The Center and End of the World – Gospel (Mt. 24:1-14)
Let us bless one another, Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. May God’s unprecedented and never-repeated answer be upon you today. The title of today’s message is, “The Center and End of the World is the Gospel.” What is the center of our life, and when is the end of our life? If you and I are restored according to the Bible, then the biblical answers will be in our lives, but if you and I are not aligned with the Bible, then we must align ourselves to the Bible. No matter how much you pray for the Bible to be aligned to you, it will not be answered, but if you pray with the promises that are in the Bible, then you are bound to receive answers.
1. Destruction of the temple
1) Israel
We’ll talk about this later on as well, but God gave His very important words to the Israelites, but their center was not aligned with God, and the main scripture we read today was the point at which God could no longer use the Israelites. People ask, “Why do things not work out for me, even though I go to church? I’ve lived a walk of faith for a long time; why are things not working out for me?” Through today’s Word, I hope you will receive the solution. It means that something incorrect has gone into me; just as the Jewish people in the scripture misunderstood the law, we misunderstand the gospel.
(1) Did not want the Gospel (Mt. 23:37)
If you want to drive a car, then you need to make sure it has gas; you cannot fill it with water. Even though gasoline and water are both liquids, if you fill your car with water instead of gasoline, it will not run. In the same way, the Jewish people had received the law, but because they were misinterpreting or misunderstanding the law, they used it the wrong way. The Bible tells us that every human has sinned and falls short of the glory of God, but God called the Israelites first and gave them the law.
The function of the law is to look at the law, and then look at your own inner state, but the Israelites misinterpreted that. Through the law, we were supposed to use it as a mirror to look at our own inner state and realize that we have no hope in us. One commandment was given that says, “Do not murder,” but it’s not enough to not physically murder someone, but inside, if you have hatred, then you have murdered them, still. So, the people received God’s law, but they interpreted it differently.
Jesus Christ says in Mt. 23:37 that He has sent many prophets to the Israelites, but the Israelites actually killed them and stoned them. If people are holding on very tightly to their own things, even if they try to listen to God’s Word, they cannot. What are their “own things”? Their “own things” were developed from the words of the world: “I am the center of my life,” or, “No matter what happens, if I’m not there, then it’s nothing.” Ever since we were very young, we’ve had these very strong values and ideologies in us. This goes towards material possessions, “If I don’t have material possessions, I’ll die, and if I don’t have money, then my life is sad,” or, “Even if I have money, I need a lot of money, so if I go to church, my life must be successful.”
But if you live your walk of faith while holding onto these other centers, then you’ll be just like the Pharisees who misunderstood the Law of God. The Word of God is not wrong; the issue is that the incorrect things have been planted into me, and we need to let go of those things to hear God’s Word. We need to let go of those things for God to begin working.
(2) Left to you, Desolate (Mt. 23:38)
So, in Mt. 23:38, Jesus says to them, “Your house will be left to you desolate.” If we don’t have the gospel, our lives will be desolate. If Jesus Christ does not become the center and goal of our lives, then our lives are bound to become desolate.
(3) You will not see the Lord (Mt. 23:39)
In Mt. 23:39, Jesus says, “You will not see me again,” in other words, when Jesus’ second coming happens, they will come into the Judgment. For the people who believe, God’s Holy Spirit will come upon them, and they will see the Lord again, but for these people, it is finished. Why is it that the Jewish people were called to receive blessings from God, but they kicked those blessings away? It’s because they were under the misconception that mankind could prove their own righteousness by following the actions of God’s law.
In other words, the people who rely on following the actions of the law by their own righteousness and diligence, instead of asking Jesus Christ to come into their lives and guide them as their only Lord and Savior, are just like the Pharisees. Just like if there is a child who thinks they need to do good things to their parents in order to receive love from their parents, is an adopted child. The parent will take care of that child simply because they have the identity of being a child of the parent. Same thing for us, through Jesus Christ, we have become children of God, so God takes care of us. Of course, He will take care of things as He needs, but if we don’t know that, then we’ll think, “I have to clean the house in order to eat dinner tonight,” or, “I have to do something that makes my parents happy in order for them to give me an allowance.”
