January 14, 2018_You are a Blessing

God is the God of blessings. That God is God, presupposes that He is Spirit. When we say God is Spirit, fundamentally it means that He is eternal. The word spirit also conveys a being that is alive and active. This is quite clear in John 6:63 which reads, “It is the Spirit who gives life.” Idols are not spirits because they are not living beings. But God is Spirit.

Ur of the Chaldeans, Abraham’s country before God called him, was the cradle of one of the earliest civilizations and idolatry was prevalent. God chose Abraham out of all the people because Abraham’s understanding of God drew His attention. While most people worshiped idols made of wood and stones, Abraham believed God should be alive. He believed that God should be omnipotent and be able to hear man’s petitions, otherwise he was not God. He believed that if God is alive, He should be Lord over man.

Anyone who believes that God is alive and acknowledges that He is the Lord will inevitably recognize that he should serve God. It is natural for a master to command his servant at will. If we truly believe in God, we must treat His words as the commands of a master. When we do, the Word will be eternal life to us (Jn 12:49-50). Of all the creatures in the universe, which of them can enter into heaven and enjoy eternal life? Only those who receive the Word will experience such splendor.

God is alive. Otherwise, Jesus would not have risen from the dead after He died on the cross. That is vitally important to us because it is the proof that the God who raised Him is alive. Even though they killed Jesus and buried Him, He rose again ,appeared to His disciples, and even appeared before a group of five-hundred people at one time.(1Cor 15:4-6)

How amazing is the fact that the living God has commanded us? Jesus said that God’s commandment is eternal life (Jn 12:49-50). We live a life of faith in order to have eternal life, but if we ignore God’s commandments, what good is it to live a spiritual life? Many people’s minds are at ease because they are healthy in this life, but their souls are already dead. When their bodies die, their souls will become demons. Demons can continue to operate on the earth for a specified period of time before they are cast into the Abyss, and then, at the appointed time, they will be cast into the lake of fire. Do not become complacent just because you think that you have faith. The Bible warns us that if we sin deliberately after we have received the knowledge of the truth, “no sacrifice for sins remains, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”(Hebrews 10:26-27)

The Lord commands us to keep the Holy Day. The Holy Day is very important to our faith. Idolatry is a serious offense which brought a curse with it, and that curse continued to the third and fourth generations. The punishment for idolatry took place slowly over time. On the other hand, whoever transgressed the Sabbath suffered the severe punishment of being immediately stoned to death (Nm 15:32-36). One can clearly see by the severity that breaking the Sabbath was such a serious offense. The Lord said He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Mt 12:8). When you consider how strict Jesus was when it came to breaking the Sabbath, how much more severely will He be toward those who transgress the Lord’s Day?

The Lord’s Day is the day of the Lord. Revelation 1:10 says, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet.” It was also on the Lord’s Day, which was the first day after the Sabbath, when the apostle John received the inspiration to write the Revelation. The disciples remembered the precious blood of Jesus and received His words as they gathered to partake of the bread and the cup (Acts 20:7). When they gathered, they did not come empty-handed but brought offerings that had been prepared beforehand (1Cor 16:1-3). We must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another to keep the Lord’s Day wholeheartedly (Heb 10:25). If we truly acknowledge the Lord’s authority, we must accept His command. We come to church to worship because the Lord has commanded it.

Worship is where we meet the Lord face to face. When we say that God is Spirit, many think that since God is invisible they are supposed to understand Him in an abstract way. But the main idea that we should understand when we say that God is Spirit is that God is alive and that He is eternal. And because He lives, He calls us, He commands us, and He hears us. Worship is about meeting with God.

God is the God of blessings. Because blessings come from God, they cannot be separated from God. Therefore, blessings come from God alone. Even though the Son of God blessed others, He Himself did not give the blessings. He would say, “Father, please bless them.” God alone is the source of blessings. It is He who said to Abraham, “You shall be a blessing!” This meant that God would be with Abraham. Therefore, God promised that He would bless those who blessed Abraham, and curse those who cursed him (Ge 12:1-3).

Those who were under the law received God’s blessings, but only upon their flesh, their souls couldn’t be saved. Jesus once spoke about a rich man and Lazarus. The rich man lived every day in luxury, but his soul was not saved (Lk 16:19-31). Even though a man stores up a great many crops in his barn and says to himself, “self, take your ease”, if God takes his soul who will get those things?

A foolish man considers blessings to be a life of peace and material prosperity. But the Lord says that we should not store up treasures on earth but in heaven. And He has given us the keys to the kingdom of heaven with which we can use whatever we have stored up in heaven on the earth as well (Mt 16:19). Whoever understands this mystery can use the resources that he has stored in heaven at his convenience here on earth. Whoever wants to safeguard his treasure must store it up in heaven (Mt 6:19-20). Whoever has not stored up treasure in heaven is not entitled to what he has stored up on earth.

Blessings are for the soul; the flesh is not worthy of them. Under the first covenant, the soul could not bear the blessing of the spirit since it was dead, but thanks to the blood of Jesus, our souls are made alive. If we accept the blessings that God has commanded, we may face trials on earth because of it. But since God has commanded blessings, we must not refuse them, but welcome them instead (Nm 23:20).

