Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. - Matthew 13:44
The Path to Entering Into the Kingdom of Heaven
Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 18:4
And Jesus called a little child to him, and set him in the middle of them, And said, Truly I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 18:2-3
The Path to Entering Into the Kingdom of Heaven
Bible Verse: Whoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. - Luke 17:33
For more related readings, please click here:
Bible Verse: They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. - Luke 17:27
After reading Luke 17:27, I thought two passages of God’s words, “Look back to the age when Noah built the ark. Mankind were deeply corrupt, and they departed from God’s blessings, no longer had God’s care, and lost God’s promises, living in the darkness without God’s light. Then they all became extremely licentious and fell to the extent of being intolerable to the eye. Such mankind could no longer receive God’s promises and were unworthy to see God’s face and unworthy to hear God’s voice, because they abandoned God, discarded everything God bestowed to them, and forgot God’s words of instruction to them. Their heart became more and more distant from God. Subsequently, they became so fallen that they lost their sense and lost their humanity. They became more and more evil and then went toward death, falling into God’s wrath and into God’s punishment. Only Noah worshiped God and shunned evil. So he heard God’s voice and heard God’s charge to him. According to the charge of God’s word, he built an ark and took in every living creature. Then, after everything was ready, God began the work of destroying the world. At that destruction of the world, only the eight members of Noah’s family escaped the disaster and survived, because Noah worshiped Jehovah and shunned evil.
Then look at the present age. There is no more such righteous man as Noah who could worship God and shun evil. But God still treats this mankind graciously and still forgives this mankind of the final age. God is searching for men who thirst after his appearing, searching for men who can listen to his word, searching for men who do not forget his commission and offer up their body and heart for him, and searching for men who obey him and have no resistance toward him like a baby before him. If you dedicate yourself for God without being hindered by any force, then you will be one favored by God and will be one blessed by God. If you have a high position, have a high reputation, have a lot of knowledge, have a lot of property, or have the support of many people, but you still come before God to accept God’s calling and commission without being bothered by these things and do the things God asks you to do, then the things you do will be the cause which is the most meaningful in the world and the most just among mankind. If you refuse God’s calling for the sake of your position or your own aims, then everything you do will be cursed by God and even more be loathed by God. If you are a president, a scientist, a pastor, or an elder, however high your rank is, if you do your cause by your abilities and your knowledge, you will forever be a failure and forever be one having no blessings of God, because God will not accept anything you do, and he will not acknowledge that you are doing a just cause or recognize that you are working for the well-being of mankind. He will say that whatever you do, you are trying hard to push away God’s keeping for mankind by human knowledge and human power and are denying God’s blessings. He will say that you are guiding mankind to walk toward darkness, toward death, and toward the threshold of a boundless realm where mankind has no God and loses God’s blessings.”
from God Is Sovereign over the Destiny of All Mankind
Bible Verse: But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. - Luke 17:25
After reading Luke 17:25, I thought a passage of God’s words, “Those who wish to gain life without relying on the truth spoken by Christ are the most ridiculous people on earth, and those who do not accept the way of life brought by Christ are lost in fantasy. And so I say that the people who do not accept Christ of the last days shall forever be despised by God. Christ is man’s gateway to the kingdom during the last days, which none may bypass. None may be perfected by God except through Christ. You believe in God, and so you must accept His words and obey His way. You must not just think of gaining blessings without receiving the truth, or accepting the provision of life. Christ comes during the last days so that all those who truly believe in Him may be provided with life. His work is for the sake of concluding the old age and entering the new one, and is the path that must be taken by all those who would enter the new age. If you are incapable of acknowledging Him, and instead condemn, blaspheme or even persecute Him, then you are bound to burn for eternity, and shall never enter the kingdom of God. For this Christ is Himself the expression of the Holy Spirit, the expression of God, the One whom God has entrusted to do His work on earth. And so I say that if you cannot accept all that is done by Christ of the last days, then you blaspheme the Holy Spirit. The retribution that should be suffered by those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit is self-evident to all. I also tell you that if you oppose Christ of the last days, and deny Him, then there is no one who can bear the consequences on your behalf. Furthermore, from this day onward you will not have another chance to gain the approval of God; even if you try to redeem yourself, you will never again behold the face of God. For what you oppose is not a man, what you deny is not some puny being, but Christ. Are you aware of this consequence? You have not made a small mistake, but committed a heinous crime. And so I advise everyone not to bare your fangs before the truth, or make careless criticisms, for only the truth can bring you life, and nothing except the truth can allow you to be reborn and behold the face of God.”
from Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life
Bible Verse: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment. - Mark 12:30
After reading Mark 12:30, I thought a passage of God’s words: “Just how great your stature is depends on how great your love of God is, on whether you are able to stand fast when tested, whether you are weak when a certain environment comes upon you, and whether you can stand your ground when your brothers and sisters reject you; the arrival of the facts will show just what your love of God is like. It can be seen from much of God’s work that God really does love man, it’s just that the eyes of man’s spirit have yet to be completely opened, and he is unable to see through to much of the work of God, and the will of God, and the many things which are lovely about God; man has too little true love for God. You’ve believed in God throughout all this time, and today God has cut off all means of escape. Realistically speaking, you have no choice but to take the right path, the right path that you have been led on to by the harsh judgment and supreme salvation of God. Only after experiencing hardship and refinement does man know that God is lovely. Having experienced up until today, it can be said that man has come to know part of God’s loveliness—but this is still not enough, because man is so lacking. He must experience more of God’s wondrous work, and more of all the refinement of suffering set out by God. Only then can man’s life disposition be changed.”
