We’re being Transformed to Love the Lord’s Appearing and not Love the Present Age

As believers in Christ who love the Lord’s appearing, we need to not be fashioned according to this age but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, and we should not love the present age but love the Lord and take sides with Him.

May the Lord have mercy on us and show us a vision of what the world is. On one hand, God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son to come and die for us so that, whoever believes into Him, would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

God loved the world. He did not love the world system but the people that live in the world.

God loves the fallen human race, the men created in His image who were usurped by Satan; He doesn’t love the system that Satan created but He does love those in His image and according to His likeness.

On the other hand, God hates the world, the system that Satan made to distract man from God.

Satan created this kosmos, a world system that usurps the man created by God in His image and for His purpose.

Instead of man enjoying God and worshipping God, now man worships and serves things such as money, fame, social media, job, sports, entertainment, education, and many other things of this world.

God loves man, but He hates the satanic world system.

We as believers in Christ have been saved by God out of the world, but we still live in the world.

The Lord Jesus prayed in John 17 that His request is not that the Father would take us out of the world but that we would be sanctified so that we may be sons of our holy Father.

We need to be sanctified in the truth, which is the word of God.

The only One that is not systematized by Satan to be part of his world system is the Triune God, and the only thing that Satan cannot touch is the word of God.

We need to come to the Triune God, even run to the Triune God to take refuge in Him, and we need to remain in the word of God.

The more we read the Bible, even according to a schedule and with the exercise of our spirit, the more we are sanctified, we love the Lord, and the world loses its grip on us.

If we do not contact the Lord and do not read the Bible, the world becomes so attractive and attracting to us.

Yes, the world is attractive, and yes, there are so many things that seem to be so enjoyable in the world, but we as believers in Christ love the Lord and His appearing, and this world hates Him, so we cannot love the world.

The world has never received the Lord and His followers; rather, even though today the world seems to accept us and tolerate us, one day the zenith of the progress in the world will be open rebellion against God and persecution of the followers of the Lord Jesus.

Until then, we as believers in Christ need to just love the Lord and His appearing, and we need to not love the present age but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Amen!

Being those who Love the Lord’s Appearing and do not love the Present age

Loving the Lord’s appearing is in contrast to loving the present age; we either love the present age or we love the Lord’s appearing (2 Tim. 4:8, 10).

What is this “age” that the Bible speaks of?

The same word is used in Rom. 12:2 where Paul exhorts us not to be fashioned according to this age but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind.

This word, age, can be translated as “modern”; it refers to the present, practical part of the world that we contact.

Each one of us contacts the present age; we don’t contact the entire world, which spans from the beginning to the end, but the present instance of the world today.

There’s a certain practical, present part of the world that we contact; it is the world that surrounds us, attracts us, and tempts us.

Cannot contact the world unless we contact the present age of the world.

An age is, therefore, a section, a part, or an aspect of the world system of Satan, which is used by him to usurp and occupy people, keeping them away from God and His purpose (1 John 5:19; 2:15).

The world is the entire organization used by Satan to usurp man; an age is a section, an aspect, the present and modern appearance of the world, which is used by Satan to usurp us and keep us from fulfilling God’s purpose.

Eph. 2:2 refers to the “age of this world”; this is the age that we contact, and this is the age that possesses us and occupies us.

We should not think we are immune to loving the world, for the present age is very strong, enticing, and corrupting.

Even Demas, a co-worker of Paul, abandoned the apostle because he loved the present age (2 Tim. 4:10).

Paul charged Timothy to come to him quickly, for Demas has abandoned him, having loved the present age, and has gone to Thessalonica.

Demas loved the present world at his time, that particular age, so he left the apostle. Loving the present age, the world which we see now before our eyes, is in contrast to loving the Lord’s appearing.

The cosmos created by Satan, the world system that he designed, is composed of many ages.

Almost every decade is a different age, and the present age that surrounds us, attracts us, and tempts us is the present instance or aspect of the world.