If our souls are blessed, even though we may suffer in the present, the blessing will be revealed in time, especially after we resurrect and enter into heaven and the glory is revealed in us. It is not at all strange that the heirs of God should suffer in this world (Rm 8:17). Even though our Lord Jesus Christ could feed five thousand men with only five loaves of bread, He suffered and often went hungry. He said, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Mt 8:20) Does that mean He was not blessed? Even though He suffered many trials on earth, He rose from the dead and inherited the kingdom of heaven. The way He has shown us is the way we who through Him have become the heirs and children of God, should walk as well.

The Lord also helps us while we live in the flesh. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” If we truly obey His commands, the Lord will provide for our needs. As the passage says we became rich through Him. That doesn’t necessarily mean we will have every material thing we desire. Jesus fed thousands of people with five loaves and then collected the leftovers letting nothing go to waste. He always provides just the right amount and takes away the surplus. But the blessing never disappears.

God accounted Abraham’s faith as righteousness and made him the source of blessing. Today, we too have the faith which is accounted as righteousness through Jesus Christ. Not only has God credited righteousness to us, but He has also made us the source of blessing.

The word source implies the meaning root. When we cut the grass for example, it grows back again because the root is still alive. On the other hand, if you cut a tree too low, the tree may be unable to grow back and die. But if you leave the stump of a tree, new shoots will grow from it. In fact, because much of the roots are intact and able to provide abundant nourishment to the shoots, they grow faster and healthier than saplings planted from seeds.

Like the stump of a tree, we are the source of blessing to our family. If we receive blessing and preserve it, our children will thrive just like the shoots growing from the base of the tree. Sungrak Church is the source of blessing. It is the origin of the Return-to-the-Word Berea Movement, which has been taking root for the past fifty years. There are people who are attempting to destroy it from the root. If they get their way, who will once again take up this grueling persecution and contempt, pressing on by shedding their own blood just as Semuon did? Even after Semuon passes away, Sungrak Church must protect the root of the Return-to-the-Word Berea Movement.

“You shall be a blessing.” This word of God must be fulfilled in us. That which God had spoken to Abraham became the command to anyone who has the same faith as Abraham. God has given us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of the righteousness that comes by faith. Let us obey the Holy Spirit so He can work freely in us and through us. And let us not just obey, but let us submit to His will even if we do not understand it.

Dear Sungrak people, I love you.

In short, debt is not a great loss. Even if you construct a building with your own capital, the interest is gone. And if you take another’s capital to construct a building, the interest will surely be gone. Even in this country we borrowed from another country’s capital, that is, the international financial capital called the IMF, and we borrowed money to revive the country.

For the past 50 years, from being penniless when I started, I have planted and grown Sungrak Church into the mega church that it is today. Back then the church members suffered extremely difficult times, but they trusted the church and the overseer, and the result of their support led to the great miracle we have seen today. Concerning debt, if we build up trust with perseverance like before and diligently save money, we will easily be able to bear it. We did the work in advance and afterwards gradually paid it off. Therefore, God has guided us up until today without any mistake. Please do not be afraid, but pray all the more.

To intentionally cause suffering to the church is, in as much as the church is the body of the Lord Jesus, to intentionally persecute the Lord and cause Him suffering. There must never be such occurrences again. To disdain the overseer is to greatly blaspheme the Holy Spirit, who appointed the overseer. Even though he may seem insignificant in the eyes of man, he is regarded as a large vessel by the Lord.

We, as the saints, should not let go of the basic qualifications of being members of the church. Church members must without fail attend the Lord’s Day worship. Jesus said, “I am Lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28). Even in the ancient times of the Law, if anyone broke the Sabbath he was stoned to death straight away. And it was stated, ‘Whoever does not keep the Sabbath will be cut off from the people of Israel’. Jesus was the Lord of it even then. The Lord’s Day is the day when Jesus is Lord. By attending the Lord’s Day worship, we become the people of the Lord, and receive the qualification as the saints of the Lord.

Also, the tithe is that which the saints, who have been blessed with the blessing promised to Abraham all the way down to Jacob, pledge to give to God, and confirm that it belongs to him (Gen.28:20-22). Therefore, the tithe belongs to God (Mal.3:8-9). The Bible says, ‘the one who steals tithes will be cut off from the people of God’. Jesus also emphasized this (Matt.23:23, 8:4). If you are a holy member of the church, you must tithe without fail. Is this not how the church will survive in the world?

The monthly offering is given to satisfy the church’s very inadequate finances. In the Bible the first day of the month was regarded as a great day like the Sabbath or the Day of Atonement, and was fixed as the day when you give your offerings to God. And monthly offering is based on this(Num.28:11-14, 10:10, Lev.23:24). The New Testament church also applied this (Col. 2:16). The monthly offering, given on the first day of the month, is the duty of the saints as a way of remembering God, and it is to be diligently put into practice. The monthly offering must be offered to the church that you are registered in without fail. This is the evidence that you are a full member of the church.

We are the saints who anticipate the second coming of the Lord Jesus and strive towards the glory of the first resurrection as our goal. As the duty of the saints, I ask that you keep these three basic obligations this year. Thank you.

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Outline translated by Sarah Lee
Letter translated by John Kim
Interpretations by Sarah Lee
Korean Summary by Ki-Taek Lee