INDEX OF THE 3 DAY
SEMINAR
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Hearing the voice of God
The cry of Habakkuk
Revival and compassion
Turning point
Seven reasons for being
unable to hear Gods voice
God who answers the
smallest cries
From death to life
Removing obstacles
A few preconditions to
hearing Gods voice
A voice awakening the
dawn of history
Listening to the voice of
Jesus 2
The old testament
foreshadowing jesus
Jesus and the Holy Spirit
Be baptized in the Holy
Spirit
I and the Father are one
Holy Spirit send by Jesus
The Holy Spirit is the
answer
Two Secrets to
Experiencing the Holy Spirit
The Work of the Holy
Spirit
From Death to Eternal
Life
A Dream of "That Very
Church"
Celebrating Each Day With
the Holy Spirit
HEARING THE VOICE OF GOD
Hearing the voice of
God
Sermon of Pastor Ha from the Korean "Onnuri Community
Church".
Bron: http://english.onnuritv.com/web/services_sermons/holyspirit_2002/holy_submain.htm
Most devoted Christians seek to know the
answer to the question, "Is what I am doing truly in line
with God's will?" Pastor Ha tells us how to hear God's voice
unfolding the stories of encounters with God from the Bible
and also his lifetime walk with God.
The God Who Speaks
Most devoted Christians seek to know the answer to the
question, "Is what I am doing truly in line with God's
will?" Some 12 years ago, I spent one year in Hawaii on a
Sabbatical that I took because of a deterioration in my
health. I heard God's voice many times during that period.
Yet the moment that I did, Satan would test me, saying, "If
you are truly doing God's work, why would He make you sick?
Don't go back to Onnuri Church. Submit your resignation!"
This happens quite often. Satan mocks us, saying, "Why do
we fail or get sick if we are doing God's work? Isn't there
something wrong with my faith in God?"
Those involved in doing God's work seem particularly
inclined to hear such a voice. I personally fought for one
month as I was being tested by the devil. As I was praying,
I was able to drive off Satan's mocking and resolved instead
to carry out a Holy Spirit ministry as I returned to Onnuri.
I did that, and then we held a Holy Spirit Celebration.
There was probably no other time since the founding of the
church that so many people gathered together. People spoke
in tongues, prophesied, and were filled with the Holy
Spirit. Young adults began to flock to the church like a
swarm of grasshoppers.
A revival began. The phenomenal growth of Onnuri Church for
the past 10 years began on this occasion
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INDEX OF THE 3 DAY SEMINAR
THE CRY OF HABAKKUK
The
Cry of Habakkuk
Even while believing our work is consistent with God's will,
we occasionally come to question whether our work is driven,
in part, by our own thoughts, greed, or ambitions. We fall
into confusion, wondering "How much of this is God's will,
and how much of this is my own thoughts?"
Some 2,600 years ago, there was a prophet who heard God's
voice and struggled with and anguished over this same
question. He continued to protest to and question God, until
such time as he heard God's voice and trembled, his lips
quivering. Those who encounter God only through human reason
could never become so excited. Yet those who encounter
severe suffering, adversity, or despair can truly meet God,
and then share the same testimony, confessions, courage,
faith, and vision that the Prophet Habakkuk did.
This is the confession of Habakkuk we see in 3:17 of today's
passage. More than a prayer, this is his confession of
faith, his testimony, and his praise.
"Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the
vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the
fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from
the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls . . ."
What fun would their being in farming or herding if our
labor bore no fruit? How can we rejoice if we do not receive
compensation for our efforts? Yet here we see that Habakkuk
rejoices solely in the Lord, regardless of how desperate his
health, belongings, accomplishments, or situation may be.
Please look at verses 18 and 19.
"Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I
will joy in the God of my salvation.
"The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like
deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. To
the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments."
I myself witnessed this during my recent trip to
Afghanistan. No matter what we handed the people there, they
were thankful. Why? Because they had absolutely nothing
there. When you go to places like Afghanistan, North Korea,
or Pakistan, there are always many people hidden away in a
corner in such a similar situation. Do not despair even if
you have nothing to eat, even if you lose your job, or even
if you are to die tomorrow. Your happiness, your guarantee
of life cannot be found in these areas. Only God is the One
who can guarantee your life.
If only you can encounter God, hear His voice, and
gain assurance from Him, there is nothing about which to
fear or worry.
The land
of Judah was filled with injustice and corruption and all
other types of works that God despises.
Habakkuk protests to God in chapters 1 and 2. "Why do you
not judge them, God? Why does evil prosper?
Yet we see that Babylon, a strong power at the time, emerges
as the judge of evil.
Habakkuk is even angrier. He cannot understand how a power
even more evil than Israel is allowed by God to do even more
evil works. This is what we find in chapter 2. Amid such
discontent, Habakkuk encounters God.
I hope that all of you would also be blessed with
encountering God at those times when you are unable to
understand or have been wronged by improprieties around you.
Chapter 2, verse 14 is a famous verse of the Bible. "For the
earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the
LORD, As the waters cover the sea." Go on to look at verse
20.
"But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep
silence before Him."
Herein lies the answer. God carries out justice and bestows
salvation. When the darkness of the night grows deep, the
light of dawn is on the verge of coming. Habakkuk realized
that God's righteousness was now beginning to be revealed.
He heard God's voice. He saw God's vision.
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REVIVAL AND COMPASSION
Revival and
Compassion
Please look at chapter 3. Habakkuk has now stopped arguing
with God. Based on his own faith and own logic, Habakkuk was
vexed by his inability to comprehend how the evil could
prosper. Yet once he met God in the holy temple, saw God's
vision, and heard His voice, Habakkuk's grumbling
transformed into prayer.
Verse 1 of chapter 3 is not a complaint or challenge to God,
but rather a prayer. When we lack faith, we may be inclined
to protest to God, "How could you have allowed such
suffering to befall me?" Yet the moment we hear God's voice,
we move intro prayer.
Please look at verse 2.
"O LORD, I have heard your speech and was afraid; O LORD,
revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of
the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy."
Habakkuk heard God's voice. Amid the miserable fate of his
fatherland, the wretched reality of the international
situation, and the despair of lacking any means by which to
survive amid such a situation, the moment Habakkuk hears
God's voice, he cries out in prayer, "O LORD, I have heard
your speech and was afraid."
Friends, if you have not been
afraid, then you have not heard the voice of God. This
happens when you find yourself merely coming out to church,
listening to sermons, attending Bible study, and basing your
faith on intellect. You have not had the true spiritual
experience of dying and being resurrected.
It was when Moses discovered the secrets of the wilderness
under the most adverse of situations - secrets such as the
pillar of cloud and pillar of fire and the transformation of
bitter water into sweet water - that the wilderness became
an exciting and moving blessing to him.
Two phrases come to mind in Habakkuk's heart. The first was
"Revive your work." Clearly Habakkuk's heart was filled with
hope for revival. "Things will live again. They will be
resurrected. Things will change tomorrow. Roses will bloom
in the wastelands." Even in this worst of situations,
Habakkuk saw the presence of the glory of God.
The second word we see here is "mercy." In reality, we all
are worthy of receiving the wrath of God. As we look back at
our lives in this regard, we are speechless. Yet just as
parents cover up the faults of their children, so too does
God cover our faults.
Although we as humans may go around asserting justice and
righteousness, we cannot even look beyond ourselves in
finding faults in this regard. God, however, gives us new
life by covering up and ignoring our various wrongs. I hope
that the mercy of God would be upon you today.
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TURNING POINT
Turning Point
In verses 3 to 6, Habakkuk begins to witness the incredible
glory of God.
As he hears God's voice, he sees the glory, brightness, and
greatness of God filling the whole world. In verses 7 to 9,
we see images of the tents of Cushan in affliction and the
land of Midian being judged. Habakkuk's vision was quite
concrete, three-dimensional, and vivid. In verses 10 through
15, we see the victory and power of God spreading. God
walked through the great seas, scattered the seas and rivers
and all things, and in an instant wiped out all of the evil
forces. He devastated a great power that no other country
could.
