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 Sermon > Sunday Morning Service |
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Title |
God of Answer and Blessing(3) - God of Answer and Blessing (3) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Numbers 6: 22-27 |
Date |
2009-05-17 |
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Passage
[Numbers 6: 22-27]
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, 'Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.' "So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them."
Introduction
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
King Josiah, the 16th king of the kingdom of Judah, did a full-scale religious reformation.
Until then, both the northern kingdom Israel and the southern kingdom Judah worshiped idols and did evil before God.
Of course, even before the king Josiah, Asa and Hezekiah also tried to purify the religion. But Josiah is the one who fulfilled a revolutionary reformation.
First, he made a covenant between God and the people.
2 Kings 23:3 says, "The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant."
Then he prohibited worshiping of Baal, Ashera, and Molech, which was prevalent among the people. Also, he destroyed abominable things before God, which were gentile prophets, mediums, spiritists, and teraphim.
He kept the Passover properly as written in the book of law. The Passover was observed in the greatest way every for hundreds of years since the time of the judges.
There was an occasion through which Josiah came to begin a reformation. While they were repairing the damages of the Temple, they found the book of the law.
After hearing the words of the book of law, he realized that Judah ignited anger of God by not keeping what was written in the book of law.
This is when he began to fix the things that were against the will of God and turned the people to God.
According to the word of God, he found something that could bring about calamities to Judah, and he removed it.
2 Kings 22:2 says, "He did right in the sight of the LORD and walked in all the way of his father David, nor did he turn aside to the right or to the left."
So God lifted up King Josiah. God also showed His mercy to Judah.
God protected Judah so it didn't fall during the reign of King Josiah.
I hope you will also find the original problem through this message and resolve it.
God the Father gave us many commandments since thousands of years ago.
He gave us 66 books of the Bible through Jesus, prophets, and the apostles.
Of course, the prophets, the apostles, and Jesus who was in Judea about 2,000 years ago, are not with us physically.
It's been a long time since the Bible was written, but we can still understand it deeply and feel the love of God contained in the Word.
It's because the Helper, the Holy Spirit is with us.
In John 14:26 Jesus said, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."
At this hour, I hope you will listen to the message by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to find out your original problems, and you will also have reformation in your life like King Josiah.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will change in a way that you will be commended by God that you are like David.
Main
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, until the last session, I explained about the original problem in two aspects.
First is a wall of sin created by a grave sin, and the second is a wall of sin built up not by grave sins but due to lack of love for God.
In these cases you cannot receive the answer because you do not live by the word of God and you disappoint God.
Now, I am asking you some questions so that you can realize and find out what your fundamental problems are.
In the last session, I talked about having a heart that could murder, being a child of God.
I also explained how to cast away such a heart, if we have it.
We can destroy a great part of the wall just by casting off this heart to murder, for other walls of sin made by envy, jealousy, judging, condemnation, hot-temper, and quarrels will be destroyed together.
It's like when we pull out the main root, the little roots attached will come out together.
If we rid ourselves of heart to murder, we become peacemakers who are meek and who serve others. We can please God this way.
So, we can also receive many answers to our prayers.
Brothers and sisters, let me give you the second question. Don't you have adulterous mind when you see some body who is not your spouse?
When you have your wife or husband, you shouldn't have such a mind seeing another person.
It's the same for single persons.
If you have adulterous mind seeing somebody, although that person is not somebody you love whom you will marry, it is not right.
Exodus 20:14 says, "You shall not commit adultery."
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 says, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;"
God emphasizes holiness for His children. And thus we have to cast away all adulterous mind and become God's children who are holy.
Even though you do not show those sinful natures on the outside, God hates His children having such a mind in them.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, "but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
I am not talking about those who have just accepted the Lord and who are trying to live by the word of God.
You know very well that it is not right to have such a mind as children of God for you've listened to many messages.
You have experiences, titles, and duties in the church. You say you have faith and you love God.
Still you don't cast away this lustful mind. I am talking about this kind of case.
The fundamental problem is that you do want to keep and you do not want to cast away sins that God hates.
Unless you change such an attitude, you will have a greater wall of sin as time goes by and it will block the answer from coming.
Of course, in today's world, many people say, "How can we cast away even sinful thoughts?"
Some people even say that it is old-fashioned to love only one person, your wife or your husband.
But I believe none of you here will agree to such a statement.
Let us think about the trend of the world today.
2 Timothy 3:4, latter part says, "...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God," As said, they follow pleasure and lust.
They are losing the image of human beings. The culture of the world is lustful and immoral, and there are many temptations.
But we have to overcome the world as God's children and be distinguished from the world. We have to cast away even the sins that we have in thoughts.
It is a pitiful thing if you go against the will of God and forsake your beloved husband or wife because you cannot control your lust.
On the other hand, if you can love your husband or wife wholeheartedly and trust each other, how beautiful is it in God's eyes?
Also, if you have no lust in you, you will be at peace because you don't have to struggle against it. You can be confident before God so you can always pray boldly.
It's the same with those who remain single.
It is such a great blessing to keep your body and heart pure until you stand as a bride of the Lord.
God the Father will lift you high both on earth and in the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, I hope you will pray until you cast away all kinds of adulterous mind completely.
You can cast the sins away when you hate them from heart.
If you are filled with the fullness of the Spirit, you will realize how unclean adulterous mind is. You will hate the fact that you have such a heart in you.
