The Blessing to Confirm Faith (Heb. 11:17-19)
Let us bless one another, Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. May the unprecedented and never-repeated grace of God be upon all the individuals and families worshiping in the church, especially out of state, or out of the country on the first worship of 2022.
How will we live the first week of 2022? Everyone has their own thoughts, I’m sure, but if you have your own personal thoughts, you’ll live your own personal life. There’s only one way for you to know the path you haven’t yet traveled. The way is not to seek a fortune-teller, but God has given His Word to those who have received salvation, and all throughout 2021, I have come here, following God’s Word. God has used all the physical things, including time, to fulfill His Word.
God is invisible to our eyes. However, the reason we’re able to believe in Him as if we can see Him with our eyes is because He gives us His Word. Our faith is talking about our reaction to God’s Word. People who have faith will be able to live in the year 2022 knowing what’s going to happen in advance. There’s a difference in the life that knows what is going to happen versus the life that is figuring things out as things go.
Everybody begins the year 2022 with a new calendar, but why does our life face suffering and problems? It’s because we live our own personal lives. It’s because we live our lives based on our experiences, personality, and the things we have learned. We don’t see that we live our lives this way, but spiritually speaking, that’s a life that is separated from God. In other words, it’s a life seized by Satan and dragged in that direction.
Then in this year as well, we have no choice but to live our own personal life, but that is actually the cause of the greatest problems of life. If you trust in your own thoughts, you’ve already begun the year 2022 with the wrong steps. It doesn’t matter how beautiful or great you imagine your future to be; if it is not what God desires, that image of the future will disappear.
1. When Abraham was tested (Heb. 11:17)
However, in today’s passage, Abraham was someone who began his life with the image that God desired. In order for you to head towards the image God is drawing, you have to let go of your own image. If you hold onto your own ideas and run forward with faith, that’s what we call religion or an idol. Idolatry and religion are both seized by Satan and will cause destruction. I hope that every single person here without exception will receive the Word of God’s covenant as their own and begin the year with this.
1) Test
The content of today’s message talks about when Abraham was tested. When Satan tests you, that’s a tribulation; when God tests you, that’s a test. A test is good, the reason we take tests is to confirm the knowledge we already know. For people who do not have knowledge, they are afraid of tests, but for the people who study for the test, they want to take the test quickly because only then will they reveal what they know through the test. God prepares the blessings for us and puts us through a test to see if we truly have faith.
(1) Offer his one and only son Isaac as a burnt offering (Gen. 22:2)
God said to Abraham, asking him to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering. With the burnt offering, you’re supposed to stab an animal, kill it, cut off all of its joints, spill its blood, and burn it completely. With that sacrifice, all our curses and sins are taken away. If God had asked Abraham to sacrifice his wife, I’m sure it wouldn’t have been a problem for him, but instead, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son. It’s possible that if God asked Abraham to sacrifice his wife, he might’ve even been happy about that, “Oh, there was actually someone I was eyeing in the next neighborhood, that’s great.” But God did not do that, He asked Abraham to sacrifice the person he treasured the most.
(2) Region of Moriah (Gen. 22:2)
The place God wanted him to offer the sacrifice was a three day’s journey, Mount Moriah. Mount Moriah is the same region where Jesus Christ will die when he bears the cross on Mount Calvary. Thousands of years before Jesus Christ would die on the cross, God uses this incident as a representation to show what will happen.
(3) Left early morning (Gen. 22:3)
Abraham left early in the morning to leave without contemplating. If he was conflicted, he wouldn’t have been able to wake up and leave so early. He left early in the morning with his son, his servants, and wood for the fire. Once they arrived at Mount Moriah, Abraham turned to his servants and said, “Come and wait here, and we’ll come back to you once we’ve given the offering.”
2) Abraham’s faith
(1) Worship with Isaac (Gen. 22:5)
(2) We will come back to you (Gen. 22:5)
There’s no doubt that God told Abraham to kill and sacrifice his son, but Abraham says without a doubt that they’ll both return. This is what’s important. Abraham already knew where he went. People who don’t know the end will struggle with this. It’s possible they may say, “I’m sorry God, I can’t believe in You anymore,” and run away when God says, “Sacrifice everything that you have.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that.” Jesus did say it’s harder for a wealthy person to go to heaven than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. Do you think it’s enough to just sacrifice everything you have? God is the Creator God, He is able to create something out of nothing. He can give you a disease or take it away. God is the One Who can give you blessings and then take them away. God is the One Who can take away your life today or bless you today, and it’s only possible to go before that God with faith.
