God’s Blessings within the Covenant (Deut. 7:12-16)
We want to share the grace of God today from Deuteronomy 7:17-26. The content from Deuteronomy 7:12-16 is God saying, “If you remain within My covenant, I will bless you.” Blessings are from God, it is not a kind of religion where we do this or do that to try to earn blessings. It’s not about, “If we do this, then we receive blessings, but if we do it like that, then we will not receive blessings.” If you simply believe in the covenant and follow the covenant, then God will bless you according to the covenant. Only God blesses us within Jesus Christ.
The verses we read today from Deuteronomy 7:17-16, God is saying once you go into the land of Canaan, God’s mission for us is to cast out all the people and all of the idols there. These are the Israelite people who saw God’s salvation and the Exodus. This is the situation where the Israelites could never escape from Egypt through the methods of man, but when they believed in and followed after the covenant, God made this happen.
When we say “salvation,” it is talking about a spiritual salvation, so there is nothing humans can do to receive that. We can only be liberated from curses when Jesus Christ died in the cords to receive the curses on our behalf. Only then can we be liberated from the authority of Satan and death. That is not anywhere on this earth; that is a covenant that comes only from God. God has given us the grace to believe it, and now we have faith.
This salvation means everything. We must conclude our life with that. If we do not finish everything with the fact that we have become children of God righteous before God, then our walk of faith becomes very difficult. If we don’t finish it with that, and we try to finish that with our actions, then we’re being deceived by the devil. Jesus Christ has already paid the price of our sins on the cords but if we don’t believe in that and we think we have to pay the price for our own sins, then we’re already being deceived by the devil.
By believing in Jesus Christ, we have already become righteous, so the only issue is whether you’re a sinner or righteous. If you’re righteous, then God is with you, and when you face a problem, God gives you the answer. But the important thing is that if we don’t believe in Jesus Christ, we are always afraid of problems that come our way, but for someone who has finished everything in Christ, when they face a problem, they can wait. That is the difference between someone who has the answer in Christ Jesus and someone who does not.
But for a lot of people, they have not finished everything in Christ, so their walk of faith is difficult and complicated. They’re under the misconception that something in our actions must follow. Jesus Christ has already finished all the problems of our past, present, and future, and the one who has that answer lives their walk of faith. However, if someone has not received that answer and tries to live their walk of faith, they will always face conflicts and live in fear. That’s why their spiritual problems do not get solved, because they have not finished it.
Everything is already finished, but we don’t believe that, so that’s why our life is so difficult and burdensome, but if someone has finished everything, they will see the end. They are going to live their lives already knowing the conclusion of their life and the world. The same thing when you take a test, you need to know before you go in otherwise, you’ll be so afraid. In our walk of faith, we know in advance, we already know the answer, we know the end, and we walk in it, so our walk of faith is easy. Any problem, circumstances, and crisis we face along the way, we can simply wait. We are able to wait because we have already finished everything within Jeuss christ and we believe God will give us the answer and guide us.
Then what is the end? What is the end of my life? What is the end of this age, and what is the end of the world? It is proclaiming Jesus Chrsist, it is the gospel being proclaimed, and when does my mission end? It is when my mission to proclaim the gospel is finished. If someone does not have a mission to proclaim the gospel, then they just live their lives without God.
Just a few people who reached this conclusion went into the land of Canaan, and it’s because they knew the meaning of the Exodus. “Oh, the fact that we have salvation mean that all past, presten, and future problems are finished.” For these people, the conclusion is to to conquer the land of Canaan and they saw that.
But for the people who did not come to that conclusion, even though they went to church and prayed the exact same way, they were always full of resentment and grumbling. That’s not because of their bad personality or a lack of education or experience in the world; it is because they have not concluded in Christ and they haven’t seen the conclusion, that’s the difference, and this is given to us by God’s grace.
