The Kingdom of God that Does Not Belong to this World (Jn. 18:28-40)
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 Kingdom of God that Does Not Belong to this World.” As we listen to today’s message, ask yourself, “Am I living, belonging to the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of the world?” As we live in this world, it’s possible we might live with the habits we got from the world, then it is possible to lose a lot of the blessings of the Kingdom of God. Then, the main point of today’s sermon will be the point of, “What does it mean to belong to the Kingdom of God versus the kingdom of the world?”
1. Passover
1) Jesus
(1) From Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor (Jn. 18:28)
(2) Jesus is the young lamb of the Passover
(3) Jewish leaders did not enter the palace (Jn. 18:28)
Last week, Jesus was arrested by the High Priest, and then starting from John 18:28, today’s scripture, Jesus is led before the Roman governor to be judged. This day was also the day of the Passover, and in order for the Jewish people to participate in the Passover ceremonies, they had to not go into the home or into a place that had Gentiles in it, because they believed that would make them unclean, so they stood outside of the Roman court. Pilate goes outside and then talks to the Jewish leaders, asking why they have brought this person to trial.
In today’s scripture, it talks about the Passover, and the Passover represents the blood of the lamb, which was the main point of the ten disasters that led the Israelites to exodus from Egypt. The young Passover lamb represents Jesus Christ, and on the day of the Passover is when Jesus is sent before the court to be tried. Jesus Christ is the main point of the Passover and you must believe in Jesus Christ to participate in the Passover and be saved, but the Jewish leaders are trying to kill Jesus while keeping all of the other customs to obey the Passover. These are the religious people who take out the main point of Jesus Christ but keep all of the other traditions. That’s a religious person or [religious] life. Jesus Christ is the main figure of the Passover, so now that He is here, they should be worshiping and praising Him, but instead, they are trying to kill Him now while keeping themselves clean to participate in the Passover; isn’t that ironic? This state where they lose hold of the gospel, but they try to do everything else—Jesus has to be my Lord, but instead of having Jesus as my Lord, I remain as my own Lord, and I try to do everything well. That is a religious life, and that is the way that nonbelievers live.
2) Pilate and the Jews
(1) Came out and asked about the charges (Jn. 18:29)
So, Pilate comes out and asks, “What charge have you brought against this man?”
(2) The Jews responded that he was a criminal (Jn. 18:30)
(3) Judge him by the Jewish law (Jn. 18:31)
(4) The Jews did not have the right to execute anyone (Jn. 18:31)
In Jn. 18:30, they replied, “If He were not a criminal, would we have brought Him to you?” At this point, the Israelites were a colony of Rome and did not have the authority to execute anybody, which is why they took Jesus to the Roman governor to be executed.
(5) To fulfill the word (Jn. 18:32)
But the reason God is allowing all of this to happen was to fulfill the Word that God had prophesied regarding Jesus’ death on the cross.
(6) Tried to use Roman law to execute Jesus
The Israelites were trying to manipulate Pilate, because he was the one the Roman emperor raised up to govern the colony of Israel.
(7) Tried to politically use Pilate’s position as governor
The Israelites know Pilate’s weakness so well, so they threaten that if he does not execute Jesus, He will cause a riot in the Israel colony and Pilate’s life would be at stake. But these are the people who are filled with evil spirits and demons, they will utilize other people’s weaknesses to get what they want. Whether somebody is a sinner or not, should be determined based on the Word of God, but instead, they are crucifying Him because He is threatening their religion.
2. Jesus Christ
1) Pilate
(1) Are you the king of the Jews? (Jn. 18:33)
After this conversation, Pilate goes back inside and asks Jesus, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answers, “Is this your own idea, or are others talking about Me?”
(2) What is it you have done? (Jn. 18:35)
(3) Couldn’t find a basis for a charge against Jesus (Jn. 18:38)
Pilate continues to question Him, “Am I a Jew? Your own people and chief priests have handed You over to me, so what is it that you could have done?” What Jesus Christ says after that is what’s important today.
