Salvation from Religion and Idolatry by Living with Only Christ as Your Center (Deut. 6:10-25)
We will share the grace of God today with Deuteronomy 6:10-25.
Deuteronomy is God commanding for the second time again how the next generation will live once again in the land of Canaan. And I believe the word God gave to the first generation will be carried down to the second and their fourth all the way to the same to us. What is the land of Canaan exactly? Why did God tell them to go to the land of Canaan?
Why are you living in America? Did you come here because you wanted to, or because of God’s absolute sovereignty? If the region you are living in is because of God’s absolute sovereignty, you must listen to today’s word. If you do not believe it to be God’s sovereignty, but you came here because you wanted to, irrelevant to God’s word, then you can listen to today’s words, but it won’t make a difference. It’s not going to fit with you because you don’t believe in God’s word. God is moving everything according to his absolute sovereignty.
What is the reason God is giving us His Word today? And if we want to go back, it is the word God is giving to the second generation of the Israelites that used to be enslaved to Egypt and were liberated. Why were they slaves in Egypt? And even if they were slaves, why did they live in suffering there? We don’t suffer just because we live in Egypt. If you are not with God, then you are bound to suffer no matter where you go. Joseph was a slave, but it didn’t matter at all to him. We keep on judging our own life by our jobs, success, and failures, but that’s not true, and God is telling us through the Bible what the true failure and true success are. If you are irrelevant to God, that is failure, if you are relevant to God, that is success.
Then why is it that more than half of the 400 years spent in Egypt was in suffering? It’s not that they were suffering because of physical labor, but their spiritual state was separated from God, so they were living in a state that had no hockey but to suffer spiritually.
As soon as God created human beings in Genesis 1:27, we were created to be with God. And in Genesis 2:7 God breathed his life into us. Humans can only come to life when God, who is the life and light, is with us. That is how we can live a life of blessings Genesis 1:28 of ruling, conquering, and being abundant, and fruitful. However, if we lose hold of this light then our life that is a blessing turns into curses, we are supposed to rule and subdue, but we are turned into slaves. Not physical slavery, but slaves to Satan.
There are a lot of people who are slaves, Joseph was a slave, but he went as a slave with God, so that’s not important. It doesn’t matter how you ended up in America. What’s important is that as soon as you lose hold of God, of the covenant, you are a spiritual slave. Because you are a spiritual slave, you are bound to follow the culture. It is the culture of idolatry. The entire country has the culture of “you can do it if you worship idols.” It is the state of our heart that chases after our greed. We have to serve God, but we keep on chasing after the devil. And the result of this is mental suffering. Mental suffering doesn’t come out of nowhere, it comes from your spiritual state. This is how humans were created by God from the beginning.
Are there any people in your family or around you that are mentally suffering? You can beg somewhere and get better. We can receive healing from shamans, transcendental meditation, or even Buddhism. But that’s not the issue, we cannot change our spiritual state. All of the problems come because of our spiritual state, so unless we solve that spiritual center, these problems will repeat. As you go to church, it’s possible to receive this and that answer. But if you think of that as an answer, you can find it in other religions as well. That’s not the issue. What’s important is my spiritual state.
Am I in the spiritual state that is with God in the covenant? It’s about the answers that come from this. Other religions have healing power. Other religions also heal through transcendental meditation. However if you do not have the fundamental gospel as your center, according to Matthew, you’ll receive seven times more demons. And because Satan is conquering you, you’ll have no choice but to be dragged. Satan can show any kind of power. But you must not be swayed by that. “I went here and got healed. I met this person and he healed me.” What then? It’s going to repeat again. Do you know why? It’s because the fundamental healing has not taken place.
A person that goes to church like this is living a religious life. For a religious person, Jesus Christ is not the center of their life and there is something else in their center. The center of their life is focusing on something that will solve their problems. They are in a state that is outside the gospel. Once their problem is solved, they’ll say that they’ve received answers. But because their fundamental state has not changed, they have no choice but to face problems again. This comes to us as problems we can see.
