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Subject 22 : The Gospel According to LUKE
[Chapter 19-11] Let Us Become Those Who Quench the Lord’s Thirst (Luke 19:28-40)
(Luke 19:28-40)
“When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, ‘Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’’ So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, ‘Why are you loosing the colt?’ And they said, ‘The Lord has need of him.’ Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:
‘‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!’
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’’
And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, ‘Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.’”
With What Can We Please the Lord’s Heart?
My foremost wish is for the gospel of the water and the Spirit to be spread throughout the whole world as soon as possible. It’s my heart’s desire for the true gospel to be spread as quickly as possible, and to thus quench God’s thirst and ours as well. For a while, the spreading of the gospel of the water and the Spirit seemed to go so slowly that I felt quite impatient, but recently the speed has picked up considerably. But given the fact there are over six billion people living in this world, there needs to be a lot more people ordering our books for the gospel to be spread to the end of the world.
Although our books are reaching many souls at present, what we are doing right now is akin to feeding peanuts to an elephant. That’s how little impact it seems to make. However, across the globe, numerous truth seekers are requesting our books through our web site. A farmer cannot expect to harvest the crop right after sowing, but I still wish that the gospel would be spread more quickly so that everyone all around the world would receive the remission of sins.
In today’s Scripture passage, Jesus told His disciples to loosen a colt and bring it to Him. He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you losing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’” What happened when the disciples actually went to the village and tried to untie the colt to take it to Jesus? Its owner appeared and asked, “Why are you loosing the colt?” The disciples then told him exactly what the Lord had said to them, “The Lord has need of him,” and it’s written in the Bible that the owner did not say anything more to this reply.
What happened afterwards? The disciples threw their clothes on the colt and set Jesus on it, and as Jesus entered Jerusalem, His followers spread their clothes on the road and praised Him. At that time, the nearby Pharisees told Jesus to quiet down the crowd, but Jesus said to them, “If these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
The colt that appears in this passage is an analogy of God’s workers and servants who have received the remission of sins from Jesus Christ, put on His salvation, and are now serving the Lord. Although it is no more than a lowly animal, we can see from today’s Scripture passage that this colt was used preciously and glorified. In the world, there are some servants who, like this colt, quench the thirsty heart of God, and then there are other servants who bring trouble to God’s heart. While carrying out God’s work on this earth, we sometimes come across some workers who quench the hearts of those ahead of them and the heart of God. On the other hand, there also are some people who, while they seem to be doing a great work, actually cause nothing more than trouble and worry to the leaders of God’s Church.
What I mean here is that there are some Christians who ultimately cause trouble to others even as they think they are doing what is right. What explains this? They cause trouble to God and people because they do not do what they are asked to do by their leaders, and instead they judge and decide on their own, even though the will of the Lord would be fulfilled if they trust their leaders and do what they are asked to do by faith. No matter how much God’s servants teach and admonish such people, it’s all useless. Since they’ve already made all the decisions, there is little else that God’s servants can say to them.
In contrast, how do those who quench God’s thirsty heart work? They consult with the servants of God and seek their counsel in all things, and they try to do what is best. They examine the direction that the Church is heading, and once they know its direction, they throw their full support behind it, neither venturing out too far ahead nor trailing behind. However, those who are unable to do this decide everything all on their own, and in the end, their work actually brings nothing more than trouble to those around them. This is the difference that sets apart those who are able to quench God’s heart and those who are not.
My fellow believers, it is my sincerest hope and prayer that we would all become such servants who quench God’s thirst. I truly hope and pray that we would spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit across the whole world so that we could quench the Lord’s thirsty heart. Although many people all over the world have received the remission of sins through our books, and many continue to do so at present, there still are far more people who have not received the remission of sins than those who have. So we must preach the gospel constantly, and thereby quench God’s thirsty heart and ours.