2) God’s kingdom
(1) My kingdom – Not of this world (Jn. 18:36)
Now that Pilate is asking if Jesus is a King, Jesus responds, “My Kingdom is not of this world,” that means there is a difference between the kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of Jesus. Jesus is saying that, “If my kingdom were of this world, then I would have many people to fight and protect me, but my kingdom is not of this world, it is the Kingdom of heaven.” We are living in this world, but we are living as people with God’s Kingdom. If you don’t know what God’s Kingdom is about, then you think that living a religious life on earth is what your life should be like. Eph. 2:6 says that once we believe in Jesus Christ, we have been seated with Him at the right hand of the throne of heaven. Phil. 3:20 says that our citizenship is in heaven. In other words, we are living physically on this physical earth, but our background and our citizenship is in the Kingdom of God, living with God. Then, how does Jesus Christ Who is seated at the throne of heaven, make His reign on earth? “The Kingdom of Jesus” means that Jesus is the King, so He reigns. The way that Jesus Christ reigns and rules over us in His Kingdom is by giving us the Holy Spirit within us, and the Holy Spirit gives us His Word, His plan, and His power to guide us.
John 3:5 says it is impossible to enter into the Kingdom of God unless you are born of the water and of the spirit. The water pertains to the baptism of water, and if you are under water, that represents your death. Now, we just sprinkle water, but it really represents being submerged under water, and that represents your death and coming back to life. The resurrected Jesus Christ is seated at the throne of heaven and gives us His Holy Spirit which becomes our new lifeline, and that is the Kingdom of God. Luke 17:20-21 says that the Kingdom of heaven is not visible to the eyes, for the Kingdom of God is not a matter of here or there, but it is within you. So what does it mean to be led by Him? It means to be led by His Holy Spirit.
(2) In the Holy Spirit – Righteousness, peace, joy (Rom. 14:17)
Romans 14:17 says that the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking, but it is of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. It says here, “In the Holy Spirit.” Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the throne of heaven and He sends us His Holy Spirit, which lives within us, and as we remain within the Holy Spirit, we enjoy His righteousness, peace, and joy.
(3) Power of the Holy Spirit – Drive out demons (Mt. 12:28)
Matthew 12:28 is when you drive out evil spirits by the power of the Holy Spirit. In order for us to live a life that does not belong to the Kingdom of the world, we must live a life that belongs to the Holy Spirit. What kind of characteristics are of the kingdom of the world, where we are currently living physically?
(4) Can’t observe – In your midst (Lk. 17:20-21)
(5) Water, Holy Spirit – Born again, God’s kingdom (Jn. 3:5)
3) Kingdom of the world – Dominion of darkness (Col. 1:13, Eph. 2:2)
(1) If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest (Jn. 18:36)
This kingdom of this world is controlled by the evil spirits in Col. 1:13 and Eph. 2:2. He is Satan, the ruler of the kingdom of the air. And the way the ruler of darkness or the power of darkness controls people is the same message from Genesis 3:5-6, that you can be your own god without following God’s Word. We were created to live, following God’s Word, but now we live following my own thoughts. My thoughts are more of my life’s standards than the Word of God; that is me living as my own god. And Genesis 6:4 says that mankind lived their lives choosing however they wanted. Instead of choosing what God desires, the people chose what they desired, what they wanted.
The kingdom of the world also lives without the power of God, they think they can gather their own strength, and the characteristic of people who live like this is in Eph. 2:3, they live following the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts; they were by nature, objects of wrath. When we talk about following their sinful nature or their physical nature, it’s not just talking about what they eat. The “sinful nature” means, instead of following the Word of God, we follow our own thoughts. So, it’s not just about having a desire for money or having a greed for these things; it means, any thought or decision you made that is not from the Word of God is following your sinful nature and its desires and thoughts. As we live like this, it says in James 1:14, that each person is tempted when they are dragged by their own sinful desires. Then, James 1:15 says, “After desire has been conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.” That desire meaning, wanting to do whatever you think or whatever you want, is born, and it continues to live like that, and after time, it gives birth to sin and that sin gives birth to death. But that person doesn’t even realize this is happening and they say they’ve been tempted, but if you fall into temptation or trial, it’s because things are not going the way that I want them to.
