Living with an Eternal Perspective: Preparing for Heaven

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. **Colossians 3:1-2**: "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth."
2. **Matthew 25:14-30**: The Parable of the Talents.
3. **Revelation 21:1-4**: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, 'Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.'"

#### Observation Questions
1. According to Colossians 3:1-2, what are believers instructed to set their sights on? How does this contrast with earthly concerns? [41:56]
2. In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), what were the different responses of the servants to the talents they were given? What was the master's reaction to each servant's actions? [01:02:03]
3. Revelation 21:1-4 describes the new heaven and new earth. What are some of the key characteristics of this new creation? How does this vision of the future provide hope for believers? [49:57]

#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does setting our sights on the realities of heaven, as instructed in Colossians 3:1-2, influence our daily decisions and priorities? [41:56]
2. What does the Parable of the Talents teach us about accountability and the use of our gifts and resources? How does this parable relate to the concept of living for the "dot" versus the "line"? [01:02:03]
3. Revelation 21:1-4 paints a picture of a future without pain, sorrow, or death. How does this promise of a new heaven and new earth affect our perspective on current suffering and challenges? [49:57]

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your daily life. How often do you think about eternity and the realities of heaven? What practical steps can you take to set your sights more on heavenly things? [41:56]
2. Consider the gifts and opportunities God has given you. Are you using them to their fullest potential, or are there areas where you could be more faithful and proactive? How can you start making changes this week? [01:02:03]
3. The sermon emphasized living purposefully and making decisions with eternal consequences in mind. What is one specific area of your life where you can start living with more intentionality and purpose? [01:00:18]
4. The new heaven and new earth are described as places of unimaginable beauty and joy. How can this vision of the future inspire you to live with hope and anticipation, even in difficult times? [49:57]
5. For those unsure of their eternal destination, the sermon extended an invitation to accept Jesus Christ. If you have already made this decision, how can you share this hope with others? If you haven't, what is holding you back from making this commitment today? [01:12:23]
6. The sermon mentioned the importance of using our resources wisely to store up treasures in heaven. What is one specific way you can use your time, talents, or finances to glorify God and make a difference in the lives of others this week? [01:09:27]
7. Think about the last time you felt overwhelmed by life's challenges. How can the promise of a new heaven and new earth help you find peace and strength in those moments? [49:57]

Day 1: Setting Our Sights on Heaven
We often get so absorbed in our daily lives that we forget to think about eternity. Colossians 3 urges us to set our sights on the realities of heaven, not just earthly success or comfort. This shift in focus helps us live purposefully and prepares us for our eternal home. When we prioritize heavenly things, our actions and decisions align more closely with God's will. This eternal perspective can transform our daily lives, giving us a sense of purpose and direction that transcends temporary circumstances.

By focusing on the realities of heaven, we are reminded that our true home is not here on earth but with God in eternity. This understanding can bring comfort and hope, especially during challenging times. It encourages us to live in a way that reflects our eternal destination, making choices that honor God and impact others positively. [41:56]

Colossians 3:1-2 (ESV): "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

Reflection: How can you shift your focus from earthly concerns to heavenly realities today? What practical steps can you take to set your mind on things above?


Day 2: Heaven is a Tangible Reality
Heaven is not an abstract concept but a tangible, physical place where we will live in resurrected bodies. The new heaven and new earth will be free from pain, sorrow, and sin, offering a life of unimaginable beauty and joy. This reality should inspire us to live with hope and anticipation. Understanding that heaven is a real place helps us to grasp the fullness of God's promises and the future He has prepared for us.

This tangible reality of heaven can motivate us to endure present sufferings and challenges, knowing that a glorious future awaits. It also encourages us to share this hope with others, inviting them to experience the joy and peace that come from a relationship with Jesus Christ. [43:03]

Revelation 21:1-2 (ESV): "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

Reflection: How does the reality of a tangible heaven change your perspective on current struggles? How can you share this hope with someone who needs encouragement today?


Day 3: Accountability for Our Gifts
The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 teaches us that we are accountable for how we use the gifts and opportunities God has given us. Living for the "dot"—our brief earthly life—versus the "line"—eternity—has eternal consequences. We must use our resources wisely to store up treasures in heaven. This accountability reminds us that our actions have lasting significance and that we are stewards of God's blessings.

By recognizing our responsibility to use our gifts for God's glory, we can make intentional choices that reflect our commitment to Him. This perspective encourages us to invest in things that have eternal value, such as relationships, acts of service, and sharing the gospel. [01:02:03]

Matthew 25:21 (ESV): "His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’"

Reflection: What gifts and opportunities has God entrusted to you? How can you use them today to make an eternal impact?


Day 4: Living with Purpose
Our current life is just a small part of a much larger eternal story. How we live now determines our rewards in heaven. We should strive to live purposefully, using our time, talents, and resources to glorify God and make a difference in the lives of others. This purposeful living aligns our daily actions with God's eternal plan, giving us a sense of fulfillment and direction.

