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Burnt Offering
Ch. 2 · Audio in EN
EN
ES
Chapter 2
God, who only receives clean animals
69:34
0:00
And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord. Leviticus chapter 1 verses 1 through 9
1:47
When the Word Comes Upon the Room of the Heart
1:54
Let us continue to speak about the burnt offering. When we look at not only the burnt offering, but at any part of the Bible, the obstacle we continually run into when we are reading the word is the difference between our thoughts and God's thoughts. When a man and a woman are married, they look at one another's outward appearance, education, family name, status, and other similar conditions. However, people say that after they are married and live together, most of the problems they face are from the differences in their personalities. Because we also have great differences in thought versus God, reading the Bible creates conflicts. As I read the Bible, I think, "Wow, look how far my thoughts are from God's." I discovered that my thoughts are in a place that has nothing to do with the thoughts of God. Oftentimes, I have felt ashamed before God.
2:54
I read the Bible before being born again, and because l had listened to many words about the Bible, I had some biblical knowledge. However, after I became born again and read the Bible, I came to discover that my old knowledge of the Bible, which I accumulated in the past, was completely different from what God was actually trying to say. Every time I realized this reading the Bible, I did not know what to do. From then on, I saw many pastors using the word of God to preach their own agendas or knowledge, rather than wanting to relay the word of God exactly as it is. I often felt truly thankful that I knew God the proper way.
3:44
This afternoon during group fellowship, I spoke to our church pastors and their first ladies about how I lived my spiritual life. I testified how the word of God led my heart, and this is what I said to the first ladies, "Everyone, don't make your husbands put on a new dress shirt every day. Rather, buy shirts that will not show even if it gets dirty and then have them wear that shirt a week at a time, if possible.
4:16
If you wear the same pair of socks for two days, it is not going to get in the way of you going to heaven. Do not put so much time in doing laundry or housework, but take time the word of God. " from those chores to open the Bible and become close with the word of God. ”
4:41
At first, the many words of the Bible that I knew remained in my head as knowledge. I often experienced these words that remained in my head moving from the room of knowledge to the room of the heart. Some words just remain in the room of knowledge, but some words move into the room of the heart and remain there. I could then see those words upholding and leading all the thoughts that arise in my heart.
5:12
Even now, I do nt completely understand why God speaks about the infinitely deep, profound, and great love of God through a weak and pathetic person like me. Even now, I am not confident in giving sermons. The word of God is so unspeakably deep and broad, and often, it is very distant from what I am thinking. That is why I want to share with you the things that I realized, little by little.
5:43
The Heart of God Is Held in Each Verse
5:49
In the words about the burnt offering in Leviticus chapter 1, we can see the precious providence of God and how heartbroken He is in each verse. You can feel how God's heart is deeply compressed into every single word. I am sure you will get the chance to read Leviticus. However, even if I spoke to you for several months on only Leviticus chapter 1, I would not be able to explain all of it since it so intricately expresses the deep heart of God.
6:24
Even though these are words from one small chapter, I think that we are not capable of understanding all the love of God contained within these words. Everyone, as you read and hear the words of Leviticus, I hope you can realize the deep will of God within the burnt offering of chapter 1. I hope that your lives become spiritually enriched, and that your thoughts would become close with God's thoughts. I truly hope that the heart of Jesus leads your hearts.
6:57
God Only Accepts Clean Animals
7:02
Let us talk a little bit more about Leviticus chapter 1:1-2.
7:06
"And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock."
7:29
In Leviticus chapter 11, it talks about clean animals and unclean animals, clean fish and unclean fish, clean birds and unclean birds, and clean insects and unclean insects. When you look at the statutes regarding clean animals and unclean animals, it is not that clean animals like rabbits or cats are clean and dirty animals like pigs or rats are dirty. That is not how things are. Regardless of whether they look clean or unclean in our eyes, God has a standard of differentiating between clean and unclean animals.
8:05
Clean animals like cows must have their hooves split and they must chew the cud. These two conditions must be met for it to be a clean animal. The horse and donkey have hooves that are whole, not split; therefore, they are unclean.
8:22
Rabbits have no hooves at all — they are also unclean. Leviticus chapter 11 tells us that pigs are unable to chew the cud, even though they have split hooves — that means they are unclean, too.
8:37
To give a burnt offering to God, there is a condition that states that the offering must absolutely be a clean animal. In Leviticus chapter 1, verse 2, it clearly says, "If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd and of the flock." It says so because cows or sheep are clean animals. If it is not a clean animal, God absolutely cannot accept it. When the Israelites were coming out from Egypt in Exodus, God brought His judgment upon Egypt. At the time, all the firstborn in Egypt, starting with the firstborn of Pharaoh to those of the maidservants who worked behind the millstone were sentenced to death. Even the firstborn of the cattle were all sentenced to death. God was even going to destroy the firstborn of all the Israelites living in Egypt, but they were later redeemed and saved through the lamb. That is why God said to the Israelites, "The firstborn is mine. Therefore you shall give it unto me."
