Power (Sign) and Wisdom that Saves – Jesus Christ (Matt. 12:38-45)
Let us bless and greet one another, Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. May the unprecedented and never-repeated grace be upon you today. The title of today’s message is, “The Power (Sign) and Wisdom that Saves – Jesus Christ,” and the basis of this title was when the Jewish people asked Jesus Christ to show them a sign. It doesn’t say in today’s passage, but it says in 1 Corinthians that the Jewish people or the Greeks pursue wisdom. It says that unbelievers were seeking wisdom because if they have wisdom, they can study, they can do their business, and they can do anything in any circumstance. But the Jewish people believed in God, so as evidence of God, they needed to see some kind of sign or miracle, so there’s a reason why Jewish people asked Jesus Christ the question they did.
Jesus Christ was casting demons out of demon-possessed people, and the Jewish Pharisees thought He was casting out demons because He had the power of a stronger demon. Because even among the Jewish people, there was a small group of people who would cast out demons with the demon’s power, and most people don’t believe in the spiritual things at all. In response to that, Jesus Christ explains to them, “If it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.”
1. Pharisees who want a sign (Mt. 12:38)
Then in Mt. 12:33, He says, “You brood of vipers!” Also in John 8:44, Jesus Christ calls them the children of the devil. So, all the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who were well learned in the laws and the scriptures, they expressed their offendedness by saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” Even in today’s age, there are people who are like this as they go to church. They think, “If I believe in God, then there needs to be some kind of sign, either my business completely turns around and does well, or my teeth turn gold.” There is something even more expensive than gold teeth.
Or, “I receive the answer of my child getting into the greatest school,” or “He completely finishes this Covid pandemic at once.” They may not say this out loud, but there are a lot of people living their walk of faith with this kind of standard. Or, they want to feel some kind of physical tingling to realize God is touching them, or they want to see some sort of visible sign, or at least, He reveals Himself to them in their dreams. They want to see some kind of sign, and today, it’s the same. Even though they go to church, they ask Him to show them a sign. The nonbelievers in the world say, “What are you talking about? All you need in life is wisdom,” and that’s why there are so many books that sell well that are philosophical or intellectual, so they can solve their way through life.
1) Wicked and adulterous generation (Mt. 12:39)
Then Jesus Christ responds to them by saying, “Wicked and adulterous generation,” this kind of generation asks for a sign. The Pharisees are asking Jesus Christ this question, and Jesus Christ responds very directly, saying “You are a wicked and adulterous generation, that’s why you’re asking for a sign. The only sign I’ll show you is the sign of Jonah.” Jesus Christ describes them as a wicked and adulterous generation, but what is wickedness and what is adultery? There are some nonbelievers who say, “This person is so nice, they’re even better than the Christians, they don’t need to believe in Christ.” That person’s standard is their kindness, so when they go into the church, other people might see them and say, ”Oh, you’re so kind,” but it might be that they are so oppressed that they are kind.
(1) Wicked people – Those outside of the covenant (Ps. 1:1)
Psalm 1:1 describes the one who is blessed and the one who is wicked, and the one who is blessed is the one who walks with the Word and the one who is wicked stands outside of that. The standard of God is always God’s Word. If you’re outside of God’s Word, then that is “wicked.” Even if somebody looks wicked on the outside, if they are following God’s Word, then God sees that person as “good.”
(2) Heart, thoughts – What they desire (Gen. 6:2,5)
It also says in Gen. 6:2, 5, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness had become,” and “every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” What exactly did they do that God saw them as doing evil all the time? Gen. 6:2 says they lived their life deciding whatever they wanted. Especially in America, we may not feel very much as we read these words, “Of course I need to do what I want to do, of course I should do what I like. Then, should I do everything I don’t want?” What’s the education in America? “Do whatever you want, I respect your thoughts. I want you to do according to your thoughts,” but America educates their people without knowing this is evil. God said that is evil, and that’s why He brought about the flood.
