2024.08.25 District Message
Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:4-13
Even though they try really hard, there are people who still do not succeed. On the other hand, there are people who do not try that much, yet things go well for them, and they receive answers. Of course, if you put in effort, you will gain help proportionally. Also, if you learn and prepare a lot, that will help you too. But in the end, there are times when, even without much effort, God pours out answers.
The three courtyards and the eternal answer
That is this (the three courtyards). All you need to do is pray.
▣ Introduction – Prayer (heart)
Do not just pray casually; you need to hold this in your heart. Then God will bring the answers. This (the three courtyards) leads to the eternal answer.
1. Genesis 37:11
For example, in Genesis chapter 37 verse 11, there is God’s important covenant—the covenant of the three courtyards—which Joseph held in his heart. Joseph held it in his heart, and Jacob also held it in his heart. That is why God poured blessings upon wherever Joseph went. This is very important. Wherever you go, God brings His blessings. That is exactly the three courtyards. It is important.
2. 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Let us take another example. In 1 Samuel chapter 16 verses 1 to 13, it is the word that the high priest gave to David. Since David was young, he held this in his heart. You must hold God’s word in your heart. God said to David, “I look at your heart alone.”
3. Isaiah 6:13 – Daniel 1:8-9 (Resolve)
In Isaiah chapter 6 verse 13, God said, “More difficulties will come.” He said, “Soon there will be more hardship. But the stump will not disappear. The remnants will rise.” God gave this word. Then, just as the word declared, Israel was taken captive. God’s word is precise. He told Isaiah that Israel would be taken captive. Daniel held this in his heart. Much time passed, but God’s word is eternal, so Daniel held it in his heart. It says, “He resolved.” He said, “I will not eat the meat and sacrificial food from the king’s table.” It seems like nothing special, but what was inside that? “Israel has been taken captive because of their mistakes. I will deliver God’s power and the gospel here.” That resolve means he held it in his heart. God poured His answers upon this. You must enjoy this blessing.
Then, for a moment, consider this in your heart—how does God view us who pray for the three courtyards? We must think about this first. Satan is going crazy, but can Satan defeat God? No, he cannot. God brings the greatest blessing here. Then, what will happen after a few years? You must hold this in your heart. After a few years, many people from various nations will gather here to worship. The remnants of this age will gather here to pray. The sick will come, be healed, and become witnesses. You must think about God’s will. Think about the time when you and I are no longer on this earth. One day we must go, so we must think of that time. Even if you leave nothing else, you must leave footprints that become a monument.
▣ Main point
What are the three courtyards, that God blesses them so much?
1. The 237 courtyard
It is the courtyard where the foreigners can come. That is what we must build. Many people think the Japanese church is behind the Korean church, but I do not think so. The difference is, it is different. In Japan, when someone is sent as a missionary or appointed as a pastor, they take 100% responsibility. It is different. Koreans still go to Japan for baseball, but the Japanese do not come here for baseball. Right? Why? It is the difference in capability and economic power. I was surprised. When someone becomes a pastor in Japan, they provide a house, tuition, and everything. That is how much strength they have. It is different. You must see this accurately.
When I went to Tokyo, I took a walk during my free time between meetings. I saw such good houses. They were so good that I wanted to go in. They built incredibly good buildings in a great area, surrounded by lush forests. Normally the door would be closed and I could not go in, but it was open. So I went in. I walked around as far as I could. What kind of place was it? I looked into it and realized, “Ah, that’s what it is.” It is a place for international students from all over the world to stay. “Ah, it is on a different level.” It is different. We still have a long way to catch up with Japan in this way. They built it so well.
So if there are people who pray, the best thing to have for saving Seoul would be a building where many multiethnic people can stay. Elder Kim Young-Sun once advised me, saying it would be good to have apartments or buildings where many people from various nations can live. That is true. Where children sleep, eat, and live influences them. That is the 237 courtyard.
