Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / Are You Longing for Heaven? | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Transcript

Are You Longing for Heaven? | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  Instead of continuing in our Series in The Book of Mark, I
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  want to take the remainder of our time, this afternoon to
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  encourage you with a different message that I hope will cause
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  you to Rejoice more than you already have.
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  And by by doing so we're not going to rush through the text
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  that we were planned to explore because I believe that it's
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  going to require much more time and meditation in order to fully
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  benefit from it. And so we're going to pause and
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  Mark and I'm just going to preach a message to that I
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  believe is a vital importance and a day that we are living in.
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  and so open your Bibles with me to Colossians chapter 3, In
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  Colossians chapter 3. And meet me there.
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  In verse, excuse me, Colossians 1 verse 3.
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  Earlier this week. I stumbled upon a video online
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  that it didn't look for but just came to my recommendations and
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  the title of that video gripped me it grabbed my attention and
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  so I decided to watch it. The title was something along
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  the lines of does anyone feel like everything changed?
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  Does anyone feel like everything changed?
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  And I can say a lot about what was said in that, well, edited
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  clip, but the main thought of the individual behind the
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  commentary was that he can recognize how almost everything
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  in his world or in the world has been altered in comparison to
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  his own upbringing. and he begins his monologue by
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  expressing his recollection of society and culture and what it
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  was like when he was growing up and how there was some level of
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  faith in our institutions, in God, and in ourselves, whatever
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  that means And essentially what he's trying to say is that only
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  a few decades ago there was generally in the air.
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  Something of Hope, something of security, something of warmth,
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  something of kindness, something of optimism.
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  And all of us can attest to that.
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  Even if you're a millennial, you can attest to that that growing
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  up in the 90s growing up in the 80s.
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  There was, there was a different world in the world that we're
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  living in today. And whatever was left of virtue
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  in our culture has virtually been evaporated.
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  And not just evaporated has been replaced with a tangible
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  eeriness. And this fueling of anger, fear
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  and suspicion. And it's only intensifying by
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  the day. And I have personally had
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  conversations with people believer, or non-believer alike.
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  Who have said there's something strange going on and I can't put
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  my finger on it. I can't put my finger on it, but
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  something is different. And they can't shake it off
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  especially in the past few years.
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  And one striking statement that was made in this video by this
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  man was the following quote. I have been hard-pressed to find
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  a single soul who Harbors any amount of faith that we are
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  headed anywhere except in the wrong direction and quote.
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  You know it's bad when you talk to people who are not filled
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  with the Holy Spirit and they can discern that there's
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  something dangerous going on. There's deception on the rise.
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  You have even people saying I don't know if I want to have
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  children at this point. And reading some of the comments
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  on that video. Only confirm what this man's
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  case was all about. You can feel the hopelessness
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  And people's posts after one, after the other have made
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  personal observations of the rapid, deterioration of the
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  quality of life, because of the cultural corruption and the
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  decay of dignified character. It's disappearing.
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  There's tension and it's growing, but with all of that
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  happening, we have people now trying to find answers you and I
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  are different breed. Yeah.
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  You and I are different people because we have a different
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  vantage point if you are in Christ.
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  Because regardless of what is happening, we are a collective
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  body of people who have answers to the Meltdown.
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  Of the values in the common sense that is left in our
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  generation. But we don't just have answers.
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  You know what, we have we have hope we have hope for the future
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  and the object of our hope is ultimately God, yes, but within
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  that relationship with the Living, God there are so many
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  realities that offers layers of Hope layers of hope it's not
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  just one-dimensional. There are so many facets to our
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  faith that gives us this anchoring security, regardless
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  of Of what is being shaken around us.
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  And what I want to do today in this brief time is just touch on
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  one of those gospel Treasures that you and I have inherited
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  because of the lordship of Jesus Christ, who rules and Reigns
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  over our hearts. And one of those Treasures is so
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  precious and so profound that it has the ability to make us
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  Fearless to make us immovable to make us resilient in a
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  despairing age and it's right there in your text and
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  Colossians 13. We read.
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  We always thank God the father of our Lord.
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  Jesus Christ. When we pray for you, since we
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  heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love that you
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  have for all the Saints verse 5 because of the Hope laid up for
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  you in heaven of this, you have heard before in the word of
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  truth of the truth. The gospel.
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  Because of the Hope laid up for you in heaven.
