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Subject 18 : GENESIS

[Chapter 6-3] We Must Believe in The Righteousness of the Lord and Walk with Him (Genesis 6:1-9)

We Must Believe in The Righteousness of the Lord and Walk with Him
(Genesis 6:1-9)
“Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’ There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.”
 
 
Among the people of the days of Noah, there were many giants. However, even in today’s Christianity, there are also many so-called famous preachers. Because they are spreading false gospels that differ from the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the souls of many people who have received or listened to their gospels are dying, imprisoned by their own sins. That is why God has no choice but to pass judgment on those who are spreading false doctrines, back then and even now. God had passed judgment on people during the days of Noah not only because their wickedness was great, but also because sons of God had taken daughters of men as their wives and their souls had fallen into corruption, which is the greater reason.
In the sermons of those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and preach it, there is the content of the genuine Truth of salvation, but in the content of preachers who believe and preach that only the blood of the Cross constitutes salvation, there is no gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. There is no real Truth of salvation in the gospel of only the blood of the Cross that they believe and preach. Thus, they are unconsciously committing spiritual fraud on all people. Spiritual defrauders today are going around committing fraud by saying that one can invite Jesus into their hearts just by offering a prayer of invitation.
However, all that is a complete lie. They say to people that just so long as they offer a prayer of inviting Jesus, Jesus will enter their hearts. However, theirs words are lies, nothing but a sweet talk. Their sermons are focused only on fleshly blessings, and because they are not preaching the spiritual blessings, that is, the gospel of the water and the Spirit, even if one were to believe what they are saying, it could only be a useless faith.
These liars can also confuse us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The righteous who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can also fall into the fleshly desire of the world. And we can unite with the Christian sinners because today’s Christians who haven’t been born again also agree that the result of faith is being without sin. For they insist that so long as they believe in Jesus as their Savior, they will unconditionally be without sin, even those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are apt to misapprehend that these people’s faith may not be wrong; and so, these imprudent saints tend to think that in conclusion, the faith of those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and that of today’s Christians who believe only in the blood of the Cross are the same. But, it is clear that if a person were to believe only in the blood of the Cross, sins would continue to exist in his or her heart, but if that person were to know and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, his or her sins would no longer exist in his or her heart any more.
Therefore, if we were to listen to the sermons from preachers who have not been born again, we will fall into a spiritual confusion and suffer death in the end. It is because they are those who go against God, being held by their own fleshly thoughts, not knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of God. They seek the fruit of the flesh. That is why all Christians are turning into those who chase after desires of the flesh. They are constantly interested in how they can accumulate great wealth for their flesh. And, they are interested in what they could do to gather up many people and draw out large amounts of monetary donations from them.
Christian sinners today are killing so many people spiritually because they have an erroneous faith. Because they do not have the faith of believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they always create legalistic faith, and they cannot but live following it. Even the righteous who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can distance themselves from the work of God when they fall into the desires of the flesh. Let alone, people who do not yet know the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit will have much more fleshly thoughts and follow such desires in the end. Thus, it is not strange to see Christian sinners today following the desires of the flesh. As for the righteous who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they usually think about the work of God, but once in a while they do have fleshly thoughts. Nevertheless, because they are doing the spiritual work of God, they can control the center of their heart properly. But, what do Christians who do not know the righteousness of God think? They cannot but think only about the work of the flesh.
Spiritually young saints, though they may have been born again by the water and the Spirit, do not know very well what is wrong with them. But if we were to think about the work of God within His righteousness, it is possible to know what sort of work pleases God. Therefore, people who are still young in faith must follow the faith of the predecessors. Then, they will be able to find out what the true faith is.
Just by a glance, people who know the gospel of the righteousness of God can recognize fleshly people. Inside today’s Christianity, there are many spiritual defrauders. However, to the righteous who believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, such spiritual swindling cannot be acceptable. People who are doing the work of God by placing their faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit do not commit spiritual fraud either.
By what sort of faith do people of legalism, pietism, and Pentecostalism go on living? They profess Jesus as their Savior, but they believe without knowing the righteousness of God. Yet, what is worse is that they continue to commit spiritual fraud without being aware of them being a spiritual defrauder. If we were to say to them, “You are spiritual swindlers,” they would feel embarrassed because they think of themselves as no defrauder. However, when time should pass and when they reflect on the fruit of their faith, they will realize that they belong to spiritual defrauders. Therefore, such people must turn around from their evil ways and learn the true faith from the born-again people who know and believe in the righteousness of God. Only then can they escape from their old way of life committing spiritual fraud.
 
