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Archive for the ‘Heaven’ Category

THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH

Posted in Heaven, The Holy Spirit, The Righteous, tagged , on August 31, 2024|

“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17 HCSB

In the Lord’s Prayer we ask that the Kingdom of God come to earth as in heaven.  Both John the Baptist and Jesus called for repentance since the Kingdom of God was here.  Jesus also said that one could not see the Kingdom of God unless they were born again (John 3:3). So how do we advance the Kingdom of God on the earth?

We cannot do anything apart from the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is here on earth with us.  We know that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father in heaven.  So to see the Kingdom of God advance the Holy Spirit must be at work in us.  When we pray that God’s Kingdom be established here on the earth we should keep in mind the Apostle Paul’s words – The Kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking, it is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  For people to experience the Kingdom of God we must walk in Righteousness and walk by the Spirit so we can display the fruits of the Holy Spirit.  The Kingdom of God is not about the flesh.  Paul told us the Kingdom of God cannot be inherited by flesh and blood (1 Corinthians 15:50).  It is only through the Holy Spirit the Kingdom is revealed here on earth.  Only those born of the Spirit can see and inherit the Kingdom of God.

So when we pray that the Kingdom of God come then we must abide in Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit.  This way people can experience the Kingdom of God by the fruits of the Spirit.

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When Will We Meet Again?

Posted in Faith, God's Glory, Healing, Heaven, Jesus, Salvation, The Righteous on November 30, 2016|

“Do not let your heart be troubled; [a]believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”  John 14:1-3

I grew up knowing death as long as I can remember.  I lost my mother when I was four years old.  I have vivid memories of my mother, including her illness that eventually took her life.  My childhood was impacted by my mother’s absence.  At a young age I had to come to terms with life and death.  As I grew up I lost several relatives, including my sister who was 17 at the time of her death.  I know death all too well.

As a pastor there are times I am called to comfort those that have lost a loved one, and it is not an easy thing to do.  It is especially difficult in those moments that you prayed, had faith and hope for a loved one’s healing, only to see them eventually lose their battle to death.  Death is never easy because it always seems a life ended too soon.  We are left with the question “Why God Why?”

As I pastor people in times of a loved one’s death that question comes up.  It is difficult to answer.  At times, there is no answer nor explanation given by God.  Just recently I learned of someone’s death that we believed would be healed of cancer.  We knew God would heal and it was His will to heal.  At one point we were celebrating the news that the cancer was gone, only to learn later that it had come back spreading throughout the body.  Still you hope in miracles and you know God is able and willing to heal.  However, when the healing does not come, it is easy to question our faith.  Did we believe hard enough?  Did we doubt God?  Was it God’s will to heal?  Why did this person die?

As I pondered these questions the Holy Spirit reminded me of our faith in Jesus Christ.  The foundation of our faith is that one day we will see Jesus face to face.  That faith in Jesus exceeds all other acts of faith.  Salvation is the greatest miracle because a person that is saved is someone who was once dead and now is alive in Christ for all eternity.  Those that have put their faith in Jesus Christ have eternal life.  Death cannot hold them; when they are absent from the body, they are present with the Lord.  That is our faith.  So when a loved one dies in the Lord, they are with Him.  They experience the evidence of their faith.

Jesus told the disciples that He was going away and would prepare a place for them, for all of us.  He promised to come again but His ultimate promise was that He would receive us and we would be where He is.

We cannot fully comprehend eternity because we live in such a temporal world and are governed by time and space.  We experience life, sickness, disease, tragedies, and eventually death in this world.  Yet in heaven there is none of this and they are not governed by time and space.  So we have to rejoice when a loved one in Christ dies because they get to be where He is and stay.  They have received the full promise of God.

Still this may not bring us great comfort since we will no longer see our loved one.  We wonder “when will we meet again?”  So we mourn for our loved ones, we mourn with those that are mourning.  Soon our mourning will turn to joy.  We will meet again.