This is relayed to the next generations as well. It doesn’t matter how much we go to church together, we cannot escape these problems. “Oh, multiple family generations have attended church.” Whether you go to a Buddhist temple or a church, if the fundamental areas are not healed, it’s the same. The representative example of this are the Jews. They are the representative group of people that accepted the words of God but rejected Christ.
There are people like that who go to church today. Jesus Christ is not their center, there’s something else they want more, and Jesus is in the side, that’s a religious person. If Jesus Christ is not your center and something else is your center instead, without a doubt, you will be colonized, you will be taken captive because Satan and his demons will take control of your thoughts and heart, then you’re dragged into a destiny that you do not even want. You’re dragged in the exact same way as your ancestors. You give this exactly to the next generation and you either go to heaven or to hell.
People say, “I live my walk of faith, but why is it so hard?” You have not actually been living a walk of faith, it is a religious life, it’s because you don’t know who you are, it’s because you don’t know who humans are. It’s because you’ve simply lived a religious life thinking a religious life is all it takes. The life of Jesus Christ has to be the center of our spirit and life.
For 400 years in Egypt, the Israelites were outside of this center, and once they’ve gone outside of this center, the demons of Egypt were bound to work upon them. Their thoughts, their emotions, their entire lives themselves are pulled into suffering. So the problems you see, like depression and bipolar disorder, are not the real issues; if you solve them, more problems will come, but America is tempting people to heal this through transcendental meditation. Through that, it’s possible to heal scars and different things that are happening, but without only Jesus Christ, you cannot change your spiritual state.
When they applied the blood of the Passover Lamb to have the Exodus, this means they were able to escape from their spiritual state only through the blood of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t mean that the people who were once inside of Egypt just left Egypt; if that’s all it took, they could have just snuck out in the middle of the night. At that point, you could just walk out. That’s not what the Bible is saying.
Why did they escape only when they applied the blood of the Lamb on their doorpost? It is the unique method God gave us in Genesis 3:15. The offspring of the woman would come to crush the head of the serpent. The only way to escape from the authority of Satan is the offspring of the woman, there’s no other way with which we can live. That’s why God told them in Exodus 3:18 to give the blood sacrifice, because it’s not enough for you to just apply the blood once and then leave. People think, “Once I’ve applied the blood once, I can just live however I want afterward,” but God told Moses to tell Pharaoh, “Let us go on a three day journey to give a blood sacrifice.” That’s the goal.
Just because I received salvation once doesn’t mean it’s over. God is telling us the way to continuously maintain our spiritual state through worship, because even after we’ve received salvation, if we don’t receive God’s Word of grace, then our spiritual state reverts back. So, the center of our hearts must be restored every single time we worship, that’s why God told them to build the Tabernacle, to give worship.
Now, why did God tell them to go to the land of Canaan? That’s the land God promised, the land where Jesus Christ would be born. Why does it have to be that land? We don’t know that; that’s up to God. Why am I in America? We don’t know that; that’s how life is, then how did God live once we’re here? Did God tell us to live diligently or honestly or try our best? The Bible never says that. Those are the best methods that do not have God can speak of. But God told us to follow His rules and decrees, what does this mean? It means we must face God with His Word.
In Deut. 6:10, “When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you–” we don’t just go into the land of Canaan. How can these people just go into the land of Canaan? The people in Canaan will not leave them alone; they will kill them. So, this means, once you overcome the land of Canaan with war, then you will receive these things. God has prepared the physical blessings of the land of Canaan as well, but we don’t get it for nothing. We can’t just simply walk in, because the land of Canaan is controlled by Satan through idols, so it’s not enough to work hard and make money there. Without a doubt, these blessings come after having victory in the war against Canaan.
Deut. 6:11, “You will receive houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant–.” Once they entered into the land of Canaan, they formed an army and battled. Back in those days, it was a battle between those who believed in God and those who served idols and demons. This means you can only receive these blessings once you’ve received spiritual victory. God says He will fight this battle, centered on the Ark of the Covenant.