Some think that Demas was from Thessalonica and went back there after he forsook Paul; whether he was a native from there or not, he went there because he loved the world and forsook the apostle.

Demas was Paul’s co-worker; he must have seen the same vision that Paul saw and he must have taken the same way that Paul took, speaking the same thing that Paul spoke, and loved the Lord very much, but he abandoned Paul because he loved the present age.

Wow, a co-worker of the apostle who had the ministry of the age and did the work one with the Lord, loved the present age and abandoned Paul.

We should not have too much confidence in ourselves, for at this moment we may love the Lord and the church, remaining in the enjoyment of Christ and being in the church life, but the present age can be so attractive and luring that we may leave the church life because we love the present age. Oh Lord!

May we trust not in ourselves but in the Lord, and may we come to the word of God day by day to be renewed in our mind so that we may be transformed, not being fashioned according to this age. People change.

We never know what is going on inside of people and how much they inwardly appreciate things of the world and are attracted by the present age, but at one point people may change, all of a sudden.

Once someone leaves the process of being transformed by the renewing of the mind, though he may be a co-worker and serving the Lord faithfully in many ways and with many things, he may abandon everything for the love of this age.

May the Lord have mercy on us.

May we be those who love the Lord and His appearing, and may we not love the present age.

Lord Jesus, we give ourselves to just love You. We love You, Lord, and we do not love the present age. We love You and we open to You. We do not trust in ourselves; our trust is in You and in Your word. We give ourselves not only to serve You and be in the church life but also to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Oh Lord, our mind! May our mind be renewed in and by Your holy word. Sanctify us in the truth. Draw us, Lord, and cause us to love You more. May we love You to such an extent that the present age is no longer attractive to us. Amen, dear Lord Jesus, have mercy on us! Save us from abandoning the church life or the ministry for the love of the present age. Oh Lord, You know what is going on in the depths of our being. You know what aspect of this world draws us and appeals to us. We open to You about these matters. We want to be those who love the Lord and His appearing and not love the present age!

Not being Fashioned according to this Age but being Transformed by the Renewing of the Mind to take Sides with God

What is the way for us not to love the present age?

Is it by separating ourselves from the world and going to a place where the world cannot reach us and the modern technology and conveniences are not accessible to us?

Is it by depriving ourselves of these things so that we “buffet our body” and suffer “in God’s name”?

The way can be seen in Rom. 12:2, that is, to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

We should not be fashioned according to the present age but be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

When we were little children, there was a particular present age, and today we live in a different age; an age denotes the present, practical part of the world.

The present age stands in opposition to the Body life and replaces the life of the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:4-5).

The first thing we need to do today in order to not be fashioned according to this age and not love the present age is to present our bodies as a living sacrifice for the church life.

We need to go to the meetings of the church and place ourselves where the saints are.

We cannot say that we love the Lord but do not attend the meetings of the church.

For us to live the church life and participate in the building up of the church, thus fulfilling God’s will, we need to first consecrate our bodies.

We live in our bodies, and where our body is, that’s where our whole being is.

No matter how busy we may be, we need to come to the meeting.

As soon as we are in the meeting with the saints, even if we are so tired and worn out by the things we had to take care of during the day, the Lord has a way to renew us a little bit.

And when we’re in the meeting, we need to open to the Lord to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

The way for us to not be fashioned according to this age is by the renewing of our mind.

To be fashioned according to this age is to adopt the modern fashions of this present age.

But to be transformed is to allow an organic element, the element of God contained in the word of God, to be wrought into our being, thus producing an inward, metabolic change.

There has to be a metabolic change taking place in our being so that our taste, preference, seeking, and desire are different.

As we come to the Lord in His word, we realize that the present age opposes the church, and we will not be fashioned according to it.

Rather, we will give ourselves to live in the Body of Christ and we will be transformed by the renewing of the mind.