Before Abraham ties up his son Isaac for the sacrifice, the son asks him, “Where is the animal for the sacrifice?” In Abraham’s heart, he was saying, “It’s you, you have to die today. If I had told you earlier, you would have run away.” Abraham is over 100 years old, he wouldn’t have been able to catch up to Isaac, so Abraham kept it a secret from Isaac and didn’t tell him until he was tying him up.
(3) Lamb for the burnt offering – God will provide (Gen. 22:8)
When Isaac asked his father, “Where is the burnt offering?” Abraham responded, “The LORD will provide.” This is not a response he was able to give because he studied it. It’s not a response you can say by studying in seminary. It’s not a response that can come out by having five or six generations of believers. This isn’t a response you can give by studying the Bible so diligently. It’s a response that comes out when you really believe in the promise of God’s Word, and the problem of life is that we don’t have faith regarding God’s promise. “Why don’t I have answers even though I’ve gone to church for so long?” It’s because you don’t know what faith is, you don’t have faith regarding the things God has told you would happen.
Abraham’s situation happened thousands of years ago, but the reason it’s still brought up today is because it’s still applicable. When Abraham was about to kill his son, God called out to him and stopped him. He said, “Now I know that you trust the LORD.” What does that mean? It means that Abraham does not take God’s Word as a joke and he really accepts it as God’s Word. “Why am I like this even though I’ve lived my walk of faith for so long?” It’s because you think of God’s Word as a joke. “Why do I suffer all week long?” It’s because you consider God’s Word to be a joke. “But I gave worship!” Who cares if you gave worship, you still think of God’s Word as a joke and live according to your own thoughts.
When you face a problem, you should hold onto God’s Word, but instead you hold onto the problem. Whenever we face a conflict, we keep expecting the other person to change, so we keep falling into conflicts. You should change yourself because we’re never perfect, we’re lacking, therefore we must change ourselves. If you’re facing a conflict, may you take it as an opportunity to change yourself. Do you face a problem? Stop lamenting but receive your answer.
Are you facing a crisis? It’s possible, even this is a crisis, but in reality, it was an opportunity for blessings for Abraham. Nothing is a problem at all; the important thing is that we lose ourselves in the problem, but if we believe in the promise that God said He would fulfill, there is nothing that will be problematic. In the year 2022, what kind of hope and dream will we live with? All you have to do is not listen to people’s words, you shouldn’t listen to God’s Word while looking at your environment. You should not receive the message of God while looking at COVID-19. You shouldn’t receive the message that just triggers your emotions. You hold onto God’s Word, because God’s Word is able to overcome everything including your environment. There’s no doubt about it. Any word that is not God’s Word may sound correct but it’s all unnecessary.
3) Abraham’s obedience to the Word
(1) Laid Isaac on the altar (Gen. 22:9)
(2) Took the knife to slay his son (Gen. 22:10)
(3) An action that fears God (Gen. 22:12)
Why do you think Abraham was able to make such an act of faith? It’s because God was constantly giving His promise to Abraham. If God continuously gives you His answer, who cares if you face a problem? The teacher tells you, “You’re going to have a test, and here’s all the problems that will be on it.” Then, when you go in to take the test, it’s going to be a piece of cake, but you have to receive those answers in faith because you can’t see God with your eyes.
Even though God has given you all the answers, the people who think of God’s Word as a joke will still struggle on the test. They think they’re receiving the Word of God correctly but in their heart, they think it’s optional. They don’t receive God’s Word as the Word of Truth. The fact that it’s the Truth means it’s the only answer no matter what circumstance. As you live the year 2022, the only solution to all circumstances you face is God’s Word. The people who hold onto this with faith will pass through. After they pass through their problem, there will be answers and blessings, that’s what I’m saying.
What was the answer God gave to Abraham before the problem was presented? That’s our walk of faith. Today we live in problems, and people say it’s a problem, “2022 will be like this or that,” but the people who already know the answer will be unaffected; they’ll just go. Don’t you think it’s the same with GPS navigation? If we know the way to our destination, then even if we have to take a detour, we know the way because we know the answer.
