Introduction: How much time do you spend dreaming about having enough
money so that you can stop working? If you are older, do you dream
about what you would do in retirement? At some point in my life, I
realized that I was dreaming too low. Instead of dreaming about what
I might do here on earth if I had unlimited time and money, why not
dream instead about what it will be like in heaven? There you truly
have unlimited time. What about the ticket to enter heaven? Would you
act differently if you thought that heaven was your retirement? This
week let’s jump in and find out what the Bible has to say about end
times.
- The Sanctuary Ticket Booth
- Read Hebrews 8:1-3. Why does the priest need to have
something to offer? (This refers to the Old Testament
sanctuary service, in which an animal was
killed(offered)because of the sin of a human.) - Where is the sanctuary referred to in this text? (In
heaven!) - Read Hebrews 8:4-5. How long has the sanctuary in heaven
existed? (At least before the one built by Moses. The
sanctuary on earth was patterned after an existing
sanctuary in heaven.) - Read Hebrews 8:6. Who is the Mediator, the High Priest, in
the heavenly sanctuary? (Jesus.) - Review the texts we have just read. What do you think is
going on? (The earthly sanctuary service illustrated God’s
solution to our sin problem. It is a poor representation
of the sanctuary in heaven where Jesus is mediating on our
behalf to solve our sin problem.) - Read Hebrews 7:23-25. What is the result of Jesus’
mediation? (He completely saves us from sin! He is our
permanent mediator.) - Read Hebrews 7:26-28. Why are we talking about the
perfection of the priest? I never read that the priests
in the sanctuary had to be perfect – and the Old Testament
contains many stories about those who were not. (Jesus is
different. Not only is He our High Priest, but He “offered
Himself” as the “holy, blameless, pure” sacrifice.) - If you have any lingering doubts about grace, what
part did obeying the law have in either of these
sanctuary systems? (In both systems, sin was forgiven
by blood – the death of a substitute. You cannot
avoid the death penalty by obedience. You can only
avoid the death penalty by substituting the life of
the sacrifice.) - How sufficient is Jesus’ sacrifice on behalf of our
sins? (Verse 26 – “Such a high priest meets our
need.”) - Let’s contemplate this a moment. Jesus takes away our
sins, and He is working on this right now on your behalf.
What obligation do you have? (If someone is saving my
life, I feel an enormous obligation towards that person.
Can we just sit in our pew when Jesus is doing so much for
us?) - Read Acts 3:19-21. How do you obtain your ticket to
heaven? (Repent and turn to Jesus, your High Priest in
heaven. Jesus covers our sins. He mediates on our behalf.) - When can we use our ticket to heaven? (A time is
coming when God will “restore everything.”) - The Portal to Heaven
- How many times have you had a ticket to some event, and
not been sure of the location? Let’s read John 14:2-5.
What worries Thomas? - Do you have the problem voiced by Thomas? Are you
concerned that you might be unclear on the directions
to heaven? You might not show up at the right place
at the right time? - Read Matthew 24:23-25. Do we have a wrong event
possibility with the Second Coming of Jesus? (Absolutely!
Jesus says, “I warned you.”) - Read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4. What is the first landmark for
the Second Coming of Jesus? (That “the man of lawlessness”
will impersonate Jesus!) - Read 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12. How will the
impersonator seek to deceive us? - Has this happened yet? (Not in my opinion.
First, the impersonator is a sign of the Second
Coming being close. Second, I’ve never heard of
anyone doing these kinds of miracles, signs and
wonders on a world stage.) - How can we protect ourselves against this
deception? (There is a very interesting bit of
information here. Those who are deceived want
to be deceived. They are not in love with the
true Jesus.) - Read Matthew 24:26-27 and Matthew 24:30-31. What are the
markers of the true Second Coming? (This is an event in
the sky, not the earth. If we are told that Jesus is
somewhere on earth, we can automatically know that person
is an impersonator.) - Read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. What other markers should we
look for in the true Second Coming? How can we be sure we
try to use our ticket at the right event? (Again, this is
a world-wide sky event. Even more impressive, we will join
Jesus in the sky. Even more impressive than that, the dead
will join Jesus in the sky! You might go to the wrong
event, but you cannot get lost going to this one!) - If you know your Bible, how easy is it to be sure you
are at the right event? (It seems so obvious, but
Jesus did warn us about deception.) - Loving God
- The last two weeks we discussed why the law is a self-help
book to better living. We learned about the law of
benefits. Read John 14:15. Haven’t we learned that “if you
love yourself” you should obey the law? (We have – and the
Bible clearly teaches that. But, it is not the entire
story.) - Read Matthew 22:37-40. How many parties are being loved
here? (Love for oneself, love for our neighbor and love
for God.) - What sense does it make to have these three loves in
your life? Why are they part of the law? (God gave
us a law that blesses us. He then died over the law
to allow us to obtain a ticket to eternal life with
Him. The normal heart would reflect love back. It
would share God’s love.) - Read 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8. As we await the Second
Coming, what are our marching orders? We have our ticket
to heaven in our pocket, what do we do as we wait? (We
exhibit faith in God, and love to God, our neighbor and
our self. We have hope in that ticket in our pocket.) - Let’s revisit Acts 3:19-20. This tells us that ticket-holders have a time of “refreshing” before Jesus returns.
What is this? Showers, shaves and perfume for everyone? - Read Joel 2:28-31. What is the “great and dreadful day of
the Lord?” (The Second Coming.) - What precedes the Second Coming? (The Holy Spirit
being poured out in power!) - Who is the recipient of this power? (All of us. No
age or gender differences. No cultural or racial
differences.) - What, then, should power the faith, love and hope of
the ticket-holders as they await Jesus’ Second
Coming? (The Holy Spirit.) - Friend, you have the ticket (or at least the means to get
one), you have the directions to the Second Coming, you
have the knowledge of what Jesus is doing for you now:
what are you doing for Jesus as you await heaven? Will you
pray for the Holy Spirit to give you great power so that
your faith, your love and your hope inspire those around
you? - Next week: When All Things Become New!
