Palm Sunday

I'm excited to dive into God's Word this morning.

If you've got a Bible, open with me to John chapter 12, and as you do, I want to tell

you a quick story.

My family and I had the experience to take our kids to Disney World for the first time

this past December, and when we were at Disney World, it was a little bit cold, right?

Not cold, cold, but Florida cold, which means sort of comfortable, I think, to us.

If you were dry, not if you were wet.

If you were wet, it was very uncomfortable, which is a little bit of a problem because

one of the biggest rides, most famous rides on the pictures, on the commercials, on the

brochures, and right there in the middle of Magic Kingdom is Splash Mountain.

You've been on it, right?

And you probably got wet when you went on it.

So my kids all week long are saying, let's go on Splash Mountain, and I'm the grumpy

guy that says, no, I'm not getting wet.

It's just not going to happen.

We're not going to do it.

I'm sorry, guys.

You're too young to go by yourself.

I don't want to go.

So that's that.

And we just sort of left it like that.

And a couple of days later, they got smart, and they asked the fun parent, my wife, right?

They go to Chelsea, and they say, hey, Mom, we want to go on Splash Mountain.

It's going to be great.

It's going to be fun.

And she's the fun one, and she's up for this kind of stuff.

And she was like, yeah, let's do it.

It's one of our last days here.

It's going to be a blast.

We want you guys to have that experience.

You're going to go on Splash Mountain, and your dad's going to take you.

And so we got on the ride.

I put a poncho on, by the way.

And we got on the ride, and we're going through it.

And the big thing is the end, right?

You're waiting for the huge drop at the end.

That's what you look forward to the whole ride.

But in the middle of the ride, my kids had never been on it before, and I'm sitting next to my 5-year-old.

And as we go through, he's looking, and he's screaming.

He's so excited and so happy the whole ride.

And inside the ride, before the big thing, there was a little drop on the inside.

And he looked at me, and his eyes were so big, and his smile was so full.

And he said, Dad, I've been waiting for this moment my entire life.

Which he had never heard of Splash Mountain until like three days before.

But he was so happy.

He was so happy.

And listen, listen.

He had just experienced a taste of what was coming.

He just had a little taste of it.

He had no idea how good it was going to get.

He had no idea what was waiting.

And what was waiting just around the next corner was something bigger, something better, something greater,

something that was going to blow away everything that he had experienced so far.

And in that same way, you and I have something waiting for us too.

And so do the people in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday morning.

The Sunday before Easter is often referred to as Palm Sunday because there's this huge celebration

that occurred when Jesus made his way into the city of Jerusalem.

One last time before he was arrested and went to the cross.

And that celebration on that Palm Sunday, it was full of excitement, it was full of anticipation, it was full of hope.

There was probably even a sense of relief because in the midst of that celebration, they just knew why Jesus was there.

They knew that Jesus was there to save them, to deliver them.

And he was, but it was going to be bigger and better than they ever could have imagined.

Look with me in John chapter 12.

We're going to start in verse 12.

The Bible says this.

The next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

So the crowds gathered in the city of Jerusalem.

They're there to celebrate and worship God through the Passover celebration.

That's God's amazing deliverance of the people of Israel from slavery.

Back in Egypt many years before,

people would gather together.

It's this big celebration.

They would flock to Jerusalem.

So the crowds were much bigger than normal.

And they heard that Jesus was coming into the city as well.

So verse 13 says,

They took palm branches of trees and they went out to meet him, crying out as they meet Jesus.

They're crying out,

Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Look at this.

Even the king of Israel.

Crowds of people meet Jesus in the street.

As he's coming in.

And they're waving palm branches like this national symbol of victory.

They think they've won the victory as Jesus has come in.

They think he's going to overthrow Roman rule.

He's going to deliver their country and give them the freedom that they've been hoping for.

And so as they greet him, as they're waving these branches,

they're shouting over and over again,

Hosanna!

We just sang a song with the word Hosanna.

And the meaning of this word is so interesting as how it's evolved over the years.

Originally,

when you look back in the Old Testament,

when it was used in the book of Psalm,

Hosanna was a cry for help.

It was Hosanna!

Hosanna!

Save me!

It was almost like a cry of desperation.

Hosanna!

I need help.

I need deliverance.

I need to be rescued.

But at the time of Jesus,

the language had morphed just a little bit.

And it was a little bit different.

At that time,

it meant salvation has come.

It wasn't Hosanna!

Save me!

It was Hosanna!

I'm saved!

Hosanna!

