Works that Arise at God’s Hour (Jn. 2:1-12)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” May today be the time of unprecedented and never-repeated answers. The title of today’s message is, “Works that Arise at God’s Hour.” On the other hand, this means that my works at my time do not take place, and the reason is because God is the Creator God Who is moving all of the universe. As you live your walk of faith, you may face many difficulties, but it is normal for you to receive answers no matter what situation you’re in. If you are not receiving answers, it means that your spiritual state is not in a place that acknowledges Christ as your Lord; then no matter how much you go to church, you will not find your answers.
1. Cana at Galilee – Region
1) Wedding
(1) Nathaniel’s home (Jn. 21:2)
(2) Jesus’ mother, Jesus and disciples (Jn. 2:1-2)
In today’s scripture, there was a wedding that was taking place in the region of Cana in Galilee. The region of Cana is actually the hometown of Nathaniel whom we learned about last week. At this wedding, Jesus’ mother as well as Jesus and His disciples were invited. If there was a wedding, I’m sure they invited many people.
(3) The wine was gone (Jn. 2:3)
The most important part of the wedding festivities is the wine. The wine is extremely expensive and valuable, so the bride and the groom prepared the wine for the wedding festivities. Just like we live our walk of faith and face many situations and problems, the wine was running out at this wedding. If the wedding festivities run out of wine, it means there’s a stop to the flow of the festivities.
2) Incident, Problem
(1) Jesus’ mother asked Jesus (Jn. 2:3)
So, Jesus’ mother knew this and told Jesus, “They have no more wine.” Why do you think that of all of the people there, Jesus’ mother asked this of Jesus? Because Jesus’ mother knew that this is the true God, He is the Messiah. And even though He is God, He is not a God Who just gives us more wine when we run out of wine. God is not a God Who just gives us the material things we need. Yes, sometimes God may do that, but that’s not what God is about. I can just make my own money and get it.
(2) Why do you involve me? (Jn. 2:4)
That is the situation, and Jesus responds to His mother, “Woman.” It may seem like He is kind of degrading her by calling her, “Woman,” but it may also be a term of reverence. But the really important meaning in Jesus calling His mother, “woman” instead of “mother,” is He is saying, “I am no longer your son, now I am beginning my public ministry as God, the Messiah.” He says, “What does this wine have to do with me?” Do you think that running out of wine is related to God at all? Do you think that God, the Creator and Mover of all of creation is involved with you running out of wine? God is the One Who allowed you to run out of wine, and God is the One Who has a plan that He will put into work in that, as well, but the important thing is, God is not just somebody who gives us more wine.
(3) My hour has not yet come (Jn. 2:4)
He says, “Woman, my hour has not yet come.” This means that God does have a “time” or an “hour.” We might ask God to do something based on our own time schedule, but God already has His set time and God fulfills His work. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says that “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” That time does not belong to me; that time belongs to God. If you think that time is in your hands, then you will get stressed out, because whatever you want, whenever you want it, is not aligned with God. Later on, in that chapter, it says, “There is a time to be born and a time to die.” Just because I want to die does not mean that I can die; God has a set time. Just because you want to live does not mean you want to live, there is a time that God will call you away. So, in our entire life, there is a time of God.
In today’s scripture, what is the work that God is doing in His time? You need to know that to realize that God is working even now, and it says that everything that God does will remain for eternity. So, Ecc. 3:4 says that the work of God will endure forever, and that is what I want to be in. Whatever we desire does not last for eternity. What we have is, “I wish God would do this, what I want, when I want it, according to my greed,” but God is different. “Everything God does will endure forever, nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear Him.” Later in today’s main scripture, the water turns into wine, but that’s not the reason Jesus came to earth. God has simply allowed that incident to take place for the eternal works to take place through it.
3) Jesus’ mother
(1) Said to the servants (Jn. 2:5)
(2) Do whatever Jesus tells you (Jn. 2:5)
(3) Nearby stood six stone water jars – For ceremonial washing (Jn. 2:6)
After Jesus responds, His mother says to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you,” and in Jesus’ time, He begins to work. Nearby there were six stone jars, and those jars were filled with water for people to wash their hands and feet with, and I’m sure as they were washing, they would have emptied the jars of water, so Jesus tells the servants to fill them with water. At the time when Jesus works, He works through His Word. If He does not give His Word, then the Lord stays still.
