You, Man of God!
2008-05-17 21:31
The man of God is not of the world. So he does not love anything in the world. It is because he died with the world through faith in Christ Jesus. It is written, "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3).
Therefore, the men of God do not love the world or anything in the world. It is written, "For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world." (1 John 2:16).
Among all that is in the world, money is the worst that leads men to evil. And so the Holy Spirit exhorts the man of God by Paul, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:10-12).
It is the living words of God with which the Holy Spirit has exhorted all the men of God until now. All that is in the world is unclean. Therefore, the Holy Spirit exhorted us by the prophet, "Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the LORD." (Isaiah 52:11).
And also, the Holy Spirit said severely by the apostle, "What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.' 'Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.' 'I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.'" (2 Corinthians 6:15-18).
Anyone who loves money and becomes rich cannot avoid irrecoverable and eternal Hades in the end. The Bible plainly says about it, "Those who trust in their wealth And boast in the multitude of their riches, None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him--For the redemption of their souls is costly, And it shall cease forever--That he should continue to live eternally, And not see the Pit. For he sees wise men die; Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish, And leave their wealth to others. Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever, Their dwelling places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish." (Psalms 49:6-12).
All the wealth of the world is unrighteous. If I have unrighteous wealth, I will use it to make friends with the man of God. Therefore, the Lord Jesus our eternal friend said, "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." (Luke 16:9). And also, "Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death." (Proverbs 10:2).
Therefore, when the Lord appears in the world a second time to bring salvation to the men of God, this testimony will be fulfilled, "All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:32-40).
"Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Amen.
It is the blessed life: The men of God, who are strangers in the world, live like that the rest of their time in the flesh. Thank you, Lord.