In order for us to become an individual and the church God desires, we must go into 3 Only’s, Only Jesus Christ. I’m not saying “only” to mean we don’t need money or success. I’m saying everything needs to be constrained within this “Only.” 

Let us bless one another, Happy Father’s Day.  I hope the blessing of God will be upon all the individuals and families worshipping in the church, the home, and especially out of state. And since it is Father’s Day, I hope the blessings will be all the greater upon all the men. 

The background of today’s main scripture is what happened when the disciples were following Jesus. This is the concept that most people have. You know the meaning of the word, “concept.” You choose what clothes to wear today based on the concept of what you want to look like. Whenever you build a building or house, you have a concept in mind.

The shape of our walk of faith will change based on what concept we have in mind. Today the Lord is telling the disciples to have the correct concept. If we have the wrong concept, we’ll have the wrong manifestation. 

1. What the disciples desire

  1) Asked a favor (Mt. 20:20)

The incorrect concept in today’s passage is in the mother of the sons of Zebedee, John and James, when she asks Jesus for something. So in Mt 20:20, she prays to Jesus Christ in our terms. Jesus asks, “What is it you want?” Everyone has something they want. Because everyone is praying and living their walk of faith with a concept in mind, and if we have an incorrect concept, our walk of faith will also be wrong as well. Our walk of faith is not working diligently regardless of our concept. 

    (1) Lord’s Kingdom – Jesus’ Right and Left Side (Mt. 20:21)

After he asks, she says, “I have two sons and in your kingdom,” She’s essentially saying that, in the world, her sons are just fishermen in the kingdom of the world, “But in Your Kingdom, seat them at your right and left hand.” When she asks, “in your kingdom,” she means the kingdom that Jesus Christ will rule over as the Lord, “May my sons be seated at your right and left hand.” 

    (2) Do not know what they are asking (Mt 20:22)

It is possible that we’re praying to God with this kind of concept. How did Jesus respond? He says, “You don’t even know what you’re asking for. Do you know what it means to be seated at the right and left hand of God in heaven?” We are praying for things without even knowing what they are. We just ask for a high position or success without knowing what it is. 

  2) What Jesus will drink

The Lord asks them, “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” In other words, in order to be seated at the right and left hand of Christ, can you drink from the same cup He will drink from? 

    (1) Cup He must drink before dying on the cross (Mt 26:42)

Before Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, He prayed, “Take this cup from Me, but if it is Your will, let Your will be done.” It is talking about his death on the cross. 

    (2) Asks if the two disciples can drink this cup; they answer that they can – Death (Mt 20:22)

Jesus asks his disciples if they can do this, and they say they can. It’s possible we can say “Yes,” without knowing the meaning.  The meaning is that, “We’ll do whatever we can to be seated at the left and right hand of Jesus.” They pray without understanding, just as if they were saying, “God if you give me what I want, I’ll do anything for you.” They eventually do drink from the same cup as Jesus, because they are crucified after proclaiming the gospel; but it is not the same left and right hand that they had imagined, it was the “left” and “right” that God desired.

  3) Indignation of the other disciples (Mt. 20:24)

As we live our walk of faith, we have to have the correct concept.  What kind of concept do I have as I pray and walk my walk of faith? As they heard this conversation in Mt. 20:24, the other ten disciples were upset. They were really upset because they thought, “These two disciples’ mother is trying to steal my position.” These other ten disciples are also following Jesus to be seated at His left and right hand, but because of this mother who’s cutting the line, they’re indignant as they are losing their position. 

    (1) Position is taken – Competition

The world has no choice but to be full of wrath and scars. If you have the wrong concept, you have no choice but to always be angry. There is only one position that everyone is striving for, so most people end up falling into their scars and complexes; there is no choice but to fight for it. But in the kingdom of God, there is no competition. The Kingdom of God makes something where there was nothing.  In the world, everyone swarms to the place where things work out and they try to claim it as their own. However, the people of God who know God’s Kingdom go to a place where there is nobody else and they make something of it.

