Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: And there's nothing wrong with physical fitness. Paul said that. He says it's good to be physically fit, but it's far better to be spiritually fit. Far better. Spend more time in the word. Spend more time in prayer. Spend more time in fellowship. You see?

Why? Because in heaven, you're going to get a new body. This body's going to pass away.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. We're glad you've joined us for our study of the Bible's teachings about the afterlife. Today, Raul will reassure us that our existence will continue after taking our last breath on this earth.

Our bodies are temporary coverings for our eternal spirits, and if you choose to receive God's gift of salvation through Jesus, heaven will one day become your permanent home. Today's lesson is titled "The Hope of Heaven." Here's Raul Ries in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5.

Raul Ries: And in this section, what he's going to do, he's going to not only speak to us about the unfolding of death in the word of God, but the Christian's relationship to death. Now, I don't know if you recognize it or not, but every one of us here are going to die one day. Young, old, it doesn't matter who you are. And a lot of times, when we talk about death, especially when you talk to non-believers, they really get freaked out because they have no hope in Jesus Christ.

The Bible says that we have this body, and we'll talk about it in a moment, that is going to perish. But the house that is built for us in heaven, it's an everlasting home that will be there forever and ever and ever and ever. God will give us a new body. It will not be like this body here.

Look what Paul says, this is so incredible. Chapter 5, beginning with verse 1. He says, "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Who's he talking to? Christians. Not non-believers.

What I like about Paul the apostle here is that he's using this term "tent," not a "house." Why? Because a tent is not permanent. It's only for a while. And the literal translation of that word "tent" here in the Greek is the word "Tabernacle," like in the Old Testament tent where they used to set it up, take it down, carry it and move on, and then set it up, take it down, and carry it on again. That's what our body is like. It's a tent. It's a place where the spirit is living. It's not a permanent place.

And we understand that when he talks about a tent and then he talks about a new house, he's talking about this house that is eternal, that is going to live forever and ever and ever. It's a new body that God is going to give to each one of us individually at death or at the rapture of the church.

So if you don't die before the rapture of the church, and the rapture of the church comes, when you're sitting here and the trumpet blows and you're taken to heaven, on the way to heaven, you will receive a new body. You will never die physically, but you'll be transformed into that new body as you're going to heaven. You're going to disappear in the presence of the Lord instantly.

But if you die here on this earth, the moment you take your last breath immediately, as your chest goes up and you take that last breath and then your mouth opens and the spirit comes out immediately, you will be in the presence of God in a new house. And you notice what Paul said: not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens. It's not a temporal house. It's an eternal house that he's talking about here.

And yet why is it so many people take such good care of the body when we should take better care of the spirit? But imagine the hours and the time—and there's nothing wrong with physical fitness, Paul said that. He says it's good to be physically fit, but it's far better to be spiritually fit. Far better. Spend more time in the word. Spend more time in prayer. Spend more time in fellowship.

You see, why? Because in heaven, you're going to get a new body. This body is going to pass away. It's going to turn into dirt and worms. But it's so cool to know that one day we're going to have a new body in heaven. We're going to be with Jesus Christ. Now, I don't know about you, but look what Paul says in verse 2. This is so cool.

He says, "For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven." Do you groan like that? Man, my heart has been groaning. I mean, every day. Okay, Lord, is it today? I look at sickness here, I look at pain, I look at war, I look at all the little children that are suffering and every person. Man, who wants to live in this place? I don't. For right now, okay. But I'm looking forward to heaven. Something better than we have today.

Preparing our hearts. That's why Jesus in John 14 said what? "Let not your heart be troubled. If you believe in me, believe also that I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again to receive you unto myself, so that where I am, you also will be with me." He didn't say, "I'm going to prepare a tent." He says, "I'm going to prepare a Persian garden for you. A new body that you're going to receive when you get to heaven."

Verse 3. "If in these, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked." I like that. Hey, if we really believe in Jesus Christ and we believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, then we're not going to be found naked. But what? Clothed with His righteousness and with His Holy Spirit. A new dimension that is given to each one of us.

This verse 3 is one of the good scriptures that you can actually take and give to a person that believes in soul sleep. What is soul sleep? People believe that when you die, you go to sleep. Your body dies, but your soul is asleep in the grave and one day God will wake you up at the resurrection and you'll rise again. We don't believe that. Paul didn't teach that. Paul said the moment you die, you're instantly in the presence of God.

So we don't accept soul sleep. We have the guarantee that the moment I die and I close my eyes, take my last breath, I'm in the presence of Jesus Christ immediately. And that's what Paul is saying here. Look at verse 4. "For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened." How are we being burdened? By sickness, by pains and aches. Your hair goes from black to gray, and from black and gray to no hair. Whatever.

So when you're looking at this tent, this tent is really burdened. It has too many problems. And so Paul says here, "For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life." I like that. You see, Paul says, "Hey, mortality is nothing to the child of God. Why? Because God will give us life." We're going to be known even as He is known, Jesus Christ.

