DAVID JEREMIAH TODAY | TOUGH-MINDED ABOUT HEAVEN

often people tell me when they know that we're going to be talking about this subject or even after they've been here to hear the teaching on it that perhaps we are not really being very practical the way they say it is usually something like this you know pastor we shouldn't be so concerned about heaven after all when we get to heaven there'll be plenty of time to be worried about heaven we need to be spending our energies and our time here will we not have all eternity to worry about heaven and aren't people who are Heavenly minded usually no earthly good I've actually had people tell me that now if we didn't have the New Testament we might be able to reason like that but one of the most consistent truths of the New Testament is this what you think about heaven determines how you live today the future is like an anchor that has been cast ahead of us and it is pulling us into the future in his Second Epistle Peter ends his letter with a question after describing the renovation of the Earth at the end of the age and you all know about that because we studied it how the Earth is going to be renovated and made new at the end of his discussion of the renovation of the earth Peter in verse 11 of Chapter 3 of II Peter says this therefore since all these things will be dissolved what manner of persons ought you to be not what manner of persons ought you to be in the future but what manner of persons ought to you to be now his question is at the very heart of our discussion today what difference does it make now that we know about heaven and God's future plans for us how should we live now in light of what we know about the future in the next verses of this chapter the Apostle tells us in straightforward language what kind of people we ought to be let me remind us all that when we learn new truth with that truth comes new responsibility because we know some things now that we did not know before we can never live the same as we lived before we must be different people because of our exposure to God's word I've been thinking and praying lately about the importance of these days in my own life and I believe with all my heart if you and I are to realize all that God has for us we're going to have to discipline our minds to think biblically the explosion of information that is assaulting our minds and Hearts from the media is not leading us toward a Biblical mindset and we are going to drown in all of this if we don't make up our minds about a few things and when I say make up our minds I mean be tough-minded about these things hold your place now in second Peter 3 and go back if you would to First Peter chapter one and look at verse 13. I want to give you a little phrase that I hope you will never forget First Peter 1 and verse 13. and I want to just read the first part of that verse here's what it says therefore gird up the loins of your mind and be sober it's the only place where that exact expression is found in the New Testament Peter is using an oriental expression in this verse that described how a Jewish person would get ready to run or get ready to engage in battle as you know the Jews wore long flowing robes and when it was time for them to move quickly to be disciplined in their approach to some process the Jews would take that long flowing robe and they would gather it up and they would stuff it down in their belt or in the girdle that went around their waist so that the long flowing robe wouldn't get in the way of their moving forward now using that expression Peter says now watch this it's time for us to gird up the loins of our mind well one translator has put it this way roll up the sleeves of your mind does that communicate what you what you need to hear he's saying we can't be sloppy in our thinking anymore we can't be casual in how we think about life we really have to gird up the loins of our mind we have to roll up the sleeves of our mind and begin to be tough-minded and think critically about some things because if we just float along with the culture we will be victimized by it we are not like everyone around us we are not like the world in which we live we are God's people we're different but in order for us to maintain that difference we have to gird up the loins of our mind now Peter says back in II Peter that when we know what we know about what God has planned for us it's going to change the way we think and I want to just take you through this passage of scripture and I want to show you what Peter has to say here in second Peter chapter 3 are five things that demand our tough-mindedness these are five things that are true because Jesus is coming back five things that are true because there is a heaven and there is a hell five things that we all need to take seriously because we know where we're going now notice first of all we're to be tough-minded about our Purity tough-minded about our Purity second Peter chapter 3 verse 11. therefore since all these things will be dissolved what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness in this one verse Peter describes the lifestyle of a Christ follower who understands the future plan of god notice first of all he says that we're to be people of holy conduct the word holy hagias means to be set apart for the service of God Peter over in chapter 1 again in that very same verse we looked at it a minute ago Peter addresses the same issue in his first letter go back to First Peter chapter 1 and verse 13. now notice what he says in the rest of that Passage therefore gird up the loins of your mind and be sober and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ as obedient children not conforming yourselves to the former lusts as in your ignorance but as he who has called you is Holy you also be holy in all your conduct because it is written be holy for I am Holy Peter tells us that we are to be tough-minded about godliness and this illustrates the importance of the inward attitude that we have godliness is our inward attitude toward God in his letters to Timothy and to Titus young preachers whom Paul was mentoring he wrote some things to them that have always struck me as very important for our culture today exercise yourselves toward godliness say that out loud exercise yourselves toward godliness what that means is you don't just become Godly normally you don't just wake up one morning and all of a sudden you're godly you got to