2015.07.26_Receive A Crown

God Sent His Son to Give Us His Glory

God is the God of glory. Glory does not refer to created light but the everlasting light of the self-existing One. That light is so brilliant that even the sun loses its light before it. God sent Jesus Christ into the world for the redemption of man’s sin, then for the redeemed to share in the glory of God.

When the Word became flesh and came to the earth, most people recognized Him as a young man from Nazareth. However there were some who saw the glory of God in Him. Concerning this Apostle John wrote, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). If anyone cannot see the glory of God in Jesus Christ, he cannot be saved. It is only those who have seen God’s glory in Him that will later leave this world of darkness and enter the glorious kingdom.

God’s Son Discharged His Duty as Christ and Obtained the Authority of Heaven and Earth

Jesus Christ! Jesus is the name of God. It is the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father gave His name to His Son (Jn 17:11-12), and the Holy Spirit has come to the believers in that name (Jn 14:26).

We must know God. If we do not, God would also deny that He knows us. Matthew 7:22-23 says, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Just as anyone can make purchases by making a payment, anyone can cast out demons by using the name Jesus. Yet even if someone has cast out demons many times, God would deny knowing him unless he knows God.

The reason we listen to the message at church is to know and understand God. If anyone doesn’t know God, it means he doesn’t have faith. Because people don’t know God, they go to church and for a while lead a life of faith before giving up. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the words of Jesus Christ (Rom 10:17). Jesus Christ never spoke of His own accord but only what the Father commanded Him to say (Jn 12:48-50). In short, faith is to know God through Jesus Christ.

There are too many people who have attended church for a long time but still don’t know God. They believe their faith is very sound simply because they are inside the church building and participating in the worship service. Though they listen to the sermon, they don’t receive that as the word of God but that of man. When others ask them as to who God is or what the name of God is, they cannot give any answer.

Eternal life is in the knowledge of God (Jn 17:3). The reason we must know Jesus Christ is that we can know God only through Him (Jn 5:39-40). And it wasn’t for any other purpose that the Bible was written. John 20:30-31 says, “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” In this way, we must know God.

Jesus is a name, whereas Christ is not a name but a duty. The word Christ contains the meaning of being sent by God. God sent His only begotten Son to the world, to shed His blood and die. As the Father had commanded, the Son of God died on the cross and discharged all of his duties as Christ. Thus God raised Him from among the dead, and finally lifted Him and seated Him on the throne of Heaven.

Until then, a great angel of God ruled over Heaven above in the name Jehovah and over Israel only on the earth below. Though there were prophets at the time, they could not perform outside of Israel. But that all changed when Jesus was glorified after the resurrection. Just as He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matt 28:18), Jesus obtained the authority to rule over Heaven above, and authority to rule over all the earth, not just Israel.

Preach and Teach Them to Observe All Things as Commanded By the Ruler of Heaven and Earth

Jesus who obtained all authority over Heaven and earth gave us a command. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt 28:19-20). This command to preach the Gospel to all the nations and teach them to observe everything He commanded us, is the very duty we have today as those who are in Christ.

We must preach the Gospel and help people to settle in their life at church. The word of God can only be heard inside the church. According to a study conducted, a person is evangelized approximately 250 times which includes receiving gospel tracts on the street, before he steps inside the church. To evangelize someone and lead them to church is definitely not an easy task. Some people say that we’re at a time in history where it is the most difficult to evangelize and spread the Gospel. However that is not very plausible. In the past, it was common that Christians were beaten at home and excluded from society all because of their faith in Jesus. So in that sense, it might in the present age of cultural diversity to preach the Gospel.

One doesn’t become a sound Christian for having a good attendance record at church. There are numerous people who have come into the church yet fail to receive God’s word. And one of the reasons is that people are ignorant of their own spirit. The one that can receive God’s glory is the spirit not the flesh. Any attempts to receive the glory of God in the flesh will only fail. Whoever desires to be spiritually well first needs to be well aware of their own spirit.

The final days of our flesh are fast approaching like a speeding bullet. A flying bullet might be imperceptible, and yet a person loses his life by that bullet. Similarly, we don’t know when our flesh will meet its final end. That day can come to anyone unexpectedly irrespective of their age or health condition. So before our flesh breathes its last, we must seek the good of our spirit. The flesh is our only opportunity to work for the spirit.

Not only is it our duty to evangelize and teach others to observe the Lord’s commands, it is also our reward. Those who don’t believe that God rewards, who don’t seek God’s reward, don’t actually have faith (Heb 11:6). Some people say, “Not everyone necessarily has to hope for a reward in their faith life. You might as well be enthusiastic about it if you’re going to go to church anyway.” However such attitude is far from the will of God. The Lord has all authority in Heaven and on earth, and we ought to look forward to the reward He will give and preach the Gospel whether in season or out of season (2 Tim 4:2). And we must teach those that come to church, to observe everything the Lord has commanded.

Win the Crown

It is written in 1 Thessalonians 2:19, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” At the second coming of Jesus, if the souls whom we evangelized are still standing in faith firmly, they will be our crown. A crown refers to that worn by kings. Those that take part in the first resurrection will reign with Christ on earth for a thousand years (Rev 20:6), and forever in Heaven (Rev 22:5).

To start attending church is not like graduating from school but more like enrolling and entering school to study. Upon entering school, students first need to lay a solid foundation in order to excel not only at school but throughout their lifetime. Similarly, it is important that everyone has hope in the crown from the very beginning of their faith life at church. It says in 1 Peter 5:4, “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.” And 1 Corinthians 9:25 says, “And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.”

It is also very crucial that we do not lose the crown which we have won. Revelation 3:11 says, “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” Once we have evangelized someone, it is important that we continue to guide them to study and observe God’s word, for on the day of the Lord’s return, only the souls who are standing in faith will become our crown. If, at the temptation of the Devil, the souls we led wander astray from Christ, then it means we have lost our crown to the Devil.

Some people take members of the church who are already dedicated to serving the church well, and teach them the word to make them join and follow a group of their own. The Holy Spirit, however, hates such deeds, like that of the Nicolaitans. It says in Revelation 2:6, “But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” While every sin on earth will be forgiven, the sin of disobeying the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come. We have to preach the Gospel to unbelievers, and teach them to observe all the words of the Lord. And if those souls mature to willingly obey the Lord’s words and serve the church without the help of others, then we must evangelize other souls and teach them likewise.

Do you have a crown? On the day the Lord returns in the air, our souls which have been nurtured by the word of God will be transformed into a body and meet the Lord in the air, then reign on earth for a thousand years. Not only that, after we depart this earth, we will reign in Heaven as kings forever. But in order to reign as kings as the Lord promised, we must prepare our crowns while we are still on earth. Hence we need to stop trying to show off our knowledge to others, and preach the Gospel to unbelievers so that they may settle in the church, and teach them to observe everything the Lord commanded.