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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Revelation Lectures(26) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Revelation3:7-13 |
Date |
2007-05-25 |
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Revelation 3:7-13
[7] "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:
[8] 'I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
[9] 'Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.
[10] 'Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
[11] 'I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
[12] 'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
[13] 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
In the last lecture, I explained to you that "You have a little power and have kept My word" means they lived by the word and overcame the world from the moment they had even just a little measure of faith.
However, there is another meaning in it.
That being, even though they actually had great power, they accomplished the will of God as if they only had little power.
Let's examine this meaning through the example of Jesus, our Lord.
Jesus is originally one person with God the Father. He is the one and only Son of God, and His power and authority are the same as the power and authority of God.
Therefore, His power is immeasurable, and He is almighty (omnipotent)
But this same Jesus took the flesh of a base and common man when He came down to this earth, and He lived the same way as human beings did.
He had to suffer the same hunger, tiredness, coldness, and pains of the flesh that human beings suffered.
He had to take the suffering of the cross. He accomplished the task of the savior not in the form of the majestic and glorious Son of God, but in a form of an ordinary man with little power.
He didn't do the things beyond the scope of justice unconditionally and making excuses saying, "Since I'm the Son of God Almighty. . . "
But instead, He always prayed to Father God in His humble heart and manner. He always depended on Father God and He accomplished everything by the will of God.
And He eventually completed His duty as our Savior to the point of shedding all His water and blood in obedience to God's will.
Even though He has such almighty power and authority, He accomplished everything according to justice as a mere man with minimal and limited power.
Likewise, even though some of you may have a good heart and potential, God doesn't unconditionally give you great power from the beginning.
God leads you step by step according to justice so that your little power can mature to become great power.
This same principle has been applied to both this church and me.
In fact, from the moment this church was founded, the unimaginable works of the power of creation had already started to take place.
But God didn't raise up this church and me from the beginning. God didn't work on me and this church to have such amazing power as it is today.
Well, it wasn't by any means such small power even in those days. But when compared to the power of these days, it was such a small measure of power. And God made us start from such a small measure of power to undergo many processes.
In order to show that this servant of God became proper in the sight of God according to justice, and that this man is completely qualified to accomplish God's providence in these last days, God also allowed severe refinements.
And this man, under the same conditions as others, overcame them by faith and love.
About this, the Lord says, "You have a little power and have kept My way."
Next, the Lord says to the church in Philadelphia, "(You) have not denied My name." Here, 'denying the Lord's name' does not only refer to rejecting the Lord or forsaking the Lord.
But in a much broader sense it means that if someone doesn't live by the will of the Lord, even though they know what the Lord's will is, this is 'denying the Lord's name."
I'm not talking about those who don't have the ability, but there are some who profess with their lips that they have faith, however they sway to the right and then to the left, they doubt this and that, and eventually, they go back to the world without really even trying to follow His will.
They forgot the grace that they experienced.
If they keep disobeying the will of God just because it seems to be something small and insignificant to them, when they do come across a certain trial or tribulation, then they cannot overcome it. Instead they grumble and complain against God, and they even leave the church.
they may think, "It's just a small thing" and disobey the truth, but in the end, they will eventually face a situation of betraying the Lord.
The church in Philadelphia started with a small measure of faith. But while their faith was growing, and their deeds were good enough to receive praise from the Lord.
They lived only by the Word in every situation. They didn't deny God even when they were faced with trials and tribulation, but they kept their faith and came to stand on the Rock of Faith.
When we look back and reflect on it, this church has also walked in the same way (as did the Church of Philadelphia)
This church didn't compromise with the world. This church endured all the persecutions and trials with patience just to pursue the will of God.
Of course there have been some who denied the Lord's name and left this church in the middle.
But it was only allowed in the providence of God who wanted to separate chaff from good grain.
Even in such situations, those who didn't deny the Lord's name, but ran the race for the church and the shepherd were able to receive great power quickly.
By the way, in order to keep the word of the Lord, and not to deny the Lord's name with such 'little power', most importantly, you must not stop praying.
Man is unable to cast off untruth and overcome the darkness by his own strength and power alone. Since it is only by God's grace and strength that it can be accomplished, you must receive the grace and strength through prayers.
And you must also correctly understand what the Lord's will is.
You must know what sin is; what darkness is, and what is meant by the flesh. You must cast off all these quickly. Also, you must correctly understand the meanings of goodness, righteousness, light, and truth. Then you must practice them.
Therefore, those who truly want to know the will of the Lord can be thankful and joyful when they are rebuked and reproached.
That's because they can understand the will of the Lord all the more clearly, and live by it exactly.
