The Gospel: Eternal Punishment - Glorification

Well, just to say a few things about what would have been said last night, let's look in Matthew's Gospel, Matthew's Gospel, chapter 25, Matthew's Gospel, chapter 25, and reading the last verse. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. Now, last night, our subject would have been eternal punishment.

Not a pleasant subject, but nonetheless, it's in the Word of God and we have to deal with it. And even the Word of God wants to curtail as much as He can the spirit that came about it. Of all the good things that God has done, the fall of man was a disaster, but eternal punishment is in a horrific event.

And the possibility of people experiencing the eternal wrath of God. Most people believe in hell because you hear them telling each other to go to hell all the time. So, it's not that people don't know about hell.

Even though the devil has deadened and taken the edge off of it, so it's just a word. Just like the name of God, they blaspheme God's name. They want God to damn this and God to damn that and the Lord Jesus Christ, His name, they have no respect for that.

It's just a terrible situation that the devil has created out there amongst our people by deadening their respect and their fear for God. That's one of the accusations that God had in Romans chapter 3. We looked at the night, we looked at the fall. There's no fear of God before their eyes.

That word fear doesn't mean to be scared in the sense you're afraid of meeting a lion in that sense, but it's that reverential respect and fear for God. It's gone. And the world don't seem to really care about that.

Don't seem to mean anything to them. They like to hear about the love of God, yes. And so we're going to talk a little bit just for a few minutes now.

I want to just look at the extreme expression of the love of God, the extremity, the extreme, the immense display of God's love for the wretched world that lives in sin and has no fear of God. God knows what's going to happen to them. He's the one that created the lake of fire, so He knows what's going to happen to them.

And He has come to their aid and made it possible that not one sinner has to go to hell, not one. But to make that possible, God had to do one of the most tremendous, well, the most tremendous event in the history of mankind and probably eternity, when God sent His Son into this world to die for these ungodly people upon that cross. And on that cross, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, not only died, but He died for their sin.

And the wrath of God was poured out upon Him. Jesus Christ died for our sins. God made Him to be sin, He who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Now, it's not just that the Lord Jesus died a physical death. No, no, no. He bore all the punishment that a world of ungodly men and women would endure in the lake of fire forever.

He endured it in three hours. God poured His wrath out upon His Son. And the Lord Jesus, because of who He was, He was not just a man.

He's God, manifest in flesh. So He incorporates in His being two natures. He's God and man in one person.

Therefore, because He is God, He was able to absorb that wrath, where no human being who goes to hell will ever absorb the wrath of God. That's why it'll be eternal. Because He can't absorb it.

He just can't exhaust it. But the Lord Jesus did. And after the three hours of the wrath of God being poured out upon Him, when it was over, He cried out, it is finished.

And then He gave up His spirit. For He said while He was alive to His disciples, no man takes my life from me. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again.

That's what He did. So He wasn't murdered by the human family. Though there's one way you may look at it that way.

And they were accused on the human level of doing so. But He gave His life. He voluntarily died.

And then on the third day rose again from the dead. And that man, Jesus Christ, is alive tonight. He's in heaven.

He is the Savior of the world. Now people say to me, and they rationalize it. And even we Christians, we rationalize things.

And we say, why is the wrath of God so extreme? Why is it eternal? Why? Why is it I have to fear about my children? I have to fear about my mother? Fear about my father? Fear about people? Of going to that place? Recognizing it's such a terrible place and the extremity of God's justice and wrath is infinite. There's no end to it. Some people rationalize.

They say, listen, if your child does something wrong, you give him a whipping. But you only whip him for two minutes and then it's over. You let him go.

But God never lets him go. He's in hell. And you'll never get out.

Why is it so extreme? Well, listen. Why was God's love so extreme? Why did God pour His wrath out upon His only beloved Son who never once sinned? He bore the stroke of God's wrath to save sinners. From hell.

And if that guy and all the rest of them like him turn their back on what Jesus Christ did at that cross that they might live, then this very same extreme nature of God that showed His love here, His wrath is just as extreme. No difference. He loved man so much that he had his son die and made him a curse.

And then poured His wrath upon him. And all the fury and vengeance of God fell upon his son. And his son was able to absorb it.

And it was all over. He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead. And is alive tonight.

