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 Sermon > Theme Words of Life |
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Title |
God Protects Us(1) - God Protects Us (1) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Exodus 8: 22 |
Date |
2014-07-06 |
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[Passage]
[Exodus 8: 22]
"But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of insects will be there, in order that you may know that I, the LORD, am in the midst of the land."
[Introduction]
Dear brothers and sisters,
Before the people of Israel came out of Egypt, there were ten plagues in Egypt. God allowed such disasters because the Pharaoh wouldn't let go of the Israelites. Beginning with the plague of blood, there were frogs, gnats, flies, pestilence, hail, locusts, darkness, and death of the firstborn, and Egypt now was almost destroyed. The sons of Israel were livingin Egypt at the time, but they had peace and the plagues had nothing to do with them.
The sons of Israel at that time lived in an area of Egypt called 'Goshen'. As recorded in today's reading passage, even though a swarm of flies covered all of Egypt, there were no flies in Goshen. In Exodus 9:26 we can read, "Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail."The ten plagues struck all Egypt except the land of Goshen. How amazing!
Suppose there are swarms of flies and locusts throughout all of South Korea including Seoul, however there are none only in the Guro Dong area where this church is located. Can somebody stop the flies and locusts and tell them not to come into this area?Also, when there is a pandemic, if it does not affect anyone in a particular area, it would be truly amazing wouldn't it?
Can such a thing really happen?But at the time of Exodus such a thing really happened, and it continues to happen today. The ten plagues that were inflicted upon Egypt symbolize all the disasters that might come upon all people in the world. Those who live in sins always suffer from pains of diseases, accidents, natural disasters, business failures, or family problems. But those children of God who dwell in the light can live a disaster-free life as if they were living in Goshen.
And you are also experiencing these things. It's because all Manmin members around the world are dwelling in a space that is protected like Goshen through the power of the shepherd. On this Feast of Harvest, I will deliver a message with the title, "God Protects Us."As we always do, let us once again remember the grace of God who has been with us in this first half of 2014. I pray in the name of the Lord thatyou will give thanks and glory to God on this Feast of Harvest, remembering the abundance and peace that God has given to us.
[Main]
Dear brothers and sisters,
First, God protects us, the believers, from the evil of the world.
Colossians 3:2 says, "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." As written, God's children should set their minds on the things above. They should store up their time, money, and efforts in the eternal kingdom of heaven. But even though they have been looking at the things above, if their attention is taken by the world, then, problems arise.
As they lose the fullness of Spirit, the things on earth begin to draw their attention. They loved living in the truth when they were full of the Spirit, but now they increasingly feel it is difficult. When they see those who take in and enjoy the world, they might even think they want to enjoy the same things. Their hearts may be taken away and they might indulge themselves in works of the flesh or go the way that has nothing to do with salvation.
But Manmin members are different. Those who are riding on the flow of spirit in this church do not look at the world. There are many spiritual means available that keep you from any chance of looking back at the world. We have the Spirit-filled worship services where words of life are preached,and fervent prayers and praises that let you change. We even have a television network that is completely different from secular TV, giving you life and happiness. Even the deep spiritual realm is unfolded before you as if you had seen it, so that you can long for Heaven more earnestly. From time to time you have opportunities to refresh your hearts, such as festivities, special events, and conferences, and God even checks your measure of faith.
All these are the love and grace of the Father who tries to protect you from the world. In this kind of grace, many members are cutting off the world that they used to enjoy, and they only try to go into spirit. And as your faith and fullness of the Spirit increases you have more testimonies of blessings.
Especially, as you read the Bible thoroughly, many of you received blessings. Let me introduce one of the testimonies. Esther Wanjiru of Nairobi, Kenya, had a hard time walking up the stairs due to spinal pain, and it was accompanied by headaches. Since October last year, she had itchiness and pain in her eyes, too. In Nairobi Manmin church, they began to read the Bible beginning in February this year, following the flow of spirit of the main church.
Esther Wanjiru also obeyed with faith. It was not easy because of the eye pain, but she read the Bible until 11 PM after Daniel prayer meeting, and she read it again from 4 AM to 8 AM. Meanwhile, she realized that she was just like the sons of Israel who were complaining even after seeing so many signs and wonders at the time of the Exodus. She repented from the heart, with tears and runny nose. Then, to her surprise, all the pain and itchiness of the eyes were gone, and her spinal pain disappeared as well. Hallelujah!
