Mood:
not sureTopic: Heaven
IF WE MISS HEAVEN, WE MISS IT ALL.
By: Pastor. John B. Neal
“...........whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows----such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man---whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows----how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (II Corinthians 12: 1-4).Paul here is talking about the abode of God, where God dwells, where his throne is, where the angels are. The streets of pure gold, the walls made of Jasper, the gates are all of pearls. What a beautiful picture Paul and John paint for us, what joy there will be when we make it to this paradise Paul spoke of.We read of these things, but is our mind really on these things, or are they on the pleasures of this earth? Have we ever asked ourselves, how hard are we trying to make it up there? The preachers keep telling us; Jesus paid it all for us. He paid our debt of sin, so we won’t have to. That is true. But do you think that Jesus went through all that pain and suffering, humiliation, of being mocked, and ridiculed, so that we could just sit back and enjoy the pleasures of this world, and do nothing. No, my friend, there is more to it than that. If that is what you think then you have blinders on. If you do not come to Jesus, and take on his name through the water baptism, and covered by his blood that he shed for you, and follows his law and his word, then you are bastards and none of his. I didn’t say that, that is in the word of God. How hard are we trying or are we trying at all? If we miss Heaven, we’ve missed it all.Don’t be like an Ostrich, with your head buried in the sand, and pretend you don’t understand what I’m talking about. We have one shot at this, and we’re not going to get another.There are many places I would love to have visited, like Jerusalem, to walk on those dust streets that Jesus trod. To walk with Jesus by the Sea of Galilee, where John, Andrew, James, and Peter were fishing, to view the place where Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world. To visit the tomb where Jesus was laid, to see the stone rolled away from the door. Where the angel told Mary Magdalene, “He is not here, he is risen.” She was asked, “Why seek ye the living, among the dead?” I don’t think I will ever get to any of these places, although my desire is that I shall be able to walk the streets of the New Jerusalem, which comes down from God.” I can walk with Jesus on those streets of gold, and talk with the Old Testament prophets, and the Apostles, but if we don’t keep our mind on Heaven, and we let the cares and pleasures of this world dominate our lives, if we miss heaven, we will miss it all.Heaven is something that we can all be a part of. Heaven is within the grasp of us all. But we have to reach out, and take hold of it. We have to take hold on Salvation, and that only comes through Jesus Christ, for it is He, one and only one, the Savior of the world.Acts 4: 12 “Neither is there Salvation in any other, for there is no other name under Heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.”Col. 3: 17 “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God, and the Father by Him.”Col. 2: 9-10 “For in Him (that is Jesus) dwelleth all the fullness of the God Head bodily. And ye are complete in Him who is the head of all principalities and power.”If we miss out on knowing Jesus, we have missed our chance of enter into heaven. For Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life, (St. John 11: 25).Jesus told Martha, “He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die, believeth thou this.”If we do not believe, or fail to believe, we have no eternal life abiding in us, and instead of Heaven, it will be Hell. Those that believe in Jesus, and keep his laws, will not die the second death. (Spiritual death.)We need to ask ourselves, just how important to us are the pleasures of this world? They are only good for a very short time, compared to all eternity spent in hell. The rich man enjoyed the good things, the pleasures of this world, but when he died he lifted up his eyes in hell, and begged Abraham just to let Lazarus dip his finger in some water, and put just a drop on his hot, parched tongue. But there is a gulf that separates, heaven from hell, and there is no crossing over. We all have our chance, while here on this earth, to make our decision of where we want to spend eternity. Once our eyes are closed in that eternal sleep, it’s too late to said, “Oh, I wish I had put my trust in Jesus.”The pleasures of this life are but for a fleeting moment, compared with eternity. Where will we spend eternity, there are only two choices, in heaven with Jesus, or in hell with the fallen angels. In heaven, we will never want to leave, but in hell, we will never be allowed to leave, but be in torment for all eternity. It is not a very pretty picture, but neither is it supposed to be.Jesus would we all be saved, but all will not be saved, for the prince of this world has most people blinded. Satan has most of people right where he wants them; he holds them in the palm of his hand. They are like a puppet on a string, Satan pulls the string and they jump to his command, and either they can’t see it, or know it, or even care about it, as long as they have a good time, I mean to partake of the sin of this world. People today call right wrong and wrong right. They are getting to the point where they don’t see it as sin. They have been blinded by the dazzle and sparkle of this world.What are people searching for, what are they seeking? If they have found what their flesh craves, why are they still out all night seeking for it? Don’t they know there is joy in the Lord? There is comfort in the Lord. Jesus can and does put a song in your heart. He makes you feel safe and secure. You can never find that in a bottle of booze, nor drugs, heroin, nor cocaine, sex or money, their soul is never satisfied. It seems that the world is playing follow the leader, and Satan is their leader. He leads us into trouble, but once we are in, he never bothers to help us out. Missing out on heaven for the things this world has to offer is not a very wise choice for any of us. It is time we put away childish things and stop being a pleasure seeker, and become a Jesus seeker. There is life in Jesus, but sin brings forth death, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6: 23).“Good understanding giveth favor but the ways of transgressors is hard” (Prov. 13: 15).Think about it, if we miss out on heaven, we have missed it all, for who wants to spend their days through all eternity in torment? I can’t answer for you, but I know I don’t. A true Christian should never become complacent. Def: means satisfied, self-satisfied, smug; content, or at ease. Pleased with ones self. Have you ever seen a person who calls themselves a Christians, that seems to be smug, and very well pleased with themselves? I am sure you have. They seems to be too saved to talk to an ordinary human being. If we become too complacent we may meet that same person coming up as we are going down. Remember the two men that were crucified with Jesus on that fateful day. Jesus told one of them, “Today thou shall be with me in paradise” (St. Luke 23: 43). No one need despair, but remember, only one, so that none may presume, or take for granted. I have heard people say that, if Jesus were to come right now, “I would be ready to go with him. “ Well, I don’t know, and it not for me to say, if they are or if they are not, but what I am saying, be absolutely sure, before that Red Devil behind those white pearly gates speaks out of order. A person shouldn’t become too cocky, become saved, for God knows those that are his.The apostle Paul said, we haven’t obtained yet. Don’t miss heaven, my friend. If you do, you have missed it all, and where you spend eternity, is up to you. The choice is yours. For your sake, make the right choice. Jesus is waiting.
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Posted by J.C.A.M.I. Staff
at 10:09 PM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 9 August 2008 4:10 PM EDT
