Question and Answer Program No. 73

You will struggle with being left out, to be included. You will be on the outside observing you'll be on the inside participating because heaven is getting it right because God can make us right in the meantime, consider the fact that in heaven you will be sitting alone at a banquet you're going to be the honored guests at the banquet table hello and welcome to this Friday broadcast of wisdom for the hard Stephen baby my name Scott Wiley the first Friday of every month is a special day here at wisdom for the heart.

It's a day that we set aside to answer some questions that we received from listeners. Sometimes Stephen is teaching and he prompts a question and sometimes we hear from callers who have just had a nagging question for a long time and they're looking for someone to give them an answer from God's word. We want to be able to do that and so we set aside a day each month for that purpose today is that day. I think you're going to enjoy it.

So stay with us as we hear from our first caller, and now I have a question. I'm 73, 74, and August and I questions and 70 around 10 years old and never been discussed never been answered, and I'd like you to tell me what you think about it and that is when we die as Christians when we die and go to heaven. People always talk about all of their friends all of their relatives that were Christians and they're going to have a good time in the sky and all that good time in heaven, but I can't imagine that really happening because people like me that don't have any Christian relatives because I have friends that will craft Christian relatives and family members, and if only families are going to get together and have a joyful time are we that are by ourselves all alone in heaven. Thanks so so what is your take on that because like now I go to church by myself. I come home myself, other people say hi but they don't invite you to sit with them or even we have banquet you not invited to sit with them because you're by yourself. You don't fit in with things in place. I have been aching like you said ever since I was around 10 or 11 years old and I just can't believe that God would be so cool to have them sit and watch all of those other families enjoy each other's company pleasing answer that because like I say, I've been wondering since I was 10. Thank you very much Jerry thank you so much for calling with very personal and heartfelt question today Stephen I know you have some encouragement from God's word for Jerry today.

Absolutely Jerry give. Thank you for calling heaven is a very different than the church potluck or how it feels when you sit alone in the sanctuary infected. According to the word of God, heaven is not going to be a collection of individual families and a gathering for their little time to fellowship. It isn't the gathering of individual families.

Heaven is a gathering of the family in your part of it for as many as received him, the Lord, to them he gave the right to be children to become children of God. John tells us in his gospel chapter 1 my mind it was I was listening to your question went immediately to Mark chapter 12 or Jesus is rebuking the religious leaders they were bringing to him sort of a test question is a woman.

They said is been married seven times so in the kingdom or the future heaven whose wife will she be.

And the Lord rebuked them, and he basically said you don't really know anything about heaven because when we arrive in heaven and throughout eternity.

There isn't. The giving in marriage, there isn't the same relationships in heaven like there are on earth infected in Matthew chapter 12 the Lord is also challenging his audience by saying here's my mother and my brothers as he gestured to the audience of disciples. He goes on to say, anyone who does the will of my father in heaven. They are my brother and my sister and my mother. So what he's doing is he setting the stage in people's minds to think a little differently as a relates to the future eternal state as a relates the family only say this Jerry about about the church because our hearts would agree with you as we listen to your question that the church family should be designed by God to be a little taste of heaven on earth. In other words, the fellowship of a future heavenly family should be reflected in the way we fellowship with each other in the church family.

You really ought to have fellowship among the brothers and sisters that you, Heather. You really shouldn't be sitting alone and we would encourage you to take the initiative, find someone else who sitting alone and joined them. We have a Windows ministry at our church. That's really grown, but it's taken a widow or two to take that ministry on because they knew other women were coming, sitting alone in the fellowship now is healthy and vibrant. The church ought to reflect this spirit of were in the same body were in the same family. Paul writes to the Corinthian church in first Corinthians 12 or he says you are members of one body, one family. He wrote to the Roman believers in Romans chapter 8 that the spirit bears witness with our spirit that were the children of God, and if children, then heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, to think about this.

Your physical family. Perhaps a husband and the wife, children, extended family, your physical family is temporary.

