21 Lifestyles of the Evangelist – One Heart
God, we thank You. May the 7 Journeys be our walk. May they be Your answer. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
21 Lifestyles of the Evangelist
We’ve said this before, but we’re not able to evangelize because we don’t know the gospel, but it’s not our imprint, root, and nature, so it doesn’t go out. Some people believe in Jesus Christ and immediately evangelize. Before we talk about whether this is right or wrong, how can we continue this our entire life? How are we going to have the continuation of saving ourselves and others? In order to do this, my thoughts, heart, and inner self must come to life.
I have to come to life to save other people. The spiritual things have scientific principles. If I do not come to life in the gospel, the words I say will not be able to teach anyone else. I may be able to speak but the spiritual things are accurate. The gospel and evangelism are not a simple thing. How can I come to my life myself? Not with knowledge, but how do I save? Then, my imprint, root, and nature must be in what saves.
If your root is weak, the weakness comes out, it doesn’t matter how much knowledge you have; that’s the extent. When this become your nature, you have a life that saves, so we can say this is a very important time.
Where did human problems begin?
Satan, Sin, Separation
It all started with Satan but no one wants to acknowledge that. The start is Satan, but humans were caught by that and that’s’ why they sinned, and as a result, they were separated from God. I can apply this to myself, but let’s look at other people as well. If you have the proper imprint, root, and nature in this, you’ll see the world properly, but if you cannot, keep listening until you see. Just like today’s pulpit message, the Holy Spirit reveals God’s message to us and opens our eyes.
Adults know the devil because they’ve experienced it, but we need to make it so that kids can understand without experiencing it, because if you experience the devil, that’s how deep your scars would be, so make it so that the kids understand through the Word. God works through the Word. All problems come from here, this is the fundamental spiritual problem. We know this but cannot apply it. When someone else talks, you cannot see it comes from here, so you only look at their actions; we don’t see the problem. We keep seeing whether someone’s actions are right or wrong.
We have a spiritual state. Satan’s authority cannot move us anymore, but he deceives us, so unless we have only Christ, we’re deceived, how? Through our scars and problems. What’s the evidence He has deceived you. This is about looking for God’s plan. Kids and remnants may hate this.
Only Christ (John 19:30)
When we face a problem, it’s finished. Anything that comes through minimal thinking. We cannot be perfect, but we are lacking and make mistakes, so help them to hold onto Christ. But the devil will prevent you from going. That’s why conflicts and disasters keep coming.
Gospel
What is the gospel? I become the standard and I’m like god. Even among unbelievers with a large vessel, you think about that person first. What about us? Of course we need to think from the other person’s perspective.
Only God’s Kingdom
Satan X, New Life
Only Holy Spirit
Heavenly Mandate
People who do not have a heavenly mandate cannot succeed physically. People who succeed physically in the world are considered prodigies. Unbelievers hold onto their visions to succeed. Your heavenly mandate becomes your first priority at your job. Without the heavenly mandate, your job might even be a pastor, but you’re not aligned with God.
Some people think they have a heavenly mandate, they focus on their job, this person was born to do this job. You’d do it for free.
Calling
What is the calling I must do right now? What’s the mission I must do my whole life. A soldier has a mission to war. The farmer has a mission to harvest crops. In the Olympics, the Korean player for speed skating wasn’t educated well, but no one practices as much as she does. She doesn’t start and stop. Do you think success is a picnic? Things make you quit. We think a lightbulb is just a lightbulb, but people like Thomas Edison won’t quit after 99 failures. He thought, “This is what I have to go through to become successful.”
Today’s example about General Lee, “My fear of death is the enemy, not the Japanese warships.” He believed in Jesus Christ, a renowned leader. Some people enjoy their cancer and aren’t seized by fear. The problem is fear. Whenever you get cancer, you just count yourself out. Whenever you face a problem, you bring yourself down, and the one who isn’t seized by that fear is the one who wins because God is alive.
The church is the body of Christ, and the one who loves the church is the one who loves God. The way we love the church is by loving people. Everything must come from here. The level of the church may be low, it’s not Harvard. If you want high level, go to Harvard, but such a person won’t be satisfied. It’s God from above, the mystery of salvation, God will bless and save even weak people. That’s how your eyes must open to see how souls are precious.
Rightful, Necessary, Absolute Plan
You’re not able to do what is rightful. All people cannot live unless it is by Christ, it is rightful. There’s a necessary persecution. Stephen was persecuted, it’s not that this comes unnecessarily, it is necessary and it’s part of God’s absolute plan. Success isn’t bad, but success without the gospel is bad. It’s a problem God allowed. It’s not about what’s right or wrong, it’s rightful. You live, holding onto something other than the gospel, so the necessary problem came. You relay spiritual problems to your children. It’s not about wrong and right, you kill people.
