SEVEN VITAL TRUTHS ABOUT HEAVEN
- We are commanded to think and talk more about heaven than the present life. Col. 3:1-2 says, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth”. We are supposed to be heavenly minded; we are expected to set our minds on things that are above and not on things down here. The Bible is very emphatic about this in James 4:4, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” and Rom. 8:5-6, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace”. This is self-explanatory. Whenever you notice that you are becoming carnal, watch it, it means you are deviating and this deviation is capable of taking you to hell. Are you heavenly minded? If you are, then you are heavenly headed but if you are carnally minded, you will not even hear the sound of the trumpet because you will be busy satisfying carnal appetite. What does it take to be heavenly minded? There is a very profound instruction in Jude 21 that most Christians overlook, many concentrate more on the verse 20 than verse 21 which says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”. This is the secret. Love is not something you can hide. You cannot be in love and not be passionate about it. Tell me what or who you are chasing and I will tell you what or who you love. You cannot say that you love God and everything you think about and pursue is mammon. This scripture says, you should keep yourself in the love of God. You are the one to do the keeping, it is your responsibility to keep yourself in the love of God. How do you keep yourself in the love of God? Check your heart! Before Jesus left for heaven, he asked Peter, “lovest thou me?” Remember that Peter had followed Jesus for about three and half years. This shows that you can be in the Church and yet not love Christ. Going to Church is not the ticket, it goes beyond that. Jesus told Peter, the only way that I can be sure that you love me is ‘feed my lambs’. In other words, change your vocation, if you love me, then you will mind my business. The love of God will propel you to think, to talk, to act and to seek him, it will propel you to his presence and your affection will be how to please him. This is not automatic. You must keep yourself in him, remain on track as it is so easy to derail. Many people go to Church just to seek the hand of God and not his heart. They are not prepared to learn the principles of God. The greatest miracle is the miracle of salvation. Anyone who misses heaven is a failure regardless of his accomplishments here on earth. Do you really love Jesus? Tell me what you are chasing and I will tell you what you love. Apart from keeping yourself, you are to look for the mercy of Christ for eternal life. It is the mercy of Christ that will secure eternal life for you. Nobody can make heaven on his or her own ticket. Are you a Minister of the Gospel? What is your motive for going into ministry? You must understand that every ministry has a philosophy. Every child of God has an assignment from God. If God has called you, he will do his work, you don’t need anybody’s endorsement or recognition. Tune to the frequency of heaven. Heaven is real. If you really love God and you keep on track, your heaven will start from here.
TO BE CONTINUED.