The Love of God
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November 27, 2016 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"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).
Generally, when parents make a sacrifice to give to their children they don't spare anything. Furthermore, if the children grow up well, realize the grace of the parents, give thanks to them and obey them out of love, how pleased the parents must be!
On this Thanksgiving Sunday I hope all of you will be able to give such joy to God.
1. The Love of God Who Wants to Give Us True Happiness
The reason why God created human beings was to gain true children who would be able to enjoy the glory of Heaven and with whom He could share eternal love.
Due to the transgression of Adam, the first man, we go through many hardships, diseases, infirmities, poverty, exhaustion, separation, and betrayal while we are being cultivated on this earth. But those who overcome such hardships with faith will realize the love of God from their hearts.
They understand that the pains of this earth fundamentally come from sins. They feel how bad sins are and learn about the spiritual law experiencing the relativity of things. Unlike those who were tempted by the serpent, they would never willingly succumb to any temptation of sin. They would obey the Word of God in their freewill. When they eventually get to Heaven, they will enjoy eternal happiness in joy and rapture.
Until we can enjoy the true happiness of Heaven, it is the love of God that has allowed for us to undergo momentary hardships on this earth. It does not mean that God's children have to constantly suffer from tests and trials during their lives on this earth. Those who live in sins become the enemy devil's prey and cannot help but suffer from various disasters. But God's true children prosper in everything.
To the extent that they keep the word of God and live in the Light, God protects them with His blazing eyes (1 John 5:18). God drives away diseases, tests and trials and He answers the desires of their hearts. God gives them abundant blessings in various aspects of their lives.
Of course, there are refining trials for the believers to increase their faith. Such trials are not caused by sin. In the same way that we take exams to advance in our studies, when we overcome such trials, our faith can grow and we can receive more blessings.
2. The Reasons Why We Give Thanks to God
First, give thanks for the grace you have received as children of God.
You should be thankful just for the fact that you have accepted the Lord and received salvation. Most of you have had a year without any accidents or disasters, so how thankful you must be!
To the extent that you lived in the Light, the life you lived has been disease-free. Many of you have received financial blessings and had peace in the home and at work. Even if you faced a test, if you just repent of what was not right in God's sight, turned from those ways and have come out of darkness into the light, the darkness soon will go away and the problems will be resolved. I hope you will give more thanks than before that you can enjoy abundant blessings in spirit and body by attending this church where you can clearly understand the will of God.
Second, give thanks for having been given a thankful heart.
People of God will always give thanks. It's because, even though they might have hardships on this earth, they have the hope for Heaven that cannot be compared with any pain of this earth. They can still give thanks even if there is no way out and things never go as they want in their lives. They believe that, when they rely on God with unchanging faith, God will cause all things to work together for good.
If you give thanks this way, it means your faith has grown up to that extent. New believers might say they pray with faith, but if they have difficulties, they might easily get discouraged and even complain. They might even doubt God saying, "Why is it that my prayers are not answered? Doesn't God hear my prayers?" But if you get to the level of faith to stand on the rock of faith in the third level of faith, you can rely on God, give thanks to Him, and have peace in any kind of situation.
For example, when their children take a very important exam the parents are more nervous than the children. They wish they could take the anxiety of their children in their place, but they can't. So, they just hope their children will do well on the exam and continue being very nervous with them. If the believers understand this love of God, even though they are going through the trials they rather can comfort God.
They can give thanks in their prayers saying, "Father, I can do it! It's just a process that You have allowed for me to receive greater blessings, so I will overcome and glorify Your name!" If you offer up true thankfulness, you will definitely have more things to give thanks for.
Third, give thanks that God has given you the attitude and strength that you can also do it.
Some of you may not have felt comfortable because you could not accomplish sanctification as you desired. But many of you came to feel the love of God who has been waiting for you for thousands of years as if it were a day and who has given His only begotten Son.
You can now realize the love of the Lord who was concerned about the souls even when He was being crucified. You realize that your shepherd has been praying and sacrificing himself in the march of faith because of you, and now you feel confident that you can also do it. Those who used to say, "I have piled up so much evil and it is impossible for me to be sanctified," now changed their words saying, "I can also become sanctified, and I can also go to New Jerusalem." In fact, many people have already come and many more are coming to the level of spirit and whole spirit.
I urge you to give thanks to God once again for giving you the confidence that you can become sanctified and for giving you the strength to actually do it.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, 3 John 1:4 says, "I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth." I give thanks from the depth of my heart thinking of this love of God who has led you thus far. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will realize the love of God and attain to the level of faith that is pleasing to God.
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