Sermon series 1 3 by Ssue

Se r mo nSe r i e s I

Sermon Series â&#x2026;

Semuon Translation Mission Center Seoul Sungrak Church

Table of Contents

Sermon 1_God's Covenant

2. Textbook 3.

1_God's Covenant

Sermon 2_Hold Fast to the Lord's Word

4. Textbook 5. Sermon

2_Hold Fast to the Lord's Word

3_Just Say the Word

6. Textbook

3_Just Say the Word

1 13 19 30 35 46

God's Covenant 1

God’s Covenant [Hebrews 8:1-13] Seoul Sungrak Church Lord’s Day Sermon (2015.03.22) by Overseer Sung Hyun Kim

Life on Earth Crippled With Distrust and Insecurity People’s lives are filled with countless promises. This can easily be observed in our daily lives. In the morning people get up and leave the house hurriedly because they have an agreement with their employer as to what time they must be at work by. For many families, the wife prepares breakfast for the husband who works to provide for the family. This is a kind of agreement between the husband and wife. On the way to work, people wait for the subway on the platform because they know that the subway is supposed to come at regular intervals. At lunch time, people go out to the shops to have a meal. If a person refuses to pay simply because he was not satisfied with the food, the police may even have to be called for. People’s lives are comprised of so many promises, including those regarding time and money. If a person provides labor, the hirer

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must pay his wages. If a customer pays money, the seller must give the product or services. If somebody borrows money, he must pay it back. The use of violence by the strong on the weak is unacceptable because this is what the whole society has agreed upon, and anyone that does not adhere will be subject to the penalty prescribed by the society. Thus all members of the society adhere to the promises within politics, economics, diplomatic relations, morality and so on, to maintain and develop the society. Once people are born into the world, they become a member of the society comprised of these many promises and must conform to those social sanctions. The problem is that people do not keep promises very well. Some say that there would not be a huge issue as long as a person accepts the consequences and pays the penalty when he fails to keep such promises in the society. Yet even if the lawbreaker is punished, it cannot undo the injury or damage inflicted on the victim. The way our society is standing is surprisingly very unstable. A considerable number of people think that it is okay to break promises with others for the sake of their own profit. Besides, not all promises within society are legally binding. Promises or agreements tacitly made between individuals cannot be governed by certain laws even if those promises were broken. Hence such promises which are not legally enforceable are more prone to be broken.

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People who strived to keep their promises can feel discouraged and unfairly treated to see others who break promises, getting on with their lives fine without any loss. And they may also be tempted to do the same and break the law for their own profit. The fact that there are many of these people within society indicate that there are a great number of potential criminals ready to commit an offense as soon as a favorable environment is set up, though presently they are restrained by the law and their conscience. In fact, the majority of people are breaking the rules and laws to a certain degree where they will not be caught by the police. In a country that has a highly developed economy, promises between the people are relatively well-kept as opposed to countries that are not as economically developed. In the instance of the former, specific laws are put in place with strict enforcement. On the other hand, although the legal system is poor in less developed countries, those gaps are filled up by moral codes, conscience, traditions, etc. Nevertheless, if the legal system is poor there is bound to be many people who would deceive others to make a profit. The problem then is that this leads to endless victims and all members of such a society are left feeling insecure. In a society with so many breaking promises, we are used to feeling suspicious of others and hence a sense of insecurity. Our hearts are very wearied by the fact that there are so many dishonest people around us. This is quite apparent when we come

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to know a person for the first time, as it is not trust but suspicion that we have towards him or her. People are paranoid about suffering losses. They believe that the short time on earth is everything to their life, like a fish in a pond. Because they are so afraid of suffering any form of loss, they are determined to break promises if necessary. However they are still faced with much betrayal and despair. In other words, man’s life on the earth is crippled and ailing. Though this “disease” is invisible, its symptoms are turning up here and there.

People Who Even Doubt God’s Counsel In the present, God is saving mankind through the church. However people think that God and His church are forcing faith from them. They argue, “How can you tell me to believe in God when I don’t even know if He really exists? Even if He does, I don’t want a god that only wants to be served. I’m already tired of being lied to in this world. Why should I have to serve anyone else?” In this life where people betray and get betrayed, they are all sensitive about somehow being put at a disadvantage. And although they are warned of the need to quickly make a choice in regards to eternal life, they do not take it seriously. One of the most common things said by unbelievers is that they would believe in God if we can show Him to them. In other words,

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they are saying that they would believe if God demonstrates His mighty power, which is the same as saying they would believe only if God forces them to. As one who has been oppressed by the Devil’s tyranny, it is ironic for man to treat in such a manner what is the most important matter concerning himself. Demanding God to show Himself is no different to asking for another tyrant in place of the ruler of the world. God is unlike the spirits (gods) of this world. Those gods demand man, “First serve me, and after that I will compensate you.” However there is no guarantee that they will actually compensate. The Devil did exactly that in the Garden of Eden when he deceived man saying, “First eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. And then you will become like God.” He did the same when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness saying, “Worship me, and I will give you the glory of this world.” The gods of this world first entice and confuse the minds of people with sweet-sounding words. Then at the critical moment, they reveal their true identity and destroy man. The Devil is the father of all liars. Even the slightest influence of the Devil can confuse the mind of people who have been striving to live honest and truthful lives so that their attitude begins to change. When people see others they trusted starting to change their attitude or lie, after a while they completely lose all trust in people. That is why they openly resist and reject those who preach

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the Gospel to them. Their hearts are severely ailing.

