Aim For Heaven! - Part 2

This is Michael Carbone with the Truth Network. We're partnering with Bible League International on Open the Floodgates, Bibles for Africa.

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That's 800-937-9673. Thank you for caring. Hey, this is Mike Zwick from If Not For God Podcast, our show. Stories of hopelessness turned into hope. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just seconds. Enjoy it, share it. But most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network.

This is the Truth Network. Do you feel like you're on a religious treadmill? Do you feel like Christianity is just a system of rules and regulations?

I can do this, but I can't do that. Do you feel like your efforts to reach God, find God, and please God are futile? Do you feel like your faith is dead or alive? Today, Pastor Russ Andrews will walk us through Scripture to answer these questions. Join us on Finding Purpose, a local triangle ministry glorifying God by helping men find their purpose for living.

For more information and to connect with Russ Andrews and Finding Purpose, you can visit us online at findingpurpose.net or connect with us on Facebook. Now let's listen to Russ Andrews as he teaches us how to be a Christian without being religious. When I was in seminary, I took an evangelism class, and we had during the course of a semester three months turned in 18 witnessing reports. In other words, we had to give 18 encounters during that semester while we shared the gospel with somebody. And do you know what I realized I had not been doing for about 20 years? Sharing the gospel. I know people that get on an airplane, and they're sitting there waiting for the plane to fill up, and they pray, Lord, I pray that you'll put somebody beside me that needs to hear the gospel.

Do you do that? Third, the crown of righteousness. Paul's last words when he was in prison were to his, you know, son in Christ, Timothy. And this is what I really want on my tombstone. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now this is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who long for His appearing. Do you long for the appearing of Jesus? It's hard to long for His appearing if you're living in sin.

It's long to... It's hard to long for His appearing if you're living for this world and just accumulating things. So many Christians, and we all...

Listen, I'm not casting stones at anybody. We're all guilty of these things. We get caught up in the things of this world, the stock market, politics, making money, living for the weekend. We aren't really longing for Jesus' return because we're too busy living for the pleasures of this world. Does that describe you? Are you looking forward to the day when the clouds part and there will be the Lord? Or you're living a life of obedience?

Or you're longing to see Jesus? If you are, then there's a crown waiting for you. It's known as the crown of righteousness. Fourth, the crown of life. This is in James 1 12. This is the fourth crown.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. I think about Joni Eareckson. I didn't even think about this until right then, who became a quadriplegic at age 17, and she's been confined to a wheelchair. She's about 70 years old, and she loves the Lord. She paints with her mouth. She sings.

She's also had breast cancer. You think she's not going to get the crown of life? All of heaven will stand up and applaud Joni Eareckson when she stands before Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ. I believe that we will all witness when we stand before Him.

In fact, I heard Joe White at the Cove one year kind of act out what it's going to be like. Jesus will be sitting there in His chair, and two angels will be right here, and they will bang, bang, bang, Bob Kaler. Sorry, Bob.

Come on down. And Bob's going to stand there, and I believe Bob will hear the words, Well done, my good and faithful servant. Bob could be doing something else, but I asked him if he would be a group leader. And guys, I'm telling you something, group leader is not an easy job.

Have you ever dealt with yourself? That's supposed to be a joke. When Joe White did this, he talked about a Chinese missionary, this lady who would share the gospel with everybody she met in the town that she grew up in, and the angels going to bang and call it her name. And when she comes forward, thousands will stand up who knew her, who were led to Christ because of her faith. Can you imagine?

That's what it's going to be like. The Lord is going to reward those who've served Him. And all believers of all time will witness when you stand there.

I believe this. I don't know how long it's going to take, but we've got all of eternity. As we sit here tonight, believers around the world are enduring humiliation, deprivation, persecution, and even death.

Do you know why? Because they're unwilling to deny Christ in the face of death. This is happening in China, North Korea, Indonesia, India, and in nearly every Muslim country. Muslims are coming to Christ right and left. And you think they're fleeing to America?

No, they're staying right where they are. I read about a man who had a Muslim who had a vision of Jesus, and he gave his life to the Lord. The Lord said basically, I don't know how He told him, but in his heart he felt led to go to the largest mosque in Baghdad and hand out bibles. You think that's safe?

