Myself and the Church in the Flow of the Gospel (Romans 11:13-24)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The title of today’s message is, “The Church and I are in the Stream of the Gospel.” The Bible is about Jesus Christ. If we’re able to hear about the content of Jesus Christ, then that is the gospel to us. The Bible is the Word of God, so why is the content of Jesus Christ important to us and why is it our everything? If we have the grace of God to understand those words, then we begin to change to be only Christ and only the gospel. What happens if we are changed to be only the gospel and only Christ? The forces of Satan are broken down and curses and disasters also break down, and God’s Kingdom is established upon me. These are things that happen invisibly. This is the work of God’s Kingdom. The world cannot teach us about this. So, the most important thing for me is, why is Jesus the Christ and why is that everything? I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ that you will receive that blessing and grace. That’s why I must personally be in the stream of the gospel, I myself must be in the gospel. I must be in a situation where I examine if I am in the stream of the gospel or not, then I see the works of God being with me. But there are people who go to church without knowing this blessing. If they don’t have certainty about the gospel, then they cannot escape from the problems of their past. The Lord has already finished our past problems, present, and future problems on the cross, but if you are not certain about the gospel, you will be deceived.
So in today’s scripture, Paul is talking about how God has thrown away the Israelites and saved the Gentiles. He uses a comparison between a wild olive tree and a cultivated olive tree that was grown by farmers. The wild olive tree does not give a lot of oil, and the oil itself is not good. On the other hand, the olive tree that is cultivated by farmers has a lot of oil and is good quality oil, and the root of that tree is Jesus Christ. But, because the Israelites were rejecting the gospel, God pruned off those branches and grafted in the branches from the wild olive tree. Paul is saying that this was not done by your abilities or behaviors, but it was by God’s grace.
In today’s scripture, Romans 11:13, Paul says that he takes pride in his ministry as the apostle to the Gentiles. If you are appointed a position by the president, then you would serve that national role with pride. Same thing in the Kingdom of God, I need to take pride in the role that God has given me in His Kingdom, because this is the position God gave me, and God is the One Who will use this position. So, the person’s life state will change depending on what they take pride in. If they take pride in their own pride and self-esteem, then they become easy prey for Satan, and if they take pride in their own glory or fame, then they will fall prey to Satan. That is in Matthew 4. However, if we take pride in Christ, then Satan is broken down. If we have received a position from Christ, then Satan is broken down. If somebody goes out into their field in the world with this pride in Christ, then Satan will shake and tremble, but you all have your positions in the world as well; the devil does not shake from that. But if you know that you’re going out into your fields of the world as an ambassador of Christ, then Satan will shake in fear.
There is someone I do ministry with, and they said they went to their company and declared, “I go to church,” then he said that God began to work upon his job, because the Bible says that if we bring glory to God in the field of nonbelievers, then God will glorify us. But most people will hide that they believe in Jesus, then Jesus is saying, “Then I will hide that I know you.” You have to have pride—I’m a child of God, I’m here as an ambassador of Christ. If you have that pride, then the devil will not budge, but if you do not have this pride and you try to gain pride in the world, then the devil will attack you. In the past, I used to have pride that was so unnecessary. I used to get drunk off of that pride, especially when people would flatter me. So, even if nobody would ask about things, I would just brag about myself so I could feel that way again.
There is a certain pastor who had a child in high school who was so rebellious that he actually sent his child to our church. This was someone working at a very renowned college in Korea, then went to study abroad, met his wife while studying in Germany, and then came back and became a pastor. So, he went back to Korea and was teaching literature there, and then was appointed as a pastor. He’s always very involved in literature. He’s always philosophizing, so he’ll take one scripture of the Bible and go up into the mountains and ponder it deeply. He asked me, “How are you going to train my son correctly over the summer?” I didn’t ask him, but he told me, “I actually graduated from Seoul National University.” He said, “The highest point of my life was when I was a professor at Jeju University,” and I realized, “That’s why your son has problems.” Because even until now, even as a pastor, he takes pride in his worldly accomplishments, then of course, his son is beyond speaking about.
