Jesus Christ is the Word (Life, Light) (Jn. 1:1-13)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” May you have the unprecedented and never-repeated answers today. We finished the book of Matthew, and today we are beginning the book of John. The book of John testifies that Jesus is God, and we must believe in Jesus to have eternal life; that is the goal of the book of John. As you keep on listening to the words of the book of John you realize that Jesus is life and that life is within me; then I must live with His life. For the people who don’t have life, I must testify the life to them. If you begin to change like that, then the work of the Holy Spirit is within you, and I believe that’s what God will do.
1. In the beginning
1) Before creation
(1) There was the Word (Jn. 1:1)
(2) The Word was with God (Jn. 1:1)
(3) The Word was God (Jn. 1:1)
Today, the first chapter of the book of John is very important. “In the beginning” means, before the universe was created. “In the beginning was the Word,” and today, we are talking about Jesus Christ when it says, “The Word was with God and the Word was God.” This is saying it in a very confusing way, but ultimately it means that the Word is God. There are some people who say they’ve seen God with their eyes. If you think about something a lot, you’ll even dream about it, but that’s not God. In the Old Testament, before the Word was fulfilled, God would reveal Himself through dreams and visions. However, after the 66 books of the Bible had been completed, God reveals Himself through the words of the Bible; He reveals Himself through the Word. “Oh, I had a dream,” you can dream about something if you’re just worried about it. If you’re so afflicted by something, you’ll dream about that, too, but God is His Word.
2) Jesus Christ is the Word
(1) He was with God (Jn. 1:2)
The evidence that God is with me is that the Word is coming into me, and we realize the Word of God through the work of the Holy Spirit. We do not realize the Word of God with the knowledge we learned in school. Whatever you realize from knowledge, those are the words of people, but we are able to understand and believe in the Word of God in our hearts by the work of the Holy Spirit. For any of you who are first beginning your faith, you must not understand the Word with your brain. How could you understand this unlimited God with your brain? Only by the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart will you begin to believe in this unlimited God, and that goes into our thoughts, and that allows us to make our decisions and actions in the world.
(2) Created all of creation (Jn. 1:3, Heb. 1:2, Gen. 1:3,6,14)
Then, this Jesus Who is the Word, in Jn. 1:3 says, “Through Him, all things were made.” Jesus is the Word and Jesus is God, and through Him, all things were made. You and I are also part of that creation. The One Who created me is not my mother and father; it is Jesus. So, even if you ask your mom and dad questions, they cannot know your natural essence. They might know your physical traits, but the only one who knows the deepest parts of me is Jesus Christ Who created me. To Whom should you take all your problems and questions? To Jesus Christ Who created you, then He will fix you with His Word.
When you face a problem, stop trying to fix that problem with your own strength but take that problem to Jesus Christ Who created and allowed that problem, then He will give you the answer through the Word. If your car is broken, you need to go to the manufacturer who made that car. Let’s say I bought a Ford car, if it breaks, I cannot take it to another manufacturer; I need to take it to a Ford manufacturer because the maker of that car knows that car so well. We might study and know the world very well, but we need to go to the One Who created the world in order to know the world.
(3) Sustaining all things by His powerful Word (Heb. 1:3)
Heb. 1:3 says that He is sustaining all creation with His Word. This means that all of creation is moving according to the Word. So, people are studying so diligently, but even what we study is the creation, and the creation is made and moved by His Word. All of your business and your work must be aligned with His Word because God is moving all of creation with His Word.
Without God’s Word, you cannot live. However, if you always bring everything and stand before the Word of Jesus Christ, He will always answer you with His Word. Do you have a question? If you take that question to the Jesus Who created you and created the universe, He will always give you His answer through HIs Word.
3) Jesus Christ is life and light (Jn. 1:4)
Jn. 1:4, “In Him was Life.” The opposite of life is death. Jesus Himself is Life, and whoever accepts Jesus has life. “Having life” means you will live an eternal life. Even if your physical body dies, you will live an eternal life. That’s because Jesus is life, so as long as Jesus is inside of me, I will have life. When Jesus Christ comes back, even our dead bodies will resurrect in a new body. Both lives, the spiritual life and the physical life, will come to life. There is no reason for us to fear death; Jesus is life. It says that this life was the light of all mankind.
