Heaven Can’t Wait

This post was drafted on October 21, 2022. There have been some obstacles along the way and some delays but I was able to complete it today. Thank you for your patience. I believe the message is just as urgent as it was last week. It is long but the words must be shared.

I want to thank my Pastor Chief Apostle Gunn for supporting me and entrusting me with this tool and I thank all the saints that encourage me daily. I don't take it lightly.

Heaven Can't Wait

"I don't know what I'd do, if I can't be with you

The world could not go on so every night I pray

If the Lord should come for me before I wake

I wouldn't wanna go if I can't see your face, can't hold you close

What good would Heaven be

If the angels came for me I'd tell them no."

These are just some of the lyrics from a song called "Heaven Can Wait" by a singer named Michael Jackson.

To me, he was saying that he would tell God and his angels that he refuses to go to Heaven and be with the Lord if he can't have or be with the one thing/or person he loves the most. So, in essence, the song indicates that he was declaring to God that he loved someone or something more than God and more than being in His presence. The songs, videos, actions, and news reports we have seen during Michael Jackson's life point to a love of money, things, fame, adoration of people, lasciviousness, conduct, and choices that did not bear the fruit of walking with God.

There are many testimonies from saints around the world, I have heard online and in person, with revelations from God that Michael Jackson decided by his lifestyle that Heaven would not be his eternal home and that he is now tormented by that lifestyle eternally in hell. This is another reason why we and our children have to be careful about what we listen to, consume, support, and celebrate.

The words Michael Jackson's song helped to sow into hearts around the world, billions of people, are to this day teaching that there are things greater than God and greater than Heaven that we should set our affections on. And that is a lie! Nothing is greater or better than God.

The seeds that this singer sowed through his music are sprouting up and leading more people to think that serving God is optional and undesirable. There is a young rapper now who has a video where he goes up toward Heaven but chooses to instead go to hell so that he can live the lifestyle he wants to have instead. He even goes so far as to showcase his unclean desire to be physically intimate with the devil, mocking God at every turn, and celebrating the lie that sexual sin and immorality are somehow empowering. He is one of the most popular entertainers in the world right now, especially among the youth, and so many are celebrating his music and falsely calling it "spiritual." But if he (and all of us) does not repent, he will find himself in destruction like the perverted people in Sodom and Gomorrah who went after strange flesh or begging for relief from hell like the man in Luke 16:

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

The sad thing is that many of us who proclaim to be saved are not too far behind what the rapper or Jackson was promoting. We may not choose the same lifestyle or be that publicly grotesque, but we have in our own ways chosen the things and ways we desire over God.

No relationship, no individual, no job, no opportunity, no ambition, no home, no success, no wealth, no lifestyle, no nothing is more valuable and necessary than living for God and with God. We were made from the beginning of time to be with and live for God, it is our sole (and soul) reason for existence. That is why the Lord enacted his plan of salvation after the fall of man ... to ensure there was a pathway for us to get back to him and be with him forever. We cannot take this lightly.

1 John 2:15-17

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

The words "Heaven can wait" came to me earlier this week and then the song came to my recollection. And I immediately thought about how each day the decisions and actions we make and the things and people we choose over God are telling God: "I love the world, myself, others, and things more than you, and being with you in Heaven nor living in your Kingdom is not my priority. I don't want to give this or that up for you." Even as I write this, I see areas where I have put God on hold and told him to wait, when instead I should have been waiting before Him.

We have essentially been telling God "I don't want to go to Heaven" because we are supposed to be living a ready life. We are supposed to be laying up our treasures in Heaven and building our forever home with the Lord. When the Lord tells us our work on Earth is finished, we should not hesitate to be with him. We should hasten to His throne, but not just when we sleep away or are taken up from this Earth as we know it, but, as we live we should be willing to abide with Him day by day and answer His call immediately.