2. Abraham who received the promise (Heb. 11:17)
1) First promise given (Gen. 12:1-3)
What’s the answer Abraham knew? No matter what circumstance he faced, he knew the answer. As soon as God called Abraham, He said, “Go to the land I will show you,” and that’s the solution to all problems. “Oh, I have to go to the land God is showing me, and I am going towards the land where Jesus Christ will be born. Even if I have COVID-19, going to that land is the answer. Whether this or that happens, going in that direction is the answer.” That’s the answer, there is no other answer. Solving the problem is not the answer; simply going forward is the answer, and then God blessed him and said to him, “I will make you into a great nation,” that’s the answer. People say these words and not those words, but it doesn’t matter.
(1) Make a great nation through you
Abraham and Sarah were both so old and they didn’t have a child, but God told them, “I will make you into a great nation,” that’s the answer. If these two people were living in the present-day, they would’ve gone in 2022 holding onto that answer.
(2) Make your name great
“I will make your name great,” there’s no reason for you to race towards success, that’s what happened at the tower of Babel. They gathered all their human strength in order to elevate their human name, that was the Tower of Babel. It was all destroyed because it was not raised by God. God says He will make your name great. I don’t think there’s any person in the entire world who doesn’t know the US President’s name, and I don’t think there’s anyone in the world who doesn’t know Steve Jobs, but God said, “I will make your name great,” He will make it so everyone knows your name.
(3) Be a source of blessing
That’s your answer, your answer to your business. If you don’t have God’s answer, you have to do everything to accomplish it by yourself, but you don’t have to do that. God says, “I will make you into a source of blessings.” The blessings don’t come from anywhere else, “I will make you into a source of blessings, and through you, all peoples on earth will be blessed. That’s our answer. That’s why you’re in America because all nations are gathered in America. There’s no need to go anywhere else; they’re all gathered here. For the people who hold onto this as the answer, the works will take place.
(4) One who blesses- Bless, One who curses- Curse
God says, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse.” There’s no need to fight with people; if you just leave them alone, God will take care of them. If they are blessing you, God says He will bless them. That is our answer. If you’re struggling with human relationships, this is your answer, and you simply go, holding onto this answer. If you don’t have an answer, you have to fall into your problems. If you don’t have the answer, you’re bound to wander and struggle. It doesn’t matter how many books written by successful people you read, it’s not an answer because that’s not aligned with God.
(5) All peoples on earth will be blessed
As soon as God called Abraham, He immediately gave him the answer. God doesn’t speak to us ambiguously, making us question if this is the answer or not; He gives it to us definitely. There’s no need for you to cheat in life, you already have the answer.
2) Second Promise
In our life, we forget all the time, so there’s a second circumstance where God gives His promise again. If God wants to make a great nation out of them, they need at least one son, and Abraham’s wife is already too old, and biologically speaking, she’s beyond the age of childbearing. So, when you think about it rationally and logically, you only come to the assumption that God will give an heir through this younger maidservant, Hagar. But God said, “No, not through Hagar, but through your wife, Sarah.”
(1) Son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir (Gen. 15:4)
In Genesis 15, it says, “The one born from your loins,” but we get confused by God’s Word. God knows and gives us His Word again.
(2) Your offspring will be like the stars in the sky (5)
Then in Gen. 15:5, God promises the same exact blessing, “Your offspring will be like the stars in the sky.”
(3) Abraham’s faith – Credited as righteous (6)
In Gen. 15:6, it says, “Abraham believed in the LORD and it was credited to him as righteousness.” God is not someone who gives a very faint message and then keeps His mouth shut. God continuously confirms the answer of the covenant He gives us in every circumstance, and that’s why we worship, because the one who is seated at the throne of heaven works upon us when we worship, and that’s the Triune God.
3) Circumcision Covenant
(1) Covenant- Greatly increase your numbers(Gen. 17:2)
(2) Father of many nations (Gen. 17:4)
(3) Nations and Kings came through Abraham
(4) Be your and your descendants’ God
God comes to Abraham again in Genesis 17 and says, “I will make you into a great people. I will increase your number and have my covenant with you. And Gen. 17:4, “I will make you a father or many nations“ and this means there will be many offspring through Abraham. And He says, “Through you, kings will arise.” This will all happen according to God’s Word. God says, “I will be the God for Abraham and his descendants,” that means God promised the relationship of a child-Father.
