2026.10.25 Sunday 1st Service
Obadiah’s Bartizan
(1 Kings 18:1-15)
Summary
What should we do when we face crisis, difficulty, or illness?
▣ Introduction_ Obadiah saw crisis as an opportunity for blessing in the age of darkness.
1. Obadiah, who appeared in the age of darkness of idol worship and killing prophets, in the time of crisis
2. Obadiah, who hid 100 prophets
3. The disciple who helped Elijah, whom King Ahab hated the most – Obadiah, who accomplished God’s work to the end
▣ Main_ The way to receive Obadiah’s answer
1. Hold the bartizan of the Lord first and go to meet the crisis.
1) Bartizan of the throne – Because this was formed within him first, he was not afraid of the king who killed the prophets.
2) Journey of the throne – It seems like he is working in the palace, but he is going on this journey.
3) Guidepost of the throne – Because he found a value worth staking his life on, he was convinced this work would become a guidepost of the throne.
2. Do spiritual warfare first and win first.
1) Battle of Mt Carmel – He completely broke the darkness.
2) Mt Horeb – He gave strength to do more spiritual warfare. The answer came out in the Word.
God sent an angel to Elijah, gave him water and bread, gave him strength, and made him walk 40 days and nights to Mt Horeb. There He gave the answers that He had left 7 thousand disciples, that He would change King Ahab, and to find Elisha.
3) Dothan – God dispatched more armies to Elisha, who had the power of prayer, and made him win over Aram without fighting.
▷ Evangelism – Doing spiritual warfare and gaining spiritual strength comes first.
1 John 3:8, Mark 3:13-15, Luke 10:19 As he came to believe that Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil and gave the authority to cast out demons and the power to control the power of the enemy, prayer began. Doors began to open to the whole world.
3. Go as a 300% witness.
1) A servant trusted by the king 100%
2) A person prepared in prayer and the spiritual part 100%
3) Connected to the 100 prophets, the work of Mt Carmel, the 7 thousand disciples, and the Dothan movement 100%
▷ If you pray over the Word, the mission comes out. Try connecting it in prayer for six days. You will see the fulfillment of the Word.
▣ Conclusion_ God’s tremendous plan appears wearing the mask called crisis.
That’s why people are deceived. Why is that? Because He wants to give it to you, not to the fakes.
1. Joseph being taken by human traffickers was the timetable for going out to the world.
2. Joseph going to prison was the road to success.
3. Joseph, who knew this fact – confessed that God sent him.
Transcript
▣ Introduction_ Obadiah, who saw crisis as an opportunity for blessing in the age of darkness
What should we do when we face crisis? Also, what should we do when we face difficulty? What should we do if perhaps I face illness? It’s something that can happen to anyone. Also, here we have important multiethnic people too. What should you do about the difficulties of your nations?
Today you must take a certain answer with you. There’s a part to think about briefly in the introduction.
1. Obadiah, who appeared in the age of darkness of idol worship and killing prophets, in the time of crisis
King Ahab brought as many as 850 false prophets into the palace and began idol worship. If it were just that, it would be okay, but he kills the prophets. Now, this level is serious. A king with such spiritual problems has now created a great age of darkness. So crisis came to Elijah too; crisis came to everyone. At this time one church leader appeared. That person is Obadiah.
2. Obadiah, who hid 100 prophets
There’s a part you must think about in the introduction. It’s that Elijah and Obadiah and these prophets did not face a crisis now. Rather, it was King Ahab who faced the crisis. Right? You must open these eyes first. You have a serious illness? You haven’t faced a crisis. If God wants to call you home, He calls you even without giving illness. Then why did you get the illness? That is not a problem, but there is God’s amazing opportunity for blessing.
You know what Obadiah did at this time. He did something unimaginable. They said to kill the prophets, but he hid the prophets. And not just one or two, but as many as 100. No, if you hide 100, it gets complicated and becomes known, doesn’t it? And on top of that, it was the king’s command. So he hid them separately, 50 by 50, hiding as many as 100 prophets. For us it’s hard even to help one prophet, but as many as 100.
