The Kingdom of Heaven will have- Abramham, Isaac, and Jacob. These three men of God, patriarchs of God's chosen people, the Jews will inhabit the kingdom of heaven. However, it will not be the Jews alone who will meet with them, who will sit with them. Many from all over the world will be in the kingdom of heaven, it is not reserved for the people of the Jewish faith.
Mat 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
First, I must say I am NOT saying that no Jewish people will be in heaven. I have NO way of knowing who will be there and who won't, I am not the writer of the Book of Life, only God is its Author.
Jesus, Himself said that among His own people, for He was Jewish, He couldn't find the faith He found in a Roman solider, a gentile.
Jesus, Himself self that the children of the kingdom of Israel were NOT guaranteed a place in the kingdom of heaven, that they would be cast into outer darkness, they would weep and gnash their teeth.
How of do people believe they are entitled to things simple because of their circumstances? A lot, right? You have your rich and famous and these people believe they are entitled to all sorts of things that the 'average' person, the person who isn't rich or famous, or both, aren't entitled to. Their station in life means they automatically deserve better things. We have families of great wealth who believe the same. We have families who are considered important and if they mention their name they are deserving. The Jewish people came to this place, they came to believe they were deserving because of their birth heritiage. They came to this and by the time Jesus was born and began His ministry they were so far from what God intended His people to be that their House was left to them desolate. Not my words--
Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Jesus' words.
Most of the Jews of that time believed they were by birthright entitled to the kingdom of heaven. They were the chosen, the special, the people of the true God. Their faith wasn't in God but in their heritage.
Today is there a danger for people believing their faith is in their heritage? Yes.
There are a whole slew of people who believe that because they mention the name of Jesus and label themselves Christian that they are guaranteed a place in the kingdom of heaven.
If asked a whole lot of people, dare I say the majority of them who claim Christianity, believe they have a place in the kingdom of heaven? Yet haven't we studied that 'FEW' will find the way?
The trouble is, the men of God- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, all of them followed GOD'S will, not their own. When we begin to follow our own will we are not God's. When we claim control over our own lives, we are not letting God control our lives. When we put ourselves FIRST, we are putting GOD LAST. And so many of us believe if our own wills are not done then God has cheated us some how.
So many of us claim that God is first in our lives and we owe all we are and have to God, all the while we are secretly patting ourselves on the back for our own wits and smarts.
God's will, we spoke about that yesterday. Remember this--
Warn the unruly.
comfort the feebleminded.
Support the weak.
Be patient towards all men.
See that none render evil for evil unto any man.
Follow that which is good among ourselves and all men.
Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks.
Quench not the Spirit.
Despise not prophesyings.
Prove all things.
Hold fast that which is good.
Abstain from all appearance of evil.
Our Savior spent His three year ministry upon earth teaching and preaching to us about the Kingdom of God. He is our only HOPE. If we imagine that there is such a thing as going to the kingdom of heaven based on being good enough, or based on the believe that our actions have no consequence, that all sin does not need to be repented of and confessed, we are caught up in a lie that Satan has honed to perfection.
Our hope must be in Christ's righteousness. We must constantly live our lives in subjection to our Savior and His will. If we think surrendering our hearts to Him once, or once a week, or once in a while is all that matters are we truly living in Him? If He is NOT our life now, then He will not be our life then.
We cannot count on our heritage, on our family upbringing, we cannot count on our own goodness, none of those things will help us into the kingdom of heaven. We must count on Christ alone!
By His grace and mercy, through His forgiveness, and His righteousness alone can we have hope for the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
First, I must say I am NOT saying that no Jewish people will be in heaven. I have NO way of knowing who will be there and who won't, I am not the writer of the Book of Life, only God is its Author.
Jesus, Himself said that among His own people, for He was Jewish, He couldn't find the faith He found in a Roman solider, a gentile.
Jesus, Himself self that the children of the kingdom of Israel were NOT guaranteed a place in the kingdom of heaven, that they would be cast into outer darkness, they would weep and gnash their teeth.
How of do people believe they are entitled to things simple because of their circumstances? A lot, right? You have your rich and famous and these people believe they are entitled to all sorts of things that the 'average' person, the person who isn't rich or famous, or both, aren't entitled to. Their station in life means they automatically deserve better things. We have families of great wealth who believe the same. We have families who are considered important and if they mention their name they are deserving. The Jewish people came to this place, they came to believe they were deserving because of their birth heritiage. They came to this and by the time Jesus was born and began His ministry they were so far from what God intended His people to be that their House was left to them desolate. Not my words--
Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Jesus' words.
Most of the Jews of that time believed they were by birthright entitled to the kingdom of heaven. They were the chosen, the special, the people of the true God. Their faith wasn't in God but in their heritage.
Today is there a danger for people believing their faith is in their heritage? Yes.
There are a whole slew of people who believe that because they mention the name of Jesus and label themselves Christian that they are guaranteed a place in the kingdom of heaven.
If asked a whole lot of people, dare I say the majority of them who claim Christianity, believe they have a place in the kingdom of heaven? Yet haven't we studied that 'FEW' will find the way?
The trouble is, the men of God- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, all of them followed GOD'S will, not their own. When we begin to follow our own will we are not God's. When we claim control over our own lives, we are not letting God control our lives. When we put ourselves FIRST, we are putting GOD LAST. And so many of us believe if our own wills are not done then God has cheated us some how.
So many of us claim that God is first in our lives and we owe all we are and have to God, all the while we are secretly patting ourselves on the back for our own wits and smarts.
God's will, we spoke about that yesterday. Remember this--
Warn the unruly.
comfort the feebleminded.
Support the weak.
Be patient towards all men.
See that none render evil for evil unto any man.
Follow that which is good among ourselves and all men.
Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks.
Quench not the Spirit.
Despise not prophesyings.
Prove all things.
Hold fast that which is good.
Abstain from all appearance of evil.
Our Savior spent His three year ministry upon earth teaching and preaching to us about the Kingdom of God. He is our only HOPE. If we imagine that there is such a thing as going to the kingdom of heaven based on being good enough, or based on the believe that our actions have no consequence, that all sin does not need to be repented of and confessed, we are caught up in a lie that Satan has honed to perfection.
Our hope must be in Christ's righteousness. We must constantly live our lives in subjection to our Savior and His will. If we think surrendering our hearts to Him once, or once a week, or once in a while is all that matters are we truly living in Him? If He is NOT our life now, then He will not be our life then.
We cannot count on our heritage, on our family upbringing, we cannot count on our own goodness, none of those things will help us into the kingdom of heaven. We must count on Christ alone!
By His grace and mercy, through His forgiveness, and His righteousness alone can we have hope for the kingdom of heaven.
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