Your spiritual family in Christ is eternal. That's the family that is going to last forever, so to speak. Now for some of the chapter 5 were told as a church we should appeal to older men as fathers we should treat older women as mothers, we should treat younger men as brothers and younger women as sisters and all purity that's first Timothy chapter 5 verse two. So while on earth, we ought to be reflecting the kind of unity and the kind of fellowship in the kind of spirit they were going to enjoy forever will not get it right here, by the way, were fallen and were flawed but to be perfected in and that perfected, glorified, state the fellowship. We enjoy with each other is going to be absolutely stunning.

Amazing.

In the meantime and let me close with saying this you won't Jerry you won't struggle with being left out in heaven. Your to be included. You will be on the outside observing you'll be on the inside participating because heaven is going to get it right because God can make us right in the meantime, consider the fact that in heaven you will be sitting alone at a banquet you're going to be the honored guest at the banquet table of heaven, will Stephen as I was listening to you answer Jerry just struck me that those of us who don't go through life alone. We have a responsibility to be on the lookout for the Jerry's absolute in our church absolutely seeking to encourage them. Jerry, thank you so much for calling in with your question. We were very glad to hear from you and were glad to be a part of your life every day as you listen to the broadcast of wisdom for the heart. The number that Jerry used to reach us today is 910-808-9384.

That is a phone number that we actually don't answer when you call it is set up for you to record your question. Just give us your name. The question you have an end. That system will record it for us to play an answer on a future broadcast. If you'd like to actually speak with us, please call our office number and I'll give that number a little bit later in the broadcast. But to ask a question of Stephen dial 910-808-9384 and if you jot that number down. You can use at any time 24 hours a day seven days a week.

You can call in with your question just like this listener did it on now may not like it. After God created everything he said it was good that his word has nothing to say about all.

Quite the opposite. So if there is no evolution. How did dogs get here. Are they part of the curse from the fall. Look forward to hopefully hearing that answered: today Sean that is a very interesting question Stephen. I don't know if it never struck me before that all of the references in the Bible to dogs are this very disappointing to find out as well.

It's true dogs you go back in the Old Testament days into the New Testament. They roamed in packs. They refuse, they hung around the town dump.

They would eat animal and human remains and so they become. This metaphor for sin. And if you do a little search Sean in your concordance, you'll find that they become a metaphor for unfaithful spiritual leaders.

For instance, in Isaiah 56 there called dogs. God calls his his religious leaders dogs for being unfaithful to their calling. He says they are blind, they're ignorant. They're all dumb dogs, they cannot bark. They are greedy dogs and can never have enough. But if you do a little more searching rather than trying to prove or perhaps point to some evidence of evolution being true because dogs become bad or dogs become dirty or evil. If you look in the Bible you find many metaphors of animals in relation to sin, not because they evolved into more evil, but simply because of their instincts or their habitat or their nature.

For instance, in acts chapter 20 there's a negative reference to wolves, ravenous wolves. The tear up the flock there used as an illustration for ungodly leaders who will tear up the flock of God. You have Satan in first Peter 58 referred to as a roaring lion, ravenous lion. Revelation chapter 20. Satan is referred to as a serpent, a dragon snake even locusts are used by God numerous times actually physically as destructive voracious animals that destroy crops and bring famine and so you find a reference to locusts in a negative sense or term scorpions also go over to Revelation chapter 7 in the torment of hell is referred to as the pain inflicted by scorpion bullets back up and let's go to the beginning of creation, where it is you reference Sean in your excellent comment that that creation everything was good. And that's true when God created all that he created is described for arson in the Genesis chapters 1 and two. It was indeed good, but what God created is good or innocent changed from good to bad.

Not just dogs but everything and why will because of sin. In fact, Adam and Eve were created innocent or good and they became evil, not because they evolved, but because they send and so what God created Eve and Adam and Eve as good or innocent. They became evil because they rejected God's authority and they sinned and so you go over to Romans chapter 5 where Paul clearly tells us God's word clearly says therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, so death spread to all men would God created the world.

There wasn't death, but death came not because of evolution, but because of sin. In fact, all of creation in some way feels the effects of the fall that is sin entering the world for God's word tells us that even creation is groaning for the day of redemption. The day when God creates a new heaven and a new earth. So what God created is good, became bad or elements of evil because of sin because of evolution and one day God will restore everything as he perfects us in that eternal state of heaven.

