Who Can Enter The Promised Land?

In the past few weeks we have been studying the book of Joshua and learning about how God used him to lead the children of Israel into their promised land.

We have learned that as followers of Jesus Christ, our promised land is not on this earth, but it is the New Jerusalem which is coming down out of heaven from God.

Today’s scripture tells us those who will enter into the New Jerusalem:

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Revelation 21:2, 27 (NKJV)

What is the Book of Life?

In the New Testament the Book of Life refers to God’s list of those destined for eternal life. Believers are written in the Book of Life from eternity:

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is

Revelation 17:8

Who can enter the New Jerusalem?

Only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life can enter the New Jerusalem. The Bible tells us that on the Day of Judgment everyone will stand before God, both great and small and the books will be opened. And another book will be opened, which is the Book of Life. Everyone who is not found written in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:12, 15).

How can we be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?

We can only be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life when we have washed our robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb:

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”

And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb

Revelation 7:13-14

Why must we wear robes?

A robe is a long-fitting gown that is worn as a mark of dignity. A robe is worn by kings (Jonah 3:6), priests, and persons of rank: Mark 12:38; Mark 16:5; Luke 15:22; Luke 20:46; Revelation 6:11; Revelation 7:9, 13, 14. As believers in Jesus the Bible tells us that we are kings and priests before God:

And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen

Revelation 1:5-6

How do we wash our robes in the Blood of The Lamb?

Firstly in order to wash our robes in the Blood of the Lamb, we must believe that while we were yet sinners Jesus Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Before we accepted Jesus, our own righteous acts were like filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). Once we accept Jesus we exchange these filthy rags for the robe of righteousness as we develop a right relationship with God and we become the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour it is His Blood that cleanses us from all sin:

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin

1 John 1:7

Secondly we must repent from our sins knowing that the Kingdom of God is at hand:

Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

Matthew 3:2 (NLT)

Why white robes?

White represents purity. When we accept the death of Jesus on the Cross and repent of our sins and follow His way, it makes our garments white because our conscience is clear and our soul becomes pure:

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool”

Isaiah 1:18

To enter the Promised Land, we must do the following:

1. We must exchange our filthy rags for the robe of righteousness. In other words, we must have a right relationship with God which is through Jesus Christ;
2. We must wash our robes in the Blood of Jesus by believing that Jesus came to die in our place and that Blood cleanses us from all our sin;
3. We must make Jesus the Lord in our lives. Believe alone is not enough, because even the demons believe and tremble (James 2:19), we must completely surrender our lives to Jesus Christ and make Him Lord over our lives (Acts 16:31);
4. We must repent from our sins and turn to God because the Kingdom of God is near (Mark 1:15)

Prayer:

Dear Father, I come to You now in Jesus name. I want to make the New Jerusalem my eternal home. I repent of all of my sins and I know that You are faithful and just to forgive me of all my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Please help me to daily wash my robes and make them white in the Blood of The Lamb. Please write my name in the Book of Life and if there is anything in my life that will prevent me from inheriting eternal life please remove it with the Blood of Jesus, in Jesus name, amen.

Listen to Message

You can also listen to this message on YouTube here:

Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If not, please download your free book: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

It is well

To get a full understanding of this week’s blog, please read 2 Kings 4:8-37 below:

Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son

Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”

And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’”

She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”

So he said, “What then is to be done for her?”

And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.”

And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!”

But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.

And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. And he said to his father, “My head, my head!”

So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.”

So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.”

And she said, “It is well.” Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel.

So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunammite woman! Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’”

And she answered, “It is well.” Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”

So she said, “Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”

Then he said to Gehazi, “Get yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but lay my staff on the face of the child.”

And the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her. Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has not awakened.”

When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she picked up her son and went out.

2 Kings 4:8-37

What lessons can we learn from the Shunammite woman?

1. What we say matters

The Shunammite woman had every reason to say it is not well, because the miracle son whom God had given her had died all of a sudden. When her husband asked her why she was travelling to go and see the Prophet she could have responded and said ‘don’t you know our son has died?’ Instead she had faith in God and confessed ‘It is well’.

When the Prophet sent his servant to ask her whether all was well with her and her family she could have stopped him and said ‘no it is not well, my son has died’. But she did not do any of that. She did not speak negativity to people who could not help her, instead she confessed ‘It is well’.

There is a temptation in all of us that when things are not going our way we tell everyone who asks that ‘no things are not alright’, ‘it is hard’, ‘it is difficult’, ‘nothing is going right’, ‘this Christian life is hard’ etc. However let us learn this great lesson from the Shunammite woman and confess over our health ‘it is well’, over finances ‘it is well’, over our family ‘it is well’, over our ministry ‘it is well’.

2. We should only say what we want to see happen

We also learn from this Shunammite woman that she only said what she wanted to see happen, she never once confessed that her son was dead, because she knew that the same God who gave her the son is able to raise him from the dead.

Likewise the woman with the issue of blood, she kept saying ‘If I can only but touch His garments’ (Matthew 9:21). Again she said what she wanted to see, and of course she got what she confessed; when she touched Jesus’ garment her fountain of blood dried up straight away and she was made whole that self-same hour.

I want to encourage you and encourage myself, that no matter how bad the situation is, let us have faith in God and declare ‘it is well’. Even when your health is looking uncertain, say ‘it is well’. Even when your finances are not in shape declare ‘it is well’. Even when your marriage seems to be on the rocks say ‘it is well’. Even when the spiritual attacks are rising declare ‘it is well’.

3. What you say is what you get

The Bible tells us in the book of Job that ‘you shall decree a thing and it shall be established unto you’ (Job 22:28)

You decree a thing with your mouth therefore let us model the Shunammite woman and only say the things that we want to come to pass.

4. Only pour out your heart to someone who can actually help you; God

In this story we learn that it is only when she met the man of God that she poured out her heart, because she knew that it was only God that could give her a miracle and bring her son back to life. Likewise we should only pour out our heart to God because He is the only one who can help us. If we want to pour out our heart we should only speak with people who have faith in God who will pray with us and believe that God is able to help us, and not with negative people.

5. Ask others ‘what can I do for you?

Elisha asked the woman ‘what can I do for you’? It is very important to ask what we can do for each other because we have been placed on this earth to serve one another.

6. It is important to be kind

The kindness of the woman is what opened up the man of God’s heart to ask how he could help her. If you are rich, do not be stingy with your wealth, try your best to help others in any way you can and it will open supernatural doors for you to receive what you did not even expect, which for the Shunammite woman was a son.

7. A leader doesn’t know everything

Though Elisha was a man of God he did not know how he could be of service to this kind Shunammite woman. It was Gehazi his servant who could see that the woman did not have a son. As leaders we must therefore learn to work with people we are leading and do not think we know everything.

My encouragement to you this week is ‘It is well, Jesus is coming back’.

Daily Confessions

Because what we say matters, I have some daily confessions that I declare over my life, family, ministry, business and colleagues. If you would like a copy tailor made for you, please write to me, and I will send you a copy.

My email address is info@blessingcoaching.com. You can also get more information through my website: www.blessingcoaching.com