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 Sermon > Sunday Morning Service |
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Title |
In Due Time We Will Reap(3) - In Due Time We Will Reap (3) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Galatians 6:9 |
Date |
2010-05-09 |
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[Passage]
Galatians 6:9
"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary."
Introduction
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
During His ministry on earth, Jesus occasionally shed tears.
Such a scene is recorded in John 11.
Jesus arrived in the town where Lazarus had lived four days after the death of Lazarus.
Hearing that Jesus had arrived in the town, Lazarus' sister Mary hurriedly went out to meet Him and said to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
Seeing Mary and the people who came with her crying, Jesus also shed tears.
Jesus is not only able to heal the sick, but He can also revive the dead.
So, seeing those people who were just crying due to lack of faith He felt heart-broken.
He shed tears also because He could sense the sorrow of Mary, who was crying at His feet.
Jesus came to be among us and shared the joys and the sorrows with the people on this earth.
When He saw those who were suffering from sicknesses and infirmities, He felt their pain and He tried to heal them.
But He also came across those who couldn't be healed because they didn't have any faith or because they didn't have enough faith.
However this doesn't mean that He was irritated by them or that He gave up on them.
He taught them with the word of God and planted faith in them.
Also according to the measure of each one's faith, He healed them in different ways.
For example, in some cases He just commanded with words, but when He healed a man who was born blind, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes.
He let the person feel His hands of healing to give him the assurance of healing.
And this love of Jesus is still shown in the same way through the Holy Spirit.
God the Father does not turn away from those children who come before Him with various problems only because they don't have faith.
God tries to allow for them to have faith by touching their hearts with the Holy Spirit and He shows them many miracles.
Now, what kind of person are you?
Are you one of those who saddens the Lord because you have no faith or because you lack enough faith?
Now, I hope you will all have faith and do what the Lord of love and the Holy Spirit tell you to do, so you can receive the answers to all your problems.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will have the measure of faith even to receive the answer simply by the word being commanded by the Lord.
[Main]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God the Father has promised us that He would give you answers to problems and blessings in this period of harvest.
But there are some people who do not receive the answer even though the gate of answers is wide open.
I will cite several cases to explain the reasons and I hope you will understand the principles in receiving a response and getting solutions.
The first reason for not having received an answer is because you have not met a required amount of faith that is necessary for you to receive the answer.
As I explained in the last session, even though 90% is already filled up by the power of the shepherd, you cannot receive the answer if you do not fill up the other 10%.
I explained God sees whether you have true faith and love when He gives you the answer.
Then, what specifically do you have to do to show true faith and love?
I believe you already know what you have to do since you heard many messages.
For example, with the seven spirits, God measures the seven aspects, namely, faith, joy, prayer, thanksgiving, keeping the commandments, faithfulness, and love.
Each person has a certain level to pass. So, each one has to try hard to reach that level.
But some people do not pray or work for God even though they are able.
Also, they get disheartened because of very small things.
Even though they are disheartened for a moment, they should try to rejoice and change their ways of thinking, but they don't even try to do that.
They have to keep the Lord's Day holy and give tithes and keep other commandments, but they just lead a life in faith as they see fit.
If they still want to receive an answer from God in this way, it is like a student who does not study for exam but is hoping for a good grade.
Let's say that the teacher gave a pool of questions and tells them to learn the answers, but they won't even do that much.
God is saying He will give us special answers and blessings, but the people will not prepare themselves to receive them. It can only mean that they don't believe the word of God.
I hope none of you will be in this category of those who are not showing any faith.
I urge you to "fill up" whatever was not sufficient so that you can reach the required cut-off level.
Brothers and sisters, the second case where you don't receive the answer to a problem is when you speak negative words.
For example, so many believers are testifying that they received blessings, but you don't really have anything to say.
Then, you might say, "I didn't receive any answers. God didn't answer me."
You might think that this kind of talk is insignificant, but the fact is that it is not true and it can be seriously significant.
It's not just talking about the current situation, but you concluded that you didn't receive the answer.
It is the law of the spiritual realm that things will be done according to the words on your lips.
Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue."
If you say you didn't receive the answer, you won't receive the answer just as you have spoken.
The words on a person's lips represent his faith.
For example, Romans 10:10 says, "...for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
To confess that Jesus Christ is our Savior is an act of confirming that we truly believe in Him.
And thus, to say that you didn't receive the answer means that you never had the assurance to receive the answer.
It tells us you had faith that was not certain, and you thought you might or might not receive the answer.
Jesus said in Mark 11:24, "I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you."
He says we shouldn't believe that we will receive the answer, but we have already received it.
Then we will receive what we have asked.
In Mark chapter 9, there is another incident that tells us about this law of spiritual realm.
One father brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus and said:
"...if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" Upon hearing this, Jesus said, '"If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."
Then, this father said again, "I do believe."
Then he said, "Help my unbelief."
When this father said this, Jesus commanded the demon and the demon went away.
When you ask for an answer, you should make only positive confessions of faith saying you have received the answer.
Those who have received the answer have brought down the answers through such confessions of faith.
Whether you have actually received the answer in the course of your life yet or not, this confession is still true.
It's because God promised us that He would give to us what we ask if we ask according to His will.
If we can just fill up the required measure of justice, the answer can come immediately.
90% of that measure of justice is already filled up by the power of God.
And some of the other 10% must have already been fulfilled through your prayers.
But if you make a negative confession, whatever you filled up will disappear. It means you will have to go back to zero.
