How to Enter the Kingdom, the Literal Presence of God
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Ezekiel 36:26-27
The kingdom is of course God Himself, the glorious Lord God Almighty.
Jesus spoke about entering the kingdom. Therefore, when we continue through the phases of knowing Him, we learn that there is a place we can enter. That place is Jesus Christ Himself. Amen! That place is the glorious presence of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.
God created us to fellowship with Him. The purpose of our life, the reason we were created, is to know Him and, if we continue on with Him, to fellowship Him. Fellowship with Him is the deepest reality, the ultimate goal, of knowing Him. Amen.
Jesus said to enter the kingdom, we must be converted and become like a little child. He talked about how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God.
Below are just some of the things we must do in order to enter the kingdom.
But remember: the absolute key, the. . . absolute. . . key. . . 100% of everything. . . is our relationship with Him. Let’s always remember that. Lists and formulas help us learn about important things, for sure. But it is all about our relationship with Him.
Also, all the items are common sense. He is God. He is everything. Without Him, we are nothing.
Initial pre-requisites:
1.Our relationship must be between Him and us. It must be private, personal. He is a jealous God. Jesus said pray and seek the Lord in private (go into your room, shut the door).
2.The first commandment is of course to love Him with all we have. Jeremiah: “You shall seek Me, and you shall find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
3.We must become like a little child to truly receive Him. Children have unconditional love and live in the present. God is in the now. Little children are also.
More keys:
- Repentence, a penitent heart. Jesus emphasized this over and over again.
- Humility. Jesus said “He who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles Himself (before God) shall be exalted.”
- Faithfulness. The parable of the talents is clear: we are all given a certain amount of spiritual treasure and ministry from God, and it is up to us to respond.
- Obedience. Jesus gave us many, many commands to follow.
- God tests us.
“I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah.” 17:10
“And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what wasin your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” Deut. 8:2
“The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.” Psalm 11:4
- Faith, reliance. There are seven levels of faith.
- Forgiveness. We must forgive those who sin against us and or hurt us. Jesus emphasized this fully.
- Count the cost. The most important thing for a human is their relationship with God and their eternity. A human should always be taking care of this one thing. Within that, a person should ponder what it takes to have that relationship and keep it going.