The One with Wedding Clothes Who Receives and Proclaims the Blessing of God’s Kingdom (Mt. 22:1-14)
I believe God has received that praise. I believe that the forces of darkness are broken down during praise, and the devil prevents us from giving our praise to God. I believe that God will receive the glory when the praise is coming from our hearts and not from ourselves. May you receive the unprecedented blessing today.
The title of today’s message is, “The One with Wedding Clothes Who Receives the Blessing of God’s Kingdom and Proclaims It.” The title of today’s scripture is talking about a parable Jesus used to explain the Kingdom of God. If you want to explain America, you can explain it easily. You can easily understand America by saying, “There’s a President, there’s a Congress and a Senate, and there are 50 states, and this is the way that the laws that govern America are made.” So, you can simply explain America like that.
1. God’s kingdom (Mt. 22:2)
But the Kingdom of God is invisible. The Kingdom of God is invisible, but it is reality. In fact, if anything, what we see with our eyes might be falsehood. The evidence of that is that, when God created the universe, He said with His Word, “Let there be light,” and then the light appeared. So, for us, it might seem like light is the reality, but behind the scenes of the light, there is the Word of God. That is the reality, and the light moves according to God’s plan.
In today’s scripture, Jesus is explaining the Kingdom of Heaven with the parable, and there are some people who will understand by the Holy Spirit, and some people who will never understand, but if they’re not able to understand, they’re not able to enjoy the blessings of the Kingdom of God. The thing we must seek and enjoy first as children of God is the Kingdom of God. We must know very well about that. Yes, of course, we need to know the kingdom of the world as well, but that might not be the reality. The Kingdom of God is unchanging, it is eternal, and it is the reality.
1) King (Mt. 22:2)
When Jesus Christ is explaining the Kingdom of God, He uses the word, “King,” that means, this is the land where the King is reigning.
(1) For his son (Mt. 22:2)
(2) Wedding banquet (Mt. 22:2)
(3) Prepared (Mt. 22:2)
But instead of saying simply that the king is reigning over his kingdom, He explains the Kingdom of God, by saying that, “The King has prepared a wedding banquet for his son.” You know a “wedding banquet,” it’s like the feast before the wedding, and there is no one who is sad before the banquet; it is all joy, and when you go in there, there are many things prepared. That’s what heaven is like.
2) Servants (Mt. 22:3)
(1) To those who had been invited to the banquet (Mt. 22:3)
(2) Tell them to come (Mt. 22:3)
(3) Refused to come (Mt. 22:3)
And then he sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to come, but they refused to come. God prepares His Kingdom, and then He sends His servants to invite people in, but there are people who refuse to go to such an amazing kingdom. Why do you think they refused? It’s because they have their own separate kingdom. There is another image they are drawing for themselves.
There are some people who are so deep into fulfilling the ideology of democracy that they don’t want to go into God’s Kingdom. There are some people who live with such a fierce ideology that they live only to bring that ideology to fruition and don’t go into the Kingdom. There are some people who don’t want to go into the Kingdom of God because they dream of a land where everyone will receive an equal portion of everything, and there are some people who want to make a land that is so abundant for all of its citizens, that they don’t want to go into God’s Kingdom.
There are some immigrants who dream of their own kingdom where they can own two houses, they can live by the beach where there are not a lot of people, and they can live quietly with their family and their animals. There are some people who think that equality, human rights, and freedom are the true essence of man, and they refuse to go into God’s Kingdom, dreaming of this their whole lives.
3) Sent more servants (Mt. 22:4)
(1) Everything has been prepared (Mt. 22:4)
(2) Those who have been invited (Mt. 22:4)
In Mt. 22:4, “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’” It says here that everything is ready. God’s Kingdom is perfect. “First, seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness,” but people don’t want to do that. They have their own land they are dreaming of, their own kingdom. There is a dream with which people immigrated to America. They want to educate their children well and create their own kingdom. There are some people who dream about changing people through education. Yes, all those things are necessary but you cannot go into God’s Kingdom with those things.
