God Almighty Who Is the Beginning and End (Rev. 1:8)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Happy New Year.” This is the final Second Sunday Service message of the year 2023. This is a worship you will only have once in your life, this final Second Sunday Service of 2023 will never happen again in your life, and I believe we are here to worship so that this worship that has not happened yet will be given fully before God. Today’s date is December 31, 2023, and that’s just a date we made on the calendar, and the fact that tomorrow will be January 1, 2024, is also just a date that we made, but it is possible that we think that time belongs to us. However, I believe that the One Who controls time and space is God. So, our thoughts and our hearts must first be aligned with that fact in order for us to use our time and space aligned with God.
We think that this is the end of the year 2023, and tomorrow is the beginning of the new year, but what does the Bible say? The Lord says, “I am the Alpha and Omega,” and “Alpha and Omega” means that He is the beginning of the end. He says He is the One Who is, Who was, and Who is to come. He existed in the past, He exists right now in the present, and He will continue to exist in the future, and the way He exists is as the Almighty God.
1. Before – Almighty God
Then, as we bring the year 2023 to a close, how should we do that? We need to stand before the Almighty God and ask ourselves if we were led by Him in the year 2023. If you were led by God, then your year 2023 was a success. The word “success” that nonbelievers use and the word “success” that God uses are different. Nonbelievers think that whatever humans accomplish is success, but God tells us that is not success. God says that, by fulfilling God’s will and plan, that is success.
1) Mankind
Then, as we look upon our year 2023, we can evaluate whether I was successful or not. Our failures do not begin from our lack of hard work. Our failures also don’t come because of bad luck. Failure begins from the moment I think that I am the one who controls time and space. God is the One Who gave us time and space, and God is the One Who allows us to use time and space. Then, we need to think whether we have used this time and space well to be aligned with God’s will or not.
It’s the same today, it may seem like you’re using your time however you desire, but actually, God is the One Who gives you this time, and you must use this time in the way that God desires. We are living within a limited space, but we need to use that space well for God’s desire and will.
(1) Me centered (Gen. 3:5)
So, this Almighty God existed from long ages past, and that’s when humans made a mistake. That mistake was that humans wanted to control time and space on their own. That’s in Genesis 3:5, humans wanted to be like God, controlling time and space on their own.
(2) What I like – Flesh (Gen. 6:2-3)
In Gen. 6, we see the incident where all people were only spending time however they wanted, and filling space however they wanted, pursuing their physical desires.
(3) Us – Power – Tried to block disasters (Gen. 11:4)
And then Gen. 11, these people gathered together and said, “Let us combine our power so that we may build a tower that is able to block the disasters of God,” that is actually failure. If there are any of you who are holding onto these things as the standard of success, may you quickly change that. The reason God gave us the Holy Spirit is to quickly change our life, the reason God gave us the Bible, the Word of Truth, is to quickly change our lives to correct it. Otherwise, we’ll go into disasters, and as we live like this, it goes into our family line.
2) My background
(1) Family
(2) Parents
(3) Me
The family line from our parents and our ancestors has flown from Genesis 3, 6, and 11. So, all of us grew up with our parents, they fed us and clothed us, we watched TV in their house, but all of their ideologies were fed into us as well. What do you think that was? It was, “You need to work hard. You need to do well. You just need to live diligently and earnestly. You have to accomplish what you want.” Without the Word of God, for many generations, this word was passed down all the way to me. Ultimately, we are continuously teaching that God is not God; you are your own god.
3) Me
(1) Past experience
We have our past experiences as well. We need to live by the Almighty God, but because I am my own god, I have my own scars. Because I think as if I am God, but I am not almighty, and as evidence that I’m not almighty, I get scarred. If we were almighty, we wouldn’t be scarred because we were almighty, but we are not almighty and we think that we are almighty, and that thought in itself is a lie. As we live our lives with that thought, we become scarred.
(2) Frame of thought, heart
The frame of our thoughts and our heart has been set in that way. That has been placed into our hearts as a system.