(3) Adultery – Idol worship (Hos. 5:4-7)
Then Jesus describes them as an adulterous generation, but what is adultery? Yes, physical adultery or sexual immorality is bad; however, there is a state of adultery that caused this person to do those physical acts. Hosea 5:4-7 says they are in a spiritual state where, instead of following the Word of God, they are following their adulterous desires. If we begin with the spirit of adultery, then it will result in physical signs, like physical adultery or other things.
2) Sign of Jonah (Mt. 12:39)
The Jewish people were so diligently memorizing and studying the scriptures, but Jesus Christ calls them, “Wicked and adulterous,” but why do we need to receive these words today? It means we are exactly the same way in the church today. The Jewish people did not think they were wicked or adulterous, they thought, “I’m doing my very best to follow the laws and the Word of God, why is He calling me wicked and adulterous? I’m sure He’s not speaking to me,” and they’ll avoid that. Jesus called them “wicked and adulterous” because they were seeking signs, but the only sign Jesus Christ had to show them was the sign of Jonah who was in the belly of a fish for three days.
(1) In the belly of a fish for 3 days – Sheol (Jon. 1:17-2:2)
The Prophet Jonah was a prophet in North Israel during the greatest time of Israel’s reign, during the reign of King Jeroboam. On one side of North Israel, there was a superpower nation called Aram, and on the northwest side, there was a superpower nation that was rising up, that was Assyria, so North Israel was always trembling in fear over the superpower nation, Aram. Now, there was another superpower nation that was on the rise, similar to how China is becoming the #2 superpower nation today, called Assyria, and God told him to proclaim the gospel there, and Jonah refused.
Jonah was a prophet who was meant to declare the Word of God, but if a prophet is like this, then you can assume what the people of Israel are like. The way he avoids the mission of God is to go on some vacation. God gives His mission to people, but he was avoiding it. He said, “Just pretend I’m not here. Tell the pastor I’m going on a trip for a month, and I’m sure in a month, he’ll stop asking me to do it,” so then Jonah takes a vacation to Tarshish. He thought he would be okay if he escaped to Tarshish but God brought a storm to him. Because they were struggling with such a strong storm, they did everything they could, they threw everything overboard, and everybody on the boat was praying to their own gods, but the storm continued. They cast lots and there was the working of the Holy Spirit upon the lots they cast. They were casting lots to see who was the cause, and Jonah got caught.
Then, Jonah said, “Throw me overboard,” in other words, “Kill me.” Look at the state of Jonah. At that point, he should have just said, “I will obey the mission God has given me,” but he was relentless until the end. Jonah was saying, “I would rather die than do what God told me to do.” That’s us, to the very end, we refuse and oppose. It’s okay even if we die. And then he gets swallowed up by a big fish, and I assume it was some kind of whale, because it was breathing oxygen while Jonah was inside of it. He was in a state of death, and it says in Jonah 2:1-2 that he was in the depths of the grave, meaning he was all the way in hell. Jonah was already dead.
(2) God’s word – New life (Came out of the fish) (Jon. 2:10)
Then God gave His command through the Word and the fish threw Jonah up. Why does He say this? Because we cannot do it. It doesn’t matter how much we say we want to live for the Lord; we are always opposing Him, that is the state of the one who is separated from God. If the prophet who was given the mission to declare God’s Word was like this, then the rest of North Israel was obvious. You have to be dead and be born again. I have died on the cross with Christ. The “me” who was the master and center of my own life has died on the cross. As long as you’re relying on yourself or expect anything of yourself, it is only disaster. As much as you think you’re an okay person, you’ll only face disaster. In that kind of state, when you receive the Word of God, you’re bound to oppose God’s Word. You have no idea how tenacious the sin of Gen. 3 is. It’s impossible unless you receive God’s grace.
(3) Life – Proclaimed the word in Nineveh (Jon. 3:4)
So, Jonah is born again and he goes and declares the Word of God. Nineveh is next to Assyria, and they were disgusting people and Jonah didn’t even consider them to be human. You have people you hate, you always have people you hate at your job, don’t you? “I cannot proclaim the gospel to this kind of person, they have done this much wrong to me,” it’s the same thing. I’m relentlessly my own standard, not God, then God will bring you death. The more you persist, the more God will bring you to your knees, and the only way for you not to be brought to your knees is if you die on the cross with Christ. That’s God’s grace.