from Only by Experiencing Painful Trials Can You Know the Loveliness of God
Bible Verse: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
This verse is the basis by which many Christians believe in the Lord. We can see God’s great love for mankind from that. Looking back to the Old Testament Age of Law, the people’s sin became set in stone and they were not able to abide by the laws. If they continued like that, they would be stoned to death. So, God personally became flesh to come into this world and was nailed to the cross to redeem mankind from sin with His blood. Those who believed in the Lord are no longer of sin and have the opportunity to get the way of eternal life. We know that Jesus Christ spread the way of repentance. He preached, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat 4:17). Jesus requires people to confess his sins and repent, not to commit sins, not to do evil, to deny himself, take up the cross, and follow the Lord, to love the Lord with all his heart, his soul, and his mind, to love others as himself, with humility, forbearance and patience, and to forgive others seventy times seven and so on, which qualifies man to pray before God and fellowship with Him, and enjoy the bountiful grace given by God. Then how to gain the way of eternal life mentioned in this verse?
Speaking of the way of eternal life, it is the way of truth that can enable man to live forever and completely deliver them from the influence of Satan, gain the truth as their lives, achieve to be compatible with God. Those who gain the way of eternal life have the truth as their lives and qualify to be raptured into the kingdom of heaven. Such people will no longer resist or betray God. However, we can repent before God, our sinful nature has not been cast off. We can still sin and oppose God, or fight with others, or follow the wicked trends of the world, or run and work for God with personal motives. We haven’t gained the everlasting way of truth. Hence, Jesus Christ predicted, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (Jhn 16:12-13). And it is said in the Book of Revelation, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death” (Rev 2:11). These verses tell us that the returned Jesus will say something to us in the end times, and guide us into all truth. Those who accept these truth will gain the way of eternal life. I’ve read one passage in a book, “In this final stage of work, results are achieved through the word. Through the word, man comes to understand many mysteries and God’s work throughout generations past; through the word, man is enlightened by the Holy Spirit; through the word, man comes to understand the mysteries never before unraveled by generations past, as well as the work of prophets and apostles of times past, and the principles by which they worked; through the word, man also comes to know the disposition of God Himself, as well as the rebelliousness and resistance of man, and comes to know their own substance. Through these steps of work and all words spoken, man comes to know the work of the Spirit, the work of God’s incarnate flesh, and moreover, His entire disposition. … Of the words spoken in this stage, there is prophecy and truth, but mainly they serve to bestow life upon man.” These words clearly tell us that the words expressed by God in the end times will reveal all mysteries to us. These words inspire me: When the Lord Jesus returns, those who can recognize God’s voice can hear the utterances of God. Just as Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (Jhn 10:27). Thanks for God’s enlightenment. I am willing to humbly seek and be attentive to the words of the Holy Spirit. In this way, we can gain the way of eternal life.
For more recommended articles, please click:
Bible Verse: So likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. - Matthew 24:33
For more recommended articles, please click:
Bible Verse: Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. - Matthew 7:21
Every brother and sister in the Lord has a desire: to enter the kingdom of heaven, which is also the Lord Jesus’ promise to us. Then, how can we enter the kingdom of heaven? What are the requirements for entry into the kingdom of heaven? Someone said: “We can set aside all things to spread the gospel and shepherd the church. Such toil and labor is doing the will of our heavenly Father. Is there any wrong in the way we carry this out?”
Answer: We can spread the Lord’s gospel and toil and labor, but this does not mean we’re doing the will of our heavenly Father. Truly doing the heavenly Father’s will is following His words and commandments, and doing our duty according to His requirements. Just like what the Lord Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). Doing the heavenly Father’s will means following and practicing what the Lord Jesus currently says. This is the most basic principle. If we do not focus on obeying the Lord Jesus’ words, but on obeying man’s words in the Bible, that is not doing the heavenly Father’s will. Doing the will of God is following the word of God. If people always exalt the apostles’ word in the Bible and not the word of the Lord Jesus, then they are not doing God’s will but are opposing God. People who do the will of God will submit to and practice whatever He says or does. They can accept God’s commission and testify Him, and no longer rebel against or resist Him. Such people are the holy ones. Take Abraham for example. He was able to listen to God, sincerely willing to give his only beloved son back to God. Because of his absolute obedience, God blessed his descendants to be a great nation. Another example, Job feared God and kept away from evil. Even when tested with the loss of his possessions and children, he would rather curse himself than murmur against God. He still praised Jehovah’s holy name. So in the eyes of God, he was perfect. There’s also Peter. He followed the Lord Jesus all his life, thirsting and seeking after the truth. After he received the Lord’s commission, he abided by the Lord’s will and requirements to shepherd the church, finally submitting even to death, and loving God to the utmost…. They were all people who feared and obeyed God. Such people are those who truly do the will of the heavenly Father. If toil and labor is all there is to doing the heavenly Father’s will, then why did the Pharisees travel over land and sea spreading the gospel, toiling and laboring only to receive the condemnation and curse of the Lord Jesus? That’s because they believed in God but were not walking in His way. When the Lord Jesus came for His new work, not only did they not embrace Him, but they instigated the common believers to wildly condemn and oppose Him, even setting up false witnesses to frame Him. All that they did was to depart from the Lord’s way and make an enemy with the Lord. Even if they outwardly suffered a lot or did much work, how can they be said to be doing the will of the heavenly Father?
A one-click subscription to the latest spiritual devotional resources helps you be closer to the Lord!
Subscribe through Messenger
About Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Credits
Copyright © 2021 Walk in the Light. All rights reserved.