(3) Paid no attention and tended their own businesses (Mt. 22:5)
Even though everything has been prepared in the Kingdom of God, instead of going into the kingdom, in Mt. 22:5 it says, “they paid no attention and went off–one to his field, another to his business.” They didn’t even pay attention; that means that they found no value to even listen, because they are thinking, “I have to go to work right now in order for me to make a living and for me to feed and raise my kids, and my business is right in front of my eyes, I need to do this.” That is their kingdom, but it actually turns out that it is Satan who is deceiving them with lies from behind the scenes.
(4) Killed the servants (Mt. 22:6)
Then the remaining ones, it says, in Mt. 22:6 that they seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. For example, they say, “I can tell by the way you speak that you’re a Christian, but I’ve never seen a Christian work well in the workplace.” They say, “Whenever you Christians run a business, you guys are conmen and swindlers, so why don’t you go into the Kingdom of God yourself?” Nonbelievers might not say this aloud to your face, but they are all laughing at you inside; they say, “That is your own religion you’ve created for yourself; don’t drag me into it. I have another kingdom I desire, and I need to do what is right in front of me, first, because whatever you’re talking about with this Kingdom of God, it’s not going to solve my food and living, and because of the Kingdom of God, it’s not like it’s going to bring me success in this world,” and in fact, those people will kill these servants.
What does this mean? God prepared His Kingdom and He sent His servants, and He continuously told the people about His Kingdom, but they didn’t listen. The Jewish people wanted to achieve their own righteousness through their actions of the law, so they didn’t go into God’s Kingdom. They give the form of worship by going into the Tabernacle, into the Holy Place, to the Ark of the Covenant. But in reality, they were worshiping idols and following the good things from the Gentile nations. That’s why, when the prophets came to them and told them the correct news, “It is not by works that you are saved, but by faith,“ they didn’t want to hear it. They said, “All you have to do is worship? You have to work and study, too. But because worship is something you do not see, and what I eat and live with, that’s my reality.”
People say things like that, and then their children fall into drug addiction, and as kids grow up without knowing the Word of God, they fall into their own thoughts and strange addictions. Everything is prepared in America, but there is one thing it lacks. There is nothing else it lacks, it’s just that they don’t know, but many things are prepared here. There’s not a single person who says, “I cannot live without money,” there is no such thing as not being able to study because of a lack of money. There is not a person who is dying and sick because of a lack of hospitals. It is a land where everything is prepared if you are just able to do it. But there is one thing they reject, the Kingdom of God that is invisible to the eyes. They said, “No, it’s not the Kingdom of God. I need freedom, equality, human rights; that’s the kingdom. The individual is what’s important; why is the Kingdom of God important?” In the future, the laws will continuously change to protect the individual. No matter how much I did wrong, if that other person is trying to accuse me, I will actually get them locked up for invading my privacy.
That is the kingdom that America dreams about. The leaders of America think, “If we’re able to protect the individuals, then the land will be okay,” Everybody is saying, “Me, me,” but when they are faced with depression, they are not able to overcome their own emotions. When they say, “Me, me,” when they face panic attacks, they are not able to overcome themselves. That result is America today. They have skill, they have strength, they have everything, but they’re lacking one thing. There are a lot of churches and a lot of seminaries, but the Kingdom of God is disappearing. The Kingdom of God is neither here nor there; it is within you, it is the invisible, eternal kingdom, the kingdom where everything is prepared within. You can only discover that if you’ve received God’s grace, and that’s why Jesus Christ uses parables to explain.
2. The king’s different plan
1) The king was enraged (Mt. 22:7)
(1) Sent his army and destroyed – Destruction of Israel (Mt. 22:7)
Then, when these people killed the servants, in Mt. 22:7 it says, “The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” God first revealed the Kingdom of God to the Israelites, but they refused to believe in Him, and they even killed the servants, so God destroyed the city, destroyed the Temple, and made them captives of war to Babylon. That’s the history of Israel.
