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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Blessing When Walking in the Light |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
1 John 1: 5- 7 |
Date |
2013-12-29 |
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[Passage]
[1 John 1: 5- 7]
"This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. [6] If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; [7] but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."
[Introduction]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, members of over 10,000 branch churches in Korea and all over the world, local sanctuary members, those who are attending the service on the Internet worldwide, GCN viewing audiences,
God is almighty. He is the Creator who created the universe and all things, and He governs over the life, death, fortune, and misfortune of mankind. He can solve any problem that you might have, and He has the power to answer any prayer you offer up. He can heal incurable diseases, and He can solve any kind of financial problem and any family or work related problems.
But to experience such power of God, you first have to meet God. Not just receiving blessings or solutions to problems of this earth, but also receiving salvation and gaining eternal life is possible only by meeting God. So, what do we have to do in order to meet God and experience His power? Will God be there if we go up high in the sky? Can we meet God if we just go to church? Will God answer us if we just call to Him with a loud voice?
The answer lies with the title of today's message. We can meet God and receive blessings if we walk in the Light. I hope all of you who are listening to this message will all look back on yourself once again and walk in the Light all the time. In doing so, I pray in the name of the Lord that, your lives too will be filled with testimonies of God being with you in the New Year.
[Main]
Dear brothers and sisters,
Verse 5 of today's reading passage says that God is Light. He is perfect light that has no darkness at all. If you want to meet me when I am in the church, you have to come to the church. If I am at my residence, you have to come to my residence to meet me.
It's the same with God. God is Light, and because He dwells in Light, for us to meet and experience God, we have to come into the Light. While walking in the darkness we cannot say, "God, I want to meet You. Please meet me here."
Here, the darkness and light are spiritual darkness and light. The Light is the Word of God itself in the 66 books of the Bible. It is to walk in the Light to obey the Word of God in our lives. On the contrary, darkness is all the sins, evil, unrighteousness, and lawlessness.
More specifically, in the Bible there are commands that tell us to do, not do, keep, and cast away certain things. There are such commandments as 'Do not murder', 'Do not commit adultery', 'Do not worship idols'. God also tells us of the things that we have to cast away such as hatred, lust, envy, jealousy, pride, ill-feelings, anger, craftiness, greed, etc. There are commands that tell us to do something, such as love each other, pray, and have peace, and also the things that we have to keep like, 'Keep the Sabbath'.
If we violate such words, it is to walk in the darkness, and if we obey such words, it is to walk in the Light. Therefore, if we reflect upon ourselves with the Bible, we can easily discern whether we are walking in the Light or darkness.
Now, brothers and sisters, if you harbor hard or ill feelings because of words or actions of others, and if you talk about others' faults with others, is it Light or darkness? Suppose you longed to go into spirit very much, but if you are disheartened because you are very slow, or suppose you tried hard but you lost enthusiasm because you are not recognized, is it Light or darkness? Suppose you lost the strength to pray because a brother who was at a lower level of faith surpassed you and became your leader. Is this Light or darkness?
Yes, of course, you can discern these very well. Then, if you have the knowledge, is it the Light? No, it's not. If you know the truth but do not practice it, it means you are still in darkness. It is to walk in the Light not just to know the truth but to practice it. It is also the way to meet and experience God.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Those who walk in the Light belong to God, and God exercises control over their lives. On the contrary, it is the enemy devil and Satan that have the authority over darkness. Satan has control over those who walk in the darkness. Among those who go to church, many of them will not come into the Light, but they continue to walk in the darkness. Such people are still under the control of the enemy devil and Satan for they belong to darkness. With their lips they call God 'Father', but they do not actually have fellowship with God, and they cannot receive any help from Him.
Verse 6 of today's reading passage also says, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." The verse 7 also says, "...but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." Once we come to church and accept the Lord, we must depart from sins and evil. We have fellowship with God only when we depart from darkness and come out to the Light.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Do you have fellowship with God? You can be confident to the same extent to which you walk in the Light.