(2) Kingdom of the world – Centered on the public opinion, authority, power (Jn. 18:40)
Because I’m living by my will and I’m not getting my desire, I say that I fall into a trial. The characteristic of this is in Eph. 4:26 that when someone has a scar, they are filled with anger and wrath. So the Bible tells you, be careful not to sin in your anger, meaning, quickly go back to the Word of God. Do not remain in your own desires and greed, but quickly find the Word of God regarding that. Be careful so that Satan does not have a foothold in you. Most people receive scars from their family while they’re young, and if you have a scar, it means you’ve lived according to your own will and desires, and when you didn’t get what you want, it became a scar for you. “That person didn’t treat me how I wanted to be treated, then I got a scar,” then from that point on, the way of thinking will revert back to the age when they got that scar. Satan controls that person so they cannot escape from their thoughts. So, even though that person may grow older and may mature, when that situation comes and they get a scar, they go back to that same state of mind that they were in before. When that becomes more and more intense, it actually turns into a mental problem, and that turns into problems of the heart and mind. And then your personality and emotions are affected as well, so because of that one scar, your entire life is altered. So that person is not able to function normally.
If a person received a scar regarding money while they were young, they could just get past that, but they have this distrust or scar regarding their parents. And let’s say that person grows up to be an adult, and someone around them talks about money. Then, that person is going to say, “Why are you talking to me about money?” and they revert back to their state when they got that scar about money. Even if that person didn’t say it with any wrong intentions, this person thinks, “Why are you saying that to me?” And this becomes a pretty serious mental problem. That’s a result of scars that we received when we were young that are not resolved.
It’s the same thing between parents and spouses. This is the result and the problems that come following a life following your own sinful, physical desires. So, everyone in this world is living with so many problems inside their heart. In other words, it is abnormal. But even if they believe in Jesus Christ and they come to church, if they don’t know the grace of God, they will keep on remaining in that state. So, children are bullied in schools, that harassment could be physical harassment or it could also be sexual harassment. If that scar does not get resolved before God, what do you think will be their reaction as they grow up? Even if they see somebody who slightly resembles or reminds them of their abuser, they’re going to return to the thought of their harassment, then that person will hide from the other person, or avoid them, or misunderstand them. It’s the same thing with sexual harassment. Can those things be healed? The Life of the Kingdom of God changes those things into a blessing.
If you really enjoy living with God more than anything in your life, then those things will not be a problem; instead, they will be a stepping stone for you. Galatians 5:16 says, “Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desire of your sinful nature.” The Kingdom of God is not about following your sinful or physical nature; it’s about following the Holy Spirit, and what is the result of living a physical life then?
Galatians 5:16 says, “Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery,” and without a doubt, that person will fight, and they will always have jealousy. If I have something that is really good, and someone else talks about it, I’m going to think they are jealous of me. Or, lets’ say, if I have something I don’t like, but somebody else just talks casually, then they’ll think Then these people will gather together and make a group, there will always be a state of division, and the way for us to come out of this and live in the Kingdom of God is the reason God gave us the gospel.
It’s possible that this might even happen in a sermon, “Why is the pastor saying that to me?” I’m actually not saying this about you, but that’s why it’s so important for you to hold onto the steam or the flow of the pulpit messages or the scripture; otherwise, you’ll only hold onto the side details, instead of the main stream. But that’s what the devil does. There’s a stream to the messages, meaning week by week, there is a main point that God is guiding us through, but if you don’t know that, you’re going to hold onto minor details and get hooked on that. Even when you’re in a conversation, there are people who do not understand the point that you are trying to say, and they’ll only nitpick a small details, thinning, “Why are you saying that to me?” So, even when you’re listening to the message, do not just listen to just one small word or phrase, but instead, look at the stream of the Word, the scripture, and within that scream, listen to the Word. If you lose hold of that main stream, it becomes a headache. Because you will either only listen to the Word of God that you want to hear, and interpret it how you want it, or you’ll listen to a Word you don’t want to hear, and you’ll fall into a trial because of it.
Let’s say for example, in an English test, you’re supposed to pinpoint what the main point of the writing was, but if you can’t, you cannot answer the question. If you’re reading a book and you don’t understand what the main author is trying to say and you only concentrate on these small side details, that’s not right; that’s what I’m telling you now. When you receive a scar, you lose hold of that main stream or flow. Then you get obsessed with one side; that puts you into a divided state. Then because that causes suffering, you go into addiction, but the beginning of that is your scars.
