Gospel
Faith in Jesus Christ and the salvation it procures i.e. eternity with God cannot be well told on this side of heaven. No tongue can tell it as it should be told. No combination of musical instruments made by mortals can strike notes enough to convey all its import. For now we can only be grateful to our God and show same in words, songs, and our works and above all in and with our lives, by our lifestyles or by the lives we live and lead.
Faithfulness is the watchword until Him we join up yon aye (forever) and be part of the Great Assembly of God’s eternal worshipers. In the by-and-by we shall forever sing unimaginably sonorous songs that perfectly rubbish what men may classify today as matchless tunes. May you and I be there to join in that indescribably sublimely arrayed holy, saintly or sinless Choir to give our God the worship eternally due Him; and required of us first at that eternally soothing Heavenly Shore and through the Beautiful, Beautiful, and Beautiful Heavenly Gate from whence we shall be ushered into and ‘lost’ forever in praise of our God in that indescribably exquisite Heaven of God throughout all of eternity. Amen!
How Beautiful Heaven must be
“How Beautiful Heaven Must Be?” Mrs. A. S. Bridgewater once asked in her equally beautiful hymn of the same title; and we must make recourse to that classic immediately:
1. We read of a place that’s called heaven,
It’s made for the pure and the free;
These truths in God’s Word He hath given,
How beautiful heaven must be.
How beautiful heaven must be,
Sweet home of the happy and free;
Fair haven of rest for the weary,
How beautiful heaven must be.
2. In heaven no drooping nor pining,
No wishing for elsewhere to be;
God’s light is forever there shining,
How beautiful heaven must be.
3. Pure waters of life there are flowing,
And all who will drink may be free;
Rare jewels of splendor are glowing,
How beautiful heaven must be.
4. The angels so sweetly are singing,
Up there by the beautiful sea;
Sweet chords from their gold harps are ringing,
How beautiful heaven must be.
In Revelation 21: 1-5 we read the most beautiful lines in the whole of the universe: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
And from Revelation 21:9-22:5 which we have read elsewhere before we may here read again and shall continue to read till the rapture or till we breathe our last:
“And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: And they shall see His face; and His Name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.” And how we want to be there!
O how we dream now of REVELATION 4: 8b: “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, WHICH WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO COME.” Amen! And how we want to be part of REVELATION 4: 11: “THOU ART WORTHY O LORD TO RECEIVE GLORY AND HONOUR AND POWER: FOR THOU HAST CREATED ALL THINGS, AND FOR THY PLEASURE THEY ARE AND WERE CREATED.”Amen!
But before then, before we get there, while human breaths we still have: let all things that have breath praise the Lord: The Creator, Redeemer and Coming King! We represent this with a hymn of mine drawn from Psalms 148 and 149: LET ALL HIS CREATION PRAISE HIM.
Let all His Creation praise Him
1. Praise you the Lord, Halleluiah, every soul.
Let us praise the Lord, Almighty, while we live,
Even our God while we have our being.
In the beauty of His Holiness, let’s praise Him.
Let all His creation praise Him,
Let all His creation praise Him:
For this is good, pleasant and comely.
Praise Him whose Name alone is excellent.
His glory is above the Earth and Heaven.
2. Let all His saints sing unto Him a new song.
O you assembly of His saints let us sing.
Praise His great Name in the dance brethren.
Let high praises of our God be in every mouth.
3. Praise you the Lord, Jerusalem, His beloved.
Praise your God O Zion, God’s city, forever!
Let Israel joy in Him that made him,
Let the children of Jacob joy in their great King.
4. And now all kings and all judges of the earth;
Princes, all people wherever they now are;
Children, young men, maidens and old men,
Should now our God adore and worship from henceforth.
5. Praise you the Lord in the heavens and all heights;
Praise Him from Heaven all angels, all His hosts;
Praise Him sun, moon and all stars of lights.
Water above, heavens of heavens: Praise His Name.
