Living a Life of Discerning God’s Will (Romans 12:1-2)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” This is the last Sunday worship of 2025, and I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ that God will pour the abundance of His grace upon the last worship of the year. The title of today’s message is, “Living a Life of Discerning God’s Will.” We want to live according to God’s will, and also, only God’s will is fulfilled and remains on this earth. People try to live according to their own will, but God does not fulfill that. That was in Genesis 3, humans tried to fulfill their own will but ultimately failed. Even at this moment, Satan drags and tempts people in the opposite direction. If our life is failing, it’s because it’s going in the opposite direction of God’s will, but there are many people who fail even as they go to church. The reason is because they don’t know their walk of faith well, they don’t know Who God is, well. There are a lot of situations where family lines that have gone to church for a long time have addictions or mental problems. Why is that? Is it because they don’t know Jesus? Without a doubt, they know Jesus, they received salvation, but simply put, they believed in a Jesus that left them no choice but to get problems of addiction and mental illness.
What does that mean? Jesus is Jesus; how could Jesus cause these problems? Let’s give one example. Do you know Trump? Yes, who is Donald Trump? He’s the US President. I know that Donald Trump is the US President, but what does the US President do? Isn’t he just the President? But what does the President do? Isn’t he the most powerful person in the country? You shouldn’t know Jesus the Christ like that. “Isn’t He just Jesus Christ? Isn’t He the One who died and shed His blood for me? I believe in that.” But you believe in Jesus Christ so vaguely so you have no choice but to fail and have mental problems. If you believe Jesus is the Christ, you need to know Who He is and believe in Him correctly. The Bible tells us that the reason people fail on earth is because of their ignorance of the Bible. God reveals Himself through Jesus Christ, and the Bible says, anyone who has seen Christ has seen God, and any Word that Jesus says is the Word that God the Father says. So, John 5:39 says the entire Bible is testifying about Jesus Christ, but if I don’t know Christ accurately, it means I don’t know God at all, either.
1. Therefore
So, in today’s scripture, Romans 12:1, it says, “Therefore.” The word, “Therefore” means, as a result of something that was said before. So, Paul explains everything from Romans 1 to Romans 11 and then says, “Therefore.” Romans has 16 chapters, and the last chapter of Romans is just the final greeting. From Romans 1 to Romans 11, it’s about faith in the gospel. Starting from today, Romans 12 to Romans 15 is about lifestyle. But why is it that God spoke at such length from Romans 1 to Romans 11 about the gospel through Paul? It’s not even just about the gospel, but the doctrine of the gospel–eleven chapters’ worth. There’s only four chapters that have everything to do with lifestyle, what does this mean? It means our entire life must be placed upon the doctrine of the gospel. But why is it that so many Christian’s lives are falling apart? Why is it that Christians are falling under problems like addiction and mental problems? It’s because the gospel must be a firm foundation, but it’s not set yet. Many people just skip through the gospel, think of it as basic, and then try to live their life and apply it. That’s why they fail.
Romans 12 talks about areas of our lives, for example, our nation and the government, the church, society, and family. But all of that life must be placed on top of the basic foundation of the gospel doctrine. It takes seven years for an oak tree to start being visible above ground, because it takes seven years for it to lay its roots. After seven years, the tree itself grows very rapidly, so whatever you see above the ground, that’s what we see, but before we can see anything above ground, there is a hidden thing below ground.
Why do we get alcoholism? It’s because there’s something hidden inside of us that leaves us no other choice but to be an alcoholic. Why do we keep getting depressed? It’s because there’s something inside me causing it. Why does my life feel so sad? It’s because there is sadness inside of me; if there were joy inside of me, then there would be joy coming out. So, whatever is inside of you, that’s what comes out, then, where do the things inside come from? Those things came from the mother’s womb. The spiritual state of the mother goes directly into the child. Where do you think the mother got hers from? It just flows down the family line in this way. Where does this family line come from? It goes all the way to Adam. Because of our Original Sin, our spirit is dead, and we are seized by the ruler of the kingdom of the air. The invisible things of the world have entered into me, riding the flow of my family line.
