Settlement of Accounts for a New Beginning (2 Timothy 4:6-8) 12/31/2023
Answer 25 of the 1st 2nd 3rd RUTC:
Settlement of Accounts for a New Beginning (2 Timothy 4:6-8) 12/31/2023
24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 365 days in a year. Within God’s principle of creation of the universe, we distinguish the days, the months, and the years. Why is that? Among other reasons, it was for us to be able to reflect on the day, the week, and the year and begin anew for the times to come. Spiritually, it may be God’s intention for us to reflect on the past, renew and mature ourselves to prepare our vessel for greater answers and blessings that God has prepared. That is how we can save the world and save the future.
How did we spend the past year? From this point on, we must prepare for the new year and the future. Take time to do the things you haven’t been able to or been pushing off. Reflect on your mistakes or the things you might be lacking in begin a new start. This is why we study history. When we know the past, we can see what we must continue, develop, or change. Only then can we see what we must do today, as well as prepare and challenge for a better future. How must we look back on the past year? Evangelist Paul from the passage concluded his life that he lived by God’s grace into three closings and confessed that he is now departing for the eternal future that God has prepared. May this become our own closing and confession.
- It says, “I have fought the good fight.” The important key here is our spiritual state.
Even unbelievers and the world fight throughout their entire lives. Their fight is for their own accomplishments, greed, and ambition. We must no longer be deceived or stolen from. Who do we become deceived by and who steals from us?
1) Ourselves. It is not other people that steal God’s blessings that we were meant to enjoy. That can never happen.
① Ultimately, it is because of our greed, standards, long-imbedded scars, and wrongful habits created within us. Our greed and standards create a life that is centered around ourselves, not God. The scars that have imprinted and rooted within us create all conflicts and unbelief. Our wrongful habits cause us to fail and even lead us into various addictions and mental illnesses.
② This is why making the gospel become our imprint, root, and nature is so important. If I don’t have a time of listening to God’s word and meditating upon it, the gospel will never be imprinted. Knowing something and imprinting something are different things. If we do not pray holding onto God’ word of the gospel and the covenant within that, then the gospel cannot become rooted in us. As much as we hold onto the Word of the gospel and fight the spiritual battle the gospel will become our nature. This is what we must inspect in ourselves.
2) The world. It says that if anyone loves the world, or anything in the world, then the love for the Father is not in them (1John 2:15). All things of the world come from physical lust, lust of the eye, and the boastful things of this life. All those things will ultimately pass. The world gives momentary physical fun and pleasure. Sometimes, we fall into fear or jealousy before the world that is so big. We compromise with the world or follow the world and end up losing all the spiritual blessings that God has prepared.
3) Satan. It is the corrupted spirit that uses and encourages the two things mentioned above to destroy a life.
① Satan dared to test and tempt Jesus, but Jesus overcame it by the Word. Then, angels came and attended Him (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan continues to test and tempt us, but when we pray with the Word of Christ, he gives up and flees. He no longer has a chance or the space to work.
② That is how the Word and prayers that we hold onto change our imprints, roots, and nature, and we become a bartizan that God has no choice but to work through. Then, the power of transcending time and space and blessing of unprecedented and never-repeated works follow (Psalm 103:19-20, Psalm 62:6-7).
③ If you were not able to enjoy this blessing this year, make a resolution to make the greatest time of meditation and prayer in the new year. When we hold onto the covenant and pray, God will save our family and children (Hannah’s prayer), the nation (Samuel, Esther’s prayer), and change the age. When God used America in the 19th and 20th centuries, there were individuals who prayed – Moody, Lincoln, Wanamaker, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Crosby, and Edison. This is why the 7 bartizans of prayer is important.
- It says, “I have finished the race.” The important key here is the missions that we held onto and carried out this past year.
It is not about how much work we did. It is about whether we held onto the mission that God wants following the guide signs that he showed (mission of 7 guide signs).
1) Mission of Mount Calvary. We must hold onto the blood covenant of Christ, save ourselves, and forgive and save all peoples. By that blood God forgave us, freed us, and made us into His children that will enjoy blessings (Romans 8:1-2, 8:15-17). As much as we enjoy this blessing, we will be revived. With that blessing, we can embrace, overcome, and forgive anyone.
2) Mission of Mount Olives. It is establishing God’s kingdom in our field. All we need to do is wait in faith (Acts 1:3-5).
3) Mission of Mark’s Upper Room. When they looked towards only the power of the Holy Spirit, their eyes opened, mouths opened, and doors opened.
4) Persecution followed, but it did not matter. They went into Antioch and saved multiethnic groups (Acts 11:19-21). This is the mission of saving multiethnic individuals.
5) They created 5 persons 1 team to commission missionaries and support them (Acts 13:1-3). We must enjoy this blessing even more in the new year.
6) God sent these people to Europe to save Europe (Acts 16:6-10). We have been given that mission to save Europe again.
7) Finally, they were given the mission to save Rome, the ends of the earth of that age (Acts 19:21). This is the reason God must bless our church in the new year. We and our remnants are the last runners who must save this crumbling America. Hold accurately onto the absolute covenant and mission of receiving answers and blessings in America, the Rome of this age, in the upcoming year.
- It says, “I have kept the faith.” The important key here is the faith that held onto the gospel. What comes from this is the 7 journeys of the gospel.
People will start to become ashamed of this gospel (Romans 1:16-17), emphasize works and not grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), replace with legalism, mysticism, and charity work (Matthew 16:13-16), and in the end, proclaim syncretism and unification of religions (Revelation 17:1-5).
2) God has left us behind to restore this gospel of grace and save the world with the unique gospel of only Christ (Romans 11:5). We are living as those who have been remained, those who will remain, those who do remain, and those who will leave behind. That is why the remnant movement is important.
3) God will raise us up as the witnesses of uniqueness and recreation as we hold onto and proclaim this unique gospel. Hold firmly onto the One Mind Church’s CVDIP and the absolute blessings we will receive (John 14:12).
Conclusion – Our past is the platform for new works (Isaiah 43:18-20).God will accurately prepare our future and lead us. We must greet the new year just as Paul confessed. And then one day, we will meet an eternal beginning and enjoy the eternal crown that God prepared. May we all prepare that new beginning towards that blessing once again.