Transcript: God's Eternity in Your Heart: A Gift of Salvation

Thank you. Since we all like titles, and that includes me, our message today is one that we rarely think about. Yet, even as a little child, most have thought, I wonder what will happen to me after I die, or I wonder what is life all about, or what will happen to my body after I die, or where will I go after I die. Our message today is called, Did You Know That God Planted Eternity In Your Heart? I believe most children have, as they reach the age, a certain age, ponder on life, on existence, and the future of their existence. We must begin with the Holy Word of God, which tells us this very fact. In Ecclesiastes 3, verse 11, the word declares, He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also planted eternity in men's hearts and minds, a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages, which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy, yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Well, my own personal experience began one day as a little girl, around the age of 8 or 9 years old, when my mother had sent me to my room for something that I had done, which I do not remember, but I'd rather think that it was probably due to sassing her back when she may have given instruction about something. Well, that's my guess, after all these years have passed by since then. I went up to my room and laid on my bed and I remember that the door to my closet had an interesting wood grain or design on it and it was like you might see in the roots of a tree maybe I've thought of it that way since my father had taught me that one of the ways that we can know or estimate the age of a tree is seen in its interior circular annual rings of wood growth. But these lines went vertical on the door. Well, while on my bed studying the lines and designs of the marking on the door, the thought entered my mind. Grandparents and their grandparents and parents have lived and died, and my parents are living but will die one day. and at that thought I felt bad and lonely and wondered what is life all about? We live and die and what is this all about? Living on a farm ranch in Montana I had seen animals live and die and had at the age of 8 or 9 years of age lost my grandfather to cancer so death could have played a factor in my bewilderment of death and the question of what is life all about when my dear mother had sent me to my room that day. I realized these many years later through growing in the knowledge and understanding the Word of God, which I had said previously at the beginning of this message, that we have to always begin with the Holy Word of God, which tells us the very fact that God supernaturally plants eternity into the heart of every individual born into this earth to know that he is God. And I believe that this truism, this fact, happened to me with my encounter and preponderance of the subject, what happens to me after death. I say it again we always have to begin with the holy word of God which tells us this gospel truth and again repeating in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 11 it tells us the factual truth when it declares that he God almighty has made everything beautiful in his time he also has planted eternity in men's hearts and minds a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages, which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy, yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. You see, faith and fact must go hand in hand when we're discussing the gospel and the things of God. Speaking about the word fact, the dictionary tells us that a fact is something that marks and conveys something that is based on knowledge or information, that is based on real truths or real occurrences, and or something demonstrated to exist or known to have existed. So as far as our Christian beliefs then, we must know without a doubt that these beliefs stand on true and genuine facts. For a believer, the evidence of what God says and tells us throughout the scripture stands on evidence. And as you grow in the knowledge of God through his word, through meditation and prayer and faith and worship of God, leads you to, in the way to know and believe and trust that all that is learned and growing in wisdom and personal experience, that these truths are genuine and real, and they're of God. You see, Christianity begins by faith. It is faith based on the facts of what God says, and it's real, and it's true. This isn't sitting for hours upon hours, studying the scripture, trying to make your brain believe that true and factual information must be believed if you want to go to heaven This is rather a supernatural miracle of God through his precious Holy Spirit who opens up spiritual eyes of hungry believers' hearts and minds to see and know that what God says is true and real and genuine. And this is called faith. Faith in action, the small light of eternity that was planted into your heart, begins to illumine and you begin to experience the assurance and substance of your faith. In Apostle Paul's epistle, in Hebrews chapter 11, verses 1-3, the word tells us, Now faith is the assurance, the confirmation, the title deed of things that we hope for. being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of the reality, faith perceiving as a real fact which is not revealed to the senses. Verse 2. For by faith, trust, and holy fervor born of faith, the men of old had divine testimony born to them and obtained a good report. Verse 3. By faith we understand that the worlds during the successive ages were framed in fashion and put in order and equipped for their intended purpose by the word of God so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible. You see, faith is something that is concrete and solid and real. God made this understanding possible by the avenue of supernatural faith which is found in Jesus Christ alone our faith rests on Christ which we see in the verse which states now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen for by it the elders obtained a good testimony