(1) The light shines in the darkness (Jn. 1:5)
(2) The darkness has not overcome it (Jn. 1:5)
(3) The world did not recognize him (Jn. 1:10)
And Jn. 1:5 says that the world is darkness. You need to listen to this very well because if you listen to this very well, you can be used in this world by God. If you don’t listen to this well, even though you go to church, you’ll feel like it doesn’t make much of a difference. Jesus Who is life and light came to this world, and the world did not understand Him, why? Because this world is ruled over by death and darkness.
2. World
1) Prince of this world (Jn. 12:31, 14:30, 16:11)
Then, who is the one who is ruling over this world? It is the prince of the air, Satan, the devil. We live inside of this world. If you don’t know Satan, the devil, you are bound to lose to the world. We study and work so hard in the world and we think we know a lot, but if you don’t know Satan, then you will lose to the world. Jesus Christ is life, but if you don’t know that Satan, you don’t know Jesus.
(1) Dominion of darkness (Col. 1:13)
Col. 1:13 says that He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness. Satan is moving with authority over the darkness. The darkness here is not talking about the darkness we have at night; it is blinding us from knowing the Light of Christ. On the other hand, the “Light” is not talking about the light from the sun. The sun only creates this light. Nowadays, they’ve actually created a man-made sun. They created this artificial man-made sun and they were able to shine light from it for about 40 seconds. We need the light from the sun in order to have life on earth, right? But the “Light” we’re talking about today is not that kind of light. In Gen. 1:2 it says that the world was covered in formlessness, darkness, and chaos, and when God said, “Let there be light,” that was the Light of creation, that’s the light we’re talking about.
When people go before that Light, they completely kneel down. People do not just fall straight on their face when they look at the sunlight; but it would be because they are looking at the light of God. When Moses met God on Mount Sinai and came down, his face was shining with light; that was the Light from God. And “You are the light of the world,” He says. In Isaiah 60, it says, “Arise and shine, for your light has come,” and shine the light. We must shine the light because the world is in darkness. It seems like the world needs food, that we need to give food in order for the people to live. Yes, the world does need food, but they need the spiritual food which is God’s Word. We need to give them that in order for them to be spiritually saved.
(2) Blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:4)
(3) Cannot see the light of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:4)
2 Cor. 4:4 says that “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers.” Satan has the authority of darkness and is blinding the minds of people, and his goal is so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, in order for you to know the world, you need to know that this world is darkness, and it is ruled over by Satan.
2) Ruler of the kingdom of the air (Eph. 2:2)
(1) The spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient (Eph. 2:2)
Eph. 2:2 says that there is the ruler of the kingdom of the air, and the ruler of the kingdom of the air is the devil. That devil is the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient or disbelievers. It may seem that people are just living their lives, but they are actually following the ways of the devil. If you tell them about Jesus Christ, they’ll hate it. It’s not because they have a bad personality, it’s because they are following the spirit of the devil.
(2) Follow the ways of this world (Eph. 2:2)
Eph. 2:2 says they are following the ways of this world. The devil is moving this world, and there is a way with which he moves the world. He plants in ideologies that do not have God. He makes it so that we follow the ideologies of democracy without God, or Satan makes us follow the ideologies of communism. Or, he makes us follow after the idea of freedom that does not have God and does not have Christ. Through the education of America, Satan is making the little children follow this idea of freedom, equality, human rights, without following Jesus. That’s the way that Satan is ruling over America today. Because these children don’t know the words of Jesus, they follow the ways of the world and one day they’re seized by Satan. They chase after freedom but one day, they won’t be able to control themselves. They chase after human rights without acknowledging God’s absolute sovereignty, and they are one day seized by Satan. They talk about equality, but one day, the result will be inequality. All of those good things are actually found inside of the Triune God. If you and I and our children follow the ways of this world, then we are being dragged around by Satan.
America chooses capitalism, and the center of capitalism is money, so this Satan is ruling over society that is centered on money. The reason we study is money, the reason we work is to get money; even the reason we go to church is to make money; that is how Satan is controlling us, then what happens later on? We are enslaved by the devil. What happens if you are enslaved by the devil? You have to be dragged around regardless of your own will. So, we have to be dragged around with mental illnesses. Why are there so many mental illnesses in today’s world? We have no choice but to have these mental illnesses because we are following whatever we desire instead of God’s Word. Somebody sent me a text, “I go to church but my entire family has depression. My family has depression, my husband’s entire family has depression.” If you don’t know what’s real, even if you take medication, it will not heal it. If you follow after the things that Satan has planted inside of you, then those things will rightfully happen. There are some things that can be healed with medication and some things that cannot be fixed with medication, and what we are talking about cannot be fixed with medication. This must receive the life of the Word of God. Why is it that they go to church but their entire family is like this? Because instead of being centered on the words of Jesus, they are centered on something else, so these things have no choice but to happen.
