“I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the LORD has done.” (Psalm 118:17 BSB)
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” (Johm 10:10 BSB)
“And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:26 NKJV)
“And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26 NLT)
We have been walking down the “Road to Refirement” together. Each stop along the way has been preparing us for what I am going to share today. Caleb challengeed us to break out of whatever was holding us back and making us prematurely “old.” Moses stretched our boundaries and opened our eyes to living long lives. Abraham moved us beyond simply living long, and gave us a glimpse of what it means to live strong. He challenged our concept of what it looks like to age. Enoch dared us to defy death itself. He walked with God and never tasted death in his body. Now it is time to meet Jesus.
Jesus made many bold statements when he was living in the earth. Probably the most confrontational statement that he made was when he looked into the faces of his disciples and told them that they would never die. He then immediately challenged them with the question, “Do you believe this?” I do not believe he was speaking only of “spiritual” life beyond the grave. I believe he was challenging his disciples to consider the possibility of experiencing what Enoch and Elijah experieinced when they were spared physical death. Believing that there is something beyond the grave is a pretty common belief. Believing that I will beat death itself, now that is another matter altogether.
If anyone would have asked me 5 years ago if I would ever post a blog in which I stated that I believed that I was not going to die physically I would have instantly, and emphatically, replied, “No way. Do you think I’m crazy?” But here I am today emphatically stating, “Death is my enemy and I plan on defeating him in Jesus Name. I do not expect to die spiritually or physically.” Here is something that may sound even more crazy, “I fully expect that on my 63rd birthday my youth will be renewed to the degree of being 33 and do not expect to age beyond that point. I expect to be youth-full as long as I am on this earth!”
The starting point for experiencing the benefits of the Kingdom of Heaven today is to believe in my heart, and speak with my mouth, that which I desire to experience. As I believe in my heart, and speak it out of my mouth, I must add corresponding actions (works) that line up with what I am believing and speaking (faith without works is dead). I am not “working” to achieve anything. I am resting in the finished work of Christ which already gave me everything that Heaven has to offer. I am adding corresponding “works” to demonstrate the faith that I possess in order to see that which I already possess manifest in my life. Jesus did the “work” for me and now my “works” are simply my part in coming into agreement with what he has already done.
The “Road to Refirement” is taking me to a place in which I am able to live a long, strong life worth living, with no limit or end, with nothing missing or broken regardless of my current age or condition. It is a place where aging is slowed, reversed, and even halted. It is a place where the last enemy, death, is defeated. It is a place where there is no more consciousness of aging and death, only joy, youth, and peace leading to overflowing, abundant life to the fullest degree. It is a place that demands that I be willing to fight the good fight of faith, and take the Kingdom by force, while learning to rest in the finished work of Christ. It is a place that takes me beyond belief into the full manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven in my life today.
Jesus is looking me in the eyes today and asking, “In me you will never die. Do you believe it?”