Sunday 2nd Service Worship
Lay Missions Dedication Worship
Pastor Ryu Kwang-su
Title / Scripture: Jesus Who Came to Call the Sick and Sinners (Matthew 9:9-13)
Date / Location: February 20, 2022 / Immanuel Church
Matthew 9:9-13
09 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.
11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do.”
13 “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Chalkboard
Matthew 28:16-20 / Mark 16:15-20 / Acts 1:1-8
Problem (Matthew 13:11-13) (3, 6, 11)
[Jesus who came to call the sick and sinners]
(Matthew 9:9-13)
Introduction
1. Tax collector (intermediary / errand-runner)
2. Christ — enthroned
3. Curse
1. Sinner — witness
1) Seeking
2) Disciple
3) Matthew [Gospel]
2. Sick — witness
1) [woman with flow of blood]
2) [paralytic]
[healing / witness]
3. Abandoned
1) [courtyard of] Gentiles
2) [courtyard of] children
3) [prayer]
Conclusion
RT / TCK
[Heavenly Power / Heavenly Talent / Heavenly Mission]
[top priority]
3. Elite
(women/men leaders)
Summary
▷ Today is the missions dedication worship. We all receive the blessing of having to do missions. Whenever you pray, just keep this always in mind.
Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-20, Acts 1:1-8
Problem (Matthew 13:11-13) (3, 6, 11)
▷ “I have all authority in heaven and on earth and will always be with you.” We must now believe and receive this. In the six days, then, you can confirm it. Through the covenant of missions, when you hold on to the covenant, “demons will be cast out, the sick will be healed,” and God seated on the throne promised He would work. At the final pulpit, you will be witnesses to the ends of the earth, and He explained the things of the kingdom of God for 40 days. You can keep enjoying this prayer. The problem is that responses keep coming, but we miss them because of our own thinking. The more you think, the more you grasp onto something; but the more you pray, the more you begin to see something. Responses come through problems — Matthew 13:11-13 shows that God is concealing things in order to give them to you. The devil mainly tempts through Genesis chapters 3, 6, and 11 — that is, the self-centered nature. When Jesus did missions, the very first thing He did was come to call the sick and sinners.
▣ Introduction
1. Tax collector — an intermediary errand-runner. At that time, the tax collector was a sinner who ran errands for Rome while the nation was a vassal state and extorted money in the process. Jesus went directly to the tax collector. If one is a truly capable evangelist, if it is truly the gospel, that is what must be done.
2. Christ — Christ is the one who, when we make our confession of faith, enthrones that place, and the moment one meets Christ, He is the one who enthrones the individual. The church is a place where kings, servants, and slaves all attend worship, where one realizes the blessing of the throne and where people are saved.
3. The Curse — Through Christ, three curses are resolved. Without removing the curse, everything else is useless.
▣ Main_ How should we do missions?
1. Sinner — Witness. Missions is calling sinners and making them into witnesses.
1) Seeking — Jesus went and found Matthew.
2) Disciple — Jesus even ate with him, which means He was making him a disciple.
3) The Gospel of Matthew — Matthew wrote the Gospel of Matthew. The gospel and evangelism mean making sinners into witnesses.
2. The Sick — Witness. Missions is bringing the sick to fundamental healing in the name of Christ and making them into witnesses.
1) The woman with the flow of blood — Jesus healed her.
2) The paralytic — Jesus healed the paralytic.
3) The mute — Jesus healed the mute as well.
4) The leper — He healed the leper as well.
5) The demon-possessed — He healed the demon-possessed.
▷ Jesus healed people whom hospitals could not touch. To us as well, Mark 16:15-20 says, “They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
3. The Abandoned — Witness. Calling the abandoned and establishing them as witnesses. It is not finding talented people to use them, but healing the many spiritual problems they have.
