The Essence of the Kingdom of God, Saving People (Rom. 14:13-23)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” The title of today’s message is, “The Essence of the Kingdom of God, Saving People.” We are living in the kingdom of the world and there are rules in the kingdom of the world. There is also a culture that rules over the kingdom of the world, but if you go to church and you believe in Jesus Christ, it means you are living in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is talking about the family, the household, the person who believes in Jesus Christ as their Lord. If that essence is restored, then the works of saving many people will take place.
In American society, there are so many good things, but one thing we cannot solve is mental problems. We are still not able to find where mental problems come from, and how we can actually heal them. Yes, we can diagnose the mental problems, but we don’t know the source nor the solution. So, as a result of these mental problems, people are falling into further problems like addiction and suicide. Even though the age has so many scientific advancements, there is nothing humans can do about these mental problems. No matter what we try with the methods of the world, there is nothing we can do about this; this is something that can only be solved with the gospel alone.
Why must it be the gospel to solve this? Because the foundation of all of the problems of America is the problem of sin that separates people from God. Our spirit is dead, disconnected from God. So then, now our spirit is captured by Satan; that is the fundamental problem that is causing every other problem we live with. Even though people go to church, they don’t know what their real problem is. The Bible tells us, even from the Old Testament, that all problems come from the sin that separates us from God. But this world is living without even knowing what sin really is. So, they are seized by the forces of darkness, dragged around without even being aware of that.
People ask, “Why can’t you even do this?” They have actually seen incorrectly. That person is seized by something, being dragged around, and you are criticizing them for not being able to do something. That person has a bartizan inside of them that leaves them no other choice, and that was inside of that person from a young age, from their family line. If we’re not able to see that, we wonder, “Why can’t you even do this?” and we try to change the person through education, or we try to make their mental state stronger, but actually the problem is only spreading.
If the churches do not know the accurate problem and give the accurate solution, the world will only get worse. There are these problems that are repetitive and are continuously arising. There is a problem that seizes us so we cannot even control it. Then, people end lives with shootings, homicides, or suicide. That’s happening a lot, especially in America. Even though we have advancements in every area, we cannot solve this problem. This is not a problem of the world; it’s a problem of the church, because God has only given the cause and the solution to this problem to the church. If the churches go outside of the pure gospel and they hold onto something that is non-essential, then this will only happen more in the world.
Humans are spiritual beings so we cannot live unless we are with God. Even right at this moment, people who are listening in prayer will hear the Word that God wants them to hear. If you are not in prayer, then you are listening to the words, but it will not hit you as the absolute covenant, and that is the reason why we cannot save the world. Then the words of the Bible just become knowledge for us. Instead, the Word of God is life and must be in our hearts, and that Word of God heals our spirit, mind, and body. You must have success in worship where the living Word of God is imprinted in your heart in order to succeed in the world.
1. Break free from me-centeredness
There is no need for the church to do many different things; the world is already doing those things. We need to do what the world does not have—it is the gospel of Christ on the cross. The world looks down on that, but we need to hold onto that in our center-most self. And the Kingdom of God where Christ reigns, it is different from the kingdom of the world. The kingdom of the world lives by calculating, “If this is not to my benefit, then I will stop it, and even in a human relationship, if it doesn’t serve me, I will end it.” That is the kingdom of Satan that moves the kingdom of the world, but the Kingdom of God is not like that. We do not calculate; it is about our relationship with God. We don’t argue, what is our benefit, what is our financial gain, and even if this goes into your family, your family will come to life. The characteristic of elites is, yes, they do many good things, but they are always calculating, and that’s how they’ve succeeded, and because they don’t know how to rely on God, ultimately they fall. Then, these elites cannot escape from their mental and spiritual problems because even inside the church, they are calculating. But we must prioritize a relationship of love with God and a relationship of love with people. If you begin to argue over money or calculations, then you’re already broken. If the center focus of our faith is material possessions, we’re already broken. If you’re looking at someone, and instead of seeing their soul, you see them as material gain, you’re already broken.
1) Food issue
(1) Do not pass judgment on one another (Rom. 14:13)
So, in today’s scripture, people are fighting in the church about something that is not essential, it is food. They are arguing with one another, “Can we eat this or should we not?” And the Bible tells us not to let that cause conflict. That means that just because you have the faith that you believe you can eat it doesn’t mean you should assert that viewpoint. There are some people who come into the church after worshiping idols and think, “We are not allowed to eat food offered to idols,” but then the people who have faith say, “We can eat it,” and the new believers will lose their faith.
