Subject 13 : The Gospel According to MATTHEW
[Chapter 22-1] Only Those Wearing the Garment of the Water and The Blood Can Attend the Feast in Heaven (Matthew 22:1-14)
(Matthew 22:1-14)
“And
Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: ‘The
kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his
son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the
wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other
servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, ‘See, I have prepared my
dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready.
Come to the wedding.’’ But they made light of it and went their ways,
one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his
servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king
heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed
those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants,
‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the
wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered
together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall
was filled with guests. ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he
saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to
him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And
he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand
and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are
chosen.’”
Summer
Discipleship Training Camp begins August 13th. Yesterday, I visited
In-jae Discipleship Training Center (DTC), and it was truly a blessing.
This year, many flowers were planted in the front garden of the retreat
center, and a swimming pool was also built there. The valley stream was
swollen by recent heavy rains, and the water came up to the level where
it was splashing against the bottom part of the bridge that we had built
at the training center entrance.
Also,
the sound of rocks rolling in the ravine sounded like thunder from the
sky. So, I was thinking, “Is it the sound of rolling rocks or is it
thunder? It doesn’t sound like water raging down, so is it must be
thunder cracking in the sky?” When I went to the bridge, the amount of
water was tremendous. Returning back from the DTC, I saw the support
columns of the Livingstone Bridge submerged halfway under water. Truly,
this recent rain had been tremendous. That DTC suffered no damage what
so ever, despite such heavy rain, was all by the grace of God. The only
problem was that we couldn’t finish the preparations for the Summer
Discipleship Training Camp, but there was no other damage.
With
nothing much to do these days, I think the missionary school students
seemed bored, so I think I will send them off to work at In-jae DTC in a
few days. It’s good for our missionary school students to go there and
do some cleaning up, as well as make preparations for the Summer Camp.
When one goes there, work doesn’t feel all that tiresome. I had hoped to
stay there for about a week and do some work, but because there was so
much work to be done here, I had no choice but to come back. You can’t
imagine how good it is at In-jae DTC.
It’s
great during the rain, and it’s great even without rain. When I was
there, the rain really poured down, and it was a sight incomparable to
cities like this. In cities, rain comes down on rooftops, roads, and
cars. When we see rain slipping down on a window, our hearts are prone
to getting depressed and feeling sad. But, as I looked out from DTC, I
saw that the rain had fallen on the trees on the mountain and fog had
formed in the air. I like scenery such as this.
When
I young, I lived in a board-framed house covered with a roof made of
asphalt shingles. Because it was right after the Korean War in 1950s,
most people built their houses with wooden boards and covered it with
their homemade shingles as a roof. People made shingles by spreading
asphalt on corrugated cardboard and then scattering sand over them.
Then, they would nail them to a roof fabricated with wooden boards, and
thus, a board-framed house was complete.
When
it rained, a rumbling sound could be heard vividly from the ceiling.
When there was a rain shower, I would enjoy hearing the pattering sound
coming from the roof. Even today, I really enjoy the sound of the rain.
Because water would leak from the seams of the roof covered with these
shingles, whenever it rained, we had to bring washbasins, bowls, and
whatever else and then spread them on the floor. They would make various
sounds in different tones, and you can’t imagine just how cheerful they
sounded. When a water drop hits a particular container, it would make a
‘plop’ sound, and when it hits another container, it would make a ‘pop’
sound. As I remember, the sound varied according to the type of the
container into which the water drop fell.
Most
likely, because I had lived in a place like that, the scenery of nature
I saw in In-jae DTC was so very beautiful. Water coming down from the
valley stream is also a wonderful sight. Water at In-jae DTC is first
class water. We had asked the authorities to test the water quality at
In-jae DTC. The valley stream and the well that we use for drinking
water were both determined to be first class uncontaminated pure water.
