Sunday 1st Service Worship
Title/Scripture: The Parable of the Fig Tree (Matthew 21:18-22)
Speaker: Pastor Ryu Kwang-su
Date/Location: May 15, 2022, Immanuel Church (Seoul)
Matthew 21:18-22
Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Summary
Why are there so many difficulties for me and my family? God loves human beings. And so, when we are on the opposite side, in order that we would not remain on the side of destruction, God is calling us out to the right side.
▣ Introduction_The secret of God contained within disaster
1. Jesus who cursed the fruitless fig tree
Even though it was not the season for bearing fruit, He cursed it. The puzzled disciples asked Jesus the reason. Jesus said that if they know and believe the reason, they can lift up a mountain and move it into the sea, and that whatever they pray for will all be answered.
2. Through the parable of the fig tree, we must firmly grasp the secret of God contained within disaster
▷ The fig tree symbolizes Israel. That the fig tree withered means it is dead. It is ruined.
1) The secret of God contained within the Bible — Why did Israel suffer disaster at the hands of seven nations? If you know the reason, the surrounding great powers become a door; if you do not know it, they become an enemy. Not knowing the reason led to war, slavery, captivity, becoming a subjugated nation, and becoming a wandering people.
2) The secret of God contained within world history — Why did the idol-worshiping great powers rise up, and why did God send Israel and the Remnant into slavery within those great powers? Except for those who realized the secret of God contained within disaster, the great powers collapsed.
3) We must grasp the secret hidden behind the difficulty that has come to us personally.
3. To what degree must we grasp it? We must believe to the extent of lifting up a mountain and moving it into the sea
1) Joseph went as a slave and brought about world evangelization. This is greater than moving a mountain.
2) Daniel and his three friends, who held this covenant and received an answer like moving a mountain into the sea.
3) The early church, which brought about a work like moving a mountain.
4) To Martin Luther, who restored the gospel amid the repeated disaster in which merit and good works were emphasized in church history and the gospel alone was erased, a miracle like moving a mountain into the sea occurred.
5) All people are sinners who have left God, and even now are being tempted by Satan and heading toward destruction — because we take this word of Scripture lightly, we cannot overcome disaster. Each time, those who grasped the tremendous secret that arises within that disaster were the ones who moved the mountain.
▷ Those who are discouraged must not remain discouraged. Also, those who are undergoing many difficulties must not be shaken. Pastors who have gone back and forth and become discouraged and given up must not give up. God will send even a slave, will send our children into captivity if need be, in order to stop the disaster.
▣ Main
1. Through all of Israel’s past disasters, the secret has been proven up to now
▷ Though it appears that Israel suffered disaster in the past, that is not the case
1) The seven Remnant members are proof — through disaster, God is changing what had been lost through deception, causing people who had fallen under the curse to miss the gospel, back again
▷ We take the gospel lightly until we are on the verge of death, and only then do we barely come to realize the gospel. People in the midst of disaster hear the gospel and come alive at once, but for us, because we hear it all the time, it becomes a situation where we generally just hear it in passing.
2) Those who went to a scene like death and, in the midst of disaster, changed things by holding onto this secret are found in Hebrews chapter 11
3) The reason God gives us difficulty is that He is trying to turn everything that was once in disaster into the secret of God
2. Because today’s urgent situation must be resolved, there is a secret contained within the disaster that God gives
1) The scribes, chief priests, Sadducees, Pharisees, the Herodians, and the many people and prophets undergoing much hardship (seven groups) — though they were a subjugated people, they were fiercely fighting to be liberated
2) But this was a tremendous sign that God was going to destroy Israel and begin again
3) Jesus, who told us not to fear the difficulty that comes to us — this is the beginning of God’s plan (Matthew 24:1-14)
▷ Even when great difficulty and war arise, He tells us that this is only the beginning, and that the end lies elsewhere. All the difficulty, disaster, and pain that has come upon you contains the secret of God. This is the evidence of Scripture.
