Jack Hibbs Today: We Are On Our Way – Part 2 (Romans 8:23-30)
We Are On Our Way – Part 2 (Romans 8:23-30)
The hope of heaven gives us perseverance as we eagerly await Christ’s return. We live with the expectation of heaven and share the Gospel so that others come to faith.
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” – John 14:27
Let’s stand and open up the Bible to where we have been. Romans chapter 8.
Roman chapter 8 in our study together, And, uh, we’re looking at a message that we opened up a week or 2 ago titled, we are on our way.
We are on our way. And, uh, this is in that deep section of Romans 8.
Uh, you guys have all heard this many times before, and you’ll hear it again.
Not only is Romans, the book of Romans, known as the magna Carta to the gospel treaty of the new testament, but Roman chapter 8 is the high watermark and you can tell by the depth of its theology.
I’ll begin reading I’ll begin reading in verse 24 if you would take it down to verse, um, 30, if you would.
Verse 24, for we listen, for we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope.
For why does it still hope for what he sees?
For what we do not see, we eagerly wait for perseverance.
Likewise, the spirit that is the Holy Spirit also helps our weaknesses for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the spirit himself makes intercessions for us with groanings, which cannot be uttered or articulated is the word.
Now he who searches the heart, knows what the mind of the spirit is because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of god
beautiful. And we know that all things work together for good, to those who are who love god, to those who are called according to his purpose.
For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among any brother.
Last verse, moreover, whom he predestined these, he also called and whom he called, these he also justified, and whom he justified these he also glorified.
Father speak to us in Jesus name, and all god’s people said, Amen. Amen.
You may be seated at church.
As we left off last time, we came to a sudden, uh, abrupt end to the first argument found in uh, verse 23.
And of course, now today we’re in verse 24 on, but we saw these things regarding the continuity, I’ll put it between all of the prophets of the Old Testament and who Christ is.
That all of the prophecies of the ancient Hebrew scriptures made announcement, friends.
They made promise. They made prophecy.
That this would be the span of god’s redemptive work.
You and I pick up the Bible, the greatest book that has ever been, you know, I I was gonna say the greatest book that’s ever been written that that okay.
That’s true. I’d rather more accurately say the the greatest book that’s ever been given.
The way the Bible was written is that it was given from god to man.
And to even make it even more provocative, god says in the Bible that I I revealed the word of god through man so that if you’re a doubter, you would get all into fluster to say, oh, boy, then If it’s if it’s man written, then we can find faults with it.
Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead. Try and find fault with it.
God gave the word of god by the power of the Holy Spirit as he possessed the authors of the Bible in such way that the scriptures with 40 different authors never once, not only never contradict each other, but they all agree with each other, and most of them never met one another, spending the time of some 1800 years on different continents.
How do you explain that? And the star of the entire argument from Genesis to Revelation as none other than the one the prophets revealed, and Moses included, and that is the lord Jesus Christ.
And you cannot deny that.
You can argue about it all you want, but you can’t deny it. And we saw that because that’s true.
There’s the the heartbeat of heaven.
Three things we saw that heaven’s thrown within us is proof to all of us who are believers.
If you’re not a believer, you don’t get what I’m about to say.
We know that god’s throne now resides in us because god rules and reigns in our hearts, and we love it.
We love his politics. We love his authority. We love his command.
In fact, you and I as Christians, we get a little upset when we fail to yield to his command.
Because father knows best. He’s absolutely an amazing and wonderful god who loves us.
And there’s nothing like having him enthroned upon your heart. And we’ve made those arguments.
Look at them from last week, how god said an old and new testament that he would reside, not in temples, not in places made with stone, but your very heart.
We saw also that heaven’s appeal is the reality within us.
That you and I do what we do today because heaven is our passion. Heaven is our desire.
We can’t wait to get there. It doesn’t mean we’re lazy.
It means we’re very busy about our father’s business because we’re on our way to heaven.
Heaven is the heartbeat within us.
And then last time we talked about heaven’s love is our constant contact.
The love of god, the Bible says, has been spread abroad. In our hearts.
Have you ever seen, I don’t know, I know we we don’t live in this era anymore.
I remember having a summer job when I was in, uh, when I was a teenager.
And, uh, that one job was, uh, doing, uh, custom decking on on things like resort, hotels, zevers are like cruise ships.
Have you ever seen decking that’s got a little bit of a grip to it, but it’s like rubber or plastic?
It’s very popular. It’s very strong. And I did that.
Um, and one of the things is there’s no other way to do it.
Is that you hold a five gallon bucket full of sand, special sand that is set for whatever that they wanna achieve.
Uh, the slip factor or the slip ratio, and you would broadcast that.
And I was actually taught how to cast the sand like a sower of seed.
And it’s quite amazing on how you use your hand.
If you wanna drop out the sand closely, you just kind of let hop out there.
If you wanna brag broadcast it far, there’s a way to do that where the back end of your hand goes up and it’s almost like a wing and you throw it and it spreads out so beautifully.
And if you have a sower, uh, one who is so in sleep, we don’t do that anymore.
We do that now either by tractor or whatever, but uh, the sower would just cast out the seed, and it lands in such a way that it is perfectly distributed in the soil.
When god gives his word, he throws out the word of god, and it lands perfectly distributed among the hearts and the minds of men and women and boys and girls so that everyone has opportunity.
Well, he does that using the exact same word about his love His love is thrown out to the world.
You can’t doubt that either.
For god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
And then he turns right around to those who trust his son.
The Bible says that he cast out or puts forth his love in our hearts.
Now the only thing that would prevent you from enjoying that love is not believing in what god has told you.
God loves you. Got on the airplane last night to come home from Colorado Springs, and there was a young lady sitting there.
She was all dressed in black. She had a black beanie on, pulled down just above her eyebrows.
And, um, she was just kind of cowering her seat, and she looked rather, um, tense I’m gonna guess that she was somewhere, uh, in her mid twenties.
And, um, I I don’t know if this was a spiritual moment or if it was what I I just don’t know.
But I was getting on the plane. She was sitting down before me, and I’m I’m walking in.
To the plane, and I and our eyes locked, and she looked at me.
And for a second, I thought, oh, does she go to Calvary? That’s my first thought.
That’s always my first thought. When somebody stops and looks, my first thought is that do they go to 1st, second, or third service?
Or are are they Wednesday nighters? But as I looked at her, She looked fearful.
She put her head down, and I looked at her t shirt, and her t shirt said, I hate me too.
Exactly. I prayed for I mean, I didn’t pray. I didn’t stop and pray.
I prayed for her as I walked by in my heart.
You may be sensing that today in your own life.
God can love everybody else, but you.
And maybe she’s thinking god can love everybody else, but me, I’ve got a dark beanie on.
I’ve got a dark t shirt on. My eyes are dark. My makeup is dark. My heart is dark.
And god says today, you’re exactly the right kind of person that I wanna love on today.
Right. He’s absolutely amazing. So church, we pick it up And it’s now 2nd argument versus 24 to 25, and that is the hope of heaven.
The hope of heaven. He says, for we were saved test tense in this hope.
But listen to this, but hope that is seen is not hope. You understand that?
If you don’t see it, that that’s what you hope for.
If you see something, you don’t hope for it anymore. It’s parked right in front of you.
It’s standing right in front of you.
If you’re married, you don’t hope for a husband, he’s standing right in front of you.
If you hope for a car, but you’ve got 1, you’ve got 1. What do you hope?
You’re not hoping. It’s it’s already experienced, but the Bible here tells us that what you and I hope for this is so awesome.
What you and I hope for as believers is that which we do not yet fully possess but we know we shall.
We’re just waiting with anticipation for that moment to be fulfilled. It’s guaranteed. To happen.
In fact, it is so certain that god will get you into heaven and, uh, make sure that your seat is well reserved with him that his own name is riding on him keeping that promise.
It’s not riding on your faithfulness. You right then in the let me say that again.
And then when I say, we’ll edit it for TV, and you’ll look awesome.
