HEAVENLY
PILGRIMS
(Psalms 15:1-5)
Additional
References: (Psalm 24:3; Hebrews 3:1-2;
Luke 10:20; Matt 5:1-12; Psalm 119:1-8; I Thessalonians 4:14; Heb 12:1)
INTRODUCTION
Heaven is the abode of God,
a place of eternal bliss and immeasurable joy. It is the final home of the
righteous, the faithful who gave their lives to Christ and did the will of God
to the end of their lives. Heaven is a place that is completely devoid of the
crisis, turmoil, upheaval, wickedness, savagery, deceit, uncertainty and all
forms of evil being witnessed in the world today. In fact, nothing sinful or
unclean can get there. Heaven is also called the kingdom of God and of Christ (Eph 5:5), the Father’s house (I John
14:2), a place of rest (Heb 4:9) and a paradise (II Corinthians 12:4).
The word “heavenly” pertains to anything that has to do
with heaven while the word “pilgrim” refers to somebody going
on a long journey usually in fulfillment of his religious obligation or for
spiritual upliftment. So, heavenly pilgrims are those who believe that heaven
exists and are doing everything possible to get there at the end of their
sojourn on earth. A Yoruba adage describes this world as a “market” where human beings have come to buy and
sell after which they are expected to go “home”. This world is not our home; heaven is the home of faithful
Christians.
A heavenly pilgrim is a person who has
given his or her life to Christ. In other words, somebody who is born again (John 3:3) and is actively involved in
the race to heaven. Heavenly candidate is a man, woman, boy or girl who has
turned his back to the world and its sinful practices and culture and is aiming
to run a race to the finishing line to win a crown or crowns prepared for him
or her as a reward for being faithful.
Remember,
heaven is not meant for everybody in the church but only those who truly belong
to God (II Timothy 2:19) and whose names
are in the heavenly register called the Book of Life (Rev 20:15). As a pilgrim in the tortuous journey that leads to
heaven, it must always be registered in your consciousness that you belong to
God and not to this world hence you must always strive to satisfy God and not
this world.
The
topic is going to be systematically and expository explained:
1.
CHARACTERISTICS OF HEAVENLY
PILGRIMS
Apart from
the characteristics enumerated in our golden text of today (Psalm 15:1-5), heavenly pilgrims also exhibit other
characteristics to be considered below.
i.
They have repented from
their sins, confessed, forsook them and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and
Saviour (Mark 21:15; Proverbs 28:13; John 5:24).
ii.
They endure temptation and
persecution (II Timothy 3:12).
iii.
They are faithful in
whatever they do (I Corinthians 4:2).
iv.
They are hated in the world
because Jesus, their master, was also hated (John 15:18-27).
v.
They believe that there is
hope after this life, that death is not the end of everything (I Thessalonians
4:13-18).
vi.
Ever ready to pay the price
of discipleship (Matthew 10:16-22).
2. RULES AND CODE OF CONDUCT GUIDING HEAVENLY PILGRIMS
In every examination, contest, competition,
journey and race, we have certain rules, regulations and laws that the participants
must obey, failure of which they will be subjected to some penalties including
fines, expulsion, disqualification, withdrawal of laurels won or even outright
ban for a specific period of time. Heavenly pilgrims have rules they must obey
as well as these include:
i.
Fleeing from sin (Ephesians
5:3-8)
ii.
Dissociating themselves from
sinful and worldly friends (II Cor 6:14)
iii.
Be sober and vigilant (I
Peter 5:8)
iv.
Drop all satanic exhibits
you are carrying (Joshua 7:21)
v.
Ignore every distraction
around you (I Corinthians 7:35)
3. REQUIREMENTS NEEDED TO SUCCEED AS A HEAVENLY PILGRIM
i.
Determination (I Corinthians
2:2)
ii.
Discipline (Job 36:10)
iii.
Commitment (Romans 12:1)
iv.
Focus (Phil 3:13-14)
v.
Righteousness (Eph 6:14)
vi.
Humility (I Peter 5:5)
vii.
Endurance and perseverance
(Matthew 24:13)
4. CROWNS AWAITING HEAVENLY PILGRIMS
As the winning candidates
competing for earthly contests are rewarded with medals, trophies, money,
certificates/awards, scholarship, enviable offices and positions, heavenly
pilgrims who complete Christian pilgrimage will be rewarded and decorated with
crowns that are not perishable unlike the above.
The
crowns awaiting heavenly pilgrims include:
i.
Crown of joy (I Thessalonians
2:13-20)
ii.
Crown of righteousness (II
Timothy 4:6-8)
iii.
Crown of Glory (I Peter
5:1-4)
iv.
Imperishable Crown (I
Corinthians 9:24-27)
CONCLUSION
Out of the multitude of people who are in the world,
it is the only heavenly pilgrims that stand any chance of making it to the city
that is made of gold at the end of their race. Have you been enlisted among
them? If the answer is NO, be
enlisted now and if the answer is YES, keep
on running the race until you get your crowns.
“If ye know
all these things, happy (blessed) are ye if ye do them” –John 13:17
