Second Corinthians chapter 4, the place where I'd like to begin is in verse number 8 where the Bible reads,
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken,
cast down but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus,
that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our bodies.
So there he's describing the fact that as a Christian you're going to go through a lot of hard things,
you're going to go through persecution, affliction, rough times, but Jesus Christ is going to sustain you through it.
But look down if you would at verse number 16, he says,
For which cause we faint not?
So he's saying even in spite of all the opposition, in spite of all the hardships, we faint not.
But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Now what Paul is explaining in this chapter here is the importance of having our focus on things that are eternal,
not on our temporal surroundings, not on the situation that we find ourselves in today,
but rather the situation we're going to be in for all of eternity.
And today we want to make sure that we as Christians have our affections set on things above, not on things on this earth.
You see if you're truly living the Christian life, turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
You're in 2 Corinthians, just flip back to 1 Corinthians a few pages, chapter 15.
If you're truly living the Christian life, you're going to go through hard times.
You're going to go through suffering.
He said in Philippians chapter 1, he said,
up to you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.
Having the same conflict which he saw in me and now here to be in me.
But he said if there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love,
if any fellowship with the spirit, if any vows and mercies, fulfill ye my joy that ye be like-minded,
having the same love, being one accord of one mind.
He said let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind.
Let every man esteem other better than himself.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
Christ Jesus lived a life where he suffered and ministered to others.
And he said for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down on the right hand of God.
The thing that's going to sustain us according to 2 Corinthians chapter 4,
is to know that when we go through these hard times and sufferings and struggles,
that inevitably will be a part of the Christian life if you're truly living for God,
is that we know that they're temporal.
We know that they're going to end.
We know that one day we will have rest when we're in heaven
and we are glorified with Jesus Christ for all of eternity.
He says in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 16,
For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised.
And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, yet in your sins.
Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
This is of course the great resurrection chapter
where Paul goes on and on explaining about how important the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ is.
But look at verse 19, he says,
If in this life only we have hope in Christ,
we are of all men most miserable.
You see that?
He said there's no hope.
I mean if there's no heaven, if there's no reward,
he said we're of all men most miserable.
Because we're not living for the now.
We're not living just for here today, the temporal.
We're not trying to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
But rather we have our eyes set on the crown that awaits us
and not only us but all those that love his appearing.
As Moses said,
He chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God
than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season
as steaming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt
for he had respect under the recompense of the reward.
We've got to get our eyes on those things that are eternal.
We need to have our conversation in heaven
and not always just be so focused on the surroundings
that we find ourselves in, the things that are temporal
and emphasize those things.
You see because Jesus Christ is raised,
the Bible says if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so then also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him?
And we know that Christ will raise up us also by the glory of God.
And so we have an inheritance in the heavens,
something that's not going to wax old,
where moth and rust does not corrupt
and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
You may be poor here on this earth
but you've got treasures in heaven if you're serving God,
if you're living for God.
And that's what he's trying to show us here,
to focus on things that are eternal
and not on the things that are right or wrong.
And by the way, let me just throw this in
since we're in 1 Corinthians 15 talking about the resurrection of Christ.
Did you know that the Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe
that Jesus Christ rose from the dead?
Did you know that?
I mean talk about a core tenet of the Bible,
the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
Look if you would at 1 Corinthians 15, a little bit forward, verse 1.
It says,
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand,
by which also ye are saved.
So it's the gospel that saves you, right?
If ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye believed in vain,
for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scripture,
and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day
according to the scripture,
and he talks about how he's seen all his apostles.
I was out soloing the other day,
talked to a Jehovah's Witness,
and he flat out told me, he said,
Well, they don't believe it physically rose from the dead,
and turned to Luke 23.
We've got to hit on this before we move on this time.
Go to Luke 23.
I'm talking to this guy, he said,
Well, they just believed that his spirit went out of his body.
He didn't physically raise his head, just his spirit went out of his body.
Well, hold on a second.
Isn't that what death is according to the Bible?
Your spirit going out of your body?
I think I remember James 2 26,
For as the body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without works is dead also.
Hey, we know he died,
but he physically rose again.
