How Eternity Can Bring Focus to What Really Matters (Revelation 4, Colossians 3)

Iren interesting article in the paper this last week about some predictions made by scientist Isaac Asimov and he wrote an article in 1964 about what the world would look like in 2014 so the headline of the article was Isaac Asimov's predictions for 2014 from 50 years ago are eerily accurate well that caught my attention and I had to read this predictions that are 50 years old so 50 years ago scientist Isaac Asimov predicted quote there would be electroluminescent panels that would be in common use well I think he got that one right we have all the retail displays and signs and of course flat panel TVs are everywhere now so I think that was a pretty accurate prediction number two communication says Asimov will be sight and sound you will see as well as hear the person you telephone well that's clearly true with Skype and Google Hangouts and FaceTime and all the other resources that are out there video chatting has become quite common thirdly he said the screen will be used not only to see the people you call but to study documents and photographs Andry passages from books that too was accurate we have computers we have tablet devices even smartphones now and so these were some pretty amazing predictions but there were other predictions he made that didn't quite come true because I read these things I thought well I want to read all the predictions he made so I found the actual document that he wrote this article and I heard some predictions he made that didn't quite happen jets of compressed air will lift land vehicles off the highways bridges will be of less importance since cars will be capable of crossing water on their jets oh I wish that were true have you ever been stuck in traffic and just would say you guys go go right over the top of everyone so that clearly didn't happen maybe Isaac was watching too many episodes of The Jetsons which was out at the time he made this prediction by the way also Asimov envisioned kitchens that would produce auto meals so you wouldn't even have to make your breakfast your kitchen would heat water make coffee toast bread scramble your eggs and your bacon and he also predicted that robots would be doing our yard work well I don't know about you but I don't have a robot during my yard work however they have these little robotic vacuum cleaners have you seen these they kind of scoot around the floor so that that's fairly close and so you know he was a fascinating guy Asimov he was brilliant he wrote hundreds of books he wrote science fiction books as well and he also was very wrong on one subject that he thought he knew about and that was a topic of heaven because he was an atheist Isaac Asimov said of heaven quote I don't believe in an afterlife so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell or fearing heaven even more for whatever the tortures of hell I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse end quote he could not be more wrong it reminds me of Yuri Gagarin who was the first man in outer space and he was quoted to say I saw earth and it was beautiful but being a good communist he's also said I looked and I did not see God oh wow insightful he a fury would have taken off his helmet for three seconds he would have seen God and Isaac Asimov has now entered eternity and I hope he put his faith in Christ in last moments of his life and he can see how glorious Heaven is the last thing heaven is it's a place of boredom in fact heaven is a place of bliss we're not going to sit around as that caricatured version suggests on big billowy clouds strumming harps and taking long naps though that probably appeals to some people but actually according to scripture Kevin is a real place for real people who do real things the Bible is very clear in pointing out heaven is a city heaven is a country heaven is a garden heaven is a paradise heaven is a place it's where we will be reunited with loved ones who have preceded us heaven as a place of activity and building and eating and worshipping and much more and the Bible teaches that one day heaven will come to work so when we say I'm gonna die as a Christian one day and go to heaven and live there forever that's not completely accurate because one day heaven and earth will become one and so we think a lot about the afterlife and so we should or maybe we'll don't we don't think enough about it and I think we need to give a lot of thought to what's gonna happen later and it will affect us in the life we're living now listen your belief in the afterlife has everything to do with how you live and the before line because you might say well what does it matter what happens in heaven that's a long ways away well you don't know that you want to think deeply about this now I am a student of heaven I'm certainly not an expert on the topic but but I'm a student of it and I become more of a student of heaven in recent years for obvious reasons our son went to be with the Lord five years ago so I finally self often just thinking about heaven trying to imagine heaven trying to wrap my mind around heaven it's a fun thing to do it's not an easy thing to do and you know there's a lot of books out on the topic of and many of them are written by people that claim to have been there and have returned and I'm just gonna be upfront with you and tell you that I don't immediately believe someone when they say they've been to heaven and come back okay because the only way I know of knowing what heaven is like is by going to a store to source I only know one person who's been to heaven and come back and has told me about it and that is Jesus Christ and he says in John 6:38 I have come down from heaven to not to do my will but the will of him who sent me so he is the expert on heaven but I am a student of heaven and I preached a lot of sermons on heaven and now I've joined the gang and I too have a book on heaven shameless promotion right here it's called as it is in heaven how eternity brings focus to what really matters and here's the reason I wrote this book because I want to bring