exercise yourself to Godliness ever since I've had cancer I've been getting up in the morning and going to the gym now I don't like doing that I mean I don't go to bed at night thinking boy I just can't wait till the morning I don't wake up in the morning and think you know this is just automatic I'm going I have a little war that goes on with you all know what I'm talking about oh I think I'll sleep in today sometimes I do but most the time I get up and I go because I have to exercise myself to stay healthy now Peter is telling us and if we're going to be Godly people in this generation we've gotta we've got to put some exercise into it we got to exert ourselves it doesn't just happen to us you know just wake up one day and it's all different the exercises in the reading of the word of God and in prayer and in making sure you're in church and doing the things that you know are going to cause you to be a more Godly person you're not going to just become Godly automatically in Titus Chapter 2 and verse 12 he says not only are we to pursue godliness but we're to deny ungodliness these are all action words these are not spiritual terms this is not some sort of a mystery this is everyday experience on our part because we know someday we're going to go and live with a holy God we're to be in process right now of becoming more and more like him in Holiness and righteousness in Godly conduct now put that over here and then put over here what you're exposed to every day on television in the media in the places where you work do you understand why you have to be tough-minded about this you have to get up in the morning you've got to make some decisions about how you're going to let your life be lived tough-minded about purity now if you sensitize yourself to what I'm saying today if you let this be a little grit that you have in your mind you will discover that over and over and I mean over again in the New Testament the Holy Spirit Associates godliness and Holiness and Purity with the return of the Lord to this earth those of you who say well knowing about the future doesn't have anything to do with today you're giving yourself away you haven't read your Bible I have known some of this but this week I became fully equipped on this particular subject and it has stunned me to see how often in the New Testament you have the the truth of Jesus coming back or heaven or the future and in the same verse because of that this is what you should be like now I'm just going to give you a little survey and here's what I want to assign you to do I want you to notice two things in every passage I want you to notice the return of Christ the second coming the future and Holiness godliness and Purity all right you ready for this here we go First Corinthians 1 7 and 8 waiting for the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ there's the future who will conform you to the end that you might be blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ there's holiness Colossians 3 4 and 5 when Christ who is our life appears then you will also appear with him in glory therefore put to death your members which are on the earth fornication uncleanness passion evil desire Covetous and idolatry first Thessalonians 3 12 and 13 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all just as we do to you so that he may establish your hearts blameless in Holiness before our God and Father at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ there it is again first Thessalonians 5 23 May the God of Peace himself sanctify you completely and may your Holy Spirit soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ first John 2 28 and now little children abide in him that when he appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him in his coming First John 3 2 and 3 beloved now are we the children of God and it is not yet revealed what we shall be but we know that when he is revealed we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is and everyone watch this everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure now you got that when you read about the future it always has an impact on the present because he's coming back it ought to motivate us to live in a more Godly way I've been recommending to you during this series of book by Randy Alcorn which is in my estimation the best book on Heaven that's ever been written one place in the book he was talking a little bit around this subject here's what he said he said if my wedding date is on the calendar and I'm thinking of the person I'm going to marry I shouldn't be an easy target for seduction likewise when I've meditated on Heaven Sin is terribly unappealing it's when my mind drifts from Heaven at sin seems attractive thinking of Heaven leads inevitably to pursuing Holiness our high tolerance for sin testifies of our failure to prepare for heaven if I believe I'll spend eternity in a world of unending Beauty and Adventure will I be content to spend all my evenings staring at game shows sitcoms and ball games even if I keep my eyes off of impurities he wrote how much time will I want to invest in what doesn't really matter you see the future is like an anchor out there and it's reeling Us in and on the way through it's calling us to a Holiness of life I'll tell you what that's a message that's needed in our culture today more than any other message because little by little we are allowing the world to pour us into its mold do you know how I know that just think about all the things that used to be almost intolerable to you that you now tolerate think about the things that you used to never dream you'd be involved in and little by little you gained a comfort with it the world is little by little so what I'm saying to you man is this what I'm saying to you women is this we need to be tough-minded about purity all right let me give you the second one secondly here back in second Peter chapter three I want you to notice that we're to be tough-minded about his promises second Peter 3 12 says looking for and Hasting the coming of the day of the Lord now what Peter's talking about here is that we must be tough-minded about this fact that Jesus is coming back because you know a lot of people who call themselves evangelicals don't really believe it or if they do believe it they don't think it's very important I've actually had people say you know I don't care if you're pre-trib mid-trib post-trib whatever you are