One who is Trapped By Limitations and One who Overcomes (Jn. 18:15-27)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” The title of today’s message is, “One who is Trapped By Limitations and One who Overcomes.” As we live in this world, there are people who live in this world who do not know whether they are trapped by their limitations or not. In today’s scripture, we see Simon Peter as the representative example: even though he believes in Jesus Christ, he doesn’t know his own limitations, but if God’s grace is upon you, you’ll know what is working out, and you will also know what will not take place, even if you try.
1. Peter
In today’s scripture, Peter did not know what will work and what will not, so imagine how confused he must be, but Jesus does know. Jesus says, “It will not work for you, but there will be a time later when it will work,” so we develop this sense of discernment and we also have the eyes to see people. These are the eyes with which God sees. If something is not taking place, it means we are on our knees, we are in despair, but if you know this in advance, that is wisdom. But if you don’t know that this will not work, then you’re going to force it, you’re going to try to make it work, and later, you’re going to fall. So, last week, I said that the characteristic of elites is that they’ve accomplished success by their own diligence and efforts, and they think they can live their walk of faith in the same way. In the kingdom of the world, sometimes this does work, but the moment you become a child of God, if your thoughts do not change, you will always face your limitations. If you believe in Jesus Christ, your effort and diligence might work once or twice because God just takes it easy on you, but that’s just something God is permitting for now so you can continue to follow Jesus, but if God really wants to use that person, He will not allow them to stay like that. That’s what Peter was like today.
In last week’s scripture, Jesus Christ was captured by Roman soldiers, but he wasn’t really captured and dragged off; Jesus went voluntarily, and the reason is because this was the time for the prophecy of Genesis 3:15, for the offspring of the woman, to be fulfilled. When God called Abraham, He said, “Through your seed, all peoples on earth will be blessed,” and that prophecy is being fulfilled right now. So Jesus knew this and chose to go. But the Roman soldiers and Jesus’ disciples don’t ‘know what’s happening at the moment. They’re elites of the world but they don’t really know what is happening.
There was a statistic released by the FBI recently, and it says every seven minutes, there is someone who is dying of a drug overdose, and every six and a half minutes, there is a woman or child being sexually assaulted, and every hour, there are two murders. This is the reality of what’s happening in America, a statistic released by the FBI. That’s the life we’re living in right now, even right now, people are dying from drug overdose, so if it happens every seven minutes, it means that while we are having fun or relaxing, people are dying. Women who do not have power to defend themselves, every six and a half minutes, they are being raped. Every hour, there are two murders. These are things that are happening right at this moment.
America is a nation that everybody in the world wants to live in, but why are these things happening? From the eyes of the world, America might be a great nation, but it really has no wisdom. America is not able to discern what will work and what will not work. They don’t have the wisdom to know why this is happening to their family. So, through today’s message, may you receive the grace to have that wisdom and discernment.
The main point of today’s message is Simon Peter who was trapped in his limitations, but was no longer trapped later. In other words, before, he wouldn’t know what would work, and then afterwards, he did know what would work or take place, but if you know what’s going to happen, you don’t have to struggle or wander so much. If you know what’s not going to happen, then you don’t have to waste all of your time and energy on it. So, Simon Peter had a “before” and “after” transformation.
1) Followed Jesus
(1) High priest’s courtyard (Jn. 18:15)
After Jesus Christ was captured, the first place He was taken was the courtyard of the High Priest. There was a high priest in Israel named Annas, and he was very highly respected and revered, and all of the Israelites listened to his opinion. But Rome saw that Annas held too much power over the Israelites, and if Annas said one word, they could all rebel against Rome, so after 6 or 7 years, they changed out the High Priest. So, Annas relinquished his High Priest position to his son-in-law, Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the High Priest, but in practice, Annas acted as the High Priest, so that’s why Jesus was taken to Annas.
