Passage

Hebrew 10: 22
"Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."


It is in fact quite difficult to face the New Year with hope in these end times.

But as Manmin members we have new hopes and expectations with each New Year.

Even though we live in a world that is full of accidents and disasters, God protects us in the space of light if we dwell in the light.

With each new year God also has given us greater blessings than previous years in every respect.

We can look forward to the New Year with hope because we believe in this good God.

Let us give all thanks and glory to God the Father who has blessed us like this.

Now I am going to talk about the second prayer title of the New Year, 'The Children Who Glorify God'.

The children who glorify God are the children who have cultivated true hearts and perfect faith.

And now, I would like to tell you what you ought to remember when you pray with this second prayer title.

During this past year God increased the measure of faith of each of you.

Through this process, you were assured that you had the ability to really cast off sins and reach the full measure of faith.

You can actually achieve the cultivation of true hearts and perfect faith.

This year I pray in the name of the Lord that you will cultivate true hearts and perfect faith and come forth as children who glorify God.


[Main]

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Let us look into the reason why God has given us the prayer title, 'The Children Who Glorify God'.

God chose the sons of Jacob and established the nation of Israel.

God called Moses to lead the Hebrew people from Egypt and to guide them to the Canaan Land.

Here, God commanded that they had to serve the LORD God, and they had to give the offerings of sacrifices.

The act of worshiping and giving sacrifices to God is the expression that acknowledges the fact that the LORD God is the true God who is above all gods.

It is to glorify God.

Likewise, God chose Israel to reveal Him as the one true God among all nations and received glory.

God made the history of the Old Testament, and let the gospel spread to the Gentiles through the Israelites.

It's the same today.

God wants to set apart 'spiritual Israel', namely, His children who believe in the Lord and reveal His glory.

But to my regret, there are so many people who say they serve and give sacrifices to God while they are actually giving sacrifices like those of Cain and not like those that were made by Abel.

The sacrifice that glorifies God is the sacrifice of blood.

A sacrifice of blood is a life in which you cast off sins to the point of shedding blood and serve God with all your energy.

Among the sacrifices of blood, the perfect sacrifice is the life itself that God's children, who have accomplished true heart and perfect faith, offer up to God.

God prepared this church to set it as a role model of a true sacrifice at this end time.

He has cultivated us as a church that arises and shines.

In order to fulfill this will of God, each of you members have to shine the light.

This church can shine only when you shine like the pure gold that has no impurities and like the precious stones that are finely crafted.

Now, how are we supposed to pray to come forth as the children who glorify God?

I urge you to remember the following three points and pray until you receive the answer.

First, you should remember that the children who glorify God are the children who have accomplished true heart and perfect faith.

It is not the children who are trying to do it or in the process of doing it.

True heart is the truthful heart that has no falsehood.

It is a clean heart that has no evil.

The pure gold that is completely refined does not change in its character even with the passage of time, nor does it change because of a change of its shape.

Likewise, those who have true hearts will not change their minds even though their circumstances or situations change.

They love God with unchanging hearts.

They also dwell in the light and act in goodness.

The next point is that perfect faith is the faith that has reached the full measure of the Christ.

It is not just some great faith or faith that has grown up to some extent.

It is the perfect and pure faith with which you believe in God completely, without 0.0001 (one ten-thousandth) of a per cent of doubt.

Since you have been attending this church for a long time, most of you have professed that you long for goodness.

You thought you were obeying the word of God.

You said you believed in God and the Lord.

You also said you trusted your shepherd.

But when God shone the light on the deep part of your heart by allowing you trials, what kinds of confessions have you made?

Can you confidently say that you have true heart and perfect faith?

Last year especially God the Father revealed the fundamental causes for your sins.

Through this act, you had to see with your own eyes the filthy sins that you had been covering.

I believe you must have felt so deeply something like the following:

'If I have evil in my heart, and if my trust in God and the shepherd is not perfect, I cannot become a worker who can fulfill the will of God. I cannot become joy to the shepherd but only give him sorrow.'

Yes, it is true.

The sons of Israel at the time of Exodus were in the group of people that was led by Moses, but not all of them were God's people.

Many of them caused anger of God to be aroused and eventually could not go into the Land of Canaan.

The twelve spies were selected from each tribe, but they could not go into the Land of Canaan either except Joshua and Caleb.

It is because the others did not have spiritual faith.

In the process of going into the Canaan Land, these chaff-like people were automatically separated from the wheat.

In this church, too, the wheat and the chaff, and spiritual workers and fleshly workers were separated from each other.

But because God did not want to lose even just one soul, He showed us overflowing mercy and compassion each time.

Every moment He was fulfilling His great plans, He needed children who had cultivated the heart of God in them, He needed children who had the heart of God.

But it does not mean He discarded those souls whose changes were slow and used only those who changed quickly.

God waited for those slow souls hoping for them to become precious workers.

In every matter God gave them understanding and grace, and He showed them the way teaching them what kind of attitude they must have.

So, now, many of you have gotten back on the track and are at full throttle to accomplish true hearts and perfect faith.

Even today, God the Father is eagerly waiting for the children who resemble Him to come forth.

Just imagine the eyes of the Father being filled with such expectations.

I believe you will have even greater hope and longing to cultivate true hearts and perfect faith.

