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 Sermon > Sunday Morning Service |
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Title |
God Measures Our Faith(2) - God Measures Our Faith (2) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Ezekiel 47: 1-5 |
Date |
2011-05-15 |
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Passage
Ezekiel 47: 1-5
"Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side. When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the loins. Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded."
Introduction
This is the second session in the series 'God Measures Our Faith'.
Daniel 12:10 says, "Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand."
We are now in a time that is so very near to the end of the ages.
For this reason God has been leading our church in the rapid flow of spirit.
He let us realize our sins so we can go into spirit quickly, and He showed us our fundamental sins.
He also poured down on us His utmost love and infinite grace.
He gave us the hope for Heaven so we can be ardently faithful.
If we will just ride on the flow of spirit that God has created, it's not difficult to go into spirit.
As the day of the Lord's coming draws nearer, this flow of spirit will become increasingly faster.
At the same time, the flow of flesh of the world will also become increasingly stronger.
There are people who go to church but still do not cast off evil. They still befriend the world even after listening to so many messages. These people should know that they are on the flow of flesh.
The more flesh you receive, the more you will immerse yourself into flesh.
You are likely to commit a variety of sins, so the walls of sin between God and you will only become taller.
Since you will have no strength to control yourself, you'll be swept away by the strong current of flesh.
But from this altar messages about sins leading to death, judgment, and Hell are preached constantly.
So, does anybody feel the pangs of conscience?
If you do, you must never stop listening to the word of God.
If the word pierces your heart, it is the hand of God that He is stretching out to you.
If you are trying to save a person who is being swept away by a strong current, can you just tenderly touch his hands?
Can you gently pull him by his arms? Of course not!
You have to pull him so hard that it hurts his hands and arms.
And just because they are hurting, can that person say, "Let go of my hands, it's hurting?"
He cannot do that. He will have to hold on to your hand with all his strength.
He has to try to get out of the strong current and hold on to your hands.
Namely, if you listen to the word, you have to obey it and practice it.
You have to turn back and now ride on the flow of spirit.
Those who are on the flow of spirit already must keep on dwelling in the word so they won't be swept away by the flow of flesh.
Furthermore, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will cultivate full measure of the Christ in faith to be able to save other souls who are being swept away by the flow of flesh.
[Main]
Brothers and sisters, in the last session, I talked to you about the reason why I am delivering this sermon series.
It is for you to check whether or not you have the right qualifications as children of God and whether you are ready to receive His blessings before we go into the Canaan Sanctuary.
I also explained to you the background of the reading passage.
Ezekiel saw in a vision that water came out from the Temple and flew out to the world.
This means that the word of God preached in the Temple went out to the world.
This water became deeper and deeper and finally became a river.
When Ezekiel was first guided through it, it reached his ankle, but next time it reached his knees, and waist.
Finally, it became a river that he could not ford.
Water spiritually symbolizes the word of God.
Therefore, the depth of the water symbolizes the extent to which we practice the word of God, namely our measure of faith.
God will measure the faith of each individual at the Great White Throne Judgment and give the final verdict.
Here, God will measure each one's faith with the word of God.
Nobody will be able to say they are wrongfully accused.
In the reading passage, each time before Ezekiel was guided through the water, the messenger of the LORD measure one thousand cubits.
Through this, we can understand that God measures each one's faith very accurately.
Why would the messenger of the Lord measure one thousand cubits each time?
To measure one thousand cubits symbolizes the broad and righteous heart of God.
Before He says a certain person is in the 1st level or the 2nd level of faith, he considers all the aspects first.
He does not just look at one side of a person but considers all respects comprehensively.
He considers not just the outward deeds but also the depth of the heart that cannot be seen.
Also, he is not biased.
He does not have any favoritism towards anybody.
He solely discerns with the measurement of the word of God.
Let me give you an example with His commandment to keep the Sabbath holy.
There are two believers, Brother Kim and Deacon Lee attending the Sunday service in the church.
Brother Kim is a new-believer while Deacon Lee has been attending church for 10 years.
But both of them had some idle thoughts, thinking like, "I am tired. I wish the service would end quickly. I want to go home and rest."
Brother Kim fortunately thought that he shouldn't be having such thoughts for he had decided to lead a life in Christ.
On the other hand, Deacon Lee habitually has idle thoughts and feels tired every Sunday, but he is not sensitive about it.
On the outside, neither of them worshipped in spirit and truth.
Now, would God say both of them did not keep the Lord's Day properly?
God does not measure each one with exactly same measurement, just seeing the outside.
He searches the length of their Christian life, their titles, their actions, and also the depths of their hearts to make the judgment.
If they have a title in the church attending church for some time, God applies a higher standard to measure their faith.
So, God may say that Brother Kim kept the Lord's Day holy while Deacon Lee did not.
Not just on the Judgment Day, but also in our everyday life God measures our faith.
As our faith grows up step by step, God searches everything according to the words of the Bible and acknowledges that we have reached a certain level of faith.
He never says, "You passed," after a casual consideration.
For example, when we go up from the 2nd level of faith to the 3rd level, He watches whether we have certainly cut off the works of the flesh.
He says we have passed only when there is clear evidence.
Also, He measures our faith accurately when He gives us answers or blessings.
