Death and Resurrection of Christ that Saves All People (Jn. 12:20-36)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” Our words are very important. The words that you say, that is your personality and that is also your spiritual state. Your life will change based on what words you say. However, Satan deceives us so that we do not know the importance of our own words, by making everything centered on our personal standards.
The title of today’s message is, “Death and Resurrection of Christ that Saves All People.” Then, the content that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, died on the cross and resurrected, saves people. However, people who are spiritually dying live a life that is irrelevant to Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection on the cross, so we will share the Word of God regarding that today.
1. God’s time schedule
1) Festival – Worship (Jn. 12:20)
(1) Some Greeks among those (Jn. 12:20)
(2) Would like to see Jesus (Jn. 12:21)
(3) Disciples asked Jesus (Jn. 12:22)
During the Feast of the Passover, all of the Israelites around the world gather in Jerusalem for the festival. But among them were not only Jewish people, there were also Gentiles and Greeks. Many people wanted to meet Jesus Christ because they heard that He had resurrected Lazarus from the dead, so they asked the disciples around Jesus to let them meet Jesus.
2) Jesus
(1) The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified (Jn. 12:23)
Now that the people around were asking to meet Jesus, Jesus replied in Jn. 12:23, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” So, where is all of God’s time schedule centered on? After Jesus Christ heard that even Gentiles were asking to meet and see Jesus Christ, He said, “Now is the time for the Son of Man to be glorified,” in other words, it was time for Him to be crucified, and that’s what it’s like to see the time schedule of God’s Work. After Stephen was martyred, the disciples of Jesus scattered and they gathered in a place called Antioch and began proclaiming the gospel to Gentiles, meaning it was God’s time schedule to proclaim the gospel to all nations.
God moves all of His time schedule, centered on proclaiming the gospel to all nations. When this gospel went to Europe, then God was focusing on Europe, and when this gospel came to America, God focused His attention on America. When this gospel is being spread out to the entire world, then God sets His focus on that church and that individual. These are the eyes through which we can see the time schedule in which God moves. When will this world end? When this gospel has been proclaimed to all peoples. When does your physical life on earth end? It is when your spiritual mission is complete, then you go.
(2) A kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies (Jn. 12:24)
So, Jesus Christ says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified,” and then He says, “A kernel of wheat must fall to the ground to bear fruits.” What this means is that there needs to be one being who dies to save all mankind, and that is how there may be many fruits.
(3) Produces many seeds (Jn. 12:24)
How can you have many fruits in your life? If you die, then you will have fruits. Of course, this is not talking about a physical death, but it’s talking about your internal ego. When that is broken down, then God’s fruits take place. Buddhists try very hard to polish their spirituality to get rid of their own ego and desire. There is also the American meditation that is trying to empty oneself, to empty one’s ego and desires, and all of these other religions have these practices of denying yourself in order to try to kill the ego. However, no matter how much you’re able to kill your own ego, unless the Spirit of Life goes in, you will not come to life. Many people practice transcendental meditation to try to empty their ego, and they even want to focus their inner spirit, so they chant; however, when their ego is fully empty, seven more evil spirits go in. This is the spiritual principle, the spiritual flow.
3) Jesus’s response
(1) Father, save me from this hour (Jn. 12:27)
So, it is time for Jesus Christ to die on the cross, and what is His personal reaction to that? Because Jesus knows He’s about to die on the cross, He’s filled with fear. So, He has a momentary thought when His heart is troubled, to pray, “Father, save me from this hour.”
(2) It was for this reason I came to this hour (Jn. 12:27)
But then He comes back to His senses, “No, this is the very reason I came to this hour,” and changes His thoughts. What is the way for you and I to live and survive today? It is not to live for myself, but to change everything to be centered on God’s will. Even Jesus Christ was in this difficult situation, and we will be the same way. If you always make your decision based on, “What will be a benefit to me, what will help me and my family?” That will be the way to die. That decision itself is not what kills you, but aligning yourself to the will of God is the way to save you.
(3) Father, glorify your name! (Jn. 12:28)
Then, the next thing Jesus says is, “Father, glorify Your name.” When is God the Father glorified? When Jesus Christ dies on the cross and when He resurrects. Only that Word can glorify God. There is nothing else that will glorify God. Even Jesus Christ, God the Son, receives glory through this. So, what does it mean for you and I to live for the glory of God? It means that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection is revealed through us. So, your success does not glorify God, but the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection must be revealed through your success every day to glorify God.
