Illustrated Message Overview with Marjorie

We continue today with John Bunyan’s visit to heaven, so please read page 9 starting at the 2nd paragraph and page 10 of the PDF above of John Bunyan’s, “Visions of Heaven and Hell” with the title; Chapter 4 – The Happiness of Heaven.

In the story, Elijah says the following; "In heaven our understanding and knowledge is enlarged according to the greatness of what we can observe and think. In the world below light could only shine into our minds through the windows of our senses, so God had to condescend to our limited capacities when revealing His Majesty. Our purest ideas of God were very imperfect, but here the gold is separated from the dross and we can conceive the simplicity and purity of God. We understand about His decrees a nd counsels, His providence and dispensations. We clearly see here that from eternity God was sole existing, but not solitary, that the Godhead is neither confused in unity, nor divided in number. We see that there is a priority of order but no superiority among the persons of the Trinity, but that they equally have the same excellency and power, and equally are adored. Those ways of God that in the world below seemed unsearchable and beyond our comprehension, we understand so clearly here by His divine wisdom that the truth could not be made more simple.”

We read in 1 Corinthians 13:9-12; “9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is [a]perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”

The perfect love of God never fails, but our love and knowledge of Him continually falls short of what our knowledge of Him will be in heaven. We are only experiencing a taste of heaven on earth right now, a fragment of the knowledge of God that only exists because of His Holy Spirit who is the third person of the Trinity Godhead.

Jesus talks about the Trinity in the following verses; 

Matthew 28:19; “Go [a]therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

John 14:16-17; “16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another [a]Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

The apostle John wrote about the Trinity in 1 John 5:6-8; “6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness [a]in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.”

When a person rejects the baptism of the Holy Spirit and His gifts for them, they are in essence rejecting God and Jesus at the same time, and the supernatural taste of heaven given by the Holy Spirit on earth is limited and often replaced with religious formalism and rationalism that ultimately never satisfies.

The story continues with Elijah saying; “"These are some of the things that make our souls happy. However, the happiness of the saints in heaven will not be complete until their bodies are resurrected and united with their souls. I will therefore show you what the resurrection body shall be like: "First, the resurrection bodies of the blessed will be spiritual bodies, like mine. You may better understand this not only by seeing but by touch. (After saying this, the holy prophet was pleased to give me his hand.) They will be bodies that are purified from all corruption, yet will have substance. They will not be like wind or air, as people on earth sometimes foolishly imagine."

Most people perceive that those who go to heaven don’t have bodies that can actually be touched or have substance. When Jesus rose from the dead, His body was flesh and blood and this will be the same for us when our dead physical bodies are resurrected to join with our souls in heaven.

Jesus was raised in a physical body and appeared unto His disciples but at the same time did some spiritual things that went beyond the physical, such as appearing to His disciples in a room without entering through a door.

It talks about this in John 20:25-27; “25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 

When Jesus appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaus, His identity was spiritually concealed to them, but then was revealed when He physically vanished from their site. Jesus was in a flesh and blood body after being resurrected from the dead. Although it was all supernatural, He was still in physical appearance with flesh and blood, eating and drinking like everyone else.

We’ll only read a portion of Luke 24:13-35 where it says in verses “15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.” This is amazing because these disciples had been with Jesus, they knew what He looked like, yet here they could not identify Him. They were talking to Jesus about Jesus, not knowing it was Him. Jesus restrained their eyes, He didn’t cover himself or concealed His image. The scripture continues in verses 30-31; “30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.” 

This is the type of body that we receive in heaven after the resurrection of the dead when our bodies are united with our spirit in heaven. Resurrected bodies that operate in the supernatural, that are spiritual and that are pure.

We see too that Jesus ate in His resurrected body in Luke 24:41-43; “41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish [a]and some honeycomb. 43 And He took it and ate in their presence.”

They weren’t talking to a spirit, they were talking to a flesh and blood person, the same one who was nailed to the cross and rose from the dead.

John 21:1-14 similarly says the following when Jesus appears to the disciples at the Sea of Galilee. We’ll read starting at verse 4; “4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.” 6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.” Then verses 9-10 say; “9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”

Amazing again that Jesus’ own disciples did not recognize Him. This is the supernatural side of our resurrected body. If we’re not alive when the church is raptured and we die before then, our bodies that are in the grave will be resurrected and joined with our souls in heaven and will be as one. It will be one of the most awesome supernatural events the Christians will experience.

