Sunday 1st Service Worship
Title/Scripture: The Responses of the Fundamental Throne (Luke 2:12-20)
Speaker: Pastor Ryu Kwang-soo
Date/Location: August 7, 2022, Immanuel Church (Seoul)
Summary
▣ Introduction
1. Three things you must do
1) Take time for platform prayer (prayer at a fixed time). – Begin deep prayer that enjoys the power of the heavenly throne, prayer that fully enjoys the power of God that exists in the universe. If you are filled with the power of God’s throne, everything comes.
2) The prayer of the watchman (bartizan) who gives God’s meaning to everything – Turn everything into the power of prayer. You must find meaning to the point of feeling a thrill.
▷ Today’s worship – the site of the Mark’s Upper Room, Antioch, the Dothan movement, the Mizpah movement, the wilderness movement
3) Concentrated prayer in the name of Christ and the power of the throne over one problem – the 40-day concentrated prayer Jesus did after gathering His disciples on Mt Olive. You must do this prayer during worship and after worship ends. Try experiencing it.
2. The fundamental response of the throne that follows
1) Israel became a subjugated nation because it missed this fact
2) Jesus was born at the time when all the people were registering their household and paying taxes
3. Understanding about Jesus
1) Christ who has existed from eternity past – resolving past problems (Genesis 3:15, Exodus 3:18)
2) Christ who was incarnated – He came clothed in a human body
3) Christ who was resurrected – we now pray in that name
4) Christ who will come again as the returning Lord – our background
▣ Main_ The prayer that must be taught to the Remnant
1. The joy to be proclaimed to all people (verse 10) – this light has appeared.
1) When Christ came, the angel of the Lord stood beside them and the glory of the Lord shone around (verse 9). – If this light does not shine, we can only die in darkness and disaster. We must carry this blessing.
2) The Messiah born in a stable as prophesied (verse 12) – meaning it is a place anyone, everyone can go. God came so that all nations could see the light.
▷ God completely hid this from the eyes of humans held captive by the devil, and He was born in a stable exactly as prophesied.
3) When you go out into the world, it looks like nothing at all, but God’s plan is contained within it. The real thing is found within Nobody, within Nothing.
2. Glory to God in the highest (verse 14) – Christ came to give the light of glory from the throne.
1) He enthrones you.
2) He enthrones our church.
3) He enthrones your field of work so that God’s glory would appear there.
3. On earth, peace among those on whom His favor rests (verse 14) – peace that came upon people no one expected (shepherds)
1) The astonishing glory and peace of God that came upon a person who was awake and praying
2) The Lord’s angel delivered the news first to shepherds, who were despised and not subject to paying taxes
▣ Conclusion_ Begin this prayer from now on.
1. Beginning the day – May the light of the throne, which is the light of God’s glory, come upon me.
2. Everywhere I think of, everywhere – May the glory of the Lord come upon it.
3. Restore the concentrated prayer that enjoys the secret of the antenna.
Transcript
Thank you so much for such a gracious worship song. That truly wasn’t a choir but a worship team. Watching your faces as you worshiped like that, I prayed, and I received so much grace today. Lately I’ve noticed that Kang Hwa-jeong, Kim Kyung-mi, and others like them are originally good at worship. But this time I thought, “Why is Yoon So-hee like that?” – she is so good now. At this Remnant conference too, when I watched her worship, she was completely different, so I said, “Who is this?” This is because God gives great grace like this according to His timetable, following the seasons.
I’ve told you this story before. At Gwangju Airport, not many flights depart. Occasionally one departs like that. So there is a lot of waiting time there. I went into the lounge, the waiting room. There was one man sitting there, sleeping like he was about to fall over. So I sat down next to him. Since it was still a while before my flight, a young man came up. He kept waking the sleeping person. Looking at it, the two were friends. Watching them talk happily, it seemed they had met at the airport after a long time. I quietly listened to their conversation next to me. The young man who had been dozing said this: “Hey, you really do have a solid background, and since your father runs a good business, it looks like you’re doing well in business too. It looks so good and you seem to be doing so well.” He greeted him like that. He said he himself was having a very hard time. But surprisingly, this friend, who appeared to be doing well, said something amazing in response. He said no, that’s not it. He said he hadn’t received even a single bit of help from his father. He said he wanted to check how much he could do on his own. He said that from now on too, he would succeed in business without any help from his parents at all. This friend kept taking notes whenever he had time, and I noticed that whenever there was a pause in the conversation, he would doze off again.