(5) Land of Canaan is your everlasting possession (Gen 17:8)
In Genesis 17:8, God says, “I will give you the land of Canaan as an eternal inheritance,” The fact that God is giving them the land of Canaan means all the houses and farming are already prepared.
(6) Sign of the Covenant – Circumcision (Gen 17:10-11)
As a sign of the covenant, be circumcised, meaning you are making the covenant of God visible on the human body. This is how specific God is. God knows that we are weak and are gonna get confused based on circumstances, so He gives us His covenant very specifically. Despite that, He comes back again.
4) Received the last promise
This was His final promise. He is even yet more specific in Gen. 18:10.
(1) Sarah will have a son next year (Gen 18:10)
“I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
(2) Sarah was past the age of childbearing (Gen 18:11)
But in Gen. 18:11 it says Sarah was beyond the age of childbearing, so from our circumstances and everything we’ve experienced, this is completely impossible, but God said He would do it. What does this mean?
(4) Word that there is nothing impossible for God (Gen. 18:14)
It means that God gives us the answer to our lives in advance and continues to confirm that word more and more specifically. You shouldn’t receive God’s Word while calculating. You should not receive God’s Word while acknowledging your environment or circumstance. Yes, you should acknowledge your circumstance but you shouldn’t remain there. “I’m old,” or “I’m powerless.” Yes, that may be true, but what is God saying? But a lot of people try to understand God’s Word to fit within their circumstance. That’s not faith; that’s just the result of the senses you’ve learned through education. You’re trying to interpret God’s Word with the things you’ve experienced in life. That’s not faith, that’s just the way you think while living according to the ways of the world.
3. Covenant – Faith
1) Covenant: Your offspring – Isaac (Heb. 11:18)
(1)God’s preparation – Ram (Gen. 22:13-14)
Then in Heb. 11:18, it says Abraham gave his sacrifice with ease, and this is because he was constantly remembering the promise God gave to him. God does not just give us His Word just once, and then say, “Hey, let me test your faith about this.” If you want to speak in terms of soccer, he pretty much puts the soccer ball before the goal and says, “Kick it,” because to kick it, you have to believe in Him, but if you look at your own skills, you’ll think, “I can’t kick balls very well. Just by my conscience, I cannot kick this ball. Ethically and morally, I did not place this ball here, so I can’t kick it. No matter how much I look at it, ethically and morally, I cannot kick the ball.” But at this time, just close your eyes and kick the ball. That’s what we call faith.
But we have our own thoughts, we have our own sense of conscience, our own sense of ethics and morals. I’m sure there are a lot of people who would argue with God saying, “Why would You give me this son if you wanted to sacrifice him? God, is your hobby hunting men? Do you only like the flesh of young boys like this? Why are You asking me to sacrifice my son?” You may not say this out loud, but you think to yourself, “Why are you giving me a son, just to take him away again?” But instead of saying anything out loud, you stop going to church and stop believing and you go your own way, why is that? It’s because you live your walk of faith without the answer. But the people who know the answer, whenever they face a problem in a test, they find the answer immediately.
Abraham’s faith was not renowned; anyone can do this. Abraham’s faith was not that great. When they say he is the father of faith, it means he is the start of faith, and it means we can be just like him because God gives everyone the answer. God continuously gives the answer that Jesus is the Christ, the solution to all problems, but if you think of it as a joke, you fall into problems. But the people who hold onto this covenant by fearing God will overcome problems as they come. Then it doesn’t matter for that person, whether they face coronavirus or another disease.
COVID is nothing; if you look at Revelation, there are greater things taking place, and many people will run away at that time. Many people will run away using this and that reason. If you look at the signs of Jesus’s second coming in Revelation, it’s different from what is happening now; what are you going to do at that time? For the people who move forward, holding onto the answer, it will be different. The people who go forward with the answer God gave them, no matter what happens, it will be irrelevant to them, but the people who do not have the answer will wander, saying “It doesn’t make sense.” The Jewish church was persecuting the members of the early church and it was illegal to proclaim the gospel, so we shouldn’t do things illegally, but the people in Mark’s Upper Room already had the answer, they knew the future, and they moved forward.
(2) Bless you and your offspring will prosper (Gen. 13:17)
After Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac, God gives him a sure Word. In Gen. 13:17-18, God says that He will make Abraham into a great nation, so He repeats the same promise He gave in the beginning, but more thoroughly.