God Who Wants Man to Trust Him Willingly God desires to be trusted by man first. If anyone is uncertain of whether or not God can be trusted, he actually does not know who God is. God is not someone who overpowers man by His awesome majesty and power to force him to bow before Him. He also does not demand man to offer their devotion and sacrifices first, and promise to give Heaven afterwards. God is the god of a covenant. He first gave His covenant and faithfully kept it, fully demonstrating His faithfulness. When we say we have seen God, it does not mean we saw Him with our eyes or in a vision, nor does it mean we saw Him send down lightning and thunder. God is faithful. He keeps His promises. And it is with Him that we have a covenant. If anyone claims to believe in God but cannot fully trust in Him, that person actually does not know God. Even if he attends church fervently, his faith would be closer to superstition since he is following after something he does not even trust. God revealed Himself to the people of Israel, and their history is about how they came to know God. In the Old Testament, if frequently says, “Then you shall know that I am the Lord”. The

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Israelites would have heard those words as meaning, “You shall know that I keep My covenant”. Another phrase that is frequent in the Old Testament is, “Says the Lord”. The people of Israel clearly experienced the fulfillment of the promises of God sworn by His name, through the successes and failures they encountered. Their history is in itself a testament to God’s faithfulness. During the time when nobody among man knew about God, God made Himself known to Abraham. Later, He revealed Himself to the nation of Israel with the name Jehovah. At the appointed time, God disclosed His true self through Jesus Christ. But until then, what God was teaching the Israelites was the fact that He keeps His covenant. God wanted to establish a covenant relationship with mankind. However man is incapable of keeping the covenant. For this reason, God had the Israelites write down the covenant He made with them and place it inside the Ark of the Covenant. Thus He had them remember that they are a people who made a covenant with God. The reason He maintained His relationship with the Israelites by doing all of this was for them to confirm that God is one who can definitely be trusted. That is, He was demonstrating His faithfulness to them whilst telling them to clearly understand who He is as God and never lose sight of Him. God showed His faithfulness through the people of Israel and later

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on, through the Jews. In the end, He fully demonstrated His faithfulness to the disciples that were gathered in Jerusalem. All the words He had spoken in the past became fulfilled in Jesus Christ. After that, God finally gave His name, Jesus to the whole world. After His resurrection, Jesus asked His disciples, “Now can you trust Me?” Through the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples came to know for certain that God is absolutely trustworthy. Then Jesus told His disciples to testify of this once they receive the Holy Spirit, and then to have their disciples testify likewise. In other words, He was saying, “Aren’t you now able to testify? Have I broken any of the promises I made? I’ve fulfilled all of them. Saints of Jerusalem! Are you now assured that I am trustworthy? If so, then bear witness to the world.” When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples after Jesus ascended, the disciples put their complete trust in God’s faithfulness. That is why God sealed their faith by sending the Holy Spirit. From then on, Christians began to preach the Gospel and consequently, both Jews and Gentiles came to call on the name of God. As Gentiles, we received God’s grace when we had little knowledge of what the Israelites had experienced, when we hardly knew God. Without even knowing how precious the blood of His Son is, we were redeemed by that blood and thus received the right to enter Heaven. It was possible for us to receive grace so easily because the Israelites thoroughly discharged their duties to

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testify of God’s faithfulness. Now we do not have to endure another 2000 years like the Israelites to confirm the faithfulness of God. We do not need to verify each and every single promise of God as the Israelites did to check if God could be trusted. As long we have the Bible, as long as the history of the Israelites remains, no one would be able to deny God’s existence so easily. That is because God has sufficiently proved His faithfulness throughout Israel’s history. Now any nation and people can be at ease and trust in God. If we confess, “God, I trust in Your faithfulness”, He deems this as right and guarantees our faith by sending the Holy Spirit. Man is utterly weak at keeping promises. Despite knowing that He will be put at a huge disadvantage by His covenant with man, God still made a covenant. God has no reason to depend on man, and yet He bore the responsibility to fulfill countless prophecies in order that man would trust in Him. For Him who had to fulfill all the promises in the Old Testament, God could not afford to enjoy His glory on the earth even though man had been demanding Him to show His awesome majesty. The Son of God came to the earth and led pitiable life. This was not because He lacked in power or trusted Himself to fate. The life of Jesus Christ had been planned meticulously for the fulfillment God’s covenant with the Israelites. Redeeming a sinner is practically

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impossible. And for the Lord who had to accomplish that, He could not afford to do anything for Himself. When people insulted and trampled Him, the Son of God bore it through nothing but patient endurance. It was not by His divine power that He endured, but in the body of man. Mankind could not be trusted, being abject slaves of the Devil and full of sin. Yet the Lord fulfilled His covenant with the Lord even if that meant sacrifice on His part, so that Israel and all mankind are blessed. The faith of the Christian church is fundamentally different to common religiousness. Hence to discuss secular religions and our faith on the same table in itself is improper. God respects us as persons and desires us to know Him and thus put our trust in Him of our own free will. So in this way, our faith is indeed noble. God does not want someone to have blind or superstitious faith without knowing who He is. God is telling us, “You’ve witnessed how I fulfilled all of My promises to you. Now be rest assured and entrust your souls to me.”

