ATTITUDES THAT AFFECT YOUR ACCESS TO THE HEAVENLY REALM

Let me just get this out of the way right now. Christians make mistakes. We sometimes miss the mark of God’s perfect plan. Okay, let me just say it like it is. WE SIN. Yep, you heard me right. We believers are not without fault. Of course, if you aren’t a believer in Jesus, you already knew that. I guess I’m talking to the folks that say they are believers and behave like they are perfect. Nah, not really. I’m talking to everyone because no matter who we are, we aren’t perfect.

There are three imperfect attitudes that hinder our access to the realm of heaven where a very good Dad lives. We don’t have to be perfect people to spend time with Him but we can definitely have attitudes that hinder that access. If you are tired of feeling like all of heaven is against you, or if you want to encounter more of that heavenly goodness, read on.

The Problem

Sin is a terrible thing. It separates us from our Heavenly Dad. There are three ways this can happen. First, you can be an unbeliever — a person who does not have a relationship with Jesus. Second, you can be a believer who thinks that Jesus’ death on the cross took care of everything. Therefore, you don’t need to repent of anything ever. Finally, you might be one of those people that constantly repents and tears yourself and others down. Any one of these scenarios will create a barrier between you and your Heavenly Daddy, who wants nothing more than to be close to you.

LOST BUT NOT ALONE

If you don’t know who Jesus is, what the Church is all about, or if you were hurt by someone in the church at one time, you may be one of those folks that don’t have a relationship with Jesus. If that sounds like you, please take the time to speak with God. He is real, He is listening, and He wants to hear from you. Why is that, you ask? That’s a great question. I’m glad you asked.

When you don’t have a real relationship with Jesus, it’s hard to really comprehend the things of God. In fact, the door to heaven is completely closed to you if you do not have a relationship with Jesus. You can try to understand or even pretend to understand but there’s something almost magical that happens to your mind when you become a believer in Jesus. No, I’m not talking about being brainwashed. I’m talking about a literal transformation that happens as a result of coming into relationship with God through Jesus. It opens the door to heaven.

The best thing you can do if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus is to grab a Bible and read the book of John a few times. As you do that, you will really grasp the love of Jesus and begin to see what He’s like. As you read through that book, ask God to open up your spiritual eyes so that you can see how much you really need a relationship with Jesus. If you want an open door into heaven, to receive the great things contained in that realm, it all begins by having a relationship with Jesus.

FORGIVEN BUT NOT PERFECT

The Bible teaches that we have been saved by grace, through our faith in Jesus, and that it wasn’t something we could do on our own. Grace is a powerful force that unleashes the realm of heaven to manifest into our personal lives, giving us access to our Heavenly Dad. The first encounter with that grace is when we enter into an amazing relationship with Jesus. It’s at that time that we can experience total freedom from the power and effects of sin. This is, perhaps, one of the best encounters a human being can ever have.

Here’s the problem with grace. Actually, it’s not grace that has or is the problem. It’s the way humans define it that becomes the problem. Before I go on, let me give you my definition of grace.

Grace

Amazing favor from God that comes through faith in Jesus and brings with it the authority and divine power to accomplish God’s purposes.

The first purpose of God is that we would come back into right relationship with Him. Grace gives us that ability. It allows us to receive what Jesus accomplished on the cross and appropriate it for ourselves. In other words, it allows us to be free from the power and effects of sin because Jesus is free from the power and effects of sin. He paid the price for our sin.

The next purpose of grace is to help us continue in our relationship with God. It empowers us to live above the power of sin, but that can only happen if we live with our heart and mind fixed on heavenly things and not on things of this world. This is where that second group of people has a problem.

GOD’S LOVE IS UNLIMITED BUT GRACE HAS BOUNDARIES

There are a lot of people that treat grace like an unlimited debit card. They think they can live however they want and use their Visa Grace card to pay off their debt, over and over and over again. We all make mistakes and fall short of living perfectly. That’s not what I’m talking about. What I mean is that there are a lot of “Christians” who think they can have sex outside of marriage, get drunk all the time, use drugs, live in homosexual relationships, practice witchcraft, be angry all the time, and a lot more, and think that the grace of God covers all of that.

Grace covers our infrequent mistakes but it doesn’t cover our contrary-to-God habitual lifestyle choices. Living in a way that is opposite to God closes the door to heaven. It doesn’t mean that the door cannot be opened again. It ABSOLUTELY can. But there has to be a heart change. There has to be a transformation in the way we think. Once we experience that heart change we need to surrender our lives as a living sacrifice to our Heavenly Dad. That’s how we open the door to heaven in order to receive all of the goodness that comes from that realm.

STOP BEATING THE SHEEP (THAT INCLUDES YOU)

The last attitude that keeps the door of heaven closed is what I am going to call false humility. There are a lot of well-meaning Christians who regularly beat themselves, and others, up by constantly pointing out faults, failures, misdeeds, and mistakes. That is not how our Heavenly Dad deals with us and it’s not how we should deal with ourselves or others.

Psalm 139:17–18 (The Passion Translation) says this:

Every single moment you are thinking of me! How precious and wonderful to consider that you cherish me constantly in your every thought! O God, your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on every shore! When I awake each morning, you’re still with me.

God is so good and His thoughts towards us are ALL good. Sure, He gets disappointed in some of the choices we make but that never diminishes His love or good thoughts toward us. Now contrast that with people who are always pointing out the bad in themselves and in others. In a nutshell, this attitude is called religion. It is based on doing good works to earn our Heavenly Dad’s love and favor. It is a very dangerous mindset.

The attitude of religion often hides all of its mistakes behind a self-righteous, false humility. It can be hard to spot but Richard G. Oliver offers us a few clues:

• When you look with contempt instead of compassion at others who struggle.
• When the approval of others means more to you than remaining in the reality of God’s love.
• When you hesitate to be honest about your doubts or struggles because others will judge you.
• When you think of holiness as an unachievable duty, rather than a glorious invitation.
• When fear of eternity, not measuring up, or falling into error drives your actions.
• When you find yourself in empty rituals that do not connect you in a real way to our good Dad.
• When you are burdened by the expectations of others and feel guilty when you can’t do enough.
• When God is a distant concept to you instead of a real presence.
• When you find yourself following another man, woman, or a set of principles instead of following Jesus.

That’s just a small list of religious indicators but should be enough to help you discover if you struggle with the attitude of religion.

The Razor’s Edge of Love

Let me do a quick recap.

1. There is the attitude that a person has when they don’t know Jesus which will definitely keep you from getting access to the heavenly realm.
2. Then there is the attitude that Grace is like an unlimited Visa Debit card, covering all our bad debts. This, too, can close the door to Dad’s beautiful heavenly realm.
3. Finally, there is the attitude of false humility, beating ourselves, and others, up all the time.

Somewhere in between these three attitudes is the thin razor’s edge of true relationship. It is always a balancing act. Humans have a tendency to lean towards extremes so we must constantly course-correct and find the balance in our relationship with such a wonderful Heavenly Daddy.

I understand that there are more than three types of attitudes that can keep us from experiencing all that God has for us. The three I’ve written about here are foundational attitudes found over and over again and cover the majority of any other mindset that might hinder us from entering that beautiful heavenly realm.

My prayer is that we would all encounter the love, grace, and mercy of a wonderful Heavenly Dad. I pray that the eyes of your spirit would be open to everything He has for you and that you experience an open door to the heavenly realm where all good things come from.