(3) Stream of emotion
This is holding onto the stream of my emotions. So, all of my emotions are a reaction, based on that standard. You and I must know the background of our past to know our past. If you don’t know your past and you’re trying to live your present and your future, then there is a problem in the past you’re not addressing and taking into the future. If, in your past, you lived your life with the almighty God not being the Lord of your time and space, then through this time of worship today, may that change. With 24 hours in a day, I cannot do whatever I want. God has entrusted us with that time. The physical location where I’m active is not just for me to do whatever I want; God has a plan. If you know this well and you go forward, then I may not be able to control time and space, but God will be able to fulfill His will through me, then my past will no longer seize me by the ankle.
2. Present – Almighty God
The present will be okay as well, the future will be okay as well, because the Almighty One is my God. If anything, once you know the Almighty God, all of your scars and failures of the past will no longer seize you by the ankle, but they will be a stepping stone to help save others like you. So, even in the past, the Almighty God was with you, but I lived my life as my own master without knowing that God is with me, and this is what we must change.
The Bible tells us, God says, “Who is,” now. Even right now, the Almighty God “is,” even in the present reality, God is working as the Almighty God. My thoughts, my emotions, my mind, my spirit, my work, and everything I’m doing must be aligned with that Almighty God. Once we are aligned with the Almighty God, we will no longer have limits. We feel our limitations because we are the creation, but there is one way for us to no longer feel limited. You need to do your business while you are praying to the Almighty One. You need to study while you pray. While you are praying, you must be in worship today. If you’re not able to do this in prayer, then your worship will fluctuate depending on your state. “Within prayer” means that you are worshiping within the Almighty God. However, if you worship without being in prayer, it means you are receiving influence based on your current state.
Why is it that, even after becoming an elite, we’re not able to change ourselves? Why is it that even after becoming successful, we cannot change our own lives? It’s because we did it with our diligence, without God, and so we face our limitations. We cannot even change ourselves. That’s why, even once we become an elite, we are diseased on the inside. From the outside, people may think we are tremendous, but on the inside, we are diseased. Why is that? It’s not because we didn’t go to church; it’s because the Almighty God was not our standard. You just went and attended worship, but God was not the standard of all your time and space, then the result will, without a doubt, lead to limitations. It can come as mental illnesses; it can also be revealed as physical problems.
Today, if you are able to receive God’s greatest wisdom and God’s greatest grace, it means you are worshiping in prayer. Then, the Holy Spirit inside of you will touch the way that you need to go, with the Word of God. I am not making my plans for 2024 and fulfilling my plans; instead, God gives me His Word and He fulfills His plan. If that is not the beginning of your 2024, then your year will be a failure. And later on, when we are finishing the year 2024, you’re bound to sigh and say, “I cannot do this,” do you know why? Because the Lord of your year 2024 is the Almighty God. God is the One leading 2024 forward. Then, we need to find what God’s plan is, through His Word, and my life will follow after God’s Word, and such a person will continuously receive answers. May that be today’s worship as well as the New Year’s Day worship of 2024. That is how you’ll be eagerly anticipating what the Word God will give you for the year 2024 is.
But think about it like this, you say that you’re a Christian and you go to church, but you’re planning out the year 2024 regardless of God’s Word? That means you don’t believe in God, that means you are the master of your time in 2024. That means that the owner or the master of the space where you run your business is you, then how do you think God will work? God will give you the evidence that you are not the master in the year 2024. We call that, “failure.” The reason a “failure” is not really a failure to us, is because it’s an opportunity for us to realize, “It must be God.” But if that continuously repeats, then that’s not very good. You need to realize after a few times. If that cycle continues, then you will live a life that cannot evangelize to nonbelievers.
Through me, nonbelievers must be able to see that the Lord is alive. That’s what Joseph did. Joseph was a slave but Potiphar saw that the Lord was with him. Is it possible even for a slave? Yes, because God is the Master. When you’re doing the work of a slave within God, then His works will be revealed, and it doesn’t matter what situation you go into, because the Almighty One is my God. This is what you must remember. You need to remember this through the year 2024 100%. You have no plans; you must have a blank sheet, the Word of God is your plan, and if that Word of God is not appearing, then you have no plan. If God is truly alive, then He will give you the plan for the year 2024 with His Word. We are following God’s Word so that His plan is fulfilled within His time and space.
