The Next Journey: After Receiving Your Salvation in Christ Jesus, Take This Pilgrimage as You Sojourn on Earth

By Weng Fong Toh

From the early 1950s through the twenty-first century, it has become more and more difficult for Christians, who face the daily pressures of the world, to keep the living and active Word of God close to their hearts. With the imminent first return of Christs second comingthe rapture of the Christian churchit is imperative that Christians get their walk right with God. In The Next Journey, author Weng-Fong Toh both warns and encourages Christians to take their individual spiritual pilgrimage seriouslyfrom their spiritual birth in Christ to the judgment seat of Christ.

W.F. Toh offers a guide for Christians as they travel on their Next Journey, and the book serves to instruct, encourage, and warn Christians about the importance of loving the Lord Jesus Christ as they live their remaining days on earth. The Next Journey communicates why Christians need to develop a deep personal relationship with God after receiving their salvation in Christ Jesus and how they can take this pilgrimage from their spiritual birth to the judgment seat of Christ.

Covering theology with depth and dimension, The Next Journey offers a thorough analysis of topics essential for believers to become more spiritually mature. With supporting Scripture, it helps Christians ascend to higher levels of knowledge in the Word of God in order to obtain a more intimate and spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781512722734

Weng Fong Toh

Weng-Fong Toh, an ordinary Christian, lives with his wife in Singapore and is a long-time member of Grace Baptist Church, Singapore. This is his first book.

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Copyright © 2015 Weng-Fong Toh.

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Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version. © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Other versions include the New American Standard Bible ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by Lockman Foundation. Used by permission (www.Lockman.org); the Holy Bible, New International Version © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House; Disciple’s Study Bible (NIV) copyright © 1988 by Holman Bible Publishers. All rights ® reserved. International Copyright secured; ® Life Application Study Bible, New International Version, Copyright © 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2005 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise identified, word definitions are from Reader’s Digest Universal Dictionary, First Edition, Copyright © 1987. The Reader’s Digest Association Limited. Reprinted with amendments 1990.

Weng-Fong Toh

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-2245-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2246-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2273-4 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/01/2015

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

1 The Next Journey to Spiritual Maturity

The Next Journey—What Is It?

The Next Journey—Is It Biblical?

The Journey I Never Knew Before—a Brief Account

2 The Eternal Word of God—The Lifeline of Christians

Jesus, the Word of God—What Is He to You?

The Significance of God’s Word

3 The Christian’s Spiritual Warfare

The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Fallen Angels

The Strengths and Weaknesses of Christians

The Creation of Angels

The Sins of Lucifer, The Cherub

The Rebellion and Expulsion of Lucifer from Heaven

Satan’s War on the Nation of Israel and the Christian Church

Satan’s Strategy to Battle the Christian Church

The Evils of Satan’s Strategy

The Christian’s All-powerful Defender—The Triune God

4 The Magnificent Armor of God

God’s Demand for Us to be Strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might

God’s Armor as Mentioned in the Old Testament

The Roman Soldier’s Armor

The Seven Parts of the Armor of Christ

5 The Journey Starts …

A Spiritual Pilgrimage on Earth

The Starting Point of Your Next Journey

Christ’s Three Great Commandments

The First and the Greatest Commandment Is for Us to Love Him

You Shall Love the Lord Your God with All Your Mind

6 Christ’s Great Commandments for Human Relationships

The Second Great Commandment Is for Us to Love Others

The Third Great Commandment Is for Us to Love One Another

7 The Knowledge of the Triune God

God the Father (First Person in the Trinity)

Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Second Person in the Trinity)

God the Holy Spirit (Third Person in the Trinity)

The Attributes of the Triune God

8 The True Worshipper of God

Individual Worship

Family Worship—A Necessity in a Christian Home

God’s House of Worship

The True Worshipper Sought by the Lord Jesus

Preparing Our Hearts, Minds, and Spirits in Worshipping God

Worshipping God the Father in Spirit and in Truth

9 The Fear of the Lord

What Must Christians Do to Fear God?