Why is it that people go to church today and are not receiving answers? Why is it that I go to church but I’m not happy? The Kingdom of God has righteousness, joy, and peace, and everything. Inside of Jesus Christ are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We should be able to say, “Yes, that’s right,” and enjoy it, believe it, and relay it, but we’re not able to see it. God had prepared it and called the Israelites first, but there was no one who was worthy.
(2) Sent his servants to invite to the banquet anyone they find (Mt. 22:8-9)
(3) Gathered the good and bad – Sinners, Gentiles (Mt. 22:10)
Then God says, “Okay, then enough of that, I’m going to go to the street corners where there are many people gathered, and invite anyone I can find.” So, the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the good as well as the bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. What does this mean? It means that all of the people like the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the gangsters, the diseased and the cursed, they all began to come into the banquet, and even when they went to the Gentiles who were not circumcised, they began to come in as well, so the lampstand was moved from the Israelites to the Gentiles, and the wedding banquet was filled with people.
2) Condition on the kingdom of God
(1) Saw a man who was not wearing wedding clothes (Mt. 22:11-12)
But when the king went in to see the guests, he noticed a man who was not wearing wedding clothes. Back in those days in Israel as well as today as well, when you go to a wedding banquet, you need to be dressed appropriately. Even today, there are some weddings, and after the wedding ceremony, they serve food to the guests, and there are people who sneak into the wedding to get free food. They usually come just wearing their street clothes. Do you think that, in order to just get a free lunch, those people will come up in suits and dresses? If you ask them, they will confess. I used to do that when I was a bachelor. When I came to America to study abroad, they put me in a place where I could study, but strangely enough, the church was filled with weddings every Saturday, and I would be studying, and they would prepare a lot of good, expensive food, so I remember, a few times I ate there. Strangely, there’s a wedding season where, every Saturday, there’s multiple weddings.
(2) Thrown outside – Hell (Mt. 22:13)
What am I saying? When you want to go to a wedding, there is one condition, that you must be wearing wedding banquet clothes. But when the king comes in and sees the guest not wearing it, he says, “Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?,” and the man was speechless, because he was not somebody who was supposed to come in. If somebody asked me why I was at that wedding banquet, I would have nothing to say because I just came there for the free food.
Then, the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where they will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Why is it that instead of just kicking the man out, he makes him go into the darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth? Because if you are not able to go into the Kingdom of God, you must go into the other kingdom. You will be reigned over by the Kingdom of Satan and then you will ultimately go into the eternal kingdom of hell. So, yes, we are living in America and we need to know the kingdom of America well, but you also need to know the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan well.
(3) Few are chosen (Mt. 22:14)
So, all of these people have come to the wedding banquet, and in order to be there, there was only one condition: it does not need their effort or diligence. They just need to wear the clothes, they need to wear the clothes that are right for that wedding, but what is that clothing?
3) All people
(1) Sin, Separated from God (Rom. 3:23), Authority of Satan (Jn. 8:44)
(2) The one clothed with Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14)
Rom. 13:14 says, someone who is clothed with the Lord Christ. You cannot wear the clothes of the law. You cannot go to the wedding wearing whatever you desire; it must be the clothes of only Christ. This applies to every single person, it doesn’t matter how great or renowned somebody is; they must be clothed in the clothes of Jesus Christ. The reason is in Romans 3:23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The sins of one person, Adam, went into all mankind. That is not just a theological theory, but from the moment we are inside of our mother’s womb, we are inside the spiritual state that does not know God. Ever since we were little, we lived as our own god, so all people can not meet God. That is why we must wear the clothing of Christ, but not anyone can wear it.