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  Paul makes a clear connection between the gospel, and this
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  hope laid up for us, in heaven. This message that we preach as
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  followers of Christ contains a hope, and it is a hope that is
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  beyond this world and it is a hope that is beyond this life.
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  And the hope is so incredible. That it has the ability to
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  change you today to influence you today.
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  When you look at this, you realize that there's a blessed
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  promise in Jesus Christ. And I like to describe it in
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  this way. A personal reservation of a
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  place to be with God in his dwelling forever.
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  You and I know that to be heaven There's, there's not much talk
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  about heaven lately. It was dominant in past singing
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  past sermons. It was what gave hope to
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  Martyrs, and yet, it seems to not even be in our conversation.
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  Nevermind conversation in our preaching heaven.
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  When you see this hope of a Celestial habitation, it has
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  such a mark on the believer. Who understands the implications
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  of it that Paul teaches how that hope actually influence the love
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  that the colossian Christians had for one.
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  Another looked back at the end of verse 4 again.
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  He says, and of the love that you have for all the saints.
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  Why? Because verse 5 of The Hope laid
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  up for you in heaven. So there's something about this,
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  hope that energizes Christians that encourages them in a
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  certain way of life and that is not limited to love.
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  It's goes beyond it goes into sacrifice, it goes into
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  humility, it goes into patients. It goes into steadfast as it
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  goes into godliness day by day. There's a particular realization
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  that can actually impact your character. and it has everything
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  to do with this thing that we know as heaven, John would
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  confirm that in first John 3:3 and you don't have to turn there
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  where you says in everyone who the thus hopes in him purifies
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  himself as he is pure. Everyone who does hopes in him
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  purifies himself as he is pure. That hope that John is speaking
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  about is very similar to Paul's is the certain expectation of
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  the triumphant return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  And what he's saying there is that when you have that
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  realization living in the Forefront of your thinking, it
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  actually has the power to cleanse you to wash you to
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  conform you. When you live with that
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  anticipation, it actually gives you some kind of energy to be
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  transformed into christlikeness. And I'm confident that as you
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  just hear, tidbits of what is laid up for you and Glory that
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  it will not only awaken a joy in you but it was stabilized, you
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  stabilized you to the degree that no matter what is happening
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  in this life, you will be able to remain unshakable, you know,
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  why? Because you and I have
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  something, it's an inheritance and Peter says, is an
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  inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and
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  unfading, kept in heaven for you, do you Long for heaven, my
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  brother. Do you long for heaven?
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  My sister? Do you think about it?
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  When you move into a house, you do some research.
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  What neighborhood am I going into?
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  What are the schools? Like what facilities are near
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  at? How far is it from work?
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  How close is it to my relatives? And we put so much effort into
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  our planning for vacation and where we're going to be and how
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  and yet our home is in a place beyond this life and there's
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  very little thought about where you're going.
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  Not just thought the Bible even says that you can invest in that
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  place. And I believe that.
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  That factor being so diluted is affecting, people namely
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  Christians, in their hope in this life.
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  And so I want to just touch on a few things.
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  The first thing I want to touch on is where you are going.
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  If you are in Christ, Where you are going will be a place of
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  incomparable satisfaction. And that's something that I see
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  in Psalm 17 and I want you to see it with me in your Bible.
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  In Psalm 17 verse 13. This is David's prayer.
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  I don't want you to see what he prays.
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  Psalm 17 verse 13. David prays arise.
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  Oh, Lord, confront him, subdue him.
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  Deliver my soul from the wicked, by your sword from Men by your
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  hand, O Lord, from Men of the world, whose portion is in this
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  life. You fill their womb with
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  treasure. They're satisfied with children
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  and they leave their abundance to their infants.
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  Here's David crying out to God for deliverance, from wicked men
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  who are Trying to plot against him to threaten him and to take
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  his life. And from there though, he goes
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  on to describe his foes in an interesting way.
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  He labels them, he criticizes them and he criticizes them in
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  the following manner. He describes them as those whose
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  portion is in this life. Translation.
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  Lord deliver me from these men, these men who have only but this
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  life to live for Everything that they own everything that they
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  enjoy is confined to this world. And that's an interesting way of
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  speaking about those who are outside of Christ.
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  Their possessions and their Pleasures are limited to now and
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  to a few tomorrow's. And he even goes on to say from
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  there that whatever they boasted in this life, whatever they
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  relish, and whatever, they Savor, whether they want to
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  recognize it or not is sourced by God.