(3) Centered on me, physical things, success (Gen. 3, 6, 11)
So, the very first way that Satan controls this world is by making us centered on “myself.” In Gen. 3:5, Satan says, “You can be like God, knowing good and evil,” and Satan makes us follow our own thoughts. You must not follow your thoughts. Do you know where your thoughts come from? They are not from God; they come from the world, but you are holding onto your thoughts so firmly, but that’s the way that Satan works and that’s the way that Satan drags us around. In schools, the teacher will ask the students questions, and nowadays, the way that teachers are educating the students is by saying, “Whatever you feel is correct.” No, that’s not true, Jesus is the Truth, only the Word of Jesus is True. Jesus’ words must control my thoughts and my heart. In that state, we need to study and work. Otherwise, we will be dragged in the direction the devil desires.
The second way Satan controls us by making us follow the things we see with our eyes, the physical things. The devil drags us in a way that seems more pleasing to the eye. So, that’s why Satan makes people wear makeup if possible, or to get plastic surgery if possible, or Satan makes you want to get a six pack if possible. I’m not saying those things are bad, but Satan is dragging people so they are more and more focused on physical things. Satan is blinding us so we are ignorant of the spiritual things. Humans are made of the spirit, mind, and body, and the spirit is the first priority, but Satan makes us focus only on the physical. When you are hungry, Satan makes you eat food, but he prevents you from eating the food of God’s Word.
Satan drags us in the direction of always acknowledging and recognizing the abilities and the power of mankind, without recognizing the power of God. America has so much knowledge and power, and it’s so tremendous, but it prevents people from knowing the power of God. These are the ways Satan is dragging America. Are there any of you who are being dragged by Satan, or are you being led by God’s Word?
3) Live gratifying the cravings of our flesh (Eph. 2:3)
(1) Following the desires and thoughts of our flesh (Eph. 2:3)
In Eph. 2:3, it says that Satan makes us live following the cravings of our flesh, “Gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.” Satan makes me dragged around by my depressed emotions, but we must follow after the Word. When we wake up in the morning, the devil makes us dragged around by how we feel. When we face a problem, a crisis, or a situation, Satan makes us dragged around by how we feel. But the problem itself is not the problem; the fact that I’m seized by the problem is the problem. Inside of that problem, we need to receive the answer of Jesus’ Word. If you don’t know the Word, then you keep having to live with your own thoughts, listening to the words of other people.
(2) Idol – Greed (Col. 2:3, Ex. 20:3-4)
The cravings of our desires and our thoughts, that is our greed and ambition. That greed is idolatry. Exodus 20:3 says that an idol is something you serve for yourself. “You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:4 says this, “You shall not make for yourselves,” or for your greed, “an idol,” that’s idolatry. Satan drags us around to gratify the cravings of our sinful nature. The characteristic of people who have mental or spiritual problems is that they have no self-control. If they want to do drugs, they just do it. Or, “I wanna go drink today,” then they’ll go drinking. Or, “I feel very weird today,” they’ll live according to how they feel. We shouldn’t live according to how we feel. God has come to us through His Word; then we must live according to His Word.
(3) By nature deserving of wrath (Eph. 2:3)
In Eph. 2:3, we live like this and become by nature, objects of God’s wrath. I’m dragged around by my own greed, and that results in disasters. So, why are there so many disasters in America today? Why are there so many disasters that we cannot solve with science? It’s because people use the word, “Freedom,” to live however they want. Then, of course, they have no choice but to go crazy. Humans are created by God’s Word to live with God’s Word, so there’s no way to restore us without God’s Word. God’s Word is not in America; when you go to school, there is no “God’s Word.” What they teach in school is, “Live however you want, whatever you do, that is the truth,” that is actually how Satan is seizing your children through the teachers, and what happens when that gets bigger and bigger? They will be completely seized and have mental issues, and they have to keep getting more and more therapy and keep taking more and more medication, but that doesn’t solve the issue. The issue right now is not people’s personalities and it’s not the emotion of depression. It’s the forces of darkness that are going into people and seizing them.
