December 30, 2018 Jesus Is My Lord

Senior Overseer Kidong Kim

Outline

[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.

Summary

Semuon’s Letter

A person will undergo all kinds of suffering while he lives on this earth. He can catch a cold, he can suffer a broken arm or leg, or he can suffer stomach ache. He can practically suffer any broken bone in the body. Although these are all painful, out of all the painful experiences that I suffered in my lifetime, there was none more painful than the pain of hunger for food. This is not the pain that comes from the heart. It is when the state of one’s internal organs become so torn up that one is not even able to sit up straight. This is how painful hunger is. It cannot be expressed into words. One does not have even the strength to utter a groan. These experiences have been engraved in my bones and soul, and I will carry these gruel experiences with me for the rest of my life.

God called me, however, and taught me the true meaning of what it is to starve, to thirst and to hunger. What God taught me was nothing to do with the comfort of my flesh, which will soon decay. What He taught me was that if the soul starves, one will not just simply die and disappear, but one will constantly remain in hell, and in hell, he will suffer eternal thirst and starvation. This is the pain that one cannot escape from, even if one wanted to kill himself to escape from it.

When the person’s flesh hungers so much to the point that he cannot endure it, a unique choice is available: to abruptly end the life of one’s flesh. When I, too, made the decision to end my life, God called me and let me understand what it was to truly hunger. He told me, ‘true starvation is the starvation of your soul.’ The Lord Jesus has become the True Bread and True Drink for a person like me. He has given life to my soul.

And once I became a person who lives for his spirit, I understood what it was to truly starve and thirst. In order to have life in my soul, I have strived and toiled each day until now so that I can become fully filled with the food that comes down from heaven. And now my soul has become satisfied. I know and believe that the Lord Jesus has become the True Food, and I know and believe that He has become the True Drink. I know this and continue to drink and eat. Because of this, I am always full of His inspiration within my soul. Just as much as I continue to drink of this True Drink and eat of this True Food, I strive to pour out and display His great power and drive out demons by this power. Because I can sternly face the one who had sent them – the devil – and because I have severe over him, I am truly joyful in my soul.

I have always thought of myself as a blessed person, but what can the devil possibly suggest that blessing is? The comfort of the flesh is not a true blessing. All the useful capabilities of the flesh are sapped away by the civilization of this world, and all inborn talents end up becoming lost. When a man was created, God had given Him millions of talents. But because of the civilization of this world, which becomes increasingly modernized, they are all brought to naught. Now, those functions which the mind once did, digital smartphones do instead. And those things that one’s hands had diligently done, complex computers do instead. The work of a construction crane is a hundred times quicker than the work of a shovel. There is no other path to go except the advent of Robotic technology. But can Robotic technology possibly give any happiness to the soul? Can worldly civilization – which swallows up all the estates and things belonging to the flesh – can this possibly give any life to your soul?

Without any rest, day or night, I am fighting a spiritual war against the devil. All those things that have no power to eradicate the devil are completely worthless. Whether it be today or tomorrow, by the faith and power that the Lord has given me, I will drive out demons. On the day that the Lord Jesus gives His command, by saying to me, “Stop your work and come”, I will finally have my rest. This is my true and deepest desire.

Semuon,

30th December 2018

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