(3) All who were appointed for eternal life (Ac. 13:48)
Acts 13:48 says that not everybody received salvation, but those who were appointed for eternal life believed. Most people will reject, but the souls the Lord has prepared will receive. They say, “I’ve lived my life without knowing this, I’ve lived my life without knowing God’s Kingdom; I lived my entire life in the kingdom of Satan, thinking that all I had to do was be right, but I was being deceived. I thought life would be okay if I just worked hard, but that’s not true. I thought all I had to do was to be a kind and big-hearted person, but that’s not true. I need Christ.” That grace must be upon them. Once you go into the Kingdom of God, everything is there.
3. God’s kingdom
1) Satan’s kingdom
Then, what is the system that the kingdom of Satan is moving America with? If you live in America without knowing this, it will be a big problem. Later on, you cannot escape from addiction; later on, you cannot escape from mental problems. If something else goes in, then you raise your child, but that’s not your child. The physical DNA might be your child, but the ideologies in that child are not yours at all, why is that? Because they’ve received the ideologies of America.
Instead of bringing them to the church that can give them the ideologies of God, they bring them to America and the American schools and now they grow up with American ideologies. So ideologically, they are not aligned with their parents, because America continues to put its ideologies into the children, and the Christians are just going there with their minds empty and their mouths gaping, receiving all of that education.
(1) Me, my things, our name (Gen. 3:5, 6:2,11:4)
Yes, we need education, but the ideology inside of there is “me,” individual freedom, individual rights, individual privacy. There’s nothing that can overcome that for them. So, “Even if they go to church, if I don’t want to hear it, I’m not going to listen, and if I feel bad today, I’m not going to church,” because the standard for everything is “me.” “I haven’t even talked to that person but I don’t like their vibe,” then I feel bad about that. “I had a very weird dream yesterday and now I feel so bad; I’m not going to worship today.” If anything interferes with my personal emotions or my personal opinions, then I cut them off. Even the Word of God, I only receive it if I understand it because the standard is “me.” Do you know what happens later on then? Because I’m so faithful to myself, I get seized by the depression in me. I face a financial problem, and because I’m so wrapped around myself, I get lost in that financial problem, why is that? Because the financial problem is not the reality; God has everything. But because you’re so focused on yourself, everything you see seems like a reality.
What is the reality? There is a plan of God Who has allowed this problem. The kids need to be trained to look for God’s plan within that problem, but instead, they’ve been trained for decades to only focus on “my thoughts” and “my emotions,” so they cannot overcome that problem. That was in Genesis 3:5, Satan says, “If you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you can be like God,” that basically means that you can live according to your own thoughts, you can go towards the kingdom you are dreaming about. I need to go in the direction God desires, but I go in the direction I want. Because we have set that humans are the truth, then it’s about whatever I want or whatever is comfortable for me. That is the most elegant way with which Satan controls America, and the kids are completely lost in this in the schools. Through all the broadcast, the books, the movies, everything they’ve received, they are completely trapped in this. Satan is killing them right now, but if the Christians don’t know this, they are just living their lives without realizing they’re being killed.
In Gen. 6, it says they chose whomever they desired, so we choose whatever we want. We shouldn’t do whatever we want; we should do what pleases God. “What I want”? In Gen. 11, they gathered their strength together to elevate their name. Why did they gather their strength to elevate their own name? To elevate their name, that’s their kingdom, so that stream is continuing from Genesis all the way to today.
(2) Idolatry, religion, demons (Ac. 13, 16, 19)
Then they put an idol on top of that, they choose a certain religion, or they try to receive more power by worshiping these demons. Why do we worship idols? Exodus 20:3-4 says to not worship or bow down to any idol for yourselves, so what is the act of worshiping an idol? Exodus 20:22 says that worshiping another god is idolatry. The way that Satan is moving in America is by using the great things, it is by using religions to only serve and live for yourself, then what happens? Even though we’ve received Jesus Christ, our thoughts, our minds, our emotions are still seized by Satan. That’s why, even if we’ve believed in Jesus Christ for a long time as a Christian, our mental problems are not being solved. Why are they not being solved? Does God not have the ability to solve your mental problems? Does God not have the power to change your situation? I’m working diligently, but it is only religion. I’m only believing in Jesus for myself. The Kingdom of God is being ruled and reigned over by the King, but because of this, we are just ensnared by Satan. So our spirit, mind, and body are seized by Satan, and I have no control. I thought, “I just want to do whatever I want to do,” but then later you face a reality where you cannot control anything.
