WEBVTT 00:00:00.110 --> 00:00:03.629 And ask how you're doing, but we just sang about 00:00:03.629 --> 00:00:07.230 the King returning, and we just sang about all 00:00:07.230 --> 00:00:10.509 hail King Jesus. And if that hasn't changed your 00:00:10.509 --> 00:00:13.550 posture slightly, I don't know that there's a 00:00:13.550 --> 00:00:16.289 lot that's going to help you. So I'm hoping that 00:00:16.289 --> 00:00:19.850 you are in a posture of like recognizing we are 00:00:19.850 --> 00:00:23.730 so dependent on Him. And what a gift, what a 00:00:23.730 --> 00:00:26.629 gift to be able to let go of this life and embrace 00:00:26.629 --> 00:00:29.379 what's there. All right, so good. Those of you 00:00:29.379 --> 00:00:31.739 online, welcome. We're so glad you're with us 00:00:31.739 --> 00:00:34.340 today. I'm so glad that we get to do this together. 00:00:34.439 --> 00:00:36.460 Let's put it that way. Get to walk alongside. 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:40.060 Pauldin, Baghdad, welcome to you. I do come with 00:00:40.060 --> 00:00:44.340 a warning today, okay? So if you are part of 00:00:44.340 --> 00:00:46.100 the Heights family and you have been for a while, 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:49.200 all I got for you is buckle up. You've been here 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:53.719 before. But if you are new or you are fairly... 00:00:54.310 --> 00:00:56.649 new to the Heights family, or maybe it's even 00:00:56.649 --> 00:00:59.070 your first time here, or maybe across the screen. 00:00:59.909 --> 00:01:03.369 Today is a lot, and I own that up front, but 00:01:03.369 --> 00:01:05.670 we need to cover some ground. We're literally 00:01:05.670 --> 00:01:08.909 gonna teach the whole Bible, okay? So we're gonna 00:01:08.909 --> 00:01:11.530 cover a lot of ground, and it's intentional, 00:01:11.569 --> 00:01:15.090 and the hope is this, that when we walk out of 00:01:15.090 --> 00:01:18.810 here, we have some foundations to live from. 00:01:19.390 --> 00:01:21.790 And what I know is this, that we're in a collection. 00:01:22.519 --> 00:01:25.260 And part of this collection, this idea, if you 00:01:25.260 --> 00:01:27.739 were here last week, it's called Just Camping. 00:01:28.140 --> 00:01:31.640 That this life, this life is just a camping trip. 00:01:32.019 --> 00:01:35.359 Anybody enjoy camping this week? Yeah? Okay, 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:38.120 one of you. Good, good. I'm excited. The rest 00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:40.140 of you feel about camping like I do. It's not 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:44.560 fun. But no, seriously, the idea behind Just 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:48.900 Camping is this, that if we look at the... Physical 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:51.180 tent, what we can learn from the physical tent 00:01:51.180 --> 00:01:54.200 is that the physical tent is suitable to the 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:57.060 ground it's found in. When we talk about our 00:01:57.060 --> 00:02:01.260 life, Paul refers to this life, this body, as 00:02:01.260 --> 00:02:05.019 a physical tent. So your physical body is going 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:08.639 to be laid down at some point. But while you 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:11.580 are here and while you have breath, this life, 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:14.740 this camping trip, your life is suitable to live 00:02:14.740 --> 00:02:18.080 by faith. Why? Because you can't see yet. So 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:21.000 you're living by faith. You're suitable in this 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:23.900 life to live by faith. We talked about last week 00:02:23.900 --> 00:02:27.199 the idea that tents don't have roots on them. 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:31.280 So how absurd is it for us who are just camping 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:34.620 to take this life and try and put roots into 00:02:34.620 --> 00:02:37.580 the earth? It doesn't make sense to try and make 00:02:37.580 --> 00:02:41.659 this the place we hold on to. Now, we also talked 00:02:41.659 --> 00:02:45.180 about last week that... idea that this is temporary, 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:47.080 right? That we were made to move, that we are 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:49.659 vulnerable to the elements, that your tent is 00:02:49.659 --> 00:02:52.759 going to wear out no matter how much you fight 00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:55.319 it. No matter how many things you try and do, 00:02:55.479 --> 00:02:57.460 the physical tent is going to wear out. Your 00:02:57.460 --> 00:03:00.840 physical body is wearing out. Your best day was 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:03.319 the day you were born. It's been all downhill 00:03:03.319 --> 00:03:07.340 since then, right? And so the reality to it is, 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:11.439 is that this life is just camping, which raises 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:16.159 questions. And it raises an experience that we 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:18.939 are all going to go through whether we like it 00:03:18.939 --> 00:03:24.319 or not. Death has 100 % hit rate. You are heading 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:27.439 towards an experience. And it reminds me, my 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:31.500 wife and I got to take a cruise fairly recently. 00:03:31.740 --> 00:03:35.060 And part of that cruise was, it was on a ship 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:36.960 we'd never been on with a company we'd never 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:39.560 been at and a port we'd never gone out of. And 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:41.919 so there was all these unknowns to the experience. 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:45.039 Have you ever had an experience like that where 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:47.319 you're like, I know I'm heading into this experience, 00:03:47.419 --> 00:03:49.419 but I don't really know what it is. Well, so 00:03:49.419 --> 00:03:51.960 what we did is we started to watch videos, right? 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:53.460 And they're walkthrough videos. So it's people 00:03:53.460 --> 00:03:55.740 with a camera walking around the ship. I know 00:03:55.740 --> 00:03:58.360 it sounds really exciting, right? Walking around, 00:03:58.460 --> 00:04:00.099 but what they're doing is giving you all these 00:04:00.099 --> 00:04:04.599 insider tips to the experience that's ahead. 