Due to COVID-19 and disruption to international mail service
we have temporally suspended our ‘Free Print Book service’.
we have temporally suspended our ‘Free Print Book service’.
In the light of this situation we are not able to mail you the books at this time.
Pray that this pandemic will end soon and the resumption of the postal service.
Pray that this pandemic will end soon and the resumption of the postal service.
Subject 22 : The Gospel According to LUKE
[Chapter 2-2] Throw Away Worldly Desires and Meet the Lord (Luke 2:1-14)
(Luke 2:1-14)
“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’”
The Greatest Miracle in Human History
That Jesus Christ has come to this world in human flesh is really the greatest miracle. That God the Creator took on the appearance of His creature and came to dwell among the creatures is really a great miracle.
When our Lord came to this world, the angels appeared to the shepherds and said, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” It is written here, “This will be the sign.” It means there will be a miracle. The waters dividing as Moses points to the Red Sea is a greater miracle, but the greatest miracle, the greatest work, among the miracles we can find in the Bible, is the event of God coming to this world in human flesh as Baby Jesus. This is the biggest event in the history of this world. There probably was no greater miracle than this in the universe.
Our Lord has come to this world. Jesus Christ came to this world in human flesh as the King of kings and our Savior. When our Lord came to this world, Baby Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. Here, the angel said this was the great sign. We had to open up the cloth to actually meet Jesus Christ our Lord who was wrapped in the swaddling clothes. Actually, this means that Jesus is God’s secret. God manifested His love to all the people, but at the same time, God also hid it so that not anyone can see this work. We need to understand clearly what God’s Law is saying if we want to meet the Lord. We must understand clearly the Law God has given us if we want to meet the Savior and bow to Him respectfully.
Though they do not know much about the Law, many people point to the Law and say the Law is just a series of laws, or say that we must keep the Law if at all possible since it is God’s Law. However, until Jesus Christ came, the role of the Law was to point out the sin to us with the Word of God, and to teach us what is good and what is evil. That is why the Scriptures tell us in a figure of speech that we must open the wrapping cloths of the Law if we want to actually meet baby Jesus wrapped in the swaddling clothes. In other words, though our Lord came to this world, we need to know clearly the reason why God gave us the Law if we want to meet Him.
Even now, many people think we need to keep the Law of the Old Testament and this is incorrect thinking. What is greater than the Law is the law of the Spirit of life (Romans 8:2). The Law points out people’s sins, but the law of the Spirit is really righteous and beautiful. God gives us the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Law is God’s command that tells us “do’s and don’ts,” while the law of the Spirit is mercy, love, meekness, self-restraint, and peace. The law of the Spirit asks of more righteous and beautiful things than what the Law demands from us. The law of the Spirit demands love, great mercy, joy, meekness, and peace. It demands things we absolutely need; the things that are absolutely righteous.
But what does the Law say? It only teaches us how evil our human thinking, hearts, and works are and what our sin is before the presence of God. However, we must also know the Law. The Law of the Old Testament era was fulfilled by coming of Jesus. But because the Law makes us understand sin and know sin, we cannot meet the Lord even though our Savior, Baby Jesus Christ, came to this world if we cannot realize our sin, and if we do not actually know this Law perfectly.
What Must We Know First to Meet the Lord?
We can meet baby Jesus Christ wrapped in swaddling clothes and accept Him in our hearts when we know the Law and its given purpose correctly. People cannot accept the Lord into their hearts, they cannot meet Him, and do not see Jesus Christ who came to us wrapped in swaddling clothes. Even though they say they believe in Jesus, they haven’t met Him yet because they do not know God’s Law well. That is why Jesus Christ came to this world and became our Savior. But to some people, that Truth is a really big secret and it is hidden from them.
People question whether God really became a lowly creature and came to this world, and do not believe in this fact. Almost all people do not believe in this fact. They do not believe it because it is unbelievable. But such a miracle really occurred. The Lord is God who created the whole universe; not only this earth, but also the immense world of all the stars. God came to this world through Mary’s body clothed in the appearance of a human like you and me. Jesus, who is God, came to this world clothed in human flesh like us. It means God is with us. In other words, God came to this world in human flesh just like us.