However, although there are those who believe in this gospel and are actually practicing its teachings faithfully, there also are some people who go around saying nonsense. They say to us, “I’ll distribute these books for you, but what will you do for me in return?” This is no different from demanding money, a car, or a house. This is typical of most of those who bring trouble to God and people by embarking on an unrealistically grandiose project.
Those who are truthfully carrying out God’s work never make a big fuss about their work. They ask for our books without any ulterior motives, saying to us, “I’d like to make my small contribution. Since I’ve received the remission of sins from reading this book, I’d like to share it with others around me.” This, however, is not how impostors work. They pay attention only to formalities, and they try to ensure only administrative proprieties. Rather than being interested in the contents of the gospel, they just want to draw people’s attention or make money by doing the gospel work. In particular, South Korea is plagued by such people. There are so many Christian denominations in this small country that on per capita basis, South Korea probably has the most denominations. Each and every Christian denomination in the world is found in Korea, including every heresy you can think of. There really is no sect that’s not found in Korea. All these Christians are so busy spreading their own denominations that they have little interest in spreading the true gospel of God, the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
These people do not know what this gospel of the water and the Spirit is even when it is given to them. It’s because their hearts are set somewhere else that they don’t like to hear us telling them about the pure Word of God. In contrast, they love to hear about how they can ensure their worldly success, how they can live a virtuous life, how they can avoid committing sin, and how they can establish their self-righteousness before God. So given this, how can the gospel of the Lord ever enter such people? It can’t.
However, even under such circumstances, we must still follow the will of God completely. We must seek what pleases God. As I read about the colt in today’s Scripture passage, I got to thinking, “I wish this gospel would be spread as soon as possible regardless of whether people believe in it or stand against it, so that God’s thirst would be quenched.” Since we are working diligently for this end, I am sure that such a day will come sooner or later. As you and I have sown the seed of the gospel diligently to this day, I am sure that many souls will soon wake up and arise in every corner of the world.
Thanks to God’s blessings and our effort, we have been able to spread the gospel to even such difficult countries as China and Russia. A short while ago we sent 2,000 copies of our books to Russia, and these books are now being distributed, as well as used by our ministers there to spread the gospel. I can’t remember right now exactly how many books have been shipped to China, but about 10,000 copies have made their way at least. My heart has no other desire than for this gospel to be spread completely as soon as possible. While working, we may think that we are insufficient, and that our faculties are limited and the progress of our work is slow, but in fact, that is not the case.
Although many pastors renowned in Christian communities have also spread the gospel, their work cannot be compared to ours, which is spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit. All that such people have accomplished is that they’ve spread their own names to a few countries. And what they have spread is not the gospel of the water and the Spirit. So their ministries cannot be compared to ours. But if a comparison must be made, we have spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit to a lot more countries than these people.
Of course, in the context of the world population reaching over 6 billion people, our work still remains incomplete. So far, we have gone through 40 printings of our first English book. Since 10,000 copies are printed for each printing, we’ve printed a total of 400,000 copies. Another thing that we can all be proud of is that we’ve published our spiritual books in 28 languages (62 languages as of February, 2007━editor’s note), and so if we translate them into a dozen more languages, our books will be available in almost every major language in the world. Although the world is big, there actually aren’t that many languages. English, Spanish and French are the most widely used languages because many countries that had been their colonies still use either one of these languages.
Right now we are working to publish the commentary books on Romans, and we are half way through with translation. I wish we could proceed faster, but we can’t afford to do a half-hearted job. My guess is that it won’t be over until mid October. When working to spread the gospel, one must have a patient heart above all else. When I am told that I only need to wait two more weeks, I tell myself that it will take four weeks, and when I am told that I need to wait four weeks, I tell myself that the wait will be two months. This is good for my mental health, as I can avoid being too frustrated. Otherwise I might get tired of all the waiting and even get angry.
