Subject 13 : The Gospel According to MATTHEW
[Chapter 24-9] Let Us Have Faith About the Last Days (Matthew 24:32-51)
(Matthew 24:32-51)
“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The spring rain fell for the first time in a long while. All of nature is green and flourishing from the spring rain. When it is time, nature unchangingly does what it must do. When the sun shines and the temperature rises, the skies send rain and the earth brings forth new life. From barren branches, flower buds form, and every tree flowers with all its heart as it praises the Creator God. I watch such things, thinking, “There is a time when all things are made new,” and I think of the Millennial Kingdom to be established on this earth and I am looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth.
You must be busy and tired from many things these days. I realize how time passes by so quickly. After I approximately plan the events for the week on Monday and start working, it is already time for the Wednesday evening service. If I work two or three days busily, the Lord’s day soon returns. One week surely passes by quickly. After doing this and that and holding service a couple of times, one week passes by in a moment, and it is a new Monday. After going through four of those weeks, one month swiftly goes by.
Every month, our Churches at every region hold revival meetings in turn, and when I get back from the meeting, I realize that a month has passed by. Soon, when it becomes June, it will pass by in a moment after much bustling from the 2002 FIFA World Cup games held in our country, and when July comes we will wonder, “Why is it so hot, the heat is killing me,” and while looking for coolness, August will meet us, and after suffering from a greater heat, soon it will be time for our retreat. After gathering in the cool Injae Retreat Center and spending the week resting our spirits and bodies while receiving grace, August once again goes by quickly. When the heat diminishes and it seems like fall has just come, it becomes winter when we need to take out our thick parkas from the closet, and soon a new year will come.
Time does go by fast, and it is fine that time goes by so fast, but I wish that I could quickly finish all the work I must do. I am still young at heart, but my bodily age has already overstepped a half of a century by a few years; surely, the days are fleeting. Also, global affairs are in such an urgent state that I think the prophecies in Revelation are being fulfilled.
If you look in Revelation, it says that in the last days, the mark of the 666 will be embedded on the forehead or the right hand of a person. This mark is the name of Antichrist or the number of his name (Rev. 13:17). Recently, a certain inventor invented an electrical chip that could be placed into the body of a pet, and the animal can be easily tracked if it is lost. The electrical chip is pierced into the pet with a device similar to a needle, and this can be accomplished within seconds. The chip is useful because it holds all of the animal’s essential information, so that after bringing back the lost animal and examining the chip, it is easy to locate the owner. Not only that, but it is also possible to know the animal’s year of birth, its breed, health information, place of birth, and the location of the current owner. Though currently this electrical chip has been invented for the purpose of implementing it on livestock or pets, it can be implemented on people anytime. Also, because if you disappear or die from an accident you can be easily found, people who want this chip are increasing. Moreover, because this chip also functions as identification and as a credit card, the day when it will be used widely is not far.
Tension and conflict also exists between Israel and Palestine. Though Israel is under the strong protection of the U.S., because the Arab countries have a mutual destiny they can unite with each other anytime to stand against Israel. Therefore, this area holds the constant threat of war like an explosive warehouse. Because the ending of the world has correlations to the changes in Israel, we must watch the affairs of that nation while we concentrate on spreading the gospel.
If we look at today’s Scripture passage of Matthew 24 from verse 32 to 35, it says, “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near-at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.”
The Israelite nation is a nation that was dispersed for about 2000 years. However, the Scripture says, “Now learn this parable from the fig tree” and with that “When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.” This is the Lord speaking of what will happen in Israel in the last days. This means that one day when it was thought that the fig tree was dead, suddenly another day the leaves came forth from the tree and it was brought to life again. It was believed that the Israelite nation was lost and almost completely void, the Israelite people have recovered their country. Just as the leaves of the fig tree came out and the tree bear fruit again, the Israelite nation rose once more, reclaimed the land of old, and moreover the Israelis are now pressing the neighboring nations.
