Even if Joseph was a very upright or correct person, he would destroy himself, “It’s unfair for me because of these problematic people,” and they’re correct, but no matter how upright he may live, they will both fall.  The Bible doesn’t say that; instead, no matter what, go into the covenant. 

Joseph made this confession before his brothers, and this is how he overcame the world.

God doesn’t want people to just go to church, but God wants people to make this confession. Joseph came into the world with three mothers, a few older brothers, and a younger brother, so even when he was young, he lived in confusion.  His mother passed away when he was young. He should have received love for a long time from his mother, but it wasn’t so. At least he could receive love from his father, but the problem was that his older brothers hated him.

Even if you look at biological brothers and sisters, the older brother will typically pick on their younger siblings while the parents aren’t watching, and it’s not something they learned somewhere; it’s just their nature.  People want to receive all the love for themselves, but because they want to receive all the love from their parents, they keep picking on the younger siblings.

In the midst of that, Joseph’s mother passed away while he was young.  It’s not a simple matter for Joseph, because his source of love and tender care were gone, so he lived this difficult life, likely scarred.  But he still received training in the word of God and theology from his father, so he had no choice but to simply worship and pray before God.  His older brothers and all his other relationships in his life made life unbearable, except for his relationship with his father.

What would happen if you grow up and mature with this scar?  A tree has to grow upright, but if it has a scar, it will grow crooked, and that tree may be a big tree, but it is a scarred tree.  People who receive scars will scar others, even if they don’t want to; it will naturally happen. However, if you’re able to overcome that scar, it becomes a footstool for victory and success.  So, Joseph worshiped and prayed before God, and one day, God gave him grace.

He received a dream, a mission, and a vision from God.  He used to think it was a scar, but during this time, God gave him the tremendous grace of seeing the mission God would carry out through him in the future. But this doesn’t mean his mother will come back; he will still lack his mother’s love, but God knows that and gave something even greater to Joseph.  God gave the things of God to Joseph.

Joseph thought he always needed a mother, but that was just his thinking.  So, honestly speaking, losing his mother early was better for carrying out God’s mission for him.  Because Joseph’s mother did not have the covenant very strongly, she might have been pretty and received love from her husband, but she could not relay the covenant to the next generation, so God called her away quickly.

In the midst of that, will Joseph hold onto his scar or the things of God?  He received the grace from God, and one day, his brothers threatened to kill Joseph and dropped him into a well to kill him, but God couldn’t allow Joseph to be killed off because he had this mission.  There was no water in the well; if there was water in the well, he would have drowned and died.  Among the older brothers, God moved in one of their hearts and said, “Let’s sell him, not kill him,” so they told their father that their brother was eaten by wolves, taking his favorite coat and cutting it up, dipping it in blood.  In this way, his mother died while he was young and his brothers tried to kill him, and he ends up sold into slavery.

At this time, Joseph was maybe a middle schooler or high schooler, and he experienced all these things at this age.  At that young age, he didn’t just move next door to work, but he went to a far off land, and at that time, leaving your tribe meant you were considered as dead.  He left as a slave, so think from Joseph’s perspective, he lost his mother while he was young, his older brothers tried to kill him, and because of one of his brothers, he was sold off as a slave.  He’s in this foreign land as a slave now, and if Joseph wanted to be corrupt, he had so many reasons to be corrupt.

He could have gone down the wrong path, “Why is my life this way?” But why does God give us the Word through Joseph?  He is telling us the fact that even though you’re in a circumstance like this, there is a way for you to not be scarred; instead, take it into the path of victory.  These are correct words, “Why did my mother die? Why do others have their mothers still, but I do not? Why did my father marry so many times and have older brothers who try to kill me?” He could have lamented, and these are facts, but getting caught up in that will lead to your death. It doesn’t matter how skillful or renowned Joseph may be; if he was caught up in this, he would die.

You need something that enables you to transcend your own level.  You might get caught in a well, but if you know how to escape, it doesn’t matter.  We lack and have no choice but to receive scars, but if you have something important, then it’s no longer a scar; instead it’s a footstool for blessings.  However, if you hold onto that scar, you may get older and bigger, but inside, you’ll be very diseased. Every time you look at a family with a good mother, you’ll be scarred.  Even if someone mentions “Mom,” you’ll be scarred; you’ll look at your older brothers and be scarred.  If you hear a story about an older brother, you’ll have wrath building up in you.

