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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Lecture on Genesis Ver.2(9) - Division of the Spirit (6) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Genesis 1:1 |
Date |
2009-08-28 |
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Scripture
Genesis 1:1
[1] In the beginning God created heavens and the earth
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is the ninth lecture on Genesis.
I'll continue talking about the Seven Spirits, which is one of the divided entities of God the Father.
I told you that the Seven Spirits are the heart of God that measures seven attributes of people.
The answers to your prayers may be given depending on your measure of faith that is determined by the measure of the Seven Spirits.
So far, I have explained 4 out of 7; faith, joy, prayer, and thanksgiving.
The fifth attribute the seven spirits measure is how well you keep the commandments of God.
In the Bible, there are words of instruction such as to what you should and should not do, and what you should keep and what to discard or cast off.
All of these are the commandments that all the children of God should keep.
God the Father condensed all these commandments into ten, and told us that they are the minimum that must be kept.
These are known as The Ten Commandments.
The Seven Spirits of God precisely measure how well you keep the Ten Commandments.
When God wants to give answer to your prayer, He reflects on the result of this measurement.
God gives answers and blessings to those who keep the commandments well.
On the other hand, He cannot give answers to the prayers of those who don't live by the commandments.
Why does keeping the commandments become a condition to receiving an answer to your prayers?
The fact that you receive answers and blessings from God proves that you are loved by God.
However, God the Father works on everything according to justice.
He doesn't give answers and blessings to just anyone.
Only to those who are worthy to receive love in the justice can be given that love by God.
It is because Proverbs 8:17 says, "I love those who love Me; and those who diligently seek me will find Me."
Exodus 20:6 also says, "but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."
Now, what does the Bible say is the clearest evidence of a person's love for God?
It is to 'keep the commandments of God.'
Our Lord, Jesus said in John 14:15, "f you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
He also said in John 14:21, "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."
As you can see, those who truly love God keep the commandments of God.
It is not that they are compelled to keep them.
They are happy and glad to keep them because they love God.
Of course if a person still has weak faith it may be difficult to live within the commandments of God.
Because of the weak faith they don't keep the commandments completely.
However, God the Father has compassion for these people whose faith is still weak.
Even if they don't keep the commandments from time to time, as long as they try again to live by the word of God, He sympathetically considers their efforts.
However, such compassion should not be necessary for those who are supposed to have strong faith after many years as Christians.
The longer they have been Christians, the more completely they should keep the commandments.
They should not only strictly adhere to the commandments, but they should become perfected in "deeply reverent behavior"
Let me take an example to explain what "deeply reverent behavior" is.
What is the ninth commandment among the Ten Commandments?
Exodus 20:16 says, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
"False witness" is to say something against the truth such as saying you didn't do something you actually did, or vice versa.
This act of false witness may have a huge effect on making a certain kind of decision.
Especially in a trial, a false witness can make an innocent man to be found guilty, or the other way around.
Wouldn't speak only the absolute truth if you stood to witness in a court?
Of course, you should.
Now, can you say you keep the ninth commandment completely just by comparison?
Those who don't bear false witness in any give situation don't tell a lie; even if it is trivial.
Even if it doesn't cause serious harm to others, a lie that is told against another person is untruth.
In addition, if you keep silent in a situation when you should tell the truth, this act will also be considered as 'false witness'.
Let's say, (a man named) 'Jerry' is wrongfully accused of something that was actually done by (a man named) 'Tom'.
However, you keep silent pretending you know nothing because you are close to Tom.
This act cannot pass the measure of the Seven Spirits of God who searches all things with His fiery eyes.
As faith grows, your heart also becomes truthful, and you will not tolerate even a trivial lie by yourself.
And thus, you will not even tell "white lies."
A white lie is to say something against the truth in consideration of others.
However, as your faith grows, you will not even tell these white lies.
Dear brothers and sisters.
When you convey words, if you add something to it, or subtract something from it, it is also to bear false witness.
When you add or abstract something other than what is to be conveyed using your own thoughts or ideas instead of conveying what others say, then it is false witness.
However, this kind of false witness also diminishes as your faith grows up.
The reason is because such fleshly thoughts and personal feelings disappear as your faith grows up.
And so, you can speak the truth as you see, hear, and feel it.
If you become like this, you will not judge others as you please, don't you think?
It is also false witness if you judge others and speak about it without knowing others' hearts or situations.
As your faith grows up, this kind of false witness also disappears.
Likewise, when you consider the commandment, "Don't bear false witness," the level of action can vary according to each individual's faith.
A person cannot be acknowledged to keep the Ninth Commandment perfectly just because one doesn't bear false witness in a courtroom.
The level of your behavior should also become better and higher according to your measure of faith.
