May 29

THE LORD’S PRAYER PART 3

( Matthew 6:9-13 )

WHICH ART IN HEAVEN

According to J. Preston Eby:

-"The English word "heaven" is derived from the old Anglo-Saxon term "heave-on," meaning to be lifted up, up-lifted. It means to be "heaved-up" or "heav-en." Not only is God our Father, but He is our Father in heaven. By saying God is in heaven, Jesus does not mean to localize or locate God. He is not telling us of a place where God is and where God lives apart from any other place in the universe. Those who think of heaven as a place, usually think of Him as being very distant. Somehow we have gotten the idea that heaven is a long way off. This error has crept into many songs sung by the church world. In the Pentecostal Church where I was raised as a boy two of the favorite songs were "When We All Get To Heaven" and "Won’t It Be Wonderful There." Another with which many who read these lines will be familiar says, "There is a happy land, far, far way." And even in that popular hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross," we sing, "He will call me some day to that home far away..." How did we get that conception? Certainly not from Jesus or the apostles!" ( To Be The Lord’s Prayer, J. Preston Eby )

-John 3:13 states, … And no man has ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man Which is in heaven …

-WOW!-

-Did you hear what Jesus said? He said that He came down from heaven, but was STILL IN HEAVEN (THE SON OF MAN WHICH IS IN HEAVEN)!

According to J. Preston Eby:

-"Our Lord was in heaven; He came down from heaven, and still was in heaven; and this heaven is, in the Greek, "OURANOS". It is something a person can be in, can descend from, and still possess. And the meaning of the word is "elevation, height, exaltation." Our Lord was the King of the universe. But He descended from that state. He humbled Himself, and took upon Himself the form of sinful flesh. He became despised and rejected. But nevertheless, in His humiliation He was still the Lord of the universe. All things were subject to Him. He still could command the winds and waves and they obeyed Him to the astonishment of those men who saw it. He still could control the atoms, multiply the loaves and fishes, raise the dead, and was Master of all laws of nature. He still saw into the unseen realm of spirit, was consciously aware in both the earthly and spiritual dimensions, unlimited by the physical world. He was still elevated, exalted; He was still in heaven!" ( To Be The Lord’s Prayer, J. Preston Eby )

-Many are waiting until the day that they physically die to “go to heaven”. May our Father deliver us from this type of CARNAL THINKING! So … If our Father is in heaven (elevated and exalted), how do we access this heaven in which He is? Do you remember the vision that Jacob had in the Old Testament? He laid his head upon a stone and saw a ladder that went from the earth to heaven, and from heaven to earth. He saw the angels of God ascending and descending upon the ladder. What ( or Who ) is this ladder? Jesus told us that HE WAS THE LADDER! John 1:51 states, … Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter YOU SHALL SEE HEAVEN OPEN, AND THE ANGELS OF GOD ASCENDING AND DESCENDING UPON THE SON OF MAN …

-Jesus is the ladder to heaven! It is in and through Him that we have access to the heavenly realm. The heavenly realm is the place in which our Father dwells. This heavenly realm is opened to us in and through Christ. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL YOU DIE TO GO TO HEAVEN! HEAVEN IS IN CHRIST!

-Let us turn from the fairytale idea that heaven is some geographical location off in the “sweet by-and-by”. IT IS HERE-AND-NOW! It is where our Father is! It is in Christ! Ephesians 2:6 tells us that God has raised us up together, and made us sit together IN “HEAVENLY PLACES” IN CHRIST JESUS!!!

-THIS IS HEAVEN!-