Subject 11 : The Tabernacle
[11-20] The Altar of Incense (Exodus 30:1-10)
(Exodus 30:1-10)
“You
shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia
wood. A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be
square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one
piece with it. And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and
its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold
all around. Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on
both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be
holders for the poles with which to bear it. You shall make the poles of
acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. And you shall put it before
the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat
that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. Aaron shall burn
on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall
burn incense on it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he
shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout
your generations. You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt
offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on
it. And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the
blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make
atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the
LORD.”
The Altar of Incense Was a Place of Prayer
The
altar of incense was made of acacia wood, and it was square, measuring a
cubit (45 cm: 1.5 feet) in both its length and width, and 2 cubits in
its height. Placed inside the Holy Place, the altar of incense was
overlaid with gold in its entirety, with a molding of gold all around
it. Four rings of gold were placed under its molding to hold the poles
used to carry it. On this altar of incense, nothing else but only the
holy anointing oil and the sweet incense were to be used (Exodus
30:22-25).
The
altar of incense was where the incense of prayer was offered to God.
But before we pray at the altar of incense, we must first find out
whether we are qualified to pray to God at this altar or not. Whoever
seeks to be qualified to pray to the holy God must first become sinless
by washing away his/her sins by faith. To do so, one must be cleansed of
all his/her sins by the faith of the burnt offering and of the laver.
God
does not hear the prayers of sinners (Isaiah 59:1-3). Why? Because God
accepts only those who have been washed of all their sins by believing
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Because God has washed away
all our sins by the truth manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet
thread and the fine woven linen. God, in other words, is pleased to hear
only the prayers of the righteous (Psalms 34:15, 1 Peter 3:12).
The Nature and Reality of All Human Beings
When
we look closely, we see that all human beings, including you and me,
were fundamentally born as a sinful seed, and therefore they all sin.
Each and every one is a seed of evildoer. Because people were originally
born with sin, they cannot help but live their lives doing evil deeds.
Think about yourself, whoever you may be. We can admit before God that
we had been evil ones who could not avoid but be cast into hell. Above
all, when we judge our acts before God, we come to recognize that in
accordance to the law of God declaring the wages of sin to be death, we
simply cannot escape from His righteous judgment of sin.
Because
what comes out of the hearts of human beings is just evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, pride and foolishness, and so on, they do these
things whenever they are given a chance (Mark 7:21-27). How can the
hearts of human beings, who were fundamentally born as a seed of
evildoers and cannot help but sin whenever circumstances allow and
opportunities arise, ever be shameless before God? It is impossible
through man-made efforts. But there is one and only faith that allows us
to have no shame before God, and it is here. We must all know and
believe in the truth made of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and
the fine woven linen, the truth that enables us to be washed of all our
sins and therefore stand before God with no shame. As such, all of us
absolutely need the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
None
of us could deny the fact that we were all bound to hell for our sins
but only admit this fate. And for those who recognize before God that
they are bound to hell, it is not so difficult to believe in their
hearts in the salvation that God has given them. When we face God with
truthfulness and sincerity, we cannot deceptively hide our hearts from
Him, and so we come to acknowledge the justice of the righteousness of
God. Everyone is positioned in such a place that they cannot avoid but
be punished for their sins by the righteous judgment of God.
The
righteous law of God that declares the wages of sin to be death is not a
law that all sinners can skirt around with their own thoughts or
religious faith. Because the Law of God is detailed, exact, and just, it
forces whoever stands before it to admit that he/she is bound to hell
for his/her sins. All sinners come to realize that they cannot escape
from God’s judgment even for the smallest of their sins.
Therefore,
we are in need of a Savior who delivers all of us from sin, and we have
to find out who this Savior is. This is Jesus Christ, the Savior of the
entire mankind. He is the Savior who came to this earth, who was
baptized by John to take upon the sins of the world, who bore the
punishment of the iniquities of all sinners by being crucified and
shedding His blood, and who has thereby saved us from all our sins.
All
of us had misunderstood that receiving the remission of sin would be
extremely difficult. In fact, we had thought that we could be saved only
if we know the Bible in its entirety, or that our salvation required
some kind of good deeds. But the truth of salvation given by God was
different. This truth of salvation opened and showed the way for us to
be saved from all our sins by examining our consciences before the Law
of God, recognizing all the sins that are found in our hearts, and
believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This truth was
foreshadowed in the door of the Tabernacle.
