During the time of Emperor Nero, Christians were fed to lions. One of those days, an old man was tied up to a tree to be burnt because he believed in Jesus. He was given five minutes to denounce Christ and be set free but he declared his faith in Jesus once more. He even told the soldiers that they shouldn’t bother about tying him to the tree that he would stay still and be burnt for Christ. You see, many people before us paid the price for this gospel we are enjoying now to be preserved. A life that must be approved by heaven is the life that is will to be destroyed because of Christ. You must come to the point where nothing can stop you from serving God (Romans 8:35-39). Remember what Jesus told his disciples that if they loved their lives more than Him, they would lose it (Luke 9:24). Our lord Jesus wants to be first in all our affairs, bear that in mind! (Matthew 6:33)
The life that will be approved by heaven is the life that has escaped the corruption of this world. From 2 Peter 1:4 we find the whole world is full of corruption and everyone present is at the risk of being a victim of this corruption. The only way to escape the corruption that is always in the world is through constant spiritual check-up. The spiritual check-up for every believer is the principles of God’s word. You must always check that your life is in accordance with what God’s word says. The greatest wickedness you can do to yourself is to allow pride stop you from receiving correction from the word of God.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LIFE APPROVED BY HEAVEN
- A lifestyle of a living sacrifice (John 12:23-27)
- A lifestyle of unreserved obedience (2 Corinthians 10:6)
Pillars that provoke the lifestyle of obedience
- Genuine love for God
- Honor for God
- Intimate relationship status with God
The reason for disobedience is the voice-of-God deficiency. Before you can obey God you need to hear from His voice. It is not enough to hear God’s voice but you need to understand what He is saying. It is not enough to understand Him but you also need to obey what He has asked you to do for positive results.
The easiest way to access God’s voice is through a solid relationship with the Holy Spirit (the custodian of God’s voice). Whatever you want to do, submit it to the laboratory of God’s voice where the chief lab scientist is the Holy Ghost. For a life to be valid you must know how to hear from God. The only not to offend God is to hear from God. Wherever in the bible to you find God’s voice, ‘obey’ follows.
Jeremiah 42:6
Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God. (KJV)
Important quote:
- The costliest commodity on earth is divine direction and you cannot enjoy divine direction until you obey and you cannot obey until you hear
- Show me a man that is a great treasure and I will show you a man that obeys God.
Further Scriptures:
John 10:4, Jeremiah 12:16, Exodus 19:5, 23:21,Deutronomy 27:10, 30:20, Joshua 24:24, 1 Samuel 12:14
Prayer line:
Holy Spirit grant me intimacy with you. Draw me closer to yourself so that I can access God’s voice in the name of Jesus. Amen!