Sunday 1st Service Worship
Title/Scripture: When Will the End of the World Come? (Matthew 24:1-14)
Speaker: Rev. Kwang-Soo Ryu
Date/Location: May 29, 2022, Immanuel Church (Seoul)
Matthew 24:1-14
01 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.
02 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
03 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
04 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.
05 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.
06 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
07 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
08 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
09 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Summary
▷ This is a sermon Dr. Torrey preached at the home of a bereaved family who had lost many family members in an accident. “When you look at a situation like this, you can resent God. Or you can fear God. You must choose one of the two.”
▣ Introduction: What must we tell new believers and Remnant?
1. The three endings we have
1) The end of the individual 2) The end of the age 3) The end of the earth
2. At this point Jesus gave an answer that summarizes all of his words in a single word — hold on to the absolute.
1) The most important thing is that we must hold on to the absolute covenant. The reason Christians lose to the three groups is that while the three groups do things absolutely, Christians unconditionally work hard at things they may or may not do. We must hold on to what is absolute.
2) We must realize the absolute plan. A big problem has come? We can overcome it only when we realize the absolute plan. There are times in life when we are bewildered, and times when there is nothing we can do. At such times too we must realize the absolute plan. Conversely, when doing business or work, it is likewise only when we hold on to what God’s absolute covenant and absolute plan are that we receive an answer.
3) We must hold on to the absolute background.
▷ There is only this one thing that Jesus taught his disciples.
(1) He told them to go into the field and proclaim that the kingdom of heaven had come near (Matthew 10:7).
(2) While teaching the Lord’s Prayer, he told them not to pray for other things but to seek his kingdom and his righteousness (Matthew 6:10, 33).
(3) Even when the Pharisees criticized him, he said that if the Spirit comes and Satan is bound, the kingdom of God has come (Matthew 12:28-30).
(4) The risen Christ said that with all authority in heaven and on earth he would always be with us (Matthew 28:16-20).
(5) Even at the very end, he spent forty days explaining the matters concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).
▷ What is the absolute background? We must firmly believe this. The triune God, invisibly, promised to be with us forever. And Christ, while speaking of the blessing of the throne, told us that we would be witnesses to the ends of the earth.
3. The question and prayer we must always have — what is God’s absolute plan?
1) The disciples’ question — What will happen to this temple? What will be the sign of the end of the world? (Matthew 24:1-3)
2) Jesus’ answer
(1) The temple in Jerusalem — He prophesied that not one stone would be left on another.
(2) The signs that appear in the world — He told them to beware of being deceived. He said that many would appear here and there claiming to be the Christ, and that there would be wars and rumors of wars. Nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and famines and disasters would occur in various places. But he said this is only the beginning of disasters.
(3) The signs that appear in the church — He said that at that time believers would be handed over to tribulation, that all nations would hate them, that they would hate one another and cause one another to stumble, that at this time false prophets would arise, and that because lawlessness would grow strong, love would grow cold. But he said that whoever endures to the end will be saved.
(4) The end of the world — He said that the gospel of the kingdom would be preached to the whole world, and only then would the end come.
3) The question we must always ask — what is God’s absolute plan? Then we come to know the reason. At this point God gives an “absolute promise.” For the rest of our lives we must have this prayer. Remnant and young people must begin this prayer. We must hold on to the absolute covenant of why God called us.
▣ Main
1. What gospel must we have? (Three gospels)
▷ Everything has been finished through Christ. It has ended through Christ. So why then do I have problems? That is the beginning of blessing. It is the beginning of the blessing that tells us not to get it wrong.
1) Christ, who existed before eternity and became incarnate to save us — He put an end to all the power of Satan and to eternal curse and disaster. We must believe this firmly. We have been moved from sin and death.
2) The risen Christ — Even now, when we pray in his name, we receive an answer.
3) Christ who will stand as the returning Lord — With this covenant of Christ he will save me and save the world. Then, because he attaches to you an absolute disciple, an answer is bound to come.
2. What evangelism must we do?
1) Healing the hidden root causes within all the sick people of the world
2) Healing the sickness related to culture
3) Healing different imprints, roots, and constitutions
3. How far must we go? To the ends of the earth!
1) We must supplement theology and doctrine so that a proper evangelism movement can take place
2) We must change into a church system where the 237 nations can come, be healed, and stand as a summit
3) We must transform into an industry with enough capability to influence 70 regions. Only then can we go to every nation.
