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 Sermon > Theme Words of Life |
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Title |
Heaven(55) - New Jerusalem(13) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
John 13: 32 |
Date |
2008-08-31 |
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Passage
John 13: 32
"if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately."
Introduction
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This is the 55th session of Heaven sermon series. In the last session, I explained to you about the area of the Lord in New Jerusalem. The area of the Lord is located is right hand side of and somewhat below the throne of God. At the center of the area of the Lord is located His castle, and the castles of His disciples are located around it.
Not only the disciples of the Lord but all who cultivated the whole spirit at the time of the Lord enter into the area of the Lord.
Today, I will talk to you about the area of the Holy Spirit.
The era of the Holy Spirit is from the Pentecost until the second coming of the Lord.
Those who heard the gospel, received the Holy Spirit and go into the whole spirit during this period will go into the area of the Holy Spirit.
If you accomplish whole spirit, you will go into this area.
Thus, the true home for us is this area of the Holy Spirit, which I am going to introduce to you now. Salmon are born in rivers but live most of their lives in the sea, but they go back to where they were born before they die.
After living in the vast sea, they go back to the river where they were born when the time comes. It's difficult to go upstream, but they never give up even though they may die going back.
If this mere fish is also going back to its place of origin, and what should we do as children of God?
Hebrews 6:19 says, "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,"
Through this message, I hope you will hold tightly to the cord of hope and put your anchor of your soul in New Jerusalem.
By doing so, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will reach the area of the Holy Spirit.
Main
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the area of the Holy Spirit is located at the left side, below the throne of God.
At the central part are located buildings in various sizes with what is called 'onion domes'. That is the castle of the Holy Spirit.
In general, if you see the castle of the Holy Spirit it has the soft and warm appearance like the bosom of a mother.
At the center is located a grand and magnificent building covered with sardius, also called carnelian. This is the main building of the castle of the Holy Spirit. The river of water of life that flows out from the throne of God passes by this main building of the castle of the Holy Spirit and goes to each corner of the area of the Holy Spirit.
This is the same in the area of the Lord, too. The river of water of life that originates from the throne of God passes by the main building of the castle of the Lord and goes to every corner of the area of the Lord.
It flows around all places and finally goes back to the throne of God. The area of the land that is given to an individual is very large, and the buildings are also very big and magnificent.
For example, land that would cover the area of the city of Seoul or even greater can be given to an individual.
Then, how many buildings and gardens and facilities will there be in that area?
Well, among them, there are castles that stand out more than the castles of any individuals in their size and splendor.
They are the castles of the Lord and the Holy Spirit. Rather than a castle, they are more like a big city.
The area of New Jerusalem is 58 times bigger than South Korea, and thus the area of the Lord and the Holy Spirit is 19 times bigger than South Korea, which is one third of the New Jerusalem.
Their style of construction is unique, and we can feel the delicate touch of God the Father from every detail.
The other buildings and dwellings were built by the angels under the supervision of the Lord, but the castles of the Lord and the Holy Spirit are built by God Himself.
There is an arch-shape bridge between the castle of the Lord and the castle of the Holy Spirit that connects the two castles.
This bridge is very splendid and beautiful. It is made with clouds that give out clear and bright lights.
In the middle of the bridge is a beautiful meeting place where the Lord and the Holy Spirit can meet and have conversations.
There is a table of precious stones in that meeting place where the Lord and the Holy Spirit sit and talk to each other. It also has a brilliantly radiating parasol of the colors of the rainbow suspended above it.
Only the Lord and the Holy Spirit can enter into this place. No other person, even from New Jerusalem, can enter into this place. It is such an exclusive place.
Sometimes the Lord comes out first and waits for the Holy Spirit, and at other times the Holy Spirit comes out first and waits for the Lord. The two talk to each other like true brothers.
Under the bridge flows the river of water of life that is clear and as beautiful as crystal. They talk about their ministries on earth.
Brothers and sisters, in beautiful and colorful manner around the castle of the Holy Spirit are located the houses of those who accomplished whole spirit during the time of the Holy Spirit.
The construction of some of the houses has already been completed while others are almost finished.
Still others are in the middle of construction process. So many angels decorate different parts of these houses with beautiful jewels.
For some houses, the grounds are enlarged because the owner of the house leads more people to salvation on earth. Then, the angels will build new buildings on the enlarged property.
