LOVING HIS APPEARING

[SW212] 12/18/2015 message notes by
Reverend/Evangelist Susan J. Wynn ©2015

“Loving His Appearing”

Have you loved Jesus Christ’s appearing? If you have, you will not fear when He returns. And He will award you with a crown of righteousness!

But if you have not loved His appearing, you will not be ready for His soon return.

Text:

2Timothy 4:8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

“Appearing” means brightness, manifestation. It refers to what has already taken place — Jesus Christ’s presence and power when He walked the earth, and His light that He shed on all mankind (John 1:9). But it also refers to His brilliant return from heaven to earth, which will be like lightning flashing across the sky (Matthew 24:27).

What is it to love His appearing, then?

I can look back now and say I love God’s promise of Christ’s appearing in Isaiah 9, a great Light to a people living in deep darkness. I was in darkness, but then I saw His great light!

I love God’s promise of Christ’s appearing in Isaiah 60, to know that a light would come and shine upon me, and that His glory and light would even be upon me, so kings would come to the brightness of my rising, the appearing, the manifestation, the brightness of His glory literally inside of me! Glory to God!

I love His appearing as Simeon and Anna did, when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, to be presented and dedicated to the Lord (see Luke 2). They were waiting, the Lord had promised Simeon that he would see it in his lifetime, and God was faithful to His promise. And Anna, who had waited and fasted and prayed, joyfully proclaimed that this little child was the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ!

I was glad when He spoke to me in the night when I had no strength to continue. I was addicted to drugs, beaten until I bled, and He healed me of my addiction.  But I did not love Him then, nor did I thank Him then. But now I can say that I love His appearing to me on that night, 35 years ago.

I loved His appearing when He came to me in the middle of the night 14 years ago, when His presence was manifested to me as He spoke to me and said I was sinking in a sea of doubt. I reached up, and cried out to Him, and shortly after, His presence was manifested to me even more, as He healed me of the incurable disease called MS! Oh, His glory moved all through me!

Not long after that, I loved His appearing when He manifested Himself in a vision to me. I looked up and saw Him on the cross, covered with His own blood. He looked down at me with a love that no words can describe. I saw what He had done for me, in living color. I awoke sobbing, with a deep understanding of His sacrifice on my behalf, and on behalf of all mankind.

I will love His appearing when He brings revival to the church — not a jumping and hollering revival, but a falling-on-your-face and weeping revival as His holiness and majesty is powerfully manifested to the church, and He heals her of her sin.

And I love the promise of His appearing once again, like lighting flashing across the sky. Everyone will see it! That time is coming soon!

What will happen then? Some will be judged and punished. Those who love His appearing will not fear judgment, though, because God has filled them with His perfect love, poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5, 1John 4:18).
Praise God!

Then those who love His appearing will receive a crown of righteousness. It won’t be because of anything we have done, but because of what He has done in us! Praise His name!

Therefore, I love the promise of His soon appearing! I am ready!

What is God’s heart in this scripture? That you be ready!

Why wouldn’t you be ready? If we look at the whole chapter, it’s about standing firm in the truth which is in Christ, and on the Word of God, amidst a time when many are turning away from it.

Paul gives a solemn charge to Timothy, and to all who preach and teach. As he writes, Paul stands before God and Christ, spiritually. He swears it, by Christ’s appearing and His kingdom.

What is Paul’s charge? Preach the Word. Don’t make excuses for it. Don’t apologize for it. Don’t water it down. Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all patience and instruction.

Why? The time has come now when many do not endure sound doctrine, but want only messages that make them feel good when they hear them (ear-tickling messages). And they pile up around themselves heaps of teachers who will teach that way. They turn aside to false teaching, taught by those who have no conscience, who do not love His appearing, but the appearance of money in their coffers. That’s the truth!

But we who love His appearing will be sober, watchful in all things, and will be about our Father’s business (Luke 2:49), evangelizing and ministering, doing what God has ordained and empowered us to do.

We will fight the good fight against the prince of the power of the air, Satan. We will keep the faith despite the tremendous pressure to cave in and dumb down our message.

Beloved, if there is no sword, there is no conviction, there is no surgery, there is no healing.

It is the double-edged sword of God’s unadulterated Word that pierces, divides, and exposes so hearts are convicted and heart surgery can be done by the Holy Ghost. I love to watch Him operate! Don’t you?

He operated on me, and the outcome was LIFE, ABUNDANTLY, ’TIL IT OVERFLOWS TO OTHERS!

ALTAR CALL:

Ask Him to do heart surgery on you this morning! Ask Him to forgive you, then ask Him to fill you with the Holy Ghost, and you, too, will love His appearing. He will manifest Himself to you:

John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”

In Matthew 24 and elsewhere, He commands you to be ready. Let Him fill your heart with His love today, so you love His appearing, because you know you will not face judgment and punishment when He comes. Then you will be ready!

THE LESSER LIGHT

[SW172] 02/07/2015 message notes by
Evangelist Susan J. Wynn ©2015
[NOTE: Much more on the video message; just click on the link to the right of this post.]

“The Lesser Light”

Christ is the great Light who was with the Father before anything was created. And  you were created to be a lesser light who reflects Him.

Text:  Genesis 1:16

Genesis 1:16 God made the two  great lights, the  greater  light  to govern the day, and the lesser  light  to govern the night; He made  the stars also.

As I began to read through the Bible again this week, the Holy Spirit used this verse to stir my spirit. Someone needs to hear this message today. It will free them, it will encourage them, it will challenge them, and God will empower them through it.

The greater light is the sun; the lesser light is the moon. Does the moon have any light of its own? Does it produce light by itself?

No, the moon simply reflects the light of the sun shining on it. It is not a great light in and of itself. But it reflects to such a degree that it sheds light on a dark night when that moon is full.

Well, there’s a lot there! But here’s the difference between Genesis 1:16 versus Jesus Christ and  you. Jesus is the greater Light, but He was not created — He was with the Father before anything was created (John 1:1-2), and the Father assigned Him to create (Hebrews 1:2). And you, beloved, are created to be the lesser light.

When the moon is fully lit outwardly by the sun, it shines brightly. So do you, when you’re full. Your purpose is to shine in the darkness of today’s world, but unlike the moon, you were created to shine 24/7.

When the sun is no longer seen physically, the moon still reflects it. That lets everyone in the world know that the sun is still shining. Otherwise, the moon would not be lit.

The lit moon is evidence of the sun’s existence.

It’s the same with you. The world can’t see Jesus Christ, even though He lives. But He’s still here, and we who reflect Him are evidence of the fact that He is.

The moon has no ability to light itself. It must be lit by the sun.

You have no ability to light yourself up with the Son of God. But the Son lights you up so you reflect Him.

The comparison changes a bit now. Even when it is fully lit by the sun, the moon can only OUTWARDLY reflect the sun’s light. It has no light inside of it.

But when you are full of Jesus Christ, full of the Holy Spirit, you shine brightly FROM WITHIN.

The Lord showed me something that will touch someone today.

In Florida, I was called upon to give my testimony of healing at a church. I prepared, I prayed, but after I gave it, I felt like I had failed.

You see, I was not used to giving my testimony. So I was awkward about giving it.

I felt I missed what the Lord had wanted to say through my testimony. And I was very sad the next morning, as I sat on the couch in my morning prayers and meditations with Jesus.

From my couch, I could see the sun rising and the moon setting. As the moon faded in the light of the sun, I said to the Lord, “Make me disappear like the moon, so all people see is You.” I wept, I prayed, and then I went to Jeff. I told him how I felt, and he said this:

“I did not see failure last night. That is not what I saw. What I saw was the lesser light proclaiming the greater light.”

I felt a great release, and my sadness left me. I am a lesser light. Christ is the great Light. I reflect His light, from the inside of me, because I am full of His light. But I am yet a lesser light.

So I don’t have to be perfect in my presentation of the gospel, or in sharing my testimony.

The greater Light will shine from this lesser light, and by His shining from me, I am His witness. Even though the world can’t see Him, they can see Him in me.

It is so that they will not be able to deny that He is alive, though they can’t see Him.

Jesus is the great Light, the never-before-seen light that came into the world —

John 14:19 “  After a little while  the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me;  because I live, you will live also.

Isaiah 9:2  The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.

He is the Light of the world —

John 8:12   Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “ I am the Light of the world;  he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

But He says we are, too —

Matthew 5:13   “You are the salt of the earth; but  if the salt has become tasteless, how  can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

Matthew 5:14   “You are  the light of the world. A city set on a  hill cannot be hidden; 15  nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a  basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may  see your good works, and  glorify your Father who is in heaven.

But the disciples didn’t reflect Jesus Christ when He walked with them on the earth. They argued about who was the greatest, they were confused by what Jesus spoke to them.

But after Pentecost, they were full of His light. They became His witnesses. Even the Sanhedrin had to admit that it was obvious they had been with Jesus. But Jesus was no longer on the earth.

How could they be with Jesus when He was no longer physically with them? He was in them. He said:

John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the   Helper will not come to you; but if I go,  I will send Him to you.

He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit would come, if they would wait in the city until they were clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49).

Even then —

2Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face,  beholding as in a mirror the  glory of the Lord, are being  transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from  the Lord, the Spirit.

The reflection of His light in us will grow brighter and brighter!

Philippians 2:14   Do all things without  grumbling or disputing;  15 so that you will  prove yourselves to be  blameless and innocent,  children of God above reproach in the midst of a  crooked and perverse generation, among whom you   appear as  lights in the world,  16 holding  fast [forth] the word of life, so that in  the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not  run in vain nor  toil in vain.

Before Pentecost, before the disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit, the disciples grumbled and complained.

After Pentecost, they proved themselves to be just as Paul said — children of God above reproach, lights in the world, holding forth the word of life to a world in desperate need of His light, the light that will reconcile them to God, remove God’s wrath, and give them eternal life with God.

Before, and after. What a change!

Altar call:

If you are lit up with Christ, don’t expect to do everything perfectly. It is necessary for the greater Light to be reflected in a lesser light, so that we are the evidence that He IS, living here and now in you.

I boldly rejoice in my weaknesses —

2Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for  power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather  boast  about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  10 Therefore  I am well content with weaknesses, with  insults, with  distresses, with  persecutions, with  difficulties,  for Christ’s sake; for  when I am weak, then I am strong.

Are you a lesser light so the greater Light can be seen? Examine yourself. Ask God if you are.

And if you don’t get a response, ask Him what He needs to do to make you His lesser light. He’ll not only show you, but reveal to you that He is ready and waiting to change you. All you have to do is agree with Him.

Do you believe that you are something? Do you boast in your ministry, in what you have done?

Galatians 6:3 For  if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Become nothing. Decrease YOUR ministry, and He will increase HIS (John 3:30). And you will see a marked change. You will see His light shine from you, and from the ministry that HE, the greater Light, does through you, the lesser light.

We must get right, to be that lesser light.

We must get right, to be filled with His great Light.

Amen.