[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfreda, Georgia. This is the next message in our series in the book of 2 Corinthians, entitled, We Faint Not.
[0:14] Amen. Take your Bible and go with me as you would to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. He does love us. He loves us greatly, and we praise the Lord for His sweetness and kindness to us. And tonight you're going to find out more about that in 2 Corinthians chapter 5.
[0:27] You're going to find out what happens when all these things go on in our lives and what happens when our temporary life is shaken or things are going wrong.
[0:41] And I think you're going to be blessed by this. Read with me, if you would, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 1 through 8. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 1 through 8. Now don't forget where he ended the last chapter.
[1:03] In the last chapter he said, in chapter 4, he said, Look at verse 2.
[1:22] Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
[1:55] Therefore, we are always confident knowing this, knowing that whilst we are home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. We walk by faith, not by sight.
[2:05] We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. If you have your Bible open there, which I hope you will tonight, sometimes maybe you don't follow along.
[2:20] You just listen or you take a few notes, but you don't open your Bible. You really need to open your Bible. I'm going to show you some great and wonderful verses that I think you're going to want to have marked in your Bible.
[2:31] You're going to know where they are. But if you would, in verse 1, put a circle around, we know. That's what's going on. We know. Paul says, hey, that's a temporary house I'm living in now. There's an eternal house coming, and we know some things.
[2:44] We know. And then look in verse 1, we have. We have. We're not going to have. We have a building of God, a house not made with hands. In verse 2, we groan. Look at what we're doing in this verse is we groan.
[2:57] We really want to go to heaven. We really want to be with God. We really want all these special things God has prepared for His people. Verse 6, we are always confident.
[3:10] We're always confident. Verse 8, we are confident. Now, I'm not sure how much the Corinthians would have agreed with all the we's. Maybe Paul's being merciful in including them in what he feels and what he knows to be true in his own life.
[3:26] But Paul is confident of his future. He's confident of what God is doing in our lives. Let's have a word of prayer, if we would, and ask the Lord to help open our hearts and our minds and learn more about His Word tonight.
[3:39] Father, I pray that your name would be glorified. I pray, God, that you would deal with each heart. I pray, God, that you would help us to understand the wonderful things that you have prepared for us because of your kindness and your love.
[3:50] I pray, God, you'd help us to see the eternal and not the temporary. I pray, dear God, that you'd help us to focus on you and not ourselves. I pray, God, that you'd help us to get our eyes up and not down.
[4:01] And I'll give you praise and honor and glory for all that you do in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Paul's testified about all that the Lord's doing. And he's got great confidence. In the passage, you'd notice he said, we have, we know, we have confidence.
[4:16] We're always confident. He knows that God is going to do great things in his life. He knows that he has all these blessings. Now, Paul needs that confidence because just like us, Paul is facing problems and issues.
[4:30] And much more than most of us, Paul is facing death at any moment. And he knows that. He mentions it several times, even in this letter. If you remember the first chapter, 2 Corinthians 1, 8, he said, we will not have you to be ignorant.
[4:43] And he said that we despaired of life and we found that we had the sentence of death. And Paul talks about, man, I've got a rough life. I've been through a lot of rough things. And the things have been going rough for me.
[4:54] But I have confidence. I have confidence. And there are some things that are shaking some of our lives and shaking some of our families and some issues that are going on. But we ought to have confidence that God is at work in our life.
[5:09] Paul's preaching is what's caused him all the trouble. But it doesn't bother him enough to stop. He is like, I'm going to preach no matter what anybody does to me because what happens to me in this earth isn't nearly as important. I'm going to go to heaven.
[5:21] Paul looked at death as simply a change of address form. All he had to do was say, I don't live here anymore, but I do live there. And with Paul, that was what was going on. Look, if you would, at 2 Corinthians 5, 8, right there in front of you in the chapter we're in.
[5:33] We are confident. We are confident, I say, and willing, rather, to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. If you would, look in your Bible and notice what he says.
[5:45] I'm confident. I'm confident. I'm sure of this. I trust this is true. I know this is what happens. And he says, and I say that, and I'm willing, rather, to be absent.
