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True Repentance That Is Not About Prosperity, but Being Born Again as a New Creation

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  “Are you a reed shaken by the wind?” This was the question Jesus asked when John the Baptist, imprisoned and pressed by his own limitations, found his certainty that Jesus was the Christ beginning to waver. Jesus said that if one doubts that the God who knows where the wind comes from and where it goes—the Creator who formed heaven and earth with His finger—has come to dwell among us as the Christ, even the greatest man born of woman would be smaller than the least in the kingdom of God. Cynical men in power, who schemed to protect their privileges, killed John the Baptist because he pursued reform and righteousness. Even today, there exist powerful religious groups that reject the truth that Jesus is the Christ, capturing us with philosophy and empty deceit and preventing us from following Christ. The only way to reform religion in this age filled with chaos, emptiness, and darkness is not through John the Baptist’s sense of justice nor through the law, but only through Christ w...
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Do Not Stumble—Come to a Conclusion with the Absolute Uniqueness of Christ

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  Do not stumble. Jesus said, “Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of me." John the Baptist testified about Jesus, saying, "The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” He clearly and realistically warned that Jesus is our Savior, the Christ, and that those who do not believe and repent will become like chaff burned with unquenchable fire. Yet John the Baptist, who was imprisoned for rebuking the injustice of King Herod and Herodias, could not overcome the pressure when Jesus did not immediately judge and remove evil and he stumbled. “Jesus, are you truly the Messiah Christ of Genesis 3:15, the One who promised to come?” In response, Jesus did not try to persuade or explain. Instead, He opened the doors of the field and showed evidence of God’s work: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the gospel is preached to the poor. If one does not understand the existence of Satan—the accuser who...
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Breaking Old Nature Idolatry, Genesis 3:15, Covenant of Christ’s Blood, Removing Inner Idols, Victory of the Cross

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  God’s first miracle in subduing the land of idols was turning the Nile River—an idol of life and economic prosperity to the Egyptian people, and the very foundation of royal authority to Pharaoh—into blood. When the idol that symbolized Egypt’s abundance and power—the Nile—was turned into blood, Pharaoh summoned the Egyptian magicians, who struck the waters and changed them into blood as well. But the river became even more corrupt and smelled so bad. Satan’s strategy is to pretend to solve problems—to imitate or cover them up—yet in the end, he only makes the problem worse. The world claims to heal anxiety with medication, but instead produces severe addiction. The church cries, “Lord, Lord,” yet fails to change the framework of the old self—and therefore cannot enjoy the Kingdom of God, growing more and more powerless and impoverished. The reason people worship idols is fear. Break free from the foolishness of trying to change the environment without changing the root of the pr...
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“Do Not Weep”: God’s Intervention That Began in the Procession of Death

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  “Do not weep.” To the widow of Nain, who had lost her beloved only son and was standing in a procession of death, Jesus said, "Don't cry." And with a hand of compassion, he raised the dead young man to life: "Young man, I say to you, get up!" In the midst of a mourning procession of death, God’s intervention that gives eternal life began. No matter how beautiful or righteous a life you live, if you do not stay self-controlled and alert, you will end up falling victim to the adversary, the devil, who prowls around looking for someone to devour—stealing, killing, and destroying the souls of all people. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. Do not weep before problems. Instead, diagnose yourself soberly through the Word of God, and with the hope that God can do all things in any circumstance, arise and shine the light. The gospel given by God to solve the problem of death, the problem of disease, and the problem of spiritual inheritance pass...
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The Fulfillment of the Covenant: The Time of the Law Has Ended, and the Time of Grace Has Begun

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  God told Moses to go into Pharaoh’s palace and challenge him with faith. But standing before Pharaoh, whose heart grew harder by the day, Moses struggled with unbelief, thinking, “Could this really happen?” Do not live with a “what if” faith. Make a decisive commitment of faith. God’s greater plan in hardening Pharaoh’s heart was to open Moses’ spiritual eyes—to reveal that behind stubborn and hardened hearts, there are forces of darkness at work. Therefore, God was teaching Moses to imprint the covenant, take root in it, and make it his very nature. The God who promised to crush the serpent’s head is the offspring of the woman, the Messiah, the Creator God Himself. If we remain within this covenant, God will surely work. Lift up the staff and act. Moses’ staff, bearing covenantal authority, swallowed up all the staffs of Egypt’s magicians. Through this, God revealed who the true Sovereign is, even within Pharaoh’s palace. Miracles are part of the process of fulfilling the covena...
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The Roman Centurion’s Realistic Faith That Moved the Heart of Jesus

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  The faith of the Roman centurion, who Jesus commended, was real and tangible. Tangible faith moves the heart of Jesus. Even though the centurion, stationed in Israel under Roman occupation, held immense wealth and power, he loved the people of Israel and built a synagogue.  When his servant fell ill and was near death, he sent friends to plead with Jesus for healing. This centurion, who had killed and plundered on the battlefield by the command of the Roman emperor, recognized that he was a sinner so profoundly that he felt unworthy to approach Jesus himself. "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But say the word, and my servant will be healed." Hearing this confession, Jesus was deeply moved: "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." Faith that acknowledges Jesus as the ruler of the world and the Almighty God is the kind of tangible faith that touches Jesus’ heart. Possessing tangible faith builds a house of hope in the hea...
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The Beginning of Holistic Evangelism That Shines the Nations with the Light of Christ

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  Arise, shine. Become shining and beautiful Christians spreading the light of Christ to the nations. Then the risen Jesus Christ, who conquered death and is seated at the right hand of God’s throne, will work together with us and clearly testify the Word of promise through accompanying signs. In Jesus Christ is life, and that life is the light of all people. Though darkness covers the earth and deep darkness the peoples, the light of Christ has shone upon us. When Christ reigns over us, the smallest will become a thousand, and the weakest a mighty nation. The One who accomplishes this is the living God, Jesus Christ. No matter how great a ruler or king arises in this world, there is always a limit. No matter how great a prophet appears, there is always a limit. No matter how great a priest serves, there is always a limit. But Jesus Christ, who came to us with three offices as King, Priest, and Prophet, is the Alpha and the Omega, the Almighty God without limit. Jesus Christ came i...
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A House on Sand or a House on the Rock: The Difference Between Hypocrisy and True Faith

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  During our lives, the rain may fall, the floods may rise, the winds may blow, and unexpected suffering may come upon us. But what truly matters is whether we collapse or stand when the torrent rushes in. A house built on sand collapses, but a house built on the rock stands firm. Enduring alone is not enough. Even if we call out to Jesus, “Lord, Lord,” if we do not do what Jesus says, it is like building a house on sand. When rain falls and floods come, it strikes the torrent and collapses. Jesus Christ is the Rock. When we lay a solid foundation of faith and build our house on the Rock, we can be bold even in the midst of tribulation in this world. Jesus Christ has overcome the world. Jesus teaches that the spiritually blind and hypocrites cannot build a good house upon the Rock. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are."...
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The Exodus Begins When We Break Unbelief and Return as Children of the Promise

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Abandon the unbelief that cannot trust God’s promises, and return as a child of the promise. To the Israelites, whose hearts were crushed under harsh labor, God spoke clearly: "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh." “I have heard your groaning, and I have remembered my covenant.” “I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.  I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. The LORD God promised that He would bring us out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and give us the land He swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as a possession.  Today, the living God still works by the Holy Spirit—the same yesterday, today, and forever. Yet unbelief arises when we judge everything through our own perspective, evaluating God by our scars, our standards, and our circumstances— falling into anger, division, conflict, and limitation because we refuse to trust His promise. Even whe...
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Jesus’ All-Night Prayer to Call Disciples Who Know Their Need for the Gospel

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Before calling the twelve disciples and appointing them as apostles, Jesus prayed to God all night. After establishing his disciples, Jesus healed many people who were suffering under the oppression of the evil spirits. True salvation is receiving the rightful Lord of our souls. Jesus Christ, who died as a sinner despite being innocent, was an unjust victim, yet he is the true Savior who willingly endured death on the cross for the salvation of all humanity. Without salvation, the monster within us compels us to live according to our own standards. This monster becomes a factory generating endless problems as a greedy liar and murderer, abandoning truth for falsehood. The monster of darkness drags life into total darkness; the monster of chaos destroys direction and leads to addiction; the monster of emptiness leaves us perpetually unsatisfied.  We cannot overcome them by human effort, so Jesus called his disciples and gave them the mission to drive out these monsters through the g...
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