Living with purpose means being intentional about our choices and seeking to honor God in all that we do. It involves prioritizing what truly matters and investing in relationships and activities that have lasting significance. By doing so, we can experience the joy and satisfaction that come from living a life that reflects our eternal hope. [01:00:18]

2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV): "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you need to be more intentional about living with purpose? How can you align your daily actions with God's eternal plan?


Day 5: Invitation to Eternal Life
For those unsure of their eternal destination, the message extended an invitation to accept Jesus Christ. Eternal life is a gift from God, secured through faith in Jesus. This decision not only changes our eternal destiny but also gives us a purpose for living now. Accepting this invitation means embracing a relationship with Jesus and allowing Him to transform our lives from the inside out.

This invitation to eternal life is a reminder of God's incredible love and grace. It offers hope and assurance that we can spend eternity with Him. For those who have already accepted this gift, it is an encouragement to share the good news with others, inviting them to experience the same hope and joy. [01:12:23]

John 5:24 (ESV): "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."

Reflection: Have you accepted the invitation to eternal life through Jesus Christ? If so, how can you share this gift with someone who needs to hear about God's love today? If not, what is holding you back from making this decision?

It happens. There you go. So just yell at me. All right, sound people. That's his fault this time. That's one for me. I'll take it.

There we go. Hey, we're in this series on "After This," talking about eternity, where we're going to spend forever and ever, either with the Lord or away from Him.

And so we've mentioned several good resources, and we have these in the Resource Center, the Merck Center, what it's called. This one is "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn. He's written, he's read over 140 books on heaven. This is kind of the encyclopedia of that. And so we have that. So it's really laid out where you can do it question by question.

How will the old earth be destroyed or renewed? What will it mean to see God? Will I really have a body? Will there be animals in heaven? Will we play sports? Will we eat and drink? I know some of you, and I know some of you ask questions.

We were going to answer questions today. We're going to do that next week. The Lord said, hold off a week on that because I got to share with you some things He downloaded to me this week.

And also if you want the abridged edition, here it is. All right. Which one? All right. And then also his "For Kids" answers, those quotes for kids. And then "The Real Heaven" by Chip Ingram. Those are awesome books. We keep those as cheap as we can.

And yeah, thanks for packing my bags. I needed that.

So I want to say today, first of all, before I get started, Anita and I are so blessed today to have our oldest daughter and our youngest grandkids with us. Tara, would you stand and let the people know how beautiful you are? And Sidney and Squid, stand up.

I was going to have Tara pray for me, but if she did, we would never finish today because it would break us both down. And it's so wonderful to be a parent and to be so proud of your kids and your grandkids.

I love the Lord. This week we married off our oldest grandson. He got married. So man, life goes on, doesn't it? Life just goes on.

Well, this week, because of your faithfulness and your giving, we were able to help some kids in Uganda. In Uganda, there is a community called the Gulu Community Park. Let's go ahead and bring those pictures up. And they were in desperate need of a well. So we sent $25,000.

This week, we were able to drill the well, put in a pump house, solar panels installed. And we were so thankful to be able to do that because of your wonderful faithfulness in giving.

All right. We'll look at somebody around you and say, okay, this is going to be good. Let's get ready.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you today. Man, we just sense your presence all morning, and we just pause in your presence. We don't rush.

Many people go to church week after week, and they never sense your presence, or new people are here today, and maybe it's all new to them. Lord, you can't deny when you feel your presence, and you're so near, and we love you.

So Lord, as you interrupted what we were going to do today and laid this other thought on my heart this morning, I pray that you will direct me and guide me. Help me to say what I should say. Don't let me say anything I shouldn't say.

And Lord, at the end of this today, I pray above all that you will be glorified, the saints will be edified, and the enemy will be terrified in the name of Jesus.

So I woke up this morning early, and the thought hit me, and I had to do some research. Terry, how many thoughts do you think you have during the day? I probably have a whole lot less than my wife because her brain never shuts down.

But it said the average person has 6.5 transactions per minute. So in a minute while you're listening to this, you're also thinking about what's on your phone. And some of you look like you're looking at scriptures, but you're really checking the score or you're seeing what else is going on.

I've been around. Some of you are playing cards. I've walked by while you're playing cards and hide those. So there's a lot of stuff that we process in 6.5 seconds.

So that means every day we have 6,000 separate thoughts that enter our minds.

And then the question the Lord asked me was, ask the people this morning. You've been in a series now for five weeks on heaven. But let's be honest. How many times have you thought about after this life this week?

I know that I love to travel. And so when we're getting ready to do a trip, Anita has anxiety. So she waits till the last minute. Oh, by the way, ladies, I got to tell you this way. She packs, and it'll save you a lot of time. She takes everything out of the closet like this, still on hangers, folds it up, puts it in the suitcase, and closes the baby.

And so when we get there, she opens it up, takes the clothes out, hangs them up just like they were always there. I think that's brilliant, but that's too simple for me.

Yeah, I start planning. You just ask. I start planning weeks in advance, and it takes more than these two things for sure. This is just an afternoon trip, I guess. But I stop, start thinking in advance.

