Prayer Journal, September 8, 2025
2024.09.12 – The 19th North America Businesspersons Evangelism Conference, Lecture 2
Scripture Reading: Acts 1:1-14
♠Introduction
I have carried out ministry at seven churches. The seventh one is now Immanuel Church. I do not have many close acquaintances. I do have many peers and know many pastors. After doing evangelism for 40 years, I am close only with the senior members of our executive committee. Outside of that, I do not have many close friends. The reason is because they are people who cannot do world evangelization. That was the way I thought back then, and now, looking back, I see that it is true. They possess thoughts and minds that make world evangelization completely impossible. If I become close with such people, I would spiritually die. I may appear to act friendly, but in truth, we are hardly close at all. Some people who do not know me have spread rumors, saying I seem somewhat arrogant. Why am I saying this? After going through six churches, now I am pastoring at the last one. When people in every church pray, sing praises, or listen to sermons, during those moments, you cannot tell. Even the prayers of elders are well-prepared, so you cannot know then. But during those times, the inner person comes out. And when this inner person comes out, in almost all cases, it is not the gospel. They cannot enjoy the gospel. The gospel is supposed to flow through an incredible current, but they cannot ride that current. Does that mean they are morally corrupt in a worldly sense? That is not what I am saying. In fact, corrupt people often have greater potential. A prodigal son who has left the house has the possibility of returning. But the prodigal son who never leaves the house cannot be fixed. It is a difficult concept to understand…
If you understand three words this time, you will receive answers.
The first of these was yesterday’s Lesson 1. It is about continually doing what Jesus told us not to do and refusing to do what He commanded us to do. Jesus directly pointed this out, saying, “You are building Satan’s house and establishing his bartizans.” Jesus Himself said this. That is why those people, those Jews, could not do world evangelization. The only thing remaining for them was disaster. So Christ Himself established His bartizans. The person who held onto those bartizans the most was the Early Church, and among them, it was Paul in particular. Today, you must remember the second word.
Introduction – Let me begin by speaking from the introduction.
1) Mark’s church
Now, this refers to Peter and the Upper Room Church of Mark. This church could not evangelize Rome. Let us take a closer look at what is being said here.
(1) Acts 11:1–18 — You know the content of Acts 11:1–18, right? It speaks about the incident where Peter went to the house of Cornelius. Now, when the people who had received the gospel heard about this, they should have said, “Wow, truly God has worked according to His Word this time!” But instead, what did they say? “Still, how could you go into the house of a Gentile and eat there?” Right after this, we see that the Antioch Church was born.
(2) Galatians 2:11–20 — These same people show up here too. What do they say? “Yes, we may be saved through Jesus Christ, but still, we must receive Jewish circumcision, keep Jewish customs, and observe the Jewish days.” This became the cause of the problem at the Galatian Church. And who was saying this? Peter said it. Who else said it? James said it. And who else? Even Barnabas said it. Paul explicitly mentioned all three names. Paul said, “What in the world is going on here? Have we not died with Christ on the cross? Does not Christ live in us? Do we not live by faith in Him?” Paul delivered an enormous message through this.
(3) Galatians 1:1 — Here, Paul says something striking. If you cannot enjoy the gospel, you end up saying strange and irrelevant things. You must not make excuses. Right? What excuse could there be? Everything has already been finished in Christ, so if you cannot come out from that old way of thinking, you cannot receive answers. Having nothing else left to criticize, they started saying, “Is Paul truly a legitimate apostle?” How petty is that? They were saying, “We are the ones who actually walked with Jesus and followed Him, not Paul.” So Paul boldly responded:
“I, Paul, am an apostle — not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead.”
He gave a powerful defense. These kinds of people could never evangelize Rome. If you remain at this level, it is obvious that America cannot be evangelized either. You must genuinely change the way you think. When your thoughts change, your words change. When I observe many pastors and elders in the church, I can see the inside of people come out, and what comes out? Unbelief. There is no gospel. That is the end of it. It is your thoughts that will decide everything. Whatever thoughts you are holding right now — that is your future. If your thoughts are wrong, it cannot happen. Because your thoughts are connected to your brain and soul, everything in your life flows from them.
