God knows you personally

“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” It was this verse from Revelation 3: 8 that Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider developed in a divine service in Graz (Austria) on Sunday, 14 July 2019.

God knows you

“This is our consolation and that of the whole people of God: He has chosen you for who you are. He wants to lead you into His kingdom,” the Chief Apostle said. “God tells us: I have a personal relationship with you. You are not simply a number or part of a larger whole or a people. It is because I know you that I call you.”

God knows your works

“I know your works,” is a small reminder from God, the Chief Apostle said. Because faith is nothing abstract. True faith necessarily translates into concrete effects. And that means, he added, that faith cannot be greater than the works it produces.

• God knows your prayers. The Lord comes and comforts us and tells us: “I know your prayers. I wasn’t being inattentive; I heard them all.”
• God knows your sacrifices and all the things you do without for His sake. Sometimes the thought might arise: “What’s the point of all this? I am no better off! I could have done without this sacrifice. It hasn’t changed a thing.” God tells us, “Everything you have done out of love for Me, everything you have done for Me, I will bless in return. Don’t worry, I am aware of your sacrifices.”
• God knows all that you do for Him. God said, “I see all that you do in the congregation, for your neighbour, and that you proclaim the gospel. Even if no one sees this and no one thanks you for it, even if it goes completely unnoticed, I know what you do.”
• God knows your struggle. God says, “I know how you are struggling to resist the evil one and to develop the new creature within you. I know your struggle, and I am at your side.”

God knows our weaknesses

“ʻYou have a little strength.’ God knows this this,” the Chief Apostle said.

• We are weak. Jesus explained: “You are the weak ones in this world, you go unnoticed. You are not necessarily perceived as great personalities.”
• We are a small flock. In relation to the world population, we are and remain a small flock in every respect.
• We have a little strength. We notice this: no matter how much we pray we just cannot change the world.
• We are sinners. Despite our efforts and struggles to overcome evil, we constantly fall. What we wanted to do is not what we did. And the good we wanted to do we failed to do.

However, these faults and weaknesses are not decisive. This is where God’s consolation comes in: “I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it. I will lead you into My kingdom, into eternal fellowship with Me.”

We know God

The conditions for this are that we keep the word of God and do not deny His name.

• We know God. That is why we trust in His promise: yes, God loves me; He is with me; He will send His Son and take me to Him.
• We know the work of God. We know what the Son of God has done for us. He came to earth to live and suffer as a human being. He died for us because He loves us.
• We know the power of God. The devil and man did everything in their power to force Jesus to disobey His Father, but they failed: He remained obedient until the end. This is the strength of Jesus Christ. Our strength lies in the fact that God manifests His power in us. The world can do what it wants: we will continue to serve Him, bring our sacrifices and offerings, and proclaim the gospel.
• We know the grace of God. Our victory is not decisive because Jesus Christ will let us participate in His victory: the victory He won on the cross.

The psalmist said: “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you” (Psalm 91: 7). “The faithful will be saved. Let’s not lose our confidence,” the Chief Apostle said in conclusion. “Those who remain faithful until the end will enter the kingdom of God. No one can close the door.”