The Value of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:4-14)

Those who don’t know the gospel will live like this, they don’t like the church because the church says the opposite things to this. Paul lived diligently to become a perfect and renowned figure, but he persecuted the church, so it says he a was righteous. These things can be the reason why someone succeeds, is it good or bad? That’s not the point. This is the state where such people do not know who they truly are.

One day, Paul completely changes. He had everything but he still had something missing, what is that? Mankind still has to meet with God. This person had not yet met God. They are just used to living diligently so even when they go to church, they work diligently.  Such people are still captured by Satan.  Satan works so you only think about yourself, that you yourself are God and there’s no other God. You are trapped in sin with the background of hell.

America is great, many places talk about the law and the elites have gathered.  So, the background of the flesh in America is very strong. You can work as diligently as you want, but this is not everything.  People cannot come out of these three problems.  You cannot come out of this according to your own diligence or success, so the more you try to work diligently, the more you suffer. You have no choice but to go along the path you do not wish to follow.

But one day, you’ll meet Jesus Christ. And that’s the answer.  Until you know this, you diligently study, do Bible study, and go to church, but even then, you do not change. Although your outer appearance may change, your inner state hasn’t changed. As time goes on, your spiritual problems become greater.  These people appear as if they’re elite and look great, but they secretly do things on their own. Because they’re in a position that commands respect, they do other things in secret, they do expensive drugs in hiding. 

“I need to study hard and succeed, this is how I can survive and live,” but after meeting Jesus Christ, you realize you cannot solve your actual problems with these things.  So, in order to hold onto Jesus Christ, you must let go of these things. These works came upon Paul. Paul actually lived a life where he tried everything on hisown, and he had to do this because he did not have the gospel.

Remnants, listen carefully. Does this mean you have to abandon everything and stay in church all day?  “The Bible says everything’s a loss and I have to get rid of it”? No, you misunderstand. Why do you do such things?  In the past, I thought I could live for all these things, but now I don’t hold onto those things, but I hold onto and rely on Jesus Christ.  These are distracting, so now I consider them as the second thing, because when I hold onto Jesus Christ, I can be liberated from Satan, sin, and hell. 

Even now, if you lose hold of Jesus Christ, these three spiritual problems will come upon you.  Satan is deceiving you even now.  In the past, we belonged to the devil, but now we’re liberated because we believe in Jesus, but Satan still disturbs us.  Satan uses your thoughts, emotions, the things you see on TV, and everything else so that you become separated from God’s Word.  That’s why the Word of God does not remain, but the music you listen to, the words of people remain, and Satan deceives you, so you have no choice but to be in suffering in the background of hell.  That’s why, in order to gain Christ, you let go of all these things. 

This is what it means to consider everything a loss. I considered such things as rubbish in the past, but when the light of the truth came upon me, that’s when I was able to know. Now I’m found in Christ, so who are you now? You’re a child of God who will never fail, but we’ve still not completely failed.  But we still have mental suffering. It comes even if we go to church or not, even if we get vaccinated or get the booster or not.  That problem has nothing to do with this problem. It doesn’t matter if you’re a citizen or if males and females must be equal. 

I need to be found in Jesus Christ Who has liberated me from these fundamental problems. Find yourself here, a child of God, I’m a spiritual ambassador who relays this word. You cannot discover this in your school, you must discover yourself as a new creation in Christ. It is not the “you” of your past, but it is the new “you” in Christ.  The child of God Who can never fail.  I’m the spiritual ambassador who will relay this gospel, you need to discover this.

You can’t discover this by studying hard, this is hidden within Christ, so you need to find it.  Then, you can find the new “you.”  Paul still looks the same, his face hasn’t changed at all, but what changed? His inner state changed.  If your inner state changes, your entire life changes.  So, you need to find yourself within Christ.  Then, you see yourself as a new creation.

Not having a righteousness of my own that comes through the law, but the righteousness that comes through faith.  You give worship and offering in faith and give praise to God.  There are many people who don’t praise, and Satan works so that these people cannot open their mouths.  Opening your mouth means you receive strength and give praise to God with your entire body.  These people, when taken to Karaoke, belt out songs, but they aren’t able to open their mouths in praise, why is that? Because Satan is oppressing them.

“Pastor, how can you say that so easily?” Do you know what Satan does?  He blocks us so we cannot glorify God and Satan is glorified instead.  So, when David sang praise with his harp and lyre, the evil spirits that captured King Saul fled.  In worship, we also give prayer to God.  There’s no reason to give anything to God in Bible study,

What is worship? It is sacrifice. I need to offer myself, but instead, Christ has been sacrificed for us, so we give God our lives in Christ, I give Him my entire life.  That’s when God gives us His grace and allows us to see the things that are closed up.  I ate lunch after second worship with some newcomers. First and second service are very different.  I didn’t realize this before, but after speaking with these people, the person asked, “Can we do Bible study?” it means the person has received the Word and is desperate, the person wants to open their eyes based on what they said.

What do you think I said? “I’m always ready, a firefighter is always ready to put out a fire. A soldier is always prepared to go into war.”  This person said, “I have two other people who would have plenty of time and would like to join, can you come to my place downtown?” So, the younger sister said, “I want to go to church,” and the older sister said, “I normally wouldn’t come unless it was for my younger sister.”

The word given during the first and second services depend on the people.  “What would have happened if I didn’t come? Luckily for you, I wanted to come,” so God gives the Word depending on who is in the crowd.  When God’s grace comes upon you, the things that were closed up will open as your eyes open.  If your eyes are closed, you’re still within this old nature, and you give offering, and it seems like such a loss because you’ll want to give it to something else. 

