Tag: Heaven

THE PARADISE OF GOD

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Shelby G. Floyd

2--Paradise

Good morning. It is a beautiful day. We are glad that spring has finally sprung! It is good to see your smiling faces and we have a good number present today. We appreciate you coming out to worship our God on the Lord’s day. How many have been out playing golf already? I see several hands. That is a good thing to do, especially when the weather is really nice.

When my wife passed away recently somebody said that she had gone to paradise. That word paradise stuck in my mind, so I started thinking about paradise and it has been very therapeutic for me to work on this sermon that I am presenting today. And the title of it is The Paradise of God. The word paradise is a Persian word spelled pardes. The Greek word for paradise is paradeisos. Paradise refers to a beautiful garden, a park, orchard, and a pleasure ground. And that word paradise is used in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

I searched the Internet for the best icon that I could find that might represent what paradise might look like and I think the best place that I produced would be the Masters Golf Tournament course down in Augusta, Georgia. It is so beautiful and the only thing it would lack to be paradise as I picture it in the Bible would be some fruit trees and fruit bushes for food. Therefore a photo of the Masters Golf course is the first picture you see today.

This introduces our subject today, The Paradise of God. The word paradise occurs three times in the New Testament, and we are going to look at each one of those and make application to what the Bible says about the departed spirits of those who are the children of God. Paradise is found in Luke 23:43, 2nd Corinthians 12:4, and Revelation 2:7. And we will examine each one of those and make the proper application.

One time Jesus encountered a group of Jewish people called Sadducees and they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, neither did they believe in spirits. When he confronted them he said do you not remember the episode with Moses that took place at the burning bush? When Moses saw the burning bush that was not consumed, he stepped aside to take a closer look at it. And God said take your shoes off for the ground you stand on is holy ground. God said that he was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus then said that God is the God of the living not the dead. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been dead a long time as to their earthly body, but they were still alive in another place (Exodus 3:6; Luke 20:38). Continue reading “THE PARADISE OF GOD” →

THE GREAT COMMISSION

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Shelby G. Floyd

The greatest challenge ever committed to mortal men was couched in the words of the great commission. This commission was given by Jesus Christ to the eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee. It is great because of the great authority which empowers it and sustains it. Jesus said,

“…All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (Matthew 28:18.)

One of the many pursuits of man has been power and authority, but no one man has ever been able to achieve all the power and authority that there is in the earth. But Jesus has all power and authority not only in the earth, but also in heaven. Therefore, he is preeminently qualified to give a commission that relates both to heaven and to earth, to this life and to the life to come.

Isaiah Prophesied of Christ’s Authority

The power, all of which Jesus claimed to have, both in heaven and earth, is the power of rule or government and is generally translated authority. It is the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed. The power, or rule of government, which Jesus claims on this particular occasion is that which Isaiah predicted seven centuries before Christ claimed it. Speaking of Christ, Isaiah said that the government would be upon his shoulder, and,

“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever” (Isaiah 9:7).

Those Taught Are To Be Baptized

Jesus not only charged his apostles to teach all nations, but also to baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20). The element in which they were baptized is not stated in this passage but can be inferred from reading the scriptures concerning this subject elsewhere. They were to be baptized in water for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38).

Copyright © 2019 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved

Shelby G. Floyd
Heartland Church of Christ
1693 West Main Street
Greenwood, Indiana 46142

LET US GO FORWARD

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Shelby G. Floyd

Some people are two-faced. Now that I have your attention, I do not mean to be offensive to you, but some of us are two-faced in this sense—the month of January is named after the Roman god Janus. Janus was pictured as a two-faced man; one face turned back toward the old year with its sorrows, disappointments and shortcomings, and the other face was toward the New Year with all of its hopes, and anticipations of good things to come.

Too many of us are like Janus, we’re trying to look back at the old year, and at the same time trying to look forward to the new year. In that sense we are two-faced. Continue reading “LET US GO FORWARD” →

EYE COVENANT

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Shelby G. Floyd

Eyes Covenant

In the Old Testament we read about one of the greatest men who ever lived, and that was Job. Job was a very good man. He served God with all of his heart. And yet God tested him. And while he was in the midst of his suffering and trial he had to defend his integrity before his friends. In his defense Job said in reply to Bildad the Shuhite, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustily at a girl” (Job 31:1). That’s what we are going to talk about today. If you haven’t made a covenant with your eyes you need to do so like Job. Job said, “I made a covenant with my eyes.” A covenant is an agreement and when you make an agreement you should live up to it and keep it.

Sexual immorality was a big problem in ancient times and is even a bigger problem today, especially in America. Sexual immorality causes great pain both to the perpetrators and to the innocent people who are not involved. There are perhaps three or four reasons why a person might want to go out and commit sexual immorality. One could just be their ego. Some people are like that. Another reason might be that person’s inner need for sharing and affection, even though it is unlawful. And a third reason might be just because they have the raw lust of the flesh. Sexual immorality is so common in our society today that we excuse it and we accept it. And it is all because man tends to glorify the body and to belittle the spirit that is within that body. Continue reading “EYE COVENANT” →