Dear friend, it's a great joy to greet you today. A new strength is coming from the Lord. His Word strengthens us. Look at His Word in the book of Galatians 6:8, “Whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” When we look at eternal life and eternal life in heaven, a small child will not understand the importance of saving money for their old age. Yes, we can't even think about it when we are little. Like that, we also are not able to visualise the glory of eternal life. When we are living in this world, we can't even imagine or see our life in heaven, so we only live in this world to gain from this world all the earthly benefits.

But the glory of eternal life is so beautiful. God says, “He prepares mansions for us in heaven”. There is no sorrow in heaven. There is no brokenness. There is no sickness. There is no crying. There is joy eternally in heaven, and that eternal life goes on longer than the life on this earth. Yet our mind is only on the seventy, eighty, ninety years on the earth. But as this verse says, “When you sow to please the Spirit, the Spirit gives you eternal life”. When we please the Holy Spirit by enduring the sufferings of this world, not giving up on God, waiting for His answer and waiting for His eternal life, and when we give up the distractions of this earth and sacrifice things here in order to gain heaven, by listening to His teachings and giving up wrong habits and wrong ways so that we are pleasing to Him, we gain much more, my friend. We gain eternity in heaven.

Stephen found that ‘great eternity’ because the more you come close to the God of heaven, the more you experience heaven on this earth, and the closer you become to heaven on this earth. When people were ready to stone Stephen in the Bible because he was talking about Jesus, Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and his eyes were opened to heaven, to Jesus in heaven. He said, “Receive my spirit, Lord, and forgive these people who are even stoning me.” He was able to stand in righteousness with God and be so close to heaven, even on this earth.  Shall we receive that same grace right now?

PRAYER: 
Loving Lord, help me to please the Holy Spirit in all my deeds and words. Help me to obey Him. Help me to surrender fully and to wait patiently for You. I surrender my spirit to You. Take me in Your arms, Lord, and open up heaven and eternal life before me. You know the suffering I have gone through and the sacrifices I have made for You. Lord, let me experience heaven’s joy even on this earth. Fill me with Your joy and heavenly peace. Let me walk with You here on this earth and one day in eternal life with You. Thank You for this precious gift, Lord. You are so close to me. In Jesus’ name, I pray,  Amen.