Power (1)
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August 05, 2018 |
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"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father" (John 14:12).
Dr. Jaerock Lee,
Senior Pastor of Manmin Central Church
Chairman, The United Holiness Church of Jesus Christ
Permanent President, The World Christianity Revival Mission Association
Founder & Board Chairman, Global Christian Network
Founder & Board Chairman, World Christian Doctors Network
Founder & Board Chairman, Manmin International Seminary
Founder & Board Chairman, The Alliance Holiness Theological Seminary
Doctorate of Ministry, and Honorary Doctorate of Divinity
His sermons were broadcast by the Far East Broadcasting Company and the Asia Broadcast Station.
He conducted crusades in New York City, Washington D. C., Baltimore, Maryland, Los Angeles, and in Hawaii of the USA; Japan; India; Pakistan; the Philippines; Argentina; Honduras; Peru; Russia; Germany; Kenya; Tanzania; Uganda; the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Jerusalem of Israel; and Estonia.
"Power is the expression of God's love to lead all people of all nations to salvation, and it is a secret weapon to bear abundant fruit in the end time of human cultivation. In addition, God wants us to feel His goodness and love more through this power and resemble Him." - Excerpts from Leadership Seminar "Power"
The power that God unfolds on the earth is the expression of His heart. His power is so great that mankind cannot fathom or even begin to imagine it. It is the source of all knowledge and wisdom and it is the strength and authority that is more amazing than anything. In the Bible there is record of a man who insisted on his self-righteousness before God who has such great power. He ended up facing this power and dignity of God up front and personally! This man was Job.
It was not until he experienced the power and dignity of God that he fully and completely humbled himself. That is why God shows His power; to gain true children who love and revere God in heart, cast away every form of evil, and achieve sincere hearts and perfect faith. The power is the expression of God's love that wants to save all people of all nations, and it is a secret weapon to bear abundant fruit at the end time of human cultivation.
1. Basic Concepts of the Power
1) "Wonders": The Works of God that Control Natural Phenomena
Throughout the universe all natural phenomena that occur in the space of celestial bodies, which includes all planets and stars, fall under the category of "wonders" (Acts 2:19).
There are many biblical incidents that fall under the category of wonders related to celestial bodies. The sun stood still at Gibeon while Joshua was involved in the war against Gibeon, and the shadow of the sun turned back ten steps on a staircase during the time of King Hezekiah (Joshua 10:13; 2 Kings 20:11). These happened by God's power controlling time and surrounding the first heaven (physical world) with spiritual space.
When Jesus was born, a star moved guiding the Three Magi from the East to Bethlehem. In fact, stars move in a certain fixed course, but the star moved in a way that guided them. Thus, it is also a wonder.
In August 2000, we saw three stars move together during Summer Retreat held in Muan, and during Pastors' Seminar held in early July of the year, two stars moved together and merged into one. Afterwards, God constantly showed the movement of stars when our church members longed to see it. If stars in the first heaven, the physical world, moved, the order set among celestial bodies would be broken. Thus, God moved stars in the second heaven and showed them by opening the heavenly door towards the second heaven.
Next, there are works of 'wonder' related to meteorological phenomena. This category contains atmospheric phenomena such as rain, snow, wind, clouds, temperature, and air pressure being affected by the power of God. On the first day of Manmin Summer Retreat 2013, large drops of rain fell around ten minutes after the seminar started. I prayed for it to stop and then a hole began to form in the black thunderstorm clouds overhead reaching more than 10km (about 33,000 ft) thick that covered the sky over the retreat venue. Soon, it stopped raining and the clear sky was revealed directly above us.
On December 14 in 2007, the forecast did not predict snowfall and it was even 2 degrees Celsius. But 15 minutes before the Christmas Lighting Ceremony started, it began to snow in the areas around the church. When the ceremony started, there was whirlwind-like snowfall from somewhere. We later came to know that God opened the door of the spiritual space and let it snow. As shown in the examples, God can control all the weather phenomena including snow and rain according to His will.
