One Who Possesses the Eternal Things (Heb. 10:32-39)
Let us bless one another, Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. Today marks the 12th anniversary of the beginning of our church, so I hope that the special grace of God will be upon the individuals worshipping in the church, in their homes, and especially out of state. The background of today’s word is the Word that God gave in the midst of Roman and Jewish persecution. When does persecution take place? Whenever you begin to change the parts of your life that you used to think were most important, you will face persecution. If we’re wrong, we should be able to fix ourselves, however, the persecution I get is regardless of “me.”
Back in these Biblical times, the emperor of Rome was Caesar. So, all the Roman citizens called Caesar, “Lord.” Whenever they called Emperor Caesar, they always attached the word, “Lord.” In the Jewish church, the LORD God is the Lord. But because the Christian people are saying Jesus Christ is Lord, they are getting persecuted on both sides.
Nowadays in America, the age isn’t like that; we’re living in an environment that has religious freedom. However, if you believe in Jesus properly, there are some realities you will face. Part of that reality will be that you face suffering and persecution. If someone doesn’t face suffering and persecution, that person is a fake, why? They’re fake because they haven’t changed their highest value and priority.
Nowadays in America, we’re living in an age where people prioritize material possessions and money over God being their Lord. They need knowledge to make money, and that’s why knowledge is the best. Our scientific knowledge makes money, it’s used to make weapons so we can win wars as well. So, America considers knowledge, science, and money to be the greatest. The message God gave 2000 years ago is applicable to us.
The main point of today’s verse is in Heb. 10:34, “For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” It’s talking about this “eternal possession.” “Eternal” means it doesn’t go away. When people die, their physical body goes away, but their spirit never goes away. If you acknowledge yourself correctly in this way, you’ll see yourself differently.
1. Eternal God
God is an eternal God; He has no beginning or end. He is not limited by time like we are; for Him, yesterday, today, and tomorrow are all the same, and that’s why he transcends time and space.
1) Eternal being – Human
When the eternal God created human beings, He created us to be eternal beings, so the spirit that lives within us is eternal. Even if we die, our spirit doesn’t go away; it exists forever. If this eternal being lives for temporary things, something is misaligned. The eternal being must live moment by moment for the eternal things in order for them to be aligned. Whatever circumstances you’re facing right now you have to look at today looking at eternity because “I’m eternal, I believe in an eternal God and I’m living with Him.” Then you will see the answer in a lot of things.
(1) Eternal God – With us through the Word (Gen. 1:27)
We were made so we live with the eternal God by His Word. God is invisible and we cannot touch Him, either. But John 1:1 says that the Word is God. God works through the Word, so we human beings, the creation, are those who live with the eternal Word. If we hear the temporary words of people, we can let them pass by because they’re not eternal.
Once the eternal word comes into you, your spirit comes to life, and once your spirit comes to life, everything you see will change. You used to think it was a failure, but it’s an answer. You used to think it was a problem, but that’s not true; that’s an answer. You used to think this was a crisis, but no, it’s an opportunity. Whenever I face a conflict, it’s the time to change myself. These are the things I can see and discover once the eternal Word comes into me.
(2) Power of the Holy Spirit (Gen. 2:7)
In Gen. 2:7, human beings were created to live eternally with the spiritual power of the Holy Spirit.
(3) Kingdom of God – Rule over Eden (Gen. 2:1-18)
God created the Garden of Eden and entrusted it to us to rule over. This is the goal for which God created us, but if I don’t know this, I lose hold of all those blessings. I lose hold of God’s Word, power, kingdom, and everything. The characteristic of such people is that they will listen to people’s words and live their lives relying on their own strength, or with their own plans and their own skills. These are not people living for eternal things; they are living for temporary things. That’s why these people face suffering.
2) Eternal Suffering – Human
Because an eternal being is thinking that momentary things are everything, of course they will suffer. What is the beginning of mankind’s suffering? It began from the moment that we thought we no longer needed the eternal Word and the power of God. All of the suffering began the moment we had the thought of wanting to live with our own strength instead of with God. This person called “myself” has all the experiences and knowledge with which I have lived my life so far, and we try to design the value of our lives from that. But everything I’ve experienced isn’t even worth 100 years.