But even before that scar, you wanted to live with your own will and own thoughts, and the result of that is your scar. Then if a person like that does not get what they desire or things do not go the way they want, either they will become discouraged or react in various ways. On the other hand, if somebody is living in the Kingdom of God, receiving the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then they will receive answers instead. If they receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then they will not judge the other person but will receive answers themselves. But if you receive a scar, without even realizing it, you will judge the lacking of the other person. Without even realizing it, you will keep on sinning against that other person by hating them, judging them, talking bad about them.
Who is doing that? We have escaped from Satan’s authority but Satan still uses our weaknesses like this. The church is the place that heals that. Without this healing, you just want to succeed? Yes, success is important and great, but if you don’t have this problem solved, your life will be difficult. Then, the characteristic example is you spend your life raising your child, but later on, they hate you. The parents are always trying to do what is best for the child but the child grows up and says you scarred them, so even though you may have taken care of them physically, they deny you because of their scars. It’s not that either person is wrong or bad, but because they were not able to restore and teach the accurate gospel, they have no choice but to live like this.
(3) Released Barabas the robber (Jn. 18:40)
There was a custom for one of the prisoners to be released at the time of the Passover, and because Pilate could not see any wrongdoing of Jesus, he asked, “Do you want me to release Jesus?” They said, “No, give us Barabbas.” This kingdom of the world does not operate based on the truth, it is centered on people, so whatever the majority says, goes. That’s the pattern that people live with on earth. You can’t release a criminal, but they said instead, “Kill Jesus Who had not committed any sin,” but that’s what the rest of the world is like.
For you and me, what areas are causing us suffering? Do we suffer because of people? I hope you will remain within the Kingdom of God and hear the voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit. God made our relationships as a blessing, but Satan destroys those relationships with scars. But the reason those things are happening is because we live in a state where we follow our thoughts and our will.
3. Jesus Christ is king
In order for us to live within the Kingdom of God, we must listen to the words of Truth. Jesus Christ says, “You are right in saying that I am the King, and I have come here to testify of the Truth.
1) King of all kings
(1) Born, Came into the world – Death on cross, Resurrection (Jn. 18:37)
Jesus is saying, “I came to earth as a human to be the King of Kings and I am dying on the cross to do this work,” so He resurrected and He is seated at the throne of heaven, reigning over this world as the King right now.
(2) To testify to the truth – It is finished (Jn. 19:30)
Then He said, “I’m here to testify of the truth.” There is a difference between what is true and what is correct. Nonbelievers say, “My words are correct and my life is correct,” but that’s not the truth. They try to replace the truth of Christ with morals and ethics.
(3) Way, truth, life – Jesus (Jn. 14:6)
Those words might seem correct to you, but Jesus Christ says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” and in John 19:30, Jesus Christ said, “It is finished,” that is the Truth. If you don’t know this, and you say, “I live an upright life,” that’s not correct. That might be correct with your thoughts, but it’s wrong with someone else’s thoughts. That’s why people fight so much because everybody thinks that they’re right. We must be judged before God with His Word, but everybody says that their thoughts are correct.
The fact that everything is finished means that Jesus Christ has finished all the problems of our life on the cross. Understanding this is what it means to listen to and follow the words of Truth, but if you don’t know what it means that, “It is finished,” and you live a life that is correct, that is not the truth. The Jewish leaders lived such an upright and correct life, but when the Truth was in front of them, they killed Him. That’s why Jesus Christ says, “Your father the devil is a liar and you follow his ways.” People come to me and say, “Pastor, one of my coworkers lives an even more righteous life than me, I feel almost embarrassed to testify the gospel to them,” but it’s because you’re looking at it wrong. Yes, maybe morally and ethically speaking, they may be better than you who believe in Jesus, but that person is not living with the Truth or for the Truth. So, you must be able to see that and testify of that to them.
(4) Master within me (Gal. 2:20)
Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is my death. So, who am I? The “me” who used to live, centered on my sinful and physical nature, is crucified with Christ, and now, the new “me” is the Christ Who is resurrected living within me as my Lord. The Lord is reigning over me from the throne of heaven and He controls me with His Holy Spirit.
2) One who belongs to the truth
(1) Listen to Jesus’s voice (Jn. 18:37)
What does it mean to belong to the Truth and enter the Kingdom of God?
