Today's Passage - Matthew 24:15-28

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 24:15-28    "... at that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you ahead of time. So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the wilderness,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east in visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather."             In this passage of scriptures, Jesus quoted Daniel 9:27, which says, "And one who causes desolation will come upon the wing of the abominable temple". Daniel's prophecy was fulfilled once at 168 BC during the Maccabean Dynasty. Back then the king gave offerings to Zeus in the temple and declared the beliefs of Jewish as illegal, which brought desolation to the temple. But Jesus said, this prophecy refers not only to what happened back at Maccabean Dynasty, but also the great tribulation that we will face at His second coming. When Jesus returns, the antichrist will carry out its deceiving works full force. And when the great tribulation comes, situations will be worsened and the elect will be persecuted.             Before the great tribulation comes, there are many sayings of false prophets and many come in His name. If we look at this generation, we have heard many predicting when Jesus Christ is coming again. There was a very famous Christian broadcaster in the bay area, who predicted when the time of Jesus' return, and of course it didn't come to pass. These let us see that, although the antichrist is not here, not the spirit of antichrist is already at work. The day of the Lord is really near, may He help us not to remain Christians that do not understand the will of God.             The Lord asked us to be alert, for He said, "Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather." When we see carcass, we would know that cultures will come; in the same way, when we see all these things happening, we know that the second coming of Jesus is near. May the Lord help us to be alert and of sober mind, for the Lord has revealed His will to us. But we always miss His presence and His works because we are hindered by our own busyness and misconceptions. May the Lord help us to be sensitive to His will and to walk on His path.   Pray with Pastor Tong     Dear Lord, I thank You, for You have revealed things of the future to us so that we can be prepared. May You prepare our hearts so that we can be ready for Your return. I thank You and I pray all these in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Matthew 24:4-14

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 24:4-14   Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.   We've heard about people proclaiming themselves to be God or the second coming Christ in many different places, and they have deceived many to follow them. In 1 John 4:1, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God." As there are many false prophets, how do we discern? John said, "Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ as come in the flesh is from God; but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God." The best way to discern is to discerning them in worship, for we are exalting Jesus during our worship.   In 1 John 3:8, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." When the authority of Jesus manifests on us, the enemy must flee. We need to be careful as we live in this end time, for sufferings are near and persecutions may come anytime because of our faith. When we are in difficult environments as such, first we ought not to lose our faith. We need to understand that the stronger the attack is, the closer we are to the end of darkness and dawn of day is coming soon. Therefore let us boldly resist the work of the evil one. Secondly, if we have to stand before those that persecute us, we don't need to worry about what to say, for the Holy Spirit will put the appropriate words in us. With that being said, we need to learn how to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives, if not we will just be filled with our own words, not His words. May the Lord help us to learn to stay close to God and listen to Him, so that He can prepare our hearts.   This is the end time, there are famines and earthquakes everywhere, and they are becoming both more frequent and more serious. As we witness these natural disasters, hatred among each others, and many false prophets, we truly know that His second coming is near. May the Lord help us to be alert while waiting for His second coming!   Pray with Pastor Tong     Dear Lord, I thank You, for You are the Lord who is with us, speaks to us, and guides us. May You help us to be alert and to rely on You when we face all the difficult circumstances and overcome them. May we live a life that pleases You! I thank you and I pray all these in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Matthew 24:1-3