(1) Me – God (Gen. 3:5)
Because we’re trying to live on this earth with less than even 100 years’ worth of experience, of course you’re not aligned. Because you’re not aligned, you’ll suffer, but if you align yourself with God, it’s an answer, so I hope you will quickly live your walk of faith properly. “Properly” means to align yourself with the eternal things. It doesn’t matter how stubborn you are, if you align yourself with the temporary things of earth, you cannot see the answer.
(2) My things (Gen. 6:2-3)
That’s why everything these people did was for themselves in Genesis 6. All they know is the money they make, the knowledge they learn, and the plan they made for their lives; even though God is alive, they are their own God.
(3) Our things (Gen. 11:4)
Once this develops further, they go into Gen. 11 where they only think about their own things. All this thinking starts with “me.” That’s why we live our lives irrelevant to the eternal God but we live our lives limited to ourselves on earth, so we’re not aligned.
(4) Idolatry (Ex. 20:3-5), Religion, demons
On top of that, we believe in some kind of religion. If I’m still self-centered and cover myself with religion, I still cannot escape. In fact, when I put forth the theology of religion, that “me” gets stronger. “The God I believe will do this for me,” then you can ever escape from yourself even if you’ve received theology from religion. If any of you go to church like this, you must quickly change; you must quickly change yourself, you must go into the eternal things, then you’ll be able to see the answers, then you’ll be able to see the future of your life. You’ll confirm the fact that the answers are already here.
(5) Human (Spirit, Flesh, Afterlife, Future Generation) – Snare, Slavery
We’ve included religion and idolatry and we still cannot escape, so we completely fall into this snare. We’re completely ensnared by Satan and we still cannot escape, that’s what Satan’s strategy is. He drags us into being centered on “myself,” and at first it seems like great things are taking place, but once you’ve lived the rest of your life, you realize it’s not up to you.
“I can’t even control my own child; I can’t control the people next to me. I think the most I could control in this world is maybe my dog.” And that’s why some owners will raise their dog and then just throw it away. Whatever you buy can be thrown away whenever you want; you can control your belongings like that. However, I cannot control any human being’s relationship, because all of these human beings are eternal beings themselves. Because all these humans are moving by the will of God, I cannot control them.
That’s why I have these spiritual diseases come into me. Unbeknownst to me, I have mental problems. As you live your life, even dementia is a mental problem. Nowadays, there’s even elementary students with dementia. People don’t get this because they’ve lived a long life; they get this because of mental problems. Even though Moses lived to be 120 years old, he never got dementia, meaning he never got a mental problem. But I can get mental illnesses without even realizing it. Even though I don’t want to, I keep getting dragged towards my addictions of drugs, alcohol, sex, or gambling.
Do you know what the beginning of this is? The eternal “me” must be with the eternal God, and all problems begin when I am separated. Suicide will not solve the problem either, because your spirit is eternal; you’re going to go to hell. Your problem isn’t resolved by destroying your physical body. All of this state is directly relayed to your children, too.
Look at the children of people who believed in idols or religions for a long time; their children cannot worship. That’s not a bad thing, it’s because the spiritual stream was relayed to them. It’s not enough for them to just come to worship; they cannot. This spiritual stream was directly relayed to the next generation; that’s what the Bible tells us. Then, if I receive the proper grace of the eternal covenant today, then that blessing will be relayed to the next generation, too.
The spiritual things are relayed, even if you’re far away from someone. Even if I’m far away from someone and I’ve never met them in my life, the spiritual things are transmitted. If we can’t understand this, how can we understand God? How can we understand the One who is seated at the throne of heaven? How can the One Who is Spirit come into me as the Holy Spirit? This is the spiritual world. The spiritual world transcends time and space.
When you receive grace, right here and right now, the spiritual things are relayed to your fields. But if you don’t know that, then you’ll think worship is optional. It’s because you don’t know what worship is. When we worship, God’s Word comes upon us, and the Holy Spirit begins to work, and through you, God begins to open the doors of missions and evangelism. This Triune God is working even now.
