Bible Passage: 1 Corinthians 2:9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” Title: "I Had No Idea!" Introduction - It's a real joy to be back with you here in English Chapel at Hokusei University. I hope your second semester has started well already. I had a really nice summertime break, but to be honest with you, I'm glad to be back. I missed you guys a lot! I consider you to be kind of like my family! So, I'm really happy to see you and be with you today. I'm basing my message today, as I often have here at Hokusei chapel time, on music. The song I chose for today is one of my absolute favorite hymns. God and the hymn writer, Fanny Crosby, tell us that we can have assurance in God. Even though we don't know what's coming in the future, we can still feel confident that God's got some great plans for us!
Day by day, I read God's Word, the Bible, and I see majestic scenes there as well. The Lord shares with us how much He loves us and how He wants to guide us everyday. There are so many stories of faith, stories of miracles, and stories of victory by the marvelous power of God! And yet both our Bible passage and our hymn today tell us that this is just the beginning!
God's Kingdom will be sparkling and shining brighter than the sun we see in the sky each day! We will meet loving friends and family that we haven't seen for such a long time. We will live without any sin, pain, tears, temptations, hate or any of the other bad things we experience here in this world. It will be total joy and satisfaction, singing with our hearts full of praise to God - forever!
God has prepared all the beauty, all the joy, and the peace and happiness of heaven for anyone who loves God! If you trust and love God with all your heart, then heaven is just waiting for you to arrive! God wants to give us a "Blessed Assurance" today that He has nothing but the best planned for you and me! And the second thing that I'm sure of is that we have no idea what is really waiting for us. That's what our Bible passage today shares with us. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." Our eyes see such wonderful beauty everyday, but not like what's coming! Our ears have heard songs that give us goose bumps, but that's nothing compared to the music of heaven itself! Our poor human minds are so small and limited. We cannot imagine, we have no earthly idea what God's Presence or the Kingdom of Heaven or even Eternity itself will be like! Wow, God has some truly amazing surprises waiting for those who love Him! Conclusion - I know it's tough to imagine all the things that God wants to do for us. Maybe my simple words today have given you a bit of an idea. Maybe like me, you're anxious to know more and more about this loving Lord who has promised so much to us. I feel like a kid in a candy store sometimes when I read and learn about this marvelous future He has already prepared! My hope is that this glimpse of Eternity that I've given you today will motivate you to know God better. Please join me and let's discover everyday this God who loves us so much and has built the Kingdom of Heaven just for you and me - the ones who love Him! Closing Prayer Dear Father, thank you ever so much for being with us here in chapel today. I pray that you would wrap your loving arms around us as we continue on to our classes and other activities. Help us to look with grateful eyes at all the beauty that is around us. Help us to see your deep love for us in the cross of your dear Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to love you more and wait expectantly to see and experience the beauty of eternity that you made for us. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. ☼ ✙ ☺ ☼ ✙ ☺ ☼ ✙ ☺ ☼ ✙ ☺
Thanks so much for coming to English Chapel today. God bless you with love, joy and a beautiful image in your heart throughout this day. ☼ ✙ ☺ ☼ ✙ ☺ ☼ ✙ ☺ ☼ ✙ ☺
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About This PageThis is my personal space to share my messages and thoughts about Hokusei English Chapel and the things that God brings in to my life. Archives
October 2015
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