ដោយសារការរាតត្បាតនៃជម្ងឺកូវីឌ១៩ និងការរំខានដល់សេវាកម្មប្រៃសណីយអន្តរជាតិ
យើងបានផ្អាកជាបណ្តោះអាសន្ននូវ "សេវាកម្មសៀវភៅបោះពុម្ពដោយឥតគិតថ្លៃ" របស់យើង។
នៅក្នុងស្ថានភាពបែបនេះ យើងមិនអាចផ្ញើសៀវភៅទៅកាន់លោកអ្នកបានឡើយ។
សូមអធិស្ឋានសម្រាប់ការរលាយបាត់យ៉ាងឆាប់រហ័សនូវជម្ងឺរាតត្បាតនេះ និងការដំណើរការឡើងវិញនូវសេវាកម្មប្រៃសណីយ។
សូមអធិស្ឋានសម្រាប់ការរលាយបាត់យ៉ាងឆាប់រហ័សនូវជម្ងឺរាតត្បាតនេះ និងការដំណើរការឡើងវិញនូវសេវាកម្មប្រៃសណីយ។
Subject 13 : The Gospel According to MATTHEW
[Chapter 21-3] You Shall Say, “The Lord Has Need of Them” (Matthew 21:1-14)
(Matthew 21:1-14)
“Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.’ All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’’
So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!
Hosanna in the highest!’
And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, ‘Who is this?’ So the multitudes said, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.’ Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, ‘It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’’ Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.”
In today’s Scripture passage, it is written, “Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them”” (Matthew 21:1-3). This Scripture passage describes the event that had occurred when Jesus had arrived at a village called, Bethphage prior to His entering of Jerusalem. Jesus said to the disciples, “Go into the village opposite you. You will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.” Truly, our Lord is the Master. One day when Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him (Mark 1:16-18). With those simple words spoken by Jesus, Peter and Andrew started following Him.
This time, Jesus said to the disciples, “Go to a village called, Bethphage, loose the tied-up donkey along with her colt, and bring them to Me.” Jesus told them to go to the village opposite them and bring the donkey and her colt to Him. Still, Jesus’ disciples were people with common sense, so they must have come across the thought, “Oh my world, He is telling us to loose someone else’s donkey and bring it to Him without permission? What would that person say if we were to get caught? Wouldn’t the person say that we are robbers? If so, what should we do?”
So, they asked Jesus, “What shall we do if someone says something?”
Then, the Lord said, “Say that the Lord has need of them.”
“What shall we do if someone still criticizes us?”
“Say that the Lord has need of them.”
Dear fellow believers, is our Lord the King, or is He not? The Lord is the Creator and the King. What can the created say when the Creator says He has need of them? Wouldn’t it be that the created will have nothing to say? Jesus’ answer is of clear-cut and tremendous Words.
Sometimes, we get to thinking that the Lord says things that are just too preposterous. The Lord selects brothers and sisters from His Church, saying, “The Lord has need of you. Come.” What is that? Our Lord said that He has need of a donkey, but does the Lord have need of a donkey? Donkeys are unbelievably stubborn. A donkey is an animal that goes that way when told to go this way and goes this way when told to go that way. A donkey does not even listen to what the master says.
Yet, the fact is that the Lord was in need of a donkey, and if the Lord says He has need of something, then He will make use of it anyway. We must understand that if the Lord tells us to bring the donkey, this means that He has already made it possible to be used. Dear fellow believers, how will the Lord use the donkey? Because donkeys inherit their parent’s temper and habit, fundamentally from birth, they are obstinate, very stubborn, stiff-necked, wild, and prone to kicking with their heels. So, how could the Lord have need of something like this? In order to use this donkey, He has to instill soft heart inside the donkey’s heart. Only by instilling a soft heart, the donkey starts to obey well, with its stubborn heart gone and the resistant habit thrown away. When the Lord says He would like to use it, it means that He will use it by taming it first. We are fundamentally stubborn and wicked. We have the habit of doing things according to our own stubborn will. Even though the Lord has saved us who are like that, we cannot be of use to the Lord in our own fundamental nature as it is.