I’m talking about myself right now. I was a nonbeliever, and you have no idea the amount of idolatry, ancestral worship, and demons. If I got beaten up, I realized, “This is not the way,” and I turned around. And as I go this way, God beats me up, so I turn another direction, and even though God has given me His Word, it doesn’t go in, so I have a lot of holy scars. Because I was born as an nonbeliever, I don’t know what the church is, I don’t know what a pastor is, I don’t even know what a deacon is, because there are none in my family. A nonbeliever is someone who lives by their own strength. “I am my own Way, Truth, and Life. Not Jesus, but myself. There’s nothing other than me, I am the standard. That’s why things don’t work out, then I commit suicide. If I feel bad, then I have to drink.” That’s a nonbeliever.
How could someone like that believe in Jesus Christ? Even after you believe in Jesus Christ, you don’t really die. You still have it inside of you, “I’m not gonna give up on life,” you’re relentlessly trying to exude your own scent. And when the Word of God goes in, you don’t accept it 100%, you always have some kind of condition. You always doubt. “Oh, but that’s not really what I’ve experienced,” there’s always that kind of rebuttal. The only time that goes away is when you tried everything you could, and you realize this isn’t the way and you have to turn around. Jonah went to Nineveh to proclaim the gospel, and they all repented.
Inside of Jonah’s heart, God was saying, “I knew this would be the case from the beginning.” Jonah said, “I already knew these people would repent and accept the gospel, and that’s why I refused to do it.” Jonah confessed that because he hated them, because they needed to be cursed. He knew without a doubt that as long as God worked upon those people, they would repent and turn around, so Jonah refused that. So, he was sitting somewhere far away, looking at the city of Nineveh, and he was bald. Today we can wear wigs but they didn’t have wigs back then, so God grows a plant to cover his head from the sun. Then, God sends a bug to cut off the leaf, so Jonah’s head becomes scorched by the sun, and he starts complaining.
God says this, “Do you not see the people who are dying in Nineveh? You are getting so excited and angry because your bald head gets a little shade, and then it goes away, but instead, you’re not seeing the souls that are dying in Nineveh,” and 20 years later, Assyria enters Israel and completely, all the Israelite men get dragged off as captives and they dry out the seed of Israel. Then, the Assyrian men go into North Israel and marry with the Israelite women and mix their seeds together.
If God tells you to go to missions, then you have to go. He shouldn’t have been beaten up there; he should have gone from the beginning because you need to change these people in order for them not to invade. If you do not change the culture of the world with the gospel, then that culture will go into your children. From your perspective, you think you’re saving time and money, but what’s going to happen to your kids? That was the complete end of North Israel. Southern Judah doesn’t even go to North Israel because they’re a different lineage.
3) Jesus Christ
(1) Cross – Within the grave for 3 days – Death, resurrection
(2) It is finished (Jn. 19:30)
Just like Jonah, the Son of Man also died and was in the earth for 3 days. The cross of Jesus Christ was the time when all our curses and disasters of hell were broken on the cross, and when Jesus Christ died, He went all the way to hell. After He resurrected, He overcame the authority of Satan, hell, and death. There is no other sign than that.
(3) God’s power, wisdom (1 Cor. 1:24)
1 Cor. 1:24 says that this Jesus Christ is the power and wisdom of God, but why is it that the American churches are continuously closing? The churches in Asia seem to flourish, but why is it the American churches are closing their doors? Why is it that all of the churches in Europe have already closed down? Why is that? It is because they are interested in something other than Christ. Instead of being interested in Christ, they are seeking more the blessings and the signs, or the legalism, or the mysticism, that’s why they are closing down. The future generations of America are spiritually disappearing, so even if the churches are here now, in the future, they will all be gone. The cross of Jesus Christ is the wisdom and the power of God, but they get rid of that and they’re interested in something else instead.
