2022.12.18 District Message
Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:6-7
There may be many difficulties around you. In your relationships with people, with family, and in various other ways, you may face hardships. Sometimes, even when you go outside, you may encounter difficulties where you feel like there’s nothing you can do.
The age of holy meditation – 24
That’s why God has given you this answer of holy meditation. Now, as the age of holy meditation is opening amid many other movements, you are the main figures to open this age of holy meditation. Therefore, you must surely have this holy meditation timetable. If you look closely at the Bible, you need to start building this personally.
▣ Introduction – What God has given
[Acts 1:3 (40 days)]
Acts 1:3 says, “He spoke about the kingdom of God for 40 days.”
It doesn’t mean we must pray for exactly 40 days. But the fact is, Jesus focused on His disciples for 40 days. He gave them many missions and promises, but why didn’t He just do it in one day? Why did He spend 40 days? This is mentioned in the first service sermon today, but this (Acts 1:3, 40 days) was an extremely important time.
(Past)
Simply put, the disciples were still trapped in their past— their power, their level, everything remained the same as before. It was a time to let go of all of that. We often get trapped in our own thoughts without realizing it. We see people fighting, and they’re caught in their own thoughts. We’re the same. We don’t know the tremendous power of God and get stuck in the past. That’s why Jesus kept explaining for 40 days.
He mainly spoke about two things:
“Is it at this time that you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
And He said, “It is not for you to know.”
How could that not be their concern? It was important. But they were still completely trapped in the past.
Wait
So Jesus said, “Wait.” That’s an extremely important statement.
As you finish this year and begin the new one, you must have this (Acts 1:3, 40 days) time. Otherwise, as you grow older, more difficulties will come. The longer you live, the more hardships come. It’s not about whether hardships happen or not—they are bound to happen. But this is the timetable to hold on to God’s tremendous covenant.
[Acts 2:1–13]
Holding on to this, they came down and began to pray. That’s when this event (Acts 2:1–13) happened. You must surely have this time. You don’t need to think so much. If you think, it’s just your own level. We must do it with God’s things. That’s why this work took place. No one else can help you, and even if they try, it won’t work—because it must be from God. If it were something we could do ourselves, we wouldn’t need faith. But there are things we cannot do. So it’s about believing in what God has given. This is the timetable. God has fully prepared and called them to the Mount of Olives.
Don’t worry about anything—just start anew. You can do it alone at home, or during early morning prayer. Just check it daily. If you pray for the fulfillment of the covenant of Calvary, the Mount of Olives, and Mark’s Upper Room, you will surely receive this (Acts 1:3) answer. The biggest answer is realizing, “Ah, I’m thinking wrongly right now.”
When I started this prayer long ago, the answer didn’t come right away. I realized, “Ah, I’m currently in a situation where answers can’t come.” It couldn’t happen.
When I was a young assistant pastor going through a hard time, I began this (Acts 1:3) prayer. No matter how much I prayed, I couldn’t escape my level. The church was having conflicts and fights. I couldn’t join in the fighting, but what could I do? Just watching was hard enough. Especially since I was a pastor—not just a layperson—I had to look at the church situation and pay attention to it.
When I began this (Acts 1:3) prayer, the answer came: “You are also trapped in the same state.” That was the important answer I received. I completely changed my prayer topics. It wasn’t about where I should go or what I should do. I prayed, “Let me enjoy the kingdom of God right here where I am.” My prayer completely changed. That’s nothing special—it’s the Word of God—but it struck my heart.
So, since I was an assistant pastor, I quietly reported to the senior pastor. The pastor was struggling too. I said, “Pastor, there are many hidden disciples in our church.” That’s true. “These disciples must truly receive answers and begin the evangelism movement. If you allow it, I will open an evangelism school every day in our church. I’ll do the lectures.” Of course, the pastor agreed—it was such a good idea.
It was beyond my imagination. We set the schedule and started doing it twice a week. Surprisingly, people became interested and started gathering. I intentionally asked the pastor to teach one lecture, and I taught about evangelism. It’s nothing special, but God changed my life through that. That evangelism school is what I’m still doing to this day. Just by changing one thought.
