Last week, we talked about how God created an expanse on the second day of Creation which established three realms: heavenly waters above, earthly waters below, and the expanse between them. Recall that the earthly waters below represent our enjoyment of earthly blessings from the Lord. These can include the clothes we wear, the school or workplace we attend, the car we drive, the home we live in, and so much more. A Christian who has experienced the second day of Creation can appreciate what God has afforded them in their living. However, without any advancement, then the earth remains covered in such waters.
Brother, do you realize that eventually you have a problem? The waters are not coming together; therefore, you swim in the riches and it’s not simple at all. Everything is healthy and normal, but you swim in it. Your time is gone, your heart is possessed by so many things, and you are not able to focus on Christ and Christ alone.
– Titus Chu. 2017 Winter Conference. Message 4
As believers who have begun to appreciate and enjoy the earthly waters, we must be cautious that they do not possess us, consume our time, and draw our focus away from Christ and Christ alone. By the Lord’s mercy, on the third day of Creation, God works on these earthly waters, causing them to gather together in one place so that dry land may appear.
9Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.
– Genesis 1:9-10, NASB
According to the second day, you can enjoy all that God has provided to you, whatever the environment. But come to the third day and God will ask you “Are you able to put the water together and condense them into one place? I would like to see dry land come out of you. Then I can use you to grow something for my profit. You were terrible under the water. I came to you as Light. I came to you, I gave you a grand expanse, I gave you heavenly things and earthly things for you to grow and to develop. Now I want to tell you – now is the time, the third day – you’ve got to learn to say ‘Lord I’d like to give all what I have to you. Because of this, I cannot afford watching movies, I cannot afford to spend my time shopping, I cannot afford to do things with my habit. I cannot afford wasting my time, wasting my life. I only have this much time. Lord, I want it to be for you. I want to be a piece of dry land so something can grow.’”
– Titus Chu. 2017 Winter Conference. Message 4
Eventually the Lord will say: you can still have earthly enjoyment but let the water come together in one place. In other words, make your life simple to the point where it cannot be even simpler. Don’t waste your time.
– Titus Chu. 2017 Winter Conference. Message 4
At some point, every Christian who desires to grow in the Lord should have the realization that while we can enjoy earthly things, they have their place. He or she should say “I must consolidate earthly things so that I may give appropriate time to the Lord.” What does it mean for the waters to gather together? We make our life simple. Titus offers one example:
I got a car. I like it, so I stay with it. I have stayed with Lincoln for many years. When I finally get a new car, I will get another Lincoln. You say: you lost the joy of driving all different kinds of cars! I say: I saved the time for my Bible study, for my spending time with the saints, for my being with the saints. I like the waters to all come to one place. I like them to come powerfully so that they all go. Then the dry land comes out.
What is the difference between Christians in the second day and in the third day? A Christian in the second day says “God is for me.” A Christian in the third day says “I am for God.”
– Titus Chu. 2017 Winter Conference. Message 4
The consolidation of the waters is our response to this realization, “I am for God.” It is when the Lord reveals this to us that we begin to have a desire to see our time, our energy, and our heart given to Him fully. Our response causes the waters to come together. As the waters come together, the dry land appears. Titus relates the appearing of the dry land to the testimony of Christ in us:
I would have lodging, transportation, proper clothing, and proper enjoyment of the natural blessings, but my heart, my living, and my time belong to the Lord, so that the earth can be seen by others. So the earth I have, meaning the dry land I have, the Christ I have, can be seen by others. … It is only by this, that you, the dry land, can be seen by others as the testimony of Christ. … If you young people learn this, the Church will be blessed. You will have more time, more heart for the Church.
– Titus Chu. 2017 Winter Conference. Message 4
It is only when the waters consolidate into one place that the dry land can appear. The dry land is very significant, as it creates a base for many of the coming stages. It becomes home to the grass, the trees, all the wild beasts, and eventually of man. If the dry land remains covered, none of these things can develop, and we cannot grow properly according to God’s desire.