I tell my daughter, “I’m very proud of the fact that I became a pastor,” and in the past, she said, “You don’t even have money. When I go to my friend’s house, they live in a house, but Dad, you don’t even have a house.” I told her, “I used to live like that in the past, but I love the gospel so much that God called me as a pastor.” Nowadays, I think she’s understanding me more. What this means is that, little by little, she is understanding that the gospel has true value. There is nothing we should take greater pride in than the gospel. You have no idea what a tremendous blessing this is, and I want to testify of that to you today. How great of a knowledge is the gospel, and why does the Bible say that there is no knowledge in the world that could replace the gospel? That’s why Paul said he takes pride in being an apostle to the Gentiles. It’s not only being a pastor, but you should take pride in being a deacon or a church officer.
1. The Jews
1) Rejection (Romans 11:15)
(1) Reconciliation of the world (Romans 11:15)
He had such a frustration and broken heart about the Israelites who rejected the gospel. When the gospel goes into you, you’re able to see the field and the world differently ;it’s automatic. As much as the gospel goes into you, the more you can see the world, then you have this broken-heartedness. That’s why people want to proclaim the gospel. If you see someone drowning in a river, then your heart goes out to them, but the problem is, if you’re not certain of the gospel, you’re not able to see that people are drowning in the world, and because you’re not able to see that, you try to do something else. Then you’re outside of the stream of the gospel, why? Because I am outside of the gospel’s stream.
(2) Reconciliation of Gentiles with God (Ephesians 2:16)
In Rom. 11:15, Paul talks about their rejection, which is talking about them rejecting the gospel. Just because the Israelites rejected the gospel does not mean that is the end, because that resulted in reconciling the Gentiles with God. God never stops the gospel. If somebody refuses or rejects the gospel, then God will change the stream to a place that does not have the gospel. God’s plan is that the Israelites would get jealous, and ultimately, they will be saved, but how did the Gentiles live? They were dead in their sins and transgressions.
(3) Life from the dead (Romans 11:15; Ephesians 2:1)
Eph. 2:2 says that they were seized by the ruler of the spirit of the air who is at work in those who are disobedient. It says that we followed the cravings of our desires and our flesh, and are by nature, objects of wrath. I agree with that, 120%. As soon as I was born, my spirit was dead; I was dragged around by Satan, and I was born in the background of my parents and my family line. When I was in my mother’s womb, all of the emotions and things that my mom was feeling got relayed to me. If the mother suffers from depression, then the child will get influenced by that depression.
I have a sad nature. I am better now, and it’s not because something particularly sad happened to me; I was just naturally sad. So, in the past, I would only listen to and sing sad songs, why? Because it fits with my personality. Then, where do you think that nature came from? From my parents. Maybe my mother was depressed or sad when she was pregnant with me. Her dad died in the Korean War, so our parents’ generation got married when they were very young, in their teens, and then my mom’s mom got married again and then had a son. Imagine from my mother’s perspective, how lonely and sad she must have been, and then in the middle of that, she met my father, and my dad always said, “The minute I saw your mother, I was in despair,” because my mom’s sister is very beautiful, and my mom’s mom is also very beautiful, and my father saw my mother’s mother and older sister and thought, “The youngest daughter must be beautiful as well, I’ll get married to her,” but my mother did not take after her mother; she took after her father, and my dad has such a strong sense of conscience that when he says something, he sticks to his commitment, so he did get married to her, so imagine from my mother’s perspective, how sad she must have been when she was pregnant with me, so even though I didn’t go through something sad, my nature is very sad. That’s the natural tendency that I received.
Then, when my parents would fight, I was so overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. I’m sure all the children understand, there’s nothing scarier than that. When things like that happen in the family, I have this fear and this panic inside of me, and I feel like something is just going to collapse. These are the tendencies inside of me, and on top of that, I have scars. I think for me, more so than from my family, I got a lot of scars from school, and because I have those scars, it fills me with anger or rage, and now, sometimes that wrath explodes out. So, I will overreact to something that I didn’t need to get so angry about. On top of that, I have this deep sense of loneliness which is truly fearful. People who experience this level of loneliness understand what I mean. I’m not talking about, “A boy feels lonely, so he gets a girlfriend,” that’s not what I mean. I mean, I was terrified to go home alone, so the only way that I could fall asleep was if I went out drinking with friends after work and I stumbled home, drunk. It’s a spiritual loneliness, and evil spirits were controlling me with fear. That’s how it used to be, and I worked so hard to live. I tried to live an upright life, so I had my own nonbeliever sense of legalism. Because I tried to do so well, imagine how burdened and oppressed I was when things did not go well. As you’re growing up, you have your natural tendencies and your scars, and as you’re growing up, there are limitations you can’t go beyond, so you’re oppressed by both sides.
