that’s living.”
4 RIVERS It goes on to say that God made a river flow out of Eden to water the garden, and that the river split into four rivers.
So, Adam had a Lazy river to relax in.
A second river for a white water rafting, jet skiing for and more.
A third river flowed to a land full of gold.
The fourth river flowed to a land that was full of Bdellium and Onyx stone and more gold.
To me all that sounds like Living.
JUST IMAGINE if Adam had not messed up and ate that, Taffy Apple.
After a little while, he would have had a big family reunion with people floating in the lazy river and playing at the water park.
His down south cousins would have had a mouth full of gold teeth.
They would have been cooking the food on a Hot Flattop made from Onyx Stone.
Oh it would have been great.
Not only does that sound like living, but that’s a party!
TRULY LIVING The truth is living was not all the provision that God had supplied. Although, that’s good.
Living was not the family fun that was being had, but that’s good also.
Living was Adam’s connection to God.
The Bible says that if Adam eats of the forbidden fruit, he will surely die.
Well, he ate, but his Body lasted another 900 years before it died.
Spiritually though he was instantly dead, instantly separated from God.
The only true life was His connection to God.
SEPARATED OR CONNECTED TO GOD The same is true today.
The bible says that we are made in the image of God.
It also says that God is a spirit. So therefore, each of us is a spirit.
But are we Living or are we dead?
Are you separated from God or connected to God?
Its only one way to live and that’s to be connected to the source of life, which is God.
What is Eternity?
Before I attempt to answer that, I want to look at what eternity is not, because we speak of eternity casually sometimes.
HAWAII VS PHILIPPINES So, 16 years ago Tracy and I got married in Hawaii.
I used to think “man if i ever go back to Hawaii, I have to take that long 8 hour flight.”
Then last year I flew to the Philippines and realized that 8 hours is nothing in comparison to flying to the Philippines.
It took 36 hours of travel from my home to the hotel in the Philippines. I got a whole new perspective.
And I probably thought or even said, “man that took an forever”. But did it really?
NEWBORN SLEEP. I remember when our 1st child was born.
The boy just never wanted to sleep when normal people slept.
How many parents in here have experienced that?
It seemed like the longest few months that I had ever experienced.
But it’s all about perspective. Because now it seems like the next 13 years went quicker than those few months.
Truthfully, I can barely remember that speck of time. So how long was it really?
A LITTLE WHILE Jesus the Son of God, who sees through eternal eyes, said this in Jn 16:16.
In a little while you will not see Me. And then after a little while you will see Me, because I am going to the Father.”
Jesus speaks about a 2000+ year period that is still going on today and calls it “a little while”.
Things sound a little different when He talks. Compare that to me thinking 36 hours of travel took forever.
The interesting part is that the “little while”, that Jesus refers to is closer to my 36 hours than it is to Eternity.
1 DAY =1000 YEARS 2 Peter 3:8 says
That with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Let’s see what that looks like.
With US: 1 Day = 24 hours = 1440 minutes
With God: 1 Day = 1000 years = 365,250 days = 525,960,000 minutes
Our Church Service is 75 minutes = 5% of our day. .00000014% of a day with the Lord
80 years of Sundays would only be .00058% of 1 day with the Lord.
Just think about that.
We feel like we spend plenty of time with Jesus by going to church.
That’s just a speck of time in Gods eternal eyes.
That’s how our life in this body looks in comparison to eternity.
A speck of time. Perspective is so important.
The way we see it, we have been waiting 2000 years for the return of Jesus, but according to God it’s been 2 days.
Those are a few examples of what Eternity is not, but what is Eternity?
ETERNITY IS everlasting duration, associated with endless time,
but often understood theologically as distinct from time,
since God is eternal and outside time, the creator of time,
and the only one who sees both the beginning and the end of time.
IN MY OWN WORDS Eternity was then, is now and will forever be. Forever, forever ever, forever ever.
Living for Eternity
How do we live for eternity?
Deut 30:19 tells us to choose life, verse 20 says. “You must love the Lord your God and obey him.
Never leave him because he is your life. And he will give you a long life… “
So, Living for eternity is wrapped up in two things. Love and Obedience.
FIRST LETS LOOK AT LOVE The bible says that God is Love.
Therefore, everything that God does comes from a place of love because that’s who He is.