Because there is no pollution there, the water is very clean. Whenever I
go to In-jae DTC, my heart feels serene, affectionate, and so good. The
dearly missed smell of the soil, and refreshing sound of the water
bring memories of my youthful days. And the water of the brook is so
clear that one would feel guilty just to dip his or her feet in it.
Also,
our fellow saints at In-jae DTC had planted corn so much that there are
corn stalks everywhere. When you come to the upcoming discipleship
training camp, there will be plenty of corn for you to eat. Dear fellow
believers, please come to the upcoming discipleship training camp.
Please bring along your family members, too. The corn was cooked right
after having picked them off the stalks, and they were tender and tasty.
Our fellow workers and saints at In-jae Retreat Center had planted much
corn to welcome you here to the DTC. Produce at the DTC farm had been
planted, and when the saints or the servants of God come visit, they
will be shared and eaten together.
We
are living in the era of calamities. Soon, the days of seven trumpets
will arrive, and when the sound of the last trumpet blows, the Lord will
raise us up from the dead and we will be raptured into the air to meet
the Lord. I have a truly thankful heart that the Lord will come again. I
go on living looking forward only to that day. These days, the gospel
is getting spread widely through paper and electronic books. I thank God
for bestowing us with grace so that we may widely spread the gospel. I
know that this was made possible because we had gone through trouble
serving the Lord, and the Lord helped us through. I also believe that
the Lord will bless us and help us until the end of the world.
Lately,
there have been many book orders from various countries through our
website. There is a lot of good news also. I believe we can spread the
gospel to 2/3 of the world’s population through the Internet within a
few years. I regard this Internet ministry as something very precious. I
believe that working through this means is more effective than sending
off ten thousand missionaries. I will support this ministry with all our
financial capability from now on.
As
I have said many times, there isn’t much time left for us to spread the
gospel in peace. However, we don’t get to greet the Lord without having
gone through the days of natural disasters, and without the calamities
of seven trumpets. The claim that we will face the Lord’s second coming
and the rapture without having gone through the tribulations is wrong
and unbiblical. Such a notion is a self-centered point of view. Those
who believe so are hard headed. There were people like that in our
Church, but they have gone their ways on their own.
As
for those who erroneously believe in the Word of God and have their
thinking hardened like that, no matter how much we preach the Word of
God to them, it is of no use. They are trying to pull down this gospel.
Accusing me, they had claimed, “That man speaks of the imminent end of
the world, so he is a liar. The gospel of the water and the Spirit he
preaches is also false.” They had tried to raise turmoil inside the
Church. They had tried to gather their followers and establish a church
separately, but fortunately, we took care of them because their plan had
become exposed prematurely.
I
gave sermons on the Book of Revelation because I was truly hoping that
no one would believe like that. I spoke of the Word in the Book of
Revelation because people have mistaken knowledge about the last of the
days. But we have to interpret the Word of God strictly as it is to
answer the question, “Definitely when will Jesus come?” If a preacher
closes the Bible and speaks according to his or her own thinking in the
pulpit, then he is a false preacher. When we open up the Bible, we must
speak on the basis of the Bible. Worried that there might be such people
among our ministry workers, I had preached in detail about these
things. Furthermore, we have published books on Revelation in order for
the servants of God and the saints all over the world to know about the
Word properly. Whether or not to believe in the Word of Revelation is up
to each person’s faith.
In
the last days of the tribulation, there will be tribulations of seven
trumpets and tribulations of seven bowls. Only when the days of seven
trumpets arrive does the Lord come. Without the calamities of seven
trumpets, there is no coming of the Lord. It is written in the Bible
that among the seven trumpets, only when the last trumpet blows, will
the rapture of the saints occur. Therefore, people mustn’t interpret the
Bible from their self-centered point of view. Those who have raised
turmoil recently and left God’s Church afterwards did not listen to my
sermons correctly.