It is never because of your actions, it is never because you did well. If you did well, then Jesus Christ didn’t have to come to earth. If doing your best and working hard was enough, it’s never enough. You must finish in Christ. What does it mean to be finished? Simply put, it means nothing is a problem. Why do we suffer in life? Because it’s a problem and Jesus Christ has finished that suffering on the cross on our behalf. The only suffering we receive now is being persecuted for proclaiming the gospel, and that is our reward in heaven.
These are the people who go into the land of Canaan. Those who have finished everything can see God’s mission and can go in. In other words, they go in knowing the mission. Those who know God’s mission and goal for their lives will know the future. We are going to face the fourth industrial revolution, and we must keep that in mind; however, those who know the future aren’t afraid. Age by age, the saved people of God have a mission from God.
If you do not have a mission, it’s because you’re currently holding onto the wrong mission, in other words, you’re not holding onto God’s mission, but it is a mission given to you by Satan to entrap you. The more you hold onto that, the Bible tells us today it will become our snare. It’s a trap Satan has given us so it deceives us. However, the mission God gives us is bound to conquer the world. In this age, the people’s mission was to conquer Canaan.
The land of Canaan was a region that was conquered by seven nations and thirty one kings, then this is not just a theoretical fight; it is an actual fight, fought with their lives. In Deut. 7:17, God says to us that we may have the heart that, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” Because there were more people of Canaan than there were Israelites. These are people who were living a very strong life, established with their idols. When they look at these circumstances, the Israelites know they have to drive them out, but there are too many of them.
Deut. 7:18, “But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt,” in other words, remember the God that saved you from your past, and remember the God Who has guided you. Even in the past you had moments of fear, but He is with you and guides you.
As we fight these spiritual problems, our greatest enemy is the fear within ourselves, it is not about the number of enemies we have. The real enemy is the fear inside of me. Where does this fear begin? We do not but lot of people think their fear is because of their cusmtances, so they try to become stronger than theri custmacns. They think, “if I become stronger , then I can overcome this circumstance. But that is not our enemy, The devil is holding onto this region with idolatry. How are you going overcome that fear here? In Genesis because of that fear we have mental problems. When that fear comes into us, the devil enters. We have spiritual diseases that are not solvable by medications. It is the fear of the heart. It is the oppression of the heart, and emotions. This seems like it’s because of our environment but it’s a spiritual fear from being separated from God.
We’ll read a few Bible verses. Let us read Proverbs 29:25. Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD will be kept safe. This means to rely on the LORD. If you do not rely on the LORD, you are bound to fear man, and it doesn’t just end with fear, but you will be ensnared by Satan so the characteristics of people who are seized by mental problems is fear, and when we look at it from a human perspective, a lot of nice people have this but more so than them being kind, they’re actually ensnared by the devil because of their fear.
Let us look at Luke 12:4-5. “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more,” meaning they can kill your body, but they have no bearing on the eternal life, “But I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who , after the killing of the body, has the power to throw you into hell.” This means fear God, not man, but people who do not fear God will end up fearing humans.
What is worship? The mystery of the blessing of being with God is worship. The mystery of the blessing of the fire of God. For people who have a walk of faith that is close with God aren’t afraid of people or their environment, however, people who do not fear God are bound to be afraid of their cumstnaces, and the future. So ultimately they are ensnared in their own snare. You have no idea how great of a blessing worship is. Because whenever you come to worship even the things you were afraid of, God gives you the grace and they disappear. And you are able to confirm that God is with you. And because of that when you keep on worshiping one day the spiritual and mental problems you had are gone. It’s normal and rightful that I’m restored back to normalcy, because every problem comes from spiritual problems of being separated from God.
Those in business may be afraid of their business. But it’s not just businesspeople, anyone who lives their life can be afraid of their job and people. Then what can we do to overcome that fear? We have to go into the covenant, into worship. We cannot solve the problems of the world by using methods of the world. You cannot do anything with the things for the things of the world. You have to resolve the things of earth with the things of heaven. The study of the world is trying to solve the problems of the world with the things of the world. And it seems we may resolve things but our fear can never be resolved. We can only overcome and resolve the fear with only Jesus Christ Who is God.
