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Subject 8 : The Holy Spirit
[8-18] The Truth That Leads People into the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Joshua 4:23)
(Joshua 4:23)
“For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over.”
Is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit related to human will? |
No, it is not. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit comes through the beautiful gospel that Jesus has accomplished. |
Let me speak about the beautiful gospel of truth that allows us to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
After the death of Moses, God appointed Joshua as the leader of the people of Israel.
Moses is the representative of the Law in the Old Testament.
If Moses had led the people of Israel across the Jordan River and reached the land of Canaan, there would have been no need for Joshua to become the leader of the people.
However, God only allowed Moses to reach up to the land of Canaan, but did not allow him to enter.
The Lord Gave Us Moses and Joshua
In the Old Testament, Moses, the representative of the Law, could not lead the Israelites into Canaan.
If, by human deeds, the people had entered the land of Canaan under the guidance of the Law, it would have been an act contrary to the plan of salvation established by God.
This is because no human could keep the Law God had given, and thus, through the Law, no one could have their sins removed.
The Law only made sinners realize their sin (Romans 3:20).
The reason God gave the Law to people was to point out their sins and place them under God’s judgment, so that it would serve as a tutor to lead us to Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:24).
The Law was merely a guide to lead people to Jesus, so people absolutely needed Jesus, and Jesus had to come to this earth.
Through Joshua, God commanded the Israelites to cross the Jordan River and enter the land of Canaan.
God appointed Joshua as the leader and allowed the Israelites to enter the land of Canaan.
God commanded Joshua, “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess’” (Joshua 1:11).
God commanded and permitted Joshua to accomplish the entrance into the land of Canaan, which had not been fulfilled through Moses.
God said to Joshua: ‘You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, “When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.” So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites”’ (Joshua 3:8-10).
After the death of Moses, God appointed Joshua as the leader and commanded the Israelites to enter the land of Canaan.
The name Joshua has the same meaning as Jesus and Hoshea—“savior” or “Yahweh is salvation”.
God’s servant Joshua commanded the priests, who had served under Moses, to carry the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders and go ahead of the people to cross the Jordan River.
At that time, the Jordan River was at flood stage, but as the priests stepped into the waters of the Jordan carrying the Ark of the Lord, the water flowing down from upstream stopped and piled up in a heap far away, and the water flowing down was completely cut off (Joshua 3:15-16).
Through this event, God teaches that He has completely cut off the flow of death and judgment caused by the sins of all humanity.
In other words, it means that Jesus Christ, the Savior of humanity, received all the sins of mankind through baptism from John, cut off the flow of sin, and by shedding His blood on the Cross, saved all humanity and allowed them to enter the land of Canaan, which symbolizes Heaven.
The Jordan River Is the Place Where the Sins of Humanity Were Washed Away
The event of the Jordan River recorded in both the Old and New Testaments was a very important event that put a stop to the curse and judgment caused by the sins of mankind.
The Jordan River was called ‘the river of death’, and its final destination is the Dead Sea, which means ‘the sea of death.’
The meaning of the word “Jordan” includes “a river that only goes down,” “a river that leads to death,” or meanings such as “to sink, to suppress, to bring down, to descend, to fall.”
This refers to the judgment and curse of mankind due to sin, and the flow of the Jordan represents the history of mankind’s sins.
At this Jordan River, Jesus received the flow of sin that cannot be cut off by human strength through baptism from John, and by shedding His blood on the Cross, He completely cut off the sin and judgment of mankind.
Where are we, the descendants of Adam and Eve, headed after we are born?
All people are born with sin, and thus live committing sin, and as the consequence of that sin, they are heading toward the dreadful punishment of death.
Since the beginning of human history, every person is falling toward destruction from the moment they are born due to sin.
Even if everyone tries to resist sin, they cannot overcome the sin they possess, and so they are flowing toward the judgment for that sin.
However, God cut off that flow of sin and judgment.
Through Joshua, God had the people of Israel cross the Jordan River and enter the land of Canaan.
This was God’s will for Joshua.
In the Old Testament, when the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord stepped into the waters of the Jordan, the swirling waters completely stopped, the riverbed became dry land, and all the people of Israel were able to cross.
This was the remission of sins granted only to those who believe in the beautiful gospel.
This blotting out of sin is the gospel of the water and the Spirit that Jesus paid as the price for the sins of all mankind.
By believing in this beautiful gospel, we receive the removal of sin and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
General Naaman
In the Old Testament, 2 Kings chapter 5, there appears General Naaman.
Naaman was a commander of the army and a first-class meritorious contributor who had saved the nation of Aram from its enemies.
However, he was a leper.
Because he was a filthy leper, he had no choice but to lose everything and be cursed, but he came to hear the beautiful news that could save him from the curse.
It was the news that if he went to a servant of God living in Israel, he could be healed of the disease.
The one who delivered this news was a little girl.
She said, “If our master Naaman goes to the servant of God named Elisha who lives in the land of Israel, he will surely be healed.”