But you die, my friend, in your sins. Those people on the cross, those Canadians, whoever they are in the world, who die in unbelief, in refusing what Jesus Christ done for them at the cross. Then they will experience the wrath of God.

Only they won't be able to absorb it. That's why it's eternal. It's the nature of God.

We could liken it to electricity. Electricity is a wonderful thing. Look, we wouldn't have lights tonight if it wasn't for electricity.

Industrialized countries couldn't survive without electricity. It's in our homes, it's in our cars, wherever you go, we're using electricity. It's serving us in a tremendous, wonderful way.

We can't get along without it. Yet, if you take a spoon, take a screwdriver, go to that outlet, jam that there piece of wire, whatever, into that there outlet, it'll kill you. A young man in the Caribbean, he had an electric guitar.

He was a good player. He could make that guitar sing. But that electric guitar got a short in it.

And down there, it's 220 volt. And so what he did, he took a little dime and bridged the short with a dime. And it worked quite a few times.

But then this one time, he put that dime in there, that penny in there, and he started up the guitar and he took a hold of it, and 220 volts started going through his hand and arm. And he couldn't let go. And it began to shake and vibrate.

And his mother found him dead on the floor. You see, if we use electricity properly, it's a wonderful servant. But if we put ourselves on a wrong relationship to electricity, it'll kill us.

Now, what are you going to say? Electricity is bad. We've got to get rid of electricity. I mean, we've just got to shut the whole place down and find a new way.

No, not at all electricity. It's fine. That's its nature.

It was just doing what it normally does and is supposed to do. But the guy put himself on wrong relationship with electricity, and it killed him. It's not electricity's fault, it's his fault.

Now, listen. God is holy. He's absolutely holy.

And if a person puts themselves on the wrong side of God by disbelieving Him and disobeying Him, the reaction of God is, just as His love was expressed here at the cross, in mercy, in an extreme way. You despise that. And the wrath of God.

Because He's just as holy as He is loving. He's just as holy as He is merciful. And that's His nature.

So, when you think of it now, about the eternal punishment of God, I know it's frightening. But that's just the way it is. God is God.

We can't change Him. That's His nature. And nobody has to experience the wrath of God.

Nobody has to go to hell. Not one person. The Lord Jesus died for a God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight.

Jesus Christ died for all. And all can be saved. Because of God's mercy and love expressed at the cross.

But reject it, my friend. Our friends out there, we have to tell them plainly. We can't let them have the idea that God's not such a bad guy.

And He won't do us any damage in that hellfire business. That's just a thing to scare people. No.

No. It scares you good. Because John the Baptist said, flee from the wrath of God.

So, we're going to finish our meeting, though, with glorification. And we'll read our verses as we go, rather than read them all and then try and pick up along the way, okay? The first one we're going to read is found in 1 Peter chapter 5. 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 10. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus. We're going to look at five steps. I put the title over my little message, The Route to Glory.

The Pathway to Glory. The first one is here. Now, glory is a display of the excellency of something or somebody.

It's a display of the excellency. For instance, creation. Psalm 19 and verse 1. The heavens declare, what? The glory of God.

See? And there's many ways that the word glory is used in the Bible to display an excellence. That's what it's doing. Glory is manifest excellence.

Some wonderful virtue that somebody has and it's seen. But we'll settle just for this one. The heavens declare the glory of God and affirm His handiwork.

Now, we are called by God's grace unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus. We've been called to glory by the grace of God. Now, I hope that as we talk about these things, you think about them.

You know, the Proverbs talked about the man who went out and he hunted like those Osborne boys do. What would be the point in going out and shooting the big tom? Hunt all morning. Track this thing down.

Shoot him. And then leave him there to rot. What's the point? Well, that's what the Proverbs says.

We Christians are not to be like a hunter who goes out and gets his kill and then leaves it. But he takes it home and roasts it and eats it. So, it's like studying our Bible.

We study the word of God and then we come across some wonderful truths. What do we do? Shut the Bible and forget about it? No. We're to take it home and meditate and digest it.

We hunted it down. We got the nugget. Now, let's feast upon it.

Now, we've been talking a lot about being in Christ. That's where every Christian is. No unsaved person is in Christ.

He's over here in Adam. And what he needs is to get out of Adam into Christ. But everybody that's in Christ, God by His grace has called you unto His eternal glory in Christ.

