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 Sermon > Measure of Faith |
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Title |
Measure of Faith(27) - 5th Level of Faith(8) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Romans12:3,Revelation21:10-11 |
Date |
2006-07-09 |
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[Passage]
[Romans 12: 3] [Revelation 21: 10-11]
"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."
"And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, [11] having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper."
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This is the 27th session on the measure of faith, and I will talk to you about 'New Jerusalem'. Those who believe in the Lord and are saved go into the heavenly kingdom, but it doesn't mean all who are saved will go into same dwelling place.
According to each one's faith and deeds, the dwelling place and rewards become different.
The best dwelling place among many heavenly dwelling places is New Jerusalem. New Jerusalem is the crystal of love that God, who is love itself, has prepared for you.
He has been enduring for such a long time to gain true children with whom He could share true love, and it is the place that the Father has made in order to share His love and happiness forever with those children.
Each petal and jewel contains God's love and power. It is a place full of God's glory. God has made this New Jerusalem with His best and is waiting for you to come in there.
But to enter New Jerusalem, you must have the qualifications. Namely, you have to go into the 5th level of faith, having no forms of evil. You have to be filled with fruits of truth completely and be faithful in all God's house.
Through this message, I hope you will long for this city of glory, New Jerusalem, even more and have the qualifications to enter it. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will enter the city and live there forever with the Father God and the Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in Revelation chapter 21 and 22 is depicted overall shape of New Jerusalem. It is a cube with its width, height, and length of 12,000 stadia.
This is 6,000 "Ri" in Korean measure, or 1,500 miles.
The walls of the city are made of transparent and blue jasper. The whole city is pure gold like clear glass. Even the roads are pure gold.
On each of the four walls of the city are three gates respectively, totaling 12 gates. They are arch-shaped pearl gates, and on them are written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel.
The gates are made with pearls because the pearl has spiritual meaning.
For a pearl oyster to make a pearl, there needs to be time of pain and long endurance. When a foreign substance pierces the flesh of the oyster causing great pain, the oyster secretes nacre to cover the foreign substance again and again. The final outcome of the secretion is the pearl.
For believers to have the qualification to go into New Jerusalem, each one has to endure pains and tears to live a life of complete truth.
The gates of New Jerusalem are made with this meaning. The foundations of the city are made with 12 jewels, and each of these jewels has a spiritual meaning.
Detailed explanations are in the book 'Heaven II', and now, I will just briefly explain to you.
First foundation is jasper symbolizing spiritual faith. The second is sapphire, which means firm and upright heart.
The third foundation, chalcedony, represents innocence and sacrifice. It is the heart to sacrifice one's life for his neighbors and kingdom of God without seeking his own. The fourth, emerald, symbolizes righteousness which is a fruit of light and cleanliness.
The fifth, sardonyx, is to be faithful until death. The sixth, carnelian, means enthusiasm and earnest heart. It is like the passionate love of Paul accomplishing the kingdom of God in giving of himself.
The seventh, chrysolite, is mercy; and the eighth, beryls, is patience. The ninth is topaz, which represents goodness, namely the goodness of the Lord who does not quarrel or cry out and who does not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick.
The tenth is chrysoprase which symbolizes self-control. The eleventh, jacinth stands for purity and holiness of heart. The twelfth is amethyst which symbolizes beauty and meekness.
If you consolidate all the spiritual meanings contained in each jewel, it becomes the perfect heart of God and the Lord. The reason why foundations of the city are made with these jewels is to tell us that believers also have to bear these spiritual fruits completely in their heart to dwell in the city.
When you pass the pearl gates and go into the city, there is no sun, moon, or lamp, but it is covered by God's glory and is always bright as daytime and filled with very bright lights.
From afar, the lights of jewels that decorate houses are seen through the clouds of glory, and it makes the whole city look alive.
When I explained about the third kingdom of heaven, I said the houses in third kingdom and New Jerusalem are not single-story but multiple-story buildings and are decorated splendidly with jewels and pure gold.
You can own a pond, garden, ski slope, zoo, golf course, ball-room or anything you want personally.
To compare the houses of New Jerusalem and the third kingdom, we can say the size is completely different. On the average, the houses in the third kingdom are about 60% as big as the houses of New Jerusalem.
Namely, houses in New Jerusalem are about two times bigger than the houses in the third kingdom. Also, houses in the third kingdom are made with jewels, but the kind of jewel and the lights are different. There are innumerable kinds of jewels in New Jerusalem, and many of them give out not only one kind of light but two or three kinds of lights.
But in the third kingdom, the kinds of jewels are not as many as those of New Jerusalem, and none of the jewels give out two or three kinds of lights.
Of course, the jewels in the third kingdom give out lights that are more beautiful and magnificent than any jewel of this earth.
Once, God explained it to us. To make our imagination come as close as possible to the real jasper in heaven, we can think of 'the sprinkling and shining of sunshine on blue sea'.