the idea of how our belief in heaven should affect us while we live on earth you know it's sometimes said oh you're so heavenly minded you're no earthly good my greater concern is that I would be so earthly minded I would be of no heavenly good I think our belief in the afterlife has a lot to say and how we live in the before life how we live in the Karen now the way we view the by-and-bye affects us in the here and now and that brings us to a text said I want to look at with you that tells us what our focus is Christians ought to be Colossians chapter 3 verses 1 to 2 let's read that that's one of the passages we turn to Paul writes since then you've been raised with Christ set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God set your minds on things above not on earthly things now what does that mean this phrase set your mind speaks of a diligent active single-minded investigation have you ever concentrated your energies on a single thing researching something wanting to learn as much as you could about some place perhaps you were going to go visit that's what we should do with heaven it is a place we're gonna one day go visit it's a place you're gonna one day go and live in so we should be actively thinking about it another way you could translate this phrase that Paul gives us here it's think or have this inner disposition a way that simplify it is think heaven and by the way the verb used in this verse is in the present tense so it would say keep thinking heaven or another way to put it keep seeking heaven so put it all together here's what Paul is saying constantly keep seeking and thinking about heaven I like that our feet must be on earth but our minds should be in heaven but sadly many of us will go a day perhaps even a week without a single thought of heaven Ian bounds put it this way and I quote heaven ought to draw and engage us heaven ought to fill our hearts and our hands and our conversations and our character and our features so all the world would see that were foreigners strangers to this world he goes on to say the very atmosphere of this world should be chilling to us noxious it's Suns eclipses and it's companionship dull and insipid heaven is our native land and it's home to us and death for us is not the dying hour but the birth hour and quote well said as warned where's be put it heaven is not just our destination heaven is our motivation and so we want to think about what heaven will be like and think about its effect on us today I think that those that think the most about the next life do the most in this slide you say well why would that be well it's because we know life goes on and life doesn't just stop here we know there's a future reward or rewards I should say waiting for the follower of Jesus Christ and we also know there's a final judgment a final Court of Arbitration we know every sin we've committed would ultimately come out if it's not forgiven by Jesus Christ so our belief in the afterlife affects us in this life and the way that we live and the things that we do because heaven and earth are connected you know we often think of heaven as far far away maybe it is maybe it isn't maybe heaven is just right next door so to speak maybe it's just a thin veil that separates the seen world from the unseen world there's that story of course of Elijah in a servant gaze I and and they were surrounded by the enemy armies and in gays I saw them Elijah was sleeping and in LA he's I woke up and was freaking out and woke up the sleeping prophet and I I love what Elijah said he said lord help him to see that those that are with us are more than those that are with him and suddenly this man's eyes were open and he saw a supernatural world of angels all around him and right now as we sit here in our comfortable little pews or seats and we hear this message there's an unseen world around us a world of God and Satan of angels and demons and yes a world of heaven and ultimately hell I don't know how far away heaven is but I know that it may be closer than we think and heaven affects us here what did Jesus teach us in the Lord's Prayer he taught us to pray like this our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven Jesus is clearly telling us that our life on Earth is affected by our thoughts on heaven so as we come to the end of the year and we're now in the beginning of we ought to be thinking heaven you see but great why should we do that because this could be your last year on this earth it could be it's going to be for someone now I hope that thought does not frighten or terrify you the Christian is always ready to go home because he has this ticket and by that I mean that we have our reservation it's secure we know what's going to happen it's not that we have a death wish but we know we will see God one day so it's not something we struts about we just live our lives that God gives to us but it could be our last year and what if it was let me ask you this question if you could read your own obituary today what do you think people would remember you for what would be written about you read an interesting article in the paper about a man named Val Patterson who died last year and he decided that he wanted to buck the trend and write his own obituary honestly right because have you been to some people services and after you hear them describe you think I don't really know who they're talking about because that's not the person I knew so this guy decided to write his own obituary so here's what he said these are his words as it turns out I am the guy who stole the safe from the mortar view drive-in back in June of 1971 he says I could have left that unsaid but I wanted to get it off my chest he also admitted to kicking rocks into the Old Faithful geyser at Yellowstone National Park and also admitted that he was banned for life from Disneyland and SeaWorld for youthful high jinks I mean honestly I cracked up reading this say I found it kind of refreshing and so honest now I hope you'll be remembered for more than this but at least a man was honest listen I don't determine the date of my birth and I