Title: The Future of the Saints
Since Jesus suffered persecution, it is natural that we too will be persecuted.
David confesses in Psalm 17, "I will see Your face in my righteousness; when I awake I will be satisfied with Your image." David also cried out for deliverance from the hand of his enemies.
We learn the following lessons from David's confession.
1. We are resurrected.
We will wake up again. Death is not the end of everything. Those who do not believe in Heaven or Hell, and those who do not believe in the Resurrection, do not know the truth of the Bible.
Those who live by their own will deny God and will not even think about the future life after death.
Only God knows about the future life. Our thoughts do not know about the future life.
Jesus died but was resurrected and gave us the hope of resurrection.
Luke 16 tells the story of a rich man and Lazarus. After they die, the rich are in Hell and Lazarus is in Heaven. This means that we have a future life.
A man took 3,000-year-old wheat from an Egyptian tomb and planted it, and it sprouted and grew and harvested wheat. God gave life to the wheat that was sealed in the tomb, and it sprouted.
At the funeral of a loved one, there are times when we hear the pastor preach, "This body will rise again." We go into the grave, but we will rise again.
2. We look to the Lord Jesus.
David said, "I will see the face of the Lord." Mary saw Jesus grow into an adult, and John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Peter, John, and James witnessed the mysterious transformation of the Lord, and the other disciples saw and followed Christ. Pilate saw the Lord in court and the robber saw the Lord on the cross on Calvary. We did not see the Lord as they did, but we did see the Lord with the eyes of faith. One day you will see the face of the Lord face to face. You will see the Lord in all glory.
As Stephen was stoned to death, he said, “I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. John said, "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we will see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). recorded.
A child was traveling a long way, and when someone asked, "Aren't you tired?" I replied, "I'm tired, but I'll see you soon." When asked again, "Aren't you bored?" I replied, "I'm bored, but I'll see you soon." When the train arrived at its destination, he was hugged by his father who met him.
Even though we may suffer and be exhausted on the journey of life, we can be contented because we will meet Jesus at the end of the journey.
3. You go to heaven through righteousness.
Because we do not have righteousness, we are credited as righteous through faith in Jesus.
There are three forms of righteousness. It was the righteousness that man had when he was first created. However, this was lost because of sin and became the reason why Jesus was crucified.
The second type is self-will, in which the sinner tries to cover up the sin with good deeds or some customs or religious rituals.
The third form is God-given righteousness. Jesus covered our sins that cannot be covered by anything in the world.
We can stand fully before God only through the blood of Jesus.
How to be counted righteous? It is to give credit. I was trying to pay off my debt by borrowing money from a bank, but Jesus paid for all my sins just as someone could have given me a guarantee.
“The blood of his Son Jesus will cleanse us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
4. We get satisfaction.
There is no satisfaction in this world. You try to get them, but all you're left with is disappointment.
1) Pleasure does not give satisfaction.
The pleasures of sin are only temporary. Byron has pursued all pleasures, but summarized that "there are only worms, cancer, and grief left to me."
2) Unbelief does not give satisfaction.
Voltaire, an unbeliever, said, "I'd rather not have been born."
3) Money does not satisfy you.
As the rich man died, he exclaimed, "I am the most miserable man in the world."
4) Reputation does not satisfy.
A famous American lawyer said at a graduation ceremony, "If I were still young, I would have thrown everything away. I would have committed suicide. I would have thrown my life away. This world is not even worth living in."
5) Only Christ can give you satisfaction in this time and in the hereafter.
"There is nothing in this world to be permanently satisfied with. So, we are heading towards a place where we can find complete satisfaction."
5. You will be made in the image of our Lord.
We want to be like the Lord, but we can never fully resemble the Lord. However, in the kingdom of heaven, you will be fully conformed to the image of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:49 “As we have clothed ourselves in the image of the earthly, so we shall also take on the image of the heavenly.”
Philippians 3:20-21 “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from there we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power of one who can bring all things into subjection to himself, transforms our lowly body into his own glorious body. He will transform you like his brother."
The most amazing thing is that we meet Jesus and become like Jesus.
To a foolish servant, the master gave him a staff and said, "If you find someone more foolish than you, give me the staff." He asked, "What have you prepared for the last days?" In response to the master's reply, "I have nothing prepared," he replied, "If a person prepares to leave, but at the end of his life, he does not prepare anything. Who is as foolish as the master? This staff is yours, the master. handed over
If today was the last day on earth, what would you do? People who make wills, people who take risks, people who do good deeds, people who gather their families and say, "I am going to heaven now."
A person went to preach to a person who had been discharged from the hospital, and said, "I can't meet you today", the second "I'm already asleep", the third "I'll see you when I get better", and not long after that, he got sick and was taken to the hospital. When I got the call and ran to him, he was already dead. He had put off the question of salvation too long.
Dear saints, Even if we delay other things, we must never postpone the salvation issue alone. If you do not believe in Jesus yet, believe in Jesus now and be saved. So, I hope that your future will be able to live with hope in heaven. Otherwise, eternal death awaits you.