[5:55] He said, I'm confident that we will be with the Lord, and I really would like to be with the Lord. I'd rather be with the Lord. Look what he says. We're willing, rather, to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
[6:08] I'm just going to give you several things tonight I hope that you'll take to heart. But we are going to face death, and we are going to have family members that die, and we are going to go through different issues.
[6:19] We need to see the eternal. We need to know much more than what goes on on this planet. And look what he says in just this verse, and I'll give you more tonight. He said this, absent from the body, present with the Lord.
[6:30] Why don't you write that down or put a star in the margin of your Bible? Absent from the body, present with the Lord. A born-again believer, absent from the body, present with the Lord. A born-again believer dies, and they are absent from the body.
[6:42] In the instant they're absent from the body, they are present with the Lord. In other words, when I die, I will be right in the presence of God. Paul said, I'm confident of that, and I really, I really would rather that go ahead and happen.
[6:54] Be absent from the body and present with the Lord. In Philippians chapter 1, if you want to, I wish you'd open your Bible there. If you're a Bible reader, studier, look at Philippians chapter 1, verse 21 with me, if you would.
[7:05] Philippians 1, 21. And maybe you don't get as much time to read the Bible during the week as you like, so this is a good chance for you to get some really good, exciting motivational verses for you.
[7:15] In Philippians chapter 1, verse 21, look what the Bible says. See, Paul thought death was gain. And he knew that because of what the Holy Spirit said. Look at Philippians 1, 21.
[7:26] For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. So that's a little opposite of the way we think. And we need to get that whole new mindset.
[7:37] We need to learn to think like what the Bible teaches and what God teaches and what the Lord has taught us. And here's what he said. If I'm alive, I'm here to serve God. But if I die, it's gain for me.
[7:47] And I would say most of us would say, no, it's gain for God if I stay here. And it's gain for me if I stay here and dying is like losing and maybe heaven's okay. But we never think of it as this is really gain.
[7:59] And Paul said, I would really rather be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Paul said, death is gain. Look at Philippians chapter 1, verse 23. Right there in the same place we are in Philippians. Philippians 1, 23.
[8:10] For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. If you've got your Bible open, circle the word desire.
[8:20] Having a desire. Having a desire to depart. And what that word depart means is leave. Get out of here. Get off this planet. Get out of this body and go on to heaven. You're going to find in the scripture, he's going to say this.
[8:32] We groan. It's what we're longing for. We want to get to heaven. We want to have the new life. We want to have the new body. We want to be in the presence of our Lord. In the Bible, there's this whole idea that being in heaven is far better than being down here.
[8:47] I don't think Baptist churches teach that. I don't think we think that. I think that to us, death, you know, we pray more to keep people out of heaven than we do to keep them out of hell. We're more concerned with ourselves than we are with lost people.
[8:58] And here's what he's saying, boy, it's good to go to heaven. Paul said, I would rather be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Paul said, to die is gain. And he said, I'm going to fix between these things.
[9:08] I don't know what to do. I'd like to go on to be with him in heaven, but I'll stay here and work with you and help you. And that never gives me a right to ever want to end my life. That would be totally the opposite side of what's true.
[9:21] Look at first Corinthians chapter six. If you would, verses 19 and 20, first Corinthians six, 19 and 20. I do want to go to heaven. I do want to be clothed on in my new body. And I want to be in the presence of God, but there's a balance in the Bible.
[9:35] I want to be in the presence of God, but I know that the life he's given me is of great value. I know the body he's given me has a great reason to be in what God wants to do in my life.
[9:46] So I would never waste or needlessly risk my life. I know my own body doesn't belong to me. Look at first Corinthians six, 19 and 20. What? Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy ghost, which is in you, which you have of God.
[10:01] And ye are not your own. Don't y'all know that for you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
[10:13] So your body and your, your, your life doesn't belong to you. It belongs to God. So I want to go on to be in it. Paul said, I want to go be in heaven, but I know who I belong to. I'd really like to be clothed on with my new body and enjoying all that heaven has for me.
[10:25] But I know God has a purpose for me. And that's really what goes on in our lives. You and I ought to get ahold of that and get it straight. There's nothing on this planet that compares to the glory God has prepared for us.