All our workers are waiting for the day when the commentary books on Romans are completed. The Book of Romans is what every Christian wants to know first. Even though many people are puzzled by the Book of Romans and they also speak about it often, so far, I have not met even one Christian who was able to speak about it with a clear understanding. I’ve read many Christian books, but none of them explained the Book of Romans clearly. Most writers simply advocate their own arguments, propounding on such doctrines as the Doctrine of Predestination. There is hardly anyone or any book that understands and explains the Book of Romans exactly as it is. So I’ve put a lot of expectations on our commentary books on Romans that will be published soon.
The last English book that we published was the third volume, titled, The Failsafe Way for You to Receive the Holy Spirit. The reception and effectiveness of this book have been so good that it’s already being printed for the second time. I think the third volume might even be more successful than the first volume. And I also have high expectations about the latest publication on the Book of Romans. It’s my sincerest hope and prayer that many people would read our forthcoming books on Romans, as well as the three books already published, and that the flame of the gospel would burn even more brightly.
How Quenched Would God’s Thirsty Heart Be If This Happened?
How wonderful would it be if people all over the world came to know and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and to thus receive the Holy Spirit into their hearts and praise God? Wouldn’t you be also happy? But people in some countries are reluctant to receive this genuine gospel. Of all the people living in various countries in the world, Israelis are the least receptive to Jesus.
Also, Koreans are also resistant to accepting the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Bible says that a prophet is not received well in his hometown, and Korea seems to be no exception in this regard. Koreans are indifferent to religious teachings, reacting with the same apathy to everyone, whether it’s a Jehovah’s Witness, a Mormon, an Adventist, or a Buddhist monk. Their attitude is that every religion is the same, and yet they love to hear when one speaks about mysticism or speaks in strange tongues. Their national character is such that they are far more inclined toward emotion than intellect. They are extremely sympathetic to others, but this also means that they are easily influenced by the prevailing trends that appeal to their emotions. Even when it comes to leading a life of faith, many Korean Christians believe based on their own emotional feelings rather than intellectual realization and understanding.
Nowadays the most requested books are English editions, and about 200 books are shipped out every day. Most of these English editions are sent to the United States, Europe, and Asia. Many Americans have enjoyed reading the first three volumes of our English books. When they read our commentary books on Romans that we are now translating, they will know everything about the doctrinal issues of the gospel. The first volume of our series addresses the gospel of the water and the Spirit, while the second volume deals with theological issues. The third volume addresses the fallacies of the Charismatic Movement and the Pentecostals, and the fourth and fifth volumes, which are on the Book of Romans, will address the overall framework of theology and “the righteousness of God,” the key word of the Book of Romans. If people read them all, I am sure that at least these people will all come to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit completely. In turn, they will teach the gospel to those around them and their followers, and when it is taught in seminaries, those who learn about the perfect gospel of the water and the Spirit that we are now preaching will go out as missionaries. I am sure that in this way, the gospel will be spread all over the world and God’s thirsty heart will be quenched.
Above all else, I yearn for this gospel to be spread as soon as possible. Do you also yearn for this? To tell you the truth, there is no question that ours is an extremely difficult task. We have now put several books on the backburner, including those on the Book of Revelation, the Apostles’ Creed, and the religions of the world, and we are now concentrating all our effort on the commentary books on Romans. I’ll be so happy when these books are published. Once these books are completed, I am confident that they will make a tremendous impact.
For now, I am thinking about taking a break from literature ministry once the book on the Apostles’ Creed is completed. Instead, I’d like to focus more attention on my sermons and research. My heart is always desirous to spread the gospel as soon as possible. Whatever means it takes, whether it is by direct preaching or by any other means, I only wish for the gospel to be spread as quickly as possible. I hope and pray that many people will come across the gospel of the Lord and receive the remission of sins so that the Day of the Lord will come soon.