Through the seven Spirits, He measures joy, prayer, thanksgiving, keeping the commandments, faith, faithfulness, and love.
Do you know your measure of faith accurately?
Some people are not even sure of their salvation. They question whether or not they can be saved. Some others say they are sure they will be saved because they have more than enough faith to have passed the 1st level of faith.
Still others have only a vague conception about their measure faith.
But the clear fact is that God is measuring each one's faith very accurately.
You should also measure your faith correctly.
You should at least have the assurance of salvation.
It's because we don't know when God is going to call our spirit.
Also, if you long for New Jerusalem, you should measure your faith even more precisely.
It's because you can understand what you have to do specifically to advance into the next level only when you understand the level that you are at right now.
Here, you have to measure your faith according to the word of God and the Holy Spirit.
You must not measure your faith with a subjective view based on your personal feelings.
It should be obvious that you try to measure your faith only by reflecting upon your words and deeds according to the word of God.
But the level of faith still cannot be determined just by observing the outward appearance and then dividing it with the cut of a knife.
That is why God searches not the appearance but the heart.
Therefore, you have to reflect upon your words, deeds, and thoughts, but you have to rely on the Holy Spirit when you do that.
It's because only God knows the heart of men.
The Holy Spirit is God who dwells in our hearts.
He knows each heart better than anybody.
The Holy Spirit gives the assurance of salvation to those who have the faith to be saved.
He gives hope of Heaven and spiritual joy and confidence.
Based upon this, the believers can discern whether or not they have faith to receive salvation and determine at which level of faith they are.
Brothers and sisters, just as the messenger of the Lord measured one thousand cubits, before God measures each one's faith He first measures each one's deeds and heart.
He searches the deeds and heart of countless people with His broad, great, and deep heart.
Based on this, He measures each one's faith without any error.
Those who truly believe this fact cannot speak or act carelessly at any given moment.
The Bible testifies that God searches all respects of each person.
For example, in Heaven there are angels that record each word and deed of the children of God.
Matthew 18:10 says, "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven."
The angels record all the words and deeds of the souls in their charge and make reports to God.
This record will be the evidence at the Final Judgment.
But before God, not just the words and deeds, but also the depth of heart is revealed clearly.
For example, the seven Spirits of God and the four living creatures search even the depths of men's hearts.
In Revelation 5:6, the apostle John said about the Lamb who is the Lord, "Having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth."
Here, the seven Spirits are likened to seven eyes, and it is because their role is to search and measure.
The four living creatures do not only escort God but also they search the deeds and hearts of men.
Especially, the eagle-like living creature searches the extent that each individual imprints and cultivates the word of God in their hearts.
Eagles have very good sight and they can see very small objects from a distance.
In much the same way the eagle-like living creature searches the heart of each one without any error.
It can discern clearly and accurately even the depths of the heart.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 says, "For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil." And Matthew 12:36 says, "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment."
Even the things that people think are done in secret, in fact, are not done in secret.
It is because everything will be revealed before your guardian angel, and the angel in heaven that records all your words and deeds, the Seven Spirits of God, and the Four Living Creatures.
Also, even the words and actions that you do not take seriously will all be judged.
There are so many eyes that are watching us, and how can we do something outside of faith?
Therefore, I hope you will always be confident of yourself whether you are with others or by yourself.
But why does God pay so much attention to accurate measurement of faith?
It is not to see our blemish, discount our faith, or to punish us.
He measures accurately to give us as many chances as possible. Furthermore, it is to give us more rewards.
Of course, He tries to give us the highest score possible, but without any bias or error.
Therefore we should try our best.
1 Corinthians 9:24 says, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win."
If you want to reach the full measure of faith and receive the prize, I hope you will run towards the goal of achieving the greatest faith.
From the next session, I will talk about the sins that will cut you off from salvation with examples from both Old and New Testaments. I will be doing this so that you will understand the cut-off line of salvation clearly.
[Conclusion]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, concerning the reason why God is explaining the reading passage to us, he said as follows:
"At this end of time, there will be few who see heaven with spiritual eyes and who long for Heaven.
That is why this message is being given to you so you can make the heavenly kingdom known and people can long for it."
He continued, "Also, I give this message to you so that people will understand how organized the heavenly kingdom is, and how many messengers of the Lord are doing their duties in each area to measure their faith and the amount of the prayer accurately, so that they will be warned in advance."
Also, God wants us to place our hope in Heaven.
It is a clear fact that your faith is being measured.
2 Corinthians 5:10 says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."
Just imagine that the messenger of the Lord is standing in front of you with a line in his hand at the Final Judgment.
On the one hand, those who have faith will face that moment with overwhelming joy.
On the other hand, if your measure of faith did not get to the cut-off line and you are about to be sentenced to eternal death, how terror-stricken you would be!
It will be sheer tragedy.
We still have a chance to repent while we are breathing on this earth, but there will be no more opportunity at that time.
We cannot say the verdict is not right, and the verdict will never be changed.
It is because the sentence will be given without the slightest possibility of error along with all the evidences of support.
None of you here should face that moment in fear.
So, I hope you will increase your faith before that day.
Show to all the eyes that are watching you the kind of heart, words, and deeds that can give you the heavenly prize.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will have more than enough faith to just pass the line of salvation, and have sufficient faith to enter into New Jerusalem on the Judgment Day! |
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