Make Your Bed in Time

[0:00] He did not want heaven without us, so he brought heaven down. It was in the lyrics of one of the songs that we were singing,! And it just kind of gave me some confirmation for this message that I felt to bring to us today. Amen.

[0:16] If you have your Bibles, let's stand. And let's turn to Luke chapter 16. We're also going to go to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Amen.

[0:27] Luke chapter 16. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 will be the two places of Scripture that we'll be visiting. Again, thank you for your faithfulness and your attendance and being here.

[0:41] Amen. It's a church plant, so you never know what you're going to get. But we're thankful for each and every one. And we thank you for being faithful to the house of the Lord.

[0:51] Luke chapter 16. And then we're going to go to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Luke chapter 16, beginning in verse 19. There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.

[1:10] And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.

[1:21] Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom.

[1:32] The rich man also died and was buried. In verse 23. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

[1:47] And he cried and 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.

[1:59] But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

[2:11] And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot. Neither can they pass to us that would come from thence.

[2:24] And then he said, I pray thee therefore, Father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house. For I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

[2:40] In verse 29. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. And then in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 11.

[2:51] For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

[3:20] If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.

[3:35] And then a little further over in 2 Corinthians 5. One more scripture setting. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10. Verse 11.

[3:45] 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 hath done, whether it be good or bad. Verse 11.

[3:56] Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. We persuade men. And so from these very tense, I understand, scriptures, I do want to preach to you a message from this thought.

[4:12] Make your bed in time. Make your bed in time. Lord Jesus, I thank you, Lord, for your word. I thank you, God, because it's truth. I thank you, Lord, that you would take time out of your existence, Lord, that you would be able to minister to us your word, Lord, that you would take your time, God, to just those that are here to be able to give us a word that's for us today, Jesus.

[4:38] God, I pray, Lord, that we not take it lightly, God, that we would hear this word and that we would apply it to our lives and our hearts, God, and that we would be fruitful with your word. In Jesus' name I pray.

[4:50] Amen. Amen. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. There are a few things that I want to leave here, I want us to leave here today understanding properly. Amen. There's just a few things I want us all to leave here understanding properly today.

[5:04] The first thing is that I would like for us to have a clear understanding of time and eternity. Time and eternity. And there is what we call eternity and there's what we call time.

[5:16] In the first two chapters of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1, Genesis chapter 2, and then also the last two chapters of the Bible, Revelation chapter 21, Revelation chapter 22.

[5:29] It's in those first two chapters and those last two chapters that you find the idea of eternity in a sense. We were initially created in the beginning for a time of eternity.

[5:45] We were created for eternity. We were created for eternity to have a relationship with God in eternity and a paradise of eternity. And then at the end of the book, we see this again that there's this plan or this idea of eternity in the last two chapters where there's a new heaven.

[6:02] Amen. Amen. And we're a part of that new heaven. But everything else in between these first two chapters in Genesis and the last two chapters in Revelation is in the context of what we call time.

[6:13] Because it is in that beginning where we lost our relationship with God through our disobedience that we fell away from God as humanity and mankind. And all of a sudden, death and sin had entered into the picture.

[6:27] And so now time exists and nestled in between Genesis 1 and 2 and Revelation is 21 and 22. And so when we're born, we are born into an era of time.

[6:40] But also, our eternity also begins at that point. We will exist for eternity from that point that we are born on. Amen. And in John chapter 5, verse 28, Jesus says, Marvel not at this for the hour, say time, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice.

[7:06] Amen. All that are in the graves are going to hear the voice of God, the voice of Jesus, and shall come forth. And they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.

[7:20] That's John chapter 5, verse 28 and 29. And Jesus also speaking in the context of separating goats from sheep as an example. The Word of God says, Matthew chapter 25, verse 46, And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but these the righteous into life eternal.

[7:41] And so Jesus is clearly teaching us that all people will face an eternal destiny. Amen. Everyone that is born into this world, that's their initiation.

[7:54] They're initially born. That's when they're created. The Bible talks about us being created in our mother's wombs. And at that point in time, we get a breath of God. Amen.

[8:04] Within us. And we are spiritual beings in a physical house of a body. But that's when we begin. That's when our time, our era, our eternity begins in that very moment.