Many people get called before the Lord. Certain people claim they have been called by the Lord and are being used by the Him after having heard the voice of the Lord saying, “You, so and so. I have need of you. You are my servant,” as they prayed to the Lord. However, even though the donkey, when it gets used, makes up its heart to follow the Lord, but what happens when it is about to be used? When it actually gets used, its true nature comes out and hardly does it get broken. It goes forth as the donkey that it is, stiff, disobedient, and stubborn. Many people claim to be in service of the Lord all the while being like that. They are self-styled servants.
Having need of us, the Lord calls upon us, we who are like donkeys. But, what I am saying to you is that how can the Lord use us, we who are like donkeys. As we have read in today’s Scripture, when Jesus was entering the city of Jerusalem, He was riding a donkey. When Jesus was entering the city of Jerusalem riding the donkey, there was a big commotion of people on both sides crying out “Hosanna.” At that moment, do you think the donkey got startled or not? With the loud sound of praise, the donkey could have jumped up and down kicking with its heels for having been startled. Do you think Jesus could have ridden a donkey that was jumping up and down like that? Even if He were to have ridden it by force, He would have fallen down and had to go to a hospital. Jesus cannot ride a donkey that jumps rampantly like a wild horse. However, our Lord rode into the city of Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. Our Lord had removed all the wicked and resistant habit of the donkey.
How can a donkey just carry the Lord obediently? Donkey’s wicked nature, hind kicks and all things like that are wrong-doings before the Lord. But, the Lord took on even those sins. It is written, “But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem” (Exodus 13:13). Even those sins of the donkey being defiant, stiff-necked, and having the attitude of ‘I will not do it,’ were also redeemed by our Lord as Him becoming the Lamb of sacrifice.
Because of such sins, the donkey had to be cursed and put to death, but by killing a gentle, obedient, and innocent lamb in place of the donkey, the fact of the matter is that the donkey was saved through the redemption of its sins. As this donkey carried the Lord, it could have wanted to make kicks with its heels at times. And at times, it might not have wanted to listen to the Lord. However, because the Lord had taken on all such sins, it was thankful for that, and because a gentle heart, unlike the previous, was in its heart, the donkey was able to suppress its sinful heart.
A donkey may go so far as carrying a load, but it really hates carrying a person. But, because it had received the remission of sins by Jesus Christ, it was so happy to be carrying Jesus Christ. So much so that as it was entering the city of Jerusalem carrying Jesus on its back, it was so happy to see people crying out Hosanna, and thus, the donkey enter the city of Jerusalem with a big smile on its face. Our Lord has changed us like so. We cannot imagine how much our Lord has changed us. By redeeming all our wicked nature, all the evils of habitual disobedience to the Lord, and the disposition to commit sins like the donkey, as the sacrificial Lamb, the Lord has changed everything about us. Dear fellow believers, do you believe in this truth? I am sure you do. Because our Lord has changed all those who had met Him, unlike before, we have inside us the heart of such great thankfulness.
In the past, it was difficult for us to follow the Lord, and it even brings about rejection symptoms. But, because the Lord has redeemed all such sins, evil, and wickedness, it has become joyful to carry the Lord on the back and to serve Him. Now, it has completely changed. Now, the happiness of serving the Lord and living according to His will has become greater and more beautiful than the joy that comes from the world, and thus, we are now willing to serve the Lord voluntarily.
We are now no longer us of the past. Our life’s purpose has also changed. After having received the remission of sins, we still have wicked heart, thoughts of our own, and self-convictions, but there has been a great change in the way we had lived in the past prior to having met the Lord. Our value system, way of thinking and habits are different from those of the past. For all the aspects of things have changed, we must throw away our own ways of the past.
After being born again, at first, we get to think, “This is a bit strange. I don’t think I can follow the Lord to the end,” as we follow the Lord. However, that is not the case. As Satan the devil cannot deceive us again, we our selves have in fact already become a new creation and a child of God. It is just because we haven’t been able to realize everyday the fact that there is the Holy Spirit in our hearts, the fact that our hearts have turned gentle and that our purpose and nature have changed. In actuality, everything has changed completely for us. It is just because we do not know that fact very well. What we had liked in the world has already become loathsome to us.
