We're going to turn to Titus chapter 1. We're going to read a few verses and I'll be a little bit all over. This week has been very busy but it's also caused a whole lot of thought because there ain't much else to do when you're hammering stuff out. But I would think about a lot, we've talked a lot about the Christian existence, if you will, in our world today, and how it's kind of shifted from a lifestyle, if you will, to more of a label, and something that you just slap on yourself, makes you feel better about everything. And I've also talked about how the church has also facilitated this by teaching a separate trait, more so instead of a fruit to the spirit, as to what you can do to make your life better. Different stuff that they sow with their doctrine into our children, into our more modern day Christians, if you will. Last week was about the nature of your Christianity in that way, the difference between what they sow and what you grow. And yeah, I think about that as a contrast to do you buy into this new Christianity if you will this new label They've come out with or do you seek the Bible or do you seek their way? That's easier Because they've taught you two different ways And what's caused this? That's more about what we're going to talk today is Where their focus is that? you know they have this new quote-unquote easier way to get into heaven and where you can do what you want and still get into heaven. They've written beautiful poems about all the people that should not be in heaven that are in heaven. And all the people that should be in heaven not being there. And it's because of the hypocritical nature of what they've taught, what they've sowed, the confusion, the misrepresentation of what the Bible is. And so what's caused that? I mean, what's really driven that ideology into the church? And you can just leave out needing to win more sinners because that is not what they're trying to do. And that's not the true reason. That is merely an excuse to bring it into the church in order to drive it home. And if you look through many of Paul's letters, he's right there as to why they're doing what they're doing. And it's not something new that they've done today. It's something they've done everywhere through all the ages. It's something that's been drilled into us and taught and almost made into a normal thing into the fact that they've turned it into a normal thing. That's redundant, but we're going to get into it. Paul clarified many times in his letters why he did what he did and why he believed and preached as he did. He lived his life different than we do today. And it's because we've developed over the years this disconnect between the aspects of the gospel and what it is. And that's what the churches have taught today. You go into a church today and you hear a gospel sermon. You're going to hear about the march of Golgotha's tale. You're going to hear about the cross and his death and his burial. But even when I was growing up in churches, there was very little said about the resurrection. It's because they've developed the gospel here and the resurrection as a separate part of the gospel that we observe once a year on quote-unquote Easter, Resurrection Sunday. It's what we've almost taken and disassembled the gospel into the Romans road and how you get saved and how you live the rest of your life. And those two do not mesh. They're two separate sermons, and this is what we do. It's how we teach Sunday school. It's how we teach our children. We seem to have developed, you know, we teach them Moses, we teach them Noah, we teach them David, and then we teach them Jesus. But we don't contrast the two. We break them apart into these separate stories and paint them on their wall and teach them in their classes, but we never tie the ends together. The Bible is not broken up into several pieces by God. is broken up into books so it's easily understood by man but it's one big book and it all goes together we all know this I mean you're not stupid you all know that this is one fluid gospel of Jesus Christ from beginning to end and Paul understood that as well but we've taken it just like trying to be fancy with our series and trying to be organized with our Sunday school and broken them up into individual lessons that they can teach us for our life. And in that everyday application we've taken away the fluidity of the Word of God. And so what has that done? It's developed that disconnect between the Bible and real life. It's disconnected it from Jesus Christ's death to Jesus Christ's resurrection. Because His death in many churches is what saves us. His death and His blood redeems us. But we seem to forget that His resurrection and His coming again for us is an even more glorious part of the gospel. And I think it's because we sort of forgot about how much the two rely on each other. A lot of quote-unquote prophets have died but none have come back except for Jesus Christ. And there was a reason Jesus came back and we've left that off too. The death of Christ is so very important and carries so much weight with the gospel that we've let it carry all the weight. But we don't live the life we do because Christ died, we live the life we do because Christ rose. And now that life is a precursor to the life we're going to live and are living now. So, our focus has shifted. It's gone from