If you are reading this and you are not sure if you are going to spend eternity with Jesus then you can ask Jesus to come into your heart.  The bible says that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:9).  Jesus died and rose again so that we could be reconciled with the Father and have eternal life.  It is available to all.  You don’t have to wonder where you will spend eternity once your life is surrendered to Jesus Christ.  He has gone and is preparing a place for us.  He will come again.  For those of us still left on this earth, let us continue to occupy until Jesus’ returns.  That is what our faith is all about, seeing Jesus face to face and living with Him for all of eternity.  In the meantime let us keep healing the sick, raising the dead, expanding the Kingdom of God on the earth – be SALT and LIGHT.

For this [s]perishable must put on [t]the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this [u]perishable will have put on [v]the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15: 53-57

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No, Not Even One

Posted in Heaven, Jesus, Knowing God, Salvation, Satan, Sin, The Father on May 30, 2012|

“There is none righteous, not even one;

There is none who understands,

There is none who seeks for God;

All have turned aside, together they have become useless;

There is none who does good,

There is not even one.”  Romans 3:10-12

 

I grew up being told that “good” people go to heaven.  You have to hope that your good deeds outweigh the bad.  I was also told that certain sins would guarantee you hell.  There are many that believe this not knowing what their future holds; but hoping that they will see heaven when they die.

Salvation is not about escaping hell and going to heaven.  That was never God’s purpose to begin with.  When Adam sinned and man fell; and our relationship with God was lost.  God is our creator and sin separates us from a relationship with Him.

It wasn’t enough that our sins were restored but our relationship be restored with our Father.  The problem is we do not desire a relationship with God.  It is not in our sinful nature to seek after God or to do good.  The sinful nature is evil and this is the truth we have to come to realize before we can truly understand and embrace the message of the cross.  There is no one who is righteous, no not one.

Salvation is about saving one’s soul that is dead in sin.  A dead soul cannot respond to God.  A person must be “made alive” in Christ to begin to seek and want God.  Jesus didn’t come to just wash our sins away but to restore our relationship and fellowship with the Father our creator.

So salvation deals with more than the question of heaven or hell but it deals with the radical transformation of the human condition and heart.  God knows this.  God knows our hearts; if we are left to our own choices and understanding would never choose Him.  So God designed a plan not to just save us but to make us a “new” creation that would seek after Him for a real relationship and intimacy that God intended to have with man from the very beginning.

If the only reason you believe Jesus is to escape hell then you missed the message and the purpose of the gospel; for even the demons believe and they tremble (James 2:19).

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May 21, 2011 – A Dangerous Prediction

Posted in Heaven, Jesus, Salvation on May 20, 2011| 1 Comment »

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:2

“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.  Matthew 25:14

Harold Camping, Family Radio, has predicted and prophesied that the rapture will take place on May 21, 2011 and five months from then the world will end on October 21, 2011.  Camping has convinced some people that they will be raptured by Jesus on May 21st and the rest will be left to face God’s judgment.  This is not the first time someone has set a date for the rapture or the end of the world.  However, my criticism is not concerning Camping’s prediction but what really should concern us is the foundation of people’s faith.

In 2000 I was very involved in the teaching and timing of the rapture.  I remember how there were some of us who believed that the rapture would take place that year based on some events happening in the world and the timing of the earth.  One of the dates came and went and we learned that someone in our group actually committed suicide because the rapture did not happen.  We realized how dangerous it is to prophesy a specific date for the rapture or the end of the world.

As I have watched the news about this current prediction I remembered my own disappointment in 2000 and the craziness I was involved in.  It did nothing to increase or benefit my faith, nor was I effective in leading others to Jesus. I believed what I wanted to believe even though it wasn’t based on truth or God’s word.  My fascination with predicting the rapture almost became a detriment to my faith.  Since then I have grown in my relationship with Jesus and have accepted that it really is not for me to know the dates and times that have been set by God.  Instead I am learning how to live heaven on earth.  Our prayer should be that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

After the resurrection Jesus instructed the disciples to preach the gospel to all the nations of the world.  Jesus left but He did not take the Kingdom with Him, instead He told us to occupy while we wait for His return.  Our message is to teach the world about the gospel and the Kingdom.  We are to bring heaven to earth.  Jesus said the world would know us because of the love we have for one another.

