Eternity

Q: What does the Bible say about eternity?

The Bible teaches that eternity is the state of existence that transcends time, with both heaven and hell being eternal realities. Eternity, as expressed in Scripture, reflects a reality that is beyond our temporal experience. In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Paul contrasts the temporary nature of the visible world with the eternal significance of the unseen. Everything in this life, including our trials and achievements, is fleeting, highlighting the importance of living with an eternal perspective. The things we can see are temporal, while the unseen things—the joys of heaven and the torments of hell—are eternal and everlasting. This doctrinal understanding compels believers to set their affection on eternal treasures rather than temporary earthly gains.

Q: How do we know eternal life is true?

Eternal life is assured through faith in Jesus Christ, as affirmed by Scriptures that declare Him as the source of spiritual life. The assurance of eternal life rests firmly on the person and work of Jesus Christ. John 5:40 states, 'You will not come to Me that you might have life,' indicating that true life and eternal life are found solely in Him. This is supported throughout the New Testament, particularly in passages like John 3:16, which promises that 'whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.' It is this reliance on Christ's atoning sacrifice and His righteousness that grants believers the certainty of their eternal destiny, as they are justified and declared righteous in God's sight.

Q: Why is it important to focus on eternal things?

Focusing on eternal things provides believers with hope and guidance, encouraging them to prioritize their relationship with Christ over fleeting earthly matters. The importance of focusing on things that are eternal is emphasized in Hebrews 12:1-2, which instructs believers to lay aside every weight and look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. This perspective enables believers to navigate life's challenges with hope and integrity, ensuring that their actions are aligned with God's eternal purposes. As the sermon highlights, the temporal nature of worldly possessions and experiences can lead to a misplaced attachment, whereas setting one's heart on Christ and eternal realities fosters a life of purpose and fulfillment. This understanding aids in recognizing the transient nature of worldly affections and prepares believers for the eternal joy of fellowship with God.

Q: What happens to our souls after death?

After death, souls are destined for eternal life with God or eternal separation from Him based on faith in Christ. The Scripture teaches that upon death, the state of one's soul is irrevocably fixed. 2 Corinthians 5:10 points out that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive what we have done in our bodies, whether good or evil. Believers, having trusted in Christ, are assured of eternal life and are welcomed into the presence of God, while those who die outside of Christ face eternal judgment and separation from Him. This reality serves as a serious reminder of the importance of gospel proclamation and personal faith, as death finalizes one's eternal condition, either in the glorious presence of the Lord or in perpetual torment apart from Him.

Q: Why do we need Christ for eternity?

Christ is essential for eternity as He is the only way to salvation and eternal life, securing believers' relationship with God. The necessity of Christ for eternity is central to the Christian faith. As articulated in John 14:6, Jesus states, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.' This declaration encapsulates the belief that without Christ, there is no access to eternal life or communion with God. Believers rely on Christ's atoning sacrifice, which reconciles them to God and grants them eternal security. In a world fraught with uncertainty and the temporal decay of life, Christ remains the steadfast anchor and hope for those who trust in Him for both present and future salvation.