Then he creates a new earth, and the new heavens and everything then gets back to being exactly like he wanted to begin with. Dogs then begin to evidence in their perfected state, as it were, the glory of God and all the animals of creation that felt the effects of the fall and sin go back to our God intended. And it'll never change in the eternal state got a perfect us forever in a holy state in a perfected state of innocence and we look forward to that day infected God gives us a little picture of the coming day of heaven in the kingdom where he says that the lion will lie down with the lamb, so he's going to change that and make sure that that ravenous nature of our lives can go back to innocence and will be able to lie down with the lamb and child can put his hand in the whole of the cobra that the nest of a serpent and not be harmed. We look forward to the day would God restores his original design and creation and perfected forever in the new heavens and new work so Sean God will do that with dogs and Stephen God will do that with cat yeah that's really getting a miracle is that he will indeed deal with all his creation was good at that. That's really helpful to think that through.

That is, that as the authors of Scripture are looking for metaphors and illustrations to describe something negative there, looking at the fallen created order. That's right but that's not the way God designed it and it's not the way that it will be. That's right, the story began with everything being good is going to end with everything being good and that goodness will less than forever. Thank you Stephen, thank you so much Sean for calling in with your question.

We are really glad to hear from you. Let me give you that number once again in case you have a question that you would like to ask. The number is 910-808-9384 and you can call that number anytime that you want 910-808-9384 we heard from another listener. Bobby all Carolina. My question reference to Matthew 721 not all available God $90 million.

Mary will reference the knowing your say and a lot of people profess salvation in Christ and live like the devil will lead even in my own heart. I struggle through fearful Scripture from the then the other thing is the drama going on or not think that God has revealed long man long ago like this questions about there to think they're not specifically stated in the Bible, unclear or no UFO view) identified flying things Elder Ezekiel's vision. Things in the Bible that we just don't understand Dr. basically the obedient to love one another and do the one another's and not worry about the rest of taken, can vary from those in my second Corinthians 13 five I think I examine yourself in my life.

I don't know but knowing what exactly my purposes you.

How do you know God called you and administrate you know you go on presumption are is definitive way of knowing that. Thank you.

Put that together and later Lester is. Thank you so much Bobby for calling him with your question Stephen Bobby had his there's lots of different aspects to his question will sort of zeroing in on one before you die.

Then let me read the verses that that he referenced from Matthew seven is Matthew seven verses 21 through 23 and it says not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. But the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name and then I will declare to them, I never knew you depart from me, you workers of lawlessness servers that Bobby struggling with understanding and applying to his own life Stephen so what insight do you have from God's word will in Matthew's Gospel Jesus is referring to false believers.

I guess we could call them were false prophets. They claim to know God. They are seemingly empowered by God to do good works prophesying casting out demons, whatever, and they also do it all in the name of God or in the name of Christ that the key thing and studying Scriptures to compare Scripture with Scripture so I would want to go in explore other passages that give us the nature of false prophets or false believers, and what you find there is that ultimately their desire is to make money.

Their heart desires really to gather a following. If they were honest with you, and even themselves. Thereafter, personal glory, or they may even want to just take advantage of their followers for sensual pleasure. And Jesus says I never knew them. In other words, they were never related to me. So here's the point to Jesus is saying that prophesying casting out demons and doing miracles the ability to do good works, and even to do those works in his name doesn't produce salvation. The point of Jesus is that salvation is not the result of good works so don't start evaluating your works in hopes of doing enough good works in order to be saved.

Don't think that I could just do a miracle I get in heaven regularly preacher prophesy, and I'd really I gain entrance into heaven. Salvation is a matter of knowing Jesus being known by Jesus. Another critical point to make here is that Jesus didn't say to them. I used to know you or I once knew you as one of my own but I don't know you anymore. In other words, this is the text to get us to come to the conclusion that we can lose our salvation. It simply a passage of Scripture that tells us there isn't any list of good things we can do even in the name of Jesus that will get us in the heaven. So keep that in mind.

