RPG Adults
READY FOR CHRIST’S RETURN? – EVIDENCE #1
MONDAY, JUNE 8
Luke 12:31-48
Memory verse: Luke 12:31
“…for it is your Father’s good pleasure
to give you the kingdom.”
READY FOR CHRIST’S RETURN? – EVIDENCE #1
God gave biblical prophecies to His children, not to the rest of the world who reject Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ. If they are not interested in His first coming, they are not interested in His return. His children must take heed to study and understand their heavenly Father’s revelation. Their present life must then be lived in light of His revealed truth; otherwise, they will be charged with mocking God by pretending to study and understand His prophecies.
Prophecies are not to be understood as merely future events, the way a person understands the weatherman’s prediction. Prophecies are understood as the future deeds that God will do, just like when a father tells his children that by the end of the year, the family is going on a holiday. The children know that their father has the means to bring the family on that holiday. Do we believe that God has the power and means to bring to pass all that He has revealed to us?
The believer’s attitude toward his material possessions is the first evidence of his readiness. Before salvation, the dependence on material possessions was the global norm. A person’s future needs depend on his present and future earnings. He strives, by hook or by crook, to amass as much as he can for fear that he might starve or be in want after retirement. He behaves like an orphan with no one to help him.
But after salvation, he becomes a child of God. He now has his heavenly Father, who has promised to provide for all his physical needs for the rest of his life as he focuses on his spiritual well-being. Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” If God calls him to sell all that he has to follow Him, he will do so obediently and cheerfully. In his heart, he knows that his real treasure is no longer in things material but all things spiritual. Learning to stop trusting in the abundance of what one possesses is the work of the Holy Spirit. The more God’s child understands His goodness and greatness, the easier it is for him to trust Him. This trust must last a lifetime, regardless of the many changes in life.
THOUGHT: Where is my heart’s treasure?
PRAYER: Father, may I lean on Thee alone, and not on material wealth.