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:07.599 So if you want to get through the process to 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:09.460 get on the boat, this is what we recommend. If 00:04:09.460 --> 00:04:11.020 you want to get from the airport to the port, 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:13.080 this is what we recommend. When you get to your 00:04:13.080 --> 00:04:15.500 room, I know it feels like there's not much space. 00:04:15.580 --> 00:04:17.319 You can take these along and they will help you 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:20.339 have more space to store stuff. If you do this 00:04:20.339 --> 00:04:21.899 when you get on the boat, it'll have a better 00:04:21.899 --> 00:04:23.959 dining experience. Like all these little tips 00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:26.540 that made the experience so much easier because 00:04:26.540 --> 00:04:33.660 we knew what to expect. When you know, you can 00:04:33.660 --> 00:04:37.220 plan. We were able to plan ahead of time. We 00:04:37.220 --> 00:04:39.339 were able to, because we knew what was coming, 00:04:39.540 --> 00:04:42.300 we were able to act accordingly in the present, 00:04:42.339 --> 00:04:46.040 even though the event was in the future. That's 00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:49.180 what knowing does. It changes the experience. 00:04:50.540 --> 00:04:52.920 I have a question for you today, and this is 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:56.500 what we're going to wrap around. What happens 00:04:56.500 --> 00:05:05.800 when you die? What happens when you die? Because 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:08.240 what you think about that and how you understand 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:10.959 it changes everything for what you do in the 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:15.680 present. We ended last week in 2 Corinthians 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:20.600 chapter 5. In verse 1 it says this, For we know, 00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:23.339 speaking to the church. So when it says we, that's 00:05:23.339 --> 00:05:25.220 speaking to the people that have said yes to 00:05:25.220 --> 00:05:28.420 Jesus. The people that would consider themselves 00:05:28.420 --> 00:05:31.980 followers of Jesus. For we know that if the earthly 00:05:31.980 --> 00:05:35.100 tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building 00:05:35.100 --> 00:05:38.920 from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:41.480 by human hands. What he's getting at is this 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:44.500 life, this physical body is like a tent. And 00:05:44.500 --> 00:05:47.040 just like a tent, it will be dismantled, meaning 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.680 it will be laid flat on the earth someday. And 00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:54.000 he goes, when it is, you need to know that you 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:57.220 are getting an upgrade, right? Like you are upgrading 00:05:57.220 --> 00:06:01.139 to a house. And so with that, a permanent dwelling 00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:03.480 made in heaven. He carries on then and he says, 00:06:03.579 --> 00:06:08.379 meanwhile, we groan, longing to be clothed instead 00:06:08.379 --> 00:06:11.740 with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are 00:06:11.740 --> 00:06:13.759 clothed, we will not be found naked. He's going, 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:16.199 we know that there's this heavenly dwelling coming. 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:19.300 We don't want to be exposed. For while we are 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:21.819 in this tent, we groan and are burdened because 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:25.470 we do not wish. to be unclothed, but to be clothed 00:06:25.470 --> 00:06:27.689 instead with our heavenly dwelling. So he's going, 00:06:27.769 --> 00:06:30.009 there's this piece of us that's just longing 00:06:30.009 --> 00:06:34.350 to be done with this camping trip, and we're 00:06:34.350 --> 00:06:37.709 longing for what's ahead, because it's that good. 00:06:38.610 --> 00:06:42.329 So then he says, so that what is mortal may be 00:06:42.329 --> 00:06:46.930 swallowed up by life. Isn't that beautiful? It's 00:06:46.930 --> 00:06:50.860 like poetic. The image that I was given this 00:06:50.860 --> 00:06:52.980 week that helped make sense of that is like when 00:06:52.980 --> 00:06:55.779 you go into a dark room and you turn on the light, 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:59.560 the light swallows, it consumes the darkness. 00:07:00.060 --> 00:07:03.019 And what's said here is of this mortality that 00:07:03.019 --> 00:07:07.620 we live in, this mortality that we all are born 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:11.720 into, that life wants to consume it. It wants 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:15.560 to swallow it. It wants to absorb it. He then 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:19.079 carries on. Now, the one who has fashioned us 00:07:19.079 --> 00:07:22.839 for this very purpose is God who has given us 00:07:22.839 --> 00:07:27.759 the Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what? is 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:30.259 to come. So the Holy Spirit that's been given 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:33.259 to you, what he's saying here is that when you 00:07:33.259 --> 00:07:36.139 said yes to Jesus and the Holy Spirit became 00:07:36.139 --> 00:07:38.819 present inside of you and in your life, what 00:07:38.819 --> 00:07:41.839 you need to know is that was also you receiving 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:45.220 the Holy Spirit is a deposit. It's a payment 00:07:45.220 --> 00:07:49.660 guaranteeing your future. So those of you that 00:07:49.660 --> 00:07:53.019 today know with confidence the Holy Spirit indwells 00:07:53.019 --> 00:07:55.959 me, what you also should know then is that is 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:58.620 a deposit, and what that deposit is doing is 00:07:58.620 --> 00:08:01.980 guaranteeing your inheritance to come, guarantees 00:08:01.980 --> 00:08:04.279 your future. The Holy Spirit is a deposit, and 00:08:04.279 --> 00:08:07.019 we'll talk about that in weeks to come. Therefore, 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:09.980 based on this is a tent, it's a camping trip, 00:08:10.060 --> 00:08:12.779 we got this future home, based on we long to 00:08:12.779 --> 00:08:16.300 be there, based on the... Mortality is going 00:08:16.300 --> 00:08:19.339 to be swallowed up. He says, therefore, based 00:08:19.339 --> 00:08:22.199 on the fact that you have a deposit that's guaranteeing, 00:08:22.220 --> 00:08:29.040 therefore, we are always confident. That's in 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:34.519 the present. You are confident today in the present 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:39.700 and know that as long as we are at home in the 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:45.340 body, we are away from the Lord. For while we 00:08:45.340 --> 00:08:50.299 live by faith, for we live by faith, not by sight. 