← ArchiveProverbsSunday, August 28, 2016DateAugust 28, 2016Speaker—TextProverbs 11Passages in this sermonProverbs 111:23Matthew 614:072 Timothy 4:817:02James 1:1217:27Revelation 2035:19Romans 641:55TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00We'll be right back. We'll be right back.0:30We'll be continuing our look at wisdom literature this morning with our heart asking the Lord,0:59Father, this summer, give us wisdom. Give us heavenly wisdom, godly wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So, Lord, we desire that truth. We desire that knowledge, knowledge that changes us and knowledge that transforms our lives. So, with that introduction, let's look at Proverbs chapter 11. We will look specifically at one verse, verse 4.1:27Proverbs 11. If you have your Bibles, please open them and join me there this morning. Proverbs and wisdom literature, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, are full of wisdom about life, are full of wisdom about death and eternity. So, this morning, we are going to look at death.1:55Specifically, we're going to ask the Lord, give us eternal perspectives. Because for those who do not know Christ, death is a very scary proposition. For those who do know Jesus Christ, then death is, I get to see my Savior face to face. And I don't want to be so foolish or naive to say that death does not beg questions in my life as those who fear the Lord. I do not desire death.2:24I don't want to leave my family. But at the same time, I know there's hope in the resurrection. So, we're going to ask God, give us an eternal perspective this morning that we may live out the truth of Jesus Christ. In 1888, some of you, before most of your time, if you're before that, God bless you. One morning in 1888, a man named Alfred Noble woke up to meet death face to face.2:50And in his life, this happened by a simplistic journal, a journalist error. He woke up to read in the morning paper. For some of you don't know what that is, that sometimes the people will throw things in your driveway in the mornings that have news. I know the news is about 12 hours old. I mean, it's old by that point. But there's this thing called the paper. They usually roll them up, put a rubber band on them, and they throw them in your yard.3:20He opened his paper, and he read something that startled him. It was his own obituary. And it said, Alfred Noble died yesterday, 1888. And his first reaction was, Lord, this can't be true because I'm reading this. The error was his brother had passed away, and the journalist had switched the names. But even more concerning for Alfred was the title of the obituary, which said, Dynamite King.3:49For Alfred has spent his entire life, he invented dynamite. And the obituary told over and over again about a man who gained his wealth by inventing an explosive, something that was used for destruction. And this grieved Alfred very much, because he has spent his life searching for peace and bringing people together. He has spent his life seeking to break down walls and to break down barriers,4:19who had hundreds of inventions and hundreds of patents himself. But what he saw that morning was how the world viewed him, as the dynamite king, a man who gained his treasure by exploding things. From that moment on, Alfred decided to change his life because he had seen death face to face. And so he set in his last will and testament an endowment for at least six prizes.4:47Specifically, he wanted to endow great achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. And later, a prize is set to my own heart, economics. You might know these prizes, especially the prize for peace. It's now called the Nobel Peace Prize. You see, for Alfred, having an eternal perspective shifted his entire life.5:15Thinking about death forced him to say, Lord, now may I live a life that reverberates more than just the here and now. So I'm going to ask you not to look at your own obituary. I have not written that. I don't know what that would include. But I will ask you to say, Lord, give me a perspective that is greater than today. Now, an eternal perspective is not the same thing as a heavenly perspective.5:45I know many Christians that are longing for heaven. Here's the problem with that. Heaven, for the believer, begins tomorrow. Eternity began yesterday. So may we not look in the skies and say, Lord, I'm longing for heaven when I can see my Savior face to face. And if we're honest, a lot of us long for heaven because we're greedy. We like the streets of... Now, how did y'all know what the streets were made out of?6:14Why does it, out of everything that we see in heaven, to be with God for eternity, why does it jump out in our mind? Because we, like bugs, are attracted to shiny objects. Because we're selfish, aren't we? If the streets were made of mud, you probably would not have remembered that, and I would not