(2) Disciple followed (Jn. 18:15)
When Jesus was taken to the High Priest, it said that Simon Peter and another disciple went with him. This “other disciple” is John, he was a relative of the High Priest. So when Jesus Christ was taken to the courts, He had to go through these gates to get there, and John was able to go with Him, but Peter had to wait outside because he did not have the authority.
(3) Brought Peter in (Jn. 18:16)
Then, John came back and talked to the female servant and brought Peter in with him.
2) Peter’s truth
Peter was Jesus’ first disciple or follower, it means that he has faith, and he also is very active.
(1) Lord, I will follow you (Jn. 13:36)
He has a very active personality and in John 13:36, Jesus tells His disciples, “You cannot come where I am going.”
(2) Lord, I will lay down my life for you (Jn. 13:37)
But in John 13:36, Simon Peter says, “Why can’t we go with you? I will even lay down my life for you,” that was Peter’s genuine heart and that’s what happens to people when they receive God’s grace.
(3) Before the rooster crows, you will disown the Lord – Jesus (Jn. 13:38)
But how does the Lord respond? He says, “You will deny Me three times before the rooster crows.” So in this scripture, in John 13, what evidence does Peter have when he says, “I will lay down my life for you,” and what evidence does Jesus have when He says, “You will deny Me”? What did Jesus have that He knew Simon Peter would deny Him? And what did Simon Peter have that he was able to say, “No, I will follow you until the very end, even lay down my life”?
3) Peter’s limitation
In today’s scripture, Simon Peter is with Jesus, and when people ask, “Are you a disciple of Jesus?” he denies Jesus three times. The third time Simon Peter rejects Jesus, the rooster crowed. When Peter confessed, “I would die for You, Lord,” it was truly how he felt, it was an honest confession, but why is it that things don’t work the way I’d thought they would? This is the irony of our lives. “I want to live like this but I can’t. I want to raise my child like this, but I can’t. I want to get married and live like this, but I can’t. I didn’t want to immigrate to America and live like this, but strangely, this is how it happened.” But what the Lord is telling you is, that’s normal. “You denied Me three times? That’s normal.”
Later on, Jesus says, “Go and testify of Me to the ends of the earth,” so there’s a very clear “before” and “after,” and that’s very important. Later on, Peter is used to testify the gospel with no fear. Before that turning point, Peter could not even discern what is working out and what is not working out, but from a certain point, Peter was able to see what will take place and what will not take place. If you’re working or running a business, you have to be able to see that. As we live our lives, we need to at least know what will surely take place and what will not work out. Later on, Peter does change to be like that.
(1) Denied the servant girl’s question (Jn. 18:17)
(2) Denied the people’s questions (Jn. 18:25)
(3) Denied the question from the relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off (Jn. 18:26-27)
2. Jesus Christ is the truth
1) High priest’s question
(1) About Jesus’s teaching (Jn. 18:19)
Today’s second point is, Jesus is receiving His judgment from the High Priest. Jesus is being questioned by the High Priest about His disciples and His teachings.
(2) Spoke openly to the world (Jn. 18:20)
The Lord responds, “I have spoken openly to the world.” The Lord came as the Light of the world. The world is darkness, there is no Truth here, there is no Light. That’s why Jesus came to this earth to shine the Light and the Truth. What is the world like? Every single person who is born in the world is born in the spiritual state that is separated from God with Original Sin, so people live under Satan’s control with his lies. There are three ways Satan drags us with his lies, but before people receive the Light, they don’t know that this is a lie.
Satan deceives us first by saying, “You can be like God, you are God.” People don’t actually think, “I am God,” but they think, “My thoughts are correct.” God has to be the judge, but I don’t want to listen to God’s judgment. “My thoughts and experiences are correct, and if I can live like this, I can succeed.” Those words are coming from a spiritual state that is seized by darkness and the lies of Satan. Because of this, every single person is thinking, making their decisions, and moving based on this idea that “I am correct,” so this world is filled with little gods, and of course, they fight with one another.
