The Pattern for What You Believe - Part 3

Dr. Charles Stanley: Satan is a destroyer. And it looks like if you look around, you'd almost say it looks like he's winning everywhere you turn. The devil is expressing his evil, his immorality. You name it, it's everywhere. And the world is caught up in it, soaked up in it. Why? Because it looks good, it sounds good. And what does it do? It satisfies the carnal nature. It satisfies the fallen nature. And therefore, Satan knows exactly how to deceive. But remember this: it is deception, division, and destruction. That's his goal.
Guest (Male): In the sports world, a winning strategy needs to include a good defense paired with a good offense. That's also true in the spiritual realm. Today's edition of In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley, helps us stand firm by explaining what the Bible says about Satan, the spirit world, and our eternal destiny. Here's the final message in our series, "Know What You Believe."
Dr. Charles Stanley: Does it matter what you believe? It certainly does because it affects every single area of our life. Well, in this message, here's what I'd like to do. I want to talk about this whole idea of a belief system, and I want to give you a pattern of a belief system. That is, I want to give you a list of things that certainly should be a part of your belief system—that is, what you believe, those things that govern and guide your lifestyle and how you operate. So I want you to follow along, and I want to remind you of what Peter said in his first epistle when he said, "Sanctify Christ," that is, you are to set apart the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord in your life. Then he says, "Always being ready to make a defense, being able to give a reason for what you believe." Well, something else I want you to add to your belief system, and that is, put down this word: Satan. Well, the Bible says in Isaiah the 14th chapter that Satan was a created being, that Satan is a person. He is not some figment of imagination. He's not just some spirit. He was a very important angel. And because he rebelled against Almighty God, and with him went a host of angels, he was cast to the earth. And the reason he rebelled against God is because he said, "I want to be like the Most High God." He wanted to be equal with God. He wanted to have the same power, the same reputation as God. In his rebellion toward God, he was cast out. Now, there are good angels as well as evil angels. And so God, the Bible says, created angels. Why did He create them to begin with? He created angels as His messengers. That is, angels are the servants of God. They're the created servants of God. And therefore, they worked in the days in the Old Testament, they worked in Jesus' days, and they still work today. For example, if you turn to the 16th chapter of Luke, you'll recall it's the story of the rich man and the beggar. And that the beggar died, and the Bible says, "And the angels carried him into Abraham's bosom or paradise." That is, when a child of God departs this life, is it not feasible to believe that the angels that surround us would take the spirit of a person into the presence of Almighty God? So there are good angels that are still God's created messengers out there serving Him all over this globe. And so, therefore, when we come to Satan, what do we find? We find the instigator. Listen, the source of all sin, the source of all pain and hurt and sorrow and death, the instigator of every single lie, the instigator of every single thing that is evil. He is the instigator of all crime and all violence. Here's what Jesus said about him: If Jesus didn't think he were real, He certainly wouldn't have talked about His relationship up there in the wilderness and His temptation. That's not the only time Satan was continuously attacking the Lord Jesus Christ. And what is his goal? Here's what he does: Satan has chosen to set up a counterfeit kingdom. That counterfeit kingdom is the world system. When you look at the world system, which is our society without God, what you have is the counterfeit kingdom. And so, therefore, what's his method? His method is deception, division, and destruction. He will do everything in his power to deceive a child of God or to deceive someone who's lost. He'll do everything in his power to divide a church, to divide families, to divide businesses, to divide friendships—everything he can. His ultimate goal is to destroy. Why do you think he has so many people on drugs and alcohol and all the things that absolute destroy the human body? Because his ultimate name is the destroyer. Satan is a destroyer. And every single person who's rejected Jesus Christ as Savior, Christ is not saving their life. You know who your god is? Your god is the devil. You say, "Well, now, the devil is not my god." Let me tell you what Jesus said about him. He said He's a ruler. And listen, when he fell by God's permissive will, here's what God did. By His permissive will, He allowed Satan to be an awesome force in this universe, so that you and I live in a universe where two kingdoms are in conflict with each other. Here's the counterfeit kingdom. And what's the counterfeit kingdom? Here's Satan showing us all—listen, he's got propaganda everywhere. The commercials are everywhere: You must have this, you must have that. Do this, do that, do the other. In other words, if you want to feel good, look good, and all the rest. What's he doing? He's doing his best to allure people into a counterfeit kingdom. What he tells them is "now" is the thing that matters. Indulge yourself now, feel good now, have it now. What he will not tell them is what's beyond "now." He only speaks in terms of "now," not the future. He never speaks in terms of eternity. He never speaks in terms of the consequences of sin. He never speaks in terms of what's going to happen. It's always "indulge yourself now." And listen, it looks like if you look around, you'd almost say it looks