by faith we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Now, I like the way the Amplified Version says it, and we read that initially, and it says, Now faith is the assurance, the confirmation, the title deed of things that we hope for, being the proof of things that we do not see and the conviction of their reality, faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses. Well, we see that one Bible version uses assurance and the other uses substance. And the Greek word for substance is hupostasis, which means both the terms assurance and substance and also confidence are used interchangeably. interchangeably. This means that we can trust Christ completely because of the indisputable fact of his resurrection. He's risen. Hallelujah! He is risen. And so, therefore, our faith is not built upon human reasoning and old wives' tales or fairy tales. The scripture in Hebrews 1 outlines the description of faith in two parts. The first part states that faith is the substance of things hoped for. So we see that faith and hope go together. And the same things that are the object of our hope are the objects of our faith. Faith is a firm persuasion and expectation that God will perform all that he has promised to us in Jesus Christ. So we need to understand, dear listener, that this persuasion is so strong that it gives the individual a kind of possession and awareness of present growth and development of these things within their own hearts and soul. Yes, it is the believer's knowing in the soul that what you believe is real and genuine and you begin to be supernaturally filled with joy and unspeakable peace that you've never known or experienced before. You see, Jesus dwells in the soul by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit and the soul is filled with the fullness of God as far as the believer's present measure will allow and welcome as they experience considerable realities in the area of their faith. Dear listener, when we talk about growing in faith, let us remember that it is the unfolding of the light of eternity that God the Holy Spirit is illuminating within the hungry heart that is searching for God, God of all creation, and the one who loves you with an undying love. Faith is a firm confidence in trusting God and what he tells you in his word. In the general sense of the word, to have faith is to believe in something or someone to fully trust and be so confident that you base your actions on what you believe. to have faith is to be fully convinced of the truthfulness and reliability of that which you believe faith in God then is having a kind of trust and confidence in God and Jesus Christ that leads you to commit your whole life and soul to him as savior justifier, cleanser, healer your deliverer, your master, your lord, your king and your bridegroom. Hallelujah. Scripture again declares, faith is being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see. And secondly, it declares, now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. So, then, faith is a spiritual substance. When you have this spiritual substance in you, It communicates to you a certain inner knowing. The thing that you are hoping for is certainly established even before you see any material evidence that it has happened Faith is a spiritual force Faith in God is a response to God's word, which moves God to act. Let's read what Jesus himself said in Mark chapter 11, verse 23, about this very point, an important subject of faith. In Mark 11. Verse 23, For assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be removed and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, and he will have whatever he says. You see, your words are mixed with real, pure faith, and can move mountains or any other problem that you may face. faith in God must be from your heart and not from your head it is not merely intellectual it is spiritual for with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation Romans chapter 10 verse 10 so genuine faith causes you to know in your heart before you see with your eyes. Scripture says, For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 7 tells us that. For we walk by faith, we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things with trust and holy fervor. Thus, we walk not by sight or appearance. You see, everything for a true believer in Jesus Christ builds on past events and believes for the future fulfillment of all of God's prophecies and promises. The established rule or order is for any believer who comes to Jesus Christ as first evidence. and this evidence will always be found in the word of God and secondly, faith in what you learn and hear of God and his ways and also the very fact that Jesus Christ died for yours and my sins on the cross. And thirdly, comes the assurance of substance that what you know, who you know, is real and genuine. and that be our Lord Jesus Christ. As it was just stated, Christianity is built and stands on evidence. It is personally received through faith that Jesus died for your sins on the cross and provides the promise of eternal life. And it brings comforting assurance to those who have grown in faith to trust in their Lord Jesus Christ. true assurance of salvation is based on genuine faith based that is established upon the evidence of Holy Scripture unbelievers have a false sense of assurance because they have chosen life without Christ and in the end for them it only brings great disappointment and has tragic eternal results Their assurance or substance is not based on solid evidence, but rather their faith is in themselves or someone else or something other than the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. It must be understood that God has made it very clear and known to the inner knowing of every single human being that he exists and he is God. And we always want to look to that evidence. And that truth is found in Romans chapter 1, beginning in verse 18, which declares, For God's holy wrath and indignation were revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative. Verse 