Sunday 2nd Service
Title/Scripture: The Living and the Dead (Mark 8:31-38)
Speaker: Rev. Kwang-Soo Ryu
Date/Location: July 10, 2022, Immanuel Church (Seoul)
Mark 8:31-38 (NIV)
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Summary
Today’s text is a message that Jesus gives directly to his disciples. Many ministers must understand it well, and church leaders must hold onto it and pray about it.
Great powers, Europe, America – the gospel entered the great powers, but they could not receive the gospel well. It was because the Lord’s servants kept listening to what the politicians demanded. That is why Europe shut its doors. Satan then targeted America. Because church members wanted it, ministers stopped preaching the gospel properly and kept doing other things instead.
Mental patients – the world became full of them.
“The Living and the Dead” – the sick and the demon-possessed kept coming forward, and Jesus only healed them. Afterward, with a sorrowful heart, he asked his disciples who they said he was. When Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus was overjoyed, blessed him, and then spoke of being crucified and rising again after three days. When Peter absolutely refused to accept this, Jesus said, “Satan! Get behind me. You are not thinking about the things of God but only about the things of man. Whoever wants to follow me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever gives up his life will live.”
▷ Stand before the Word and look at history. In truth, people block the gospel because they do not know it. The Lord’s servants must hold to “the gospel alone,” and even if church members oppose it, still “the gospel alone.” Otherwise your descendants will become mentally ill.
▣ Introduction – a prophecy about the “two kinds of people” that would appear after the crucifixion
▷ Almost all of the sick who had been helped by Jesus and had seen his miracles ran away. Only 120 people remained.
Age of Concentration – what we must concentrate on
1. Ministers – the throne, transcending time and space, 237 – it is accomplished when you truly know how to pray (Matthew 28:18-20).
2. Church leaders – 70 regions, 70 nations – this is what we must concentrate on.
3. Remnant – 237 talents – you must find the talent that will save the 237 nations.
▣ Main
1. Apostles – he promised in advance the answer he would give to the apostles.
1) Authority – he gave the apostles authority that comes down from above. Matthew 28:16-20 “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and I will be with you.” Mark 16:15-20 “Drive out demons in my name. Lay hands on the sick, and they will get well.”
2) Power (1, 3, 8) – he turned this authority into power and gave the apostles Christ, the kingdom of God, and the Holy Spirit alone. Speak of nothing else. If you do anything else, it will be a disaster.
2. Church leaders – he spoke in advance of the answer church leaders would receive, and they received it.
1) The 70 disciples (influence) – he gave the blessing of the 70 disciples first of all. This means God answers by giving influence to revive 70 regions.
2) Acts 11:19 – when great persecution broke out, he gave the highest blessing to the church leaders. Acts 12:1-25 – when the greatest crisis came, God heard the prayers of the church leaders and saved the church.
3) Acts 13:1-4 – mission work – everywhere they went, they first raised up solid church leaders and then sent out workers.
▷ Because it is promised, if you say “amen” you will receive the answer. If you do not believe, you cannot receive it.
3. Remnant – the answer the Remnant will receive is written in Scripture.
1) Acts 17:1-3 “Necessity” – he explained to the Remnant, with a great future set before them, in the synagogue, why the world must be saved. He explained why it had to be Christ, the cross, and the resurrection.
2) Acts 18:4 “Worship, prayer” – “every Sabbath” – the Remnant must know what worship and prayer are before going out into the world.
3) Acts 19:8 “Kingdom” – the Remnant must know what the real answer is before going out – the kingdom of God.
▷ No matter how much you succeed in the kingdoms of this world, if you fail to grasp the gospel, you will end up running errands for the kingdom of Satan.
▣ Conclusion (verses 36-37) – the age of the field
“If America and Europe gain the whole world yet are ruined by mental illness and spiritual problems, what good is it?”
What the church must do from now on – open up an age of the field that actually saves people.
