Lord, who may dwell in your sacred
tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does
what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue
utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on
others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it
hurts, and does not change their mind; who lends money to the poor without
interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does
these things will never be shaken. Psalms 15:1-5.
For this very reason, make
every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to
knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual
affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they
will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind,
forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my
brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election.
For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich
welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. II Peter
1:5-11.
The love of heaven makes one
heavenly. -
William Shakespeare.
In the corporate world there is a saying that “the way to the top is down.” This
bespeaks of the Bottom-top approach to management in corporate governance. On
the flipside, speaking of Christians, it is appropriate to say that the way to up is down. In other words,
the way to make Heaven is by the way we live down here. If we mess up our lives
in this realm of existence, Heaven will become far-fetched.
The
desire to make Heaven changes everything about how we live in this plane of
existence. When you desire to make Heaven, that desire should affect how you
live here on Earth: your value system changes. Instead of living for the here
and now, you would begin to live with eternity in view.
If there is anything worth craving for, it is Heaven
– the eternal home of our souls. It will amount to absolute stupidity if we
should use what is inconsequential to destroy what is consequential; to allow
that which is temporal to destroy that which is permanent and to use what is
useless to destroy what is useful.
How we live down here will in the long run affect
our chances of making Heaven. The lives we live down here are what lay the
foundations upon which to build the superstructures of our expectations up
there.
WHAT IS
HEAVEN?
Heaven is the eternal home of the soul. It is the
sacred home of the faithful where God’s Presence is made more manisfest
(Revelations 21:3). I Corinthians 2:9 reminds us that what eyes have not seen, the ears have not heard and the heart of man
imagined are what God has prepared for those who love Him.
Heaven is opposite of Earth. What earth is known for
is not known in Heaven. The peace and serenity of Heaven; its glory and
grandeur are not what are easily fathomable. If we could think of the beauty of
the most beautiful city and place on earth, then such beauty pales into
insignifficance when compared to Heaven. It is such a wonderful place that God
had to give up the best He has to allow mankind the opportunity to experience
it. It is such a beautiful place that Jesus accepted to endure the pains and
agonies of the Cross to make sure that God’s desire became a reality.
The word pictures painted in Scripture regarding
Heaven are things that should elicit the desire of every one of us to ensure
that we are welcomed into that Holiday of Glory. I assure you that one second
in Heaven will be enough reward for all the troubles and challenges of this
life:
“The twelve
gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street
of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass” (Revelation 21:21).
“The city had
no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God
illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved
shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor
into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night
there)” (Revelation 21:23-25).
“They shall
see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night
there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them
light. And they shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation
22:4-5).
CHALLENGES OF MAKING HEAVEN
Seeking
to make Heaven is not going to be a tea-party affair. It is like swimming against the tide. The more you seek to do what is right, the more the Devil
unleashes a plethora of challenges. Dr. Theodore H. EPP captures the situation
thus:
“The moment
you became a Christian, Satan began a fight to regain your allegiance. The last
thing he wants you to have is a victorious Christian life. That’s why it’s so
hard to do what’s right. Inspite of your deep desire to please God, Satan can
hinder you ….”
One of the strategies the devil will employ to hinder
your efforts is to use you against you. In this Christians race to make Heaven,
you will be your own worst enemy as well as your own best friend depending on
how you allow you to influence you. At Galatians 5:16-17, Holy Spirit warns:
For
the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and
these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that
ye would.
William F. Kumuyi advised:
As a Christian
… you should be watchful because the devil knows your needs. For that reason he
will try to bring up counterfeits across your way. Your flesh will also rise up
many times and recommend what your spirit knows you should not have, in a grand
conspiracy of the flesh against your spirit to ruin you.
HOW DOES THE DOWN SEEK TO INFLUENCE OUR UP?
