It is a lot, you guys. We are going to fly through
some stuff, but here's why. What you have, what
you know, you are responsible for. So what you
know to be true, you become responsible for.
And here's what I mean. You ever been driving
and you're on the road and you're just going
along and all of a sudden you go, what's the
speed limit? And you can't think what the speed
limit is. You're looking for a sign. You can't
see a sign. You're like, I don't know what the
speed limit is. I think I'm doing the right thing.
I don't know, right? And then if you're going
along and as you go along, you know, you got
your maps on and in the corner, it's got the
speed limit. You know what I mean? But if that's
not there as well, now you're really panicking.
Like, okay, not even the maps knows what the
speed limit is. And then a moment hits you where
you're like, Okay, if I got pulled over and they
asked me the question that they always ask you,
do you know what the speed limit is? Do you know
how fast you were going? You can honestly say
in that moment, I have no idea. I'm like in no
man's land out here. And you're not responsible
for what you don't know. Police officer might
think differently, right? So try it out. See,
let me know how it goes. But here's the thing.
You ever have that moment when you do see the
speed limit? And now you go, oh, I'm accountable
to what I know. I'm responsible to what I know.
Today is that for you. What we're going to cover,
where we're going to go, you're accountable for
what you know today. And I don't know about you,
I feel like it's only loving to go, hey, this
is what is coming. This is what the future is.
And I prefer you to know now so that you can
plan and prepare for what that is than to get
there and go, I didn't know I was doing 40 over
the speed limit. Right? I would prefer you to
know now. So this is why today is so important.
So I'm going to ask you, I need you. I need you
to engage in the whole morning. What I mean by
that is sometimes some people think that when
I'm done, we're done. We're not done today. God
wants to work in your soul today. And that means
all the way through response and worship, God
wants to work. So would you slow down enough
to go, God, I need you to work today. We've been
in a collection called Just Camping. We take
the concept of just camping out of 2 Corinthians
5, verse 1. For we know, and I would encourage
you, if you're taking notes, today's a note day
again, like it was last week. It's a picture
day if you need to take pictures of screens or
whatever, or you just need to read along. For
we know that if the earthly tent we live in is
destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal
house in heaven not built by human hands. We
know that when the earthly tent, this body, this
physical body is laid flat to the ground, we
know that when this body is laid flat to the
ground, we have an upgrade waiting in the future
in heaven. That's what he's saying there, right?
So he's saying that this life is temporary. Verse
6 says this. We covered this last week. We are
always confident and know that as long as we
are at home in the body, we are away from the
Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We
don't see yet, so we're living by faith. We are
confident, I say, and we prefer to be away from
the body and at home with the Lord. That phrasing,
if you've ever heard it, absent from the body,
present with the Lord, right? Like to leave this
body, to leave this shell. and instantly be in
the presence of God, this is where we get this
concept from, that when we lay down this tent,
when the tent is laid flat, we are going to be
present with God Almighty. We covered this last
week. Now, it's so important that you are able
to kind of, if you were here, maybe you need
a recap, maybe you don't. But if you weren't
here, you have to understand where we were last
week to understand where we're going today. So
last week, we were talking about this idea. that
when God created, he created the heavens and
the earth. And when he created the earth, he
goes, it's very good. And what you see is you
see God and the humans, and they are in perfect
unity. And why is this important? For us to understand
as humanity going, what is this all about? The
original intent of God in creation was that humans
and God would be in perfect relationship, that
they would be in such a perfect relationship,
in a perfect environment, that everything they
did was in sync with each other. That's why you
get the co -laboring with God, co -creating with
God. That's why you get this idea that we were
to push this world forward. It was supposed to
go from a garden to a city, and we were supposed
to be a part of it in perfect union with God.
Now, we know that sin entered the story in chapter
3. And after sin, the wages of sin were death,
right? And so what you've had all the way along
is a whole bunch of people that they've been
born on the planet. And because of sin and the
wages of sin being death, they have laid down
the body. They've laid down the physical life.
And so over and over, you have a pattern of people
because of sin. Sin has destroyed what God intended.
Now, the person of Jesus, what does God do? God
steps in in the person of Jesus. And what you
get is you get him going to a cross. And on the
cross, what does he do? He takes the sin. And
he puts it on himself. And he pays the penalty,
which is death, by going into the tomb. He leaves
death where it belongs, in the grave. And he
rises again, which means that the empty tomb
now is the doorway. We talked about this last
week. It's now the doorway to life. to eternal
life according to Jesus as you believe in him.