What is God’s plan? The senior deaconess’s daughter has cancer, what’s your reaction? Do you think God smites her because she stopped going to church? “Hey, look, I told you to believe in Jesus Christ, but look at you now”? It was necessary to have cancer, she had a state where this was rightful but you have to look for God’s plan. It’s an opportunity to share the gospel. Legalism stops here. “I decide what’s good or evil.” You cut people off. You must discover God’s plan. Did you make a mistake? Just stand up. If God isn’t there and it’s just me alone, I have to do something, but God has a plan. This pertains to our lives.
It’s not just our lives, but if our imprint, root, and nature is in the Word of God, our lives are bound to continue this way. If Jesus Christ wanted to criticize us, he would have so much to say, “Why did you leave God?” Jesus did not call us out on the law, but He gave us grace when we couldn’t understand; He made it so we have no choice but to believe. The disciples followed for 3 years, and their eyes weren’t opened. Some people think if you received training for three years, your eyes should be opened.
Peter heard from Mary that the tomb was empty, and he confirmed it, but he didn’t believe that Jesus resurrected. Even Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. You believe because you do something right? That’s foolish. That’s why Jesus Christ had to go to them and softened their hearts. He asks, “Why don’t you believe? I told you to testify about me, but why don’t you believe?” He explained the scriptures to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Without God’s grace, you cannot believe in the resurrection.
Studying isn’t bad, but in your studies, you must relay the working of the Holy Spirit. It’s otherwise just your knowledge. In order for that to happen, you have to wait. That’s why the church waits. Why? Because I can’t wait, “Do this and that right now,” but God says He is doing it. Waiting is faith. It seems like they have no hope but we wait for them. If you cannot wait, then that’s how you’re used by Satan.
For people who saw the church from the beginning until now, they know what this means. But those who haven’t seen this, they can’t wait, so there’s a difference for those who’ve seen it from the beginning compared to those who see it in the middle. Do you know how long it took for our church to get to 30 people, and how many years to get from 30 to 50? It took so much time, we evangelized a lot, but people don’t come to church. Even if they come to church, they leave. You’ve never experienced that, so you think of people lightly.
Do you have any idea how long it took to get from 30 to 50 people? It’s even more impossible to get from 50 to 100. If you don’t look at this process and just look at the church, you think of it lightly. Think about your children, as you raise your kids, do they grow up on their own? I was giving my daughter a ride and I wondered how long I had to do this for her. She’ll go to a high school where she can take a school bus. “I don’t want to be bound to you because I need to spend time with God.” She could take a school bus, “You can train while on the school bus.”
This isn’t shirking the responsibility of a parent. There is work a pastor must do. I’m bound to her every morning and that’s not a way for a pastor to live. Every day, in the morning and afternoon, even that is God’s plan. I teach her how to pray as we go out, I teach deep breathing prayer outside of the school. God attached her to me at this time so I could teach her this little bit.
In Elementary School, my wife would take her and pray with her on the way there, but for Middle School, I taught her how to pray as she goes into school and during every class for the working of the Holy Spirit to take place, may the Holy Spirit work upon all the teachers and studies. She does deep breathing 15 times, that’s why I realized God attached her to me. Once she’s in high school, she can take a school bus and do deep breathing on her own.
One Heart
How?
Most people look for a method, how do we do this? How do we evangelize, how do we work and study? Ask the people who were successful. It’s not about how, but it’s with one heart. Otherwise, you look for a method from the world, and you’ll be scarred about success. If you want to do something well, you can’t do this or that. Make it into your nature, that’s how even when they’re adults, their muscles are used to this. Everyone can skate, but there’s only one gold medalist. Anyone can do this, but even then, it’s iffy. In the face of that, you wonder how you can do that? One heart.
Ask Thomas Edison, “How did you create the lightbulb?” He’ll say you’re stupid. A Japanese professor discovered something by accident and was awarded the Nobel Prize. The student discovered it but the professor’s name was published, so the professor got the prize. Accidentally, you can get something else, but it only happens when you do one thing. If it’s “one heart,” you just keep doing that. Keep receiving grace through worship. But if you say, “It will be faster if you do this,” that’s a lie. You don’t know when God will work, but do it with one heart to keep receiving strength.
