An Eternal Perspective | Doug Wekenman | Vantage Point | Full Service

you don't have to save yourself from your sin jesus did that you don't have to save yourself from death and decay jesus did that you don't have to save yourself from condemnation and shame jesus did that it is not from you it is the gift of god he said can i tell you that before your mom and dad gave you a name god gave you a purpose he gave you a destiny [Music] i'm just trying to say not a chance because too many people need jesus and our calling is to be in the world but not of the world they like to the world for the sake of the world [Music] once i realize i am the church i gotta get uncomfortable my posture has to change now i gotta get involved now i play a part now i gotta give now i gotta serve now i gotta be there now i gotta reach somebody now i gotta love somebody now i gotta do something different because church is not something i'm going to i am the church and i'm going to go change the world [Music] [Applause] [Music] come on get on your feet wherever you are we are worshipping the underspeeded savior the undefeated king in jesus christ of this name we're believing he's going to breathe miracles of your health right here right now [Music] [Music] the undefeated savior stands [Music] the lamb of god [Music] the glory of the father [Music] the king of every kingdom hope is [Music] [Music] [Music] broken hearts is is right we believe over every broken heart [Applause] and hope is every tree online campus welcome to service this weekend man it is so good to have you here god behind bars anywhere that you're watching this from we love you we're so thankful that you are part of our church family will you just in the chat right now say hey i'm watching from here because there are people all over the world that are a part of our church family and we want to know about it you guys we are just a bunch of messed up imperfect people pursuing a perfect god and we're so glad to have you guys as a part of that welcome to red rocks church yeah yeah welcome you guys we are so excited to be with you today and man this series vantage point has been incredible and now i know it's only been one week but we have been hearing story after story after story of what god is doing in this house he has been changing lives and get this just in one week i don't know if you're ready for this just in one week all across our campuses we had 248 people raise their hand and say i want to start a relationship with jesus it's amazing so amazing and we actually receive these stories all the time and i actually want to share one of those stories with you and it comes from a guy that he shared with us that he was in an emotionally abusive relationship that ended a few years ago and he got to a point where he just felt like i it's i want to take my life and he sat down to take his life one day and he had this random thought enter his mind and it was i wonder if that church that i watched online i wonder if they still exist and so he just looked up red rocks church just happened to throw up a message and it was the one that sean shares his testimony of when he had some time away yeah and god began to work in his heart and he began he goes on to say this and i actually want to read it to you guys because i think the way that he worded it is so clear as to what a lot of us might be feeling or thinking and he says this after that service i cried and cried and prayed really prayed for the first time in my life something began to fill the huge empty void inside of me i got what i desperately needed at that moment and it was hope i bought a bible and i started my journey with god church that is why we exist we exist to make heaven more crowded but we also exist to bring the hope and the love of jesus to the ends of the earth man i had not heard that story until right now that is amazing that is why we do what we do church we i'm in this series i'm like overwhelmed by story after story after story because it's not just the stories of our pastors that our church represents but every single one of us watching me you every single person god has been pursuing and working in every one of our lives in that kind of a way and it just blows me away how big our god is and i just want to say a real quick thank you to anybody who has been giving faithfully over the years to our church in a financial way because when you hear a story like that you because you've been giving you're a part of that because you are supporting the vision that's god that's given our pastors the way god is using red rocks church and it's not about us but it's about god reaching people and he can use us so man thank you so much and let's keep it up because there are a lot of people that still need to hear the good news of jesus christ you can give online on the app you can text red rocks all one word to 25827 and let's keep going because there are a lot of people need to hear about jesus yeah yeah man that's so good church we are so excited for this service we have the lead pastor of our austin texas location doug wekenman in the house and i know he has a timely timely word for us and so lean in extra today let's be expecting for what god's gonna do grab your bibles get your notebooks ready because we've been praying that this service would just touch your heart so wherever you're at feel free to take a seat and welcome to week two of vantage point [Applause] [Music] welcome to three arch bay in south laguna california it is sunset in 70 degrees the surf break right now is secluded and perfect that rock right behind me is where i told my wife i loved her for the very first time i know so adorable i've been called the most romantic pastor of my time at least that's what i'm known as around my house self-proclaimed by myself but it's not about me guys it's about god anyways