Every individual does not desire to follow the Word and the will of God. We desire to follow what we think is best, and that state is cursed. That’s how the devil is dragging people in the world currently. America says, “America is right,” but China says, “China is right,” and Russia says, “Russia is right.” Ukraine says they are right. That’s normal because everybody does not know the gospel, this is the reality that Satan is leading.
The second way that Satan drags us is by making us do what we want to do. That’s Genesis 6:3. Humans will do whatever they want until the very end. “But why is that so wrong? I’m just doing what I want. Especially in America, we have the freedom to do what we want; why is that so wrong?” Before the Light of Christ comes in, we don’t realize that’s wrong, so I just live however I want and I do what I want, and because I am my own god, I will not be controlled by anybody. It’s just whatever I want.
The third way, Satan makes us think that we can gather our own strength and live without God, “Let’s build the Tower of Babel.” This is how Satan, the devil, is controlling the world. People are being dragged around by Satan to think, “If I immigrate to America, if I make a lot of money and raise my kids, then we can succeed,” that means, “I don’t need God.” That is the way that Satan, the devil of the world, is controlling and manipulating people, and when they’re not able to do this, people create religions for themselves. Because they see that the sun has power, they worship the god of the sun, because if they did not have the sun, they cannot farm. They look at the ocean and realize that if there’s a storm, they cannot eat fish, so they worship the god of the ocean, or they worship the god or the spirit of this really old tree, and if they’re not able to do that, then they worship the spirits of their ancestors. This is the channel through which Satan, the evil spirits, work. The more people practice religions, the more evil spirits work upon them.
If you look at the religions around the place where you live, you’ll be able to see their spiritual state, and we have been given the power to overcome that. Now, people are even going to the extreme of saying, “We don’t need religion, we can go into transcendental meditation.” They say, “Empty yourself, because inside of you, the true ‘you’ is God Himself, and so, if you empty all of your worldly greed, the true nature of God will be revealed,” or they say, “There is universal energy and power and you need to bring that into yourself.” This is how the devil is deceiving people. Because they are spiritually seized by the devil, of course they get mental problems. If something can be actually fixed with medication, that would be fine, but medication cannot solve this problem. If someone is completely hooked spiritually, medication cannot solve that. Imagine if someone is continuously threatening you, and they threaten you and force you to give them money, then no matter how good your thoughts are, you cannot escape from that. No matter how much you try to hypnotize yourself or train your mind, you cannot escape that.
Somebody who is stronger than the one who is threatening or harassing you must break that. The Lord came to this earth to tell us about this. Why do people have to suffer because of spiritual and mental problems? Their scars of the past cannot be resolved. It might seem like we can overcome them if we succeed, but that is not true, and Satan digs in using those scars. He covers it. Satan uses that to thoroughly control us, so no matter what we do, it still doesn’t get better. No matter how many drugs we take, it doesn’t get better. No matter what kind of methods we use.
Then it goes deeper into physical problems and makes us fall into addiction. Why do people fall into addiction? There’s nobody who is born wanting to be an addict, but they have no choice but to drink. They go into a state where they have to do drugs, that state has already been seized by evil spirits, and you can never stop that just by wanting to stop it. Even if you do quit that habit, there will be another problem that springs up. It must be finished fundamentally, and we can never finish it fundamentally with our own ability. The reason the Lord came to this earth is to testify of the Light and the Truth. But if we’re not able to understand that, we keep trying to rely on some other scientific methods.
Science is also given to us by God, and God also gave us the medical sciences that can heal and treat, but what I’m talking about right now are problems that cannot be healed by science, but people never acknowledge that, until when? Until they completely surrender, and that’s what we see in Simon Peter today. When the Lord was being captured, He said, “Let my disciples go,” but Peter continued to follow Him, so it seems very righteous, and if he has that holiness, he should’ve acknowledged Jesus, but he denies Him three times. He’s just curious about how the courts rule about Jesus, “Because that Jesus gave me hope in life, but if Jesus is going to go away, this is a big problem.”