What would happen if you go to church? And you believe in Jesus Christ, but you mature with these scars? If someone mentions this scar at church, if someone talks about his mother, that will touch his scar, isn’t that right?  He may see students who succeed, and at his age, other students are going to school or college, studying, but he has to work? Then he will feel like he’s going backwards, but Joseph lived a life that was better than a normal life with normal parents; it’s a life prepared for him.

What path is this? It’s not his plan, but it’s God’s plan. Why did his mother die and his brothers try to kill him?  It’s true they tried to kill him, but God used all of this. If he had had his mother for a long time, he would not have been able to mature spiritually like this. These are the ways he was able to escape from the trap of himself as he prayed.

Even though he went as a slave, he went to the seat of success and no one could say anything about him.

If you have a scar, you can’t even work very well because, “It doesn’t matter; I was abandoned anyway,” and because you think that about yourself, you cannot work properly.  “It doesn’t matter how much I work, my owner will throw me away or use me anyway,” because his older brothers sold him in the past.  His parents should have raised him properly but they did something strange and he turned out like this, but he says, “It doesn’t matter at all. Whether my parents get married four or five times, it doesn’t matter.  It doesn’t matter at all if my parents have spiritual problems or not.  It really doesn’t matter to my life whether my older brother tried to sell me or not.”

How could this be irrelevant? If I’m in God’s covenant, all of this is irrelevant to my life. Christ is the solution to all problems.  “it’s a problem, how is that not a problem?  My older brothers tried to sell me, how is that not a problem?” It is not that they sold you, but God sent you to Egypt. It’s not that your mother died early, but God sent you to Egypt, and this is not a problem, but it’s the opportunity for greatest success, so it’s very different.  Because of Joseph being there, God blessed all of Potiphar’s family. 

Later on, he faced another difficulty where he was framed and sent to prison.  Someone with a legalistic nature would have killed themselves, “What did I do wrong? That person was a cheater!” They would just die by themselves as if they have any form of justice. The world is like that; the devil works like that, but you have to find God’s plan.  Legalistic people end up killing and oppressing themselves. It’s not enough for you to live well; you have to be within God’s covenant. 

If you enter into the Ark, it doesn’t matter if the storms rage and waters rise, but if you’re outside the Ark, the waters and wind all attack and harm you. The important thing is for you to enter the Ark, don’t remain outside and question, “What did I do wrong that I face this flood?  What did I do such that the world treats me like this?” It doesn’t matter, just get into the Ark, and that’s why you have to hold onto the Word.

The devil makes people into enemies through spiritual problems and disasters, so you must remain within the covenant of Christ.  How can an ant survive a river or stream? They have to get on top of a leaf and then they can float.  If we get onto the Word of God, the Word will take us forward.  Someone asked me a question earlier, “How can I tell whether this is what God wants or not?”  They are saying, “My mom is off somewhere, how can I know if this is right or wrong?” You have to follow God’s Word.  So this person is saying, “Then how do I know according to the Word whether I should follow my mother or not?”  It means they don’t have what it takes to decipher the Word of God yet. 

You need to have something within you that enables you to interpret the Word of God for you to know, so I told them to pray.  They looked at me even weirder, “Will I be able to know if I pray?” They’ve never once prayed about this, then what’s going to happen?  If it’s so hard for me to communicate with this person, I have to start again from the ground up.  I’m not saying whether it’s good or bad, but that’s this person’s state, so I have to talk appropriately to their level. 

If you pray, then God will touch your heart with the Word of God and the words of people and the Holy Spirit, but this person wants an answer, whether it’s right or wrong, like seeking a fortune teller. I told her, “Pray about it,” but they say, “Isn’t it weird for me to know without doing anything?”  I don’t know of anything like that, but if you keep praying, then without a doubt, God will lead you with His Word, but because this person’s foundation is not the Word of God, it’s hard for them to receive guidance in their lives.

