Sunday 1st Service
Title / Scripture: When Christ Becomes the Master (John 2:1-11)
Speaker: Pastor Kwang-soo Ryu
Date / Location: September 11, 2022, Immanuel Church (Busan)
Summary
▣ Introduction – The Sign of the Wedding Feast at Cana
1. The Timetable and Situation of That Time
1) Israel on the verge of destruction
2) A timetable in which ten Roman emperors persecuted the church for 250 years
3) A situation in which a timetable awaited in which Israel’s descendants would completely collapse
4) A situation in which, when Christ was sent at this time, they drove Christ into heresy
2. The Gospel of John, Written by Receiving Revelation from God at This Time
1) Jesus’ first ministry was the miracle of the wedding feast in which He made wine from water
2) The work of God does not happen when Jesus becomes a guest and an honored guest in that house.
3) The miracle happened when Jesus took the role of Master in that house.
▷ When Satan becomes the master, accidents and mental illness fill the place (America).
3. John 2:11 Seeing Jesus’ first sign performed at Cana and His glory revealed, “His disciples believed in Him” – this is Jesus’ goal
▷ Israel’s leaders had a wrong faith. Who on earth is Jesus Christ? You just need to believe.
1) Christ who came as royalty, as King (Matthew)
2) Christ who came as a servant to atone for our sins (Mark)
3) Christ who came in a human body as the Son of God (Luke)
4) Jesus Christ who is God (John)
▷ As proof, He existed before the foundation of the world. In the Old Testament age, the work of God happened when people prayed in that name. They did the Exodus on the day the blood of the lamb was applied. He is the true King, the true prophet, the true priest. He is the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth. The people who met this Jesus had the root of their illnesses healed.
▣ Main – What kind of Master is Christ?
1. The Master who overcame darkness and removed disaster
1) Israel’s three wedding ceremonies – explaining Jesus’ coming and heaven
(1) The betrothal ceremony
(2) The wedding at the bridegroom’s house
(3) The wedding at the bride’s house – The time the bridegroom would come to the bride’s house was not set. But he mostly came late at night. That is why they waited holding lamps.
2) For wine to run out at such a feast house is a great disaster – A great disaster is waiting for Israel, which should be happy like a feast house
3) The reason is that they wrongly knew Christ – While nailing Jesus to the cross, they said to put His blood on their descendants, and as a result Israel was destroyed and its descendants suffered the disaster of being scattered to 237 nations
4) The prayer we must pray – Let Christ be the Master in our age, in our family line, in our country, and to me.
2. The Master who shows the power of creation
1) John 1:1-14 He is the same as God, yet Jesus, who came in a human body, gave the command today
2) Mary, who knew who Jesus was, made a request to Jesus. As a result of the servants doing as Jesus told them, the miracle of water turning into wine happened
3) In the moment the Lord of creation becomes our Master, He makes us do what is necessary that we could not do. Even if we pray for just a moment, our limits are broken.
3. The Master of absolute answer – The disciples must believe the sign of the wedding feast at Cana.
1) God is bound to give an answer to the one who knows absolute answer.
2) For this we must see God’s absolute plan.
(1) Then we see the absolute covenant
(2) We go on the absolute journey
(3) And we reach the absolute goal. He becomes the Master of this answer.
3) John 2:5 Do whatever He tells you – absolute obedience
▷ You must find God’s absolute plan for the rest of your life, and absolute obedience is needed. That is doing the best at life of faith.
▣ Conclusion_ If we do 24, 25 with Christ as Master, the future will surely be seen and the answer will come
1. Every day make a work of the 237 Healing Summit, a work in which Christ is the Master. Make it in prayer, in the Word, and in reality.
2. Israel has kept piling up curses until now. It means that you should keep piling up God’s blessing and power.
▷ When the work concerning the 237 Nations Healing Summit is completed, it will help many people.
3. The conclusion that comes out when you make a work of the 237 Healing Summit every day, even a small one – The conclusion comes out that I cannot actually make 237 every day, and I cannot do healing every day. But as you do it every day, you come to realize, ‘So this is prayer, so this is the Word,’ and the answer comes.
▷ Why must a temple be built here? I kept asking this question. In prayer God gave me the answer that God wants a church with three courtyards.
4. The day Christ becomes the Master of the 237 Healing Summit in my work, from that day the real answer comes.
▷ The church is the place that makes the saints serve Christ as Master so that they are never destroyed. On the day Christ becomes the Master, the darkness is bound to collapse. Satan is bound to kneel. I only prayed that Christ would become my Master, and the power of creation appears. You must experience it. The work of God happened when Jesus only spoke the Word. So no further answer is needed. God will evangelize the world through you. How? Do not be a fake believer, but pray, “Christ, become the Master of me and of our church.”
