The Word Became Flesh and Made His Dwelling Among Us (Jn. 1:14-18)
Let us bless one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Today we have a very special visitor, a pastor from Zambia, and his wife and son. I pray that you will receive great grace today. The title of today’s message is, “The Word Became Flesh and Made His Dwelling Among Us.” So this means that the Word of God became a human being and dwelt among humans. And if we don’t know that, we will live our lives being deceived. The way that people on earth are living today is by focusing on the physical things they see with their eyes. And the reason is because we have a physical body, so unless we do the physical work, we cannot live our lives. And because of that, people have no choice but to live their lives centered on working, studying, and making money. And they live so diligently, and that’s not a bad thing, but one thing starts to happen.
1. Word – Jesus Christ
If human beings were only their physical body, it would be okay, but we’re not; we’re also spiritual beings. And if a spiritual being becomes centered only on physical things, then they will get a spiritual problem, and that will result in a mental problem. In America today, the society is so strong and has so many good things to offer physically. But if we continue to live only centered on the physical things, because we are spiritual beings, ultimately we will have spiritual problems. At that point, we will fall into a situation that we cannot control, and because we cannot do what we want, people say, “Life is hard.” As a solution to that, God is telling us today that the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.
1) In the beginning (Jn. 1:1)
Two weeks ago, we received the word from John 1, that “In the beginning was the Word, and that Word was God.” We cannot see the Word with our eyes. And even if we can, so what? What are you going to do just by seeing President Biden with your eyes? Just because you see them with your eyes, doesn’t mean you know them. You can only understand a person if you understand their thoughts, their words, and how they act upon their words. How can we know God? God reveals Himself through His Word. So stop trying to see God with your eyes; you won’t be able to. There are some people who say, “I wish I could just see God once.” God is spirit, we cannot see Him, but God reveals Himself to us through His Word, when the Word of God is with us, and we live our lives following His Word.
(1) With God (Jn. 1:1)
(2) God (Jn. 1:1)
(3) Life, Light (Jn. 1:4)
It says in John 1:4 that that Word was life and light. Jesus Christ Who is God’s Word is our life, and on the other hand, there is death. If the Words of life of Jesus Christ overtake us, then we will come to life. But there are some people who are dead. Because they don’t have the Word of life of Jesus Christ, even though they speak words, they are speaking words of death. And the words they say are so critical; they think they are so well-educated and they criticize others, and they say things like, “This isn’t going to work,” or, “It doesn’t matter how much you try.” Where do those words come from? From spiritual death. But the words of people who have Jesus Chrsit will speak words of life.
2) World
Even though I am weak, the Creator God is with me. When I face a problem, instead of going into that problem, I look to God. That person will come to life, and then, they will say these words of life. But there are people who go to church, but still say words of death, like nonbelievers. They say words that are correct but will kill the other people they are talking to. Jesus Christ did not come to earth to say the correct words; He came to save. It’s not that we don’t have the ability to say the correct words, but it’s useless. If someone is drowning in the ocean, it doesn’t matter how correct your words are. If you just say, “Why are you drowning? I told you not to go in the ocean. Why did you go in?”, those words are correct but they are unnecessary. We need to say the words that save, we need to automatically throw the lifeline to them, we need to allow them to know Jesus Christ. Then that person’s spirit will be saved.
(1) Darkness (Jn. 1:5)
There are words that save and words that kill. Do you say words that save or kill to yourself? That makes up who you are. If a person becomes alive with the life of Jesus Christ inside of them, even their facial expressions change. That’s a human, because Jesus Christ is life and He is light. If there is light, that means there is also darkness; we’re not talking about a physical darkness that you can see; this is a spiritual darkness. If Satan oppresses people with a spiritual darkness, then they cannot see, and people become so oppressed. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ has fixed those who are spiritually oppressed by the devil, but that’s invisible to our eyes. Completely down the generational lines, if we don’t have Jesus Christ, we will be oppressed by the devil.
