The Providential Life of Jesus and its Victorious Purpose
Former Church Headquarters
Seoul, Korea
October 27, 1957
Matthew 12:18-37
Prayer
The history of conflict lies before those of us who are gathered here today. We must inherit Your unfinished feats even after our death. Father, we hope You will allow us to reflect and ask ourselves whether we have become the elite soldiers of Heaven who can fight on after putting our stagnant selves before You: the elite soldiers of Heaven who can fight and bring victory.
We understand that the enemy we must fight against now is not some person on the earth. It is Satan, who during the 6,000-long years of history raised the banner of opposition against God, accused God and snatched away power and authority. The responsibility and mission to subjugate this monstrous enemy rests upon us today. We realize that until now we have desired only a comfortable lifestyle and to be on the receiving end of the love of the Father, while being intoxicated in His grace. Father, please forgive us.
Until now we have neglected the fact that to bring the enemies to submission, our spirit and heart must never change, even in the midst of turmoil, conflicts and the ordeals of the cross. Father of love, we pray You will allow us to become the elite soldiers of Heaven who will have unchanging minds from now on and will fight alone with the many millions of satans.
Are there sons and daughters who have become exhausted while upholding this will? Father! Please grant us strength. Are there any who are hesitating? Please give them courage. On this foundation, Father of love, we earnestly wish that You will let us become the beloved sons and daughters who can dash toward the victorious purpose and goal of the conflict and march forward.
The responsibility to fight through the last battle and to victoriously cross over the pass of Golgotha rests upon our shoulders. Father of love, we sincerely hope You will let us become Your sons and daughters who can dash toward all battlefields with the power, heart, resolve and determination of the Father. Let us feel the bitter grief and be triumphant.
Although the sons and daughters who have gathered are small in number, please do not let them be content in the place in which they dwell. Let them learn to offer gratitude toward the grace given to them.
Beloved Father, we pray You will help us understand that the grace You give us today is not only for our own sakes. It is the blessing You have given us for the sake of all humanity, as representatives of the many millions of faithful believers who are in Heaven. It is for the sake of bestowing upon us the responsibility and mission to subjugate the many millions of satans.
Please guide us to reveal to You where our hearts are. They are the sons and daughters who have the mission to manifest the will of the Father as one purpose and are to manifest the standard of victory by contending with Satan. Are they in a state of weakness? Please give them strength. Are there those who cause sorrow to God while they are praying before the Father? Father! Please grant them happiness. Are there those who are trying their best to seek Heaven? Please appear before them with good and public works.
Father of love, we sincerely wish that by doing so, You will let them become the sons and daughters who do not become fatigued, even as they alone take responsibility for the will, grace and dispensation of the Father. Let them carry on the struggle.
This is a holy day, so please bless the countless religious groups who are gathering on behalf of the thirty million people. We know that there are many sons and daughters who have set up hidden altars and are shedding unknown tears, revealing to others that the time of the Father's works has come to pass. Father, please appear before them with the same grace.
Since You have given the promise that in the Last Days You will pour down the blessing of the Holy Spirit as water is poured down, please quickly appear before us. Father, we sincerely wish for You to give us the consultation that will help us raise high the signal light of life and return glory as Your representatives, building the one garden of restoration.
Father, please allow the sons and daughters who were called upon first to offer gratitude before the Father's Will. Let this be an hour when we can make the pledge that we will return glory to the Father by fulfilling our responsibility.
When we make an earnest appeal before the loving Father's solemn presence, let there appear upon the whole audience in this hour the works of grace that will pay their indemnity with the blessing of the Father. Let them move toward one standard and purpose before the will of the whole that the Father desires. Now, even if barriers block our path in the course of conflict we must walk, please allow us to take responsibility for this and proceed on toward the will of the Father. Following the victorious example of Jesus, who overcame even while he was suffering infinite pain on the cross, please let us set the standard of sons and daughters of the Father who can win the victory even by offering the last ounce of our lives.
We have gathered here, so please allow our minds to be in harmony with one another. Allow us to move as one under the grace of the Father. Protect us so that we can be guarded by the many millions of angels in Heaven so that Satan cannot invade us. Father, this is our sincere wish.
We have entrusted all the remaining time to You, so earnestly beseeching that the Trinity will govern and that You will grant the glory of victory to us, we offer all the words in the name of the Lord. Amen.