[10:39] There's nothing on this planet that prepares for the glory that God has prepared for us. And you saw that in chapter four, verses 16 to 18, that the outward man is perishing and the inward man is being renewed.
[10:52] And there's an eternal weight of glory. Now, if I could, I'll work my way through the passage with you. Look at the first verbs there. Number one, we know. Number one, we know.
[11:03] We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Now, before we go on, just let me say, you know what's happening?
[11:13] I know I'm going to die. How many of you know you're going to die? Say amen. Your dog dies. Your cat dies. Your friend dies. Your parents die. Everybody dies. We all know that everything's going to die.
[11:24] We're going to die. But here he gives us a promise. Look at verse one. Look at it and go through it with me real quick. And then we'll analyze it just a tad more. We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle, the tent I live in, the tabernacle is a big tent.
[11:37] And this earthly house, that's the house I live on on earth, this tabernacle, if it were dissolved, if it dies, if it's done away with, if it comes to an end, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
[11:52] So Paul says we know. So I know that I sat by the side of my dad's earthly tent, and I watched my dad as he breathed those last breaths, and I watched my dad as he died.
[12:02] And I don't have to sorrow like others that have no hope because I know something. I know that that wasn't my dad dying. That was the earthly tent he lived in dying, and that my dad was on his way to a house made by God, not made by hands, and that's where he is.
[12:18] You currently live in a tent. And a tent is a temporary structure. And it is a weak structure. And it's going to be taken down. It's going to be destroyed. But we don't have to fear that because we go to be with Jesus.
[12:34] Philippians 1, verse 20. Let me read that to you. Philippians 1, verse 20. At least write it down. According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that not that I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death.
[12:55] He said, I want Christ to be magnified. I'm going to live for him. And then he goes all through that next set of verses that I just read with you, saying, to live is Christ, to die is gain.
[13:06] He knows he's headed to heaven. We have a house not made with hands. In Hebrews 9, 11, the Bible says, but Christ being come and high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building.
[13:23] There is a place God's made. There's a body that he's going to put on us. It's not the same place that he's prepared. It's not heaven. It's a new body I'm going to get. It's a new Austin that's going to be there.
[13:35] And we'll look a little bit more about that in just a second. In John 14, he said, I go to prepare a place for you. If I go to prepare a place, I'll doubt it's coming again to you. So God's going to prepare us a place. But when I die, I'm not going to be naked.
[13:45] I'm not going to just lose my body and be some ghost floating out there. I don't know what kind of foolishness you might have thought when you was a kid. I used to think heaven was a bunch of heads floating around. I said, they got to be recognizable somehow.
[13:56] And so up in heaven, everybody's got a head. It's just all floating. I thought, man, that's got to be a weird place to be. And we're going to learn a tad about where that comes from. Now, here's the deal. You know.
[14:07] He said, we know. What do we know? Look at chapter 4, verse 14. 2 Corinthians 4, 14. We know that God raised Jesus from the dead. Look at 2 Corinthians 4, 14.
[14:18] Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus and shall present us with you. Knowing that the same one that raised Jesus will raise us up and present us with you.
[14:31] So we know. We know he lives. We know that we will live because he lives. We know that. I want to take you to a passage of scripture. I'll take some time here and I'm going to slow down.
[14:41] Go to 1 Corinthians 15 with me and you'll stay there a few minutes. Open your Bible to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. That's the resurrection chapter. Jesus got resurrected.
[14:52] Jesus had new life. We're all going to be resurrected. What's going to happen after we die? What are things going to look like? What's the Bible have to say? So just maybe underline some things in your Bible so it jumps off the page for you.
[15:05] Look at verse 35. Some men will say, how are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? Underline with what body do they come? Here's a dead guy raised up by God.
[15:18] He's going to be resurrected. With what body does he come? He said, thou fool. That which thou sowest is not quickened or made alive unless it dies. So to be made alive, we're going to have to die.
[15:30] And whatever you sow, that's not exactly. God gives it the body he pleases in verse 38. Look at verse 38. We're going to die. We're going to come back. And God's got a body for us that pleases him.
