Sunday 2nd Service, Lay Missionary Dedication Service
Title / Scripture: An Essential Person (Matthew 20:17-34)
Speaker: Rev. Ryu Gwang-su
Date / Location: April 24, 2022, Immanuel Church (Busan)
Matthew 20:17-34
Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
Summary
There are people who worked hard, yet time passes with no answer. There are people who receive an answer even though they did not do very much work. The Pharisees lived a very devoted faith life, yet when time had passed, even their descendants were ruined. Why is that? We must do what God requires, what is needed in this world.
In Matthew 20:17-34, the mothers of two of Jesus’ disciples come and ask that one son be seated at the right and the other at the left. Hearing this, the other disciples became angry. Many people live this way. It is unnecessary. In the midst of this, a blind man comes and asks to be saved, and Jesus heals him.
Introduction — We must know why difficulties keep coming, and do missions accordingly.
1. “I want to die”: the word that came up the most
This is something that, once you know it, you realize what role the missionaries scattered around the world are playing. Even if you simply set up a lighthouse holding the light of the gospel, darkness is dealt with.
1) Mental illness
2) Addiction
3) Suicide (murder): one must be caught by Satan to do this.
Because this is spreading throughout the whole world, your ministry and the missionaries’ ministry is the most important work on earth.
2. Indifference (powerlessness): a church with no interest in the field, powerless
1) Doctrinal insistence: this is all it does
2) The three organizations: those in difficulty go there
3) Churches closing: fakes come into the church and take it all over
Remnants and workers must join their strength and buy churches that are being sold off to other places. Just deciding to do it is enough. The missionaries must gain strength. Darkness is spreading over everything, and people are dying.
3. Situation
1) Only wanting to give and receive human help
2) Beginning to fall into illness
3) The Nephilim movement has become the backdrop
Meditation, temple stay, Muslims — the church has completely fallen asleep.
Main — “The Substitute [Ransom]”
No one can solve it, but God alone has prepared and given the answer. He sent Christ as a ransom (v. 28). Satan trembles at this story. What does it mean to be ransomed?
Original sin – calamity | Satan – darkness | hell (background)
Because of original sin, having left God, the calamities that keep coming cannot be stopped; the more things develop, the worse it gets. Satan keeps dragging people into darkness. It cannot be stopped. While on this earth it is the backdrop, and when one leaves this earth, hell, one’s true home, is always pressing down on humanity. Life itself becomes hell, and then one goes to actual hell.
The word that completely resolves these three things is Christ. The cross — this word means He came as a ransom and resolved this problem. In the text He said He would die and rise again.
Those of you who know this and devote yourselves to missions will receive the answer that is in Scripture. If you do missions and devotion without knowing this, I dare say there will be no answer — truly, it will only bring loss. If you have built the right church, it will crush all darkness completely. A church building without the gospel is the same as an idol.
1. Jerusalem (17-19): We must be brought out of this from Jerusalem itself.
High priest – cross / resurrection
When Jesus came up to Jerusalem, He said that He would be despised greatly by the chief priests and scribes and die on the cross, and that He would rise again after three days.
Pharisaism: Israel’s Pharisaic religion must be brought out of this calamity.
Medieval church – Luther: God raised up Luther to bring the church out of this calamity.
You are giving offerings and devoting yourselves to this very thing. Bring the church itself out of calamity first.
2. Saints – Disciples (20-28): The saints and disciples must be brought out of this calamity first.
The twelve disciples
Bring the twelve disciples, who were thinking of worldly success, out of calamity.
3. Future (29-34): We must deliver the secret of the ransom so that people come out of darkness, calamity, and the background of hell.
Do not simply see this as a blind man having come. God was showing the future.
The sick, future generations
Bring out the many sick people and future generations, so they come out of calamity.
Conclusion
1. Multi-ethnic: We must build a church where people of many nations can come and rest comfortably.
2. Talented people: We must give the right gospel to talented people so they become platforms, watch-towers, and antennas.
3. The weak, the abandoned, the sinful: A system is needed where the weak can receive healing, a place where the abandoned can gain strength, and a church is needed where sinners can become new.
Courtyard — there is no courtyard where Gentiles, remnants, and people with problems can come and pray comfortably.