InMt 22:37–39 Jesus says that ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
I think when attempting to live for eternity you must start with love.
BUILD YOUR RELATIONSHIP True love only comes through relationship.
Relationships only develop through invested time.
You must on purpose spend time building your relationship with God.
Start with the God’s word. It’s the best place to learn who He truly is.
The more time you spend with Him the more connected you feel to Him.
GIVE LOVE SHOW JESUS
Then take that same love that you experience in your relationship with God and point it toward the people that you encounter.
This will start the process of you affecting eternity in a life giving way.
If you give love, then you give life.
Jesus took a bunch of laws, rules and regulations and made it simple.
Love God. Love People. Walking in love shows people what Jesus is really like.
Some of the most impactful stories that people have are when someone has shown kindness to them for no reason at all.
GROWTH TRACK we ask two questions as a part of the step 1.
How did you get here? What made you stay?
Without fail the number one answer is related to the love. Usually, it goes something like this.
“I came to visit CLC and the people at the door were just so happy to see me, like they knew me.
Then so many people smiled and said hi and talked to me, like I was just one of the regulars.
Then this man came and shook my hand and asked my name and said Hello I’m Pastor Jerry, and welcome CLC.”
Then on my next visit Pastor Jerry remembered my name.”
Each person in that process, the security at the door, the greeters in the lobby, the ushers that showed them to their seats,
all gave the new guest a glimpse of God by showing them His love.
PEOPLE WAITING TO SEE GOD
Rom 8:19 says. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
The best way for the children of God to be revealed to the world is by showing God’s unconditional love.
The more we as Christians can show people Love which is showing people God,
The more people we will draw closer to Eternal Life.
NOW LETS LOOK AT OBEDIENCE. What does that look like?
To be willingly obedient to someone, there must be a level of trust first.
Trust can be tricky though. It’s one thing to trust someone with your bike, but do you trust them with your car?
Or better yet you might trust them with your car, but do you trust them with your car and your kids in the back seat?
Ok so you trust them with your car and your kids, but what about with your life?
There are levels to this. Levels to trust.
TRUST HIM WITH ALL
Proverbs 3:5-6 say trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
God’s word makes it clear that we are to trust Him with ALL.
Trusting God means, that what He says becomes more important than what you feel.
Trusting God is understanding that He is always good and always knows best.
So yes, even if you don’t know what God is trying to do, your job is still to hear and obey.
You have to trust that the best decision you can make is the one that God tells you to make.
OBEDIENCE NOW LEADS TO ETERNITY
I believe if God is asking you to do something, your obedience now leads to someones eternity later.
I took a 10 year run from God, because He told me something to do that I believe was leading to ministry.
I had questions in my mind that stopped me from obeying.
“Well, what if people don’t receive what you’re asking me to do?
How will I look? What if I get rejected, Yada, Yada, Yada.
The bottom line is that I didn’t trust God.
The disobedience showed where my heart was. I thought my heart was in a good place.
I had been walking strong with Jesus for 4 or 5 years,
but my unwillingness to surrender to God’s request showed what truly was inside me.
LIVES IN THE BALANCE
I thank God for His patience. God could have said “Asa I’m done with you.”
“You had your chance.” But that’s just not God’s nature.
Although God put me right back on track, what opportunities were missed during those 10 years disobedience?
During that time, I may have crossed people whose lives where in the balance
People who needed to hear the good news of the gospel or at least see a believer walking the way God desires.
What if someone’s eternity was affected by my disobedience?
God could have been using me to influence that person toward Eternal Life.
Of course, God could easily move on to next believer, but what if the next person disobeyed, then the next?
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
What has God told you to do that you have disobeyed?
What is He telling you now that you are trying to ignore?
Are lives being affected because some of us don’t trust the process that God has placed before us?
Romans 10:14 (ERV) But before people can pray to the Lord for help, they must believe in him.
And before they can believe in the Lord, they must hear about him.
And for anyone to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them.
God has given every believer the important task of spreading the good news of Christ Crucified for the sins of the world.
We need to have that “put me in coach” mentality and trust that God will meet us right there in that place.
You will never be able to follow God effectively if you don’t give him your trust and your obedience.
LET GOD LEAD YOU
Dr Myles Munroe said it like this. “You cannot move away from God and be truly successful.