The Lord’s Final Promise Jesus kept all of His promises, and now there is one last promise remaining that He needs to fulfill for us. And that promise is, “I will return!” He promised us saying, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and

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receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn 14:2-3). The Lord who has kept all the countless promises written in the Old Testament will certainly keep His promise to take us to the Father’s house. In the past, God delivered Israel from the powerful hands of King Pharaoh. In the same way God has come such a long way to rescue mankind ruled by the prince of this world. Unless a person entrusts himself to the Lord while he is still on earth, he will suffer throughout his lifetime as the Devil’s slave and perish with him in the end. Though we are low, untrustworthy people, we must humble ourselves before the Lord’s will who saved us by His own sacrifice and wants to share His great glory with us. We should rejoice and give thanks to God who loved us, and finally enter Heaven through the way He has opened for us. Hebrews 8:10-11 says, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.” The Israelites placed God’s covenant inside the Ark of the Covenant. But now we have God’s covenant in our souls. Hence no one can take away that covenant from us.

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What we must not forget is that the Lordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final promise was given to the congregation who were praying by the Holy Spirit. Our faith life is not done alone. As every saint is a member of the church, they must all strive to form a church led by trust. A church lacking in trust has build trust even through training and discipline. When there is solid trust between the saints, the church will be able to carry out the Lordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s desired will much better. Therefore all the saints need to contribute in building trust, and thus form a church that is full of love and solicitude.

God's Covenant 13 Lord's Day Sermon Textbook

Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Covenant (Hebrews 8:1~13)

1. Life on Earth Crippled With Distrust and Insecurity Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives are filled with countless promises including those regarding time and money. This is what the whole society has agreed upon and whoever does not adhere will be subject to the penalty prescribed by the society. Yet the problem is that people do not keep promises very well. Behavior of People

Reason to Behavior

People get ready in the morning to leave for work

agreement with their employer as to when they must be at work

Wife prepares breakfast for the husband who works to provide for the family people wait for the subway on the platform

agreement between the husband and wife

People pay money after a meal at a restaurant

The subway is supposed to come at regular intervals Customer is to pay for the food regardless of whether they are satisfied or not

The way our society is standing is surprisingly very unstable. A considerable number of people think that it is okay to break promises with others for the sake of their own profit. Promises or

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agreements tacitly made between individuals cannot be governed by certain laws are more prone to be broken. In a society with so many breaking promises, we are used to feeling suspicious of others and hence a sense of insecurity. In a society with so many breaking promises, we are used to feeling suspicious of others and hence a sense of insecurity.

▞ Imagine you meet someone for the first time. Can you trust him? → __________________________________________________________ ▞ What does that indicate? → __________________________________________________________

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2. People Who Even Doubt God’s Counsel People think that God and His church are forcing faith from them. One of the most common things said by unbelievers is that they would believe in God if we can show Him to them. In other words, they are saying that they would believe if God demonstrates His mighty power, which is the same as saying they would believe only if God forces them to. Demanding God to show Himself is no different to asking for another tyrant in place of the ruler of the world.

God is unlike the spirits (gods) of this world. Those gods demand man, “First serve me, and after that I will compensate you.” However there is no guarantee that they will actually compensate.

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Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you ( ) of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like ( ), knowing good and evil.” For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5) Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will ( ) if You will fall down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:8-9) The Devil is the father of all liars. When people see others they trusted starting to change their attitude or lie, after a while they completely lose all trust in people. That is why they openly resist and reject those who preach the Gospel to them. Their hearts are severely ailing.

3. God Who Wants Man to Willingly Trust Him God desires to be trusted by man. God is the god of a covenant. He first gave His covenant and faithfully kept it, fully demonstrating

His

faithfulness.

The people of Israel clearly

experienced the fulfillment of the promises of God sworn by His

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name, through the successes and failures they encountered. All the words He had spoken in the past became fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Through the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples came to know for certain that God is absolutely trustworthy.

Then

Jesus told His disciples to testify of this once they receive the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples after Jesus ascended, the disciples put their complete trust in God’s faithfulness. That is why God sealed their faith by sending the Holy Spirit. and that repentance and remission of sins should be ( ) in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are ( ) of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:47-49) As long we have the Bible, as long as the history of the Israelites remains, no one would be able to deny God’s existence so easily. That is because God has sufficiently proved His faithfulness

throughout

Israel’s

history.

God

respects

our

personality and wants us to know Him and trust Him willingly.

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4. The Lord’s Final Promise Jesus kept all of His promises, and now there is one last promise remaining. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I ( ) and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (John 14:2-3) The Israelites placed God’s covenant inside the Ark of the Covenant. But now we have God’s covenant in our souls. Hence no one can take away that covenant from us. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their ( ) and write them on their ( ); and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them (Hebrews 8:10~11) The Lord’s final promise was given to the congregation who were praying by the Holy Spirit. Our faith life is not done alone. As every saint is a member of the church, they must all strive to form a church led by trust. The church will be able to carry out the Lord’s desired will much better.