The Bible continues telling us in Acts 1:1-3 how Jesus appeared in His resurrected body to His disciples over a 40-day period; “1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which [a]He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many [b]infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”

When Jesus ascended to heaven, He was in a resurrected body made of flesh. While Jesus was on earth after his resurrection, He continued to operate in the supernatural in His resurrected body. He was the demonstration of the spiritual body like we will receive in heaven. Elijah, who did not die but was taken up to heaven in a flesh body was made into a spiritual body. Somewhere between earth and heaven, there was a transformation that took place with Elijah. 

There were two men in the Old Testament who did not physically die but were taken up into heaven supernaturally, they were Enoch and Elijah. We read about what happened to Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11; “11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” Between earth and heaven, there was a spiritual body given to Elijah, a transformation took place.

That’s why until the resurrection of the dead at the end of days, those who die are souls in heaven that are not complete until they are joined with their physical body that is made a spiritual body that can be touched. 

When a Christian dies, they are not going to be complete in heaven until they receive their resurrected body that they lived in on earth and this will happen just prior to the rapture of the Church when Christ comes for His Bride. We know that flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom heaven, but our old bodies will become new bodies that are perfect and according the Bible, are neither male nor female but are as the angels in heaven. There will be no husbands and wives, no pro-creation, no intimate relations in heaven. You will know one another but in a different way than when it was on earth.

Jesus says in Matthew 22:23-33; “23 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. 27 Last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are [a]mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels [b]of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.”

You will be known as you were on earth, but you’ll be as the angels; your body will be supernatural and one you can touch. It will be your body that you had on earth but it will go through a transformation in heaven.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 we read about the comfort of Christ’s coming; “13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen [a]asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who [b]sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are [c]asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

The hope of all those who have died in Jesus is that their earthly bodies will be resurrected at the sound of the trumpet of God, they will rise first. Then, those born again Christians who are still alive on earth will be raptured, caught up like Enoch and Elijah and will not experience earthly death. But the resurrection of the dead is first.

The story continues where Elijah says; “Our bodies in the resurrection shall be immortal, and incapable of dying. Below their bodies are all mortal, perishing, and subject to crumbling into dust at any time. But here our bodies will be incorruptible and freed from death forever, for our corruption here shall put on incorruption, and our mortality will be swallowed up of life."

So, it appears that our souls in heaven are not complete until they are joined with our resurrected body that is made spiritual and yet at the same time physical to the touch.

Romans 8:11 says; “11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [a]through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Elijah continues telling Bunyan; “When I say that the bodies of the blessed here are immortal, I am speaking about the bodies in their resurrected state, that then they are subject to death no more. Man in his corruptible state is mortal and subject to death. And there is nothing more evident to all that dwell in the world below. Even the bodies of all those glorified souls that are here in heaven are at this time still kept under the power of death. At the resurrection day, when they shall be raised up again, they shall then be immortal.”

Very interesting to read that those who have died and are in heaven, are still under the power of death. Only when Jesus comes back to take His Bride with Him to heaven, that He destroys death once and for all. We know He conquered death, hell and the grave at the cross, but when He comes back for His Bride – the church – that the power of death will be broken forever. 

It almost seems like a dichotomy or mystery as the Apostle Paul says, because you think that when the soul dies and goes to heaven, it would come out from under the power of death. Well the soul does but the body is still in the grave and that’s what makes you incomplete. That’s what makes a person still under the power of death because they haven’t been resurrected yet. The body in the grave, or the one who’s been cremated or been dismembered in an accident or burned in a house fire or whatever the circumstance may be, is no problem for God to put them back together again to resurrect them. In that resurrection then, the earthly mortal body will join the soul in heaven and will become immortal.

We read this in 1 Corinthians 15:50-55; “50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a [a]mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O[b] Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

Someone would ask, how much more victorious can it get than going home to be with Jesus? That’s just a part of it! Apparently, being in heaven without your body is a big deal, big enough for Jesus to come back for it and resurrect it from whatever state it might be in, however it may have died or been destroyed or martyred throughout the ages. It’s a very big deal to Jesus to see a Christian restored with their body in heaven. The soul in heaven is longing for the victory, which comes from the resurrection of their dead physical body.

There is no sting of death over the Christian, but your final victory is when your body is resurrected with you in heaven with all of the other saints over the ages. It’s pretty overwhelming to think that every saints body who has ever died is in the grave, from Adam, to all the saints of the Old Testament, all the saints of the New Testament, all of the brothers and sisters in the Lord, will all at the same when the sound of the trumpet of God is heard, will be joined with their bodies in heaven! In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye! Those Christians who are alive when this happens are then raptured into heaven. They don’t see or taste death.