2) 2 Corinthians 10:4–5 → Satan’s strongholds
But the Bible explains it like this. In 2 Corinthians 10:1–5, it says: Do we need all these human theories? Do we need all these thoughts apart from God? Is there anything higher than God? Anything that exalts itself above God must be demolished. Do you know what the Bible calls this? It calls it Satan’s strongholds.
In yesterday’s Lesson 1, the keyword was bartizan. Satan has built a house and erected bartizans there. It is the same today. If you look at the Jews, or even many churches nowadays, they choose only to do what Jesus told them not to do. Why is that? I do not understand it. What Jesus forbade, they insist on doing to the end. What Jesus commanded, they absolutely refuse to do. How can such things happen?
That is why many churches around the world are closing their doors. Ninety percent of the existing churches are not self-sustaining. It is a serious problem. Other religions are mocking Christianity. In America, churches are declining, yet why are the three organizations thriving? Why is the meditation movement dominating America and shaking the entire world, while the church is powerless?
The important thing is not what you are trying to do, but what you are thinking and where you are standing spiritually. That is what matters. Satan has built this — a fortress, a stronghold — and he has planted it deep within.
In the Korean Bible, this word is translated as “a fortified camp or stronghold.” It means that inside the church, within us, there are these fortified strongholds. My own thoughts, my own theories — is there anything better than God? Is there anything higher than God? Anything that exalts itself above Him has become my fortified stronghold. In English, the term is Strongholds.
3) Lamp stands
Because of this, God has moved the lampstands.
So today, God is raising up people who will save the world. What must you hold onto? Today’s title. This is what you must establish: God’s strongholds. If you establish them inside yourself, everything is finished. If you have God’s bartizans inside of you, it is over.
Because a greater spiritual war is coming, you need fortresses. You must remember this. I did not create this term; it comes directly from 2 Corinthians 10:4–5. Satan has already built his powerful strongholds, and you must gain the power to save yourself. Right? You must gain the power to save the field. You must gain the power to save the age.
God has already promised to give this to you. Through this, you will save the church. Even if only one person among you understands this word, it is enough. We must build God’s bartizans, construct God’s strongholds — this is Lesson 2.
So then, how will you build these strongholds? These two things I have just shared in the introduction are absolutely essential.
Bartizan / Journey / Guidepost – 3 Concentrations
Hold onto the 7 bartizans, the journey, and the guideposts, and enter into 3 concentrations. You must do this, without fail. This is the time when you will find the greatest happiness and the greatest strength.
Why do I tell you to do 3 concentrations? Because when you combine these three, it naturally becomes 24. You must do these 3 concentrations with two essential things:
To save your brain, your lungs, and your entire inner organs — breathe. Slowly, deeply.
To save your spirit and save your soul — pray.
Take these two things and devote just 10 minutes in the morning to them. When you do this, there are a few things you must keep in mind. This is how you create the 7/7/7 system, which is truly God’s stronghold.
① 3 years
With this stronghold, during Jesus’ three years of public ministry, He gave two commands. First, He said to change everything completely. And second, at the very end, He promised this: “I will send you the Holy Spirit, the Helper, and He will be with you forever.” You must enjoy this promise.
② 40 days
Then, see what He did during the 40 days after His resurrection. This is what you must enjoy.
③ 10 days
What happened during the 10 days? They gathered in the Upper Room of Mark and concentrated for about ten days. During this time, they held onto the three feasts, and when the day of Pentecost came, an extraordinary work of God took place.
④ Acts 2:42
There is something you must discover here: worship. Every answer must come from worship. If not, your spiritual state is fake. It is certain. The time of Sunday worship must be the most important time in your life. Right? If you are not resolved about this, you will lose the battle. Nothing will work.
⑤ Acts 2:46–47
Finally, the Word from the pulpit begins to manifest in the field. This means you are living the life of faith normally. When you listen to the Sunday message, of course, you cannot memorize the entire sermon every week. Right? It is impossible. But on that day, you must receive an answer. On that day, something must be engraved into you. On Sunday, you must pray holding onto the Word the entire day. If you do this, it is finished. There is no way answers will not come, and there is no way revival will not happen.
