The Essence of Worship (Genesis 41:38)

Today, we are receiving God’s word regarding Joseph. This word is connected to the word we received on Wednesday, and the passage we read today is the confession a nonbeliever made when they looked at Joseph. Someone who was filled with the spirit of God. What really fills us? In the Korean translation, it says someone who is moved by the Spirit, and in the English translation, it says someone in whom the spirit of God is. These are the words a nonbeliever said about Joseph.

In order for us to be moved by the spirit of God, there is something we must do first. First and foremost, we must know in the Old Testament, Gen 3:15 the only solution to original sin, Satan, and hell is the offspring of women. Not only do we just know it but we must also enjoy it. Anybody can hear these words from their parents. Joseph was sold into slavery at only 17 years old, and there was no way he could overcome his circumstances if he hadn’t enjoyed the Gospel. 

How can we summarize the Gospel in one sentence? He has solved all of the problems of original sin, I was completely liberated from Sin, and I have been completely liberated from Satan, and I have been completely liberated from the background of Hell. Once you hear this anybody can know it, but how are you going to enjoy this Gospel? It means that these things have no power over me, in other words, it means that problems aren’t a problem for me anymore. The moment you say that something is a problem, it means that you have lost hold of the gospel. That’s what it means to hold onto the gospel. 

Why is it not a problem for you? Because the Lord is the master, you have to hold onto the gospel that you have been crucified within Christ, and now Christ lives within you, in order for a problem not to be a problem for you. If something is a problem to you, that means that you are still alive. Without a doubt, the gospel means that the Lord is living within me, then a problem would not be a problem anymore, if you don’t understand this then you will suffer for your entire life. If Joseph had not understood this, he would have suffered his entire life. Does he only have 1 or 2 problems? The fact that his mother passed away is a problem, his older brothers trying to kill him is a problem, and the fact that he was abused as a slave and falsely accused and sent to prison is a problem too, it’s not just a problem but it’s unfair. Try rotting in a prison until you’re 30 years old. If Joseph did not have the Gospel it would be as if he were already dead. 

Before we get to the point of being thrilled and moved by the Spirit of God, we must first know what the gospel is and enjoy it. Back then, Egypt was alike the age of America today. Are the problems that happen in your everyday life a problem? When you come to church will your problems be solved? You will have problems but it should not be a problem. Why? Because I am dead, and Christ is within me. “Oh I’m like that, but what about that person?” That person is the same, that person is also dead, and Christ is living within that person. There is no need to intercede this way or that way. You must be able to truly enjoy and believe that in order for you to come to life. 

What is legalism? “This is a problem, that’s a problem,” that is why people get demon possessed like that. Demons will gather people toward legalism, that’s the evidence that Jewish people were seized by demons, it seems like they were holding onto the word of God, but they lost hold of the gospel. The law is good, but Satan makes them fall into legalism. First and foremost, they cannot save themselves. Honestly speaking, it is the same as religion. 

Members of the church that cannot enjoy the gospel is the same as any religion. If you go to another religion, your face is going to shine like Buddah. As a representative, look at those monks who shaved their heads. Other religions are even better than this, so if you’re not enjoying the gospel then you may as well be spiritual dead. Therefore if you’re living in America you must have the gospel. If you see things, and think that you can live without the gospel, then your eyes are wrong. Joseph, one person went into Egypt and he turned all of Egypt around. That is not the strength of Joseph, but it was the work and the power of God. 

You and I are living in the superpower nation of America and if you do not have the gospel, you cannot survive. You should not be caught up in any kind of problems, that doesn’t mean that if you have a problem, you should just ignore it and say it is not a problem, if you face a situation, how can you deny it? But it means that the Lord is alive and within problems and circumstances and crisis that come into my life, the Lord is working and alive in that. Then the answer will come to you through God’s word. And as you live your life, you are able to forum through the message you’ve been holding onto all week, it’s a testimony honestly, the gospel Joseph had, anyone will be able to enjoy that, that is what you call a church. 