Well, what am I going to wear? Yeah, I'm a diva. What am I going to wear? Do I have the right shoes that are going to go with that outfit? Did I think about my toothbrush? And Anita always says, did you pack underwear? And all of those things.

So I start weeks in advance, Tim, because I love to go. I just love to go. But I wonder how many of us talk about that we are going to spend eternity with the Lord, but how little we really prepare for that.

How very little we even think about that.

Then the Lord reminded me of this scripture this morning. I just got to share it with you. Colossians chapter three. If you have your Bible, go ahead and turn with me there because I think it's really pretty good.

Colossians chapter three, beginning at verse one, it says, "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, how many of you have been raised with new life in Christ? You're raised with new life in Christ. Set your sights on the realities of heaven."

Notice he doesn't say set your sights today on how successful and prosperous you can be. Don't set your thoughts today on how that you can walk through this life with no pain and no difficulty.

But set your sights on the realities of heaven where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.

Look at your neighbor and say, "Let's think a little more about heaven."

And I know, I know we use that phrase, "Well, they're so heavenly minded, they're no earthly good." I could count on two fingers how many people I've met like that in my life.

That they're so heavenly minded, they're no earthly good. Because if I'm really heavenly minded and I'm thinking about the after this life, then you know what? I'm going to live a life on purpose and make a difference in my life.

So today I'd really like for us to think about that and just focus and ask that question, not out of guilt and condemnation, but just out of reality.

Have we become so adjusted to this world that we never really think about all week long? Where am I going to spend eternity? What's it going to be like? How's it going to be?

And we've looked at five weeks of what this new heaven and this new earth looks like. Because a lot of people, when you think about, "I want to go to heaven," we talked about the first week floating around a cloud, playing a harp, wearing wings. That doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me.

But if you'll give me a new earth that's like this earth without sin and on steroids, everything I've liked about this world will only be much more in the next world.

One of the most beautiful places I've ever been is Santorini, one of the most beautiful waters, the beautiful places, homes, and all that. That's awesome. But can you imagine that on steroids?

Can you imagine some of these other places with no sin, no difficulty, and all of that? So that's what we've been thinking about.

And He says, think about heaven because Jesus said, "I'm going to prepare a what? A place for you." So heaven is a real place. It's not ethereal thinking about something, but no, it's a real place.

Look at your neighbor and say, "It's a real place."

And I want to go there, right? We've been looking at this whole several weeks on Hebrews 9:27. You probably can quote it now, but read it with me.

"It is appointed for men to die once, and after this judgment."

So we talked about using this rope. We said the white on this rope stands for eternity past. And in eternity past, I mean, we can't see the end of this rope because you can't really see the beginning of eternity past.

But we do know that through the scriptures, it was chaos and there was darkness, and God lived. God was never born. God was never created. He's always been.

And God looks around at all the beauty that He has where He is, and He doesn't want to do that by Himself. And so He creates.

We came along here and said somewhere from eternity past, God came along, and this red you see here is the history of mankind. I mean, here's Adam and Eve over here. Here's the fall, and here's Noah over here. And here's Moses here.

And you come along, here's World War I, World War II, all the conflicts in the Middle East, everything going on. And I said, if you get over here to the end on this blue spot, it's sort of like this little blue spot is sort of the sum total of our life now, because we certainly, it'd be much smaller than this.

And on this blue tape is a very spot of white. That's me. That's where I'm living now in this dot, in this dot. But how I live now in this dot determines how I'll spend eternity forever and ever and ever and ever.

Now, if I'm a Christ follower, and we'll talk about that in a minute, but if I'm a Christian follower, there's great things awaiting for us.

But if you're here today and you've decided, you know, I'm just going to run my life with my own standards. I don't need God. I know Jesus came to die on this cross, but I don't need Him.

I've seen what religion does to a lot of people. And I don't want that. I don't want to be bored and tired and not have fun. Never laugh. Look like I've been baptized in dill pickle juice. No, thanks. I don't want that.

And I don't want that either. I'm not talking about that kind of life in Jesus. I'm talking about the kind of life that I want.

I'm not talking about the kind of life that I want. I'm not talking about that in this world, not in just in the next world, but in this world, I can have fun.

How many of you are Christians and you actually have fun? How many of you are Christians and you actually smiled this week? That old song, "Give your face a rest, smile a while."

Yeah. So I don't know where I'm going to go with this this morning. So you just got to hang on with me wherever we're going.

But here's what I do know in review from last week. The moment, the moment that I drop dead, wasted and used up, nothing left of me. You know, that moment that I die, my body begins to deteriorate completely.

Whatever they do with me, bury me with worms or burn me up and spread me around or whatever they do, it really has nothing to affect because my soul is now in the presence of the Lord.

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So immediately, catch this. This is review.

Immediately then, a believer goes to what we call intermediate heaven. The heaven that we're looking forward to is going to be heaven on earth.

Many people have never studied that. They never believe that. They never know that. But all the way back 700 years before Jesus, Isaiah said through the words that God gave him, "I am creating a new heaven and a new earth."