The Lord says that, “This generation will by no means pass away till all such things take place” and by this generation, He means the period of time at which the Israelite nation exists on this earth. The metaphoric expression that the fig tree becomes green once again means that the Israelite nation would recover its country after it being lost. After Israel recovers its country, the Israelis start to foliate as they display their power, incurring the wrath of many countries. And as they become isolated, a war breaks out resulting in their eventual surrender, and they would be conquered in the end. Therefore, Israel will reach a point when the nation is threatened to be lost again, but before the Israelite nation is dispersed the Lord will come. We cannot say that time is now, but we can say that we are at the threshold of that time.
If we look at Revelation, it says that in the future, a dragon with seven heads will arise from the sea. This signifies the appearance of kings in the world who will commit violence. Truthfully, in the current times, aggressive rulers are appearing all over the world. The President of the United States, a current superpower has no reservations about going to war as if he were a man born to wage wars. He is truly a frightening person because not long after he agreed to an anti-nuclear pact, he is trying to break it. He broke the agreement that said that each country would not develop nuclear weapons anymore and declared that his country alone will make more nuclear weapons. Such a person advocates the law that says, “The weak fall prey to the strong.” The reason why he is no longer afraid of the nuclear weapons owned by other countries is because a defensive strategy using a satellite to intercept their nuclear ballistic missiles has been developed. Therefore, for the U.S. there is nothing to fear, and they can claim that they have indomitable capabilities even in the case of a nuclear war. It seems that the President has started the work of realigning the global order under his country’s influence.
In Japan, on the other hand, the Prime Minister has declared that he will make his country into a military superpower. The Prime Minister is an innovative person. Even without a brilliant record or substantial advocates, he has maintained his position as Prime Minister for quite a while. He has shown an ambition to boost Japan’s failing economy as he continues to build its military power. As of now, his cabinet members as well as most Japanese people believe that “War is the key to reconstructing Japan’s economy.” Therefore, Japan has collaborated with the U.S. as they instigate antagonism toward North Korea. They brag that they can eliminate a country in thirty minutes if they are provoked intentionally as justification to do so. They really do have the power to determine the existence of a nation in thirty minutes. We know that these times are the last days when weapons have been extensively developed, people around the world are becoming less opposed to war and instead are showing militant tendencies, and many hostile tyrants are rising towards war.
It seems as if people in the world desire peace and dislike aggression, but in reality, they are supporting these militant tyrants. People say they do not want war, but they actually support war. The minds of modern people are becoming more and more degenerate and aggressive. Criminals these days think nothing of killing a person, and for money and entertainment, they can care less if their character is destroyed.
As I watch the youth of today play computer games, though I myself do not really play computer games. Mercilessly killing the enemy with knives and guns is not a big deal. If the enemy is not killed after being cut once, they kill the enemy by slashing the person mercilessly. Computer games of war simulation that give more scores to the player who can kill more cruelly and promote a strategy to have bloody battles to secure an advantageous position are popular among the youngsters. However, I am not saying that you should not play games, but through the games we are able to psychoanalyze the minds of people absorbed in such games and to examine the worldly trends they lead. Whether they want it or not, people in frequent contact with such cruel and violent things will become violent people. The minds of people today have become so degenerate that there is an increasing movement towards devaluing human life.
There once was a time when insurance deceptions occurred frequently. Even now, there are frequent cases of people who either inflict injuries on themselves after a premeditated subscription to various insurance plans or subscribe under the name of a family member or a relative to receive insurance money after killing the family member. These happenings show the tendencies of the world to value materialism over human life.
In the hearts of people today, the value of human dignity that gives a sense of importance and respect for human life is almost gone. People of old knew the dignity of life and did not even kill an insect without previous consideration. When I was young, on numerous occasions I saw my mother dispose of hot water into the drain only after it was cooled. So I asked, “Why are you doing that?” and my mother answered, “If the hot water is thrown right away into the drain, earthworms and other insects that live where the water goes down will die.” So, I don’t treat lightly even the life of a small bug. However, these days’ people do not value the dignity of life. There is only self-centeredness. Incidents happen frequently in which people kill something inconsequentially without hesitation if it brings any personal loss to them.