So Peter is in a state where he doesn’t know what is going to happen and what is not going to work. Even if people believe in Jesus Christ, they still don’t know what will work and what is not going to work. Wisdom is being able to discern what will and what won’t work. People study the knowledge of the world so much, but they still cannot discern, then they are so stubborn and they try to force something to work until the very end, because they don’t know that it’s not going to work. That’s what Peter is doing. Jesus specifically told him, “You will deny Me three times,” but he says, “I will never do that.” There are people who believe in Jesus but are still like this, “No matter what You say, I will never do that.” What is their spiritual state like? They don’t believe in God’s Word, they don’t even know who they are. You need to know yourself. “Oh, positive thinking, optimism,” that’s good, but if something is not going to work, it’s not going to work, and if you try to force something that’s not going to work, you’ll be just like Peter, today.
(3) Jews’ hall, Taught in temples (Jn. 18:20)
Jesus says, “I always taught the Truth, openly in the synagogue and in the temple,” so no matter how much the High Priest was questioning Jesus, he couldn’t see anything wrong, and because the way that Jesus is responding to the High Priest is not as respectful as they want, one of the officials comes and slaps Him in the face, and Jesus says, “If I said something wrong, then tell me what I said wrong, but if I spoke the Truth, why do you strike Me?” It’s the same thing in the world, the more developed nations will control their people with their laws. Even if the president has power, if they break the law, they have to go to prison as well. But the less developed a nation is, the more they rule with a dictator’s power. The law does not matter; that is the characteristic of less-developed nations. But Jesus always moved according to the Word. You and I cannot live with our positive thinking, we need to live by the Word. When the Word is given upon us, then we can see the future, and you can see people as well. “That person is wasting all of their energy, wandering around, that person is wasting a lot of energy, but that person doesn’t know, just as Peter didn’t.” I’m the same way, but there is a time when God’s grace is upon you, and that is possible for everybody.
2) About Jesus’s testimony
(1) Ask those who heard me (Jn. 18:21)
(2) One of the high priest’s officials slapped Jesus in the face (Jn. 18:22)
(3) Could not find anything wrong and sent him to Caiaphas (Jn. 18:24)
Why is it that the High Priest was trying to kill Jesus? Because Jesus came to earth to save people by grace and truth, however, the Jewish people were under the misconception that, “I can receive salvation by keeping the actions of the Law,” what does that mean? The Jewish people believed, “Because I do nice and kind things, I am a good person who has received salvation.” But Jesus Christ would go to the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the sinners, and give them salvation by grace and faith, and the Jewish people could not understand that. “How can we receive salvation by God’s grace? You have to act correctly,” that was the Jewish people, so they had no choice but to fight against Jesus. The High Priest said, “It’s so simple; if we just kill this one person, Jesus, all of this will come to an end,” so why is it that the High Priest who knew the Word of God the best tried to kill Jesus? It’s because the grace of God has not come upon them. You’re only sitting here today because you have God’s grace.
3) Goal for arresting Jesus
(1) Jesus’s death is good for the people (Jn. 18:14)
(2) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (Jn. 1:5)
(3) The world did not recognize the creator God (Jn. 1:10)
Are there any of you sitting here thinking you came here because you wanted to, like I used to be? It’s because you don’t know God. Even right at this moment, God can take away your breath. “Oh, I’m healthy because I maintain my health”? Do not be under a misconception. “Oh, it’s because I’m so skilled”? Do not fool yourself. God gave you that talent and God led you to that circumstance, but you keep fooling yourself, it’s because you do not know the Creator God. The Bible says, “The Light has come into the world, but the darkness of the world did not recognize that Light.” This is what Jesus Christ did in the world as the Light and the Truth of the world, and even now, people reject the gospel because they have not received God’s grace. That is not something we can control, and we don’t know when they will change. That’s why we pray to save one soul until the very end.
There is one day when Simon Peter changes, it’s not that he didn’t believe in Jesus before; he was following Jesus very well, but even still, he had no choice but to deny Jesus, why? Because if he acknowledges Jesus, he’d have to die, too, so Peter was unable to overcome himself. “If something is a loss or detriment to me, I can’t handle that. If people don’t listen to what I have to say, I can’t handle that,” and that was Peter, even though he believed in Jesus, but when did he begin to change? There was one incident that happened.
3. Peter who overcame his limitations
1) Jesus’ death and Resurrection (Jn. 19:30)
After Jesus Christ died on the cross and resurrected, this grace was upon Peter. “The reason Jesus Christ died on the cross is that He was crucified for all of my sins and curses. All of my problems are finished on the cross, because Galatians 2:20 says that when Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, I died with Him.” The Peter who denied Jesus Christ died on the cross with Christ. Then, who is the new “Peter”? The resurrected Lord Jesus now lives inside of Peter and controls him. There is this time schedule in your walk of faith, but when Peter denied Jesus Christ, there are people who are in that spiritual state. In that kind of state, it might seem like you’re able to make a living or succeed physically, but you will face a limitation. At that time, if you try to force your way into making it work, it will be a headache. The Lord desires for you to live a different life, not the Peter of the past; that Peter has to die on the cross. Now, the new Peter must change for the Lord Jesus to be his Lord.
(1) Mount of Olives – God’s kingdom (Ac. 1:3)
Even though we live on this earth, we belong to the Kingdom of God. Eph. 2:6 says that we’ve been seated in heaven with Christ. That means that now, my background is now the Kingdom of God. Phil. 3:20 says that our citizenship is in heaven. In the past, Peter did not know this. He was believing in and following Jesus to gain the things of the earth. With the things of the earth, we may seem that we are getting answers, but you face your limitation. You must be fundamentally changed. “Oh, I belong to heaven, and my background is God’s Kingdom, and now, the reason I live on this earth is to establish God’s Kingdom here.” Before you come to this realization, you will get stuck in your limitations, and that’s the reason God is making you feel those limitations. God wants you to change, but if you keep on holding onto your stubbornness, you’re wasting time.
God has already given you the blessings, so quickly, change. Stop living for the things of “me,” the things of this earth. In the past, Peter did follow Jesus, but it was so he could gain some position or success in the world. The Lord knew this and said, “You will deny Me three times,” but from a certain moment, God’s grace came upon Peter, and he completely changed. You realize, “Oh, I’m not living on this earth to gain things of the earth; I’ve already gained everything, because now, I belong to the Kingdom of God, so if I need anything, God begins to work, and that’s who I am. Now, I can see that this world is trapped in darkness, dragged around by Satan’s lies, and God has sent me back into the world to give them the Light and Truth. Then, everywhere I go, I must testify of the Kingdom of God.”
(2) Holy Spirit – Power, witness (Promise) (Ac. 1:8)
But Peter had no strength and that’s why God promised, “I will give you the Holy Spirit.” That means, Jesus promises, “I will be with you with the Holy Spirit. Not only will I be with you, but I’ll be with you by the filling of the Holy Spirit, by that power.” So, how does Peter change? He changed to be filled with the power of God. You facing your limitations right now is normal, the more you try to solve your addictions, your mental problems, your family problems on your own, the more you will face problems. I’m sure that’s how you’ve studied until now, and for your studies, you might have gotten the result based on how much effort you put in, but the problem of life is different from that. When God gives you a problem, why did He do that? He wants to show you, you cannot live with your own strength. If you’re not able to realize this, you’ll always live in fear and problems. That was Peter. “How could I deny You three times?” Imagine how discouraged Peter was, but that despair is a blessing.
We tell people to have hope, but why would we hope in something that will not work? But if you fall into utter despair, you will have true hope. If you completely give up on yourself, you will receive true hope. It’s not that we give up on ourselves because something bad happens, but by God’s grace, we confess, “I cannot do it.” It’s best if we discover we cannot do it by God’s grace, but some people are like this: God has to give them a situation where it does not work. What has God really given them? “You can’t do this, and that’s normal. There is a way that will work, and I want to give you that blessing, that’s why I am giving you this situation that does not work in your family.” If you’re trying to change what is not taking place, God allowed that to not take place, so what you’re doing is not biblical. If we’re doing something wrong, we can try to fix ourselves, but what happens if there is a problem that is not caused by our actions? Then that is given to us by God, why? So that you can look to God and realize that you cannot live on your own. Look to the power of God, that’s why He promised you the power of the Holy Spirit.
(3) Only prayer – Concentration (Ac. 1:14)
The Holy Spirit must completely take over and control my heart, thoughts, soul, and body, and that’s how my old state will change. When the power of the Holy Spirit begins to work upon your heart, your thoughts, your mind, and your body, that’s when you begin to change. That’s all we have to pray for, but it might take people decades before they pray like that, why? Because they think they can make it. Yeah, maybe you can study, maybe you can work, but there are some things that even if you make it, it’s not going to work, and God gives that to every person, every family.
If the parents are not able to realize, God gives them a problem to their children, or God makes it so that we cannot live because of our disease. God’s not doing that to stop us, but He is showing us the way for it to work. May you receive that grace, that’s when you can pray the correct prayer. If you cannot live by yourself, then that means, only God can. May the Holy Spirit of God come upon me with power, then what happens? You will be a witness of Jesus until the ends of the earth; from that point on, you will know what will not take place because God’s wisdom will come upon you. In that kind of state, you must live and work. Even if you have a job, you need to do your work, knowing what will take place; otherwise, you will waste your energy and face your limitations.
In Acts 1:14, the people gathered together, holding onto the covenant, and the Holy Spirit worked upon them. If you acknowledge that you are weak, and you ask for God to work to save your past, present, and future, if you know that Satan is controlling the world, you’ll pray, “God, give me the power to overcome the ruler of the kingdom of the air. God, work upon me with the power to see the future in advance.” It’s always important to see in advance. All the people who are leading the world are able to see what will happen before it happens. Because they are able to see what will happen before others, they make more money. It doesn’t matter how hard you study or work or how nice you are, if you’re able to be one step ahead of others, you’ll always fall behind. Especially for things like COVID, if you knew that that would happen in advance, then you’ll prepare the vaccine early; you could make a fortune. Or right now, we’re in the age of AI, but if somebody knows what will happen next, then they can make a fortune, but right now, we don’t know what will happen. Even in our walk of faith, if we know what will happen in advance, it’s so simple. One day, Peter was able to see that. “Oh wow, this Word of God to raise disciples to the ends of the earth is fulfilled by God. Rome has power, money, and military power, but one day, it will fall.”
Simon Peter was able to see that all of these powerful people were flaunting their wealth and authority, but one day, they will all fall. Because Peter knew that, he no longer shook. In 73 AD, Rome was completely broken down, and in 313 AD, Rome turned into a Christian nation. Matthew 24 already tells us what will happen in the End Times. No matter what you experience, people will fall into suffering, but there is a way to not do that. It is to love God. It’s solving the gospel of the cross of Jesus Christ. Only that is the way out of suffering. So our walk of faith is going while knowing in advance. Even right now, people are holding onto things that will not take place, and they try to use religion and diligence, and force it through prayer. People who have lived a religious life for a long time still have that inner nature. Or, for people who’ve lived for a long time as a nonbeliever like me, they have the nature of trying to trick people or use humanism to try to change their minds.