Listening to these two friends talk, there was one thing that worried me. It was the future of that young person. Could such a person have a future? Even if he had one, he probably couldn’t manage it. He was thinking, “I met the wrong parents, so I’m suffering like this.” But there are also people who say, “I can do it without my parents’ help.”
▣ Introduction
1. Three things you must do
We finished the 25th Remnant Conference graciously. From now on, the Remnant must do three things. You must do them too. I told the Remnant this in the last session.
1) Take time for platform prayer (prayer at a fixed time).
If you open your eyes and rush around in a flurry, that will become your life. However you wake up, if you open your eyes thinking, “It’s too complicated, I have too many worries,” if you open your eyes thinking, “It’s too hard. Work is hard. Studying is hard,” what will happen? If you open your eyes and worries come first – “I don’t know what’s going on. I have to go but I’m out of it. I’m kind of busy” – what a difference there is between a person like that and the Remnant, who wake up with just a little more ease.
Start deep prayer that enjoys the power of the heavenly throne. Start prayer where you fully enjoy the power of God that exists in this universe. It’s fine even if it’s short. Now, if this continues, what happens? What kind of result would come from a person who continues in constant anxiety compared to a person who continues in the joy of enjoying the power of the throne? This is prayer at a fixed time, and it’s fine even if it’s short. The power of the throne begins to come upon me. Then many things come.
If I have a well, many people come to drink water. If I am building a big bridge, many people pass over that bridge. If I am filled with the power of God’s throne, everything comes to me. This is what is called a platform. A station, that’s what a platform means. An airport is a platform. If I can offer platform prayer spiritually, many things begin to come. Then, once I begin to see this power, I change. Things I used to think were difficult instead become opportunities. As I begin to taste and accumulate this power, I become even more humble. My capacity for study changes. You all studied by force, not having studied while receiving the power of the throne. It was so hard – your parents telling you, your teachers telling you, you studying with such difficulty. But I’m saying I have never studied while enjoying the power of the throne.
Pray to build a future platform. It’s simple. Just do it the moment you open your eyes. It’s even better to wake up with a bit more ease. It’s better to wake up early. I don’t really understand people who say they’re always late. I always finish preparing two hours ahead of time. I finish two hours in advance and then pray. Once you know how to pray, it’s so good. Have I ever left something behind when going abroad? That never happens. Two hours before, my bag is already packed. It’s prepared so that my assistants can just pick it up and go. Even the hotel towels are all organized. Why? Because I’m Korean. Why am I saying this? Take time for platform prayer. Then after that, you become busy. Then you forget to pray again, right? No.
2) The prayer of the watchman (bartizan) who gives God’s meaning to everything
The Remnant must remember this. Turn everything you see into the power of prayer. Turn studying into the power of prayer. There are difficult encounters. Turn them into the power of prayer. There are things that make you feel so frustrated. Turn them into the power of prayer. More importantly among these, give God’s meaning to everything. What does this mean? Why are you sitting here today? This is prayer within prayer. If there were a church today that absolutely must accomplish world evangelization, what response would God give? Right now, the very people who must hold the 237 Healing Summit are gathered here worshiping. You are worshiping with the Remnant right after finishing the Remnant Conference. You must find meaning to the point of feeling a thrill. If this is truly a church running God’s errand, a church that must save the whole world, how important is worship? Isn’t this the site of the Mark’s Upper Room? Isn’t this the site of Antioch? That’s right, isn’t it? Going further back, isn’t this exactly the Dothan movement? Isn’t this the Mizpah movement and the complete wilderness movement in that difficult wilderness? This is called the watchman’s prayer.
The watchman gives meaning to everything. Even during worship songs, today especially, I thought – wow, on such a special day, at this time when God is concluding the Remnant Conference, we are worshiping. What kind of worship is this? How would it look in God’s eyes? As I prayed while listening to this worship song, all of your faces looked just like angels. I never thought you all were unattractive before, but today especially, you all looked completely like angels. This is the watchman’s bartizan prayer.