“Should I move here or there?” Go wherever. “Should I go here or there?” It doesn’t matter; do whatever you want, but they cannot tell what the better spiritual move is, so they use physical standards to determine what’s better, this or that. “Is it better for me to be closer or farther from church?” You have to make the decision where it’s better to worship and receive God’s Word, that’s what it means. 

But that person doesn’t’ know spiritual things so they ask physically, “What’s better, this or that,” and they go to fortune tellers.  Whatever it is, if it’s for the Lord, follow that path, and as you start praying, you can distinguish what’s the right path. If an adult is asking things like that, what will happen to the remnants? In our actual aspects, we must receive guidance; we know the word, but it’s vague when we go into the field, and that’s okay; that’s why you need someone like me.

It doesn’t matter if you’re young or mature, you must receive the guidance of God’s Word appropriately. The people ask questions because the Word of God touches them; otherwise they would remain in their state.  Ride the flow of God’s Word, go into the Ark; it’s not about you: go into the Ark; it’s not about your thoughts: go into the stream of God’s word.  If he had his own thinking, he would destroy himself.  Even if Joseph was a very upright or correct person, he would destroy himself, “It’s unfair for me because of these problematic people,” and they’re correct, but no matter how upright he may live, they will both fall.  The Bible doesn’t say that; instead, no matter what, go into the covenant.  That’s the remnant, that’s Joseph, and God has given us this blessing.

If God has given us this blessing but we cannot enjoy it, we go into our scars, then we won’t have good human relationships. You avoid this person because you are afraid they will give you a scar again.  You’re afraid someone will look down on you, so you boast unnecessarily about yourself.  You got a scar because people look down on you, so to prevent that, you attack them first, and that’s why people are so belligerent.  Even if you don’t do it with words, you use your hands to boast about yourself, why? Because you want to protect your scars and you have to do that until you die. It doesn’t matter how much you succeed, but you will die like that.

You have to quickly change from yourself to God; you have to acknowledge yourself. Joseph talked a lot, he always tattled on his older brothers to his father, and his older brothers knew, so in some way, this was a necessary result, but later on, you’ll see he doesn’t make any excuses. Even when he was unfairly framed and sent to prison, he didn’t say a word; he himself was changed. If you’re in some circumstance, there is a reason and you must find it to be renewed in God quickly.

You don’t receive a scar just because you face an incident, even unbelievers change their scars into an opportunity.  I don’t think Oprah Winfrey escaped from her scars by being inspired by God’s spirit. She was raped, but she said it wasn’t her fault, “Someone raped me, but I wasn’t raped.” The rape happened to her, so she psychologically tricks herself.  Many people are like this, they have strong mental states. They have a thought that takes them out of their thoughts.  They talk about this in psychology, right?

Other than that, what is there?  Unless you go into the covenant of God’s Word, you will be trampled on by Satan.  You have to escape from this thing called “yourself,” how? You have to go to God. It’s not about “me,” but you change yourself according to the Word of God; just find God’s plan and will within that circumstance.  “Why did God allow this to happen?” If you find God’s answer, you can escape, and we are the people of the covenant like this.

Joseph didn’t do anything else, he just remained within the stream of the covenant well.  As he remained in that, he was able to see why God sent him to Egypt.  God revealed His glory in Egypt, the sun and moon and eleven stars bowing down to him meant he would proclaim the glory of God to the whole world, and he saw this in advance. The remnants have been called for the covenant of saving the 237 nations of the world.

Otherwise, what happens? You’ll fall into your scars and you can’t escape even if you come to church, no matter how hard you try.  Even if you do manage to escape somehow, you still cannot block the curses, disasters, and Satan.  The only way is to put your life into God’s covenant.  Then, all the scars and complaints in your past will change into footstools of blessings, but because “I” am so strong, I keep getting caught up in “myself.”

Some scars you receive from others, but your standard is too perfect; you cannot forgive yourself.  “Is this all I can do? Why has this come into my life?”  That person is always going to be seized by themselves and they can’t escape. Quickly hold onto God’s covenant.  No matter how much you try or seek help, no one can help you, not even your parents; you have to escape, and that is why the Lord came to Simon Peter and touched him personally.  Your parents cannot do this for you.  They may be able to guide you, but you must personally restore your relationship with God.