When God created us, He did not create us to live however we desire. In Gen. 1:27, God created us in His image. Why did God create us in His image? If you take out the image of God, then we can just live like animals, freely. Animals just live according to their nature, but strangely enough, humans are different. Why is that? Because we live with God’s image. That means we are a creation that lives according to the will of God. The “image of God” means that God comes into me and reveals Himself through me, but Satan keeps telling us, “You can be like God.” The Word God gives me must be revealed in my life, but Satan makes me live according to my own thoughts.
Who does that? In Gen. 3, Satan went into the serpent and told them this, but he is working the same way today. If we are living as the image of God, then we receive God’s blessing to rule over, subdue, and to be abundant in number. That means that it doesn’t just end with me, but it’s related to the next generations. The spiritual stream began with Adam, it is going down every family line, and even though it is revealed in an external way differently, inside, the core is the same, so I hope you will stop worrying about the problem you see in front of your face, but instead, go into the invisible Kingdom of God, because you must go into God’s Kingdom for you to have peace. You can only receive joy when you go into God’s Kingdom. You are not able to live a good life; you are only able to be righteous in God’s Kingdom. It doesn’t matter how much you shout and yell for justice; the person who is asking for justice themselves cannot be just because Satan himself is a liar and a murderer. Satan prevents you from living a just life.
(3) Caught in snare – Spiritual, mental, physical, afterlife, future generation
Everyone is only living for themselves, how is that “just”? If you can be given money to change your judgment, how could there be justice? They change their judgment based on popular opinion, how could that be just? Only God can be just, and only the one who is reigned over by God can reveal His righteousness through us. That was Noah. During that time, the sons of God married the daughters of man, whoever they decided, why is that? Because they thought that was the right thing to do, and they lived however they thought was right, but from God’s perspective, it was evil, and from God’s perspective, the only righteous man was Noah. From God’s eyes, he was the only one who was blameless, he was one who walked with God. That is the Christian we need. Yes, it’s great if the church is big and many people come, but what if that all just becomes pollution?
What happens if, instead of spreading the Kingdom of God, they just focus on volunteering? We need to establish the kingdom of God that saves lives and the volunteering followings, but we shouldn’t think that volunteering is the main focus. There are too many volunteering organizations. I went to the homeless shelter to proclaim the gospel, and they were all waiting to see who had the best merchandise, and went to them. There are so many organizations that have their different sashes, and they go to these different organizations, but even the homeless people, they are waiting, and they aren’t just going to receive anything. They pick what’s best. Is that what the church should do? Yes, we should do that as well, but nonbelievers do that much better. There are so many people like that in America. There are so many people who give their entire inheritance to an organization, but there is not a single person who is relaying the Kingdom of God accurately. What is the banner raised in America? Freedom, personal freedom, personal rights, personal comfort and equality, that is the banner of America. That is what’s seizing all of America and the children. Yes, it’s necessary, we shouldn’t lose our human rights, but there’s no sovereignty of God, and that prevents people from knowing the true freedom in Christ. They talk about evil but they prevent people from knowing who Satan is.
2) Clothes of Christ
So there are many churches and many seminaries, but America is going further into evil. You and I must know just one thing today: we need to wear the Clothes of Christ, but what exactly is Christ?