    (2) Indignation – Foothold for the devil (Eph. 4:26-27)

They had this wrath and in Eph. 4:26-27, it says if we hold onto anger it is a foothold for the devil. What is the beginning of our wrath? Just as the disciples showed us today, if it looks like we’re gonna lose something we want, we get angry. Sometimes if there is a powerful person and they gather their power to get what they want, those without power will get angry. In other words, this becomes a scar.

Scars start from the family because it is possible for parents to give scars to their children. In reality, these parents had good intentions but their children can receive scars from them. They’re trying to push their children along in the world so they can have a good position in the world, and it is well-intentioned, but it becomes a scar for their children. Therefore, if the inner nature of the kingdom of God isn’t relayed within the family, we have no choice but to be angry, getting scars. 

    (3) God decides (Mt. 20:23, 1 Chr. 29:11-12)

In Mt. 20:23, Jesus says, “These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” Only God can prepare these seats. 1 Chron. 29:11-12 is David’s confession of God’s sovereignty, that greatness, power, glory, majesty, and splendor all belong to the LORD. Even heaven and Earth belong to the Lord. Even sovereignty belongs to the LORD. In 1 Chr. 29:12 what does he say? Great wealth and honor all come from the LORD, and the Lord is the ruler of all things and in his hands are the strength and power to give strength to all. The ability to give power and strength to somebody and make them great is in the LORD’s hands. Even the people with authority in the world are being moved by the LORD’s hands. 

It is not about what Jesus Christ does; it is about what the Father God does.  The decisions of your life are within God’s hands. Your life is not determined by your grit or willpower. God is moving all things. That is why the believers are able to go the path no one else goes: even though we work the same job, we go the path no one else goes. Because when you walk the same path as everyone else, you’ll face conflicts, competition, and failure, but God is guiding us into the path no one else goes. 

2. Kingdom of God

  1) Kingdom of the world

Then how is the kingdom of this world moved? 

    (1) I am the standard (Gen. 3:5) – Satan’s logic 

In Gen. 3:5, the people created in the image of God are completely deceived by the lies of Satan. He says, “There is a way for you to be like God; there is a way to no longer depend on God but to live in the way you desire,” that is, to cut off the Word of God and to divorce yourself from God’s promises regarding the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil and hold onto your own words, “If you keep tying yourself to God’s Word, you’ll be a slave for your whole life, so just reject God’s Word and live how you want.” That is how everyone in this world lives, and one day disaster comes. People are meant to live in the hand of God. The moment humans live by their own will or centered on themselves, disaster comes. 

    (2) What I desire (Gen. 6:2) – Disaster (Isaiah 6:13)

When an individual like this tries to get married, they get married to someone who is good and pleasing to their eyes. Of course you should get married to someone you like, why would you get married to someone you don’t like? But these people get very angry about this. “Can I not get married to the spouse I like?” That’s not what God is saying. He is talking about making a family with the people who do not have the Word and the covenant of God.  

The way this is expressed is we chose whoever we wanted, but we must choose what God desires. God answers your prayers when you pray the prayer that God desires. You don’t receive answers because you grit and bear it, pressing for your will; you have to pray with the prayer topic God desires. As the families are created in this way, they are all swept away in the flood. 

    (3) Lift up my and our name (Gen. 11:4, Ps. 1:1-6) – Weak (Psalm 11:8)

When these families gather together, that becomes a society. This society says “Let us build a tower to the heavens to make a name for ourselves.” This was the beginning of society.  Because the individual is separated from God, the family and society go into the direction and concept of rejecting God. The tower does reach the heavens, and as the humans gather their strength, they do accomplish incredible advancements, but God takes away their power and scatters them all, making them fall into powerlessness. 

It may seem you have success but on the inside you have this spiritual powerlessness. Just like America is a superpower nation on the outside, but on the inside, but people have spiritual powerlessness.  They have great developments but the individuals are dying, and it’s changed to the extent where people can’t live unless they do drugs. We live in a society where people are so filled with wrath they have no choice but to shoot people. 