The Blessings of God in Fearing Him

10 The Humility of Jesus Christ

Understanding the Reasons Why Jesus Came

Christ’s Teachings on Humility before Greatness

Christ’s Teachings on Humility in Servanthood

11 The Fruit of the Holy Spirit

The Desire to Live According to Christ’s Likeness

Understanding the Nine Characteristics of Jesus Christ

12 Be Holy for I Am Holy

The Sanctification of the Spirit in Us

Conducting Ourselves in the Holiness of the Most High, Christ Jesus

Conducting Ourselves in the Godliness of Christ

Handling Human Conflicts

Keeping the Heart Holy

God’s Three Commandments to Rebuke the World’s Moral Systems

13 The Rapture of the Church

14 The Judgment Seat of Christ

Judgment on the Quality of Our Works

Judgment on Our Lifestyles

15 What If You Do Not Take the Next Journey?

References

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, I thank the triune God for helping me to attain a fairly high level of spiritual maturity. I know I still have a long way to go to reach deeper spiritual maturity.

Secondly, I wish to thank the many Christian writers whose books have guided me in reaching spiritual maturity, especially during my early childhood years in Christ. I also offer my sincere appreciation to all the great Christian theologians, whose many years of hard work and love for the Holy Scriptures have not gone unnoticed by many of us. They have assisted us ordinary Christians in understanding the Word of God better through the many different study Bibles available today. Thank you. Next, I extend my thanks to all the Christian publishers for spreading the gospel of salvation by allowing millions of Christians worldwide to have access to the Christian Holy Scriptures, as well as other Christian publications, in different translations and languages.

Finally, I would like to introduce to you a Christian brother, an experienced spiritual warrior, my Bible study teacher and spiritual mentor for more than thirty-five years. He is Dr. E .N. Poulson, a Southern Baptist Christian who came to Singapore with his family in the 1950s. To those of us who have known Dr. P (as he is fondly called) and his wife for many years, it is no secret that he serves our Lord Jesus Christ best in the teaching and preaching of the Word of God. During the years when he was requested by Grace Baptist Church to serve as pastor, he already had his hands full with his teaching duties at the Singapore Bible College. Yet, he faithfully pastored the church while longing to pass the baton of pastorship to someone truly worthy of His calling so that he could focus on teaching and preaching God’s Word. A noble characteristic of his that is worth mentioning is that he would put all the monetary gifts he received from Grace Baptist Church straight into the church’s offering bags every month. He is never after fame or riches.

Dr. Poulson, who is in his late eighties, still occasionally preaches God’s Word at Grace Baptist Church and also at various churches all over Singapore whenever he is invited. He is still teaching and preaching God’s eternal Word with fear and trembling in his heart. Despite his many years of experience in the teaching and preaching of God’s Word, this faithful servant of the Most High never once felt that the pair of shoes God has given him to wear is too small for his feet. If he did, he would have done things his own way to enlarge those shoes. His goal, I believe, is to teach and guide Grace Baptist Church to love Christ and obey the Word of God. Dr. Poulson is indeed a very humble servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly, the number of such faithful servants of our Lord is getting smaller as time goes by. It is therefore our responsibility to seek God’s heart in giving us such faithful preachers and teachers of the Holy Scripture from the next generation of Christians. Let us offer our children and grandchildren to be God’s servants to do His will for the remaining years prior to the rapture of His church. Those of us who love Christ Jesus, His Word, and His church will surely do this little service. Now is the time in the history of the church when the Word of God should be given its rightful place in the heart of every individual Christian, Christian home, and Christian church. These are the three spiritual pillars of our Christian faith.

