August 21, 2025 • 22 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Audrey McCracken (00:01):
Hello and welcome back to Grace From my
Home.
I'm Audrey McCracken and I'm soglad to be back with you again
this week.
I hope and pray that you aredoing well, you and your family.
Today my oldest son startedcollege.
Today is his first day atcollege and he's commuting back
and forth from our home toCoastal Carolina University and
(00:23):
he was excited today.
I was nervous, he was excited,but I've already texted him to
say hey, how's your day going?
I haven't heard anything but Iknow he's in class.
But that's exciting.
That's a milestone in our lives.
My other two are back in highschool.
One is a senior this year it'shis last year and then I have a
sophomore.
So a lot going on around here.
(00:46):
Today I have some exciting newsI want to share with you.
If you have not heard, my secondbook has been released.
I have written a devotional.
It's called Seek First 31 QuietMoments with Jesus, and I wrote
this book for you.
I wrote it to help you to havea moment with Jesus, to sit down
(01:09):
and quiet your mind and focuson him, because I've found that
if I can just steal away andhave five minutes with Jesus
during the day, it makes thewhole day different.
It just sets the tone for agreat day.
And if I can't do it firstthing, if I can somewhere fit it
(01:29):
in throughout the day, itchanges a bad day.
It can turn a whole day around.
Just to have a few minutes toremind myself and to remember
that he loves me, that he's onmy side, that he has good plans
for me and that I can't evenmess that up, as long as I'm
(01:51):
seeking him, even imperfectly,that I am going to fall into his
plan and he will make sure ofthat.
And so I'd love for you tocheck out my new book, seek
First 31 Quiet Moments withJesus, and I'll put a link in
the show notes.
Today I want to talk with youabout looking forward to
(02:12):
Christ's return.
When Jesus left this earth, hepromised his disciples I will
return, I will return and I willget you.
I will return for my bride, andwhen we, you know, are in life
and it's busy sometimes we don'tconcentrate or think about that
(02:33):
promise.
You know it's kind of like okay, but I have to live today Like
I have to.
Today I have to go to work, ortoday I have to wash laundry, or
today I got to pay bills, andso we can find that that promise
goes on the back burner.
You know it's not.
It doesn't feel real, itdoesn't feel important or it
(02:53):
doesn't feel relevant to oureveryday life.
But the Lord has been bringingme back to that promise and
causing me to meditate on thatand think about it.
Matthew 24 and 25 is called theOlivet Discourse, and in it
Jesus teaches.
He's on the Mount of Olives andhe's teaching his disciples
(03:14):
about the end time, becausethey've asked him about it.
He said some pretty strongthings about what's going to
happen to the temple.
They're admiring the temple andhow wonderful it is and just
amazing it is, and he tells themthis temple is going to be
destroyed, and so that piquestheir interest.
And so they say Lord, tell usabout this.
And he does.
(03:34):
He goes into telling them aboutsome of the things that are
going to happen when his kingdomcomes.
And in this teaching he teachesdirectly.
He says things like this isgoing to happen and this is
going to happen.
But he does what he often doesand he teaches in parables as
well, and those parables shedlight into what that time is
(03:58):
going to look like and what wecan do and should be doing to
prepare for that time.
And I have found that the morethat I study about the second
coming of Christ and, inRevelation, about the
establishment of his kingdom,then the more hope I feel.
There was a time when I avoidedthe book of Revelation because
(04:20):
it seemed scary to me.
You know, it was dark to me andmysterious and you know I I
thought I don't reallyunderstand it and it invoked
fear in me.
When we were homeschooling weread a book and it was called
the Nonprofit's Guide to theBook of Revelation and it was
written for kids, which I guessmaybe sometimes it's easier to
(04:42):
read a book for kids, right, itdoesn't talk over your head.
And so it wasn't a scholarlywork.
But it was a really good bookand it talked about the basics
of the end time, the imagerythat Jesus used in his parables
and also the things that Johntalked about in the book of
Revelation.
And it was such a good book andit helped me not be afraid of
(05:03):
Revelation.
