Yearn for the Lord Coming a “Cloud”, Finally Meet With Him(Part-1)
By Zhen’ai, Canada
In 2015, I accepted the Lord Jesus’ gospel when I worked in Canada. I remember it was my first time to go to the church for meetings, and the brothers and sisters greeted me warmly and shook my hand, which made me feel very warm. Especially, when pastors preached that the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross for the sake of rescuing mankind from the hands of Satan, I was moved by the Lord Jesus’ love and effort for man. And then I thought I was so blessed to believe in the Lord, so I determined to follow Him all my life. From then on, I went to church to attend Sunday worship service every week, went to Sunday school, read the Bible, and was baptized after half a year.
Time passes quickly. Disasters all around the world are getting bigger and bigger. We all felt the day of the Lord was near. And pastors often told us: “‘This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven’ (Acts 1:11). The Lord Jesus left on clouds, so He will return on clouds then. This is the promise that the Lord gave us. It won’t change. We will be raptured into the kingdom of heaven when He returns. So we should be constantly watchful and waiting.” I was taking the words of pastors to heart and waiting for the Lord to descend upon the clouds to take us into the kingdom of heaven.
Afterward, I always met with something frustrating in the work. The employer made excessive demands of me, which made me undertake much pressure. After I went home, my family couldn’t understand me, and we were always bickering over some trivial matters. One time, while I was frying food in the kitchen, my mother was standing next to me and said: “You should put this vegetable and that seasoning first. …” I was annoyed that she told me how to cook, and then I said unpleasantly: “I know how to fry and needn’t your advice.” My mother said: “I’m saying this for your own good. Is it worth getting angry over this? You are a believer in the lord. But how can you even be annoyed over such a small matter.” Hearing her words, I said nothing but thought she was nagging and boring. After that, I regretted my deeds. How did I speak to my mother with anger? I didn’t have the likeness of a Christian! Then I came before the Lord to pray and repent. However, I still lost my temper when I met such a thing next time.
I thought I could gain comfort by going to the church to listen to sermons. But the sermons of pastors couldn’t solve my problem either. On the contrary, the more I listened the more I felt dry, and I felt that it did not benefit me spiritually. After the worship service, the brothers and sisters came together for selling products to each other or talking about their own affairs and children. What’s more, even some brothers wanted to stand for Parliament, and then they went to the church to solicit votes. I saw most brothers and sisters went to the church not for truly worshiping the Lord but for their own purpose and interest. I couldn’t help losing heart at the condition of the church. And then on account of moving to other place, I went to a local church. But the condition of the church was the same and I gained nothing after one gathering, Therefore, I gradually went to church less. Yet, emptiness of the soul caused me to feel more and more sad and lonely, so I fervently hoped to attain the Lord’s aid. Even sometimes I looked up at the white clouds in the sky and thought: Which cloud will the Lord come with? If He comes with clouds to receive us soon, I won’t need to live in pain and depression.
In March of 2017, when I had cafe with Sister Mo of the church, I met Brother Peter by chance. I saw that Brother Peter received the Bible purely by talking and the experiences he talked about were practical. I could be edified by his fellowship. From his speech and behavior, I believed he was a true believer. Then we exchanged the contact information. Over the next couple of days, I frequently consulted Brother Peter and every time his explanation could benefit me.
One time, Brother Peter invited us to attend the Bible study, and then I met Sister Jane and Lucy. During the period of attending the Bible study, I referred to the condition of the church. After hearing my words, Sister Jane said: “Why is the church in a state of widespread desolation now? Let’s think back to the time of the end of the Age of Law. The temple, once so full of Jehovah’s glory, became a place where believers exchanged money and sold oxen, sheep and doves, became a den of thieves. Worse still, the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees didn’t hold to God’s laws, didn’t follow Jehovah God’s teachings and didn’t have Jehovah God’s disciplining. This is because there was no work of the Holy Spirit in the temple, and the Lord Jesus did His new work.” Then Sister Lucy continued saying: “If we want to measure whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit in a church, we should evaluate it according to whether we can attain the provision of life and keep gaining a new understanding of God. If we just listen to some letters and rules, have no new understanding of God and can’t resolve the practical problems, then there will be no work of the Holy Spirit.” After hearing the fellowship of the sisters, I thought: That’s right. We listen to pastors in the church, but we can’t obtain a new light or feel gratified. Besides, the believers’ lives don’t receive any supply, so we are thirsty in spirit and even the church becomes a place of trade. Now I understand that this is because there is no work of the Holy Spirit in the temple. I feel the fellowship of the two sisters, which is enlightening, makes my heart enlightened. Such a Bible study meeting is very helpful toward me, so I should consult them more.
One day, Sister Li of the church gave me a call and asked why I didn’t go to the church for meetings. Then I told her I attended the Bible study in a house church. Hearing that, she said in surprise: “A house church? Pastors often tell us not to listen to the sermons from other churches. In addition, the preachers of a house church are not be trained in seminaries and their sermons are not higher than pastors’. So you’d better not go there.” I said: “I have attended the Bible study with them for several times, and their fellowships benefit me a lot.” But Sister Li still constantly tried to persuade me not to go there to listen to sermons. After hanging up the telephone, I felt a little worried in my heart. Sisters Lucy and other sister fellowshiped well, but I wondered whether I should listen to their sermons. I told my anxiety to Sister Mo, and then she said: “I think the fellowships of Sister Lucy and other sister are full of light and of the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment and illumination, and are good for our life, so we should listen to them. Pastors are trained in seminaries, but do they understand the Lord’s will? Do their fellowships have enlightenment? We believe in God, and can’t only listen to and believe people’s words.” Sister Mo’s words were quite reasonable, so I determined to continue attending the Bible study with them.
When we read the Bible and attended the meeting, Sister Jane and Lucy integrated the Bible and fellowshiped about the topic about who are successful and who are failures in their belief in God. Sister Jane said: “The Pharisees in the Age of Law were familiar with the Bible and served Jehovah God in the temple. But when the Lord Jesus came to do His work, they crazily blasphemed and opposed Him because His work didn’t accord with their notions, and finally nailed Him to the cross, which caused them to incur God’s punishment. We can understand from the failure of the Pharisees: As regards the thing about welcoming the Lord Jesus’ return, we can’t arbitrarily delineate God’s work based upon our conceptions and illusions, much less can we listen to someone. Instead, we should pray and seek for the Lord’s will, and moreover learn to distinguish, being wise virgins. In that case, we won’t miss the chance to welcome the Lord’s return.” Through the two sisters’ fellowships, I had the way to practice about the thing of welcoming the Lord’s return. I should learn to listen to God’s voice, which was in line with the Lord’s intention. By discussing together, I gradually had less suspicion and vigilance.
To be continue…
Source from: Find the shepherd
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