2 Cor. 10:4-5 says that Satan has set up a stronghold inside of us. “I want to live like this,” but there is another god or spirit inside of me, dragging me in the wrong direction. “I do want to go to worship,” that’s true, but on the other side, there’s Satan who prevents me from going to church. Then, you realize how you’re living the rest of your life. You can see the answer of how you were living when you went to school to study or to work. You just go however you feel, then you will have a suffering that you cannot control on your own, and you must know that for sure.
In America, Satan is dragging everyone in a very subtle way so that we do not notice, so in the future, there will be more and more drugs, and people take more drugs because their suffering is so great, and they can’t escape because now they’re seized by the devil. This is America today, because this is the place where the physical things are the strongest. Everybody in America is gathering here for the physical things, that’s the way that Satan rules, then later on, Satan enslaves us with that. “It’s so hard to live and to make a living,” it’s because you’re a slave. It doesn’t matter how much money you save up, you cannot solve your problem because the true problem is elsewhere. No matter how much you succeed, you cannot solve the problem because the real problem is somewhere else. That problem cannot be solved by the abilities of mankind. This world is seized by the authority of darkness, and that is where the light must shine. That Light is not the light from the sun; it is a Light that casts out darkness, it is the Light of Creation.
You are not lacking as a person, and that person is not wrong. It’s that Satan, or the darkness, is inside of us, dragging us around. But if you don’t know the essence of the problem, you’re going to try to fix the problem with education. Then, why are the problems in America, with such an advanced education, not being solved? America has so much scientific advancement; why are we still not able to solve mental issues? It’s because the problem is darkness and it cannot be solved without the Light of Christ. Whatever is continuously repeating inside of you, that’s something else. Regardless of your thoughts and how you feel, you keep on getting dragged in a direction; that’s something else, that the bartizan of Satan. The moment you acknowledge that, it is broken down. For any of you who have questions about depression or your whole family is suffering from depression, the moment you acknowledge Satan’s bartizan, it will start breaking down.
“Why did this happen, even though I go to church?” It’s because even though you go to church, you do not know what the Light and the Darkness is. “Why is it that I give worship at church but I’m still like this?” Because from long ages past, Satan has set up a stronghold inside of us, and pretenses that set themselves up against God. It’s simple, the light of Christ must be testified. If you continue to shine the light of Christ inside of you, then one day, the darkness goes away. It doesn’t matter how much you go to church. The One Who is Life, the Word, and Light must shine the Light inside of me. When you go out into the world, there are very weird people. It doesn’t matter what you try to do to change them; even if you give them food to eat, they won’t change. It doesn’t matter how nice you try to be to them; they won’t change because the problem is that they are seized by darkness. You must shine the Light to them, you must shine the Light of Christ. Through prayer, shine the Light of Christ to them. “In the name of Jesus Christ Who has all authority over heaven and earth, cast out the darkness. In the name of Jesus Christ who has all authority in heaven and on earth, that darkness and disease must flee.”
That Jesus is God, but we keep on focusing on, “What’s wrong with that person?” That’s the wrong focus; they are seized by darkness, that’s why He has given us the name that has all authority in heaven and on earth so we can use it. Even if they go to hospitals, they cannot be diagnosed and they are always afflicted. How can the doctor know this? How could anyone else know this? It is darkness and there is no solution other than the Light of Christ. Even if they go to church, going to church is not the issue. Christ is the Light, He is the Life and He is the Word; we must continue to testify that. Every church has a different word, “Live diligently,” or, “Follow the law,” but that’s not up to us; we can’t follow the Law. The Lord must guide us there, and God’s power must be upon us. There are churches that say, “Just do it, just do it,” and we give up because we can’t, or there are churches that say, “You will receive blessings and blessings,” but they are talking about money, the physical things, but Jesus tells us, “First seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness,“ and everything else will follow. Some churches say, “You need to physically feel or physically see this invisible God. You need to pray to be able to see this God physically with your eyes, then you will be able to see Him.” The Word is God, and the Holy Spirit of God allows us to remember and understand God’s Word, and our life must be raised on that Word because God works according to His Word. That’s why the Word of God is “Logos.”