[15:42] Verse 38. But God giveth it a body as it pleased him and to every seed his own body. I'm going to skip down with you if I could down to verse 42. Got your Bible open there. Look at verse 42.
[15:53] So also is a resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption. It is raised in corruption. Your body's sown and rotting and it's raised and never rotting.
[16:05] Your body's sown in falling apart and becoming a disaster and finally dying and rotting and turning back to the dirt. But you're raised in a body that never does that.
[16:16] A completely different and new body. Verse 43. When a person dies, it is sown in dishonor. You know, I mean, what is the least honorable place you can be?
[16:27] I mean, dying is a very dishonorable place. I mean, at those very moments, your body, the respect that you are, the natural modesty that you have, the things you would feel funny about, it's sown in dishonor.
[16:40] It's sown in dishonor, but it's raised in glory. It's sown in weakness, but it's raised in power. It's sown in natural body, but it's raised a spiritual body.
[16:51] There's a natural body and there's a spiritual body. So listen to this. God says, hey, you know what? Your body's going to come to an end. Your life's going to come to an end. Your body's going to be buried. It's going to be put under the ground.
[17:02] It's not going to be any. It's a weak thing. It's a dying thing. It's a dishonorable thing, but it's all going to be raised in the opposite. That's what Paul's telling us about in 2 Corinthians chapter 5.
[17:13] Look at verse 49 with me if you would. 1 Corinthians 15, 49. And as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
[17:24] So somehow I've been like a man on earth. I will have the image of the heavenly. I'm sure the heavenly of our Lord will be given that image of that. Something similar to his body will be given to us.
[17:37] Verse 51. We're not all going to die. Not all of us are going to die, the Bible says. He said, behold, I show you a mystery, something nobody understands. We shall not all sleep.
[17:50] Write the word die there. We shall not all die. But we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, unrotted, put all back together and fixed.
[18:06] And we shall be changed. So God's going to change our bodies. He's going to change who we are physically. He's going to give us a spiritual body.
[18:17] We are going to have a body. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, Paul said, you're not going to be naked. I don't want to be naked. We're not going to be naked. We shall be changed. Verse 54.
[18:28] So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality. This mortal, that means this dying body, this body that could easily be run over by a vehicle tonight, have an accident, have a heart attack, or have a cancer.
[18:44] This mortal body will put on immortality. Immortality. You see, that was a very different concept for a lot of those people. They didn't, the Sadducees didn't even believe in resurrection.
[18:56] They kind of believed like you were like almost like a dog. You were going to die, and you were going to be buried, and that was all going to be over. There were people that believed your body was just a wicked thing, and it would be better to be naked without a body.
[19:06] And Paul said, that's not what's happening with us. And Paul says, hey, we're going to die, and our bodies are going to be buried in dishonor, but they're going to be raised in great honor. God has big plans for you.
[19:17] And Paul knows that. As a Christian, I want to know. As a Christian, I want to know what's God say is going to happen. As a Christian, what's going to happen after death? There are people in our very church right now that are going to be facing things that lead to a death sentence.
[19:31] And we ought to be ready for that. Sometimes the only time you ever talk about what happens in death is when somebody dies. But you ought to be prepared for it, and the Bible's got good answers for you. Go with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
[19:43] I mentioned it this morning and quoted some from it, but I'd like you to read some with me. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 13. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 13.
[19:54] I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren. I don't want you all to not know. I want you to know concerning them which are asleep, concerning them which have died.
[20:06] I don't want you to be sorry like everybody else is sorry. I don't want you to have that same sorrow, that same sadness that they have, because they have no hope. But we have been told by God what's going to happen.
[20:20] When life ends, that's a very sad time. They're taken away from us, and they're gone, and it's over. But Paul said, that's not the way it is with us. It's not over when we die. It's not over when we die.
[20:32] We don't sorrow as others who have no hope. Verse 14. You got your Bible open? I hope you do. Look at verse 14. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again.