We talk so much about human freedom but we have lost true freedom that comes through the gospel; we talk about human rights, but we have lost hold of God’s authority. So our spiritual strength is completely powerless. We have churches but they have no strength. We should be spiritually conquering the region we live in, but instead, we are being conquered. 

    (4) Religion, idolatry, transcendental meditation

In the state where I am not changed, I choose a religion. In other words, I’m still centered on myself but I hold onto and choose a religious life to do whatever I want and elevate my own name. It is for that reason that we worship idols and do transcendental meditation. Transcendental meditation is how I can become centered on myself.  That individual is never changing but they’re seized by this spiritual snare. They have lost all spiritual freedom, Satan comes in and seizes them. But this is all invisible. 

  (5) Spiritual, mental, physical, family, eternal – Snare

The individual is so seized; they cannot do anything. They are seized by depression, bipolar disorder, and panic attacks. It is not up to you. It isn’t something that happens all of a sudden but it is a slow movement that manifests itself now. We have no choice but to rely on alcohol. We have diseases that even doctors can’t heal. We leave this earth after passing these spiritual diseases onto our future generations. We are seized by the snare of an eternal hell.  This is the stream that the world is flowing in. 

When you say you know this world, you have to know it from the Word of God. You’re only taken in by the world because you don’t know the world. If you want to win against an opponent, you must know your opponent.  In order to have victory over the world, you must know it well. If you don’t know the world and only have the knowledge you gained by studying, you will fall. 

  2) Kingdom of God

Jesus is responding concerning the Kingdom of God. The greatest point the world emphasizes is becoming the greatest, becoming first place, but how can you do that in the Kingdom of God? 

    (1) Those who want to become great – Servant (Mt. 20:26)

This is the word the Lord says today: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” In Mt 20:25, the people of the world will control everyone underneath them with their authority and they try to exalt their own strength. Is this what you’re trying to do? That’s not how the kingdom of God works. If you wish to become great, you must serve others. 

When you go to a restaurant, waiters serve you, and hotels provide service. What is the greatest service? It is the one that makes me very comfortable. To make someone very comfortable you must align yourself with them, 100%. If you want to be the greatest, you must serve everyone else. If you want to be the first, you must become others’ slave. 

    (2) Those who want to be first – Slave (Mt. 20:27)

In English, it says the word, “slave”. Apostle Paul speaks for this in 1 Cor. 9. What does it mean to be a slave?  In 1 Cor 9:19, “I have complete freedom in the gospel. I belong to no man.” God has given me a freedom that no longer entangles me with anyone else. However, how will you become the greatest? Paul says, “I have made myself a slave to everyone to win as many people as possible,” to win, to have victory. Ultimately, the life we live on earth must be the life of a victor. In order for me to win others and have victory over others, I must adjust myself as their slave. 

The people of the world try to gain strength for themselves to make others their slaves. That is the life of a failure, not a victor.  Apostle Paul says that living like this is living for a crown that will rot. This crown is momentary on this earth and doesn’t last forever. Why live for that? We live for a crown that lasts forever. That is why Paul became like a Jew to the Jews. Why? To win the Jews. 

    (3) Jesus came to serve (Mt. 20:28)

Why do you accept others? I may be at a different level than this person but the reason I accept them is to save them. This is the way to be the greatest person and the first in the kingdom of God, why is that? If you keep saying this person is different from you, you’ll have conflict. “I don’t want to associate with this person,” and you’ll cause division as you have freedom, but that is the weakest person. When they’re by themselves, they’ll talk about the gospel of freedom but they are the weakest. 

The greater a person is, the person is able to understand everyone, transcend them, and save them. Paul says, “To those under the law I became like one under the law, though I myself am not under the law, so as to win those under the law.” In 1 Corinthians 9:22, he says, “To the weak I became weak to win the weak.” This is the image of a slave. The world says, “I have strength, so everyone, follow me.” 