[8:16] And then eternity goes on. We will not ever, we will die a physical death if the Lord delays and we experience that.

[8:27] But like we read, there's coming a day when our ears, even from the grave, is going to hear the voice of God. And we're all going to rise and answer that call of our names once again.

[8:40] And we're going to live again. And they that have done evil will live under the resurrection of damnation. But they that have done good, under the resurrection of life. And so, and heaven and hell are eternal.

[8:52] Okay? And so the truth of the matter is, we're not far from eternity. We are just a breath away every day that we live. Amen. We have this false understanding maybe and this false idea that eternity is something that is far off.

[9:09] It's something that we have yet to obtain or get to. Because we feel the confines of time. We feel the context of time. But I want to us, this is the thing that I really want us to understand about time and eternity is that they coexist right now.

[9:25] We are living in eternity right now. We are living in the course of time. But we're also living in eternity. Our eternity has begun. Our eternity has begun from the time that we were born.

[9:38] Amen. But we're living in the context of time. Okay? And so when we understand that we are spiritual beings created for eternity that indwell a natural or physical body, it makes time and eternity a little easier to understand.

[9:53] Time, you can look at it as time refers to the body. To understand this better, imagine a house or a building. And the house, the house and its total, or the building and its total is in that total existence is eternity in the walls within time.

[10:12] Amen. If you take down the interior walls in that house or building, you didn't make the square footage of the house or the building bigger. Amen. Because you can't do that to eternity.

[10:22] But it may seem bigger. It may seem different. But really all that was changed was that interior wall was taken down. The thing that obstructed the view or obstructed the way.

[10:35] And the house all of a sudden feels bigger. But really nothing has changed except that wall was taken down. And so our existence from birth is that house. But we come into eternity in a room within that house called time.

[10:48] And I'm hoping you're understanding what I'm trying to say and I'm not just confusing you. Amen. But we are in eternity. But within that eternity, a partition called time. Amen.

[10:59] Amen. We were born. And when we were born, we were born to be eternal. But we're in this partition of time. Amen. Most people believe that it's some eternity, some far thing off.

[11:10] But it's not. They believe that some great divide, some other realm. But what we need to leave here understanding today is that eternity is at the door. It's just on the other side of a thin wall or partition.

[11:23] It's not far away. It's just a breath away for us. And we live in time and it's just a breath away. Amen. Eternity is just a breath away. So why is there time?

[11:33] What is the purpose of time? Time is a period within eternity that is positioned between that perfect paradise God created in the beginning and that eternal destination that is to come.

[11:48] The second thing that I want us to leave here today with a clearer understanding of is within this partition of time, while in the body, while we live in time here on this earth, is now in time that we will determine our eternal destiny.

[12:08] Amen. The Bible speaks of a road that's straight and narrow and a road or a way that's broad and wide. And the road that's wide and broad leads to destruction.

[12:21] And the road that's straight and narrow leads to salvation. Amen. While we're here on earth, while we're in this context of time, Yes, we're living in eternity already, but we still have, in the context of time, the ability to change which direction, which road or which way that we're on.

[12:40] Amen. That's what I want us to understand is we can still determine our eternal destiny. And so speaking of God, David proclaimed in Psalm 139 and 8, If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there.

[12:54] If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. And his point is that no matter where we go, we can't escape the presence of God. He's there. He's there before we even get there.

[13:06] But this isn't often quoted, but I think also often overlooked scripture and verse. And there's this interesting statement or this saying that caught my eye.

[13:18] If I make my bed in hell. If I make my bed in hell. And I'll read it again. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

[13:30] If I make my bed in hell. While we are in this partition of time in our bodies, in this world, we are bed makers. We're making our bed. We are making our bed in time.

[13:42] Amen. And what we do or don't do in time will affect the rest of our eternity. While we are here, we are either making our bed in hell or we're making our bed in heaven.

[13:55] But we are making a bed in time. Amen. As I read in the opening verses, there is a hell and there is a heaven. And when you try to think of what could be worse than hell, your answer must be nothing.

[14:09] When you try to think of what could be better than heaven, your answer must be nothing. You would initially probably think that there's nothing worse than hell.

