Skip to content
Home
About Us
Ministries
Activities
Resources
Contact
Ctrl K
EN
ES
Give
Plan Your Visit
Meat Offering
Ch. 4 · Audio in EN
EN
ES
Chapter 4
With All Thine Offerings Thou Shalt Offer Salt
64:17
0:00
With All Thine Offerings Thou Shalt Offer Salt
0:05
Leviticus 2:1-16
And when any will offer a meat offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord: And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil. Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering. And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in the fryingpan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. And thou shalt bring the meat offering that is made of these things unto the Lord: and when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring it unto the altar. And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord. And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire. As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the Lord: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour. And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the Lord, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears. And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering. And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
2:57
Details of God's Order
3:01
I cannot tell you enough about the meat offering, and I have only gotten to just a few of the ingredients. Through the meat offering, we can discover the precious aspects that God is showing us within this short section. In Leviticus chapter 2, verse 13, it says, "And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt." Food is not tasty when it does not have any seasoning. My wife often says that food must be seasoned. When housewives cook soybean paste soup, or whether they make kimchi, they use the right amount of salt to season it. We see that God said to put salt onto the meat offering. I guess God does not like food that is unseasoned, either.
3:54
A long time ago, an important figure went to a temple to meet the head monk. The head monk told the other monks to set a table with food, and since they were his servants, they sincerely set the table with food. However, while the person was eating, he bit and chewed on a stone. Crunch! He bit the stone so hard that you could not tell if it were his tooth or the stone that was broken. You could imagine how bad the head monk must have felt. He felt so bad he did not know what to do. However, again, that important figure crunched and bit on another stone. If this person had already bit a stone once, then he should feel out the rice with his tongue before chewing, and eat carefully. But he was just eating thoughtlessly, and he chewed on a second stone.
4:47
After biting the stone two times, the head monk was beside himself. Then, a little afterwards, he chewed on a stone a third time. So, the head monk called over the monk who had prepared the food. That monk knew that the guest had bitten on the stone, so he was sitting there very nervous. So when the head monk called him, could he avoid going? He went, but he could not lift up his face. Then the head monk said, "Hey, why do you work like this? Every person has a different way of eating. No matter how good stones are for the body, if you separate the stones from the rice, then that person could have eaten as much he wants. But without asking, you mixed stones into the rice, so what are we supposed to do? This guest does not like to eat stones with his rice, so this must be very uncomfortable for him. Therefore, from now on, no matter how healthy stones are for the body, separate them from the food!"
5:49
I just told you a funny story. The same way that there are details in the order of food preparation, an offering is supposed to be prepared for God. So there are details that God requires. God said that when you give the meat offering, it should be seasoned with salt.
6:07
The Difference Between Ye Shall Be...and...Be
6:11
Jesus told His disciples, "You are the salt of the world." He also said to them, "You are the light of the world." People who do not understand these words very well, they read it as if it says that one should be the light and salt of the world. Some take it even further and say, "Let us be the salt of the world and the light of the world." There is a great difference between, "You are the salt of the world," and "Be the salt of the world." Jesus told His disciples that when the Holy Spirit is upon you, you shall receive the power, and you must be my witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the utter most parts of the world. Is that what He said? Not at all. He said, "Ye shall be my witnesses." There is a big difference between "be," and "shall be." Jesus said to Peter, "Follow me," and did He say, "...and be a fisher of men?" Is that what He said? No. He told Peter, "I will make you a fisher of men." The meaning within the word, "be," is that we have to do something. In the phrase, "shall be," there is the meaning that someone else will make us that way. In other words, "be" includes our will, and "shall be" includes the will of the word.
7:33
I Got, and You Got
7:37
There are fighter jets that have two pilots. There are other single-pilot fighter jets. In the two-pilot fighter jets, the pilots have their own control sticks inside the plane. However, both of them do not fly the plane. If one of the pilots says, "I got," it means that he will pilot the plane. Then that pilot will hold the control stick by himself and pilot the plane. Right then, the co-pilot must let go of the other control stick. The co-pilot then says, "You got," meaning, you can go ahead and pilot the plane. From then on, that pilot takes his control stick, and takes total control of the plane. This obviously means that the pilot who was previously controlling the plane must let go of his control stick. Even though there are two people sitting in the pilots' seats and they both have control sticks, it is not both of them piloting the plane. If two of them try to fly the plane at the same time, and one pilot turns the plane to the right, but the other pilot turns the plane to the left, then which way would the plane go?
8:46
When I was doing a Bible conference at an air force base, I took some time to look at a fighter jet during the break. I sat in the pilot seat and pulled on the stick. When you move one of the control sticks to the right, the control stick on the other side also moves to the right. If you move the stick to the left, the stick on the other side also moves to the left. The important thing about controlling an airplane is that two pilots cannot pilot it at the same time. Even though you have a main pilot and a co-pilot, if one person takes the control stick and says, "I got," then the other pilot sitting next to him must take a break even though he may be a higher-ranking officer and say, "You got." Then he must let go of his control stick. The pilot who just took the control stick must fly the airplane as if his life depended on it, no matter how tired or sleepy he may be.
9:49
For this reason, when flying an airplane, the words, "I got," or "You got," are extremely important. If one pilot says these words, the other pilot can rest completely. Then afterwards, all of the responsibilities of controlling the aircraft are up to the person who said, "I got." On the other hand, if you say, "You got," and pass the control stick over, then from that point on, the responsibility goes to the person who received the controls.
