Pastor Tony Ashmore begins a new series entitled "If I Die Before I Wake" in this Sunday service.
If I Die Before I Wake Part 1
Pastor Tony Ashmore
Sunday, August 1, 2010
www.churchatmirrorlake.com
Sermon Notes:
If I die before I wake…
Heaven and Hell aren’t just about what happens after we die, they are about how we live today.
Matthew 6:10 “May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
Heaven and Hell are a reality, not a fable, not some metaphysical metaphor. The reality of Heaven and Hell should permeate our lives here. We should be experiencing Heaven in our everyday lives. Instead of seeing Heaven as a far-off escape, similar to a ‘retirement paradise’, it should compel us to share it with others. Knowing Hell is a reality should be a driving force in our daily walk to make sure no one chooses it as their eternity.
Matthew 13:33 “Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
Philippians 1:27 “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ…”
Colossians 3:1-3 “1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Mark 9:43-48 “43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’”
Romans 8:38-39 “38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Jesus’ last words to His disciples were not about “getting to Heaven” but about “Heaven getting to earth.”
Matthew 28:18-20 “18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
1. Make disciples: Disciples are not made through information impartation. Disciples are made by ‘doing life together’.
2. Baptizing: immersing, pickling. In the name: character, the very essence, the ‘kabod’. Again, requires connecting with others.
3. Teaching: What? ‘…the commands I have given you…’ You can’t give what you don’t have. Again, relationship driven—Hang out with Jesus. Let Him do it TO you so He can do it THROUGH you. Heaven touching earth.
4. The reality that drives this: Jesus, and all of Heaven, are with us every day. Paul: “For I am convinced…”
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