in my opinion this place is the closest thing to heaven this side of eternity revelation chapter 21 says this then i saw a new heaven and a new earth and i heard a loud voice from the throne saying look god's dwelling place is now among the people he will dwell with them they will be his people and god himself will be with them and be their god he will wipe away every tear from their eyes there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away he who was seated on the throne said behold i am making all things new so i used to have a fear there's a technical name for it it's called aronophobia and it's actually the fear of heaven and it sort of comes from this idea that one day when i die i will spend the rest of forever as a chubby baby wearing holy huggies sitting on top of a white fluffy cloud with my harp singing hymns and singing how great is our god for the next 20 trillion years and i love that song and i love jesus but to me that does not sound like heaven that sounds a little bit more like the other place and so thank you god that that's not the biblical picture of eternity because remember jesus did not say i'm making all new things he said i am making all things new the new earth the new heavens one understanding of that is that the new heavens will be this sky but made new and the new earth will be this earth but made new i've never been there but i've got a hunch it's going to look and sound and taste and feel and smell a lot more familiar than we think so c.s lewis once said that historically the christians who have been the most effective in this life are precisely the same christians who have thought the most about the next one i think he might be on to something i've also noticed the most peaceful and passionate and contagious and courageous and content followers of jesus are precisely those followers of jesus who have an eternal perspective so i try to think about eternity a lot i try to think about new earth a lot and when i do i always picture this place us with god in his beautiful creation made new we catch this there is no more relational strife and there is no jealousy or comparison there is there is nobody competing for attention or auditioning to belong you are completely known in every way and yet unconditionally loved at the exact same time there's no empty void within you all you feel is completion in every moment and there's mountains and there's hiking and there's oceans and beaches and surfing and sunsets and stars and great friendship and good food and storytelling and fun and jobs and passion and callings and fullness just life with god in paradise and catch this church it's real it's completely real so you have to hear me say this heaven is not just some coping mechanism to help us to help us deal with losing loved ones nor is it this ethereal eternal crutch that makes us feel better about how fleeting and fast and fragile life is it is something so much more real than that the story of this incredible amazing savior god who so loved the world that he left everything to make a way for you so that you could be in heaven with him experiencing all things new man we have no idea what we stand on the brink of it is more than we could ever comprehend or even begin to fathom and so hear me say this yes life is hard and life is painful in fact jesus didn't shy away from that he actually promised it would be jesus said in this world you will have trouble but he also said take heart for i have overcome this world see our god is conquered death which means to live is christ and to die truly is gain which means you have nothing to fear and everything to look forward to and that is the freedom that i want you to feel and experience today because this place as beautiful as it is is only a taste of what's to come which means that we don't have to no no we get to we get to live in holy anticipation of what is waiting for us in eternity and so from from three arch bay in south laguna this is an eternal perspective from my advantage [Music] this is [Music] nothing i have always known a song that's always [Music] is [Music] every lifted voice [Music] oh christ [Music] is foreign [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] there before the throne of grace [Music] let it take [Music] is [Music] foreign is [Music] [Applause] jesus hey come on make some noise if you love jesus red rocks church [Applause] and keep that going help me say hello to everybody watching this all of our denver locations austin texas everybody watching online in countries and cities and continents all over the world our three god behind bars locations and then let's give an extra special welcome to the red rockers on the other side of the world in brussels belgium we love you so much and i see those new t-shirts you guys have been wearing pastor jack what do i got to do to get my hands on one of those you just let me know you guys feel good [Music] you love jesus you happy to be alive hey me too okay help me finish this sentence we exist to make heaven more there we go well today we are going to talk about the heaven that we are crowding because the truth is you never actually die oh your body is temporary but your soul is eternal and technically every human being is immortal all of us are going to live somewhere for eternity and so in in a good red rocks fashion in style turn to your neighbor and say neighbor yolaf yolaf neighbor you only live once forever yola [Music] and you may take a seat we're gonna ask and answer the question what does it look like to live today with forever in mind does that sound like a plan all right and we're gonna start by way of visual aid this rope i want you to pretend that this rope is a timeline of your existence so it just goes on forever and ever and ever and now this red part right here represents your time on this planet get