God in Christ is going to manifest the glories that He sees in His Son and appreciates in Him. Now, as we go down the list of them, we're going to see what they all mean. At least try to.

But the first one is, we've been called by the grace of God into this eternal glory in Christ Jesus. Now, what do you think God has planned for His Son? Do you think He just sent Him into the world to die for us and He died and was buried and rose again and went back to heaven? And He's going to come back maybe for a little bit and settle problems in the earth and set up a kingdom and that's it? You see, we have little projects and our little project, you know, we have planned. It maybe has a month in it or maybe two months or our project might even involve a whole year.

But our projects are small and limited. They have such a short time span. But listen, what God has planned for His Son is eternal.

Has no end. And you and I have been called to His eternal glory in Christ. Think about it.

When the millenniums run this course and the thousands of years run and roll and then they turn into the millions of years, billions of years, trillions of years and it's still not begun. It's eternal. God's called you to something in Christ that is eternal.

That ought to make us want to know, you know, just what's involved in all this. I was going to say that's a long time but then eternity don't have time in it. It's infinite.

Don't have no end. It's as far as the east is from the west. That's why it's so horrible to think of a man here despising that and then going into hell forever.

He gets nothing. Nothing but the wrath of God because he despised the love of God. But those of us who have put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and are in Christ, we're going to share with Him what God has planned for us forever.

You know what I think it's worth thinking about? Trying to figure it out. Go to the Word of God and try. I have five things here now.

Called unto glory. 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 10. Then the next one we're going to look at is found in Romans chapter 9, 22 to 24.

Prepared unto glory. Romans chapter 9. Verse 22 of Romans chapter 9. What of God willing to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsufferings the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He hath before prepared unto glory? Even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles also. How did He call us? And how did He prepare us? Well, the call is in the Gospel.

You know, that's like Matthew chapter 11, verse 28, is it? Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. That's the call of God in the Gospel. But He wants to prepare us unto glory.

And He does this through... Which one of these doctrines do you think would be that? Prepare us unto glory. Well, it's this one here. Regeneration.

We talked about that one night. How a man is born again. And what's the purpose in God having us born again? Well, because He's going to prepare us for a position and a work and our existence with the Lord Jesus forever.

He's got to prepare us. And the first thing He has to do is make us sons. So, He called us in the Gospel and He prepares us unto glory by our new birth.

Making us sons. Now, there's two ways man is looked at in the Bible. He's a son of God or he's a son of the devil.

He's a child of God or a child of the devil. You know, we might ask all ourselves here tonight, whose child are you? Can't be a child of both. You were born a child of the devil.

And to become a child of God, you have to be reborn. That's what regeneration means. Jesus said to the religious man, marvel not that I say unto thee Nicodemus, you must be born again.

Or you'll never see the kingdom of God. One thing about the Lord Jesus, He made things plain. Simple and the statements weren't long.

Theological arguments. Nicodemus, I know you're a religious man. I know you're the master in Israel.

The top teacher in your religion. I know all that. I know that you're not bad morally and a thief and all that.

I know that. But Nicodemus, you are associated with this guy. You're a child of Adam.

And therefore, you must be born again. Final. Period.

Nicodemus went into a confusion. He couldn't understand that. Well, Nicodemus finally got saved.

Became a child of God. And that was the way Nicodemus was prepared unto glory. He had to be born again.

God prepares people for glory. You just can't enter into the glory of God without first being prepared. First you're called.

You respond to the gospel. Then you're born again. That's your preparation.

You are now prepared to enter into and enjoy the glory of God. Now, in Ephesians 2 and 15. Well, let's read that verse.

That's an important verse. Ephesians 2 and 15. Ephesians 2, verse 15.

Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances. For to make... That word make means create. For to create in Himself of twain, that is of two, one new man.

So, making peace. A new birth. And now He talks about a new man.

The Lord Jesus out of the Jew and the Gentile created in Himself one new man. What do you need a new man for? Well, because the old man destroyed everything. He ruined everything.

So God can't continue with this fellow. He has to get a new man. He has to get us out of that fellow because everybody there is condemned.

Rebels, slaves, criminals, dead in sins. There God will judge them and send them to hell. So He's got to get out of Adam and into Christ.

And that happens by faith. In the Lord Jesus who died for the Madonna cross was buried and rose again the third day. Those who believe that are associated with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.