Also, not only in our country but all around the world, women are not marrying. In France, if a woman marries and has children, the government will cover the child’s educational fees up till graduate school and provide money needed to raise the child. Therefore, parents who have two children in such nations live well and eat well for the rest of their lives. Many advanced countries are encouraging childbirth due to declining birth rates in previous years. Presently, there are worries because even our country’s population and birth rate has declined substantially. What brings about such a phenomenon? Women who live in the developed countries do not wish to have children because they want to maintain their figure or have a lot of husband-and-wife time. There are many who do not wish to have children because they think that if they feel the need to have children they can always adopt and raise a child. There are even those who do not wish to have children at all to live for their own lusts. The world is becoming more and more hedonistic as such.
This is happening not only in our own country as well as all over the world. Even in our own country, Korea, four out of every ten married couples end up in divorce. This is to say that almost half of every ten married couples divorce. Also, after the divorce they go to a marriage-consulting firm because they want to start a new marriage. In America and the advanced countries in Europe, there are many people who divorce up to ten times, and they meet a new person to marry. They do not think that this is a great fault. Though our country has not reached that point yet because divorce is still looked down upon, from the way things are going now, it seems as if a person who marries ten times will soon appear even in our country. I am not talking about the difference in the consciences of people in various countries today, but I am speaking of how people are living more and more by their instincts as their sense of guilt or good consciences are disappearing.
When judgment came in the days of Noah’s flood, people were marrying and giving in marriage, living in extravagance and in drunkenness till the moment before the flood came, and we also live in such days. We live in the last days when people are busy following after pleasures that satisfy their lusts of the flesh. Recently, a big crowd was gathered to buy an apartment house in Kangnam District in Seoul. They do not want a two or three room apartment house that is only 80 or 120 square yards but a manor apartment that is 280 or 400 square yards. If someone wants an ultra-gorgeous apartment that is over 600 square yards, the person would buy two apartments that are 300 square yards on two floors, making a stairwell between the two apartments to satisfy his desire. Because they cannot be satisfied elsewhere, there are many who live for the fun of expanding their houses or redecorating the interior of their house. People of the world live concentrating only on the satisfaction of their flesh. It is said that in the last days, the sins of the world will be great, and I am sure that these days in which people live for the pleasures of the flesh is a sign of the last days.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 says, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
This really is an age when people love money as themselves, follow after pleasure, and think nothing of violent sin. Put differently, it is when these things are common that Christ will come. The happenings in Israel, the political events around the world, the emotional and mental state of people, and the trends of the desires of the people─all the things of this era are signs that will come about in the day when the Lord comes.
I believe that though Israel is attacking Palestine now, they cannot but make a treaty someday. It is because, in neighboring nations, groups that oppose Israel are increasing. If this is the case, Israel cannot but make an agreement with them and form a peace treaty. Due to the peace treaty, the Israelis will find peace, and at least for a while they will live well and eat well. However, suddenly one day, one side will break the peace treaty, and they will come in masses to attack Israel, leaving it in pieces. In those times, the people of Israel will cry out asking for the Messiah who will save them from the catastrophe. And when the Messiah fails to come no matter how long they wait, they will realize then that Jesus Christ is the long awaited Messiah, and they eventually will believe that He is the Savior. The end of the world comes to a close as the Israelis come to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
It is said that Israel recently attacked Palestine territory imprisoning, threatening, and killing the people. Through that incident, nations all over the world have officially announced their opposition to the policies practiced by Israel. Israel, with a superpower like America at its side attacks with nothing to fear, and because of that many countries that had opposed and disliked America are surfacing and showing their hostility towards the U.S.
Actually, this is not much of a surprise. America believes in its power and attacks any country that does not submit to its power with any rationale of a reason they can find. When terrorism happened on American soil, they attacked Afghanistan and Iraq without any accurate evidence. The Afghanistan people who had no chance of winning in the war died from the war, and they died simultaneously from an earthquake and from starvation. Because they are having a hard time escaping utter poverty, Afghanistan is suffering from lack of food. The food that we eat is something unimaginable for people in that country. They are barely sustaining their lives with a flour mixture that they bake in the oven or with cheese they make from goat milk. People who have those things to eat are people who fare well in the country. Most people skip one or two meals a day or they eat some edible plants and slowly die away from starvation.
