2 Corinthians 5:1-5 “ For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”
Pastor Kyle continues: When God makes a promise and gives a guarantee, He stands behind it. But before the guarantee of the Holy Spirit works, you have to believe it first in order to experience it. The way that we show that we believe it is by living it daily, and a Holy Spirit-empowered Christian can discern the difference between naturalistic earthly living and spiritual heavenly living. It turns out that transformed lives and this associated spiritual discernment is the greatest evidence and guarantee that God is real, Heaven and Hell are real, and that eternal life is real. Many people cannot bring themselves to surrender their lives to the Lord because they want to see the evidence before they believe and make the make the eternal choice to change.
1 John 1:9 promises, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God is saying, recognize your sin, truly believe and give me your life, and I will forgive you, change your life and destiny, make you my child, open your blind eyes, and give you the Holy Spirit to guide you, proving to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am real and my kingdom reigns eternal. Every Christian who has confessed and repented of their sin and trusted Jesus with life has experienced the Holy Spirit in them as a guarantee, seen the miracle of creation as created, and caught glimpses of the reality of Heaven through both blessings and hardships that grew them throughout their temporary lives.
Psalm 139:16 proclaims, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Then, as the old Christian Hymn proclaims: “Some glad morning when this life is o’er, I’ll fly away; To a home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away. I’ll fly away, Oh Glory, I’ll fly away; (in the morning). When I die, Hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away.” Because when Jesus Christ died for our sins, it was not a down payment on our salvation, it was paid in full and secured our heavenly home by His blood spilled on that Cross at Calvary. The blessed Redeemer Jesus did not come because we basically good and could earn our way to Heaven. The Savior of the world came because we are broken Sinners who cannot save ourselves. The difference between the unrepentant Sinners in unbelief and the repentant Believer with faith is their guaranteed eternal destiny, spiritual discernment and where they look for love, and peace because of that unbelief or faith. There are lessons to be learned in decision-making, grace and restoration.
We all struggle through life on this side of eternity because of the fallen nature of the flesh and its sinful desires of this mortal body. It takes a conscious effort to be a discipled disciple of Jesus and to walk with the Spirit. We are truly weak in the flesh, but the Lord is strong, yet we recognize light and darkness, right and wrong, good and bad, sin and righteousness, so constantly guard our hearts, making progress and consciously working on our Christian character. Holy Spirit conviction of sin is evidence that God is working in us. Sin corrupted humanity and still does. When it’s time to go be with the Lord, this sinful body has to be shed and gone. When the Christ-following child of God enter glorification in Heaven, they receive a new glorified sin-free body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 says, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, 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.” The temporary takes on permanence. Only God can turn a self-led Christian into a self-aware, spirit-led, heaven-focused Christian and is a divine gift.
2 Corinthians 5:6-10 :So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
We know that there is so much more than just this life. When we think about our death, we are confronted with our priorities and the way that we are living today. Doing good and going to church for “fire insurance” from Hell is not biblical faith nor saving faith. It may be a starting point, but we all need to take the next step of repenting, believing, accepting and cleaving to Jesus as Savior and Lord of our life. Even the demons believe in Jesus but reject Him. The Holy Spirit wants to actively guide us and transform our life experiences into more evidence that the kingdom of Heaven is real. Christians start from the premise that all-powerful God is real, is all-knowing and ever-present, active in His creation and operating in the lives of His people, then they build and experience everything from that foundation in rejoicing gratitude, with courage for living a life that is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord.
Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Everyone desires these soul attributes in their life, yet they are only the true, pure and fruitful produce of the Holy Spirit produced in the disciplined and devoted disciples of Jesus Christ. That is the power of the Holy Spirit working within us; permanence within the temporary. We show our trust in Heaven’s promises for the eternal future by obeying God’s commands today.
In God We Trust,
In Christ, Brian
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