don't determine the date of my death but I have everything to say about what happens in between those two dates the great evangelist Neal Moody was asked the question if you knew the Lord was rich tonight how would you spend the rest of your day that's a good question isn't it if you knew let me ask it of you now if you knew the Lord was returning tonight how would you spend the rest of this day Moody's response was I wouldn't do anything different than what I do every day and that's the right quick response from a Christian who is truly heavenly minded we want to redeem the time that God has given to us we don't want to waste it and we certainly don't want to try to kill it it's been said that men talk of killing time while time quietly kills them end quote now I'm not a big one for making New Year's resolutions because I I think it's just sort of a waste really most of us break those resolutions quickly but I do think the new year is a good time to recalibrate and by that I mean it's a good time to look at one's life and ask yourself the question how have I done in this last year have I moved forward spiritually where have I actually regressed spiritually in this last year have I been a heavenly minded person in this year and do I want to be one in the coming year why is that important because life comes and goes just like that doesn't it the Bible says it's like a vapor of smoke that appears for a moment and then vanishes away the Bible says we live our life like a story that's already been told then comes the afterlife and trust me when I tell you when you get to the afterlife and you look back on the before life you will see things far differently you'll see them from an eternal perspective you'll realize what really mattered in life was not what you bought but what you built what will matter is not what you've got but what you gave what will matter is not your competence but your character what will matter is not your success but your significance so let's ask ourselves a question why are we here in the first place why am i taking up space why am i breathing here why do I exist of almost akin among Americans and they were asked that question and 61% said the main purpose of life is enjoyment and personal fulfillment so we know that over half the population of our country thinks that life is here that they are here to simply being fulfilled and enjoying life 50% of those who call themselves born-again Christians said the purpose of life is enjoyment itself satisfaction really do these Christians read their Bibles because if they did they would not come to that conclusion is the purpose of light self-satisfaction let me tell you something living for pleasure is one of the least pleasurable things a person can do and everybody lives for something everybody has something that gets him out of the bed in the morning everyone is something that gets their blood pumping something they're passionate about and we often set goals that we want to reach maybe some of you have set a goal a lot of times their goals of losing weight right getting in better shape etc I read an article this week about a woman who set a goal last year that she was able to reach here was her goal it was to only eat at Starbucks stores that was a goal and she was successful her name and I'm not making this up his beautiful existence she must have had hippie parents for sure only hippies would name their kid that she ate only products made from Starbucks for breakfast lunch and dinner for 365 days over the course of a year she spent approximately five to six hundred dollars a month on prepackaged solid pastries wraps in a variety of coffee drinks all from Starbucks now when I was reading this the first thought that came to my mind was why why would you set such a goal and beautiful existence her name which I have a hard time believing gave her response she said the reason I did it is because I'm fearless and I want to explore new things in my life I loved it tense the water in each time I challenge myself and I learn a lot okay beautiful existence welled up how'd you live here last year what goals did you set how should I live in this next year what is my purpose why am I here to get an answer as to how I should live on earth I have to take a quick trip to heaven so let's do that now in Revelation 4 we're gonna read verses four to eight what we're witnessing is a heavenly worship service populated by magnificent and mysterious angelic beings and twenty-four unnamed elders verse eight the four living creatures each had six wings there were full of eyes around them within and they don't rest day or night these are angelic beings by the way saying holy holy holy Lord God Almighty who was and is it is to come whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne who lives forever the twenty-four elders fall down before human sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne saying you are worthy O Lord to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and by your will they exist and were created we'll stop there it's hard to wrap our minds around this I don't know who the 24 elders are maybe twelve patriarchs from the Old Testament and their Twelve Apostles from the New Testament but clearly these elders are people that once lived on earth who have died and now have gone to heaven and what are they doing in heaven they're worshiping why is that important to us because jesus said your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is where what happens in heaven should affect me on earth so what's happening in heaven well there's a whole lot of worship going on thus I should also be worshiping the Lord they even tell us that in verse eight you created all things and part of your will they exist and were created so let me come back down to the question I raised earlier why do I exist why am I here in this earth answer I'm here on earth to bring glory to God it's on the screen let's say it out loud together I'm here on this earth to bring glory to God there it is there's your marching orders for 2014 I'm not here to pursue pleasure I'm here to pursue