The Rough And The Tough Way That Leads To Heave
Text: Luke 9:23 "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels."
Self-denial, dying to the flesh and sin, determination never to look back, standing on the path of truth, and having a mind of readiness to always do the Will of GOD by pleasing Him in every circumstance that may ever come your way, is the way of heaven. Your ego, fame, popularity, position, wealth acquisition and passion, must all be buried to attain your heavenly seeking goals Philippians 3:7-8.
Your primary aim should be to please GOD and obey all His commandments and to seek and search for Him with all your heart Jeremiah 29:13. This is your number one priority, which should never be mortgaged for anything else Deuteronomy 5:7. Your secondary pursuit and aspirations are thereby taken care of by GOD appropriately when your primary aim is followed religiously to the letters Matthew 6:33.
You can't pursue the secondary in the place of the primary and expects to run your heavenly race successfully devoid of sin, compromise and backsliding. My friend this is never possible! You can't be walking by sight and expects faith to lead 2 Corinthians 5:7. You can never please GOD without faith.
My dear brothers and sisters in the LORD,
Truth is bitter, not very popular and the most ridiculed virtue within the Christendom today John 3:12. Truth is always seen and regarded as a threat to one's public perception and popularity, especially as it relates to letting the cat out of the bag (confession of your sins) concerning your immediate past sinful life you lived.
As a result, many preferred and settled in the darkest of all darkness with their dangerous conclusion to 'let the sleeping dog lie' quietly, without ever attempting to wake it up. This they do without ever knowing that they've succeeded to further imprison their selves in the camp of their destruction, with Satan and his cohorts as chief jailer, tormentors and executioners.
I pray, may your deliverance come now out of the imprisonment of Satan and his demons in JESUS name. Amen.
Dear friends and fellow heavenly focused and minded believers, if at all you desired to make heaven at the end of your sojourn here on earth, please start and make up your mind this very minute TO SAY THE TRUTH, LIVE FOR TRUTH AND DIE FOR TRUTH Acts 4:20. You may consider it difficult and impossible but the moment you attempts it, the grace of GOD will manifest and you will discover that certainly "with GOD, NOTHING is impossible' Mark 10:27. Hallelujah!
May I remind you that it is ONLY THE TRUTH that has the capacity to make you free from sin and eternal death, if only you know Him for whom He is John 8:32. If you therefore desired to be made free, not just from the earthly troubles and difficulties here that comes uninvited John 16:33, but ultimately from the bosom of the torments of hell fire which is the eternal abode of ALL LIARS and sinners of all sort of sin Revelation 21:8, then seek for THE TRUTH, EMBRACE HIM WHEN YOU FINDS HIM, LOVE HIM NOW THAT YOU'VE FOUND HIM, AND OBEY HIM BECAUSE HE IS NOW YOUR MASTER John 14:6. Amen.
Most Christian believers today live their Christianity in pleasures. They've concluded so fast that once you become a Christian by accepting JESUS CHRIST into your heart as your LORD and personal saviour, that you have just joined the league of prosperous people. The earthly centered messages and prosperity infested sermons of our motivational preachers and pastors today are responsible for the damages in the body of CHRIST today. This is damnation my brethren.
Today, by reason of the bastardization of the gospel by the pastors who now measure godliness with the acquisition of things of this world, fame, position and the largeness of their church's membership strength, the non-Christian community now sees the church as a business oriented empire (this is actually the true picture it is at the moment), and therefore erodes the purpose and focus of the church of CHRIST which it was formed Matthew 28:20; which is at variance with the position of JESUS CHRIST regarding the acquisition of wealth Luke 12:15. Oh! Who shall restore the church of CHRIST to her original purpose today?
The church was formed by CHRIST originally to Feed the lambs and sheep of GOD John 21:15-17 which He came to purchase with His own blood Acts 20:28, and to ultimately stopped the gates of hell from swallowing men Matthew 16:18, since hell had already enlarged herself and have opened her mouth wide without measure Isaiah 5:14, with countless souls descending into it daily and right away from the pulpit too Psalms 9:17, as a result of the sin of our father Adam Romans 5:12.
If you therefore desired to make heaven, be ready to ride against the tide Hebrews 11:24-27. Be ready to face persecution 2 Timothy 3:12. Be ready to do the will of GOD in sincerity and at all times, even at the point of death Luke 22:42. You must truly be dead to sin and alive to GOD through JESUS CHRIST Romans 6:11, and all your old nature of sin must be replaced with the newness that is in CHRIST 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 7:6.
Now are you still struggling with sin, struggling to obey the word of GOD, bitter against the truth when you are told, finding it very easy to say you are a Christian while still living in sin and disobedience to GOD, and due to your membership of a church you claims that you are heaven-bound whereas your works states otherwise, it is because youve not yet embrace the truth as your pastors have made you to believe that once saved is forever saved. My dear friend this is a very wicked thing you have been made to believed, as the preaching of eternal security by some pastors today is heresy.
The road to the kingdom of GOD is NOT an easy way to walk but by the grace of GOD, you can walk it successfully to the end Philippians 4:13. It requires commitments, faith, zeal, obedience, loyalty, humbleness of heart before GOD and man, determination, patience, effort and consistency to walk on this way Luke 9:62. At all times let Your WILL be done should be your song as you walk through this rough and tough way that leads to heaven MATTHEW 26:42.