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 24:1 - 3    Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"             The gospel that we preach is a good news. For when a person receives Christ as his personal lord and savior, he receives the peace that comes from the forgiveness of sins. He would experience the joy and satisfaction of being released from worries and fears. He would also have new purpose and direction in his life. On the other hand, the gospel that we preach is bad news to the world, for Bible clearly states that this world will end and all manmade systems will collapse. One day Jesus Christ, the Lord that died for us and resurrected from death, will come in His power and bring the judgment of God to this world. We live in an era of abundance therefore it is difficult to apprehend the second coming of Jesus, just like it was difficult for the disciples to apprehend that the Lord saying of one day the sanctuary will be thrown down. When Jesus said, "Not one stone here will be left on another," they must be very puzzled and were wondering how could such a magnificent sanctuary being demolished.            Once I was at Israel and visited the remaining walls of the sanctuary. Those stones are very magnificent; taller than a man's height. If the wall is of such magnificence, how much more magnificent the sanctuary was! In other passages of scriptures, Jesus clearly told the disciples "this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened." In other words, not in thousands of year, but in the same generation! It must be unimaginable for the people living at that time. But history informs us that within forty years the Romans troops invade Jerusalem, took everything in the sanctuary and burnt the sanctuary. As the sanctuary was being burnt, the gold on the wall molten and flowed to the cracks of stones, and the Romans separate the stones in order to gather the gold after the fire. Indeed not one stone was left on another.             Regardless how unimaginable the Word of God is, it never fail. Regardless how we refuse to listen or to admit, what the Lord said will be fulfilled. Dear brothers and sisters, do you really know that the Word of God is trustworthy? Come and trust in His Word, for His Word wuill never fail!   Pray with Pastor Tong     Dear Lord, I thank you, for you are a faithful God and Your promises never fail. May You strengthen our faith to trust in Your Word in our daily lives, so that we may live for You. I thank you and I pray all these in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Matthew 23:37-39

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 23:37-39    "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and throw stones in order to kill those who are sent to you. Many times I have wanted to gather your people together. I have wanted to be like a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings. But you would not let me! Look, your house is left empty. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.' "    Many times, on top of Mount Olive, Jesus looked at Jerusalem and felt sad. Many times, He cried for Jerusalem because of the sins of Jerusalem. Jerusalem used to be a metropolis. To Israelis, it was their capital and the busiest commercial city. What were the sins of Jerusalem?     First, it was the sin of turning away from God. How willingly was God waited for Jerusalem! But the people of Jerusalem kept running away from God. It's not only in the past that Israelis rejected God, even today, Jews continue to deny God's grace.   Second, the leadership of Jerusalem committed the sin of not shepherding their people. Every time when God looked at Jerusalem, He didn't just see a city. He saw the flock of sheep inside. They were God's people. Every time when Jesus saw those people, He had mercy on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. These leaders did not shepherd their people according to words of God.  In Ezekiel, God sternly rebuked the leaders of Israelis, "You only take care of yourselves. ... But you do not take care of your flocks." Similarly, the flock of sheep that God asked us to take care, our family members that were given to us to take care, brothers and sisters, gospel friends, have we shepherded them with God's words? If we haven't shepherded them with God's words, I am afraid that God will rebuke us only satisfying ourselves, but not taking care of his people as well.   The sin of Pharisees was constantly glorifying themselves and satisfying themselves. I sometime saw the same phenomena in the church. We don't ask whether God's people will turn back to please God; instead, we focus on our own needs, and we want to be uplifted to feel that we are more spiritual than others. Everyone compares against each other at church, but neglects the fact that God is willing to share His love to everyone around us.  May God open our eyes, let us see that our situation is just like that of Jerusalem back then, which often makes God cry. May God have mercy on us.  Turn back from this situation and welcome Jesus to come into our lives. Let us sincerely say to the Lord, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.", so that the authority of Jesus will be revealed in our hearts.        Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, once again we welcome you into our lives to be our king. Help us to escape from the mistakes of Pharisees, to fully fill the love of God inside of us everyday, and to let it flow out from our lives.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Matthew 23:29-36

