TOPIC: VISA TO HEAVEN
MEMORISE:
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8
READ: Psalms 24:3 -5
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
MESSAGE
From the memory verse, we see straightaway that the visa to heaven is a pure heart. The state of your heart determines whether you will go to heaven or not. This is because your words and actions will be based on the state of your heart. Matthew 12:34 says:
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Matthew 5:24 says that if you look at a woman to lust after her, you have committed adultery already. The same is true for women. Leviticus 17:11 says that the life of an animal is in its blood. The heart is the organ that pumps blood into the body: this means that the heart is the seat of life. Keep your heart diligently for indeed, out of it comes the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).
When you become born again, your bloodline changes. You are now from the bloodline of God. Your heart therefore becomes brand new. This is why 2 Corinthians 5:17 says when you become born again, you are now a new creature. In Ezekiel 36:26, the Lord says He will give you a new heart. With this new heart, you have a new life flowing within you – the life of Christ Himself. 1 John 3:9 says:
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
If you are born of God, your heart now pumps the life of Jesus into your body, so you cannot commit sin. This is why I wonder at the doctrine of the ‘extreme grace’ preachers who say you can become born again and still continue sinning. If you are still permitting sin in your life, don’t deceive yourself, you don’t have the life of Christ in you. Holiness is not a doctrine of the Old Testament, it is the lifestyle and nature of children of God, whether in the Old Testament or not. Yesterday, in this devotional, we discussed holiness and we did not make any reference to any Old Testament Scripture; all the Scriptures were from the New Testament. Don’t let anyone deceive you with false doctrines of grace coexisting with sin. Without holiness, no man can see God.
PRAYER POINT
Father, please help me to keep my heart pure at all times.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 146- 150
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 8: I'M PRESSING ON THE UPWARD WAY
1. I'm pressing on the upward way,
New heights I'm gaining every day;
Still praying as I onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher
ground”.
CHORUS
Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith on heaven’s table-land;
Where love and joy and light abound,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
2. My heart has no desire to stay,
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where
these abound,
My constant aim is higher ground.
3. Beyond the mist I fain would rise,
To rest beneath unclouded skies,
Above earth’s turmoil peace is found
By those who dwell on higher ground.
4. I long to scale the utmost height,
Though rough the way, and hard the fight,
My song while climbing shall resound
Lord lead me on to higher ground.
5. Lord lead me up the mountain side,
I dare not climb without my Guide;
And heaven gained, I’ll gaze around,
With grateful heart from higher ground.
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