Our Father God
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1954 |
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October?23, 2022 |
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“We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” [1 John 4:16]
Right from the opening, Manmin Central Church had such rapid church growth through signs and wonders. We have been accomplishing world evangelism greatly. Many members received answers and blessings and their faith has been growing.
▲The establishment service of Manmin Central Church on Oct. 10, 1982.
But our ways were not just easy. We also went through times of trials where we couldn’t see any way out, and we sometimes had to pray in mourning and with hot tears. But the final outcomes were always blessing, and there was always the evidence of God being with us even while we were going through trials. Such evidence only kept on increasing.
▲ 1992 Holy Spirit Explosion Crusade (Above) The Two Week Consecutive Special Revival Meeting (Below)
In this way, every moment of our church has been in the providence of Father God, and in the grace of Father God, and it was a process of revealing the glory of God. It was God the Father who established this church and refined us, and it is also God the Father who will lead us and receive glory through us. On the occasion of our church’s 40th anniversary, I will talk about the Father God who has been making this church what it is today, in three aspects.
1. Our Father God is love itself.
God existed as Light and Voice that filled the entire universe. He is glorious being who exists by Himself transcending all space and times. And this God at a certain moment made a plan. He wanted to gain some beings who would understand His heart, share love with Him, and enjoy limitless glory with Him forever. With this purpose, all things were created and the work of human cultivation began. In the course of human cultivation, God first chose the sons of Israel to show His love to all souls. Through the history of Israel, God wanted all peoples of the world to come to Him by realizing that the nation that reveres and loves God is blessed, that God is full of love, and that they should also revere and love God. We can sense the delicate love of God if we just consider the process of the Exodus. While they were passing through the wilderness, God covered them with the pillars of cloud during the day and protected with the pillars of fire at night. God gave them manna and quails when they were hungry and God let water gush out from a rock when they were thirsty. This delicate love of the Father was given not just to sons of Israel but also all children of God. He shows His love again and again so that eventually they will understand the heart of the Father God in their heart, and they will be changed as children who love God from their heart. It was such great love of God that I who was before death met God. It was God’s love that He gave me the calling to be a pastor, let me open this church, and let this church have great revival and become a world-famous church. God asked me to become a pastor at a relatively old age. He also asked me to preach the holiness gospel and change the sin-stained souls in this evil generation. And to be honest, it was not something I could do with my strength. Especially, I could not fulfill with my own strength the command of God telling me to fill up New Jerusalem with completely sanctified souls. But God did all the word every moment. We started with 13 members including 4 children in 1982, and now it has grown up as a denomination that has many branch and associative churches worldwide. In particular, In the 2000s, we’ve had united crusades in the United States, Peru, Honduras, India, Pakistan, Dubai, Russia, Germany, Japan, Philippines, Uganda, Kenya, DR Congo, and Estonia. Tens or hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people gathered at a time and experienced signs and wonders. They threw away idols and accepted Jesus Christ. God sent me to Israel to do a ministry of preaching Jesus Christ for three years, which resulted in giving life and strength to Christianity there. God also let us spread the gospel through broadcasting and publishing. GCN TV is broadcasting in 8 languages around the clock to the world. When God let us start this broadcasting ministry, we did not have technology, staff, or money to do it. But now, we spread the holiness gospel and the works of God’s power in world-class video, leading Christian cultures. We are also actively publishing. Today, we have 112 books published in Korean. 703 of these books have been translated and published in 62 languages. There are also 828 e-books in 66 languages such as English, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Arabic language, and Hebrews. In addition, we have been continually receiving the testimonies of those who received grace by my messages through the Internet or YouTube, and experienced amazing works of the Holy Spirit. Our church had great trials and crises that seemed impossible to overcome. But God was always with us even during the trials. After such time passed, we could see why He allowed for us such time through the fruit of blessings. As explained, our Father God has guided us with so much endurance and love to establish this church and our denomination, to let us accomplish world evangelism, and to let the faith of church members grow up.
▲ At the overseas united crusades conducted by Dr. Jaerock Lee, various diseases were healed, and the blind came to see, the crippled came to walk, and through the explosive works of the Holy Spirit, countless people accepted Jesus Christ.
