No One Will Take Away Your Joy (John 16:16-24)
Jesus Christ promises that when you pray in the name of Jesus Christ, God will answer you and your joy will be complete.
Let us bless one another, Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. I hope that the blessing of God will be upon all the people worshiping in their homes, in the church, and out of state. For three weeks, I was not able to give the pulpit message, but in the fourth week, I’m able to meet with you guys again. It was really good not coming to church. It wasn’t good because I wasn’t going to church, but because the grace of God was coming upon me, I want to express that it was good for me.
The title of today’s message is, “No one will take away your joy.” The background of today’s main scripture passage is that Jesus Christ lived with his disciples for three years and says, “Soon, I will go away, and soon after that, you will see Me again.” The disciples are confused as to what that means. We know what it means, but because the disciples hadn’t experienced the incident of the cross yet, they were very anxious at that moment.
For us, the Holy Spirit is within us. Even though the incident of the cross happened a long time in the past, we’re able to say, “Yeah, that’s obvious,” but from the disciples’ perspective, they were filled with worries and anxieties. Today, we see that even when Jesus Christ is with the disciples, they fluctuate between joy and worries. Jesus Christ promises that when they pray in the name of Jesus Christ, God will answer them and their joy will be complete.
1. Joy and Grief
The fear and joy we talk about in today’s passage talk about spiritual joys and fears. When something good happens to us, we’re happy, but that’s talking about the good, physical things we see with our eyes. When are we concerned? When things don’t work out the way we want, but that’s not what the Bible is talking about today. It’s talking about the joy and concern we feel, invisible to our eyes. The standard of that is Christ. The result that happens when the disciples are not with Jesus Christ is that they will weep and mourn.
The Bible is not talking about the facts you see with your eyes; God is talking about the facts that are invisible to your eyes, the spiritual facts. That’s what happens when we’re with Christ and we have the spiritual joy within us. However, when we’re not able to confirm the fact that Jesus Christ is with us, then even without knowing it, there’s a spiritual concern that wells up inside of me. In that state, when we face a problem or incident, our fear or concern is revealed.
1) When You Don’t See Christ
In reality, it is a spiritual concern that arises when we’re not able to confirm the joy of Jesus Christ being with us. However when you have spiritual joy with you, whenever you face a problem or incident, you do not receive the spiritual concern or worry. What am I saying? When we’re able to constantly confirm that Jesus Christ our Lord is with us, we’re able to have a constant, unspeakable joy within us. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us that when we come back, our joy will be made complete and no one will be able to take that joy away.
This is a blessing that has been given to everybody who believes in Jesus Christ; all you have to do is confirm, “Christ is with me.” It’s easy, but that’s what we don’t do. What happens if you don’t do that? Without even realizing it yourself, you have spiritual concerns, you lose sensitivity. Then when you face a problem, you explode with your concerns and worries. However, when you’re able to confirm the fact that Jesus Christ is with you, you overflow with spiritual joy. If you face a problem or incident in this situation, your joy won’t be stolen away.What is a religious life? It means you’re trying to find joy from things you see with your eyes, so you want your job to go well according to your desires. But in the grand scheme of things, that’s not that big, because the world doesn’t move according to your will. That’s a religious life. What does the Bible say? It’s talking about the spiritual things. The disciples met Jesus Christ who is the true Messiah and true God, and inside, they have a spiritual joy. Of course, people like Judas Iscariot have not acknowledged Jesus Christ as the True God, so even if he is with Jesus, he doesn’t have spiritual joy.
2) When You See Christ
What about for us, as we follow and believe in Jesus Christ today? Do we have this joy? Jesus is very fair, because God has given every single one of us this blessing in Christ. I was at home for about three weeks, and the first week, I was in pain. I was in pain, but it wasn’t just me, it was also my wife and child, so we had oneness in our family. How could we overcome this? Even if you don’t communicate anything, if everyone is suffering together, there is oneness, because there is a similar kind of reality within all of us. Even in that situation, I did the dishes and prepared food even though I don’t usually do these things. This is something my wife had always wanted, but because of the coronavirus, I even made breakfast this morning. But honestly speaking, it was spiritually a good time for me.