1) Romans 1-11
We must be very firmly grounded within Romans 1 to Romans 11 for this to be broken. If we are not certainly and accurately planted in the gospel of Romans 1 to Romans 11, we will be swept away in the same way as our family line. Everybody has scars; why do you think we got them? You need to know why you got your scars to solve them. That’s how you can solve other people’s scars too. Why do we get scarred? Why do we get traumatized or shocked? It’s possible, but if you believe in God, then you will receive an answer. Why does that person keep on criticizing me? No, instead, “Why is God allowing me to hear these words?” That person will receive these answers. But if that person keeps saying, “Why does this person keep criticizing me,” they’ll get a scar from it. If you receive a scar, it means you do not believe in God. People may even get sick, but there are people who receive an answer through that, or there are others who are seized by their sickness. Problems will continue to come in the past, present, and future, but the people who believe in and rely on God will find an answer in their problems. But people who do not trust in God will spend their entire lives either falling into or trying to solve their problems. There are so many scars of our past, and if you acknowledge God in them, they will no longer be scars. What is the real problem? It’s the problem of not believing in God. It’s not about your environment. The God Who can overcome your circumstance is with you, but you don’t believe in that. Ultimately, the real problem is sin.
(1) Jews – Sin (Romans 3:9)
(2) Greeks – Sin (Romans 3:9)
(3) All people – Sin (Romans 3:23)
Romans 1 to Romans 11 says that everyone is a sinner, Jews and Gentiles. But people are under the misconception that, “I’m a little better than that other person,” but that’s only from a human perspective. From God’s perspective, He says we’re all sinners. We need to look through God’s eyes, but if you’re looking through your human eyes, you will not be aligned with God. How does God see me? I’m a child of God, but when I look at myself, I seem like nothing. Your eyes must change. Romans 1 through Romans 11 says everyone is a sinner, that is why there is no way for us to be saved other than the goodness, the righteousness, and the fellowship offering of Jesus Christ.
2) Faith
(1) Jesus – Atoning Sacrifice (Romans 3:25)
(2) Faith – Justification (Romans 3:26)
(3) The Law of Faith Alone (Romans 3:27)
Romans 1:17 says that only by faith we are righteous, then we cannot boast at all. Even if a little bit of our action, then we can boast, but it doesn’t. It is only by believing in what Christ has done. Even that faith is not from me; God has to give me the grace to believe. We are saved by God’s grace through faith. God does not give faith to everyone.
3) Salvation (Romans 8:30)
(1) Predestination
(2) Calling
(3) Justification
(4) Glorification
Romans 8:30 says God has predestined, and Ephesians 1 says there are people called for salvation from long ages past, before creation. So, we have been predestined; we have been called, justified, and glorified. That is the firm foundation of faith from Romans 1 to Romans 11 that we must be rooted in. Do you know what kind of person has a walk of faith that keeps on failing? They say, “Oh, this gospel is basic, so now let’s go beyond this and think, how can I live a good life? How can I live a nice and successful life?” It’s because they don’t know what the life of a Christian really is. Then their focus is just like a nonbeliever, “What do I have to do to live a good life?” If someone is not certain and accurate about the gospel, typically, they fall into four categories of faith.
There is prosperity-based faith. They think that a Christian life should give them physical blessings and good things. Because they’re not certain about Who Jesus Christ is, they go towards physical blessings and good things happening. Yes, they do get physical blessings, but the Bible emphasizes the spiritual blessings. Ephesians 1 says the great treasures of heaven have been given to you, but they have no interest in that. Only money, only success, only things working out well; why are we like that? It is because we are not certain in what the gospel is; we don’t even know who we are. We were sinners, we were dead, and we were saved by the grace of Jesus Christ, yet we forget about that and still chase after physical blessings. If you have the spiritual blessings, then physical blessings follow, but if you’re not certain about the gospel, then your priorities will shift. If you’re putting on your clothes, you cannot put your jacket on, first. The order has to be, you have to put on your undergarments all the way out to the outer layers. But if the foundation of the gospel is not very certain inside of you, then you try to put on the outer layers first, then what happens? You have to take it off anyway.