2. Jesus’ hour
1) When it is time to follow the Word
(1) Said to the servants (Jn. 2:7)
Why do we give Sunday worship? This is the beginning of the week. The Lord works upon us throughout the entire week. God gives us His Word today and fulfills that Word throughout the week. People who don’t know this will just work physically, very diligently, but the physical work you do can at most let you eat three meals a day. While you are living on earth, it puts a roof over your head, a place for you to sleep, and the clothes that you can wear. You accessorize in all these ways so you can look a little better, that’s what people think about, but God is different. I’m not saying those things are unnecessary, but God will use all of those things for the eternal things.
So, God does His work throughout the week, but He gives us His Word first. If the Word of God does not go into you, then you just have to do the physical work. But if the Word of God is established inside of you, then that means God will do His Work through you. So, why do we give worship on Sunday? It’s because God does His work throughout the week and we want to receive that Word today, and the servants must be ready to receive Jesus’ Words in order for them to follow Him.
(2) Fill the jars with water (Jn. 2:7)
The people here today must be ready to receive God’s Word today. If you are not prepared to receive God’s Word, then even if you hear it, it will not be established inside of you. Then, throughout the entire week, you must bear your heavy burdens by yourself and only focus on the physical work, and that’s why your life is so difficult. Matt. 11:28, Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened,” it means, “Come stand in My Word.” Jesus says, “For My yoke is light and easy, I will give you rest.” And then the Lord gives His Word, “Fill the jars with water.”
(3) Filled the jars to the brim (Jn. 2:7)
They could’ve filled it halfway and they would still have been filling the jars, but the servants filled the jars to the brim. I think that was the faith of the servants.
2) When Jesus becomes Lord
(1) Draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet (Jn. 2:8)
(2) They did so (Jn. 2:8)
(3) Water turned into wine (Jn. 2:9)
Then He told His servants, “Draw some water out and take it to the master of the banquet,” and when they did so, this water was turned into wine. You may say, “Amen” to this, but what are you truly delighted by? The Lord did not come to earth just to turn water into wine, the Lord did not even come to earth to heal my disease. Yes, He might do that, but that’s not His main role. God did not come to earth to perform miracles. Then, why did He come? Why did the Lord change the water into wine? And would that happen for me as well? But why doesn’t my water turn to wine? If I’m running a business or working, then God should turn that into a miraculous blessing, so that I have 30, 60, or 100 times as much fruit, but that’s not happening, so the members of the church will put their hope in that and get disappointed. “I have this problem in my family and it’s not getting fixed.” The Lord did not come to earth to fix that problem.
When I say this, some people question, “Do I have to go to church, then? Why would I go to church just to worship a Lord Who can’t even solve my problems?” That’s why the younger generations are leaving the church, because the concerns that the younger generation has is not just money; it’s an internal problem, they have the skills, they have the money, but they have an unsolvable, internal problem. No matter how much they go to church, it cannot be resolved, then there’s no more reason for them to go to church. That’s why more than 6,000 churches are closing their doors in America every year. This means that people no longer have a reason to go to church.
3) Reason for showing signs (Jn. 2:11)
Then, what are these churches relaying? Are they relaying the water turning into wine, or are they relaying the work that God is doing through the water turning into wine? The Lord desires to reveal the eternal work of God through the water turning into wine. In John 2:11, it says that Jesus showed this miraculous sign. A “sign” means it reveals something or points to something. Through this situation, the Lord is revealing Himself. You know what signs are, right? There are signposts outside and you need to follow those signs, so through this miracle, Jesus is showing that He is God.
(1) Jesus reveals his glory (Jn. 2:11)
It says in Jn. 2:11 that this revealed Jesus’ glory. This is extremely important. For us, sometimes, we will face miracles or negative things, and yes, it is true that the Lord will fill our lackings, but God is showing that sign, God fills our lackings to show that Jesus is God, He is the True King, and this moment is an extremely important moment. If you’re able to truly believe in and understand this moment, then your walk of faith will receive answers.
David said, “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.” At that moment, he was lacking a lot, but he lacked nothing. The focus is not about what I am lacking, but in this situation, the Lord is with me, then even when I am lacking, the Lord is revealed in me. Then, David confessed, “My cup overflows in the presence of my enemies.” He’s not saying, “I’m so thankful that God gives me a lot of stuff,” but he is saying, “This is what the LORD is like,” and he is revealing the Lord’s glory, and he said, “I want to dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” We are the temple of God, and I want to dwell with God forever; no matter what is happening in my life, that’s just my circumstances, but the Lord is with us forever no matter what, and He is doing His work.
