Ask for Anything in my Name (Jn. 14:1-14)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” May you receive the unprecedented and never-repeated answers today. How can we do that? That is in the title of today’s message. The title is, “Ask for Anything in my Name.” This is the way for you to receive answers in your life. Today’s scripture, in John 14, is a few hours before Jesus Christ is to be taken to be crucified. But the environment during the Last Supper was pretty negative, Jesus Christ was saying, “Now, I have to go away, and one of you will betray me,” and Simon Peter said, “No, I will die for you,” and Jesus Christ said, “No, you will betray me three times before the rooster crows.” Because of all this negative talk, Jesus was saying He was going somewhere and they can’t follow Him, so now, their hearts are troubled. For the children of God, if we don’t feel that God is with us, then we feel our hearts are troubled. However, if we are really able to believe that God is with me no matter where I am , no matter what is going on, then even if I face a difficulty, my heart is not troubled.
1. Believe in me
1) Do not let your hearts be troubled (Jn. 14:1)
So in today’s scripture, Jesus Christ says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” because He knows that they are. You have to understand today’s Word very well in order for your troubles to disappear. Jesus Christ is speaking in John 14:1-14 about why their hearts should not be troubled, and if you understand today’s words well and keep them in your heart, then your troubles will go away. If your heart is troubled, then it will oppress your heart and burden you. If your heart is troubled, then it will even make your bones decay and it will even give you physical diseases. Then, your life is destroyed. Then, how can our hearts not be troubled?
(1) My Father’s house has many rooms (Jn. 14:2)
Today in Jn. 14:2, Jesus Christ says something that doesn’t make any sense; He says, “My Father’s house has many rooms,” so why does He start by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” and then all of a sudden, randomly talk about His Father’s house?
(2) I am going there to prepare a place for you (Jn. 14:2)
Jesus Christ says, “I am going there to prepare a place for you.”
(3) I will come back and take you to be with me (Jn. 14:4)
Once He prepares a place for us, then Jesus Christ will come back and take us to be with Him there, so what does this mean, exactly? If you know the traditions of Israeli weddings, then you’d understand what these words mean. In Israel, they got married about two to three times. The first marriage ceremony is at the bride’s home; the groom comes in and has a sort of engagement party with the bride in her home. During the engagement ceremony, the groom will bring a dowry to the bride’s father to get her hand in marriage, so if you don’t have money, you can’t get married, because imagine, they raised their daughter so preciously, and just to take her for free? That can never happen. It doesn’t only end with that engagement ceremony with the dowry, but after that event, the groom goes back to his home to prepare a place for him and his wife to stay and live for about the next year. So, after about a year of preparing a house for the two of them to live, the groom will go back to the bride’s house with his friends towards the evening. During that time, the friends of the bride must be ready with their lamps, that is where they have their second wedding ceremony. Then the groom goes and brings the bride to the house he prepared.
So, just like the Israelite traditions of marriage, Jesus Christ has made us, His Church, His bride, and He has bought us with the price of His blood by dying on the cross for us. And then, when Jesus Christ says, “I will go and prepare a place for us in my Father’s house,” He is saying, “I will prepare a place for you and I, as my new bride, to live,” that’s what Jesus Christ is saying in today’s scripture. Later on, when Jesus Christ is done preparing the room, then He comes back for a second time to earth, He takes His bride, which is the church, and He has a wedding ceremony for us to live with Him in heaven. In that kind of background and context, Jesus Christ is telling His disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
2) You know the way (Jn. 14:4)
(1) I am the way (Jn. 14:6)
And He is saying, “I’m going to My Father’s house and you know the way there.” But then Thomas says, “How can we know the way?” Then Jesus Christ answers, “I am the Way.” This means that Jesus Christ Himself is the way to go to the Father’s house. Here, He says, “I am THE way.” He is the only way, the unique way. In order for us to go to God, the obstacle blocking between us must be broken, and that blockage between us and God has been broken by Jesus Christ, His death on the cross and His resurrection. There’s no other way. Every other way is actually a thief, one who is trying to kill us and steal us and tell us the wrong way. If it is not Jesus Christ, it is the wrong way. No matter how many plans you make for yourself in this world, if it’s not Jesus Christ, it is the wrong way. If the church is irrelevant to Jesus Christ, then the church is wrong. There are many ways in the world, every religion claims they are the way, they say, “You need to refine your spirituality,” and that’s their way, but there is no other way.
