FAITH ADVENTURE "Got Future Plans?" audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Recorded at Fillmore Bible Church, Fillmore, California, Circa 1982. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series.
"Planning For The Future" blog post article found here: https://www.blybooks.com/2023/10/planning-for-the-future/
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Related blog article email link with podcast embed most every week.
This podcast always free but donations welcome to cover costs.
Send to PayPal at janet@blybooks.com
Bly Books Website: https://www.blybooks.com
FAITH ADVENTURE "Got Future Plans?" audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Recorded at Fillmore Bible Church, Fillmore, California, Circa 1982. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series.
"Planning For The Future" blog post article found here: https://www.blybooks.com/2023/10/planning-for-the-future/
Sign Up on BlyBooks.com on blog page to receive RSS feed by email for podcast blog notices. Related blog article with podcast embed will arrive every Tuesday and Thursday. Look to the right of the LINK PAGE for “Subscribe to the Blog via Email” and “Enter your email address”.
Would greatly appreciate if you a) SUBSCRIBE, b) RATE, c) REVIEW the podcast. FULL PODCAST INFO: https://bit.ly/3xCxckS
Music by WinkingFoxMusic from Pixabay
Related blog article email link with podcast embed most every week.
This podcast always free but donations welcome to cover costs.
Send to PayPal at janet@blybooks.com
Bly Books Website: https://www.blybooks.com
GOT FUTURE PLANS?
Stephen Bly
Old Testament Reading
Zechariah 14:6-9 NASB, “And it will come about in that day that there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. And it will come about in that day that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.”
New Testament Reading
Mark 13:28-32 NASB, “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. But of that day or hour no one know, not even he angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”
Opening Prayer
“Dear Lord, I pray that we can understand Your Word and we can be ready to receive Your instructions. And Lord we can be courageous enough to act upon that Word. I pray it in Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Intro
If you were preparing for the future, what kinds of things would you be doing? I might even ask, are you preparing for the future? You might think, well, yes, I have an individual retirement account. Or paid into Social Security. Or maybe you’ve purchased a house and in thinking about retirement or are retired and you’re prepared for it. Or when you retire, you’re thinking of going on some vacation trips and preparing for those sorts of things.
Different Ways to Prepare
I met a fellow once who said, “I don’t prepare for the future. No plans at all. That’s unspiritual to do so.” I remember walking with him out in his garage neatly crammed full of stuff. Like stacks of egg cartons and cottage cheese cartons and lids.
“What are you saving these things for?” I asked. “Well, you never know when you might need them,” he said.
So, he was preparing for the future. We all do it. In fact, if we did know what would happen in the future, wouldn’t we live our lives a bit differently? If we knew our business would triple by next March, we’d get ready for that. If we knew our family would triple by next March, we’d get an airline ticket to somewhere.
If you knew your house was going to burn down, you wouldn’t buy all that expensive new furniture. We’d make plans for the future.
Spiritual Preparation
Now, in a spiritual sense, Mark 13 tells us what’s going to happen in the future and how we can prepare. One of the secrets to getting your life together again, after you’ve removed the roadblocks, and after you’ve exposed your fear and let Jesus lead and responded to the Word, and after you’ve turned on the power, increased results, destroyed the enemy, sharpened your vision and done something drastic, imitated the Savior and asserted your authority, and after you’ve given up something by giving Him your first fruits, benevolence and allegiance, better understanding your Bible and giving the commandments your attention and Christ your honor, then you start planning for the future.
If you’re going to get your spiritual life going, you need to plan for the future as described in Mark 13. Here are the important things . . .
1.) To plan for the future, forget about the buildings.
Mark 13:2, “And Jesus said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another which will not be torn down.’”
The buildings they looked at were certainly a great sight to see. There are certain features of buildings. First, there’s the physical splendor. For the people of Israel, they saw awesome 50 foot tall architecture over the landscape. You couldn’t go over the hills without seeing this huge gold covered temple and the city that surrounded it. The physical splendor.
The site also had a proud history. It was here that Abraham lifted his hands to bring the knife down on his only son, Isaac. David stopped a plague here coming through the city when he offered the sacrifice. Solomon built that first glorious temple here and now been rebuilt. Yet, Jesus said, “Forget about the building.”
In a sense, this was also God’s dwelling place. He lived at the temple. Everyone thought of this as a place of God being there. And yet, Jesus seemed to say, “Forget about the building.”
The temple, too, held a sense of identity for the people of Israel. As long as there was a temple, then everything would be okay, they thought. It gave them a sense of who they were. But Jesus said, “Forget about it.”