Just jasper alone is like this, and when so many jewels give out their lights together, how splendid the site of the houses would be! Each house has special characteristics according to the depth of the spiritual level of the owner, his faithfulness in God's kingdom, and according to his deeds and tastes.
Just by seeing such things as how much light of glory is surrounding the house and what kinds of jewels are decorating the house, we can see how sanctified the house owner has been and how much he pleased God on this earth.
Let me tell you about one house as an example. Within endlessly vast area, there is the main house, which is like a castle, and there are walls surrounding the main house.
These walls look like jasper or bluish transparent glass. The inside of the walls are not seen from the outside, but you can see the outside clearly from the inside.
Unlike the walls of this world that are built with bricks, it is like a piece of art without any juncture. The wall itself gives out a beautiful aroma, and the flowers below the walls give out deep fragrance, too.
On the wall, there are fine patterns as if they are engraved. But it doesn't look like it is engraved from either side of the wall but from inside the transparent wall itself.
The pattern of writings and drawings is vaguely seen. It comes up and floats lucidly. It writes about how the house owner pleased God while he was on the earth and other things about the owner such as his goodness and the beauty of the heart he accomplished.
Through these engravings, God comforts the times that the house owner spent on this earth.
The wall is pure, precious stone and a reward with delicate engravings in it. How much more (elegantly) would the inside have been made?
When those who go into New Jerusalem see the house that God prepared for them, they become speechless and they just keep on shedding tears of thanks.
As you enter the main gate, at the sight of such vast area and the very delicate decorations, you become enraptured.
In the garden, so many kinds of flowers and trees are beautifully located (landscaped), and birds with beautiful feathers sing songs for you.
As you pass the garden and reach the main house, there is a road of pure gold. The flowers at the sides of the road give out beautiful fragrance. They praise the works of the owner and comfort all the sufferings and hardships he had on the earth.
In the house, there is everything that each one has wanted. For example, in a house of a person who has saved many souls through publication, there is a good study.
In another person's house, there is a beautifully decorated tea-table, and this is given by God to comfort this house owner.
She offered all her life, time, and even her dear family members to God to accomplish His kingdom.
That's why God gave this table for her to sit down with her dear ones and have a happy time with them.
At the corner of the garden of another person's house, there are various kinds of exercise equipment and weights. But even the dumbbells are very different from that of this world.
It is not made with steel or any other metal. It is made by special material given by the Father, and it looks like a beautiful and bright gem.
According to the mind of the lifter, the weight becomes different each time.
These weights are not for keeping the body healthy or making a good body shape.
This house owner liked exercising and sports very much on this earth, but he gave them up to be faithful to the kingdom of God. That's why God made this to comfort his heart.
Believers spend time of so much endurance and sacrifice until they reach New Jerusalem, and when they see each reward prepared by God, their hearts melt and they are comforted.
They will praise God saying, "The delicate and kind heart of the Father did not miss even the smallest desire and tiniest joy of mine and has given me this kind of love."
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in heavenly kingdom, what kind of house do you want to live in?
Also, what kind of decorations and facilities do you want to have in your house?
Only if you go into New Jerusalem, you can have everything you desired, and you will be given such beautiful and great rewards that you could have never imagined.
But the important thing is that each of the construction material and your reward is made by your love, endurance, faithfulness, and devotion that you have given to God on this earth.
When you give to the Lord what you love or what you want on this earth, all of them will be given to you as comfort and rewards in New Jerusalem.
The attentive God of love does not just miss even one thing. When you mourn for the kingdom of God, even one drop of your tears will not just disappear meaninglessly. Each of them becomes the material to build your house.
Those who enter into New Jerusalem have lived on by the will of God on this earth, so in heaven, God lets them enjoy everything as they want.
Brothers and sisters, next, let's talk about the clothes. The clothes of those who enter New Jerusalem express their glory with the most beautiful, clear, and bright colors.
On fluffing textile are decorations of splendid jewels and various patterns. For example, there is pattern of thanks showing how much a particular person gave thanks on this earth. There are also patterns of praises, joy, and prayers, etc.
These patterns cannot be made as you want, but God gives you these patterns according to the qualifications.
There is especially pattern of glory, and even in New Jerusalem, it is given exclusively to those who gave glory to God very much, and the glory of this pattern outstands that of other patterns.
Just as soldiers receive special medals when they render distinguished service in a battle, those who wear this pattern of glory are respected greatly.
Of course, you don't have only one dress. You will have so many numbers of clothes, you will you put them on in different occasions.
Next, they wear crowns. Other than crown of righteousness recorded in 2 Timothy 4:8 or the crown of gold recorded in Revelation 4:4, there are many other crowns of various kinds.
There are crowns of flower, crown of pearl, crystal crown, and many other crowns that are decorated with various jewels and adornments, and you will wear them according to the occasion.
But for women, they don't only have crowns but also special decorations on their hair.
In ancient Korea, according to the position and social class, women had different hair styles, and in the same way, the decorations on hair are different in heaven.