(2) The truth (Jn. 14:6)
Jesus Christ also says, “I am the Truth.” The Bible also says that the Truth will set you free. This means that there is no other way for you to escape from your problems of addiction, mental problems, spiritual problems, other than only Christ. Jesus is the Truth; everything else is a lie. How can everything else be a lie? Every other way that claims to be a way to God is a lie. The Truth will set you free. That’s why we must remain within the Truth, within the Word of Christ.
(3) And the life (Jn. 14:6)
Then Jesus says, “I am the Life,” we need to have life in order for a person to really be coming to life. Jesus Christ is the life, and because He is with me, I now have eternal life. Do you know what the difference is between somebody who has life and somebody who does not have life? Today, you guys ate food, right? You ate breakfast, and yesterday you ate food as well, right? But what if you’re exhausted from eating? Then that person is sick, right? We always have to eat, and let’s say you’re breathing right now, but if you say, “I’m tired of breathing in the same oxygen,” then either you’re sick or dying. Life is new all the time. Because we are alive, even if we eat the same food today and yesterday, it is different.
As you listen to the Word of God, if you’re wondering, “Why is He always saying the same thing, again and again?” then that person is spiritually dead. That person is just trying to understand the Word of God with their brain, that’s why it always sounds like the same words, again and again. When you learn in school, you have to progress through your grades, from ninth grade to tenth grade, building on the same subjects. That’s what happens with the knowledge of the world; however, the Word of God is new every single day. Even though it sounds like we’re listening to the same words, it’s different, that’s the characteristic of somebody who has life.
If you get married to someone and they look the same to you every single day for the rest of your life, then you’ve lost the life of love. They should always seem new to you, otherwise, you’re so tired of seeing them and you can’t live with them anymore. Maybe if I talk about husband and wife, it won’t connect with some of you, so what about your children? Are your children always the same when you see them? They’re always different, that’s the life of love. I think maybe if I talk about marriages, a lot of people have a loveless marriage, so it might not get through to you, but a lot of you love your children. Whether you saw them yesterday or today, they are new every time, and you want to see them again. What about when you’re dating a boy or a girl? You saw them yesterday, but today, their face looks new, and today your heart is racing again and you have butterflies again. If the life of Jesus Christ comes into us, then every day is new. And you go to the same job, but it’s not the same job, because you have the life of Jesus. So, if you’re exhausted or you’re tired of life, then that’s because you lack life.
There are sometimes flowers on the stage here, and if we have flowers that are alive, they change every time we see them. But there are artificial, man made flowers that look beautiful just like real flowers, but if you stare at it, it’s the same every single day, so it gets exhausting. But Jesus is life. When I have the life of Jesus inside of me, then every day is new.
3) Jesus Christ
(1) If you know Jesus, you will know the Father as well (Jn. 14:7)
Then in Jn. 14:7, Jesus Christ says, “If you know Me,” Jesus, “then you know the Father.” How is it that we know the Father God if we know Jesus Christ?
(2) You know the Father and have seen him (Jn. 14:7)
Then Jesus Christ goes on to say, “You know the Father and have seen the Father,” why?
(3) Anyone who as seen Jesus has seen the Father (Jn. 14:9)
Because everyone who has seen Jesus Christ has seen the Father. Then, does that mean that God the Father also has a physical body, two eyes, and a mouth? God is Spirit, what does that mean? It means that God the Father and God the Son are One. How can they be One? They’re always together. How are they always together?
2. With God
1) Believe
(1) I am in the Father (Jn. 14:10)
John 14:10, Jesus Christ says, “I am in the Father,” how can He remain in the Father? He is saying that He remains within the Word God gives Him.
(2) The Father is in me (Jn. 14:10)
God is the Word, and then Jesus Christ says, “Then the Father is in Me,” so Jesus Christ is on earth in a physical human body, and He is saying that God the Father is in Him. That is how God is inside of Jesus Christ through His Spirit.
(3) The Father, living in me, is doing his work (Jn. 14:10)
Then Jesus Christ says, “The words I say to you, I do not say on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father living in Me Who is doing His work,” this is a very shocking thing, and this is actually how our faith is revealed. God the Father is carrying out His work through Jesus Christ, according to His Word. That is why anyone who has seen Jesus has seen God the Father, and the words of Jesus Christ are the words of God the Father. Jesus has never spoken on His own, He has allowed God the Father to speak through Him through the Holy Spirit, and you and I are the same. The Lord is seated at the throne of heaven and He has sent us His Holy Spirit.