However, ‘out there’ this may sound, it’s the Bible and it’s truth. It is a very important date and time on God’s calendar where death is swallowed up in victory through Jesus Christ. There is no sting of death, hell and the grave for the Christian or all those who had faith in God, death is swallowed up in Jesus. 

This is the happiness of heaven. That’s why we have peace, joy and happiness while we are alive and wait for the sound of the trumpet! Are you ready? Is there oil in your lamp and is it trimmed and burning? Are you a wise Christian serving the Lord or a foolish Christian? Are you ready to meet Jesus?

We continue today with John Bunyan’s visit to heaven, so please read page 8 and the 1st paragraph on page 9 of the PDF above of John Bunyan’s, “Visions of Heaven and Hell” with the title; Chapter 4 – The Happiness of Heaven.

Elijah says to Bunyan in the story: "Firstly, the souls of all the blessed are forever freed from everything that can make them miserable, which above all is sin. It was sin that brought misery into creation. The blessed God at first made all things happy, like Himself. Had not sin defaced the beauty of His workmanship, angels and men would have never known what is meant by misery. It was sin that threw the apostate angels down into hell, and spoiled the beauty of the lower world. It was sin that defaced God's image in man's soul, and made the ones who were to be the lords of creation into slaves of their own lust. It is sin which can also plunge them into an ocean of eternal misery from which is no redemption. It is an invaluable mercy that in this happy place all the saints are forever freed from sin through the blood of our Redeemer.”

In heaven, you are totally freed from sin because of the blood of Jesus that washed you clean. There is no sin in heaven and it is almost incomprehensible. Your sin nature and the sins of your life, do not go into heaven. When sin is repented of in your life, God forgives them and receives you into heaven, and the sin is totally removed by the blood of Jesus. Sin entered the earth through Adam and Eve’s yielding to satan’s temptations, which, as Bunyan says; “defaced the beauty of His (God’s) workmanship”.

Let’s talk today about sin and its effect on our state of happiness while still alive on earth. Most people today are finding their happiness in breaking God’s laws, the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20:1-17. Let’s read what those laws are;

“And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]bondage.

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor [b]serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting[c] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

13 “You shall not murder.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

God shows love and mercy to those who keep His commandments! In reading these laws, you could come up with a half dozen thoughts as to what is going on in this day and age, in your personal world, in the lives of those you know, family, co-workers etc., where these laws are being broken. Those who practice these things are considered by God as law-breakers.

It’s interesting to see that the happiness that a person obtains from breaking God’s laws never totally satisfies, and one sin usually leads to another in order to obtain more happiness. But sin is never satisfied. 

In James 2:10 it says; “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble at one point, he is guilty of all.” That’s why you need Jesus, because He died that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in you, Christian. (Romans 8:3-4). No one is keeping or can keep the law to the fullest. That’s why you need a Saviour, that’s why God sent His Son Jesus for you to believe in Him and not perish but have everlasting life. In Jesus then, the righteous requirements that the law require can be fulfilled and met in you by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you. It’s not only covering of grace, but by His grace you can keep the law.

The reason that in heaven there is no unhappiness, is simply because there is no sin, and happiness is all that you know. I believe that the only way we can obtain a taste of heavens happiness on earth, is by receiving the Holy Spirit (Jesus) into our body and become born-again of His Spirit. Jesus gave us His Holy Spirit to empower us to not sin and to be able to keep His Ten Commandments, and this is our happiness on earth that is only found in the person of the Holy Spirit. 

The only heaven on earth right now is the Holy Spirit and to reject Him for temporary happiness found in breaking God’s laws will never satisfy or fill the empty void within. That’s why the sinner who doesn’t know Jesus, will never be satisfied by breaking God’s laws.

As Christians we have the Holy Spirit who enables us to keep God’s Commandments in a way that is not done in a legalistically, but rather in a liberating way, knowing that as we obey it, it is our taste of heaven on earth where true happiness can only be found. This needs to be clearly understood and comprehended.

Romans 6:1-14 talks about the Christian being dead to sin and alive to God; “6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be [a]done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been [b]freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, [c]reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as [d]instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

This is not a legalistic life but a life that keeps God’s Commandments in a liberating way, by the power of the Holy Spirit, where you by His grace, you can choose to say no to sin and its temptation. This is not saying that the Christian life is free from the temptations of sin, but rather that we can choose to not sin when tempted simply because the grace given us by the Holy Spirit enables and empowers us to not break God’s laws.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says; “13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to [a]bear it.” 

So, you’re without excuse when it comes to sin. There will always be a way of escape, however it is presented you have to take it. You have a free will to choose the way of escape.