When I was a nonbeliever, of course, I thought I was the master of my time and space, so I used my time however I wanted because I didn’t have God, then I invested my time wherever I desired. And if I didn’t want to, I didn’t spend my time on something, and even for my location, I only went where I wanted to, not where I didn’t. I went in the direction that made me money, and I wouldn’t go in the direction that would not make me money, and that’s the life of someone without God. Then, what is the life of someone who does have God? We go in the direction that God desires. We are not investing our time and space in the direction that we desire, but in the direction that God desires. That is how your thoughts and your system must change. That is the standard by which you spend the efforts of your heart. The reaction of your emotions must change like this, that is what we call healing, and if this doesn’t change, then you’ll never be healed. It doesn’t matter how much you go to church; but as you go to church, if the things inside of you are continuously changing towards the direction of God, then you’ll be healed from the inside out.
We cannot be conscious of the things we experienced in our mother’s womb. We cannot be conscious of the things that went into us while we were still in our mother’s womb, but it’s still in our subconscious. Without a doubt, the things that are dormant in our subconscious will continue to come out. Because we’ve received those things in a time before we were fully conscious, but we were not fully aware of that. So, without even realizing it, I’m dragged through life based on my subconscious, and that’s what we call our “fate.” Throughout the year 2024 and 2023, we must follow with our logic, our mind, our spirit, our emotions, and our body, following the accurate Word of God, and if we don’t live like that, then our lives will crumble.
Do you think that if you attend church diligently, you will change? That’s not it; my inside of me must change to the system of God, then God will rehabilitate or remodel me. Then, the engine inside of me will become unlimited. Then, even when you face your limitations, you can go through that, and that is what God desires.
1) Jesus Christ (Jn. 19:30)
(1) Solution to past problems (Eph. 2:1)
We cannot talk about the present without talking about Christ because through Jesus Christ, all the problems of our past, including the background of disasters, Satan, and hell, have been broken down.
(2) Solution to present problems (Eph. 2:2-3)
Eph. 2:3 says that those things made us objects of God’s wrath. Why do I continuously face disasters? There’s no cause; it’s coming because you were separated from God. If you’re separated from God’s Word, you’re dragged in the direction Satan desires, and that’s what we call a “disaster.” It’s not happening because you did something wrong to somebody else, it’s because you’re separated from God’s Word. If you’re separated from God’s Word, you have to live with your own thoughts, and if I live with my own thoughts, Satan comes in and Satan drags me towards disasters. It’s not coming because you’re not living earnestly enough; the disasters aren’t coming because you’re not trying hard enough; it’s not coming because you’re a bad person. It’s because you are separated from the standard of God’s Word, and that is where it all begins.
It’s so frustrating to see students who are studying because they’re studying the exact same way that I used to study when I was a nonbeliever. Of course, because you face your limitation, you run out of time and you’re not able to come to worship, and based on that standard, if you face your limitation, you cannot go to worship because you need to study. It’s evidence that you have your limitations, and what’s going to happen if you keep growing up like that? You’re never going to be able to come to worship because as you keep growing up, the bigger the things are that you’ll have to do, and you won’t be able to do all of that with your own strength.
Then, how must you study from a young age? You must be able to study while you worship and pray. If you’re not able to study while you worship and pray, then the bigger things you have to do as an adult will become even harder. Because instead of doing everything within the almighty God, you are doing things within the limitations of yourself, then of course it will be hard. When you face a difficulty, you will face your limitation so that you will fall into the difficulty. But, if you have the Almighty God as your background, then God can change any situation, so I hope that none of the students will be like I was. Later on, you’ll get a mental illness. If you keep using your brain without God, then you will have a mental illness, and you won’t say that you have it out loud, but you’re very strange; it’s because you kept on using your brain without God. You have a mental illness but you’re not able to say that you do, so then, you have to do something else without showing others, and most people are like that.
