True Blessings (Mt. 5:1-12)
Every remnant has their own characteristic. Carlos talked a lot about the blessings of a child of God. Fanny was good at writing all the Bible verses and explaining them, and just for reference, this doesn’t fit with our DNA at all. My DNA is not one that writes like this, so I’d start writing but then I would stop. But either way, the very fact that these remnants can share the gospel with others is the beginning of blessings. Even when I was in seminary, I didn’t have anyone to teach me this; I just went into the evangelism field and it became mine.
One Saturday every month, the teachers go with the remnants to the evangelism field and as you do this, organize the message yourself and it will take shape for you guys. So, for the remnants, the fact that this is the beginning to organize the message is very good, and later on, there will be a time for you to relay the message, and at that time, God will use this message to deliver the message to others. Because this is prepared for you, God will work through you in your field.
Each of you guys are going to develop your message for this way of salvation, and it’s good if you do it every day. If you do this every day with the basis of the Word of God, you yourselves will be developed. On Saturday during Summit School, we go through the Bible verses, and we’ve reached the “physical suffering.” So, in the end, one by one, the remnants will meditate on the Bible verses and be rooted. Then, eventually, the way you perceive the field will be with this. When the kids mature like this, there will be a huge difference between them and religious kids.
Some kids grow up religiously and don’t have the eyes to see the field. They are people who live their walk of faith chasing physical blessings that are not true blessings because they don’t know Christ and the spiritual world, but if you keep planting the gospel into them, they will bear fruit like this.
More than the filling of the Holy Spirit, it is the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is with us, guiding us, and working of the Holy Spirit. The kids just read and write this, and at first it’s like that, but by rooting down into this, it becomes yours, then the Word of God begins to guide you and eventually the fruits will be like this. When you look at the future, you will be the main figures.
Matthew 5 – blessings
Crowd / Disciple
If they find the answer to the spiritual problem then they would be disciples but the crowd only wants the physical answers. There are more crowds than disciples, but Jesus gives a message to the disciples.
Message
Churches that gather crowds only give physical messages, but Jesus gives the message to the disciples, so if someone cares for physical blessings and prosperity, they won’t understand the message for the disciples. If they understand, they become a disciple, but if not, they go back to their old church because they like those messages better.
They follow Jesus because they could gain something but there was a separate message Jesus really wanted to tell them, and those who really understand the message are disciples. Everyone is a disciple at our church because the crowds will come and go. They don’t understand this message. They listen but they cannot understand. They want the message “Be blessed with physical blessings,” they understand that, but what is Jesus telling us?
Blessing
There are so many people who followed after Jesus Christ looking for physical blessings. Once they got those blessings, they left, so now Jesus is giving the message to the disciples.
Opposite Things
To summarize, it’s the opposite things. Within the ten mysteries, there is unconventional thinking or the opposite side. It goes against the flow of the world, and the fact that a human was born of a virgin doesn’t make sense to the world. The powerful people should be born into a palace but he was born in a manger? That doesn’t align with the world, but we study and live according to the way of the world, but the Kingdom of God is opposite of that. So just always think the opposite.
Background
400 Years
As soon as Jesus Christ calls them as fishermen, He gives the Word. Malachi talks about tithes. You give your tithes but it’s broken lambs or diseased fruits, so you’re not giving the real tithes. In other words, you take the things you want to throw away and give them to the church. Priests are supposed to take that offering and eat it to do God’s work but there’s no one at the Temple, and the priests aren’t able to give the Word of God so it’s corrupted, why? For 400 years, God did not give His Word. The same for us today, if we do not receive the grace of God every day, we go back to the physical crowd.
People in the crowd will say, “don’t you have to eat and make a living?” they make excuses like that, just like Adam and Eve did. The characteristic of people who are their own god will make excuses for themselves and never stand before God. Jesus Christ says, “Man doesn’t live by bread alone,” not that we don’t need to eat, but we don’t live on physical food alone. Disciples talk about Jesus’ words and the crowds say, “Don’t you need food?” That’s their excuse. Maybe later on, God’s grace comes upon them, but right now, they do not have that grace.
Satan Rome – Colony
Sun god
Today in America, kids succeed and study, but if they lose hold of the gospel, is that really a blessing? If things work out well and you don’t know the mystery of the gospel, that’s not a blessing. With that kind of background, Jesus explains, “What is a blessing?”
