The Beginning of True Blessing

Category: Sunday 2nd Service Worship
Title / Scripture: The Beginning of True Blessing (Matthew 5:1-12)
Speaker: Pastor Ryu Kwang-su
Date / Location: January 2, 2022 / Immanuel Seoul Church

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Matthew 5:1-12

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them. He said:

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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Darkness, Angels – Matthew 4:19 – Sermon on the Mount
Triune God → [Spiritual state] ← 9 blessings of the throne

Introduction

1. People
1) long life, health, material, honor, descendants
2) powerful nations (3, 6, 11)
3) idol worship (13, 16, 19)
2. Evidence – Posterity
3. Wars

Main
1. wrong blessing
1) Occupation – Vassal king, Herod Temple
2) Religious life
3) Disasters
(1) 70 AD (2) Diaspora

3. Kingdom of heaven (10-12)
  Spiritual vessel
Coming of the throne on
1) You (24) 2) Your church  3) Your field (work)

Conclusion
5:13-16
5:17-18
1. light
2. salt
3. imprinting, rooting, nature

 

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Summary

▷ Most people who pray and receive the Word miss something. You need to know what kind of answer is happening right now. The very first thing Jesus did was break Satan. The darkness must be broken first. At that time, the angels of the Lord ministered to him. Then, saying “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,” he took the people up to the mountain and gave an important message. That is Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7. The Sermon on the Mount, which can be called a summary of all sermons, was described by many theologians as the king’s declaration. The most important thing here is not the answer but our “spiritual state.”

The work of the Triune God → Spiritual State ← 9 blessings of the throne

▣ Introduction: When Jesus began his public ministry, he first broke Satan and then explained blessing.

How do people generally think about blessing?

1) Long life, health, material wealth, honor, descendants – if these things are blessing, then Jesus’ message would be wrong and the Pharisees would be right. The blessing in the Bible means that a person who has received God’s true blessing should have health, money, honor, and descendants.
2) Powerful nations – People of powerful nations think that Genesis chapters 3, 6, and 11 are blessing. They are deceived into thinking that even without believing in God, having our own power, a strong economy, and building the tower of Babel is blessing, and they are ruining even their descendants.
3) Idol worship – In Acts chapters 13, 16, and 19, they think that worshiping idols brings great answers.

2. Evidence – it ruins both the person and their descendants.
3. War – it even causes war and ruins nations.

▣ Main

You must know what the wrong blessing is.

1) Vassal state – Right now Israel has become a vassal state of Rome, which has set up powerless tetrarchs, and that tetrarch Herod built the Herod Temple to gain popularity. Becoming king by flattering Rome, building a temple, taking a position, and rising to prominence is not blessing.
2) Religious life – A completely gospel-less religious life is not blessing.
3) Disaster – Because they do not know evangelism and missions, disaster is waiting.
(1) In 70 AD, Israel would be completely destroyed.
(2) Wanderers – Their descendants would become wanderers throughout the entire world.

▷ There are many problems when you go to church. Within these problems, if you find the answers God gives and seize God’s new opportunity for renewal, your spiritual state will change. The Triune God works in me invisibly, and the 9 blessings of the throne come to pass.

2. What is true blessing?

1) Poverty – Blessed are the poor in spirit.
2) Mourning – Those who mourn will receive God’s comfort.
3) Meekness – Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
4) Hungering and thirsting for righteousness – Those who long to receive grace will receive blessing.
5) Mercy – Those who show mercy to others will receive blessing.
6) Purity – Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
7) Peace – Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
8) Those persecuted for righteousness – Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

3. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:10-12) – When the Eight Beatitudes are summarized into one, the most commonly recurring theme is this: the spiritual vessel to receive true blessing is prepared.

1) God makes me his throne (my 24). – It is to revive me.
2) When we worship and pray in church, the blessing of the throne comes (church 24).
3) The blessing of the throne comes upon work and the field (field 24).

▷ When you receive the answers of this outpouring blessing of the throne, even problems are okay. When you receive the blessing of Acts chapter 2 that comes upon the church, even if every church member is unusual, it is okay. People with spiritual problems gather at church, and we must hold onto them and bring healing. The blessing of the throne came equally upon Joseph, David, Daniel, and Gaius.

▣ Conclusion

Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 5:17-18

1. You are the light of the world.
2. You are the salt of the world.
3. Imprinting, rooting, constitution

▷ When the light of the life of Christ shines, the darkness flees on its own. The word of the Lord will not disappear by even one jot or tittle, and all of it will be fulfilled. When this blessing and answer is imprinted upon us, history continues to unfold. Christ saves us and continues to pour down the blessing of the Triune God and the 9 blessings of the throne upon us. Enjoying this is prayer and worship.

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 Transcript

…those who receive miss something. At any time, you need to know what kind of answer is happening right now.