00:08:50.379 --> 00:08:53.799 Why? Because camping, this life that we're in 00:08:53.799 --> 00:08:56.720 is suitable to faith. We live by faith, not by 00:08:56.720 --> 00:09:00.259 sight. We are confident, I say, and we're preferred 00:09:00.259 --> 00:09:05.399 to be away from the body and at home with the 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:07.779 Lord. Can I just make something really clear? 00:09:07.940 --> 00:09:09.960 Because I think we got this all kinds of confused. 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:14.879 The victory, the reward of when we talk about 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:19.539 heaven is not all of the stuff that goes with 00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:23.139 heaven. The reward is that you will be face to 00:09:23.139 --> 00:09:29.039 face with God himself. The reward is him. And 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:32.220 I got to wonder, because if we're not very excited 00:09:32.220 --> 00:09:34.940 about him in this life, why would we think that 00:09:34.940 --> 00:09:38.320 we're going to be excited for heaven? No, just 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:43.500 me? Okay. Right? You ever wonder why if the reward 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:47.679 is him and the restoration, then in this life, 00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:51.639 if I'm more excited about the concept of rewards 00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:54.220 in heaven and a perfect environment and all of 00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:56.480 that, and I miss Jesus, I've missed the whole 00:09:56.480 --> 00:10:01.139 point of the future. Oh, I will. It's coming. 00:10:01.340 --> 00:10:03.879 It's coming. And I didn't tell you this, but 00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:06.120 part of the warning, I would advise you to take 00:10:06.120 --> 00:10:08.820 notes. I would advise you, if you can take notes 00:10:08.820 --> 00:10:10.539 today, take notes. If you can read the physical 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:12.840 transcript, read the physical transcript. If 00:10:12.840 --> 00:10:15.299 that's on your phone in a Bible, that's how important 00:10:15.299 --> 00:10:18.419 this is. It'll change everything. But what he 00:10:18.419 --> 00:10:20.779 says here, and you might have heard this phrase, 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:26.019 absent with the body is present with, this is 00:10:26.019 --> 00:10:28.700 the verse we get it from. And what he's getting 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:36.419 at is the idea that when your physical body When 00:10:36.419 --> 00:10:44.279 your physical body is laid in the dirt, it's 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:48.679 a shell. And what happens is when your physical 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:51.980 body, and often we put a tombstone, right, or 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:58.419 something like that, and you have a grave. What 00:10:58.419 --> 00:11:08.580 you have is it says, That you will be what? Away 00:11:08.580 --> 00:11:15.460 from the body is present with the Lord. So there's 00:11:15.460 --> 00:11:23.059 something, the essence of you, your soul, that 00:11:23.059 --> 00:11:29.419 is present with God. The essence of who you are. 00:11:33.870 --> 00:11:39.169 The spirit, if you like, your personhood. If 00:11:39.169 --> 00:11:41.649 you have ever been with somebody who took their 00:11:41.649 --> 00:11:45.629 last breath, what you notice is they went from 00:11:45.629 --> 00:11:49.149 breathing in one millisecond to they stopped 00:11:49.149 --> 00:11:53.590 and they are gone. And you can tell the person 00:11:53.590 --> 00:11:56.649 who they were is gone and the shell is left. 00:11:57.169 --> 00:12:00.929 What we're told by Paul is when this happens, 00:12:01.899 --> 00:12:04.779 As a follower of Jesus, people that have put 00:12:04.779 --> 00:12:07.720 their faith and trust in the person of Jesus, 00:12:07.820 --> 00:12:12.440 what we know to be true when you put your faith 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:16.200 and trust in Jesus is that when death comes calling 00:12:16.200 --> 00:12:20.440 for you, when you die simultaneously, seamlessly, 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:23.980 there is a transition from your body to the presence 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:29.309 of God. You are present with God Almighty. You 00:12:29.309 --> 00:12:31.769 may go, well, what does that mean? What is that 00:12:31.769 --> 00:12:36.370 like? What is this referred to? Is this heaven? 00:12:37.450 --> 00:12:41.450 Well, Jesus, if you look in Luke chapter 23, 00:12:41.669 --> 00:12:50.009 verse 42, Jesus said, then he said, or he's having 00:12:50.009 --> 00:12:52.610 a conversation, sorry. Two thieves on the cross, 00:12:52.690 --> 00:12:54.669 he's in the middle. The conversation is coming 00:12:54.669 --> 00:12:56.750 to an end. And one of the thieves says this. 00:12:57.149 --> 00:13:00.490 Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come 00:13:00.490 --> 00:13:04.950 into your kingdom. Jesus answered him. Remember, 00:13:05.090 --> 00:13:07.409 he's dying. He's in the process of dying. Truly, 00:13:07.509 --> 00:13:12.350 I tell you, today you will be with me in what? 00:13:13.090 --> 00:13:17.129 Paradise. That today is not yesterday, not tomorrow, 00:13:17.309 --> 00:13:22.370 right now. Present tense. Today, you will be 00:13:22.370 --> 00:13:32.100 with me in. Paradise. That's how it's referred 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:34.039 to. I don't know what you think of when you think 00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:39.139 of paradise. I think of a beach with nobody on 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:46.899 it. With amazing waves, with sunsets, great food, 00:13:47.100 --> 00:13:52.759 the people I love there. There's joy, there's 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:56.590 conversation, it's warm. You're soaking in the 00:13:56.590 --> 00:14:01.950 energy from the sun. That's where my brain goes 00:14:01.950 --> 00:14:05.090 when I think of paradise. Now here's what's interesting. 00:14:05.230 --> 00:14:08.870 A lot of people, a lot of people, this is what 00:14:08.870 --> 00:14:12.350 you think of when you think of heaven. Isn't 00:14:12.350 --> 00:14:14.970 it interesting that even me just explaining this, 00:14:15.029 --> 00:14:16.669 that wait, your personhood, your body's there, 00:14:16.789 --> 00:14:20.379 you are... Your personhood, your spirit, your 00:14:20.379 --> 00:14:22.320 soul is removed from the body. And you're like, 00:14:22.379 --> 00:14:24.980 that's weird. I can't comprehend that. So am 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:27.419 I just floating around? Which is where we get 00:14:27.419 --> 00:14:31.200 the imagery of floating on clouds. That's weird. 