Into Eternity - 260213

SPEAKER A 00:00:00 - 00:01:46 Hello, I'm Mike Browning and this is Let God Speak. So welcome along. We're glad you're with us today. Let's be honest. Our world feels like it's shaking. People everywhere are very anxious and they're overwhelmed, wondering where all this is heading. And life has never felt more fragile. But the Bible insists there is a point to all of this. God does have a plan and history is moving toward a rescue. And this will be a glorious eternity, folks, for those who hold on in faith. And that's our focus today, Into Eternity. Well, folks, joining me on the panel today, we have Rosanna Laredo and we have Daniel Vokurka. Thank you to both of you for joining us today. We appreciate your input. And we'd like to invite everyone to join us in prayer before we open the Scripture. Father in heaven, just thank you so much that you've given us a hope that goes well beyond what we see happening in the world today. I pray that your Spirit will guide us in our discussion today, touch the heart of everybody at home, and help our faith to grow stronger as a result of the study that we have. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Now, yep, the world is indeed in turmoil. Nobody's going to dispute that. So we need some good news. What good news can we offer, Daniel, to the world today? SPEAKER B 00:01:47 - 00:02:17 Well, it's actually exactly what Jesus predicted, and we can read this in Luke 21. and verse 26. And he says there, men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. However, Jesus doesn't stop there. He then goes on and says that these things will happen just before he comes back. SPEAKER A 00:02:17 - 00:02:28 Okay, so that's the good news part about it. Thank you for that. Rosanna, what did Jesus actually specifically say that we should do when we see all these troubling things happen? SPEAKER C 00:02:28 - 00:02:45 Well, He was very clear about it actually. So in Luke 21:28, He says this, now when these things begin to happen, look up, lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near. He's saying, don't be discouraged, take heart, He is coming. SPEAKER A 00:02:45 - 00:03:02 Okay, and that's the point, isn't it? He's saying, don't be, don't be dismayed. I'm coming back. And these were a sign. But it's so. So let's have a talk about His coming, His Second Coming as we call it. What will it be like, Daniel? What will His coming look like? SPEAKER B 00:03:02 - 00:03:13 Oh, it'll be absolutely amazing. So it won't be like the way He came when He was a babe and when He was born in Bethlehem. SPEAKER A 00:03:13 - 00:03:14 Okay. SPEAKER B 00:03:14 - 00:03:55 It'll be quite different. We can find this in Matthew 24:26-27. And Jesus again is speaking here and He says, Therefore, if they say to you, look, He is in the desert, do not go out. Or, look, He is in the inner rooms, do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man So it'll be very noticeable. It'll be something that everyone will be able to see. SPEAKER A 00:03:55 - 00:04:34 The word awesome comes to mind. That was what flashed into my mind. It is a fantastic thing to look forward to, and it's clearly very, very visible. I mean, this is not a quiet event, and you pointed that out. Jesus came quietly the first time in Bethlehem, but not this time. That's really important. While we're in Matthew 24, I'm going to read verse 30, folks. Verse 30 says, then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They're not ready, you see. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. So what is this saying to you here, Roseanne? SPEAKER C 00:04:34 - 00:04:38 His coming will be spectacular, absolutely mind-boggling. SPEAKER A 00:04:38 - 00:04:38 Yeah. SPEAKER C 00:04:38 - 00:04:49 And the entire world will see it. And we're told that in Revelation 1:7. It says, behold, or look, He is coming with clouds and every eye will see Him. Every eye. SPEAKER A 00:04:49 - 00:04:58 Okay, it's very specific. Very good, I like that. Okay, so what's His main purpose in coming in the way that we've just been reading here? SPEAKER B 00:04:59 - 00:05:39 Well, this is the climax. This is the climax of the terrible experiment with sin and rebellion against God. His victory is to be tremendous and to be demonstrated to all. Not only that, but we can read in Matthew 24:31 that he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. And so it says there that he will gather his followers and take them to be with him. SPEAKER A 00:05:39 - 00:05:52 Okay, so it's something to really look forward to. The people of God can rejoice about this. It's great. Now, so we've looked at just a few aspects of His second coming there, Rosanna. Does any of this faze you just a little bit? It's so awesome. SPEAKER C 00:05:53 - 00:06:28 Yeah, so it is an awesome picture and it would be overwhelming except we have to remember that Jesus Himself has given His life for us for our sins. He's given us forgiveness, redemption, acceptance. We're told in John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, or whoever puts their trust in Him, has confidence in Him, and believes in faith in Jesus for salvation, should not perish but have everlasting life. SPEAKER A 00:06:28 - 00:06:59 Okay, so He's made it very clear. He's done everything to get us there. He wants us there probably more than we want to go. And we sure were looking forward to it, there's no doubt about that. Look, this is an interesting thing to me. Everything we experience in life has an endpoint. You know, we actually have a saying, all good things come to an end. And yet we're talking here about an eternity of peace and joy in paradise. And I'm thinking, how is it that we're actually able to think about that and conceive of it in our minds? SPEAKER B 00:07:00 - 00:07:39 Yeah, that's a very good question. And the Bible has an answer for that too. So if we go to Ecclesiastes, chapter 3 and verse 11, we can read the following: He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. And so God has placed eternity in our hearts. The sort of stuff that we experience on this earth— death, parting, all of that stuff, that was never meant to be. SPEAKER A 00:07:39 - 00:08:01 No, no, that's true. And everybody you meet, those who believe and those who don't, still have this concept of life going on even after death. Nobody wants it to end there. So it definitely is in our hearts to keep living and to stay living for eternity. God has put a few other things in our hearts. What else has He put in our hearts there, Rosanna? SPEAKER C 00:08:01 - 00:08:05 Well, He's actually given us the desire to know Him personally. SPEAKER A 00:08:05 - 00:08:06 Yes, that's a nice thing, isn't it? SPEAKER C 00:08:07 - 00:08:29 In Genesis 1:27 it says, so God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. God made us in his image. He is our Father and we are his kids in the closest sense of the word, just like a chip off the old block, so to speak. SPEAKER A 00:08:29 - 00:08:54 So it's no wonder we want to be close to him. We want to be close to those in our family, especially our Father. That's great, I like that. Now the only thing is there's a small problem, and that is that we can't see God, our Heavenly Father. We can't see Him. So how can we be close to Him? We chatted about this a little while ago, Daniel. How can we be close to Him even though we can't see Him actually? SPEAKER B 00:08:54 - 00:09:24 Well, yeah, that's also a very good question. And again, the Bible has an answer for that too. So we can read in Hebrews 1, 1 and 2, the following words: God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. SPEAKER A 00:09:24 - 00:09:25 Yes. SPEAKER B 00:09:25 - 00:09:43 But we see there that in the past God has spoken through the prophets, and we have the Bible. We have the record of all of those dealings. So God speaks to us through the Bible, but He also speaks to us through Jesus. SPEAKER A 00:09:43 - 00:09:44 Yeah. SPEAKER B 00:09:44 - 00:10:03 And Jesus said that we ought to pray. So these are the ways that we can communicate with God even though we do not see Him, but by faith we come to Him We pray, so that's how we speak to Him. And then through the Bible, through His Word, He speaks to us. SPEAKER A 00:10:03 - 00:10:30 We learn so much, don't we, about what God is like, God's nature, through the life of Jesus, how He lived. And so yes, as Hebrews says, He has revealed Himself and spoken to us through Jesus, His Son. Couldn't get any better than that. That's really something. Okay, what is— will we ever see Him, Roseanne? That's probably a question we should consider. Will we actually see Him face to face one day? SPEAKER C 00:10:30 - 00:11:04 Well, let's see what the Bible says about that. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, for the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. We'll always be with the Lord. We can never have to be parted again. We can totally bask in His presence. It's gonna be great. SPEAKER A 00:11:04 - 00:11:43 Yeah, that's so nice. That's a lovely picture. Thank you for that, Rosanna. We, that's something we all look forward to. Anyone who loves God looks forward to that. I'm gonna read a scripture now from Revelation chapter 22 and verse 4. And it's along the same line of thought that you've been talking about there, Rosanna. Revelation 22:4, and it says this, they shall see His face and His name shall be on their foreheads. This is talking about the people of God, the saved. They're in eternity. They shall see His face. What is this saying to us, Daniel? What's it saying to you here? SPEAKER B 00:11:44 - 00:12:31 Oh, it's just a beautiful picture. So having the Father's name written on the foreheads, and it's like having His character embedded. And actually, we can also read in 1 John 3:2 something similar, similar words. So 1 John 3:2. And it says, Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. That's just a beautiful promise. SPEAKER A 00:12:31 - 00:12:31 Hmm. SPEAKER B 00:12:31 - 00:12:42 To think that you, me, like with all our character deficiencies that we have, One day God will finish that work and we shall be like Him. SPEAKER A 00:12:42 - 00:13:30 I'm impressed, very impressed by that. It is beautiful, isn't it? Still on His second coming, I want to just go back to that thought for a moment. It's interesting that Jesus likened His coming to a marriage, coming to a marriage, and He used parables to that effect. And this statement was made in Revelation 19:7-9. And it says this, let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb, referring to Jesus, has come, and His wife has made herself ready. Who is this person? And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. What's it saying to us here, Rosanna? SPEAKER C 00:13:30 - 00:13:34 Well, it's saying the faithful people of God are like His bride, someone who's very precious to Him. SPEAKER A 00:13:35 - 00:14:41 Yeah. Okay. That's very interesting. And that's very soft and gentle and intimate. I like that thought. That's a very nice thing indeed. Indeed. Very much indeed. Now, you know, I'm still going to read in Revelation, folks, in chapter 21 this time and verse 2 and 3. 21, verse 2 and 3. This is moving on with the notion of the church, the people of God being the bride. Verse 2 says, I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. This is interesting. So here's New Jerusalem. New Jerusalem is a bride. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself shall be with them. and be their God. Now this is an interesting one. So the people of God are the Bride of Christ, and so the New Jerusalem is also like a bride. What's the connection here? SPEAKER B 00:14:41 - 00:15:12 Well, the connection there is that, well, the people of God are going to be dwelling in the New Jerusalem, and that's going to be their eternal home. And the point there is that it will be an intimate connection here between God and His people. And that's just such a beautiful imagery that God will be with them and be their God. He'll be there, right there. SPEAKER A 00:15:12 - 00:15:28 I love that. Thank you very much. It's an interesting thing thinking about a marriage. A husband would traditionally provide the very best for his bride, right? What specifically then does Jesus provide for His bride, in this instance, the people of God? SPEAKER C 00:15:28 - 00:15:48 Well, in her book The Great Controversy, Ellen White writes this on page 675: Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can comprehend the glory of the paradise of God. Beautiful. SPEAKER A 00:15:48 - 00:15:59 It is a beautiful picture, isn't it? So we can't even get our minds around it. Indeed we can't. In fact, when we were chatting about this earlier, Daniel, you had a thought on that point, didn't you? SPEAKER B 00:15:59 - 00:16:30 I did. And I think that, you know, Ellen White was also taking inspiration from 1 Corinthians 2:9, and it says in there, but as it is written, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. So, we really cannot picture it. It's like you picture the most amazing thing that you can possibly picture. SPEAKER A 00:16:30 - 00:16:31 Not in our wildest dreams. SPEAKER B 00:16:31 - 00:16:33 And it's going to be even better than that. SPEAKER A 00:16:33 - 00:17:28 Now, that's fantastic. That is so true. We can't imagine it. Well, I'm just so glad that God said it. We can look forward to it. You know, paradise is something that really— look, the thought of paradise is so appealing. See this little tract, folks? This is a little tract I've just got on the front here, Paradise. And this is a 3ABN tract. They're available here if you need them. And it's so interesting, I've given this little tract out to all kinds of people. And I've had some tradesmen come in and do work on our house when we did a bit of renovation, etc. And I've had some tough people come in, but everybody went out with one of these and everybody without fail says, oh wow, and was so intrigued by it. And I'm thinking, oh, that is so fantastic. People find this a thoughtful, very appealing thought, folks. So what attracts you to eternal things, to heaven, to paradise? SPEAKER B 00:17:28 - 00:17:44 Well, honestly, it's just the thought of seeing God, seeing the one who we pray to, the one that we read about, and just just being in His presence. SPEAKER A 00:17:44 - 00:17:45 Yes. SPEAKER B 00:17:45 - 00:18:32 And actually, if we go to Revelation chapter 7, verses 15 and 16, it describes there some of the things that we will be doing. And at first you might think, well, isn't this just a little much? But anyway, I'll go through that. Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple. You know, how can they do that? It's because they love Him. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them nor any heat. So we will want to serve Him. Why? Because He has done so much for us. SPEAKER A 00:18:32 - 00:19:03 Yeah, it's a beautiful thought. And one thing we won't have time to look at today, of course, is that also The people of God have a home in the new earth, in addition to the New Jerusalem. And I just think, wow, we've got so much to look forward to. And everything that we could possibly have hoped for in this life but maybe didn't see realized, we'll be able to do there and to experience there. So God has great plans. Very practical stuff, some of this too, Rosanna, isn't it? Some very practical offers and rewards that God gives us. SPEAKER C 00:19:03 - 00:19:26 Yes, and very good ones we can look forward to. In Revelation 21:4, It says, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, no sorrow, no crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. All that spoils life now will be gone. All sin, all sorrow will be a thing of the past. SPEAKER A 00:19:26 - 00:19:52 Okay, it sounds very beautiful. You know, my favorite Psalm is Psalm 37. No less, folks, than 6 times it talks about us having the inheritance, and it's referring to the new earth. In fact, Jesus quotes from that chapter when He says, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth, right out of Psalm 37. And I think, wow, God wants us to look forward to that and look forward to it as our eternal home. SPEAKER C 00:19:52 - 00:19:52 Hmm. SPEAKER A 00:19:52 - 00:21:30 He wants us to see it that way. Certainly a lot longer spent there than it is spent on this planet, so great, really. So there are practical rewards, all right. And thank you for that. And I think that's a beautiful picture. Chapter 21, verse 4. Don't forget it, people. Another question here, Daniel. I'm going to read from Revelation chapter 5 and verse 13. Revelation chapter 5 and verse 13. Where are we? Here we are. Revelation 5:13. I want you to imagine joining in the song that is described here in Revelation 5:13. Okay. Here are the people of God and they are before God in eternity now. As a matter of fact, I'm going to read verse 12 to start with. And this is the song that we sing. Now, I don't know whether you've got a good voice or not, but I tell you, you're going to have a good voice on this day. They say with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. What a description. So fantastic. And then verse 13. And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them, I heard them saying, blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb forever and ever. Now, Daniel, can you imagine yourself joining in that throng and what that will, what that will be like? SPEAKER B 00:21:31 - 00:22:15 Ah, that's just an amazing picture. And we see here the whole universe singing praises to God because ultimately sin has touched the whole universe. And now sin has done away with That's all done. And so, they're singing praises to God for dealing with the terrible emergency of sin and providing a secure future for the entire universe. And God is finally seen as a God of love, mercy, and fairness. His beautiful character is completely seen and revealed, and all of Satan's lies have been proven false. to be false. SPEAKER A 00:22:15 - 00:22:46 Yeah, it's just going to be such a beautiful thing. I love the fact that the whole universe is pictured here as gathering together to sing that song because it's not just this planet that's involved in the sin issue. The whole universe is watching what is going on here and this is such an essential time and so everyone rejoices together when it's all over and done with. Hasten the day. All right, so here we are today, Rosanna, with this beautiful picture before us. What should we do with it? SPEAKER C 00:22:46 - 00:23:14 What else can we do but come to Him? He says, Jesus says these words, come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. That's Matthew 11:28-29. Yes. We can come to Jesus just as we are, be washed by His blood, be made into a new person right now. SPEAKER A 00:23:14 - 00:23:54 Yeah, no, that's lovely, isn't it? Lovely thought. And I just think this is the offer of peace. The peace offers world— sorry, the