Though many volunteer agencies around the world are donating medical supplies and food, there is still a major deficit of resources. It is ironic that while about half of the land is a chaotic war zone with sounds of gunfire and cannons, the other half is receiving aid sent from the attacking countries, so that these countries on one hand offer aid and help in the name of humanitarianism while unhesitatingly making war for their national gain and power. Such countries kill the people of their enemy nations with guns while they are giving medicine and food to the wounds and the refugees. Isn’t this giving the disease and giving the cure simultaneously?
For America to pour out their attack on Afghanistan is a vivid kind of warning. It is a warning that any country that opposes the U.S. will suffer this kind of cruel punishment. This is why Kim Jung II, the leader of North Korea, who was once loud with overconfidence against the U.S., is now trying to talk with our country, South Korea. He desires to resume the construction of the power plant of the light-water reactor and to rebuild the railroad from our country to North Korea. However, the only person able to boldly bluster against the U.S. in the world is Kim Jung-II. On one hand he is an impressive person, but in another sense he is also the most dangerous person.
A couple of situations will happen in the last days, the first sign of which will be seen in Israel. Also, the last days will be foreshadowed by people who eat, drink, and marry, concentrating only on the matters of the flesh with their heart becoming extremely obstinate and possessed with evil. This is to say that in the last days people will have a heart crazed with evil, living a crazy lifestyle. When such things happen constantly and unimaginably evil affairs spring forth frequently, we should realize, “Ah, the day of the Lord’s coming is near!” The last days of which the Lord speaks of are the days in which we now live. The era we live in today is the final age recorded in the Bible. We live in the last days spoken of in the Word. I do not tell you this to make you fearful or to threaten you. Realistically speaking, I am telling you this in advance because we live in the last days.
The hearts of people today are terrible. A long time ago, we had such a good relationship with our neighbors that we shared even the one bean we had, but it is hard to expect this today. People’s hearts today are so cold and dry, so barren and stubborn, that the various events I hear about in the news are shocking. The Lord said, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12) in the last days, and this verse is becoming a reality.
Just like it is nature’s way for winter to come and then with spring, budding leaves that are bringing new life for all creation, this world will be destroyed once and through our Lord a day will come when it is made anew. We must live viewing this age accurately while fulfilling our Lord’s calling as we are looking forward to the day the Lord will come to do away with the world once to renew it again. There will be no age when the gospel will be more widely and rapidly spread than the age we live in today. There are so many things we need to do, but even as there is much for us to do in this age, God’s work is also being done swiftly. There is no better age than the one we live in, in which we can do more work to spread the gospel.
The work you and I must do, the work we are continuing, is none other than the work of spreading the gospel of the water and the spirit. All over the world, there are so many who are going down the road of damnation because of their false beliefs owing to their ignorance of the gospel of the water and the spirit. Therefore, the work of spreading the gospel of the water and the spirit to people all over the world is extremely important, and there is much work for us to do for the task. Those who spread the gospel must know the times well as they work. In this time when there is so much to do, we the people of God must know what we do and how we must live, and we should work diligently in His time because if we lose the timing, everything will be in vain. The age we now live is an age that is the best-suited time to spread the gospel, and because it is the last days, we must do the work of spreading the gospel with all our hearts and strength.
When we look at the affairs of the world today, we must plant the seeds of the gospel now when the gospel is being spread so well. Soon, the earth will fall into tribulations, and when the time comes, natural disasters will be colossal. The Bible says that a third of the forests will suddenly burn to the ground and the sun will lose its light. If colossal forest fires happen all around the world, the earth will be filled to the brim with smoke, and sunlight will not reach to the surface of the earth. Then what will happen? Many viruses will not die but will thrive instead, strange epidemics and mysterious diseases will spread, people will die from the tribulations, and then the whole world will fall into chaos.