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 23:29-36   "How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You build tombs for the prophets. You decorate the graves of the godly. And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of those who lived before us, we wouldn't have done what they did. We wouldn't have helped to kill the prophets.' So you give witness against yourselves. You admit that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets. So finish the sins that those who lived before you started! "You nest of poisonous snakes! How will you escape from being sentenced to hell? ..."   Why did Israelis murder prophets? Because their hearts did not want to follow laws of God. When the prophets, who were sent from God, rebuked them, they rose and killed the prophets. Israelis, whom many were Pharisees, though admitted the sins of their ancestors, did not know that they were on the path of killing prophets as well.   Mankind's biggest weakness is not knowing their weakness.  For example, King David killed a man with a borrowed knife, and then robbed that man's wife. After he sinned, God sent prophet Nathan to confront him. Nathan told a story to David: A rich man in a town had a large number of sheep and cattles. There was a poor man living next to the rich man. The poor man only had one sheep and he treasured it very much, hugging it to sleep every night. One day, the rich man had guest. He didn't take sheep from his flock, but took the treasured sheep from the poor man and killed it for banquet. After David heard it, he was very angry. Nathan said to David: That man is you. David killed a man with a borrowed knife. He robbed someone else's wife. It's just like the parable Nathan said. However, David didn't know his weakness and darkness within.   We are quite used to accuse others' sins, even sins of others' ancestors. But we don't know that we are walking down the same path of sin. Someone said that there were four parts in our hearts: First, it is the part that God knows, and people know as well. Other people know it, God knows it, and we know it as well. Second, it's I know, people don't know. It's our secret. Third, it is people know, I don't know. Those are our shortcomings. We don't see them, but others know them. Last, it is the part that I don't know, others don't know, only God knows. This is the dark side of our life. Thus a man's heart is covered by darkness, unable to see his own shortcomings and sins. We must come before God and open ourselves. Welcome the Holy Spirit to shine upon us so that we will turn back to God and let His grace to be upon us once more.       Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, we thank you, because you are happy to shine upon us, and also happy to cleanse us. May God open our hearts, see the darkness inside, and see how unworthy we are. May God's precious blood cover and cleanse us so that we can be new in Christ again. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Matthew 23:37-39

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 23:37-39    "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and throw stones in order to kill those who are sent to you. Many times I have wanted to gather your people together. I have wanted to be like a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings. But you would not let me! Look, your house is left empty. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.' "    Many times, on top of Mount Olive, Jesus looked at Jerusalem and felt sad. Many times, He cried for Jerusalem because of the sins of Jerusalem. Jerusalem used to be a metropolis. To Israelis, it was their capital and the busiest commercial city. What were the sins of Jerusalem?     First, it was the sin of turning away from God. How willingly was God waited for Jerusalem! But the people of Jerusalem kept running away from God. It's not only in the past that Israelis rejected God, even today, Jews continue to deny God's grace.   Second, the leadership of Jerusalem committed the sin of not shepherding their people. Every time when God looked at Jerusalem, He didn't just see a city. He saw the flock of sheep inside. They were God's people. Every time when Jesus saw those people, He had mercy on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. These leaders did not shepherd their people according to words of God.  In Ezekiel, God sternly rebuked the leaders of Israelis, "You only take care of yourselves. ... But you do not take care of your flocks." Similarly, the flock of sheep that God asked us to take care, our family members that were given to us to take care, brothers and sisters, gospel friends, have we shepherded them with God's words? If we haven't shepherded them with God's words, I am afraid that God will rebuke us only satisfying ourselves, but not taking care of his people as well.   The sin of Pharisees was constantly glorifying themselves and satisfying themselves. I sometime saw the same phenomena in the church. We don't ask whether God's people will turn back to please God; instead, we focus on our own needs, and we want to be uplifted to feel that we are more spiritual than others. Everyone compares against each other at church, but neglects the fact that God is willing to share His love to everyone around us.  May God open our eyes, let us see that our situation is just like that of Jerusalem back then, which often makes God cry. May God have mercy on us.  Turn back from this situation and welcome Jesus to come into our lives. Let us sincerely say to the Lord, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.", so that the authority of Jesus will be revealed in our hearts.        Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, once again we welcome you into our lives to be our king. Help us to escape from the mistakes of Pharisees, to fully fill the love of God inside of us everyday, and to let it flow out from our lives.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Matthew 23:23-28