10:17
When you read the Bible, know that even in the Bible there are areas where it is about, "I got," and "You got." "I got," is Jesus saying, "I will do it." In the Bible, when Jesus says, "You got," it means, "You go and do it." Jesus said, "After that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." If Jesus said, "Do that. You go and be my witness," that means, "You got." On the other hand, if He is saying, "You shall be my witnesses," it means that Jesus is saying, "I got." It is Jesus saying that He will do everything. It means that Jesus will make you into a person who witnesses. If Jesus promises that, "I will have you stand perfectly in front of God. I will have you stand without blemish," then Jesus is the one who is taking control, not us. If that is the case, we should not even hold a pen in our hand, but let go of everything and be empty-handed. Spiritual life is relying on Jesus just like the pilot who lets go of the control stick, folds his arms, and watches the airplane fly.
11:34
The Spiritual Life of Leaving It to Jesus and Resting Peacefully
11:40
In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus said, "You are the salt of the world." In these words, is Jesus telling us, "I got," or, "You got"? This means that Jesus has made us become the salt. However, the people who do not know the secret of faith regarding these things only think that the Bible is written to make them do good things. And so, they are trying hard to do good things themselves. They think that not committing sins and doing many good deeds is the spiritual life the Bible is speaking about.
12:13
There are two pilots on a fighter jet. One is a very experienced air force colonel who was very sharp. The other pilot is a young and green air force lieutenant, flying in a fighter jet for the very first time. The lieutenant must be very nervous, trembling, afraid, and anxious. However, if the colonel says, "I got," and takes the control stick, even though the lieutenant may face risky situations, he can rest comfortably. I realized these kinds of facts reading the Bible, and I came to know that the spiritual life I used to live was, by nature, wrong. Even though Jesus said, "I got," and held the control stick, but I also said, "I got," and grabbed my own control stick, there could be no way my spiritual life would work out well. Why was I holding the control stick? I had the heart that if Jesus makes a mistake, I should do well, at least. A spiritual life lived in this manner is what kind of a spiritual life, exactly? If you really believe in Jesus, then you should be able to trust Jesus and rest. As I read the Bible, the works of God did not appear powerfully through me because I did everything. I realized something important. From then on, no matter what the problem was, if Jesus said, "I got," I immediately responded, "You got," let my hands go of the problem, and rested. Then, I saw things working out really beautifully from that point on.
13:43
The biggest problem we have as we live our spiritual lives is we try to do something. When a person gets saved, the pastor becomes very busy because the saved person asks so many questions. "Pastor, what am I supposed to do in times like this? What am I supposed to do in times like that?" Some people say and think they have to do something for the Lord because Jesus forgave their sins. That is absolutely not true. Jesus is so responsible that when He says, "I got," and grabs the control stick, He does not know how to let go. He grabs the stick and goes all the way to heaven. Even now, He has not let go. Even in heaven, He says, "I got." That is why the only thing for us to do is say, "Jesus, you got." Is Jesus working now or not? Yes, Jesus is even holding onto the control stick of our spiritual lives. If we face storms in front of us, who is the one who is going to control everything through it all? When it is so cloudy that we cannot see ahead, who is going to pilot us? When there are torrential rains and strong winds, who is going to pilot us? Who is going to pilot us when the day is completely filled with fog? Jesus will do it all. Even if there is an accident, the Gospel Company, run by Jesus, will take full responsibility.
15:10
The True Salt and the Fake Salt
15:15
Jesus did not say for us to become the salt of the world. He said that we are the salt of the world. These are really amazing words. If you are a saved person, whether you are from Seoul, Incheon, Busan, or Daegu, you are all salt. You are the salt of the world. Suppose you try to become salt. You have to be a little bit salt-like to try and become salt. Suppose there is a stone that looks the most similar to salt. For that stone to look like salt, it must be cut in a rectangular shape, right? Suppose you chiseled a pebble and made it look slightly like that somehow. So, on the surface, it looks like salt, somewhat. However, it is still missing one important thing. The pebble does not have a salty flavor. Because the pebble cannot create a salty flavor by itself, in order to make that salty flavor, you have to dip it in salt and pull it out again. After that, it will taste salty. Now, it has the shape of salt, and it has a salty flavor. Now, it looks very salt-like, but it has another problem. Salt dissolves in water, but pebbles do not.
16:28
In Aesop's Fables, there is a story called, "The Crafty Donkey." One day, a donkey was carting salt, and fell into a river. So, the salt dissolved in the water and his load became lighter. From then on, the donkey would fall over in the river every time he crossed it. Each time he did it, the salt dissolved and his load became lighter. However, the donkey's master, who was much smarter than the donkey, recognized that the donkey was being crafty. So, what did the master do? One day, he put a huge load of cotton on the back of the donkey. The donkey thought, "This is not very heavy, but I'm going to make it even lighter." So, he fell over in the river again. However, he was trying to stand back up, but the load was now so heavy that his legs were shaking as he tried to get up. It was because the donkey did not know the characteristics of what he was hauling. Salt has the characteristic of dissolving in water, but a pebble does not dissolve in water.