One
of the greatest factors is our environments. Our environment is so alluringly
corruptive that God’s servants were lured away by those who were in it (Genesis
6:1-5). Today, a three-pronged approach is used by our environment to obstruct
righteous living (I John 2:15-16); its embers constantly being fanned by the
power of darkness, whose goal it is to ensure that no one maintains a grip on
righteousness.
1.
“Dazzling Sights and Tempting Sounds” (II
Peter 2:7-8; Songs of The
Church, 200, Stanza 2).
a.These “Dazzling
sights and tempting sounds” of today are made worse by our mass media through
alluring forms of entertainment in all its genres. Broadcast and print (Radio,
television, newspapers and magazines; books and novels). We are constantly
being bombarded with negative ideals in music, movies and suggestive
literatures as well as clothings.
b. In all of
recorded history, Sodom and Gomorrah were most notorious, although our
generation with all its advancements in sciences and technology is trying to
outdo Sodom and Gomorrah. However, Lot, who lived in that corruptive
environment did not “Feel lured” by the “Sights and sounds,” but “Felt righteous indignation” because “His righteous soul was tormented by what he
saw and heard” (II Peter 2:8). Rather than being attracted, his
sensibilities were assaulted by them; he did not give in to them, he resisted. We
read that, “his righteous soul was
tormented by what he saw and heard” among people who populated his
environment.
2.
Fame and Fortune (Hebrews
11:23-27).
a. The twin forces
of Fame and fortune have been judiciously employed by our environment to hinder
us from making it to the top. Because of these many have lost their balance and
fallen off (cf. I Timothy 6:9). The devil used these on Jesus but failed (Matthew
4:8-10).
b. Imagine what it
means to be an adopted son of Aso Rock? That was exactly the offer Moses
received so that he could compromise his heritage. Thank God, he refused, aware
that whatever the environment offered was only a “passing pleasure”. We are
reminded that “we brought nothing into the world and cannot take anything out
of it either” (I Timothy 6:7). Considering this, therefore, our environment
wants us to exchange that which eternal for that which is ephemeral (Matthew
16:26-27).
3. Becoming Like the Jones and the
Joneses (I Samuel 8:4-5).
One of the most negative forces which
our environment exerts on us is through our peers. Because of our
deep sense of belonging, we sometimes want to become like the people around
us. That was Israel’s error. We want to dress and talk like them. Someone
wrote that we are all created “original,” but that many are dying as “copies.”
It is not the world that should determine
our morality for us, God does. We are not to imitate the world around us because they do not
have anything meaningful to offer, but riotousness and vanities. We should not
conform to the world but be transformed. Christians should become role models
for our environment and not vice-versa. We should live above our environment and not within it. The mold in which the world finds itself should not contain us.
Many have gone astray by joining party
with the world, thereby throwing in the towel to righteous living. To bow
to our environment is to bring shame to our Heavenly Father.
KEY TO
OVERCOMING OUR ENVIRONMENT
1. Watch Your Eyes (Genesis 3:6; cf. John
9:38-41).
a. David could not watch over
his eyes and it landed him into trouble (II Samuel 11:1-2).
b. You can’t be evil if you
don’t think evil. You would not think evil if you do not see evil. You would not
see evil if you watch over your eyes.
c. Someone observed:
“The root causes of immorality could be traced to the misuse of certain
members of our bodies. The eyes feasts upon a seductive picture, giving the
green light to impure thoughts, the impure thoughts inflame the mind and the
mind when it looses control then calls upon the body to act unwisely.”
d. Make a covenant with your
eyes today to always remove them from obscenities (Job 31:1).
2. Watch your Heart’s Desires (Prov. 4:23)
a. Closely following Watching Over Our Eyes is the need to
watch over our hearts. This is because our hearts are the hub of all our
affections - good and bad.
b. A virus discovered on
Wednesday, September 5, 2001 by McAfee, an antivirus software giant was known
as,
“Virtual Card”
and was classified as the “Most destructive ever!” The warning on it said,
“This virus simply destroys sector Zero from the hard disk where vital
information for its functioning are stored…As soon as the supposed ‘Virtual
Card” is opened, the computer freezes so that the user has to reboot. When the Ctrl
+ Alt + Del keys or the reset buttons are pressed, the virus destroys sector
zero, thus permanently destroying the hard disk.”