1. Spirit – Poor
If you’re poor in the spirit, you have a sincere yearning to fill your heart with something. In other words, Jesus Christ is before them, and only those who have a sincere desire and thirst for Jesus Christ is blessed. Right now, the Israelites lost hold of the gospel and are colonized by Rome, and they can get benefits from Rome just as Africa gets benefits from America, but that’s not a blessing. Right now, we live in an idol-worshiping nation and thirsting for the gospel here instead of being a slave to money and success is a blessing.
Heaven
Everything is in the Kingdom of God.
2. Mourn – Comfort
Blessed are those who Mourn. If you don’t mourn about being colonized, there’s no hope for you. But right now, people live in America, “My kids go to a good school and things are working out,” but they don’t mourn in their heart. If they are colonized by an idol-worshiping nation, they are seized by Satan and we must mourn about that. What is mourning? We mourn and lament over physical things, we lament, “Why do we live like this in America?” Such people don’t have blessings; they throw their blessings away. When you look at the field and see people dragged around by Satan and idols, mourn for them, for they will be comforted.
Stop looking to be comforted by people; how long will you do that? You must be comforted by the God who is with you. Those who mourn are comforted by God. God won’t leave you alone to mourn; He will comfort you.
I said this earlier during the message, but the pastor must have a heart that mourns for the world. We do the evangelism movement and missions movement and it goes away because people are normally like that, and I’m thankful God revealed that heart to me. I asked God, “I’m losing my mourning heart for the field,” it wasn’t like this in the past but why do I have this now? I received an answer in 5 seconds. I don’t receive answers for unnecessary things for 10 years, but when I was 28 years old, my friend committed suicide, and because of that, I quit my job; I didn’t want to live just like that and die. I thought about that, I knew my friend’s circumstances that left him no choice but to commit suicide. God reminded me of my past situation. God allowed me to remember my suffering as an unbeliever.
Getting along well is not a blessing. It’s suffering. Look at yourself and your friends, the reality is the same, so never forget the beginning. Right now, I’m a pastor and receiving God’s grace and training, but I lost my heart that mourns for the field, I was going crazy, so don’t hold onto anything else but remember the state you lived in as an unbeliever.
There are people in their 20s suffering the way you did as an unbeliever, and right now, the adult generation suffers in the same way as the parents. That’s what God gave to my heart. It’s true, for us, when we receive a lot of God’s grace, we think we can do a lot on our own, and when you think you’re something, you’ll be broken down. What’s a true blessing? A heart of mourning.
We’ve become so desensitized to shootings. But when I look at the interviews of parents who cry for their deceased children, my heart laments because that situation could be mine. Just because it doesn’t happen to me doesn’t mean it’s not my situation; God shows me that. If the pastor doesn’t have a heart of mourning for the field, and the churches and pastors do not mourn for the field, it’s done. That’s why churches become hardened and break down. Even if there are a lot of works, it break down. God gives us this Word.
3. Meek – Earth
The Israelites had a stiff neck for 400 years because they thought they could survive on their own. But they were stiff-necked. We need to follow the Word of God, that’s the true grace, but we can do that in a fairy tale. It must be on God, not our emotions. The difference is, are you a disciple or part of the crowd? God gave this blessing to the disciples and because of that, Jesus Christ left the disciples behind.
They will inherit the earth, and there are many interpretations. Is it the physical or spiritual earth? It just says “land,” so it’s the earth. For those who follow the Word will inherit the earth.
4. Righteousness – Filled
Romans 1:16-17
The one who believes in Christ is righteous, they’re always looking for the gospel. Even though they listen to the gospel again and again and again, they want to hear it again, and they are the ones who will be filled.
5. Merciful – Mercy
What is mercy? Jesus Christ walked among the cripples and had mercy on them. We are not perfect and complete, we are the ones who must receive mercy from somebody.
6. Pure – God
What does it mean to be pure in heart? It means your heart is clean, it means you don’t have any ulterior motives in your heart. We talked about this during the message, but if you meet someone and use them to fulfill your motives, that’s not God’s guidance. If you see people as an instrument for your success, that’s not God. If you just work in the church to accomplish your motives, you cannot see God. Such people will fail the cognitive test. Because if my motives are not satisfied, someone will say, I’ve been tested. But the Bible says you are tripping on your own. So, throw away any of your motives that do not come from God but come from yourself.
If a pastor tries to use the church as a way to accomplish their own motives, they cannot receive the correct word. If the remnants want to use evangelism and the church movement for their own benefit, they cannot hear the Word of God. If they don’t have the heart of God, they cannot receive.