2) Whoever believes in me (Jn. 14:12)
(1) Will do the works I have been doing (Jn. 14:12)
That is why in Jn. 14:12, Jesus Christ says, “Whoever believes in Me will do the works that I have been doing.”
(2) Will do even greater things than these (Jn. 14:12)
And in fact, “They will do even greater things,” why?
(3) I am going to the Father (Jn. 14:12)
Because Jesus is going to the Father. If He goes to the Father, what great work can He do? Jesus is promising to send us the Holy Spirit, and that’s why in John 16, Jesus Christ says, “It is for your benefit that I am going to the Father.” If Jesus Christ was still on earth, then He would have a physical body limiting Him, so He would have to stay in Jerusalem and not be here. So the Lord has to go to the throne of the Father in heaven and send us the Holy Spirit in order to work, transcending time and space. For anybody who believes in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells within them. God is with us, just as He was with Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, and that is why you should not let your hearts be troubled. “Instead, believe in Me. I will be with you.”
The Holy Spirit is within us, so what is the Holy Spirit doing? He is the Holy Counselor, He is our Helper, how does He help us? John 14:26 says that the Holy Spirit will teach us and remind us about everything that Jesus Christ has told us, and “everything” in this context means “everything in our lives.” If there’s something you don’t know, I hope that you won’t ask people about it, you’ll ask the Holy Spirit instead. I’m not telling you to not ask people anything, but I’m saying, you don’t have to rely on people. This is our walk of faith. For the people who believe in this, it’s okay even if they’re alone because God is with them. For students who are studying in school, pray for the Holy Spirit to be with you, then the Holy Spirit that is with you will teach you all things, even your studies. What’s going to happen in the future? The Holy Spirit will reveal it to you. That is why it is much better for us if the Lord leaves us and goes to the throne of heaven to give us the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ, when He was on this earth, very rarely left Judea and Jerusalem. However, the Apostle Paul went all the way from Asia to Macedonia and Rome. So, we’ll do even greater works. Jesus Christ could not do such a large ministry while He was on earth. Peter gave one message, and it led to 3000 people being saved. I believe you and I will do even greater works than that, why? Because it is not me, but the Holy Spirit that dwells within me is doing His work. For the people who believe in that, the works will take place according to their faith. For the people who don’t believe in that, then the works of disbelief will take place. But God promises to give us His peace.
So, stop trying to find peace through drugs or substances; instead, try to find peace through God. If you find peace in anything else, then you have to be addicted to that thing. However, Jesus Christ says, “The peace I give to you, the world does not know.” People say they have peace if they don’t have any problems, but we can be peaceful regardless. Jesus Christ says, “My peace I give you.”
3) My name (Jn. 14:13)
(1) I will do whatever you ask in my name (Jn. 14:13)
In Jn. 14:13, Jesus says, “I will do whatever you ask in My name,” whatever you ask in My name. The reason we don’t have to be troubled is because, after Jesus Christ leaves, if we pray in His name, He will answer us no matter what. Isn’t that much better? Whatever you seek in the name of Jesus Christ, God will answer you, seated from the throne of heaven, so this is much better. He promises us that He will answer us no matter what we ask in His name. How do these answers arrive? Sometimes He answers us with “yes,” sometimes “no,” right? There are some times we pray in the name of Jesus Christ and God says, “Yes,” and does it immediately, and sometimes He answers, but the answer is, “no,” and if the answer is “no,” it’s because it would be harmful to us. So even God saying, “No,” to us, is an answer.
(2) If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us (1 Jn. 5:14)
How can we receive “Yes’s”? 1 John 5:14 says that if you pray according to God’s will, He hears us. Then, what is God’s will? It’s the same thing in Matthew 6 when the Lord is teaching His disciples how to pray, “First seek God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.” God’s will is already decided in heaven, and we cannot try to change God’s will, because if you try to change the will of God in heaven, you will always get the answer, “No, no, no,” and even that is an answer, because He said He would hear and would answer. However, for the people who receive the answer, “Yes,” from God, they receive a lot of answers. That is a person who lives and thinks according to the will of God. Satan keeps preventing you from living according to God’s will by changing it out with lies.