When the news reported that livestock living on the land were infected by dioxin, people began to abstain from meat and instead preferred to eat seafood. However, it is said that fish and shellfish are infected by even more varieties of pollution than animals on land. The water is more polluted than the land, and it is reported that fish and shellfish contain several thousand times more dioxin and heavy metal substances than meat coming from animals on land. Do you know of the recent incident on the coast of the West Sea that fish died in massive amounts and were swept onto the land? It was an accident induced by environmental pollution, and the fish were poisoned by the pollution in the sea. However, people blinded by greed took these fish and sold them in the marketplace. People who did not know better bought the fish and were poisoned by the toxin.
Like this, the natural environment is becoming polluted, and people are dying. The work we must do in such a world is not to chase after the world, but it is to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit everywhere. When the Lord’s Word is being fulfilled in the world today, and when it is a time better than any other time for spreading the gospel, we must upload more electronic books and print out more free paper books in more languages so that we can give these books to people all over the world. Now is a great time to plant the seeds of the gospel.
When we look at how the Lord works according to His timing, the work He did from the past until now seems like nothing compared to how fast the gospel is being now spreading. Therefore, you and I as evangelists must live out our faith recognizing the times. In a time so suitable to the spreading of the gospel, we cannot be the only ones who know and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but instead, we must make haste to spread it all over the world. We must spread the gospel as soon as possible before the world suffers from trouble and tribulations. When the world turns out exactly the way the Word predicts, we can no longer spread the gospel, but those who heard the gospel or came across it through our book will now believe this gospel of Truth in their hearts and will receive the remission of their sins.
Now is such a time. Therefore, because the church of God has discernment about this age and knows the times, with faithfulness, we pass onto people the bread of life. Right now, you have no time to waste your energies elsewhere. We are extremely pressed for time. We live in such a time. When this year passes by, wars will happen frequently. All over the world, massive wars will happen.
In such a time, we are doing the work of spreading the gospel. What a relief and blessing it is that the Lord has enabled us to do this work. We should not be self-satisfied with the current reality, saying with lax thoughts, “I can just live like this until the end,” but instead, as the world falls into more chaos and disturbance, we must work diligently so that when the time comes when it becomes difficult to work, we can achieve the final harvest. After that, just as the farmer plants seeds in the spring and waits for them to germinate, we should also wait. The age we live in today is an age in which we must plant the seeds because the last days are not days when we plant seeds, but it is the time for the harvest.
God tells us to learn this parable from the fig tree. He tells us to recognize the time that seems like Noah’s time and to become faithful servants of God as we spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is the bread of life. If we really do this, when the Lord comes, we will be praised and loved. However, if the person who received the remission of their sins thinks the Lord will come slowly and concentrates on eating, drinking, marrying, and pursuing pleasure, the Lord will appoint him his portion with the hypocrites as He comes suddenly on a day of which he is not aware (Matthew 24:50-51). Even if he had been saved, God will chastise him severely. He will be judged like the religious person who does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Actually, these people are even more reprehensible.
You and I must recognize this age correctly, and though it is difficult, we must live with the hope that if we work a bit more we can wear the crown of eternal life. Does it anger you as you think: “All we have to do is to work a bit more is something that’s been said again and again.” Now, you will be able to see with your eyes that new life comes from every seed we planted. So, let us make an extra effort to serve the Lord in doing His work.
Because we prepared in advance and did mission work through the Internet, haven’t many souls around the world received the remission of their sins? I believe that the online books we made will be more helpful than paper books. Though much of the gospel work is being done with paper books, someday the postal business might be paralyzed, and in preparation of the day when online books will do more work, we are planning on translating more books and uploading a more diverse selection of online books to our homepage.
Dear fellow believers, the finish line is in front of our eyes. Soon, just as creation throbs and unfolds with new life in the spring, the Lord will come once again to this land and renew the world. In those times, the righteous will rule with the Lord as kings, and receive many blessings for a thousand years, and they will also rule and govern any sinners who will still be left. As the Lord has spoken, I have faith that He will fulfill His Word as it is. Therefore, to those of you who have received the remission of sin and who live as evangelists of the Lord’s gospel, I pray that you will not live each day with your eyes set on current reality, but that you live with faith, doing the work of God with hope.