Dear brothers and sisters.
Just as the Lord says, "I know your deeds," the Lord knows everything you've done to keep the word of the Lord, and not to deny the name of the Lord even with your small measure of power.
And since He is pleased with such deeds, from time to time God shows the proofs that He loves you in many ways.
The Lord says in the verse 9, "Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie, I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you."
"The synagogue of Satan" is a group of more than two that speaks against the truth and causes trouble within the church.
And, those "who say that they are Jews and are not" are those who say they believe in God and that they are children of God, but belong to the synagogue of Satan, don't live by the word of the truth, they befriend the world, and they hinder the kingdom of God.
Originally, Jews were God-chosen people, and spiritually "Jew" refers to the children of God. Butthose "who say that they are Jews and are not" are those who call themselves God's children, but God doesn't recognize them.
They call themselves God's children with their lips, but they don't live in the truth, they gossip, judge, and condemn others. They just bring troubles and arguments to the church.
If something is not in accordance with their idea or frame, they even condemn other people who reveal the glory of God through miraculous wonders and signs.
Persecuting the church and the servants that God Himself has chosen and hindering the kingdom of God is done by those who call themselves "Jews", but are not. They are the "so-called-Jews"
And 'liars' refer to such people.
It clearly explains what lies are in the Bible.
Just as written in 1 John 2:22, which reads, "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son," the one who denies the Christ Jesus is a liar, and the antichrist is the liar.
But there are some who lie even though they say that they believe.
1 John 1:6 says, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."
And 1 John 2:4 says, "The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
They call themselves Jews, but they don't actually live by the word of God; they are the liars.
The Lords says that He will make some of "them come and bow down at your feet."
It means that even such people will eventually realize their wrongdoings before the power of God, repent, and come.
Through this, God confirms His loving the church and His servants.
The church in Philadelphia also suffered persecutions and difficulties from these so-called-Jews. But God makes such people come and repent before the church so that God makes it solid evidence that He loves the church in Philadelphia.
But not all of them will repent and turn back.
They already committed sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit by speaking against the Holy Spirit. So, it's not easy for them to repent, turn back, and be forgiven.
But among them, there are some who belong to those who call themselves Jews without knowing the truth, butthey repent and turn back in their goodness after they see the word of the truth and the works of God's power.
This has happened to this church.
From the start of this church till now, there were trials and persecutions by those who called themselves Jews, but in the end God revealed what the truth is, and some people came forward and repented.
And there were some others who didn't repent till the end so that God Himself worked on them.
God showed His grace to those who repented, but He worked on those who didn't repent according to justice. God worked to prove that God Himself established this church, and that in His providence God loves this church.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
Sometimes, God allows His beloved children to undergo persecutions or trials in the process of refining them.
But in the end it turns out to be rather a blessing, and there will surely be evidences.
On the other hand, those who persecute or bring troubles will face judgment in justice.
That's because standing in opposition towards a person or a church that God loves and guarantees is standing against God Himself.
So, when we read the Bible, all those who stood against God faced tragedy in the end.
To a church or a person that God loves and guarantees, this becomes solid evidence that God loves the church or the man, and God is with them.
When people profess that they love God, they must show the evidence of their love with accompanying deeds.
Likewise, God doesn't only say to His children, 'I love you,' but He also shows the solid evidence of His love.
For example, the miraculous sings and wonders, and the works of God's power are such evidences.
God allows them to manifest the works of God's power that no human being can do, so that no one can deny that it is concrete evidence that God is always with them.
In the Bible, those who are loved by God could show clear evidences that God was with them.
You should also have this kind of relationship with Father God.
하나님의 사랑받는 증거가 날마다 여러분의 삶 속에서 나타나야 하지요.
The evidence that you are loved by God must be shown in your life.
God has showed many evidences that God loves this church.
First of all, through this church He showed countless works evidencing that He is the Living God.
Also in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, God interpreted the deep secret of the spiritual realm that no man can understand.
The enemy devil and Satan tried to destroy this church a couple of times, but God showed that they could do nothing to this church or me.
Like this, God loves this church and me, and shows the evidence of His love so that whoever has good conscience can realize it and recognize it.
In addition, I would have an even more solid base to manifest even greater power of God except for the hindrances caused by those who call themselves Jews.
To destroy me, the enemy devil and Satan instigated wicked people to bring trials and persecutions against me, but through this, I could receive even greater power of God according to the law of justice.
As much as I overcame the trials with goodness, love, and faith, I could receive even greater power of God, and eventually I reached this amazing level of God's power.
This evidences of God's love for me, this church, and individual Manmin members will be revealed even more greatly.
