For one who has become a child of God, the things of eternity are more valuable than the things of time. The values of heaven become more important to him than the values held here on earth.
When the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, after rising from the dead, 2000 years ago, He promised to come back to this earth.
This is referred to as "The Second Coming Of Christ".
This is the next great event in the history of this world.
A child of God realizes that he must give an account of his whole life to God on that day, when Christ comes back to this earth.
This world is only a passing phase in our journey towards eternity. We are on probation here now. God is testing us now through the circumstances of life to see whether we choose the eternal things of heaven or the temporary things of this earth.
If we are wise, we will choose the things that will have value in eternity.
A small baby will prefer a shiny, coloured paper to a 500-rupee currency-note - because the baby has no sense of values. When we prefer the things of this earth to the things of heaven and eternity, we are behaving just like that little baby.
God has told us very clearly in the Bible that this world and everything in it will pass away.
To live for the temporary things of this earth is therefore like putting money in a bank that is going to crash very soon.
A wise person will put his money into a bank that is stable. In the same way those who are truly wise will live for the things that have eternal value - things related to our character like purity, love, goodness, forgiveness, humility etc., which are the only things we can take with us when we leave this earth.
The Bible tells us that the final end of all who die without repenting of their sins is going to be terrible.
"It is appointed to men to die once and after this judgment" (Hebrews chapter 9, verse 27).
Once a person is dead, there can be no more opportunity for him to change. God also cannot change such a person, because God does not change a person against his will. It is only when we are willing to change, here on this earth, that God can change us.
In a coming day in the future, every person who ever lived on this earth will be raised up from the dead to give an account of his life to God. The Bible says that there will be two resurrections - that is, the dead bodies which have become dust will be raised as bodies again, by the supernatural power of God.
The first resurrection will be for those who are righteous - those who received Christ as their Saviour and who had their sins forgiven, and who thus became children of God while they were on earth.
The second resurrection will be for those who rejected the forgiveness that God offered them through the Lord Jesus Christ and died in that state. If a person dies without repenting of his sins and without his sins being forgiven through Christ, he will one day be judged at the judgment seat of God where his whole life will be reviewed. Then it will be proved to the whole universe that he deserved eternal judgment for his sins.
Satan who started all the evil in the universe, and who has been the cause of leading men into sin will also receive an eternal punishment at that time.
Those however, who humbled themselves and acknowledged their sins and confessed and forsook them, and accepted God's offer of forgiveness through Christ's death on the cross, will enter into God's presence and dwell with Him for all eternity.
Heaven is a place of purity, peace and joy, where the angels and those from the human race who have been saved from their sins, will worship and praise God and serve Him in various ways for all eternity.
It will be a place of joyous re-union with our loved ones who have left this earth before us, if they had died as children of God, trusting in Christ for their salvation.
The true child of God looks forward to that glorious day when he will be with God forever.
Now that you know THE REAL TRUTH, what is your response going to be? Did you pray that prayer asking the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you your sins and to make you a child of God? The time to pray that prayer is now, when God is speaking to your heart. None of us can say when we will die and leave this earth. One of these days will be our last day on this earth. Before that day comes, make sure that your sins are forgiven and that you are ready to meet God.
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Zac Poonen ( - Present)
God called brother Zac Poonen to a new work early on in his Christian experience. The movement is now called Christian Fellowship Churches where the New Covenant of New Testament Christianity is clearly preached.Brother Zac Poonen has written 25 books most of them being on the deeper Christian life. Many of these have been translated into a number of languages and have been circulated widely around the world. He clearly and passionately shares the narrow way of Christian discipleship that is neglected by so many modern preachers.
Recommends these books by Zac Poonen:
Through The Bible by Zac Poonen
The Final Triumph-A verse by verse study of the book of Revelation by Zac Poonen
Beauty for Ashes by Zac Poonen
Zac Poonen is a former Indian Naval Officer who has been in full time ministry in India for nearly 50 years as a Bible teacher and preacher. He holds responsibility for a number of churches in India and abroad. He currently pastors the Christian Fellowship Church in Bangalore, Karnataka.
He has written more than 25 books and numerous articles in English - which have been translated into many Indian and foreign languages. His messages are available on audio and video format.
Like the other elders in his church, Zac Poonen also supports himself and his family through what he describes as "tent-making" and does not receive any salary for his services. He does not receive any royalties for any of his books, CDs or DVDs, that are published by Christian Fellowship Centre, Bangalore.