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 23:23-28    "How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You give God a tenth of your spices, like mint, dill and cummin. But you have not practiced the more important things of the law, like fairness, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first. You blind guides! You remove the smallest insect from your food. But you swallow a whole camel! "How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You clean the outside of the cup and dish. But on the inside you are full of greed. You only want to satisfy yourselves. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish. Then the outside will also be clean. "How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You are like tombs that are painted white. They look beautiful on the outside. But on the inside they are full of the bones of the dead. They are also full of other things that are not pure and clean. It is the same with you. On the outside you seem to be doing what is right. But on the inside you are full of what is wrong. You pretend to be what you are not.       Jesus again pointed out Pharisees' mistake: only paying attention to formalities on the outside, but neglecting the lives in the inside. Isn't that the same when we teach others? When I first started my ministry, I often taught brothers and sister, to do this, to do that, to tithe, to not stop attending meetings, to not stop serving, etc. But I forgot one important thing - Teach brothers and sisters to love God. In fact, love of God is the foundation of everything. The life of Jesus is the foundation of everything. If we only emphasize formalities on the outside, but neglect the live within, our service will bear no fruit.   There is a parable about a country folk. He had never seen faucet and plumbing before. One day, he came to town and saw the faucet on the wall where water came out once faucet was opened. He thought, this really solved my problem. I usually got water from wells. I spent much effort but only got a little of water. Now if I put this faucet on the wall, water would just flow out. He was very happy, and bought a faucet from the hardware store. After returning home, he put the faucet on the wall. But when he opened the faucet, no a single drop came out. He was very disappointed. Truly, he forgot the fact that there was a pipe inside the wall that was providing water. Similarly, we often are like this country folk, paying attention only to the outside, but neglecting the pipe behind the faucet which is the true conduit of water.   Brothers and sisters, we need the life of Jesus inside of us. Without His life, all things on the outside are empty. They are formalities that will not help us at all. May God help us to pay attention the life within. When we teach, do not just teach formalities, but teach about the life of Jesus, because only the life of Jesus can meet our needs!   Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, we thank you. By your teaching of Pharisees, you remind us to not only pay attention to what's on the outside, but to the life within in our daily lives. May the life of Jesus completely fill our hearts so that we can live out the life of Jesus.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Matthew 23:16-22

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 23:16-22   "You say, 'If anyone takes an oath in the name of the temple, it means nothing. But anyone who takes an oath in the name of the gold of the temple must keep the oath.' You are blind and foolish! Which is more important? Is it the gold? Or is it the temple that makes the gold holy? "You also say, 'If anyone takes an oath in the name of the altar, it means nothing. But anyone who takes an oath in the name of the gift on it must keep the oath.' You blind men! Which is more important? Is it the gift? Or is it the altar that makes the gift holy? "So anyone who takes an oath in the name of the altar takes an oath in the name of it and of everything on it. And anyone who takes an oath in the name of the temple takes an oath in the name of it and of the One who lives in it. And anyone who takes an oath in the name of heaven takes an oath in the name of God's throne and of the One who sits on it.     Back in the New Testament time, the Jews liked to take oath. They so casually took oath that they did not care whether an oath was for real or not. To sort this mess out, they made a list, e.g. in verse 17, "If anyone takes an oath in the name of the temple, it means nothing. But anyone who takes an oath in the name of the gold of the temple must keep the oath. ... If anyone takes an oath in the name of the altar, it means nothing. But anyone who takes an oath in the name of the gift on it must keep the oath." Originally, the Old Testament says that you can not take a false oath in the name of the Lord, i.e. people shall not take a false oath. However, by their interpretation, it becomes that as long as one doesn't mentioned the name of the Lord, taking a false oath is not a sin. In fact, heaven is God's throne, earth is His footstool, Jerusalem is God's capital, and even people are creation of God. Our lives are in God's hand. If it is not out of God, we can not even change a single hair to black or white. Heaven, earth, people, things, which one is not in God's hand? As such, we cannot casually take an oath.     It is actually very easy for us to make the same mistake as that of Pharisees. It may not be taking a false oath, but we may also mistakenly believe that God only lives in temples. When we worship, we are careful not to speak lies, because we are in front of God. But when we are in homes, shops, business venues, companies, we think that God is not there, so it is ok to say a little lie. It's like that of Pharisees, as long as not in the name of the God, it is ok to take false a oath. We think we can escape from God, just like that of tinting a car window. The tinting film first blocks the sunlight; also, while people on the inside can see the outside, people on the outside cannot see the inside. So after you close the window, you feel safe. Even though you can escape from the prying eyes of people, you cannot escape from the all watching eyes of God, especially for those who are believers. God will never just be in churches, but in everyone's hearts. The God we believe is the true God of Immanuel. Because of that, He lives inside of us, and we are right before Him every moment. May God help us to live a life of truth every day!   Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, may your spirit help us so that we can live an honest life before You. Because you are true and real, we can live a true and real life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!