This is the greatest miracle among all miracles. However, even though everyone thinks he knows Jesus Christ, no one who does not know the Law properly can meet Him. Our Lord came to this world. He came to this world in a real human body. The Lord came to this world during the era when Caesar Augustus was ruling the Roman Empire. Based on accurate history, we should date this account 4 B.C. Caesar Augustus commanded, “All the world should be registered.” I am sure you understand that the whole world standardized the calendar year based on the time Jesus Christ came to this world. A.D. (Anno Domini in Greek) means the years after the birth of Christ. But historians say that there is about 4 years of difference by error in the standardization of the calendar year.
Anyway, from a historical perspective, Jesus Christ was born during the time of Caesar Augustus of Roman Empire. This is a historical fact that can actually be proved; even to people who do not believe in Jesus. Many people debate whether Jesus was a real historical person or not, but history bears out the fact and the time of the coming of Jesus. But there are the people who still do not believe it. Such people disrespect the Bible and persecute those who believe in it.
Many historians and authors challenged to prove that Jesus Christ coming to this world and His salvation of us through 33 years of life was not true and that it was only a myth. They tried to find evidence that Jesus Christ was not an actual person, but they were not able to. People investigated the historicity of Jesus through archaeological studies and scientific studies and so on. Scholars tried to prove that Jesus was a human, not God, but all their efforts failed.
Lewis Wallace, the author of “Ben Hur,” studied a lot about Jesus to reveal that Jesus was not a real person. He got involved in the investigation and study to prove that Jesus Christ was not a real person. However, the deeper he got into the investigation, the more it revealed through all material evidences, that Jesus clearly was born to this world and that Jesus Christ actually lived the life and did the work as spoken in the Scriptures. Therefore this author, who started the investigation in order to refute against the claims of the historicity of Jesus, eventually knelt before God and confessed, “Jesus Christ is the true Son of God and He is God who really came to this world as our Savior.” Lewis Wallace wrote this book after confessing that Jesus Christ really is God and our Savior who came to this world, and the book was made into a movie called “Ben Hur.”
In the movie, Divinity of Jesus Christ is revealed clearly in many scenes. In the last scene, we can see that the mother and the sister of the main character were inflicted with leprosy but they are healed cleanly from leprosy when Jesus Christ is nailed to the Cross. The author of “Ben Hur,” Lewis Wallace, came to know and believe that Jesus Christ was God and that He came to this world, received the baptism, died on the Cross, and blotted out all our sins. Therefore, when we see the movie, we can see that it shows clearly through various aspects that Jesus Christ is our Savior and God.
Without a doubt, even from a historical perspective, Jesus Christ was the Son of God and the Savior of humanity who came to this world clothed in human flesh. Jesus Christ was laid in a manger when He first came to this world because there was no place for Him to lie down. It means that He lay in a manger that was used to feed animals. Jesus was wrapped in a swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. We must really invite Jesus Christ to our hearts with the faith of exalting the righteousness of God.
But we must get rid of any sort of personal greed in our hearts if we want to invite Jesus Christ to our hearts. We must not have such heart that is satisfied with the worldly things. People who can never be satisfied with worldly things accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and invite Him into their hearts. Jesus Christ is born inside such hearts and such people receive salvation from sin. The Gospel of Matthew chapter 5 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Our Lord is born inside the souls that really cannot be satisfied with the things of the world.
Human beings are not all alike. There are some people who can be satisfied with things of the world. However, people cannot really be satisfied with material things of the world. Even so, there are many people who become very satisfied with things of the world; they misunderstand what real satisfaction is like. There are also people who are not like that. There are people who cannot be satisfied no matter how much of the things of the world they have. The Lord comes into the hearts of people who cannot be satisfied with things of the world, and is born to such hearts.
There are some people who become prideful when they attain a little something like pleasure or power or material things of the world. However, there are others whose hearts are troubled and distressed even though they have everything in this world because they still do not have satisfaction in their hearts, and therefore they seek after something to find satisfaction. The thing such people are seeking after is God who has come by the Truth. Our Lord is the Savior and the Shepherd of people who cannot find satisfaction through the things of the world. He is our Lord who came to save such people from sin.