Therefore, even though it seems there is nothing in front of our eyes, we must not say that we didn't receive the answer.
If we speak negative words, even though the answer is coming from above, it will scatter in the air.
If you feel that your answer is being delayed, you should check your heart.
If you have the assurance that you've received the answer, you can just think and know that God will give you His response at the most appropriate time and wait.
But if you do not have this kind of assurance yet, you should pray and make positive confessions until you get the assurance.
You have to ask for spiritual faith, which is the faith to believe from the heart that you've already received the answer.
Spiritual faith is given by God.
Therefore, if there are walls of sin, we have to demolish them and diligently practice the word.
If we pray while practicing the word of God, God gives us faith from above.
Those children who have faith make confessions of faith before God not just when they ask for answers, but all the time.
If we make pessimistic confessions that contain no faith, even the things that can work out may not work out.
If we make positive confessions of faith, even impossible things will become possible as confessed.
Therefore, I hope you will keep in mind that you should not make any negative confessions and destroy your work toward receiving God's answer.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the third case in which you don't receive the answer is when you pass judgment on your shepherd.
In the Bible, we can find many occasions where God made His men pray for blessings.
Those who couldn't bring down answers by themselves received the answer when men of God prayed for their blessings.
You know the story of the widow in Zarephath very well.
In a severe drought, the man of God, Elijah, asked her to make some bread with the last bit of flour and oil she had, which would have been the last meal for her and her son.
At that time what would have happened if the widow had passed judgment on the man of God thinking, "How can a man of God be so shameless as to ask such a thing of me?"
She probably couldn't have experienced the amazing miracle of her flour bin and oil jar not running out.
And it's a great pity that some of you pass judgment on your shepherd this way.
A pastor is a servant of God whom God uses as His instrument to bless the flock.
If the flock does not trust their shepherd, it is same as blocking the passage of blessing themselves.
Furthermore, if they cannot trust him even though he shows the evidences of God being with him, how sad a thing this is!
For example, God proclaims a day of blessing on special occasions.
On these days, most church members receive answers and healings.
But some people, even though they are not even new believers, still do not receive the blessings.
They think I proclaimed the day of blessing for reasons of personal necessity.
But I can boldly say on this altar and before so many church members.
I have only obeyed the word of God.
And God confirmed this fact by blessing so many members.
If you pass judgment even though I show you evidence to be able to believe my word, then, how can blessings come to you?
Such evil thoughts are creating a wall between you and God and that is why the answers do not come.
There are also some members who doze off during the sermons due to doubts and other fleshly thoughts, and do not hear the messages about blessings.
If you have any of such thoughts of judgment and condemnation, I hope you will realize how great evil you have in your heart and repent thoroughly.
In doing so I hope you will receive all the blessings God is giving to everyone.
If you do receive answers and blessings, please give your testimonies.
There are many who do not give testimonies even after receiving blessings of God.
Some people are too shy or ashamed to tell about the problems they had before and do not give their testimonies.
Or some others consider their experience too trivial and do not give testimonies.
But if you are thankful for the grace, you will testify to it.
When preaching the gospel, the apostle Paul said he was the foremost of all sinners and talked about his persecuting the Lord without hiding it.
As you read in my autobiography, I also honestly talked about all the things I did before I believed in God.
Because the grace I received is so great, I cannot help but testify to the grace that God had given me.
Brothers and sisters, whether big or small, how amazing is the fact that God actually worked in our lives!
It is something obvious to testify and give glory to God for that.
And as you give your testimony and give glory to God, you will also receive heavenly rewards.
If you give a great testimony to touch many believers, you can also receive a crown for it.
Also, testimonies are like a catalyst for receiving answers.
For example, some answers come immediately, but in other cases problems are solved one by one and the blessings come gradually.
Some sicknesses or infirmities also get better little by little.
In these occasions, if you testify that these are works of God, God accepts it as a confession of faith and works for you more completely.
He doesn't just give you one-time blessing, but He keeps you prosperous and gives you continual blessings.
Now, we are in the period of harvest to give glory to God greatly.
I urge you to spread your testimonies of receiving answers and blessings to encourage one another in faith.
I talked about three reasons as to why you have not been able to receive answers or a response from God.
In the next session, I will talk about three cases in which it is particularly difficult to receive the answer.
The reason why I explain all these cases is to let you know that everyone has a way to receive the answer.
I hope you will digest today's message along with prayer.
[Conclusion]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today I talked about the reasons why you do not receive a response in answers and blessings from God even though He has prepared answers and blessings for you.
First, it is because you did not fill up the measure that each of you has to fill up to receive the answer.
In order to receive the answer, you have to show your faith and love as God's children.
To show this faith and love, you have to practice the word of God diligently.
The second reason why you cannot receive the answer is because you make negative confessions.
It is the rule of the spiritual realm that things are done as you say.
The third reason why you do not receive the answer is because you pass judgment on your shepherd.
If you understand the reasons why you do not receive answers and blessings, you can also understand the ways to receive them.
And it is very important to understand the message you hear with your heart.
Even though you hear something that can directly apply to you, if you do not accept it as yours, it is useless to you.
It is the beginning of receiving answers and blessings to realize yourselves by the word of God.
Brothers and sisters, as I mentioned in the introduction, the Lord does not give up on any of us.
And I will not give up on any of you whom God entrusted to me.
So, I urge you to never give up until you receive your answer.
Also, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will try your best until you become a true child who loves the Lord completely.
[Amen] |
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