17:33
Everyone, do you know why salt water is salty? Let me tell you about that too. A long time ago, a person had a strange millstone at his house. It was a millstone where if you spun it and made a wish for whatever you wanted, it would come true. When you spun the millstone and asked for rice, it would give you rice. If you asked for money, the millstone would give you money. Some thieves realized this, and one day, they went to that house. They stole the millstone and ran away. They climbed over the mountains and went to the ocean. They found a boat to escape to another country.
18:13
On their way, the thieves caught fish, but it had no flavor, so it was not good. No matter where they looked in the boat, there was no salt.
18:23
Then one of the thieves said, "Don't worry. If we spin the millstone, it will give us salt." The thieves turned the millstone and said, "Give us salt."
18:33
Then the millstone began to spin on its own and make salt. The thieves were happy, but there was a problem. The thieves learned how to spin the millstone and ask for what they wanted, but they did not know how to stop it. As the millstone continually spun without stopping, it kept on making the salt. Thieves did not know what to do, so they shoveled the salt into the ocean. Because there was more and more salt coming from the millstone, the salt piled up. Their boat ultimately could not handle the weight of the salt, and it sank. When the boat sank under the water, the millstone that made the salt also sank to the bottom of the ocean. Because that millstone is still at the bottom of the ocean, spinning and making salt, that is why ocean water is salty.
19:24
Now, do you understand why the ocean is salty? That is how they used to say that the ocean became salty. Then how are the spiritual salts that God talks about made? How can we have that flavor? How are we able to make that flavor?
19:40
Salt, Which Prevents Spoiling
19:44
Before I speak about that, I want to talk about the rules of salt. First of all, salt prevents spoiling. Nowadays, people purchase soybean paste to eat. However, a long time ago, mothers would make their own soybean paste and eat that.
19:59
When you make soybean paste, you wash the soybean blocks, and then you pour salt water on them. But in order to make that salt water, do you know how much salt they use? They put eggs into salt water, and continue to add more salt until that egg begins to float. That signifies the perfect concentration of salt in the water to make soybean paste sauce. If the salt concentration is too low, the sauce will spoil and the soybean paste will taste terrible. The role of the salt is to prevent it from spoiling.
20:33
When you catch a fish, if you put salt on it before it spoils, then it will not rot. When salt is added to food, it prevents spoiling. The fact that salt keeps food from spoiling means that it keeps fungi or other germs from multiplying and living in the food. Salt also helps prevent corrosion. When salt is added to food, it will not spoil, so that is good for us. However, the things that cause food to spoil would not like salt for what it does, don't you think?
21:05
Do you know the meaning of the words, "You are the salt of the world"? Jesus said this in Matthew chapter 5, verses 11-12. "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
21:30
When we do the work of the Gospel, instead of people pinpointing, criticizing, and persecuting what we did wrong precisely, people make lies to persecute. When these people go against you, rejoice and be happy. God is telling us that the reward for us in heaven is great. What is the reason for that? The power that goes against us when we preach the Gospel is Satan. Because Satan hates us, he goes against us. He cannot fight using ordinary methods, so he makes up lies to go against us. These people slander us with wicked words, speak against us, and persecute us. Who are the people that Satan goes against so strongly? Satan persecutes the people who he feels threatened by. Would Satan do this to people he does not care much about? Satan goes against the people who have the power to block the work he is doing and destroy his power. That is when Satan goes against you and persecutes you for no reason. It says to rejoice and be happy when people go against you and persecute you for no reason, like when they lie and say wicked things against you even though you never said anything wrong and were doing well. Everyone, have you ever experienced being persecuted with lies people made up against you? Have you heard a lot of words like these? How did you feel in your heart? Did you not feel angry and wronged? However, what did Jesus say? He said to be joyful and rejoice. Raise your hand if you experienced such things, and you were happy and joyful to do that.
23:06
I had a conference on March 1st, 1988 at the Suwon Prison. The heart of the prison education director was very open towards us, so he paved the way and prepared for us to hold the conference at the prison. March 1st was a holiday, so the director of the prison asked for two of the workers at the prison to help out. And with the heart to volunteer, the workers came to work for that extra day. We were able to have the conference. I preached all day long, starting from the morning until dinner that evening, with the exception of a 30-minute lunch break. That day, many inmates in prison received salvation and were changed. The inmates who were saved then witnessed to other inmates. Then those inmates witnessed to others—the works of the Gospel took root in Suwon Prison. But one of the inmates there asked me a question: "Pastor Park, there are people who speak against you. If their words are not true, why don't you sue them?" I have received many questions like that. However, in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus said, "Even the prophets before you were persecuted in the same way." These kinds of things happen endlessly, and that is why I do not want to take care of these problems by law. I am hoping that God will take care of these problems. And one more thing, I am thankful that many people are receiving salvation because of the persecution we receive.
24:35
There was a sister who lived in Seoul. She received salvation, and was coming to our church. That sister's brother-in-law heard rumors of such, and said, "Oh no. She is in big trouble. I heard that this church is wrong. I'd better go and check it out for myself." He asked his sister-in-law, "Hey, are there any books published by the church that you attend?" She then told him about the book, The Secret of Forgiveness of Sin and Being Born Again. The brother-in-law bought the book at the bookstore and read it. However, no matter how much he read, he could not see anything wrong with the book. He thought, "It must be because I don't know the Bible very well." So, he went to go see a minister he knew very well. He said, "Minister, my sister-in-law is going to a church. In this book, I think it will show the symptoms of how they are a cult or heretic. Can you read this book and show me the cultish traits that this church is displaying and help me get my sister-in-law out of this?"