(1) It is finished – All problems are finished (Jn. 19:30)
John 19:30, Jesus Christ said everything is finished. What is finished? Jesus Christ has finished the problem that no human can solve: sin, Satan, and death. All problems began from these three problems. That problem, He finished on the cross at once, and Jesus said, “Everything is finished,” Why is that? Because now the Triune God is with you, and now you’ve received the background of the Kingdom of heaven. There is a nation called North Korea, and there’s a country or nation called America, so the people are not the issue; but the person will change based on the background of the nation they’re born to. If we ourselves go into the background of the Kingdom of God, then we will be changed.
(2) Cornerstone, rock, master (Mt. 21:42, 16:16,18)
He is our cornerstone. When you raise up a building without a cornerstone, it’s actually going to collapse. Christ must be our foundation and our Master, then the Kingdom of God will be established in us. God will change our mental state, God will change our weaknesses and scars, He will change our anger. The Lord will change the addiction in me. Because His Kingdom has peace, joy, and righteousness, He changes everything into that. In Mt. 16:16, to the person who confused Jesus is the Christ,” Jesus says, “Blessed are you, on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” This is the rock. No matter what problem we face, we will not shake. Inside of that problem is the plan of God, so you shouldn’t misinterpret the problem; your problems are already finished on the cross. Gal. 2:20 says that Jesus Christ is living within me as my life and my Lord. When you look at the problems in your life, you should not look as if you are your master. You should look at that problem wondering, “Why did the Master, my Lord, allow this problem?” then you won’t get stuck in that problem. The Lord gives you the answer. If there’s a big problem, there’s a big answer. If you are facing a crisis, it’s a crisis to you, but it’s not a crisis to the Lord, it’s an opportunity for great blessings. Let’s say you have a conflict, what should you do? It’s telling you to change yourself. You don’t have the vessel to receive blessings, so you need to enlarge your vessel because God wants me to become bigger so I can receive more blessings.
(3) Church, gates of Hades broken, keys of the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 16:18-19)
Then He says, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus said that we can receive the keys to open the gates of heaven. We receive all our answers and everything from the Throne of Heaven, and that is the method for those who belong to God’s Kingdom. We don’t look at and live for the things of the earth. First seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, and the first priority in every aspect of our life is the Kingdom of God. “His righteousness”? Christ. That is our first, you need to have the correct order. If you have the correct order, the answers are bound to follow, then all these things will be given to you as well. Everything you need to establish God’s Kingdom, He will give you. “I need to do world evangelization to save the 237 nations and establish God’s Kingdom,” then God will give you everything you need to do that. If your business and your studies are used to establish God’s Kingdom all over the world, God will bring you everything you need. For the children, God gives you a talent, and He will work upon you to develop that talent into a specialization. It’s not enough to just study well. It’s not going to work just by just studying well. What we need is the person who has the talent from God and turns that into a specialization to establish God’s Kingdom. Why do we have to study that and develop it into a specialization? To establish my own kingdom? No, God gave it to me for His Kingdom. For students, if you hold to the covenant and begin to study, God will guide you.
There are some people who are just naturally diligent in studying, but they will face their limitations more quickly than others. That was King Saul, he faced his limitation without going very far. But ever since David was young, what he studied was being with God and being with God’s vision while he tended the sheep. He’s someone who climbed up by receiving answers from God. Whenever they face Goliath, the people who studied with their own strength will just fall into that problem. There are people who are just naturally good. But in front of Goliath, they cannot budge, but not David because he received his answer from God no matter what. “God is with me, and I’m going forward in the name of the Jehovah Lord.” That is when God’s kingdom is established. That is the Christian who is necessary. We don’t need many Christians, we need the correct Christians. There are many successful people like King Saul. Israel was not destroyed because of a lack of people like him, but if there is one person like David, then all of Israel will be saved. Why did God send you to America? For education, to make a living? Yes, it’s good to have citizenship. If you have an American citizenship, you can stand up straight. But Paul did not boast of his Roman citizenship. When he was being sent to prison, he could’ve just given them his Roman citizenship and not gone to prison, but he hid his citizenship and went into the prison, why? For the gospel. I have the citizenship of the Kingdom of God, but if you’re not able to see what is truly good, you’re going to brag about the things that are not good. Yes, it’s good if you get into an Ivy League school, but it’s not going to work like that. I’m not telling you not to study, try your best, but that’s only the introduction, there’s a main point after that, God’s Kingdom, and God will use your studies to establish God’s Kingdom, and that person will succeed even if they try not to. Even if they don’t chase money, money will follow them. Even if they don’t talk about how weak they are, God’s power will follow them.