When I say what I I’m about to say again, say, amen. Okay.
So here comes.
So what god did for you on the cross, he did because it’s his own name that will guarantee it.
And you can be rest assured of that very fact.
His name is on the lying church. You said, well, I don’t know.
I’m I don’t know if I’m good enough. None of us are good enough.
But when he’s enthroned in your heart, you want to be perfect. Let’s be honest.
The true Christian wants to be perfect.
We never wake up in the morning and say, Well, how much sin can I do today and still be okay?
We don’t even think like that. It’s been removed from us We’re not perfect, but we would be.
If we could be, the problem is we still have our bodies that we’re lugging around.
And this thing this body makes its demands.
His remarkable and awesome hope that he gives us. So mark it down.
Verse 24 is it’s all about assurance. Heaven’s assurance is our hope.
It’s our hope for we were saved in this hope.
I’m gonna give you a long passage of scripture church. Everybody paid close attention because it’s past tense.
Let me read this part of verse 24 and then dive into its commentary. Listen, write it down.
The commentary on Romans 8 24 is Ephesians 1 versus 3312.
Romans 824 says, for we were saved in this hope. Ephesians 1 verse 3. Bless it.
Past tense. Be the god and father of our lord, Jesus Christ, who has blessed us past tense with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
Listen to help god talks. Just as he chose us in him that is in Christ before the foundation of the world, Oh, that ought to keep you up tonight.
Just with joy. Before I keep reading, don’t say anything.
Just on the inside, do you want Jesus Christ in your life?
Do you want him to have the reins or the controls of your life?
Do you want him to be your lord and savior, the one who washes you of your sin and guilt and gives you a brand new life.
The reason why you do is because just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy, And without blame excuse me, what, without blame?
Do you live without blame? People don’t Listen, don’t people blame us? Don’t we blame ourselves?
God is looking at you, the believer, washing the blood of Christ.
It’s the blood of Christ that makes you blameless before the throne of god.
God looks at you and sees Christ. Isn’t this humbling? Nope.
You say Jack. That just can’t be that just can’t be true. That’s too good to be true.
It is true, which is why you should fall on your knees, and proclaiming lord and savior and give him all the glory and thanks and love him for the rest of your life.
It is absolutely true. God did this and even did better. He kept going. He kept building on that.
So he goes on to say that in verse 5, having predestined us, that’s before time began, to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself.
Notice Jesus going to the cross, dying for you, god, the father, gives you to Jesus Christ as his reward, as his possession, for what he did for us at the cross.
You are the blessing that the father gives the son for what the son did at the cross in redemption.
Man, we don’t look at ourselves that way. And I understand that, but it’s true.
We are an actual blessing to god if our lives are in Christ.
According to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he made us accepted Is that word past tense again?
Yes. Absolutely. Are you guys awake? Yes.
Accepted in the beloved verse 7 in him We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which he made past tense, to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself.
Is this deeper, what? He purposed this work within himself. I like that.
He didn’t hold a committee. There wasn’t some heavenly council See, how should we pull this off?
How do we save these knucklehead humans? No. Nope. Before man was ever created.
God knew exactly what was gonna happen, and he had a plan before it ever transpired. It’s awesome.
Talk about insurance, insurance, and assurance.
Verse 10, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, He might gather together in 1, all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in him.
In him, also, we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the council of his will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory and all god’s people said?
Yeah.
That is deep stuff. You just got a lot of deep Bible right here right now.
If you are a child of god, god knows you, and he has placed this assurance in your life that you have this hope that awaits heaven.
Heaven being put in you doesn’t sit around, though. It’s active.
But notice that the foundation you’ve been saved. I love that security.
We we we deal in life this way. We tell our kids we love them.
We tell them to encourage them and strengthen them. And, uh, listen, I just wanna insert this.
We need to make sure we know how to love our kids rightly.
We need to tell them the truth and love always and be their parent.
The security of a child is how they develop the most.
That’s why the home I just when reading that communist agenda against, uh, the American culture from, uh, 1963, notice In fact, if you read the whole thing later, uh, so much of it attacks the family and marriage, family and marriage, and then to pervert children with pornography to destroy the family.
Why? Because Marxism is a religion, ladies and gentlemen.
It’s a demonic religion of man being god and god being dead.
I told you before, I had a eighty five year old Russian Babushka grabbed me by the face in Moscow, Russia.
Crying, kissing me all over the face, weeping.
She dropped her bags of mushrooms that she had gathered from the forest, And my translator, she’s trying to translate what she’s saying, and my translator starts crying.
I don’t have no idea what’s going on.
But shortly after the wall fell down, uh, I found myself in red square in Moscow, Russia, preaching the gospel on a newts and milk carton in front of a linen’s tomb.
100 of people have gathered together to hear what was going on.
And this this babushka grabs him by the face and she says through my translator, I was nine years old when the communist came into our homes and took our crosses and our bibles away, and said god is dead.
And I’ve been praying all these years that my but that the gospel would be preached in my country again Now I’m crying.
Marxism is man is god. But god is god. Yeah.
And thank god because man creates religion and god opens up a door of relationship.
And he wants you to know that you’re saved if you’ve trusted Christ?
This really gets me going. These people who talk about well, you know, that guy was saved once, but he lost to salvation.
You cannot find that anywhere in the Bible.
That is from that is following the teaching and the antics of man. I call it heretical.
Jesus said, you must be born again. Listen to the emphasis. He says, you must be born again.
To enter the kingdom of heaven. He said it strongly, and he said it to nicodemus.
If anybody was gonna go to heaven on being good and moral, it was nicodemus, not you, not me, him.
And Jesus told him, you’re not gonna make it, Nick. You’ve gotta be born again.
And the stress is this.
You must be born again, just his statement alone enshrines the assurance and the security of the true person who’s born again.
Jesus said it himself, you must be. That must be means you are gonna be with Christ in heaven.
Well, I knew somebody who believed, and then they went back into the world. They believed.
Jesus says, these are they who believe for a while, but when the cares of the world creep in and choke out the seed.
They wither away. They go away.
I can go scripture after scripture that if you are truly born again, You have that eternal security that Christ provides.
No family is worth being in that family if you’ve gotta live in insecurity.
I have I would have nothing to do with that kind of a family.
God’s family operates insecurity. Listen. That goes for all of us here today right now.
Maybe you’re watching by TV, or maybe you’re here together right now or in the overflow.
Do you know that you’re born again?
If you know that you’re born again, you know how truly desperately you need the blood of Christ yet at the same time, You have overwhelming confidence that if you were to die today, Christ would receive you based on his own efforts and not her own.
I go to heaven on his merit, not mine. He died for me.
He died for you. And you must be born again. I just love it.
Those that watch my fingers, lose their salvation.
That’s our pathetic observation for getting the scriptures that they never had it in the first place.
They trafficked with those that believed. They might have even done miracles. Did Judith do miracles?
God sent them out with the rest of the 12, didn’t he?
And they all preached and they all did miracles. Isn’t that isn’t that crazy thing?
Judith who had wind up in hell forever did miracles by the name of Jesus Christ.
Miracles that that they don’t guarantee your presence in heaven friend, but Jesus doesn’t. He can.
If you don’t have them in your life like that, you need to do that.
And then look at look at the second argument is that heaven’s existence is our hope.
Heaven’s existence is our hope.
It says, but hope that his sin is not hope for why does one still hope for what he sees?
We don’t see heaven, do we? We don’t see it. We see little glimmers of it.
I was, again, this weekend at a hotel, and they had this gigantic oil painting that, to me, looked like the millennium.
That’s how I would view the millennium, the reign of crisis like this.
So I took a picture of it with my phone, and I cropped it and put it, made it look like like a screensaver.
Why? Cause when I look at it, I think I haven’t. So, oh my goodness.
That’s gonna be awesome. You ever think about heaven? Yes. Yes.
I have to confess for many years for for far too many years.
I don’t know why I had, like, like, this brain lock, this brain freeze, when I would think about heaven, I would just everything would go white in my head.