And when you believe in him, you inherit, you
are given, you are granted eternal life. This
is where it's important. Eternal life doesn't
start when I get somewhere. Eternal life starts
now. So your life in Jesus has already started.
Which is why when Paul says here, absent from
the body is present with the Lord, it's because
there's no distinction. You're not waiting for
life to begin. You already have it. And death
is just a continuation to life. Why? Because
death is a doorway to life. Which is why when
Paul says here, then, that when the shell is
laid in the grave, when the shell... is put to
rest, when the tent is dismantled, you are instantly
in the presence of God. What was the purpose
of the whole thing? That God would what? God
would dwell in perfect harmony. But in the present,
so this is present day. In present day, this
is where we live. Where people are still dying,
right? Because the effects of sin are still on
this earth. And so the effects of sin mean that
someone dies, they are laid down, they are absent
from the body as a believer, as a follower of
Jesus, someone who has said yes to Jesus. They
are instantly in the presence of God Almighty.
And that's the confidence we have. Now, the Bible
also speaks of a future, a future when Jesus
is going to return. And it says the dead. meaning
the shell that's left behind, all the dead, all
of human history are going to rise and be joined.
There's a reunion coming. Reunion, there we go.
Right, there's a reunion coming. And it says
specifically that those that have died that are
in Christ, they will return with Christ. And
we talked last week, you may be going, well,
what is that? That is you, that is the essence
of you, right? Like when you talk about you,
if you've ever watched somebody pass away and
they took their last breath, it's amazing how
quickly they go from being there to you know
they're gone, right? And what happens is their
soul. their personhood, their essence, their
spirit leaves the body, right? And so now what
we're told is it leaves the body. And in this
present sense, this intermediate sense, because
most people go, this is heaven. This is not heaven.
In the sense of we think of heaven as our final
resting place forever. This is just intermediate.
And we know there's bodily form. We talked about
that last week. Now, the reunion that happens,
right? is our physical bodies are now united
back with your soul, your spirit, and who you
are. So what you have happening, it says that
in Philippians and other places, you're going
to have a glorified body. Which means, if you
were here last week, it's the chubby version
of you. Right? But what does God do? God creates
at the end of the story a new heavens, or he
renews, I should say, the heavens and the earth.
And what do you have? You have God coming down
out of heaven to dwell on planet earth, right,
on earth with us. Why? Because in our glorified
state, we'll be there. What was God's intent
all the way along? That we would what? Be in
perfect unity. What do you see at the end of
the story? Us and God in perfect unity. That's
the story of God. That's the plan that God has
been doing the whole time. That's the action
plan of what God has done. He stepped into human
history. Why? That we could spend through the
doorway of life, being the person of Jesus, we
can spend eternity with him. And so what you
have next. is what we kind of ended on last week.
We kind of said, hey, this is coming, right?
And so what you had was this, verse nine. So
he's just said, absent from the body, present
with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please
him, whether we are at home in the body or away
from it. So he goes, whether you're here or you've
already left this life, your goal is the same.
It is to honor God. And we'll talk about that
more later. Verse 10, for we. must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each
of us may receive what is due us for the things
done while in the body. If you remember last
week, we talked about two specific judgments.
There's one that has books. And yes, those are
books before you judge it, not the Ten Commandments.
And there's one that is the book of life, and
then there's a throne. And you're like, that's
a throne? Yeah. It's getting there. There's two
judgments that are spoken of. One of them is
here, the judgment seat of Christ. And what you
have is this is the future. He says, we must
all, we must all. So who's he talking to? He's
talking to Christians, talking to the church.
All, being inclusive, appear before the judgment
seat of Christ. So John, what you're saying is,
as a follower of Jesus, I will be judged. Absolutely,
is what I'm saying. And what that means is, what
that means is that when it says the judgment
seat of Christ, the word there is Bema. And what
Bema was used for, it was a place you stepped
up onto. And when you stepped up onto it, think
of like the Olympic Games, you stepped up. And
when you appeared there, what you had done in
the race now showed up and you were rewarded
for what you had done. So the behemoth seat also
connected to the military, that in the military,
that if you've gone off and done things, then
the honor you received was when you stepped up,
you would receive your medal of honor for your
service. What you have done played into that
moment and what you received. So what's happening
here is Paul's telling us, hey, people, specifically,
hey, church, there is a judgment coming and you
will stand there. Romans 14 picks up on this,
just so you don't think it's only in one spot.
