SHILOH MESSENGER - April 2015
















Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven But No One Wants To Die

The other day I was scrolling thru my music library on my computer and this particular song title, “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven, But No Body Wants To Die,” caught my attention.  It is a popular Blue Grass song, sung by Alison Krauss. As I pondered on the title The Holy Spirit asked me, “What does this song title reveal to you?” I thought about it and replied back to Him, “Lord I believe it reveals everybody wanting to go to Heaven, but some do not want to die to the things of this world?” I believe I answered correctly because, The Lord impressed me to read, Mark 8:34-35. This verse says, “When He (Jesus) had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.” The Lord continued to say to me, “when you exchange your life for the Cross of Christ, you will come alive to comprehend Eternity. Eternal life with Me will be rewarded by living a crucified life.”
 
This month we are celebrating the death and  resurrection and assentation of our Lord. The Secular World calls it Easter, but as a child of God we should celebrate resurrection life daily. It is good to honor this particular annual Holiday, because hopefully someone who does not know our “Resurrected King” will come to receive and know Him as Lord & Savior. It is inconceivable  to me that as Christians we have allowed the devil to convince the world that a silly rabbit is to be celebrated more than Jesus Christ. I'm not trying to ruin anyone's celebration, I’m just trying to make sense of other distractions that has stolen “The Day,” like no other. On a “Day” like no other, Jesus, “The Lamb of God,” came and offered His life as, “The Sacrifice” that took away humanities sin. All around us are the lost, sick and dying. It is now urgent more than ever that as Christians we put on Christ and make no provision for the flesh (Rom. 13:14). For when we put on Christ we look like Him, empowered like Him and Love like Him. “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren,” 1 John 3:16.
 
I heard a thought provoking message not to long ago that continues to reveal truth about dying to self. The title was called “Where Do Christians Go When They Die?” Of course the automatic answer would be, Heaven. But this is not the context of the messenger’s message. This message was a teaching on dying to self (crucified life). He went on to explain, when we accept Jesus as Lord we die to our selfish ways and instead become minister’s to reconcile man back to God (2 Cor. 5:18). This is our new nature, because the old man has died, we now live by the power of The Holy Spirit in order to carry out the plans that Christ redeemed us for. Now that our old life has been crucified (death), it is no longer we who live but Christ living in and thru us (Gal. 2:20). When this reality is received the believer is now reckoned dead, but alive in Christ. “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 6:11.
 
My perception about going to Heaven, after I die has changed over the years. Life and death has taken on new meaning, because of The Holy Spirit illuminating The Word of God. I have also developed deep intimacy with The Father. I am  experiencing that I no longer have to fear dying and wondering if I have done enough good things to counter the bad things. I have simply learned that God is a Good, Good Father and He desires for me to experience His Love. “All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love, 1 John 4:15-18. It is a wonderful opportunity that The Lord has given to us to  encounter His Love and enjoy life as He intended it to be lived, in love with Him and without fear of punishment.
 
Remember, our main topic is, we all want to go to Heaven, but first we must die (to self), so Christ can live thru us. “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,” Colossians 2:6. As we walk in Him (Christ), we will gain Heavens perspective about lost humanity, because of a renewed mind (Rom. 12:1-2) and a change of identity. Our identity has changed because we are new creations in Christ (2Cor. 5:17) and we have a new address in which to call home, we are now citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20). As citizens of Heaven, we have a home there, but we are not there yet. We do not live there yet, because we are on assignment for The Kingdom of God. Christ has made us His ambassadors and our assignment is not completed, until He calls us Home. “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (2 Cor. 5:20). This is our ministry assignment, reconciling men back to God. Our greatest gift to Jesus when we get to Heaven is, the souls of men. It is my desire to bring the Nations to lay at the feet of Jesus on that day, when I meet Him face to face. It is in my heart to live in a sense of urgency, because I anticipate at any moment a Trumpet sound, that calls the believers home (1 Thess. 4:16-17). Fear will not grip the hearts of those on the Day of Christ Judgment, because they knew Him in the secret place of their heart and are known by Him. My question to each of us is, how is our “dying” going?


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