And I'll look at that in a minute in Isaiah 64. 700 years even before Christ. So if you're a believer, you go to an intermediate heaven.

And it's in the presence of the Lord. It's awesome. It's wonderful. But it can't be the full heaven because your body is not resurrected yet.

And one of the full things that we have about this is that after that time passes, however long that is, there comes a rapture of God's people.

And then there becomes resurrected bodies. No matter what they do with my body, God will put together all the molecules, the DNA, and everything. And it'll come back together, except it'll come back together a perfect body.

Whatever that is. I don't know what that perfect body looks like, but if it says perfect in God's eyes, then I'm going to say, I sign up for that. How about you? I sign up for that.

So I'm in heaven. I'm in this intermediate heaven. And after the resurrection, then we see that we experience a new heaven and a new earth.

So I want you to look at that. Now, if you haven't been here, I encourage you to go back and get all of these teachings because I'm just building on them, right?

We don't spend forever in the heaven right now. It's called the intermediate heaven, but we spend eternity with the Lord on a new heaven and a new earth that's on this planet, except this planet becomes new and changed.

So let's look at this. Here's the story. Here's Revelation chapter 21. This is John saying, "I saw into heaven."

And when I saw into heaven, I saw this new heaven and this new earth. And so he says, "Then I saw a new heaven," say new heaven, "and a new earth," say new earth, "for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone," because the sea takes up three-fourths of the space on this planet earth.

There'll be lakes and rivers. Don't worry about that. Then not that you could probably surf on them. I mean, you know, whatever eternity looks good for you, right?

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem. This is a city coming down from God out of heaven, like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

In other words, it's an allegory. They're saying that there's intimacy in this. There's an intimacy in the reason that God brings the heaven.

You see, in this world where we say, "Lord, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." And this is a fulfillment of that. His kingdom now has come completely to this earth in our resurrected bodies.

And that we are with Him in this new heaven and this new earth. And it comes down, and it comes down right over this old earth, except the old earth has now become a new earth.

And there's a city that comes down. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look, God's home is now where?"

Where? And God is saying, "Hey, you don't have to try to get to heaven. I'm going to bring heaven down to earth," which I always planned.

He wanted to walk with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. He wanted them, and He gave them assignments. He gave them jobs. And before the curse, they loved their jobs. They loved what they were doing.

Then sin came along and brought curse to that. Ever since then, everybody's been praying for a weekend, but I promise you on the new heaven, the new earth, you won't be praying for a new weekend because you don't need a new weekend because you're going to be in the best life you've ever lived in the joy and all that God created for you to be.

And so He ain't going to be with them, and He'll wipe every tear from their eyes, and there'll be no more death, no more crying, no more pain. All these things are gone.

And the one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I'm making everything what? New."

So there'll be no death, no more pain, no sorrow, no sickness, no more fear, no more stress, no more depression, no more sleepless nights, no more anxiety, no more abuse, no more headaches, no more divorce, no more racism, no more injustices, no more violence, no more going to the bathroom at 3 a.m. in the morning, in the middle of the night, no more bad breath, no more Mondays, and no more, "It's that time of the month."

Everything is upgraded, upgraded.

And He goes on and He talks about the dimensions of this new earth. And we learned last week that it's 1,400 miles cube square.

So the new, the new heaven, the new city, city of Jerusalem coming down from heaven, when you look at it and it comes down onto the earth, probably in the area of Jerusalem, where He said that His feet will rule and reign.

It comes down on earth. It doesn't float. It comes down on earth. It's part. There's no separation between earth and heaven.

It's 1,400 miles high, 1,400 miles wide, 1,400. It's a cube. And we said if you place that cube on the continent of America, the way it is now, that city, the city, not the earth, but the city that we're going to rejoice and go in and out of, you're not going to spend all your time there because you got work to do around the world.

We looked at that last week, and we calculated all the people that have ever been born and those that accept the Lord, there'd be enough room in this city for everything to go on with all the commerce, all the museums, all the streets, all they need there.

It's a regular city and probably all kinds of museum arts there that you want to look at from eternity past.

And in that city, even in that, every person who's ever been born that has accepted the Lord would have about 70 acres to themselves, except like last week, somebody said, unless the villages move in, and they won't.

So that's over 2,250,000 square miles. And it's a city, an amazing city. I love cities.

Anita and I were privileged to go to Rome. I loved Rome. I love the architecture. I love the history. I love the food. It was just so awesome to walk along there, but Rome is nothing compared to this city.

I loved Hong Kong before you couldn't go there as freely as you go now. I love the lights. I love the restaurants. I love the history that was there in Hong Kong, the beautiful, the lights.

I mean, when you fly in, the lights are just so captivating when you pull in there. It's like a lot of other cities, like Vegas with all the lights, but it's nothing compared to the light that shines out of heaven.

And I love New York City, even with the vileness that's going on there. I love it, the museums, the plays. I love all that, the restaurants.

But this city of Jerusalem, coming down, this city of God, if a regular floor was 20 feet tall, that means that there would be 740,000 floors in this one city.

