The Power of the Resurrected Lord (Romans 9:1-6)
If I can’t overcome something, what am I supposed to do? That is the point of Easter. Why do kids fall into gaming addiction? They aren’t able to overcome that. Why do people fall into alcohol addiction? They cannot overcome it. Some people say they just enjoy it, but if you become addicted, can you really enjoy life? You cannot. You become a slave to that thing. Do you know what being a slave is like?
Just by knowing Jesus Christ died for my sins, that’s not enough. You only know it like that, so you cannot overcome. How must we know it? Just like it says in Romans 6, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, I also died with Him. Listen carefully, what do you hear when you’re young? Jesus Christ washed away my sins, then you think you can just stay still because Jesus Christ washed away my sins and I’m a Christian, I’m a child of God, then you do whatever you want. Because of that, you’re enslaved. “I went to church but it didn’t do anything. I already know I believed in Jesus Christ who died and resurrected,” but you didn’t believe it; you just went to church and you know it.
Success is great but why are people enslaved by success? We should rule over success, but why are we enslaved by success instead? Don’t we all have to be enslaved to be successful? God never said that. Success needs to come to us as an answer from God. We must be freed. Are you a slave or do you have freedom? You misunderstand the cross. Even if you know it, you don’t really know it. That’s why this thing called “me” is always suffering.
Why is my life full of suffering? It is suffering because I’m dead on the cross but I keep coming back to life. What does it mean that I’ve died on the cross with Christ? Who is that “me”? You need to know this well. If you don’t know your own past, you don’t know yourself.
Gen. 3:5 you tried to be like God, that’s sin. Me, sitting in the position of choosing what is good or bad, that is sin. We don’t have sin because we commit sinful acts; sin already begins in our heart. That’s what the Bible tells us, and that’s the message Satan gives to people. He keeps putting this message that I’m my own god in my heart and spirit, then I get sad, I get happy, I hate this, I don’t want to do this, I hate this person, I like this person, what am I talking about right now? Isn’t that obvious? That is the state of sin. We aren’t sinners because we commit acts of sin; the state is sin itself.
That “me” has died on the cross with Christ. It is no longer me. Gen. 6, I choose whatever I like, but in Gen. 6:4-5, God says the hearts and thoughts of people were evil all the time. Of course, I should do what I want and what I like. I should do what’s beneficial to me, and if something isn’t beneficial, I shouldn’t like it. That is the state of a sinner. Then what should we do? It’s simple, we need to do what God wants us to do. It’s simple, isn’t it? But we don’t know that so we’re seized by sin and Satan.
I chose someone to like and got married, why? They aligned with me. But they need to be aligned with God. If they’re not aligned with God, well get married and then fight and then Satan works. When you choose your school and job, it is because you want it. Or there’s people who go to places they don’t want to go. Either way, your emotions go up and down, “I like it,” or, “I don’t like it,” and you get a job, it’s about what you like or not, and when you go to your job, there’s people whom you like but other people aren’t getting along with your style, and you are in this state of sin. Unless you come out of that state of sin, you can never change any other form.
Gen. 11:3-4, they gathered our strength together to make a tower to the heavens. What is so bad about building a tower? But it’s to exalt our own name. What’s wrong with that, and what happened after? “Let us gather our strength together to block God from scattering us.” What does it mean in terms of God’s Word? “Let us gather all our strength and intelligence; we can be happy without God.” That’s what happened in America, and later on, that turned into the curse of the Tower of Babel.
“Me, us,” that’s how everyone in America dies. We have so many scientific advancements, but why do people die of mental illness? Why are more and more people being homeless? Is it bad to be homeless? If you go to India, there are a lot of homeless monks who leave their homes on purpose. I’m not saying it’s bad, but I’m saying, you want to be in a house, but you are in a state where you cannot be in a home. Look carefully, you say, “Me, me,” but you live in a situation you cannot control. You keep doing something you like, but one day, it will turn into something you don’t like. That’s how people get divided. But people will say, “I don’t like this person,” then what about when you like them? Why do you hate them now? Relentlessly, that standard is me.
