[Scripture]
[Genesis 1: 1]
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
[Introduction]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there are many people who profess they believe in God, but many of them do not feel God’s love and do not have assurance of salvation.
When asked, “Who is the God in whom you believe?” many people cannot answer anything confidently.
A child should know about his father. He should be able to talk to his Father and share his love with him.
While professing you are a child of God, if you do not know about God the Father and have fellowship with Him, it is difficult to have the assurance of salvation and lead a life in Christ being full of the Holy Spirit.
The message of the cross preached in Sunday morning services clearly teaches you about God the Father and His providence for us. I hope you will realize what kind of person God the Father is through today’s message.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become God’s children who are able to praise the glory of God from the depth of your heart and share love with Him knowing His heart and will.
[Body]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, members of the 2,400 branch churches all over the world in the United States, Canada, Honduras, Peru, Argentina, Germany, France, Russia, Belgium, Netherlands, and African countries including Kenya, Uganda, and Congo, and in China, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, India, Mongolia, Egypt, and Korean branch churches and local sanctuary members, those who are attending the service on the Internet all over the world, and viewing audiences,
In the last session, I told you that God is the one and only Creator of all things. I told you the evidence of the Creator is clearly seen in His creatures and in His powerful works that cannot be done by men. Now, in this second message we meet the God that is “I AM WHO I AM.”
When they hear that God created the universe and all things in it, there are some people who ask: “Who made God the Creator”, “How long has God existed and what was there before He came into being?”
About this, Exodus 3:14 says, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.'” Nobody gave birth to God or created Him.
God has existed even before eternity that human beings cannot fathom and will exist through out eternity.
But in the experience and knowledge of men, there is a beginning and an end to everything.
For example, men and animals have a beginning and end. They begin by being born into this world and end when they die and leave it. Even an old antique piece must have a beginning when it was made. All historical facts have beginning and end, too.
So, people wonder how God came into being, thinking that God should also have some kind of beginning.
But if you can think beyond the limit of human thoughts, it would be rather strange for the absolute being, God the Creator, to have any kind of beginning.
If God came into being from a certain point in time, there must have been something before that.
It means somebody else must have made God or that God Himself is not an absolute being. Thus, if God is the absolute and perfect god, He obviously cannot have a beginning or an end, and He must have existed by Himself at the origin.
Ladies and gentleman, what kind of form did God take on before the beginning of time, and how did He exist?
In today’s text, the ‘beginning’ refers to the time when God existed alone before everything was created. It is before the eternity that men, as mere creatures, cannot understand with their limited experience and knowledge.
It is written that “The Word is God,” about the God who has existed from before the beginning.
God did not have any form but existed as the Word itself, and this was the ‘voice’.
Also, 1 John 1:5 says, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”
Here, light and darkness have spiritual meanings. On the one hand, ‘darkness’ refers to everything that is not truth such as unrighteousness, unlawfulness, sins, and evil.
On the other hand, ‘light’ refers to everything that belongs to truth such as love, goodness, and righteousness. In the light there is no sin or evil.
God was not only spiritually the light but also existed as light in reality.
God was the Word who existed in the form of unimaginably beautiful and mysterious light with a chiming sound from within.
He existed as a clear and transparent, sweet and soft, yet mighty voice that could ring the whole universe in an extremely beautiful light that men cannot fathom.
As light and voice, at a certain point God conceived creation of human beings to have those with whom He could share His love.
In order to fulfill His plan for men, first of all, He divided Himself into the Trinity. From God the Father were divided from Him: the Son Jesus, who would later become the Savior of mankind, and the Holy Spirit, who is the Helper.
The three entities came to exist as separate beings, but their origin is the same. That is why we say, “God the Trinity.”
When the Trinity divided from the Father God, He took on a specific form.
Genesis 1:26 explains about that form. It is said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.”
Namely, God the Trinity created men in His own image.
Of course, the image is not only outer appearance but also the heart of God.
But since the Fall of Adam, man’s heart no longer resembled the heart of God and man fell away from God. I will explain more about this in detail later.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, unlike men who are creatures, God is “I AM WHO I AM.” He existed before eternity and will exist beyond eternity.
The God who is “I AM WHO I AM,” is the only true and perfect God. Him alone should we worship and love. Some people don’t know this and worship idols that are made by men.
They shape them from metal, wood, or stone and then they bow down before them.
If your children do not recognize you but call other people ‘mom’ and ‘dad’, how sad you would be!
In the same way, when people do not seek God who is their Creator, but worship idols that are made by men, would it not cause our God to be heartbroken as well!
Therefore, God hates idol-worshipping. Exodus 20:3-5 says, “You shall have no other gods before me. [4] You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. [5] You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,”
Only God who exists by Himself is the true God and we have to worship Him only. Here, we have to remember one more thing.
It is a fact that it is not possible for anyone to have been a parent of Jesus, who came to this earth as the Savior, because His origin is the same as God the Creator.
Of course, for Jesus to come to this earth in flesh, He was born of the body of the Virgin Mary. But it is said in Matthew 1:18, “His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.”
He was not conceived by the combination of a sperm of a father and an egg of a mother like all men, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Virgin Mary was just as instrument to bare the Savior, and God just used her body for the moment.
Therefore, we can find that Jesus never called the Virgin Mary ‘mother’.
Instead, He always called her, ‘woman’. It is because a human being as a mere creature could not become the mother of God the Creator.
Some people worship the Virgin Mary just as they worship God.
But only God, as the Trinity, can be the object of worship. I hope you will only worship and give glory to God who is “I AM WHO I AM.”
Friends: Thirdly, God is omniscient and omnipotent, the all-knowing and all-powerful God. In the Bible there are many records about those who experienced with faith the power of God.
The Red Sea was parted and the sun and the moon stood still by God’s power. Fire from heaven fell down and it began to rain after a severe drought for three and a half years.
Jesus, whose origin is God Himself, manifested the very works of the omnipotent God.
He revived the dead and healed diseases and infirmities. He calmed down the wind and the sea and walked on water.
Even after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the power of God was manifested through the apostles. Especially in case of Peter, people brought the sick to him hoping that even his shadow might fall on the sick person.
In case of the apostle Paul, handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits departed.
The power of these apostles was so great that God’s works took place even through their shadows and handkerchiefs.
And Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
As said, the power of God manifested through Jesus Christ did not only take place at that time but it can be manifested even today.
These powerful works have been constantly taking place in this church since its founding.
Every week, we receive testimonies of healing of incurable diseases from all over the world. Moreover, people experience God’s amazing works even though they do not receive my prayer in person but only on the Internet or TV screen.
There are many couples who could not have a child for many years of marriage but were blessed to have children after receiving prayer.
Those who are in other countries send their prayer requests and photos through fax or email. When I pray laying my hands on the photos, God’s power is manifested transcending time and space.
Among them, a Pakistani girl named Cynthia was dying of a disease called Celiac.
She was too weak to even have surgery, and doctors had given up on her. But, her elder sister, who was then in Korea at the time, brought Cynthia’s photo to me and received my prayer.
From the moment I prayed on that photo, Cynthia began to recover her health, and soon she was released from the hospital. When I conduct revival meetings or overseas crusades, I cannot pray for everybody in person, so I just pray for everyone from the pulpit.
By that prayer countless people have been healed at once and glorified God.
In the Peru Crusade in December 2004, a 21-year-old young man, Immanuel Mora, was healed of AIDS.
After Immanuel was diagnosed with AIDS, he lost all hope in life and lived in great pain. In his beautiful youth, he now only was waiting for death.
Meanwhile, he heard the news about the Peru Crusade and attended it with his grandmother who had uterine cancer.
On the first day of the crusade, when Immanuel saw countless people being healed and giving testimonies after receiving prayer, he also gained faith that God is omnipotent.
The next day, he went to the bathroom while he was listening to the message. He saw the proof of God’s work. He had constant diarrhea, but he had a normal bowel movement for the first time in two months. Later, he was re-tested, and the number of his immune cells had recovered to normal levels.
His grandmother had vaginal bleeding before, but from the third day of the crusade, her bleeding stopped.
They just received the prayer right from the pulpit the same as the rest of the people.
But just by receiving that prayer, the power of the omnipotent God fell on them, and AIDS and uterine cancer were healed immediately.
Also, numerous people who could not come to the crusade location in person were also healed while watching the crusade on the Internet and through satellite TV, public TV broadcasts, and cable TV.
That is why we receive testimonies from all over the world by fax and email after each crusade.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the power of the omnipotent God is shown not only through healing works. When we ask with faith, we can see wonders.
A wonder is controlling or changing the weather and the conditions of the sky. Our church members have witnessed many times God’s control of the weather when we have outdoor events including summer retreats.
By fervent prayer very heavy rain was stopped at once and at an outdoor event, prayer brought clouds from all four sides to block the scorching sunshine.
We experience wonders in overseas crusades also. For example, in the Philippines crusade in 2001, it was a rainy season there.
According to the weather forecast, two hurricanes were coming towards our crusade’s location. The local people were worried seeing the strong winds of these two typhoons.
But before the crusade, I made a bold proclamation in the press conference. I said, “The typhoons will go away or die out so that they will not affect our crusade.”
By the confession of faith, one of the typhoons died out before it arrived in Philippines, and the other changed its course.
We had clear weather during the crusade, and the locals said it was a miracle. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, other than these, there are just so many evidences of the omnipotent God that we cannot talk about them all even with several days.
We can no longer count all the miracles and signs in the healings of diseases and infirmities or the events of extraordinary power in the wonders of clouds, stars, and rainbows.
I hope all of you and all viewing audiences will believe in the omnipotent God. Then, you will also be able to experience His work transcending time and space.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God is not only omnipotent but also omniscient. He knows the heart of man and things to come.
God, who knows everything, lets His men who communicate with Him know about the things to come and prophecy.
Amos 3:7 says, “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”
As said, there are many prophecies in the Bible that were revealed to the prophets by God.
There are detailed prophecies about the coming of the Savior, the destruction and reestablishment of Israel, and the world situations during the last days. The prophecies in the Bible have been fulfilled as stated, and there are some things that will be fulfilled as we move towards the end.
Even today, God lets those who communicate with Him know about future things. In our church, I delivered to you many prophecies revealed by God.
For example, in 1987, I prophesied that candidate Tae-woo Roh would be elected as the president, and then that Young Sam Kim and Dae Joong Kim would be presidents.
Even for the current president, I had already given you some clues.
I prophesied the winning the election of Reagan in the US and of Prime Minister Thatcher in the UK.
God let us know about the deaths of India’s woman Prime Minister Gandhi and Chernenko, the Secretary General of the former Soviet Union. Recently, God also let me know about the death of a leader in the Middle East that was hidden even to his entourage. I prophesied about Kosovo in 1999, and how this incident would reoccur.
I have been prophesying about the oil prices and situations in the Middle East, and that the world will be divided into three main powers including the US and Europe.
I also prophesied that the “Sunshine Policy” would fail and that North Korea would open its doors and then close again.
Besides, God gave us so many prophecies and each of them was and is being fulfilled as said.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God who knows the flow of world history also knows the heart and future of each of you.
I hope you will commit your life into the hands of the omniscient and omnipotent God. Then, God will lead you only to the way of prosperity and blessings.
[Conclusion]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, and viewing audiences, John 4:48 says, “‘Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,’ Jesus told him, ‘you will never believe.'”
Even today, God manifests many kinds of works like signs and wonders and prophecies of things that are impossible by man. Through these, even those who did not believe are able to acknowledge God. Those who already have faith can have even greater faith.
When I conduct overseas crusades, the manifestation of God’s power is the reason countless souls accept the Lord and are saved. Just by a 20- plus-minute sermon and prayers for a couple of minutes, numerous people are healed and testify. Hundreds and thousands of people have filled the stage to testify.
Then, not only those who see this on location, but also those who are watching on the Internet and satellite TV come to acknowledge the living God. Although the religions, cultures, languages, and races are different, they open their hearts and accept the Lord before the power of God.
If any of you do not believe in God yet, I urge you to believe in Him at this moment.
And I hope you will also experience the power of the omnipotent God in your life.
I hope even those who already have faith will have a stronger faith and meet and experience God every day.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will glorify God and lead so many souls to the way of salvation with your testimonies.