⑥ Acts 3:1
Then what comes next? At the time of the ninth-hour prayer — this refers to scheduled prayer. When you have scheduled prayer, you must also have a specific goal you are holding onto.
⑦ 24 / 25 / eternity
From this point, what happens? You enter into 24. The 3 concentrations turn into 24. Then comes the 25 answers. And finally, the masterpiece of eternity is created. This is God’s stronghold. Since God has already given us the bartizans, the journey, and the guideposts, we are now to build the stronghold.
⑧ Acts 13:1–4 / 16:6–10 / 19:1–7
As you do this, there is something special you must enjoy each time. Set your standard to receive the perfect guidance of the Holy Spirit. If it is not 300% certain, do not move. When a door closes, it always means God has prepared a turning point. Reenact the works that took place in the Upper Room of Mark — this is what it means to build strongholds. You must establish these strongholds firmly.
Main – Then what happens?
God’s timetable begins to come upon you.
1. Antioch (Acts 11:19)
First, we come to Antioch. In Acts 11:19, there is an incredible message. It says that because of the persecution of Stephen, the work people who had been scattered gathered together. The apostles had been arrested, and because of this great incident caused by persecution, the church leaders gathered. This is God’s timetable.
1) Prosecution
There was tremendous persecution here.
2) Stephen
And here, Stephen was killed. This was the beginning of everything.
3) Acts 11:28–30
But in Acts 11:28–30, we see that a severe famine struck the entire region, yet God blessed only the Antioch Church. This is what we call the economy of light. This is also what we call the economy of evangelism and the economy of missions. These blessings surely follow when you stand in the covenant. I sincerely hope you will receive this blessing.
2. Asia (Acts 13:1–4) → “Absolute bartizan”
Next, where did they go? To Asia. In Acts 13:1, we find that there were church leaders and workers gathered there. Everywhere Paul went, he first raised church leaders and work people.
You must break down the wrong structures and establish the bartizans. Then, answers will come — they will come constantly. In fact, they will come so abundantly that you will hardly be able to manage them. There will be so many that you will have to adjust. You will become busy.
In the mornings, you will be too busy praying to waste time worrying about other people’s problems, imagining problems that do not exist, or creating problems where there are none. Some people even invent fake problems just to stay occupied. But if you build God’s bartizan, your life will be restored.
Watch what happens when just a few churches in Korea properly hold onto the Word, including our church. I personally am not doing anything special, but you will see what God does.
If you truly hold onto the three-day weekend age, the three courtyards (TCK / CCK / NCK), you will see heaven and earth move. You must hold onto this covenant. It is recorded in the Bible, but no one is doing it — so we must.
Here, the Holy Spirit leads completely. If you read through verse 4, you will see that the Holy Spirit guides the locations, the Holy Spirit connects the people, and the Holy Spirit opens the doors. This is what we call the absolute bartizan. We must establish this.
3. Macedonia → “Absolute journey”
Then God closed certain doors and led Paul to Macedonia. This is Acts 16:6–10. God called Paul to Macedonia, and this is what we call the absolute journey. God changes your path and shows you the absolute journey.
At this time, God connected Paul with Lydia. It says, “The Lord opened Lydia’s heart.” God had already prepared Jason ahead of time. Paul did not make these connections by himself — God did it.
God also connected Paul with Priscilla and Aquila, and this couple used their earnings to fully support Paul in his ministry. These are the kinds of church leaders who must rise up today — those who can run their work and fund world evangelization.
And were Priscilla and Aquila poor because of this? No. According to historical records, Priscilla and Aquila were the equivalent of modern-day billionaires. This is recorded clearly.
4. Rome → “Absolute guidepost”
And finally, where did Paul head? To Rome. This is the direction everything points toward — what we call the absolute guidepost. God prepared everything ahead of time.
In Romans 16, Paul mentions the protectors, the co-workers, and the hosts. To the extent that Paul was blessed, God had already prepared the people he needed.
You must receive the level of answer where you become the protector of the evangelist. You must become the protector of your pastor. Right? And even lay down your life as a co-worker. Be a host who provides for God’s servants.
Many elders in Korea today are in danger of receiving judgment from God because they misunderstand the purpose of the church. The church is not a corporation. The church is not a business where you collect money, pay salaries, and run operations like a company.