 

Do You Think That God Had Destroyed the World Just Because Wickedness Was Great in the Earth?

 
God had destroyed the first world because there was no more hope in the world, for the people of God were chasing after the world. “This is the end. There is no more hope of improvement. Rather than letting this continue, I will destroy everything on earth. I will destroy from the face of earth, men, birds of the air, and all creeping things.” God could not but have such heart because sons of God have lost their faith, intoxicated by the beauties of daughters of men. These days, when we go online, we see lascivious photos, and if we were to immerse in them, we would spiritually go stale. Especially, people who are spiritually or physically young must avoid them all the more. If one were to see pornography at a young age, the brain will break down due to such a great shock. Having grown up, if one is at a mature age when he or she can discern right from wrong, such shocks could be overcome, but if one were to see such things at a young age, the person would break down, unable to overcome the psychological shock. There is a possibility for the ministry workers to also become a person of flesh by having fallen into such things. One might say, “I will not die,” but that is not the case. Thus, we must install pornography prevention devices so that such things would not enter, and we must take good care of them. Current times are more lascivious than the days of Noah actually, but because we are still spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God has hope for this world.
I think it would be good to gather up the letters from abroad and print a book of testimonies of salvation. People didn’t write such testimonies of salvation because we had told them to write them. They had written them spontaneously. Even now, through the Internet, the gospel of the water and the Spirit is being spread, and also, in the forms of paper books and electronic books, the gospel of the remission of sin is being spread to so many people. And, people are receiving salvation. And, because these people who have received salvation through our books lend them to other people, the gospel of the water and the Spirit is being spread continuously through the books as well as the lips of the newly born-again saints. Even now, people continue to receive the remission of sin. How many people do you think have received the remission of sin through our literature ministry? Compared to Korea, many more people have received the remission of sins.
Right now, Christianity in Korea is in decline. Pastors of Korea are able to maintain their churches now because there are many members of church who have been attending church for a long time. That is why it was possible to keep the status quo up until now. In the future, Christianity in Korea will be worse off than that in Europe. In Europe, it is said that just a few grandmothers and grandfathers gather and offer worship, and the churches in Korea will soon be like that. Churches without the gospel of the water and the Spirit will starve to death when the days of spiritual chaos arrive.
Once, how flourishing was Christianity all over the world and in Korea? Yet, how dwindling is it now spiritually? Christians who do not have the gospel of the water and the Spirit put their mind on gathering wealth for their flesh. They do not have the inheritance of the spiritual faith. For them, there is only the intentional faith. This is why, even if we were to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to Christians these days, they are reluctant to come to God’s Church. Christians in the past used to tremble before God and ask what they should do when their sins are pointed out. However, today’s Christians are so soused in the sins of the world like a salted cabbage that they go on living without realizing what their sins are. That is why they go on living indulged only in the things of the flesh, not knowing what the judgment of God, the spiritual darkness, the agony of sin, and the sorrow of the wages of sins are. All they can say is that they love Jesus in terms of the flesh.
As these days are difficult times, many people commit crimes to meet their living expenses. In today’s news, there was a report of someone taking out any installed metal doors in a neighborhood. The report says that some person had taken out metal doors from five or six different places in a neighborhood. The culprit was caught, and his age was around thirty. When asked why he had done it, he said he had no choice but to take off other people’s house doors and sold them as scrap iron because as he got married, he had no food to eat and no skills to make a living. When a man wants to marry, he should prepare for marriage after having prepared to make a living; he should have learned a skill or something else. Yet, if he were to just get married, just having his affection for the woman, what would happen then? Now, when a husband goes to jail, how would the wife make a living? When it gets difficult to go on living, wouldn’t she look for another man?
Whenever I see college students these days, I get worried. In this day and age when the number of unemployed young people is reaching 600 thousand, I feel heartbroken because it’s like seeing future vagabonds. Right now, they think everything is well chatting with their friends as they chomp away crackers, but the world does not bless those who go on enjoying the moment like that. Students would be able to make a proper living only if they were to study as they should, but most college students know only how to spend money without knowing how to make it. And, I have doubts about their future plans. If they were to graduate without having studied like this, even though they do marry the girlfriend they have been dating, they would just feel helpless for they would have no way of making a living. Men have to prepare for a job or a business so as to provide a living for their family.
I told you that God had passed the judgment not just because wickedness was great in the earth. What was worse is that there was no hope. Sons of God must spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit with the faith of believing in the righteousness of God, but if they were to no longer spread this genuine gospel, destruction will come. Not only because they did not spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit but also because they were influenced by the world and followed it, God decided to annihilate the world.
The flood of Noah is a historical fact. This historical fact tells us a great lesson. If so, what must we learn from this fact in which God has bestowed grace on Noah? We must realize what God despises the most and what He likes the most. What God despises the most is sin and what God likes the most is continued spreading of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Thus, we must continue to do the work that God is pleased with, that is, the work of spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit. When a righteous person stops spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God will set His mind to destroy the person. However, sons of God, intoxicated by the beauties of daughters of men, went down the path of curse. That is why God said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air” (Genesis 6:7).
 