it doesn't matter you shouldn't be studying all that stuff it's just wasting your time it's like trying to figure out how many angels can perch on the head of a pin you know that's what they think you know this is really not really important but people who say that don't really have the right attitude and they've lost their tough-mindedness about the future you see the Bible teaches about the future if you take all of the information out of the Bible that has to do with everything that's going to happen after you and I aren't here or after the Rapture you would take about one-fourth of the Bible and destroy it one-fourth or better of the Bible is all about what's going to happen in the future now if God thought it was important enough to put it in this book and preserve this book for all these years accurately I best be finding out what that's all about not just out of curiosity but out of a desire to find out how that's going to affect my life and Peter says we need to be tough-minded about the promises of God he has promised that he is coming back that Christ is coming back to this earth we believe he's coming first in the Rapture and then later coming with his Saints to set up his kingdom on this Earth the Bible says Jesus is coming back do you believe that well yeah I suppose no no it can't be like that you have to believe it with all your heart with all your mind you've got to develop a tough-mindedness about it you see Peter already knew what our generation was going to be like look down in your Bibles at Chapter 3 of second Peter and verses three and four listen listen to what it says knowing that first that scoffers will come in the last days walking according to their own lusts and saying where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation that's just exactly what the attitude is today you know hey Pastor what do you mean the Lord's coming back look he's been gone for 2 000 plus years he's not coming back if he's coming back he'd be back and they forget that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years is one day that he doesn't keep time the way we do you know since he made that promise a few minutes has gone by but one day he's coming back and we have to remember that what God has said is true let me tell you something there are countless numbers of prophecies in the Old Testament about his first coming and every single one of them were fulfilled in exact proportion to the prophecy the same God who fulfilled his Prophecies of his coming at Bethlehem has made some statements about his coming in the future and they will be fulfilled is exactly as the ones were in the first coming so Peter says be tough-minded about his return C.S Lewis wrote this he said I must keep alive in myself the desire for my True Country which I shall not find until after my death I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and help as many as I can do the very same we need to be tough-minded about the promises of God he tells us that we're to be looking for and hastening his coming Philippians 3 20 says we're to eagerly wait for the Savior Titus 2 13 says we're to look for his coming Hebrews 9 28 says we're to eagerly wait for his coming and when Peter writes in verse 12 that we are hastening the coming of the Lord he is reminding us that we're to earnestly desire the coming of the Lord Paul put it this way toward the end of his life second Timothy 4 8 finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me on that day and not to me only but to also to all who have what loved his appearing do you love his appearing we ought to think about it regularly you know I think we do that maybe as we get a little bit older we keep thinking maybe the Rapture is going to come and beat us out of death you know but we're to think about that because that's the word of God number three not only should we be tough-minded about purity and tough-minded about his promises but we need to be tough-minded about our purpose notice verse 14 second Peter chapter 3 therefore beloved looking forward to these things what things the things we've been talking about heaven and the dissolution of the earth and all the promises God has looking forward to these things watch this be diligent to be found by him in peace without spot and blameless now the words be diligent here in II Peter are found three times in this epistle the first time is in second Peter 1 5-7 where we're told to be diligence to add to our faith virtue and to our virtue knowledge that's a good passage we should go and review that again sometime the second time is in second Peter 1 10 therefore Brethren be even more diligent be even more diligent to make your call and your election sure for if you do these things you will never stumble many of you have told me that during these days God has put on your heart what it is you're supposed to do with your life we've actually as you know had some people leave our church and move to another part of the country because God told them that this is something they should do and one of our best friends because of the messages I preached went to Florida because she felt God calling her there and that was the purpose God had for her life we know all of us that we have been given a gift we spent a whole series on the gifts of the Spirit but we have to be tough-minded about this says Peter we have to be diligent to make our election and our calling sure we have to be diligent to make sure that our lives are matching the purpose for which we were created do you realize how easy it is to just let days and weeks and months go by and all of a sudden you wake up and the thing to which you have been called has been put on the back burner and it's not even in play in your life and one day when you stand before the Lord is a Christian you're going to give an account for the things done in the body and God is going to tell you I gave you a gift what did you do with it and you know there's a lot of parables in the teaching of Jesus that tell us that's a real situation that's going to happen and so Peter is saying in light of the fact that Jesus is coming back be diligent about your purpose make sure you get up every day and think christianly gird up the loins of your mind around the thing God has called you to do and say this is what I'm this is what I'm all about and a lot of other things are going to come and try to take me away from what I'm supposed to be doing but