Mankind’s
remission of sin comes from the truth of precious salvation fulfilled
through the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen.
It is by believing in this truth that all can receive the eternal
remission of sin once for all. To do so, everyone must recognize that
they are all bound to hell for their sins and believe in the gospel
manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, thereby receiving
the remission of their sins all at once. The gospel that God has given
us is the gospel that is found in the gospel of truth held in the blue,
purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen.
All
must believe in this gospel of truth, for if they do not believe in the
truth held in this gospel, then they cannot be freed from their sins.
But those who believe in this truth of salvation that God has fulfilled
with the gospel of the water and the Spirit are worthy enough to be
saved from all their sins and become God’s own children. As such, to
become the ones who can go before God and pray to Him, we must first
believe in the truth of the water and the Spirit, the gospel of the
remission of sin. When we are saved from all sins by knowing the true
gospel and believing in it in our true hearts, we then become qualified
to pray to God. The faith that enables us to pray to God is attained by
believing in our hearts the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the
gospel from God.
It
is wrong to try to pray to God without the faith that knows and
believes in the truth of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread manifested
in the screen door of the Tabernacle. Such faith is akin to committing
the sins of blasphemy and mockery against God. How could we become God’s
enemy by refusing to believe in the truth manifested in the Tabernacle
in our hearts?
When
you refuse to believe in Jesus Christ who came by the truth of the
blue, purple, and scarlet thread, it is a shortcut for you to garner the
enmity of God. This is an act of horrendous unbelief that stands
against God. The souls that continue to commit the sin of despising the
holiness of God are those who do not believe in the salvation that God
has fulfilled for them but believe according to their own thoughts and
on their own accord. Such souls are the ones who, covering themselves in
the garments of fig leaves called “hypocrisy,” despise God’s love and
mercy.
But
you must realize that though these people may be able to deceive their
own hearts, they cannot escape from the judgment of God. Those with such
unbelief will be condemned to suffer the terrifying punishment of sin
by the righteous law of God. Why? Because they sought neither to know
the gospel of the water and the Spirit with which the Lord has blotted
out their sins, nor to believe in this gospel.
When
our consciences are filthy even in our own eyes, how can we hide our
sins from the holy God? This is simply impossible! Anyone who seeks to
hide his/her sins will be left out of God’s love and mercy. Those who
deceive their own hearts will end up as the devil’s evil servants who
deceive God and their fellow human beings. The very notion that they can
somehow deceive God just by blindfolding their own eyes is a reflection
of their arrogance coming out of their conceited thoughts. In fact,
those who rely on their own thoughts are the ones who challenge the
gospel of the water and the Spirit, and who seek to become Satan’s
servants out of their own volition.
People
must realize that though they may be able to deceive their own hearts,
they can never deceive God. And they must change their minds to believe
according to the Word of God. How could everyone wash away their sins
without believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit? As it is
written that the wages of sin is death, no sinner who deceives his/her
heart before God can ever escape from the judgment of God. If we
acknowledge the Law of God, then it is clear that we are all bound to
hell for our sins. As such, all those who seek to come out to God must
be saved by believing in the truth of the gospel manifested in the door
of the Tabernacle.
However,
because many have failed to realize the fact that they are to be
condemned for their sins, they have also failed to accept into their
hearts the gospel of salvation that has come by the truth of the blue,
purple, and scarlet thread, and, as a result, they are all heading to
hell. Regardless of whether they are already Christians or not, those
who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit will face
the same punishment. As such, we must not deceive our own consciences
before our God, but yield in our hearts to the gospel of the water and
the Spirit, and acknowledge and believe in this gospel of truth.
We Must Cleanse away Our Sins by Believing in the Word of Truth
People
have two consciences: one is the conscience of the flesh, and the other
is the conscience of faith with respect to the gospel of truth. We must
be honest to these two realms, but of these two, we cannot fail to
have, in particular, the conscience of faith that recognizes the gospel
of truth. We must examine the conscience of our faith before the Word of
God; believe that Jesus accepted our sins by being baptized, was
condemned on the Cross, and has thereby saved us; and wash away, by this
faith, the sins of our consciences. It angers me that even when this is
the truth that cannot possibly be any more definitive, there are still
people who do not believe in the gospel of truth.