I pray in the name of the Lord that you will pray fervently having this eagerness and make your hope come true.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

To become the children who glorify God, secondly, remember that those who overcome any kind of trial with thanksgiving and joy will be able to accomplish true heart and perfect faith.

As you know very well, the sons of Israel did not become God's elect overnight.

They came forth as God's chosen ones after a long series of trials.

From Abraham and Isaac until the twelve tribes were formed through the 12 sons of Jacob, there were so many incidents.

After that, the sons of Israel were enslaved in Egypt, and even after the Exodus from Egypt through the guidance of Moses, they received many trials in the wilderness.

The leaders and workers went through even more harsh paths.

Many of them fell away in this process.

There were Korah and his people who stood against Moses, those who worshipped idols and committed adultery and died; and the first 10 spies and all the first generation of the Exodus who could not show any faith right before the Canaan Land, wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years and died.

On the contrary, there were those souls who followed the guidance of God even though it was hard.

They were well refined and finally became men of God and true people of God.

But, they were not righteous and perfect from the beginning.

They came forth as God's children who were set apart and as instruments to fulfill God's will and plan as a result of God's guidance and refinement.

Isaiah 48:10 says, "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction."

When you want to stay among these select and within the boundary of salvation, you might have to go through trials that are like a fiery furnace.

You have to struggle against sins to the point of shedding blood and die everyday.

Moreover, if you are leaders in the church, you might have to face more severe trials.

For example, you give all your body and heart, money and talent to God, and live for the Lord, the church and your shepherd with all your life.

But at times you might feel your speed of going into spirit is too slow.

But those who really want to possess true hearts and perfect faith will rejoice in any kind of situation.

Trials are the shortcut for you to accomplish true hearts and perfect faith.

If you pass those trials well with joy and thanksgiving, you will move one step closer to accomplishing a true heart and having perfect faith.

When you receive affliction without a proper cause, if you endure it with goodness and give thanks, then the trust between you and God will become even firmer.

Just imagine you have finally cultivated a true heart and perfect faith after going through trials successfully, and you are now entering into the heavenly kingdom.

If you can just see your future dwelling place in Heaven now, you'd be thankful and joyful for the times that you faced trials.

It's because you will get closer to such a glorious place whenever you pass those trials.

Above all, you can move closer to God the Father and the Lord whom you long to see so much.

Whenever the Father refines your delicate shortcomings in this year, I hope you will pass them very well with joy and thanksgiving.

I pray in the name of the Lord that you will possess true hearts and perfect faith quickly enough to finish it before the end of the year.

Brothers and sisters,

Thirdly, what you have to remember when you pray for this second prayer title is that you have to try to practice the truth with your own effort.

Of course accomplishing a true heart and gaining perfect faith can be done only through the grace and strength of God, and the help of the Holy Spirit.

Especially, in this world going towards the end that is so full of sins, it is not easy to find your own evil and cast it away.

That is why God is leading us and refining us Himself.

Malachi 3:3 says, "He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness."

Therefore, to cultivate true hearts and perfect faith, we have to rely on God completely.

But this does not mean your effort is not important.

You have to do your part. You continually have to try to realize your 'self' and change it, and to live within the word of God.

Especially, if you have turned away from sins leading to death, you have to cut off the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life that causes such sins and cast them away from your heart.

Then, you have to fill your heart with the word, praises, and hope of the heavenly kingdom.

Recently, beginning with the college mission members, the students, other young adults, then the men's and women's mission members started a 'New Jerusalem Campaign'.

They want to quit watching TV and fleshly use of computers, and they want to keep the word of God and pray all the time in their everyday lives.

This is a good example of the effort with which you try to practice the word of God.

Whenever God lets you realize your shortcomings, I hope you will try your best on your part to change yourself.

Not just about obvious untruths, but even concerning the deficiencies of the body, do not say it is hard and difficult but change them one by one.

Do not let your mind be at ease about your past sins and iniquities.

I urge you to put your hard effort in accomplishing a true heart and gaining perfect faith.


[Conclusion]

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

God has been continuously purifying this church.

He even personally gave us praise songs to purify our hearts and our lips.

Praising is one of the best ways to glorify God.

Then, are you glorifying God with the praise songs given by the Father?

If you commit sins while you sing praises with your lips, it is not really glorifying God but rather disgracing God.

Compare yourself with the sons of Israel at the time of Exodus.

The sons of Israel praised God with joy after they dramatically crossed the Red Sea.

Exodus 15:20 says, "Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing."

Exodus 15:11 says, "Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?"

They must have been so happy, and how wonderful that scene must have been!

But these people who were praising God soon began to pour out words of complaints and resentments, and words without faith.

They even bowed before idols and committed adultery and fornication.

These praises that are given with the willingness to commit sins, namely praises given without true heart and perfect faith, can be changed any time.

The same goes for worship services, prayers, or doing your duties in the church.

You can truly glorify God only when you act with true hearts and perfect faith.

Ezra 3:11 says, "They sang, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, saying, "For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever." And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid."

Let us quickly cultivate true heart and perfect faith so that we will be able to offer up to God true worship, praises, prayers, and faithfulness when the foundation of the Canaan Sanctuary is laid.

I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become God's children who will glorify Him until the Lord comes back and then eternally.

2011-01-03 Posted
2011-05-29 Updated