Our Pastor, Chief Apostle H.C. Gunn, has reminded us of this scripture:

Matthew 6:19-21

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon Earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

So often, we try to preserve what we possess or have access to on Earth but it will decay, and as Chief Apostle Gunn told us recently, he knew a lady that loved her house and her possessions but those possessions could not go with her when she passed away. Why do we think what is on Earth and who is on Earth is far much better than what we will have and experience with the Lord? What if we held on to God like we hold on to the things and people of this world?

2 Corinthians 5

5 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Last Sunday, Chief Apostle Gunn told us that God wants us to stay in place and under the blanket of His covering. Now on the surface, we might say, "of course, I want to stay and be under God's covering and be with him," but we have to take time to examine if we really want to be with him.

If God came to you today, would you tell him "I want to do this or that first before I go with you?" Would you ask: "Can I wait until this time or that day, because there is something in your life you find more valuable than God?" Now, I am talking to myself here, because it is the same thing as allowing yourself to be distracted from time with God. He could be sitting at our table, at our desk, on our bed, on our couch, on our floor, waiting for us and bringing all of Heaven with him to help us but we say by our response: "Heaven can wait."

Chief Apostle Gunn told us in a message recently that God comes to church with a plan to help and deliver us, but often we aren't even paying attention to the Word and we've missed all that God was trying to do. Often, we say to ourselves "God is merciful. He will come again and I'll be ready next time." But what if there is no next time? God should not be mocked. He moves in His time, not ours. The Bible tells us that God promises to never leave us or forsake us but what about if we are the ones forsaking Him?

Jeremiah 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

God is just. There is always a balance in how he instructs us and there is a flip side to this post. As I write this, I am reminded of a message Chief Apostle Gunn also preached called "I Don't Want to Go to Heaven Today." It wasn't about not wanting to be with God or trying to delay your arrival in Heaven, but it was about being real with God and making sure you live a life that is acceptable so that you can enter into God's holy home when it is time.

He taught that often we sing old songs and say cute sayings about being Heaven-bound and wanting to be with the Lord but we don't mean it and we have not even begun to finish the work He sent us here to do. We want His Glory but don't want to meet His Requirements. Don't be in a rush to grow old or die, if you are not ready. I know someone who always sings about dying and going to Heaven but where is the fruit that shows they are ready? Now, they could have repented and changed at this very moment, but the Bible tells us to not tempt the Lord.

We can't speak out of our mouths that we are ready but know in our hearts that we have not made God and holiness our priority. We must make sure to make the most out of each day to live a life that is pleasing to God, so we can be ready. Not just for Heaven but ready to serve, ready to worship, ready to give, ready to pray, ready to go and preach and live the gospel before others.

Luke 21

34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

What right did Michael Jackson have to even tempt God in that way to think he could tell God when he wanted to go to Heaven? It just shows that the world we live in treats God like a genie in the bottle, a wishing well or an elevator just getting us to where and what we want to be. What disrespect we have shown. We play Russian roulette in our lives every day. We participate in activities, say things, believe things, hide things and decide things as if they have no consequence or don't matter to God, but we expect Him to spare us when our time comes.

The Word proves out that God's blessing, His Protection, and His Sacred Place are doors He opens for those who live for and love Him. Yes, God shows grace when we repent and set our hearts to turn toward Him, but this is 9-1-1! The things of God and Heaven can't wait.

Psalm 18:

30 As for God, His way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

31 For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God?

Listen to the most recent episode of FORREAL Radio Broadcast with Chief Apostle Gunn "Thy Kingdom Come": https://www.thebodyofchristinc.com/listen-in?wix-music-track-id=5776897908365858&wix-music-comp-id=comp-kjfzbgmx

You can find the messages on "I Don't Want to Go to Heaven Today" below:

Part I: https://www.thebodyofchristinc.com/listen-in?wix-music-track-id=4544062527700855&wix-music-comp-id=comp-kjfzbgmx

Part II: https://www.thebodyofchristinc.com/listen-in?wix-music-track-id=1868051099872522&wix-music-comp-id=comp-kjfzbgmx