1. Spiritual festival – idols, shrines, Temple Stay
Hold a spiritual festival at least once a week. That is how you will save the people who are dying at idols, shrines, and Temple Stay.
2. Spiritual DNA healing – cults, alternative religions
You must bring healing that changes spiritual DNA. Cults and alternative religions go to sick people every single day and give them a message. You must create a way for sick people to come every day and receive grace.
3. Spiritual upper room – meditation
The meditation movement has spread even into the schools. Hold an upper room in every home.
▷ This is the church’s responsibility. We must pour our prayers into this. This is the real future.
Transcript
Great powers, Europe, America
Today’s text is a message that Jesus gives directly to his disciples. Many ministers must understand it well, and church leaders must also hold onto it and pray about it. The gospel had entered the great powers. But this gospel could not be received well. Going forward, our Lord’s servants must remember this, and our church leaders must remember it too. It’s not that the people of Europe, all those in England and Spain and so on, were ignorant. The gospel had gone in. It had gone in, but there is a reason why it did not take hold there. Let me put it simply: Rome ruled the world, and Rome received the gospel. So then the Roman emperor would come to worship, wouldn’t he? An enormous thing happened. And then, to put it in our terms, all the ministers, all the enormous generals, would come to worship one after another. These people had demands. The Lord’s servants kept listening to what they said. They couldn’t not listen. Going forward, in this age of gospel work, our church leaders and ministers must understand this well. Isn’t there a famous story about an English philosopher? A famous scholar who joined a church. This man was a scientist. This pastor saw that a famous scientist had registered at his church. So what should he do? Shouldn’t he preach the gospel? The pastor kept trying to preach scientifically, using science that was wrong. And he kept praising the scientist. Being excessive like that. You must be careful. So then he kept trying to get the man to give a testimony — was there really a testimony to give? He had only just come. And then, after a few months had passed, this scientist came to see the pastor. He came to thank him for everything up to that point. And this scientist said something startling. “Pastor, I have one request.” “What is it?” the pastor asked. “Is there no church that will tell me about Jesus?” he asked. The pastor was shocked. “I want to hear about Jesus. And pastor, you talk so much about science that I’ve already heard plenty of science, so I don’t need any more of it.”
Church leaders, this is a point our ministers who will save the world must be careful about going forward. That is why Europe shut its doors. And so this Satan went on to target America. No matter what you say, it won’t get through to their ears. There’s nothing to be done. Still, those who will listen must listen. They stopped preaching the gospel and started doing other things instead. Why? Because church members wanted it. “Give us something fun, something powerful, something that will draw in talented people.” And the pastor said, “All right.” And that is how they began preaching a message that would shake the world but was different from the gospel. What was that word? “Nothing Is Impossible,” by Robert Harold Schuller. It shook the world. “If you try, you can do it.” It really shook the world. “See?” I’m sorry to say it, but that is when America began to collapse. That church shut its doors.
[ Mental patients ]
The world became full of mental patients. Our Remnant in America must remember this, and our professors in America must remember it too. Of all people, one of the top conductors leading American music committed suicide. Up to now, reading conscientiously through the public ministry of Jesus in Matthew and Mark, what keeps coming up again and again? What keeps appearing? The sick. The demon-possessed. They keep appearing, don’t they? Jesus only healed them. This morning too — a blind man, he healed him. And afterward, Jesus asked his disciples with a sorrowful heart, “Who do people say I am?” He asked, and they said all sorts of things. That’s how churches are. They say all sorts of things. Jesus said, “Then who do you say I am?” He asked. If his answer had matched what Jesus had in mind, they should have said, “That’s right, that’s it.” “Who do you say I am?” he asked. The disciples could hardly answer. Peter answered, didn’t he? “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” When he made that confession, Jesus was overjoyed and said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah,” and blessed him greatly. So Jesus thought, “Now it’s settled. The apostle who will preach the gospel from now on has reached this level.” Isn’t that so? And so Jesus brought up the subject. Up until then, he had only healed, helped, and fed people. Why? Because that’s what made them follow him. Then, finally, Jesus said something shocking. “Now my end has come. I am going to be crucified.” Jesus said, “I am now going to be crucified. And on the third day I will rise again.” When he said this, who was it that came forward and said, “Absolutely not”? Who was it? Wasn’t it Peter? “That must never happen.” Just before, he had said, “You are the Christ,” and then, “That must never happen.” What did Jesus say then? He didn’t say “Peter.” What did he say? He said, “Satan.” Now think about it — if an elder said “Satan” to a deacon, would that even make sense? If a pastor said “You Satan” to an elder, what would happen? Jesus said to Peter without mercy, “You Satan, get behind me. You are not thinking about the things of God, but only about the things of man.” That’s what he said. And having said that, he gave this teaching: “Whoever wants to follow me must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever gives up his life will live.” That is the context in which this teaching was given.
