Source Ministries International

The Lord Jesus Christ offers you a future and a hope beyond this present life. He instructs you to pray, “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:9–10). It’s plain to see from this Scripture passage that God wants you to get in on Heaven now.

But what is heaven? Heaven is God’s place. Jesus told us “God is Spirit” (John 4:24). So, Heaven is the spiritual realm of God. It is the heavenly kingdom where God dwells. Jesus went on to say that “the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Apostle Matthew constantly referred to this as “the Kingdom of Heaven”—God’s spiritual domain. Jesus came to shift the kingdom from an earthly domain in Israel to a heavenly domain in Christ.

Therefore, He urges you to pray for His heavenly kingdom to come on Earth. God, who is spirit, wants to come and reside in your spirit, thus bringing Heaven to Earth in you. When God’s Spirit enters your spirit you are placed “in Christ.” In Christ, you have a new destiny! The destiny that God offers is Heaven, for here as well as hereafter. If you have invited Jesus Christ the King of kings and Lord of lords to come and take up residence in you, then Heaven is your destiny, and it begins now! You can experience this by allowing Christ to reign supreme in you here on Earth, just as He reigns supreme in Heaven.

It sounds good to me! Heaven—that’s my kind of place, both now and forevermore. The difference is one of perspective. Whether in the body, or out of the body—either way, it’s grounds for rejoicing. It’s all a matter of how you look at it. The truth is that because you are in Christ, you already are there—in Heaven, that is. You just can’t see it yet. This is because according to Ephesians 2:6, you are already seated with Him in the heavenly realm now. Therefore, Heaven is not an escape from, but rather an extension of the life we have right now, right here on planet Earth.

What most of us fail to realize is that the One we are going to be with when we die, is the same One who is with us now while we are alive. You need to understand that Heaven is here—as well as there—because Heaven is where the Lord is. It is the exclusive abode of God. Exclusive? Absolutely! Heaven is His space—His and His alone.

However, when you receive Christ you become one with Christ. Therefore, since Christ is in the heavenly realm, that means you are with Him in Heaven now, even as He is here within you now. Christ expressed His desire for us to abide with Him in the heavenly realm in John 14:2–3. “I go to prepare a place for you. . . . That where I am, there ye may be also.” Since Christ is in you, then Heaven has come down, and glory has filled your soul. You now have Heaven in your heart!

For those of us who are in Christ, Heaven is both a future residence and a present reality. At the moment, we have dual citizenship. As long as we remain alive in these earthen vessels we are citizens of our country here on planet Earth. Although we are still in the world, we are no longer of it (John 17:16). Therefore, because we are now in Christ, we are also citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom. “Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). Heaven is your dwelling place too! You just can’t see it yet.

But you will! The reality is that when our bodies give out and we die physically, the veil will be removed. The veil is our flesh—our human bodies (Hebrews 10:20). These earthen vessels limit us in experiencing the Lord’s presence and enjoying the full measure of Heaven here on Earth. The good news is the Apostle Paul tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). “And so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). HALLELUJAH!

Excerpt from Introducing The New You © 2005 by Dr. Lewis Gregory

https://www.sourceministries.net/go/resources/the-new-you/