[14:20] Amen. And you would probably initially think that there's nothing better than heaven. What could be better than heaven? What could be worse than hell? But the third thing that I want you to leave here today with a clear understanding of is that there is something worse than hell.

[14:37] And there is something better than heaven. Amen. When we think of hell, we can think of all kinds of biblical descriptions. Here are a few.

[14:47] Not all. I found a few that I want to share. The descriptions in the Bible of torment, of flames, fire and brimstone, wailing and gnashing of teeth, outer darkness, a bottomless pit.

[15:01] Amen. Not a type of place that you would want to go. A place, as Jesus said, is a place there worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. Doesn't sound like a very pleasant place to be.

[15:14] And so when we think of hell, we think of a place. And we think of the things that are there and the torment that is there. And rightfully so. The reason I believe Jesus talked about hell so much is because it is a real place and nobody should go there.

[15:29] But unfortunately, the Bible says that hell enlarged itself without measure. Amen. In contrast to hell is a place described primarily only in the last two chapters of the Bible.

[15:40] A place called heaven. When we think of heaven, we think of a place somewhere in glory. And we think of walls of jasper and of streets of gold. But not just streets were made of gold.

[15:51] But the Bible says the whole city is made of gold. So pure it's like clear glass. And each gate into heaven is made of a gigantic pearl. And the glory of God, Jesus himself, is the light of heaven there.

[16:06] And there's no sun and no moon to give its light because the glory of God is the light. Amen. And the best of all, there will be no more pain and no more suffering and no more death over there.

[16:17] Amen. And so when we think of hell and when we think of heaven, we automatically think of places and things. And I want to say that we need to not only change our perspective on eternity.

[16:30] And it's not some far away event that is far off, but it's actually at the door. And we could slip into eternity in just a moment. And it's here with us even now.

[16:42] And I not only want to change your perspective on eternity, and I not only want to help you understand better that while you're in time, you are making your bed for an eternal destiny.

[16:55] But that third thing that I want you to have a better understanding of is that there is something that is worse than hell. And there is something that is better than heaven. Amen. Places and things is not what's important about hell and heaven.

[17:09] Amen. Yes, heaven and hell are places. And yes, there are things there that you might want to avoid or might want to obtain. But that is not what is important about those two destinations of eternity.

[17:21] Amen. The important thing in all of it is who is in hell and who is in heaven. Amen. It is about our relationships. Amen.

[17:32] Amen. Just like places and things will never bring you true happiness or true despair now in time. It will not really be the main factor in eternity either.

[17:42] But the reality is the most important thing in life is our relationships that we have. Our relationship with God and our relationship with others. Worse than the torment of flames in hell will be the knowledge that your loved ones are with you.

[17:58] Better than the gold and the jasper and even, I dare say, better than the glory of God in heaven. Better than all of that is the knowing that your loved ones are in heaven with you.

[18:08] Amen. Amen. So there is something worse than hell itself. And there is something better than heaven itself. Our spiritual relationships are what matters. Amen. Our relationship with God, of course, is vital.

[18:22] Amen. We need salvation. That's the foundation that it's built upon. But I want us to focus in on and talk about our spiritual relationship with other people today.

[18:32] Those that we care about and those that we love and those that we are in our immediate world and those that we are responsible for in life. Those that are in our lives.

[18:43] Those that we are called to serve while in the kingdom of God in time, knowing that they are on the path to hell is worse than hell itself. Amen. We don't want that knowledge. We try to ignore the fact that most of the people that we are daily surrounded by.

[19:00] Amen. Or have no knowledge or understanding about the directions that they're going in life. Amen. And it can bother us. And so we try to get it out of our minds today. But I wanted to get back into our minds, knowing that our place in time is where we're making our bed for eternity.

[19:18] Amen. Amen. And there's nothing worse than knowing that we have a loved one on a path towards hell. And there's nothing better than knowing that we have a loved one on the path towards heaven.

[19:29] Amen. We read it in the beginning. And I want to read it again in Luke chapter 16, verse 23. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torment.

[19:40] And see if Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and 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.

[19:56] But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted and thou art tormented.

[20:08] And beside all this between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot. Neither can they pass to us that would come from thence.

