NOTE: I apologize for this post being long. But, it needs to be shared. If I break it up into several posts, it ends up being disjointed and confusing.
We don’t realize what we’re asking of Jesus. Our requests are purely for selfish gain and temporal reasons. We must realize that we need to look from an eternal spiritual perspective; not an earthly temporal perspective. The spiritual perspective is a totally different view than the earthly temporal one.
We must seek Jesus and HIS eternal home. Living in a temporal earthly life has one requirement compared to the one eternal spiritual requirements. We have to live out both requirements in order to work out our salvation with the fear and trembling of Yahweh.
As it says in Revelation, below, we must be hot or cold; not lukewarm.
Jesus said in Revelation 3:14-22
“Write this to the angel of the church in Laodicea:
“The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of all God has made, says this: I know what you do, that you are not hot or cold. I wish that you were hot or cold! But because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am ready to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich, and I have become wealthy and do not need anything.’ But you do not know that you are really miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold made pure in fire so you can be truly rich. Buy from me white clothes so you can be clothed and so you can cover your shameful nakedness. Buy from me medicine to put on your eyes so you can truly see.
“I correct and punish those whom I love. So be eager to do right, and change your hearts and lives.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you will eat with me. “Those who win the victory will sit with me on my throne in the same way that I won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne. Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Two requirements:
- Temporal earthly-three main things
- Scripture support:
2 Corinthians 4:16b-18
Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
- We make it our aim to please God, both now when we are in our physical bodies and later when we see rightly and live for eternity.
- Keeping eternity in our sights reminds us of the briefness of the lifespan of our temporal existence.
- Scripture support:
James 1:27 says: Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
- We are in a relationship with GOD/Yahweh. The other part of the Trinity (Jesus/Holy Spirit) will fall into place when it’s true.
- It’s pretty self-explanatory.
- Scripture support:
Mark 13:10 says: But first, the Good News must be spread to all nations.
Mark 16:15 says: Jesus said to his followers, “Go everywhere in the world and tell the Good News to everyone.
- It’s our mission to share the Good News of God’s Kingdom and that Jesus is our Savior.
- Spiritual eternal-four main things
- Everything in number 1 above points to our spiritual health. However, there are separate spiritual points we should take into consideration.
- Scripture support:
Ephesians 2:8-9 says: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
- We are saved by grace. We offer nothing to the equation.
- Scripture support:
Hebrews 11:6 says: And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
- Faith & Obedience to God is a requirement of eternal life. Everything will tie in together as you read on!
- Obedience is an expression of our deep, abiding faith in His promises.
- Obedience is a willing expression of our love and gratitude for all He is willing to give.
- Through obedience, we demonstrate our faith in Jesus, overcome the world and accomplish God’s purpose.
- There is no contradiction between faith and obedience.
- Scripture support:
1 John 5:1-5 says Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is God’s child, and whoever loves the Father also loves the Father’s children. This is how we know we love God’s children: when we love God and obey his commands. Loving God means obeying his commands. And God’s commands are not too hard for us, because everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world—our faith. So the one who conquers the world is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
- We know that all believers will receive resurrected bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42-44 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.) Which means, we will not exist without body & spirit, but we will possess glorified bodies especially suited for an existence in the eternal state.
- Scripture support:
Ephesians 4:13-14 tells us this: This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like a mature person, growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection. Then we will no longer be babies. We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. We will not be influenced by every new teaching we hear from people who are trying to fool us. They make plans and try any kind of trick to fool people into following the wrong path.
- Spiritual boundaries are beneficial to our spiritual well-being. There should be clear boundaries to govern the beliefs we hold and how we put those beliefs into practice.
- Not having spiritual boundaries can lead to theological confusion and the misbehavior that comes with it.
- The best way to understand and have clarity on this subject is to read more here.
When we remove our human selfishness and live our lives out in faith and obedience to Yahweh, we are blessed by Him and we bless Him. Our rewards in heaven will vary depending on our earthly ministries. It’s in scripture, look it up for yourselves.
How does your earthly ministry lend to your spiritual health and eternal destiny?
Prayer: Father God, I lift up myself as well as the readers of this blog. I pray that their lives are a blessing to You and that they will live out their faith in obedience to You, in eagerness. Light our paths in such a way that we have no question it’s You leading us. Thank You for our salvation and Your grace and mercy. I pray also for all the world leaders to seek You and that they will be obedient to You. I lift up the ill, physical, mental, and spiritual. I pray that all those affected by some horrific tragedy will find solace in You. I know and trust You to meet all needs. Thank You for all the answered prayers. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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