It’s just white. White ceilings, white walls, white floor, white gown white robes, white gowns.
And he was just like, and it was boring.
I mean and I’m grateful to Randy Elcorn writing that book heaven by Randy Elcorn.
The theology of heaven. And he just goes to the scripture describing what the Bible says about heaven.
And then I found out by reading the scriptures more carefully and with that understanding, the god that made these trees isn’t interesting.
The Bible talks about trees in heaven. You say, well, what would they look like?
Apparently, they look like trees. The Bible says there’s a river in heaven.
There’s water in heaven. What do you think that looks like? Probably like a river. Probably like water.
The Bible says when Christ rains from Jerusalem, the lion will lay down with the lamb.
What’s that? What’s that gonna look like?
It’s gonna look like a lion laying down with a lamb.
You know, you know, we make things difficult. Little kids get it instantly. They see it.
They’ll color it on a piece of paper. They’ll just make it happen. We’re like, oh, how can this be?
How can that happen? Uh, we get it all knotted up because we’re dumb like this.
Growing up is not a good thing.
We get stiff, not just in our bodies, but in our our hearts get stiff.
We need to hang out with their children’s ministry more often.
Psalm 42 verse 5 says, why are you cast down on my soul?
Why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in god, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
God smiles on your life. Arm of the believer knows that.
How is it that right now in war torn, Middle East, they’re the believers that sense the smile of god in the midst of all the mayhem.
All the things that are going on in your world today.
No matter what’s happening, there’s the sense that when god smiles upon your life, you can’t describe it, you can’t explain it, and you dare not tell anybody about it.
They won’t get it. But when you know, the favor of god is smiling down upon your life at this moment.
I tell you what, I pray right now.
That’s exactly what’s happening because as I look, it’s it’s 10 minutes after 12, East Coast time.
And, Today, the speaker of the house is going through his upcoming agenda.
And Tony Perkins is with him today, And guess what?
He has he has 2 decisions to make. I’m sure I’m sure he has more than 2.
I don’t really care about the other other ones. I just care about these 2.
One of them is he’s considering coming here to do a Sunday service, the speaker of the house.
And the and the second thing is, which I hope is the first thing, is that will I get to open up congress on in January in Washington, DC for for that first run?
That would be awesome. That would be awesome.
So my prayer is, oh god, your favor. Uh, right? Oh, lord, your favor.
What is that? Lord smile down upon us. Listen. God smile down upon your family.
God smile down upon your business. Make God smile down upon this nation again. Make god smile down upon California.
Listen, if god can smile on California, he can smile on anything.
There’s nothing like knowing his you know what, Eric Little? Anybody remember him?
Remember the movie chair it’s a fire?
Eric Little, the Olympian, he said that when he ran, right, everybody else is working.
Abrams, remember Abrams in work work work work work it’s amazing. Yeah.
If you’ve never seen the movie, you gotta see the movie. Abrams is the Jew.
He’s working very, very hard, sweating, working, Eric Little, born again Christian, just running.
And it’s like, what’s the deal here?
One guy’s knocking himself out, and this guy’s like going running with the wind.
And Eric Little made that famous statement that’s in the Hallmark Cards today.
He says, when I run, I sense his pleasure.
Oh, every one of us should say when I get out of bed.
Right? I sense his pleasure. What’s before you today?
Is it dealing with a family member or an issue of health or how to make this thing?
Uh, is it some life changing moment, or is it just packing the lunch to get the kids off the school?
God, give me a favor today. Smile down upon me today.
The hope of heaven, the existence of heaven. We hope for it because that’s where we’re going.
But the power and the reality, it’s now with us. The kingdom of god dwells within us.
You don’t need to be cast down, oh, my soul.
I’ll never forget that verse because, you know, we’re all affected in different ways, but I’m a big fan of, uh, Charles Stanley, especially now that he’s dead and in heaven, Well, that’s a wrong term, especially now that he’s left us and is alive very much alive in heaven.
I remember Doctor Stanley saying that verse like this that the Hebrew word means, why so cast down on my soul?
He’s looking inside his shirt. Hey, Saul. The soulmist is preaching to himself.
Where are you bummed out? You can have the favor of god.
1st Peter chapter 1 verse 3. 1st Peter 13.
He says blessed be the god and father of our lord Jesus Christ who, according to his abundant mercy, has begotten us again.
You hear that? That’s a born again statement.
To a living hope Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, you know, the I’m I must be honest with you.
Your hope and eternal life and forgiveness is only as sure as Jesus Christ being resurrected from the dead.
Now if that’s a little wobbly, then you got some problems.
If that’s a little wobbly, I’m leaving you right now. I’m saying goodbye, and I’m going to the beach.
Why? Because it would all be false. But Christ is risen from the dead.
And we absolutely have this assurance because what he’s done, he’s faithful to perform in our lives.
He’s promised us resurrection. Verse 4, 1st Peter 14, to an inheritance, incorruptible, and undefiled. That doesn’t fade away.
Reserved in heaven for you. Isn’t that nice? I couldn’t even get my car reservation right this weekend.
Why do you reserve? Why do you try to reserve confirmation number, please?
What do you think confirmation number means? That’s something’s confirmed. And here’s the number.
Here’s my confirmation number. I’m sorry.
But you gave me the number. I didn’t make up the number.
You email me the number. It’s your number.
And so what about reservations?
You said click here to reserve a car. Thank god.
He doesn’t run heaven like this world runs itself. Can you imagine? Hi. I’m here.
What’s your name? It’s Jack.
I’ve read in the book that my name should be in the book. Check again.
Oh my goodness. Nope.
The existence of heaven is a hope that’s within us that is guaranteed and sheer Romans 15 verse 4.
Whatever things were written before were written for our learning that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
There’s no greater comfort, friends. Listen.
I mean this with all of my heart, and I’ll be as sensitive as I can.
When a brother or sister is on their deathbed and dying. I promise you this.
It’s gonna come to all of us. Unless the rapture, uh, takes place first. And it goes like this.
When you’re when you’re on your deathbed, you’re gonna call And, uh, you’re gonna ask for a pastor.
What and they’re gonna come, and you are not gonna I promise.
No one has ever said, Pastor, before you pray for me and read scripture to me.
Can you tell me what what was the what was the headlines on the New York Times today?
Has anyone ever asked that? No. Not once.
Has anybody ever asked what the stock market was like that day?
You know, I’m about ready to go into eternity faster. How’s my stocks doing?
Never not once. I tell you what’s listen. Listen up very carefully.
I tell you what is important to the dime. Is the reconciliation of family members.
Hands down over and over again. I wish my brother was here. I wish my kids were here.
I wish I could call my ex wife one more time and say I was sorry. I was wrong.
And then you read them scripture. They don’t want anything else, but scripture.
And no wonder, when you’re given scripture, the Bible says, precious in my sight.
See it the lord. It’s the death of my saints. Wow. Romans 12 verse 12.
Rejoice in hope. What a statement. Rejoice and hope.
Patient and tribulation continues steadfastly in prayer. Isn’t that amazing? Rejoice and hope.
How do you rejoice in hope?
Because the hope that we have in him is an assured guaranteed existence of hope.
None of us should say, please don’t ever think this.
If you think this way right now, I mean, if you think this way right now, you gotta fix your theology really quick.
And that is this. I hope I go to heaven. I don’t wanna hear that.
You better know it. You should say, you know what? I know I’m going to heaven. Watch.
This is how it goes. I know I’m going to heaven. There’s a seat reserved for me.
Because Jesus died for my sins and rose again from the dead.
He he took away my sins and gave me his righteousness. He loved me into the kingdom of god.
It’s all of Jesus. If you if if you say, yeah, if you say, well, I hope I go to heaven because I’m having pretty good.
Oh my goodness. First Peter chapter 1 verse 13.
Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind. I love that.
Just get a belt on it and pull your head together, will you? Be sober.
Rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus.
That’s the coming of Christ for the church. Isn’t that amazing? Yeah. When he comes, he’s gonna bring grace.