If God's dispensation of restoration had not existed in the time between the fall and today, it would not be possible for the mouths of humankind, who belong to sin, to call God "Father." As people with the lineage of death, you cannot even think about the grace of Heaven and the grace of love with respect to the Father. Moreover, you have to understand that it is due to the grace of God that we can dwell inside the realm of life today.
God Tried to Embrace Humankind Through Jesus
The quality of comprehensiveness is contained in the providential life of Jesus. God's dispensation took 4,000 years of history, until the appearance of Jesus. Because Jesus came to the earth, God could embark upon a new dispensation centering on him. God cannot relate freely with people on the earth. Therefore, passing through the period of the Old Testament, God guided the dispensation by using angels as messengers. By establishing Christ with a substantial body, who could work directly on the earth, the dispensation of God to embrace fallen humanity could begin.
Since Jesus passed away, 2,000 years of history have passed. Thus, you have to understand that you are living in an era when, as you enter the realm of the Father's grace today, you can attend Jesus Christ as the Lord and enjoy the protection and blessing of the Holy Spirit.
You have to understand that because God could not deal directly with human beings in the 4,000-year period before the coming of Jesus, He had to resort to the toilsome dispensation of seeking humankind through the errands of many angels. Moreover, you should understand that after dividing the spiritual world and the physical world, the Father sent Jesus Christ to establish the direct, horizontal dispensation with humankind.
Today, 2,000 years of history since the coming of Jesus, in order for you to be chosen before that grace, you must experience the heart of God, Who was seeking humankind on the spiritual plane for thousands of years before Jesus. Moreover, you must never forget that you are in the middle of a historic process dealing with the will of the dispensation. After coming to this earth, Jesus set the goals of his daily, earthly life and his eternal life and tried to let you accompany him.
Jesus fixed the will as the purpose of his daily life for thirty years. To accomplish this, in the 2,000 years since, he has been guiding your ancestors. Moreover, you should feel that the providential responsibility to lead your descendants in the future lies with Jesus.
You know very well that when Jesus deals with the will of the dispensation, he cannot usher in the day of peace based only on the daily life, earthly life and eternal life in which only he is joyful. At this time today then, when we have not found the day of the peace of Heaven or the day of hope that Heaven demands, what kind of position is the people on earth in? No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to find the day of peace. No matter how much you seek peace and no matter how ideal a world you dream of, your fate is such that you cannot guarantee that.
The reason is that the dispensation of God, the Creator of Heaven and earth, remains a sorrowful one. Jesus Christ, who came as the Lord of all things to accomplish the dispensation of salvation for the fallen people of this earth, also relates with the will of the dispensation with a sorrowful heart. Therefore, no one on earth can find peace, and we cannot boast that we have attained the glory of victory.
As long as the sorrowful heart of God, who must shoulder this dispensational fate and lead people forward remains, the garden of the love of God will not be attained. As long as the grieving heart of Jesus Christ remains, as well as the sorrow inside the many millions of people of faith who are connected to the providence, the garden of goodness and the love of God which humanity longs and yearns for will never be obtained.
It is not easy for Heaven, who is conducting this dispensation, to cling to human beings. Before the sorrowful heart of the Father, Satan is blocking the path and is making accusations, using people as the condition. You have to understand this.
When in your daily, earthly life or among the ideals you desire, there is some element that is not in accordance with the principles of the heavenly way or God's ideology of creation, you have to realize that the Father, the Lord and the faithful believers are grieving, being beaten and fighting on our behalf while they are being mercilessly accused by Satan for every condition. Therefore, in the dispensational history of God, the sorrow of God, the sorrow of Jesus Christ and the sorrow of the many millions of people of faith who have been participating in the dispensation still remain. Yet what is the greatest anguish of God? It is the agony of having to battle with Satan while defending us. You have to understand that God is in this kind of position.
Jesus Christ Bridged the Gap Between God and Humanity
Now you have to reflect upon the birth and life of Jesus Christ. Before Jesus was born on the earth, there was a great distance between humanity and God. Accordingly, God hoped that human beings would pour out all of their hearts and exert all of their strength to trample upon all conditions of the satanic world. He hoped that they would penetrate through the dark forces of Satan that had seized power and reach up to Him. The dispensation of the Old Testament was such that only by doing so could humankind receive the grace of God. However, God understood that human effort and toil alone would not allow them to find Him. He had heard the people looking up to Heaven in sorrowful tears. Therefore, He sent Jesus to make it possible for them to attain the relative value from a horizontal position and associate with the one center who represented God. This is the condition of victory and pride against Satan in the 4,000-year history of the dispensation. However, because Jesus could not fully realize the purpose behind his coming to the earth due to the faithlessness of humanity, it has been our fate to pray to Heaven and exert our utmost.