There
is an order of faith to cleanse our consciences. First, we must
recognize and confirm the fact that we are bound to hell, and second, we
must believe in our hearts that our Savior came to this earth, was
baptized by John for our sins, died on the Cross, rose from the dead,
and has thereby saved us from all sins. Sinners must be saved from their
iniquities and receive eternal life by their faith in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit that is thus manifested in the blue, purple, and
scarlet thread.
Despite
the fact that we must be save from our sins, some people still do not
believe, even as they know about the remission of sin fulfilled through
the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. How can they do this? Surely, they
must be responsible for all the consequences of their own unbelief. If
we had just known the truth manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet
thread but had not believed, then we would still be sinful, and if we
are still sinful, then would we not have to be judged for our sins
according to the law of God? Each and every one of us, male or female,
all had to be saved from sin by believing in the heart in the truth of
salvation that God has fulfilled through the blue, purple, and scarlet
thread.
People
must have the kind of faith that saves them from their sins. They must
have the faith that only believes in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. Do you believe in the gospel manifested in the blue, purple, and
scarlet thread, that the Lord bore all our sins by being baptized and
has saved us with His bloodshed on the Cross? When you think of
yourselves first, do you admit the fact that you were indeed destined to
hell? Do you realize that even as we were bound to hell, the Lord has
nonetheless saved us from our sins with the truth manifested in the
blue, purple, and scarlet thread?
You
must realize that it was to take care of all our sins that the Lord
came to this earth, was baptized, and shed His blood. To blot out your
and my sins, our Lord came to this earth incarnated into the flesh of
man, accepted at once all the sins of the whole humanity onto His own
body by being baptized by John in the Jordan River at the age of 30, and
bore the condemnation of sin once for all by being crucified and
shedding His blood. All at once, God has remitted all the sins of those
who believe.
We
can be saved from all our sins by believing in the truth manifested in
the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. We must examine and confirm
whether or not we have truly been saved from all our sins by this truth.
We must have the faith that believes in Jesus Christ who came of the
blue, purple, and scarlet thread as the Savior. As the Bible says, “With
the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). Romans 10:17 also
declares, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God.”
This
Word of Christ tells us that we are saved by believing in the salvation
fulfilled with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. The remission of
sin is not something that is attained by believing with our own
thoughts, but it is something that is taken by believing in our hearts
in the salvation that has come of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread.
The faith that can truly deliver us from sin is the faith that believes
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Must
we then pray to God by placing our faith in this truth? Of course! We
have to always give all prayers and supplications in the Spirit, having
girded our waists with the truth (Ephesians 6:14,18). But what, then, is
this truth?
It
is the gospel that tells us that our Lord came to this earth to save
us, was baptized by John the Baptist at the age of 30, carried all the
sins of the world, was crucified on both his hands and feet, was spit
at, shed His blood, and has thereby washed away our sins. We must
confess that it is by our faith in this truth that our remission of sin
has been fulfilled. Our Lord has saved us from our sins by being
condemned for the sins of the world through His baptism and the blood of
the Cross.
“Lord,
You loved me so much that You have made me God’s own child.” This is
how we must confess our faith. When all that we had was just sin, our
Lord has still given us the qualification to enter the Kingdom of Heaven
by blotting out all our sins through His baptism and crucifixion. We
must all believe in this truth and receive eternal life.
What
reason is there for you not to believe in this truth? As for me, I
would have had nothing to say even if the Lord was not thus baptized to
save me from my sins, and yet for my own sake, He was in fact baptized,
shed His blood, and has thereby saved me from my sins. And so I believe!
There is no reason why all of us should not believe in this gospel. It
is clear that if sinners do not believe in the truth of the gospel of
the water and the Spirit, then they will surely be cast into hell. But I
want each and every one of you to be saved now from sin by believing in
the gospel of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread.