So imagine, I don't know if you took an elevator or not. Maybe you just be like the Lord. You just get to the top if you want.

But you get in that building, you push the elevator, and you have a choice from floor one to 740,000 floors. Which one would you choose? And I guarantee you go pretty quick.

And so we have this thing waiting for us, but the enemy so focuses us on the dot that we live so focused now that we forget about all these things.

And He said, "I go to prepare." Look what He prepared in six days. Six, seven 24-hour days. Look at this earth.

But imagine, for over 2,000 years now, He's been preparing for this city. He's been preparing for what He's doing.

And I'm telling you right now, this city is ready to come down now, whenever He chooses for it to come down. And it will change everything.

And I don't know about you, but I'm looking for a city. How about you? You read all through the Old Testament. They were looking for a city. They were looking for a city.

And it just won't be the city. There's unlimited nations that's going to be part of this.

So look at Revelation 21, beginning at verse 24. "The nations will walk in the light of this city. The kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory."

Cities mean nations, mean organization, means someone in charge, means all of those things.

So you see, sometimes when we think about heaven, we don't even think about that. But He said, then the nations are part of that, and the kings.

And He says, they come every once in a while into the city, and they bring their glory with them. They bring the rewards of their service, of their worship.

You see, when I find out how I was created and made, and I live in the city, and I live in the fullness of that, and then I show up in this new city, I'm bringing the glory of my life that mirrors how God created me.

So those of you that love to build, you're going to build during this new heaven, this new earth. It's not going to be complete.

It's going to be like, it's going to be like almost like the Garden of Eden, when God said, "Take what you see here and multiply that, make the whole world like this. I want you to rule and reign."

It says the lambs and the lions will lie down together, and the lions will eat straw. And the midst of all of that, and a child will play with a serpent, and all of that.

And then that's, that's this new heaven and this new earth. And it says, "And they will see His face, and His name is written on their foreheads."

And it goes on and says, "The Spirit and the bride says, come."

So when we look at that, it's going to be a great city. So when we think about that, we think of commerce, art, culture, music, people operating in their gifts, building without sin, building without a comparison.

One builder doesn't get beside the another and say, "Hey, look at the monster I just built." And the next person says, "Yeah, but you're one story short."

You ever met somebody like that? Say, "Hey, we went to a great restaurant and we ate."

"Oh, I went to a great, great restaurant and ate last night."

Who cares? Who cares what you did? Why are we always comparing? Why are we always trying to one-up?

But in this new heaven, this new earth, there's no one-ing up. Somebody's building is a little tall, and you say, "Wow, that's awesome. It's awesome how God used you to build that and craft that."

There's gardening, there's cooking. You say, "We're going to eat?" Of course we're going to eat. Didn't Jesus eat in His resurrected body?

You say, "Well, do we need a bathroom?" Well, that's over my pay grade. I believe if God creates this body in such a way that we can eat, I believe He creates the body in such a way that there's no refuse left over.

But I use everything in it because I have flesh and bone. I'm not a floating spirit. I'm flesh.

So you got to look around. What have you seen people here right now? And you got to think about that and put that into this new heaven and this new earth.

I love the movie "Chariots of Fire," the story of Eric Liddell, the Scottish runner in the 1924 Olympics. And he said this, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."

So you think He'll run in? Of course he will. Some of you try to keep up with him, and you'll have to train and work a little harder.

You won't be perfect immediately, and you won't know everything. You've got all the, how can you know everything about God or everything about creation in just like that?

It doesn't say that we shall be like Him and have all knowledge. We're going to have all of eternity to sit down with people and say, "Moses, Moses, tell me a little bit about what it was like when you went up against Pharaoh. What was it like when you walked to that Red Sea and He lifted your rod and the sea parted and went to Christ on dry ground?"

Can you imagine? All eternity. You were made for a purpose.

How we steward our lives right now in this spot determines my rewards in heaven. If God has called you to do something and you're not doing it, you need to rectify that today.

You need to not live for the dot, but live for the line.

So the reason I think about heaven is because I think about this. What I'm doing today, will it really increase my reward in heaven or will it just be that, "Well, I just occupied. I had a great job. I had three jobs. We had a nice house. We had four cars, two motorcycles, one dog, and a lousy cat."

And you live for the dot. What else can I do? What else can I buy this week? Where else can we go? What else can we do?

And we live this whole life without ever contemplating, am I being faithful with how God created me?

I mean, this team that gets up here and worships, they love to worship. I mean, they crawl out of bed sometimes feeling like worship.

Well, I'm not going to be worshiping after a cup of coffee, right, Jen?

But you see, how faithful they are with their gift here determines their rewards in heaven.

Matthew 24, I believe it is, 25, Jesus tells this story, and He says, "Let me tell you a story. I'm like the man who goes into a far country, and the man had three bags of gold and silver, and he gave the first one five bags of gold. He gave the second one two bags of gold. He gave the third one one bag of gold."

You see, you're not held accountable for somebody else's giftings. You're held accountable for your own.