But there is no place for Jesus Christ in people who find satisfaction in their hearts through the things of the world. Jesus Christ can never come and grow in such people’s hearts. Our Lord cannot dwell in the hearts of people who belong to the material things of the world. Our Lord lay in a manger of an animal because there was no place for Him in the inn. Our Lord cannot go inside the hearts of people whose hearts are filled with other visitors and the things of the world like this. There is no way for the Lord to be born in such hearts. How could Jesus be born to such hearts? How can our Lord be born to such people’s hearts when He cannot go in and He is not accepted? How can the Lord go into such people’s heart when they are satisfied with things of the world even without the Lord? The Lord knocks on the hearts of people who are satisfied even without the Lord, but He cannot go in because they do not accept Him.
What kind of person’s heart does the Lord go into? The Lord goes into the heart of lowly people. The Lord goes into the poor heart that cannot attain satisfaction from worldly things. The Lord goes into the lamenting heart and the heart of the person who yearns for the righteousness of God. Therefore, the Lord is born in such a heart. The Lord came to this world as the Savior, but He cannot be born and dwell in any place. He cannot be conceived in any heart. Our Lord can be born in the heart of the person who really yearns for God and desires to revere the Creator. The Lord is born in the heart of the people who really want to receive the remission of all their sins before the presence of the Lord and the people who lament for their sins and believe that the Lord has fulfilled the work of salvation through the gospel of the water and the Spirit for them.
The Lord Who Meets the Lowly
When I was young, I did not have much. I was able to get by like average people, but I could not have great satisfaction. Therefore, I spent some money, even though it was not a great sum of money, because I thought I could have satisfaction if I had some money and spent it any way I liked. However, my heart was always empty no matter how much money I had and spent, and no matter how much delicious food I ate or what joyful things of the world I did. My heart was always empty. My heart could not really be filled with anything from this world. I did not have much joy and there was no satisfaction in my heart. Then I came to believe in our Lord one day, even though I did not receive salvation perfectly then, and the emptiness in my heart decreased by about 1/3. What was clear is that I could at least be satisfied a little with the fact that I believed in God the true Creator and that I lived for the Creator.
After 10 years passed since I first believed in Jesus like that, I finally received salvation from sin perfectly by truly meeting the Lord and knowing Him. Afterwards, there has only been true satisfaction in my heart. My heart is filled with satisfaction and overflowing abundance even now. The Lord became my Savior and my God only after I met the Lord and He was born in my heart. He became my Lord and Savior. The Lord came to this world clothed in human flesh to save me who was like this. God came to this world with both the human nature and the divine nature. Serenity, true satisfaction, and peace like a dove came into my heart when I met Jesus Christ and believed in Him. I no longer wandered with the things of this world and no longer tried to satisfy my heart with anything of this world. I came to have true satisfaction in my heart that believed in Christ. There was satisfaction.
I was joyful even though I did not seem to have joy. Even though I did not seem to have anything to do in this world, I was hungry to do righteous work as the Lord said that people who are hungry and thirsty for the righteousness would be full. To me who was hungry and thirsty for the righteousness of God, our Lord made me do all the work of righteousness that I wanted and be filled abundantly. After I met the Lord, I was a little hungry even though there was satisfaction in my heart, and our Lord allowed me to give myself to all things for the righteous work of serving the Lord, for preaching the gospel, and for helping souls receive the remission of sins. Therefore, I have come to live abundantly without being hungry.
We become full when we do the Lord’s work. The more work of the Lord we do the more we become full spiritually even though our physical body is tired. Our stomach becomes full and our hearts become full and satisfied. After we meet the Lord, the Lord personally becomes the bread of life and a refreshing drink for us and quenches our hunger and thirst.