There
was a time when I myself had remained a sinner even as I professed to
believe in Jesus. Wanting to be a good Christian, I tried very hard to
have no shame under Heaven. But contrary to my wishes, I kept on sinning
time after time; the only consolation was that when I compared myself
to others, I thought I was at least somewhat better than them. However,
my conscience kept telling me that I still had sin, and since the wages
of sin is death according to the law of God, I was someone who was bound
to hell for my iniquities.
After
a decade of my weary and legalistic life, I was almost dead
spiritually. However, God awakened me by grace that Jesus Christ was
baptized for me and took upon my own sins. He took upon not only my
sins, but also all the sins of everyone in the whole world. He then bore
the condemnation of these sins by carrying them to the Cross and being
crucified and dying on it, rose from the dead again, and has thereby
become my true Savior who lives even now. When I came to know this
gospel of truth, I could not but believe in it. And by believing that
Jesus Christ has become my God of salvation through His baptism and His
bloodshed on the Cross, all my sins have been washed away. I have
received the remission of sin into my heart by faith.
It
is not because I knew well about all the Word of God that I received
the remission of my sins, but I was remitted of my sins because I knew
the sins of my own conscience, passed these sins onto Jesus Christ
through His baptism, and believed in my heart that Jesus was condemned
on the Cross to pay the wages of my sins. It is because I have received
this remission of sin that I am now living my life preaching the gospel.
You and I are the same; there is no difference between us in reality.
Just
like you, I had also been heading to hell, and just like you, I have
also received the remission of sin by believing in the same gospel of
the water and the Spirit. By believing in the gospel with which the Lord
has blotted out our sins, you and I alike have both been saved by
faith. So I give my thanks to the Lord. It is because in this way we now
have the conscience of faith by receiving the perfect remission of sin
through the water and the Spirit that we are now able to go to God and
pray to Him as His own children have received the remission of sin.
As
the Bible tells us that the fragrance for the altar of incense was made
of the holy anointing oil and the sweet incense, Jesus has made us
clean by washing away all our sins with the holy gospel of truth. In the
ancient age of the Old Testament, the people of Israel had to make this
incense and burn it on the altar exactly as God had commanded. So
inside the Holy Place, incense was burnt and its aroma rose up everyday.
This incense means praying to God.
In
the age of the New Testament, for you to burn this incense in the Holy
Place, you must first believe in the gospel of the truth and receive the
remission of sin into your hearts. In other words, it is by believing
in the gospel of truth that one can burn the incense of prayer. How else
could we burn incense in the same way as it was burnt during the Old
Testament’s time? When such utensils of the Tabernacle as the altar of
burnt offering and the altar of incense are not lying around before us
now, how could you and I make incense and burn it on the altar? We can
burn the incense of prayer by faith, for Jesus Christ has blotted out
our sins and saved us. Because our hearts have been cleansed by faith
when we received the remission of sin, we can now burn incense rising up
to God with our fervent prayers.
We
believe that by our wholehearted faith in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit all our sins were passed onto Jesus Christ, and that Jesus
Christ vicariously bore the condemnation of our sins in our stead. Your
and my hearts have thereby become all clean. Since all the sins in our
hearts were passed onto Jesus, our hearts have become, by faith,
completely clean all at once. If all your sins were passed onto Jesus
through the baptism that He received from John, then all your sins were
washed away and blotted out once for all There is no longer any sin left
in your hearts. Because our sins were blotted out and cleansed away by
believing in the gospel, we can now go to the holy God and ask for His
help. That we are able to pray to God is premised on our faith, that we
have received the remission of sin by definitively believing in the
gospel, which is now at the background of our sincere hearts.
Brothers
and sisters, go to the altar of incense and pray incessantly. “Father,
please help me. This is the situation that I am in, and this is what I
need. I want to spread the true gospel and live righteously, Father. I
want to live virtuous life fitting for someone who has truly been
remitted of sin. And I want to bear the fruits of righteousness. Give me
faith in You. I want to live my life according to Your will.” Like
this, asking for one’s needs is what prayer is about. It is about asking
for God’s help according to His righteousness.
You
probably have various passions and desires as well. Because we have
been made righteous by our faith in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit that has justified us, it has now been made possible for us to
ask God for all things with our prayer. Those who are able to pray to
God for His help are the happy. Now that all of us have received the
remission of our sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit, there is no doubt that we can all pray to God.