1) The courtyard of the Gentiles
2) The courtyard of the children
3) The courtyard of prayer
▷ In Scripture, these are the most important things for the building of the temple and for evangelism. This is healing. The many nations and the Remnant must be raised according to what God desires. We must not raise them according to our own will. Israel missed everything by pursuing the kibbutz movement, the chosen people movement, and the talent movement.
▣ Conclusion
1. RT, TCK — The Remnant and TCKs must hold on to Heavenly Power, Heavenly Talent, and Heavenly Mission.
2. Many nations — The many nations who are already here must become the top priority (0순위) within the gospel. The seven Remnant were the top priority, and our current evangelism movement is the top priority.
3. Elite — Truly elite people have many spiritual problems. In order to save them, we must become elite.
▷ Accepting 3, 9, 3 is prayer. This is what we call being filled with the Holy Spirit, and this is our identity, and conveying this is authority.
Transcript
Today is the missions dedication worship. We all receive the blessing of having to do missions. This is something I have always kept in mind for 40 years. You simply need to keep this always in mind as well. Whenever you pray now. And then you can confirm it.
Matthew 28:16-20
“I have all authority in heaven and on earth and will always be with you.” That is what it says. You must now believe and receive this. Then during the six days, you can confirm it.
Mark 16:15-20
Clearly, because of your covenant missions — when you hold on to the covenant — “demons will be cast out, the sick will be healed, and they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.” That is clearly what it says.
Acts 1:1-8
The Lord seated on the throne promised that He would work. Jesus personally explained it. This is the final pulpit, you see. You will be witnesses to the ends of the earth. He explained the things of the kingdom of God for 40 days. If you pray this now, you can keep enjoying it continuously. The problem is this: during the six days, these responses keep coming, but we are missing them right now. We are missing them because of our own immediate thinking. That is why it is better to not need my own thinking. You just need to keep doing this prayer. There is an enormous difference between praying a lot about one particular thing and thinking a lot about it. The more you think, the more you end up grasping onto something. But the more you pray, the more you begin to see something. This is important.
Problem
Now, the reason this part has been left open is this: responses are coming, yet God may sometimes give things through a problem. So because you see the world as something great, when a problem comes you become afraid. And another reason you become even more afraid is that you yourself have been planting those kinds of thoughts, so it seems like what is coming is that. So you feel anxious. You just need to start fresh quickly. It is not a problem — the response is coming through it — but we keep thinking of it as a problem. So now, start anew. If you look carefully at what comes in the form of a problem, there are many answers inside it. We miss them, which is why things are the way they are. When I have a financial problem right now, I need to deal with it genuinely and surely at the root. That is right, isn’t it? It is an opportunity. If you look at it roughly, people keep trying to muddle through and deceive themselves. And then it ends up that way again. There is no need for that. Because you are children of God, there is no need to keep being deceived. Clearly, He is working like this.
(Matthew 13:11-13)
Because the things we call problems are usually what gets written down and comes out, in Matthew 13:11-13, God is not so much deceiving you in order to give to you — rather, He is concealing it. That is right, isn’t it? If people believe in Jesus, pray, and then automatically receive blessings — with all the con artists sitting around, that won’t work. So He conceals it just a little. That is right, isn’t it? “I just went and prayed and the response came”? That would be terrible. He arranges things so that it looks a little like a problem so that you seek out the answer. You must absolutely not miss it.
(Genesis 3, 6, 11)
Also, there is mainly this reason as well. No matter who it is, I am the center, aren’t I? In Genesis chapter 3, the devil tempted through this very thing. “If you eat this, your eyes will be opened.” And so — “Oh?” — that is what happened. Needless to say about the world, when you go to university, what do they immediately teach? “Find yourself.” Something like that. How apt-sounding is that? And people fall for it. There is nothing to find, yet they say “find yourself,” so it feels tremendously attractive. Strangely, there are some young people who went to university and fell for it. Then those who have spiritual problems come along and get sucked in. That group Shincheonji — they align everything they say front and back perfectly. And people get sucked in. Even though what they are saying makes no sense at all, people get sucked in. Why is that? Because there is a spiritual problem in that person. And then there is going abroad. At first you don’t know, but if you think about it quietly, one day drugs just seem ordinary. So people who have spiritual problems — if you come into contact with that in large amounts, you may genuinely never be able to get out. Do not be deceived.
