* Heaven Bound

But our citizenship is in heaven.   And we eagerly await a Savior from there, 

the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.  

Philippians 3:20–21

While some believe that Heaven is a state of mind or at best, a mystical place , as believers of Jesus, we believe that Heaven is real and is a place that is reserved for those that have lived life according to the word of God that guarantees our entrance there.  Apostle Paul says that we "eagerly await" a Savior from from this place called heaven. Eagerly await  implies hope or, better put, earnest expectation of something believed to be imminent.  It is a heightened level of anticipation hearing or seeing something.

It means to focus on something to the exclusion of everything else. Those believers who understand the second coming are consumed with it. Developing a focus on the second coming is crucial to a heavenly mindset.

However, there are far too many that do not focus on the soon coming Savior.  This is probably the reason why many believers don’t have a heavenly mindset and do not live purified lives. They have lost (or never had) hope in the second coming of Jesus. Jesus makes this abundantly clear in a parable He gives to the disciples about this very thing:

And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.  Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.  But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;  The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.  And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.  But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:42–48

The servant in this account had lost sight on the fact that his master would one day return.  The servant lost an expectation of the master’s coming. Because of this he cast off restraint as he lived in discord, waste, and sin while blatantly ignoring the wishes of the master.   We may not fall back to blatant sin, but we become so wrapped up in ourselves and the cares of this world that we push the second coming of Jesus and the results thereof to the back of our minds and live a life in pursuit of fulfilling our own personal desires; be they good or bad.  

A perfect biblical example of this is Simon the sorcerer.  Simon wanted to dispense the Holy Ghost not because he had an interest in furthering the Kingdom of God but to hold on to his position within his community.  This is not a heavenly mindset.  A heavenly mindset is a mind that is focused on the soon coming of Jesus and our entrance into heaven.

When Apostle Paul talks about Jesus’s coming, he also mentions our natural appearance being transformed into a glorious one.  We’ll have glorified bodies when Jesus comes.   Our natural body will be transformed into a spiritual body!

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.  1 Corinthians 15:42–44

The reality of Jesus’s second coming and our appearance with him in glory affects us on a level that we can barely imagine. John said,

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.   1 John 3:2–3

Every believer who has this earnest expectation purifies himself. The second coming of Jesus and our future glory should make us purify our thoughts, our conversations, and our daily endeavors. It transforms us.

For this reason Satan is always after the believers' minds. He realizes that if he can turn them away from heavenly things, he can turn us toward earthly things.

“For as he thinks within himself, so he is”   Proverbs 23:7

The earthlier we think, the more earthly we become. Our enemy is especially after the believer’s mind as it concerns the future. He will have one think about graduate school, marriage or divorce, retirement, and anything else; let alone sin issues, rather than Jesus’s return and our glorious future with him. Satan understands that anybody who has this hope in heaven purifies themselves

  

What you think about the future affects how you live today!  One way to keep an unwavering focus on Jesus’ coming is to keep your thoughts on things above.  

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  Colossians 3:1-2

There are many things that we can do to keep our minds focused on the soon coming Jesus:

√        Study of The End Times

“Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”  Revelation 1:3

God has revealed it in His word to help us prepare for and have an eager expectation of the future. John says that there is a blessing on the one who reads, hears, and takes to heart the words of prophecy in the book of Revelation. Those who study Revelation and the doctrine of the end times have a double blessing. It helps them keep a heavenly mind, a mind consumed with and prepared for Jesus’s coming.

Sadly, the enemy has sown so much disagreement over the end times that many pastors never teach on it. And therefore, the members of the church miss out on the blessing it brings to our lives—they live with no eager expectation. Like the servant who thought his master delayed his coming, we often cast-off restraint and become consumed with our earthly life instead of our heavenly one. The scriptures related to end times are very important for us know so we can be ready for our Lord’s return. Jesus said,

“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done”   Revelations. 22:12

In addition to studying God’s word on end times, we 

Develop an Unwavering Focus on the resultant benefits of Jesus’s Crucifixion

We parallel our life to His by becoming a living sacrifice:

®        Focus on Our Crucified Position

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Jesus in God”   Colossians 3:3