2. At judgment – Condemn
1) Men of Nineveh
(1) Judgment with this generation (Mt. 12:41)
(2) Preaching of Jonah – Repent (Mt. 12:41)
(3) Something greater than Jonah – Jesus Christ (Mt. 12:41)
Then in today’s scripture, it says that the people of Nineveh who received the gospel from Jonah and repented, will look at the Israelites and judge them. This means that the people who repented even after hearing a very vague gospel will judge the Israelites because the One Who is even greater than Jonah is coming to give them the Word, why are they not able to understand? The characteristic of these people is, even if they meet Jesus Christ personally, they will not believe Him. Even if they hear lectures specifically from Jesus Christ, they will not believe.
There are some people who always nitpick sermons. They are not standing before God, but they only think about their own rationality, “If it aligns with what I think, I will believe it; and if not, I disagree. “ That is the person who is the wicked and adulterous generation, always seeking signs. God made rationality, but that is not the standard, and today, rationality, logic, and intellectualism is not the standard, it’s not even mentioned in Matthew. As our academics have progressed, we are also now emphasizing logic and rationality, but we emphasize that too much, and we refuse anything that doesn’t sound logical to us. “It doesn’t matter if that’s God’s Word, if I don’t agree with it, then I end it. That’s America. It is the place that highly exalts rationality, logic, and intellectualism.
As the scientific advancement progresses, we are creating a world that is convenient, but we are making a world that is spiritually inconvenient, and that’s why there are so many shootings every week because we cannot hold our own anger. We have so much anger inside of us, that we even go to kill other people. Our inner state has fallen into a state where we have no choice but to do drugs. We have come to a state where we have to drink alcohol every day and the future generation is even worse. “If this aligns with my thoughts, then it is God’s Word, and if it doesn’t align with my thoughts, it’s not God’s Word.” That’s how far we’ve come. The wicked and adulterous generation back then is the exact same state as it is today.
2) Queen of the South
(1) Judgment with this generation (Mt. 12:42)
(2) Listen to Solomon’s wisdom (Mt. 12:42)
(3) Something greater than Solomon – Jesus Christ (Mt. 12:42)
Then Jesus Christ says, “The Queen of the South” will also come and judge you. The “Queen of the South” is talking about the Queen of places like Ethiopia and Egypt, and this queen went to King Solomon to seek his wisdom. But the people who listen to the Words of God through Solomon’s wisdom receive salvation, and they will come to condemn you. These people receive salvation, even after listening to the words of Solomon, but someone even greater than Solomon has come, but you are not able to receive that. There are some people who say, “Even if Jesus Christ appears to me once, I will believe,” but they won’t. Look at Thomas, he said, “I refuse to believe that this is Jesus until I feel the piercing on his side.” I hope you will receive the grace of believing without seeing, then your faith transcends time and space. There’s a difference between seeing something rationally and believing.
3) State of the wicked age
(1) Law (Self-righteousness) – Impure spirit comes out (Mt. 12:41)
After Jesus Christ says this, all of a sudden, He says in Mt. 12:41, “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places, seeking rest, and does not find it.” Do these words make sense? Do you think Jesus Christ is speaking nonsense? It’s just that we don’t get it. Jesus Christ said these words with meaning.
(2) House unoccupied, swept clean (Religion, transcendental meditation, idolatry, world, ethics, honesty, justice) – 7 impure spirits enter (Matt. 12:44-45)
The beginning of this situation was a demon-possessed person was rid of demons. He’s saying, casting out the demons is not the issue, but unless Jesus Christ completely fills that person, seven demons worse than the first will come and fill this person. And He was saying this to the Jewish people. You try to clean yourself out by prayers, actions, and diligence, but afterwards, seven demons, stronger than the first, will fill you. The number “seven” represents completeness or perfection, that’s why they talk about the seven kings in the land of Canaan, it means it was completely filled.
(3) Spiritual state is worse (Mt. 12:45)
How is it that someone could be demon-possessed even if they go to church? People go up to prayer retreats and get demon-possessed. It’s not because they’re going to a prayer retreat, but because they don’t have something inside of them, but they are concentrating on something, so they’re filled with demons. There are religious people like that who go to church. Instead of believing that Jesus is the Christ and He is life, they are thinking their actions of worship and actions of prayer and giving offering are the meaning of faith, and because they are empty inside, they are filled with demons.