2. Jesus Christ’s cross
Then what exactly is the meaning of this death on the cross? At this time, no one knew how Jesus would die, so He’s telling them in advance.
1) When I am lifted up from the earth (Jn. 12:32)
(1) To show the kind of death he was going to die (Jn. 12:33)
In Jn. 12:32, it says, “When I am lifted up from the earth,” what does it mean that He will be lifted up from the earth? He is saying in advance that He will die, hanging on a cross, and only that death will save all of mankind.
(2) Wilderness – Just as the snake, the Son of Man must be lifted up (Jn. 3:14)
The reason Jesus Christ uses these words is because there was a time in Numbers and it is also spoken about in John 5, where the Israelites had great disbelief during the Exodus, and the beginning of every problem you have in your life is disbelief. God sent poisonous snakes to kill the Israelites in the wilderness. When you have disbelief about God, then it buries into you as venom, then you will die spiritually. Your body and your mind is alive, but your spirit is dead. During that time, God told them to look at the snake that is on the staff, and anyone who looked at that snake would live; it’s talking about Jesus Christ, but if somebody has disbelief, what happens to their mental state? Their mental world is filled with fear.
The real reason you’re afraid is not because of something to be afraid of; your spiritual state is filled with fear the moment you’re separated from God, and because of that disbelief, you will have your worries, concerns, and anxieties. That’s when the devil goes into you. Then, when you’re hooked on that, your thoughts and your minds will be dragged by Satan, and then the devil begins to oppress you. You know people who live their lives so mentally burdened and oppressed by their worries, right? Then it doesn’t just stay with them being oppressed; it turns into physical diseases, too. That affects not only your blood and circulatory system, but your heart and your autoimmune and nervous systems as well. The Bible tells us that thinking like that dries your bones. The immune cells, the B cells that fight in your immune systems are created in your bone marrow. And what happens when the bone marrow dries up? You’re no longer able to defend yourself with your immune system. That’s why it must be Christ for you to come to life.
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, all of the curses and disasters that I should have faced because of my sin, were given to Him. If you do not believe in Jesus Christ, then all of the curses and disasters of your original sin and your consequential sins fall on you. Those curses and disasters will find you the same way they found your family line. There’s no amount of education that can change that. So, I’m sure that the older people in the audience will recognize that, “Even though I do not want to become like my parents, I find that I’m becoming more like them.” It would be fine if I became like my parents in the areas that I liked, but I end up doing the exact same things I hated most about them.
(3) The prince of this world will be driven out (Jn. 12:31)
The Lord said He has finished all of those curses and disasters on the cross, and you have to believe it in order for it to be finished. When Jesus Christ resurrected, He defeated death and the authority of death, which is Satan. That is why, through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection, the ruler of death, Satan, was cast out. However, when we begin to have doubts or disbelief about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the cross, that Satan who was cast out, crawls back in. The devil will prevent you from believing in Christ no matter what. The devil will let you do anything else except believe in Christ. I’m sure you guys think this, “I’m here at church because I believe in Jesus,” but that’s not what I’m talking about. It means you must be in a state where you always believe in Jesus Christ, that’s what it means to have only Christ, only gospel. Then, the devil knows. The devil knows that this person is holding onto only Christ, not only money or anything else, and the devil will run away on his own.
However, if you are living only for your own boasting and only for the success of the world, the devil will know that and attack you. For nonbelievers who do not know this, Satan is holding onto them and controlling them with authority, and they will never experience the peace that God gives. I’m speaking to you as a witness. I lived 29 years, 30 years of my life as a nonbeliever, and I never had comfort or peace in my heart once, and I was always so burdened and oppressed, I was oppressed having to live in the world, I was oppressed by having to study, and when I went to work, I was oppressed by my job, and I was oppressed by the words people said to me in my relationships, and I was oppressed by this need to succeed. I was never once happy. The only time I felt a little bit of fake happiness was when I got drunk. For the people who drink in the audience, you understand me, right? That’s how you make a fake happiness, in other words, you are medicating or numbing your brain to fake your happiness, just like people who do drugs to try to recreate this state of ecstasy in their mind. Why do you think people do that? They have no choice but to go in that direction because they do not have the true peace and joy that Christ gives them. For you and me, we must enjoy the true peace and joy that God gives us from heaven; that’s what we call true happiness.
