Because of faith, we are forgiven of sins; because of faith, we follow Christ till today. The website, Follow Christ, provides the latest information about the truth of Christ's return.
The so-called ‘wise virgins’ represent those that can recognize God’s voice and hear the voice of the ‘Bridegroom’ and who can therefore accept and submit to Christ, thereby taking home the practical God. And because the ‘foolish virgins’ do not know the voice of the ‘Bridegroom’ and cannot recognize God’s voice, they reject Christ. They still hope for the vague God, so they are abandoned and eliminated. So we can see that it is very difficult to accept Christ without real faith in believing in God. Those that refuse to accept Christ will miss the ‘wedding feast of the Beloved,’ and they cannot be taken by the Lord back into their home in the kingdom of heaven, and they cannot enter the place that God has prepared for mankind. So, whether people can accept Christ of the last days and submit to His work is a crucial factor in deciding whether people succeed or fail in their faith in God.
Zhao Zhigang was an elder of the Local Church in China. Like hundreds of millions of Christians, his greatest expectation was to be raptured alive, to meet the Lord and reign with Him. In 1999, his religious leader released the message: “The Lord will return in 2000; all believers will be raptured alive.” He was greatly excited at the news, and pursued more fervently, waiting in full confidence… However, the year 2000 passed, and nothing happened. His expectation was unfulfilled and the Local Church fell into an unprecedented crisis, which forced him to reflect on the path he walked.
All over the whole world, the believers in Jesus have been divided into many denominations. In mainland China alone, there is the Justification by Faith, the Charismatic Church, the Shouters, the Great Praise Church, the Three Grades of Servants Church, the True Jesus Church, and so on. I can’t understand it. Since we all believe in the Lord Jesus and read the same Bible, why do so many denominations appear? Can we gain the Lord’s approval by believing in the Lord this way?
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
– John 10:27
Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
Those who follow the Lord Jesus can follow Him because of hearing His voice and knowing that He is the true God. The Lord is the Shepherd and we are sheep in the meadow. With the guidance of Lord’s words, we won’t get lost. Moreover, it is recorded in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” This prophecy shows us that God will utter His words in the last days. Thus, recognizing God’s voice is of concern to us whether we can welcome the second coming of Jesus.
Prayer is a means by which we call upon God, it is the path for establishing a normal relationship with God and, moreover, it is the truth we must put into practice every day. For example, we need to pray in the morning and in the evening; we should pray when we encounter difficulties in work or life; we need to pray when we are suffering from illness or hardships; we need to pray when we are in trials and feel pain…. In a word, our everyday life cannot depart from praying. So do you know why we Christians should pray?
God says, “After God created mankind and granted them spirits, He enjoined them that if they did not call out to Him, then they would not be able to connect with His Spirit and, thus, the “satellite television” from heaven would be impossible to receive on earth. When God is no longer in people’s spirits, there is an empty seat left for other things, and Satan thus seizes the opportunity to get in. When people contact God with their hearts, Satan immediately panics and rushes to escape. Through mankind’s cries, God gives them what they need, but He does not at first “reside” within them. He simply gives them constant aid because of their cries, and from that internal strength people gain hardiness, so that Satan dares not come in to “play” at its will. So, if people continuously connect with God’s Spirit, Satan does not dare to come and cause disruptions.” “Prayer is one of the ways in which man cooperates with God, it is a means by which man calls upon God, and it is the process by which man is moved by God’s Spirit. It can be said that those without prayer are dead people who are devoid of spirit, which proves that they lack the faculty to be moved by God. Without prayer, it would be impossible to lead a normal spiritual life, much less keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit. To be without prayer is to break off one’s relationship with God, and it would be impossible to win God’s praise.”
“Amen, amen I say unto you: that whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin. Now the servant abideth not in the house for ever; but the son abideth for ever” (John 8:34–35).
My Spirit Languished in Darkness, but by Chance I Came Across a Special Bible Study Class
“Mommy, mommy, how can you be asleep again?”
When my daughter woke me up, I realized that I’d fallen asleep again during prayers, and I felt very guilty. I slapped my legs that had gone numb from kneeling for so long, stood up, and walked over to the window. As I gazed at the clear, bright moon hanging in the night sky, I couldn’t help but slip into recollections of the past.