world offers peace but can't give it to us. Jesus offers it. And of course, there it is. So it's a lovely picture. Now I'm gonna read now from John 6:44 for a moment. John 6:44, and this is how it reads. This is Jesus talking again, and He says, no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I'll raise him, or her of course, I'll raise them up at the last day. Daniel, what is He saying here to us? SPEAKER B 00:23:54 - 00:24:09 So He's saying that there's, I guess, Inherently in us, we don't tend to want to come to God, but the Father, so God draws us to Him. SPEAKER A 00:24:09 - 00:24:47 Okay, so we can naturally feel that. That's God-given. And folks, if we feel the need to come to God and we feel our heart drawn out to Him, this is Him calling us. And it's true, as you said, Daniel, that we don't necessarily feel that need on our own. But God plants it in our hearts and I'm so glad He does and makes us want to serve Him and want to know Him and be close to Him. And that's really good. And Rosanna, what about the people that we meet in life? And you're meeting people every day and so am I. What about them? Is God reaching out to these people as well? SPEAKER C 00:24:47 - 00:25:15 Yes, yes, we should see every person as a divine appointment and someone we can extend God's invitation too. As it says in Revelation 22:17, and the Spirit and the bride say, come. Let him who hears say, come. Let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires— that's everyone, that doesn't exclude anyone, does it? Let him take the water of life freely. Jesus invites all of us to think about him, to come. SPEAKER A 00:25:15 - 00:25:31 Okay, and I think if we have been If we sense the call, he's saying here, then now that you've come, you pass the call on and encourage everyone to come. You know something else? I think that we should be looking for divine appointments. SPEAKER B 00:25:31 - 00:25:32 Hmm. SPEAKER A 00:25:32 - 00:26:11 People that God has brought into our lives. It may be only briefly. Person on the checkout at the supermarket, for argument's sake. Somebody you meet down at the park. You know, and I'm often looking out for people I meet in the park. I do early morning walks And there are people that God has ready for us to touch and we need to go there. Chappie, just 2 doors down from us, passed away in the early hours of this morning. Where should we be? We should be, and we were, in the home with those people because we just don't know. And every person's soul is important as yours and mine. SPEAKER B 00:26:11 - 00:26:14 And we should also pray for divine SPEAKER A 00:26:14 - 00:26:19 I think that's a good plan, Daniel. Yeah. Ask God to bring somebody into our life. SPEAKER C 00:26:19 - 00:26:20 Hmm. SPEAKER A 00:26:20 - 00:26:46 Yeah, because they're out there. People are looking, you know, wistfully to heaven, quote unquote. So we need to, need to focus on that. That's really good. Look, thank you for that. On a personal level, when you see Jesus coming back to the earth, Daniel, what do you think that you will say and feel? On a personal level, what What will you say? What will come to mind? SPEAKER B 00:26:46 - 00:27:00 Look, I honestly, I honestly don't know. But I think the words that are found in Isaiah 25:9, I think that'll probably be closest to what it would be. SPEAKER C 00:27:00 - 00:27:01 Yeah. SPEAKER B 00:27:01 - 00:27:17 And it says, and it will be said in that day, behold, this is our God. We have waited for Him. And He will save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for Him. We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. SPEAKER A 00:27:17 - 00:28:01 Thank you for that. We're going to have to close on that lovely point, folks. Thank you for that. Because the return of Jesus is the world's greatest hope. To me, it's the one bright, unshakable promise in a very troubled world. And while people focus on the chaos around them, we can point them to the rescue that's coming. And those who know this hope are the ones best equipped to share it, of course. So let's tell the world, people. Well, thank you for joining us on Let God Speak today. Remember, you can find all our previous programs plus teachers' notes on our website, 3abnaustralia.org.au. Emails, you can email us if you'd like to do so, and we invite you to join us next time. God bless. God bless. SPEAKER C 00:28:06 - 00:28:27 You have been listening to Let God Speak, a production of 3ABN Australia Television. To catch up on past programs, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456 or email [email protected]. SPEAKER B 00:28:27 - 00:28:30 3abnaustralia.org.au. SPEAKER C 00:28:30 - 00:28:31 We'd love to hear from you. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.