Do Not Be Yoked with Unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14)

Do you know what a yoke is? Farmers yoke two of the same animals together to plow the field.  This means they move in the same direction.  If you have a different direction with close friends or family, you may be close on a human level, but you will end up in a different place.  The world flows in one direction and God flows in another.

God’s Temple, World – God –

What is the central flow of the world?  The world is moving faster, and if you want to be faster, you have to be smart, so the world is going towards those who are smart.  America has the strongest military power in the world and can win any fight, and that’s why no one can fight with America.  The world is centered on those who have power. 

Believers do not follow after the strength of the world.  It is a problem for believers because they think, “If I believe in Jesus Christ, I’ll receive power,” and that’s why they yoke with unbelievers. It means they do not know their own direction, and they themselves think that going in the direction of the world is the same as having a good faith.  But our path is different and the world itself is different.

The worldly logic is centered on brains and strength.  Only the intellectuals can win the Nobel Prizes.  Presidents must be powerful.  This world moves centered on power, and within that power, there’s money and other things, but the direction that the people of the world walk is different.  People worship idols to gain power from the idols, why else would we worship idols?  God says, “Do not make an idol for yourself.”  Idol worshippers need the power of the world, but we are different.

If this is confusing for you, then later on you will not come to church because you won’t receive any worldly power by worshipping the almighty God, and the faster you can calculate with your brain, the faster you will leave the church and get yoked with unbelievers.  The problem today is, what path are you walking, and what path do you want to walk?

God – Holy Spirit

We are the Temple of the living God, and the Spirit of the Lord dwells within us.  What does this mean?  God will be our God and we will be God’s people.  Is anyone struggling because of people and human relationships?  Are you anxious? It is because you have not properly restored the Temple of God.  What that means is that you’re not able to restore the proper relationship of God being your God.  If God is my God and I am part of God’s people, God controls over me.

[Rule Over] Word ) Kingdom

What does it mean to “reign over”?  It means God rules over me with His Word, and I receive the Word and follow after it. 

Religion – Me – Master = Satan

Unbelievers say that they are the master and they move according to their words. In other words, Satan is moving them.  Then, how can someone like this go with someone who is a person of God?  If you still cannot distinguish the difference, it means you are still within the world.  “Unbelievers are way better than Christians,” when you say that, it might be their personality or etiquette or manners or abilities, but this is different, to be a person of God. It is different depending on whether I’m a temple of the living God or not.  No matter how good a unbeliever is, they are their own master, so they will not be controlled by God.  If I am a proper Christian, I will submit to God’s control.

The reason you believe in Jesus Christ is not to gain power in the world. Religious people bow down to idols to get the power of the world.  Religious people and the people of God will go in different directions.  The religious and self-centered will perish as in Psalm 1:6.  What will perish?  Their internal being and their spirit will perish. They may be very successful and have many abilities, but their spirit has collapsed. That is the reason why people fail after succeeding is because their inner self has collapsed.  In other words, the external aspect of success cannot grant happiness. The strength of the world and success cannot drag you forward. 

Way, Truth, Life

Only Jesus Christ is the way to God; He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Jesus Christ is the only way to meet God.  Everything else is a lie because only Jesus Christ is the Truth. If you’re studying and it has nothing to do with Jesus Christ, that’s the way of death.  The valley of the shadow of death is not the truth; it is a circumstance, like cancer.  It is not life. But why do we get deceived by lies and our environment? It’s not the truth. I might be lacking, but that’s not the truth; that’s the circumstance.  The only truth is that God is with me, and that’s the only way to establish the Kingdom of God.  So, no matter what environment you face, it doesn’t matter; you have heaven within you.

If you don’t know that, you’ll keep trying to change your external factors, and that is a religious person controlled by Satan.  If you do not go through Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is not the way, you’re stuck in religion.  Success and religion are good, but they are not the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Nobody said Harvard is bad; it is necessary.  “Now that I believe in Jesus Christ, I hate elites,” this means the person is scarred.  I hope you will get rid of your scars.   The Bible tells us to respect those diligent people, because that’s not enough to make you human.