The fact that JESUS CHRIST our Master gave us an expo about the fate of most people walking on this rough and tough way to the kingdom of GOD, that despite doing many wonderful things for the LORD, yet not all will enter Matthew 7:21-23, and that many are desirous of entering in at all cost but wont be able Luke 13:23-30, this should prepare our mind for the consciousness that it is possible to occupy the highest office in the Christendom, become the greatest of all prophets, and in fact speak with GOD face to face like in the case of Moses Deuteronomy 34:10, and yet you can still make hell fire by missing heaven Matthew 25:46. Remember anybody that missed heaven can NEVER miss hell fire, and so it is your choice. Thank GOD that Moses case was just to miss entering into the physical promise land of Canaan Deuteronomy 34:4, and today he is in heaven with Our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Hallelujah!
The Bible says Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 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 3:1-3. If you ever dream of making heaven as you keep on walking on this rough and tough way to the kingdom of GOD daily, as you already know that the kingdom of GOD is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost Romans 14:17; YOU MUST THEREFORE PURIFY YOURSELF. Brethren it is not possible for you to walk on this rough and tough way to the kingdom of GOD with your own self-will by refusing to deny yourself and expect to wake up in Abrahams bosom at your death Luke 9:23. Theres no way you can call on the name of the LORD out of a wicked heart and expect to make it to heaven Jeremiah 17:9.
No, you need a pure heart to call on the LORD Matthew 5:8, 2 Timothy 2:22, a spotless garment Ephesians 5:27, your body must be a worthy sacrifice to GOD Romans 12:1-2, your body, soul and spirit must be blameless before GOD 1 Thessalonians 5:23, your body and your spirit must glorify GOD 1 Corinthians 6:20, your conscience must be void of offence towards GOD and man Acts 24:16, you must cleanse yourself of the filthiness of flesh and spirit and perfecting HOLINESS in the fear of GOD 2 Corinthians 7:1, you must work out your own salvation with fear and trembling Philippians 2:12, you must truly be born again John 3:3-8, you must obey the LORD by keeping His commandments John 14:15, you must be truly holy inside and outside Hebrews 12:14, 1 Peter 1:14-16, you must bear the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit Galatians 5:22-23 etc.
This rough and tough way to the kingdom of GOD is SO TINY that it can never accommodate any excess luggage in it, it then become so tough that only FEW PEOPLE are the ones finding it Matthew 7:14. Adversaries and distractions abounds on the this way 1 Corinthians 16:9. Persecution is a daily occurrence for those who are determine to walk on this road 2 Timothy 3:12. This way of the cross is considered foolishness by men in order to discourage you from walking it successfully to the end 1 Corinthians 1:18.
As you walk in it, you must lay aside all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and must be ready to receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls James 1:21, knowing very well that no unclean thing shall walk in it because it is the HIGHWAY of HOLINESS that fools cant dare to enter Isaiah 35:8, just as the road only accommodate the people whose names are written in the LAMBS book of life Revelation 21:28.
If you must walk on this rough and tough way to the kingdom of GOD, you must be ready to hate this world because your friendship of the world had already placed you on a collision cause with the Almighty GOD as you automatically become His own enemy James 4:4. This is because whoever loved this world has lost the love of the Father 1 John 2:15-17.
Many before now have walked on this same rough and tough road you are walking but could not endure to the end thereby falling away in the process. The likes of Judas Iscariot Acts 1:15-18, many disciples of JESUS CHRIST John 6:60-66, Demas 2 Timothy 4:10, King Saul 1 Samuel 15:23, Esau Genesis 4:5-15, Lots wife Genesis 19:26, the five foolish virgins Matthew 25:8-14, and all other people that failed to endure one challenge or the order that came their way as they attempted walking on this road Matthew 13:18-22. Remember if you ever make attempt to withdraw from following this road to its logical conclusion to the glory of GOD, the pleasure of GOD will be withdrawn from you immediately Hebrews 10:38.
Are you still ready to walk this rough and tough road that leads to heaven? You should do so for your own good and for the salvation of your soul, so that you can avoid the damnation of hell fire. Amen. You should now repent of your sins, and be totally washed in the blood of the Lamb that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the LORD Acts 3:19.
You will then put on the new man, which after GOD is created in righteousness and true holiness Ephesians 4:24. This will then manifest in you by destroying the unfruitful works of darkness Ephesians 5:11 wherever you may find yourself. Hallelujah!
Therefore all your ungodliness in the use of rings, earrings, perming, attachments, tattooing your body, make up, the use of seductive clothes and clothing materials, jewelries, bangles, artificial nails and eye lashes, wearing trousers as a woman, opening your hair while praying or ministering as woman, wearing revealing clothes etc must give way, if actually you want to walk this road successfully. The old things must truly be passed away from you 2 Corinthians 5:17.
In addition, you must ensure that all what is named by GOD in his word as sin and wickedness is not mentioned around you Ephesians 5:3. You must be ready to die daily 1 Corinthians 15:31, so that sin will not have dominion over you again Romans 6:14. You must be a true worshipper of GOD John 4:23-24.
Mark 4:9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
GOD bless you all.
Shalom!