He says to first seek His Kingdom and His righteousness, first seek God’s Kingdom, once you go into the land of Canaan, first seek God’s Kingdom. In other words, first pray for God’s Kingdom to be established which breaks down Satan’s Kingdom. That’s how you go into Canaan. If you just walk in, you cannot go. Without a doubt, you must fight and win against the enemies. Then everything else will follow you naturally because everything else belongs to God, and God gives this to His children, to what extent? To the extent that we need it.
First seek His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given unto you as well. How are you and I living now? How does America seem to you? Is it a beautiful, great land? Or are you looking at it spiritually? Without a doubt, the world is being controlled by the prince of the air, spiritually, Satan, in John 8:44.
I believe the reason God has allowed me to live here is to establish God’s kingdom here. If you do not establish God’s Kingdom, you will be attacked. You are bound to be seized by the devil so you will face mental and spiritual problems. The church is not the answer; Christ is the answer. The church that talks about only Christ is the answer. This is not talking bad about churches; I’m just telling you not to live a religious life.
Some people go to church for a long time but they don’t know how to live, and they don’t know what to live for. They don’t know why suffering comes. Is it because I didn’t serve diligently in church or is it because I miss worship sometimes, or is it because I’m different at church compared to at home? Is it because I’m lacking in some way? All of those are side matters; your life must be filled with life and light, this is what you must do first and living for this is how your life is planned.
I am called as the one who shines the light in the darkness, and of all the nations, God called me to do this here. This region is my land of Canaan, how can I live? I have to be used in the work of establishing God’s Kingdom. Matthew 12:28 says, “But if it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you,” so the Kingdom of God is established and the kingdom of Satan is cast out only by the work of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Deut. 6:12, “Be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” Do not forget your Savior God Who saved you out of your spiritual state of death. In terms of the New Testament, it means to have only Christ, always. That is how the darkness and curses are broken down, and you restore the blessings of God being with you.
Deut. 6:13, “Fear the LORD your God, serve him only, and take your paths in His name,” only Christ, there’s nothing else that works. Your hard work doesn’t matter, how educated you are, how much money you have, doesn’t matter, because a person’s spiritual state can be only solved by only Christ. That’s the method God gave us.
Deut. 6:14, “do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you;” these words are very rightful, but if your spiritual state goes outside, then you are bound to follow other gods. What do you think “other gods” are? They are demons, the work of demons comes into this image. How could we do that? Even as you go to church you worship demons. Colossians 3:3-5 says that your greed is idolatry. If your spiritual state leaves God, then you’re bound to live after your greed. We were supposed to live with Jesus Christ as our center following God’s word, but something else is in the center of our hearts and we follow that instead. That’s the work that Satan does.
“According to my thoughts,” we always live according to our thoughts. God is holding onto us, but Satan deceives us into thinking, “according to your thoughts.” When “he” says “you can be like god” he’s saying your thoughts are the standard. “According to your plans, according to your style,” that’s how Satan seizes you from behind the scenes, and that’s how Satan was a liar from the bringing, he is a murderer, it means he kills you spiritually. He makes you leave God spiritually. So instead of having only Christ in your thoughts, your thoughts are seized by something else. He makes it so that you keep listening to people’s words and follow them spiritually. Do not follow that.
When you go out into the field of the world, you have to go into a state where it’s only Jesus Christ, but your spiritual state is already filled with something else. Then, things might go well or not, but if things go well, you’re happy, “it went well,” but if things aren’t going well, you say it’s not. But the real problem is, “Is my spiritual state following the words of Christ?” Even if things go well, it doesn’t matter because one day, Satan will seize your thoughts and heart. That’s the beginning of spiritual curses and disasters.
It would be fine if we could receive God’s grace and come back, but as time passes, we are seized more and more. If you hear words of legalism, they sound correct to our ears, but they cannot change our spiritual state.
When we hear the words, “Do this,” or “don’t do that,” or “this is wrong” or “this is right’, then it really hits our heart. We can say, “I was wrong,” but it doesn’t change our spiritual state. If we mix words of ethics and morals into it, then they will say, “How can a Christian act like this in the world?” and condemn you. The church is not a place that talks about ethics and morals; that’s what people who don’t have God talk about. But people think if you have ethics and morals, then you have faith, and they follow that. They think if you’re very ethical and moral, then you have faith, but you’re spiritually dead.