Then, the church is such a tremendous blessing. I lived my life as a nonbeliever on the other side, and now that I’ve accepted Jesus Christ and come into the church, I’m able to see everything that I was missing before, and all blessings are contained within the church. I see that so much, your studies, your business, you see all of it, but when I go into the church, there are so many people who are living like nonbelievers, and they have no influence because they’re just like nonbelievers. Even right now, the nonbelievers are studying and working, they have to do that because they don’t have God, then what should we do? If you go to church without the power of God, if you work and study without the power of God, then later on, it will be a loss to you. Because you have to do everything with your own strength, it would be better if you spent this time studying or working. But for the people who do everything within prayer, within the background of God, they receive God’s power and wisdom, so there is no limitation for them. You must experience that as you go to school.
There are two middle school students sitting here, and I wonder if that’s the reason why I’m giving this message. For some reason, I keep talking about studies. May you have this blessing. I didn’t know this when I was your age. If only I had known. So it’s my passion, that’s why I’m telling you. For people who are doing business, you must listen well, and I’m sure you understand the words I’m saying, I’m sure you understand what I’m saying. You must quickly escape from yourself, because the more you hold onto yourself stubbornly, the more it will all fall. Maybe my expression is a bit extreme, because this is the last week of 2023, there is no more opportunity; I need to tell you directly.
(3) Solution to future problems (Eph. 2:6)
The owner of your business is God. If God breaks it down, nobody can raise it back up, and if God raises it up, nobody can bring it back down. We are standing before that Almighty God Who was in the past, Who is now, and Who will be in the future. This God is with me. Not only is He in heaven, but He is inside of me. So, stop trying to find the answer somewhere else because the answer is inside of me. The answer is inside of me and He will give me His Word. Stop going to people to try to get your fortune told, but you need to find the answer. The answer is within yourself because God promises to give you His Word. Even though God is giving you His Word, you don’t listen. When you come to church, more so than listening to the sermon, you need to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of you.
2) Holy Spirit
(1) With (1 Cor. 3:16)
(2) Guidance (Jn. 14:26-27)
John 14:26-27 says that the Holy Spirit will teach us and remind us of the Words of Jesus Christ, and when He does, He will protect our hearts and our minds with peace. I have my thoughts and God has His thoughts. If I continue to assert my own thoughts, do you think I will ever have peace? No, it is war and conflict. I need to let go of my own thoughts in order for His thoughts to completely seize my thoughts and heart, so that the peace of God will guard my thoughts and my heart. When Jesus Christ sent His disciples to the field to evangelize, He didn’t tell others to accept Christ, but instead to ask, “Do you have peace?” This peace is not what nonbelievers are getting from transcendental meditation. This is not a peace that you get from cutting off all your hair and sitting on a mountain alone. This is not a peace that people try to get by making a lot of money and buying a beachfront property so they can look at the waves all day. It might be quiet, but you will not have peace. If anything, more people who do that will commit suicide.
Finland is right next to Russia, and if you think of Finland, you think of saunas, right? Because the land is broad but there’s not a lot of people living there, they have these snowy escapes, and they would build these saunas with hot water in them, and their welfare and government system is so well set up that everyone can eat and survive completely, and they have so much beautiful nature. But if a person becomes like that, do you know how far they’ll go? There are many people there who commit suicide simply out of curiosity of what will happen after life. It means that, even if we have all those conditions set, we are still not satisfied.
Are there any of you who are dreaming of living in America like that, without any financial problems? In a quiet, rural area with great air? That will not satisfy you because as you live like that, that becomes your norm or your average. As you live your life, there is nothing that is “best” anymore. Then, your thoughts will go to the point where you wonder, “What’s going to happen after death?” and that’s what happens without the peace of God inside of us. That’s why, when you travel the world, your eyes will be opened.
People are trying so hard to live in America like people who live in Finland, but peace is given to you by Jesus. You cannot receive peace by following the ways of the world like transcendental meditation or religion; it must be given to you by Jesus. As you meditate on the Word of Jesus Christ, Jesus gives you that peace. Isn’t that what you want? It’s not going to come from making more money. You cannot receive that peace by making a lot of money and getting a beautiful house. You may have a more quiet life, but that’s not peace. If you make a lot of money, then you might not have more financial problems, but you will not have peace.