 

It Is Truly Fortunate That You and I Are Spreading the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Now in This Age

 
We are able to preserve this world because we are spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world and supporting the spreading of the gospel like this. And, because supporting the spreading of the gospel is in itself spreading the gospel, your hearts are kept by faith. If we were to spread the gospel only in Korea, without spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world, just as Christian sinners in Korea get destroyed, we would also suffer destruction. This is why we have been spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world for last few decades.
The history of world Christianity is long, but it has only been a few hundred years since it showed a rapid growth. This growth period started with the Reformation. Regrettably however, for those few hundred years, Christianity has been teaching legalistic doctrines, not the gospel of the water and the Spirit: They weren’t able to teach the Truth concerning the righteousness of God. Instead, they had taught legalistic things, such as offering donations to the church, rites of worship, prayer of repentance, sanctification, and so on. Even today’s Christianity, which still hasn’t been born again, is spiritually dying out, for it is unable to teach the gospel of the water and the Spirit related to the righteousness of God at all. In truth, if Christians do not have the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they are hopeless.
Fortunately however, God has made us to be able to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world by bestowing His wisdom on us. God has already had those of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit set our hearts in the life of spreading the gospel. All the branch churches in our country are united in spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world. Because we continue to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world, we are able to keep our faith, and also, there is still hope for the world.
If the church of God were to not spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit, people of the world will suffer spiritual death. When that happens, the saints will no longer follow the guidance of God’s Church. You must entrust yourself to the Holy Spirit dwelling in your hearts so that He can reign over, command, and lead you. Then, He will have you live in union with the serving of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If we wish to lead a person who has received the remission of sins, we the predecessors in faith must serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit first. The Lord said, “My sheep hear My voice, and they do not follow the false prophets.” The reason is that there is the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
It is truly fortunate that we are currently serving the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Because we, both you and I, are serving the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we are able to lead a life with which God is pleased. If we were to not do the overseas missionary work, there would not be anyone left here. Why did the Early Church flourish? The Apostle Paul had been going around the Mediterranean countries spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and the Early Church had supported the spreading of the gospel with the heart like that of the Apostle Paul. People who were in union with the Apostle Paul had been serving the gospel of the water and the Spirit. However, at that time, there were many Circumcisionists as well as people of Judaism inside the church of God, and by joining together by themselves, they were slandering the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If they had properly done the work of spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit inside their own country as well as throughout the world, Christianity would have dominated the whole world.
People of faith who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit always offer burnt offerings spiritually. They offer God the sacrificial offering by killing it and placing it on top of an altar made of natural stones, and then by making a fire with wood on the altar. All the people of faith had offered this burnt offering. Spiritually, this burnt offering was offered with the faith saying, “I should have died like this sacrificial offering due to my sins, but as I offer this offering of sacrifice instead of me by having passed over my sins to it, please grant me salvation.” We know that God wants such offering of sacrifice from us. For all humankind, God had told Adam and Eve about such sacrificial offering, and Adam and Eve had offered such offerings of sacrifice to God. Then, Adam told his children about it, but while some believed it, others didn’t believe it. Because Abel believe in the faith of his parents, he had offered the same sacrificial offering as that of his parents, and later on, Noah had also offered the same sacrificial offering. Whoever that recognizes himself as a sinner, who ought to die due to his sins, to receive the judgment, and to suffer destruction, must admit his sinfulness and accept the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This is how one receives true salvation from all sins.
Dear fellow believers, if you want to walk with God, you must revere the Word of God and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Even if we did receive the remission of sins by having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, only when we invite God into our hearts and follow His authority and command, do we get to enjoy the grace of salvation continuously. If we have offended God and done wrong, we must go before God by having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with which the Lord has saved us from sin all the while acknowledging our own sins before God. Only then, can we walk with God. Not just anyone can walk with God. Only those who believed that God has saved us from all sins can walk with God. However, if we were to neither acknowledge our sins nor recognize God Himself fundamentally, we won’t even be able to believe in the fact that the Lord has truly saved us.