Darkness, angels – Matthew 4:19 – Sermon on the Mount

Darkness

The very first thing Jesus did was break Satan. This must happen first. The darkness must be broken first.

Angels

“Then the angels of the Lord came and ministered to him.” That’s what it says.

Matthew 4:19

Now, continuing from there, he went up the mountain. While doing this, he said these words: “Follow me.” He said, “Don’t worry, just follow me. I will make you fishers of men.”

Sermon on the Mount

After saying this, he took them up to the mountain. There he gave an important message. That is chapters 5, 6, and 7. It is not a simple sermon; it can be seen as a summary of all sermons. Many theologians have said – what have they said? – they interpreted Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7, this Sermon on the Mount, as the king’s declaration. I see it that way too.

[Spiritual State]

The most important thing for you is what is happening right now, and the most important thing for us is not the answer. It is spiritual state. All answers come from here, and failure comes from here as well. Right now, Jesus is delivering an extraordinary message on an extraordinary timeline. You must remember this. Our level of faith is too low – because we don’t know God’s blessing, we waste time on whether this is right or wrong. The answer doesn’t come from there. It comes from here (spiritual state). If this is your spiritual state, then from here, extraordinary things can happen, and because of this (spiritual state), extraordinary failure can come as well.

“The Beginning of True Blessing”

Now, what did Jesus explain here? He explained what true blessing is, what the beginning of this true blessing is. Well, everyone wants to receive blessing, right? But Jesus explained what the beginning of true blessing is. This becomes a very important message.

▣ Introduction

Today you must remember this right here in the introduction. Jesus went up the mountain, gathered the crowds, and explained. Simply put, he began the sermon that marks the very start of his public ministry. At the start, he broke the power of Satan first. And then he explained about blessing.

1. People

How do people generally think about blessing?

1) Long life, health, material wealth, honor, descendants

“Ah, living a long life is blessing. Living a long time, that’s it.” When someone dies early, people talk as if they didn’t receive blessing. “And very healthily too. That is blessing.” People also say, “Having a lot of money, that’s blessing.” And also, “When honor rises like this, isn’t all of that blessing?” That’s how they talk. And also, “When your descendants do well, isn’t that a blessing? There is no greater blessing than this.” That’s what people mainly say.

Then today Jesus’ message would be wrong, wouldn’t it? The Pharisees would be more right. The Pharisees fall into this category (Introduction 1). But then the Pharisees failed to understand this message. That’s why they were ruined. The Bible does not say that this (Introduction 1) is blessing. A person who receives blessing should live long. Right? A person who has received God’s true blessing should be healthy, have money, have honor, and have descendants. If someone who has not received heaven’s true blessing lives a long time, it’s a headache. It’s better for them to go quickly. Right? A person who has not received God’s blessing, a person who does the work of Satan – they have money? That person is the problem. So when they take honor, that becomes the problem. People of the world think this (Introduction 1) is blessing. It is not. When a person who has received true blessing holds honor, they end up saving many people.

2) Powerful nations (Genesis 3, 6, 11)

The people of these powerful nations think that this (Genesis 3, 6, 11) is blessing. Genesis chapters 3, 6, 11 – “Even without believing in God, with our own power, our economy is strong, we build the tower of Babel – isn’t that blessing?” they think. It sounds right, but it is a delusion. And so these powerful nations ended up ruining even their descendants. The Bible does not lie. You must hold onto the Word of God. Going forward, even the current powerful nations should come to their senses and pray, shouldn’t they? Not a single past powerful nation has prevented disaster from falling upon its descendants. “But aren’t we doing fine even without believing in God?” Genesis chapter 3. “How we have multiplied, how well things are going. Aren’t we building walls and towers with enormous power?” If you hear it for a moment it sounds right. But it ruins descendants, generations for hundreds of years.

3) Idol worship (Acts 13, 16, 19)

And many people think this way: “Doesn’t worshiping idols bring answers?” Look – Acts chapters 13, 16, 19. “What great answers these are!” That’s how they think.

2. Evidence

[Descendants]

So there is evidence. Well, everything is fine. It’s fine for the individuals to be ruined, but even their descendants.

3. [War]

If only the descendants are ruined, that would be enough. They think they have received blessing without God, and if only the descendants are ruined it would be enough – but they cause war and ruin many other nations as well. This is not blessing.

▣ Main

Jesus gave an extraordinary message today. He went up the mountain.

1. Wrong Blessing

He talked about this blessing, and to find the greatest meaning, if you read from verse 5 to verse 18, you need to know what the wrong blessing is. Right? You need to know what the wrong blessing is.

1) Vassal state – tetrarch – Herod Temple

Right now Israel has become a vassal state of Rome.

