Communication with God, Communication with People (Heb. 10:19-25)
Let us bless one another, Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. The title of today’s message is, “Communication with God, Communication with People.” Nowadays there are a lot of people who are passing away because of blood clots or blockages in the blood vessels, either near the brain or near the heart. These are all diseases that come from a blocked connection. If there’s a blockage of communication in people as well, that too, is a disaster. If there’s communication but it is miscommunicated, that is also a disaster.
1. Communication with God
1) Existence of mankind
(1) Communicate with God (Gen. 1:27)
How did God create humans? Gen. 1:27 says God created us in His image, meaning we are created to be in communication with God. God did not create human beings so we could live on our own. Without a doubt, we are created as ones to be in communication with God, and this is what a blessing is.
(2) Spiritual strength (Gen. 2:7)
(3) Conquer (Gen. 2:1-18)
Then in Gen. 2:7, God breathed the breath of life into human beings, giving them spiritual strength to rule over and subdue the Garden of Eden, so because of our communication with God, the blessings flow all the way throughout the rest of the world. The beginning of all problems of mankind comes from the breakage of that communication with God, because God is the Creator and we are the creation. The Creator is currently sustaining all of creation, and when we, who were created by God, are communicating correctly with God, then our life will be filled with the correct answers and direction.
2) No communication with God
(1) Me – God (Gen. 3:5)
All problems begin from the problem of the heart, where we no longer want to live in communication with God but want to live by ourselves as our own god.
(2) Satan’s words (Jn. 8:44)
Instead of communicating with the Word of God, I’m now communicating with the words of temptation, given by Satan.
(3) Enemy of God (Eph. 2:14)
Eph. 2:14 says we are now completely enemies of God. We were supposed to rule over this world, receiving all the blessings from God, but all our blessings have been stolen away.
The starting point of all our problems is the state of our heart and thoughts that think we can live on our own, without communicating with God’s Word.
3) Method of communication
There’s no possible way for humankind to be reunited with God. There’s no way to satisfy God with any religious action. So, the communication channel must be given to us by God.
(1) Offspring of woman (Gen. 3:15)
Genesis 3:15, the offspring of the woman must come. It’s only possible by the human who is born, not of a woman and a man, but conceived by the Holy Spirit. It’s not enough that he comes on this earth, but there’s something else He must do. He must come to earth and crush the head of Satan and save humans from him.
It says Satan will strike Jesus’ heel, meaning He must die on the cross to atone for all our sins. In other words, all the problems of mankind will be solved and we can communicate with God again when Jesus Christ dies and resurrects.
(2) Sacrificial offering (Ex. 3:18)
In the Old Testament, the only method to do this was death, it’s impossible to resolve these problems with the diligence of man. There must be the spilling of blood, a sacrifice given on my behalf that has no sin. That’s what you call the blood sacrifice, so the problem of mankind cannot be solved with our efforts. We cannot be connected with the Almighty Being with our effort. I have to die, but if I’m dead, it’s all meaningless, so that means something else must die on my behalf. That’s how I can be liberated from Satan and sin and to be in communication with God again.
(3) Blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19)
Heb. 10:19 says we have the confidence to enter into the Most Holy Place through Jesus’ blood.
God created the Tabernacle so He could be with the Israelites in that Most Holy Place, and the only way to get into that Holy Place was the High Priest who could enter once a year. If the High Priest enters into the Most Holy Place on his own, he would die; he has to go in with the sacrifice to atone for his sins as well as the sins of Israel.
Even without that, you can live with your diligence and succeed with your own; however, it’s impossible to communicate with God. If you cannot communicate with God, your problems begin. All problems have already begun, they do not stop, but they repeat generation after generation. It is impossible for us to go before God without the blood of Jesus.
(4) A new and living way (Heb. 10:20)
The reason is Heb. 10:20, there is a curtain that divides us from God. Jesus Christ tore open that veil and made a way for us to be with God through His own sacrifice and body. That’s why Heb. 10:20 says, “A new and living way.” The world does not look at this as the “new and living way.” The world looks at your diligence, efforts, and skills. But that’s not the new and living way for God; God only looks at Jesus Christ, the new and living way for us to be with God again.
Because this way has been opened to us, we can communicate with God forever, 24 hours. The fact that we can communicate with God is the way for every problem to not be a problem for us. If someone is facing a problem, they will try to solve that problem, but it’s not enough to solve the problem. The way will open if you make that problem connect with God.