“Jesus Who Came to Call the Sick and Sinners” (Matthew 9:9-13)
So when Jesus did missions, what did He show us first? The title first of all: Jesus who came to call the sick and sinners. These are words we know well. And yet, we may still not be fully enjoying this as a response. Today, in Matthew 9:9 through 13, Jesus spoke. This is Scripture we know very, very well. Scripture that anyone who has attended church for at least a few years would know. And yet this is not easy.
▣ Introduction
Why is this not easy? Because most people seek out the successful, not these (the sick and sinners) — so why would you seek them out? We say in words that we do it with a good heart to encourage and comfort, but there is no real reason to stake your life on it. And in today’s text, the Pharisees criticized it. It may seem ordinary to you, but it was an enormous thing. “How is it that your teacher eats with those sinners?” That is what today’s text says. Jesus said, “I came to do this (call the sick) and this (call sinners).” Think carefully about this. When people normally want to succeed, they have to run out and hustle. Does this (calling the sick and sinners) appear to be something? You have to do something. That is the kind of situation it becomes. But if you are truly successful, you can do it. That is right, isn’t it?
Tax Collector — Intermediary, Errand-runner
Who did He go to? He went to a tax collector. Jesus went to him. Others came. But Jesus directly found and called a tax collector. Today nationwide, a tax accountant is an intellectual. But it was not like that back then. Today, someone working at customs is a civil servant. But it is not a type of civil servant people particularly rejoice over. When someone from the tax office comes, you get a little scared. In that situation then — adults would know this, but the Remnant may not. Israel had been made a vassal state of Rome. The Romans used their heads. They conquered nation after nation, and when they looked around, they had no other option. They had to collect taxes, and there was only one way.
To put it simply, they gathered the troublemakers from the neighborhood. Simple enough then — the method. “If you don’t listen, I’ll kill you.” Just like that, and “Do as you’re told.” And then: “Collect taxes. When you collect, send up to a certain amount to Rome. For the remaining amount, inflate the number a little and live off the difference. How much you inflate or deflate is up to you.” Remarkable, right? That is what the tax system was like back then. So if this person found out you had earned money: “You must pay this much in taxes.” If Rome’s portion was ten million won, “Pay twenty million won.” And if you didn’t pay, he would report you. That worked. You had no choice but to pay. If someone was on really close terms with him or really pleaded, he might knock it down a bit. Someone who truly got on his nerves? He would hike it up a lot. It was completely at his discretion.
Now, who on earth would like this person? Jesus called this tax collector. And when He called him, the Pharisees immediately saw and criticized it. Just imagine this person’s position. A vassal of Rome, running errands while, simply put, extorting money from people. Someone in the middle doing various kinds of errand work. If you are truly an intellectual, truly an evangelist, you would have to go to these people.
For Jesus, healing the sick and going to people was done from the beginning. He went to Peter, and He called Matthew. Just as you heard in today’s message, if you are truly an evangelist doing missions, you can go to this person. If you truly have ability, you will go to this person. That is right, isn’t it? When I personally feel I must succeed, that I must not fail or something terrible will happen — people in that state cannot go to them. If I were successful, there would be no reason I could not go.
Among my university classmates, there is someone I am not particularly close to but who is a decent enough person. He came to see me once and told me something. What did he do? He said he goes into the mountains, gathers people of a certain level, and does ministry. I visited him once in the Gimpo area. Whether it is going well or not I cannot tell, but naturally, it would not be going well. There is another person, from Yeongdo. He said he gathers only elites and does a community church. That is the only thing with hope, he says. It has been a long time, and of course it is not doing well.
