Hope Worth Having

Pastor Mike will be speaking on What Will We Know in Heaven Part 1. He will be reading out of 1st Corinthians 13:12.

The Bible reminds us that one day we will see him just as he is and when we see him we will be just like him. Hello this is Pastor Mike Sanders from the Open Door Church and we serve here as the senior pastor. Today we are hosting the radio program Hope Worth Having.

We’re grateful that you are a part of our ministry and that you are listening in today. Grab your Bible we’re gonna be in 1st Corinthians 13 and we’re gonna talk about what will we know in heaven. People ask me so many times will I know my loved ones? Well let’s find out.

Will I know my loved ones in heaven? What a great question. So let’s begin our study today. If you have your Bible this morning I want you to join me in 1st Corinthians chapter 13.

We’re continuing our study on five questions about heaven and five questions about hell. Now I know that many were wondering are we gonna get back to heaven and I want you to know we are. We go back and forth so I don’t want you to be discouraged but we certainly address a question about heaven and then a question about hell and then we go back to heaven and then we go back to hell and I know that you and I can only take so much when it comes to hell and so we got to kind of mix it up a little bit so that we keep you encouraged and keep you positive.

What will we know in heaven is the question that I want to submit unto you. Now in verse 12 of chapter 13 of 1st Corinthians the Bible says for now we see in a mirror dimly but then face to face. Now I know in part but then I shall know just as I also am known.

Now I don’t want you to feel that Pastor Mike in some way is taking this passage out of context. It’s very much in context and gives us insight into understanding what we will know in heaven. So for our benefit let’s just do a quick review of chapter 13 and you know that the Apostle has been addressing the issue from chapter 12 13 and 14 about the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues and I know that people land in different places and spaces when it comes to that but I think that this will really help you if you understand what the Apostle was teaching in chapter 13 because the Corinthians had exalted this gift of speaking in tongues as being the supreme gift.

That there was no better gift than to be able to speak in tongues in the minds of the Corinthian believers and the Apostle wants to know that is absolutely wrong and that the gift of tongues is not as important as showing love and note again in verse 1 of chapter 13 he says though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels but have not love I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. You could put it like this that your life speaks so loud I can’t hear what you’re saying and that’s what the Apostle was saying you might have this great gift of speaking in tongues but if you’re not showing love it is meaningless. Look at verse 2 and though I have the gift of prophecy which is teaching and proclaiming the Word of God understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains but have not love I am what church? Do you understand what he’s doing here? Do you see how he’s showing them that love is more important than all the spiritual gifts that might exist? He goes on as if you did not get it yet verse 3 he knows that some of us not you but I’m talking about that other person besides you that are we’re a little hard-headed and he says in verse 3 and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned but have not love it profits me what church? Are you with me? And then he goes in to define love.

What is interesting is that he never describes love as a feeling he never describes it as an emotion but always it is in the active present tense and it is describing love does something okay and we got to remember that and so the true essence of our love is what we do and how we respond and we handle things and he goes on to say in verse 8 that love never fails but whether there are prophecies they will fail whether there are tongues they will cease and whether there is knowledge it will vanish away meaning this new knowledge of God’s work in his spiritual truth because remember at this time the Word of God relating to the New Testament had not been fully written and it had not been what we refer to as being canonized or assembled together so he’s saying all that is going to vanish away eventually verse 9 for we know in part underscore that in your Bible we know in part and we prophesy in part in this time that you and I are living we don’t see everything that is to be seen we don’t understand everything that is to be understood we don’t always have a clear picture or a clear perspective of all that God is doing in us through us and around us and so he wants us to know that even as we’re teaching the Bible we are prophesying in part but here he goes in verse 10 but when that which is perfect has come that which is in part will be done away with you’ll be done away Bible scholars wonder what that perfect is and people have had different commentaries on this I believe and understand it to being this and you must do your own research that he’s talking about the Word of God when the Word of God has come when we have the final complete Word of God we’re not going to need all this other stuff we’re not going to need these sign gifts anymore because they will fade away they will cease they will vanish why because we have the perfect Word of God then he illustrates it in verse 10 and I want you to get this because I think this is powerful in your life and this will help you to have clarity he is now giving us an illustration in verse 11 he said already to us when that which has come what is in part will be done away with meaning these spiritual gifts will be done away with and now let me illustrate it for you verse 11 when I was a child how many of you were a child at one time should be all of us okay when I was a child I spoke as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child but when I became a man I put away childish things make sure you read that to your teenager every day it’s time to grow up amen this is just a little side note that cost you a dime but you need to grow up and that’s what the Apostle was illustrating he’s saying look I grew up I grew up I was a child I did things like a child but when I became a man when I became an adult I grew up I pulled my pants up I quit walking around like a teenager and I got focused and I got a job and I got out there and I started making things happen I know that’s not in the Bible but that’s kind of what he means I’m just telling you okay and he’s saying that I put away childish things I put away childish things it’s an illustration here we go here you go hang in there church for now we see in a mere dimly but then when we are face to face with God now I know in part but then I shall know just as I also am known and now abide faith hope love these three but the greatest of these is love the Apostle is saying spiritual gifts when the church was in its infancy it was for when the church was immature but now that the church has grown up and it has the perfect Word of God it doesn’t need all of these signed gifts because when it was a child it behaved like a child but now that it has grown up it now has put away those childish things now you wrestle through that well however and whenever you want we’re glad to have many discussions with you on that but he is also helping us in this illustration that how just as a child we saw in part when your children are young you said don’t run in the street don’t ride your bike in the street and they had a meltdown and they cried and they looked at you like you’re the meanest parent ever all you want to do is limit their life you want to take their freedoms away because they only knew in part they could only see the small picture but you could see the big picture as a parent you could see the danger of riding your bike in the street you could see the danger of somebody either accidentally hitting them or carelessly hitting them and so you wanted to protect them and so it is friends that in this earth that you and I live in we are very much like children who do not see the big perspective of God and we see as the Bible says in verse 12 in a mirror but this mirror he’s talking about is not a crystal clear mirror it’s a dim mirror it is a mirror that is clouded and we cannot always see the clear picture of all that we are dealing with in life but then face to face one day when we stand in the presence of God face to face with Jesus the Bible reminds us that one day we will see him just as he is and when we see him we will be just like him but the Bible tells us now while I’m walking on this earth I know in part now everything’s dim everything is cloudy I have a lot of questions I cannot always explain suffering and circumstances and problems and issues and I don’t always have a good answer for what is unfolding in your life but now we see in part but then what then face-to-face with Jesus I shall know just as I also am known just like people know who you are you’re gonna know in heaven you’re gonna know what he’s trying to say to you is that just like people have a full knowledge of you you’re gonna have a full knowledge you’re gonna see from that divine perspective you’re gonna see the fullness of God and you’re gonna see the full perspective of God and so this morning I want to submit unto you five things that relate to this question what will we know in heaven in 1991 Eric Clapton who was a famous singer lost his five-year-old son Connor after he fell from the window of the 49th floor of his mother’s Manhattan apartment Eric Clapton poured out his grief in song and he wrote a song entitled tears in heaven in the song he asked the question would you know my name if I saw you in heaven will it be the same if I saw you in heaven I must be strong and carry on because I know I don’t belong here in heaven would you hold my hand if I saw you in heaven would you help me stand if I saw you in heaven these are the kind of questions that many people believers unbelievers have when it relates to heaven and so we want to tackle this great task of answering the question what will we know in heaven heaven it is a word that is synonymous with beauty comfort peace and satisfaction it is a word that we think of that brings great joy to our hearts the scripture is clear to us that there is a real heaven that just like there is a hell there is a heaven it is a real place and when the Bible describes Jesus giving us his words of encouragement about heaven in the gospel of John 14 Jesus said I go to prepare you a place it’s the Greek word topaz it means land it’s the idea of dirt it’s a real place heaven is a real place a place for those who love God for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ heaven is a wonderful topic in the Bible the King James Version of the Bible uses the word heaven 582 times and it means so much the Apostle Paul’s perspective on heaven was unique and one that we need to consider even today he said in 2nd Corinthians 5 4 for we who are in this tent meeting we’re in this body we groan being burdened not because we want to be unclothed but further clothed that mortality may be swallowed up by life because this is all we know because we see in part it’s hard for us to grasp that in this mortal world that we are very limited but that God has so much more life for us in his immortality when you think about your loved ones who have left this world and have left this earth think about what it was like for them that in one moment they were breathing mortal air but in the next moment as a believer in Christ they were breathing immortal air that in one moment on this earth they were dealing with death the end here on this earth but in the next moment they were birthed into new life with Jesus Christ in heaven forever and ever the Bible tells us that the Apostle declared for me to live is Christ and to die is what I know it’s hard nobody likes death death is the final enemy but I want you to know our Savior overcame death and one day because he overcame death all of us are overcoming death and not only are we overcoming death as believers but our loved ones who have already preceded us in death are going to overcome death for the scripture says that the dead in Christ shall rise isn’t that wonderful church I mean just reflect upon that think about how momentous that will be how majestic will be to see your loved one rise the Apostle said to live as Christ this is the essence of your life I know that some of you are pursuing that career you’re pursuing that money you’re pursuing that American dream and I’m not against any of those things as long as they’re kept in perspective that your life is Christ it’s all about Jesus wherever God plants you whatever he uses you whatever skill sets he gives you whatever career he gives you it’s all about Jesus here is something that you don’t hear a lot but you and I need to be reminded it’s not about you it’s about Jesus it’s about Jesus don’t believe the lie of the devil don’t believe the lie of the world that it’s about you but remember that it is about Jesus Christ think about this with John the Revelator said in Revelation 14 verse 13 relating to death I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me right blessed are the dead think about that for a second blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth yes saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them God does not forget what we have done for him and he rewards us and so again it what is the perspective of the Bible about death it is not one of finality it is not one of end for the believer it is blessedness it is gain it is life it is to be in the presence of God enjoying all that God has for us now we have many perspectives of heaven perhaps some of you are like what Mark Twain said to Huck Finn and Huck Finn was not really interested in heaven and so he said all a body would have to do was to go around all day long with a harp and sing forever and ever that would take me out because a I can’t play a harp and be I can’t sing but a lot of people think that’s all you’re gonna do we’re just gonna float on clouds we’re gonna just sing and we’re just gonna play an instrument but friends that’s not all you’re gonna do in heaven so let’s talk about this I want you to write this down and I hope you’ll do further study don’t be scared that there’s five points first of all remember that pastor Mike will cut off his sermon when necessary and then B is that not all these points have a lot of sub points so we’ll be able to move through them quickly but number one our knowledge in heaven will be greater than it is now once you remember that again I think that’s self-evident in our text isn’t it verse 12 we know in part but then meaning face-to-face I shall know just as I also know so your knowledge is going to be greater I love what the Apostle said in 1st Corinthians 2 9 but as it is written I has not seen nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him I say it to you all the time I know you get tired of it I hope it’s a comfort to you I really do that none of your loved ones went to heaven and were disappointed they were not let down and they were not bummed out and they did not say I want to go back to suffering I want to go back to sorrow I want to go back to struggle I want to go back to sin I want to go back to dealing with difficult people amen our loved ones bust into heaven with great joy the Bible says in thy presence is fullness of joy at thy right hand there are pleasures forever more so it’s so awesome and I want you to know that when we get to heaven the degrading effect of sin on our minds that is gone and when we live in this world your mind isn’t as good as it used to be do you remember that but I’m just saying that our minds aren’t as sharp as they used to be you think about these kids when they’re little man they’re just soaking it up you know I’m saying and everything you say they remember what you say if you notice that my grandson Isaiah he was in trouble last Wednesday and his mother said to him you better straighten up or I’m gonna give you a spanking and Isaiah respond to his mother he said I don’t have time for that now where did a two-year-old hear that from he probably heard it from his mother’s grandmother but he said I don’t have time for that and these little kids their minds are so sharp they soak up everything it’s amazing what they remember as we get older our minds are not as mentally sharp but friends what I want you to understand is when you leave this world you may not remember things down here and you may have forgot to brush your teeth this morning but in heaven your mind is as sharp as it ever was it is blessed and you are intellectually able to understand remember what Philippians 321 says that God who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious body according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself this body which includes our mind every aspect of it my friends it is going to be one day transformed hallelujah and one day we are going to have a brand new body and I understand it’s not immediately and I understand it’s after the resurrection but it’s still a great promise and it’s still a great hope that God is going to give you a new body now people talk about getting their knee replaced they get talk about getting their hips replaced and they talk about getting their shoulders replaced and I’m sure it won’t be long they’ll be implanting AI in your brain okay and I’ll be pastoring AI people but none of that compares to the original creation and none of that compares to the new creation of a new body of what God has in store for us and so we understand think about it really it’s this that God is moving everything back to the way it was before sin entered the world and what it was like for Adam and Eve in that paradise in that garden of beauty and all that God had created and so when we think about sin entering to the world we understand that Adam certainly his mental capabilities were greater before the fall than they were after the fall so I want you to know that our knowledge in heaven is greater it is better it is sharper in heaven than it is now number two I want you to learn that even though it will be better and greater that will never be omniscient we will never be omniscient we will not know everything there is to know please keep that in mind you won’t have all knowledge in heaven you won’t have everything figured out in heaven you won’t have all the answers in heaven I know some of you believe you already have all the answers we appreciate you but we know that sometimes your answers aren’t right but we just say to you that’s interesting because you’re a brother and sister in Christ and we don’t want to hurt your feelings but that’s interesting people tell me all kinds of crazy things so I just say well that’s interesting I think to myself do I have time to debate with this person and if I debated with them would they even change their mind right and so I just say well that’s interesting but I want you to know today we possess a very limited understanding the Bible says we know in part we read it twice in this passage we have a limited understanding of life and one day though we’re gonna see better but it does not in any way imply that you are equal with God in knowledge so please don’t go up there thinking in heaven please our pastor told us we would know everything no you won’t which will lead me to my third point where I really want to spend some time with you and that is that we will continue to learn and grow in our knowledge throughout all eternity you’re gonna continue to learn and grow you say well I thought I was done and somebody like I’m never going back to school well you’re going to the school of heaven and it is a wonderful school because your mind is sharp and you’re absorbing your knowledge is sharp you’re gonna be able to learn and grow so what we know in the eternal state will not be static but it will always be increasing will always be learning God made and designed us to be a people who will grow and learn and let me tell you something that you will revel in it you will enjoy it so much there’ll be times that you’ll be walking around and you’ll bump into the old apostle Paul and you’ll be asking him a hundred questions about what it was like and he’s like look I told the other Christian this I ain’t got time to tell you got you say we got all eternity Paul tell me the story again and how you came to Christ or how you handled that shipwreck or I’ve always wondered about this thing in the Bible or this thing that you wrote what did you mean Paul what did you mean and so it’s going to be beautiful now what will we learn about in heaven please write this down but Revelation 610 gives us a little insight here and I want you to know the context it’s the tribulation period these are martyrs who are standing before God Almighty at the throne and they cried out the Bible says with a loud voice saying how long O Lord holy and true does thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth they didn’t know everything they were in the throne of God and they were wondering and they were asking questions isn’t it great that when we get to heaven we’re gonna be able to ask questions and nobody’s gonna be offended and I doubt that God’s gonna say because I told you so but we’re gonna learn and grow so what are we gonna learn number one write this down we will learn more about the person of God we’re gonna learn more about who God is who is God all friends you think you know the holiness of God wait till you get to heaven you think you know about the righteousness of God but you and I really don’t understand all of its depth and breadth and height and width we haven’t fully grasped the faithfulness of God and the goodness of God and the loving kindness of God all these wonderful attributes that describe who our God is all these wonderful words that we use to praise his name to give him glory you are going to know the person of God in a greater and deeper way beyond anything that you’ve ever experienced here on this well the Bible says will be known as we are known so we must understand that there’s a lot of things we will know not that we will know everything because we will grow and we will learn and we will sit at the feet of Jesus and he will teach us it’ll be glorious and all that has been revealed to us through his word about heaven is not the totality of all that we will know and learn in about him but when we get there we will have eternity upon eternity and enjoy the blessings of God’s kingdom and that’s what I want for you and I pray that the goodness of God would bring you to true repentance and that your desire to spend eternity with Jesus would motivate you to come to God and receive him as your Lord and Savior and to repent of your sin if you’ve made a decision for Christ make sure you let us know go to hopeworthhaving.com check out the contact button let us know about your decision your response to God and just remember that in Christ there is hope worth having

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Pastor Mike will be speaking on What Does the Bible Mean When it Speaks on Hell Part 2. He will be reading out of Revelations 20: 11-15.

When the doors of the Lake of Fire was open, all they could see was the torment and the torture and the weeping. My friend, I want you to know that they did not wanna go when they had to be cast into the Lake of Fire. Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders coming to you today from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and we are broadcasting Hope Worth Having Ministries, and we’re excited to be able to share God’s word with you today.

We’re gonna be in Revelation chapter 20, verse 11 through 15. What does the Bible mean when it speaks of hell? It’s a heavy subject, and I pray that it awakens each of us and draws us to him. Let’s grab our Bibles and get into this subject of what does the Bible mean when it speaks of hell? Sometimes you hear people say, well, that kid needs a spanking.

Now, don’t turn me in. All my kids are raised, okay? And in our house, we had a little paddle called Mr. Move-It. Okay? Mr. Move-It was highly effective until about the age eight, and then they started running faster than me.

But anyways, he says in verse 14, you shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell. It’s the Hebrew word shiol. Shiol.

Shiol. Now, here he is talking about the unrighteous, and he’s saying generally when children are corrected and they are disciplined, they’re going to turn out to be good people who love God and follow God. But is that a promise? No, because we know that’s not always true.

But what he is telling us, please, parents, correct your children. Please discipline your children. And he does tell you to use a rod.

It was never a firm rod. It was a flexible rod, but it was a rod that left a sting. It’s kind of like grandma used to say.

How many of you remember had grandma or mom go out in there and say, go out there and get that switch in the backyard and buddy right on the back of the gluteus maxus muscle where it stings the most. But anyways, what I want you to know is shiol is the place where the unrighteous are held until one day that they will be given up for that final great white throne judgment. The second word is the word Hades.

Hades is a Greek word. It is in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the Bible was written in Hebrew.

There’s a few passages in Daniel that are written in Aramaic, but in general, the Old Testament is written in Hebrew. In the New Testament, it is written in Greek. But in the Greek, the word Hades is also the place of the unseen or the place of the dead.

Jesus said in Revelation chapter one and verse 18, I am he that liveth and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore, amen. And I have the keys of hell or the keys of Hades and of death. He is saying that when you have the keys, you have the authority.

I have the authority of Hades or the place of the unseen and of death. That is what Jesus is saying. Hades is the place where the dead are waiting for judgment.

It is a parallel word to shiol in the Old Testament. Those who do not believe in God, that they are going to a place that is often translated in today’s translations as hell. Some of the newer translations use the word Hades.

It is the place where the unrighteous go to wait for judgment. Revelation six, verse eight, in describing the tribulation period, John the Revelator said, and I looked and behold, a pale horse and his name that sat on him was death and hell or Hades followed with him. And power was given unto them over a fourth part of the earth to kill with sword and with hunger and with death and with the beasts of the earth.

And so we think about that, a fourth. There’s 7 billion people today, over 7 billion. We’ll quickly be at eight.

But let’s just take that out and extrapolate that. That would be over 2 billion people. 2 billion people are destroyed.

Death and Hades followed this pale horse. And it is speaking metaphorically about how God is going to bring death during the tribulation and there’s gonna be just a rise in the number of people who are dying. There are times I think maybe we may already be in the tribulation.

Before COVID, I only did about seven to eight funerals a year. Now I do sometimes up to 22 funerals a year. Death is on the rise.

We can all speculate and we can contemplate what might be the cause of it. But my point is that one day it’s gonna go even higher. That death will be so prevalent in the world.

And the Bible says that’s the way it’ll be in the tribulation. Now when we think of Hades as we mentioned to you, it is a comparative word or parallel word of Sheol. Now I want you to take your Bible and go to the Gospel of Luke.

Join me, grab your Bible. This is a Bible-believing church. And I know some of you have your devices.

I’m old-fashioned. I still like to grab my Bible. But whether you’re using a device or you’re using the old-fashioned Bible, get to Luke chapter 16.

Luke chapter 16, Jesus describes or tells a story about a rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus and how this rich man had everything in the world. And this beggar had nothing in the world. It is a picture of the contrast of their life and then how the rich man ended up being cast into hell or as we’ll see the Greek word Hades.

And the beggar was in Abraham’s bosom, which again was a holding place for the righteous waiting for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. So I’m gonna pick up in verse 22 just because of time. And it says, so it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.

The rich man also died and he was buried. But look in verse 23 where he goes. And being in torment, the new King James says in Hades, the King James says, hell, he lifted up his eyes and he saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.

And he cried and he said, father, Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame. This place called Hades, this place that is often translated hell, this place where the unrighteous go, the unbelievers go in this time period that we are in now, this is a place of torment. It is a place where the rich man desired just a tip on the tip of his tongue, a drop of water that he might find just a moment, a millisecond of relief from the torture that he was in so he could cool his tongue.