I didn’t know why life was like this, but one day, I received the gospel and I realized the source of all problems of life is sin. It’s not that I did anything wrong; these are things that are happening regardless of me. We were born into our family backgrounds, we were born into our parents, and did our parents do anything wrong? No, they didn’t; because everybody is born in sin, they are seized by Satan. The result of that is that people have no choice but to have their natural tendencies, their scars, and other things. And what is the reason Christ came to earth? Not to solve our scars, not to solve your sad personalities. He died on the cross to solve sin. Because all of the other problems we face like our depression or our fear or our scars, all come from sin, so all of that was crucified as well, and that was the moment the authority of Satan was broken, and now, the spirit of life lives inside of me. Then, I’m set free.
But if we’re not certain in this gospel, then we keep on getting tricked. Do you know how we get deceived? If we just stay still, then again and again, the scars come back up. Weirdly enough, that sad, natural tendency: sin starts to creep back up, and the things I couldn’t accomplish as a nonbeliever, they creep back up within me as regret. These things remain inside of us even after salvation. One day, I realized that those things are not mine. Those things have surely been crucified on the cross, but because I’m not certain of the gospel, the devil is slowly bringing those things back to deceive me. He seized my thoughts and my emotions with the scars of my past. I thought that was me, so I kept on getting deceived; you must never be deceived. You’ve already been set free, you’re not sad. You don’t have depression; that’s already been crucified. My fear and anxiety have been crucified, and now, what is inside of me is the life of Christ, that is mine. When you hold onto the life of Christ, those other things run away and this will come back to you repeatedly and again. Then when you’re feeling low again, you try to make yourself feel better by doing something, but that is because I don’t realize that Satan triggers things inside of me that were already finished to control me. So now, my old loneliness tendencies can make me feel lonely even when I’m surrounded by people, but the loneliness of my past is finished; now Christ is with me. If we’re not certain in the gospel, then we start falling into our old loneliness, and we have to go call somebody or hang out with friends, and it is because of our spiritual loneliness. So, even after receiving salvation, people are deceived and live outside of the gospel like that.
Then, let’s say you face a problem in life. Do you know what comes out first? My old nature when I face problems comes out. Satan uses that old habit. Either you’ll fall into that problem or you’ll work hard to solve that problem, but that’s not right; the Lord is with you now, and the Lord guides you through that problem. So, if you’re holding firmly to Christ, then God is bound to work. That’s what it means, you must be certain and firm in the gospel. Even if you listen about Jesus Christ, if you’re not certain in the gospel, you’ll keep getting deceived. “Why is life so hard even though I believe in Jesus? Why is it that I’m so depressed even though I believe in Jesus? Why is it that I believe in Jesus but I still have scars?” But it’s already finished, the Lord already paid the price of that with His death, and it’s inside of me, but it’s not mine anymore. Now, what belongs to me is living with Christ. You must be firm and certain in this, then you’ll experience it. “Oh, this is the devil trying to deceive me again,” then the depression will go away because it’s not yours. The loneliness goes away because it is not yours, but this is how Satan tries to attack us with our thoughts and emotions. We try to overcome that with meditation, but we cannot overcome the devil with that. The meditation of being with Christ, then your life is revived and darkness is broken.
If you don’t know the spiritual mystery, no matter how much you try, the darkness will not flee; the problems of your past will not be solved. It can only be solved by the cross of Christ. He has done it once, and it is effective forever. I need to believe in and hold onto that eternally effective cross in order for me to enjoy that, but if the gospel becomes weak or I lose hold of it, then my past will take hold of me. That’s why people live seized by their past. They’re living today, but they’re not really living today because they’re so trapped by their past, or, they’re living today but they’re trapped by their fear of the future; that is not a life that is in Christ. That is a life that is being deceived by Satan, living in the wrong direction. People don’t know this, so they think they just have to pray a lot, and that might not be a bad thing, but you cannot be set free from that life until you’re certain in the gospel. That’s why Apostle Paul said in Phil. 3 that knowing the gospel is the greatest of all knowledge; everything else he considered rubbish because of the surpassing value of the gospel. He races towards that goal. There is nothing we need other than Christ.
