- James 1:22-25 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
Even if victory is predestined, your body has to take action in this world. Therefore, I bless you to take action toward goals and push yourself to the limits of human beings! The Trinity will absolutely be with you and push you and pull you. You’ve seen runners competing in track and field races, right? Both the one running in the front and being chased and the one running from behind and chasing never do anything else. As they are running, they don’t pay attention to having affairs, sleeping, or eating.
As they are running, they don’t watch and enjoy various media. They don’t look no matter what people say. They don’t look even if someone curses or throws something. This is because the person chasing them will catch up if they look away for an instant. You have to take action with focus at least while you are running toward your destination:
- You have to run like someone competing in the Olympics.
- You have to run like when you are being chased by an assailant.
- You have to run like you are being chased by a wild animal in the mountains.
- You have to run like you are being chased by a crazy dog.
- You have to run like you are chasing an animal you are hunting.
- You have to run like you are trying to catch a plane that is about to take off.
- You have to run like you would run before the signal light changes.
If you do, your work, the work of each church and department will all succeed and be victorious.
God, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Son work with ‘the people who run, the people who take action.’ This year is ‘the year of taking action,’ right? You must surely take action. You must take action toward your dream and you have to take action on what you promised. He said: Run toward the destination like you would compete and contend in a race. If you run and take action, the Trinity will push you and pull you. However, you should not do it only during times of tribulations or during special times.
You should contend while doing the things you should do in your daily lives. It means to take action while running fast. A person running in a race must run fast no matter what people next to him say. Only then will they win.
This year, I told you to take action on your own within the Lord, right? Additionally, I told you to take action like you would catch light. If you make the Lord your head, think and discern fast spiritually, you will take action as fast as light. Make sure to remember that you are contending while doing the work you should do in your daily life, make sure to remember that those who are running races must be fast in order to be victorious, and discern fast spiritually and take action swiftly like light.
Opportunities do not remain still for a long time. They move away as quickly as time. That duration of time is ‘brief.’ Therefore, discerning quickly in an instant and taking action is the secret to success. If you want to receive a swift pass that is coming to you and score the goal in an instant, you have to prepare ahead of time in order to receive the ball. In the same way, if you want to discern quickly in an instant and take action at the time of opportunity that comes and goes in an instant, you need only to prepare ahead of time and be ready ahead of time. Therefore, I hope that you will always pray and prepare and then discern in an instant and take action when the opportunity comes.
It is to have discernment in an instant and swift actions! That instant is like the instant [of time] when a rock that is thrown in the air hangs in the air before falling down again. You have to quickly discern, decide, and take action within that time.
That instant is like that moment just before a bird, that lands on a person’s body mistaking it for a tree branch, realizes its mistake and flies off. You have to [discern and take action] like you would discern at that instant and catch the bird. Only the person who prepared [the things that are necessary for] his wish to come true, is on his best behavior, and had instant discernment and swift actions will gain.
Even big things are determined by ‘the discernment and actions in an instant’ in this way. The only one thing is that you should prepare ahead of time while waiting. Just as when someone asks you, “Are you going to do it? Or are you not going to do it?” you have an instant of time to respond, “I will. Or I will not,” everything flows at each moment in ‘instants of time’ That is why I tell you to prepare and think about it ahead of time and when that moment comes up, you should immediately discern, answer, and take action.
‘The opportunities’ are coming before you just like the instant [of time] when you rescue someone who is being carried away by the powerful currents resulting from a flood. You have to prepare ahead of time and when that moment suddenly comes up, you have to move [swiftly] like light, discern in an instant like you have prepared, and then take action!
If it is something you have to surely take action on but you fail to take action swiftly at that instant, that chance might come 1 year later or that chance may come again only after a time, times, and a half a time passes. However, you will have to work harder and with greater difficulty at that moment.
Only those who waited and waited anxiously and prepared ahead of time will receive ‘that instant of opportunity’ without error. The moment the opportunity comes is ‘an instant of time.’ Yet, everyone can discern in an instant and take action. Anyone can discern in an instant and take action because during the long time of waiting, they thought about it ahead of time wondering – “Should I do it? Should I not do it? How much should I do it?” – prepared, and waited. If you fail to take action at the time of opportunity, that opportunity will go and be in a different world.
You have to be prepared ahead of time and anxiously wait for the opportunity to come. Then when ‘the opportunity’ comes before you, you have to hurry up and follow ‘the flow of time in that instant,’ discern in an instant, grab it, and take action. I bless all of you to not forget today’s message but take action toward your dreams and thus, fulfill your dream and fulfill your hopes!