3. Israel will in the future be scattered among many nations and be destroyed, and this is the secret of world evangelization
▷ Those who prepare for this are the ones who can lift up a mountain and move it into the sea
1) The destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in AD 70
2) The Jewish people who were scattered into about twenty-three nations centered on Europe, and were killed and massacred
3) Through those who held this secret within that suffering, world evangelization broke out rapidly
▣ Conclusion_When you realize the gospel, every disaster becomes a road; when you fail to realize it, everything becomes a wound. Since every disaster and problem of those who hold the gospel contains the secret of God, you must never be deceived
1. For Joseph, who firmly held the dream of the covenant, slavery and prison were entirely a road
2. For David, though King Saul mobilized an army to kill him, because he knew this secret, it was a road for him
3. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Daniel, and Esther likewise — all of it was a road
4. Through Luther, who knew this secret and restored the gospel, the gospel was spread throughout the entire world
▷ Through your difficulties, God will work with an amazing power like lifting up a mountain and sending it into the sea
Transcript
After our mission conference ended, prayer has begun simultaneously across the whole world. There are still those coming in from the United States and various other regions who are worshiping together with us. I hope that with today’s text, all of you will find this to be a moment when you receive the very best answer. A person who had just come to believe said this to me. They asked, “Why do so many difficult things happen to me?” And there was also someone who asked, “Why does God give our household so much hardship like this?” God loves human beings. And yet, when we are on the opposite side, God is calling us out to the right side. So that you would not remain on the side of destruction, God is calling you out. Naturally, then, it doesn’t make sense to us. Well, if that’s so, then there is a tremendous answer contained within it.
2022 1st, 2nd, 3rd RUTC Response 24 (20) World Evangelization Mission Association www.weea.kr
Category: Sunday 1st Service Worship | The Parable of the Fig Tree (Matthew 21:18-22) | Speaker: Pastor Ryu Kwang-su | Title/Scripture | Date/Location: May 15, 2022, Immanuel Church (Seoul)
▣ Introduction_The secret of God contained within disaster
1. Jesus who cursed the fruitless fig tree
This is exactly today’s text. Jesus had now entered the city, and He saw a fig tree. At the market, the people of Israel would pick and eat that fruit. So He went to eat some fig, but there was not a single fruit on it. The leaves were thick, but there was no fruit. And so Jesus cursed the fig tree. And so that fig tree withered up. The disciples simply could not understand this at all. Today’s passage is from Matthew, but in Mark chapter 11 it says, “for the time of figs was not yet.” Doesn’t that make it even stranger? Why would Jesus go looking at a time when it wasn’t even the season for figs, and if there was none, why not simply leave it be — why curse it, and why is such a record even left for us? There is a tremendous reason. Jesus said this: “If you know this and believe, you can lift up a mountain and move it into the sea.” That is what He said. What in the world does that mean? And He also said that if you pray, you will surely receive an answer. What does this mean? If you take hold of this word today accurately, firmly, and precisely, a different life will begin.
Taking this, when we were young, there was a certain pastor who thought, “A person whose leaves are lush but who bears no fruit will be forsaken.” But that is not what this means. It’s not asking, “Is it acceptable for the fig leaves to be lush but bear no fruit?” That’s not what is being said. It was simply not the time for fruit yet.
2. Through the parable of the fig tree, we must firmly grasp the secret of God contained within disaster
Let me give you the conclusion first. The fig tree symbolizes the nation of Israel. We usually say that the cherry blossom is a symbol of Japan, don’t we? And we say that the mugunghwa symbolizes our own Republic of Korea. In the same way, the fig tree symbolizes the nation of Israel. You can somewhat sense why. As for why it is called mu-hwa-gwa — it is written as “no”, “flower”, “fruit”, meaning “fruit without flower.” It’s not that there is no flower — the flower is actually contained inside the fruit. It’s an unusual fruit that way. For a flower to exist, don’t bees and butterflies and so on have to come and something has to happen? This fruit appears to have no flower. It’s not that it has none — rather, the flower, the fruit, is contained inside. You can regard this as symbolizing Israel.