25:41
That minister had this great assignment, so from that day on, he began to read, The Secret of Forgiveness of Sin and Being Born Again. However, through reading this book, he was changed. In his heart, he thought, "How could a person like this be called a heretic?" In the middle of the night, called me. I could feel from his voice that he was so deeply touched. He hung up but called me again soon afterwards. He said, "Pastor, there is a church in the southern area of Busan, right?" I replied, "Why do you ask?" He said, "My family lives in that area. I will lead them to the church."
26:21
This also happened. The pastor of a church in Yeongdeungpo gathered the elders of his church and said, "Members of our church have been lost to a heretic. We must train our members, so that they will not fall into heretics." One of the elders had a doctorate in theology, and he asked his pastor, "Pastor, nowadays, you cannot just mindlessly use the word heretic in front of young people. I know you are busy, but pastor, you must study this yourself. You have to find out how that church is wrong, biblically, and then explain it to them. You must do that in order for young people to understand." He replied, "Yes, I will do that." Three months later, the elder asked the pastor, "Pastor, how about that thing I asked you to do?" The pastor replied, "Oh yeah, well I have been quite busy these days." The elder said, "Sure, pastor, you are very busy, right?"
27:16
Six months later, the elder asked him about it again. However, the pastor once again said, "I'm sorry, I have been too busy." That elder thought about it some more and concluded, "Well, my pastor is too busy to do this. I am a doctor of Theology, so then let me get into the truth behind this heretic." He was able to get his hands on the book, The Secret of Forgiveness of Sin and Being Born Again and read through it. However, he was greatly changed after finishing the book. One day, he called me: "Pastor Park, I know you must be very busy, but can you meet with me one time?" I made an appointment, and went to see him. That day; however, he had many guests at his house, so we were unable to have fellowship. He just treated me to a nice steak dinner.
28:09
Nonetheless, many people are changing through the fact that we receive persecution. I could go on forever about these kinds of things. Satan works through lies, but God continues to do His work. That is why Jesus said the words in Matthew chapter 5, verses 11 through 12: "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
28:42
After these words, it also says, "You are the salt of the world." If salt goes somewhere, but does not cause a reaction, then that is not salt. Salt causes a reaction. The first reaction is to kill everything that causes spoilage. Do you know what happens when Jesus, who is the salt, enters your heart? You can see the corrupt, filthy, and dirty thoughts begin to die inside of you from that moment on. When you are at your workplace, the Jesus you have received in your heart begins to work as the salt. People, who do filthy and dirty things become aware of you, and they do not feel free to do evil things.
29:23
A long time ago, a very old sister who attended my church worked at a big restaurant in a hospital before getting saved. They often had beef or chicken on their menu at this hospital restaurant. Those days, the ladies who worked in the restaurant kitchen would cut pieces of meat, put them in a plastic bag, and take them home. Since everybody who worked at that restaurant did it, this lady would also put beef in her purse and take it home. Back then, beef was very precious, so she would eat the meat deliciously together with her family. Even though she would do such things, she did not feel anything at all.
30:04
One day, she believed in Jesus and received salvation. After getting saved, taking the beef home like that was stealing, so she was no longer able to do that. One day, beef was served. That day as well, the other ladies who worked in that restaurant cut off pieces of beef, put them into plastic bags, and put them into their purses. However, that sister did not do that. The other ladies probably thought, "I guess she is not going straight home today. She must be going somewhere else. However, every time beef was served, the sister refused to take any...twice, three times, she stopped taking the food home.
30:42
The other people there could not comfortably take the beef home like they used to. It was something that they did discreetly, but now there is a person who knows about it, so they did not feel free in their hearts. However, when they were taking the beef home, that sister never told them, "Why are you stealing meat?" However, everyone has to sin together to feel comfortable about it. Since one person was not joining in, the other people felt so uncomfortable and uneasy. Ultimately, the sister became an outcast at the restaurant.
31:16
One sister was a city bus attendant. A long time ago, these attendants used to skim some of the bus fares that the customers paid. They would give a little of the bus fare to the driver as well. In other words, they were pocketing the money. This was a type of cooperative agreement between the attendant and the bus driver. The bus company knew that the attendants and bus drivers were pocketing money, and to a certain extent, they turned a blind eye to it. That is why this sister skimmed without any hesitation before receiving salvation.
31:50
After getting saved, one day while in prayer, the sister realized that what she was doing was actually illegal. From then on, she made up her mind not to pocket any money anymore. When I listened to this sister's testimony, I could see what a difficult thing it was for her to not pocket any money. The problem was the driver. The attendant needs to pocket some money and share it with the driver in order to give him some extra income. But when a driver worked with this sister, she would not pocket any money. Therefore, the drivers do not get anything. When they work with other attendants, they get some side money. Therefore, the drivers who had to work with this sister would get so angry. However, they could not just go directly up to her, and say, "Give me the money!" Instead, they would give this sister a hard time.
32:45
A long time ago, all of the city bus companies had a system where they knew which city bus from which company would pass by a certain point at a specific time. In order to monitor whether buses were arriving at every stop on time, the bus companies would either set people along certain parts of a route, or they would set up machines to check exactly when the bus would pass by. So in essence, a city bus' travel times are checked about four or five times. Usually, the attendants on the buses had to go to the spot where they were being checked, and clock in. If the bus driver stops the bus next to the machine, then the attendant would quickly get off the bus, clock in, and get right back on. However, because the sister would not pocket any money and would not give the drivers any, the driver that worked with this sister that day would purposely stop the bus far away from the machine. It means, he hated her. The sister had to run all the way over there and come back. Then, after she ran there and came back, she also had to check whether customers got on while she was away.