Even though we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and accept that Truth in our minds, should we not have the heart that reveres God, we cannot walk with God because we won’t be able to obey His will and commands. Even though you have received the remission of sin, if you are not spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the fact remains that you still haven’t accepted that gospel. Some people calculate, saying, “Now that I have received salvation, I will be going to Heaven if I should die now,” and then, start to follow their own thoughts, neglecting the work of serving the gospel of God. But, that is something gravely wrong. Noah had received the grace of salvation because he had acknowledged God and His Word, as well as him being sinful, and believed in the God-given salvation. That was why Noah had received the gift of salvation and was able to walk with God.
You and I are able to walk with God while living in this world because we believe in the righteousness of God. If we were to go on living not knowing God’s righteousness, then we won’t be able to walk with God as we go on living. We must recognize the righteousness of God. Only when we are aware of God, does the heart to submit to God, to obey Him, to follow Him, and also to carry out God’s commands as they arise. If we are not aware of God, we cannot do anything spiritual, and salvation would only be a confession of lips, just something that comes out of a groundless faith.
A person is said to have gone to Heaven. When an angel opened up a vault, there were only mouths and ears hanging on a string. Thus, the person asked the angel, and the angel said, “It is because when they believed in Jesus, they had believed only with their mouths and ears, not with their hearts. So, when God was going to send them to hell, He cut off only their mouths and ears, and strung them for storage.” This is just a joke.
Ministers, workers, brothers, and sisters in our branch churches in Korea are currently spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world, and they are doing the work of God well. If we were to not do the work of spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world, we will fall into ruins eventually. There would be no need to understand each other, no need to serve the gospel by uniting with each other, and no need to struggle like this. It is because there would be no spiritual work to be carried out when the church does not spread the gospel.
Let us just suppose for a moment. If we were not spreading this faith, which we believe, then we would not be those who have received true salvation. Therefore, serving the gospel of the water and the Spirit before God becomes such a great confession of faith. It is good for the predecessors of faith to run ahead for the spreading of this gospel and to encourage you to do the same. If the church of God were to stop spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you and I will turn into evil beings. Just as the people in today’s Scripture passage had suffered destruction, we will also suffer destruction.
In Korea, people who are evil have stopped this gospel of the water and the Spirit from spreading far and wide. It is because Christianity in Korea has been on the decline. Perhaps, people may be able to receive salvation from sins, but only a few of them are led by the guidance of the church of God. Among us, there can be those who have fleshly thoughts by saying to themselves, “Must I serve the gospel desperately like this? It is so tiresome. Yet, do I have to serve God like this?” Also, there can be those who have the thought, “From now on, I wish to eat, drink, and live well.” However, such people must repent.
Dear fellow believers, frankly speaking, if I didn’t spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit, would you really offer donations for the worldwide mission? Also, would you accept that I am your leader? Honestly, you wouldn’t. You would probably speak harshly of me. We all must serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit before God as well as before people. That is a good job.
The Bible says, “Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose” (Genesis 6:1-2). Having seen that, Jehovah God felt disappointed. Thus, God set the will to destroy them. Now, if we were to not live for the serving and the spreading of this gospel of the water and the Spirit, we would be no different from the people of the world. We who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit now are the sons of God. It means that we are His children. Although we do not know what the world population was during the days of Noah due to the fact that the Bible does not record it accurately, but numerous people had suffered destruction because they did not have faith in the Word of God.
Because we are spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God hears our prayers, helps us, walks with us, and through us, He has numerous souls be saved for He finds joy in us. The Lord has entrusted us with the work of spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit until the moment when His will━He planed to abound the number of His children and have them live with Him forever by entering His Kingdom together when He comes again━is realized. We are waiting for that day. Yet, if we were to stop this work, the Lord will wipe out this world without any regret. In truth, people who have stopped serving the gospel of the water and the Spirit are no different from animals that will suffer destruction, even though they have received the remission of sins. If one does not try to serve the gospel despite having received the remission of sins, how could that person be a human being and not an animal destined for destruction? Receiving the remission of sin and attending the church of God but just sitting still not doing the work of God is also a grave problem. Whether or not one does a great amount of work is not important. Rather, whether or not a person is uniting with and serving the church of God wholeheartedly is the important thing. All we have to do is to do the work of God by uniting by faith with the Word of the Lord who has come by the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