When a person’s body is physically healthy, there is a way we think, a particular state of mind. But when the body is in pain, I couldn’t move, I was always sleeping. It was good because at first I didn’t have to leave my house, but that’s not what I’m talking about. When the grace of God came upon me, I wished I were sick for a few more weeks, and honestly speaking, I thought, “I hope I don’t have to go to church today and next week as well.”
What am I saying? A person doesn’t recognize this in their everyday life, but when a person is sick, there is nothing you can do. I was only able to see my own self and how many useless thought I’d had once I had gotten sick. In my everyday life, I didn’t recognize it, but when there’s nothing you can do, you think a lot, but there’s nothing you can do, so I prayed to God because I couldn’t do anything. That’s what I should have been doing in my everyday life. But because of my physical health, I thought I could do something on my own, and of course God can move through me, but there was a burden I was taking on my own without even realizing it.
Because I let myself go through the past few weeks, it was spiritually good for me because all I had to do was pray. I wasn’t able to meet the members of the congregation so all I could do was pray. My wife was in pain next door, and I couldn’t do anything for her, so all I could do was pray. As I was in constant prayer, God allowed me to confirm the thanksgiving I had for the salvation He gave me, so I was constantly filled with thanksgiving and joy. I was able to confirm that sometimes God gives us something that looks like a big problem so that we can confirm the spiritual blessing that God is with us, and that God is truly a fair and good God.
I was able to understand even what happened when Joseph became a slave. If somebody looks from a physical perspective, they think that being a slave is the end of their life. That’s what it means to look at the Bible from a physical perspective. However, only Joseph knew the spiritual blessing and the joy that comes from being with the Jehovah God. People think that being a slave means their life is over, but Joseph never once thought that. When we face a big problem or situation, we might think it’s a big problem; however, when you enjoy spiritual joy, it’s not a problem at all.
Today, Jesus Christ, the Lord is telling His disciples that their mourning will turn into joy. Moment by moment, when you confirm that Christ is with you, you will have this spiritual joy welling up inside of you. The answers you see with your eyes only come following your spiritual state, but what happens to the religious people who live their walk of faith in the reverse order ? They’re trying to look for joy with the physical things they see with their eyes. Because of that, they’re losing hold of all the spiritual things. That’s the characteristic of someone who lives a religious life, centered on themselves.When you realize you have this blessing for all eternity, you restore spiritual peace and security.
3) Spiritual Joy
Jesus Christ is not only just with me in this moment, but He is with me for all eternity. When you realize you have this blessing for all eternity, you receive spiritual peace and security. When you realize and confirm that the one who is seated on the throne of heaven is with you, that becomes your heavenly background and you have spiritual strength, security, and joy. Then, nothing becomes a problem, not even the coronavirus, because I’m able to enjoy this for all eternity, as I live on this earth and as I leave this earth.
I was having a time of forum with my family, “Honestly speaking, I’m so joyful because of this incident that God allowed, and that God is truly a fair God. God is truly alive, and He has allowed me to confirm a blessing that is so tremendous, that a problem is not a problem. But now that my body is a little restored, that thankfulness is beginning to disappear.” You can’t lose hold of that in that moment. When you become physically fine, your spiritual sensitivity decreases. You confirm it again. Jesus Christ. Whenever you confirm Jesus Christ who liberated me from all curses, sin, Satan, disaster, and hell, your spiritual joy is restored.
“Wow, the Triune God is with me for all eternity, when?” For all eternity. I can enjoy this blessing for all eternity. Because of that, I’m constantly overflowing with spiritual thanksgiving and joy. This was the message I was supposed to give four weeks ago, but I’m giving it today because of the coronavirus. If I had given this message four weeks ago while being sick, this Word would not be aligned with my state. God is really good like that.
