Yesterday, Jesus taught us how to enter His Kingdom and attain what we truly need. Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with a warning…and also a promise of a much greater
life so long as we heed this warning. This is difficult to write in a public forum because it is not popular and most ignore these truths because they are not fluffy, feel-good ideas. Please do not read further if you’ve not first read the introduction to this sermon. Jesus is not discussing Salvation here, but rather how to live His true calling and Heavenly reality in your time here on earth.
The Lord’s Day of judgment is coming and we seem to be getting close, although I have no idea whether or not we’ll be alive when He comes. However, when this day comes, everything that exists (both Heaven and earth) will be destroyed and replaced with a new Heaven and a new earth. The only things in your life that will be untouched (not burned away) are the things that are founded in the Kingdom of Heaven.
We’ll take a few days to break down the sections here, but it’s going to come down to this. Jesus is going to use several parables to teach us…
- Following Him is not easy, but it is the only way to eternal life.
- We must be extremely careful what kind of spiritual leadership we follow.
- Not all who are called will enter the Kingdom.
- We can lead a life that blesses us for eternity, or we can waste that chance…most will waste it.
I hope this study will be an encouragement to you. Jesus calls us all to these things, and the way is open to all of us if we so choose. Along the way, we’ll reference other Biblical writers to hopefully make these points concrete. Jesus taught in parables so that those who would truly follow them could be taught by the Holy Spirit and could glean wisdom from these stories. Sometimes the apostles were a little more direct. If these concepts are new to you, I hope you’ll pray through the references and let God bring you understanding.
These words I type only point a direction. I’d love for you to add to or dialogue with me about these things and…invite a friend to be a part of the conversation.