Then,
as I was preaching on the Book of Revelations, their plan was faced
with a setback from that time on. Their leader tried to create certain
upheaval inside the church by berating me as a false prophet who claimed
there would be rapture by June of next year. However, my preaching on
the Words of the Book of Revelations moved in a direction different from
their own thinking. It made them distressed, and they started not
listening to the sermons. And then, they spoke so much of my faults to
other ministry workers. But, my fellow servants of God and the saints in
the church scolded them instead.
When
the Lord comes, all we have to do is to go to Him. Until the Lord
comes, what must we live for? We must live for the spreading of the
gospel. Is it so, or is it not? Yes, it is our duty. Until when can we
go on spreading the gospel? That is what’s important. After we finish
spreading the gospel to the ends of the world, the Lord will come. Then,
our efforts will come to an end.
However,
is it right for a farmer to wait for fall without having engaged in
farm work or sowed seeds? The farmer has to wait for the passing of
summer and the arrival of fall by tilling the field with the arrival of
spring, sowing seeds, watering, having them sprout buds, removing weeds,
transplanting, and so on. By continuing to take care of the field,
fruit will be borne when fall comes. So the farmer must prepare in
advance storage bags and threshing tools. Then, when the fall arrives,
the farmer gets to harvest the crops. Yet, if a person were to wait for
fall without having finished his work, that person would be a beggar. If
we were to wait for the day of the Lord’s coming without having spread
the gospel, then Jesus will never come. Then, the Lord will come later
and rebuke us as lazy servants, casting us away into a place of
darkness.
People
think it is good to become a leader. Having been a leader of a certain
gathering and having stayed in high positions, one would realize that
such places are actually uncomfortable. Physically, leaders get very
tired. There are many things to be concerned about, to take
responsibility for, and to attend to. If there is anyone in our
gathering who covets such positions and seeks personal glory, then that
person must quickly leave our gathering. That person should go out from
God’s Church, gather up the same sort of people, and reign over those
people by getting them to agree with him, and by being humanly kind to
them. The person has to act as a king or as a queen there, because in
our gathering, no one can reign over people. We don’t have that
privilege.
Here
in God’s Church, there is no one who can say, “You are my servants and I
am the king.” Should anyone say that, I believe you fellow believers
would take off your shoes and slap that person across his or her cheek.
You and I are those who live for the Lord and the gospel. Is there
someone among us who provides service to a person? No, there isn’t. It
is not easy to deal with all of you individually, and because there is
the Holy Spirit inside those of you who believe in the gospel, such
things are not tolerated.
Saints
at Seoul Church say it has been very hard for them up until now. A
certain saint said that because the ministry worker had hated him so
much, he resorted to offering the ministry worker an envelope filled
with money. After giving the ministry worker the envelope of money, the
saint said he started treating him very amiably. Please do not give
envelopes of money to your ministry workers. To do so would be fine if
you were to give it in order to show some appreciation toward your
ministry workers out of gratitude. It is a serious problem if you give
one of your ministry workers money just because you think he or she
hates you? Is God’s Church a political organization? Are we electoral
candidates for the National Assembly? Is our gathering a place where
people give envelopes of money to someone in a higher position in
exchange for party nomination? That is not so.
The
minister who had recently left the Church was said to have been the
head of the Church. But whenever the Head Office made some request for
help, he was very uncooperative. Once, our Mission Church of Chung-ju
needed to buy a computer, and because it was cheaper in Seoul, I asked
for help from one of our ministry workers at Seoul Church. I called him
on the telephone and said, “Junior Pastor Ahn of Chung-ju Church will
travel to Seoul, so please find him a store where he could purchase an
inexpensive but decent computer. When he arrives, please guide him and
help him purchase one at a good price.”
And
so, Junior Pastor Ahn made an appointment to go to Seoul Church nine
o’clock in the morning. But, when he arrived at nine o’clock, he told me
that the church doors were locked and the ministry worker was still
asleep. When Junior Pastor Ahn knocked on the church door, the ministry
worker’s wife who had been sleeping until then barely woke up and said,
“My husband worked late last night, so he is still asleep. So, go and
buy it alone.”