The second category of faith people fall into is unhealthy mysticism. God is mystical, He is invisible, but people really crave that mysticism. What is mysticism? It’s trying to see something that is invisible or feel something that is intangible. If you are certain in the gospel, then you can see, even though He is invisible, that God is with you right now through His Word, but that’s not enough for you. This person will stake their lives on the spiritual gifts, even if that’s not the main purpose of God. Yes, there are such things as spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues, healing, or prophesying, but they put all of their focus and attention here. Do you know what a gift is? Let’s say you got a Christmas gift, that’s just a once-a-year gift, you don’t need that gift every day, but people think of that gift as the main thing.
The third category of faith people fall into is legalism. “Now that I believe in Jesus, I have to live a right life, I have to live according to the Bible.” That’s how the Jewish people ended up kicking away the gospel. Even Buddhist people live like that. Go into the temple, they do very good things: they share rice with people and do good things for others. All religions do good things, they clean your heart, they make you live morally and ethically well. What is legalism? It is me centered on myself, trying to live myself cleanly. You don’t know who you are, still. You don’t know that you’re a sinner. A “sinner” means your life will have the fruit of sin.
The fourth category of faith is humanism. They try to do everything by the methods of the world. “Look at the way the companies and the Ivy Leagues of the world are running, that’s what the church needs to do.” But that’s the world. In the Kingdom of God, we must live according to the ways of God. Why is it that these four colors of faith destroy people’s lives? It’s because they don’t have a sure understanding and need for the gospel; that’s why these other colors of faith come out.
2. Spiritual Worship
1) In view of God’s mercy (Romans 12:1)
(1) Through death on the cross
(2) Your bodies (Romans 12:1)
It says, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” “To offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God? Is that possible? I’m too busy trying to survive; how could I give myself as a sacrifice? I’m believing in Jesus so He can help me survive, but I have to give myself to Him? That makes no sense. The whole reason I’m believing in Jesus is so I can be blessed and receive good things from Him; you want me to give myself to Him? No way.” That person does not know what the gospel is. Let’s say I look at this person’s actions and I don’t like them at all, but if I just think about the actions that I don’t like, then I don’t understand the gospel. People like that will receive scars themselves and will judge other people, point their fingers at others, and be full of hatred. That person still does not understand the gospel yet, because that person still does not recognize that they themselves are a sinner, nor that the other person is a sinner.
You must acknowledge that we are sinners to recognize the gospel. I must acknowledge that the other person is a sinner in order to realize, this is why they need the gospel. If a person who looks at other people’s actions gets a job, they will be tormented by other people because they don’t like how other people behave. We need to know everybody is a sinner, but they don’t think about that. They’re not able to acknowledge that other people have no choice but to act that way because they’re sinners, then of course they cannot proclaim the gospel to others because they do not know the gospel themselves. More so than the gospel, their own standards of what is right and wrong take precedence.
So, they’re going crazy but you need to understand Romans 1 to Romans 11 to give your life as a living sacrifice; you have to believe in God in order to give your life to God. If you do not find God believable, then of course you cannot entrust your life to Him. God shows us the gospel through Christ, but we don’t find the gospel believable, then you’re bound to get caught in the four colors of faith I mentioned earlier. Then, no matter where you go, that person will stumble and fall. However, if someone has the correct gospel foundation, then it’s easy to give yourself to God.
How do you give yourself to God? “As a holy, living sacrifice.” A “sacrifice” needs to die. Even Jesus Christ died on the cross as a sacrifice for us. In the Old Testament, all of the sacrifices, the lambs, were burned and killed. But in today’s scripture, it says to give your life as a living sacrifice. “To be living and be a dead sacrifice”? You need to understand what these words mean in order for your job, your family, your social life, your human relationships, and your church life to work out well.