Let us look at Psalm 56:11. “In God I trust. I will not be afraid, what can man do to me?” There’s a lot of time that our future generations have to live through. This fear of people is the biggest thing, and that’s why people avoid others. It’s possible that many people can’t come to church because of that, but does that mean not coming to church will solve that problem? No. That is not something I can just go through with my strength; I have to have God’s grace. There’re some people who avoid people that are at a different level than they are. It’s actually their own snare that they’ve made for themselves. But I make standards for myself and I’m kicking away the blessings. For those who are in Jesus Christ, every meeting is a blessing.
Going back to Deuteronomy 7:19, “you saw with your own eyes the great trials, signs, and wonders the mighty hands and outstretched arms which with the Lord Your God brought you out, the Lord your God will do the same to all people you now fear” that’s what it means to end everything with the gospel. You need to finish your life with the fact that God is with you. If you do not finish it with that your life will become difficult and complicated. If you keep listening to the methods and the words of the world, then you’ll be bound to get ensnared.
Deuteronomy 7:20, “Moreover the Lord your God will send a horn among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished.” So, ultimately we are destroying the people of Canaan. That means that God is saying He will do it. So, it seems like I’m doing it, but actually God is doing it through me. I cannot be divided from God, if God is doing something he is doing it through me.
But we are is afraid we keep on trying to not do this. The characteristic of people in fear is they are so afraid they say, “ok God you do the work I’ll be hiding here.” We have a fear of evangelism, why is that? We are afraid of being embarrassed when we proclaim the gospel to somebody, it’s because they keep thinking about themselves.
God is with me, and for the people who have been destined to receive the gospel will hear it regardless of me. However, the very fact that I have a heart of warning to spread this gospel is a spiritual blessing. Then no matter what situation, God will do it. But if you already have that fear in your heart but go studying or work, that is how people are seized by the devil. Then do you think you’ll only be afraid of proclaiming the gospel? Your going to be afraid of your work as well. Because through your job, of course you have to compete with other people then of course you’ll be afraid.
Deuteronomy 7:21 says, “do not be terrified by them for the Lord your God who is among you is a great and awesome God.” When God gives us a mission, He’s not someone who just says, “Do it by yourself.” And leaves us alone. God is doing it and he is saying we can participate and he said he will give us the reward as well.
So you guys shouldn’t keep thinking God is making us do things, and he’s only making us do things, “Oh, this mission is a blessing,” The reason God is allowing me to live in and attend an American church is for the mission of finding disciples. The resurrected Jesus gave a mission to the disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” there were no airplanes at that time. They didn’t even have trains. They have to walk around, but they said to make disciples of all nations? They don’t have airplanes but make disciples of all nations? These words were irrelevant to reality. Then, do you think Jesus just said these crazy words that don’t fit with reality? It’s that the people of that time did not believe in God’s Word. It’s the same thing today. I’m sure there is a gap between the Word and myself.
And don’t you think it’s true that I have to go before the word of God? Just because I or my circumstances are not right doesn’t mean that it’s actually not right. God is the God of truth. So the word he gave us is the truth, it’s not a lie. If anything, the problem is “me,” my thoughts, and the way of life that is not rooted in God’s Word but instead is rooted in Genesis 3. God has called me as a disciple, and the reason God is allowing me to live here is because there’s a disciple God has prepared and hidden, and He promised to be with us with all authority in heaven and on earth. That means, finding these hidden disciples is only possible with all authority on heaven and earth.
For people who place all of the importance on following the law of God’s word, they say they’ll do it but one day they give up. Then they say evangelism doesn’t take place and I can’t do this anymore. That’s because they charged at it with the actions of law. But for the people who take this on with faith and covenant, it continues to take place. Therefore your evangelism will be different whether it’s acts of the law or faith. May you remain within faith in the covenant. I hope you will believe that God has prepared disciples of all nations. And I hope you will believe that this is only possible when the one who has authority over heaven and on earth is with me. And I hope you will believe that this means he will reveal the authority over heaven and on earth through you.