[20:43] All right, let me stop here and ask this. How many of you believe Jesus died and rose again? Say amen. Then here's what he said. If you believe that, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
[20:55] Even those that have already died and are asleep with Jesus. That means they're died and they're with Jesus. Put it in very plain terms. They died as far as we're concerned, but they didn't just disappear.
[21:06] They're in heaven and they're with Jesus. Watch this. When Jesus comes back to bring the rapture for the rapture to take us out of here, he'll bring them with him. So where are they now? They are with Jesus.
[21:19] They're not in a grave. They're not in a box. They're not underground. And their body is not a rotting corpse or a body that's been cremated. Believe me, they are in heaven or they're in hell.
[21:30] Look what it says. And by the way, as a Christian, you're one of two places. You're here or you're there. There's no purgatory, no other place, no grave. You're going to be here or you're going to be there.
[21:40] Here, absent from the body, present in the Lord or absent from the Lord and present in your body. Look at verse 15. First Thessalonians 4, 15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord shall not prevent, not go before them which are asleep.
[21:59] See, Paul had told them so much that Jesus was coming. They thought he was going to come any day. And there were actually some people that thought that Jesus was coming and actually sold all their stuff and just basically sat on the hill waiting for the rapture to happen.
[22:14] And then everybody, when Jesus didn't come back as quick as they thought he should, they said, they said, where is Jesus? Why hasn't he come back? And some of them started dying. And Paul said, hey, they didn't miss out on going to heaven.
[22:25] And they didn't miss out on getting in the rapture. And they didn't miss out on God snatching us out of here and taking us to heaven. They didn't miss out on that at all. Fact is, they're right now with Jesus in heaven. He's going to bring them with him to the cloud.
[22:37] He's going to pick up their body and change their body. He's going to pick us up. And we're not going to get ahead of them. We're all going up together. Paul said, y'all don't need to be discouraged. So somebody who died in your family, who was a born again believer, who was really saved, they're in heaven.
[22:51] And they will be coming back. Verse 16. I'm going to read the whole passage to you. Verse 16 down to verse 18. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. The Lord himself shall descend.
[23:03] Jesus himself shall descend with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Watch this. The dead will rise first.
[23:13] But what's going to rise is their body. They had a body that was sown in dishonor and sown in weakness. But they're right now with Jesus and they're coming back with him. And so what God's going to do is raise their body up and change their body and make a spiritual body, an immortal body.
[23:30] And he's going to pull them out and put them back together. And they're going back to heaven in that new changed body. Verse 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up. Circle those words.
[23:41] Caught up. Maybe write the word rapture somewhere close to that. Caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
[23:53] Paul said, man, I want you to be comforted. I want you to know what happens. I don't want you to be ignorant about death. I don't want you to be ignorant about what happens to your body. I don't want you to go to the graveyard like everybody else goes to the graveyard.
[24:05] And you look at the person who died in your family and your heart is broken because everything's over. I don't want you to go through that. You need to know what God's going to do. We know. That's what he said in 2 Corinthians 5.
[24:16] We know. We know. There's things that you ought to know as a Christian about what God's doing. Now go back with me if you would to 2 Corinthians 5. Verse 1.
[24:27] We know that if our earthly house, if this body dies, we have a building, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Now listen to this. Verse 1. Sum it up.
[24:38] I can stop right here. I know this much from the word of God. If I drop dead today, if I drop dead today, and this body is destroyed, dissolved, done away with, gone, and of no value and cremated, I will be with the Lord and I have a house not made with hands.
[24:54] I already have a body not made with hands. A tent down here and a house up there. I have a temporary down here and an eternal up there. I have a dying body down here and an incorruptible body up there.
[25:05] I've got the promise and I know it. I know it. Because of what the word of God says, I believe it. Then Paul goes another step further. This really, and I guess I'll have to go through this with you on Thursday, but this really takes it to the next step.
[25:20] Because Paul knew something, but then he uses another verb that just like screams, I really mean this. Look if you would at chapter, or at verse 2. Verse 5, 2. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven.
[25:39] What he's saying is we're going, oh, I can't wait. Man, I can't wait. I want to get to heaven. I want my new body. That's what he's doing. We groan.
