Living With Eternity in Mind

Consider

The greater your expectations of heaven, the better your life on earth will be (moral compass, priorities, value system).
Why? Because expectations affect behavior.
Philippians 3:3-11
If you want to live a life on earth the way it ought to be lived, you must live with eternity in mind.
If my view of this life is big, and my view of eternal life is much smaller, it will absolutely be reflected in my priorities.

II Peter 3:1-2 – Learn to live in the light of God’s word.
Their expectation of their future was based on data in their mind – “For ever since our fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
Based on my past, I determine probability for the future.
They did not really know about the past. (Time lapse)
If I can get God and eternal judgment out of my mind, then I can live any way I want to live. It frees me up – no worries.
Make this life so important I can’t see eternity.

By this analysis, things have always been just like they are now.
Imagine how Noah was mocked.
- He was building a boat on dry land for 120 years.
- People had possibly never seen rain (Genesis 2:5-6; 7:11).
- Noah preached for 120 years that people had to get on his boat or die.
- Noah’s short sermon – it’s gonna rain a lot!
What made Noah act this way? (Genesis 6:8-9; I Peter 3:18-22)
- Matthew 24:36-42

II Peter 3:7 – Do you believe the world will someday be completely destroyed by fire (if you live that long)?
How much do you believe it?
II Peter 3:8 – Humans live a linear life – God does not.
We live in yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
We cannot measure God’s thoughts and actions by our watch or calendar.
God wants us to learn to see time and events as he sees them.

II Peter 3:14 – “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation;”
Philippians 3:12-21