The Ultimate Journey - Part B

Some people get annoyed with us even talking about have in fact they would say what you know I have a problem with people who don't think about the here and now, here and now we have responsibility on this earth I want to work around somebody's always thinking about heaven to be focus on what's important that old favorite saying of some people. You can be so heavenly minded you're no earthly good. I would contend those who are the most earthly good of those were the most heavenly minded because once you have eternity settled will have between now and death live very, the ultimate thrill is out there somewhere. I want it comes to extreme sports.

There is no lack of those thrills from cliff diving to parachuting from the upper atmosphere to Bullard, there are plenty of thrills to be found. So whether you're an adrenaline junkie or there's one adventure that will eventually find all of engineering connect was gift weekend division Skip Heitzig reminds us that we have a choice for how we face it, as he opens up more of our new teaching series from beginning to return the before we get to that we want to tell you about a special resource to help you with your personal prayer life. Sincerely, the great missionary to China said it is possible to move men through God by prayer alone and down to other nine books on prayer said God shapes the world by prayer, the more praying. There is in the world, the better the world will be and Billy Graham said to get nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees. Dear Skip, I think you know the Bible says that we will experience God's peace.

When we pray, and it tells us to pray about everything. We want to help you know how and what to pray and what to expect.

That's why were offering. Lord, teach me to pray in 28 days by King Arthur. When you give to support this ministry. Prayer is meant to up the game of peace and joy in our hearts, Lord, teach me to pray is our thanks when you get $25 or more today to help keep this ministry on the air, connecting you and others to God's work, call 800-962-1888. Get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer our current series is from the edge of it has to Skip his CSV chapter 3. So when starting their peers. Modern college you'll find a course on fan ontology is the study that what happens to the dying person and what do they think will happen to them after death fan ontology from the Greek word, Thanatos and why is that why that interest because God put eternity in our hearts.

That's why it's the same reason your children ask you, daddy, what's happened like what will we do all day long and sometimes when our kids assess that core those questions. We don't have really great answers really like those questions like little Cliff who asked his parents up there in heaven. Does Jesus have to keep his roommate like I do four-year-old Jenny asked her mom does heaven have a floor.

How would you answer that does heaven have a floor while her mom was quite clever and start a step back from the questions it will will Jenny what you think happens like Jenny was very pragmatic. She looked up and saw the sky and the clouds was well look like it has a floor so I guess people are up there on coat hangers. She said one parent told their nine-year-old daughter Heather one day will have glorified bodies. Imagine what that sounds like to a nine-year-old when they will have glorified bodies in the nine-year-old responded.

Does that mean we'll all look like Barbie that's the mind of a nine-year-old. The people are the creatures that are fascinated with what happens after death and verse 11 of Ecclesiastes 3 explains why God planted that seed within us. Put eternity in our hearts.

This is of course the same reason the people are interested in the near death experience of favorite topic that over the last 30 years has come out all sorts of different books hasn't and the stories basically the same person goes in the hospital, and dies. That is, they experience clinical though not biological, death, and during that period they get out of their bodies and their hovering over the emergency room table or the operating table in there watching the doctors and hearing the conversation and then they get revived they go back in their bodies, but during that time they are experiencing certain things that they see and they come back and they write about what are we to make of that near-death experience will talk more about that later, but it's enough to say why are we so interested in those things because for the same reason God put that seed of eternity in our hearts. Some people get annoyed with us even talking about heaven.

In fact, they would say what you know I have a problem with people who don't think about the here and now. I mean here and now we have responsibility on this earth I want to work around somebody's always thinking about heaven.

They're knocking to be focus on what's important that old favorite saying of some people. You can be so heavenly minded you're no earthly good.

I would contend those who are the most earthly good of those who are the most heavenly minded because once you have eternity settled you'll have between now and death live very confidently. CS Lewis responded to that sentiment by saying if you read history you will find that Christians who did most for the present world where those who thought most of the next it is. Since Christians have largely ceased to think about the other world that they become so ineffective in this one aim at heaven and you'll get earth thrown in aim at earth and you'll get neither. Solomon would say in all add to that we were meant to aim at heaven, something God put within us some years back I went to a baseball game here in isotope game. I love going to baseball games.