Heb. 4:12 says that “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” It means that it heals. Stop trying to feel God’s Word through your emotions; God is Spirit, and God is His Word, and if I have God’s Word, then I have God, but why is it that some new believers accept Jesus Christ and then become worse? It’s because if the Word of God doesn’t go into them, then demons work inside of them. Matthew 12:43-45 talks about somebody who empties themselves but they don’t fill themselves with the Word of God, so seven more demons enter him. That’s why God gave us the 66 books of the Bible, the evidence that cannot be shaken. In the midst of those 66 books, we are reading God’s Word from the book of John. There are some people who, when I talk about saying the Word, they try to understand or research or analyze the Word with their knowledge. Yes, for the words of people, you can analyze it with your rationality and logic, but God is His Word. If it’s the words of people, yeah you can research that with your brain. Philosophy, those are the words that people created; you can figure that out with your logic. But the Word of God has been written by the movement of the Holy Spirit, so unless the Holy Spirit reveals it to me, it cannot touch my heart. That’s why, when we worship, we must worship in spirit and in truth.
But people keep on trying to understand God’s Word with their logic; how could you understand God with your brain? How could you try to contain the Creator God with your brain? If that’s how you’re living your walk of faith, then you must quickly change. You need to know God with your heart. The Holy Spirit must move your heart to understand. Then, from that faith in your heart brings righteousness. But if your heart is not moving at all and you’re trying to understand God with your brain, that’s when people fail. God is unlimited and you’re trying to understand that God with your three-digit IQ brain? With your knowledge and logic, when it’s night, it’s dark; that’s all you know. When we say the word, “Light,” with your knowledge and logic, all you think is, “Oh, light from the sun,” but no matter how much you read the Bible with that level of logic, you won’t understand. The Holy Spirit reveals even the deep things of God, that’s why we rely on the Holy Spirit. We only understand the work of Jesus Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit. Today, by this worship, by the work of the Holy Spirit, God’s Word will be on your heart, and that goes into my thoughts and my emotions, and that comes out as our actions and our decisions. Of course, we do need to make decisions and choices and judgments and thoughts. However, we make our decisions by the work of the Holy Spirit that controls our hearts and our minds.
3. The One who received God’s calling
1) John (Jn. 1:6)
(1) Testify concerning that light (Jn. 1:7)
In John 1:6, it says, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.” We have also been saved from the world and God sends us back into the world, just like John. The world is in darkness, but the world does not know, so you must shine the light in the world, and save them from darkness. “You are the light and the salt of the world.” Stop trying to be the light; the light is upon you, and all you have to do is shine the light in your heart. All you have to do is shine that light in your family and in your job. How can you shine that light? You can shine it through prayer in Jesus’ name, and when that light is shining, that light of Creation is upon your business. Then, the spirits of darkness in this world, the spirits of Satan and demons, will flee, then that person will come to their right senses. Before that point, no matter how much you try to convince them, they cannot change; no matter how much medication we take, it cannot change. The Light must be upon us; the Darkness must flee.
(2) So that through him all might believe (Jn. 1:7)
(3) True light – Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:9)
Then through John’s testimony, all people will come to believe in Jesus. The True Light, Jesus Christ.
2) Accept
(1) To those who believe in the name of Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:12)
(2) The right to become children of God (Jn. 1:12)
Jn. 1:12 says, “To all those who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave them the right to become children of God.” Receiving is not something to do with our own will. If someone is spiritually dead, how can they receive anything? But we keep on trying to convince people to accept Jesus Christ, saying, “Please just do me a favor and accept Jesus Christ,” as if we’re selling life insurance or something. If that’s how you understand it, that’s not right. That’s not what this is talking about.
(3) Children born of God (Jn. 1:13)
What does it say in John 1:13? “Children born not of natural descent,” meaning, it is not a father who conceives a son that makes us believe. We don’t believe in Jesus by physical things or by our decision or by our will; it is coming from God, “born of God.” If the spirit of God does not work upon us, then we can never know Jesus, so stop forcing people to accept Jesus; wait for them. Whoever receives Him and believes in His name. “If you just believe for me,” but they can’t believe. That person’s heart will only open when God’s Holy Spirit works upon them. So, some people say, “No matter how much I tell this person the gospel, they’re not going to accept,” that’s up to God.
Should we give up? God has His time, so you shouldn’t just evangelize rashly; you need to break down the darkness first and you need to shine the light of Christ on them. You continuously shine the light of Christ at your company, then there will be a reaction. They will tell you, “I have this problem or that problem,” then you tell them what the real problem is. You need to tell them, “Your real problem is the fact that because of your sin, you are separated from God, seized by darkness. You can only escape from that darkness if you believe in and accept Jesus Christ Who is the Light, then all of your sins and all the curses and disasters of your sins will be forgiven.” You can give it to them so simply, but you say, “This is so hard.” There’s nothing hard about it; if you don’t know the problem, then it’s hard for you to find the answer, but if you know the problem of the world, you can find the answer easily.