As
it was his first visit to Seoul, the junior pastor, fumbling and
wandering, found his way to Yong-san Shopping District, which is famous
for selling electronic equipments at low prices. But as luck would have
it, it was the day when all the stores are closed. He told me that as he
went back to Chung-ju without having been able to buy a computer, he
had so many regretful feelings toward that ministry worker. As the
ministry worker was living in Seoul, he could have found out about the
information and given guidance just by making a single phone call. The
ministry worker at Chung-ju Church could have bought a computer by going
there directly, but because he was a fellow worker of our mission
organization, he had trusted him and asked for help. But with the
treatment he received, he truly had felt ever so astonished.
The
ministry worker, who has now left the Church, has a mother who was
managing the In-jae Retreat Center, and though I found out about the
truth later on, the woman had done really many evil deeds before God
while she was working there. Once, a few family members of sister
Eun-young Hwang went to In-jae DTC, because her mother was staying
there.
As
they went there, they saw a good crop of peppers we had grown, and they
asked if they could take a few. But, the woman, who had been managing
In-jae DTC, told them, “Buy it with money, and then take it.” Selling a
box of peppers for 5 dollars to the family member of a person who works
there! Can you imagine how bad they must have felt? Not only that; when
sister Eun-young Hwang sent some spending money to her mother for her
birthday, the woman kept it all and did not give it to sister Hwang’s
mother.
This
is just the tip of the iceberg of all that they have been doing inside
the Church. How can I not speak ill of them? Should I have stayed still
and not speak? They are such people, who attended God’s Church, all the
while saying that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is not the
Truth. Because they did not really believe in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, they did not know how to serve fellow brothers and
sisters, and they sought only their own benefit.
Is
there anyone among you who can say that the gospel of the water and the
Spirit is not the Truth? Human beings commit sins everyday due to
lacking. If it weren’t for the gospel of the water and the Spirit, how
would human beings be without sins? How would we be able to say that we
have no sin? The gospel of the water and the Spirit is our life. It is
the Truth, like a priceless pearl which cannot be exchanged for
anything. That is why the Scripture tells us that those who have found
it will go and sell all that they have and buy it, for they know that it
is something so very precious (Matthew 13:45-46). Even so, they threw
away the gospel of the water and the Spirit and went out into the world.
It is like playing jackstones with diamonds, unaware that it is a
precious stone. It is the same as native children trading the diamonds
for a single chocolate given by explorers.
Through
today’s Scripture passage, God speaks to us about precisely these
things. God speaks of those who enter the Kingdom of Heaven. What sort
of people are those who enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Long ago, a certain
prosperous king held a banquet for his son’s marriage, having prepared
everything and invited many people. Because the king had invited people
to the feast, anyone could have participated in the feast just by coming
wearing a wedding garment.
Just
as people can receive hospitality and enjoy glory by attending the
feast with a wedding garment on, our entering Heaven is like that. It is
God who invites people to His Kingdom. God invites people by saying
that anyone who believes that Jesus has saved us by the gospel of the
water and the Spirit can enter Heaven. Regardless of who it is, anyone
who believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in his or her
heart has prepared the garment of faith, and gets to enter Heaven. It
means that even though people have received the invitation to Heaven,
only those who have prepared the garment of faith can enter Heaven.
On
the other hand, people who didn’t prepare the garment cannot enter
Heaven. Dear fellow believers, when we go to a house in celebration,
having received an invitation, we get dressed in formal clothes. Whether
it is a traditional clothes or a suit, there really isn’t anyone
wearing sportswear or short pants. Even in worldly things we show such
courtesy. Yet when we are invited to the Kingdom of Heaven, how can we
go there without wearing formal clothes?