Transcript
Our country continued in the Yi Joseon era without the gospel in the old days. So naturally it became a vassal state of Japan. While it was a vassal state, two ideologies, the communist ideology and the democratic ideology, divided our people. In communism, naturally countries such as China and the Soviet Union were aligned, and in democracy countries such as America and Britain were aligned. So war broke out in our country. The communists came down on a Sunday dawn with Soviet tanks. So our country became, well, miserable. So at that time UN troops were dispatched from various countries of the world and helped our country. Even now, on the road to Yongho-dong in Busan, those people came, and the young adults died for the first time. Their graves are there.
▣ Introduction – The Sign of the Wedding Feast at Cana
1. The Timetable and Situation of That Time
The reason I am telling this story is that you probably think you know the main text well. The wedding feast at Cana, Jesus made wine from water, well, that is the story, but actually that is not the story.
1) Israel on the verge of destruction
At this time Israel is on the verge of destruction. Jesus knows it, that.
2) A timetable in which ten Roman emperors persecuted the church for 250 years
And it was a timetable in which ten Roman emperors persecuted the church for 250 years.
3) A situation in which a timetable awaited in which Israel’s descendants would completely collapse
Because Israel was a vassal state of Rome, it would of course perish, but a timetable in which the descendants would completely collapse was waiting like that.
4) A situation in which, when Christ was sent at this time, they drove Christ into heresy
At this time God sent the promised Christ. Then they drove this Christ into heresy.
2. The Gospel of John, Written by Receiving Revelation from God at This Time
The Gospel of John is a letter written by receiving revelation from God at this time. It is a great message. This John was a man who, even when he was exiled on the island of Patmos at the end, received the tremendous message called Revelation.
1) Jesus’ first ministry was the miracle of the wedding feast in which He made wine from water
There, today, Jesus’ first ministry appeared, and it is the event of making wine from water, the wine having run out. Yes, to give the conclusion first in a word, Jesus was invited to that feast house. But there the wine ran out. It was a big problem, wasn’t it?
2) The work of God does not happen when Jesus becomes a guest and an honored guest in that house.
But the work of God does not happen when Jesus is at that house as a guest. It is true that Jesus is seated as an honored guest, but as an honored guest the work of God does not happen.
3) The miracle happened when Jesus took the role of Master in that house.
Jesus took the role of Master in that house. Then the miracle happened. That is what He is trying to show now. In today’s main text, two things are needed for the nation of Israel now. A Savior, a Lord, a Master who will pull them out of darkness is needed. It is serious trouble. In a way it is just like now. There are many leaders now too, but if the master does not change, there will be serious trouble. If it goes wrong, in America there will be gun incidents every day. And the hospitals will be filled with mentally ill people to the point that they cannot admit them. Why? Because Satan is the master. It must be changed.
3. John 2:11 Seeing Jesus’ first sign performed at Cana and His glory revealed, “His disciples believed in Him” – this is Jesus’ goal
But an important word came out today. In verse 11 an important word appears. What does it say? In chapter 2, verse 11, “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.” Who believed? “And his disciples believed in him.” This is the key. The disciples believed, this. Jesus’ goal is here. Israel’s leaders die because they have a wrong faith. You just need to believe. What am I talking about? “Who on earth is Jesus Christ?” That is it. The disciples saw this. This is an extremely important word.
1) Christ who came as royalty, the King (Matthew)
‘Jesus, Christ, came as royalty and is our King.’ That is what the Gospel of Matthew says.
2) Christ who came as a servant to atone for our sins (Mark)
‘Jesus came as a servant through the atonement of the cross and bore many sins.’ That is the Gospel of Mark.
3) Christ who came in a human body as the Son of God (Luke)
‘Jesus Christ is the Son of God but came to this earth in a human body.’ That is what the Gospel of Luke emphasizes.
4) Jesus Christ who is God (John)
The conclusion was recorded after that. The conclusion is the Gospel of John, and what does the Gospel of John say? ‘Jesus is God Himself. The proof: He existed before the foundation of the world. In the Old Testament age the work of God happened when people prayed in that name. In the Old Testament age, before He even came, they did the Exodus on the day the blood of the lamb was applied. He is the true King, the true prophet, the true priest. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth.’ The people who met Jesus even had the root of their illnesses healed. Right?