“The Living and the Dead”
To all the churches across this nation, all denominations, please do not hear this as my sermon. Stand before the Word of God, and without all sorts of other thoughts, look at history. Look, I tell you. In truth, people block this gospel because they don’t understand it. Isn’t that so? And this is where the Lord’s servants make their mistake. “Ah, this means Rome will be evangelized. England will be evangelized. Germany will be completely evangelized. Kings will come to church.” These priests, these servants of the Lord, have gone half mad. “Ah!” That must never happen.
The Lord’s servants must preach the gospel alone, and even if church members oppose it, still the gospel alone. Otherwise your descendants will become mental patients. It’s certain. Go check in America. Those of you in America, something serious is happening right now. This morning I saw — was it Elder Kim Sang-beom? — he sent materials, and among ten of our children in America, one has already committed suicide. Drugs, violence — it’s beyond words right now. Look at Japan yesterday. They just shot and killed the prime minister, Abe. Simply put, that’s a mental patient. There was hardly any reason at all. He just shot him dead. “Why did you kill him?” “I just didn’t like him.” That’s it. They just shoot and kill. Jesus gave an extremely important teaching here, right now.
▣ Introduction – “Two kinds of people” after the crucifixion
To put it simply, this is it. After the crucifixion of Jesus — and the crucifixion was an enormous event, wasn’t it? — two kinds of people would emerge. This is a prophecy about that. Almost all of the sick who had been helped by Jesus up to that point ran away. They couldn’t survive otherwise. Even after seeing the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand — that astounding thing — even after eating and having food left over, they ate and still ran away. Even people with incurable diseases whom he healed — even they, after being healed, ran away. And in the end, only 120 important people remained.
[ The Age of Concentration ]
We must prepare right now. What must we do? Our church must now open an age of concentration. What kind of age of concentration is this?
[ 1. Ministers – the throne, time and space, 237 ]
Ministers must, exactly as Scripture says, receive the answer of the throne, of transcending time and space, and of 237. If you truly know the power of prayer, you gain the power of the throne, and once you gain that power, time and space are transcended, and 237 is fulfilled.
[ 2. Church leaders – 70 regions, 70 nations ]
Church leaders must concentrate on the answer of 70 regions and 70 nations. Otherwise you will just be eating meals for nothing.
[ 3. Remnant – 237 talents ]
The Remnant must find the talent that matches the 237 nations. You understand, right? Even in the past, seven Remnant did this. I’m telling you to concentrate on this.
Ministers must completely transcend time and space — this power of God was clearly promised, wasn’t it? “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and I will be with you.” That was the promise. Many of our associate ministers, don’t be deceived. Don’t go looking at whoever happens to have a lot of money, and don’t go looking around at who is impressive or not — preach the gospel alone. God has prepared true blessing for church leaders. Through the 70 regions and 70 nations from that small church in Antioch, and through the Remnant born afterward, God has set aside talent enough to save all 237 nations completely.
We must concentrate on this.
