Is your Christianity, Past, present, or future?

1. W E L C O M E T O T H E
J A C K S O N S T R E E T C H U R C H O F C H R I S T
P L E A S E T U R N O F F C E L L P H O N E S

2. Hebrews 3:7-4:11 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:
Today, if you will hear His voice, [8] Do not harden your
hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the
wilderness, [9] Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
And saw My works forty years. [10] Therefore I was
angry with that generation, And said, 'They always go
astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.‘
[11] So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My
rest.' “ [12] Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you
an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;
[13] but exhort one another daily, while it is called
"Today," lest any of you be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin. [14] For we have become partakers
of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence
steadfast to the end, [15] while it is said: "Today, if you
will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the
rebellion.“ >>>

3. [16] For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not
all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? [17] Now with
whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those
who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? [18]
And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His
rest, but to those who did not obey? [19] So we see that
they could not enter in because of unbelief. [4:1]
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest,
let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.
[2] For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as
to them; but the word which they heard did not profit
them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
[3] For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He
has said: "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter
My rest,' “ although the works were finished from the
foundation of the world.>>>

4. [4] For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh
day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day
from all His works"; [5] and again in this place: "They
shall not enter My rest." [6] Since therefore it remains
that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first
preached did not enter because of disobedience, [7]
again He designates a certain day, saying in David,
"Today," after such a long time, as it has been said:
"Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your
hearts.“ [8] For if Joshua had given them rest, then He
would not afterward have spoken of another day. [9]
There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.
[10] For he who has entered His rest has himself also
ceased from his works as God did from His. [11] Let us
therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall
according to the same example of disobedience.

5. CHRISTIANITY
IS...
• What God has done in the
past
• What God is doing in the
present
• What God is going to do in the
future

6. THE TENSES
OF OUR LIVES
• Past tense: the way we were
• Present tense: the way we
are
• Future tense: the way we will
be

7. PRESENT
TENSE
CHRISTIANITY

8. WE SHOULD LEARN
FROM THE PAST
(Heb 3:8-11) Do not harden your
hearts as in the rebellion, In the day
of trial in the wilderness, {9} Where
your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And
saw My works forty years. {10}
Therefore I was angry with that
generation, And said, 'They always go
astray in their heart, And they have
not known My ways.' {11} So I swore
in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My
rest.'"

9. WE SHOULD LEARN
FROM THE PAST
• We can’t live in the past
• We can’t run from the past
• We must learn from the past

10. WE SHOULD LEARN
FROM THE PAST
• We can learn from our
mistakes
• We can learn from our
successes
• We can learn from other’s
mistakes & successes

11. WE SHOULD LEARN
FROM THE PAST
He who does not learn from
the mistakes of the past is
doomed to repeat them!

12. WE SHOULD LONG FOR
THE PROMISED (FUTURE)
(Heb 4:1) Therefore, since a
promise remains of entering
His rest, let us fear lest any
of you seem to have come
short of it.

13. WE SHOULD LONG FOR
THE PROMISED (FUTURE)
• “Hope” & “trust” are future tense
• (2 Cor 5:8) We are confident, yes,
well pleased rather to be absent
from the body and to be present
with the Lord.
• (Phil 1:21) For to me, to live is
Christ, and to die is gain.

14. WE SHOULD LONG FOR
THE PROMISED (FUTURE)
• This world is not my home!
• (1 Pet 2:11) Beloved, I beg you as
sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from
fleshly lusts which war against the
soul,
• (Heb 11:13) These all died in faith, not
having received the promises, but
having seen them afar off were
assured of them, embraced them and
confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth.

15. WE SHOULD LIVE IN
THE PRESENT
(Heb 3:12-15) Beware, brethren, lest
there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief in departing from the living God;
{13} but exhort one another daily, while
it is called "Today," lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of
sin. {14} For we have become partakers
of Christ if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast to the end, {15}
while it is said: "Today, if you will hear
His voice, Do not harden your hearts as
in the rebellion."

16. WE SHOULD LIVE IN
THE PRESENT
• “Today” is used 5 times in our text
• (2 Cor 6:2) For He says: "In an
acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have
helped you." Behold, now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the
day of salvation.
• We cannot “rest on our laurels”

17. WE SHOULD LIVE
IN THE PRESENT
• Our lives should be continuing to
develop spiritually
• (2 Cor 4:16) Therefore we do not
lose heart. Even though our
outward man is perishing, yet the
inward man is being renewed day
by day.
• He’s still working on me

18. He’s still workin’ on me
to make me what I ought to be;
It took Him just a week
to make the moon and stars,
The sun and the earth
and Jupiter and Mars.
How loving and patient He must be!
He’s still working on me!

19. There really ought to be
a sign upon my heart:
“Don’t judge him yet,
there’s an unfinished part.”
But I’ll be perfect
just according to His plan,
Fashioned by the Master’s
loving hand.

20. The mirror of His word,
reflections that I see
Make me wonder why
he never gave up on me!
But he loves me as I am
and helps me when I pray;
Remember he’s the potter,
I’m the clay.

21. IS GOD STILL WORKING
ON YOU?
• How has God changed you in the
past?
• Is God still changing you in the
present?
• Will God change you in the
future?

22. IS GOD STILL WORKING
ON YOU?
(1 Cor 15:51-53) Behold, I tell you
a mystery: We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed; {52}
in a moment, in the twinkling of
an eye, at the last trumpet. For
the trumpet will sound, and the
dead will be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed. {53} For
this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this mortal must
put on immortality.

23. THE PAST, THE PRESENT
& THE PROMISED
• Have you learned from the past?
– The mistakes?
– The successes?
• Are you living in the present?
– Today is the only time we have!
– Are you allowing God to work on
you?
• Do you long for the promised
(future)?
– Do you have hope or fear in the
future?
– Heaven or Hell? No other choice!

24. TODAY IS THE DAY OF
SALVATION
• Where will you spend eternity?
– As a faithful child of God you will
be in heaven
– you become a child of God by
•Repenting of your sins
•Confessing Jesus as your Lord
•Being born again, baptized into
Christ
• If you’re not a child of God>>>HELL