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Hold Fast to the Lord's Word [Hebrews 2:1-4] Seoul Sungrak Church Lord’s Day Sermon (2015.06.14) by Overseer Sung Hyun Kim

The Reason People Cannot Experience God’s Power Christians generally do not hesitate to acknowledge they have been saved. But they seem to lack confidence when it comes to acknowledging

God

being

with

the

souls

redeemed

and

manifesting His power in them. Some express God’s power displayed as ‘a miracle’ (a stroke of good luck), however that is not so advisable. Because of the meaning originally carried in that word, people may misunderstand God’s power as something experienced by chance or coincidentally. Those who have been saved can freely experience the power of God. Just as you have to go to the shops to buy certain necessities or to the pharmacy to buy medicine, in order for the redeemed to be triumphant in this world, they have to meet God. Yet God is invisible. Hence the way that God reveals Himself is through the Word. Whoever desires to meet God must

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listen and believe in the words He has given (Rev 2:7). John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The word that was with God from the beginning came into the world and revealed Himself so that we came to know God through Him. As He said, “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (Jn 5:24), God gives life to anyone that hears and believes in the word He has spoken. This is only the beginning to all the good things God wants to give to those who believe in Him. Nevertheless, the reason people fail to receive what God is giving is they live their lives of faith however they please. God forewarned ahead of time with regards to such things saying, “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men” (Isa 29:13). Though people have been saved, it seems as though quite a number of them are still fixed at the elementary stage of the Gospel. God’s word is like the electric current that travels through power lines. Though we cannot see the electric current flowing, we would get an electric shock from touching the high voltage wires.

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Similarly, God’s power is manifested in us when we receive the word of God. This is what Christians who lived by the word of God have been experiencing over the past 2,000 years, and indeed what should be experienced as a matter of course. If people hear the word of God yet fail to experience God’s power, they need to examine whether the word is drifting away, unable to settle within them, or if their hearts are being drawn away to things other than the word. People will not be able to experience God’s power even after years and years of faith life, if they listen to God’s word in the same manner they listen to secular words. The problem is not with God who is giving the word, but with the person who should hold fast to the word.

The Authority of the Word Hebrews 2:1 says, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away”. As God gave us His word, His utmost concern was that we would fail to hold onto the word and let it drift away. It was for this reason that God sent plagues upon the Israelites who failed to obey the Law, that they may realize the authority of God’s word. Concerning this it says in verse 2, “For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward”.

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The Israelites received the word through Moses on Mount Sinai and yet they resented God and disobeyed His word. God brought plagues on them in order to demonstrate the authority of His word that in one day, 23,000 people fell (1 Cor 10:8). God had given the Israelites multiple chances, but their contemptuous attitude towards God’s word did not change. Consequently, the majority of the people that came out of Egypt could not enter Canaan and fell in the wilderness (Heb 3:17). Thus by bringing down plagues on those that despised God’s Law, God demonstrated the authority of His word. The Law is God’s word given through the angel (Gal 3:19). The Israelites built the tabernacle according to those words, and in like manner the priests served God in the tabernacle. The priests practiced caution in all their service, lest they transgress against the word unknowingly. The tension heightened when the high priest entered the Most Holy Place once a year. The high priest took the blood of an animal into the Most Holy Place and offered it to make atonement for sins. Though everything was performed in great reverence, such sacrifice could not cleanse a man’s conscience. Jesus Christ entered the Most Holy Place of Heaven made not with the hands of man as High priest with His own blood and not that of animals, obtaining redemption once and for all (Heb

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9:11-12). He is not one of the angels, but God’s Son, the Word of God which became flesh and came to the world. He is the Creator and the Lord of all. God never said to any of His angels, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”. Yet concerning His Son He said, “Let all the angels of God worship Him” (Heb 1:4-7). The authority of the Gospel delivered to us through Jesus Christ is incomparably greater than the authority of the Law that was given through the angel. While some people are touched when they receive this precious word, with the same word, others fall away. At the Last Supper, Jesus broke bread and gave to His disciples saying, “Take and eat, for this is My body”. Then He gave the cup and said, “This is My blood, the blood of the covenant”. He who is the Word Himself came to the world, and gave Himself to His disciples that they may eat and drink of Him. However, immediately after receiving the bread and the cup, Judas Iscariot went out and betrayed the Lord, and in result, both his spirit and flesh perished. The other disciples who were present at the same and place all confessed, “Lord, even if we have to die with You, we will not deny You!” (Mk 14:22-31). Thus some will hear God’s word and obey, while others instead fall into temptation. Even if people disobey the Law today, they are not met with plagues right away and as a result, even Christians do not have much fear of the Law. And as they become accustomed that

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way, they would not even fear the words of Jesus. One thing we need to be clear about is that, the word of the Gospel is more steadfast and abiding than the Law. Whoever has rejected the Gospel is already doomed to go to hell, for he has rejected the word of Truth. When anyone transgressed against the Law, that is, God’s word given through the angel, he died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. No matter how much the person denies of having broken the Law, he was put to death if at least two or three people testified against him saying, “I saw that man breaking the Law with my own eyes”. Now how much worse punishment would a person receive if he tramples on the Son of God, counts the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insults the Holy Spirit? The Law given through the angel is definitely God’s word. Hence when people disobeyed that word, at times tens of thousands of people died in one day. This was a kind of warning God gave to the people of the future, so that they would not carelessly let His words drift away. It was after all this took place that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God was finally revealed. Hence how steadfast and binding would God have made the Gospel? Hebrews 2:3 says, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” God will not let slide those who neglect His word and certainly repay them (Heb 10:30).

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The Days of God’s Miracles Hebrews 2:3-4 says, “Salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will”. God never gave His miraculous signs to the Old Testament saints for obeying His words. However New Testament saints are accompanied by God’s miraculous signs if they abide by God’s word. Many people today are disobeying God’s word and yet complacent only because God does not plague them. But the fact that God’s signs do not follow those who received the Gospel is a serious problem. In the New Testament is written the words and works of Him who is the Word that became flesh. His words were never before in this world, neither were the works He did. He did many miraculous signs while He was on the earth. His followers are witnesses to all that He did. Jesus said to His disciples, “You will even greater things than what I have done”. And indeed, remarkable things happened when the disciples went out and preached. That is not all. People who experienced God’s signs through them, also went to others and did exactly what they had seen and heard. In other words, through Jesus Christ, the age of God’s miracles began.