Sufficient
Christ is sufficient. We cannot do one heart by ourselves; we must be completely satisfied with only Christ. If Christ isn’t enough, I have to do this and that, and you’re too busy and nothing works out. Inside one thing, God made it so one thing can take place, and everything is hidden within Christ.
Complete, All in All
Christ is my everything and complete. It means to do everything in Christ, so you go in with one heart. Spiritual problems will be healed as you do this with one heart. Mental problems mean you are divided. Addiction, you’re seized by something. You’re not able to have one heart to concentrate on one thing, and in this state, you can work or study, but it won’t work out. You’re going to want to do something else.
Acts 2:1
They gathered so the Holy Spirit worked. Only if the Holy Spirit comes, that’s when it works. Every time you begin your day, it must be with the Holy Spirit. Every time you begin the day, you wait until the Holy Spirit fills you, and that continues every single day. Otherwise, the state of our heart is so easily controlled by Satan, you do this or that and nothing works.
Isaiah 26:3
Going deeply into the Bible, you receive perfect peace. Peace implies you’re happy, even before somebody works, you need to be happy. But if you’re trying to get happiness by fulfilling your work, that’s not happiness. Then you’re only going to be dragged away by your work, you can’t have one heart in Christ. When David was a shepherd, they seemed to be so diligent, but he had one heart that allowed him to do that.
The evidence he was looking for God was his hymns and psalms. Psalms isn’t about poems but he wrote down what God told him, that’s the time for the filling of the Holy Spirit for him. So, even his shepherding work came naturally. What does that mean? He doesn’t just hang around. Because your spiritual state has changed, you have wisdom to know what you’re doing. That’s how God gave him the wisdom to kill the lions taking away his lambs. He never prayed to receive wisdom, but his spiritual state was changed and he had true peace, so he had wisdom.
I hope you will always pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit in the work you’re doing. There are some people who say only the spirit is holy and the body is dirty, but then we should only have a spirit without a body, then. But God placed our spirit in our body. If you want to think about value, the spirit has value, but the body has value as well. The reason your work is valuable is because the spiritual things are relayed in the work you do. But those who emphasize only the spirit are heretics, Gnosticism. We need the physical, even Jesus Christ came physically. Why did Jesus come in the flesh? To die and save us.
Why does God give us physical health in our jobs? We do God’s work in those things. You have to understand this well because most people receive God’s Word in an extreme way. There’s some people who are very obsessed about success, and they think the church is telling them to not be successful, but that’s not it. Be successful in Christ. Spiritual problems make you go into extremes.
Matthew 17:8
Imagine how much time it takes to build three tents. You’d have to work so hard, but it doesn’t matter. You do unnecessary things and that’s why unbelievers do unnecessary things. Even believers do unnecessary things but they seem so accomplished. But the Lord says, “Don’t do anything except only Christ,” but if you have only Christ, your work will be useful. Be only Christ in your studies to be used by Christ. If you don’t have only Christ, you’re working hard, but you still don’t match with God. Same with your businesses, you’re busy wandering around.
Heb. 1:3 says that God sustains the world with His Word and guides with His Word. But only Jesus Christ is the Word, then if you don’t do that, you’re just working hard on your own. It’s not only Christ or legalism or mysticism, but you need to do what works. Ever since you’re young, the gospel. You educate them centered on the gospel. It is not that discipline is not necessary but it must come from Christ through the gospel, then God will control the unnecessary things so they are used. That’s how you discover your talents.
We discover our talents in the gospel. It’s not something we can spend a lot of time on, but God guides you towards specialization. Today Payton and Nathan and their mom came. Their father is Korean but their mother has a mix of Vietnamese and French and Korean blood. I ate lunch with them and Payton has received God’s grace. As he received the Word, he closed his eyes, meaning he’s agreeing with what he’s hearing. He’s saying his perspective is changing, when the spiritual work goes in, the perspective from which we see will change. “If you have dark sunglasses on, you’ll always see everything is dark. You work so hard, but things remain dark. But if you have the normalizing glasses of Jesus Christ, you can make the correct decisions.”
“Continue to worship.” Why do you have to continue to worship? “What is grace?” I said, “Simply put, it’s receiving. We receive something for free because we can’t do it with our efforts or hard work.” I had limitations in English so I gave an example, “You’re sitting with me now. Can you see a mile away? If you go up to the Hollywood sign, you can see all of Southern California. We’re the same. Is it a matter of working hard, deciding we can see all of southern California? This is the blessing of the spiritual summit. But you’re not interested, you’re working hard, and you’re missing the things you can see from the spiritual summit.