have. And the gates are made of... Now, how did you know that? Because we long for heaven. And often, if we're not careful, then we have a perspective that is heavenly, but is not necessarily godly or eternal.6:43May God give us an eternal perspective. And may we not be people who are looking to heaven, and we miss Christ here on earth. God give us eternal perspective. So let's look at Proverbs chapter 11. I will read the first four verses, and we will end on verse 4. Proverbs 11, verse 1. Dishonest skills are an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.7:12When pride comes, then comes shame, but with the humble is wisdom. The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. And this will be our focus verse this morning. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. Riches do not profit on the day of wrath, but righteousness will deliver from death.7:39Proverbs is full of wisdom in life or death. Verse 25, chapter 16. There is a way that seems right to man, but its end leads to death. God, may we see our death and give us an eternal perspective. Let's pray. Father, Lord, give us a vision for our life that is greater than our life. Oh, Lord, I thank you for the wake-up call of Alfred Noble who, Lord, changed his life because he saw his obituary.8:09And, Lord, maybe we do not or should not long for death, but, Lord, we long for an eternal perspective where we see our Savior face to face and where the glimpse of our Savior now compels us to live for you right now in this moment. So, Lord, give us an eternal perspective. One that says, riches do not help us on the day of wrath, but righteousness.8:38Oh, righteousness will deliver us from death. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Well, wisdom today for eternity. Wisdom in eternity. And I have four reasons why an eternal perspective will change and shape our life. Here's the first, and it's found in verse 4. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath. So, perspective number one is this.9:07Earthly treasures have no value in eternity. Earthly treasure has no value in eternity. Look at verse 4. Riches do not profit. Some of your translations might have benefit. So, riches do not profit in the day of wrath. We're going to look at what that means because we will all be judged and we will all be longing for eternity one day. Earthly treasure has no benefit in heaven.9:36This is the heart of Proverbs. The heart of Proverbs says that the rich nor the wealth of individuals matter in eternity. You've often heard a pastor say this, that there will be no U-Hauls at your funeral. And if they are, they're not going with you. They're going to the dump. They're going to the heap. Why? Because very clearly God's word shows us and challenges us to have an eternal perspective.10:04That my earthly treasure, my earthly riches do not profit eternally. Said another way, that the eternal ROI, return on investment for my stuff is zero. For you bankers, the interest rate, the heavenly interest rate of your junk is nil. Think about that. Because how often do we treasure our stuff?10:34And we're going to look at what's going on here. This is not a slam on riches or wealth. This is an attack on those of us who cut corners and want to have things by ill-gotten ways. But our earthly treasures have no benefit in heaven. And you say, well, pastor, why does that matter? Because for those of you who knew and for those of you who don't, I'll let you in on this. That our church graciously took up a donation Sunday.11:03We took over $2,500 for the relief effort in Baton Rouge. And we sent a team down there to help serve those who were flooded. So why is it important for me to have a Christ-centered understanding of my earthly treasures? Because those who went with us, we turned the corner from the non-flood zone to the flood zone. And we drove down a street, and there were many streets, thousands of homes flooded in Baton Rouge. Most homes not having flood insurance.11:33Because most homes that flooded were in a non-flood zone. I'll let that sink in. And by the way, we brought a man named Noah on the trip to the flood. I'm like, Lord, you can't make this up. Noah meaning comfort, because he is the comforter. But how naive and foolish of me, if I had an earthly perspective, and my treasure was in earthly things. Because we drove street after street after street.12:02And what we saw were piles of trash in the road. And he said, well, what was that trash? Refrigerators? Keepsakes? Pitchers? Carpet? Walk into your house when you get home. And anything below four feet, think about throwing that in the street to be trashed. And what hope does an earthly perspective have in that moment?12:32Because if all of my hope is in my earthly treasures, and every earthly possession I have is going to the junkyard, what hope do I have? But the gospel says that to have an eternal perspective says that there is more than my earthly things. Perspective number one, my earthly treasures have no value in eternity.12:57My earthly treasures have no value in eternity. Perspective number two, why does a gospel-centered, eternal perspective matter? Look at verse four. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath. So riches do not profit. And then the second stanza, the verset we call that, is what? But. Now that's a key word in scripture. Anytime you see but, it's either something really good or really bad.13:27And in this case, there's something blessed here. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. And so you say, well, pastor, that's a horrible, depressing message. So everything I have has no value in heaven. That's not what I said. That's not what scripture says. But scripture says that my earthly treasures have no value in eternity.13:53But heavenly treasures have infinite value, and they have infinite value on the earth. Let me explain that. Jesus says it this way in Matthew 6. He says, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on the earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves will break in and steal. But, Jesus says this, lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.14:23So Jesus Christ reminds us of this. For those of you who want to lean into the grace of Jesus Christ, your earthly stuff has no value in heaven, but there is value that we can collect here on earth and give it to God. So earthly treasures have infinite value. And you say, well, pastor, then what do we treasure?14:52I'm glad you asked. First, we should treasure the souls of others. We should treasure the souls of others. Because one day, I will be dead and gone. And don't weep for me, because I will be worshiping in spirit and in truth. I will be worshiping face to face with my Savior. Don't cry for me. But thank God for my soul.15:24Because one day, this body will pass away. But yet, my soul will live and reverberate throughout eternity. We should long and care for eternal treasures. And the first thing that we should care about are the souls of those that we come in contact with on a daily basis. So who might that be? Your family. Do you know if your family members truly have put their faith in Jesus Christ? Because if they not, their soul will live or die throughout eternity.15:53How about your friends? Do you know if your friends know Christ in the way that we claim to? If you have believed in him, if you have confessed your sins, and if you have made that public. Do you treasure the souls of those that you come in contact with? And you say, well, of course I treasure them. I love people, but have you shared Christ with them? Because if I have not shared the hope that I have in the resurrection of Jesus Christ,16:20how can I truly say that I treasure their eternity if I have not given them the one thing that cannot be taken away eternally? Eternal treasure has value on the earth today and throughout eternity. But there's something else that scripture gives us a glimpse that we should treasure the souls of those that we come in contact with. But we also should treasure spiritual treasure. And the Bible describes it in one specific way.16:47Eternal crowns. Eternal crowns. What should we treasure? We should treasure our family, friends, and neighbors, their souls. And we should treasure eternal crowns. 2 Timothy 4.8 says this. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day. And not to me only, but also to those who have loved his appearing.17:14Finally, Paul says, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. James continues. James 1.12. Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. We should treasure eternal crowns, eternal rewards.17:39And you say, well, pastor, what does that look like? I know the streets are gold. I know the gates of pearls. What do crowns look like in heaven? We don't know. And you know why I think God doesn't give us a picture of our crowns? Because we would fashion little crowns, and we would wear them around on the earth. And we would say, you know what? Look at my crowns. Look at this closet I full of crowns that are full.18:09You know, look at the crowns I've hoarded. We can't do that with spiritual crowns, because they are eternal. They are invisible. Thank God, because that way we cannot be selfish. The Bible says that one day the martyrs in Revelation, so if you long to place your crowns at the feet of Jesus, when you sing that song, remember, those are the martyrs who have died for their faith. Be careful what you wish for, but we see that those who put their faith in Christ, one day we will take those crowns off, and we will put them at the feet of Jesus.18:38That Jesus Christ wore a crown of thorns, that we might have crown of righteousness and give those back. And how beautiful will that day be when we have an eternal