Sunday 1st Service
Pastor Ryu Kwang-su
Title/Scripture: Christ Who Healed the Disease the World Cannot Cure (Matthew 8:14-17)
Date/Location: February 6, 2022, Immanuel Church
Matthew 8:14-17
14 When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever.
15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him.
16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.
17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
Summary
We must prepare now for the contactless age. God does not permit problems for no reason. There is an enormous plan God has for the future.
▣ Introduction
1. Something hidden that is exerting great influence, yet we are completely unaware of it
1) Korea as a shamanistic nation, the struggles of returned shamans
There are 300,000 shamans who influence half the people of South Korea. A returned shaman has been set free and feels wonderful, but when problems arise from what has been imprinted, no one can help.
2) The words of Jesus
(1) Mark 3:13-15 Jesus’ first words – I called you to be with me. Also, I called you to evangelize. And I called you to give you authority to cast out demons.
(2) Mark 16:15-20 The last words of the risen Jesus – Cast out demons in my name, and when you lay hands on the sick they will recover.
(3) Matthew 8:14-17 Many who were demon-possessed came and the demons were cast out and they were healed. It says that when he laid his hand on Peter’s mother-in-law, her fever was healed.
3) The cause of illness and the answer
(1) Cause – Genesis 3, it came when humanity departed from God
(2) Answer – Matthew 8:17 (Isaiah 53:5) “As the prophet Isaiah said, He bore our weaknesses.”
2. Reality
1) The task of the church – a church that is completely unaware of this fact
2) The task of the age – people who have hidden problems have nowhere to go. So they go to shamanistic rituals and fortune-tellers.
3) Satan has exploited this to create three organizations – using “meditation” to conduct spirit-possession movements, causing spiritual problems to arise, and using the power that manifests from this to produce works. Our next generation goes there and must learn from them.
4) Temple Stay – Last year, visitors from 200 nations came to Korea for Temple Stay.
5) Individual problems – individuals who face this problem have no way to resolve it. It worsens day by day.
▷ We must return to the Word.
3. One thing to remember
1) The ringleader who moves the demons – Satan
2) Jesus, who broke Satan’s authority
(1) 1 John 3:8 The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
(2) Genesis 3:15 The offspring of the woman will come and crush the head of the serpent.
▣ Main
1. What no one teaches – the moment you know why Christ came, darkness is bound.
▷ Do not be deceived. You are children of God. It is finished.
1) Genesis 3:15 The offspring of the woman will crush the head of the serpent. Because we cannot overcome darkness and Satan, God sent Christ – hold on to this covenant.
2) Genesis 6:14 All you need to do is enter the ark.
3) Exodus 3:18 Being trapped in Egypt is not the problem; you are trapped in darkness, so go and offer a blood sacrifice.
4) Isaiah 7:14 Is Babylonian captivity the problem? Every soul is in captivity. Restore the blessing of Immanuel.
5) Matthew 16:16 Even the finest among you, though you struggle, are a vassal of Rome. You are a vassal under the power of darkness. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
2. What no one can do – the moment you enjoy Christ, works begin to happen in me, in the field, and in many people.
▷ One person arose who understood this. That is Paul. The three fields that changed the age.
1) Acts 13 He healed a shaman.
2) Acts 16 He healed a demon-possessed fortune-teller.
3) Acts 19 He healed a sick person who was dying from idol worship.
3. What no one can give – when you are filled with Christ, the age is transformed.
1) Matthew 28:18-20 The risen Lord said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Invisibly.
2) Mark 16:15-20 The risen Christ said, “Lay hands on the sick in my name and they will recover. In my name you will cast out demons.”
3) Acts 1:8 “Not by your own strength, but receive the Holy Spirit and you will receive power.” What no one else can give – you will save them to life.
▷ The moment you know Christ, it is finished. That is why he asked, “Who do you say that I am?” When you enjoy it, transformation happens. When you are truly filled with this, the age changes.
▣ Conclusion
1. The reason you must understand this – your work, your culture, and the next generation that will arise are all contained here.
▷ Why do you think Jesus spoke about demons that we don’t even think about? The three organizations have seized the next generation by holding on to this.
2. He has given us authority to overcome, so hold on to this covenant and pray.
1) Because God gave it, we can hold on to it by faith.
2) Focus just a little and works will happen.
3) Go deep in prayer and the world will move.
▷ Just believe. Because the spiritual world is immense, if you don’t believe, you simply don’t know it.