Tetrarch

Because of this, they are powerless, and Rome appoints what they call tetrarchs. They install kings here and there and apply pressure.

Herod Temple

Even Herod the king, who serves the Roman emperor, built the Herod Temple to gain popularity. This is not blessing, that’s what I’m saying. How is this blessing? It is disaster. Isn’t that right? I mean, by flattering Rome you become king, build a temple, take a position, and rise to prominence? This is not blessing. Jesus was saying the exact opposite right now. He was saying it in such a contrary way that it was startling.

2) Religious life

A completely gospel-less religious life is not blessing. It is wrong.

3) Disaster

Because of this, of course they don’t know evangelism and don’t know missions, and so disaster is waiting.

(1) 70 AD

When Jesus was saying these words, not many years later – in 70 AD – Israel would be completely destroyed.

(2) Wanderers

What is even more laughable is this: all their descendants would become wanderers throughout the entire world. How is this blessing? You need to know well what is not blessing. What is being built right now in our (spiritual state) here is important.

You know what you always talk about when you sit in church, don’t you? When you go to church, you see many problems. “Ah, because of these problems it is too hard to keep going to church.” What would that person’s spiritual state be like? Right? There are many conflicts when you go to church. There should be many. People with problems should come to church. Right? What do you think? Should people with problems not come to church? Should they go to Tenrikyo? Soka Gakkai? Should they go there?

People with problems should come to church. Right? People with conflicts, people in crisis – those people should come. Those people receive forgiveness of sins, receive salvation, and are transformed by the power of God. If your eyes are open to that – as we talked about yesterday, at the new year – always within the problems, find the answers, God’s new renewal, God’s opportunities – when you seize these, this (spiritual) state completely changes.

Simply put, what is it? You must remember this for life.

Triune God → Spiritual State ← Throne

The Triune God invisibly and perfectly begins to work in me. This is what I’m talking about. The 9 blessings of the throne that God has prepared continue to unfold in me. Now the rest is evidence, so the work is bound to take place.

2. True Blessing

Now, Jesus is explaining today what true blessing is. When you look at it, it’s to a degree that you can’t understand.

1) Poverty

“Blessed are the poor in spirit.” The people in (Main 1) would not understand when they hear this, but this is exactly what they need to hear. “You need your spirit to be poor – that is where the blessing is.” He spoke of eight blessings. “Only then is the kingdom of heaven yours.”

2) Mourning

“And blessed are those who mourn.” How is this blessed? You might think that. Mourning is painful. Open your eyes and look carefully. “Those who mourn will receive God’s comfort.” Look carefully at the age. Look at reality. If you look at the world carefully, you’ll understand.

3) Meekness

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” The people in (Introduction), the powerful nations, have never once actually inherited the earth through war. In the end, it is all taken from them.

4) Thirst

Look at the words of Jesus right here, now. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Passionately longing to receive grace – that is blessing.

5) Mercy

“Blessed are those who show mercy to others. Only then will you receive mercy.”

6) Heart

“Blessed are the pure in heart. They shall see God.” Jesus said this right now.

7) Peace

“Blessed are the peacemakers. They shall be called sons of God.”

8) Righteousness – Persecution

It came up again. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

He spoke of exactly 8 blessings. There’s no need to memorize all 8; if you summarize them all into just one thing, what is it? It is a message that people of the world, people who are here only briefly, would not even grasp.

3. Kingdom of Heaven (10-12)

Something common emerged here. What came up? The thing that appeared most is verse 10. “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Verse 12. “For your reward in heaven is great.” Now what is this?

[Spiritual Vessel]

It means that the spiritual vessels to receive truly true blessing are being prepared. After this, answers begin to come. This is our beginning, everyone. Truly try this, for once. Whether the answer I received was this big or not – that is not the problem. When you pray, if an answer comes is it Christ, and if not is it not? That’s wrong. Even if 7 billion people don’t receive answered prayers, Jesus is still the Christ. They don’t know what the answer is. These two things (spiritual state, spiritual vessel) are the answer. You must please remember this. It is the spiritual state and the vessel.

Let me give an example. If I have the ability to move 100 billion won, even if it disappears, it comes back again. If a person whose vessel is not ready suddenly gets it, problems arise because of it. No matter what difficulty comes, if I have this (spiritual state, spiritual vessel) in order, there is no problem at all. This is the true blessing, the true answer that the Bible speaks, that God speaks, that the gospel speaks. If you have this (spiritual state, spiritual vessel), this answer (Triune God, throne) keeps coming, do you understand? So in the end, what is it?

1) Me as throne (24)

What kind of answer is God fully working in me? He makes me his throne. Isn’t that everything? This is what is important. So seeing that he revives me – my 24. This year’s new year message is extremely important. You must keep thinking about it. What is the true answer?

