Are You Prepared For Eternity?
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
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Earlier this week I was in the local Cable One (Cable T.V provider). The lady in front of me was attempting to set up an account and have her cable hooked up at her new home. The attendant who worked for the cable company went down a list of things that were required before service could begin. The lady looked at the attendant and said “I am sorry; I didn’t come prepared because I didn’t know I was coming”
I want you to consider that statement for a moment - “I didn’t come prepared because I didn’t know I was coming”.....I wonder how many people stepped out into eternity this week in that same situation… They didn’t go prepared because they didn’t know they were going”
Sadly, there were some people who died this week who had every intention of making things right with the Lord…ONE DAY!
They knew the plan of salvation
They believed that Jesus was the only way to Heaven.
They thought that they would have a little more time to make things right
They had planned to surrender to Him but now it is too late!
Chances are pretty good that someone here today has that same mindset:you know that you should turn to Jesus but you procrastinate, You turn away and ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit week after week.
What is to say that your name will not be in the obituaries this week?
We live in a world filled with uncertainty, There are not many things that we can be 100% certain of but friend, there are 3 things that you can take to the bank:
1) You Will Die! (Barring the rapture) -We go to great lengths to put that off as long as we can but one day it is going to happen.
2) You Will Face Judgment! - Saved or lost you will stand before God at either the Judgment Seat of Christ or The Great White Throne
3) You Will Confess That Jesus Is Lord! - Some have already done so in this life, but even the atheist will one day confess that Jesus is Lord.
There is nothing we can do to change any of these 3 things. Today I want to look at some constants… some things that we can be certain of. I want to consider:
i. Life & Death
ii. Saved & Lost
iii. Heaven & Hell
As we look at these subjects I would like for you to answer the question… “Are You Prepared For Eternity?”
Let’s begin with:
I. Life & Death - “It is appointed unto man once to die”
(If you are alive say amen?? I was beginning to wonder about some of you!)
God Himself created life - Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Regardless of what the evolutionists say... You can trace life all the way back to God almighty. It started with Adam & Eve and has worked its way down to you and me.
Life is somewhat hard to sum up, but Richard Needham has categorized life into 7 stages that he calls “The 7 ages of man” :
1) Spills
2) Drills
3) Thrills
4) Bills
5) Ills
6) Pills
7) Wills
Source- (Sermonillustrations.com)
Job said that - “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble” (Job 14:1)
James said that {Life} is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (James 4:14)
There is a common theme throughout the Old & New Testaments… LIFE IS SHORT AND DEATH IS CERTAIN! When you read the obituaries there are names from those who were 1 day old to those who were over 100 and everywhere in between. You are not exempt! You will die! “It is appointed unto man once to die”
I think we all agree that “Life & Death” are certain but if you will look with me I want to see also”
II. Saved & Lost “and then the judgment”
Everyone here is alive; at least that is what you told me earlier! But everyone that is alive fits into one of these 2 categories.
• You are either saved or lost
• You are a believer or a non-believer
• You are either a saint or you are a sinner
Though everyone proclaimed to be alive earlier, that is not necessarily the case. Physically yes, spiritually maybe not! You see there are some of you who are born again and you have ETERNAL LIFE, but some of you (though physically alive) are dead in your trespasses and sins.
We find a clear distinction between the Saved person & the Lost person in John 3:18:
a) Who Is Saved? – “He that believeth on him is not condemned”
b) Who Is Lost? – “but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”
The key to this verse is the word “Believe” - Believe - (pisteuō-pist-yoo'-o) - to have faith, to entrust to commit, or put in trust with.
A. You say “I BELIEVE”… God Asks: “DO YOU TRUST” - James 2:19 You believest that there is one God; You do well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
B. You say “I PRAYED A PRAYER”… God Asks: “HAVE YOU SURRENDERED?” - Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
C. You say “I AM A GOOD PERSON”… God says “NO ONE IS GOOD” - Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one
If you are basing your eternal destination on any of these thoughts you are in danger of HELLFIRE!
The only way to Heaven is through: A conversion experience, Where you trust in Jesus as Savior, Repent of your sins & Fully surrender your life to Christ!
Another constant or guarantee that I can share with you is this …JUDGMENT IS COMNG!
There are 2 groups of people who will face Judgment. These two categories contain every person who has ever lived. Consider:
ii. Judgment Is Coming For The Saint
iii. Judgment Is Coming For The Sinner
It is vitally important that you know which category you are in! People have a distorted view of judgment. They picture scales that will weigh good works verses bad works…NOT TRUE! The Bible makes it clear that we are “Saved by grace through faith” …. “Not by works” (Ephesians 2:8) The most moral person that you know is still a vile wretched sinner according to God’s standard. - Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; The only assurance of salvation comes through the blood of Jesus - John 14:6 I am the way, the truth & the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.
A. The Saved Person Will Appear Before The Judgment Seat Of Christ - 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
The Judgment Seat of Christ is where every Believer will:stand before Jesus, give account of our service to Him, receive our reward & unfortunately watch many potential rewards burn up. This is also the place where you will hopefully hear the words… “Well done thou good and faithful servant”
We are stewards of God and He has given us the command to be His ministers to the world.
1) Every day is one more day to do His work.
2) He has provided us with the things needed to accomplish His work.
3) He has given us talents and abilities to use for His work.