(3) The whole person – soma (Greek)
The “living sacrifice” is your true and proper worship, it says. This is the “true and proper worship.” It means, what he is saying is, our entire life must be worship. Worship is given to God, and our entire life, everything that our body does, is a worship, giving glory to God, then what is the “body” in this scripture? The Bible uses the word, “body” in two different ways. There is one sense of the body that is talking about the physical flesh of the body, and then there’s a second word that they use for the body, “soma,” and this is not just talking about the physical body, but it is talking about the entire holistic being, including the mind and heart. So in today’s scripture, Romans 12:1, it is talking about the soma, it includes our physical body, our entire personality, our mind, and our heart. It means, to give our entire life as a whole to God. How can we do that? “I’m only believing in God so I can live, the only reason I believe in Jesus is so He can bless my business, but you’re asking me to give everything to God? That seems like a loss.” Why do we act like this? We still don’t understand what the gospel of the cross is saying. We’ve heard it so much, but it hasn’t yet entered into us.
2) Offer yourselves as a holy and living sacrifice
(1) A living sacrifice of death
(2) My past, present, and future – death (Galatians 2:20)
(3) Christ’s resurrection – Lord of life (Galatians 2:20)
What is the effect of Jesus’ death on the cross to me? It means, I also died on the cross with Christ, right? I also died as a sacrifice. Who is the “me” who died? The old “me” who rejected Jesus and lived enslaved by Satan and sin has been crucified on the cross, then, what is the new, “me”? Christ resurrected and he lives inside of me as life; that is the new “me.” If you don’t understand these words, you don’t quite understand the gospel yet. You have to clearly understand these words to understand, this is the gospel. My old self that was a slave to Satan, sin, and hell has already been crucified. The new “me” who is living now is Christ living in me, following the words of the Holy Spirit. That is giving ourselves as a living sacrifice. The old “me” is dead, it is my sacrifice, and the new life that I’m living serves Christ as my Lord. What is the characteristic of that life? We do not have our own assertions because we are already dead; now, the Word of Christ is my assertion, the will of Christ is my will, the plan of Christ is my plan, the power of Christ is my power. “Oh, I feel so bad”? That doesn’t exist anymore; that’s the old “you.”
3) Spiritual Worship
(1) Fitting worship
(2) The gathered church – worship
(3) The scattered church – worship
Give your life as a living sacrifice, the true worship. That means, our entire life is worship. It is the continuous worship where Christ is alive in me and my old “self” is dead as a sacrifice. Your scars are already crucified on the cross; your failures in the past are already crucified on the cross. All of the background of your family, your family line, everything in the past has been crucified on the cross. We don’t find this believable, so we’re overwhelmed by our scars, and evil spirits enter in through those scars. “But Christ is with me in those scars.” Until you believe this, they’ll never go away. These evil spirits seize our thoughts. There’s a very strong mentality, it’s these intrusive or uncontrollable thoughts. People can’t control them, but Satan is controlling these thoughts, so people use these words like “uncontrollable thoughts,” which means they cannot control it. Because Satan has just entered into my thoughts, I can’t even control my thoughts; they’re intrusive, so I’m compelled to follow whatever direction Satan drags my thoughts.
These intrusive thoughts or compulsive thoughts, for example, homosexuality or depression, it’s all the same compulsive thinking. If Satan puts these emotions into them, then that’s what you feel. If Satan puts these thoughts of homosexuality or depression inside of you, that’s what you feel, and we live following our emotions.
But where do these come from? It comes from our sin, so Satan controls us with our thoughts and emotions. “I was gay since I was born,” or, “I was transgender ever since I was born,” how could someone stop that? But that’s how Satan controls that person, but people don’t know that it’s Satan so they say, “You’re free to live however you want.” There’s no solution other than Christ; you must be certain of the gospel. If you’re not certain of the gospel, then you’ll be trapped in yourself and you won’t save others.