Now, in the verse 10, the Lord says, "Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.'
The Lord says, "You have kept the word of My perseverance." Why is 'the word of perseverance?"
Dear brothers and sisters.
In order to keep the word of God, it sometimes requires much perseverance.
It is especially true when you have a little power, or fragile faith.
Since the attributes to follow the untruth is stronger in your heart in this phase, in order to overcome it and to follow the truth and fight against sin, you must endure with perseverance while praying and fasting.
But when the heart of the truth grows up to be stronger than that of the untruth, then following the truth becomes much easier.
You don't endure it or suppress the desires of the flesh like before. Since the heart of pursuing the truth has grown up, then the deeds of the truth naturally follow.
But you should set your heart at rest about it only because the heart of the truth is stronger than that of the untruth.
Until you get rid of the heart of the untruth– the desires of the flesh- in other words, until you cast off every form of evil, you must endure with perseverance and keep control what comes out of you.
As long as the slightest form of evil is left in your heart, chances are that the evil can come out any time when a condition is set.
But, even if you still have a form of evil that you haven't gotten rid of, if you try hard to find it and get rid of it, God considers you keep the word of perseverance.
When you try to endure with perseverance and do your best to live by the word of God according to your measure of faith, God considers your effort as the deeds of faith.
And God protects such children, and bless them to avoid trials.
Dear brothers and sisters.
God always protects His children, but there is definitely a condition.
Many people misunderstand that God will protect them as long as they go to church. But when they meet with an accident or a disaster, they wonder why it is happening to them even though they go to church, and they even grumble against God.
But they don't know the truth.
Only when the children of God endure with perseverance and keep their faith to live by the word of God will God protect His children.
Of course, to be perfectly protected, his children have to perfectly live in the light and the word of God. But when they do their best according to their measure of faith to live by the word of God, God protects them according to their level of faith.
God drives away trials, gives a way-out, and makes things work for good.
Then, what does it mean by " I also will keep you from the hour of testing?"
God surely repays people according to what they have done. As much as His children live in the Word and the Light, God protects them from the authority of the darkness.
For example, as long as they keep the Sabbath holy and give the whole tithe, God can give them protection in the basic fields.
The reason I said "in the basic fields" is that according to the different measures of faith, just keeping the Sabbath day holy and giving the whole tithe may not guarantee complete protection.
But, we have witnessed countless times that as long as people basically keep the Sabbath day holy and give whole tithe, God saved his children from accidents. Even if they were involved in an accident because of their mistake, God protected them so that they wouldn't be injured.
God also protects from financial difficulties.
What if they keep the word of perseverance and live in the truth?
Of course God will protect them in every filed.
That's why many members of this church who try hard to live by the word of God by all means don't go to hospital nor take any medicine.
There are many members who haven't been to a hospital or taken a medicine for 10 or 20 years.
They haven't even been faced with any accident or disaster.
All the congregation are the witnesses, aren't they?
But from time to time, trials come to even those who live by the word.
In this case, some say "Even those who love God and live by His word fall into a trial," but it's because they don't know the truth.
We will look into this case in the next lecture.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
When interviewed, most marathon runners say that there were a couple of crucial and critical moments in the middle of their course.
They say that sometimes they wanted to give up, or that there were times they were close to collapse.
Even the winner confesses that he had such crucial moments.
But they also say that no one can understand the joy except those who overcome all these crucial moments and finish the course.
It is the same with the joy and happiness in heaven.
Some may enter heaven comparably easy, but still the life of being cultivated in this earth will go through many types of trials and refinements.
Problems at home, health problems, financial troubles, and etc; people suffer pain from these troubles while living in this earth.
But when they find their true self through the process of trials, and live by the will of Father God, they will finally understand that the previous trials are just procedures to get to blessing.
You and I will realize from the depth of our hearts that the process of human cultivation is rather a blessing, and we will make a confession of thanks while we are enjoying the eternal joy and happiness in heaven.
But this is the privilege that can be given to those who endure with perseverance, live by the word of God, and overcome all the difficult trials by faith.
1 Peter 5:10 says, "After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you."
Likewise, I hope you believe that the suffering in this earth is just a process you have to go through for the glory that you will enjoy in the eternal heaven.
Those of you who become stronger and greater through the momentary sufferings, God will use those as precious vessels to accomplish His kingdom.
It is to give more glory and rewards to you and me and all the Manmin members in New Jerusalem.
Therefore, you and I have to accomplish Father God's will for us.
May the evidences of God's love overflow for this church, Manmin members, and all the brothers and sisters who are listening to this message who march on toward complete sanctification, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
Amen |
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