Romans 14, verse 10. You then, why do you judge?
So very practical conversation. Why do you judge
your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them
with contempt? For we will all stand before God's
judgment seat. It is written. As surely as I
live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before
me. Every tongue will acknowledge that I am God.
So he's saying there's going to be this day when
you get before a throne and you are going to
bow your knee, whether you bowed it in this life
or not. He goes, there's a judgment coming. Everyone
will be there. So then each of us will give an
account of ourselves to God. So you, you are
going to have to give an account of yourself
to God. Hebrews says this. In verse 9, Hebrews
9, 27. Just as people are destined to die once
and after that to face judgment. Just as people
are destined to die. Why can he say destined
to die? Because the hit rate of death is what?
100%. It don't matter. It don't matter how young
you think you are. It don't matter how good looking
you think you are. It don't matter if you're
a gym bro, right? Like you're just in there hitting
it hard. You're gonna keep this thing alive.
It don't matter. What I know is you and me and
all of humans have this thing called death and
it is coming for you whether you like it or not.
You don't escape. You may prolong, but you will
not escape. A wise person told me with this verse,
you can translate destined and you translate
it appointed. It goes appointed. It is appointed
to man once, man being all people, to die. Appointed
to die and then judgment. You have an appointment
you are going to keep. You don't know when it's
on your calendar, but you will keep it. There
will be a day when you stop breathing and you
will stand before Almighty God, which is what
Revelation 20, Revelation 20 picks up on. This
is John's vision of the future. Then I saw a
great white. Really important on great, white.
The idea of great is that the being on the throne,
there is no higher throne. There is no higher
being. This is the ultimate supreme being that
is sitting on this throne. That's kind of the
emphasis of that word great. So there is a great
white, white being holy. So the being that's
on there, not only is he great. He is holy, meaning
he cannot be in the presence of sin, meaning
he cannot allow anything around him that is unholy,
which is why the angels right now are singing
in his presence, holy, holy, holy is the Lord
God Almighty. Then I saw a great white throne
and him who was seated on it. The earth and the
heavens fled from his presence and there was
no place for them. That's speaking that this
was the end of the time, right? This is the future.
And I saw the dead great and small. Now, remember,
the story is there is Jesus is coming, right?
And so everybody is raised. Every single person
is raised. And you may be going, well, how is
that possible that every single person is raised?
Like I had this uncle and this uncle was cremated
and we went to the ocean and like his ashes went
everywhere. How is this true? How can this be
possible? Pretty sure, we talked about this last
week, but pretty sure that if God can create
the heavens and the earth out of nothing, he
can find your uncle. He'll be just fine. And
he's going to collect every single person and
put them back together. And then it says, I saw
the dead, great and small. Great is a word that
you use to speak of. wealth, position, power,
influence, whatever, humanly speaking, we measure
a person to be great by. That's what that means.
On the other side, you have small, the insignificant,
the obscure, the isolated, the oppressed, right?
And so what it's getting at is there, if you
go to the extremes of both of those, that pretty
much captures all humans in between. He goes,
I saw the great. And the small. There's no favoritism
between you had this and you had that and I was
great and you were small, like whatever. He goes,
that doesn't matter, right? The great and the
small. They stand before the throne and books
were opened. Another book was opened, which is
the book of life. So you've got books and then
you have the book of life. The dead were judged
according to what? they had done as recorded
in the book. So what he's saying is that in the
future, at the great white throne, there are
books. And specifically, there's a book called
Life. They were judged according to what they
had done as recorded in those books. The sea
gave up the dead that were in it, and death and
Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and
each, get this, each person, each person was
judged according to what they had done. 100 %
of people stand at this judgment. 100%. And it
says that while it's 100%, which is the whole,
Maybe a better way to do it so it stands out
and you remember it. Each person. Know what that
tells me? Your mama's faith ain't going to matter
when you get there. You're not going to be hiding
behind your mom in heaven. It's not going to
matter that, oh, well, my family went to church.
Why? Because it's not about your family. What
you have is 100 % of people and each person,
it says individually, each person, that means
you will stand and was judged according to what
they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown
into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the
second death. Anyone whose name was not found
written in the book of life was thrown into the
lake of fire. So wait, they show up to be judged.
They're judged by what they've done. And then
there's this book of life. And if your name is
not in that book of life, it says that you are
thrown into the lake of fire. Okay, so just clarifying
terms. The term hell is... Lake of fire, okay?