True success in life has everything to do with your ability to walk in God’s will.”
Jesus said it this way...John 15:5(ERV) “I am the vine, and you are the branches.
If you stay joined to me, and I to you, you will produce plenty of fruit.
But separated from me you won’t be able to do anything.
Living for eternity is all about walking in unity with the Father.
To walk in unity with the Father you must be willing to be obedient.
Living for eternity is partnering with God in growing His eternal family, before it’s too late.
We have a role to play that directly impacts our eternity and others eternity, but we can’t do it alone.
You can’t live for eternity in your own strength. You must be in sync with the Holy Spirit in your everyday life.
TREASURES IN HEAVEN
So, what are we doing? What are we accomplishing? What are we living for?
In Matthew 6:19-20, the bible talks about not storing up earthly treasures, that will rust, corrupt and be stolen.
It tells us to store up treasures in Heaven.
Well how do we do that?
We partner with God and allow the Holy Spirit in us to be the leader of our lives and to show us the everlasting way.
That same passage, but in verse 21 goes on to show that your heart is where your treasure is
or your treasure is where your heart is. Either way. But they are together.
MY CHALLENGE to you is this.
Ask God to examine and reveal your heart to you.
Look at where most of your free time goes? That’s usually an easy depiction of whats in you.
Consider where your relationships are leading you or where you are leading others.
Then as things are revealed to you that are problems, repent.
Repentance is all about turning from the things that are not of God.
But turning in your actions not just in words.
Make a decision today to develop your love for God and for people.
Decide now that you trust God, and when you think you hear God, obey.
That’s Living right now for Eternity.
Eternal Life
So, before Jesus went to the cross for the sins of the world,
He prayed for the disciples and those that would learn of Him through the disciples word.
This prayer is usually referred to as the Prayer of Jesus or the High Priestly Prayer.
Let’s look at it. Jn 17:1–3 Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may also glorify You.
2 As You have given Him authority over all flesh, He will give eternal life to all whom You have given Him.
3 This is eternal life that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
When Jesus talks about eternal life is knowing God and Himself;
He is also saying that not knowing God is eternal death.
Eternity is the future of every human. The question is simply, eternity in life or eternity in death.
Eternity connected to God or separated from God?
THE GOOD NEWS is Eternal life is free for all because Jesus already paid for it.
SCHOOL STORY Think about this. My son just graduated 8th Grade.
Imagine if the superintendent did all the work that was required of the students.
Then told all the principals in the district to give all the students A+ grades for the entire year.
Good students, bad students, expelled students, drop out students, all students in the school district.
The only requirement of the students is to hear and acknowledge the good news, then choose to graduate.
I know some of you scholars are thinking.
How will they be successful and make it through the rest of life, if you just give them a free pass?
Well, it gets better.
The school gives them a life coach to be with them always to teach, guide, lead, comfort, and direct.
IN A SIMILAR WAY Jesus paid the price for all of mankind's Sin.
Then gave us the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us into all truth.
To counsel, comfort and give us power and be with us forever.
Thank God for the Holy Spirit who lives in us for all eternity.
SALVATION CALL
John 3:16 “For in this way God loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son,
in order that everyone who believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life.”
Do you have eternal life?
If not, do you want it?
Romans 10:9(ERV) If you openly say, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you will be saved.
Whether you are in the building or online, take this moment to examine your heart and decide if eternal life is for you.
Selah…
If in that moment of reflection, you decided that eternal life is something that you want, then let’s get it now.
Pray this prayer after me.
SALVATION PRAYER
Lord Jesus,
I come to you now - just as I am - you know my life - and you know how I’ve lived, - forgive me.
I ask you now - to come into my heart - and be my Lord.
I believe - that you are the Son of God, - who died - and was raised from the dead,
- for the sins of the world. - I receive you now - as my Lord and savior - and I thank you.
In Jesus name Amen.
Celebrate it!!!!!!!!
You now have Eternal life. Spiritually you have been reborn.
Moving forward your Job is to get to know God through His word, prayer, and teaching,
like what we do here at church.
Then as you learn more and more about God, align your life with what you learn.
The cool thing is that you now have the Holy Spirit in you to help to walk out your new life with him.
FOR ALL OF US as we go forward, just remember
that Living for Eternity is about loving God, loving people, hearing God and obeying.
Let’s pray.