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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
The 12th Two-Week Special Revival Meeting(5) - Obedience |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Php 2:8 |
Date |
2004-05-07 |
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Philippians 2:8
"And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."
The Bible shows not only miracles of healings and blessings but also other many cases in which God the Almighty did the absolute impossible. Human beings can never stop the sun and the moon, or divide the sea with two walls of standing waters. However, God the Almighty can. Those miracles can only occur under proper requirements by which the justice of the spiritual realm can be applied to the space of this world and in order for God's works to occur. The requirements are determined according to the law of justice that God has established.
How, then, can we meet the requirements and experience the works of the living God? There are several factors, but obedience is the most important. In short, obeying the Word of God the Almighty with "Amen" and "Yes" is the shortcut to experiencing the works of God.
1. Jesus' Obedience until He became the Savior
Before he sinned, the first man, Adam, enjoyed eternal life in the Garden of Eden. After he ate the forbidden fruit and sinned, he lost eternal life and was destined to fall into hell, the eternal death according to the law of justice ? "The wages of sin is death."
Jesus was born in flesh to redeem us sinners from death. Our enemy Satan and the devil instigated wicked people to crucify Jesus. Satan and the devil thought they could entrap all sinners under his control forever and lead them to hell if only he could kill Jesus, who had come down to become the Savior.
However, the devil lost the authority over mankind when he killed Jesus. According to the law of justice and because the wages of sin is death, the sinless Jesus could not be overcome by death. The devil still had the sinless Jesus killed by wicked people, and violated the law of justice.
As a result, sinless Jesus broke the power of death and was resurrected. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, who died for sinners and was resurrected, can be saved and gain eternal life. According to the law of justice, which dictates that "the wages of sin is death," Adam and his descendants at first fell into death and at the same time gained the way to salvation from death according to the same law.
The reason the door of salvation was opened was because according to the law of justice Jesus thoroughly obeyed. Because Jesus thoroughly obeyed the Will of God the Father and met the conditions of the law of justice, the enemy could only set free those who accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Those who accept the Lord and live in the truth do not run toward death as the slaves of sin, but reach salvation as slaves of righteousness.
2. Fathers of faith who experienced God's works by Faith
In John 2, Jesus performed the miracle of changing water into wine. The Virgin Mary told Jesus that they ran out of wine at the banquet, and asked servants to adhere to whatever Jesus was to say. Jesus told the servants to fill water pots and then draw the water and take it to the master of the feast. When the master of the feast tasted the water, the water had already turned into good wine.
If they had not obeyed when Jesus commanded the servants to take the changed water to the master of the feast, they could not have experienced the miracle. The Virgin Mary knew the law of obedience and justice, and so asked the servants to completely obey Jesus.
A widow in Zarephath during Old Testament times experienced the work of God through her obedience. After a long drought her food ran out and there remained only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar. One day, the Prophet Elijah came to her and asked for some food, saying, "For thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.'"
Had Elijah eaten all her food, she and her son would have starved to death. To our surprise, however, the woman believed the word of God that Elijah sent out, and obeyed. She gave all her food to Elijah. Thus, God performed a miracle for the obedient woman as He had promised. God let the bin of flour not to be used up and the jar of oil not run dry until the serious drought had ended. She and her son were able eat until the day of rain.
God the Creator is almighty. He is omniscient and omnipotent. Jesus said in Mark 9:23, "'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes." The law of justice dictates that if we believe, we can experience the works of God. The deed of obedience testifies that we have the faith to receive answers according to the law of justice. James 2:22 reads, "You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did," and in James 2:26, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
When Elijah asked the widow of Zarepath to bring the last of her last food for him, if the widow had not obeyed by saying to Elijah, , "I believe you are a man of God. I believe God will bless me and hinder my food from running out," she could not have experienced any work of God. That's because her deeds did not show the evidence of her faith.
