Matthew 17:1-18
Former Headquarters Church
Seoul, Korea
Once he came to this earth, Jesus was pierced with anxiety on behalf of the chosen people and the spiritual beings of the spirit world. He embraced the heart of Heaven, which others could not know. Although there were many people at that time who had made preparations to receive the Messiah, there was no one who welcomed the Messiah who came.
Although the religious leaders at that time and the chosen people cherished a great desire, they were in fact very distant from Jesus, the consummation of that desire. They were also distant from God. Because of that, Jesus could not help leading an unspeakably sad life. Not only that, Jesus could not find even one comrade or disciple to whom he could reveal his heart.
The Lord Wandered About, Seeking a Quiet Spot
For that reason, Jesus went around seeking secluded places like the garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives and the top of what became the Mount of the Transfiguration. As we think about this, we cannot help being sorrowful. What is more, we should become people who sympathize with Jesus, who went up to the tops of mountains like these and looked upon the country and the people with sorrow and an anxious mind.
Jesus went up to the top of the Mount of the Transfiguration with his disciples, not to see glory, but to have final negotiations, having put down the cross in front. He came to discuss with Moses and Elijah the matter of his imminent crucifixion. At this time, the beloved disciples should have understood the fact that God was in an infinitely grievous situation as He watched the chosen people being unable to perceive Jesus' shimjung.
Rather than being intoxicated with bewitching glory, you must become people who can experience the fretful shimjung of Jesus. The fact that we today have an enjoyable environment like this is because Heaven has toiled for several thousand years to accomplish it. You should never forget this.
The person who is joyful and contented in the realm of this environment of the present period today is one far away from Heaven. Rather than enjoying the good environment given to you, you should first realize that before that enjoyable environment could appear, there was the unspeakably great, worrisome, toiling shimjung of God. The person who has become a disciple should earnestly pay attention, not to the fact of what took place at the top of the Mount of the Transfiguration, but to the piercingly sorrowful shimjung of Jesus, who had to stand at the crossroads of cosmic negotiations. We should not become like the disciples who rejoiced in the external environment. Rather, we should become true sons and daughters who can comfort Jesus' and God's hearts.
We are Heaven's elite soldiers who must fight as Heaven's vanguard in the national domain. Therefore, we must have the determination and resolution Jesus had at the garden of Gethsemane.
Although the three disciples did not know the internal heart of Jesus, Elijah and Moses knew it. When Jesus was deciding to go through the crucifixion, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him! (Luke 9:35) When Heaven suggested that Jesus go the path of the cross, Jesus bowed his head down with an overwhelmed and awe-stricken heart. If the three disciples had felt the heart of Jesus and Heaven's internal heart, at the summit of the Mount of the Transfiguration, Jesus would not have gone the path of Golgotha alone. We must not become such successors as Peter, John or James at the summit of the Mount of the Transfiguration. We should be the successors who inherit Jesus' heart, situation and life. Today the time has come for us to re-possess the determination Jesus had at the summit of the Mount of the Transfiguration.
Although it is easy for us to express ourselves when we encounter a happy occasion or a difficult task in our lives, Jesus did not express his joy or sorrow centered on himself. When faced with difficulty, Jesus took on the responsibility by himself, without shunting that difficulty off onto Heaven. The ancestors of succeeding generations did so also. Feeling ashamed of himself before Heaven, though he was the son of God, Jesus worried more about Heaven than about going the path of death. The person who, in marked contrast to Jesus, tries to take glory centering on himself, will be separated from Heaven when facing a difficult task. You must know this.
The Disciples Did Not Know Jesus' Heart
Jesus did not enjoy himself at the summit of the Mount of the Transfiguration. It must have been a tragic scene. You today should not perceive this fact centering on yourselves.
Seeing the figure of Jesus shine with luminescence, at the summit of the Mount of the Transfiguration Peter suggested that Jesus stay there forever, saying, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. (Luke 9:33) Although the three disciples tried to enjoy themselves in the environment, Jesus' heart was not like that. Although the environment that appeared at the summit of the Mount of the Transfiguration was a good one, Jesus' heart in that environment was pierced with the internal historical sorrow and the grief of the future. However, the three disciples were not far-sighted enough to know that the heart of Jesus was overcome with this kind of grief.
All of that took place unseen. Steeped in the historical sorrow of the past, you must go beyond that to where in the end you can hold onto God through the mediation of Jesus and reach negotiations with Him. You must also realize that behind this grieving race there is a set of people who on behalf of the race are pouring out their souls, having built a hidden altar.
The person who sheds tears on behalf of the denomination is performing the duty of a high priest. Jacob offered prayers that no one knew about for 21 years, because he knew that God's providence was linked from Abraham through the next three generations. He walked the course of indemnity for the sake of the race in silence. Moses also carried out his forty years of life in the palace of the Pharaoh and forty years of prayerful life in the wilderness of Midian for the sake of the race.
If there is a denomination that says sorrowful prayers and a man who sheds tears in relation to the race, they have already been given the duty of a high priest. When Heaven asks you if you have ever uttered a prayer of negotiations before Heaven with a pressing heart, what kind of answer can you give? You must become the capable workers now who can take responsibility for the last days with determination.
Even if you are not in such a good environment, you should still carry out the responsibility in the environment you are in. When many believers assume responsibility for various regions, who are like Jesus at the summit of the Mount of the Transfiguration, and come forth, then and only then will Christ's resentment be dissolved. Today we must become the true children who can alleviate the sorrow of Jesus' and God's hearts by comprehending more than the three disciples in the old days.
Although then and now are a far distance from each other in time, when you become a successor with a direct connection to Jesus' heart who can comfort him, you will then be able to alleviate his great indignation. If such a person emerges, the glory of the summit of the Mount of the Transfiguration will be handed over to that person. When Heaven's elite soldiers fighting Satan become Peter, John and James, representing the race, the denomination and the tribe, and a state is formed with a race composed of such people, the one will of God will be accomplished.
This gathering of ours today is not coincidental. Knowing that we have come forth upon the altar of the meritorious service of Jesus and the prophets and sages who toiled in the course of history, we must possess a mind of devotion greater than that of Jesus and the three disciples. Heaven is searching for such a gathering.
Regardless of whether we are being driven out and harassed, we must become champions who act for the good of the nation and the world, rather than for our own salvation. You never know if the three disciples and the spiritual beings in the spirit world are watching our gathering today. If there is a person who, centering on God, has a historical and universal resolution, the will of Heaven and earth will be handed over to this person. God will attain His will through this type of individual. Because Jesus established an immutable central standard before Heaven, Heaven could not abandon Jesus.
A Truthful Friend of Jesus
Each of us today is inexpressibly precious. For that reason, if one person goes wrong, the trace of bitter resentment will remain with posterity for eternity. Therefore, we must become qualified in accordance with the central standard that is unchanging throughout history and eternity. By inheriting the will Jesus cherished, we should become testifiers to history, the current age, and the future. Furthermore, you should become people who attest to the fact that Jesus came forth forming relations of victory, no matter what kind of age or environment you are in.
Have you ever moved your hands, body and feet on behalf of the people of the nation and the world? Looking at the Christians of the world who are like the Israelites wandering about in the wilderness, we should feel again the heart of Jesus 2,000 years ago. We should realize that God feels more sorrow because Heaven sees all sides. Sorrow and adversities are not the issue. You should become people who can connect the present to the future, not disciples who run away when they have to decide whether to live or die. If the command at the summit of the Mount of the Transfiguration is upon you, use it as a blasting fuse of life to accomplish the will of the limitless world in the aspects of real life. Today we must become the historical vanguard who will be responsible for life.
If the heart of Jesus at the summit of the Mount of the Transfiguration had appeared here, the flame of revolution would have come about. In other words, the issue is whether the heavenly heart has been set up within the realm of life. Now we must pray, but we must pray with concrete content. When you feel Heaven's limitless heart, sorrow and limitless mental suffering, you will be able to relate with the administration of history, the current age, and the future.
The fact that Jesus could gallantly mount the cross was because he understood the sorrow and anxiety of God. Because of that, he could ask God's blessing for the sake of the people of the nation, the whole of humanity and even for Satan. Although many people have wandered about seeking God's heart, only one person, Jesus, understood. God cannot give up the ideology of history, the age and the future. For that reason, today we must indemnify all the historical characteristics of sin and evil.
If we today come to know God's hidden internal heart like this, even if you cry continuously for a month or a year, the tears will not stop welling up. We should experience the heart of Heaven in such a manner.
The time has come when we have to fight a decisive battle before the people of the nation. The persons who actually do so will be blessed representing the people of the nation. You must realize that your mission is that huge.
When you form relations with the limitless world, Jesus and God will work through you. All of the creation must go through our hands. Therefore, you must attain the blessing bestowed upon Adam and Eve by God, who took delight in creating. Each of you should become a friend of the Jesus who agonized at the top of the Mount of the Transfiguration and received tribulation at Golgotha.