(4) All people will be drawn to Jesus (Jn. 12:32, Jn. 3:15)
Then Jesus Christ says, “The prince of this world will be driven out, and I will be lifted and will draw all people to Myself.” We must go to Jesus to be saved. Your studies and your job must be used by Jesus for them to come to life. When your thoughts go into the words of Jesus Christ, then even your thoughts will come to life. Even right this moment, for the people who are listening while they are praying, their spirits come to life. But I’m sure most people will not be able to pray. With that spiritual state, you cannot overcome the world. Today, while you are worshiping, I hope you will pray to God and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, then many things will be restored. Then, the Holy Spirit will reveal the hidden mysteries I do not know, and you will see the future. These are things that even successful people in the world can never see, because God reveals the things that He has hidden.
2) Jew
(1) Law – The Messiah will remain forever (Jn. 12:34)
(2) Cannot understand that ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’ (Jn. 12:34)
In reaction to this, the Jewish people spoke up and said, “We heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever so, how can you say that you must be lifted up and die?” The Jewish people thought that the Messiah would be a very strong leader who would only bless the Jewish people and would destroy all the Gentile enemies, but that is actually a misunderstanding of the Messiah. Even among Christians, there are people who misunderstand the Messiah, the Christ. People say, “Oh, we need God to give more strength to the Christians so we can give the Gentile nonbelievers a piece of our mind,” that is the wrong Messiah you believe in. The Lord must die on the cross in order for others to be saved.
(3) In darkness (Jn. 12:35)
To the Jewish people who asked this question, Jesus Christ said, “They are in darkness, not in the light.” If you’re in darkness, you cannot see anything; you only look at the physical things, you will never be able to see the spiritual works of God or the plans of God. Because we have the spirit, mind, and body, we must be able to see the spiritual world. But if only your mind and your body are alive and that’s all you look at and think about, it will be a hard life for you. The Word of God is the Light, and that Light must be established in me; then everything will be revealed brightly to me. That blessing must be upon me first.
3) Meaning of believing Jesus Christ
(1) Anyone who hates their life (Jn. 12:25)
In Jn. 12:25-26, Jesus Christ says, “Anybody who loves their life will lose it,” what does this mean? People who are always centered on themselves, “My benefit, everyone needs to be centered on what I say,” that person will die. So, why is there so much suffering in America? It’s because ever since these children are very young, growing up in schools, they have implanted this idea of individualism. Individualism is a good thing from the perspective of humans, but spiritually, it is the way to die, because being centered on the individual takes us further and further away from God, because “If I personally do not want to do it, I’m not going to do it. If this is uncomfortable for me, personally, I avoid it.” That’s the culture of all of America. So, even though there is the gospel, people emphasize their individualist ideology more than they emphasize the gospel, then they will suffer.
What does it mean to let go of your life? It means to let go of that ideology. What does it mean that you believe in Jesus Christ? It means that you believe that everything in your past, all of your values and experiences, are also crucified on the cross. As soon as human beings are born, they are born with Original Sin, separated from God, so all five of our senses are immediately aligned to being centered on “Me,” that’s what it means for every baby to be born in Original Sin, controlled by Satan, and on top of that, they’re receiving an American education where they are being taught to be centered on yourself. These babies are already born centered on themselves, and their individualism makes it so comfortable for them to become moreso. Satan uses that channel to work upon America. That’s the reason why there are so many problems like mental problems and drug abuse in America today.
(2) Will keep it for eternal life (Jn. 12:25)
However, He says, “Those who hate their life will keep it for eternal life.” All of the old ways of my life, all of my habits that came when I was centered on Satan and sin, lost and separated from God, that has been crucified on the cross, and now the resurrected Lord lives in me forever. Now, it is no longer the me of the past, the new me is Jesus Christ living within me as the resurrected Lord. Believing in that is what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. But most people don’t believe that. They do believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and resurrected, but they still live, centered on themselves. I’m sorry to tell you this, but you will not receive the spiritual answers and fruits, because you are going back into your old life, back into the life of a nonbeliever, and that’s why you are dragged into a life that the devil loves, but there’s no need for us to do that. The “me” of the past is dead. I will no longer follow my own benefit, but whatever the Lord desires. When I face a problem, I will no longer think about it from my perspective, but look from the Lord’s will. If my environment is difficult, I will no longer think about it from my perspective, but I will look for God’s opportunity, plan, and blessing. Those people come to life, that’s what it means to kill and hate yourself.
