Grace and Truth
Bible Ministries

The Personal Sense of Destiny locks into the Security of the Eternal Future

We are presently examining some of the characteristics of a personal sense of destiny and when we ran out of time last time we were just about to look at the personal sense of destiny in view of prophecy and the eternal state.

Eschatological doctrine is a part of the believer's spiritual life and is therefore part of the personal sense of destiny. Peter describes the eschatological challenge to the believer's personal sense of destiny and challenges believers to live their lives in the light of eternity and it's eternal values in 2Pet 3:10-14;

Because of this, believers with a personal sense of destiny understand where they are in human history and how they fit into the plan of God for the future. This means that the believer understands God's provision of dying grace, Psa 23:4;

As part of his grace from eternity past, God has provided for each one of us with our very own death shadowed valley. When the believer understands this their scale of values changes and they are confident about the future regardless of how adverse their present circumstances may be.

They understand that God not their circumstances determines their future.

2Pet 3:10-14; "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will disappear with a roar and the elements will be dissolved with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be incinerated.

v11 Since in this way all these things will be destroyed, what sort of person must you become in a dedicated to God lifestyle, that is to say, your very own spiritual life,

v12 while looking forward with confidence and hastening the coming day of God, in which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

2Pet 3:13; But on the basis of His promise we are looking forward with confidence to a new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

v14 Since therefore, beloved, you are looking forward with confidence to these things, be self-motivated to be found by Him in a state of prosperity, spotless (having spiritual capacity righteousness) and blameless."

At the end of human history the present universe will completely destroyed in an instant by our Lord Jesus Christ. Five things survive this destruction and are therefore the highest values in life. These values become the basis of a personal sense of destiny as it relates to the eternal future.

These five things are: Eternal salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ alone. Only believers in TLJC will survive the destruction of the universe at the end of history.

The resurrection body survives the destruction of the universe to enter into the eternal state.

The infallible word of God, Isa 40:8; "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our Lord stands forever." Matt 24:35; "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away."

Escrow blessings for the eternal state. A personal sense of destiny accepts the challenge to use volition to attain escrow blessings. A personal sense of destiny is self-motivated to persevere in the use of the three spiritual skills to fulfill the protocol plan of God and receive escrow blessings.

The historical records of the invisible hero survive the destruction of the universe. The name, the title, and the deeds of the invisible hero are a part of the permanent historical record of the Church Age in the hall of records in heaven. Rev 3:12;

A personal sense of destiny therefore includes living life in the light of eternity because the believer is "looking forward with confidence." This enables the believer to avoid the arrogant solution to the problems of life including the function of the three arrogance skills of self-justification, self- deception, and self-absorption.

A personal sense of destiny anticipates the fulfillment of better things in the eternal state and lives on the basis and confident expectation of divine promises anticipating the fulfillment of God's promise of better things in the eternal state.

A personal sense of destiny looks forward with confidence to the creation of a new heavens and a new earth that is prophesied in Isa 65:17, Isa 66:22, Rev 21:1; and 2 Pet 3:13;

The righteousness that dwells in the eternal state is the righteousness given by God the Father that provides capacity for blessings in the eternal state. God never blesses beyond capacity.

The personal sense of destiny understands that spiritual capacity righteousness is the highest objective in time and becomes the ultimate objective for the eternal state.

In 2Pet 3:14; this spiritual capacity righteousness is described as being "spotless and blameless", In Eph 3:19; it is described as "being filled with all the fullness from God" in, and in 2Pet 1:4; as "partners in the divine endowment" (see Net note 19)

Believers must also understand that there is a false personal sense of destiny that is related to the unbeliever's life on this earth as illustrated by the apostle Paul's success in Judaism as an unbeliever, Phil 3:4-6.

The human achievement of a false sense of destiny is a dead end. It provides no real happiness in time and ends in the lake of fire for the eternal state. It is a tragedy to come to the point of dying and when looking back realize that everything that has been attained and that mankind has called success has no meaning in the eternal state because it is only what goes beyond the destruction of the universe that counts.

For the believer the consistent function of the spiritual skills results in a true personal sense of destiny that is the source of the greatest self-motivation and the greatest blessing in life.

The motivation for the personal sense of destiny is the attainment of the advanced problem solving devices that are acquired more rapidly than the basic problem solving devices were because of the believer's spiritual momentum.

 

© Copyright 2007, Michael Lemmon Bible Ministries. World Rights Reserved.  This document was created on 3/30/2011