eternal life and it shifted over to your best life now. And in our breaking up of the Bible to fit our lives and make our lives better, we've shifted our focus and this is the death of many churches. We're going to go ahead and read many verses but we're going to start here in Titus chapter 1. We'll read verses 1 and 2. It says, Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness or according to godliness. Verse 2 says, in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began. And we'll go ahead and read verse 3. But hath in due time manifest his word through preaching which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior. He preached and lived and wrote letters to admonish because of the hope of eternal life. It says again in chapter 3 verse 7, that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. And it goes on and on through his letters where he keeps mentioning that hope of eternal life. But we don't pay attention to eternal life anymore. I got to thinking, and I have not heard a sermon on eternity or even heaven hardly in years. when I was in other churches, when I was growing up, everything like that. It was either Hellfire and Brimstone or it was How to Make Your Life Better. And you probably got one Hell Sermon out of the entire year. And that's really sad because there's a lot of services in the year. Close to 136. I counted them up one time. And that's not including revivals. But you did not hear a sermon on hell, but maybe once a year. And the rest was stuff like, I'm tying the knots in Proverbs. Or, you know, how Titus, how this letter to Titus can make your life better. I mean, they'll find a book and they'll find a way to make it better for you. And they'll even be exegetical because they love big words on how they tell you how your life is going to get better. This one preacher we had was really down on exegetical preaching. Verse by verse, line by line, preaching. And there's a right way to do it, and then there's a way he did it. And he had like titles of series that he'd go through, and he'd skip around. He'd stay in the same chapter, but he'd go from like verse one, now look in verse five, and what he says here. And he'd go and exegete that verse. And he'd go to verse 7, and he'd go back to verse 3, and then tie it all together in this pretty little ribbon of what he wanted to say that day. And that was his exegetical preaching, precept upon precept, amen. And that's what he would do. That's not how this works. You know, this goes very, very fluidly. You know, even in Jude 1.21, it says, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. There it is again, another disciple. The aspect of Christianity has been lost, I think, in favor of this new way of thinking. And if you think for just a moment, there's a huge emphasis placed on winning people, loving people, and getting along with people in this world. We have, and I call this in my head and it's probably scarcely inaccurate, but I call it separation anxiety because no one wants to be separated. And if you even bring it up, people get tense and nervous and they start stammering and jumping around. Well, you've got to love people. I mean, you just, you can't hide in a hole. Jesus walked among sinners. And they just go on and on. You just can't have a conversation because they get nervous and shaky. They won't look you in the eye. Their hands are in their pockets. You just can't talk about it. So I've been calling it separation anxiety for a couple of years. Where if you mention it, oh my goodness, this is not the subject. This is not what you go to. This is not a go-to subject here. And you know what? People are afraid to talk about it. Baptist preachers are afraid to talk about it. I know one, and we've gone over to his house a couple of times, where if you bring it up, he shies away from it. You know, it's just, well, you know, you've got to reach people. And they repeat things. You've got to reach people, you know? You've got to reach them, you know? They have no other answer. It's like a filler in there, like a hot dog or something. They put filler in there to make it look better, but it's still no good what you're eating, and you're going to feel it later. It's just how they do it, and that's how they get by in this world. There's a big hole in their doctrine concerning the subject of eternal life, and it's never preached on. Eternal life is about separation. Because when you're separated, you will be separated forever. You can't expect to die and go to heaven and go through the struggles of being out in the world and everything else. You're separated to God for eternal life. To eternal life. For God's glory. This subject of separation that we avoid so often is actually embedded in the core of our walk with God. And it's actually the basis for eternal life. If you will not be separated to God now, what makes you think you want to be separated for eternity to God later on? And something that is, again, not focused on. Because this road we're on, this walk, this eternal life, isn't later. And that's where we've shifted our focus, is we've shifted it to the now, and what we're walking on now, and what we want now. And churches want numbers, churches want people, churches want good things happening, more money flowing now, and so they found a way to do it. And they found a way to twist the Bible and