The time you were scarred, you had no choice but to fall into that; you didn’t have the strength to overcome. The Lord already knows this and forgave you. The problem is, you’re not able to forgive yourself.  Because you think you’re God, you think, “Is this the best I can do with my life? Why is my life like this?”  Instead, ask, “Why did God allow this for me?” There’s no other way for you to escape your scars.  You can only become completely liberated when the Word and covenant of God hold onto you, then it will turn into a blessing, and you will walk the path towards God’s mission.

Your diligence cannot go long.  If you have scars, you’ll stab others because of your scars.  If you go into the evangelism field and have a scar regarding money, you can’t evangelize to rich people; you can’t overcome it.  You have the gospel but you cannot overcome, so when you go out into the world, you’re oppressed by the world and the successful people in the world because you have a scar, so that’s why people become enslaved.

Christians are unable to walk the path of the mission we’ve been given, that has to be irrelevant to me.  If anything, you’ve had good experience, and you have to have this experience to hold onto the gospel properly and to know your limitations, but the fact that you have a scar means you do not acknowledge your limitations.  You have to acknowledge this yourself. “I am a creation that has no choice but to be this way, powerless.” It’s not up to you, it wasn’t up to Joseph that his brothers wanted to kill him, but he thought he had to be perfect, “Nothing like this should happen to my life,” that perfectionism and desire to be like God must be broken down.

I have so little power, I have no choice but to experience this.  You have to quickly recognize yourself.  If you don’t recognize yourself, it becomes a thorn in your side and it’s very difficult; even your actions will be very strange.  Only you know about this: these are actions you take to try to cover up your scars.  It’s very strange, isn’t it? Because at a pivotal moment, Satan will try to touch you again. It must become irrelevant to you.

“I am a child of God. I am a weak person who had no choice but to be like this. Even if I made a mistake, I had no choice but to make that mistake, but that’s why God loves me and God tells me to receive God’s power.” The further you go without receiving God’s power, the more you will be scarred and give scars. Joseph was able to overcome this, so he met his older brothers and made a confession that did not come from his scars.

“Do not be distressed that you have sold me,” it means it was irrelevant to him.  “Because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” Later on, he says that his brothers may have acted out of wickedness, but God made it good.  People may treat you in an evil way, but if you hold to the covenant, it will turn into a blessing. Joseph was within that flow. 

If a person with scars gets married, it will be difficult again because without a doubt, that scar will come out.  If that scar doesn’t get resolved, then without a doubt, that scar will be relayed to the children, then it’s not a family; it’s completely hell.  Even if they got married with a good intention in their heart, they have no choice, even if they don’t want to live like that.  So remnants, whatever is in your family, I hope you will hold onto the covenant of God and overcome.

Are you scarred by the church? It may be true, but just thinking like that, you cannot save your family.  When you go into your company, you can’t save anyone. You may have a job, but you cannot save anyone.  You must see this is an opportunity to pray for the church and save.  Does anyone look down on you? It’s because you’re doing something that’s worth looking down on.  Change yourself so you don’t do whatever makes people look down on you.

Are you constantly in conflicts with people? It’s not the other person, but you change yourself to the point where you are no longer fighting and you let go of these issues; you hold onto the covenant and go.  There’s no other method other than God.  It doesn’t matter how much you hold onto an issue and fight whether you’re right or they’re right using the standards of the world; that’s Satan’s trap. 

The words of Joseph, the victorious one, were cool, aren’t they? They can’t teach you this at Harvard; they can teach you knowledge and skills, but only God’s Word can teach this. It seems so simple but it’s not, however, if you know the path, then the answers will come. If you’re avoiding things because of your scars and you hide yourself, that is a life of suffering. It doesn’t matter who you meet; you change all of that into a relationship of a blessing.  Change the evil person with a blessing in prayer.  That’s a powerful person.  Those without power will meet strange people, and it’s evidence you have no strength. Because God is with us, we can pray for strange people and restore scarred people. You need to save them. Everybody is diseased.

There’s a lot to eat in America and everyone gains weight, but they’re diseased on the inside. I’m not saying everyone is getting fat, but there’s wealth and material goods that go around; however, their inner heart is diseased and dying, so that’s why God gives the Word.  The reason why God gave you the opportunity to escape the scars is so you can overcome.

