Making Ourselves Ready For The Lord’s Coming
Message One
Making Ourselves Ready for the Lord’s Coming by
Loving His Appearing and Not Loving the Present Age
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
2 Tim. 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day, and not only me but also all those who have loved His appearing.
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him;
Word of Appetizer
How can we make ourselves ready for the Lord’s coming?
To make ourselves ready for the Lord’s coming by loving His appearing and not Loving the present age. In order to make ourselves ready for the Lord’s coming, we need to love the Lord Jesus, take Him as our life, live Him, magnify Him, await His coming, and love His appearing; this should be our heart’s desire
and our living.
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him;” if we love the present age, we will take sides with the world; if we love the Lord’s appearing, we will take sides with Him and fight with Him for His interests.
Spiritual Burden
In order to make ourselves ready for the Lord’s coming, we need to love the Lord Jesus, take Him as our life, live Him, magnify Him, await His coming, and love His appearing; this should be our heart’s desire and our living.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
If the Lord’s second coming is precious to us, we will love His appearing.
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him”.
Loving the Lord’s appearing is in contrast to loving the present age.
Those who love the Lord, wait for His coming, and love His appearing will overcome.
The Experience of Life
God’s enemy, Satan, in order to usurp the God-created man, formed an anti-God world system on this earth by systematizing people with culture, education, industry, commerce, entertainment, and religion; the whole world and the people of the world are lying passively under the usurping and manipulating hand of Satan, the evil one.
The present age refers to the world that surrounds, attracts, and tempts us; if we love the present age, we will take sides with the world; if we love the Lord’s appearing, we will take sides with Him and fight with Him for His interests.
Practice and Application
If we are to live in the Body of Christ, we should not follow the present age or be fashioned according to this age or conformed to it. We should have a living that loves the Lord’s appearing; this causes us not to be discouraged but to remain faithful to the end.
In order to make ourselves ready for the Lord’s coming, we need to love the Lord Jesus, take Him as our life, live Him, magnify Him, await His coming, and love His appearing; this should be our heart’s desire and our living.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Loving the Lord’s appearing and loving the Lord Himself are inseparable (2 Tim. 4:8)
(Please illustrate that if we genuinely love the Lord, we must love His appearing.)
T2 The crown is given as a prize, in addition to the Lord’s salvation, to the triumphant runner of the race (1 Cor. 9:25; Eph. 2:8-9)
(Please illustrate this prize is neither of grace nor by faith as salvation is, but of righteousness through works.)
Day 2
T1 Paul lived was a life of waiting for the Lord’s return (Phil. 3:20; Rev. 22:20)
(Please illustrate that each chapter of 1 Thessalonians concludes with the Lord’s coming back.)
T2 While waiting for the Lord’s return, we should learn to fear Him (Luke 12:20; Phil. 3:20)
(Please illustrate that our living should indicate that we have no other hope on earth. Our hope is in the coming Lord.)
Day 3
T1 The world is an evil system arranged systematically by Satan (John 12:31)
(Please illustrate the Lord’s death on the cross judged the satanic world and cast out Satan as the ruler of the world.)
T2 Not loving the world is the ground to overcome the evil one (Matt. 2105:34; John 3:16; 1 Pet. 3:3; 1 John 2:15)
(Please illustrate that what are the meanings of “world” in the Greek word?)
Day 4
T1 The whole world lies in the evil one (1 John 5:19)
(Please illustrate while the believers are living and moving actively by the life of God, the whole world is lying passively under the usurping and manipulating hand of Satan, the evil one.)
T2 Satan is utilizing the material world to head everything up eventually in the kingdom of antichrist (1 John 2:18, 22)
(Please illustrate wherever you go, even among Christians, the things of the world are the topics of conversation.)
Day 5
T1 The difference between the world and an age (1 John 2:15; Rom. 12:2)
(Please illustrate the world is the entire organization used by Satan to usurp man, whereas an age is a fraction of this organization, a part of this world system.)
T2 Loving the Lord’s appearing is in contrast to loving the present age (2 Tim. 4:8, 10)
(Please illustrate if we love the Lord’s appearing, we will side with Him and fight with Him for His interests. But if we love the present age, we will side with the world.)
Day 6
T1 All those who love the Lord and giving up everything for Him love the Lord’s coming in order to receive the Lord’s reward (2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 22:12)
(Please illustrate with experiences that those who do not love the Lord, but love the world, or lust after sin, are afraid that the Lord will come.)
T2 To love the Lord’s coming is to love His presence (Matt. 24:3; 1 Cor. 16:22)
(Please illustrate when we declare that we love the Lord, we mean that we love His coming.)