Having
invited us to Heaven, God checks to see if we came wearing a wedding
garment. He has made it that, among the attendees of the feast, anyone
who is wearing a wedding garment can eat, drink, enjoy, and stay without
limit. However, God picks out those who have come to the feast without
having worn a wedding garment, and throws them into the darkness. It is
said in verse 13, “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand
and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
Dear
fellow believers, if we want to go to Heaven, what sort of garment of
faith must we wear? The Lord has prepared for us a garment that would
allow us to enter Heaven, but what sort of garment is it? It the gospel
of the water and the Spirit. The Lord has saved us by coming to this
earth, taking on all our sins by receiving the baptism at the Jordan
River, carrying away the sin of the world, shedding blood on our behalf
by getting nailed to the Cross, and resurrecting on the third day.
Believing in this gospel is precisely what wearing the garment is. What
is the garment that allows us to enter Heaven? It is that Our Savior
Jesus, the Son of God, has saved us by coming to this earth, taking on
all our sins by receiving the baptism for us, and dying vicariously on
the Cross. Whoever wears this garment can never fail to enter Heaven.
Only
those who are clean, that is, without sin, can enter the Kingdom of
Heaven. Only those who are absolutely clean get to enter Heaven. Wearing
the garment means believing in the baptism that Jesus had received by
coming to this earth, in His blood that was shed on the Cross, and
believing in the resurrected Lord as the Savior.
We
must believe in the meritorious deed of Jesus being born on this earth
in human flesh, the meritorious deed of His having received the baptism,
the meritorious deed of having carried away the sin of the world, the
meritorious deed of having died on the Cross, and the meritorious deed
of having resurrected from the dead. Sitting at the right hand of the
throne of God the Father, He will judge each and every sinner who has
refused to believe in these meritorious deeds. Believing that the Lord
has personally become the God of salvation for those who believe in the
work that the Lord has done is precisely what wearing the garment is.
This
garment is important. Because it is the feast of the Kingdom of Heaven,
and only those without sin can attend, one must wear the garment
without fail. How good is this garment that the Lord has made for you
and me? The more you think about it, the better it is. We offer worship
before God “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians
5:19). We praise the Lord who has made us to be without sin by the
gospel of the water and the Spirit. Speak to one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs with its lyrics set in our hearts, and sing
songs of praise in union with other saints. We offer thanks and worship,
singing songs of praise. This is to offer the sacrifice of praise to
God (Hebrews 13:15).
How
clean and good is the garment with which God has clothed us? Because
God has clothed us with this garment, we are able to enter Heaven. Yet,
how ignorant are those who do not wear the garment as well as those who
are reluctant to wear one? How should we then prepare to enter the
Kingdom of Heaven? We can prepare it only by faith. We wear the garment
which God has all prepared for us so that we may enter Heaven by faith.
This is the faith that leads us to receiving salvation, and that makes
us children of God. This is precisely what a blessing is. Though I can
give sermons on various subjects with today’s Scripture passage, it is
imperative that I preach about the garment with which our Lord has
clothed you and me. The garment with which Jesus Christ, who has come by
the water and the Spirit, has clothed us is a blessing to us. Do you
believe in this?
The
Lord has done it all so that all we have to do is have faith in the
works that He has done for us. When we reflect over this gospel and
reflect on our souls, we must truly give thanks to the Lord. Regardless
of whether or not we are in a good situation, we are able to thank the
Lord at any time. Because we are wearing the garment of faith, we are
able to go before the Lord no matter when He should call us, always
doing mightily the work that He has entrusted to us by faith.
Because
we are in the grace of salvation by faith, we should be thankful to the
Lord from the bottom of our hearts, and come to offer praise. Because
our hearts are filled with joy, praise just comes out naturally. We wish
to gather and share communion, and we want to be able to finish all the
work that the Lord has entrusted to us. Because the Lord has saved us
and we have received salvation we are able to do the work that the Lord
has entrusted to us. Although we are unable to do some works, we do
those works which we are able by uniting with each other. This is truly
good. Where would you find anything that is better than this?