So, that’s the first thing you need to do. It might be he’s telling you, “Forget about your own building.” It hasn’t been there forever and will not last forever. It might be a special meeting place for God, where you gather to get close to Him. Or maybe it’s a campground or retreat center or a special spot on a hillside to be alone with God. But forget about the buildings, the special splendor or proud history of that place. Maybe it has to do with the fellowship.
God’s Big Plan
So, how can we forget about the buildings? Well, we need a much bigger picture of what God’s doing.
One of the problems for the people of Israel and the disciples was the temple was the center of all the spiritual activity. History records that the disciples didn’t get out and about very well until the temple was destroyed because they were so attracted to the splendor of the building.
Maybe you need to adopt a missionary. Write to them. Keep close contact. Find out what God’s doing in another part of the world. Forget about the building. Don’t stay satisfied about what God has done in the past. The need for growth in our spiritual life is meant to drive us on to new spiritual adventure and success, not merely to be admired at a distance.
Maybe we need to base our spiritual growth and survival on nothing but God. Sometimes a building is what we count on for spiritual stability. Or maybe these certain people. And we have to realize our spiritual growth is based on God alone. We need to enjoy that material splendor for the moment but never let it be decisive. We need to forget about the buildings in our lives.
2.) To plan for the future, we need to ignore the noise.
Mark 13:6, “Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many.”
There will be much religious noise as the future becomes the present. How do we know what noise to ignore? Here are some clues, some questions you should ask. If they don’t have a lot of answers, you should ignore it, as Jesus instructed. Do they display any of these signs?
~~ how important is fear in keeping people faithful (Mark 15:7)? If you’re hearing religious noise on TV or radio or whatever, what’s the fear factor? Do you hear phrases like, “If you’re not a member of our church you’re not going to heaven.”
~~ do folks who practice that faith allow or pay attention to independent Bible study (Mark 12:5)? Or is the teaching of doctrine so complicated and complex that only a certain teacher can interpret it and you really can’t learn it on your own? Can you study the Word by yourself?
~~ does the whole system sound man-made (Colossians 2:23)? Let’s let everyone into heaven—that sounds like a nice thing to do. Some religious noise says, “Everybody’s going to make it.” Plus, heaven’s a place with plenty of drinking and plenty of women. Some religious groups have a heaven just like that. Sounds man-made. Or let’s have a system where the people who work the hardest on earth get the best deal in heaven. That’s religious noise, man-made, like something we’d dream up. Ignore the noise.
~~ are there mental games that are the key to understanding (Colossians 2:8)? Some religious noise is so complex it takes years of contemplation to really understand it. They’re playing head games.
~~ do they claim to be apostles of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13)? But they disguise themselves as deceitful workers and are false apostles?
~~ is there a doctrine based on a perverted translation of Scripture (2 Corinthians 4:2)?
~~ do they claim legitimacy by the miracles they do (Matthew 24:24)?
~~ do they cause dissension and stumbling among believers (Titus 1:10,11)?
~~ do they claim that Christ is fully God (John 1:1) and fully man (2 John vs.7)?
~~ do they claim to be sinless? 1 John 1:8 tells us no one is.
~~ do they claim to be God’s child but steeped in sin without confession (1 John 3:7)?
~~ do they say the Lord has already returned (2 Thessalonians 2:1,2)?
The Bible says there will be people around with religious noise that fits these categories. If so, learn to ignore them.
Don’t Sweat the Words
Another way to prepare for the future is to relax about the words.
Mark 13:11, “And when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.”
Now, some say that means you never have to prepare for a Sunday School lesson or to preach a sermon. But it doesn’t say that. It indicates when they arrest you, deliver you up, when you’re called on the carpet for your faith, relax about what you’re going to have to say.
Possible Future Challenges
Maybe someone angry is going to come to you and shout, “Why has God made this happen to me?” You’ll know it’s a time to relax about what to say. Maybe they say to you, “Are you one of those born-again believers?” They’ll call you to account for your faith. You can relax about your response. Maybe they’ll say, “Do you believe in all those myths in the Bible?” Relax and share what you believe about the Word.
Maybe they’ll say, “You don’t really believe that Jesus is God, do you?” Relax and tell them what you believe. When they ask you, “How will God get you out of this mess?” Just relax and tell them what God has done. When they ask, “What has faith ever done for you?” Relax. God will give you the words to say in response.
Preparing to Relax
We can relax if we make sure we’re handling those daily chores of study, prayer, and confession, and filling of the Spirit. We can relax if we make sure that the weekly responsibilities of worship and fellowship, instruction and service to the church are taken care of. And we can relax when we’ve been there for communion and had a chance to share our own faith in Jesus Christ with others. When we’ve busied about giving to the needy and helping the helpless. All those things give us the ability to relax when we’re called to account for our faith.