He physically walked out of that grave,
and I'll prove it to you from the Bible.
Look at Luke chapter...
Let me find my place here.
Give me one second.
I'm sorry, it's Luke 24.
Good night. Am I in the wrong chapter?
Here we go. I found it. I'm sorry.
Luke 24, look at verse number 36.
It says,
And as they thus spake...
This is after Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus himself stood in the midst of them,
and saith unto them,
Peace be unto you.
But they were terrified and affrighted,
and supposed that they had seen a what?
A spirit.
They thought they just saw a spirit, right?
And he said unto them,
Why are you troubled?
And why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself.
Handle me and see.
For a spirit hath not flesh and bones
as you see me to have.
I mean, did you see what kind of garbage
they're teaching down there?
They're basically saying that Jesus did not
physically rise from the dead.
Just his spirit went out of his body.
No, he physically walked out of that grave.
He said, handle me.
He said, put your fingers into the holes in my head.
Thrust your hand into the hole in my stomach.
And the hole in my side of me not faithless,
but believe it.
And so he thought,
it wasn't just a spiritual resurrection,
it was a physical bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And Paul said,
Look, we know Jesus rose from the dead.
We believe that he physically rose from the dead,
and therefore we believe that we have a home in heaven.
We will live,
when we die, that's not the end of it either,
we will live on in heaven with Jesus Christ,
and one day we'll be resurrected as well,
physically, from the grave.
And so we should not live just for the things
that are right here and now,
but also for the things that are eternal.
That's what we need to focus on.
Look at 2 Timothy chapter 3,
toward the end of the New Testament,
2 Timothy chapter 3.
You see, many churches today,
their focus is all on the here and now.
It's on everything that is seen,
instead of that which is not seen.
Because remember what Paul said,
that which is not seen is eternal, right?
But he said that which is seen is temporal.
For example, you look at me,
you can see my body, right?
Is my body eternal here?
No, it's temporal, it's going to die.
One day we resurrected and brought back to life
and created anew,
but this body that you see right here is temporal.
But can you see my spirit?
Can you see my soul?
And yet those are the things that are eternal,
because God said that the things that are eternal
are things that we can't see.
And the things that are seen aren't just temporal,
they're just temporary.
And so we need to get our eyes as a church
just off of the things that we can see,
off the temporary things,
and onto the eternal things.
But the problem with that is that you have to have faith
in order to focus on things that you can't see.
Because that which is seen,
you don't have to believe in it,
because you can see it with your own eyes.
But the Bible says we walk by faith and not by sight.
The Bible says that Moses endured
as seeing him who is invisible.
You see, in order to see the things that are eternal,
you have to just see them by faith.
You can't physically see them with the eye
because everything that we see is temporal.
Everything around you is temporary.
Every single thing that you can see on this earth
will be one day burned up.
The Bible says heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my word shall not pass away, Jesus Christ said.
Look at 2 Timothy 3, verse 15.
It says, and that from a child,
thou hast known the holy scriptures,
which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.
By the way, that's what salvation is.
It's through faith in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and he's given this advice to a young preacher.
He said all scripture is given by inspiration of God
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction and righteousness,
that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
You see, many churches today,
their focus is only on that which is temporary,
that which is seen,
and here's what they call it, relevant preaching.
Relevant preaching.
Who's heard that term before?
It's kind of the buzz word.
If you were to flip open the yellow pages,
and I don't have the yellow pages with me,
but if I were to bring the yellow pages up here
and flip it open and just look through the churches,
you'd see that word over and over and over again.
Relevant.
And here's the other word you'd see over and over again.
Practical.
Practical and relevant.
Practical teaching, relevant preaching,
relevant, relevant, relevant.
Now, here's the problem that I have with that.
Basically, what it insinuates
is that something in the Bible is not relevant.
And what they mean by that is that all of the preaching
is going to be geared toward the here and now.
That's what they're saying.
Basically, all the preaching is geared toward the here and now.
You know, the relevant, the practical,
you know, fix your marriage and fix your kids
and just the day-to-day, getting through the grind of it.
No, that's not what I care the most about,
just the getting through the grind of it.