In addition to her, many of you also testified that by reading the Bible you were healed, you received answers to prayers, realized the love of God deep in your heart, and recovered your fervor for faith, and your worship service and prayer life was changed. I hope your obedience will not be a one-time deal but you will read the Word of God from now on, too.
Also, set your mind only on things above through times of grace such as word of God and prayer, preaching and visitations, and fellowship and voluntary service. In doing so, I hope you will give thanks to God even more for He has redeemed us and made us His children, and thank Him for the protection He gives us as citizens of the heavenly kingdom.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Secondly, God protected us from many disasters and diseases. Even those who are very wealthy and have social power cannot be protected from disasters and diseases completely. But those believers whom God protects can live disaster and disease free lives.
Exodus 15:26 says, "And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer."Also, even if you faced disasters by deviating from the truth or by a fault of your own, God the Healer healed you immediately if you looked back on yourself and repented.
Let us think about some of the testimonies.
[myositisossificans]In case of Saebom Park of Kim Hae Manmin church, her 9-year-old son Minsik was diagnosed with myositis ossificans, in December 2013. It is a rare disease occurringwhen there is trauma and calcium is deposited in the muscle and creates bone-like tissues. In her son's leg was a bone that was 9 centimeters long. In January this year, she attended the Prayer Center meetings in the main church together with her son. She repented many times and received the fire of the Holy Spirit. After shaking hands with me in the meeting during the Lunar New Year celebration, she was convinced her son could be healed. Another month passed, and according to the diagnosis on February 27, the bone was completely gone and the condition was healed. Next, there is a person who came back from the threshold of death.
[Nasopharyngeal cancer]Minsoo Lee had been an absentee of the church for a long time. He was diagnosed with 4th stage nasopharyngeal cancer in February 2013. There was a 5.5 centimeter tumor in a place that couldn't be operated on in the nose.It had metastasized into thelymphatic glands, shoulder bone, spine, and hip bone, and there was no hope of survival. Though it was devastating, he came back to God by the guidance of his family members.
While listening to the 'Message of the Cross' he began to repent thoroughly. When he received my prayer for the first time on May 29, 2013, the pain disappeared and the tumor's size decreased by 3 centimeters. He received my prayer once again a month later on June 28, and he saw the lump of a tumor come out of his nose while he was sneezing. According to the diagnosis, the size of the tumor was reduced by a half, and the bones with the metastasized cancer were recovered, too. On November 15, after receiving my prayer the third time, he only had the root of the tumor in his nose. In the diagnosis on March 7 this year, all his cancers were gone.
Even diseases that cannot be treated by men are nothing in the sight of God. God can work in a moment if we just break down the wall of sin. Of course, it would be better if we are protected by leading a good Christian life, without creating something requiring repentance.
Last year, Suri Tong Boon registered in ChiangRai Manmin church and she was healed of many diseases. She says, "I used to go to the hospital if I did not feel well even a little bit, but now, I am so amazed that I can live a healthy life having nothing to do with medicine. Also, it is unbelievable that I can now lead a life in faith knowing the will of God properly. God changed my gloomy and sensitive characters into bright and cheerful characters. God is the best medical doctor. I am happy, delivering the love and power of God to my neighbors. I give all thanks and glory to God."
I think you church members are professing the same thing for you are protected like Israelites in Goshen.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Thirdly, God protects us so that we will not become the prey of Satan.
In the book of Genesis, the serpent that tempted Eve to eat the fruit of knowledge came to eat the dust. This means the enemy devil will make prey of fleshly men and bring to them disasters and hardships. The enemy devil and Satan try to tempt even the saved children of God. They try to make them follow the worldly pleasure or make them stumble by giving them tests.
But as the faith of the believers increase, they have the power to stand and fight against the enemy devil. They drive away temptations and choose the truth. Even in trials, they look back on and change themselves and overcome with joy and thanksgiving. And in the works of God working for the good of everything, they receive blessings as well.
