In the right place, at the right time

Just as we should perform our daily activities in the proper places, more so those that involve service and worship of God.

By LLOYD RUBEN I. CASTRO

THERE IS A RIGHT place for doing any kind of activity. Doing things in wrong places can cause annoyance and inconvenience not only to other people but even to one’s self. Precisely for it can bring humiliation, disappointment, and, worse, disaster to the one doing it. Take for example those who were accosted or met an accident for jaywalking which could have been avoided had they taken a few more steps to the pedestrian lane or footbridge.

It is essential that we are in the right place, not only for the sake of order and propriety, but also for success and safety.

With regard to serving God, are we in the right place?

Chosen place

Just as we should perform our daily activities in the proper places, more so those that involve service and worship of God.

God the Creator established order in His creation, putting everything in its own place. Also, He is the only authority on how and where we should serve Him.

God chooses the place where His servants worship Him. Through Moses, He instructed the Israelites:

“You are not to offer your sacrifices wherever you choose; you must offer them only in the one place that the Lord will choose in the territory of one of your tribes. Only there are you to offer your sacrifices that are to be burned and do all the other things that I have commanded you.” (Deut. 12:13-14 Good News Bible)

In ancient times, only the people of Israel had the right to worship God because they were His chosen servants (Rom. 9:4). Hence, one had to belong to Israel for God to accept his service.

Yet, God forbade Israel to offer their worship anywhere they chose. He designated a specific place where they should bring their sacrifices or offerings to Him, that is, the Tabernacle (Deut. 12:5 Young’s Literal Translation) and the Temple (II Chr. 29:6-7; Ps. 116:19 GNB).

And concerning the Temple, God commanded His worshipers to “enter the Temple gates with thanksgiving; go into its courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise him” (Ps. 100:4 GNB).

Where the true Christians are

In the Christian era, there is also a particular place God tells us to enter to serve Him. Jesus Christ, His Son, taught, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matt. 7:13-14 New International Version).

"Enter the Temple gates with thanksgiving; go into its cours with praise. Give thanks to him and praise him."

Psalms 100:4

Good News Bible

We are commanded by God through Christ to enter through the “narrow gate” and walk in the “narrow road that leads to life.” The road or way to the Father and to life is Christ:

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’.” (John 14:6 New King James Version)

Again, Jesus is Himself the gate or door: “I am the door; anyone who comes into the fold through me will be safe …” (John 10:9 Revised English Bible).

Christ commands anyone who wants to be saved—and gain eternal life—to enter the fold or flock through Him. The flock is the Church Of Christ:

“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.” (Acts 20:28 Lamsa Translation)

Thus, to enter through and walk in our Lord Jesus Christ is to enter the Church Of Christ, or Iglesia Ni Cristo, which He redeemed with His blood.

Has the right to serve

We need redemption by Christ’s blood to be forgiven of sin (Col. 1:14). And we need to be cleansed from sin so that we may serve God:

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Heb. 9:14 NIV)

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me'."

John 14:6

New King James Version

Such grace we can only receive in the true Church. It is the Church Of Christ that God chose and appointed where we can receive not only the right to serve and worship Him but also the hope of salvation:

“For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body.” (Eph. 5:23 GNB)

Hence, the right place where people should perform the true service of God is definitely the Church Of Christ.

Don’t be left outside

Being in the wrong place spells grave danger when disaster strikes. On Judgment Day, the wrong place to be is outside the Church Of Christ. Concerning this, Christ gives a warning by way of a parable:

“When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ … But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.” (Luke 13:25, 27-28 NKJV)

Should we wait for this to happen to us—to be driven away and denied entry to God’s kingdom or the Holy City (Rev. 21:1-4)? Must we let it happen that there will be no place else to go but the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8)?

Hence, it is best that we are not merely in the right place but that we are in that right place at the right time. The right time to be in the place of salvation—the Church Of Christ—is now:

“Hear what God says: ‘When the time came for me to show you favor, I heard you; when the day arrived for me to save you, I helped you.’ Listen! This is the hour to receive God’s favor; today is the day to be saved!” (II Cor. 6:2 GNB)

This article was originally published in the Pasugo: God’s Message magazine.

For more articles, visit www.pasugo.com.ph