Alive Word: We can’t afford to miss heaven
- Friday, August 19th, 2011 at 8:54 AM
Ministers Wilbert and Jacqueline Richardson
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” - Galatians 5:19 – 25
One of the benefits of salvation is that it ensures us of eternal life in Heaven with Jesus Christ. Heaven is the future dwelling place of the righteous. Heaven is the place where God abides.
In Luke 10:22 Jesus told His disciples that they should not rejoice that the devils were subject unto them but rejoice because their names were written in Heaven.
Sometimes we get so caught up with what’s going on in the earth that we forget that our journey on earth isn’t all there’s to life, that we’re making spiritual preparation for our final destiny. What we do on earth will determine where our final destiny is. We get so caught up that we forget that Jesus Christ could come at any time, any day, or any hour. No, we don’t know the day nor the hour, but we surely know the season.
Now more than ever, it’s time to seek the Lord. Now more than ever, it’s time to know what God is saying to us individually and as a church. Now more than ever, it’s time for us to walk in the Spirit and live lives of holiness. We can’t afford to miss heaven! If we’re not seeking the face of God, we don’t know what God is saying. Not heeding what God is saying to us could result in spiritual or even physical death. We’re living in serious and perilous times, and we cannot afford to miss God.
Jesus Christ has gone to prepare a place for us, and He’s returning for His Bride—His spotless Bride. Are you a part of His Bride? Are you a part of the church that He’s returning for? What’s in your heart today? If we’re not living a life of holiness and if our hearts are not clean before God when Jesus comes or calls, Hell will be our eternal abode. We need to be reminded today that hell exists and hell is a real place.
Sometimes people wear masks and live lives of camouflage. They can fool other people; they can sometimes fool themselves; but they cannot fool God. The signs of the time are everywhere. We can look at what’s happening in Israel and know that Jesus’ coming is near. We can look at the wars and rumors of war and know that Jesus’ coming is near. No matter where you live today, when you say “peace and safety,” there will be sudden destruction.
The prophet Amos said, “Prepare to meet thy God.” We’re busy making preparations for this and for that. We may be working to get an education, saving to get the perfect house, or looking for just the right car, and become so busy that we don’t have time to spend with the Lord. We’re so busy we have no time to listen and find out what God is saying; We’re so busy we can’t see what’s happening in the spiritual realm, and that’s dangerous.
What are you making preparations for today? What’s in your heart? What’s most important to you today? What are you hungering and thirsting for? Is it God or is it a thing or a person? It’s time to grow closer to God. It’s time to spend time in His presence so that He can show us our spots and our wrinkles; so that we may humble ourselves before Him and ask Him to remove them; so that we may be a part of what He’s doing in the earth and that we will not miss heaven.
Heaven will be full of surprises. Some of the people we expect to be there will not be there, and some of the people who we didn’t think should be there (according to our perception of them) will be there. You see, God is the one who searches and knows our hearts. Our entrance to heaven all depends on the contents of our heart. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. Are your sins forgiven? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Is your heart clean before the Lord?
One of the things that will keep us out of heaven is walking in the flesh. We cannot afford to grieve the Spirit of the Lord any longer. The Spirit of God is grieved when we choose to walk in the flesh and not in the Spirit.
When we become born again, our spirit man is born again, but our flesh isn’t. We’re in a constant battle to keep our flesh under submission to the Spirit of God. If we resist the devil, He will flee from us. But we cannot resist the devil in our own strength. We must submit to God to resist the devil. If we take heed to the Word of God and meditate on it, our minds will be renewed, our hearts will be transformed, and we will be able to live a victorious life in Christ, walking in the Spirit. Jesus would not tell us to walk in the Spirit if it were not possible to do so.
Sadly, walking by the flesh is too common in the body of Christ. The word clearly states in Galatians 5 that if we do these things we will not inherit the kingdom of God: Lasciviousness (sexual excess), idolatry (chief affection for a person or thing, not God), variance (strife, discord), emulations (jealousy), seditions (dissentions), heresies (permanent organized divisions and cliques), reveling (excessive eating and carousing). If we allow the flesh to rule our lives and don’t repent earnestly before God, we will not be effective for Christ and heaven will not be our eternal home.
We can no longer afford to do what we want, when we want, how we want. We can’t just say what we want in the flesh and expect to make heaven our home. The works of the flesh cannot enter into heaven. They must be put under the blood of Jesus Christ. Be not deceived, God is not mocked; if we sow to the flesh, we will reap eternal damnation in hell.
We use excuses for walking in the flesh. Instead of confessing our sins, we cover them up and we don’t prosper. We say things like: “Oh, the devil made me do it;” “Well this is how I am and God understands;” or “I have a right to do what I did, I have a right to say what I said.” But if your right isn’t in line with the Word of God, you’re wrong and being deceived by the devil.
It’s time for us to stop being blind and deaf so that we can see and hear what God’s saying to us. Sin originates in the heart. It’s time for us, the body of Christ, to put out of our lives all that isn’t pleasing to God. It’s time for us to rise up in the Holy Spirit and in the strength of the Lord and answer the call to do the work of the Lord—in our homes, in our jobs, in our community, and in the world.
When we walk in the flesh, we become hindrances to people who don’t know the Lord. If we’re doing the same things they are, then they’ll not desire to come to know Christ. Our light must shine for Jesus Christ not just when we come to church, but wherever we are. We must put a stop to the works of the flesh in our lives. God is calling us to holiness. God is calling us to love and serve each other. We can’t afford to miss heaven.
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Praise the Lord! we need more words like these broadcast on every site. How can people say they have not been warned and encouraged. God bless you both.
Thanks for a sure word in due season.
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