10/31/2019 0 Comments Gospel Movie “Waiting” Clip1: How Should We Watch and Wait for the Lord’s Second Coming?Gospel Movie “Waiting” Clip1: How Should We Watch and Wait for the Lord’s Second Coming?When the Lord comes again, will He descend with the clouds, or will He come as secretly as a thief? How will you face the second coming of the Lord? Will you be too afraid of being misled by a false Christ that you will refuse to seek Him out, or will you act the part of the wise virgin and pay careful attention to God’s voice? How should we “watch and wait” so that we will be able to welcome the Lord when He comes? Watch this short video!Do you want to learn more gospel messages about Jesus Christ’s return? Don’t hesitate to visit the website--Grow in Christ.
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I believe that all true believers in the Lord expect the Lord Jesus to come to take them into the heaven soon. Some firmly believe that they will surely be taken into the kingdom of heaven by the Lord when He returns, if they work hard for Him, shepherd the church believers, and even give up their family and marriage, dedicating their all to Him. To trace the root, originally when in the heaven, the archangel was the greatest of heaven’s angels and God authorized it to govern millions of angels. After God created mankind on earth, its ambitions were so inflated that it even desired to stand equal to God and rule over mankind on earth. In the end, it was cast into midair by God. As man was corrupted increasingly deeply, his nature became that of the archangel: arrogance and self-conceit, self-rightness and self-importance and having no place for God in his heart as well as no respect for others…. With such corrupt dispositions, man can contend with and fight against God at any time. When he first believes in God, he produces conceptions about God when seeing God’s work conflicts with his will, and even talks about and judges the Lord Jesus and His work carelessly. After he does services for a period of time, he can often testify how much work he does or how much he suffers, even regarding himself a holy man and one that pleases God because he can expound on the Bible, support the believers, work and preach for the Lord. And in the end, he thinks that he has finished his course and cast away what he should, thus he asks God for the glorious crown and a place for him in the kingdom of heaven just like Paul. … The more work one has done, the more easily he thinks highly of himself, feeling that he has the capital. As a result, he becomes more arrogant, self-right and unreasonable. The Jewish Pharisees are typical examples. We can see that if man does not get rid of the corrupt dispositions of arrogance, self-rightness, self-importance and conceit, they will never be able to be purified, much less will they be approved into the kingdom of heaven by the Lord even if they work hard and spend for the Lord all his life. In Leviticus 11:45, Jehovah God says, “you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” As God is holy, if the Lord receives man with satanic dispositions to His place, will He still be a God of holiness? It is also said in Hebrews 12:14, “without which no man shall see the Lord.” The Bible says that man can see the Lord Jesus only if he is cleansed. It doesn’t say that all those who can spend and throw things out for the Lord will see Him. Therefore, to be purified is the target that man should pursue in believing in the Lord. Only when man gets purified by God, no longer lives by his satanic dispositions of arrogance, conceit, self-rightness, self-importance, and can truly do God’s will in everything, can he receive God’s approval and be fit for the kingdom of God.From: The Gospel of Jesus Christ-Testify GodRead more on Christian Sermons pageSermon on the Kingdom of God – 3 Standards You Should KnowWhen we read Paul’s words: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:7-8), we believed that we would be taken into the kingdom of God in the future if we worked hard and sacrificed everything for the Lord. But is that true? The Lord Jesus said: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22-23). The Lord’s words clearly tell us many of those who preach, cast out devils and work wonders in the Lord’s name and many of those who work hard and sacrifice a lot for the Lord are not worthy of the Lord’s praise to enter the kingdom of God. The first standard is whether or not man knows the work of the Holy Spirit.What does the knowledge of the work of the Holy Spirit represent? It represents our knowledge of God. If we barely know the work of the Holy Spirit, then we know nothing of God. That’s because the Holy Spirit is God and God is the Holy Spirit. Whether we have the knowledge of the work of the Holy Spirit is very important for us, for it determines whether we can enter into the kingdom of God. Just when the Lord Jesus did His work, Peter didn’t truly know that the Lord Jesus is God Himself in the beginning. But through listening to the words of the Lord, he sensed that the Lord’ words are full of authority and couldn’t be uttered by any man. Besides, he also saw many wonderful deeds of the Lord, such as feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, and rebuking the wind and sea, which were totally beyond man’s ability. In addition, during the course of following the Lord Jesus, Peter obtained a further knowledge of what the Lord has and is from the Lord’s words and work because of his pursuit and love for the Lord Jesus. Based on this, the Holy Spirit enlightened Pether so that he recognized the Lord Jesus as God Himself. Just as it is recorded in the Bible: “He said to them, But whom say you that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also to you, That you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:15-19). From the words of the Lord Jesus, we can see the blessings God gave to Peter. Firstly, the Holy Spirit gave exceptional enlightenment to Peter, which made him gain the true knowledge of the identity of the Lord Jesus. Secondly, the Lord Jesus took Peter as the rock of His church and gave him the key to the kingdom of God, which was the greatest blessing to a believer of God. Peter could gain such blessings of God, because he, on the one hand, was a man who pursued to love God, and on the other hand, that he had the true knowledge of the Holy Spirit’s work, that is, the true knowledge of God. As for those who don’t know the work of the Holy Spirit, though they have worked hard and sacrificed a lot, they cannot receive God’s approval, and even can become the evil ones who resist God and are cursed by God. For instance, those Jewish chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees had served God in the temple for years, and some of them walked throughout sea and land spreading the gospel and had sacrificed a lot. But when the Lord Jesus became flesh to work on earth, they not only had no knowledge of the work of the Holy Spirit or the new work of God, but also didn’t seek or investigate it. They defined God’s work according to their own notions and imaginations, and colluded with the Roman government to nail the Lord Jesus on the cross, committing heinous crimes of resisting God and condemning God’s work, and in the end were subjected to the righteous punishment of God. It shows that the knowledge of the work of the Holy Spirit is vital for our entering into the kingdom of God.The second standard is whether or not man can follow God’s teachings.The Lord Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). The