3. There is no need to fear having spiritual problems. – When God’s Word is imprinted, no one knows what will happen.
Transcript
Now COVID is producing tens of thousands of cases per day. All you can do is be cautious. I went into a restaurant and there was a floor area, and inside there was a section where you take your shoes off to enter. I said I wanted to go in there and take my shoes off, but the owner said no. I asked, “Why?” They said it’s too much trouble going back and forth there. I said, “I’m deliberately trying to sit over there because of COVID,” and only then did they go, “Ah……”
Our team moves around a lot, so at one restaurant I asked if we could have a separate room on the third floor, and they said they’d have to ask the owner. I said, “Go ahead and ask.” The owner said, “Give it to them,” and so they did.
One time our team was eating there, and there were lots of tables, and four young people came in and sat down next to us. We couldn’t tell them to leave. The four of them sat next to us and were extremely loud. Talking at the top of their voices. What they were saying – they weren’t being careful at all. Restaurant owners are doing it because the law says to, not because they understand why. The people who come into the restaurant don’t understand why they have to sit apart either. So that’s why tens of thousands of cases keep being produced in this situation. You need to be careful and endure just a little longer.
There is something more important. We must now prepare for the contactless age. It’s not because of COVID. I’m a little sorry to say this, but the work you are currently doing – later it will be like public telephone booths on the street. Does anyone use public telephone booths anymore? But they haven’t been removed yet. That’s how it will be. There’s no reason to use them. You need to prepare like this for the contactless age.
Right now, at the upper room headquarters, we are preparing perfectly. The teams can barely even grasp it. That’s why broadcasting and these kinds of systems are extremely important. There’s one church in Seoul that’s quite famous right now, and we examined it. The number of people listening to our sermons is more than double theirs. They have fewer than half, yet they’re blowing up on YouTube for other things. Looking at it, they’re bringing in celebrities and doing all sorts of things. The problem is that their broadcast system is better than KBS. What that means right now is that these people, even though they’re going about it the wrong way, are preparing for the future in some sense. It is a significant sign from God. Your organizations – just casually uploading things won’t work. If you don’t build a contactless and communication system good enough to make people say, “Wow, what on earth is this place?” – it won’t do. The same applies to world evangelization.
God does not permit problems for no reason. It looks like it’s all due to what people have done, but in the background, when you look at everything in the end, God’s plan is there. In the old days when epidemics spread wildly, people wondered why such diseases were spreading, but because of those diseases many medicines were developed and things like penicillin came out. If those hadn’t been developed, we’d all be in serious trouble. God has an enormous plan for the future.
▣ Introduction
1. Something hidden that is exerting great influence, yet we are completely unaware of it
In the midst of all this, there is something that is completely hidden from us that we don’t know. We are being greatly influenced by it yet we think we aren’t. Do you know what it is? There are 300,000 shamans who influence half the people of South Korea.
1) Korea as a shamanistic nation, the struggles of returned shamans
A returned shaman confessed to me. In reality, we receive so much grace and it feels so good, but sometimes it becomes spiritually very difficult. And there is no church that understands this, they said. That’s understandable. Korea is truly, in reality, a shamanistic nation. But this person came to understand and returned. It feels so liberating and good, but there are times when things that have been imprinted keep coming up. And when those problems arise, no one can help. That’s the reality.
They are completely in the dark about it. There’s no way to know, and even if they looked into it there are no countermeasures, and there’s no ability to deal with it. The government can’t take responsibility. Scientists can’t take responsibility.
2) The words of Jesus
Jesus spoke about this. Do you know what Jesus said when He first came?
(1) Mark 3:13-15 Jesus’ first words
In Mark chapter 3, verses 13 to 15, He said this: “I called you to be with me. Also, I called you to evangelize.”
(2) Mark 16:15-20 The last words of the risen Jesus
And He said these words: “I called you to give you authority to cast out demons.” Those are Jesus’ first words. Would those be meaningless words? And what did Jesus say at the end? After the resurrection: “Cast out demons in my name and lay hands on the sick.” Those are the things He did during his public ministry.
(3) Matthew 8:14-17
And in today’s passage as well, it is recorded that many demon-possessed people came and the demons were cast out and they were healed. It says that when he laid hands on Peter’s mother-in-law she was healed of a fever.
3) The cause of illness and the answer
Some say, “All illness comes from demon possession.” Some organizations say, “No.” There are such debates. They are largely unnecessary debates. Both are wrong.