I’m very joyful that I’m able to give this sermon as my personal testimony. My spiritual state, we are created as spiritual beings, and I hope that you will never lose hold of the spiritual things because of the physical things you see with your eyes. You have to be able to see that in order to understand the Bible.
2. Complete Joy
The Lord expresses again that your joy may be complete, so now you can ask for whatever in His name.
Jesus Christ is saying that one day, He will resurrect, and you can utilize His name in prayer. Before that point, Jesus Christ was right next to them so they could ask a question and receive an answer immediately. If they were hungry, He would provide food, so there was no need for them to use the name of the Lord. If they were hungry and Jesus was also hungry, everything was taken care of, but Jesus said one day He would disappear.
It’s the same for us, we haven’t seen Jesus, however, you can ask for anything in Jesus’ name and your joy will be made complete. When you confirm that Jesus Christ is with you, you’re filled with spiritual joy, and when you pray in the name of Jesus Christ and receive answers, your joy will be made complete.
1) Prayer
Why do you pray in the name of Jesus? “I prayed in the name of Jesus and didn’t receive any answers.” Many believers are like that, but what must you change? Before you pray, you must change something called “yourself.” It’s not about using the name of Jesus Christ to get what you want, what you need, and what you plan. That’s the same as any other religion. It’s the same situation as someone who goes to the temple for 100 days to pray for a child.
2) Have Not Asked for Anything in the Name of Jesus Christ (John 16:24)
When Jesus Christ says to pray in the name of Jesus, there is an absolute condition. You need to pray for anything in the name of Jesus Christ that is within the will and Word of Jesus Christ. Think about this logically, if you’re using the name of Jesus Christ for whatever you want and whatever you’re planning, what would happen if that’s fulfilled? It’s not aligned with Jesus’ will. The Triune God is working even now to fulfill God’s plan, but your plan isn’t aligned with God’s plan, and that’s why you don’t have answers. Then, how can your joy be made complete?
3) In the Name of Jesus Christ
Whenever you pray in the name of Jesus Christ within the plan that Jesus Christ has already promised you, then you will receive answers rightfully. That’s why when you pray, you must let go of this thing called “yourself.” You don’t need anything of yourself; you need the things of God, and those are the better things. Then you can ask for anything, that’s what this Word means.If there’s anybody who says, I’m not receiving answers to prayer,” let yourself go. The name of Jesus Christ cannot be used to fulfill your own greed. The name of Jesus Christ is used to fulfill the will of Jesus Christ, so all you have to do is get rid of your plans and go into the plan of Jesus Christ. Tha’ts what it means to be complete, then anybody can receive answers, but most people are not able to receive answers. Why is that? It’s because they’re so self-centered. They are too centered and focused on fulfilling the physical things they see with their eyes. They’re too centered on fulfilling their own plans. That’s why they’re not receiving answers, they’re using Jesus Christ for those things.
The name of Jesus Christ isn’t something you use to fulfill something for yourself. The name of Jesus Christ has been given to us to fulfill God’s will. Let’s say President Biden met with me and said, “You can use my name to ask for whatever you want.” What should I use his name for? What conditions? Let’s say I use the name of President Biden to buy five big houses. That’s not what he means. President Biden is moving America with his plan, and you need to use the name of President Biden to fulfill his plan. He says, “You can use my name to do whatever you want and I’ll support you,” and that’s how the reign of President Biden will be fulfilled.
But if President Biden has a plan, and irrespective of that, “I’m going to use the name of President Biden to buy five beachfront houses,” he will take that authority away from me and I’ll wonder why. That’s the shape of our faith. You need to know the words of God well. You can utilize and move the name of Jesus Christ according to His will and plan, then everything will be answered.
3. Prayer that Receives Answers
What is a prayer that receives answers, how can we receive answers? We have to use the name of Jesus Christ within the promise of God
1) Within the Word
The promise is in the Word of the Bible. “There are so many words in the Bible, but what am I supposed to do with all of it?” If we’re to summarize all of it, Matthew 6:33, Jesus Christ says, “first seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness.” That’s the principle with which we must pray. What about the physical things? Those follow afterwards. We cannot receive answers if we reverse this order. The very first thing we must seek is the Kingdom of God. There is the throne of heaven and the Kingdom of Heaven that must be established in me, but instead, if I’m praying for myself and my kingdom, I won’t have any answers.
