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 Sermon > Sunday Morning Service |
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Title |
Measure of Faith(25) - 5th Level of Faith(6) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Romans12:3 |
Date |
2006-06-18 |
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[Passage]
[Romans 12: 3]
"For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith."
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
There are many people who believe in the Lord and have received salvation, but each one's faith is different from person to person.
Some have little measure of faith just enough to receive salvation while some other have great measure of faith to experience God's works in everything they do and give glory to God greatly.
According to the measure of each one's faith, the limit to which one can experience God's works in his life will be different. God wants His children to grow up to have greater faith everyday.
When a baby is born, he shouldn't stay as a baby all the time, but he has to grow up to become a young man and an adult. Likewise, in spirit, too, your faith has to grow up.
It means believers have to cast off sins and evil and resemble the image of the holy God. They have to accomplish sanctification of their heart to go into spirit and become men of whole spirit who resemble God completely.
This is the 25th session on the measure of faith and I will talk to you about the fifth level of faith.
I hope you will keep this message in your mind and accomplish it in your heart so that you will have great faith to please God.
I pray in the name of the Lord that, by doing so, you will be able to walk with God all the time.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I told you that the fifth level of faith is the faith to please God.
With this level of faith, your heart resembles God the Father's heart so much that you can understand and see through the heart and will of the Father and obey His will completely, so that you can please the Father.
But even though men understand the holiness and goodness of God in knowledge, they cannot really obey God's will completely.
Their heart has to change into heart of spirit to become one with God and the Lord.
Only then can they understand what God really wants and obey it to please Him.
Now, if you go into the fifth level of faith, you have accomplished heart of spirit that resembles God's heart, so does that mean you don't have to be under the human cultivation any more? Of course it doesn't. Just as God who is spirit is limitless, the spiritual realm has no end, and there is no end in going into spirit.
When a bundle of grapes ripe very well, in this world, it will be the end. But spiritual fruits can grow up limitlessly, and they can ripe to have more and more density.
For example, if you graduate from elementary, junior high, and senior high school and enter college, can you say you don't have anything more to learn? Also, even if you finish your master's and doctorate degree, you cannot say you finished studying. Even though you study about one subject for your whole life, there is no end to your studies.
It is much more so in spiritual realm. Even though you go into the fifth level of faith by going through so many trials, it is just the beginning to enter into the spiritual realm that is endless. From the first level to the fourth level, we can measure the level of faith saying you have accomplished 50% at the second level or 80% at the third level of faith.
But once you get into the fifth level of faith, you cannot say such a thing as you have accomplished how many percent in 5th level.
Just as God who is spirit has no end or limit, as you go into deeper and deeper level of spirit, there will be even deeper level unfolding itself endlessly.
But just for the sake of convenience in explanation, we can say those who had the greatest measure of faith among the patriarchs in the Bible that they reached the highest level even in the fifth level of faith.
This is about those patriarchs such as Elijah, Moses, and Abraham who resembled God completely and pleased Him and communicated with Him clearly.
Even after you go into the fifth level of faith, until you reach the highest level, God Himself guides you and fills you with the knowledge of spirit.
This knowledge of spirit is a secret that men who belong to this earth cannot understand or realize though they hear it. It is about the deep things of God the Father that we will begin to learn when we go to the space in New Jerusalem.
When you get into the fifth level of faith, although your body is in this physical world, you will belong to the spiritual realm I spirit. Therefore, you can being to learn and understand even the spiritual things that we will begin to learn and understand after we go to the heavenly kingdom.
As we gain this secret knowledge of spirit, understand God more clearly, and change our heart into a godly heart resembling the Father, we can get to the highest level of the fifth level of faith.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if you get to the highest level at the fifth level of faith, all your characteristics and natures will turn into good points.
I told you that when you are at the fourth level o faith, you have something like 'traces of flesh'.
Namely, it cannot be considered evil, but according to what you have inherited from parents and what you have input in your growth, you may have some deficiencies.