So now they're in Christ. And Christ is a new man. Because the Lord Jesus in His death created out of Jew and Gentile Leviticus chapter 23 verse 16 and 17 out of the two He created Himself one new man.

What's He want a new man for? Well, everything He had planned and hoped for in this man it was all lost. He was to rule for God and He was to have dominion for God but He threw everything away and gave it to the devil. Walked out on God.

And so He's condemned now. But God hasn't finished with His purpose. He's still determined there's going to be a man rule over His kingdom and over the whole of His universe.

And that new man is Christ and those who put their faith in Him If you're in Christ you're a part of that new man. And God has a purpose for that new man that spans eternity. With God it's not it's not short term.

No part time stuff with God. God saves us He gives us eternal life. He calls us to His eternal glory.

It's eternal. He prepares us for that eternal glory by giving us a new birth. Destroying the old and creating us new.

And out of the Jew and the Gentile the Lord Jesus created in Himself one new man. That's why the Bible talks about an old man and a new man. The old man is everything associated with this guy.

The new man is everything we have in Christ. So if any man be in Christ he is a brand new creation. The Lord Jesus said He created in Himself one new man.

So there's been a new man created. That's here. The Lord Jesus and the Jew and the Gentile who have embraced Him as their Saviour.

So we've been called unto glory prepared unto glory and now we have to be skilled to serve in glory. Skilled to serve. Now you start to think I'm going to heaven I'm identified with Jesus Christ I'm one of God's sons so I'm an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ.

That means I'm gonna reign with Christ. But am I skilled for that? You skilled equipped for that? Skilled to reign in glory. Well Peter he didn't really think that naturally you know we're skilled for that we have to do some work.

Equip ourselves for that day. Why do you think why do you think God left us here? When he saved us and now we're saved the child of God why didn't he just take us to heaven? As each person gets saved rapture them up take them to heaven. Why leave us here? Why? What's the purpose? Why all these terrible experiences and stuff that we have in life? Disappointments and trials and difficulties and sorrows and so on? What's it all for? What's it for? Well you have a personality that personality is defined by will intellect and sensitivity.

Or another way of looking at it the Lord Jesus said when asked what's the greatest commandment? He said this is the greatest commandment that you love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind and with all your strength. That's your personality. Your whole personality God demands you love him with all your being.

Your personality. Now your personality makes you what you are. We recognize you for what you are by your personality.

Some people have a nice personality some people have a rough personality. And in 1 Peter let's look at it 1 Peter 2 Peter rather chapter 1 and down at verse 7 I believe we no let's go up to verse okay we'll read in at verse 5. Now Peter's going to talk about is it 6 or 7 moral building blocks that he tells us we should build into our personalities. Here it is verse 5 2 Peter 1 verse 5 And besides this giving all diligence add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity for if these things be in you and abound they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful but in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ but he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

Wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if you do these things you shall never fail for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Verse 11 could be done a little work on it to make it a little simpler but we leave it as it is. That you may have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Now getting into the kingdom you don't need these moral building blocks to get into the kingdom. You get into the kingdom by rebirth. Chapter Mandy born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Once you're saved born again you're in the kingdom. And you're in the kingdom because you have faith in Jesus Christ. And that's what brings you into the kingdom.

So there's no danger of a Christian not being in the kingdom. But to have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom. To go into it full vibrant entering into it with understanding purpose acceptance and God welcoming us there in a wonderful way with open arms.

How's that going to happen? Well that's going to take place. Because if you're going to be somebody and I'm going to be somebody in that kingdom then I have to be skilled to serve. That's just like a doctor.

You're going to let somebody put the knife to you that doesn't know what he's doing? No, you want somebody who's got a lot of experience with using the surgeon's knife. Then you're willing to. But if you know the man has had no experience with the surgeon's knife you're going to be slow to let him work on you.

Alright. You're going into the kingdom of God. You're going in there as a son a joint heir and an heir of God to administrate in the inheritance with Jesus Christ.

Are you equipped to administrate in that kingdom? Are you fit? That's what the guy said to me. Most of the things I know about the Bible somebody challenged me on it. And then I had to go and do some work on it to see if it was all... And most of the time they're right.