7. Peace
The gospel reconciles the world with the Word of God. There are also people in the church preventing others from having oneness due to their own motives and reasons. They don’t talk like that, of course, but they express it in another way, “This person doesn’t fit with me.” They just express it differently because of the places they’ve lived. At least in the remnant. To prove you are correct, you will break relationships.
The church isn’t a place to fulfill your words, the church isa place that enjoys the peace and oneness. I have to listen to the words of people but I shouldn’t. That person speaks from their own perspective, because they give you the facts and their own perspective, it will be a skewed truth. When I say I don’t listen, I don’t mean they don’t talk to me, but I selectively filter out the work.
If someone listens, they come to life but you must be careful. If you become a leader, you’ll listen to the words of many people. If you listen too carefully, you’ll be biased. It’s the same in your family and job. I’m sure some people listen and get mad, “I told you so much, and you’re saying you don’t listen to my words?” I’m not saying that, I do listen, but I don’t listen 100%. “I guess something like this actually happened,” but I don’t listen to your interpretations because those come from your own perspectives, so for that, I don’t listen because it will cause factions.
Blessed are the peacemakers, these are necessary people. Some people bring peace everywhere they go. Some strongly assert their righteousness and legalism. Some people even fight against the Word. It’s okay to go against the pastor, and I’m lacking, but those who badmouth the pastor are going against God. “Oh, how could the pastor say this?” That’s how you’re deceived, be careful. If they oppose the Word of God, they cannot survive.
8. Persecution
You will receive both physical and spiritual blessings here and on earth. If you’re persecuted for doing something wrong, that’s rightful. But if you’re persecuted for following Jesus? I received persecution from my family line. At first my family was against me becoming Christian. When my father died, I didn’t bow down and everyone was saying, “Isn’t that the son who is so disrespectful, not bowing?” The grandma said, “that’s not our son, he’s a distant relative,” but the youth ministers saw that and received so much grace as they saw this for the first time. They never saw an unbeliever in a family of unbelievers refuse to bow down.
I was persecuted by my friends, “Hey, that’s a good business plan, Pastor Park, the religious business is the best. Why don’t you just worry about getting married instead of preaching to me?” I was the first to believe Jesus Christ in my family so I was persecuted from all sides.
One younger friend’s father passed away, and I went there and they said, “How dare he go, only because his friend’s father passed away. He should’ve been that nice while the father was alive but he’s doing that now because the father is dead.” Even back then, I always had a sore scar, so I would hit whomever talked about me that way. At that time, I had just received Jesus Christ so I wasn’t tempered yet, so I was always ready to fight back. It wasn’t God’s word but mine that were sharpened. I said to them, “Do you think you think about my dad more or do you think about my dad more? They talked as if they knew my dad so much, but these kids persecuted me with words that were easy to stay.
Now, no one persecutes me and they feel something. All those connected to my life feel this, and they made it this way, so that even when they see my face, they receive grace. When we went to Navajo, my friends thought it was a vacation and were jealous, but we were going for missions. When I send pictures of El Salvador, they will think, “You’re going overseas for vacation?” they will get jealous when we go to Karen. They think about it physically, “How does he have the freedom to go on so many vacations?” God raises us to that position.
God will make it so that not a single person on earth can make fun of you, because first, I went to see an old friend, “You have no wrinkles,” and God works invisibly to the eye, The more time passes, the more I exercise, so I rely on God’s grace and get back into a better state. Physical and spiritual things are incomparable. This is how God led me for 20, 30 years. I began with nothing, physically, and it was time for me, “If I receive the gospel, do I have to live pitifully like this?” But God has a time schedule to raise you up and will close everyone’s mouths, spiritually and physically. There’s nothing I regret.
Now I stake my life and it’s easy, no competition; nobody else will go, but there may be landmines.
I was talking to Pastor Kim, “Facing death itself?” The pastors say, “Nobody goes to El Salvador,” but its’ God’s grace that I didn’t know. Everything is a blessing. Everything is in the gospel, even your ignorance is a blessing. God guided me to this gangster area, and if you wander in the evenings, you could. I went around MacArthur park to play
Salt and light are bound to be revealed as you enjoy. May you enjoy this blessing. Remnants, your parents problems aren’t yours. But you are salt and light. Don’t get stuck in the problems of your parents but conquer with the light and salt. Everybody in America is dying, so you save them in their culture. Let us pray.
Prayer
Father God, we thank you. Bless the Remnants. May they understand what the true gospel is and they are already the light and slat of the world, in the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.