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February 6, 2021 2:00 am
What sort of existence and experiences are departed believers enjoying right now? Is the heaven we go to when we die our final destination? Paul described it as "far better" (Phil. 1:23) but it's going to get even much better! Paul lightly touches on what happens when a Christian dies and awaits the resurrection, but it's enough to give us confidence. Let's consider today the "intermediate" or temporary transitional heaven before the resurrection of our bodies.
This teaching is from the series From the Edge of Eternity.
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No, I have some contact with God. I can pray to him. I can fellowship with him in his word. I have an inner dwelling of the spirit. I want the full meal deal. So even if it means a certain temporary nakedness.
I want to be present with the Lord. I'll be confident whether I'm in this body alive or in seek, this is Paul the apostle groaning for glory. This is Paul the apostle, clicking his heels saying there's no place like home. There's no place like home is no place like longing for heaven. If you ever have a small child. You know it could be hard to do anything without having the fall euro young children find it hard to realize that not seeing someone isn't the same as someone leaving because they can't understand that they make sure you don't get out of their sight.
Well today your and correctly Skip weekend division Skip Heitzig reminds us that when we are absent from this body, as believers, there's only one place for us to be present with the Lord will see how that works, or Skip continues this series from the edge of eternity as we begin today we want to invite you to lead Skip Heitzig to your social media.
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connectwithskip.com you can find out all about this month's resource off people everywhere have a deep God-given need to be left but sadly sometimes the people who need love the most the most rejected here. Skip, I think we all crave the love we will do sometimes almost anything to get it to know that we are loved by somebody else unconditionally. No one did that better than Jesus love the worst of sinners. He love the best of saints Jesus. So the love of God in human flesh we want to give you a glimpse of God's relentless love for all people including you by sending you that Jesus loves people for booklet collection by skip. I think all four Jesus loves people titles including Jesus loves the broken RR thanks for your gift of $25 or more today to help connect more people to God's love through his word connectwithskip.com/offer to give online securely or call 892 1888. If you have a Bible close at hand for Bible lab you want opened up the second Corinthians chapter 5 today. Now here's Pastor Skip with our message. If you receive a temporary body immediately.
Once we die. Why does Paul in a number of his books constantly talk about is a major theme. The resurrection of our physical body.
What is he makes such a big deal. In fact, in first Corinthians 15, a passage we will get to the apostle Paul says the only time when death is fully conquered and we receive ultimate victory is when our bodies are resurrected.
He says at that point when corruption will put on incorruption when mortality puts on immortality, then death will be swallowed up by life and then it will be fulfilled a grave, where is your staying of death, is your victory now look back in verse three. A couple of things. Notice how Paul refers to the moment of death as being naked. If, indeed, having been closed. We shall not be found naked speaks of this embodiment is not speaking about re-embodiment, at the moment of death because it naked.
Moreover, by the way, why would he dread being naked if he was going to be re-embodied immediately after death snow dread. What's the what's the problem. Also, verse six and eight.
Notice that to be home with the Lord means to be absent from the body. So here's the scoop. Believers get resurrected. That is their physical bodies buried in the ground will be resurrected when Jesus Christ comes back to the church.
That's abundantly clear for scripting. 15 and what we read last week. First Thessalonians chapter 4 now to say that while we die we get a new body immediately is tantamount to saying the resurrection is Artie happened. Paul deals with that in second Timothy chapter 2 he mentions to individuals how do you like to be mentioned in the Bible.
Your names written down forever as somebody who was in error when he does that he writes down Hymenaeus and fully this he says who have strayed concerning the truth saying that the resurrection is already past, so it's not passive future. We wait for urban I mentioned his name a moment ago, wrote the great book 1 minute after you die helps us this what he says. One plausible explanation might be that the souls of the departed dad may in some ways, have the functions of the body that is the case, it would explain how they can communicate with one another and have a visible presence in heaven.
If that seems strange to us.
He writes it may well be that our concept of the soul is too limited. My agree with that. I think that's our problem. We have a very limited concept of what our soul is capable of doing and expressing and being like we think well must mean, since I can't relate to it. I don't only relate to physicality it must mean that just sort of whisper away in the nothing and are somehow in the West with the Lord is just a limited view of the soul. So here's Paul groaning for glory.
As we ought to be doing groaning for glory wanting Jesus to come back when the resurrection comes out. Go back to verse five as it answers a very important question question is how can we be sure that's really going to happen. So he looks not ahead but now he looks back she was prepared us for this very thing is God who also has given us the spirit as a guaranty can follow me here. The word guarantee are a bone better translation down payment first installment you give a down payment means you can pay the rest off or was put in relational terms.
You give your girl an engagement ring that's a ring. A promise to get an engagement ring.