In today’s Scripture passage, when Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the back of the colt, the Pharisees said to Him, “Quiet down Your disciples. They are so loud.” The Lord then answered them, “If these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” My fellow believers, given how God has given us such blessed Word, we cannot be silent about this gospel. No matter what, we must spread this gospel that the Lord has given us.
On this upcoming revival meeting that will be held next week, I plan to preach on the Book of Revelation, but it seems to me that people’s hearts are not still prepared to listen to the message of the last days. The Bible is a great gift that God has given us to read and understand. Although the Bible is a sealed book, God has told us to open it and see it. As such, we ought to open all the Books of the Bible and understand them properly. Preaching the gospel Word is more important than anything else, and so if people continue to be afraid of listening to the message of the Book of Revelation, I think I should preach the gospel by holding a revival meeting under a different title. I’d like to preach the gospel diligently and widely so that everyone can receive the remission of sins in any way possible.
The gospel can no longer be hidden. How could anyone hide this gospel? On any given day, about 30 copies of our paper back books are shipped to the United States, and another 30 books are downloaded electronically. So in the United States alone, about 60 people a day come to find out about this gospel. How many Americans would come across the gospel in a month then? It’s 1,800. If 1,800 people come to know this gospel in a month, it won’t be too long before every American comes to know it. Since Americans will play a great role in spreading the gospel all over the world, once they come to know this gospel, I am sure that this gospel will be spread all over the whole world even more quickly.
The Lord said in today’s Scripture passage, “If these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” Given the fact even the stones are to praise Jesus, we cannot keep this gospel just for ourselves and sit idle. If we remain silent even though God has entrusted us with the gospel, no doubt someone else will preach this gospel. Someone else will preach to people all about how Jesus Christ came to this earth and saved us sinners through the water and the Spirit. Although Christianity has played such a role of propagating the gospel, it has been all dominated by legalism, dogmatism, and sectarianism. To this very day, Christians have been fighting each other over denominational differences. It’s only now that the true gospel is being spread.
Some people may then say, “Does this then mean that the gospel was not preached at all for 1,900 years?” Yes. Until now, the gospel had not been preached in this world, at least not the true gospel. Even since religious freedom was allowed in Rome in 313 A.D., Christianity has gone completely astray from the true gospel of the water and the Spirit. As a matter of fact, the true gospel of the water and the Spirit began to fade away from the age of the Early Church Fathers who lived in the late 1st century and early 2nd century. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that there was no true gospel for almost 1,900 years since then.
Indeed, the gospel had been asleep for 1,900 years. If the true gospel was preached and people believed in this gospel, why would this world be so dismal? Do you think to yourself, “It doesn’t matter; I am still sinful even if I believe in Jesus, and I am still suffering despite believing”? Do you regret that you believed in the gospel? Do you have sin even though you believe in the gospel? Are you unable to understand the gospel of the water and the Spirit even as you believe in it? No, that is not the case. The true gospel has finally come to us. Before that, there was no true gospel in this world.
As the true gospel has now arisen, we are spreading this gospel, and God is so rejoiced to this. Indeed, the Lord brings far greater harvest than what we have labored for. Think about it. Is there anyone preaching the gospel to over 200 foreigners a day? Actually, that figure understates the real number, as the number has been steadily increasing recently (Editor’s note: We have over 10,000 visitors to our web site every day as of February, 2007.) Moreover, if we take into account the fact that some of our readers also spread the gospel to others, it would mean that the gospel is preached to about 300 people a day. This would then mean that around 9,000 people hear about the gospel in a month. In other words, nearly 10,000 people are coming across the true gospel we are preaching now. This is an amazing feat.
As the gospel has arisen in this age, we are spreading this gospel, and the Lord said to you and me, who sowed the seed of the Word, not to despair. He told us that we would harvest for sure in due time. Of course, if a farmer sows the seed but there is no sprout, he will be disappointed. The farmer will be greatly disappointed if there is no sprout even after working hard to plow the field and sow the seed. The same is true when it comes to preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It’s true that we find it hard and toilsome to preach the gospel when the sprouts don’t come out all at once. However, if we give some more time instead of being so impatient, wouldn’t the sprout come out sooner or later, since the seed has been sowed? Once we sow the seed, it is bound to sprout eventually. With some rain it will sprout for sure. So as those preaching the gospel, you and I may struggle, but we should never despair.