3) Eternal Light (Heb. 10:32, Jn. 1:9)
How can we escape? Heb. 10:32 says, “those earlier days after you had received the light,” so it’s those who have received the light. Jn. 1:9 says that he is the light of the world, and this light isn’t talking about electricity or the light from the sun; it’s talking about spiritual light. It’s the spiritual light that shines the light upon the spiritual darkness of not knowing God’s Word. This spiritual light has come into me by God’s grace.
I cannot know this by my knowledge, because it’s the spiritual world, I cannot know this by studying. Only when God’s grace comes upon me, the light shines within me. Because the light is shining, I can now see things I couldn’t see before. If someone has never studied, they can’t even read because they’ve never learned how to read, and some grandmothers learn how to read later on, and now they can read books, they say, “My eyes have been opened.”
That’s why we educate people, but this isn’t the light of knowledge, it’s talking about the spiritual light. It’s the light that allows us to know God’s Word. Before this light comes upon me, the Word of God is irrelevant to me. But once I receive Jesus Christ, the spiritual light shines upon me, so the spiritual world looks different to me.
(1) One who received – Child of God (Jn. 1:12)
Once you become a child of God, He takes complete responsibility over you. A child doesn’t take responsibility for their own life, the best a child can do is to follow the plans given to them. In Korea, the Samsung group is the most successful. If the first generation CEO hands it off to the son, the son just has to follow the strategy/plan the father has already set up. If the father doesn’t have the strength, the son has to set up his own plans, but God is controlling and moving the entire universe even now. The fact that I’ve become His child through Jesus Christ means that I no longer have to make my own plans; God’s plans become my plans.
(2) It is finished (Jn. 19:30)
That’s why in Jn. 19:30, Jesus Christ said, “It is finished.” Jesus finished all problems of mankind on the cross. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is the one-time, eternal sacrifice that finished all problems.
(3) Christ in me – Life (Gal. 2:20)
When this covenant comes into me as the light, then a problem will not be a problem to me. The only real problem is trying to live on my own. Satan holds onto me with this, and that’s why I suffer. That’s the problem that was finished on the cross, and the eternal God is now with me. Christ is living within me, how thankful am I? My Lord is living inside of me; there’s no need for me to struggle to survive anymore. I’m not trying to survive anymore, but God is living inside of me, guiding me.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened. The LORD has the power to do this. So, stop trying to mold your plans that aren’t going to work out anyway, but give yourself entirely to God, then He’s going to show you His plan through His Word.
2. Things that God has allowed
This kind of child of God will face suffering and persecution, without a doubt. If you don’t face suffering and persecution, it means you don’t really believe. It means the person is living a religious life, they don’t really believe. After I believed in Jesus Christ, I was immediately persecuted by my family, and my friends treated me as an outcast. It wasn’t that I did anything special, but the reason my parents persecuted me was because they thought I was no longer their child.
“This is my child whom I raised and fed, but when I listen to him talk, he says God is the best.” Satan began to work upon their disappointment and betrayal, and it became persecution to me. We don’t face persecution when we believe in Jesus Christ for no reason, but it comes to us in these personal relationships, like the disappointment my parents felt when I chose Jesus Christ.
Even my friends started to slowly change. Before, we got along so well, but now, my core values were changing, so we’re still friends, but we weren’t getting along as closely, so they were beginning to treat me like an outcast. We don’t get treated like outcasts because we go to church, but our innermost values are changing, so now we’re not able to connect on a deeper level anymore, so they treat me like an outcast. But if you don’t have this change, you’re not really someone who believes. It means this other person doesn’t think anything strange of me because my values are exactly aligned with unbelievers’ values. Then, you’ve just been going back and forth from the church building, but the things you seek are still “me,” “my things,” “our things.”
Once you believe and accept Jesus Christ, you should be freed from the things that were seizing you. First, I’m liberated from myself, but there are people who live their entire lives and die without ever escaping from themselves. Now you will be liberated from yourself and you will go into God.
1) For the Gospel
(1) Great conflict full of suffering (Heb. 10:32)
(2) Endured (Heb. 10:32)
Heb 10:32 says, “You endured the great conflict,” of course. Before this point, all the Jewish people were saying that the God of the Old Testament is the LORD, but now the Christians were saying Jesus is Lord, so of course they would be persecuted. Then the Roman people only said the emperor of Rome was the Lord, but the Christians were saying Jesus is Lord, so the Romans persecuted them as well.