The baptism of Jesus Christ and the blood of the Cross have become abundant food and the eternal bread of salvation that really makes us live a righteous life. Our Lord is born to the person who does not fill his heart with worldly things. You must empty your heart if you want to serve Jesus Christ. We must empty our hearts if we want to truly serve Jesus Christ in our hearts, if we want to live the life of dwelling with the Lord after receiving the remission of sins and if we want to live a life of eating and drinking together with the Lord. We must not try to fill our hearts with worldly things. We must instead drive out the things of the world. We must throw them out. Our Lord dwells in our hearts and becomes the King of our hearts and rules over us only when we throw out the things of the world. Then there is nothing to worry about because our Lord becomes our King from that moment. Why is this so? It’s because Jesus Christ will protect us when we are in danger because He has become our King, and it’s because Jesus Christ will feed us when we do not have anything to eat and because He will defeat us with the power of the Word personally when the enemy appears before us. It is because everything and every power are in the King.
Therefore, you must drive out the things of the world and acknowledge the fact that such things cannot give satisfaction to you. You must accept the Word of the Lord into your heart with faith. After being born again like this, you must let go of things like worldly desires from your heart. Only then will you be able to walk with the Lord and the Lord can fulfill His will through you.
The Lord has truly become the bread of life for us. Our Lord dwells in our hearts as the Savior and the King and manifests the glory of the Lord by using us as righteous instruments. As we celebrate Christmas, we must think once again why our Lord was born in a manger.
The things of the world are really vain. Satisfaction does not come just because we achieve them. In the Book of Ecclesiastes 12:12, it is written, “And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.” But even so, we constantly publish mission books to share the most necessary Word that is needed today; the Word necessary for the soul, the Word that is really necessary for the bothers and sisters all over the world. We must publish the next volumes of our mission books, but it is a really endless and tiring work. I would never want to do such work if it was just working for just any worldly books.
But we are writing the mission books that contain the Truth of the gospel of the water and the Spirit and sending to them with much effort because everyone in this world must know this gospel. When we publish the mission books one by one like that, our hearts are really at peace even though our body is tired. We would not want to do such a work if it was for any other book, but we do it joyfully because it is the work of sharing the gospel. In worldly works, there is always a next task we must do after we finish a task and then we achieve the next challenge, but there is no satisfaction. They work twice as hard and many times more, but they are never satisfied with their hearts. But in the case of God’s work, we have satisfaction in our hearts even when we put just enough effort to it. Why? There is satisfaction in us because the Lord rejoices over us and it becomes our food.
We must empty our hearts. We must think carefully of the meaning in the Word that our Lord was laid in a manger. Inn means lodging businesses like motels and hotels and there were so many customers in those places. Joseph and his wife Mary returned to his hometown for family registration following the command of the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus who ruled over Israel at that time. However, Mary seemed ready for the delivery of her child. Joseph went to the Inn to get a room, but there was no vacancy. Therefore he went around knocking on this door and that door, but there was no place for them to stay and Mary had to deliver the child in a stable that an owner of the Inn let them use. Jesus was born in such a shabby place. That is not a place where customers stayed; it was instead a place for animals. Actually, you and I are nothing more than animals before the presence of God. We are actually human beings who are truly lowly and inadequate before the presence of God, but our Lord was born to such people. The people who can serve our Lord in their hearts are these lowly people who have thrown away the things of the world.
People who do not know satisfaction even though they live with worldly things and people who do not have greed in their hearts for things of the world can serve the Lord and walk together with the Lord. We must really pay attention to this Word as we celebrate Christmas. We must ponder clearly and see if you and I are filled with worldly things in our hearts and whether we do not have things of the world in our hearts that we need to throw away. Jesus Christ can come into your heart only when you empty your heart. You can understand the great will of Jesus Christ only when you empty your heart. The spiritual eyes become clear only when you empty your heart. We must accept in our hearts this gospel of grace that is truly like a miracle. We must serve God who became human, came to us personally, took our sins upon Him through baptism, died on the Cross, was resurrected from death, and became our true Savior, Jesus Christ. We must serve Him in our hearts with faith.
A Person Who Does Not Have Faith in God Cannot Serve Jesus Christ
A person who does not believe in God cannot serve Jesus Christ as his Savior even though Jesus Christ comes to him because his heart is filled with worldly things. Such a person cannot open his heart with joy when Jesus knocks on that door. He has no choice but to say there is no room and throw Him out. Therefore, you must believe that you are a truly lowly person who deserves to go to hell. In addition, you must also believe that Jesus Christ has really come to be the Savior for such a pitiful person like you.