(2) Death (Rom. 8:2, Heb. 2:15)
(3) Satan’s authority (Jn. 8:44, Heb. 2:14)
3) The Word became flesh
What happens if we’re oppressed? We cannot budge, we have no freedom; we’re oppressed by our thoughts and emotions; our mental state is oppressed, and things that we don’t want keep happening. We cannot solve that with medication; no matter how skillfully we try to treat it, we cannot. It’s because we’re oppressed by spiritual darkness. There’s only one answer to that, we need the light. That is why Jesus Christ came as the light of life. That is why God Who is the Word must come to earth as a human and dwell with us. Why did He have to become flesh? Because He must die for us. We lived our life without knowing God; we had that original sin, and then we committed acts of sin, and Jesus Christ had to die for all of that sin. There is also the authority of Satan that is controlling all of America and all of the world invisibly, and we must be set free. That is the reason God came to earth as a human.
(1) Became a new creation
(2) Saved mankind – Sin, death, Authority of Satan
(3) It is finished (Jn. 19:30)
2. Made His dwelling among us
1) With us
And then it says in today’s verse, that He made His dwelling among us. In other words, God came to earth to be with us. In other words, where is the Lord? He is with me, He is inside of me. In Jn. 19:30, Jesus Chrsit said that He finished everything, and now He lives within us as the Holy Spirit. He has finished all of the most fundamental invisible problems of mankind. There are people who don’t understand these words. I’ll say it in the opposite way. If you become president, will you have no problems? If you have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, will you have no problems? If you had the ability to be physically healthy for the rest of your life, would you have no problems? You must be able to understand these words. If you have all of the skills and talents, then will you not have any problems? If your face is so handsome, like a movie star, will you not have any problems? But people are so deceived by the devil, they think, “If I have enough money, I won’t have any problems.”
We’re under the misconception that if we have enough skill or talent, we will have no problems, or if we just marry the right person, we won’t have any problems. That is why people fail, because of our ignorance. Even if we have everything, perfectly and completely, we’ll always have problems. Where does that problem come from? That problem continues to come from our sin of not knowing God. Those problems continue to come because we’re separated from God, in spiritual death. Those problems continue to happen because we’re seized by the ruler of this world, Satan. That is the reason Jesus Christ finished the fundamental problem on the cross, and now He is with us, as Immanuel. That is extremely important. The Creator God Himself died on the cross and is living inside of me, and He is my Lord.
(1) Cross, resurrection of the cross
(2) Immanuel (Mt. 1:23)
(3) Master (Gal. 2:20)
There is a message that Simon Peter proclaimed to the members of the early church in Acts 1. It was a message to the Jewish people, and he said, “The one you have crucified is Jesus Chrsit and He is Lord, and as He died on the cross and resurrected, He has fulfilled the work of the Christ and the Messiah.” In other words, He has done the work of salvation for us, and He is our Lord. That was the message of the early church. Is Jesus Christ your Lord? You’ll recognize when you face a problem; you’ll recognize if you are your lord or Jesus is your Lord. When you face a problem, if you fall into that problem, then you’ll know that you are your own lord. However, if you face a problem and you look to the Lord to seek His answers, then Jesus is your Lord. There are people who believe in Jesus Christ but still live in the nonbeliever state. If you believe in Jesus, then you should live in the state of a believer, believing that Jesus is your Lord. Even if you face a tremendous problem, if the Lord is your Lord, it doesn’t matter. Is there a problem in your family? If you are your own Lord, then you’ll have to be afflicted and oppressed by that. Not only will you be oppressed by your worries, but the Bible tells us the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Even though we go to church, we live our lives so oppressed. Because Jesus must be our Lord, but we are our own lord. If Jesus becomes our Lord, then we come to life, and from that person’s mouth come the words of life. But if they are their own lord, then they will say useless words, and they will always say words that are so pessimistic, like, “It’s not going to work,” words that kill. But as evidence that you are alive, you should say words that give life.
Last week, I was in Korea for the World Missions Conference, and I visited my home, and my mother is always saying words that are critical of my late father. And that is a curse. A curse is not just your house falling down, a curse can just be speaking words of death. And she’s a deaconess at her church, but she says words of death. And I changed her words to words of life, I asked her, “My father had so many good characteristics, why is it that you’re only talking about his faults?” And my mother made excuses, saying, “Oh, I only talk about that when you’re around.” But all of that becomes an inheritance for her children. If I am not filled with Jesus Christ, then I’m bound to say those words too. And there are people like that around you as well right? They always nitpick at people’s flaws and talk about that, and they keep meditating about those flaws. They always think about the bad things about that person. Why is that? That is a person who is dead. Every person has good points and weak points, but if Jesus Christ is not my Lord, I will only see their flaws.