I think he lived. Because if you're in God's will, your life is eternal until it's time for Him to bring you home. Bring you home. And so you don't have to fear mankind. You can walk into the lines then and survive if God is not finished with you. The last crown is the crown of glory. First Peter 5 4 says, and when the chief shepherd appears, you'll receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. This final crown will be given to those who faithfully teach the Word of God and shepherd God's people. Pastors, Sunday school teachers, small group leaders, and listen, I believe fathers who shepherd their families will receive this award. That is your flock, your wife and your children, your grandchildren.

And if you take care of them spiritually and lead them to Jesus, you will probably receive the crown of glory. So let me ask you something. How are you doing? How are you running the race? Listen, I hope you're not satisfied.

I'm not. So what can we do tonight? We can rededicate our lives to Jesus because tomorrow is the first day of the rest of our lives, and the Lord is not finished with us. And we can run this race in the power of the Holy Spirit because that's what we have if we're in Christ. And that brings us to Colossians chapter 3.

Do you think I'll ever get there? All right, we're not going to be here all night, I promise, but I want to go through the first 17 verses of Colossians 3 because I want to talk about now how to live the Christian life so that when you stand there one day before Jesus, you will receive not one award but several. So follow with me verse 1, Since then you've been raised with Christ, set your hearts where? On things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, for you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived, but now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. What's your language like? Can you drop the f-bomb without thinking about it? That's a problem if you can. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which has been renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator.

Do you hear that? Put on the new self, which has been renewed in the knowledge in the image of its creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you have against one another.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you, and ever all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace, and be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell among you richly, as you teach and admonish one another with our wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

So right here I'm going to give you very quickly three. It's like Paul is running beside us as we run this race, and he's giving you encouragements along the way. One of them might be don't give up, but the first one that he gives us is look up, aim for heaven, and keep your eyes on the finish line. In verse 1 Paul says, set your hearts on things above. And then in verse 2 he says, set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. So twice right here Paul is telling us that we need to focus on the world to come, not on this world. And the reason we should do that is because that's where our citizenship lies.

Our citizenship is in heaven, therefore we should act like we're citizens of heaven. Where's your focus? Are you focused on the things of this world, or is your focus on heaven and the world that has come? By the way, did you know that there's a new world coming? Okay, we read about it in Revelation chapter 21 where John again writes, he's given a vision of this coming new world. This is what it... Listen to what he says, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.

I saw the... He said, I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for a husband. So this word new in here when he says new earth, you know what it means?

It means restored. It means like the earth is going to be born again. God's not going to destroy this earth. He's going to restore it.

And then again, this sounds like Star Wars to me. I don't know how it's going to happen, but I believe it. Somehow the new Jerusalem, which is where paradise is right now, when the thief on the cross died, he went to the new Jerusalem. If you were to die right now, and we've got some friends of ours right there and right now, Sam Simpson, Paul Creech, David Lewis, Bill Duff, Denton Cormony, Billy Graham, I can go on and on.

These are some of my friends. These are some of my friends, and they're right now in the new Jerusalem paradise. And somehow God is going to bring that down to this restored earth. And I actually believe that the new Jerusalem will be right there where the current Jerusalem is.

And that's where you and I are going to live in that city. Are you ready for that? Can I explain it? No. Can I understand it?

No, but that's going to be incredible. Look at what God did when He created this world in seven days. Jesus has been working on the new heaven, the new city for two thousand years. In verses one and three, guys, this is where it gets really exciting. Paul gives two conditions that are true of every believer.

Are you ready? First, a believer has been raised with Christ and seated with Him at the right hand of God. So you've been raised with Jesus. And second, a believer has died with Christ. And if you're in Christ, that means your life is now hidden in Christ.

So what does Paul mean by this? Well, when a king wanted to honor someone, he would have that person come and sit with him on his throne right next to him. It was a place of honor.

It was reserved only for those who were friends of the king. So Jesus has been raised, and He's seated at the right hand of the Father. And this is a fundamental truth that every believer in here must grasp. The essence of being a Christian is not that you obey in Jesus, although that's very important. It's not that you're loving Him.