So anyone whose name is not found in this book
of life is thrown into hell. Every person will
stand before that throne. Now, to understand
the consequences of this and make sure we're
all tracking on the same page, we have to understand
when we talk about hell, what is hell, right?
Because we have this weird kind of conversation
or culture around, the idea that God creates
the heavens and the earth, right? And we've talked
about that, and he puts humans on them, but we've
kind of made the story of God to go like this,
that God created, and now the whole purpose of
your life is to try and get to this place called
heaven, right? Because you don't want to be the
person who goes to... Hell. So what we've made
this whole life about is there's two destinations,
and here's what happens. You just need to make
sure that you have fire insurance, so to speak,
to make sure you go to heaven and don't go to
hell. You don't want to go to the lake of fire.
But the story of God is actually much different.
The story of God is, yes, God creates the heavens
and the earth. But the story of God is that this
thing that humans did, not God, humans, and it's
right here, we've already covered it, humans
sin, and what happens when humans sin is that
everything is affected by sin and evil and selfishness.
So much so that when sin entered, the earth itself
is groaning, is what Romans says. The earth is
groaning to be released from evil, right? Everything
was affected by the choice that they made when
sin entered. So now here's how this plays out.
I don't need to stand here and convince you that
something is wrong with our world. I don't need
to convince you of evil. I don't need to convince
you that the abuse of another human is wrong.
I don't need to convince you that when we talk
about sex trafficking, we call it sex trafficking
to actually clean it up because we don't like
to talk about what it actually is where other
humans are abused for sexual activity. We know
there's something wrong with that. I don't have
to convince you that the abuse of minors is wrong.
Why? Because we internally know that something
is broken, that sin has corrupted every single
part of what we are. And guess what? God knew
it too. Which is why God came to planet Earth
in human form and went to a cross. What did he
take to the cross? The consequence of sin is
death. And what did he do? He freed us from death.
Right? What was God doing? He was creating a
way. He was creating a way to life. Right? Through
the tomb. And you see what happens is the end
of the story isn't about escaping planet Earth.
It's actually about God renewing the Earth and
a city, God's city, coming down so that God is
with us. But for this to happen, guess what God
has to do? He has to purge the earth of what?
Evil. It's interesting, when Jesus talks about
hell, you know how he talks about it? Outside
the city, outside the city, outside the city.
Right? Well, the city of God comes down and what
happens to evil? What happens to hell? He gets
the hell out of earth. Literally. And what happens
is it's cast out. Why? Because if you never cast
out evil, there can't be a space where God can
dwell. Remember, he's holy. God can't dwell unless
the space is purified. How do you purify a space?
Peter talks about it with fire, right? The refiner's
fire purifies. What is he doing? He's removing
hell from earth. We celebrate, you guys, when...
We celebrate, right, when Satan is cast out,
when the enemy is cast out, and he's in hell.
We're like, yeah, Jesus won. Well, you know what's
happening at the book of life? What's happening
at the book of life? And I'm going to be really
honest with you. Church people in the room, if
you're not familiar with church, this isn't for
you. You don't have to think I'm mad at you,
right? But church people, stop arguing about
dumb stuff. Right? I spent way too many arguments
trying to figure out what's the timeline and
how does it work. I'm just here to tell you what
I know. And what I know is there is a day coming
when I will stand before Almighty God. And I'm
going to stand before Almighty God and he's going
to open a book that has my deeds in it. And I
don't know how you feel. I just know me. I got
a lot of bad in my life. I have a lot of sin
in my life. I have a lot of things that are evil
in my life. I have thoughts that are broken.
And on that day, they will be revealed before
Almighty God. But I need you to understand at
the great white throne where the books are, guess
what? I'm going to understand how good grace
is. Because what's going to happen is my sin
and my shame and my guilt and my evil is going
to be put forward. And Jesus is going to go,
I paid for it all. I paid for it all. I know
today 100 % without a shadow of a doubt, without
any kind of lack of confidence, the same confidence
that Paul has when he wrote, I know that I know
that I know that because of Jesus, my name is
in the book of life, which means this judgment
is not for me because of Jesus. How do I know
that? Because what Jesus said over here is that
when you believe, When you believe, what do you
receive? Eternal life. What does that mean? Your
name. When you believe in Jesus, your name is
put into the book of life. I know that when I
stand at the great white throne, my name will
be in the book of life. Do you? Do you know?