(2) Do not put a stumbling block or obstacle (Rom. 14:13)
If we have faith in Christ, we do have the freedom to eat it, but if you use that freedom for your benefit, it might hurt others. So yes, the freedom America talks about is good, but it cannot save or raise up other people. It is things like freedom of speech, freedom of expression, saying whatever you feel like. But what happens if the culture of the world comes into the church? It will destroy the church. For us, if we have faith in Christ, we know all food is clean; it is not an idol, it is given by God, but if we eat it, it may destroy the faith of other people. So, these new believers are looking at this food and saying, “It was offered to idols, it was eaten by idols; how can you eat something that is not holy?” and they lose their faith.
(3) Do not let your freedom cause others to stumble (1 Cor. 6:12, 1. Cor. 8:9)
Same thing with the wine given to idols. Let’s say, for example, there was someone who was suffering from alcoholism and they quit alcohol, and there are believers who have faith and are drinking boldly in front of them, then the new believer will lose their faith. So, just because your faith is correct, doing that does not make you correct. If you have faith and freedom but you use that to break someone else down, that is not real freedom. Yes, you do have the freedom, but you must have the strength to not use that freedom to break down others and hide that freedom. The main principle of America is liberty or freedom, and the Statue of Liberty represents America. So, people move to America looking for freedom, the freedom to be educated. There is more freedom in America than anywhere else in the world, so people come here looking for freedom, how great is that?
But God’s Kingdom is saying, “That’s not it.” Yes, because of your faith, you have the freedom to do everything freely, but for the sake of others, you will restrain your freedom, and that pertains to your family as well. Between spouses, we can say many things. You have that freedom, but when a child hears that and it causes them to lose faith, you must restrict your freedom, because if you criticize other people, your child is listening, then for the sake of your child, you must stop those words. That’s what the Kingdom of God is like. You should not use your freedom to destroy the faith of those who are weaker in faith. Paul said, “If me eating this food causes someone to stumble in their faith, then I will never eat this food.” But some people think, “Oh, how can you live without eating this food?” But saving that one soul pleases God, and Paul did not starve to death because God works according to your need.
2) Food
(1) Nothing is unclean in itself (Rom. 14:14)
(2) Unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean (Rom. 14:14)
In Rom. 14:14, it says that there is no food that is unclean in itself, but if anyone regards something as unclean, it makes it unclean. The food that God gives us is good, but people think that it’s unclean.
(3) What comes out of a person defiles them (Mk. 7:20)
Mark 7:20 says that whatever you put into your mouth is clean, but whatever comes out of your mouth is what is unclean, because everything is given by God. If you eat this with thanksgiving, then there is nothing that is unclean, so you shouldn’t argue about whether food is good or bad and make people fall because of that.
3) What I regard as good
(1) Brother or sister is distressed because of what I eat (Rom. 14:15)
(2) Not acting in love (Rom. 14:15)
This is happening because you are not doing this out of love. When you go back to your family and you really love your child, then you restrain yourself from saying certain things. Same thing inside of the church; for the sake of those with a more vulnerable faith, you adjust your language and restrain your freedom—that is love. If you don’t have love, it doesn’t matter how correct your words are. Same thing at your job, it’s important—are you saying those words because you love your company, or, why are you saying it? Are you saying these words so that you can prove that you’re right, or are you saying it to actually help your company? If you are proving yourself correct, that is not truly correct. Because you are proving yourself correct, you are bringing other people down.
(3) Do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil (Rom. 14:16, 1 Cor. 8:12-13)
Rom. 14:16, “Do not let what you know is good to be spoken of as evil.” In other words, what you think is correct is not the standard; raising other people up is. When I was a nonbeliever, I really held onto the word, “justice” deep in my heart. So, when I saw injustice, I could not let that stand, because “justice” was the bartizan that was raised inside of me. Do you know what happens to somebody like that? In order to say what is correct, they do not care about who is above them, below them, next to them, or around them, because what is correct is the standard; there is no regard to who is above or below. You just say what is correct because that’s what you’ve learned. Then, what happens? You break many relationships, you break relationships with those above you and with those next to you. But that individual is not aware because they think that they’re right. “I’m right, what’s so wrong about that?” You being right is not what’s important, but being able to consider other people, raising them up, that is better and even higher, because the justice you are enforcing is not even true justice. That’s only justice from your perspective, not others.