Your outer cover seems so clean and upright, and your words are also very clean and structured. But because Christ is not in the center of your heart, Satan seizes your thoughts and heart with legalism, then when you see something wrong, you can’t endure it, you get so angry, why is that? It’s because you don’t see things spiritually, because you see things legalistically, you are always fighting and conflicting.
Do not misunderstand, I’m talking about the path I lived. There’s no need for me to criticize anyone else, I’m just talking about the way I’ve lived, and a lot of people think they’re righteous and just and have pride in that when they see something wrong, and they have this anger inside of them, as if they are so right, but that’s the channel through which demons seize you. As you get so angry, you judge and criticize others.
What is that state? It is a state that is far from the gospel. That is the demon working upon legalism. Who worked upon the Jewish people? Satan. They were supposed to hold onto the gospel, but they ended it with the law, and that’s the channel through which they were seized by Satan. They cannot save anybody, they just kill everybody’s itch wrss that are correct. Without a doubt, their words are correct, but their spirit is oppressed because of legalism. Then, they come to church and listen to these words and their hearts are pierced, “I don’t want to be like this,” but when they go out, it’s the same.
“Oh, it’s because I didn’t act ethically or morally as a Christian and I have to change my ways,” but they cannot. Then, do you think people who are ethical and moral are okay? I hope you don’t misunderstand. If you remain within Christ, then you transcend ethics and morals. You’re not breaking down ethics and morals, you go beyond that. If you’re within Jesus Christ, you even receive the answer of obeying your parents.
So, I hope you do not misunderstand my sermon, I’m simply comparing the extreme of ethics and morals. Every time you worship, it must be a worship that holds onto the covenant and brings you to life. Otherwise, if you criticize saying what’s right or what’s wrong, your words will be correct, but your spirit dies. Then when you go out into the world, you are again enslaved and taken captive. You have no idea how many people live religiously. Because they cannot find the real reason, they have no choice but to blame others. If it’s not a person, then they blame the region where they live.
“Is it because I’m living in America? I didn’t even want to come here,” or “Is it because I met this person? Or is it that I shouldn’t have made this investment, but I did?” Even as they go to church, they cannot receive the answer of only Christ. They have a spiritual state that has no choice but to meet these kinds of people, but they only know the outer shell.
If your spiritual state is guided by God, God said He would guide you. But instead of that, you’re moving centered on yourself, following your own greed, then this is the result that is bound to happen. “Without a doubt, I met this person to succeed,” I thought to succeed. Without a doubt, I thought this would bring me a benefit, and that’s what today’s word is saying.
Don’t live like that; follow after God’s Word. That’s what this is saying. Stop being so fickle, listening to the words of people that are actually from demons. But even if you try not to follow those words, you have no choice because the words of the covenant are not rooted in your heart. What am I going to do if I like the success of the world more than Christ, or if I like money more than I like Christ? Already, the center of your spiritual state is separated from God, and already, the problems have begun from that. It’s just a matter of time before the physical problems you see with your eyes are revealed.
If you’re not able to receive the answer to your life through worship in the church, that’s a failed life. You must teach this to the next generations, instead of keeping this to yourself. Teach this to the next generation so they don’t repeat the same thing. If I don’t know this mystery, then I cannot teach this to my kids, then your kids are bound to follow the same life you lived. It doesn’t matter even if you take them to church because their center must change, the spiritual state must change to only the gospel.
Some people think they know Bible study, they say only Jesus Christ, and they try to do Bible study centered on that. But there’s no connection between Bible study and my actual state because you do Bible Study with your brain. What’s important is that your state change to be centered on Christ, then you receive freedom.
There’s a difference betwen a slave and a child. A slave ahs to do something to earn something, but a child is taken care of by their parent because of the condition that they are their child. If we become children of God simply because we’re children of God, we can enjoy that status and authority to our heart’s content.