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If miraculous signs and wonders, powers and spiritual gifts are not being displayed in the church today, we should not doubt anything else but the attitude and measure of our faith and correct it. We must honor the authority of the word so that it will never drift away. Our hearts leaning toward the world must turn back and hold fast to God’s word. We must make sure the device God has installed inside of us to make His word binding is in sound working order. We should not give up in despair even if we do not see God’s signs immediately; we also need to throw away our defensive attitude towards our lack of power. The members of the church need to work together for miraculous signs to be displayed in the church. We must get rid of our old habit of perceiving everything as just a personal issue in times when we need God’s miracles. When the Israelites disobeyed the Law, God destroyed even tens of thousands of people in one day to confirm that His words are binding. The Israelites who received God’s word through an angel did not know at which moment they might die. For them, every single day was a matter of life and death. Now for us who received the word through God’s Son, having God’s signs is the key to our each and every day. If our lives are devoid of God’s miracles, we must examine and overhaul our faith. Instead of following those who enraged God in the Wilderness, we ought to have miraculous signs accompany our lives endlessly.

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If anyone accepts the Gospel, he is saved. This means he is redeemed from his sins. If we look at it from a different angle, if we accept the Gospel we can be healed of our sicknesses. Psalm 107:20 says, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions”. This means God sends His word to heal us and rescue us from our troubles. The Bible also says that when people brought the demon-possessed to Jesus, He drove out the demons with a word and healed their sicknesses (Matt 8:16). The reason we are able to cast out demons today is the presence of God’s word inside us. The word of the Lord is not a means of communicating information. The Lord’s word has the power to fulfill God’s will. That is the power of the Creator who can both create and destroy the world. Hence, God’s will gets fulfilled when we receive God’s word. However if the person receiving God’s word is only concerned of his own gains and losses, how can God’s will be fulfilled in him? On the contrary, when we seek God’s will, not only does it get fulfilled through us, our lives will also be prosperous as a result. The Holy Spirit has come in us to do these things. While there are many language and words in this world that can touch people’s hearts and dictate what they do, God’s word is different to them in that it has the power of the Creator. It is imperative that we acknowledge the authority of the word and hold fast to it.

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For the Church There is something which God anticipates from us as He gave us His word. And that is for us to save souls and revive the church through His word. When we testify to the word as witnesses of Jesus, God will work together with us in order to save souls (Mark 16:20). When God gives us His signs, wonders, various powers and gifts of the Holy Spirit, we have to understand that they involve our duty to preach the Gospel. If any member in the church is suffering with a sickness, we should reach out to them, empathize with their pain and comfort them. Then they will develop the willpower to fight against their illness. And if they receive in the word and do have the desire, we should pray for them to be healed and cast out demons. We must never overlook a person who is oppressed or troubled, as if it is not our concern, but reach out and help them. Rather than treating them as sinners, we first need to listen to their story. Their hearts first need to be consoled in order to have the will to fight against the problems they are facing. Just as we were able to overcome with the Lordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love, we also need to show love to the weaker members that they may be able to overcome. Our passion to save souls must certainly exceed that of the Old Testament saints led by the angel. How can God help us if the Word that was with God from the beginning is actively drawing

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near us but we are only focused and concerned about our own problems? The Lord is interceding for us day after day before God the Father, and we should not be making His position difficult. We have to hold fast to the word of God and not let it drift away to fulfill Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s will.

30 Sermon SeriesⅠ Lord's Day Sermon Textbook

Hold Fast to the Lord's Word (Hebrews 2:1~4)

1. The Reason People Cannot Experience God’s Power Christians generally do not hesitate to acknowledge they have been saved. But they seem to lack confidence when it comes to acknowledging God being with the souls redeemed and manifesting His power in them. God’s power is not a miracle as something experienced an unbelievable and extraordinary phenomenon. God is invisible. Hence the way that God reveals Himself is through the Word. . Whoever desires to meet God must listen and believe in the words He has given. God gives life to anyone that hears and believes in the word He has spoken. He who ( ) My word and ( ) in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life (John 5:24) God’s power is manifested in us when we receive the word of God. If people hear the word of God yet fail to experience God’s power, they need to examine whether the word is drifting away, unable to settle within them.

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2. The Authority of the Word God wants us not to let the word drift away. For this reason God sent plagues upon the Israelites who failed to obey the Law, that they may realize the authority of God’s word. There was a case which 23,000 people fell in one day. (1 Corinthians 10:8) Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have ( ) lest we ( ). (Hebrews 2:1) The authority of the Gospel delivered to us through Jesus Christ is incomparably greater than the authority of the Law that was given through the angel. While some people are touched when they receive this precious word, with the same word, others fall away. [Examples how people react to the word] Jesus broke bread and gave to His disciples saying, “Take and eat, for this is My body”. Then He gave the cup and said, “This is My blood, the blood of the covenant” People who are touched People who fall away betrayed the Lord, and confessed, "Lord, even Judas Other in result, both his spirit if we have to die with Iscariot disciples and flesh perished You!"

When people disobeyed the Law given through the angel, at times tens of thousands of people died in one day. This was a kind of warning God gave to the people of the future, so that they would not carelessly let His words drift away. After all this

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took place that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God was finally revealed. How shall we escape if we ( (Hebrews 2:3)

) so great a salvation?