If you go into the world, there are positions of success and they’re able to utilize their strength freely. This is worldly logic.  I may be in that position, but I lower myself to others’ position to save them. Why? In order to gain the eternal crown. 

Paul says, “I do not run like someone who is running aimlessly,” in 1 Cor. 9:26. “I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.” No, I strike a blow to my body and make it like a slave, so after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified from the prize, in other words, I’m racing to be the one whom God will use. The one God uses is the greatest and the first, in order to gain the eternal crown of heaven. 

Therefore the way to become the greatest and to be the first is to accept, transcend, and save all people. The world will highly regard leaders like this. Jesus Christ Himself was God and yet He subjected Himself as a human to save us. Jesus Christ came as a human Who would have to get the COVID vaccine as well. He has to do the things we do in order to save us. That is the greatest person. 

The true greatness is not the one that oppresses and controls others. The heroes of the world, like Napoleon, became heroes because they killed many people. Genghis Khan became greater the more people he killed. He was a great hero to his nation but to other nations, he was an enemy. It is possible the decision you make for your life, thinking it is correct, will become the bane for someone else. 

The decision you think is correct might be wrong in God’s eyes, then who is the one who is greatest and highest? The one who is able to accept people because you know and understand them and are able to save them. When a mother raises her child, she brings herself down to their level, matching her level to the state of their child. It’s almost like their mental state is lowered. They do this to save their child, to raise them up and save them. That is the “us” God desires. That is the one who is great in the Kingdom of God. That is the way to change the world. 

You are not changing the world by getting a lot of authority or high position. The only way to change the world is by saving the world. In order for us to do this, can we do that work? It’s impossible. You might go three days, but then you won’t be able to do it anymore.  Maybe you’ll forgive someone a few times but later on, your original state will come out. You must acknowledge this first, it was only possible for Jesus. There is only one way for you to make yourself a slave:  there is only one way for you to die and for Jesus to control you within you. 

  3) Gave His life as a ransom

    (1) To save lives through Himself

The only method is to completely let yourself down and let the Lord Jesus Christ control you within you. 

    (2) I die, Jesus lives in me (Gal. 2:20)

What is the gospel? The old former self is dead on the cross and the new life is Christ living within me. All of your thoughts, if they’re not coming from the Word of God, they’re coming from your experiences in the world and your ingrained knowledge. I’m not saying that your knowledge is bad, but your motives and principles for which you use your knowledge are incorrect.  Your thoughts and experience and power in the world are not for God; they are not used in the direction of saving people. Therefore make it so that the Lord can live within you and move all of you. 

    (3) Follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:26,27)

That’s why we must receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus Christ is resurrected and with us as the Holy Spirit. How can you receive guidance from the Holy Spirit? You must let yourself go completely and acknowledge this, then the Lord will guide you forward from within you, and then you become a fisher of men. 

    (4) Follow the words of Jesus – Fisher of men (Mt. 4:19)

Jesus says, “Follow me.” We don’t even see Jesus, but He is with us as the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit reminds us and teaches us of Jesus Christ’s words. As you follow the words of Jesus, you become a fisher of men to save people. You can know if you lived a walk of faith well if you look at this. You can see if you’re a strong or weak person if you look at that. 

3. Church that God desires

  1) Only Jesus Christ (Ac. 1:1)

In order for us to become an individual and the church God desires, we must go into the 3 Only’s. Only Jesus Christ. I’m not saying “only” to mean we don’t need money or success. I’m saying everything needs to be constrained within this “Only.” 

    (1) Gospel that is finished (Jn. 19:30)

In Jn. 19:30 Jesus said “It is finished,” and this gospel must become mine.  What does it mean for it to be finished?  All my problems of my past, present, and future have been finished. You must accept this.  In other words, all the problems that begin from myself have been finished by the Lord who has entered into me, so now we look at things centered on the gospel, not centered on the law. 