Ultimately, God will give me all the authority and power in order to make disciples of all nations. So, we have received everything. However people who are centered on action of the law will not see this at all. They all have their diligence to evangelize, they face their limitations. However those who are inside the faith and the covenant will enjoy evangelism. Because the One Who has all authority over heaven and on earth will reveal it through me, and He has promised to be with me for all of eternity.
When He told us, “Teach them to obey,” it means to establish them in the church, and that’s why the church continues to do the work of teaching and obeying the word of God. My life must be within these words. It doesn’t matter how capable I am, if I’m outside of God’s Word, then I will be seized by the devil. Even if things are taking place physically, that’s not actually working out. But people are under a misconception that even if I’m outside of God’s covenant things are taking place for me physically well, that’s their misconception.
The spiritual disease is already in progress. The spiritual disease is invisible and it is continuously in progress, and then one day it’ll be revealed physically, only at that point will they recognize their problem. But that problem was actually a long time in progress, it’s because they don’t know how valuable the spiritual blessing and grace are. Just because they don’t see it at this moment they think they are okay. But that’s never the case.
The devil is working even now, and God is working even now. It’s very important to know where I am. Am I within worship and God’s Word? Are the words of the resurrected Lord equal to my life? This word is my life. In the past, we had a gap between myself and these words, and I didn’t realize it because of my research, but by God’s grace my life became closer with His words.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations. That is my future and my life, and I believe that within this, the one who has authority over heaven and on earth will be with me. And God promises to give us the power and authority necessary to raise these disciples. If we need material possessions, God will work with the power of materials. If we need people, then God will allow this work by attaching people. If we are lacking wisdom God will give us wisdom to do the work of raising and making disciples. This is not something I read in my studies, it is authority and power given from heaven.
God – Ability
Whatever you do by studying is just your ability. However, finding disciples and saving people must be given from heaven, that’s why it’s not a problem for me. Because the One Who has all authority in heaven and on earth will be with me for eternity, for the work of making disciples . If anything, being outside of these words is the problem. Because that’s ultimately saying you want to go outside the power of heaven. Then, we were ultimately ensnared by Satan’s snare. If there’s any of you like this within this church I hope you will pray. Because within your prayers God’s power is relayed. And that has a time schedule as well.
I hope that, through the power of your prayers transcending time and space, that your family, your children, and everyone you know will come into this grace. It’s spiritual so it’s impossible with words. Even if you say a hundred words to them, it’s not enough for it to go into their brains. That darkness needs to be broken down, the forever of darkness within their hearts needs to be broken down. Until then they will only see the physical things and will only follow their thoughts.
“Go and proclaim this gospel to all nations” means to and proclaim this gospel to all people. Why does he keep on making us do these burdensome things? But honestly, other things other than this are more boring. And proclaiming the gospel to all nations is easier, why? Because God is with you. If anything, if you’re along another path, God cannot be with you. He tells us to heal those that are diseased and demon-possessed. How can we heal people who are demon-possessed and diseased? That’s why God promised to be with us through authority. Just go and proclaim the gospel. Stop proclaiming the gospel that’s mixed in with the law, it’s the complete gospel.
Proclaim to them the fact that it is finished, the fact that sun Satan and hell are eternally finished. Proclaim the fact that God is with you forever. Given the gospel, to live the rest of your life to proclaim this gospel. Even if they don’t understand it, we must proclaim it. Only when the Holy Spirit works will they understand. Can they understand such heavy loaded words? God will allow them to understand. The One Who delivers this word, receives assurance because the one who is seated at the throne will deliver these words to us with certainty. As evidence that God is with you, you will deliver the Word with certainty.