“Well, Pastor, if all we care about is Christ, then how do we eat and make a living?” All of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden inside of Christ. “Pastor, are you saying that everyone should become a pastor like you?” Where in the Bible does it only talk about pastors? Actually, it talks more about laypeople than pastors. Become a working professional, wherever you, who lives and proclaims the gospel. That’s why God gave each of you your own talents. People who sing well, they sing well. People who are athletic, they’re athletic. God gives people some scientific talents or political talents. God never said for everyone to become a pastor, and even if you want to become a pastor, you might not be able to. There are some people who go into fasting prayer because they want to become a pastor, and that person ends up receiving their answer and not becoming a pastor, going back to being a layperson. Me, on the other hand, I didn’t even know what a pastor was, I didn’t want to become one, but God led me. Even now, I don’t really know what a pastor is, because my bone structure was not growing up inside of the church, it was outside climbing trees. Honestly speaking, I’m closer to the temples than I am to churches. I think the churches are a little bit strange, that’s just my natural tendency, then how could I become a pastor? Everyone around me is shocked, my family and all the people around me.
Not only am I going to church now, I’ve even become a pastor. I even have a bad personality, because ever since I was a kid, I wasn’t having my personality polished inside of the church; I was growing up in the wild, but I’ve been called, what are you going to do about that? I didn’t do it because I wanted to, but I’m still so thankful that I was like this and yet, God showed me the gospel. So, for the people who know my past, it’s a miracle. Even now, when I go back to Korea, they’re so shocked that I’m a pastor now, so I’m a moving, breathing evangelism, because they know how much alcohol I used to drink, they know that I used to smoke whole packs of cigarettes a day. They all knew that when I would drink, I wouldn’t stop until I was blacked out drunk. So, not only am I going to church now, but the fact that I’ve become a pastor, that’s shocking. They say, “Even if you’re a pastor, you can still drink alcohol. I even see monks here eating meat and drinking alcohol sometimes.” I say, “There’s no reason for me to drink anymore. In the past, I was so deeply afflicted and troubled that I had to drink to numb myself, but I have no reason now.“ So, every time my dad used to get drunk, the evil spirits would take over him and my family would turn into hell, so then I started drinking, too, as I grew up. That’s the stream of the family line. I hated that about my dad so much, but I started becoming like him, and I actually started to miss becoming like my dad. Naturally as I got older, I started wanting to sing the songs my dad was singing. That’s the stream, and you need to change that stream with the gospel, you need to end your family line background. The things that have seized you from your family line background are finished.
2) The Wild Olive Tree
(1) Grafted into the true olive tree (Romans 11:17)
(2) Jesus Christ – the true vine (John 15:5)
(3) Share in the nourishing sap of the root (Romans 11:17)
Now, you’ve been grated into the cultivated olive tree, and you are bearing the fruits of the Lord. Even that faith was given to you by God’s grace to believe. So, the more time passes, the deeper and wider the faith in the gospel becomes. My faith last month is different from my faith today—it’s really amazing. Is it just me who is so happy about this? I relay this to the field, and when I relay this to the field, people who were addicted to alcohol are changing because I know the essence of their problem, it’s not really alcoholism, it’s a mental problem, and it’s not really a mental problem, it’s a spiritual problem of not believing in God. Because of that sin, Satan is oppressing their thoughts and their heart so they have no choice but to drink alcohol. When I testify this gospel to them, they begin to change, little by little. They ask me, “Pastor Park, can I drink a little after work?” I say, “Sure, just drink, but drink while you listen to the messages, because the work of God’s Holy Spirit is greater,” and in a battle between Jesus and alcohol, Jesus wins. Why would I be legalistic and tell her not to drink if she would drink anyways. If she needs to drink, she should drink, but one by one, the need and the thought to drink goes away. So, for the people who drink a lot of alcohol, you understand what I mean, right? I’m not telling you to keep drinking a lot, but I’m saying, if you’re in a state where you cannot help yourself, just drink, but at least, continue to listen to the Word of God, because little by little, your need to drink alcohol or to take substances will go away.
There are people in the church who were suffering from addictions and are now recovered. I was also alcoholic and recovered. It’s not about forcing yourself to stop, there’s no more reason to do it. And it’s not about forcing yourself to stop your online addiction, the reason why you need it goes away. You have no other choice in this world. It’s so easy in this world, now, you don’t even have to leave your house, you can get it delivered and it’s impossible to avoid your phone. But on the other hand, if you’re so filled with the gospel, then everything you see in the world and on your phone will be from the perspective of the gospel. In the past, we just looked at what we saw, but now we look from the lens of missions and evangelism. It naturally happens. Then the more you see from the lens of the gospel, the more you are rooted in the gospel.