(1) Cause – Genesis 3, it came when humanity departed from God
From Genesis 3, after departing from God, all of it came. Right? God did not give disease when He originally created things. It came after departing from God.
(2) Answer – Matthew 8:17 (Isaiah 53:5)
So in today’s passage, at the end, it says according to the words of the prophet Isaiah, “He bore our weaknesses.” It is recorded in Isaiah chapter 53, verse 4. People are completely unaware of this.
2. Reality
1) The task of the church
More importantly, the church is completely unaware of this area. It is the task of the church. In Korean churches there is much talk about theories of demons and so forth, isn’t there? Not a single theologian has emerged to give an answer to that. Then what are people who have returned from shamanism supposed to do? Korean churches asked me, “Why does Pastor Ryu talk about Satan?” “More than 500 of the 300,000 shamans have come to our upper room. I have to tell those people what is in the Bible.” Because it’s true. Right? The current church situation is completely lacking in reality. So the returned shamans’ suffering is immense. There’s no need to even elaborate on that.
2) The task of the age
The bigger problem is that this is the task of the age. People who have these hidden problems have nowhere to go because scientists aren’t shedding light on it and doctors aren’t shedding light on it. So they go and perform shamanistic rituals. Because they are suffering. So they go looking for fortune-tellers, spending money on it.
3) Satan has exploited this to create three organizations
The problem isn’t even that. What’s happening now is that Satan is exploiting this and has created three organizations. You may hear this casually, but it is true. When your children go abroad to study, they will all be influenced by this. What these three organizations primarily do is conduct spirit-possession movements, placing the very scientific-sounding word “meditation” as the framework. In doing this, they first cause spiritual problems to arise. And then power manifests, doesn’t it? They have now begun to use this to create works. Our next generation has to go there and learn from them. It’s an unavoidable situation.
Did Jesus come to this earth for no reason and leave having done meaningless things? That can’t be right, can it? Would God mobilize 40 prophets in the Bible to prophesy and then have meaningless things fulfilled? This is a serious matter right now. Three organizations are now conducting spirit-possession movements through demon-possession, and they call this “meditation.” It has become an enormous commotion. Only Christians are uninterested – it is a commotion everywhere else. They established a university. A meditation university, I tell you. BTS graduated from there, didn’t they? They speak of it proudly: “I graduated from that meditation school.” What will become of them later? This is the kind of immense thing that is happening right now.
4) Temple Stay
Not stopping at that, Temple Stay has now risen at Buddhist temples. Among 237 nations, last year alone visitors came from 200 nations for Temple Stay. Only we have our eyes closed, only Christians have their eyes closed, only pastors have their eyes closed – it is a commotion right now. There are people who say, “That pastor is criticizing pastors again – Pastor Ryu is criticizing pastors again.” There are also people who say to me, “Pastor Ryu, when you preach like that, it emboldens the church leaders.” Is it emboldening them? Does a righteous church leader hear something like this, get emboldened, and then disrespect the pastor? You shouldn’t make such kindergarten-level arguments. It is a commotion right now. 5 million people came and went, I tell you. 5 million. And the church is shrinking, yet during the COVID period 5 million came and went. And it doesn’t stop there.
5) Individual problems
Individuals who face this problem have no way to resolve it. It worsens day by day. You must return to the Word. You must truly hold on to the Word of the covenant.
3. One thing to remember
There is one thing you must remember as you hold on today. Did someone get possessed by a spirit? Later spiritual problems will come and it will be of no help. And some people say, “We must cast out demons…” – it’s no use, they come back. It’s useless. There was such a person in our Dongsam-dong area. They weren’t from our church but they came frequently to worship with us. Agonizing over things, they came to me for counseling. “Pastor, my daughter suddenly went out of her mind.” So they were so troubled they went all the way to Seoul to see Pastor Kim Gi-dong. They had heard the rumor about him casting out demons and took their daughter along. “So what happened?” They couldn’t meet Pastor Kim Gi-dong and met an associate pastor instead. The associate pastor looked at the daughter and prayed for her. “An uncle’s demon has entered her,” he said. So he cast out the uncle’s demon. Now she’s better, they said. “Is that so. That’s good.” “But can I trust that?” I explained to them: “There is no such thing as an uncle’s demon. The demon is deceiving you.” Sure enough, that daughter became even more seriously afflicted. Before, she could at least hold a conversation, but now even conversation was impossible. It is completely useless.
1) The ringleader who moves the demons – Satan
There is something important. The most important thing is that there is a ringleader who moves these demons. That is Satan. Right?
