December 25, 2018 Immanuel (Christmas Celebration Service)
/in 2018 Lord’s Day /by 홍성호
Senior Overseer Kidong Kim
[Acts 7:30-60]
God
is truthful.
He
was a friend of Abraham to the extent that He swore an oath:
that his descendants would possess the gate of their enemies (Ge 22:17).
In accordance with His spoken word,
He nurtured the Israelites in the land of Egypt,
and through Moses commanded His people to come out of Egypt.
At that time, the angel who appeared to Moses said (Acts7:30),
“I am the God of your forefathers—
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – Jehovah.“ (Ex 3:15)
He also said,
“Jehovah is to be the sign of my name to be remembered forever.” (Ho 12:5)
He gave the people the Law from Mount Sinai (Ac 7:53),
and He was with Moses in the church of the desert (Ac 7:38).
Stephen had the esteem as a renowned and powerful saint.
He laid down His life for the sake of His people,
who relied on the name of Jehovah, the name given to the angel,
by which one could not reach salvation.
He shouted out that it was Jehovah that condemns us,
while Jesus was the one who saves us from sin and death.
He did this to amend the central faith of Israel.
◌ By Stephen preaching this word,
Stephen finished the work he needed to do and became a martyr.
He was a true witness of Jesus.
◌ Even today,
some people do not distinguish between Jesus and Jehovah,
and, therefore, they are still bound by the Law.
◌ Jehovah was the one who gave the Law,
while Jesus gave His grace and His blood.
He then, finally, sent the Holy Spirit.
※ Let us strive again and again to know God.
To know God and Jesus is eternal life.
In this way, we are all witnesses.
Coming Soon
Ah! I am so blessed and full of joy that I am a servant of Jesus Christ, and that I am doing His work. I am now great in years, and I am no longer interested in the affairs of the world. But I am full of joy in my soul that I have been entrusted with the works planned according to the will of God. I only earnestly desire that I could somehow please the Lord in some better way. At this time, there may be those who would wish that I would quickly depart from this earth. But this will not happen according to their will, and this will not happen according to my own. It will only occur in accordance with the will of the Lord. There will be no way to speed this up. Again, there may be those who wish to deny my authority and name as Overseer, but this, also, will only happen according to the will of the Lord. I am the Overseer in accordance with the law of the Bible. From this time on, the position and authority of Overseer will eternally be preserved in this church. The work of the Overseer is to show the God that cannot be seen by the people of this world. Even though the people of this world have rejected this name, the work of the Overseer is to sanctify the name of God, that is, the name of Jesus, and to make others do so. Therefore, I, and those like me, who obey the truth and are entrusted with the work to nurture many souls, have the faith given from God. And this faith is the name of Jesus. The meaning of the name Jesus is ‘The One who will save His people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21). And what does this mean? It means that those who believe in Jesus have already been set free from their sins. This is the faith of the Christian Church. I, Semuon, have preached this faith my whole life, but the world has still shut its ears to my words. But I am glad that the saints of Sungrak Church have received God’s inspiration, and that they hear the words spoken by the Holy Spirit. There is no time. There is so little time. Up until now, I have strived with all my strength to preach this truth and to teach it. Are the saints of our church, by any chance, afraid of God? If this is the case, then you will immediately face judgment. Judgment will be the last punishment for those who are afraid of God. Those who are afraid of God and do not even love Him are those who have already received judgment. They are walking on the road that leads to destruction and will eternally never come back. What will be the outcome of their souls? The moment the sound of their fleshly breath is no longer heard, the flesh will depart from the soul. And the moment the flesh has departed, these souls will become demons. As demons, they will roam around the breadth of the created universe, a universe that, like a prison, is most confined. This universe is also called Hades. And finally, without any judgment, they will go down into the abyss, and afterwards, be thrown into the lake of fire. However, I, Semuon, have secured the name of Jesus deep within my heart. I live by this name, and I am not afraid of God. He is not the God to be afraid of. He is the Father of my soul, and He is the compassionate One. Therefore, I am not afraid of God, but I love Him most earnestly. To love God has been my life and my practice. This has become increasingly apparent day by day. The way that I walk is on the way to heaven. Semuon, 25th December 2018
Coming Soon
Outline translated by John Kim
Letter translated by John Kim
Interpretations by John Kim
Korean Summary by Ki-Taek Lee