sermon series 1 2
DESCRIPTION
ÂTRANSCRIPT
Sermon SeriesI
Sermon Series
Ⅰ
Semuon Translation Mission Center
Seoul Sungrak Church
Table of Contents
1. Sermon 1_God's Covenant 1
2. Textbook 1_God's Covenant 13
3. Sermon 2_Hold Fast to the Lord's Word 19
4. Textbook 2_Hold Fast to the Lord's Word 30
5. Sermon 3_Just Say the Word 35
6. Textbook 3_Just Say the Word 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.
God's Covenant 3
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,
God's Covenant 5
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
God's Covenant 7
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
God's Covenant 9
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
God's Covenant 11
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 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. 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 Lord’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
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
agreement between the husband
and wife
people wait for the subway on the
platform
The subway is supposed to come
at regular intervals
People pay money after a meal at
a restaurant
Customer is to pay for the food
regardless of whether they are
satisfied or not
Lord's Day Sermon Textbook
God’s Covenant
(Hebrews 8:1~13)
1. Life on Earth Crippled With Distrust and Insecurity
People’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.
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
14 Sermon SeriesⅠ
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?
→ __________________________________________________________
God's Covenant 15
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
God's Covenant 17
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.
Hold Fast to the Lord's Word 19
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.
Hold Fast to the Lord's Word 21
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
Hold Fast to the Lord's Word 23
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).
Hold Fast to the Lord's Word 25
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.
26 Sermon SeriesⅠ
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.
Hold Fast to the Lord's Word 27
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.
28 Sermon SeriesⅠ
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 Lord’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
Hold Fast to the Lord's Word 29
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 God’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.
Hold Fast to the Lord's Word 31
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
Other disciples
confessed, "Lord, even if we have to die with You!"
Judas Iscariot
betrayed the Lord, and in result, both his spirit and flesh perished
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
32 Sermon SeriesⅠ
took place that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God was
finally revealed.
How shall we escape if we ( ) so great a salvation?
(Hebrews 2:3)
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 Mediator To whom Obey Disobey
Old Testament
Era( ) Angel ( ) No Change ( )
New Testament
EraGospel ( )
New Testament
Church( ) 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
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. For the Israelites who received God’s word
through an angel 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 everyday.
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 get fulfilled when we receive
God’s word.
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
34 Sermon SeriesⅠ
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 Lord’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 God’s will.
Just Say the Word 35
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
36 Sermon SeriesⅠ
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
Just Say the Word 37
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
38 Sermon SeriesⅠ
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
Just Say the Word 39
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
40 Sermon SeriesⅠ
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
42 Sermon SeriesⅠ
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
Just Say the Word 43
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
44 Sermon SeriesⅠ
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 ( ), and the ( ) was
with God, and the ( ) was God. ...the life was the
light of men. (John 1:1~4)
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
50 Sermon SeriesⅠ
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!”