the gospel into making it look like that's what we should be doing. But they've taken out key parts such as the resurrection, such as separation to get there. Because if you study both of those topics, they will put you nowhere but separated to God now and forever. The resurrection, he came back and talked to his disciples and ascended into the clouds, but he went to his disciples. He didn't go back out into the world and preach to all sinners. That was his ministry beforehand. When he rose, he sought out no one else but the people that belonged and believed in him. That is very interesting to think about. And then when he didn't even see anybody else and he ascended in the clouds and the only people that saw him ascend into the clouds were his people. There is a message there. There is no other place that we have any business in being but as a people. Separated to God from this world. And that's where eternal life starts. When you are saved and you are working for God, the only place there is for you to be is working for God. There is no going out into the world and getting along with the world to win the world to Christ. What's really wrong with that sentence, and just like much of their doctrine, there is a lot of the world in that sentence and very little of Christ. He's only in that sentence by name only, just like their doctrine. This separation or this shift in focus is away from eternal life and into your best life now. And your best life now is the best life you'll ever have, ever. So all these references I've just read, I've read, are overlooked in churches today for the same four sermons played on repeat. For whatever you can look up on the internet that day. because you're probably too busy coaching your church football team to actually write a sermon. I don't approve of those too. Eternity is not a future thought, but a present reality for the Christian. 1 Timothy 6.19 says, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life. Now, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come. I've heard a lot of sermons on that part of that verse, about the apocalypse, and canning, and hunting, and getting good. I mean, they, it's ridiculous. There was this Baptist preacher, he had a storm cellar full of food. And he was fat too. So I'm surprised it lasted. But it had canned food in there. It had pickled meat. I mean it had freezers full of all this different stuff for the time to come. Because that's what he believed that verse meant. He was going to be ready for that time to come. Because Jesus said be ready. Just like those people with the candles he said. They needed to be ready. And so that's what he did. He just had a big old pantry out there. But he missed out on the last part of this verse that said that they may lay hold on eternal life. A lot of times we treat commas like periods and we stop it there. And that's not right. There's two ways that this could go, I suppose. It depends on if you read it all the way through. Again, I've heard it preached that this is an exhibition through the Christian life to build riches so that you too can live good eternal life with much to brag about. That's the other way it goes. That you lay up riches for yourself in heaven so that when you get there with your big, beautiful, bright mansion that Christ has built with his own two hands of mortar and brick, that you too can have a three bedroom, two rooms full of riches. Because it's a mansion. That is not what this means. Reading this verse correctly, exegetically, lays the foundation for eternal life. in that shift we should have, in that path we should be on. It's not so that we can go out and build up bridges so we can have much to say to God when we get there. It's so that when we leave this world, our children have a foundation to lay their house on so they may lay hold of eternal life as well. You see, just unlike that house we just knocked down, you should leave a foundation that can be built on when you are gone. Because it is not an easily found path, you could say, it's narrow, not wide, then there needs to be clear markers and solid foundation as to how to get there. This goes right along with that preaching with grand mansions and all the stuff you'll have to live for with coffers full and a garage filled full of stuff, garbage, then we've come a long way. from what eternal life truly is. And we pass it on so long and so hard, which really hasn't been that long, we've just ate it up because we have lazy Christians, that this is what we've left. It's not some mystical thing that will be this amazing afterlife where we can finally rest and we can finally be free of all the temptations that we go through every day that's just so hard to fight. It's not going to be that way. Eternal life starts now, and you ought to treat it as it ought to be treated, because your life is a vapor. It says that in the Bible too. Again, something we latch on to, to separate this eternal life from our present life. Is that, well, this life's a vapor, and then poof, we're in eternity, and there we are, and we're going to be all glorious and ready to go. How can you be ready to go if you don't first prepare on this side? How beneficial would it be for us to load up and go on a trip but not prepare the day before? There is no way you will be ready for anything if you prepare an hour before you do