That is not what Jesus wants. Jesus did not want to lure in elites and benefit the church. We have already received everything. We need to go to those people and save them. That is right, isn’t it? Historically, not a single church that did it that way has ever done well. And yet there are many who insist on Genesis chapter 3 — the self-promotion. Many theological students and juniors are coming up, and you need to think carefully. To become a proper minister, you must have no sense of “I will do this.” That is right, isn’t it? “I go where God sends me. I do what the church wants. No other reason.” That is how it must be. Why go all the way up to some mountain peak, into a secluded place — if God tells you to go in, then go in. But if He is not telling you to go in, you must not keep misusing the church that way. That is right, isn’t it? The church is not a place for Pastor Ryu Kwang-su or any leader to settle personal grudges. It is the place where God’s plan is fulfilled. That is right, isn’t it? You must do missions properly. Jesus went to the tax collector, I tell you. At that time, plainly speaking, it was a sinner. Very problem-ridden sinners — He went to them. Why did He do that? Because if it is truly the gospel, that is what you must do. That is right, isn’t it? If it were a religion where I am trying to accomplish something, you should not go — the math does not work out. Right? When you calculate it, it does not add up — so why go? But if you are a truly genuine leader, you must go. This is the very one who has problems on both sides.
2. Christ — Enthronement
We need to know who Christ is. That is right, isn’t it? It came out in the first service today: the one who enthrones that place when you make your confession of faith — that is Christ. The moment you meet that covenant, Christ is the one who enthrones your individual self. You must remember this. Even if you find it hard to believe, there is nothing to be done about it. It is the truth. If you do not believe it, you will die with spiritual problems. There is nothing that can be done about that. What more is needed — that is what I mean. That pastor, he is someone from this neighborhood. I have not met him personally. I just heard about him from classmates. “So-and-so is doing such and such.” I see. So I said, “What a pity. He is a decent enough person, why is he doing that?” The church just needs to preach the gospel accurately. That is right, isn’t it? Whether it is a beggar or an elite, God is the one who does it. That is right, isn’t it? Both beggars and elites must come to church. The church is a place where kings attend worship, where servants and slaves attend as well. That is right, isn’t it? When you go to church, it is a place where you realize the blessing of the throne and where people are saved.
3. The Curse
Not only did Christ give the blessing of the throne, but through Him, three things are finally resolved. No matter how much money you make, if you do not remove this (the curse), it is all useless. You go through all that hardship earning money, and the hope of earning is there. That is all there is. There is the hope of earning, the hope of “I will earn,” but there is no happiness. Because you are in this (the curse). Truly happy people — like the couple Priscilla and Aquila — even after earning money and helping every single evangelist, they had more than enough. That is right, isn’t it? And someone like Gaius — even after helping Paul and every single evangelist, there was more than enough, I tell you. If you cannot get out of here, it will not work. That is why you must absolutely pray.
▣ Main
How should we do missions?
1. Sinner — Witness
For you, calling sinners and making them into witnesses — this is missions. No, when you look at a completely different kind of person — the perishing, the broken — you call them, help them come to know Christ, and make them into witnesses.
1) Seeking
There is something more important. It was not Matthew who came looking for Jesus. Jesus went looking for Matthew. That is right, isn’t it? We must do this too.
2) Disciple
And what happened next? Matthew was so happy that they even had a meal together at the house. Not just an ordinary meal — they threw a feast. Seeing that is what they criticized. Religious people who have not grasped the gospel always see that and criticize it. “How is it that your teacher eats with those sinners like that?” In our Gyeongsang dialect, something like, “Have you lost your mind, what are you doing right now?” Something like that. It is absolutely mind-boggling. At that house, the fact that Jesus ate a meal means He joined in — He was making him a disciple.