The reason you suffer for no reason in the field is because you keep coming to life, in other words, you ask, “Why do these things keep happening to me?” It’s “me,” then. “Why does that person keep saying those hurtful words to me?” It’s again, “you,” that’s why you suffer. “Why does nothing I do ever work out?” That’s why you die. “Why do I keep getting sick and diseased?” It’s always about “me, me, me,” that’s why you’re dying. You need to make the decision that puts you to death and raises the Lord to life. In other words, ask, “What is God’s plan?” That is the way for you to put yourself to death and believe that the Lord is living within you. Then that person will come to life.
If there are any of you who are sick, if there are any of you who are suffering from an internal problem that you can’t even speak out loud, quickly come out of yourself. Satan deceives us with a lie, that being centered on myself is to my benefit, but if you do that, not only will you die, but all of your posterity will die. We need to make the decision that the Lord desires in order for me to come to life and everyone around me to come to life.
The Word God is giving you today is the way to save all people, and the way to save people is to die on the cross and make the Lord be revealed in your field. So, for those who hate their lives in this world, they will keep it for eternal life, meaning that the Holy Spirit of the Lord will guarantee your life. There are some people who say, “I can live forever without the Christ if I just believe in Jesus,” but that’s not right. Christ is life, and that life of Christ lives forever with me. People say, “Oh, because I live for Jesus, I’ll live forever?” No, that’s not it, it means that, because you are with Christ and Christ is eternal life, you are with eternal life. Even right now, we live with eternal life, and that’s how we will continue to live in the future, that is eternal life. “Oh, right now, I’ll just live however I want, and then I’ll live a good life in heaven”? No, that’s not how it works. Even right now, the resurrected Lord must become my Lord and Master and I live, following Him.
(3) Follow Jesus, Be where Jesus is (Jn. 12:26)
Then in Jn. 12:26 Jesus says, “Whoever serves me must follow me.” Now, what does it mean for us to believe in and follow the Christ Who is our Lord? We serve Him. The words, “Service” and “Worship,” what does all of it mean? It means we are serving the Lord. When you believe in Jesus Christ, you become a child of God, then you become God’s heir, and that is the relationship that I have, but the posture that I have is one of a servant or slave. Because I Inherited everything from God, I am a child by position, but the posture that I have is that of a servant or a slave. But if you think about this incorrectly, some children rebel against their parents, but that’s not what we are. “God, give me what I want or I’ll throw a temper-tantrum”? That’s not what a servant does. The servant says, “Give me Your Word and I will follow it,” that is worship, that is service. “God, please give me Your Word today, not the Word that I want to hear, but God, give me the Word that You want to tell me.” The Word that I want to hear is the Word from my past where I was seized by sin and Satan, that Word I want to hear will kill me. That old “me” is dead, and now only the Lord lives inside of me, so, “Lord, give me the Word that You desire.” So, we receive that word from the Lord God and we live the rest of the week in the world with that Word.
That’s what Jesus means when He says, “Where I am, my servant will also be, because the Lord is His Word and the Lord gives us His Word, and when we follow His Word, we are there with the Lord. So, if your walk of faith is not working out well, it’s because you don’t know very well. People think, “I believed for such a long time, but there’s still something in the way,” it’s because you don’t know the Word. It’s because you’re still holding onto your own authority and your own sovereignty, and you’re asking God, “Fill my greed and my ambition,” but that is not what God does. What does it mean for you to believe in Jesus? It means that, through Jesus Christ, the “me” of my past, the “me” that was enslaved by Satan and sin has been crucified. Now, Christ resurrects and is living within me as my life, united with me forever as my Lord, that is the Christian life, then every moment, I follow after the Word the Lord desires.
Why do you keep failing in your field in the world? It’s because instead of thinking according to the Word that the Lord gave you for that week, you make your thoughts based on your experiences and for your benefit. That’s why you fail.