3. The Days of God’s Miracles Many people today are disobeying God’s word and yet complacent only because God does not plague them. But the fact that God’s signs do not follow those who received the Gospel is a serious problem. [The process of God's word] God's word Old Testament Era New Testament Era

(

Mediator

)

Gospel

To whom

Angel

(

)

Obey )

New Testament Church

Disobey

No Change

(

No Change

)

Jesus did many miraculous signs while He was on the earth. Remarkable things happened when the disciples went out and preached. People who experienced God’s signs through them, also went to others and did exactly what they had seen and heard. In other words, through Jesus Christ, the age of God’s miracles began.

Hold Fast to the Lord's Word 33

4. For the Church There is something which God anticipates from us as He gave us His word that is for us to save souls and revive the church through His word. When we testify to the word as witnesses of

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Jesus, God will work together with us They went out and preached everywhere, the Lord ( ) ( ) them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. (Mark 16:20) Just as we were able to overcome with the Lordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love, we also need to show love to the weaker members that they may be able to overcome. [What should we do?] to any member in the church is suffering with a sickness reach out to them empathize with their pain and comfort them they will develop the willpower to fight against their illness if they receive in the word and do have the desire, we should pray for them to be healed and cast out demons to a person who is oppressed or troubled must never overlook but reach out and help them rather than treating them as sinners, we first need to listen to their story Their hearts first need to be consoled in order to have the will to fight against the problems they are facing

How can God help us if the Word that was with God from the beginning is actively drawing near us but we are only focused and concerned about our own problems? We have to hold fast to the word of God and not let it drift away to fulfill Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s will.

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Just Say the Word [Matthew 8:5-13] Seoul Sungrak Church Lord’s Day Sermon (2015.07.05) by Overseer Sung Hyun Kim

Take and Eat the Word of God God is He who gives life. In order to give us life, He sent forth the Word that was with Him from eternity past. From man’s standpoint, it may be easy to take God’s word lightly and let it drift away or reject it. However we must remember that the Word is God’s only begotten Son. What God has given us is His love. That love has already come inside us and became our life, so that now it is indivisible. Throughout our lives on earth, we encounter various kinds of hardship of which the most typical is sicknesses. It is difficult to understand the suffering of a sick patient without being the patient yourself. Even a short time at the dentist can be tormenting. But some people have to bear such pain for many years. The loss that sickness brings to people is enormous. Chronic physical pain often leads to emotional and mental

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distress for the individual, and even the whole family suffers. In the midst of these hardships we face in this world, God nurtures and protects us. The way that He helps us is by the Word. Thus we have to receive the Word to receive His help. However, receiving the Word does not mean we accumulate the Word as knowledge, for hearing the Word as a mere sound and taking the Word and digesting it are completely different.

The Centurion was Confident of the Power of the Word As Jesus entered Capernaum, one centurion came before Him, pleading Him to heal his servant who was lying sick. When Jesus said, “I will go and heal him”, the centurion gave a surprising answer. “Lord, I cannot handle You coming under my roof. But just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority and have soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” Surprised by his answer, the Lord replied, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel” (Matt 8:5-13). The centurion believed that his servant will be healed of his sickness at the Lord’s command. He regarded the Lord as someone too great that he could not handle Him coming into his

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home. While so many people were competing to receive the Lord into their homes, the centurion knew what was more important. He believed that the power to heal the sick was in the Word that came from the Lord’s lips. If the Lord did go to the centurion’s house, He definitely would have made the servant well. There was a time when the Lord twice laid His hands on a blind person and healed him. Similarly, even if the servant did not recover immediately after the Lord laid His hands on him, He would have eventually healed him if He was at the centurion’s house. Nevertheless, the centurion said to Him, “Just say the word!” He was confident that his servant could be healed at the one word of the Lord.

The Centurion was Ready to Obey the Word There is another reason that the centurion’s faith surprised the Lord. And that is that he was ready to act according to the Lord’s command. For the centurion, the point was not in how powerfully the Lord laid His hands on his servant. He was certain that the Lord’s word will surely be fulfilled as long as he obeyed the Lord’s word and his heart was prepared to do so. The sad thing is that the attitude of Christians today is in great contrast to this. What would God think of a person who only turns to him in times of trouble asking, “God, if you help me, I

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promise I’ll do this for You”? Would it not seem as if he is only trying to use God because he is desperate, when in fact he has no interest in God? John 14:14 says, “If you shall ask anything in my name, that will I do.” Because of this verse, some people think that everything will be granted them irrespective of how they lived or what they are asking for. However this verse is not explaining the faith attitude one needs to see a miraculous sign; it simply explains the principle behind the trigger that brings about God’s miraculous signs. The Lord saying, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do”, was premised on the verse, John 14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” This was the same as the Lord plainly saying, “I will display my miraculous signs to him who keeps and loves My commandments.” For this reason, we must not misunderstand that we can experience God’s signs as long as we use Jesus’ name irrespective of our faith condition. Since we have already been saved, we must now walk with God, for then we can receive God’s help in the face of any kind of adversity in our lives. Originally, were so degenerate in our nature that we rejected God and even crucified Him. Now if we

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truly have been saved, we need to part with our old nature, customs and set of values, through our faith life. How can a person demonstrate that Christ lives in him if he does not have any change of life? The Lord says to such persons, “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes. When your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you, you will call on me, but I will not answer; you will seek me diligently, but you will not find me” (Prov 1:26-28).