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:35.100 Right? Like my brain can't wrap around that. 00:14:35.139 --> 00:14:37.059 Why? Because you were always intended to have 00:14:37.059 --> 00:14:39.399 a body. Your body and your soul were connected 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:43.620 together in creation. I mean, some other things 00:14:43.620 --> 00:14:45.500 about heaven, right? Like disembodied spirits 00:14:45.500 --> 00:14:49.490 and we just float around. That's weird. I can't 00:14:49.490 --> 00:14:52.690 comprehend that. Disney's done its best with 00:14:52.690 --> 00:14:54.649 haunted houses to try and get us to believe and 00:14:54.649 --> 00:15:00.710 understand. But that's not what this is. There's 00:15:00.710 --> 00:15:03.690 a piece of this that sometimes heaven gets referred 00:15:03.690 --> 00:15:06.490 to, especially the disembodied state, chubby 00:15:06.490 --> 00:15:13.429 babies that are naked with bows and arrows. I 00:15:13.429 --> 00:15:15.370 don't want nothing to do with chubby babies that 00:15:15.370 --> 00:15:17.490 are naked with bows and arrows. I just don't 00:15:17.490 --> 00:15:20.070 want anything to do with it. Other people, oh, 00:15:20.129 --> 00:15:23.750 it's an eternal worship service. You're going 00:15:23.750 --> 00:15:27.090 to sing for all of eternity. And you're like, 00:15:27.210 --> 00:15:32.309 I get bored after an hour. And what's happened 00:15:32.309 --> 00:15:34.409 is I think the enemy's done a really good job 00:15:34.409 --> 00:15:37.889 of making you bored about heaven. But where we're 00:15:37.889 --> 00:15:40.850 confused is we're confused in what is this right 00:15:40.850 --> 00:15:45.220 here? Okay, this right here, there is some sense 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:49.240 that we understand it's bodily can exist in this 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:51.340 state. Here's what I mean. It's an intermediate 00:15:51.340 --> 00:15:54.620 state, and in that, Jesus comes back from the 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:56.940 dead, and they all recognize Jesus. He's got 00:15:56.940 --> 00:15:59.279 holes in his hands. He eats food, but he walks 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:02.340 through walls. He transcends physical parameters. 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:05.879 So we understand that there's a bodily state 00:16:05.879 --> 00:16:08.679 to the resurrected Jesus in that form. And what 00:16:08.679 --> 00:16:10.799 does he say? Don't hold on to me because I got 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:13.799 to go where? To the Father. You know, you have 00:16:13.799 --> 00:16:15.620 the Mount of Transfiguration where Jesus shows 00:16:15.620 --> 00:16:18.759 up and you have Moses and Elijah show up. And 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:21.580 they're recognizable. There's some form of physical 00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:24.440 that you see and recognize in them. This intermediate 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:30.639 state often gets confused for a heaven. And it 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:35.740 does damage to the followers of Jesus. Because 00:16:35.740 --> 00:16:37.940 what Paul is saying is the reality is that when 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:40.059 you are absent, when your body is laid flat, 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:43.480 you are absent and you are present with the Lord. 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:45.480 But to understand why this even matters and how 00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:47.799 we got here, we have to go back to the beginning. 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:49.220 I told you we're going to learn the whole Bible. 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:54.240 You ready? Genesis. Genesis chapter one, verse 00:16:54.240 --> 00:17:02.279 31. God saw all that he had made and it was very 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:06.349 good. So God's completed creation and he goes, 00:17:06.369 --> 00:17:08.049 it's very good. And there was evening and there 00:17:08.049 --> 00:17:11.230 was morning, the sixth day. Chapter two, verse 00:17:11.230 --> 00:17:13.309 25 is speaking now of the first humans. Adam 00:17:13.309 --> 00:17:16.769 and his wife were both naked and they felt no 00:17:16.769 --> 00:17:21.250 shame. What it's getting at is in creation, what 00:17:21.250 --> 00:17:27.670 has happened in creation is God has put the earth 00:17:27.670 --> 00:17:31.609 and the heavens. He created the heavens and the 00:17:31.609 --> 00:17:35.049 earth, as we know. And in that, specifically, 00:17:35.210 --> 00:17:40.609 we are told that the first humans, which is Adam 00:17:40.609 --> 00:17:47.349 and Eve, they walk with God in the cool of the 00:17:47.349 --> 00:17:51.130 day. We're told that the first humans, there 00:17:51.130 --> 00:17:54.930 is nothing between them and God. That God exists 00:17:54.930 --> 00:17:58.150 with them and the daily interactions are together, 00:17:58.329 --> 00:18:12.519 not apart. Perfect, wow, union. Why is this important? 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:15.079 Because this is what God always intended for 00:18:15.079 --> 00:18:18.599 humanity and God. This is what God always intended 00:18:18.599 --> 00:18:22.119 for us to experience with him, a perfect environment 00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:26.220 and perfect union with God and with others around 00:18:26.220 --> 00:18:29.740 us. And we know because we live where we live, 00:18:29.859 --> 00:18:34.180 that Genesis chapter three, What you got is sin. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:38.380 The first humans make a choice that goes directly 00:18:38.380 --> 00:18:41.440 against God and everything breaks. Everything 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:44.579 shatters. The perfect union that was there is 00:18:44.579 --> 00:18:47.359 no longer there. And they're told very clearly 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:50.380 that if you, if you eat of this fruit, meaning 00:18:50.380 --> 00:18:54.460 if you go against God. The ramifications of that 00:18:54.460 --> 00:18:57.019 are this thing that was never meant to be a part 00:18:57.019 --> 00:18:59.500 of humanity will be a part of it, and it's called 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:02.720 death. And so what you have is from this point, 00:19:02.819 --> 00:19:05.759 you have a whole bunch of people, and these are 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:07.440 tombstones, just in case you were wondering, 00:19:07.619 --> 00:19:12.180 not windows. But you have a whole bunch of people 00:19:12.180 --> 00:19:19.559 that died. This is our past in the story of God. 