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 Sermon > Heaven |
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Title |
Heaven(45) - New Jerusalem(3) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Revelation21:18-19 |
Date |
2008-04-06 |
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Passage
Revelation 21: 18-19
"The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald."
Introduction
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This is the 45th session of 'Heaven' lecture series. I talked to you last time about the shape and size of the walls of the city of New Jerusalem in general.
The lights of the city of New Jerusalem are like those of very precious stones. Among the precious stones, they were likened to jasper and crystal that give out bluish and transparent lights.
New Jerusalem is a cube with its width, length, and height all 6,000 Ri.
There are a total of twelve gates, three gates on each side, the north, south, east, and west. Also, there are twelve foundations.
Today we will learn about the city walls of New Jerusalem in more detail. The city wall, the materials of its gates, and the nature of the foundation stones are all recorded in detail in the Bible.
God put meaning into everything in New Jerusalem when He made it. He made it in a way that the spiritual qualifications to enter into New Jerusalem were contained in those things.
Those who meet the conditions that are contained in the city walls, gates and the foundations of New Jerusalem will be able to enter into the city.
In other words, this means that the process to enter into New Jerusalem is hidden in the different parts of the city walls. Now let us delve into the meanings contained in the city wall and the foundation stones.
I hope that one by one, as though you were matching the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, you will find the keys to New Jerusalem and make them yours.
By doing so, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will be able to boldly go into the city of New Jerusalem.
Body
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the first key to enter into New Jerusalem is hidden in the city walls. Today's passage verse 18 says, "The material of the wall was jasper."
On this earth, we may use wood or some kind of vines, but mostly we use bricks to construct a wall. But the city wall of New Jerusalem is jasper. How great the view must be since the city walls, that are 6,000 Ri in width, length, and height, are all jaspers!
As I told you in the last session, the jasper of heaven is different from that of this earth.
The jasper on this earth is not transparent. The colors vary; it can be green, reddish, yellow- green, or red, and some of them have mixed colors.
Jasper on this earth is relatively inexpensive among all the jewels. With a strong shock, it can also break.
But the jasper of heaven never changes or breaks.
I already told you about the color of jasper in the last session.
It is bluish white and is very clear and transparent. To make the best comparison with the things of this earth, it is the shining bluish light coming out, when sunshine is reflected upon very clear waves of water.
What is the reason that God the Father chose this jasper as the material for the wall of the city of New Jerusalem?
It's because jasper spiritually symbolizes faith.
Faith is the most basic and essential thing in Christian life. Without faith we cannot be saved and we cannot please God.
To go into New Jerusalem, we have to have the faith to please God. Namely, we have to have the fifth level of faith, which is the mature and grown up level of faith.
Just as we make a high wall by putting one brick upon another, by putting jasper, which symbolizes 'faith' higher and higher, the 6,000-Ri-high city wall was made. This means we can go into New Jerusalem only when we reach that level of faith, the highest level of faith.
I explained in detail how you can enter into the fifth level of faith.
Those of you who would like to know more about this should read or listen to the books or previous sermons. Then, you can have a clear understanding of the current state of your faith and grow in your faith.
The city wall of New Jerusalem that is made of jasper, shines with the light of the glory of God.
There are different kinds of patterns on the surface of the walls and there are also beautiful decorations. The city wall is transparent so it is as though you are looking into water, but from the outside, you cannot see the inside.
However, from the inside you can see the outside clearly. There certainly is the city wall but it seems like the wall is not there. So, even though the height of the city wall is 6,000 Ri, they don't feel like they are confined.
Brothers and sisters, now, let me talk about the second key that is needed to enter into the city of New Jerusalem.
The first key was hidden in the jasper walls of New Jerusalem.
The first key is the Fifth Level of Faith, the faith to please God.
The second key is hidden in the twelve foundation stones.
The twelve foundations are made of twelve different jewels. Each jewel symbolizes a specific kind of spiritual heart. The Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5, the spiritual love in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, and the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians chapter 5 are all contained in the twelve jewels.
So, when we consolidate all the hearts of these twelve jewels, it becomes the heart of the Father God and the heart of Jesus Christ. Also, each of the twelve jewels represents the different kinds of spiritual hearts, and the consolidation of these spiritual hearts will be 'perfect love'.
The Lord perfected the Law with this perfect love.
And to accomplish perfect love, we must have faith and also sacrifice.
Also, we must have passion, faithfulness, compassion, and sometimes self-control.
Likewise, the crystalloid of the different kinds of spiritual hearts is perfect love. Thus, God did not make the twelve foundations with only one jewel.
He made the foundation with twelve different jewels that symbolize the different aspects of the spiritual heart.
If you also fully accomplish this spiritual heart like jewel in your heart, you can go into New Jerusalem. In summation, the second key to go into New Jerusalem is perfect love.
This perfect love is the consolidation of the spiritual hearts that are contained in the twelve foundation stones.
When you put together a jigsaw puzzle, all pieces have to be placed in the right place to make the complete picture.
Likewise, for the second key of New Jerusalem to function properly, it has to be accompanied by the twelve kinds of spiritual hearts. From this point on let me tell you what kind of spiritual heart is contained in each of the twelve foundation stones.
I hope you will be able to check how much spiritual heart, like the jewels, you have cultivated in your heart.
The first foundation stone is jasper. The aspect of the spiritual heart that is represented by this jasper is 'faith'. The material for the city wall is also jasper.
And this faith that jasper stands for in the city wall was the Fifth Level of Faith, which is the faith to please God.
The faith that jasper symbolizes in one of the foundation stones is spiritual faith, which is the opposite of fleshly faith.