If there are 6000 churches in America closing their doors every year, it means that people are no longer going to church. Don’t you think they stopped going to church because they don’t feel the need to go? Then what do they need? These people need their water to turn into wine, but their water isn’t turning into wine. If my water isn’t turning into wine, then why would I go, waste my time, and waste my money on offering? If that’s how they think about their walk of faith, there’s no reason for them to go to church, but what the Lord really desires is for you to know the work of God where you are content in abundance and poverty because you know the work that God is doing.
(2) His disciples believed in him (Jn. 2:11)
(3) Servants were witnesses (Jn. 2:9)
In Jn. 2:11, it says His disciples believed in Him. That is the work the Lord is trying to do through this miracle. God came to earth in the body of a man, and He is doing these miracles and signs to show that He is God, He reveals these signs so that His disciples will believe in Him, and that faith is eternal. Your faith will, without a doubt, be relayed. Your faith gets relayed in your job, in your family. The miracle is just one moment, but faith is eternal. Then, through those disciples, the faith of Jesus was relayed and passed down all the way to us.
3. God’s hour
1) Cross – Work of Christ (Ac. 2:36)
As you live your life, there are many situations you may face. In the midst of that situation, when does God work? When the Lord becomes our Lord; the Lord will work when He becomes our Master. Why is that? In Acts 2:36, how does Simon Peter portray Jesus Christ? It says, “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” What does it mean that God has made Jesus the Christ? It means He has been anointed with oil, then what is the work the Anointed One does? He solves the problem of our sin that we cannot solve on our own. What is the problem of sin? Ever since you were in your mother’s womb, you were in a state of sin that opposed or rejected God. You were born in the same spiritual state that Adam and Eve had when they sinned against God, you were born in a state that rejected God and followed the words of Satan. So, from the moment you were born, you were born into a state that does not have God, in a state of suffering, until you go into hell.
If that problem does not get solved, then even if something good happens, it is still a curse; and even if something bad happens, it doesn’t matter, and one day, in that state, something is going to happen. Then, we will say, “Oh, I’ve been scarred.” The scars we received decades ago are still tormenting us today. The trauma and the shock I received decades ago are still tormenting me today. We think that whoever traumatized us is our enemy. You won’t be able to escape from that. No matter how much you try to medicate yourself with alcohol, you cannot escape. No matter how many drugs you take, you cannot escape. No matter how much you succeed or accomplish, you cannot escape from that, why is that? Because you are in a state where you are the master of your own life; that is the state of sin.
When they saw the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God’s Word said, “Do not eat of it.” They must not eat it, but the devil works so that we do eat it, and the devil makes us go into the seat of God, “You can be like God, knowing what is good and what is evil.” Where do all problems begin? All problems begin from the state where I think, “I am the Lord of my own life, I can choose what is right and what is wrong, and I will choose what makes me happy.” What does the Bible say? The Bible says, “If you follow the cravings of the flesh, you are in opposition to God.” It says, “Gratifying the cravings of the sinful nature.” If you are living to gratify the cravings of your sinful nature, then you are in opposition to God. The problems you face when you live your lives are the problems of that state. We need to follow God, but instead, even right now, we are working so hard to gratify the cravings of our sinful nature; that state is the problem. And then as you keep living your life like that, one day you will face a situation where you are not gratified, then you are completely in despair and someone will make that happen through their words. We try so hard to gratify the cravings of our sinful nature, thinking that will make us happy, but when it doesn’t make us happy, we say that we’ve been scarred.
Then Satan completely seizes us with that foothold. Satan completely binds us so that we cannot escape from that feeling of being scarred, and Satan continues to abuse us with that emotion, and then we’re filled with anger, we’re filled with this wrath, and so, these people who were normally fine are filled with anger. And Satan fills us with fear; no matter what you do, instead of having peace, we have fear. Our state must be with God in order to have peace, but instead, we are separated from God, filled with fear. “What happens if this happens or that happens?” That’s a state without God. I hope all of you will come out of that state through today’s Word. It doesn’t matter how much you drink alcohol, you cannot solve that problem, and no matter how much you succeed, that momentary satisfaction will bind you even more. God created us so that whatever God desires is our joy and happiness, but the way the devil deceives us is to make us strive to gratify the cravings of our sinful nature; that’s why we study and work and try to succeed. Then it doesn’t matter even if you go to church because God is doing His work even now. God is not working for our gratification; God is working for God’s glory and He desires to fill His work through me, then when is the time of God?