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:24.559 What we're also told is that as you follow the 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:27.779 story and the narrative of God, what you find 00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:32.140 in this is the Jewish mindset when it came to 00:19:32.140 --> 00:19:35.440 death, they hadn't developed it very far. And 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:39.400 so what is believed to be the purpose of death 00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:45.380 here is it's just a holding place. And this is 00:19:45.380 --> 00:19:50.160 where you get the thought of you sit. in a state 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:53.819 where you are just held. And what happens is 00:19:53.819 --> 00:19:56.799 those that have done good things, they rise up 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:59.319 as righteous before God. Those that have done 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:02.119 bad things, they rise up, but they're condemned 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:05.099 by God. And so that was the philosophy that existed 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:09.299 all the way from the beginning until this person 00:20:09.299 --> 00:20:14.779 named Jesus shows up in John chapter three. He 00:20:14.779 --> 00:20:19.250 says this. Verse 16, for God so loved the world, 00:20:19.329 --> 00:20:21.349 for God so loved the world. So he interjects 00:20:21.349 --> 00:20:23.450 into this space. He goes, for God so loved the 00:20:23.450 --> 00:20:28.829 world that he gave his one and only son, that 00:20:28.829 --> 00:20:34.390 whoever believes in him, whoever believes in 00:20:34.390 --> 00:20:37.309 the one that is sent, whoever believes in him 00:20:37.309 --> 00:20:44.809 shall not perish, but have eternal life. So the 00:20:44.809 --> 00:20:49.490 one. So in this story, in this narrative where 00:20:49.490 --> 00:20:52.990 death has just been a holding place, Jesus shows 00:20:52.990 --> 00:20:57.809 up and he goes, the one that believes inherits 00:20:57.809 --> 00:21:04.910 eternal life. Here's what he's getting at. Sorry, 00:21:05.009 --> 00:21:19.130 I got to switch pens. That in the person of Jesus, 00:21:19.210 --> 00:21:23.950 there is a cross. And the story of Jesus is that 00:21:23.950 --> 00:21:31.869 he came and he died. That he took the sin of 00:21:31.869 --> 00:21:36.869 all of humanity and put it on himself. Why? Because 00:21:36.869 --> 00:21:41.170 Romans tells us the wages of sin is death. So 00:21:41.170 --> 00:21:44.150 what does Jesus do? He takes the payment of sin, 00:21:44.289 --> 00:21:47.980 which is death. puts it on himself and he dies. 00:21:48.059 --> 00:21:52.279 And then they place him into a tomb. So what 00:21:52.279 --> 00:21:59.420 happens is in here, you have a tomb that he is 00:21:59.420 --> 00:22:04.339 laid into. And what we are told is that when 00:22:04.339 --> 00:22:07.740 he laid in the tomb, what he put to rest was 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:12.039 death. And the miracle of the resurrection is 00:22:12.039 --> 00:22:15.549 this. that he conquered death, he left death 00:22:15.549 --> 00:22:21.509 in the grave, and when he rose, he now is a doorway 00:22:21.509 --> 00:22:34.289 to life. So what you get in the person of Jesus 00:22:34.289 --> 00:22:36.769 is he says, if you believe in me, what do you 00:22:36.769 --> 00:22:40.930 inherit? Eternal life. So what he's saying is 00:22:40.930 --> 00:22:43.700 that when he died, What was laid in the tomb 00:22:43.700 --> 00:22:46.900 is your sin, my sin, and the wages of that sin 00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:49.319 is death. And what he then says is you now get 00:22:49.319 --> 00:22:52.299 eternal life, which is why this really matters. 00:22:52.380 --> 00:22:55.960 Because what connects here is this, that the 00:22:55.960 --> 00:22:58.920 reason when your body lays flat on the ground 00:22:58.920 --> 00:23:03.680 and you have no breath and your essence, your 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:06.480 spirit, your soul leaves your body and is now 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:09.880 what? Seamlessly present with the Lord. You know 00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:14.380 why it's seamlessly? Because eternal life doesn't 00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:18.259 start for you when you die. When you put your 00:23:18.259 --> 00:23:22.319 trust in Jesus, you inherit what? Eternal life, 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:25.839 and it starts now. Meaning you don't have to 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:29.440 die and then wait to inherit eternal life. You 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:33.079 already have eternal life. And so when you die, 00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:37.579 death is just a doorway to experience the life 00:23:37.579 --> 00:23:40.380 that you were born for. Remember, what is over 00:23:40.380 --> 00:23:45.900 here? God in perfect union with who? Everyone. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:49.599 With humans, right? What do you get here? In 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:53.460 death, we are now united with what? With God. 00:23:55.500 --> 00:23:59.240 He's putting it all back together. And your eternal, 00:23:59.299 --> 00:24:02.380 don't miss it, church. Your eternal life is now, 00:24:02.500 --> 00:24:05.599 which is why when you breathe your last, it is 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:07.740 not something to be feared. You're already living 00:24:07.740 --> 00:24:11.109 it. Right here and right now, which means that 00:24:11.109 --> 00:24:14.190 absent from the body is present with the Lord. 00:24:15.329 --> 00:24:22.450 There's not a waiting space. If you turn over 00:24:22.450 --> 00:24:27.509 a couple of pages to chapter 5, Jesus then says 00:24:27.509 --> 00:24:34.289 this. Verse 25, very truly I tell you, a time 00:24:34.289 --> 00:24:35.910 is coming and has now come. So these are the 00:24:35.910 --> 00:24:39.450 words of Jesus, the theology of Jesus. Very truly, 00:24:39.529 --> 00:24:42.730 I tell you, time is coming and has now come when 00:24:42.730 --> 00:24:45.369 the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God 00:24:45.369 --> 00:24:48.789 and those who hear it will live. Why is this 00:24:48.789 --> 00:24:51.589 true? For the Father has life in himself, so 00:24:51.589 --> 00:24:54.289 he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 00:24:54.490 --> 00:24:56.890 So he goes, the Father has life. He's given it 00:24:56.890 --> 00:24:58.789 to the Son. This is why this