(3) Publicly exposed to insult and persecution (Heb. 10:33)
That’s why in Heb. 10:33, these people were publicly insulted, persecuted, mistreated, and made into a laughingstock. That’s not America. People in American society will not persecute you or laugh at you for believing in Jesus, so the environments back in the Biblical times and today are different. But if someone comes from a nonbeliever family and then accepts Jesus Christ, something will come from their family. It’s not just because they go to church now, there’s a distance you can feel because the things with which you used to connect are no longer there. This persecution comes rightfully as a result of the gospel. If it’s your own fault, then you should fix yourself.
2) For the Gospel
(1) Suffered along with those in prison (Heb. 10:34)
We suffered along with those in prison because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you stole something and go to jail, you should stay there, repent, and leave when your time is up. But let’s say you’re arrested and imprisoned for praising and believing in Jesus Christ.
(2) Confiscation of your property (Heb. 10:34)
(3) Joyfully accepted (Heb. 10:34)
You joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, you had all your possessions stolen away, but how can you accept that joyfully? It’s impossible to be happy about that unless you’re high on drugs. It’s impossible to be happy about losing all your inheritance and belongings unless you’re drunk on alcohol. If you lose all your possessions, it’s impossible to be joyful unless you’re addicted to something, or unless you have some kind of mental problem.
If you go to a mental institution, there are people who are always laughing and smiling to themselves, there are some people who claim to be Jesus. Someone claimed to be both Buddha and Jesus. It’s because they’re crazy. If you become crazy, you can lose all your possessions and still be smiling. But in today’s passage, the most normal person lost all their possessions because of Jesus, but they accepted it joyfully. This is the reaction of someone who really believes in Jesus Christ.
Why do you think he said that? We have to find that mystery and make it our own in order for the words of the Bible to become my words. But a lot of people believe in Jesus Christ and give up when it’s no longer to their benefit. Someone will believe in Jesus Christ but stop going to church if it’s a loss for them. That person may have been going to the church building their whole life, but the most important thing inside of them will never change. It’s because the grace of God hasn’t come upon them for them to see the most important eternal things.
For parents, do you think children or money are more important? Of course it’s their children, but if you asked the next door neighbor, of course they would choose money because it’s not their child. If someone sees something, then they’ll change.
In the Old Testament, Job lost all his possessions, his children all died, and his wife ran away. At first, he asked, “Why is God doing this?” Then he came to his senses, “I’m a saved person of God, and through this suffering and tribulation, God will make me refined like gold.” Later on, Job confessed, “In the past, I used to think God was far away in the heavens, but now God has come into my life, one-on-one, as if I am seeing Him face-to-face.” In the Bible, it says his next children were even more beautiful, so his next wife was even more beautiful than the previous one, because Job stayed the same and his possessions became even greater than before. That’s why Job confesses, “The LORD giveth and the LORD taketh away.”
Then you can accept everything joyfully; you’ll never be sad. Because you believe your sitting and standing are in God’s hands. But if someone is so sad because they’re at a loss or someone commits suicide because their business fails, they don’t really believe.
Heb. 10:34 continues, “you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” Job said this, “God, that is everything. He decides my life. God is the One Who controls whether my wife leaves or stays, whether my children live or die.” There was a family on a boat, and the entire family died except for the man. Then, it would be very easy to resent God, “Why is God killing off my family instead of blessing me? Is God so weak that He could not block this?” It’s impossible for us to understand; we just know God has a plan.
Then this man received God’s grace and sang praise to God. From this difficult situation, there was a hymn written, “It is well with my soul.” He didn’t say it was well with his soul because he received some special training. He didn’t mentally succeed by being in the special forces. Because he saw the works of God, he was bound to sing praises.
Are you and I happy and joyful about our present circumstances? You may be happy if your kids are studying well and your business is going well, but are you happy even if this doesn’t take place? If you’re happy because things are going well, you may be happy, but it’s only momentary. That person might potentially be living their life, losing hold of the greater happiness, but there are some people who lose everything and everything collapses, but they’re still joyful. It’s not that they’re pretending to be joyful, but they’re happy because they have something even greater.