Imagine how difficult it is to think like that; you think you’ll only receive things if you do some action, but that is the state of the Christians who have been separated from the gospel, and that’s how nonbelievers think as well. Every religion believes, “With my action of prayer, with my action of good services and worship, I think I’ve done enough, so give me blessings now.” On the outside, people look at them and think, “Oh, they’re so diligent and they work so hard,” but people don’t really know because they only see the outer appearance, but from God’s perspective, that person is outside of the gospel.
We are not able to earn something with our actions. Only when we believe in the Word that the Lord has already accomplished will Jesus Christ call us righteous and His children. On the cross, Jesus Christ completed or fulfilled the law; this means that He has fulfilled the law by Himself. The One Who had no sin died on the cross for sinners. He overcame death, He overcame the authority of Satan, and He is with all of those who believe. None of that is based on our actions, but only when we believe in the work Jesus Christ did, does God regard us as having fulfilled the law. If we could have done it ourselves, Jesus would not have had to come, but the Bible tells us that all people have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The relationship between the parent and the child was given to us so that we can see with our eyes, the relationship we have with our Father God.
The Jewish people thought, “If I keep the actions of the law by myself, then I am righteous and without sin,” then of course, their actions of worship were just in form, and they didn’t know the meaning, they don’t know the meaning of the blood sacrifice and worship because they need the blood sacrifice for their sin, but they think they have no sin. Only the people who are unable to fulfill the law need the blood sacrifice.
2) Temple
So, based on their ideology, Gentiles or people from other nations are not able to come into the Temple because they don’t have the law, and therefore, they are sinners. People who have diseases were also considered to be cursed, and they were cursed because of their sin, so they could not come into the Temple. Children under the age of 20 were also unable to come into the Temple, so they understood everything completely opposite of God. They looked down on the Gentiles because the Gentiles do not have the law of God and therefore are sinners because they cannot keep the law.
But Jesus Christ has completed the law so that the Gentiles could come into the gospel, because if you keep the condition of the law, Gentiles do not know what that law is, but He made it so that only by faith in Jesus Christ can anybody come into the Kingdom of God. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you become a child of God, and if you become a child of God, then God’s blessings will follow you. If you become a child of God, then authority will follow you. This is not something you earn or achieve by your actions, but you gain your power, status, and authority by believing in Jesus Christ. But for the Jewish people, they had all of their beliefs, starting from the Temple, that were not aligned with God as well.
So, they turned the Temple into a marketplace. There are people who go to church today and only want to use it as a business tool. We need to receive grace from God, we need to know what God’s will is and live for that, but instead, people go to church for their business, they come here to make money. Just like the Jewish people did back then, why do they suffer unnecessarily? Not the persecution that comes to the righteous, but just unnecessarily? All of those are results that come from not knowing the gospel, and that’s why the Lord said, “I will destroy this Temple.”
For the Jewish people, the Temple was everything, because their God is seated at the throne of heaven, and the Holy of Holies inside of the Temple was the place where they meet with God, where God resides and gives us the forgiveness of sins and His grace, but the Temple was destroyed multiple times. How is it that God resides in the Temple, but He lets it be destroyed? God is not residing in the Temple; God just created that form to give grace to the Israelites, but they thought that the actual, physical building was everything, then the Israelites were not aligned with God.
It’s very simple to receive answers, even if you just acknowledge the one fact that “Jesus is the Christ, He has finished all of my problems on the cross, and I was once a sinner, but now I am righteous with God,” then even your state will change. But if you don’t understand this, then you’ll think, “What do I have to do, what do I have to do to get blessed by God?” That is evidence the gospel has not gone into you, yet. But if you know the gospel correctly, then just as God worked upon the members of the early church, even though they were so weak, God’s work will be revealed through us as well.
(1) 3rd temple – 19 BC – 63 AD
So, this Temple is actually the third Temple that was created, and it began construction in 19 BC, and ended about 70 years later in 63 AD. After the Temple of Zerubbabel, there were 400 years of barren desolation in Israel, so Herod the Tetrarch wanted to gather the people and unite them, so they created the Third Temple Construction. So, when Jesus Christ came to earth, it was actually in the process of Temple Construction.
