Beyond Making Heaven; Becoming God's Dwelling Place on Earth | July 19, 2025 | PHB

PHB | July 19, 2025 | Preparing His bride You must understand that your calling as a believer extends far beyond simply escaping hell and making it to heaven. If your entire spiritual ambition is merely to "land in heaven," you have fundamentally misunderstood your purpose and will find yourself eternally useless—a spectator rather than a participant in God's kingdom. You are not called to be a spiritual tourist admiring the beauty of eternity while contributing nothing of substance. You are an ambassador of another kingdom, specifically commissioned to dismantle this present age through righteous living. ## The Deadly Sin You Must Avoid The most dangerous trap you can fall into is presumptuous sin—the practice of making excuses for your disobedience while assuming God understands your circumstances. When God calls you to specific actions or lifestyle changes, you cannot negotiate with Him based on your busy schedule, overwhelming responsibilities, or difficult situations. The phrase "God understands" has become a comfortable lie that keeps you in spiritual mediocrity. God does understand everything perfectly, but His understanding does not approve your continued disobedience or provide exemption from His will. ## The Fear You Must Cultivate Your relationship with God must include genuine fear and trembling, not the casual familiarity that characterizes modern Christianity. If you can approach God's word and commands without a sense of urgency, reverence, and holy concern, you have lost the proper posture of a believer. This fear is not terror but the recognition that every word God speaks carries eternal weight and demands immediate, serious response. When you find yourself comfortable and unchallenged in your spiritual walk, it's a warning sign that presumption has crept in. ## Your Continuous Growth Requirement At every stage of your spiritual journey, you must be actively working to either overcome something or attain something higher in God. If you cannot identify specific areas where you are currently being challenged, corrected, or stretched, you have plateaued and are living in spiritual stagnation. The Christian life is not a destination you arrive at but a continuous process of transformation that requires daily engagement with God's corrective word and His sanctifying presence. ## Your Role in Your Home and Community You are personally responsible for creating godly atmospheres in your living spaces and relationships. This means intentionally cultivating environments where the presence of God can dwell and where those under your influence—especially children—are exposed to kingdom realities rather than worldly values. You cannot assume that attending church services is sufficient; you must actively disciple those in your sphere of influence through consistent godly living, meaningful spiritual conversations, and deliberate exposure to God's word and presence. ## Your Responsibility as Community Hope You must recognize that you are the hope of your local community, workplace, and social circles. If you fail to develop and express the divine nature within you, entire communities suffer because the light and salt they need for transformation is absent. Your spiritual growth is not merely personal—it directly impacts the spiritual climate of your environment and determines whether others will encounter the reality of God's kingdom through your life. You cannot measure your spiritual maturity by comparing yourself to other believers or by worldly standards of success. The evidence of genuine spiritual growth is the increasing glory of God manifesting through your life—not material prosperity, religious position, or social recognition, but the tangible presence and nature of Christ becoming more visible in your character, decisions, and relationships. ## Your Understanding of Entering God's Kingdom Many sincere seekers will ultimately fail to enter God's kingdom despite r