Shut Out From God's Presence

[Music] standing in front of you reminds me of something i read recently that made me chuckle uh a guy was welcoming everybody to a plastic surgery it's an honest anonymous meeting and he said i see a lot of new faces here today which is disappointing well unlike me i'm glad to see all your faces here today plastic surgery or else i'm glad to be in your presence in presence of god worshiping it was such a great time to worship the lord each time i i get before the lord and worship like that and before his presence you know i just surrender all my earthly cares my concerns to him you know he he cares for us and there's a sense that that i get that all despite all these problems and concerns he cares for me so much in the midst of what i'm going through you know i can trust him fully to see see me through he he gives me a piece that passes all understanding and uh you probably experienced that at least one time in your life where you've been in a difficult time like that and he gives you that peace it's just amazing so the topic i want to talk about today came out of some meditation i was doing on a passage in first or second thessalonians 1 6 to 10 and it's the reality of its message that just began to hit me as i thought about it was praying about you know what it meant it got me thinking about the presence of god in the absence of the presence of god and what that's like it would be like so my goal in talking about this subject is that it would cause us to think deeper about our lives in the lives of those around us and consider how in light of eternity we should spend our time this side of eternity in a way that more fully pleases the lord so i picture myself standing before the lord when i read this next scripture that we're going to read kind of reviewing my life on a screen with him there and it's first corinthians 3 11 through 16. for no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid which is jesus christ if anyone builds on this foundation using gold silver costly stones wood hay or straw their work will be shown for what it is because the day will bring it to light it will be revealed with fire the fire will test the quality of each person's work if what has been built survives the builder will receive a reward if it is burned up the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved even though only as one escaping through the flames don't you know that you yourselves are god's temple and that god's spirit dwells in your midst so how are we living our lives you know it was mentioned here in the in the gifts here this morning do we live our lives for temporary pursuits in this life that are represented in the scripture by wood hay and straw or is it for the long-lasting things represented by the gold silver and costly stones god has rewards for his followers in heaven if the things in our life amount to nothing more than just wood hay or straw when we get to heaven do you think he will say well done good and faithful servant it makes me wonder we will have just escaped the flames and won't have much left so he tells us in his word what really matters and so we need to pursue that things like salvation of souls loving others and loving god primarily which everything else flows from really so are we measuring our lives by god's standards and things that really matter it says that the day of the lord will bring our works on this earth to light sometimes when i think about how i'm spending my life you know i just i pray and i admit to the lord to change my heart that the things that i'm living for become more like what he wants me to live for because we can all get to those places where we're just not thinking in life and we just we end up in a place like okay i'm focused on this over here but these are the things that are important you know it says don't you know you yourselves are god's temple god's spirit dwells in your midst and others say others translations say dwells in you acts 17 24-27 says god made the world and everything in it the lord everything in it is the lord of is the lord of heaven and earth and does not live in let me start over the god who made the world and everything in it is the lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands and he is not served by human hands as if he needed anything rather he himself gives every everything life and breath and everything else for what from one man he made all nations that they should inhabit the whole earth and he marked out the appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands well why did god do this it says in 27 god did this so they would seek him and perhaps reach out to him and find him though he's not far from any one of us you know the very breath that we breathe is all borrowed from our creator you know whether we believe in him or not we're still borrowing what he gave us the fact that he gave us life and everything else and he set the appointed times in history that we should live means that he infuses our life with meaning and purpose but not everyone chooses to receive receive that from him verse 27 says that god did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out to him and find him though he's not far from any one of us now we see in the in these last few passages that god dwells in our midst and he's not far from any one of us and the question uh is will we choose to draw near to him and accept his path for our life are we pursuing him in that or are we following our own path like kirk mentioned about the guy he ran into you know it's a choice we have given to us by our creator