it. That's why they call it final hour professions when they have a deathbed profession because it's literally the last minute they have. There's very little of those and even fewer true ones. Because if you do not make the preparations before you get to that point, it's pretty pointless. Because salvation is not a one, two, three, and done sort of thing. And a lot of people would say they just skirted into heaven because of a deathbed profession. They just barely skirted in. Nobody there will barely skirt into heaven. Barely skirting into heaven is a new thing to help permit or give permission to this new way of thinking. So that we can feel better about our relatives with deathbed professions. So we can feel better about those who don't do anything for Christ when they're supposedly saved. And so we can preach them into heaven at their funeral. That's what all that is for. That's not what's going to happen. It's not your best life now, it's your eternal life now. And if you refuse to live for Christ now, then there is no way you'll accept entrance into heaven later. If we're gonna be entitled and accept Christ into our heart, then you're accepting heaven as your option, because that's what I'm entitled to if I pray this prayer. And that's not the way it happens. We've taken the focus and just shifted it this way, just like when you accept Christ into your heart. Oh yeah, sure, come on in, yeah. No, you first, you're good. Who does that with the King of King and Lord of Lords? Who thinks that's an option? It's not, but we've turned it that way to make it more appealing for the sinner because the sinner can stay selfish and still remain saved. It's not the way it is. You're mishandling and mistreating your life entirely if that's the way you're treating your life. Don't treat your life as if it's going to poof away someday and your eternal life be so much better. Don't write your journals telling your kids that, yeah, this life's pretty terrible, but my eternal life's going to be great. I sinned today, yesterday, and tomorrow, but my eternal life's going to be great. If you sin today, don't expect to be in eternity in heaven tomorrow. because you go into this day expecting to sin, because you can't help it but sin, because you're going to sin tomorrow anyway, so you might as well sin today too. Your mindset and mind focus is on sinning, not on Christ. What's eternal life about? Worshipping Christ. Forever and always. If you're not willing to do that now, what makes you think you're going to be willing to do it later? And for all eternity. That's a long time. Better get used to it now. We've also decided that we're going to treat eternity like a fantasy. There are many religions that like to make heaven a separate, more peaceful place, such as Shangri-La, Paradise, or even Purgatory. That's even better than where they were going until they get paid out. And there are just other versions of heaven that don't have God, which is very interesting to think about, because we, as Christians, have made heaven a place without God. We're going back to the mansion building I was talking about earlier. We almost pitch heaven like a sales pitch where there's great mansions and great riches and peace and quiet and you'll be there with your family. There'll be a big family reunion. You can hug your old spouse. You can hug your father. You can see your daddy. Everyone says, I'll see you. Happy birthday in heaven, daddy. I'll see you soon. Or this person's gone to heaven. See you soon. And that's the way we treat heaven. And that's not the way heaven is to be treated. This is going to come as a shock to a lot of people, maybe not here, but maybe listening, but heaven's not a place to see your dead loved ones. Heaven's not a place where you go and live and imagine that Christ has erected for you. And lastly, heaven is not a place where you're going to have a whole bunch of riches. Because all the riches that you do gain, quote unquote, will be thrown at the master's feet. And if you're not willing to do that here, don't think you're going to be willing to do that there. That's right. If they're your riches, hey, hey, hey now, hey now, hey, my mansion, no. That's selfishness, which is sinful, and there is no sin in heaven. That's right. So I hate to break it to you, but you're probably not going there. You gotta think about it a little bit. But we've shifted it. And we've kind of pitched having the centers where it's, hey, come on in here. We'll have youth group, pizza parties, donuts and Sunday school. I mean, that'd get me in the church. And then we pitch him with heaven. There's your mansion. If you get saved, he's going to build you a big old mansion. And we pitch it like a mansion, like we think about. And then if you do good things, he gives you riches. But make sure you do it in the right spirit. It's going to burn up now. And that's motivation to do it in the right spirit. Because if it burns up, you won't have it. And then in the end, you can have all your buddies over, see your dad again, see your mom again, because they're in heaven. Probably not, but yeah, we can say that. And that's the way to pitch heaven to them. We've taken everything glorious about heaven, mushed it up into one big ball, thrown God out of it, and made it yours. And that's what eternal life is going to be to them. One big party in