▣ Main
1. Apostles
So God promised in advance the answer he would give the apostles.
2. Church leaders
He told church leaders in advance the answer you would receive. And you received it.
3. RT
The answer the Remnant will receive is written in Scripture. You must receive it just as it is.
1. Apostles
1) Authority – Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-20
Knowing that the apostles were unlearned, God gave them authority handed down from above. How did he give it? “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and I will be with you.” “Cast out demons in my name. Why? Because everyone was dying possessed by demons — lay hands on the sick and they will be healed.” That’s what he gave the apostles.
2) Power (Acts 1:1, 3, 8)
He turned this authority entirely into power — “Christ, the kingdom of God, the Holy Spirit alone” — and gave that to the apostles directly. Speak of nothing but this. All associate ministers, speak only of this. If you do anything else, it’s no good. If you do anything else, it’s a disaster. That is exactly how the church, worldwide, shuts its doors. Do not be led astray. It’s fine even if people call you ignorant. You are not ignorant. People will tell you that you have no future. That’s fine. History has proven it. History has proven it and will go on proving it. It is happening even now.
2. Church leaders
God has prepared for church leaders.
1) The 70 disciples (70 regions)
He gave the blessing of the 70 disciples first of all. This means God answers by giving influence so that you can save 70 regions. This is the blessing church leaders receive.
2) Acts 11:19, 12:1-25
In Acts 11:19, great persecution broke out, and God gave the highest blessing to church leaders. Isn’t that right? Look at the record in chapter 12. When the greatest crisis came, God heard the prayers of church leaders and saved the church.
3) Acts 13:1-4
Look at Acts 13:1-4. This is not mission work the way it’s done now. It is mission work in which church leaders were established first. Everywhere they went, church leaders were established first. Isn’t that right? Look closely — everywhere Paul went, before sending out missionaries, he first raised up church leaders who would receive solid blessing, and only then sent out workers. Your blessing is this great. If you say “amen,” you will receive the answer. Why? Because it is promised. If you do not believe, you cannot receive it. You will simply struggle in vain and be ruined. Look at the great powers — Europe, America. Not a single great power has come out victorious. Look at history right now. Even now, terrifying wars remain, right now.
3. RT
1) Acts 17:1 “Necessity”
God set a great future before the Remnant in the synagogue. Didn’t he explain the necessity of why you must save the world? Why did it have to be Christ? Why did he have to bear the cross? Why did he have to rise from the dead? He explained it at a very high level. Why? Because if he spoke too plainly, they wouldn’t understand. He explained it to the Remnant.
2) Acts 18:4 “Worship and prayer”
Acts 18:4. “Every Sabbath he reasoned.” What does that mean? You truly need to teach what worship and prayer are. The Remnant must know what worship is and what prayer is before going out into the world. Never, ever be deceived.
3) Acts 19:8 “Kingdom”
The Remnant must know what the true answer is before going out. “The kingdom of God.” No matter how much you succeed, it is only “the kingdom of this world.” If you fail to grasp the gospel, it becomes “the kingdom of Satan.” You end up running its errands. “The kingdom of God” — he spoke boldly about this for three months straight. You must remember this.
▣ Conclusion – Mark 8:36-37 – the age of the field
There is a teaching in verse 36: “What good is it for you to gain the whole world yet lose your life?” Hurry and evangelize America. If America dominates the whole world yet is ruined by mental illness, what good is that? If Europe dominates every culture yet dies from spiritual problems, what good is that? This is exactly what Jesus was saying. You have gained everything. What good is it?
I called Kim Hyung-gil over and said, “Here — this is the key to the house I live in. Take it.” Wouldn’t that feel good? “Take the car key.” Wouldn’t that feel good? “Take that bankbook and card.” Wouldn’t that feel good? “There’s one condition. Give me your neck.” Would you say yes, or no? No, of course. None of it means anything then. That is exactly what Jesus is saying right now. You may speak carelessly about this, but what happens when you’ve raised that child of yours with everything you had, and then a spiritual problem comes? You are experiencing this yourselves. What good is it?