He said to me, he said, what moral right does God have to give you the right to rule over somebody else's spirit if you can't rule over your own? Wow! I went home and did a lot of thinking on that one. If I can't rule my own spirit on what moral grounds can God allow me to rule over the spirits of others? Think about it. It might take a little of your sleep away.

You should lay at night and wonder. What am I doing with my personality? My intellect. Am I trying to think properly? Think the way the Word of God tells me to think? What sort of things are pure? What sort of things are clean? What sort of things are honorable? And so on.

Think on these things. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was found in fashion as a man and then again humbled himself. Let this mind be in you.

Get your intellect working. How are we doing? Intellect. Will.

What about your will? Do we always want will to will the will of God? Or do we often will to do my will which is not the will of God? Sensitivity. Am I sensitive to the feelings of other people? Am I sensitive to the feelings of God? After all God did for me in Christ at that cross and saved me from all this wretchedness and blessed me with all this abundant blessings and now I'm just half hearted not much interested. Am I sensitive to the feelings of God? Well that's why Peter says here now listen you all have faith that's good.

Now he says now I want you now to think about these things in your own leisure. Besides this faith he says giving all diligence add to your faith virtue that's courage courageous and to virtue knowledge get to know your God and how you're supposed to live as a Christian. Knowledge not knowledge arithmetic and science and all that that's alright for the world and so on but that's not going to do you any good in being equipped to serve in glory.

What God is looking for in that day is moral worth not intellectual. Add to knowledge temperance self-control and to self-control patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity. Those are the things we're to add into our personality to build up our personality to make us fit to serve in glory.