2) Church throne

When we worship in church, when we pray, that is when the blessing of the throne comes. This is church 24.

3) Field throne (work)

Finally, because this power has been accumulated, when you go out, upon your work, upon your field, the blessing of the throne comes down upon it. Where Joseph is. Three things (me, church, field). Right?

Now, just think about this a little (Triune God → Spiritual State ← Throne 9). Especially those of you who are getting a bit older – you must completely do this. Then you will be far more powerful than young people. Why? Because you have experience.

Now, wherever David was, this blessing took place. Wherever the church leaders of Immanuel are, God sends that blessing there. This is the truth. This is the true answer. Right? You need to know the true answer. Really – wherever the Remnant of Immanuel is, God takes everything along with them. Isn’t that right?

Whether this was received a little or not at all – that is not anything important. People who haven’t received answers – it shows. Who is right or wrong – that is not particularly important either. I may be right, but ask the other person. And what I considered wrong may turn out to be right later. That cannot be known. If you are enjoying this blessing, that is not the point, that’s what I’m saying.

Let me say it again: if you now begin to receive the answers of the outpouring blessing of the throne, even if every person becomes a problem, it’s okay. Right? If you receive the blessing that comes upon your church – the blessing of the throne, the blessing of Acts chapter 2 – if you receive the Antioch answer, then even if every church member is unusual, it’s okay. It doesn’t matter at all, since I am receiving answers.

People who are unusual should come. That’s why they need to come to church – where else would they go? People who have strayed from the complete gospel, people with spiritual problems – they need to come to church, where else should they go? Right? If our church is a right church, it is correct for people with spiritual problems to flood in. Then you hold onto those people and bring healing, that’s what I’m saying. Finally, upon your work, the blessing of the throne comes. Not a single exception. It came equally upon Joseph, upon David, upon Daniel, upon Gaius, didn’t it? You must not miss this.

▣ Conclusion

This is the conclusion. Finally, what comes to pass? Jesus says:

[Matthew 5:13-16]
[Matthew 5:17-18]

He wrapped it up like this, you know? He wrapped it up like this.

1. Light

“You are the light of the world.” Jesus said so.

2. Salt

“You are the salt of the world.”

You are living in an age with refrigerators now, but when we were young there were no refrigerators. Whatever meat it was, you made it very salty. If you just eat it without salt, you die. In some cases, you could die on the spot immediately. That’s why you put in salt. “You are the salt of the world.”

If physical light never enters a house – do you know what happens? It becomes full of disease. If the electricity in your house goes out, you can’t help but be seized by darkness. Spiritually it is even greater. When this glorious Christ, the light of life, shines, the darkness flees on its own. In verses 17 and 18 he said this: “The word of the Lord will not disappear by even one jot or tittle. All of it will be fulfilled.”

3. Imprinting, rooting, constitution

This blessing, this prayer – what is the answer? It is imprinted upon you. Constitution – the work continues to unfold.

There is only one thing I do. From when I started in Busan 30 years ago to arriving here. Many people always said there were many problems. They always said it wouldn’t work. They always said it was a crisis. They always said that person wouldn’t make it. They always said this thing wouldn’t work.

I spent 30 years doing nothing but stopping that talk. Saying that’s not right. Who was right? Let’s wait and see a bit more. Do you know what will happen?

So don’t worry – this (spiritual state, spiritual vessel) is what is important. Someone suddenly got cancer, they say. It wasn’t sudden. It has been going on for a long time. It is the same spiritually. Spiritual state. All answers come according to this. “Oh, no answer is coming to me at all” – that is not so. All of this (spiritual state, spiritual vessel) is being built. That’s how the answer comes precisely. And in fact it is already coming.

And so Christ gives us salvation and continues to pour down from heaven the blessing of the Triune God – the 9 blessings of the throne – upon us. Enjoying that is prayer and worship. Then this comes out as the answer for this age. This is the beginning of it.

You must absolutely not miss it – Jesus did not speak simply. He included an enormous amount of things. So when you hear it, what happens? When you listen to all of Jesus’ words, what conclusion emerges? It is simple. When you listen to all the Pharisees’ words, it is complicated. And so they killed all their descendants. When you listen to Jesus’ words, it is simple. “Just – this kind of thing has blessing. Being persecuted for righteousness – that’s blessing. Hungering and thirsting for righteousness – that’s blessing. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The one who, rather than condemning a wrong person as wrong, instead saves them and makes peace – that is the son of God.” What could be more important than that. These (spiritual state, spiritual vessel) kinds of things come to pass. Extraordinary things come to pass.

I am confident that this answer will surely come to pass for you this year. I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray.

Prayer. We give thanks to God. Please allow us to receive the answers that bring life through my 24, church 24, and field 24. Please lead us to make this a year of receiving completely new grace. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.