I will drop a link to that bookin the show notes.
But I love that it was writtenfor a child, or I should say a
young person, a young adult,because it broke it down so
simple for me.
But it also opened up the bookof Revelation for me in such a
way that it was a book of hopeand not of dread, and I think
(05:24):
that when we see that, then itcauses us to want to know more
about it.
You know, we want to know whatis going to happen and what is
my place in this.
You know what should I be doingabout this and you know Jesus
gives us a lot of instruction inMatthew 24 and 25, you know,
some directly and some throughhis parables.
(05:46):
But I want to do an in-depthstudy on this.
I've been thinking about how todo more Bible study with you
guys, you who want that.
The podcast isn't the rightformat for that.
So I've been working on I sayworking on, I've been writing
outlines.
I haven't actually started, butI've been working on some Bible
(06:07):
studies that I want to sharewith you and I'm trying to find
the right format where we canactually go in depth, because I
love teaching and I love theBible and I would love to share
some of these Bible teachingswith you.
But today I want to do just anoverview of the hope that we
have and the way the returningof Christ causes us to live a
(06:32):
different life when we believeit and when we look forward to
it.
You know, a lot of times, Ithink one of the reasons we fear
it is because the Bible talksabout the judgment and that at
that time, you know, all menwill be judged.
Well, we, as Christians, wewill not experience the wrath of
God.
Jesus took the wrath of Godupon himself so that we could
(06:54):
have relationship with God, sothat we did not have to endure
the wrath of God, because indeedwe cannot, and so we already
off the bat.
He is not coming to punish us.
He is coming to reward us, andthe life that we live matters,
but not in a form of judgment.
(07:14):
Like we are not going to hell.
We are not, you know, whenyou're in Christ.
You're in Christ and you havebeen redeemed from the curse of
the law.
But there is a reward for doingthose things and being found
doing those things that he hasassigned for us to do.
And in Matthew 24 and 25, someof the parables that he uses he
(07:37):
tells a parable about a fig tree.
He also talks about a masterwho goes away and he leaves one
slave in charge of the rest.
But let's read Matthew, chapter24, starting in verse 44.
And it says Blessed is thatslave whom his master finds so
(08:18):
doing.
When he comes, truly, I say toyou that he will put him in
charge of all his possessions.
But if that evil slave says inhis heart, my master is not
coming for a long time, andbegins to beat his fellow slaves
and eat and drink withdrunkards, the master comes, he
(08:59):
wants to find those he's givenan assignment doing the
assignment and the way we carryout the assignment that we've
been given matters when themaster returns and we don't know
when he's coming but be founddoing those things.
Because how we treat peoplematters, how we treat our fellow
(09:20):
servants matters.
How we complete the assignmentsthat God has given us matters.
We belong to God, he hasredeemed us, he has purchased us
with the precious blood ofJesus Christ, and how we live
matters.
And one day we're going to haveto give an account for the life
(09:42):
that we live and what we didwith that life and how we treat
other people and when we believethat it does change the way we
live.
And he goes on from that parableand he teaches on the parable
of the ten virgins, which I love.
I love this.
I want to do a whole teachingjust on the parable of the 10
virgins, which I love.
I love this.
I want to do a whole teachingjust on the parable of the 10
virgins.
He talks about how they'regetting ready for a wedding
(10:04):
feast and he says you got tohave oil in your lamp.
You got to have oil in yourlamp.
You got to be ready, you got tobe wise.
Because there were five whowere wise and they were ready
for the master's return and whenhe came they were able to go in
with him to the wedding feast.
But the five who were foolishwere not ready, they weren't
prepared, and so they werelocked outside.
(10:27):
And then he talks about theparable of the talents and how
he gave one servant, how amaster was going away for a
while and he gave one servantfive talents.
He gave one two talents, hegave one one talent, and how
those servants invested what hehad given them so that when he
came back they had interest,they had earned interest, they
(10:49):
had grown what they had beengiven, they had multiplied it.
And the implication was you dolikewise, don't bury it like the
one servant did who said well,I have a, my master's a hard man
and so I'm just going to burythis and when he gets back I'll
just give it to him.