The spiritual worship, we must remember, we are God’s Temple. This building is not the Temple. In the Old Testament, they had the Temple, and that’s where the priest would slaughter the lambs, but as soon as we accept Jesus Christ, God lives in us and we are His Temple. When the temples of God gather together, they are the church. This building is not the Temple; this building is just the church building. Why would I keep on talking to you about these words? Because in the Old Testament, they had to gather in the Temple; there was no Temple outside, but you still misunderstand in the old way, so people think, “We worship in the church, and then we go out and live however we want in the world.”
But Romans 12 says, give your entire lives as a living and holy offering to God, this means we worship inside of this church, but we also worship out in the world, too. Give your life as a sacrifice, your body as a sacrifice, and make sure that the Lord is the One Who is leading you during the time of worship. During this time of worship, the evidence that the Holy Spirit has worked upon you is that the Lord’s Word enters into you. Yes, we do have to understand with our brains, but there’s a difference between that and something really embedding itself in your heart. That’s what Jesus says in John 4, when He says, “Worship in Spirit and in Truth.”
It’s not just about what posture or how you need to look when you carry out the form, but we need to worship in spirit and in truth; what does this mean? It means that by the work of the Holy Spirit, God’s Word of Truth works upon us. If the Word of God has not come upon us and into us, then the Holy Spirit has not worked and that is a failed worship. What is the standard of worship? By the work of the Holy Spirit, God’s Word of Truth enters into me. Why is it this Word that God puts into me? It is because this is the Word of God that is an answer to my life and circumstance. Same thing out in the world, you do not live with your own thoughts, because I’m already dead on the cross; what am I living with now? I live with the Word of Life, that’s why Jesus said, “To follow Me, you must deny yourself.” The standard of a disciple is that they do not assert their own thoughts; they only follow the words of Christ. What is the standard of a Christian? We must die every day. What does this mean? It is a life that we give as a holy and living sacrifice. We can only understand what it means to live a life as a living sacrifice if we understand Romans 1 to Romans 11, first.
Why is your family life so hard? It is because I’m still alive. Why is my work so hard? It is because I’m still alive, because I’m not living as a living sacrifice. We only think that worshiping at church is worship. But we lose hold of the holy, living worship in the field. Think about the Roman Church. The Church of Rome only had Romans 1 to Romans 16, and they read that their entire lives and held onto that as their standard, right? The Church of Rome didn’t have any other Word of God. We are fortunate to have the 66 books of the Bible all roped together, but the Church of Rome only had Paul’s epistles, Romans 1 to Romans 16. The church of Ephesus held onto the word of Ephesians 1 to Ephesians 6 their entire lives and just poured over those words. Ephesians 1 to Ephesians 3, that’s the gospel; Ephesians 4 to Ephesians 6, that’s life. It doesn’t mean to study it once. It means live your entire life rooting down in Romans 1 to Romans 11. On top of that foundation of the sturdy gospel, that’s where the four chapters about lifestyle come in.
With what gift and what role will you save the church? He also says, how will you save your company and your job? By serving your boss as God. How will you save your nation through your taxes? How will you live your family life? All of that lifestyle must come from the certain foundation of the gospel, Romans 1 to Romans 11. Where is the Law mentioned here? “How could that person do that? Why does that person say that?” It’s because you’re not certain in the gospel so you have no choice but to say something else. “Then, does that mean you can just let someone do something wrong?” There is no choice but for them to do something wrong. That person has a reason why they lose their minds. There’s a reason why this person keeps on stealing. Are you able to understand that reason? If you’re not able to understand that reason, you’ll always judge them.
“Does that mean we can just let them do wrong things?” In order to actually help this person change, you need to give them God’s Word, pray for them, change them fundamentally. If you’re not able to do that, then you cut them with legalism. “I can’t live with somebody like that,” then who could you live with? Everybody is a sinner. The more time you spend with someone, the more their sinful nature comes out. Only Jesus Christ is a human with no sin. Even if you think about it a little bit, isn’t it a bit foolish? Everyone you live with, you’ll find that they are sinners. As if you’re not a sinner? You’re just oppressing yourself, it’s because we don’t understand Romans 1 to Romans 11 yet. This is the reason why even believers fall.