God the purpose of the universe says God's glory not my personal happiness this comes as a surprise to some who thinks the world should revolve around them if they want to rule their own little private universe they want to be the main character and their novel but then suffering and pain interrupts their plans and they don't know why randy Alcorn writes and I quote if we come to see the purpose of the universe as God's long-term glory rather than our short-term happiness then we will undergo a critical paradigm shift in tackling the problem of suffering end quote that's a good point the purpose of the universe is God's long-term glory not my short-term happiness here's the bottom line when you seek to fulfill the purpose you were created for which is to know glorify and worship God you will find the happiness you've been seeking in life not from seeking happiness but from seeking God the Bible says happy are the people whose God is the Lord Psalm 16 says in his presence there is fullness of joy and on his right hand there are pleasures forevermore yes God created you for his glory isaiah 43:7 says God speaking every one who was called by my name who I created from my glory whom I formed in a Ephesians 1:11 says God chose us from the beginning for all things happen just as he decided long ago God's purpose was that we who were the first to trust in Christ should praise our glorious God so you say well I don't understand what that means does that mean that I have to be in a you know 24 hour worship service you know singing songs to God is not the only way we worship let me put it another way it's entirely possible to sing songs to God and not worship at all the worship it's not it's just about singing it's about the movement of the heart to the Lord I mean I could I could sing songs from The Sound of Music and and be about as close to God as some Christians are when they sing praise songs because there's no thought of God whatsoever but if I'm really worshiping the Lord because what is worship really when we sing it's prayer set to song when I'm worshiping the Lord that's one way to glorify Him but there's many other ways to glorify God in fact I'm told over in 1st Corinthians 6:19 don't you know your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you you were bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are gods first Corinthians 10 thirty point one says whatever you do do it for the glory of God listen whatever you do in life glorify God with it Miette academics sports business music you name it fill in blank here let me put it another way if you can't write Hollywood be thy name over what you're doing then don't do it anymore so as we go into the new year I should say am i glorifying God and the work that I do am i glorifying God and the free time that I have am i glorifying God and the friends that I choose to hang out with am i glorifying God with my time am i glorifying God with my money am i glorifying God with my existence because that's why I've been put here on sir one of my favorite films of all time is a pee-wee's big adventure no it isn't this one to see for your listening now one of my favorite films is uh that's Jeff's favorite film pee-wee's big adventure doc he rode that bike to church today parked out there um now one of my favorite films is Chariots of Fire how many of you have seen Chariots of Fire okay quite a few of you you know go watch that film I don't know where you can find it probably rent the DVD but it's a great story and I don't want to get into what it's all about but it features the character of Eric little who was a Christian who lived in Scotland and he competed in the Olympics it was a great runner as I said a committed believer and ultimately went into missionary work but this movie is a story of his life contrasted with another Runner and there's a scene in the film were Eric's sister Jenny is sort of chiding him because she feels he's wasting this time racing you see she feels he should be out on the mission field doing this work instead of running in these races and so forth and so she tells him that he isn't doing what God made him for and there's a scene in the film where Eric who's Scottish responds and I'll try to do it my best Scottish accent he says hi Jenny I know but he is mister we start over it's gonna be really not that good okay she reminds Eric that God made him for himself she says Eric you were made for God ah he says hi Jenny I know but he also made me fast and when I run I feel his pleasure that was really bad I know but listen don't miss what he was saying don't stop for that no don't okay that's it you like that next week my whole message Scottish accent all right tending their babies it's even getting worse on the stop while I'm ahead he says when I run I feel as pleasure you know when you're doing that thing that God needs you to do you can feel this pleasure can't you it's called finding this sweet spot if you play tennis you know there's a sweet spot in a racket and if you hit this sweet spot it gives you maximum impact on the ball and we have a sweet spot in life don't we where when you do this one thing for God's glory you just say oh man I feel this pleasure doing this because you were wired to do that thing that's why you're here we're all here to do that so I think that we should all consider how well we are fulfilling our purpose here on earth because our belief in the afterlife should inform our choices in the before life what does it mean to be heavenly minded okay let's go back now to Colossians 3 that we already alluded to but I'm gonna read the next verses because now we go from I don't want to say this a blind of the practical but in a way that sums it up this is all practical really when you get down to it but really what it does is it shows us how our belief in the afterlife affects us in the before life Colossians 3 verse 5 therefore put to death your members which are on the earth fornication and clean this passion evil desire covetousness which is idolatry because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them now you yourselves