But let's read beginning with
verse 16 of 2 Corinthians chapter 4. For which cause we faint not,
but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed
day by day. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. Want to read that 18th verse
one more time while we look at This is the children of God in
this world on their pilgrimage, on their way to eternal glory,
while we look not at the things which are seen, we're looking
at something. And Paul said, we look not at the things which
are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. I want to speak this morning
on the subject of eternity. Eternity. This is a subject about
which the wisest man can know only a little bit, left to his
own carnal mind and fallen nature. It is a subject which we must
approach, I believe, with the Bible, with the Word of God in
our hands. We must not speculate as to what
God is going to do with us in the life to come. We cannot afford
to do so. I say that we must get our Bible
in our hands if we're going to understand anything about this
weighty subject of eternity. The Word of God only is the authority
on the subject of eternity. Now the word eternity is a very
heavy, heavy word. Think about it. Eternity. Now,
beloved, we all have a tendency to treat the material, sensible
things of time as being realistic and the eternal things as being
fables. We must reverse our thinking.
Eternity is reality. Eternity is reality. We deal with reality only when
we deal with eternity. All of the arrangements and attainments,
all the relationships and experiences, joys and sorrows, successes and
disappointments, hopes and fears in this world are without meaning
unless they're seen and measured by eternity. lost or saved, blessed
or cursed, justified or condemned, every one of us is living on
the very brink of eternity. Very soon we must leave this
world where all things are temporal and enter into that world where
all things shall be eternal. Only those who recognize this
sobering reality of eternity, I think, can live in a proper
relationship to the things of time. Let me, in this message
today, give you four things. I want to make four statements
that I think will help us to live in the awareness of eternity. First of all, according to our
text, we live in a world where all things are temporal, and
thus are passing away. For the things which are seen,
Paul says, are temporal. Now think about it. The things
which are seen are temporal. Now the man must be blind who
cannot see this immediately on the very surface of this text.
that the things of time are temporal, the things that we look at every
day, the things that we set our eyesight upon and are so enthralled
with in this world, they're temporal and they're passing away. Everything
around us is decaying and dying and is coming to an end. Nothing here lasts very long. Nothing here is permanent. There is nothing undying about
us except our souls. The poet said, change and decay
in all around I see. O thou that changest not, abide
with me. We're all going. We're all going
the way of all flesh. And we're going down the valley,
as the old song says, one by one with our faces toward the
setting sun. So whether high or low, complex
or simple, rich or poor, old or young, we're all going and
shall soon be gone into eternity. The only thing that you have
now that you can carry with you into eternity is your undying
soul. We brought nothing into this
world, Paul said, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. We brought nothing in. We came
in naked with nothing but a mother's love. And we cannot carry anything
out of this world when we go. Been a lot of stories told about
the fact that nobody ever saw a U-Haul trailer hooked to the
back of a hearse. And all of that, of course, is
very true. Nobody's taken anything. I remember
the conversation in a barbershop one morning when they were discussing
a certain man who had passed away. And one individual said,
well, how much did he leave? And the barber spoke up and said,
he left it all. He left it all. And that's exactly
what's going to happen. The Bible says, what will it
profit a man if you gain the whole world and lose your own
soul? See that you value nothing more in this world than you will
value it when you're leaving this world. Don't place too much
value on the things that are passing, things that are fleeting. Set your heart upon Christ. Set
your heart upon heaven and eternal life. Hold everything here and
everyone with a loose hand. Loosen your grip. upon the things
of time. Be prepared at a moment's notice
to leave it or lose it, for we must soon do one or the other."
Leave it or lose it. Now you hear me this morning,
beauty, fleshly beauty, is only temporal. Sarah, Abraham's wife,
you remember, was one of the fairest of women, and she was
the admiration of the court of Egypt. Yet a day came when even
Abraham, who was thrilled with his wife Sarah and her beauty,
her husband said, let me bury my dead out of my sight. Her
beauty was consumed away as the dew of the morning. And then
the strength of the body, how people glory in their physical
strength. Yet our bodies are only temporal. David was once a mighty man of
valor. You remember, he was the slayer
of the lion and the slayer of the bear. And he was a champion
of Israel against Goliath. Yet a day came when even David
had to be nursed and cared for by others in his old age, like
a child. I met a fellow in Indiana. I
hadn't saw him for 30 years. And back years ago, I used to
visit with him once in a while when he'd come around. He was
a drywall salesman. And he was a very handsome fellow,
very nice-looking young man at 30 years old. But now he's 60. And my soul, I didn't recognize
him. It took me a little while to
