What If You Knew? -- 4/26/09

Sunday, April 26, 2009

WHAT IF YOU KNEW?

Before this brief sermon, we read the following scripture passages....


John 14:1-15… Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? 10. Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. 12. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 15. If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Matt. 16:24-26… Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Luke 16:19-31… There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28. For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Matt. 7:13-27… Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.


I have a question for you this morning: What if you knew that for every hour you live on this earth you will spend a thousand years either in heaven or hell? For every hour here, a thousand years in the presence of Jesus, if you are truly His child. For every hour here, a thousand years of torment in hell, if you do not truly have His life within you. That is a very sobering thought, isn’t it? Sometimes it’s hard for us to think like that. I have to confess that sometimes it is too heavy for me and I can’t take it for very long. I’m not asking you to endure this for very long this morning, but for a very few minutes would you please think with me along these lines.
So what if you did know for certain that for every hour you live on this earth you will spend a thousand years either in heaven or hell? For every day on this earth, 24,000 years in heaven or hell.

You say, “Ron, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to shock us? Are you trying to appeal to our emotions?” My goal is to encourage us to think of eternity. I believe that is a legitimate scriptural goal. You know Psalm 23 very well. How does it end? “And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps. 23:6). Jesus said, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world… This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever" (Jn. 6:51,58). Over and over we read the phrase, “to whom be glory forever and ever” (applied to both God the Father and Christ the Son). So who is it that will praise the Lord forever and ever? Yes, the angels, but also the people of God.

Looking on the darker side, let’s read from Mark 9:43-48…
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Jude spoke of those for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever (Jude 13).
Is it any wonder that Jesus said, "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed" (John 6:27)? In many ways Jesus pleads with us to take the long look that will weigh eternity. It is the same with Paul, who wrote these words in II Cor. 4:16-18?
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18. 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.

What if you knew that for every hour you live on this earth you will spend a thousand years in either heaven or hell?

Let’s not stop at the end of II Corinthians 4. Let’s just keep reading into chapter 5. II Cor. 5:1-11…
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3. If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 5. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 6. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7. (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

So we see here that our great hope of spending eternity with the Lord Himself is a means of motivating us. Paul said, “Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men.” He understands perfectly well that he himself can persuade no one; it must be the Spirit of God. In I Corinthians 9 he speaks of saving some. Again, he is aware that it is the Lord who must save. Nevertheless, Paul shared the gospel and urged men to repent and believe.

In the same way, the concept of eternity must motivate us. Back to my question: “What if you knew that for every hour you live on this earth you will spend a thousand years either in heaven or hell?” The fact is, we do know that. If you don’t know that, may the Lord open your eyes to the truth. The truth is that for every hour you live on this earth you will spend a million years in heaven or hell, a billion years, 900 trillion years. There is no end. Or we can figure it the other way. For every hour on earth you will indeed spend a thousand years either in heaven or hell. But for every minute on earth you will spend a thousand years in heaven or hell. For every second on earth you will spend a billion years in heaven or hell. Do you see what I mean? It almost becomes too heavy to even think about. But think about it we must.

If you are a believer, if Christ lives in you, how can you think about these things and not be moved to tears. We are rubbing shoulders with people every day who are quickly approaching a day when their eternal destinies will be sealed. And what about your own life? There are rewards in heaven. Sometimes I am likely guilty of downplaying that truth, because it has been so abused. Nevertheless, it is true that there are rewards in heaven, for Paul tells us that
“we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (II Cor. 5:10). It is difficult to understand how we will have great joy and be at perfect peace, when we could have lived in such a way that would have yielded greater rewards. All I can understand is that somehow our rewards will have to do with our capacity to enjoy the Lord Himself. Though my capacity isn’t as great as yours, I will not be consciously aware of it. That’s my thinking; you may have different thoughts. Regardless of the details, it is important that we live for the glory of God, for that is what pleases Him and is best for us both now and for all eternity.

But what if you are not a believer? Understand that I am not trying to scare you into heaven by telling you about hell. No one can scare you into anything. Why not? Because you are dead in your sins and you don’t have the ability to make yourself alive and escape the torments of hell. You are dead in your trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). So what can you do? Cry out to the only one who has the ability to give life. Jesus said that He gives life to whomever He chooses (John 5:21). He who rose from the dead is able to make you alive in Him. But how is He able to do that?
Hear the gospel again. You came into this world dead in your trespasses and sins. You were born in sin; you are a sinner to the core of your being. And you have proved it by sinning again and again and again. You are a rebel against God. You may think you love God, but you don’t; you are His enemy. Because you have not trusted and obeyed the Lord Jesus, you are under the wrath of God. And no matter how hard you try, there is not a thing you can do about it. Even your best deeds are like filthy rags.

Now the good news. Yes, God does love you, but let me explain what that means. Better yet, let the Word of God explain what that means. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:10). That is, Jesus turned away the wrath of God by taking that wrath upon Himself. In the Garden of Gethsemane, when He was facing the cross, He prayed to the Father: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39). What was the cup that Jesus dreaded so? It wasn’t the physical pain that He would endure. Other men have endured as much physical pain as He did. The cup was the wrath of God. His own Father would pour out upon Jesus the punishment that was due us. That is why Jesus cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (II Cor. 5:21).

But how do we know that what Jesus did was effective? Because God the Father raised Him up from that grave. At the resurrection, Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power (Rom. 1:4). Jesus rose that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Because He lives, you can live also. His death and resurrection qualified Him to give life to people like us.

So what is your part? Repent and believe. That’s it – nothing more and nothing less. Repent. Forsake yourself and all your good works. Give up on trying to get good enough for God. All your good deeds, Bible reading, prayer, and church attendance will never make you acceptable to God. I’m not saying you need to quit reading your Bible and praying, but if you rely even a little bit on those things to make you right with God, then you are confessing that Jesus’ death and resurrection were not good enough to save you. Repent of all your evil deeds and your good deeds, because even the good ones are filthy rags in the sight of a holy God.

But if you repent of all your deeds, then where will you put your trust? Trust the only one who is worthy of your trust, the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe that Jesus is indeed the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing” (Rev. 5:12). Join the four beasts of Revelation and the elders and countless multitudes who fall down before Him and sing His praises. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31).

But you say, “I can’t seem to repent and believe.” I believe you. But I have good news for you, God is able to lead you to repentance and stir faith within you. No one else can, but He can and He will. Cry out to Him. Cry out to Him even right now. Tell Him that though you are totally unworthy, you long for His life. And when you repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will know that salvation is of the Lord.

Let’s close with a quote. C. T. Studd read these words in an article written by an atheist. They made a profound impression on Studd. May they make such an impression upon us…

If I firmly believed, as millions say they do, that the knowledge and practice of religions in this life influences destiny in another, then religion would mean to me everything.

I would cast away earthly enjoyments as dung, earthly cares as follies, and earthly thoughts and feelings as vanity. Religion would be my first waking thought and my last image before sleep sank me into unconsciousness. I should labor in its cause alone. I would take thought for the morrow of eternity alone. I would esteem one soul gained for heaven worth a life of suffering.

Earthly consequences would never stay my hand, or seal my lips. Earth, its joys and its griefs, would occupy no moment of my thoughts. I would strive to look upon eternity alone, and on the immortal souls around me, soon to be everlastingly happy or everlastingly miserable.
I would go forth to the world and preach to it in season and out of season, and my text would be:

“What shall it profit a man if he gain the
whole world and lose his own soul?”