Moses was called as an elderly 80-year old man, but God used him with power until he was 120. That is in the hands of the creator God. May you and I throw away all of our excuses. After Adam and Eve sinned, the first thing they did was blame, the man said it was the wife’s fault, and the woman said it was the serpent’s fault; there’s even songs about excuses. That is a pitiful, cowardly life. “It’s because of the church, or it’s because of my spouse, or because of my parents, I shouldn’t have come to America, it’s all because of America, it’s because of that friend I met in school.” There’s no answer there; I believe Christ is the answer to every problem, and if you simply go into the Kingdom of God, none of it will matter. If I become a prince of the King and my identity changes, nothing is a problem because everything follows me.
3) Kingdom of God
(1) Only the Holy Spirit – Drive out the kingdom of Satan (Mt. 12:28)
How is it that the Kingdom of God is established? If it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that you cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. It doesn’t matter how much you study the Word of God with your theory; that’s just theory. The Holy Spirit must actually work for the kingdom of Satan to be cast out and the Kingdom of God to be established. The Holy Spirit inside of me must work. He is already inside of me, but He must work upon my thoughts, my emotions, my life. This is invisible but this is the reality. Only when the Holy Spirit comes upon you will you receive power. Are you weak? Receive power. Are you weak because of a lack of money? Receive power. If you’re so sick that you cannot establish the Kingdom of God, receive power and be a witness until the ends of the earth. That blessing has been prepared. Just simply go into it. There is a kingdom we go to after we die, but there is a kingdom of heaven we enjoy every single day on earth. Every single day, confirm the clothes of Christ. There is only one condition for the Kingdom of God, it is the clothes of Christ. Every day, you must check whether you are wearing the clothes of Christ Who has finished all problems on the cross. The condition is not how diligently you pray; it doesn’t matter how hard you pray, you must wear the clothes of Christ, and then, the Triune God will work.
(2) Me, meeting, house, business/academics, region – 5 fields
Where does He work? He works upon five fields. We cannot escape these five fields. First, it’s “me,” myself. The second field is the people I meet. With every person I meet, there is a plan of God. But why are you not able to enjoy God’s Kingdom? Because you have your thoughts, you have your own opinion. Instead of God’s plan, you think of your opinion, “my experiences,” then you are not able to enjoy God’s Kingdom. “I avoid those people and I meet with those people”? You’re not able to enjoy God’s Kingdom. The third field is the field of your family. Yes, your family should be happy and loving, but under there, that must be the mission of the Kingdom of God. You must give them the mission to be the main figures of America evangelization. But instead, you’re giving them something else; instead of giving them the Kingdom of God, you keep feeding them through your family something else. Then, the problem the parents have goes exactly into the kid. All problems begin in the family. You might say, “When did I ever do that?” but you did. Instead of giving them God’s Kingdom, you gave them everything else, and then the next field is your business and studies; you cannot escape. You’re not going there to work; you’re going there as a missionary to establish God’s Kingdom. “Isn’t this too much to ask for?” It’s because you’re used to thinking like that, but first, seek God’s Kingdom, so that God’s Kingdom may be established in your business field. The Kingdom of God must be broken down, then the answers follow after. For working professionals, the Kingdom of God must be first. Yes, you might make money from your job, but that is a life that is enslaved by money. God’s Kingdom must be established there.