The members of the early church enjoyed the complete Gospel and only the Gospel. Without that you cannot overcome Satan. Satan will use legalism as a foothold. He will manipulate the word of God to kill you. That’s why you must enjoy the Gospel and receive healing. No matter what else you try, even though it may be great, you cannot overcome disasters and darkness. Psychology is all good, but it cannot stop darkness or disasters. These are all good words. One of my friends in Korea studies psychology, and he meets a person three times a week. And he says good words. But he’s ignorant about the spiritual things. So I couldn’t say this or that to him; I just responded to his questions. But my friend thinks that this is everything. 

When you look at the texts he upload on his chat, he tries to solve all problems with psychology. When I see his texts, I can’t say anything but just laugh. He says a lot of good words about people, children, and I heard those words as God’s voice. “Just let the kids do whatever they want.” How do we discipline children? Just tell them the parts in which you can discipline them. But do not break down their thoughts or emotions. I received that as God’s voice. Because there are people who break down children in the name of discipline. And so he told me in the perspective of psychology. I wondered why God made me meet this person three times just to hear these words. But he is completely spiritually ignorant. All of these words are great, but if they aren’t the Gospel, you cannot overcome them and you cannot save. 

If we did not have the spiritual things, we can overcome with psychology, if original sin, Satan, and hell did not exist in the world. Or we can solve them with politics, because it is just a gathering of people trying to govern. If there are two people gathered, that can become an organization and politics itself. If the spiritual things didn’t exist, that would be enough. With a renowned politician, everyone would be happy. But that is not the case for humans. Humans are spiritual beings and we must absolutely be filled with the spirit of God. 

What are you moved and filled by? You need to be filled and moved by the grace of God when you receive His Word. The children get moved by games. You have to be filled and moved by the correct things. I need to be moved by God. Even people are moved by books. A book can greatly influence a young child. And there are people who move you by just meeting them. Who are you being moved by? This is important. If you’re moved by God, there’s nothing to it. In order to be moved by God, you must not only know the Gospel but also enjoy it. That is why the Gospel is the solution to all my problems. 

That is how the Bible explains the Gospel, but how am I understanding and enjoying the Gospel in my life personally? Don’t study the Bible but think how I am able to enjoy the Gospel. Every church has bible study. And there are some people who go to one church but they go to many different bible studies. It’s not because of a lack of bible studies. It means how is the Gospel coming into my life through the Gospel. Anyone can explain it, but how is this moving me? Are you really receiving the Gospel as the solution that ends all of your problems? That is important. 

It doesn’t seem like much, but Joseph enjoyed the Gospel properly. So whenever a problem came in his way, he didn’t get caught in that problem. It wasn’t him; it was the work the LORD was doing inside of him. But because you are continuously the master of your own life, you’re getting caught in problems. Satan knows this and continues to deceive and attack you. It seems like you have to do world evangelization, but that’s not true. It seems like something Joseph has to do, but it’s not right. 

There’s a very fine line between enjoying the Gospel, the walk of faith, or the walk of faith becomes a burden. If you don’t enjoy the Gospel, coming to church is a burden. Why? You have to give offering. The announcements tell you to do this and that. And when you come to church, there are so many things that bug you. There are people you don’t like here. How are we going to overcome that? If you’re with non believers, they won’t ask for offering, but when you come to church, you have to give offering because everybody is looking. And the message keeps talking about temple construction, and I feel like I have to give temple construction offering too. And if you go to church for a long time, you have a position, so you feel like you have to give offering. You’re worried about what others think and it’ll drive you crazy. 