(3) The Father may be glorified in the Son (Jn. 14:13)
But Jesus Christ promises that when you pray in the name of Jesus Christ, God will answer you so that Jesus Christ, His son, can be glorified. It is all for the glory of God. When you pray in the name of Jesus Christ, God the Father is glorified through Jesus Christ. So, for anyone who prays according to God’s will, God answers you for His glory. Pray even right now, if you’re just sitting here with a blank mind, then you’ll get nothing. This is the reason why you don’t have to be troubled, “Because I am with you,” so pray according to God’s will.
3. Ask for anything in Jesus’ name
1) You (Jn. 15:7)
(1) Remain in me
(2) My words remain in you
(3) Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you
In John 15:7, it says, “If you remain in Me,” what does it mean for us to remain in Jesus? How can we remain within Jesus? How does Jesus remain within God the Father? It is within His Word. It means that we think within the confines of God’s Word. It means that we set our plans within the limits of God’s Word. Just like us, when the Word of God remains within us, then, “Ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you.” Do you know why worship is so important? I’m telling you, surely, if you fail in worship, then you will fail in life, and I’ll tell you the reason why you fail in life. Because, through worship, God gives you His Word, it’s not about the Word of God you know with your brain, but the Holy Spirit gives you His Word personally through worship. If you pray, holding onto the Word that the Holy Spirit actively and personally gave you throughout the week, then you will receive answers. That is why the Bible tells us to worship in Spirit and in Truth.
So yes, during worship times, you may fall asleep, but that’s to your loss. Then, starting from the night before, you have to prepare accordingly so you don’t fall asleep during worship. Let’s say you were up late last night, working, then that’s your situation. What’s important is that we must be prepared so that, during the time of worship, the Word of God is given to my heart. That person will receive answers throughout the rest of the week according to the Word of God.
But what happens if we fail? What is failure in worship? It means that the Word doesn’t hit your heart. Why isn’t the Word established in you? The Word is not coming upon you because you don’t want to receive it. You don’t have a desire to receive God’s Word; instead, you have a desire for something else. That’s not God’s will though, so no matter how long someone lives their walk of faith, they have no answers. So what happens if someone doesn’t have answers? If they don’t have answers, then they are dying away. If a person does have answers, then they are filled with joy. Look at David or Joseph. Even though he was dragged away as a slave, he wasn’t really a slave; it was his way to Egypt, not his way to slavery. There is no other way for him, a foreigner, to go to the superpower nation of Egypt, but if he goes in as a slave, then he can go in safely and securely. But he didn’t really go as a slave; this was God’s method of placing him in the middle of the superpower nation of Egypt. But Joseph’s older brothers did sell him into slavery, and Joseph told them, “It wasn’t you who sold me, but God sent me ahead of you to save many people.” This is the characteristic of people who receive God’s Word.
After David killed Goliath, he was chased to death by King Saul, who was his father-in-law, for ten years, and imagine, it’s not only as scary as having someone chasing you trying to kill you, but this was the king of Israel, with the most power, trying to kill you for ten years. Even if you got a phone call every day for months from somebody threatening to kill you, you’d have mental problems. And it’s not even being chased to death for one year, it was ten years; he didn’t know when he could turn the corner and Saul would kill him, but David never said anything else. David said, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for God is with me,” and when the Word of God remains within us, that is how we change. When the Word of God is really remaining within us, then it will even overcome our mental illness. What could our mental illness possibly say against the Word of God? It will also overcome your addictions. What could your addiction possibly do? God is His Word, Heb. 4:12 says that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing and penetrating even the thoughts and heart, the joints and marrow, dividing soul and spirit, and it heals us.
When you stand up from this worship, after the sermon, if you don’t have a Word that remains in God, then you have failed in worship; then, starting from Monday, you will live a life that has no answers, and if you’re not receiving answers from God, you are forced to live at your own level, then you will live at your own level, but this is why worship is so important. The devil will allow you to come to worship but will make you fail in giving worship. The devil will make you think about something else so that the Word of God cannot be inside of you. However, God works upon us with His Holy Spirit according to His Word. When that Word is firmly established within us, then it will be fulfilled in our lives and given to us as answers to prayer.
2) God’s kingdom
(1) First seek his kingdom (Mt. 6:33)
Jesus Christ said, “First seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness,” what does that mean? It means, don’t seek the physical things. The Lord already knows about your physical needs; in other words, don’t ruin the order of priority. Pray for God’s Kingdom to be established first, then what exactly is God’s Kingdom? It is exactly where God is reigning and ruling, and how does God reign? God works through His Word and His Spirit.
