That Which to Wait For (Acts 1:3)
There are instances of broken relationships, but God’s promise is never broken. When you hold onto God’s promise and hold onto the answers, you will surely receive those answers, and what are those answers? That is what is important. As you live your life, if there is something that will surely take place, then you have hope, but if you don’t know, then there’s no hope for you. If you have assurance that this will take place, then you can live with this hope. That is what is given to God’s children from God. When you hold onto God’s promise, you can embrace it and live with it forever. It will surely come and it is promised, and that is what is important.
Intro
1. Weakness – From Birth
(Problem)
Parents, Me
Friend
“I’m like this because of my parents,” do you think like this? It seems correct but it’s not. Then, why did God allow this weakness to come upon me?
2. God – Work
God’s Sovereignty
If what you desire is not aligned with God, then you’re not acknowledging God, and it’s about your kingdom, but it’s not actually your kingdom; it’s Satan’s Kingdom.
(Kingdom)
Is Guam part of the United States? Guam is a territory, and there’s a young adult here born in Guam, he went to Santa Monica High School. What does it mean to be a US territory? It means the authority of the president of America influences the nation, so American law applies to Guam, do you understand? My kingdom is how I live with my standard, but its’ actually a kingdom where Satan is working in the background, so it seems like we’re living however we want, but Satan is the one dragging us around. Doing what I want isn’t freedom; doing what God desires is true freedom. When you acknowledge God’s sovereignty, that is when God reigns over you. You can’t think, “Why was I born in this environment?” It means you have a separate kingdom that you desire, it’s a kingdom you dream of, but that is actually the kingdom of the devil, and that’s what we call, “darkness.” All the people think, “I can just live this way,” but that’s being seized by darkness and lies.
Answer
How can we come out of this? Acknowledge that God is sovereign, in control of everything, then He will send answers. You have no choice but to live under Satan’s control. “Why have you allowed me to meet this kind of teacher?” Then you will receive answers from God. I was the presider for yesterday’s funeral service, and this pastor passed at 68. It’s such a young age, but why has God called him like this? As I was reading his career history, I realized God used him from an early age. He became an elder at 33, he was very young, it can’t happen in Korean churches. In American churches, you can become an elder at 20 or 30, but in Korea, you had to be 50 or 60. Later on, he became a pastor and planted a church. Most people do one or the other, but he did both, and he went abroad to do missions. As I read this, I realized he wasn’t called away early, but he had finished his mission. In my standard or kingdom, I may think, “Why did God call him away so early? He could live longer and continue his ministry,” and I could be depressed as I think about it. No one wants depression but when things don’t go according to your kingdom, you become depressed. But you can never come out of that. You need to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in everything, then you will experience freedom. “That’s why God allowed me to grow up in this kind of environment,” do you understand?
Do you have past scars? Why do you have scars? Things don’t go according to your standard, so you say, “Give it to me,” and because it doesn’t go your way, you get scarred. But why has God allowed that incident? Then you can come out of it. What is it? These all come from us being bound by the darkness and Satan. But the work God is doing, acknowledge God’s sovereignty and kingdom.
Look at your character. What is your talent? Every person has a God-given character connected with your talents. When I was younger in Korea, I wrote a book written by Han Kang and she was very impressionable. She graduated from Yonsei University and is four years younger than me, but she writes very well, and I read her book in 1992 or 1993, and this year, she actually won the Nobel Prize. That’s when I realized, it was the same person from 20 years ago, her name is so unique. Her dad was also an author, and he said this, “My daughter knows nothing of the world, she only knows how to write novels,” and he showed her a picture in her teenage years as her worldview was being formed. As she wrote the Nobel-winning prize, she would write three sentences and start crying. Her emotions are all over this book. Even if they write very well in Korean, the translation must also be done well, and this time, it was done very well. A British person studied in Korea for six years and had to translate to English to submit for the Nobel Prize, otherwise nobody would be able to read or understand it. Because her dad was an author, she received those genetics and influence. Everyone has a character. I’m not saying she’s exactly like her dad, but it’s connected, she’s influenced.
When I look at it, your talents are connected to your character because if it’s not connected, it becomes hard to even work like that. Fundamentally, it doesn’t align; for me, being a pastor aligns with me. I realized this after becoming a pastor, because I talk about things to come and so, you can only enjoy it if you see the things that you see, but that doesn’t align with me. For me, I can talk about the things we can see. The things I see cannot fill me up. You can’t see electricity flowing, but how do I function? Instead of thinking, “Electricity is running and we have light,” but I would ask, “Why is the electricity running?” As I learn about how it functions, I continually. When I find the answer within the Bible, it’s so great for me.
All children of God receive answers in the Bible, but it happens, and when you acknowledge God’s sovereignty, you can find it. Most people enjoy playing and having fun, it has nothing to do with what you like, but your talent has to do with your character, isn’t that right? That is actually connected with the rest of your life. You study in college and onward, but it must continue to match you as you continue to study. It must match you for you to earn money. Why is work hard? You must forcefully do it to earn a living but you must listen very carefully. God has given me my talents, don’t try to discern with the things set in place in front of you; acknowledge God’s sovereignty instead of the things you’re imprinted with. As you go to college, find your major, and as you go out into society, it must be connected to how you earn money. But it doesn’t end there, do God’s work through that. Then it becomes fun because that is the work that God is pleased with. Then, you’re bound to dream more. This is the work God has willed you to do. That was Joseph, he went into slavery and had a dream, and as he went into prison, he knew God sent him there and he saw God’s work in prison. He dreamed, and it was so easy because it was his specialty. If it doesn’t align with you and you force yourself, you struggle in your suffering. If I force myself to speak.
You must be most happy in this because this is the God-given dream. I don’t know if your parents came here in search of that, but the American Dream is a physical dream. It’s about succeeding, living in a fancy home with a nice car, how could that be your dream? It appears correct but it is incorrect. You must dream of God’s Kingdom. Even if you’re ill, nothing can take It away. Do you understand? All the things you’ve heard from your parents, you pass them on. God’s Kingdom.
Word
The word of the LORD came to Elijah or Samuel, it must be like that because God’s? Acknowledge God’s sovereignty.
Power
Light =/= Darkness
Physical ßSatan
Me – Scars ,Mental Illness, Addiction, Suicide, Shootings
Believe in God and God’s Kingdom is established. With that strength, love your friends and respect your parents. But I only have to rely on God and that’s how all answers are maintained. I hope you will always believe in God and pray the prayer where God reigns over you instead of asking for something, but you keep lying so you don’t receive answers. You pray the incorrect prayer. “At this time, God, may You reign over me,” are you ill? “May you fill me with the Holy Spirit and work upon this place, your school, and your family, transcending time and space.” Those who have this are the strong ones.
If people don’t acknowledge God’s sovereignty and have their own kingdom and desires, those are weak people. All they complain about, “This is irrational,” and they might appear well. Your thoughts and emotions are oppressive, and it leads to cancer. When you face a problem, how do you assess it? If I’m a Christian, I must acknowledge, this is the work God does, and one day, the forces of darkness are broken and the Kingdom of God is established. Acknowledge God’s sovereignty as you wait for the answers.