tell who it was, even. And then you can begin just to
make out little glimpses of the old, you know, the individual
that I knew 30 years ago. And it was amazing to me. I just couldn't hardly believe
my eyes how much that individual had changed. Of course, I haven't
changed any in 30 years. So David, he was a mighty man
of valor. But there came a day. when he
had to be nursed. And even though he'd slain Goliath,
there came a day in weakness when he had to be taken care
of and tended to all the day. Now wisdom and intelligence,
human wisdom and intelligence are also temporal. Solomon was
once a man of great knowledge. And he prayed for it, and God
granted him knowledge. And all the kings of the earth,
they would come to Solomon to hear his wisdom. Yet even Solomon,
in his last days on earth, he was a fool, wasn't he? He was
a fool. And he allowed his wives, who
were worshipers of false gods, to turn his heart away from the
Lord. But yet he was the wisest man.
outside of the God-man Christ Jesus that ever lived on the
face of the earth. So temporal is stamped on every
faculty of our being. Now, this is a very humbling
and painful truth. But it is good, I believe, for
us to all realize and to agree with the text in our hearts that
things that are temporal are passing away. The houses we live
in, the homes that we love, the things that we accumulate, the
professions that we follow, the plans that we form, the relations
we enter into, they're only for a time. just for a time. First Corinthians 7.31 says,
the fashion of the world, it passeth away. Now if you're living
only for the world, if you love this world, the Bible says all
that's in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of
the eyes and the pride of life, they're not of the Father but
is of the world and the world is passing away in the lust thereof.
But they that will do the will of God shall abide forever. If
you love this world, if your conscience this morning is not
utterly seared. This ought to rouse you, this
truth, that all things temporal are passing away and will have
a short stay here. This ought to stir and disturb
your soul that you might awake to see things in their true light
before it's too late. Don't make a God out of the things
that you have in your possession. Don't make a God out of the people
that God has blessed you with in your relationships. Do not
do that because soon you're gonna part with these things. These
things are temporal, they're passing away. You cannot keep
them and you must, you must leave them. there is no way that you're
gonna have them for eternity. Seek first, the Bible says, the
kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be
added unto you for the duration that God intends. God will bless
you and give you that which you need for that time that he appoints
for you to be in this world. Set your affection on things
above and not on the things of the earth. The things seen, and
let this be just, let this be up right in your heart this morning
and set indelibly there, the things seen are temporal. And when you go out of this place
this morning and you go out and you begin to look at your automobile
and you get out on the road, you see all of the nice homes
and you get back and look at your own, just remember, just
remember that all of these things are temporal, and they're all
passing away. And then I think that we should
just see the little word, or the big word, maybe, immortal
stamped upon the brow of every one of our family members. And
we should read it there, mortal. They are going to pass away.
They're going to leave this world. Now the same thought ought to
comfort every believer this morning. Your trials, your crosses, your
conflicts are all temporal because your crosses are something you
can see. and therefore they're temporal. They'll soon have an
end, and even now they're working for you according to verse 17,
for more exceeding an eternal weight of glory. So look upward
and forward and beyond your trials and your afflictions and your
difficulties in this world knowing that these things also are going
to soon end. They will come to an end and
like every other day comes to an end, your day of trouble,
your day of sorrow, your day of affliction will come to an
end and there's coming a day when there'll be no more sorrow,
when there'll be no more pain, and all of the former things
will be passed away. So that day is coming. So fight the good fight of faith
under the abiding conviction that it's just only for a little
time, and then there'll be rest for the weary pilgrim in that
life to come. Now the cross shall soon be exchanged
for a crown. Whatever your cross is, it'll
soon be exchanged for a crown, and you'll sit down, as the word
of God says, with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom
of God. And so remember then, the first
point of our message is this, and what Paul is talking about
in verse 18 here is that the things that you can see with
your eyes They're all temporal. Now the second thing is this,
that we're all going to a world where everything is eternal. We're all headed toward a world
where everything there is eternal. Heaven and all its blessedness
and glory is eternal. Hell, whatever, that horrible
place and condition of darkness and torment is, is eternal. It is eternal. The great unseen
world that lies beyond the grave is eternal. Whether it is happy
or miserable, joyful or sorrowful, it will never end. The bliss
of heaven is eternal and the torments of hell are eternal
also. It is forever. There will be
no change and decay, no end, no goodbye, no mornings and evenings,
no alterations, no annihilations, whatever there is beyond the
grave when the last trumpet is sounded and the dead are raised
incorruptible My friend, it is forever. It will be endless,