Habakkuk saw God's glory in His victory. When we hear God's
voice and see His vision, no one can discourage us,
regardless of what despair, death, or defeat we encounter.
Let's look at verse 16.
"When I heard, my body trembled; My lips quivered at the
voice; Rottenness entered my bones; And I trembled in
myself, That I might rest in the day of trouble. When he
comes up to the people, He will invade them with his
troops."
Faith in Jesus Christ is not a simple intellectual endeavor
or exercise of reason. Faith involves the pouring out of our
hearts. Our bodies will tremble, our lips will quiver, and
our whole lives will be moved like an earthquake. This is
what experiencing God involves.
That is why Habakkuk rejoices in verse 17. Even if I am
abandoned in the desert, I will rejoice. This is the same
assurance that keeps missionaries going. Even if at times
they lack any sense of accomplishment, they never give up on
their mission work.
So we see Habakkuk's cries of
protest to God in anger transformed into intercessionary
prayer.
Worries transform into worship, fear becomes faith, fright
becomes confidence, and self-abandonment becomes hope.
In this process, our worries disappear into faith. Our
question marks become exclamation marks.
I pray that all of these things will happen to each of you
tonight.
This transformation takes place between chapters 1 and 2 and
chapter 3. It takes place because Habakkuk has heard the
voice of God. Beloved saints, I do not want to address the
issue of the environment that you may find yourselves
surrounded by today.
We all find ourselves in a desert. Perhaps this is true even
more so for those engaged in God's work.
Do you get worn out serving? Does your soul thirst in
carrying out God's work? Have you not become exhausted even
when the work you are doing is for His kingdom? I hope all
of you would enjoy the same the miracles and blessings of
hearing and experiencing God as seen in Habakkuk 3.
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GOD SPEAKS
God
Speaks
People in the Old Testament era heard God's voice directly.
They knew God through hearing His voice.
It is not unusual to hear someone today proclaim a belief in
"God." They could be talking about Yahweh, or they could be
referring to the god of Islam or even a god recognized in
the East. It's unclear just what "god" one is referring to
in such a case. But the true God speaks to us. Each and
every one of you must encounter God who speaks if you truly
want to understand, meet, and experience Him.
When God speaks, I listen. Faith involves listening,
listening to God's voice.
God speaks to us in a variety of forms.
In the Old Testament era, He spoke directly to people. In
the New Testament era, God spoke through Jesus Christ.
Because God is spirit, we cannot see God in His actual form.
Those who encounter God are only able to hear His voice,
they can neither see nor meet Him directly.
Because we are flesh and He is spirit, there is no one who
can experience Him directly. But there is one way to capture
His true essence, and that is through the word.
Words are a communications means
that we all understand.
Hearing the word of God is a way to experience the true
nature of God.
He is Jesus Christ. He is the Holy Spirit who has appeared
to us as power.
Through the Holy Spirit, we are able to experience the word.
Through Jesus Christ, we experience Scripture.
Those who have the Holy Spirit, evidence that they are
Christians to others without even knowing. This is the
internal evidence of the Holy Spirit.
Even when he was in prison being beaten or when he was about
to be beheaded, Paul rejoiced. There is no other way to
explain this. Because the true nature of God dwells in us
through the word, the word rules in us over our five senses,
our intellect, our reason, and our experiential world.
It is my hope that such a blessing would be with each of you
today.
Habakkuk experiences this blessing in chapter 3. That is
why, unbeknownst even to him, Habakkuk's language changes,
and his prayer becomes a poem, praise, and worship. I
implore each of you to transcend the successes and failures
of this world. Rise above sickness and health. Rise above
the environment in which you live. Live with God who dwells
in you in the word.
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SEVEN REASONS FOR BEING UNABLE TO HEAR GOD'S VOICE
If we
were to consolidate what spiritually mature individuals have
said on the subject, there are seven reasons why people are
unable to hear God's voice.
1) The first is attributable to a bad relationship with God.
To listen to a radio, the frequency needs to be tuned
correctly. A televisions picture is fuzzy before the cable
is plugged in. In a similar manner, once we "tune in" to
God's "frequency," His voice becomes clear. Equipped with
the "frequency of love" and the "secret access code of
salvation," anyone can connect with God and hear His voice.
2) A second reason why we cannot hear God's voice. Even
should the secret code be correct and the frequency is tuned
in, however, a second reason why we cannot hear God's voice
may be because of a poor connection. Even when we are in a
normal relationship with God, if we have hidden sins or
dwell in sin that displease God, we are unable to hear His
voice. Our own egocentricity, greed, and ambitions can
deafen us to the admonitions of God. Regardless of how good
the message or how frequent the delivery from God, we cannot
hear His voice in such cases.
3) A third reason we cannot hear
God's voice is impure motivation. If we seek to hear His
voice for selfish reasons, we will fail. If we come out to
church and despise someone or attempt to use them in pursuit
of some type of profit or gain, or if we are seeking to
attain our own wild ambitions, we will not hear God's voice,
regardless of how long we pray or fast.
4) A fourth obstacle to hearing
God's voice is an insufficient knowledge of Scripture. All
the answers we need to any question we can pose can be found
in the Bible. If we ask, "God, what time is it?," God does
not answer "It is now 9:40." Instead, He answers, "Look at a
clock!" In a similar manner, all of the answers to our
questions can be found in Scripture. Contained within the
Bible are a number of guidelines and principles, ranging
from the Ten Commandments to principles for choosing a
career, principles for relationships with other peoples, and
ways to handle pain and hurt. All we have to do is ask to
hear God's voice.
5) Fifth, if we are arrogant we are unable to hear God's
voice. Arrogance means to lift oneself up. Proclaiming to
others that we hear God's voice is a reflection of arrogance
as well.
6) A sixth reason is our inability to obey by faith. Some
people determine on their own all it is that they want to
do, and then proceed to attempt to use God toward those
purposes. They act refined and spiritual on the outside,
having hidden their selfishness. They want to both satisfy
their selfishness and receive spiritual praise.
7) The seventh reason we may not hear God's voice is because
we have not emptied ourselves. Our true enemy as Christians
is not Satan but our own selves. We must die to the flesh
and obey God. Daily conversation with others works on the
same principle: We must ourselves be quiet in order to hear
what the other person is saying. If I am talking loudly, I
cannot hope to hear what the other person is saying. Our
thoughts must die, our pride must die, and our own will must
die. When this happens, and then we entrust everything to
the Lord as we ask, "Lord, what must I do?" then we will
hear God's voice.
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SEMINAR
GOD WHO
ANSWERS THE SMALLEST CRIES
Clearly God
has a voice. He is, after all, one who talks.
In the Old Testament, God the Father spoke.
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ spoke.
The voice we hear today is entirely that of the Holy Spirit.
There are some very basic steps necessary to hear God's
voice.
1) First, you must pray daily. Even if you pray for only 15
minutes, please pray daily. "Lord, I want a faith life that
involves fellowship with you. Let me have a clear soul, a
clean conscience, and a holy faith, so that I may be acutely
attentive to Your voice.
2) Second, remember the aforementioned seven obstacles to
hearing God's voice and examine where you may be having any
difficulties. Examine what may be preventing you from having
a relationship with God with the understanding provided you
by the Holy Spirit.
3) Third, immerse yourself in Bible reading. When you
diligently read the Bible, you develop a biblical worldview,
values, and discernment. Your spiritual sensitivity also
grows, as does your relationship with God.
As you continue to fellowship constantly with God and
further refine your own soul, then you can more easily
approach the mind and heart of God.
There is one poem that really moved me. It describes an
exhausted mother, sleeping amid the stormy rains. She is
awakened by the chirping of her new-born offspring.
That is the heart of a mother. God too inclines His ears to
the smallest of our cries.
He then speaks to you. He ceaselessly encourages us, revives
us, heals us, challenges us, and strengthens us.
We can prevail. We can hear God's voice.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you would enter into an
even more intimate relationship with God.