This week, ask God just one thing about missions — what He wants from you. Try it.
Transcript
The Necessary Person (Matthew 20:17-34)
There are people who worked hard, yet after time passed there was no answer. So we need to know why. There are people who received an answer even though they hadn’t done very much work. Isn’t that strange? The Pharisees lived their faith very devotedly. But looking back after time had passed, even their descendants were ruined. That truly is astonishing. Why is that? What does God require? That is what we must do. And also, what does this person really need? Today we read the long passage from Matthew 20:17 through verse 34. It is all already there.
At a truly precious moment, someone even spoke unnecessary words. What came up? Among Jesus’ disciples, one mother came and said, “Please look after my two sons well.” She said, “Let one sit at the right of the throne and one at the left.” Hearing this, it is recorded that the other disciples became furious and were indignant. There are many people who live like this. So it is unnecessary. In the text, Jesus also says something very important. And in the midst of it, we see a blind man come and say, “Save me.” And Jesus heals him again.
Introduction — Why
Now, we must know why these difficulties keep coming upon us right now. Doing missions without knowing this is meaningless. Anyone can do missions. Every denomination, every church does it. Even other religious groups do it. We are not trying to do that kind of missions. There isn’t much time — shouldn’t you precious people do what is necessary?
1. “I want to die”
To what extent have people become troubled now? The word that came up most is “I want to die.” It came up a lot. Apparently there are even organizations formed around this, agreeing to die together. Even children join and connect with each other. Looking at this, some strange culture has formed where even elementary school students are getting drawn into connected networks. We need to understand why this is happening. If we understand this, you will realize what role the missionaries scattered around the world right now are playing. Even just holding up the light of the gospel like a lighthouse is enough to resolve it. Isn’t that right? On a pitch-dark road, children passing by get into accidents and even die. Female students passing by have died too. There have been many such cases. So if you simply light it up and install CCTV, that problem disappears entirely.
1) Mental illness
What is happening more and more these days? As the days go by, this kind of mental illness keeps arising. People are so exhausted that they say, “I have to live this way in the faith, do that in the faith — I don’t need any of that. I want to die.” That’s how it is. Some, when being evangelized to, say, “Whether I believe in Jesus or not, if it’s hell either way, wherever I go quickly is fine — I’m out of my mind right now.” That’s how far it has gone. People used to hand out tracts and speak comfortably as they went about. Now, the number one thing people say is “I want to die.” This is the most common thing now. It’s coming up everywhere.
2) Addiction
Now that there is no way to escape, what do people do? Addiction was the second most common. What I’m talking about isn’t something that happened in one particular region — it’s overall, the word that comes up the most right now. “I want to die.” This is it. At one time Germany actually ranked number one in this statistic, but these days Korea is far ahead. It’s very common in Korea.
3) Suicide (murder)
People commit suicide because they think it’s too hard. They kill themselves. To kill someone else is murder. Someone with a nastier temperament kills others, and someone a bit gentler kills themselves — but it’s the same thing. It’s murder either way. This keeps dragging on and on. Some people, wanting to commit suicide, have even asked me: if I kill myself, do I go to hell or heaven? Can’t go to heaven, right? People actually ask this. Committing suicide or committing murder isn’t really about that question — it’s about being caught by Satan. Isn’t that right? Even someone who was temporarily saved can be caught. When we are spiritually weak. Isn’t that so? Because this is spreading throughout the whole world, your ministry and the missionaries’ ministry and this work may look like something small and unimportant, but it is the most important work on earth.
2. Indifference
Given this, what’s the more serious problem? The more serious problem is that even though there are so many people like this (Introduction 1), the church is indifferent. Rather than indifference, it is more accurately powerlessness. “I’m about to die myself, why should I care about someone else’s problems” — that’s the mindset that develops. People don’t say it outright, but when you yourself are starving, how can you worry about what someone else is eating? This is the situation that has come about.
1) Doctrinal insistence
While people are dying like this (Introduction 1), many churches and organizations have only one thing they can do — they just keep insisting on doctrine. They have no choice. It’s not that they’re wrong — they simply have no other option. Israel became a subject nation; Israel is now full of dying people and many who are sick, but the Pharisees have nothing else they can do but this.