like he's winning. Everywhere you turn, the devil is expressing his evil, his immorality. You name it, it's everywhere. And the world is caught up in it, soaked up in it. Why? Because it looks good, it sounds good. And what does it do? It satisfies the carnal nature. It satisfies the fallen nature. And therefore, Satan knows exactly how to deceive. But remember this: it is deception, division, and destruction. That's his goal. Well, the next word that should be in our belief system is man's eternal destiny. What is the eternal destiny of man? Listen carefully. The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The wages of sin is death. Listen carefully: What is the eternal destiny of the believer, the person who's placed their faith in Jesus? His eternal destiny of the believer: immediately and consciously, when you and I die as believers, we go immediately and consciously into the presence of a loving Heavenly Father who is waiting for us. If the Apostle Paul had believed, as some people believe, that you die and you rest in a grave for a thousand or so years until Jesus comes, then you wake up—my friend, the Apostle Paul would never have made this statement. He says, "Now, here's my problem." He says, "On the one hand, I want to die and be with the Lord. On the other hand, I want to stay here and serve you." If Paul thought that he was going to die and get to the grave and lie there unconscious for ever so many years—and that would have been a long time, the Apostle Paul, a long time's happened since he died—he'd still be in the grave in an unconscious state. There's not a single verse in the Bible that indicates that when you die, two things don't happen. Number one: the Bible doesn't say that's the end of you. The Bible doesn't say that you just become matter and you no longer exist. The Bible doesn't teach that. Secondly: the Bible doesn't teach that you lie in a grave somewhere until one of these days there's a resurrection. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. He says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 14, those who've already died in Christ Jesus, who are with Him. He says when He comes—listen, when He comes, if He were to come today, if He were to come today, you know what? My mother, my father, my grandparents, and some millions of other people who've already passed on before, they would come with Him. If they were lying in some grave, something would have to happen here. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. Not one single verse in the Bible that says you're going to purgatory, not a single verse that says you're going to be buried in a grave somewhere. You can mark this down: you cannot bury a child of God. You can put our body in there, but you cannot put us in there because there's going to be—listen, even that's temporary, because every single one of us is going to be resurrected into a glorified body. What about that lost person? That lost person who dies without Christ, the Bible says what? Absolutely, consciously, instantly, what happens to them? Go to torment. How long are they in torment? Until the final judgment, when they stand in the presence of Almighty God in the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation chapter 20, when they are judged for their works. Now, when the believer dies, we're going to be rewarded for our works. We're going to be rewarded. God isn't going to play some film and show all the bad things that you've done and then say, "Well, you know, here's all the bad and here's all the good." No. When you're saved by the grace of God, what does He do? He says our sins are separated as far as the east is from the west. He says like He dumps them in the depths of the sea. And thank God you and I never have to face them again. Amen? Now, what about the unbeliever? The unbeliever immediately, consciously goes into torment, a place of suffering, the same place the rich man went to in the 16th chapter of Luke. And they're there suffering until the Great Judgment when they stand in the Great White Throne Judgment. And the Bible says that God's going to open the books. What books? That's His books where He's kept the record—listen, the records of those who have been born and the life that they've lived. There's not a single verse in the Bible says you get a second chance. Listen, the chance, the opportunity is shouting at you, and that is: "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." That's what this is all about: helping you to understand the truth in order that you may know that Jesus Christ is your Savior. The moment you die, you're absolutely in the presence of Almighty God. Well, that's man's eternal destiny. One last word I want you to put in your system of belief, and that's future things. Well, what do you mean by future things? Well, the next event in God's calendar of time as far as what He's going to do, the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, speaking of when He comes back, the next thing that's going to happen is that Jesus is coming back for His church, that is all believers, coming back for us in this age, all believers. He says He will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, a trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. What does he mean by that? All of our loved ones who've passed on before, their bodies are in graves all over this world. He says when He comes in the air—listen, not only is He going to bring our loved ones who passed on with Him, with Him, He says their bodies are going to be resurrected. He says in the twinkling of an eye, which is faster than you can bat your eye, their bodies are going to be transformed and glorified in the likeness of the body of Christ. And their body and soul shall be united in the air with Him. Then we who are alive shall be transformed likewise in the twinkling of an eye, and we shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, and we shall forever be with the Lord. No one who is unsaved is going to