Why is it that while human eyes are created to look straight out horizontally and move around, the human mind is supposed to be aligned with Heaven? When you achieve the will of God's dispensation in the horizontal sphere, God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and all people on the earth can be happy. Only after this has been realized can our wishes materialize. As the first step toward fulfilling this goal, God sent Jesus, but because faithless people killed him, you have the responsibility to receive the deceased Jesus Christ again.
After coming to this earth, Jesus took the first step of his daily life in accordance with the will of God's dispensation. What was the center of this daily life? First, it was guiding the people to God and battling against Satan, who makes accusations against humankind. Jesus made his start from this kind of dual position.
Jesus alone grieved on behalf of the sorrow of God, who had conducted the dispensation for 4,000 years, and on behalf of the sadness of the heavenly principles. While he was being falsely accused by Satan in the invisible spirit world and opposed by all the faithless people in the physical world, Jesus grieved for God. With this kind of heart, his gaze was fixed on the Israelites. He dealt with the chosen faith of Judaism according to God's heart of love.
However, the Israelites and the sect of Judaism who should have upheld the will of God and helped Jesus fulfill his mission did not appear before Jesus at all. Instead, they stood in opposition to him. The Christians today, who believe that this was inevitable, must understand that the time has come now when they must fathom the genuine heart of Jesus.
Jesus had to block off the forces of Satan invading spiritually. He had to block all the arrows of faithlessness shot from the hands of many people. However, Jesus alone cannot just be engaged in that kind of conflict. You have to stand in his shoes and feel sympathy for the way Jesus' life began, considering the fact that he was in a position to behold the greater and more distant will and wish of God and adjust his mind and body to them. The problem was how Jesus, who began from this kind of position, could accomplish the will of God and subjugate Satan. He had to restore all people who have fallen nature. Jesus stepped forward to find a solution to this.
Why Jesus Taught the Way of Obedience
Satan has acquired power and authority on this earth and enjoyed the glory of God, ruling over humanity as God should have ruled over them. Humankind has lived under the oppression of Satan. Therefore, when Jesus came to the earth, before he fought against the opposing people, he first had to battle against the spiritual Satan who caused them to oppose him. You have to understand that the history of Christianity began with this kind of conflict.
What did Jesus, who came to confront the original nature of Satan, give as a sign when he appeared in life? He had to do what Satan could not do. The Christian Gospels point out the actions that Jesus took for the sake of accomplishing this responsibility.
His words, his mind, his daily life, his physical life and even his death were all for the sake of setting conditions Satan was incapable of carrying out. You have to understand that such was the course of Jesus. Because the laws of the heavenly way exist, because God governs everything centering on those laws, Jesus Christ separated Satan according to those heavenly principles.
The basic nature of Satan is arrogance and fury. Although Satan dealt with the people of the earth with this kind of personality, Jesus came before the people of the world in meekness and humility.
Jesus did not stand in a position of meekness and humility because he was incapable and unworthy. He deserved to be higher and enjoy more glory than anyone else, but Jesus forsook all this and stood in a position of meekness and humility. Although Satan tried to fight with Jesus, because Jesus knew that Satan was bound to the condition that required him to submit before God, he could remain meek and humble to the end. A meek and humble nature like this is the opposite of Satan's original nature of arrogance and fury.
Moreover, because Satan was aware of the existence of the laws of the heavenly way, eventually he had to recognize Jesus. In other words, if you move forward in meekness and humility, then even the satanic world will be brought to natural submission. Jesus understood this principle, and he took position of meekness and humility of which Satan was utterly incapable. Similarly, you have to understand that only when you stand in a position of meekness and humility can you pioneer the new path heading toward God, who works through the center.
Furthermore, Jesus demonstrated compliance and obedience. Compliance is following directions in an environment where it is possible to do so; obedience is following in an environment where it is not possible to do so. Jesus taught the ways of compliance and obedience to the faithless people. This was also meant to stop Satan's original nature and all his elements of life.