Are you exhausted as you serve the gospel? Actually, there is no age more tiring than this age. The society we live in is truly diseased. These days, people who take drugs are rapidly increasing from a specific group to the common folks. From ordinary businessmen to housewives, many people are addicted to drugs. Though in previous times their motive in doing drugs was of their own volition, but now there are more cases when it happened through another’s will. People are reported to become drug addicted while they are drinking some beverage given by somebody else for free. This means that a lot of people become drug addicted unconsciously. People who become addicted this way cannot stay clean once they became addicted, so to buy drugs they cannot help but give money to the person who induced the addiction.
Because it takes so much money to buy drugs, he or she uses another person by making the person addicted. After doing this, they become a drug dealer, asking for money in exchange for drugs, and after asking for a bit more money. They use it to buy drugs for themselves and for the other person. They do this because though they know that drugs are bad, whether the addiction happened voluntarily or involuntarily, if they are addicted once, it is impossible to stay clean. If they cannot quit doing drugs, the addiction will grow and destroy their health and even their lives. Even so, to continue doing drugs, they continue to bring in another person whenever their money supply runs out. In the beginning they usually give drugs for free to another person and after that person is addicted and unable to stay clean, they ask for money. This is why, like a pyramid structure, drug addiction has rapidly spread even among common people. It is said that this is sweeping across our country.
Many people are becoming addicted to drugs and to pleasure, eventually ruining their character. Doing drugs makes you feel as if you are flying and makes you fall into a hallucination that you can do whatever you desire. Drug addiction leads to the destruction of a person’s character as they become violent and in extreme cases schizophrenia and dementia, and it seems as if the world is changing in the same direction. To think that we can just live in such a world by just guarding our own heart does not seem like the right way anymore. It is most profitable for us to live doing the righteous work of the gospel and to live trying to be as less involved as possible in the world because whether we wanted or did not want the environment around us to be what it is, we as human beings cannot help but be contaminated by our surroundings. Therefore, spreading the gospel is not only our calling, but it is the only way we can guard our lives safely. We, who are the born-again, righteous people, have to strive to spread the gospel till the very end. Because we cannot know what is to come tomorrow, let us not think about anything else other than to live each and every day by faith.
Dear fellow believers, I believe that this coming year is a very, very important time. If we work this coming year, we will finish most of the work. The translating work of a book that took two or more months before now takes only a week or two. The work of the gospel is advancing quickly. Through this, there will come a day when there will be no one in the world who does not know of the gospel. The mission work we are doing through the Internet and through Christian literature is truly a great method of spreading the gospel. We are doing this work because the Lord who desires it to be done quickly has allowed us to do so. Therefore, let us all give thanks before the Lord, and within the domain and ability allowed by the Lord, let us do the work of the gospel diligently.
Anyways, I am thankful that we serve the gospel even as we are a people who live in such an evil age. Also there is a great desire for the gospel to be spread rapidly, and because this work is so urgent, there is no time for us to be tied down by our own weaknesses, insufficiencies, situation, and circumstances and we have no time to take care of ourselves. We do not have enough time to do all the work entrusted to us. Even if we use every bit of our time in spreading the gospel, it is still very, very insufficient.
Do not forget that we are the people who have an inadequate flesh and that we have to use our time efficiently and live wholly for the gospel. Whatever condition we are in or the world is in, let us follow the will of the Lord and plant the seed of the gospel in this declining world.
Dear fellow believers, after reading today’s Scripture passage, I did not speak about each verse one by one, but I did give you the gist of what the Lord wanted to say. Do you also agree with today’s lesson? Yes, now is the time in which we must all diligently head towards the goal. With faith, we must do more work, and as soon as possible, we must spread the gospel all over the world. We cannot have narrow hearts by thinking only about our Church and ourselves. We must spread the gospel all over the world. I am so thankful that God has helped us to fulfill the work that He has given us, and I am thankful that He has allowed us to live for His righteousness.
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