Those who have gone into whole spirit do everything for the glory of God, whether they eat, drink, or whatever they may do. So, from the moment we go into whole spirit, all our acts and deeds will be stored in heaven as our rewards.
Suppose a man of whole spirit and another man in the third level of faith did the same work for the same period of time. Still, the rewards in heaven will be very different.
Why is it so? Those who are in the third level of faith still have fleshly attributes in their hearts.
So, when they work for God, they sometimes do it with a joyful and thankful heart, but at other times they don't.
For example, when they do some voluntary works, they first begin with a thankful heart, but as the work becomes tougher and harder and if their coworkers do not work as hard, they may develop a feeling of being inconvenienced or discomfort in their heart.
They may even have fleshly thoughts thinking, "Nobody is recognizing this work, so why should I work so hard?"
Also, if they have opinions that are different from their coworkers, they don't want to do that work anymore. Later, they may just do it because they feel compelled to do it.
They may even complain out loud and pass judgment on others. If they have fleshly hearts, the thankful and joyful heart that they first had can later change.
What God the Father receives from us is not the work itself, but the aroma of our heart.
But as long as we have fleshly attributes, the aroma from our heart at times cannot be perfect. Also, even though we store up some rewards, we may cancel them out by speaking out words of complaint and resentment.
Of course, not all who are in the third level of faith will act in this way.
No matter what level of faith we are in, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can work with the perfect aroma of heart for that moment.
We have joyful and thankful hearts no matter what, and we fulfill our duties with our love for God and the earnestness of our hearts. If we work this way, it will be our completed reward in heaven.
But until we go into spirit, it's not easy to keep this fullness of the Holy Spirit all the time.
We may be Spirit-filled sometimes and at other times we are not. We sometimes work hard but at other times we don't. We change as much as we have flesh in our heart.
And to the extent we cast off this flesh from our heart and cultivate a spiritual heart, this kind of changing will disappear. If we go into spirit completely, we will always work with joy and thankfulness, so there will be great rewards in heaven.
At the fourth level of faith, where one has cultivated spirit in heart, a person loves God to the utmost degree.
God the Father therefore pays back 30 or 60 times more of what a man of spirit has done. The same thing is applied to heavenly rewards.
Furthermore, a man of whole spirit who is in the fifth level of faith can please God in all things.
God the Father pays back at least 60 times, and even 100 times more than what a man of whole spirit has done.
That is why I am pleading with you to come into spirit and whole spirit quickly. Since you are working for God with all your energy anyway, how much better would it be if you can receive 30, 60, or 100 times more blessings and rewards for what you are doing?
Also if you want to go to New Jerusalem, you obviously have to store up a lot of rewards.
The area of the land that is given to an individual is so big, beyond our imagination.
To build various buildings and to decorate all those buildings with various jewels, you should store up a lot of rewards.
I hope you will understand this spiritual principle and work faithfully in all aspects so that you can go into spirit and whole spirit quickly.
Brothers and sisters, God the Father has let us know about the heavenly houses of some of our church members. These are the rewards that will be given to them if they accomplish the whole spirit and fulfill their duties.
First, I will talk to you about the house of a person who prays fervently day and night for the kingdom and righteousness of God and thus strengthens the church very much.
This person's house will be built with the aroma of prayer and endurance.
It is decorated with brilliant jewels from the entrance, and especially, there is big pearl.
This person had many heartbreaking events until she gave up the things that she considered the most precious to her.
But she prayed saying, "Father, I love You so much that I have offered you the things that I love the most. Therefore Father, please show me the evidence that You love me, too!"
Until her heart was filled with the love of the Father, she spent so many days with tearful prayers and with endurance.
God the Father remembers that she unchangingly marched on in her race of faith bearing with the agonizing times.
He is making her heavenly home to fit her tastes and character so that it will give her eternal consolation and happiness.
According to the joyous harmony in the sweetness of her character, each corner of the house is intimately decorated in complete harmony of joyful sweetness.
For example, the garden is very comfortable and there are pretty decorations that give happiness to the owner.
Beautiful flowers of various colors and shapes make each corner of the garden beautiful.
At one corner of the garden is a tea table. She can have tea with her beloved ones. There are people whom she wanted to stay with on earth but could not because she was busy working for God. She can invite these people here.
A small corner of the garden also has this delicate love and consideration of the Father God.
And what would the main house be like?
When she fulfills her duty completely, God is preparing to give her heavenly rewards that are truly beyond our comprehension.
It's the same with all of you.