We're going to glory we're called to glory and we're prepared for glory we're born again we're in the family of God we're in the new man we're a part of the new man whom God has prepared now to govern the universe for him for all eternity and are we fit to serve with him in glory. When you ask yourself that question I'd ask myself can God morally allow me like the talents the man gave out the talents he gave one one five he gave one two and the other one I think that's the way it went there was a ten and five and two anyway he gave them and he said you go and you use them and make gain with them and so the guy that got ten talents he come back and said here I have gained ten more talents with the ten you gave me he said good well done now good and faithful servants you can reign over so much cities the guy with five come back and said to the master here's the five I gained five with the five well that's good well done now good and faithful servants you've been faithful over a few things I'll make you faithful over many so many cities you see we're going to reign and what you do with your personality is going to determine what the Lord Jesus will allow you to do in his kingdom for him he that's faithful over a few things can be faithful over many but if he can't be faithful like the guy he brought back his one he said I heard you were a rough master he said and he said I knew you sold where you didn't reap and so on he said here you can have your pound back the master said you wicked guy he took the one pound away and gave it to the guy that had ten brothers and sisters we're going somewhere we're going to glory we're going to be there forever there's a brand new man God has created to administer administrate the affairs of the universe forever and he wants us to be fit to serve in that atmosphere of glory he can't entrust to us position and place if we don't do anything for him now we don't build into our personality anything just let it ride no ok skilled to serve and now equipped to function in that kingdom of glory let's read Ephesians 1 and 22 now I call this one equipped to function in glory as kings and priests because we've been called to be a king and a priest a king rules and a priest teaches spiritual values ok let's read in Ephesians 1 we'll read in at verse 19 now just in passing pick that up in the world that is to come this isn't the final this is just the preparing ground there's another to come that which is to come and hath put all things under his feet now listen and gave him take out the word to be, they're in italics and gave him the head over all take away things to the church which is his body the fullness take that word fullness and put beside it reservoir which is his body the reservoir of him that filleth all things with all things necessary for their function you know just as it sits there it's difficult to know and so you're going to have to listen to my interpretation of it now and if you want to look at things for yourself, very good that's no problem in that but how am I going to function in that state of glory as an administrator over the affairs of the works of God we are heirs of God joint heirs with Christ that means the whole thing God has made is coming into our hands we're heirs of God God didn't make the creation just for himself the glory in no he wants to use that to manifest himself in it and so on but he's going to administrate the affairs of the universe through us that new man and we have to be fit for that occasion we have to be equipped for that how are we going to be equipped just suppose I don't know if this is true or not this is just what one man suggested he suggested the universe is so vast that God could give a milky way to every one of his children, his sons okay be that as it may or not but just suppose he gives me a milky way how could I possibly administrate all the affairs in that now we're going to come down here in the next one we're going to see that is just not a dead universe out there there's nothing out there there's nothing to administrate over but how would I do it, how would you do it are you equipped for such a tremendous responsibility and work I'm afraid a lot of you are like me we get so tangled up with this present that we forget we're called to glory eternal glory and this little 80 I might get 80 years I don't know Cal told me he don't know how long his family don't live very long and Dick said they don't live very long on his and I might have about 10 years left that's all, it's all over it's finished and if I haven't done something with myself now I can't do it over there so why am I meddling around and doing this and doing that and worrying about this and worrying about that when all that is irrelevant, don't matter the circumstances of life my friend God brought you into those circumstances for you to develop your personality you got a bad boss he's rough in that circumstance you can display and build into your life patience you got somebody that's done you wrong I mean write down dirty nasty things to you that's your opportunity to show love, forgiveness you see the circumstances of life those circumstances were sent to us so that in those circumstances we could build our moral beings build up our personalities with a view to service and we are being equipped now, how are we equipped so we can do it if a milky wave was given to us, to you me and there was a million subjects out there over which we were to govern well here's what it says here now I'm going to change it a little bit I had to change it a little bit to make sense for me and so I'm going to put it that way for you, now I'm in good company I didn't just go it on my own but there will be some who will disagree so I'm sorry now he which is to come and hath put all things under his feet so the whole universe is put under his feet and he gave him head over all things to the church so Christ is given to the church which is his body and his body is the reservoir of him so the body the church is the reservoir in which Christ dwells he's inside us and he's the fullness of him that filleth all in all which is his body the fullness of him that filleth all in all or which is his body the reservoir of him that fills everything with everything necessary for its functioning okay I'll put it this way let's take let's take an animal a lion and all the beasts and all the fowl and all the fish marine life, fowl life, beast life insect life, reptile so forth, he gives every one of them, all of them life he fills them all with life that's John chapter 1 by him were all things created and nothing is and nothing has been created by him all things were created and nothing is made that was not created by him and in him is life in him is life he's not only the creator but he's the life that all his creation is enjoying okay so in him is life he is the reservoir the church is the reservoir of him that filleth everything with life okay now we take a lion how come a lion doesn't turn into a cat or a leopard how come a horse don't turn into a cow how come you can have all these birds, these species of birds how come a canary never turns to a crow how come a pike never turns into a walleye how come a deer never turns into a a mule deer how come a mule deer never turns into a moose why an elk never turns into a caribou why they all have life and they all received life from Jesus Christ but not only did he give them all life but he gave them everything essential for a moose to be a moose and a cow to be a cow and a canary to be a canary and a crow to be a crow and a pike to be a pike and a walleye a walleye and never mix up the church is the reservoir of him that fills all things with life and he's also filled us with everything that's necessary for us to function in the place he's going to give us in that kingdom there will be no want but you will be prepared he will give you everything essential that's required of you to administrate for him in that particular place in his eternal kingdom that he wants you to have sounds pretty good, eh? if we could only get beyond this