Has He called you somewhere? Has He called you to do something? And you've just got settled in comfort zone.

Yeah, I know you tried to do it before, and it didn't work so well, and you got a lot of trouble, but now you're sitting in Smoothsville, you're making money, you got everything going, you're getting ready to retire, you're going to move to the villages, and all you're going to do is pick the ball and golf and go to the town square and dance for the rest of your life.

And that lasts about a month, and then you say, "Now what?"

You mean the talents and gifts God has incorporated into your life and some companies have spent millions of dollars in your training that you come to Florida to sit back and never use your gifts and never add value to somebody else?

No. You just say you come along somebody and you add value to them. Why? Because you know one day God's going to say, "Well done, now good and faithful servant."

I needed to encourage that person. And for more than life, you encourage them. And so I'm going to say now, "Well done."

And so we have, I don't know how kind of rewards He's given us, but it's not for us. We take those off and throw them at His feet and say, "Only You are worthy, Lord, only You are worthy."

But yet we woke up today so focused on this dot. We spent all week so focused on the dot.

And He said, then the man comes back from a far country, and he finds the first one. And the guy said, "I've got, You gave me five bags, and I multiplied that, and I've got five more."

"Well done, now good and faithful servant. You've been faithful with a few things. I'll make you ruler over many."

The next one. "Yes, sir. You gave me two bags, and I doubled that. And here I have it."

"Well done." And He said the same thing, the exact same words to the man who was faithful with what he had.

And then He came to the guy that had one. "Oh, I knew that you're a just God, and you require us to do something with what we have. And I was just afraid to use it. Afraid I would use it the wrong way. Afraid I would squander it. So I just buried it so that when you come back, I could give you what you gave me."

He said, "You wicked and perverse servant, away from me. I deposited part of my creativity in you, and you buried it. You came to church and you sat, soaked, sipped, criticized, but you never did anything with your life."

Yep. You're not going to get a reward. You're not going to get a reward. You're not going to get a reward. You're not going to get a reward.

You say, "Yeah, but my, you know, I just wish I could be like Andrew. Man, isn't Andrew and the team, aren't they great? And those guitar players, I tell you, man, they just dry me up a wall. They're so good."

But God didn't give me the gift of playing guitar and leading worship. So He's not going to reward me for how I use my music ability and playing the accordion, God forbid.

I hope that somehow you might be just getting a little bit more excited about this world that we're going to.

Yeah. Disney boasts of the happiest place on earth. I've got news for you. When heaven comes down to this earth, that's going to be the happiest and greatest place to ever be.

I don't want to come to the end of my life and have regrets. You seen that tattoo should say no regrets. And it says no regerts.

I don't want it to come to eternity and realize for too late, I've been living for the dot, not for the line.

Maybe the Lord is saying that today. Maybe we should gain a clear perspective because you see, if I understand, if I understand that living in this dot life may be tough.

I mean, you may have been beaten up this week. Some Sundays you come to church and you come beaten up.

Anybody ever come to church on Sunday morning, beaten up, raise your hand, raise your hand. Let me see. Okay, I'm not by myself. And it wasn't my wife beat me up, okay? Just life.

But when you get to heaven, I mean, when you get to church and you start singing and worshiping, somehow I start thinking about how Jesus died for me, how He's been preparing a place for me, how that it's longer than a million years, longer than a billion years, longer than I could ever imagine.

And it goes on and on and on. And I'm living on this new earth, and everything is on steroids because God's made everything completely great.

There are lights, there's colors I've never seen before. There's sounds I've never heard before. There's emotions I've never felt before.

That's going to be what it's like living in eternity on this new heaven, this new earth.

But the opposite of that is if you spend all of your money getting everything and all of your life for this dot and you amass it all up, everybody knows you're not.

You're famous. You got every dollar you want. You do everything you have. But then you spend eternity separated from God.

And you say, "You know what? I remember that Sunday I came to church. I didn't know why I came to church on that day. He changed His whole teaching on that morning that I was coming, I guess, to remind me that I needed to think about this."

And I'm telling you, you have today. You don't have forever. You have today to make a choice of what you're going to do with your life.

But if I understand my life, even being beaten up in the midst of a dot is nothing compared to living forever in the joys of the Lord.

That's what Paul said when he was beaten up. They beat him. They imprisoned him. They left him for dead.

And look at this, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. "That's why I never what? I never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day for our present troubles are small and won't last very long."

Look at your neighbor and say, "What you're going through is small. It won't last long."

It won't last very long. It won't last very long. It won't last very long. It won't last very long.

It's going to be over. I often say in the scheme of eternity, what does that matter?

In the scheme of eternity, that person did me wrong. But what does that matter? Because that person is not my reward.

My reward is a Father who sees everything that goes wrong in my life. And one day He'll make everything right.

If you have that hope, that's a good place to give Him a hand clap and say, "Yay, Lord."

Troubles and trials can try to shake you, but they won't break you.

And also when I live with that focus with thinking about eternity, then I have a greater perspective on what I do with my resources.

What should I do with my time? What should I do with my treasury? What should I do with my talent in this world?