No, he wants you to take whatyou've been given and put it to
(11:12):
use for good, so that when hecomes back you can say look what
I have done with what you havegiven me, and you notice, it
didn't matter how much you'dbeen given, just that you had
used it wisely, just that youhad not been so afraid of
messing up that you did nothing.
And then he talks about thejudgment and he says that he
(11:33):
separated the nations before himand on his right side he put
the sheep, and on his left sidehe put the goats.
And he said that the king saidto those on his right side come,
you who are blessed of myfather, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from thefoundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gaveme something to eat.
I was thirsty and you gave mesomething to drink.
(11:54):
I was a stranger and youinvited me in.
I was naked and you clothed me.
I was sick and you visited me.
I was in prison and you came tome and the righteous are going
to say when did we do this, lord?
And he said when you did thisfor the least of these, my
brethren, you did it for me.
(12:14):
And see how we treat peoplematters, because Jesus takes
that personally.
And when we believe that Jesusmeant what he said, that this is
not a game we're playing, thatone day we're going to stand
before him and we're going tohave to give account of how
obedient we were, in what way welived this life and what we did
(12:36):
with the things that he gave usand what we did with the things
that he gave us and what we didwith the things that he blessed
us with.
If we multiply those, if we usethose things for good or just
buried them in, how we live ourlife matters, and when we
believe that it changes how welive our life.
And I want you to understand, Iwant to make a very clear
distinction here.
(12:56):
To make a very cleardistinction here.
We're not looking forward todestruction and wrath.
We're not.
We're looking forward toChrist's return, because we are
the bride.
We're the bride, and it saysthat no eye has seen, no ear has
heard, neither has it enteredinto the mind of man what God
(13:16):
has prepared for him, but he hasrevealed it to us by his spirit
, and so the spirit of Godinside of us.
You know he'll talk to us andhe'll tell us God has so many
good things for you.
You know you're not doing thesethings to get, but God blesses
those who obey him, and thebiggest blessing is we get to
(13:37):
spend eternity with him.
And there's no greater rewardthan to be with Jesus.
There's no greater thing onearth or in heaven than to be at
his feet and to know him and tofellowship with him.
And so he gives us himself.
He gives us of his own spiritand, guys, we have a wonderful
(13:57):
inheritance in Christ.
So it's not that we're lookingforward to the end time and the
things that are going to happen.
Yes, things are going to happen.
Yes, we're going to feel birthpains.
I believe we're already feelingbirth pains.
But remember, when you havebirth pains, it's because a
baby's coming.
It's because something you'vebeen looking forward to and
(14:18):
expecting and hoping for iscoming.
And so we have an expected end,we have a hope in Christ, and
it's far better than anythingthis world can give us.
And so I'm just excited when Ithink about what Jesus is
telling his disciples becausewe're his disciples too and he's
telling us also thankfully theywrote it down so that we too
(14:40):
could rejoice in this hope thatChrist is coming back, that he
will do what he said he is goingto do, that we are the ones who
are living in this world butwe're not of this world, that we
belong to his kingdom and that,as we learn to read the signs
that he is coming soon, thatthere is an expectation and an
excitement in our hearts that,you know, I'm doing these things
(15:02):
for Christ.
And the little things I do,like give a cup of water to
someone in need, those thingsmatter.
And no, we're not doing just toget, we're not giving just to
get, but we are partaking in thegood works that he created for
us to do before the foundationof the world.
And, guys, that's where thelife is, when we're in him, when
(15:25):
we're doing the things hecreated us to do.
That's where his life flows andwe have that wonderful
privilege of being able to be apart of that.
And one day you notice, when Iread that parable, that in
Matthew 25, about the goats andthe sheep and the ones who did
(15:50):
all the stuff, like they did allthe stuff.
They did the right things.
They fed the hungry, they gavewater to the thirsty, they
visited those who were in need.
You notice, they didn't evenknow that they did it.
I mean, it wasn't like theywere doing it for something.
They said Lord, when did we dothat?
When did we do that for you?