There are people who always fight with their spouse, it’s because they only say negative words. There is a mystery to end that war, just don’t say words that make people fight. Always talk about that person’s strengths. If there’s anyone who fights with someone because they’re pointing out their strength, that’s a weird person. But it’s very hard to say these words, isn’t it? Because at that same time, you keep on saying words that are so negative. Do you know why that’s happening? Because that is the inheritance you received from your parents. Everything we are living in our lives we leave behind for our next generation. But if we enjoy the words of life of Jesus Christ, then that is what we leave for our children. So missions and evangelism are actually your current state for right now. So, will you kill your child or will you save your child? Your current state is what determines that. If I were not rooted in Jesus Christ, then I would be saying the same negative words that my mom was saying and passing that down. Thne, I told my mom, “I’m going to tell your pastor that you’re saying these negative words,” and she said, “Please don’t do that.” She’s like a little child. So I look at my family and realize, “Oh, this is how we’ve been living,” and this has become our entire nature, it doesn’t change.
That’s what a curse is. A curse is not just failing at your business, a curse means you don’t have the eyes to see God’s works. Imagine you’re so entrenched in your problem, then that’s all you can see. You need to see what God is doing in the midst of your problems. When you face your problems, you shouldn’t only be speaking about these problems, but you should ask, “What is the answer that the Lord is giving me through my problems?” Then, what happens? This is something that money cannot buy. There are people who are worrying even now. And that worry does not just leave you alone, it rots your bones and turns your cells cancerous, so you’re killing yourself, and not only that, you’re killing people around you. But for us, we save with the life of Jesus. I’m a child of God. The master of my life is not me, it is Christ. If there is someone who wants to be my enemy, I entrust them to the Lord. But there are people who stay as their own lord and try to solve the problem themselves. But the most you can do is just make another enemy, so you need to entrust it to the Lord so that He can take care of it. He is the Lord of judgment, and the Lord is our King. We need to entrust our judgment to Him. but instead, you’re trying to be king, you’re trying to make all your judgments and solve all your problems, but you don’t have the ability, so you just make more enemies.
2) Filled with grace and truth
(1) Law – Moses (Jn. 1:17)
And that Word came to this world as flesh and He came as grace and truth. In Jn. 1:17, it says the Law was given through Moses. The Law is God’s Word, but if I run at the Law, trying to keep it with my own actions, the only result is sin and curses. You need to listen carefully. There are some people who try to live a very moral and upright life, they try to live according to the Law, and that’s good, but if you just live like that, it’s a huge problem. The Word of God is the Law, but for people who try to keep the Word of God with their own actions, they think they’re perfect. The Law reveals our sin, and the result of sin is death. But when someone criticizes someone else, it’s because they think they’re better. In other words, they think that they’re keeping the law just fine. Inside, they’re thinking, “I’m not doing that, you’re doing that,” and they criticize. Then, that other person will wait until the opportune moment where you make a mistake and criticize you. I’ll tell you one thing: let’s say, today, for 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds, you think about the Lord perfectly, but if you have a bad thought for just one second, that’s a curse. And people think their law is perfect. The reason God gave us the Law is to reveal our sin that traps us under curses, so that we can hold onto Jesus Who is full of grace.
(2) Law – Cannot be righteous (Gal. 3:11)
So every single person needs the grace of Jesus, needs the cross. Especially for people who try to live the perfect life by themselves, they oppress themselves. I’m not telling you not to live a perfect life, but I’m saying that if you’re trying to live an upright, perfect life without relying on Jesus or the grace of Jesus, then you’re going to oppress yourself and criticize others. We must have God’s grace. We cannot keep the Law by ourselves, God gave us the Law so that through the Law, we realize that we’re sinners. Does that mean we should just ignore the Law in our lives? No, the Lord lives inside of us and allows us to keep the Law with His grace. So if you don’t know this gospel, you’re in big trouble, and that is why Jesus Christ is full of grace and truth.
