Heaven
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 10240 |
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October 23, 2011 |
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 "Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Revelation 22:1-2)
Thirty-eight years ago there was a man suffering from so many diseases. He was struggling to find a way to live. He was desperate to continue living so he tried using all kinds of methods to become well. But, nothing worked for him and his condition only deteriorated. After seven years, he became exhausted, and his hope was gone. He was even forsaken by his beloved ones and he was just waiting for death.
But at this wretched bottom of his life, God met him. When he knelt before God, all his diseases were healed instantly. This is my testimony.
1. The love of God who wants to give us Heaven
How can my emotions of that day be expressed with words? I shed tears of thanks weeping, and I immediately began to attend church with my family members. But as I began my Christian life, I realized a more amazing grace of God. I realized, "God gave His one and only Son Jesus to die on the cross to save me!" God gave such great love for a person who was such a nobody. From that time on I had hope. I wanted to spread this love I received to all peoples around the world.
With this hope, God gave me a calling to become his servant, and God established Manmin Central Church in 1982. I had just 7,000 won that at the time that was about 7 US dollars. We had the opening service with 13 members including four children in a sanctuary a little less than 360 square feet. Though the beginning was small, God was with us and there were constantly amazing signs and wonders. The church grew so quickly. Now we have 120,000 registered members, and more than 845 full time pastors and employees in the church.
God's works were not concerned just with church growth and revival. He allowed for us to grow to become a large denomination that has more than 9,000 branch churches. He established the Prayer Center, the kindergarten school, our theological seminary, and Manmin International Seminary (MIS). He enabled us to spread the word and power of God through publishing and broadcast media ministries, and my books have been or are currently being translated into more than 70 languages.
In the 2000's, God let us proclaim the power of God in mega size overseas crusades. We had the crusades in the United States, Russia, Germany, Japan, Pakistan, Peru, India, Kenya, Uganda, Israel, and many other nations. There were tens and hundreds of thousands, and even millions of people who gathered, and those who were healed of incurable diseases at these crusades filled the stages to give their testimonies.
God has been with us for the last 29 years and His works that have occurred in this church could be recounted for a great many days. Why did God show us these many works? It is to show God's love. He wants all people in the world to believe in God the Creator, escape from despair and pains, and reach the heavenly kingdom. I hope this love of the Father and hope of Heaven will fill your hearts completely.
2. Heaven is our original home and it is where we should return.
Many people have nostalgia towards their hometowns where they were born and raised. But the original home we should miss is not a physical hometown that will perish. Heaven is the original home of our spirit that will never perish. The life span on this earth is normally no more than 90 years. Not many people live to be 100 years old or more. Even though they enjoy all kinds of splendor, earthly life is just like a single night's dream. God is preparing our dwelling place where we will live after this short earthly life is over.
Of course, God wants everyone to receive salvation. The reason why Jesus took the cross is to redeem all mankind from their sins. We just have to have faith to receive this grace of salvation and enter Heaven. We have to accept Jesus Christ with faith, and then we have to live a life worthy of being a child of God. To depart from sins and live by the word of God is the evidence that we have faith. That is our qualification to be able to enter Heaven.
Revelation 22:14 says, "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city." The robes refer to the hearts of men. It means we can enter Heaven when we depart from sins and cleanse our hearts.
Just as parents who are expecting a baby to be born will prepare everything for the baby, God is also preparing our heavenly dwelling places with all His love. I hope you will always remember where our original home is and have the qualifications to enter there.
3. Heaven is a place that is surrounded by the glory of God
God is the Creator of all things in the universe. He is the ruler of everything. His dignified authority and power cannot be compared with the authority of any kind in this world. How can we express Heaven that has the glory of such a great God? Even the most beautiful place of this earth cannot be compared with the beauty of Heaven. The lives of the richest persons on this earth will look quite shabby compared to heavenly lives.
Gold, which is considered so precious on this earth, is a material used for roads and city walls. Each gate of the city of New Jerusalem is made of one whole giant pearl. Heaven can generally be categorized into Paradise, the 1st kingdom, 2nd kingdom, 3rd kingdom of Heaven, and then New Jerusalem. 1 Corinthians 15:41 says, "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory." Just like the glory of the sun, moon, and stars differs from each other, the glory that we will enjoy will also differ according to the level of our holiness.
Among the many heavenly places, those who cast off all sins and evil and fully recover the image of God will enter into New Jerusalem. The houses in New Jerusalem will be like castles. You can have any kind of facility in your house such a ballroom, a swimming pool, a zoo, a forest, or even a lake. The whole house will be decorated with various precious stones that give out lights with multiple colors. Numerous angels will attend to you. You will enjoy authority like that of kings. The actual heavenly life cannot even be imagined no matter how much we try to explain it. The joy and happiness of that moment will never fade away, but it will only increase.
The lowest dwelling place of Heaven is Paradise. The apostle Paul saw just this Paradise but because he did, he dedicated all his whole life for God. He underwent so many hardships and threats to his life while spreading the gospel, but the heavenly glory that he had seen enabled him to overcome everything. God is telling us in so much detail about this glorious heavenly life, as though we could touch it.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, many worldly people deny Heaven and Hell. But it doesn't mean Heaven and Hell will disappear just because people deny they exist. As written in Hebrews 9:27, after one's life is over, there will be the judgment and all will go to either Heaven or Hell.
The love of God who wants all people to be saved established Manmin Central Church. And, continuing up to this very day, God has shown us the evidences through signs and wonders so that we can believe in Heaven. Through the evidences that God is showing to us, He wants everyone to realize the true value and enter Heaven. Manmin Central Church will fulfill this hope of God.
Until the whole world acknowledges the glory of the LORD God as the waters cover the sea, and until all peoples and nations hear about and have the chance to experience the living God, Manmin will never stop. I pray in the name of the Lord that, when we finish all our ministries on this earth, we will be able to add the sound of our praises to the sound of praise that is heard along the river of water of life in Heaven.
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