put these off anger wrath malice blasphemy filthy language out of your mouth don't lie one to another since you put off the old man with his deeds and to put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge I want you to notice Paul starts of the word therefore whenever you see the word therefore find out what it's there for Paul's drawing on what he has already said what did he say hey set your mind on things above think heaven pursue heaven now in light of this don't pursue these other things and he identified three sins that keep us earthbound if you will three three sins that keep us from being heavenly minded number one sexual sin keeps us earthbound Paul mentions the word fornication and verse five from the root word porneia this speaks of sexual immorality in general it refers to any form of illicit sex extramarital sex premarital sex homosexual sex let me simplify it for you God's order for sex one man one woman monogamous married end of story that's it I know that's not politically correct and this day and age to say it but it's gospel truth but this isn't just the person who is sexually immoral but it's a person who fills their mind with this stuff you know you might pride yourself in the fact that you don't go out and do those things well I've never been unfaithful to my spouse or I didn't have sex before marriage well great fantastic but do you fill your minds with pornography do you fill your minds and your lives with all this sexual stuff and fantasize about it all the time and Jesus told us if we look at a woman to lust after her it's like committing adultery with her so Paul is saying don't let sense control your life in this way number two idolatry keeps us earthbound idolatry he says covetousness which is idolatry you know a lot of us don't even know what coveting is it made the top ten it's one of the Ten Commandments thou shalt not covet now I believe that with all of my heart you shall not covet what does it mean to covet I have no idea but we should not do it well the Bible defines it for us the word covet comes from two root words to have and more basically they have more it's a person who always once more the covetous person is never satisfied with what they have they want what someone else has does that make sense and then when they get it they don't want it anymore it's a thrill of the hunt if you don't know what I'm talking about just get a bunch of kids together and watch him play I have four granddaughters and one grandson by the way my grandson holds his own he's just over a year old but but he hangs in there with these girls that are quite a bit older and you know they'll set up their cute little doll houses and all the accessories and and he comes in with a hammer now and they explained I I didn't give him a hammer it's a plastic hammer from a little toy I gave him where you pound balls into holes you know but he's done pounding the balls now he wants to pound other things he comes walking up with a hammer and here's all the little bamboo accessories fine he just walks off you know and I'm looking I'm going oh yes he's a boy but watch how kids fight over something one child grabs a toy to any toy then the other child immediately wants that toy now they're fighting over the toy and you see no come on you guys there's all these toys are wheelies they're fighting over the toy one child usually the stronger one prevails gets a toy walks off looks at it for a couple minutes drops it on the ground and moves on because it was never about the toy it was about getting something that someone else had I'm sure glad we outgrow that aren't you don't we now we know this goes right through life for many people and so we're being told don't let that control you you know you can have a lawn and still want more you have so many of these right I want more more some people have very little materially speaking and are completely content Hebrews 13:5 says it let your life be without covetousness be content with such things as you have for he has said I will never leave you or forsake you contentment does not come from what you have it comes from who you know and if you like David can say the Lord is my shepherd you will also be able to say I shall not want because your contentment is in your relationship with God let me turn this around it's not always bad to want more and this coming year I encourage you want more more of Jesus more opportunities to glorify God more spiritual fruit more it's not enough you want more that's a good thing finally number three anger meekness and slandering others keeps us earthbound anger meanness and slandering others keeps us earthbound first-aid anger wrath malice blasphemy filthy language keep it out of your mouth the word anger speaks of a settled and habitual anger with a thought of revenge we all get angry at times we're not human if we don't that's not what this is talking about just all that made me angry this is a settled anger this is a person that says I don't get mad I get even so punk are you feeling lucky Clint Eastwood imitation a Scottish imitation and clinics within one message and both of them really bad this is speaking of a person that has that deep-seated anger and it also speaks of a person that flies up the handle but here's an interesting twist that you might not know from reading this translation the word blasphemy is using you think you don't blessing God actually in context and the original word that she is not speaking of blaspheming God it's speaking of blaspheming or speaking ill of others it's called gossip and by the way our culture trades in gossip there are websites dedicated to the latest concept we hear it we tweet it we text it we email it we post it on our Facebook page is it true I don't know but it's juicy it's fun unless you're the person that's being gossiped about unless you're the person being lied about yeah I've been acronym for you in this coming year an acronym that you could use as a grid to run things through when you hear something about someone else before you repeat it think of this acronym think thi NK T stands for is it truthful H