(16:10):
When you did it for somebodyelse?
So you see, a lot of times we'redoing stuff because it's who we
are.
We're doing stuff becauseChrist is in us and he's moved
with compassion and he lovespeople and he's loving people
through us.
But we're not doing it forreward.
But there is a reward andknowing him is the reward.
(16:30):
And being able to stand beforehim one day and say enter into
this kingdom and I love the wayit says that was prepared for
you before the foundation of theworld.
God prepared you for heaven.
You were created for heaven,you were not created for hell.
One more little thing, one morelittle nugget, and I'll let you
(16:54):
go today.
But then, when he goes into thatparable and he talks about the
sheep, then he talks to thegoats, right, he talks to the
ones who did not take care ofthe needs of those around him
who were not moved withcompassion for those that were
around them, who were not movedwith compassion for those that
were around them.
He says to them, he says tothose in verse 31, depart from
me, depart from me, accursedones, and to eternal fire, which
(17:21):
has been prepared for the deviland his angels.
You see, eternal fire was notprepared for man, it was
prepared for the devil and hisangels.
He created humans for glory.
He created humans for heaven.
But we have to choose heaven,we have to choose him.
(17:41):
He's not going to make us, butfor those who do choose, oh my,
what a wonderful future he hasfor us.
And it doesn't end here.
It doesn't end in tragedy here.
Even if your life here ends intragedy, if you belong to Christ
, your life does not end, it'sjust the continuation once you
pass from here.
(18:02):
There's a saying in the churchthat I became a Christian in.
Often we would say whether hecomes or calls, and many of you
have probably heard that saying,but I love it.
I love that saying because itsays if he comes, that means his
second coming right, that meanshe's coming to take his bride
(18:23):
and that's exciting.
If he comes, I'm going to seehim and we're going to all see
him.
But if he calls, if he calls meto heaven before he comes to
earth, I'm still going to seehim.
I'm still going to be in hispresence, amen.
And so, either way, you and Iwill one day have an audience
with the Lord of Lords and theKing of Kings, and he is
(18:46):
preparing good things for us,and we, as we look forward to
that day, we will walk different, we'll live different.
There'll be a hope in us andwe'll know that, even if nobody
else notices what happens today,notices the things I do today,
notices the choices I make today, they matter because he notices
(19:07):
, because he sees all things,and when nobody else knows, he
knows.
Precious one, the things you'redoing today matter If nobody
else sees them.
When you do them for Christ,they carry a weight of eternal
importance and that makes themworth doing well, amen.
(19:30):
Before I let you go, I want topray for you today.
I want to pray for you today,but I also want to tell you that
my son, david, just texts meback and this is what he said.
I asked him how's it going andhe said I actually really like
it Once I make friends to hangout with.
I think it'll be way betterthan high school.
So, yay, that makes a mamahappy, you know.
(19:52):
But I want to pray for youbefore you go today and I also
want to remind you go and get mybook If you could use some help
in having quiet times with theLord.
That's my prayer, is that itwould be helpful to you.
It's called Seek First 31 QuietMoments with Jesus.
You can buy it on Amazon andI'll put the link in the show
notes.
(20:13):
But let's pray, father, I justthank you that you made us for
so much more than we can imagine, lord.
You made us for so much more.
Lord, you believe better thingsfor us than we do for ourselves
.
And I pray God for hope, I pray, I pray Lord for that hope.
That is the anger of the souland that gives us a reason to
keep going, even when things arehard and we don't want to.
(20:35):
And I pray today for hope inour hearts for tomorrow.
And I pray, god, that you wouldshine your light on us, that we
would not grope around in thedark but that we would have
direction.
And I pray, god, that you wouldgive us enough, but that we
would have direction and I pray,god, that you would give us
enough light that we would notstumble into a ditch Lord, but
that we would stay on the pathuntil the sun rises, lord, and
(20:57):
we see you face to face.
God, we love you, we need you.
Lord, jesus, I ask you to coverus, cover me and all those,
lord, who are under this prayertoday.
In Jesus name, amen.
In Jesus' name, amen.