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  She is the one who is responsible for those Daily
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  Grace. Has that they swim in and
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  refused to recognize him for. Look what he says here in the
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  second part of verse 14, you filled their wombs with treasure
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  Okay, they don't want to give credit to the Creator, you might
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  be that kind of a person in this place today.
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  The very breath that you're breathing.
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  In today has been granted by permission from God.
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  You fill their womb with treasure.
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  You are the one who's? So merciful that it overflows
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  even into the lives of those who hate you.
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  Who despise you? Who refuse to glorify you and
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  give? Thanks to you.
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  David says you were that merciful and he goes on not just
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  by defining by defining the portion of their pleasure and
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  identity and hope but the duration of it the last part of
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  verse 14 and they leave their abundance to their infants, No
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  matter how large a matter how wide their assets are not an
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  inch of. It is coming, not an inch of it
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  is coming into the world that you're heading into.
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  Not an inch not a piece. It has to be left behind.
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  It has to be left behind when you are inescapably summoned to
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  the Grave, the mortality rate of being a human is 100%.
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  Not 50% it's not like fifty percent of humans, live forever
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  and others die. All of you you want a Sunday
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  morning message are going to die.
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  Including the preacher so don't be offended. we are all headed
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  in that direction, but but David does something now, after he
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  gives his brief Category of people, which is the majority of
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  our world, really, he stops now, and he's going to now, say
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  something to separate himself from such a category and he uses
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  three words, as for me, that's verse 15 right?
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  As for me. So there's people out there and
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  their portion is in this life. Oh yeah, they have their
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  possessions, they have property. They have people.
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  But they're going on and they're going to leave all that.
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  They work for all that they were sweating over and crying over
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  there going to leave that here. But as for me, I Shall Behold
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  your face in righteousness. When I awake, he's not talking
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  about a nap. When I awake, I shall be
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  satisfied with your likeness. Yeah, the world may gloat the
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  way the world may gloat over their temporary prizes.
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  But as for me I'm going to point you to my portion and it's not
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  in this world. This portion is so magnificent.
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  It's going to be about seeing God face to face and being
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  conformed to his likeness. You know, David could have
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  compared the quality of his life to the others, he could have
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  trumpeted. This is a king, his position,
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  his power, his authority, his Fame, his accolades, his
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  military his riches. He doesn't even bring one of
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  those things up, because none of those things can even come close
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  to the portion that he brings before us and that is the life
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  to come. There is a life to come.
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  The language of the spirit of God to use.
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  And to point to the transition from Death to life for the
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  righteous as a liking to sleep and waking up.
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  That's what he means. When I say when I awake Why?
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  Because just like, sweet sleep, the death of the righteous will
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  be Serene and Swift. When I wake up, there are two
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  things that I am assured. There are two things that will
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  be certain for me. The first is, I will behold your
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  face. Who is he speaking to speaking
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  about the Lord himself? I will behold your face in
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  righteousness that would have been Unthinkable for a Jew.
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  To experience in this world, Moses was told by God himself
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  behold. You shall not see my face and
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  live, no one, no one can see. My face and live and yet David
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  cure can excitingly say what would be a death sentence?
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  Today was his stimulation for what is to come.
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  When the Bible uses that language of face, it speaks of
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  unhindered intimacy. And that's what is awaiting
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  David. And this is what he can, he can
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  boast about it. And explode about, I'm going to
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  behold his face. I'm not just going to pray now.
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  And by faith, believe that he hears me, I'm not going to read
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  of him and his word, I'm going to meet him.
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  And secondly, he would be supernaturally transformed into
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  God's likeness and terms of his moral Beauty.
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  And is resurrected qualities, which will enable him to be in
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  the very presence of God and not be consumed.
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  I can say more about those two things, but I won't because the
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  phrase I want you to highlight is when he declares, I shall be
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  satisfied. You know what the word satisfied
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  is? And the original language, the
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  same Sensation that you experience when you eat a
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  wonderful meal and you're no longer hungry.
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  That's what he alludes to. He says, what is coming?
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  Will bring such a fulfillment and wholeness that I can sing
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  about it today. That is not to say that is a
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  Christian living here that you don't experience some level of
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  satisfaction. Of course you do you have tasted
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  and you've seen that the Lord is good.