(2) Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth – With (Jn. 14:17)
(3) Holy Spirit – Teach Jesus’s words, Remind (Jn. 14:26)
John 14:17 says, “The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth,” so the work of the Holy Spirit is to teach us the words of Jesus Christ and to remind us of them. The Spirit of Truth is with us forever, meaning He will teach us forever. So, when we tell you to pray, we are not telling you to pray for something that is not already there, we are telling you to pray to receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit that is already with you, but if you live with your physical and sinful nature and you think, “My thoughts are correct,” you will never be able to receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit; you will only chase your will. Especially people who are successful, and I’m not saying they’re bad people, but because they’re more accomplished than the average person, they will think, “I’m better than you,” and they will not be able to receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the characteristic is that they have pride. They actually prioritize their pride above God’s Word. The more specialized an expert someone is, the more they will have pride in their expertise. If somebody challenges that, then instead of being led by the Holy Spirit, you say, “I’m like a god; why are you challenging my expertise?”
That is a sin that that person doesn’t even know they’re committing, and the price of sin is death. Then they turn into a state that has nothing to do with God, and they are spiritually dying away. Our spiritual life must be connected with God, but they cannot do that in their current state. So, then, instead of being able to live by the blessings of the Kingdom of God, that person is living being deceived by the kingdom of Satan, even though they’ve been set free. The Holy Spirit teaches you all things, so all you have to do is ask and pray. Instead of saying, “How dare that person say this to me?” ask God, “Why did you allow me to hear this from that person?” Stop thinking on your own; if you see or witness something, you have to take it to God and receive His answer through His Word. Do not look at things and hear things based on your sinful nature or your physical desires, but instead, be led by the Holy Spirit, then without even realizing it, you will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Receiving the guidance of the Holy Spirit is not about your actions or decisions; it means that you are simply living a life that is with God, and with the Holy Spirit, then you will have the fruits of God in your life.
3) God’s kingdom (Ac. 1:3)
(1) Goal for sending us to the world (Jn. 17:18)
In John 17:18, Jesus Christ says God is sending us into the world. In the past, I used to live under Satan’s control, dying in this world, and then Jesus Christ saved me into the Kingdom of God. Now, I belong to the Kingdom of God, and God is sending me into the kingdom of the world. Now, we are no longer living on earth for the physical things, but we are living on earth for the Kingdom of God. That’s why in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us to pray for God’s Kingdom to be established on earth as it is in heaven. This means, pray for the reigning of God’s throne of heaven to be established here on earth. So, how does God reign? It is through the Holy Spirit that gives us His Word. So, the Holy Spirit teaches you His Word. Jesus Christ is the Word, but if you live your life without the words of Jesus Christ inside of you, no matter how great your thoughts are, you still belong to Satan and the world.
(2) Content of prayer – Establish kingdom, First (Mt. 6:10, 33)
Matthew 6:33, Jesus Christ says, “First seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness.” Yes, we do need all of our physical necessities like food, water, and shelter, but that should not be our first priority. For us, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness is our first priority. If I belong to the Kingdom of God but I’m getting tangled up with the kingdom of earth, that’s why I’m so mixed up. So, for us, we reside next to the throne of heaven, so from the throne of heaven, we receive all of our answers and prayers. When we die, we are not dying; it is simply a separation of our physical body and our spirit; our physical body stays here, and our spiritual body goes with God. For nonbelievers, when they have a physical death, then their spirit will go into the eternal death of hell. Christians who live following their sinful natures or physical desires are afraid of death; they are afraid because things are not going the way that they want them to go. “I want to see my kids, I want to keep on living,” and because they think they’re going to lose that, they’re sad and afraid.
But Apostle Paul said, “I want to go to heaven quickly because that is an eternal heaven with no sadness and only peace,” and he said, “The only reason I’m on this earth is because I still have the mission to proclaim the gospel left in me, but I want to go to heaven quickly.” So, if you see someone on their deathbed and they’re struggling and they’re afraid to die, you can see that that’s a result of them living following their physical desires. If we remain within the Kingdom of God as we live our life, following His will, then when we die, we know that they’re going to the eternal heaven, so we’re not afraid and we say, “Hallelujah,” so therefore, go and make disciples of all nations and spread God’s Kingdom there.