Nothing can help you to escape other than God’s comfort. Someone can pat you on the back and say it’s okay, but that won’t work; you have to be completely healed and liberated, and just as the Lord did this with Simon Peter, He will do this with us as well, and that’s how we walk according to our mission. This is a healthy person who has a healthy spirit, mind, and body, but many people are diseased even if they’re not hospitalized. Some people pass by others and think, “Why did you look at me like that?” then they pull out a gun.  This person just glanced over, but the other person says, “Why do you look down on me?” It’s because they have a scar, so they think, “This person is laughing at me.”

But what about a successful person? Let’s say it’s an attractive or successful person. As you get close to them, you’ll realize they’re full of scars, they are a living mental institution, and that’s why our mission is to heal and restore those people, don’t you think that’s right?  That’s the Word God began and God will continue to do it; all you have to do is ask God.  “God, why did you allow me to mature under this alcoholic father?” You can’t escape with your own abilities; you can only escape if you have God’s answer.

“God, why is my family always so poor?  Other families have money, so they’re treated well, but what’s wrong with my family? Why does my parent have a mental problem and they can’t take care of me?” That’s possible, some kids grow up with drug addict parents and cannot take care of their kids. No family is perfect, but the Bible tells us there are families like this.  All the families are separated from God, enslaved by Satan, and living under curses and disasters.  Through this family, you can see the world.

Through your parents, you’re able to see the inner spiritual state and problems of the world.  Even though your fate had no choice but to follow suit, by Jesus Christ you’ve been liberated and you can save.  So, everything that has happened in your family is your mission. If this is not restored, you must live in pain until when? For generations, forever. It’s not enough to go to church, isn’t that right?  You have to escape by going into the covenant.  Then, this blessing will be continuously relayed from generation to generation.

Our lives are not our own; they are the Lord’s and as evidence of that, I follow the Word and pray to seek God’s will. What does it mean to follow the Lord? It’s possible if you could see Him, but you cannot, so you follow the Word, then what do you do?  Do you follow in prayer? You must pray to see His will. What you want is to live your life; you don’t want to live for God’s will, so you must find what God desires.  “God, why did you allow me to be born into a drug-addicted alcoholic family?” Isn’t that right? Once God’s covenant comes in, things will change.

The only thing left for you to do is to pray, with a one-on-one personal relationship with the Lord.  The Lord that came to Simon Peter is knocking on your door as well, but you’re stuck in your ego and stubbornness so you don’t open the door. You hold onto yourself so tightly, “I believe in Jesus Christ, so this is how I must live,” but you have to open the door.  He is continually knocking and asking, “Do you love Me?” It’s just that I’m so wrapped up in my own life that I cannot hear, and how unfortunate is this?

The Lord says it’s not your fault.  “It’s not your fault, Simon; you had no other choice. This is you, and nobody can do otherwise unless the grace of God enters them,” so quickly let go of yourself, and God continuously tells this to us.  I hope today will be that day.  Stop acting like an anxious psychopath, trying to prevent this or that in your future, but hold onto God instead.

My daughter is going on a trip, and I thought, “This might be the last time I see her.” I saw on the news how a daughter who was a medical student saw her father for the last time, and I can’t live like that.  It’s a futile life, she has been called for world evangelization and I can’t follow my own thoughts; I have to follow the Word.  If not, I live in fear, wasting so much energy and preparing for everything, it’s crazy, calling her ten times to make sure she didn’t die on the road.

I’m sure all the parents understand, these are thoughts that happen to every parent.  Where do these fears come from?  It’s the fear of not believing in God, and it happened to me a minute ago. I had to change myself quickly.  Because you are remnants to do world evangelization, God will protect you with the heavenly hosts like Michael, He will send fiery armies, why? Because you have the covenant.

Without this, you become a mental patient. If you have the coronavirus, you become a mental patient. The mental diseases are on the rise, and they’re being more exposed because people have been quarantined but the mental illnesses are popping out now. We don’t have to be like that, but if we follow God’s Word we can overcome. I hope you will enjoy this blessing.

Prayer

Father God, we thank You.  Bless the remnants and liberate us from all the scars in our past.  Allow us to turn this into a footstool according to your blessed mission and plan. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.