Why is that? You are the master of your own life. You think that the offering you give is your own money. Therefore when you don’t enjoy the Gospel, one thing and everything in your life becomes a burden. When you do enjoy the Gospel, it becomes an opportunity for devotion. God makes you devote for a heavenly reward. The money is not something you made; God has given it to you. But you think everything is you. Then where is the economy to do world evangelization? God has to give you that. That’s why you have to enjoy the Gospel. If God gives this to me or does not, if this is correct, you must enjoy the Gospel because there’s many things you must endure.

And based on the difference whether you enjoy the Gospel or not, everything will be different. If you personally truly enjoy the Gospel, you’ll be able to explain the Gospel and give your testimonies to the people who come to church bearing many burdens and heavy weights. You’ll be able to make testimonies to the future generations saying these are the many problems America has given me, but God’s word has given me these answers. If you’re not able to enjoy the Gospel, then everything in life is of suffering. People who have a nature of diligence will live with their diligence, but even that is anguish. You must not only know the Gospel, but you must realistically enjoy the Gospel. Then it doesn’t matter what happens in the future. Because it is not me, but it is the Lord living in me. That’s what it means to enjoy. And the bigger the problem is, the better. Because there is something that the Lord that is living within me is doing through that problem. The bigger the situation, the better. If you are not facing a circumstance, then you are somebody that the Lord is using lightly. 

Look at Joseph. Joseph’s life is full of circumstances that people might never meet. At such a young age, too. It is God trying to use Joseph. Joseph had a dream, and he held onto the covenant of world evangelism. What is God’s plan, age by age? God’s plan is not to make you live prosperously. That’s something that simply follows within God’s plan. And if you ask, “what is it to live well?”, there’s a lot of arguments to be had. What does it mean to live well? Does it mean that I’m good at something? What does it mean to be good at something? If you’re good at something, it means that God’s will is fulfilled through you. If God’s will is not fulfilled through you, then it doesn’t matter what you’re good at. That’s not actually being good. Because anything that is irrelevant to God’s will will be collapsed and ruined anyways. If you’re getting along well, it means God’s will is being continuously fulfilled through your life. Therefore, God’s plan is to reveal that God is alive age by age to every nation. If that’s the case, then you and I are living in this age. 

And what is God’s plan? God’s plan is to reveal the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s the reason we study. That’s the reason we work. And if it’s not that, then you are not aligned with the bible. It doesn’t matter how diligently you live if you are not aligned with the bible. Then that’s not right. God is working with his word even now. Even if 99.9% say no, and only 0.1% say yes to the bible, that is what will be fulfilled. Whether it is the age of Egypt or the age of current-day America, the will of God is to proclaim the Gospel. 

If you don’t hold onto this, then you would hold onto something else. What is that something else? You’re holding onto the same thing as any religion. Every religion talks about elevating your human self, and refining your human personality. Or you try to pursue blessings without even knowing what a true blessing is. Jesus Christ himself is the blessing. If Jesus is with you, that itself is a blessing. The blessing is with you, but you keep on asking for blessings. It means that you are living your life, being deceived by Satan who is the father of lies. If the church is raised here, then there is nothing else that we need to do. 

The will of God is to proclaim the Gospel to this region and the 237 nations. Why am I sick? To proclaim the Gospel. Why am I healthy? To proclaim the Gospel. Why am I bad at studying? To proclaim the Gospel. God has no interest in what you’re good at or not. We are interested in what we are good at or not, but that is not where God’s interest is. God’s interest is that He sent His one and only son to die on the cross, and we need to relay that to the rest of the world. You must become one in this. The direction must be one. Satan will come and then run away. And it doesn’t matter what kind of heresies try to infiltrate, it won’t relate to us. But if you are not firm in this, then you will be influenced by other things. There is nothing to be influenced by. Everything is finished in Christ. There is nothing to analyze and go deeply into the bible about. World evangelism is God’s will. 