Now, what does it mean that the fig tree withered? Isn’t that the same as being dead? Isn’t that the same as being ruined? Today, all of you need to firmly grasp one single word and move forward from here. This is why I titled today’s message “The Parable of the Fig Tree.” The fig tree withering is an event, but it is a parable pointing to something far beyond itself. It is a parable of a very important secret of God. That is why I titled it “The Parable of the Fig Tree” rather than “The Incident of the Fig Tree.”
What is the word all of you must firmly grasp? It is the secret of God contained within disaster. If you do not know how to grasp this, then there is no answer to the question that the new family member asked earlier. There was a Remnant who had undergone surgery for a very serious illness, and who asked me, “Why do things like this happen to me?” In the same way, the disciples asked in bewilderment, “Why has the fig tree withered?” And Jesus said, “If you truly believe this word, this fact, this secret, and know it, you can lift up a mountain and move it into the sea.” That is hard to understand.
1) The secret of God contained within the Bible — Why did Israel suffer disaster at the hands of seven nations? If you know the reason, the surrounding great powers become a door; if you do not know it, they become an enemy. Not knowing the reason led to war, slavery, captivity, becoming a subjugated nation, and becoming a wandering people
Now, in order for all of you to receive a true answer, you truly need to look at Scripture as it actually is. Before we go into the main body, before I explain the reason, we need to review the whole of Scripture a little first. Now you will begin to notice it. It doesn’t quite make sense, does it? Why did the nation of Israel continually suffer disaster at the hands of seven nations? Does the answer come to you? It should come out. It should already be coming out right here. All around Israel, there were nothing but great powers packed together. If you know the reason, it is a door. If you do not know this secret, they become enemies. And so, war, slavery, captivity, subjugation, wandering — disaster came seven times. It doesn’t make sense, does it? What kind of book is the Bible? Simply put, it is a book about the nation of Israel being destroyed. Out of that, the secret emerged — that is what I’m saying. That is what this book is. So now you need to firmly, tightly hold on to this.
2) The secret of God contained within world history — Why did the idol-worshiping great powers rise up, and why did God send Israel and the Remnant into slavery within those great powers? Except for those who realized the secret of God contained within disaster, the great powers collapsed
In world history, there is much that doesn’t make sense, isn’t there? The answer is obvious and right there, and yet we fail to understand it. Why did great powers who worshiped idols like that rise up so powerfully? This is world history.
Why were the people of Israel, the Remnant, sent into slavery within great powers? Except for those who realized it, didn’t all the great powers eventually collapse? That’s right, isn’t it? The secret of God contained within disaster. Put more simply, this is the secret contained within the parable of the withered fig tree.
3) We must grasp the secret hidden behind the difficulty that has come to us personally
You think great difficulty has come upon you, but there is a secret hidden behind it.
3. To what degree must we grasp it? We must believe to the extent of lifting up a mountain and moving it into the sea
We can say, “Now I’ve become sick — why is it only me?” But there is a secret contained within that. This is not something you simply grasp lightly — you must believe to the extent of lifting up a mountain and moving it into the sea. Have you lifted up a mountain and moved it into the sea?
1) Joseph went as a slave and brought about world evangelization. This is greater than moving a mountain
Joseph went and brought about world evangelization, didn’t he? He went as a slave. This is a greater thing than moving a mountain.
2) Daniel and his three friends, who held this covenant and received an answer like moving a mountain into the sea
Daniel and his friends, who held this covenant, went and moved a mountain, didn’t they — into the sea.
3) The early church, which brought about a work like moving a mountain
The early church moved it, didn’t it? It was under subjugation — to Rome. These are the secrets.