This principle also applies to all other Ten Commandments.
I explained the Ten Commandments in great detail in my book, "The Law of God."
Please take this opportunity once again to make bread of the information in this book. Check how well your faith has matured and how completely you've kept the Ten Commandments.
At the beginning of this year, I delivered messages about "Whole tithe and Offerings," and "Keeping the Lord's Day Holy."
How many answers and blessings have you received since you heard the messages and obeyed them?
Even keeping just these two and obeyed them completely, then God the Father has given many of you great blessing as if He were waiting eagerly.
If you keep the Ten Commandments completely, how much more would God answer and blessing you?
God will not hesitate to give blessings not only to each one of you individually, but He will also give answers to church-wide prayers.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
Sixthly, the Seven Spirits measure "faithfulness."
They measure how faithful each one of you are to your given duties.
Therefore, as a servant of God, as a Levite worker, as an elder, as a senior deaconess, as a deacon, or as a Sunday school teacher, you should be faithful to your give duties.
You should also treasure your duty and be faithful to it as a group leader or a cell leader, or as any position you are given.
However, if you're faithful only to God-given duties, then it cannot be called perfect faithfulness.
You must be faithful not only to the duty given in your church, but you must be also faithful at your place of work and in your home. Then it can be called perfect faithfulness.
As a husband, a wife, a child, or a parent, you must be faithful in the truth to any duty you are given.
In the case of having to make the choice between either the work of the Lord or that of the world, if you have faith of course you will choose the work of the Lord.
But it doesn't mean that you can neglect your secular duties.
Ultimately, you must not become biased or show partiality. For the glory of God, you must be faithful to any given duty in the truth.
Some people have serious problems, even though they have been Christians for a long time and they are high ranked church workers.
They come to receive my prayer to solve the problems, and they make a confession of repentance.
What is it?
They used to be faithful to their duties with fervor, but somehow they started to neglect their duties at some point.
They say they became mentally absorbed in the affairs of their worldly business and so they came to neglect the Lord's work.
Or they didn't overcome the difficulties in their lives, or they compromised with the world to avoid persecution.
They were once faithful, so how could their hearts have changed like this?
It is because they neglect spiritual faithfulness even though they say they were faithful.
What is the spiritual faithfulness?
It is to continually circumcise your heart.
It is the work of washing the robe of your heart without ceasing.
Those who try to be spiritually faithful like this can also be faithful to their duty.
Even if they encounter hardships, they don't give up in performing their duties.
Even if they have a serious problem at home or come across with financial difficulty, for example, they don't give up their duty.
It is because being faithful to the duty is the promise made between God and them.
No matter what kind of problems they may encounter, they never break the promise with God.
But, what will happen when they don't circumcise their hearts?
When they meet with something that is physically challenging, the evil attributes or a form of evil that is remaining in their own hearts becomes agitated, and they cannot maintain their hearts.
They may end up giving up the promise they made with God.
Therefore, to make your faithfulness complete and unchanging, you should remember that it must be spiritual faithfulness.
I've seen people manage their duty under pressure with difficulty though they are not full of the Holy Spirit,-but not giving up the duty.
Sometimes, a person doesn't even keep their position, or they barely keep it.
When the Seven Spirits measure this kind of people, how can they pass the measure?
Therefore, in order to faithfully manage your duty in fullness, you should cast off every form of evil through the circumcision of your heart.
It is not someone else or bad environment that takes away the fullness of heart from you.
It is the evil that remains in your heart.
Therefore, I urge you to bear in mind the importance of spiritual faithfulness once again.
If God had wanted only the physical faithfulness, He would not have created man.
He has countless angels and heavenly host around Him that obey Him well and work faithfully.
However, God wants to find children who are faithful from the depth of their hearts because they love God.
Our Jesus came to this earth to be faithful to the point of dying because He loved God.
Elijah, Moses, Apostle Paul, Apostle Peter, Apostle John were also faithful completely until their deaths.
I hope that your heart will resemble the Lord's and the hearts of the forefathers of faith to become more faithful than before.
Since I started this church, I've never forgotten the work for God the Father's kingdom even for a day.
On July 25, 1982, 13 people - 4 children and 9 grownups - held the opening service.
We had given all-night prayers before we started this church, and the fire of prayer wasn't put out in the temple after we started this church.
There was no Daniel Prayer Meeting in those days.
From midnight till 4 in the morning, I prayed all night long, and then soon led an Early Morning Prayer Meeting.
I had to manage all the meetings because there was none who could lead the Early Morning Prayer Meeting.
But, I never missed it.
I didn't skip it just because I was tired. I didn't shift my work onto others only because I didn't feel good.
After leading the Early Prayer Meeting, I took a short rest and then went to Seminary School.