is true. The Son 00:24:58.789 --> 00:25:01.450 has life. Then notice what 27 says, and he has 00:25:01.450 --> 00:25:04.750 given him authority to judge because he is. the 00:25:04.750 --> 00:25:07.230 son of man. We're gonna get into this next week, 00:25:07.289 --> 00:25:09.690 the idea of judgment and why Jesus is the one 00:25:09.690 --> 00:25:12.670 that gets to judge, right? And we'll get into 00:25:12.670 --> 00:25:16.509 what that means and what that looks like. Because 00:25:16.509 --> 00:25:19.490 of that, then he says this in 28, do not be amazed 00:25:19.490 --> 00:25:25.390 at this for a time is coming when all who are 00:25:25.390 --> 00:25:31.029 in their graves will hear his voice and come 00:25:31.029 --> 00:25:35.480 out. those who have done what is good will rise 00:25:35.480 --> 00:25:38.059 to live and those who have done what is evil 00:25:38.059 --> 00:25:43.180 will rise to be condemned. So Jesus got done 00:25:43.180 --> 00:25:45.359 in chapter three and he goes, hey, anyone who 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:48.000 believes in me, eternal life is happening. Then 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:52.400 he says this statement that when his voice is 00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:57.019 heard, all of the graves of all of humanity, 00:25:57.500 --> 00:26:03.450 the dead will come out of the graves. It's interesting, 00:26:03.569 --> 00:26:07.190 the word cemetery, right? The word grave, the 00:26:07.190 --> 00:26:13.250 root word of that, definition of that is dormitory. 00:26:13.789 --> 00:26:16.569 What he's saying is the dorms are gonna be emptied. 00:26:17.130 --> 00:26:20.170 All those people who are asleep right now and 00:26:20.170 --> 00:26:22.869 we call it death, the dorms are gonna be emptied 00:26:22.869 --> 00:26:27.190 and they all rise. Can you picture that for just 00:26:27.190 --> 00:26:39.829 a second? That's wild. What is he saying? Well, 00:26:39.910 --> 00:26:47.750 what he's getting at is there are bodies, and 00:26:47.750 --> 00:26:55.430 those bodies are in what? Graves. Your tent, 00:26:55.730 --> 00:26:58.809 your physical body, as we talked about last week, 00:26:58.849 --> 00:27:03.180 will be laid flat to the earth someday. And then 00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:07.900 it will be put in a grave. What this is saying 00:27:07.900 --> 00:27:14.539 is that the voice of Jesus, this physical body 00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:20.059 is going to rise. Which then, 1 Thessalonians 00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:28.660 chapter 4 builds on this. 1 Thessalonians 4, 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:33.990 13 says this. Brothers and sisters, so speaking 00:27:33.990 --> 00:27:36.589 to the church family, brothers and sisters, we 00:27:36.589 --> 00:27:40.869 do not want you to be uninformed about those 00:27:40.869 --> 00:27:44.009 who sleep. Notice that word uses the word sleep 00:27:44.009 --> 00:27:45.950 because if you're in a dormitory, you're what? 00:27:46.329 --> 00:27:50.309 Asleep. Those who are asleep in death so that 00:27:50.309 --> 00:27:54.809 you do not grieve like the rest of mankind. The 00:27:54.809 --> 00:27:58.150 whole point of this church. Is that we should 00:27:58.150 --> 00:28:00.750 not be people that are so caught up in grief 00:28:00.750 --> 00:28:05.450 when we know the story. We shouldn't be people 00:28:05.450 --> 00:28:09.029 that are lost when it comes to grief. We should 00:28:09.029 --> 00:28:12.990 be people that have clarity. And it says specifically 00:28:12.990 --> 00:28:15.009 that we do not grieve like the rest of mankind 00:28:15.009 --> 00:28:20.630 who do not have hope. We have hope and his name 00:28:20.630 --> 00:28:24.569 is Jesus. Why? Because Jesus has provided life. 00:28:26.670 --> 00:28:30.369 For those that are dead. And so he says, church, 00:28:30.589 --> 00:28:33.990 don't be uninformed. For we believe that Jesus 00:28:33.990 --> 00:28:36.329 died. For we believe, remember what did Jesus 00:28:36.329 --> 00:28:39.549 say? If you believe, you inherit what? Eternal 00:28:39.549 --> 00:28:43.329 life. He says, we believe that Jesus died and 00:28:43.329 --> 00:28:46.250 rose again. So we believe that God, we believe 00:28:46.250 --> 00:28:52.210 that God will bring with Jesus those who have 00:28:52.210 --> 00:28:58.869 fallen asleep in him. What is he adding to it? 00:29:01.349 --> 00:29:09.990 We believe that Jesus is coming back. And it 00:29:09.990 --> 00:29:15.210 says that those who have fallen asleep, the personhood, 00:29:15.250 --> 00:29:17.309 the spirit, the soul of those that have fallen 00:29:17.309 --> 00:29:20.269 asleep, whatever bodily form it took on in paradise, 00:29:20.450 --> 00:29:26.210 they are coming back with Jesus. And when they 00:29:26.210 --> 00:29:30.930 come back, listen to what happens. According 00:29:30.930 --> 00:29:34.809 to the Lord's word, we tell you, we who are still 00:29:34.809 --> 00:29:37.569 alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, 00:29:37.650 --> 00:29:40.349 will certainly not precede those who have fallen 00:29:40.349 --> 00:29:42.750 asleep. So those that are still alive, you're 00:29:42.750 --> 00:29:44.430 not getting a jump on those that fell asleep. 00:29:46.730 --> 00:29:49.769 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven 00:29:49.769 --> 00:29:52.150 with a loud command. What did Jesus say? At the 00:29:52.150 --> 00:29:55.960 sound of my voice, the graveyard's empty. At 00:29:55.960 --> 00:30:00.599 the sound of my voice, with the voice of the 00:30:00.599 --> 00:30:02.819 archangel and with the trumpet call of God and 00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:09.000 the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, 00:30:09.079 --> 00:30:12.640 we who are still alive and are left will be caught 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:15.720 up together with them in the clouds to meet the 00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:19.539 Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord 00:30:19.539 --> 00:30:24.180 forever. What does it say? That we, we are heading. 