3) Do not boast (Romans 11:18)
(1) Towards the branches of the true olive tree – the Jews
(2) You do not support the root (Romans 11:18)
(3) The root supports you. (Romans 11:18)
This is the gospel the Apostle Paul received and has been given to us, the Gentiles. The Bible tells us this was given by God’s grace, so do not become arrogant, because if God can even cut off the natural branches, then He can cut you off as well, and if you go outside of the gospel, then you, too, can get cut off. That does not mean He will take away your salvation, it means He will move the lampstand of evangelism. If you’re not in the stream of the gospel, then God will move that stream. It says, “For God has sternness for those who have been cut off, but God shows kindness to those who continue,” that is why we must remain attached to Christ. If the branch remains attached to the vine, then they will bear fruit. If you hold onto only Christ, then your life will bear fruit of being set free from your past. People who were so afflicted by their sadness or their fear or their loneliness of their past change into fruits of peace. Your past anger tendencies change into fruits of joy. As you get these fruits of the Spirit, your relationships also change. You can only understand someone if you understand their past. But if this person is not certain in the gospel, then the devil will use their past to control them. At that point, you cannot fight them with words; you must bind the forces of darkness in the name of Jesus Christ. The solution to every problem is Jesus Christ. The problems of your past, present, and future, every problem, the answer is Christ. Even the solution to your diseases is Christ. Isn’t that right? Then, curses, disasters, Satan are broken down, that is why, “only Christ.” and inside of Christ comes out all blessings.
Before you work hard, you need to receive an answer inside of Christ. For students, if you just study hard, you will face your limitations. You need to be in prayer and receive the answers of studying from Christ. When you go out into the world, your job is so hard; do you think you can survive? That’s why people have mental problems. Hold firmly to the covenant of Christ: “I’m here to save people’s lives,” and receive God’s answers in your field. This is who we’ve been called to be, but we keep escaping from the gospel, and what that means is we go back to being centered on “me,” and the devil is waiting for us to be centered on ourselves, to seize us.
2. The Rejection of the Jews
1) The branches were broken off (Romans 11:19)
(1) Because of their unbelief (Romans 11:20)
(2) So that the Gentiles might be grafted in (Romans 11:19)
(3) Standing firm through faith – by grace (Romans 11:20)
2) Do not be arrogant (Romans 11:20)
(1) Not by my own actions
(2) Be afraid (Romans 11:20)
(3) Pruning – the lampstand is removed (21; John 15:2; Revelation 2:5)
3) Behold God (Romans 11:22)
(1) Those who fall away – His severity
(2) Those who remain – His kindness
(3) Remaining in His kindness – bearing fruit (John 15:5)
3. The Flow of the Gospel
1) Jews
(1) Faith – Grafted in (Romans 11:23)
(2) By God’s power (Romans 11:23)
(3) Saving the Jews (Romans 11:24)
In the end, God is saying He will give grace to the Israelites and re-graft them back in. There is a nature, a tree that was naturally there, the cultivated olive tree. What is the nature of nonbelievers? They have the nature of sin, not wanting to believe in God. They have the nature of being dragged around by Satan. If we’re not certain in the Christ, then we are moved by our nature. Then, as soon as you face a problem, you’re dragged to your nature that has no God. Even after salvation, this is our second nature. People who are very focused on the law will say who is right or who is wrong when they face a problem rather than looking at God’s plan.
2) Gentiles
(1) Their nature before salvation (Romans 11:24)
“How could someone do that?” They’re looking at it based on the law, but that’s why that person needs Christ. God didn’t save that person because their actions are 100% perfect. They say, “How could you do this?” Even pastors are human. Do you think if someone grew up as a gangster and then they became a pastor, their old nature as a gangster goes away? Not only does God use their nature, but God also changes their nature over time. But people say, “How could a pastor be like that?” Then, what should a pastor be like, exactly? They need to stand as a witness of Christ; you are the same way. If you don’t look at everything from the perspective of the gospel, you will be afflicted by people.