[25:49] All of nature groans. We're like, when will you come back, Jesus? When can we have something as good or better than the Garden of Eden? God, when can we live forever again? We groan. Paul said, I know it, but I don't just know it like you guys.
[26:01] You guys know it up here in your head. I really want it. I really want it. We groan. Verse 3. If so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked.
[26:12] Dead body, me floating around with no body. For in that this tabernacle, for we that are in this tabernacle do groan being burdened. Not that we should be unclothed, but clothed upon.
[26:24] Paul said, it's not I want to die. It's not I want to get rid of this body. It's not I want to check out of this world. I'm just so excited about what God's got prepared for me because I know what he's got prepared.
[26:34] He said, it's so good. He said, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Mortality means dying. He said, so that dying might be swallowed up by living.
[26:46] He said, boy, God's got something great for us. I know it. I know it. I know it. And I groan for it. I want it. I have an eager desire for our glorified body. It's not that he wants to die.
[26:58] It's not he wants out of the body. It's that he wants heaven and the new body and all God has prepared. Boy, is that not the opposite of the way we feel? The way we feel is God, if you could put off dying in heaven for a hundred years, we'd be very excited about it.
[27:14] Fact is, God, I wouldn't mind living to 200 if I could. But Paul said, man, I know something. I know that when I die, I will lay down this tent and it will be dissolved.
[27:26] And I know I have a body in heaven. And I know it is so great and wonderful and majestic and immortal and all these things that I groan for it. I hunger for it. Look at Romans 8, 18 with me.
[27:38] Romans chapter 8, verse 18. I'm afraid sometimes that living in America and living with all the good things that we have, we might not see this.
[27:49] This is what he said to the Romans. Romans, I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
[28:00] Don't forget, most of the church he's talking to, there are lots of people being persecuted. There are people being arrested. There are people being beat up. There are people that are suffering. Of course, there's hunger and there's problems that they're going through.
[28:12] And he says, guys, let me tell you something. This right here is nothing. God's got big time glory that will be revealed. Verse 19. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
[28:25] Even God's creation is like, can't wait till God does all that God's going to do. And all the Bible says, I can't wait till God takes fallen man that he saved and rescued and blows all this earth away, burns it and prepares a new heaven and a new earth and puts us on it.
[28:42] The whole creation says, man, we can't wait for what God's going to do. We can't wait. Verse 20. Romans 8. Romans 8.20. For the creature was made subject to vanity, but not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope.
[28:59] Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, from the bondage of dying and death and rotting that goes on in our planet into the glorious liberty, the glorious liberty of the children of God.
[29:13] We know the whole creation groaneth. We know the whole creation groaneth and travaileth. That's like having labor pains together until now. Not only they, but ourselves also, which are the first fruits of the spirit.
[29:27] Even we ourselves groaneth and the future. Even we ourselves groaneth and ourselves waiting for the adoption to wit, the redemption of our body the day God gives us that new body.
[29:38] Well, we can't wait for what God has prepared for us. Would you look at the verses with me? Would you think just a second? Paul said in the last part of chapter 4, he said, look guys, I know you're going through some rough times, but it's only a moment.
[29:53] It's only a moment. It's only a second going on in your life. It's just like one minute out of all of a lifetime. It's not that big a deal. It's a light affliction, but it works for you in exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
[30:03] There's big stuff. This life is short. This life is temporary and it'll soon be over. But boy, there's some great things laid up. Then he gets to chapter 5 and he says, let me just go ahead and tell you, you're going to die.
[30:15] Your body's going to rot. It's all going to be over. But we know something about that. Everybody in the world knows they're going to die. There's not a person on the planet that doesn't know they're going to die. Everybody knows they're going to die.
[30:26] We're going to die. But we know something about that. We know that when this body is dissolved, that we have another body. And by the way, it is so good. Everything God's got is promised that our body and our heart groans.
[30:40] Man, we can't wait for God to take us to heaven and to give us all that he has prepared. 2 Timothy 4, verse 6, Paul said, I'm now ready to be offered.
[30:52] The time of my departure is at hand. Paul was like, I'm going to step out of this world and step into that world and I am ready. I'm willing to offer my life to God and his cause, but I'm going to heaven.