It’s the same thing with the transcendental meditation movement going on in America, they are detoxing the bad things inside of them, so they are saying, “Empty yourself and fill yourself with the energy of the universe,” that’s transcendental meditation. Inside of the churches, they are saying something that is not the accurate gospel, so the younger people are going to go towards transcendental meditation. The yoga meditation in the Hindu religion is about meeting their gods, and there are many different meditation organizations.
If Hinduism is the main, central source, then comes Buddhism. What is Buddhism? It is about enlightenment. Buddhism is not so much a religion as it is a philosophy, you have to get rid of your greed and desires. The original Buddha went into meditation to try to figure out why mankind suffers. Even though they had never read the words of the Bible, through thousands of years of experience, they experienced that our greed is the cause of suffering, then for them, their method of getting rid of their greed was hiding their spirituality. They lived an ascetic life where they didn’t eat a lot and they killed their physical body. For three years, they lock themselves up in a room, and these monks just pray.
More demons come in. This thing called “me” does not go away. If there are any of you who think that prayer is difficult, then without a doubt, you’re living a religious life, because you think prayer is something you do, so it’s so hard. In religions like Buddhism, they have to bow down 3000 times to block the disasters, but for us, we don’t have to repay something; we received it by grace, so we don’t pray. The only time we pray is when we are at a loss. But there isn’t anything that really makes us that upset because we know our heaven is guaranteed anyways, and then one day, when we get a big illness, that’s a big problem, or if we have problems with our children, that’s a big problem. God is wanting to give you a message through this incident, but instead, you’re asking God to get rid of this problem. The reason God gave you a problem in your family is to give you a message, but the characteristic of a religious life is begging to God to take this away.
Does God have no power? If God allows something to happen, there’s a message of God, and you need to hold onto that message of God in order to decipher His will. We’re talking about prayer like this, so people who have a lot of religion and a lot of effort will even starve themselves to pray. But the people who are a little lazier or they don’t have a lot of ambitions to make money say, “What is the point of praying?” and they don’t pray at all, but if someone has the mission of being #1 in their academics, then they’re very diligent in their walk-of-faith as well, and they’ll pray surely.
People who are in the middle will start praying and then stop, but if someone is already the last of their class, they will just give up before they pray, so we just live according to our personalities. But if you lose hold of this gospel, the thing that is hardest for us is prayer, because you’re trying to do something. If the Lord is really within us, then prayer is allowing Him to work within me. But instead of doing that, we’re asking God to do something for us, and that’s so hard. We’re not asking God to do something, but we’re saying, “Lord, do whatever You will,” then prayer is easy. If you don’t like the way the Pastor is speaking today, then you can just ask, “God, do Your will with the pastor,” but if you’re asking, “Why is the pastor like this?” then it’s going to be hard for you. It’s not about me; you have to change that to God, that is prayer. “Why do I feel so bad today?” Pray about that. But instead of praying, you say, “I feel so bad today,” then that person will have a hard time.
Do you understand prayer? The Lord Who is within me, the One Who is life, allow Him to work. It’s only hard because you’re trying to do it yourself, in order to accomplish something, that’s why it’s hard. It’s easy to breathe, isn’t it? If someone has a hard time breathing, then either they’re diseased or they’re about to die. When we breathe, it revives our organs. What happens if we stop breathing? Then we cannot see you anymore. Prayer is spiritual breathing, you’re concentrating on the God inside of you so that He can work in everything, then your spirit is revived. When you concentrate on God, then the spiritual things inside of you will come to life, but if your prayer stops, your spirit dies. People are different from animals, we are spiritual beings, so if our spirit dies, then everything dies. Then that success we accomplished means nothing to me, because I’m dead before God. I’m spiritually dead before the God Who is moving all of the universe and is moving my life.
