1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,840 There's a statement in the Gospel of John which is simple and yet profound. 2 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:14,260 Only the Son of God Himself could make it. 3 00:00:14,260 --> 00:00:20,880 He said, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 4 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:23,800 What an amazing statement. 5 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:28,440 In that statement we see the scope of salvation. 6 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:33,000 He or whoever believes on me. 7 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:41,200 The Word is at once universal in its scope, meaning that anyone can believe on Him. 8 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:46,440 And yet it shows the individuality of the decision, that each person must make that 9 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:48,240 single decision. 10 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,600 He that believeth, there is the secret of salvation. 11 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:56,360 It is faith apart from works. 12 00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:03,120 It means to rely upon or to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. 13 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:09,660 He that believeth on me, the source of salvation, Him alone. 14 00:01:09,660 --> 00:01:17,040 He that believeth on me hath, has the sureness of salvation. 15 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:19,320 No questions about it. 16 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:23,720 Belief on Him brings the security of salvation. 17 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:27,760 He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 18 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:30,320 There's the summary of salvation. 19 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:32,720 Everlasting life. 20 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:38,920 Everlasting or eternal life is not just life that has a lot of quantity to it. 21 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:45,160 That is life that goes on and on and on forever, but it's life that has quality to it. 22 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:53,200 It means to share the very life of God Himself through our union with Jesus Christ. 23 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:55,680 We talked about that this morning. 24 00:01:55,680 --> 00:02:03,600 The fact that when we trust the Savior, we are united to Him in death, burial, and resurrection. 25 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:11,760 And from that moment onward, we share the very same life as He has. 26 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,120 Eternal life. 27 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,960 Paul speaks about this in Colossians chapter 3, and I invite you to look at that passage 28 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:25,920 with me, and then we'll read another passage in 2 Corinthians. 29 00:02:25,920 --> 00:02:32,280 But first, Colossians 3, beginning in verse 1. 30 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:39,160 If then you have been raised up with Christ, there's that co-resurrection we were talking 31 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:41,800 about this morning. 32 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:49,640 If then, or better, since then, you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things 33 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:56,240 above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 34 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:02,520 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 35 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:08,160 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 36 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:16,160 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in 37 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:18,800 glory. 38 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:25,120 And then turn to 2 Corinthians, the fourth chapter, as we see something more regarding 39 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:31,040 this matter of our life in Christ. 40 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,880 I'm going to begin in verse 11 of 2 Corinthians 4. 41 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:41,520 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, that the life 42 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:47,280 of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 43 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:52,060 So death works in us, but life in you. 44 00:03:52,060 --> 00:03:56,440 But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believed, therefore 45 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,960 I spoke, we also believe, therefore we also speak. 46 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:10,520 Noring that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present 47 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:12,520 us with you. 48 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:17,400 For all things are for your sakes that the grace which is spreading to more and more 49 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:23,720 people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. 50 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:30,200 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man 51 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:33,680 is being renewed day by day. 52 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:40,680 For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond 53 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:47,800 all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are 54 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:48,800 not seen. 55 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:58,000 For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 56 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:05,760 A person who shares the life of Jesus Christ has a new perspective on life in this world, 57 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:08,400 his life here. 58 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:14,120 Because of his faith in Christ, he is a possessor of eternal life. 59 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:19,700 And that brings a whole different view of things. 60 00:05:19,700 --> 00:05:25,560 Back in the old days, when I was young, as my children like to say it, back in the old 61 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:30,400 days, we used to sing a chorus. 62 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,680 It went like this, things are different now. 63 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:39,560 Something happened to me when I gave my heart to Jesus. 