It must mean this can be a leading and a wedding feast. The Bible says were the bride of Christ were engaged Jesus he's given us a wedding ring off down payment of first installment, it must mean we can enjoy the wedding know what is it that we been given the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives inside of us and the Holy Spirit has come into our lives, and you've noticed you changed since you gave your life to Christ you have new desires, new hopes, the hope of heaven. All of that is a foretaste. Let's call it a preview of coming attractions. So it's like it's like would uncle Johnson said man of the crumbs of joy that fall from the master's table are this good to imagine with the great loaf in glory will be like the Holy Spirit is the down payment gives us that yearning. We know this is going to happen because of what is already Let let's end this is the third main thing that Paul brings often that is when we are confident this is the affirmation so he says.
So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith and not by sight. We are confident yes well pleased.
Rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord is what is saying even though I Artie have a down payment. I want more. Even though I have some contact with God.
I can pray to him. I can fellowship with him and his word. I have that inner dwelling of the spirit.
I want the full meal deal. And so even if it means a certain temporary nakedness. I want to be present with the Lord. I'll be confident whether I'm in this body alive or in heaven seeks this is Paul the apostle groaning for glory. This is Paul the apostle, clicking his heels saying there's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home.
Longing for heaven. The reason that God's people can be so confident again is very simple because there are only two places that God's people are at and that is either on earth or in heaven, they're not soul sleeping somewhere.
They're not in purgatory somewhere here either on earth as a believer in the moment you leave this earth, you are in God's presence twice as unconfident to be away from the body and present with the Lord.
Friday was a very sad day for some of us self included II did a funeral for a four-month-old baby is very difficult.
You can even imagine the kind of grief. The parents go through and it was very dear to our hearts because I had performed the wedding for the grandparents and dedicated the father of this baby. Years ago now were burying his daughter and I remember at the end of the service. It was a well-meaning statement, no fault anybody for it that one of the funeral directors. It's just a typical thing that is set at a funeral, but it just sort of left me with that down feeling as he said now we will go to the cemetery to the final resting place of this baby throughout the cemetery opened up by saying, with all due respect, I just want to modify a statement. This is not the final resting place of this baby. This body will raise again this is a seed that is being planted as Paul said that's why we sleep in Christ. If you go to sleep you get up again this baby will awaken to resurrected glory and in full glory be once again with her parents in the future. That is a guaranty and that's why Paul says we are confident let's let's sum up what we know so far.
At the very moment at the very instant the believer dies. The body will go into the ground and be buried. Number one, number two, at the very moment a believer dies the soul or the spirit.
Same thing goes directly into the presence of God. There's not a believer in heaven today is not there in spirit only awaiting the resurrection number three at the moment of death. When the spirit or soul leaves and goes to be with the Lord there is a perfection and instantaneous perfection of the soul and God's presence. Again, I refer you to Hebrews 1223 that describes those dead believers as the spirits of the redeemed. It is in heaven now made perfect so if I die today. I keel over dead. My soul will instantly be in heaven. My body will probably be placed in the local cemetery. My perfected soul will be in God's presence and what will my perfected soul be doing in God's presence seeing in God's presence well but see the devil will be there.
The world will be there. The flesh won't be there so would be no temptation will be no persecution. There are no no mockery from the world for what I believe in the be no disharmony, no disunity, no flights, no quarrels among believers. Perfect harmony is not to be any effort in heaven. Nothing I need to pray about nothing. I need to fast for nothing. IW no repentance.
There's nothing I need to repent of that point the be no evangelism, no crusade in heaven. No witnessing. No need everybody say I'll be very conscious. Very aware able to express able to articulate in some fashion able to remember and one day I will reunite with my body, which will be glorified in resurrected form something we'll talk more about in future studies because God designed us to be both spirit and body, not just soul not to spirit not just body, but both together. That's why Paul makes a big deal about the resurrected body of the Christian. Now I know what some of you maybe think you thinking goodness that such a long time to wait in a poor polygraph.
No, not wanting to be naked now wanted this and did disembodied even after 2000 years goodness, what a bummer he got all my goodness what a shallow way of thinking about eternity. There's an analogy member when you were a little kid how time seemed like so long.
Your parents said just wait one week of we. That sounded like years to you as you get older you notice the time for certain is that a dislike week here to cave. If there's right doesn't time change your perspective of time changes rapidly and it seems the time gets faster and faster the more mature you get, I've got a believe that eternity is like that on steroids and I would seems like a long time is instantaneous in heaven seeks in heaven in eternity were not limited by time space continuum any longer. There's no time. So Moses had it right in Psalm 90, when he wrote for a thousand years in your site are like an day that is gone by, or like a watch in the night. I think what it's in the same life is death presence of God spirit made perfect resurrection for us and seem like Paul is simply making the analogy don't get hung up on the tent, let it go traded in for a building as you wait for resurrection to close with this. It's something that I typically pull out at a funeral service, but it fits the text so well and I want you to listen to it is a conversation between a human being and God. Now God is called Mr. tentmakers in this story and it's a story of a person who obviously ages and goes to the hospital. Listen to how it's how it's written, Mr. tentmakers.
