Rev. & Mrs. Seaton

Peace United Church of Christ
Loyal, OK
Leon Seaton, Pastor
Sunday, March 25, 2001


 
What Are Your Plans for the Future?

What are your plans for the future?  When I was young I dreamed of power, prestige, cars and wealth.  As I grew older I got more realistic. Clothes for the kids, food for us, and a warm house with the monthly payments made on time.  A year ago a lot of people were asking when I was going to retire.  So I cut back for a while… that wasn’t much fun, so I am back at full speed again.

But there is another future we need to make plans for… the future that comes when this life is over!   I trust that you have made concrete plans for your eternal future! It begins by receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior.  Many people believe that they will go to heaven because "I haven’t done anything that bad, so I guess I will make it in."  Sorry.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except by Me."  (John 14:6)  If you have not asked Him into your heart and life, I encourage you to do that today!

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But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.  He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.  Titus 3:4-7

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:32

Salvation begins by what you believe and what you say….

But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  Romans 10:8-13

As you know, some dramatic things take place between now and eternity. Our Revelation scriptures for today tell about some of it!

 

Revelation 14:14-20

I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a Son of Man" with a crown of gold on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.  Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to Him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."  So He who was seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.  Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe."  The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.  They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia. (About 180 miles.)

God’s warnings and judgments did not produce the changes God desired, so the sins of the nations are now ripe for judgment.  It is time for harvest… and there are two harvests.  The righteous ones are gathered into heaven, and sinners receive their final judgment.

The "Son of Man" is Christ.  Our Redeemer becomes the Judge.  Here He is pictured as being ready to wield the sickle of judgment on a world rotten with wickedness.  God destroyed the world with a flood when Noah was living.  The rebellious died while Noah and his family rode safely in the ark.  God said that He would never destroy the world by a flood again. However, He will destroy the wicked in the end time.

"The patience of God towards sinners is the greatest miracle in the world; but, though lasting, it will not be everlasting; and ripeness in sin is a sure proof of judgment at hand."  (Matthew Henry)

In Biblical days grapes were put in a trough and trampled by foot to remove the wine (i.e., the juice of the grape.)  Treading grapes was an Old Testament figure for the execution of divine wrath on the ungodly.  God does not want to destroy His enemies until He feels that they will never repent.  At some point action must be taken.  The winepress is God’s wrath.

Revelation 14:20 appears to be a reference to the Battle of Armageddon.  We are told that the blood from the slaughter will flow in a river of blood 180 miles long and be about 4.5 ft deep! One writer states that "The blood of horses added to that of the large armies of human soldiers could easily cause such an enormous river of blood."  I would like to think that it is a figurative picture, but I don’t know.  Whatever the case, it signifies a great slaughter during the last days of the tribulation.

What possible application can we receive from all of this?  Matthew 24 talks about the end of time. 

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.   For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.   That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.   Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.  Matthew 24:36-41

2 Peter 3:3-18

First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.  They will say, "Where is this 'coming' He promised?  Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."  But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.  By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.  By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends:  With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.  The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.  The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?  You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him. Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.  He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters.  His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory both now and forever!  Amen.

Obviously know one knows when God will come back to redeem us.  Some days I am in a big hurry for Him to return, and sometimes when I think about all of the unsaved people I know, I hope that He will tarry a while longer.  Scoffers tell us He never will return, but He will!  God tells us in 2 Peter 3:9b that God is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

We are to "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.  He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters.  His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."

I love the verse where Peter states that some of Paul’s teachings are hard to understand!  Believe me, I can identify with that!

One of the secrets of contentment is for us to be busy about our Heavenly Father’s business and simply leave the date of the Second Coming to God.  God has it all figured out, and it isn’t our responsibility to handle that chore.  In fact Jesus stated that the whole date thing was in the Father’s hands and that He (Jesus) was not in the loop of information! 

Let me close this morning by quoting William Culbertson from an article in Christianity Today.

I find that discipleship means, first, truly living.  It does not mean a joy ride to heaven; it does not mean that there are no trials and no burdens.  But it does mean peace in your soul and joy in your heart, and a sense, a supreme sense, of the smile of the Lord upon you.  It is living.  And discipleship means that you are using your time on earth to the best possible advantage.  The Lord Jesus says so.            -- William Culbertson in Listening to the Giants. Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 8

 

"Peace in your soul and joy in your heart, and a sense ... of the smile of the Lord upon you."  That's what I want in my future.  How about you?



Please feel free to contact Pastor Leon by e-mail.
He will be pleased to hear from you!

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Scriptures taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV).
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.