That's obviously very important. It's not that you're trying to be like Him. You know what the essence of being a Christian is? It's that you are in Christ, and Christ is in you. Romans 8 and 9, it talks about that you must be indwelt by the Holy Spirit to belong to Christ. And so when you believe, Jesus takes up residence in you through the Holy Spirit, but you're also in Him. And Paul uses this phrase over and over, you know, you must be in Christ or in Him. So what does it mean to be in Christ?

Here's what it means. It means that everything that is actually true of Jesus Christ is legally true of you. When you place your trust in Him, you're united with Him.

You're in Him. If you are truly in Christ, then right now, again I can't explain this, but if you're in Christ, that means you're seated right beside God. You're in a seat of honor.

Do you know why? Because you are God's Son. God is your heavenly Father. And in Christ now, you're seated right beside God, your heavenly Father. When Jesus died on the cross by faith, you died with Him. Thus you have been set free from guilt in the power of sin. This is the essence of salvation. Jesus substituted Himself for you and me. And so listen, when you place your trust in Jesus, when He died, you died.

You died to your old way of life so that you're no longer guilty of sin, and sin no longer has power over you. And when He arose and ascended to heaven, you arose and ascended with Him. And so the Father treats you as His Son, and you have His power available to you to live the Christian life.

That's why you have to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Romans 8 14 through 17 says, Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you do not receive a Spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you receive the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry out what?

Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. And if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His suffering, or that we may also share in His glory.

So y'all think about that. I mean, when you become a believer, God becomes your heavenly Father. And that's the only time when you can truly say the Lord's Prayer and it means anything.

A non-believer was saying the Lord's Prayer means nothing because God is not His heavenly Father. So you're God's Son, and Jesus is your elder brother, and you're now co-heir. Whatever Jesus is going to inherit, you're going to inherit. One day the Bible says we will reign and rule over the earth. In other words, God's going to recreate the earth.

We're going to kind of return back to a new garden. And you know what God's going to say? I want y'all to go out there, men, and have dominion over the earth. And we will be able to explore and work and play. And all that is the way you worship God. You live your life in worshiping Him by being the man that He created you to be. That's what I'm looking forward to.

I believe all the things in this world that I love to do, and they're mostly sports, surfing and water skiing and playing basketball and tennis and kayaking down a river, canoeing, rowing, boating, swimming. Some of you guys like to fish and hunt. I don't know if we're going to kill animals in heaven, but you might. Who knows? We're going to be eating something. Tag and release.

Tag and release. Do y'all get the idea? And so what world are you living for? The Bible says, the Bible says, for this world in its present form is passing away. And then James 4.14, it says, you are a mist, a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes. When was the last time you thought of John Wayne? So he disappeared.

And until I said his name, you weren't even thinking about him. And that's what happens to mankind. We vanish.

We're gone, and people stop thinking about you. But if you're in Christ, you're going to be in heaven. God's going to be your heavenly Father.

You're going to enjoy Him forever. Now, I'm not going to have time to finish, but I'll do the best I can. Matthew 6, 19 through 21. Guys, I want to tell you something, okay? Do you want to know how to store up treasure in heaven?

Do you? I'm going to tell you how, okay? Jesus said this in Matthew 6, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and with thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and with thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also. Do you know why so many men work so hard?

Because their treasure is in their work and their money. Now listen, as a Christian you should work hard. And if God blesses you and prospers you financially, what should you do? I'll tell you three things you should do. Give to God first. Save and spend wisely in that order. Give, save, spend. And you do it all for whose glory? God's. And I can tell you this, the more generous you are in giving, the more I believe He will supply you. I believe that.

Number two, Paul says to aim for heaven, then he says to take off, to put to death the sins guys that we're so, you know, in bondage to. I mean every man I talk to is having trouble with what? These two things. Do you all know what I'm talking about? The eyes. We have trouble with the tongue.

We have trouble with what we think. And so what God is in the business of doing, man, is cleaning us up. And guys, He had a lot of work to do with me.

He's been scrubbing on me for fifty plus years. And do you know why I'm so joyful tonight? He hadn't finished the work with me, but He took me through the wringer, and He cleansed me and scrubbed me up, and I'm a new man. I feel like I've been born again and again.