Last week, we received the Word, “Jesus Christ, the King of all People,” Then you need to live your entire week, holding onto the Word you received. Then, when you go out into the field, you pray, “May Jesus Christ be the King of this field. May God be the King of that person’s business and do the work of God there.” Only God’s Word is fulfilled, but most people don’t live their walk of faith like that. How do they live their walk of faith? “I gave worship. Most of the time I don’t receive grace, but sometimes I do, and I like it, but as soon as I leave, I go back to my old ways,” then what do you think is going to happen? Their lives are irrelevant to the Lord, but you’re under the misconception that you believe in Jesus Christ; that’s not believing in Jesus, that’s not following Jesus. You are still living with the old nature of your past where you were deceived by Satan and his ways. That is not following Jesus, that is following the devil, that’s why our walk of faith is not working, that’s the reason people fail in the world. So, for you, through today’s worship, by the working of the Holy Spirit, may you understand these words and completely be changed.
In today’s scripture, Jesus Christ says, “God will honor those who serve Me.” Whom does God honor? Those who serve and follow Jesus’ Word. Even among children of God, there are those who God honors as precious. Those are the children who follow His Word. By their faith, they deny themselves and follow the Word. If God honors you, then you’re a VIP. God will honor you and will place His spotlight on you, that was Joseph in the Bible. Even though he was taken as a slave, God poured all of his attention onto Joseph, because Joseph held onto and followed God’s Word. On the other hand, the other children were still listening to God’s Word, but not following it. You must be somebody whom God considers important and honored. There was the superpower nation of Egypt, but actually that was just a side character that God created to fulfill His Word.
Who is the real main character? Those are the people who held onto and followed God’s Word. So, Joseph was not just a slave, but God began His work in Joseph in that situation. Potiphar was Joseph’s master and owner, but he was a side character. America might be a superpower nation, however, God centers all of His focus on the individual who holds onto and follows God’s Word. Even though the president is the worldly summit, he still is a side character. That’s what the Bible tells us. David is the main character; everybody else is a side character. Because he is going forward to fulfill the work God gives him, then God pours out all of His work upon him. If that blessing comes upon you, you will no longer complain about the way things are going in your business or life. You only complain like that because God does not consider you honored or precious. God will not treat his VVIP like that; God will place all of His priorities upon you. He will give you special treatment. Even though everybody is getting cut down due to COVID, God would raise this person up. Why? Because this is a precious person. Why are they precious? Because this is somebody who chases after God’s Word; may all of us become people like that. May all of us throw away the dirty, filthy lies that Satan uses to destroy us, and hold onto and only chase after Christ’s Word.
3. Current time schedule
1) After resurrection
(1) Mt. of Olives – God’s kingdom (Ac. 1:3)
We are living in a time schedule after Jesus Christ died on the cross and resurrected, and now the Holy Spirit guides us. then, what is the word we must follow now? We need to chase after the word Jesus Christ gave to us after He died and resurrected. Jesus gathered all of His disciples and taught them for 40 days and talked to them about God’s Kingdom. Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of God, and when Jesus Christ reigns, that is the Spirit of God’s Kingdom. When the resurrected Lord rules over me with His Word, that is God’s Kingdom in me. We call that heaven. There’s no sadness in heaven, even sadness will change, when Christ reigns over me.
Then, He gives them the mission to change the Kingdom of Satan in the world and to change it into the Kingdom of Christ. Why do you have a job? To establish the Kingdom of Christ, for the person who believes that, God will follow them with His power, but if you’re working for yourself, God just leaves you alone. He knows that you work for your own benefit, so even though God can give you power, He just holds onto it and lets you do it on your own. On the other hand, let’s say there’s another student who’s really studying, but they do it for the Kingdom of God, then God will set the spotlight on that student. Then Go works with His unlimited IQ. God created the entire universe, and our scientific laws are within that, so God will reveal the next scientific discovery to this person. You cannot get that by studying the world. God must work with the power of creation upon this person to have these works take place. So, I cannot establish God’s Kingdom from my strength. That’s why, only when the Holy Spirit comes upon me, when you pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the mission of God’s Kingdom, the Holy Spirit will work upon you; then you will receive power, the power to overcome the devil, the power to spread the gospel to the entire world will be upon you. God will give you the blessing and the power of the economy of light so you can never say, “I can’t do world evangelization because I don’t have enough money.” Without a doubt, the Word of Jesus that you will be a witness until the ends of the earth will be fulfilled, that is the Word we must follow. So, when you look at yourself, you need to talk to yourself with the Word of God.
If you look at yourself with the facts you see? That’s a big problem. Let’s say for example, I’m looking at myself in the mirror and I talk about my face the factual way that I see it, that’s a big problem, because I promised not to say those things anymore, I promised myself not to say, “Oh, this looks like that.” In other words, also when people say, “You’re so good-looking,” I don’t listen to those words. And when people say, “Oh, you look terrible,” I don’t listen to those lies either. All of those words are lies, I’m a child of God, Jesus Christ finished all the curses and disasters of my sin on the cross, I’m a pastor who will share the gospel to the ends of the earth, that seems like nothing, doesn’t it? May the power of God be upon me today. There was a Japanese scientist who conducted an experiment, he got two containers of water, and for one container of water, he only said curse words at it, and the water rotted and the container broke. Same thing with plants, he continued to say curse words at a plant, and the plant would die, and there’s another container of water where he continued to bless it. Nowadays you buy expensive bottles of water, because water is very important, but it doesn’t matter how expensive the water you buy is, if you yourself are full of curses, then the water you drink will turn into curses inside of you. Our bodies are filled with more than 70% water, but if you’re always filled with thoughts like, “I can’t do this, I can’t do anything, I’m going to judge them and criticize them,” then everything inside of you will be changed and corroded, so you’ll have no choice but to get sick. It doesn’t matter how good quality and organic the food you eat is; it all turns into curses the moment it goes into you.
But if you say, “Through Jesus Christ, all of my problems are finished and He is with me,” I don’t have “just Christ”; I have “only Christ,” and at that time, what happens? The curses run away and the darkness flees. I will live in America with a mission to establish and spread God’s Kingdom here. It may seem like nothing, but it actually restores your physical health. The people who speak with the Words of God will be blessed no matter where they go. But there are some people who are always so critical and they think that it makes them sharp but it actually makes them stupid. That’s how I used to be, I would always be very picky and cut people down with my words. Without a doubt, that person has a mental problem, and they are not healthy themselves, and I know this because this was me in the past. It doesn’t matter how much you exercise because the water in your bones is rotting. But Christ has finished the curses and fate of our past, the curses that flowed down my family line through my faster, and now, I’m the one who will testify of the gospel of Christ to the entire world. Now, may the Holy Spirit of that Christ completely fill and work upon me. Then, He works invisibly. Then, everything is restored.
“God, work upon everyone I meet today with the Spirit of the Lord,” if you want to pray like that, you have to wake up earlier. I’m telling you, people who never have any money, you’re always late, aren’t you? Because the Bible does tell us that money goes to diligent people. The Bible tells us that if you’re lazy or you always love to sleep, always saying, “Oh, just a little more, just a little more”? Then you’ll be met with poverty and you will not have health. You need to do the opposite of that. You need to wake up early in the morning and pray for the gospel of Christ to bless you. May you bless all the people you will meet today by the working of the Holy Spirit. So already, if you have enemies or you have people with whom you have a bad relationship, then your spiritual state is bad. Because God called us to bless each other, but instead, you’re making enemies and breaking relationships? It’s because your spiritual state is bad without a doubt. You need to live a blessed life as the one who relays blessings to others. Then, without a doubt, God will give you blessings of meeting. You might choose whom you meet, but you can’t choose who you meet, but you can’t choose who is a blessing or not. Even in your job, you need to have people of blessing attached to you in order for your job to be blessed. But what happens if you have so many customers and clients but they’re all curses, and your business becomes cursed? Even politicians and presidents have to meet blessed people to not be betrayed or anything like that, right? Our whole lives are created by the people we meet, and that’s why God needs to give us the blessings of meeting, so, the people we meet just be the people whom God has brought to us as blessings in order for the blessings to continue.
(2) Mission – Proclaim God’s kingdom to all nations (Mt. 28)
(3) Only Holy Spirit – Filling, Works – Witness (Ac. 1:8)
Now, this gospel moves to the places that do not have the gospel in the form of missions. So, on the Lord’s Day, you must pray for the Word that God gave you through the pulpit message to be imprinted into your heart. No one can memorize this, not even me. You think you can put this in your head? That’s a misconception. You have to plant it into your heart. What is victory in worship? It means that you are prioritizing worship to the point where the Word the Lord gives to me personally is imprinted in my heart. In prayer, then that word and my heart will guide me for the rest of the week, and without a doubt for that whole week, you’ll receive evidence. But most people don’t do it like that. They just go to church on Sunday, and then they leave church; that’s it. Maybe people who are a little more diligent, they read the Bible at home. But they don’t care about the word God gave them personally on Sunday, then they will never change.
2) Covenant + Prayer
(1) All joined together constantly in prayer – 3 Concentrations (Ac. 1:14)
(2) God’s work – Doors of evangelism and missions in 15 nations (Ac. 2:9-11)
(3) Antioch Church – Missions camp (Ac. 13:1-4)
(4) Field – Break down forces of darkness, Works of life (Ac. 13:6-12)
Why did God give you this Word on Sunday? So that you can follow that Word, and then, look at the Bible, do you understand? But because you’re just studying the Bible but you’re losing hold of worship, you’re losing hold of the Word God gave to you personally. Why do you think there are so many Bible studies but none of the problems are solved? It’s because you need to know the meaning of worship, we are serving. Even in your field, what does it mean to worship God? It means you are serving and following His Word. That’s why in Acts 2:42, they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to prayer. In Acts 2:46, it says every day, whether in the temple courts or in their homes, they took the Word they received and they talked about it, and then in Acts 2:42, God added to them the number of those who were being saved, daily. In your region, gather 2-3 different people, forum about the Word God gave to you on Sunday, and pray for the region to be saved, then God will answer you right now. God gave us the way to live with His Word already.
But the problem is, instead of following after God’s Word, we follow after the ways of America. The ways of America? That’s the ways of the world. We need to live following the ways of God’s Word. Then, without a doubt, God will send all of His focus and strength upon you. Now, we just do all of our business and studies inside of prayer. We need to make it so that the Word that God gives us goes into my business and my studies. The reason your business has no power is because the Word of God is not going into your job. You have your own thoughts and your own standards, so that’s what you always think about. The Word of God that is active must go into your studies for God to work upon your studies.
3) Church and field
(1) Church: Covenant of God-given word – Prayer (Ac. 2:42)
(2) Field: God-given word – Worship (Ac. 2:46)
(3) Works of saving lives everyday (Ac. 2:47)
That is why you need to do everything within prayer, holding onto the Word given to you specifically; then you will receive the economy of light. The economy of light is not money you make with your own diligence, but God has it already prepared. It is the economy to save the church, the economy for missions, and our economy for the future generations. You need to enjoy these blessings, but instead, you throw all of these blessings to the side, and you live so diligently on your own. Generation by generation, your whole family line, thinks that diligence and hard work is everything, and that’s how you live and die. Everybody lives like that, but your life must be filled with the blessing of God, that’s how we do the Temple Construction as well. Not by our strength, but because God gives it to us. It is the church that saves people of all nations, does the work of healing, and raises the next generations to the summit. May the content of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection that saves all people, be testified in you and your fields throughout the week.
Conclusion
1. All things in prayer (Mt. 6:33)
2. Answers of the Economy of light, Economy of mission, Economy of Remnants
3. Temple construction (Courtyard of multiethnic, Healing, Future generation)
Message Prayer
Let us pray together holding onto the Word that God has given to you specifically, and if you don’t have the Word, keep on listening.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We have returned Your materials as offering. We pray that everywhere this offering is used, may You turn each curse into blessing, and from darkness into the Kingdom of God, and a life of diseases into blessings. May You bless the hands that have given the offering. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Announcements
1. Online zoom early morning prayer (Mon.-Fri. 5:30, Sat. 6AM) – Raise the bartizan of prayer
2. Hollywood camp – Temple
3. West Coast Winter Retreat (12/26-12/28) – Deadline for First Registration (12/15)
4. Offering can be given to the church venmo: @Antiochmissionchurch
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, guidance, working, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be upon the heads of all the people of God, the people of all nations, and the remnants who desire to
be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.