Do you know that you know that your name is in
the book of life? That's the question that you
have to wrestle with. Because the only way your
name gets there is by trusting in what Jesus
has done, that he has paid your sin and he has
paved the way for all of eternity. Now, we started
this talking about 2 Corinthians chapter 5. And
in 2 Corinthians 5, if I can find it, it said
this, must all appear before the judgment seat
of Christ. So wait, there's a second judgment.
This one is your name in the book of life. There's
another judgment. Remember the Bema seat where
you step up? The judgment seat of Christ? Something
like this, kind of? If you think you can do better,
you know, we can try. See what happens. But there's
a judgment seat of Christ. Who is the judgment
seat of Christ for? Well, the judgment seat of
Christ is for all of those whose name is in the
book of life. You still will be held accountable.
So here's the good news, right? Good news is
100%. of people with life because they trusted
Jesus will show up here. So the good news is
you're not alone. However, at the judgment seat
of Christ, you will be just you. Nobody else
is going with you in that moment. When you step
up and everything is shown for what it is. Now,
the good news about this is the judgment seat
of Christ isn't about whether you are saved or
not. It's about what you've done. You know that
you're saved, but when you get to the judgment
seat of Christ, what's going to happen is that
you're going to be held accountable. What did
you do with what I gave you? God's going to look
at you and go, I gave you eternal life. So you
didn't have to spend your life looking for life.
You already had it. And I think he's going to
ask, so what did you do with what I gave you?
I gave you some really cool gifts. I gave you
some really great influence. I gave you a job
that meant that you never had to worry about
anything financial. Why? So that you could build
the kingdom of God. I gave you a family. What'd
you do with them? Where did you leave them? How
did you build for eternity? I believe that everything
he's put in your hand, he's going to ask, what'd
you do? In fact, in 1 Corinthians chapter 3,
Paul's writing to the church of Corinth. He says
this, by the grace God has given me, I laid a
foundation as a wise builder and someone else
is building on it, but each should build with
care. So he goes, hey, I built in my time on
earth. I built into the kingdom of God, into
the glory of God for the things of God. And he
goes, somebody else is coming and building on
top. But he goes, be careful. Verse 11, 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 of judgment
will bring to light, and it will be revealed
with fire. Fire purifies, right? So what's going
to happen is your work, the things you did with
what God gave you, The way that you built, the
way that you use this life. I loved it in 2 Corinthians
5 .10. It says good or bad. So it's a both and.
But you know what the bad is? Worthless. So did
I take everything I was given and put it into
worthless stuff is what he's saying. I don't
think we get to step up at the judgment seat
of Christ. I don't think we step up as believers.
Into that moment and go, hey, God, aren't you
proud of my 14 years I spent on TikTok? We already
know it's worthless. That's why we call it doom
scrolling. We already know that there's stuff
that we do that is just worthless. That when
the fire comes to it, it's just going to disappear.
And you have this moment. Where he says the fire
will test the quality. You know what the quality
is? It's the motive that you did it with. What's
the motive behind how you live your life? Because
there's going to be a moment when you stand before
God. And as a believer, I give an account for
the motives that drove my life. Verse 14, if
it has been built. If what has been built survives,
the builder will receive a reward. We don't have
time to talk about this, but there are rewards.
That's the good news. Right? But this isn't kids'
soccer. It's built on your work. Right? You don't
get a participation medal. You don't show up
and go, hey, here you go. Good job. There's five
rewards. We don't have time to talk about those.
But what's happening in this moment? You're standing
before God and God says, I'll give you a reward
if it survives. Verse 15, but if it is burned
up, the builder will suffer loss. But yet, listen
to this, but yet will be saved. Why? Because
this throne isn't about whether you're saved
or not, right? It's what you did with what you
had. So this isn't about whether you're saved
or not. We're already at the great white throne,
book of life. My name's in the book of life,
so I stand at this one. And I know, he says,
yet will be saved, even though as one escaping
through the flames. You know what? Another way
to say that is, it's an old saying, by the skin
of your teeth, you were saved. Right, like you,
only Jesus, that's it. God's gonna look at you
and go, only Jesus, because everything else is
gone. Only Jesus. But what'd you do with what
I gave? And I think it's interesting. We have
such weird, like we think we're gonna. Because
we're in relationship with Jesus. We spend time
with Jesus. We try to make Jesus as tangible
as possible, right? Like we see Jesus on the
earth. And so I think sometimes we have this
image in our head that when it comes to judgment
and it comes to that, we're just gonna walk into
that throne room and be like, hey, Jesus. I don't
think it's gonna be like that at all. Here's
why. Revelation chapter one. John is writing
about what he saw in heaven. Verse 12, I turned
around to see. the voice that was speaking to
me. And when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
and among the lampstands was someone like the
Son of Man, a name for Jesus, dressed in a robe,
reaching down to his feet with a golden sash
around his chest. The hair on his head was white
like wool. Nothing wrong with white hair, just
saying, right? As white as snow. And his eyes
were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze
glowing in a furnace. His voice was like the
sound of rushing waters. In his right hand, he
held seven stars and coming out of his mouth
was a sharp double -edged sword. His face was
like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When
I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.