heaven, with a mansion that Jesus built, because Jesus saved them, Jesus built them a mansion, but they don't want nothing to do with Jesus anymore after that. Because we've made Him some sort of government freeloader that gives out everything, and that's what it is. Why have we done that? Why? Do we realize people believe this? Do we realize that most of the Christians we come into contact with believe that? In that they will say praise God and amen and that's correct, but in their heart that's what they believe because that's what they've been taught. Do you realize that when you're talking to them and you're getting along real good? And, yeah, I believe Jesus Christ came to die. Well, that's good. I believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead. That's real good. I believe He's coming back to bring me to heaven one day. But do you realize that they do not believe that He's coming to bring you back to heaven for a totally different reason than what you believe? And that right there is where the poison sets. Because they will agree with you, they will believe with you, and they will talk to you in knowledge But in reality, that's what they're looking forward to. Their motivation is much different. Their thinking is much different. And so when you say, well, we ought to do good unto all people for the sake of Christ, where in their mind, they ought to do good unto people so that they have more riches in heaven. It's a self-righteousness that has so far implanted themselves in them that this fantasy that they've indulged and been indulged and been taught, that's what they're doing. When they say, oh, I'll pay for your meal, it's not because they're a good Christian friend most times. There are good Christian friends out there. Don't let me discourage you that way. There are good Christian friends that are very hard to find. But most times they say, let me pay for your meal. Because mostly they only go out with people from a different church. Because they can't go out with people from their church or they don't know what they really are. Then they're doing it to build more riches in heaven. Because of that fantasy that's been indulged of heaven, of eternal life, of eternal life of God now is watching you so that he doesn't have to watch you in eternal life. He's not here to set you up for eternity. He's not here to watch you and say, hey now, he's getting an extra bedroom. That's not what it is. That mansion, you won't even care about that. If you are truly in Christ and following Him, you're going to give up your riches because God is all. And if God is not all to you here, He's not all to you there. And if He's not all to you here, you ain't going there. You see how we've shifted so hard? And people don't even see it because it affects your thinking and how you walk. It's a mind reprogramming that, hey, they believe the same things I do. This church believes the same things I do. But when they come down to the wire, that's what they're preaching, and that's how your mind's going to go. You may not think that, well, I'm doing this so God gives me more later. But you are. And I know a lot of people willingly deceived by that fantasy. so that they can feel better about what they do in their everyday life. Well, I do this, but I do this, and that cancels it out. Well, doing this may take away some of my riches, but I can gain so much more if I do this. And it's a take and keep and a check and balance. It's just like credit cards where they keep making minimum payment and then putting more on it. But they think they got it figured out, just like credit cards. We think we have it figured out, and we usually don't. But it's because we've just built that fantasy of what eternal life truly is. And that's why they live their Christian life. Because they can get all this awesome stuff. It's just like entering a sweepstakes. Like and share on Facebook, comment done. And you could win $100,000. So how many of us are gonna like, share, and comment because it's a free thing to do, and then we don't win anything? I've never done it because I never won anything anyway. So, what's the use? But everyone does it because it's a free thing to do. And it's easy. There's a chance of $100,000. We've given them a chance. It's a home in heaven. Rich is eternal. As long as you do things for God now. You may not like the guy, but you know, do this and he'll bless you. It's not the way it works, but it sounds so ridiculous saying it out loud. But that's what we've done. And that's what people believe. Eternal life is not to be tampered with by some sort of sales pitch to get people to want eternal life anymore. You don't get people to want eternal life. You get them to want Jesus. And that will get them eternal life. Lastly, eternity is not for those who don't want Jesus as Lord. Here's the key truth to the resurrection. Jesus reigns forever and ever because He rose again. Key truth number two is you will worship him as Lord forever. Whether you want to or not, throw that in there. Not as helper, not as songwriter, not as miracle worker, but as Lord God forever. We write, and when I say we, they write all these songs in the CCM genre about Jesus and how much of a help he is, how he's my father, how he does this, And the war chicken comes to mind with that song. Because I read those words and that's all it