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SEMINAR
LISTENING TO GOD'S VOICE
Depending on
the era, God has used a variety of methods and ways to speak
to people. In the Old Testament, God spoke directly to the
people. Only a few people chosen specifically by God heard
His voice.
During the time of Jesus, people were able to hear the voice
of Jesus. The disciples did as well as the other people who
followed Jesus around. They heard His sermons, they saw His
eyes, and they could even shake His hand. We see this most
clearly expressed in Hebrews 1:1-3.
Today we will expand on Hebrews 1:1 and attempt to see what
it tells us about how God talked to people through the
entirety of the Old Testament. Only by understanding this
can we understand tomorrow's message (zie pag 11) entitled
"Listening to Jesus' Voice."
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FROM DEATH TO LIFE
Recently, we have said that we hear God's voice.
We hear this voice not in the same way of the Old Testament
era, when God spoke directly to us, or even of the New
Testament era, when God spoke through Jesus Christ.
Today we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. In the Old
Testament era, special people such as kings, high priests,
and prophets heard the voice of God.
In the New Testament era, anyone who met Jesus Christ to
include His disciples heard His voice. Following the coming
of the Holy Spirit, however, there is no limitation on who
may hear the voice of God.
The Holy Spirit can come to anyone: Westerner or Easterner,
black or white or yellow, adult or baby, young or old. This
is truly good news.
Not only will anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord
receive salvation, but also those who seek after the Holy
Spirit will receive the Holy Spirit. Those who have received
the Holy Spirit can thus hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.
I know that the Holy Spirit will be upon all of you when you
read the Bible, when you pray, and especially this night as
we have gathered here seeking the Holy Spirit.
The wind fills spaces, while the fire dwells upon people. In
this space today the wind of the Holy Spirit is blowing.
When the wind of the Holy Spirit blows here, all of you
gathered here will enter the person of the Holy Spirit. When
the wind of the Holy Spirit is present, the gifts of the
Holy Spirit appear. The fire of the Holy Spirit rests above
your heads.
In accepting Jesus Christ in the person, we need will and
intellect. However, for the fire to dwell throughout our
whole person, we need a baptism of the Holy Spirit.
I pray that all of you would manifest tongues and the gifts
of the Holy Spirit. I hope that all of you would demonstrate
the gift of faith and the gift of healing.
When these things happen, the
filthy spirits that have been hiding in us will be shaken
up. Just as darkness disappears when the light shines,
thoughts of darkness, negativity, death, and sickness that
are in us will depart once the Holy Spirit comes.
Strange things will begin to happen within us.
The thoughts of Satan excite us and drive us to extremes.
I hope that all of you would have and exercise spiritual
discernment.
It is easy to erroneously follow the devil. That is why
gifts must be based upon the word.
No matter how strange or peculiar a certain gift may appear,
it is absolutely acceptable as long as it is based on the
word.
When our gifts are not based upon Scripture, we come to
fight and compete over such gifts. We become arrogant and
proud, and fail to edify others.
I hope that all of your gifts would be scriptural based.
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A VOICE HEARD
AMID PEACE
I pray
that all of the filthy spirits within you would be driven
out in the name of Jesus Christ.
I hope that the dirty person within you and all associated
thoughts would be made clean.
There are people who easily hurt others by their words. I
hope that none of you among us tonight would fall within
this category.
Others around us should be built up and encouraged by our
words; they should be put at peace.
When others hear our words, they should be filled with love
and able to forgive. Wouldn't this be wonderful? Speak in a
new tongue! When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you
speak not in Satan's language but in God's language. Words
of blessing begin to flow from your lips. Words of life are
spoken.
God's voice is distinctly different from thoughts in our
mind resulting from our own determination.
The most important thing in trying to discern this is that
you "feel and sense God." There are some people who are hard
as rocks and feel nothing. But let me ask you this: Doesn't
your heart palpitate when you are sitting next to someone
whom you love? When God is here with us, for some reason we
just feel good. No further explanation is needed. No matter
how angry or stressed we may get, we are filled with delight
just hearing God's word. It doesn't matter what suffering or
hardship - even death - may befall us.
In military affairs, there is a
term "disarmament." When we stand before God, we too must be
disarmed. We must let God enter into us, just as we would
open a closed window to let in the sunlight. When we say
before God, "I love you, Lord our king. I have tormented
myself for too long. I lay down all things before You," then
in an instant, our hearts that were filled with turmoil,
anxiety, and depression will be changed in an instant, and
the peace of God will fill us. Hallelujah!
When we have such peace, we begin to hear the voice of God.
When we fight with God, we cannot hear His voice. When we
raise His name, we hear His voice. When our relationships
are restored, we hear His voice; if they are not restored,
we do not hear.
I pray that all of your hearts would be overflowing with
incredible spiritual peace, joy, and praise, so that you may
hear the voice of God.
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REMOVING OBSTACLES
The
question again returns to this: How can we hear God's voice?
There is one easy method taught to us by the forerunners of
our faith. There are likely some priority questions in your
life today about which you would like to know God's will.
Should I get married to this person? What is the meaning of
this sickness that I am suffering? Why is my business
encountering difficulty?
If you are seeking God's will in any such area today, first,
go to Him in prayer.
Before you pray, however, you must remove any existing
obstacles.
Is your relationship with God in good shape? If so, good.
You need to have your "frequency" adjusted to the frequency
of love, and you must have the proper "secret code" of
faith. However, if any of you have difficulties in these
areas, you need to begin by repenting. Perhaps your
relationship with God is okay, but you have hidden sins in
you? Confess them. Are you tempted by Satan? Drive him out.
Examine your motivation for supplication prayer. Look at
what Scripture says about that which you are seeking. Around
99% of our problems are addressed in Scripture.
The greatest obstacles to hearing God's voice are scars and
arrogance. If we have bitter roots or scars in our hearts,
we cannot hear God's voice.
When someone is sick, they lose their sense of taste,
hearing, and sight. A healthy person, however, sees and
hears well. As a result, they are able to judge most things
accurately.
Those whose feelings are confused, are filled with
selfishness, or have impure motivations, become perplexed
and bewildered.
God tells us to be still. That is why the greatest answer to
prayer is surrender. It's letting go. It's laying down
everything and saying, "God, do as You will."
People
tend toward deciding their own answer to prayers.
They then ask God. If they do not like the answer that they
get from God, they ask again. They pray until the answer
they desire is heard.
Excessive
prayer equates to disbelief, the equivalent of pestering God
until we are satisfied. Some believers even fast toward this
end.
We make things difficult that would otherwise be easy if we
would simply submit and surrender.
I hope that all of you would enjoy the blessing of surrender
and the blessing of obedience.
Don't worry if you are a new believer. If you are one of
those of you who feel nothing and whose eyes yield nothing
but darkness when they are closed, do not fret. Continue to
pray for small periods every day as you read the Bible and
observe things around you. When you do so, you will know
God's wonderful providence. This will be neither coincidence
or some emotion or feeling. Do not worry or be afraid. God
will bless you.
I believe that you will have spiritual ears able to hear the
still small voice of God. In doing so, you will see the
imaginably great work of God every time you take a step and
follow Him according to His voice.
There are things that we receive because of our efforts, and
there are things that work out that we are otherwise unable
to do on our own.
If there are things that have happened to you that are
otherwise beyond what you could have done, these have been
given to you by God. Hold on to those things. The secret to
our faith life is to grab on to those things that God does
for us.
As I reflect on 17 years having passed at Onnuri Community
Church, it is clear that God has done so many things here.
These are not things I have done. These are not things even
we as a community have accomplished. God has done these
things among us. We must hold on to these. No one can block
us from doing so.
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A FEW
PRECONDITIONS TO HEARING GOD'S VOICE
There
are a few basic preconditions to hearing God's voice. At
times, He will also judge you.
First, you need to have an exact understanding of Who it is
you are trying to listen to.
Second, you must know yourself as the listener. If you do
not know these two things precisely, you will misunderstand
what you hear.
What, then, are the distinguishing characteristics of God as
He appears in Scripture?
1) First, God is one who "speaks." There are many gods -
spelled with a small "g" - found in this world today. The
decisive difference between those gods and the God we
worship is that our God speaks. Because of His words, we are
able to know the true nature of God. Because the word became
flesh, we are able to know Jesus, and knowing Jesus is
synonymous with knowing God.
This word of God is power. This word creates miracles. The
word is God, the word is Jesus, and the word is the Holy
Spirit. When God speaks, what He says comes to pass.
Creation, salvation, and the Scriptures were all words
spoken by God. Love, truth, and justice are all words of
God.
What is righteousness? Some people of this world believe
that each person has their own yardstick for measuring
righteousness, right? Yet we know that God's word defines
righteousness.
Can love have a variety of meanings based on ones subjective
opinion? No. The standard of love is found in the word.
God does not remain silent. There may be times when we are
unable to clearly ascertain His voice. However, just as a
father talks to his son, so too does God clearly speak to
you and me. God knows your smallest of cries. He comforts
and encourage you. At times, He will also judge you.
God's
word is recorded in the Bible.
I hope that you do not try to close your eyes and see the
Bible as some sort of abstract vision.
I implore you not to analyse Scripture in some strange,
unfounded way.
Scripture tells us of the great redemption plan of God. We
need to know the word to avoid falling into apostasy or
becoming extreme in our faith.
2) Second, when we think of God, we must not forget that God
is "God the triune." If we fail to have a great, grand view
of God, then we become like the Muslims, Jehovah's
Witnesses, or Moon Sun-myoung and the Unification Church.
None of these religions is based upon a triune God. When we
lose our grasp of a God who speaks and a God who exists as
part of the Trinity, then we begin to arbitrarily interpret
Scripture according to our own understanding. So many times
when this happens, incredible
damage and ruin results.
3) Third, we must understand love, justice, and holiness,
which are the nature and disposition of God. God cannot
tolerate even the slightest, smallest sin. Although He may
have sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins, He
does not tolerate sin.
That is why we cannot draw near to God when we are otherwise
engaged in actions that God despises.
If our God were solely a God of justice, then we all would
have already died.
God's character is further distinguished by forgiveness and
love. God so loved us as sinners worthy of death, as
children of wrath by nature, as corrupt humans, that He has
both proclaimed we have no sin and forgiven us. We see this
dual-facetedness of justice and love throughout Scripture.
The perfection of God's justice and love is holiness.
There is one other attribute of God we need to mention here.
God wants to bless us. God wants us to be holy, and He wants
us to be blessed. When we understand God in this manner,
then we can hear His voice clearly. If we do not, then we
hear artificial voices, voices of greed and ambition, and
voices of Satan.
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A MODEL
FOR DIALOQUE BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
There
are two things we must remember when we hear God's voice.
1) The first is that we need to be saved people who have
received the Holy Spirit in order for us to hear God's
voice. God speaks to those whom He loves. Thus, when we
pray, we must confess, "Lord, I love You. I am Yours, O God.
I truly seek the Holy Spirit."
2) The second thing we must remember when listening to God's
voice involves our maturity. If we are immature either in
our personality or faith, we cannot hope to understand what
others are saying to us. Can a dog understand what a person
is saying? Of course not. In a similar manner, how can we as
people hope to know God? We cannot. If our faith is
immature, if our personality is immature, our understanding
of the message that we hear from God can only be understood
at a certain level, no matter how good that message may be.
That is why maturity of faith, of person, and of intellect
is so important.
Do you remember the dialogue between God and Adam and Even
that followed the latter two's sin? Reading from Genesis 3:8
onward, we see that Adam and Eve hid in fear. Truth welcomes
truth, while iniquity does not welcome the truth whatsoever.
Falsehood cannot tolerate honesty. When we sin, we reject
God, inasmuch as He becomes a burden to us. Adam and Eve hid
to avoid the presence of God. I pray that this would not
happen to any of you.
The same is true when God the Holy
Spirit is at work. When there is sin within us, we avoid the
work of the Holy Spirit and reject God's voice. Even if we
hear it, we do not listen to it. I hope none of you would
have instances where you avoid the work of the Holy Spirit.
When God asked, "Adam, Adam, where are you?," there likely
would have been no problem if Adam had confessed his sin.
Instead, he made up excuses. He passed on responsibility for
his sins to the woman whom God had given him. The woman went
on to blame the serpent. This is the inherent nature of sin.
We transfer blame for our sins to others, make up excuses,
and try to hide our sin. This is the first model of dialogue
with God in the Old Testament that we see.
The second model involves Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel
because of his worship. In Genesis 4:9, God asked, "Where is
Abel your brother?" To this, Cain replied, "Am I my
brother's keeper?" Here we see the dialogue between God and
man continues to be stiff and impersonal. I hope that your
dialogue with God would not be the same. When God presents
you with a problem, please cry out and confess. It is easy
to ask for forgiveness. Yet if you try to insist until the
bitter end that you have done no wrong, and try to transfer
blame to someone else, you will be unable to engage God in
dialogue.
The third model for dialogue is found in that between God
and Noah. In Genesis chapter 6, God decides to clean up the
whole world. Man had by this point become a creature
fighting with, jealous toward, and killing each other, so
God had to punish them. Even so, God chose Noah and engaged
him in dialogue. While being a God of justice, He is also a
God of love.
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A VOICE
AWAKENING THE DAWN OF HISTORY
God
then meets Abraham. God creates for us a forefather of our
faith so that He can transform our relationship with Him
from one where we are cursed beings subject to judgement to
one where He saves us. That said, Was Abraham's faith good
in God's eyes? Absolutely not. It was atrocious. Abraham
wavered from believing in God to not believing, from
trusting in Him to not trusting. Yet because the Messiah who
was to save all of mankind some day far off in the future
could only come to earth if there was a forefather of faith,
God did not give up on Abraham. Abraham could not have known
this far-reaching plan of God's. Likewise, no one can know
that some day, some great servant of God may not emerge from
among your children.
Beyond Abraham, God also provided a framework of
"forefathers of faith" through Isaac and Jacob. Someone like
Jacob has nothing to say for himself. But yet God engaged
Jacob, promised him salvation, and gave him a dream. Joseph
was a bit of a different person than Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. Joseph showed us a glimpse of the Messiah to come.
God also later met Moses in the burning bush and had him
lead His people out of Egypt, a drama that revealed to us
what salvation entailed. God then sent Joshua, providing for
us a model of how to occupy the Promised Land. Through
Judges, God provided a model of how He rules over the
wretched politics, economics, and society of this world.
Whenever Israel - which by then had broken up in disunion -
encountered difficulties, God would send them a prophet.
Even amid the turmoil of history, God's voice was never cut
off from His people. His prophets foretold of the birth of
the coming Messiah. Ultimately, the climax came when God
sent His own Son Jesus to this world, when He died for all
the sins of the mankind, and when He led Him into the glory
of the resurrection
There
is something those of us who listen to the voice of the Holy
Spirit must know, and that is how God talked to His people
in the Old Testament era. This is linked to how Jesus Christ
came to us and spoke. This is further connected to the
Pentecost. When, upon this foundation we listen to the voice
of the Holy Spirit, we come to know the Holy Spirit who
works in person. We then come to testify of the Gospel.
I hope that all of you would be
awakened to this incredible plan and providence of God. I
pray that through this Holy Spirit Celebration, the voice of
the cross, resurrection, and Holy Spirit would be heard by
you, revealing to you why we are here, what our future is,
and what type of life God desires for us to live.
TO INDEX OF THE 3 DAY
SEMINAR
LISTENING TO THE
VOICE OF JESUS 2
Characterizing the word of God as seen in the Old Testament,
whether in the Pentateuch or as passed on through the
prophets, we see that God's messages consisted mostly of
warnings and judgement. Yet upon close examination, we also
see salvation present. Within judgement we see God's grace,
forgiveness, and mercy. The ultimate objective of God's word
as seen in the Old Testament was to reveal the Messiah Jesus
Christ who would one day come to provide salvation to all of
mankind.