PREFACE

Before I started writing this book, my initial intention was to pen just a few pages of encouragement for Christian relatives and friends who wanted to ascend to higher levels in the knowledge of the Word of God and to attain spiritual maturity by seeking an intimate spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It was also written especially for those who have little children and hope to teach them to love Christ by obeying His teachings in the Holy Bible. Hence, in the first place, it was never my intention to write a book of such depth and dimension. If my motive in writing was to enrich myself through the sale of this book, I would fail miserably even before I started, for I do not possess the kinds of paper qualifications and the years of practical experience of a well-seasoned servant of the Most High. I am, after all, just an ordinary Christian and a member of Grace Baptist Church, Singapore (an affiliated member of the Southern Baptist Convention, United States).

Why did I choose to write on this topic, The Next Journey? I do not know the reason myself. It also seemed like I was unable to control the choice of subtopics at all—they came to me one at a time. As I continued writing, I felt, more and more, the almighty and eternal Spirit of God, who resides in my heart, prompting, leading, guiding, and helping me in my writing. There were a few occasions when I thought I would be coming close to the conclusion of the book, yet the almighty God put into my heart another subtopic to be included. I had this unusual interruption not once but three times. In addition to these interruptions, there were also problems caused by unexpected personal circumstances that were beyond my control and other difficulties that would not be a problem to an experienced writer and an expert in the written English language. Nevertheless, I wish to emphasize that with regard to theology (i.e., Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God), I have no problems putting my thoughts into words.

There were times I would ask God, Why me, Lord? Why me? There are many excellent Christian writers in the world, especially in the United States of America. Please pass this task to any one of them for even the least among them is far better than me. Even here in tiny Singapore, there are many highly educated and well-known Christian writers. So, why me? I waited for a few months for God’s reply, but there was none. One day, a terrible feeling came upon me as I was writing in my room. That afternoon, I found myself downcast and in low spirits. In brief, I had difficulties carrying on writing. Discouragement and doubts kept coming to my mind with regard to my ability to complete the book and whether it would be readable to others. It seemed that even after editing it for about two and a half years in order to make it more acceptable, I still did not know how it would end. After much pondering on the book’s worthiness and especially my own limitations and weaknesses, I knelt down and talked to the triune God in my heart. In my prayer, I told Him my doubts and limitations in spite of knowing that the great and awesome God knows everything about me from birth to death through eternity. Perhaps all these reflected my human weaknesses, which were also found in the great and beloved Old Testament prophet Elijah, who felt dejected, disappointed, and lonely after Jezebel, the wicked wife of King Ahab, threatened to kill him for executing her Baal’s prophets. At the end of my prayer, I told God in a very serious voice that after praying, I would tear up the handwritten manuscript and burn it. I must have been on my knees for quite a while, for I had difficulty getting up. Just then, God spoke to me in my heart in two simple sentences: Do not destroy it. I am with you.

In truth, even now, I still cannot find words to describe my feelings and reactions at that moment. Christians who have had similar experiences with the spoken Word of God will have no difficulty understanding me. While still on my knees, I thanked Him for those words of comfort, assurance, hope, and confidence. I knew that this book would be completed according to His time and that I must be patient. From then on, I enjoyed my work without frustration even though limitations and problems were still there.

Here, let me be clear. I dare not claim to have any direct or indirect inspiration from God the Holy Spirit, for I have always considered myself a very sinful man. Therefore, in addition to my lack of acceptable and proper paper qualifications, I also find myself unworthy to be given the task to write this book. However, I understand more than ever before that when the omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God does anything, He is not answerable to any man or angel. I hope that when the time comes for me to see Him face-to-face, I will be able to have the answers.

As you read my book, take this Next Journey seriously, looking to the examples given first by the Lord Jesus and then the apostle Paul. It is the spiritual pilgrimage God has specially planned out according to His will for every Christian sojourning on earth. You will not be without help during this pilgrimage, which is actually your life on earth. Firstly, God has given us His most precious gift, the Holy Bible. It is the most precious because in it, He has revealed every spiritual matter regarding Himself and His church that we need to know in order to build an intimate personal relationship with Him. Secondly, God’s Spirit resides eternally in the heart of every genuine Christian. Besides being a guarantor and a seal of our salvation in Christ Jesus, He is also our Bible study teacher, advisor, counselor, and guide.