Those
who, by their faith in God and the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
have received the remission of sin into their hearts have at least
become qualified to go to the holy God and ask for His help. And all the
born-again believers inevitably and instinctively come to pray for the
Father’s help in their lives, as a child makes a cry for help to his/her
parents when he/she is in trouble. Their faith that has brought them
the remission of sin is not only the faith that enables them to call God
as their Father, but it is also the faith that enables them to pray for
the Father’s help at all times as His own sons and daughters. Because
God has indeed become our own Father by our faith, we are now fit to ask
for His help through our prayer according to our needs.
I
do not know, of course, what your personal prayers have been or how
they have been met by God after you’ve received your remission of sin.
But what I do know is that when we pray to God to enable us to unite
with His Church and spread the gospel, He surely answers our prayer. It
is in this process that we come to pray for others. At first, everyone
prays only for the needs of his/her flesh. But by the works of the Holy
Spirit, we come to realize that we are in urgent need of prayers for
others, and thus we come to devote ourselves to pray for the salvation
of other souls and the spreading of the gospel of the water and the
Spirit throughout the whole world. Why? Because the prayers of the
born-again saints are led by the Holy Spirit. The Lord has told us,
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
But
among the born-again, those who are still spiritually immature do not
know how to pray for the right things, for they have not yet experienced
God’s answer to their prayers. This is because they still do not know
how powerful is faith in God’s righteousness. Those of little faith not
only do not know whether their prayers will be answered or not, but
moreover, they are haunted by doubts.
As
such, they must pray together with those who believed prior to them.
Those whose faith is young are hesitant to pray to God. And when they do
pray, they only ask for what they want—“give me, give me, give me.” But
if the young in faith unite with the Church even without any great
faith in God, they can still learn what the true prayer is, for their
predecessors of faith in the Church are praying for the righteousness of
God. Also, because the Holy Spirit gives the faith of prayer to those
who are united with the Church, they gradually come to pray for the
righteousness of God. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man
avails much” (James 5:16).
The
faithful prayers of the born-again who have the right to pray to God
avail much. The prayers of those who have faith in God are actually
answered by Him. When people pray to God, for their prayers to be answer
by the Father, they must first believe that God is their own Father,
and that He answers their prayers exactly according to their faith. As
such, when the predecessors of faith unite together and pray for those
who are following in their footsteps and for the righteous works of the
spreading of the gospel, they come to experience great works. If you
stand next to your predecessors of faith who believe in God, you will be
greatly helped in your faith. Because God knows that we are in need of
much help not only with the grace of salvation but also in other aspects
of life, He answers our prayers. This is why we all need the faith that
is united with God’s Church.
When
we pray for the things that please God, our faith is greatly
emboldened. As spiritual children emulating to pray eventually come to
take such prayers as their own and mature, we can also come to pray to
God the Father for our own problems later on. Those who by doing so
truly believe in God then come to walk by faith on the path following
the real truth. As the Bible tells us that the righteous shall live only
by faith, they come to live not for themselves alone, but for the
salvation of other souls.
How
did we earn the qualification to pray to God? We earned it by being
born again through our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit
given by God. It is only to those who have received the remission of sin
by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that the
boldness of faith enabling one to pray to God the Father is given. Faith
is a gift from God. To earn the qualification to pray is to receive the
great blessing of faith from God.
Among
the many Christian believers on this planet, how many of them do you
think are qualified to pray with such faith? Not many! One of the most
blessed gifts from God is, first of all, that we have come to have the
faith that has saved us from our sins with the truth manifested in the
blue, purple, and scarlet thread. And the second is that we have
received the power and qualification to pray to God as His own children;
and third, that we have come to have the faith that allows us to live
as God’s workers.
God Does Not Answer the Prayers of Sinners
Some
sinners, even as they profess to believe in Jesus, pray to God to blot
out their sins by climbing some mountain and shouting out the name of
the Lord incessantly. Even in cold and windy nights, they still climb
the mountain, covering their bodies with plastic sheets, and though they
are often fearful, they still pray fervently with all their devotion.
But their prayers only ring hollow into the empty space.