Where is God? Even if you go to church, there’s no God. You believe God is in heaven but you don’t believe God is with you, so you keep making decisions and living your life only by yourself, so then one day, there’s something you cannot do. That’s the problem of America today. The president cannot solve the shootings and drug problems, the president only thinks about themselves, too. He benefits from helping gun lobbyists, so he doesn’t block guns. Satan uses the ideology of “me” and controls us from ever since we’re young.
Ask the kids, when they hear something they don’t want to hear, they struggle against it. Even if you ask them to do something slightly uncomfortable, they strongly oppose it. If you ask the kids to do something a little uncomfortable, they’ll turn away from you. I told my daughter to greet the people in the elevator of our apartment, and she said, “I don’t know them.” We have a neighbor downstairs who’s only one grade older than her, but they pretend like they don’t know each other. Why? “I don’t want to; why do I have to do that?” Later on, what’s going to happen? If something doesn’t go the way I want, I kill myself. That’s how Satan controls the future generations.
This “me” where I am my own master has died on the cross with Christ. The way I look physically and the knowledge I have is the same, before and after I met Christ; what’s changed? It is no longer me, but Christ is the life and Master within me. That is the resurrection. The Lord died and resurrected as true light, and that light is within me as Lord. The life I live is no longer centered on myself but on my faith in Christ. It is no longer me; it is faith in Christ. How do you enjoy that? It’s not saying, “I don’t like this,” but you have to ask, “What does the Lord want?” It’s not about, “I don’t want this,” but, “What does God want?” That’s the life of a Christian.
We never do this, but instead, we think about what we want or don’t want. Even though we celebrate Easter, we don’t know what it means. If you have life, then as evidence of life, God will answer you. That’s prayer, what is prayer? We ask the Lord, but the reason you don’t pray is because you’re your own lord so you live the life you want. The Lord is somewhere far away, even on Easter, there’s no resurrection.
When do you get especially attacked by Satan? You hear something you don’t want to hear. “I don’t want to hear it, why do you keep telling me things I don’t want to hear? Me, me, me,” it’s not that, but why is the person allowing me to hear this? Then you’re bound to receive answers continuously, why? He’s resurrected, He’s alive. I don’t have strength but the Lord within me has strength. Why do I do that? I am my own standard, I’m weak. Everyone knows you’re weak. “I’m ugly,” or “I’m stupid,” everyone knows. “I’m okay,” but only you think you’re okay.
You cannot remain in yourself. You cannot do it. What is that? Your life cannot be a masterpiece if you’re the master of your life, but He died with me, and now He’s the Master of my life. Apply this. Why are you sitting here? Ask Him and you’ll receive an answer, it’s simple, but if you don’t know the prayer of the death and resurrection, you cannot pray. Then you ask, “How do I pray?” This is the joy we celebrate on Easter Day. We have to relay this to people who don’t know it. We go to school and get scarred, why? We don’t know about being self-centered, so we don’t understand. Should we worry about our future or not? If I’m alive, I have to worry about my future, but if the Lord is the Lord of my life, then He prepares my future.
The scars of my past, it is about my scars that I receive, then you really don’t understand. I’m dead. The “me” that was the master of my own life is dead, and now the Lord is my Lord. In order to know this gospel, God allowed you to experience your past. So, everything you’ve experienced in the past is a springboard and instrument to save others. If somebody has escaped and been healed of their past, they can talk about their past because it’s no longer a scar to me, right?
America was a UK colony at some point, right? Did you not know? This is the most basic history. America was a colony of Great Britain, and even France and Spain had colonies as well, but not like Great Britain. France and Spain had colonies in Canada and America, but they were for trade so it didn’t become like the English colonies.