It’s the same with the problems of addiction and mental problems in America. People try to solve the problem with medication, but it’s not communication. Even if you fix this one problem, there will be other problems; they need Christ. That person is not communicating with God. “Why is this problem coming to me even if I go to church diligently? It’s because you’re only going to church diligently. You have to choose the path of communication, you have to be in the way of communicating with God, 24 hours, for eternity.
2. The method of communication
1) Held onto hope firmly (Heb.10:23)
This way has been opened, but what is the method by which we can communicate with God? Hebrews 10:23 says we must hold onto hope firmly. What does it mean to hold firmly to our hope?
(1) Sincere Heart (Heb. 10:22)
Hebrews 10:22 says, “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience.” So whether you go to church or not is not the issue; your sincere heart must be restored. Then what is a sincere heart? It is talking about the unshaking state of our heart, planted on the covenant of God where He sent us Jesus Christ to save us. From God’s perspective, a sincere heart is one that is sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ so we can communicate with God.
(2) Full Faith (Heb. 10:22)
With full assurance, we must have faith. We must have faith to enjoy the fact that we’ve already become one with God.
(3) With the Triune God (Heb. 10:22)
The Triune God is with us currently, but whenever we face a problem, we try to solve that problem. Whenever we face a crisis, we think it’s a big problem, and whenever someone says something to me, I keep getting influenced, and the reason is because the way has been opened for me, but I keep choosing to go down another way.
Even now, I keep suffering because of the scars of my past. Christ opened the way, and I must be in that way, but I keep remaining in another way. “What’s going to happen to my business because of the pandemic?” We keep going down that path, but we need to hold onto the path that the omnipotent God has already opened for us with our heart of faith.
Even right now, He is blessing and guiding our lives. What does it mean that He has opened the way? It means now I can go into the work of God. I’m within the path where I no longer have to rely on my own strength, but God’s power comes upon me. David enjoyed this and it didn’t matter what kind of suffering he faced, but the ones who do not know the path will make this a problem.
But it’s not a problem for the one who knows the way; all we have to do is remain within the path that allows us to be one with God.
2) Things that shake hope
The Devil will stop us from enjoying that; he uses words that are correct, logical, and intelligent, to prevent us from remaining in this way. Why is that? What is the original heart that humans have?
(1) People’s heart – Me-centered (Jer. 17:5,9)
Jeremiah 17:5 says the human heart is nothing to rely on. The people here trust in the words of people. They depend on their own physical strength. Their heart has turned away from the Lord and they’re in a state that is bound to be cursed. They keep looking for ways to succeed, “What is the way to solve this problem?” They keep asking other people, they keep reading books of successful people to try to follow that path. That’s a state where your heart is separated from God.
Then in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” We live according to what comes into our hearts. Whenever we make a decision, we have to feel it in our hearts. That means, I have no choice but to be corrupt and to make the wrong decision unless God’s Word comes into my heart, because the center of all my interest is me. I have to feel something to feel it, I have to understand something to understand it, but faith is not something I can understand. Faith is being able to believe, transcending to your understanding.
For Immanuel Kant, human logic is the first priority, so he says, “It’s impossible to do anything beyond what I consciously feel or think. It doesn’t matter what God is saying, if I can’t feel it, I can’t do it.” Lately, we say, “we’re catching feels,” it doesn’t matter how good looking this person is, I can’t catch “feels” for this person because they’re too good looking, or they act too much like a diva. This age in which we live is run by emotions. If I don’t like how this person makes me feel, I don’t like them. That’s how “me-centered” people live. That’s the way to destroy our own lives.
(2) A person’s righteousness, good acts, diligence
It’s impossible to go before God with the righteousness, good acts, and goodness of mankind. There’s nothing in mankind that can go before God. There’s some people who misunderstand and think, “Even if someone is a non-believer, if they have leadership, ethics, and morals, they don’t need God,” but from God’s perspective, this person is nothing. There isn’t a single person who can be righteous before God.
There’s only one condition: Jesus Christ died on the cross and resurrected to atone for our sins, so God will only consider us as righteous if we believe in that Jesus, but people keep trying to exalt their own righteousness. The more you reveal yourself that way, the further you will be from God’s path.
How could we ever boast of ourselves or our goodness? We must exalt the righteousness of God which is Christ Who opened up the way in order for God to acknowledge our righteousness. When you face a problem, quickly go into the path. You are not the one to resolve that problem; what’s important is that you go into the path God gave you to resolve it. Whenever someone says something to you, it’s important for you to go into the Way God has opened up, then God will begin to work.