What kind of faith is spiritual faith?
It is the faith to completely believe every single word of God from the depths of one's heart.
With fleshly faith, you believe only what agrees with your thoughts, theories and knowledge.
Those who have spiritual faith will keep on believing without changing.
But those who have fleshly faith say they believe initially, but if they don't receive the answer, they cannot maintain their faith. So, they cannot obey the word of God. They may practice the word a couple of times but stop.
Those who have spiritual faith believe the word of God without changing, so they will always have the deeds of obedience.
Who is brought to mind when you hear about believing the word of God unchangingly and showing the deeds of obedience completely?
There are many patriarchs of faith, but we are talking about the Father of Faith, Abraham.
He was called 'the Father of Faith' because he showed perfect deeds of faith unchangingly.
He received a word of great blessing from God when he was 75.
It was the promise that God would make a great nation through Abraham and Abraham would be the source of blessing.
He believed this word and left his hometown, but he couldn't have a son who would become the heir for more than 20 years.
So much time passed that Abraham and his wife Sarah both became too old to have a child.
Even in this kind of situation, Romans 4:19-20 says, "He did not waver in unbelief."
It says he grew strong in faith, giving glory to God.
Abraham believed the word of God completely, and gained his son Isaac at the age of 100.
But there was one more occasion where Abraham's faith shed its light even more brightly. It was when God commanded Abraham to offer his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice.
Abraham did not doubt the word of God saying that God would give him countless descendants through Isaac.
Because he had firm faith in the word of God, he thought God would revive Isaac, even if he offered him as a burnt sacrifice.
That is why he immediately obeyed the word of God.
About this Abraham, Genesis 22:12 says, "He said, "for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
Through this, Abraham was more than qualified to become the Father of Faith.
Also, through Abraham's descendants, the nation of Israel was formed. It means the fruit of his faith was abundantly born in the flesh as well.
Because we believe God, we believe His word, and obey it as it is. Brothers and sisters, spiritual faith is something like this.
Even though God's word does not agree with our thoughts, if we have spiritual faith, we can just believe it and practice it.
Even if it seems that we will face loss when we practice the word of God, we will still just follow the word.
Because God is living, He most assuredly shows His power to those children of God who show their true faith. He proves that the word of God on which His children depend is true.
For example, when Peter believed the word of Jesus and obeyed, what happened? When Jesus told him to lower the net in the deep water, he obeyed it, and he could catch so many fish as to even make the net break.
Also, Jesus told Peter to go to the sea and fish to get a coin to pay the tax for the Temple.
He said if Peter opened the mouth of the fish, there would be a coin.
God proved to Peter, who believed the word and obeyed, that the word of God is always true.
Likewise, spiritual faith has amazing power to make things that are impossible by men into things that are possible.
Because this spiritual faith is the treasure of treasures, it is the first among the twelve foundations of New Jerusalem.
Brothers and sisters, the second foundation stone is sapphire. It is dark blue in color and is transparent.
What spiritual heart is contained in sapphire? It is the quality of upright and straightforward honesty and integrity.
It is the heart of truth itself with which once a person has made a choice in the truth of God he does not submit to any temptation or threats of this world.
Who is the person who gave out the lights of truth from his heart like this sapphire?
We can talk about Daniel and his three friends.
First, Daniel did not obey even the order of the king when it was against the will of God.
He knew he was going to be thrown into lion's den because of that, but he was never shaken in his decision.
God received this integrity and uprightness of his faith so pleasingly.
God sent His angels to close the mouths of the lions so that Daniel was not hurt at all.
In Daniel chapter 3, we can see how Daniel's three friends kept the integrity of their faith. They were arrested because they did not obey the command of the king to bow down before an idol.
Because the LORD God is the only God and who is alone to be worshipped, they could never bow down to any idol.
But, can we just worship God in heart and just bow down to idol on the outside to avoid that dangerous situation?
No, we cannot. It's because God's Law clearly says we must not bow down to any idol.
Those who are upright and who truly fear God cannot compromise. Daniel's three friends were to be thrown into fiery furnace if they did not bow down to an idol. But their hearts were not shaken at all.
Even in the face of fearful threats of the king, they rather made a very bold confession in faith.
Daniel 3:17-18 says, "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. "But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
How beautifully jewel-like their hearts are that they cannot forsake their righteousness in God, even though they might have had to lose their lives!
We can feel the sublimity and nobleness of the sapphire, which is upright and dark blue. God did not forsake these people who keep their righteousness in giving up their lives.
God protected them in the furnace so completely that they were not hurt at all.
Not even one hair on their head was singed and there was no smell of burning, either. As a result, even the king acknowledged God and those three men were lifted even higher.
I will talk about the third foundation in the next session.
Conclusion
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in this session, I talked to you about what the keys to New Jerusalem are, and where the keys are located.
The first key is found in the city wall of New Jerusalem, which is made of jasper.
The key to New Jerusalem is the faith that jasper symbolizes. It is the faith to please God, which is the fifth level of faith. The second key is found in the twelve foundation stones of New Jerusalem.
The second key is 'perfect love', which is the crystalloid of the beautiful spiritual hearts that are like beautiful jewels that comprise the foundation.
This second key has to be the perfect consolidation of twelve kinds of spiritual hearts that are like jewels. In a sense it is like a kind of puzzle.
We looked into the first foundation stone of jasper, which stands for spiritual faith, and the second foundation stone of sapphire, which stands for the uprightness and integrity.
Do you also want to have beautiful hearts that shine like the jewels? You should all have that kind of heart.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will all accomplish heart of whole spirit and become souls who are more precious than any jewel in the sight of God.
Amen |
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