Satan, who is centered on himself, does not care about what happens to other people. This is another original nature of Satan. This is why if you follow Satan, your future will be unfortunate. Thus, Jesus taught all people to believe in him and submit to him to follow Heaven. People did not understand this intention of Jesus. On the contrary, they thought of him as an unrighteous person with respect to the will of God. Jesus pioneered the path of obedience, even while he was suffering unspeakable persecution and mistreatment from this position. Moreover, Jesus came with the spirit of sacrifice and service. In truth, Jesus came to this earth as the only begotten son of God. As the representative of the glory of Heaven, Jesus should have ruled over all people, all things and even Satan. He should have received their sacrifices and service, but he stood in the completely opposite position. To make Satan comply with him, perform services and sacrifice for him, in other words, to bring all the forces of Satan to submission, Jesus made the offering of unlimited sacrifice and service. You have to understand this.
In the satanic world, people try to use and exploit other people and things to an infinite degree. Jesus stood in the opposite position. Jesus led a life of which Satan was incapable. Satan had to surrender because Jesus was meek and humble, compliant and obedient, and he led a life of sacrifice and service. If you measure yourself against the meekness, humility, compliance, obedience, sacrifice and service that Jesus taught and think that you cannot practice these teachings in your sphere of life, then you have to realize that you still belong to the tribe of Satan.
The Path of Heaven on Which We Cannot Accompany Satan
How has your life been so far? Are there still some people who live in fury and arrogance centered on themselves? You must quickly free yourself from this position. You must make an internal determination to struggle against the persecutors of Heaven, based on the standard Jesus Christ set. You must adopt his attitude of humility and meekness, compliance and obedience, sacrifice and service, which are the foundation to win victory in the final battle to conquer Satan.
Satan is the one who has opposed the will and stands in the position of rebellion against the will. Such has become Satan's lifestyle. The reason that you unconsciously feel the desire to rebel against the will is not because that is your own mind's desire; it is because the satanic forces are manifesting themselves unconsciously through you, since you are bound to that environment. Although Jesus' grief and sorrow are deeply rooted in the satanic world, he came forward to bring resolution to this path, determined to sacrifice and serve.
In the Last Days in which we are living, there remain two branches of the forked road. They are the path that Satan is walking and the path that Heaven is walking. The path that Satan is walking is different from the path that Heaven is walking. Satan cannot walk the path of Heaven. In other words, Satan cannot comply with and obey God, actualizing the will with meekness and humility. He cannot sacrifice and provide service on behalf of all humanity before the dispensational will like Jesus did. Therefore, you should understand that Jesus is the king of kings in regard to being good, meek, humble, compliant, obedient, sacrificial and performing services.
Many people on the earth do not know how to be meek or obedient. They do not know how to walk the path of an offering through sacrifice and service. Although countless people and sages had come and gone in the 4,000 years of history before Christ, because Jesus could do what none of them could do, he could step above everything and rise. He could set the highest standard of meekness, obedience and sacrifice before Heaven. Similarly, Jesus demonstrated to us the bloody course of bringing Satan to submission.
After Jesus came to the earth, he led such a life because he lived with the same heart as God, Who had toiled for the sake of the earth throughout the long history. Therefore, Satan had to surrender, and there came into being the historical beginning point that would cause fundamental change.
Satan is trying to prevent people from going to God and, instead, is trying to pull them toward himself, although he understands the heart of God. He is trying to elevate himself, rebel on his own initiative and use people. Although this is how Satan is, he cannot dare to raise his head when he goes before God and Jesus. You have to understand that this kind of condition was established in the sphere of Jesus' life. Therefore, if we follow Jesus, then Satan will be separated from us. The life of Jesus brought to pass this kind of historic beginning.
How did Jesus set this standard? First, Jesus set the standard that God and he were one, not two. He had the mind-set that if God lives forever, he would also live forever. If God is unchanging, then he would also be unchanging. If God is infinitely merciful, then he would also be infinitely merciful. In other words, because he could feel and unite with the internal heart of God more than anyone else, Jesus could set the standard of victory during the conflict against Satan.
However, from the time Jesus came until today, there has not been even one person in this satanic world who understood the words linked to the internal hearts of God and Jesus. There has been no one who understood what kind of situation existed between God and Satan.