My thoughts weren’t changing. “This elder is like this, that person is like that…”—that was my thinking. It had nothing to do with God. “Our church is struggling, they’re fighting like that…” That’s how I kept thinking. How could I do world evangelization like that? My level was trash level. So I started praying. I don’t know about others, but I believe I received more blessings in that church than anyone else. The elders who fought all the time, the pastors who took sides and fought—they all failed. I don’t even know where they are now. It’s hard to even find them.
God has opened the doors for world evangelization. It’s not hard at all—it’s about changing your thoughts. “Ah, I see.” I was thinking about things that had nothing to do with God. “Who did what, what’s going on, the situation is like this…” I was always thinking about things unrelated to God. And I called that prayer. But that’s not prayer. So actually, I wasn’t praying at all. From that time, I began to see the tremendous things (Acts 1:3, 2:1–13).
[Acts 2:42]
From then on, worship started happening. Acts 2:42. Wow, worship began to work for me. I began to receive grace. Same pastor, same church, but I began to have many realizations. Then the young adults started rising. The young adults heard my short message, and revival started happening. It wasn’t because they were special—the young adults just started rising.
Before I came here, I already had this definite answer: “Ah, this is God’s work. I’ve been living like an unbeliever. Though people saw me as an assistant pastor, I had the same thoughts as worldly people.” Of course, I had nothing to do with this (Acts 1:3, 2:1–13, 2:42). This is tremendous, but I was living with no connection to it. You are not people who should live like that. You must receive this (Acts 1:3, 2:1–13, 2:42) blessing.
When you go home, your family may give you a hard time. But you’ve received the blessing to pray for them. Right? It can’t be helped. When you go to work, there are always strange people. But you’ve received the blessing to pray for them. All of us—don’t we all think our opinions are right? But we’ve received the blessing to believe in God’s Word.
[Acts 2:46–47]
Eventually, this happens. Day by day, in the temple and from house to house. Then the Word is fulfilled in the pulpit, in the church, in the home, and in the field.
You must receive this blessing today. During today’s first service, you must pray a lot. Acts 1 is a completely different time. Right? You need to realize that. In the Gospels, Jesus was crucified and resurrected. But the time of Acts is a completely different time.
(Philippians 4:6–7)
So in Philippians 4:6–7, it says, “Do not be anxious about anything.” That means there are actually worries. So it says, “Do not worry.” What should you do? “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Not just with prayer and petition, but with thanksgiving. That’s an important answer. Then it says, “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.” What does that mean? The problem is your mind and your thoughts. Right? Your mind and thoughts are important. The Bible mentions this over a thousand times—guard your heart. Right? It says over 300 times that your thoughts are important. And God says He will guard us.
That’s why today’s worship is so important. In that short time, while praying, I thought, “Ah, this is God’s grace. I need to pray.” Even during prayer, I thought that. I don’t know what kind of prayer I used to do. But then, early in the morning, I decided to do this (Acts 1:3). I prepared my notebook and started praying. After I finished, I realized the true answer wasn’t just an answer coming down—it was that my thoughts were wrong. That’s what I realized first.
I kept blaming and thinking about those poor people who don’t know this (introduction) blessing—the congregation, the elders—how hard it must be for them. But I kept thinking at their level. So I was living completely apart from God’s things. I realized that. It’s actually nothing special, but through that, a lifetime of answers came. You are qualified to enjoy this blessing.
〔Unceasing〕
When all of this comes together, what happens? You pray unceasingly. Prayer continues.
24·25·Eternity
This (24·25·eternity) is what happens.
Find this (introduction) and enjoy it. You must surely do so. Like Paul, who said, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”
You must enjoy the true strength God gives you—that way you can save the difficult people around you. If you, precious ones saved to do world evangelization, lose strength, you cannot save the people around you. There may be many circumstances, but don’t make excuses—that’s deceiving yourself. You must unconditionally gain spiritual strength. That’s the timetable that opens in Acts. Last week we started Acts, and today it’s about the ascension of Jesus and raising a new disciple to replace Judas Iscariot.
▣ Main Message
1. Satan
Satan is still trying to control your mind and thoughts. That’s why God tells you not to be deceived. These days, there’s a lot of talk about “finding your heart” or “thought management,” but those things are still deceptions.
2. Holy Meditation (Age)
So you must create this holy meditation timetable. It’s fine to do it anywhere.