So get your mind locked on.
As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lust, as in your ignorance, you’re no longer ignorant.
You know him. You know him. Always, always friends. It’s good to learn.
It’s good to know. But the most important thing of all is who you know.
That’s how you got that job, even though that other guy was smarter than you.
Your dad owns the company.
The third argument under this point is heaven’s expectation is our hope, verse 25.
Heaven’s expectation. That’s our hope.
But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
What does this mean? It means that we have the expectation of everything that you and I do.
Watch everybody from this moment on, you’re gonna leave today when you go out there today, The born again believer, the true child of god is gonna move, live, breathe, act, speak in such a way that there’s an expectancy of heaven and that because that is so true and it governs our life, we are actually walking out perseverance.
Sometimes we think that perseverance is just is just, um, hanging on to something long enough or or lifting up the weights over our head and and until the bell rings.
No. Listen. This perseverance is consistency is just getting up and going with god again.
And, again, every day, Christian, every day is the e expectation, the waiting of this coming every day you get up.
Did you have a bad day yesterday? Leave it alone. Get up today. What about next Tuesday?
I don’t know. Don’t wanna know. I just rest in he who does know. I leave it to him.
I’m gonna get up you know, the old saying way back when. I don’t know who used to sing this.
Somebody who’s now really old. Do your best. Commit the rest.
Wait. How’s it go? Anybody remember? Do your best and commit the rest. Nah.
It’s a Keith Green song. Wow. It’s a Keith Green song. Do your best. Let me see. No.
I’m kidding. I’m trying to pray that it’s blessed, and he’ll take care of the rest. You know?
And that’s I just butchered it, but it you get the drift. It’s pretty cute. But it’s true.
Give it to god. Pour your heart into him.
Go live your life. Do that every day.
And eventually you are going to bump into Jesus.
The expectation of heaven That word eagerly weight? Look at this.
It means to be waiting with full confidence. Isn’t that great?
It’s the exact opposite of what I had at the car rental place.
To be without doubt, anticipation or anticipating the moment?
You think of a wedding? What are some of the things of life that you just you’re so excited and you’re anticipating wedding, retirement.
Maybe I guess you have a good retirement, I guess. I don’t know. Birth of a baby.
That’s a good one. It gets you excited.
You start thinking differently? You know, it’s amazing.
With with what this verse means. So yesterday, Lisa and I, we got a text from. It was just somebody.
We didn’t recognize the phone. The text came in. It was a phone number.
We didn’t it was just a phone number. No name. You ever get those? Yes. And it’s says, guess what?
And there’s this baby. You know the thing, and it’s and it’s blue?
The the pregnancy test thing, and they
had 2 little baby shoes there. And it was really difficult because we’re looking, and we go, oh my gosh.
We’re supposed to be excited about
this.
We don’t even know who this is. And then if I ask, excuse me, but who are you?
That’s gonna sound kinda rude. So we kinda debated. Like, what am I gonna do?
And I just said, you know, to tell them the truth. Here’s the deal. Hello out there. Hello. Hello.
The phone is not displaying who this is from.
And so they text back, and I’m not gonna say who they are, but we know them, obviously.
And only then could we rejoice?
So we got on the video and we and the airport looking like idiots. Woo hoo
hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo in the airport looking like idiots.
Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo We didn’t give out anybody else around because the news was given to us that a baby will be coming into this world, lord willing,
right, in 9 months. And mom and
dad, they got all that expectation going now. Right?
So that’s a beautiful thing. That’s an awesome thing. And we shouldn’t we should be excited with Expectation.
Listen to this. Revelation chapter 22 verse 7 behold. Jesus says I’m coming quickly.
Blessed is he who keeps the words and the prophecies of this book, perseverance, being patient.
I’m gonna run through these scriptures, then we’ll end here. Psalm 121.
My help comes from the lord. Who made heaven and earth.
Friends, some of you need this right now. Psalm 1 21 verse 2.
My help comes from the lord who made heaven and earth.
Don’t you think if you believe he made heaven and earth, he can take care of your situation?
Yes. Yes.
Psalm 3045, they looked to him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.
That’s beautiful. What a great verse to put in a kid’s room?
Isaiah 40 verse 26. Lift up your eyes on high.
It’s an awesome statement. Lift up your head. It goes like this.
Isaiah Sand lift up your head and go lift up your head.
You ever seen somebody gonna take your picture, and they get the camera, and they’ll go like this. Lift up.
Hire. Hire. Hire. That’s the same meaning of the word. Lift up your head. Lift up.
Lift it up. Isaiah god is telling speaking through Isaiah, lift up your head. No. Hire. Higher.
Isn’t this just like god? You’re like, okay. Yes. No smile.
Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things.
Who brings out their host by numbers. He’s talking about the stars. He calls them all by name.
By the greatness of his might and the strength of his power, not one is missing.
First John chapter 3.
Behold what manner of love the father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of god.
Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him.
All of you who are feeling like you’re the odd ball out, Thank god for that.
I don’t understand this world. Thank god. If you feel at home here, something’s wrong.
You should not feel at home. You’re not home.
Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him.
Verse 2, beloved, Now we are children of god.
And it has not yet been revealed what we shall be like, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is.
That’s at his revelation come and pick us up.
And everyone who has this hope In him purifies himself just as Christ is pure, just as he is pure, getting excited about god about heaven, about Christ coming back, about you meeting him.
And again, and we’ll end here. Revelation 2217. And the spirit listen to this.
Friends who don’t know the Bible, I’m gonna give you the Bible right now.
If you’ve never opened up the Bible, if you’re viewing us right now from some other country in the world, This is the god of the Bible speaking to you.
And the spirit and the bride, that’s the church, say, come.
That’s the word that the church should be announcing to the world. Come. Come, everybody.
We’re going. Come with us.
Come and let him who hears, say come and let him who thirst come.
Whoever desires let him take the water of life freely for I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book.
If anyone adds to these things, god will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.
Why does it god say that? Don’t mess with my good word. Don’t mess with my promise to mankind.
Satan wants to rob you, kill you, destroy you. God says don’t mess with my word.
Verse 19. And if anyone takes away from the words of this book, this prophecy, god shall take away his part out of the book of life.
From the holy city and from the things which are written in this book, he who testifies to these things says, surely, I am coming quickly, Amen, even so, come lord Jesus.
Father, we pray right now.
We pray right now, lord god, that while heads are bowed, eyes are closed. Please, nobody moving around.
You’re just be I I don’t want you stepping on anybody’s toes.
I don’t want you interrupting somebody’s decision right now.
So serious, my friend, have you ever heard god say to you come?
Come to me. Jesus said, come and follow me. Come to me.
He said, I will never turn you away if you come to me.
Come to me, and he said, I’ll wash you clean.
Right now, I’m gonna ask you, heads about ice closed, Christians be point praying, please.
If today, as we sing this song, I’m not gonna stress you out. I’m not gonna manipulate you.
I’m not gonna play games. If god is speaking to your heart and you have never accepted Jesus Christ as lord and savior in a public manner.
How about that? So this goes for all of you who would today accept Christ?
This goes for all of you who accept a Christ, but nobody knows it, and you wanna go public.
As we sing this song, I’m gonna ask you to get up and come forward stand right up front here, and I’m going to lead all of you or any of you or whoever in a prayer.
But you would be getting that by saying publicly, Jesus Christ is the lord and savior of my life, and I want the world to know I’ve accepted him.
As we sing this song, If you’ve got a tug, listen now, if you’ve got a tug in your heart that you should do this, I warn you, you your first thought is going to try to explain it away.
Don’t do that. If you sense a tug on your heart that you should do this, that’s the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to you.
So you come right now. Without delay, you come. Let’s pray. Those of you who are standing.
Let’s pray together. It’d be the same prayer we pray, but that’s that’s not your worry.
Just mean it from your heart. God knows your heart. Heavenly father?
I come before you now.
And I ask you to forgive me of all of my sins.
I receive your salvation.
I receive your salvation.
The one I heard about today.