3. The disciple who helped Elijah, whom King Ahab hated the most – Obadiah, who accomplished God’s work to the end
It’s not just that. Who is the person King Ahab hates the most? Elijah. This Obadiah is a disciple who helps Elijah. He’s an amazing figure. He accomplished God’s great work to the end. Now, it’s a paper-thin difference. If you were him, when such death approached, would you do that? No, if you calculate first, then you’d die, it’s big trouble, so would you do it, I’m saying. Obadiah did not think this was a crisis. Looking at the actions he took, he saw it as God’s golden opportunity. This is important.
▣ Main_ The way to receive Obadiah’s answer
Now then, problems come to us too, and many things, right? How can we now receive answers like this Obadiah?
1. Hold the bartizan of the Lord first and go to meet the crisis.
It’s the first. You must remember. First, hold the bartizan of the Lord first and go to meet the crisis. That’s the first. The request I make to our Remnants: hold the bartizan of the Lord and go out into the world. If you do that, it’s enough. Because we cannot do it by our own strength, prepare the bartizan of the Lord of the throne first and go out. This is the first. In fact, if you do just a little deep prayer every time something happens, with just that you conquer the world.
1) Bartizan of the throne – Because this was formed within him first, he was not afraid of the king who killed the prophets.
The bartizan of the throne was there from the beginning. Christ only completed it; it was there from the beginning. That tremendous spiritual bartizan was formed within me first. It can’t be taken away. So he was not afraid at all. No, that evil, strong king, you see, was killing all the prophets, and that he hid them, does that make sense? That means he was not afraid of the king.
2) Journey of the throne – It seems like he is working in the palace, but he is going on this journey.
Because this bartizan of the Lord was within him, what kind of thing came out? It looked as if he was working in the palace, but he was going on the journey of the throne. You must remember.
3) Guidepost of the throne – Because he found a value worth staking his life on, he was convinced this work would become a guidepost of the throne.
And what? It’s not just that. Some plan, something for himself, it’s not this. ‘This thing I am going through will become God’s guidepost of the throne.’ He was convinced. So he found a value worth staking his life on. You must do that. Don’t just go out into the world; go on the journey with the bartizan of the throne. The many things in front of you are setting up guideposts of the throne.
2. Do spiritual warfare first and win first.
At this time God gave the second command. That’s important. What must we do second? What was first? Make the bartizan of the throne first and go to meet the crisis. What’s second? Win in spiritual warfare first. It’s invisible, you know? Win in spiritual warfare first. God instructed this to Elijah, and we read today the scene where Elijah is now asking Obadiah. You must keep it in mind. The secret you enjoy is not physical. Win in spiritual warfare first, I’m saying. No one can take it away either. Because they don’t know. And there’s no competition in this either. Because they don’t know. So Paul’s secret of victory was also doing spiritual warfare first, firmly. It wasn’t that he did evangelism first.
1) Battle of Mt Carmel – He completely broke the darkness.
How? He told King Ahab and waged a spiritual battle at Mt Carmel over who the fake prophets and the real prophet were. You know that content well. He completely broke the darkness. The false prophets, the very evil prophets, all of them are destroyed.
2) Mt Horeb – He gave strength to do more spiritual warfare. The answer came out in the Word.
Then it didn’t end there, right? Later God leads this Elijah to Mt Horeb. There He gives strength to do more spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare comes first. God sent an angel to Elijah, gave this water and bread, and made him get this strength, and he walked 40 days and nights. If you pray, you can get physical strength too. He got spiritual strength, but you know walking 40 days and nights isn’t easy. So he went to Mt Horeb. When he went to Mt Horeb, there was no need to experience anything else. In the Word of God, the answer came out. “Do not fear. Besides you, I have left 7 thousand disciples. I will change King Ahab. Do not fear. Find a new disciple, Elisha.” The important commands all came out at Mt Horeb.