Things of the world we had liked may seem good for a moment, but we quickly discover that they are not beneficial for our spirits. It is because the Holy Spirit now resides in us and because we have the gentle and proper heart that loves the Lord inside of us. We must become self-conscious of the fact that gentle heart, not the wicked one that opposes the will of the Lord, is inside of us. Clearly, we do possess such heart now. It is only because we are not yet mature in our faith, but the fact of the matter is that there clearly are such aspects in the heart of the born-again.
When the Lord had said He was going to use us, the donkey-like beings, He was speaking with the premise of Him personally changing our hearts completely. Prior to being born again, things of the world that we could see were everything to us. But now, we have come to realize that we cannot attain satisfaction from things of the world. It is because we have now become a donkey that enjoys accompanying the Lord more that carrying around any sort of load of the world. Even after having received the remission of sins, when we are still too young, we say in words that the world doesn’t give us the satisfaction, but the fact is that we have too much desire to get carried away by the world. That is our situation.
However, the heart deep within us is something all so different. Our hearts and thoughts desire to live according to the will of the Lord. Clearly, so long as there is just someone to lead us, we have the desire to live according to the righteous way led by that someone. This is the new heart of someone who has been born again of water and the Spirit. God has poured us with the Spirit that allows us to become children of God. For God has poured on us the Spirit that enables us to be the adopted children of God, the Holy Spirit came to be residing in our hearts.
In the hearts of those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit by which Jesus has blotted out all the sins, there is no sin, and because there resides the Holy Spirit, they now have the desire to obey, to submit, and to follow the will of the Father. Inside the hearts of the saints, there are the desire to assist the will of God to be realized and the desire to offer, though not much, one’s own small strength if it should help in realizing that will.
How much did our nature, in itself, change after having received the salvation? At times, some people give up serving the Lord after having looked at themselves, but the Lord, instead of discarding the donkey midway, continued to ride it. Even though we may continue to be lacking, I hope for you and me to realize in our hearts the fact that our Lord went on riding the donkey by making it change. There are times when we despair and want to distance ourselves from the Lord. So much so that we just want to run away and veer toward sideways when a certain thing should go wrong.
But, no single person in God’s Church will cast you away by pointing out your lacking as a problem. God’s Church points out all your wickedness when it is revealed, but instead of condemning you, God’s Church teaches you to praise the Lord who has taken on even the wrongdoing by the water, the blood, and the Spirit. Please do not think that God’s Church won’t be able to take in your mistakes, insufficiencies, and weakness. When you lower your hearts, acknowledge your mistakes willingly, and come before the Lord asking for His help, the Lord will still use you as a precious vessel for His work.
Therefore, for someone to say, “I cannot go to God’s Church because I am lacking,” is not because God’s Church has scruples about the person. Rather, the person cannot come to the Church only due to the fact that the person is tied up in one’s own thoughts. Who inside this Church can condemn you? Jesus Christ has blotted out all the sin of the world by the water and the blood, yet how can there be someone who can condemn? Jesus Himself didn’t condemn even the woman who was caught in adultery, saying, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you” (John 8:10-11). Why did He say so? He did because He had taken all the sins of the world including the very sin of her by being baptized in the Jordan River. Please confirm the fact that Jesus has taken away all sins. Just as Jesus has washed Peter’s feet, when you confirm once more the fact that Jesus has also taken on the sins that you will be committing, your spirits get recovered and with the new heart, you get to serve and to accompany the Lord. This is to ruminate the gospel on a daily basis, and through this rumination, your souls get revived again.
Will God forsake a person because of his or her, habits of the flesh, weakness, wickedness, and filth? That is not so. Our Lord has said that He has need of the donkey. The Lord uses us, we who are like a donkey. Getting used before the Lord, you have turned into donkeys that are easy for the Lord to use. We must be thankful of the fact that the Lord has changed everything about us. Dear fellow believers, you have truly changed much, right? Have you or have you not? Yes, we have. Even though there are things that we like in the world, surely, you realize that those things cannot be everything to you, right? This is what that has changed. Isn’t this something so wonderful? Our value system which has ruled over us for a long time has changed.