(2) Work through the Holy Spirit (Mt. 12:28)
Matthew 12:28 says, “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” The Kingdom of God is breaking down the Kingdom of Satan, how? By the work of the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of Satan is broken down, and that Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. Therefore, first seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. People who pray like this are bound to receive answers.
(3) Works of God’s kingdom take place
When the Kingdom of God comes upon you, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, then the works of God’s Kingdom will take place in your life, and that will result in the visible answers that we can see. So, if you don’t know the spiritual world, then you cannot live your walk of faith because everything that visibly happens is a result of invisible forces. Let’s say, for example, you take an entrance exam to go to a difficult school like Harvard. But let’s say, what if the president of Harvard just lets his children take a test and they could get in for free, no matter the result? Getting into college is a result, but even behind the scenes, the process has already taken place. The president said, “You can come in,” and then they get their grades, and for everyone who is not the president’s kids, they have to work very hard, and they may barely get in, or maybe not. This is just a physical example. For the children of God, God has already decided in advance through His Word, and then after that, the answers follow.
The same thing is happening with the evil spiritual works; when the evil spirits work, it’s invisible, but then later on, you will see the visible result like mental illnesses. So, if you come to church, it means you know God. You know Jesus, you know the Holy Spirit, you know the spiritual world. If you go to church and you don’t know the spiritual world, then you will receive no answers because you don’t know what God’s Kingdom is, first. When people think about the kingdoms or the nations, they think about politics and the worldly nations, but God is working invisibly by His Spirit. That is what you must seek first. Following that invisible goal, all of the visible results in our life will follow. I hope you will understand, if you’re not able to, I’ll say it again. No matter how much you go to church, you don’t understand because you’re only thinking about and talking about physical things. Only by the working of the Holy Spirit can you understand, and for anybody who has salvation, they can receive the work of the Holy Spirit. Some people may say, “But I still don’t understand after all these years,” then just accept Jesus Christ again. I’m not saying to just go through the act of saying, “I accept Jesus Christ,” but really confess with your heart, “I really want to believe in You, Lord, please save me.”
For people who don’t have salvation, it’s impossible for them to understand God’s Word, because the Holy Spirit needs to reveal it from within me, but if they don’t have the Holy Spirit, they can’t understand. The Lord God Who is seated at the right hand of the throne of heaven, is inside of me through the Holy Spirit, slowly revealing His Word to me; if someone doesn’t have salvation, of course, they don’t get it. The Lord dwells within me, gives me His Word, and then does the work of fulfilling His Word; of course it will take place. That’s the kind of creation we are. You must never look at yourself, you must look at the Lord Who is inside of you. We’re nothing great. The more you think you are great, I’m sorry to say, the less of the Holy Spirit you’ll get. Because just like the Apostle Paul, you need to confess, “Even if I am very accomplished physically, it means nothing; it’s all rubbish, and the Christ Who is living within me is everything.” These are the people who receive answers and have victory.
3) 3 courtyards – Temple
(1) All nations – Disciples (Mt. 28:18-20)
Then, what kind of prayer must we pray? We need to pray, holding onto the Word that the Lord God gave to us during worship. Jesus Christ says, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” and that is what we must pray for. Pray for your job to be globalized so you can make disciples of all nations. Isn’t that right? Jesus told us to make disciples of all nations, but if my job doesn’t allow me to go to all nations, then that’s not aligned with God. Pray for your studies to be used with specialization to reach the global scale, because how can you do missions and evangelism? It is going to be through your job, through your studies, and whatever you’re working on or studying, has to be globalized to go to all nations. “Globalized” meaning, the entire world needs what you’re working on or studying. If whatever you’re doing is only needed for your family, that’s not global; that can’t even help you make a living. If whatever business I’m running is only applicable or helpful to my region, you’ll barely make a living. But it must be a business that everyone needs. That is what it means to go to all nations, this means that God will give you the answer of a business like that.