6. Praise you the Lord: O earth below, praise our God;
Praise Him you dragons, all creatures and all deeps;
Praise Him fire, hail, all snow and vapors.
You storming winds fulfilling His Word, praise the Lord.
7. Let all mountains and all the hills praise our God.
All cedars He made, fruitful trees praise His Name.
Beasts, all cattle and all creeping things,
All fowls flying, all things that have breath, praise our God.
Praises of our God must be the station of all saved souls on this side of eternity before we get to be with Him that inhabits eternity. Yes, ‘for now we can only be grateful to our God and show same in words, songs, and our works and above all in and with our lives, by our lifestyles or by the lives we live and lead’: And this is unquestionably holy living, because, it is for His pleasure we are created and must therefore live; and which holy living is made possible by the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us, by His Word He has given to us to obey, by His Grace which makes that obedience possible and by His Holy Spirit which actually comes to help us if we rely on Him for assistance: in understanding and illumination; self-emptying, consecration to His will and divine impartation; direction and good performance of His commands, will and pleasure: a divine assistance made good when we constantly pray to God for these and by faith always set out accordingly; and for this cause and more He says: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” – Hebrews 4:16.
Living for His Pleasure
It is proper and expected that we know what displeases Him and what pleases Him and may we be so obedient to do that which is right in His sight in every circumstance – which is why He has given us His Holy Word and Holy Spirit for us to approach unto and tap graces from to live holily and acceptably for Him. That is how to live for Him. And that is how to live with eternity in view. This is what pleases Him; that is His pleasure.
And in Jesus Christ alone we have grace to do this, and to do it to the end; even to the end when He comes in the rapture or catching away of the saints to receive His them (His own) to Himself eternally, even His precious jewels. These are those that live for His pleasure or those that please Him while breath they still have. These shall worship God forever and they shall both know the unimaginable comfort, bliss and glory that are in the presence of God everlastingly and a holy and perfect service to our God eternally.
Until then may the prayerful confession and amen of Paul in 2 Tim. 4:18 be always ours: “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” The perception Charles Spurgeon had of this scripture is most irresistible and must be visited presently.
On 2 Timothy 4: 18 Spurgeon comments in his devotional: “Yonder city of the great King is a place of active service. Ransomed spirits serve Him day and night in His temple. They never cease to fulfil the good pleasure of their King. They always "rest," so far as ease and freedom from care is concerned; and never "rest," in the sense of indolence or inactivity. Jerusalem the golden is the place of communion with all the people of God. We shall sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in eternal fellowship. We shall hold high converse with the noble host of the elect, all reigning with Him who by His love and His potent arm has brought them safely home. We shall not sing solos, but in chorus shall we praise our King. Heaven is a place of victory realized. Whenever, Christian, thou hast achieved a victory over thy lusts--whenever after hard struggling, thou hast laid a temptation dead at thy feet--thou hast in that hour a foretaste of the joy that awaits thee when the Lord shall shortly tread Satan under thy feet, and thou shalt find thyself more than conqueror through Him who hath loved thee. Paradise is a place of security. When you enjoy the full assurance of faith, you have the pledge of that glorious security which shall be yours when you are a perfect citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem. O my sweet home, Jerusalem, thou happy harbour of my soul! Thanks, even now, to Him whose love hath taught me to long for Thee; but louder thanks in eternity, when I shall possess thee.
‘My soul has tasted of the grapes,
And now it longs to go
Where my dear Lord His vineyard keeps
And all the clusters grow.
"Upon the true and living vine,
My famish'd soul would feast,
And banquet on the fruit divine,
An everlasting guest.’ "
Amen!
But to live for His pleasure in eternity and to be overwhelmed with the eternal bliss, comfort and provisions of heaven we must first live for His pleasure now or in ‘time’. Living for His pleasure here, or what Paul by the Spirit in Romans 12:1-2 represents as presenting our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which also is our reasonable service; and being not conformed to this world: but being transformed by the renewing of our minds, that we may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God; is making it to that indescribably exquisite heaven of God after our salvation.
Igho writes from Warri
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