1)〔Altar〕
Wherever you are, start building a hidden altar. It may seem like nothing, but your work will come to life, and your life will truly come to life. Of course, you must experience this. Of course, you must receive God’s blessings. Many people don’t even know what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You must first receive the filling of the Holy Spirit so that your spiritual state changes. Then, even your body comes to life without you realizing it. And you gain the power to save others. That tremendous answer is what Jesus has given.
2)〔12〕 – Liberation
What is it next? It’s holy meditation that completely liberates you from the twelve strategies of Satan.
3) Throne
Then what? The tremendous power of the throne that is eternally with you—that is yours. No matter what anyone says, it is yours. If you don’t know this (throne) word, your work and business cannot become global.
Transcending Time and Space
The blessing of the throne allows answers to come even while you are just sitting here. Why? Because it transcends time and space. You must enjoy this.
237
You must know the answer of transcending time and space so that your studies, work, career, and whole life can be for the 237 nations.
3. Deep Time
Simply put, the third point is this: Have deep time in prayer.
Food, too—you need deep food to be healthy. I wondered what “deep food” meant, and I found that chefs around the world use the same term. In English, it’s called “Slow Food.” I realized, “Ah!” We often eat instant food quickly, but that food is not healthy. It needs to be food that has been slowly and carefully prepared over time.
Prayer is the same. No matter how busy you are, you must have at least 5 minutes a day of deep time enjoying this blessing (main message 2). Otherwise, you’ll just wake up rushed in the morning. Without realizing it, you’ll think about many problems and worries as soon as you open your eyes. And because you have to live, you’ll end up running around busily. Wherever you go, you’re busy whether things work out or not. Even when you get to the field, it’s hard because of what people say and the various situations. After struggling through the day, you come home exhausted. Then you start thinking, “Is there anything fun?” Right? If you keep living like this, what will happen one day? It’s like driving a car without ever maintaining it. That’s why you must surely find and relay this (main message) blessing to the next generation.
▣ Conclusion –〔10 minutes〕
Even today, during worship, don’t listen to people’s thoughts or voices—enter deep prayer. That brings tremendous healing and power. At the time, you may not realize it. When I prayed, I just quietly said before God, “Deep…” but realization came. What conclusion comes?
The Word
Even if you just hold to the Word and pray for 10 minutes a day, it’s enough. Just wake up, hold onto the Word for 10 minutes.
Prayer
Pray for 10 minutes.
Breathing
While doing that, because you need to gain health, concentrate on breathing for 10 minutes. Breathing is life. This has been scientifically proven. It saves your body, mind, thoughts, and spirit. Just 10 minutes of this prayer is enough.
If you open your spiritual eyes a little, you’ll realize the air in your house is not good because you’re always living in it. What is COVID? It’s bad air. What is a cold? It’s bad air. We’re always breathing that without knowing. Statistics show that more women than men get lung cancer. Why? Because of the work they do—cooking, cleaning, and things pile up. We’ve never truly refreshed the inside of our bodies.
So take that time. In a place with good air, breathe deeply for 5 or 10 minutes and pray. On Sundays, during worship, hold to the covenant all day. Imagine the blessing of God’s kingdom coming everywhere you go. Right? That’s why it says, “He will guard your hearts and your minds.” Because it’s real, during prayer time you must think about this blessing (throne, transcending time and space, 237). During worship today, the power of the throne will come upon you. At that time, God’s work transcending time and space will take place. Spiritual works will arise. You cannot find this anywhere else. Only then can you influence the 237 nations. If your studies and work don’t influence the 237 nations, you cannot do world evangelization.
How thankful is this? He has given this to us by grace. Right? The world doesn’t know this, but He has given us grace. We must not fail to enjoy this. Try it today. After one week, one month, you’ll say, “Wow, this is truly God’s grace.” You’ll see it. “Ah, this is truly God’s power.” Then you won’t think, “This is good or bad.” Instead, you’ll realize, “Ah, many people are living without knowing this. I must serve as a messenger to them.” That’s a witness.
I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus, that today will be a day of gaining the greatest power. Let us pray.
Prayer. God, we thank You. Let today be a day of great new grace. Let today be a day when deep time arises. Let today be a day when even unknown diseases are healed. Let all the sick be filled with the fullness of the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.