Now then, the question is what kind of Master Christ is today. Today you must hold on to this and receive an answer, even though it is a short worship time. This land is a land where I received an answer in 5 minutes. Up there is that reserve forces training ground, and as I was coming down after reserve forces training, I saw this factory. Then I thought, ‘It would be really good to have a church here,’ and I prayed. After a while, I found that this had become our church. At that time Elder Jong-rin Kim and others worked very hard, and so this was accomplished. But now the permit has come out. We just need to build it. We just need to give a lot of offerings. And it is not just that; there is an answer that comes when our short prayer and covenant in worship are accurate.
▣ Main – What kind of Master is Christ?
What we have today is what kind of Master He is.
1. The Master who overcame darkness and removed disaster
He is the Master who overcame darkness. Satan fears only Christ. This Christ has become the Master, I mean, He is the Master who removes disaster, that is what I mean.
1) Israel’s three wedding ceremonies – explaining Jesus’ coming and heaven
Everyone, how important did Israel consider the wedding ceremony? They compared Jesus’ coming to a wedding ceremony. They say Jesus is the bridegroom and we are the bride, it came out like this. In fact, in Israel there are many wonderful things in the wedding ceremony that explain heaven.
(1) The betrothal ceremony
So they hold the ceremony three times. They hold the ceremony three times for a wedding. One is the betrothal ceremony, in which the families gather and make a promise, which in our language is an engagement ceremony. They hold the betrothal ceremony.
(2) The wedding at the bridegroom’s house
Now second, they hold a wedding again at the bridegroom’s house. They hold a big feast.
(3) The wedding at the bride’s house
Third, after doing that, they hold it again at the bride’s house. When they do it at the bride’s house, the time is not set. The time the bridegroom comes is the time of the ceremony. So when does the bridegroom mostly come? He comes late at night. That is why they said they waited holding lamps, that is what that means.
2) For wine to run out at such a feast house is a great disaster.
Now, here the wine, which is not something made on the spot, ran out. In Israel, when a man gets married, they give him one year of leave. If he was at the time of enlisting in the army, they exempt him from military enlistment. That is how important they considered it. So when they hold this feast, it is not like us, setting a time and doing it like that; the feast just goes on. The whole village is seated, and the wine has run out. That is a great disaster for an Israelite. But when Jesus looks at it, this is not the problem. A great disaster is waiting for Israel, which should be happy like a feast house.
3) The reason is that they wrongly knew Christ.
The Israelites knew wrongly. When they said ‘Messiah,’ they thought he was one who smashes and conquers all other nations. That is the Israelites’ thought. Isn’t that Messiah exactly Christ? They think ‘Christ has not come yet.’ They were horribly destroyed, weren’t they? Christ came, and they said Christ had not come. While nailing Jesus to the cross, what did they say? They said, “If we are wrong, return the price of blood to our descendants.” How confident they were. What happened after that was the destruction of Israel and all the descendants being scattered to 23 nations of the world. It is terrifying. Even now the Israelites do not know what this means. So for us Remnant, the evangelization of Israel is the most important. If we do not do that, there will be serious trouble. That country obtained many things, didn’t it? Because of that they missed the gospel altogether. Actually they did not even obtain anything. God blessed Israel because the evangelization of the world must be done. Right?
Suppose I told our elder to do an important task and gave him hundreds of trillions for it, and he received it. It would not do for him to walk around putting on airs with it, would it? Israel is like that. In a way it is a very ignorant country, that too. They still have not realized. I certainly cannot prophesy, given my position, but my prediction is that a world problem will come again because of Israel. It is the most important moment in world evangelization. God, at the moment when, through Christ, the Master changes, the darkness collapses.
4) The prayer we must pray
Today you must be sure to pray this prayer. Let Christ be the Master of our age, of our family line, of our country, of me. It is not “I believe,” I am telling you, it is Master, Master. He must become the Master. Someone who truly knows prayer cannot help but have Christ become the Master. If you truly know prayer, there is no need to consult fortune-tellers. Why? Because the answer comes out. Right? If you truly know prayer, there is no need to ask anyone, since you can see. Right? If you truly know prayer, you know that God is with you. That is what I mean by that Master. So the darkness completely collapses.
2. The Master who shows the power of creation
Second, what kind of Master is He? Today you must hold on to this covenant. We have limits. He is the Master who shows the power of creation, that is what I mean. Everyone, you who are sick, pray earnestly. Only when you receive Christ as Master is He the Christ who shows the power of creation, that is what I mean. In chapter 1 it says He is the same as God, doesn’t it? Right? “He is God Himself. He came in a human body,” it says. Today this One gave the command.