33:59
Sometimes, the bus would take off even though she was not back on it. When they come to a place where the machine is close, the bus would usually slow down, open its door, and she would get off. However, while the door was opening, the driver would slam the breaks on purpose to make her fall forward. Drivers gave her a hard time in lots of different ways.
34:23
During morals lessons in elementary school, we were taught that if we found money, we should drop it off at a police station, or give it back to the owner. However, if we lived according to how we were taught, we could never live in this world. This world is so difficult for righteous people to live in. To a certain extent, you must be able to act illegally. While driving, you could violate a traffic law and get pulled over by the police. When the police officer asks for your driver's license, some people hand over money and get it over with. In some instances, police ask for money. People know that bribing is illegal, but at times, it is harder to live not doing these things.
35:09
In this kind of a world, how can we live as not salt? Many people go to church, and they drink and do unrighteous things. If you live that way, like they do, then why would you ever be persecuted? However, that is not salt. In a place where there is rot, when salt is added, it stops the rotting. Because Christians are light and salt, even though you say nothing at all, it is normal for the people who belong to darkness of the world to feel burdened by you. People should feel uncomfortable doing unrighteous things in front of you. Because they live committing sins in darkness, they have to feel guilty and afraid in front of you in order for you to be true salt. This does not happen because we try to be this way. Whether we want it or not, Jesus said, "You are the salt of the world." That is why you are the salt of the world and the light. Through you being established at your workplace, your neighborhood, and your family, it will bring a stop to the rotting and spoiling. Therefore, this rotting world, will feel burdened and uncomfortable with you. It may even truly hate you. That is salt. In Judges chapter 9, it says that Abimelech killed people and poured salt on them. It was to block contagious diseases that spread when corpses corrode. That is the kind of work that the salt does.
36:35
Even Though the Secret of Unlawfulness Was Already at Work
36:41
When the salt departs, the world quickly corrupts. When you read the Bible, it says that in the future, when Jesus Christ returns to this world, the saints on this earth will be lifted up into the air and taken away. After all the saved saints are lifted up, the world falls into great chaos and darkness. According to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 7, "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let." The work of the evil one has already begun. The fact that there are ones who are blocking means that there are Christians who are the light and salt in the world. God's church has become the shield, and they are blocking the forces of darkness. Even though your face may not have much of a shine, you are the light. Even though you may not be salty, you are the salt. That is why the power of corruption and this rotting world are losing their freedom to do whatever they want to do in front of us.
37:44
The Salt, Which Brings out the True Flavor
37:49
The second thing salt does is bring out flavor. If you look in Job chapter 6, verse 6, Job says, "Can something tasteless be eaten without salt?" Did you know that out of the different ingredients of food, the thing that makes food the tastiest is salt? When I led the Bible conference at the air force base, we had breakfast at an elder's house. After we were done with breakfast, they brought out ginseng tea. The problem was that in ginseng tea, they did not put in sugar, but salt. There is a reason why these kinds of things happen. When a housewife is working in her own kitchen at home that would never happen. However, other ladies came over trying to treat the pastor, so they had all worked together. That is why something like this happened. Someone put salt into the ginseng tea, and oh my, it was very salty. I wanted to see who was going to mention it first, so I drank the ginseng tea, put it down, and looked around. People were talking to one another, and the elder was in a rush, saying that he needed to go to work. Right then, one lady next to the elder said to him, "Elder, have some tea before you go." He replied, "I am so busy." "You can just drink it standing." Then when the elder drank the tea, he shouted. "Oh, no! What is this? This is salt!"
39:16
The kitchen was now in a panic. The elder said, "Oh my, you put salt into the tea? That means there must be salt in pastor's tea too!" Then I said quietly, "Yeah, I think it has a little bit of salt in it." Right then, the people who were there said, "Oh no! This is a big problem." They were worried and said, "Pastor is going to tell everybody about this everywhere he goes." If they had not said that, I would have just forgotten about it, but because they said that, that is why I am telling everybody about it right now. As I am treated in many different places, interesting things happen here and there.
39:57
I read in a book somewhere, that an elementary school student once thought he was eating sugar, so he took a big scoop, ate, but then he recognized it was salt. His teacher saw this student who was upset. The student said, "I hate salt the most!" So the teacher invited the student to her home. She prepared a little food for the student, and put sugar in all the food, instead of salt. The child ate a little of the food, and said, "Why does it taste like this?" He ate a little more, and could not eat anymore. The teacher said to the child, "At first, eating food that are just sweet seems good, but you must understand how important salt is." Even though it may not be sweet, but the thing that dissolves and plays the important role of bringing out the taste in food is salt. When Job said, "Can something tasteless be eaten without salt?" he was not actually complaining about food. He is saying that without salt, there is no taste and there is no flavor, so it cannot be eaten. Even when we read the Bible, when the faith to believe in Jesus Christ enters us, then, just like salted food, it makes the flavor of the word great. However, even though people without faith read the Bible, it is like eating tasteless food without salt. They are unable to feel the flavor of the word. It is exactly as the word of God says, "How can something without taste be eaten without salt?"