I hope you will believe that God will make your houses in heaven according to what you have done on earth to best suit your characters and tastes.
Let me introduce the house of another person.
This person has contributed to the kingdom of God very much through publications. In the main house of this person there are many rooms, and among them is a special room.
This room has a golden table, a beautiful chair with gold decorations, and a golden candlestick. There is also a bookshelf with so many books. This is the reward given to this person for giving glory to God through publications.
God the Father remembers this person loved books and gives her the study that suits her heart the most.
Lastly, let me tell you about the rewards of a pastor that will be given when he fulfills his duty of becoming a martyr.
When this pastor fulfills his duty of martyrdom and sees his house in heaven, he will not be able to speak a word as tears of joy and amazement flood his eyes.
Upon entering through the gate and as he looks around his house his amazement will almost put him in a state of extreme ecstasy. First, he will be amazed by the size of the grounds where his house is located. Next, he will be surprised by the garden that is so well-maintained with beautiful flowers and trees.
From the main gate through the garden and to the main house lays a golden road.
As he walks on this golden road, the flowers along the road will give out their scent to praise the meritorious service of their master.
They comfort this pastor for the sufferings that he went through on earth until he became a martyr.
Then, from the heart of this pastor will spring up the love for the Lord and his shepherd as a thick aroma.
He will make a confession from the depth of his heart thinking, "My shepherd had entrusted with me this duty because he loved me so much. He permitted me do it to let me dwell in this love of the Father!"
As he walks up to the porch of the main house, he can see that the walls are decorated with various precious stones.
Among them, the lights of the sardius which has blood-like color and the sapphire with deep blue color stand out.
The sardius represents that this pastor worked faithfully until he gave his life with his passionate love for the Lord.
The sapphire commemorates that he had the fidelity of his faith even under the threats to his life.
On the outer wall of the main house are engraved the contents of overcoming trials and especially things about the martyrdom.
It also has a writing that says the very day, the month and the year that he became a martyr; the reason and the way of his martyrdom; and how he completely fulfilled the will of the Father. In this house is everything that this pastor wanted on earth.
On the inner wall of the living room are big wall-paintings of different scenes.
The paintings explain how this son changed himself after meeting the Lord.
The big size wall paintings show the process of his changing into spirit and whole spirit. It includes how much he loved the Lord, what kind of spiritual things he understood at different moments, and what he did with what kinds of attitudes at a certain date.
God the Father has also prepared a special present to give to this son.
God placed many different kinds of exercise equipment at one corner of his garden. We don't have to work out or exercise for our body in heaven so why is there such a thing here?
It's because the Father knows that this son loved exercising on earth. But as he became a pastor, he did not participate in it while working for the Lord.
Because he loved the Lord, he gave up even those things that he could have participated in doing so that he could work more diligently for the Lord instead. And God repays all these things this way.
It's like a souvenir or something that can be a tangible memory. When this son sees this, his heart will be warmed once again and he will give thanks for the love of the Father.
He will praise the delicate love of the Father who repays everything, not missing even a little bit of joy.
Being like a souvenir it doesn't mean he can just look at the equipment. He can use them.
This exercising equipment is made with some special materials. A pair of dumbbells, for example, is made with a special material of the Father, so that the dumbbell itself is like a shiny jewel.
Something amazing is that the weight of the dumbbells is controlled automatically as the person wants. If the person wants it to be heavier, it automatically becomes heavier.
New Jerusalem is a space where everything is done as one harbors something in the heart.
In the next session, I will introduce the house of one of our church members who went into New Jerusalem, and the biggest house in the area of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, I explained to you about the area of the Holy Spirit in New Jerusalem.
And I briefly introduced to you the houses of some of the people in that area. Those who go into New Jerusalem have lived according to the will of God while on earth.
They gave up what they loved, what they liked, and what they wanted to have and lived only for the Lord. They have the willingness to sacrifice even their lives for the Lord.
God the Father, who has delicate love, remembers all these little things and does not miss any of them. He pays back everything as heavenly rewards.
Today's reading passage John 13:32 says, "if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately."
He gives us overflowing comfort and love so that our self-control to give up what we like and trying to bind ourselves will all be rewarded.
Those who look up to this kind of heavenly honor will not feel it burdensome to give up their 'self'.
It is rather something joyful and thankful.
I hope you with greater hope will cast away all the earthly things and gain only things above, the heavenly honor.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will also have your eternal house in the area of the Holy Spirit in New Jerusalem.
[Amen] |
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