I've been delivered!

And it has arrived.

That's why they're shouting it as Jesus rides into the city.

It's here.

We're saved.

They're welcoming in a king.

Now, I've never had an experience like that

where so many people have flocked together to see one person.

But something that maybe is a little bit relatable was several months ago

when President George H.W. Bush passed away

and was going from Houston to College Station on that train.

My wife and I decided we wanted to go see that.

And we wanted to be a part of it.

And so we showed up.

Sort of late.

Not on time.

And we thought we could walk right up to the train tracks.

And we were wrong.

There were thousands of people that had gathered.

And they were all over.

It took us a long time to find a spot along the route

where we could get close enough to the train

to even see it as it went past.

There were old people and young people and babies and kids.

And there were flags and there were signs.

And there were so many people that wanted to get close enough

just to see as he went by.

Just to get a glimpse.

To pay their respects and to be a part of that moment.

Think about this crowd here heading into Jerusalem.

Think about them as they gathered around Jesus.

They're not there to pay their respects.

They're there anticipating deliverance.

They're there anticipating a change.

They're there to cry out for freedom that Jesus would come and save them.

And I just think about the crowd and just how they're pressed together

and how electric and how exciting it must have been as they're chanting.

And screaming and crying and waving those branches as they came in.

Look at verse 14.

It says,

Now think through the Gospels.

Think through reading about Jesus and Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

I'm going to ask you a question.

I think that we've got the answer here.

How does he normally get around from place to place?

What's his mode of transportation?

He walks, right?

Or he rides on a boat on the Sea of Galilee.

That's his normal way of getting in.

Why didn't he walk into Jerusalem that day?

Well, he's fulfilling prophecy.

Just another prophecy from the Old Testament that Jesus is bringing to life in his life.

In Zechariah chapter 9 we see that the Messiah is going to come into Jerusalem riding on a donkey's colt.

And he does just that.

He's not there to conquer.

He's not there to overthrow a political system or government.

But he is there to bring freedom.

Just not how those people thought.

The first thing that I want to make sure we understand this morning on Palm Sunday is this.

Is that Jesus is focused on eternity.

Jesus is focused on eternity.

They're shouting Hosanna.

They're shouting salvation has come.

They're looking for him to establish this kingdom.

To do something they've been waiting for.

Yearning for.

Hoping for.

For so long.

They want that earthly kingdom.

But there was something that was just around the corner.

That they hadn't seen yet.

That they hadn't tasted yet.

That they hadn't experienced yet.

That was going to be far greater than they ever could have imagined.

Jesus was riding in on that Palm Sunday to establish a heavenly kingdom.

To establish an eternal kingdom.

A way for those of us, us too, that have trusted in him.

That we could be with him forever.

Aren't you glad that eternity was on his mind when he rode in on Palm Sunday?

Clearly, it's not what the people there were expecting.

But listen to me.

By going into Jerusalem that week, Jesus made a way for every person that was waving those palm branches to be with him.

Jesus made a way for every person in this room.

Every person that lives in our neighborhoods.

That goes to our schools.

That works in our offices.

Every person that's on our teams.

Jesus has made a way as he headed into Jerusalem for every one of us to be with him for eternity.

Because you and I have to remember that every single person, every single one of us is heading towards eternity.

If you just break down the numbers, right?

Statistically speaking, three people, three people pass away every second.

250,000 people per day slip into eternity.

And unless Jesus comes back first, every single one of us is going to pass away as well.

Now knowing that, we're in the middle of, as a church, of a series called afterlife.

Because we know that after this life comes eternity.

And if we believe God's word to be true, and I do, do you believe God's word to be true?

And if we believe God's word to be true, we're going to experience one of two realities.

After this life.

We'll be forever in God's eternal kingdom, a place called heaven.

Or we'll be separated from God and hell.

And listen, I know that hell is an unpleasant subject to talk about.

Maybe that's why we don't talk about it too terribly much.

In fact, C.S. Lewis, the writer, theologian, Mere Christianity, Chronicles of Narnia, so many different things.

This is what he said on the subject of hell.

He said there's no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this if it lay in my power.

But it has the full support of scripture and specifically of Jesus' own words.

It's always been held by Christendom and it has the support of reason.

So as we look at what happens after this life, we need to know a few things.

We need to know that hell's real.

That it's a real place.

In Revelation chapter 20, verse 15, we see that anyone's name who wasn't written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

So we need to know that it's real and we need to know that it's terrible.

Jesus often spoke on the subject of hell.

