Will We Recognize Our Loved Ones in Heaven?

Will we recognize our loved ones in heaven best is one of the questions will be answering on today's edition of core Christianity hi this is Bill Meyer along with pastor Adm. Sanchez and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question. At 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673 also post a question on our Facebook, Instagram or twitter accounts watch us on YouTube and you can email us with your question at questions at core, Christianity.com. While our nation is in morning again today after that tragic shooting a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta. Now another tragic shooting in Boulder Colorado 10 people including a police officer of lost their lives in Israel. I'm wondering if we could just start off this morning by praying for the families of those victims.

Yeah, absolutely. And in so often will there just are no words and typically in situations like this.

II think that the Psalms are a good place for us to turn as the people of God. In particular, the Psalms of lament to make those our prayers and I'm thinking right now of Psalm 13 where the psalmist David said how long the Lord will you forget me forever. How long will you hide your face from me.

How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day.

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me consider and answer me oh Lord my God light up my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemies say I have prevailed over him, lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken but I have trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me. I think that that prayer of David. How long will Lord is one that we can all identify with. When we experience and hear about the terrible suffering that exists in the world and so let's let's pray Lord, we do ask that you would be with those families of the victims who have been so devastated by these acts of violence and hatred. We cry out, Lord, how long we pray Lord that you would bring about justice and that you would bring about healing and peace for those who are hurting. Give your church wisdom Lord in these times and help us to be faithful to you. We pray in Jesus name, amen and amen thank you so much for that Israel will if you have a question for pastor a drill about the Bible or the Christian life. Now you can call for the next 25 minutes or so would love to talk to John from St. Louis is on the phone hi John, what your question for pastor. Israel hey John are you there yeah John, what's your question rather 201 64 and 165 and a they got married, but they didn't handle paperwork but they had a preacher as a witness and I had witnessed the preacher and witnessed the night that their ballot together and I got married.

Now they read Romans 12 or 13. I don't like the married but no paperwork. No certificate are they are they not, is there any is there any reason specifically why they didn't want to get the paperwork done in the end do it to the state. John yeah one of dad five years ago and the railroad I got married, they lose their pension that they got from their best away will look ordinarily at night. She just performed the wedding this last weekend on Saturday and ordinarily right. It's something that is done through the state and then having the church involved.

This is really important as well as I would say in ordinary circumstances is important that we approach it that way.

One concern that I have is when people just sort of do the hay work, working to be married in the eyes of God. Kind of a thing. What will you have a friend perform the wedding or something like that roof there something deeper to marriage than just personal Beano decision that we make on a whim. This is a contract if you we might even say a covenant before God that is legally binding.

So I think having having the involvement of the lead of the paperwork is worse.

I think that is important now ordinarily right that that's how it should be. I don't know you know if there are some circumstances where where that's just not possible in either extraordinary circumstances are. Sure, maybe.

But I would encourage them to to basically cover all the bases and and to approach it in that way. Usually a lot of times you know their their sphere involved or at unite. I talked to a lot of young people. This is why can't we just you know go off and be married. That kind with thing like we have to get other people involved, but part of it is really valuing and seeing that marriage is more than just a decision that we make on a whim and and that's frankly something that I think is key. Really important for us to understand today. A lot of people when they think about love and they think about marriage that let you know just sort of something we enter into because we really like each other a lot. They don't view it as having the sort of binding contracts will component to it and yet in Scripture it it it always does and so and so that that would be my my counsel do I don't know their situation. Specifically, John and and frankly I would I would want to trust the pastor if they are part of a local church and in you know he's the one who's overseeing them and has walk them through this, but I would say ordinarily, they ought to do it through the state as well. So thank you very much for your question rather, thank you so much John for your call and for listening to core Christianity let's go to Leroy calling in from Victorville, California. We were what your question for pastor. Israel, yeah. My question is how do I know if assignment is from God the other day ahead. Think I'm so like him, I was praying to God.

I was talking to him and on my bed. I had seen Jesus holding a lamb not like an actual picture of him but it was like within my blanket. I can't really explain it, but I took pictures and I would and I just want to know that was from God or our own from not God's. Leroy will you know sometimes I think right made it could be. There are there are providential instances in our lives were God really does do something to get our attention, and I don't know if if that's what what you are experiencing.

If what you know what you thought you stalling in your blankets was a sign from God.

I can point you to the ultimate sign from God, which is Jesus as he is revealed to us in his word. The fact of the matter is Leroy God is speaking to us more than we think.

A lot of people I think are looking for God to speak to them through these these sort of signs like like what you just mentioned, but the reality is, day by day, God is speaking to us. He speaking to you Leroy through the through the world around you. The created order.

The Bible tells us that the very world around us testifies to the fact that God is real, that he made all things that he is all-powerful and God also speaks to you through his word and if you want a clear picture of Jesus and of the will of God for you and for your salvation. You look to the word now sometimes as I as I mentioned, you know, there are there are things that happen in our lives.

