From "The Vision" by Peter Shimada
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Here I would like to summarize the vision of Kohitsuji no Mure. Our vision is to praise Christ,
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our Redeemer. We stand on the faith in praise.
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Vision is different from ism. Vision is the living revelation descended from heaven, while ism
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is the man-made idea. They seem to look alike, but are radically different in essence. The former is
spiritual and belongs to the heaven, while the latter is of the flesh and belongs to the earth. Caught in
the heavenly vision, you will see that Jesus Christ is the very manifestation of the love of God, and that
He is the same living Lord who touched and healed people in His earthly days.
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Our vision has nothing to do with church dogmas and traditions, for salvation comes only from
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Christ Jesus Himself, not from earthly systems or theories.
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To stand on this vision is to have direct access to Christ by faith without earthly interferences.
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The vision of Kohitsuji no Mure can be summarized in short: "Everything is completed in
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praise," and "The love of Christ alone is sufficient." These statements symbolize our simple faith and
trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be transformed to praise the Lord and to watch in
amazement an unfolding mystery of the praise.
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It is very simple, but in order to clarify our vision, I would like to describe it from seven
perspectives.
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Worship
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Kohitsuji no Mure believes the worship to be everything. Praise is to "worship the Lord God
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in spirit and truth." We believe that the Lord works out everything for good according to His purpose,
and that He reveals all His wisdom and His love to a believing body of Christ in our praise worship.
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Praising is not only just singing songs. It means to face the Lord alone, and it can be done in
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silence or through scripture reading. It never is an accessory of a preacher's message. We may have a
messenger to deliver a sermon in worship service, but we may not have at times. We simply pray for
God's presence and worship Him.
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We are the church of praise.
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Healing
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We believe in all gifts of the Holy Spirit, including divine healings, which are done in the
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atonement. The Bible says, "With his stripes we are healed." Because the atonement has been
perfected on Calvary, we simply believe that the Lord's redemptive love overflows to our generation.
We are witnessing His healings working on all kinds of physical and mental illnesses. Many people
experience different healings during our worship. Indeed, everything is completed in praise.
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Every healing is wonderful and moving, but we are not even attached to the phenomena of
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healing, even it is of God. We rather focus on the Giver, not on gifts. While many receive miraculous
healings, some may return to the heaven without being physically healed. They are all God's doing.
We just praise the Lord whether or not we are healed. Indeed, Christ's love alone is sufficient.
Church
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We believe in the body of Jesus Christ, that is His Church. God in Jesus Christ reigns the whole
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universe through His Church, and an earthly gathering is a visible manifestation of the invisible Church.
Church is neither a building nor an organization, and she does not depend on man. Where two or
three gather together in His name, there stands the Lord in the middle of them, and this is an ecclesia,
the "called ones." We are called by the Lord to be His people.
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We do not have a traditional ecclesiastical hierarchy. We believe that every believer has a
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direct access to the Lord God through faith.
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Kohitsuji no Mure does not have church-membership because we believe in our membership
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to the heaven. Consequently, we have no fund-raising system such as monthly pledges. We are the
flock of praise, and stand on a faith that we are one in the love of the Lord and that everything, if
deemed necessary by the Lord, will be arranged by Him. We may ask for donations when necessary,
but they should never be an obligation.
Word
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The Bible is the Word of God, and we can learn the Word of God from the Lord God who
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speaks to everyone who has a willing heart. Since we depend on the Holy Spirit, who is the author of
the Bible, we do not need man to teach it.
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Kohitsuji no Mure does have in-depth study of the Word of God, which emphasizes spiritual
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learning rather than mere intellectual study. We have a unique way of studying the Bible, that is, the
Bible Study in the Wilderness, in which we are encouraged to go to the Lord and learn from Him
alone.
Fullness of the Holy Spirit
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Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit cannot help testifying the Lord to the end of the world.
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Once the fire kindles, it touches everyone and everything. Being filled with the Spirit, we are to
proclaim a victory of the cross to the whole creation. We may be the last generation before His
coming.
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You may or may not speak in tongues, yet it should not matter. What is important is to praise
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the Lord. Praise is the very manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
Sacraments
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We believe in the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.
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Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is encouraged to receive baptism. Baptism is a
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divine seal of Christ's salvation and His love put upon our souls by the Lord to declare that we are His
sheep. Because the rite is not an ecclesiastical privilege, it should be open to everyone who believes in
the Lord. In Kohitsuji no Mure, people receive baptism in the name of the Lord as soon as they
confess Him, according to the biblical patterns in the Acts.
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Holy Communion is the visible manifestation of invisible God in Jesus Christ. We believe in the
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presence of the Lord in bread and wine. Because we keep this ancient rite in heavenly praise, we are
witnessing many healings during worship service.
Walk at the Cross
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In praise, the Lord appears and we disappear. Self-assertion, which is of the flesh, should
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disappear in the presence of the Lord. We are generous to human frailties, but are strict to insistence
of the flesh, no matter how well-intended. Praise is the most beautiful manifestation of the Lord's
redeeming love.
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Our faith is like the wind, not bound by things or people, but to follow the Lord by praise. The
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more we praise the Lord, the sooner we die to our old self and receive the resurrected life.
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This is our walk at the cross.
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February 3, 1996 |