[ Spiritual festival ]
So it is good to begin, even a little, from now on. Our churches should. A true, comfortable all-night prayer meeting is not just about staying up all night. About once a week, hold a truly spiritual festival. Hold it fully as a forum too. A time to ask questions of faith, to learn, to pray — like this. It’s fine even if it falls on a Saturday. You must hold spiritual festivals.
[ Idols, shrines, Temple Stay ]
That is how you can save people now — those who are dying at idols and shrines. Because you don’t offer this (Temple Stay), several million people went on Temple Stay retreats last year alone. Why can’t we do this? Because the church cannot give spiritual power, because people keep looking for something else, because those whose souls truly thirst don’t come to church — why would they? They went on Temple Stay, and because of COVID it was restricted, yet several million people still went.
[ Spiritual DNA healing ]
And you must now undergo healing that completely changes your spiritual DNA.
[ Cults, alternative religions ]
Right now, alternative religions have sprung up alongside cults. Cults and alternative religions besides. Why do people go to cults? Our traditional, conservative denominations just keep cursing them, but we need to understand why people go. I was shocked. These groups go to sick people every single day and deliver a message. I was truly shocked. Every single day. The church must make it possible for these people to come and receive grace every single day. But they are sick. We cannot avoid dealing with this in earnest anymore. No matter how you look at it, that is exactly the kind of age we are in right now.
[ Spiritual upper room ]
Even just once a week, in every region, look at Scripture for real. This upper room must be restored.
[ The meditation movement ]
What has finally happened? This meditation movement has spread all the way into the schools. If it were making these people genuinely better, we would have no reason to be jealous — we should help. But it’s a disaster. This meditation movement — it’s frightening, because we haven’t held our own upper rooms. Do it in every home. Parents who have children, call your children’s friends together and hold an upper room. Just doing that much will bring about real change.
You must remember what was boxed off (the content in the square). We have finally entered a truly evil age. A frightening age has come. Open an age of concentration in our church. Open an age of concentration in our upper room.
The age of the field
Now, from our upper room, open an age of the field that truly saves people. No matter how much you have, it is useless if you die — that’s what I mean. No matter how enormous what you’re holding onto is, there is nothing to say if it collapses. That is exactly what has actually happened now. Because of whom did it come? Did it come because of Buddhism? Buddhists don’t know any better. It is not Buddhism’s responsibility. The three organizations bear no responsibility. They don’t know. “Do not worship idols” is found only in Scripture and nowhere else. So it is not their responsibility. It is the church’s responsibility.
Now every church leader and every minister must pour everything into this (the whole message). Our prayers. That is the real future. What future is there in ruin? The real future. When someone comes with a mental problem, no matter what you do, there is no future in it. Is your leg a little sore? That’s fine. Did we make some kind of mistake? Realizing it is enough. Isn’t that right? But once a mental problem sets in, there is no remedy. Look at the parents raising such children. They are burning with anguish.
Even on my own phone, with no names attached, I get more than ten “please save me” messages every single day. I don’t even know who they are. “Save me.” We must know what God truly wants — an important schedule has come to us. And we must understand how the powers of darkness are being brought down. If any of you are offended by my sermon, go check the field for yourselves. Check the Korean church. Doors are closing everywhere. Check the numbers of psychiatric hospitals. Check the number of depression patients. They have risen at an alarming rate. So in America, some organization set up a program to help mental patients, and people came flooding in — yet they aren’t being healed. There are so many people like this, so pitiful.
You must listen carefully to what Jesus is saying today. There will be the greatest answer of your remaining life. Let us pray.
Prayer
We give thanks to God. Open our spiritual eyes to see what God desires most. Do not let us gain everything and yet lose our lives. Pass this secret on to our descendants so that they may save the world. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.