There is a Japanese pastor named Tanaka, who has received the remission of sins from reading our books. He now wants to see us. Although I haven’t decided whether to see him or not, if I do see him, and he is someone who can gather together many people, I plan to ask him to join us in our ministry. Such thoughts make me energized and rejoiced. I’ll be really happy if I am invited to preach the gospel overseas.
There are few big churches in Japan. But there is one denomination that has a lot of members, and it is the Full Gospel Church, which made its way to Japan from Korea. The Full Gospel Church is extremely boisterous. Its members make a big fuss about speaking in tongues and they clap their hands even in worship services. They always make a great commotion, saying, “The Holy Spirit is entering through the left door! Today, God has healed this tuberculosis patient! Let’s all stand up and clap! Now, God wants to heal your heart disease and cancer. Believe that He is healing now, and you will be healed for sure!” People then stand up everywhere and cry out, saying that they’ve been healed from their heart disease and cancer.
My fellow believers, remember this: God never works in such a place. A while ago, we received a letter from brother Rajiv in India. In the letter he told us how he preached the gospel of the water and the Spirit there, and how quiet and peaceful the worship service was. My fellow believers, God never works in a place where people are incited to be full of emotion in a whirlpool of commotion.
Think about it. When the Word of Truth is not even preached, does God start working in your life just because some pastor blesses you? No, it’s nothing more than a show. They gather some beggars and homeless people and pay them money to do their bidding. There is a Korean movie called “Hallelujah”; maybe some of you have seen this movie. This movie exposed the reality of Korean churches. Based on a true story, it is a satire of the Full Gospel Church. A while ago, the Full Gospel Church asked someone to say that she had died but was raised back to life. She testified so, and it made a great sensation in the Christian community in Korea. But the woman denied her testimony later on, saying that she couldn’t make such a false claim anymore, and it causes a great deal of controversy.
What else happened? An elder dying from cancer heard how Rev. David Yonggi Cho at the Full Gospel Church had the gift of healing, and so he went to see him and asked him, “Please lay your hands on me and heal me from my cancer.” What do you suppose happened then? Pastor Cho said to him, “I’ll lay my hands on you if you give me half your possessions.” How can such a man be a pastor? Yet this elder, though he must have been shocked to hear this, still wanted to live, and so he clung to Pastor Cho and offered him a third of his possessions. So Pastor Cho laid his hands on him, but what happened to this elder? He died anyway. Yet after his death, Pastor Cho went to his home and demanded money, saying, “Why don’t you live up your promise?” At the time, this elder had attended Yongnak Church, one of the biggest Presbyterian churches in Korea. I don’t’ recall exactly who was its senior pastor then, but anyway, this pastor got into a heated argument with Pastor Cho and threatened to sue him, saying to him, “How can you call yourself a servant of God and demand half the possessions of the deceased just because you laid your hands on him once?” There was a great deal of commotion over the whole issue.
Such people are complete frauds. Should we squeeze out money in such a fraudulent way? It’s actually not that hard. Imagine our young sisters lining up here in miniskirts. And then imagine a band playing music. People would then be enchanted to see pretty young women singing, and they will join in the praise and pray as well. After shouting out hallelujahs and making the congregation pray aloud, I would then pass around a collection plate, and the congregation would put in their watches and necklaces and empty out their pockets. There is no one who can resist this once the whole group is hypnotized. Even the most hard-grained person is bound to cough up all his money. This is the very scheme favored by charlatans. My fellow believers, it is purely by the Word of God that we are born again; there can be no soul that is truly born again in such a fraudulent way.