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  I believe what David is describing here is a whole
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  nother level of gratification that even the godliest man or
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  woman and all of church history has never even come close to It
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  is a satisfaction that will never listen to this.
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  You ready for this? Never be challenged by
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  temptation to sin. It is a satisfaction that will
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  sustain you for thousands upon thousands upon Millions upon
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  millions of years. It is a satisfaction so deep
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  that it will swallow up. The most painful memories and
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  suffering that you have endured in this life.
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  And here's what's so wonderful about it that level of delight.
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  Is waiting to meet you. The moment that you step into
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  the shores of Eternity. When I awake, I shall be
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  satisfied. And I think about that and I
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  realized that there's so much pain and so many people's lives.
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  Can I tell you that one second? One second into eternity.
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  Will Eclipse 100 Years of pain and persecution in this world?
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  One second. Years ago, I remember seeing a
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  clip actually series of Clip Clips and maybe you've seen it
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  to where they have these glasses, they look like
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  sunglasses, but they're for colorblind people.
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  Have you seen this? And you would see family members
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  give this as a gift to a grandfather or brother, or
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  sister, or friend. And, and they have these
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  Balloons with all these different colors, right?
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  Beside the person who's receiving this gift, and they
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  would usually do it out in the open as well, and the moment
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  that these people put on these glasses, They just become
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  paralyzed. And you can tell that they're
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  trying to register what is happening in this moment because
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  all they have known is very faint colors, sometimes just
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  black and white. And here they are.
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  You have grown men starting to weep because for the first time
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  they can perceive that there are variations, their blues, and
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  greens, and purples, and yellows.
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  Things that we take for granted and they break down because
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  they're just absolutely overwhelmed that this is what
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  reality is. And I remember watching that and
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  thinking to myself immediately, surely surely Lord.
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  This is but a sample of what's going to happen when our eyes
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  behold, what? No mind has been able to
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  conceive. Surely the moment that we step
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  into the world that you have prepared for us.
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  We will need specific bodies to be able to maintain it and to
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  register it. Because there is a world with a
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  dynamic Dimension that our minds have not been able to even
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  imagine, there is incomparable satisfaction that awaits, those
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  who are in Christ, Heaven is not open for everybody, by the way.
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  It's for those who are in him but they point you to something
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  else. Go to Second, Peter very quickly
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  in verse 13 of chapter 3, In 2nd Peter 3:13.
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  The Apostle Peter has something to say about heaven.
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  He says. but according to his promise, we are waiting for new
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  heavens and a new Earth in which righteousness dwells in which
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  righteousness dwells. Now, I'll give you a heads up.
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  This part will not excite those who are not righteous in Christ,
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  but if you're righteous in Christ, you will truly Rejoice
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  over this unique characteristic that Paul gives and highlights
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  concerning Heaven. The main point that he wants to
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  drive into your heart of Mine by the spirit, is that the world
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  that we are heading towards is absolutely covered in
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  righteousness. And that is not to say that our
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  current world is void of complete righteousness.
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  We have some level of sanity left and some level of people
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  who are operating with their god-given conscience and we have
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  the church still on Earth. So we have hints of
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  righteousness sprinkled here and there, but you and I can
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  acknowledge that human history is generally a record of
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  atrocities and evils committed from one generation to the next
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  and it's only getting bloodier. And that may not be so exciting
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  to you. What Peter says here?
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  But for those who have been made righteous that cycle will not
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  change until it is broken by the return of Christ will redeem,
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  all things and listen, when he does come back, he will make
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  everything absolutely and completely pure.
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  No corner will be untouched. There will not be one molecule
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  of contamination. And again, if you have this
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  common misconception of what Glory will look like, let me
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  give you the common misconception that we're headed
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  towards hazy place. Generally White.
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  Foggy with slow motion clouds passing by the only object
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  really in operation. Is this massive Throne where God
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  sits and surrounding him are millions of people who will sing
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  worship songs with perfect pitch for millions of years.
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  That's fair to ask you. Come on be honest.
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  Yeah that's how I think heaven is.
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  If you just do a just a plenum preliminary study of what is
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  awaiting us, the Bible gives you little Peaks little Windows into
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  what is going to happen. What is going to come and they
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  will absolutely obliterate that false notion of where Christ is
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  bringing us. Can I show you one this?
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  My Boggle your mind but it's okay.
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  That's what the Bible does. Oftentimes Revelation chapter 21
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  23? Now, as you're turning their
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  listen to what I'm saying, what I'm about to read to you.