Verse 5. "Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee." What? As a down deposit, the Holy Spirit has been given to us. Can you believe that? The moment you come to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is given to you as a down deposit by God Himself to you. To lead you, guide you, to do whatever God wants to do in your life.

And that's why in verse 6 he says, "So we are always confident." Are we? Always confident of what? "Knowing this, that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord." That would change your thinking right there. Understand that. The longer you stay here, you're away from Jesus. You're totally away from Jesus Christ. And if you can get that kind of mentality, if you're sick or weak and you're having a lot of problems physically, know one thing: hey, it's very soon you'll be with the Lord. Be glad, rejoice.

That's why it's so important to tell people about Jesus, especially your loved ones, before they die. Because there is life after death, there is a resurrection from the dead, to the believer and to the non-believer. The non-believer will go to hell forever and ever. Not only is hell a temporary place, but one day they'll be thrown out of hell, and hell itself and death and the Antichrist and the false prophet and every person that did not believe in Jesus Christ and every angel will be thrown into the lake of fire. They will burn forever and ever and ever, total separation from God. They'll never see their loved ones ever again.

Why? Because people make a choice. My desire is like Paul here in verse 6. "For we are always confident knowing that while we are at home in this body, we are absent from the Lord." And listen, here's the key: "For we walk by faith and not by sight." That's the key. How many times does Satan come to you? I know he comes to me, so I know he comes to you. He comes to me and he'll begin to tell you that God hasn't forgiven you. How many times he does that?

And you know what blows my mind is that people believe it. They believe it. It's kind of amazing that when we can come to Jesus Christ, it's like when I came to the Lord, I mean, I got on my knees, I prayed a prayer and I said it with all my heart and the Bible told me that at that particular moment, every one of my sins was completely washed away. I'm not guilty anymore. That's kind of hard to conceive in your mind and to understand and to comprehend. Because it's faith. Believing in the word of God.

And what does Satan do? Satan comes along and he's always throwing doubt into our minds. What did he do with Jesus when he tempted him? "Since you are the Son of God, you don't have to die, you can jump and you can fly." Always, always testing us. And the greatest testing comes when Satan begins to put doubt in your mind about faith in your life and tries to bring you to unbelief. Not to believe the promises of God.

And you know what? You don't have to take it. You have the power by the power of the Holy Spirit to say, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I rebuke you from my thoughts, Satan." And he has to move on. You have the power to do that. We have the authority in the name of Jesus Christ. And you don't have to scream because God has given us that power to do that. But Satan will always be there, always hassling your mind, hassling your body, hassling your life.

And yet God has given us the power to believe, not by sight, but to believe by faith that Jesus Christ is the only one that can save us. And so when I walk, sometimes in the morning I'll get up and I don't feel I'm saved. Why? I don't live by feeling. I don't live by sight, I live by faith. I say, "Okay, Lord, I understand the word and I am a child of the light. I am a child of the kingdom."

And now don't feel like praying, don't feel like reading, but you know what I'll do? I'll go and sit in the chair, get my Bible and I'll just begin to read. Why? Because Satan was trying to discourage me. But once I get into the word of God, man, what riches are in the word of God as God begins to speak to me, as God begins to minister to my heart about the enemy.

Don't allow Satan to come in and try to destroy your mind and to bring doubt into your minds. Whenever that comes in, overcome it by the word of God, overcome it by faith in Jesus Christ. Be obedient to the word of God. And look what Paul says in verse 8. "For we are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord." He continues to push the subject of death.

Look, it's better. He says, "We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord." Now I don't know if everybody feels like Paul here. Paul is saying that he feels far better to leave and go to heaven than to be here. But then later on Paul says, "I'm here because of you. God has me here because of you."

And that's what I believe. I believe that the reason I haven't been taken, you haven't been taken, is because God has us to minister to people. When our time comes, it will come fast and then we can be set free as we go to heaven. So don't be afraid of death. And if you ever are in an accident, immediately call upon the name of the Lord. If you're laying there and you haven't died yet, just pray quietly. God will bring His peace upon you. He guarantees it to us. It's so cool to see, I've seen it happen.

Then look what Paul says in verse 9 as he now begins another section. "Therefore we make it our aim"—notice, we make it our aim—notice that here: "My chief desire is to do what? To please the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to the Lord." I want you to circle that verse in your Bible. Understand this verse here. Whatever you do from today on, make sure you want to please the Lord. Whether absent or here, we want to please the Lord.

That's what God desires from all of us. Why? Because we forget that if we're not pleasing whether absent or here, that one day when we die, when we sit in the presence of the Lord as Christians, we're not going to be judged for our sin anymore. So get that through your mind. No more sin judgment. Where was sin judged? At the cross of Jesus Christ. Every day, every night before I go to bed, I repent of my sins, I confess them, I make my heart right before the Lord in case He should come in the middle of the night for me.

Because we all sin daily. But then God reminds me in verse 10 that one day I am going to stand, you're going to stand, at the Bema seat of Christ. Look what he says. "For we must all," Christians, "appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

What is he talking about? Salvation? No. No salvation here. He's talking about your motives. He's talking about not only your motives, your prayers, your going to church, your mortifying of the flesh, your witnessing, your tithing—everything that is to do with God in the spirit, serving God.