(2) Prophesy the destruction of the temple (Mt. 24:2)
As they were coming out of the Temple, Jesus was talking with the disciples, and the Temple was huge. And God prophesied about the Temple, which was made out of stone, that “Not one stone will be left on another.” How is it that the God of the Israelites is within this Temple, and yet, it was destroyed? The words Jesus says means that God will no longer be restricted to just one temple, and will be not only restricted to the Israelites, but also spread to the Gentiles.
(3) 70 AD – Temple destroyed
In 70 AD, there was a soldier from Rome who destroyed all of the Temple. Not only did he just destroy the Temple, but there was a rumor that there was gold hidden within the bricks of the Temple, so he took it apart, stone by stone, to destroy it. The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to finish all of our lives’ problems, and He resurrected and is living inside of us with the Holy Spirit; 1 Cor. 3:16 says that we are now the Temple of God, including the Gentiles. Now, we are each the children of God and we gather as the church. This building is just a church building. If this church is used as a school, then it’s a school building, and if this building is used as a nightclub, then it will be a nightclub building.
But there is meaning to this building because it is used by God to testify of the gospel. Now, nation by nation and region by region, the Holy Spirit resides in each individual as the church, and now, we have entered into the age of the Church. When Jesus said that the Temple would be destroyed, the disciples thought, “The end of the world is here.” So, they asked Him this question, “When will this happen, and what will be the signs of your coming and the end of the age?” They asked this question because they thought the destruction of the Temple meant the end of the world. Jesus never once talked about the time, but the characteristic of heresies is that they try to talk about a time that was not mentioned by the Lord Himself. The reason people go to fortune tellers is because they tell us very specifically, but the Word of God seems so vague. “Will my business work out or will it not?” We want a specific answer, but the Lord doesn’t answer us like that. The person who wants a very specific answer misunderstands God. That person is just like a modern day Pharisee who places the standard of their faith on the physical things and the things they can see with their eyes.
3) Israel
(1) Works of the law – Cannot justify (Gal. 2:16)
(2) Temple – Gentiles, children, sick cannot come (Mt. 21:13-16)
(3) Temple – Den of robbers (Mt. 21:1-13)
When the gospel goes into you truly, then you have true freedom to either do this business or not. No matter what you drink, no matter what you eat, do it all for the glory of the Lord, but we are only interested in, “Is this going to work or not?” When do we need to do it? That’s what we’re most typically interested in, so we are not aligned with God. Because we are not aligned with God, we want to know a very specific answer for the future, so we look to fortune tellers and shamans. When God tells us something vaguely, we need to accept it vaguely in order for us to be aligned with God. But if you want to know more specifically, that’s how people get lost in heresies.
There’s a very famous cult called “Shin Chun Jee,” and people get trapped in that cult because they speak so specifically, and they’re so deceived by it even though their examples and evidence don’t make sense. Even with just an elementary education, you can understand what the entire Bible is telling us about, but they don’t understand that. They say, “This word is used in the Old Testament and the same word is used in the New Testament,” and match those two, but they have two completely different contexts and meanings, but they’re just forcing them to be aligned because it’s the same word. Yes, it is true that they lack knowledge, but most importantly, they have a different spirit, because even educated people in the world will go there. Even pastors go into that cult, but their Spirit is a different spirit. They believe that this one specific person is God.
The spiritual things are invisible to our eyes, and when the spirit of lust goes into somebody, they don’t even realize it themselves; they can’t control it. That’s what’s spiritual. That “Spiritual” thing is the problem of mankind. If that spiritual problem is not resolved, no matter how much you try to solve anything else, it won’t work. That spiritual color must be aligned with God, and the standard is the gospel. It must be the gospel to be aligned with God. The Bible says, “David’s heart was aligned with God’s. All of his older brothers were very renowned individuals, but they were not aligned with God. May you and I ask, “Why do I need the Christ Who is spoken of in the Bible?” But if you’re not interested in that and you’re more interested in getting more material possessions or becoming more successful, your spirit is not aligned with God. Because you’re not spiritually connected to God, you keep on seeking other things, so if you correctly believe in and understand the gospel today, then you’ll be spiritually aligned with God.