Now the question is how do you know if you know Jesus for how do you how do you know of Jesus knows you well. There are other passages again that you need to go to to flesh out your theology of salvation go. For instance, to the passage where Jesus is praying, in John 17 and I turned there in my Bible and let me just read where Jesus is praying father is my desire that those whom you've given me, be with me where I am. That is in heaven so that they can see my glory which you have given me for you loved me before the foundation of the world own righteous father over the world has not known you, there's that thought again.

They don't know you yet. I have known you, and these have known that you sent me and I have made your name known to them and will make it known so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I live so that the purpose of Christ in coming was to make the name of God known to them.

Make it personal. Make it believable and by faith and through grace coming to know him personally and so that's why John will write a little later on in one of his letters in first John chapter 5, these things I've written to you who believe that his trust in the name of the son of God than they. Then Jesus came to make known so that you may know that you have eternal life, that you may know this well you know that your known by him when you've placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ not by doing a list of good deeds, not by being perfect in your own mind, not by becoming sinless, or believing that you're less sinful than others know that isn't going to get anybody in the heaven. You get into heaven by knowing Christ when you know him that which he came to make known is known by you and you become known of him and that's the security that we have in Christ and let me adhere to.

There's a vast difference between doubt and disbelief, and maybe this is what Bobby is exploring the struggling with because he can't reach that point where I just don't have any nagging doubts anymore glad someone walked up to me a couple of weeks ago after service the church and express the very same thing United seven nagging doubt that I say it right in my living right.

Have I deceived myself and my fooled and and and he really doesn't know me and I really don't know, and I asked him the question I said well let me ask you are you are you struggle between Jesus and and Buddha any kind of looked at me oddly, any civil course I'm not struggling. I said so you don't believe you're struggling right now, but that struggle is nothing to do with whether or not it's Confucius or Jesus.

Are you may be wondering if it's universalism more Christian science, or Mormonism, or Jesus, and he laughed and he said of course not.

I said well there's a difference between doubt and disbelief. You're not disbelieving that Jesus is the only way to heaven. You're just doubting if maybe you've missed something along the way I said let me tell you something every Christian will one day in heaven.

Pinch himself.

I think were going to spend the first hundred years or so pinching ourselves saying I can't believe I'm really here. I me while I'm actually here. I think we get a look at those with you on earth as a man. Can you believe it. Where were here or actually here. Why because every honest Christian will tell you there are times when they wonder in their nagging doubts why death is a mystery in heaven seemed so far away, but were you when they say were here. I like the, the story of John Newton true story, the author of amazing Grace, who once said there again to be three things that surprised me about heaven first, that there will be people there. I did not expect to see second that there are people who are not there that I expected to see in third that I am there. Listen heaven is going to be the elimination of every nagging doubt. But there is a difference between doubt and unbelief. But what you believe in. Whom are you trusting what more can you do but place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. What more can you believe other than the fact that he is the only way to heaven. No one comes to the father but by him. The believe that if you place your trust and faith in him while he is in hiding the real truth behind some big oak tree.

He is a get a Sadie one day. Well, you know you got close, but you missed this little clue. Now he has made it so clear and so simple.

We with our doubts. We, with our misinterpretations of Scripture we make it difficult it's free because of Christ's payment and if you believe in his payment he trusted in him. There's nothing more you can trust and there isn't anything more you can believe than that. And when you believe that when you receive him, you become a child of God when you place your faith in him you can know that you have eternal life because your trusting in him.

Thank you so much Steve and I think it's hardwired into every fallen human heart to try to save ourselves every time we go down that path of what do I do and am I doing enough. We end up minimizing God's grace and and struggling, it's really the basis of every false religion is based on what you do that's exactly Christianity unique and so grateful for the gospel today. Thank you Bobby for calling this is been wisdom for the heart with Stephen Devi and we've spent this day answering some questions we've received from our listeners friends that's all we have time for today I want to give you are our number one more time in case you have a question it's 910-808-9384 and let me remind you again, that's not a number that we answer if you would like to talk with us were in the office today and you can call our office number at eight 648 Bible at 866-482-4253 we enjoy hearing what God is doing in your life and learning how God's word is transforming you write and tell us. Our address is wisdom for the heart PO Box 5729, Cary, NC 27512.

You can learn more about us by visiting wisdom online.org and we come back on Monday. We will resume our current series.

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