We live not only for our flesh but also for the work of God. The church of God does not accept people who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. People who are members of the church of God believe in the Word of God and consider the work of spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has given us as the purpose of life. Those, who concern over only themselves worrying what to eat and what to wear, are not the ones who are in union with the church of God. Some saints think that it could be possible just for a short while due to unavoidable circumstances. But, abandoning the noble work of God on the pretext of one’s flesh is not laudable.
A certain person, as he was leaving God’s Church, requested for a refund of all the donations he had made up until then. Who in the world asks for a refund of the monetary offering donated to God? Of course, his donations were all used up for the purposes of spreading the gospel. Not even a smallest bit of that offering was spent for the benefit of our flesh. Yet, there was a man who had requested that we should give back his donation as if he had been saving money in a bank.
At times, even I get so weary that I start having all sorts of fleshly thoughts. However, I know very well that I would be nothing if I were to take out the faith of believing in the righteousness of God from my life. We are beings that are originally dirty and wicked, but because the Lord has saved us by the gospel of the water and the Spirit and allowed us to serve that gospel, I can only be thankful. Also, because I know that although there are many hardships in serving the gospel of the water and the Spirit, there are also many good things and much joy, I can only be thankful even more so. Even at the moment when we are having evil wishes, God does not discard us, but rather He protects us with the grace of His salvation. And just by that fact, it is not at all regrettable that we had laid down our lives for the work of God.
For us, there is the church of God and many brothers and sisters of faith so that we are able to put all our efforts into the saving of souls by comforting each other and uniting our hearts as one. That in itself is joyous. Therefore, to abandon walking with God is like kicking away all the God-given grace and going back to a dirty sewage. For us to receive the remission of sins by having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is important, but walking with God after having been born again is also important.
What does it mean by “walking with God”? It is following the will of God. What is the will of God? It is written, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). In other words, it is to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first. Believing in, keeping, and spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit and following the righteousness of God first is the will of God. No matter how weary you may be, for you to live in God is something that is good. How could living severed from God be good? If we were to not serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we will be destroyed from that very moment.
The message that I want to convey to you is that a person who does not walk with God is an evil person. Noah had walked with God, and it was said he was perfect in his generations. Noah, who had walked with the Lord, was a happy man. You and I are right now walking with the Lord, and I hope for you to walk with Him well to the end. Noah had found grace in the eyes of God because he had accepted the God-given gift of salvation by acknowledging before God the fact that he was just a man, not worthy of anything. Also, in this current day and age, because you and I are sinful and destined for hell, we cannot but acknowledge that fact by saying before God, “Dear God, I have truly sinned before You. I am a being who cannot but go to hell.” Because we are such people, our Lord has clothed us with the grace of salvation and has given us the gift of salvation by the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit.
Dear fellow believers, do you believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit? Do you believe that this gospel is the Truth? The word ‘Truth’ means something that is true. Other than this, there is nothing that is true. The Lord said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). It means that Jesus is the Truth.
God has allowed us to serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit. I cannot but give Him thanks. We must always think about the reason why Noah had found grace in the eyes of God. Because we are sinful and because we cannot receive salvation if not for the Lord, God had to save us by Himself. God has saved us with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and I believe we have received salvation by having faith in the Lord-given gift of salvation in our hearts.
No matter how long we live in this world, there isn’t anything that is worthwhile. However, as we have been spreading the gospel along with our Lord, we have led a fruitful life that is truly worthwhile. Furthermore, as we have been doing the work of spreading the righteousness of God with which God is pleased, we have even come to walk with God. I offer deep gratitude to the Lord.
 
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Sermons on Genesis (V) - THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ABEL’S FAITH AND CAIN’S FAITH