God bless, bye-bye.
Hello and welcome back to Grace From my
Home.
I'm Audrey McCracken and I'm soglad to be back with you again
this week.
I hope and pray that you aredoing well, you and your family.
Today my oldest son startedcollege.
Today is his first day atcollege and he's commuting back
and forth from our home toCoastal Carolina University and
(00:23):
he was excited today.
I was nervous, he was excited,but I've already texted him to
say hey, how's your day going?
I haven't heard anything but Iknow he's in class.
But that's exciting.
That's a milestone in our lives.
My other two are back in highschool.
One is a senior this year it'shis last year and then I have a
sophomore.
So a lot going on around here.
(00:46):
Today I have some exciting newsI want to share with you.
If you have not heard, my secondbook has been released.
I have written a devotional.
It's called Seek First 31 QuietMoments with Jesus, and I wrote
this book for you.
I wrote it to help you to havea moment with Jesus, to sit down
(01:09):
and quiet your mind and focuson him, because I've found that
if I can just steal away andhave five minutes with Jesus
during the day, it makes thewhole day different.
It just sets the tone for agreat day.
And if I can't do it firstthing, if I can somewhere fit it
(01:29):
in throughout the day, itchanges a bad day.
It can turn a whole day around.
Just to have a few minutes toremind myself and to remember
that he loves me, that he's onmy side, that he has good plans
for me and that I can't evenmess that up, as long as I'm
(01:51):
seeking him, even imperfectly,that I am going to fall into his
plan and he will make sure ofthat.
And so I'd love for you tocheck out my new book, seek
First 31 Quiet Moments withJesus, and I'll put a link in
the show notes.
Today I want to talk with youabout looking forward to
(02:12):
Christ's return.
When Jesus left this earth, hepromised his disciples I will
return, I will return and I willget you.
I will return for my bride, andwhen we, you know, are in life
and it's busy sometimes we don'tconcentrate or think about that
(02:33):
promise.
You know it's kind of like okay, but I have to live today Like
I have to.
Today I have to go to work, ortoday I have to wash laundry, or
today I got to pay bills, andso we can find that that promise
goes on the back burner.
You know it's not.
It doesn't feel real, itdoesn't feel important or it
(02:53):
doesn't feel relevant to oureveryday life.
But the Lord has been bringingme back to that promise and
causing me to meditate on thatand think about it.
Matthew 24 and 25 is called theOlivet Discourse, and in it
Jesus teaches.
He's on the Mount of Olives andhe's teaching his disciples
(03:14):
about the end time, becausethey've asked him about it.
He said some pretty strongthings about what's going to
happen to the temple.
They're admiring the temple andhow wonderful it is and just
amazing it is, and he tells themthis temple is going to be
destroyed, and so that piquestheir interest.
And so they say Lord, tell usabout this.
And he does.
(03:34):
He goes into telling them aboutsome of the things that are
going to happen when his kingdomcomes.
And in this teaching he teachesdirectly.
He says things like this isgoing to happen and this is
going to happen.
But he does what he often doesand he teaches in parables as
well, and those parables shedlight into what that time is
(03:58):
going to look like and what wecan do and should be doing to
prepare for that time.
And I have found that the morethat I study about the second
coming of Christ and, inRevelation, about the
establishment of his kingdom,then the more hope I feel.
There was a time when I avoidedthe book of Revelation because
(04:20):
it seemed scary to me.
You know, it was dark to me andmysterious and you know I I
thought I don't reallyunderstand it and it invoked
fear in me.
When we were homeschooling weread a book and it was called
the Nonprofit's Guide to theBook of Revelation and it was
written for kids, which I guessmaybe sometimes it's easier to
(04:42):
read a book for kids, right, itdoesn't talk over your head.
And so it wasn't a scholarlywork.
But it was a really good bookand it talked about the basics
of the end time, the imagerythat Jesus used in his parables
and also the things that Johntalked about in the book of
Revelation.
And it was such a good book andit helped me not be afraid of
(05:03):
Revelation.
I will drop a link to that bookin the show notes.