Yes, there may be organizational structures, but spiritually, this mindset is dangerous. Many people are so skilled at choosing exactly what will block them from receiving God’s answers. Instead, God wants you to first receive spiritual blessings from Him, and then, from those blessings, you support the pastors and church workers who deliver God’s Word.
This is how the system was designed for Israel: the 11 tribes received land and produced crops, and from those crops, they gave one-tenth to the Levites. Why? Because the Levites were not given land. God did not give them an inheritance of land, so they were to live from the tithes of the other tribes. You must understand this concept correctly.
In the same way, we need modern-day Gaiuses and modern-day Priscillas and Aquilas to arise from among our remnants today.
♠Conclusion
Let me conclude. Even if only one person rises, that is enough. If one person truly stands, everything begins. Yesterday’s Lesson 1 taught us that you must become the main figure of the three courtyards. You must become the main figure of the three-day weekend age. This is where you must stand as the central figures.
1) Friday – Healing
On Fridays, our work people and church leaders must make it a point — at least once a week — to visit, invite, or meet someone who is hurting. Give them the message. Do the work of healing.
2) Saturday – Talent
On Saturdays, you must help the remnants discover their talents. How do we do this?
(1) Have them read essential books and hold forums so they can find answers through the Word.
(2) Research historical figures who disrupted the world and teach them how to find answers in Christ.
(3) Teach them about the three feasts.
(4) Teach them about prayer — because many misunderstand prayer.
Prayer is not something burdensome. Prayer is the way you receive strength all day long. Right? Prayer is the way you enjoy peace all day long. Prayer is the way you enter into true rest all day long.
But most people misunderstand prayer, and that is why they fail. Think about it — is breathing difficult? If breathing is difficult, that means you are close to death. Prayer is spiritual breathing. You must recover this quickly.
Our work people and church leaders must first rediscover this truth and restore prayer in their lives, because through this, you will conquer America. And when we teach remnants proper prayer, they will discover “Only” — the unique calling of their lives. That is their talent.
Once they discover their talent, they will develop specialization — this is what we call uniqueness. And from there, they will see what they must fully challenge themselves toward. This is what we call re-creation.
When you guide them like this, they will see the field clearly, and they will begin to find the right remnants.
3) Sunday – Stream
And what about Sundays? There is always a spiritual stream. In your personal life, in your church, in the headquarters, and even across the world, there is a stream of the Word, a stream of prayer, and a stream of evangelism.
If you cannot catch this stream, it will be a serious problem. On Sundays, you must ride this flow without fail.
Our church leaders must become the main figures of the three-day weekend age. In yesterday’s Lesson 1, I said: “Assign one nation to each person.”
Raise up 237 elders who can each take responsibility for one of the 237 nations. Bring in the 5,000 tribes. Gather the future talents and laborers. Even if you cannot do it perfectly, your direction must align with God. Right? Whether it happens now or later is not the issue. What matters is that your direction is correct.
Therefore, do this unconditionally. Start today. Build God’s strongholds completely.
Build God’s bartizan inside yourself.
Build God’s strongholds around you, in your church, and in your work.
This is the essence of Lesson 2. If you just remember these three keywords, answers will surely come.
Inside you, among us, within the church, and in the field, you must destroy Satan’s strongholds. When you build God’s strongholds, Satan’s strongholds will automatically collapse.
When you continue this, answers will come. The doors to world evangelization will open. And for that reason, you must save the churches in America that are closing. Right? This is urgent.
We must revive these churches so that we can send out missionaries. But more churches will continue closing in the future. This is a serious crisis. Yet God has never once stopped the flow of the gospel.
Even in the midst of disasters, God always raises up remnants to save the generation. Therefore, this message today is not optional — it is something we must apply.
You must think carefully. If your thoughts are wrong, you cannot receive proper answers.
Therefore, I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ, that by having the right thoughts and holding onto what God has given you, you will begin the work of saving the world. Let us pray.
Prayer. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who solved all problems, and the infinite love of God the Father, and the working of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the work people who will save America, upon our church leaders, upon all the remnants, and upon all the messengers of the Lord, from now until eternity. Amen.