everlasting, eternal, whatever there is. Now the things unseen
are eternal. What Paul said, the things that
you can't see, these things are eternal. Now it's difficult for
us in the body of flesh to realize this condition. The contrast
between now and then, between the world, this world, and the
next, is so enormously great that our feeble minds just will
not take it all in. But the best we can, let us settle
it in our hearts and minds that the future happiness of those
who are saved is eternal. Are you a child of God? Are you
a believer? Have you trusted Christ? Have
you rested your soul upon Him and upon Him entirely? Are you
depending upon Him to justify you before God? Are you depending
upon Him for your acceptance before God? If so, my friend,
if so, then you certainly, this morning, have an eternal life,
and you certainly have a glorious, glorious future to look forward
to, because you're in Christ, and whatever He has for sinners
is eternal. And nothing can be added to it,
nothing can be taken from it. However little we may understand,
it is something which will have no end. God's eternal salvation. It will have no end. It will
never cease. We'll never grow old in glory. There's a song
that says that, that we'll never grow old, neither decay, never
die in glory. Psalm 16 and verse 11 says, at
God's right hand are pleasures forevermore. The inheritance
is incorruptible, undefiled, and it fadeth not away. They shall receive a crown of
glory, the Bible says, that fadeth not away. Their warfare is accomplished,
their fight is over, their work is done, they shall hunger no
more, neither thirst any more, because they have eternal rest
and salvation in the Lord. They're traveling onwards toward
a home which shall never be broken up, a meeting without a parting,
a family gathering without a separation, a day without a night. They shall
see as they have been seen. And be forever, the Bible says,
with the Lord. Those things that are unseen
are eternal. It is no wonder that Paul went
on to say, comfort one another with these words in 1 Thessalonians
4, verses 17 and 18. He talked about the coming of
Christ, about our being caught up in the clouds of glory with
the Lord, about these vile bodies being changed, changed into that
incorruptible body that Paul promised in 1 Corinthians chapter
15, which is a spiritual body. And Paul said we ought to comfort
one another with these words, and certainly as we look upon
the Decay and upon the death and dying that's all around us
We are comforted to know that there's coming a time where we're
going to be forever with the Lord away From all of this death
dying sickness and pain and all of these things that have to
do with this earth life That we're going to be away from that.
There's another thing that we must settle in our minds that
must be faced and It is that the future misery of those who
are finally lost is also eternal. This is an awful truth, but I
believe it is plainly taught in the Bible. To me, the eternal
future happiness of the saints stands side by side with the
eternal misery of the wicked damned. And I fail to see how
you can distinguish the duration of one from the duration of the
other. Beloved, if we believe in eternal
salvation for believers, if we believe that saints are going
to forever be with the Lord, those who die outside of Christ,
those who die unrepentant, those who die in their sins, those
who die in their rebellion and have no union with Christ, then
they shall be forever there with the wicked in hell. they shall
forever be separated from God and be with Him. You can't have
eternal salvation, eternal bliss, eternal glory, eternal blessing
in heaven for the saved and not have eternal punishment and eternal
suffering on the part of the wicked. The two go together.
If the joy of the believer is forever, the sorrow of the unbeliever
also must be forever. If heaven is eternal, so likewise
is hell. Now it may be I'm blind, but
I do not know how that you can avoid the conclusion. You have
to come to that conclusion, that if heaven is forever, Hell also
must be forever. I cannot reconcile the non-eternity
of punishment with the language of the Bible. We hear people
talk about how that God is a God of love and that God is charitable
and that his love and his charity does not harmonize with this
thought that God is going to send people forever off into
outer darkness where the worm doth not and the fire is not
quenched. But that's the very language
of the Word of God, is that the worm doth not and the fire is
not quenched. And I believe that God is merciful
and compassionate. I believe He is. But He's a God
also of strict, absolute justice, and He's a God that will separate
sinners. He'll separate the sheep from
the goats in the last day, and He'll send the goats off into
hell while He'll gather the sheep to His right hand. And so we
believe here in this church in everlasting life and we also
believe in everlasting punishment for the wicked. And so that which
is unseen, somebody said, why? I don't believe that business
about hell. I don't believe that business
about men and women going off to a place that God has made
and reserved for the devil and all of his angels and all of
those that hate him and despise his holy word and truth. I don't
believe that. Well, you may not believe it,
my friend, but nevertheless, if God said it, it's right. And
if God said it, it's true. And we believe that this is what
is written, and we believe it. Even so, Lord God Almighty, true
and righteous are thy judgments. Revelation 16 and verse 7. So that world to which we're
going, Whether we go saved or whether we go lost, there's one
thing you can mark down and that is it is eternal. It's eternal. It's gonna last forever. And I want to impress that upon