“For such people, everything is still a problem, but if you are up high, you can see everything. You can even see the back areas. You can’t see even if you tried so hard from here, but you go up there, it’s different. It’s the same, spiritually. When I receive spiritual strength, it’s different. There’s a difference between those who can see into the future and those who cannot.
Acts 1:14
Do I have to constantly pray? Without one heart, we start and stop. However, the action will come out when we discover the reason why we need one heart. We have to receive the truth that God must work. If that message doesn’t come into us, we pray and start doing something else. If the most important thing contains everything within it, then that’s it, but why doesn’t it work? Because we haven’t yet discovered that all our values are in Christ.
The members of the Early Church said, “But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,” but we wait for that. That’s why they gather together and constantly pray. A lot of people say, “I pray so much,” and blab about it, but if you think of prayer religiously, it’s just opening your mouth. Then problems overtake you. Buddhists, shamans, and Muslims pray, but the prayer we pray to God is a covenantal prayer. It will come, we don’t know when.
They gathered for 10 days and it was accurate, on the 50th day, 10 days after the Passover, on the day of the Pentecost, the Old Testament was fulfilled. Why 10 days after? It’s because it fulfills the Old Testament. Jesus Christ died on the Passover, representing the lamb, and 10 days later, it’s the filling of the Holy Spirit. Then 40 days after that, there was raising the disciples on the Mount of Olives. The filling of the Holy Spirit came 10 days after that.
Kids are moved by what they see on the internet; we need to be saved every day. Because it’s a rapid age, God has to give us the filling of the Holy Spirit every day. That’s the state of the Early Church.
Acts 2:42
They gathered in Mark’s Upper Room and prayed, and Peter began to preach. They devoted themselves to the Apostle’s teaching, not any other teaching. Every time they worshiped, he relayed the Word God gave to them, with fellowship. Chattering and hanging out is not fellowship, but talking about the Word of God in Christ is fellowship. They broke bread. Yes, this may be eating, but it also may be communion, but they devoted themselves to prayer, where? Whether in their homes or the temple courts.
If we’re here today in the church, and when we go back home, it’s every day, that’s the mystery. We do not finish it here with one day, but when we go back to our homes, it’s the same. We hold onto the grace we received from the pulpit message on Sunday and share that.
Logically we don’t need that. We don’t need my logic. We must stand as a witness to the Word God gave me, but instead we try to teach? We stand with the evidence God has given to us through His Word. Do you think that when I give the pulpit message, I do it with my research? It’s not that at all, but I relay to you what God has given to me as a witness.
For you, hold onto the Word you have received and God stands as a witness of that. Then God gives you a new word and it will be different. What happens then? They will become established in the church, but you can’t otherwise. You make your own disciples? They will leave the church. For me, I’m not just saying these words, but I’ve been doing this continuously until now. That’s why the words of the Early Church are so important. You must stand as a witness of the words God gave to you. You don’t need a lot of words, stand as a witness of the words of life, and the evidence arises.
Stephanie came with a broken leg, and she receives the word differently. She was moved to tears, she’s so emotional and moved, and that’s the characteristic of African Americans. We did Bible study with her for about a year while Esther went to the Long Beach court. Her heart is different now, she’s always thirsty for the Word of God. The field is different for her. It’s hard for African Americans to come to a Korean church but she told me, “My daughter loves your church, is it okay for me to come to a Korean church?” But if you look at what that means, she is thinking African Americans cannot come to church.
How did we overcome that cultural difference? Could I lure her or persuade her? I’m Asian and younger than her. It’s the Word, she wants to hear God’s Word, and I’m sure the African American adults think, “We’re not allowed to go because they’re Korean,” but they said anyone can come. When I study the history of African Americans, they have no choice but to feel this way.
Anyone can come to church, to come and praise God. There’s no difference between you and me; we are one in Christ. If you study African American history, you’ll understand why it’s like that. For them, it’s good, you may not understand what it means, but you have to study, how they lived in America for 400 years. “Pastor, I know the history too, it’s not just you,” but that’s how important it is. But because we’re in the gospel, how else would she be able to come and sing? She can only sing with those who are similar to her.
The working of the Holy Spirit must be the same at home or at church. I’m telling you this after doing all my ministry. But sometimes I try to do my ministry revealing myself. There’s a state in me, “I’m better than my pastor,” and I failed, because of my spiritual arrogance. I can speak very surely, because I was a young assistant pastor, I could speak sharply. But God will not use me.
When you stand as a witness of God’s Word given to you, people will come to life, then that person is bound to concentrate on the pulpit. Rev. Ryu says, when you bring them into the church and they can be guided by the Holy Spirit, take your hands off of them. Don’t give them your words because if they come to church, they’ll be different. I was like that from the moment I acknowledged God’s absolute sovereignty.