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  Is it description of the new heavens and the new Earth?
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  So this is not going to be a complete teaching of the
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  doctrine of the last days. But when Christ returns, he is
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  going to set up his Reign on this Earth for a thousand years,
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  he's going to rule from Jerusalem and for a thousand
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  years, he will Implement Justice, you'll receive worship.
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  And the world is going to experience a government that it
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  has never known what I'm about to read to.
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  You is not in that time because once that a that thousand years
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  is over, then we read in the beginning of this chapter,
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  there's going to New heavens and a new Earth, huh?
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  So we're not we're not we're not being vacuumed into some Skies
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  place, there is going to be a heavens and there also is going
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  to be a regenerated Earth. And so now we're in the Eternal
• 26:57
  age, in this part. Now that I'm about to read.
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  Now, look at this description and Revelation 21:23, and the
• 27:04
  city. Oh, there's going to be a city.
• 27:08
  Not just borderless and colorless Arenas and the city
• 27:13
  has no need of sun or moon to shine on it.
• 27:16
  That's how you know, we're not talking about an earth, you
• 27:18
  can't survive without the Sun but in this world there's no sun
• 27:21
  or moon to shine on it for the glory of God gives it light.
• 27:26
  And it's lamp is the Lamb verse 24 by its light, will the
• 27:31
  nation's walk Nations and the kings of the earth will bring
• 27:37
  Bring their Glory into it. Cities Nations Kings.
• 27:43
  There goes your Sunday school version of Heaven.
• 27:48
  I can't explain it and we don't have an exact and comprehensive
• 27:51
  blueprint about it, but that alone is enough to prove that
• 27:54
  eternity is going to be a lot more sophisticated and complex
• 28:00
  than what we've been given in terms of what it will be like
• 28:04
  that may relieve you. But that's not the main feature
• 28:08
  mankind, has known cities and kings and borders and Nations
• 28:13
  almost near the Inception of time.
• 28:16
  But what I will tell you in the next verse here is what we have
• 28:21
  never seen scroll down to verse 27 of the same chapter.
• 28:25
  But nothing unclean will ever enter it.
• 28:30
  Nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only
• 28:35
  those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
• 28:39
  That is the glory of the new heavens and earth.
• 28:43
  Imagine a world where nothing or no one will ever defile it?
• 28:52
  No more perversion. No more being afraid to walk in
• 28:58
  downtown Chicago, at a certain time of night.
• 29:01
  No more murders, no more shootings, no more lies, no more
• 29:04
  deception, no, more pride, no more jealousy.
• 29:08
  No more human sex trafficking, no more rumors of wars.
• 29:11
  No more questioning people's motives no more wondering if
• 29:15
  somebody's trying to cheat you ready for this?
• 29:18
  No more divisions and church splits no more hypocrisy.
• 29:24
  No matter where your eyes scroll, no matter where your
• 29:26
  feet lead you you will realize that.
• 29:29
  Absolutely everything has been made righteous.
• 29:34
  Thank you. Hallelujah.
• 29:36
  Indeed. You know, you turn on the news
• 29:40
  today and I think the news are just experts, I'm making you
• 29:42
  feel bad in 10 minutes. It's just bad news all the time
• 29:50
  and they have a wonderful ability to make you realize how
• 29:54
  your neighborhood is much more dangerous than you thought.
• 29:58
  And if there's any coverage of good news, it gets like a two
• 30:01
  minute slot and then they return to their endless.
• 30:05
  Horror Story Rampage. But in the world that is to come
• 30:11
  no bad news. Ever, ever.
• 30:15
  Not one only, good news, only peace, only love only Harmony
• 30:21
  only goodness safety. The warmth we don't even need
• 30:27
  the Sun. The glory of God will shine upon
• 30:29
  us with our resurrected skin. And we will feel his Fellowship
• 30:34
  wherever we go. I can continue.
• 30:38
  I can talk to you about what's going to happen to our minds,
• 30:40
  what's going to happen to our memory.
• 30:41
  What's going to happen to our fellowship?
• 30:43
  What's going to happen? In terms of our activity?
• 30:45
  What's going to happen? In terms of, I can go so far
• 30:48
  with this but I just want to point you to one thing because
• 30:52
  perhaps you're not convinced that these brief thoughts that
• 30:55
  were just shared are a matter of great importance to the
• 30:57
  Christian today. Perhaps, you think that this is
• 30:59
  just a matter of satisfying curiosity of the unknown know,
• 31:03
  it has practical implications to your personal walk day by day.