4) To Martin Luther, who restored the gospel amid the repeated disaster in which merit and good works were emphasized in church history and the gospel alone was erased, a miracle like moving a mountain into the sea occurred
If you understand these words, you’ll see the secrets that occurred throughout church history. It has happened over and over again.
Merit. Achievement. Good works. While talking so much about these, the gospel was erased. That was the medieval church. Those of you who are Catholic — priests, nuns — may be able to listen to my sermon on this. In one word, what was it? It was the belief that you could be saved by merit. You don’t know this, but they know it. And knowing it, they still believe it. It sounds like such a wonderful teaching, doesn’t it? But can one really be saved by merit? And so the gospel disappeared. It was at that time that Martin Luther said, “Absolutely not. We are saved by the gospel alone.” This Martin Luther moved a mountain into the sea. Isn’t that so? That is how God works. You must believe this.
5) All people are sinners who have left God, and even now are being tempted by Satan and heading toward destruction — because we take this word of Scripture lightly, we cannot overcome disaster. Each time, those who grasped the tremendous secret that arises within that disaster were the ones who moved the mountain
This is a very important event of Jesus today, and it is a parable. Everything is important, but this is an especially important part. It is contained within Jesus’ final acts. How important is that? Among the works Jesus carried out while He was still on this earth at the very end, this is one of the important ones. All of you find it hard to understand Scripture, don’t you? “Because all people have left God, they are sinners.” How does the ordinary person understand that? “Even now, humanity, under Satan’s temptation, is heading toward destruction.” This is what Scripture is telling us. “Because we cannot overcome Satan, sin, and the curse, God promised us Christ.” This is what Scripture says. Because we take this lightly, we cannot overcome disaster. Each and every time, those who grasped the tremendous secret that arises within that disaster were the ones who moved the mountain — that is what I’m saying.
Those who are discouraged, do not remain discouraged. And those undergoing many difficulties, do not be shaken. Take hold of the covenant today. Pastors who have gone back and forth, become discouraged, and given up — do not give up. There are many such people. And so those of us who report many things about evangelism, when people say, “A great work has happened!” — I myself don’t find that particularly joyful. Why? Because that too will waver. The very fact that you say “Ah!” upon hearing it means you have already wavered. Isn’t that so? Isn’t that only natural? We ought to feel sorry. This isn’t something that should just happen boastfully — we ought to feel sorry about it. It’s a matter of, “How little did we come, how little did we know, that it had to come to this.” I’ve told you this before. There was an elder’s couple who used to commit theft, and things got so hard for them that a fortune-teller told them, “Go to church.” What does that mean? It’s because we haven’t been doing our part. We are the ones who ought to be speaking, but a fortune-teller ends up speaking instead, because we haven’t been doing it. Even by sending a slave, we must stop the disaster. We need to know that secret. Even by sending our children into captivity, we must stop this disaster. God views all nations as one nation. Isn’t that so? But human beings view it differently. That is why difficulty comes. Today you must look carefully at the covenant.
▣ Main
1. Through all of Israel’s past disasters, the secret has been proven up to now
Since there isn’t much time, let me summarize briefly — this is the first point.
This fig tree is a parable of Israel, and it is explaining that through all of the nation of Israel’s past disasters, the secret has been proven up to now. Simply put: “Doesn’t it seem like Israel also suffered disaster in the past?” But that is not the case. “Did not Israel also die, just as the fig tree withered and died? If you know this word, you will move a mountain.”
1) The seven Remnant members are proof — through disaster, God is changing what had been lost through deception, causing people who had fallen under the curse to miss the gospel, back again
The seven Remnant members — isn’t that proof? If you truly hold this covenant, then your being in the midst of disaster is no other secret than this. It is changing what had been lost through deception and had fallen under the curse. For those who have achieved a bit of success, the gospel might seem light to them. Isn’t it true that only when we are on the verge of death do we finally grasp hold of God and barely come to realize the gospel? People in the midst of disaster hear the gospel and immediately come alive, but for us, since we hear it so constantly, doesn’t it become a situation where we generally just hear it in passing?
