There is no doubt that God wants everyone to be saved and come to know the truth.
Timothy 2:3-5
3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
To become a Christian is easy. We merely have to accept what Jesus did on the cross and make Him Lord of our life. We receive eternal life as a gift from God. Jesus paid for your and my sins by shedding His blood at Calvary. The challenge starts after your rebirth by the Holy Spirit. There are a number of Bible verses that indicate that to us.
· Exod. 20: 2 You shall have no other gods before me.
· Deut. 6: 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
· 1 Peter 1:15-16 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
There are more texts that I could quote, but I believe we should rather answer the question: What does it mean in everyday life?
· It means that God must be your first and only priority in life. Nothing must be more important than Him.
· Your life should be dedicated to Him. This does not mean that you must not work and enjoy life. It means that you should have a higher calling than money, ambition etc. A very difficult time in the current circumstances with so much peer pressure.
· You must obey Him and His commands. Obedience is more important to God than offerings.
· If you willfully sin you will not see the kingdom of heaven
This now raises the question: Do you and I have “other gods” or ‘idols” in our lives that will preclude us from seeing the Kingdom of God when we die. Fortunately, if we recognize that we have a foreign god, repentance and the giving up of these gods, will secure our future on condition that we have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. God is a wonderful God, full of forgiveness when we put Him first in our lives!
1. Do you have some secret sin that you don’t want to get rid of? No one knows (except God) about it. It does not harm anyone or damages relationships (or so you think). It may be a fetish that you have. Magazines you read that are not within the will of God. God hates sin. That is willfully sinning and you will not see the kingdom of God. Get rid of it, repent and if you are a child of God, your sin will be forgiven. You will experience freedom once you dealt with the sin.
2. Sir/madam, are you having an affair outside your marriage. You claim this is the love of your life. You may even say that it must be from God because you have never felt this way before. It is an abomination in the eyes of God and if you are not willing to let it go, you will not see the kingdom of God. Stop the affair, repent and spend your time restoring your marriage. And don’t tell me you have lost your love for your marriage partner. God commands you to love your wife (men) like Christ loves His church. He would not say that if you are not able to do so. Wives, you are supposed to be your husband’s helper as God intended. Your sin, if you do not want to let the affair go, is lust. It can never be real love.
3. You young man or woman that sleep around out of marriage. That is fornication. It is also an abomination in the eyes of God and you will not see the kingdom of God. If is you are not willing to stop your action and repent your sin of lust will preclude you from eternal life.
4. Preachers of the prosperity theology, you are preaching a false Gospel. You are a false profit. Your sin is coveting earthly possessions and you will not see the kingdom of God.
5. Preachers, when you have delivered a “good: sermon and on the way out someone comments positively on the sermon. What is your reaction? Do you keep quiet and revel in the fact that you “did it” or do you deflect the glory to God. It is His Holy Spirit that helped you prepare your sermon and deliver it. It is not of your own works. God does not share His glory with anyone. Be careful that pride does not preclude you from seeing the Kingdom of God.
6. Preachers, when you prepare your sermon and deliver your sermon, have you changed it not to upset the congregation or are you willing to risk popularity to proclaim the truth. Not delivering the sermon as the Holy Spirit dictates, you are willfully disobedient to God and will not see the kingdom of God. The reality of the Gospel is repentance, persecution and taking up your cross and denying yourself. Your salvation cost Jesus His life. How can you think that minimizing the cost of salvation will bring you into the kingdom of God?
7. Preachers and missionaries, why do you count the number of people that has come to Christ in your ministry. And then you broadcast it regularly. Is that to show other people how successful your ministry is? That is pride and you can lose your road to the kingdom of God. You had nothing to do with their acceptance of Jesus Christ. The Word says that someone plants the seed, someone else waters the seed and it is God through His Holy Spirit that makes the plant grow. All the glory belongs to the Lord and He does not share His glory with anyone. Examine your motive.
8. Preachers and ministries. Some of you claim that you have a spiritual gift (1 Cor. 12). That is a wonderful grace that God gives. However some of you claim that they are a permanent gift that you have. Some of you will e.g. put up an advert that says: Revival meeting. Come and be healed Pastor X will pray for you. Or something similar. When I read 1 Cor. 12, there are a number of principles that is evident. These gifts come and go as God pleases. All reborn Christians can have some or all of these gifts as needed. These gifts are to Glorify God and build the church. In the healing ministry, and I believe in miracle healing through prayer, how do you know that your gift will manifest that night. What about the devastation, spiritually, of the people that came expecting healing and have to go home disappointed. God does not always heal. Even Jesus did not always heal. Be careful.
9. Preachers and ministries. How do you apply the gifts especially the speaking in tongues? I have been in many churches where numerous people speak in tongues together without interpretation or are prayed for in tongues without interpretation. Paul says that if there is no interpretation it is not from God. They should be rebuked and silenced. We have to recognize that sometimes people become prideful and misuse these gifts. Did you know that a person that is prideful about his/her gift can actually talk in tongues that are from the evil one? God is a God of discipline. Never forget that. What about the laughing spirit, etc., that disturbs the preaching of the Gospel. That is not within the will of God. You are tasked to see that order is in the church. Be careful.
10. Preachers, and ordinary Christians, are you going along with the world view that God has softened towards sin. Are you condoning the ungodly lifestyle of people? You will not see the kingdom of God. God’s view on sin has not changed. The only difference from the Old to the New Testament is that God does not necessarily dish out His wrath immediately but has deferred the time of His judgement so that people can come to Christ. God and the Bible have not changed. People have. The wrath of God will in all probability be far worse on judgment day. They have denied His Son that He willfully sacrificed to pay for your sins. Your role as preacher is to tell people the truth so that they can become aware of their sin so that they can repent and come to Christ.
11. Sir/Madam, you that work so hard for the church. Is your motivation to get accolades to boost your self-image or is it to glorify God. Has your work for the church stared to impact your time and relationship with God? If your motivation is wrong, nothing you do will impress God. You may be heading down a road that leads you down the wrong path. Evaluate your motivation. Just do what God asks.
12. Finally. How much time do you spend making a living, on your sport, socializing, etc.? Now none of these are in principle wrong. The Bible is clear that we must work to eat, sport is good for the body and we are social beings that need contact with people. The question to ask is whether these activities impede upon your relationship with the Lord or times spend with your family. If it does, these activities could be a “god” in your lives and could preclude you from seeing the Kingdom of God. What is wonderful is that when God is your first and only priority, these activities get their rightful place in your lives and you can really enjoy them!!
I am not judging anybody. I am evaluating your and my actions and asking questions for you and me to ponder on. Most preachers and children of God serve the Lord with passion and conviction. They will see the Kingdom of God. Don’t doubt your salvation if your intentions are for the glory of the Lord.
· Philippians 4:8 - 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Have a wonderful day.
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