He sort of providential occurrences, that they do grab our attention. Maybe that's what this was so that you call in and so that I could point you Leroy to the Scriptures because it's there that God is speaking to us speaking to you most clearly Leroy are you are you would you call yourself a Christian, where you part of a church on Chris think about believing in Christ than I do myself to him like I've always believed in God, but I never really followed him. And I just haven't started to go to church.

I don't know if the Lakers aren't they holding you back, but I do plan on on starting to go to church and then discontinue: God, I do consider myself a Christian. Yeah well and in and face is that the key component we are saved by faith, we have a relationship with Jesus by faith and maybe one of the reasons you know it.

Again, thinking about God's providence that you're even calling in right now so that I can encourage you to get plugged into a local fellowship. We are going to continue to grow and have Jesus placarded before you through sound Bible teaching where you can be a part of a community of Christians where where you can be served and you can use your gifts to serve the body. God intends for each and every one of us Leroy to be a part of a church when one were united to Jesus by faith. When you have faith in Jesus. Your also united to the rest of his body. The apostle Paul and in first Corinthians 12, he talks about this is each one of us are members of of the body of Christ we all play different roles and and so it's really important to vitally important that you get plugged into a good Bible believing church and we have actually couple resources over it. Core, Christianity.com that that really outlines me know what what kind of a church, you ought to look for in terms of a place where you're going to be able to grow in your faith, but going back to your initial question, I just want you to know God is speaking to you. I don't know what that that experience you had was a sign from God per se, but I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is speaking to you where in his word, and so open up the Scriptures and continue to grow in your knowledge of God and what he calls you to, and ultimately in your knowledge of Jesus and who he is and what he's done for you. Thank you so much work for calling us brother your listing to core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez so glad you mentioned that resource we have about finding a good church so critical for every one of us to get plugged into a fellowship with other believers and so are you can find that at our room showed show notes page@corechristianity.com. Let's go to Calais from New Jersey. Kelly, what's your question for pastor. Israel I would like hanging out with him a like a lot of time together because I believe there and I have a lot of unbelievers being out with them a lot and I like and bring them to Christ. When I bragging out with them but I often only acting like that because the stairs I was wondering if I should spend a lot of time with our time with believers.

Yeah Kelly, thank you so much for that question. I remember when I was in your Christian and you. I started walking with Jesus. When I was in high school and all of my friends basically at that at that time were not Christians and an excellent what I did and I'm not saying that this was the right thing was that II thought offensive that what I needed to do was cut off all of those relationships and only have no Christian friends that kind of thing. In hindsight I look back at that and I just think all man you know I don't know that that was the right approach, but at the same time we also know according to the teaching of Scripture that you know that the company that we keep does have a powerful influence in our lives. The apostle Paul said in first Corinthians 15 according from the Old Testament bad company. Evil company can corrupt good habits, and so I think that this is a real question of of wisdom.

Here the Lord can and will use you to shine the light of Jesus to the people around you and and the reality is we can't just totally cut ourselves off from the outside world and I don't think that we should and Paul makes this point in first Corinthians chapter 5 and when he's writing to the Corinthians he said. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people, not at all. Meaning, the sexually immoral of this world war, the greedy and swindlers or idolaters since then you would need to go out of the world. In other words, as as followers of of Christ were not called to, you know, just sort of Gobi hermits on our own, or just identify an associate with Christians. Just think about Jesus himself and the way in which he engaged with the people around now here's the important thing that you need to know about Jesus, though, is when he was around quote unquote nonbelievers. Those who rejected the truth of God's word. He wasn't changed by them. Instead he always changed the atmosphere. They were drawn into the presence of God, just by being with him and he would challenge them, but he also extended a great deal of grace and mercy and compassion to them.

I think ultimately that model.

The model of Christ himself is what we should strive for. But as I said there is there is wisdom here that you have to consider and thinking about okay when I'm around these friends and my helping impact them. For Jesus, or are they pulling me down and maybe maybe right now I'm in a place in my life is a newer believer where I really need to grow in my own faith in relationships with other believers that are going to build me up in my understanding of God's word in in my confidence in what the Lord has said it and so I think one.

You have to have that if you don't have that kind of Christian fellowship. You need to have that but we have that kind of fellowship with the body of Christ, so that we can love our neighbors. Whether they believe in Jesus or not. And so I think this is something Kelly that you're going to need to pray about your going to need to say Lord, give me wisdom.

Maybe there are friendships, relationships that I ought to pull back from because they are temptations for me, but also praying Lord help me to be compassionate and loving and to extend your grace and your light to people who don't know you people who do maybe disagree with me in and my newfound faith and so I'm not giving you what you know.

Yes, sir, to separate yourself, answer all the way or where the opposite I'm saying look, exercise, wisdom, strive to be like Christ and loving the people who are different than you and even believe differently than you make sure that your plugged into solid Christian community where you can have the support that you need in order to love your neighbors like you should. Thanks for your question Kelly some great advice for Kelly a drill. I'm reminded of that proverb. Proverbs 1320 which says whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm sweet enough to be careful who were hanging out with, especially right when you were teenagers and were impressionable and she even talked about, you know, sometimes going along with the crowd because of fear and anxiety. So a tough place to be. But great advice. This is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez and if you're a regular listener of this program and you believe in what we do. We like to invite you to join what we call our inner core, yes the inner core is really heart of our support base. It's how we keep this broadcast going and offer a monthly donation of $25 or more, you can join the inner core be part of our team really if if you been blessed by core Christianity. If you been encouraged by the answers that you hear Monday to Friday. Real practical questions about the Christian faith about what it means to walk with Jesus.