I actually went and visited the place where the Maasai people of Africa live. Oh my, I had only heard about it, but everything was completely dried up. There was no water. So how do these people get water to drink? There is no water. They wander around searching for something, and if they find anything, they drink it. A third of the world’s population lives like this. I was shocked. Because of this, people cannot live past 40. They simply die. Naturally, they have no shoes. I saw the feet of the little children — their wounds were cracked and split open, with foreign matter simply stuck inside, left as it was.
And so I saw a professor at Seoul National University, Han Moo-young, and I was shocked to hear that he collects rainwater for drinking water. I told our church, don’t try to spread out into many different places — just make one at the entrance of our church. When someone asks, “What is this?” write on it: “Drinking water supplied to those dying in the one-third of the world.” We don’t know, because we just drink water freely without a thought. There ought to be people like this here and there — across nearly all of Africa, and also in other countries, unusual regions, remote places, islands that I cannot even name.
2) Those who went to a scene like death and, in the midst of disaster, changed things by holding onto this secret are found in Hebrews chapter 11
As you know, those who went to a scene nearly like death and, in the midst of disaster, changed things by holding onto this secret — that is Hebrews chapter 11. There’s no need to overcomplicate it.
3) The reason God gives us difficulty is that He is trying to turn everything that was once in disaster into the secret of God
The reason God gives you difficulty is that He is trying to change all the culture that was once caught up in disaster, so that you may enjoy blessing through the secret of God.
2. Because today’s urgent situation must be resolved, there is a secret contained within the disaster that God gives
This is the second point. Because today’s urgent situation must be resolved, there is a secret contained within the disaster that God gives — this is the second point.
1) The scribes, chief priests, Sadducees, Pharisees, the Herodians, and the many people and prophets undergoing much hardship (seven groups) — though they were a subjugated people, they were fiercely fighting to be liberated
The Jewish people — among them, the scribes. Such people existed in the Jewish nation. The chief priests, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and along with them the Herodians, and the many suffering people and prophets. You don’t need to memorize this. I’ve mentioned seven groups. Though they were a subjugated people, these people were fighting fiercely.
2) But this was a tremendous sign that God was going to destroy Israel and begin again
God was going to destroy Israel and begin again. That was the sign. It was a tremendous sign.
3) Jesus, who told us not to fear the difficulty that comes to us — this is the beginning of God’s plan (Matthew 24:1-14)
“Do not fear the difficulty that comes to you.” Before that, Jesus had said, “No matter how great the difficulty that comes, do not be afraid. This is My beginning. The end will come after the gospel has been testified to all nations.” Jesus said this ahead of time. That means, even if war, earthquakes, and all sorts of things happen, don’t worry. It is only the beginning. The end lies elsewhere — that is what He is saying. You must hold on to this firmly. All the difficulty, disaster, and pain that has come upon you contains the secret of God. This is the evidence of Scripture.
3. Israel will in the future be scattered among many nations and be destroyed, and this is the secret of world evangelization
What’s even more important is the third point. What is the third point? The fig tree withered away.
Israel will in the future be scattered into more than twenty nations. That is ruin, but it is the secret of world evangelization. If so, what must we prepare? Those who prepare for this move mountains. It means you can move a mountain into the middle of the sea. That is a tremendous message.
1) The destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in AD 70
You already know the history, don’t you? Even now, only Israel doesn’t know it. They truly don’t understand. Historians don’t understand it. Scripture has already revealed it. Politicians don’t understand it — why it turned out that way. In AD 70, as you know, the city of Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome.
2) The Jewish people who were scattered into about twenty-three nations centered on Europe, and were killed and massacred
They were scattered, especially into about twenty-three nations centered on Europe. The killing and massacre they suffered are beyond words. There was even a case where a German soldier, sitting in a room, shot and killed a Jewish person just for target practice. That is how it was — checking to see how well the gun performed by shooting a Jewish person dead. That is how miserably it happened.