• 31:08
  How you treat others, how you worship, how you endure
• 31:10
  suffering? And if there's anybody who
• 31:13
  actually believes that there is Great Value in upholding this
• 31:16
  view of your heavenly home, you know who sees it Satan.
• 31:20
  No. You don't believe me.
• 31:25
  Well, you're in Revelation. So meet me in Revelation 13.
• 31:30
  Revelation 13. A majority of that, chapter is a
• 31:35
  prophecy. That one day in human history.
• 31:40
  We will have a man who will rule the world.
• 31:45
  He will be a political figure who be known as the man of
• 31:48
  lawlessness or the Antichrist. And this will be a false type of
• 31:54
  Messiah who will bring some kind of Sanity into our life, at
• 31:59
  least at least in the beginning. He will rescue, he will rescue
• 32:03
  the nation's. From plunging into
• 32:06
  self-destruction and destructions towards one
• 32:08
  another, he will bring some some peace like the world has really
• 32:13
  never known. And in a day today where we see
• 32:18
  such a lack of qualified leaders on a global scale.
• 32:22
  We can have some kind of an impression of how a person like
• 32:26
  this will rise into power out of nowhere.
• 32:30
  He will put every other politician, every other world
• 32:33
  leader to shame. He will be extremely
• 32:35
  charismatic. Extremely persuasive, powerful
• 32:41
  and and the Bible even says that he will perform false signs and
• 32:44
  wonders that will cause people to actually worship Him.
• 32:51
  And you're going to have people who are going to be so desperate
• 32:53
  because of the destitution of life that they will fall on
• 32:58
  their knees before this man. And he is a person who will take
• 33:02
  advantage of the weakness of that generation who will play on
• 33:06
  the fears of people. And he will actually demand
• 33:10
  worship and you, are you ready for this?
• 33:13
  It will come with an incentive if you want to buy something.
• 33:16
  If you want to eat, if you want to be in business, you need to
• 33:19
  take this Mark. And by the way, Christian, if
• 33:23
  you're worried, you can't accidentally take the mark of
• 33:25
  the beast. This will be a public way for
• 33:31
  you to have an allegiance to this man and for others it will
• 33:36
  be less about that will be more about you wanting to just live a
• 33:39
  comfortable life because you want to go where you want to go
• 33:43
  and you want to do what you want to do and you want freedom.
• 33:46
  So tell me to do this. I'll do it.
• 33:48
  Tell me to go here. I'll go.
• 33:49
  Tell me to stay. I'll stay sound familiar.
• 33:55
  And so this man is going to rise into power and he's going to be
• 34:00
  very bold in his statements. And so bold, will this man be
• 34:04
  that he will actually defy the Living God.
• 34:08
  He will publicly on this world platform degrade the name of the
• 34:13
  god that we worship and love, but not just that, look at verse
• 34:16
  6 now. It opened its mouth to utter
• 34:22
  blasphemies against God. This is the Antichrist was going
• 34:27
  to be energized by Satan himself, blaspheming his name,
• 34:31
  and his dwelling that is those who dwell in heaven.
• 34:36
  Now, if you have the King James or the new King James, it would
• 34:39
  read blaspheme his name and his Tabernacle, which is another way
• 34:44
  of saying heaven and those who dwell in heaven. isn't it
• 34:49
  interesting that the Antichrist will not only stop at slandering
• 34:54
  God himself, but we'll go ahead and actually defame his holy
• 34:59
  habitation Why would he do that? Why would he try to pollute
• 35:07
  people's minds about where God dwells?
• 35:11
  And I'll tell you why? Because he longs to lie about
• 35:14
  the very thing that the holy spirit in his word, tells you to
• 35:18
  set your mind and your Hope on you understand.
• 35:24
  And if the devil can convince you, that heaven doesn't exist.
• 35:28
  Because as much as this going to, this is going to be
• 35:30
  intensified with the Antichrist. Satan has been doing this since
• 35:33
  the beginning, he has been whispering lies about the
• 35:36
  afterlife since since the start. And if you can't convince you,
• 35:40
  that there isn't a life to come after you die.
• 35:43
  Then he'll convince you. Dear Christian that where you're
• 35:46
  headed is going to be a dreadfully boring place.