Then, there is the region where you are living. If you don’t know this, then the forces of darkness will take over your region. These kids are growing up in America, but they’re being destroyed by both the curses in their family line and the curses in the region. Why? Because they don’t know the Kingdom of God. The issue is not if I live in a comfortable house with a green yard; the Kingdom of God must be established there. “Oh, I’m going to make a lot of money and have two houses, and one of them is going to be beachfront,” great. God’s Kingdom must be established there, but because people are not establishing the Kingdom of God, even if they get the beachfront property, they die of depression. Now, we need to raise the kids so they have the vision and dream to establish God’s Kingdom in America and the world.
(3) Spiritual strength (Ac. 1:8) – Restore everything (Mt. 6:33)
(4) Mission of raising God’s kingdom in America and the whole world
(5) Summit of the 237 nations, healing, future generation – Temple
Conclusion
1. Morning – With the Triune God, Prayer to receive strength
How can we specifically enjoy God’s Kingdom? As soon as you wake up in the morning, you’re reverted back to another state; you’ve reverted back to being “Me-centered,” You go back to your me-centeredness, “How am I going to work today? How am I going to meet people today?” At that time, remember to put on the clothes of Jesus Christ Who has finished all problems on the cross to work upon me as my Lord, and “May the background of the Throne of Heaven be my power; work upon me today.” That is the reality that is invisible. Then you’re bound to receive strength. It is invisible, but you’ll actually receive strength.
2. Day – Prayer to find God’s meaning and plan
In the daytime, you need to meet a lot of people and do a lot of things, but when you go out into the field, you’ll be deceived again. You need to discover God’s meaning and God’s plan there. Everybody lives for themselves, for their own success, they hide their own ulterior motives when they talk to people. When the kids go into that kind of field, they cannot overcome, and they’ll change into that. Then what’s going to happen? You need to help them discover God’s plan and His meaning. To receive God’s guidance, in all of these repetitive problems, these repetitive meanings, these repetitive work and studies, don’t find your own meaning; find God’s meaning.
3. Night – Concentration prayer to find answers to problems, wisdom in our work, the word in our ministry
And at night, you need to receive the answer to your problems. If you let that problem remain night and after night, you’ll destroy yourself. Most problems come from not acknowledging God. God just has to work on our financial problems. Then you should ask, “Am I somebody upon whom God would work?” Your human relationship problems, just ask God. There’s nothing you can do. Most problems, after you pray about it, you realize, “I have to entrust it to God.” If you’re not able to receive that answer, then all of the human relationship issues will stack up and will make you fall. At night, the master of your business and studies is not you, it is God, so you need to receive God’s wisdom. God is the Master, so ask God to give you His wisdom so you can run His errands. If there are people with whom you need to do ministry the next day, then receive God’s Word in advance. This is the specific prayer that allows you to enjoy the Kingdom of God from morning, day and night. There’s nothing else that can go in. It doesn’t matter how good your thoughts are, you cannot go in. It can only be finished when the Word of God becomes my thoughts. May you enjoy and testify of the Kingdom of God throughout the week.
Message Prayer
Let us pray individually holding onto the Word God has given us.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. God, we pray that you will bless all of the hands that have given the offering for the Temple Construction, tithe, and future generations. God, we pray You will give the blessing of all blessings so that everywhere this offering is used, it will be establishing God’s Kingdom and breaking down Satan’s Kingdom. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. Even though they have coincidentally visited our church, we believe it is God’s necessity. We pray that, according to the Word You have given them, they will be a family that enjoys the Kingdom of God and saves lives. We pray that You will bless them so they may hold onto the mission and relay it. 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. 10/14 (Sat.) LA Young Adult Retreat.
3. 10/16-19 Lecture for Mexico evangelism disciple class: Invited Elvia (El Salvador) for training.
4. Ordination ceremony at Step With Christ Church at 4PM.
5. 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, 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 future generations who desire to wear the clothes of Christ and relay the and enjoy the blessings of the Kingdom of God, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.