Though
they pray all night long, they have no faith whatsoever that God would
really answer their prayers. The reason why they pray so devotedly in
spite of this lack of faith is because they pray to show off to others,
merely as an exhibition. Their prayers are unanswerable prayers. In
fact, they know in their conscience that their prayers are not reaching
God, for they still have sin in their hearts. Because they are yet to
receive the remission of their sins, there is no answer to their many
prayers, no matter how much they pray, cry and wail, scream on top of
their lungs, and do all kinds of things to ask God for what they want.
What
they need to realize is that the prerequisite to pray to God is met
only when they first receive the remission of sin. But because many
sinners have no alternative until they come to know the gospel of the
water and the Spirit, they cannot help but continue to live their lives
of faith as sinners. When people are not cleansed once for all by
believing in their hearts in the gospel of the water and the Spirit
given by the Lord, then their prayers are in fact all in vain. Whenever
sinners try to pray to God, their consciences shout, “You think your
prayers will reach God? Dream on! They’re all in vain!” So even as they
keep praying to God, “Give me this, give me that,” their prayers are
actually futile.
“Before
you pray to Me, first receive the remission of your sins.” This is
God’s will. When those who have not received the remission of sin pray
to God, they realize out of their experience that their consciences do
not consent to their reason. When sinners pray, they keep saying, “Give
me this, Lord, and give me that also,” but there is no answer to their
prayers. Far from it, their consciences only tell them, “No way! Your
prayers will go unanswered, because you are sinful!” When even in their
own consciences sinners cannot tolerate their faith, how could they
possibly deceive God, how could they be approved by Him, and how could
their prayers be answered? Sinners are simply not qualified to pray to
God. Far from it, even their own hearts distrust their prayers.
Our Prayers Begin to Be Answered When We Become Righteous by Faith
But
the prayers of many who had been sinners before begin to be answered
once they receive the remission of their sins by believing in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet
thread of the Tabernacle. Those who believe in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit in the center of their hearts may be insufficient on
their own, but they can go to God by faith, and by faith they can boldly
pray to Him, asking Him for their needs. When those who have received
the remission of sin by faith pray to God according to His will, then
they come to pray in boldness.
But
when they are praying for their own flesh, they at times feel
unsuitable. We the righteous are the happiest when we pray for the
spreading of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, for the souls of
others. When we pray for the dynamic spreading of the gospel, snared by
no hindrance of the flesh, then we can overcome the obstacles of our
limitations through prayers of faith. But at times, we feel frustrated
when we are unable to overcome such obstacles by faith. In times like
these, all that we can do is pray, and believe that God will eventually
answer. And sure enough, in time we witness that this prayer is indeed
answered by God.
What
we must do is pray and then wait, not wonder in impatience why our
prayers are not answered right away. God wants us to pray by faith, and
we believe that if our prayers are in harmony to God’s will, then He
will answer them when the time comes. And when we receive the remission
of sin by faith, and when we pray by faith in our lives, then we will
see at first-hand experience that many of our prayers are indeed
answered.
But
have you lived by faith like this? If so, then you can truly pray to
God. When we examine ourselves once more, we realize that we are bound
to hell, and we also realize once more that we can be qualified to pray
only by receiving the remission of sin through our faith in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit. As such, we must remember for sure that
those who can pray are those who have received the remission of sin by
believing that the Lord has blotted out all the sins of their entire
lifetime with the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Among
those who have not yet been born again, there are many people who are
so proud of themselves. What about you? Do you have anything to be proud
of? Are your arms strong? Are your legs strong? No matter how strong
our bodies may be, they cannot even withstand common cold viruses, nor
can they resist for long any marginally strong physical force, belying
their true weakness. Do you realize just how weak human beings are? We
can die from a single mosquito bite, or drop dead hit by a falling stone
while walking. We are nothing. If someone utters a single phrase that
wounds our pride, our hearts can be hurt so much that we become
half-dead. Is this not the case? Of course it is!
How
many people die before even turning 60? There are countless people who
die even before reaching 30. Such weak beings are none other than human
beings. The everlasting strength of human beings can be found nowhere.
Should such weak beings, then, be hardened only in their hearts and not
believe in the Word of God in the center of their hearts? Having nothing
to be proud of, nor pretend to be strong at—this is what human beings
are.