Our hearts must truly believe in God’s Word. The Lord said,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:3-7).
We must have the faith that believes in the fact that Jesus Christ is our Lord. We must have such faith. We must believe that way. We must profess, “Jesus Christ is my Lord. He came to this world to save me and He received the baptism for me and died on the Cross in my place.” Furthermore, we must also truly believe that He is God who was resurrected from death and ascended to Heaven and God who shall return to this world as the Judge.
How do we receive salvation from all our sins? We must believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We can serve Jesus Christ with our hearts and receive salvation by believing in the righteousness of God. Baby Jesus can be born in our hearts when we accept Jesus Christ in our hearts by believing in the righteousness of God. The Scriptures say that the just shall live by faith. We receive salvation through the faith of believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The miracle of salvation was fulfilled in us through it. Through this, God came to this world as a human, received the baptism, died on the Cross, was resurrected from death, and saved us.
We must have such faith of believing in God as our Savior. We must receive salvation through the faith of believing in this. We must believe that God came to this world and saved us with the water and the blood, that God helps me, and that we are the Israelites spiritually.
We must live with such faith. Satan the Devil takes hold of us and kills us if we do not live with the faith of believing in the righteousness of God. You must always have the faith of believing in the righteousness of God quickly, even if it has been only a short time since you have received the remission of sin and received salvation. When Jesus came to this world, King Herod tried to kill all the children under the age of two. Even if Satan tried to kill us like this, we can avoid the evil power of Satan if we have the faith of believing in Jesus Christ, if we just have the faith that Jesus is our God and our Savior, if we just have the faith of believing the fact Jesus Christ is our Shepherd and our God. We are protected from our enemies when we believe in the Lord. We can be saved from all dangers and always dwell with God and receive protection from God when we believe in and follow Jesus Christ sincerely.
We must not be proud and live with sincere faith even after receiving the remission of sins. The angels praised here, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” People who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, the people who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the people who believe in the fact that God saved them with the water and the blood, can hear this good news and run to Jesus and see Him. They believed in the good news. The wise men from the east did not believe in the word of King Herod and instead went against it. Joseph and Mary, who were fleshly parents of Jesus, also were able to escape from the hands of King Herod because they heard God’s voice through an angel, and believed it. We must live with such faith even after receiving salvation.
We must empty our hearts and live only with faith. It is difficult to maintain that faith after receiving salvation. Why is this so? It is difficult because we have never tried to live with faith. But we must always empty our hearts and throw away the greed and just live with faith and hold onto the fact that only Jesus Christ is our Lord, our Savior, and our Shepherd. We can realize how the Lord helps us and how He blesses us when we believe like that. Then, we experience the fact that the Lord is the Shepherd that still lives and guides us even now.
We Must Live by Faith Even after Receiving the Remission of Sins
Now this world is headed toward the end. Even this Christmas is different from that of last year, isn’t it? People would have already caused all kinds of commotion if it were like last year. However, it is quiet this year. It seems like it will be even quieter next year. After a few years, people will think of the Christmas as if it was a memory from past. They will think of it like some kind of ritual from the old times. Even though we gather together now for worship and praise, the world will become even darker after time passes and it all becomes deep in the future. We the righteous shall always gather together on this day and sing, “♪Silent Night, ♬Holy Night” and worship God. But in the future, it will be difficult to see churches worshipping the day of Jesus coming to this world like this.
Anyway, we are people who have received the remission of sins. Then, whom should we follow from then on? We must follow Jesus Christ. We must follow the star. Though we have been born again, the servants of the Devil like King Herod would come and kill us if we just stay still and do not want to be led by the Lord. After you have received the remission of sins, you must listen carefully to the predecessors in faith who have gone before you. Because you have the Holy Spirit in your heart even though you have just been born again, the Holy Spirit agrees with the Lord’s Word and controls your heart. Then you can obey and follow the Lord continuously. Faith grows in you step by step when you follow the Lord like this. Then you come to receive eternal life.
