Welcome to Day 40 of the 40Days of Return. It has been a journey inwards and upwards, a journey back to the Lord. We all needed to return to the Father one way or the other. It is so amazing to know that within these 40 Days, the church in America also hosted a 2-day National and Global Day of Prayer and Repentance, The Return.
As we wrap up the 40Days journey today, we do not by any means insinuate that you should end your sobriety walk with God. God loves a contrite heart and He wants you to have such a heart at all times.
My focus today is on eternity, particularly I want to urge you to live with eternity in view at this time, more than you have ever done. We are on the verge of the end of the age, and a lot of things are happening very fast. It will be of help to remind ourselves more than any other time where we actually belong.
You are a Pilgrim
The scriptures establish that we are sojourners or pilgrims in this world. 1 Peter 2:11 says: Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. A pilgrim is a temporary visitor, no, this world is not your permanent residence, it is for just a very short time. You are being prepared here for your real home. Knowing that will help you and should change how you approach life, not as a final bus stop, but a stop by.
Heaven is your Country
Another very vital truth that must remain in your heart is that you are a citizen of heaven. Not that you will become a citizen of heaven, you are already a citizen of heaven. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, God’s Life is now in you, and your name is in the Book of Life of God. You already have your heavenly passport, which is your salvation and faith in Christ Jesus. The scripture says: But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control (Philippians 3:20-21).
Be A Tent Dweller
One lesson I have learned from Abraham is to be a tent dweller so that when the master says move, there is nothing holding me back. The scripture says Abraham “lived by faith as an immigrant in his promised land as though it belonged to someone else”. Not just that, “He journeyed through the land living in tents with Isaac and Jacob”. And more importantly, “His eyes of faith were set on the city with unshakable foundations, whose architect and builder is God himself”. Friend, that is the vivid picture of what it means to live with eternity in view.
Read Hebrews 11:8-10: Faith motivated Abraham to obey God’s call and leave the familiar to discover the territory he was destined to inherit from God. So he left with only a promise and without even knowing ahead of time where he was going, Abraham stepped out in faith. He lived by faith as an immigrant in his promised land as though it belonged to someone else. He journeyed through the land living in tents with Isaac and Jacob who were persuaded that they were also co-heirs of the same promise. His eyes of faith were set on the city with unshakable foundations, whose architect and builder is God himself.
Live By Heaven’s Guidelines
The scripture showed us from the lives of the heroes of faith how we are expected to live. You are expected to live your life here on earth as someone who truly belonged to another realm – the realm of the heavenly. What that means is that you don’t do things like the world does it, the guideline of heaven is what regulates your life here on earth. The scriptures say in Hebrews 11:13: These heroes all died still clinging to their faith, not even receiving all that had been promised them. But they saw beyond the horizon the fulfillment of their promises and gladly embraced it from afar. They all lived their lives on earth as those who belonged to another realm.
Let Your Heart Be Fixed
If I may ask you, is your heart fixed on the far greater heavenly realm? Do you have anything too important to you that might hold you back? Anything your heart still silently clings to? Living with eternity in view entails having a fixed heart about the matchless value of heaven, with nothing here that compares to it. Until all of this world become like garbage to you relative to the heavenly realm, you might not be ready yet. Read Hebrews 11:14-16: For clearly, those who live this way are longing for the appearing of a heavenly city. And if their hearts were still remembering what they left behind, they would have found an opportunity to go back. But they couldn’t turn back for their hearts were fixed on what was far greater, that is, the heavenly realm! So because of this God is not ashamed in any way to be called their God, for he has prepared a heavenly city for them.
Don’t Miss the Great Reunion
Will you ever imagine that as great as the heroes of faith in the scriptures were, God kept them waiting for you and me to be partakers of the Salvation that is in Christ. They had a promise, we have something better, the fulfillment of the promise. If they could look away from the lure of the world for ‘mere promise’; how much should we who have the fulfillment of the promise look away from the attractions of this world? God has a great reunion for both them (the heroes) and us (you and me) in his plan, do not miss it. Read Hebrews 11:39-40: These were the true heroes, commended for their faith, yet they lived in hope without receiving the fullness of what was promised them. But now God has invited us to live in something better than what they had—faith’s fullness! This is so that they could be brought to finished perfection alongside us.
Feast on Heavenly Treasures!
Finally let me encourage you with the words of Apostle Paul, “…feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm”. Read Colossians 3:1-4: Christ’s resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power, honor, and authority! Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm. Your crucifixion with Christ has severed the tie to this life, and now your true life is hidden away in God in Christ. And as Christ Himself is seen for who he really is, who you really are will also be revealed, for you are now one with Him in His glory!
Shalom!