    (2) Centered on the law -> Centered on the Gospel

What is it to be centered on the law? You’re looking at people’s actions, but being centered on the gospel means you look at everything with Jesus Christ inside of them. Instead of looking at a person’s actions and thinking, “Is that really the best you can do?”, being centered on the gospel means you look at the Christ within this person, pray for them, and relay the gospel to them. You interpret everything from the gospel so they can be moved by Jesus Christ within them. 

    (3) Understand people spiritually – Save with the Gospel

You have to acknowledge that you yourself are a human being with limitations. That is how you will live by the gospel inside of you. Even if you fail today, acknowledge that you don’t have any choice, then hold onto the gospel inside of you. If you don’t hold onto the gospel within you, you’ll fall back into legalism and your standards. If I did something and someone else cannot do something, I will continuously judge them.

Then, the longer you live your walk of faith the more fights and conflicts you’ll have, because instead of understanding and forgiving others from the standard of the gospel, you’ll always judge and argue with others. People have no other choice without God. “Oh, if this person doesn’t rely on the grace of Jesus Christ, they have no other choice.” You have to know people very well in order to save them.  

If you don’t understand people, then as you work, you’ll be afflicted because of people. You’ll never be afflicted by money, you’re always afflicted by people. I’ve never seen anyone afflicted by a dog. If anything, if a dog afflicts you, you can just get rid of it, but you can’t get rid of people; that would be a sin, so we’re afflicted by people.  After you get married, you get afflicted by your spouse. After getting a great job, you’re afflicted because of the people, why is that? It’s because you don’t know the people; you have no knowledge of people, and you’re taken in because of this. 

Paul confesses that the only way I am able to do this is by understanding Jesus Christ in the gospel. All people have no choice, you have to understand that, because this person needs Christ and the grace of the gospel. That is your beginning. If you don’t begin every day with this, you’ll begin your day arrogant. You’ll begin thinking you can do something, but the fact that we’re made in the image of God means we can’t do anything without God. We live our lives, but we can only conquer this world if we have the power, grace and strength of God. 

In order to save others, you must first save yourself and this is only possible with the gospel. I am dead; the “me” that was centered on myself, my goals, and my plans is dead on the cross and the Lord lives within me now. 

  2) Only the kingdom of God (Ac. 1:3)

Secondly, we live in the kingdom of God.  We do not live by the ways of the world or the words of people. 

    (1) Rule over me with the word

In the kingdom of God, we are being controlled and ruled by the word of God. We are living by the principle of the word of Christ. It is not centered on me, but I’m centered on the Word.  

    (2) Kingdom of Satan crumbles (Mt 12:28)

At that time the kingdom of Satan is broken. Satan is controlling us with “me,” my things, and my goals. When you are centered on the word of God, the Holy Spirit breaks down Satan and casts him out and God’s kingdom is established and Satan’s forces are cast out. You can never escape from your scars, but the only way is to hold onto God’s Word, but Satan works so that you can’t hold onto the Word but you only hold onto your scars. 

It may seem like a fact but it isn’t the Truth. It’s possible that you have a scar, but it’s possible that it’s just your misunderstanding. The more important thing is that the Lord is with you even now, and when you realize this, the forces of Satan are broken down and the darkness that was controlling your whole life through your scars are cast out. 

If these are not cast out, you will suffer in every aspect of your life, and people begin to package themselves, because they don’t want to be looked down upon, they exalt themselves. Even though they’re only at level 1, they fill themselves with hot air to seem like they’re at level 10. They build walls around them because they don’t want people to look down on them because of their scars, or they avoid people because they think everyone is attacking them. 

    (3) Mission of saving the lives of all nations (Mt. 28:18)

In order to be a slave and save others, it means you have strength. It is the one who goes into Only Christ, Only God’s Kingdom, His Word, then you have the mission to save all nations. That’s not even enough. It must be the working of the Holy Spirit upon you. Only at this point does the power and authority of the kingdom of God come upon you.  I hope you will pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit. 