1 John 2:14 latter part says, "I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one."If you just stand on the rock of faith, you will not become prey of the enemy devil and Satan, and you are more than able to overcome with the word of God. The enemy devil can never touch those who dwell in the truth.
But most Christians today don't have any idea of the concept of casting away sins to become sanctified and theydo not know that there is a measure of faith. They might think they should live a good life, but there is hardly anybody who takes hold of the heavenly kingdom by force through circumcision of heart and casting away sins. For this reason, many of them still live in the tests and trials and are the prey of the enemy devil, even though they are believers. They say God is almighty, but when there is a problem, they rely on the world.
But we Manmin members are different. You do not only take hold of Heaven by force through circumcision of the heart, but also you experience the power of the living God. Not just those who are on the rock of faith and in spirit, but also even newcomers areprotected from the enemy devil if they will just obey the truth they learn.
There is a testimony of Eun Sook Kim in 15th Parish, who registered in the church and was healed of depression last year. She became depressed after she gave birth to a child due to the psychological trauma she had from unhappy family circumstances in her childhood. Her husband tried to go along with her, but he increasingly became impatient and they had more and more troubles.
She did not want her child to experience the 'unhappy family' she had in her childhood, but her condition didn't get better. Counseling or medical treatments didn't work, and she couldn't control her hatred, resentment, anger, and other feelings. She eventually registered in our church in July 2013 thinking she would try to rely on God. And after that, she had a dream. She looked into a mirror, and in her forehead was a worm that was 5 centimeters long.As she pulled out this worm, it kept on coming, and its total length was about 30 centimeters.God gave her the promise of healing in her dream.
Since then, she learned the word of God and she prayed earnestly to cast away hatred, resentment, complaints, and other feelings while repenting with tears.Her heart began to change, and she came to realize that all the difficult situations were not caused by others but by herself. Now, her husband is also attending church and they have a happy family. She received a happy life back that no longer has anything to do with depression.
There is another testimony from the Ukraine. Anton and his wife from Ukraine accepted the Lord long time ago, but they were always spiritually thirsty. One day, they were blessed very much by my message on TBN Russia channel. They were especially shocked by the message that the heavenly dwelling place will be different according to what kind of faith we have on this earth.
They realized they met a true shepherd while listening to the messages, and they began to listen to more messages on the church website. They received blessing to the extent that they realized the truth and practiced it. One time, they experienced the following:Anton opened a leather products shop, and the same kind of shop was opened just several meters from his shop.
At first, he had uncomfortable feelings, and he began to pray for the other shop to be closed. But while he was listening to the messages, he heard that we should not pray for something to go wrong with others but we have to pray in goodness. He repented before God with embarrassment, and he changed his mind. He wished that the other shop would do well, and he was on a good terms with that shop owner.When he was managing his employees, even in a situation where he would fire them in the past, he just treated them with endurance, love, and goodness. He also stored up fasting and prayers to change his heart.
To the extent that he changed, God blessed his business. Now, he has three shops, and his tithes increased by five times. He says although he is in Ukraine, as a member of Manmin Central Church, he is always joyful and he feels protected, thinking of the love of the Father who protects us.
Likewise, you always experience that the evil one cannot touch you and you receive blessings in various aspects to the extent that you dwell in the truth.
[Conclusion]
Dear brothers and sisters, among the ten plagues, when there was the death of the firstborn, God commanded something of the sons of Israel. God told them to catch a lamb and put its blood on the lintels and doorposts, which are top and left and right side of the entrance. When the messenger of death would come at night, he would pass over those houses that had the blood on the door, so the firstborn wouldn't die.
Even though they were sons of Israel, if they had stayed outside the house where the blood was, God said, they could not escape the plague. You should remember this fact, too. Just like none of the ten plagues fell upon the sons of Israel in Goshen, God always protects you and keeps you as long as you live in the truth.
Not just the members of the main church, but even in other countries, if they listen to the holiness gospel and dwell in the truth, they are also protected in the same spiritual space. But even though you are Manmin members, if you stay out of the blood of Jesus Christ, namely, if you deviate from the truth and dwell in darkness, God cannot protect you. Therefore, I hope you will always give thanks for the grace and love of God who has been with us and practice the truth with all your best. In doing so, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will dwell in the space of perfect protection and blessing every day. |
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