Weekly Message

See Archives for Previous Messages

EYE HAS NOT SEEN, EAR HAS NOT HEARD

By Rev. Sue Tilley

 

I Corinthians. 2:9:

“But it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’”

Isaiah 64:4:

“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides you, who acts for the one who waits for him.”

We have a magnificent heritage.  We can’t even imagine all the things that God has in store for us, as we look up to Him to provide our very earthly existence and our heavenly existence.  Are we ready to meet our Maker?  Are we convinced that if we were to die today that we would go to heaven?  Are we sure that our confidence is in Him?  Our very existence is totally controlled by Him.  He can give us breath, or He can take it away.  We are one breath away from eternity. 

 

In Isaiah 65:17:

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.  But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy.  I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying."

Do we love Him?  Do we love one another?  Jesus said, that the law hung on these two commandments, that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and that we love one another as we love ourselves.  We should be looking up folks, as our redemption is drawing nigh. 

The Lord our God is calling us to be a prepared church, prepared in all ways, prepared for His coming, prepared should He decide to tarry, prepared to speak the Gospel message to a lost and dying world, prepared to sacrifice all for the sake of Christ.  He’s coming for a church without spot nor wrinkle.  He’s coming for those who welcome His appearing, for those who are ready.  It’s time for us to make ready, be diligent in our getting to know Him, not in word only, but in deed. 

Paul says in I Thessalonians 1:5,

“For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. 

And in verse 8-10,

“your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.  For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

II Thessalonians 1:3-12:

“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of everyone of you all abounds toward each other,

so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all you persecutions and tribulations that you endure which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God,

that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,

in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe. 

Because our testimony among you was believed.  Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

If we delight in doing evil, if we delight in being disobedient to the Lord, and choose not to fear His retribution then, as in Isaiah  66:4,

“So will I choose their delusions, and bring their fears on them; because when I called, no one answered, When I spoke they did not hear; but they did evil before my eyes and chose that in which I do not delight.”

He also says in vs. 2 of that same chapter,

“But on this one will I look; On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My Word.”  How can we not have the fear of God when we know what awaits those who do not know the Lord?

One of our elders last week was talking about fearing God, not just reverential fear but fear of retribution.  Our whole eternity depends on who we are in Christ.  We must be one with Him.  We must determine that while we are here on this earth that the most vital part of our existence must be in Him.  This life is but a puff of smoke then comes eternity. 

Isaiah 51:6:

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath, for the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will grow old like a garment, and those who dwell in it will die in like manner; but My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be abolished.”

Psalms 144:4:

“Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow.” 

John 4:14:

“Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow, for what is your life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” 

Psalms 39:11:

“When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty melt away like a moth; Surely every man is vapor.”  Vanity is nothing, beauty is nothing.  How can we depend on anything but Him?  How can we not commit all our ways to Him?  How can we not determine to choose the path and His perfect will for our lives?

I don’t want His angels to come and take vengeance on me.  That flaming fire will consume those who do not know Him. 

How do we know Him?  Prayer and supplication.  When we pray, He brings us into an intimacy with Him that causes us to know Him, to really KNOW HIM. 

When we don’t pray our lives become confused, full of turmoil, deception comes in like a flood.  We stop seeing the reality of this world.  We let ourselves get sucked into doubts, chaos, fights, and quarrel-lings, sins of all sorts.  All of a sudden the bad things of this world do not seem so bad, the morals of this world are very enticing.  "What could be wrong with this, or that?  It doesn’t really hurt anybody, and besides it’s no one else’s business anyway what I do.  This is my body; I can do with it whatever I want to.  I’m an adult.  It’s my choice."  Sin doesn’t seem so sinful anymore. 

 

Yet, He’s coming!  Are we ready?  Do we enjoy the fellowship with the saints now?  Do we like to praise and worship Him with the congregation or alone?  Or are we in a big hurry for it the worship time to be over with?  Are we bored with church, or are we critical of the way things are being done at church?  Are we ready for our Lord to come and take us home?  I saw this on the back page of the bulletin this morning:

“Beware of your spiritual condition when the most pleasing part of worship is the closing hymn and the benediction.”  We all must take that one to heart. 