Psalm 104:4 says, "He makes the winds His messengers, flaming fire His ministers." God can control wind as well to achieve His will. God directed an east wind on the land when He brought locusts to all areas of Egypt as a plague of the Ten Plagues, and directed a strong west wind to drive them away (Exodus 10:13, 19).
When the Red Sea was parted, God swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land (Exodus 14:21). When the Israelites cried out for meat, God also directed winds to send them meat (Psalm 78:26-27). Jesus also directed winds by a word (Mark 4:39). Winds obeyed the word of Jesus because He existed in the form of God (Philippians 2:6).
On May 15, 2017, our church had an event. In fact, the concentration of fine dust had been very high on the days preceding the event. The visibility was only 20km in Seoul, and there was even yellow dust during the previous week. But on the day of the event, the sky was clean without micro dust and it was sunny. The visibility distance was four times farther than the day before. God directed northwest wind and changed air currents.
The temperature of an area is a result of various factors such as winds, humidity, and sunlight. Thus, to control the temperature, a higher level of power is needed. On August 8, 2016, excessive heat warnings (temp>35 degrees Celsius) were issued all over the nation, but it was only 24 degrees Celsius at the summer retreat venue. On the 9th, it was 27 during the Athletic Meet held in the middle of the day. On October 9, the church's anniversary, the highest temperature was forecast to be 17 degrees Celsius, but it went up to 23.7 in the church front yard that was proper for the outdoor event. On December 16, when we had Christmas Lighting Ceremony, the weather report said the temperature would drop to 10 degrees Celsius below zero but it was 1 above zero. During the summer retreat held in August 2017, the temperature stayed between 25 and 26. Heat wave warnings were issued in the cities around the city Muju where the retreat was held, but Muju was excluded from the list.
This power of controlling the temperature can prevent natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcano eruptions from happening. It is because one of the reasons for crustal movement is geo-thermal overheating. When the heated land cools with the power of re-creation, the likelihood of quakes will reduce. In addition, when the epicenter is covered with the spiritual realm, the movement of the ground will also be reduced.
The power can also control barometric pressure. The example is the dissipation of typhoons. On August 31, 2008 (KST), US Federal Emergency Management Agency reported that Hurricane Gustav was intensifying to become a CAT5 storm, the most dangerous category. At 1p.m. a church member in the US sent a prayer request to me. I prayed for it to pass without causing any damage and be weakened. Then, God stretched broad veils of light that resembled standard sheets of typing paper both above and under the hurricane.
God stopped warm surface vapors of the sea from joining in the ascending air current and kept the convective current from gaining strength. This occurred because the temperature of the water of the Gulf of Mexico is relatively high and when a hurricane moves over warmer water, the power of convective current intensifies. As a result, Gustav lost strength and quickly weakened. If the spiritual space can be properly utilized in a timely manner, many kinds of amazing wonders can be manifested.
2) Signs, the Works of Jesus God the Son and the Holy Spirit
Jesus healed the sick, brought the dead back to life, and made the blind see, the deaf hear, and the mute speak. That is, when something that cannot be done by men happens, it is a sign (John 2:11, 6:2).
Jesus said, "He who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father" (John 14:12). And He also said, "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you" (John 16:7). As He said, the Holy Spirit came after Him and those who receive the Holy Spirit by belief in Him can manifest signs (Mark 16:17-18).
In the Early Church, powerful apostles, including Apostle Peter, manifested many signs and wonders, so the Lord added to their number those who were saved and they experienced great revival (Acts 2:43-47). Today, the Holy Spirit is still performing signs and wonders with the power so that all people of all nations can reach salvation.
I experienced God's healing of all my diseases at once by the fire of the Holy Spirit, so I believed every word of the Bible. After I became a pastor, I longed to receive the power and always prayed for it. So, even when I was a student in a theological seminary, I manifested signs. After I opened my church, I could perform more signs that confirmed my messages. Many people were healed of their diseases, and their infirmities including physical disabilities were fully restored. Those who relied on crutches or wheelchairs because of their broken legs or torn ligaments threw away the walking assistance devices and were able to walk and jump unassisted.