(3) Your offspring possess the cities of your enemies (Gen. 13:17)
“Your offspring will take over the doors of their enemies.” The offspring of Abraham here is talking about Isaac. Through Isaac, you will have an incredible number of descendants, and among those descendants is Jesus Christ who will destroy the head of Satan.
If you don’t understand this, you will always struggle. When we talk about Satan, you imagine him with horns like some sort of drawing, but that’s not it. Satan is an angel that was corrupted and is invisible and working even now to take away the Word of God so we cannot believe. Satan is the one who makes everyone fall into curses and disasters, and nobody can overcome Satan, but God says, “Your offspring will possess the cities of your enemies.” That’s the promise of Genesis 3:15, that the offspring of the woman would crush the head of the serpent.
(4) All nations will be blessed through your offspring (Gen. 13:18)
If you don’t understand these words as you live in America, you will be seized without realizing it. How will you be seized? You will be seized by individualism, and you’re going to be seized by your strong ego. If you just hold onto those two things, you don’t believe in God’s Word. Satan is holding onto America with a great specialty. In Africa and Asia, He uses things that are visible, like idols, to control people. But America is a superpower nation, so Satan attacks at a different level with individualism. They say, “Don’t interfere with my life.” Of course we shouldn’t interfere with other peoples’ lives and we should respect everyone’s opinions, but that ideology comes into the church so that people don’t listen to God’s Word.
They say things like, “Well, in my opinion…” People don’t listen to the Word of God, but they say, “In my opinion,” because that is the culture of America and that’s how Satan is seizing the children. It doesn’t matter how much they sit in church; they’re listening, but inside, they’re thinking, “Oh, but in my opinion.” They don’t receive God’s Word as absolute because the culture of America teaches that nothing is absolute. “You’re right and I’m right; there’s no absolute answer.” If kids are educated in this way, they’re not going to listen to the absolute words when they come to church. They receive the Word and say, “Pastor, you said this, but here’s how I think about it.” There’s no God there. The pastor isn’t God; the Word of God is God.
This is the state of America, and because of that, do you know what’s going to happen later on? There will be things that do not take place according to your thoughts. That’s the problem of America today. You have no idea how subtly Satan works. He leaves you to do whatever you want, using the word “Freedom.” That’s fake, it’s not true freedom, but we think it’s everything, so we say, “You can do whatever you want.” Even though there are things God tells you not to do, you don’t listen.
The Bible says, “Do not disbelieve in God’s Word, do not serve idols,” but we don’t listen because that’s the foundation of America, and because of that, curses and disasters continuously plow into individuals and families. Then, kids have no choice but to fall into addictions to drugs and other addictions. America is also the nation that has led endless wars since World War I. They will continue to fight in order to safeguard their position as Number 1. That’s why people die.
If their children are dying, do you think their parents would be okay? If your peers and friends are getting shot to death, would you be okay? We talk about peace and yet keep waging wars. We talk so much about equality, but we’re expecting others to submit themselves to us, isn’t that right? If you want to be number 1, then everybody else has to be number 2 or number 3, they have to kneel down to you. Even if you just look at it slightly, you will realize what it’s like. We are living in this kind of system, and we’re boasting that we’re the best in the world, so we’re only rejecting God’s Word.
Then what do you think is going to happen in America? Homelessness will continue to increase. Even if the government gives them money, they will leave their house because of mental problems. They can’t live in society. They have to go out into the streets to do drugs and to live freely. When did this begin? In reality, it happened a long time ago, America changed starting from the 1960s. This is what happened when religion was cut out from the schools. They started talking about religious freedom and said, “You’re not allowed to talk about Christianity in schools anymore.” It was a nation that used to begin with a prayer to God at the beginning of every day and every class, but during the 1960s, there was a counterculture movement to the Vietnam War, and because of that, God’s Word began to disappear in schools. From that point, all the problems of the children and youth began to arise; God’s protection is no longer with them and this has continued even today.
Now we accept all religions, they say Christianity is not the only way, and every person and religion is the same. Those words sound so correct because we have to be equal, but where’s God’s absoluteness? As this time passes, it will destroy that point, then what do you think will happen to the next generation? They won’t know the word, “absolute.” If you don’t have the absolute Word, then there’s no standard of measurement, and that’s exactly what Satan wants because if there’s no truth between two parties, they have to keep fighting and the mental problems follow that. That’s the state of America.