So, Satan will disguise himself as an angel of light and make you prioritize something other than the gospel, for example, earnestness. That’s a good word, but sometimes, you should be able to lie for the benefit of other people, too. If you are too blunt or honest with that person’s flaws, then you might actually make them fall. If someone says, “Oh, I live an honest life and I have to tell them honestly,” that might actually make the other person fall. Dads will know this well; let’s say you are getting into an arm wrestling contest with your child. You pretend like you’re trying really hard, and you pretend to lose to them, and the child will be happy, thinking they’ve defeated you, but you didn’t use your full strength for the sake of your child, so the relationship is what’s important. The relationship between parent and child, the relationship between us and God, and the relationship between members of the church. All blessings come from heaven, they come from within our relationship with God. On earth, He gives it to us through people, so the channel of blessings is love of God and love of people. Why is it that God prepared all of the blessings but we break them down? Because we were taught, “I just need to do well on my own, I just have to work hard on my own,” but the unity of God’s Kingdom is not just about yourself—you must learn to go together. That’s what you need. Even your correct knowledge needs to be used to save and raise others together. If it’s only for yourself, it will destroy your organization. This is an ideology only in the Bible. So, if you are raised in the ideology of the Bible, then later on, it says you will praise God and receive human approval as well.
2. Kingdom of God
1) Essence
(1) Not a matter of eating or drinking (Rom. 14:17, 1 Cor. 6:13)
Rom. 14:17 says, the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking; the essence of the Kingdom of God is in the Holy Spirit—it means inside the Holy Spirit of Christ. Fellowship and walking with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that’s very important. God has prepared all blessings in the world, the real problem is, I’m not able to see it like that. It’s because I’m not inside of the Holy Spirit.
(2) In the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17)
If you receive the power from the Holy Spirit, then you will see things differently. If I receive the spiritual power in my emotions, my thoughts, and my mind, then everything you see will be different. We call that, a change in the spiritual state. Your circumstance is not what’s changing; your spiritual state changes. When you’re spiritually down, you resent everything. When your spiritual state changes, it’s no longer a problem at all. As soon as you wake up in the morning, you must receive spiritual strength in your spiritual state, for the Holy Spirit of God to hold onto and move your spirit, mind, body, emotions. Then, that will surpass your mental capabilities a thousand-fold because the Lord who is seated at the throne of heaven works upon you with the power of the throne through the Holy Spirit. People who receive this strength every morning will change. During the daytime, God has hidden all blessings for you in the field. God has prepared everything for you in the field of the world; that is the blessing of meeting. But, if you don’t look at the people you meet through the Holy Spirit, it will not look like a blessing to you, because you only see things the way you want to see them. In other words, you are looking for your interest and your benefit. You listen to other people’s words the way you want to hear them. You speak however you want to speak. In that kind of state, you will lose hold of all the blessings of people in the field.
When you listen to other people, if you listen in the prayer of the Holy Spirit, you can hear God’s Words. When you look at things in prayer, you can see what God is showing you. There is an example of this in Acts 3, there was a crippled beggar in front of the Temple Gate, and he had been there for 38 years. Peter and John passed by that crippled beggar on their way to the Temple every day for years. Before, all they thought was, “I have no money to give him,” but when they saw through the Holy Spirit and prayer, they saw things differently. They saw that this crippled beggar was not in need of money, but he had completely collapsed because of spiritual problems. So, Peter looked intently at him. Because he was inside of prayer, he saw things the way God wanted him to. Then, Peter said, “Silver and gold, I do not have, but what I have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” You cannot evangelize by trying hard. There are many blessings of meeting already in your field, but you cannot change them into blessings with your knowledge. If you are in prayer, then you will see what you should see, you will hear what you should hear, and you will say what you should say. That is the biblical evangelism life.
If you’ve memorized the Word of God diligently and recite it, yes, it’s good, but that is not biblical. It is about your spiritual state changing so that you hear what God wants you to hear, say what God wants you to say, and think what God wants you to think. Then, you will realize your field is filled with blessings of meeting. But imagine if you go to church without this spiritual state. It doesn’t matter how much you believe; the blessings are prepared in the field, but you kick those away, because you are calculating with your brain, “Is this person advantageous to me?” Then that cannot be a blessing. So if evangelism is taking place, it means that this person’s spiritual state is already blessed, then of course, the business will follow.
God gave the answer of 7 years of harvest and 7 years of famine to Joseph. Joseph didn’t learn that from his brain; God showed him the future because only God can give you that, and everything must take place inside of that. Nobody knows accurately what will happen in the future. God controls the future and only those who pray in the Holy Spirit will know. People work so hard all their lives, but it’s irrelevant to God and that’s why they fail.