The breeze of spring gently blew. Zhong Hui sat at her desk holding the Bible, deep in thought: “Nowadays disasters are growing ever worse, the world is in a state of constant upheaval and turmoil with wars on the rise, and the four blood moons have already appeared—many of the prophecies about the Lord’s return have been fulfilled. It seems that the Lord’s day is upon us. Yet not only haven’t I received the Lord, but my spirit is becoming ever darker and the church is growing more and more desolate.” Thinking of this, she became even more anxious, so she prayed earnestly to the Lord …
In the Age of Grace, John paved the way for Jesus. He could not do the work of God Himself and merely fulfilled the duty of man. Though John was the forerunner of the Lord, he could not represent God; he was only a man used by the Holy Spirit. Following the baptism of Jesus, “the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove.” He then began His work, that is, He began to perform the ministry of Christ. That is why He assumed the identity of God, for He came from God. No matter the manner of His faith before this—perhaps sometimes it was weak, or sometimes it was strong—that was all His normal human life before He performed His ministry. After He was baptized (anointed), He immediately had the power and the glory of God with Him, and thus began to perform His ministry. He could work signs and wonders, perform miracles, He had power and authority, as He worked directly on behalf of God Himself; He did the work of the Spirit in His stead and expressed the voice of the Spirit; therefore He was God Himself. This is indisputable. John was used by the Holy Spirit. He could not represent God, and it was not possible for him to represent God. If he had wished to do so, the Holy Spirit would not have allowed it, for he could not do the work that God Himself intended to accomplish. Perhaps there was much in him that was of man’s will, or there was something deviant in him; under no circumstances could he directly represent God. His mistakes and erroneousness represented only himself, but his work was representative of the Holy Spirit. Yet, you cannot say that all of him represented God. Could his deviation and erroneousness represent God as well? To be erroneous in representing man is normal, but if he had deviation in representing God, then would that not be a dishonor to God? Would that not be blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit does not allow man to stand in God’s place at will, even if he is exalted by others. If he is not God, then he would be unable to remain standing in the end. The Holy Spirit does not allow man to represent God as man pleases! For instance, the Holy Spirit bore witness to John and also revealed him to be the one to pave the way for Jesus, but the work done in him by the Holy Spirit was well measured. All that was asked of John was to be the way-paver for Jesus, to prepare the way for Him. That is to say, the Holy Spirit only upheld his work in paving the way and allowed him only to do such work, no other. John represented Elijah, the prophet who paved the way. This was upheld by the Holy Spirit; as long as his work was to pave the way, the Holy Spirit upheld it. However, if he had laid claim to be God Himself and come to finish the work of redemption, the Holy Spirit must discipline him. However great the work of John, and be it upheld by the Holy Spirit, his work remained within boundaries. It is indeed true that his work was upheld by the Holy Spirit, but the power given him at the time was limited to his paving the way. He could not, at all, do any other work, for he was only John who paved the way, and not Jesus. Therefore, the testimony of the Holy Spirit is key, but the work man is permitted to do by the Holy Spirit is even more crucial. Was John not greatly witnessed of? Was not his work also great? But the work he did could not surpass that of Jesus, for he was no more than a man used by the Holy Spirit and could not directly represent God, and thus the work he did was limited. After he finished the work of paving the way, none continued to uphold his testimony, no new work again followed him, and he departed as the work of God Himself began.
When I was 12, I began believing in the Lord Jesus and became a Christian. After I began believing, I actively and persistently participated in Sunday worship and Bible study groups. At Bible study meetings, we often discussed 2 Timothy 4:7–8, “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.” We thought that, as Christians, we should imitate Paul and strive to run around and do works, because the Lord would bestow crowns of righteousness upon us. Our pastor also often encouraged us by saying the kingdom of heaven is entered through effort, and as long as we make efforts to pursue and diligently do the Lord’s work, when the Lord returns, He would rapture us up to the kingdom of heaven. These teachings became the cornerstone of my belief in God, and I swore to myself that I would do all in my power to participate in church service work so that I could accrue enough “value” to satisfy God, so that when He came, I could be raptured up into the kingdom of heaven.
Follow Christ 