your mind. Now the third thing is this.
What we are here, we will be in eternity. What we are here,
we will be in eternity. What we are now, When we die,
that's the way we're going to be throughout eternity. Now this
is very important that we get this. Thomas Brooks wrote, the
great weight of eternity hangs upon the small wire of time. This is the day of grace. Beloved,
there will be no other day of grace. This is it. This time
is the time of grace. This time is the time of salvation. This is the time when you must
enter the ark, if you're going to enter the ark, before the
Lord shuts the door. If you do not enter in before
the door is shut. I was thinking the other day
about the people in the days of Noah and how they were swimming
around in the water and the water was coming up. The doors of the
ark had already been shut. There was no entrance to be gained.
They went to hell before they died because they were there
in the water. There was no possible way to
get in. And those people were reprobate from the very hour
that the door was closed, the very day, the very second day
of the day when the ark door was closed, those people were
reprobate from God, separated from God, and destined to an
eternity of hell because they did not get in that ark with
Noah and his family. Now, I say, is the day of salvation. You'll not enter heaven when
you die unless you are righteous before you die. Revelation 22,
11 says, let the wicked be wicked still, let the filthy be filthy
still. And those that are believers,
those that are righteous, let them be righteous still. And
so when the time comes for you to die, death don't change anything
but our place of existence. That's all. It's not going to
convert you. You're not going to get converted
when you die. You must be converted before
you die. You're not going to become a believer after you die. You must be a believer before
you die. And we must recognize that our
state in the unseen world of eternity depends upon what the
will of God makes us in this life. And so whatever you are,
when the time comes when you're taken out of this world, that's
what you're going to be for all eternity. If we're the sons of
God here, relying on the merits of the Lord Jesus as the only
hope of our salvation, we shall be the sons of God eternally,
living in the glory of Christ. If we're the children of wrath
here, rejecting Christ, we shall be the children of wrath in hell,
forever rejected by Christ. if we die in that state of rebellion
and in that lost state. There's no greater delusion than
the common idea. Did you hear me? There's no greater
delusion than the common idea that it's possible to live wickedly
and to live like hell in this life and yet rise again gloriously. There's no such thing as that.
You're gonna, as the tree falls, that's the way it's gonna lie.
When you breathe your last breath and leave this world, that's
the way it's gonna be for you throughout eternity. And I know
we hear it all the time about the 144,000. and how that if
the Mormons are rebaptized for you, then you'll possibly get
out of hell and be able to come up step after step and get up
into a higher heaven along the way, or that there's a purgatory,
and that if your relatives give enough money to the priest, they
can pray you out of purgatory and pray you into heaven, But
there ain't a word of truth to it. There's not a word of truth
to it. According to the Word of God,
when that breath goes out of your body, the state of your
soul is set for all eternity. And it'll never, never, never
change. To be without Christ in this
world, my friend, you cannot possibly be a saint in the next. If you live without Christ, you
will die without Christ, and you will die as a lost sinner
headed for a devil's hell. The Bible teaches plainly that
as we die, whether converted or unconverted, whether believers
or unbelievers, whether godly or ungodly, so shall we come
forth. When the last trumpet sounds,
we'll come forth just like that. That's the way it will be. There's
no repentance in the grave. There's no conversion after the
last breath is drawn. Now is the day of salvation.
Now is time to make your calling and election sure. And if you
do these things, the Bible says you shall never fall. Make your
calling and election sure now. What you sow in life, you're
sure to reap in the life to come. Baxter said it is now or never. Whatever we do in regards to
our future state, it must be done this side of the grave. Remember what we are here. We
will be in eternity. Death changes nothing, I said
this earlier, but our place of existence. It's not going to
make you into something that you're not already. And a man
has no right to expect something in eternity, the seed of which
is not in his life, in this life. And I've seen a lot of people,
you know, and they died drunkards and alcoholics and whoremongers
and went on and their family said, well, I believe they're
in heaven. I believe they're in heaven. They made a decision
when they were young and they made a little decision and decided
that they were going to, you know, that they were going to
live like hell the rest of their life and believe that God was
going to let them go into heaven at last. There ain't no truth
to that. There ain't no truth to that.
Remember that as the tree falls, that's what's going to lie for
all eternity. No salvation after this life. Well, that's my third point,
and that is that however eternity finds us, that's how we're going
to be forever. That's how it's going to be.
Lastly, and this thought I commend to your attention, and we're
going to close in just a moment. The Lord Jesus Christ, here's
the thought. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