I’ve said many different things in my sermon, but they are all what I have heard or experienced, and so I ask you to let them to be a good lesson to you. Our Lord said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). Our Lord works with His Word; He never works in any place where His Word is not found.
In another episode, I once came across a poster advertising about an elder from India who had come to Korea to hold a revival meeting, and it was written in the poster that a short-legged person would turn long-legged if the person receives the laying on of hands from this elder. Are human legs some sort of rubber strings that they can be stretched out with the laying on of hands? No, of course not!
The disciples of Jesus once saw a man who was blind from birth, and they asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus then answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him” (John 9:3). When Lazarus of Bethany was sick, Jesus said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4). Indeed, that we were born as sinners is to reveal the glory of God, and whatever problems we may be facing are also for the glory of God. But for this glory of God to be manifested, we must believe in the Word of the Lord first. Such problems are not allowed just to glorify some charlatans pretending to be religious leaders. In other words, far from being deceived by such imposters, we must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit clearly and be born again.
I, too, had experienced many carnal visions and miracles. Have you ever received the so-called “fire of the Spirit”? I had received such scorching fire before. There probably are some people here who’ve had a similar experience. Let me take a moment to tell you about my experience. One day, before I was born again of water and the Spirit, all of a sudden I felt a fire burning in my chest and spreading down as though paper was being burnt. When it reached the bottom, it was too hot. I had athlete’s foot and the fire devoured the infection. I was able to quit smoking, something that I couldn’t do before, I felt energized, my heart was overflowing with joy and happiness, and whenever I saw anyone poor, sick, or demon-possessed, I felt an urge to lay my hands on him. And when I did lay my hands on them, wondrous things did happen.
But do you suppose that this was really a gift of the Lord? No, it was the work of the Devil. The Devil is able to make people believe in Jesus, to do wonders, and to even play the role of a false prophet. However, the Devil prevents people from knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and he makes it impossible for them to discover the righteousness of God that the Bible speaks of. So even as these people believe in Jesus, they can never receive the remission of sins.
As God loves us, He has made sure that we would not be deceived by the Devil, and to this end He has given us the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As such, all of us should be truly grateful for this and spread the gospel as soon and as far as possible. This year, we finished translating the book on Revelation and we are now revising another volume on the Apostles’ Creed. Volume-wise, we are already working on the third title. It’s September now, and we have done this much in this year. Just a while ago I was working on proofreading after the morning worship service, and I wondered to myself, “I am so tired of this. I wish there was some way to speed up the work.” But there was so much to be corrected. God can do everything just by uttering His Word. When He commanded to let there be sun, it came into being, and when He commanded to let there be the greater light and the lesser light, they came into being. How wonderful would it be if, like God, everything would be done just by saying one phrase, “Let there be”? How marvelous would it be if all the sentences are proofread when I say, “Let there be corrections”? Is there anyone among you who has this power? But even if I had received such power from God, and all the work is completed just by saying, “Let the manuscript be proofread,” it would not be personally fulfilling to me. We have to do the work of God within the ability that the Lord has given. Just like the interior of Solomon’s couch was done with love of the daughters of Jerusalem (Songs of Solomon 3:10), the work of God can be completed only by our faithful labor. Although this work may seem slow to us, in God’s sight, much progress has been made. Our website is a good example; we recently began updating the site, and it’s already 90 percent complete.
My fellow believers, the world economy is already at the verge of collapse. The oil crisis will drive the whole global economy to its knees. Advanced countries will be damaged more severely. Although our country, South Korea, is said to be prospering, in reality, its economic conditions are very fragile. However, even if such things occur, I am sure that God will bless His Church so that we may continue to work with the God-given resources.
We should do the work of the gospel now, while there still are peace and tranquility. If we really are God’s servants, and if you really have such faith, it would be only natural for us to desire to quench God’s thirst. In other words, rather than causing trouble to God and making Him grieve, we would all want to work even more diligently than now to quench His heart’s thirst, and if there anything that God wants, we would all want to do His bidding.