A person doesn’t become a human by the logic of the world. Will you be happy if you fail?  If you say that Harvard isn’t great, is the answer to not go to school at all? It is better to graduate from Harvard than to be homeless, because then you can influence people, but I’m not talking about that.  Inside all those things, there is no heaven, no Kingdom of God.  It’s only possible through Jesus Christ.

Then, if you believe in Jesus Christ, you should live as God’s people.  Why are you always conflicted? You’re trying to become God.  God says, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it.”  But your old nature keeps trying to take the place of God.  You might think it’s more beneficial and comfortable, but that actually brings troubles and suffering.  If someone is better than me, we should raise them up, but if someone is better than you and you fight with them, then you’ll perish in your self-centeredness.  People say, “I believe in God and suffer,” but you believe in yourself, not Jesus, because it has to be you, and you’ve become your own god, and worries, problems, and troubles will automatically come to you.

This isn’t something you can solve by going to church.  You have to properly acknowledge that God has the ultimate authority and submit to that.  It’s hard to study; it’s more fun to play.  Then, are you only going to do the things that are easy and fun?  That’s why you end up homeless.  I’m not saying that homelessness is bad, but that mentality is not right.  Everybody is wearing such warm clothing, but I took a cold shower this morning so this place isn’t cold for me.  It’s not the actual temperature, but it’s the perceived temperature.  Korea is way colder than here, but we think it’s the same; it’s our perception.  After dunking yourself in cold water, everything is warm. Your brain commands you to think it’s cold because you’re so used to the California weather.

People are focused on their righteousness, boasting of themselves.  If you don’t acknowledge their offering and efforts, they get mad.  They’re so used to the kingdom of the world; they can’t enter into the Kingdom of God.  So, continuously restore your identity. How can mental illnesses go away?  You can’t. You can’t control other’s minds, so what do you do? It is only something God can do, and it’s only possible if the Kingdom of God is established within them, so that’s why you pray.  If it is by the Holy Spirit that you drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you, so you give the Word of God to them and help them to be ruled by the Kingdom of God. 

Revival is God ruling over me. It is not about what we can do.  “How many people similar to me am I going to raise up?” You must think like this. What happens if you don’t have these thoughts? It means you will live according to the ways of the world and your benefit.  That’s why the world has no hope. God has given you this hope but you cannot relay it, so you suffer.  That is why the Israelites continuously faced wars, captivity, and colonization. They look down on others like cursed dogs, but we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

 Your studies will be globalized so that your content can be relayed to the world for the sake of world evangelization.  Then, what must I do for the Kingdom of God to be established in me correctly?  I have to go back to the cross, it is a tomb and death.  I have to die.  The Word of God gives us life because God moves according to the Word. I’m a pastor, and I listen to the prayer journal message.  At that point, I hear the Word of God in front of God.  When I receive the Word of God and ask, “What do you want to tell me?” God gives His Word to those who want to receive it. 

Apostle Paul says in Acts 28 that Paul kept explaining that Jesus is the Christ who had to die.  Everything you’ve lived for until now must be crucified on the cross.  Then, the Lord lives within you and you fall under the rule of the Word of God, and you relay this to the whole world. Then God promises to work upon you with the Holy Spirit, and this is what God wants to give to you.

What you must not misunderstand is that there is no paradise on earth. All religions strive for paradise on earth, but the way is only Jesus Christ.  The only way to do that is if the Kingdom of God is established within me. No matter how good I am or what I do, it’s impossible; only when God controls me entirely, this becomes possible. God will continue to bring you suffering in your self-righteousness so that you can enjoy the Kingdom of God, so that suffering is a blessing.

Are you afraid of suffering? You shouldn’t allow your students to delay their homework; they should do it quickly, but people who cannot study will procrastinate in their life, and then they fall so far behind that they give up entirely.  If God controls me entirely, that should be my goal and it should be what I do today, then nothing will be a problem to me.  It’s only a problem when I try to become the master. Your present reality shouldn’t be a problem at all.