Legalistic people will have conditions, there are conditions based on your actions, that’s already far from the gospel. People centered on unhealthy mysticism keep emphasizing experiences. Our walk of faith is being able to believe in Jesus Christ who we cannot see, Who lived 2000 years ago, but they only believe if they have some physical experience. I think, just in a worldly way, these people fail because if they want to experience something physically, they have to pray so much, so they can’t work in the world; they always have to go up to a prayer temple because they want to experience something there.
It doesn’t matter where a child of God is, God takes care of a child of God no matter where they are, but because we think we are far from the gospel, we think to do something conditionally. If your walk of faith is difficult, it means your life is difficult, but if your walk of faith is free and fun, it means your life is free and fun. If you don’t live your walk of faith properly, your life is bound to be no fun. If you’re trying to enjoy the pleasure and fun in corruption, your spirit is already seized, and after time passes, you’ll realize that’s not it.
To you and me, God is telling us that, once you go into the land of Canaan, do not follow other gods, that’s in the 10 commandments. But you have to know the reasons why you don’t have to serve other gods. Humans are spiritual beings, so they must only live with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we must live with only the words of Christ. Then, what happens after that? Then you’re bound to receive the answer of receiving houses you did not build and gardens you did not plant.
However, if you change that order, it may seem you’re gaining something in the beginning, but you are bound to fall. If your spiritual state collapses, your mental state is bound to collapse: depression, bipolar disorder, panic attacks, and stress. Then, as enough time passes, you receive enough visible answers that even the people around you realize that.
You must see that your spiritual state is the most important thing. You must be firmly rooted in this, there’s no other method. That’s why worship is important. Worship is not just about sitting here, how great of a time of blessing is this? This is the time to change my invisible spiritual state into blessings. When we begin to receive these spiritual blessings properly, the way we see everything will change.
There are certain things in the world you should do, and other things you should not. You’ll begin to see that many people in the world are enslaved by Satan. Then, those are the people you must save first, and God does that work through my work. God is preparing the future generations with the talents and specialization ever since they’re young so they can go into their job. That’s what this means, once you go into Canaan, once you go into the world after preparing your talents and specialization.
Do not follow the world and the culture of the world; only follow the Word of God. This is what I must experience and enjoy and relay to the next generation. Otherwise, you immigrated here, you make your kids study so much, but it’s all for nothing. Why is that? I’m sure it’s not the case but that’s what the Bible is telling you. They were racing towards success and raising their kids for success but fell into suffering so much that God heard their pleas.
Even after entering into the land of Canaan, they were dragged into Babylon. When you’re dragged into Babylon, it’s not out of nowhere. Just look at the war between Ukraine and Russia. When there’s a war, there’s a massacre, and the saddest people are not the soldiers, but it’s the women and children because they have no strength; the soldiers can go in and trample over them. That’s war.
Through war, the Israelites were dragged into Babylon, the temple was destroyed, it’s almost as if a missile blew it up. They stole all of the gold, they stole all the great leaders. I’m sure a lot of people died on the battlefield. Why do these things happen even though they believe in God? Is God dead? Do you think God was falling asleep at that time? You must understand this well through the Bible. When the invisible work of our spiritual state is devoid of God’s covenant, these are the visible things that happen as a result.
Therefore, do not wait for evangelism, but do it first. If you lose hold of that, you’ll be dragged, if you don’t do world evangelism first, then you will be attacked by the idols and demons in your region. You, first seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, save the multiethnic people. Why do you think God sent people of all nations to your region? He sent you there to save.
“I can’t do that,” Moses said the same thing and God was about to kill Moses. What does that mean? Are you too scared right now? “Then I’m going to kill you,” it means life is in God’s hands. “Do you not have power? I will be with you,” there’s no reason you can give, God will be with me forever with all authority in heaven and on earth. That’s when you begin the works of God transcending time and space and mobilizing angels.
If you’re seized by physical things, you can’t even pray, then you’re enslaved. That’s why we gather together and pray together, we gather in the regions and pray together; we gather in the schools and pray together. It’s not a prayer of, “Give me this or that,” it’s a prayer that establishes God’s Kingdom, it’s a prayer that breaks down the demons and idols in your regions. That’s how shootings will go away, that’s how the addicts will be healed.
They’re not addicted from out of nowhere, but they were already spiritually seized, so they had no choice but to be addicted. That’s not something you can heal with transcendental meditation. They must be filled with only the spirit of Jesus Christ. May you and I become the witnesses who enjoy this first and testify of it.
Prayer
Let us pray for a moment with the Word we have received. God, allow me to be filled with the spirit of Christ today. May the Kingdom of God be established in the region where I live and the heavenly hosts be mobilized so that Satan can be broken down in the region.
Second prayer topic, when we gather together to worship, there’s more power than if we worship alone. It’s the same thing as in a battle, where you attack the opponent with a grand force, it’s greater than one individual’s attack. In order to conquer this region, God raises the church. Otherwise, you can just worship on your own at home and then go to heaven, but that’s not what God wants. May you hold onto the covenant of saving your region. I hope you will stop trying to succeed, and instead, hold onto the covenant of saving the region.
This doesn’t mean you should not succeed; what is your goal? This isn’t telling you to not make money; I’m saying, don’t hold onto that. According to today’s Word, you have to hold onto the correct thing for everything to follow you. This is bound to come to you as answers, this is the blessing of a child of God. So let’s pray again for our region.
Personally, I hope you will draw the 70 regions. For people who have a small vessel, they just pray for themselves and die, and that person will only receive the answers of taking care of their physical needs, then they’ll be very afflicted because that’s the level of their faith. I hope you will hold onto your 70 regions, and by “regions,” everyone has their own meaning or sense of that. You can just draw your own regions however you’d like. Either way 70 regions, “Allow me to find 70 disciples just like myself,” let us pray together.
The Bible tells you to go and make disciples of all nations. The work you’re doing must be connected to all nations. God works according to His Word. God never works according to your thoughts. The work I’m doing, connected to all nations. May you stand as a witness of how God works.
Let us pray for our missions fields, especially the field God has opened for our church, El Salvador. There, the females die in dozens every day because there’s a lot of gangs. It’s to the point where they can overcome the government military, it’s a nation completely covered by darkness. That’s where God has opened up a door. We are planning to go there in July. I listened to the news there, and there’s a lot of mental patients there, and there are also Shamans and witch doctors that are causing demon possession.
I told the disciple who lives in San Miguel to not only pray for the region where she lives, but to save all of South America through El Salvador, because God told us to go from Jerusalem, to all Judea and Samaria, until the ends of the earth. He told us to make disciples of all nations. He said to go to all nations and proclaim the gospel. How can we do that? God gave you your job, so that it’s connected to that, there’s no doubt about it. Let us pray for missions and world evangelization.
Let us pray for the training systems inside of our church. When we have this system setup in the church, God sends the people. After we set up the New Believer training after services, God continued to send Mongolian new believers, because without that class, they wouldn’t be able to understand the pulpit. Also, the nurturing program. Those are the two things we do inside the church. Then, the training I do, and all the regional churches.
So I hope you will stop doing regional churches with only your neighbors, but imagine the 70 regions. All you have to do is hold onto the promise God gave you in faith. You don’t know when your next door neighbors are going to receive salvation, so don’t only look at them, they might receive salvation after you pass. Region by region, there are people who will receive salvation right now, so I hope you will pray for all regions that are associated with you now.
This weekend, we have the children’s spirituality camp, and the assistant pastor has gone over to the Karen people to pick out the leaders who can stand there for spiritual training. We should at least devote our church to missions. We should all go, but she is going first as a representative for the Karen missions, so please pray for her.
Without a doubt, there’s a disciple who can continue, so I hope it will be just like the camp we did for Navajo. Let us pray for the missions conference, the spirituality conference, and the Karen missions.
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 all the people of God who desire to do world evangelization with only Christ, only the Kingdom of God, only the filling of the Holy Spirit, upon all the people and the nations, upon the future generations and their jobs, be with us from now until forevermore always, amen.