a few short years here and then the rest of forever somewhere else and so let's make this personal for me june 20th 1988 i am born welcome to the planet doug webkinman that's right there and then right about here i get my tonsils out and then i guess this is where i won the spelling bee in third grade it's not a big deal okay it's not um and then in sixth grade this is where ashley breen broke my heart for the very first time and then i guess towards the end of college i meet jesus right about here and then a year after that meet my beautiful wife and that's also the day she fell in love with me same day and then i guess this would be the year i wrote her 365 letters i wrote her every day for a year church it wasn't over it still isn't over and then right here is where i kissed her by the dock by the lake in the pouring rainstorm behind the house i built for her with my bare hands is that somebody else irrelevant it's erroneous and then i guess right here is where i'm preaching this message and then let's say i live to be 85 that'd be awesome right and so right around this area i start playing golf a lot more frequently and then and then we all got to die so let's say i'm still like super healthy by the grace of god at 85 and i go surfing one morning and a shark kills me and i'm dead serious pun intended and i make the transition from this life into heaven forever so let me make this personal why is it that all you think about is this red part right here why is it those lyrics to that kenny chesney song are so true everybody wants to go to heaven nobody wants to go now and i uh hey i didn't even need that applause but thank you so much i'm telling you guys if we knew what was waiting for us in eternity we would want to go i'm telling you that and we would live today with forever in mind because what the bible teaches us is this life right here this red tape part is is a mist in a on a hot summer day in austin this life is here today gone tomorrow this is morning dew on the grass in denver that is here in the morning and gone before lunch life is so fast you guys like i guarantee every single person watching this sometime in the last month all of us have thought this i can't believe i'm this old whether you're nine or ninety can't believe i'm nine already this life is so fast and fragile and fleeting but according to jesus this life right here is the farthest thing from insignificant that according to jesus what i believe here and what i do with my life here and the ways i forgive and the way i give and the people i love and the people i serve here affects all of this for the rest of forever maxim miss aurelius said something similar didn't he what i do now echoes into eternity francis chan is the goat eternal perspective preacher i got this rope illustration from him and he often says people criticize me for going overboard in thinking about my first 10 billion years in eternity and his response is in my opinion people go overboard thinking about their last 10 years in this life what did c.s lewis say those who are most effective here are precisely the same christians who think the most about all of this living today with forever in mind so ii peter chapter 3 verse 13 says but in keeping with his promise we are looking forward are you looking forward to heaven because it's my sincere prayer that by the end of this service today you will be we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth somebody say new earth where righteousness dwells and so for week two of vantage point i want to call this message an eternal perspective so let's pray for that and then we'll get going jesus we pray for an eternal perspective amen that was spiritual enough i promise anybody have a bucket list any bucket listers out there okay my people i have a bucket list also i like this you guys there's stuff i want to do in this life okay places i want to go people i want to me okay i love the idea of a bucket list so let me tell you just a few things number one exhibit a i want to go to the masters one day you guys specifically the masters on a sunday if it's ever sunday and i'm not in church don't cry for me don't even pray for me save your prayers pray for somebody else i'm doing better than i've ever been okay true story i would rather go to the masters for one sunday then be given an honorary master's degree is that irresponsible don't care next item on the agenda i want to surf cloud break in fiji okay so true story i almost did that with a couple of my friends we were there until one of the locals who was driving the bow asked us this question i'm not kidding he said hey when you guys surf do you ever mess up and i said what do you mean he said do you ever fall i said well yeah he goes oh you can't fall i said why with a stray face he says you die and i realized oh this isn't laguna cute little four foot wave that monster is 25 feet high and the coral reef is three feet beneath the surface of the water if you surf this wave you will die apparently this is not one of those get out of the boat moments that jesus was talking about okay i know christians we love those bible jokes and this was one of the first mature decisions i ever made in my life was not surfing that what we did do however was cage dive with great white sharks just about a month after that now statistically two greatest fears that human beings have is public speaking and sharks so either everybody else is delusional or it's just me because i'll public speak two sharks any day oh church i'm fearless as long as there's not a spider within 50 feet of me i am absolutely fearless let's go to the next one i want to own that beach house right there it's just a modest three bedroom decent location and i am absolutely leveraging this platform to make a connection if anybody has a connection to help me out with this please