The fact that the heart has changed is the very proof that our sense of value has changed. When we look at a person who gets respect from the world as a great person, if it is the case that the person is someone who have not received the remission of sins, we see that person as someone one step below us. It isn’t because we have disregard for that person or any thing, but rather, it is because that person has not yet received God’s grace that enables the person to be perfect. In contrast to that person, you and I have become children of the Lord who are perfect because of Him. I give thanks to the Lord who uses us by having changed us according to His will.
I will read the Gospel of Matthew chapter 21 verse 5. “Tell the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.”” Dear fellow believers, how could our Lord possibly ride on a donkey? The fact is that a white horse would not be fitting for Him to ride on. Riding on an angel would not be fitting for Him, and He has the power to ride the cloud like the Monkey King of Chinese legend. And even though riding about on a carriage pulled by one thousand white stallions would not be enough to display His majesty, the Lord willingly rode on the back of a donkey, much less a horse drawn carriage, not minding the back of a disobedient and stubborn donkey.
The Lord is so humble as to work together with us who are like donkeys. The Lord is so very humble and gentle. Otherwise, how could the Lord possibly be working with human beings like us? Isn’t that so? Pondering only about the fact that the Lord has need of us, we are able to realize that the Lord is someone who is very humble, full of benevolence. Before the Lord who is so benevolent, I would like for you to lay down your heavy burdens of the heart and ask Him for help.
Weight on the heart is heavier than weight on the flesh. A heart coming down with sickness is less healable than a flesh coming down with a sickness. The Bible says, “The spirit of man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?” (Proverbs 18:14) This is why I hope for all your sicknesses of the heart to be healed before all else. I hope for you to then feel light at heart. Then, you will give thanks to the Lord that He has carried away all your burdens and that He has need of you.
From today’s Scripture passages, let’s read verses 12-14. “Then Jesus went into the Temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, ‘It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves.’ Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.”
This happened after the Lord had entered the city of Jerusalem, and it shows what the people who have been saved will be doing in God’s Church. After having entered the city of Jerusalem, the Lord drove out all those who bought and sold in the Temple. As the Bible says He did so, we cannot but carefully examine this part. For a born-again to be reading the Bible with eyes that doubt the truthfulness of the Word is wrong, but it is right to make use of truth-seeking eyes to understand the spiritual messages of certain parts of the Word. The Lord overturned the tables of those were changing money in the Temple, and drove out all those who were buying and selling sacrificial animals there. Instead of just driving them out, the Lord overturned the tables spread out by the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
Don’t you think that our Lord has some great temper? Did you think that the Lord is someone who is only gentle and humble? The Lord doesn’t just let wrongful things go by, but instead, He overthrows them. Instead of just saying, “Go out. Do not do it,” He flares out temper saying, “You trash-like people! What is that?” Seeing someone who was selling doves in a cage, the Lord lifted the cage whole, which must have been pretty large and heavy, and tossed it away. It broke with clatter and thump. Do you think the doves flew away or not? All flew away. Not caring whether or not the doves would flap away with the breaking of dove cages, the Lord overturned them all. In the Gospel of John, it is said that the Lord, by having made a whip of cords, drove out oxen and sheep brought to the Temple to be sold.
Our Lord had carried out this work. The born-again can never do the work of pursuing personal benefit inside God’s Church. If one does the work of praising someone, the work in benefit of oneself, or the work buying and selling goods inside the Church, the person gets overturned by the Lord. Some preachers say, “Receive the fire, and receive the Holy Spirit,” in every revival meeting all the while receiving a lot of money as an honorarium after each of such meeting. Those kinds of behavior are so vulgar that I do not even want to speak of them. What do you think the Lord will do to such people? The Lord doesn’t leave people like that alone. He overturns them all.
