Luke 6:46-49
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
The power and authority of the old times versus the new times
In John 1:12, it says that those who accepted Jesus as the Messiah received the authority to be children of God at the time of the New Testament. However, the people who should have received that authority but chose not to accept it, lost the authority to be children. And the people who disbelieved in Jesus, saying, “He’s wrong. He’s the antichrist. He’s teaching incorrectly,” failed to ever receive the authority to be children of God. Those people ended up just living in the Old Testament domain.
Look at the primitive people in the world. Because they cannot accept the new culture, they continue to live in primitive ways. Even after 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, and even 7,000 years have passed, they still cannot leave their old ways of life behind. They live suffering 10,000 or even 100,000 times more than if they had developed along with society. In their own way, they’re happy and joyful, but would anybody choose to live with them? The same is true for religious history. Only people who take action to change with the times can live in the domain of the new culture.
God continues to carry out His history even today. At the time of the Advent, when God gives the Word of the times and people believe that Word and follow, then the authority they receive will be even higher than that of becoming God’s children. God gives them the authority to be His beloved brides. They’re given the greatest authority in all 6,000 years of religious history. If there’s any authority above that, it would be the authority of being equal to God. But God cannot give that authority to human beings. Therefore, the authority to be a bride is seen as the ultimate authority.
The power of taking action
You have to know how powerful it is to take action on the Word of God. It’s the power of action. You can tell how much power a person has by the work they do.
Power is something that God gives through the Lord. He doesn’t give power to just anybody or else everybody would become “the Lord”. In John 17:1, Jesus said, “God has given me the power to lead all of mankind to the path of eternal life. He has given the Son the authority to rule over everyone.” In this way, authority comes through the Messiah because you gain eternal life only if you listen to his Words. You have to believe in and follow him; then God will give you that authority.
The Lord’s authority to absolve sins
The Lord’s power and authority are truly tremendous: when he delivers the Word, people come to know about sin and become liberated from sin through repentance. The one and only way for those headed towards eternal Hell to be liberated is for them to listen to the Word of the Messiah and to take action on it. The authority of keeping the Word is so powerful that even ten billion devils in Hell cannot stop it. It is by keeping the Word that people repent and escape from Hell. When you sin, you go down the path of death, but if you pray and repent, you will get out of there.
Receive the authority of the Lord by knowing the Bible correctly
The Old Testament people only knew to wait for the Messiah. Yet, the Messiah had already come. If only they had believed in Jesus and followed, they would have been given great authority. However, because they could not interpret the Bible correctly, they could not receive the Messiah nor receive the authority through him.
The authority comes only through the Messiah who has interpreted the Word accurately. Jesus interpreted the Word, taught his disciples, gave them the answers, fulfilled the prophecies, and personally did everything. He did it because he was the Messiah. That’s why you have to look only to the Messiah to see how he fulfills the Bible.
The hopes of people who misinterpret the Bible and believe incorrectly cannot come true, and their lives will end in vain after living foolishly. No authority can be given to them; even if they receive various types of authority, everything will vanish in time since they cannot take proper action to display that power and authority. By following and taking action on the Word, you will not be harmed or judged. Judgment is the predestined outcome of not taking action. Furthermore, realize that even if God and the Lord have given you a mission, that authority and power will disappear unless you take timely action.
Take action together with the Lord to receive the Lord’s power and authority
To receive the Lord’s power and authority, believe in him and act upon his Word. Taking action is authority. Taking action is power. Apostle Paul said, “I don’t look at what you say. I will simply check how authoritatively you take action.”
The Lord is the head of authority and power. Those who are saved and follow are like body parts that can also exhibit power. By taking action with wisdom and power through following the Lord, may you receive the authority to become God’s bride of love.