3) Through those who held this secret within that suffering, world evangelization broke out rapidly
But unbeknownst to anyone, there were people within that suffering who held this secret. And so world evangelization broke out rapidly.
▣ Conclusion_When you realize the gospel, every disaster becomes a road; when you fail to realize it, everything becomes a wound. Since every disaster and problem of those who hold the gospel contains the secret of God, you must never be deceived
Today, all of you must firmly grasp this covenant. Every disaster is a road. That is not to say it’s a good thing. When we were children, the Korean War broke out, and the whole village was turned to ruins, the whole village became beggars. For our nation, Korea, that was a road. That was a lesson for me. I saw it as a child. Children born today don’t know this, because they live so well now. Back then, you couldn’t even speak of certain things. We couldn’t afford to buy gum, so we would get it from American soldiers and chew it. That’s how it was. So then, when it came time to sleep, you’d have to spit out the gum, right? And the next day, you’d unwrap it again and chew it again. That’s how we lived. Because of this, I understand that when God gives Israel disaster like the withered fig tree, it is not simply a disaster — there is a tremendous secret in it, I’m saying.
Today all of you must go forward holding the secret of moving mountains. Do not be deceived. You must go forward holding a faith that moves mountains. What does it mean to move a mountain? It is absolutely impossible, isn’t it? And yet He is saying He will move it. Who? God is the one who does it. You must hold on to this.
In a way it may seem like misfortune, but in the midst of it — even though we worked diligently at business, our whole village was struck by fire. If only, back then, we had had banks like we do now, we could have communicated this way, but even though there were banks at that time, my father had wrapped up money in a bundle to use the next day, and put it in the wardrobe. But then the fire happened. That person simply became strange because of it. And from that point, he fell ill and passed away. All of these things were, for me, a road. And so, whatever it is — hardship, poverty, difficulty, illness — I understand it all. I saw this myself. Once I realized the gospel, that became a road. Before I realized the gospel, it was simply a wound.
1. For Joseph, who firmly held the dream of the covenant, slavery and prison were entirely a road
You must take hold of this covenant today and begin. For those who hold the gospel, every disaster and problem contains the secret of God. Never be deceived. Joseph, who firmly held the dream of the covenant — his brothers sold him and probably said, “You’re finished now.” But for Joseph, it was a road. Potiphar’s wife threw Joseph into prison and said, “You’re finished.” But for Joseph, it was a road. You must hold on to this firmly.
2. For David, though King Saul mobilized an army to kill him, because he knew this secret, it was a road for him
King Saul brought several thousand soldiers to kill David. Common sense would say David would surely die. But for David, who knew this secret, it was a road. Isn’t that so?
3. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Daniel, and Esther likewise — all of it was a road
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Daniel, and Esther — it was exactly the same for them.
4. Through Luther, who knew this secret and restored the gospel, the gospel was spread throughout the entire world
Martin Luther, knowing this secret, restored the gospel. He said, “We are saved by the gospel alone. Good works are something you naturally do — they are not a condition of salvation. You do good deeds, give relief, and serve others — but you do this naturally; it is not a condition of salvation.” At that time, it wasn’t a democracy — that church issued a death sentence against Martin Luther. And while he was being moved, someone kidnapped Luther. There’s no need to say who did it. Why? Because a tremendous secret is contained in that. Our team went to the courtroom where Martin Luther stood trial — that courtroom was actually the church. We went to see the church where the trial was held. I said, “Luther probably stood right about here.” And so this church authority said, “Luther, you are finished now. It’s over for you.” That’s what they said. But through this Luther, the gospel was spread throughout the entire world.
Do not simply hold on to this loosely — hold on to it firmly. Through your difficulties, He will work with an amazing power like lifting up a mountain and sending it into the sea. This is true. Let us pray.
Prayer. We thank You, God. Let us discover the secret contained within disaster. Let us firmly hold the covenant and move the mountain. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.