Remnant, don’t miss this. You must not miss this. You need to know there is a world of difference between a person who becomes discouraged at the field, fights at the field, and falls at the field, and a person who finds God’s amazing secret at the field. I have a lot of dealings like this. In the middle of praying, I meet people at the field and talk like this: “Many people call this a scam right now. Don’t try to scam me. I’ll help you. Let’s accomplish God’s important plan.” Most people understand and give up and leave. How many such things do we have? Go outside, Remnant, and see. How many such things you will face. You know, this word “watchtower,” the word “watch” means to keep watching over something. The Remnant has no time to be discouraged or to be proud. You must begin the watchman’s prayer from now.
3) Concentrated prayer in the name of Christ and the power of the throne over one problem
This is the third and final one. There will come times when an absolute answer must be found. There will be times when a problem comes and you ask, “Why on earth is this happening to me?” There will be times when you ask, “What on earth should I do about this?” Or there may be times of sickness. This is the prayer for such times. Try concentrated prayer in the name of Christ and the power of the throne over one problem. Let me give an example. Jesus gathered His disciples on Mt Olive and did concentrated prayer for 40 days. This is not repetition. It is concentration. It is not duplication. It is concentration. You must do this prayer during worship. Try experiencing it. You must do this prayer after worship ends. Some people are in a hurry to run away after worship ends. You must pray after worship ends. There have been times when I have said, “I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” for a full hour – concentrated prayer. That is a special occasion. Other times, even while looking at my phone, I pray blessing over God. It is such a grace. Something is bound to happen.
2. The fundamental response of the throne that follows
1) Israel became a subjugated nation because it missed this fact
The Remnant must firmly grasp this. If you do, the fundamental response of the throne comes, just as today’s title says. Israel missed this fact. Most people miss it. This is why the nation of Israel has completely become a subjugated nation, even now.
2) Jesus was born at the time when all the people were registering their household and paying taxes
The greatest tyrant appeared. There were 12 tyrants in Israel. Among them, this was the era of the greatest tyrant. He gave the command, “All the peoples in every region must register their household.” This was a special registration done once every four years. “Go and register your household.” So it wasn’t that they went up to register Jesus. Everyone had to register. But at that time, Jesus had already been conceived. Why do you think this is? Why did he command the household registration? There is only one answer. Rome was ruling the entire world at that time. Every four years, they had to register their household and pay taxes. That’s the key. Having grasped the world with overwhelming power, all the people had to register their household and pay taxes. It was at that time that Jesus was born. Looking at it today, “Jesus was born” – “what kind of setting was this” – He already knew everything. You don’t need to know the details, but this is not just a Christmas story.
3. Understanding about Jesus
Why did Christ come at this time? If you interpret it that way, an answer comes out, but there is something you must always know when you read the Bible. If you don’t have this understanding about Jesus, even if you have studied the Bible a lot, it has nothing to do with getting an answer. There are four points.
1) Christ who has existed from eternity past – resolving past problems (Genesis 3:15, Exodus 3:18)
Jesus existed from eternity past. That is why, in that name, the head of Satan was crushed in Genesis 3:15. And in the name of Jesus Christ, they came out of Egypt when they offered the blood sacrifice. Right? Do you understand this? If you don’t understand, you cannot solve spiritual problems. “Why does my family have three mentally ill people? Why has such a curse come upon our house?” This is not a curse. You just don’t know why it happened. You don’t know at all because you don’t understand spiritual matters. You must remember this.
That’s why the Jews were told this by Jesus: “Abraham believed in Me and was saved.” Now, do you understand? They got furious and said, “How old do you think you are?” If they didn’t know that He was the Christ who had existed from eternity past, how could they resolve past problems?
2) Christ who was incarnated – He came clothed in a human body
This means Christ came clothed in a human body, incarnated.
3) Christ who was resurrected – we now pray in that name
What do we pray with now? We pray in the name of the resurrected Christ. Right?
4) Christ who will come again as the returning Lord – our background
What kind of background do we have? We pray in the name of Christ who will come again as the returning Lord. This is extremely important.
So when was Jesus born? People fight a lot over the date, but while it matters, it’s not what’s important. Whether December 25 is Jesus’s actual birthday or not matters, but it’s not important at all. It’s written that Jesus shone the light of glory today. Now, since Jesus was about to be born, there was no inn, no place to go. Since it was urgent, they had gone to register their household. So they went to the manger. In simple terms, they went into a stable because it was urgent. The baby was born, but since there was nowhere to wrap Him in swaddling clothes and lay Him down, they laid Him in the manger where the horses eat their food. That night, a powerful light shone there. The angels of the Lord appeared and spoke. They spoke to the shepherds. The shepherds trembled greatly. Because they trembled so much, the angel said, “Do not be afraid. The Savior who will bring good news to all the world has come.”