(4) Filling, working of the Holy Spirit – Experience (Ac. 2:1-4)
But one day, when God’s grace comes upon you, you’ll realize that doesn’t work. Only the work that God does inside of me will work. Then life becomes so simple, there’s on reason to be so stubborn or assertive, there’s no reason to be so trapped by your thoughts. All I have to do is be seized by the power of the Word of God. Even right at this moment, you should be praying for this; that’s normal. Why would you just be sitting here with a blank mind?” Instead, pray, “God, work upon me with Your power, so I can get Your Word.” Even right at this moment, we should be praying, “May the Holy Spirit work upon my fields to break down the forces of Satan and establish the Kingdom of God.” And that prayer should be joyful. Praying should be joyful to us. If you find joy in something else, that’s not right. Praying to God should be my greatest joy and delight, it should make my heart flutter. If that is not taking place, it means you’re holding onto something else, and later on, whatever you’re holding onto will not be really enjoyed. Because you’re holding onto the incorrect things, later on you’ll realize that it’s not right. Only when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and fills you, will you be a witness until the ends of the earth. That’s the moment Peter changed.
Peter denied Jesus Christ, but after this grace, he confessed, “But this Jesus you crucified, God has made both Christ and Lord, so you must also receive the name of Jesus Christ, repent, be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. For, this Messiah is the promise of God Who will be shared until the ends of the earth, even to the Gentiles.” This is how people completely change. Where did Peter get this boldness? God was with him, and not just with him, but with him with power. That turning point is, I have been crucified with Christ on the cross, now the life that I live is by faith in Him Who lives in me. Then, that’s all we have to do for 24 hours. Does that mean we shouldn’t study? No, do what you need to physically, but enjoy this. While you’re running your business, enjoy this, because the way that we live is by our faith, not by our hard work. If something is not working out, we don’t try to force it to happen, we live by faith in God. Then, you will receive the filling of the Holy Spirit. Then, you will be a witness until the ends of the earth. Today, for people who are diseased or people who have problems in your family, may you overcome that with only Jesus Christ. Even the scars of your past, may you overcome that with the power of being with God. That has to be testified to the field. If that correct truth is not being testified, then that’s the reason everyone is living in suffering, with spiritual problems, mental problems, family problems.
2) Peter’s sermon
(1) God has made Jesus, Lord and Messiah (Ac. 2:36)
(2) Name of Jesus Christ – Baptism, forgiveness of sins, Holy Spirit (Ac. 2:36)
(3) Promise – For you and your children and for all who are far off – whom the Lord our God will call (Ac. 2:39)
3) Believe Christ in the field
(1) Saw a man lame in front of the temple gate (Ac. 3:4)
Then, Simon Peter and John walked to the Temple Gate called Beautiful, and they used to do that all the time, but now that they’re changed, they see differently. The way that we see must change. When you are working, the way you see things must change. If your eyes remain closed, there’s nothing you can do. If you cannot see the flow of money, you cannot hold the money, because you don’t see it. If there is a really good fisherman, they can see where the fish go; they’re able to see the stream where other people cannot. Same thing here. In the past, Peter would come to the Temple Gate called Beautiful, and saw the beggar, but never really saw him. However, one day, he goes to the Temple, filled with the Holy Spirit’s work, and he sees the beggar and why he was crippled.
(2) What I do have I give you – In the name of Jesus Christ walk (Ac. 3:6)
Because he saw why, he had to give the answer. “Silver and gold I do not have,” meaning, “I cannot help you physically because that will not help you stand, but what I have, I give in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Stand up and walk.”
One day, evangelism takes place. Before that point, no matter how hard you try, it doesn’t, because your eyes aren’t open to see. Before the disciples changed, Jesus actually sent them out in pairs to the field to evangelize, but it doesn’t work like that. But you must be able to see this, you must be able to see, “That person is seized by sin, curses, Satan, and death.” If you see that, it’s so simple. It’s a problem because you haven’t seen it yet. So why do I tell you to receive training? It’s so that your eyes are opened to receive this, so it’s not enough to just wander around. When you receive the grace of God, you’ll see things you couldn’t see before, you’ll be able to see that one person’s spiritual state, then you can diagnose it. The more famous a doctor is, the more they’ll be able to diagnose their patient very accurately. If a doctor is very powerless, they will not be able to diagnose, but we shouldn’t give them the wrong medication. Same thing. If you’re running a business and you’re getting customers and clients, you must be able to see their spiritual state, just as Peter did. He didn’t just see the crippled beggar as somebody who was begging for food, he realized this person was crippled because his fate was ensured by something. In America, there are so many elites who have money and power, but inside, they are ensnared, and no matter how much they try to look for happiness, they cannot find it. You must be able to see that, then it’s so easy, but if you can’t see this, there’s nothing you can do.