The widow, however, trusted the word of Elijah and as the evidence of her faith she brought her last remaining food that was as precious as her life and obeyed the prophet. This deed of obedience testified to her faith and God the Almighty performed a miracle according to the law of justice, which dictates that all things are possible to him who believes.
This law of faith and obedience is also important to those who receive dreams and visions from God. People should keep the dream and vision in mind and obey His Word with faith until the dreams and visions are realized and fulfilled. Fathers of faith such as Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph put the word of God in their mind and obeyed to the end.
For instance, when Joseph was young, God gave him a dream in which he was foretold of becoming an honorable man. Joseph believed the dream and did not change his mind, always remembering it until he accomplished the dream. He looked up to the work of God in any circumstances and obeyed as God led him.
While he was enslaved or imprisoned for 13 years, Joseph did not doubt the dream God had given and walked uprightly, obeying His commands. God saw and recognized Joseph's faith and obedience, and accomplished the dream for him. All trials came to an end and at the age of 30, Joseph became an honorable man able to administer the whole land of Egypt.
3. The Manmin Joong-ang Church accomplishing world mission
Today, Manmin Joong-ang Church has more than two thousand branch or cooperative churches around the world and is preaching the Gospel to every corner of the world by both live and recorded Internet broadcasts, through satellites, and other medium. Year after year, we have held great crusades attended by hundreds of thousands or millions of people. We have declared the power of God to nations all over the world. Manmin Joong-ang Church has become great like this because we have demonstrated our faith with deeds of obedience in accordance with the law of justice from the beginning to this day.
At one time I did not believe in God at all. I suffered from poverty and all kinds of diseases for seven years. Yet, the moment I met God, all my diseases were healed. At first, I dreamed of becoming a great elder in the church in the sight of God and glorifying Him by helping the needy. However, one day God called me as His servant, saying, "I selected you as My servant before time began." He also told me that after I have been equipped with the word for three years, I would cross the oceans, rivers and mountains and perform miraculous signs wherever I went.
In reality, my Christian life was only in its infancy. I did not have a memory to study theology. I was introspective, and was a poor public speaker. I had never been eloquent. Still, God called on such a person as I to be His servant and commanded me to preach the Gospel to the world, crossing the mountains and waters. Can you imagine how bleak my future looked?
However, I obeyed it without any excuse and became a servant of God. I did my best to walk according to the Word of God as recorded in 66 books of the Bible. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit I fasted countless times. I lived precisely the way God commanded.
As a result, as you see before you, God has led me to become an internationally recognized Revivalist. I deliver the message not because I have become eloquent but because He gives the message every time. Because He let me perform with His power, I can heal people with that power and lead them to the way of salvation.
When I held great overseas crusades, I did not plan or prepare them my way. I only obeyed the command of God. I went only where He commanded me to go. Even if I were to conduct crusades in which the attendance would be expected to be hundreds of thousands or millions, if God commanded, we prepared them in just a few months. Even though we did not have enough money to hold those great crusades, God took care of all finances when we prayed with faith.
Sometimes, God commanded me to hold crusades in countries where traditionally Christian evangelists have had difficulty entering. In 2002, while we were preparing a crusade in Chennai, India, the Tamil Nadu government announced the new ordinance, banning forcible conversions. The ordinance dictated that no person should convert or attempt to convert any other person from one religion to another by the use of force, allurement, or any fraudulent means. Contravention could result in a jail term up of to five years and a fine of Rs.1 lakh. The fine was equivalent to two thousand days' wages, a huge sum for ordinary Indian citizens.
The Ordinance of the Prohibition of Forcible Conversion was supposed to be enacted from the first day of our crusade. In other words, I had to be ready for possible imprisonment when I preached the Gospel from the stage during the crusade. Some people even told me that the Tamil Nadu police would be coming by and recording my preaching to keep an eye on our crusade.
In this threatening situation, there was obvious tension between India's ministers and the organizing committee. Yet, I took courage and obeyed God because God had commanded. I was not afraid of being arrested or imprisonment, and boldly proclaimed God the Creator and the Savior Jesus Christ.
At my faith and obedience, God unfolded His power in the utmost surprising manner. While preaching, I said, "If you come to have faith in your heart, stand up and walk forward." At that moment, a boy began to get up and walk. The boy, before he attended the crusade, had his pelvis and a hip joint cut in an operation and had the two parts linked with a piece of sheet metal and screws. He had to suffer from severe pain after the operation and could not take a single step without crutches. When I commanded, "Stand up and walk," he immediately threw away the crutches and began to walk. That day, in addition to that miracle, countless amazing works of the power of God took place. The news quickly spread around the city and many more people gathered the following day. In all, more than three million traditional and/or practicing Hindus, who made up more than 60% of all attendees, participated in the crusade. After they listened to the message and witnessed God's powerful works, they set their minds to accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.
After our crusade, India's Christian leaders were encouraged and announced religious statements. They protested against the ordinance banning forcible conversion. Many churches became united in Christ. In addition, ten minority political parties and awakened politicians asked for the recession of the ordinance. The social atmosphere changed, too.
When I obeyed God, He achieved His Will abundantly through obedience. It is true that I have faced various hindrances or adversities preparing overseas crusades, but I only obeyed God. Each time the Almighty God interfered with my ministry and accomplished His kingdom. While I have held fast to the vision God gave me at my church's opening and obeyed His Will, He has allowed my church to grow remarkably and made it well-known not only in Korea but around the world as well.
4. To receive whatever you ask
Obedience is very important in experiencing the works of God. But, what are we to obey? You should not think that God must be present before you and saying something specific so that you can obey.
First, we have to obey the Word of the Bible. Those who cannot read the Bible can at least remember and obey what they are taught through the messages delivered from the pulpit.
When we are taught to do something, not to do something, keep something or cast away something, we have only to obey it. When we are told to confess our sins and repent with earnest weeping, we will have the way to blessings according to the law of justice saying that sinners can receive answers from God only when they repent and destroy the wall of sins.
We should obey other laws of justice as follows. We should cry in prayer because of the law of answers to prayer that we can eat food only by the sweat of the brow. We should also show our faith and prepare wholehearted offerings in order to meet God and receive answers from Him.
Next, in order to receive answers from God, you should always promptly follow the voice of the Holy Spirit while you pray and listen to the Word. That's because the Holy Spirit in you leads you to the way of blessings and answers according to the law of justice. For example, when the Holy Spirit controls your mind and tells you to pray more after the service while you listen to a message, you have only to obey it. In such a case, you may repent your sins that have not been repented for a long time, you may pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit or receive the gift of tongue.
Sometimes, you may be guided by the Holy Spirit as to the amount of offerings to show your gratitude to God or in order to receive special answers from Him. The amount of money may not agree with your actuality or plan. If the amount is determined by the Holy Spirit, you should give the amount of offering to God without involving your own thought so that you can receive the answer from God.
Early on in my life in Christ, even when I struggled to make ends meet each day, I tried my best to obey the amount of offerings of thanks or sanctuary construction whenever the Holy Spirit controlled my mind. If I had no money in pocket, I promised God I would bring Him some offerings at a later date. I strived with all my effort to gain the offering I promised until the appointed date and gave it to God. God blessed me more and more with prepared things as I obeyed Him.
In the same way, when you obey the work of the Holy Spirit, God sees your obedience and opens the door of answers and blessings. God the Almighty gives you answers to whatever you ask if you obey Him with faith.
The Scriptures tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:19-20, "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us ? by me, Silvanus, and Timothy ? was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us."
May you obey the word of God only with "Amen" and "Yes" the way Jesus thoroughly obeyed to become the Savior and obey the voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit regardless of circumstances or condition so that you may experience the healings in the works of the Almighty God and possess the all blessings God prepared, in the name of the Lord I bless! |
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