The English came here to live, and because they were living here, they had to push out the natives, so there’s a war. The French didn’t make war, the Netherlands didn’t make war here. They just came to this land to sell their goods and to take the goods from here, so it was a mutual relationship. England wasn’t like that, they said, “Let me live here.” As they lived here, the natives moved out of the way, and we had to kill them in war.
That was England at first. They said, “No, we have to become independent,” and that was the America Revolution. Are we a colony now? We’re not, America is sovereign. We’ve escaped from our past, we’re no longer British colonies. The “me” in the past was under the control of Satan, and that was the beginning of every problem.
To change this, you have to change your master. I’m dead, there’s no “me” anymore, but even now, Christ lives in me. I hope you will enjoy this through prayer. Ask him, in the past, if you were self-centered, you’ll feel bad, and then you’ll receive an answer. Because you receive an answer, you can tell other people. “Pastor, that’s not true, I have friends who are good at studying and get everything they want,” I hope you will keep an eye on them in the future, because then what will happen one day? They will be happy and then sad. Testifying of the Lord is the gospel. If you don’t testify of this, but you keep talking about Jesus Christ, the people don’t change.
This “me-centeredness” is a state of sin, and Satan works with that.
Sin, Satan, Separation – Christ
What does it mean to receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit? It means Christ becomes your Lord and you follow Him, so it’s easy. That’s prayer. No matter where you are, you can pray. Even if no one is around to help you, the Lord is around with power, so He can help you. You should enjoy this for yourself and relay this to your friends. Let’s say your friend doesn’t have the life of Christ, but are they really getting along with you? You have to help your friend to truly have their life so they can be liberated.
The Israelites were not able to relay or enjoy life, so God sent them as captives to Babylon. God wants you to relay life. You cannot live without the life of Christ. In the history of Israel, they faced disasters 7 times. They were enslaved by Egypt, they were dragged into Assyria and Babylon, and there was more after that, but then there was Rome. There were other nations bothering them in between. Why? They weren’t able to enjoy or relay the life; they were in the state of being self-centered. It’s idolatry. What are you bowing down for? Exodus 20:3-4 says, “Do not make an idol for yourselves.”
Idol
Why make idols for yourself? God made it so that because of the idolatry, God made them dragged off as captives to Babylon. They were trying to live by themselves and couldn’t overcome captivity and suffering by themselves, so they cried for God’s grace. In that short time, the gospel was relayed to the Gentiles. Do you understand?
If you’re a child of God who believes in Jesus Christ, you, too, are within this stream, and no matter what, God is going to make you enjoy this life. God is going to make you destroy everything you’re doing so you can have this true life. If you look at people in church, they say, “I was doing well in the past,” but now you’ve been destroyed? You now have the life of Christ, but you still dream of your past, “Couldn’t I go back to the success of my past?” they still aren’t dead. They’re still dreaming of their own glory. They keep dreaming about the success without God; they still haven’t escaped from their past, and the failure I experienced in the past keeps tormenting me. They still haven’t escaped; we need to be in the life.
Who am I? Christ is my life, that is unique. It doesn’t matter if I’m weak or if no one is there to help me; the Lord is with me as life and power. You must study and work with this. Later on, you will make yourself suffer. Your parents cannot change this; you must change to the gospel so you’re not your own master; you’re going to resist and resist, but later on, you will change. Sometimes you may want to change things, but God will keep warning you. God didn’t immediately drag the Israelites to Babylon; God continuously warned them through Jeremiah, but they still did very well, even though the Word was still continuously given to them.
Later on, King Hezekiah’s children both died in front of him, his eyes were plucked out, and he was dragged hundreds of kilometers on a horse-drawn chariot to Babylon. Their captives taunted them, “Sing like you used to sing,” and they made them sing. They used to sing by the Jordan River with a lot of vegetation, but in Psalm 137, “Why are we singing praises to delight our captors? We should sing praises to our God,” so they just stood still.