As
such, we must realize our own weaknesses, recognize our insufficiencies
and sins, believe in the gospel of truth fulfilled through the blue,
purple, and scarlet thread in our hearts, and thereby earn the
qualification to pray to God. We must have faith in God. To have this
faith that pleases God in the center of the heart, people must believe
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but there are many who still
do not believe in it. Could you have earned the right to pray to God
from another gospel other than this gospel of the water and the Spirit?
Could your sins have been blotted out had Jesus, coming to this earth,
not taken upon your sins by being baptized for your sake? Could you have
passed your sins of the heart onto Jesus and washed them away without
believing in the baptism that Jesus received?
The
answers are no, no, and absolutely not! It is because Jesus shouldered
the sins of the world with the baptism received from John that He was
crucified and bore the condemnation of all sins with His own blood.
Could you then have been saved without the baptism of Jesus and the
Cross? Of course not! That Jesus was baptized was to take upon our sins
once for all and wash them away, to cleanse away our sins. And that He
was crucified was to bear the punishment of our sins. It is by believing
in this truth of the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we have
been remitted of all our sins.
Thus,
we can go to God at any time and boldly confess, “Lord, I am this
insufficient, but because You have saved me with Your water and blood, I
am now sinless. You came to this earth, at once took upon all sins by
being baptized, carried these sins of the world to the Cross, was
punished for them, and rose from the dead again. And by doing so, Lord,
You have truly become my God of salvation. It is with my faith in this
truth that I believe in You.” When we keep our faith, in other words, we
can always go to God and pray to Him despite our insufficiencies. We
can pray for the expansion of His Kingdom, we can pray for our brothers
and sisters, and we can pray for the other souls that are yet to receive
the remission of sin.
It
is only when people believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit
that they can always be without any shame under the heavens. But not
having this faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, some people
might try to fill the void with something else—you should realize that
such efforts are completely futile. This is why their hearts are
distressed and tormented, turning their lives unbearable. Whether in the
truth or lies, everyone wants to believe in something. Consider
yourselves.
Examine
yourselves to see whether you really believe in the Lord with the faith
that believes the gospel of the water and the Spirit, or whether you do
not believe in this gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Lord has
blotted out your sins with the water and the blood—if you believe in
this, then, would there still be sin in your hearts? If you truly
believe, in the bottom of your hearts and spirits, in this gospel of the
water and the Spirit, then there is surely no sin at all. With your
wholehearted faith in this truth, receive the true remission of your
sins now.
Because
God has given us our remission of sin through the truth manifested in
the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen, we have
now received this everlasting remission of sin. And because of this,
those who believe in this truth have become God’s own children, clothed
in the grace that enables them to come forth to Him. Therefore, we have
to love one another, understand each other’s insufficiencies, serve the
works of God until the end, and then go to Him and stand before His
presence.
Those
who have received the remission of sin love all sinners. The hearts of
the righteous desire every sinner to know the truth manifested in the
blue, purple, and scarlet thread and be born again. But there is a
certain kind of people who cannot actually love people. These are the
obstinate sinner—Christians who deceive their own consciences of faith
and delude themselves into thinking that they believe in God even as
they still remain sinful.
By
believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and receiving the
remission of sin into our hearts, we must all defend our consciences of
faith. Let us run our race well until the end, keeping our consciences
of faith and not losing our faith. And when someone seems to be going
through a hard time spiritually, then help each other and hold one
another steadfast. No matter what happens, the righteous must not leave
the Church. If the righteous leave God’s Church, they will die
immediately. Leaving God’s Church is like losing your own home. Losing
your home is losing your refuge, and so your hearts will find neither
rest nor comfort anywhere, and you will die in the end.
God’s
Church is a place where His sheep are fed and given rest and relief. As
such, when the sheep lose their strength and become too weary, God’s
Church helps their hearts to be strengthened by hearing the Word. When
you accept the Word by believing in your hearts, then the Holy Spirit in
you will rejoice, your hearts will also be strengthened, and, as the
final result, you will receive eternal life.
All
of us the righteous give our thanks to God. We thank the Lord, for in
order to qualify us to pray, He has given us the gospel of the water and
the Spirit. Hallelujah! I pray to the living God that He would enable
us to trust in Him and live by faith.
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