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Just go to core Christianity.com/inner core to find out more about joining getting a copy of Dr. Michael Horton's book core Christianity right now. Let's go to a voicemail that came in and by the way, here's the number you can call 24 hours a day if you want to leave a voicemail at 833, the court will watch one of the wrong direction. No knowledge will be, we you yeah thank you so much for your encouragement and for that question.

And we got this question before we can recognize our loved ones in heaven or in the new creation it and I think that the answer is yes.

The action I think that's something that we can be certain of Jesus in Matthew chapter 8 verses 11 and 12, he talks about the kingdom of heaven is sort of in the context of a centurion who trusted in Christ and in Jesus's is praising essentially the centurion and he talks about those working to come in and experience the kingdom of heaven. In that context. Jesus said, truly I tell you, many will come from East and West and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. While the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness. There he was talking about that the religious leaders who essentially rejected the gospel. The first part of that passage is you know people like him that we send out Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob H.

Think about that right like feasting with the patriarchs if you will, we can recognize them, then surely will be able to recognize our loved ones. Those who have died in Christ and the reality is you can't love someone without truly knowing them without truly seeing them as it were, and in heaven. In the new creation were going to have perfect love for each other and also I would say it and wanted to perfect knowledge of each other.

Paul said first Corinthians chapter 13 beginning in verse nine for we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away when I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child when I became a man I gave up childish things. Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then that is when were in the presence of the Lord then face to face. Now I know in part and I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope and love abide, these three but the greatest of these is love in in heaven and then in the new creation ultimately were going to have perfect love not just perfect love for God, but perfect love for each other and perfect knowledge. And so I think we are going to be able to recognize each other. Any enjoy one another's company in the presence of the Lord worshiping, worshiping God for all eternity. Thank you so much for that question. And of course one of the hopes we have been glorified, as will be sinless at that. That point will probably get along a lot better yet, a man and that's absolutely right, something that we all can look forward to many author the Hebrews says that the souls of believers in the presence of the Lord are made perfect in holiness of the souls of the righteous made perfect there in the presence of the Lord and and boy have we were talking about that the sin and the evil that we see in the world today how we long for that. I meant this is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez. Let's go to Isaac calling in from pilot Mountain, North Carolina Isaac what your question for pastor a drill call really enjoy it THANK you so much what you do but my question about 2nd to 15 where Paul talks about rightly dividing the word truth I was just looking for a way to better understand. That idea piloted by the water treatment dispensations.

He talks about this as I shall write everything that's great. So here the apostle Paul.

These are the pastoral epistles and he's writing to his son in the faith Timothy.

This young elder preacher in the church and he's encouraging him and is encouraging them to begin in verse 14. Remember that remind them of these things and charge them before God not to quarrel about words which does no good but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth, but avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more on godliness and secure the apostle Paul is is calling Timothy to handle the Scriptures rightly to rightly divide the word of truth and over and over again.

One of the things we see in the pastoral epistles is discharged to hold fast to to guard the deposit of the gospel that was handed down from Jesus to the apostles and from the apostles to the church is that they planted it so important for us Isaac to hold fast to what we might call core Christianity did that. The essence of the gospel and that's what Paul wants Timothy to hold fast to and that's what Paul is encouraging Timothy to hand on to the people that he's training and encouraging in the faith as well and so part of this has to do me much in that word dispensation which is this idea that God has governed his people in different ways over long periods of time over different sort of stages of redemptive history see that at various places in the Scriptures, but we need to understand if were thinking about the sort of big picture of the Bible is that the entire story of God. Isaac points us to one grand reality and that reality centers on Jesus on his redemptive work for us from the very beginning of the Bible Isaac in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 you have this promise that the seed of the woman is going to crush the head of the serpent and and that promise is traced throughout the entire Bible as God is calling people to himself and giving them these pictures essentially of his plan of salvation even in the Old Testament with with the sort of shadowy types of the tabernacle and the temple and the sacrifices all of those things. Everything is pointing us to Jesus. And this is why Jesus could say in John chapter 5 to the religious leaders you search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. But these are the very Scriptures that testify of me. If you believed Moses, you would believe me.

Because Moses wrote about me. Had we rightly divide the word of truth.

We realize who's at the center. Jesus is at the center and when we understand God's word. We see all of Scripture, leading us to Jesus by the hand so that we might know him, and experience eternal life, and as a what an encouragement for each of us not just to study the Bible to really understand what it is that were reading what it is that were studying. This is why we think what Christianity is so important because we need to know God's word. We can understand it in its context so that we might be led to Jesus and experience his grace. Thanks for listening to core Christianity request your copy of today's special offer. Visit us at core, Christianity.com and click on offers and the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833 when you contact us. Please let us know how you been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time.

As we explore the truth of God's word together