(3) Righteousness, peace, joy (Rom. 14:17)
It is righteousness in the Holy Spirit. The “righteousness” is in the gospel. Through this righteousness, we have a restored relationship with God. If you have sinned, then your relationship with God is broken. You can only be righteous by believing that the Lord died on the cross and resurrected for your sins. Then, when you remain within prayer and the Holy Spirit, the righteousness of God fills you more and more. This is not talking about the justice of the world, but the righteousness of God continues to fill me. The second thing in the Kingdom of God is peace, both internal peace within yourself, and peace within your relationship with other people.
Phil 4:6-7 says, if you pray for all things, then the peace of God will protect your heart and mind. If you have problems in your heart or your mind, it means you have a lack of faith. The third thing that comes into God’s Kingdom is joy. There is only joy in the Holy Spirit. But if people lack this joy, then they run towards pleasure. That’s what I did when I was a nonbeliever. I really enjoyed meeting with my friends and talking and drinking. The alcohol became a source of that for me, and I loved to talk, because in that kind of place, I can criticize other people, I can swear, I enjoyed it so much. So I was always wanting to drink, because it’s not just about the alcohol, it means you can have fellowship with other people and you can say whatever you want. But that’s not the joy we’re talking about, it is the joy in the Holy Spirit. The other kind of joy, you have to look for and find. You can’t enjoy it by yourself, so you have to look for people, you have to spend your time and money chasing the joy, and you’ll get tied up in it. As a result, you fall deeper into addiction. There are some people who try to find pleasure by taking trips. All of that, it takes time and money, it’s hard. Some people try to enjoy pleasure with drugs or substances, but if you have the joy in the Holy Spirit given by God, you won’t need those things. I think that traveling and vacation is great, but I don’t go very often.
Why do you have to go? Yes, that might lead to limited traveling, but after the gospel, I wondered, “Why do you have to go?” If you go to Europe, you’re just looking at all these idol-worshiping temples. And it’s very obvious, you’re going to see the ocean, the mountains, the rivers—it’s all the same. This mountain or that mountain, same thing. This ocean, that ocean, same ocean. This temple, that facility, same thing. But people spend all their time and money to go look at all those things, I don’t do that. I’m not saying you don’t need that, but I’m saying you don’t need the joy that comes from that. There are some people who’ve died taking selfies. They try to take a picture, saying, “I’m in this dangerous location,” and they die because of that. There’s no need to do that, you can just photoshop yourself, you don’t have to go there. And you don’t have to go, you can just watch it on youtube. I’m not telling you to not go traveling, but I’m saying, “Enjoy the true joy in God.” For me now, there’s no reason for me to drink alcohol. I’m not saying whether alcohol is good or bad, I’m not saying you don’t need it. In the past, I really enjoyed that. I would try to spend my time debating over small things. There’s no need to do that, because I don’t have to, because I have the joy God gives me in Christ, because I have the peace of God.
You don’t have to try so hard to make relationships with people. If I’m in a state that is for other people, then people will come to me. But if I’m trying to use or manipulate people for my gain then those are the people who are attracted to me, then one day, that relationship breaks. That’s not what the Kingdom of God is about. In the Holy Spirit. I hope you will listen to today’s Word while praying, then what’s going to happen? The standard is not about whether you received grace or not; you will hear the Word God wants for you. Then, when you hold onto that Word throughout the week, it is fulfilled no matter what. We try to keep the standard of worship if it gives us grace, but what’s much higher than that is receiving the Word God wants for you, that is communication. These kids are not able to communicate with their parents because their kids are only asking to get what they want, and we might worship like that, too. True communication is changing your state so you ask what God wants. Then you’ll go beyond the level of, “Oh, did I receive grace or not?” You will receive the Word God wants to give you, and then you go, and God fulfills that will. So what’s most important is, “In the Holy Spirit,” that is the essence of God’s Kingdom.
2) One who serves Christ
(1) Pleasing to God (Rom. 14:18)
(2) Receives human approval (Rom. 14:18)
Because you are in the Holy Spirit, you praise God and are recognized by people. What happened in Acts 2 was because they were praised by people, God sent more people to be saved.
(3) Do what leads to peace and to mutual upbuilding (Rom. 14:18)
3) God’s work (Rom. 14:20)
(1) Believing in Jesus (Jn. 6:29)
(2) Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food (Rom. 14:20)
Rom. 14:20 says, “Do not destroy the work of God [which is saving people] for the sake of food,” because if someone says, “I don’t want to eat this food,” but you force them to eat it or you purposely eat this in front of them, then that will break down this person’s faith. So, the beautiful thing is to not do that.