(3) Calling – Disciples in all nations, Healing, Future generation
Then, Jesus promises to give you the physical power needed to go to all nations. In order to go to all nations, you will need wisdom, you will need physical health, money, and the people to go with. But if you keep following your physical work only? God will take away your strength, more and more, because God has to leave this person powerless, in order to live for the Kingdom of God. So, if people are living for the physical needs and desires, then heal all of their spiritual and mental diseases. Everybody has their own personality or character; there are some people who are just naturally born with a very stubborn or forceful personality. The characteristic of these people is, if they’re not receiving the guidance of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, they easily receive scars. There are also people who are very powerless, that person is also very prone to scars, “That person is looking down on me,” but neither of them receive God’s guidance. Instead of actually receiving God’s guidance, they keep thinking of their own thoughts and what they want, and that’s how they interpret everything.
Conclusion
1. Only the filling of the Holy Spirit – Power, Witness to the ends of the earth (Ac. 1:8)
You need to change that, fundamentally. How? The Lord Who is seated at the right hand of the throne of heaven is already reigning over me through the Holy Spirit. That’s why we receive the power of Acts 1:8, that when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, meaning when the Holy Spirit fills our thoughts, spirit, heart, mind, and body, then we will receive power. Your strength cannot make it, and it’s not just about the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, we’re talking about the filling and the controlling of the Holy Spirit. I pray this all the time, “May the Holy Spirit of the Lord completely control my spirit, soul, and body.” It doesn’t matter how correct your thoughts are, it’s all useless, because the best of your thoughts are your greed and your desires. “May the Holy Spirit completely control me and give me the thoughts of the Holy Spirit.” That’s how you receive wisdom, that’s how you need to work and get a job in order for you to work within the wisdom and the Truth of God. For students who are studying, your studies become an instrument, so when you pray for the Holy Spirit to fill you and to use these studies, that’s when God uses these studies.
So, you should be praying even now. If you’re not praying right now, you’re only going to hear what you want to hear, so even when people say, “Today was a good day,” it’s because they got what they wanted. Or if you say, “Today I got nothing, I only got trials,” that’s because of your own thoughts or standards. That’s our level, so when we say we must pray, we pray for the Holy Spirit to give us the Word He desires. The reason we tell you to pray for your business field right now is because the forces of darkness must be broken down there and the Kingdom of God must be raised up in order for this to take place. As a person of the Kingdom of God, you live to establish God’s Kingdom here. That’s how you are a witness of Jesus until the ends of the earth.
When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you pray for the Holy Spirit of God to completely control your past, present, and future in order for all of you to come to life. Even if I had an amazing past and childhood, if that is not saved by the Spirit of God, even that will cause me to suffer. The power of God must be upon my past, present, and future, in order for all of those things to change into a blessing. Counseling is not about trying to change our thoughts, because we can’t, even if we wanted to; that’s the counseling that the world gives you, but for the Kingdom of God, He says, “Pray to be filled with the Spirit of God.” “God, give me the power to overcome the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the forces of darkness.” There’s no reason to ever be afraid, because we know our enemy—it is Satan, the devil—but if you are living for your physical desires when you face a difficult situation, you’re afraid. There is nothing to be afraid of in the Kingdom of God because God told you to pray for the power to overcome it, then God works. Then, wherever you are, now, it becomes your mission field and it comes to life. If you’re running away, it means you’re chasing after physical things. For us, wherever we are, that is the mission field we must stake our lives on.
Pray for God’s works to take place there; because we are people of God, God will surely answer us. Then, because of me, my region comes to life, and because of my job, everyone around me will come to life. If people are suffering mentally then you have to diagnose them accurately and be able to heal their thoughts so they are no longer chasing after their physical desires, but instead, the Word of God. If someone knows this, they already know their future so surely; “I will be used to spread the Kingdom of God.” Then they see the future as they live today, just as God said to Joshua, “I have already given you the land of Canaan,” even though he wasn’t there at the time. God has already promised you, “I have already given you the land of America,” the land we live in today. Without this assurance, how could you work, how could you live in the world? You must live today knowing the absolutely certain future.