2) Covenant of Jesus Christ – My 24 hours
How must we begin 2022? We must begin with the answer God gave us. When Jesus Christ came to this earth, what was the Word He promised us?
(1) It is finished (Jn. 19:30)
In John 19:30, Jesus Christ promised that he had finished everything. All problems of the past, present, and future are finished, but there are many people who don’t understand those words. “I have so many problems, what does he mean that he finished it? I really want to buy this house and I don’t have enough money, and when I go to church, they say it’s all finished but I still have problems. You say it’s all finished, but I still have my disease, I still have depression, I still have insomnia. You say it’s finished, but my problems are still here.” Until you understand these words. You have to understand them; what did Jesus finish, actually? It means you don’t understand what the real problem is; you’re holding onto problems that aren’t real problems. People are living without realizing what the real problem even is.
Jesus Christ has finished the problem of our sin, Satan, and hell on the cross. “Pastor, of course we all know that.” It’s because you don’t understand what these mean. You don’t understand what sin means, and you don’t understand who Satan is, and you don’t understand what darkness is. We’ve been saved from this. Then, what must we do? Now, we follow after God’s Word, after the answer, and Satan will never leave you alone to do that.
Satan keeps controlling you and pushing you from the back so you go towards “my perspective, my experiences, and my thoughts.” If it’s finished, it’s finished. Your state is finished. Your spiritual state determines the destiny of your life. Your diligence is only secondary. Satan knows this, whether this person has truly finished everything in Christ or not. This means, are you okay if you’re holding onto only Christ no matter what?
(2) Life within me (Gal. 2:20)
Gal. 2:20 says, now Jesus Christ is living within me and I’ve been crucified on the cross. I’m dead, but I keep coming back to life with my perspectives, my experiences, and my circumstances. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, the thing called “me” also died. Now, who am I? The Lord Jesus Christ is living within me. The one who believes in this is liberated from every single thing, liberated from yourself and from the Devil. Satan knows that, and the Devil knows whether you truly understand this or not. If there are any of you who are skeptical, you will think about this later on.
(3) God’s kingdom – Mission (Ac. 1:3)
After that incident, the resurrected Christ gathered all of his disciples on the Mount of Olives and he explained everything about the Kingdom of God for 40 days, that’s the answer. God’s Kingdom is our answer. Reading the Bible and gaining knowledge is not the answer; the Kingdom of God is the answer. The Kingdom of God is the answer because the Kingdom of Satan is the problem. You have a mission in your life. The reason you have your business and studies is for God’s Kingdom. This is the goal and answer for our lives.
So, the church is a place that establishes God’s Kingdom. We’re the ones to spread God’s Kingdom. The Lord will come back once the gospel has been proclaimed to all nations. If you don’t understand the gospel, you cannot relay the gospel, and if you’re not able to enjoy the gospel, you cannot testify to anyone else. You cannot enjoy the gospel because you’re holding onto a thing called “yourself.” It’s not that you don’t know Jesus, it means that we’re not able to enjoy the fact that Jesus christ has finished all problems and is with us forever.
(4) Only Holy Spirit – Witness (Ac. 1:8)
This Kingdom of God is not established by our power, but the Holy Spirit comes upon us to give us power to stand as witnesses. This is what Jesus Christ promised us. This promise is the answer to life. We hold onto this and go. It doesn’t matter what happens, we hold onto Christ and it’s finished because Christ is with me and He knows everything. If I entrust it to Him, He will work. Now, the only thing I live for is to give the answer to those people who don’t know it. We are plucking people out of Satan and disasters into God’s Kingdom. God will follow people doing this work with all His power and blessings.
Some people receive answers to prayers, but there are others who don’t even pray for anything, but God follows them and works upon them. God follows this person around to work upon them because they’re doing God’s Work, don’t you think that’s right? Let’s say you’re running a business and you have an employee who does 120% of your orders, then you would follow them around, asking if there’s anything they need. God looks at this person and realizes, “This is the person who is doing the work I am doing,” so He gives them the answers in advance. When the Holy Spirit works, the forces of darkness are broken down, and when the Holy Spirit works, the Kingdom of God is established and everything is contained within that.