Regardless
of whom, it is truly childish not to throw away the desire to seek
one’s own glory and fight over a position to move up in ranks within the
Church. Is it good to be in a high position inside the Church? That is
not so. It is good just to have something to eat and wear, and to be
able to do righteous works. That is why the Apostle Paul said, “And
having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy
6:8). I am so thankful that God has taken care of our needs concerning
food, clothing, and shelter, and that He has given us the heart to do
righteous works. If we can only live for the Lord by taking care of
ourselves, lest our body should get sick; and if only we can live for
the gospel without the suffering from problems with food, clothing, and
shelter, we would be content.
There
would be no need for us to desire anything else. Not only that, there
would be no need for us to loose our temper over those who stand against
us groundlessly. Doesn’t every thing become one’s own just by being
greedy? God has told us to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness.
We are content with leading our lives spreading the gospel for the
Kingdom of God. God will provide us with all that we need if we go on
living in faith and being thankful. I am thankful just for that.
There
are those who oppose the gospel of the water and the Spirit through
e-mails, without disclosing who they are and what their beliefs are. If
they were truly courageous, they should show themselves and do whatever
they believe is right. But there are people hiding behind a computer and
make claims that do not make sense. I do not deal with people like
that. God will not leave alone those who oppose those who believe in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit. I believe God will avenge them
twice as hard as they have afflicted harm on us. We just ask God that He
will let us see with our own eyes and ears what He will be doing with
them. They have nothing to do with us. By the way, we will never be able
to meet them when we go to Heaven.
Such
people only speak of the blood of the Cross. Then, I go straight to the
point and ask, “How do you take care of the sins that you commit
today?” Some people answer by saying, “Jesus completely took care of
those sins by taking them on and then dying vicariously on the Cross.”
However, that is incorrect. If that had been the case, what need would
there have been for God to set the sacrificial system in the Old
Testament? Wouldn’t people today be cast out of Heaven because they have
sins in their hearts for having believed only in the blood of the Cross
and thus, not having prepared the garment? That is why Jesus said, “For
many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14).
We
have received salvation because God had chosen us in Jesus Christ and
had given us salvation in the Lord. It isn’t the case that we have
received salvation just because we say, “I believe” unconditionally,
without having faith in the gospel of the Truth. By faith, it is that we
are in Christ. We get to wear the clean garment by knowing and
believing in Jesus having saved us by the water and the blood according
to the sacrificial system, as promised to us for salvation. Jesus has
saved us in His will that was planned even before the creation.
Because
God has saved us perfectly, we get to receive salvation by faith. Do we
get saved by practicing asceticism? Do people reach holiness and purity
by disciplining themselves by sitting and staring at a wall for 10
years? In Korea, there was a famous Buddhist monk whose Buddhist name
was Sung-chul. He disciplined himself for 10 years by going into a small
room and staring at a wall without lying down on the floor. For his
entire life, he patched up and wore a single piece of clothing and led a
life as if he had transcended human lust. He received praise from many
Buddhists who said, “He is a living Buddha.”
However,
when he was about to die, he left a poem that says, “For I have
deceived so many men and women during my entire life, my sins have
filled the skies, higher than Mount Sumi. (Mount Sumi is a legendary
mountain that is regarded as the highest one in the world - editor’s
comment.) I will fall as a living flesh into an endless pit of hell, and
my remorse will divide into tens of thousands of forks that are
intertwined.” This reflects the fact that sins are in his heart, and
this poem is honestly confessing the fact that sins never go away just
by one’s own disciplining. People called him a living Buddha, but the
man knew on his own that he was a hypocrite, and that he would fall into
an endless pit of hell. He himself pretended to be holy, but in fact,
he had confessed that he had deceived so many men and women.
Christians
today are like that. Don’t they take pleasure in pretending to be holy?
As people have sin in their hearts, can they become holy just by
pretending to be holy on the outside? If one were to pray when sitting
at a time of worship, and if one were to walk straight and well, is the
person holy? The Lord has saved us by coming to this earth, receiving
the baptism, and dying on the Cross. We have come to be holy by having
faith in that.
That
is why it is joyful for those who believe in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit to meet together among themselves. They do not have to be
hypocritical about being holy to each other. When there is something
delicious, the righteous make a commotion trying to eat more than
others. Upon seeing the pain and the lacking of others, we comfort each
other by faith. We are those who commit sins every day because of
lacking. What is that which has made us, who are like that, righteous
and without sin? It is the garment. It is the garment of the Lord having
saved us by the water and the blood.
If
we look at today’s Scripture passage, it is said, “Gather together
people there, both bad and good.” It is said to invite everyone,
regardless of who they are. But, no matter how virtuous a person may be,
those not wearing the garment get cast away. Even though a certain
person may have been called evil from the world, because he or she is
wearing this garment and has the proper attire, he or she does not get
cast away. People cannot attend the feast of Heaven on the basis of good
and evil according to this world. The important factor that decides
whether or not one can attend the feast depends on whether or not one
has faith that God has saved us. This faith is what’s important.
Believing
in Jesus is to believe that Jesus has saved us by coming to earth,
receiving the baptism, and dying on the Cross. Just because we have been
born again by having faith in the gospel, do we live a holy life on our
own? After starting to believe in the gospel, there is nothing for us
to change. If just one thing has changed, it is that we have worn the
garment of faith, with no sin inside our hearts. There is nothing that
has changed in our acts after we started to have faith. There are also
those whose acts have become worse after having been born again. This is
why the born-again need the Church. The just must do righteous works.
There are too many people whose temper has become much worse after
having been born again. If we do not serve the Lord after having been
born again, we become very peculiar people. That is why the Church is
necessary for the righteous.
Let
us not put forth our own righteousness. Instead you and I will believe
in the righteousness of God and be thankful for it. Let us give thanks
before the Lord who has given us the garment. Dear fellow believers, are
you thankful? If you do not thank the Lord, and do not believe in the
gospel despite having heard it so many times, there isn’t much that I
can do. In order for us to receive salvation, there is nothing else for
us to do except to have faith in the work which Jesus has done. Human
beings are lacking as such, yet how can a human being become God? Human
beings are just human beings. That is why God has saved us by coming
this earth in flesh, taking on all our sins by His baptism, dying on the
Cross, and by receiving the judgment for all sins. He loved this world
that much. This is exactly what God’s love is, and this is, without a
doubt, the righteous work of God.
By
believing in this, we get to wear the garment of salvation. By wearing
the wedding garment of salvation, we have become Christ’s bride. Now,
when the Groom comes, we will go to Him. Why does the Groom come to this
earth? He comes in order to take up His wife. If the bride isn’t on
this earth, then why should the Groom come? In order to take away the
bride, the Groom has dressed the bride with all sorts of beautiful
things. The Groom has sent everything for the bride so that His bride
would have need of nothing, readied to absolute perfection. Did the Lord
send us everything or not? He has sent them to us. For us, the Lord has
made us to be absolutely perfect. This is what the garment is, and this
is what God’s love is.
I
will preach sermons like this until the end of the world. We must go on
living with our hearts immersed in the grace of God. Also, we must go
on living, listening to God’s love even though we have heard it often,
and being thankful for it, considering it. Animals that do not chew the
cud are unclean animals (Leviticus 11:7). Do pigs chew their cud or not?
They do not. What about cows? Cows do chew their cud. A cow fills
itself with grass, and while it rests on a sunny place, it brings back
up what it has swallowed before and chews it like a piece of gum,
repeatedly chewing in a grinding fashion. Because cows have four
stomachs, they store food and then chew by bringing the stored food back
up.