You must have this wisdom and faith. They must come into our heart as the proper state of our heart.
(3) Uncircumcised in heart (Jer. 9:25,26)
Jeremiah 9:25-26 tells us that circumcision is cutting off the foreskin of a man so we will have a covenantal relationship where God is our God and we are His people. Jeremiah 9:25, God says He will punish the Gentiles who are uncircumcised as well as the Israelites who are, why is that? Because Jer. 9:26 says they are only circumcised in the flesh, but they are not circumcised in the heart. We need to have the proper state of the heart which is sincere, that is, sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ, but instead we keep going back and forth to church.
The New Testament says the real Jewish people are those who have been circumcised in the heart, it’s talking about the Jewish lineage that is not by flesh and blood, but by the covenant. Therefore, if our heart is not sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ, it’s all futile. In our heart, we must finish all problems with Christ because now our way is opened to communicate with God. If there’s a president, and you can simply report any problem to him and he will take care of it, then there’s nothing to worry about. But if there is a way to communicate with the President but you worry about it by yourself, that’s what you call a wicked person.
Let’s say you have a young child. If he were to cry out to you, you’d solve the problem, but he’s worrying about it by himself. If your baby just said, “Dad,” you would finish it quickly, but he’s worried about it by himself. Why is that? It’s because in that baby’s heart, the baby doesn’t believe, “If I scream out, ‘Dad’, he won’t resolve my problems for me.” Through Jesus Christ, the way for us to communicate with God 24 hours for eternity has been opened.
Joseph who knew this was not affected by being taken to Egypt as a slave. Physically speaking, that’s a tremendous problem, but we don’t know there’s a way to communicate with the throne of heaven. God is the One Who is moving all of Egypt, but we are under the misconception that people are moving Egypt; we’re under the misconception that this world moves according to the brain of people, and people are under a misconception that they are living their lives with their own brain.
God is the one moving our lives. Joseph knew that and David knew that, so it didn’t matter that he was being chased to death by King Saul, because he knew the way to communicate with the Almighty God. That way is what’s important. Why is it that this way has come to us but we cannot enjoy it? Because the state of our heart keeps living by our own diligence; we keep living by our own righteousness, we live by our own strength. You must remain within the way.
You must remain within the way to communicate with God for the answers of your life to be a blessing.
3) Communication with people
(1) Let us consider (Heb. 10:24)
(2) Spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24)
Heb. 10:24, let us now spur one another on toward love and good deeds; we must look after the other members of the church. Who are the weak ones? Who are the ones whose communication with God is blocked? These are the ones we should look after.
If you’re able to communicate with someone, it might mean you are able to get along with them as humans. If you go to a golfing club, you can get along because the goal for the club is the same. If you go to a fishing organization, they’ll have great communication with one another, but that’s not the communication I’m talking about. You must look after this person so this person can communicate with God.
Your family going to church is not what’s important; you must help this person personally communicate with God. If you have a child, you’re going to worry over and be anxious about that child for the rest of your life, but if you help that child communicate with God, then you can take your hands off, but if you keep trying to massage or do something with your own strength, then the level of your children cannot transcend your level.
If you’re trying to mold your child with your IQ of 150, then your child will only be at that level. However, if you help your child communicate with God, they are going into the unlimited. It’s the same with your spousal relationships. At first, you guys liked each other because you communicated with each other. You guys fell in love at first sight, why did you guys connect? “Because we caught feelings for each other,” or, “Because this person had something that I did not. It seemed we were complementing parts to form one whole,” and you lived that way.
As you keep living together, you’ll have aspects that do not communicate because everyone’s maturing background, cultural background, personality, and level are different. Everyone is different. How can we become one? We keep asking them to adjust to us, thinking that’s love, but we never adjust ourselves to them. We always ask the other person to adjust to me until we die. Or, if we don’t want to live with them, we get separated. That’s not what God wants.
(3) Become one through the word (John 17:22)
God wants both spouses to communicate with God and to communicate through that relationship. Both the spouses have to communicate, centered on the Word of God, in order for that blessing to be relayed to the family, and if they’re not able to do that, then you look after them and support them until they can do that.
(4) Not the habit of avoiding meetings, encouraging meetings (Heb. 10:25)
“Do not give up the habit of meeting with one another.” During the age when Hebrews was written, the Christians were being persecuted. The Jewish church was still sacrificing animals and giving the blood sacrifice with priests. Because the Christians are being persecuted by the Roman government as well as the temple of Jerusalem, the weak people in the church were saying, “Why do we have to gather together? We don’t have to give sacrifices anywhere, we can just worship from our homes,” so they just stopped gathering.