[20:22] There's a gulf between. Amen. And this is a moment in time where some, the rich man and the beggar and this example that Jesus is teaching.

[20:34] This is Jesus speaking and teaching that the rich man's place in time moved into eternity. And the beggar's place in time moved into eternity.

[20:48] Amen. And so it's true, this rich man, his first thoughts was to his own pain and suffering. And this torment of the flame pleading for just a drip of water to cool his tongue.

[21:01] But then immediately following and realizing that there would be no relief for his own torments, the rich man, his mind. It went directly to his five brothers.

[21:12] Amen. And in Luke 16, verse 23, we continue then. I'm sorry. In verse 27, we continue. And then he said, I pray thee, therefore, that father, speaking to Abraham, that thou would send us, would send him to my father's house.

[21:29] Send Lazarus to my father's house. Send the one that made it into heaven to my father's house. For I have five brethren that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

[21:44] Amen. Abraham said unto him, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. In other words, they have the people with the word of God to give them their warning. God sent Moses and the prophets with his word of with his word in their hands and in their mouths to the people of God and to the people in that area and time.

[22:05] Amen. Amen. And so I wonder what the conversations were between those brothers as one by one, like their brother before them, time for them ceased.

[22:16] And then they left their place in time and slipped into eternity to wake up and find themselves in hell. When that first brother received his his other five brothers in hell, I wonder what their greeting was to each other.

[22:31] And what a terrible thing to have to think about. What a terrible thing that you would have to find yourself and your family in hell. Amen. And in the space of time that we live in right now, we make our beds that we are going to have to sleep in for eternity.

[22:48] Amen. And if we have truth, then we need to make it all that matters in our lives in this time that we live. It needs to be at the forefront of our minds every day. How do we convey it to our loved ones?

[23:01] How do I keep this truth for myself growing and inside of me and not letting me become stagnant and in this walk with God that I have? But also, how do I convey it to the loved ones around me?

[23:14] And somehow we have to be saved and have to have our loved ones saved too. Amen. It is our relationships and time that matter most. And this element of time that we live, it's our relationships that matter most.

[23:28] We all have relationships in time. Not only are we responsible for our own relationship with God, but there are those in time that we have to feel a burden of responsibility for.

[23:40] Amen. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and often the Israelites were being rebellious against Moses and the word of God. Amen. And even unto worshiping idols, a golden calf.

[23:53] But Moses was a great leader for them because it was Moses, he was a great man of God. There came a day when God said, Moses, stand aside.

[24:04] I'm going to wipe these rebellious people off the face of the planet and just start over with you. And Moses pleaded with God. And what did Moses say in Exodus chapter 32, verse 32?

[24:16] Moses pleaded with God to forgive their sins. If you will not forgive these people, Moses said, then blot my name out of your book. Amen. Moses told God, blot my name out of your book.

[24:27] If you're not going to forgive these people, then blot my name out of your book. And Exodus 32 and 33, and the Lord said unto Moses, whosoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

[24:39] But what would cause Moses to say such a thing, to give up a paradise and to be willing for his name to be blotted out and to go to hell?

[24:50] Amen. For that great man of God, there was something worse to him than hell. Amen. There was something worse than hell to him. Something worse than the place and the things of hell.

[25:02] And that would be the people he was called to lead and that he loved and cared for being blotted out. Amen. That was more important to him. And he was willing to have his name blotted out himself to save the people he was called to and cared about.

[25:20] In the New Testament, in Romans chapter 9, we find Paul in sorrow for his fellow Israelites' unbelief of truth. Amen. And what does the Apostle Paul say?

[25:32] He said in Romans 9 and 3 that he would be willing to be cut off from Jesus Christ and to be cut off from salvation if it would allow his people he was called to reach in his life to be saved from hell.

[25:47] Amen. Worse than hell itself, worse than the torment and the flames that he would experience for himself, was the idea that those he loved and those that he was called to reach with the gospel, those he was burdened with in those cities that he planted churches in, that they would reject truth and that they would not be reached and that they would go to hell.

[26:10] Worse than hell itself to Paul was knowing that his loved ones were on their way to hell. And no doubt this drove him and it fueled him to do the best he could to bring his people truth.