3. A Discerning Life
1) This Generation
(1) Worldly trends (Ephesians 2:2)
In Romans 12:2, Paul says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,” the “world” here is not talking about this age, it’s talking about the world. The Bible uses the word, “world” in two different ways. There’s a word, icon which talks about the entire world, that’s talking about the visible areas of the world as well as the invisible forces. There’s another world called, “cosmos,” and that’s what we call the visible world, the visible creation. So, this is talking about the first term where it includes the visible and the invisible forces of creation. Do not be influenced by them.
(2) Following the ruler of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2)
Eph. 2:2 says that sinners follow the ruler of the kingdom of the air, and follow the ways of the world. So, we’re not just following the trends of the world, but we are being enslaved by Satan, the ruler of the world. How could we not follow? Live your life as a living sacrifice. Die on the cross with Christ and only follow the words of Christ. “Oh, my job is so hard,” or, “These people’s words hurt me so much,” only follow the words of Christ. Why do you keep following other people’s lies? Just keep them in mind, “I wonder why that person said that to me,” but ask God. God will tell you, “I will say those words to you through that person. I was criticizing you through that nonbeliever.” If you stand before God, He will tell you. Ask God, “Why did God allow this person to criticize or talk back to me?” When David was running away from the palace, Shimei cursed David, and what did David say? “It is actually God cursing me through Shimei,” that is living worship.
I die and Christ lives.
“Why did our business fail?” I didn’t think it did; I think God wants to give you the spiritual blessings. Why was Joseph dragged as a slave? I don’t think he was really dragged; I think God sent him. Why did Joseph succeed? I don’t think he succeeded. I think God just gave him that position to show the glory of God. If you have this living worship take place, then you’ll be able to discern. Paul had a sickness and prayed three times for God to fix it, and God said, “No.” Paul confessed later on that actually, in my weakness, I am strongest. Are you sick or ill? “May I die and Christ live in me,” then I don’t think it’s going to be a disease; I think it will be an opportunity to receive incredible blessings. God wants to bless His children, God does not want to make His children fail. It might seem like failure, but it’s not. Though we are hard-pressed on all sides, we are never crushed. Though we may be hung upside down, we are never perplexed. It is not a failure; it is an opportunity to start anew, holding onto the gospel again. If I am alive, then yes, I will fail. If I am alive, then that’s the end, because I am already dead. But now the Lord lives in me; there is no such thing as a failure for the Lord. The Lord can work with the power of re-creation. Give that living worship.
(3) Desires of the flesh and mind – wrath (Ephesians 2:3)
2) Renewing the Mind
(1) New spirit – new heart (Ezekiel 36:26)
It says, “Renew your mind.” How can we renew our mind? Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart.” no matter how much you try to change yourself, you can never, because we are sinners.
(2) Holy Spirit – thoughts, mind (John 14:26-27)
The Holy Spirit of God must come into us to change our thoughts and our heart. John 14:26 says the Holy Spirit lives inside of us and teaches us and reminds us of the words of Christ, so that means the Holy Spirit changes our thoughts into the Word of Christ. Before that point, our thoughts can never change. Because the standard is set on yourself, you can never change that. Only the Holy Spirit can change you. This worship is that time. When the Holy Spirit works and the Holy Spirit comes into my thoughts and my heart, then I am changed, and that’s why we pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit. If we receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, we receive power to be witnesses of Christ until the ends of the earth.