3) Dothan – The work of defeating Aram without fighting. He dispatched more armies to Elisha, who had the power of prayer.
It didn’t end there. This spiritual warfare goes all the way to Dothan, and the work of defeating the nation of Aram even without fighting happens. This is content you must take with you. True victory is done without fighting. I set out with the bartizan of the throne of the Lord. What will I do when I go? I will first gain spiritual victory. This is the message to receive through Obadiah.
※ Evangelism – Doing spiritual warfare and gaining spiritual strength comes first.
Actually, in the old days, I couldn’t do things like evangelism because I was shy. To put it simply, I have a somewhat shy personality. Even now I do it by the grace of the Lord, but I have that kind of personality. Asking others for a favor even once? I can’t do that. And I’m also not good at refusing when others ask. So with my personality, how could I evangelize? I can’t. When I was young, among the words that came up in church, ‘Evangelize’ was the hardest. Now they don’t do it that way, but in the old days people carried their goods around and sold them. Looking at those people, this was a thought I had when I was young: ‘Wow… if they told me to live like that, I couldn’t live.’ The world was hard.
How could I evangelize? One day, by God’s grace, I realized it while reading the Word. It’s doing spiritual warfare first. Otherwise, I can’t. It’s gaining spiritual strength first. Otherwise, I can’t do it. This turns into an amazing thing. Later it happens connected to physical blessings, and I felt, ‘Wow~ God’s Word is a living Word!’ You must receive this blessing. The reason for worshipping today is there too. You must not forget. When we send out our young Remnants, don’t just go. Go on the journey with the bartizan of the throne of the Triune God. When you go there, set up guideposts of the throne. You must remember. What’s the reason? Win in spiritual warfare. This is today’s second point, I’m saying.
※ 1 John 3:8, Mark 3:13-15, Luke 10:19 As he came to believe that Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil and gave the authority to cast out demons and the power to control the power of the enemy, prayer began. Doors began to open to the whole world.
“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” Do you know what the first thing Jesus said when He met the disciples was? “I called you to be with you. And I called you to evangelize the dying.” And then, “I called you to give you authority to cast out demons.” Also, when the 70 returned, “I give you power to trample on snakes and scorpions and to control the enemy.” I began to believe this as it is. From this time I started praying too. I didn’t know prayer and didn’t know anything, but I started praying. I started full-scale spiritual warfare. It can’t be stopped. The doors of the whole world began to open. Now tremendous doors are beginning to open to the whole world. On top of that, these days our Immanuel Busan and Seoul elders have risen up and started praying hard, so it’s a sensation nationwide and worldwide. The people who listen to our message are about 1.2 million. These people are now all beginning to move.
Don’t worry; arm yourselves spiritually. Start with spiritual warfare. The best fight is winning without fighting. Right? Since this Elisha had the power of prayer at Dothan, what happened? God dispatched more armies than the Aramean army to where Elisha was. It’s a spiritual story. Even starting wars, it’s not that war happens first from people. Spiritual problems come first. Right? So they start wars. You must win spiritual warfare first. We must save those who commit suicide; before that person commits suicide, a spiritual illness came first. Right? They are already spiritually dead. So one day they commit suicide. It’s frightening. So go on the journey with the bartizan of the throne and set up guideposts. Don’t fear crisis; go find it. Obadiah now went to find it, I’m telling you. So don’t just do it; do spiritual strength, spiritual warfare first. You will surely win.
3. Go as a 300% witness.
The more important one is the third. Go as a witness. As what? Go as a 300% witness. This Obadiah is 300%. To what degree?
1) A servant trusted by the king 100%
He is a servant the king trusts. This is 100%. You must make it like this. Even during that battle of Mt Carmel, who built the bridge? Obadiah built it. We read that text in today’s passage. “Tell King Ahab. Convey that we will now do spiritual warfare at Mt Carmel.” So this is Obadiah’s answer. “I am hiding 100 prophets right now, and if the king finds out he will kill me, and you’re telling me to go there now and even do that?” He says things like this, doesn’t he? 100% victorious, the king’s servant.