[26:22] Amen. The people that God placed in his life. And when we think of hell, we think of that place of torment and pain and suffering for ourselves. But if we could just take off that inward thinking and that robe of our selfish ways for just a minute and think of those that are within our realm of influence, that if we fail to be witnesses of truth to are also going to a devil's hell.

[26:49] Amen. And then we would realize that there is something worse than hell itself. And that is the fact that people that we love will be there. Amen. And if that doesn't move us and motivate us to straighten up our lives and to fly right with God and live right according to the word of God, to be a witness, amen, of truth to those around you, then I don't know what will motivate you today.

[27:14] Amen. But in time, while in the body, we are bedmakers today. We have to make our beds in time. And in this allotment of time that we have, we are bedmakers.

[27:25] And are we going to make our bed in hell or are we going to ascend to heaven? Amen. And who do we want there with us? Amen. And so there is something worse than hell.

[27:36] And there is something better than heaven. Amen. And when we look at God Almighty and what he did and we realize that he didn't want heaven without us.

[27:48] Amen. Think about that. Amen. We realize there's something better than heaven. There's something better than heaven. We've been talking about what's worse than hell, but there's also something better than heaven.

[27:59] God was willing to step off of his throne in glory. God was willing to leave heaven aside to suffer pain and agony for the salvation of his people.

[28:10] Amen. Amen. Those that would call upon his name. Amen. God made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men.

[28:22] The Bible says, And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of a cross. Amen. Thank God for that.

[28:32] God voluntarily gave up heaven to come into the earth to offer salvation to humanity. Something meant more to God than heaven itself. Heaven is a real place and there are real enjoyable benefits of being there.

[28:46] Amen. But what really makes heaven heaven is who you get to enjoy heaven with. Amen. Jesus referenced heaven often, but never in a comparative way to what he was dealing with on earth.

[29:00] Amen. He never really described heaven. You look for all the descriptions of heaven in the New Testament. You're only going to find them really in the last two chapters of the Bible, although there's many mentions of heaven.

[29:13] But to be able to find what it's like and describe, get a description of it, it was never really described. He never contrasted the splendor of heaven to the turmoil on earth while he was here.

[29:25] And that brought me to question why. Why? You know, if I left the splendor of heaven and I came to earth and now I have disciples following me and I'm teaching them, I would think that I would compare, you know, like this is, you know, torment and there's so many struggles and things here.

[29:45] And, you know, he was born into a manger. Amen. He got off his throne and came and was born in a cow's house, essentially. And he was sought to be killed and he was ultimately murdered and he was willing to go through all this.

[30:01] But he never compared all the turmoil of the world to the splendor of heaven in which he came. And it causes me to question why. But I understand now that it's because there's something that's better than heaven.

[30:15] Amen. And that's the relationships and making sure that the people that you love and care about are in heaven with you. And God roped himself in flesh to make sure that we have an opportunity.

[30:26] Amen. To live and exist with him in heaven. Amen. He was willing to give up heaven for us. Amen. Because the relationship was more important than the splendor and the glory of heaven.

[30:37] Amen. Jesus referenced heaven often but never in a comparative way. God in the man Christ Jesus knew of the treasures and pleasures of heaven in eternity and never once compared them to the afflictions of being on earth.

[30:51] And that partition of time. Amen. He never compared heaven to the hardships. Amen. The most descriptive Jesus got. The most descriptive Jesus got about heaven is when he said in John chapter 14 verse 2.

[31:06] In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you. Amen. And then he finishes like this. I go to prepare a place for you. That was the whole purpose.

[31:17] That was the whole purpose that he would be able to come and do a work here by dying on a cross and humbling himself and submitting his life for ours.

[31:27] Amen. So that he could then return. And he that once had ascended, descended into the lower parts of the earth. Amen. And like I've preached before, he brought captive.

[31:40] He brought captivity captive. Amen. And he conquered death and hell in the grave. And so that he could go back and prepare a place for us. Amen. That's the whole point. The whole point is he wants to prepare a place there for us.

[31:53] The whole point is for him is his relationship and who he wanted there with him. Amen. He wants us there with him. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever would believe in him could be saved.