But if you have not been able to cast away adulterous mind, I urge you realize your original heart by the special grace of God given since the Day of Blessing.
For example, if you learned something wrong about sex at the early stage of your life, you have to pull it out and change your feelings about it, too.
Or, you might not have considered it a sin because of wrong standard of judgment or way of living.
Then, from now, you can see everything only by the standard of the truth.
Even if you say you don't have such adulterous mind, I urge you to scruritinize your heart.
When you look deep inside your heart, you may find such a mind of which you were not aware.
For example, some people say friends of opposite sex are more comfortable than those of same sex.
Also, some of you have different attitudes in words, action, and facial expressions when you are meeting with people of opposite sex.
I am not saying all these things are originated from lust 100%. But you should still realize that you may consider it natural to have desire for somebody of opposite sex or you are not cautious about it.
Now that you are children of God, I hope you as God's children will cast away sins that God hates.
I urge you in the name of the Lord that you will destroy all the walls of sin by washing your heart with the water of the word of God, and then ask for the answers with a 'white' heart.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, aren't you happy to clean your deep heart with the word of God? Now, let me give you the third question.
Don't you have desire to steal?
Exodus 20:15 says, "You shall not steal." It is the 8th commandment among the Ten Commandments.
To steal is to covet somebody else's possessions.
At the background of this desire is the desire to take something which you did not earn. Even though you are sure that you have no desire to steal, I hope you will check the deep part of your heart.
For example, I have been emphasizing that it is the will of God not to have any monetary transactions between brothers in faith.
Nevertheless, some of you disobeyed and had great difficulties in your family and business.
Proverbs 11:15 says, "He who is guarantor for a stranger will surely suffer for it, But he who hates being a guarantor is secure."
Then, why do you disobey knowing it? It's because you are tempted thinking you will get great profit and give it to God.
But if you truly love God, you will obey His word. So, if you examine your deep heart, you realize that you disobey because you have desire to gain what is not earned.
You might have had truthful heart for the church and God in the beginning, but your heart might change at a later stage.
Also, I have always explained that you have to walk the right way to succeed in your business.
How can you ask for God's blessing violating the law and doing unrighteous things? This kind of attitude is also the desire to steal.
I hope you will not overlook even the small things that happen around you in your everyday life.
If you take even just a pen or a piece of paper from another personw without permission, it is natural to have pricks of conscience.
But if you have nothing like that, it means you have desire to steal. Especially, if you handle God's things at your disposal, it means you have great desire to steal.
Now, let us find out the roots of these minds and pull them out completely.
Then, no matter how difficult your financial situation is, you will never show any unrighteous act in any kind of temptation.
At this time where it is difficult to find true faith and trust, I urge you to become a good steward of God to whom God can entrust everything.
Brothers and sisters, if you just cast away the above three desires, namely murder, adultery, and stealing, you can destroy the most part of the wall of sin.
You can confess boldly that you love God, and when you ask Him to answer your prayer, He will do it.
But if you still have these hearts of untruth, God cannot be at ease with you, because your desires may come out as great sins in temptations.
Now, I hope you will break down all these walls of sins and fill your heart with the love of God.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will then receive answers that fall like sweet rain after a longlasted famine.
Conclusion
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in Genesis chapter 35, God commands Jacob to go up to Bethel and build and altar.
Bethel is the place where Jacob saw God in his dream while sleeping with a rock as his pillow. At that time, God made the first covenant with Jacob.
He promised Jacob that He would give him the land of Canaan and countless descendants. Jacob put the rock that he used as his pillow as a pillar, anointed it and made a vow before God.
He said if God would be with him until he would return to his father's house, this pillar would become the Temple of God. Now, Jacob went to Bethel according to the command of God and to fulfill his vow.
Now, he was not alone; he had many people including his family that he gained in Paddan Aram.
Here, before he left, Jacob commanded his people on thing.
Genesis 35:2 latter part says, "Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments;"
In obedience they gave Jacob their gentile idols and earrings. Jacob now buried them under the oak tree near Shechem.
After the purification, God protected Jacob and his party to go to Bethel safely and to fulfill His command.
When Jacob built an altar at Bethel, God appeared to Jacob once again.
God reminded him of the first covenant made at Bethel and promised Jacob once again.
This scene where God called Jacob to Bethel reminds us of our Day of Blessing.
This is the time to purify ourselves, namely resolve our fundamental problems, and have the holy sanctuary in our heart, and Canaan Sanctuary, and offer a beautiful worship before God.
What is the reason that God gathered you under the name of Manmin?
It's not just for giving you personal blessings.
He has the plan to use you as His workers to achieve Canaan Sanctuary, the Grand Sanctuary, world evangelism, and the outreach to our country.
He called you so that you can get New Jerusalem the city of glory after fulfilling all the above.
Now, is there any of you who has forgotten this promise by being disappointed at yourself who change very slowly?
Why don't you just lay down all the things that God does not like under the oak tree?
An oak tree symbolizes faith. I urge you to cast them away with faith and joy.
Then, God will reaffirm His promises to us, namely the Canaan Sanctuary, the Grand Sanctuary, and the promise of New Jerusalem.
He will guide us until everything is fulfilled.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will reach New Jerusalem by firmly trusting the love of God who met us when we were like Jacob sleeping with a rock as a pillow and guided us until today, and who never forgets His promises. |
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