There is the kingdom of the world and the land of America ruled by presidents, but there is also a spiritual world. One spiritual world is the Kingdom of God and the other is the Kingdom of Satan. I’m explaining to you the spiritual things. Within the land of America, there are two lands, invisible to our eyes, there is the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan. They are invisible to our eyes, however, they control the physical world. But you have no sense of it because you’re so used to living in the physical world, so that’s why you must first seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. First you need to seek so that the Kingdom of God completely controls you. In other words, you need to first restore your spiritual state correctly.
If you’re controlling yourself, that’s not the establishment of God’s Kingdom. Spiritually speaking, that’s the establishment of Satan’s Kingdom, and that’s going to be related to the answers you receive within the visible physical world. Only when Christ rules over you will you receive the answers you seek. First, pray so that His Kingdom may be established within me.
Romans 14:17 says that the kingdom of God is not about food and drink, but the world is all about eating and drinking. But if you live a walk of faith for those things, that’s a religious life. The kingdom of God is spiritual and has nothing to do with eating and drinking, it is the righteousness, peace and joy found only within the Holy Spirit. That righteousness, peace, and joy will only come upon me when the spirit of Christ controls my spirit, thoughts, and everything. That’s why you don’t need yourself.If you’re holding onto the thing called “me,” you will be moving yourself, but in the background, it is connected to the Kingdom of Satan. You need to quickly let go of yourself so that Christ can completely control you, then God’s kingdom is established and you will rightfully receive answers.
2) Covenant of the Bible
If you want to summarize the bible, in the Old Testament, we’re given the Ten Commandments, and we can summarize those into loving God and loving people. The entire Bible talks about those two things, and if you fulfill those two things, everything is fulfilled. How can you love God whom you cannot see with your eyes? It is the cross. The way God demonstrated His love for us is the cross, and the way that we love God is the cross. Loving the cross is loving God. If it is not for the cross, then even today, my spiritual state cannot be right.
Jesus Christ has liberated me from all the background of the curses and disasters that come from sin and Satan and the background of hell. Confirm this, and your spiritual state will become normal. There’s nothing else that can change my spiritual state, so that’s why God sent us Christ, and even today, we confirm with Christ. Then, it is normal for you to be overwhelmed with the sensitivity and joy of spirituality when you confirm Christ.
The second command is to love people. John 6:63 says that the spirit gives life and the flesh counts for nothing. Therefore, loving people means that you are saving their spirit. How? You save them with the words of Jesus Christ, and it’s so simple. Loving Jesus Christ is loving God. How do you save other people? It is not by giving them food to eat, and you can’t save people by educating them. Yes, those are physical necessities, but you cannot save them physically like that.
The most important thing about loving a person is so that the words of Jesus Christ can go into that person and save them, that they may be liberated from sin, Satan, and hell. That’s what it means to love somebody.
How can I enjoy the prayer that receives answers? I enjoy Christ and save other people with the name of Christ. That is the prayer that receives answers.
John 5:39 summarizes what the entire Bible is talking about. Jesus Christ told the Jewish people that, “You diligently study the scriptures thinking that in them you can find eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” Loving Jesus Christ and loving other people by saving them by proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ is what it means to love Christ.
3) Covenant of Christ
How is it possible that I, a sinner of Genesis 3, can love God? That’s why God promised to send us Jesus Christ, and we have to hold to that covenant. But Satan makes it so that you go astray of that. You can study the Bible so intellectually, but he’s going to make you go astray from the covenant of Christ. The example is the Jewish people who went astray from Christ, then that’s not loving God. God loved this world and that’s why He gave us Jesus Christ. Loving God means that we’re able to confirm Jesus Christ; that’s when we love God and He calls us righteous. At that time, the Holy Spirit living inside of us is so joyful and gives us joy. Saving the souls of other people through the name of Christ.
