Sunday Words of Encouragement October 17, 2021

We shared in praise and worship and then Pastor shared announcements. I mistakenly thought last week was the final to the series, but this week was Pastor’s conclusion to: Walking With Jesus.
He reminded us of the foundational verse that directs the believer to be rooted in Christ. Colossians 2:6-7.

Are we mature enough to say yes or no in the circumstances? Are we close enough to be Surrendered to the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to live in us and guide us?

Pastor described a time in his young pastoring days when he was working with the Royal Rangers (Assemblies version of Boy Scouts). They were teaching the young men how to properly use a compass. You don’t keep your eyes on the compass, moving a few feet at a time. You look at the compass to get the right direction set the course. Then you look out at the distance for your target point. Just as we shouldn’t continuously look at the compass, we shouldn’t be continually looking at the current moment.

The believer should be looking at the bigger picture, a target in the future. We should focus on the promise of heaven.

We live in a corrupted world and the environment works against us with earthquakes, volcanoes, fires, hurricanes, floods and more. We face these on earth but we are promised the splendor of heaven.

We live with a great expectation – our inheritance in heaven. There is wonderful joy ahead even though we go though testing. Our faith leads to the salvation of our souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9.

Heaven is home. It has been prepared for us. We look forward to the splendor and to the absence of sin, pain, sorrow, and doubt. We will be living in the presence of God without our fleshly distractions.
Set your eyes on heaven. Heaven is our target. God's word is our compass. We have an expectation of a heavenly body. “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” 2 Corinthians 5: 1-5.

The Point: Heaven is the final promise for all who are saved and walk with Jesus.

Hell was created for the fallen (cast out) angels. It was not initially created for men. God wants man to live in His presence for eternity! There we can have a perfect connection with God. Man will live in eternity in the presence of God or with the absence of his presence. People have a choice: heaven or hell; life or death.

Heaven is made for you.
Pray for the lost.

I knew I wanted this song, From Heaven's Point of View, even though I couldn’t find one with lyrics. (Click on the link and they are available beneath the video.)

Verses for Today:
1 Peter 1:3-9 NIV
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Lord, help remind me to keep my eyes on the promise of Heaven!