Movement Three

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Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay,

Close by me forever and love me I pray,

Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,

And fit us for heaven to live with Thee there.

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In the third and final movement, Jesus is shown to us on earth and in heaven.

Jesus is both on earth and in heaven, looking down on those who want Him near, and crave His loving care, so that He will fit them to live with Him in heaven. The placing of Jesus and His earthly children, is in heaven.

And fit us for heaven to live with Thee there.

There is, what I refer to as a double-sided movement, before us. Jesus is working for His children on earth and He is working for them while in heaven.

On Earth - For Jesus to fit us for heaven is tremendously precious indeed. We are on the earth, sinful, human beings in need of His ever-living care and providence. Does this not most openly and vividly show that the ascended Lord has not returned and forgotten His children here below? Does it not show that we still have access to Him in the privilege of prayer? In other words, the mere fact that He has to incline His ears downwards to hear our prayer, to make us fit for heaven, is stabilizing, convincible proof that our Jesus is in heaven, seated at the Right Hand of the Father.

In Heaven - For Jesus to give us life with Him in heaven, is not just reassuring, but it anchors us to the fact that Jesus is in heaven as Lord and King. All things in heaven and on earth are in His Hands. He is able to prepare a place for each of His children in heaven for He is LORD - exalted to the highest. In other words, just to know that He is able to have us, redeemed and resurrected sinners, live with Him in His heavenly home, to be where He is, is anchoring, convincing, ineffable evidence that Jesus has all power in heaven, to take us with Him, there.

Let me remind you of our previous two personal moves. The first personal move was one of conviction, where we believed that Jesus descended, from heaven, to come to be with us, looking like us. The second personal move, was one of conviction and confession, where we accepted and believed that Jesus ascended from earth, to return to His place, His home, from which He originally came.

Our third personal move, is one of conviction, confession and celebration, where we accept, believe and confess with un-reined, unhindered joy, that we can live on earth, in this life below, looking forward to life in the hereafter, with our Supreme Lord and King. It is totally and commandingly freeing to know we can be fit for heaven while on earth.

Ascension reminds, reinforces and burns these truths most deeply in our hearts and minds, without causing us one iota of damage or harm that Jesus is in heaven working for us.

We can boldly make this statement, therefore. Jesus could not be working on our behalf in heaven, if He had not returned there and is consistently and conscientiously working for His children who are on earth.

But how does Jesus fit us for heaven? This came as so crucial to me and made me ever so consciously aware of my life on earth in preparation for heaven that I had to bring some of my learning, my fears, my desires and my wants to you. I am sharing because I know that some of you, if not many of you are at the moment sharing my concerns also. There may be others who, when they read this sharing, will be made conscious of their own lives in relation to heaven, and also want to know more about themselves and where they stand at present. There are many questions, but this one looms high. How am I being made, fit for heaven, by Jesus?

Let me share with you a yearly fact which my cousin, who is as a sister to me, underwent for years until she retired. She was not just a carnival person; she was not just a masquerader, she was not just a participant, but she was for us, Miss Carnival herself. For decades, she paraded as the queen for one of the biggest and most popular bands in the country and always secured a place in the top two. However, she never ever entered into this competition without being made fit. She always secured a personal, fitness trainer, counsellor and director, who made her physically fit for carnival. Her trainer worked on her in these three main areas – Food, Exercise, and Rest – to ensure her fitness for carnival. He was strict about the foods she ate and drank and specified the importance of sleep and rest. He took sole responsibility for her physical exercises, working on special areas as he saw fit.

I thought of her and thought of our Jesus whom we have asked to fit us for heaven. We are coming to this through the same three main areas, Food, Exercise and Rest.