By the blood of Christ, the resurrected Jesus, I now proclaim my faith in him as my lord as my savior as my king In Jesus’ name, I pray.
Jesus’ name, I
pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. God bless you.
Roman chapter 8 in our study together, And, uh, we’re looking at a message that we opened up a week or 2 ago titled, we are on our way.
We are on our way. And, uh, this is in that deep section of Romans 8.
Uh, you guys have all heard this many times before, and you’ll hear it again.
Not only is Romans, the book of Romans, known as the magna Carta to the gospel treaty of the new testament, but Roman chapter 8 is the high watermark and you can tell by the depth of its theology.
I’ll begin reading I’ll begin reading in verse 24 if you would take it down to verse, um, 30, if you would.
Verse 24, for we listen, for we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope.
For why does it still hope for what he sees?
For what we do not see, we eagerly wait for perseverance.
Likewise, the spirit that is the Holy Spirit also helps our weaknesses for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the spirit himself makes intercessions for us with groanings, which cannot be uttered or articulated is the word.
Now he who searches the heart, knows what the mind of the spirit is because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of god
beautiful. And we know that all things work together for good, to those who are who love god, to those who are called according to his purpose.
For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among any brother.
Last verse, moreover, whom he predestined these, he also called and whom he called, these he also justified, and whom he justified these he also glorified.
Father speak to us in Jesus name, and all god’s people said, Amen. Amen.
You may be seated at church.
As we left off last time, we came to a sudden, uh, abrupt end to the first argument found in uh, verse 23.
And of course, now today we’re in verse 24 on, but we saw these things regarding the continuity, I’ll put it between all of the prophets of the Old Testament and who Christ is.
That all of the prophecies of the ancient Hebrew scriptures made announcement, friends.
They made promise. They made prophecy.
That this would be the span of god’s redemptive work.
You and I pick up the Bible, the greatest book that has ever been, you know, I I was gonna say the greatest book that’s ever been written that that okay.
That’s true. I’d rather more accurately say the the greatest book that’s ever been given.
The way the Bible was written is that it was given from god to man.
And to even make it even more provocative, god says in the Bible that I I revealed the word of god through man so that if you’re a doubter, you would get all into fluster to say, oh, boy, then If it’s if it’s man written, then we can find faults with it.
Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead. Try and find fault with it.
God gave the word of god by the power of the Holy Spirit as he possessed the authors of the Bible in such way that the scriptures with 40 different authors never once, not only never contradict each other, but they all agree with each other, and most of them never met one another, spending the time of some 1800 years on different continents.
How do you explain that? And the star of the entire argument from Genesis to Revelation as none other than the one the prophets revealed, and Moses included, and that is the lord Jesus Christ.
And you cannot deny that.
You can argue about it all you want, but you can’t deny it. And we saw that because that’s true.
There’s the the heartbeat of heaven.
Three things we saw that heaven’s thrown within us is proof to all of us who are believers.
If you’re not a believer, you don’t get what I’m about to say.
We know that god’s throne now resides in us because god rules and reigns in our hearts, and we love it.
We love his politics. We love his authority. We love his command.
In fact, you and I as Christians, we get a little upset when we fail to yield to his command.
Because father knows best. He’s absolutely an amazing and wonderful god who loves us.
And there’s nothing like having him enthroned upon your heart. And we’ve made those arguments.
Look at them from last week, how god said an old and new testament that he would reside, not in temples, not in places made with stone, but your very heart.
We saw also that heaven’s appeal is the reality within us.
That you and I do what we do today because heaven is our passion. Heaven is our desire.
We can’t wait to get there. It doesn’t mean we’re lazy.
It means we’re very busy about our father’s business because we’re on our way to heaven.
Heaven is the heartbeat within us.
And then last time we talked about heaven’s love is our constant contact.
The love of god, the Bible says, has been spread abroad. In our hearts.
Have you ever seen, I don’t know, I know we we don’t live in this era anymore.
I remember having a summer job when I was in, uh, when I was a teenager.
And, uh, that one job was, uh, doing, uh, custom decking on on things like resort, hotels, zevers are like cruise ships.
Have you ever seen decking that’s got a little bit of a grip to it, but it’s like rubber or plastic?
It’s very popular. It’s very strong. And I did that.
Um, and one of the things is there’s no other way to do it.
Is that you hold a five gallon bucket full of sand, special sand that is set for whatever that they wanna achieve.
Uh, the slip factor or the slip ratio, and you would broadcast that.
And I was actually taught how to cast the sand like a sower of seed.
And it’s quite amazing on how you use your hand.
If you wanna drop out the sand closely, you just kind of let hop out there.
If you wanna brag broadcast it far, there’s a way to do that where the back end of your hand goes up and it’s almost like a wing and you throw it and it spreads out so beautifully.
And if you have a sower, uh, one who is so in sleep, we don’t do that anymore.
We do that now either by tractor or whatever, but uh, the sower would just cast out the seed, and it lands in such a way that it is perfectly distributed in the soil.
When god gives his word, he throws out the word of god, and it lands perfectly distributed among the hearts and the minds of men and women and boys and girls so that everyone has opportunity.
Well, he does that using the exact same word about his love His love is thrown out to the world.
You can’t doubt that either.
For god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
And then he turns right around to those who trust his son.
The Bible says that he cast out or puts forth his love in our hearts.
Now the only thing that would prevent you from enjoying that love is not believing in what god has told you.
God loves you. Got on the airplane last night to come home from Colorado Springs, and there was a young lady sitting there.
She was all dressed in black. She had a black beanie on, pulled down just above her eyebrows.
And, um, she was just kind of cowering her seat, and she looked rather, um, tense I’m gonna guess that she was somewhere, uh, in her mid twenties.
And, um, I I don’t know if this was a spiritual moment or if it was what I I just don’t know.
But I was getting on the plane. She was sitting down before me, and I’m I’m walking in.
To the plane, and I and our eyes locked, and she looked at me.
And for a second, I thought, oh, does she go to Calvary? That’s my first thought.
That’s always my first thought. When somebody stops and looks, my first thought is that do they go to 1st, second, or third service?
Or are are they Wednesday nighters? But as I looked at her, She looked fearful.
She put her head down, and I looked at her t shirt, and her t shirt said, I hate me too.
Exactly. I prayed for I mean, I didn’t pray. I didn’t stop and pray.
I prayed for her as I walked by in my heart.
You may be sensing that today in your own life.
God can love everybody else, but you.
And maybe she’s thinking god can love everybody else, but me, I’ve got a dark beanie on.
I’ve got a dark t shirt on. My eyes are dark. My makeup is dark. My heart is dark.
And god says today, you’re exactly the right kind of person that I wanna love on today.
Right. He’s absolutely amazing. So church, we pick it up And it’s now 2nd argument versus 24 to 25, and that is the hope of heaven.
The hope of heaven. He says, for we were saved test tense in this hope.
But listen to this, but hope that is seen is not hope. You understand that?
If you don’t see it, that that’s what you hope for.
If you see something, you don’t hope for it anymore. It’s parked right in front of you.
It’s standing right in front of you.
If you’re married, you don’t hope for a husband, he’s standing right in front of you.
If you hope for a car, but you’ve got 1, you’ve got 1. What do you hope?
You’re not hoping. It’s it’s already experienced, but the Bible here tells us that what you and I hope for this is so awesome.
What you and I hope for as believers is that which we do not yet fully possess but we know we shall.
We’re just waiting with anticipation for that moment to be fulfilled. It’s guaranteed. To happen.
In fact, it is so certain that god will get you into heaven and, uh, make sure that your seat is well reserved with him that his own name is riding on him keeping that promise.
It’s not riding on your faithfulness. You right then in the let me say that again.
And then when I say, we’ll edit it for TV, and you’ll look awesome.
When I say what I I’m about to say again, say, amen. Okay.
So here comes.
So what god did for you on the cross, he did because it’s his own name that will guarantee it.
And you can be rest assured of that very fact.