▣ Main_ The prayer that must be taught to the Remnant
Today, the prayer you must absolutely teach the Remnant comes out of today’s text.
1. The joy to be proclaimed to all people (verse 10) – this light has appeared.
First. The joy to be proclaimed to all people. This light has appeared.
1) When Christ came, the angel of the Lord stood beside them and the glory of the Lord shone around (verse 9).
What happened when Christ came? In verse 9, it says, “The angel of the Lord stood beside them and the glory of the Lord shone around.” Do you know this light? If this light does not shine upon you, we can only die in all darkness and disaster. It says, “The light shone.” The Remnant must take hold of this. All believers must have this blessing. The number of people afflicted by the disease of darkness will keep increasing in this world. Something must happen – a remarkable event of light shining – for revival to come.
2) The Messiah born in a stable as prophesied (verse 12) – meaning it is a place anyone, everyone can go. God came so that all nations could see the light.
Today it says “Bethlehem.” Micah 5:2 prophesied He would be born in Bethlehem. At that time it says, “with the angel of the Lord” in verse 13. It says, “laid in a manger.” Right? This was already prophesied in Isaiah 49:7.
But that isn’t the important point. What must you firmly grasp here today? The spiritually blind Pharisees with poor discernment said, “How can that person be the Messiah? No, he isn’t.” They didn’t know the Scriptures. “How could the Messiah be born in a stable?” It was prophesied. So no matter how much you hear the Bible, if your spiritual eyes are dim, you don’t understand the Scriptures. If Jesus had been born in a royal palace, what would have happened? That would be fake. Though it may not be you, this is how many believers see it. Born in a royal palace? Then that person must be the Messiah! Isn’t that how they practice their faith? “Who do I think I am?” – haven’t you said that? If Jesus had been born into some tremendous priestly family – “That’s right! It must be like that!” God completely hid this from the eyes of humans held captive by the devil and had Him born in a stable exactly as prophesied.
Do you know what this means? A place anyone, everyone can go. How does today’s Scripture put it? Shining light on all nations, shining light on all people. This blessing must come to you as a spiritual blessing, and your eyes must be opened to it. If you see it this way, it is completely different. It’s completely different, I tell you. Did Israel become slaves in Egypt, or did God send them there? You must interpret this correctly. Right? Did Egypt oppress Israel? Did God cause them to be oppressed? He caused them to be oppressed. In order to shine light. So they wouldn’t remain in darkness, since eating well in darkness isn’t really eating well, since living well in darkness isn’t really living well – because it was a disaster, He sent them as slaves and as captives. Right? You must quickly catch on to the Bible. Those Jews who claim to have such great faith, in my view, have faith like kindergartners, kindergartners. They completely forgot the Scripture. It was clearly prophesied. You must remember this.
3) When you go out into the world, it looks like nothing at all, but God’s plan is contained within it. The real thing is found within Nobody, within Nothing.
The Remnant must always remember this. If you don’t know this, you will fall away when you go out into the world. When you go out into the world, it looks like nothing at all, but God’s plan is contained within it. Remember this. In fact, where things seem most brilliant, there is much falsehood. The real thing is found within Nobody, and within Nothing is where the real thing is found. Remnant, remember this. Even if you end up in a wasteland or fall into crisis, don’t worry. Everything is there. Why did He do it this way? Jesus said this. In Matthew 13, “Why do you speak in parables?” “I spoke in parables so that they would not understand. You were given parables to understand.” If a con artist in the world thought, “Oh, if I believe in Jesus and evangelize, I’ll be blessed,” and understood this, wouldn’t that be terrible? It has to be made so they don’t understand. Right? That’s why this occasionally becomes an issue. If a con artist thought, “I’ll become a pastor and scam people,” that would be very easy to exploit. Right? It would be so easy to exploit. God blocked that. You must open your eyes and see this properly.
I know this is hard to understand, but let me give one more example. I’m not saying success is bad. I’ve told you before. When the Roman emperor repented, all the nations under Rome repented as well. That was fake repentance. From that point, the gospel began to disappear. Kings go to church. Ministers go to church. Soldiers go to church. Business people go. Politicians go. People who need votes go. Is that where talented people should gather? That was the beginning of the downfall. Don’t worry. It is written that God came so that all nations could see the light.