2. Center and end of the world
1) Cross – Death, resurrection (End times)
(1) It is finished (Jn. 19:30), Curtain of the temple (Mt. 27:51)
On the cross, Jesus Christ completely finished the fundamental problem of sin, death, and Satan. That fundamental problem must be finished, and now God must live inside of me for me to be aligned with God. Even though that’s already been fulfilled, we keep on seeking other things, like “Money, money, money,” and that is somebody who is not following God, but instead, following the things Satan has planted in this world. The Bible tells us, you can choose to serve God or choose to serve money, you cannot choose both. The reason why we keep choosing money and the things of the world is because we don’t want to choose God. In reality, you didn’t really understand the gospel correctly.
(2) I will pour out my Spirit on all people (Joel 2:28, Ac. 2)
(3) Holy Spirit with – Temple (1 Cor. 3:16)
All of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden within the gospel of Jesus Christ, meaning, we cannot see it initially. When God reveals that to us by His grace, we begin to believe it. Then, just like Apostle Paul confessed, that he has learned to be content in both abundance and poverty, or, “Though I am hard pressed on all sides, I will not be crushed.” Joseph was sold into slavery into Egypt, but he didn’t think that way; he realized he was going to testify of God’s Kingdom in Egypt. So people are different. The members of the Early Church were persecuted by the Jewish church for believing in the gospel, but they didn’t see it as persecution; they realized that the covenant will be fulfilled through them, towards Rome and the Gentiles.
2) Signs of the end of the world
(1) Deceive many (Mt. 24:5)
Then, the signs in the end days will be deception. Deception means to trick someone. Jeremiah 29:8 says, “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you; do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have,” this means that Satan is going to deceive you, and he’ll use these ways to do it. The only way for Satan to not succeed is to use this accurate Word. The reason the Jewish people were deceived by Satan was because they weren’t holding onto God’s accurate Word, but a skewed Word, then if you say that you need God, then you must know God’s correct Word. When God’s correct Word comes into our spirit, then we will receive healing; from that point on, the Spirit has a correct understanding of how I live my life, and all these areas of my life that were askew before will be corrected. The Word of God is correct, then the Word of God will continuously be aligned with your life. But if the things inside of you are not aligned, then even if you try to align with your outward actions, it’s not going to work.
(2) War – Don’t be alarmed (Mt. 24:6)
In Mt. 24:6, it says, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but do not be afraid.” These things will continue to happen, but the reason you shouldn’t be alarmed is because if you hold onto the gospel, God will always be with you, because all of these things are still not the end; it’s just a part of the process that happens. Everybody lives their lives thinking if there’s a war, it’s the end of the world, it’s the end of life and there are many false pastors and prophets who use that fear to deceive people. Especially using the book of Revelation, they will deceive people. Even John Calvin himself did not try to interpret the book of Revelation. You can interpret it however you want because it hasn’t happened yet, so pastors use that flexibility to deceive whomever they want. There’s so many strange things that happen in the book of Revelation, so pastors will interpret them however they want and use it to threaten people. But what the Lord is telling us is, all of those things are just passing by, so don’t be too focused on that.
(3) Nation, kingdom against each other, famine, earthquake – Beginning (Mt. 24:7-8)
Mt. 24:7 says, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places,” but these things are not the main, they are just in passing. But if we lose hold of the covenant and the gospel as our main point, we will be swayed by these side points. Even these famines and diseases, like the COVID pandemic, is not the main point, it’s just in passing. So why do these things become the main thing in your life? We have no choice but to be swayed by those things because we don’t know the main promise that God will fulfill. So, all of our money, our mind, and our energy, is spilled into unnecessary things. We must be centered on Christ, but we spill our entire lives on things that are not the gospel. That’s why people stop going to church after one pandemic.
(4) Persecution, hate, stumble (Mt. 24:9-10)
The Bible warns us against people who avoid gathering together. People will always go in the way that is more convenient or comfortable. Convenience and happiness are not the standard of our lives. Do you believe in Jesus to be happy? Whether you answer internally or externally, the Bible tells us that we are not believing in Jesus to make ourselves happier. There are nonbelievers who are happy as well. “My life is successful, my family doesn’t have problems, I’m happy; I don’t need Jesus,” then what happiness are you talking about? We need to meet with God; we’re not just believing in Jesus to be happy. If you meet with God, sometimes you’ll be even persecuted because of the gospel, but because of the gospel, you should be okay. Isn’t that right? You are happy because God is giving you that happiness, so what is your standard of happiness? “Oh, I have no financial worries, I’m happy,” is that true happiness? “My kids are doing well, no one is sick, I’m very happy,” is that true happiness? Happiness is not the standard, but being with God is the standard. By being with God, you have these other side effects like joy and peace, and you can call that “Happiness” as well, but you’re not doing it for that; these are things that will naturally come when you are with God.