Conclusion
1. Covenant Prayer of the Word
Try praying with just this Word. How can you receive answers in your business and studies? Just pray exactly according to this, but most people who live a religious life, how will they work in the world? “I have to do all these things to fulfill my plan,” and then they just borrow and use the name of Christ for that, then even if they pray, they don’t receive answers. “I believe in Jesus Christ, why are there no answers that fulfill my plan?” What does this person not know? They do not realize that God didn’t give them the name of Jesus Christ to fulfill their own plans and goals.
2. Save Myself and the Church
You need to first confirm that the work you’re doing right now is aligned with God’s Word and God’s plan or not. Is this aligned with Christ and saving people with Christ? Then, you can ask for anything in the name of Jesus Christ, and He will answer you. That Jesus Christ resurrected and told us the method of how to love people, and that is to make disciples of all nations. What does that mean?
It means to love people, how? You need to go to all nations to love them and save their souls. Then, your business and studies should be used for that. Throw away your plans, when you pray according to the name of Jesus Christ, God will answer you. I am praying for the business, God, that will save the 237 nations, the multi-ethnic people, and the unreached people groups. It’s not about just giving lip service, but when your spirit and life are aligned with that word, God will answer you.
If your heart is not aligned with that but you’re giving lip service because the pastor told you to do that, then the devil knows. That is why when the Word of God goes into the deepest aspect of your deepest self, that’s the greatest blessing. Mark 16:17-18 tells us to heal people, to cast out demons and heal the sick. How do you love people? You heal them by giving them spiritual healing. How can you heal them spiritually? The spiritual healing can only arise when Jesus Christ goes into that person and controls that person.
Your physical disease is not a problem. Whenever we get a physical disease or visible problem, we want to solve it quickly, but there is something I need to do first. First, I must restore the spiritual things. The spiritual things influence, transcending time and space. Because my family was sick this time, the first person to be targeted was my daughter. Her physical illness was healed in a few days, because she’s so young, but when our spiritual state was not good, my kid started to hear demonic things and couldn’t sleep. I asked her what noise she heard, and it was a rattling noise, and she was so afraid that she couldn’t sleep, so she slept in her mom’s room for a few days.
If the spiritual state of the adults go down, that spiritual state influences people, transcending time and space. So, if one person becomes a spiritual wave, they will influence others. If you don’t know the spiritual world, how can you live your walk of faith? If you’re only using the name of Jesus Christ to fulfill your own motives, that’s a religious life. You’re completely blind to the spiritual things. Without a doubt, there is a Holy Spirit and there are evil spirits, but that’s just knowledge to you. He is realistically working, realistically giving influence to your family, but the future generation is the first target.
What happens if you know this? Without being seen to the eyes, it is relayed. I was able to confirm this fact as well. That’s why first and foremost, your spiritual state is so important. When I was sick, honestly speaking, I wasn’t able to pray for the members of the church because I was in so much pain. But after some time, I realized the young adults were getting sick because of me, and I had no choice but to pray for them because they were in pain because of me.
In the name of Jesus Christ who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, we completely bind all the forces of darkness, disasters, and physical diseases that disturb the members of Sungmoon Antioch Mission Church. Some people may ask if the pastor is crazy, but yes, it is crazy. “If you’re just sitting there praying, will these forces of darkness be broken?” Only the ones who call me crazy are crazy, and that person’s family already has a problem with each family member. That’s the spiritual world.
That is why, from this position, you can pray for everyone in the world, that’s how it’s all connected. How can we be connected to God who is seated on the throne of heaven? That’s the spiritual world. We are connected with the world of Satan and Christ, and even hell is connected to us. That’s why people live a hellish life on earth and go to hell, or we enjoy the kingdom of God on Earth and then we go to the kingdom of heaven. What am I telling you right now? These are the spiritual things, but if the members of the church don’t know the spiritual things and live for the physical things, that’s the reason they collapse and fall.