2) Jesus, who broke Satan’s authority
It says that Jesus broke Satan’s authority.
(1) 1 John 3:8
In 1 John chapter 3, verse 8: “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”
(2) Genesis 3:15
In Genesis chapter 3, verse 15: “Jesus will come and break the authority of the devil.” Not in those exact words, but: “The offspring of the woman will come and crush the head of the serpent.” That is how it ended. For those who have returned from shamanism – when you sleep at night, demons will come to you. It doesn’t matter at all.
▣ Main
1. What no one teaches – the moment you know why Christ came, darkness is bound.
This is the first point. No one will teach you this. The moment you know why Christ came, darkness is bound. Right? The moment you know why Jesus Christ came, darkness is finished, I tell you. Everything else is deception. Do not be deceived. No matter how many times they come, it doesn’t matter. You are children of God. It is finished.
1) Genesis 3:15
Genesis chapter 3, verse 15 – these are not just words. It is the very moment when all of humanity’s destruction was entering in, and at that moment God immediately gave the answer, without even asking. Why? Asking would be of no use. He did not even rebuke. Why? Rebuking would be of no use. He immediately gave the answer. The offspring of the woman will crush the head of the serpent. Without asking, because – asking would not help.
If your son fell into a swamp, would you ask him questions? Would you ask, “Why did you go in there?” You have to quickly pull him out, because he can’t get out. In water you can at least swim, but in a swamp if you move you sink deeper. Bringing out the law there and asking again and again why he went that way is of no use. Isn’t that right? The child is dying right now – does it matter which foot went in first, left or right? That’s all useless. Quickly throw a rope: “Grab on.” That is salvation. Because we cannot overcome darkness and Satan, God sent Christ – hold on to this covenant.
2) Genesis 6:14
In Genesis chapter 6, verse 14: all you need to do is enter the ark.
3) Exodus 3:18
“Being trapped in Egypt is not the problem; you are trapped in darkness, so go and offer a blood sacrifice.” When you know, it is finished.
4) Isaiah 7:14
“Is Babylonian captivity the problem? Every soul among you is now in captivity. Restore the blessing of Immanuel.” That is Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14.
5) Matthew 16:16
“No matter how much even the finest among you struggle, what good does it do? You are a vassal of Rome. And that is even more importantly – you are a vassal under the power of darkness.” “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” was confessed. That is how it ends. No one teaches this, because they don’t know.
2. What no one can do – the moment you enjoy Christ, many works begin to happen in me and in the field.
This is the second point. No one can do it. The moment you enjoy Christ, works begin to happen in me and in the field and in much of the darkness. One person arose who understood this. Who is it? Paul. That learned man understood it. When a learned man understands something, surely he can do it right. Even Peter, who walked with Jesus and saw everything – it was Paul who had not seen but who understood.
1) Acts 13
So what are the three fields that changed the age? Acts chapter 13 – he healed a shaman.
2) Acts 16
Acts chapter 16 – he healed a demon-possessed fortune-teller.
3) Acts 19
In Acts chapter 19, he healed the sick who were dying because of idol worship. No one could do it. Jesus did it.
3. What no one can give – when you are filled with Christ, the age is transformed.
This is the third point. No one can give it. When you are filled with Christ, works begin to happen. That is when the age changes. The moment you know Christ, it is finished. Right? That’s why He asked, “Who do you say that I am?” The moment you know, it is already finished. When you enjoy it, transformation happens. When you are truly filled with this, the age changes.
1) Matthew 28:18-20
So the risen Lord said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” If you don’t believe it, that’s your loss – Jesus said it. “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Invisibly – He said this after rising from the dead.
2) Mark 16:15-20
“Lay hands on the sick in my name and they will recover. In my name you will cast out demons.” Christ said this after rising from the dead, I tell you. Christ is not one who speaks meaningless words like us. Christ did.
3) Acts 1:8
“Not by your own strength, but receive the Holy Spirit and you will receive power. Your own strength is not enough, so He will give it from above. And so you will save to life those whom no one else can save.”
▣ Conclusion
1. The reason you must understand this – your work, your culture, and the next generation that will arise are all contained here.
Do you know why you absolutely must understand this? Your current work, your culture, the next generation that will arise – all of it is contained here.
Let me give an example. Because Freemason active members are special individuals, the Freemasons specially supported and enabled spirit-possession movements – that person moved nearly the entire 20th century. Who is that? Isn’t it Michael Jackson? Because transformation happened wherever Michael Jackson went, some countries said, “Don’t come.” He is a confirmed Freemason. So these Freemasons, these demons – they work like demons. Somehow they know, and they make contact.
