The Time Will Come
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August 24, 2014 |
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 "Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; in holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew" (Psalm 110:3).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
Today sin and evil prevail and love is cooling down. They are signs of the end time. Unless people see signs and wonders, they simply won't believe (John 4:48). Even many Christians don't act upon the will of God.
How then should God's children manage their lives at this end time? The time is drawing near when the resurrected Lord will appear again in the air on the cloud of glory. Soon enough He will separate wheat from chaff through the White Throne Judgment. If we believe it, what kind of believing lives should we be leading?
Now let's delve into what we should do to arise and achieve God's will and providence in the day of His power in three respects: faith, hope, and love.
1. We must have faith with spiritual confidence before God
Only with spiritual confidence can we powerfully proclaim God's Word and powerful works and achieve the works of the Lord boldly with faith. In order to have confidence before God, we must have no sin and nothing in our hearts that can be used to bring accusation against us (1 John 3:21).
Thus, we must first destroy all walls of sins between us and God. We have to wake up from spiritual slumber, communicate with God, and receive strength from Him by praying fervently. If we have confidence before God, gain strength from Him, and have assurance of God's presence with us we can preach boldly with confidence any place and in any occasion.
We must also encourage one another to have this spiritual confidence. We have to clearly explain to those who lost heart after having sinned, about what sins are. We cannot simply point out their sin and reproach them for it. But we must give them spiritual strength so that they can turn away from sin and walk in the Light.
We must let them know the sufferings Jesus took to redeem us from our sins and that they can be forgiven when they rely on the blood of Jesus. We have to help them realize the love and grace of God and willingly turn their hearts. We must not judge or condemn even a person who committed serious sins, but pray that God will have mercy on them.
If we only rebuke them concerning their sins, those who are weak in faith will not repent. They won't turn about in their ways, but stumble in discouragement and frustration. We who are at the forefront in faith must take good care of them with the heart of the Lord, the heart that would not break a battered reed nor put out a smoldering wick.
2. We must have definite expectations with regards to our duties
When we have definite expectations of receiving rewards in Heaven from God after fulfilling our duties, we can more courageously preach about God's Word and His powerful works (Revelation 22:12). In Heaven, our dwelling mansions will be beautifully prepared and filled with the best things that cannot be compared with things on the earth. Each individual will be rewarded as he has done on earth according to the justice of God. Therefore, we should hope to gain better eternal things in Heaven rather than trying to enjoy good things on the earth that are only momentary.
The greatest reward is given for the salvation of the souls (Luke 15:7). Evangelizing people is the duty given to all Christians. If we pray for souls' salvation, evangelize them, and try our best to fulfill works that have been allotted to us, we will earn God's recognition and then receive more important duties. Only when we desire to receive duties with a longing for heavenly rewards can we be deemed to have faith.
I urge you to have hope and expectations for your duties, dream to be the source of strength to the shepherd and the church in some aspects, and run for those goals. If you pray for it with truthful desire God will surely give you the duty that suits you best.
If our heart is full of the hope in our duties, there is nothing of this world that can come into our view. If we fulfill our duty with no hope in it, we can't say we work with faith. We should have faith first; thereafter we should have hope with the faith in doing all works for the Lord. Those with no hope, vision or dream tend to live valueless lives like a man running aimlessly with no destination.
I wish for you to hold tight to your hope in your duties, that is, hope in receiving heavenly rewards and be clearly shown the way to accomplish them by depending on God. By doing so I hope you will have definite expectations and assured hope in your duties and fulfill them well through fervent prayer.
3. We must have perfect love with no fear of death
If we have love for God with no fear of death, we never love ourselves but lay down our lives for Him. As the former part of 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear," Jesus had no fear of being sentenced to death by crucifixion since He did not only love God, but He loved sinners completely as well.
If we have such perfect love and passion, we will fear nothing of the world. If we realize we were doomed to eternal death but have gained new life through the death of Jesus, then we can say with our hearts, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). No matter what kind of difficulties we may face in preaching the gospel, we will never fear but can march forward in faith with love for God.
Psalm 110:3 reads, "Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; in holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew." When the time comes, many people will have been prepared as clean vessels and will dedicate themselves joyfully. As the time arrives, I hope you will have prepared yourselves as pure and clean vessels like the dew at dawn and join the dedicated groups.
Although we lack something in one way or another, if we have perfect love within us, we can profess our love for God and do anything if He desires it for us. Then, we will say, "For if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's" (Romans 14:8).
We also heard the gospel because many believers had preached in perfect love for the Lord without fear of death. In the face of severe persecutions of Roman Empire many early church members were burned to death and others were eaten by lions, but they kept their faith. Although they hadn't seen the great power of God yet, they didn't feel afraid of death and went wherever the Lord commanded them to go. Their love for the Lord was really touching.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the time when we should proclaim the powerful works of the Holy Spirit is around the corner. I urge you to arise as spiritual warriors full of faith, hope, and love on the day of God's power. Achieve God's will and providence and glorify God. By doing so I pray in the name of the Lord you will enjoy great glory in Heaven.
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