(3) Power – fullness of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)
How do we receive the filing of the Holy Spirit? We just ask in faith, then God gives it. Why does God give it? God gives it to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. God doesn’t give you the Holy Spirit to brag about gifts. God gives you the Holy Spirit to brag about Christ. I hope you will receive the filling of the Holy Spirit at your job; may you receive the filling of the Holy Spirit in your school, why? So you can be a witness of Christ through your studies and your work, but if you don’t understand the gospel, then you cannot do this; you live your life by your own strength and collapse. Because you live with your own greed, you will be flocked to by conmen. As long as you have greed, conmen will flock to you, because they know, the devil knows. If I have no motive, then conmen have no leverage on me because there is nothing that I want from them. If my only motive is for the Word of God, then those are the people who will be attached to me, because what I can give them is the answer of God’s Word. But if you live for your physical greed, then those are the only people who will be attached to you and nothing will work out.
3) Discernment
So, live a life discerning God’s will, but what is God’s will? We live for God’s will, but we need to know it.
(1) God’s goodness
(2) God’s pleasure
(3) God’s perfect will
John 6 says that the will of God is for people’s lives to be saved, that’s God’s will. God’s will is not to kill. It is for your spirit to be saved. What does it mean for us to live for God’s will? It means to save people’s lives. The goal of your studies and your job is to save lives. The reason I serve the church is to save my life and to save other people’s lives. If you give that living, holy worship, then your spirit comes to life. The reason I go to school or my job or whatever field is for God’s will, which is to save lives. During this time of worship, if you receive the Word of Life from Christ and you hold onto that in meditation every day for the rest of the week, God will send you someone who will receive that Word. Then, when you go to school or your job, what are you waiting for in anticipation? “Who is the person who will receive this Word?” Hold onto that while you study, hold onto that while you work, then that person will never spiritually collapse because they are giving that living worship.
Then, without a doubt, God will always send people who need the Word of God, mixed in with the people in the field, in His time schedule. God will send people to you by creating an incident in the lives among your friends at school, then the Word of God being revealed will keep taking place. John 1:1 says that God is the Word, and the way God works is by putting His Word into my heart. The way that I live as a living sacrifice in the world is by holding onto that Word, and the way that I save the people in the field is by giving the Word to them. That’s the work that God is doing and that’s the life that God desires, that is the greatest, blessed life.
Conclusion
1. Only Christ
2. Only the Kingdom of God
3. Only the Holy Spirit – Witness
There is nothing other than “Only Christ,” everything is contained there because He is the True God, and His Spirit is the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of Christ is the Kingdom of God.
Message Prayer
I bless you in the name of Christ that you enjoy and testify of this blessing for the rest of the week. Just hold onto one sentence from today’s message. “I’m going to meditate and pray holding onto this one phrase, this one Word. When I go out into the world, I’m going to go, holding onto this one phrase. God, help me meet somebody who will receive this Word and answer.” God has already prepared that person in the field. Let us pray together.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We thank You for guiding us in 2025 by Your grace in worship. We pray that only Christ will be the center of our hearts so we may live and die for only Christ. Allow our businesses and our studies to be used to testify of only Christ to the world. We are giving Your materials as offering. We pray everywhere this offering is used, the economy of light will be upon those lost in the darkness, and we believe You will work with the economy to do world evangelization upon the hands that have given the offering. We pray that You will allow our next generation to discover their talent and specialization to do world evangelization. We believe You will work upon the church officers with the answers and the specialization of economy for world evangelization. We pray You will give the fundamental strength and healing upon those who are sick. We pray all of this in the name of our living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.
God, we thank You. We pray You will bless Hannah Kim who is visiting today with the fulfillment of Your Word, and may you allow her the blessing of beginning anew with Christ. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.
Announcements
1. Remnant Bible 30-Verse Memorization Contest – During Winter Break, Prizes Awarded – Adults can also participate
2. LA Area Winter Retreat (December 29-31)
3. New Year’s Eve Service, December 31 (Evening), January 1 (Morning)
4. Intensive Training, January 1 (Evening), January 2 (Morning, Afternoon)
5. Venmo account address for church offering: @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 remnant posterity who desire to live their lives only for the will of God, glorifying God by the filling of the Holy Spirit, be with them now until forever always, amen.
Let’s live by God’s will!