“Why do I have to praise? I don’t even want to.”  But for those who experienced the gospel, it’s different, it’s a mystery. I did the 5pm Business message for the first time yesterday. People don’t want to chase themselves, but they want blessings in their business, but God wants to bless those people.  People only think about themselves and their old nature, but when you’re within Christ, all these other things follow, and that’s what you call a mystery.  The world doesn’t teach this but it’s what God reveals during worship time. You can’t change this with money.

Phil 3:12. 

Col. 3:2

Others consider wisdom, knowledge, and treasures in other things, but all these things are hidden in Christ.  The more God reveals, the more we’re liberated.  People try to earn money and change themselves to do so, but people within this will naturally earn money.  Other people have the goal for money, but we press on to hold onto that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us, and money will follow. Why? To fulfill His covenant, God will give His strength, and this is the reason you study.

I lived as an unbeliever, and everything in my past will be used.  My spiritual sufferings were also used, all of it is used as a platform for what God has revealed and will be used for what Christ Jesus took hold of me.  We placed Deaconess Lee in charge of the women’s ministry, and she seems anxious. That’s living in the past. I explained to her how I see it.  When I first was promoted to Lieutenant, I didn’t know what to do, but there were several Sergeants under me, and the captain above me told me to use those under me. I didn’t know that before, so I tried to do everything on my own, but I divided up the roles among the sergeants.  So, for the women’s ministry, communicate often with the members. Listen to things but also discuss it with the members and decide how to move forward, and everything gets used. As she was leaving, I told her, “Utilize your leadership skills.” If you have the position of leadership but do not use those skills, you will suffer.

Press on towards the goal, otherwise you haven’t experienced the gospel yet. People in the world may think, “This or that is interesting,” but those who only think the gospel as interesting will be lost. But if you hold onto the gospel, you’ll discover your mission.  If you have the gospel without knowing what to do, you’ll have to think again. There is a goal, and it will be revealed.  It may come right away, or it may come later, but regardless, we need to be people who press on towards the goal.

Even if they’re playing, they play towards this goal. Even if they work diligently, they work diligently for this goal.  So, whether they do this or that, press on towards this goal of world evangelization.  What can I do for the remnants and the future generations?  I’m not in a state where I can talk to them and touch their inner state. God told us to go out and make disciples of all nations, but I’m distant from this.

I must raise the future generations, the ones born here. To raise the future generations, we need adults and God will work according to that. Even now, there’s no change. God is working according to the Word He has given. All of you have a goal. 

If you want to evangelize the White House, you have to go in there, you cannot be a beggar outside. If you want to evangelize to Microsoft, you cannot be a beggar outside. You have to go in. If you want to evangelize to the elites, you must become an elite, not be an outside beggar.  You might receive persecution while you’re on earth, but later on, you’ll receive a reward 100x bigger. 

What does this mean?  I race towards the goal of world evangelization and God fulfills my worldly needs.  What are the blessings on this earth? These are the blessings required for world evangelization.  For us, we know these things of the world aren’t everything, but they’re used as a tool for world evangelization.

All the stories in the Bible with Paul and Moses are the same.  Whether they lived as an elite in the past or were abandoned by the world, all these things will be used by God when they believe in Jesus Christ. Even though the past may have seemed like suffering, these things become reasons to be thankful. If you’re not thankful for the past, you don’t have thanksgiving for the gospel, then that means I’m not aligned with the Bible.  Either that means I’m wrong or the Bible is wrong, but there’s no way the Bible is wrong.

If I’m wrong, I have to change myself, and if I cannot, I must ask God for grace.  You have the greatest blessing, and you know what you must do. Even if you’re sick, there’s something you must do.  Even if you retire, your physical work may stop but there’s something you must do. Until the Lord calls you, you must do something.

I have many retired friends who aren’t even 60 years old. All my friends worked in big companies but were forced into early retirement, even the government officials need to leave. They’ll just play and live for the remainder of their lives. Do you know how boring this is? You’ll get sick.  The diligent person ends up playing and gets sick, so a spiritual disaster awaits them.

You can travel the world once or twice a year, but they can’t do it every day. They don’t have the goal; they don’t know why they need to live.  They just think they need to live diligently in their company and to do their work, but that’s not it.

The remnants are very blessed and one day you’ll know when God pours out His grace.  We don’t know the time, but we are within worship.  God needs to open the doors; we cannot just try to make things on our own and make things forcefully.  There’s nothing greater than the gospel.  I’m so thankful for the goal of world evangelization because if we don’t’ have Christ, then we don’t have this goal and I’m able to find the work in line with this.

I’m thankful I’m a pastor, pastors don’t have anything to do.  In the past, I used to work in the finance department, and it didn’t match with me at all. God called me as a pastor, so it shouldn’t work out for me.  I can tell that the programs we’re using now are a lot less developed than the previous systems.  But God didn’t allow me to stay there, so everyone has a work they must do.  When I was in college, I studied statistics.  So, I also studied electricity and German well. I went to a school for gifted individuals, and it was very exclusive. But I couldn’t get into college, so I thought, “I’m so oppressed,”

All the things of the past will be used. Nothing is unused.  All the limitations and lacking I had in the flesh. I’m most proud of being a pastor who evangelizes. If you’re proud of yourself, you’ve already succeeded. It doesn’t matter who I’m talking to, but I will even testify to the presidents as they stand before me.  In the past, I thought I needed to do everything, but God gave me His grace and changed.  God has prepared me in my past for all of this.

At your age, you may consider the inability to study to be the greatest problem. We will end here.  I hope you will experience, enjoy, and relay the blessings of Jesus.

Prayer

Father God, thank You.  Let us live like Paul and Moses, living the life heading towards the goal You have prepared for us. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.