Even when you love other people, the first priority is to love them spiritually because they can only be helped when their spirit comes to life. If we do everything for someone physically but do nothing for them spiritually, that’s a zero. An elderly person passed away from the coronavirus. How do you think I felt? “Has the proper, accurate gospel been relayed to these people?” If a person is dying, they don’t need anything else. In our everyday life, we think we’re so great, doing things for them, but as they face death, they don’t need anything else.
Has the gospel been proclaimed to them? I confirmed through phone calls, if we do not proclaim the gospel, it is our fault. If a person dies, they are spiritual so they are connected only to heaven or hell; they don’t need physical things. If we have not proclaimed the gospel to them, then that’s it. If we proclaim the gospel to them and they accept or not, that’s not up to us. I was able to share this with my family as well. If a person is experiencing death, the very first thing the person needs is the gospel. You don’t know what will happen to them and when. One day, they may face death suddenly, and if that person has received the gospel even once, that’s great; but if that person has never received the testimony of the gospel, then that’s something we must regret with our life.
3. Save all 237 Nations
Loving God and loving people. What does it mean to love people? Yes, it is possible to love someone by giving them love, education, and supporting them with money, but not giving them the gospel of Jesus Christ is not loving them. Jesus Christ never resurrected and told us to feed people, but He is always talking about the spiritual things. “Make disciples, go to all nations.” I hope your businesses and studies will all be used to make disciples of all nations. Pray in the name of Jesus Christ for God’s will, not your will, then you will heal all people through Christ and the spiritual summit.
Acts 1:8 says, “But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power and be My witnesses until the ends of the earth.” Nothing else can make you a witness until the ends of the Earth, only the filling of the Holy Spirit. Oh, you study a lot? That won’t make you a witness. You’re so diligent and successful? You’ll never be a witness. Only when you receive the filling of the Holy Spirit will you receive power to be the witnesses until the ends of the Earth. That blessing has come upon us. I pray.
Even when I work out, I have to count my reps, so I lose hold of prayer. Because I’m counting the reps, I lose hold of prayer, so what do I do lately? Christ. Christ, 2. Christ, 3. When I do 10 Christs, I do 11 with only the filling of the Holy Spirit. I’m talking about the filling of the Holy Spirit right now, the Holy Spirit is with me, but that Spirit must control me. My thoughts, my heart, my spirit, my body, all five senses must be controlled by the spirit of God, then you receive the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Then, world evangelization because Jesus told us to make disciples of all nations. Because of that, I go up to maybe 100 or 120 reps, and I’m cycling through only Christ, only the Holy Spirit, and only world evangelization. Because that’s the promise God gave me, I must receive answers. There are some people who always calculate with their mind, “Then when am I going to study and work?” When you pray holding onto God’s Word, the Word of God will be fulfilled, connected to your business and studies. When you receive spiritual strength, everything changes from that point. When your body hurts, you can’t work, right? When your body is healthy, you can do most things, right? If you have spiritual strength, you’ll be different than your previous baseline. So, stop calculating with your brain, but I hope you will realistically enjoy this blessing in prayer, then rightfully, the future generation will be revived.
If the adults of the family are able to do this, then rightfully the children of the family will be revived. But if you do everything else in the world and lose hold of the spiritual things, your child’s spiritual state will change in a very strange way, so you cannot have this spiritual joy taken away from you. Especially when you face a problem, let go of it. “I got the coronavirus, what can I do?” There’s nothing I or the doctors can do; I have to let go of it spiritually.
If you face a big problem, you can’t do anything about it. That’s when God is telling you to concentrate on spiritual things. Do you have cancer, by any chance? That’s not something that even doctors can do something about. The doctors can just try to cut things out, but it’s a time for you to receive great spiritual strength, then you’ll receive the answer and blessing of being able to overcome everything else at all.In Chinese Chess, what’s the difference between an amateur and a pro? Beginners try to take as many pieces as possible, but the master puts their pieces in strategic locations, far away. In the end, the beginner is eaten up. That’s what the spiritual world is like. It may seem that nothing is happening, but as time passes, you will conquer everything spiritually. If you’re flustering around trying to take hold of physical things like money and success, you will crumble one day. That’s an amateur, but the masters will set up their pieces far away. Little by little, gathering spiritual strength, without even noticing, you will conquer everything.
