“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
TEXT — 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17
Message
It was Robert Hall who penned down this excitement of the beloved meeting in the gloryland. “How should we rejoice in the prospect, the certainty rather, of spending a blissful eternity with those whom we loved on earth, of seeing them emerge from the ruins of the tomb, and the deeper ruins of the fall, not only uninjured but refined and perfected, “with every tear wiped from their eyes”, standing before the throne of God and the Lamb in white robes and palms in their hands, crying with a loud voice, Salvation to God that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb forever.”
Our passage today has enumerated the steps all must take to be partakers of the beauty and blessedness of gloryland. The Thessalonian believers present a compelling testimony that should challenge all of us. The simple steps include hearing and believing the truth of the gospel of salvation which alone can set you free, receiving the forgiveness and peace the Spirit of God brings to the heart, obtaining and maintaining inward holiness and outward conformity to Christ, rendering faithful service to God and running the Christian race until the end.
What a great pity that many cannot stretch their imagination a little bit farther to consider the glory of heaven! In these days where money and material considerations have been made to obscure the glory beyond the sky, only those who have experienced the new birth through the Spirit can seriously catch a glimpse of the glory above and the incomparable stature it has over the things we see. To reign with Christ in eternity, you must live a consistent Christian life until the end. How you need to keep your place and pace in Christ until we all meet in gloryland!
Thought for the day
A single-minded commitment to the heavenly race guarantees entrance to Gloryland.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