Just as now, during the pandemic, we are communicating online and we are listening to God’s Word online, but this is talking about the gathering of people within the church. There is an incredible thing God has prepared within this, and this is why He tells us to gather. If it’s impossible for us to gather, then okay, we cannot. If the government tells us not to gather, we cannot break that rule, but if it tells us to keep not meeting, we cannot stay that way.
3. World’s communication with God
1) Communication between God and me (Platform)
The Jewish church forbade Christians from gathering, but they still gathered, why is that? This is the mystery. I am connected with God and there’s a mystery and blessing in communicating with me and with other people. Then if I’m able to communicate with God, I’m able to communicate with people. The Bible tells us that when two or more people gather in the name of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will be with them; that’s the mystery.
He is not with one person; He is with two or more people. In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus doesn’t say “My Father,” but He says “Our Father.” What is the standard for God? It is the church. God always speaks with the standard of Christ Who is the head and the church which is the body. That’s the way to overcome this world. That’s why, as soon as Jesus Christ resurrected, He began the Early Church. If you don’t know this, it’s impossible for your spiritual state to always be good. There are areas of weakness I’m not even aware of in myself. Every individual has weaknesses; who is the one who can support that? Those people around me can help with this.
I’ve given this example a few times, but let’s say this thumb thinks it’s the greatest. What do you think the pinky thinks? The pinky is thinking, “If the nose is itchy, you can’t fit in the nostril to scratch it. When you make a promise, you make a pinky promise, not a thumb promise,” but the thumb is thinking it’s the best. But from the wrist’s perspective, he’s saying, “unless you’re attached to me.” If the shoulder is not supporting the arm, what can the fingers do? Even if one toe hurts, you cannot walk. This is the church.
But the ideology we have is, “I just need to do well,” but actually the only way for you to do well is by helping people around you to communicate with God, but the ideology of the world has entered into us. We have the ideology that, in order to succeed, we have to step on other people around us. Even now, America is trying to step on China. That’s how the entire world knows, but the Word is telling us that is not the proper method; what is God’s method? Your strength is in saving this other person. The world tells you that you have to step on them to survive yourself, but that’s why everybody fights. They always say, “I’m right, I’m strong,” and that’s the ideology of the people who do not have God, and that’s why you must not avoid gathering. This is the way to support and to look after one another.
You can just think about your family, just physically speaking, you can see this as true. This is why we must gather. We gather at trainings, we gather for worship; we gather. We must do this well. That’s why they gathered until the very end, even though they were persecuted. I hope you will enjoy this blessing well in your family, your job, and within the church. That’s the way to fight and win over Satan.
If you don’t understand these words, think about a war. Can you fight using a gun by yourself? No, you need to receive aerial support and the support of planes. You also need the support systems from behind you. You also need the strategic help from headquarters. But the Devil plants an ideology inside of us that says, “You can do this by yourself. Even in the church, you can do this by yourself, and when you go into the world, you just have to survive by yourself.”
God has opened up a way to be with God, but this is the obstacle. What is success? “How many people can be saved through me?” That’s the standard for success. The standard for success is not how much you can save up for yourself. “How many people can receive life through me?” In order to save other people, God will give you all the strength and energy. That’s God’s standard.
What’s a good church? A good church is one that does this well. If you’re not able to do this well, then it doesn’t matter how many people are in the church, that’s a bad church. So you must devote yourself to looking after one another. If this person makes a mistake or falls over, then pray for them. Then you help them with the Word of God so they can stand before God. If this person is physically lacking, help them physically so they can look towards God. Then God continues to pour blessings upon us so we can keep doing that.
The third point is, now we must take the role of allowing the world to communicate with God. This world has been blocked from God because of its sin, so this world is completely seized by curses, disasters, and Satan. God sent us out into the world so we can help this world communicate with God. That’s why this worship is not the only worship; we have to go out into the field and give our living worship.
(1) Give as living sacrifice (Rom. 12:2, Gal. 2:20)
Giving myself as a living sacrifice means my life is the sacrifice. How can I give my life as a sacrifice? When Jesus Christ died on the cross, I died with him and I constantly stay within that state. “Living sacrifice” is being in a constant state of Galatians 2:20 where I have been crucified with Christ and Christ lives in me, then God will continuously pour His Word upon us.
