When we pray and receive grace there are many things that will possibly lead us to the sin nature and pride. Therefore, we need to possess the strong power of God to weigh down and abate pride and the sin nature. If our spiritual ability to weigh down sin and pride is weak, if our spiritual power and senses become weak, the church will become a democratic church. But the church must not run as a democratically governed organization but with the power of the Holy Spirit. We must be strong spiritually, mentally, physically and with our minds. All these areas must become one and we must press forward.
We must possess the big faith to resolve problems. In order to obtain the ability to properly discern, we need to view circumstances, things, problems, and people from our maximum faith and spirituality. Jesus called and chose the disciples whom He had desired. In the book of Luke, chapter six and the book of Matthew, chapter four, the Lord prayed all throughout the night and He had chosen the twelve disciples. Just because a person wants to be the Lord’s disciple does not mean the person can become one. When Jesus desires to choose His disciples, He will choose and call His disciples at His own timing.
He chose His disciples as He had prayed all night. When Jesus called His disciples, He observed three characteristics. The first characteristic is those who desire to be close to Jesus. The people who desire a close relationship with Him. The people who want to be with Jesus all the time (desire to spend time with Him). The people who desire to eat, drink, and spend the nights together. It does not mean that you become emotional or feel about Him. This means that you share and participate everything with Jesus. But all the disciples’ thoughts, wants and minds were different from each other. But Jesus had chosen them because He saw the potential from them.
We are with God and God is with us. But we all have our own thoughts, wants and will that are different from others. When the areas of our soul and flesh becomes strong, our own thoughts, wants and will will weight down spirituality.
The second characteristic to become His disciple and in order to be close with Jesus is that we must not be easily offended and misunderstand one another. When you try to be close to someone to become good friends, but if the other person treat you sharply, is easily misunderstood, react wrongly misinterpreting good intentions, and become emotional as being offended, both party will experience difficulty. When we hold a biased view, the conversation will be very hard. We need to spiritually discern ourselves in this matter.
Third, Jesus Himself measures. Even with Judas Iscariot, Jesus had already known he would be sold out by him. But Jesus still gave Judas an opportunity and the ability to move forward with Him. Jesus let Judas Iscariot eat, drink, and let him perform the work like the other disciples. Jesus had desired to give the same opportunity to Judas. It is very difficult to make a proper faithful disciple. It is very difficult to encounter good people. When we spiritually become close and have an intimate relationship with Jesus, we will receive special privilege and favor/grace. But in order to receive special privilege, favor/grace, we will need to pay a severe price.
What is the Lord’s desired mission? The Lord had chosen the twelve disciples. But the twelve disciples was not enough for Him. The Lord needed the people who will properly explain and demonstrate the Word of God theoretically and systematically. After the Lord had chosen His disciples, He commanded them to receive the Holy Spirit. Only then, they will have the power to witness from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the end of the earth. But because we have not receive the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to witness from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the end of the earth. Even within the disciples, there were different level.
God has chosen Saul, who had persecuted the people of God. After God touched him, he became Paul. After God touched him, he put everything down. He was analistic, systematic, and administrative. But he completely surrendered to Jesus. Like how Apostle Paul used to be, even if one may appear possessing spiritual power, it is wrong spiritual power. It is from the Old testament. If what I possess gives others a hard time harassing and making them tired, it is because what I possess is not spiritual. When Apostle Paul encountered Jesus, God’s Spirit began to govern and lead Him. When the power of the Spirit of God is not in you, you will still be bound to your conventional ways. If you have truly encountered Jesus, you will be able to put everything down like Apostle Paul. He then found His identity.
God said Apostle Paul will be the Apostle for the Gentiles. He began to travel from country to country to meet the Gentiles. As he traveled, he encountered storms, tests, was robbed, endangered through rivers and oceans, faced hunger, beatings and etc. As he traveled encountering these conditions, he became more spiritual obtaining more spiritual freedom. Apostle Paul was able to handle any type of gentile or people. He preached according to the people’s condition and circumstances. He was able to preach the core message accordingly.
As we encounter more people and carry out more of His work, more missions will be given. We will receive the mission that will need to be carried out as a team. We will realize our core mission, and be upgraded to the powerful mission or work. Our mission or work will gradually be enlarged and powerful. We will continuously and gradually expand our mission and work. Your spiritual power and discernment is critical. No matter how big your church may grow, once the Spirit of God leaves, it will become a social club.
What is the core? It is the mission or work that was given by the Lord. The more Apostle Paul encountered people, the more he went deeper spiritually. But if the disciples of God settle their lives down in Jerusalem living a comfortable life, God will break that conventional way. It is important to find out our mission/calling.
You need to ask yourself, “What kind of work should I do? What is my mission? Where should I go and serve?”
Apostle Paul’s mission was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles (이방인). Your mission or appointed task may be working with others as one team. Maybe you are an assistant. There is a personal or individual mission or task given to you. There is a solo mission or task (단독사명) given by God. There are some people who claim to be called by God working personally (개인사명) but their personal work or task did not work out. This means these people did not properly sort out (discern)분류작업 their mission or task.
Just because you have a calling does not mean you will become a person with a task or mission. A person may fall into deception as he/she prays but due to lack of discernment. A person can receive a false mission or task and believe it is the one for him/her.
In the last days, high ranking demons will come to Christians. Those who have received the holy gift of God, these high ranking demons will come to counterfeit or to corrupt the gifts so that the gifts can become false. The forces of the demons will come in various ways. If the servants who are called to preach and teach the word of God fail to manifest the presence and anointing of God in the sermon, it is because Satan has inspired and worked within that preaching and teaching. Some people pray but there is no manifestation of the power of God, the presence of God, anointing of God and no prayer is answered. There are high ranking demons within the churches to prevent the christians to perform combative, powerful and spiritual prayer. We need to demolish those kinds of demons.
Even if we have received God’s grace and was blessed by God if we continuously insist our own thoughts and any kind of fleshly desire or deed, the mission that was granted by God will be shortened, and we will not be able to do the greater work of the Lord. Because the Lord’s disciples had their own Jewish way of thinking (사고방식), it took a long time despite the Lord’s teaching and instruction. The Lord decided to find a person with great faith and this person was a persecutor, Saul(핍박자). Even though he was a legalist, he also had great passion. But when God found Saul, Jesus personally encountered him. When Apostle Peter determined to break out of his conventional thinking and ways, God sent him to the house of Cornelius and through Apostle Peter God poured down the Holy Spirit.
If you have any stubborn areas that require you to become determined and break out, unless you break out of it, these stubborn areas will hinder you from receiving the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. You will have to put everything down in order for the Lord to work for you and the things in your lives. At one point in time, 80% of the people in the church left. They were the ones who used to pray a lot. They prayed for many hours but could not reach the level where they could have received their blessing. Instead, countless problems occurred for them. Some people left as they slapped and spat in my face. Some Left as they said I had become corrupted, deceived, said I was a liar and misled. I then repented as I confessed to the Lord, “Yes Lord, it is true. Please, You take care of it”. The people who left became common people of the world.
Receiving prayer answers is a great blessing. Once God blessed us with pilgrimage trip to Israel. We have a good amount of people went on the trip together. But within a group, during the pilgrimage trip, people made small groups and secretly planned to leave the church behind my back. But because the heart of the Lord was created in me, like how the Lord had embraced, accepted and continuously gave many chances.
The Lord continuously gives me visions and dreams of the Lord’s church congregational members making a trip to hold holy fire conference to abroad. There were times when the church was empty because all members were gone to the other countries to hold fire conference. Then they finish holding the revival for about a month, they all came back to the Lord’s Church and had service again. The Lord is planning to give us a private jet and a pilot. In the future, God will greatly work through the Holy Fire Ministry. But until then, we all need to put everything down and we need to completely focus on prayer.
The people whom God had called and granted missions, they are always in the spiritual battle. There are no churches who are going all throughout the world and minister with holy fire. The Lord has begun writing the New Days of Acts with us. When we willing to attack Satan and his forces, God will be with us. The Holy Fire Ministry is doing the ministry that reveals the identity of Satan and demolishes it. For this reason, the Lord is always powerfully with us.
When things don’t go right, sometimes discern and you need to change your prayer. In order for the will of God accomplishes within us, we must pray a lot. Through the power of God, He has begun to establish the branch Lord’s church all over the countries and regions.
Sermon by Pastor Kim, Yong Doo
Head pastor of the Lord’s Church, Korea
Author of Baptize by Blazing Fire book series
Translated by Pastor Steve & Yoojin Kim
Pastors of Fire of God Church in San Francisco (Fremont)
Fire of God Church is a branch church of the Lord’s Church, Korea and is under the spiritual covering of head Pastor Kim, Yong Doo