(1) It is finished (Jn. 19:30, Ac. 1:1)
Romans 16:25 says that the mystery hidden from long ages past is now revealed and exists forever. These words may be hard to understand for those who don’t know. What does this mean? You need to understand this for you to be set free. What do these words mean? Always, the beginning of God’s time schedule is the cross, we must finish everything with the cross. What is finished with the cross? The fundamental problems I mentioned earlier, the curses of our sin, the backgrounds of Satan, sin, and hell have been finished by Jesus on the cross, but there are members of the church who don’t understand that, and if you don’t understand that, then you’ll only work for the physical things, and this itself is the problem, but you’re not able to see it as a problem.
The Lord has finished that fundamental problem. When you face a situation, there is a truth or fact behind the scenes. Even behind the scenes of the truth, there is your spiritual state. When you face a problem, that situation is a fact, but there is a reason that caused that fact to happen. So, before that truth, your problem is your spiritual state. If your spiritual state is where Christ is your Lord and you are being led by Him, then the situation you’re facing will actually be a blessing. But if your spiritual state is trying to gratify the cravings of your flesh and sinful nature, and then you face the situation, then it’s a problem and it becomes a scar, which is actually a result of your spiritual state. So, said again, if your spiritual state is with God, then nothing can be a problem because instead of getting caught in the scar, you will find God’s plan and God’s answer. I hope you’ll understand.
(2) Death, resurrection – Background of sin, Satan, hell – Liberation
Every single day, we must go back to the incident of the cross, the Passover. On the day of the Passover, Jesus Christ died on the cross, and on the day of the Passover, God set us free from the disasters of Egypt.
(3) New creation (2 Cor. 5:17)
In 2 Cor. 5:17, we have been made into a new creation. How can I be a new creation? Physically I’m the same, before I believed in Jesus and after. This means that the state of your spirit has been changed to be new. What state are we in now? We are no longer in the old spiritual state of being separated from God, living to gratify our own desires; now, my spiritual state is with God, living for the glory of God, and now, He is my Lord. From that point on, you can receive His guidance. Only when Jesus is your Lord and Master can you receive His guidance. If you are still your own lord, then you follow your own thoughts. Gal. 2:20, Paul confesses, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives within me.”
2) When Jesus becomes Lord (Ac. 2:36)
(1) Holy Spirit – With, Guidance: Answer (Gal. 2:20, Jn. 14:26-27, Gal. 5:16-22) – My lacking, scars healed
John 14:26-27 says that “The Holy Spirit of the Lord, will teach us all things,” and that is what the Lord is teaching us through the wedding at Cana, that in every situation of your life, the Lord is teaching you. That’s what it means to receive God’s answers. “Oh, I thought it would be like this, but the Lord actually prepared an answer for me.” Once the Lord becomes your Lord and you’re in a state that receives His guidance, your thoughts are no longer your thoughts. You’re able to see, “Oh, the Lord is working through this situation.” Gal. 5:16 onward talk about the desires of the work of the flesh, and it talks about all of these bad things. It talks about sexual immorality, fits of rage, selfish ambition, envy, drunkenness, hatred, dissension. Why do these things happen? This is the result of living to gratify the flesh, but if you receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you’ll see the fruits of the Spirit. Instead of having scars and anger, you’ll have peace. Instead of being so impatient that you create accidents, you have the fruit of patience or forbearance. Whether the kids are studying or the adults are working, they’ll have the strength to continue and persist. All of the good things happen, in other words. It doesn’t happen just by going to church.