He described it as a place of weeping.

He described it as a place of gnashing of teeth, this place of punishment.

Not a place that anyone would want to go, desire to go, would want to see anyone else go to.

This reality, the reality of hell, it's not something we should joke about.

It's not something to take lightly.

It's not something to ignore.

In fact, for us as followers of Christ, as believers in Jesus, understanding the reality of hell should break our hearts.

It should drive us to our knees in prayer for people who don't yet know Jesus Christ.

And not only should it drive us to our knees, it should drive us to the doors of people we know that don't know Jesus Christ.

So we can introduce them to the good news of the gospel.

And as we let that sink in, as we understand the reality that hell is real,

we also need to understand and be thankful for the fact that it's not God's hope for us.

In 2 Peter 3, verse 9, the Bible says,

I mean, God has this incredible love for us.

He loves us enough to send his son Jesus down to earth.

He loves us enough to send Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

He loves us enough to make a way for us to be with him.

And that's God's desire for us, is eternity with him, right, in heaven.

And that's our other option after this life, is an eternity with God in heaven.

If you've still got your Bibles open, flip over two chapters to John.

Two chapters to John chapter 14.

Because in John chapter 14, Jesus gives us this incredible picture of our future reality if we trust in him.

And leading up to John 14, here's sort of the context of the passage.

He's in the city. He's made it in.

He's come into the shouts of Hosanna.

He's taught. He's interacted with people.

And in the verses leading right up to John chapter 14, he's just told them that Judas is going to betray him.

He's just told his disciples that Peter is going to deny him.

And abandon him and leave him.

He's just told his disciples that he's about to go.

And that they can't be with him.

That's a big shift from Sunday and the palm branches and the crowds and the parades and the excitement.

To his disciples now hearing all of these different things.

So think about their hearts.

Think about their minds and where they've got to be.

Just sort of in this place of turmoil.

And as that happens, Jesus speaks and he shifts their minds.

And he shifts their hearts.

He shifts their souls from thinking about right now to thinking about what's around the corner.

He begins to help them think about eternity and what's coming next.

John chapter 14 verse 1 says this.

Let not your hearts be troubled.

Believe in God and believe also in me.

Three things that I hope we can pull out of John 14.

And the first is this.

It's simple.

It's right there in verse 1.

Believe in God.

Don't worry.

Don't let your heart be troubled.

But believe in God.

They're in this state of turmoil, the disciples are.

They're not sure what to think.

And in that moment, Jesus reminded them of something that they can always count on no matter what.

Him.

He reminded them that no matter what, they could count on him.

So when you and I, when we find ourselves caught up in the crazy, the unimaginable, sometimes devastating circumstances.

We can find ourselves in life.

Let's cling to scripture.

Do what God's word says and believe in him.

We've got to remember that we just see right here, right now.

Just like my son.

He had no idea what was next.

He had no idea what was waiting around the corner.

He could only think about what he had experienced.

What he knew.

He wasn't thinking about what was going to come next.

As you and I shift our minds and begin to think about what's coming next.

Let's make sure that we trust God.

He settles troubled hearts.

The disciples lived in a scary world.

They knew that things were about to get bad.

They didn't see how it could all work out for good.

But Jesus said to trust, to believe in God.

Have you ever felt like the disciples felt in that moment?

I have no idea how this is going to work.

I have no idea what's next.

Listen.

If you're unsure about tomorrow, so were the disciples.

And Jesus said to believe in him.

To trust God.

Today, if you're unsure about life, trust God.

If you're unsure what a doctor might tell you sometime this week, trust in God.

If you're lonely and you just don't feel like there's people that love you or that care about you this morning, trust in God.

If you're frustrated, if you're anxious, if you're depressed, trust in God.

If your marriage is struggling and you can't see a path towards reconciliation this morning, let's do what God's word says and let's trust in God.

If you're out of money, if you're addicted, if you're sick, if you're scared, whatever's going on in your life, trust in God.

And you might say, you don't know my life.

You don't know what's going on in my world.

You don't know what I'm experiencing.

How can you ask me to do that?

How can I just trust in him?

What is it about God that would make me trust in him?

Because just like the disciples, God has a place for you.

Let's keep reading. Look at verse 2.

God has a place for us.

In my Father's house, verse 2, there are many rooms.

This is Jesus talking.

If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.

And I will take you to myself that where I am, you may be also.

Jesus has a place for us.

An actual place for us.

Not an idea, not a suggestion, but an actual reality.