be in that resurrection. That's why when Jesus Christ comes for His body, you know what's going to happen? I'm afraid some of the churches are going on, some people still going to be up behind pulpits and business, and listen, life is going to go on. There'll be a lot of change, a lot of shock in people's minds, but you know what the world will do? This counterfeit kingdom of whom Satan is the god, they will give a—listen, they will give an explanation. And maybe there are galaxies, maybe there are worlds out there, and maybe something happened. I'll guarantee you the world will try their best to give an explanation. Can't you imagine all the anchor men and anchor women on the television that day or that night saying something has happened, we can't quite figure out what it is? We've had airplane crashes, train crashes, bus crashes. The expressways are all blocked up. Doctors have disappeared. All the things that are happening, there must be some great calamity. Trying to explain all that, it will be absolutely the most fascinating thing for all of us who are looking down saying, "Listen to that silly explanation for what God tried to tell them the whole time." That is what the rapture of the church is all about. That's a glorious thing that's going to happen, but it's going to be followed by what the Bible calls the 24th chapter of Matthew, the Great Tribulation. Not that it will instantly start, but this world will be moving toward that for some time, and then it will begin. The Antichrist, the Great Tribulation—listen, seven years of persecution, seven years of the most wrathful kind of events that you and I could imagine. If you want to know what it's going to be like, you turn to the 6th chapter of the book of the Revelation, you read through the 19th chapter, and you'll find God pouring out His judgment in vials and bowls and all the rest. Everything imaginable, God sending down His judgment upon this earth. And what will men do? You'll think, "Well, everybody'll get converted." No, they won't. The Bible says that they will hide in the rocks and the mountains and crying out to hide from this awesome judgment of Almighty God. Just because there's a judgment does not mean that people are going to always get converted. There'll be many people who are saved in the Tribulation period. And the Bible says at the end of that Tribulation period, then Jesus Christ is coming, and He's coming—listen, coming in the air with His angelic host, and we'll be coming with Him. And what is He going to do? He's going to wipe out and destroy every single evil, vile thing on the face of this earth. He's going to transform this earth. And you know what He's going to do? He's going to make it a part of heaven. Because heaven just isn't up yonder somewhere. He's going to—listen, He's going to absolutely remake this ball of dirt, and heaven is going to be not only the heavenly city, but it's also going to be in a part of this earth. He not only is going to do that, but He's going to start His millennial kingdom. The Bible says that Satan's going to be chained a thousand years. And during that time, the Lord Jesus Christ is going to rule on this earth, and it'll be absolutely perfect. Everything about it will be perfect. And at the end of that time, Satan's going to be loose for a season, and then ultimately, absolutely thrown into the pit and destroyed forever and ever and ever. He says his smoke will ascend forever. At the end of that period of millennium, there will be the great and final judgment, when all the wicked of all time stand before God and give an account. After that, eternity begins. The ultimate and final heaven that our Lord is preparing for us and the ultimate and final hell that people will go to to spend all of eternity. Now, I want you to think about something for a moment. Every single one of those issues is a vital part of your belief system. It begins with this book and takes you all the way to the last moment you spend on the face of this earth and heaven. Now, here's what I want you to think about for a moment. And this is why it's so important that you and I understand what we believe. I want you to think for just a moment, not what you do. I want you to think about who you are. Listen to this: Who are you? Here's who you are. As a child of God—listen, as a child of God, you are a person who owns the most precious, valuable thing on the face of this earth: a record of the living revelation of Almighty God, accurate for living in this life and for dying by. You and I have the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit who's on our side and who is working in our behalf. We have God the Father we can come to as a child and pray to and who will hear and answer our prayer. We have Jesus Christ the Son of God as our Lord and Master and King, one who lives on the inside of us and who will enable us and strengthen us, one who has forgiven us of our sin. We have the Holy Spirit who has indwelt us and sealed us forever as a child of the living God. You and I know that we have been created in the image of Almighty God. That we are fallen creatures—yes, we are. But we are forgiven—listen, by the salvation that has been purchased at Calvary through the death of Jesus Christ. We are a part of the body of Christ, the Church of the living God, where we can worship and praise Him and serve Him together. We have the wonderful opportunity of shouting this message to the entire world. We have the wonderful message of telling people in our home where we live, across the street, in our business, and to the entire world. This is a part. We have the wonderful privilege of walking every day in this awesome journey which we call the journey of the Christian life in the presence of Jesus Christ dwelling inside of us. We have—listen, the absolute assurance that Satan is a defeated foe, that we can resist him and we can overcome Satan no matter what happens in life. We have the wonderful assurance today that absent from the body, present with the Lord. We have the blessed assurance that when He comes, we're coming with Him, and that all the things that are going to transpire on this earth, no matter what it is, He will have caught us up or we will have died and gone on beforehand. We will be rewarded for all the good that God has done in our life. And forever and ever and ever, we have the irrevocable, unchangeable promise of the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit that says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have absolute eternal life." We are rich, wealthy people in those things that absolutely count for now and for all eternity. If we shouldn't shout, I'm telling you what should we do? We should be praising God and glorifying Him and thanking Him and serving Him and giving to Him and sharing our faith. Why? Because we are rich, wealthy people. Rich in the things—listen, that money can't buy and that death cannot take away: Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, I want you to think about something for a moment. None of us know when we're going to die. Here's what I want you to see. I'm not talking about just going to church and trying to be good. I'm talking about the most critical, the most crucial, the most important decision you will ever make in your life. I'm talking about accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, which will indeed determine your whole future unchangeable destiny. After you die, it's unchangeable. Now, you just heard all the things that we have as a result of receiving Jesus. Let me ask you this: What do you have that's for certain, that's for sure, that money can't buy, death can't take away, without Christ? Nothing. I want to encourage you to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins and tell Him that today you're turning your life over to Him and let Him begin to work in your life. You know what He'll do? Write your name in the Lamb's Book of Life, make you one of His children, seal you as a child of God, and you no longer have to worry about death or about life, because the Son of the living God says He's abiding in you. The presence of the Holy Spirit—He will never leave you nor forsake you, not one second in life and not a second in death. You can't beat that. Listen, for God's great deal offered to every single person who will receive it. And Father, oh, how grateful we are when we think about what You've done for us, who we are, what we possess—every single thing we possess as a result of our relationship to Jesus Christ. We want to say Hallelujah. We want to say praise You, Father. We want to say glory to You, dear God, that Your love, that You could out-love our sinfulness, that Your grace is greater than all of our sin, and that Your love knows no boundaries. Your grace cannot be measured, and Your forgiveness is forever and eternal. We bless You and praise You and worship and adore You today in Jesus' wonderful name. Amen.
Guest (Male): Thanks for listening to In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. Christians need to know what they believe and how to back it up with scripture. As you read the Word of God with humility, you'll find your faith growing stronger and your love for the Lord growing deeper. If you need a place to start, we suggest the Gospel of John. To go back over this message again, visit Intouch.org and click on "Today on Radio." And you can connect to our online bookstore to order a copy of Dr. Stanley's complete message, "The Pattern for What You Believe." It's also included in his teaching set, "Know What You Believe." Again, that's Intouch.org. You can also call or text 1-800-INTOUCH. If you prefer to write, our address is In Touch, Post Office Box 7900, Atlanta, Georgia, 30357. Do you struggle to respond correctly when you're criticized? It's helpful to remember that God is always working for our good. Today's "Moment with Charles Stanley" is coming up. In Touch Plus is streaming on Local Now, featuring all the best of Dr. Charles Stanley. We need to have strong convictions based on the Word of God. He's working out things that you and I would never know about in our future. In Touch Plus, your streaming network for quality Christian programming 24/7. Now watch this. In Touch Plus, streaming free on Local Now. We're going to be criticized, but God can use anything in a believer's life to do something positive. Here's a "Moment with Charles Stanley."
Dr. Charles Stanley: God doesn't attack my personhood, He corrects my mistakes. So I think in the volley that goes back and forth between people, when we respond to each other correctly, I think God affirms that. For example, He says it's a badge of courage when you and I respond correctly to criticism. He says you're on the pathway to life, and He says you're in the Hall of Fame in the Living Bible translation when you and I learn to accept criticism and praise properly. God is honored, and He will bless us as a result of it. And one of those things is we're going to grow spiritually. And sometimes I think the more criticism, the more difficulty, the more hardship, the more pain—and I think about people who live with someone who's always in the process of finding their faults and criticizing them. That's a difficult place to live. But I know some people who've lived in that kind of a situation who are sweet and loving and kind, and it's like God has used all that just to sand them and sift them and to help them to grow in their own spiritual life.
Guest (Male): To learn more about how God helps believers navigate difficult circumstances, log on to Intouch.org. On the next edition of In Touch, repeatedly giving into sin is more dangerous than you might think. Learn about the consequences of uncontrolled weakness when we return on In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. This program is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia, and remains on this station through the grace of God and your faithful prayers and gifts.