I just love the whole environment baseball but right in front of me were a couple guys brick and beer after beer after beer and how to know what they were seeing in the game, but we were losing were down and even though we were down and the wind kicked up and was quite Sandy and Wendy like it's been the last couple days. This one guy holding a Budweiser turns to his friend and said it doesn't get any. And I thought and that's sad baseball game in Albuquerque New Mexico were losing it. Sandy and Wendy and it doesn't get any better than this. For some people it doesn't get any better now, but most human beings want there to be more to it than this wonder if there's something more to it than this, and for the believer, it gets all a lot better than this will how better how good, how can we know brings us to the next point here, though, were bound by mortality were made for eternity and therefore we long for certainty. We want to know what happens after we die. There's a few questions that Solomon asks in this chapter really all sum them up by saying there are two big questions that he asked question number one, where do we go where are we going after we die. Question number two what we gain, where we going and what we gain here and now for the hereafter personal were we going. He really asked that go all the way down to verse 21 to question who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward and the spirit of the beast which goes down to the earth. He begins the chapter by saying this is what I've observed there's a time to be born, and there's a time to die. Now he's saying where we go when we die. He wants certainty, then look at verse nine. What profit has the worker from that in which he labors that the first question is where do we go. The second question is what are we gain no follow me here in verses one through eight keys makes observations about predictable patterns.

The balance of life you're born, you die you scatter you gather you tear you so 28 different activities 14 matched up with 14 you might say 14 positive and 14 negative, and for every positive activity it's canceled out by a negative activity which leads him to the bewilderment. What is the gain of all that with simple math 14-14 equal zero. Vanity is his word, emptiness, what's the point what's the gain of all this activity, here's a guy longing for certainty and the bulk of this book is that quest for certainty, by the way gets to the right answer. At the end of the book. Now if I had the opportunity to counsel Solomon at this period of his life, and I know he's wise, and God gave me great wisdom but at this juncture of his life if he was in a midlife crisis or what, but if I was there and had the opportunity to counsel Solomon I'm I put my arm around him and say do it or I could call him dude, could I king Sir Solomon. You can know you can know the answers to these questions, they are available but not simply by observation Solomon. It takes Revelation for you to understand the answers to these questions because here's the problem. Solomon I've been reading your stuff lately and I noticed that you are asking these questions, and you're looking at life by observation and experience only and it's not enough never really get the full answer by just making observations and just by your own experience. You need something else and that something else is God's revelation, but you can know answers to your questions and I would say that to anybody today everybody wants certainty for the future you can know the answers. The Bible is filled with those answers.

Somebody will object and say will.

How can you really know for sure what happens after you die like I guess you listen to somebody who's been in eternity a long time and is revealed to us.

As for the Bible comes in which no I'll have people and I've heard it.

I bet you have two people quote this verse and I want to bring it up, they'll say what the Christian can't really know for certain what happens after death.

Because the Bible says no quote first Corinthians chapter 2 verse nine the meat when he quoted to you. I has not seen nor has ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love and this is where they stop and no interpretive icing. See, it's so amazing there's no way to even describe it. Why bother trying out for the Bible they say doesn't say anything about have because I haven't seen her as an heard and even entered the heart of man the things God has prepared for those 11, my answer is always the same. It's this. Why stop there, why not read the very next verse 11 mimicking to the whole context I has not seen here is not heard nor is it entered into the things are the heart of man the things God has prepared for those 11 but God has revealed them to us by his Spirit to see it says the very opposite of what some people will cite that verse to mean that we can know it. Naturally, by observation, but you can know by revelation God is revealed. What will be like and there's a lot of scriptures for that then others will point to Paul's own words in second Corinthians chapter 12 member Paul describes a man who is caught up in the paradise of third heaven, he said he heard inexpressible words unlawful for a man to utter or as Eugene Peterson puts it, it was forbidden to tell what he heard, so they will say like Paul didn't even talk about heaven because God said she still tell anybody unlawful to even write this stuff down, don't. Don't even talk about well, that's one instance, one guy, but what about John who had a prolonged visit to heaven and God said John write this down and reveal it to people.

That's a whole book of Revelation. What about that, what about the words of Isaiah the prophet, or Ezekiel, all giving us glimpses into heaven in different stages of the future and there's a lot of words spoken by Paul that indicate our glorious body. The resurrected body, the incorruptible body and what happens after death was just one instance. So God has in his word explained to us what heaven is like. And yet, he hasn't done it in an exhaustive form. It's not completely totally revealed we still see through a glass darkly.

I'll admit that fact look back at our text in verse 11, he has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity in their hearts except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

See, I think that is much as God has revealed and will see what that is.

In the next several weeks.

There's a lot of truth that are un-disclosed that he will disclose in the future so it has to be that way. Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 2 verse seven that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

I think there's going to be countless surprises in heaven.