His name is on the lying church. You said, well, I don’t know.
I’m I don’t know if I’m good enough. None of us are good enough.
But when he’s enthroned in your heart, you want to be perfect. Let’s be honest.
The true Christian wants to be perfect.
We never wake up in the morning and say, Well, how much sin can I do today and still be okay?
We don’t even think like that. It’s been removed from us We’re not perfect, but we would be.
If we could be, the problem is we still have our bodies that we’re lugging around.
And this thing this body makes its demands.
His remarkable and awesome hope that he gives us. So mark it down.
Verse 24 is it’s all about assurance. Heaven’s assurance is our hope.
It’s our hope for we were saved in this hope.
I’m gonna give you a long passage of scripture church. Everybody paid close attention because it’s past tense.
Let me read this part of verse 24 and then dive into its commentary. Listen, write it down.
The commentary on Romans 8 24 is Ephesians 1 versus 3312.
Romans 824 says, for we were saved in this hope. Ephesians 1 verse 3. Bless it.
Past tense. Be the god and father of our lord, Jesus Christ, who has blessed us past tense with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
Listen to help god talks. Just as he chose us in him that is in Christ before the foundation of the world, Oh, that ought to keep you up tonight.
Just with joy. Before I keep reading, don’t say anything.
Just on the inside, do you want Jesus Christ in your life?
Do you want him to have the reins or the controls of your life?
Do you want him to be your lord and savior, the one who washes you of your sin and guilt and gives you a brand new life.
The reason why you do is because just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy, And without blame excuse me, what, without blame?
Do you live without blame? People don’t Listen, don’t people blame us? Don’t we blame ourselves?
God is looking at you, the believer, washing the blood of Christ.
It’s the blood of Christ that makes you blameless before the throne of god.
God looks at you and sees Christ. Isn’t this humbling? Nope.
You say Jack. That just can’t be that just can’t be true. That’s too good to be true.
It is true, which is why you should fall on your knees, and proclaiming lord and savior and give him all the glory and thanks and love him for the rest of your life.
It is absolutely true. God did this and even did better. He kept going. He kept building on that.
So he goes on to say that in verse 5, having predestined us, that’s before time began, to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself.
Notice Jesus going to the cross, dying for you, god, the father, gives you to Jesus Christ as his reward, as his possession, for what he did for us at the cross.
You are the blessing that the father gives the son for what the son did at the cross in redemption.
Man, we don’t look at ourselves that way. And I understand that, but it’s true.
We are an actual blessing to god if our lives are in Christ.
According to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he made us accepted Is that word past tense again?
Yes. Absolutely. Are you guys awake? Yes.
Accepted in the beloved verse 7 in him We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which he made past tense, to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself.
Is this deeper, what? He purposed this work within himself. I like that.
He didn’t hold a committee. There wasn’t some heavenly council See, how should we pull this off?
How do we save these knucklehead humans? No. Nope. Before man was ever created.
God knew exactly what was gonna happen, and he had a plan before it ever transpired. It’s awesome.
Talk about insurance, insurance, and assurance.
Verse 10, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, He might gather together in 1, all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in him.
In him, also, we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the council of his will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory and all god’s people said?
Yeah.
That is deep stuff. You just got a lot of deep Bible right here right now.
If you are a child of god, god knows you, and he has placed this assurance in your life that you have this hope that awaits heaven.
Heaven being put in you doesn’t sit around, though. It’s active.
But notice that the foundation you’ve been saved. I love that security.
We we we deal in life this way. We tell our kids we love them.
We tell them to encourage them and strengthen them. And, uh, listen, I just wanna insert this.
We need to make sure we know how to love our kids rightly.
We need to tell them the truth and love always and be their parent.
The security of a child is how they develop the most.
That’s why the home I just when reading that communist agenda against, uh, the American culture from, uh, 1963, notice In fact, if you read the whole thing later, uh, so much of it attacks the family and marriage, family and marriage, and then to pervert children with pornography to destroy the family.
Why? Because Marxism is a religion, ladies and gentlemen.
It’s a demonic religion of man being god and god being dead.
I told you before, I had a eighty five year old Russian Babushka grabbed me by the face in Moscow, Russia.
Crying, kissing me all over the face, weeping.
She dropped her bags of mushrooms that she had gathered from the forest, And my translator, she’s trying to translate what she’s saying, and my translator starts crying.
I don’t have no idea what’s going on.
But shortly after the wall fell down, uh, I found myself in red square in Moscow, Russia, preaching the gospel on a newts and milk carton in front of a linen’s tomb.
100 of people have gathered together to hear what was going on.
And this this babushka grabs him by the face and she says through my translator, I was nine years old when the communist came into our homes and took our crosses and our bibles away, and said god is dead.
And I’ve been praying all these years that my but that the gospel would be preached in my country again Now I’m crying.
Marxism is man is god. But god is god. Yeah.
And thank god because man creates religion and god opens up a door of relationship.
And he wants you to know that you’re saved if you’ve trusted Christ?
This really gets me going. These people who talk about well, you know, that guy was saved once, but he lost to salvation.
You cannot find that anywhere in the Bible.
That is from that is following the teaching and the antics of man. I call it heretical.
Jesus said, you must be born again. Listen to the emphasis. He says, you must be born again.
To enter the kingdom of heaven. He said it strongly, and he said it to nicodemus.
If anybody was gonna go to heaven on being good and moral, it was nicodemus, not you, not me, him.
And Jesus told him, you’re not gonna make it, Nick. You’ve gotta be born again.
And the stress is this.
You must be born again, just his statement alone enshrines the assurance and the security of the true person who’s born again.
Jesus said it himself, you must be. That must be means you are gonna be with Christ in heaven.
Well, I knew somebody who believed, and then they went back into the world. They believed.
Jesus says, these are they who believe for a while, but when the cares of the world creep in and choke out the seed.
They wither away. They go away.
I can go scripture after scripture that if you are truly born again, You have that eternal security that Christ provides.
No family is worth being in that family if you’ve gotta live in insecurity.
I have I would have nothing to do with that kind of a family.
God’s family operates insecurity. Listen. That goes for all of us here today right now.
Maybe you’re watching by TV, or maybe you’re here together right now or in the overflow.
Do you know that you’re born again?
If you know that you’re born again, you know how truly desperately you need the blood of Christ yet at the same time, You have overwhelming confidence that if you were to die today, Christ would receive you based on his own efforts and not her own.
I go to heaven on his merit, not mine. He died for me.
He died for you. And you must be born again. I just love it.
Those that watch my fingers, lose their salvation.
That’s our pathetic observation for getting the scriptures that they never had it in the first place.
They trafficked with those that believed. They might have even done miracles. Did Judith do miracles?
God sent them out with the rest of the 12, didn’t he?
And they all preached and they all did miracles. Isn’t that isn’t that crazy thing?
Judith who had wind up in hell forever did miracles by the name of Jesus Christ.
Miracles that that they don’t guarantee your presence in heaven friend, but Jesus doesn’t. He can.
If you don’t have them in your life like that, you need to do that.
And then look at look at the second argument is that heaven’s existence is our hope.
Heaven’s existence is our hope.
It says, but hope that his sin is not hope for why does one still hope for what he sees?
We don’t see heaven, do we? We don’t see it. We see little glimmers of it.
I was, again, this weekend at a hotel, and they had this gigantic oil painting that, to me, looked like the millennium.
That’s how I would view the millennium, the reign of crisis like this.
So I took a picture of it with my phone, and I cropped it and put it, made it look like like a screensaver.
Why? Cause when I look at it, I think I haven’t. So, oh my goodness.
That’s gonna be awesome. You ever think about heaven? Yes. Yes.
I have to confess for many years for for far too many years.
I don’t know why I had, like, like, this brain lock, this brain freeze, when I would think about heaven, I would just everything would go white in my head.
It’s just white. White ceilings, white walls, white floor, white gown white robes, white gowns.
And he was just like, and it was boring.
I mean and I’m grateful to Randy Elcorn writing that book heaven by Randy Elcorn.