The story continues with Elijah saying; “In the earth below, the best and holiest of souls groan under the burden of corruption. Sin tries to cling to all that they do, and often leads them captive against their will. "Who shall deliver me?" has been the cry of many of God's faithful servants, who at the same time have been dear to Jesus. Sin is the heavy weight upon the saints while they live in their corrupted flesh. Therefore, when they lay their bodies down, their souls are like a bird loosed from its cage, and with a heavenly joy they rise up to heaven. But here their warfare is at an end, and 'death is swallowed up in victory.' Below their souls were deformed and stained by sin, but here their bright souls by the ever-blessed Jesus are presented to the Father 'without spot or wrinkle.”

When you’re presented to God in heaven, you’re presented to Him without spot or wrinkle (sinless). It’s important to keep in mind that true happiness for the Christian can only be found in allowing the grace of God to enable you not to sin when you are tempted, and if you do sin, you are to confess our sins to God and He forgives you.

1 John 1:8-10 says; “8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

The struggle of life is the constant temptations that the devil throws on you to break God’s laws, and although you may fail, Jesus will forgive you if you confess the sins and repent of them. Repentance requires a change of heart, there has to be an infilling of the Holy Spirit because that’s who you need to be able to keep God’s Commandments, to be able to resist the devil and see him flee, to be able to take the way of escape. A person may cry out all day for forgiveness of their sins, but if they have not repented and received Jesus into their hearts and become born again, it’s all for naught. 

The New Covenant is that God gave His only begotten Son, who died on a cross, that if you’d repent of your sins and receive His Holy Spirit to live in you, He’d forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness, or all lawbreaking. Your body then becomes God’s temple. You don’t get to heaven by talking to God about all of the sins you did all day long. No, you get to heaven by asking Jesus to come into your body by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be Lord of your life.

The temptations to sin will always be a part of the Christians life, but God always provides away of escape, we just have to decide to take it when tempted and when we do take the way of escape, we experience a taste of that happiness found in heaven on earth. That is joy! Don’t let the devil rob your joy and he’ll do that by tempting you to be a lawbreaker. When he’s got your joy then you lose your strength…it’s a chain reaction into a tailspin into more sin.

Again, 1 Corinthians 10:13 says; “13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to [a]bear it.”

It’s difficult to comprehend being constantly happy in heaven but God gave us the Holy Spirit to experience a taste of its happiness on earth.

Jesus says in John 15:9-11 says; “9 As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Jesus who is the Holy Spirit living in you, is the one who gives us the true joy and happiness that comes as a result of obeying His commandments.

Elijah continues to says in the story; “Here we all enjoy Him face to face. Below the saints enjoy God in a measure, but here we enjoy Him without measure. There they have some sips of His goodness, but here we drink largely and swim in the boundless ocean of happiness. Below the saints have their communion with God broken off many times, but here it is uninterrupted. Below love is mixed with fear, and fear has torment; but here love is perfect, and perfect love casts out fear. In heaven we love God more than ourselves, and one another like ourselves. Here we enjoy the perfection of all grace.” 

I think heaven is going to be a wonderful happy place, but until then I want to experience all the happiness of heaven on earth that can be obtained by obeying His Commandments and sharing the Gospel of Jesus with everyone that is not born again!

So the next time you’re tempted to break God’s Commandments, take the way of escape that the Holy Spirit provides and taste the joy of heaven on earth. Your joy is obeying God’s Commandments! Joy is your victory today. 

Again, grace is the power of the Holy Spirit to keep you from sinning, grace helps you to make the right decision by taking the way of escape. That’s why God’s grace is sufficient for you. You have power to say no to the temptations that the devil wants to throw at you, you’re without excuse. That being said, there is no excuse for Christians to break God’s laws because a way of escape from temptation has been made through Jesus. You see, when the disciples were persecuted and the devil was trying to take them out, the Word says that they were filled with joy! That joy only comes through the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 1:21 says; “21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Again, that living in Christ is to experience all the happiness of heaven on earth that can be obtained by obeying His Commandments and sharing the Gospel of Jesus with everyone that is not born again. Why is it gain to die? Because you’re going to a place that is happy all of the time added to the fact that there is no sin in heaven! It’s not ‘happy hour’ but happy forever. But until then, to live is Christ. Obedience to His Commandments brings joy to your heart and life. You, being the example of Christ on earth, maybe all that your co-workers are going to see, you may be the only ‘joy of the Lord’ they see for them to flee the kingdom of darkness and receive Jesus to be King of their hearts.

Please watch this inspiring video by King and Country called ‘Joy’!