1) John 1:1-14 He is the same as God, yet Jesus, who came in a human body, gave the command today
2) Mary, who knew who Jesus was, made a request to Jesus. As a result of the servants doing as Jesus told them, the miracle of water turning into wine happened
But Mary knew who Jesus was, right? Right? She knew. She herself knew that although she had certainly not been with a man, she had conceived by the Holy Spirit. So she came to Jesus and made a request. “Now the wine has run out, so please do something, how about it.” She spoke to the servants, didn’t she? Do as He tells you. They filled those six stone jars with water, and it is the story that the water turned into wine. This is not really a story about wine, actually.
3) In the moment the Lord of creation becomes our Master, He makes us do what is necessary that we could not do. Even if we pray for just a moment, our limits are broken.
In the moment the Lord of creation becomes our Master, He makes us do what we cannot do, what is absolutely necessary. You must hold this firmly as a covenant. Everyone, believe, and even as you pray briefly today, our limits must be broken. Right? There is no need to be locked in the past.
There are many elders here now, but I think differently. From now on you will not die easily. You can live to 100 now. Right? I was really surprised when I saw Pastor Ji-on Park. They prepared his funeral several times, saying he was going to die. They even appointed a funeral committee chairman, Pastor Eon-su Kim. He did not die. These days, if you go to a gathering, in the very front row of the worship he sits and types on the computer. He does better than a young person. He is typing away. When I greeted him up close and looked, even his hair was black. It had turned black. So they do not die, I am telling you. Get ready, that is what I mean. You must receive answers to prayer, receive new grace, and receive new strength. If you do not understand this, our country will have a national problem. They retire perfectly healthy people at age 65. Even though they do not die at 80, they treat them like old men. Don’t they say that these days? Some people who reach 65 do not go to the senior center. Didn’t some doctor say it? He told them to go to the senior center, play janggi with the elders and so on, but they say it is impossible because the older brothers make them run errands. That is how it is. So you truly must receive new strength.
Now the people of Israel keep wrongly knowing God and wrongly knowing Christ. Tremendous disaster has come upon the descendants. You must repent of this. Tremendous disaster comes upon the descendants. Do not be deceived, and if you hold the covenant correctly, a tremendous work of God begins for your descendants. This was the early church. You must hold this covenant.
3. The Master of absolute answer – The disciples must believe the sign of the wedding feast at Cana.
But this sign of Jesus that appeared at the wedding feast at Cana today is not just a sign. What is it? Others are important too, but these disciples must believe. The disciples must open their eyes, that is what I mean. What am I saying?
1) God is bound to give an answer to the one who knows absolute answer.
God is bound to give an answer to the one who knows absolute answer. You must remember this.
2) For this we must see God’s absolute plan.
Everyone, if you have seen God’s absolute plan, then it is certain, isn’t it? You must see that. Because Jesus came to save Israel and the world, showing the proof of that is the absolute plan, that is what I mean.
(1) Then we see the absolute covenant
Then the absolute covenant is bound to be seen, isn’t it?
(2) We go on the absolute journey
When the absolute covenant is seen, we are bound to go on the absolute journey.
(3) And we reach the absolute goal. He becomes the Master of this answer.
Then we are bound to reach God’s absolute goal, aren’t we? So, He is the Master of this answer.
3) John 2:5 Do whatever He tells you – absolute obedience
So in verse 5 she said this to the servants, His mother did. “Do whatever He tells you.” That is what she told them. It was absolute obedience. If it is God’s plan. You must find God’s absolute plan for the rest of your life, and absolute obedience is needed. That is doing the best at life of faith.
So I did not just start this construction; while praying continually after starting the construction, I received many answers. God will surely change my life and yours. He will surely make you know who Christ is.
▣ Conclusion_ If we do 24, 25 with Christ as Master, the future will surely be seen and the answer will come
Well, yesterday was Chuseok, so it is also Chuseok, so to wrap up with a little bit of a Chuseok message, they say that even among Christians many people go to fortune-tellers. They say many. They say even pastors, so much so that even pastors go. They say there are even pastors who come to fortune-tellers. I have not confirmed it, but it is what Jin-song Sim said. They say even pastors come to fortune-tellers. Why is that?
If we do 24, 25 with Christ as Master, the future is surely bound to be seen. It is bound to be seen. The answer is bound to come. That is receiving Him as Master.
1. Every day make a work of the 237 Healing Summit, a work in which Christ is the Master. Make it in prayer, in the Word, and in reality.
So start from now, every day. I am making this work of 237, healing, summit, this work in which Christ is the Master, every day. Do it from now. I make it in prayer, I make it in the Word, and I make it in reality.