2. Only prayer (Ac. 1:14) – Power to save me
That’s why in the Bible, Acts 1:14 says they constantly devoted to prayer. Because the Lord is already reigning over us through the Holy Spirit, when we pray, God answers us and God gives us His Word. Even if nobody helps them, the person who prays will be okay. Even if people misinterpret me or twist my words, if I just wait in prayer, God will correct it. Nobody can overcome the power of God. Even your thoughts cannot overcome God’s power. That is how you save yourself through prayer. So, when you wake up in the morning and you’re not able to pray, it means that you’ve already lived a long time, following your original sinful nature and physical desires, so you’re dragged around by Satan. As soon as you wake up in the morning, reestablish where you belong. “May the Lord Who is seated at the throne of heaven reign in me by the Holy Spirit again, completely control me, and give me Your power.” We must have spiritual power. If you have spiritual power, then you win in advance, and then you go into the world. Then you see the visible things follow after. But if you do not have the spiritual strength when you go out into the world, you will be dragged around by Satan and by your physical desires.
3. Church, Field – Fruits of word, prayer, evangelism (Ac. 2:42-47)
People say, “Pastor, it’s so hard,” of course, there’s a lot of reasons, the economy is difficult, but God says, “I will always be with you, I will be with you until the very ends of the earth. Because the region where you’re living is your mission field, I will give you power.” If God’s power comes upon you, then you will gain the wisdom to run your business. But if you don’t have that power, you’re going to say, “Pastor, life is hard,” of course it’s hard! Yes, it is hard but you must be able to see the hope of what we are looking for. That’s the characteristic of somebody who is enjoying the background of the Kingdom of God. But for people who live according to their own will and their own strength and their physical desires, when the economy becomes hard, then they get discouraged. But if somebody is living within the Kingdom of God, when everyone is going through a famine, they receive 100 times blessings. Yes, it is true that there are seven years of famine, where everybody suffered, but God turned all of that around through Joseph. God blessed the Antioch Church so much that in the time of a famine, they actually helped the Jerusalem Temple.
So for us, we do not live looking at the present, we live in faith because our ancestors come from the throne of heaven. We follow God’s Word, we do not follow our circumstances, but we follow God’s word. We must not make our decisions based on people’s words and follow them; we must make our decisions following God’s Word. We do not follow the environment around us; we look at what God’s Word says. Even right now, pray, because if you pray, God will teach you. Not asking God is sin. The Bible says that God took King Saul to death because he did not inquire of the Lord. Is it hard to ask? He is inside of you; even if you think about it, you can change your thoughts to ask Him. But how stubborn are we? We don’t ask. Until the very end, you live with your own thoughts. Do you think our thoughts will win or God will win? Your stubbornness is bound to be destroyed, and God will win. Our stubbornness is actually our arrogance. Why did God make the Israelites wander the wilderness for 40 years after the Exodus? God allowed them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years because their necks were so stiff; they didn’t listen to the Word of God or anyone else, and God needed to break that down to bless them.
The church is the place where the people of God’s Kingdom are gathered. The Bible says they received the teaching of the apostles and shared fellowship. The church is not a place to come to talk about baseball. You can just talk about baseball in a baseball club. The church is the place where you share fellowship about the Word of God you have received. The church is not a place where we talk about who is more educated or less educated, more wealthy or less wealthy, a good or bad person, we must communicate with the Word of God. That’s why the Bible says they constantly devoted themselves to the Word of God and prayer, and they did that everyday, and God gave them favor and added to their number daily those who were being saved. The Kingdom of God is being lived by the Word of God, prayer, and the fruit of evangelism. May you have this blessing every week.
Message Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word that we have received so that we may receive answers to that prayer.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We have returned Your materials as offering. Everywhere this offering is used, may it be used to heal and restore our physical and spiritual bodies as well as our business. May you bless this offering so it is used for the temple construction, missions, and ministry You desire. 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. 4/7 (Mon.) West Coast Synod, church sanctuary, 10:00 am
3. Children’s Spirituality Camp, 4/7-9
4. Communion, Baptism (4/13), Easter Service (4/20)
5. Missions Conference, 4/23-27
6. Offering can be given to the church venmo: @Antiochmissionchurch
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, guidance, fellowship, and filling 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 have and testify the mystery of Christ and the Kingdom of God, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen