Passage

Luke 5: 38

"But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins."

Introduction

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

This service is offered as 2008 Church Workers' Devotional Service.

Let us give all thanks and glory to God the Father who has given us precious duties and let us offer this devotional service. Church workers are not only pastors and full time Levites, but also elders, senior deaconesses, deacons, deaconesses, and junior deaconesses, and other leaders.

The reason why a church has these positions is to serve the church and the members.

When we appoint these people, we don't look at their physical conditions first.

Rather than those who are talented and who work well, we first choose those with faith. We appoint those who can work faithfully with the hope for heavenly rewards and not working for any monetary gain.

They should have the willingness to sacrifice their lives with the thanks for the love and grace of God they received.

This attitude is even more important for the pastors and Levites. Psalm 84:10 says, "For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." When you have this burning heart like this, you volunteer to become pastors or Levites.

And after you become a pastor or a Levite who is receiving the pay from church, you have heavier responsibilities.

You should have more fervor for sanctification and faithfulness to set a good example to other members.

It's the same with other positions. Your positions as elders or senior deaconesses will be meaningful only when you fulfill your duty well and bear fruits.

When you first receive the position, most people make up their mind with gratitude. "How did God give this blessing to such a person like me? I will be faithful with all my heart and effort."

I hope your first fervor will not change. Your fervor should be more and more everyday. Just like the title of today's message, it should be renewed. In this message, I will talk to you about three aspects that are needed for you to be renewed.

Mostly it is for the full time Levites, but it is also for all those who have positions in the church.

I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that you will fulfill your duties with renewed heart day by day so that you will be proper workers in the sight of God.

Body

Dear devotees and members, for you to be renewed, first of all, you have to be truthful.

You believe in the almighty God. He searches everything with His blazing eyes, and He knows even the deep things of men.

If you believe in such a God, how can you try to cheat Him?

But if you do not accomplish truthfulness, you may try to cheat God, although you profess that you believe. It was the case with Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to Peter at the time of early church.

They thought of selling their possessions and giving to God, which means they had some faith.

But as desire came into them, they lied before God.

To cheat the church and to cheat a powerful servant of God is same as cheating God.

It's the same today, even if you have positions and you are workers, you may act with falsehood before God, if you do not accomplish truthfulness in heart.

You cheat your working hours, cheat in financial matters, and cheat the fruit of revival or achievements in your work.

You may pretend to love the shepherd, even though you really don't. You may be hypocritical having no faith in you.

You may not only cheat others but also yourself. You don't realize that you are a hypocrite, but only think that you are a faithful worker. Sometimes, to show your achievement, you try to do some works that are of no benefit for the kingdom of God.

Though the workforce and money of the church are wasted, you just insist that it is good for the kingdom of God.

There should not be any of these malpractices.

One of the reasons why God gave us the reorganization is to correct these malpractices before we go into Canaan Sanctuary.

The reason why He made a new line to get approvals is to control these things. It doesn't mean you have to pay attention to the eyes of other people.

If you work faithfully when someone is looking or when there is an overseer, but if you don't work faithfully when you are alone, it is far from truthfulness in itself.

Ephesians 5:9 says, "...for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth." You have to be faithful with love for the Father God and bear truthful fruits for Him.

I hope you will fulfill your duties to the best of your ability in your given departments and duties.

By doing so, I urge you to be able to stand before God boldly with your fruits of truth.

Dear devotees and members, for you to be renewed, secondly, you must have service.

The reason why you receive a position in the church is to serve the members.

The word 'deacon' is originally from Greek, and it literally means 'servant'. If you become an elder and a senior deaconess, you should set a better example of service than when you were a deacon. It is even more so with pastors and Levites who are paid to do the church works.

Not only those members who have faith, but also you have to serve those with weak faith. Among the full-time workers, namely to your subordinates and colleagues, you have to plant goodness and love with heart that is willing to serve.

You must obviously follow the order and serve those who have authority over you.

You have to deliver good words and edify one another with good words.

You have to store up goodness doing God's work. If you rather break peace and create a wall against God, how sorrowful it is!

I hope you will realize how much you are serving between different departments and within your own department.

Service is to sacrifice yourself to give comfort to other others. In order to serve, many times you have to spend your own time, money, and effort in sacrifice.

Yes, the deed of sacrifice is important, but the more important thing is the heart of sacrifice.

Even though you do many things for others and sacrifice many of your things, the more important thing is to care for the hearts of others.

For example, a worker in one department did some work upon a pastor's request.

Because it's his work, he did it very well.

But while he is doing that work, his face is as hard as a rock.

When he answers questions or takes requests his manner is brusque and unfriendly.

Then, the one who has requested the work has to see his mood first. He may think, "Maybe I troubled him," and he will feel it difficult to ask anything of him next time.

Then, even if you do your work very well, you cannot be said to have served. But rather, people will be reluctant to ask for your help.

Therefore, you have to check each of your words and facial expressions with the standard of service.

Next, I urge you to check how much service and sacrifice you have among different departments, and within your department.

For example, let us talk about cleaning. There are common areas in the church that many people share, such as bathrooms, hallways, and staircases.

Some people clean these places even without anyone asking. However, even when the bathrooms are dirty, there are some others do not care about it because it's not their work.

In the same department also, God knows who is coming early in the morning to clean the desks, empty the trash and help with the cleaning. He is looking at each one as to who loves the church of God and serves others.

In some cases, you have some discomfort in your heart, if you have to do some things that are not really your own work.

"Why do I have to do these things when it is not part of my job? I have more important and more urgent things I have to do. These trivial things should be done by those who have less work and those with lower positions." Thinking this way, you have discomfort in your heart.

If you work with discomfort this way, your action may be serving, but can you really receive reward from God? In this world, if you work, you will be acknowledged for it.

But in the church, you can have rewards only when you do your work with faith and love.

In the world, you can just do you work and you are paid for it. But in the church, not only are the things you do as your work, but also all God's work is your work.

I hope you will not just do your own work but enlarge your heart and embrace more things.

In the world, those in the lower position serves, and the higher in the position will be served.

But God says he who serves is greater.

Not only with deeds, but when you serve with heart you will be called a great.

You will be respected by people on this earth and you will enjoy greater honor in heaven.

Then, how many of you are doing this kind of service?

Especially, those Levites in high positions and those who directly help the Senior Pastor should look back on themselves more. Also, the departments that directly interact with church members and pastors should think about the attitude of service even more.

To certain departments, God has been giving the word about service whenever there was chance. The full-time workers must not give orders or command any church members as if they are their bosses.

They must not treat anybody rudely, or even though they have authority, they must not misuse it.

The duty of those who are in church positions is to help the church members in their Christian lives.

But a certain department became so arrogant and gave hard times to many church members, and finally, God had that department abolished.

The workers in that department thought they were faithfully working for God.

But in the process, in order to show their achievements, many times they were directing and giving orders to other members.

The same thing was happening toward subordinates and colleagues in the same department. God was so heartbroken about these things.

The workers who often deal with pastors should take extra caution. Even if the pastor may be a very young one, in the order set by God pastors are above the Levites.

If the workers look down on the pastors or act rudely to them, it is not right according to the spiritual order.

When you fulfill your duties, please always remember the aspect of service. I urge you to respect and serve even a little one as the flock of the Lord and the shepherd.

Dear devotees and members, for you to be renewed, thirdly, you must have deeds.

It means you should not just forget the word of God you hear but practice it. Romans 2:13 says, "...for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified."

Of course, you cannot practice the truth 100% from the beginning.
But you have to try to live by the word of God without ceasing. God looks at your effort and gives you the grace and strength to change into spirit.

Then, even though you may not be perfect right now, God can use you in the place He wants you to be.

When the workers receive the position first, they have strong determination about sanctification.

They make up their mind that they will certainly be sanctified to fulfill their duties spiritually.

That fervor and determination should become stronger, but in fact, it decreases in some cases. They stop circumcising their heart, and their passion and longing cool down.

Finally, there are some Levites who have fewer deeds than laymen members.

In the respect of their work, they certainly do the work of God. They also attend each service and prayer meetings habitually.

On the outside, they do what they are supposed to do and they are in places where they are supposed to be. They just think that they are doing well.

But how is their heart?

When they had jobs in the world, they longed for God's grace in the Wednesday service and the praise and worship service.

They even sometimes skipped their meals not to be late for the service or prayer meetings.

They felt the word was sweet as honey from the honeycomb, and they tried to understand and change themselves. But after they began to work in the church, they do not take worship services seriously saying they are busy.

Or, because they just have to be there, they just sit there with dry hearts.

It's the same with circumcision of heart. When they were working in the world, they prayed fervently to keep their faith.

But as they came into the church as church workers, their fervor about circumcision of heart cooled down.

They don't do anything so evil or break peace, but it's not because they have cast off all evil.

Because they hear and know the truth as knowledge, they suppress and cover evil.

If such condition goes on for a long period of time, their faith comes to a stoppage, and the grace of God runs out.

The fullness of the Holy Spirit cools down, and they may even commit works of the flesh. When God was letting me know about the 7-year Great Tribulation, He said many Levites would not be caught up in the air.

First, they came to work in the church with their love for God, and after some time, they changed in a way that they cannot even receive salvation. What is the reason?

When they were laymen members, they diligently showed their deeds. But after they became workers, they stopped circumcising their hearts.

Some of them became arrogant and they want to be served, or enjoy their authority.

With their self-oriented desires, they work with their fleshly thoughts causing great difficulties to the church.

They said they were working for God, but in fact, they were seeking their own.

More evil was added upon this kind of evil, and finally, it is difficult for them to be saved. Since I heard such word from God, I have been living in such great shock and pain.

I mourned so much that I couldn't eat or sleep, as if I myself were falling into the 7-year Great Tribulation. I held on to God with tears for a long period time.

Thankfully, some of them repented and turned back, and came back to the boundary of salvation.

But as you are leading a Christian life in this church filled with God's power, do you have to stick to the matter of receiving just salvation?

You have to run quickly towards the goal of New Jerusalem.

Of course, many people are running your race well into spirit and whole spirit.

But God wants not only a part, but all of you to run your race well.

He doesn't want even one person to stay in dead faith without deeds. I hope you will feel this heart of God deeply.

I urge you to listen to the message with more earnest longing so that you will change with your deeds.

Conclusion

Dear devotees and members, today's passage Luke 5:38 says, "But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins."

Now is a very important time for both the church and for you individually.

God is renewing our hearts to lead you and I to the new land.

That is why He gave us new organization of the church.

He established those who can obey and who can be examples to others.

God has opened a way so that you can be changed and renewed. God saved us, who were like dust, with His grace.

We are thankful just for being saved, and God has made us workers for God's kingdom.

Even when we were not dwelling in the truth completely due to our weaknesses, He has given us chances of repentance again and again.

Especially, going towards the end time, He is pouring down His grace and strength.

He is giving us the spur to accelerate our sanctification process.
I hope you will catch this chance of grace. I urge you to come forth as proper workers as God expects you to be.

It is the same in all other organizations of the parish, Men's Mission, and Women's Mission.

You must have the heart of truth and serve one another. You have to follow peace and order.

Those in lower positions must not try to overcome those who are in higher positions; they must not break the order.

You also have to have diligence in your deeds to become sanctified.

How great glory and honor it will be that you were a leader and had a position in this church that fulfills the great providence in the end time!

I hope you will be worthy of the church and your positions.

I urge you to accomplish clean and sanctified hearts and bear proper fruits according to your duties.

Through you people God will accomplish the Canaan Sanctuary and the Grand Sanctuary, and also the vision of world mission.

I pray in the name of the Lord that you will fulfill your precious duties and receive great honor and commendation from the Lord.

Amen