And a place for us that is so much better than the place we're experiencing right now.

You might think my life is great.

You might think that my experience right now on this earth is amazing.

But I can promise you that what God has waiting for us in heaven with him won't even begin to compare with our best day.

Right here on earth.

And I want you to look back at the verse.

Look back at verse 2.

And look at the words here.

He says in my Father's house.

Not in my Father's hotel.

I don't want us to get caught up on the building or what it's going to look like.

But focus here on the concept.

We're not checking out of a hotel as a guest.

We're coming into the house of the Father as a member of the family.

In John chapter 1 it says that we who believe in the name of Jesus become what?

Children of God.

We're invited into our Father.

Father's house.

And in this passage when he refers to his Father's house he's speaking specifically about heaven.

And remember who he's talking to.

He's talking to his disciples.

Saying I've got a place for you in heaven.

I've got a place for you in my Father's house.

And he's talking to all of those that were following him right there.

Even the one.

Even the one that was about to deny him.

Jesus said I have a place for you in my Father's house.

So this morning if you're struggling.

If you're wrestling.

If you think that you're trying to follow Jesus.

But you just feel all the time like you're so imperfect as you follow him.

Let's cling to God's word this morning.

And remember there's a place for us.

Trust God.

Don't worry.

There's a place for us.

We can believe in him.

And we can trust him.

As we think about our Father's house.

As we think about heaven.

It's easy to get caught up in the wording.

It's easy to get caught up on wondering.

What it's going to be like.

It's easy to imagine the mansion that God might have for us on the hill.

And all of those different kinds of places.

But listen the point is not the lavishness of each place.

And each place I'm sure is going to be very nice.

But it's the fact that God has made sure that there's more than enough space.

For everyone of Jesus' disciples.

For everyone who follows after Jesus.

For you and I.

If we follow Jesus there's room for us in our Father's house.

And it's incredible to think about.

It's incredible to open up God's word.

And begin to study heaven.

To begin to study what our Father's house.

What this place is going to be like.

And if we were going to do this exhaustively.

We would talk about this for months and months and months.

On Sunday morning.

But here's a few things just reading this week.

That we can be confident in about heaven.

I'd love to share with you as well.

We can be confident that when we get to heaven.

We'll be reunited with believers.

With loved ones who have gone on before us.

1 Thessalonians is a great passage.

But there's so many throughout scripture.

That we can be confident.

That we can know when we get there.

Those who have trusted and believed in Christ.

Who have gone on before us.

Will be there with us.

We can believe that when we get to heaven.

Confidently we'll know that God will give us an imperishable body.

Pastor David talked about last week.

That new body that's free from pain.

That works the way that it's supposed to.

And some of us are looking forward to it.

Because the bodies that we have now aren't holding up.

Maybe the way that we used to.

We thought that they would.

Our life group class this past Friday night.

Got together.

And we ate dinner.

And after dinner we went outside and played volleyball.

And I was reminded that my body is slowly breaking down.

Maybe a little bit further.

And quicker.

Than I would have hoped.

But that's not the case in our Father's house.

Right?

We've got this imperishable body.

With no tears and no pain.

Revelation chapter 21 verse 4.

We see that every tear is going to be wiped away.

Death will be no more.

No mourning.

No crying.

No pain.

No sickness.

All of those things.

God's word says.

Have passed away.

We can be confident that when we get to heaven.

Listen to this.

That we're going to have things to do.

Right?

That there will be stuff.

There's going to be service.

There's going to be praise.

We'll gather around the throne.

We'll sing.

We'll lift our voices to God.

There's no doubt.

No question about it.

But we'll have responsibilities.

Things to do that will also bring glory to God.

In heaven.

And you know what else we can be confident in about heaven?

That Jesus is going to be there.

Look at verse 3.

If I go and prepare a place for you.

I will come again.

Where I am.

You may be.

Also.

That's what's waiting around the corner.

Right?

What we've experienced so far doesn't begin to compare.

To what God has in store for us.

In.

Heaven.

I want you to be honest.

And it's okay to be honest.

I'm asking you now to be honest.

By show of hands or some kind of indication here.

Maybe a nod of the head.

Whatever.

I want you to say that they're just.

A little worried about what they're going to do in heaven.

Forever.

And that they might get a little bored.

You ever heard anybody say that?

I mean.

If you've heard somebody say that.

Just raise your hand.

Slip it up.

I just need to see sort of where we're at here.

Mind wise.

Okay.

A lot of people I think have heard someone say that.