one to whom we must all look for help, both for time and eternity. One time I remember reading the
old word David in the Psalms prayed, Lord, help. Lord, help. Have you ever had
that? Just those two words, Lord, help. on your heart, on your mind.
Well, I believe in this world as a man lives, it would be good
if he could pray that every morning, Lord, help me. Because in time
and eternity, the Lord is the only one that can help us. Blessed
is the soul which has been taught their need of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the soul that knows
Their need knows that they need Christ. Knows that they must
not die without Christ. Knows that only Christ can enable
them to go out of this world ready to face eternity. Only Christ. None but those who
know their need will ever come to Him. Why you can't get a man
who's not lost, you can't get him saved. There ain't no way
in the world you can. But if he's lost, I mean genuinely
lost, then, my friend, he's interested in the gospel. He's interested
in coming to know Christ. He that has Christ has life. He has life. He has this eternal
life we talked about. It begins in the soul here in
this world when one believes on the Lord Jesus. 1 John 5 and
12, very simple verse. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. The man
or the woman who has Christ can look around on the things that
are temporal and see change and decay on every side and it doesn't
dismay them. It doesn't really dismay them.
The child of God has treasure in heaven which neither rust
nor moth can corrupt nor thieves can break through and steal. The children of God's got something
over there and they see this thing rusting down and they see
this thing decaying and falling in and they see all of these
things going on around them and they just think of that world
to come where things are indeed eternal. Now the child of God
then has treasure in heaven. He can look forward to things
eternal with calmness and composure. He realizes that everything here
is temporal But the things to where he's going, they're eternal. And only Christ can enable him
to be ready to face eternity. Our Savior has risen. He's gone
to prepare a place for us. And when the Lord takes us out
of this old world, we know that we have a house, not built with
hands, that's eternal in the heavens. The child of God can
look down into the grave and say what the wisest man of this
earth can never say, O death, Where is thy sting? O grave,
where is thy victory? O eternity, where are thy terrors? Let's settle it in our minds
that the only way to pass through things seen with comfort and
look forward to things unseen without fear is to have Christ
dwelling in our hearts by faith. Christ in you, my friend, is
the hope of glory. When old John Knox, the Scotch
reformer, was drawing near to death, he was unable to speak. And one of his servants asked
him, said, give me some proof. John, that the gospel that you
preached in life gives you comfort in this time of death. And he
said, you indicate it by raising your hand. If you get comfort. He knew he couldn't speak. He
was just hardly without strength. But old John Knox, he got his
hand up one time, and then he got it up twice, and then he
got it up the third time, indicating that he was being comforted by
the very gospel he preached and believed in his life. And he's
the one that said, somebody asked him, said, well, how's it going?
And he said, well, He said, I've strapped myself to the plank
of God's righteousness, and I'm about ready to sail off to that
eternal shore. What a wonderful, wonderful testimony. And a child of God can die with
that if they know Christ. If they know the truth of the
gospel and have believed it, they can die with peace. Blessed,
I say, are those who believe. Why do I say that? Because the
Bible says, he that believeth is not condemned. But he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed
in the only begotten Son of God. And so, my friend, if you believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, you're blessed because you're ready
for eternity, as ready as God can make you in His Son. And
the only way to face eternity is to be in Jesus Christ. and
have His blood having atoned for your sins, and having His
righteousness on as your garment of salvation as you come before
the Lord. Now, then, blessed are those
who believe. They alone are rich toward God. They may be poor in this world,
but they're rich toward God. They alone are independent and
have overcome the world. Isn't that wonderful? This world
cannot bless a child of God. It cannot bless a child of God.
You know old Abraham, he wouldn't take anything from, who was it,
Melchizedek, but somebody offered him something one time and he
wouldn't take it. And he said, I don't need that.
He indicated that he was blessed of God and if you're blessed
of God, you don't need the blessings of the world. And another thing,
the world cannot curse you either. It cannot. If you're in Christ,
they can go around cursing you all they want to, but they can
never curse you because God said that there is no more curse for
his people. The curse has been taken on. And so I'm telling you, God's
people are rich. And the world, they're independent.
They're independent because they have God. They're dependent upon
God and upon God only. God sustains them, blesses them,
and He has fixed them up for eternity. They alone are beyond
the reach of harm in this world. They're in anything. Somebody
said, well, they may lose everything. Well, they may lose everything
here. But remember what we said about
the things here? They're just temporal. They're
just temporal. They're just going to last for
a little while. Nobody can touch your eternity
bound soul. And if you're in Christ, then