2. Glory to God in the highest (verse 14) – Christ came to give the light of glory from the throne.
Second. Christ came to give you the light of glory from the throne. Why is that? It says, “Glory to God in the highest.” There is no greater blessing than this for you. God’s glory appearing is the greatest blessing there is. This light of glory shone. What blessing could be greater than this? Many people think blessings mean longevity, then health, wealth, honor, and children. That is absolutely not so. It is what a person who has received blessing must possess. What is true blessing? If a person who hasn’t received it possesses those things, that becomes a curse, a curse. “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will save all the people.”
1) He enthrones you.
Then the second point came out. “Glory to God in the highest” means He enthrones you. Right? There is no greater answer than that.
2) He enthrones our church.
God’s glory that enthrones our church.
3) He enthrones your field of work so that God’s glory would appear there.
What else? He has promised the blessing that He will enthrone the field where you work so that God’s glory will come upon it.
Remnant, remember this. You go out to shine with the true light that God gives. Remnant, don’t be deceived, pray these three prayers, I tell you. Pray the platform, the watchtower, the antenna. He is saying He will be with you with the light of heavenly glory that the world cannot give, that can only heal the world.
3. On earth, peace among those on whom His favor rests (verse 14) – peace that came upon people no one expected (shepherds)
The third and final point. What did it say? “Peace on earth to those on whom His favor rests.” What is this peace? It is peace that came upon people no one expected.
1) The astonishing glory and peace of God that came upon a person who was awake and praying
Look carefully at the Scripture. Why did it come upon the shepherds? This meaning is significant. Everyone was asleep. It came upon the shepherds. The shepherds were not asleep. God’s amazing glory and peace comes upon a person who is awake and praying.
2) The Lord’s angel delivered the news first to shepherds, who were despised and not subject to paying taxes
Also, shepherds did not pay taxes. They were not subject to taxation. In a sense, they were despised people. The Lord’s angel delivered the news first to those shepherds.
▣ Conclusion_ Begin this prayer from now on.
If you put together everything you’ve heard today, it is exactly what was said in the introduction.
1. Beginning the day – May the light of the throne, which is the light of God’s glory, come upon me.
Begin this prayer. Start this prayer from now. This was called “the light of glory.” When you begin your day, Remnant, just five minutes, even without time it’s fine. An hour would be even better – “May the light of the throne, which is God’s glory, come upon me.” It doesn’t even take any time.
2. Everywhere I think of, everywhere – May the glory of the Lord come upon it.
From that point, your prayer immediately changes. How does it change? Everywhere you think of, the glory of the Lord; everywhere you see, the glory of the Lord. Today’s worship is the site of Mizpah, the site of Dothan, the site of the Mark’s Upper Room. May that power come upon me. And when you go out from here, “I will absolutely take hold of one promise and pray for one week.” You must firmly grasp that and go out. See when the answer comes. Something is bound to happen.
3. Restore the concentrated prayer that enjoys the secret of the antenna.
I don’t know if it’s still there, but when I was young there was a place called “Mucheoksan Prayer Center” in Busan. I was surprised there – there wasn’t even a road, you had to walk up. They said they only treated people with mental illness, so I thought there would be many mentally ill patients, but when I went, there were none. When I got there, there was only one person, one. The director, one person, and that one patient. There I saw someone truly praying. If you’re running a “prayer center,” you’d think you need to have many people come, right? This person said no. I learned a great deal. I said, “Director, since there’s no road, I walked here,” and he said there was no need for people to come. “Is that so?” “I live off the mountain here, so I have no worries about how to make a living. I truly need to help someone who is sick.” That was it. That’s right. One person. He held onto that one person and truly watched over them 24 hours a day in prayer. I thought at first, “That must be hard,” but that wasn’t it – seeing the situation there and seeing God’s power appearing in that person, I thought, “Wow, this person is truly praying in faith.” That was a long time ago. He has probably passed away by now.
You must restore the concentrated prayer that enjoys the secret of this antenna. This is what you must teach the Remnant. Try holding onto this. An answer that no one in your life could understand will come. I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus that this week, all Remnant and all believers would begin to experience this power. Let us pray.
Prayer
God, we thank You. Let true peace begin in us. Let the true light of glory come upon us. Let a true meeting with Christ take place. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.