3) The Gospel of Matthew
There is no time. I will say it briefly. Do you know what this tax collector Matthew went on to do later? He produced something greater than ten thousand Romans and Israelite intellectuals combined — this person wrote the Gospel of Matthew. That is remarkable. What is the gospel and what is evangelism? Making sinners into witnesses.
2. The Sick — Witness
What is evangelism? Missions is calling the sick, bringing them to fundamental healing in the name of Christ, and making the sick into witnesses. Why is that?
1) The woman with the flow of blood
Jesus healed the woman with the flow of blood. She appeared earlier.
2) The paralytic
Jesus healed the paralytic this morning as well, saying, “Rise, take up your bed and go home.”
3) The mute
Jesus healed the mute as well,
4) The leper
And the leper as well.
5) The demon-possessed
And more than that — He healed the demon-possessed.
What is the characteristic of all these? People who came in conditions that hospitals could not touch. Jesus healed these people. What does this mean? Clearly in Mark chapter 16, He said to us as well, “Cast out demons in my name, and lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”
As for what I do during the six days — I look at this message, pray through it, and then simply confirm what responses have come. That is sufficient. These days — even during the COVID period — we are gathering in double the numbers. We see even more works. When I meet someone I do not know, I feel embarrassed. They greet me and say, “Pastor, it must be difficult because of COVID,” and yet it is not difficult at all for us — we are growing even more. But I cannot very well say “Yes, we are doing even better.” So I just say, “Well, yes, um…” like that. The churches doing this gospel movement right now — how remarkable. During COVID, when people cannot gather because they are blocked from gathering, all budgets for evangelism activities and the economy have gone up. Only our denomination is like this. What a remarkable thing.
You must know what evangelism and missions are. You call sinners, help them understand, establish them as witnesses, and establish the sick as witnesses.
3. The Abandoned — Witness
Calling the abandoned and establishing them as witnesses. It is not finding talented people and exploiting them — even talented people have many spiritual problems. You go and heal them.
1) The courtyard of the Gentiles
That is why in Scripture, the most important thing for building the temple and for evangelism — the courtyard of the Gentiles.
2) The courtyard of the children
The courtyard of the children. This is extremely important, this.
3) The courtyard of prayer
The courtyard of prayer. This is healing, I tell you.
These three always existed. But even though you know the words, an actual work will only happen when it becomes truly yours.
Right now our church also has many people from many nations. You really need to look upon these people with great care. It is not about unconditionally drawing them in — you must look carefully. You need to see what it is they need. That is all. Do you think you can go to all 237 nations? Honestly, you cannot go, and you do not need to go. Why would you go? With all this communications media available, why go? That is why God is teaching us the age of non-face-to-face contact through COVID right now. In that case, what must we do with the people who are already here? We must do well at our church. You cannot be indifferent, and you cannot pull people in too forcibly either. You need to know what God wants for each person. You understand, right? That is all there is to it.
How ridiculous some churches are. A North Korean person came to me in tears and told me. “Pastor, I come to Yewon Church and whenever I hear the core messages, I receive the most grace, but I have a concern.” “What is it?” I asked. Some church is telling them to come to their church, buying them a desk, chairs, all of that — and they feel so sorry because they do not want to go. I said, “Then go there.” “What will I do about worship?” “Go to the place where you receive the most grace and worship there.” Our churches must not do this kind of thing. Is the church some kind of fraud organization? You must not do things like this — dragging people in by doing strange things, or otherwise just abandoning them.
Still, as I see it, the place that best understands the message is Immanuel Busan Church. Please understand it. You need to do this. “What is it that God wants for the many nations who are already here?” What does this mean? You must raise the Remnant according to what God wants for them, not according to your own will. That is right, isn’t it? This is fundamental. It is the basic principle of education. If you raise these young people to Pastor Ryu Kwang-su’s standard, you are raising them to a 1950s standard, I tell you. You must raise them to the standard of saving the era that God desires.