2. Our Father God is great.
The God of love created men and the entire universe, and He controls all things in them. His power is limitless, and to Him nothing is impossible. In the Bible, we can see many records of the powerful works that were manifested through men of God. Fire was brought down from heaven, and great rain came down after 3 and half years of drought. Sea was parted, the flow of river was stopped, and undrinkable bitter water was changed into drinkable sweet water. Such works of power were also manifested through Jesus and His disciples. Demons were driven out, the disabled were healed, and even the dead were brought back to like, let alone healing of diseases. This power of such great God was manifested in this church, too. God changed the sea water into potable sweet water, and He even shows divine healing through that water. In every important event, He shows us various rainbows and other things to prove that He is with us. Around the summer retreat every year, He sends to us swarms of dragonflies. By this He shows to us the power of God who governs all things and who brought down Ten Plagues. Through the aurora-like lights that the church members take, He let us feel how beautiful the original light of God is, thereby increasing our heavenly hope and faith. The power of the great God is also shown through weather conditions. In the summer retreat in 2013, we experienced a scene as if like in a movie. Just like the Red Sea was parted, such thick layers of clouds were split open and the heavy rain stopped. When there needed rain on the contrary, God showed His greatness through rain. In the India crusade in 2002, they had such a severe drought, but from the moment I set foot in that land, it began to rain. In Israel crusade in September 2009, it rained in the next day I prayed on the pulpit to quench the long-lasting drought. The God of love controlled all the weather conditions to be the best at each summer retreat. Even in the midst of a heat wave warnings, we had the athletic events in a very cool weather in the middle of the day. In the camp fire, it was so cool that we did not sweat although we were jumping and praising God. But I believe you can experience the power of God through divine healing more directly than other means. Divine healings have been fervently taking place ever since the opening to this day. Many rare diseases, severe and incurable diseases including AIDS, severe atopic dermatitis and other skin diseases were healed at a moment with God’s touch. Many couples had a baby although they were infertile for several years or even decades; fetuses with Down’s syndrome were born without it through prayers; so many fetuses’ gender was changed through prayer. So many members were protected even in big traffic accidents where the vehicles had to be scrapped. Other than these, even if I mention only important works of God that happened until now, I won’t be able to mention them all. In addition, just as demons and various diseases left through the handkerchief taken from the body of the Apostle Paul (Acts 19:11-12), the gospel of the Lord spread rapidly through the amazing works of the Holy Spirit that appeared through the handkerchief of power that I had prayed for and spread the gospel around the world, and the world evangelism has been actively carried out. Handkerchief healing meetings are constantly being held all over the world, such as Kenya, Colombia, and India, and Pastors’ Seminars and Leaders’ Conference are continuing overseas under the theme of “The Message of the Cross” and my other sermons, to light the lamp of the truth on the souls of the world. As explained, God is such great God who has been guiding this church until now.
▲ Various shapes of rainbows and various types of aurora-like lights that confirmed the God of love being with us and added hope and faith in heaven.
3. Our Father God is good.
God is God of justice who judges each one’s sins, but at the same time He is our great Father who is full of mercy and compassion. Psalm 86:5 says, “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.” Also, Isaiah 55:7 says, “Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” As it says, God forgives with lovingkindness. Even when the people of Israel committed sins, God gave them numerous chances of forgiveness, showing to them endless mercy and compassion. It is the same for this generation full of sins and evil. In this ever increasingly darkening world, God has established this church to save even just one more soul. In this generation, people do not listen even if we tell them good things, and God has been showing us the evidence through powerful works with which we can believe. Also, He gave us the holiness gospel so we could cast away evil from our heart and accomplish sincere heart and perfect faith. But even among those who were attending this church, many did not actually obey God’s words. But He opened a way of salvation again for those who could not even be saved, in love and justice. Furthermore, He’s giving them chances time and again so they can even stand on the rock of faith and go into spirit. As it is said in Joel 2:28, “… I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;” God of goodness will work until the end of the days. I believe that through His good children who strive against sin to the point of shedding blood (Hebrews 12:4), abstain from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22), and pursue peace with all men (Hebrews 12:14), He will let us deliver the gospel of holiness not only to those who are waiting for salvation with pure heart, but even to those who can hardly get a chance of salvation.
▲ 2022 Manmin Summer Retreat with the subject, “With Faith, Nothing Is Impossible” (Above) GCN, Urim Books, and WCDN delivering the gospel of holiness and the works of power (Below)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Our Father God sent Jesus Christ for all men to reach salvation, poured down the Holy Spirit, and opened the way of salvation wide. Also, He’s working unceasingly in love and justice to change us to His true children who can enter the most beautiful heaven New Jerusalem, through the holiness gospel and works of power. God will be with you so that the gospel of heaven can spread to the whole world, and He will receive glory more greatly. I pray in the name of the Lord that you may adorn yourself as the bride of the Lord well and dwell in the glory shining like the sun in Heaven. I give all thanks and glory to God the Trinity of love who has been leading Manmin Central Church for the past 40 years Himself. Hallelujah!
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