1) The 7 bartizans
So with the prayer of these people, and with the prayer we enjoy, we must build these bartizans.
2) The 7 journeys
We must teach the journeys they need to walk throughout their lives. We must teach them.
3) The 7 guideposts
Simply put, we must teach them this (the 7 guideposts).
2. The courtyard of healing
There are many who are sick. In the future, if you do not understand the word “healing,” you will not be able to do anything. Treatment and healing are different words. What is treatment? It is when a doctor or pharmacist helps with the sick part. That is treatment. Healing is different. It refers to the whole person. Helping with the background, the aftermath, and all that led to the sickness—that is healing. In English, we often say “healing.” What the doctor does is not exactly “healing” but rather “clinic.”
There is no church that can do this. That is unfortunate. But when you say “healing,” it is not just about gathering the sick. Healing refers to the whole. Someone has a mental problem? There is always a reason in the background. We must heal that. How will they live going forward? There is a way. Someone suddenly got cancer? No, there is always a long-standing reason beforehand.
1) The Word
So first we heal through the Word. We must first revive the spiritual part.
2) Treatment
After that, we treat the sickness. First, revive the inside, then heal the sickness.
3) The pilgrim’s path
Then we must help these people gain strength and walk the pilgrim’s path.
Even now, there is no church in the world that does this (healing) 24 hours a day. That is why our church must become the model.
3. The courtyard of the summit
Finally, there must be a courtyard of the summit where the remnants from all over the world gather. What must we teach them? Two things.
1) Acts 17:1, 18:4, 19:8
Why Christ? We must teach this. Why is worship important? Why is prayer important? They must know this to win. What is the answer to prayer? We must teach this. The visible answer comes later; before that, God’s kingdom must come first. Teaching this is prayer. Remnants must be armed with this before going out.
I will explain this more in the sermon later, but there is a report that by 2030, 100,000 churches in America will close. I will explain this in the first service today. It is because they do not know this (Acts 17:1, 18:4, 19:8). Those of you sitting here must have the eyes of the mystery. Why is that person suffering and facing disaster? It is because they do not have the spiritual standard. We must help them.
In our country, when someone becomes a National Assembly member, from what I see, they are all from prestigious universities. Right? Almost all of them passed government exams. Almost all of them were legal professionals or something similar. They are smart people. But when I hear the words they use, I think, “Ah, this is truly regrettable.” President Yoon needs to assign them work. If someone is close, they say “pro-Yoon.” If someone is a little distant, they say “anti-Yoon.” If someone says a word, they call them “opposed to Yoon.” That is the level. Shouldn’t the president do his work? If you became president, what would you do? You would think, “I must do well.” First, you assign someone a task. Then they say, “That person is pro-Yoon.” It is like that. They have no idea about spiritual communication or the future. Why are they like that? They only care about their own gain.
So for remnants, we must help them understand what Christ is and why He is necessary. They must know what worship is. That is why Paul went into the synagogue on the Sabbath. It was the time of worship. They must know what prayer is. It is when God’s kingdom comes. When you are praying today, God’s kingdom is coming to the places you are going. We must teach this to the remnants.
2) The three-day weekend age
Also, for remnants to build the three courtyards, they must gain the power to seize the world—that is the three-day weekend age.
3) Strength
Remnants must build strength. They must have strength.
When we teach these three (the main points), God cannot help but bless us. You must surely hold this covenant in your heart.
▣ Conclusion
1. Preparation
God has already prepared it. All you need to do is set the right direction.
2. Direction
No matter how excellent a person is, if the direction is wrong, it will not work. If you set the direction right, the work of answers begins. This is not just any answer. It is the answer where God gathers His blessings and gives them to you. So you must hold onto this with the Word.
3. CVDIP
And you must think about the time when you are no longer here. Teach the remnants and others what 24 is. Teach them what 25 is. Teach them what eternity is. This is called CVDIP. You must teach this properly.