When you stand at the Bema seat of Christ, you will stand there and God is going to say, "Okay, let's take an accountability here. Let's see, okay, on your tithing, let's throw it into the fire, see what remains. On your witnessing, on everything, your Bible reading, your praying, your everything you did for the Spirit of God." It'll go into the fire and whatever comes out of the fire, that will be your reward. And if nothing comes out of the fire, you will be saved as by the fire. First Corinthians 3:11 to 15 tells you that.

You'll make it to heaven already, but some people will be in heaven and they'll have nothing to show concerning motives and works because everything they did was with the wrong attitude, the wrong motive, and it burns in the fire. Hey, you know what? I want to get everything God has for me. I don't want it to burn in the fire. I want to receive a crown. I don't want to just make it into heaven. I want to be pleasing to the Lord. I want to do what's right to the Lord.

Watch what else he says. Verse 11. He says, "Knowing this, therefore, the terror of the Lord"—that's a terrible word, "terror." It's the word "fear," literally. He says, "Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences." What is he saying here? That we need to fear the Lord. I mean, if you really love God, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of what? Wisdom. The beginning of wisdom in Proverbs.

And it's not fear where you're trembling or you're trying to hide from God. No, it's a reverence. It's a fear where you respect God in what you do. I'm respectful to God's word. I want to do what is pleasing to the Lord in His word. When sin comes along, I can do it or I can reject it and I can deny it. Or I can reject it and say no to sin and obey what God's word says and then receive the blessing from God. That's what he's talking about.

Look what else he says. Verse 12. "For we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf, that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart." What's he talking about? He's talking about the religious leaders that were actually challenging Paul and putting down Paul's apostleship. I mean, people put you down too. They call you a Jesus freak and they don't really believe your life.

You don't have to please them. You're pleasing the Lord. What you've got to do is you have to live righteously before God so when people look at your lives, it's not by your witnessing through your mouth, but it's by the witnessing through your life that people will come to Christ. That's what he's talking about. We need to be disciplined in our lives. And we need to live godly lives before the world. Otherwise, instead of turning people to Christ, if I don't live a godly life, I'm going to be turning people away from Jesus Christ because people are watching me. You see? We need to be a witness concerning this.

Then Paul goes on and he says in verse 13, "For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God." He says, "Well, you might think I'm crazy, and yep, I am crazy for God. I am insane for God." For notice, "Or if we are of a sound mind, it is for you." Yes, I'm crazy about God, but at the same time I'm not insane when it comes to the things of God. So I want you to understand that when I'm talking to you, I speak with a sound mind. I'm not crazy in that way. I'm crazy about God.

But look at what he says, what else, verse 14. And this is so cool. Here Paul introduces now the love of Christ in his life. "For the love of Christ constrains me or compels us, because we judge thus: that if one died for all, then all died." Can you imagine how much the love of God is in us? I mean, how much does God love you? How much does God, honestly, how much do you love God? Notice what I said: how much does God love you? So much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for you.

The love of Christ should compel every one of us inside of us. Why? Because of what He did on the cross. What He went to the cross, He submitted the will to the Father. "Father, not my will, but Your will be done." And He stretched out His hands and His feet and then the spear through the side. And then when He bleeds water and blood through the heart and He gives up the ghost. That's how much Jesus loves you. He was willing to take the price of sin and death for you.

Imagine that. It would be like somebody, you know, on trial and say, "You know what? They don't have to die. I will go to the electric chair for them." That's what Jesus did for you. He took your place on the cross. He took your sins on the cross. And all you had to do was to repent and confess and receive by faith Jesus Christ, and then He sealed you and He gave you eternal life. Is that too hard? That's incredible. What God has done for me.

Guest (Male): Well, if you're not yet sure where you'll spend eternity after you die, it's our prayer that you'll take today's message to heart and receive God's gift of eternal salvation. You're listening to Somebody Loves You radio with Raul Ries. Our study today was titled "The Hope of Heaven." If you'd like to get an unedited version with much more teaching, we'll be happy to send one to you for a donation of $5 or more. Simply call us at 800-634-9165.

We'd also like to tell you more about Raul's four-part series titled "Heaven or Hell," available on CD and flash drive. Featuring three lessons in addition to today's, this resource further clarifies what the Bible truly teaches about life after death and our choice to either receive or reject God's salvation. Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order Raul's four-message "Heaven or Hell" study. We'll send you the CD set for $18 or the thumb drive for just $10. That's 800-634-9165. Or write to Somebody Loves You Radio, PO Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765.

Visit the Somebody Loves You Worldwide YouTube channel for live-streamed Bible teaching as well as podcasts of all previously aired programs. You'll also find "Straight Talk with Raul" on that channel every Tuesday at 10 AM Pacific. Thank you for your partnership. Your contributions enable us to keep spreading the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. Next time we'll continue with more in this series by meditating on the glories of heaven and God's astounding provision of a home in His presence, freely given to all who receive His gift of salvation.