9:50
In Exodus chapter 13:2, it reads, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel. Both of man and of beast. It is mine. " Afterwards, instead of giving up their firstborn according to the word of God, the Israelites gave the children of Levi to God instead and had them serve Him. This not only pertained to the firstborn of the children of Israel, but to the firstborn of all the cattle: cows, sheep, donkeys, horses, and pigs. With cows, you can take the firstborn, kill it, and give it as an offering. You can also kill the firstborn of the sheep and give it as an offering to God. However, horses and donkeys are unclean and cannot be offered. Then, what should they do? If a donkey or a horse gives birth to its firstborn, then you would have to give a lamb as an offering instead of the donkey or horse. If it is not atoned using a lamb, the donkey's neck must be broken and killed.
11:01
"Thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast. The males shall be the Lords and every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb. If thou wilt not redeem it then thou shalt break his neck." (Exodus 12:12-13) It means that God only accepts clean animals. He absolutely will not and cannot accept unclean animals.
11:31
Clean People and Unclean People
11:35
Let us look at this from a different angle. Among animals, there are clean animals and unclean animals. Among people, are there clean people and unclean people? Of course there are. Then, who are the clean people? People who do not skip tithe? People who go to church on Sundays? People who read the Bible and pray well? People who serve the church?
12:01
People who help others? People who keep the law very well?
12:07
People who do not commit sins? Are these the clean people?
12:14
God divided all animals into two kinds: clean and the unclean. God has also divided all of the people who live on the earth the same way: clean and unclean. Then, are you a clean person or unclean person? Many people think that those who do not commit sins and live as good people are the clean ones. And when people think that they have lived cleaner than others they consider themselves clean. However, the standard of God is different from the standards of man.
12:49
Throughout the history of mankind, God searched for one person who was clean among people. That person was Jesus Christ. Other than Jesus, no one was clean in the eyes of God. Leviticus chapter 1 talks about the burnt offering.
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Chapter 2 presents the meat offering. Chapter 3 is about the peace offering, and chapter 4 discusses the sin offering.
13:13
Chapter 5 details the trespass offering. Among them all, God never once said, "If you clean a donkey well and give it as an offering, I will accept it." Nor, "If you have a horse with nice oily skin and break his neck and give that as an offering, I will accept it." God never said that. God did not allow unclean animals to be given as offerings. In the same way, God has never once accepted an unclean person. In other words, the only person God accepts is Jesus Christ alone.
13:50
How Could Such a Person Be Called a Brother?
13:57
In Korea, the problems associated with crimes are quite serious. When I went to America, you could hear gunshots at night. You could hear people being shot and killed. However, the Korean-Americans who live in America say that the problems of crime in Korea are very serious. If you were told to stay with an organized criminal, would any of you enjoy that? Who would be happy living in the same house with a gangster? If that had to be your lifestyle, then maybe it would be better for you to just join organized crime.
14:35
However, today, I received a note saying that I must live forever with a very famous organized crime boss. Just a little while ago, I received a Christmas card from a very tamous, organized crime boss. Let me read a little bit of it to you.
14:54
"Hallelujah! Dear Pastor, Today is Christmas, the day the Lord came. On this joyful day, I cannot help but to write a card to you with my heart in it. So, with a thankful heart, I write this. Why? Because I received salvation and became born again last July 22nd. This happened at the time as I read the books you wrote. I received change through the books, Two Kinds of Spiritual Life, and The Secret of the Forgiveness of Sin and Being Born Again. That is why I can't help but to express my thankful heart on this joyous day that the Lord came. In this truly speial quiet time, these fiery words of life have broken through my flesh and bone and penetrated my heart.
15:45
How could this joy that springs out from my heart be fully expressed on a small piece of paper? I live each day in thankfulness. I feel so much love and closeness to you. I would like to express my gratitude to you, Pastor, who had helped me to understand the word, and to the brother who led me to meet the Lord. " That was what the card said. A while ago, when I returned from Germany, received a letter from another famous orga nized crime boss, who was at the Young-deung-poh Prison.
16:23
These two bosses did not get along. If both of these people receive salvation, they would be at peace. One boss wrote me a letter saying how he was clearly saved. On the other hand, the other boss sent me a letter saying that he still had fear in his heart. I told him that I would visit him, but I had been too busy to go. I have not been able to go yet. However, when I get the time, I would like to go and preach the Gospel to him. These two people were all over the newspapers in Korea. They were very rough around the edges. So much so, that even after they were arrested, they threatened the prosecutors. How could I call such people my brothers? However, if you read the card the first boss wrote, you could feel that he has the clear faith in his heart that he can go to heaven.
17:28
That is why my destiny is living eternally together with this crime boss, whether I like it or not. I do not know how many crimes he has committed. And if you have to do good deeds in order to wash away your sins, even if he did them for the rest of his life, he might not be able to wash away all of his sins. While he was in prison, he did not do any good deeds at all. Instead, he only accepted the fact that Jesus washed all of his sins away into his heart, which was in the books he read. God only accepts Jesus Christ. And by the fact that he has entered into Jesus Christ alone, we have become brothers and family even if he has never done one good deed.
18:23
From Despair into Jesus
18:27
I went to church from a young age, even when I did not know what sin was. As I grew up, I tried very hard to live a life that would make God pleased with me and be accepting of me. I was determined and tried with all my heart not to commit sins.
18:49
However, I found myself falling deeper and deeper into sin as I got older. Therefore, early every morning, I would go to church, cry, and pray to God, pleading with Him to forgive my sins. I would clean the church flowerpots and the church bathrooms. I would serve and pour my heart into the church by doing these things. I wanted to do whatever it took to live a life that looked good in God's eyes.
19:20
However, the year I turned 19, I fell into despair. That was when I realized that I was abandoned. I was a person with no hope. No matter what I did, even if I were to die and live again, all that remained in me was the fact that I was an evil human being who could never be accepted by God. Because I had committed so many sins until that point in time, no matter how hard I tried, the sins could not be washed away. I knew that if I stood before God in that state, He would not accept me.
20:02
I wanted to live my spiritual life well, but when I arrived at that conclusion, I felt so empty. I lost all the strength I had in my heart. "Should I just go on living, drinking, and committing sins, doing whatever I want? I am going to go to hell anyway." In light of this, the thoughts of wanting to go the path of corruption began to enter my heart. The amazing thing is, later that year I entered into Jesus Christ. After I entered inside of Jesus Christ, regardless of whether I did well or not, Jesus led me.
20:42
Because I am inside of Jesus, no matter where I have been or where I plan to go, Jesus is there. In the same way, when Jesus was in the field, I was in the field. When Jesus was on the mountain, I was on the mountain. If Jesus were in hell. I, too, would be in hell. If Jesus goes to heaven, then heaven is where I will be. Truly amazing things happened in my life.
21:14
God cannot accept me because I am evil. He cannot just allow me to enter into heaven. But, because I entered into Jesus, in other words, because I was carried into Jesus, when Jesus enters heaven, I am carried into heaven as well. I get to experience the glory and grace of God.
21:35
In Whom I Am Well Pleased
21:40
What is Leviticus chapter 1 that we read today telling us?
21:47
It is showing us the fact that God has never once accepted unclean animals. God only accepts clean animals. It means that God has never once accepted man who has sin. God accepts only clean and pure Jesus Christ, alone.
22:03
Jesus came and lived on this earth for 33 years. God had Jesus live here for 33 years to reveal how holy Jesus is and how acceptable He is to God. When Jesus was in this world and being judged by the governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, he said, "I find no sin in him," three times. In addition, while Jesus was living in this world, Satan searched out Jesus to see if there were blemishes in Him. Satan persistently worked to tempt Jesus into sinning. However, no blemish was ever found in Jesus. God said of Jesus, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." We must remember that God has never once said this about anyone else besides Jesus. "This is my loving Son in whom I am well pleased."
22:58
The Reason God Does Not Accept Unclean Animals
23:03
Why did God have to say through Leviticus that He does not accept unclean animals? It is because people are like unclean animals, but they are fooled into thinking that God might accept them if they just prune themselves a little, or if they better themselves a bit. There are so many people today who do not know this fact. They fall deep into the illusion that if they live their spiritual lives well, God would accept them. How does God have these people realize that their thoughts are wrong? He does this through stating that when you give an offering, you must give one without blemish; one that is clean. Through this, God allows people to realize that their thoughts are wrong.
23:53
God does not accept all the people who live in this world.
23:58
However, it is not because people have committed many sins, do not pay all their tithes, do not regularly attend church on Sundays, or do not live according to the Bible. These are not the reasons God does not accept us. In God's eyes, man is unclean by nature, like the unclean animals. That is why, whether we do well or poorly, we are all the same — we are unclean.
24:27
And for that reason, God cannot accept us at any time. In addition, it is not just our evil aspects that God does not accept. God neither accepts the things that look good to us.
24:41
However, many religious people today declare that they can repair and fix people who God has proclaimed He cannot accept. With education, culture, morals, ethics, and statutes. people try to prune themselves and strive to stand before God. Many churches teach their members that they must pray hard, read the Bible, go witnessing, and do volunteer service to become people who can stand in front of God. However, we know very well that it all ends in failure, over and over again.
25:15
Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem riding a donkey. That donkey had the glory of carrying Jesus and entering the city of Jerusalem with Him. However, regardless of that, it did not mean that God accepted the donkey itself. When people praised Jesus, who entered the city of Jerusalem, the donkey received that glory along with Jesus. As saved people, we are like the donkey. When we carry the Lord and go, we can receive this glory. And on the way, people lay their garments in front of you and sing praises saying, "Hosanna." At that moment, you should not be fooled. The fact is that they are not doing that to you. They are giving glory to Jesus, who is perched on your back. When we do not realize that, even though we are people like the donkey, we fall into the illusion that this is happening because we did something well. What a shame it is. Everything happened because Jesus was riding on the donkey. God never accepted that onkey.
26:24
Salvation Without Christ
26:28
Americans love horses. Many houses have pictures of horses on their walls. Maybe it is because when the settlers were pioneering the vast American wilderness, it would have been impossible without horses. Nevertheless, it is evident that people really love them. If you ask Americans which animals they would consider to be clean, they would definitely choose horses. However, the standard that God uses to determine this is different from the standards of men. Even though horses are fast, strong, seemingly clean, and have nice, silky fur, they are unclean animals to God.
27:06
It is easy for us to think that animals like pigs, rats, groundhogs, or porcupines are unclean animals. On the other hand, it would seem that animals like rabbits and horses would be considered clean. Especially when you watch the chariot race scene in the movie Ben Hur, the horses that pulled the chariot that Ben Hur rode when he defeated Messala looked so awesome. However, those horses could never be given to God as offerings. God could not accept them either. This distinction must be clear in our hearts. Just as God accepts nothing other than clean animals, such as cows, sheep, and goats, God accepts no one other than the clean Jesus. It means that the only person God accepts is Jesus Christ alone. That is why no matter how hard you try, without being strengthened by Jesus Christ, there is absolutely no way for you to come before God.
28:07
Long ago, Germany was a country full of the Gospel. There were many famous church leaders from Germany, along with Martin Luther. Even now, if you go to Germany, at the heart of many cities are large churches. Also in the past in Germany, according to the law, German citizens had to go to church 3 times in their lifetime. First of all, when people were born, their births were recorded at church. Having weddings outside of church was hard to understand for Germans. And last of all, when you die, your funeral had to be held at a church. These laws were reflective of Christian influence a long time ago.
28:52
However, it is very hard to find a person with a true spiritual life in Germany today. The economy and culture have advanced so much that people can boast that the country is wealthy and strong. However, you cannot discover faith in God inside of the people at all. It has become a spiritually pitiful country. In Germany there are astounding chapels, good laws, and many amazing things of the world. However, God does not accept these things. Among German theologians, some say, "There is salvation outside of the church. Do not be so petty minded saying that only Christianity is right. Let's throw away the stubbornness that proclaims only our religion is right." These kinds of words are very welcomed by people today. A famous theologian from Germany visited Korea and lectured, saying the things as I just stated above. Among the famous pastors in Korea, not one of them criticized or challenged that theologian's teachings. It was because he was a very famous man. Therefore, the Korean pastors simply said,
30:02
Acts 4:12
"It appears he has very deep theological opinions," and that was that. However, what that German theologian said was very scary. This is because the Bible has clearly recorded, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
30:23
Today, Christianity is changing into a Christianity that pursues salvation without Jesus. Many people now think Jesus Christ bears no other meaning than that of a symbolic one — He has become worthless. People are laboring to do something that God can accept even without Christ. When I see these people laboring so hard to become acceptable to God without Jesus, I can see that Satan has very deceptively led their hearts to destruction. It is so clear. This is so heartbreaking and there is no way to ease this grief.
31:00
Those Things That Take the Place of the Atmosphere of the Holy Spirit
31:08
A long time ago, when I just began to lead a church, Missionary Dick York once came to my church and led our service. At that time, there was a church sister who was playing the piano. A long time ago, she used to play the piano at other churches, but after receiving salvation, she started to play the piano at my church. That sister played the piano lightly while the pastor was praying. After the service was over, Missionary Dick York asked me, "Why did you teach her to do that?" and scolded me saying, "What is the point of doing that?" That sister was continuing to do here what she used to do in the other churches.
31:56
I just left her alone to do that because I did not know that it was wrong. Right then, the missionary turned very stern and said, "To show the glory of God inside of the church, do not use humanistic atmospheres to show humanistic glory." He told me that it was evil to make the chapel appear more serviceable, using lighting or other outside things to create an atmosphere to replace the work of the Holy Spirit. It means that the works of the Holy Spirit do not come from a mood. What comes from the mood are emotions. The Spirit works inside of us through the word of God. It is a good thing for us to praise the Lord with joy and a bright heart.
32:48
However, if your heart is not willing, but leading the mood and stimulating the heart to make you clap and praise is an evil thing to do. Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it is better to feel the thirst of the Spirit. It is better to have the heart to come out to God and seek Him. The missionary told me that it was evil to lead a thirsty heart with mood or humanistic things. What needs to lead is the guidance of the Holy Spirit. From that day on, we did not play the piano lightly during the start or the end of the service. Of course this should not be a law. If the Holy Spirit moves our hearts to do so, it is actually completely different even though it may be the same thing you are doing.
33:45
For example, if I tell a certain brother, "There is money in a certain drawer in my desk. Take out a ten-dollar bill and buy something." If the brother went and bought something, that is not something to be rebuked for. Rather, it is something that should be commended. However, if I did not tell him to do that, but he took out a ten-dollar bill from my drawer and bought something to eat, then that is something to be rebuked for. Even though it is the same action of taking the ten-dollar bill out of my drawer and buing something, if he did what I told him to do, he should be commended. But if he did so without my request, it is theft and something that should be punished.
34:38
In the same way, it is completely different to do things according to the Holy Spirit inside of us, versus doing things through humanistic mood or emotion, even though you may be doing the same things. We must pay close attention to the fact that there are many churches nowadays that replace the works of the Holy Spirit with mood and atmosphere. Because the Holy Spirit is not working, churches are trying to capture hearts with those kinds of things.
35:11
Furthermore, it is such a heartbreaking thing that there are churches that teach you how to speak in tongues. When I was young, pastors did not do many things that strayed from their conscience. Nowadays, if it is advantageous to them, pastors forsake their conscience and do things without hesitation, even if it is wrong. Some pastors even create baseless lies for their own gain. In addition, these pastors instill the perspective in the hearts of many people that the true church is a monster and that these churches are dirty places.
35:48
Therefore, not just anyone can be saved. One must overcome certain burdens. People who truly feel the pain and suffering of sin would be willing to have the problem of their sins resolved, even if it means coming to a monster. However, to save the truly desperate, I could feel that God was leading such wrong things to work together for good.
36:13
The Lord Versus I
36:17
After receiving salvation, I am sure that those of you who are saved, your lives were full of joy and thankfulness. As your lives continued, there must have been times when this was not the case. There must have also been times where your heart was heavy, frustrated, and dark. So, what did you do? Did you try to live in brightness and joy as you did in the past? Did you try to recover your former heart, and make an effort to live like you did before? I am sure that you must have tried praying, reading the Bible, and even witnessing to get your life back to where it was. The strange thing is that, before, it was prayer that led your way, but now it is you that is dragging prayer around. As a result, it is very tiring, isn't it? Before, it was witnessing that brought you around, but now it is you trying to drag witnessing around. Before it was the word of God that led you to realize things. Now, it is you trying to realize the word. You rub your eyes and try to read the word of God, but the word appears so dry. It does not speak to you. What are you supposed to do in these moments?
37:46
Because many saints do not understand that God only accepts Jesus Christ precisely, they try to do something themselves. Their hearts used to be full of Jesus, and they used to be full of joy and thankfulness. However, when the joy and thankfulness disappeared from their hearts, they tried to go forth on their own, and do everything themselves.
38:09
Instead of saying, "There is Jesus inside of me," and looking to the Lord, they try hard to restore themselves to their old state.
38:19
Everyone, have you ever discovered yourself trying to do something like that? You think, "What is wrong with me? It is because I do not pray enough. I'd better wake up early and pray." Or, "This happened because I have not been witnessing as much these days. I'd better witness whenever I have the time." You may have also thought, "It is because I did not read the Bible that much, I'd better read the Bible."
38:50
This is not Jesus leading you. Is it not you trying to lead yourself to the world of prayer? Nevertheless, it does not go very well. Why not? It is because God does not accept us. Because we do not recognize this fact very well, we try to lead and elevate our own hearts to a place of fulfillment.
39:14
However, no matter how hard we try, we can never arrive at that state. Even if you do arrive at that state, God will not accept that. It is not that you should do something; you must discover that you are inside of Jesus Christ. We are inside of Jesus Christ, and it is about realizing that Jesus Christ is working inside of us.
39:40
The Change of a Missionary Student Who Used to Be a Housemaid
39:47
When we started our missionary school, there was a female student who was admitted. We were not in a situation to be selective about our students back then. So, whoever wanted to enter the missionary school was accepted. Five people entered into the first class of our missionary school, and one of those students was a female. She was a sister who formerly worked as a housemaid of a home in our neighborhood.
40:17
During that time, the garbage truck cleaned up the trash every morning. Whenever the garbage truck came around the neighborhood, it rang a bell. "Ring-a-ling!" People would then bring out their trash bins and take them to the garbage truck to be emptied. Then the garbage men on the truck would empty the bins, and return them to the people. When I heard the garbage truck bell every morning, I would go outside to empty the trash. There would always be a young lady outside who would bring out empty apple boxes, charcoal ashes, and other trash, and load them onto the garbage truck.
40:59
As I ran into that young lady every morning, I had the heart, "I wish that young lady would get saved." I was always looking for an opportunity to preach the Gospel to her. However, a brother from my church was one step ahead of me. One day, that young lady came to our church. The brother preached the Gospel to her and she received salvation. She came to church to attend service. We were so happy. This sister had so much work to do at the house she lived in, so she lived a very tiring life. She only had time to herself from midnight until three in the morning. She was a sister who had graduated from elementary school, and then started working as a housemaid right away. She worked all day, and then from midnight until three in the morning, she would read the Bible.
41:59
This sister was completely changed and renewed. We rejoiced so much as we saw how much she had changed.
42:07
Sometime afterwards, this sister heard that we would be starting a missionary school at our church. The desire to enter the missionary school arose in her very strongly. However, she was worried. "I've only graduated elementary school. Would they accept me into missionary school?" I knew about this, but I acted like I did not. I was thinking that if she decided on her own, by faith, I would be willing to accept her at anytime. The sister thought long and hard about this. She made her decision one day before the admission deadline. That is how she entered the missionary school.
42:48
We were learning the Bible in missionary school, and this sister loved it so much. However, when it came time for witnessing, she was tormented. Because of the fact that she once worked in the neighborhood as a housemaid, everyone at the beauty salon, restaurants, and the general stores knew her.
43:09
One day, as it became time to witness, this sister did not go out. Instead, she came to me and said, "Pastor, I need to discuss something with you." I asked her, "What is wrong?" She replied, "Pastor, there is something I am worried about. I do not think I have the gift of witnessing." Everyday, the student must go door to door, ringing the doorbells and preaching the Gospel to people during witnessing time. Because she was so burdened to witness to people who knew she was a housemaid, she was unable to even ring doors. During the witnessing time, she would just walk around with her Bible and then return to school. Her heart must have been so heavy.
43:58
She lived that way for several days, and she could no longer bear it, so she came to see me.
44:06
As I read the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments many times, I have never learned of a single person written in the Bible who did not have a gift for witnessing. It is not recorded anywhere in the Bible that a specific figure did not have a witnessing gift. There is no place in the Bible that says, "He tried to witness, but he had to return home because he did not have the gift."
44:38
This is something that is extremely important, because it is not only this sister who feels this way. There are many saved people who think, "I do not have the gift to witness God knew that many people would think this way. If God acknowledged that this thought was actually correct, then there should at least be one person in the Bible who had no gift for witnessing. And yet, there are no words in the Bible directly or indirectly talking about something like that. So, I said to the sister, "Sister, it is not that you do not have the gift of witnessing. The Bible says that if the Holy Spirit is upon us, we will become witnesses who testify about Jesus.
45:28
Sister, you are unable to preach the Gospel well. But because the Holy Spirit inside of you is the spirit that preaches the Gospel, the Holy Spirit will work if you step forward. Sister, the problem is that you do not believe in this truth. You only think about your shortcomings and how you are unable to speak. You don't believe in your heart that the Holy Spirit will work. You only think about yourself when you try to witness. That is why you came to this conclusion. "
46:04
I opened the Bible and had fellowship with her for an hour.
46:09
After finishing our tal, the sister went out to witness late. However, even though it became time to eat, she did not come back. That night, she came back late, and she was rejoicing and shouting, "Pastor!" From that day on, she led many people to the Lord. She witnessed so well, that you could not even compare her with the other missionary stu dents. The change she experienced was the faith that the Spirit of God, who witnesses the Gospel, was inside of her heart. The faith that Jesus has forgiven our sins is what changes us. If you have shortcomings, weaknesses, or filthi ness, Jesus must bear them. However, because you try to be responsible for them on your own, spiritual life becomes exhausting and difficult.
47:01
Brother, Why Are You Trying to Read the Bible?
47:07
A long time ago, I preached the Gospel to members of the Euijumbu Prison Security Unit. The prison security unit members, their ranks were one-stripe for correctional officer, two-stripes was a senior prison officer, three stripes was a chief prison officer, and four stripes was governor grade one.
47:26
Among the security members, there was a governor grade one who received salvation. Because of that, the one-stripe and two-stripes security officers under his command simply followed him to meetings. One time, the governor grade one, asked me, "Pastor, do saved people get better at reading the Bible?" I replied, "Yes, of course they do." Then he said,
47:50
"But even though I am saved, I am not able to read the Bible so well, no matter how much I try to read."
47:59
Actually, it is only natural that this young brother could not read the Bible very well. Why is that? God accepts Jesus.
48:08
He does not accept us. Jesus is the righteous and holy one.
48:13
We are not righteous by ourselves. When we are inside of Jesus and Jesus is inside of us, we have the righteousness and holiness of Jesus. That is why being diligent and being saved is not of ourselves. But when the Jesus inside of us appears, that is when we are truly diligent. However, many people try to become diligent on their own. They labor and try hard to show the appearance of a saved person on their own. That was what he was doing. And so even though this brother was trying to read the Bible, he was unable to. If you continue in this manner, later on, you even begin to doubt if you are saved.
49:01
Therefore, I said to this young brother, "Why are you trying to read the Bible? If the Lord is in you, wouldn't He work to make you that way?" Then he replied, "I have tried to do it with all my heart, but it still does not work. If I do not do it, and the Lord also does not do it, then what am I supposed to do? If the Lord does not do it then at least I should do it. If I do not, then I am going to become corrupted." I then told him, "The Lord works, so do not try to read the Bible on your own." Right then, that brother laughed and said, "Pastor, does that make any sense? Well then it is all for the better.
49:55
You are telling me not to read, and I do not want to read anyway. That is great. " It sounded as if what we were saying was very dangerous.
50:07
One month later, we had Bible study once again. Then, the brother who had spoken with me a month earlier came forward and gave a testimony. He said, "Since Pastor Park told me not to force myself to read the Bible, I tried not to read. One day, I went to my barracks, and there was a small, pocket Bible there. It was so small and cute, and I wanted to keep it for myself before another security officer would take it. So I quickly put it into my pocket. A few days later, after I stood guard, I returned to the barracks. I wanted to lie down to get some sleep. However, the Bible in my chest pocket was in the way. So, I pulled out the Bible as I was lying down, and I began to read it. After reading for a while, I sat up and continued to read. Then I even got on my knees and continued to read the Bible. That was how I started to read the Bible. And just last week I was able to finish reading the entire New Testament. I did not know that such a thing would ever happen to me."
51:29
What is the problem with our spiritual life today? The problem is that we are trying to do it instead of Jesus. There is no one among us who can do it instead of Jesus. You at work versus Jesus at work are completely different. However, we keep the Lord from working. At first, we give Jesus the opportunity. If we wait a little bit and we do not see that the Lord is at work, we quickly feel, "Jesus is not working. So if I do not do anything, what am I going to do?" Then we step forward to do it ourselves. That is why Jesus is unable to work. If God promised to do it, then surely He is the one who ends up accomplishing everything. After we are saved, all of the responsibility that we need to bear is no longer upon us but it is upon God. The Bible says, "For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14) If we do not believe these words, how could we ever be saved? No matter how it looks in our eyes, if God has perfected us forever through the blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross, we must believe it even though it may feel like a lie. God takes that responsibility. It is because God has said that He has perfected us. Now we only need to believe and say, "l am perfect." Even if you have a fight with your wife, believe and say, "I am perfect." This is because the Bible has said that He has perfected us.
53:19
People who are unable to believe Jesus from the core are unable to wait for Him to work. They are only satisfied when it seems that the Lord is not working and they are trying to do it themselves. They are not confident they can do well, and they are actually unable to do well. Even though they fail every time, they are unable to wait for Jesus to work.
53:47
God must be so frustrated that He says, "Guys, listen up. I only accept pure things like cows or lambs. So even though you bathe a pig and clean it with milk, I will never accept it." No matter how handsome a mule, donkey, or horse may be, God does not accept them. Even during the time of Jesus, there were many people who were better educated than Jesus. And there were many people who were recognized more and in a higher position than Jesus. However, God had no interest in such people whatsoever. He only accepted Jesus Christ.
54:27
God Takes and Uses a Person Like Me
54:33
A while ago, in the monthly magazine, The Good News, I wrote about the people who judged Jesus. Yes, it is quite ridiculous, but in this world, sinners judge the righteous. God does not talk about how the world works in that way.
54:50
However, God is saddened that we, who are saved, behave this way. I often act that way too. Even though I have the same God that created heaven, earth, and everything else, and the God who could change the entire world in my heart there were many times when I was afraid that Jesus might make a mistake. As a result, i was straining to make everything turn out well.
55:19
Because I was so foolish, I was unable to realize what kind of a person I was. I used to think, "If I do not worry for my church then who will? If I don't, then how will our church be well?" I used to worry. Going a step even further, I thought, "If I do not take care of that brother, then who would take care of him? If I do not pray for that sister, who would ever pray for her?" I would be worried. And from time to time, I discovered that I was quite ridiculous.
55:59
Recently, Jesus allowed me to realize many things.
56:02
Nowadays, my life has become much better than it used to be, so I have become lazy. When people tell me, "Pastor you are always busy," inside I always feel so ashamed and sorry.
56:16
Even though it looks like I am doing many things, there is actually not one thing I do properly. In my church, I have only visited homes when people had problems, or when they invited me to come over. However, there are still so many houses of brothers and sisters that I have not been to yet.
56:39
When I sometimes meet a lady, I cannot tell if she is a sister
56:47
who comes to my church or not.
56:50
I do not even run the missionary school that well. Often times, I am unable to be there, so I tell the misionary students, "Meet amongst yourselves, read the Bible, and share what you realized with one another. Study on your own." The missionary students have become accustomed to studying on their own. Yes, later on, they need to become pastors and begin their ministry. When that happens, I cannot follow them all the way to their fields of ministry to teach them.
57:24
Therefore, they need the training of reading the Bible for their selves, and discover the will and heart of God.
57:32
My sermons are being broadcast on radio stations around the world. As a result, I need to record sermons and send them to those racio stations every month. I need to send my sermons about 15 days before the scheduled broadcast, so I wake up around two in the morning and begin to record my sermons. Starting with, "Dear listeners, how are you doing?" there are times I fall asleep and doze off as I record my sermons. Therefore, sometimes recording takes twice as long as the scheduled broadcast.
58:08
Whenever I want to record sermons for the radio broadcasts, I never feel content in my heart. There are times I want to pray and fill my heart with the Lord a little more before I preach. Then when I finally get ready to record, I say to myself, "Not today. Let's do it tomorrow." And then I pass it by. Then the next day, I say, "I should have prayed more last night, but I went to sleep early." Then I pass it over again. And then even the following day, I'd say, "This time, I need to think deeper about the book of Genesis. I did not think deeply enough about it." I would then pass that by as well. I only urgently prepare when the deadline is close. I have never had the heart, "Wow, this time I have prepared enough for this broadcast sermon. I have prepared with plenty of time left."
59:11
I also need to write and submit my sermon scripts for the monthly magazine. The Good News. I need to write sermons every month and turn them in. I always turn them in close to the deadline. When I do not turn in my scripts on time, the Editor-in-Chief asks me, "Pastor, did you finish your script?" It would be so nice if I could just answer, "I am done, do not worry." Instead, I always turn in my scripts at the very last minute. Then I ask the Editor-in-Chief, "Please revise and fix it so that it is not embarrassing for me." If possible, I want to write a whole year's worth of scripts ahead of time. However, it never works out well. Occasionally, I am somehow able to get two or three months-worth of scripts ready beforehand.
60:08
When that happens, I feel so light and refreshed in my heart.
60:12
I do not read the Bible to my heart's content, and I do not pray to my heart's content. In light of all of this, when I see how beautiful the church is becoming, I can see that my church did not turn out this way because I gave good sermons or that I ministered well. I could truly see that it was not because I prayed much for our church members, or that I had such a sincere heart for the Lord. Rather than having the heart that I am doing well in ministry, at times I think, "For God to select and use a person like me must cause Him a big headache."
60:59
A Male Without Blemish, Jesus Christ
61:04
In the Bible, it says if the offering is a burnt offering. when it is a cow, then it must be a male without blemish. The male without blemish represents Jesus. God only accepts Jesus Christ. That is why it does not matter if you have shortcomings. Even though you have filth, do not worry to go before God. After we enter into Jesus Christ, even though we may be insincere, that responsibility is not upon us, but on Jesus because it is Jesus who has to have us stand before God.