Because you are not firm in this, you are getting swept up in sweeter words. You go out into the world and you get caught up in the world. There is no will of God, other than world evangelization. That’s the reason why we raise the temple construction and raise the next generation. And that is the person that God gives the blessing of being filled with the Spirit of God. Joseph wasn’t studying the bible. Joseph didn’t come to church on Sundays to listen to the pastor’s message. In Joseph’s age, those things didn’t exist. What was the thing Joseph did? All he did was enjoy the Gospel. All he did was enjoy the plan of world evangelization. Then what did he do? When he was filled with the Spirit of God, it means that he prayed. 

There are some people who really hate to pray. It means that you are just looking at the image of bread, and you’ll never be able to take the bread for yourself. “Oh, I just like listening to the messages, I don’t like praying.” Then your ears are just going to get bigger. And your head is going to get so big. And you all draw the image of world evangelization by yourself. But when you face a problem, you’re going to get bound up in your problem. Because if you are filled with the Spirit of God, it means that you are able to pray. If you are able to pray, it means that you are able to do everything. Why? Because it means that you have the ability to communicate with the omnipotent God, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Even if there is no one around to help you, Joseph only had one, and that is God. 

In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God would come and go for world evangelization. For us today, the Holy Spirit is with us 24 hours until eternity but the Old Testament, that was not the case. But God’s Spirit has no choice but to dwell upon Joseph for the sake of this mission. And that is the God that we enjoy 24 hours, no matter what circumstances we face, through prayer. How did Joseph interpret the dream of Pharaoh? He was able to receive the answer through prayer and then speak it out loud. You have to solve everything through this. 

If you don’t have the answer regarding that, you have to seek help from people. And even the people you are seeking help from don’t have the answer to their own life. Does that mean that I shouldn’t borrow money? It means you need to know who is moving your life. Do you think that if you have a solid background behind you, your life will go correctly? That is nonsense. In the point-of-view from the world, Joseph had nothing. He was penniless. But he seized all the economy of Egypt. How? It was all God’s. And who will God give it to? Don’t you think God will give this to the one most closely related to Him? How can you closely relate to God? You relate closely to God when you communicate with Him a lot. If you communicate with a conman a lot, then you will be caught in a con. If you meet with the false ideologies often, then you’re going to be swept up in the false ideologies. If you’re constantly communicating with God, then you’re someone who can closely relate to God. And that is the knowledge that was spoken about in Proverbs, that you must have knowledge regarding the Lord.

There are many many years that the Remnants must live in the future. And you have quickly uproot everything inside of you. There are a lot of things you are putting inside of you as insurance, as a back up plan to try and exist without God, and all of that is useless. Joseph had nothing. Everything is finished with God, the Triune God. Then that is someone who is unstoppable. They say that the most foolish person is the bravest. And if someone doesn’t follow the principles of the world, then no one can stop them. That is how you can change Egypt. What is the goal for you living in America? Is it to buy another house? What is it? Are you living in American so you can give your children a better education? What is it? Because America is the land of the free and it fits your style? You have to be aligned with God. 

If you’re aligned with God, then you will not be aligned with the flow of America. That is someone who is filled with the spirit of God. It doesn’t matter how incorrect you are; when you are in communication with God, he will fix you. We have to send our next generation out into the world with at least this. If they don’t have this, they will suffer until they die. They’re going to graduate from a great college and suffer until death. Why? They’re not aligned with God. Your watch must be aligned with God, but imagine how difficult it is because you’re trying to turn it the opposite way with your own strength. God is alive right now, and he is with us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is praying for us now. When I don’t pray myself, the Lord is praying on my behalf. During this time of worship, I hope you’ll have the spiritual sensitivity of communicating with God.

What makes you cry? When you look at sad things, you cry. Because of your scars. You keep thinking about your past. You cry again watching dramas. But you never cry during worship. There’s nothing that triggers your emotions here. I hope you’ll be filled by the spirit of God. Be someone who communicates with God. If you are connected with the one who is the top. Is there anyone who is connected so closely to President Biden? It is someone who is closely related to God. And I’m not saying you can communicate with God and just forget the church and worship; God is communicating with you through the worship and the church. The Triune God is alive right now, working, and He is eternal. Even now, when you receive the Gospel, your life’s problems are finished. Do not ever be deceived. It is never your problem. There is work that God is doing. If you go into the problem thinking it is your problem then you’ll be seized by Satan. God must do it. God must take care of our church. 