Meekness and Humility, Compliance and Obedience, Sacrifice and Service
Jesus came to the earth 2,000 years ago. As a way to subjugate Satan, he taught human beings to be meek and humble, compliant and obedient, to sacrifice and serve. The people on the earth could not create an environment to live according to Jesus' teachings. They could not give thanks and remain meek and humble. They could not give thanks while complying and obeying, or sacrificing and serving. Without them being conscious of it, their heart of compliance became one of fury and arrogance, confrontation and rebellion. Sacrifice and service were twisted into abuse and exploitation.
The reason Jesus could resolve this kind of problem is that he had an indescribable relationship with God. He understood the situation between God and Satan that must be separated. Because he understood how he could separate from Satan, Jesus could walk this kind of path. Nonetheless, because human beings were not aware of this, they could not walk the same path as Jesus.
Accordingly, you must call out "Father!" toward Heaven and offer prayers to Jesus. Moreover, understanding the heart of God and Jesus, and the conspiracy of Satan, you must divulge the historical sins of Satan. You must subjugate Satan's camp in actuality. By revealing the secrets of God's dispensation, you must bring an end to this.
If you are not meek and humble, then you cannot experience the heart of Jesus. Moreover, if you do not lead a life of compliance, submission, sacrifice and service, you cannot go before Jesus. You have to understand this. At the present time, it is difficult for us to perfect this kind of life and seek God. Therefore, human beings are making the appeal, "Oh! God, please dwell with us! God! Please have compassion on us!" While doing so, they are waiting for the time, saying, "When will the time of God come? When will Jesus and the Holy Spirit appear before all people of this earth?" This has been left behind as the sad situation of history.
Because you have been faithless people who are ignorant of the situation that exists between God, Jesus and Satan, you have to understand the anxious heart of Jesus, who could not speak to the people even when he wanted. Become the obedient offering, the historical offering, and the offering of sacrifice and service, shouting out toward Satan, "Why have you not followed the will of God's dispensation?" If you cannot discover the secret of Heaven that can bring Satan to submission, then you will not be able to substantially subjugate Satan over whom Jesus won spiritual victory. Therefore, you have to release the heart of Jesus, who could not reveal everything, saying, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now," (John 16:12) and "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" (John 3:12)
At this time, when the historic day of judgment is nearing our doorsteps, if you are then to feel sadness, what kind of sadness must you feel? You have to become believers who can feel the heart of sorrow that exceeds the sorrow of Jesus while he tried to subjugate Satan.
The moment Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane with the path of the cross lying before him is a moment of sorrow that exceeds your imagination. Although his own death was not a problem to him, he was sorrowful because it was an event that shook Heaven and earth. You have to feel the heart of Jesus, who prayed and cried in the Garden of Gethsemane with a heart that longed to liquidate the forces of evil with an electricity that ran throughout his body. You even have to feel the heart of God so that you can make Satan come before that heart and bring him to his knees. Otherwise, even if the Lord of the Second Advent comes to this earth, he will again become a Lord of sorrow.
What then must we do today? We must now determine to offer ourselves for the sake of God's Will. If it is the will, then we must stand up as the spearhead of meekness and humility. If it is the will, then we must comply and obey so that no matter what kind of opposition is put upon the earth, just as Jesus walked a lonely path, you must also become the offerings of compliance and obedience for the sake of the will of God. Furthermore, with this determination, even if the whole world opposes you, you must become the offering of service and sacrifice to be offered up before the will of the Father.
What must be the extent of meekness, humility, sacrifice, service, compliance and obedience? As long as there is the dignity of God and the dignity of Jesus Christ, you must stand in a position to uphold that dignity. You must be meek and humble on behalf of the thirty million people. You must be able to fight the fury and arrogance of Satan. Representing the thirty million people, you must comply and obey to fight against Satan's confrontation and rebellion.
By doing so, with a heart of sacrifice and service, you must come forward before Satan, who is trying to use and exploit people. You must be able to confront Satan with the indignant heart that Jesus had toward him. If you cannot become this kind of person of faith, then you will not be able to receive the returning Lord on the earth. Even if the Lord were to come, you would not have any relationship with him.
What then should be the ideology of life that Christians must possess today? It is the spirit to comply and submit first, be meek and humble first, and be the first to sacrifice and serve. You have to understand that the will of the Father is realized through this kind of path. Thus, the hearts of God and Jesus are liberated. God is longing for the emergence of great numbers of the faithful believers, among the thirty million people, who can show resoluteness and sacrifice and serve on behalf of the church and the people. He is looking for those who can comply and obey for the sake of the will of Heaven. These are the ones who can accompany the Lord of glory.