Well, I want to use it for God's glory so that in the next world, He's going to say, "You did good. You've got resources already laid up for you in this new planet."

I don't know how the economy works, but I just know He said, "Don't lay up resources in this world, but lay up resources."

And He's talking about money in the next world. So evidently my tithe and my offering and my giving, how about we just help the people in Uganda with that?

Well, that $25,000 that you helped raise this year in our legacy offering that God counts all that up.

Look at the verse here. 1 Timothy, "Teach those who are rich in this world." Now rich in this category meant that you had more than one set of clothes and you had food for more than one meal.

So if you had two sets of clothes, you were rich in this economy. If you had a meal and enough for the next meal, you were considered rich.

So teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and trust in their money, which is unreliable.

Their trust should be in God who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Say enjoyment.

Enjoyment. Enjoyment. Some of you got a picture, if you give your heart to the Lord, then it's boring and ugly and you have no life.

No, you will enjoy life. Tell them to use their money to do what? To do good.

He doesn't say buy another condo, buy another motorcycle, buy another jacket. He said, "You use some of that for yourself."

We don't want you to be a pauper walking around naked. That would not be good. Okay. We want you to wear nice clothes, but I'm just saying your total focus is always about making more, making more, making more.

Remember the story Jesus said, the rich young ruler, he built a barn and he had such a great income. He said, "What are you going to do? You don't have enough room for everything you got for all your toys."

"Well, I'll build a bigger barn. I'll build a bigger store toy story." So you build that.

And then when it comes to life, you haven't spent for Him, and you lose it all. Tell them to use their money to do good, that they should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.

By doing this, they're storing up for their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

Now you tell me when you look at that, it specifically says how you use your money actually sets up for what's going to, you're going to inherit in the next life.

So here's my question today. Only two more questions. The first one, I really believed and lived as though heaven is real, what needs to change in my life today?

And one final question, are you sure if you were to die today that you would go to heaven?

Here's what the scripture says. And this is what God has testified. He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

Whoever has a Son has life. Whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

I've written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

People say, "Well, how can I know that I have eternal life?" He just said here, you know you have eternal life because you have the Son.

You've confessed with your mouth and believed in your heart that Jesus is the Lord and that He died to save you from your sins.

And He wants to save you from those sins. And He wants to give you a purpose for living now.

And then He wants to give you the joys of eternity. I looked around this room this morning. I didn't really see anybody in this room today that I wouldn't want to see in this new life.

I would hate to know that you came and attended the Father's house to do any of this series and never made your eternity right.

So let me give you an opportunity for that today.

Let's bow our heads.

Father, we thank you. Because we sense your Spirit. We thank you for reminding us that this new earth, this new heaven, you're going to be with us.

We're going to see your face. But today, Lord, I just pray that you would help that question that I ask in light of eternity.

What do I need to change about my life now?

Say, "Well, I'm going to turn over a leaf and do good and help more people." That'll do all right.

But unless you've got Jesus in your heart, that runs old soon too. He said, "For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to die for your sins and my sins."

I don't have to point out your sins. You know where they are today. And Jesus is saying, "I'm knocking on your heart's door."

The lock is on the inside. You have to open that.

Say, "Well, I'm not sure that I'd really be able to serve Him the way that He should."

I'm not sure that I'd be able to serve Him the way that He should.

Well, the first step is you surrender your heart, and then you watch what He will do.

So first of all, I want to pray for those of us that are believers today. When I ask that question in light of really thinking about eternity, what in your life, what one thing in your life needs to change this week?

Say, "Well, maybe I need to give more time to God. Maybe I need to prioritize attending church and being in a life group, or maybe I need to prioritize more prayer with my family."

What is it? Let the Lord lay it on your heart. I want to pray for you today.

Lord, I pray for the believers that are in this house and those that are watching online right now. And I pray, Lord, that from this day forward, that we will do, as you said in Colossians, to think about heaven.

Think about eternity. In light of eternity, will what I'm doing right now make a difference in anybody's life? Or am I just existing?

Second of all, I want to pray for those of you that are here today. And you may say, "Terry, when you ask that question, are you sure without a shadow of a doubt that if you were to die, you'd go to heaven?"

And I'm not sure, Terry. I'm not sure. I believe in God. I think He's cool. I think church is great.

But I've never really made a decision to surrender my heart to the Lord.

Yeah, maybe you've been hurt in the past at a church. Maybe somebody did you wrong.

But today you're saying, "You know what? I must leave it all behind. I want Jesus in my life ruling and reigning and leading me and guiding me."

And I know the Holy Spirit may be speaking to your heart today.

And here's what I'd like you to do. I'd like you to just make eye contact with me and lift your hand and say, "Terry, that's me. Would you include me in this prayer today?"

Thank you. Thank you. Others today, thank you. Just raise your hand and say, "Yeah, that's me. Today, I want to be sure without a shadow of a doubt."

Yeah, I know you can do it by yourself. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you, man.

But there's just something about raising your hand and saying, "I want to make that decision."