In order for such things to never happen, a true church of God must never tolerate them. We cannot let a person who hasn’t been born again stand behind the pulpit and preach the Word just because the person is of good academic clique in a worldly sense, eloquent, diligent, and a graduate of a good divinity school. All these things just cannot be tolerated. What we must do is to point out correctly to the person by saying, “You are not a people of God.” But instead, if we were to listen to that person’s sermons, liking his or her outer appearance, it would be something so very stupid. Our Lord doesn’t just leave alone things like buying and selling goods, praising a human being, and pursuing money in His Church, but instead, He overturns them in a single stroke. We must realize clearly that our Lord does not tolerate such things.
When I see churches today, I feel pity. I wish there were some more churches of God in every city. I wish there were about five proper churches of God at least in Chun-cheon City where I live in. If that happens, this city of Chun-cheon will become a city that believes in the true gospel and thus, become truly blessed. The more the true churches of God arise, the better the world will change.
Becoming an elder by making lots of monetary donations is a phenomenon which has become all too common in today’s Christian communities. Regardless of who, if a person were to come to a church, offer the tithe well, attend worship services well, go to morning prayer services for a year perfect in attendance, and make lots of church donations, then that person would become an elder in no time. Even though those who haven’t been born again may do so, God’s Church, whose head is Jesus Christ, can never do so.
Recently, while our Church was holding a revival meeting, a certain man came by and acted so conceitedly with strength in his shoulders and saying, “I am an elder at the so and so church,” that it really was a spectacle. We send away such people quietly. We tell them, “If you really want to receive the remission of sins by listening to the Word carefully, then have a seat, but if you do not want to receive the remission of sins then, please leave quietly. If you want to have a long conversation over which denomination is right or wrong, let us meet and talk at a proper time when there is no gathering. I will treat you at that time. I will buy you dinner and all. But, please remember this one thing. If you wish to receive the remission of sins, wouldn’t you have to entirely lay down your position at your church, and listen to the Word with a humble heart? Do you have sins in your heart? Having sins, how can you be an elder? Having sins, how can one be a pastor? You are only a hireling. Such a sinner has to receive the salvation by listening to the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit and then believing in it.”
The Church must do those works that our Lord has done. In doing the work of the Lord, one must do it wisely, but when someone is truly wicked and do not listen to God’s servants, at times, we must overthrow that person. Despite having been wicked, if that someone were to recognize oneself as being so wicked, we must tolerate that person’s trespasses and teach that person the Word of God that would revive him or her.
In the Bible, it is said that the House of the Lord is a House of prayer. If so, who are those that can offer prayers in God’s Church? They are none other than those people who have received the remission of sins. It is never the case that the church of God exists for the benefit of a single human being. Therefore, in God’s Church, no single human being should ever be a king. We must listen to what the Lord is saying, and we must have only Him as the King inside our hearts. Only the righteous can offer prayers to God in His Church.
Once we come to realize the will of God through the Bible, all that we have to do is to boldly push ahead, there being no need to think any further. Even if the work seems impossible for us human beings, God’s Church pushes ahead with the task by faith. Here in the back center of the pulpit of our Church is an empty chair, but who must take this seat? The Lord has to take the seat. Because it is the throne of the King, a human being mustn’t sit here. A true Church is a place where people receive the remission of sin from the Lord, seek and practice the will of the Lord before Him, and work for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. God’s Church is none other than a place where people of God gather together and lead their lives. Spiritually speaking, it is Jerusalem, the “city of peace.” The Lord had carried out such work in Jerusalem.
Wouldn’t some people, upon coming to the Church of the Lord and seeing that the Church is not treating them highly, say, “How is it that they treat me so ill in manner?” There are times when the Lord treats people roughly. Toward those who are arrogant in spirit, the Lord does so. Those who conjure up a holy voice and say, “Oh God, He who is holy and merciful, I pray to Thee,” despite their hearts being full of sins, such people are hypocrites who are like whitewashed tombs. The Lord doesn’t just leave such people alone, but instead, He cut them down in His time. Even though they are not people of God, they are so proficient in imitating the servants of God. The Lord will not leave such people alone, but rather, rebuke them harshly. The disciples of the Lord can also do the same thing to such people. Instead of managing the Church with human ethics, God’s Church must see what the Lord has done and then move forth by uniting hearts in that.
