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HEAVEN - WHAT DO WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO? |
| CHRIST'S VICTORY |
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| THE HOLY TRUTH | ||
| THE RAPTURE | ||
| TRIBULATION | ||
| KING JAMES | ||
| SECOND COMING | ||
| YOUR DESTINY | ||
| THE SIGNS | ||
| VIDEOS | ||
| ABOUT US |
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Heaven. What a concept. A perfect place where there is no sorrow, no pain, no tears. Perfect bodies that will not have disease, ailments, or aging. Absolutely unimaginable! Doesn't seem real does it? Well, it is. It's there for all of us who want it. It's simply a matter of accepting Jesus as your savior, repenting for your sins, accepting the Holy Spirit into your heart, and living for Christ. It's all in the Bible, in black and white.
Being Christlike is both easy, and hard. Easy in that if you want to be like Him, you only have to acknowledge that you're human and a sinner by nature, and you're going to sin no matter how spiritually mature you become. Hard because you will always be a sinner, and sin is what the Lord hates. However, by acknowledging Jesus as your savior and repenting of your sins, you can be saved. Your sins were washed away by Christ's blood when he sacrificed himself for us. He gave us a gift that only he had the ability to give because he was a perfect human, completely sinless. Born of a virgin mother by immaculate conception, He was God in the flesh on a mission; to save as many people as would accept Him.
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Before continuing on, if you're not a true believer, or are on the fringe of belief and disbelief, take a moment to read this article regarding several world-renowned individuals who took the resurrection of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago, and put it to the test of legal evidence. This is a must-read for anyone on the fringe, or if you just feel like you want to reaffirm your faith in the Lord. Read this before continuing on: http://www.av1611.org/resur.html
There is also a very worthy DVD that you will want to rent of buy called: "The Case For Christ" by Lee Strobel.
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He knew his duty was to die a horrible, humiliating, and excruciatingly painful death. But he loved us enough to go through that on our behalf. He did so knowing that an enormous number of people, then, since then, and in the future, will completely reject Him. What a sacrifice! What a burden. Could just anyone have done that? Would most people do it? I'd like to think that I personally would because I'm beginning to understand the depth of His love, why he did it, and what it's meant to the ones who believe in Him. But before I accepted Jesus into my heart, I wouldn't even have considered it. I've accepted Him as my personal savior so I have a new view of life, and death.
Have you accepted Jesus yet? If not, why? Are you one of those people who sees God as cruel for allowing the things that happen in life, happen? Are you one of those people that believes in the theory of evolution? What if you're wrong? What is your backup plan? Let me be the first to tell you, in case you weren't aware, there is no backup plan. If you're not a follower of Christ and you reject Him and his gift of salvation, you will end up in one place, and that place is hell. Hell is also a very real place. You don't have to believe me either, or the Bible if you don't choose to, but you better believe Bill Wiese because he's been there. The real hell, and come back to tell us all about it. Click this link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg0U-vogTDs) to watch him describe his experience in hell, hopefully it will scare the hell out of you. This is part 1 of 9 so you'll have to follow the rest of the links to watch it in it's entirety. You can also watch the entire video in a single video on our videos page, it's labeled "23 Minutes In Hell". Watch it!
Take a moment to think about these numbers, straight out of the King James Bible:
The word "heaven" is used 728 times. The word "hell" only 59 times.
The word "life" is used 474 times. The word "death" only 384 times.
The word "love" is used 429 times. The word "hate" only 153 times.
Do you see how Heaven, life, and love, are spoken of so often throughout? Yes, he wants us to know that there's a hell, death, and hate out there in our lives, or waiting for us in the hereafter should we make the wrong eternal decision. But His focus has always been on His undying love for us, His creation. Heaven is where he wants us to be, next to Him, so that he can look after us eternally. Our human understanding of love is so limited in comparison to His, we haven't even scratched the surface. Especially if we're old enough to read this. Most of us have been through enough painful heart-breaking experiences that love is something we find hard to give or accept. God's love might be comparable to the love a 2-year old child feels for his mom, providing that she's a loving mother. A child that age will love their mother unconditionally, even right after they're spanked. Because they know that their mother also loves them unconditionally. God loves us that much, and so much more. He's got a place for you and I, and he wants as many of us there that want to be. It's as simple as that.