is. It's, well, he's this. Well, he's this. He's this. And it just builds on the fantasy. Because that's what Jesus is to you now. Because that's what Jesus can do for you now. And it makes you feel better now. But they don't realize that He is Lord God forever. And they don't want nothing to do with him, unless that's what he is now. And then they write about how he never changes, and then they change the song. And then they write about how he's your father, but you got dad issues. You just make him into whatever you need him to be right then and right there. There's a very popular movie out about a very popular song. Well, that's all it is, is this guy wrote a song and made him into what he needed right then, right there. And the key word in that song is imagine because it's his imagination and that's what everyone believes in. Because it's a touching movie to a confusing song. It really is. Yes. And because we have taken our emotions and crafted this great Jesus that makes us feel better right here, right now, Let's make it into a movie, make millions of dollars off it for Jesus Christ and then go from there. And so now we're going to make a song about every movie and song writer that's ever been out because that's what's popular right now. Because God led his life. How do we know God led his life? Because he's rich and he's got a lot of money. And because he says Jesus in his songs every now and again. Yeah, that's just how it works. You get a song, you get a book, you get a movie, you get Jesus. Maybe it's reverse order, maybe it's not. You mix it around however you want. But that's what we've come to, and that's what's going to lead him into eternal life. Because he's famous, and he's done so much for Jesus through his book, his song, his movie, his riches, whatever he's done. And we've taken that, and that just adds more into the fantasy. But in reality, he does not believe Jesus is Lord. Many of his counterparts have admitted on social media they don't even believe in God. And he has supported these counterparts in disbelieving God that he supposedly loves so much but he loves people more. That's because he's of this world and the world loves people. God loves people one way And the world teaches that God loves people another way, their way, so that they can have their way. And we've used that love of people to shift our focus away from Jesus Christ. Just a little news flash here, if you believe in Jesus Christ and you follow Christ as you should, you will love people as you should. But we put loving people first, loving yourself first, and that kind of love will not last and will not take you anywhere that you want to go. And it's taking Jesus out of the equation except where you want him in there. I was talking to him the other day about my math classes and how much it's just quick because math is the only class I can go into where there's only one answer. No matter what you do, this is the way you do it, this is the answer you get. It's the only class where I don't have any beefs with my students, fellow students I should say, because there is no other way to get the answer. Our answers have to match. And if they're wrong, I'm right. And the teacher will back me up on it and has before because they did it wrong. Unlike these other ethics classes, history classes. How do you do that? History is written. How do you do that? But my answer is still wrong. It's because people have to be right. You have to make them feel better. You have to appease them, and then they'll learn something. They just have to feel like they're right about something one time before they'll try to be right the next time. They'll try harder if they're just right, right now. Two plus two? Maybe it's three. Maybe it's five. Who knows? But as long as they feel right about that answer, they'll try harder on the next one. And that's wrong, because then they'll just milk their way into another right answer. And then we get common core. Now look where we're at. This love of people has damaged our world and our churches more because of the selfish emphasis it places on there. Eternal life is not about selfishness. It's about giving up self to live for Christ. And that's the only way you're going to get to heaven. So, understanding eternity as a deal that's done right now will help your Christian walk and that it is your Christian walk. You either walk with God now or you don't walk with God ever. You don't go to church, feel better about yourself and then go to heaven and walk with God. Eternal life is now. Your life is a vapor because it poops away and what you did here will reflect what will happen there. It will not help or hurt, pretty much, because it's going to be what happens there. If you don't walk with Christ here, you're going to hell. If you walk with Christ here, separate yourself, and want to live for Christ here now, that's who you're going to go to be with, because that's who you want. We teach the gospel in all wrong, in that we seem to put across this idea that what you do here will just be improved on over there, But it's quite the opposite. When it talks about your wife being a vapor, it's not talking about it's going to make it feel better now and then do better later. It's talking about there being a set idea and that you have to get it settled now instead of later. Live for Christ now. Don't wait.