His Kingdom

In this world, God helps us through the gifts of His Word and His Holy Spirit. But this world and our years in it are by no means the end of the story. It is only the beginning …

Jesus had been with His disciples for three years. They had left everything to follow Him. Now, on the night Jesus knew would be His last with them, He gathered the disciples close and told them:  "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am." John 14:1-3

What Jesus suffered next, we can only imagine as we read the account. But the story did not end there with His death. Jesus told His disciples,  "Before long, the world will not see Me anymore, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day, you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you." John 14:19,20

Three days after His death on the cross, Jesus was alive – talking, eating, and appearing to hundreds of people for weeks. Then, in front of His disciples, Jesus ascended up into Heaven, disappearing from their sight.

Jesus had taught a great deal about the Kingdom of Heaven while He was here. He had even sent out the disciples to preach this message: The Kingdom of Heaven is near. Jesus was preparing them to believe without seeing that God has in store for us the greatest gift of all time – His Kingdom.

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him." Isaiah 64:4 and 1Corinthians 2:9

Now, the moment you accepted Christ as your Lord, you became God's child, right along with His Son. Just as children inherit from their earthly parents, God's children inherit from Him.  "Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ …" Romans 8:17

The Bible says we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken or destroyed, one that will never pass away – where God Himself will be with us and wipe every tear from our eyes and fill us with joy in His presence.

Just listen to what the Apostle Paul writes:   "I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future He has promised to those He called! I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance He has given to His people!" Ephesians 1:18

He's talking about the Kingdom of Heaven! And it's all because of what Jesus Christ – God's Son and our Savior – did for us on the cross.  "Our citizenship is in Heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ ..." Philippians 3:20

Knowing that we are on our way to Heaven is the greatest joy of all!   "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 1Corinthians 4:18