Passage

Matthew 22: 37-40
"And He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'"This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."



[Introduction]

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Let us give all thanks and glory to God the Father who has blessed us to have this Men's and Women's Mission and Prayer Devotees devotional service. I also give thanks to those who have prepared for this service with all your heart to make this service an acceptable service to the Lord.

Dear devotees and other members, today's reading passage is Jesus's answer to a question of a lawyer. The lawyer asked Him what the greatest commandment was among the many in the Old Testament. Picking the command greatest among so many commandments is a very difficult question.But for Jesus, who understands the fundamentals of the Law, it was not difficult. The first is to love God, and the second is to love our neighbors as ourselves. Even though there are hundreds of commandments, the fundamental of all the Law is love.

Dear devotees and other members,

Some say they lovethe Lord and God is their everything while in the church, but they become completely different people in their daily lives. They don't pursue God's will or do the things that God wants. They just live as they see fit, following the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of this life.

Unless we fill our heart with the Father completely, the empty part of our heart will be filled by the world. For this reason, some people profess their love for the Lord with tears, but a little while later they go back to the world.

There were such people at the time of the apostle Paul also. For example, a person named Demas was mentioned in the book of Colossians and Philemon, when Paul was greeting the believers. Colossians 4:14 says, "Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas."Paul had been arrested and put in jail when he was writing this letter. Even in such difficulties Luke and Demas were with Paul.

But in 2 Timothy, which was written at a later time, it says, "Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica;"Once Demas loved the Lord and stayed with Paul even when Paul was in hardships. But later, when Paul was put in jail again in Rome, Demas changed heart.

Such cases are present today also. When they are full of the Spirit they think they've cast away secular things, but when the fervor cools down, those things come back to them. While they are diligently running the race of faith, at one moment they think, "Do I really have to do this? This life is hard."In the past, they said 'Amen' to even the messages they didn't understand, but now they have fleshly thoughts.

At such moments, if others tempt them with good words to hear, they pay attention. They forget the words of truth they heard and the works of God they experienced. Now it's those tempting words that sound good. Rather than trying to understand the will of God, they just pursue what is more comfortable and beneficial for them. And yet, they just say, "God is love. He will understand me." They even compromise with the world and even justify themselves thinking it is the will of God.

But what God wants of us is not such changing love. He wants love that never changes but only becomes deeper as time goes. Through today's message, I hope your heart will be filled only with the Father and the Lord and you will offer up to Him true aroma of love.



[Main]
Dear devotees,

Now, in order to fill your heart only with God and the Lord, first of all, you need to arm yourself with God's words.

Those who love God will naturally long to hear His words. If you love somebody, wouldn't you want to know about them?The heart and will of God are in the 66 books of the Bible. Also, the holiness gospel preached in this church gives you clear answers even to the difficult passages of the Bible that we cannot understand if interpreted literally. So, those believers who had a longing for spiritual words and came to this church usually feel God's words are sweeter than honey and honey from the comb. Some people listen to hundreds of sermons in a short period of time, or some others read all the books.

But listening to so many messages and feeling blessed doesn't necessarily mean you are armed with God's words. Once in the beginning of this church the Lord explained something to me. "If you are to preach under the title 'faith' youcould preach even for ten hours.But after the members listen to that sermon, how much of it would they be able to explain?They think they understand the sermons when they hear them, but the level of actually getting spiritual bread out of it is all different."

For example, when students are taught some math formula in school, some of them have little understanding about it. Some others think they've understood it in the class, but they can't actually solve any problems with those formulas. But the others understand well and freely solve the problems using those formulas. They can even help other students, too.

In the same way, you first have to hear God's words and have it as knowledge. Then, you have to actually get the spiritual bread of it by cultivating it in your heart. You think you heard and know about Message of the Cross, Love Chapter, Beatitudes, and Fruits of the Holy Spirit, but if asked to explain, how much would you be able to so?Also, how much spiritual authority would you have so you can change the listener?

Spiritual armament of God's word is to apply God's word to your words, thoughts, and actions in your everyday life. When you were not a believer, you might have thrown temper tantrums, spoken in foul language, or said negative words when things were bad. When you heardabout the faults of others, you easily judged and condemned, slandered, or even gossiped. But if you arm yourself with God's words, those things change.

You will apply the Word every moment thinking like, "I am a child of God and I can't do the things that please the enemy devil and Satan. Spiritual law says what you say will be actualized, so I will speak words of faith and hope. I will try to understand from others' viewpoints and think in goodness.

When your children repeatedly don't listen to you, you feel like getting angry. But you are reminded of God's words and you think, "No, love is not provoked."If you are discouraged because your hard work is not recognized, God's word is living and it works in you to let you think like, "The Father knows everything and I should just keep serving more."In prayers, too, if you pray holding on to the words that you realized, you will not babble with meaningless repetitions but pray with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.Of course, if you are completely armed with God's word, it means your heart is cultivated with the truth. So, even if you don't try to remember the Word, you will naturally live by it.