[32:07] Amen. And so to God, that makes heaven truly heaven is if we are there with him. Amen. I thank God for that, that he was willing to die for my sins.

[32:17] Amen. And to allow me to experience truth and salvation and to be able to go to heaven and be with him. Amen. And if we were wise enough, while we can, we will do what is necessary to make heaven our home.

[32:32] And when we get there, I believe we will quickly realize that although heaven is wonderful and amazing, we will realize quickly it is going to be who we enjoy it with that makes it heaven.

[32:45] Amen. That's what makes it heaven is who we're there with. Amen. And I get to be there with my Lord and Savior. But I also want to be there with my loved ones and my family and my friends.

[32:55] Amen. And those that God placed in my life and called me to be a witness to. And in my opening scriptures today, we read in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 11, For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

[33:13] See, we are people of the name of Jesus. We know that the foundation of our salvation is Jesus. There's no other foundation. Amen. That is laid, which it is Jesus Christ.

[33:25] Amen. In verse 12, Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

[33:44] Amen. We have to understand that there is nothing else that we're going to be taking with us into heaven. Nothing else is going to, besides the souls that you could reach in your family and in your world, there's nothing else you can take with you into heaven.

[34:02] It's only the other people. It's only our wives and our children and our coworkers and our friends and our family and those around us. Amen.

[34:13] That's all we can take with us into heaven. Amen. The work that we must do, the work while we're in this place and in this time, the work that we're building upon the foundation of our salvation in Jesus Christ.

[34:28] Yes, we got the foundation. We got salvation. But what work are we building upon that? The Bible talks about precious stones, gold, silver, but then also wood, hay, and stubble.

[34:39] Which one's going to be consumed by fire? See, there's things that people spend their entire time, right? We're in this element of time. They spend all their time while they're in time preparing, working on what?

[34:53] On something that's just going to, at the end of the day, you're not going to be able to take it with you into heaven. But what about the souls around us? If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

[35:06] If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. See, if you make your bed in heaven and you have souls that you have helped put there, you're going to be rewarded.

[35:20] But if you make your bed in heaven and there's nobody else there that you help bring with you, you're going to suffer loss, the Bible says. But you yourself will be saved.

[35:31] Amen. And so what kind of heaven does that sound like to you? I know ultimately we're going to be glad we made it. But there's something better than heaven, and that's taking people with us to heaven, people we want to live in heaven with us.

[35:47] Amen. And that's what's going to make heaven heaven, is that there's those relationships with us in heaven. Amen. Amen. Let's all stand. The greatest reward that I could receive in heaven is that you are all with me there.

[36:01] Father, Mario, that you would be with me in heaven, that would be a great reward. Carlos, that you would be with me in heaven. Vincent, that you would be with me in heaven. If you would all be with me in heaven, that would be a great reward.

[36:15] But it's not going to be as great of a reward for me if I get to heaven and the people that I love in this life and the ones that God has brought us together in our past, if they don't make it, it's not going to, I'm sure this is the splinter of heavens.

[36:34] The Bible, this isn't in my notes, but it just came to me. The Bible says, in the context of heaven, read in Revelation chapter 21, in the context of heaven, when we're in heaven and we see heaven for the first time, the Bible talks about that Jesus is going to wipe away our tears.

[36:53] Why would we be crying tears in heaven? Why would we be crying tears in heaven? And it hit me right now that because I think for just a minute, we're going to know.

[37:05] We're going to be able to look around and we're going to be able to know who made it with us and who didn't. And man, there's people that I want in heaven with me. And there's people that if they don't make it, it's going to hurt.

[37:19] And there's going to be tears. But thank God the Bible does say that he's going to wipe away our tears. And I don't know what that means. I don't know if he's going to be able to somehow erase it from our minds and we're not.

[37:31] And we're going to be able to go on and enjoy heaven without some sort. I don't know. I don't know how to explain it. But he said he will wipe away the tears. So we need to make sure our relationship with God is right so we can make it.

[37:45] Amen. But also we need to build upon that foundation and we need to be reaching for our family. Amen. We need to be reaching for our family that's on the outskirts.

[37:55] Our family that doesn't know truth. Our family that haven't experienced what we've experienced and have what we have. Amen. So that we can make sure our family makes it with us to heaven.