you're outside of that place where you can be harmed in this
world. That's glorious. If you and I
have no comfort amidst things temporal and no hope for the
things eternal, it's our own fault. John 5.40 said, Jesus
said, He will not come to me that you might have life. And
if you don't have any comfort in your soul today about these
things that we've talked about, you say, Preacher, you know,
I've tried to get ahead in this world. Well, that's alright in
and of itself. And we must use the things of
this world to the extent that God intends for us to. But then,
my friend, don't make a God out of it. And don't get to be worshippers
of those things. And don't let those things get
between your soul and God Almighty. Don't allow it. You serve the
Lord, and you worship God, and you recognize that these things
are passing away. Now then, Jesus said, you will
not come to me that you have life. If you want life, eternal
life, then you can only get it from the nail-scarred hands of
the man in glory. He's got life, and you can only
get it from him. Get it from Christ. Now I want
to leave this subject then with you and I want to ask you just
four simple questions in leaving this this morning. I'm not going
to preach on these things. I want to ask you number one,
what are you looking at? What are you looking at? You know
Paul said, while we look not at the things which are seen,
what are you looking at? Everybody's looking at something. What are
you looking at? Say, well, I've been looking
at that nice car I've got, and I've been looking at my home,
I've been looking at this, I've been looking at that. Well, you're
looking at the wrong thing. Those things are going away.
You better be looking at those things that are eternal. Where
the Bible says that Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above. Where Christ is seated
at the right hand of God. Secondly, where will you be in
eternity? Where will you be? You're going
to be somewhere. I told you that we're all on
the brink. We're all in the vestibule of death. Every one of us. Maybe
we'll never get back to another meeting. God only knows. But
we're all on the brink. Is that right? Every one of us.
That's right. Where will you be in eternity?
You ever thought about that? Will you be on the left hand
or will you be on the right hand? Will you be with the goats or
will you be with the sheep? of Christ in eternity. If your last breath came today,
you got killed on the highway between here and home, where would you be? The moment
that breath went out of your body, where would you be? Thirdly, would you be safe for time and
eternity? Would you be? Do you desire to
be? Is there a desire in your heart
and your soul to be safe? To be outside of harm's way? Whatever happens in this world,
whatever you have or don't have, would you be safe? Would you be safe? Well, come
to Him just as you are. Seek Him while He may be found.
Call upon Him while He's near. Trust Christ. The fourth question
is this. Would you be happy? Would you
be happy? If you would be happy, cling
to Christ. Make up your mind that whatever
happens, and whether you're a pauper all of your life, or whether
you're blessed with earthly goods, I'm going to be happy because
I'm going to settle this matter between me and the Lord, and
I'm going to be saved, I'm going to trust Christ, I'm going to
believe on Him, and I'm going to follow Him all of my life. I'm going to be happy. I believe
that if you cling to Christ, live by faith, and follow Him
with heart, soul, and mind, and strength, and seek Him every
day of your life, as God's people will and must, and just die a
little bit every day, die a little bit every day practice dying
a little bit every day when that old pride comes and when that
old rebellious spirit attitude comes and whenever you whenever
you begin to see things maybe slipping away a little bit just
die a little bit practice it practice it because the day is
coming when you're going to have to leave it all I'm trying to think of the fellow's
name now that wrote the book on meekness, one of the old brethren. And
he said it helps if a man once in a while goes out to the cemetery
and just walks around through the cemetery. And if he just
realizes what the end of all this is going to be, it helps
him to adjust himself and to die a little bit. every day when
he must, and not just keep on, you know, fighting and fighting
and fighting and rebelling and thinking he's going to win the
victory. You're not going to win the victory. No, no, no. You're going to die. You're going
the way of all flesh. If you would be happy, cling
to Christ. Trust Him. He'll never forsake
you and He will never leave you to yourself. The Lord Jesus Christ
is a faithful friend. and he will abide with his own
and abide with them forever. Father in the name of Jesus we
give thanks for this precious truth and we ask that you may
be pleased to use this message for your glory and honor and
praise today and may this people become great followers and great
worshipers of Christ and love him and be ready be prepared
for eternity. Lord, thank you for that day
that's coming, and what a day that will be, how we rejoice. In Jesus' name, amen.

Eternity

What does the Bible say about eternity?

How do we know eternal life is true?

Why is it important to focus on eternal things?

What happens to our souls after death?

Why do we need Christ for eternity?

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Eternity

What does the Bible say about eternity?

How do we know eternal life is true?

Why is it important to focus on eternal things?

What happens to our souls after death?

Why do we need Christ for eternity?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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