Maybe some of us have said that.

I want to read it.

It jumped out to me and it was really helpful.

It said this.

I'll just read it.

A reason.

People think heaven.

Might be boring.

Is because their own Christian lives on earth.

Are boring.

He goes on to say.

That's not God's fault.

That's their own fault.

God calls us.

Listen to this.

If we follow him into an adventure.

That should put us on life's edge.

God's infinite creativity.

His goodness.

His beauty.

His power.

If we are experiencing the invigorating stirrings of God's spirit.

If we're trusting in him.

To fill our lives.

With divine appointments.

If we are experiencing the childlike delights.

Of his gracious daily kindness.

Then we will know.

That God is exciting.

And that heaven is exhilarating.

Are you excited about heaven?

Are you excited about what God has in store?

For each one of us?

I mean for me as I read that.

As I think about that.

As I pray about that.

That's great news.

That there's a place for us there.

That's good news for us from scripture this morning.

But not only is there a place for us there.

There's a way for you and I to get there as well.

Let's keep reading God's word.

Verse 4.

Jesus is still talking and he says.

And Thomas looks at him and says.

Lord we don't know where you're going.

How can we know the way?

And Jesus answers with a verse.

That I hope and pray every one of us would memorize.

This morning if we don't have it memorized.

Jesus says I am the way.

And the truth.

And the life.

No one comes to the father.

Except through me.

Jesus is the way.

He's the truth and the life.

There's no other way to get to the father.

There's no other way to spend eternity in heaven.

In our father's house.

Other than trusting in Jesus.

And I pray and I hope and I plead.

That we would understand that this morning.

That we can't be good enough.

That we can't try hard enough.

Listen there's a lot of people.

Who tried to be good enough.

There's a lot of people who had good intentions.

Or who did really good things.

With their lives here on earth.

But who didn't trust in Jesus.

And God's word says.

They were separated from him.

And they died.

The way to eternity in heaven.

With Jesus Christ.

Is by trusting in Jesus.

Look back in verse 2.

John 14 verse 2.

Jesus says that he's going to prepare a place for us.

Have you ever taken a second.

To just think about what that means?

Was Jesus saying I'm going to build it out?

Was Jesus saying.

There's some rooms that don't have sheet rock.

That I need to finish.

Like is he going to finish building this place.

That other places in the gospel say.

I've done since the foundation of the world.

Of course not.

Listen when Jesus says.

And don't miss this.

That he's going to prepare a place for us.

He prepared that place for us.

By preparing the way for us.

Jesus prepared the place for us.

By going to the cross.

Jesus prepared the place for us.

By assuring that our sins could be forgiven.

On Palm Sunday.

As Jesus rode into the city.

He was about to remove every obstacle.

Any sin.

That was standing in between us.

And the place prepared for us.

In heaven.

Our father's house.

He was on his way that Palm Sunday.

To the cross.

Where he would take the punishment for our sins.

That you and I have committed.

So as we read God's word.

We've got to remember.

It's not good people in heaven.

It's saved people in heaven.

That have trusted fully and completely.

In Jesus Christ.

The forgiveness of sins.

And God's word is so clear on this.

The very last verses in the book of John.

If you flip over to chapter 20.

If you don't don't worry.

I'm going to read it to us.

The very last verses in the book of John.

Tells us that's the whole point.

That's why the book of John was written.

So that we would believe in Jesus Christ.

And have eternal life in heaven.

Through his name.

Verse 31 of John 20 says.

But these things are written.

In the name of Jesus Christ.

The son of God.

And that by believing.

You may have life.

In his name.

I'm so thankful that God's made a way.

That heaven isn't a possibility.

Heaven isn't a maybe.

Heaven surely isn't.

And I hope so.

That it's a reality.

For all of us who believe in the name.

Of Jesus.

So this morning believe in God.

Be confident there's a place for us.

To get there.

You might be asking.

What do I do now?

That's around the corner.

I'm not there yet.

What do I do to make sure that I'm ready?

How do I respond to God's word this morning?

And there's three things that I just want to share with us now.

As we respond to God's word.

As Pastor David said earlier this morning when he prayed.

Listen when we hear God's word.

We're not supposed to hear it and forget about it and walk away.

We're not supposed to hear about it and say that was nice.

And move on with our day.

We're not supposed to marinate and sink down into our hearts.

We're supposed to wrestle with the truth of God's word.

And put it into practice in our lives.

We've got to respond to God's word.

Three ways we can do that this morning.

The first is this.

It's believe in him.