perspective, where we long for eternal things, and we see Christ face to face, and we say, Jesus, I need to lay something at your feet. And we say, look, here's a crown. Thank you for what you've done for me.19:07And then you say, you know what, Lord, here's another one. But wait, Jesus, hold on. Here's another one. I pray that we will be people who constantly give our crowns to Jesus Christ, because we have eternal perspective. That we do not value things that will end up in the road to the dump. That we will value things that the dump cannot take away. How wonderful will that day be to say, Lord, eternal perspectives have value now in this life.19:33We had the joy of seeing this face to face this week. For the team that I brought with me to Baton Rouge, we had the joy and the pleasure of working in 100% humidity. You think Alabama's bad? It could be worse. So we worked on Monday, and I remember thinking in my heart, and I should not have done this.20:00I'm sorry I didn't tell you this, open confession. I remember laying down at night thinking, you know what, that's not so bad. And then every day we worked is as if God just dumped a pitcher of humidity upon us. Because it was more hot, more hot, and more hot. And here's the beauty of an eternal perspective that said, Lord, give me heavenly treasure. Because some of you gave and you prayed for us as we went.20:28Here's the beauty of heavenly perspective in the gospel. I can go to the store today and buy a shovel, and I can shovel my heart's content and my home from my life. And that shovel will have zero value in heaven. Now think about this. Here's the beauty of Jesus Christ. But I can take that same shovel and offer it to the Lord and say, Lord, I'm going to take this shovel. And Lord, I don't have much skill, but I have a semi-strong back.20:59And Lord, I'm going to shovel for your glory. And that shovel have infinite, eternal worth. And some of you might have actually purchased a shovel and sent with us. And for that, I say thank you. And for that, maybe one day you will have a crown. And you say, Lord, why do I have this crown? And he's going to say, you remember when you prayed for those that were devastated by the flood? That's where that crown is from.21:28You remember when you gave and when you sacrificed? That's what it's for. And he said, well, Lord, I don't remember that. And he says, good. That way it's not about you. It's not about me. Are we serving in a way where we tell the world, my hope is not in temporary earthly things, but that my hope is in eternity? My hope is for treasures that you can't take away. You know why you can't take away my treasures?21:57Because I can't see them and you can't either. But he has reserved those for us who believe, who serve him. Are you living in a way where you value eternal treasure? Earthly treasure has no value in eternity. Eternal treasure has infinite value upon the earth. The third perspective that we see in scripture is this. God let us view life and death in eternity. Verse 4, riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.22:26Perspective number 3, why we should view eternity, why it matters, is because you and I cannot cut spiritual corners. We cannot cut spiritual corners. Look at verse 4, riches do not profit in the day of wrath. So what is going on here in scripture? What riches are being addressed? Actually, the heart of the matter is not riches, it's the person who gained those.22:53And you say, well, how do you know that? Let's look at verse 1. Dishonest scales are an abomination, but, but what? A just weight is his delight. So we have unrighteousness and then we have righteousness. Verse 2, when pride comes, then comes shame, but with humility is wisdom. So we have ungodly behavior and we have godliness. Verse 3, the integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.23:23Verse 4, riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. So this is a very common device in wisdom literature. We have this parallelism. So we have ungodliness, but godliness. Or we have righteousness do this, but the ungodly do this. And so verse 4, we have the opposite. We have unrighteous behavior, riches will not profit, but what's godliness?23:53Righteousness will deliver from death. So we know in verse 4 that these riches have come from ill-gotten gain. That whoever here in verse 4 is rich, they're rich because they have cheated, they swindled, or they have, they have bribed. They've cheated their way to riches. And before we point our finger, may we be very careful and may we look at our heart first.24:19Because if I told you, if the Lord told us, before you leave, I want you to know there's a lottery ticket right here on this pulpit. And it is the winning Powerball ticket. Let's say $125 million. It is the winning ticket. But I want you to know it was stolen. But it doesn't have a name on it.24:48So whoever takes this