Even incurable, terminal, and rare diseases were healed. The blind came to see, those with poor eyesight had it improved, the deaf gained the ability to hear and many even began to speak. Married couples who could not have babies conceived, fetuses with Down syndrome were healed, and the gender of fetuses was changed according to the desires of parents. Skin and nerve cells destroyed due to a third-degree burn was restored and festering skin caused by atopic dermatitis or impetigo was also cleansed and healed. Even demon-possessed people became normal. From now on, more mental diseases and altered mental function will be healed including those caused by cerebral damage, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and panic disorders.
2. God's Original Heart Embedded in the Power
The power is something that neither human ability nor any technology or science can manifest or accomplish. This power is only God the Creator's. By witnessing the works of power people can believe that God is alive, that He is almighty, and that the spiritual world exists, and they are enabled with the belief to reach salvation. Thus, the power is something tangible expressing God's love to save mankind.
In the power of God is His will that is more profound than the salvation of souls. Through the expression of power God allows people to realize His goodness and love that are the attributes of God's original heart and helps them to achieve His goodness and love. When you understand the heart of God embedded in His power, you can have the faith of fathers (1 John 2:13).
God's power is always performed in love and goodness. Even the judgment of disasters contains love and goodness. It is because the original heart of God that performs power is goodness and love.
I once thought deeply about the most necessary thing needed to lead the countless dying souls in this sin-filled world to salvation. The answer is in what Jesus said in John 4:48, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." This is even more applicable in the situation we are in today.
That is why I wanted to receive the power of God to lead innumerable souls to salvation and extend God's kingdom. Because I love God, I wanted to lead people to salvation, which pleases God most. Since I love souls as well, I wanted them to receive salvation and reach heaven. Now many people around the world enjoy seeing, listening to, and experiencing God's power and lead joyful and happy lives. Let's now look into the heart of God embedded in His power in detail.
1) The Epitome of Goodness in Giving the Best, New Jerusalem In the power is God's good heart that wants to save and lead us to the best dwelling place in heaven, New Jerusalem. Jesus taught the Word of God and confirmed it by performing signs, wonders, and powerful works. It was because when people see powerful works, they can believe and act upon the Word. The Word presents the way to cast off sin and how to go to better dwelling places in heaven. But, unless they have faith in it they will not follow the way.
Only when there is the manifestation of God's power can they have faith, and when they have the Word, they can take New Jerusalem by force with the signposts in the Word as a guide. If no power had been performed in this church, it would not have been easy for the church members to believe in the spiritual realm. And though they listened to the Word, neither would it be easy for them to act upon the word nor renew themselves by it. They would not have fought against sin to the point of shedding blood. They would not have run earnestly with hope for New Jerusalem. Their renewal and hope for New Jerusalem can be achieved only when they see and experience the power.
2) Love to Save Souls The greatest and most amazing power of God was shown when He sent His only begotten Son to the earth and thereby opened the way of salvation. It was also through the power that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and rose from the dead. He also completed the way of salvation by this power. But to do so, God and the Lord endured inexpressibly great sacrifice. The reason God opened the way of salvation for souls even by enduring such sacrifice was His love in His original heart.
The answer of fire that Elijah brought down from above in Mount Carmel came from the love of God who wanted to save people. He wanted to save those who were on the way of death due to serious idolatry. The many powerful works manifested by Apostle Paul also came from the love of God who wanted even the Gentiles to hear about the gospel, know the truth, and reach salvation.
As explained, the purpose of the manifestation of God's power was not simply showing His great authority and strength. But He wants to show His great goodness and love for souls. When you believe this goodness and love of God, you can understand the heart of God and discover the goodness and love in everything that happens to you.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you may say the power of God is great and amazing when you see it. But it is totally different from feeling the heart of God contained in the power. I urge you to feel the goodness and love of God who wants to give the very best thing to us. I pray in the name of the Lord that by achieving sincere heart and perfect faith you will enjoy the glory in New Jerusalem.
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