On the contrary, those who keep the Word only as knowledge are likely to become arrogant. They think they know the word, but rather than changing themselves with that word, they point out others' mistakes or pass judgment and condemnation. So, even though they've been believers for a long time, they change slowly, and they can't even discern the will of God either.

I hope you devotees will diligently make the spiritual bread out of God's word, and not just put it in the head but engrave it on your heart, thereby arming yourself with it spiritually.

Dear devotees and other members,

In order to fill our heart only with God and the Lord, secondly, there must be fervent prayers.

As I explained just now, we have to learn the word of God with heart, and this cannot be done just with our own power. There must be the grace and strength of God and the help of the Holy Spirit. And it is the fervent prayer that brings down this grace, strength and help. Only when we pray for each element of God's word, will this word be applied and work in our daily lives through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Furthermore, only when we fervently pray can the sinful natures of the heart be burned and we become sanctified, so that we can love God foremost. Also, prayer is spiritual breathing. Without prayer, we can't feel the love of the Father or the grace of the Lord deeply. Heavenly hope and faith will diminish, too. Even though you were once very diligent and fervent in faith, the fullness of spirit cools down as you skip praying even just once or twice.

You used to be satisfied only with the Lord, but from a certain point in time you feel empty and you look back at the world. You feel the things that you used to enjoy were good, and that others are enjoying a lot of things. Now, you accept the fleshly things which you have once cast away into your heart again. Even if you cut the weeds again and again, they will grow back up unless they are uprooted.

In the same way, if you cease to pray, it means you've stopped circumcising your heart. Then, untruths start cominginto your heart, which used to be being filled with the truth. That is why 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 says that it is God's will to unceasingly pray, and Colossians 4:2 says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving."

At this moment, I'd like you to check your prayers once again. Even though you are attending Daniel prayer meeting every night, think about what kind of aroma your prayers has before the Father. Raising your voice doesn't necessarily mean it is fervent prayer. Shedding tears every time doesn't necessarily mean it is prayer of heart.

You have to give all your heart as an aroma as if you were talking to Him looking into His eyes before His throne. You must not have meaningless repetitions, drowsiness, or idle thoughts. It has to be sincere conversation with the Father. Also, you have to ask for the appropriate things based on the words of God the Father. First, you have to seek first His kingdom and righteousness. I urge you in the name of the Lord that you will pray with thick and beautiful aroma without ceasing, so that you will be filled with the Father and the truth fully.

Dear devotees and other members,

In order to fill our heart only with God and the Lord, thirdly, we have to have spiritual love.

Spiritual love accompanies sacrifice. Today's reading passage says we have to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind. Those who love with all their heart do not give only a portion of their heart to God and give the rest to the world. Because they trust God completely, they obey even the things that are not beneficial for them or things they can't understand.

Those who love with all their soul accomplish the Lord's will without sparing their lives, just as the apostles and the prophets did. Those who love with all their mind keep their heart sincerely without changing their mind about God.

Such people keep their integrity before God under any and all threats and persecutions just as Daniel's three friends did not bow before an idol even if they were to be thrown into furnace. This is spiritual love. Those who love God in this way will also love the souls as themselves as it is said we shall love our neighbor as ourselves. So, they'd want to spread to the souls the love they received from the Father and the Lord.

Since I met God, I did not spare anything for the Lord. If it was only to accomplish the kingdom of God, I could jump into water or fire with joy and without reluctance. I went when God said 'go', and I stopped when He said 'stop'.When the Holy Spirit moved my heart, I obeyed and did countless fasting and all-night prayer sessions. If only one more soul could be saved, if only one more soul could be led to New Jerusalem, I made any kind of sacrifice necessary for them.

If you cultivate such spiritual love, you will also be loved by God to the utmost degree. Also, John 6:29 says, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."John 7:17 says, "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself."

Those who love and revere God with their heart, they are able to recognize a man of God who teaches and does the will of God. To the extent that they love the Father, they will also love and trust a man of God truthfully. This is in line with the reason why the Father has been emphasizing trust and love toward the shepherd, in regard to cultivating spirit and whole spirit.



[Conclusion]

Dear devotees and other members,

Proverbs 8:17 says, "I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me."Going into New Jerusalem is not something that is very difficult. Anyone can enter into New Jerusalem if they are just willing to cast off worldly things one by one and fill themselves with only the Father. Also, it is not just you who will go, but you will also be able to strengthen others to go together.

In order to do this, first, you should arm yourself with God's word. To the extent that you make spiritual bread of the Word and arm yourself with it, God who is Word itself can be full in you. Secondly, you have to pray fervently, and thirdly, you have to have spiritual love. Of course, you've been praying and trying to arm yourself with the word of God. You've been trying to cultivate spiritual love, too.

But now, I hope you will check yourself again more truthfully and actually fill yourself with only the Father and the Lord. In so doing, may you please the Father to the utmost degree just as Enoch had done and be in honorable positions before the Father both on this earth and Heaven, I pray this in the name of the Lord!

2016-03-22 Posted
2016-04-10 Updated