Title: The person God is looking for
Revelation (73) The person God is looking for (Revelation 18:1-3)
<The person God is looking for>
Babylon in Revelation 17 is divided into “religious Babylon” and “political Babylon”. The harlot, who is the power of false prophets, is religious Babylon, and the antichrist, who expands political influence by borrowing her power, is political Babylon. In the end, the political Babylon, the Antichrist, takes full advantage of the religious Babylon, the false prophet, and destroys it horribly. Then political Babylon will be destroyed.
Why did Babylon fall? The biggest reason is fornication (verses 1-3). That is why, in the last days, reverence is especially important. Many people these days call it a crisis. At this time, people are looking for ways and tricks to overcome the crisis, but God is looking for “people”, not “methods.” When all mankind fell into sin, God sought one man, Noah, and after Noah, when the people fell into sin again, he called one man, Abraham.
The person God is looking for is not a superficial person armed with shallow knowledge or talent, but a godly person who understands the heart of God. As the end times approach, we need more godly people. The problem is that many people mistake reverence for wearing a black suit, not joking, and having a weird voice. What must we do to become the godly person God is looking for?
1. Let go of what you throw away
The most fundamental reason that people do not meet God and experience God's grace is that they hold too many things in their hands and cannot throw away what they should throw away. It is not possible to grab everything in both hands and grab God's grace as a bonus. Only when we give up what we have in our hands can we grasp the grace of God. You need to know how to throw away things boldly in order to create an influential life.
Jesus told those who wanted to become disciples to abandon their family and relatives. It is a paradoxical statement to put God first, not to be illegitimate and to abandon the family. As we get closer to God, we become more filial to our parents and raise our children as missionary children. Married couples can also become closer to each other when they draw closer to God. The strange thing is that if you live a godly life, your spouse will change and your children will change as well.
2. Refrain from gossip
The Apostle Paul challenges us to renounce ‘fake and false myths’ for a godly life (1 Tim. The NIV Bible describes ‘wish and vain myths’ as ‘godless myths and old wives’ tales. In English, tales are known by students often memorizing them as 'tales'. However, not only tales, but also ‘all fictional stories’ are expressed as tales in English. Therefore, it is also used to mean ‘gossip, gossip, lie’. The first factor that hinders a godly life is ‘tale’.
If you are too curious about the myths that sound more mysterious than the Word of God, you can fall into spiritual fornication and be deceived by Babylon. Beware of profane chatter. One distinct symptom of a depravity of faith and spirit is an increase in gossip. If you listen to unnecessary chatter, you won't hear what you need. Occasionally sentence yourself to a day or a week of silence and practice it. When you close your lips, the door of communication with your mind opens.
3. Practice godliness
Religion does not happen by itself overnight. One attendance at a revival or one fast doesn't make life reverent. That is why it is important to have the Sunday worship service and the morning prayer meeting every day to receive the Word continuously. Sometimes, you need to be restrained in what you want to do and also know how to say No when others tell you to do it. Also, before you work hard outside, you must first be faithful to your homework. Few of those who are not faithful to their homes are godly.
A godly family is blessed by God. Also blessed are the descendants of godly people who love God and stretch out their hands for the poor. Also, since a godly person knows how to control himself, he will come to the corridor of health, and his heart will overflow with joy and reward. If you look at a person who lives a blessed life, a person who has good children, a person who lives with a positive influence, and a person who is healthy in spirit, mind, and body, there are definitely the following things. That is 'godliness'.