• 35:49
  So live it up while you're here. Because where you're going is an
• 35:54
  endless worship service and that's it, as old worship was
• 35:59
  boring. And so you have to understand
• 36:05
  that Satan sees the value of God's Heavenly plays to the
• 36:09
  degree that he would want to smear it.
• 36:13
  He would want you to think small of it.
• 36:18
  Because that's, that's what Christ is preparing for us.
• 36:22
  You see the devil hates God so much.
• 36:24
  He wants to violate absolutely everything that he does, and
• 36:29
  everything that he is. And I believe in part to take
• 36:35
  away heaven. You take away people's hope.
• 36:40
  At least for the Christian. What can you do to the man?
• 36:44
  Who knows that he will live forever?
• 36:47
  What can you do to the woman? Who knows that she will be in
• 36:50
  the arms of her Savior, for all of eternity?
• 36:53
  What can you do? Jesus himself said it, do not
• 36:56
  fear the one who can kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.
• 37:02
  They can't touch you, ultimately.
• 37:05
  So Satan knows that if he can blur your vision of what is to
• 37:08
  come, then he can make you a very weak child of God. now, I
• 37:15
  can say so much more, but let me end up with one more verse in
• 37:19
  Revelation and we will break bread, go to a 14:13 It says,
• 37:32
  then I Heard a Voice from Heaven saying write this blessed are
• 37:36
  the Dead who die in the Lord. From now on blessed indeed says,
• 37:43
  the spirit that they may rest from their labors for their
• 37:48
  deeds. Follow them.
• 37:51
  Who can actually say that death is a blessing.
• 37:57
  Only one type of person, he who is in the Lord, only Hues in the
• 38:01
  Lord. That's why you have Christians
• 38:03
  who don't call funerals funerals.
• 38:05
  They call them homecomings. Listen, I don't know when I'm
• 38:08
  going, but when I go call it a homecoming, don't call it a
• 38:12
  funeral. He's in glory, the spirit says
• 38:17
  blessed, indeed. You had a man who was Balaam,
• 38:22
  who is a false prophet? And to try to curse the people
• 38:26
  of God and a numbers 23, the spirit of God comes upon him to
• 38:30
  change his curse into a blessing.
• 38:32
  And at the end, there of his of his Oracle he says something
• 38:36
  along the lines of Oh that I may die the death of the righteous
• 38:43
  and may my end be like his. That's what he concludes.
• 38:47
  It goes all something happened, there were the spirit of God,
• 38:51
  showed him what death is like for the believer.
• 38:53
  And even this Pagan false god worship, it goes, oh me, my end,
• 38:57
  be like that. If that's leading to that, I
• 39:02
  want that but here's the thing, you ready although Balaam who
• 39:06
  did not really follow the true God although Balaam desired it
• 39:11
  he never got it. Did he die the death of the
• 39:14
  righteous? No, he died.
• 39:16
  The death of the wicked. maybe today in this brief segment
• 39:21
  where you got just a little taste of what makes Christians
• 39:25
  in this life different Of what keeps our head up when people
• 39:30
  are running into things in this world?
• 39:34
  No this that we're not an exclusive Club.
• 39:37
  We've been commissioned by God to recruit as many people as
• 39:39
  possible. I don't want to tell you today
• 39:42
  that you can know eternal life. You can no life after death and
• 39:49
  it's not just an escape from judgment.
• 39:53
  It is an entrance into a bliss that I can't, really
• 39:57
  communicate. I try my best.
• 40:01
  But I want you to see this again and realized that the way there
• 40:04
  is not what you might think. Notice at the end here, it says
• 40:08
  that they may rest from their labors for their deeds.
• 40:12
  Follow them. He speaking about those who die
• 40:14
  in the Lord. Did you notice that?
• 40:16
  It isn't safe for their deeds. Go before them.
• 40:23
  The Deeds of the righteous don't go before them.
• 40:26
  They follow them. Why?
• 40:28
  Because we already have someone who went before us.
• 40:31
  His name is Jesus Christ. Our Works don't go before us to
• 40:35
  place Us in Heavenly dwelling it doesn't.
• 40:39
  Prepare us a home with God, Christ work went there for us.
• 40:46
  He is the Forerunner. He made that entrance on our
• 40:49
  behalf and based on his own Merit in his own righteousness.
• 40:52
  Honest. Do we have a name?