Finally, I expect this book to end up in the hands of some of you who are highly educated and perhaps even well-versed in the Word of God. I am fully aware that my command of the English language and the quality of my writing are not up to the standard of an experienced professional writer. It has taken me about seven years to complete this book because of my limitations and the extreme difficulties I faced at times, especially in the areas of explaining Christian doctrines. Therefore, I plead with you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, to bear with me with the kind of patience and understanding expected of a spiritually mature Christian.

It is my hope that this little book of mine will bring blessing and honor to my Christ. May it help and encourage all newly born-again Christians and also the older ones who have yet to take this seldom talked-about and seldom traveled journey. May it provide all serious pilgrims the knowledge of the full armor of God to obtain the strength and power to meet their spiritual warfare with confidence. May it also give them an understanding of the Word of God, which will definitely guide them to fear God in their hearts and help them to enter into a strong and intimate personal relationship with the Most High God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Until He comes,

W. F. Toh

INTRODUCTION

We Are Living in a Very Troubled World

For all the spiritually mature Christians throughout the six great continents, all the tragic events that are happening around the world in recent years bring happiness as well as sadness. They are happy because from their knowledge of God’s Word and their understanding of the prophecies in the Holy Bible, when all these terrible events are taking place around the world at greater frequencies and magnitudes as compared to those same events in the past, they know affirmatively that they are living very much closer to the day of the rapture of the church. However, they are also sad because of the thousands of human lives lost, owing to these natural destructive forces, and because of the terrible sufferings of those who have survived and are living to grieve over their losses.

Listed below are some tragic events, natural as well as man-made, that have stricken us with shock, grief, and pain:

• Earthquakes of greater magnitudes occur at a higher frequency, killing thousands of people from all walks of life and causing massive destruction of property.

• Long spells of drought have killed animals and destroyed crops.

• Forest fires destroyed huge areas of land, property, and lives.

• Unusually heavy rainfall and floods have been experienced by many countries.

• Tsunamis (giant tidal waves) have wiped out coastal areas.

• Extremely powerful winds have destroyed properties and lives.

• Volcanic eruptions have occurred. A few of these volcanoes suddenly became active again after years of being dormant.

• Murders have been committed against the helpless and the innocent that shocked and grieved even the most experienced crime fighters and law enforcement officials.

• Suicide bombings have killed thousands of people and caused the mental, emotional, and physical anguish of those who survived and the loved ones of the victims.

On top of these tragic events, which are caused directly or indirectly by man, the whole world is also facing deep religious and racial conflicts, shortages of food and water, and global financial turmoil, which continues worldwide without any good solutions in sight. To me, this troubled world is like a drowning man just waiting for a Good Samaritan to come along and pull him out of his watery grave. It seems all the countries are hoping and waiting for a world leader of great wisdom, power, and authority to come into the picture to help them out of their extremely difficult and awkward situations.

Now, is it possible to expect such a person to come along in the near future when the United Nations still exists, though feebly? The Holy Bible tells us that it is possible, and this coming world leader is none other than the Antichrist. It is clear to me that the sovereign Lord is preparing the path for this great evil to come onto the scene sooner than expected. With great wisdom and oratorical skills, he will be able to convince all the world leaders to do things his way, and at the same time, he will skillfully manipulate the world into submission under his authority.