But I love that it was writtenfor a child, or I should say a
young person, a young adult,because it broke it down so
simple for me.
But it also opened up the bookof Revelation for me in such a
way that it was a book of hopeand not of dread, and I think
(05:24):
that when we see that, then itcauses us to want to know more
about it.
You know, we want to know whatis going to happen and what is
my place in this.
You know what should I be doingabout this and you know Jesus
gives us a lot of instruction inMatthew 24 and 25, you know,
some directly and some throughhis parables.
(05:46):
But I want to do an in-depthstudy on this.
I've been thinking about how todo more Bible study with you
guys, you who want that.
The podcast isn't the rightformat for that.
So I've been working on I sayworking on, I've been writing
outlines.
I haven't actually started, butI've been working on some Bible
(06:07):
studies that I want to sharewith you and I'm trying to find
the right format where we canactually go in depth, because I
love teaching and I love theBible and I would love to share
some of these Bible teachingswith you.
But today I want to do just anoverview of the hope that we
have and the way the returningof Christ causes us to live a
(06:32):
different life when we believeit and when we look forward to
it.
You know, a lot of times, Ithink one of the reasons we fear
it is because the Bible talksabout the judgment and that at
that time, you know, all menwill be judged.
Well, we, as Christians, wewill not experience the wrath of
God.
Jesus took the wrath of Godupon himself so that we could
(06:54):
have relationship with God, sothat we did not have to endure
the wrath of God, because indeedwe cannot, and so we already
off the bat.
He is not coming to punish us.
He is coming to reward us, andthe life that we live matters,
but not in a form of judgment.
(07:14):
Like we are not going to hell.
We are not, you know, whenyou're in Christ.
You're in Christ and you havebeen redeemed from the curse of
the law.
But there is a reward for doingthose things and being found
doing those things that he hasassigned for us to do.
And in Matthew 24 and 25, someof the parables that he uses he
(07:37):
tells a parable about a fig tree.
He also talks about a masterwho goes away and he leaves one
slave in charge of the rest.
But let's read Matthew, chapter24, starting in verse 44.
And it says Blessed is thatslave whom his master finds so
(08:18):
doing.
When he comes, truly, I say toyou that he will put him in
charge of all his possessions.
But if that evil slave says inhis heart, my master is not
coming for a long time, andbegins to beat his fellow slaves
and eat and drink withdrunkards, the master comes, he
(08:59):
wants to find those he's givenan assignment doing the
assignment and the way we carryout the assignment that we've
been given matters when themaster returns and we don't know
when he's coming but be founddoing those things.
Because how we treat peoplematters, how we treat our fellow
(09:20):
servants matters.
How we complete the assignmentsthat God has given us matters.
We belong to God, he hasredeemed us, he has purchased us
with the precious blood ofJesus Christ, and how we live
matters.
And one day we're going to haveto give an account for the life
(09:42):
that we live and what we didwith that life and how we treat
other people and when we believethat it does change the way we
live.
And he goes on from that parableand he teaches on the parable
of the ten virgins, which I love.
I love this.
I want to do a whole teachingjust on the parable of the 10
virgins, which I love.
I love this.
I want to do a whole teachingjust on the parable of the 10
virgins.
He talks about how they'regetting ready for a wedding
(10:04):
feast and he says you got tohave oil in your lamp.
You got to have oil in yourlamp.
You got to be ready, you got tobe wise.
Because there were five whowere wise and they were ready
for the master's return and whenhe came they were able to go in
with him to the wedding feast.
But the five who were foolishwere not ready, they weren't
prepared, and so they werelocked outside.
(10:27):
And then he talks about theparable of the talents and how
he gave one servant, how amaster was going away for a
while and he gave one servantfive talents.
He gave one two talents, hegave one one talent, and how
those servants invested what hehad given them so that when he
came back they had interest,they had earned interest, they
(10:49):
had grown what they had beengiven, they had multiplied it.
And the implication was you dolikewise, don't bury it like the
one servant did who said well,I have a, my master's a hard man
and so I'm just going to burythis and when he gets back I'll
just give it to him.