At that time, General Naaman believed the beautiful news delivered by the servant girl and went to Israel.
When he arrived in front of Elisha’s house, Elisha told his own servant to say, “Tell Naaman to go to the Jordan River and dip himself seven times, and he will be healed.”
Naaman was dumbfounded upon receiving this command from Elisha.
Thinking that his illness would be cured by some other miraculous method, Naaman became angry and tried to return to his own country.
But by the earnest request of his subordinate, he put aside his own thoughts and obeyed the words of Elisha, dipping himself seven times in the Jordan River.
At that moment, the skin that had been oozing from leprosy was changed and became as clean as that of a young child.
Just as the Word written here says, we must all know that in order to receive the removal of all our sins, we must cast away our own thoughts and accept the command of the written Word by faith in order to receive the beautiful blessing.
Whoever wants to be saved from their sins receives the blessing of salvation by obeying in the faith that fully believes in the written Word of God.
The Bible records that through the beautiful gospel of Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan River and His blood, the sins of the world have been thoroughly washed away.
We must not have thoughts like Naaman.
There is no other way to wash away all the sins of the world except through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Therefore, in order to have all our sins removed before God, we must have faith in the beautiful gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Just as Naaman accepted the advice of his servant, set aside his own thoughts, and dipped himself seven times in the waters of the Jordan River, and his flesh became clean like that of a young child, we too must truly believe that by believing in the beautiful gospel—that the Lord was baptized by John for us, shed His blood on the cross, died, and rose again—we are delivered from all our sins.
We must believe in this beautiful gospel.
This event at the Jordan River teaches that whoever among the descendants of Adam believes in the beautiful gospel handed down until now receives the blessing of being cut off from all sin and judgment.
All humanity was cast out of the Garden of Eden because Adam and Eve sinned against God, deceived by Satan.
However, the event at the Jordan River is the beautiful gospel that brings all humanity back to the Garden of Eden.
The Event at the Jordan River!
The Bible records the beautiful news that Jesus took on all the sins of mankind at the Jordan River.
In Matthew 3:15, it says, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
The Bible records that when Jesus Christ received baptism from John the Baptist—the representative of mankind—at the Jordan River, all the sins of mankind were passed onto Jesus.
That is, the baptism Jesus received through John was a work of power that broke the chains of sin binding all humanity.
In this way, the sins of our humanity were completely ended through the event of Jesus receiving baptism at the Jordan River, and our salvation was completely concluded through the event of the shedding of blood on the Cross.
The Jordan River in the land of Israel was the river of baptism through which Jesus took on the sins of mankind and washed them away; it was the river that completely blotted out the flow of all sin.
The Law of God which demanded from humanity, “The wages of sin is death,” was completely paid by Jesus through the baptism He received at the Jordan River and the blood of the Cross, allowing us to fulfill the Law of God.
This is the beautiful gospel toward mankind from the Lord.
All the sins of mankind, which began with Adam and continued to flow, were completely cut off by the baptism Jesus received at the Jordan River and by the blood of the cross.
Because of the baptism Jesus received, the sins of all mankind could no longer remain.
How blessed and beautiful is this news!
Now, by believing in this beautiful gospel, we have been delivered from the whirlpool of the flow of sin and have been completely washed clean to become perfect within the Law of God.
In this way, the baptism Jesus received and the blood of the Cross is the gospel that can fully save all mankind.
We must take this by faith.
Just as it says, “Not believing is sin,” we can receive all these blessings by believing in this beautiful gospel.
Now, even though all the sins of the world have already passed onto the head of Jesus when He received baptism from John, is there still sin in your heart?
This is even though Jesus took on all the sins of this world without leaving out a single one.
You must accept the word of truth recorded in the Bible into your heart.
Your sin, death, and curse—all these can only be removed by the gospel of the baptism Jesus received and the blood of the Cross.
The baptism Jesus received means ‘to wash, to be immersed, to be buried, to pass over, to be transferred.’ Now, for all mankind, the way has been opened to receive the removal of sins by believing in the beautiful gospel given by Jesus.
Therefore, Jesus said that He is the to Heaven.
We enter Heaven by believing in Jesus and receiving the removal of our sins, and by believing in Jesus, we receive eternal life.
Also, Jesus is our Lord who has made the Holy Spirit dwell within us. Now, by believing in the baptism and blood that Christ received from John, we have escaped judgment for all sin.
When the priests of Israel carried the Ark of the Covenant and stepped into the waters of the Jordan, the curse flowing in the river of death stopped, and it became dry land.
This was God’s plan, and Jesus fulfilled this plan with His baptism and blood.
How beautiful is this gospel?
This was God’s law of salvation toward us, and without this, our salvation would have been impossible.
Now, those who believe in this beautiful gospel are able to cross the Jordan River and enter the land of Canaan.
That the water of the Jordan River was completely dried means that the sins of the world were completely passed onto Jesus and that He received the judgment for sin in our place.
This beautiful gospel is the gospel through which we can receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
God is the Creator of people, and He knows that the average IQ of people is about 110-130.