I hope at this moment, you’re praying. Stop thinking your thoughts, but pray. “God, why are You giving this Word to me?” There are some people who come up to me after the message and ask, “Were you talking to me?” I’ve never talked about you, but God is giving you that Word, then you should ask God, “Why are You giving me this Word?” It’s easy if those words make you feel good, but if those words make you feel bad, then they always hold a grudge and they say something to me in the end. How you feel is not the standard, but “Why is God giving you this Word?” That is the standard.
You should not live according to your emotions, “I received grace today,” that’s not the standard. You need to ask, “What is the Word God is giving me today?” That’s prayer, then prayer should be as easy as breathing, and if you want to rest, you must give everything to the Lord, then your spirit will come to life, do you understand? Every church you go to, there will be somebody you hate. Everywhere you go, there’s at least one person you hate. Even in your company, there’s at least one or two people you hate, and when you go to school, there are a lot of people. “After I graduate, I never want to see this person again,” that’s that person’s state. “God, why did you make me in the same graduating class as this terrible human? God, I hate this person so much, can You just take them out of my business?” If you pray to God like that, God will answer you, so pray.
If you’ve never prayed, then the hardest thing is prayer. I told my daughter, “Every time you feel depressed, pray. You cannot overcome that with your own strength. You need to ask God to reign over you.” I asked, “Are you depressed now?” She said, “No.” I said, “Every time you get depressed, remember that. You always get angry, so every time you get angry, remember this. Because if you live by your temper, you will fail because of your temper. That’s the curse of our family line, we fail because of our temper, because we act according to our emotions. Life doesn’t happen according to our emotions but by the standard of God.”
3. Gospel bartizan of this age
1) Me – God (Gen. 3:5) – Idol (Ex. 20:4)
There are so many ideologies, like the ideologies of law or democracy, everybody has to agree? No. It’s only what God says, but people say, “Justice!” but justice isn’t right, either. God Himself is justice, but you take Christ out of the equation so Satan works, that’s an idol like “honesty” and “earnestness.” My father doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ because he thinks that he’s the most ethical person, but your ethics and honesty is nothing before God. God is the Creator and you have to live honestly, but if you refuse God’s existence, then you’re not honest. You’re enjoying the light of the sun for free. You didn’t make the sun. He didn’t create oxygen; he’s using it for free, he’s standing on this earth for free. Did he make the trees? Did he raise them? All of that is given to him by grace from God, but he says, “Oh, people are not honest”? He thinks all of these things are rightful.
Inside of Jesus Christ, our ethics and honesty must follow, but if you’re outside of Christ, you cannot be just no matter how much you try; you’ll be stabbed in the back first. People always change. The Bible says this person’s state becomes worse. If a new believer receives the gospel but they are not continuously nurtured, Satan will attack them more. Christ must become their Master, but they are still ruled over by their ideologies and the idols they had in their past, so that’s why Satan attacks them more.
(1) What I want (Gen. 6:2, Eph. 2:3, Col. 3:5)
Just as Jesus Christ was declaring the gospel to the wicked and adulterous household back then, God desires to declare the gospel to the wicked and adulterous generation today. This is the age where everybody is their own god, if I’m uncomfortable, I don’t want it. If I like it, then I want it. If it doesn’t fit with me, then it’s not right. We are our own standard, but we are unaware. We think we’re doing well, but we’re the devil’s prey, and the devil goes into us, but we don’t know why the devil comes in.
(2) Our strength – Block disaster (Gen. 11:4)
It’s all about what we want, and we say, “Let us gather our strength together to try and oppose the disasters God brings upon us.” They said, “Let us gather our strength together and prevent us from being scattered like the heavens desire,” which means, “Let us gather our strength to oppose God.” People tried to gather their strength and intelligence to block disasters. For example, Japan has the highest earthquake engineering abilities. They build all their infrastructure so securely because they have so many earthquakes. The Japanese people did some research to see, “What is the highest height a tsunami wave ever struck?” and they built a very sturdy wall even higher than that. They thought they could block the disaster of the tsunami if they used their own intelligence and strength, but God brought a tsunami wave that was slightly higher than their wall. It’s the same thing as the Tower of Babel, God brought the Tower of Babel down.
(3) Age of suffering – God’s love X (2 Tim. 3:1-5)
Penicillin was discovered during a wave of illness, and we also had the AIDS pandemic. If we have continuous development, are we not going to face more pandemics? We have COVID now. Now, people declare the age of COVID is finished, then do you think we won’t have any more pandemics if we have development in medicine? There’s going to be something else that comes. God has to block it, that’s what I’m saying. Why are there so many disasters and wars in the superpower nations? Because they’re under the misconception that if humans try their very best, we can have happiness and block disasters. God sees that, and if we block something, then God brings something else. “Pastor, why do you keep threatening us so negatively?” That’s not what I’m saying, I’m just telling you how God has worked until now, so just put your life all into God, that’s very comfortable.
2 Tim 3 says, in the end of the age, which is now, there will be much suffering because they love themselves more than they love God. People say they love God, but they don’t believe that God’s Word is more important, they think their thoughts are more important. But they don’t have the standard of God’s Word, they have the standard of their own emotions. More so than having the Word of God be their standard, they love and think that their background and their abilities are more important. More than they love the Word of God, they love and rely on the money they’ve saved up, then they will suffer. That is the age today.
2) Enjoy the Gospel – Prayer
(1) Triune God – Power within me, field (Ac. 1:8)
That is why Christ is inside of me. He is seated at the throne of heaven but He is inside of me through the Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit is the spirit of the Father God and the spirit of Jesus Christ. So, the Holy Spirit that is inside of me is united with God the Father and God the Son, and inside of me, He allows me to realize the Word of God and guides me in that direction. Now, the Holy Spirit must really come upon me, that means that the Holy Spirit must reign over me. Our abilities will change depending on where we are, and the child will change depending on who their parents are. The civilians will change depending on who is reigning over them, for example, in North Korea vs. America. It doesn’t matter how skilled an individual is; if their ruler is bad, then their life will be bad. If God is within me, ruling over me, it doesn’t matter how lacking I am, I will change into somebody who lacks nothing. And we should enjoy that through prayer, “God, may You reign over my thoughts and emotions,” so you must trust Him.
If you face a problem, stop trying to solve the problem yourself, but since God allowed that problem, allow Him to show you His plan. If there’s a problem in your family, “God, show me your plan.” If you’re not able to receive that message of God, even if you solve this problem, then you’ll have another problem, and God will repeat that problem until you receive that message. I hope you will not live your walk of faith similar to Buddhism. The Lord Who is life and is seated at the throne of heaven, is reigning over me, and when He completely reigns over me, that is the filling of the Holy Spirit. Then, my life changes. I will be re-created. I was blocked but the Lord opened it up. He opens a path in the ocean, He creates a stream in the wilderness. If it is necessary, God works.
(2) Triune With, Immanuel, Oneness
It is no longer me, but God Who is with me. I no longer need my thoughts because the Word God gives me must be my thoughts. I don’t need my emotions. My emotions are a reaction to the Word God gives me. Do you know why you’re always seized by depression? It is because you love yourself too much. Because depression has come upon me, I hold onto it. Because I get panic attacks, I’m holding onto that. You love yourself too much. You need to hold onto God’s Word instead. It’s because you live your life too honestly, but you’re not honest about God. The standard is God’s Word. It is not your situation, you must not hold onto that. It is God’s Word.
Immanuel means God is with us, He is with the church, He is with the people you meet. You should not activate your own thoughts, but you should discover God’s plan. “Why is God making me worship in this church? I like the way he gives the Word.” but that’s not it. “The way he gives the Word doesn’t match with me,” that’s not it, either. “Why did God send me to this church?” You need to hold onto that message. You need to be able to live your walk of faith correctly. But if you elevate yourself too much, you’re going to say, “Oh, it’s because I received grace.” What are you going to do when you don’t receive grace? You’re going to turn your back on it, but that’s not God’s message. Romans 8:28 says God will do His good work in everything that happens. I made a mistake? No, that’s not it; God is using all of that for His good purpose.