Israel was a vassal country of the Roman Empire at the time Baby Jesus was born to this world. Baby Jesus probably had to overcome a few life and death situations. Our Lord fulfilled all the works according to the written Word even as He overcame the life-threatening situation from King Herod. He did so even when His relatives came and said He might be insane.
We are saints who believe in Jesus Christ. We are people who follow Jesus Christ with faith. How about the shepherds here? They heard the news the angels told them and went to that place and saw Baby Jesus. People would have just passed it over nonchalantly when they hear that a baby was born to certain family. But these shepherds weren’t like that. They believed the Savior, the Messiah, was born in Israel. They lived all their life with such faith. Most people did not think much of Jesus while baby Jesus was growing up, but these shepherds saw the maturing process of Jesus and the firm faith of believing Jesus Christ as their Savior grew in their hearts. You must have such faith. You must empty your heart of the worldly things. The more the world becomes chaotic the more you must empty your heart. You must have the heart and faith that can serve Jesus Christ in your heart any time, the heart that can always follow the Lord’s Word.
Beloved saints, I am sure you will do this. We must believe in the Lord and follow Him even after receiving the remission of sins. Our Lord gave us the Word that has become our food and personally showed us wonders and miracles. If our Lord was born in a royal palace, then many parts of the Scriptures would have had to be written differently. The wealthy people would have received salvation and the poor would have been treated with contempt. But the people who cannot be satisfied with the things of the world were able to meet Jesus Christ and receive salvation because Jesus Christ was born in a manger like this. On the contrary, the people with stiff necks who have power in this world, the people who are satisfied with the things of the world, will be destroyed.
Our Lord was born in a manger for you and me who cannot be satisfied in our hearts with the things of the world. Our Lord did this so that He can truly be the Savior for all the sinners whose hearts are confused and empty and are in the depth of darkness, the people who are seeking God. I want you to believe that the body of our Lord was laid first in a feeding trough of an animal.
I want you to live by faith. The Scriptures say that the just shall live by faith. We face many difficult and challenging things while we live in this world. We must have even stronger faith during those times. We must have faith when we are in a happy situation and we must always look to the Lord and follow the Lord even though we are lacking. If we do not waver and we are firm like that, we can go forth step by step with faith. The faith accumulates like that and therefore we can have greater faith.
The faith does not appear suddenly with a “thud” like popcorn. We can experience the Word of blessing Jesus Christ gives in our lives when we empty our hearts and accept the Word of Jesus Christ. Our faith grows through the experiences that can be expressed, “Ah! It is true. It happened exactly according to the recorded Word. That’s correct.” Therefore, we need to have faith. We must always look to the Lord who has made us perfect, and believe in and follow Jesus.
Christmas is just around the corner and if I did not speak about the birth of Christ now, it would pass us by without us being able to talk about it. It is amazing how the Christmas season passes by so fast. It seems like the Christmas season just started, but it has almost passed us by already. That is why I am speaking about this ahead of time.
Let us live with the faith of believing in Jesus Christ. Our Lord cannot go into the hearts of the people whose hearts are wealthy or whose hearts are filled with the things of the world. The Lord cannot dwell in such a person. That is what I am speaking of. Even though you have received salvation, the Lord has to turn back in front of your door if your hearts are still filled with the things of the world. Even though you want to open the door, you tell Him to come back a little later and make Him stand outside because your heart is filled with other customers.
Who incurs the loss if the Lord is stood up outside our hearts? For Jesus Christ, the whole universe is His and His house. Therefore, it would consequently be our loss if we rejected our Lord when He came to our hearts to help us, to discuss with us, and become our shepherd. We need to empty our hearts as often as we can in order not to become like that. Worldly things often come into our hearts in spite of ourselves. Hence, we need to empty our hearts often and think of the Word of Jesus and live with faith like that, and when something goes wrong again, we need to empty our hearts again and live with faith.
Let us follow the way of the Lord like that. I give thanks once again before the presence of Jesus our Lord, our God who came to this world as a human being in order to save all of us.
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