3) Life
(1) John – Purpose of recording the Bible (Jn. 20:31)
(2) My purpose – God’s kingdom (Ac. 1:3)
(3) Filling of Holy Spirit – Power – Witness (Ac. 1:8)
God never told us to do this by our own strength; only when the Holy Spirit comes upon you will you receive power. “Oh, but I’m so weak,” you’re not doing it with your strength. “Oh, I have power in the world,” this is not something that powerful people can do, either. Only when the power of God comes upon you, when the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, fills my thoughts, heart, spirit, and body, then “You will be My witnesses to the ends of the earth,” and in order to do that, everything you need will follow, including wisdom, power, money, and people. This is the way that God works. The way of the world makes you follow after money. That’s the way that Satan drags us. Satan makes us follow the words of people and the physical things, but those things should actually follow us. If I follow God’s Word, everything else is bound to follow me.
Conclusion
1. Covenant – 3 Concentrations (Morning, Day, Evening)
That is why, every single day, in the morning, daytime, and at night, we must concentrate on Christ Who is the Light. If you concentrate on that, then everything else follows.
2. 3 Answers – Problem, Conflict, Crisis
If you face a problem, then the One Who is the Light will surely give you an answer. When you face a conflict, you must change yourself. If you’re facing a conflict, realize, “Oh, God is telling me to change myself.” Or, if you’re facing a crisis, “Oh, God wants me to find His opportunity.” Those are the thoughts of the one who is within the Life and Light. But those who are inside of darkness say, “My life is over,” or, “Nothing works out in life,” it’s always so negative because they’re seized by darkness, but for the people who are inside of light and life, a problem is not a problem to them.
Have you ever seen the main character of a movie die? Nowadays they kind of do, but normally, the main character of a movie shouldn’t die. But if the center of the world, the Light and the Life is inside of me as the Lord, then nothing is a problem. Even if I die, I won’t die. That is the characteristic of the one who has the Life of Christ. The problem is that darkness seizes our thoughts and when we face a problem, our heart sinks to the bottom and we say, “That’s a big problem.” At that time, you must find God’s answer. No matter what problem you face, it doesn’t matter. If you are afflicted by mental problems, there is an answer. Stop trying to find an answer where there is no answer; find the answer before Christ. It mustn’t just stay within the members of the church, this light must shine upon all the Gentiles of the world, and we must heal them. Everybody has a bartizan of Satan inside of them that has piled up over years of darkness, and we must save them from that.
3. 3 Courtyards (Gentiles, Prayer, Children) – Temple construction
Now we must shine this light upon the children, the next generation, to save them. The church, the temple, has those three courtyards. If there’s no place for the Gentiles, for healing, and for the children, Jesus Himself destroys that temple. Jesus destroyed the only temple of Jerusalem. He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, proclaim the gospel to all peoples, go to the ends of the earth,” He said. “I will give you the power to do that. I will give you the power to save LA, I will give you the power to save America, and I will pour upon you the power to save the world.” We have this power and we go out to save. May you have victory throughout the week.
Message Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word we have received.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We thank You for saving us who were lost in the midst of sin and darkness, and for saving us by Your grace into Your Life and Light. Allow us to be filled with Your Light every day, and we pray for all the bartizans of darkness and the strongholds inside of us will be broken down, and Lord, we pray that You bless us so that we may be a witness to the world. We pray that You will bless all the hands that have given the material that You have given to them as offering, for the tithe, for the church, the temple construction, the missions for world missions, the future generations, and all the other offering we have given. We pray that You may work upon the offering we have given with the economy of light. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. We pray that You will bless all the newcomers today so they may be filled with the Life, the Word, and the Light of Jesus Christ so they may stand as witnesses in this world of darkness. 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. Korean language school began on 4/6(Sat.) at 10:30AM – $20
3. 4/17(Wed.)-4/21(Mon.) Missionaries’ Conference
4. Native American Navajo camp is on 6/23(Mon.)-27(Thurs.), Florida camp (Anticipating end of July, beginning of August)
5. Regional Summer camp (Children’s) in May, June, July.
6. 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 heads of all the people of God, the people of all nations, and the remnants who desire to be filled with, to enjoy, and to testify of Jesus Christ Who is the Word, the Light, and the Life, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.