All Christians must give thanks to God because before the Antichrist appears, the Lord Jesus Christ will return to rapture His church (i.e., all living true believers of Christ, regardless of their spiritual level, will be taken up into the air to meet Him and the millions of resurrected saints throughout all history, before going to paradise). The Holy Bible teaches that the dead in Christ will rise first and then all living Christians will have their flesh-and-blood bodies changed instantly to glorified spiritual bodies like that of our resurrected Lord Jesus, whose body enabled Him to walk through doors and walls, consume food, and ascend into paradise, which is somewhere in the third heaven. There will be great joy in the sky worldwide when we meet our loved ones, whom we have missed since they left us to be with the Lord Jesus long ago.

In heaven, all Christians will have to give an account of their lives, whether good or bad, to the righteous judge, the Lord Jesus Christ, at the judgment seat. Next come the rewards, positions of great authority of different levels. The awards for the five golden crowns will also be given out to those who are found to be worthy to receive them. Then, finally, all saints will return to earth with Christ to rule the world in the millennial age.

What I have described to you is a very brief account of things that will take place very soon. Unfortunately, our Holy Scriptures do not tell us the exact date and time of our Lord’s imminent return to rapture His church before the seven years of great tribulations begin upon the earth. However, many of us also know that it is coming sooner than expected.

The Church’s Trouble Is Mainly in Its Continual Spiritual Decline.

The present world is becoming more educated and advanced. Recent scientific inventions have made tremendous improvements in the living standards of the world. Knowledge and information can be obtained very much faster than before through the invention of the Internet and high-speed electronic devices. However, this has also led to a widespread practice of the evils of this present world, such as sexual immorality, drugs, and crime. Whatever good humanity has come up with, the evil one and those directly and indirectly controlled by him will turn it into spiritual weapons to weaken the human race into submission to his powers. Only Christians who are spiritually strong in the Lord Jesus and are fully aware of the spiritual warfare the Christian church is facing daily will be able to stand against Satan’s wicked deeds. Unfortunately, the church is facing a tragic spiritual decline, which is taking place faster than at any other time in the history of the church. This is mainly due to the lack of seriousness in the proper preaching and teaching of God’s Word in the church.

To my limited knowledge, the emphasis on missions, prayer, revival, gospel rallies, and evangelism is so prominent and ongoing in many churches nowadays that there are more preachers and teachers of these church activities than preachers and teachers of the Word of God. Let none of these essential church activities take the rightful place in importance that belongs only to having a good knowledge of the Word of God in the heart of the three Christian pillars: the individual Christian, the Christian home, and the Christian church. Without the rightful place of prominence of God’s Word in the heart of these three Christian pillars, God’s people will soon become spiritually weak. Why is this so? The reason is all these church activities are, without a doubt, good and necessary in serving Christ and His church, but none of them is the spiritual food that leads to spiritual growth and eventually to spiritual maturity in these three great Christian pillars.

Without spiritual growth, there will be no spiritual maturity and no bearing of the spiritual fruit in the life of the individual Christian. Without possessing the characteristics of Christ found only in the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), living out the Christian life daily in holiness and godliness will be virtually impossible. It will not be possible to obey Christ’s second and third commandments satisfactorily (This will be discussed in chapter 6.). Short tempers, quarrels, back-stabbing, slander, pride, and other kinds of wickedness will be found among immature Christians. They grieve the Holy Spirit in their hearts and cause untold sorrows and miseries to others. On one hand, they want to serve God according to their own understanding and judgment. On the other hand, they cause shame to Christians and unhappiness to non-Christians at home, in the church, and at work.

In view of this, I urge you to seek first your spiritual growth, which leads to spiritual maturity, in whatever you do in His name and as you serve Him daily. Your spiritual calling to serve the Lord Jesus Christ strongly demands spiritual growth and spiritual maturity. Return to your first love, that which you had when you first became a Christian, and focus on growing stronger continually in your blessed relationship with the Lord. It is only then that you can be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. By all means, acquire training in whatever fields you feel the Lord is calling you to serve Him in, but, at the same time, do not neglect your own spiritual growth to maturity. This area is far more important than pursuing and obtaining a good seminary degree from even the best theological schools in the world. Satan is fully aware that as long as he and his fallen angels can keep the individual Christian from loving the Lord Christ Jesus wholeheartedly and obeying His commandments in his or her heart faithfully, they will have victory upon victory in their spiritual battles with him or her. They will also have no worry whatsoever with the next generation of Christians in their spiritual warfare because they will also be spiritual weaklings. The children of these spiritual weaklings, who are the main cause of the present spiritual decline of the church, will eventually be spiritually weaker and weaker down the generations.

To those of us who love the Lord Jesus Christ and are concerned about this spiritual decline of His church, we must be thankful to our awesome God, whose sovereignty is fully in control, for He is overseeing to make certain that all things are working in accordance with His plans. Nothing, no matter how trivial or irrelevant, happens in the world without Him knowing. Therefore, the spiritual decline of His church for so many years has not escaped His omniscience. Our Lord Jesus Christ loves His church, which is His bride, and one day, at His timing, He will return to take the church out of this world. Therefore, you should start preparing yourself for this great coming event, the rapture of the Christian church, by taking your Next Journey seriously now.

CHAPTER 1

THE NEXT JOURNEY TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY

The Next Journey—What Is It?

Remember the beautiful classic Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan? It is my opinion that the continuation of the spiritual pilgrimage of the main character, Christian, to the judgment seat of Christ is his Next Journey. Indeed, the Next Journey is a spiritual pilgrimage that God, in His foreknowledge and wisdom, has planned out carefully for all born-again Christians. The length of this journey is actually the whole lives of Christians, beginning from their spiritual birth into the kingdom of God to that day when their souls or spirits return to God or to that great day (which is coming very soon, according to God the Father’s timing) when Christ raptures His church out of this world.

Just as all of us live our daily lives differently, we can also expect our individual Christian pilgrimages to vary from one another’s, though there will be similarities. God expects all genuine Christians to take their spiritual pilgrimages after receiving salvation in Christ Jesus. (It is important to note that salvation is received immediately upon the acknowledgement of our sins and acceptance of Christ as our Lord and Savior whereas baptism is an act of obedience to Christ’s teaching. Baptism itself has no power to save or cleanse us from our sins.) If you say in your heart that you love God, then you must do the things He delights in and especially the things He has specially planned and prepared for you because He loves you. God will never, ever force us to do the things He expects us to do. What He requires from us is to love Him wholeheartedly, and out of our love for Him, He expects us to seriously obey Him with willing hearts throughout the whole pilgrimage.

Why does God expect every one of us to take the Next Journey upon receiving our salvation? It is because He wants us to be holy like He is holy in our daily, practical living. In other words, He expects us to be like our Lord Jesus Christ in all His characteristics, which are found in the fruit of His Spirit—God the Holy Spirit. The real challenge is that only a spiritually mature Christian can bear this fruit of the Spirit. We must clearly understand that the bearing of this spiritual fruit is entirely the work of God the Holy Spirit. This spiritual pilgrimage will lead you stage by stage to reach spiritual maturity and thereafter to bear spiritual fruit and live your life in holiness and godliness. Perhaps now you can understand better why in any Christian church, the percentage of mature Christians, in my opinion, is rather low (at the highest about 2 to 3 percent). If the percentage in your church is much higher than my expectation, then thank God that you have these individuals in your church.

The Next Journey—Is It Biblical?

Does the Holy Bible teach about this spiritual pilgrimage in both its Old and New Testaments? The answer is yes.

King David’s Path of Life

In Psalm 16:11, King David certainly claimed it as follows:

You have made known to me the path of life. (Ps. 16:11 NIV)

King David is an excellent example of a man who walked with God along the path of life that was planned and prepared especially for him. King David was totally committed to walking God’s path of life in steadfast obedience to His instructions and laws. Thus, he was known to be a man after God’s heart.

Many of us are familiar with the story of how David, then a shepherd boy, killed Goliath the giant, who openly belittled the Israelite army of God. After that, David rose to become a great warrior and went on to become the king of the nation of Israel. David was fully aware that his life was in God’s plan, and he wrote Psalm 16 to express his gratitude. We can read Psalm 51 to know that after David committed his sins involving Bathsheba and her husband, he experienced deep hurt and terrible grief in his heart for disobeying God. No Bible-loving Christian would doubt that David had a personal and intimate relationship with his Creator. Just study all the Psalms he wrote and you will agree with me wholeheartedly.

Like every one of us, David had his share of sad and difficult situations (e.g., his father-in-law, King Saul, the first king of Israel, almost succeeded in killing him with a javelin). Yet he was able to say:

You will fill me with joy in your presence. (Ps. 16:11 NIV)

We know God’s presence is everywhere, but in my opinion, for King David to make the above statement, he meant he was aware that God’s eyes were fully on him all the time to watch over and protect him and it had produced a fullness of joy in his heart. Our Next Journey in Christ will not be an easy one. However, like King David, we can experience joy in God’s presence.

Apostle Paul’s Race of Life

In 2 Timothy 4:7, the apostle Paul refers to the Next Journey as the race of his life.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Tim. 4:7 NIV)

Christians often use this verse in obituaries for their loved ones who have gone home to heaven to be with God. When the apostle Paul wrote this very much-quoted Bible verse, he was already an old man. At the time of writing 2 Timothy, this outstanding, faithful, and well-seasoned spiritual giant knew well in advance that he was approaching his journey’s end.

I will always remember the apostle Paul as the man who was once a deadly enemy of the Christian church but later on, became Christ’s faithful servant. He took his Next Journey or race of life with strong determination and seriousness in his heart. I believe he was really living his path of life at an extremely fast—and at times dangerous—pace, with the exception of the last few years of his life, when he was a prisoner of Rome.

The book of Acts recounts for us the mission trips the apostle Paul had to take, the churches he was responsible for in all spiritual matters, and his dealings with powerful religious opponents. Sometimes he lived through his journey of life in risky and difficult situations, yet he was still able to encourage Christians everywhere to be joyful in Christ Jesus. He was never burned out! He counted it all joy to suffer for Christ, whom he persecuted at one time of his life. He knew the great expectation of rewards and awards waiting for him after he had completed all the work he was responsible for in the race of his life on earth. The apostle Paul is surely worthy to occupy one of the places of great authority during the coming millennial age when our Lord Jesus Christ will reign over the whole world as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The Journey I Never Knew Before—a Brief Account

At this point, let me share with you some of the experiences in my walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. The memories of these experiences bring the fullness of joy and gladness to my heart.

I received my salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ in 1958. As a first-generation Christian burning with love for Christ and a teenager with tremendous energy, I went all out to serve God wholeheartedly in my church and take part in the church activities. I attended every weekly prayer meeting on Wednesdays and served as a song leader, an usher, a Sunday school teacher, and a youth leader in the training union. I was also involved in evangelistic activities, like attending gospel rallies and giving out Christian tracts in my neighborhood.

Besides being busy serving during Sunday services and participating in church activities, I would find the time, especially during my school holidays and Saturday afternoons, to ride my bike to church just to sweep the church clean, clean the benches, and place copies of the Holy Bible, hymn books, and offering envelopes in their proper places and order. I did all of this usually by myself but occasionally with a few like-minded boys of the same age who had the same willingness to get the church ready for the Sunday services the next day. Looking back at the days of my youth, I would consider myself serving Christ, my Lord and my God, quite well. This was despite being unaware of this beautiful verse in the book of Ecclesiastes at this early stage of my Christian life.

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, I have no pleasure in them. (Eccl. 12:1 NKJV)

After receiving and reading my first Bible (a small, pocket-sized one consisting of the New Testament