(3) Grace – Faith – Righteousness (Gal. 3:11)
And because God gave us the grace, we are able to believe in Jesus Christ and become righteous. We did not become righteous by any of our actions, but because we believe in Jesus Christ Who has finished everything on the cross, we are made righteous. There are many people who try to live an upright life and are crushed by their own guilt trip when they fall short. And if you’re always burdened by your guilt, Satan will use that to dig in. And that’s why people who try to live this perfect and upright life will mentally burden themselves. I hope that people like that will be quickly liberated through Jesus Christ. God already knows we’re like that, that’s why He forgave us. And He knew that we don’t have the ability to follow God’s Word, that’s why we must hold onto Jesus Christ.
3) God was made known (Jn. 1:18)
Let’s say, there is a parent and child, no matter what terrible things the child does, that’s still their child. In fact, if there’s a child that is causing more trouble, that parent will have more interest in that child. That’s the relationship we have with our Father God. The weaker I am the more this almighty and omnipotent God will take care of us. So if you’re thinking, “I’m too old,” or, “I can’t do anything,” those are just your thoughts, those are thoughts of you being your own lord. But the Creator God is always inside of me as my Lord. The One Who can overcome all problems is with me. So do not look at your problems, but instead, look at the one who is in charge of that problem and can take care of that problem. Let’s say, you have cancer. You shouldn’t continue looking at that cancer, why are you looking at that? Even right now, our normal cells can become cancerous, you need to look at the One Who can overcome that cancer. And what if we continue to face problems in the world?
If people immigrate to America, they become very critical; they completely become selfish because everyone here looks like robbers, so the only one they have left is themselves. That’s a fact. However, if you are living your life in America really centered on the life of Jesus Christ, you will be different. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, it doesn’t matter. Even though I don’t have enough money, it doesn’t matter. Even though I hear words that are so unfair, it doesn’t matter. Why? Because God is alive and God will be the One Who reveals what is true and what is not. But you feel so unfairly treated that Satan holds onto that and it turns into this anger. And that’s how people can actually die of anger. Why would you do that, when you can just entrust it to God? If you entrust everything to the Lord, then He will take care of everything. That is how you live a long life. Otherwise, you’ll always be talking about how this person stabbed you in the back. It doesn’t matter. If the Lord is your Lord, even if someone stabs you in the back, you’ll still live. Have you ever seen the main character of a movie die? Nowadays, they sometimes do, but in the past, the main character never dies in movies. Even if they get a knife in their back, the bad character dies and the main character lives.
(1) I and the Father are one (Jn. 10:30)
Who are we? You and I are the children of God where the almighty, all-knowing God is with us. God is the Creator and the center of the universe, and He is inside of me. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says to me, that person will die, not me. If you receive this and change by God’s grace, no one can stop you. If you do have cancer, then that’s just a fact, but that will never overcome your Lord. you need to look to your Lord. Do you have a mental illness? Why do you keep on looking at your mental illness? You need to look at the Lord who is the master of your illness. “But if I do that, will I get better?” It doesn’t matter, entrust it to the Lord. You keep trying to grin and bear it by yourself, but one day, you can’t and you run away. And then, as you keep doing that, even your mental illness and cancer will go away. There’s no reason for you to just hold onto whatever problem you have, because the Lord is your Lord. If you have financial problems, always saying, “I don’t have enough money,” yes, those words are correct, but they’re wrong. The Lord Who moves all money is with me. That’s where we must look. If you keep on looking at what you lack, then that’s death.
Even right now, the One Who has the power of the throne of heaven, the One Who has the power of Creation, is with me. And if you keep on looking at Him, then one day, your problem will no longer be a problem to you. You know people who drink a lot or do a lot of drugs, right? They drink and do substances because they’re under so much suffering, and when they’re drunk, they don’t feel that suffering, they feel good. When they’re under the influence of drugs, they don’t have that suffering, they feel this ecstasy. In the same way, if you’re drunk on the Holy Spirit, even if you have a problem, it won’t feel like a problem to you. Even if you get cancer, it won’t matter. I’m sure all of you guys will understand these examples. That’s the reason people drink alcohol so much, because they’re suffering and stressed, and it’s only alleviated when they’re drunk. But does that mean the problem goes away? No, only when they’re drunk, they’re under a temporary misconception. And when they sober up, their problem is actually bigger. But if we’re filled with Christ as our Lord, then even if we have a problem in the world, it’s not a problem. Paul lived his entire life with a thorn in his side, and it wasn’t a problem. So if you face a problem, then that is the greatest opportunity to look to the Lord. God is allowing you to have this problem because you refuse to look to the Lord any other way.