And if I want to have a great relationship with my wife,
it's because we're both focused on things that are eternal.
And if I'm going to raise my children, right,
it's because I'm teaching them what's eternal.
But today, it's all just the practical, relevant preaching.
Let me tell you something.
Leviticus is profitable for doctrine.
That's what the Bible says.
All scripture.
The book of Numbers.
The book of Deuteronomy.
These books are relevant today because guess what?
The whole Bible is relevant.
Every word of it.
Say, oh, you know, these deep studies aren't relevant.
Yes, they are.
We need to get into the deep things of God.
The Spirit serves with all things,
even the deep things of God.
We need to get in and learn the doctrines of the faith.
We need to learn the Old Testament.
We need to learn the New Testament.
We need to learn Bible prophecy.
We need to learn the histories of the Bible.
And you say, well, that's just not relevant.
It's all relevant.
It's all profitable.
It's all given by the inspiration of God.
It's all good for preaching.
It's all good for rebuke.
It's all good for reprove.
It's all good for instruction in righteousness.
There's nothing irrelevant.
But see, it's all relevant.
It's all irrelevant.
But somebody sent me this news article.
It cracked me up.
Somebody sent me this news article
that was about these pastors who turned atheist,
but they keep preaching.
And it's these Southern Baptists,
and they didn't want to give their name,
but this was an ABC news article that somebody sent.
It was a big news article.
And it's these Southern Baptist preachers,
and basically they've decided
that they don't believe in God anymore,
and they don't believe in the Bible anymore.
But because the economy's bad,
they don't want to change jobs.
So they're just going to continue preaching
and continue pastoring the church.
You know, that's just kind of a weird article,
but there was one thing in it that jumped out at me,
and I want to read you this quote
from this interview where they're interviewing these guys
about the fact that basically they started out,
they said, you know, they thought it was all real,
but then the problem is, you know,
they started studying it,
and they started reading atheist materials
and it just made a lot of sense to them,
and now they're just atheists.
They believe that there is no God.
And they actually believe that the Bible is just a fairy tale.
And that's what they're saying.
Now, obviously, you guys were never saved in the first place.
And by the way, we run into Southern Baptists every day
that aren't saved, so that shouldn't really shock you,
because a lot of these Southern Baptists,
I've run into Southern Baptists who are saved,
but a lot of Southern Baptists I've run into
who were teaching like a lordship salvation,
like a work salvation, a lordship salvation.
You know, I've run into independent Baptists
that aren't saved.
You know, not everybody who's a Baptist
is necessarily just automatically saved, right?
Just because you go to this church
doesn't make you automatically saved.
You better believe that salvation's by faith
and Jesus Christ alone,
not of works lest any man should boast.
And that's what makes you saved
because of your faith in Christ Jesus,
not the church that you attend or don't attend.
But this guy, listen, you got to hear this,
because this explained a lot.
When I read this, I said, oh, now I get it.
Here's from the article.
He and Jack, I'm quoting the article,
he and Jack said that when speaking to parishioners,
this is after they became atheists, okay,
but they, you know, hey, the economy's tough.
I got to keep preaching.
And here's what they said.
You know, I have a seminary degree, you know?
It's the best job I can get.
Okay?
It says this.
He and Jack said that when speaking to parishioners,
they tried to stick to the sections of the Bible
that they still believed in,
the parts about being a good person.
Both said that they would like to leave their jobs,
though they can't afford to.
I want to get out of the position I'm in
as quickly as I can
because I try to be a person of integrity and character,
Adam said.
With the economy the way it is,
with my lack of marketable skills
other than a seminary education,
it's got me in a tough spot.
So notice what he said.
He doesn't really believe in the Bible, right?
He even says, I'm an atheist.
I don't believe that God even exists.
So what parts of the Bible does he focus on?
Just the practical part, right?
Just the relevant part.
Just the part that's going to help us here today, right?
He says the Bible's going to focus on the part
about being a good person
because, you know, that's the part
that we can all agree on.
Well, you know what?
I like to focus on the part that we can't all agree on
because if we all agree anyway,
then why even show up to church?