Philippians 3:7-8
Paul lived for the things of the earth, and discovered things of the earth to be rubbish meaning he discovered the value of everything in Christ. He lived his life for a long time for unnecessary things, wasting his life thinking the things that were garbage were the main part of life. Things like the law. He held onto the interpretation of the law that the Jews had, but that wasn’t the main thing. It was actually a side thing.
On the outside you think you have only Christ, but Paul lived by actions and law. Now we receive grace and begin to believe. Once we begin to believe, that’s it. That’s how he was able to take all the law from the past to proclaim the gospel to others.
I told Payton, “You have three ethnicities in your blood, do you know why God allowed you to be mixed? Your father is Korean and they scar you and they’re weird, right? There’s a plan of God in all that. God didn’t make a mistake so your dad was Korean, but as you discover the gospel, you’ll be thankful. If you didn’t suffer because of your father, would you hold onto the gospel now? Why did God give you a Korean father? God has a plan for you. God mixed your blood because God also has a plan for Vietnam and France as well.”
I know he was scarred by his father, that’s the characteristic of Korean men. If you don’t have the gospel, they are legalistic, Confucian-influenced, and all you learn are the laws and rules. That’s why they succeed economically, they’re used to ruling with an iron fist, and they drive forward wherever they go. They make a lot of money but the people are dying. God placed you in this family with these parents for the sake of the gospel, but if you don’t have that, you’ll be seized. You cannot enjoy the filling of Christ today. For you and I, if we discover Christ, we’re thankful for our past. We receive the gospel through that.
Philippians 3:12, 14
It’s not about me having this or being enough, but I find myself in Christ. Paul did so many amazing things, but that didn’t fill him. He followed God’s plan. We sacrifice everything for the prize God has called me heavenward. We sell our possessions to buy this plot of land. The things of earth are the introduction. All the talents, our skills, our job and everything, these are used for spiritual things. They’re changed for the crown, the prize, in heaven.
If you have a home, is it yours or not? Think about it, you haven’t thought about it before. Is it yours when you die? Whose does it become? Think about this, you haven’t thought about it because you think you’ll live forever. You work so hard and make payments, and when it’s done, you think it’s over, but no. Who does it go to? Maybe your children, or Americans may sell it and donate to an organization, do you know why? They know it’s not theirs, so they donate to a society because it’s not mine. It’s only mine while I’m here, so you use it while you can.
What must we do? We think it’s ours so we keep it buried. Let’s say you gave it to your kids as an inheritance. But if they don’t have the ability to maintain it, it’s only theirs to the extent they can maintain it, and God will only give you enough money to the extent that you can move money. If you do not have the ability to control a lot of money, you cannot get a lot of money. Lottery winners cannot control their money and their house is destroyed.
God only gives you what you can handle. Your kids may not be able to handle their inheritance, but there’s something for the gospel. Sacrificing things for the gospel will last for eternity. It remains as the promise. Knowing this verse is wisdom. If you don’t have the fundamental wisdom, it won’t be yours. Same with knowledge, what would you do with so much knowledge? It’s not even yours. It’s only yours while you’re on earth, but use it for things of heaven. That’s a wise person. But what’s the life that works so hard and is useless? It works hard for the things of earth.
James 1:6-8
If someone is blown around by their circumstances, it’s true, but their heart shakes. I get nauseous on boats. Some people don’t get seasick but I vomit. It’s because I’m shaking even though I shouldn’t shake. But what happens if my heart moves back and forth? We must hold firmly onto the unchanging word of God. God is someone who gives answers to those who believe in His promise, so you can receive true answers. If you’re always shaking, you’ll always be afraid. But if someone holds onto the covenant, you won’t be afraid.
In James 1:8, they go back and forth in their thoughts. How do we do this? Do it with one heart. In order for you to have one heart, you need to believe Christ is complete, perfect, and sufficient. You have to finish everything with the fact that He is with you in life. If there’s anything beyond that, it means you think there’s something beyond Christ. If you believe there’s something good beyond the Word of Christ, that’s not Biblical and such people cannot be satisfied even in heaven because Christ is not sufficient for them. That’s why they cannot have one heart.
The one who says God is with me as light, and that’s the answer? That’s a disciple, and the answer comes to you according to the time schedule. May we be this blessed evangelist.
Prayer
God, we thank You. May the evangelist’s life be our answer. Allow us to have this imprint, root, and nature. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.