(2) Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father (Jn. 14:9)
(3) Spirit of truth – He will be in you (Jn. 14:17)
There was a woman named Fanny Crosby who became blind at a young age, and in the beginning, she prayed for her sight to return, but later on, she prayed to remain blind, because she realized, “Even if I can see with my eyes, what good is that? If anything, being blind is better because I look to God.” My daughter’s name is Fanny, because the doctor told us, when my wife was pregnant with her, that she would be born with a heart or mental problem. And they asked me if we wanted to perform surgery on this medical problem. That doctor said they could run some tests on my baby in the womb, and I told the doctor, “I’m a pastor, if God has made my baby like this, then that is how I will have my baby. If that is how God planned and designed my baby, then that is how I’ll have the baby.” At the time, someone gave me a book about Fanny Crosby and it was about a blind woman, and I thought, “Maybe that is how the Lord wants my daughter to live” and I named her Fanny. And she got better, and the doctor said, “Even if they get better, they might get worse.” The pediatrician said, “When she reaches a certain age, we’ll be able to know for sure.” And now she’s wandering around, talking back to her dad.
But if I heard the words of the doctor and I was so trapped in the words, asking, “God, I’m a pastor, I’ve done this for you, why would you do this to me?” It doesn’t matter if I think that way because whatever God wants will happen. Why would I live like that? I would rely on and trust in God instead, because He is omnipotent and omniscient. God didn’t make a mistake for that to happen. God didn’t give you the problem or situation in your life by mistake. God is using that to bless you so that you can live towards Christ. It’s not about what you do, but if you look to the One Who is the source of blessings, that is the blessing. Do you want to enjoy freedom? Then look to the One Who is the source of freedom. Do you want to be more joyful? Then look to the One Who is the source of joy. Do you want to make more money? Then look to the One Who moves money. Do you want your face to be prettier? Look to the One Who can change your face. God gave you the facial structure He did. But what’s important is He can change your expression.
There are some people who fight so hard for human rights and justice, but if you look to the authority and justice of God, that is the one that will bring human rights and justice. The One Who is the source of all things is inside of us, and inside of Him is everything else. That is the image of God. We have been made as that tremendous being. In order to be with us, that God came to earth in flesh to dwell with us. He is the Spirit of Truth. He is the Truth, and Satan is lies. When you face a problem, I hope you will look at the One Who is the truth. If you look at the problem, you’ll be deceived by the lies. When you face a crisis, discover the plan of God to bless you. If you just go into the crisis, then you’ll be deceived. There’s no crisis to God. You need to find the opportunity for blessing. Are you facing a conflict? Change yourself. Don’t ask the other person to change, you must change yourself. That is the way to success. We don’t just become successful by working hard; if someone blocks us, then we have no choice but to stay where we are. If we get hooked onto someone’s words, then we just collapse. You must be seized by God’s Word.
In Is. 9:6, it says about Jesus Christ, that He is the everlasting father. Jesus Christ is the son, but we’re calling Him the Father? God the Father, coming to earth as a human, is the one and only son. He did not just change His physical body, but there is the Triune God Who works as One God. He lives inside of us, but what is He doing? What is He plotting? Aren’t you curious? God is not just sitting blank minded in us, He is thinking something. If I go into the work of the One Who is moving and creating the entire universe, then it’ll work out. If I go into the plan that President Biden is executing ,then everything will be provided for me. What is God doing? Aren’t you curious? If you don’t know God’s plan, then you’ll keep exerting your own plan.
3. Works in you (Phil. 2:13)
Phil. 2:13, says, “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” It means the Lord is doing something, the Lord is building your business, and aren’t you curious to know what that is? Don’t you want your life to participate in God/s project? It says, it is His good purpose. I know I need to go into God/s good purpose, in order for God to be delighted. Why are you always in despair? It’s because you’re not aligned with the will of God. If you’re aligned with the will of the Lord, then God will take care of it.