Hebrews 10:31:

It’s a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

 

It says in Revelation. 6:17,

“for the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

 

Who can stand?  We can stand.  We can stand and know that our God loves us because we are His.  He has redeemed us and called us by name.  We will hear His voice when He calls.  We will be able to recognize His call, because, in John 10:4,

“And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him for they know his voice.”

In verse 14, Jesus says,

“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” 

 

None of us know when our time here on this earth is completed.  I was thinking of a dear brother this morning.  My best memory of  this brother was when we decided to feed the 125 guests at the T Street Shelter in January 1995.  When we announced that we were going to do that, there was much dissension.  Many did not want to be involved with it, but this brother said,  “I’ll cook it.  Me and my family will supply the food and cook if we have people that will volunteer to help serve and clean up in the kitchen.” 

Well, they did.  They worked very hard to put all this together and it wasn’t easy.  We had to haul the food, in huge containers, to the site and set them up on tables (keeping them as hot as we could), and serving to a large crowd of hungry people.  I know that Pastor Dewey and Meta remember.  They were there, as well as some of the ones who didn't want to work.  They came to observe, to see if this was something we wanted to do on a regular basis.  Well, some didn't approve, but we still were able to minister to a lot of individuals.  We did this 3 more times, once more in January, twice in February.  Then they closed the shelter not too long after that.

 

This brother loved people and he loved the Lord.  He welcomed His appearing.  Evidently this was unexpected.  He didn’t know that he was going to die on Saturday morning, but he knew that God would receive him when he did die.  God is now blessing him tremendously for his commitment to help anyone and everyone who needed help.

John 17:3:

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” 

And verse 21-22,

“that they all my be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, that the world my believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one;”

Our goodness is manifested only as we are in Christ. 

I Peter 2:9 says,

“but you are chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

If we are partakers of His divine nature, which can only come through prayer and meditation, then we are given His divine power to go anything that pertains to life and godliness. It is through His knowledge that He has called us by glory and virtue,

II Peter 1:4 says,

“by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these may be partakers of the divine nature.” 

You see we can have His divine nature by partaking in His sufferings.  Just know that in order to be like Him, we must suffer with Him.

If you don’t have that assurance right now that when He calls, when He comes for us that you will be in that number, then lets pray and ask Him to give you that assurance right now.  God is no respecter of persons.  He loves you just as much as He loves me.  It doesn’t matter what you have done; it doesn’t matter that you have sinned against Him.  Repent, and ask forgiveness.  You can be reconciled to Him right now. 

Let’s pray.  Let’s ask Him to cleanse you and purify you.  He said that the one that would come to His Holy hill must have a clean heart. 

Isaiah 57:15:

“For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” 

Psalm 24:3-5:

“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?  Or who may stand in His Holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully, He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of His salvation.” 

That clean heart is received

• by Him coming in and cleansing it. 
  
• There is no way that we can clean our own heart. 
  
• We must let Him give us a new heart.
  
• He can mold and make it into His image.
  
• his image is of the only begotten son.
  
• he is full of glory and grace. 
  

We receive glory and grace from Him, not from any of our goodness.  It wants us to have a contrite and humble spirit.  It wants us to come to Him unashamedly, yielding our whole being, body, mind, and spirit.  He’s the lover of our souls, the one and only true and living God.  When we have Him in residence in our bodies, we become one with Him, and God the Father. 

 

We cannot thrive on a mediocre walk with the Lord.  We must determine right now that our lives are to be hid in Him.  If there is any area of unbelief that we are concerned about, confess it to Him.  He will bring you to a place of understanding so you can believe, so you can partake of all the promises that He has for you. 

One of the ladies said in our morning Bible Study last week,

Some promises are contingent on what we do.

We can have all of His promises when we obey His Word to the best of our abilities.  He knows whatever limitation we have.  He knows that better than anyone, even ourselves.  HE’S GOT OUR NUMBER.  He is coming for those who love his appearing.

Are we ready?