In paradise, they don't have any crown or decorations. They just have plain hair. As you go up level, they have more beautiful and magnificent decorations on their hair.
The women in New Jerusalem will have adornments of jewels and along with them, they will have a adornment of thread-like thing on their head that shines exceptionally beautiful lights.
The beautiful and shiny line comes down as if it is a part of the hairs and gives out gorgeous lights.
Likewise, in heaven, by seeing the clothes, their colors and lights, the patterns and decorations on the clothes, and the crowns and adornments on hairs, we can see how much each person is loved and acknowledged by God.
Today, some people whose spiritual eyes are opened see archangels in spiritual world. But it is very difficult for them to express what they see.
They have gentle and elegant postures. As they dance and turn their bodies smoothly, the brilliant of jewels decorating from their hairs to the bottom-edge of the dress give out beautiful lights of many colors.
Even just posture of arch-angels is this beautiful, and God will clothe and adorn His true children who enter New Jerusalem much more beautifully. It is very difficult even to imagine how you will look like in New Jerusalem.
In New Jerusalem, when you change your clothes, have banquets, or wherever you go and whatever you do, you have ministering angels who serve you.
Because you can communicate in spirit, the angels know what you want even though you don't tell them.
According to the extent to which each one has come into spirit, the number of the ministering angels will be different, so just by seeing the number of angels, we can recognize each one's glory.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, New Jerusalem is not only beautiful and splendid, but also you have endless learning, seeing, hearing, and enjoying beautiful things and sharing love.
You live for the eternity of time, but you don't have a chance to feel bored because each moment is filled with new and happy things. Especially, in New Jerusalem, you always have banquets. Sometimes, they are held by the Father God, or the Lord, or the Holy Spirit.
In the banquet held by the Father God, everybody wears the most beautiful dress and decorations. They eat and drink the best things and enjoy resplendent and beautiful praises and dances, and the glory of it cannot be expressed with words.
Even on this earth, if you receive the fullness and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, you feel refreshed and filled with Spirit from the head to toe. You will feel so fresh and clear that you feel like you are flying into the sky.
If you can live your life having this kind of feeling all the time, how happy your life will be!
But in heavenly life, you will be filled with happier feelings than this all the time. And as you go up to better heavenly dwelling place, the happiness and emotions become stronger.
It is the city of New Jerusalem we should enter, the place where you will enjoy the eternity of time with God and your dear ones, and where the happiness and emotion will be deeper as time goes.
[Conclusion]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, now, I am going to finish the sermons on 'Measure of Faith'. As you have listened so far, there is a measure in faith.
After first receive salvation, you shouldn't end there, but your faith has to grow up to have greater measure.
The true purpose of life on this earth is to enter into this fifth level of spirit and have the qualification to enter New Jerusalem.
I just explained briefly about New Jerusalem, but it is only a very little part of it.
Because the almighty God made it with all His wisdom and power for His beloved children, how beautiful and magnificent this place would be!
Above all, only those who enter New Jerusalem can meet God the Father, the Lord, and other dear ones when you want to meet them.
Those who are in the third kingdom and below can visit New Jerusalem only on invitation basis.
Those who are in the third kingdom of heaven have accomplished sanctified heart, so they can see God and the Lord when they are invited to New Jerusalem. But those who are in paradise or the 1st kingdom of heaven do not have many chances to visit New Jerusalem in the first place. Also, even though they visit New Jerusalem, because they feel too sorry and ashamed that they didn't accomplish sanctification, they cannot see the face of the Lord directly.
Some people think God can let every saved child of God enter New Jerusalem because He is full of love.
But it is not right according to the justice. Also, it won't be happy if people with different measures of faith live together.
For little children, it is happier for them to hang around with friends in their own age group, although they are cared by their parents very well. Youths can share their heart with other youths and grown ups can share their heart with other grown ups better.
Even in heaven, according to how much you accomplished spirit in your heart, you can share your heart and communicate.
Therefore, even though God lets those who are in 2nd level or 3rd level of faith live in New Jerusalem, we cannot say their life there is happy for them.
Of course, because there is no evil but only goodness, people can understand and serve each other, but because the level of goodness and depth of spirit are different, it is difficult to share their heart truly.
Therefore, you have to go into whole spirit and gain the qualifications to enter New Jerusalem.
To the extent that you cast off sins and accomplish sanctification to have a heart of spirit, you can feel the happiness of heavenly kingdom more deeply, and you can very vividly feel the glory of New Jerusalem as your own emotion.
Likewise, as the hope and joy of heaven is added, you don't have any lingering attachment to this world.
How can I give glory to God more? How can more souls enjoy the glory of New Jerusalem together?
You have only this kind of spiritual hope. Even though you sacrifice all your life and suffer from persecutions and trials for the name of the Lord, you don't feel it is hard at all.
I hope you will cast off all the perishing and meaningless hope of this earth and fill your heart only with the hope to enter into better heavenly dwelling place.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will adorn yourself as a beautiful bride of the Lord and enter New Jerusalem, and dwell with God forever and ever. |
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