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While there is light, be a child of light

Now is the judgment of this world; the ruler of this world will be driven out. And if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show how he would die. The crowds answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ lives forever. How can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness will not overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” "When Jesus had said this, he left them and hid himself. (John 12:30-36 Chinese Union Version)

This passage is what Jesus said to the crowd before he went to the cross. Let's look at it first: Now this world is judged, and the king of this world will be driven out. Before Jesus came, sin controlled the world and held it tightly, and there was no righteous person in the whole world. But after Jesus took on the sins of the world and went to the cross, sin was judged and nailed to death, and all its power was taken away. Those who believed in Jesus were no longer controlled by sin. The effect of Jesus' going to the cross was to eliminate all of Satan's corrupt power, and Satan no longer had any authority over those who believed in Jesus.

But when we look at this world now, Satan seems to have not been driven out yet, and the whole world is still under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19). It's not that God cannot control this world. God created the world and has the power to manage the world, but what God needs to do is to first save those who belong to God from the control of Satan, Finally, Satan will be dealt with. If the people who are destined to belong to God are not saved before the final judgment, then these people will be destroyed together with Satan. This is like a war. Before bombarding a city, first notify the people in the city to evacuate. But those who are in prison and cannot get out will be bombed together with the city. This is the same principle. Jesus came to bring the gospel to the world. He first untied the devil's ropes on people, so that those who believe in him can be freed and redeemed. When the last person is saved and the number of people who are saved is reached, God's judgment will come to the world, and all the worldly people in Satan will be judged together with Satan.

For those who believe in Jesus, death is no longer king. Jesus has given authority to the church to overcome all the power of Satan. So sometimes we fail not because we don't know how to do it. It is because we do not believe in God's Word and do things according to our own will that we can overcome Satan. If we rely on ourselves, we cannot overcome Satan, but if we rely on the Holy Spirit, nothing is difficult. For example, we cannot lift a 200-pound stone by our own strength, but if we operate a crane, the robot arm can easily lift the stone and throw it out. The Bible records that no one can tie up a person possessed by a group of demons, not even with chains. No one can subdue him. (Mark 5:3-4) But Jesus only needs to command, and the evil spirit must come out of that person (Mark 5:6-13). After Jesus went to the cross, all those who belong to Christ have abilities beyond our imagination. As long as we know what Christ has done and act according to faith, nothing will fail. "Faith can move mountains" is not false.

Jesus was lifted up from the earth because of the jealousy of the Pharisees and the betrayal of Judas. He was attacked by unrighteous people. Some people are born to belong to Satan. They are ungodly and do not know the Lord Jesus. Satan sneaks into the church through them to do destructive work (Jude 4). God does not redeem such people. Abel and Cain were among those who offered sacrifices before God. When God called Judas, he knew that he would betray the Lord. He was called in a corrupt manner. But Jesus fulfilled God's righteousness through these unrighteous people.

In our faith life, when we have conflicts with others, are contradicted and attacked, it is God who is training us to do righteousness. If you do not do what the wicked do, you may be attacked and framed. This is being lifted up by God, which is the cross. When we experience the cross, we must hold on to our hearts. Sometimes people are weak and their faith slips, and their love is gone, which does not achieve the effect that God wants. When Jesus was lifted up, he prayed for his enemies. David was also lifted up by God because he withstood Saul's attack (lifting the poor from the dunghill). The reward in heaven for withstanding the attacks of the wicked is great. When we have no strength, we should pray: "Lord, I know that enduring the attacks of the wicked is the lesson you prepared for my righteousness in heaven. Please give me the strength to win. Let me love those who cannot love, let me speak words of peace, because your righteousness is like this. You have given me your righteousness, so help me to do your righteousness. Please make your glory on me and glorify your holy name through me."

Jesus paid the price of his life on the cross and redeemed us sinners with his precious blood. Although we are sometimes weak and sinful, we are no longer of the world. Just like a policeman caught by a bad guy, no matter how the bad guy tortures him, his identity is still a policeman, this is an unchangeable fact. After we are redeemed by God, no matter how the devil tempts us, our identity is still the son of God. But the son of God should know his noble identity and hate those lowly behaviors. A noble prince who likes to mix with thieves is trampling on his own identity. The same is true for us. After we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus and have the identity of God's sons, we should continue to learn the etiquette of heaven and live according to the style of heaven. Learning to follow the teachings of the Heavenly Father will make us know more and more what we should do. If we know how great grace it is to be redeemed, we will long for the things in heaven. Those who belong to Jesus must long for righteousness and will be caught by righteousness. Once they are tempted, they will repent.

The life of a Christian is a life of fighting. After believing in the Lord, the Holy Spirit fights against lust (Gal. 5:17). Lust will be activated in us. The Bible says, "The heart wants to do good, but it cannot do it. The lust overcomes us, and we do the evil that we do not want to do. (Rom. 7:18-20)" But we can be victorious by relying on our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 7:25). Jesus has done everything. The Holy Spirit guides and helps us in us. As long as we are willing to obey, the Holy Spirit will help us live a victorious life. If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if you put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Rom 8:13-14). When parents teach their children, if the children are considerate of their parents, they will be obedient. The same is true for the Holy Spirit. The more we are considerate of the Holy Spirit, the more sensitive we will be, and we will be constantly built up inside. True confession is not to confess what we have done every day, but to admit that our inner desires have offended God. Our external behavior is driven by our inner desires. Let the Holy Spirit restrain our inner lusts, and our external behavior will naturally be good. People who belong to Christ should not be willing to obey evil.

But Satan sometimes deceives us and tempts us to be deceived. Many times when evil thoughts come, we do not discern them. But when the Word that can discern evil thoughts is spoken, it will make us understand those evil thoughts. When we are willing to obey God's words, the evil thoughts will disappear. The Lord's Word is life, which can cleanse the church. The Word will stop people from being deceived by the devil and stop our minds from following lust. This process is a process of continuous cleansing and purification. With the Word of God shining in us, when we are willing to act, we can overcome the devil. The process of doing righteousness is a process of fighting. Satan constantly tempts, and God's words constantly illuminate. The Word is light, and walking in the light can drive away the devil.

The crowd asked Jesus: "Isn't Christ eternal? Why is he lifted up?" It can be seen that the crowd knew that lifting up means crucifying. But we see that Jesus' answer seems to be irrelevant. What's going on?

After Jesus was arrested, he did not preach any sermons. He had done everything he should do on earth except crucifying. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the Jews paved the road with clothes, held up palm branches and shouted Hosanna, but after Jesus was arrested, they shouted to crucify him. This tells us: When Jesus was working, there was light, and the Jews were walking in the light, so their hearts were moved and shouted Hosanna. But when darkness took power, Jesus kept silent, and the Jews suddenly fell into a state of wanting to kill Jesus, which was walking in darkness. When Jesus was working, the Jews were wrapped in the grace of Jesus' words, and people were also in the light of his glory; but when Jesus stopped working, the Jews immediately changed their nature. So when the Jews asked, "How can the Son of Man be crucified?" Jesus' answer was actually, "It is you who crucified me." When the light was gone, darkness fell inside the Jews, and they crucified the Lord. Those who walk in darkness will crucify Jesus.

There is a saying in the Bible: "The people who have no revelation are unbridled." If the church today is often moved by God, it is not in darkness. But if our hearts have not been moved for a long time, we dare to do anything, and Jesus dares to be crucified. The way Jesus walks in the church today is "walking with seven stars." The "seven stars" are messengers. If you find many people in the church with pure grace, this is Jesus walking. If you listen to a particularly moving sermon and do it accordingly, then you are following Jesus and are in the light. But now there are many doctrines that are not "stars." Jesus was respected by God but attacked by evil people, and so are we. Don't be discouraged when you are attacked by evil people. This is the Father's respect (if someone serves me, my Father respects him). People who are not respected by the Father will go along with those who attack others and like to attack others.

If the people of Jesus' time had not become children of light, Jesus would have walked in darkness and lost his direction after being arrested. People who believed in Jesus would not shout "Crucify Jesus!" Today's "while there is light" means believing in the teachings of the messenger and becoming a person of Jesus, and "believing in this light" means doing what the Lord commands. The most terrifying thing is that many people now understand the Tao very well, but when they encounter things, they are no different from the worldly people. When we get along with people, we should have the character of Jesus, and we should behave differently in the Lord than secular people. The customs of the world can be respected, but not obeyed.

Only those who believe in and follow the Tao are the children of light. There were many people who listened to Jesus' preaching, but not all of them walked with the light, so those who learned a lot and understood a lot are not necessarily the children of light. The Jews understood the Bible better than us and knew a lot, but they did not follow the Tao of God. They studied the law, but they crucified Jesus through the law. So those who are unwilling to follow the Tao will eventually become people who resist God. Walking in darkness is against the light. The purpose of Jesus' teaching is to make us children of light, not people who cannot find their way in darkness.

The Jews who asked Jesus questions followed Jesus when he could give them the grace they wanted, but when the Pharisees, the leaders of the Jews, caught Jesus, they immediately followed the power. The Jews' fall and the examples in the Bible can make us reflect on ourselves. The Jews' fall is to illuminate us, so that we don't fall.

Now this era is in a period of inspiration, with continuous grace and manna, which are very rich. In this period of inspiration, we continue to listen to the word and do righteousness, and the life in us is also a process of continuous growth and accumulation. This accumulation will become the ability of our hearts to perceive and be sensitive to sin. Paul said: "I do not run as if I were aimless; I do not fight as if I were beating the air. (1 Corinthians 9:26)" Just like boxers, they usually have to practice how to attack, defend and fight back when fighting with others. When we obey the way of grace in inspiration, we are practicing the ability to do righteousness, which is a process of growth. Once darkness comes, it becomes extremely difficult to do the Lord's work, and many graces cannot be released. At this time, the construction of our lives has been finalized, and the church has entered the period of refinement.

Although there is special grace in the period of grace, this grace is the grace of those who obey Jesus' words. These obedient people usually practice and accumulate the words when they hear the words. When refinement comes, in order to build up these obedient people, God will give them special touches, and ponder in them through the words they have heard, and then gain faith. But how can people who don't have the words in their hearts ponder? Therefore, we should take advantage of the light, grace, and preaching to constantly obey the Lord's words to renew ourselves. When we are ready to walk on dangerous paths and are tempted by Satan, we can still strengthen ourselves and maintain a holy heart and not be captured by sin. This is the process of refinement. We should take advantage of the light and become children of light.

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