(3) Do not cause brother or sister to stumble through food (Rom. 14:21)
3. Follow faith
1) Keep your own faith (Rom. 14:22)
Rom. 14:22, if you believe that you can eat this food, then you keep that in your relationship between you and God; you don’t have to show that to other people. So, yes, you should know what is right, but that’s not the standard; saving other people is the True Good. Try thinking like this in your family as well, people fight because they think they are right, and that’s not even the essence of the gospel; they are asserting their thoughts and opinions. Same thing at your job, why do people keep on fighting? you’ll realize if you ask, “Is this for the company or not?” If something is for the unity of the company, then even if your thoughts are correct, you have to let them go. So, if you’re good at church, you’ll be good at your workplace as well. But what happens if your children don’t learn this? Then they’ll live according to what’s inside of them. They’ll say, “I didn’t do anything wrong. I think this is right.” Being right is not what’s important; it means you don’t have the goodness of raising unity. So yes, being correct is important, but more important than that is raising and saving people.
(1) Faith that allows eating meat of idols and drinking wine
(2) Choose to not eat for the sake of others
(3) Do not let your own righteousness cause others to stumble
2) All things
(1) All things are lawful but not all are helpful (1 Cor. 6:12)
(2) All things are lawful but not all build up (1 Cor. 10:23)
(3) Do not seek your own good but the good of others (1 Cor. 10:24)
3) Faith
(1) Everything that does not come from faith is sin (Rom. 14:23)
In Rom. 14:23 it says, whoever has doubts is condemned because they do not have faith, and anything that is not done by faith is sin. If someone does not believe that they can eat this food but because somebody says they can eat the food and this person is shaking in their faith and they decide to eat it, then they are condemned because they are not eating out of faith. So, whatever you do without faith is sin. But, if you do have faith, then you can follow that faith. If we believe we can eat it in faith, then we can eat it. So what is important is following the faith. But do not cause the vulnerable people next to you to fall.
(2) Do it for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31)
1 Cor. 10:31 says, “Whatever you eat or drink, do it for the glory of God.” You can see whether what you are doing saves people or does not save other people. “Should I move here or there?” Do it for the glory of God. What is better for the Kingdom of God? Whether it’s convenient for me or not? Get rid of that. Whether the job is easy or hard? Get rid of that, do it for the glory of God. For people like that, they will be good at their company as well. Most people go into the company looking for money, so when it gets hard, they will leave. But if someone works in the company with this biblical ideology, then the people above them will love them, because they don’t assert their own righteousness. If something is better for unity, I’ll let go of my opinion and follow this. That person is working for the Kingdom of God, not for their own benefit or promotions. Then, they will be praised by their company as well, and they will save many people.
I went to USC twice last week, and then there were two Mormon students, 19 and 20, evangelizing. I asked if they were USC students, and they said, no, but they were on their Mormon trip for two years. So why do you think God showed me that? It was to ask, “Is there someone who will devote themselves for Christ at this school?” For heretics, even though they’re holding onto the wrong thing, they devote two years of their lives going into missions at a young age, but is there any posterity in the church who has this truth and can do that? There were in the Early Church, and today’s church is the same. I think that if you have enough faith in this gospel to give yourself entirely to the gospel and completely deny yourself for the gospel, then many works will take place.
(3) Seek the good of many so they may be saved (1 Cor. 10:33)
I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ that throughout this week, you can enjoy the righteousness, joy, and peace within the Holy Spirit to please God, be approved by people, and save many.
Conclusion
1. The essence of Jesus Christ
2. The Kingdom of God – Reign
3. The work of saving people through the Holy Spirit
Message Prayer
There is a Word God has given to each person. It is what you must hold onto for the rest of your week as your covenant. Let us pray holding onto the Word we’ve received as the covenant with God.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We thank You for giving us the gospel through the Lord Christ who died on the cross and resurrected for our sins. Allow the works of God to take place, the essence of God’s Kingdom to take place within the church. Allow us to make the decisions of faith that are for the benefit of the gospel and the church. We believe that is how the works of recreation to save people’s lives will take place.
We have returned Your materials as offering. We pray You will bless the hands of the offering so that, everywhere it is used, it will be used to save people’s lives and raise disciples to the ends of the earth. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. We pray You will bless and use the Moreno family who has come into our church for the work of saving many people in the essence of God’s Kingdom according to Your Word. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.
Announcements
1. Online zoom early morning prayer (Tue-Fri, 5:30am, Sat, 6am). Raise the bartizan of prayer.
2. Remnant Bible 30-Verse Memorization Contest
3. Venmo account address for church offering: @Antiochmissionchurch
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 the heads of all the people of God, the people of all nations, and the remnants who desire to give their lives for the essence of the Kingdom of God that saves many people, be with them now until forevermore and always, amen.
The essence of God’s Kingdom is saving lives!