HOW DO YOU SPELL C-R-O-S-S

“See”

Look at Calvary. Don’t turn away. I know it’s not easy. What is done to Him is shameful. I know. But look closely! Past the spittle. Beyond the blood. There. In His eyes. Friend, that is love. It is love for you! See the nails in His hands and feet, fastening Him to a tree He created for man’s use. Look at the love He has for you!

“Are”

Are you able to see that He bled for you? Are you willing to admit that you are lost without Him? Are you ready to submit to His will, to obey Him, and to live for Him? Are you prepared for eternity? Are you convinced?

 “Oh”

Hear His cries of pain and agony. The death of a thousand deaths. Bitter moans of His disciples. The gasp of heaven’s angels. The sorrow of a Father for His only begotten Son! The gasps and exclamations of a hateful mob.

“SS”

That’s the hiss of the beguiling serpent. The one who is bruising the heel of the perfect One (Genesis 3:15), putting God the Son in the tomb. This is the moment of his triumph. Though resurrection will soon bring the ultimate victory for Christ and hope for man, at the cross of Calvary the devil must be enjoying his front row seat. Doesn’t he anger you? Disgust you? Motivate you? Live for Jesus. Don’t live for the snake!

Friends, the cross spells the difference between heaven and hell, hope and helplessness, joy and sorrow, day and night! The cross spells life!

“And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross…” (Ephesians 2:16).

Author Unknown

Heaven – What It Is

TEXT

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

THESIS

Heaven is a Divinely prepared place and God has provided for men to receive it.

INTRODUCTION

1. God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26).

     A. God is not flesh but rather Spirit (John 4:24).

     B. God is eternal (I Timothy 1:17).

     C. The flesh of men is dust and shall return to the dust (Genesis 3:19;  Ecclesiastes 12:7).

     D. The spirit of man never dies, he lives on (Ecclesiastes 12:7;  Matthew 22:32).

2. The ever-living spirits of men must have a home.

     A. Both the righteous and unrighteous shall not remain on this earth (Luke 16:19-31).

     B. All shall come forth from the graves (John 5:28-29).

     C. The righteous have considered themselves but  sojourners in this life and yearn for a Kingdom to come (Hebrews 11:13-16).

3. The city which those righteous pilgrims sought is Heaven.

     A. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.

     B. Heaven is a pure place for a pure people.

     C. Heaven is a precious place for a precious people.

DISCUSSION

I. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.

     A. Heaven has been prepared by God (John 14:1-3; Titus 1:2).

     B. God’s Word teaches all men how to be prepared.

          a. Eternal life is in the Son of God (I John 5:11).

          b. One gets into the Son by obeying the Gospel (Galatians 3:26-27).

NOTE: Salvation is also in the Christ (II Timothy 2:10). Salvation and eternal life are one and the same. Salvation is in the church Acts 2:47). Therefore, one cannot reject the Church of Christ and gain Heaven.

II. Heaven is a pure place for a pure people.

     A. Heaven is a place of absolute purity (Revelation  21:22-27).

     B. The Gospel calls us to pure lives.

          a. We become pure through obeying the Gospel (I Peter 1:22).

          b. The pure shall see God (Matthew 5:8).

          c. Only purity is accepted before God (James 1:27).

III. Heaven is a precious place for a precious people.

     A. Heaven is worth more than all the world (Matthew  16:26).

     B. God’s people are precious in His sight (Psalm 116:15).

          a. Psalm 37:31-33.

          b. I Peter 5:7.

          c. Hebrews 13:5.

     C. God has shown how precious by giving His only begotten Son (John 3:16)

John Rose

End-time Backlash

We know that “of that day and hour” we are ignorant—and so forever shall remain right up until “that day and hour.” We are given no signs concerning its arrival, no warnings, no pre-indicators, nothing. He will come “as a thief in the night.” That being true, could it be that many, out of sheer exhaustion from fighting against the error of the prevaricating prognosticators, have grown careless in their watching? The fact that we have no signs or indications whatsoever in no wise means that He will not come today!

We do not know when He will come, but we do know that He is coming. It may be today. It could be tomorrow. It could be next week. It could be twenty thousand years in the future. We do not know. Our part is to live rightly. So living, it will not matter when He comes.

Equally important with the date of His return, and equally unknown to us, is the date of our death. We do not know when our natural life will end. It could be today. It could be tomorrow. It could be next week. It most certainly will not wait twenty thou and years! Still, we do not know when it will be. Now, if people ignorant of their own approaching death will not live rightly, is it any surprise that something that may yet linger twenty thousand years distant has failed to move them?

In the final analysis, it does not matter when He comes or when we die if we are living rightly. To be prepared for the one is to be prepared for the other. To live rightly is to die rightly, and that is to be with Him in Heaven forever. Are you living rightly? May God bless us all as we study and obey His Word.

Tim Smith