2) The three organizations
An even bigger problem: where do the many people suffering like this go? This has been happening since long ago. They go to the three organizations. Even today, look at the very end of it. A sick person came looking for help there too — no interest shown.
3) Churches closing
So what does this mean? Why is your ministry so precious? Churches beginning to close down has started. It’s urgent. You need to hold devotion services that are meaningful. You need to receive a blessing meaningful enough that you can bear that responsibility. An even bigger problem — go look at videos on the internet sometime. It’s not that these churches are closing down —
people are living inside these churches as if they were strange organizations, lying in wait. Muslims scam people, the three organizations scam people, strange groups live there. Even stranger, there are places doing all sorts of bizarre things — running bars, holding strange homosexual gatherings — this is what’s living in these places now.
An even more serious matter: European law prohibits altering buildings that were built as churches. That’s how the law is there. In our country, buildings can be freely altered — we can even tear them down. But in our country too, buildings designated as national treasures cannot be altered. Because European law blocks this, people simply buy the church building and do whatever they want inside it. Churches kept teaching falsehood, and because they had no power, everyone left, leaving the buildings empty, and fakes moved into the church and took it all over. And the prices aren’t even that high.
I want to say, “Remnants, rise up and buy all of these.” If remnants join their strength, they could take these over even by paying a monthly amount. I really mean it. Let our nation’s working people rise up and pool their strength, and in each of your regions buy up these so-called churches that have lost God’s glory and been handed over elsewhere — buy them. If it were me, I would never just leave it be. Why would you let this go on? All it takes is deciding to do it. Isn’t that right? Just deciding is enough. This is why the missionaries must be given strength — the missionaries must gain strength. Everywhere darkness is now spreading and people are dying.
3. Situation
What situation has come about?
1) Dependence on human help
Right now the gospel is not being preached; instead, people only keep wanting to give and receive human help. This is the situation that has come about.
2) Illness
And so people are beginning to fall into serious illness.
3) Nephilim
The hardest problem behind all of this is that the Nephilim movement has become the backdrop.
Given all this, our church is still doing fine — but right now, Christianity as a whole has fallen completely asleep.
[Meditation]
What is happening now? Meditation schools, universities being built — there’s been a huge stir over this. Don’t just take my word for it — search “meditation” on the internet and see for yourself. They are taking over prime locations across the country and the world, and it’s a mystery where the money is coming from, but they’re building enormous buildings — it’s a huge commotion right now.
[Temple]
Not wanting to fall behind, Buddhism is now doing temple stays, right now. In this age when COVID has blocked so much, last year five million people came and went on temple stays. What will happen once COVID restrictions are lifted? Five hundred thousand people from overseas went on temple stays. Even during COVID, when travel was restricted, five million people still went because they felt it was truly necessary. Once you go, it’s easy to quarantine and it’s basically an automatic path in now.
People look at our churches doing early morning prayer meetings and think we’re strange — but that’s ignorant talk. That’s what people who are asleep say. Our church isn’t strange at all. Right now, there are hardly any mission conferences like ours anywhere. People call us strange. It’s not strange at all. Our elders, working hard to carry out this gospel movement, are the normal ones. Many people in developed countries have already lost all interest in the church. No wonder it’s headed for ruin. It’s a huge crisis.
[Muslims]
Unexpectedly, there’s another group causing great confusion right now — the Muslims. They too cannot be stopped. They are now attacking into Korea. Many have already come in. When I last checked, Muslims had already built over 100 prayer sites in Korea. Now it’s far beyond that. You all need to know what you are doing right now.
Main — “The Substitute [Ransom]”
So what is today’s answer? This is important. God has given the answer to something no one else could solve. This is what matters. Now, this (Introduction) — no one can solve it. If it could be solved through meditation movements or temple stays, wouldn’t that be a blessing? Isn’t that right? If it could be solved that way, we could just support and help that side — but it’s not, in the end.
Today’s text gives a tremendous answer. No one else can solve it, but God alone has prepared and given us the answer. What is it? It’s found in verse 28. “He sent Christ as a ransom.” This is a statement that shocks people — Satan is shocked by this. You may not be very surprised, but Satan trembles at this. As a ransom. This is the promise of Scripture.