But if you go into the highest level of the fifth level of faith, even these traces of flesh will disappear and you will be filled only with truth.
But it does not mean all your characters and personalities will become the same with each other. You will still have the unique characters of your own, but even the traces of flesh that used to be your weak points will now become good points.
For example, even though you are born with such a weak character, if you go into deeper level of the fifth level of faith, your heart will be filled with strength and brevity, having no weak mind. And, the originally weak mind will become gentle and lovely character. It will become your good point in truth.
Even those with very upright, straightforward, and sharp characters will be filled with meekness and softness like cotton in their heart.
Then, the originally upright character will become clear and clean heart in truth that it will give out such pure aroma.
It is the city of New Jerusalem where this kind of people gather; those who have their own unique characters but resemble the Lord completely.
Therefore, the houses in New Jerusalem will give out their fragrance according to the heart of the owner.
Even though there is no doorplate, just by seeing and feeling the spiritual light and fragrance coming out from that house, we can see whose house it is. Just as each one's characters and personalities are different, and just as the aromas of heart we produce going through the trials are different, each house will give out various, beautiful aroma coming out from the heart of the owner.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, those who resemble God the Father and the Lord will not only understand the spiritual knowledge that goes beyond human thoughts but also they will experience amazing spiritual things that go beyond human limits.
There are many things of this kind in the Bible. People changed the weather like rain and hails, and also stopped the sun and the moon from moving. Some revived the dead or healed the sickness and infirmities.
Completely impossible things by men can be done and manifested to the extent that we resemble God and receive His power.
One of the most amazing things is to be caught up to heaven without seeing the death as a man. If you think about the Bible, you can remember many records about this.
Hebrews 11:5 says, "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God."
Also, 2 Kings 2:11 says, "As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven."
Also, in the case of Moses, according to Jude 1:9 portraying the archangel Michael and the devil arguing about the body of Moses, and Deuteronomy 34:6 saying nobody knows his burial place today, we can infer that his death was different from other people.
The Bible says it is appointed for men to die once, and how is it possible for men not to see death?
It is possible when you become one with God in the fifth level of faith. Psalm 82:6 says, "I said, "You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High." John 10:35 says, "If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),"
As said, those who received the law of God and accomplished the commandments completely will become one with God and the Lord, so the justice of the spiritual realm can be applied going beyond the justice of this physical world.
Therefore, in the eyes of the men of flesh, these people can manifest such amazing things to make them look like gods, and even death will pass them. Let me elaborate on this.
Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
According to the law of the spiritual realm, death comes to only those who have sins. But those who believe in the Lord will be forgiven of their sins by faith, and even though they face physical death, their bodies will resurrect on the last day and they will have imperishable body.
But if you go into the deeper level of the fifth level of faith having no traces of flesh and resembling the characters of God very much, you will be qualified to avoid even this death of the body.
Namely, people like Elijah and Enoch loved God to the utmost degree and they had cast off all sins in their heart and even the traces of flesh remaining in their nature.
They were the ones who resembled God the most filling their heart with the truth.
Also, although they live in the Old Testament times, because they looked up to Jesus Christ who was to come in deep communication with God, so that even their past sins and original sins could be forgiven.
That's why they were acknowledged that they were sinless and they didn't have to see the death of their body. Of course it does not mean anybody who is in the deeper level of the fifth level of faith will not see death and be caught up to heaven.
Even though one is fully qualified, because he is born on this earth under the providence of the human cultivation, God let most of these people see death following the order of this earth.
Also, sometimes, God let those people like the apostle Paul and Peter become martyrs after they went into whole spirit, so that they will receive more honorable rewards, and through their blood, the kingdom of God could prevail.
In the cases of Enoch and Elijah, God took them up in His special providence and let it be written in the Bible so that even the believers of later times can realize such thing is possible and long for it.