00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:32.960 For a reunion. We're heading for a reunion with 00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:35.960 those that have gone before. And we are going 00:30:35.960 --> 00:30:38.220 to be joined. Those coming back, those coming 00:30:38.220 --> 00:30:40.220 from here. And we're going to be joined and we're 00:30:40.220 --> 00:30:42.220 going to be with the Lord forever. That's the 00:30:42.220 --> 00:30:47.599 promise. United back together. Now, where this 00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:53.700 gets interesting. Is your tent is going to be 00:30:53.700 --> 00:31:01.920 raised. That's crazy. Does the Bible know? Like 00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:03.279 after you've been dead a really long time, it 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:06.059 just turns to dust. God's going to get all those 00:31:06.059 --> 00:31:11.240 dust particles of that individual. The battles 00:31:11.240 --> 00:31:13.000 in the church over whether you should cremate 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:16.079 somebody or not over all the years. How's God 00:31:16.079 --> 00:31:18.359 going to find all those pieces? I let them out 00:31:18.359 --> 00:31:22.859 over the ocean and the wind took them. Those 00:31:22.859 --> 00:31:26.529 that have died in wars. Those that died at sea. 00:31:28.329 --> 00:31:34.170 This can't be right. Remember, he spoke the world 00:31:34.170 --> 00:31:38.009 into existence with nothing. I think he can find 00:31:38.009 --> 00:31:48.230 your parts just fine. Why does he care? Why does 00:31:48.230 --> 00:31:52.450 God care? Why does he care about the physical 00:31:52.450 --> 00:31:56.380 world? He's your creator and he made you the 00:31:56.380 --> 00:32:01.559 way he likes you. And I believe, I believe that 00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:03.680 just like a father who if something is taken 00:32:03.680 --> 00:32:06.759 from your kid that meant something to them, that 00:32:06.759 --> 00:32:09.460 meant something to you, you go and you get it 00:32:09.460 --> 00:32:12.039 back for them. When he died, there's a word that's 00:32:12.039 --> 00:32:15.079 used. It's called redeemed. He bought back. What 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:18.839 did he buy back? All of you. And so when you 00:32:18.839 --> 00:32:22.710 are raised into this reunion, Something else 00:32:22.710 --> 00:32:26.690 happens that is found in Philippians chapter 00:32:26.690 --> 00:32:31.009 three, verse 20. But speaking to the church, 00:32:31.150 --> 00:32:36.789 our citizenship, those of you that love your 00:32:36.789 --> 00:32:42.250 American citizenship, listen up. Our citizenship 00:32:42.250 --> 00:32:49.869 is where? In heaven. Believers, don't mistake 00:32:49.869 --> 00:32:54.789 where your roots should be. We're in a tent. 00:32:54.789 --> 00:32:58.369 Tents have no roots. Our citizenship is in heaven. 00:32:59.309 --> 00:33:03.809 And what are we doing here? We are eagerly await 00:33:03.809 --> 00:33:06.150 a savior from there. Why? Because he's coming 00:33:06.150 --> 00:33:08.829 back. It's not just a song. He's coming back. 00:33:10.220 --> 00:33:13.240 The Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that 00:33:13.240 --> 00:33:15.720 enables him to bring everything under his control, 00:33:15.779 --> 00:33:19.440 will transform our lowly bodies so that they 00:33:19.440 --> 00:33:23.380 will be like his glorious body. Remember when 00:33:23.380 --> 00:33:25.880 Jesus was raised, he looked like Jesus, but some 00:33:25.880 --> 00:33:27.500 thought he was a ghost, right? Because he's got 00:33:27.500 --> 00:33:30.640 this body that he's in bodily form, but it's 00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:35.079 not who he was. Remember, when John in Revelation 00:33:35.079 --> 00:33:38.000 gets to heaven and he sees the resurrected Jesus, 00:33:38.890 --> 00:33:41.910 He barely recognizes him because he's so glorious. 00:33:42.829 --> 00:33:48.430 What is this telling us? Is that you, your tent, 00:33:48.710 --> 00:33:53.750 and your soul are going to be reunited into one 00:33:53.750 --> 00:34:05.670 glorious chubby body. You have a glorious body 00:34:05.670 --> 00:34:12.510 coming. One that unites your soul and unites 00:34:12.510 --> 00:34:16.170 the tent. And I'll be honest with you, nobody 00:34:16.170 --> 00:34:19.630 knows what it's like. We can only guess from 00:34:19.630 --> 00:34:21.909 what we see in the person of Jesus and we see 00:34:21.909 --> 00:34:24.389 in others around him. And we read in some of 00:34:24.389 --> 00:34:28.309 the pages about what happens. But don't miss 00:34:28.309 --> 00:34:31.829 that God is going to put it all back together 00:34:31.829 --> 00:34:37.119 because that's what this was all about. And what 00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:40.860 you find then, if you follow the story, you get 00:34:40.860 --> 00:34:47.440 to something called the great white throne. And 00:34:47.440 --> 00:34:50.860 there's a book and the book is open. And the 00:34:50.860 --> 00:34:57.880 book is called Life. We're gonna talk about this 00:34:57.880 --> 00:35:03.380 next week. But can I encourage you? Your name 00:35:03.380 --> 00:35:05.440 is either in the book of life or it is not in 00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:09.380 the book of life. And your eternity really, really 00:35:09.380 --> 00:35:15.639 matters on that book of life. If you're here 00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:22.420 or you're across the screen and you have someone 00:35:22.420 --> 00:35:24.500 in your life that you go, I don't know if their 00:35:24.500 --> 00:35:28.059 name is in that book of life, you need to get 00:35:28.059 --> 00:35:32.070 them here or on a screen next week. It's that 00:35:32.070 --> 00:35:35.889 important. There's something else that we're 00:35:35.889 --> 00:35:42.750 told is still to come. And it is called the judgment 00:35:42.750 --> 00:35:49.429 seat of Christ. We'll talk about that next week. 00:35:50.690 --> 00:35:53.570 Why does this life matter and what's connected 00:35:53.570 --> 00:36:00.460 to Jesus being a judge? One last thought. Revelation 00:36:00.460 --> 00:36:10.300 chapter 21. Starts this way. Then I saw, then 00:36:10.300 --> 00:36:13.199 I saw. So after those things have happened, then 00:36:13.199 --> 00:36:20.699 I saw. What'd you see, John? A new heaven and 00:36:20.699 --> 00:36:24.780 a new earth. Can anybody picture a new heaven 00:36:24.780 --> 00:36:27.360 and a new earth? Of course you can. Why? Because 00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:30.599 you were always created to what? Live on the 00:36:30.599 --> 00:36:33.139 earth. All of a sudden we go, wait a minute, 00:36:33.159 --> 00:36:35.519 that makes sense. I understand what that's like. 00:36:35.860 --> 00:36:38.460 He says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth for 00:36:38.460 --> 00:36:41.019 the first heaven and the first earth had passed 00:36:41.019 --> 00:36:45.340 away and there was no longer any sea. What does 00:36:45.340 --> 00:36:48.239 he see as a vision of what we call heaven when 00:36:48.239 --> 00:36:51.239 we say heaven and we mean forever? What does 00:36:51.239 --> 00:36:55.079 John see as your forever home? He sees a God 00:36:55.079 --> 00:37:03.309 who goes and creates. A new heaven and a new 00:37:03.309 --> 00:37:06.570 earth. And then he goes, and I saw a city coming 00:37:06.570 --> 00:37:11.090 down out of heaven. And the city is known to 00:37:11.090 --> 00:37:15.170 be the dwelling place of God. Why does this matter? 