64 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:41,360 Things are different now. 65 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:43,040 I was changed. 66 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:46,800 It must be when I gave my heart to him. 67 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:51,040 Things I loved before have passed away. 68 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:54,920 Things I love far more have come to stay. 69 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:56,580 Things are different now. 70 00:05:56,580 --> 00:06:03,160 Something happened that day when I gave my heart to him. 71 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:10,840 One who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ and who therefore possesses eternal life is different. 72 00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:16,800 I'd like to talk about the difference that eternal life makes this evening. 73 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:24,600 In the first place, the one who has eternal life sees things differently. 74 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:30,120 Things are not the same once one has trusted the Lord Jesus Christ. 75 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:35,160 The world around us loves things and uses people. 76 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:45,640 But one who trusts the Savior in truth loves people and uses things. 77 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:50,080 What does one use things for? 78 00:06:50,080 --> 00:07:00,160 All the temporal things of life, those things that seem to demand so much of us, those things 79 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:10,600 that tend to consume us and which call upon us to love them rather than just use them. 80 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:15,160 Those temporal things become tools for us to use. 81 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:19,720 Tools for us to use in ministering to other people. 82 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:24,520 Those temporal things become means to an end. 83 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:30,880 They become instruments for us to use to help people and to glorify God. 84 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:39,720 The danger that all of us face is that these things rather become the ends rather than 85 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,580 the means to the end. 86 00:07:42,580 --> 00:07:50,040 That the things become gods instead of only goods that we use. 87 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:57,760 That's why we're exhorted in Colossians as we are, set your mind on the things above, 88 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:02,680 not on the things that are on the earth. 89 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:09,640 The fact is that the things on the earth are passing away. 90 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:15,920 We might be tempted to say, well of course, that's the way I live every day of my life. 91 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:22,040 But if we examine our hearts carefully, most of us will find a struggle regarding things, 92 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:26,000 especially in our culture. 93 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:37,240 We are willing to sacrifice a lot, a lot of quality in life for things that we might enjoy. 94 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,120 It's not that those things are wrong in themselves. 95 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:43,480 Things are a part of life, aren't they? 96 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:47,520 And yet when those things become the focus of our life, when they become the reason for 97 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:53,240 our living, somehow we've missed it. 98 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:56,800 One who has eternal life has a difference made. 99 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:01,920 He tends to see things differently. 100 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:09,080 Things become a means to be a blessing to other people and not a reason for living. 101 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:19,200 The only way to really enjoy life is to yield up our things to God, to use them rather than 102 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:23,640 letting them use us. 103 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:31,900 How tragic to live for things and to accumulate things in this world only to die and to enter 104 00:09:31,900 --> 00:09:41,400 heaven because we're saved, but to enter heaven as it were impoverished of reward. 105 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:48,880 The things that God blesses us with and the poorest of us in terms of the world at large 106 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:52,180 is rich in things. 107 00:09:52,180 --> 00:10:01,880 The things that God blesses us with are intended to be used by us, not to use us. 108 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:07,320 God wants us to see those things differently than the society around us. 109 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:15,720 He wants us to see those things as His provision for us, not to use selfishly for ourselves, 110 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:24,860 but to use those things to be a blessing to other people. 111 00:10:24,860 --> 00:10:29,200 One who has eternal life sees things differently. 112 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:34,080 One who has eternal life also sees people differently. 113 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:36,080 He sees people differently. 114 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:43,100 The apostle mentions this in 2 Corinthians 5 in the context of where he talks about the 115 00:10:43,100 --> 00:10:49,080 love of Christ controlling him and that one died for all, that we who live might no longer 116 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,120 live for ourselves but for him. 117 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:59,100 He says as a result of this, this change of perspective in verse 16, therefore from now 118 00:10:59,100 --> 00:11:05,680 on we recognize no man according to the flesh, even though we have known Christ according 119 00:11:05,680 --> 00:11:11,360 to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer. 120 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:15,800 One who has eternal life sees people differently. 121 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:20,440 The New International Version puts verse 16, the first part of it, this way, so from now 122 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:25,700 on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. 