[31:04] Now go down to verse 6 with me. Go down to verse 6. We're always confident. We know and we groan and we're confident.
[31:15] I mean, it's like Paul's going, I know this. I really know this. And hey, by the way, I really, really know this. Look at what he says in verse 6.
[31:26] Therefore, we are always confident, always confident, by the way, knowing that while we're at home in the body, we're absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight.
[31:37] We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Look at verse 7, just a second. Just a real quick second. Look at verse 7. You see, Paul told us in chapter 4, 16, 17, and 18, he said, What you see is temporary and what you don't see is eternal.
[31:55] But you know these things as the word of God tells you these things. So you know the truth, though you can't see it. Somebody's going to come along and say, how do you know there's a heaven? I know there's a heaven because God said there was. But can you prove there's a heaven?
[32:05] No, I don't have to prove it. God said it, and I believe what God said. I trust God. Whatever he says is true. Paul said, hey. Paul said, and we don't walk by sight. We walk by faith.
[32:16] You know what? If you asked me, Austin, have you seen heaven? I'd say, no, but I know it's there. Austin, do you really believe in an eternal weight of glory? Yes. Why? I haven't seen it, but I don't walk by what I see.
[32:28] I walk by faith. God's people are either here on earth or in heaven. We do not go to the grave. We don't go to hell. We don't go to purgatory. We're either here or we're there.
[32:40] In the Bible, they were looking for a city which had foundations, whose builder and maker is God. That's what the Bible said in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 10 about Abraham. Abraham went out looking for a city.
[32:52] And Abraham wasn't looking for a place on the planet that he could call New York City or he could call Jerusalem or he could call Atlanta. Abraham was like, God's spoken to me and I'm looking for a city God's built. I want to go to that place.
[33:03] That's what Paul's thinking about. This world and our earthly bodies are temporary. Being in heaven is glorious. I'll just give you a few verses and I'll be through it. Maybe I've dumped too much on you, but you ought to be excited.
[33:17] In the Bible, in the Bible, in God's way of thinking, God's way of thinking, this world is not my home. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
[33:28] That's a song I sung when I was a kid. And it's true. There really is a heaven. There really is a heaven. And God really has prepared all these wonderful things for us. In Philippians chapter 3 and verse 20, the Bible says, our conversation is in heaven from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[33:46] That word conversation there is your way of living, your citizenship. It's like, hey, I know where I belong. I belong in heaven and Jesus is coming to get me soon and he's taking me there. In 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 17, he said, if you call on the Father without respect of persons, judges according to every man's work.
[34:02] Pass the time of your sojourning. Write that down. The time of your sojourning here in fear. Pass the time of your staying here temporarily. A sojourn.
[34:14] That's what you do when you go to a motel. You know, when you go into a motel, you really know this ain't my house. This isn't the bed I picked. This isn't the decoration I might necessarily use.
[34:25] It might even be a beautiful place, but it's not your place. You're just passing through. Peter said, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. Live knowing there's something bigger than this.
[34:37] In 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 11, Peter said this. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims. Strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul.
[34:51] Peter said, guys, this is not our home. We're just strangers. We're pilgrims. Pilgrims are people that are passing through. Pilgrims are people that don't belong here. They know they don't belong here.
[35:01] They're on their way somewhere else. We are strangers and pilgrims on this earth, according to the word of God. The born again believer wants Jesus. That ought to be our heart.
[35:12] If you know the Bible and as you learn it, you will. In Psalm 42, 1, the Bible says, as the heart penneth after the water brooks, so penneth my soul after thee, O God.
[35:24] My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? God, I want to know you. God, I want to know you.
[35:35] God, I want to know you. There's nothing or no one on this earth that we want more than God. Born again people are saying, man, I know who saved me. I know what he's done. And sometimes you and I say, but for my wife or for my husband or for my children or for the people at my church, I don't want to go see Jesus.
[35:51] I need to live here. This is what the psalmist said in verse in 73, 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
[36:05] You are my Savior. I want you. And heaven will be in continual intimate fellowship with God. I would take you to Revelation 21, but I won't.
