Title: The Four Essentials of Life of Faith
The Book of Revelation (13) The Four Essential Life of Faith
(Rev 1:17-20)
1. A life of sacrifice
The church is described as ‘the altar of God’. But today, there is an altar, but the offerings are rarely seen. It seems that there are sacrifices, there are living sacrifices, but there are not many dead ones. If the sacrifice on the altar is alive, God sees it as a dead sacrifice, and if the sacrifice on the altar of God is dead, God sees the sacrifice as a living sacrifice. The most important thing in life of faith is not ‘successful work’ or ‘experience’, but ‘sacrificing work’.
2. A life without fear
In general, people with big eyes are also afraid. Even in a spiritual sense, people with big eyes have a lot of fear. In other words, the more you see, the more you fear. We can only be bold when we see the Lord who holds the keys of death and hell without seeing anything. If you pay too much attention to living, you will not be able to live properly and you will be drenched in fear, but if you believe in the Lord and prepare to die, the way to live in the midst of it will be opened. If you try to live too much, there are many things to be tested. If you are prepared to die, you will no longer have to die or be tempted. At that time, the Lord's utmost comfort and peace will overflow.
3. The life of the witness
After hearing the comforting voice to the Apostle John, the Lord once again told the Apostle John, “Write down what you have seen, what is now, and what will happen in the future.” Why did I tell you to record it? To prove it to others. As such, you must always accept the truth, experience, vision, or grace you have experienced with a clear sense of purpose. God gave them for sharing and witnessing. Without such sharing and evidence, what has been given to you is meaningless.
The vision the Apostle John saw, the book of Revelation, was not given to pursue religious ecstasy. The pursuit of religious ecstasy leads to time-limited eschatology and plunges into apocalyptic fever. Religious ecstasy has the most spiritual appearance, but it is also the most spiritually harmful. Religious ecstasy is no different from drug ecstasy. Those who do their best to spread the gospel by using all their resources, talents, personal connections, status, and time are the most blessed people who understand the word about eschatology and prepare well for the end times.
4. A life that loves the church
The focus of the book of Revelation is on the church. So the Lord will sustain and protect the church and its workers (verse 20). You were poor in the past, but how purely did you love the church? At that time, the love and affection for the Church was great. God has given grace to such a Korean church. What is the biggest problem today? Compared to the old days, life has improved considerably, but since then, the devoted love of the church, without calculation, has greatly weakened.
The only way to heal this nation and to heal our souls and receive blessings is to pledge and practice the love of the church again. Then God will solve all other problems. Therefore, become a faithful worker of the church caught in the right hand of the Lord, and have a dream and a vision in which the Lord will be greatly witnessed and glorified in the last days. God's desire for the saints to live like that is permeated throughout the book of Revelation.
The Korean church is going through a spiritually dark and difficult tunnel. Church growth has been very difficult. Many new churches are closing their doors. The image of the church has deteriorated, and the way of evangelism has been blocked, and more and more people are even leaving the church. However, historically, in the age of great spiritual drought, a person that God uses greatly has appeared. Have the dream of such a person, and please God by worshiping, praying, evangelizing, serving the church, preparing for the Lord's return, and living diligently in the world.