It’s been a few months already now since I’ve met with the person who is demon possessed in Downy. And this person was catholic for a long time. And they lived in America and went to one of the bigger churches. And she would go to early morning services, and she even took discipleship courses and she would show me these pamphlets and books she received from those courses. But there’s something she says every time I visit her. She said “we have to go back to Korea. I’m here on an illegal stay and God is now cursing me because of it” and she is saying will God forgive this illegal act? And she is saying “I’ve should’ve gotten this residency in a legal way but I got it through a backdoor way so will God forgive that? And she is attaching every bad thing that happened to associate with that, like earthquakes and COVID. And after I give the word, she says that again.
She says, “Pastor just give us the word to go to Korea,” that is the influence of Catholicism. They learned how to request the word like this to the priest. Every time she went she had to confess her sins and ask for forgiveness but why is she telling that to me? What is she seized by? She is seized by the law and her actions. And the devil is using that to seize this person, this person has a Catholic background so she learned the acts of the law. And she went to this big church in the past and wanted to beg forgiveness from the pastor and all the assistant pastor blocked her.
So this Sunday I asked her “Jesus Christ has already forgiven your sins why are you asking for forgiveness from the pastor?” The pastor doesn’t have the authority to forgive you, the pastor is the same as you. Why do you think she’s thinking that? Because the devil is seizing her with the Catholic ideology like the priest, confessions and atonement. So I told her that Jesus Christ already took all of your sins on the cross, and forgave them. So you guys may just hear this as ordinary words but people who are oppressed by the devil 24 hours in the field, this is not an upper class message. So for the first time, this woman came to her senses for one or two seconds. When I said, “Jesus Christ already forgave your sins on the cross” she came to her senses for about 1 or 2 seconds. And her husband next to her says “I’m starting to see God little by little.” Everybody has a certain aspect that they are seized by. It’s not just Jesus Christ. This person is seized by something else.
Therefore, go into the field and heal those who are demon-possessed. It is only possible by the gospel. Only through Christ can this person be healed, and only through Christ can diseased people be healed. Because the spiritual disease can only be healed when they have spiritual liberation, their spiritual disease is not just a process. Their physical disease isn’t just a physical disease it was a long standing problem that started from the spiritual and is now physical. We’re wondering about whether this disease gets better or not. But we are not very interested in fundamental healing, that’s why we go and find doctors. Of course, we have to receive their help but the only thing doctors can do is cut out cancers and if we have depression they give us medication. But because they don’t know the fundamental reason why we have this disease they cannot give us fundamental healing.
I’m not telling you to not go to doctors, but I’m saying we must receive this fundamental healing, that is, the fundamental healing, it is possible only by the gospel, so it’s not finished, because it’s not finished for them they are always oppressed and burdened. If someone goes into a test and they already know the answers, there’s no heavier burden; they just put the answers down, but for the people who don’t know this mystery when they go into the test, they’re cowardly, they’re shaking, a lot of things happen.
The Walk of Faith is your life, if you don’t have the answer then you are afraid of tomorrow, and that’s how you make mental illnesses and problems. What does it mean for you? We are pressed because there’s no end to life. Because we’re seized by the demon, we control our actions up and down. In the past, we didn’t have words like “Panic attacks” but now there’s just so much of it. Yes, we should take medication for that but that’s not the healing. We need to fundamentally finish our life. We need fundamental healing.
The church, church officers, and disciples who do this healing. You have to know this to have true healing yourself. So, if you listen to the people who have received fundamental healing, a lot of them say, “I was just worshiping, and in the midst of worshiping, I was healed.” What that means is because they receive fundamental healing the things they thought were problems in life disappeared.
Deut. 7:22, “The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little.” Why “little by little?” The reason for “little by little” instead of all at once is because the wild animals would multiply around them. Because the land of Canaan is so vast and the people of Israel are not enough to cover over that land, so if they are sparsely populated, the wild animals will start encroaching and start to overtake them.