I'm going to be tough-minded you can't always put God at the bottom of the list and then say I'm making God my priority you need to be diligent about your calling Paul understood that heaven was his goal and his life reflected this he eloquently wrote to the Philippians in Philippians 3 13 and 14 these words he says Brethren I do not count myself to have apprehended but one thing I do listen to this forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus what was he saying I've had to say no to some stuff I had to forget about the past and I got to press toward and focus in and get tough-minded about what God has called me to do are you tough-minded about God's purpose in your life that's one of the things Peter says should come when we realize that one day we're going to report for the final time we're going to stand before the Lord and give an account of how we've lived Our Lives in light of that gird up the loins of your mind roll up the sleeves of your mind and be tough-minded about your purpose now here's the fourth one tough-minded about your profession Peter chapter 3 verse 17. you therefore beloved since you know this beforehand know what know that God's got the future all lined out for you beware now watch this beware lest you fall from your own steadfastness being led away with the error of the wicked now please note he didn't say beware that you fall from your salvation you can't do that he says beware that you fall from being steadfast what does that mean solid you know what you believe you know why you believe it and nothing can sway you from it you're not just a surface Christian but the roots go down deep into your heart and when some someone knocks at your door maybe it's two guys who are traveling in the neighborhood and they want to engage you in some sort of Congress conversation you already know who Jesus is who he was and who he always will be and so you're not moved from the steadfastness of your faith Peter says in light of the fact that Jesus is coming back and that one day you're going to go be with him you better beware lest you be drawn away from your steadfastness and drawn into error and you know why he said that because elsewhere in the text it says that when the Lord is about to come back there's going to be an increased amount of demons and an increased amount of of uh diverse opinions and increased amount of Cults and isms and Muslims and all of the other things and I'm seeing that happen right now are you every time you turn around somebody's come up with a new religion come up with some new crazy idea about how you know God Peter says in light of the fact that Jesus is coming back he says I want you to be steadfast I want you to be I want you to be tough-minded about what you believe finally last of all number five he says I want you to be tough-minded about your progress we have to be tough-minded about our progress did you know that when you read second Peter chapter three you're reading Peter swan song did you know that it's the last thing we have of him having said or written do you know what the last thing Peter said was before he shut it all down here's what he said but grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to him be the glory both now and forever amen do you know how to keep from getting carried away with some weird person who comes knocking at your door just keep growing in your own faith that's the best way to stay steadfast you know the Christian Life friends is not like something where you get to a certain place and Will you say well I finally figured this out I've made it as I told you this week I discovered a whole bunch of new truth I didn't know before and I study the Bible a lot and every time I open this book I am so overwhelmed at what God is willing to teach me if I'm willing to be a learner and there's so much I'll never learn if I live to be a hundred I'll never ever be able to master all of the Bible but every day I get into this book I learn and I grow are you the same person this year that you were last year can you identify any change and growth in your life Peter says the thing you need to do in light of the fact that Jesus is coming back and this is his last admonition grow in Grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are you a growing Christian or have you just stagnated you know there's a story about a little boy who fell out of bed one night and his mother went up to check on him and she said honey why did you fall out of bed he said well Mama I guess I fell asleep too close to where I got in you know I know a lot of Christians like that don't you they fall asleep as soon as they get in the faith they get in and that's it they never grow if you're not growing you are an absolute perfect Target for the enemy he can come and draw you away and you can get caught up in something that can ruin your life so Peter is really On Target here when he's saying grow in Grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ why because Jesus is coming back I want him to find me growing I want him to come back and I'm I'm just discovering something new about him and I'm just growing in him all the way to Glory I don't want him to come back and find out that the last time I read my Bible was six months ago or it's on the back shelf of my car and I can't find it I want him to come back finding me a growing Christian and Peter says I want you to be tough-minded about that how do you be tough-minded about growing you know in the in the in the in the physical world you don't have to do that you just grow but you got to be tough-minded about some things even there You Gotta Eat Right you got to exercise you got to get clean air gotta make sure you stay away from contaminants or things that can poison your system not a whole lot different in the spiritual realm is it if you want to grow there's certain things that are true in fact I thought it was interesting that there are a number of things in the Bible that talk about what we need to do to grow and they're related to the coming of Christ one of my favorite verses for instance is Philippians 1 6. it says being confident of this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until when the day of Jesus Christ I've written down in my notes growth comes through the will of God growth comes through the will of God did you know that it's God's will for you to grow I don't know what God's will is for your job or what his will is for the person you're thinking about marrying I don't know about his will for where you're supposed to live I can tell you one thing for sure God wants you to grow it's the will of God for you to be a growing Christian he didn't bring you into his family so you could be dwarfed he brought you into his family so you could grow into a strong vibrant viral Christian secondly growth comes through the watchfulness of Prayer first Peter 4 7 says but the end of all things is at hand there's the future again therefore What Be watchful and serious in your prayers is there anything friends that takes more tough-mindedness than developing your prayer life um me that's for me prayers hard work if you only pray when you feel like praying you probably never pray because prayer isn't the kind of thing where you get up and say oh I just can't wait to get on my knees and pray you do it out of obedience and what happens when you do it out of obedience God fills your heart with love and desire and hope and excitement but you've got to be tough-minded about it you've got to say I'm going to do this and in order to do this I'm not going to do that because if I do that it's going to wipe this out and this is the priority that's how you grow tough-minded about prayer thirdly you grow through the word of God in revelation 22 7 it says behold I am coming quickly blessed is he who keeps the words of this prophecy that was written about the Book of Revelation but it applies to the whole book you grow through the word of God and finally you grow through the work of the church Hebrews 10 25 says here again is the future let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another now watch this and so much the more as you see the day approaching are you getting the picture in this message if you don't get anything else out of this I hope you get this that what you believe about the future determines how you live today and over and over again in the Bible that is the truth that we hear if you believe Jesus is coming back you will develop a tough-mindedness about how you live your life today and the more you owe the more you move yourself away from what God has planned for you in the future the more apt you are to become a person who just sort of drifts through life you see when you know where you're going it makes all the difference in the world how you live and if you keep reminding yourself that one day you're going to spend eternity with the holy God in the the only way you're going to get rewards up there is by bringing people with you and by encouraging people and by your own giving and all of that makes all the difference in the world so you see the coming of Christ and the doctrine of Heaven provides some of the strongest motivation for living the Christian Life you will ever find C.S Lewis once again said it this way he said if you have read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next world it is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this world then he said this and I wrote this down this is great aim at heaven and you will get Earth thrown in aim at Earth and you get nothing isn't that true aim at heaven and you get the Earth thrown in but you aim at the Earth and you don't get anything because one of these days as we learn at the beginning of this chapter this is all going to be dissolved and only what's Eternal is going to last every year for many years Don and I have gone to the nrb which by the way is one of those anachronyms for the National Religious broadcasters Association it's always kind of a highlight we love going there because we meet our friends and every once in a while we have a special guest speaker three or four times they've had the president of the United States I saw President Bush's father saw President Reagan and I sat on the front row when George W came shook his hand even got my picture taken [Applause] I got to tell you something I love it when they come but it's almost really not worth it because when the president comes I mean when he comes to the conference it messes everything up from the night before until he leaves it messes everything up to go see the president who's going to speak at 10 45 you've got to get in line at 8 o'clock in the morning you got to stand in a line where you go in and out like this like this like this through several rooms I saw people standing in line you'd think they would be frustrated and bored they were having the highest time of their life they were greeting their old friends and they stood in line for three hours just talking to one another then when you finally get to the front you got to go through a metal detector now before you go through the metal detector you got to have credentials showing that you've registered for the nrb oh my goodness you should have seen the people that stood in line from eight all the way through to 11 and they got up to the gate and they didn't have any credentials and they had to go back to the room and get their credentials and get in the back of the line you say who would put up with that nobody put up with that if you weren't going to go see the president tell you one thing friends one day I'm going to see the king of kings I want to sing the Lord of lords I'm not in any q line I'm just getting ready I want to tell you something that I've done to get ready first of all I've got my credentials I've got them have you got your credentials amen I got my credentials and I'm not going to get turned away when I get to the front of the line he's going to see my credentials you know what they are I was born again I was saved through the blood of the Lord Jesus and Christ is my savior I Can't Get To Heaven on my own it's going to say on my credentials David Jeremiah in the name of Jesus Christ that's what it's going to say and I hope that you understand that because the one that we're going to go spend eternity with is far greater than any human president or human leader or king or queen or potentate we need to start getting ready we need to start living our lives like we really believe that one day we're going to spend eternity with almighty God we need to become tough-minded about heaven [Music] foreign [Music] thank you foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign

Channel: David Jeremiah Today

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Length: 37min 24sec (2244 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 11 2022