Today I would like to share the grace of God under the title, "Hope in the Heart." The world is going through economic, military, and national difficulties. However, nobody can solve these problems. In today's world that gets dark every day, hope is what we need to solve those problems and troubles in the individual, in the home, and society. When those who have hope in their hearts gather together, all these problems will be solved. Who can give us this hope? It is Jesus Christ who gives us hope. When we pray to Jesus to give us hope, He says, "I will give you hope. It is because I am hope!" The Lord is our hope so we love and respect Him. Even if we have enough food to eat for tomorrow, we cannot expect tomorrow without having hopes and dreams in our hearts. Even if our reality may be dark, we can conquer darkness and make the world bright if there is hope. In a world filled with filth and darkness, when we pray to God for deliverance, He sent His Son Jesus as the light of the world to conquer darkness for us now. John 1:4 says, "In him was life, and that life was the light of men." This life is the light of men as people's spirits are dead in their hearts so when God comes to them, the spiritual lamp of their spirits will lighten again and the glory of God will manifest. So Jesus enters into human life as the light. 600 years before that time Isaiah predicted the coming of Jesus. Isaiah 9:2 says, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." Jesus came to earth as the light of life to those who are filled with darkness due to sins. The light should come to us so as not to fall but rather that we stand tall in darkness. The light is Jesus Christ Himself. Countless people are living without any dreams or hopes. They are struggling hard in the deep seas of despair. They always ask themselves, "Can I have hope in my life?" If they ask the Lord, "Lord, can I have hope?" He will answer, "Of course! I am your hope. I am the way, the truth and the life." How wonderful the news is! "Is there still hope?" "Of course, there is hope!" How brilliant those works of Jesus on the cross! Jesus who came to the earth which is filled with darkness as the light of the world lets us enter into the blessings of the Fivefold Gospel by dying on the cross. As Jesus was crucified and bled His precious blood, our ferocious sins are forgiven and we are recognized as righteous by the Lord. We have been forgiven and become righteous by the blood of Jesus, without any good deeds that we have done. Ephesians 1:7 says, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace." We are forgiven for eternity. Jesus also presides over the world of diseases through His pain. 1 Peter 2:24 says, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." By Jesus' wounds our diseases and sicknesses are healed. We must believe this. When we believe that by Jesus' wounds we are healed, His blood will be effective actually. Jesus also settled all the curses as He came to this poverty-stricken earth. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." People don't frankly interpret these biblical phrases, but just say that "you through his poverty might become rich" means our spiritual richness, not our physical richness. But it isn't true at all. Jesus came to the earth and carried all the years and heavy burdens that we had to be cursed, naked, and starved due to the sins of Adam and Eve and was crucified on the cross with them. By His crucifixion and His shed blood, our all poverty and curses were settled! Therefore, when we believe in Jesus, we are bound to prosper! Through Jesus' shed blood on the cross, not only our sins and sickness but also our material problems are also solved. ""For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." As we receive blessings and become rich, we must give thanks to God throughout our lives. Next, death. Jesus also solved the problem of death, which is the biggest despair in our lives. As I have ministered for 60 years, I have attended so many funerals and preached at them. Whenever I attended funerals, I have always felt indescribable sorrow and pain in my heart. Especially, whenever young people have died or a mother of little children died, my heart was distressed beyond description. However, no one can fix this death. There is only One who conquers this death in the world. It is Jesus! He is able to preside over death. Jesus went to a town called Nain and a dead person was being carried out--the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And she was crying loudly. Jesus said that they should stop there. And He touched the coffin and said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" Then the dead young man immediately got up! Next, Jesus loved Martha, her sister and Lazarus. Now Lazarus was sick and later died. Even though they sent for Jesus, it was too late. The Jew didn't bury dead people in the ground but placed them within a cave. They usually cut out of the rock and rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb. And there was a bad odor, for Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days." Everyone was in despair and his sisters thought, "Jesus really makes us feel sad.Ħħ Then Jesus went to Lazarus' tomb and told his sisters, "Take away the stone." "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? You should believe that your dead brother will live." If they believed Him, they would remove the stone; if not, they would not move it at all. Anyway, his sisters removed the stone to the entrance to the tomb. Those acts to open the gate to the tomb was faith itself. Faith is a vessel. A little vessel is a little faith while a big vessel is for big faith. Therefore, if you believe with a little faith, you cannot but experience a little miracle. But how great power faith has! A faith like a mustard seed can move the great mountain! From where does faith like a mustard seed come? Romans 10:17 says, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." When we read the Word of Jesus and listen to it and plant it in our hearts, we can have great faith that can move the great mountain. Therefore, when Jesus became so strict to revive Lazarus, his sisters could have a bigger faith than a mustard seed in their hearts. Then Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man Lazarus came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. When we read the Bible, we can't help but praise the working faith of Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus wants us to be filled with hope and joy. Even though the darkness of sins control the world, when we believe in Jesus as our Savior and invite Him into our lives, we will live a hopeful life. When we believe in Jesus, God transfers us from the dominion of darkness under the devil into the kingdom of the Son He loves. Colossians 1:13-14 says, "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." The Lord always works actually whatever He does. When we read the Word of God and believe it, He says, "It will be done according to your faith!" We are already transferred to His kingdom by believing in Him so we must fill our hearts with the Fivefold Gospel. What should we do after being saved by faith in Jesus? When we fill our hearts with the Fivefold Gospel, we will become magnificent. With the spirituality of the fourth dimension we preside over the Fivefold Gospel. Our environment can be controlled by our thoughts, dreams, faith, and confession of faith. We create and control through them. You know, what would our God say to us? "I have already given you enormous authority, but you don't use them well." He laments! In order for us to preside over our life and daily lives, we must know how to use the spirituality of the fourth dimension. To do that, first of all, we must plant the seed in the field of our thoughts. Don't we have our own thoughts, do we? If you have thoughts, please say, "Amen!" As we all have thoughts, what should we plant in them? It is our dreams that can be planted in thought. What kind of dreams are they? When we read the Word of God and pray, we can plant what we desire as our dreams in our thoughts. We plant dreams and pray for them and then they will be changed into faith. With this faith we must have creative declaration. Then we can preside over the Fivefold Gospel. We must realize that through the spirituality of the fourth dimension we have dreams, faith, and creative declaration and can change our destiny and circumstances. |