Deuteronomy 7:25, it says all these people in Canaan have their own gods, and they even have images of idols draped upon them, “So do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it.” He is telling us not to become greedy to covet it. Either way, God is going to be with you with authority and power so you will not need all these other things. We have to know the gospel and the mission well in order for our life and society to be cleaned up; otherwise we have to deceive everyone. We have to steal things or deceive them when they’re not looking. Because we don’t believe in the mission that the One Who has all authority and power in heaven and on earth is with me, we have to deceive.
Look at the politicians, there’s not a single one who doesn’t deceive. They haven’t even joined the army, why? Because they have the power to do things like that, and with the strong backing of their father and mother, they go to good schools. They’re all caught up in something. Why? Because with just the general, average abilities of humans, we cannot rise above. We have to deceive and have something up our sleeves. It’s the same in the church, maybe even worse, why? If we do not conclude everything with Jesus Christ and have assurance that everything is within the mission God gives us, then we have no choice but to steal and deceive.
Then, we cannot even give our offering to God with confidence. People can give offering boldly because they believe God will give them more, and they know this will be used to fulfill God’s mission, and they know God will give them even more. This is how someone has so drastically changed, they are bold. They never try to trick or steal from others or raise prices, “Because this is something God has given to me for missions,” then you can play with confidence.
That’s how society will change and will become cleaned up. It’s never possible by the education of the world. With the education of the world, you cannot do anything with your children. They have to confirm that they already have everything so they don’t steal from others; otherwise, they’ll always have to be fighting to win. What is there to fight about? God is fulfilling His mission and I just have to keep on this path. The reason we fight is because someone is threatening us, so we have to push them down, because if they rise up, thewill steal from us. Even when we go to church, we have no option.
“Wow, everything is finished within Christ.” Inside of this mission, the One Who has all authority in heaven almond earth is with me, you have to confirm that. May this blessing flow into your life, your family, and your region through the Word today.
Prayer
Let us pray together with the Word God gave us.
Let us pray together for each of the missions trips, the Navajo camp, and the El Salvador and Karen camps. Especially for El Salvador, it’s a dangerous region, the entire nation is a dangerous region. I’m not asking for you to pray because it’s a dangerous region, but that’s just how much the darkness is covering the land. The gangsters have more authority than the government, and it is a land conquered by another force. It is a place that is completely overrun by shamanism and witchcraft, that is why you must pray. If you’re not able to go in person, you must participate through prayer and participate through materials or go personally. Either way, my life must be the life of Matthew 28:18-20. Let us pray for those three camps.
During this year’s missions camps, I would like it if the remnants and church officers took charge of each region and meet with them every day. If I were to do everything, I couldn’t go to other places, so I have to open this up and go to another place that opens up. That’s what it means to raise up disciples. 70 regions, 70 tribes, and I hope you will go into the field of that message. Because these are people of all nations, I hope the remnants will really be entrusted with one region.
I hope even after we come back from the mission camp, we will continue to have a connection through next year. And as God raises the prepared disciples, God will open up more doors. That is why we have trainings at church. It’s very scientific. The time schedule is so accurate, when the disciples are prepared then God open up the doors in the field, this is the message from the world missions convention actually applied,and you can apply this to your region as well. There are disciple who are hidden in your region where you are living. Why did God allow me to live here? To find the disciples, but there are a lot of things that we are afraid of that prevents us from finding them. That’s the message God gave us today. I believe God is with us.
Finally, let’s pray for Temple Construction. There are many church buildings, but it’s not just about the building or facility, that’s’ irrelevant. It must be the church building that saves the 237 natison, does the work of healing, and raises the remnants to the summit. That’s the work that God is with us with all authority in heaven and earth for, and I hope you will believe this. I believe this 200% because God is bound to work according to His Word. I don’t rely on people at all because people have no ability to do this. “Oh, that person has some money”? That’s completely irrelevant. Hey can only move when God moves them, and I believe God will move upon those who have the covenant inside. Let us pray for the mission fields and the Temple Construction.
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the heads of people of God who have held onto the covenant of the 70 disciples, 70 regions, 70 tribes, and 70 nations, upon the multiethnic people and the remnants, be with us from now until forevermore always, amen.