There are many that believe tomorrow the rapture will take place.  Some have even emptied out their savings and have given stuff away, awaiting for tomorrow.  If the rapture fails to take place what will they do?  What will happen to their faith?  What price have they paid listening to Camping?  I pray that they will come to know Jesus in a more intimate way and just understand how much the Father loves them.  The very things they desire they can have in Jesus today.  They will remember that Jesus abides in us and we abide in Him. 

Our hope and faith must be based on the foundation of Jesus, not on another person, event or some date.  We know that one day Jesus will return and we all hope it will take place in our lifetime.  However, let us not forget the bigger picture and that is that God desires that all will come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  God takes no pleasure in the destruction of people; neither should we.

John preached that the Kingdom of God was at hand and told the people to repent.  Jesus came and preached the gospel and the kingdom of God; and we as believers must continue to take the gospel to the entire world. 

Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 the signs of His coming.  Many of the signs are just the beginning of the end.  Jesus said the end would come when the gospel of the kingdom was preached to the whole earth.  So each day Jesus tarries we must continue preaching the gospel of the kingdom – the hope that we have in Jesus.  Most of all let us share the gospel in the spirit of love and compassion; and not with fear and judgment.

Tomorrow is never promised to us.  So when May 21st does come let us rejoice and be glad in the day that the Lord has made.  “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

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No Slaves in Heaven

Posted in Heaven, Knowing God, Money, The Father, The Word on May 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave. Proverbs 22:7

The average person has some type of financial debt that they owe to a bank, financial institution, company, school, hospital, IRS or person(s).  Many of us owe money on our homes, cars, education, etc.  These lenders have the power to repossess our property, foreclose on our homes, or impose massive financial penalties for late payments and our inability to pay.  In essence we are slaves to these lenders. 

For years our family has been trying to pay down our debts.  We have consulted financial advisors, read books on money management, cut expenses, and worked out a budget.  Yet still we live paycheck to paycheck like most people trying to make ends meet.  In this time when gas and food prices are increasing the looming debts that we owe overshadow our finances.  We have spent years paying our mortgage but when we look at our principle loan amount not much of it has been paid, most of the money goes toward the interest.  I do praise God for the provision but honestly the burden of debt has gotten to be too much.  It seems to only bring stress, worry and doubts about the future.  So I did the only thing I could do and I cried out to God.

I told God we have not robbed Him.  We pay our tithes and offerings.  We have listened to man’s wisdom and strategy.  We have done our best to be good stewards with the money God has entrusted us with, but still we are bound to these lenders where most of our money goes toward paying off debts.

Is God willing to cancel our debts?  I pondered this question as I struggled on how to pray.  I know that God has paid our sin debt through the blood of Jesus.  Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection sin and death no longer have power over us.  What about our financial debts?  Is it our responsibility to get ourselves out of debt since we got ourselves in debt in the first place?  These questions caused me to doubt God’s willingness to get us out of this burdensome situation.  Then I heard God ask “Are there slaves in heaven?”

I thought about it.  There are no slaves in heaven.  Then I remembered Jesus teaching His disciples to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  It is not the will of God that we be slaves on earth.  He does not want us to be enslaved by lenders.  So what do we do?  We pray that God’s will be done, and we surrender to God’s will for our finances.  We trust God for wisdom and direction in getting ourselves out of these situations.  It may require some tough decisions and a lot of discipline.  With God all things are possible.

So if you are in debt and feel enslaved by your lenders then know that is not the will of God.  There are no slaves in heaven.  You do not have to wait until you get to heaven to be free.  For whom the Son sets free is free indeed.  Be encouraged and believe that God can and will free us from any situation we find ourselves in.   We shouldn’t have to work for money, money should work for us.

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