I am making it with the conviction that when the work concerning the 237 Nations Healing Summit is completed, it will surely help many people. I am making it every day. You do it too. Make it every day so that your work becomes 237.
2. Israel has kept piling up curses until now. It means that you should keep piling up God’s blessing and power.
The reason I make this word the conclusion is that Israel has kept piling up curses until now. Do not try to receive an answer right away, but keep piling up God’s blessing and God’s power, that is what I mean. There is no need for a phrase like “Why do I have no answer?” Keep piling up. That is what matters. The early church kept piling up even when persecuted for 250 years.
Now, every day, do not try to do your work in one go, but try practicing every day so that it matches 237. Try it. See what happens one day. If you do, the multi-ethnic people sitting here will look like treasure to you. Because you do not do that, they just look ordinary. If I were someone who does business, if I were a lay person like you, I would keep matching those people by rotating through them. This is making 237.
3. The conclusion that comes out when you make a work of the 237 Healing Summit every day, even a small one
I am telling you to make the 237 Healing Summit every day. Even the smallest thing; do not try to do a big thing, just make one thing at a time. That is the truer answer. The Jews have kept piling up wrong things, I am telling you. If today you take this covenant and from now on go on making it into the 237 Healing Summit, then regardless of your age, God will work as with a young person, and our Remnant will have a greater experience than the established generation, changing the world. This is the covenant. I am telling you to practice it every day. Make the work every day.
Now, do you know what conclusion comes out when you make it every day? Since you try to make it every day, there is actually none, that is what I mean, right? I cannot keep making 237 every day, can I? I cannot do healing every day. But as you do it every day, what comes out is, ‘Ah, so this is prayer.’ There is no work better than prayer, is there? ‘Wow, so this is the Word.’ This Word is realized and the answer comes, that is what I mean.
I prayed continually for several years. “Why must a temple be built here? Why must a temple be built? Can’t we just build one adequately? Just that. The church members are having a hard time, so can’t we just build one adequately, why must we build the church properly?” I kept asking this question. Then in prayer, God gave me the answer. “A church without three courtyards is a church I remove.” He removed them, didn’t He? God wants a church with three courtyards. It will come out in the 2nd service today. What courtyards? You know, don’t you? A tremendous problem that broke out today comes out in the 2nd service. Jesus lashed out with a whip there, didn’t He? That is Herod’s Temple. They did business in those three courtyards. That is why Jesus lashed out. What that whip is, let us see in the 2nd service today, at the dedication service. And today you must really hold this covenant. On the day Christ becomes the Master of this age, all darkness collapses.
4. The day Christ becomes the Master of the 237 Healing Summit in my work, from that day the real answer comes.
The day Christ becomes the Master of 237, healing, summit in your work, from that day the real answer comes. Make this every day. You must hold this covenant. Then even just by attending worship, all the answers must come out. We must quickly change the Master of the world church and revive it. It is serious.
Do you know what pastors’ misconception is? Pastors’ misconception is thinking, ‘Ah, I must do ministry and make a big work here.’ That is a misconception. That is why those churches have all failed. Starting from Robert Schuller’s church in America, and even in Korea, some seem to be doing a little well, but they have all failed. The church is the place that makes the saints serve Christ as Master so that they are never destroyed. This is the church. That is the pastor’s ministry. If a pastor does something else, there will be serious trouble. That is why they fail.
Today you must hold this covenant and pray. On the day Christ becomes the Master, the darkness that intellectuals do not know at all is bound to collapse. Right? There is nothing more important than that. If Christ becomes the Master of our church and of you, Satan is bound to kneel, that is what I mean.
I only prayed that Christ would become my Master, and if you only do that, the power of creation appears. You must experience it. The work of God happens even when Jesus only spoke the Word, even when you only look at the Word. So no further answer is needed. God will evangelize the world through me and you. I told you 30 years ago. God will evangelize the world from here. You must hold on firmly today. God says that He will evangelize the world through you. How? Do not be a fake believer, but pray, “Christ, become my Master.” All fake churches will close their doors. “Christ, become the Master of our church.” That is it. This is an extremely important main text. Those two things, the wedding comes out in John chapter 2, and the church cleansing comes out in the 2nd service. Though the time today is short, I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus that it will be a time of blessing in which you receive a great answer. Let us pray.
Prayer
God, let today be a time of covenant. Let the power of creation appear, as when water became wine at the wedding feast at Cana. Let there be a work of God in which Christ, who holds on to the Word of Christ, becomes the Master. Let all my darkness, curses, and disasters collapse. Let all the authority of Satan and curses be bound. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.