1) Mission of the kingdom of God (Ac. 1:3)
(1) All nations, All peoples, To the ends of the earth (Mt. 28, Mk. 16, Ac. 1)
What do you think that is? After Jesus Christ resurrected, He gave us the mission of the Kingdom of God. He is telling us that this world is trying to maintain their physical body, eating, studying, working. So they just eat three meals a day, and they just die like that. Raise your hand if you eat 5 meals a day. Whether you eat 1 meal a day or 3 meals a day or 5 meals a day, you’re just eating and then you die. There are even some people who take a flight to just eat and come back. Or, they take a vacation with their family, and they eat on the beach and die. Are we just living to eat? Whether people eat in the White House or on the streets, they just eat and they end their life like that. Is there anything more to life? Are you just going to wear snappier clothes, eat better, and then die? That’s what is happening in the kingdom of the world. But don’t just live like that, live for the Kingdom of God.
(2) Only Holy Spirit – Authority – Witness (Ac. 1:8)
Go into the plan where God is reigning. Then what happens? If it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that you cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. Then you will go into the tremendous project of God. That’s how we should live. Are you just going to eat 3 meals and end? The cat in my house doesn’t worry about food, the person worries about their food. All they have to do is meow. And then if they scratch at their food bowl, I know, “It’s time to feed the cat.” I can buy food for my cat until he dies. So should we live a life that’s worse than a cat? We’re always worried, “What am I going to do about this? What am I going to eat?” So if you don’t know God, your life becomes worse than an animal’s. Pray for the Lord’s Kingdom to be established within you, for the Lord to take complete control over you. Entrust it to the Lord.
(3) Works, Filling of the Holy Spirit – Doors of evangelism (Ac. 2:1-11)
Do you know what the New Age Movement is? Everyone is struggling so much that they want to empty themselves. Do you know what happens if you empty yourself? Either the Spirit of God or the spirit of demons go in. people keep trying to empty themselves, and in that empty space, the demons go in. Humans are spiritual beings, so we only have two options, will we be filled with the Spirit of God or the spirit of demons? But the world keeps telling you, “Empty your heart, empty yourself. Throw away your greed.” That’s how demons go in. For us, we cannot empty that. We have to let it go. Only when you realize and believe that my things have no value, can you let go of them, so that the Spirit of the Lord can completely fill you. If you are completely filled with alcohol, you don’t feel your problems. However, if you are filled with the Spirit of Jesus Christ Who is the light, you will come to life no matter what you face. And if you keep being filled with Jesus Christ, then that problem will no longer be a problem. And that mental problem will not be able to overcome God, how could it? I hope that you will be filled with the spirit of Christ. When? Right now. Right now, pray, “May the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit that is inside of me, completely fill me.”
2) Day by day
(1) Inside me – God’s kingdom
“May all go well as your spirit gets along well.” That’s the most important thing for us to strengthen. If you have cancer, then all you need is to have the immune system to overcome it. Even if you face so many problems, you need to have the mystery for it to no longer be a problem. That’s our walk of faith. The Lord is my shepherd so even if it looks like I have nothing, it’s not that I have nothing. I;ll give you a testimony; even if you have nothing, you don’t lack anything. No matter what anyone says, it has no power. God is alive, He can do the work immediately. This world does not move with the words of people. God is controlling the entire universe. It moves according to His Word.
(2) In the field – God’s kingdom (Mt. 12:28-29)
“Only when the Holy Spirit comes upon you will you receive power and be my witnesses until the ends of the earth.” That Kingdom of God, that work of the Holy Spirit, inside of me, inside of my field, inside of my business. Therefore, first seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. Instead of working first or studying first, establish God’s Kingdom first. Because if God’s Kingdom is established, first of all, demons are cast out. If you want to rob a person’s house, you need to bind the strong man and then steal their possessions. If you go into your field but there is a strong man there, you won’t be able to take anything out. You need to bind Satan, who is the ruler of the kingdom of the air. Therefore, first seek to pray for God’s Kingdom, for God to work first. As soon as you wake up in the morning, pray for God to work upon you. Then, when God’s Kingdom is established within you, you will have peace in your heart.