That in a way is what sin
does to the human heart and spirit.
c. One is caught in the desires
of his/her hearts (James 1:13-15). Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote,
“In our
members there is a slumbering inclination towards desire which is both sudden
and fierce. With irresistible power desire seizes mastery over the flesh. All
at once a secret, smouldering fire is kindled. The flesh burns and is in
flames. It makes no difference whether it is sexual desire, or ambition, or
vanity, or desire for revenge, or love of fame and power, or greed for money” (Quoted by Charles R.
Swindoll, James: Practical and Authentic
Living, page 34).
d. Our actions are the by
product of our thoughts (Prov. 23:7).
i. Someone said, “You may not be
what you think, BUT WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE.”
e. To watch over our hearts, we
need to cultivate the culture of positive thinking (Philippians 4:8) as well as
developing godly mindsets (Colossians 3:2-3).
3. Watch over Your Sources of
Information (Mark 4:24).
a. If you read “HINTS”,
“HEARTS”, “BETTER LOVER” and the likes you will be influenced by the
immoralities, low-living, easy virtues and machoness being constantly dished
out in the pages of such publications.
b. The music you listen to and
the movies you watch should be properly screened. Watch over your sources of
information on living.
c. Reading or studying
scriptures, moral building and faith strengthening books, your advancement in
spiritual matters is assured (I Timothy 4:13:15; II Timothy 3:15; Matthew
22:29; Psalms 119:9-11).
i. I would recommend that you make scripture your opening and closing
thoughts of each day.
4. Flee (I Corinthians 6:18; Genesis 39:7-12).
a. One of God’s recommendations in the face of certain situations in which
we are called upon to compromise our faith and taint our testimonies is to walk
away, Flee!
i. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “If
you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk, crawl. But by
all means keep moving!”
b. Potipher’s
wife wanted to make Joseph a Gigolo but Joseph ran away, leaving behind
everything which would keep a firm grip on him by Potipher’s wife.
i. Know what a “Gigolo” is?
Sugar mummying! In my own definition, a Gigolo is “Giggling with the old.”
ii. Many of us would have jumped
at such an opportunity and then let
the good times roll. But Joseph knew that, that
would be sin, so, he
ran away! (Gen. 39:9, 12).
5. Grow
in the Word (II Peter 3:18; cf.
Matthew 12:43-45).
a.
More importantly,
let the Word of God grow in you.
b.
God’s Word is
light to our paths (Psalms 119:105; cf. Proverbs 4:18).
c. We must hide God’s
Word in our hearts to avoid sinning (Psalms 119:11).
6. Cultivate Godly Relationships(II Tim. 2:22).
a.
Bad association
corrupts (I Cor. 15:33).
b.
Your
relationships influences you. (Prov. 22:24-25; Ps. 100:34-40).
c. If Dinah, one of
Jacob’s daughters had not gone to “visit
with Daughters of the land” she would not have been “Violated by Schechem” (cf. Genesis 34:1-2). Do not let any son or
daughter of the land violate your righteousness!
CONCLUSION
Heaven is so precious and our souls too valuable that
we should allow what are done down here to destroy the beautiful life we have
up there in eternity with our Father and His Saints glorified. All we need to
do to do to everything down here that seek to hinder us from making it up there
is to “Say No” to all their suggestions (Titus 2:12-13). What the Lord has in
store for us are too precious to lose by messing up with low living down here
(I Corinthians 2:9).
May the Lord strengthen us to remain focused on living
for Him!
Evangelist
Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah
CHURCH OF CHRIST, 14, Agbugwu Lane,
off,
University Market Road, P. O.
351, Nsukka -410002, Enugu State, Nigeria, West Africa.
PHONES: 234-08039596919.
E-MAIL: hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com.