▷ We must know why the first, second, and third temples of Jerusalem were destroyed. That is when the absolute answer comes.
▣ Conclusion: Ask about God’s absolute plan. Why did you make me a member (church leader) of this church? Why must I do this work? Ask. God is certain to answer that prayer, so we come to hold on to an answer that no one else can give.
1. At this point the “absolute covenant” comes forth.
2. Because the world’s methods cannot save the world, he gives us the “absolute journey.”
3. Because the things of the earth cannot save the things of the earth, he gives us the “absolute goal.”
Transcript
There was a couple who were in a park talking together, like this. Some thugs came for no reason and killed the two of them. This is an old case. You have probably seen it on the news. What should we say to the children at a time like that? I don’t know — I wasn’t able to meet them, but I mean, what should we tell them, that’s the point. The evangelist, Dr. Torrey (Reuben Archer Torrey), went to a certain house, a house of mourning. It wasn’t just one person — several family members had passed away together in an accident. At that time the pastor preached this sermon: “When you look at a situation like this, you can resent God. Or you can fear God. You must choose one of the two.” He once preached like this.
▣ Introduction: What must we tell new believers and Remnant?
When our new family members begin their life of faith, what should we tell them? That’s the important thing.
Today marks the point where Jesus’s ministry was coming to a close, and he said something very important. When we meet Remnant, what should we tell them too? Of course, it is Christ. Since they are Christians, the question is what we should tell them within Christ. Also, there are many adults present here today.
1. The three endings we have
We have three endings.
1) The end of the individual
There is an end of the individual. Since it certainly comes, it cannot be stopped.
2) The end of the age
There is an ending for each age. We must watch it carefully.
3) The end of the earth
There is an end of the earth. Now, the question is what we should tell people.
2. At this point Jesus gave an answer that summarizes all of his words in a single word — hold on to the absolute.
1) The most important thing is that we must hold on to the absolute covenant.
At this point Jesus gave an answer that could summarize all his words in one word. What is it? “Hold on to the absolute covenant.” That’s right. There are many young adults here and also many elders — what is the most important thing? You must hold on to the absolute covenant.
The reason we Christians lose to the three groups is that the three groups take hold of what is absolute. Most Christians work hard unconditionally. They say “I believe” and just charge ahead. That’s not right. You must pray about this today. Why do we do things we may do or may not do? We must hold on to what is absolute.
2) We must realize the absolute plan.
A big problem has come? We must realize the absolute plan, or else we cannot overcome it. Isn’t that right? As we live, there are times we are bewildered and times when there is nothing we can do. On the other hand, there are also times when we simply go about doing business and work like that. In those times too it is the same. It is only when we hold on to what God’s absolute covenant and absolute plan are that we receive a proper answer.
3) We must hold on to the absolute background.
What Jesus taught his disciples was only this one thing. And so he told them of an absolute background that no one can take away.
(1) He told them to go into the field and proclaim that the kingdom of heaven had come near (Matthew 10:7).
From the very beginning. He told the disciples, “Go throughout the whole earth, go into the field, and proclaim that the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
(2) While teaching the Lord’s Prayer, he told them not to pray for other things but to seek his kingdom and his righteousness (Matthew 6:10, 33)
Even while teaching the Lord’s Prayer, he said, “Do not pray for other things; seek his kingdom and his righteousness.”
(3) Even when the Pharisees criticized him, he said that if the Spirit comes and Satan is bound, the kingdom of God has come (Matthew 12:28-30).
Even when the Pharisees criticized him, he said, “If the Spirit comes and Satan is bound, the kingdom of God has come.” He was telling them the absolute background.
(4) The risen Christ said that with all authority in heaven and on earth he would always be with us (Matthew 28:16-20).
And after rising from the dead he said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” He said, “I will always be with you.” Isn’t that right? If some beggar at the train station said “I will always be with you,” how difficult would that be for us? If someone who is a bit mentally unwell said, “I will always be with you,” that would be difficult too. But Christ, who holds all authority in heaven and on earth, said, “I will always be with you.” If that is so, we must receive that answer.
(5) Even at the very end, he spent forty days explaining the matters concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).
At the very end also he said this. “He explained the matters of the kingdom of God for forty days.” Then the meaning becomes clear. What is the absolute background? You must believe it firmly.