Adam and Eve were created to know God since birth; why would they fall away? Why is it that Christian believers get mental illnesses? Why is it that Christian believers don’t have answers, no matter what they do? It’s because they’re chasing after the gratification of their sinful nature, so God is not answering them, and if you receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it means you follow the Word that He gives you, and you are living with the power that He gives you. We don’t have the power to overcome the disasters of this world. What’s a disaster? Whatever suffering your scars are causing you, that’s a disaster. The mental problems and your mental illnesses, that’s a disaster, that’s what makes people kill themselves or others; that’s the reason people have explosive fits of rage, and that’s the reason why even if they have important work to do, they drop the ball, because they don’t have the strength to break through that. These things continuously repeat, but if God is with you, then you will continuously bear the fruits of God. Even if you want to become a righteous human, you cannot. When the perfect and complete Jesus Christ becomes my Lord, that is when I begin to change. Yes, you do have to educate your children and send them to a good school, but that cannot block the disasters of the world.
The greatest university in Korea is Seoul National University, and I, someone who didn’t graduate from Seoul National University, went to that university to do ministry, and these kids have such inferiority complexes. It’s equivalent to Harvard University in the US, why would they have an inferiority complex? They have both a really bad inferiority complex and really bad arrogance, because they were all number one to get into Seoul National University, but once they get in, everybody is divided and separated. There’s a lot of people who go to Seoul National University and end up in a mental hospital. This was back in 1997, 1998, already almost 20 years ago, and people who don’t go to Seoul National University, think, “Wow, if I just get into that university, everything will be great,” but that’s not the case. Why is that? If I go to Seoul National University, I should be fine, but that’s not the case, because if your goal is to gratify the cravings of your flesh and sinful nature, you will never be gratified because even inside of Seoul National University, you might be last place, you might be falling behind in there. That’s the state of mankind.
(2) Filling of the Holy Spirit – Power (Ac. 1:8, 2:1-4) – Witness who saves
It doesn’t matter how much you educate your children. You’ll never get to a point where your greed is satisfied. You might say, “Oh, as a parent, I want my child to go to this college,” but their spiritual state is changing because right now, they’re in a spiritual state where they do not believe in God, where Christ is not their Lord, and later on, the result will appear, then what’s really important? What’s truly important is that your children are raised with the spiritual state where Christ is the Lord and God, and they are living for the glory of God, receiving the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and then in that state, success should follow, and even if they do fail, they won’t be seized by that failure.
(3) Door of evangelism, missions (Ac. 2:9-11)
So, if you truly pray to receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Jesus Christ, then God’s power will come to you. No matter how much you race and fight, you cannot overcome the devil, the ruler of the world. No matter how capable you are, you cannot overcome the curses and disasters of the world. It is only possible by the power of God. Then, when God’s power comes upon you, you will be changed into somebody who saves. Everybody says, “This is a problem,” and, “That’s a problem,” but if you receive the power of the Holy Spirit, you will know the answer. Only when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, will you receive power and become a witness that saves to the ends of the world.
3) To all nations, people, ends of the earth (Mt. 28, Mk. 16, Ac. 1)
(1) Me, family – Bartizan that saves
This is something you and your children need to know when you go into the world. You need to know this when you’re moving your business for things to work out, then even the way you speak will change; you’ll keep on saying these words that save. People who don’t have the strength of the Holy Spirit, the longer they go to church, the more problems they have, so, the more they’ll fight, and from their perspective, their words are correct, and then when they go home, they fight again. And then they fight in their company or job. Or they want to fight, but they don’t have the strength, so they just have to endure, because they’re going to lose their benefits. It’s such a difficult life we live. However, if Jesus Christ has truly finished everything for you, and He really becomes your Lord, and you receive His guidance and see His work, then you will be changed to be somebody who saves. Then God will attach people to you who need to hear these words of salvation.
If you don’t have the words that save inside of you, then the people who keep on sticking to you will be people like you, people who speak words of death and problems. If there’s a boyfriend and girlfriend who start dating, it’s because they have a similar state. Even if you meet somebody who is filled with death, if you can save them, then you can save both of you. And God has prepared enough blessings for you to save until the ends of the earth, you will be a witness who saves all peoples to the ends of the earth. This might be a problem for other people but not for you. Joseph was almost killed and sold into slavery in Egypt, but for him, it wasn’t a problem, because he saw God’s guidance, and those are the words that save. If you and your children are not able to go into his state, you will say the same thing. Your kids will say the exact same words as you said. No matter how many times you try to move or get a new house, it won’t change. And no matter how many schools you go to, it won’t change, and no matter how many times you change companies because you hate this company, it’s not going to change. Because fundamentally, Christ must become my Lord, and from that point on, I myself will change. Then whatever school you’re at is a blessing. Whatever job you’re at is a blessing. The state of me being sold as a slave is a blessing. The Lord changed the water into wine to give that blessing.