We will be accountable to our service - 1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
At the Judgment Seat our works will be tried by fire.
Some will burn up and some will remain.
Some of our works will remain after they have been put to the fire. “If it abides he shall receive a reward.”
How can we be assured that we will have work that abides? ….. OBEY CHRIST! The works that abide/remain will be the basis for our rewards.
B. The Lost Person Will Appear Before The Great White Throne - Revelation 20:11 ¶And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
1. Jesus Will Be The Judge - v11a And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it,
a) “Great”. speaks of the power in this throne. (This is the ultimate authority.)
b) “White”. This term speaks of its purity. (All that comes from this throne will be true, will be righteous & will be just.)
Who Are Present At THis Judgment? - v12a “And I saw the dead”
All of those who never accepted Christ will be there on that day.All of the people that decided that they would rather live their life on their own terms are about to suffer the consequences and face justice.All of those who procrastinated and put things off and died without surrendering to Jesus will be there!
Notice the phrase - “Small and great” this tells us that there will be a vast range of people present at this event.
o So called “Good” people will be there!
o Religious people will be there!
o Respected people will be there!
o Some of our family will be there!
o Some of our friends will be there!
o Some of you will be there!
We have seen who is present but who will be absent?
2) Who Are Absent? The born again believers - John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Many years ago a man conned his way into the orchestra of the emperor of China although he could not play a note. Whenever the group practiced or performed, he would hold his flute against his lips, pretending to play but not making a sound. He received a modest salary an enjoyed a comfortable living. Then one day the emperor requested a solo from each musician. The flutist got nervous. There wasn’t enough time to learn the instrument. He pretended to be sick, but the royal physician wasn’t fooled. On the day of his solo performance, the impostor took poison and killed himself. The explanation of his suicide led to a phrase that found its way into the English language: "He refused to face the music." Today many pretend to be a part of God’s orchestra by just blending in with the crowd and going through the motions. No one notices here, because you say the right things, go to the right places, and hang out with the right people. And you can enjoy the comfort of being accepted by the crowd of your choice. But there will come a day when you must face the music, one day you will be separated from everything. On that day you will stand alone before God and give an account for your life, your decisions, and your rejecting of His great salvation!
Friend, if you die lost you will appear before Jesus at the Great White Throne! “It is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment”
Thus far we have seen Life & Death …Saved & Lost, finally I would like to examine what happens after the judgment: Each of you will find yourself in one of 2 places. Look with me as we see:
III. Heaven & Hell
Jesus promised His followers of a place of rest. Heaven is great because of who is there and who is not! It is great because of what is there and also what is not there. We are told that there will be no more:
• Sickness
• Pain
• Sorrow
• Crying
• Death
There won’t be any more Funeral homes, Nursing homes, Hospitals. Mental intuitions, Prisons
No divorce, child abductions, accidents, taxes, no more bills
No more rapes, Murders, Burglaries, Molestationsno crime of any kind
No more cancer, Diabetes, Strokes, Heart problems, Arthritis or any reason to go to a doctor! (Good thing because there wont be any there!)
No more Antichrist, False prophet, Fallen angels and most importantly no more Devil!!
I am excited about who & what is not going to be in Heaven, but I am also excited about who and what is going to be there. We will have a: New home, New life a New body ......We will see beauty that our minds cannot comprehend down here.
It is a place of peace, joy and fulfillment! We have family members & friends waiting for us over there, The saints of old are already there But most of all one day will finally be face to face with The King of Kings & Lord of Lords our Saviour & Master Jesus Christ!!
"What a day that will be, when My Jesus I shall see"
"As I look upon His face, The one who saved me by his grace"
"When He takes me by the hand, & leads me through the Promised Land"
"What a day, Glorious day that will be"
If you are saved then you can look forward to this place. But if you are lost and you find yourself before Jesus at the Great White Throne I want you to get just a glimpse of what will happen.
At the Great White Throne: Those who lived their life believing that there was no God will find out that there is!!! They will find that it is too late to believe in Him!
o There will be no excuses
o There will be no second chances
o There will be nowhere to hide
You will be summoned to God’s Courthouse …THE JUDGMENT at The Great White Throne.
You stand before the throne as He searches the book, You are waiting for Him to smile and welcome you to heaven, You know that you were a “good person” , You prayed that prayer, You believed, You served, You tithed, You taught, You sang, You brought others
He looks up from the book and says “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” - You beg and plead with Him one more time; because He is merciful He searches again. He looks up and you hear the words - "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:", Matt. 25:41
You are still pleading, there must be a mistake! I am one of yours, You begin to feel the flames of the lake of fire at your feet ...You are screaming! ...You are pleading! ...You know that this is the end! ...You are filled with regret! ...you are filled with the horror that the torments of this fire are eternal ...You spend eternity begging for one more chance! ...Over and over again you hear sermons, you remember opportunities but you refused to surrender to Jesus! The most horrible fact of this Lake of Fire is that it didn’t have to happen! The very one who is on this Great White Throne made a way for you to escape this torment but you refused to surrender. Hell is full of people who were going to get right “one day” If you were to step out into eternity today are you ready? Or would you have to say “I didn’t come prepared because I didn’t know I was coming?
Hebrews 9:27 and as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
You WILL Die!
You WILL Face Judgment!
You Will Bow and Confess Jesus