And the Bible is very clear that this is the place that anyone goes that does not believe in Christ. Jesus described it as a place where there’s weeping and there is gnashing of teeth. Often there will be songs written and there will be unbelievers who will proclaim on stickers and bulletin boards that they’re gonna have a party in hell.

And I’m telling you, friends, in hell, there is no partying, there is weeping. And there is gnashing of teeth. And if you have ever stubbed your toe, if you have ever hit your knee, if you have ever taken a hammer and instead of hitting the nail, you chose to hit your thumb, you know what gnashing of teeth is.

And you, in that moment, the pain was excruciating. But would you imagine with me what that would be like throughout eternity, every day, every hour, and every second gnashing your teeth. The Bible teaches us that unbelievers go to a place that is called Hades or translated as hell.

It is a place where those who do not follow Christ are sent for punishment, but it is not their final place. It is not their final dwelling place. It is a place that’ll eventually give them up to stand before God in the great white throne judgment.

Some of you may be wondering, how can I avoid Hades? How can I avoid hell? Friends, it’s very simple. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ today and you will be saved.

Call upon the Lord and whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be what church? Saved. There’s nobody that I’m aware of in this church that wants you to go to hell. And people say, I don’t believe in a God who sends people to hell.

Well, friends, that’s certainly something we could spend some time talking about. But God’s not sending anybody to hell. People are choosing to go to hell.

Do you understand that? As I had just recently told someone, they had remembered what I had said many years ago, that if you go to hell, you’ve got to climb over the church. You’ve got to climb over the Bible. If you go to hell, you’ve got to climb over the prayers of your mother.

If you go to hell, you have to climb over the prayers of God’s people who are crying out day and night that God would save your soul, awaken your heart and draw you to him and that you would have a love for God birthed in your heart. Friends, it’s harder to go to hell than it is to go to heaven. And I want you to know that people are working overtime and sacrificing diligently so that more and more people can go to heaven and that they can choose to receive Jesus Christ as their savior.

Can God’s people say amen? But people choose to go to hell, do you understand that? People choose to go to hell. And I can believe in a God who has made it every possible way to have my sins forgiven. And has made it possible for me to receive Christ and to inherit eternal life in heaven with him.

I can believe in that kind of a God. Now, Hades is also something we need to understand that is often misinterpreted. The Bible says that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.

Again, it is not referring to the final dwelling place. It is talking about death. It is talking about the place of the demonic and the place of the unseen.

And what Jesus is saying is that all the demonic forces and all of hell, or if you will, Hades, cannot stop the work of Christ and the church no matter what they try. The grave could not hold our savior and the grave will not hold believers because one day the Bible says that the dead in Christ shall rise. Yes, we are not going to be victims.

We are not gonna run around and say poor me and have pity. We understand what the scripture says. Oh, death, where is your victory? Oh, death, where is your sting? The sting of death has been muted.

It has been gotten rid of because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that’s why we have so much hope. I gotta hustle here.

We’re on point number three, if you’re keeping time, and that is that we’re on the letter Gehenna. Gehenna is another word in the Bible, the New Testament, that refers to hell. Gehenna appears 12 times in the New Testament.

Jesus, when speaking to the religious crowd, he said in Matthew 23, verse 33, you serpents, you generation of vipers. I love that. You say, wow, that’s not too positive, is it? It isn’t, so I always tell people my preaching is not as harsh as Jesus’ preaching, amen? I mean, I haven’t called you a viper yet and I haven’t called you a serpent.

I’ve had a few people call me the devil and a demon, but I’ve never called you a devil and I’ve never called you a serpent. But Jesus looked these people square in the eye and he said, you’re serpents and you’re a generation of vipers and how can you escape the damnation of Gehenna? Translated, hell. Gehenna was a place outside of Jerusalem.

It was a place that they took the dead animals, they took their trash, and they took all their filth and they put it in this place and they just burned it. And there was so much filth and so much trash and so many dead animals in that place, it was always burning. And Jesus would use that as an example, as an illustration of hell.

And he said, how are you gonna escape Gehenna? Now, the religious crowd, man, they were like, what? We’re religious. We are from Abraham. We got it in our blood.

We got it in our heritage. There’s no way God would send us to hell. But friends, I want you to know that you can grow up in the church, you can have Christian parents and you could have cut your teeth on these pews and I can see some of those marks.

But friends, unless you come to Jesus Christ and repent of your sins and believe in Christ, you will split hell wide open. And Jesus wants you to understand it’s a filthy place. It’s a place where there’s constant fire.

It’s a place where there’s constant burning. It’s a place where there’s constant suffering. It is like Gehenna outside of Jerusalem.

It’s where the dead go that do not believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 10, verse 28, fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him, which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Now the fire we know is a fire that consumes, it melts, it destroys, it disintegrates.

But the fire that’s in Gehenna or in hell is a fire that yes, it does burn. It apparently is a different fire because it does not give off light because the Bible says it’ll be eternal darkness. And it is not a fire that consumes the body and consumes the soul, but it is a fire that tortures the soul and body.

It is constant and it will never end. It is the place that we go who do not believe in Jesus Christ. Number four, hang in there.

We’re gonna make it after all. And that is the lake of fire. We read about the lake of fire in Revelation chapter 20.

It is also mentioned in chapter 19. This lake of fire is mentioned in Mark chapter nine, as well as Luke chapter 16. The lake of fire is the final place for those who do not believe.

For those who do not believe now in this time period, they go to Gehenna or we might refer to it as Hades. It is the place of the dead. It is the place where there is suffering.

But the Bible says one day that Hades will give up the dead, the unrighteous dead. And the Bible, and I just read it to you, that they will stand before God. They’ll give an account of their works, the evil that they did, their evil motives, their injustices, their desire to hurt, to kill, to destroy their hate for God.

And the Bible tells us that they will be cast along with Satan and his demons into the lake of fire. I want you to look at Revelation chapter 20 in verse 10. The devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

And the Bible reminds us in verse 14 of chapter 20 that death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

People say, man, I can’t wait to get to hell. I wanna go to hell. Let me tell you something, friends.

There will never be one person that wants to go to hell because the Bible tells us they had to be cast into hell. They didn’t jump into hell. They didn’t willingly go to hell.

They had to be cast into hell because they didn’t wanna be there because when the doors of the lake of fire was open, all they could see was the torment and the torture and the burning and the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. And my friend, I want you to know that they did not wanna go when they had to be cast into the lake of fire. But I give you hope today because those names who are written in the Lamb’s book of life do not need to fear this terrible fate for it is by faith in Christ and his work on the cross that our sins are forgiven and we as believers are destined to live eternally in the presence of God.

I said there’s five words. Let me get this last word in so we don’t have to drag this sermon out. And that is the Greek word tartarus.

It is found in what was read in our scripture today in the scripture reading 2 Peter 2, 4. And the Bible says, for if God did not spare the angels who sin but cast them down to hell or tartarus and delivered them into the chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment. This is a pagan term that developed in the Greek culture in the Greco Roman world. And it was often referred to as a place for the dead.

And so Peter, the apostle later in his life as he’s writing 2 Peter, he uses this Greek word. It’s the only time it’s used in the New Testament or anywhere in the Bible, but it is translated to understood to be cast in to hell. We know in other writings, historical writings of the Greeks, it was often referred to as a place of punishment for fallen angel.

My friends, I want you to understand those different words, but more importantly, I want you to avoid going to hell. I want you to believe in Jesus Christ. I want you to trust him.

As I’ve told you, the souls of the righteous are immediately in the presence of God. The Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Your loved ones are with Jesus when you and I leave this world.

Don’t be sad for Mike because he’s in the presence of God and in thy presence is fullness of joy. And at thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. As I’ve told you before, church, when somebody goes to heaven, they do not say, man, this is a disappointment.

They don’t think it’s a downer. They don’t feel let down. They’re like, wow, it’s mind blowing.

They’re like, Lord, can I go back and tell them how great and awesome it is? He said, I got preachers down there that’ll tell them. My word will tell them. And they need to believe by faith.

And so it is my friends, that is important. And so what is our response this morning? Three words real quickly and I’ll get you out of here. First, if you are a saved born again believer, would you rejoice that God has spared you and saved you from his wrath and this place called hell? He didn’t have to.

He didn’t have to save your soul. There’s nothing in heaven that said he had to save you. But through grace and mercy and loving kindness, he stooped down, sent his only begotten son and his son lived a sinless life, qualified him to die for our sins.

And he was put on a cross and he took your punishment, my punishment for our sins. And my friends, he was buried. And then three days later, he rose again.

And friends, all who believe in Christ not only have their sins forgiven, but they have a home in heaven. And Jesus said to his believers that one day he would return for them. I go to prepare a place for you, Jesus said.

And where I am there, you will be also. And I don’t know, but if nothing else, you ought to be rejoicing. And as I taught in Sunday school to the young adults, that we ought to be full of joy, that your joy may be full or complete.

And we should be these people that are most joyful because we have a home in heaven and we have been rescued from the wrath of God and the punishment of sin. Second of all, what should I do? Not only rejoice, but reach, reach out church. I’m telling you, I don’t want anybody to go to hell.

And the Bible says in 2 Peter 2.9, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That means I have a job every day. You think you’re at your job for your job.

You’re at your job for your money. You’re at your job for your pension. I’m telling you, you’re at your job to reach people for Christ.

And some of you say, well, I don’t know anybody. And you know, I just got a small circle. Friends, reach them for God.

Some of you say, I don’t like to talk to people. I don’t like to be friendly. We need to work on you, but get filled with the spirit and we need you to understand that you have a job.

Maybe you could send a track. When I got saved, I sent a track to everyone in my family. They all thought I was following a cult.

They didn’t know what happened to Mike, but I wanted everybody to be saved. I knocked on all the doors. My preacher told me to do that.

Now, I haven’t told you to go knock on doors, but I’m not against it, but I knocked on every door and tried to witness to everybody just because I didn’t want anybody to go to hell. You say, pastor, why? Do you get up early, stay up late? Because I don’t want anybody to go to hell. Why will you do whatever it takes? Because friends, I don’t want anybody to go to hell.

And I want you to reach out. And some of you moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas, would you start right with your children? Would you be a missionary to your grandchildren? Would you be a missionary to the people in your own family? Maybe you don’t like to talk to strangers like Pastor Mike does. I go into Cracker Barrel shaking hands, slapping high fives, and just talking to anybody and everybody.

And there my food is getting cold. But I wanna see people saved, amen? Church, the reason you sacrificed for Sunday school, the reason you sacrificed for Awana, the reason you sacrificed for the youth group, the reason you’re doing everything that you’re doing around this place. And I’m sorry if I missed you.

Yes, I don’t wanna forget the nursery workers who are saying, when’s this guy gonna get done right now? But listen, the reason we sacrifice is we wanna see people saved. Hell should motivate you to tell others about Christ. Finally, is respond.

If you’re here this morning, if you’re listening on radio, if you’re watching on television, if you are watching on internet right now and you don’t know Jesus Christ, respond to him. If you say, man, if I died right now, I don’t know if I’m going to heaven. Let’s get that settled right now.

I want us to bow our heads right now, church. I want us to close our eyes. I mean, the most important time to me is this moment.

And you say, man, I don’t know, pastor. I wish I could tell you the stories of people in this moment gave their life to Christ. I wish the people that have come to me and said, pastor, I received Christ while you were preaching, while you gave the invitation.

That’s why I want you Christians praying right now. You never know who shows up in this church and you never know who needs Jesus. I want you praying, but if you’re here this morning and you don’t know Jesus Christ as your savior, your steps to finding salvation and avoiding hell is first to acknowledge that you’re a sinner.

To just be real with God and say, Lord, I’m a sinner in need of a savior. Your second step is to believe. Believe that Christ died for your sins.

Believe that Christ went to that cross for you, that you should have been punished, but he took your place. Believe that, my friends, because the Bible teaches it. And final step, call upon Christ.

In prayer, ask him to forgive you of your sins. In prayer, ask him to be your savior. In prayer, receive him as your Lord.

Submit your life to him. And whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. The gospel is worthy of a response.

You say, I might do this later. I might do this another time, but you’re not promised another minute, church. You’re not promised another moment.

Please, make your decision today. Believers, make a decision to reach out, to send a track, to send a book, to give your testimony to your grandkids, to let people know how you came to Christ, to tell your children how much you love God, to reach out to that stranger, to tell them about Christ, wherever and whoever God puts in your place. I promise you that he will not turn away a broken heart and he will come and he will protect you from the wrath of God and you will receive eternal life as you believe in him.

Now, we encourage you to learn more about this and I know you have a lot of questions. So, go to hopeworthhaving.com and there are more sermons on hell, there are more sermons on the afterlife. Take some time to reflect, review.

Feel free to send us any questions. Just hit the contact button on the website and we’ll be glad to respond to you. This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ, there is hope worth having.

The post What Does the Bible Mean When it Speaks on Hell Part 2 first appeared on Hope Worth Having.

Pastor Mike will be speaking on What Does the Bible Mean When it Speaks on Hell Part 1. He will be reading out of Revelations 20: 11-15.

I want you to understand that what means most to any of us is are we going to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus or are we going to be separated from God in a place called hell? Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders from the Open Door Church. We welcome you to the Hope Worth Having radio broadcast. We’re excited to be able to minister God’s Word to you today.

We’re going to be in Revelation chapter 20. Whenever we talk about the book of Revelation, immediately people’s minds go to prophecy. Certainly, that’s right, but today we’re going to be talking about what does the Bible mean when it speaks of hell.

Here’s a message that you might not hear a lot, but it is a message that is straightforward on the subject and the topic of hell. If you have your Bible this morning, I want you to join me in the book of Revelation. We’re continuing our study that we began a few weeks ago about five questions about heaven and five questions about hell, but today I want to address this question about hell.

What does the Bible mean when it speaks of hell? According to a 2023 Gallup poll, 59% of Americans believe in hell. Now, we might think that is wonderful, but this is down from 66% in 2019. Perhaps it is because of COVID-19 and the pandemic that took place.

Perhaps all the uncertainty caused people to desire something more hopeful or better. Perhaps it caused them to question the legitimacy of an afterlife in which there are people who are punished for their sins, but the Bible never wavers and it never backs down from the truth. The Bible is straightforward.

The Bible tells us like it really is, and the Bible declares that there is a heaven and that there is a hell, and the Bible teaches us that when we leave this world, we are either going to heaven or we are going to hell. I want you to note what the Scripture says about a particularly unique situation here referred to as the great white throne judgment. This is what John the Revelator wrote under the inspiration of the Spirit of God.

He said in verse 11 of chapter 20 of the book of Revelation, Then I saw a great white throne, and him, referring to Christ, who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life.

And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades, or hell, delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his works. Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.

This is the second death, and anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. The most critical question, the most important question that you must answer today, is my name written in the Lamb’s book of life? Now, I want you to understand that. I’m giving you a lot of information today, and for many of you that love Jesus Christ, you’re going to eat it up, you’re going to love it, you’re going to enjoy it, and you’re going to grow in your faith and your knowledge and understanding what the Scripture teaches about hell.

But friends, this is not an academic exercise. This is not something so that you can be puffed up in knowledge about what the Bible teaches about hell. I want you to understand that what means most to any of us is, are we going to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus, or are we going to be separated from God in a place called hell? And the only way that you can spend eternity with Jesus is that you must put your faith and your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation.

So as I give you this information, do not forget the importance of making sure that in each of our hearts that we have trusted in Jesus Christ, that we know Him as our Lord, that we have received Him as our Savior, that we know without a shadow of a doubt that when we leave this world, that we’re going to be in the presence of God Almighty in heaven. Now in Revelation chapter 20, you will note the words that I read from the Scriptures, that what was taking place was a big judgment scenario in which God is brought before all the unjust, those who do not believe in God, who do not believe in Christ, the ungodly, and He is judging them. You say, what about us, Pastor Mike? Well, friends, our sins for those who love God, for those who believe in Christ, our sins were judged on the cross by Jesus Christ.

That’s why we have communion. That’s why we’re going to take time, and we’re going to remember what Christ did for us, and we’re going to celebrate what Christ did for us. We don’t have to live in fear.

We don’t have to live in guilt. We don’t have to live in the terror of thinking, where am I going to spend eternity, because our sins are under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the Bible teaches us in this text that there will be a resurrection, and there is not only a resurrection of the just, the Bible teaches us in John chapter 5 and 1 Corinthians 15, but there is a resurrection of the unjust, and they must give an account of their life, and that they will be judged according to their works.

Now you say, Pastor, I thought you couldn’t work your way to heaven. Amen. Amen.

You cannot work your way to heaven. It is only through Christ that you come to heaven, for by grace are you saved through faith. That not of works.

It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should what? Boast. You can’t go to heaven and say, man, look at me, God. I was there.

I was at church. Look at me, God. Look what at all that I accomplished for you, and look what I achieved for you.

No, you can’t do that, because it’s all through the grace of God, and God’s people said amen. Let me tell you something, and sometimes there’s a misnomer and a misunderstanding about hell, is those who do not believe in Christ will be cast into hell, but they will be judged according to their works, that there are degrees in hell, and they will be judged according to their works, the evil that they did, and there will be punishment for the evil, just like there will be rewards for the faithful. Some of you, you’re gonna make it into heaven because of all that Christ did, rightly so, all of us, but some of you, you haven’t lifted a finger for Jesus, and you’re not gonna get any rewards in heaven.

Some of you, buddy, you’re okay. Just come to church, sit on the sidelines, complain about this, complain about that, but you’re not interested in getting involved and serving Jesus Christ. You know, friends, as believers, we’re gonna be rewarded for our works.

We’re not saved by works, but we are rewarded. We were created unto good works. You were saved to serve, and God will reward you one day for your faithfulness to him, and your obedience to him, and what you did, and what you sacrificed for him, and Jesus talks about being rewarded a hundred times more for what you gave up for him, but the reverse is true as well, relating to those who do not believe in Christ, that they will be judged according to their works.

I think the Scriptures are clear, and it is repeated several times in this text that we mentioned to you, but I want you to understand at the end of the history, after the resurrections, the unjust will stand before God, and they will be judged. They’ve already been in hell, but now they’re going to the lake of fire, which I’ll help you understand here, and they will be judged. The book of Revelation reminds us there is a tribulation period coming.

We believe with all of our hearts, and we believe it makes the most common sense that the rapture is before the tribulation, and that the tribulation is seven years, and then upon the completion of that seven years, the return of Christ will come, and he will have the battle of Armageddon, where he will destroy the nations of the earth, and the ungodly, and those who will not follow Christ, and refuse to believe in him, and then he will establish a thousand-year reign, often referred to as the Millennial Kingdom, and in this thousand-year reign, Jesus will fulfill all the prophecies that were made by the Old Testament prophets, in that he will sit in the seat of David, he will rule and reign from Jerusalem, and he will rule as a king, as a lion over this entire world, and there will be peace, and there will be justice, and every wrong will be made right. You and I, we look at this world, and we get, as the scripture read earlier, vexed in our souls. We are hurting, and we are groaning, because we want something so much better than what this world can offer us, and we know that mankind is corrupt, and that they will do everything to have power, and authority, and money, and they will do injustice in order to accomplish their demonic agenda, but there’s coming a day, there’s coming a day, when all that will be rectified, and we will stand in the presence of God, think about it, church, and we will be with the Lord, and we will be with our loved ones, and in this thousand-year reign, God will be the boss of this world, and he’ll be the boss of all the details of the government of this world, and my friends, it’ll be incredible, it’ll be beyond what we can imagine, or even conceive in our minds, but let me just say this, at the end of that thousand-year reign, there is another final judgment, and that is the judgment the Bible teaches, and you can read about it in Revelation, chapter 20, that I just read, but other verses in that, Satan is going to be loosed.

During the thousand years, he is bound, but then he is loosed again, and you say, man, why? I get asked this all the time, why is Satan loosed again? Amen? Why is he loosed again? These are good questions, friends, but I want to help you, and I don’t want to get too information overload here, you guys might just walk out of here, and your heads blow up, but let me tell you something, and I can’t explain it all in detail right now, because of time, okay, because I haven’t even, I’m still in my introduction, and I got five points, and I’m getting worried, and I’m thinking, Mike, in my head, get to the point, but I got to explain something to you first, why would Satan be released again? There are people who will be born in the tribulation, and there will be people who are born in the thousand-year reign, that like all other dispensations or time periods, they have to make a decision for Jesus, they have to make a decision for Christ, and Satan will be loosed, and the Bible teaches us he’ll lead many astray again. You say, I thought there was gonna be righteousness and peace, yes, in decision-making, and how things are governed, and how God controls and guides everything, but you still have a free will, and you still have a heart that has to make a choice, and you still have to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and there’s some, as you even see today, they conform on the outside, but in their heart, they are far from God. They do not believe in Jesus, they do not trust in Christ, and what’s so amazing, and this is what I try to explain, and this is why I don’t want parents to get too discouraged about raising your children, is that, think about this, that Jesus being the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, sitting on the throne of David, ruling the world with peace and justice, and everything being so beautiful and wonderful, and yet the Bible teaches there’ll still be some who will not believe.

You can have the best of circumstances and still not follow Jesus, and that’s why parents, you just do a good job, you do what God tells you to do, and then it’s up to the kids to make a decision, amen? That’s your fault, don’t be walking around with guilt, you did everything right. Were you perfect? No, welcome to humanity, okay? Wait till your kids are parents, amen? All right, and they’re gonna be like, wow, mom and dad weren’t so bad after all, but here’s what I’m trying to tell you, is that people have to make a decision for Christ, and so we come to verse 11 of Revelation, and now it’s the end of the millennial kingdom, and now God has brought all the unjust before him at the great wine-thrown judgment, and they are now being dealt with and held accountable for their evil deeds, and the Bible tells us, I want you to look at verse 13 of chapter 20, that the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades, in the King James it says, hell, delivered up the dead. That ought to spark a lot of questions in your mind, but they delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his words, so what does the Bible mean when it speaks of hell? So I want us to look at five words today that help us to understand what the Bible means when it talks about hell, so if you’re taking notes, number one is the word Sheol, which is a Hebrew word, and it is describing the fate of the dead, it is a word in the Old Testament, we see it in Isaiah chapter 14 and verse 15, when God was judging Lucifer, Lucifer was a beautiful angel in heaven, Lucifer was the angelic choir leader of heaven and led all the angels in glory and praise to God Almighty, but Lucifer decided he wanted to be God, and Lucifer decided that he wanted to be in charge, and Lucifer thought it was all about him, and the Bible says that he lifted up himself in his heart, and God casted him out of heaven.

We know him now today as Satan and the fallen angels as demons. People say, Pastor, do you believe in UFOs? Do you believe in these aliens? Now friends, I’m not a guy who’s so much into aliens and UFOs, but I do believe there are demonic fallen angels that crisscross this world, and they present themselves in different ways of deception to try to lead not only the people of God astray, but to lead the world astray and to follow the ways of Satan, but do I believe there’s other living beings on other planets? No, and the biggest reason is, is what I understand in the gospel, is that Jesus Christ died on the cross for sinners, and I believe those sinners were on planet earth, and that if there are other spirits that are out there from the fallen world of the beginning of creation, that they are out there to mislead scientists, and to mislead astronomers, and to mislead explorers, and those who might want to think that somehow there’s another dimension, and there is another world of living people. No, friends, Jesus died on the cross.

He died for sinners on this earth, and do you think God somehow created another planet? I mean, it gets really wacky when you start thinking about this. So who are these UFOs? Who are they? They’re demonic spirits. I’m not saying they aren’t true.

I mean, I see some of these videos floating out, and I see all this, but here’s what I want you to know, that Satan and a third of the angels were cast out of heaven, and Isaiah 14 verse 15 says, in response to this, this is God’s thunderous word, yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, meaning the fate of the dead, to the lowest depths of the pit. Jesus taught us that hell was created for Satan and his demons. Sheol is referred to in the Bible as a place for the dead, and we see in Psalm 6 verse 5, for in death there is no remembrance of you, as the psalmist is expressing his sorrow, and he is expressing his frustration with the advancement of evil in the world.

He says in this psalm, he is lamenting in death there is no remembrance of God. In the grave, it is the Hebrew word Sheol, who will give you thanks again. We see over and over again in the Bible the reference to Sheol, and sometimes it has various meanings, but you might look at it like this.

First of all, that when we think of Sheol in the Old Testament, it is referring to the grave. It is referring to the grave. Often it is translated hell in the Old Testament, but it is simply referring to the grave.

There are other times in context that Sheol is referring to the spirit world. It is referring to the spirit world, and then finally, as we understand Sheol as it refers to the spirit world, it always is applying to those who are unrighteous, who do not believe in God, who do not follow God, and so when you see in the Bible the word hell, certainly in the Old Testament it’s going to be Sheol, and it is referring to the unrighteous, those who are in a place where the unrighteous are held until they are finally brought forth. Remember in Revelation, the Bible says that death and Hades gave them up, meaning there was a place that the unbelievers go.

We’ll talk more about that here in just a few minutes, and that’s what we’re talking about in Sheol. I want you to see in Proverbs chapter 23. Take your Bible and go back to Proverbs.

Don’t lose Revelation, but I want you to go with me to Proverbs 23. Now whenever you read the book of Proverbs, don’t throw stones at me, don’t throw rotten tomatoes at me. I need to teach you something, church.

Some of you are gonna be mad at me, but the book of Proverbs is not a book of promises. It’s not a book of promises. It’s a book of truth and general observations, and the reason you need to understand that is that some of you quote to me the book of Proverbs as if it was a promise to you, and it’s not.

You’re misunderstanding this book, that in general this is what he is teaching us to be true, and when we come to chapter 23, he is addressing in verse 13 and 14 the issue of parenting. There are three things people don’t want you to talk to them about. Number one is their marriage, number two is their finances, and number three is their parenting.

You want to get people stirred up? Just start talking about those things. That’ll get them all fired up, but here the Bible gives you a general observation about raising children. Listen, do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.

Sometimes you hear people say, well, that kid needs a spanking. Now don’t turn me in. All my kids are raised, okay, and in our house we had a little paddle called Mr. Move-It, okay.

Mr. Move-It was highly effective until about the age eight, and then they started running faster than me, but anyways, he says in verse 14, you shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell. It’s the Hebrew word sheol. Now here he is talking about the unrighteous, and he’s saying generally when children are corrected and they are disciplined, they’re going to turn out to be good people who love God and follow God, but is that a promise? No, because we know that’s not always true, but what he is telling us, please parents, correct your children, please discipline your children, and he does tell you to use a rod.

It was never a firm rod. It was a flexible rod, but it was a rod that left a sting. It’s kind of like grandma used to say, how many of you remember had grandma or mom go out there and say, go out there and get that switch in the backyard, and buddy, right on the back of the gluteus maxus muscle where it stings the most, but anyways, what I want you to know is sheol is the place where the unrighteous are held until one day that they will be given up for that final great white throne judgment.

The second word is the word Hades. Hades is a Greek word. It is in the New Testament.

In the Old Testament, the Bible was written in Hebrew. There’s a few passages in Daniel that are written in Aramaic, but in general, the Old Testament is written in Hebrew. In the New Testament, it is written in Greek, but in the Greek, the word Hades is also the place of the unseen or the place of the dead.

Jesus said in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 18, I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of hell or the keys of Hades and of death.

He is saying that when you have the keys, you have the authority. I have the authority of Hades or the place of the unseen and of death. That is what Jesus is saying.

Hades is the place where the dead are waiting for judgment. It is a parallel word to sheol in the Old Testament. Those who do not believe in God, that they are going to a place that is often translated in today’s translations as hell.

Some of the newer translations use the word Hades. It is the place where the unrighteous go to wait for judgment. Revelation 6 verse 8 in describing the tribulation period, John the Revelator said, and I looked and behold, a pale horse and his name that sat on him was death and hell or Hades followed with him.

And power was given unto them over a fourth part of the earth to kill with sword and with hunger and with death and with the beasts of the earth. And so we think about that, a fourth. There’s seven billion people today, over seven billion.

We’ll quickly be at eight. But let’s just take that out and extrapolate that. That would be over two billion people.

Two billion people are destroyed. Death and Hades followed this pale horse. And it is speaking metaphorically about how God is going to bring death during the tribulation and there’s going to be just a rise in the number of people who are dying.

There are times I think maybe we may already be in the tribulation. Before COVID, I only did about seven to eight funerals a year. Now I do sometimes up to 22 funerals a year.

Death is on the rise. We can all speculate and we can contemplate what might be the cause of it. But my point is that one day it’s gonna go even higher.

That death will be so prevalent in the world. And the Bible says that’s the way it’ll be in the tribulation. Now when we think of Hades as we mentioned to you, it is a comparative word or parallel word of Sheol.

Now I want you to take your Bible and go to the Gospel of Luke. Join me. Grab your Bible.

This is a Bible believing church. And I know some of you have your devices. I’m old-fashioned.

I still like to grab my Bible. But whether you’re using a device or you’re using the old-fashioned Bible, get to Luke chapter 16. Luke chapter 16, Jesus describes or tells a story about a rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus and how this rich man had everything in the world and this beggar had nothing in the world.

It is a picture of the contrast of their life and then how the rich man ended up being cast into hell or as we’ll see the Greek word Hades. And the beggar was in Abraham’s bosom which again was a holding place for the righteous waiting for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. So I’m gonna pick up in verse 22 just because of time and it says, So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.

The rich man also died and he was buried. But look in verse 23 where he goes and being in torment, the new King James says in Hades, the King James says hell. He lifted up his eyes and he saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.

The Bible reminds us because of our stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the judgment of God who will repay each person according to his deeds. That’s a pretty powerful set of verses there and that’s why we understand that hell is real and it’s not something made up. It’s in the Bible.

We believe the Word of God. It’s not mythical, it’s not even metaphorical, but rather it’s a real place. And so I hope that the terror of the Lord and the justice of God and the holiness of God awakens your heart to believe in Him and trust Him as your Savior.

We encourage you to make sure you check out our website and sign up for our newsletter, HopeWorthHaving.com. We put out a newsletter. You can get it right to your email and just giving you updates about the ministries and opportunities on how you can be a part. So take advantage of that.

This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.

The post What Does the Bible Mean When it Speaks on Hell Part 1 first appeared on Hope Worth Having.

Pastor Mike will be speaking on What Does the Bible Mean When it Speaks on Heaven Part 2. He will be reading out of 2nd Corinthians 12:2-4.

Yes, Christ is returning. He will descend from heaven. The archangel will shout, and the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised, and believers will be caught up, and we will meet the Lord in the air.

You better make sure that you are ready to meet Jesus Christ. Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders all the way from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Hopeworth having radio, and we are delighted that you’re with us, and we’re looking forward to what God has to say, and we’re continuing to learn about what does the Bible mean when it speaks of heaven.

We’ll be in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 2 and 4. A lot of people have questions about heaven, and they want to know what that means, and we want to learn more about what the Bible teaches about heaven. So let’s get into this study and take advantage of it. Heaven is like a utopia.

It is a beautiful place. It is a place where there is no sin, and there is no sorrow. This place, the third heaven, referred to as paradise in our texts, the apostle says is inexpressible.

It’s very hard for us to articulate and describe all that the apostle saw when God took him to the third heaven, and he saw things, and he heard things that he could not articulate, that he could not explain, that he could not fully share with the people of God. It is this third heaven that I want you to understand what the Bible teaches us about. A few weeks ago, we learned, first of all, that heaven is a place where God dwells.

Over and over again, we see that Jesus was a man of prayer, and Jesus set that example for us, and he prayed, and he gave us a template on how to pray and what to pray, and we know that prayer is often referred to as the Lord’s Prayer, and we know it starts out in Matthew chapter 6 as our Father, which art in heaven, for even Jesus our Lord and Savior recognized that heaven is the dwelling place of God. The second thing that we learned is that heaven is a place where angels dwell. We talked a little bit about angels and their ministry to us.

We talked about how God does give us guardian angels according to Matthew 18 and verse 10, and we understand that God uses angels to intervene into our lives, to perform his purposes, and to help us in our struggles and our difficulties in life, and that they are referred to as ministering angels. But the primary purpose of the angels is to be a messenger, a messenger. Think about those angels that gave that wonderful message to the shepherds about the birth of our Lord and Savior, and think about those angels that gave the wonderful message to the women who came to the tomb to find and look for our Savior, only to find that the angel said, he is not here.

Why are you looking for the living among the dead? They declared unto these women that Jesus Christ has risen, and he is alive today and forever more. Today I want us to learn thirdly that heaven is a place in which Jesus ascended from, and it is a place in which he will descend from. In heaven, Christ pre-existed with the Father.

You cannot be confused. The birth of our Savior was not the beginning of our Savior. We understand that God is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

We understand that Jesus Christ was there at the beginning. In John 17 verse 5, we are reminded that before the world existed, that Jesus Christ pre-existed with the Father. It was Jesus who was there with the Father, and he was there with the Spirit, and they created the world, and they created all the creatures of the world, and they created mankind, they created Adam, and they created Eve, and friends, they created time, and before time began, God already was.

You might struggle with that, but we encourage you to study the Gospel of John chapter 1, in which we are told that in the beginning, that God, that Christ, the Word, was, which is in the past tense, and means that he had already existed in the beginning of time. The Word was, and so he was God, he was with God, and he existed before time began, but Christ became flesh, and we understand that Jesus came from heaven, but we also understand that he returned to heaven, that after his resurrection, he walked on this earth for 40 days, and then he ascended to heaven, and he is now sitting at the right hand of the Father, and that one day, church, Jesus Christ will return from heaven, and he will establish his kingdom on this earth forever and ever. Can God’s people say amen? Forty days after his resurrection, Luke tells us that Jesus walked on this earth.

It wasn’t something magical. It wasn’t even mystical. It wasn’t something that was mysterious.

Jesus presented himself in his glorious body, a body that you and I will have one day like his. He presented himself to his apostles, and the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15 that he presented himself to over 500 people. In the court of law, two witnesses establishes everything.

In the book of the Old Testament, the prophet said that two witnesses establishes all truth, and here Jesus, giving us more than two witnesses, over 500 people witnessed his resurrected body and interacted with him, and they felt him, and they touched him, and they witnessed and saw a resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ, and then the Bible tells us on the Mount of Olives, he dramatically ascended into heaven. Amazingly, in his glorified body, Jesus defied gravity, and he demonstrated the power of God as he ascended into the heavenly dwelling of God the Father, and there Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of the Father. Now, since the ascension of Jesus Christ, that conquering spirit that was demonstrated on the ascension of Jesus Christ, that great demonstration of the power of God, it is that conquering spirit of power and life that now reigns within each and every believer that lives by faith.

That is why the psalmist said that he is the lifter up of my head, and that is why your pastor always tells you get your head up because you have a Savior, and you have the Spirit of God living within you, and we’re not to be people of self-pity, and we’re not to be bemoaning our circumstances. We are not to be those who are victims, but rather we are victorious in the Lord Jesus Christ. We take our Bible, and we turn this morning to Acts chapter 1. I want you to go there with me.

The book of Acts, if you’re not familiar, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and then Acts chapter 1. Acts chapter 1, we are given a picture of this ascension of our Savior, one that you as a believer must spend much time on, and you must consider these wonderful truths and this great demonstration of the power of God in defying gravity and overcoming this world. It is in verse 9 through 11 of Acts chapter 1. Now, when he had spoken these things, while they watched, who was watching? The disciples. He was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel. There’s those angels again, who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go in to heaven. It is on the Mount of Olives that you and I can see Jesus ascending into heaven.

And after he has commissioned his disciples to go and take the gospel to the ends of the earth, to every person on this planet, he reminds them that one day he’s coming back. And that is the motivation and the stimulation that we need, that we might be faithful in what God has called us in these days. Because one day, church, we will see him return on the Mount of Olives.

Yes, Christ is returning. I want you to know that, church. I want you to be reaffirmed in that.

I want you to build your hope in that. He will descend from heaven. The archangel will shout, and the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised, and believers will be caught up, and we will meet the Lord in the air.

You better make sure that you are ready to meet Jesus Christ. Now, friends, Jesus gave us the signs of the times, and we see and witness the signs of the times all around us. And they are signals to each of our hearts to make sure that we are ready to meet Jesus.

Now, you may be like those when Jesus called to follow him. They said that they had other things to do, and that they had to take care of this, and they had to take care of that, and then they would come and follow Jesus. No, my friends, there is nothing more important in your life than giving your life fully to Jesus Christ and following him today.

Because today is the day of salvation. It is not tomorrow. Today is the day that God is calling you.

It is essential that you launch in with a heart and a spirit excited and ready to meet the Lord Jesus Christ, for he is coming. The Bible says in Revelation 1-7, Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so, amen, he will return.

How will Jesus return? I want you to write this down. How will Jesus return? Well, the book of Acts tells us in verses 9-11. Do you remember what the angel said? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven.

First, it was a visible coming. It’s not like it’s going to be something that you can’t see. You know, every once in a while, I might show up somewhere, and nobody’s there, and I thought they were supposed to be there, and there’s nobody there, and I wonder if I missed the rapture.

Well, friends, you don’t have to worry, because when Jesus comes, it’ll be visible. It’ll be visible. You will see it.

You will know it. And so keep that in mind. But I also want you to know it’ll be a victorious coming.

Jesus Christ, not only rising from the grave, was a victorious message to his followers, but his ascension into heaven was a victorious message to his followers, and it is a reminder that we have a Savior who has overcome death. He has overcome sin, and he has overcome this world, and now, my friends, he is the victor, and his victory is our victory, and therefore, we march in victory with the Lord Jesus Christ. But it’s a literal coming.

It’s not something made up. It’s not something that is part of fantasy land or some story in a book, but it is a literal coming of Jesus Christ. But I also want you to see that it is a physical coming.

When Jesus comes from heaven, it will be physical. We will be able to not only witness and visualize him, but we will be able to touch him, and we will be able to eat with him, and we will be able to fellowship with him, and we will be able to interact with him. It is a physical coming.

It’s not a spiritual coming. It’s not just something that is some kind of a magical coming, but rather, it is the physical coming of Jesus Christ from heaven and church. That is so important to our hearts.

Now, what does his return mean to me? If you’re taking notes, you might write these down because this is important, is at first, I will be held accountable. How about that one? We live in a day and age people don’t want to be accountable. They want to live their life like they want to.

They want to do what they want to do. They want to be able to just live for the world, live for the flesh, and live for whatever, but I’m here to tell you, my friends, that the return of Christ means we are all accountable, whether we are believers or unbelievers. Listen to the words of the apostle in 2 Corinthians 5.10, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.

You got to give an account. As a believer, I’m accountable to God. Oh, my friends, do not be discouraged.

Do not misunderstand what I’m saying. The Bible tells us that there is now no condemnation to those who are in Jesus Christ. Yes, your sins have been forgiven if you believe in Jesus Christ.

Yes, your sins have been washed away, and my friends, he has taken care of your past, and he has risen from the grave to take care of your future, but in between your past and your future is the present, and God will hold you accountable for your life and how you live it for God and what you do for God. You’ll be held accountable. Now, some of you, you like to just sit and soak.

You like to just come and hear the pastor preach or hear the Sunday school teacher teach. You like to hear the testimonies. You like to sing the songs, but you walk out of here, and that’s the end of your faith.

It’s got to be beyond this pew. It’s got to be outside of this building, and you need to be serving regularly for the Lord Jesus Christ, and you need to be led of the spirit, and you need to be listening to what God is telling you to do or not to do, and you need to live your life for Christ, and you need to understand that God is calling you to be fully engaged on the front lines for him. You can’t just sit on the sidelines, and you can’t just complain about everything.

Don’t just sit on the sidelines and complain and find fault and want this or want that. Get in and be a part of the solution and get active for Jesus Christ because I’m telling you, you and I will be held accountable. The second thing, what does the return of Christ mean to me? It means I’ll be rewarded.

I will be rewarded. Rewards have to do with our service, not our salvation. Remember that our salvation was taken care of at the cross, and the moment that we repented and believed in Jesus Christ, our sins were washed away, and now we are a child of God, and the Bible says that God will give us everlasting life.

Now, how long is everlasting life? Forever, my friends. I’m a guy who believes the Bible. I’m a guy who takes the Bible at face value.

I don’t get into all this fancy of trying to divert or change this. I just believe what the word of God says, and you may have all your reasoning, and you may have all your questions, and you may have all your situations, but listen to me, friends. As I told my Sunday school class, we are called to walk by faith, not by explanations.

I don’t have all the answers to your questions, but I know who does, Jesus Christ, so I trust him and what he says, and I want you to know that salvation is a gift of God. For by grace are you saved through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast. Salvation is a gift of God, and rewards are based upon our work and service for God.

I’m not talking about your salvation. I’m talking about you being rewarded for what you have done for God, and some of you used to be so active for God, but you got your feelings hurt. Are you with me? You say, why’d you have to bring that up, pastor? Because it’s the truth, and so we get our feelings hurt, so we quit, and so we go hide, or we say we’re not going to do that anymore, and how’s that keeping the kingdom of God? How’s that helping the work of Christ? How’s that helping people get saved? Friends, I want you to know that if I quit every time that I was offended, I’m telling you I wouldn’t be the pastor of the open door church.

I don’t want you to misunderstand me, but I’ve been called the devil. I’ve been called the demon. I’ve been called a dictator.

I’ve been called all these names, and I tell people when they get fussy with me, and they start complaining to me, and they start whining to me, I say thank you for your input, and keep trucking for Jesus. Are you with me, church? Now, I can’t promise every member in this church is going to be perfect. How about that one? Guess what? We’re a fellowship of believers of imperfect people.

How about that? And even your pastor is imperfect. Let me tell you something. There’s nobody in this church.

Nobody in this church is going to stop me from living for Jesus and serving Jesus. If the elders rise up one day and say, Pastor Mike, it was a good run. You need to leave.

I’ll pack my bags. I’ll leave, and I’ll go somewhere else, but I’ll keep on serving Jesus. I’m not going to stand before God and say, Lord, I got on the sidelines because so-and-so hurt my feelings.

Friends, we live in an imperfect world, and people sometimes say stupid things, but I’m not going to stop serving Jesus because one day for my faithfulness to God and my obedience to God, I’m going to be rewarded by God when I stand in His presence. The Bible says in James 1.12, Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. Persevere.

Our motive rests in this glorious thought that one day Christ will return, and He will deliver us from this sin-filled world, and He will reward us for being faithful and obedient to Him. The third thing, what does His return mean to me, is that I will be reunited. We love 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 16 and 17.

There are Christians who are educated beyond their obedience, and they want to rip these verses out of the Bible, but I refuse to. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

I mean, it’s glorious enough to be with Jesus, amen, but to think that all of your loved ones, those who have preceded you in death, those who have already been promoted to heaven, those who have already graduated to heaven, that one day there’s going to be a great reunion, and we’re going to all be together, never to be separated again, and we can hug each other for as long as we want, and we can talk with each other as long as we want, and we can love on one another as much as we want, because we will be with Christ forever and ever and ever. Amen. In heaven, believers will enjoy blessed fellowship with others.

There are times we show up at our family reunions or our holiday get-togethers, and we wonder how that person ever got into our family, and we wonder, are they going to stir it up this Christmas or Thanksgiving, and then there are times that we gather, and someone’s supposed to be there, but they’re not. The chair is empty. They were with us last Thanksgiving, but now they’re in heaven.

When Jesus talked to his disciples, he reminded them and encouraged them. In John 16, verse 20, he said, Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice, and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy, and every tear that is shed and every heart that’s been broken and every heaviness that has been carried, because you miss your loved one in heaven, that sorrow one day at the return of Jesus will be turned into eternal joy, and you’ll never miss another meal with them, and you’ll never miss another moment with them, because you will be with them. Jesus consoles us with this hope, reminding us of an eternal reunion, and that one day he will return.

There is no sorrow in this life that can quench the hope and the joy of a promised eternal life with Jesus Christ. Now, my final point for you this morning is that heaven is a place where departed saints await their resurrections. Most people do not think about eternal life until they lose a loved one or a friend.

This is particularly those who are young, and when I officiate a funeral service, so many times the older people don’t have as many people come out, but when a young person dies, how they come out in droves, because the young do not think about eternal life, but it is important for us to think about eternal life. It’s important for us to think about where we will spend eternity. Will we be in eternity in heaven with Jesus, or will we be separated from Jesus in a place that is called hell? Believers who die in this present age reside in heaven.

The Bible says we are confident, yes, well pleased, rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. The moment that your loved one breathed their last breath, and the moment that they breathe this mortal air for the last time, in that instant, they instantaneously breathe immortal, eternal air in heaven with Jesus Christ. There is no in-between, and there is no religious ceremony necessary to help our brother or sister in Christ, our loved one who loves Jesus, to get from this world or some state of in-between into heaven.

You are instantly with Jesus upon the moment that God calls you home, and do not forget that church. The master craftsman from Nazareth, the carpenter, Jesus himself prepared a place for those who love him in heaven. Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you.

Each one of you who loves Jesus, who repented of your sins, and you believe in Christ, he is preparing a place for you. And when he drives that final nail into that beautiful mansion up in heaven for you, he orders his angels in heaven to come down the stairways of heaven and to come and get his faithful and obedient servant. He promotes us.

We are escorted up the stairways of heaven into the presence of a Savior who loves us, and we hear those precious words, well done, thou good and faithful, what church? Servant. That’s what I want to hear. I hope you want to hear it.

D.L. Moody was a great evangelist in the 19th century, and he said, someday you’ll read in the papers, D.L. Moody is dead, but don’t you believe it, for at that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. Your loved one in heaven is more alive than they have ever been, and they are not only enjoying the presence of God, but they are enjoying the fellowship of God’s people, and I want you to hold on to that truth, and I want you to be encouraged in that truth, and the Bible tells us that one day they will be resurrected. Romans 6, 5, for if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

It is his resurrection, meaning Jesus’s resurrection, requires our resurrection, because his resurrection is part of a larger resurrection. The Bible says the dead in Christ shall what? Rise. I love it.

The same spirit of the father who raised the son’s body from the dead in history will also raise our bodies. Christ’s resurrection is a promise to each of you this morning, that your loved one, and you as well, if God tarries, will rise. Hold on, church, to this hope.

Let this hope sustain you, because there will come a day when the sap of a shame that sticks to our souls because of our past, when that shame will finally and fully be washed away as we stand smiling in the presence of God who has forgiven us and made us whole. There is coming a day when parents will not weep beside the coffin that encases the body of their child, for a trumpet will blast from heaven, and the earth will birth new bodies resurrected in all of their beauty. There will come a day when beggars will feast, and mourners will dance, and undertakers will laugh at being forever out of work.

There will come a day, church, when the word sin will not be in the dictionary, and the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the child will lay down next to the lion, and every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. There will come a day, my friends, when the worst days of our lives will vanish like a dream. Death will be dead, and the grave will be buried, and moreover, all who believe in Christ will see the dawn of the first day of a new creation, of a new heaven, and a new earth, and we will forever reside in the presence of God, and we will be reunited with our loved ones in this place that is so glorious, so majestic, so awesome, and beyond our words to articulate to you this morning.

We will reside with Jesus and our loved ones forever and ever and ever. Would you pray with me? We want to encourage you to make sure that you are keeping up with us on Facebook. We are on Facebook.

We broadcast every Sunday live, and you can see the streaming of our morning service, so take advantage of that, and second of all, you can just like our page and follow along with different posts and things that are going on that we’re sharing about the ministry. This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.

The post What Does the Bible Mean When it Speaks on Heaven Part 2 first appeared on Hope Worth Having.

Pastor Mike will be speaking on What Does the Bible Mean When it Speaks on Heaven Part 1. He will be reading out of 2nd Corinthians 12:2-4.

People ask me, is there really guardian angels? I believe so. I believe that God has guardian angels and they have responsibilities. I believe angels minister to us.

Sometimes miraculously step into a situation and do phenomenal things on orders from God Almighty. Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders with Hope Worth Having. Thank you for tuning in to our radio station today.

We’re beginning a new series. What does the Bible mean when it speaks of heaven? What does it mean? 2 Corinthians chapter 12 is where we’re going to be and we’re going to be a part of learning the vision that the Apostle Paul received. And what does he mean about the heavens? And what does that mean to us spiritually? So let’s grab our Bibles and begin our study today.

I want you to join me in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Today, we begin that first question about heaven. Now, heaven is hard to explain.

As a matter of fact, when we look at our text this morning in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, we will note in verse 2 that the Apostle Paul gives a testimony. He is actually speaking of himself. But he says in verse 2, Which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

I think really what the Apostle was saying is that all that he envisioned in this unique encounter in which he went to the third heaven and he saw things that the Bible says are hard, they are inexpressible, meaning difficult to articulate and to say exactly all that he saw. So much it was not lawful for a man to utter. And I know that many of you might say to me, Well, Pastor Mike, I read this particular book and a person died and went to heaven and they came back and wrote a book and told us everything about heaven.

I don’t know if those experiences are all true. I know some of them have turned out to be false. And some of them were all about making money and fame.

I know the Apostle did not want to be famous. He wanted to be faithful. I know that the Apostle said that he could not even express in words what he saw.

I know that he said it wasn’t even lawful for a man to utter. He did not put a book together in the sense of selling it and marketing it and making a lot of money. And I want you to understand this morning that when you and I are trying to learn about heaven, I think the best authority on heaven is the Word of God.

It really is the Word of God. We do not deny anybody’s experience, but nothing can surpass the inerrant, infallible Word of God. So we encourage you that whatever you might believe about heaven, or even imagine about heaven, that you would make sure it is rooted in the truth of God’s Word.

It really is a place, heaven, that is hard for us to grasp. When we think of terms like this, that heaven is a place without pain, without evil and disappointment or even doubt. It’s interesting that sometimes when we read the scriptures about heaven, it does not so much tell us what is heaven as much as what it is not.

John the Revelator said this in Revelation 21.4 about heaven, that God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. In that enough of itself is enough for me to think and contemplate, first, what is it that motivated or stimulated the tears? But the Bible says God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Were they tears of joy? Were they tears of sadness? Were they tears of happiness? God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, and neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.

Amazing. It’s a lot to grasp and wrap your brain around. The apostle in our text described that he went to the third heaven.

I want to help you understand what does the Bible mean when it speaks of heaven. Let me help you a little bit this morning in our introductory part of this sermon is that in the first sense, heaven is the sky and the atmosphere that you and I can see from the earth. We see in the Bible that it refers to the birds of heaven, and it talks about rain from heaven, and it talks about even snow and dew and frost and wind all coming from heaven.

That is reiterated throughout the Scriptures. There is a second heaven that is the celestial bodies. It is the place where the sun and the moon and the planets and the galaxies are.

It is referred to as the second heaven. We see these through our different technological instruments or tools that we might have. Some of you are fascinated with the different alignment of the planets, and rightly so because it’s so amazing to see how some of these things come together, and we get to be able to witness what was read in the Scriptures, how the sun and the moon are able to declare and give praise to God Almighty.

The Bible tells us that the heavens declare His glory. It doesn’t matter whether it is a creation here on this earth, whether it is creation in the seas, in the depths of the seas, or in the heights of the heavens. All things that are created by God are to give glory to God.

You say, what is my purpose in life? Why should I get out of bed? Why should I get at it today and get some things done? Because you are to give glory to God. Some of you are baffled by that very thought of giving glory to God, but friends, I want you to know that even in the minutest details of our life and just doing our daily responsibilities and the things that we are called to do and the different roles that we have in life, all bring glory to God as we are faithful to that task. The Bible tells us that there is a third heaven.

The apostle Paul in chapter 12 refers to this third heaven in verse 2. He says that such a one was caught up to the third heaven. Most of the time when we read in the Scriptures, that is what God is referring to and speaking to when the word heaven is used. It is also most of the time what you and I are referring to when we talk about our loved ones going to heaven or we talk about what heaven is like.

We’re not talking about what maybe we could visually see here on earth or even through the instruments that might be given to us to be able to look beyond into the galaxies and the planets, but rather that third heaven is what fascinates us and what certainly captures our attention. One might say, what is the particular purpose of even studying heaven? It is so complex and difficult to fully grasp. Why would you even take this time, Pastor Mike, to talk to us about heaven? Well, first of all, friends, it’s in the Bible and we want to give you the whole counsel of the Bible.

Second of all, I want you to understand that the hope of heaven is what strengthens us and sustains us and helps us as believers as we walk in this journey of life. And friends, you won’t be long in the journey of life when you find that there are different times of seasons of suffering and sorrow and struggles in your life. What is it that helps you to power through it? What helps you to keep marching forward for God and not retreating and giving up? It is the hope of heaven.

Keep that in mind. We are fascinated with heaven. We encourage you to study it on your own.

We encourage you to make maybe a part of your study in your devotion time this new coming year to put that on one of your lists that you’d like to study more what the Bible has to say about heaven. But let me share with you four things. Remember, we’re going to cover five questions about heaven.

We won’t cover everything today. This is just the first question. And we’ll continue to expand upon it and build upon it, but this will be foundational for us that what does the Bible mean when it speaks of heaven? First, it is a place where God dwells.

Heaven is a place where God dwells. We know when Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer or what is often referred to as the Disciples’ Prayer, as he was modeling a template for the people of God to pray, not a prayer that necessarily had to be repeated at every service, nothing wrong with repeating it. It is certainly a comforting and encouraging passage of Scripture.

And whatever God’s Word is read, it is memorized or even repeated. It certainly is a blessing. But what I want you to see here at the outset of this prayer, Jesus said, Our Father, which art in what? Heaven.

Jesus would often, as he prayed, lift his hands to heaven. He would lift his eyes to heaven. Heaven is a place where God dwells.

Heaven is the dwelling place of God. Ecclesiastes 5, 2 reminds us, for God is in heaven and you on earth. And when the Bible refers to this heaven, it is referring to what the apostles said, that third heaven, the place where God dwells.

What is unique about this place where God dwells? His presence is there. Again, we’re going to inundate you with some Scriptures here, so hang on, and we’ll be glad to share these Scriptures. I think they’re on the app.

You can get all the notes that I have given and studied together to help enhance your own personal study. But in 1 Kings 8, in verse 30, it says, And may you hear the supplication of your servant and of your people, Israel, when they pray towards this place, meaning the temple, here in heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. And so they encouraged that as the people were praying that God would hear from heaven, that he would hear the prayers of God’s people.

And so I want you to know that where is God? He is in heaven. Hang in there with me. His presence is everywhere.

We know that. But I want you to understand that his dwelling place, according to the Scripture, is in heaven. Again, Deuteronomy 26, 15 says, Look down from your holy hill, habitation from heaven.

And bless your people, Israel, and the ground that you have given us as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. God is present throughout all creation. He is present throughout all creation, but the very inhabitants of God the Father and certainly God the Son and God the Spirit is in heaven.

And the Bible describes heaven as being the very place in which God dwells. Again, the psalmist said in Psalm 115, verse 3, But our God is in heaven, and he does whatever he pleases. And friends, do not be discouraged because God’s presence is not limited to heaven.

God’s presence is not limited to heaven. The reason this is important for us to understand is that we use the term omnipresence, which means that God’s presence is in heaven, but God’s presence is in earth as well. But we understand that God dwells in heaven, that his habitation, his place is in heaven.

And this is where God is. Do not be discouraged because there is the manifestation of his presence. We understand the omnipresence, that God is everywhere at the same time.

It’s phenomenal. It’s hard for us to even think. But yes, God is there.

There are times that there is the manifested presence of God. Jesus referred to this many times about this manifested presence. The apostle referred to this manifested presence.

Jesus said, where two or three are gathered there in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Are you saying I have to have two or three to get the presence of God? No, but there is a special manifested presence. You say, what is the case, Pastor Mike? I can worship God out on the tree stand.

I can worship God out on the lake. I can worship God on the beach. And no one said you couldn’t.

And I think you should, and I hope you are. But there is something special about being here together. It is the manifested presence of God.

And one of the things that I love about being here with God’s people is the manifested presence of God. And that’s why we hold on to that. But we understand that God fills heaven and earth.

The scripture says, can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Sayeth the Lord, do not I fill heaven and earth? Sayeth the Lord. Well, not only do we understand in relation to the presence of God to the place where God dwells in heaven that his presence is there, but his throne is in heaven. His throne is in heaven.

The psalmist said in Psalm 103, verse 19, the Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all. If you will, please understand that God in heaven is on a throne and he sits on his throne. And the Bible describes Jesus as being at the right hand of the Father.

And it is on this throne that unbelievably that the Father is ruling the world as the sovereign God. He is in charge and he is in control. And I know there are times that you wake up and think, what is wrong with this world? It’s a good question.

But certainly we could say that partly what’s wrong with this world has nothing to do with God, but has everything to do with the demonic forces and the devil and man being sinful, people being sinful and making very selfish decisions and living lives for themselves rather than to the glory of God. And all the things that you’re seeing being pumped out through the different media outlets, including social media, is designed to disciple us to be people who hate God. And that’s why we have to have so much discernment.

And we need God’s word to help us filter all the trash that is constantly bombarding us. We need the wisdom of God to help us to discern the true voice of God and not the voice of the world and not the voice of charlatans and not the voice of those who would mislead us. But there is a God church, and I want you to know today and I want you to be encouraged that he is sitting on his throne and he is overseeing the affairs of all of mankind.

Yes, he is. Daniel 4, verse 37, Nebuchadnezzar, who had been humbled by God, who oversaw a great Babylonian kingdom full of great wealth, prominence, and power, gave a testimony after God had humbled him and said, Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth and his ways justice and those who walk in pride. He is able to put down.

You must understand that all these people who are living such reckless lives and all these government officials that are doing everything they can to desecrate the very name of God and the sacredness of the truth of God, I’m telling you the day is coming they will give an account of their life before an almighty God who sits on a throne and they will have to answer for their deeds. On this throne he is not only ruling over the affairs of people, but he is receiving the worship of Christians. He is receiving the worship of Christians.

We get a little bit of glimpse of heaven in Revelation chapter 14 and verse 3. The curtains are pulled back and the Bible tells us that they sang, as it were, a new song. That is, the believers, those who love God, were singing a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders and no one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. Friends, there’s so much to say, but I want you to know that God is receiving worship not only from this earth to heaven, but even up in heaven.

You say, what are my loved ones doing gathered around the throne, worshiping our great God in his constant presence and rejoicing in the greatness and the majesty of God Almighty. I want you to know that they’re having a whole lot better worship services than we are down here. Nobody goes to heaven and says, man, it’s a bummer up here.

What they do is they say, you know, it’s more than what the preacher could say. It’s more than what I’ve read. It’s better than I could ever imagine.

If you are hurting today and you are struggling with the loss of a loved one who is in heaven, remember they are having the time of their life. And one day when Pastor Mike enters those pearly gates, for a few that might be disappointed and sad that Pastor Mike’s not here, know this, I’m having the greatest time in my life. I need you to get your head up and move forward for God until your assignment’s done.

When your assignment’s done, you get called to heaven as a believer. But when your assignment’s not done, you got to stay here. And sometimes I know our brothers and sisters in Christ say to me when we visit them and they say, well, why does God still have me here? Because he’s got an assignment.

And if nothing else, he needs you to be praying. The greatest ministry in the church is not the preaching and teaching of God’s word, but it is prayer. And thank God for the many saints who could not be here or are not here and they’re in nursing homes or maybe they’re at home, but they are praying for us right now.

We send all of our shut-ins a prayer sheet every week and they get to pray for you and they’re still connected to the family of God because prayer is the most important ministry of the church. Which leads me to my thought here as well that while he is on his throne there in heaven, he is also hearing our prayers. He is hearing our prayers.

2 Chronicles 7, 14. If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from where, church? Heaven. And will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

There’s no doubt our land needs to be healed. The wickedness is sometimes all that I can take. I know some of you are going to be mad at me, but there’s a righteous anger in me towards the wickedness that has propagated upon this world and even worse, upon our own children.

I mean, you send your kid off, you save all your life to send your kid off to college. They go to college, they teach him to hate God. They teach him to hate the family and they teach him to hate America.

Why are we doing this, church? They indoctrinate. It upsets me. They went to go be an engineer and they came out hating God.

They went to be an engineer and they can’t even talk to you at Thanksgiving because they’re all messed up in the head. I’m just trying to give you some wisdom, church. Our land needs healing.

It’s only gonna come as we get on our knees, humble ourselves before God, pray and seek his face and turn from our wicked ways. I have to be honest with you, church. There’s no reason God should bless America.

Sometimes when I sing that song because of my patriotism in my heart, I sing in that prayer, if you will, and I’m thinking, God, we haven’t turned from our wicked ways as a country. We haven’t turned from our wicked ways. Sodomy is rampant and it’s now promoted.

I know that upsets you, but friends, it shouldn’t. It shouldn’t break your heart. We talked about heaven being a place where God dwells, but the second thing that I want you to learn this morning is that heaven is a place where angels dwell.

It’s a place where angels dwell. Matthew 18 10 tells us to take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones for I say to you that in heaven, their angels always see the face of my father who is in heaven. People ask me, is there really guardian angels? I believe so.

I believe that God has guardian angels and he has angels assigned and they have responsibilities. I believe angels minister to us. I believe that angels sometimes miraculously step into a situation and do phenomenal things on orders from God almighty.

I believe in angels. I don’t believe that angels should be worshiped. I don’t believe that angels should be exalted.

I don’t believe that angels are in any way equal with God and I don’t believe when our loved ones leave this earth that they become angels, but I do believe that there are angels in heaven and God sends them from his throne down. Some of you are very difficult and God’s had to send a lot of angels. Some of you are every day getting up and saying, Lord, my kid, he’s so full of energy.

Please send a host of angels, right? What I want you to see something about this text in Matthew 18, 10, I think I have to say it because of what things are going on in this crazy culture is Jesus said, take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones. I just want you to understand something that Jesus has a special protection upon the little ones and that’s what I see one of the things that are decaying in our culture. I mean, if you want to be a nut job, it’s fine, but don’t do it to the kids.

Leave the kids alone. Amen? Jesus said that if you were to hurt one of these little ones, one of these little children, that it would be better for a millstone to be tied around your neck. A millstone is not a little pebble, but it’s about four feet high and it’s about two feet wide and they used it in the Middle East to grind the grain and Jesus said it’d be better if you mess with one of the kids that to be tied around your neck and you thrown in the ocean.

And as if that wasn’t enough, Jesus said there is a greater condemnation when you mess with the kids and that’s Mike Sanders translation, amen? I’m sorry, but I just had to say it. He said, I thought we came to hear about heaven. We did.

There are angels in heaven. The word angel is anglios in the Greek and it simply means messenger. How beautiful it was for the angels to announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.

How amazing it was for the angels to announce to the women who came to the tomb that Jesus is risen. Angels have special messengers. Angels have special ministry and they minister to us and God has a host of them in heaven and the Bible describes angels as coming from the throne and ascending into heaven in the throne.

Again, Genesis 28 verse 12 says that he dreamed and behold a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. It’s a lot to think about, but I tell you if the skies could part as they did in Acts chapter 7 for Stephen, we would see Jesus on his throne at the right hand of the father. We would see the father and the spirit and we would see that the throne is surrounded by angels who are worshiping him.

Heaven thirdly is a place in which Jesus ascended and from which he shall descend. In heaven we must understand that our Savior preexisted. We celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Some people think that’s the beginning of Jesus, but it’s not. The Bible teaches us in John 17 verse 5 that before the world our Savior existed, Jesus was there in the beginning, in the beginning God. It’s the Hebrew word Elohim, and in Hebrew, I just took a Hebrew class, so you got to get a little bit of benefit out of it, right? And that at the end whenever you use what we would call the M sound and you add that to a word, it is plural.

And what is the Hebrew writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? That God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit were present at the creation of the world. Jesus left his majesty. He left the beauty and all the glory of heaven and he came to this world where there is suffering and there is sorrow and there is death.

What I want you to know about the birth of Jesus Christ, not to get ahead of myself, but I want you to remember something that is unique about Christianity, that unlike all other religions, not only is our Savior alive and not only is our God sitting on a throne ruling and reigning, but he did not leave us in our plight. He entered into our world to bring salvation to all who would believe in him. We not only have a Savior who came from heaven and that he suffered on the cross for our sins, he suffered for us, but listen to me, church, he suffers with us.

You do not suffer alone. We have a little boy in our school. His name is Emmanuel and every once in a while I drive the bus and he gets on and I yell out, Emmanuel, God with us.

And at first he did not know what I was talking about. His eyes were bigger than saucers and he didn’t know how to take it. I said, buddy, that’s what the word Emmanuel means, God with us.

And so he went home and told his mother and he tells his family that his name means God with us. And heaven was a place in which when Jesus came, he left the world, he came to the earth from heaven, he took on flesh, and he lived a sinless life. And he died on the cross for our sins and then he resurrected the third day and he returned, he ascended to heaven, the Bible says.

And he is presently seated at the right hand of the Father. And here’s the promise. He’s one day returning from heaven.

He is going to return from heaven. I want to boldly declare to you this morning that Christ is returning. He will descend from heaven again and the archangel will shout and the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised and believers will be caught up and we will meet the Lord in the air.

Hallelujah. Go ahead. Give the Lord praise.

Some of you love to debate. And yes, we can debate. Maybe you feel differently about the timing of his return and how the rapture would take place and how the dead in Christ would rise.

But friends, it doesn’t matter about all the timing. You know where I stand. I believe that we will be raptured out of here before the tribulation and the tribulation is about the nation of Israel and it’s about the nation of Israel being saved.

It’s about God calling his people back to him. It’s about him judging the nations that have rejected him. It’s about him judging the antichrist and eventually setting up his millennial kingdom on this earth in which we will rule and reign.

You know where I’m at on all that. You don’t have to guess about it. But all of us, no matter what we believe about the timing, the chronological spots of where we think certain things are happening in what is referred to as eschatology or the end times, we all believe that Christ is returning.

So thank you for joining us today and I’m hoping that it’s been a blessing to you. Make sure you check us out on social media. We are on X, Facebook, and Instagram and you can check out those different areas and like us.

So this is Pastor Mike reminding you that in Christ there is hope. Hope is worth having.

The post What Does the Bible Mean When it Speaks on Heaven Part 1 first appeared on Hope Worth Having.

Pastor Mike will be speaking on Why is it Important to Think About the Afterlife Part 2. He will be reading out of Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11-14.

I want you to consider this, what God has in store for his children in the next life gives us hope, helping us to navigate the trials and the disappointments in this world. Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders from the Open Door Church and we welcome you to our radio broadcast, Hope Worth Having. We are delighted to have you and certainly thankful that you’ve taken time to tune us in and we are looking forward to what God has for us today.

We’re gonna be in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3. We’re talking about eternity, we’re talking about this question, why is it important to think about the afterlife? Too many people wait too long to do that, so let’s learn more about why it’s important to think about it. He is in charge of all of our circumstances and all that we encounter and deal with day to day in life and he goes on to say in verse 11, also he has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor.

It is the gift of God. Verse 14, and here is the crux of the matter that we eventually want to get to in our response to God. I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.

Nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it that men should fear or revere or worship before Him. The Bible teaches us in this text that God has put eternity in our hearts.

The Bible reminds us that we have a sense of the past and we have a sense of the future. It is in our minds, it is in our spirit, it is in our soul, it is in our very heart. We have eternity built within us and that makes us unique as humans.

Unlike animals who will live only for the present, you and I have the ability to study the past. We can not only study the past, but we can contemplate the future. We can think about what life is, what it has been, what it will be.

We can consider the values, the morals of our choices and even the choices of society. For God has given to all humans a self-consciousness that enables us to transcend the present and reflect upon the past and to think about the future. And so this morning I’d like to have us consider this question, why is it important to reflect or to think about the afterlife? Why is it important? I submit unto you three things this morning.

First is that our belief in the afterlife causes a hunger for justice in our hearts. You see, we know that there is evil in this world and the Bible teaches us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. When we talk about the sinfulness of people, we’re not just simply saying that yes, we’re all sinners, but we’re also understanding that the presence of sin and the presence of evil is even in this world.

We know that we live in a world there is a battle of good and evil and we see this all the time as we look on our social feed, as we look and watch the news. We are reminded that there is evil in this world. The Bible teaches us that we are sinners.

It doesn’t mean that as a sinner I live out the full capacity of my selfishness or my sinfulness, but it does teach us that the ability and some have lived out to the full capacity of their sinfulness. And that’s why we conclude that some of the evil that is in this world is heinous. It’s almost unspeakable.

It’s horrible. It’s hard for us to even contemplate what has taken place. On October 7th, you and I heard the breaking news that Hamas had invaded Israel and began to kill and murder people and rape the women.

And we learned that they took 40 children, preschool children, some of them infants, and cut their heads off even while they were living. How heinous was their crime and sin and evil. We learned through news reporting that they took one little infant baby and put it in an oven and made the parents watch the baby be baked to death.

It’s hard. It sometimes becomes so much for me I have to turn it all off because I’m weary. I’m tapped out with so much of the evil that’s in this world that it’s hard for me to process it all.

But from our hearts, there is no doubt that whether we are believers or not believers, that we wonder where is justice for the victims? Where is justice for the victims of human trafficking and those who are oppressed? We could all tell stories and we could all talk about these particular horrifying things and perhaps even some could give testimony this morning of some of the horrific things that they have endured in relating to abuse and neglect. The question is where is the justice? Let’s be honest this morning. If we imagine that there is no heaven or hell and that all we have is just living for today, then we have also imagined a universe that is not only out of kilter, but a universe where the scales of justice are never balanced.

They’re never balanced. But if we believe that we are eternal creatures and God has put eternity in our hearts, that we are the image of an eternal God and we are endowed with a clear sense of what is right and wrong and that God has given us this moral compass and it is either trained by the Word of God and enhanced and enrooted by the Word of God or it is trained and enhanced by society or our own sinful nature. But we understand that in every person there is a sense of justice and there is a sense of things that are right and things that are wrong.

And so we begin to contemplate a world without heaven, a world without hell, a world without an afterlife. And how would there ever be justice? Because I’m here to tell you that everything in this world is not always dealt with appropriately. There are times we have to say, Lord I give this to you.

Maybe you have been personally wrong and it just seems like it should have been handled differently. It seems like there should have been other things done to bring about the justice, to right the wrong, but it was never done. And here you are left to work through that emotionally and to work through that spiritually and to somehow make sure that your heart doesn’t become bitter and that you don’t let the root of bitterness to begin to dig deep into your spirit and soul.

And then you watch what’s going on in this world. Are we in a crazy world or what? Crazy times Church, but I want you to know something. I want you to be reminded of something.

I want you to jump down to verse 17 of Ephesians chapter 3. The author writes under the inspiration of God, chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 17, I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked. For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. You see friends, there is a time, there is a season.

God has these times and though everything in this world is not always dealt with as it should be, I promise you that one day Jesus Christ is going to right every wrong in this world. And if you, yes go ahead and clap, amen. If you spend your life trying to right every wrong, you’re gonna be like the dog chasing its tail and you’re gonna become weary, you’re gonna become overwhelmed, and there comes a point that you understand that you are like what the scripture says, a person who comprehends that God is working and though as we learn back in verse 11, He has put eternity in our hearts except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

And here’s what he’s saying, not that you and I can’t know what God is doing, but that we don’t know the full scale or scope of all that God is doing. You don’t know how God is working all the time and what you might think is being left undone and God is not rightly dealing with it. We are reminded that God is always at work and He’s not only always working in us and He is always working around us and through us, that God is always dealing with what is before us as believers.

And we don’t have to be bitter and we don’t have to be angry. Yes, there’s a sense of justice and if it doesn’t happen in this time span, I promise you that we will stand before God and everyone will get an account of their life. And the Scriptures teach us in Romans chapter 2 verse 5 and 6, but because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God who will repay each person according to his, what church? Deeds.

Now, I often get asked the question, are there degrees in hell? Yes. You see, every person will be judged according to their deeds. And Jesus said there’s a greater condemnation for those who hurt these little ones.

See, I’m just telling you, you start messing with the children and God is going to put the smackdown on you. And it may not always happen in the time that I want it to happen, and it may not always happen in the way that I want it to happen, but I promise you in the scope of all eternity, God is going to make every person have to deal and give an account and repay for the deeds that they have done. And so church, remember, go back to chapter 3 verse 1, to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven, a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, a time to pluck what is planted, a time to kill, a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time to build up.

Now hear me, there is a judgment time in God’s sovereign plan. No one will escape. What is done in secret will be proclaimed, the housetop.

And everybody will give an account. God will judge the wicked, but he will also reward the righteous. We rejoice in that there is a time for everything.

And we sometimes say, Lord, we give that matter to you. And sometimes we wonder, is what am I doing, does it have any impact? My friends, it does. And there are even, if you will, I like to put it like this, if you will, degrees in heaven.

In that some will be rewarded more than others. Perhaps I have often thought that maybe God, out of great compassion and sympathy for me, that he would reward me with the responsibility of overseeing all the golf courses in the new millennium. Because I am the worst golfer at the Open Door Church.

That not even my own sons would allow their own father win a particular golf game. That there are members in this church who have made every effort to make sure they humiliate me on the golf course, and not even give their pastor that 20-foot putt. See, I have the Sanders rules, and there’s a rule that if the club can reach the ball from the hole, then it’s a gimme.

We live by grace. But as you are serving Jesus Christ, and you consider that God is just, that he is not only just to deal with the wicked and the heinous crimes that have gone unpunished, but he is also a God who is rewarding, and he is blessing, and he is giving grace to those who love him. And that’s why we hunger for justice.

We hunger for it to be dealt with. The prophet Nahum gave us a promise in Nahum 1 verse 3, and he said, the Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and he will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

I don’t want you to be discouraged, church. I don’t want you to throw in the towel. I want you to do as the scripture says.

I want you to see it there in verse 12. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives. What can I rejoice in? I can rejoice that he has made everything beautiful in its time.

I can rejoice that, verse 1, to everything there is a season, a time, for every purpose under heaven, I can rejoice in these things. And what should it motivate me to do? To do good in their lives. You see, friends, God will right every wrong.

Now, why should we think about the afterlife? Number two is that our belief in the afterlife motivates us to live sacrificially for others. So we must contemplate this question, why sacrifice for the needs of others if, in the end, nothing we do will make a difference? If we are just the result of evolution and we are just going to end with a whimper or perhaps even a bang, if we’re just going to be done, then why would we ever sacrifice? Why not eat, drink, and be merry and live for self? Right? Are we made for something more? Did God create us for a higher purpose? If there is no afterlife of heaven and hell after you die, then your life does not have meaning. A worldview that regards others as made in the image of a good, just, loving God are going to see the world totally different.

They’re going to see eternal value, not only in ministering and serving humanity, but bringing glory to God. And it is that very motivation that spurs us to practical application or action in eliminating people’s misery. What we do to help others has no expiration date because, go back to our text, he says, in verse 11, he has put eternity in our hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

And I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives. And then look at verse 14, I know that whatever God does, it shall be what? Forever. You think listening to that hurting heart is meaningless, but it’s not.

You think helping people who are struggling has no impact, but it does. You think giving a gift to someone who’s without doesn’t really make an impact, but it is having a ripple effect on people’s spiritual lives. I’m reminded that a few weeks ago, my class went down to the rescue mission, as many of you have.

And when we get down there, we feed them, and then we do a chapel program for them. And I like to go amongst the people and talk to them and interact with them and kind of hear their story and ask them questions. And one guy said to me, he said, where are you from? I said, the Open Door Church.

He said, the Open Door Church. The Open Door Church, I got saved at the Open Door Church. I said, you did? He said, yeah.

He said, I was a young man. I was bussed in. I got saved at the Open Door Church.

How would God bring it full circle in the midst of his tough time, the Open Door Church would be there to minister to him? We got to encourage him and give him some next steps on what he should be doing to get his life aligned with Jesus Christ again. And he committed in his heart that evening that he would begin to reaffirm his love for God and his commitment to follow Jesus Christ. That’s what I’m trying to say to you, is that because eternity matters and because there is an afterlife, we are motivated to live our lives sacrificially for others because we don’t always see the ripple effect of what God is doing.

I think about the history of America, and one thing stands out in the history of America, that it is through the work, the sacrificial work of Christians who lived in light of eternity, that they have done more to alleviate the plight of the downtrodden and the suffering than any other faith or religion or philosophy has ever done. It’s been the Christians who’ve always been on the forefront, who not only loved Jesus Christ, but loved their fellow man and cared about their sufferings and their plights that they found themselves in. C.S. Lewis understood this when he said, and I quote, if you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought the most of the next.

End of quote. Why does the afterlife matter? Why talk about heaven and hell, Pastor? It not only gives me a hunger for justice, but it also motivates me to live sacrificially for others. And then finally, our belief in the afterlife gives us hope.

It gives us hope. I want you to consider this, what God has in store for his children in the next life gives us hope, helping us to navigate the trials and the disappointments in this world. I want to say something to you, church, and this is really the crux of what I want to say to you so much this morning as we go through this study that we’re beginning on heaven and this study on hell, but I want you to look at verse 4 of chapter 3. There’s a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

Our belief in the afterlife gives us hope because we are reminded that there is a time for every purpose under heaven. You’ve walked through the valley. You’ve dealt with the sorrows of life.

You know what it’s like to lose loved ones. You’ve stood at the foot of a grave. You know what he is saying, a time to weep and a time to mourn.

You understand it, but what is it that sustains you? What is it that is helping you to put one foot in front of the other? It is your belief in the afterlife. It is your belief in what God has in store for those who love him that gives you hope. Jesus said in Matthew 29, are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your father’s will.

I don’t know and I can’t explain and I don’t have all the answers to your questions in mind, but I know what the scripture says that except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end, we can’t always know everything that God is doing that is within the father’s will. But it is all under his sovereignty, his care and his control. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from the father’s will.

God hasn’t caused every sorrow in your heart, but he sometimes allows sorrow in your heart. And this is where we are called to live by faith. And remember, God has not called us to live by explanations, but we are called to live by faith.

The Bible says the secret things belong to the Lord. If I had the answers for everything, my questions are so many. When I burst into heaven, I need to get to the throne because I got a lot of questions.

Perhaps those questions will fade away, I don’t know. But as I live in this world, I know under the sovereign plan of God that there’s a time to weep and there’s a time to laugh. There’s a time to mourn and there’s a time to dance.

And I see that the full scope that God has his own timetable and that he is working even when I cannot see it and he is doing things even though I may not fully comprehend it. And I don’t understand all that’s going on in this crazy world. When I grew up, there were just certain values and traditions.

I never heard in my lifetime until recently that it was wrong to be a patriotic Christian. I didn’t know it was wrong to pledge the allegiance. The world’s been turned upside down on me.

Sometimes I’m not even sure what I can say and what I can’t say. But hear me, though I grieve over the state of our world, and I grieve over the pain of personal loss, though I mourn over the sin that even lies within my heart, I do so as one who looks at the ultimate victory to a day in which every tear will be wiped away from my eyes, to a day in which not only will God right every wrong, but I’ll be reunited with my loved ones and sin and sorrow will be cast away and I will live in the constant presence and the fullness of joy of Jesus Christ. It is no wonder that the Apostle said in Romans 8-19, For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God, meaning that all of creation in great anticipation is even waiting for this glorious day when every tear will be wiped away and we will all be promoted in the presence of God and the kingdom of God will be established forever and ever and we will rejoice in all that God has done and is doing and will forever do and it is all for Him, through Him, and to Him we will give glory to God Almighty.

Amen. Church, thank you. I want you to know this.

Don’t ever halfway clap to God. You give Him everything you’ve got. If you’re excited, go for it.

Knowing this is what gives me strength, not merely to endure, but to thrive for Jesus because I can consider what this future waits for me and I am waiting along with creation for the revealing of the sons of God. Would you pray with me? It’s never too late, as long as you have breath in your life, to think about eternity. And the question is, if you stand before God, where are you going to spend eternity? Are you going to be with Jesus in heaven or separated from Jesus in hell? And the way to spend eternity with Jesus is to acknowledge that you’re a sinner in need of a Savior and to believe in your heart that Christ died on the cross for your sins and that you would turn away from your sins and repent and believe in Jesus and to call upon His name for eternal life, for true salvation.

And the Bible gives us a promise that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. So I hope that’ll be true in your life today. If you’ve responded and you’re ready to receive Christ and you feel His call upon you, then reach out to us and let us know through our website, HopeWorthHaving.com. In addition, as you’re reaching out to us, share your prayer requests.

We want to be able to pray for you. Don’t be afraid to reach out to us and let us know how we can pray for you and your family. This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.

The post Why is it Important to Think About the Afterlife Part 2 first appeared on Hope Worth Having.

Pastor Mike will be speaking on Why is it Important to Think About the Afterlife Part 1. He will be reading out of Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11-14.

If we imagine that there is no heaven or hell and that all we have is just living for today, then we have also imagined a universe that is not only out of kilter but a universe where the scales of justice are never bound. Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders from the Open Door Church here in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and we are broadcasting our radio ministry entitled Hope Worth Having and today we’re gonna be in the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3. We’re starting a brand new series, we’re talking about eternity, we’re talking about heaven, we’re talking about hell and questions that people have about eternity. So the first question that we want to tackle for these next few weeks is why is it important to think about the afterlife? So I want you to get your Bible and join me as we study together.

Now if you have your Bible this morning I want you to join me in the book of Ecclesiastes. The book of Ecclesiastes. You say, Pastor, where is the book of Ecclesiastes? Well let’s start in the Old Testament.

We have in our Bible the Old and the New Testament and then let’s find the book of Psalms. When we find the book of Psalms we’re starting to make some progress and so when you go to the Psalms you go to Proverbs and then you bump into Ecclesiastes. Always say excuse me and then get to chapter 3 and that’s where we’re going to be spending some of our time this morning.

As you know we finished up the book of Acts last week and what a journey that was through the book of Acts and we enjoyed every minute of it and it was kind of a little anticlimactic when we got to chapter 28 because we’re really not told what happened to the Apostle. We know through history what happened but we’re not told of any details. But anyways I had promised you that I would preach a sermon series after the book of Acts not knowing when we would ever get to the book of Acts but we finally made it.

I told you Church one time I had an evangelist here and he asked me what some of my goals were and I told him that my goal would be to preach through the entire book every book in the Bible and he said well what book are you on and how many have you done and I told him he said you’re not gonna make it and I said thanks but he said you spend too much time in the books I mean as far as I break them down too much and so we did get through the book of Acts so we’re making progress and that is the I was adding it up the other day the 18th book in the Bible that I preached through we still got a lot to tackle and of course you know there’s 66 books and you know I am getting older Church you know that I may have to find out what is out there if there’s any fountain of youth or not but if there isn’t then we’re gonna have to somehow maybe make it till we’re a hundred and twenty you know Moses lived to be a hundred and twenty did you guys know that and so that may be what I have to do is preach to you until I’m a hundred and twenty could you guys listen to that long that’d be rough wouldn’t it now I told you I would begin a series entitled five questions about heaven and five questions about hell to lay the table if you will or to kind of prepare the way for that series I want to share with you today why is it important to think about the afterlife why is it important that we should even think about heaven or think about hell in his popular song imagine John Lennon asked us to imagine a universe in which there is no heaven nor any hell below us in Lennon’s ideal world people would forget about living for some fictitious pie-in-the-sky afterlife but instead focus only on the real world living for today let’s think about that for a second suppose we only had a physical world a world in which all that existed was what we see and what we feel and what we know imagine if there is no heaven above and there is no hell beneath there is no spiritual realm populated by demons angels or God the universe arose from clumps of stardust banging together eons ago through random unguided processes these same processes somehow brought forth human beings evolving us into the highly complex people that we are today eventually we see the world from that mindset or that worldview as a universe that will wind down it’ll burn itself out passing away with a bang or perhaps it’ll only pass away with a whimper but long before that happens you and I will just simply live we will live in time we will die and we will slip into oblivion without even leaving a trace if this describes our ultimate destiny does such a view affect our aspirations does it impact our behavior today does it change the way that we live our lives conversely let us consider the worldview that we are more than just some biological machine that we are actually eternal creatures with a soul a spirit created with a body that is made in the likeness of a personal loving and just God with that results in a different way of living our lives would it change the way we see the world and how we would respond to all that is taking place in our world the author of the book of Ecclesiastes he addresses these very issues and he brings to our attention in chapter 3 the understanding of not only that God is sovereign that he’s in charge and that he is in control but the things that we should contemplate not only in the framework of now our time but beyond we begin in verse 1 and the scripture says to everything there is a season a time for every purpose under heaven under the inspiration of the Spirit of God the author begins to then describe for us those seasons and those times in a poetic presentation he helps us to see the highs and the lows of life the triumphant and the tragic of life and then we come down to the main part of our text this morning in verse 11 and the Bible says and concludes that he has made everything beautiful in its time it’s hard to digest that verse because if you found yourself more on the tragic side than the triumphant side of time it’s hard to conclude he has made everything beautiful in its time the author is speaking from the point of a sovereign God who is in charge of all time he is in charge of all of our circumstances and all that we encounter and deal with day to day in life and he goes on to say in verse 11 also he has put eternity in their hearts except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor it is the gift of God verse 14 and here is the crux of the matter that we eventually want to get to in our response to God I know that whatever God does it shall be forever nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it God does it that men should fear or revere or worship before yeah the Bible teaches us in this text that God has put eternity in our hearts the Bible reminds us that we have a sense of the past and we have a sense of the future it is in our minds it is in our spirit it is in our soul it is in our very heart we have eternity built within us and that makes us unique as humans unlike animals who will live only for the present you and I have the ability to study the past we cannot only study the past but we can contemplate the future we can think about what life is what it has been what it will be we can consider the values the morals of our choices and even the choices of society where God has given to all humans a self consciousness that enables us to transcend the present and reflect upon the past and to think about the future and so this morning I’d like to have us consider this question why is it important to reflect or to think about the afterlife why is it important I submit unto you three things this morning first is that our belief in the afterlife causes a hunger for justice in our hearts you see we know that there is evil in this world and the Bible teaches us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God when we talk about the sinfulness of people we’re not just simply saying that yes we’re all sinners but we’re also understanding that the presence of sin and the presence of evil is even in this world we know that we live in a world there is a battle of good and evil and we see this all the time as we look on our social feed as we look and watch the news we are reminded that there is evil in this world the Bible teaches us that we are sinners it doesn’t mean that as a sinner I live out the full capacity of my selfishness or my sinfulness but it does teach us that the ability and some have lived out to the full capacity of their sinfulness and that’s why we conclude that some of the evil that is in this world is heinous it’s almost unspeakable it’s horrible it’s hard for us to even contemplate what has taken place on October 7th you and I heard the breaking news that Hamas had invaded Israel and began to kill and murder people and rape the women and we learned that they took 40 children preschool children some of them infants and cut their heads off even while they were living how heinous was their crime and sin and evil we learned through news reporting that they took one little infant baby and put it in an oven and made the parents watch the baby be baked. Death. It’s hard it sometimes becomes so much for me I have to turn it all off because I’m weary I’m tapped out with so much of the evil that’s in this world that it’s hard for me to process it all but from our hearts there is no doubt that whether we are believers or not believers that we wonder where is justice for the victims where is justice for the victims of human trafficking and those who are oppressed we could all tell stories and we could all talk about these particular horrifying things and perhaps even some could give testimony this morning of some of the horrific things that they have endured in relating to abuse and neglect the question is where is the justice let’s be honest this morning if we imagine that there is no heaven or hell and that all we have is just living for today then we have also imagined a universe that is not only out of kilter but a universe where the scales of justice are never balanced they’re never balanced but if we believe that we are eternal creatures and God has put eternity in our hearts that we are the image of an eternal God and we are endowed with a clear sense of what is right and wrong and that God has given us this moral compass and it is either trained by the Word of God and enhanced and enrooted by the Word of God or it is trained and enhanced by society or our own sinful nature but we understand that in every person there is a sense of justice and there is a sense of things that are right and things that are wrong and so we begin to contemplate a world without heaven a world without hell a world without an afterlife and how would there ever be justice because I’m here to tell you that everything in this world is not always dealt with appropriately is it there are times we have to say Lord I give this to you maybe you have been personally wrong and it just seems like it should have been handled differently it seems like there should have been other things done to bring about the justice to right the wrong but it was never done and here you are left to work through that emotionally and to work through that spiritually and to somehow make sure that your heart doesn’t become bitter and that you don’t let the root of bitterness to begin to dig deep into your spirit and soul and then you watch what’s going on in this world are we in a crazy world or what? Crazy times church but I want you to know something I want you to be reminded of something I want you to jump down to verse 17 of Ephesians chapter 3 the author writes under the inspiration of God chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 17 I said in my heart God shall judge the righteous and the wicked for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work you see friends there is a time there is a season God has these times and though everything in this world is not always dealt with as it should be I promise you that one day Jesus Christ is going to right every wrong in this world and if you yes go ahead and clap amen if you spend your life trying to right every wrong you’re gonna be like the dog chasing its tail and you’re gonna become weary you’re gonna become overwhelmed and there comes a point that you understand that you are like what the scripture says a person who comprehends that God is working and though as we learn back in verse 11 he has put eternity in our hearts except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end and here’s what he’s saying not that you and I can’t know what God is doing but that we don’t know the full scale or scope of all that God is doing you don’t know how God is working all the time and what you might think is being left undone and God is not rightly dealing with it we are reminded that God is always at work and he’s not only always working in us and he is always working around us and through us that God is always dealing with what is before us as believers and we don’t have to be bitter and we don’t have to be angry yes there’s a sense of justice and if it doesn’t happen in this time span I promise you that we will stand before God and everyone will get an account of their life and the scriptures teach us in Romans chapter 2 verse 5 and 6 but because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God who will repay each person according to his what church deeds now I often get asked the question are there degrees in hell yes you see every person will be judged according to their deeds and Jesus said there’s a greater condemnation for those who hurt these little ones see I’m just telling you you start messing with the children and God is going to put the smackdown on you and it may not always happen in the time that I want it to happen and it may not always happen in the way that I want it to happen but I promise you in the scope of all eternity God is going to make every person have to deal and give an account and repay for the deeds that they have done and so church remember go back to chapter 3 verse 1 to everything there is a season a time for every purpose under heaven a time to be born a time to die a time to plant a time to pluck what is planted a time to kill a time to heal a time to break down and a time to build up now hear me there is a judgment time in God’s sovereign plan no one will escape what is done in secret will be proclaimed the scripture says on the housetop and everybody will give an account God will judge the wicked but he will also reward the righteous we rejoice in that there is a time for everything and we sometimes say Lord we give that matter to you and sometimes we wonder is what am I doing doesn’t have any impact my friends it does and there are even if you will I like to put it like this if you will degrees in heaven in that some will be rewarded more than others perhaps I have often thought that maybe God out of great compassion and sympathy for me that he would reward me with the responsibility of overseeing all the golf courses in the new millennium because I am the worst golfer at the open-door church that not even my own sons would allow their own father win a particular golf game that there are members in this church who have made every effort to make sure they humiliate me on the golf course and not even give their pastor that 20-foot putt see I have the Sanders rules and there’s a rule that if the club can reach the ball from the hole then it’s a gimme we live by grace but as you are serving Jesus Christ and you consider that God is just that he is not only just to deal with the wicked and the heinous crimes that have gone unpunished but he is also a God who is rewarding and he is blessing and he is giving grace to those who love him and that’s why we hunger for justice we hunger for it to be dealt with the prophet Nahum gave us a promise and Nahum 1 verse 3 and he said the Lord is slow to anger and great in power and he will not at all acquit the wicked the Lord has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of his feet I don’t want you to be discouraged Church I don’t want you to throw in the towel I want you to do as the scripture says I want you to see it there in verse 12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives what can I rejoice in I can rejoice that he has made everything beautiful in its time I can rejoice that verse 1 to everything there is a season a time for every purpose under heaven I can rejoice in these things and what should it motivate me to do to do good in their lives you see friends God will right every wrong now why should we think about the afterlife number two is that our belief in the afterlife motivates us to live sacrificially for others so we must contemplate this question why sacrifice for the needs of others if in the end nothing we do will make a difference if we are just the result of evolution and we are just going to end with a whimper or perhaps even a bang if we’re just going to be done then why would we ever sacrifice why not eat drink and be merry and live for self right are we made for something more did God create us for a higher purpose if there is no afterlife of heaven and hell after you die then your life does not have meaning a worldview that regards others as made in the image of a good just loving God are going to see the world totally different they’re going to see eternal value not only in ministering and serving humanity but bringing glory to God and it is that very motivation that spurs us to practical application or action in eliminating people’s misery what we do to help others has no expiration date because go back to our text he says in verse 11 he has put eternity in our hearts except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end and I know that God that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives and then look at verse 14 I know that whatever God does it shall be what forever you think listening to that hurting heart is meaningless but it’s not you think helping people who are struggling has no impact but it does you think giving a gift to someone who’s without doesn’t really make an impact but it is having a ripple effect on people’s spiritual lives I’m reminded that a few weeks ago my class went down to the rescue mission as many of you have and I was when we get down there we do we feed them and then we do a chapel program for them and I like to go amongst the people and talk to them and interact with them and kind of hear their story and ask them questions and one guy said to me he said where are you from I said the Opendoor Church he said the Opendoor Church the Opendoor Church I got saved at the Opendoor Church I said you did he said yeah he said I was a young man I was bussed in I got saved at the Opendoor Church how would God bring it full circle in the midst of his tough time the Opendoor Church would be there to minister to him we got to encourage him and give him some next steps on what he should be doing to get his life aligned with Jesus Christ again and he committed in his heart that evening that he would begin to reaffirm his love for God and his commitment to follow Jesus Christ that’s what I’m trying to say to you is that because eternity matters and because there is an afterlife we are motivated to live our lives sacrificially for others because we don’t always see the ripple effect of what God is doing I think about the history of America and one thing stands out in the history of America that it is through the work the sacrificial work of Christians who lived in light of eternity that they have done more to alleviate the plight of the downtrodden and the suffering than any other faith or religion or philosophy has ever done has been the Christians who’ve always been on the forefront well the most important thing about your life is where you will spend eternity for us we must understand that we either are going to spend eternity with Christ in heaven or separated from Christ in hell and I know that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance that you would spend eternity with Jesus Christ and so you need to think about afterlife and if you have questions about the afterlife and you want to know more about it reach out to us on our website hopeworthhaving.com hopeworthhaving.com go to the contact button up in the right corner and send us a message we’d love to talk to you and interact with you about the afterlife and more than anything we want to see you to become a born-again believer and spend eternity with Jesus this is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope

The post Why is it Important to Think About the Afterlife Part 1 first appeared on Hope Worth Having.

Pastor Mike will be speaking on The Hope of Humanity Part 2. He will be reading out of Acts 28: 17-31.

We look at the life of the Apostle Paul and we remember the words of Romans 1 16 I am NOT ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation To everyone that believeth and to the Jew first and also to the Greeks meaning that we are to take it to every person We are the to be continued This is Mike Sanders and I am the host of hope worth having we are bringing you the Word of God from the book of Acts chapter 28 verse 17 and all the way to the end of the chapter want to talk to you about the hope of Humanity, you know, the world is looking for many answers But the only hope is really Jesus Christ you and I both know that so let’s get into Acts chapter 28 and start studying that Together Indeed besides all this today is the third day since these things happen Yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us when they did not find his body they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive and Certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said but him They did not see Listen to what Jesus says to them. Oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all That the prophets have spoken You see the Old Testament there verse 26 ought not the Christ The Messiah that the Christ the word Christ is Greek for Messiah To have suffered these things to enter into his glory Look at verse 27. This is what I wanted you to see and beginning at Moses and all the prophets He expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself You see friends the Old Testament points to Jesus and I want you to note that Jesus taught from the Old Testament the Apostle Paul taught from the Old Testament and who are we to listen to these Charlatans out there who would tell us that the Old Testament is irrelevant and we no longer need to teach from it they are false prophets Do not embrace them.

I wouldn’t address these things if these things were not so serious To you, but I want you as a believer and part of the fold of Christ to not be deceived or led astray and I want you to see the great value of the Old Testament and how it points us To Jesus Christ the hope for Israel the second thing I want you to learn from our text in Acts chapter 28 verse 17 through 31 Is that the gospel is the only hope for Gentiles now as the Apostle is explaining? From the law of Moses and the prophets and he is explaining from morning Till evening, I don’t know somehow us pastors. We just love those phrases but verse 24 says and some were persuaded by the things which were spoken and some disbelieved Remember, this is a group of Jewish people that have met with the Apostle So when they did not agree among themselves they departed after Paul had said one word The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through now notice the Apostle was quoting the Old Testament again the Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our father saying go to this people and say hearing you will hear and shall not understand and Seeing you will see and not perceive For the hearts of this people have grown dull their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes They have closed less They should see with their eyes and hear with their ears less they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them as This group of Jewish People were gathered and they began to leave the Apostle said I want to give you one more Scripture and it was particularly for those who had disbelieved Rejected the gospel and he said I want you to hear what the prophet Isaiah says And he’s not talking about physical hearing or physical seeing he is talking about spiritual hearing and understanding and seeing and believing The gospel of Jesus Christ he gives them this warning from the prophets but look at verse 28 Because this is a conclusion that the Apostle makes therefore. Let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles and They will hear it Friends I want you to know remember Acts chapter 1 verse 8 Remember that Jesus gave a commission to his disciples Remember that he said take the gospel that they were to take it unto Jerusalem first and then to Samaria and then to the uttermost what we see in the book of Acts is this Unfolding of taking it to the Jews first and then unto Samaria and then unto the uttermost parts of the world Why would Jesus be so particular and specific about the scope of the gospel message? Because the Jewish people believed That they were the only ones worthy To have salvation from God It’s so unfortunate because it’s not what the prophets taught.

It’s not what the law of Moses taught but they believed that they were exclusive and that There was no one else no other ethnic group no other society no other people group that was to hear the gospel and to know God in a personal way and that was the majority of the thinking of the Jewish people and Particularly the leadership. So when the Apostle looked at them boldly and quotes Isaiah To them and then he says to them that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles and he says they will hear it Explanation point they will hear it meaning that a he is going to do everything in his power to get the gospel to every person on the planet and Be they will respond they will hear the gospel and they will respond to God and they will turn to Christ and you are part of that proclamation Every one of you that is believed in the Lord Jesus Christ You see friends hearing the Word of God always influences people The Bible tells us that God’s Word will not return void It doesn’t mean that everybody who hears the gospel will be saved or automatically believed in Christ, but it does mean this even in this congregation Even those listening on the internet and watching live or those who are on the radio or television Later on they will hear this message and they will either be responsive receptive and return to the Lord and give their lives and dedicate their hearts to God or they will reject God God’s Word never returns void There is no in-between in a response to God It’s either one or the other it is the same Sun That melts the ice that also hardens the clay his word does not return void either people melt and are moved by Jesus Christ in their hearts and receive him as their Lord or they Reject him and they increasingly become hard-hearted towards Jesus This is why parents it’s so critical to have your children Under the sound of the gospel the teaching of the gospel So important to have them in Sunday school and I want a Bible clubs and different opportunities certainly at home Having a family time of sharing the gospel and teaching the gospel It’s so important because the older people get and this is all proven statistically, but it’s already was declared biblically People’s hearts get hard They get hard and they push away from God and they want nothing to do with Jesus Christ But friends the Apostle makes a bold declaration that the Jews refuse to listen So Paul says I’m moving on and I’m taking this hope of salvation to the Gentiles Paul had the Passion to get the gospel out to every person now, what is spiritual blindness? I want us to consider that this morning to be spiritually blind as Isaiah talked about is to not see Christ as the Savior is to not see him as the Messiah The Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 11. He prophesied in Romans 11 25 he said about a spiritual blindness that would come upon Israel He said for I would not brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery Whenever you hear the word mystery the Apostle was teaching something new That has never been taught before and he’s letting the believers as some insight on the mystery of God’s dispensation and Providential unveiling of the gospel to around the world and the end times He says lest you should be wise in your own conceit that blindness in part has happened to Israel Until the fullness of the Gentiles become in the gospel went first to the Jews Because Jesus told us that He told us that that’s why we’re pro-israel at the open-door church That’s why we pray for Israel because we are commanded to pray for Israel in the Bible That’s why we support Israel and we support Ministries that are taking the gospel to the Jewish people because the Bible says we’re to take it to the Jews first And that’s what Paul did But now he’s taking it to the Gentiles Why because there’s a spiritual blindness It doesn’t mean a Jewish person can’t get saved But overall in God’s scope of what he is doing what he has taught us in the book of Daniel that these Gentile Kingdoms would rise up and they would rule the world and that you and I are in this process of that final Roman Empire coming to the forefront and there being a tribulation period and friends there being this time which God during that tribulation period is reaching out to the Jewish people because there’s been a spiritual blindness for how long until the times of the Gentiles are Complete when will the times of the Gentiles be complete when all of their kingdoms will come to a finish? Well, it’ll be at the second coming of Jesus Christ But that finality will begin at the rapture of the church seven years before the second coming of Christ according to the book of Revelation and first Thessalonians chapter 4 and 5 that I want you to know that the church will be called out now I know some of you like to debate and I hear you.

I’m with you All right. I understand I’ve taken so many classes and I’ve read so many books I can show you them all my library is full of them and you disagree on the timing of the rapture but you cannot disagree that there is a rapture in the Bible and I believe after all the studying I’ve done as a young man as an old man now as I’ve Continued to search the scriptures over and over again I am more firm than I have ever been that the rapture of the church is Imminent and it is upon us and it will be soon my friends and then after that rapture There’ll be a seven-year tribulation in which God will reach out to the nation of Israel One more time to draw them back into true salvation Zechariah says that when they finally realize that Jesus is the Messiah that they will mourn of their sin and they will repent of their sin and they will be Saved and receive Christ as Savior Amen, go ahead and clap Now if we had time and we don’t because you’re not evening people But you could go on to study the book of Romans chapter 11 and you could read further It says at the end that all Israel will be Saved now again What God is saying? Is that collectively as a people? They will finally come to the conclusion. That’s the whole purpose of the tribulation That’s the whole purpose of the tribulation is To help them come out of their blindness to help them to come out of their stupor and to realize that Jesus is the Messiah and All Israel will be saved how glorious he’ll be at how rejoicing it will be for us to see These chosen people of God Now we must ask ourselves the question Why do people reject Jesus as their Savior you and I and are out there witnessing to our family We’re witnessing to our children our grandchildren We’re witnessing to people everywhere.

We can we’re inviting them to special activities So that they can hear the gospel I want to submit unto you just a few things to consider so you would understand what the Apostle was dealing with as people have Rejected the gospel as he shared it with them. So eloquently from the law of Moses and the prophets to the final Resurrection of Christ. I think one reason people reject Jesus is they don’t think they need a Savior They don’t understand that they’re a sinner in need of a Savior We live in the self-esteem generation, I mean you show up to soccer you get a trophy Everybody’s just like look how wonderful these kids are and I always ask what did they do? Well, they showed up Mike Well, I do believe this for you young adults out there that if you would just show up to work you’ll be better than 90% of your peers and I tell you that that might be a new concept to some of you But I saw on social media that a young lady was upset that her boss required her to be there 15 minutes early and that he required her to work eight hours and She was stressed out and she was ready to throw in the towel and she just thought that it was the end of the world She had been triggered.

I Guess a microaggression had come after her. But here’s what I want you to know. I Want you to know that there’s so many To think that they’re good enough that they don’t need a Savior They consider themselves to be good and they don’t realize that they are sinners in need of a Savior they don’t understand that the Bible says for all have sinned and Come short of the glory of God.

They don’t understand that the wages of sin is death they don’t understand the words of Jesus who said I am the way the truth and the life and no man comes unto the Father but by me and They think and they are under the impression that somehow that they’ll be able to stand before God and plead their case their goodness And they’re good will outweigh their bad, but they are going to find out that it is insufficient It will not save your soul Only Jesus can save your soul and only Jesus has the righteousness to bring us into the presence of God The second reason people reject God is I think there’s the fear of rejection of their own peers They don’t receive the Savior because they want to be accepted by others We see an example of this in John chapter 12 in which many were concerned about their acceptance or status among their peers The Bible says that they love the approval of men rather than the approval of God Most important for you is not to live to please men, but to please God When you lay your head on that pillow, you need to know you gave everything for God That your heart is in tune with Jesus You can rest in peace. The Bible says he gives his beloved sleep. I Love that verse But I want you to know that you can be peaceful in your heart and that you can rest Knowing that you have given your life to the Lord Jesus Christ and you don’t have to worry about what others think because friends I want you to know it doesn’t matter and People’s opinions are always changing aren’t they? And they’re like a roller coaster So, let’s be careful about that another reason people reject God is because the things of this world Are more important to them Than the things of God.

Yeah, I see this seeping into Christian families that the material stuff The sports it’s all more appealing to them than the eternal things of God We read about a man like that in Matthew 19 and he loved money, he loved things and He was unwilling To let go of it. He was unwilling to let go of his earthly possessions so that he might gain an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ The Bible says he walked away. I Not every person that Jesus witnessed who got saved Do you know that you think Jesus be batting a thousand But he wasn’t wasn’t Jesus’s fault it’s the heart of those who listen and Hear and some people won’t let go of the things of this world The final reason I put down why people reject Jesus is that they just over and over resist The Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is drawing them.

The Holy Spirit is Convicting them and compelling them and convincing them But over and over again, they will not Surrender their hearts to Jesus Christ That’s the example we see we see here The Bible says in verse 24 underscore that and some Disbelieved So unfortunate that some would disbelieve after the Apostle spent from morning to evening persuading Convincing eloquently teaching from the book of the Old Testament, and he did such a wonderful job But they did not believe I want to be clear to you this morning Acts 4 12 says there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved There’s only one way to heaven. It is through Jesus Christ. I Want you to understand this morning that those who reject Jesus? For whatever reason that may be beyond what I have already shared with you They will face an eternity in outer darkness in a place that is called hell and The Bible teaches us there’ll be weeping and there’ll be gnashing of teeth Some people say I’m gonna go to hell with my friends so we can party.

There’ll be no partying in hell They’ll be weeping and The reason people will weep is because they knew they had a chance They knew they had an opportunity But you know what they did they disbelieved They would not receive Christ It is not with joy that I say this to you It is with a heavy burden that I plead with you If you do not know Christ this morning come to Jesus and receive him as your Lord and Savior My final principle that I want to share with you out of this text is that the gospel should be proclaimed to all We look at verse 30 and 31 Then Paul dwelt for two whole years in his own rented house remember he’s under house arrest and Received all he received all Who came to him? preaching the kingdom of God and Teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. No one Forbidding him or hindering him He did not discriminate With the gospel he did not discriminate with who he shared Christ with whoever crossed his path The Apostle was glad even though he was under house arrest and he was not able to get out there and get in the marketplace He shared Christ with all who came think about that person different people on different shifts had to come and be the security Guard and make sure the Apostle didn’t take off as he was waiting to stand before Caesar We’ve already witnessed from the life of the Apostle Paul that he was not ashamed to tell Kings and Queens and political figures about Jesus Christ He was not ashamed to reach out to the poorest of the poor He was not ashamed to reach out to the healthy and the unhealthy He was not ashamed to reach out to those who are educated and those who are uneducated Those who are wealthy and those who are poor it didn’t matter the Apostle Paul took the gospel to every Person that crossed his path and church. We have a responsibility To take the gospel to every person on the planet You remember I told you at the beginning to be Continued I told you that you said I don’t like to be continued pastor.

Well, you’re gonna regret saying that Because here’s what it means When I say to be continued I believe that Luke under the inspiration of the Spirit left it just right here and I believe he did it for this reason that the mission must continue today through God’s people That we look at the life of the Apostle Paul and we remember the words of Romans 1 16 I am NOT ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation To everyone that believeth and to the Jew first and also to the Greeks meaning that we are to take it to every person We are the to be continued You wanted the sequel to the book of Acts? You wanted the book of Acts part 2 to come out in a book You’re it You are the continuation of the book of Acts. You are the continuation of the gospel being spread To every person now, what should we learn? from the Apostle Paul the life of Paul I Think that there’s just a few things real quickly and I’ll let you go and I promise I mean, I only have a little bit of notes here But I want you to see this church first is that he was bold look at verse 31 Okay, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things That concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence Some translations put bold because that’s really the word he was bold about it. I Know some of you your personalities.

You don’t like to talk to people Matter of fact, you don’t even like people and you miss those days of Kovat where you were isolated from people But I want to tell you something. It doesn’t change whatever your personality is. I love to talk to everybody Okay, that’s just my personality.

I go into somewhere and I’ll shake hands and I’ll hug babies and do whatever we can But I know it’s not your personality, but you still have to be bold and Maybe your boldness is that I invite somebody to a special activity and maybe your boldness is I give out a track And maybe your boldness is I give out an invite card Maybe you’re not like pastor Mike and that’s okay because we certainly don’t need another Mike Sanders in this world. I Mean the world can only handle one That’s why God created each one of you uniquely But let me tell you something there are ways that you can be bold for God You can be bold within the scope of how God created you and How he designed you I would encourage you to be bold in your witness The other thing I learned from the Apostle is that he made the most of every opportunity He made the most of every ministry opportunity. Did you not forget that he? Was under house arrest He is waiting on the government.

How many of us know what it’s like to wait on the government. I Hope you’re not getting ready to be 65 and switch over to Medicare because you’ll be waiting Right. We have to wait The Apostle waited two whole years Did he pout? Did he quit? No, he made the most the Bible says verse 31 preaching the kingdom of God Teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence.

No one forbidding him Paul the Apostle made the most of every opportunity. I don’t know what your circumstances are But I don’t want you to ever forget this whatever challenge you have Whatever job you have whatever family you’re in and whatever circumstance you’re dealing with and God’s sovereign plan is designed That it would be a platform for you to tell others about Jesus Christ And I know we don’t like that sometimes But I need you to think in that mindset. I Need you to be like the Apostle that whatever adversity he found himself in he made the most Whatever challenges were before him.

He made the most for Christ. I Also want you to learn from Paul that he isn’t complaining But he’s proclaiming He isn’t complaining write that down. It’s not a ritual of Mike, but I just want you to know it.

He isn’t complaining He is proclaiming He is proclaiming Yesterday we had a special celebration of life Gathering for Barb Connor and one of the things that they said about Barb Eddie was that she never complained She never complained. She went through a lot of adversity, but she never complained Church, that’s what a testimony you want You want that kind of testimony? I’m not a complainer. I’m not a whiner.

I’m a proclaimer. I Proclaim the gospel through my life. I Proclaim it through my lips Be that kind of Christian learn that from the Apostle Paul Here’s the final thing.

I want you to remember church and we will pray The gospel triumphs over Every worldly and political barrier. Did you see that? No one forbidding him No one No one stopped the Apostle Paul. Why? Because the gospel overcomes all barriers of this world Well, we’re coming to the end of the book of Acts chapter 28 these final few verses and we’re certainly Remembering that Christians definitely face storms in their lives But we remember that the hope of humanity is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ And we’re going to continue to keep our eyes on him and follow him faithfully I want to encourage you to check out our newsletter You can go to our website hope worth having calm and all of our newsletters are uploaded to the website Or if you’d like you can sign up for it We can email it to you or we can mail it to you.

Whatever works best, but check us out. Hope worth having calm This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ. There is hope worth having

The post The Hope of Humanity Part 2 first appeared on Hope Worth Having.

Pastor Mike will be speaking on The Hope of Humanity Part 1. He will be reading out of Acts 28: 17-31.

And I want you to note that Jesus taught from the Old Testament, the Apostle Paul taught from the Old Testament, and who are we to listen to these charlatans out there who would tell us that the Old Testament is irrelevant and we no longer need to teach from it? They are false prophets. Hello, this is Mike Sanders and I am the host of Hope Worth Having and I am glad that you are here today and we are bringing you the Word of God from the book of Acts chapter 28 verse 17 all the way to the end of the chapter. I want to talk to you about the hope of humanity.

You know, the world is looking for many answers, but the only hope is really Jesus Christ. You and I both know that. So let’s get into Acts chapter 28 and start studying that together.

Amen. If you have your Bible this morning, I want you to join me in the book of Acts, Acts chapter 28. And yes, we’re at the end of the book of Acts.

And yes, we have finally made it to the last section of the book of Acts. And yes, on this journey for a few years, we’ve been going through the book of Acts. We are finally coming to the end.

So we’re pretty excited, not that we’re finished, but that it’s just another opportunity to share God’s Word. But I have a question for you to consider this morning. Do you like happy endings? Do you want complete closure when you reach the end of a novel or a movie? Certainly.

Does seeing the words, to be continued, begin to cause you to be insane? Well, I have good news and bad news for you. We are at the end of book of Acts. And in some kind of unique way, it is an ending of to be continued.

It’s an interesting final section of this book. You know that we have been tracking the apostle Paul in these final chapters of the book of Acts. And we know that he is headed towards Rome and he is to be brought before Caesar.

And he is to have a trial of whether he is innocent or guilty. His only crime is that he has preached, he has taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. But this has upset the religious crowd.

It has upset the political crowd. And so they have made every effort to try to push back or oppose the apostle Paul’s teaching. And so in this process, in their effort to try to even have him killed, he has appealed to Caesar.

And as a Roman citizen, he has this right. And so we’re on this journey. But as we come to the final section of the book of Acts, we’ve been reading and anticipating what’s gonna happen when he stands before Caesar.

But nothing is said about that particular matter. And there is nothing to be said about how things finished out and concluded in the life of the apostle Paul. We know from church history that he would eventually be released from prison.

We know that he would continue to write letters and preach the gospel and then eventually brought back before Nero, who was the Caesar of the Roman Empire. And he would have his head chopped off. And he would die as a martyr for Jesus Christ.

But nothing, Luke gives us nothing in Acts chapter 28 about these matters. It’s almost as if Luke is saying to us, to be continued. We’ll come back to that, but I’ve entitled my message, The Hope of Humanity.

And as we examine this section of the book of Acts, chapter 28, verse 17 through 31, I want you to first see that the gospel is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The hope for Israel, we pick up in verse 17. And notice what the scripture says.

It came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them, men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who when they had examined me, wanted to let me go because there was no cause for putting me to death. But when the Jews or the religious leaders spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation for this reason.

Therefore, I have called for you to see you and speak with you because for the hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain. Then they said to him, we neither receive letters from Judea concerning you nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you. But we desire to hear from you what you think for concerning this sect.

We know that it was spoken against everywhere. Now here the Apostle Paul is meeting with a group of Jewish leaders in the city of Rome. It was just two years ago that Claudius, who was the emperor at that time, had caused all the Jewish people to be banished from Rome.

So they are now beginning to filtrate back in because that has changed under new leadership and they are allowed to live in the city of Rome. And they must have come back in large numbers enough to not only have synagogues but to have leaders to be able to organize the Jewish faith and their Jewish religion. The Apostle gets to Rome and he wants to make his case to them.

He is in the process of waiting, waiting for the opportunity to stand before Caesar and make his case as to why he is not a guilty man and that the only thing he is guilty of, as he shared with the religious leaders, is that he has proclaimed the hope of Israel. The Apostle Paul, we look in verse 23 of chapter 28 of the book of Acts, it says, so when they had appointed him a day, so they made a schedule. They wanted to hear what he had to say and they made a schedule, a time in which they would meet.

And the Bible says, many came to him at his lodging. He was under house arrest, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets from morning till evening. And I find it so interesting that the Apostle is taking the Old Testament and he is helping the Jewish leaders and all those who would gather here, where he was lodging, and they are hearing this message and he is helping them to connect the dots from the Old Testament to the New Testament, if you will, from the prophets and even Moses himself, the lawgiver, and how that everything in the Old Testament was a foreshadowing and a foretelling of what would be fulfilled in the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Now the Apostle uses a phrase that we read earlier in this text, and if you will simply go back with me, you’ll note it there, that he talks to them about the hope for Israel, and he wants them to understand that Jesus is that hope. That phrase, the hope of Israel, is not a new terminology for the Jewish people. For we know that Jeremiah the prophet himself said, O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be ashamed.

Those who depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters. They knew, the Jewish people knew, that there was a hope. They knew that there was a Messiah who is the hope of Israel, that he would come.

I’ve shared with you before that when I was in Israel, we met with the chief rabbi, and he said, the only difference between the Jews and the Christians is you believe the Messiah has come, and we are still looking for the Messiah. I’m so grateful that we know that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, and that he has come, church, and he has come to bring salvation, and redemption, and forgiveness to all who believe in Jesus Christ. Oh yes, it’s a beautiful story, but how is it that the apostle would take time to help the Jewish people to see, to understand that Christ is the fulfillment, that all those sacrifices that were made, that were spelled out on how to do it in the book of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, how all that was pointing to a final sacrifice, the Lamb of God, John the Baptist, was the last prophet, and he was the one who would proclaim, behold, the Lamb of God, referring to Jesus, that behold, he comes to take away the sins of the world.

And so, the apostle keeps helping them see from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Friends, it’s important for us that we ourselves see the framework on which God is working, that the Bible is a redemptive story that threaded throughout every chapter and every verse is the story of God’s grace and God’s forgiveness, and that it is constantly pointing us to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is not only the author of the Bible, but I want you to know that he is the subject of the Bible, that he is the main point of the Bible, and so when we open our Bible, we must see that the Bible is pointing us to the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament, he is calling the people to look ahead. In the New Testament, he is calling us to look back to Christ. Why do we participate in communion as believers? So that we would look back to the cross and back to our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave his life for us so that we could have eternal life in Jesus.

How important it is for us to understand that framework, but it’s also important that we understand that the Old and the New Testament are connected, so that as we are out there witnessing and there are many questions that people have, as we’re having spiritual conversations with others, whether there are children, whether they’re family members, strangers, or individuals that we work with, that we help them to see the whole scope of what God is doing in this redemptive story. This will make you a more powerful witness for God, for this is exactly what the Apostle Paul did as he was explaining and persuading in verse 23 them concerning Jesus, both the law of Moses and the prophets. And note what he did from morning till what? Evening.

I know you didn’t want to say that. Well, back then, they had some really long services. But we know that you’re Americans and your attention span, I mean, I’m already boring some of you, and you’re already checking out and you’re already doing your Christmas shopping on Amazon while you’re at church this morning.

Well, you and God will have to work that out and see where that fits in his plan for your life. But the most important thing for you to understand is that God has a beautiful, sovereign plan and it all points to Jesus Christ. And it’s the Old and the New Testament together.

And I want to say to you, church, this morning that I want you to be alert and careful of these foolish people who are running around telling you that the Old Testament is unnecessary. They are telling you that the Old Testament does not apply anymore. They are telling you that we should not teach from the Old Testament anymore.

These are false prophets. They are false teachers. They’re even in our communities.

And I have literally talked to individuals who say, no, we only teach from the New Testament in our church. We don’t teach from the Old Testament. My friends, I want you to know something.

In the Old Testament, we have the beautiful story of pointing us to a Messiah who’s coming. And in the New Testament, we have the beautiful story of looking back and see that the Messiah has come and how beautiful that is. And that’s why we celebrate Christmas and what it’s all about.

I want you to take your Bible real quickly. Don’t lose ax. But I want you to see something here that is very important to understand.

And I want you to get back to the Gospel of Luke. Just go back for me, Matthew, Mark, and what comes after Mark? Luke. There you go.

Stay awake. Stay awake. You’ll be alright.

And in Luke chapter 24, I want you to look with me at verse 13. Luke chapter 24, verse 13. The resurrection of Christ has already taken place.

Obviously, the crucifixion of Christ has taken place. You probably heard and maybe have read about the Emmaus Road, the story of the two men on the Emmaus Road. We pick up in verse 13.

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. What just happened? Well, what had happened was the crucifixion of Christ.

And unbeknownst to them, the resurrection of Christ. But they were discouraged. The Bible says in verse 15, so it was while they conversed and reasoned that Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

Jesus shows up on this seven-mile journey, but the Bible tells us in verse 16 that their eyes were restrained so that they did not know him. They didn’t recognize Christ. They didn’t have the understanding.

They were so stooped into their discouragement that they didn’t see that Jesus was right there walking with them. Look at verse 17. Here’s what Jesus said.

What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? Then one of whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? And have you not known the things which happened there in these days? And he said to them, What things? They said to him, The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Do you see they already had a framework? Do you see they already had a working knowledge? Do you see that they already understood that a Messiah, that a Savior was coming? And they were hoping that Jesus was that person.

Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us. When they did not find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive.

And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see. Listen to what Jesus says to them, O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. You see the Old Testament there? Verse 26, Ought not the Christ, the Messiah, that the Christ, the word Christ is Greek for Messiah, to have suffered these things to enter into his glory? Look at verse 27.

This is what I wanted you to see. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. You see, friends, the Old Testament points to Jesus.

And I want you to note that Jesus taught from the Old Testament. The Apostle Paul taught from the Old Testament. And who are we to listen to these charlatans out there who would tell us that the Old Testament is irrelevant and we no longer need to teach from it? They are false prophets.

Do not embrace them. I wouldn’t address these things if these things were not so serious to you. But I want you, as a believer and part of the fold of Christ, to not be deceived or led astray.

And I want you to see the great value of the Old Testament and how it points us to Jesus Christ, the hope for Israel. The second thing I want you to learn from our text in Acts chapter 28, verse 17 through 31, is that the gospel is the only hope for Gentiles. Now as the Apostle is explaining from the law of Moses and the prophets, and he is explaining from morning till evening.

I don’t know, somehow us pastors, we just love those phrases. But verse 24 says, And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. Remember, this is a group of Jewish people that have met with the Apostle.

So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word. The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through. Now notice the Apostle is quoting the Old Testament again.

The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our father, saying, Go to this people and say, Hearing you will hear and shall not understand. And seeing you will see and not perceive. For the hearts of this people have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them.

As this group of Jewish people were gathered and they began to leave, the Apostle said, I want to give you one more scripture. And it was particularly for those who had disbelieved, rejected the gospel. And he said, I want you to hear what the prophet Isaiah says.

And he’s not talking about physical hearing or physical seeing. He is talking about spiritual hearing and understanding. And seeing and believing the gospel of Jesus Christ, he gives them this warning from the prophets.

But look at verse 28, because this is a conclusion that the Apostle makes. Therefore, let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it. Friends, I want you to know, remember Acts chapter 1, verse 8? Remember that Jesus gave a commission to his disciples? Remember that he said take the gospel, that they were to take it unto Jerusalem first, and then to Samaria, and then to the uttermost? What we see in the book of Acts is this unfolding of taking it to the Jews first, and then unto Samaria, and then unto the uttermost parts of the world.

Why would Jesus be so particular and specific about the scope of the gospel message? Because the Jewish people believed that they were the only ones worthy to have salvation from God. It’s so unfortunate, because it’s not what the prophets taught. It’s not what the law of Moses taught.

But they believed that they were exclusive, and that there was no one else, no other ethnic group, no other society, no other people group that was to hear the gospel and to know God in a personal way. And that was the majority of the thinking of the Jewish people, and particularly the leadership. So when the Apostle looked at them boldly and quotes Isaiah to them, and then he says to them that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and he says they will hear it.

Explanation point. They will hear it, meaning that A, he is going to do everything in his power to get the gospel to every person on the planet, and B, they will respond. They will hear the gospel, and they will respond to God, and they will turn to Christ, and you are part of that proclamation.

Every one of you that has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, you see friends, hearing the Word of God always influences people. The Bible tells us that God’s Word will not return void. It doesn’t mean that everybody who hears the gospel will be saved or automatically believed in Christ, but it does mean this.

Even in this congregation, even those listening on the internet and watching live, or those who are on the radio or television later on, they will hear this message, and they will either be responsive, receptive, and return to the Lord, and give their lives, and dedicate their hearts to God, or they will reject God. God’s Word never returns void. There is no in-between in a response to God.

It’s either one or the other. It is the same sun that melts the ice that also hardens the clay. His Word does not return void.

Either people melt and are moved by Jesus Christ in their hearts and receive him as their Lord, or they reject him, and they increasingly become hard-hearted towards Jesus. This is why, parents, it’s so critical to have your children under the sound of the gospel, the teaching of the gospel. So important to have them in Sunday school, and Iwana Bible Clubs, and different opportunities, certainly at home, having a family time of sharing the gospel and teaching the gospel.

It’s so important because the older people get, and this is all proven statistically, but it’s already was declared biblically, people’s hearts get hard. They get hardened, and they push away from God. They want nothing to do with Jesus Christ.

But friends, the Apostle makes a bold declaration that the Jews refuse to listen, so Paul says, I’m moving on, and I’m taking this hope of salvation to the Gentiles. Paul had the passion to get the gospel out to every person. Now, what is spiritual blindness? I want us to consider that this morning.

To be spiritually blind, as Isaiah talked about, is to not see Christ as the Savior, is to not see him as the Messiah. The Apostle Paul, in Romans chapter 11, he prophesied. In Romans 11 25, he said about a spiritual blindness that would come upon Israel.

He said, for I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery. Whenever you hear the word mystery, the Apostle was teaching something new that has never been taught before, and he’s letting the believers have some insight on the mystery of God’s dispensation and providential unveiling of the gospel to around the world and the end times. He says, lest you should be wise in your own conceit that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles become in.

The gospel went first to the Jews, because Jesus told us that. He told us that. That’s why we’re pro-Israel at the open-door church.

That’s why we pray for Israel, because we are commanded to pray for Israel in the Bible. That’s why we support Israel, and we support ministries that are taking the gospel to the Jewish people, because the Bible says we’re to take it to the Jews first, and that’s what Paul did. But now he’s taking it to the Gentiles.

Why? Because there’s a spiritual blindness. It doesn’t mean a Jewish person can’t get saved, but overall in God’s scope of what he is doing, what he has taught us in the book of Daniel, that these Gentile kingdoms would rise up, and they would rule the world, and that you and I are in this process of that final Roman Empire coming to the forefront, and there being a tribulation period, and friends, there being this time which God, during that tribulation period, is reaching out to the Jewish people, because there’s been a spiritual blindness. For how long? Until the times of the Gentiles are complete.

When will the times of the Gentiles be complete? When all of their kingdoms will come to a finish? Well, it’ll be at the second coming of Jesus Christ, but that finality will begin at the rapture of the church, seven years before the second coming of Christ, according to the book of Revelation and 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 and 5, that I want you to know that the church will be called out. Now I know some of you like to debate, and I hear you. I’m with you.

All right? I understand. I’ve taken so many classes, and I’ve read so many books. I can show you them all.

My library is full of them, and you disagree on the timing of the rapture, but you cannot disagree that there is a rapture in the Bible, and I believe after all the studying I’ve done as a young man, as an old man now, as I’ve continued to search the Scriptures over and over again, I am more firm than I have ever been that the rapture of the church is imminent, and it is upon us, and it will be soon, my friends. And then after that rapture, there’ll be a seven-year tribulation in which God will reach out to the nation of Israel one more time to draw them back into true salvation. Zachariah says that when they finally realize that Jesus is the Messiah, that they will mourn of their sin, and they will repent of their sin, and they will be saved and receive Christ as Savior.

Amen. Go ahead and clap. Now if we had time, and we don’t because you’re not evening people, but you could go on to study the book of Romans chapter 11, and you could read further.

It says at the end that all Israel will be saved. Well, we’re coming to the end of the book of Acts chapter 28, these final few verses, and we’re certainly remembering that Christians definitely face storms in their lives, and sometimes it’s sickness, sorrow, suffering, all kinds of issues that we’re dealing with in this world. But we remember that the hope of humanity is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and we’re going to continue to keep our eyes on Him and follow Him faithfully.

I want to encourage you to check out our newsletter. You can go to our website, HopeWorthHaving.com, and all of our newsletters are uploaded to the website, or if you’d like, you can sign up for it. We can email it to you, or we can mail it to you, whatever works best.

But check us out, HopeWorthHaving.com. This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ, there is hope worth having.

The post The Hope of Humanity Part 1 first appeared on Hope Worth Having.

Pastor Mike will be speaking on God’s Providence and Our Assignment Part 2. He will be reading out of Acts 28: 1-16.

In your trouble, Church, the height of your healing is that through your trial that you serve others. And then you use that trial to minister to others in whatever capacity that you can, because God wants you to be a blessing. Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders, and we are from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

We’re broadcasting all the way from Pennsylvania to your home or to your car, wherever you are. And we’re excited that you’ve joined us today, and we want to continue to study the Bible together. So we’re back in Acts chapter 28, and we’re continuing our study on God’s providence and our assignment.

So God works, he orchestrates, he’s always working within and through us, but yet we have this job and this assignment, and so let’s learn more about it. You can minister to people by being an example to them. People want the prestige.

They want the glory of ministering the gospel, but I’m telling you, there is no, there is no connection with your community, with people around you at work, unless you are kind and you are willing to serve them. Be that example, church, be that person. Now the Bible tells us, as we’re going through this, that the apostle, that as he is gathering this wood or these sticks and he’s laying them in the fire, that he gets bitten by a snake.

How about that? He came out, the Bible says the viper came out because of the heat and fastened onto his hand. That’s a nice way to say that he got bit by a snake. This snake fastens onto the apostle.

I want you to learn important principle today. We can’t even get through verse 3, but listen to me, church. The apostle was bitten by the snake when he was doing good.

He was doing good, and doing good does not exempt you from affliction and trials and problems in your life. Are you with me? You see, some people do good because they get the pat on the back. Some people do good because they get the certificate.

Some people do good because they get a plaque on the wall. Some people do good because people will talk about their goodness and the things that they have accomplished. Let me say that if there’s any goodness in you, if there is any kindness in any of us, it is because of the wonderful work of God’s common grace that he has blessed us with, and that all goodness emanates from God, and all kindness emanates from God, and so we must keep that in mind.

But even as you and I are doing good, we have to ask ourselves, why do I do this good? For if I’m doing this good so that I can make sure that I would never face a trial in my life, that I would never have an affliction in my life, that I’d never, well, let’s just be practical, have a snake bite me. Well, friends, you’re in for a rude awakening, a rude awakening. The psalmist said, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

It is that God does not prevent affliction in our life, but he promises that he will deliver us out of those afflictions. He will get us to the other side, just as Jesus promised the disciples that they would make it to the other side, but in the midst from going from one place to the other through the sea, there was a great storm, but Jesus met them on the other side. And Jesus will get you through your affliction.

He will get you out of your affliction, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have an affliction. This false narrative that permeates so many in the Christian life that think that if I just do certain things that I’ll never have a problem in my life is not found in the Bible. Jesus had problems.

The apostle Paul had problems. Do you think that they were less spiritual than you? Do you think that they somehow were less connected to God than you? No, my friends, we must understand that even when we do good, there will be trials. They just will be.

You think the devil’s going to sit on the sidelines and that he’s going to just say, hey, I’m going to just let the gospel go freely? You think the devil’s happy that the apostle has showed up, that he has providentially showed up on this island, and these people are getting ready to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do you think that the devil likes that? The Bible tells us in John chapter 10 that the devil is a thief and a liar. My friends, he has come to kill and destroy. He wants to destroy your family.

He wants to destroy every person. He wants every person on this planet to go to hell. Do you know that? And now here in God’s providence, the apostle has a shipwreck.

He shows up on this island. You think the devil’s just going to say, hey, let’s sit back and see how this unfolds? He’s like, no, let’s start the fight. And when you start doing good and you start making a difference for God and you start making an impact and influencing others for the gospel of Jesus Christ, the devil wants to discourage you.

He wants to defeat you. He’s going to find every possible way to stop you from telling others about Jesus Christ. But yet God uses, and here’s the third thing I want you to see, this platform of the gospel.

I already told you kindness. Those of you that are taking notes. And I already told you servant leadership, being a servant.

But I want you to see the third way that God providentially gives Paul a platform for the gospel is through afflictions. Because the Bible says in verse 4 that when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, no doubt this man is a murderer. They quickly judged the apostle and said the reason this happened to him is because he must have been a murderer.

And now, even though he has not escaped the sea, yet justice. Circle that word justice. You’re thinking of in terms of justice and right and wrong.

But this is a Greek goddess called Justice. And what they believed on this island is that the Greek goddess was punishing the apostle because he was a murderer. They believed that even though he had escaped the sea, that the Greek goddess Justice was not going to allow the apostle to live.

But what does the apostle do, like most of us would, when a snake bites you? He just shakes it off. Friends, if a snake bites me, I’m out of here. I’m going to be screaming and hollering and panicking and falling apart.

And all the venom and the poison is going to run to my heart and my brain and I’ll be dead in minutes. Just want to pre-warn you. Me and snakes don’t get along.

Amen. The only good snake is a dead snake, minus a head, right? But what does this great courageous man of God do? He shakes off the creature, the snake, into the fire and he suffers no harm. The people are like, well, once the poison gets to him, he’s a goner.

Just a little bit, he’ll be swelling and he’ll be dead. But you know what? That doesn’t happen. In verse 6, we see that it doesn’t happen.

And notice at the end of verse 6 that they changed their minds and they said, he was a God. Man, he was a God. What the islanders saw was a visible display of the power of God.

Power greater than all the false idols, all the false goddesses that they were already worshiping by the apostle experiencing immunity from the poison of a snake. And by the way, don’t think, you know, that you can just go out there and randomly be immune. I don’t want you to be crazy.

But I want you to know that God uses this affliction to give him a platform to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Your afflictions are not purposeless. We first and foremost know that every affliction we go through should always be that we would glorify God even in the hurt and the pain and the struggle.

But second of all, it should be our intention that as people are watching our life and we’re giving praise to God through the tears that they can be reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And third of all, the apostle said in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 6 that he had hoped that his afflictions would bring encouragement and comfort to the people of God. That as others see you deal with suffering and you suffer so well and you suffer so godly and you suffer in such a way that brings praise and glory to God Almighty that he would encourage the brothers and sisters in Christ to stay at it and be faithful to Jesus Christ.

That even as they will one day suffer, that they will learn an example from you on how to handle the problems of our health, the problems of our trials, the problems of our difficult relationships. Now, this little story here in verse 6 proposes a question that I thought would be interesting for you to consider this morning, and that is should we be handling snakes in church? Should we be handling snakes in church? Well, Jesus said in Mark 16 verse 18, he said, they will pick up serpents, talking about his apostles, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them, and they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Now there was a gentleman, I guess he’s a gentleman, his name is George Hensley, and George Hensley read Mark chapter 16 verse 18, and in 1910 he introduced to his congregation snake handling techniques.

And from that moment on it spread, if you will, no pun intended, like wildfire, and all of a sudden there was a group of Appalachian churches in that area that began to handle snakes. Friends, if you show up at church, and they’re handling snakes, my recommendation, get out before they get to you. Now, I want you to know, I don’t want you to be fearful, Pastor Mike is not being misled to handle snakes, amen, thank you.

But I want you to understand something, you know, this is out there, and some people think this, but Jesus did say this, and he said they could pick up serpents, and no deadly poison would cause them harm. Now people are quick to pick up a snake, but are they quick to drink the poison? Here’s the point, I want you to remember this church, that everything in the book of Acts is not designed for you to go out and repeat. And that is where some of our brothers and sisters in Christ have been misled by the book of Acts.

They think every event in the book of Acts has to be repeated every Sunday, or it has to be repeated at every special revival service, and so they are out to do the repetition of what they have read in the book of Acts, but that’s not what the book of Acts is all about. I want you to know that the miraculous signs, and the miraculous events that we see taking place in the book of Acts are simply unique credentials for the apostles and their gospel message. If you understood this, you would not be all excited about handling snakes.

You would not plan on bringing your snake to church next Sunday, and cast it before the altar, and say, now pastor, handle this snake. You would say, no, I understand that this was a unique event that took place, that Jesus even prophesied would happen in Mark chapter 16, and that as the Old Testament was concluding, and the New Testament, or the New Covenant was emerging, and the gospel was going forward, and Jesus was the fulfillment of all that was taught in the Old Testament, and now as Jesus was planting his new church, and sending out his gospel message, his good news, that he wanted to validate that message, and he wanted to verify his messengers, and he granted them great sign gifts in which they could perform miraculous things, and this would only help them to see that the message was true, and so was the messenger. Now how do you know this, Pastor Mike? Well let’s look at verse 7. Remember, we’ve already seen, we’ve already seen the people are referring to the apostle as a God.

So the second thing I want you to learn this morning is that God’s providence supplies ministry opportunities, not just a platform for the gospel, but opportunities for you to minister, and notice in verse 7 that in that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, most likely the governor, or some kind of a mayor, or some kind of a leader of the people on this island, whose name was Publius, who received us, and he entertained us courteously for how many days? Three days. Now you and I, from chapter 1 all the way to chapter 27, and now in chapter 28, we’ve kind of got to know the apostle Paul. What do you think he’s telling them for those three days? What do you think he’s doing? You think the apostle’s just sitting back enjoying everything? No, I think he’s telling this leader, he’s telling this political leader about Jesus Christ.

He is ministering to them. This is something you’ll see in the life of the apostle in the book of Acts. It’s a pattern that the apostles are always establishing relationships with the leaders of the community, with the political figures.

We see this in chapter 13, 16, 17, 18, and 19, and now in chapter 28, because when the apostle finally gets to Rome, he will stand before Caesar, and he will stand before Roman guards, and he will tell them about Jesus Christ, and how is it that God turned this world upside down with the gospel through these men of God, these apostles that stood strong and preached the gospel. It is because all of Rome, which was anti-God and anti-Christianity, was flipped on its head and became a Christian empire because God, through the apostles, reached the political leaders with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that’s not just Pastor Mike up here randomly letting you know that.

It is really clear in history, and it’s written in the history books. So the apostle Paul was able to not only proclaim the gospel throughout the island, but he was able to minister to others. Look at this.

I want you to see this as we continue on in verse 8. And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went into him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him, and he healed him. It’s not just that the apostle ministered this physical healing.

It’s even deeper, church, that these people are hearing about the God Jehovah Rapha, who is the healer, who is the one that strengthens the apostle to be able to do this wonderful task of ministering. We see this in Acts 3.12. Remember the Bible says, so when Peter saw it, he responded to the people. They were calling Peter a god because he had touched a man, grabbed a man’s hand, and it made him walk.

A man was lame. And what is Peter’s response? Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us as though by our own power or godliness we made this man walk? He goes on to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. He goes on to point the people to the power of God.

If God does any healing on this earth, if God does any work on this earth, if God manifests his great strength and power in any particular way, we should give all credit and glory to Jesus Christ. Can God’s people say amen? Amen. And we give thanks to God for those who work and serve in the health industry, and they are the extending hands, the healing hands of God on this earth, and doing what they can to accomplish this great work.

Any wisdom, any knowledge, any ability, any procedure is the direct result of a God who is supplying ministry opportunities for you in your life. That’s what the apostle is doing. He is serving God, and he is worshiping God.

And so even though he is a prisoner, remember that he is a prisoner, even though he still has this burden upon him, and he is a prisoner unjustly, he has been accused falsely, and all he is guilty of is telling people how to get saved. Even though this is true in his life, what does he do? The apostle still ministers, and he is a blessing. In your trial, in your trouble, church, the height of your healing is not to close the blinds and lock the doors and isolate yourself from others.

The height of your healing is that through your trial that you serve others, and you use that affliction and you use that trial to minister to others in whatever capacity that you can, because God wants you to be a blessing. And you know, you think about this. These people were so enamored by what the apostle had done.

Look at this in verse 9. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came, and they were healed. That’s the difference between a charlatan and a true power of God. It wasn’t just a one-time incident, but the people came and the apostle ministered to them.

And what did they do in verse 10? They also honored us in many ways, and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary. They blessed. The apostle came.

He could have been bitter. He could have been angry. He could have just shut down, but he said, I’m going to bless you.

I’m going to minister to others. And what do they do? They bless him. They honor him.

They thank him for what he has done. And when people bless you and when people minister to you and when people encourage you, do you take the time to thank them? Do you take the time to say, thank you? Your words meant a lot or your ministry touched my life. Just listening and praying with me really helped me.

Third and final thing, church. Don’t worry. There’s only three points you can rejoice, but God’s providence supplies a safe route and housing at the destination for the apostle.

I want you to see his providence in this in verse 11. Now, I want you to start out there. It says in verse 11, after three months, we sailed in an Alexandrian ship.

See, church, you can’t rush through the Bible. I know some of you’re on the track. You’re going to read the Bible in a year, and I’m all for you.

And I’ve done it many, many, many times. But don’t be in such a rush to finish the Bible that you miss out on some of the great deep truths of the Bible. And the more you understand what the Bible is saying, the more God is going to speak to you, the more you understand the circumstances.

Now, I just read a verse to you and some of you saying, what’s he talking about? Well, look, hang in there after three months. How long were they on the island? For three months. For three months, they were on that island because the apostle was kind, because he was a servant, because in his affliction, he was not selfish, but he started ministering to others.

God used him for three months to tell others about Jesus. That’s what I want you to see. That’s why Luke put it in there.

He wants you to be blown away by that. That after three months, we sailed in an Alexandria ship whose figure’s head was the twin brothers, which is a two gods that protect sailors, they claim. But anyways, it says, which had wintered at the island and landing at Syracuse.

We stayed three days, not Syracuse, New York, by the way. From there, we circled round and we reach Regium. And after one day, the south wind blew.

And the next day, we came to Petuli, where we found brethren and we invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went towards Rome. And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us far, as far as Apia, Forum, and three inns.

When Paul saw them, he thanked God. And what does the Bible say? Took courage. Now, when we came to Rome, the centurions delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard.

But Paul was permitted to dwelt by himself with the soldier who guarded him. Now, God provided safe travels for the apostle, provided all the means that was necessary for them. When they finally get to their place, you say, man, how did you read all those words? I’m like you.

I make it up. I don’t know how to pronounce those words. Okay.

And you go from one translation to another and they’re all different. Okay. But I just make it good because, you know, sometimes you got to fake it till you make it.

Don’t worry about it. Don’t get caught up in the pronunciation of those words. Here’s what I want you to get caught up in.

I want you to get caught up in how God providentially provided for the apostle. And what was he in need of? Courage. Even the strongest among us need encouragement.

Even the strongest among us need the fellowship and the friendship of God’s people. What does God providentially do? They show up and there’s Christians waiting for the apostle. Then others travel a far way to come and encourage the apostle.

Listen to me, my friends, this is a two-sided coin and I could preach all day, but don’t worry, I won’t. It’s a two-sided coin. It is first of all, for you to understand the value of being with God’s people.

Or fellowship is not only sweet, but it is empowering. It is encouraging. And I’m telling you that when you’re not with your Sunday school class or your Bible study group, when you’re not in the fellowship of the church, when you’re not where there are Christian friends and you are authentic with one another and you are encouraging one another and you’re supporting one another and you’re praying for one another, you are being drained by this world and you are being set by the demands of ministry and you need encouragement.

And I don’t care how long you’ve lived for Jesus Christ. And I don’t care how strong you are in your faith. And I don’t care how many times you’ve read the Bible through.

We all need encouragement. Can God’s people say amen? But I want you to understand something. It’s the other side.

It’s a two-sided coin. Who are you encouraging? These people traveled a far way. They came great distance.

There are times you just need to go see your brother and sister in Christ and you need to encourage them. There’s times you need to pick up the phone. You need to send a letter.

You need to show your presence and you need to be there so that you can encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ, whether they’re in our community, in our local fellowship of believers, or they are great distance away. Church, go out there and wake up every day and say, Lord, use me to bless others. And to encourage others.

What can I say to you? I can say through this story, church, that you can trust in the providence of God. You can trust in the providence of God and that you can be assured that God is working all things out for our good and to his glory. It doesn’t mean only good things are happening to you, but God is working in your life, in your circumstances, and he wants to give you a platform to reach others, to bring glory to his name.

What can I say to you? Rejoice in the saving grace of God. Church, do you see through the book of Acts how hard it was to get the gospel to people? Do you see what all God’s servants went through to get the gospel? Do you realize that you are among those that the gospel has reached? And I wonder what was sacrificed by many of our forefathers and those before us so that we could hear about Jesus Christ. Some of you were born into Christian homes.

You are so blessed. I cannot understand it, honestly, that moms and dads and grandparents worked so hard to get the gospel to you. And yet, sometimes, that second and third and fourth generation of Christians are the least thankful for it.

But I think they ought to be the most because they ought to look back and see what their parents endured so that the gospel would come to them, to their children, so that their children would know about Jesus Christ and hear. The kids ought to be the most on fire for God. They ought to be the ones that are really tearing it up for God and the most sold out for Jesus Christ because Jesus said, to whom much is given, much is required.

You were born into a Christian home. Your parents gave up so much so you could hear about Jesus. You may not even know all the blood, sweat, and tears that were done so that you could hear about Jesus.

They brought you to Sunday school, Iwana, with splitting headaches, not feeling well, but they didn’t want you to miss one youth program because they wanted you to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Church, rejoice. What can I say? Align yourself with the mission of God.

Man, we’re on assignment. We got a job to do, church. We got to go across the street and tell others about Jesus.

We got to get it around the world. God is providentially putting things together. You’re scared.

I’m excited about the world. You’re worried. And I’m full of great confidence that God is shaking up this world in the last few years so that more people would turn to Him and receive Him as Jesus Christ.

Hey, church, God is in control. Church, God is providential. All that has unfolded in these last few years, let’s not be shaken.

Let’s go in with a mission. Let’s go within an assignment from heaven, and let’s align our assignment with His providence and say, let’s tell more people about Jesus Christ. Amen? Amen.

Yes, thank you. In the Christian life, there will be problems, and our problem really is not our problem, but it’s how we respond to our problems. And God’s providence helps us, knowing that He is at work, gives us the strength.

We’re reminded what the psalmist said, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers Him out of them all. And so every challenge you have, every problem, God’s going to deliver. You just got to keep your focus on Him and remember that He is at work, even if you can’t see it.

Well, we encourage you to check out our social media, Facebook page. And on that Facebook page, you can keep up with things that are happening daily. Make sure that you like our page, and you’ll also be able to have the opportunity to stream live from Facebook.

And you can as well connect and share and respond and be able to interact a little bit with the Hope Worth Having ministry team. So take advantage of that. This is Pastor Mike Sanders, reminding you that in Christ, there is hope worth having.

The post God’s Providence and Our Assignment Part 2 first appeared on Hope Worth Having.