[Original sin – calamity | Satan – darkness | hell (background)]
What does it mean to be ransomed? Three things.
Because of original sin, having left God — we were made to leave God. The calamities that keep coming cannot be stopped. The more things develop, the worse the calamity gets. Now, a serious era is approaching for all of you. The more things develop, calamity is inevitable.
As I mentioned in a sermon before, for me, carrying and writing by hand is much faster than using a mobile phone or computer. Storing things on a computer is convenient, but it takes time to go in and search for things — I always carry paper with me and write things down right away. I always carry it with me. Even when I go somewhere alone, I carry it on the way. I record a week’s worth of prayer in it. Why? Because with my own ability and strength, I cannot carry out your errands. Isn’t that right? If I don’t know this blessing of truly praying 24 [hours a day], I cannot carry out these errands. So I always carry that with me. That’s faster than a computer for me — carrying it and writing in it as I go. Because of this, I don’t use technology much and I fall behind in that area. But our remnants and future generations are becoming faster in that area.
Why am I saying this? Read the Bible. Because that tremendous spiritual problem is coming. So many future generations, apart from us remnants, no longer sit and write by hand — already. They don’t even read books anymore. They go into their devices and just look at things that way; they don’t read books. It has already come out — damage to the body from that, coming out ahead, has already been called “the calamity of 5G.” In any case, as things develop, what is the biggest problem? Spiritual problems keep coming. I can understand that much, but this calamity cannot be stopped — the more things develop.
Now, Satan keeps driving people into darkness. This cannot be stopped. It cannot be blocked. While we are on this earth, it is already the backdrop, and when we go, hell — which becomes our true home — is always pressing down on humanity. Now life itself is hell. And then we go on to actual hell.
The word that completely resolves these three things is Christ. The cross — this means He resolved this through becoming a ransom. And the text also said it: “He died and will rise again.” This was said.
Now, this is it. Those of you who know this and devote yourselves to missions will receive the answer found in Scripture. I dare say this — if you devote yourself to missions without knowing this, there will be no answer. Truly. It will only be a loss. That’s what I believe. Isn’t that so? If you have built the right church, it crushes all darkness. A church building without the gospel is the same as an idol. Isn’t that right? You must understand that saying. Your church-building and missions work are different things.
When Jesus said this, it’s why the Pharisees thought He was crazy. When Jesus said this, it was the same thing I’ve just been saying — “What you all are doing is wrong.” When He said that, they got furious. And so their generations made the choice to be forever ruined, while God moved so that the gospel would be testified to.
1. Jerusalem (Matthew 20:17-19)
First. Let me put it simply. From Jerusalem itself, people must be freed from calamity. From Jerusalem itself, people must be brought out of this. That is today’s passage, verses 17 through 19. This is important.
2. Saints – Disciples (Matthew 20:20-28)
What comes next? Very important parts come out here. These saints must be brought out of this calamity. More precisely, starting with the disciples — they must be brought out. That’s in what we read today, from verse 20 through verse 28. Here the disciples got upset, and their parents came and said, “Please take care of our son — seat him at the right.” This kind of nonsense is the calamity they must be brought out of. Isn’t that right?
3. Future (Matthew 20:29-34)
And then what? What matters even more is the future. Your devotion today is not a small devotion — it is delivering the secret of the ransom so that in the future people may come out of this darkness, calamity, and the backdrop of hell. Don’t just see this as a blind man having come. God showed us the future.
These are the three things. In one sense, even without explaining the content, you already know and will receive this blessing — but it’s still good to confirm it.
1. Jerusalem (Matthew 20:17-19)
What came out here? Jesus finally arrived at the city of Jerusalem. This holds a great secret — what is contained in it?
[High priest – cross]
When Jesus arrived there, He was greatly despised and mocked by the chief priests and the scribes. He said He would die on the cross. And Jesus said, “I will rise again in three days.” This is very important. The church itself must be brought to life. Would it make sense for the church to remain stuck in this calamity? It must be brought out. “But pastor, does that even make sense?” No, it does not.
(Pharisaism)
Look now at Israel’s Pharisaic church before you. It must be brought out.
(Medieval church – Luther)
Look at the medieval church that arose and the modern church. God raised up one man, Martin Luther, and brought people out. You are now devoting yourselves to this very thing. You are giving offerings for this. Bring the church out of calamity first.