(3) Salvation in no other name, only in Jesus’s name (Ac. 4:12)
“Before” and “After” for Simon Peter, the Holy Spirit worked upon him, so he was able to see. Then, after that incident, Simon Peter was dragged to the court for testifying of Christ, and they said, “We told you to not testify of Christ Jesus, why are you testifying of Jesus?” Peter confessed, “There is no other name under heaven or on earth by which we must be saved. Only by the name of Jesus Christ can we be saved.” Even 50 days before that, Peter denied Jesus, but if you live your walk of faith, there is a time schedule for that. But that’s not everything; there is a moment where you change, that’s why you have to have one heart, whole heart, continuation. If you think that your faith right now is the standard of believing in Jesus, that’s a huge problem, that’s why you have to look at yourself based on the words of the Bible. One day, your life will be in a state where you have no choice but to testify of Jesus.
Conclusion
1. My limitation – Despair
In conclusion, I can’t do it. What can’t I do? I just can’t do it, but what can I do? Only the Lord inside of me can do it. The Lord Jesus lives inside of me, but my thoughts are always fighting against that, and that’s why my thoughts must die on the cross because my thoughts come from sin, curses, disasters, and Satan, they must die. Only the words of Jesus Christ, only His power should live in Me. You must begin every single day like this. Then, you will change, not to the old “Peter,” but to the new “Peter.”
2. I overcome my limitations – Power of the throne
“God, today, give me the complete filling and control of the Holy Spirit, upon my thoughts, my spirit, soul, body, my work, church, home, and family,” then, it’s so joyful, because God promised to give it to us. “God, work upon me to save my past, present, and future.” How could I go to all peoples and all nations? “God, give me the power to save all nations.” How could we ever heal people? “God, work upon me with the power to raise and heal the next generation.”
3. I save the field
With that strength of God, you must go into your field. Instead of facing a problem and then struggling in that problem, you need to already have the power before you go in. That was Peter, and later on, he was martyred. You cannot just be martyred, you must be filled with the Holy Spirit, so you don’t even realize you’re being martyred, and he came to the most Christ-like end. Nonbelievers are trembling in fear before death, but with the filling of the Holy Spirit, we can go as far as to be martyred. May you have the grace of God to go into this stream of faith. May you have victory throughout the week.
Message Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word that we each have personally received.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We confess that everything comes from You, Lord. We have returned Your materials as offering. We pray that everywhere this offering is used, that lives will be saved, that the next generations will be raised up, and that people will be healed. We believe You will work upon the hands that have given this offering, with the blessing of the economy of light to do world evangelization, and we believe You will work with the answer of Temple Construction to do world evangelization. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. We pray You will bless their family, we pray You will bless them so that even when they return to Mongolia, they can continue in worship and grace through the Mongolian regional church. May you open their eyes to see Mongolia and we believe You will work upon their family with the power to save Mongolia. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Announcements
1. Online zoom early morning prayer (Mon.-Fri. 5:30, Sat. 6AM) – Raise the bartizan of prayer
2. 4/7 (Mon.) West Coast Synod, church sanctuary, 10:00 am
3. Children’s Spirituality Camp, 4/7-9
4. Communion, Baptism (4/13), Easter Service (4/20)
5. Missions Conference, 4/23-27
6. Offering can be given to the church venmo: @Antiochmissionchurch
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, guidance, fellowship, and filling of the Holy Spirit, be upon the heads of all the people of God, the people of all nations, and the remnants who desire to be a witness to save the world with only Christ and only the filling of the Holy Spirit, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.