 And God gave you the Gospel so he can take care of your life. Your direction must be sure: to do American and world evangelization through the church. How can we do that? That is the plan of God. That is why God is promising to do that work through you by filling you with the Spirit. 

That is the answer that comes to you and your business. If you don’t have that, you cannot receive answers. These are the answers that comes to your studies, the temple construction for this purpose, that is the answer that must come to your business. Why? Because this is what God is doing. If God says he is not doing this, then we don’t have to do it, but if God says we have to do it, then we have to do it. Why? Because finances will come from the throne of heaven, it seems like we are doing something right? But that is foolishness. Look at the book of Hagai when he says that God is the one that is moving the heavens and the earth, that means God is doing the work. Sure from our perspective we do things physically, but these only work out if God works. We have to have this conclusion. Otherwise if you are the master of your life, then you will be discouraged, afflicted, or you will run away completely. Then you will be poor your whole life, because you are losing hold of the meaning that God is working through this problem. 

If this is the work that God is doing, then he has to give you the finances. You hold onto this covenant and you pray. And you serve how you need to serve, and simply put you’re doing your best, you do it. Your life doesn’t suffer because you eat a little less, you do it, there’s no problem. I went to Korea, and my father-in-law passed away so now I have a little more money in my bank account, and later my mother says she’s going to give money to me too. And in Korea you cannot put more than 1000 dollars in your bank account, because if you have more then certain money in your bank account then it gets reported to the IRS. 

So she’s saying she can’t keep it in her bank account so she’s trying to give it to me, so a lot of people are trying to give me money. I said ok. That’s not something I am doing. I don’t even make money. And she’s a 80 year old lady, but she has money that she saved up. She worked 2-3 hours for many, many years. And she has a lot of money in her bank account, and I don’t want to take it, but I also don’t want to not take it. And at first I said I can’t take it because I don’t have control over it, then she said at least take it later, people keep on giving me money, why is she trying to give me money? She just said she wants to. So then I was going to give it for temple construction. And I told her, “Don’t give me the temple construction money in my name, but put it in your name in front of God.” And she said she will give it to her church in her name too. 

This is the work that God is doing. I don’t have any money. And it is not my money even if I had it but it’s God’s money. If you resolve to do something and it is according to God’s will then God moves. Don’t you think that answer has to come to your business? It’s a lie to say that these answers come to me but they don’t come to you. Absolutely if my will is aligned to God’s will then God would move. That’s the promise of the Bible. So there’s no reason to think so much about finances. Even you trembling over finances is slavery. The economy is moved for God. You need to receive the blessing of economy so you can do the work of God, and you have to receive 100 times blessings from God, or you can just live your life barely eating 3 times a day, or if you want to make it big, then you can make it big. 

Either way you have to root out your imprint somehow. Church is such an incredible blessing. If something is not the will of God, then it wouldn’t work out. But if it is the will of God then it would work out, that’s what’s important. Joseph was inside of that covenant. There’s nothing for you guys to worry about,people of the world worry. Not Joseph, but Joseph’s older brother. But if you resolve to stay within the Gospel, within the Will of God, and prayer there”s nothing to worry about. If you face a problem, then there’s an answer. If you face a crisis then there is an opportunity. It’s only a crisis within my perspective, but if God is within me, then it is an opportunity. And it depends on person to person, how fast they change. 

