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A Christian's journey to Heaven.
I want to share what the Lord has been teaching me about the journey to Heaven. This journey is not for the Cowardly and it is not for anyone who wants to be an average believer. You will never get there. It calls for TOTAL surrender and TOTAL separation from the world. You have to lose your life in order to find it.
He began teaching me at this verse Matthew 11:12 which says "And from the time of John the baptist until now,the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent shall take it by force."
Many people misinterpret this for physical violence when praying and go about hitting walls and lifting chairs and throwing them about when praying but the Lord told me that what it means is Violence of the Spirit. That is, resisting the devil. The devil will stop at nothing to stop you from going to heaven and you should also stop at nothing in order to get there. It is a war and that is why you need the armor of God (Ephesians 6:19-18). Those are your weapons because the bible says that are weapons of our warfare are not carnal but they are Mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.
Luke 13:24 says, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate for many I tell you will try to enter and will not be able to."
When we look at this verse what do we usually think? We think that the part which says many will not be able to enter talks about unbelievers but it doesn't. It says MANY WILL TRY to enter but will not be able to.
It means they are Christians who are actually trying to enter Heaven but they will not be able to. They are also seeking after God but they will eventually fall back. That is why we have to stand firm to the end.
Rev 2:26 says" And he that Overcomes and keeps my works TO THE END, to him will I give power over the nations."
Why will some try to enter and fail? because they have been overcome by the devil. They have become cowards and have decided to please people instead of God. They have failed to resist the devil.
Matthew 13:20 says " But he who received the seed in stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word,immediately he stumbles.''
If you are a true Christian,it is a must that you will be tested and if you are not,then you are not true Christian.
The time of testing is very bitter and that is when many people feel like giving up but we should know that if we do not suffer with Christ, we will NEVER reign with Him(2 Timothy 2:12).
It is the only way to Heaven. That is why Jesus said in Luke 14:27-28 "And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? least,after he has built the foundation, and is not able to finish,all who see it begin to mock him."
The Lord showed my sister Rachael a vision of an Angel sieving the world. Seperating the Sheep from the goats. But what surprised us is that instead of using a sieve, he was using a CLOTH! Which means that only the smallest particles will pass through. Only the true Sheep.
Proverbs 17:3 says, "The fining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord trieth the hearts. God will test you to see if you are really His. You can not just claim without proving it. Being a Christian does not mean no trials but the bible says that all who want to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. The Gate is narrow and the road is hard.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16:13" Watch,stand fast in the faith. Be Brave,be Strong.'' Why should you be brave and strong if the battle is easy?
The journey also calls for you to Watch that, is to pray. Without constant fasting and prayer, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Not because fasting is a requirement for you to enter Heaven but because without it,you will not be able to overcome the flesh at all. You have to subdue the flesh and its desires through fasting.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:27,"But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."
If you do not subdue your body through fasting,through praying all night,through self denial,it will subdue your spiritual man because the flesh does not desire what the spirit wants and the spirit does not desire what the flesh wants.
And the fruits of the flesh are evident such as fornication but of the spirit such as faithfulness (Galatians 5).
Isn't it strange how when all we do is eat continuously it seems harder to overcome and easier to try and please this world and those who are found around us?
He says the violent shall take it by force. The word by force means you are grabbing it from someone who doesn't want you to have it and in this case, it's the devil. The devil will do things to make you want to give up on God. He will try to make you ashamed of the things of God. He just wants to stop you. Sometimes things can get so bad that you just want to stop.
Remember, the devil will stop at nothing to try and stop you so you have to take the Kingdom of Heaven by force. He can use fear or intimidation. For example, when you pray, he attacks you with sickness. He is trying to stop you from praying. When you pray, you feel evil presences around you, he wants to intimidate you out of your prayer room. Sometimes, people will even accuse you of something which did not even come into your mind. That is being falsely accused for the sake of Christ. Don't think it strange but it is written that it will happen! People will oppress you and then act the victims. They will demonize you yet they are the real villains. The people you expect to stand by you will betray you at the time you need them most and they will turn into a devil right before your face and fight against you with the rest of the world.
2 Corinthians 11:23-29 talks about how much Paul suffered for the gospel. Was he not human like us and did he not want peace and happiness like us, he certainly did. But he had to be tested so that he could prove if he will follow Christ even in the fire.
When you dress Holy and don't follow after the things of this world, people will treat you like you are the weirdest person they have ever met. That is the devil. Resist him and he will flee.
I remember recently when Rachael and I went evangelising. We were talking to group of School boys and the people passing by literally laughed in our faces, LOUDLY and shook their heads as if we were foolish for evangelising. Not one person but many who were passing by one after the other. At that time,it felt like giving up but the Holy Spirit reminded us -Resisting. That is how desperate the devil is. If you are being Holy in your dressing, you are staying away from secular music etc, MOBS will try to influence you back into the world and make you feel as if you are insane if you are not doing those things but remember, you must take the Kingdom of Heaven by force. Just be persistent.
Unless we know this truth, we will be misled and whilst we think we stand, we will fall. Let us also always remember to intercede for those on the way to Hell through their lifestyles as if it were our own souls going to damnation.
Just remember that He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world and the Holy Spirit is there to help us claim the Victory because indeed it was already won on the cross of Calvary! Just submit to God and resist the devil and he WILL Flee.
SHALOM
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