The peace must be given to us by Jesus. The Holy Spirit inside of us teaches us and reminds us of the words of Jesus Christ, and when those words come into our thoughts and heart, that’s when we receive the peace of Jesus. So, it’s okay even if you have a lot of money or a little money, it’s good if you live on the waterfront or inside of a town. It’s okay whether you live far away from the population or in a crowded area because you have peace. It’s okay whether I’m simply a locksmith or a politician in the White House because I have peace, I’m satisfied. And from the nonbeliever perspective, I’m happy and I’m satisfied with the Lord. For a person like that, God will not leave them alone. God will raise them up so that they can spread that influence because even right now, God’s plan is to spread His glory to the entire world, and you and I are the people of blessing like that. That’s how we become a witness.
(3) Filling, working (Ac. 2:1-4)
Only when the Spirit of Jesus Christ completely fills and is established in my thoughts, heart, and spirit will this be revealed. Pray for that right now, not tomorrow, right now because right now is the last of your life; there’s no more. May the Spirit of Jesus Christ, may the Spirit of God, completely reign over my thoughts, heart, and emotions.
3) God’s kingdom
(1) Background of the throne (Phil. 3:20)
Our background is no longer of this earth; it is the Kingdom of Heaven. Do not just study this and know this as knowledge, but instead really believe it. If you want a background in this earth, then you have to get more education, more power, more success, then you’ll have a stronger background. Even conning or swindling other people can be a form of power. Because you’re able to steal from other people without much effort of your own with a few cunning words, that’s a form of power as well, and that’s why it happens so much in the world.
If there are any of you who are holding onto that as your background, there is no hope, but in Phil 3:20, it says that the Kingdom of God is our background. We’re saying something very important, this is determining your life in 2024. Our background is the Kingdom of Heaven, what does that mean? It means all of our answers come from heaven. It is okay even if we have nothing because everything comes from there, and if He assigns something, it will come as an answer on earth. However, if you set your background on the things of earth rather than the background of the Kingdom of Heaven, it will be so difficult. You are sitting here right now and you’ve left behind your fields of family and work.
(2) Transcend space and time – Answer
We cannot do anything but worry, and it’s because that person has their background on the things of the earth. But the people who believe that their background is the kingdom of heaven, even as they are sitting here, they can pray for the works of God to take place in their family, their business, and in every area of their life. Because from the throne of heaven, God will answer by mobilizing angels that transcend time and space. I’m seated here right now, but if I pray for Africa, then God will give me those answers, transcending time and space. Because my background is not me, it is the Kingdom of God, and I have citizenship in heaven. Whatever God signs off will count as answers on earth.
So, I have no limitations. We cannot go to the 237 nations, but it is possible. When the One Who is seated at the throne of heaven works, transcending time and space, then those works will take place. That is what our background is like. Then, is that your background, or are you still holding onto the background of the things of this earth, struggling and trying so hard to make a living? Your background has already changed so I hope you will quickly enjoy it.
Are you worried about the future? Are you worried about your studies? It is because you have the background of the earth so you have your limitations. “God, may Your Holy Spirit work upon my studies and may my studies be used to save the entire world.” The answers will be there now, that is the God Who transcends time and space. We are living in that world. Nonbelievers might think we are crazy, but it’s the truth. That’s why we can sit here today, entrusting all of our business to God in worship because when we pray, God works.
(3) On this earth (Mt. 6:10)
God has to move it because God is the Master, and we must pray for God to be the Master, then, you can fully devote yourself to worship and see the work of God in your business field. “Oh, when I started praying, my business started doing well,” that is not the standard, but that the Word of God is fulfilled within His time schedule. May your business be used to save people of all nations, may your studies be used to save the entire world. That is God’s promise. It is possible.
3. Future – Almighty God
Then what about our future? We have not lived in the future, but the Bible tells us the future.
1) Direction
(1) Proclaim the Gospel (Mt. 24:14)
Mt. 24:14 tells us what will happen in the future. “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come,” meaning the Lord’s Second Coming, meaning our life’s direction will be in the direction of spreading the gospel. God did not promise any other future. If your business goes outside of this direction, it is irrelevant to God’s power. If your family and your children’s education go outside of this, it is irrelevant to God.