The problem isn’t even that. Invisibly, they’ve burrowed deep inside you, inside your next generation. And so now that we know the Remnant, a great answer will emerge going forward. Who is it? You. In that team there are even photos, and Steve Jobs, who was always meditating when he went there, changed the age.
Bill Gates completely seized the age through the New Age movement that openly declares, “We serve Satan.” At least for a time. We are churches scraping by with no money – that’s the reality of Korean churches, of world churches – while these people donate tens of trillions of won. We need to wake up. We need to pray.
The problem is the 4th Industrial Revolution. You truly need to pray about what you are doing now. Demons you wouldn’t even think about – why did Jesus talk about them? We use the word casually ourselves, don’t we? When someone does something really well, we say, “Wow, that’s devilishly good.” It’s a word we use in jest. But the Bible speaks of it as something serious and important. Yet the three organizations have seized the next generation by holding on to this.
2. He has given us authority to overcome, so hold on to this covenant and pray.
You must pray. Hold firmly to this covenant. Has He not given us authority to overcome?
1) Because God gave it, just believe.
You can hold on to this by faith. Because this is what God gave.
2) Focus just a little and works will happen.
If you focus just a little, works will happen.
3) Go deep in prayer and the world will move.
If you go deep into prayer here? The world will move. It’s not a command – just believe. Why is that? Because this spiritual world is immense, and if you don’t believe, you simply don’t know it. That’s what you don’t know. So going to do mission with that power? You can’t even do it. Everyone is truly brave. But you can’t do it. Right now, the upper room missionaries in Africa and South America are doing a tremendous work. Until now, many missionaries have gone without ever hearing a single word about spiritual problems. If you go there right away, you will be overwhelmed – an ordinary person would be. They grip people and fight using qi exercises. Some people have even died just from hearing certain spells being chanted. It’s an astonishing thing. These things are happening wildly in developing nations. And in developed nations it’s coming out in a scientific form. The convergence point for all of that is inevitably – there’s no way around it. That is America. So that’s why I pray for America and say I want to establish a university there. Other people won’t do. Just raise up people who truly know the gospel.
3. There is no need to fear having spiritual problems. – When God’s Word is imprinted, no one knows what will happen.
Today there is no need for you to fear having spiritual problems.
There was a person named Crosby who accidentally put in medicine meant for someone else and lost their eyesight. Well, back in the old days that’s how it was. Back then if someone on the street saw you and said, “This is good stuff,” and gave it to you, you would take it. That’s how she lost her sight. No one could help. Fortunately, her grandmother and mother were people of the gospel. Crosby had nothing to do. Because all she could do was hear the gospel, memorize the Word, and nothing else, since she couldn’t see. No one ever imagined this would overturn the world. People don’t believe it. They really don’t believe it. A person with perfectly functioning eyes doesn’t believe it. But Crosby believed.
Looking at the news recently, when asked what the greatest concern of our nation is, the answer is that people aren’t having children and the population keeps shrinking. Once something like this becomes imprinted through education, it lasts at least 100 years. From my observation it will probably continue for a few more decades. Because when we were young, that’s exactly how we were educated. Do you know what we were taught? That you shouldn’t have too many children. That’s what they kept teaching. To what extent? We – what would our children produce? They even posted it in classrooms. Don’t have too many, and what they posted was: “Don’t distinguish between sons and daughters, don’t have too many, raise just two children well.” And they used every policy available. That’s how powerful government is. They used every policy available. So men who got vasectomies to prevent having children were exempted from reserve military training. They educated us like that for decades. Education is frightening. Even the person themselves doesn’t know the power of education. That’s what got into our nation. And looking at it now – this is a real problem. No matter how much people say it, it’s no use. “You need to have more children.” People don’t listen anymore. It will continue for decades.
When God’s Word is imprinted inside you, what will happen – even you yourself truly don’t know. Something truly immense and important will happen. I bless you in the name of Jesus that this week will be a precious week in which you confirm what God’s true blessing is.
Prayer. God, work by Your Holy Spirit upon our family members throughout the nation and the world. Open our spiritual eyes so that every field truly triumphs. Make us spiritual evangelists who save those who don’t even know they have fallen into darkness. I pray that this week will be a precious week in which we receive new strength. May all our problems and worries become blessings and praise. May this be a week in which the weak receive strength. May this be a week in which we hold on to God’s true new covenant. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.