and cashes it in, it's your money. Now, would we not be honest and say everyone here at a very minimum would be tempted in a small bit to say, hmm. And you might not be tempted in that way to take it, but you'd be tempted to say, Lord, if I win that, just think how much I could do for you. Lord, you know, I know that person, it wasn't stolen, I'm sure they lost it.25:16And if I cash it in, I will split, I will find that person and I will split the difference. Would we not be tempted? We all are tempted to cut corners and points in our life. But here's the reality eternally. We cannot cut spiritual corners. Verse 4, another way, those who cut corners, it does not profit on the day of wrath. That lottery ticket, even if I were a multi-billionaire, would not profit me eternally.25:42But righteousness, but righteousness will deliver on the day of wrath. We cannot cut spiritual corners. Here is a temptation. Lord, forgive me of my sins. Lord, I have worship today and now I'm good for the rest of the week. Lord, fill me up today and let me kind of just coast through the rest of the week.26:07Lord, you know I'm prone to struggle, so you do the work for me. Lord, I would not sin if there weren't temptation. Spiritual corners. Spiritual corner that the world says is, you know what? No matter who you worship, if you're just worshiping honestly and truthfully, you'll get to heaven.26:31And yet God's word says, Jesus Christ says, that he is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. So we're forced now not to cut a spiritual corner, to either say, God, I don't believe your son. He's a liar. Oh, Lord, I do believe your son, and he's the only way. And I stand before you, someone who says, I believe everything that Jesus Christ says.26:58Would you believe? The process for muddying out these homes and the flooded zone is this. And it's a lengthy process. The first step in muddying out any home, if you're flooded, is to take out all of the stuff in your home. And, you know, we don't realize how much stuff we have. Every appliance. And I don't see Richard here right now.27:28But Richard and I, we had the joy, the beauty of being the refrigeration people. So we were the men that had to remove the refrigerators from the house. And we had someone that removed the contents of the refrigerator first. And we duct taped that thing several times. But you could see the smell came through the refrigerator, came to the mask, and penetrated our lungs. So that's the first step. Get out the contents of the home.27:57And then when you remove the contents, then you had to remove the drywall. You had to remove the carpet. You had to remove the hardwood floors. Anything that has received moisture. And then remove up until you don't see the moisture anymore. So first step, remove the contents. Remove the contents of the walls in the house. Third step, let the house dry. Fourth step, spray the dried house with mold killer.28:25Fifth step, let the house dry. Sixth step, let the house dry again. Seventh step, spray the house with mold killer. And that process repeated, dry, spray, dry, spray, dry, spray. And then if there's no more molds, then you begin to rebuild your house. Now, how foolish would it be for us to help someone and say, you know what?28:55I don't see any mold. Let's just go ahead and it rebuilds. Let's not spray. Let's cut the corner. It's almost dry. So let's rebuild this house in a way that quickens or hastens the pace. What would happen if we close that home up and we said it's almost clean? And we began to cut corners. Don't you know that inside the mold would grow again? The ugliness would not be seen from the outside until much later.29:25But the filth would again destroy the house. And in the same way, God's word says eternally, we cannot cut corners. And we are tempted to, as humans, we're tempted to say, well, I'm just going to go to church and I'm going to clean up. You know what? I look pretty good. Let's slap that drywall on. I'm good. And yet, if we have not confessed our sin, if we have not believed in the one that can save us, the mold grows again.29:50And the ugliness of our life comes back. Are we tempted to cut spiritual corners? Rather, I think God's word reminds us that we are to daily, our younger, our youth, maybe our younger generations call it the grind. We're going to grind. You might see that sometimes, hashtag Alabama football.30:19We're grinding for our, we say grind for the state, grind for our tide or grind for the Tigers or whatever that is. So we're daily going to work hard that we might have or receive the goal. How much more so, spiritually, so do we grind daily and lean into the grace of Jesus Christ? So, pastor, how do we do that? How do we, people, how can we be people who do not cut spiritual corners? One, it begins with belief.30:50Have you truly believed that God is God and he is sovereign? And do you truly believe that he sent his only son to die on the cross for your sins? And are you willing to confess your sins? Confession means that I am agreeing with God about my sins. As if God does not know my sins, he does. But to say, Lord, I admit that I have sinned because you know my sins. And that you sent your son to forgive me of my sins.31:19And then have we professed, and I'm going to tell the world that you are my savior. You are my redeemer. That you are in the midst of the flood. You are the one that brings me comfort. You are the one that brings me hope. And Lord, may I not cut spiritual corners. It begins with belief. Secondly, spiritual growth looks like this. It begins with Christ every day. Now, I can't guarantee you if you begin your day with Christ that your day will go well31:49and you will find righteousness. But I can guarantee you if you do not begin with Jesus Christ, your day will end in failure. So may we be people who begin our days and say, God, may I drink from the cup that does not run dry. May we not be people who cut spiritual corners. I challenge you if you are not invested in a small group or a life group, a place where we don't just do Bible study,32:15but a place where we grow together with other like-minded believers. Join a life group. We have several starting this next month, some in my neighborhood, that we do life together. That we say, I know it's an inconvenience. I know I can rest on Sunday evenings, but I'm going to do life with someone that can hold me accountable and that we can grow daily and surely in the grace of Jesus Christ. God, give us eternal perspectives.32:46Perspective one, earthly things have no spiritual value, no spiritual eternal benefit. But righteousness, eternal things have temporary value along with heavenly value. Third, may we not be people who cut corners. Verse four, riches do not profit. And lastly, verse four, riches do not profit in the day of wrath.33:13God, may we treasure things that are important. And Lord, remind us constantly that there is judgment, that there is a day of wrath, that there is a day of suffering, and that death are real. And you say, well, pastor, why does that matter? Why do I need to know? Why do I need to know that death is a reality? Because one day you and I will be looking at it face to face. Why is that important?33:44Because how can we go to a house that is flooded, people who are suffering and grieving, and just pat them on the shoulder and say, it'll be okay. What if for years it's not okay? Then we must be people who look at them and we say, I know it's not okay right now, but I want you to know the suffering you are going through points us to the reality that this world is broken34:07and that we worship the one who can put the broken pieces back together. We need to be people who face reality. An eternal perspective reminds us that suffering is real. And by the way, how can you explain suffering without the Lord? How can you suffer if God is not here? Pain does not make sense without an eternal God.34:36Suffering is just suffering unless we see Jesus Christ. And then we know that I say that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the eternal glory that is being revealed in me in Jesus Christ. Perspective four, that riches do not profit on the day of wrath. Judgment, wrath, and suffering are real. And over and over and over again in Scripture,35:04when you see wrath in God, it is a horrific day for the unrighteous. Because none of us can live through the wrath of God. There will be a day in Revelation 20, it reminds us, there will be a day where every single person in this room and every single person outside of this room will be judged. Listen to what Revelation 20 says. The Apostle John says in verse 11,35:34I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it. And the him is capitalized, by the way. It is Jesus Christ, who the face of earth and heaven fled away. Now just picture the scene, that there will be a day when Christ judges that heaven and earth are going to be scared of Christ. That when Christ sits on the throne, earth says, bye-bye, I'm out.36:03Why? Because we know right now that earth is under a curse because of sin. And that one day even heaven will flee and there was no place found for them. And verse 12 in Revelation 20, and I saw the dead, the small ones, the great ones, standing before God and books were opened. So for those of you who like books, this is going to be your day.36:32Books were opened in heaven. You might say, well, what were those books? We've talked about heavenly crowns. We've talked about heavenly treasure. So now, Pastor, there's heavenly books. And another book was opened, which was the book of life. And God judged. The dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. We will all be judged.37:01That is why it's so important that we have an eternal perspective. The old pastors used to say, if you were to die today. I don't know if that's true or not. God has a number of hairs on my head measured and numbered. And right now, I'm doing pretty good. I have a good number. But you know, I might not have as many or any tomorrow.37:30And there will be a day when I'm judged. And here is the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That one day, everyone in here will be judged according to our works. And that the glory of Revelation reminds us that if I put my faith in Christ, if I believe in him, if I confess my sin, and I make that public a profession of faith in baptism, that God will look at me and he will say,38:00Josh, there is not one good work in your life. And I can say, but God, I have no reason to open my mouth. But I want you to know that your son died for me. Look at his work, the finished work of Jesus Christ. And God will not look at me and say, well, you know what? You get a pass. Just kidding. But God will say,38:31Josh, you have believed in my son who died on the cross for you. That Jesus had an eternal perspective. That Jesus suffered that day. He was mocked. A crown of thorns was put on his head. He died on the cross. Why would Jesus do that unless he had an eternal perspective? Why would Jesus die in that moment?38:59Because he had a perspective that said that there will be a day of wrath for Josh. And if he believes in me, he will be covered by the blood of the lamb. Behold the blood that takes away the sins of the world. I thank God that my Savior had an eternal perspective. That thousands of years ago, and even more than that, before the foundation of the world, God provided a way for us to believe and have faith.39:28That one day when I'm looking this day of wrath in the face, I don't present my treasures to God and say, Lord, look what I've done for you. But I can say, Father, look what your son did for me. God, give me an eternal perspective. Lord, remind me that my earthly treasures have no value in eternity. But my eternal treasures have infinite value on the earth. Lord, remind me constantly that I cannot cut corners spiritually.39:58That I can't go to the church and skip Christ. That I can't serve others because I want to feel better about myself. That I can't ignore daily to lean into the grace of Jesus Christ. That I must constantly serve him. I must constantly love him. I must constantly be filled by my Savior. And Lord, remind me that there will be a day of wrath. That there will be a day of death.40:27That one day you will be reading my obituary. Not by mistake. And I pray that you say, we're going to miss pastor. But we know that he believed in Jesus. And we know that he confessed his sin. And we know that he made that decision public before the world. And we know that he has eternal salvation. God, give us eternal perspectives. If you have not put your faith in Christ, what are you waiting for?40:57He died for you. Not because we deserve it. Actually, he died because we don't deserve it. He died because he had an eternal perspective. Jesus put on a crown of thorns that if you believe that you might wear the crown of righteousness. Jesus died on the cross that you have forgiveness of your sins offered if you confess. And you say, well, pastor, how do I find salvation? Believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and he rose again.41:25Confess your sins. You say, well, pastor, what does that mean? It's simply this. God, I know I've sinned. You know I've sinned. Lord, deal with me. I admit my sin and Lord, I want to make my faith public. We're going to give you a chance in a couple minutes to make that faith public. To stand up before the world and say, I have put my faith in Christ. I want to show the world in baptism. As Romans 6, verse 4 says, I have died to myself.41:55We have died and in Christ we are raised in new life. We are buried with him. The picture of the redemptive finished work of Jesus. Won't you respond if you have not? You say, pastor, I don't know if I can do that. Get that green card out. Mark there, I need salvation. And we will pray for you. We will encourage you. And we will help you understand salvation and the grace that is found in Jesus. Maybe you're here and you long for your stuff.42:25And you say, pastor, I need an eternal perspective. I just want to say, I can't give you that. But his word can. His son can. And maybe you need to spend some time this morning just praying and saying, God, I have treasured the wrong things. And, Lord, today, I pray that the gates of hell will shudder. Because today I want to treasure the right things, the righteous things, the eternal things. May God deal with us.42:55May he move in us. May he transform and renew our minds. And may we be people who live a life with eternity in view. Let's pray, Father.← Previous in ProverbsSunday, August 21, 2016More sermons on Proverbs →
