Be Like Servants Waiting after the Wedding Feast

²⁶ If you don’t have power over small things, why worry about everything else?

²⁷ Look how the wild flowers grow! They don’t work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth^[a] wasn’t as well clothed as one of these flowers. ²⁸ God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. Won’t he do even more for you? You have such little faith!

²⁹ Don’t keep worrying about having something to eat or drink. ³⁰ Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father knows what you need. ³¹ But put God’s work first, and these things will be yours as well.

³² My little group of disciples, don’t be afraid! Your Father wants to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell what you have and give the money to the poor. Make yourselves moneybags that never wear out. Make sure your treasure is safe in heaven, where thieves cannot steal it and moths cannot destroy it. ³⁴ Your heart will always be where your treasure is.

³⁵ Be ready and keep your lamps burning ³⁶ just like those servants who wait up for their master to return from a wedding feast. As soon as he comes and knocks, they open the door for him. ³⁷ Servants are fortunate if their master finds them awake and ready when he comes! I promise you that he will get ready and have his servants sit down so he can serve them. ³⁸ Those servants are really fortunate if their master finds them ready, even though he comes late at night or early in the morning. ³⁹ You would surely not let a thief break into your home, if you knew when the thief was coming. ⁴⁰ So always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.

Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time? ⁴³ Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job.

Prayer

Today we have gathered before You again. We are afraid of not being able to return glory to You in Your distress. We are afraid of revealing reckless falsity before Your will. Father, if we are unworthy, at least grant us the sincere heart to be able to humble ourselves and wait for Your mercy. Without Your care, how can we see Your glory on the earth? Without abiding in Your Shim Jung, how can we see the garden granted to us? Father! We have desired from the beginning and pursued the will to become those who can abide in Your heart, harmonize with Your Shim Jung, and live with You.

We sang about You when we first experienced Your Shim Jung. Yet along the way, many of us have been wounded in the heart. Please have sympathy with our plights. We have learned through the process of restoration that the initial determination we made before You must remain in the last garden of restoration. We know too well that the Israelites who did not fall in the wilderness were those whose ardent Shim Jung toward You was unchanging from the time of the departure from Egypt throughout the forty-year course. Those who had the Shim Jung of loyalty toward You received the blessing of the second Israel. At this time, guide us to question whether we are now able to obey Your commands after having pledged and determined before You.

We know that You are lamenting because the last days are approaching, yet there are none who can take responsibility for Your sake. Although we seek You, we behold Your glory, and we call ourselves Your sons, we know that You are grieving because no one appears to take responsibility for any area in Your will, providence and battle course. Father, allow us again to set up the altar of repentance and shed tears of deep regret. We know the Israelites fell in the wilderness by desiring comfort and complaining against You. Since we have gathered here to hold Your hand and not become like them, lead us to participate in Your glory. I eagerly desire and ask this.

Father, have pity now on the thirty million people. Father, have pity on these people. Since the many altars set up for the nation may be far away from the nation and Your will, as long as the providential will is to be accomplished through them, please intervene with them directly. If they do not listen to Your advice, teach them their path even by using whips. I eagerly desire and ask this, loving Father. If there are people who remain to the end, shouldering the responsibility to awaken this sleeping nation, Father, allow even one more life to come into harmony with Your loving Shim Jung. You have mourned for 6,000 years. I eagerly desire and ask, loving Father, that we may become Your sons and daughters who can repent before You, obey You and fight against Satan.

In spite of Your work of the providence, human mistakes brought sighs and grudges. Pacify Your grief with us. Father, we are trying to find Your ideal garden, so please work with us directly and with an eager Shim Jung. I earnestly desire and ask, loving Father, that You will consecrate whatever needs to be consecrated so that we can offer it to You as a glorious sacrifice and keep Your altar clean. As we are now looking for Your sons and daughters who will work hard for the earth, let us not simply hold onto ourselves before You. Loving Father, I sincerely desire and ask that we can feel our own shortcomings for ourselves. Please protect the path of Golgotha to the end. Although we are unworthy to appear before Your altar, let us remain on this course until the end.

Father, although the allowed will and time should be fulfilled and manifested through us, we are worried that if we become unable to serve the will, You will install another prepared people and put us to shame. Father, manifest the day of glory and soothe Your grieving Shim Jung through us. Establish one day of joy, and let us participate in Your joy. I eagerly desire and ask this, loving Father. Although we want to appear before You, we are worried that it may deeply disturb You. Therefore, Father, I eagerly hope that we can go forth for the will of Your desire without hesitation and move according to Your command, so that the day comes soon when we can comfortably trust each other.

Since we are anxious that we may not possess Your Shim Jung and may simply become objects of Your sorrow, let our hearts resemble Your heart. Let our situations converge with Your situation. Let our hopes resemble Your hope. Father, I eagerly desire and ask that You guide us so that in life and in death we live, centered on You, as Your possession. We leave the rest of the hour up to You. Please rule over us as You please. There are righteous people throughout the country who are offering ardent prayers. Please spread over them Your hand of grace and bless them with admonition so that they can experience the heavenly glory. We pray all this in the name of the Lord. Amen.