If you've never trusted in Jesus Christ.

If you have never repented of your sins.

And asked him to come into your life.

To forgive your sins.

And made him your Lord and Savior.

Guys please this morning understand and know that every single one of us.

In this room.

On this earth.

Is heading towards eternity.

That our lives here might feel long.

But our lives here are so incredibly short.

And eternity.

Is forever.

I hope and pray that you've seen the heart of Jesus.

In this text.

And if you've never trusted in him.

That this morning you'd be willing to trust him with your life.

And that you'd be willing to trust him with your eternity.

That you'd be willing to reach out to him.

And say I'm ready.

I need to become a child of God.

And if that's you.

If that's stirring in your heart.

If there's something going on in your mind right now.

Where you're thinking you know what.

I'm not sure if I've done that.

You know what I'm not sure if I am a child of God.

I'm not sure that heaven is my reality.

When I step out of this life.

If you're feeling those thoughts.

Or hearing those things in your heart.

Don't push them down.

Let them come up.

And thank God that he's drawing you to himself.

And be ready.

Be willing to trust in him in just a moment.

When we give us that opportunity.

And the second is for those.

Who have already trusted in Christ.

Who would be called children of God.

We've got to remember that we must live for him.

While we're here.

And the best way to do that.

Is to make sure that our focus is on forever.

C.S. Lewis said.

I must keep alive in myself.

The desire for my true country.

I've got to keep alive in my heart.

And in my mind.

My desire for heaven.

Which I shall not find until after death.

He said I must never let it get snowed under.

I've got to make it.

The main object of my life.

To press on towards heaven.

And to help others.

Do the same.

Listen.

In this life.

When we lose sight of heaven.

When we lose sight of eternity.

When we lose sight of the things of God.

That's when sin seems attractive.

That's when we get knocked off course.

That's when we stop living for him.

But thinking of heaven.

Thinking about what's next.

Thinking about what God has in store for us.

Leads us to this life that's pursuing.

After holiness.

The reality of heaven.

And our thoughts of heaven.

Should affect everything in our lives.

Our ambitions.

Our work.

Our friendships.

Our resources.

Our money.

Our times.

Everything that we do.

Should be done with a focus on what God has in store for us.

And I do as I read this text.

It brings me to a place where.

I don't want to spend time on things that don't matter.

I want to spend time on eternal things.

I want to be thinking about forever.

I want to soak up God's word.

I want to read.

I want to pray.

I want to grow.

I want to learn.

I want to serve.

I want to love others.

I want to live for him.

And I know that you do as well.

This morning is this.

And I hope that we carry.

This with us as we leave here.

As we think about God's word.

As we think about eternity.

As we think about what's next for us.

After this life.

I hope and I pray that we will be moved by God.

To bring people with us.

That we wouldn't be content to hold this truth.

To hold this promise.

To hold this future to ourselves.

But that we would share it with others.

After this life is a reality.

For us.

But not just us.

After this life.

There's a reality for our neighbors.

For our friends.

There's a reality.

For the people that work with us.

There's a reality for the kid that's sitting next to us.

In first period.

Tomorrow morning.

Wherever it is that God sends us.

The people around us.

Are also going to face eternity.

So for us.

If we get our hearts and minds focused on forever.

If we get our hearts and our minds focused on eternity.

We're going to talk to people about Jesus.

We're going to share the hope that we have.

It's going to be natural.

As Brent said earlier.

It's going to be flowing out of us throughout the week.

It's who we are.

It's what God's designed us to do.

We're going to tell people how God's changed our lives.

And we're going to show them the way to the Father is through Jesus.

I read a quote this week.

And I'm going to close with this.

It says.

If you read history.

You'll find that the Christians who did the most for the present world.

Were those who thought the most about the next.

The Christians who did the most for the present world.

Were the ones who thought the most about the next.

We need a generation.

We need a church.

That's full of heavenly minded.

Eternity minded people.

Who see people.

Who see human beings in this earth.

Not simply as it is.

But as God intends.

For it to be.

As we think about what's coming around the corner.

As we think about the incredible things.

That God has in store for us.

Let's make sure we don't keep that to ourselves.

But that we're willing to step out.

And to bring others.

With us as well.

Thanks so much for joining us today.

We pray that the truth of God's word.

Is both encouraging.

And uplifting to you.

If you'd like more information about our church.

Service times.

Or locations.

Or if you have a question about what you heard today.

And you want to connect with someone.

You can reach us at.

Have a great day.

And God bless.