  3) Only the Holy Spirit (Ac. 1:8)

    (1) Filling of the Holy Spirit, authority, witness – Prayer (Ac. 1:8, 14)

What is the filling of the Holy Spirit? You acknowledge that your thoughts are nothing and the thoughts of God are correct. It may be possible that you will be able to speak in tongues through the filling of the Holy Spirit but that isn’t the essence. The essence is that I am emptying myself of my thoughts and filled only with the thoughts of God. What happens if you pray very diligently, centered on yourself? You’ll be filled with another spirit, and that’s how Satan moves. 

It is a spirit, but is it the Holy Spirit or an evil spirit? The Holy Spirit bears fruits of the Spirit.  If I am not centered on myself but centered on God, that is the filling of the Holy Spirit. That is the strength to overcome myself and to save others. I am successful in the world but I receive the strength to subject myself to those lower than me, and this comes only through the filling of the Holy Spirit.

The members of the country are saying to the leaders of the country, “Please, as the leaders of the country, serve us this way.” But it isn’t possible just through studying a lot; all the leaders are well-learned, but you need the strength of the Holy Spirit to serve everyone and to save many. It must be the standard of God, not myself. Only the Kingdom of God, only the working of the Holy Spirit, then you will be a witness to the ends of the Earth to save people, a witness to save people.

    (2) Working of the Holy Spirit – Blessing of meeting (Ac. 2:9-11)

When the works of the Holy Spirit take place, fascinating things occur. In Acts 2:9-11, fascinating works occur, and it’s something only God can do. You can meet people and that meeting can be a curse. “My life was ruined because I met that person,” but it is not up to you, because meetings are in God’s hands. However, the blessings of meeting God has prepared take place according to the working of the Holy Spirit.  

As you work, you need to have blessings of meeting. It doesn’t matter how diligently you work because you could be surrounded by conmen, and you can’t do anything in your life. “Oh, I got married but my spouse seems like a conman.” You got married based on external appearances, but after your marriage, you see the true nature of that person. Create a family and work in your business with the God-given blessings of meeting.  If you have met a strange person, then you should pray that God changes them. 

God has that ability to change people, for re-creation.  God can work with His power to even change human trash to use them.  If you’ve already gotten married, there’s nothing you can do now but pray for God to change their heart. This takes place through the working of the Holy Spirit and your prayers, then the one who prays can move.  Then all the people around you are revived. “I was never acknowledged in my life, but I met this person and they acknowledged me,” because you adjust yourself to them, and you save them with the gospel.

    (3) Life is revived – Field – Sunday word, forum, prayer (Ac. 2:42)

The Word of God you received is going into your field. In Acts 2:41-42, you pray and forum about the Word. 

    (4) Economy of light (Ac. 2:44-45)

Because of that in Acts 2:44-45, there is a separate economy of light that God has prepared. This economy isn’t something you work diligently for.  Whether you’re a believer or not, you will have some finances if you work diligently. But that is not the economy that saves the world. The best that can do is feed your family to live. But there is a separate economy that God has prepared for you to save the world, to save people, and God pours this upon you by the working of the Holy Spirit.  

Conclusion

1. Devotion that saves the 5,000 people groups

2. Church construction – Healing, summit, devotion that saves the 237 nations

3. Devotion that saves the multi-ethnic people, future generation

It is the “me” and the church that God desires. The strength to be able to serve others in order to save them is to lower yourself as a slave, and this is found in only Jesus Christ, only the Kingdom of God, and only by the filling of the Holy Spirit.  Finally, all you have to have is the concept and posture.  You don’t have to make it complicated.  If you have the concept to accept and transcend other people to save them, then God is bound to work. But if your concept starts by glorifying yourself and exalting your own abilities, the longer you go, the more you will be misaligned. 

Prayer

May you have this blessing throughout the week. Let us hold onto the Word God has given us today and pray together.