Then he placed his right hand on me and said,
do not be afraid. I am the first and the last.
I am the living one. I was dead and now look,
I am alive forever. And I hold the keys to death
and Hades. I think when we get to heaven, remember
who John was? John was the disciple that at a
meal was reclining on Jesus because they were
that close. He was that comfortable. He sees
the glorified, resurrected Jesus, the Jesus that'll
sit on a throne. And what does he do? He's on
his face. Why? Because of the brilliance and
the glorification of who Jesus actually is. He's
on his face as though he is dead before him.
I'm reading this this week. I'm preparing. It's
a normal Monday. Sitting in Starbucks. Got my
blonde Americano, so life is okay. I got worship
music in my headphones, ears, whatever they are,
AirPods, whatever you call those. And then I
read this. And in the middle of an average day
in Starbucks, I fall into confession. Because
when I read about standing before Jesus, and
I read about what have you done with what I gave,
and he's gonna see the motives of my heart, I'm
undone. Because I know there are far too many
times I do things out of pride. There are far
too many times when it's about me. There are
far too many times when raising my kids, I don't
have eternity in mind in raising my kids. I just
want them to do what I want them to do. And I
want you to do it now and not let me ask again.
I think he's gonna look at the gifts that he's
given. He's gonna look at the good and the bad.
And so what happened for me in that Starbucks
is I just began to agree with God. What does
that mean? Like confession is just that I agree
with God. God, you're right. The motive is often
this. And I acknowledge that. I confess that
to you. God, I confess that with all of the things
you've put in my life, all of the resources,
all of the influence, all of the gifts, all of
the people, all of the... God, I confess that
I don't always use those in a way that's appropriate
for the kingdom of God. God, I confess that my
motives are off. And then it leads to repentance.
You know what repentance is? I change my mind.
How do I change my mind? I agree with what God
said, and now I'm gonna go a different direction
from the direction I've been. So I was sitting
there in Starbucks, confessing and repenting,
confessing and repenting. And I wrote the team
and I said, hey, you guys, I just feel like God
is calling us to spend time. in confession and
repentance this weekend. Because I don't know
how you read any of this and go, I'm perfect.
I don't know how you read any of this and go,
I don't waste time. I don't see how you read
any of this and go, man, I got this all together.
It's a sobering fact that I will stand before
my maker. And then there's another piece to it
that was burdening. is that there are people
right here, right now, across screens, in other
locations, and you don't know that your name
is in the book of life. You couldn't say today
because you've never fully trusted the person
of Jesus for life. And I'm burdened for you today.
Because I know what that means for eternity.
I understand how eternity works. Jesus has made
it so difficult, Levi Lusko said, that you have
to trip over the cross of Christ to get to hell.
You literally have to trip over Jesus to get
there. Don't let another day go by where you
go. I'm good. I'll figure it out at some point.
You may not have another point. And you don't
get to play around with eternity. It's coming
whether you are ready or not. You don't know
when your tent is laid down, but you do know
this, that you have today and you have right
now. And it's real easy. If you're in the room
and you go, I don't know, John, if I'm in the
book of life, it's real easy. Jesus, I give you
my life. thank you for saving me. Jesus, I trust
that you died for me. I trust that you grant
life. If you're in the room and you don't know,
if your name is in the book of life, that's your
prayer today. Jesus, thank you for saving me.
I give you my life. For those of you that know
Jesus, I think we just need to spend some time
talking to him, letting him search us and confess
and repent. So the next moments are yours. Church,
I don't care if you stay where you are. I don't
care if you come down front. I don't care what
you do. I just, please don't miss this opportunity
to talk to God. Please don't miss this opportunity
to confess, repent, and step in. to be saved.
So next moments are yours and then we're gonna
worship together, you guys. We're gonna worship.
So next moments are yours.