The theology of heaven. And he just goes to the scripture describing what the Bible says about heaven.
And then I found out by reading the scriptures more carefully and with that understanding, the god that made these trees isn’t interesting.
The Bible talks about trees in heaven. You say, well, what would they look like?
Apparently, they look like trees. The Bible says there’s a river in heaven.
There’s water in heaven. What do you think that looks like? Probably like a river. Probably like water.
The Bible says when Christ rains from Jerusalem, the lion will lay down with the lamb.
What’s that? What’s that gonna look like?
It’s gonna look like a lion laying down with a lamb.
You know, you know, we make things difficult. Little kids get it instantly. They see it.
They’ll color it on a piece of paper. They’ll just make it happen. We’re like, oh, how can this be?
How can that happen? Uh, we get it all knotted up because we’re dumb like this.
Growing up is not a good thing.
We get stiff, not just in our bodies, but in our our hearts get stiff.
We need to hang out with their children’s ministry more often.
Psalm 42 verse 5 says, why are you cast down on my soul?
Why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in god, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
God smiles on your life. Arm of the believer knows that.
How is it that right now in war torn, Middle East, they’re the believers that sense the smile of god in the midst of all the mayhem.
All the things that are going on in your world today.
No matter what’s happening, there’s the sense that when god smiles upon your life, you can’t describe it, you can’t explain it, and you dare not tell anybody about it.
They won’t get it. But when you know, the favor of god is smiling down upon your life at this moment.
I tell you what, I pray right now.
That’s exactly what’s happening because as I look, it’s it’s 10 minutes after 12, East Coast time.
And, Today, the speaker of the house is going through his upcoming agenda.
And Tony Perkins is with him today, And guess what?
He has he has 2 decisions to make. I’m sure I’m sure he has more than 2.
I don’t really care about the other other ones. I just care about these 2.
One of them is he’s considering coming here to do a Sunday service, the speaker of the house.
And the and the second thing is, which I hope is the first thing, is that will I get to open up congress on in January in Washington, DC for for that first run?
That would be awesome. That would be awesome.
So my prayer is, oh god, your favor. Uh, right? Oh, lord, your favor.
What is that? Lord smile down upon us. Listen. God smile down upon your family.
God smile down upon your business. Make God smile down upon this nation again. Make god smile down upon California.
Listen, if god can smile on California, he can smile on anything.
There’s nothing like knowing his you know what, Eric Little? Anybody remember him?
Remember the movie chair it’s a fire?
Eric Little, the Olympian, he said that when he ran, right, everybody else is working.
Abrams, remember Abrams in work work work work work it’s amazing. Yeah.
If you’ve never seen the movie, you gotta see the movie. Abrams is the Jew.
He’s working very, very hard, sweating, working, Eric Little, born again Christian, just running.
And it’s like, what’s the deal here?
One guy’s knocking himself out, and this guy’s like going running with the wind.
And Eric Little made that famous statement that’s in the Hallmark Cards today.
He says, when I run, I sense his pleasure.
Oh, every one of us should say when I get out of bed.
Right? I sense his pleasure. What’s before you today?
Is it dealing with a family member or an issue of health or how to make this thing?
Uh, is it some life changing moment, or is it just packing the lunch to get the kids off the school?
God, give me a favor today. Smile down upon me today.
The hope of heaven, the existence of heaven. We hope for it because that’s where we’re going.
But the power and the reality, it’s now with us. The kingdom of god dwells within us.
You don’t need to be cast down, oh, my soul.
I’ll never forget that verse because, you know, we’re all affected in different ways, but I’m a big fan of, uh, Charles Stanley, especially now that he’s dead and in heaven, Well, that’s a wrong term, especially now that he’s left us and is alive very much alive in heaven.
I remember Doctor Stanley saying that verse like this that the Hebrew word means, why so cast down on my soul?
He’s looking inside his shirt. Hey, Saul. The soulmist is preaching to himself.
Where are you bummed out? You can have the favor of god.
1st Peter chapter 1 verse 3. 1st Peter 13.
He says blessed be the god and father of our lord Jesus Christ who, according to his abundant mercy, has begotten us again.
You hear that? That’s a born again statement.
To a living hope Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, you know, the I’m I must be honest with you.
Your hope and eternal life and forgiveness is only as sure as Jesus Christ being resurrected from the dead.
Now if that’s a little wobbly, then you got some problems.
If that’s a little wobbly, I’m leaving you right now. I’m saying goodbye, and I’m going to the beach.
Why? Because it would all be false. But Christ is risen from the dead.
And we absolutely have this assurance because what he’s done, he’s faithful to perform in our lives.
He’s promised us resurrection. Verse 4, 1st Peter 14, to an inheritance, incorruptible, and undefiled. That doesn’t fade away.
Reserved in heaven for you. Isn’t that nice? I couldn’t even get my car reservation right this weekend.
Why do you reserve? Why do you try to reserve confirmation number, please?
What do you think confirmation number means? That’s something’s confirmed. And here’s the number.
Here’s my confirmation number. I’m sorry.
But you gave me the number. I didn’t make up the number.
You email me the number. It’s your number.
And so what about reservations?
You said click here to reserve a car. Thank god.
He doesn’t run heaven like this world runs itself. Can you imagine? Hi. I’m here.
What’s your name? It’s Jack.
I’ve read in the book that my name should be in the book. Check again.
Oh my goodness. Nope.
The existence of heaven is a hope that’s within us that is guaranteed and sheer Romans 15 verse 4.
Whatever things were written before were written for our learning that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
There’s no greater comfort, friends. Listen.
I mean this with all of my heart, and I’ll be as sensitive as I can.
When a brother or sister is on their deathbed and dying. I promise you this.
It’s gonna come to all of us. Unless the rapture, uh, takes place first. And it goes like this.
When you’re when you’re on your deathbed, you’re gonna call And, uh, you’re gonna ask for a pastor.
What and they’re gonna come, and you are not gonna I promise.
No one has ever said, Pastor, before you pray for me and read scripture to me.
Can you tell me what what was the what was the headlines on the New York Times today?
Has anyone ever asked that? No. Not once.
Has anybody ever asked what the stock market was like that day?
You know, I’m about ready to go into eternity faster. How’s my stocks doing?
Never not once. I tell you what’s listen. Listen up very carefully.
I tell you what is important to the dime. Is the reconciliation of family members.
Hands down over and over again. I wish my brother was here. I wish my kids were here.
I wish I could call my ex wife one more time and say I was sorry. I was wrong.
And then you read them scripture. They don’t want anything else, but scripture.
And no wonder, when you’re given scripture, the Bible says, precious in my sight.
See it the lord. It’s the death of my saints. Wow. Romans 12 verse 12.
Rejoice in hope. What a statement. Rejoice and hope.
Patient and tribulation continues steadfastly in prayer. Isn’t that amazing? Rejoice and hope.
How do you rejoice in hope?
Because the hope that we have in him is an assured guaranteed existence of hope.
None of us should say, please don’t ever think this.
If you think this way right now, I mean, if you think this way right now, you gotta fix your theology really quick.
And that is this. I hope I go to heaven. I don’t wanna hear that.
You better know it. You should say, you know what? I know I’m going to heaven. Watch.
This is how it goes. I know I’m going to heaven. There’s a seat reserved for me.
Because Jesus died for my sins and rose again from the dead.
He he took away my sins and gave me his righteousness. He loved me into the kingdom of god.
It’s all of Jesus. If you if if you say, yeah, if you say, well, I hope I go to heaven because I’m having pretty good.
Oh my goodness. First Peter chapter 1 verse 13.
Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind. I love that.
Just get a belt on it and pull your head together, will you? Be sober.
Rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus.
That’s the coming of Christ for the church. Isn’t that amazing? Yeah. When he comes, he’s gonna bring grace.
So get your mind locked on.
As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lust, as in your ignorance, you’re no longer ignorant.
You know him. You know him. Always, always friends. It’s good to learn.
It’s good to know. But the most important thing of all is who you know.