Heaven is spoken of throughout the Bible as a very real place that will be populated by Christians of many denominations who have accepted Jesus and chose to live their lives for Him. By simply acknowledging that Jesus is the son of God, that he came to die for your sins, that he was resurrected from death, and that through Him you can be saved, YOU WILL BE SAVED. The verse below clearly states that by being born of God (born again) you cannot commit sin. What that means of course is that if you remain true to Christ, give your heart to Him and put your life in His hands, your sins are forgiven before you even commit them, therefore they are as if not sinning at all. Living for Christ frees you from the burden of sin, because he paid for your sins with His blood on the cross.
| "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed
remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because his is born of God." 1 John 3:9 |
That means accepting the fact that you're going to make mistakes and will continue to do so, and you ask forgiveness for those mistakes. Repentance for our sins is a critical piece of being saved. Without repentance, there is no being saved. Not only that, but you ask for His help and guidance in avoiding making those same mistakes again. God will not tempt you, but the devil will. Temptations will always be out there. But for every temptation put in our path, God will always provide a way out. That is where being saved begins. The longer you're in the Word, the fewer mistakes you make. The longer you've got the Holy Spirit in you, the less tempted you become, and the easier it is to find your way out of those situations. That is a sign of Christlike spiritual maturity. When you ask for repentance and His help, your heart opens up to Him more and more every day, and he works miracles in people. You will be consumed and guided by the Holy Spirit. It is truly a beautiful thing! There will be billions of people just like me in Heaven, and I can't wait to meet them.
Read below some of the Biblical descriptions of heaven as written by many different authors of the books of the Bible. Jesus Himself spoke of heaven and what it's like. There are no words to accurately describe it, but these verses give it an effort.
| "Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall
cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. And
ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord
God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name: That he
who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of
truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of
truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they
are hid from mine eyes. For, behold, I create new heavens and a new
earth: and the former shall not be remember, nor come into mind. But
by ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold,
I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy." Isaiah 65:14-18 |
| "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when
they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and
the heavens," Genesis 2:4 |
| "The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding
hath he established the heavens." Proverbs 3:19 |
| "O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for
ever. To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth
for ever. To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy
endureth for ever." Psalm 136:3-5 |
| "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the
inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the
heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in." Isaiah 40:22 |
| "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven
and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And
I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of
heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a
great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,
and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon
the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me,
Write: for these words are true and faithful." Revelation 21:1-5 |
The Bible is the Truth. Heaven is spoken about in the Bible over 700 times. We cannot deny it's existence, or we deny the Bible, and therefore deny God and Christ. Who would want to make such a foolish mistake?
So how do you avoid the sins of the flesh and remain true to your Christian lifestyle? Follow these examples to stay away from the evil system (the luxuries and pleasures of capitalism and self-gratification):
People must always be more important than products.
Keep away from pride in your own programs, plans, and successes.
Remember that God's will and Word must never be compromised.
People must always be considered above the making of money.
Do what is right, no matter what the cost.
Be involved in businesses that provide worthwhile products or services - not just things that feed the world's desires.
Capitalism itself is not a bad/evil thing, but when we become consumed by money and material goods as this nation has become, it turns into an evil and dominant presence in so many people's lives. You see it on TV commercials, where everything is about us and what we own, or can own, for out personal pleasure and status. We can have the coolest cars, best TV's, best clothes, women should be thin and wear makeup, lots of diamonds, all these status symbols that are supposed to be signs of personal success and happiness. But none of it makes us happy in the least. We're always playing catch-up if our goal is to achieve these things, because someone's always got something better. It's a very unfulfilling lifestyle that leads to our destruction.
We must put our lives into God's hands and do the things that are honorable to Him, and that give Him the glory. Those are the achievements that make us whole inside and give us purpose. It also gives us the ultimate reward by God, everlasting life with Him. Nothing in this life can be taken with us when we're gone of this life. What we have to strive for is eternal rewards that will never leave us. God promises that to us when we live for Him and do for others in need. Make that your goal and you've got nothing to fear when He comes calling.
Baptism - Baptism is the outward expression of your inward salvation.