3) Eternal things
You and I must receive something very important here. Everything I do in my physical life that I see with my physical eyes, my studies, my job, my human relationships, what do I do this for? In order for these things to really become mine, what do I have to do? The way to make everything truly yours is to use the things you see with your eyes to gain the invisible things. That means you have to have something that allows you to be joyful when the studies and the job you do works well, and when it doesn’t.
I have seen God give 100 times the blessings of the world to someone like this. God is bound to give them the worldly blessings because this person’s worldly happiness doesn’t depend on worldly things. But if someone is losing hold of the eternal happiness and is happy because of physical things, then God cannot give them anything.
(1) Far better
(2) Lasting possessions
(3) Triune God, Kingdom of God, spirit
Only the Triune God is eternal, isn’t that right? And my spirit is eternal. And the Kingdom of God, where my spirit is controlled by the spirit of God, is eternal. And the spirit that is saved when an unbeliever accepts the gospel through me is eternal in heaven. These are all mine, and these things are way better than the things you see with your eyes. It’s not that we don’t need the things we see with our eyes, but we use the visible things to gain the invisible things, and that’s what’s truly mine.
There are some people who are listening who lost their children while young. Some children pass away while young, or there are parents who have to say goodbye to their children before they pass away, then they would be sad. Because we live our lives for the temporary things we see, we’re sad, and even that sadness is temporary, it shouldn’t last. But the diseases will change when the spiritual things come into me as happiness.
Before that comes into me, I have to pretend like I’m laughing, but I’m not really laughing. There are some people who have been facing things that were so unfair for so long, it doesn’t matter how much they try to persuade other people; they’re always unfairly treated.
How could we be okay with that? Today, the Bible says in Heb. 10:30 that God is the One who avenges us against our enemies. It’s not us, but God reveals it. You trying to fight to reveal your own words isn’t really winning. God is alive, so later on, He will judge what is good and evil. Without a doubt, everyone who won an argument by deceiving the other person will be revealed by God later on. That’s why God is alive and there’s no need for me to pick any fights. If I’m treated unfairly, I can just stay that way. If I hold onto that thought, I’ll be diseased because of my anger and imprints. But if you know that the living God is the Judge, you will escape from that. No need for you to try to persuade anyone else because my words are not the truth. Only the Word of God is eternal and the truth and will be fulfilled.
There is no need to assert your own words. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the majority or minority party, that person will debate for the rest of their life. They’ll just live their life in their estate and then die. One of my friends passed away immediately after being released from their military duties. This friend I had only sang one song anytime anyone asked him to sing, and I remember that song because of him. The lyrics of that song talk about the enemies leaving on a ship. He passed away when he was 26 years old. He passed away because he received a contagious disease from someone else, but he was constantly singing about dying, and it ended up happening.
Are you sad when your business fails? The Bible is telling you that there’s something better. If you’re sad, then your life will be sad and then you will die. Have you been unfairly accused? Think about Daniel. Daniel was unfairly framed, but he knew why he had to be joyful before God, so he prayed towards Jerusalem three times a day in thanksgiving. Why was he thankful? Because he saw something better.
3. Those who possess the eternal things
1) Me (Blessing of the throne of heaven)
Today, you and I must look at the Triune God, the better and eternal Triune God. Even if you don’t believe in Him, the Triune God exists. Even if unbelievers don’t believe in the Triune God, He is there. Whether I go to church or believe or not, the Triune God is there.
(1) Triune God – With
(2) God’s word
But the issue is, does this Triune God come to me as a blessing or not? God exists as His Word, and does this Word become mine? You say you believe in God, but if the Word of God doesn’t become your own, you believe in your own thoughts. The Word of God has to become mine in order for it to be my eternal possession because the Word of God never disappears. The Word is God and the Word is eternal; the words of people are temporary. No need to be scarred by them, they’re just talking by themselves. They live their own lives and they’re just saying whatever they want to say, there’s no reason to be scarred by that. You just let them live their lives and make the Word of God your own.
(3) God’s power
The Word that is at the throne of heaven will come to me as a blessing. I’m not living with my own mental strength, but the power of the Holy Spirit is mine.