(2) Healing (Mk. 16:15-20)
So, if you don’t understand God’s Word, then nothing is going to happen. No matter how hard you work, you’re limited by your own IQ. But if you do everything within the Word of God, then the Word of God will be fulfilled. Proclaim the gospel to all peoples and these signs will follow those who believe: evil spirits will be cast out and you will lay your hands on the sick and they will be healed, so pray for that. Are you diseased? Pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Is someone demon-possessed? Cast it out in the name of Jesus Christ. That is what Jesus told us to do. “And I am with you,” so pray according to God’s will like this. Does your addiction not go away? Just pray for God to heal it, pray in Jesus Christ’s name yourself, actively, yes, it’s great to receive prayer from other people, but no one is going to follow you around, 24 hours, praying; instead, you pray for 24 hours, holding onto Jesus Christ.
(3) Future generation (Jn. 21:15-18)
In John 21, Jesus Christ says, “Feed My lambs,” it means, raise up the next generation. If there’s no future generation, there’s no future. The reason why American churches are closing down is because there aren’t future generations or posterity within the church. So, it doesn’t matter how well you try to do for yourself; if you don’t raise up the next generation and the church doesn’t have the gospel, that church is closing. That’s why the Lord says, “Feed My lambs.” When Jesus Christ was dying on the cross, the women were crying, and Jesus said, “Do not cry for me, but cry for the children,” and when you pray, holding onto this, you will receive answers. If you don’t know how to pray, then that’s what’s strange; pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Then, how can you pray? You pray holding onto the Word God has given to you in the name of Jesus Christ, then Jesus says, “Without a doubt, I will do it,” so pray even right now. Don’t sit here with a blank mind or sit here thinking about something else, because even if you’re thinking about something else, it’s going to become nothing. But, pray in the name of Jesus Christ: “In the name of Jesus Christ, may all the forces of disbelief and unbelief be cast out, may all the forces of disease and powerlessness be broken down; in the name of Jesus Christ, may all the forces of darkness in the region where I am living be cast out.” It’s not you doing it, it’s in the name of Jesus Christ. Then, I will do the work.
But why don’t we do that? Because the devil prevents us from knowing this. Next week, Trump will be the President, and let’s say he’s going to call one person, “I’m going to give you a mission, go to all 50 states of America and do this, and anything you need, I’ll give you a blank check, so use whatever you need.” That person doesn’t need money, all they need to do is use the blank check that they got from President Trump, then the government pays for everything they need, and we are saying, “I will pay in the name of Jesus Christ using the power of the throne of heaven,” but why don’t we do that? Instead of doing that, we just sit there with a blank mind, full of worries, so that is why Jesus is telling us today, “Do not be troubled.” Why are you troubled? All you have to do is pray in the name of Jesus Christ, pray for the powerlessness in your family to be cast out in the name of Jesus Christ. Why is it, instead of praying, you just keep going back and forth to church, living a religious life? “When two or three people gather in My name, gather in this region, then I will do the work.” But that’s what we don’t do. Fascinatingly, we’ll do everything else we need to do, but we’ll just avoid what Jesus told us to do. So, don’t do that. I’m sure that’s other churches, not us, but we need to do what will take place, we need to do what will surely take place. But the devil makes you work so hard in everything that will not work out and destroys your faith like that. Then, we must go the path that will work, and that’s the word that the Lord gives us.
Conclusion
1. Concentration – Morning, Day, Night
So, in conclusion, we’ve all been given 24 hours every day, the morning, daytime, and night, so how do we use that time? Concentrating on God. If you don’t understand what I mean by “concentrating,” think about this as “charging your battery.” If you charge your battery, then your device has power, and if your device has power, now you can use all of its functions. What happens if you don’t eat for too long? You need power in order to move, but you can’t even think. So as soon as you wake up in the morning, you concentrate on the Word of God; that’s charging your battery. Why do I have that time? Because if you don’t have that time of concentration, you will fall into obsession. Do you know what obsession is? Always being obsessed with money, money, money, or you’re obsessed with worrying, worried about what you need to do.
The Bible says that the devil placed the desire to sell Jesus Christ into the heart of Judas Iscariot, why? “Because if I sell Jesus, I can make money,” and because Judas’ thoughts were so obsessed with making money, he became obsessed with the thought of selling Jesus Christ to make money, and then the next step after obsession, the Bible says that Satan went into Judas. As soon as Satan comes into us, there is nothing we can do, then we have to act exactly according to the words he has given us. If you’re always bombarded with lustful or sexually immoral thoughts, then one day, the evil spirit of sexual immorality will go into you, and one day you’ll have to do it, you have no choice. Let’s say you’re obsessed with the thought, “I hate this person, I hate this person,” then one day, the evil spirit comes into you and you act on that with violence.
Why is this? It’s because you don’t have the strength to concentrate on God. “I don’t want to drink alcohol, but one day, I look, and I’m already drinking,” that’s the evil spirit of alcoholism that comes into you. It doesn’t happen from out of nowhere. When you’re first stressed, that’s when you experience alcohol as an answer, and then you’re so stressed, you drank alcohol and then you felt so good, it felt like you could fly, and then Satan goes into that thought. Now, you’re enslaved by the alcohol, then our entire life is just destroyed. I know this because I’ve experienced it myself, that is why the Bible tells us to not be drunk on alcohol, but drunk on the Holy Spirit. I hope you will have a time to concentrate on God, because if you concentrate on God, everything will be restored. There are things you’re always obsessed with, aren’t there? If you concentrate on God, that obsession goes away.
2. Answer – Problem, Conflict, Crisis
Then, that person will receive answers. Everybody has problems, but the important thing is, receiving answers to your problems. The real answer is not the lack of problems, but when you face a problem, you receive answers. That’s what it means that something is not a problem. If you’re taking a test but you know how to solve it, it’s not a problem; you just find the answer. If you’re facing a conflict, stop asking the other person to change; we need to change ourselves. Why do you keep focusing on how the other person has to change? That’s up to God; we can only focus on how we need to change. It’s okay even if we have a crisis because God will give you the answer in the crisis; it actually becomes an opportunity. If you pray in the name of Jesus Christ, you will receive answers, and when I receive an answer to the problem, then God will also attach people to whom I can give the answer.
3. I have the answer, I give the answer, I communicate with God
If you prepare the food that your customers want to eat, then they will come and order your food. However, it doesn’t matter how much you try to raise your restaurant, if you’re not making food that your customers don’t want to eat, you’re not going to get any customers. If you have what America needs, then that person will be used. If you keep receiving answers from God, you will be able to give that answer to others, and God will attach those people to you. That’s why a problem is not a problem, you receive an answer. Then, God will attach other people who have a similar problem as me, then I can give them the answer. That’s what you call, “evangelism,” and if I’m not able to do this, I don’t have the answer. If I don’t have the answer yet, then my business will not work out. If you want to run a business in America, then you need to know what the American consumer wants. If you don’t know that, then how can you see it? The kids have to study and build up specialization that will be needed by people; otherwise, their specialization will be useless. That specialization must be needed.
If you have the answer, God will amazingly bring people who need the answer to you, then all you have to do is give the answer that you’ve got, then we need to help this person also communicate with God themselves so they can get the answer as well. So, for all of the students, you need to prepare this first in your studies, then you can go out into the world with it. If you go out into the world before you have this and you don’t have the answer, that’s why you keep falling into problems. You study so diligently so you get into a good school, but now that you’re out in the world, there’s no answer there, so you just have to be taken over by the world. So, don’t be like that; instead, I hope you will be trained to receive and pray according to the Word God gives you. Then, you will know what you need to study in the future, you’ll know what you need to do that God needs in the future.
Right now, I saw a statistic that 30% of Harvard MBA graduates are not able to get a job. Why is it like this right now? It’s because of AI being more developed, they are taking over the jobs that these higher-minded thinkers used to do, so now, because they don’t need these highly educated individuals, they don’t pick them, so even though people work so diligently to study, in the end, they can’t get a job, but the Holy Spirit knows the future, and all we have to do is be led by the Holy Spirit Who knows the future. So, throughout the week, may you and I seek everything in prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, and receive those answers.
Message Prayer
Let us pray together holding onto the Word we have received. What is God’s will? Let us pray in Jesus Christ’s name, “May my business be used to make disciples of all nations, may it be used to raise up the next generations, may my business be used to heal all of the clients and people associated with it.” Let us pray together.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We have returned Your materials as offering. We pray that everywhere this offering is used, God’s will and plan will be fulfilled. May You bless the hands that have given this offering, may the people who are diseased be healed through today’s worship, and may all of the people who are diseased in their hearts, thoughts, and spirit be healed. We believe You will work with the answer of the economy of light so that this offering will be used for world evangelization. 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. 1/19-21, PK Retreat and New Year’s Meeting.
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 future generations who desire to receive the answer from God in all problems by praying in the name of Jesus Christ and testifying those answers, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.