We Have Been Running with Faith
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August 21, 2011 |
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 "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." (Hebrews 11: 6)
Many of you have been on this march of faith for several years, ten years, or even more than twenty years. Through self discipline you've controlled yourselves for the kingdom of God. While your worldly friends and colleagues were pursuing worldly pleasures, you came to the church to do voluntary works and spent your time evangelizing and visiting church members. Rather than spending or saving for yourselves, you've taken delight in giving more to God.
In the Bible we can find those patriarchs who dedicated the things most precious to them with joy. They even endured brutal persecutions, torture, and even martyrdom. It was because they believed in the living God the Creator and that He would give them back the heavenly glory according to their deeds. As they believed, they received inexpressible heavenly glory in addition to eternal life.
God wants to also give whoever acts in faith the eternal life and the Heaven that they had gained. Now, let me talk about
three aspects of the kinds of blessings that God gives to those who run the march of faith.
First, they receive both spiritual and material blessings
Once you accept the Lord and receive the Holy Spirit, you come to love God. If you love God, you should want to obey His will.
Before I met God, I had suffered from many kinds of diseases for seven years. I was forsaken even by my family. I was just waiting for the day when I could die. Then, God came to me and healed me of all diseases. When I met God for the first time, my gratitude and love could not be expressed with words. Since then, God has been everything to me. I just wanted to live for God. I wanted to know what God wanted and I earnestly desired to obey His will.
I longed for the word of God and learned the word while attending many revival meetings. I obeyed any word of God I learned. If I couldn't obey right away, I recorded what it was in a notebook and cried out in prayer to accomplish it.
To the extent that I obeyed, my soul prospered, everything went well, and answers to all my prayers were given and received. Because I experienced such things first, I also taught others to obey the word of God always with faith. As a result, believers who keep the commandments of the Lord, now have overflowing testimonies of receiving financial blessings, health, blessings in the workplace and home, and receiving answers to various hearts' desires.
To firm your faith even more, you have to obey the will of God 100%. To that extent, God will show how much God loves you and give blessings. Also, you will be able to testify everyday of the works of God who answers all your hidden desires of heart and who makes possible the impossible.
Secondly, they overflow with the hope of Heaven.
Those who have faith do not look at wealth and pleasure of this earth because they know what has true worth. They don't invest their time in acquiring worldly wealth and honor and fulfilling their lusts. Instead, they invest in heavenly things and rewards. Even though you enjoy so many good things during this short earthly life, it is just like a dream when it all passes. Just like a sand castle that will disappear without a trace in the waves, there will be nothing remaining no matter how much you accumulate.
Even though God tells us to cast off sin and you know you have to cast it off, is there any sin that you find very difficult to cast off because it is seems so precious? Or, does anyone think, "I am still young. I want to enjoy my life"? Just think about which choice is wiser between the temporary earthly life and eternal heavenly life. The greatest happiness, joy, glory and beauty that cannot even be expressed by man will last forever in Heaven.
The more your faith grows, the greater your hope for the heavenly kingdom will be. You will understand how meaningless worldly lust is, so you come to hate having anything in your heart that belongs to sins and darkness. Those who live with this kind of faith will feel the joy of Heaven even on this earth as recorded in Luke 17:21. You receive anything you ask, and you prosper, so your lips are filled with praises and testimonies.
Thirdly, they will receive rewards in Heaven.
Whatever you do for the Lord on this earth, it will be given back to you as rewards in Heaven. The prayers and petitions for the kingdom of God; effort in evangelism and caring for the souls; voluntary works; monetary offerings given for the sanctuary and missionary works; and even picking up a little trash discarded in the church, God does not forget anything.
But what you have to remember once again is that you have to circumcise your heart. Casting away sins and circumcising your heart itself though will not be your rewards. But according to the extent to which you circumcise your heart, the dimension of reward given will be very different, even though you do the same work. The glitter of the precious stones and the glory in Heaven will be different. It's because of the differences in the aroma of the heart in doing the work. When the aroma is different, then the fruit borne will also be different. Also, if you do something for God but complain and quarrel, it cannot be rewarded. It's because it means you did not do it with faith.
Therefore, I hope you will diligently circumcise your hearts, and be faithful more with faith looking up to God the Rewarder. The time given to you on this earth is not very long. You have been running the race of faith, but I urge you to run even harder without taking a rest.
I pray in the name of the Lord that, in doing so, you will finish the good fight and offer up praises of thanks forever in your home in New Jerusalem.
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