The younger they are, the better. If a young remnant listens to this (the entire message) and realizes it in their heart, that is enough. We have our own experiences from life, right? When we were growing up, there were moments when we thought, “Ah, that’s it.” That remains with us. But if you fill your heart with the world, reality, and such things from a young age, it becomes difficult later.
So recently, I went briefly to a gathering of elders and regional representatives. There, I gave them a message: “The church leaders who moved the world were not about calculations; it was about relationship—the relationship with God.” That is what is important. When Abraham calculated, it did not work out. But he kept going on the difficult path. Finally, Abraham made a decision before God. From then on, God told Abraham, “Lift your eyes and look to the north, south, east, and west. Walk through the land.” What happened? It was about the relationship with God. When you look at someone, you must look through the relationship with God. Right? Do not calculate. There was someone who did not calculate. It was Isaac. God blessed Isaac without any difficulty. When you farm, it usually yields one year’s harvest, but for Isaac, it was a hundred years’ worth. Why? Because he had to do world evangelization. That is the blessing you will receive. The wicked kept blocking Isaac’s wells, but Isaac gained the source of the spring. People kept being jealous, but God gave him a bigger field—the blessing of Rehoboth. I explained this to the elders.
The covenant of relationship
It is not just any covenant. It is the covenant of relationship. God promised to be with you and gave you the covenant. Some people always calculate. Who is that? Jacob. He always calculated. So later, even though Jacob was someone who was supposed to be blessed, connected to God and world evangelization, he kept calculating and did not hold onto the covenant. When he returned home, as you know, Jacob started to pray in crisis. That is when God gave him a new name. “Do not call yourself Jacob anymore, but Israel.” That is it. It is about relationship. He gave the covenant. You must hold onto it.
Jacob means “the one who grabs the heel.” Israel means “the one who wrestled with God and prevailed.” How can someone defeat God? If a child persistently asks for something huge from their parents, at first the parents do not give it. Because the child is asking for something unreasonable. But if the child keeps asking, what do the parents say? “Okay, I give up.” Do the parents really lose? No, but they say, “I lost.” It means the parents have acknowledged it. “It is possible for you.” God says, “I lost.” He is saying, “Hold onto this covenant, not your own calculations.” Tremendous things happen. All the children he had were people who calculated, but one person held onto the covenant of relationship with God—that was Joseph. This is important.
Time has gone long, but let me speak for just two more minutes. During the 40 years in the wilderness, those who calculated did not make it. There was a huge difference. When they calculated, they thought they would die. Right? When you look at reality, you end up calculating. When they calculated, they thought it would be hard to enter Canaan. They thought they might starve to death. That was the problem. What did they say? “Let’s go back to Egypt. What if we die here? We have the wrong leader. Let’s go back.” That is what happened. If you calculate wrong, you end up like that.
A truly upright person would have said, “Even if we die here, our descendants must go to Canaan.” Even if they do not believe in God, that is what they should say. It is very difficult. Public opinion turns like that. But only two people held onto the relationship and covenant with God. Who were they? Joshua and Caleb. Actually, at that time, only three people who held onto the covenant entered the land of Canaan. The rest were replaced. There was a generational change, and the descendants entered the land. So teach this to the next generation. Who were the three who entered? Joshua, Caleb, and Rahab. They went in.
If Rahab had calculated, she would not have hidden the spies. Right? The king gave the order, and later the police came and asked, “Did you see the spies?” She said no. She lied, saying they went that way. Why did she do that? She was not calculating. She said, “The Lord is the true God, and you are God’s people. You will surely enter Canaan. Please let me come with you.” And she entered. She came to Canaan, married, and had descendants, and among them came David. Right?
Today, just holding the covenant in your heart is enough. Let us pray.
Prayer
God, we thank You. Let today be the day when we hold the living Word and covenant in our hearts. During this worship, let God’s kingdom come to the places around us where we must go. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.