Devote yourselves so that the disciples first, the saints first, come out of this calamity.
3. Future (Matthew 20:29-34)
(The sick, future generations)
Bring out the many sick people and our future generations with nowhere to go, out of calamity.
2. Saints – Disciples (Matthew 20:20-28)
(The twelve disciples)
This is the state of the twelve disciples right now. They must come out of it. Even though they hadn’t yet seen Jesus’ resurrection, what were the twelve disciples already thinking about? How they could succeed in the world. Our church, our early morning prayer meetings, have no such next generation. When I was in seminary, that’s how it was — we thought about worldly success. Isn’t that right? But now, the students studying at our RTS don’t think that way at all. We used to think that way. That was the atmosphere back then. It’s calamity. It must be brought out. Right now the churches of the world are stuck in this. They compete. We too, out of necessity, are preparing internet resources, but churches nowadays are in an uproar trying to become great. I don’t even know what they think they’re achieving. We must properly carry out the mission of freeing the church from this calamity.
Conclusion
1. Multi-ethnic
What kind of church should we build? A church where people of many nations can come and rest comfortably. It doesn’t exist yet. We must build it. In our denomination, in all our early-morning-prayer churches, at our Immanuel Church, we must build this. Our building isn’t complete yet, but places like Imseo can build this. A place where truly multi-ethnic people are not interfered with but can rest comfortably. A place to pray truly comfortably. It doesn’t exist. We must build it.
Please think this over carefully.
2. Talented people
Second. There are many talented people. If left alone, they will simply be led to ruin. We must give them the right gospel so they become platforms, watch-towers, and antennas. Understood? This kind of devotion is needed, and the church is needed for it.
3. The weak, the abandoned, the sinful
What else? There are many weak people. A system is needed so they can come and be healed. Even a place is needed where the abandoned can come and gain strength. Even a church is needed where sinners can come and become new.
In some sense, such a church doesn’t exist right now. Isn’t that right? People can’t go because they feel judged. The weak can’t go. The abandoned can’t go — the atmosphere doesn’t allow it. The church is increasingly heading in a strange direction. This isn’t said about you, but about the churches of the world right now. They’re absorbed in, “How can we gather many people and make money?” “How can we become a famous church?” I don’t even know why. What will they do after that? That’s the direction things are heading. We need the church that God actually requires.
(Courtyard)
Because of this, there are always three things missing that we must pray for. There is no courtyard where Gentiles can come and pray comfortably. There is no courtyard where remnants can pray and learn, no courtyard for the children. There is no place where people with these problems can come without feeling judged, pray comfortably, and receive grace. In one sense, that’s not about people — it’s about a system, now. This is exactly why we are devoting ourselves and holding this mission conference this time.
This week, just ask one thing — ask God what He truly wants from you regarding missions. Just one thing. Even if you don’t get an answer, just ask — the very act itself brings about a work. Think about it from every angle: if everyone were like me, wouldn’t missions come to a close? If there are people like that, they are as good as dead. They must repent quickly. Isn’t that so?
One day something struck me hard. “Ah” — I used to not give offerings, back when I was in ministry. I had this bias that ministers have no offerings, no money. But it’s not true. There is money. There is. I meet friends, eat meals, go around — there is money. At that moment, this thought crossed my mind: “If everyone were like me, world missions would surely come to a close. Then I am a cursed person.” Isn’t that right? I came to my senses right then. From that point on, I prepared an offering envelope in advance. God has never once made things difficult for us economically. Isn’t that right?
So think about this. Right now, I ask — church building? Church building is the greatest mission. I ask myself, “How do I build the church?” Don’t try to get an answer right away — you are precious people. So since this is a precious matter, don’t rush to get an answer — ask through prayer. You rarely even try that. In this question lies an answer that changes the times. “God, why must I go into ministry when there are already so many other students?” I asked that. And from that, I received an answer that changed the times. I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus that this week you would have a deep time of prayer asking such a question. Try it. I will pray now.
Prayer. We thank You, God. May this week become a week in which we bring to You in prayer the most important question of my life. Let me become a witness confirming that my life, once fallen into darkness, has been completely transformed. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.