19. For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner conscience, because God himself has shown it to them. Verse 20. For ever since the creation of this world, his invisible nature and attributes, that is, his eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made in his handiworks. So men are without excuse altogether, without any defense or justification, because when they knew and recognized him as God, they did not honor and glorify him as God or give him thanks, but instead they became futile and godless in their thinking with vain imagination, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools. Professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves. Dear listener, by the very virtue of the visible things of God, he has made it known to the inner knowing of the ungodly people that he exists. And we see that they consider these things of God foolishness unto their reasoning. The scripture shows that those who refuse to believe that the great creator God, who knows all things, sees all things, is everywhere at all time, are without excuse. And the evidence of his beautiful creation shows all these things are the works of the invisible creator God. Even though God is not the focus, the object of sense or reason, yet he has made himself known by those things that are sensible and reasonable to the minds of all humankind. And looking at the whole creation of this earth, the sky, the sea, we marvel at the beauty and the fact that the sea and its waters cannot go outside their boundaries God has given the decree in his word when he created the sea that they could go this far and no further And we find that in Job chapter 38 verse 11 when God was speaking to Job and telling him at the time of creation he spoke to the waters and said, This far you may come, but no farther. And here your proud waves must stop. Wow. Hallelujah. Surely this must cause people to marvel when they lay eyes upon the vast sea with its powerful roaring waves or the variety of the beauty of flowers and trees and marvel at the many sparkling stars that are hung in the night skies. We must understand as well that the light of eternity placed within every human soul born unto this earth is the grace and the love and mercy of God the Father, who works in secret and manifests what he has created. And by all of this, he makes known his power and Godhead and many other of his attributes, which prove his existence and majesty. Ecclesiastes 11.5 declares, As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child. So you do not know the works of God who makes everything. As we have read in Ecclesiastes 3.11, that God places eternity in our hearts and souls. And this is saying that God has placed an eternal longing or sense of eternity in the human heart, which affirms the idea that humans operate in a different way than other forms of life. All have been given a sense of eternity in their hearts, and they possess an innate knowledge that there is something more to life than what we can see and experience in this world. Dear one, times and seasons come and go, but does anything in this life truly satisfy you? the answer is found in Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 2 which says no, nothing satisfies because all is vanity so we see all is vanity without our Lord Jesus Christ and yet through all the ups and downs all the variations and changes of life we have a glimpse of stability God has set eternity in the human heart life is but a vapor according to James chapter 4 verse but for those who have answered the call to awaken to the seed of eternity which was planted in their hearts by the Holy Spirit of grace called the Holy Spirit they know that there is something more beyond this life. They have divinely implanted awareness that the soul lives forever. This world is not our home. Dear listener, for these God Almighty has made everything beautiful in its time and he continues to overwhelm the heart that is seeking him with his presence and his power and his grace to know him in a very intimate way as they have fellowship with him in times of studying the word of God and meditation and prayer and worship. God is the creator of all things, including humankind. And not only did he make everything, but he made it all beautiful in its time for those who love him with all of their hearts. Proverbs 16 verse 4 declares, The Lord has made everything to accommodate itself and contribute to its own end and to his own purpose. Even the wicked are fitted for their role for the day of calamity and evil. For those who are growing in grace and knowledge and love of our Savior Jesus Christ, they want their purpose and work for their Lord to count and matter and last for eternity. God put eternity into the hearts of all people so that their longing and confusion, they will see him and lay hold of him and grow to love him with all of their hearts and their souls, everything that is within them. be encouraged that God allows the confusion and the trials and the challenging questions and the yearning desires to know him more so that we will earnestly pursue him even though God has put within us a sense of wonder to understand eternity we will never fully understand that all he has done from the beginning to the end we learn to trust God and to have faith in him while he's working all things out for the good of those who love him. And this is called faith. Remember, faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Faith has supernatural, supernatural substance. Faith has spiritual substance. and when you have Christ's spiritual substance in you it communicates to you a certain inner knowing that what you are hoping for is certainly established even before you see any material evidence that it has happened faith is our journey to our heavenly eternal home continue to grow in your faith which is founded in Jesus Christ your savior and be encouraged in all of life's trials that he'll never leave you nor forsake you as long, as long as you continue to seek him and love him and worship him all the days of your life. .