stands for is it helpful I stands for is it inspiring n stands for is it necessary K stands for is it kind before you repeat that information are you sure this is true is it gonna be helpful is it going to inspire someone is it really necessary and is it he might respond to the simple Greg if I applied that acronym to my life I wouldn't say anything Amen do us all a favor and shut up if you're spreading that kind of information the best way to turn away from one thing is to find something better as one old minister put it it's the explosive power of a new affection I love that phrase the explosive power of a new affection coming back to kids you want to get a kid to let go of something you get something but what about this what and then you know you get that other thing out of their hand like the hammer or whatever think heaven in 2014 if you really start thinking more about in seeking heaven which is to say putting the Lord first scenario every area from the thoughts you think to the friends you choose to the way you use your time it will transform you listen you are a child of God if you're Christian and that means you're a citizen of heaven it's time to start acting like one why because life comes and goes so quickly before you know it you'll be standing before God but here's the good news if we have that explosive power of a new affection if we put God first in our life we'll a very fulfilling lives here on earth CS Lewis said and I quote aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in a manner that neither and quote another great statement this one girl liked it aim at heaven and you get earth thrown in you know I'm thinking of the Lord I'm focusing on the Lord and I end up living a fulfilling life and then life comes to an end and I'm gonna tell you something all the health food solutions are not going to extend your life one day you can eat your free-range chicken and your organic vegetables and all the tofu your heart desires and you're gonna live as long as God wants you to live does he appoints a day of your birth he appoints a day of your death and then comes eternity and then what happens listen heaven is not the default destination of every person heaven is the destination of the person who has their ticket alluded to earlier say what do you mean this ticket I'm talking about you of your reservation you know you're going there you put your faith in Christ that's you're assured you will go to heaven when you die well how do you get this ticket you might ask that how much will it cost me oh you couldn't afford it all the good works all the religiosity all the rituals won't get you this ticket this is a blood bought ticket bought with the blood of Christ as he hung on the cross and died in our place and rose again from the dead but you know what he loves to give this ticket out he loves to extend his forgiveness sound like he's holding it back he said hey man I want you to take this ticket it's yours read about somebody had just found a lottery ticket worth a lot of money and was just laying under a pile of leaves I don't know what the person thought I don't want this and I'm not advocating buying lottery tickets it's just an illustration I think it's from the biggest waste of your money to buy lottery tickets but that's another story for another day and I'll do it in a Scottish accent I promise but um but here's something of great value discarded under a pile of leaves and that's how the gospel is for many people there it is the greatest offer of all eternity in going I would say no who cares I'll move on I'll tell you what when life comes doing in you'll realize that's the most important thing of all Jesus died on the cross he rose again from the dead he stands now at the door of your life and if you hear his voice and open the door he will come in if you want to know you'll go to heaven when you die if you want to walk into this coming year with the confidence say you can live your life to the best of your ability for the glory of God and be ready to meet him whenever that date is or if you've fallen away from the Lord and you want to come back to him again I'd like you to respond to this invitation and I'm going to extend as we close now on prayer that's all bow our heads father thank you for your word to us thank you for your love for us now I pray for anyone here that does not yet know you they don't have the hope of heaven but they want it help them to respond now well their heads are bowed and our eyes are closed listen carefully if you want to believe in Jesus Christ if you want to be certain that you'll go to heaven when you die if you want your sin forgiven or if you've fallen away from the Lord and you want to make this recommitment to him at the beginning of this new year I want you to stand to your feet right now wherever you are and I'm gonna lead you in a prayer just stand to your feet you want Christ to come into your life you need his forgiveness you've fallen away you want to come back to him stand to your feet and I'm gonna lead you in a prayer where you're gonna ask for God's forgiveness just stand up people are standing by the way you're not the only one if you're standing you that are watching on a screen you stand right where you are wherever you're seeing this stand up stand up and I'm gonna lead you in a simple prayer one final moment you want to make this commitment a recommitment to Jesus stand up now god bless you god bless you anybody else stand now all right now all of you that are standing if you would please repeat this prayer out loud after me again there's I pray pray this out loud after me pray now if you would out loud Lord Jesus I know I'm a sinner and I know you're a Savior and you died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead now come into my life and be my Savior in my lord I want the hope of heaven thank you for calling me and accepting me and forgiving me in Jesus name I pray amen amen you

Channel: Pastor Greg Laurie

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Length: 44min 6sec (2646 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 08 2014