this this earth and this world that's why Paul said, not only in this world but that world that's to come the next one's the big one this one is just preparing this is training ground this is where we're getting an understanding of who we are and why God saved us and where we're going and what's important for us as Christians so, equipped to function in the place of a priest and a king because we're called to be kings and priests that's forever a king to reign and a priest to teach okay, let's go to the next one the last one so who we're going to teach? let's see here what we got the function of the glorified restored people the function of the glorified what are we going to be doing? well it says there's angels out there it says there's a world out there there's 12 tribes of Israel out there and then last of all we are vitally connected with the throne of God who's out there for us to administrate over? now I looked this up today because I thought maybe I was wrong so I looked it up Acts chapter 17 and verse 31 says God has appointed the day in which He's going to judge this world by that man whom He affirmed that's this man here He's going to judge the world now that don't mean He's going to judge them for sin at the great white throne it's not that kind of judgment that word judge there means He's going to reign have dominion He's going to have dominion over the world in the day to come that's in the millennium reign so when it says that we are going to judge angels wow wonder how that's going to work I don't know and I don't know how many angels there are but God is telling us in 1st Corinthians chapter 6 we better read it make sure we have it right 1st Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 3 they're having a problem in the church at Corinth and Paul is giving them a scolding because they're misbehaving and they cannot deal with a problem in the local church so Paul says this to them know ye not that ye shall judge angels how much more things that pertain to this life now what does it mean judge as a judge in a legal situation no means you're going to have dominion over angels you're going to control angels now don't ask me how that's going to be because I can't find in the bible where God gives us any particular evidence other than to tell these Corinthians listen a local church is a place on the face of this earth that is a higher legal function than any court system in the world the court systems and the judicial systems of our world are all crooked all you need to get by in them is money and to know how to work your way through the system but in this one it's not so the local church is to be a place where justice is carried out perfectly honestly and in an honorable way and here they have a problem in the church and Paul says what you mean you guys can't settle this little thing here in the church don't you know you're going to judge angels that's why we got to be equipped and that's why we got to be skilled and that's why we can't run off and just let our natural, well we won't have a natural mind then and so on but we have to be skilled and equipped for the day when we're going to judge angels now some theologians would take you up to first Corinthians 11 where the angels are looking on into the church and they're seeing women with a hat on their head and they look on and wonder hey these sisters are going to one day judge us I wonder if they're very submissive themselves and so the hat on their head is showing their admission to submission to the man and the lordship of Christ and the angels say look on they're going to judge me someday isn't that something you're called to glory Christians an eternal glory that's awesome and wonderful you're not only going to judge angels but he says in verse 4 if then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church I speak to your shame uh now that's up verse says here oh yeah verse 2, do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world you're going to judge the world God hath appointed the day in which he will judge the world by that man who is this man, that's that new man and what's that new man composed of Jew and Gentile, the church, the Christians and with him were heirs of God and joined heirs with Christ and so when he administrates the affairs of this world you and I'll be there with him that's why the spirit of God is telling us equip yourself become skilled just don't live your life here without taking the circumstances of life serious and seeing that these circumstances come to me so that I can build moral virtues into my personality that I might be skilled to serve in that coming day and then the next one is the Lord Jesus said in Matthew chapter 19 and 28 he told him there when they said we have forsaken all he said no man has forsaken mother, father brother, sister, husband, wife and so on and that he will receive a hundredfold and Peter says well what do we get well the Lord Jesus says those of you who have been with me now walked with me now in the regeneration when the millennial kingdom comes and I'm sitting on the throne of my glory you shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel see the whole tenor of this glory is God lifting us up and then we're going to read our last verse and we're 15 minutes over and this one here is Revelation chapter 5 and verse 10 Revelation chapter 5 and verse 10 and has made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth now if you read chapter 4 and chapter 5 it's all got to do with the throne of God and around the throne of God there's 24 thrones and upon those thrones are 24 elders and those 24 elders are the church and listen the church the body of Christ all of us linked up with this man were identified with the throne of God and that's forever so I hope these few remarks are a help to you and a blessing to you and thanks for your coming night after night and God bless you all let us pray Our Father we ask Thy blessing now as we part bless Thy children help us all to get a grasp on the glory that Thou hast called us to and what Thou hast given us in Thy Son help us to see how far it surpasses every dream we might dream about in this world everything we might hope for everything we strive and long for that's got to do with this world help us all to understand it's nothing in compared with what Thou hast called us to in Thy Son what we dream and long for is temporal this world comes and it goes youth and beauty pass away oh you have not long to stay and so for some of us the race is well now run and what have we done with our personalities have we been equipping ourselves are we becoming skilled servants for that day to come so we ask these things now and bless the Lord's people we pray in the Savior's name, Amen Now we're going to take a chance and we're going to sing a song 310 Jesus keep me near the cross there a precious fountain free to all a healing stream flows from Calvary's mountain near the cross a trembling soul love and mercy found me there he there the bright and morning star shed his beams around me in the cross, in the cross be my glory ever till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river 310 Jesus keep me near the cross there a precious fountain free to all a healing stream flows from Calvary's mountain in the cross, in the cross be my glory ever till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river near the cross a trembling soul love and mercy found me there the bright and morning star shed his beams around me in the cross, in the cross be my glory ever till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river near the cross, O Lamb of God bring its beams before me help me walk from day to day with its shadow over me in the cross, in the cross be my glory ever till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river near the cross I'll watch and wait holding, trusting never till I reach the golden strand just beyond the river in the cross, in the cross be my glory ever till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river Remember the meetings on Sunday at 1030 or 930 1115