(2) Word of the covenant
The words of people are not the answer; God’s Word is the answer. The words of people are not your answer. If your car breaks down, where would you take it? You could take it to the manufacturer. If there’s a robot that’s broken, you have to take it to the robot manufacturer. If there’s a broken human who has a problem, we have to take them back to the Creator. The One Who created this person knows everything, and God opened up a way for us to do that. If you remain within this way, you’re in constant communication with God.
(3) Filling of the Holy Spirit – Prayer (Ac. 1:8)
God sent you His Word through the power of the Holy Spirit.
(4) All of my thoughts and what I see – 24 hr prayer
If you take everything you hear and see and think about it normally, your spirit will die. If you just follow whatever thoughts come into your head, your life will follow in that direction. People who always think about fighting will have their entire lives full of fighting. If someone keeps thinking of alcohol, their life will become one of alcohol. They don’t do it because they want to; the thoughts just keep coming into their head. “Drugs, drugs”, the thoughts keep coming into their head. Take all of the things that you hear and see into prayer, then what happens? Your spirit will be revived.
2) World – Communication with God (Watchman’s watchtower)
(1) Blessing of the throne of heaven (Mt. 28:18, 20)
(2) Works that transcend time and space (Ac. 2:1-4)
(3) Light of the 237 nations (Ac. 2:9-11)
What must we do to help the world communicate with God? What is prayer? I’m going to talk about the opposite. What are people who are filled with evil spirits doing currently? They’re not just receiving evil spirits; they take this demonic power and use it to run their businesses and to create masterpieces like movies and music. These are not the things that come from human IQ; they gain spiritual strength from somewhere else to do this.
Not just this, but the people who have the filling of evil spirits can control the hearts of other people; they move the hearts of others. There’s a spiritual world like this, then what must you do? In your field in the world, you must pray for those people. What happens, then? God’s Spirit will move that person. If you try to finish everything with your words, not even my own daughter listens to my words. Even while she was in her mother’s womb, she wouldn’t listen to my words, so just give up on that. No one will listen to your words, so just give up.
3) Spiritual antenna
(1) My business, studies – Connect with God
You think your thoughts are right; you should pray for the Holy Spirit of God to work. It’s the same for your business, you should pray for your employees. People who are running businesses should pray for all the partners they meet. “If I pray, will that benefit me?” If you pray, God’s will is fulfilled. If I’m within God’s will, then of course that’s a benefit to me. This is a blessing you must enjoy.
Send your kids off to school and pray for them. I hope you will pray for the fields of the world. We have this tremendous blessing that transcends time and space. People who don’t know this try to do everything with their words, trying to persuade people by talking. You’ll never persuade anyone. Not even my own daughter is persuaded by me; why would they listen to you? But you can’t persuade them, so you try to bribe them. Even if they accept it, they’re going to turn their back on you. That’s what humans are; you must pray for God to work upon them. Pray for this person’s heart to be united with God, then when you pray, God’s light shines upon them. Then, the darkness flees.
(2) My meetings – Connect with God
From now on, in all the work you are doing, you and God must be connected. If the work you’re doing is not connected with God, it means there’s a blockage. Your studies must be connected with God. If all your studies and businesses are not connected with God, that’s the beginning of all your problems. In other words, my studies and job must be connected with the work that God wants to do. Then, God’s power will come upon all your business.
Therefore, if you don’t know that God opened the way to communicate with Him, then you don’t know anything. Then all the people you meet should be connected with God. If you meet someone with your own calculations, that person cannot be connected to God. But if you are connected with God, you can pass on the plan of God to that person, and therefore, that person must be connected to God’s plan.
(3) Church and me – Connect with God
This church must be connected with God. Yes, there are churches that aren’t connected with God. Most of the Jewish people in the Old Testament were not connected with God. Jesus Christ came to this earth, but they killed him, and they claimed to still believe in God. It’s the same today, people claim to believe in God, but they’re not connected to God. God opened the way but they don’t go down that way, but they lay down their own path.
What does God want? Only one way, God opened up the one way for us to immediately connect with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross. Remaining within that way is the way to save me. My family remaining within this way is the way to save my family. God gives you strength and blessings in your business and studies so you can do this work in your field. May you enjoy and testify of these blessings throughout the rest of this week.
Conclusion
1. I communicate with God
2. Church (Church officers) communicates with God
3. World communicates with God
Prayer:
Let us pray together holding onto the Word God has given us.