Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (4)
Message Twelve
Christ Coming with Reward and Punishment, a Lamp Shining in a Dark Place, and Christ Appearing Privately to His Overcomers as the Morning Star
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Rev. 22:12 Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me to render to each one as his work is.
Rev. 22:16b I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star.
I. “Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me to render to each one as his work is”—Rev. 22:12: (Monday, Tuesday)
A. The Lord repeats His warning, “I come quickly,” so that we will consider His reward, to be rendered at His coming back—Rev. 3:11; 22:7.
B. At the Lord’s coming, this reward will be rendered to each one of the believers, after their rapture, at the judgment seat of Christ—2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 4:5; Rom. 14:10; Matt. 16:27.
C. Eternal salvation has nothing to do with our works, but the kingdom reward will be altogether according to our works that we have done by the Lord’s life after being saved—1 Cor. 3:8; Matt. 16:27.
D. Every saved one will be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive the things done through the body according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad; those who practice good will receive a reward, and those who practice evil will receive punishment—2 Cor. 5:10.
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II. “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”—2 Pet. 1:19: (Wednesday, Thursday)
A. Peter likens the word of prophecy in the Scripture to a lamp shining in a dark place—2 Pet. 1:19:
1. This indicates that this age is a dark place in the dark night, and all the people of this world are moving and acting in darkness—Rom. 13:12.
2. Before the Lord as the sunlight appears, we need this word as light to shine over our footsteps—2 Pet. 1:19.
B. The day dawns is a metaphor illustrating a coming time 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—2 Pet. 1:19:
1. Preceding this, in the darkest hour of the night the Lord will appear as the morning star to those who are watchful and looking for His dear appearing—Rev. 2:28; 22:16; 2 Tim. 4:8.
2. If we give heed to the word in the Bible, which shines as a lamp in a dark place, we will have His rising in our hearts to shine in the darkness of apostasy where we are today, before His actual appearing as the morning star—2 Pet. 1:19.
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III. “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star“—Rev. 22:16b: (Friday, Saturday)
A. At His coming back Christ will be the rising sun to His people generally but the morning star to His watchful lovers particularly—Mal. 4:2; Rev. 2:28.
B. In the kingdom the Lord will appear publicly to His people as the sun, but before the great tribulation He will appear privately to His overcomers as the morning star to rapture them—Mal. 4:2; Rev. 2:28.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me to render to each one as his work is—Rev. 22:12.
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—2 Pet. 1:19.
Word of Appetizer
How is the Lord Jesus as the bright morning star related to the church and the rapture?
When Christ comes again, to His people in general, He will be the rising sun (Mal. 4:2); but to those who watch and love Him, He will be the morning star, which is special. The bright morning star will appear only to the watchful ones.
Christ will appear as the bright morning star in the darkest time, just before the end of this age. Before the great tribulation, He will appear secretly as the morning star to His overcomers and rapture them.
Spiritual Burden
In the kingdom, the Lord will appear publicly to the people as the sun; but before the great tribulation, He will appear secretly to the overcomers as the morning star and rapture them.
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.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
“Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me to render to each one as his work is.”
“I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star.”
The Experience of Life
The word of the prophets in the Scriptures is like a shining lamp for the believers, transfusing spiritual light, shining in their darkness, and guiding them into the bright day, even through the dark night, until the day of the Lord’s appearing, when the day dawns; before the appearing of the Lord as the sunlight, we need the light of His word to shine on our footsteps.
If we give heed to the word of the Bible as a lamp shining in a dark place, it will cause us to have Christ appear in our hearts before He actually appears as the morning star, shining in the darkness of the apostasy in which we find ourselves.
Practice and Application
How we serve the Lord and work for the Lord after we are saved is a great matter; we all must stand before the judgment seat and give an account to the Lord of our past life, conduct, and living.
The bright morning star will appear only to the watchful ones; the slothful believers will miss the sight of the morning star; the watchful ones will have the priority to taste the freshness of His long-separated and newly-returned presence.
“He who testifies these things says, Yes, I come quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
We must be watchful and pray. We must also be prepared in our spirit and in our daily life. May the Lord cover us that we may be watchful, prayerful, and prepared persons.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 When the Lord Returns to Receive the Kingdom, He Will Reward or Punish All Those Who Belong to Him (Rev. 22:12; Matt. 16:27)
(Please illustrate that eternal salvation has nothing to do with our works, but the kingdom reward is entirely according to our living by the Lord’s life after we are saved.)
T2 How We Serve the Lord after We Are Saved Is a Great Question (Matt. 25:14-30; 1 Cor. 3:10)
(Please illustrate that while we live on the earth, it is not enough to say that our conscience is clear; the Lord will also judge how we have served Him.)
Day 2
T1 The Lord Jesus Will Judge All His Believers before the Judgment Seat (1 Cor. 3:14; 2 Cor. 5:10)
(Please illustrate that the future punishment should be a warning and an admonition to us.)
T2 The Reward and Punishment Are Determined According to God’s Wisdom (1 Cor. 3:14; 2 Cor. 5:10)
(Please illustrate the two purposes of reward and punishment.)
Day 3
T1 The Testimony of the Apostles and the Words of the Prophets in the Scripture Are the Shining of the Truth (2 Pet. 1:19; Rom. 13:12)
(What does Peter’s comparing the prophetic word in the Scripture to a lamp shining in a dark place indicate?)
T2 The Lord Will Appear as the Morning Star to Those Who Are watchful and Eager for His Appearing at the Deepest Time of the Night (2 Pet. 1:19; Rom. 13:12)
(What does it mean that we do well to pay attention to the word of the prophets until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts?)
Day 4
T1 Not Knowledge, Not Written Regulations, but the Day Dawning and the Shining Star Rising (Rev. 2:28; 2 Tim. 4:8)
(Please illustrate that our loving the Bible is to pay attention to it until something shines and rises in our hearts.)
T2 Outwardly We Live in a Dark Age, but Inwardly We Are Full of Light (Rev. 2:28; 2 Tim. 4:8)
(Please illustrate that if we pay attention to the prophecies of the Bible, we will experience the lamp shining within us, enjoy the morning star rising in our hearts, and have the spiritual day dawning in us.)
Day 5
T1 The Appearing of the Morning Star Is Secret, but the Appearing of the Sun Is Public (Rev. 22:16; Mal. 4:2)
(Please illustrate that at His return, Christ will be the morning star to the overcomers, but to all the rest, He will appear only as the sun.)
T2 We Should All Take Paul as Our Pattern to Love the Lord’s Appearing (2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 22:12)
(Please illustrate that our living should indicate that we have no other hope on earth, that our hope is in the coming Lord, who is our eternal destiny.)
Day 6
T1 Lord Jesus, Come! (Rev. 22:7, 20)
(Please illustrate that the entire Bible concludes with the expression of our longing for the Lord’s return becoming a prayer.)
T2 When the Lord Jesus Returns, He Will Not Only Judge Negative Things but Also Marry His Bride (Rev. 22:7, 20)
(Please illustrate that the bride must be prepared for the Bridegroom, and this preparation is through the growth in life: growth takes time.)
