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God speaks to every one through His word. The word of God is "living and active,

sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow,
and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12)."

When you are in the flow of the Spirit, you cannot miss God speaking to you.

Mitsuko does surprise me often with a new expression when she comes to the depth

of God's love. I cannot forget how shocked and moved I was when I first heard her saying, "
Everything is completed in praise." As soon as I heard it, I knew that it was not her own idea, but that
the Lord Himself spoke something very important to us and to this generation. Surely enough, the
words decisively gave us a direction to take thereafter.

We stand on the word of God alone, and the very word of God is constantly renewed

by the Spirit, thus imparting a new life into those whose hearts are open. When your hearts have grown
dull, however, you shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never
perceive. I want you all to open your hearts to the abundance of God's love and the flow of the Holy
Spirit. Now is the time of God's visitation to this earth, and we are all "ministers of a new covenant, not
in a written code but in the Spirit; for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6)."

The Bible is the Bible because it directs us to the living God Jesus Christ. It is the

work of the Holy Spirit that directs us to Christ, so it is impossible to understand the words of the
Bible without the Holy Spirit. The words of the Bible are the words of the Spirit, which are "not taught
by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit (1
Corinthians 2:13)." No matter how much we enumerate and quote the scriptures from the Bible, we
would not know the Bible if the Spirit of Christ is not there. Exegetics is good for nothing.

"Everything is completed in praise." This is the confession of the Spirit in our hearts.

Christ perfected the redemption for the whole creation on the cross. Therefore, when we praise the
Lord in spirit and truth, we know that everything works for good in the deepest sense. The faith in
praise is the faith in Christ on the cross. I believe that the faith in the cross of Christ is all capsulated in
this confession.

Mitsuko herself said that she was unaware of the importance of the words, though it

was she who spoke it. However, those who wish to be in the flow of the Spirit will come to find its
significance sooner or later. As we praise the Lord, we will be able to understand intellectually as well
what we know spiritually. That is what the revelation is and how we learn the words of the Bible.

I not only deplore exegetics but even some people in Kohitsuji no Mure who do not

know what it is to worship God in spirit and truth and become dull to the words of the Bible. They do
not have ears to hear the living words. They would not hear when the Lord speaks.

The other day in the worship I mentioned the term,"baptism of the Revelation praise."

A few staff workers quickly responded to my words. Do not be alarmed if you cannot find it in the
Bible. When your heart is tender enough to catch the flow of the Spirit, however, you will be delighted
to see a heavenly message even in an unfamiliar term.

Recently I heard a staff worker speak about our new praises: "Reflecting upon my

life, I notice one thing: God is in my life. I had lived contemplating, wishing, and seeking for it. But
through the Revelation praises, my spirit has gone through a complete change, and I have been
transferred to a new world. I then saw my whole life has been evolved in the presence of God. Oh,
what an astounding reality it is!"

He further said, "Before the Revelation praises, I had thought that I could live even if

I ran away from the faith in praise and turned my back to the praise because the Lord was with me.
But through the Revelation praises I saw a new world: I now exist and live only for God and for His
will. My life is solely for the Lord and to serve Him. Indeed, I have been baptized in the Revelation
praise, and everything has become new."

I am glad this person, too, has come to a new revelation in the flow of the Spirit.

Baptism is a funeral, which re-enacts Christ's death and burial. You may or may

not feel "dead," but you are actually dead and buried with Christ Jesus, because you are incorporated
into His life through baptism.

We are buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.   (Romans 6:4)

Baptism is precious in the eyes of God.

It is because God wants to put a divine seal on your soul to confirm the fact that He

I remember that in my college days I went to a farm in Mt. Aso and saw a lot of cows.

I learned all those cows had distinctive seals on their hips. As soon as a calf was born, the owner
branded the calf. It was the seal to claim,"This one belongs to my farm."

In the same way, the Lord Himself puts His seal on your soul to confirm that you

belong to the Lord. You may not understand the meaning of the seal, but the Owner does. If He does,
you have no problem, don't you?

Since baptism is what God hopes for, you should be first baptized when you believe in

the Lord. Your eyes will then gradually opened to the mystery of baptism and you will be filled with
gratitude beyond words as you understand its significance.

Paul talks about the mystery of baptism in his letter to the Romans.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.   (Romans 6:3-4)

Baptism is to be incorporated into the mystery of Christ's death. This is the essence

of the redemption. How can we understand such a profound mystery with our shallow intellect and
emotions? Yet, our spirit knows it. We gladly would like to accept the mystery of God. Through
baptism, our existence is integrated into the death and the resurrection of Christ.

That is why God wishes man to be baptized as soon as possible. Even a day makes a

difference when your eyes are opened to the mystery. Your life will be completely changed. It is a
matter of life or death.

Baptismal truth revealed in the New Testament also carries our new term, "baptism

When the Revelation praises appeared, many people including those who liked them

must have had some repellent feelings toward them. In short, it was our flesh rebelling against the pure
and transparent life of heaven.

However, the Revelation praise was not mere praise. It was not something we could

neglect saying that it was just one of many gifts from God. If baptism is a matter of life and death on the
earth, the Revelation praise is the very baptism.

Once upon a time, when the people of Israel led by Moses panicked seeing the great

multitude of Egyptians approaching behind them, the Lord responded to Moses' prayer and parted the
Red Sea so that they could pass through the sea to reach a new ground. The Egyptian army were
buried in the sea. The Israelis remembered this for generations, because it was a vital event.

I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.     (1 Corinthians 10:1-2)

"Baptism into Moses" is not an expression to idolize a person Moses. The faith of

Moses divided the Red Sea in two and gave the Israelis a narrow escape from death. It was God who
actually performed the miracle, but we should remember the faith of Moses, the mediator.

The Revelation praises have the effect similar to baptism into Moses which the

Israelis received. Unlike baptism for individuals, this baptism was given to the whole congregation in
worship services. We heard the mysterious tunes and all were baptized in the Revelation praises.

Whether or not we understood, it was our baptism of the Revelation praise. It will

make a life-and-death difference in our lives on the earth. Some may resist it and walk away. No
matter how much you resist, however, you have already received the baptism of the Revelation praise.
People who resist the baptism in the water and refuse to pray or read the Bible are just like those who
have won a lottery but do not claim the winning ticket because they do not know its value. They were
shaken and sifted by the Revelation praise.

If your eyes are opened to the significance of this baptism, you will see that your

Baptism is a burial, and so is the Revelation praise. You will see your old self collapse,

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)

To paraphrase the above scripture emphasizing the Greek nuances, it becomes like

this: In one Spirit, we all - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - will know the truth that we already belong
to God. We were baptized with a seal which confirms that we are being incorporated into the body of
Christ. We were all made to drink of one Spirit in the only one baptism.

The baptism is the matter of life and death. And so is the baptism of the

Revelation praise. Those who are in the Spirit will surely see what it means to belong to the body of
Christ. Their eyes will be opened to this mystery.

I received the baptism of the Revelation praise, and drank the most precious water.

The wind of the Spirit is blowing now, and I believe the whole creation is to be

August 6, 2002