123 00:11:25,700 --> 00:11:29,600 How do you see people? 124 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:33,500 There are some who see people as pawns. 125 00:11:33,500 --> 00:11:39,200 To them life is something like a game and people are the pieces on a chessboard as it 126 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:45,360 were and they move people around and adjust their relationship to them in order to gain 127 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:48,840 the greatest advantage for themselves. 128 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:53,200 People are to be used like in a game. 129 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:58,120 Others see people as obstacles. 130 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:02,260 Obstacles that stand in the way of what they want and they're willing to do whatever they 131 00:12:02,260 --> 00:12:08,020 have to do to remove the obstacles in their lives to accomplish their ends. 132 00:12:08,020 --> 00:12:12,380 What a sad and tragic way to live. 133 00:12:12,380 --> 00:12:14,920 Others see people as nuisances. 134 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:21,320 To them people are just something to put up with. 135 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:26,920 Other people are just something that's a part of the downside of life and the thing they 136 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:33,200 really look forward to is to get away from the nuisances around them. 137 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,840 And then there are those who see people as enemies. 138 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:39,840 To them life is like a big war. 139 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:46,440 There's that side and my side and the real purpose in life is to win, to be the victor 140 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:50,280 at the end and other people are seen as enemies. 141 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:55,400 How tragic to see people in any of those lights. 142 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:59,280 One who has eternal life sees people differently. 143 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:07,480 One who shares the life of Jesus Christ, which is what eternal life really is, sees people 144 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:18,280 as individuals and each individual is God's creation and potentially God's child. 145 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:23,880 It's hard to look at people that way, especially nasty people. 146 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:26,120 People you don't like to be around. 147 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:30,560 You probably don't have people like that in your life, but some do. 148 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:36,920 People that are just difficult, who seem to enjoy making life miserable for everybody 149 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:39,600 else in the office. 150 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:40,600 People. 151 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:48,320 But one who has eternal life, who has God's perspective, looks at people, even difficult 152 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:55,560 people and he recognizes that that person is the creation of God. 153 00:13:55,560 --> 00:14:02,200 However marred, however distorted that image of God be because of what sin has done, that 154 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:09,000 person has the life, the natural life of God in him. 155 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:16,280 And that person is a potential child of God and so he sees that person as Christ sees 156 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:17,280 him. 157 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:23,440 Too often we're tempted to see people from a worldly point of view, aren't we? 158 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:27,920 There are people around whom we cower and shrink. 159 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:34,160 We see them because of their position perhaps or their wealth. 160 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:39,200 There are others that we look upon with some spite because we think ourselves better than 161 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:40,720 they are. 162 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:49,800 They're poor or they're lowly or they don't have it all together. 163 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:52,340 There are others that we admire. 164 00:14:52,340 --> 00:14:53,400 The elite. 165 00:14:53,400 --> 00:15:01,760 The ones that seem to have arrived, the ones who are quote successful as success is measured. 166 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,100 How do you see people? 167 00:15:05,100 --> 00:15:09,360 Those people that you work with, those people in your neighborhood. 168 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:15,960 May I encourage you as a child of God to look at them differently than you might normally 169 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:19,160 but see them as Christ sees them. 170 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,800 See them as lost sheep who need a shepherd. 171 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:26,840 That's how Jesus saw them. 172 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:31,560 He sees them as lost children who need to be restored to the Father. 173 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,960 Do you see them that way? 174 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:41,240 It is easy for us to look down upon others. 175 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:46,240 To see ourselves in relation to them and to see ourselves above them or better than them. 176 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:55,200 Oh not because of what we are of course we say but because of what God has done. 177 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:59,320 How sad when we see people that way. 178 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:05,240 Oh that we might see people through the eyes of Jesus because we share his life. 179 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:10,320 Because we have eternal life it makes a difference the way we see that person in the office or 180 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:18,640 that neighborhood, neighbor, that person that we are friends with, that schoolmate. 181 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:21,120 We see that person as Jesus would see them. 182 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:23,560 That's a challenge friend. 183 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:27,640 Oh there are some people it's easy to see that way. 184 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:31,200 But there are some people it's hard to see that way. 185 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,920 Oh that God would give us the eyes of Jesus. 186 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:43,200 To see especially those that are unlovely as he sees them and as he loves them. 187 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:51,200 The difference eternal life makes we see things differently and we see people differently. 188 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:57,040 And then one who has eternal life sees the future differently. 189 00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:03,320 As we look at the future that is before us there are some things that ought to be concerns 190 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:05,760 I suppose. 191 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:11,600 One of the things that all of us realize is the decline of our culture, of our society. 192 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:16,880 How long are we going to be able to last anyway at the rate we're going? 193 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:25,580 Spending up our resources, living on borrowed money, pushing ahead with loose immoral living 194 00:17:25,580 --> 00:17:29,160 and approving that in our midst. 195 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:35,400 Making pornography, making that a part of our culture and our neighborhoods. 196 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,840 How long is this culture going to be able to last? 197 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,720 It's uncertain. 198 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:46,120 Then of course as believers in Jesus Christ we look at the future and we say how long 199 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:53,320 is it going to be before we face some kind of a significant persecution? 200 00:17:53,320 --> 00:18:01,120 Right now there is building up tremendous tension in our culture between two forces 201 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:03,600 that are opposing each other. 202 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:13,040 Right now it's those who are pro-death and those who are pro-life. 203 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:17,540 Our culture is developing into camps. 204 00:18:17,540 --> 00:18:25,240 We are less and less a unified people, the ideal of pluralism, it's only an ideal. 205 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:27,880 It can never be reached in any society. 206 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:35,200 I think it's Bill Gothard who says that a society that is pluralistic is only in transition 207 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,560 from one set of moral standards to another. 208 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,520 That's where our society is headed. 209 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:48,440 Our society is dividing up into camps around various issues. 210 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:57,520 And it may not be long before there is a tremendous force exerted against those who believe what 211 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:04,720 you and I do about God and about the Bible and about Jesus Christ. 212 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:10,240 But then to bring it down to a more personal level, what about growing older? 213 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:12,800 Isn't that fun? 214 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:16,560 That happens to all of us. 215 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:22,520 There is an alternative, but you might not want to think about that too hard. 216 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:28,320 Growing older is a part of life and yet there are many uncertainties with growing older. 217 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,560 As you grow older, am I going to be able to take care of myself? 218 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:32,840 Will I have the health to do that? 219 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:35,840 Will I have the money to retire on? 220 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:36,840 Where will we live? 221 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,160 Where will we be in relation to our children? 222 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:47,640 Where are many uncertainties in life as we grow older and all of us are? 223 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:52,600 Then though we don't like to think about it, if you look at the statistics, many of us 224 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:58,040 sitting right here in this room will suffer in our lifetime from some kind of a serious 225 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:01,200 disease. 226 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:07,840 Perhaps cancer, perhaps a disease of the heart, or something else that is less common than 227 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:12,800 those two, but statistically the facts are that in the future many of us are going to 228 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,400 face some kind of a life-threatening illness. 229 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:21,320 Well, it's fun to look at the future, isn't it? 230 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:27,120 But the fact is that one who sees the future, even with these rather gloomy pictures that 231 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:30,800 I've painted, sees the future differently. 232 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:37,720 As Paul says in Colossians. 233 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:42,240 I knew it was in there somewhere between Philippians and the next book. 234 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:49,520 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in 235 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:51,520 glory. 236 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:56,440 Overarching all of the things I've said about the future that are rather gloomy is this 237 00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:58,640 bright truth. 238 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:04,460 In fact, I see here in these four verses three of four spiritual realities that ought to 239 00:21:04,460 --> 00:21:08,240 possess us because we have eternal life. 240 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:15,040 So that as we look at the uncertainties, we are not dragged down by them. 241 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,680 We see the future differently than the average person in the world. 242 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:25,680 In the first place, we see that God is in control, that he is on the throne. 243 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:29,520 If you've been raised up with Christ, keep seeking those things above where Christ is 244 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,400 seated at the right hand of God. 245 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:37,360 Friend, you and I have a Savior who is at the very right hand of God, the place of utmost 246 00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:40,680 supremacy in all of the universe. 247 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:42,440 We are one with him. 248 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:43,720 We have been united with him. 249 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:45,520 We share his life. 250 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:48,800 So as you and I see the future, we can see it differently. 251 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:51,160 Our Savior is in control. 252 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:54,440 He is in a position of sovereignty. 253 00:21:54,440 --> 00:22:02,160 Whatever he allows to come to my life or to yours is purposed for our good, for our benefit. 254 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:06,880 There is nothing that can happen to us that will snatch us away from his good purposes 255 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:09,560 because he is in control. 256 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:14,000 And suggested here in this verse also is the fact that the same God who is in control is 257 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:17,800 able to meet our needs because he is on the throne. 258 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:24,120 We may come to him in our time of deepest distress and greatest anxiety and know that 259 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:32,400 he who is on the throne receives us and he hears us and he intervenes on our behalf. 260 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,600 We who have eternal life see the future differently because of that. 261 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:41,960 We have a resource, capital R, on that. 262 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:51,080 Jesus Christ who stands at the right hand of God who intercede for us. 263 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,960 And then this same Christ is keeping us secure. 264 00:22:54,960 --> 00:23:01,080 Your life is hidden with Christ in God, says in verse 3. 265 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:03,920 There are uncertainties about the future. 266 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:11,280 The possibility of disease, just growing older, persecution perhaps, the decline of our society 267 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:13,920 and what that is going to mean to us in the future. 268 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,840 Yes, all of those things are out there. 269 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:21,320 The fact is that we have one who keeps us secure. 270 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:26,760 Our life is hidden with him in God. 271 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:33,400 The springs of our life go to the eternal person of Jesus Christ himself. 272 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:37,080 You and I can see the future differently because of that. 273 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:43,520 And then the verse we read, verse 4 of Colossians 3, one day he is going to come and he is going 274 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:50,540 to be revealed, revealed in his glory and it says that when that happens we will be 275 00:23:50,540 --> 00:23:54,140 revealed with him in glory. 276 00:23:54,140 --> 00:23:56,560 What does the future hold for us? 277 00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:00,940 Well we don't know what it holds in the next year or the next day. 278 00:24:00,940 --> 00:24:05,880 But we know that at some point the future holds the return of the Savior. 279 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:13,680 And when he comes and his glory is exposed, then in that same instant as his glory is 280 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:18,760 revealed you and I are going to be caught up with him and be like him. 281 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:22,640 We will share his glory. 282 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:28,660 There are reasons for those who don't know Christ to look at the future with great big 283 00:24:28,660 --> 00:24:36,360 question marks, with big thunder heads and lightening and gloom. 284 00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:40,600 For those of us who know Jesus Christ the future is different. 285 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:44,120 The same possibilities are before us and before others. 286 00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:51,040 But the fact is that behind all of that darkness, all of the looming possibilities, there is 287 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:54,800 the bright sunshine of the promises of God. 288 00:24:54,800 --> 00:25:00,960 There is our relationship with Jesus Christ that cannot and will not ever change. 289 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,360 There is our security in him. 290 00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:08,240 One who has eternal life sees the future differently. 291 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:15,720 Well my friend in Jesus Christ, my fellow believer, my brother, my sister, by the grace 292 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:19,440 of God you are a possessor of eternal life. 293 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:24,920 Not just then and there, but here and now it's yours, it's a gift from God. 294 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:27,280 Are you living in the light of that? 295 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:34,160 Is that eternal life that God has given to you through Jesus Christ making a difference? 296 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:40,480 Does it affect the way that you truly look at things? 297 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:44,760 Does it affect the way that you look at people? 298 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:49,760 Does it affect the way that you look at the future? 299 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:55,880 And in light of things and people and the future, are you living now so that on that 300 00:25:55,880 --> 00:26:04,600 day when you see Jesus face to face as we shall, you'll be able to stand before him 301 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:08,200 and give an account that will bring his commendation. 302 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,840 Oh, let that be our hearts desire. 303 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:18,400 Let that be the driving motive of our lives that when we stand before him we may be accepted 304 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:20,200 by him. 305 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:26,360 That is accepted by him and here well done, thou good and faithful servant. 306 00:26:26,360 --> 00:26:29,160 One who has eternal life is different. 307 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:36,360 Now it's possible for one who has eternal life to live below that, to live below his 308 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:40,200 privileges, to live below his position. 309 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:45,160 How tragic that we should do that when God has lifted us up in Jesus Christ into the 310 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:54,860 heavenly places and gives us the joy, gives us the privilege of seeing and using things 311 00:26:54,860 --> 00:26:58,640 as instruments for his glory. 312 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:03,040 Seeing life as a stewardship for him, how wonderful that he's lifted us up and enables 313 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:11,400 us to look upon people, not as pawns, not as nuisances, not as enemies, but as dear 314 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:15,200 people whom God loves and wants to save. 315 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:20,520 How wonderful that he lifts us up in Jesus Christ and allows us to see the future beyond 316 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:26,120 the clouds on the horizon, to look beyond the clouds and see the sun that shines, the 317 00:27:26,120 --> 00:27:31,160 bright promises of God that will never change. 318 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:38,080 He who has eternal life, he who believes on me, said Jesus has eternal life. 319 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:40,920 What a difference that makes. 320 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:45,800 I hope it's made a difference in your life, that you're living in light of who you are 321 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:51,560 in Christ and I hope that you've believed on him and that you have the assurance of that 322 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:53,660 eternal life. 323 00:27:53,660 --> 00:27:58,760 Not life that would just live forever, but a quality of life that comes because you are 324 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:02,360 united with Jesus Christ. 325 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:07,280 Let's pray. 326 00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:18,240 With our heads bowed and as we just look inside for a moment before we go, how do you see 327 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:19,240 things? 328 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:24,720 I mean really. 329 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:30,720 You may understand how Christians ought to see things, but do you really look at things 330 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:39,240 differently than that person who sits across the office from you or who works in the same 331 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:45,520 plant or teaches in the same institution? 332 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:47,640 How do you see people? 333 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:48,640 I mean really. 334 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:56,360 Do you see them through the eyes of Jesus as sheep? 335 00:28:56,360 --> 00:29:06,480 Bewildered and lost, fleeced, the Juanita Shepherd? 336 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,960 How do you see the future? 337 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:17,640 Is it bright with the promises of God? 338 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:24,680 If not, perhaps it would be good to go back to the basics tonight. 339 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:28,640 Right back to the very foundation of it all and to ask yourself the question, do I have 340 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:30,640 eternal life? 341 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:36,280 Have I really believed on Jesus Christ? 342 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:41,400 Or have I grown up with some language that I've used? 343 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:50,520 Have I sort of inherited this thing called Christianity and never made it my own? 344 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:57,520 If you've not trusted the Savior for yourself, would you trust Him tonight? 345 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:09,400 He said, He that believes on me has eternal life. 346 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:11,640 Believe on Him. 347 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:18,960 And if you've believed on Him, let that eternal life make a difference this week, a difference 348 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:27,120 in the way that you see things and people and the future. 349 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:34,480 Lord Jesus, you are life. 350 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:36,160 You are the fullness of life. 351 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:43,200 You are abundant life and we love you. 352 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:51,400 We desire that the life you have given to us as a gift of grace, that that life will 353 00:30:51,400 --> 00:31:00,080 make a genuine difference in the way that we live. 354 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:16,240 I pray that this week, as we deal with things, as we encounter people, as we enter the future, 355 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:24,620 that we'll enter it as the children of God. 356 00:31:24,620 --> 00:31:30,340 And hear your well done one day when we see you face to face. 357 00:31:30,340 --> 00:31:37,240 Thank you for this Lord's Day and for our meeting together here in church. 358 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:43,160 We are mindful that there are many tonight who have no hope of eternal life. 359 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:51,780 Lord, burden our heart for those, our friends, our neighbors. 360 00:31:51,780 --> 00:32:02,640 And stimulate us to reach out to them with genuine care and love for Jesus' sake. 361 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:09,080 And to build bridges into their lives so that they too might believe on Him and have eternal 362 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:12,640 life. 363 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:16,000 Thank you for hearing us and meeting with us tonight. 364 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:22,000 Amen.