41:30
When I went to prisons and preached the Gospel, I had gotten to know many inmates. Sometimes, their lives seemed so pitiful. Their lives are so pitiful that almost everybody there hopes to commit suicide. However, even though a person may be serving a prison sentence, after he receives salvation, their lives change. Just like salt adds flavor when it is added to food, when the life of Jesus Christ enters us, our lives change. There are some people who give their testimonies, saying, "Even though I die now, I don't want for anything." However, who among saved people do not feel that way in their hearts? We all must die anyway, and when we die, we go to the best place. What is the reason we should not die? If we do not look at that land and only look at this world, we may feel an attraction to this world. However, if we could see heaven even once, we would not have much of a heart to remain here.
42:30
Once You Get to Know the Flavor of Heaven
42:36
A long time ago, there were these elderly people who worked very hard to send their children to college and support them. After their children graduated, they studied abroad in America and got jobs there. They made a good living and the children sent a letter to their elderly parents. "Father, come see me in America. Don't live in Korea anymore. Come and live with me in America." Then these elderly people went to America with hope and expectations. Riding in an airplane was so amazing to them, and staying in America was also amazing. At first, everything is new and very interesting, but after about a week, they started to feel frustrated. They had no friends, and even though they want to go somewhere, they cannot communicate. Their child is away at work, and they are home alone, so it is not very fun. After about ten days, they think of their friends at home in Korea. They think about what happened to their pumpkins in the backyard, and then they become curious whether their pigs are growing up well. Then after about a month, they say, "Son, I want to go back to Korea." Their child replies, "Father, it took so much to get here, why are you leaving already? Stay a little longer."
43:52
Then after about three months, the father starts to throw a fit. "I am not going to ask anything of you, but just send me back to Korea." The son sees that the father is having such a tough time, so he feels that granting his wish is the best way to be a good son, so he buys an airplane ticket for his father. "Father, you can go back to Korea." So, the elderly grandpa comes back home. He lived so comfortably in America, and now he is back in Korea. The bathrooms and the bathtubs are all uncomfortable. When he lived in America, he only thought about the things he missed in Korea. After living three months in America, now he is back in Korea, but he now only thinks about the conveniences that were in America. He remembers all kinds of good things, like the good bathrooms with the showers and bathtubs filled with hot water. Everything was automated and convenient. Now he is back in Korea and everything is manual, so it is so uncomfortable now. After a short time in Korea, he says, "I want to go back to America." And in that way, he goes back and forth from Korea to America several times. Eventually, he does not stay in Korea, but settles in America.
45:11
The reason we live with attachment to this world is because we have not seen that other land. Because we have lived only in this world, you do not have much faith about heaven. If you got a special visa and joined a special tour group that toured heaven for about a month, your heart would change. The problem with that is you would never want to come back to this earth. People apply for visas to go to America. The U.S. embassy says that they want to give visas to everybody, but the problem is that people go to America but they do not come back. That is why they will only give you a visa if they have the assurance that you will return home. It is the same reason God did not give us any visas to heaven, so maybe that is why God just calls the people who are supposed to go there right away. You have a lot of attachment to the world because it is all you know. On the contrary, if you visit heaven, even once, your attachment to this world would disappear.
46:18
"The children will grow up fine on their own, and when they are all grown, they will not need to be breastfed. It is so frustrating to live here. Let me just go there. Wouldn't you go there already? If I live in this world and if I get headaches, then I am going to just go up to heaven. I would go there for a few hours and then come back down. But if I do that, my wife would look for me, and there would be a big commotion. So, I would leave this lugging body behind, just take my heart, and go there and come back." When we are saved, there is a flavor to our lives because it has been salted. Whether we are in the city, in the countryside, in prison, or deep in the mountains: no matter where we are or what life we may live, those who have tasted redemption through Christ are happy. Even though you live in a very miserable circumstance, you will live happily.
47:20
You Must Know the Path That You Travel Precisely
47:25
One time, a certain lady called me while I was sleeping. It was about 1:30 in the morning. That person had been reading the sermon book, The Secret of Forgiveness of Sin and Being Born Again, when she called me. When she called at 1:30 am, I could sort of tell about what page she was on. The person on the phone said, "Pastor, my husband is great, and he has a good income. Therefore, I do not worry about money, or making long-distance phone calls." I guess she does not think about how other people are unable to sleep. This lady thought she was a person who was envied by everyone, and that she had everything that other people liked. I think she was especially confident in her looks. That is why she often went to the beauty salon. When she went to the salon and thought about the stylist, she felt, "How miserable must this woman be? Day and night, she just lives her entire life touching other people's dirty hair." Since she thought that, she felt so sorry for her hair stylist.
48:30
She wanted to witness to her and lead her to heaven, so she asked her, "Do you believe in Jesus?"
48:38
Right then, the stylist replied, "Oh, madam, I guess you go to church."
48:42
That is how the two of them started talking. The beauty stylist said, "There is a story about you in the Bible."
48:50
The lady thought, "How is that possible? The Bible was written a long time ago. How could there be a story about me? She is joking."
48:59
Right then the stylist told her about the story of Captain Naaman's wife in 2 Kings chapter 5. Captain Naaman looked fancy and elaborate on the outside, wearing a bright and shiny military uniform with all sorts of valor. But on the inside, he was rotting away as a filthy leper. She was able to discover that this was exactly her image. And she began to cry.
