Today I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “The Echo.” People who went to elementary school in mountain villages know what an echo is. When you go up to a high mountain and shout “hooray,” that sound comes back to you as your echo. It was great fun for us to shout, “hooray,” whenever we went to school, we always shouted it until we had a hoarse throat. Similarly, the law of an echo applies in interpersonal relationships. If you do evil deeds and say mean things about others, results come back to you like an echo. Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” You reap what you sow when it comes to your relationships with God and people. Whatever you said before God comes back to your life like an echo. Numbers 14:27-28 says, “Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times- not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” If people keep on complaining and murmuring against God, how could they deal with God’s punishment later in their lives? God is slow to anger, but He will punish them for their sin. People should not not take serious that God will punish them because the punishment does not fall upon them immediately. Whatever you sow you will reap later. Likewise, God will punish you for your sin. Numbers 14:27-28 says, “"How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say.” Ecclesiastes 5:2 says, “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.” Whatever we say before God should be followed. The Bible says, “Give, and it will be given to you.” Whether it be individuals or a country, they will reap what they sow. Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.” When God blesses us, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into our laps. It is the same with His punishment. Once, Jesus observed that the crowd following Him was starving and He fed thousands with a great miracle. We must remember one thing concerning this incident that before Jesus’ miracle one boy sacrificed his own lunch for the crowd and gave it to Him. When five loaves of barley bread and two small fish were given to the Lord, there was a huge miracle to feed more than thousands of people. When we willingly give something to God first, He will gladly receive it and a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be given into our laps. Why don’t you try to echo about yourself? When you put negative words into your thinking saying, “I am unhappy. I am poor. I am depressed,” those words will return to you. Therefore, mouth confession can lead us to success or alternatively to despair and discouragement. Proverbs 4:24 says, “Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” In the past, people were very careful in what they said. Proverbs 18:20-21 says, “From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 6:2 says, “If you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth.” Our spoken words have great influence on our daily lives. The law of echo will bring either huge transformation or despair and discouragement. Echo will be delivered to our neighbors. Current businessmen interact with people through words and sometimes, spoken words determine success and failure of their business. Today, many words keep being exchanged twenty four hours a day through mass media such as radio and television and these influence people. Ecclesiastes 10:20 says, “Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.” Proverbs 25:11 says, “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Our thinking will show what we will experience in our future and our mouth confession will ensnare us. “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” How difficult our relationships are! Nowadays job-hunting seems to be almost impossible. However, to persevere at work is even harder than to get a good job. Statistically one in four office workers submit their resignation within a year. How could they leave the job at the company that seemed to be impossible to get? The primary cause of their resignation is a human relationship within the work place. In this way a human relationship is not an easy thing. Luke 6:31 says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” If we treat others with love and forgiveness, the echo of love and forgiveness will spread all around us to brighten up the atmosphere towards a happy life. In our daily lives we interact with other people through sowing and reaping words and love. The first king of Israel, Saul, tried to kill David out of jealousy and envy whenever opportunity offered. However, David did not kill Saul even though he had him in his hand to kill. When David fled from Absalom, he was weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. Shimei, a man from the same clan as Saul's family came out from there. He was cursing David as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. But David did not kill him. Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Let me go over and cut off his head." David did not allow them to kill Shimei, but said, “Don’t use the sword, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. If I endure his curse and abuse, God will listen to it and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today.” Therefore, he stopped his soldiers from cutting off Shimei’s head. Romans 12:17-19 says, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” When we say good words to our neighbors, even if they do not return good things to us, we must keep doing good to them. Then our God who knows everything will repay accordingly. God so loved us that He gave up His one and only Son for us. Jesus fell to the ground as a kernel of wheat to save humans. Then what shall we return for God’s grace and love? As He gives us enormous love, we must repay Him with the echo of thanksgiving and praises. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” God wants that thanksgiving and praises will always echo in your life. We are strongly influenced by the atmosphere of the world around us. Thinking will make your future. We are always thinking something important to us. That thinking will lead us to our future. Therefore, we should not have negative thinking at anytime. When we think positive, active, and creative thoughts with thanksgiving, saying, “I can make it. It will be done. Let us do it now!” that thinking will make our future positive! When we pray with a God-given dream in our hearts, that prayer will surely be answered! As we well know, Abraham prayed for his son for ten years without having a specific dream in his heart, but he did not receive an answer from God. However, God taught him how to pray. “First dream of your son in your heart and pray accordingly.” Then Abraham began to pray for his son with a clear dream in his heart and looked at the stars in the sky and had a great vision of his son through them and kept praying. As a result, he received Isaac as a gift from God. When we pray while dreaming what we want to be fulfilled already, God will answer more quickly. Nowadays I pray for one thing before God. I always say while praying, “Yonggi Cho! Oh God, Yonggi Cho still has a dream in his heart. Please answer this dream so I will dream another new dream for your glory! Lord, please accept this dream!” Then I feel good and I believe that I will give a testimony about this answered dream in the next worship service. Of the most important things in our life is dream and faith. We should look at God-given dreams and pray while believing that it will be fulfilled. Then our dream and faith will be added to create mighty power! We will have strength and power. With that dream and faith we can bless ourselves. “Everything will be okay. Don’t worry. Don’t struggle hard! God will help you!” We can encourage and value ourselves and it will be a wonderful prayer. We should not give up. The devil comes to rob, kill and destroy us, but we must cast him out, saying, “You enemy devil! In the name of Jesus I command you! ‘Stop harassing me and go away!’ Oh, God, I believe that it will be done! Something good is going to happen to me. I will rejoice. People around me will be glad.” It is a wonderful thing to bless oneself. We think that we should work harder to accomplish things, but it is not true. God always wants to answer according to Luke 6:38 which says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." God wants to answer our prayer according to these Scripture verses. However, when we separate ourselves from God through negative thinking, God can’t help us. When the Israelites were led by Moses out of Egypt, they kept complaining and grumbling against God. Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. Only then the Israelites began repenting of their evil deeds. God said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." Therefore, whoever looked at the bronze snake could survive. On the contrary, those who refused to look at it, mocking it saying, “What a foolish thing it is! Mind your own business!” all died right there. This is so terrible. Children have inestimable worth and dignity?not for what they produce or accomplish, but for who they are as God’s own handiwork. ? Solid Answers to have positive thinking. However, our positive thinking gives God an invitation to work for us. Next, anyone can dream! In other words, we dream a specific dream and pray to God to fulfill it for us. “God, please make Yonggi Cho’s dream come true. When you accomplish my dream, I can dream another bigger dream for your glory!” Why don’t you do it too? And say aloud, “I believe!” You can have faith with your dream. Faith is to believe things that are not as though they were. You must see, say, and proclaim the things that are not as though they were. Then your dream and faith will be united to create unimaginable miracles! Whatever we say will be returned to us like a Boomerang. It will echo to us. Therefore, when we rejoice and pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances, God’s goodness will follow us wherever and whenever. Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross to save us by being torn in His flesh and shedding His blood. We must keep reminding ourselves of this truth and dream and rejoice over it. Then God will give us His overflowing grace. We must confess with our mouths to God, “I am forgiven my sins and transgressions by the blood on the cross. My sins are forgiven and my transgressions are also forgiven. By His stripes I am healed from my disease. By the Lord’s crucifixion on the cross my curses, all poverty and curses are gone and I am blessed by Christ’s richness instead. Jesus died to settle my death and was resurrected so I will be resurrected in Jesus and will live with Him in eternal heaven.” Whenever you confess the Fivefold Gospel and the Threefold Blessing with your mouth, you are ready to be blessed by God’s mighty blessing. Then dream and believe and write down your dream in a notebook. Always confess your faith with your mouth and live an active life of faith. Christianity is not a religion. It does not tell you to do this or that, but we are wholly changed by dream and faith in Christ. My individual life is changed and my concerns and my deeds are also changed. Furthermore, we are living our lives with God. We should not live a lonely life. God is living our lives together with us. We are sharing the glory of the world with God.