Title: Gentiles United to Jehovah
Contents
“Oh, by the grace of God”
The Jews viewed the Gentiles as “firewood for the fires of hell.” Their religious arrogance and racial prejudice are brutally self-righteous. However, in Isaiah 56:3, there is a reference to ‘the Gentiles united to the Lord’. God does not necessarily separate them from among His people.
1. The Gentiles united to the Lord are guided and delighted by the Lord.
Last Monday, I went to the Gangnam Fasting and Prayer Center. On the first day I entered the prayer center, the words of Isaiah 56:7 touched my heart with emotion and conviction.
“I will soon bring them to my holy mountain to make them happy in my house of prayer, and their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called the house of prayer of all peoples.” Amen!
The first thing I realized while meditating on the Word and praying is the contents of the first half. That's what God said, 'I will soon bring them to my holy mountain and make them happy in my house of prayer.' “They” here refers to the people recorded in Isaiah 56:6. They are Gentiles who serve God, love God, become God's servants, keep the Sabbath, and keep God's covenant. I hope that you and I will become such Gentiles, who are united to God. Because God has said that He will lead such people to the holy mountain of God and please them in the house of God where they pray.
Until I realized it through the Word, I definitely thought I had visited the prayer center. It was because I was the one who drove to the prayer center while watching the navigation. But God said that God had led me to the holy mountain of God. And he said that he would make me happy in the house of God who prays. This means that you will answer my prayers and give me grace. Amen! Hallelujah! I felt a surge of gratitude and excitement. This is because God has not only led me to the holy mountain of God, but also led me to Jeongdong First Church, and has guided me on the path of grace, truth, peace and blessings until now. Not only that, he will not leave me (Genesis 28:15) and will still be with me and guide me until I accomplish the mission that God has given me. How could this be a story only for me? I believe this also applies to you who are united to Jehovah. I hope that you will also be guided to God's holy mountain by saying 'Amen!' and receive the grace of pleasing God's house of prayer.
After setting up a tent and planting a church in Daldongne, Bongcheon-dong, 36 years ago, on February 25, 2008, he received a building permit for the fourth new temple and said, “Our Haeo-reum, who has been with us in fasting, supplication, and almsgiving for four years, with all our heart. The church members are so lovely.” He confessed this. “I give thanks and glory to the Holy Trinity God, who made me strong when I was weak, rich in the poor, and able to see in the blind. A man plans his way, but God directs his steps.” Amen!
As Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man plans his way in his heart, but the Lord directs his steps.” Said. And Psalm 48:14 says, “For God is our God forever, and he will guide us even to death.”
Yes. I believe that God will lead the believers who are united to God to the holy mountain of God, lead them to death, and make them happy in the house of God where they pray.
2. The Gentiles who are united to Jehovah see that Jehovah accepts their offerings.
Another thing I realized while meditating on the Word and praying is the second half of Isaiah 56:7. 'I will gladly accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices on my altar, for my house will be called the house of prayer of all people.' I thought of it as a sacrifice and sacrifice that I had to offer along with it. And fasting also felt like a burnt offering and sacrifice to God. Of course, it may be an imperfect sacrifice in God's eyes. Nevertheless, God is willing to receive it from God's altar. What a comforting and encouraging word.
I didn't think of 'their burnt offerings and sacrifices' as directly related to myself until I realized it through the Word. And it was thought only to refer to animals being sacrificed. However, I have come to realize over and over again that the burnt offering and sacrifice that God is willing to accept is me. As I was preparing my sermon, the words of Romans 12:1 came to mind. “Therefore, brethren, I beseech you by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Amen!
This is the contrasting story of the brothers Cain and Abel. (Ge 4:1-9) Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. After many years, Cain sacrificed the produce of the land to the Lord, and Abel himself offered the firstborn of the sheep and its fat. But the Lord accepted Abel and his offering, but not Cain and his offering. This caused Cain to become very angry and his complexion changed. Then he took his brother Abel out into the field and killed him.
The first brutal murder of mankind, ironically, occurred between brothers, and it occurred after offering a sacrifice to God. What could be the cause? Hebrews 11:4 has the answer. “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than that of Cain, and he received evidence that he was righteous, because God testified of that gift. He is dead, but by his faith he still speaks.”
Abel's sacrifice was a sacrifice of faith. So God accepted him and his sacrifice. It was, above all, because he was one united to God by faith. On the other hand, because Cain was not united to God, God rejected him and his offering.
How can we know the success or failure of worship? Those who become angry and change their complexion after worship should be careful. A successful worshiper can never do that. A failure in worship becomes a failure in life. You become a person who harms and hurts others. However, the successful worshiper said that God was willing to accept him and his offerings, make him righteous, and testify about his offerings. Therefore, we believe that successful worshipers will become successful people in their lives that overflow with joy in their hearts and expressions.
These are the words of John 4:23-24. “The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers of the Father will worship in spirit and truth, and the Father is looking for those who worship Him like this. Amen!
Yes. God is spirit. Therefore, the worshipers God is looking for are those who are united to God who worships in spirit and truth. We believe that God is willing to accept worship and offerings from such people.
This is Isaiah 56:8. God said you are the God who gathers the outcasts of Israel. And he said that he would gather other people besides the people he had gathered, and they would belong to him.
The God who gathers the outcasts is the God who brings them to the holy mountain of God and makes them happy in the house of God where they pray. And it is God who willingly accepts their burnt offerings and sacrifices at God's altar.
Dear brothers and sisters, I earnestly pray in the name of the Lord that you will receive the blessing of living in the house of prayer for all people and fulfill the mission of praying for all people by the grace of God who gathered them and made them belong to him. Amen!
“Only for the Glory of God”