I'm a new man. I've never had so much joy and peace in my life, because I've learned that holiness is where you find happiness. If you want to find joy and peace in this life, remember I talked about the football field, the basketball court, the Ten Commandments are the boundary. You live within the boundary. What are you free to do?

Anything you want. Adrian Rogers said, I can sin all I want, because I don't want to. That's where I am right now. I don't want to sin anymore. If I get something on my phone, you know, you know, somebody wants to... just something that you know you're not supposed to look at. I used to kind of click on it just to get a quick look. Guilt would overcome me. I don't click on it anymore. So what should you do?

The same thing. Turn away from all that stuff. It means to get rid of it. Romans 6 verses 6 and 7 says, For we know that our old self was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Guys, I've been set free. And I tell you what, freedom is the best place in the world to be. Free.

Thank God I'm free at last. So here's what John MacArthur says about this, because you can say, Russ, I know that I'm saved, but so why do I keep on sinning? John MacArthur answers this question like this, We have died to sin's penalty, but sin's power still can be strong, and our flesh is weak.

Y'all agree with that? That is why we must continually put sin to death by yielding to the Holy Spirit. Sin is like, this is for a Christian now, sin is like a deposed monarch who no longer reigns, nor has the ability to condemn, but works hard to debilitate and devastate all his former subjects. Sin is still potent, and success against it demands the Spirit's power, and the Spirit's weapon is what?

The Word of God. The more time you spend in this book in prayer, the stronger you will become. John Owen said, Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.

Almost done. Keep your focus on heaven. Put to death sin in your life, and finally Paul says, Put on, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. So to put off sin and to put on godliness requires a supernatural work of God upon our hearts. In other words, men, this is what's happened to me, and I'm almost done, okay? God's got to do the work in you.

He's the one who will transform you, but you've got to yield to Him, your life. And so, and it's taken a long time with me. I wish I could tell you it's overnight. It's never overnight. It takes a long time, and it takes discipline. And so here are five practical disciplines that I have in my life.

You ready for them? Five. And so this is what I've been doing over the last 40 years, not perfectly, but this is what I've been doing. Spending time in the Word of God every day. Spending time alone with God in prayer every day.

Now I've missed some days, but this is the discipline you want. Spending time in immense Bible study, and I've been doing that for the past 42 years. Spending time with other believers in a Bible-believing church.

I can't emphasize that enough. And spending time socially with Christian friends. Now that does not mean that you don't have non-Christian friends, but you need some fellowship with fellow believers. Philippians 1 says, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. So let me just close with this. Are you ready for the day when your life will come to an end?

I hope so, because you never know when it's going to be. So how do you prepare for that day? You aim for heaven.

You put to death any sin in your life, and you can only do that with God's heaven. Listen, one other thing, you need an accountability person, a friend. Jim Briggs is one of my accountability.

I can share anything with Jim, and Jim can ask me the tough questions. You need an accountability friend, someone that you can trust and that you can be transparent with. Someone told me that intimacy means into me see. In other words, you are intimate with this person, and they get to see inside of you the things you struggle with, your areas of temptation.

If they have permission from you to pick up the phone and call you every day, say, how you doing? Have you looked at anything you shouldn't have looked at? Have you used language that you shouldn't have used?

Have you lost your temper with someone? Aim for heaven, put to death any sin in your life, clothe yourselves with all of these Christ-like virtues, and then, men, run to win. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, help us to throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles, and help us to run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Lord, help us to fix our eyes on you, because you are the author and perfecter of our faith, and Lord, we need you so much. I pray, Lord, that you'll perfect in us what still needs to be perfected, because, Lord, you endured the cross with joy, scorned in its shame, and then you sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Help us to consider you, who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that we meant that we will not grow weary, and, Lord, that we will not lose heart. In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen. Being a Christian is not about being religious, but about having a dynamic, alive relationship with Jesus Christ. You've been listening to Finding Purpose with Pastor Russ Andrews, a local triangle ministry glorifying God by helping men find their purpose for living. You can discover more about finding your purpose in life by checking out the resources at findingpurpose.net or connect to Finding Purpose on Facebook. Pastor Russ would also like to extend a special invitation for you to join him and over 300 other local triangle men to study God's Word together every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in downtown Raleigh. Find out more about findingpurpose.net.