And there are different levels of fellowship. If just one side knows the other, this cannot be considered to be a 'fellowship'. Just because you know who the president of your country is, it does not mean you have fellowship with the president. It can be said you have fellowship only when both parties know each other. Also, some people are just acquaintances and some people may occasionally say hello to each other. However there is a deeper fellowship where you can trust and share everything with each other.
The same goes for fellowship with God, too. We cannot just say we believe; God has to also recognize our faith. Only when God says, "They obey My word, and they are My children," can we then say we have true fellowship with God.
The evidence will follow those who have true fellowship with God. Diseases, disaster, accidents will go away, and they will be protected in everything. They can receive the answer whenever they ask with faith what they need such as health, social power, and wealth.
They can experience what is recorded in 3 John 1:2, "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers," and in Mark 9:23, "All things are possible to him who believes." They also receive the blessings written in Deuteronomy 28, that they will be blessed whether they come in or go out, and they will lend but not borrow, and they will become the head and not the tail.
Of course, sometimes they might have to undergo persecutions for the Lord like the Apostles Paul or Peter. But even at those moments the signs and wonders always followed them. When they prayed for the souls in the name of Jesus Christ, the diseases left, evil spirits fled, and the darkness went away. In this way, for those who walk in the Light, the evidence that they have a fellowship with God always follows.
Dear brothers and sisters,
If you turn the light on in a dark room, the room immediately becomes bright. Before there was light, the room was filled with darkness, but as the light came, the darkness has to go away. The same goes for the spiritual realm. If you live by the truth and become the light, darkness will have to leave your life. Disasters, tests and trials, poverty, and diseases are all brought by Satan, the ruler of darkness. Such things cannot approach those children of God who live in the Light.
Of course, lights have different brightness. There are both the strong sunshine and the moonlight. Each star also has a different strength of light. The stronger the light, the easier it is to drive away darkness. In a spiritual sense, too, your authority and power to drive away darkness will be different according to the strength of your light.
Even though you have extensive knowledge of the Word of God and higher positions in the church, if you still live in sins and walk in darkness, you are still darkness, and thus you cannot drive away darkness. Even though you try to drive away darkness in the name of Jesus Christ, the enemy devil and Satan will not even flinch.
On the other hand, even those who once lived in tests and trials because they did not know the truth, once they accept the Lord and come out to the Light, the situations change. To the extent that they cast away darkness by living by the Word, disasters and misfortune leave them and blessings come upon them. Furthermore, 1 John 5:18 says, "We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him." Also 1 John 3:21-22 says, "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; [22] and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight."
As said, for those who do not commit sins but dwell in the truth completely, darkness cannot come near. The enemy devil and Satan will tremble with fear before the authority of the Light. As they are loved by God to the utmost degree, they receive whatever they ask and reveal the glory of God.
[Conclusion]
Dear brothers and sisters,
All Manmin members know very well that we receive blessings when we walk in the Light. You can also discern well what Light is and what darkness is. But knowing it as just knowledge does not necessarily mean you walk in the Light. Especially, during the last 3 years, you checked the Light and darkness in you once again and reaffirmed your faith.
Some of you mistakenly thought that you were walking in the Light only because you seemingly loved God, you had a title in the church, and you'd been a believer for quite some time. On the outside, it seemed you were walking in the Light, but you had not cast away darkness from your heart. Or, some of you thought the bright light and great power manifested in the church were your own light and power. Some of you knew you had to come into the Light, but you couldn't because you loved the darkness.
But as your measure of faith is specifically known to you, each of you came to see the brightness of your light. Through the men of spirit who were revealed, you also realized that Light is really good. You saw that even though a person is young and inexperienced, he has the power to drive away darkness if he walks in the Light. Meanwhile, you came to long to walk in the Light more earnestly.
What a great blessing it is just to have your spiritual eyes opened and to have true longing! Also, God the Father will give you more grace and strength so you can actually gain what you are longing for.
In 2014, I hope all you believers will passionately run towards spirit. I also hope you will discern between Light and darkness in all things and just walk in the Light. In doing so, I pray in the name of the Lord that, each of you will shine brightly in this sanctuary, and also shine on this country and the world, so that you can lead all peoples of the earth to the Lord. |
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