Making Ourselves Ready For The Lord’s Coming
Message Three
Making Ourselves Ready for the Lord’s Coming by Giving Heed
to the Prophetic Word as to a Lamp Shining in a Dark Place
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
2 Pet. 1:19 And we have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Word of Appetizer
Why do we need to give heed to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts?
The day is a metaphor illustrating a time coming that will be full of light, as a bright day dawning, with the morning star rising, before its dawning, in the hearts of the believers, who are illuminated and enlightened by giving heed to the shining word of prophecy in the Scripture. This will cause and encourage the believers to earnestly seek the Lord’s presence and be watchful so that they will not miss the Lord in the secret part of His coming (parousia), when He will come as a thief. As the bright morning star before the dawning of the day, He will appear privately to the overcomers who are watching, preparing, and waiting for Him. He will secretly give Himself as the morning star to those who love Him and who watch and wait for Him that they may have the priority to taste the freshness of His presence at His coming back after a long absence.
Spiritual Burden
In order to make ourselves ready for the Lord’s coming, we must give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and Christ as the morning star secretly rises and appears in our hearts.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
It is crucial for believers to give heed to the prophetic word.
Peter likens the word of prophecy in the Scripture to a lamp shining in a dark place.
We need to give heed to the lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts.
The Experience of Life
The prophetic word of the Scriptures, as the shining lamp to the believers, conveys spiritual light that shines in their darkness (not merely knowledge in letters for their mental apprehension), guiding them into a bright day, even to pass through the dark night until the day of the Lord’s appearing dawns. If we give heed to the prophetic word in the Bible, which shines as a lamp in a dark place, we will have Christ rising in our hearts to shine in the darkness.
Practice and Application
When we give heed to the word of the Scriptures as to a lamp shining in a dark place, the condition within us will be like the day dawning and the morning star rising in our hearts.
If we continually give heed to the shining word of the Scriptures, we will have the kingdom as the day dawning in us and Christ as the morning star rising in our hearts before His actual appearing as the bright morning star. Christ as the morning star will be given to the overcomers as their first reward; we need to make ourselves ready for the secret appearing of the Lord as the morning star.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Prophecies are matters that God requires us to know, and believers should give heed to them (2 Pet. 1:16-20)
(Please illustrate that Peter’s words indicate that the prophet’s words in the Old Testament confirmed and strengthened his testimony of Jesus Christ as an inoculation against the heretical teachings in the apostasy.)
T2 The Bible is a very accurate book, not a single word of it can be misread or replaced (John 7:40-42)
(Please illustrate with experiences that if a person is somewhat careless, he will miss God’s word.)
Day 2
T1 As the embodiment of God, the Word of God is a shining light (Psa. 119:105, 130)
(Please illustrate that this light is actually God Himself in the Word.)
T2 Both the apostles’ witness and the prophetic word in the Scriptures are the shining of the truth (2 Pet. 1:19)
(Please illustrate that Peter likens the word of prophecy in the Scripture to a lamp shining in a dark place.)
Day 3
T1 Giving heed to the prophetic word, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts (2 Pet. 1:19)
(Please illustrate this age is a dark, murky, squalid place. But the prophetic word is a lamp shining in the darkness.)
T2 In 2 Peter 1:19, Peter speaks of two things at the same time: the spiritual day and the day of the Lord’s coming (2 Pet. 1:19)
(Please confirms with experiences that the fact that in 2 Peter 1:19 Peter is speaking both of a spiritual day and the day of the Lord’s coming.)
Day 4
T1 The shining of the prophetic word becomes a day dawning within us (2 Pet. 1:19)
(Please illustrate with experiences that outwardly we live in an age of darkness, but inwardly we are full of light. )
T2 The morning star occurs before dawn, and the latter occurs after the dawning of the day (Rev. 2:28; Mal. 4:2)
(Please illustrate His appearing as the morning star and His appearing as the Sun of righteousness will not be at the same time.)
Day 5
T1 A person who seeks to understand the prophecy must intimately related to God (Psa. 25:14)
(Take Enoch, Daniel, and the apostle John as examples to illustrate that a person who seeks to understand the prophecy mustintimately related to God.)
T2 We have the sure Word, the Bible (2 Pet. 1:19)
(Please illustrate with experiences that if we deal with the Word livingly and properly, the written Word needs to be turned into the living Word.)
Day 6
T1 We love the Word, but not in the way of dead letters (Matt. 2:2; Rev. 22:16)
(Please illustrate we love the Word by taking heed to it until something within is dawning and arising in our heart.)
T2 The word shines in us, the shining exposes us, and the exposing subdues us (2 Pet. 1:19)
(Please illustrate that there is not much need for correction, adjustment; the inward shining through the word of God takes care of all the different problems and needs.)