Other Preparations
How do we plan for the future?
3.) We can also study accounts.
Mark 13:23, “But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.”
Jesus has told us everything we need to know about the future of events. From time to time, we need to review that account. Here’s the 10 most important things you need to remember about the future.
1. Jesus is coming back.
2. Nobody knows the day or the hour.
3. World conditions will vastly degenerate before Christ returns again.
4. Christians will be persecuted before the Lord’s return.
5. Jesus’ return will catch most people by surprise (Matthew 24:44).
6. There’s going to be a great battle against Satan (Revelation 19:19-21).
7. Jesus wins the battle.
8. There’s a time of judgment for unbelievers.
9. The Lord will evaluate the service of believers.
10. The faithful will dwell with God forever.
Review the account. Keep it always in mind. It produces endurance, hope, and motivation for what we’re going to do today to plan for the future.
4.) Enjoy the scene.
Mark 13:26, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.”
We will certainly enjoy the scene when it happens, but I think we can enjoy it ahead of time. We can look forward to it with real joy. Some of the joy we have now is in preparing for that day. Like with a vacation, you can enjoy the preparations for it. We can rejoice about the Lord’s return.
First of all, we’ll truly be free from sin.
We’ll have none of the limitations that we have now. When Jesus returns, He will receive all the honor He deserves. Every tongue will confess, and every knee shall bow. Meanwhile, we have to put up with the dishonor of Christ these days. People around us curse Him, ignore Him completely, and refuse to acknowledge Him for who He is. We can enjoy that scene even before it comes.
We can also enjoy the scene that the church will finally be perfect.
Revelation 21:2, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”
That means everything in the church, in the fellowship of believers, will be perfect. No more mistakes. No more misunderstandings or bickering, church fights or failures of committees to fulfill their assignments. Just perfection. We can look forward to enjoying that scene.
The earth as well as humankind will be free from their curse and be transformed to harmony and glory (Romans 8:21). All earthquakes and natural disasters will be gone. The lamb will lay down with the lion. There will be harmony in nature and creation never experienced since the Garden of Eden. So much to look forward to.
Even the fear of death will be gone. There won’t be a time of any kind of fear anymore. Whether you’re afraid of what others think of you or you fear dying, all fears will be gone.
And we’ll see things clearly.
There’s so much we don’t understand. So many questions we have why things happen and how can it be. We can enjoy that scene even now, the time when Christ returns and all these things are ours.
5.) To prepare for the future, we can recognize the signs.
Mark 13:29, “Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.”
Even though we have no idea today of the time of Christ’s return, we can see the signs it’s getting closer. That’s why we need to be knowledgeable about what’s happening in the world. We need to watch newscasts with interest. Read the news magazines and Christian magazines that include news. Read the Word and circle those signs as we see the Day approach.
What signs should we be looking for?
The apostate church. Recognized by leaders and followers with no true commitment to Christ or belief in God as a requirement of faith.
Hatred for the country of Israel worldwide.
Cults are increasing and multiplying. False religious beliefs with more signs, wonders, and miracles taking place.
Family breakdowns. Love between generations is increasingly strained. More murders among family members.
Persecution of true believers. Slander and violence against Christians in a loveless society. Love growing cold in human behavior.
“Recognize the signs,” Jesus said.
Stay awake for the finale. We don’t know when that will be for sure. Here’s some clues whether you’re sleeping or awake.
You’re awake if you’re discovering new spiritual challenges, pray often for others’ needs and volunteer often to meet those needs. Your self-imposed standards set you apart from your secular friends and acquaintances. And you can name at least six people you hold up in prayer as they struggle through crisis. You’ve actually wanted to delay the Lord’s return just long enough to accomplish a few more spiritual goals.
You’re sleeping if you’re unaware of any global spiritual needs, your lifestyle isn’t much different than the world’s, and you see your spiritual commitment as a private matter. You seldom think about the Lord’s return.
The Future’s Coming
We can’t delay the future, of course. We can’t change it or control it. But we can be ready for it. We can get our spiritual life going again.
Closing Prayer
“Lord, help us to keep in mind what we’re doing in the world. How easy it is for us to have such a narrow world think of you as a small God taking care of our own needs. May we step back and see all you have planned for this world, for creation. May we see clearly the signs of your return. May we make plans for our spiritual future and may they make a difference in this very day, for I pray it in Jesus’ Name, Amen.”