you know he doesn't force us to love him or to have a relationship with him we we have to choose that and we have to choose it daily um so let's read this passage that uh really sparked this message in my mind uh as i was reading it in second thessalonians 1 6 through 10 it says god is just he will pay back to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled and to us as well this will happen when the lord jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels he will punish those who do not know god and do not obey the gospel of our lord jesus so they'll be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be moral with that among those who have believed this includes you because you believed our testimony to you so i was meditating on that verse eight stuck out to me and uh i understand that those who know the truth but choose not to obey him it made sense to me that the lord says okay you have to um be separated from me shut out from my presence but those who simply don't know him that kind of something i was just i was praying about like okay was why is that lord you know someone lives you know far away from hearing the gospel well why why are they shut out and he showed me uh romans 1 18 to 20 that says the wrath of god is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness since what may be known about god is plain to them because god has made it plain to them for since the creation of the world his god god's invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made so that people are without excuse you see if you don't know god is likely because you have chosen not to know him you've chosen not to seek him seeking like it's honest deep pursuit of the lord and maybe you're walking in deception maybe that's a reason we don't come to know him maybe the deception is something like you were hurt by someone that's a christian and you kind of throw out the baby with the bathwater you just kind of throw it all out and you know it's something that you know what you need really is the truth and you know you can't judge a world view based on the abuse of the teachings of its founder and i'm willing to bet that jesus wouldn't have treated you treated you in that unloving way you know when the truth of god's word shines on our deception it can dispel even that in our lives and the bible says in john chapter 1 and john 14 that the creator which is jesus he's the way the truth and the life he not only created us but entered into this creation which is something that no other he entered into this creation and took our sin and our brokenness if we accept him and in no other religion or worldview out there you see anything close to that kind of love and devotion from from god you know this sets jesus apart he's unique he's like no one else his love goes far beyond anyone else's love and he cares for us so deeply even those who choose not to love him he loves them and god dwells with us his presence can be seen all around us so let's talk about what the bible says about the presence of god and as i was thinking about this the verse in james 1 17 which is one of the verses amy read today it says every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the father of heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows so if every good and perfect gift is from above and if people are shut out from the presence of the lord they're shut out from the good gifts that come from god we experience the effects of the presence of god on this earth even if we don't recognize it or believe in the lord you know matthew 5 45 says he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous he shows care for us even before we we choose to know him so i mentioned how we're borrowing the very breath of god from our creator it says in genesis 2 7 the lord god formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being so god is he's chosen so many good gifts on this earth to bless us with uh through his presence he and however we we often take we don't usually take time to think about all of them just just being grateful for for the things he's given us you know god loves a heart of gratitude it's one of the things he he wants us to be like and here's some gifts that the followers of jesus and those who don't follow jesus all benefit from here on this earth that are given to him given to us by by the lord you know i'm sure that we could think of many more than what i'm going to list if we took the time but here's just a few of the of the good gifts that we all enjoy the bible says god is love you know god's love for those who hate him goes far beyond man's kind of love it's a gift to those who receive him but even the brotherly and familiar love that we all enjoy and and anybody can can have for their family or friends it's a gift from god as well even though we we love him perfectly that love itself is a gift from god who is love you know those that eventually will not accept the lord will be shut out from the presence of his presence and the ability to ability to love will go as well there will is no capacity to love in hell how about joy you know there are things that god who is the giver of good gifts has given to all people to bring our lives joy think about what your life what in your life brings you joy you know is it the beauty of creation the joy of eating something some delicious food god gave those to you how about a relationship or friend friends that you have most people have someone that they enjoy spending time with well if someone gets shut out from the presence of the lord things that bring them joy like relationships and the beauty all around them that goes too there's absolutely absolutely no beauty in hell how about peace the lord gives us peace as a gift you know of course we talked about experiencing peace that passes understanding you ever experienced a time we just felt like like everything was right with the world you're in a peaceful surrounding in nature maybe we're at the beach which we love to go to or maybe you found a place to sit and watch the sun rise or the sunset this peace you feel during that moment is a gift from god if a person shut out from god's presence they don't get to take that peace with them either it belongs to god how about patience have you ever been out of control and treated someone poorly and yet they showed you patience that's a gift from god who gives all good good gifts a person shut out from the presence of god will never experience patience again how about kindness have you ever been in a grumpy mood and yet someone treated you better than you deserve have you been blessed by someone with a a gift that you weren't expecting or maybe a blessing or a gift from a stranger i remember my wife and i were on a trip home from uh from europe and our first 25th wedding anniversary several years ago and we were sitting on the plane and trying to figure out how to get to our hotel and uh you know i had made the plans like in five days for a 11 day trip and so i just didn't realize that the hotel was 45 minutes from the airport so a lady on the plane who's from france who lived and worked in iceland at the time offered to give us a ride to the hotel and it was a 45 minute drive and it's like i didn't know her from adam or eve and uh it was just it was it was a blessing it was it was a kindness shown by a stranger but one who gets shut out from the presence of the lord will never get to experience another kindness and eternity how about goodness something like getting your first job or the lord brings someone in your life to marry or some unexpected money comes your way that came at just the right time you get to take a trip that you have wanted to for some time all these things are goodnesses from god and they're gifts from him someone who is shut out from god's presence because they haven't made him king of their life will never get to enjoy another good thing for the rest of their existence in eternity how about faithfulness god's own son jesus christ came to earth he lived the faithful life doing what his father asked him to fulfilling what he set out to do which was to provide a sacrifice for our sins redeeming us from the punishment of what we deserved in hell you know that faithfulness bene only benefits us if we choose to surrender our lives to him and to make him boss of our lives and accept his free gift of salvation so we don't get this gift of salvation by default by being human we have to choose and if we choose not to know god we are shut out from this presence in his faithfulness forever how about gentleness have you ever had to go to the hospital and because you were in pain you received gentleness from a nurse or a doctor maybe you hurt someone deeply and gentle and they were gentle or in return and this is this sort of behavior is something planted by god in in this world it's a gift from him and those shut out from his presence for all eternity will never get to experience gentleness forever the last thing is self-control and you notice these are all fruits of the spirit the bible says in proverbs 20 to 25 28 like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control so you see self-control just like janet mentioned as being a boundary it can self-control protects us like walls of a city protect a city you know one of the roles of parents in society is to build self-control into their kids to develop that so that when they grow into adulthood you know they can control themselves i mean it's a good thing i hope i hope parents you know of young ones you're doing that to your kids you're helping them grow in that way because it's so important you know can you imagine can you imagine um where was i okay so you know god established the family back in genesis and also says in in psalms 80 68 6 that god set the lonelian family so that's his purpose he put he put the families in place and he had a plan to build self-control into society and like i mentioned imagine if everything we felt we acted on or everything that we wanted we just took everything we thought we just said or however fast we wanted to drive we just drove you know we just lacked that self-control wouldn't society be miserable if self-control wasn't present so this is a gift from god by our creator and those that are shut out from the presence of the lord will no longer be able to have any choice over their future the just reward of a just god will determine what their future looks like and they won't have a say in it after this life ends second corinthians 5 10 says we must all peer appear before the judgment seat of christ that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body whether good or bad see we're accountable to our creator in this life we're responsible for the gifts and abilities he's given us and even those that we've we've been able to learn and he's given this ability to grow in you know our maker who is infinitely more loving and just than we are created us with a purpose and a plan for each one of us and the the best thing for our lives and what is beyond this life is to obey him in what he says so these are just a few of the good gifts that that i that i was thinking about how god has given us because of his presence if person is shut out from the presence of god he loses all the good gifts that come as a result of that presence on earth so acts 2 28 says you have made known to me the paths of life you will make me full of gladness with your presence and i also love this one in psalm 16 11 you make known to me the paths of life in your presence there is fullness of joy and at your right hand pleasure is forevermore and we all have things that bring us joy in life but only the presence of the lord can bring that that fullness of joy we could choose to surrender our lives to him and receive that fullness of joy and it will last for all eternity because in heaven his manifest presence will be with us forever be close to us at all times sin won't be there to separate us man that is so exciting you know your happiest thought your most joyous moment in this world will only be like a drop in the bucket in the ocean of the joy and the pleasure we'll get to experience in heaven in the presence of the lord for all eternity it reminds me of the line from the amazing grace song when we've been there 10 000 years bright shining as the sun we've no less days to sing his praise than when we first begun amen we'll enjoy that so much i think we don't fully realize that and that won't be the only thing we're doing but but that will be something we get to do so much and it will be so joyful to do it for those of us who have chosen to become disciples of jesus how we experience how do we experience the presence of the lord uh in this life and so i i have a couple of things that i i was thinking about that first is in psalms 100 verse 4 enter the gates enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise give thanks to him and praise his name so we see that's one way we we can get into the presence of god and what a gift it is to feel close to god in worship i mean i i sense that today as we are worshiping you know the the line in the one song faultless will stand before him and i just that just hit me like wow i know my faults i know i have them i know they're there and yet i get to stand before him one day faultless is just amazing to me so there's just something about glorifying god and singing praises that helps set our minds right before the lord it's it's intentionally filling our minds with gratitude and gratefulness for what he's done for us you know i find myself repenting of the wrong in my life that he reveals to me as i'm worshiping and i receive his forgiveness during worship and he speaks to me oftentimes of things that he wants to birth in my life even oftentimes during worship my perspective on life changes when i intentionally stop thinking about myself and begin thinking about the lord and being grateful to him i feel surrounded by his love in worship you know it says in psalm 32 10 many are the woes of the wicked but the lord's unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him rejoice in the lord and be glad you righteous seeing all you who are upright in heart and we talked about that earlier a lot of the things that were mentioned earlier just really dovetail with what the lord had shown me so the lord makes up right it makes us upright and we align ourselves with with his uh his will and worship can help us get there god is a relational god he wants to know us he's made a way for us to communicate with us and for us to communicate with him you know we want to we should reach out to him you know deeper in worship continually this just he wants to commune with us and the more often than just the sunday mornings his word is another place that i find we can go to get into god's presence because we're reading his word washing our minds with it hebrews 4 12 says the word of the lord the word of god is alive and active sharper than any double-edged sword it penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit joints and marrow it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart nothing and all creation is hidden from god's sight everything is uncovered and lay bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account so god knows us deeper than we even know ourselves his word is living and active you know it can speak to us in a place in any place that we find ourselves in life you know are you hurting are you struggling are you unsure of the direction to go in life you know open up god's word let him speak to to you through it he has a way of breathing life into our spirits through his word but read it with an open and humble heart don't read it wanting to pull out of it just what you want to hear it does you no good you want the truth the truth is what sets you free second peter 1 3 says his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness so we just we just need to turn to him for this we can't do it on our own you know i hear some people say they want to when we go out witnessing they want to get their life right with the lord first before they come to church and and someone else once said that that's kind of like cleaning yourself up before you get a bath i mean i mean he does the work inside of us to make us a new creation to even want to do good you know and he fills us with the fruits of the spirit you know and uh it's it's such a neat thing to see a new believer just begin to change the lord just changing them from the inside out and they became they become somebody that looks more and more like jesus every day so one thing that hinders our closeness with the lord is feeling his uh closeness with the lord and feeling his presence near us is our sin isaiah 59 2 says our but your iniquities have separated you from your god your sins have hidden his face from you so you will that he will not hear so if you find yourself in this place and not feeling close to god one thing to look at it's not always the only thing because sometimes we just are in a wilderness time in our life but one thing to look at is is there is there some sin in my life that the lord needs to deal with and what should we do about it well let's let's read what uh what david did in his heart um after his sin with uh an affair with bathsheba in a murder of her husband psalm 51 1 says have mercy on me oh god according to your unfailing love according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin and for i know my transgressions and my sin is always before me against you you only have i sinned and done what is evil in your sight so you are right if in your verdict and justified when you judge and then verse 10 create in me a pure heart oh god renew a steadfast spirit within me do not cast me from your presence or take your holy spirit from me restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me and then 17 says my sacrifice o god is a broken spirit a broken and contrite heart god you will not despise so that's how we want to be before the lord if we find ourselves in that place of sin so you see while we have breath in our bodies in this life kirk mentioned to today we have hope hope that we will turn from our own ways and repent and be restored to his ways and right relationship that leads us into the presence of god ultimately we'll we will either be swallowed up by life in the presence of the lord in heaven we're swallowed up by death shut out from the presence of the lord in hell and what the bible says is everlasting destruction in the lake of fire the second death so to finish i want to just give us a little taste of what the bible describes about these two eternal destinations the lake of fire and in heaven so what's heaven like these these uh descriptions come from revelations 21 matthew 6 19 psalm 16 11 and luke 23 43. i just kind of combined them so first i want to mention a friend of mine who is watching at home today we like to talk about heaven he has cerebral palsy and has not been able uh to eat and taste food like you and i for last 10 years his name is mike bartlow you know he has a feeding tube um that he's had to use for his nourishment for the last these last 10 years and you know one thing about heaven is it mentions there's going to be a feast up there so he's going to get to eat again one day man that's so encouraging and there's other ailments that he has not being able to to walk you know he's gonna he's not gonna have any sickness anymore anything to hinder him his health you know to see him walking around one day will be such a joy in heaven you know heaven is a it's a perfect place where there's no more sin or evil neither your sin or anyone else's where nothing impure ever enters it where no one does deceitful things and where you can live without shame where your fears no longer rule you where tears and sadness will disappear where there will be no more dying no more pain where you'll be rewarded for the good things done on this earth by a just and loving god can you imagine a place having perfect health forever no sickness can hinder you what you what you can eat you know there's people that are hindered in their health by what what they're allowed to eat you know even work there will be a joy not affected by the curse of sin so the bible describes it as paradise you know something that we need to think about more often in our lives with the lord it's something we look forward to as we go through the struggles of this earth it helps us to make it through at times it's imp it's important in first corinthians 2 9 no eye has seen no ear is heard no mind has conceived what god has prepared for those who love him can't even fathom what what heaven is going to be like in some respects he gives us bits and pieces of what it's going to be like so who gets to go there to heaven only those whose names the bible says are written in the lamb's book of life in revelations 21 it talks about that and only those whose sins are taken away and are made holy which which happens at our salvation so what does it take to get a person's name in that lamb's book of life and we talked about it you know according to the bible in john 3 it says we have to be born again it's another way to put it you just have to make him king of your life receive his free gift of salvation and romans 10 9 puts it this way that if you confess with your mouth that that jesus is lord and believe in your heart that god raised him from the dead you will be saved who is not there well the cowardly the unbelieving the vile the murderers sexually immoral liars anyone who is impure and unholy basically no one who is still in their sins who has not had their name written in the lamb's book of life we'll be there so revelations 2015 says about those whose name isn't written in the book if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire you know this is an eternal sentence that god makes on those that choose not to know him it's a it's a destination created for satan and his demons so it was created for he wanted he wanted to have perfect relationship with mankind in heaven but man kind sinned and we've chosen our own way and walked away from him it's only in jesus that we we get back to that right relationship so can you imagine a place this place of hell in the descriptions of what the bible says about it it's a place of torment both physically mentally and emotionally there's endless physical pain mentally you know you didn't choose god's way and you get to think about it for all of eternity this would just be emotionally just overwhelming the bible talks about there being weeping and gnashing of teeth it's described as a place of fire fire is used over a dozen a half times in the new testament alone related to hell it's unquenchable fire the rich man talked about in luke 16 by jesus was in agony in the fire initially he just wanted a drop of cool water to touch his tongue though he couldn't be granted that you see he was shut out from the presence of god and the good gifts that come from his presence the worst part of hell is jesus isn't there you know i just can't imagine not having that relationship with him that i rely on so much in my life and we talked earlier about who gets to go there it's like i said the cowardly unbelieving vile murders basically anybody in pure and unholy and whoever keeps it says in james 2 10 well one sin we'll see is here um is enough to make us unholy for whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it so no amount of good works changes that i i just have this picture to share with you what kind of an analogy picture yours your lives are like this glass of pure water how many strawberries would you need to add to it to make it pure again so that you could drink it after you've dropped one drop of vomit into it it's impure i wouldn't want to drink it you wouldn't want to drink it that's what sin is like to the lord you know if one sin is allowed into heaven i mean you know that it wouldn't be heaven so he is a just god so only christ can remove that sin from us you know we need to also stand firm to the end jesus talks about for the rest of our earthly lives you know he helps us to do this he walks with us and he gives us this holy spirit to walk with him you know we we obey god in salvation but he he wants us to obey and walking out the truth you know we're someone mentioned a few weeks ago that we're continually being saved he's doing this work of sanctification in our life for the rest of our life c.s lewis says in his book the great divorce there are only two kinds of people in the end those who say to god thy will be done and those whom god says in the end thy will be done all that are in hell choose it without that self-choice there could be no hell no soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it those who seek find those who knock it is opened so they've essentially become successful rebels in the end their lives have spoken i want nothing to do with with you and in the end god says have it your way so i ran across this uh short article by pastor of bridgepoint bible church in houston in texas houston texas and he wrote this about hell the other day i heard that a friend's relative was dying and would likely die soon later that morning i heard the news that he had died he did not believe in jesus as hard as it is to know that someone is suffering physical misery in this life and as much as we may end up desiring the lord allow them to die so that they can be relieved of their sorrow of their pain in the here and now there is no comparison between the temporal pain experienced in the on earth and the eternal horror of those who are rightly punished for rejecting the god who made them it's terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living god it says in hebrews 10 31 not only are the tortures of hell horrific but the future of its inhabitants is hopeless there's no light at the end of the tunnel no bright sunrise following the night no happy tomorrows that can erase today's agonies hell has no pleasant surprises it's predictable guaranteed inescapable hell is a hopeless place but hope gives us strength it enables us to persevere in the face of massive and mounting odds it gives us a sense of purpose when life seems aimless a sense of joy when we're called to labor in a sense of resignation in our in our sufferings even in the darkest blackest night the candle of christian hope cannot be fully extinguished and i added if we're standing firm to the end it will flicker and grow dim but it will not go out if we're holding on to jesus but there is none of this in hell ten thousand tomorrows of hell will be as miserable as ten thousand yesterdays take a hubble's telescope and look as far into hell's future as you can see and you will not find a ray of hope look at hell think about it close your eyes and imagine it smell it it will expose the emptiness of your gratitude the thrill of free redemption and the urgency of making disciples i'm never more sobered than when i consider hell and never more awakened than when someone goes there it's hard to think about for long but it just might be that the less you think about it the more people will end up there your neighbor is going there your brother's going there your father is going there your co-workers your friends and your relatives are going there most of us have at least dozens and at most thousands of people in our lives that will be separated from god forever dying but never dying in what the bible calls the lake of fire they will be hopeless this is not the only reason to share christ but is the starkest and the most bleak there are many things in life that don't matter and a few that do this is one that matters say something that's that's was the end of his article it was convicting to me when i read that i even as believers you know disciples of jesus we could fill our lives with so many things that just don't matter in eternity and not fill our