• 40:54
  And we do we have a seat at his table.
• 40:57
  The Deeds of the righteous. Follow them implying.
• 41:00
  What? Yes.
• 41:00
  As Christians. We're changed.
• 41:03
  We look different. We live different and they will
• 41:05
  accompany us when we stand before.
• 41:07
  God, but not as a means for salvation.
• 41:11
  Yes, God will evaluate our lives and he will reward us based on
• 41:15
  our faithfulness but he will never ever evaluate whether you
• 41:18
  are worthy enough to be with them.
• 41:21
  Because Christ does that for us. He did that for us.
• 41:26
  And so why we come here on Sundays and some on Wednesdays
• 41:30
  and some on Fridays and why we live the way we live, is not so
• 41:33
  that we can gather as much works as possible, so that when we do
• 41:37
  die we can come before. God said, here you go.
• 41:39
  How did I make it that I pass? Note from the place of gratitude
• 41:45
  for the place of Grace and Faith.
• 41:47
  Oh, we want to serve him and we want to live for him and they
• 41:50
  follow us. And as we come before the Lord,
• 41:53
  we realized that we stand there solely based on what Christ has
• 41:56
  done and Lord because that because that you died for me,
• 41:59
  here is my life. I dedicated it to you.
• 42:03
  I use my gifts for you. I worshipped you, I honored you.
• 42:06
  Yes, I failed here in there, but look Lord, this is what I did
• 42:08
  because of you. And for hopefully all of us here
• 42:13
  at NBC, the Lord will say, Well done, good and faithful servant.
• 42:17
  Well done, good and faithful servant.
• 42:18
  So my charge to you today if you're a visitor and I'm not
• 42:24
  ashamed to preach in this manner, it sounds strong, but if
• 42:27
  I really believe in heaven and hell, I have to be strong. the
• 42:33
  way that you have eternal life is when you actually surrender
• 42:37
  your efforts and you just give up It's not you impressing.
• 42:42
  God, it's not. You trying to be in a good place
• 42:46
  with him. Good reputation before him.
• 42:48
  You just said, Lord, I can't do it anymore.
• 42:49
  I tried I failed and I realized that you've loved me enough for
• 42:54
  your son, to live in my place, and to die in my place, I
• 42:57
  receive that. And I accept that.
• 43:00
  And I repent for my sin and I cling to the cross and I ask you
• 43:04
  to forgive me, ask you to wash me.
• 43:06
  I asked you to write my name in The Book of Life.
• 43:10
  And Lord, give me this hope that this preacher is talking about.
• 43:14
  And I tell you today, that that hope is not resting upon,
• 43:18
  whether you have a good day or a bad day as a Christian, it rests
• 43:20
  on that fact, that 2000 years ago, Christ lived a perfect life
• 43:25
  and he died a perfect death and is satisfied.
• 43:29
  God, the judge of the earth and it was so, so sufficient that
• 43:34
  even two thousand years later you can in 2020 to give your
• 43:38
  life to him and that blood will still apply and still work.
• 43:43
  Glory be to his name. And that's why we're breaking
• 43:46
  bread today as Christians. We are coming to take the
• 43:49
  symbols of his body and his blood and we are confessing to
• 43:53
  him and to one another not of my own works.
• 43:58
  Nothing in my hand. I bring simply to the cross.
• 44:01
  I cling, and if you're in this place and you're not a follower
• 44:05
  of Jesus Christ, and you have not put your faith and trust in
• 44:08
  him. This is something that is not
• 44:10
  for you. It's only reserved for those who
• 44:13
  have put their faith in him and who have been born again.
• 44:15
  But as you see, these people who will stand now and come to this
• 44:18
  table and partake may you realize that each person is
• 44:21
  making a public statement so to speak saying to you, As they go
• 44:27
  back to their chairs and as they sing and meditate, they're
• 44:31
  saying also to you. I am not righteous.
• 44:35
  I have nothing to offer God, but Christ took my place and I am
• 44:40
  remembering that and I am rehearsing that and this moment
• 44:43
  right here is reminding me that my hope is in Jesus alone.
• 44:49
  And hopefully one day, if not, today you will repent and
• 44:53
  believe on Christ and we will meet you at this table.
• 44:57
  The worship team can come up. And hopefully one day, if not,
• 44:51
  today you will repent and believe on Christ and we will
• 44:55
  meet you at this table. The worship team can come up.