Just to have somebody tell you what you already agree with?
No, you come to church to learn something new.
You come to church to get a glimpse
from God's Word of that which is eternal,
not to just talk about the temporal,
not to just only,
well, I'm just going to focus on the parts
that I still believe in.
Well, you know what?
I still believe in all of it,
so I'm going to focus on the miracles of the Bible.
I'm going to focus on God parting the Red Sea.
I'm going to focus on Jesus Christ
raising up a dead body from the dead.
Hey, I'm going to focus on the part
that's spiritual.
I'm not just going to focus only on the here and now,
the temporal of, you know,
love your neighbor,
love one another,
do good to people,
get along with your wife,
get along with your kids,
and that's what a lot of churches today
focus on only,
and it just makes me wonder,
are they an atheist too?
Do they only believe in the here and now
because that's all they want to talk about?
No, let's talk about heaven.
Let's talk about hell.
Let's talk about the resurrection
that's bodily of Jesus Christ
and not just a social gospel
about being good to your neighbor.
Hey, that's not all that we need.
That's part of the message,
but that's not the whole message today.
We need to focus our attention
on that which is eternal.
Look at Hebrews chapter 10.
If you're in 2 Timothy,
just go a few pages to the right of your Bible,
Hebrews chapter 10.
But that's kind of an eye opener for me,
you know, these atheistic Southern Baptist preachers
basically that are pretending to be a Southern Baptist,
really they're total atheists.
They just said,
well, I'm just going to focus on the parts
about, you know, being a good person
and being good to your neighbor,
you know, stuff like that
because I still agree with that.
But it says in Hebrews 10.34,
I like what it says here.
It says,
For ye have compassion of me and mine bonds.
And what's Paul saying?
He's talking about when he was in jail.
These people took pity on him.
They had compassion of him.
They knew he was in jail.
And it says,
And took joyfully the spoiling of your goods,
knowing in yourselves
that ye have in heaven a better
and enduring substance.
Basically, Paul's in jail
and they were really generous with him.
They put him together a care package.
You know, they took of their goods
and that which they had financially
and of their food
and they basically took care of Paul.
They got him the clothes he needed,
the food he needed
and so forth when he was in jail.
Why were they so generous?
Why were they such giving people?
Because they knew in themselves
that they had in heaven
a better and enduring substance.
That's what's going to make you
a generous person today
when you're focused on the eternal
and not on the temporal.
Because the Bible says,
Sell that you have
and give to the poor.
He said you'll have treasures in heaven.
And so the person who's focused
on the here and now
is just going to want to amass
all the wealth for themselves now.
They're going to want to keep everything
and store everything up
and not be...
The person who's generous
and giving and helping people
who can never do anything
for them in return,
that they'll never...
He said, you know,
Lend, hoping to receive not again.
That's how I always
mold stuff out.
You say don't give back anyway.
So he said, you know,
Lend, just open to receive nothing.
No, open to receive nothing again.
He said, you'll have a reward in heaven.
But does that mean anything to you today?
A reward in heaven?
This life is but a vapor
that appears for a little time
and then vanishes away.
Would you rather have everything now?
Or would you rather have that reward
when you get to heaven?
Think about the story
of the prodigal son.
In the story of the prodigal son,
he basically went to his dad
and said,
Dad, give me the portion
of the inheritance that followed me.
He said, give me my inheritance now.
I don't want to wait until you die
to inherit everything.
I want to have it all right now.
And so his father said,
okay, fine.
Gave him this portion
of the inheritance,
gave it to him,
and he took it off
into a far country
and he spent up his substance
on riotous living.
He just blew all the money.
He said,
I want to enjoy it all right now.
But you know what?
It didn't last
as long as he thought, did it?
And you know,
we think that just
enjoying life right now
is what it's all about.
But this life
is going to go by faster
than you think.
Maybe you're young
and you think,
oh, man, I've got
my whole life ahead of you.
But if we talk to those
that are older,
not that we have
anybody here old today,
but if we talk
to those who are older,
I'll bet you
they'd say,
man, life blew by.
They'd say,
oh, man,
it seems like just yesterday
I was your age.