That’s how you got that job, even though that other guy was smarter than you.
Your dad owns the company.
The third argument under this point is heaven’s expectation is our hope, verse 25.
Heaven’s expectation. That’s our hope.
But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
What does this mean? It means that we have the expectation of everything that you and I do.
Watch everybody from this moment on, you’re gonna leave today when you go out there today, The born again believer, the true child of god is gonna move, live, breathe, act, speak in such a way that there’s an expectancy of heaven and that because that is so true and it governs our life, we are actually walking out perseverance.
Sometimes we think that perseverance is just is just, um, hanging on to something long enough or or lifting up the weights over our head and and until the bell rings.
No. Listen. This perseverance is consistency is just getting up and going with god again.
And, again, every day, Christian, every day is the e expectation, the waiting of this coming every day you get up.
Did you have a bad day yesterday? Leave it alone. Get up today. What about next Tuesday?
I don’t know. Don’t wanna know. I just rest in he who does know. I leave it to him.
I’m gonna get up you know, the old saying way back when. I don’t know who used to sing this.
Somebody who’s now really old. Do your best. Commit the rest.
Wait. How’s it go? Anybody remember? Do your best and commit the rest. Nah.
It’s a Keith Green song. Wow. It’s a Keith Green song. Do your best. Let me see. No.
I’m kidding. I’m trying to pray that it’s blessed, and he’ll take care of the rest. You know?
And that’s I just butchered it, but it you get the drift. It’s pretty cute. But it’s true.
Give it to god. Pour your heart into him.
Go live your life. Do that every day.
And eventually you are going to bump into Jesus.
The expectation of heaven That word eagerly weight? Look at this.
It means to be waiting with full confidence. Isn’t that great?
It’s the exact opposite of what I had at the car rental place.
To be without doubt, anticipation or anticipating the moment?
You think of a wedding? What are some of the things of life that you just you’re so excited and you’re anticipating wedding, retirement.
Maybe I guess you have a good retirement, I guess. I don’t know. Birth of a baby.
That’s a good one. It gets you excited.
You start thinking differently? You know, it’s amazing.
With with what this verse means. So yesterday, Lisa and I, we got a text from. It was just somebody.
We didn’t recognize the phone. The text came in. It was a phone number.
We didn’t it was just a phone number. No name. You ever get those? Yes. And it’s says, guess what?
And there’s this baby. You know the thing, and it’s and it’s blue?
The the pregnancy test thing, and they
had 2 little baby shoes there. And it was really difficult because we’re looking, and we go, oh my gosh.
We’re supposed to be excited about
this.
We don’t even know who this is. And then if I ask, excuse me, but who are you?
That’s gonna sound kinda rude. So we kinda debated. Like, what am I gonna do?
And I just said, you know, to tell them the truth. Here’s the deal. Hello out there. Hello. Hello.
The phone is not displaying who this is from.
And so they text back, and I’m not gonna say who they are, but we know them, obviously.
And only then could we rejoice?
So we got on the video and we and the airport looking like idiots. Woo hoo
hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo in the airport looking like idiots.
Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo We didn’t give out anybody else around because the news was given to us that a baby will be coming into this world, lord willing,
right, in 9 months. And mom and
dad, they got all that expectation going now. Right?
So that’s a beautiful thing. That’s an awesome thing. And we shouldn’t we should be excited with Expectation.
Listen to this. Revelation chapter 22 verse 7 behold. Jesus says I’m coming quickly.
Blessed is he who keeps the words and the prophecies of this book, perseverance, being patient.
I’m gonna run through these scriptures, then we’ll end here. Psalm 121.
My help comes from the lord. Who made heaven and earth.
Friends, some of you need this right now. Psalm 1 21 verse 2.
My help comes from the lord who made heaven and earth.
Don’t you think if you believe he made heaven and earth, he can take care of your situation?
Yes. Yes.
Psalm 3045, they looked to him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.
That’s beautiful. What a great verse to put in a kid’s room?
Isaiah 40 verse 26. Lift up your eyes on high.
It’s an awesome statement. Lift up your head. It goes like this.
Isaiah Sand lift up your head and go lift up your head.
You ever seen somebody gonna take your picture, and they get the camera, and they’ll go like this. Lift up.
Hire. Hire. Hire. That’s the same meaning of the word. Lift up your head. Lift up.
Lift it up. Isaiah god is telling speaking through Isaiah, lift up your head. No. Hire. Higher.
Isn’t this just like god? You’re like, okay. Yes. No smile.
Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things.
Who brings out their host by numbers. He’s talking about the stars. He calls them all by name.
By the greatness of his might and the strength of his power, not one is missing.
First John chapter 3.
Behold what manner of love the father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of god.
Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him.
All of you who are feeling like you’re the odd ball out, Thank god for that.
I don’t understand this world. Thank god. If you feel at home here, something’s wrong.
You should not feel at home. You’re not home.
Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him.
Verse 2, beloved, Now we are children of god.
And it has not yet been revealed what we shall be like, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is.
That’s at his revelation come and pick us up.
And everyone who has this hope In him purifies himself just as Christ is pure, just as he is pure, getting excited about god about heaven, about Christ coming back, about you meeting him.
And again, and we’ll end here. Revelation 2217. And the spirit listen to this.
Friends who don’t know the Bible, I’m gonna give you the Bible right now.
If you’ve never opened up the Bible, if you’re viewing us right now from some other country in the world, This is the god of the Bible speaking to you.
And the spirit and the bride, that’s the church, say, come.
That’s the word that the church should be announcing to the world. Come. Come, everybody.
We’re going. Come with us.
Come and let him who hears, say come and let him who thirst come.
Whoever desires let him take the water of life freely for I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book.
If anyone adds to these things, god will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.
Why does it god say that? Don’t mess with my good word. Don’t mess with my promise to mankind.
Satan wants to rob you, kill you, destroy you. God says don’t mess with my word.
Verse 19. And if anyone takes away from the words of this book, this prophecy, god shall take away his part out of the book of life.
From the holy city and from the things which are written in this book, he who testifies to these things says, surely, I am coming quickly, Amen, even so, come lord Jesus.
Father, we pray right now.
We pray right now, lord god, that while heads are bowed, eyes are closed. Please, nobody moving around.
You’re just be I I don’t want you stepping on anybody’s toes.
I don’t want you interrupting somebody’s decision right now.
So serious, my friend, have you ever heard god say to you come?
Come to me. Jesus said, come and follow me. Come to me.
He said, I will never turn you away if you come to me.
Come to me, and he said, I’ll wash you clean.
Right now, I’m gonna ask you, heads about ice closed, Christians be point praying, please.
If today, as we sing this song, I’m not gonna stress you out. I’m not gonna manipulate you.
I’m not gonna play games. If god is speaking to your heart and you have never accepted Jesus Christ as lord and savior in a public manner.
How about that? So this goes for all of you who would today accept Christ?
This goes for all of you who accept a Christ, but nobody knows it, and you wanna go public.
As we sing this song, I’m gonna ask you to get up and come forward stand right up front here, and I’m going to lead all of you or any of you or whoever in a prayer.
But you would be getting that by saying publicly, Jesus Christ is the lord and savior of my life, and I want the world to know I’ve accepted him.
As we sing this song, If you’ve got a tug, listen now, if you’ve got a tug in your heart that you should do this, I warn you, you your first thought is going to try to explain it away.
Don’t do that. If you sense a tug on your heart that you should do this, that’s the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to you.
So you come right now. Without delay, you come. Let’s pray. Those of you who are standing.
Let’s pray together. It’d be the same prayer we pray, but that’s that’s not your worry.
Just mean it from your heart. God knows your heart. Heavenly father?
I come before you now.
And I ask you to forgive me of all of my sins.
I receive your salvation.
I receive your salvation.
The one I heard about today.
By the blood of Christ, the resurrected Jesus, I now proclaim my faith in him as my lord as my savior as my king In Jesus’ name, I pray.
Jesus’ name, I
pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. God bless you.