By the way, would God have given us the truth of the Holy Spirit coming upon us in a difficult way?
God has righteously removed the sins of people through the baptism Jesus received from John and the blood of the cross.
So that all mankind can know, He made it possible to receive the Holy Spirit through the word of water and the Spirit.
If you also believe this gospel in your heart, you will come to know the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
It is written that a person cannot receive the Holy Spirit through prayers of repentance made by themselves.
People think that they receive the Holy Spirit through various prayers such as mountain prayers or fasting prayers. But this is a wrong thought.
The Holy Spirit comes upon those who have received the removal of sin by believing in the beautiful gospel, and this coming of the Holy Spirit was to make them children of God.
That is, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is to guarantee that a person has become a child of God.
For those who rightly believe in the beautiful gospel given by Jesus, God seals them with the Holy Spirit in order to confirm them as His children.
Even if everyone believes in Jesus, if they do not know or believe this gospel, they cannot have faith that all their sins have been taken on by Jesus.
Therefore, everyone must know and believe that the baptism Jesus received from John and the blood shed on the cross is the beautiful gospel that removed the sins of mankind.
Who testifies that Jesus removed all the sins of this world?
John the Baptist testifies.
Jesus receiving baptism from John and taking on and removing the sins of the world is what God the Father planned (Leviticus 4:13-21, 16:1-30).
Who is the one who carried out the Father’s plan?
It is Jesus.
Who is the one who finally guarantees the fulfillment of this plan?
It is the Holy Spirit.
In this way, the Triune God completed the removal of sin through the baptism Jesus received from John and the blood of the cross, in order to make us humans God’s people.
And with the completion of this planned gospel, the Holy Spirit indwells those who believe as a final guarantee that humanity has been saved.
Does the Holy Spirit dwell just because a person begs for forgiveness before God regarding their sins?
The history of mankind in this world may repeat itself, but the beautiful gospel of the removal of sin and the law of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which God has established once, will never change.
If a person believes in Jesus but does not have the right faith from the beginning—that is, faith that their sins have been washed away by Jesus’ baptism and the blood of the Cross—and instead holds on to a wrong faith, it is truly difficult to return to the right faith.
Therefore, many people are unable to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
How unfair would it be if you believed in Jesus but perished because you did not know the beautiful gospel?
The Bible says that for some people, the beautiful gospel of Jesus becomes a stumbling stone.
If you have realized the secret of the baptism Jesus received from John, you too can receive the removal of your sins from the sins of the world and also receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus received baptism from John, took on the sins of humanity, shed His blood on the Cross, died, and rose again, thereby saving all sinners from sin.
This removal of sin that Jesus Christ gave to all mankind was the righteous way of salvation that God had planned.
Jesus became the true Savior of sinners and confirmed the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Now, All You Have to Do Is Believe!
In the Old Testament, it is recorded that when the priests’ feet were dipped into the waters of the Jordan River, it became dry ground.
It is already a miracle that the water stopped when the Ark of the Covenant of God, which the priests were carrying, entered the Jordan River, but how much more incredible is it that the ground became dry?
This miraculous Word shows the confirmation of salvation—that Jesus blotted out the sins of sinners through His baptism and the blood of the Cross, making them righteous.
Also, the meaning of the Word that the ground became dry is that every sin in this world was completely washed away by the baptism Jesus received from John and by His blood—this is the beautiful gospel.
The curse of sin and judgment that had come down upon all mankind from Adam came to a complete end through the baptism of Jesus.
Now, there remains nothing for us to do except to receive the removal of sin by faith and receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Now, will you also believe in this beautiful gospel of truth, that Jesus, by being baptized in the Jordan River, took on all your sins?
You must believe that before Jesus Christ was crucified to take away the sins of the world, He received the baptism that took on all the sins of this world.
You must know and believe how important the baptism Jesus received at the Jordan River is.
If the priests had not stepped into the waters of the Jordan while carrying the Ark of the Covenant, the people of Israel could not have entered the land of Canaan.
The very first gateway to enter the land of Canaan was to cross the Jordan River, and in the same way, we all must set the Ark of God before us and cross by faith to enter the land of Canaan.
This teaches us that spiritually, one can only receive the removal of sins and enter the Kingdom of Heaven by believing in the gospel of water and the Spirit.
The Bible records that the baptism Jesus received at the Jordan River is the work of God’s salvation.
It also records that this work of God occurred together with God’s Word through the priests.
The stopping of the river when the priests’ feet touched the water was a work done together with God’s Word, and this refers to the baptism and blood that Jesus received.
Just as the river was crossed by faith, this means that salvation from all sin is received by believing in this gospel.
Also, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit comes upon the faith in this beautiful gospel.
The baptism Jesus received and the blood of the Cross will enable you to receive the removal of sins and the Holy Spirit.
This beautiful gospel of water and the Spirit is the absolute gospel that brings the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to people.
This sermon is also available in ebook format. Click on the book cover below.
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