[38:06] Make sure our friends make it with us to heaven. Amen. And the only opportunity we have is here and now. We have to be about our Father's business.

[38:17] And time is short. And eternity is already here. It's at the door. Amen. And it's within this element of time that we are making our beds. And where are we making our beds?

[38:30] That's an important question for us today. While in the body here. While in time. Because truly we are bed making. And there's coming a day when as the saying goes.

[38:41] You made your bed and now you have to sleep in it. Amen. And it's only during the course of time. This element of time that we're in now. That we have influence and input into our eternal destination.

[38:56] Into the eternal destination of others around us. That means one day time for you will end and eternity continues. And at that point you aren't going to have a choice anymore.

[39:09] To input or to have influence to your eternal destination. Or any significant influence over your loved ones. But right now. In this element of time we do.

[39:21] And so. It's that work that we need to continue. Amen. To completion. Amen. That we would be able to have the wisdom. And have.

[39:32] Be the light of the Lord. And the light of God. Let the Holy Spirit work through us. Amen. And be the light to those around us. And help us Lord Jesus. God.

[39:42] God. To be able to be the light. Amen. In this last time. Lord Jesus. God. I thank you Lord. For those that are in my life. God. I thank you for my family. Lord.

[39:53] That you bless me with. Lord. God. I thank you Lord. For the people that you brought into my life. God. They're a true blessing to me. Lord Jesus. God. Help me not take my family for granted.

[40:04] Help me not take the people in my life for granted. Lord. Help me not take the foundation of salvation. That you've given me Lord. God. For granted. But God.

[40:15] Help me Lord. Understand. God. The gravity of what we're dealing with. Lord. In this time. Jesus. God. I pray for every family. Lord. For everyone. Jesus. God.

[40:25] Help us Lord. Be the light. Help us reach them. God. Help us understand. God. The context of time and eternity. Help us understand. Lord. Lord. God. The gravity Lord.

[40:35] Of us. That we're making our bed in time right now. Lord Jesus. God. Help us understand. God. That there's something worse than hell. Lord. And there's something greater than heaven.

[40:47] Lord Jesus. And that's our relationships. Lord. God. Help us Lord. Get a burden for people. Help us Lord. Get a burden for our family. God. God.

[40:57] Help us make your word. God. In living for you. The main thing in our life. Jesus. God. Help us be faithful to you in your word. Lord. Help us be faithful to the things of your kingdom.

[41:09] Jesus. Help us be faithful witnesses to those around us. Lord God. God. I pray Lord. That opportunities would come. God. This week. Lord. God.

[41:20] That opportunities would come. Lord. That we would be able to speak of you. Jesus. That we would be able to share our testimonies. God. With those around us. Lord. God. I pray Lord. That you open doors to people's hearts.

[41:32] Lord. That are in our lives. Lord. God. That you would help us minister. God. With your spirit. Lord Jesus. As ambassadors of you. God. As ambassadors of you.

[41:42] Lord. Help us walk in the spirit. God. Help us Lord. In this mission. God. In this calling. Lord. Oh God. In this time that we live. Jesus. While we can still influence those around us.

[41:55] God. I pray Lord. That you give us the wisdom. And the desire. And the burden. Lord. To do so. Jesus. God. I want to make heaven my home. Lord. But I want my family with me.

[42:05] Jesus. God. I want to make heaven my home. And I want to see you. Lord. I want to look upon your face. God. But what I do. I want my family in my hands. Lord.

[42:16] Jesus. God. I want my co-workers there with me. Lord. God. I want my church family there with me. Lord. Jesus. Oh. Jesus.

[42:26] Jesus. Jesus. Let's lift our hands and thank God for truth today. God. I thank you for truth. I thank you for truth. I thank you for this word.

[42:37] God. God. God. Help align our hearts and our minds. God. Understand that the main thing, Lord, is in this time that we live. God. Is to reach others. God.

[42:48] To lead them to you, God. Not to reject them. Not to break relationships. Not to have strife in relationships, God. But to be a relationship mender, Lord.

[43:00] God. Help us mend relationships. Help us speak in love, Lord. Help us be the light. Help us be ambassadors of you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.