The triune God, invisibly, promised to be with you forever. This is the promise of Scripture. People who are like beasts cannot even understand this. Why? How can they understand the triune God? Even if they succeed, it is useless. All they can talk about every day is that — talk fit only for beasts. Why? Because they don’t know. That Christ spoke of the blessing of the throne. Isn’t that right? And he said, don’t worry. Only — as he spoke — he said we would be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Why is that?
3. The question and prayer we must always have — what is God’s absolute plan?
Today, Jesus is nearly at the end of his life, and though no one else knows it, Jesus knows. That’s what this is about today.
1) The disciples’ question — What will happen to this temple? What will be the sign of the end of the world? (Matthew 24:1-3)
The disciples asked. What will happen to this temple? — and they pointed to the Jerusalem temple as they spoke.
2) Jesus’ answer
(1) The temple in Jerusalem — He prophesied that not one stone would be left on another.
At that time Jesus said, “Not one stone will be left on another.” You see, stones stacked one on top of another become a building, don’t they? “This will not remain.” It will be destroyed, that is. It has not yet been restored. It was destroyed in AD 70, and it still has not been restored. Jesus prophesied it, you see.
(2) The signs that appear in the world
“Then what will happen at the end of the world?” they asked. “Beware of being deceived. Also, many people will appear here and there saying, ‘I am the Christ.'” Furthermore, there will be wars and rumors of wars. At the last time. “Do not be afraid. This is not yet the end.” That’s what he said. This is what Jesus said just now. “Nation will rise against nation.” It looks just like our own country. “Nation against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. This is the beginning of disasters. It is not the end but the beginning.”
(3) The signs that appear in the church
He spoke of something even more important. “At that time you who believe will be handed over to tribulation.” What is even more surprising is, “All nations will hate you.” They hate you because their spirit is different. Isn’t that right? The spirit is different. Even among people who go to church, there are some who get angry if you keep talking only about Christ. The spirit is different. Isn’t that so? Some people, even while listening to a sermon, keep holding on to something else instead of holding on to the Word. The spirit is different. “At that time they will hate one another and cause one another to fall into temptation.” “Taking advantage of this time, false prophets will arise. Because lawlessness grows strong, love will grow cold.”
(4) The end of the world
“But whoever endures to the end will be saved.” And Jesus said this. “The gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the whole world. Only then will the end come.” He made an absolute promise.
3) The question we must always ask — what is God’s absolute plan?
Now, what must you ask today? What is the important question you must always ask? What is God’s absolute plan? Then you come to know the reason. Look at today. This is the world we live in. Look at the reason. At this point God gives us an absolute promise. “After the gospel has been preached to all nations, the end will come.” Today, for the rest of your lives, you must have this prayer. Remnant must begin this prayer. Aren’t there many young people here full of hope? You must begin this prayer. It is extremely important.
What is God’s absolute plan for me? I always asked this question. It matters a great deal. It’s a very important question. It was my very first question. “God, why must I become a pastor?” There are pastors everywhere. There are already too many pastors. Just in the seminaries alone there are several hundred in Korea. They keep producing more pastors. There are pastors, tens of thousands of them, who work as substitute drivers because there is no church for them. “Why must I become a pastor? Is it a job?” That is the question I asked. I truly asked that question, though I am ignorant. But God gave the answer through my whole life. Do it today. There is no need to rush.
The second question I asked was when I entered Yeongdo and started the church plant. “God, why here?” I asked. “There’s no church building, there’s nothing — why here?” What’s even more amusing is that when a person makes a mistake, they end up making more mistakes. So I started right there in Yeongdo. Though there weren’t many members, they received grace and were very happy about it. But he still lives in Seoul now. A pastor who was much older than me, whom I had been close with for a long time — he came without any notice, together with his wife, all the way from Seoul. Since he was much older than me, the first thing he said was, “Pastor Ryu, I received an answer to prayer.” I said, “What is it?” I asked like that. He said he was retiring from ministry because of his age. He said he had built a church building in Seoul. He said he had a house too. He said he had everything. He said that I wasn’t meant to be stuck in Yeongdo. He said, let’s go. He said the church building was already built and there was a parsonage too. He said, let’s go. In that instant I thought, “You could have come sooner — why come now, when…?” I didn’t want to go through hardship either. Isn’t that right?