61:41
Before I got married, I went to greet my father with my fiancé. I was worried, thinking, "I wonder what my father will think of her." At that time, I wanted to tell my fiancé,
61:56
"My father is the kind of a person you should be careful about this and that." But I thought if I said that to her, she might feel disrespected. So I did not tell her that. I was worried that my father would see my wife and would not be very pleased. It was because since my wife has a very loose personality, she might make a mistake in front of my father.
62:25
Jesus made us His bride. He wants to make us able to stand in front of God to be a bride that God would truly be satisfied with. In humanistic terms, we still have shortcomings and certain aspects that are still fleshly. Sometimes, we are filthy, weak, and very stubborn. However, Jesus will change us so that the day we stand in front of God, He will be satisfied with us. I believe that when we stand before Him on that day as the brides of Christ, we will be able to stand before Him without even the tiniest bit of shortcomings or shame. In Colossians chapter 1, verse 22, it says, "In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight."
63:18
If You Are Inside of Jesus
63:23
Let us think about this one more time. If you are an unsaved person, do not try to quit drinking, smoking, or changing yourself in order to be saved. No matter how much one tries to change, a horse is a horse and a mule is a mule.
63:43
Even though you may improve a little, a horse will not turn into a cow, nor will a mule turn into a lamb. We are unclean people who are unacceptable to God. God only accepts Jesus Christ. That is why we can go to God without any problems if we enter Christ. Therefore, if you are people who have entered Him, do not try to change your weaknesses or shortcomings. I hope that you will feel safe knowing you are inside of Jesus.
64:16
A while ago, when I went to Japan, I needed to do something in Hiroshima. So I took the Shinkansen train from Tokyo. The name of the train that I rode was called the Hikari. Hikari, in Japanese, means, "light." I think they gave the train that name with the meaning that it is as fast as light.
64:40
The train traveled at 270 kilometers an hour (167.8 miles per hour). It did not feel like it was travelling that fast. The distance between Tokyo and Hiroshima is over 700 kilometers.
64:53
It was a little over two hours when they announced that we had arrived at Hiroshima. The good thing about that train is they made it so that riders would not feel the train's speed. If the train you are on is moving at 270 kilometers an hour, and the wind hit your face, what would happen to your face? If the entire impact and shock from riding that train was actually felt throughout my body, and if I heard everything with my ears, then what would happen to me? But the train I rode was so well made, even though it was very fast, I did not feel anything at all. As a result, it was a comfortable trip. After two or three stops, we arrived right away at Hiroshima.
65:46
Even man-made things like the Hikari train can get you from Tokyo to Hiroshima without any problems. If we enter Jesus Christ, there is no problem until we get to heaven.
65:59
Outside conditions have absolutely nothing to do with this.
66:02
The inside of Jesus Christ is completely blocked and sheltered from the outside. Therefore, you can enter in comfortably without feeling the speed or wind at all. This was how Jesus handled everything perfectly for us.
66:17
The Hikari train has windows you can see through. The train has metal sheets and doors. For us to enter Jesus, we do not see a door, nor a button to open a door. However, if we have received the forgiveness of sins, we are inside of Jesus.
66:36
That means we are now heading towards heaven inside of Jesus. Even though our clothes may be dirty, even though you do not have much to your name, even though you are not well educated, and no matter where you live or what you have done, you are heading towards that land.
66:57
Just as I do not have to run hard if I am inside that train to Hiroshima, we do not have to serve the Lord fervently for us to go to heaven. If we have entered Jesus Christ, we can simply enter heaven. If there is a problem with the train, the train operators and repairmen will take care of it. If there is a problem with us going to heaven, then Jesus must take care of that problem. It is not something that we are supposed to do. We are like thepeople who bought tickets and got on the train. We do not know anything about trains, so trying hard to repair it will not make it arrive at its destination taster.
67:47
It you are not good at anything when it comes to your spiritual life, do not try to do something for it. Witness how Jesus changes you. Has Jesus already begun to work in your midst? Is Jesus not fulfilling many works inside of you already? Now, whether you are good at something or not, entrust everything to Jesus so that He can do it. If you have the heart, "What if Jesus does not do anything?" and you try to do it yourself, that is a heart that thinks you can do better than Jesus. People with that kind of a heart are in an arrogant position.
68:31
In the book of Leviticus, God said that He would only accept clean animals. That clean animal is Jesus Christ.
68:39
There is only one who God accepts: Jesus Christ. You must enter into Jesus Christ to stand before God. If you have filthy and evil aspects, do not try to fix them yourself. Your problems become resolved when you remain inside of Jesus Christ. Are you unable to pray well? If you are a saved Christian, then remember the fact that you are inside of Jesus. Do you want to witness? Think of the fact that you are inside of Jesus. Are you laboring to read the word of God?
69:16
Think about the fact that you are inside Jesus. Do you suffer because you have not been able to quit drinking? If you are born again, remember the fact that you are inside of Jesus. I firmly believe that Jesus Christ will make everything beautiful.
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God, who only receives clean animals — Burnt Offering | Good News Orlando
