The Hope
All those who believe in God and those who go to churches and synagogues regularly have only one wish. The wish is a hope to have eternal life and go to heaven one day.
It is incorrect to assume that all those who believe in Jesus or being born again will definitely have eternal life and go to heaven. It is so important that for the sake of your future destiny, you owe it to yourself to read the following message carefully in order to prevent any useless effort that you may spend.
“But Few are Chosen”
The fact is: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14 NLT).
“The Gateway to Life is Small”
Jesus said: “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way. But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.”(Matthew 7:13-14 NLT)
We wish you to be one of the few who finds it.
“I Never Knew You“
Please continue to read the following patiently:
Jesus also said: “Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as ‘Lord’ but they still won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. On judgment day many will tell me, ‘Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized.'” (Matthew 7:21-23 NLT)
Why a servant of God who did prophesy, cast out demons and performed many miracles in Jesus’ name but still would not be awarded with eternal life?
The answer is very simple – they failed to allow God to take control in their hearts.
False Prophets
The Wages of Sin is Death
No one should underestimate the power of Satan (the Devil) and the hardships/difficulties we may encounter when we act against sin. Only those who are willing to “SACRIFICE AGAINST SIN“ may save their life to heaven.
The following teachings made by Jesus in Matthew 18 explain the degree of determination needed in order to overcome sin. Jesus does not mean that one must sacrifice an arm or an eye in order to go to heaven. However, He does emphasize the importance to have a strong decision from His followers. “Strong Decision” can only be made successfully in the presence of the Words of God and the Holy Spirit, which is more powerful than all the strength from Satan.
“So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to enter heaven crippled or lame than to be thrown into the unquenchable fire with both your hands and feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better to enter heaven half blind than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.“(Matthew 18:8-9 NLT)
“I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.“(Matthew 18: 3 NLT)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Romans 7:23 NKJV)
I (John C Sun) had personally witnessed two famous pastors each heading a church/ministry with thousands (or even millions) members or believers had blasphemed the Holy Spirit. One used the name of the Holy Spirit and made fake and unfulfilled prophesies and the other lied against the words of God and the Holy Spirit. Although their followers (church members) may be able to go to heaven despite the fact that their leaders had made irreparable mistakes, if they knew their leaders had blasphemed the Holy Spirit, would they still listen to their pastor’s preaching and staying in that church/ministry?
We must bear in mind that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the most serious offence against God.
Jesus made a very strong warning: “Every sin or blasphemy can be forgiven – except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which can never be forgiven. Anyone who blasphemes against me, the Son of Man, can be forgiven but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.” (Matthew 12:31-32 NLT also see Mark 3:28-29 and Luke 12:10)
For obvious reasons one must choose the right church with the right leader.
“You Must Be Holy”
“For those who are not holy will not see the Lord.”(Hebrews 12:14 NLT)
God said: “You must be holy because I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:44 NLT).
Man can only be made holy by repentance and the blood of the ‘one time priest’ – Jesus – in the New and Everlasting Covenant. (see Luke 22:20 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-29).
Repentance is so important that when Jesus started preaching, the first topic He preached was Repentance (see Matthew 4:17).
At the end of the Holy Bible, the resurrected Jesus instructed John to send His messages to seven churches. Jesus emphasized the need of repentance in His messages to six out of the total of seven churches (see Revelation 2 – 3).
It is very clear that repentance is not restricted only to non-believers or those who have not been born again. Instead, it applies to all mankind.
Christians do encounter temptations and challenges from the devil (Satan) every minute of our lives. If we believe we have no sin, we are only cheating ourselves. On the other hand, we can wash our sins away by the blood of Jesus through our confessional prayers. What a privilege!
Good Deeds
James, one of the younger brothers of Jesus explained: “Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all – it is dead and useless.” (James 2:17 NLT)
James further emphasized: “Just as the body is dead without a spirit, so also faith is dead without good deeds.” ( James 2:26 NLT)
So we see that Christians must have good deeds. Alternatively, a person without good deeds is not a Christian at all.
Defeat the Devil
If we cannot defeat the devil (Satan), we cannot go to heaven.