Apostle Paul says we died with Jesus and our life is now hidden in Jesus. For many, instead of thinking on the things of God, they are consumed with ungodly things like lust, anger, bitterness, jealousy, covetousness, etc. In order to have a heavenly mindset, we must reckon our death with Jesus. But, we must ask the questions, “What exactly did we die to?” and “How did we die?”

v  The Believer Died To Sin

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin   Romans 6:5–7

On the cross, our old nature was crucified with Jesus. It was crucified so that we could be freed from sin. We must understand this doctrine to walk in victory over lust, anger, depression, and any other sin that tries to control us. Apostle Paul says this should be our response to our death to sin:

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus”  Roman 6:11

He says to “count” or think about yourself differently. You are dead to sin but alive to God. This means that I can break habitual strongholds of sin. It means that I can start over when I fail because Jesus paid the penalty for my sins and broke the power of it.

For many, instead of thinking on the things of God they are consumed with ungodly things like lust, anger, bitterness, jealousy, covetousness, etc. In order to have a heavenly mindset, we must reckon our death to sin. We died with Jesus.

v  The Believer Died to Self

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life he cannot be my disciple.  And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.   Luke 14:26–27

Jesus says to follow him as a disciple, we must hate our life and take up our cross. This is a daily discipline. We die to ourselves, our desires, and our wants in order to submit to Jesus. We get a good picture of this with Jesus before going to the cross. He says, “Take this cup from me but nevertheless, your will be done” (Luke 22:42). He submitted his will to that of the Father and so must we.

Listen to Apostle Paul’s testimony of this:

“I have been crucified with Jesus and I no longer live, but Jesus lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”   Galatians 2:20

For many people, they can’t have a heavenly mind because they are consumed with self instead of God. In order to develop a heavenly mindset, we must continually crucify ourselves—we must daily reckon ourselves dead to self and alive to God.

v  The Believer Died to This World

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”  Galatians. 6:14

Apostle Paul said his death on the cross with Jesus also brought death to this world. He essentially said, “I am dead to the world and the things of the world. They no longer satisfy me. They no longer are my passions in life. My passion is to honor and to know Jesus. I am alive to God and dead to the world.”  John said,

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him”   1 John 2:15

The very reason many cannot think on things above is because of worldliness. They are consumed with the things of this world: gaining them, enjoying them, and keeping them. If we are going to think on heavenly things, we must continually reckon ourselves dead to the things of this world so we can seek the things above.

v  The Believer Died to The Power Of The Devil

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ  even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved  Ephesians 2:1–5

                                                         

In a very real sense, we died to Satan as well. Before salvation, Scripture says that we were children of the devil (1 John 3:10) and were following his ways (Ephesians. 2:2).  But now, as believers, we have become children of God and followers of his Word. We are dead to the devil and alive to God.

Satan, who works through sin, the flesh, and the world to tempt us, has no dominion over us anymore because we died to him. We should no longer submit to him or live in fear of him because he was defeated by Jesus

And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.  Colossians 2:15

However, it must be known that a person is a slave to whomever he submits to. We can still submit to sin, self, the world, and the devil. Apostle Paul said,

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?   Romans 6:16

Therefore, as an act of the will, we must reject sin, selfishness, the world, and the devil to develop a heavenly mindset. We died with Jesus and now are hidden in him.  Believers are to live a crucified life.

The crucified life says, “Life is not about me. My life is not bound any longer to sin or my desires. Life is not about the things of the world. It is about Jesus.”  Apostle Paul said,

“to live is Jesus and to die is gain”  Philippians. 1:21

If we don’t understand the crucified life, then we will be consumed with the things of this world. We will find ourselves feverishly running after every fad that comes out. If we don’t understand the crucified life, we will become enslaved to our wants and desires and other things we were delivered from.

A person who is living a crucified life is not consumed with the everyday cares of this life; not always fighting and striving against things, life and people.  Like Jesus, a person who has reckoned his death has become the meek who will inherit the earth:

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  Matthew 5:5

He recognizes that this world and his life is not his anymore. He was crucified with Jesus!

Sermonette

02/19/22