(3) 237 nations, 5000 unreached tribes – God’s kingdom
3) My business, studies, ministry
(1) First God’s kingdom (Mt. 6:33)
(2) Work in prayer
(3) Work in answers
I went to Korea last week, and 99% of my friends are nonbelievers. And my friends said to me, “Wow, your face is so peaceful,” and “peace” isn’t a word nonbelievers use a lot. So I am a walking evangelism tract. Thne, one of my friends said, “What am I going to do about my retirement? My wife asked you to pray for us.” I told him, “You need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you and your whole family will be saved.” The nonbelievers know when they see me, because they all know my past. They know me more than anyone else. “Oh wow, you look very peaceful.” Of course, I am, because the Lord is my Lord. I have no ability to make myself peaceful. People are trying so hard to become peaceful by succeeding but they are living a life of lies. If you are separated from God, then you are filled with fear. The moment you become your own God, deciding what is right and what is wrong, you will be filled with fear. Then, you try to cover that fear with something else. You say, “Oh, I have so much money,” or, “I’m so capable,” and try to cover your fear. Only when you make God into your God, to reign over you, will that fear go away. You keep trying to cover yourself up, because of your fear. To say this specifically, whenever you face a problem, you try to make your own judgments and solve the problem yourself; that will only cause you more fear. If you make the Lord into your Lord and entrust it to Him, then you will have more peace. The situation in Gen. 3 that brought us fear, that made us under the control of Satan, is happening today.
Conclusion
1. One with God through the Word – 3 Concentrations
So in conclusion, as soon as you wake up in the morning, the first thing you must hold onto and pray, is the Kingdom of God and the Word of God. If that does not take place, then you will be feared with your worries immediately. Or you’ll be filled with thoughts like, “Oh, I have to do the same thing I did yesterday, and I have to do that work again.” But when you make God into your Lord, then as soon as you wake up, you’ll be filled with hope, “I wonder what God is going to do through me today.” And then, during the daytime, you have to work and talk to people. If you listen to those words of death, then you will die as well. Instead, you need to look to the Lord Who is inside of you, you need to take all the words you hear and report it to the Lord. If you hold onto it yourself, then your brian will explode. You just have to report it to God, saying, “That guy said this to me, God,” or, “God, this is really hard for me.” Keep telling the Lord, “God, I cannot do this with my own brain,” then the almighty Lord will answer you. That’s what we should do.
The Lord is with you, why are you listening to the words of people and following that? Why are you filled with so much fear when you watch the news when the Lord is with you? And at night ,I hope you will not just go to sleep, but entrust everything to the Lord at that time too. Everything that this person said to you, entrust it to the Lord at night. For students who are studying, it’s such a burden. For people who are working, that’s such a burden. It’s a burden because you are your own Lord, why would you do that? Before you go to sleep, have a time to concentrate on the Lord and entrust everything to Him then. If you entrust something to God, He does not stay still, He will take care of it. He will give you the answer, and that is how we enjoy that Jeuss Christ is our Lord 24 hours a day. First, your cells will come to life, and your cancerous cells will run away, and your depression will have to run away and you won’t have the na;ture of depression. That’s how the depression will disappear on its own. It’s not something you can just medicate away. You need to change the fundamentals. You need to make it so that the cancer has no more space to grow. You are a moving peace, a moving life. No matter what problem comes your way, you change it to blessings, through this life. May you enjoy that 24 hours a day. May you have victory.
2. One with us through the Word – 3 Answers
3. One with business and field through the Word – 3 Answers, Settings
Message Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word we have received.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We thank You because the Word has come to this earth as flesh, and died on the cross to be with us. We believe that You have finished all problems, that You are with us even now to carry out Your will. Allow our lives to be one with God and with the work You are doing, and may the Kingdom of God be raised everywhere we go. We return Your material blessings as offering. We pray that everywhere it is used, the Kingdom of God will be spread, and may this be the offering that breaks down the kingdom of Satan. We pray that You will bless the hands that have given the offering to You because it was given to You in faith, and we pray that You will continue to pour out the blessings upon them and their families. We pray all of this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
God, we thank You. We pray that You will give Your grace to all the newcomers today so that Your Word will be fulfilled exactly in their lives as You have given it. We believe that You will guide us into a life of blessings that looks to the life of Jesus Christ instead of our problems. We pray that You will work so that we stand as the witnesses of Christ. We pray all of this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Announcements
1. Online zoom early morning prayer (Mon.-Fri. 5:30, Sat. 6AM) – Raise the bartizan of prayer
2. Native American Navajo camp is on 6/23(Mon.)-27(Thurs.)
3. Florida camp (Anticipating end of July, beginning of August)
4. Regional Summer camp (Children’s) in May, June, July.
5. Children’s Spirituality Camp – 5/26-5/27.
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, filling, and working, and guidance 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 believe and enjoy the fact that Jesus Christ has finished all problems and is with us through Your Word and Spirit, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.