email me because i'm realizing if i ever own that it's going to be a god thing not a save up and buy this kind of thing okay just so we're all clear any house on the cliffs overlooking the ocean is fine i'm not picky i just you guys i have a bucket list there's things i want to do in this life i want to take my wife sam to milford sound in new zealand and go see where they film lord of the rings i want to go to scotland and write a sermon in the same coffee shop that j.k rowling wrote harry potter in right i want to go to our campus in brussels and meet the red rockers on the other side of the world and get one of those t-shirts okay i want to do i want to do a midnight hide-and-go-seek in ikea one night so if anybody can set that up email me for that as well i want to do the perfect cartwheel like creed from the office says and if you know me if you've seen me do a cartwheel that's probably the most far-fetched thing on my list okay i want to go to iceland and see the northern lights i want to go scuba diving the great barrier reef there's things i want to do there's places i want to go people i want to meet there is life i want to live but there's just so little time or is there that's my question or is there what's heaven going gonna be like let's talk about what heaven's gonna be like if you have your your color coordinated diary or your journal get that out the note app on your phone because we're about to do seven minutes of theology about heaven seven minutes in heaven conrad scripturally speaking get your head out of the gutter okay and i think you guys are going to like this so here we go first things first erase everything you think you know about eternity because most of what we believe can we be honest is based on assumptions or cliches we say or ethereal paintings we've seen or ambiguous poetry we were forced to read in high school or the looney tunes and most of it is wrong biblically it is so much better so here we go seven minutes starts right now back to the beginning genesis 1 1 says this in the beginning god made the heavens and the earth now notice he does that by speaking so he makes the heavens and the earth with his word right and with his word he calls it good but then sin happens and this is the era we live in and it's referred to as the current earth and the current heaven or the present heaven and present earth and both of them need to be made new second peter chapter 3 verse 7 by that same word here it is the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire a lot of scary words in this verse being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly but notice not total destruction fire speaks to refinement by the destruction only of everything that is ungodly the entire bible is a story of redemption not of a people after god but of a god who is after his people and this is his promise a few verses later in second peter 3 13 but in keeping with his promise we are looking forward here's that same verse again looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells so this is the the kingdom in its fullness which is marked by three things righteousness peace and joy so notice something this is not evacuation theology where jesus blows the whole thing up and just starts over it's the end of the world as we as we what as we know it that's actually not entirely true remember he's not making all new things he's making all things new now why is that important it's important because if god decided just to blow it all up and make all new things then technically speaking that means satan wins round one as if god's in heaven going well it was awesome until that sneaky serpent so you know what scrap that blow it up let's try this thing again this time no apples and no snakes but church this is not this is not god and satan sparring in the celestials right somewhere having a divine duel in a in a a crazy big octagon while we're just hoping and praying that our god wins this no the battle has already been won and the lamb has overcome this is reality even the most fantastical imagination on this planet even for that person it is impossible to make satan and all of his petty smack all of his petty powers small enough when standing next to the glory and magnificence and majesty of our god you guys he will not be bested he called his original creation good and when jesus returns one day and at the resurrection of the dead by fire through a process called refinement and the destruction of everything that's ungodly make no mistake he will redeem and restore his creation once and for all god won the devil none and if that don't get you fired up to make heaven more crowded i don't know what will give me three more minutes of theology here we go so what happens to our lost loved ones in the meantime they are with the presence of god in the current heaven only until the new earth and the new heaven that's why jesus can say to the thief on the cross next to him today you will be with me in paradise so there's something coming but make no mistake there is also something today dr randy alcorn says this in his brilliant book called heaven the present heaven is a temporary residence where the departed saints live until the return of christ and our bodily resurrection the eternal heaven and new earth once again somebody say new earth that is our true home and when that day comes we will also get new physical resurrected bodies which is going to be awesome second corinthians 5 3 we will put on heavenly bodies we will not be spirits without bodies so that's fantastic news apparently you're not going to be some floating spiritual orb bumping into other floating spiritual orbs for the rest of forever and more good news you're also not going to be a chubby baby in holy huggies playing a harp on a white fluffy cloud singing hymns for the next 10 trillion years and you want to know how i know that it's because of jesus because we have somebody on record we have a man who walked his bad self out of the grave he borrowed with his resurrected body and hung out with 500 eyewitnesses for 40 days and we will receive what he has philippians 3 21 our citizenship is not in heaven and we eagerly i love that we eagerly await a savior from there the lord jesus christ who by the power that enables him to bring everything under control will transform our lowly bodies so just look at me in picture lowly body so that they will be like his glorious body after his resurrection jesus had bones jesus had skin jesus could touch he could feel he gave mary magdalene a hug he walked through a wall i mean that's some doctor strange stuff going on there very supernatural but notice still very physical and natural at the same time alcorn says everything you love about your body now will be restored to you except this time there will be no death and there will be no decay so that receding hairline bam gone and no more acne and no more wrinkles and no more cancer and no more no more migraines or sore muscles no more checkups at the dentist because cavities do not exist in heaven and that's speculation but i'm confident enough to say it imagine imagine being completely in love with being uniquely yourself on a new earth that looks and tastes and smells and sounds and feels a lot more familiar than we think oh there will be hiking and and swimming and there will be laughing and running and maybe most important there will be eating on new earth exhibit a jesus cooks breakfast on the beach in john 21 for his best friends and he does so in his resurrected body and that is such good news we have to get out of our heads that the physical and spiritual cannot be one and the same matthew 8 11 says this i tell you this that many gentiles will come from all over the world from east and west and sit down with abraham isaac and jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven keep going isaiah 25 6 might be my next tattoo is my new favorite verse in jerusalem that's the new jerusalem the lord of heaven's armies will spread out a wonderful feast amen for people all over the world it will be a delicious banquet with clear well-aged wine don't worry that's just for the antioxidants and choice what's that word choice meat amen guys we have a good god we have a party throwing god who wants his table full that much like a divine danny tanner he wants a full house and this is what we are looking forward to church go read it this week at your homework that revelation 21 and 22 is a purpose-driven parallel from genesis chapter 1 and genesis chapter 2 of a current earth and a current heaven becoming a new earth and a new heaven and it's for that reason that you don't actually have to finish that bucket list this side of eternity i mean if you think hiking a 14 is awesome now you just wait until you do that with resurrected legs and the mountains are more majestic and there's colors you ain't even seen before but for real i think that's why i wanted to show you my vantage point from what i think is the prettiest place on this planet in three arch beach because if you think the ocean is powerful now if you think the starry night sky is majestic now if you think sunsets are pretty now if you love listening to music or reading a good book now if you love laughing now in storytelling now if you like if you like good drink and good food with good friends now men you just wait until you and everybody else around you has a renewed mind and a completed spirit and a resurrected body where insecurity is a memory and nobody's auditioning to belong nobody's competing for attention there's no comparison nobody's worried about tomorrow or somewhere else in their mind everybody's just present and whole and with fullness and completion in its paradise and god is there and it's real it's real this is not this is not a children's book it's so real and my hope with this message is that any any of you listening who have lost a loved one recently would find i mean not total peace i understand but a lot of peace from talking about this because we all fear when we choose to think about the unknown one day even as christians i mean i'm a pretty faith-filled person but even when i start thinking about oh man what'll it be like and start fearing leaving behind a wife and kids you know and i wonder where where exactly my loved ones are when i miss them and i get anxious especially when i don't have the right view of what's coming when we've been there 10 000 years bright shining is the sun we've no less days to sing your praise than when we first begun and i sing that and i go oh my gosh that's that's so much singing that's like a lot that's a long time just to sing seriously like makes me anxious right if it's if it's big enough to worry about it's big enough to pray about so i i pray about it and in my prayers god just always takes me to that beach and reminds me even the best day in the most beautiful place this side of eternity oh it pales in comparison to the most ordinary day in the rest of forever i mean imagine just the fullness of it we all know places like that where it just feels like the veil between earth and heaven is thin but it's still there it's still like there's supposed to be a fullness that i can't quite experience in its entirety and the bible teaches there's coming a day where that that veil will be no more and that fullness you're hoping you receive from this is i mean it's yours god's saying and i'll be with you i'll be your god and i'll wipe every tear from your eyes and every tear from your daughter's eyes imagine being fully known in every way and yet unconditionally loved not just by god but everybody else no secrets no hiding no isolation no insecurities no no comparison no more loss or fear or pain or stress or sleepless nights no more abuse or racism or injustice just harmony and completion and fullness and the rest of forever to get to that bucket list church you have nothing to fear and everything to look forward to and that is the ultimate freedom i want you to experience today not just information that makes you smarter but a revelation you receive from heaven that transforms and shifts something on the inside of you that makes you look at the rest of forever and live today different because of that you have everything to anticipate in the here and now can you believe we get to live in such an amazing place knowing it'll be the worst place we are for the rest of forever what if you here's my question what if instead of fearing eternity you made friends with it i think your outcome would be two different things and i'll give you these two points and then we'll worship number one i think you would have less fear and more excitement less fear and more excitement so the apostle paul golden boy the new testament he understood this better than anybody else did he not what's that famous coffee cup verse to live as christ and to die is his gain you ever actually thought about that verse to die his game like are you serious paul because then he goes on to say hey man it's better to get out of here i love you guys better to depart like my life my family my calling is about the kingdom when my time's up i'm going home right if you go read philippians he's like in this internal battle with himself where he doesn't know where he wants to be he's like i'm supposed to be here and i'm called here oh but i just want to die so bad and go be with jesus oh but to be here is is fruitful labor it's good for me to be here oh but dying in heaven would be so i mean this is this kind of vantage point made you absolutely untouchable in every way is this not the ultimate freedom paul has made complete best friends with the idea of forever and eternity and it's made him the freest person to walk this planet other than jesus so he'd get arrested and they'd say hey paul we're going to kill you and he'd go oh to die his gain nice man what all right we'll let you live oh to live is christ right on i mean if you hated the gospel how frustrating was this guy all right fine we'll torture you oh more persecution more blessings in heaven right on good call guys well fine it's it's it's the dungeons then paul it's prison for you okay as long as you don't mind if i worship while i'm down there and convert every single one of your guards because for me to live is christ and to die truly is gained he was untouchable completely free and with that kind of eternal mindset you have less fear and more excitement matt chandler once said when i die don't cry for me i'll be home he beautifully lays out so much of this eternal perspective so does d.l moody who said when i breathe my last don't pity me for in that moment i will be more alive than i have ever been you think of lazarus marrying martha's brother who was dead for four days until jesus showed up and told him to stop being dead knock it off with this whole dead thing lazarus come on out for lazarus for the rest of his life you think anything scared that guy like for the rest of his life lazarus will kill you oh death yeah been there done that it's actually kind of awesome right i mean this is guys heaven is not just a coping mechanism to help you deal with losing loved ones nor is it like an ethereal eternal crutch to make us feel better about how fast and fragile and fleeting life is it is so real it is closer than you know and it is more familiar than you think and the revelation i want from you today is holy anticipation what if i could look forward with eagerness i'm telling you the more you dwell on eternity like lewis said the more effective you will become in this life your fear goes down and your excitement goes up amen and number two less apathy and more urgency i'll say it this way eternal perspective christians don't get bored um so this is where i stood when i found that out this is january 3rd of 2008 at the summit park emergency center in breckenridge and um that was actually the last day i went snowboarding um i'm not afraid i just uh kind of just lost interest and took up surfing not cloud break not yet um but uh an hour before that i was with my best friend colin and we were racing down one of the back bowls in breckenridge and man we were just going so fast and um he was right in front of me right in front of me and we came up on this lip and right over this lip there was this blind spot and as soon as pollen got to the very top of the left lip i could tell something was wrong and there was a girl who was stuck in that blind spot she had just torn her acl and couldn't move so colin at the very last second sees her and to save her life he he crashes and um he wiped out to the right and i wiped out to the left and colin uh went headfirst into a tree and like i went over there and he was unconscious and i didn't know what to do and so i just i ran out into the middle of the slope and hadn't seen anybody for 10 minutes i mean there was nobody all of a sudden like one skier is coming down so i wave him and i flag him over and he comes over and um it turns out he was an er doctor and a long story short fast forward an hour and i was standing right there um watching my buddy get flight for life to a hospital in denver and uh i stood there with the chaplain who in a very gracious way that i appreciated was honest with me and put his arm around me and he said hey man uh you need to know um when they say this is bad there's a real chance uh your buddy's not gonna make it through this flight and um he said but we can pray and so we prayed and um and then he asked me one question and i'll never forget it he said um he said who is jesus to you and one of the worst moments of my life became one of the most defining moments of my life too because for me i've known my entire life this whole god thing is real i just didn't live like it or act like it and i ignored it and i just kind of live like oh well one day i'll deal with that but that afternoon um colin came um face to face with eternity he stood on the brink of eternity that one breath of space that we all get between the red tape and the white rope but in reality all of us stand on the brink of eternity at every single moment and that that helicopter pad is my vantage point of eternity that all of us are living forever somewhere the only question is where so colin uh he made it he was in a coma for two months and uh suffers from brain damage and his personality is different but he's alive and colin has changed my sense of passion and urgency about this life and what a gift it is and how short it can be and how as weird as it sounds sobering up to that reality can be such a gift because you never know when your time is up and you never know when jesus is coming back and that's why the bible says today is the day of salvation and don't wait and in 2015 i was preaching at the red rocks young adults meet up event at clement park and i i texted colin and i said hey man um i'm telling your breckenridge story which you don't remember if you want to come hear it um i'd love if you came would you come and i've been praying for it for months you know and he showed up and he sat on the left side about like five rows up and on that evening in clement park with a beautiful sunset colin gave his life to jesus and on new earth i promise you for the rest of eternity he won't have brain damage church what does an eternal perspective lead to it leads to less apathy and more urgency that eternal perspective christians don't get bored charles spurgeon once said how precious must a human soul be if both god and the devil are after it you want to hear a crazy stat in the united states the mortality rate is a hundred percent right now a hundred percent john foreman has some lyrics in the switch foot song where he says this current skin and bones this is just a rental and nobody makes it out of this thing alive which means you guys it is absolutely crazy and a privilege that we get to do what we're doing right now building the local church that is god's plan a to reach the world that's full of people who don't yet know who jesus is what an honor that should lead to so much passion about every single breath that we get as a gift from the one who gave it until he requires it back from us every day i will make count less apathy and more urgency the more you think about the next life the more effective you will start to live right here second corinthians 4 16 through 18 i'm finishing right here we fix our eyes i'm sorry therefore we do not lose heart though outwardly we are wasting away yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all so we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary but on what is unseen is eternal we fix our eyes not on what is seen and temporary but on what is unseen and what is eternal we choose on purpose to live today with forever in mind and when you start doing that you will start to see today through a whole different vantage point you'll start to see life different in light of eternity including by the way even trials and tribulation and and persecution and pain and storms and valleys right now you start to see it different with an eternal perspective pain is still painful absolutely but it's not pointless because with that kind of perspective you can see in its entirety that god really does keep to his promise of taking whatever the enemy meant for evil and flipping it around on its head and using it somehow for good that somehow god gives even our pain some purpose and even the messiness of our lives some meaning and making you more mature and complete and full for the rest of forever there is an eternal glory if you can believe it that far outweighs anything and everything you could ever possibly go through in the here and now with that kind of vantage point generosity and sacrifice begin to become our privilege do they not like when we eagerly eagerly look ahead to to heaven everything that you have in this life your time your talent and your treasure it all starts to become just house money it's all house money which means we don't have to no no we get to i get to give in this life freely knowing i'll reap it a hundred fold in the age to come i get to sacrifice right now i get to live in holy anticipation of the new heaven and the new earth that is waiting for me that's the kind of perspective by the way that makes you completely untouchable just like paul to live is christ and to die is gain that vantage point in my opinion is the closest thing there is to being invincible to live is christ and to die is gain and so take heart and christian do not waste your life and the years and seasons and breadths that you have and don't you dare live today in this life as if the purpose of it is just to arrive safely at death one day don't you pray small and don't you play small don't you risk small get your expectations and your hope and your faith up focused and fixed towards heaven because death is not the end and our hope is not in this world or in this life it is one it is in the one who has overcome the world the one who promises to make all things new for the rest of forever amen red rocks will you stand up [Music] hey can we do this every location bow your heads close your eyes just to create a moment for you and god i want to talk about you i want to talk about your rope your timeline your existence your eternity i want to ask you the same question the breckenridge chaplain asked me back in 2008 who is jesus to you every person has to answer that at some point it is the most important question you will ever be asked so who is jesus to you i think back to jesus on the cross with the criminal next to him and jesus said today today you will be with me in paradise and notice he didn't ask him for a resume and there was no religion exchanged it was simply pure relationship there was no contribution he made just a confession about who jesus was to him and so right here and right now wherever you are this is your moment today is the day of salvation do not wait do not wait i want to ask you right now wherever you are it's just you and god if you want to make jesus your lord and savior and know for the rest of your life where you're going one day after you take your last breath and be invited into life to the fullest in the here and now and give him your sins and receive his forgiveness would you just boldly and bravely raise your hand right now this is just an external expression that seems to solidify an internal decision come on raise your hand if that's you so i can pray for you let's go at every location raise your hand okay hey red rocks everybody you can open your eyes let's make some noise let's celebrate right now heaven just got a lot more crowded [Applause] and [Music] i just never gets old [Music] um [Music] congratulations you can text red rocks to 25827 and we'll send you any resources and next steps that you need red rocks to 25827 hey my hope for all of us as we worship right now is that you would fix your eyes on what is unseen and on what is eternal and my prayer is that it would start to loosen your grip on what is seen and what is temporary and as you do that i've been praying that you'd feel your soul come alive and your heart wake up just a little bit that as you praise him with truth that anxiety and apathy would have to evaporate and evacuate in jesus name and in that empty space would enter passion and anticipation and excitement for what we have waiting for us in eternity because we have nothing and i mean nothing to fear church nothing to fear and everything to look forward to that is ultimate freedom that's what that vantage point is called it's called freedom it's called being untouchable to live is christ and to die is gain and so let's worship with forever in mind because no eye has seen and no ear has heard and no mind can even comprehend what is awaiting for those who love him do you believe that if you believe that one more time make some noise lift up a shot of praise and let's join in with all of our locations and a million angels an echo holy is the lord somebody said amen let's worship [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] what a wonderful um [Music] my [Music] yes [Music] [Applause] yes [Music] is worthy is the lamb you are holy yes you are holy are you lord god [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] hallelujah [Laughter] [Music] for the lord god almighty reigns [Music] lift your voices and sing now [Music] for the lord god almighty [Music] [Music] are you is [Applause] yes forever [Applause] is oh my gosh is is is [Music] crazy [Music] uh [Music] let's just allow room for the holy spirit to come and speak to us [Music] i know [Music] yeah so let's lift our hands the word says that he inhabits the praises of his people and so he's here [Music] yeah can you begin to release prayers of adoration to who jesus is if you don't know what to say just say holy holy holy holy is the lord god almighty yeah don't be afraid today let's lift that up let's hear the church start to praise and honor the father [Music] you'll never stop singing [Music] we fix our eyes [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] forever [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] is is is forever forever oh yeah [Music] [Applause] thank you [Music] this man's empty place and treasures of faith [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] afraid [Music] to show you my weaknesses [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] better than come on let's make some noise today if that's if he has true your story he's not finished with you yet he is still turning grace into guardians he [Music] is our head [Music] up [Music] [Applause] for us yes [Music] is cause nothing is [Music] [Applause] you turn is tell me amen amen come on what an amazing day of church thank you pastor doug for such an incredible message man i love the verse that he used from philippians that says our citizenship belongs in heaven and so i want to challenge you this week that no matter what you go through whether you start to feel anxious or worried or doubtful remind yourself over and over and over i am a citizen of heaven think of the freedom that we can begin to walk into think of the holy confidence you'll bring into your home into your workplace into your schools because church that is who you are you are citizens of heaven and hey we want to take a moment to congratulate those of you that gave your life to christ for the very first time man we're so excited for you and we want to encourage you go to redrockschurch.com forward slash yes we would love to hear your story connect with you give you some resources and just walk alongside you as you start this new journey then if you want to partner with us in helping us spread the good news of jesus christ all over the world you can give on our website on our app where you can text the words redrocks to 25827 church we love you guys so much and we can't wait to come back here next week with you for week three of vantage point but first remember you are a citizen of heaven [Applause]

Channel: Red Rocks Church

Views: 3,922

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Id: U3u_YI03GDQ

Length: 83min 41sec (5021 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021