[36:18] Revelation 21, he'll wipe away all the tears. And in Revelation 21, we will experience all the wonders of being there. He will be the light of the city. He will be there. It will be him.
[36:29] And we will have continual fellowship. Now, go back with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 if you want to look at it. It started off with we know. We know some things. We're not like everybody else. We know some things.
[36:41] If you step outside this building and you start talking to people, you're going to find out they really don't know what happens when you die. But we know. We know. Sometimes we don't act like we know, but we should know.
[36:54] And we shouldn't live in ignorance. And we should be excited about what God's done for us. We know that we're going to die. And we know he's got another body prepared for us. And we know that heaven's all prepared. We should know that and act like what we know.
[37:05] And Paul took it a second step. It's like to me. It's like he's flying up these stairs. And he's stuck at the next landing. And he stopped and says, we don't only know, we groan. We know it to be true. And we want it so bad that we're just desirous of it.
[37:19] But I get emails. This many days till hunting season. This many days till football starts again. You get everybody groans.
[37:30] They can't wait for it. But you and I have no idea. Paul said, I know what God's got fixed for us. And I want it. I want it. I want it. The whole creation wants it. Boy, it's good stuff. And Paul ends up saying this.
[37:43] I'm confident. I am confident. I'm really confident of what I'm telling you. I am confident that when I die, I will be absent from my body. And I will be present with the Lord. I walk by faith and not by sight.
[37:54] You say, how do you know that? He said, I do it by faith. Not by what I see. I know that I will be in his presence. Born again Christian. This world's temporary.
[38:06] We lay up money like it was eternal. We lay up things like we were going to live forever. We build a nest to make it the most comfortable forever. We rarely think about him because we really focus too much on this world.
[38:20] But you'll have a hard time getting in this book without finding about the other world and finding out about what you can't see and find out about a God that's far above and beyond everything that we have. And here's three words for you.
[38:32] We know. We groan. And we're confident. Know. Grown. Confident. And Paul said, let me just tell you, this world, this life is temporary.
[38:43] This life is temporary. But don't worry. We know there's an eternal life. And we know God's got wonderful things prepared for us. And they're not just wonderful.
[38:54] Let me tell you, they're so wonderful, I can't wait to get there. Point two, I can't wait to get there. And point three. By the way, in case you didn't figure it out, I am really confident of this. By the way, guess who wrote it down?
[39:06] Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit. Paul might have written the letter. But it was the Holy Spirit seeing to it that the very words we needed were there. And God was saying, tell them. Tell them.
[39:17] Tell them I got wonderful things prepared for them. Tell them it's something they ought to anxiously desire and want to have happen. And tell them that I'm really confident. I really know it. I mean it. And tell them, Paul, you know.
[39:28] God's got big stuff. Boy, tonight, if you know Jesus, you have a great future. If you know Jesus, you have wonderful things. Get your eyes off of now and put them on then.
[39:40] Get your eyes off of here and put them on there. Get your eyes off of yourself and put them on him. Get your eyes off of temporary and put them on eternal. Father in heaven, I love you. And I thank you for the chance to share your word.
[39:53] And I pray, God, that somehow you take the faltering words and failing words and help them to be driven home so some people would understand and have an idea of what your word says. I pray, God, that it would be real.
[40:04] I pray, God, it would be powerful. I pray, God, that we would trust you with what you have for us. And I'll give you all glory and all praise and all honor. You have been listening to Austin Gardner, pastor of Vision Baptist Church.
[40:18] For contact information, location, service times, or more audio and video recordings, log on to www.visionbaptist.com.
[40:32] I pray, God, that it will make you feel the same way. I pray, God, that it will make you feel the same way downقول. I pray, God, that it will help you with your own meaning and people may. And I pray, God, who has no second chapter of the question, guide us and do you know what to say.
[40:45] And you can do something that you may expect to do all this, dazu question. The question of what you have people seek, the question, is that normally, doing the same way now. I pray, God, that you mean what you think you will be projects, which will make you want to use solo as spiritual balance in the name of life. And I'll give you the same way to do that in words with just a lifelong learning, how you're learning to we all effectively,