Then I’ll ask you again, if you get a disease and you believe in Jesus Christ, will you still be happy? If your business has completely failed, will you still be happy? Then, what is your standard of happiness? Even still, I have joy in my heart, why? Because the Lord is with me and He has a plan even in this situation. That is how disasters and Satan will be cast out. For the gospel, we may be persecuted, for the gospel, we may be hated and even imprisoned, and we should be happy about that. That is the standard of happiness. If someone says, “I believed in Jesus Christ, but I still went to prison, and people still hated me, people persecuted me,” do you think they have the standard of happiness? If the gospel and happiness is the same for you, then that is correct. No matter where I am, the Lord is with me. Even if I’m treated unfairly, the Lord is with me. There is peace and comfort that comes from that, otherwise, people are filled with anger. The more you believe in Jesus Christ without believing this, the more anger you are filled with it. If you don’t believe in Jesus, then you just have your normal anger, but if you believe in Jesus as well, you’ll also have anger towards God. But because, “First of all, I gave so much offering, but I’m not getting financial benefits or rewards”? Even if you don’t express it externally, there is anger within you. “I was driving my kids who were throwing a fit to church, I forced them to listen to the message, but their grades are still not getting better”? Then I’m going to get angry. but the center should not be our happiness; the center should be Jesus Christ, then all of those other things will follow.
(5) Deception of false prophets, wickedness, no love (Mt. 24:11-12)
Not only will there be persecution and death, you’ll be hated, there will be betrayal, and people’s fate will become colder. But Mt. 24:13 says, “The one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Standing firm to the end does not mean you’re just gritting and bearing. But the people who hold onto the fact that, “the Lord is with me even now and the Lord will carry out the covenant of proclaiming the gospel to all nations through me,” they will overcome anything because everybody just collapses in the environment and process.
There are actually a lot of people who left the church because of the pandemic. I asked them why they left, I didn’t ask them personally, it was in research, and a lot of the people who answered said, “I’ve believed in God my whole life, but how could a God give us a pandemic like this?” Why do you think they thought that way? Because their messages were always saying, “If you believe in Jesus Christ, then you’ll be blessed,” but now people are dying, then what is this? For the people who received that kind of sermon and that’s what was programmed into them instead of the gospel, they don’t want to go to church anymore. Without a doubt, the result will follow according to what is planted. So, regardless of how you’ve lived your walk of faith until now, if today, you stand correctly before the gospel of Christ, then you will receive the correct fruits.
3) Center and end of the world – Gospel
(1) One who has the Gospel to the end (Mt. 24:13)
(2) Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world (Mt. 24:14)
(3) End of the world – 2nd coming of Christ (Mt. 24:14)
Then Mt. 24:14 is the main point of today’s message: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to the nations, and then the end will come.” This means that right now, the Lord is moving the entire world, centered on proclaiming the gospel to all nations. Then, we, our church, our business, our academics, our families, must be used for the gospel and to testify the gospel to all nations, and it’s been proven through history. Everywhere the gospel flows in, God changes things. And when the gospel passed over them, that nation fell. For the sake of the gospel, God strengthens the nations. Great Britain was not that great, but because there was so much Catholicism there, all of the Christian believers fled to the rest of Europe, and that’s how one person developed the automobile industry in Germany. That’s how one person developed the watchmaking industry in Switzerland. So, this is all the scattering of people who had believed, who had faith as Christians, and they developed all of these advancements.