We have plans to spread the first English title all around the world within this year, and by no later than next year. As you know, the first English volume is titled, Have You Truly Been Born Again of Water and the Spirit? We will translate this book into every language possible. I hope that with the publication of these different translations, the gospel of the water and the Spirit will be spread all over the world. I also know that next year, we will be able to achieve far more than this year, by a hundred- and a thousand-fold. I am sure that our ministry will grow even more in the future. The day will come when we say, “Wow, so many books have been shipped! It’s costing too much to provide paper back books; we should substitute e-books for paper back books entirely.” It’s my sincerest desire to spread the gospel as soon and as far as possible. You have the same desire also, right?
Since we are all colts, we might as well become such colts that quench God’s thirst. Let us not become wretched colts that are bound by people and the world, living without any hope and completely ignorant of the work of the Lord. The Lord said to His disciples to loosen the tied colt and bring it to Him. And He personally rode on its back. What does this imply, my fellow believers? It means that if we are bound by the world and tied to people, that is, unless we are set free by faith when God demands us to be free, we cannot be used by the Lord. If you really are God’s worker, if you really believe that His gospel is the Truth, and if your heart is stirred up by the Holy Spirit to desire to serve the gospel of the Lord, then you must set yourself free from the ties that bind you no matter what they may be. You must be completely freed from them. Only then can you be used by God for His work. Remember this. Jesus cannot ride any colt that’s tied down to someone else even if He wants to.
You and I must devote all our lives to Christ. Do you grasp this, sister Jinsook? Why are you so sully? Did you not have dinner? Are you tired of my sermon? I am just about done, and so you can smile now. Lately my sermons have never gone beyond 9 PM. But if you keep getting tired, then I might preach until 9:30 PM. In the past, some of my sermons used to last from 7 to 11 PM. In those days our saints got so exhausted that they all went to the toddler’s room and even lay down there. I am not kidding you. There were times when Evangelist Jungsoon Lee, who is now in Wonju, and brother Sungjin Yoo got so exhausted from listening to my sermon that they had to lie down in the baby quarter. Even very composed people usually got wiped out by the end of my sermon. Everyone got exhausted when I preached for three hours, repeating the same thing over and over.
But nowadays, it seems as though everyone knows what my sermon is going to be about just by reading the main Scripture passage. At the first sign of boredom, some people even close their eyes and fall asleep right away. Just by reading the main Scripture passage, people know all about what I would preach for the day. But what is the actual reality? The Word of God is such that even though you may know it, it is brought to life in your heart when you hear it again. The Word is brought to new life in your heart. If you are tired of the story of the colt, then I might tell you about the story of the crying stones. With these crying stones alone, I could preach for more than a hundred hours. In the Bible, a stone often implies faith. This then means that we are all these stones that shout out the glory of the Lord.
Anyways, I wish the gospel of the water and the Spirit would be spread as soon as possible. I hope it will explode like a volcano. I am sure that this day will come. Since we have sown the seed, I am confident that sooner or later, sprouts will come out and fruit will be born. This coming week, we’ll be holding a revival meeting starting on Wednesday, and I’ll preach about the Book of Revelation. I ask all of you to attend the revival meeting, listen to the Word of God, and obtain the godliness of your heart. Knowledge, the truth, and the heart are all connected. Just as the Lord said, “Faith comes from hearing,” faith does indeed spring forth when you listen to the Word.
It is my sincerest hope and prayer before the Lord that the gospel of the water and the Spirit would be spread all across the whole world as soon as possible, and that you and I would become such people who quench God’s thirst. Do you also want this to happen? I believe that God will work to ensure this. Before closing, let us pray to God once more and sing praises to Him. Thank you.
This sermon is also available in ebook format. Click on the book cover below.
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