And life just blew by
because it is
just a big boom.
And that's what
this prodigal son
also represents.
He basically thought,
oh, man,
this money is a lot of money.
Like if I said to my son,
you know, son,
I'm going to give you
$10,000.
And I was like,
wow,
that's going to last forever.
But how long is $10,000
really going to last
when you're out there
paying for a place to live,
paying for food,
paying the bills?
And especially
in a riotous living,
you know,
that $10,000
isn't going to go far.
But to that young mind,
it sounds huge.
And you eat
a million dollars.
But yet in your lifetime,
even if you don't
make that much money,
you'll probably
earn a million dollars
over time.
You know,
because in the course
of 50 years,
you're going to
earn a million dollars.
You know,
you're going to earn
a lot of money over time.
And even if you discern,
if you earn $20,000
a year for 50 years,
that's a million dollars.
You know,
so you think of these
numbers like,
oh, wow,
$10,000,
you know,
yeah,
it's going to last
a little while.
And then what?
When you're in the pig pen,
like the prodigal son was,
eating slop,
just wishing to
have food to eat.
And that's how
we are today.
We want to have
it all right now.
So, you know,
I was at home,
but he didn't own
the ranch anymore.
Because he'd already
sold out his stock in it.
And his older brother
owned everything.
And when Dad passed away,
he spent the rest
of his life controlling
that ranch,
controlling that farm,
controlling all the wealth.
You know,
the fun of the younger
brother probably only
lasted, what,
a year or something?
You know,
he blew it all.
We don't know
the exact timeframe.
But let's say
he blew it in a year,
a year and a half.
The other guy probably
enjoyed it for decades.
And that's a picture
of everything right now.
Or are we willing
to have the faith
to believe,
hey, I'll go through
some suffering now.
I'll go through
some struggles now.
I'll go through
the hard times right now.
Because I know
that in Heaven
I've got something
better waiting for me.
And everything
that this world
has to offer
is vanity anyway.
Solomon had it all.
You know,
he had women.
I mean,
he had 700 wives.
He had all the money
he wanted.
He said,
if I saw something
that I wanted,
I withheld not
something I wanted,
I got it.
He got all the education,
all the knowledge,
all the wisdom.
He built great
construction projects.
He was interested
in music.
He was interested
in literature.
I mean,
he had everything.
And then he said
I hated life.
He said it's all vanity.
He said it's
worthless to me.
And today,
we can become
enamored by
the world's façade
and all the things
the world has to offer
that are just
temporary pleasures,
that are just
a short little
fun thing
that God offers us
joy forevermore
in His presence
according to
Psalm 16 11.
But look at
Hebrews chapter 11.
You're in chapter 10.
Just go to
chapter 11,
verse 32.
Here's where
Paul is just
concluding this
long litany of
all these people
from the Old Testament
who have great faith
and he's explaining
in detail how
they have faith
and what their
faith accomplished.
But then he kind
of sums it up
in the end
of verse 32.
He says,
I don't even have time
to go into Gideon.
He says,
Time would fail me
to tell Gideon
and of Barak
and of Samson
and of Jephthah,
of David also
and of Samuel
and of the prophets
who through faith
subdued kingdoms,
wrought righteousnesses,
obtained promises,
stomped the mouths
of lions,
quenched the
violence of fire,
escaped the
edge of the sword,
out of weakness
were made strong,
waxed valiant in
fight,
turned to flight
the armies of the
aliens,
women received
miracles but keep
reading,
and others were
tortured,
not accepting
deliverance,
that they might
obtain a better
resurrection,
and others had
trial of cruel
mockings and
scourgings,
in moreover of
bonds and imprisonment,
they were stoned,
they were sawn asunder,
they were tempted,
were slain with
the sword,
they wandered about
in sheepskins
and goatskins,
being destitute,
afflicted,
tormented,
of whom the world
was not worthy,
they wandered in
sin,
and these all,
having obtained
a good report
through faith,
received not
the promise,
God, having provided
some better thing
for us,
that they
without us
should not
be made
perfect.
He said,
look,
they went
through all
these things
hoping to
obtain a better
resurrection,
they wanted
more rewards
in heaven,
they wanted
more glorious
rewards at
eternity.
He said,
that's why
they went
through suffering.
He said,
they went
through it
because of
what they
knew was
coming as
a reward,
and he lists
off,
I mean,
were these
guys living
the practical,
relevant,
your best life
now?
They were
living their
best life,
I don't want
to preach
that your
best life
now.
Give it to me
now.
Give me
the portion
of the
inheritance
that follows
me now.
I want
it all
right now.
You know,
you're
not going
to have
wealth,
and fame,
and prosperity
in this
life,
and expect
to be
glorified
in the next
life.
You'll
still go
to heaven,
you'll
live on
easy street
here today,
we're not
going to get
the major
rewards.
Paul didn't
live on
easy street,
that's why
he knew he
had the
crowns coming
because he
suffered for
the cause of
Christ.
That's why
we just went
through it
in the book
of Acts,
in Acts chapter 5,
when they
were beaten
for the cause
of Christ,
they knew
that there were
great rewards
coming for
that beating
that they
received.
Why?
Because they
had the
faith to
believe that.
That wasn't
very practical
and relevant
for them
at that
point.
I've got
a really
practical
sort of
how to get
beaten for
the cause of
Christ,
this is
really going
to help
look as you
would at
1 Thessalonians
chapter 2.
Actually before
we go there
keep reading.
Let's not
stop at the
end of
Hebrews 11.
Look at
chapter 12.
Wherefore,
so he's
continuing the
same thought
about these
people who
went through
so much
because they
were looking
toward the
rewards that
they were
going to
receive.
They were
saying,
let us lay
aside every
weight and
the sin which
does so
easily beset
us and
let us run
with patience
the race that
is set before
us, looking
unto Jesus,
the author
and finisher
of our faith
who for the joy
that was set
before him,
endured the
cross,
despising the
shame and
is set down
at the right
hand of the
throne of God
for consider him
in the name of
Jesus Christ.
Now,
in Psalm 16,
this is Jesus
Christ speaking
prophetically.
I have set
the Lord
always before
me.
Because he is
at my right
hand, I
shall not
be moved.
Therefore,
my heart
is black
and my glory
rejoices.
My
flesh also
shall rest
for thou
will not
leave my
soul in
hell.
At thy
right hand
there are
pleasures
forevermore.
Jesus Christ
is basically
speaking prophetically.
He is saying,
look, I know
my soul is
not going to
be left in
hell.
I know my
suffering will
come to an
end and
he said,
in thy presence
there are
joys for
evermore,
for the joy
that was set
before him
endured the
cross,
despising the
dead.
He says for a
second,
when this
is quoted,
Psalm 16 is
quoted in
Acts chapter 2,
he contrasts
Jesus Christ
here about
his soul not
being left in
hell, his
flesh not
seeing corruption.
He said,
let me tell
you something,
David the
prophet, his
flesh did
see corruption.
He said,
his sepulchre
is with us
unto this
day, but
you can't go
there, you're
not going to
find it today.
Peter said,
David's sepulchre,
we can go
visit it,
his remains
are there,
he's not yet
erased from
the dead,
but not the
remains of
Jesus Christ,
Jehovah's false
witnesses,
because he
rose from
the dead
body,
there was
nothing in
that tomb.
They
walked in the
tomb,
his body
died,
his body
laid past
tense.
And so,
where did I
return?
Or nowhere
yet,
1 Thessalonians
2.19,
sorry,
1 Thessalonians
chapter 2.
So,
we want
our emphasis
to be on
the eternal,
and if we're
going to have
our emphasis
on the
eternal,
that means
we have to
be emphasizing
the invisible.
The Bible
says,
be honor and
glory forever
and ever,
Amen.
God
is invisible
to us today.
We don't
see God,
do we?
We don't
physically see
God,
we don't
physically see
Jesus,
we don't
physically see
the word of
God,
we can see
this book
in our hand,
which has
the words of
God printed
upon it,
and it is
God's word,
and so here
we see
in 1 Thessalonians
chapter 2,
it says in verse 19,
for what is
our hope
or joy
or crown
of rejoicing
are not
even ye
in the presence
of our Lord
Jesus Christ
that is coming
for ye are
our glory
and joy.
So right there,
he's saying,
we're rejoicing
about seeing
those that
we've won to Christ
when we get
to heaven.
At the coming
of the Lord
our hope,
our crown of
rejoicing
is going to
be you,
because they're
the ones who,
if you look in
the first chapter
of 1 Thessalonians,
he said,
look,
you received
the word of
God,
but you heard
of us,
you got saved,
we preached
you the word,
you believed
on the
Lord Jesus
Christ,
and our
rejoicing,
our crown,
our joy
is going to
be invisible.
You see,
today,
there's a reason
why most churches
don't go soul winning.
I mean,
if we were
to look at all,
even if we were
to just look at
the independent
Baptist churches
in Phoenix area,
and we look
at the soul winning,
it's rare
that a church
does any amount
of soul winning,
or any large
amount,
or any real
soul winning.
Most of the
independent fundamental
Baptist churches
in this area
you know,
like an independent
fundamental Baptist
pastor,
I would say
knocked on my door
recently,
but he didn't
knock on it.
I'm sitting in my
living room
with my family,
and this
independent fundamental
Baptist pastor
that I recognize
comes to my door,
doesn't knock
on the door,
just leaves,
because he was
just going,
and I walked out
on my front porch,
and I could see
what he was doing.
He didn't see me,
but I saw him.
He was just
and the advertisement
didn't even have
any Bible verses on it.
It was just
all about
this loving home
for your family.
It's going to be great.
He had all these
pictures of strangers
that don't go
to his church.
You know,
like stock,
all these stock photos,
making sure to include
every race,
every age group,
a single mother,
you know,
just like trying
to get everything,
cover all the bases
of all the stock photos.
Oh, it's going to be
wonderful,
and practical,
and relevant.
And it's like,
Because that would not
produce visible results.
That would produce invisible.
He'd rather hand out
a million pliers
that don't really
say anything,
that just look
really happy and smiley,
just hoping that
somebody will come
to his church.
Because that's a result
that you can see,
my friend.
When somebody walks
through that door
into our church,
can we see that result?
Yeah, we saw somebody
walk in and sit down.
But do we see
the people that
we go out and win
to Christ
but we have the faith
to believe that we're
going to see them in heaven
and that's the difference.
You see,
soul winning today,
there's a reason why
that guy was just
out handing out
his little glossy,
fancy plier
and not doing
soul winning.
Just going out,
walking around,
handing out a plier.
The reason why
he's not doing soul winning
is because I've got
a news flash for you.
Soul winning
doesn't work
to build the church.
It doesn't work.
Look,
if soul winning
made the church get big,
then guess what?
All these pastors
would be doing it
because that's their goal.
To have a big church,
to have a big offering,
to have a big crowd.
Look,
if soul winning
is what made
the church grow large,
then all these
new evangelical
rock and roll churches,
they'd be out doing it
because that's their goal.
Bring in as many
people as possible.
But guess what?
It's not a method
that brings in crowds.
Have you noticed?
I mean,
our church does
more soul winning
than any church
I know of in this area
or even a lot
of other areas.
If you count up
how many people
in our church
go soul winning
and how many hours
they spend,
I mean,
we're talking about
hundreds of man hours
of soul winning probably
in a week's time.
Frequently,
we would have
hundreds of hours
of soul winning.
And yet,
do you just see
throngs and masses
of people coming in
on Sunday morning
just being stampeded
like Walmart
or Black Friday
trying to get into church?
That's not necessarily
what you see
because soul winning,
and that's why
people today
say soul winning
doesn't work.
You know,
Brother Gary,
he found our church
because he was trying
to see if soul winning
doesn't work
because he went
to a soul winning high.
He was interested
in evangelism
and soul winning
and this is before
he was saved.
He went to this conference
and they told him
soul winning doesn't work.
And he saw us
talking about soul winning
and said,
why don't we go down there
and see if soul winning
worked?
And you know,
whether or not
soul winning works
depends on
of course not.
And that's why
they don't do it
and that's why
they say it doesn't work
but it does work
to get people into heaven.
Because if they hear
God's work,
preach,
and believe on
the word of God
and receive Christ
as Savior
they will be saved
whether they do
the works or not
because we happen
to believe that
salvation is by faith
not of works
lest any man
should boast.
And we happen
to believe that
him that worketh not
but believeth on him
that justifieth
his faith
is counted for righteousness.
And we believe that
you can be saved
without attending a church.
You can be saved
just by believing
on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we go out
and we preach the Gospel
to many people
who don't get saved.
But at least
we preach the Gospel
to them.
At least we sow the seed.
At least we water
that seed.
And then other times
we actually get
to win people to Christ
and we'll see them
in heaven.
And we are laboring
for eternity.
We're also laboring
for the long run.
Because eventually
we know that many
teenagers and young people
that were waiting to Christ
when they grow up one day
and have a family
hopefully they will come
and join our church
once they get the keys
to the car.
And once they have a family
and they want to raise
their children in church
they're going to remember
hopefully the one
who came to their door
and won them to Christ
and gave them their Bible
and handed them a Bible
and put it in their hand
and preached them
the Gospel of Jesus Christ
and got them saved
and showed them
where to start reading
that Bible.
Hey, they're going to
remember that
and come someday.
But you know what?
That takes way too much faith
to wait until we get to heaven
to see all the fruit
of our labor.
To see all the people
that we won to Christ.
I mean why do we go out
and preach the Gospel
to people in Spanish?
They're never going
to come to our church.
I mean half the people
I win to Christ
is in Spanish.
They're not going to
come to church
because this church
is in English.
But yet we'll see them
in heaven.
And that's what matters.
The eternal is more important
than the temporal.
And there are temporal
things that we care about.
I mean we want to have
a roof over our head.
We want to have lunch today.
And that's temporal.
We want to have
our church grow
and people be here.
But we want them here
for a spiritual reason.
And so we're more focused
on the eternal.
We're more focused
on the invisible.
Hey our outward man
may perish.
We may be suffering.
And maybe you're going
through bad times right now.
Maybe you're poor.
Maybe you're struggling.
Maybe you're going
through hard times.
But you know what?
You need to stay focused
on the eternal
in your life.
That's going to help
you have a better attitude
when you realize
this life's just a vapor.
Only one life
so soon has passed.
Only what's done
for Christ will last.
And as a church
we need to be the same way.
Emphasizing the eternal.
Is this building eternal?
Let's not emphasize the eternal.
It shouldn't be our main thing.
A building, building,
building, building, building,
building, building, building.
That shouldn't be the main thing.
Is money eternal?
Then money shouldn't
really be the main thing.
The streets in heaven
are paved with gold.
Okay?
So we shouldn't worry
about pavement so much today.
And make that our emphasis.
Money's not eternal.
The buildings out there
are the souls of man eternal.
Absolutely.
That ought to be
the focus right there.
Is God's word eternal?
That ought to be the focus
from Genesis to Revelation.
It's all profitable.
It's all good.
It's all relevant.
It's all practical.
We don't even have to
say practical relevant preaching.
You know what we just say?
Bible preaching.
That means it's relevant.
That means it's practical.
And when we say
turn in your Bible to Leviticus,
turn in your Bible to Isaiah,
turn in your Bible
to Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, and Habakkuk,
that's relevant to you today.
And that's what you need to hear.
Not just the part
that's just for the here and now.
This is the book
you'll be studying
and learning and hearing
and preaching
all throughout eternity.
This is eternal.
The things that you see
are not eternal.
Let's bow your eyes
and have a word of prayer.
Bob, let me thank you so much
for your eternal word of God.
Thank you so much
for eternal wages
that we earn serving you.
Thank you so much
for an eternal salvation
that was purchased
by the blood
and death
and burial
and bodily resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you so much
that we are not,
of all men,
most miserable
because we only have
hope of Christ
in this life.
But thank you so much
that we have heaven,
dear God,
and that we have
a future reward to look to.
And God help our church
to stay focused that way
and help me personally
to be focused that way.
And in Jesus' name,
I pray, amen.