It was nice living in this tent when it was strong and secure, and the sun was shining and the air was warm, but Mr. tentmakers. It's scary now my tent is acting like it's not going to hold together the polls seem weak and they shift with the wind and a couple of the stakes of wiggle loose from the sand and worst of all, the canvas is a rip no longer protects me from the beating Rainer the stinging flies. It's scary in here Mr. tentmakers last week, I was sent to the repair shop and some repairman try to patch the rip in my canvas.
It didn't help much, though, because the patch pulled away from the edges and now the tears worse. What troubles me most.
Mr. tentmakers is that the repairman didn't even seem to notice that I was still in the tent. They just worked on the canvas while I shivered inside I cried out once, but no one heard me.
I guess my first real question is why did you give me such a flimsy tent I can see by looking around the campground at some of the tents are much stronger and more stable than mine.
Why Mr. tentmakers why did you pick attentive such poor quality for me and even more important, what you intend to do about it now.
God speaks so little tent dweller as the creator and provider of tents. I know all about you and your tent and I love you both. I made a tent for myself once and I lived in it on your campground. My tent was vulnerable to, and some vicious attackers ripped it to pieces while I was still inside. It was a terrible experience but you will be glad to know they couldn't hurt me.
In fact, the whole occurrence was a tremendous advantage because it's this very victory over my enemy.
That frees me to be a present help to you little tent dweller. I am now prepared to come and live in your tent with you if you will invite me you will learn as we dwell together that real security comes from my being in your tent with you when the storms come, you can huddle in my arms and I'll hold you when the canvas rips will go to the repair shop together someday little tent will your tent will collapse, for I have only designed it for temporary use when it does, you and I will leave together. I promise not to leave before you do, and then free of all that would hinder or restrict, we will move to our permanent home and together forever.
Rejoice and be glad if you don't believe that you taken the blue pill you just wake up and believe whatever you want.
This is the red pill. This is Wonderland. This is the really real world. Paul science he visited the third heaven. I wonder Groening well we all are indeed Groening for glory of heaven is not your current destination, then choose to follow Christ.
Now you can find out more when you call us to discuss that. Or when you visit. Equis.com will you be able to learn more about a personal relationship with Jesus. Just click on the no God to this world have to finish out this connect. We Skip weekend edition. Today's teaching was titled Groening for glory and now let's go in studio to check in with Skip and his wife lend you today okay Lenny, well I have the microphone first and him and ask you a question that I learned it was a little bit. Can you tell us more about your initiative called reload love.
Yes, we're focusing on this year and little bit back into me and Mark that Burma area and and there's been an ongoing civil war in that country forever 65 years. Most people never heard of this, they don't any of when you told me I said, but is generally true if you if you really do research it and set of the ethnic Burmese are persecuting the tribal people of other regions in the country and as a result, many of them handed been displaced there in either internally displaced people are there refugees and so I had the privilege of visiting Thailand and Burma.
This last year and while I was there I got to meet Pastor Moses. He was chased out of Burma and is in Thailand and he tries to reach out and find the refugees and and they can be in different places.
He would hike into the hills and look for squatters and people that were disenfranchised or wounded or hurt. And then he bring them down the hills to his church and dam his church than just the church.
He keeps buying property around it so these people have a place to live while and so and they're not like fantastic there. These bamboo lean to houses where now they've made this community literarily and sell. He teaches the kids feeds the kids. The parents have an opportunity to live on site and so I was so impressed with Pastor Moses, no matter where we went out with him. He would immediately he said that he was trained within two minutes to start sharing the gospel wherever he was, and so one day we were going to this trash heap. There was literally a place of recycling and people had built homes there and elsewhere. Handing out food to the people he is sharing the gospel before we left enough people got saved and said it's just such a privilege to come alongside men who have just given up everything and not become victims not become bitter that have used their lives to better other people to be so easy to throw your arms up and say I'm done yes 65 years that time.
He keeps preaching and lobbying, and that there it's really cute. They said that 10 Thailand has ceased to be called at 700% non-Christian because we like to say it's 99% because they are making a difference. So anyway where helping the kids that at Pastor Moses church and I'm doing some building and providing a vehicle for him, how can people get involved to reload love.com and learn all about it.
Thanks. Skipper lamia our current series for the age of eternity helps us all understand death a bit more and what happens after we die. When you order will send you an audio CD package of all 17 messages for only $39 plus shipping order today that could Equis.com or if you want personal help. You're invited to call 1-800-922-1880 getting a new body one day. Sounds like a pretty good deal.
So what exactly were these bodies be like come back next time to find out more here and Skip weekend division of recitation of connections so you guys never changing true and ever-changing time