As we are being renewed in our mind and therefore transformed in our soul, we will prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

The will of God here refers not merely to our personal human situations or things such as our marriage, our job, our housing, etc, but the Body life, the reality of the Body of Christ.

May we love the Lord and His appearing and not love the present age by giving ourselves to Him to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

It is true that we need the necessities of this life; however, as the Lord told us in Matt. 6:33, if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added to us.

May we not adopt the modern fashions of the present age but allow the element of God to be wrought into our being to have an inward, metabolic change leading to our transformation.

If we love the present age, we will take sides with the world, but if we love the Lord’s appearing, we will take sides with Him and fight with Him for His interests (2 Tim. 4:1-2, 4-8, 10).

May we be before the Lord concerning our daily living, our inclinations, our desires, our seeking, and our time.

May we open to Him concerning the things of the world that attract us, the things we like to do and watch, and the things we spend time with; may we just ask Him to renew us and transform us.

And may we give ourselves to be in the meetings of the church, being a living sacrifice for the church life so that we may be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

And may we pray especially for our dear young people who are so attracted and distracted by the present age, that the Lord would gain them while they are young.

May we pray for our dear young ones to take sides with the Lord and fight with Him for His interests as they love the Lord and His appearing and not love the present age.

Lord Jesus, we love You and we take sides with You, fighting one with You for Your interests on the earth. We are not here for ourselves or for the world. We give ourselves to You body, soul, and spirit. We want to be burning in spirit, serving the Lord. We want to be transformed in our soul by the renewing of the mind so that we may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well-pleasing and perfect. We offer our body, Lord, as a living sacrifice to be in the meetings of the church. Renew our mind. Transform us in our soul. Fill us every day, Lord, and cause us to be transformed so that we may have a long-lasting desire to be built up in the Body of Christ. Save us from being fashioned according to this age. We want to live in the Body of Christ, living in the reality of the Body and loving the Lord’s appearing!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers in the message for this week, and portions from, Truth Lessons – Level Three, vol. 4, lsn. 61 (msg. 20) by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Making Ourselves Ready for the Lord’s Coming (2023 ICSC), week 1, entitled, Making ourselves Ready for the Lord’s Coming by Loving His Appearing and Not Loving the Present Age.
• Further reading on this topic:
  – Love the Lord Jesus, Rejoice and Exult, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – 2 Timothy 2:22: Flee Lusts and Pursue Christ, article via, Bibles for America blog.
  – The consecration of our bodies being a matter of not conforming to this age, a portion from, Messages Given During the Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry (2 volume set), Chapter 51, by Watchman Nee/Witness Lee.
  – Overcoming the Present Evil Age, via, Living to Him.
  – Not conformed to this age but transformed by the renewing of the mind for the building up of the Body, a portion from, The Heavenly Vision, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee.
  – Loving the Lord’s Appearing & Not Loving the Present Age, a good sharing via youtube.
  – The issue of the decline – loving the present age, a portion from, Life-Study of 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon, Chapter 20.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – God’s intention is to have us / All conformed to His dear Son; / Thus a work of transformation / By the Spirit must be done. / Lord, transform us to Thine image / In emotion, mind, and will; / Saturate us with Thy Spirit, / All our being wholly fill. (Hymns #750 stanza 1 and chorus)
  – God is holy in His nature, / Holiness is what He is. / In this way He sanctified us, / Makes our nature one with His. / Spreading from our quickened spirit, / He renews each inward part, / Moving into all our being, / Making home in all our heart. (Hymns #1203 stanza 3)
  – The voice of my Beloved, / Behold, He quickly comes; / He leaps upon the mountains, / And o’er the hills He runs. / The signs of His appearing / Are seen on every side; / The Bridegroom soon is coming / To claim His loving Bride. / How real that He is coming— / Come quickly, Lord, again! / We watch for His appearing, / His precious Word amen. / Oh, don’t delay His coming, / Pray without ceasing, pray; / He’s eagerly awaiting / That coming wedding day. (Hymns #1323 stanzas 1-2)