A Glorious Task

The Lord knows those who are His. He values them in high regard, because there is no unrighteousness in them. He has already prepared a place, reward and glory for them. These live among Christians, in the churches, and stand as an example for following Christ. Not many realize their worth, but their Lord knows it. The Lord Himself stands as witness for them and reveals why He holds them in high regard. This is the greatest treasure they have. It will not be taken away from them; neither will men be able to destroy it. For the Lord their God will always be by their side establishing them by His Word and will. Their latter life will be more glorious than the former. For He said, “But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy” (Rev. 3:4).

Many in the churches do not know what it is to obtain a witness like it from the Lord. What could be more precious than that? Yet, they live in this world by its standards, thus, muddying their inner man. There are many things they still need to work on. Their salvation is in need of bearing fruit for God. The Lord has not yet fully used them for His glory. He cannot use them until they clean their garments by the sanctification He offers. They cannot clean them until they see someone on whom there is the Lord’s witness. And we are that someone who can become their light. It is indeed a glorious task to lead people to bear fruit in Christ and to show them the way to keep their souls from sin. Many Christians misuse the free gift of God and thereby, cause dissension in the churches. There are still others who think they are saved and abuse the patience of God. These together bring disrepute to the normal functioning of the church. O, what a shame! However, from the midst of these the Lord has called us to stand up for Him and deliver His will.

He has made us worthy to walk with Him in purity in the time to come; for we have already proven through His might the nature of our garments. That Might, which is of the law of liberty, many are still in need of. They surely cannot obtain it by their words and deeds. But, as they observe the reason for the nature of our garments, they can obtain it with a desire for it. When every breath of our life imitates the Lord and demonstrates His deeds, the result of it will be marvelous. We possess the greatest of assets. It is the men and women who received the Lord’s Might through us. This is what the Lord expects from us, because of the kind of witness He bore. As we know there are consequences for disobedience and sin, we proclaim it to them. Again, the consequences of obedience and righteousness will be naturally known. Then, they shall know the value the Lord placed on their lives. By what they have seen and received in this life they will see the reality present in the life the Lord desires to reward them. They realize that there will come a time when all must give an account of their life. They fear misusing His free gift or abusing the patience of God. They seek His might and are established. “For until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law” (Rom. 5:13).

They will have certainly escaped death. For before they saw or heard us they were without the law of Christ; though some of them are saved, because they walked according to the world they were apart from it. If there is no law in them, sin is not charged and death is inevitable. What Paul means when he says sin is not imputed is that there no point in charging sin to one’s account when there is nothing present to cancel it; death reigns. So, as sin increased and the Law appeared, i.e. speaking of the Old Covenant, there came an opportunity to impute sin; for there was a way to cancel it in those whom it reigned. Sin received its pay each time it was charged. Even so, in the present conditions, the might of the Lord in them, which they obtained when it was displayed through us in various ways, will cancel their sin. The Lord made sure they escape death by manifesting His might. For this purpose we obtained a glorious witness from the Lord. He made us worthy for it and has set us apart as an example to those who must obtain it. But if there are those who do not follow our example of Christ, we have no other responsibility. For He who called us has declared concerning them saying, “You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come” (John 7:34).

The Lord always sets a limit to that which He wants from us for His name. Yet, beware in understanding it, because it is only He who sets it. When we have done that which He asked of us, He will lead us to see the measure of our responsibility. So, when people continue to reject receiving His might, we know we have done all that we could. Even in this case, we will have complete joy; for we receive commendation from Him concerning our responsibility. Furthermore, we possess the knowledge of His judgments. We come to know the intricacies of His grace and mercy.

We must always be aware of the work the Lord has appointed to us. It is to yield imperishable results. This is because when He died on the cross for the sins of mankind, it was no small work. When God in the flesh died for man, who is dust, the heavens and the earth bore witness to it. “And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split” (Matt. 27:51). The veil, i.e. the inaccessibility, man had to God was removed. That the earth shook and the rocks were split were a testament to God’s ultimate work to restore man to Him. These things were written that we who serve the Lord should realize the massive significance of the work we do for Him. Because of what God did for man, His might was made available to all equally and freely. So, to us who perform the Lord’s work there is no partiality between the poor and the rich or the weak and the strong; as many as He calls to receive His might through us, we accept.

Our life, the works the Lord does in it and the witness He produces for us through the works are evidence for the work the Lord appointed to us. So, do not go on searching for signs from the Lord for the work He appointed to you. Rather, seek Him asking that your life be manifested among men for His namesake. This is believing Him. As you believe and do the work He desired from you, He will continue to perform works for you. Do not be mistaken. The Lord performs signs and wonders for men to believe Him, but to have an intimate relationship with Him and accomplish all that He desired of you, your unbelief or the seeking signs should not hinder you. “So Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe’” (John 4:48).

They fixed their eyes only on Jesus performing signs and wonders rather than believing Him through them. So, they often ran to Him not even caring for their journey. All they had to do was believe when they first heard Him teach and saw Him work wonders. It would have not only saved them, but also availed them God’s will and His works for them through that will. Granting His will to us is His wondrous work. Constantly seeking signs and wonders to ratify it instead of believing in it and seeking His guidance drastically slows our yield to the Kingdom. Such an attitude does not amount to complete belief in the Lord. In addition, this certainly does not reflect the nature of the hard working farmer, who works knowing that there will be early and late rains. Once we have obtained His will, we ought to be like the hard working farmer. Then, we will surely proclaim and display the reason for the nature of our garments. The best way to accomplish the Lord’s will is to keep His instructions. The following is an example for it. “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers” (Acts 1:14).

The Lord gave the disciples the great commission. He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Helper. He did not tell them to pray, but to them it was understood. They did not seek signs and wonders from the Lord concerning His will for them. They simply believed in it and in the instructions concerning it. They prayed to the time the Lord performed His work and they received the early rain, i.e. the Holy Spirit. As long as they continued in the Lord’s will, they did not seek Him for signs and wonders for it, but kept receiving the Spirit even as the late rain. They simply believed Him, prayed for His guidance and allowed Him to do whatever works He chose from time to time. Their accomplishments for the Lord are forever inscribed to us, because they proved through His might the nature of their garments. And we would do well to imitate them so that we too rejoice and say, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place” (2 Cor. 2:14).

Posted in 2012, Archives.