(2) Business, academics – Bartizan that saves
Jesus is saying, “I am God.” Through the water and the wine, Jesus is saying, “I am God.” Through our problems and situations, God wants to show you that Jesus is God, so I hope that you yourselves and your families will come to life. It doesn’t matter how much you try to muster up your strength; you cannot save yourself. Jesus Christ must be the Master of my family, must establish His Kingdom upon my family, for us to come to life. Yes, maybe your business and studies can go well, but your inner state will always be in problems. Your success is just momentary, from that point on, you go right to your spiritual state. That’s why people are trying to solve the problem of their spiritual state so they try to go higher and do more. They are trying so hard to gratify the cravings of their sinful flesh, but there is no way for us to be gratified without God. Those are the problems that are happening in the world today.
To be completely satisfied with Christ alone, the state where you believe that all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden within Christ. I cannot control my life this way or that, but I simply race for that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Because your business will be used for the same purpose as Jesus turning the water to wine, to reveal Jesus Christ, so God will work upon your business too. Am I explaining things a little bit more complicatedly? I think it will be good for you to listen to the YouTube recording again, but this is something that you really must know, because if you don’t know this, you’re going to suffer like I did. No matter how well you do, it’s not going to work, no matter how earnestly you live, no matter how honest you live. In fact, the more you live like that, the more you’ll be filled with anger. You’ll say things like, “I tried this hard, but this is the life I get?” You’ll be filled with rage. Then, you’re going to compare yourself to others, thinking, “I tried so much harder than they did,” and then you’re going to be filled with anger.
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(3) Region, world – Bartizan that saves
I told my kid to just go to whatever school is nearby, whenever she goes to college, because yes it is important for her to go to college, but what’s more important is, does she have the spiritual state that is able to preserve her? If she doesn’t have that spiritual state set, then she’s going to try and go to the very end limit to try to gratify herself. I’ve tried all of that, it’s all rubbish, we shouldn’t try to chase after rubbish, saying, “It tastes so good,” but I consider all things rubbish for the sake of knowing Christ.
Conclusion
1. 3 concentrations – Morning, day, night
I hope you will be in a state that is able to save this region and this world. In order to do that, in the morning when you wake up, have a time to concentrate on the Christ. He has finished all the fundamental problems on the cross and is with me right now. ”Lord, please guide me as my Master and Lord today.” God, work upon me with Your power so that I can run Your errands of Your work. God, please guide me so that I will not live to gratify the greed of my flesh, but instead, to live for Your glory.
2. 3 answers – Problem, conflict, crisis
3. 3 courtyard (Gentile, healing, children)
If you come to that spiritual state, then you will see the answer in the midst of your spiritual problems. If you’re not in that spiritual state, then that problem will keep being a problem to you because you are not gratified. When you face a conflict, you will have the blessing of changing yourself. You might face a crisis, but it’s not really a crisis, there’s God’s opportunity within it. Now, God has prepared a new life for you to reach to the ends of the world, heal them, and raise the next generation. These are the works that God does, and I hope that your work will go into God’s Work, too. May you enjoy this blessing throughout the week.
Message Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word we have received. The reason we pray, holding onto the Word we have received today is because God will fulfill that Word and work through it.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We confess that all things have come from You, Lord. We have given You one portion of what You have given us for the Kingdom of God. Wherever this offering is spent, we pray that the name of Jesus Christ will be revealed, the salvation of souls will take place, and the eternal work of God will happen. God, we pray that You will work and fill us and guide us so we will not work for the temporary things that will disappear in this world, but to live for the eternal work of God that saves lives. God, we believe You will work with the blessing of the economy of light upon the hands that have given this offering, for the tithe that saves the church, for the temple construction that will raise the three courtyards to save the children, the 237 nations, and do the work of healing, for the ministry offering that will save the whole world, and the future generation offering that will save the future. We believe You will work upon the offering we have given for the eternal work, just as You have turned water into wine. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. God, we pray You will receive the glory so that Your Word will be fulfilled just as it was proclaimed upon this new soul who has come to our church. God, we believe You will work with your Holy Spirit so You will fulfill your eternal work through her. 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. 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 make Jesus Christ their complete Lord and to receive His guidance and His power, to save and glorify God until the ends of the earth, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.