No, he wants you to take whatyou've been given and put it to
(11:12):
use for good, so that when hecomes back you can say look what
I have done with what you havegiven me, and you notice, it
didn't matter how much you'dbeen given, just that you had
used it wisely, just that youhad not been so afraid of
messing up that you did nothing.
And then he talks about thejudgment and he says that he
(11:33):
separated the nations before himand on his right side he put
the sheep, and on his left sidehe put the goats.
And he said that the king saidto those on his right side come,
you who are blessed of myfather, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from thefoundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gaveme something to eat.
I was thirsty and you gave mesomething to drink.
(11:54):
I was a stranger and youinvited me in.
I was naked and you clothed me.
I was sick and you visited me.
I was in prison and you came tome and the righteous are going
to say when did we do this, lord?
And he said when you did thisfor the least of these, my
brethren, you did it for me.
(12:14):
And see how we treat peoplematters, because Jesus takes
that personally.
And when we believe that Jesusmeant what he said, that this is
not a game we're playing, thatone day we're going to stand
before him and we're going tohave to give account of how
obedient we were, in what way welived this life and what we did
(12:36):
with the things that he gave usand what we did with the things
that he gave us and what we didwith the things that he blessed
us with.
If we multiply those, if we usethose things for good or just
buried them in, how we live ourlife matters, and when we
believe that it changes how welive our life.
And I want you to understand, Iwant to make a very clear
distinction here.
(12:56):
To make a very cleardistinction here.
We're not looking forward todestruction and wrath.
We're not.
We're looking forward toChrist's return, because we are
the bride.
We're the bride, and it saysthat no eye has seen, no ear has
heard, neither has it enteredinto the mind of man what God
(13:16):
has prepared for him, but he hasrevealed it to us by his spirit
, and so the spirit of Godinside of us.
You know he'll talk to us andhe'll tell us God has so many
good things for you.
You know you're not doing thesethings to get, but God blesses
those who obey him, and thebiggest blessing is we get to
(13:37):
spend eternity with him.
And there's no greater rewardthan to be with Jesus.
There's no greater thing onearth or in heaven than to be at
his feet and to know him and tofellowship with him.
And so he gives us himself.
He gives us of his own spiritand, guys, we have a wonderful
(13:57):
inheritance in Christ.
So it's not that we're lookingforward to the end time and the
things that are going to happen.
Yes, things are going to happen.
Yes, we're going to feel birthpains.
I believe we're already feelingbirth pains.
But remember, when you havebirth pains, it's because a
baby's coming.
It's because something you'vebeen looking forward to and
(14:18):
expecting and hoping for iscoming.
And so we have an expected end,we have a hope in Christ, and
it's far better than anythingthis world can give us.
And so I'm just excited when Ithink about what Jesus is
telling his disciples becausewe're his disciples too and he's
telling us also thankfully theywrote it down so that we too
(14:40):
could rejoice in this hope thatChrist is coming back, that he
will do what he said he is goingto do, that we are the ones who
are living in this world butwe're not of this world, that we
belong to his kingdom and that,as we learn to read the signs
that he is coming soon, thatthere is an expectation and an
excitement in our hearts that,you know, I'm doing these things
(15:02):
for Christ.
And the little things I do,like give a cup of water to
someone in need, those thingsmatter.
And no, we're not doing just toget, we're not giving just to
get, but we are partaking in thegood works that he created for
us to do before the foundationof the world.
And, guys, that's where thelife is, when we're in him, when
(15:25):
we're doing the things hecreated us to do.
That's where his life flows andwe have that wonderful
privilege of being able to be apart of that.
And one day you notice, when Iread that parable, that in
Matthew 25, about the goats andthe sheep and the ones who did
(15:50):
all the stuff, like they did allthe stuff.
They did the right things.
They fed the hungry, they gavewater to the thirsty, they
visited those who were in need.
You notice, they didn't evenknow that they did it.
I mean, it wasn't like theywere doing it for something.
They said Lord, when did we dothat?
When did we do that for you?
(16:10):
When you did it for somebodyelse?