That is why I am not worried about gaming. Go ahead and game — you cannot not do it. You are not a grandfather, so why would you not? Do it, but do it properly. Study properly and pray at the same time. That is right, isn’t it? If you just tell them unconditionally “don’t do it,” what are the young people supposed to do? They must. Then they will figure it out themselves. If you say don’t do it, they will do it in hiding. And when they do it in hiding, they receive grace. They lock the door and keep going. You must not try to raise children to your own standard. Raise them to God’s standard. It is a pity. If this (Main point 3) is done at Immanuel, it will be truly what God desires. Not what I want — what God wants.
A child came and kept touching the piano organ, and everyone scolded him — but there was someone who took note of him. That is right, isn’t it? They taught the child. That child grew up to be Handel, who changed the world of music. You must not look at children according to your own mood.
Right now, people from 237 nations are going to pour in. Into Korea. You need to keep your eyes wide open. You absolutely must. This (the text) is all there is. Israel got into their own mood and missed all of this (Main point 3). They built up their strength and missed it all. They pursued the kibbutz movement and missed it. That is right, isn’t it? They pursued the chosen people movement and missed it. All of that was wrong. They pursued the talent movement and missed it. That does not mean talent is bad. Talent needs the gospel too. That is right, isn’t it? You must absolutely remember the dedication worship. When you correctly understand the covenant, God’s work is bound to come.
▣ Conclusion
This is the final conclusion.
1. RT, TCK
The very first thing you need to do right now is this: “For our Remnant and TCKs, what kind of missions must we do for God to be pleased?” The university sermon, the university retreat message — you must keep this in mind. This is not my message or story. What is the message God gave from Mt. Olive? He explained the power that is in heaven. That is right, isn’t it? Every Remnant has a heavenly genius that came down from heaven. Heavenly Talent, Heavenly Power, Heavenly Mission — you must hold on to all three. You understand, right? Even if you are not good at all your studies, there is no need to worry. What God has sent down from above is separate. The Remnant all need to refer to this university message.
2. Many nations (Top priority)
Second, there are many nations here. The TCKs are also from many nations, but they came from other countries. What do these people need to understand within the gospel before they go? This will mainly come out in the university retreat message. They must become the top priority. Remnant must become the top priority — you must not compete. That is old talk. The seven Remnant were the top priority.
People don’t really know it right now, but at our upper room, the pastors who have come to understand and are doing evangelism — what they are doing. It is not at the level of competition — it is top priority. Anyone cannot just copy it. If someone who has not grasped the gospel tries it, it is too hard and they cannot do it. If someone who has not grasped the gospel tries the movement that is in Scripture — the upper room movement — and tries it, they find it too dull to do. It is dull, too dull. If someone who has not grasped the gospel tries doing exactly what the early church did, they find it too uninteresting to continue. They keep wanting to do something else. But a person who truly has the gospel — life springs up in them. True life is at once simple and powerful.
Remnant — top priority.
3. Elite (Spiritual problems)
There is no need for you to become elite — you already are. Truly elite people have many spiritual problems. You must go to save them. In order to do that, you must become elite. Because you are trying to save people who are good at studying, you need to study reasonably well. That is all there is to it. If you yourself are very poor at studying and you try to help someone who is good at studying in spiritual matters, they will not want to receive your help — so you need to help them.
Let me conclude. This blessing (Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-20, Acts 1:1-8) goes here (Introduction). This (Main) blessing comes as responses during the six days. This (Main) is missions. That is right, isn’t it? This is evangelism.
[3.9.3]
Starting now, receiving this (Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-20, Acts 1:1-8) — this is prayer — the 3.9.3 of it.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit (Identity) (Authority)
Looking at this is what we call being filled with the Holy Spirit, and it is your identity. Conveying this is also authority. Please pray this very, very much. It is extremely important.
I bless you this week, that one by one you will experience the blessing, in the name of Jesus Christ. Let us pray.
Prayer. Thank You, God. Please establish us as sure witnesses who do not miss the covenant and who save the world. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.