49:23
She said, "In other people's eyes, I am good looking and smart. My husband holds a high position, but my insides are rotting away because of sin. I never thought in my wildest dreams that my story would appear in the Bible."
49:38
At first, she thought it was a joke when the stylist mentioned her story was in the Bible. However, she experienced that it was actually true. Afterwards, she came to the church and listened to the word. Each word in the Bible was all about her.
49:54
The important thing is that when you get to discover yourself inside of the Bible, you discover what path you are traveling on. You get to see clearly whether you are going to hell or heaven. When you know precisely where you are going, even though you are going to hell, you realize how to change your direction. Is that the only thing? When you receive salvation, you become changed and new.
50:20
Afterwards, I went to the church the lady attended. She was no longer some great or fancy woman. She was very plainly dressed, just another married sister in the church listening to the word. I could immediately feel, "It was that sister who used to think that she was amazing before." People who have experienced the taste of Jesus Christ can only enjoy these kinds of things. People who do not have Jesus Christ in their hearts may do haphazard things for the sake of being noticed by others. But they do it outwardly. The greatest factor in their mind is, "I wonder what other people think about me. If I give this testimony, what would everyone think of me? What will my friends say when they see me handing out flyers in the street? Even at church, I am going to hang out with people who are well off. If I hang out with shabby people, what will other people think of me?" The eyes of others control these people. They are not people led by the Holy Spirit. Because we are people who are led by the Holy Spirit, after we are saved, instead of worrying about what others think of you, your concern changes to "What does Jesus think of me?" Like adding salt to tasteless food to make it edible, once we receive salvation, our lives completely change. The flavor of life changes and our thoughts change, too.
51:45
The New Flavor of Life Given to Those Who Are Born Again
51:52
I was beaten at times while serving in the army. Once, it was New Year's Day and most of the soldiers from the base had gone on vacation, leaving only a few behind in the barracks. However, one soldier went out drinking, and came back and beat up a superior. Something like that is considered to be a big incident in the army.
52:14
When everybody found out about this, the other superiors were very angry. Therefore, they organized what we called a group beating. Many people gathered in the barracks, and they were beaten with a rod of a hoe. That was the most severe beating I experienced the entire time I was in the army. Even today, I vividly remember how I was beaten that day. I am pretty good at taking stripes, but after getting three hits that day, I thought, "That's good enough." After the fourth hit, I thought, "I wish they'd stop hitting me." After five hits, I began to cringe. I thought, "If they hit me any more, I am going to faint." After the sixth hit, it was over.
52:57
The good thing about the army is that even though you get hit that badly, that is the end of it. If you got hit like that while in regular society, you would be hospitalized and diagnosed, and forced to go through so many steps to evaluate your health. However, as I was being hit, I did not think of anything but the Bible. I did not hate my superiors, nor was I uncomfortable with them for hitting me. I did not blame the kid who beat up his senior, which caused this group beating in the first place. The problem was that I was on my stomach and they said, "Get up," so I got up. Everybody else had frowns on their faces, but I had a smile on my face. This made my superior really angry. "Hey, are you laughing at me?" he asked. "No," I replied. Then he asked, "Then what are you doing?" I replied, "It hurt so bad, I was thinking about something else."
53:57
My superior got so angry, it made me tremble in fear because I thought I would faint if I got hit anymore. I have been beaten and punished in the army. And each time it happened, just like other people, I got frustrated and it hurts. Then I thought about the word and Jesus. Even though I was getting hit, I was not getting hit in my heart because I was walking with Jesus. Even though I was beaten while frowning, I did not have the heart, "That punk! I am going to go kill him." When those people saw me, they thought, "Is that guy out of his mind?" I am.
54:37
I am out often times. When my flesh goes through pain and suffering, does my heart have to remain there, too? When my body endured difficulty, pain, and suffering, my heart was able to leave those circumstances. It is really good if you could truly learn this. The people of the world say, "Since it's miserable, let's not think. Let's just have a drink. This is miserable. This darn world!" That is what they say, is it not? Do they have any other way than this? We, however, do not need to do that because Jesus is working inside of our hearts. I am thankful that we are able to go to heaven by faith, but I am also very thankful to be living in this world. It is okay if the people who do not know this call us heretics and speak against us. If they receive the forgiveness of sins and become born again with the faith to believe in Jesus Christ, then a new flavor comes forth in their lives. The things that used to be delicious are no longer delicious. Dancing and getting drunk no longer brings them joy. If a saved person has to be at a place to drink, even though he may take the drink to his mouth, it is tasteless and undrinkable.
55:55
A long time ago, I gave a drink to a minister who preached the word in Gospel class. Before being saved, he drank so much. Even if he drinks beer or rice liquor, he does not even get drunk. It just makes him full. He used to put whiskey in a bowl and drink it. But now, that drunkard received salvation. When he was in Daegu, living together with us, he had stones in his urinary tract. When they examined him at the hospital, they said that he needed to have surgery. Back then, we were poor, so we were unable to come up with the money for surgery. When he asked around about that illness, they said there was a way to get rid of the stones without getting surgery. They said that if you drink a lot of beer, take some painkillers, and if you run a lot, when you urinate, the stones may come out with your urine. Whether it was a good method or not, it was not going to cost a lot of money, so we chose that method. It cost way too much money for surgery. Actually, back then, we did not even have the money to buy beer. When I told my wife to buy some beer, she went to the supermarket and bought four large bottles.