(3) Only, Uniqueness, Recreation – Answer
I succeeded? No, it’s not that, God has a plan. There is no “me,” only the Triune God within me is the standard. That’s how we enjoy the gospel, that is the life of faith. As we continue to do this, there will be a uniqueness in my business that only I can do, and for the kids, there is a talent that only this kid can do, and God will bring that to a specialization. And that is how we re-create this world. God gives us a “uniqueness” that only I can do in my business field in order to re-create the people of this world with the gospel, then I will come to life.
3) Save the age
(1) Me – Past, present, future
For this person called “me,” there is a past, present, and future. Why are you in so much suffering now? Because you’re seized by your past. Why do you neglect the present? because you are holding onto some abstract version of your future, and the reason you’re judging your present is because you’re holding onto the success you had in your past, which is futile. Then, if Christ becomes your Master, then your past, present, and future are all restored. When Christ completely reigns over you, then all your past, present, and future will be brought to life. That kind of person saves the church, and if that kind of person goes into Hollywood, they will save Hollywood. When that kind of person goes to school, the school will come to life. When that kind of person runs a business, then that business will be used to save people, then the future generations will automatically be revived.
(2) Bartizan – Church, field, future generation
(3) Missions bartizan of different nations (Committee) – Africa, South America, Mongolia, Karen, Navajo, Jewish people
There are many multiethnic people who are in the church. I hope you will pray for these people and raise a bartizan of missions. “I want to raise the Mongolian missions,” then there are people inside of the church you can pray with and do ministry with, and that’s when God will give you the economy of light. For me, “I will serve Africa or the South American nations, or Karen, Navajo missions or the Jewish people,” There must be a land for you to conquer. If you don’t have a land to conquer, why would God give you a weapon? You need to have a land to conquer in order for God to give you money. If you just take the words of the Bible and just keep it in your head like some kind of Bible study, thinking, “Oh, that’s what that means,” then nothing will happen. There is a land that you must conquer. My life must be poured into that land so that the works of God’s re-creation will take place. That is how my business will become an actual business. I hope you will raise up this bartizan in prayer.
(4) Lay leader watchman bartizan – Day, night give God no rest (Is. 62:6-7) – Zoom early morning prayer
We have 237 nations, I hope in prayer, you will determine, “I will do missions to this nation.” It’s okay even if you’re old because people don’t do it at all. People just do it to try to receive blessings, but they don’t do real missions. People only do missions as a way to bring revival to their church. But if you really do missions, God will really work upon your business, but because people are not doing it truly, God is not working upon them truly. Now, for this purpose, the church officers must raise up a prayer bartizan. For people who are far away from the church, I hope you will gather in the early morning prayer through Zoom, because we listen to the Word of God and there are the church prayer topics. At that time, you need to listen to God’s Word, be spiritually revived, and pray, because God works at the speed of light through prayer. That is how you transcend time and space.
But if you don’t know prayer, you will always have to walk around, you have to go there and do something yourself, but if you learn prayer, God does His work even before you go there. If somebody doesn’t know about airplanes, then they have to go to Korea by walking and using different methods, and they’ll never be able to go. If you don’t know prayer, then wherever your body is, that’s just the extent of your life; however, if you know prayer, then even while you’re sitting down, you can have the works of God take place all over the world. In this kind of age, God has given us the blessing of prayer. There’s nothing that can be faster than prayer, even in the fifth and sixth industrial revolutions. May the church officers join us in the Early Morning prayers, if you’re far away or live in a dangerous area, join on Zoom; if you’re close-by, then come to church. May you enjoy this blessing through prayer.
Conclusion
1. With stream of only the Gospel, kingdom, power
2. Raise the bartizan of the church and field
3. Through the answer of saving the 237 nations, future
Message Prayer
God has given you a Word He will fulfill, so let us pray holding onto that Word. That is the prayer that will receive answers.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Prayer
God, we thank You. We return your material blessings as offering. We pray that You will work with the answers of the economy of light to save all of the 237 nations and 5,000 unreached people groups with this offering. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the heads of all the people of God, the multiethnic people, and the remnants who desire to enjoy and testify of the power and the wisdom of Jesus Christ through the bartizan, be with us from now until forevermore always, amen.