00:37:15.690 --> 00:37:19.909 Because you and your chubby state, I don't think 00:37:19.909 --> 00:37:21.469 you have to work out in that bod just so you 00:37:21.469 --> 00:37:26.170 know. But you and your glorified state, what 00:37:26.170 --> 00:37:29.639 happens? God creates a new heavens and a new 00:37:29.639 --> 00:37:33.219 earth that for all of eternity, it says, that 00:37:33.219 --> 00:37:37.360 God will dwell. And so now you have what? God 00:37:37.360 --> 00:37:47.360 plus us. And that's called home. And it's forever. 00:37:48.199 --> 00:37:50.780 It's forever. And so here's what's beautiful 00:37:50.780 --> 00:37:54.230 with this, right? It's forever. And so when I 00:37:54.230 --> 00:37:55.949 start to think of heaven and I start to think 00:37:55.949 --> 00:37:57.849 of it in the concept of earth, think about it 00:37:57.849 --> 00:38:00.250 for a second. The fruit of the spirit is love, 00:38:00.389 --> 00:38:04.769 joy. So that tells me what's going to be abundant 00:38:04.769 --> 00:38:08.349 in heaven is love and joy. There is not going 00:38:08.349 --> 00:38:14.090 to be evil and sin and death. What I know about 00:38:14.090 --> 00:38:15.690 heaven is there's going to be peace, everything 00:38:15.690 --> 00:38:20.519 as it should be, wholeness together. Right? We 00:38:20.519 --> 00:38:22.760 walk in, there's no pain, there's no suffering, 00:38:22.860 --> 00:38:27.860 there's no guilt. There's no longing for somewhere 00:38:27.860 --> 00:38:32.659 else. You're home. Which means in this life, 00:38:32.719 --> 00:38:38.119 you are just camping. If this is true, this whole 00:38:38.119 --> 00:38:43.460 story, then you today are just camping. Because 00:38:43.460 --> 00:38:52.239 you have a future waiting for you. There's something 00:38:52.239 --> 00:38:59.380 else I want you to see. And why this all matters 00:38:59.380 --> 00:39:16.619 so much. Because the story you live inside of. 00:39:23.369 --> 00:39:33.389 has a past. And that past that you were born 00:39:33.389 --> 00:39:40.570 into is marred by death. The past that you were 00:39:40.570 --> 00:39:45.869 born into, death is the outcome. And death is 00:39:45.869 --> 00:39:49.250 a holding place where you are waiting to be judged. 00:39:50.309 --> 00:39:56.340 But we know, we know that our Past story also 00:39:56.340 --> 00:40:04.139 has a present. And in the present, the present 00:40:04.139 --> 00:40:06.159 is where we live, you guys. The present is where 00:40:06.159 --> 00:40:08.480 God showed up in person. The present is where 00:40:08.480 --> 00:40:10.980 the tomb is empty. The present is where the tomb 00:40:10.980 --> 00:40:13.460 is now a doorway to life. The present that you 00:40:13.460 --> 00:40:16.519 live in today is why you are camping, because 00:40:16.519 --> 00:40:20.800 this is not forever. But what we know, what we 00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:27.440 know is that we do have. A forever. We have a 00:40:27.440 --> 00:40:33.480 future that was purchased by God. That your future, 00:40:33.519 --> 00:40:39.059 that doorway to life, that your future is home 00:40:39.059 --> 00:40:42.840 with God in perfect unity as he always planned 00:40:42.840 --> 00:40:45.280 for it to be. Because why? Jesus showed up and 00:40:45.280 --> 00:40:47.739 put it back together, which means that this life 00:40:47.739 --> 00:40:53.539 is just camping. Because you have a future waiting 00:40:53.539 --> 00:40:56.679 for you. So don't you put down roots to this 00:40:56.679 --> 00:41:00.019 life. Because it's passing away. You're trying 00:41:00.019 --> 00:41:03.059 to hold on to something that cannot be grasped. 00:41:04.579 --> 00:41:09.079 Don't you waste the temporary trying to make 00:41:09.079 --> 00:41:13.480 permanent. Because the temporary is leading you 00:41:13.480 --> 00:41:25.610 to the future. To the permanent. Where you and 00:41:25.610 --> 00:41:30.949 your loved ones and all of the people that have 00:41:30.949 --> 00:41:37.969 said yes to Jesus will dwell in a perfect eternity 00:41:37.969 --> 00:41:44.210 for all of eternity. Why does just camping matter? 00:41:44.750 --> 00:41:46.190 Well, we're going to talk about that in weeks 00:41:46.190 --> 00:41:49.090 to come. We're going to talk about that in weeks 00:41:49.090 --> 00:41:53.179 to come. Because it's too important to miss what 00:41:53.179 --> 00:41:56.460 this life is actually about. But if you don't 00:41:56.460 --> 00:42:02.539 know, you can't plan for the experience. And 00:42:02.539 --> 00:42:04.199 so what are you going to do today that's different? 00:42:05.079 --> 00:42:09.460 Because you know the future is ahead. Would you 00:42:09.460 --> 00:42:17.800 pray with me, God? We just pause and thank you. 00:42:19.949 --> 00:42:22.090 We thank you for being a God who did not stay 00:42:22.090 --> 00:42:29.250 far away when you could have. We thank you for 00:42:29.250 --> 00:42:32.329 being a God that chose to get into the dirt of 00:42:32.329 --> 00:42:35.289 this earth, that chose to take the weight of 00:42:35.289 --> 00:42:38.809 sin, to take the punishment of sin, which is 00:42:38.809 --> 00:42:41.510 death. You chose to carry that for us. You are 00:42:41.510 --> 00:42:46.210 our only hope, Jesus. You are our living hope 00:42:46.210 --> 00:42:50.090 today. God, I pray over those in the room and 00:42:50.090 --> 00:42:53.750 across screens and in different locations that 00:42:53.750 --> 00:42:56.429 do not know you today. God, it is too important 00:42:56.429 --> 00:43:05.710 to not stop and ask, do I trust Jesus? Because 00:43:05.710 --> 00:43:09.909 eternal life weighs on it. So God, I pray over 00:43:09.909 --> 00:43:11.869 those under the sound of a microphone today. 00:43:13.320 --> 00:43:15.420 Whenever and wherever this happens to be heard, 00:43:15.480 --> 00:43:17.840 God, I pray that your spirit would go to work 00:43:17.840 --> 00:43:20.619 on those that go, I don't know if I know Jesus 00:43:20.619 --> 00:43:27.840 today. God, would you lead them today to surrender, 00:43:28.039 --> 00:43:31.539 to step out by faith because this life is suitable 00:43:31.539 --> 00:43:39.760 to simply pray, Jesus, I trust you. I give you 00:43:39.760 --> 00:43:45.420 my life. God, I pray over our church family. 00:43:45.480 --> 00:43:49.019 I pray over everyone that has said yes to you 00:43:49.019 --> 00:43:50.840 and is following you. God, I pray for them as 00:43:50.840 --> 00:43:53.019 they are just camping. Would you remind them 00:43:53.019 --> 00:43:55.960 that this is not home, this is not forever, that 00:43:55.960 --> 00:43:58.639 there is an amazing future in front of us where 00:43:58.639 --> 00:44:01.639 we are united with you without all of the things 00:44:01.639 --> 00:44:04.880 that we hate of this life. And so God, would 00:44:04.880 --> 00:44:07.380 you inspire us and get us excited? Would we not 00:44:07.380 --> 00:44:11.949 miss that Jesus, you are our living hope. Would 00:44:11.949 --> 00:44:14.269 we take our voices and would we raise our voices 00:44:14.269 --> 00:44:19.710 to you today in a celebration and a thank you 00:44:19.710 --> 00:44:24.210 and a response of gratitude for being our living 00:44:24.210 --> 00:44:29.389 hope for this life and the one to come. And everybody 00:44:29.389 --> 00:44:31.170 said, amen.