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THE OLD
TESTAMENT IS FORESHADOWING JESUS
Many
prophets prophesied and heard God's voice in preparation for
the coming of Jesus Christ. That is one reason why all
instances of God speaking in the Old Testament focus on
Jesus Christ. The one passage that exquisitely links
together words of the Old Testament and New Testament is
Hebrews 1:1-3.
"God, who at various times and in
various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the
prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,
whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also
He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory
and the express image of His person, and upholding all
things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself
purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty
on high."
The voice of God as seen in the Old
Testament consists of words designed to reprimand Israel for
their idol worship. The people of Israel repeatedly fell
into idol worship and the following of gentile gods. Yet
even as believers today, we often find our eyes diverted
askance by things of the world. We leer at the world, with
things like material belongings and success distracting our
heart. The people of Israel had all heard the words of the
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and had witnessed the
miracle of the Red Sea and other miracles in the wilderness.
Yet over and over they fell into depravity and betrayed God.
They engaged in idol worship, which God despised above all
things, and they intermarried with the gentiles.
In spite of this, God protected the
people of Israel, inasmuch as they were the womb through
which the Messiah would one day be born. God used great
powers like Assyria, Babylon, and Persia to drive the people
of Israel into suffering. The people who were most hurt,
vexed, and frustrated by the fact that the people of Israel
continued in their idol worship even while suffering were
the prophets. This is because they knew the vision of God.
They knew why God was allowing the people of Israel to
suffer, why He provided the temple, and why He destroyed all
the houses. All of this was designed to make the people of
Israel a pure people of God. It was also to prepare the way
for the Messiah to be born among them. This is the voice of
God we see in the Old Testament.
The individual who proclaimed this
Old Testament message in the New Testament was John the
Baptist. John served as a prophet prior to the coming of
Jesus. John the Baptist cried out to the world "Repent!" He
prepared the way of the Lord by ensuring that every valley
shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low. He
was later beheaded at a young age by King Herod. John the
Baptist was not one willing to let moral decay and religious
depravity remain unaddressed.
The reason John the Baptist was
able to risk his life and decry immorality and decay around
him was because the Messiah was coming. Within John's heart
resided the voice of God, just as it had with the Old
Testament prophets.
In Hebrews 1:1-3, it says that
Jesus is "the brightness of God's glory." Jesus is the
Light, the Way, and the Truth. Jesus is "the express image
of His person." Through His powerful words He holds the
entirety of creation, He cleanses all sin, and He sits at
the right hand of God in the Most High Place. He soars high
like Mount Zion. He is he focus of all the word. He is the
Word that became flesh and dwelled among us.
I congratulate you on having
believed in Jesus Christ. Praise Him! Glorify Him! He came
to this earth. He came to the shores of Galilee. He became
the light and hope to a great many people who were sick,
hopeless, and frustrated.
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Jesus Christ the Word
Ultimately, the voice of God heard in the Old Testament is
linked with hearing the voice of Jesus in the New Testament.
If we cannot or could not hear the voice of Jesus Christ -
who is both the Word as well as the embodiment of glory -
then the Old Testament would become no more than a mirage.
The voice of the Holy Spirit, then, ultimately focuses on
Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit came to us to exalt Jesus,
proclaim to us His salvation, and glorify Him. If you do not
listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit with the heart of
Jesus Christ, then that voice has no meaning to you.
I understand why the Apostle Paul
did not speak of his experience in the Third Heaven (2
Corinthians 12:2). It was so that only the cross of Christ
would be exalted. Paul was concerned that if he were to tell
us of a magnificent and splendours spiritual world beyond
this earthly realm, many people would be confused. As a
result, he boasted only of the cross. If we begin to look
toward the magnificence and splendour, we will forget the
cross. We must focus on the Jesus Christ of the cross who
shed his blood and sweat for you and I, for the entirety of
mankind.
From the time of His birth here on
earth, Jesus maintained a close, intimate relationship with
the Holy Spirit. If we look at Galatians 4:4, it says that
Jesus was "born of a woman." It does not say, however, that
Jesus was born of a man. Jesus came to this world through
the Holy Spirit. This was the first relationship Jesus
shared with the Holy Spirit.
In Matthew 1:20, it states, "for
that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." Some
people hear that, refuse to believe it, and label Jesus an
illegitimate child. They also accuse Jesus of having an
affair with Mary Magdalene. The reason why people are so
inclined toward believing such things is that by nature, we
are erotic beings. Because modern man cannot hope to
understand the true essence of love, he is unable to
understand the love of Jesus Christ. Although Jesus was born
of a woman, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. From here
is where the voice of Jesus Christ and that of the Holy
Spirit are connected.
When Jesus began His public
ministry, He did so with the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 3:13,
it states that Jesus went to John the Baptist in order to be
baptised. Jesus' public ministry began with this baptism.
After Jesus was baptised, the heavens were opened and the
Holy Spirit descended like a dove and alighted on the Head
of Jesus. This was none other than the baptism by the Holy
Spirit. I pray that each of you would have a baptism by the
Holy Spirit.
Jesus and the Holy
Spirit
When
Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist, the gates of heaven
opened and the Holy Spirit was poured out upon Jesus. From
this point onward, whenever Jesus moved, miracles occurred
and His power appeared.
Just imagine what would happen if
you were able to hear a voice say, "You are my beloved son,
with whom I am well pleased"? You would need to hear no
other words, would you? We are satisfied with Jesus Christ
alone. This is the climax and pinnacle of the voice of God
and the voice of the Holy Spirit. "You are my son." What
great and important words to hear! If you have such
assurance in your hearts, no crisis, despair, suffering,
unfairness, or affliction can bring you down. It doesn't
matter if you are sick, if you fail, or even if you die. I
pray that all of you would hear such a voice.
Scripture also promises us, "To
those who believe, He gives the power of heaven and eternal
life." We run into problems not because we do not hear His
voice, but rather because we do not believe it. We are so
thick-headed that Scripture has to repeat over and over, "Do
not be scared. Do not be afraid." God tells us, "It's okay.
I have your name written in the palm of My hand." God uses a
variety of different expressions to assure us that He "does
not forget." "I will watch over you." "I will protect you."
"I will help you." All of this He has promised.
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Be Baptized in the
Holy Spirit
It is
after we are baptized in the Holy Spirit that we are able to
hear God's voice. God's voice is not heard by people in the
flesh. They have no ear to hear Him. I pray that each of you
would have the blessing of the baptism by the Holy Spirit.
After being baptized with the Holy
Spirit, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to the devil. This
is quite interesting. The devil did not go to visit Jesus;
Jesus went to the devil to confront his temptation directly.
Jesus deals with the three temptations simply and easily.
Those who have the Holy Spirit and hear the voice of God can
drive back the temptations of the devil. I pray that all of
you would be completely healed from all of the temptations
and dark forces within you through the power and anointing
of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 4:23-25 is a passage that
provides a summary of the life of Jesus. Please look at
verse 23.
"And Jesus went about all Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the
kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of
disease among the people."
We see listed here the three broad
categories of work that Jesus was carrying out at the time:
teaching, healing, and preaching. He taught in all of the
synagogues. He preached the gospel. He healed the sick.
Today, Jesus will lead all of you to the truth. He will
present the gospel to you. I hope that you would believe
that Jesus heals your diseases.
There is one important point to
grasp here: Jesus' words and actions coincided. With
sinners, there is always a disconnect between words and
actions. What distinguishes those who seek to emulate Christ
in their lives is that their words and actions are one.
Believers are distinguished by their honesty and
trustworthiness. That is because God is sincere, honest, and
true. Faith is the ability to trust and follow Him
faithfully, come rain or shine.
Jesus did not communicate with His
disciples or others through words alone. There was a
language hidden within His actions. There is a language and
a message found within the processes of healing the sick,
calming the sea, dying on the cross, returning amid glory
after being resurrected, or ascending into heaven on a
cloud. Simple words alone do not comprise the entirety of
language. That is why when we look to Jesus and what He did,
we are moved to tears.
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I and the Father are One
While
the message of Jesus Christ fills the New Testament, its
core can be summarised into a few points. One of the
messages that Jesus always emphasised was "I and the Father
are One." "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." Jesus is
telling us, in other words, that He is God and He is the
Savior. And He does this with no hesitation.
Another message of Jesus involves
standards for Christian life. This is an even stronger
message than that derived from His miracles. "Blessed are
the poor in Spirit. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Blessed are
the peacemakers. Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness' sake." Through such teachings, Jesus provides
us with standards for living our lives. The presence of
faith is not marked by speaking in tongue or having passion
and zeal. Having such personality traits as those listed
above evidence our faith. I pray that all of you would have
such a personality.
Our faith is manifested in our
lives. Jesus tells us not only how to live our own
individual lives, but also how we should live toward others.
"There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for an
enemy." This is the standard for how we should live our
lives in relation to others.
Jesus also provided for us vision,
goals, and a calling for our lives. "But you shall receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall
be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth." "Go, therefore, and
make disciples of all the nations." This is our purpose and
our calling for our lives.
If you listen to the voice of Jesus
Christ, then your life must be consistent with the standards
for living that Jesus has provided. These include the
standards given for us, for how we deal with others, and for
the goals of our lives. These all must coincide with the
voice of God.
If you find yourself today
suffering or sacrificing your life for a friend who is
grieving or who is poor in spirit, then you may consider
yourself to be listening to the voice of God. We must also
never forget that all that we do is for the glory of God.
Recovering from sickness alone is not our goal, but rather
glorifying God once the sickness has been healed is. We need
to have spiritual goals.
If we have a standard for listening
to the voice of Jesus, then we will no longer wander
aimlessly or dwell in confusion. Our lives will be filled
with incredible inspiration and fullness.
When we examine the message of
Jesus Christ as revealed through His words found in the four
gospels, there is one topic that we tend not to focus on too
often: the Holy Spirit. Yet before ascending to heaven,
Jesus said, "Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the
Promise of the Father which you have heard from Me; for John
truly baptised with water, but you shall be baptised with
the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
Among the many words of Jesus,
the final ones that He gave to His disciples were "Be
baptised with the Holy Spirit." I hope that all of you would
seek to be baptised with the Holy Spirit. Those who are
baptized with the Holy Spirit have a different degree of
maturity of faith and a depth and weight in their knowledge
of scripture. When you serve the Lord daily and live in the
Holy Spirit, how deep and profound is the world of the Holy
Spirit!
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Holy Spirit Sent by
Jesus
If we
look at chapters 14 to 16 of the Gospel of John, we see
Jesus providing numerous, detailed comments concerning the
Holy Spirit. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes
in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater
works than these he will do, because I go to My Father." In
saying that He would "go to My Father," Jesus was implying
that once He left, the Holy Spirit, the Helper, would come.
"You will go into all the world and
set it abuzz with the gospel, and the reason this will
happen is because the Holy Spirit will come as your Helper
once I leave." The disciples, however, had no idea what
Jesus meant. Later they would, though, with the Pentecost.
They finally came to understand what Jesus was talking about
when the Holy Spirit came upon them in the Upper Room. As
much as we try to describe the Holy Spirit using words,
others cannot hope to understand. We can only know the Holy
Spirit by experiencing Him.
As we look at John 14:16, we see
that it says, "I will pray the Father." So we see that it
was Jesus Christ Himself who asked that the Holy Spirit be
sent. Jesus Christ was God incarnate who visited us in the
flesh, while it is the Holy Spirit who will be with us for
all eternity who is Jesus Christ come in the Spirit.
Please take a look at verse 17. The
Spirit dwells with us and in us. He leads us to open our
mouths and sing praise. He leads us to pray. He leads us
away from hatred, murder, and anger. He leads us to speak of
love and forgiveness. He empowers us so that we can do
things we are otherwise incapable of. He makes the
impossible possible. He gives us victory over sickness. It
is the Holy Spirit that does all of this. I hope that you
would all believe that the Holy Spirit dwells within you.
I urge you all to confirm this for
yourselves. The Holy Spirit is within each of you, speaking,
listening, and seeing for you. People of the Holy Spirit go
to where the Holy Spirit leads them and say what the Holy
Spirit leads them to say. They praise in spirit. It was
Jesus Christ who told us that that Spirit would never leave
us.
Jesus promised, "I will not leave
you orphans." We are not forgotten or abandoned people. We
are God's precious and valuable children. Jesus goes on from
John 14:25 to speak of the Holy Spirit.
It is the Holy Spirit that will
bring to remembrance the Word. He will cause us to remember,
He will teach us, and He will give us peace. I hope all of
you today would have such peace.
In John 15:26-27, Jesus continues
to speak of the Holy Spirit. One characteristic of the Holy
Spirit is that He witnesses Jesus Christ. The work and
miracles of the Holy Spirit exalt Jesus Christ.
This said, as people who have been
baptised with the Holy Spirit we should be distinguished by
the transformation of our personalities and our witness of
Jesus Christ. Yet too often we overemphasise spiritual gifts
and power. I hope that all of you would have personalities
and dispositions modelled after Jesus Christ. I hope that
you would be filled with the work of the Holy Spirit
exalting and testifying of Jesus Christ wherever you may be.
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The Holy Spirit Is
the Answer
Jesus
Christ explains the Holy Spirit to us in chapters 14 through
16 of the Gospel of John. Jesus Christ was more than well
aware of the Holy Spirit. He spoke of the role and intrinsic
nature of the Holy Spirit. This leads us to the conclusion
that we must be baptised with the Holy Spirit. If we intend
to become disciples, become witnesses, live Christ-modelled
lives, and love others - if we truly want to have inner
transformation - then we must be baptised with the Holy
Spirit.
God promised that He would pour out
the Holy Spirit on anyone in any age or era: young or old,
male or female. He comes to us. He works in us. He was the
creator behind the works detailed in the Book of Acts, and
He made Onnuri Community Church as well. The reason why we
have such great masses flocking here today is because of the
grace He gives us.
The voice of the Old Testament led
to the voice of Jesus Christ, which then was firmly
established as the voice of the Holy Spirit. If you close
your eyes and think deeply, you realize that we have so much
to pray for. There are so many who require prayer, not to
mention ourselves and our families. Look at our country and
the world today. Utter confusion and disorder are found in
all realms of society. Fears about whether there is any
future or hope for us fill the reality in which we live. As
we look at the world around us, we see that there are so
many people living off of just $1.00 per day, while still
others starve to death daily.
Yet amid all of this, the church
remains as the light of this world and the salvation of
Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the hope of this world. I
pray that all of you would arise anew with the anointment
and the filling of the Holy Spirit within you. The Holy
Spirit is the answer.
Acts
2:14-21:
14
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and
said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem,
let this be known to you, and heed my words.
15
"For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only
the third hour of the day.
16
"But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17
`And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That
I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see
visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.
18
And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out
My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.
19
I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth
beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20
The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into
blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the
LORD.
21
And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of
the LORD Shall be saved.'
TO INDEX OF THE 3 DAY
SEMINAR
Listening to the Holy
Spirit
All of
God's words as revealed to us in the Old Testament focus on
a single Person: Jesus Christ. We see Jesus Christ in the
Book of Job. We see Him in the Psalms. We see Him in the
Song of Solomon. We see Him in the Law, and we see Him in
the words of the prophets. He is the focus of all of the
Old Testament.
There was one who was born six
months before Jesus Christ came to this world, and who
prepared the way for Jesus. That was John the Baptist. As we
examine John, we see that the messages of all the Old
Testament prophets coincided with his. John the Baptist
played the role of being a link between the Old and New
Testaments.
During His ministry on earth, there
were a number of key, essential words among those spoken by
Jesus to His disciples. These include, "I and the Father are
one," and "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." Through
such passages, we come to know that the voice of God and the
voice of Jesus are one in the same. The message given by
Jesus to the disciples was one of the kingdom of God.
Although Jesus was here on earth, He was filled with
thoughts of God's kingdom.
TO INDEX OF THE 3 DAY
SEMINAR
Two
Secrets to Experiencing the Holy Spirit
"Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" "The kingdom of God
is already in you." This was the core message Jesus gave to
us. He taught His beloved disciples how to live as people of
the kingdom of heaven. We see these principles for living
laid out in the beatitudes found in the Gospel of Matthew,
Chapter 5. It is because we all too often do not live
according to these precepts that we become heartbroken,
lonely, and thirsting. I pray that all of you would live
according to the teachings of Jesus. "Treat others as you
would have them treat you." This is both the law and the
principles taught by the prophets. "Love your enemy." "Do
not repay evil with evil." "There is no greater love than to
give one's life for an enemy." These are the core messages
of the Lord. Those who truly believe in Jesus live life to
its fullest while at the same time waiting for His return.
Eventually, the Lord died on the
cross for the sake of this message. He was then subsequently
resurrected, after which Jesus gave two additional important
messages to his beloved disciples. "Go and make disciples of
all the nations," He instructed them. "The Holy Spirit will
be with you. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of
the earth."
Jesus spoke this and ascended to
heaven on a cloud. Before he departed, Jesus gave the
disciples a message about which I would like to speak to you
today.
"Do not depart from Jerusalem, but
wait for the Promise of the Father, which you have heard
from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall
be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
The number of people who heard and
obeyed this final command of the Lord was 120, to include
the disciples. Yet even while obeying Jesus' instructions,
at that time no one could understand what these words meant.
They nevertheless decided to obey and remain in Jerusalem.
So what do you think they did as
they met and waited? If any of you here find yourself in a
situation where you can think of nothing worth doing, I
implore you to take the opportunity to wisely use your time
and pray. The disciples comprehended the instruction not to
depart but rather remain in place, but they had no idea what
it was they were supposed to do. So they gathered together
and they prayed.
Here we discover two important
secrets for experiencing the Holy Spirit: obedience and
prayer. By obedience we do not mean obeying only those
things that are worth obeying. What is the substance of
obedience? It is prayer. So as they obeyed Jesus'
instructions, they gathered together and prayed with all of
their hearts.
There are times when you and I do
not understand our own problems. Don't worry about that.
Once you begin to pray, God will teach you all things. The
source of all of the problems that you find yourselves
grumbling and complaining about will come clear to you one
day.
Prayer allows
us to be victorious in our battles with our inner self. When
fighting with the devil, all you have to do is proclaim to
him, "Get out!" Yet when you fight with yourself, its
different. You must fight with blood and sweat. How did
Jesus pray? "Not My will but the Father's be done." Thus
while the way to defeat the devil is through the word, the
way to break one's self is through prayer. When we pray, our
arrogance, pride, grumbling, and complaining begin to melt.
TO INDEX OF THE 3 DAY
SEMINAR
The Holy
Spirit Who Appeared on Pentecost
The
disciples and others who followed Jesus obeyed His
instructions, gathered in the Upper Room, and prayed with
all of their hearts. As they were praying, the voice of the
Holy Spirit became audible to one of them. In Acts 1:15,
Peter appears and begins speaking to the crowd about several
different things. First, he explained the recent events that
had taken place. Second, he moved to fill a vacancy among
them.
The hearts of those in the early
church were still filled with turmoil and unease because of
the suicide of Judas Iscariot. There was no way for them to
understand all that had happened. At that point, the Holy
Spirit spoke to Peter, and Peter in turn addressed the
crowd. He concluded his explanation by saying that Judas
"went to his own place." Upon hearing that what happened to
Judas was the natural result of his actions, the people were
comforted. Peter then instructed the disciples to fill the
vacancy left by Judas.
Each of us needs to point out and
reveal the problems that we have inside. God will then bless
us in a beautiful manner after these have been removed.
Matthias was chosen as a disciple
to replace Judas. After that, the Pentecost came. The Holy
Spirit fell upon some 120 people that day, an incredible
event. On thing that we must not forget, however, is that
even before the Pentecost, the Holy Spirit had been at work.
He was at work when Jesus was born, when Jesus was baptised,
and when Peter prophesied after hearing the Holy Spirit's
voice in prayer. Even within the Old Testament we see a
number of instances when the Spirit of God worked powerfully
through people.
Yet the dwelling of the Holy Spirit
at the Pentecost was different. We know that Jesus Christ
has existed from before eternity. Jesus Christ, the Word,
came in His time to this earth through a woman. Although He
existed before His life on earth, Jesus officially and
formally to Nazareth came as the Messiah of history. In a
like manner, the Holy Spirit had existed long before the
Pentecost. Yet it was on that one day after Jesus Christ had
ascended to heaven that the Holy Spirit officially came to
earth.
There is a major difference
surrounding the pre-Pentecost and the post-Pentecost Holy
Spirit. Up till this time, the Spirit of God could and had
come to individuals. The Pentecost, however, was the first
time that the Holy Spirit came officially to a larger
community of people. This is the event recorded for us in
the Book of Acts. This also was the birth of the church. I
believe that while the Holy Spirit may be upon each of you
individually, He also dwells upon all.
From the Pentecost onward, the Holy
Spirit comes not only to selected individuals. He comes to
and works in and through groups, communities, and churches.
The church, and not individuals, does the work of God from
this point onward. This is the promise of this era.
TO INDEX OF THE 3 DAY
SEMINAR
The Work of the Holy
Spirit
The
Holy Spirit comes not from earth but from heaven. The Holy
Spirit comes not from people but from God. He came with
rushing mighty wind. Wind! The wind of the Holy Spirit!
"Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were
sitting." I hope that all of you would have a similar
experience in your homes. I earnestly pray that this would
happen in our church. I believe that the rushing mighty wind
of the Holy Spirit will blow throughout the land of North
Korea.
Then there appeared to them divided
tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. We see
here that while the wind comes to the larger group as a
whole, the fire sits on each of us as individuals. The fire
was visible to the eyes. Such a vision made Habakkuk's heart
pound. His lips quivered. He had experienced God. The
experience of God's presence is a holy experience. It allows
our souls to begin to be reborn and made anew.
The Spirit of God transcends flesh.
The Holy Spirit comes into our bodies. Flesh cannot
penetrate flesh. Spirit, however, can pierce through flesh.
If I could travel back 2,000 years ago and meet Jesus
Christ, I could shake His hand and hug Him. But Jesus
Himself could not enter me. Jesus Christ in the Spirit,
however, does come into me, becoming my flesh and blood and
dwelling within me. When He resides in me, my corrupt nature
can no longer survive. Even the most repulsively indecent of
people are incredibly transformed when this happens. A light
comes to their eyes, and a softness marks their speech. They
praise, cry, and become humble. Hallelujah!
Acts 2:4 describes how they all
began to speak in tongues. The phrase "they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit," means that the Holy Spirit had
completely filled the spirits of each one there, just as
water fills a cup to the brim. When we are filled with the
Holy Spirit, we speak not according to our own thoughts but
rather according to the Holy Spirit. All the impurities
within us begin to disappear. All reason or other
psychological phenomena within us become filled with the
Holy Spirit. Without knowing, we begin to speak according to
the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is called speaking in
tongues. I hope that all of you would be able to pray and
speak in tongues, and that all of you would have the
blessing of speaking as the Spirit leads you to speak.
When the Holy Spirit abides in you,
you have the power to drive out evil spirits. Those with the
Holy Spirit have the ability to discern the work of evil
spirits and the work of God. Those with the Holy Spirit
begin to speak in a language not even they can understand.
This language consists of the words of the Lord, praises of
the Lord, and thoughts of the Lord. I pray that each of you
would have the thoughts and heart of the Lord in you. I pray
that the Lord's priorities would be yours.
TO INDEX OF THE 3 DAY
SEMINAR
From Death to Eternal
Life
When
you are filled with the Holy Spirit, your everyday, routine
words become special. This is what is meant by "speaking in
tongues." This special language then becomes the language of
missions. Those who have the Holy Spirit dash out into the
world. They do so, and the Holy Spirit leads them to think
of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I pray that
your thoughts would be filled with thoughts of the cross and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit will lead us to
speak with a burning passion in our hearts, and those who
hear us will understand. This is the language of missions. I
once delivered a sermon here in our church, when afterward a
foreigner came up and said that he enjoyed the sermon. I
asked if he had listened to the interpretation, and he said
he just listened to it in Korean. I was quite surprised.
Another sister here in the church
who is a professor at Yonsei University went to China for
one-to-one discipling, and the person she worked with was a
Chinese person. Knowing no Chinese, this woman completed
one-to-one discipleship program with her partner, who was a
leader in a home church there. Because of the language
differences, this sister wondered whether her partner really
understood what had been taught. So she followed the other
person secretly and sat in the back of the church, only to
observer her partner teach exactly what she had learned. We
see similar things happening in the early church. We see
this in the history of missions, and everywhere in the
history of the work of the Holy Spirit.
Do you remember when Jesus walked
on water? Peter was so surprised at seeing this that he
thought he was seeing a ghost. After confirming it was
Jesus, Peter said, "Lord, make it so that I can walk like
You on water." Without thinking, Peter took off across the
water. He was walking on water! Overwhelmed by his surprise,
however, he then returned to reality. The very moment he
regained control of his thoughts, returned to reality, and
returned to reason, he began to sink. So what did Jesus do?
He reached out His hand to save Peter.
There is, I believe, considerable
significance in this one event. How can humans walk on
water? It is otherwise beyond their capabilities. How can
people, with their corrupted nature, learn to love other
people? How can I love you? We are so filled with pain and
scars, how could we possibly come to forgive and love
others? It's impossible! Yet, once we have the Holy Spirit
and have been captivated by the Lord, then we can do these
things.
Man with his corrupted nature
cannot hope to walk on water. It would be arrogant to even
proclaim that we can. Yet once the Holy Spirit has a hold of
us, we come to make choices and decisions that were
completely unthinkable previously. Even though the road we
choose may be foolish and idiotic from a worldly
perspective, we simply go that way anyway.
TO INDEX OF THE 3
DAY SEMINAR
A Dream of
"That Very Church"
Having
received the Holy Spirit, Peter stood up with the other 11
apostles and shouted out a message that included the main
passage of today's scripture. "And it shall come to pass in
the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit
on all flesh." This tells us that God will give the Holy
Spirit to all people. When the Spirit is poured out, "your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall
see visions, your old men shall dream dreams."
I pray that all of you who are in
your 60s and 70s, all of you elderly men and women out
there, would be filled with dreams. You should not be filled
with thoughts of entering your graves! Be filled, instead,
with thoughts of going to heaven.
Your young shall prophesy. They
will not wander aimlessly, but instead be filled with
visions. The old will be made new again. I fully believe
that those people and churches that have received the Holy
Spirit will experience revival, evidence miracles, and
continue to be blessed in spite of the impropriety,
injustice, corruption, confusion, and despair of the world
around us.
One distinguishing characteristic
of Christians is that we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
This is also a trait that characterises the church as well.
At the individual and corporate level, the Holy Spirit
enters us and works through us, giving glory to God in the
process.
Churches and Christians carry out
great works that transcend time, generation, race, language,
culture, intellect, gender, and age. Habakkuk had a vision.
"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the
glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." This vision
of Habakkuk describes the church, whether we are talking
about the church in the Book of Acts 2000 years ago or the
church today.
It was back when I spent three
years in England that I received an invitation from Onnuri
Community Church in Seoul. At the time, I was extremely worn
out after having served at a church founded to serve those
in the entertainment industry. I was further exhausted
following a church construction project. Arrogant words fell
from my lips as I said, "God, there is absolutely no way
that I am going to build another church." I said, "There are
many good people who can and are serving in Seoul, so I will
go and pastor a church in the provinces." Yet there I found
myself, pasturing in Seoul and building a church.
I anguished over this for around
one year. "Lord," I said, "in Seoul alone we have Sarang
Church, Chungshin Church, and Somang Church; do we really
need to be building another church? Does this make sense
economically?" Though filled with human greed and desire, I
hesitated, not knowing how to interpret what I should do.
"Lord, if You were to tell me to build a church in the
desert, I would do so. If You told me to plant a church in
the mission field, I would do so."
At that point, God gave me a
message in my heart. "Go and build 'That Very Church.' The
church as evidenced in the early church. A Book of Acts
church. A church desired by God, with no regard for
denomination or location. The same church that was needed
2,000 years ago and that is needed today as well."
When I
heard this, I was moved to tears. That is how I, together
with a small number of people, took this vision and started
Onnuri Community Church. And that vision and those thoughts
have continued unchanged over 17 years to where we are
today.
We are still crawling along the
path to the full realisation of that dream. I still am
thirsting. I still wished that our church was a bit more in
concert with the heart of the Lord. I wish that the Holy
Spirit would be even more at work in our church. Numbers are
not important. If we should fail to obey God's commands, He
would surely scatter us all. If a church is not involved in
missions, then that church will be scattered.
The Book of Acts records the story
of the early church. When you read this story, we see that
the early church is alive today in our church. We see it in
our encounters, our meetings, and in our sermons. Just think
of it. How could someone like me become a pastor? I see it
as a miracle. I am a person filled with problems. I am
neither a person blessed with good health nor one with a
good heart. Yet God has used me. This is the type of thing
we see in churches. This is the work of the Holy Spirit!
TO INDEX OF THE 3 DAY
SEMINAR
Celebrating Each Day With the Holy Spirit
There is one interesting aspect of
the Book of Acts. Even as late as the time of Jesus, there
were still fights over the issue of the Sabbath Day. Jesus
anguished over this so much. Yet as we enter the Book of
Acts, we see no more debate over the Sabbath Day. Up through
the time of Jesus, the Sabbath Day was the topic of an
important debate. Yet after the Holy Spirit came at
Pentecost, there was no more debate.
The Sabbath Day is the Lord's Day.
On the Lord's Day, those who have received the Holy Spirit
gather together, study the Bible, share in fellowship, break
bread, pray, share their belongings, and experience miracles
together. The keeping of the Sabbath Day as seen in the Old
Testament is not the Lord's Day. The Lord's Day runs from
morning until night, just as in the Book of Acts. Food is
made and shared. People visit each other, go and call on the
sick, help the poor, evangelize, and experience this "shadow
of heaven" that we cannot find in the world around us. This
is what the Lord's Day is made for.
Sundays at Onnuri Community Church
are truly exhausting. When it comes time for the 9:00 p.m.
service, we are all half-dead by then! For us, however,
Saturday is our day of rest, and the Lord's Day is our
celebration of the Holy Spirit. We love each other,
encourage each other, bless each other, praise, move, and
proclaim the resurrection. We witness the victory of God.
And after that experience, we head out to the world on
Monday.
In Acts chapter 13, we see the
first missionary sent from the Church at Antioch. Any church
that does not send out missionaries is not a Book of Acts
church. We hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and go out. I
pray that each and every saint of Onnuri Community Church
would depart one day. You must go to where the Lord leads
you.
Beloved saints of Onnuri Community
church: I pray that the Holy Spirit would dwell in each and
every one of you. I pray that you would think thoughts of
the Holy Spirit. I hope that our church would become a Holy
Spirit church. I hope that your families would become Holy
Spirit families. How shall we live our lives? How should we
spend our money? Toward what ends should we live our lives?
We need to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit when
answering these questions.
It's okay to have money. I cry when
I think of those who have no money, or who are in physical
pain. I would love to heal all of them by laying on hands.
But listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit exceeds all of
this.
We dream of the Book of Acts
church. We will transform the world. The voice of the Holy
Spirit is at work here. I pray that each of you would hear
the voice of the Holy Spirit each day in your walk of faith. |