So you see, a lot of times we'redoing stuff because it's who we
are.
We're doing stuff becauseChrist is in us and he's moved
with compassion and he lovespeople and he's loving people
through us.
But we're not doing it forreward.
But there is a reward andknowing him is the reward.
(16:30):
And being able to stand beforehim one day and say enter into
this kingdom and I love the wayit says that was prepared for
you before the foundation of theworld.
God prepared you for heaven.
You were created for heaven,you were not created for hell.
One more little thing, one morelittle nugget, and I'll let you
(16:54):
go today.
But then, when he goes into thatparable and he talks about the
sheep, then he talks to thegoats, right, he talks to the
ones who did not take care ofthe needs of those around him
who were not moved withcompassion for those that were
around them, who were not movedwith compassion for those that
were around them.
He says to them, he says tothose in verse 31, depart from
me, depart from me, accursedones, and to eternal fire, which
(17:21):
has been prepared for the deviland his angels.
You see, eternal fire was notprepared for man, it was
prepared for the devil and hisangels.
He created humans for glory.
He created humans for heaven.
But we have to choose heaven,we have to choose him.
(17:41):
He's not going to make us, butfor those who do choose, oh my,
what a wonderful future he hasfor us.
And it doesn't end here.
It doesn't end in tragedy here.
Even if your life here ends intragedy, if you belong to Christ
, your life does not end, it'sjust the continuation once you
pass from here.
(18:02):
There's a saying in the churchthat I became a Christian in.
Often we would say whether hecomes or calls, and many of you
have probably heard that saying,but I love it.
I love that saying because itsays if he comes, that means his
second coming right, that meanshe's coming to take his bride
(18:23):
and that's exciting.
If he comes, I'm going to seehim and we're going to all see
him.
But if he calls, if he calls meto heaven before he comes to
earth, I'm still going to seehim.
I'm still going to be in hispresence, amen.
And so, either way, you and Iwill one day have an audience
with the Lord of Lords and theKing of Kings, and he is
(18:46):
preparing good things for us,and we, as we look forward to
that day, we will walk different, we'll live different.
There'll be a hope in us andwe'll know that, even if nobody
else notices what happens today,notices the things I do today,
notices the choices I make today, they matter because he notices
(19:07):
, because he sees all things,and when nobody else knows, he
knows.
Precious one, the things you'redoing today matter If nobody
else sees them.
When you do them for Christ,they carry a weight of eternal
importance and that makes themworth doing well, amen.
(19:30):
Before I let you go, I want topray for you today.
I want to pray for you today,but I also want to tell you that
my son, david, just texts meback and this is what he said.
I asked him how's it going andhe said I actually really like
it Once I make friends to hangout with.
I think it'll be way betterthan high school.
So, yay, that makes a mamahappy, you know.
(19:52):
But I want to pray for youbefore you go today and I also
want to remind you go and get mybook If you could use some help
in having quiet times with theLord.
That's my prayer, is that itwould be helpful to you.
It's called Seek First 31 QuietMoments with Jesus.
You can buy it on Amazon andI'll put the link in the show
notes.
(20:13):
But let's pray, father, I justthank you that you made us for
so much more than we can imagine, lord.
You made us for so much more.
Lord, you believe better thingsfor us than we do for ourselves
.
And I pray God for hope, I pray, I pray Lord for that hope.
That is the anger of the souland that gives us a reason to
keep going, even when things arehard and we don't want to.
(20:35):
And I pray today for hope inour hearts for tomorrow.
And I pray, god, that you wouldshine your light on us, that we
would not grope around in thedark but that we would have
direction.
And I pray, god, that you wouldgive us enough, but that we
would have direction and I pray,god, that you would give us
enough light that we would notstumble into a ditch Lord, but
that we would stay on the pathuntil the sun rises, lord, and
(20:57):
we see you face to face.
God, we love you, we need you.
Lord, jesus, I ask you to coverus, cover me and all those,
lord, who are under this prayertoday.
In Jesus name, amen.
In Jesus' name, amen.
God bless, bye-bye.
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