Lord’s words tell us that God is the way, the truth, and the life. Only by knowing the truth and acting according to the Lord’s words can we gain the truth and life, have a path to follow, and enter the kingdom of God. If we act in conformity with the Lord’s words and God’s will and demands in all matters, instead of acting on our own intentions and notions, God will be satisfied then. God doesn’t look at how much knowledge we can talk about; rather, He looks at whether or not we put His words into practice. If we truly practice His words, then we are the ones who accept God’s words as our lives and who gain the approval of God. Just as Abraham recorded in the Old Testament. He was a person who unconditionally practiced God’s words and was approved by God. When he was one hundred years old, God gave him a son, and later ordered him to make his only son a burnt offering to God. Abraham couldn’t bear to do so, but he still suffered great pains to return his beloved son—his only son, Isaac—to God. God saw that Abraham could comply with His words and obey Him without any conditions, so He even more accepted Abraham and gave him greater blessings. The Lord Jesus once said: “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Here the words “he that does the will of my Father” refer to the one who unconditionally keeps the way of the Lord and practices God’s words in everything. The Lord said only such people could enter into the God’s kingdom. Obviously, whether or not we can follow God’s teachings is another standard for measuring whether we can enter the kingdom of God.The third standard is whether or not man’s views toward pursuit are in conformity with the truth.God says: “If what you seek is the truth, what you put into practice is the truth, and what you attain is a change in your disposition, then the path that you tread is the right one. If what you seek is the blessings of the flesh, and what you put into practice is the truth of your own conceptions, and if there is no change in your disposition, and you are not at all obedient to God in the flesh, and you still live in vagueness, then what you seek will surely take you to hell, for the path that you walk is the path of failure. Whether you will be made perfect or eliminated depends on your own pursuit, which is also to say that success or failure depends on the path that man walks.” It shows that whether we take the right path in believing in God determines whether or not we can be saved and enter into the kingdom of God. Then how can we measure if we have walked on the right path? We should measure it based on our views toward pursuit. If our views toward pursuit are right and conform to God’s words and will, then the way we walk upon will also be right and conform to God’s will, and our belief in God will definitely be successful. Take Job as an example. He praised God without conditions, trade or transaction. Even in the trials, he complained nothing about God and still kept God’s way, taking the way of fearing God and shunning evil. His true faith was approved by God. Peter is another example. When he followed the Lord Jesus, he longed for God’s way, pursued a pure love of God, and led and shepherded God’s churches with his real experiences. At last, he was perfected by God because of his resounding testimony of being obedient unto death and loving God to the utmost. Both Job and Peter entered into the kingdom of God, for their views toward pursuit were right and after God’s heart. From: The Gospel of Jesus Christ-Testify GodBy WuyanIt is recorded in the Bible, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin” (Rom 8:3). From these verses we know that, in order to redeem us mankind from sin, the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross as mankind’s eternal sin offering. And since then, we all call Him the redeeming Lamb. But do you know the profound meaning behind this appellation?To figure out this question, we should first know what sin offering means. Let’s look at Leviticus 4:27-31, “And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he does somewhat against any of the commandments of Jehovah concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty; Or if his sin, which he has sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has sinned. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering. And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar. And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a sweet smell to Jehovah; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him,” and Leviticus 16:30-31, “For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before Jehovah. It shall be a sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.” From: Grow in Christ - Covenant with the Lord
Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter you in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it.” From: Grow in Christ: The Second Coming of ChristWe often live in the state of sinning and confessing, and cannot put the Lord’s word into practice. So are we able to enter the kingdom of God? What are the criteria for entering the kingdom of heaven? Click to read and you’ll find the answer.
By GanxinThe Lord Jesus said, “How think you? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine, and goes into the mountains, and seeks that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, truly I say to you, he rejoices more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:12-14). As I read these words of the Lord and pondered the parable He spoke, I deeply appreciated God’s sincerity in saving us mankind. Not having the heart to see us humans, who have been deeply corrupted by Satan, living in sin and suffering the trickery and affliction of Satan, the Lord hopes that we can all return before God and gain His salvation, and He is pleased and joyful for our turning back from the wrong path. Meanwhile, I also saw how God values us humans. If one of us becomes lost and depraved because of Satan’s temptations or deception and goes far astray from Him, God will be beset with sorrow, and He will do whatever He can to save us. The attitude in which He treats us is akin to how we treat the lost sheep—as long as there is a chance, He won’t give up on us easily. The parable of the lost sheep spoken by the Lord fully exhibits God’s earnest intention in saving us and how sincere His love and salvation for us is. Therefore, in the course of following God, no matter what trials or refinements, or even persecution and tribulations come to us, we should look up to and rely on God, seek to understand His will and see through Satan’s schemes. We cannot be passive and weak, much less misunderstand, complain against or even betray God. Even if we may go off track a little bit, we shouldn’t give in to despair. As long as we sincerely pray to God to confess our sins and repent, God’s smile will be revealed to us.When reading these verses, I also noticed that after telling the parable, the Lord Jesus added, “Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” Then I got confused: We all know that the Lord Jesus is the incarnate God Himself, and that His word is God’s word. So why didn’t He just say “This is My will, and My will is God’s will”? What is His intention behind this line? From: The Gospel of Jesus Christ-Testify GodApart from mercy and love, what divine attributes of Jesus Christ can we see from His preaching and work? Click on and read to know 2 aspects of attributes of the Lord Jesus.
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