lives with things that will last on into eternity and my prayer today is lord please change my hearts that aligns with yours and that the things that matter to you will matter to me as well being in the presence of god is where we can receive what we need from god to change us in the here and now only one thing jesus asked us to do or one of the main things that jesus asked us to do is to make disciples to welcome others into his presence as well you know most people their biggest aim in the world is is making the most money um but it says in mark 8 36 what good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul you take all of your worldly possessions put them in a pile burn them up if you love the lord with all your heart you haven't really lost anything you know my goal in talking about this subject is that it might cause us to think deeper about our lives and the lives of those around us consider how in light of eternity we should spend the rest of our lives here on this planet we can get it wrong we can get into wrong ruts of thinking at times maybe fall asleep in the light you know we need the lord to shake us and wake us out of our slumber at times he uses the holy spirit and life circumstances to do this for us and we should recognize it and turn to him do you musicians want to come up you have one last song okay i want to talk about holding firm to the end matthew 24 12-13 says because of the increase of wickedness the love of most will grow cold but he who stands firm to the end will be saved i don't want my love for jesus to grow cold that i can't share my faith and my love with those around me that he wants me to share with you know hebrews 3 6 says but christ is faithful as a son over god's house but we are god's house if we hold on to the courage to our courage and the hope of which we boast and then 314 says we have come to share in christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first and lastly in hebrews 10 35-36 so do not throw away your confidence it will be richly rewarded you need to persevere so that when you have done the will of god you will receive what he has promised for in just a little while he who is coming will come and will not delay but my righteous one will live by faith and if he shrinks back i will not be pleased with him but we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed but o those of those who believe and are saved thank thank goodness the lord has given us the ability to to continue and persevere [Music] hebrews 12 1-3 says therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses let us throw off everything that hinders us in the sin that sowing easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us let us fix our eyes on jesus the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross scorning his shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of god consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart to the one who has already surrendered their life to jesus i say pursue his presence in your life today more deeply the closer we walk with jesus the more certain we are to stand firm to the end he's given you everything you need for life and godliness hold fast to the hope that you have begun your journey with with jesus seek to please the lord how he wants you to live take a step in that direction step out of your comfort zone continue to live a life of repentance before the lord you will find greater joy than when you find yourselves you will not find any greater joy than when you find yourself at the center of god's will for your life pursue it as a treasure discovered in a field that pursuit will not disappoint you and it will be worth it it will be all worth it in the end to the one who hasn't yet surrendered their life to jesus i say you really don't want to be shut out from the presence of the lord and punished with everlasting destruction the good things and the pleasurable things that you're borrowing from your creator in this life will not be in hell the place that is shut out from the presence of the lord take the advice of the rich man in hades repent which means to turn from your sins and surrender to jesus who offers you his costly but free to you gift of eternal life and if you do he will make you a new creation and give you a purpose beyond your wildest dreams and give you a hope in this life in the one to come [Music] and then you will not lose his goodness and you will get to experience joy greater than you can be experienced in this fragile and broken world that we live in today revelations 2012 says and i saw the dead great and spall standing before the throne and the books were opened another book was opened which is the book of life the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books verse 15 says anyone whose name was not found in the written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire you know surrendering your life to jesus is the only way to get your name into that book at book of life hebrews 9 27 says it is appointed for man to to die once and after that comes judgment the answer to only one question will matter when this life on this earth ends for you what did you do with jesus what did you do with jesus what did you do with jesus thank you

Channel: Alliance Christian Center

Views: 59

Rating: 4 out of 5

Keywords: Nathan Hochstetler, God's Presence, Gifts from God, Shut out from God, Out of God's Presence, Hell, Absence of God, Heaven, Eternity, Death, Dying, End of Life, Afterlife

Id: 6WYhZ7sDzXo

Length: 50min 30sec (3030 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 13 2021