The reason you’re not receiving answers is because you’re too strong, you’re your own god, and those are the impatient people with spiritual problems. Everything is about your own standard. “Why isn’t evangelism taking place?” Is it something you do? God is working according to His time schedule, but everyone is giving up because of themselves, and you fight if someone doesn’t align with you. You’re not the truth; you need to let go of it.
That’s why honestly, the bigger the problems you face, the better because you discover incorrect things about yourself. You think you’re correct, but where does that “me” come from? It doesn’t come from the truth, but it comes from the “you” of this physical world. But you’re holding onto that incorrect thing and fighting with people for being wrong? You have wrong standards; none of you has the truth, then Satan works and immediately, the spiritual influence goes into the future generations. Quickly let go of yourself, hold onto the words of Christ, then works of saving lives will take place.
We talk about temple construction. If you’re thinking, “Yes, I have to muster my strength and do temple construction,” that’s not right. Within that, ask, “Why do I have to do this?” Confirm this with God’s Word. When you hold onto God’s Word and pray, you will receive answers. So stop living your walk of faith physically, running after physical things. You need to confirm the word because God is living and communicates through His Word. Even before coming here today, I asked God, “God, what is the Word you must relay through me today?” There are things I want to say, because I studied theology, so when I read the Bible, I receive answers myself, but not that. “God, allow me to relay the Word that You desire for our church.” I know the knowledge, I can explain theologically, but that’s not what the Lord wants.
“God, allow me to relay the message that You desire at this time for Sungmoon Antioch Mission Church.” That is the accurate thing. So, I need to let go of myself. “What is it that God wants?” That’s why I pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit to completely control me. “May the message of God be ready in a way that He desires.” “I’m going to give the pulpit message like this today,” do you think that’s right? That’s how we live our walk of faith. Because I’m a pastor, this is my job. When you go to your job, that’s your job, “I should do this according to my plans, do you think that’s right?” That’s why you have no answers.
Our businesses are instruments given by God as an instrument to fulfill God’s will, then it is not your business as well. I hope you will let go of this thing called “me,” then every day should be exciting for you because it’s God’s, and you’re wondering how God will work through you today. Are you excited and full of anticipation? That’s why prayer is a joy. For people who are not having joy in their prayers, it is because you try to force joy through prayer. That is not prayer; it is a burden.
Our walk of faith is easy, it is not about researching and analyzing. Once you know that you yourself are not that great, the amazing and complete things of God come upon you, so you’ll be able to see everything in the opposite way. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, we have the age of broadcasting online, and even last week, there were two online broadcasts. These retreats were historically limited to the people who could physically pay and attend, but because of the physical discomfort of the coronavirus, God allows everyone to listen to it, because God is fair.I hope you will stop trying to receive joy by fulfilling your plans but confirm the spiritual fact that Jesus Christ is with you to give spiritual joy. Always confirm this, “Because I am with Christ, I am with God.” That strength will influence and control all the work you do, so that’s why you must first pray for God’s Kingdom to be upon you, then the love of other people is when that spiritual influence heads towards others. That is why when you pray in the name of Jesus Christ, God will answer you and your joy will be made complete. I hope you will enjoy and relay this blessing to others.
Let us pray holding onto the Word God has given us today.
Prayer
Father God, we thank You. Thank You for giving us the blessing of salvation through Jesus Christ. Allow us to enjoy the spiritual blessing every day. We want our lives to be used to love God and to love other people. Therefore, we pray that God will work upon us so that everything we do will testify and give evidence to Jesus Christ. We return the material things You have given to us in faith as offering to You. We pray everywhere this offering is used, the name of Jesus Christ may be relayed. May it be a time of spiritual blessing where people are saved in their spirits through the cross of Christ. May our studies and business be used to save people through Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen.