#1843 0623 13P

            Each one of us has been given an allotment of time; it is crucial how we use it.  Our proper use of time will prepare us for when time shall be no more.  A time when there is no time—no watches; no deadlines, and no limits cannot really be understood.  Therefore, our endless existence after this life is the most important matter we could ever consider.

            God’s Truth from His Word must be known, accepted, and lived—today and everyday.  Our preparation for God’s kingdom, under His teaching and training, must command our attention—because it can only take place here!

            We will all spend eternity somewhere—and it can be in Heaven.  There are two places—one is Heaven where the saints glorify God for ever and ever; and the other is Hell where unbelievers suffer in torment for ever and ever. 

            It is impossible to describe the agony and torture of such a place, but it is real, and most people will go there, because they will not believe God, nor will they trust Him in faith for anything.  The man tormented in the flames Luke 16, shows how serious it is, and how isolated the man is to all he once enjoyed.  He could not have even a drink of water.

            Adding to his horrible predicament would be his family eventually joining him.  There could not be a worse situation, but it could have been avoided; and it could have been so different, with his loved ones following his example of faith and trust on the living God—to a much different place.

            There is much suffering in the world, but it ends at some point—the next destination never ends.  The only place where our eternal soul can be prepared for eternal life is right now in this life—and right here on this earth.  We must be prepared here, because there will be no other opportunity.  Hebrews 9:27 ”It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

            Satan’s one objective is to hinder our preparation for eternity.  He will use anyone, anything, or any doctrine to meet his objective.  Anyone who knows the Truth, and has been enlightened by the Holy Spirit to understand the importance of spiritual growth, should thank God every day.  The average church has no teaching that would prepare anyone for eternal life, because they do not teach believing faith on the living God.

            If this life here is the only place to be prepared for eternity, then we must live our life here in a way that would give access to God’s kingdom.  1 Corinthians 9:24 ”Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain”—by real faith in God every day.

            Ephesians 5:15-17 ”Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity [redeeming the time], because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”  The Lord’s will is to trust Him for everything.

            This life is a great opportunity for spiritual growth and readiness for eternity.  We must take advantage of every opportunity to learn spiritual lessons on trust.  Jesus died on the cross, and then rose to life so we could be delivered from Satan’s power.  Jesus wants to restore the blessings lost through Adam’s sin.  The resurrection of Christ guarantees the promises of God.

            Most churches today teach a doctrine that nullifies the Gospel of Christ—which would hinder being prepared for eternity.  They say that God has changed, which would mean that Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Atonement for sin have changed.  They say that God does not do things like He did in the Bible, but that means He would not prepare anyone for Heaven.  These churches do not teach how to meet things according to the Bible standard of faith in God.

            Righteousness is only by a believing faith in the shed Blood of Christ—for physical healing and protection without human means, policies, or prescriptions.  Bible faith includes answers to prayer for finances; for peace in our home; for spiritual enlightenment; and for anything else.  False teaching is directly from Satan to hinder our blessings here, and to prevent our preparation for eternal life.

            The Bible says God has not changed Malachi 3:6; because Hebrews 13:8 ”Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”  God is no respecter of persons—of any age, culture, or nation Acts 10:34.  Whatever God did in the Bible, He would have to do for anyone today—when His conditions of faith are met.  Acts 3:16 ”It is His name—faith in that name being the condition—which has strengthened this man.”

            It is just as spiritually fatal to believe the lie of the devil that God has changed, as it was for the Jews to say Jesus was not divine.  Accepting either lie would take anyone to Hell.  Satan tries to convince us that God does not manifest His power in this life—on this earth.  The original sin of Adam was to go his own way without God; and if we turn our back on God we are following Adam’s sin.

            Satan wants us to believe that God does not do things for us today, because ignoring God and going our own way is the root of all other sins.  The most wicked and rebellious attitude we could take, is to believe that God has changed—because His Word says that He can not change.  Believing the lie that God has changed, will affect where eternity is spent.

            Isaiah 30:9 ”These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the LORD’s instruction.”  Jeremiah 13:10  "These wicked [evil] people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless!”

            To receive eternal life, we will have to believe an unchanged God, an unchanged Christ, an unchanged Spirit, and an unchanged Atonement—because a changed God or a different Jesus is no God at all.  There is no excuse for any one or any church group to believe the lie that God has changed because the Bible says differently.

            John 1:1 ”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  The Word and promises of God do not change, because God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit cannot change.

            We all can choose to listen to whomever we please, and we are entirely responsible for the choice we make.  The right choice is to listen to God, and to prove in our own life that what He did for His children in the Bible, He will do for any of His children today.

            Most churches choose to listen to the devil—this has blocked any spiritual enlightenment.  2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ”The veil has been on the hearts of those who are on the way to perdition, in whom the god of this present age has blinded their unbelieving minds.”

            Accepting the devil’s lies, and rejecting the Bible’s teaching, has robbed the average church member of everything Jesus died to give them—in this fleeting life and the next eternal one.  If there is no real repentance or change of heart, they will go to the lake of fire, and most likely see their family there also—with no one to blame but themselves, because the Bible told them differently.

            The conditions to be prepared for eternity have been forgotten or rejected by the majority of professing Christians.  All too many are clueless about these conditions.  The average church attendant believes that if they are honest; if they live a decent moral life; and if they profess belief in the historical facts of Christ’s resurrection, they will surely go to Heaven.

            Many professing Christians are preached into heaven by the minister at their funeral, in spite of the fact that the deceased did not meet one qualification for eternal life—as it is presented in the Word of God—shocking as that truth may be.

            There are three qualifications for eternity—1: a new birth; 2: an uncompromising surrender of our will to God; and 3: spiritual growth under the teaching of the Holy Spirit John 16:13 "When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.”

            Jesus told Nicodemus that step one is being born again.  This was not an automatic through ticket to Heaven, but a first and very important step of being prepared.  John 3:3 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  The old attitude that will not trust God for anything must be replaced with a new attitude that will trust God for everything.

            The only thing that counts in being prepared for Heaven, is having a new birth and being—“a new creature” Galatians 6:15.  A new person, with a believing heart, would never accept the false doctrine of once saved, always saved—called eternal security.   A qualification for president is to be a natural-born citizen, but what takes place in their life after their birth, is what matters.

            A genuine born-again believer will not oppose or reject any clear teaching of the Bible.  Just believing historical Bible facts would not give anyone eternal life—but truly believing on the Atonement Blood of Christ, for a true conversion of the heart, and then living a life of faith in that sacrifice for sins, will.  Our faith must be Abraham’s faith—a spoken faith that cooperates with acting in faith James 2:22.  It is acting faith that enables God to credit righteousness to us—as He did Abraham.

            John 3:16 “God did so love the world, that His Son—the only begotten—He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish.”  To believe in Jesus means to believe on the sacrifice He made for us. 

            It means to trust in faith on His shed Blood and knowing that our sins are forgiven.  It is to know that we can enjoy good health; that we can be delivered from Satan’s oppressions; that we can be filled with the Holy Spirit; and that we can have every daily need, by a trusting faith in the Atonement of Christ.

            When we are reborn, we will follow God’s Word; Proverbs 28:13 ”He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”  1 John 1:9 ”If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

            God always forgives our sins, when we truly confess and forsake them.  The Holy Spirit then inspires us to believe that this forgiveness is a true fact on the authority of God’s Word, and through the merit of Jesus’ shed Blood.  That prepares us for the timeless eternity—facing everyone!  Time is running out—it is time to hear God’s voice and Hebrews 3:8 ”Harden not your hearts.”