Dr.  Ronald Powell     

The Heavenly Canaan is for those who obey God!

The Bible teaches us about obedience, meaning that we, God's people, should become obedient enough to be able to go where God wants us to go and to live where God wants us to live.

Heb 3:14-18 『We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?』

Heb 4:8-11 『There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.』

If we think and try to go to a place where we want to go, rather than going to a place where God wants us to, we can easily fall into a trap of following the Israelites' example of disobedience. Those who try to do everything their own way tend to judge their circumstances according to their own standards. As a result, they are always full of complaints and fail to obey God. When we try to do something our own way, our hearts cannot help but become stubborn.

During the Israelites' 40-year journey in the desert, God taught them the necessity of obedience. Those who did not obey God's word came to sin and their bodies fell in the desert. Only those who obeyed God in faith were able to enter Canaan, the land of rest. Through the past history, we need to examine ourselves to see if we are still stubbornly thinking only about our physical lives and are hesitating to go where God wants us to go. If we think first what the will of Father and Mother is, all of our stubbornness will naturally disappear.

We cannot be disobedient if we try to go where God wants us to go. Let us pray to God, 'I like any place, whether it is a barren land or a far-off country. Let me go wherever You want me to go and do whatever You want me to do.'

If we think that we are now where God wants us to be, there is nothing to complain about. No matter how poor the circumstances of our situation are, we should devote ourselves fully to the work of God, believing this: 'God has sent me to this place because He wants me to improve my circumstances here little by little.' Then we will gain ten more talents, a hundred, a thousand or even ten thousand more talents.

Where God wants us to go, and what God wants us to do

As God's people, we, too, should benefit or enrich the lives of others through our lives. When we read the story of the five green peas, we can realize that living a life for the benefit of others is an important condition to bear precious fruit. The fruit of the gospel is not something that can be produced as a result of our desire for it, but it is a gift given to us by God when we do what God wants us to do in a place where God wants us to be.

God wants us to go out into the whole world and preach the gospel to all nations.

Mt 28:18-20 『Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."』

Mk 16:15 『He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."』

Just going around the world does not mean going where God wants us to go. Through the words of God, we can see that the places where God ultimately wants us to go are all the regions where there are still many people who have neither heard nor seen the words of God. Going to them all and preaching the gospel to them is going to the place where God wants us to go and doing what God wants us to do.

Isa 14:24 『The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand."』

Surely, as God has planned, so it will be, and as He has purposed, so it will stand. Since people try to judge and guess the work of God on the basis of their own knowledge, it seems impossible and they become afraid that they will not be able to accomplish it. However, what God has planned is to be fulfilled without fail. God's purpose is supposed to be accomplished by any means and through any person.

Going where we want to go, doing what we desire, and insisting on our own way-these things cause us to have an arrogant mind. If we are willing to obey and carry out whatever God pleases, it will surely be accomplished. So, it is God's will for us to have faith and follow Him.

Let us reflect on our faith toward God again and examine ourselves to see if our faith is growing properly. Is our faith not being ruined by the arrogant thought, 'I have much knowledge now,' even though we had an obedient faith before? We all need to think about it. 'Please lead me where You want me to go, not where I want to go!' With this kind of faith, let us accomplish the work of the gospel of God graciously.

The life of faith in accordance with the will of God

An obedient faith is the greatest faith of all. We must have the greatest faith by obeying the will of God and live according to His will.

1 Pe 4:1-8 『. . . As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do-living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry . . . The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.』

How-ever, if we earnestly pray to God to send us where He wants us to go, as the last pea did, God will lead us to a place where He wants us to go and to those whom He wants us to preach to. Even while walking down the street, we will hear God's voice saying, "Cast the rope of salvation to them quickly!"

Let us not leave those souls alone. There are so many people around us whom we can never meet again once we pass them by. Today, like every other day, God will lead our steps. So, let us not just look indifferently at people passing us by, but think that God has sent us here today because He wants us to preach to them, and devote ourselves all the more to the work of saving souls.