There are so many refugees living in America, starting from Vietnam to other nations, and they make little towns for them to live in. On my way to San Diego, there is a town for Vietnamese. Also there are camps for Thai people. There is so much land so they give it to people to live in, it’s the same for the Israelites, they would be dragged to live by the river, and they’d do hard labor. It’s the same, people who immigrate to America must do hard labor. Ask your parents, they may have done well in Korea, but after emigrating here, they didn’t have a license, so they had to do hard labor, first. It’s the same thing. Whether they chose to be here, or they came for another reason, they didn’t have any other choice.
What did Assyria do? Assyria forced Assyrian women to marry Israelite men, and they became Samaritans, so the Israelites refused to believe the Samaritans were Israelites. The Samaritan woman asked about where to worship because they had their own worship. The Israelites forbade them to come to Israel in the south to worship. So the first place Jesus went was to Samaria.
People talk about bloodlines but the Jewish people only thought about themselves and their lineage. “Me, only I’m the selected person,” so they wear their yarmulkes and think they’re special. Other blond-haired, blue-eyed people say this, too, and everyone dies. We’re all people created by God, and everybody is the same as long as they come to Christ. That’s why Abraham Lincoln fought in the civil war.
Dallas, TX rejected that, and because there were so many plantations in the south and they wanted the slaves to harvest, they fought about it. Why is there still opposition in Texas? “We may have lost our sense of war. Texas to this day is talking about being independent. That happened ever since Abraham Lincoln’s term. Now that you know the bible, you can see why the Bible flows this way.
Why did the hippies come about? There’s a reason. They experienced three wars: The 1st and 2nd World War and the Korean War. 1914-1918, 1939-1945, and 1950-1952. Then there was the Vietnam War in 1960, so the young people opposed that. saying America is just about fighting wars. Even until the 1950s, there was the American dream family of two kids and a dog, This was advertised as a model family, the father would have a strong part in his hairline, but they said, “America cannot keep growing like this,” so the young people grew out their hair to go against the parted hair. Until that point, they were ruled by logic and rationality that led them to war; they said, “Let us be ruled by emotions,” so they started this. They said, “We have to choose all these other indigenous people,” and young people gathered with music like hippies.
In 1973 to 1975, when the Vietnam war ended, they had nothing else to talk about. There’s no answer. America is so great, but they were always in war. 90% of the veterans have mental illnesses. The young adults realize, starting from this year, the confession of faith disappeared. There was a Catholic president and now they started talking about religious freedom as they got rid of prayers. All the problems you have now did not exist back then, but now there are so many problems in the schools.
What is the standard for all this? Christ and God are disappearing from the schools, Now, America isa multi-ethnic people and it’s gotten to a point of mental illness, instead of “amen” it’s “amen and a-women.” Why? “We have to consider others’ religions. Why ‘amen’? You have to talk about women as well.” That’s America.
They’ve lost “only” and “uniqueness because we have to think about their perspective and how far we’ve come. They keep talking about the life of Christ, then they will wonder, “What will others think about me? “If you were able to enjoy this life, of course you would relay it to your friends. Why blame religion? Just give the answer. The name of this answer is “Christ.” But you need to at least know that they’ve heard correctly. They’ve even been going to church, Ever since they’re young, they say, “Jesus Christ died for my sins,” but that’s not the real gospel. The Jews have a lot of festivals and lost all the meanings. We need to change that. For your life to change. All problems come from self-centeredness. You need to enjoy this answer and tell others of it. This is why we study and make money, that’s why we succeed.
Even if I live or die, it’s for the Lord, that means Christ has resurrected and is now my Master. That’s how I live. Starting today, confess this in faith. It will feel difficult at first because you’re so used to living centered on yourself, but you have to trust the process and save it to the light. The Lord Who is the Light must be my Master. Everything moves following Christ, the main figure. On the outside, Joseph was a slave but on the inside, he was not. May you have victory.