Jesus said, "If you're ashamed of me in front of people, I'll be ashamed of you in eternity. But if you confess me, I'll confess you before others."

Thank you. Hands still going up this morning. Others today.

Let me lead you in a prayer today. Church, would you pray with those four or five that raised their hand this morning?

Father God, thank you today for loving me, for sending your Son, Jesus, to die for my sins.

And thank you today for waking me up to live for the line and not for the dot. As best as I know how, I surrender my life to you in Jesus' name.

Listen, those of you who raised your hand, do something very important. In just a moment, we're going to receive our tithe and offering, but also you're going to have a chance as we stand to worship in a little bit to go over the first step here, first step there, first step outside and just say, "Hey, I prayed that prayer today, and I need that resource material that you have."

Okay. Well, let's get ready. Come on, Rochelle. Let's get.

### Quotes for Outreach

1. "How I live now in this dot determines how I'll spend eternity forever and ever and ever and ever. Now, if I'm a Christ follower, and we'll talk about that in a minute, but if you're here today and you've decided, you know, I'm just going to run my life with my own standards. I don't need God. I know Jesus came to die on this cross, but I don't need him. I've seen what religion does to a lot of people. And I don't want that. I don't want to be bored and tired and not have fun. Never laugh. Look like I've been baptized in dill pickle juice. No, thanks. I don't want that. I don't want that. And I don't want that either." [46:04](41 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "The moment that I die, my body begins to deteriorate completely. Whatever they do with me, bury me with worms or burn me up and spread me around or whatever they do. It really has nothing to affect because my soul is now in the presence of the Lord. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So immediately catch this. This is review. Immediately then, a believer goes to what we call intermediate heaven." [47:27](29 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure. So you think he'll run in? Of course he will. Some of you try to keep up with him and you'll have to train and work a little harder. You won't be perfect immediately and you won't know everything. You've got all the, how can you know everything about God or everything about creation in just like that?" [58:40](26 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "I don't want to come to the end of my life and have regerts. You seen that tattoo should say no regrets. And it says no regerts. I don't want it to come to eternity and realize for too late, I've been living for the dot, not for the line. Maybe the Lord is saying that today. Maybe we should gain a clear perspective because you see, if I understand, if I understand that living in this dot life may be tough." [01:06:42](56 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "So here's my question today. Only two more questions. The first one, I really believed and lived as though heaven is real, what needs to change in my life today? And one final question, you sure if you were to die today that you would go to heaven? Here's what the scripture says. And this is what God has testified. He has given us eternal life and this life is in his son. Whoever has a son has life. Whoever does not have God, son does not have life." [01:12:23](45 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




### Quotes for Members

1. "But I wonder how many of us talk about that we are going to spend eternity with the Lord, but how little we really prepare for that. How very little we even think about that. Then the Lord reminded me of this scripture this morning. I just got to share it with you. Colossians chapter three. If you have your Bible, go ahead and turn with me there because I think it's really pretty good. Colossians chapter three, uh, beginning at verse one, it says, since you have been raised to new life with Christ, how many of you have been raised with new life in Christ? You're raised with new life in Christ. Set your sights on the realities of heaven." [40:24](38 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "So heaven is a real place. It's not a ethereal thinking about something, but no, it's a real place. Look at your neighbor and say, it's a real place. And I want to go there, right? We've been looking at this, this whole several weeks on Hebrews nine and 27. You probably can quote it now, but read it with me. It is appointed for men to die once. And after this judgment, after this judgment. So we talked about using this, this rope. We said the white on this rope stands for eternity past." [43:03](37 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, look, God's home is now where, where, and God is saying, Hey, you don't have to try to get to heaven. I'm going to bring heaven down to earth, which I always planned. He wanted to walk with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. He wanted them and he gave them assignments. He gave them jobs. And before the curse, they loved their jobs. They loved what they were doing. Then sin came along and brought curse to that. Ever since then, everybody's been praying for a weekend, but I promise you on the new heaven, the new earth, you won't be praying for a new weekend because you don't need a new weekend because you're going to be in the best life you've ever lived in the joy and all that God created for you to be." [49:57](41 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "So when we think about that, we think of commerce, art, culture, music, people operating in their gifts, building without sin, building without a comparison. One builder doesn't get beside the another and say, hey, look at the monster I just built. And the next person says, yeah, but you're one story short. You ever met somebody like that? Say, hey, we went to a great restaurant and we ate. Oh, I went to a great, great restaurant and ate last night. Who cares? Who cares what you did? Why are we always comparing? Why are we always trying to one up? But in this new heaven, this new earth, there's no one-ing up." [57:15](40 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "Matthew 24, I believe it is, 25, Jesus tells this story and he says, let me tell you a story. I'm like the man who goes into a far country and the man had three bags of gold and silver and he gave the first one, five bags of gold. He gave the second one, two bags of gold. He gave the third one, one bag of gold. You see, you're not held accountable for somebody else's giftings. You're held accountable for your own. Has he called you somewhere? Has he called you to do something? And you've just got settled in comfort zone." [01:02:03](37 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)