There was so much Catholic power in France that they began to persecute the Christians, so they would flee to other nations, which would lead to these advancements. But God raises up nations to be strong, all centered on the gospel. Look at Europe now, a lot of the churches that were built there are now historical buildings, so they can’t be broken down or renovated, so they just sell off these buildings to bars, so they have the pulpit and the organ still there, but they’re selling alcohol there. There was a first missionary who came to the nation of Korea, and he was beheaded before he could even start a church, but the church that commissioned that missionary has now been changed into a bar today. If we go outside of the gospel today, the more time passes, our future generations will be impacted. When the Israelites crucified Jesus Christ, they said, “If we are in the wrong, let the price of His head be upon us and our children.” Imagine how confident they were to say that; they were holding onto the evidence in the scripture, too, that’s how people become. If you don’t know the gospel, then you’ll have assurance in the wrong thing, and send disasters to your children. If your child is facing a problem, it didn’t happen out of nowhere, but it was in progress for a very long time until now, it is being revealed.
The future generations of the Israelites suffered so much, but it was not because of their sins, but because of the actions of their ancestors, that they are suffering today. The problem of drugs and guns in America did not happen out of nowhere, but it was hidden in progress for a long time, and now revealed, but the churches are not able to do anything about that. People who use drugs and commit mass shootings need to come to the church to receive healing, but that’s not taking place, so the problems are getting worse and worse, why? That’s in Mark 16 where it says that you will testify of the gospel to all people, and the signs will accompany those who believe; you will place your hands on people and they will be healed. It can only happen to those who believe in Christ. If the church goes outside of that, then this generation may be okay, but as time passes, it’s going to go to the next generation. The reason America is like this today is not because of a lack of churches, but because they’ve gone outside of what God thinks is important, because they are just going to church “For myself, I go to church for my family’s happiness.” They are not going to church for God’s glory, but for their happiness or benefit. Because they are not aligned with God, they cannot overcome the disasters.
The American church is that families will come together on Sunday morning and listen to a message that only lasts 10-20 minutes, they’ll have fellowship with the other members in the church, and then they’ll go play in the afternoon; they’re not at the point where they can stake their lives on the gospel. If I’m not able to stake my life on God, then that’s a fake gospel, so you stake your life on something else. It seems like this just passes by, but it will come to you as a fruit later on.
So, the church is not a church, but it must be the one that has the gospel; that’s why God broke down all the Temples. “Why is my life like this even though I go to church?” It’s because you just go to church but you don’t really believe. If you truly believe, all of your life’s problems will be finished, it is no longer a problem for me. That is the gospel, but you keep on making problems, that means there is a problem for God. If God is my Master, then it is like saying, “God, you have a lot of issues.” If you understand the gospel like this, you might be able to pass through life, but your next generations will be destroyed. David was facing the danger of death, and yet he confessed, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear for the Lord is with me,” and “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing”, these are the correct confessions of faith. Your business failing is not that much of an issue; if you do fail, you just look for God’s reason and stand back up. Not being good at studying is not an issue in life. You can begin again. Or, your God-given talents are elsewhere so go find that. God is with us, perfectly; the issue is that the center of my life is not centered on that. Our center is always reverting to our thoughts. Our lives continue to be centered on, “Is this a material benefit to me or not?” Even people who go to church go to church with their own calculations. Even if they believe in Jesus Christ, they are centered on something else, then they will have the same result as the Jewish people we read about today.
3. Center and end of today
1) Jesus Christ – Gospel center
(1) Triune God – With
(2) God (Throne) – Background
(3) Power of God – Prayer of establishing within me, field
Then, what is the center of our life? It is not work; it is the Triune God. We work to testify the gospel of this God. That’s God’s will. God’s goal is that, through my job and through my business, the name of Christ will be revealed to glorify God. If I’m wrong, then I need to align myself with Him. If you’re holding onto something that is not the Word of God, and you keep on whining and pouting to God, it’s not going to change. God’s Word does not change even 0.1%. I need to align myself to God. May you have that grace today, then you’ll receive the same answers of the Bible.
2) Testify the Gospel
(1) Work of Holy Spirit, Satan flees, answer
(2) Me – Past, present, future comes to life
(3) Witness – Save people (237, healing, Remnant summit)
Yes, I studied theology, but I’m not just giving you a theological message, I’m standing before you as a witness of life. I could not speak so boldly in front of you if I wasn’t a witness of the gospel in my life; otherwise, I would just have to speak very carefully to make sure I’m not wrong. Nothing is a problem to me in life, why is it not a problem? Because I died on the cross with Christ. Now, the new “me” is the life of the Lord Christ, living with Me as the Lord. Then, now, my role is no longer to debate about whether this is an issue or not, but to find God’s plan within the issue. If there are wars and famines, it doesn’t matter how much you say, “How could God do this?” because you are saying words that are not aligned with the Bible. Even in the midst of this, hold firmly onto the covenant of Christ and testify of the gospel. When the state of your heart is changed like this, then God begins to work.