After I came back from school, I took care of many sick people.
So many sick people already heard about me; they came to this church to be healed, and stayed in the sanctuary.
After I came from school, I either took care of such sick people or visited the members.
How earnestly I served each one of the members.
For example, among elementary, middle, and high school students, many of them changed buses to come to this church.
They had no money, but they came to this church from far away.
How precious souls they were!
I served such students in love.
On Saturday or Sunday, when they were to go back home after service, I went along with them to their bus stop.
I gave them bus tokens and waved at them saying good-bye.
I didn't give them only one token. I gave them tokens to come back to church the next time.
I gave four tokens to those who changed bus once, and six tokens to those who changed buses 3 times.
Back then, since the amount of offerings was very little, I didn't do that from church finances.
I did that by saving what money I had.
When souls were evangelized to come to this church, they were like precious jewels.
And so I always prayed for them in earnest love not to lose them.
Back then, once they came to this church, they never left the church.
Every week, new souls were led to this church, and I served them in so much earnest. No one left the church and this church kept on growing.
Now, since this church has grown up so big with countless members, did my faithfulness cool down?
Not at all!
My heart for the souls has never been cooled down.
Nothing was sufficient. Everything was lacking.
Nevertheless, I did my best.
Now, we have more than 9,000 branch churches around the world, and there are countless servants of God and Levite workers.
Is my heart at ease, and did my faithfulness and fervor cool down?
My love for souls, prayers, and all matters; have all become hotter than ever. Fervency has never cooled down.
Back then, I could spare some time to dine out with my family once or twice a year, but now, I can't find even that spare time.
Back then, I was able to go out along with my family on New Year's Day or Thanksgiving Day, but now, I can't.
All my time is booked for the works for God the Father.
Servants of God, Levite workers, and all the title holders; please check your lives.
Regarding your position, how different is your current faithfulness from back then before God?
You used to long for your duty and be faithful to it, but aren't you given any duty now?
If your duty has been the same then and now, hasn't your fervor for the duty cooled down at all?
If you have true faith, the more you've become experienced as a Christian, the more faithful you ought to be.
Only then can you pass the measurement of the Seven Spirits.
The seventh attribute the Seven Spirits measure is "Love."
Of course, it is the spiritual love that never changes forever.
Love plays a role of a band that perfectly binds all the previous six into completeness,
In other words, 'love' binds 'faith, joy, prayer, thanksgiving, keeping the commandments, and faithfulness' into one and make it complete.
What does it mean? First of all, if faith lacks love, it is useless.
1 Corinthians 13:2 says, "If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."
The same is true about Joy without love.
For instance, if someone rejoices when something goes wrong with the other, what an evil heart he has!
You should also pray in love.
It is difficult for prayer without love to ascend to God as incense.
The same goes for thanksgiving without love.
When God searches the heart of people, thanksgiving without love cannot touch the heart of God. It cannot move the heart of people either.
I told you earlier that when you keep the commandments of God with love for God, it becomes true love.
I also told you that God the Father truly wants you to be faithful in the love for God.
Likewise, 'love' is like a band that perfectly binds all these six into completeness, and it is why love comes last.
The Seven Spirits of God thoroughly measure how completely people manage all these attributes in the true heart with love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 explains well what true spiritual love is.
It reads, "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
I urge you to remember in faith this standard of spiritual love no matter what you do.
For example, when you pray or be faithful, if you do according to the word of this Love Chapter, your prayer and faithfulness will become perfect.
Like this, those who do all things in love are those who truly love God.
God the Father wants to gain such true children who love God in this true love.
It is the reason He started Human Cultivation.
Therefore, I wish you accomplish this true love and become true child of God.
And I also hope that you do all things in love so that you can perfectly pass the measurement of the Seven Spirits and receive answers to the desires of your heart.
Dear brothers and sisters.
Now you can understand well what role the Seven Spirits of God plays, can't you?
You can compare the seven attributes that the Seven Spirits measure to the parts of an electric appliance.
If any one of them is missing, even when you turn the appliance on, it will not operate.
By the same token, if you lack of any attribute among the seven fields that the Seven Spirits measure, you cannot receive answers to your prayers.
However, I told you earlier that God of justice and love measures your faith first, and sets the standard according to your measure of faith.
God the Father said in Exodus 33:19, "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion."
The reason God the Father sets this detailed standard through the measurement of the seven spirits is that He wants to give you more answers by all means if ever possible.
He doesn't set the standard up so high you cannot pass in order not to give answers to your prayers.
Since He wants each one of you to receive answers and blessings according to the measure of faith, God the Father sets the standard through the Seven Spirits.
Therefore, may you act in all the more complete love and receive overflowing grace and blessing from God the Father, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
[Amen] |
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