So I hope that you will think of everything within God’s covenant. It’s the same for your kids, I hope that you will raise your kid within the covenant. It’s not about how you see them whether they are ok or not that’s not right. It doesn’t mean that only ethically and morally upright people will be saved, that is not true. And it’s not that only people with abilities will be saved either. Even people who are completely collapsed in the world, God can call them and use them. God can use anybody. People like this gather together, and they will fulfill God’s word. Every single person who comes to church is the one who has salvation with the blood of the cross. People might say this and that about them however Jesus Christ bore the cross for this one person to save them. 

There are some people who take a very long time to change. Does it mean that it is not taking place? God is living inside of that person, and that person might have a very big vessel within God because their rate is so slow. Therefore you should not look at people with your own standards. The bigger someone’s vessel is, the slower they may be, if anything their vessel is small, then you will be able to see it quickly because their vessel is small. Nothing can be a problem. If you’re within the gospel, covenant, and prayer, then nothing is a problem. Even Coronavirus may be a crisis but it is an opportunity. 

Because you stay fixed on your thoughts and everything may seem like a problem; all you have to do is change your thoughts, because God is giving us this to do world evangelization. So you must change your thoughts in order to do that. God is using this using this in order to change everything because we couldn’t do world evangelization the way things work. Then nothing is a problem. If there is something that is facing death, then just die. If you are going to get the illness then just get the illness. And if that illness is going to be passed on then just let it pass on. If you’re going to get poor, then just become poor, you’re only struggling because you’re not trying to be poor. He’s not saying to stay in poverty, but to enjoy the mystery of God within that poverty. 

If you face cancer, then of course there is suffering, but I’m not just telling you to just endure it. But he is telling you to enjoy the Jehovah God that is invisible to your eyes. Even though your body may be in suffering and in pain, it is an opportunity for you to enjoy the greatest spiritual blessing of being with God. Then there’s no need to be disappointed, fall into despair, or compare yourself. Why would you compare yourself? If God is living within you and guiding your life, why do you compare yourself to others?  God works in a family differently with a family that has believed in Jesus for generations and myself as a new believer.  There’s no need to compare.

God is living within me with His will for my life, and other people can walk their path.  As we keep going this way, God’s will is being fulfilled, so there’s not a single thing that can be a problem.  I hope you will realistically enjoy the fact that nothing is a problem within God’s gospel, covenant, and prayer.  That’s a victorious person, that’s a person with strength, and that is a person who is able to save many others.  

If someone doesn’t have spiritual things, they may have everything in the world, but they need health, and even the things they own can be a burden in their lives.  However, even when it seems they have everything, everything is contained within the covenant.  If God has given you the covenant for world evangelization, then God has prepared everything you need including people and finances to fulfill that covenant.  

God wants you to realistically and actually enjoy that blessing, to enjoy that today in America, and I hope that our church will be a church like that.  All the numbers you think about are such nonsense. If the coronavirus comes again, everyone can pass away, but only the true disciples will remain, those who truly believe in Christ.  Those who believe lightly will leave.  If you look at the church finances, our offerings actually are increasing, and all the churches in LA have had increased offerings.  There are many other churches that say their offerings are decreasing because that’s how they’ve been operating at this time, but this is evidence that God is working, that the finances won’t run dry for the sake of world evangelization. 

For us, our offering has actually gotten a lot higher since the coronavirus.  That’s just a comparison between the past and now.  If the economy is on a downturn and the number of members is shrinking, the offering should shrink as well, but that’s not true.  If anything, it is the same people giving offering, but they are pushing forward with more faith because honestly, it’s not money; it’s faith.  That person is someone who has already won, someone who is already rushing forward without being tied up by money, and the answers will come later on. If you have this level of blessing, that’s enough, and if you look at the church, there are more than one or two people like that; there are many people like that.  

I don’t know how they live individually, but this is how God is living and blessing us.  May you and I be like Joseph, the ones who are raised by God in the covenant of the gospel to do 237 and world evangelization.  When you pray holding onto the Word you have received during worship, God prepares the answers immediately. There is a prayer you want to pray the most right now, through the Word God has given you through worship. Let us pray together.