One mustn’t evaluate the Church with the standard of human ethics. If one were to evaluate God’s Church with human ethics and moral standards, only feelings discontent will mount, and the Church will only seem as though there is something wrong. If one were to see through glasses of courtesy, one would start judging things of the Church, saying, “That should not be like that, and this should not be like this.” Those who have only recently been born again have difficulty in adapting themselves to the new environment, that is, the Church-centered culture, for they have lived their entire life up until then only wearing the glasses of etiquette and what that is ethical. When they come inside the Church, they are unable to adjust at first because they have been living wearing glasses of do’s and don’ts, that is, the glasses of the Law, only.
However, we must think about “What did the Lord say? What kind of work did the Lord do inside the Temple?” The Lord had removed the wickedness, that is, people’s seeking of benefit for their own flesh. Then, God’s Church must also remove the part about people seeking benefit for themselves. It is because the Lord must first become the King for all of us who are the righteous and because the Lord must be lifted high up before all else. We must go on living having received King’s grace by offering prayers seeking salvation before the Lord, the King of all kings.
We must abide by the values and order set by God, and so before all else, we must first love God. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 23, it is said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.” According to God’s Word, we must love God first and then love people. We must love God first, then respect the will of God, and then love people. That is the value system and the order that the Lord has set. Furthermore, we mustn’t lose that faith. In His Church, we must first follow and uphold the will of God, then tell the people of God about how to be in the grace of God and how to receive blessings, and then guide the people of God in a direction where they can receive the blessings.
If it is the case that we only care for the people and not God in His Church, we must realize the fact that caring for the people will in turn change into a curse. In truth, if we were to care only for the people, that in itself would be a curse. If one truly wants to be happy, then the person has to receive the blessing from God. To do so, one must first realize the will of God and then follow it by faith. With regard to that, we who have had faith in such a part ahead of others must guide the people of God so that they can follow in our steps. So that other saints can receive the blessing in their hearts, we must pray to God and ask for blessings for them.
When we do so, the fact of the matter is that our lives become lustrous. When the people of faith offer prayers for other souls, all the following generation will be blessed and God’s grace will be upon everything. When they vent out all the wishes of their hearts before God in times of hardship, the Lord hears their prayers and fills up all their needs. Therefore, the blessing of God comes down in abundance upon those who are together with God’s Church. We must never judge the work that the Church does from an ethical viewpoint. We must view it with faith. Also, we must bend our ears to what the Lord is saying.
Also, our Lord entered the city of Jerusalem, and then removed the impurities and healed the blind and the crippled coming forth to Jesus. Truly, the Lord had healed those who truly have the heart wanting to receive blessings from the Lord and to live according to the will of the Lord but cannot do so well. There are people who truly want to live according to the Lord’s will but cannot live accordingly because they do not know the way. We the righteous have the responsibility to straighten out the legs of those who limp spiritually. Because Jesus has healed us, we can also heal them. Correcting the mistaken faith of people, helping them to go before God properly, filling them when they lack, clothing them, praying for them, protecting them, saving them from destruction by counseling them when something goes wrong, and delivering them from the heretics—these are the works that we the righteous have to do. Just as Jesus had healed the blind and the lame, the Lord asks of us who are like donkeys loosened from a stake to carry out such work.
It is said, “The Lord has need of them,” but whom does the Lord have need of? Surely, He said that He has need of us. Also, what work does the Lord do? The Lord had completely purified the false faith and materialism that were prevalent inside the Temple of Jerusalem, and on the other hand, He had healed those inside the Temple who were lacking, that is, the blind and the lame. By carrying out the same work in our hearts also, the Lord has blotted out all the sins in our hearts and has allowed us to be perfect. And then, the Lord used us.
I hope for you to remember that the Lord used us for the work of spreading this gospel of the water and the Spirit to those who still haven’t received the remission of sins and are spiritually blind and lame seeking God and the Truth. If we get to understand it anew, as we go on serving the Lord, we will be able to serve the Lord properly and march forward by faith. I am sure that God’s working and power as well as God’s blessing will be upon all the work that God has entrusted us with.
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