How can we defeat the devil?
Paul explained it in detail: “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 6:11-18 NLT)
As a summary, in order to defeat Satan or the devil, we must possess:
1) the words of God,
2) the Holy Spirit,
3) frequent prayers,
4) good deeds, and
5) endurance to the end.
A very important issue for Christians is that we should never leave our hearts empty. Instead, we should always fill our hearts with ‘the words of God and the Holy Spirit’. If we don’t, we shall not be able to resist the temptations and invasions of the devil.
Jesus said: “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and clean. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.'” (Matthew 12:43-45 NLT also see Matthew 24:28)
“Take Up Your Cross”
Jesus told His disciples: “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.” (Matthew 10:38 NLT)
Jesus did not mean to ask His disciples to carry wooden crosses as He did before He was being crucified. The real meaning in Jesus’ statement was to tell His disciples that they must conquer themselves (their own hearts) from being slaves of the devil (Satan) as inherited from Adam – the ancestor of all man. Everyone will agree that the most difficult thing to do in life is to convince oneself. One of the best explanations on this issue can be found in a deposition of Paul:
“The law is good, then. The trouble is not with the law but with me, because I am sold into slavery, with sin as my master. I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can’t help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things.
I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right. I want to, but I can’t. When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it.
“It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.” (Romans 7:14-25 NLT)
The Secret Formula
If you feel that eternal life is very difficult to achieve, no one will disagree. If you feel frustrated, just hear what Jesus said: “For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:30 NLT)
In fact, we can turn difficulties to easiness through a secret formula. That is to place each and every of our burdens to God.
As human beings, we are vulnerable and can hardly overcome our own problems by our own wisdom and power. We must depend on God and ask for His help.
You can be assured of God’s response as Jesus confirmed: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew: 11:28 NLT)
Tears
God likes to see our tears (with the presence of the Holy Spirit within us) as it not only showing repentance of our sins but also showing that power of the Holy Spirit is working within us for the Glory of God, and with this power man can defeat Satan (the Devil). Only with the presence of the Power of the Holy Spirit within us that we can overcome the world. This is also how Jesus prayed for us: “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.” (John 17:15 NLT)
Do not feel ashemed about shedding tears as we need it before we enter into the Kingdom of God:
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 NKJV)
Only after entered into the New Jerusalem, God will wipe away our tears.
“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on all the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died. The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem on the day will be like the grievous mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo.
All Israel will weep in profound sorrow, each family by itself, with the husbands and wives in separate groups. The family of David will mourn, along with the family of Nathan, the family of Levi, and the family of Shimei. Each of the surviving families from Judah will mourn separately, husbands and wives apart.” (Zechariah 12:10-14 NLT)
In the Last Generation and before they go into heaven, all the remnant descendants of Jacob will give up everything on earth, even their most loved ones (husband vs wife) and look upon the one whom they have pierced (the Holy One of Israel Who came down from heaven to this world to SAVE Them) and mourn for Him alone! Amen!
“And then at last, the sign of the coming of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the nations of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30 NLT)
Tears are the tickets to heaven!
“In that day he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people.” (Isaiah 25: 7-8 NLT)
God is touched by the tears too!
“These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white. That is why they are standing in front of the throne of God, serving him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will live among them and shelter them. They will never again be hungry or thirsty, and they will be fully protected from the scorching noontime heat. For the Lamb who stands in front of the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to the springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe away all their tears.” (Revelation 7:14-17 NLT)
Tears (with the presence of the Holy Spirit) can make man Holy! Without being Holy, man cannot see God!
Jesus alerted His disciples to get ready at all the time:
“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the Flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the Flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.
Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. So be prepared, because you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.
Know this: A homeowner who knew exactly when a burglar was coming would stay alert and not permit the house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time. For the Son of Man will come when least expected.” (Matthew 24:37-44 NLT)
Endure to the End
It is important that in a race, the winner can only be declared at the end of the race. A similar situation applies to the eternal life. Jesus said: “But those who endure to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22 and 24:13)
The resurrected Jesus said: “Remain faithful even when facing death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10 NLT)
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