(2) All nations – 237 nations, 5,000 unreached tribes (Mt. 28:18)
Therefore, our future, our business, our studies will be used to make disciples of all nations. There are 5000 unreached tribes that this gospel has never reached before, and God desires to proclaim this gospel there, and He desires to use your business and He wants to use your studies there. May your studies and your business be aligned with God’s will in 2024. “Oh, even if I’m not aligned with God, I’ve accomplished a lot by myself,” but you’re mentally suffering, aren’t you? You don’t have peace, do you? You should be thankful because that’s how nonbelievers live, and that’s what you call a Tower of Babel. “Let’s try to do everything we can to oppose God and block His disasters,” but the disasters came anyway. So, all of these things you experienced is just the introduction so you understand the need for Christ. Now, if you go into the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ, those things are in the past.
(3) Heal all people, future generation (Mk. 16:15-18, Jn. 21:15-18)
“Go to all people and heal them,” what are we healing? We’re not doctors but the spirit is diseased. There is a deep disease in our invisible spirit that cannot be seen through MRIs. Only when the Word of God, when the Holy Spirit of God goes into your spirit, will it be healed. So, right now, if there’s a problem you cannot understand or solve, it is because of a spiritual illness. If this is repeatedly occurring in your family line, then it is a spiritual disease. This is something that nonbelievers or even doctors cannot know. Only you and I can know of this. “So, through my business, heal people like that. Through my studies, heal people,” that is what God desires. And, raise up and save the future generations to continue this work.
After we pass away, we must pass on this baton, but if we haven’t raised up the future generations, that is a disaster, and we are building the temple construction to do this work. Because we’re not going to keep moving locations, we need to have one heart, whole heart, and continuation until the very end, and if that’s God’s will, then He is bound to work and move.
2) 2024
(1) Word – Follow the covenant
Now, what is our standard for 2024? God is His Word and we must follow His Word. If the Word is not coming to you, then just stay still. If it is vague or uncertain, just stay still. If the Word of God is vague to you, then don’t shout out at your business, you must stay still at that time because God gives us His Word so clearly and specifically. When that clear Word is given to you, then you go in. Do you understand? That is a life that lives with the Almighty God as your standard.
(2) Power – Prayer
(3) Mission
Once you have received God’s Word, then you need to change your mode to prayer, then by the power of God’s Word, the answers will be in your life. Praying is not “praying for whatever I desire,” but it is praying for God to fulfill the Word He has given to you.
3) Answer of light
(1) Business
(2) Academics
(3) Temple construction
Then, without a doubt, you’re bound to receive answers. When do you receive those answers? That’s not for you to know, because God will take care of it by Himself; that’s why it’s the answer of 25 hours, because it is not up to us. When we receive those answers, when we receive that evidence, we stand as witnesses to tell others. That answer must be in your business, right? It must be in your studies. It must come as the answer of temple construction that God desires. May the year 2024 begin the answers that will continue for the rest of your life.
Conclusion
1. Christ – Light of salvation
2. God’s Word
3. Power of prayer
I’m sure there is a word God has given to every individual today, that is the standard. Your thoughts and emotions are not the standard, the Word of God is. So you hold onto that Word and you go into prayer, then God’s answers will come according to His promise.
Message Prayer
Let us pray together.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. Thank You for guiding us in this worship that will bring an end to the year 2023. Though we are lacking and weak, we believe the Almighty God Who is with us will guide us with His Word. We have returned Your materials as offering and we believe everywhere this offering is used, it will be used to fulfill Your Word to save the 237 nations, the 5000 unreached tribes, and the future generations. And we believe You will work upon us with the blessing of temple construction that will become the platform. 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. New Year’s Eve message: 12/31 (Sun.) 3:30-5:30PM.
3. New Year’s message: 1/1(Mon.) 10:30AM.
4. New Year’s Pastor’s conference will be on 1/14(Sun.)-16(Tues.). We are accepting donations.
5. 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, working, guidance, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be upon the people of God, the future generations, and the multiethnic people who desire to hold onto the covenant of the Almighty God Who is the beginning and the end as we end 2023 and head into 2024, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.