Cows
live on grass. But, people these days, trying to raise the cow faster,
are said to be feeding cows animal-based feed. They say that is the
reason mad-cow disease had appeared. The brain of an infected cow melts
and shrinks, leading to its death. It had to be fed grass according to
the way set forth by God. Because people ignored the way, such a
horrific disease has appeared. If people do not follow the natural way
of things, they will become like that. Yet, there are people who do not
follow the Word despite having heard the Word of God. They are those who
will catch spiritual mad-cow disease.
The
Bible tells us only things that are beneficial to our spirit. The Bible
tells us about God’s love, and how our Lord has blotted out our sins.
If we do not listen to the Word of God, we cannot live. That is why the
Holy Spirit makes me speak about this gospel of the water and Spirit all
the time. Only when we do so, we can always repeatedly meditate on the
gospel. Only when we meditate on this gospel of the water and the
Spirit, does our faith become firm once more. Also, the waste in our
hearts and unclean thoughts get removed. Because we come to realize the
fact that “The Lord truly has loved us,” we become thankful in that
faith. Because we are thankful, we start serving the Lord. Furthermore,
because we are children of God while living in the Lord, we receive
blessings from God. This all comes naturally.
Among
you, there are people who have known me for 10 years. Since the time we
met until now, if there is one thing that I haven’t changed, it is the
fact that I am preaching this gospel of the water and the Spirit even
now. There must be some who say, “That man is peculiar. It seems like
that is all he knows. Other pastors speak about ‘how can there be water
above the firmament?’ and ‘why did people’s lifespan become short?’ But,
why is it that Pastor Paul C. Jong only preaches about the gospel of
the water and the Spirit?” I know much about the things that pastors of
this world talk about. However, because it is better not speak of things
that are somewhat unnecessary. I omit them and share much more about
the Word of importance with you.
I
pray for you to know and believe in the fact that it is God who has
clothed you with the garment. Because we have received God’s love and
salvation by the grace of God, we are spreading the gospel to people. We
believe in it first, then spread it to people. We are living in grace
before God. This is the Truth of living by faith. Trying to renew faith,
if one were to believe one way, and then in another way, making
commotions, while having disregard for God’s gospel, that would not be a
proper faith.
Faith
is to believe in accordance with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Fellow believers, do you believe this? Faith is to believe peacefully
what God has given us as it is. Going to prayer retreats in a mountain
and making commotions, crying and screaming isn’t what faith is. We must
be clear about our life’s purpose. Our life’s purpose is believing in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and thanking God for it, and
spreading that gospel. It is because there is still a tremendous number
of people who do not know the Truth.
If
we take a look at the book ordering section of the New Life Mission
website, we can see that people are ordering free books from countries
all over the world. Countries like the United States, Mexico, the
Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Brazil, France,
Germany, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Guatemala, Belgium, Pakistan, Japan,
Italy, the Dominican Republic, the Great Britain, Canada, El Salvador,
Spain, Russia, and so on. Even those from Western Europe, whose
Christian history goes back several hundred years, send us their
impressions of our books. One person said he had studied theology and
had worked as a pastor for 50 years. But after having read volumes 1, 2,
and 3 of our English books, he confessed that his life had changed
completely, and that he had experienced total change of his heart. They
have confessed that after having read our books, their problems of sin
were solved and that they have come to realize what it is to receive the
Holy Spirit.
Dear
fellow believers, believing in what God has given us and spreading it
is the life that we, the bride of the Lord, should be leading. As for
you, please do not say, “I am so lacking that I cannot follow the Lord”
or “I am so wise that I have no more things to hear in the Church.”
There are exactly two ways to train those who haven’t yet set their
hearts to live for the gospel: Either beat the person with the Word
until he or she realizes that something is wrong with them, or have the
person do the work of the gospel so much so as to make all his or her
own righteousness be broken. By doing this, that person will realize how
gracious and how thankful this gospel is. He or she will realize how
thankful the gospel is because it is absolutely free.
I offer thanks to God for having clothed us with the garment of His righteousness. Halleluiah!
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