Mitsuko
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It was the early morning of December 28, 1999. Suddenly a loud knocking sound at the
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door woke me up with fear. I had gone to bed late around 3:00 a.m. last night and it was still dark. When I looked at the clock, it indicated three 5s: 5:55 a.m. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't. I thought the Lord might want to tell me something by waking me up with the knocking sound.
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I have experienced these types of incidents many times ever since my first encounter with
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God in the "White Dove" experience in 1987. It was twelve years ago that I had heard His voice for the first time, and it was soon after the White Dove experience. A quiet voice sounded in my room, "After all, man's scheme is nothing compared to God's." I was shocked by the voice because there was nobody in my room except myself. At that time I could not understand what was said, but now I totally agree with it. The Lord told me, "After all, what man does is empty. Return to God. That's why I sent you a White Dove so that you would come back to me." The Lord transformed the one who did not want to or cannot listen to God into the one who can listen to Him and follow.
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Another morning I woke up because I felt somebody shake my shoulder lightly. When I
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looked at the clock, it was just 4:00 a.m. Then, the voice close to my ears told me, "Read the Scriptures." "Which part of the Bible should I read?" I asked. The answer was "Gospel Book of John." "Which part of John?" I asked again. There was no answer any more, but I saw three numbers in my eyes, "316." I got up out of bed and looked at every chapter of John with the possible combination of these 3 numbers. I went through the entire book of John repeatedly, but I could not find the right answer. I read the book of John for a good eight hours.
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The answer came about half a year later. I asked a question, "Where is it written in the Bible
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that God loves even those who do not believe Him?" Then two people answered simultaneously, "John 3:16." I understood that it was the answer for the morning.
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For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
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Then, twelve years later since this dramatic event, three 5s of that morning really bothered
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me and I started "the search of the word" like solving a puzzle. I have a day off today and I can read the Bible as much as I want to.
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According to my past experience, "555" must be "Chapter 5, Verse 55." However, there is
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no Verse 55 in Chapter 5 in any of the New Testament books. Just to make sure, I read through Chapter 5 of all books in New Testament. Obviously, there are many moving verses but I didn't feel they were exactly right. It might be from the Old Testaments. Somehow, I thought it might be from the book of Isaiah.
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Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has endowed you with splendor.
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"Surely you will summon nations you do not know, and nations that do not know you will
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hasten to you, because the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has endowed you with splendor." This Verse 5 might be given to our Kohitsuji no Mure (Flock of the Lamb). I do not understand "who the nation we do not know is", but I think the time has come for our praise to flow out into the new land.
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This year is "the Year of Joy." As the last year was "the Year of Faith" and it was the year
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for our faith to transform from the level of man's faith to the level of God's faith, so this is the year of the joy of the Lord to be revealed rather than our human happiness.
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Isaiah Chapter 55 subsequently tells us, "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him
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while he is near.
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As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater. So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10~11)
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The word that goes out from the mouth of the Lord will accomplish what He pleases and
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achieve the purpose for which the Lord ordered. What is the joy of the Lord? What pleases the Lord the most is that His creation will return to His beloved Son. Surely it is written John 3:16;
"whoever believes in God will not perish but have eternal life." To believe in the Son of God is it, period.
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The Lord Jesus Himself prayed, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the
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only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent."(John 17:3) It is everything to know God and Jesus Christ whom God has sent. Here is the joy of the Lord.
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In the year of 2000 there may be the very momentum ever that the Lord gather the people
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who newly believe in God. "And the mountains and hills will rejoice in the Lord, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands with the joy of the Lord. "(Isaiah 55:12) All His creation rejoices in what the Lord has done. Twelve years ago the Lord talked to me about His love and His will through John 3:16, and now the Lord tells me about His new joy and His will through Isaiah 55.
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The praises fill the heavens and the earth. Nowadays we started to sing "the Praise Fills the
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Heavens." "To the One who Sits on the Throne and to the Lamb" and "the New Song" were given to us and we are led to the praise in the Revelation. It has not been announced yet, but new praise songs from the Revelation are coming out one after another. The more our eyes are opened to the praises in the Revelation, the more we see the people who newly believe in God on this earth.
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The time of new joy is the time of the people who are filled with new joy. It will be the year
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of the new joy. At the end of last year, "Alleluia" came out as the last praise song in 1999, but I do not think it was a coincidence. ( The first new praise in 1999 was "Ini-shi-e-no (Mt. Sinai)", and we sang as "Listen to the Will of God." At the end of 1999, we sang "Alleluia" as "Alleluia, praise the Lord!" During the whole year we could not help believing that the will of God has been accomplished in our praises.)
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At the beginning of the New Year of 2000, we want to proclaim to live by "faith of praise,"
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which is true faith; worship the Lord in Spirit and truth, and "only Christ, and Christ is all and all in our life." "Only Christ and Christ is our all and all" is to return to God. Whenever we decide to return to God, we are renewed and a new joy springs out.
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Only the will of God will be done.
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December 29, 1999
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