One thing You Can’t do in heaven

Revival.  Billy Graham let many revival crusades all around the world.  I have always heard of the word but didnt find out what it means until recently.

I recently read about a man who memorized the entire new testment and then gave his life to Jesus months later.  How is this possible?!?!  Memorize the  whole new testament and not know Jesus?!?!  This is where the term revival comes into play.  Most people who grew up in church are the same way.  And when I say most, I mean most.  Jesus said the road is narrow. 

Revival is when all the things you have learned in church or what you have read in scripture finally becomes real to you. It finally all makes sense.  This doesn’t involve your mind, it envolves God placing it on your heart.

In John 3 Nicodemus told Jesus He believed in Him.  Most of us do that.  We call ourselves Christians because we really do “believe” with our minds that Jesus in God.  Jesus responds to Nicodemus by saying verily verily aka cut the crap, you will not see the kingdom of God unless you have been born again.  You have became dead to you sins and now I, Jesus, take residency in you and you are made alive in Me.  Thats my little paraphrase. 

We cannot be born again unless God initially revives us and makes His truth real to us.  I personally believe this can only happen once.  I do not believe God would nail us and are sins and make us alive in Him and then take us off of the cross and make us dead only to come to God and ask Him to make us alive again.

But I do believe that revival in the sense of God working out things in our hearts during our walk can happen.  That didn’t make sense so ill try to explain a little.  When I first thought of the idea of tithing, giving ten percent to God, I thought it was just the church wants your money or maybe even God does.  It wasn’t untill I started tithing that God showed me that when He said He will pour out the flood gates of heaven and bless us did I finally get it.

This has happened many times but more recently with this one verse.  To live is Christ and to die is gain-philipians 1:21.  I always read it and I understood what it meant, but it wasn’t on my heart.  This verse that can sum up the Christian walk was just another verse to me.  Well God began to work out this verse in me.

To die is gain.  Of course it is.  To be with Jesus is the goal of anyone who believes in God!  Heaven is going to be so much better than earth and the Christian walk is constantly about trying to get closer to Jesus only to find out that you are so far away.

To live is Christ.  This is the most important statement about our life here on earth.  God put this kid in my life who now I call a friend that I looked at Him and originally became jelious.  I found someone who lived out what the bible says more than anyone I have ever met.  He was someone who took what I read everyday and puts it into practice in every aspect of His life.  God kept working in me.  Then I was given this book.  One thing you can’t do in heaven by Mark Cahill. 

The one thing you can’t do in heaven is share your faith with lost people.  What could do live is Christ be defined as in any other way?  Our purpose in life in to make Christ well known and to make Him look good.  Every aspect of our life should revolve around that.  We worship God because we love Him.  We share our faith because we love His word.  And isn’t that what the bible says.

Jesus was walking up to a few men, who would later be His disciples, and said “Come, follow me”.  Now many Christians in America have taking this verse as, come follow me and I will allow you to get fed in my church multiple times a week.  Come follow me and I will make you rich and healthy.  Come follow me and I will be your servant.  Come follow me and I will be your ticket into heaven, now go do what you want.

But what does Jesus say?  Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.  Out of all the things Jesus could have said He approached them with that sentence.  I think Jesus meant it.  I think He meant that our purpose here on earth is to lead lost people to Him.  So what does that mean?

We do it!  When the God of the heavens says that every interaction we have should be about Him, it should be.  When He was nailed to a cross to take our punishment for sin and says follow me and become fishers of men, we do it.  Isaiah 26:8 “Lord we love to obey your laws; our hearts desire is to bring glory to your name.”

We have defined Christianity as going to church and getting filled up.  Two of God’s children die every second.  Do we care?  Tougher question, do we care enough to do anything about it?  Do we care enough to get into a conversation with someone?  Check out www.markcahill.org or www.wayofthemaster.com  to find out how to equip yourself in sharing your faith.