57:14
I said, "Brother Lee, come here, please."
57:17
I did not know how to drink, so I just poured the beer into a big bowl, and said, "Drink."
57:24
"I can't," he replied.
57:25
"What are you talking about? Then don't say that the stones hurt. Hurry up and drink it," I responded.
57:32
"I can't drink this," he said.
57:34
"This is medicine! It is not alcohol!" I yelled. Just because I yelled at him, would he be afraid? A pastor is ordering him to drink, but the minister does not want to drink. Finally, he drank one bowl. I opened the second bottle and poured it into the bowl, and told him, "Drink."
57:53
The minister replied, "Pastor, please."
57:55
"What are you talking about? You are speaking like a little child. Take this and get healed. Think of it as saving money, so hurry up and drink it. It will get rid of the stones, so that is why I am making you drink this. Who is the one making you drink? Don't worry. Just drink it!"
58:16
Back then I do not know why I did not think about him being healed through prayer. Even though I had a Bible back then, you know? So, the minister finished another bowl. I was about to open the third bottle, when he said, "Pastor..." and stopped me. He ran to the bathroom. I made him drink two bottles, but I failed in making him drink the remaining two bottles. Later, the minister told me, "Pastor, a long time ago, when I was serving in the army, I wanted to drink beer so badly. I wanted to drink beer so much, that I could not even serve very well. Everyday, I used to think, "Who am I going to bug today in order to get a big mug of beer. However, I never knew how bad beer tasted."
59:04
Beer is delicious to people who do not know the flavor of Christ. How good would beer be for people who have tasted the flavor of Jesus Christ? People who have tasted Jesus, tasted the forgiveness of sins, and tasted walking with Jesus. They do not want to taste the things of the world. The people who still feel dancing is fun or feel beer is still good only have sin and do not fully know the taste of Jesus. So, if you still feel that liquor is delicious, do not try to quit drinking—get to know the taste of Jesus Christ. When the world appears beautiful to you and you become tempted, do not try to cover your eyes to avoid looking at the world. I hope that you will taste the true flavor of Jesus Christ. Then even though things in the world may tempt your eyes, you can pass by it as if it was nothing.
60:01
Jesus Christ is the most flavorful food that fits our taste. And Jesus is the best food in our lives. Once people of the world get a taste of Him and once they experience Jesus, one by one, they will say, "That person believes in Jesus, now he is useless. Before, he used to try so hard to get whatever he could, but after believing in Jesus, he's so powerless now." The ambitions he had before have disappeared and it makes people wonder, "How is he going to get through life that way?"
60:34
The people who lost their ambitions toward the world, and the people who are dead towards the world are inside of Jesus. Jesus is used in every direction in life. The amazing thing is that even though we seem weak, we are strong. Even though we look like we are nothing, we are people who have all things. I have seen many things of the world and I have met many people, but I have never seen anything that is used in every direction like Jesus is.
61:05
Jesus is absolutely necessary for the relationship of a married couple, too. If a couple says they have never had a single fight, then that is a lie. People, who do not fight, do not fight because of special conditions. If the wife is a queen and her husband is a servant, they will not fight. Or, if the husband becomes emperor and his wife is the maid, then they will not fight. That is because it is not an even match. However, when a married couple features both parties in similar positions, the fights occur. Even when there is a big age gap or educational gap between a husband and his wife, they are one body, and thus, the same. That is why they clash even though one person may be smarter than the other.
61:53
At times, I argue with my wife, too. I need to have fellowship with her in spiritual life, but we end up having a "loud fellowship," where it is a competition for the stronger voice that can go to a higher octave. Truth be told, this is one type of fellowship in which you are able to communicate and understand the heart. While in the middle of an argument with my wife, I suddenly think about Jesus. I was trying to assert that I was right and I was fighting, when all of a sudden I thought about Jesus. It seemed so laughable.
62:29
At that moment, people might call me crazy for laughing, so I cannot laugh. Then I start to worry because I do not want to fight anymore. How am I supposed to wrap everything up? I cannot just stop, and it is really difficult to wrap up. If I end the argument with unclear words, my wife will surely nag me about it. "You say that you have such good faith, but why do you not trust this problem to the Lord?" It means that basically she is saying that I learned Jesus, but why am I nagging her? When I listened to what she says, she is right. When I come back to my right mind, and think about Jesus, it makes me feel that I followed my thoughts and made all that noise needlessly.
63:17
Even between my wife and I, I often saw that Jesus was beautifully leading our lives. I cannot tell you everything that has happened, but Jesus Christ was able to block all of the conditions that would break the peace in my heart. That is why, no matter what situation we are in, we can rejoice and be satisfied. We can say that no matter when we die, there will be no grief. I could see that the Lord is pleased with us preaching the Gospel, not just across our country, but all around the world. Even though He knows all of our weaknesses and shortcomings, the Lord wants to work so badly, so all I can say is, "Yes," and follow Him. Also, if the Lord says, "I will do this", then I believe He will work this way. I believe that God will lead many people to salvation and that He will be glorified. I hope that you and I will be utilized for that glory.
End of chapter
With All Thine Offerings Thou Shalt Offer Salt
Ch. 4 / 4
0:00
−64:17
15
30
Speed
1×
Ch. 4
/ 4
0.75×
1×
1.25×
1.5×
Stay Connected
The week, in your inbox.
Sermon recaps, prayer needs, and events — every week.
Email address
Subscribe