This is why I believe this can happen. Let's say you were to keel over and die today, God forbid if you were to take your last breath on earth today. I have a hunch that your first breath and eternity would be some like this how I don't think you got the I read about that. I knew that was coming. I think you would be to really see it inherent and experience to be amazing. It's gonna take God. According to Paul in Ephesians 2 all of eternity to reveal all of his great truth and grace and love is kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

And I think that gas will be followed by a whole bunch of other ones for on and on and on and on. Marco Polo was the famous 13th-century Explorer and he told people that you travel to China and all sorts of places they didn't believe that he actually went to some of these places, we was on his deathbed. People who attended that urged him to take back and recant all of those fanciful stories that he told them about these fanciful places he had visited Marco Polo responded and said I haven't told you that half of what I saw. And so, though we will peek into the portals of heaven and get a glimpse of the eternal state. The new Jerusalem, the intermediate state. The resurrected body. I don't think it's all disclosed and were in for some great surprises, but suffice it to say.

Enclosed with this morning that we ought to live our lives now in the light of what we find out about this journey were to go on and we want to get as much information about the journey were gonna take and read about it in advance and get a grip on it as much as we can and doing that ought to change the way we live now. I've always loved that great quote by a Scottish cleric named Duncan Matheson who said, Lord, stampede 10. The tea on my eyes.

He tatted the tea on my eyes.

Imagine if we were to live with an eternal perspective, it would probably change choices about where we live. What job we do, who we marry. Etc. etc. etc. stamp eternity in my eyes. It certainly ought to make us happier people.

Charles Spurgeon not only my favorite quotable preacher from Victorian England, but he taught a pastors school every week attached to his church called the pastor's college and he told his young students. This when you speak of heaven. Let your faces light up and radiate with a heavenly gleam. Let your eyes shine with reflected glory and when you speak of hell will then your everyday face will do an essay by being around some Christians you think that they were speaking of hell every day. What about heaven. What about the future.

What about the glories, where's that excitement shown in their lives. Well, the only thing that satisfies us in this time prison that were in his eternal stuff material stuff will never satisfy activities will never totally's satisfy because we were made for it. We were made for eternity and being eternal creatures. We need eternal things. That's why Jesus said to every person born on this earth, you must be born again or you will never enter the kingdom of heaven as to be a spiritual life that takes place inside of you. The whole reason people experience boredom that so many people.

I'm just bored with life as you weren't meant for this life you were meant for another thought about the journey go back to the opening illustration it for one cent you could travel a thousand miles, meaning you could take a trip around the world for $0.25 for $2.38 you can make it to the moon for 930 bucks you could go to the sun for $260 million of you got that line around you get to the nearest neighboring star. I wonder what it would cost to get from earth to heaven. Whatever cost. The price is been paid. The price is been paid because the only way to get from earth to heaven is by millions and millions of dollars are lots of good works and well-intentioned ideas but it's only by the death of God's perfect holy son that washes away our sin, so that anybody anywhere can say I believe in that I believe in him, got us a great.

I made it easy by me paying the ultimate price so that you can take the ultimate journey to heaven forever.

That's where we begin the spray heavenly father you will and have in your word revealed to us what happens when a person dies and leaves this world this world that we only understand by experience and observation ordered one day should you Terry we will all have people planning our memorial service and at that very moment will be conscious, we will feel and experience things. Lord I pray that every one of us in hearing this message will be born again and have everlasting life and be prepared to take the inevitable and ultimate journey and that everyone will be ready to take the journey to heaven because Jesus Christ who is the firstfruits of the resurrection is enabled us to do so for everyone here will make the choice to follow Christ Jesus will all have an encounter with eternity. Skip reminded us today. We do have a choice teaching you just heard is titled the old maturity. If you missed a portion or if you'd like to listen again. You can do that right now it connectwithskip.com. This teaching was part of our series from the edge of eternity touches every life with answers to deep questions about life after death that if you want to take your Bible knowledge to a deeper level is a great opportunity for you from Calvary College, Calvary College is now open for registration. Calvary College is offering select online classes as an opportunity for individuals to take their lives calling to a whole new level with an educational emphasis in biblical studies with our unique partnerships with Veritas international University and Calvary Chapel University.

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That's why we created the Skip Heitzig teaching archives library. You can browse transcripts of hundreds of teachings take notes and listen to over 3500 teachings from pastor skip. That's all part of the teaching section@connectwithskip.com which is like to die what happens to believers. Once we do find out next time when Skip Heitzig begins this teaching view from death's door. Connect with Skip weekend division is a presentation of connection so you guys never change and ever-changing time