(4) God’s salvation – Evangelism, missions
Right now, Christ is doing the ministry of salvation, and that salvation is in my life. We possess this, so it’s okay if I have nothing else. It’s okay if I do have something else because I’m holding onto the eternal things. That person cannot be stopped by the world. Even if they’re put into prison, it doesn’t matter, why? Because I have what’s eternal.
2) Business, academics (Blessing of the throne of heaven)
Then what must I do with my business and studies? My business and academics are not eternal, but now I need to match my business and academics with the eternal Word of God.
(1) Business, academics – Word
(2) Business, academics – Evangelism, missions
My business and academics must be aligned with making disciples of all nations. That’s the business and academics upon which the Holy Spirit begins to work. That is what’s eternal. May whatever I have be used for the eternal things. You think your house is your own but it actually belongs to God. The property you own is not yours; it belongs to God, but you’re borrowing it from the government, but if you keep saying it belongs to you, look at what happens. It means you’re making God a liar.
You give your possessions to your children and you think it will continue going down, right? It won’t. As evidence that it belongs to God, He will change hands. The Romans thought they were so great but they were not. God just allowed them to become great, but one day, as time passed, God changed the main character because God is the main character. You just have to realize that nothing belongs to you. You use whatever you have for the eternal things, that’s what makes it valuable.
(3) Business, academics – God’s power
I’m not saying you don’t need money, a house, a church, or a business, but I also don’t mean that those are everything, either. I’m saying you must live using all of this for the eternal things, then you will have a reason for your business, studies, and life.
3) Church (Blessing of the throne of heaven)
(1) Shadow of the throne of heaven
(2) Blessing of the Triune God – Enjoy
What is the church? The church is a place that enjoys these blessings. The Triune God gave us the church as a shadow and form of the throne of heaven. The church where Christ is the master. The body is united and moves together, that’s the church. That’s how we’ll live in heaven. So, we’re living in the church on this earth as the form or shadow of that. So the church is the place that allows the people to enjoy the eternal blessings.
The church is not a place where you can worship so you can gain more things you see with your eyes. People who want that can go to a temple. People who want that can go into Catholicism because if you go there, your answers will be received faster. But the church has no answer for people like that because that’s not what God is like.
(3) Blessing of the Triune God – Relay
God doesn’t trifle with such petty or trivial things. He has prepared greater and better things for you. The church is the place that relays the eternal things, you must know the church well. “Oh, this person only knows about themselves,” of course, because they only knew about themselves before they believed in Jesus. That’s why the church is a place that helps this person enjoy the blessing of the throne of heaven, the eternal blessings. “Oh, this person only brags about themselves,” of course, they’ve lived their entire life that way, and that person comes to church. Then, the church needs to teach them and to help them understand that the eternal things are everything.
There are all sorts of people in the church, and they should come to church; where else would they go? Should they go to a temple? They must come to church to receive the eternal blessings. Rightfully they should come to church, and we help them so they know. This is the work that those who received grace first must do, because God is currently doing that work and I’m being used for this.
4) Receive reward
(1) Perseverance (Heb. 10:36)
(2) Faith (Heb. 10:38-39)
(3) Confidence (Heb. 10:35)
Heb. 10:35 says, “Do not throw away your confidence, it will be richly rewarded.” There is a rich reward remaining, not something that exists on this earth and then disappears. There is a great treasure of God on this earth. The fact that there’s a reward means there’s some sort of evaluation, it means there’s a reward remaining for the things you’ve done for the eternal things. That’s why we’re able to live with boldness, confidence, faith, and perseverance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, what is the eternal thing I possess?
1. With the eternal Triune God
The eternal possession is having the blessing of the eternal, Triune God being with me.
2. Life for the eternal kingdom of God
Living for the eternal kingdom of God is my eternal possession and life. My possession is using the physical, temporary things to save eternal spirits.
3. Receive eternal reward
As a result, we will receive the eternal reward. I hope you will have the eternal blessing that allows you to be okay no matter what you gain or lose because you have something that is greater, then even the diseases you have will get better, even the invisible diseases will get better. May you have this blessing.
Prayer:
Let us pray together holding onto the Word God has given to us today.