2) A person prepared in prayer and the spiritual part 100%
And in the end he listens to Elijah. Right? He goes and conveys it. Already he is a person 100% prepared in prayer and the spiritual part.
3) Connected to the 100 prophets, the work of Mt Carmel, the 7 thousand disciples, and the Dothan movement 100%
It’s not just that; hidden, because of Obadiah, 100 prophets were saved, right? The work happens at Mt Carmel, right? God gives the message at Mt Horeb, right? 7 thousand are saved, right? This gets connected all the way to the Dothan movement. It’s 300%.
300% is not difficult. All Remnants, go as 300% witnesses. You must not just do business or trade. Go as a witness who prepared 300%.
In my view, they go out without preparing even 30%. You must prepare 300%. Then you are bound to win. Even if you have no skill, it’s fine. Joseph went as a cleaner, and there he did 300%. Right? It wasn’t just at the level of cleaning completely well. A work completely happened in that house. It wasn’t at the level of other people seeing it later and receiving grace. The master, Potiphar, saw it and received grace. That’s the answer. “Hey, don’t be a slave. You take the role of the steward governing all this property.” That’s right. It’s an actual example. That’s 300%. This is the path of a witness you must go.
※ If you pray over the Word, the mission comes out. Try connecting it in prayer for six days. You will see the fulfillment of the Word.
Today you must pray over it all day. Then what comes out? The mission comes right out. When the mission comes out, try connecting it over six days with meetings and praying; you’ll see astounding things. So you see the fulfillment of the Word. “I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” He promised. The Triune God is working perfectly by the Spirit, invisibly to the eyes, I’m saying. So because we humans are spiritual beings, “that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.”
Today all churches, including our Immanuel Seoul, are watching online by video now. So do you know what’s most precious? Those multiethnic people are listening to the message from over a hundred nations and regions. What should those people do? They’re listening in South America too. Those people listen to the message without even seeing my face. Those people requested a meeting this time. “We’d love to see your face once.” “Okay.” But what can you do? Hold today’s Word and find the mission. It’s even better if you grasp it to the point of it being visible within six days.
Representatively, in fact, in America, a person named Rockefeller did that. While going to church and worshipping: hold the certain covenant of God’s Word as a mission and pray for six days. He only did that, but he changed the world.
▣ Conclusion_ God’s tremendous plan appears wearing the mask called crisis.
I’ll conclude. What must you know? This tremendous plan of God appears wearing the mask called crisis. So you get completely deceived. It would be fine if it appeared as pleasant things we like, but it appears firmly wearing the mask called crisis. Why is that? To not give it to the fakes but to give it to you. So because it appears wearing the mask of crisis, those without faith all run away. That’s how it should be. Because it appeared wearing the mask of crisis, thinking it’s a crisis, almost all of Christianity lives the life of faith without receiving answers and dies. You must remember. That’s the story of the whole Bible and the story of all 7 Remnants.
1. Joseph being taken by human traffickers was the timetable for going out to the world
So I’m telling the story of Joseph, which you know well. No, it’s evil people doing human trafficking, isn’t it? He’s being taken by them, but for this Joseph, that was a tremendous timetable. That’s the timetable for going out to the world.
2. Joseph going to prison was the road to success
No, going as a slave, being blessed and doing well is good, but one day he suddenly ended up going to prison. This is the road to success. No one knows.
3. Joseph, who knew this fact – confesses that God sent him.
But in the end Joseph confessed that fact, didn’t he? He knew. “God sent me this way and that way.”
I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ that today the answer of finding the mission of holding the covenant will begin.
Prayer
Thank You, God. Fill us with God’s power all day today. We are lacking, so fill us with God’s grace. Let us save the world with the power of the throne that God gives. Let us stand as witnesses by winning in spiritual warfare. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.