Likewise, to be in the fifth level of faith and to resemble the heart of God and show perfect obedience is such a deep spiritual level. I urge you in the name of the Lord to yearn for this realm and come into perfect level of spirit more quickly.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, one more thing you have to remember is that even though one at the fifth level of faith has reached the maturity of the Christ, and even though he has reached the level where he does not have to see the death of body, he can never be same as the Christ.
Even though a child loves and tries to resemble his father so much, he can never be same as his father.
In the same way, even though a man resembles God the Creator and the Lord very much, he can never be at the same level with God being a creature.
Also, in relationship between a spiritual teacher and disciple, the disciple can never go higher than the level of the teacher.
Matthew 10:24-25 says, "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. [25] "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master."
Luke 6:40 says, "A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher."
In this world, in physical things, the disciple can get to higher level than his teacher, but it can never happen in spirit.
Spiritual realm is endless and so deep that men of flesh can never understand it.
It's just like the sea. If you go deep into the sea, you can see such a wondrous and beautiful world, but if you just look at the sea from outside, you can only see blue water with rolling waves.
Unless you go into the spiritual level yourself and understand it, you can not either explain it or teac it.
Even though you just teach what you heard and learned as knowledge, you are after all talking about what you don't really understand, so it is same as a blind man leading another blind man.
That's why 1 Corinthians 4:15 says, "For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel." It clearly distinguishes between a teacher who teaches with knowledge and a father who guides you to spirit and gives you life.
In order to understand the spiritual realm, you must be able to clearly communicate with God and God has to let you understand it.
For this, you have to store up great amount of prayer and fasting. Only those who penetrate into the spiritual realm and communicate with God to understand His will and heart can become true teachers who can guide other people into spiritual realm.
To follow as a disciple the way that your teacher has already gone through is incomparably easier than to penetrate into spiritual realm by yourself. But this also means that because you are following your teacher, you cannot go beyond the level of your teacher who has gone through the way of spiritual realm himself.
For example, Moses was taught by God Himself, so Joshua, who learned from Moses, could never go into deeper level than Moses.
Also, Elisha received the double portion of his teacher Elijah's spirit, but he was not better than his teacher Elijah.
Elijah was caught up without seeing the death, but Elisha was diseased to death.
Since I met God first time, until I came to learn His heart and will in communication with Him, I spent countless days praying all night fasting and praying so much.
As much as I have experienced spiritual things myself during those times, I can prove the existence of the spiritual realm and the dimensions of faith and guide you to come into deeper level of spirit.
The messages like the 'Message of the Cross', 'Spirit, soul, and body' lectures', and this sermon on the 'Measure of Faith' were all came from God while I was communicating with God during those times.
Also, by manifesting the works of God's great power, I can show you the way to receive God's power and perform it.
If you are at the fourth level of faith, you can guide and teach those people who are at the third level of faith or lower.
But you cannot guide them to higher level than fourth level.
That is the reason why you don't consider the flock of sheep entrusted to you as your own sheep but you try to connect them to the shepherd.
Namely, it is to let those sheep go into deeper levels of spirit than your own level of spirit by the guidance of the teacher.
[Conclusion]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, since I explained the deeper contents about the fifth level of spirit, you might have found it a little difficult.
1 Corinthians 2:13 says, "which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words."
As said, spiritual things can be understood only by the works of the Holy Spirit. It is difficult to express spiritual things with words of this physical world, and even if we express them very well, you cannot understand them fully in flesh.
But God wants every one of you to be saved and also He wants you to come into the deep level of spirit and understand even the deep things of the heart of the Father.
Even in this world, if you have a friend who understands you very well, it will be so glad and happy to talk to him, and you may feel he is closer than your family members.
When you quickly go into spirit and whole spirit and understand the deep things of God, you can share intimate love with Him like His friend, and this is to fulfill the purpose of God's creating human beings.
I hope you will long for good things and spiritual things with more earnest heart.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will more deeply communicate with God day by day and understand His heart and will, so that you will be able to share perfect love with Him. |
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