3) Every day – Beginning and end
(1) Morning: Concentrate – Covenant (Strength)
(2) Healing – Division, obsession, addiction
(3) Day: Word – Align with field (Prayer, evangelism)
(4) Night: Concentrate – Answer to problems
Then, things that I didn’t even want will follow me as answers. First, I receive spiritual strength. If someone receives invisible spiritual strength, then their mental state will change, and the things that were not aligned with God in the past, begin to fit with God, then God’s wisdom will follow me. This is not a wisdom that comes from studying in the world, but from God. Because you have the mission to testify of this gospel, God restores your physical health. I’m telling you this as a witness; I’m not just repeating somebody else’s words. My mom told me this herself, that no one in our family ever exercises; how do I exercise so much? This means that my mother has never seen anyone in her family, including her own children or husband, work or exercise. Fortunately, we all have a lot of height, but we don’t exercise. And I realized later on, it is because we don’t have the strength to exercise. We’re so worried about life that we do not have the strength to exercise. I’m so focused on success, I cannot go in that direction.
For me, I have no money, but God changed my state to no longer be bound by money because I realized that God fills my need according to His need. If God has a big work to do, then God allows big finances, and if we’re doing a small work, then God allows small finances. Now, I’m no longer in a state where I’m chasing after money. Also, the human relationships I had trouble with before, are now working out very well. If you want to work or run a business but you’re not good at making personal relationships, all of your customers will leave. First of all, “I hate looking at this person when I go to work. Maybe, I can do this work, but I hate looking at that person.” How stressful is that? “I quit because of that person,” and it’s the same thing when you go somewhere else, and it’s impossible for us to live without working, so our entire lives become something like this. If God gave you this person to meet, then He wants you to change it into a blessing. Through me, that person will change. Whatever company I belong to, whatever metric should get better, because of me, because of God’s work.
The evidence of that is that God blessed Poitphar’s household because of Joseph. The blessing itself is not the standard; but there is a work that God must do through Joseph so He gave these other things. So as soon as you wake up in the morning, if you’re centered on yourself, you’ll be worried first, and when that continues, you’ll have panic attacks and it goes towards depression. That’s what happens when I’m the center of my life, and then later on, you have to take medication and all the money you’ve made, you have to spend it on unnecessary things. May Christ be the center of my life every single day, and I must be centered on the power of faith. My goal for life today is to testify of Christ’s name through me. With this, I hope you will go to work and go to school. Then, exactly according to God’s Word, one day, He will raise you up. Even if you don’t try so hard to raise yourself up, God raises you up, and God does that so you can spread influence. Then, those other things need to follow as well. May you and testify of this blessing throughout this week.
Conclusion
1. Main figure of history – Christ
2. Center of me, church, field – Testify Jesus Christ
3. End of my life – End of mission
Message Prayer
Let us pray together, holding onto the Word we have received.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We thank You for giving us your grace, for giving us the gospel, and for allowing us to live our lives centered on the gospel. We have given back the material blessing you’ve given to us, as offering for future generations, missions, temple construction, and the church. We pray that You will bless the hands that have given this offering with the economy of light so that everywhere this offering is used, that lives will be saved, and curses and disasters will be turned into blessings. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. We pray that the Word of God will be deeply embedded into the hearts of the three visitors so their lives may be centered on the gospel, exactly according to Your Word. 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. Fall Synod – Location: Antioch Mission Church, 11/13 (Mon.).
3. RCA 11/22(Wed.)-24(Fri.), 25(Sat.): Young Adult meeting
4. Communion, baptism – 11/26 (Sunday). For those getting Baptized, please give your name and date of birth to the Worship Department.
5. Offering can be given to the church venmo: @Antiochmissonchurch
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the heads of the people of God, the people of all nations, and the remnants, and upon all their businesses and ministries, for those who desire to live their lives centered on the gospel of Christ and spread the gospel to others, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.