(2) Only Jesus Christ – Faith
For us, we need to know the reason why it must be only Christ. He sets us free from the past, present, and future problems. You have no idea how thankful I am. Moment by moment, I hold onto Christ again; otherwise, moment by moment, something else wells up inside of me. When I face a problem, it comes up; when I don’t have a problem, it comes up. I’m so deceived by it because they are my emotions and thoughts, but it is actually the darkness that uses me. If I stay holding onto Christ, then those thoughts and emotions leave. My emotions go away because they were just lying. Then, when you face a problem, you don’t fall into the problem; instead, you start praying, “How is the Lord with me in this?” Then without a doubt, you will receive answers. The answers you get are not the ones you want to hear, but it’s what the Lord wants. Even if the problem is exactly the same way, God gives you an answer, then because you received God’s answer, it’s no longer a problem for you.
A religious person says, “If I pray, the problem needs to go away,” and they say, “Pastor, I prayed about the problem and it doesn’t go away,” but that’s because the standard of their prayer is themselves. “I prayed and my husband is not changing, maybe God is not listening to my prayers.” What is the real answer? Whether your husband is able to change or not, regardless of that, what eyes are you seeing with? Are you able to see why he has no choice but to be like that? Based on his family line, he has no other choice; as you pray, you begin to see more. Then, in the past, you would fight or have conflicts, but now you pray instead. That’s the real answer. The One who changes people is God. “Oh, my kids are not listening to me,” what is the answer? They shouldn’t listen to you because God actually wants to correct you. But if your eyes are open to see what God wants, it doesn’t matter because my child is actually God’s child and God will take care of them, so that has nothing to do with me.
(3) Jesus Christ – With (Me, the church, everything)
God is with us, God is with me, God is with us, God is in all things. So now, we must go in the direction to proclaim this gospel where there is no gospel. Do not move in the direction you desire; move in the direction that does not have the gospel. Go to all nations so my talent and specialization is used for that.
3) To the fields without the Gospel
(1) Spiritual problems, mental problems, addiction
Finally, how is Apostle Paul explaining today’s scripture? I’m not as educated as Apostle Paul, so he used very eloquent, high-level language, and I explained it at a very basic level. Rom. 7:17, Apostle Paul says, “It is no longer I myself who do it, but it is the sin living in me.” My depression? That’s not something I do because I want to. The depression, the rage, the scars, they are happening inside of me because of the sin that’s inside of me. Rom. 7:18, “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me.” I have the desire to do what is good but I cannot carry it out. So, what is Apostle Paul’s solution to this? He confesses Jesus Christ has set us free from the law of sin and death.
(2) Multi-ethnic groups
(3) Future generations
People who cry for no reason, people who feel lonely for no reason, or people who feel angry for no reason, there are so many different ways that this can be manifested, but you think, “I don’t want to do this, but I can’t stop myself.” That’s not you—that’s sin, and that’s from your past. Christ has already paid for that on the cross. It is no longer yours, the devil uses what’s inside of me, but destroy that in the name of Christ. Be set free and we live with the name of Christ.
Conclusion
1. Only Christ
2. Only the Kingdom of God – Work
3. Only the power of the Holy Spirit – Witness
Then, you will see what you must do: “I must do the work of Christ,” the reason I must study and work and succeed is to give this gospel to the people who don’t have it, and do you know what follows these people around so shockingly? Only when you receive the Holy Spirit will you receive power. It’s hard to study and work, isn’t it? That’s rightful, but when the power of God follows you, then you will overcome. God is allowing you to experience everything, so you can experience this true mystery, because the work of Christ is not done by me—the One Who has all authority over heaven and on earth is doing the work of Christ with me. I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ that you will enjoy this blessing and power.
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 with the Spirit of Christ, though we were dead in our sins and our transgressions. Thank You for allowing us to know the reason why it must be “only Christ.” We give praise to the Lord Who has died on the cross to solve all of our problems of our past, present, and future, and is here with us within all things; allow our lives to remain within the stream of this gospel.
We have returned Your materials as offering. Lord, we pray You will use this offering so it may take the gospel to the areas that do not have the gospel. We believe You will work with the financial blessings for the power of world evangelization. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.
Announcements
1. Christmas Eve Service (December 24), Christmas Day Service (December 25)
2. LA Area Winter Retreat (December 27-29) Registration deadline: December 21, for grades 3 and up
3. Registration Fee: $300, $350 on the day of the event, $370 for double occupancy
4. Leader Training, December 27 (Saturday) 3:30-7:00 pm, ICSC
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 remnants who desire to remain within the stream of the gospel, be with them now until forever always, amen.