If you don’t have money, it’s because God has not worked upon that. If you don’t have abilities, it means God has not worked upon that, and the reason is because He has no need to, because you’re only thinking about “me, my plans, my money, my success” God is not working upon you. Because if He works upon you, that will be a big problem. You keep going in the opposite direction of God, so God doesn’t work upon you.
3) Church, field 24 hours
(1) Worship (Word, prayer) (Ac. 1:14)
The Church is a place where the people who do God’s work gather in worship, and God works upon our prayers when we pray holding onto God’s Word. If someone says going to worship is optional, it means they don’t know. The Triune God seated at the right hand of the throne of heaven works during the time of worship. During the first service, maybe He wasn’t working, but I had digestive issues and had to go to the restroom. That’s the first time this has ever happened during a message.
Let’s say, for example, President Biden had to take a bathroom break during one of his presidential speeches, that would be strange. It’s something that really shouldn’t take place during a formal event, and then I went again because it didn’t work the first time. I was praying about this, “Why did God allow this?” I thought of the spiritual things. God has His plan and Satan has his works, so I began to pray in full force. Now, I’m speaking so vehemently, but I have no problems with my stomach.
God really wants to proclaim this message boldly, that’s why I’m telling you this Word. God always has His plan. Yesterday, you had no idea how much of a spiritual battle I had to fight for this message. I was so seized by unbelief and the result is this suffering, it’s because you guys don’t know. The Devil attacks with disbelief to prevent the Word of God from being relayed, because if we really know the answer to life, then Satan cannot work, so Satan does everything he can to block this mouth.
(2) Working of the Holy Spirit (Ac. 2:1-47)
When the church holds onto the Word of God and prays, without a doubt, the Holy Spirit works. When the Holy Spirit works, everything is finished. The Kingdom of God is already established. If there’s someone you hate, pray for them, it’s finished. You can leave them alone, it’s already finished. Because God says all nations in the world will be blessed through you, you pray to bless them.
(3) Field – Business and studies that finds the disciples of the 237 nations
Then what must we do in our field, our academics and our business? If you’re saying,” I need to do something to make my money and fulfill my plans,” you’re seized by Satan. You have to hold onto God’s covenant there. You need to hold onto the covenant where the Triune God has no choice but to work upon your business and studies. If you’re asking for God to work upon your business, you’re already lagging behind. You need to hold onto the thing that leaves God no choice but to work upon your business. That’s how God will work upon your business from the throne of heaven.
But a religious life talks about, “God, if you bless this business,” instead of holding onto the covenant. If you hold to the covenant of only Jesus Christ, only missions and evangelism, and only the working of the Holy Spirit, God will work naturally; then, your business will be used to find the disciples of the 237 nations, heal them and raise them. Then God is going to be so excited, saying “All right, I understand,” and He will start working. We need that kind of businessperson and student, otherwise Satan goes into your business.
At first, Satan brings you success, but later on, he makes everything you do fall into the economy of Satan, then you will never give that up for God. It’s all used for things you wear, things you use up in the bathroom. Later on, you’ll have nothing. That’s the people living on this earth. God has prepared the economy of light for you and then He sent you to school or your job.
Conclusion
1. Only Christ, God’s kingdom, Holy Spirit – Covenant
In conclusion, the promise Jesus Christ gave us, Christ is the solution to all problems. The Kingdom of God is our direction which is missions, evangelism, and world evangelization. Through prayer, only the working of the Holy Spirit, then everything is finished. You can do this alone. If you’re too weak to do this alone, God will attach someone to you, that’s the characteristic of a successful person. They don’t need anyone’s help, later on, people are attached to them, people come to them, the economy comes to them. The economy has to follow you; you shouldn’t follow after money. You’re struggling and wandering because you’re chasing money, but God has no choice but to send money to this person.
2. Me – Enjoy 24 through faith
You should enjoy this personally 24 hours, through prayer because the Triune God is with me.
3. Church – Enjoy 24
You enjoy it through church and worship.
4. Field – Enjoy 24
When you go into your field, you enjoy it again through your academics and business. What are you enjoying? You’re enjoying the Triune God, invisible to your eyes, then the works of God will take place visibly. That’s the first step we must take as we go into 2022.
Prayer
May you have the blessing of confirming your faith this week and for this whole year. Let us pray holding onto the Word God gave us.