Transcript Slide 1

Do You Really Want to
Spend Eternity with
God?
• What is God really like?
• Will I be comfortable spending eternity
with Him?
• Am I ready to meet Him?
• How does my view of God affect my
behavior?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat
of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit
of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God
hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye
touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the
woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know
that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall
be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good
and evil.
Genesis 3:2-5
This is way Satan started to create his campaign to create
confusion about the character and behavior of God.
What was Satan saying:
You won’t die.
He is trying to keep something good from you.
God is being unfair to you.
God is not a good person.
Satan has spent the rest of the time since then convincing
mankind about his version of the character of God.
He has spent the last six thousand years convincing us of
another gospel.
“Our infinite God has been accused of untrustworthiness.
But God has answered this accusation. And the way he has
met the charge is the most convincing evidence of his utter
worthiness of our faith.
The Bible is a record of the long and costly demonstration of
the trustworthiness of God. If trust could be produced by
claims or exhortation, the Bible would be a very different
book. But claims of trustworthiness are worth no more than
the trustworthiness of the one making them. Thus even
when a person has been falsely accused, mere claims or
denials prove nothing. Only by the demonstration of
trustworthiness over a long period of time and under a variety
of circumstances can trustworthiness be convincingly
established.”
Can God Be Trusted by Graham Maxwell, p. 10.
The Good News (the Gospel)
is that God is not the kind of
person Satan has made him
out to be.
It cost heaven an infinite price to bring us the Good News
and confirm it with evidence that would stand for eternity.
No wonder Paul was moved to speak so strongly in its
defense. Just like the loyal angels, Paul was jealous for the
character of God. To him it was unthinkable that some of
his fellow ministers would, in effect, lend their support to
Satan’s charges by attributing even the slightest trace of
arbitrariness to our gracious God.
It was this same perversion of the Good News that stirred in
Jesus most deeply. He was gentle with the worst of sinners
– with Simon in his dastardly treatment of the woman who
anointed Christ’s feet; with the woman taken in adultery;
even with his betrayer, Judas. But when some of the
religious leaders, respected teachers of the people, denied
The Good News and echoed Satan’s lies about God,
Christ uttered those awful words,” You are of your father
the devil” (John 8:44).
There was no disagreement between Jesus and those
teachers as to the existence of God, or the story of
Creation, or the authority of the Ten Commandments, or
which day it was the Sabbath. Their disagreement was
about the character of God. Jesus came to bring them
the Good News, a picture of God that would enable them
to go on doing many of the same things but for a different
reason – a reason that would make it possible for them to
be obedient and free at the same time. But they killed
him rather than change their view of God – then hastened
home to keep another Sabbath.
There is nothing more diabolic than to suppress and
pervert the Good News about God. And this can be done
even while apparently presenting Christian doctrine. As
God is represented in some pulpits, the doctrine of the
Second Coming is certainly not the good news. The
prospect of spending eternity with such a deity would be
forbidding.
There are explanations of the death of Christ and of his
intercession in our behalf that put God in a most
unfavorable light, less gracious and understanding than
his Son. Such subjects as sin, the law, the destruction of
the wicked, the requirements for salvation, are
sometimes presented in such a way – including the voice
and manner of the preacher – as to leave the people with
precisely the picture of God that Satan has been urging.
As followers of Christ, it is our desire to be counted
among God’s loyal people, described in Revelation as
obedient to his commandments and faithful to the truth
revealed by Jesus.
But if in our eagerness to obey we may have left the
impression that we worship a legalistic and arbitrary God,
then we have not witnessed well to the Good News. And
if by our teaching or our way of life we may have led
some to think of God as the kind of person Satan has
made him out to be, we have not shown ourselves to be
trustworthy friends, either of them or of God.
Can God Be Trusted by Graham Maxwell, p. 33-35.
How has God responded to this?
Why didn’t he destroy Satan and Adam and
Eve immediately?
Are we going to be comfortable spending
eternity with God and Jesus?
What is God really like? Do you really want
to spend time with him?
Are there other characterizations of God in the
Bible?
Are they all as positive and easy to understand as
the sermon that Jesus lived with His life?
Do I represent Him well each time I speak and act
in my daily life? Would I feel comfortable if Jesus
were here with me right now?
Let’s take a look.
An Old Testament View of
God
And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that
thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I
know thee by name. And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy
glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before
thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee;
and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew
mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no
man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a
place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall
come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in
a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass
by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back
parts: but my face shall not be seen.
Exodus 33:17-23 (KJV)
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
Where rivers of pleasure I see.
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
He taketh my burden away,
He holdeth me up and I shall not be moved,
He giveth me strength as my day.
With numberless blessings each moment He crowns,
And filled with His fullness divine,
I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God!
For such a Redeemer as mine.
When clothed with His brightness transported I rise
To meet Him in clouds of the sky,
His perfect salvation, His wonderful love,
I’ll shout with the millions on high.
Refrain:
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich
men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every
bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens
and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the
mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face
of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the
Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall
be able to stand?
Revelation 6:15-17 (KJV)
A New Testament View of God
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and
it sufficeth us.
John 14:8
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and
yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me
hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the
Father?
John 14:9 (KJV)
Jesus replied: Philip, I have been with you for a long time.
Don't you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have
seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the
Father?
John 14:9 (Contemporary English Version)
And early in the morning he came again into the temple,
and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and
taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto
him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her
in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was
taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law
commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what
sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might
have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his
finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
John 8:2-6
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and
said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first
cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on
the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their
own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest,
even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman
standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and
saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where
are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She
said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I
condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
John 8:7-11
So What is God Really Like?
• He is gentle and trustworthy.
• He does not embarrass us even if we
deserve it.
• He wishes to serve us.
• He loves us enough to give us the choice
about which side we will join.
• He is willing to do anything to set things
right.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven
and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more
sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell
with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall
be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat
upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he
said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Revelation 21:1-5
That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself
in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall
swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are
forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes. For,
behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the
former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be
ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for,
behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
Isaiah 65:16-18
And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the
voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice
of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor
an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die
an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years
old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit
them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant,
and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my
people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their
hands.
Isaiah 65:19-22
They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for
they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their
offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before
they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will
hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion
shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the
serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 65:23-25
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and
of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their
foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need
no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth
them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and
the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto
his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Revelation 22:3-6
Face to face with Christ, my Savior,
Face to face—what will it be,
When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ Who died for me?
Only faintly now I see Him,
With the darkened veil between,
But a blessèd day is coming,
When His glory shall be seen.
What rejoicing in His presence,
When are banished grief and pain;
When the crooked ways are straightened,
And the dark things shall be plain.
Face to face—oh, blissful moment!
Face to face—to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ Who loves me so.
Refrain
Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory,
I shall see Him by and by!
• So, do you want to spend eternity with
Jesus?
• Are you comfortable with what God will
expect of you?
• Are you looking forward to sitting with Him
and getting better acquainted with Him?
• Are you ready to tell others what a
wonderful eternity we have to look forward
to?