The Centurion’s Faith was in Essence a Life of Practicing the Word There is something worth noting in the centurion’s faith. In a separate passage of the Bible that mentions the story of the centurion, we see that he had built for the Jews their synagogue (Luke 7:1-20). This shows that the centurion had accepted the Jews’ faith. However the centurion was Roman and it is typical of Romans to be deeply immersed in philosophy and grounded on pantheistic beliefs. And yet the centurion accepted the Jews’ faith, which indicates how he was profoundly touched by the Jewish lives. As he observed the lives of the Jews, he was surprised by how they could possibly have such a close relationship with God, and

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he was most touched by how the Jews’ faith in God was thoroughly practiced in their lives. The faith, which the centurion had learned from the Jews, was certainly not just a belief inside the heart. As the Jews demonstrated their continuous practice of faith through obedience to the Word, the centurion thoroughly accepted this as his own. Though he was new to faith life, his faith was founded on the fundamentals of faith. The centurion was never taught by the Jews about faith that is accompanied by miraculous signs. Until Jesus’ public ministry, there wasn’t anyone among the Jews who could do miracles. For them, miracles only happened long ago, perhaps during Elijah’s time. Jesus’ ministry of casting out demons and healing the sick was utterly new to them. It was then that the centurion heard about Jesus, and he discovered that God’s authority was with Him. The centurion’s attitude before Jesus revealed the principle of faith he had before God. That principle of faith was, “When God speaks, whoever hears Him must take action, and he who acts will experience God’s miracle.” If the centurion’s sole aim was to get his servant healed, he would have done anything to receive the Lord into his home. But what the centurion did instead was demonstrate to the Lord a life of practicing faith.

Just Say the Word 41

Take and Eat the Word of Your Own Volition All things move according to the word of God. However man is an exception. Though a person may hear God’s word, he could reject the word out of his own will. If anyone hears the word through his ears but does not practice it, he has not actually listened to God’s word. The word of God can only be received when one is ready to apply the word in action. Even if God speaks to our souls, if our flesh acts as the head and refuses to obey, we cannot receive His word. The spirit must be able to control the flesh’s deeds in order to receive God’s word. The word of God is living and active that it can penetrate through anything in this world (Heb 4:12). Yet this does not apply to man’s free will. The Lord is knocking on the door. Now it is our job to hear Him knocking and open the door. This certainly isn’t difficult at all. Whoever is in Christ has experienced the working of God’s word, and possesses God’s great miracle. The key and fundamental word that God has given to man is, ‘Trust in me, and you’ll be saved!” We have already received that word, and thus been born again (1 Pet2:3). It was not because we had accumulated our spiritual knowledge to a certain level that we became born again; it is simply because we accepted and digested the word which said, “Believe and you’ll be saved”. In the past, we were clueless and laughing though we used to be

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slaves of the Devil; but now we have become children of God, on guard to fight against the Devil and follow according to the Lord’s word. God’s children don’t just receive things from God. For them, their time on the earth is the only opportunity to express their love toward God. We must not lose this opportunity which lasts only a few decades at the most but love God. Also, we have to be faithful to Jesus Christ who gave us His Father and is helping us daily to take us to the Father’s house. God’s miracles will accompany those who set their hopes in Heaven and acknowledge the authority of the Word. It is necessary to train ourselves in order for our spirits to consume God’s word instead of simply listening through our ears. Only then can we overcome unnecessary suffering through God’s miraculous powers when we encounter certain crises in our lives. It is of great importance that we constantly experience God’s miracles, as it is God’s guarantee of our faith. When we experience God’s hands at work in our lives, we can confirm once again how God is leading us to Heaven. Another reason it is important to lead a life of obedience to the word is that is the way to receive God’s love. By building up our works through the process of obedience and receiving God’s love, we need to prepare for the day we enter the kingdom of Heaven. What we need is the faith like that of the centurion to confess, “Lord I will obey, so just say the word!” We all had the amazing

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experience of being born again through the word. We shouldn’t let the momentum of this experience die down, but seek the Lord’s word saying, “I am ready to receive Your word Lord, command me to be healed; I am ready to receive Your word Lord, command peace upon our family; I am ready to receive Your word Lord, command poverty to be banished!” In the Bible there many passages like, ‘you will be blessed if you keep and obey My commands’ (Deut 10:12-13), ‘there will be no poor among you if you observe all My commandments’ (Deut 15:4), ‘if you obey God’s word, you will be blessed in all the work of your hand and your children’ (Deut 30:9-10). We cannot ignore these words which highlight obedience and blessing, just because they are written in the Old Testament. The reason we are saved today is because God still holds His word. The only difference is that the word He gave through the angel as a fleshly ordinance has now expanded to the spiritual realm through the Holy Spirit.

Practice the Word through Your Life in the Church It is necessary to train ourselves in order to live by the word, and for that we must actively take part in the church. No matter how difficult our lives may be in this world, for our souls to live we must gain a deeper understanding of God’s grace and continue a

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life of obedience through the church. Neglecting one’s responsibility by only emphasizing God’s grace, or seeking God’s help only in times of need and ignoring at God at other times is not a sound Christian’s attitude. We should always prepare ourselves so that we may be able to receive God’s help at any time. There are many words of God which we need to practice through our life in the church. And offering is one of them. We shouldn’t be stingy in giving our offerings to God. It is only right that saints who’ve received God’s grace bring offerings of thanksgiving before God. Offerings given to God get used for His works. Just as the centurion’s offering given in reverence to God was used in building the synagogue and thus benefited the Jews’ faith, the offerings given to God today through the church ultimately gets used in reaching out and saving souls. The Jews begged Jesus to help the centurion saying he was deserving, because he had loved the Jews. If we have been made one as saints saved by Christ’s blood, we ought to love one another all the more. Giving service inside the church is also founded on such love. When we hear the word commanding us to serve, we must not ignore it. Rather than merely attending the Lord’s Day service and trying to leave as soon as it finishes thinking, ‘Oh I’m sure there’s someone else who will serve the church’, we need to dedicate ourselves fervently for the church.

Just Say the Word 45

It is important we always obey God’s words instead of praying for a miracle only when we encounter a particular problem. Would God listen to the prayers of someone who always ignored the church just because he calls on Jesus’ name? We mustn’t be contemptible in God’s sight. If we have any issues with people such as parents, spouse, children, church members or neighbors, we first need to repent and get rid of all hard feelings. God’s word is the same yesterday, today and forever. Our prayer should be, “Lord, I will obey. Speak Your words to me!” While we are on the earth, we should receive God’s love by obeying His words, and likewise receive His blessings. We ought to build up ourselves on the faith that seeks the Lord's words.

46 Sermon SeriesⅠ Lord's Day Sermon Textbook

Just Say the Word (Matthew 8:5~13)

1. Take and Eat the Word of God God sent forth the Word that was with Him from eternity past in order to give us life. From man’s standpoint, it may be easy to take God’s word lightly and let it drift away or reject it. However we must remember that the Word is God’s only begotten Son. In the beginning was the ( with God, and the ( light of men. (John 1:1~4)

), and the ( ) was ) was God. ...the life was the

In the midst of these hardships we face in this world, God nurtures and protects us. The way that He helps us is by the Word. Thus we have to receive the Word to receive His help. ※ What does it mean receiving the Word? (1) Accumulate the Word as Knowledge. (2) Take the Word and Digest.

(

)

Just Say the Word 47

2. The Centurion was Confident of the Power of the Word The centurion He believed that the power to heal the sick was in the Word that came from the Lord’s lips. He said to Him, “Just say the word!” He was confident that his servant could be healed at the one word of the Lord.

And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only ( ) a ( ), and my servant will be healed. (Matthew 8:7~8)

3. The Centurion was Ready to Obey the Word There is another reason that the centurion’s faith surprised the Lord. And that is that he was ready to act according to the Lord’s command. The attitude of Christians today is in great

48 Sermon SeriesⅠ

contrast to this. What would God think of a person who only turns to him in times of trouble asking, “God, if you help me, I promise I’ll do this for You”? John 14:14 says, “If you shall ask anything in my name, that will I do.” Because of this verse, some people think that everything will be granted them irrespective of how they lived or what they are asking for. The premise on the verse is “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21) This was the same as the Lord plainly saying, “I will display my miraculous signs to him who keeps and loves My commandments.” We must not misunderstand that we can experience God’s signs as long as we use Jesus’ name irrespective of our faith condition. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, When your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not ( ); they will seek me diligently, but they will not ( ) me (Proverbs 1:26~28)

Just Say the Word 49

4. The Centurion’s Faith was in Essence a Life of Practicing the Word The centurion was Roman and it is typical of Romans to be deeply immersed in philosophy and grounded on pantheistic beliefs. And yet the centurion accepted the Jews’ faith, which indicates how he was profoundly touched by the Jewish lives. He was most touched by how the Jews’ faith in God was thoroughly practiced in their lives. As the Jews demonstrated their continuous practice of faith through obedience to the Word, the centurion thoroughly accepted this as his own. The centurion’s attitude before Jesus revealed the principle of faith he had before God. That principle of faith was, “When God speaks, whoever hears Him must take action, and he who acts will experience God’s miracle.”

5. Take and Eat the Word of Your Own Volition All things move according to the word of God. Though a person may hear God’s word, he could reject the word out of his own

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will. Even if God speaks to our souls, if our flesh acts as the head and refuses to obey, we cannot receive His word. The spirit must be able to control the flesh’s deeds in order to receive God’s word. God’s miracles will accompany those who set their hopes in Heaven and acknowledge the authority of the Word. It is of great importance that we constantly experience God’s miracles, as it is God’s guarantee of our faith. Another reason it is important to lead a life of obedience to the word is that is the way to receive God’s love. What we need is the faith like that of the centurion to confess, “Lord I will obey, so just say the word!” except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly ( ) you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance-only if you carefully obey the ( ) of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. (Deuteronomy 15:4~5)

6. Practice the Word through Your Life in the Church It is necessary to train ourselves in order to live by the word,

Just Say the Word 51

and for that we must actively take part in the church. Offering We shouldn’t be stingy in giving our offerings to God. It is only right that saints who’ve received God’s grace bring offerings of thanksgiving before God. The offerings given to God today through the church ultimately gets used in reaching out and saving souls. Service If we have been made one as saints saved by Christ’s blood, we ought to love one another all the more. Giving service inside the church is also founded on such love. ‘Oh I’m sure there’s someone else who will serve the church’, we need to dedicate ourselves fervently for the church. Relationship It is important we always obey God’s words instead of praying for a miracle only when we encounter a particular problem. If we have any issues with people, we first need to repent and get rid of all hard feelings. While we are on the earth, we should receive God’s love by obeying His words, and likewise receive His blessings. We ought to build up ourselves on the faith that seeks the Lord's words. “Lord, I will obey. Speak Your words to me!”