But I had already, upon entering Yeongdo, realized God’s absolute plan. Otherwise I would have wavered. “I will do it just as it is written in Scripture. I will not learn from big churches.” I had already seen it all. “I will preach exactly according to God’s Word. Wherever God works, I will follow there. I will preach the gospel only. I will preach only with no other desires.” I had already discovered that. I said to that senior pastor, “Pastor, I too received an answer to prayer, and I am staying here.” I said, “I will never leave this small church plant to go to you.” I said, “But thank you for remembering me after all this time.” That’s what I said. If people make even one wrong step, they can be shaken.
If I had gone, what would have happened, really. I hadn’t even seen the church, didn’t know what it looked like. No, meeting people like you, that blessing of world evangelization — if you make a mistake, you can lose it. Isn’t that right? Someone once said to me, “In that valley out in Gwangju, would church members even come to a church there?” I said, “Our family members climb even to a cliff.” I said that. That’s a remark made out of ignorance. Our Immanuel family members climb even to a cliff. So we must hold on to the absolute covenant of why God called us. Why do things we may or may not do?
▣ Main
Now, there is no time.
1. What gospel must we have? (Three gospels)
The first is this. What gospel must we have? That’s right. What gospel must I have, that is the question. There are three gospels.
1) Christ, who existed before eternity and became incarnate to save us
Everything has ended through Christ. There are still many people who are lost. It has ended through Christ. So why do I have problems then? That is the beginning of blessing. It is the beginning of blessing telling us not to get it wrong. What gospel is it? Christ has put an end to all the power of Satan. The eternal curse and disaster that you were to receive have been ended. Isn’t that right? You must believe this firmly. “You have been moved from sin and death,” it says. Who is this Christ? He is the Christ who existed before eternity. He is the Christ who became incarnate, taking on human form to save us.
2) The risen Christ
Even now, when we pray in his name, darkness is broken — that is the risen Christ.
3) Christ who will stand as the returning Lord
He is the Christ who will stand as the returning Lord. Though it doesn’t quite make sense to say he will come as the returning Lord and also stand as the returning Lord — it has already ended, this is. Hold firmly onto this covenant of Christ. This is the gospel I am speaking of. Take this and save me, and save the people of the world. If it is like this, because he attaches to you an absolute disciple, an answer is bound to come. Today, start over sincerely from your heart.
2. What evangelism must we do?
This is the second point. What must we evangelize about? Now, you have taken hold of what gospel, right? Then what evangelism must we do?
1) Healing the hidden root causes within all the sick people of the world
The whole world is sick. Do the kind of evangelism that heals their hidden root causes. Even last week there was trouble in America. They had a shooting, causing chaos. We must heal the root cause. No politician can solve it. Isn’t that right? The more a life apart from God gains, the more problems come. There is no one they can tell. The higher I climb, the harder it gets. Isn’t it because of this that those famous singers took their own lives? How hard must it have been that an actor with enormous wealth takes his own life? And there are pop stars, idols, who die from drug addiction, so much so that it’s hard to tell whether it was suicide. Nearly all of them. People like Elvis Presley, people like Michael Jackson — these are not ordinary people. All these people, through drugs. Because they were suffering. It’s because we haven’t done proper evangelism. American churches must do proper evangelism. While those people are dying because of spiritual problems, it means that no one has ever once told them.
2) Healing the sickness related to culture
Many people of different ethnicities will come to our country now. They have sickness related to culture. Isn’t that right? We must heal it. We must understand. Do you know how much hardship those North Korean people, those Chinese people, go through as they cross over? We must heal them. That is evangelism.
3) Healing different imprints, roots, and constitutions
Even more important — they have different imprints, roots, and constitutions. A person who came from North Korea told me many things. One man came through Pastor Park Yong-bae and said this: “I defected from the North, but I must go back in again. Why? Now that I know this gospel, I must tell them this gospel.” A person who came from North Korea said something. Do you know what one person said? “I came to live in South Korea, but I can’t make it.” I asked, “Why?” and he said he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. In North Korea you do as you’re told, but here you’re told to figure it out on your own, and he didn’t know what to do. That’s how his constitution had become. We must heal that.
I told you before — one person made a serious confession to me. He said, “I don’t have time, so every week I come to Yewon Church to hear your key message.” He said that. “So I’m thinking of attending Yewon Church now.” But he said another church came and bought him a desk, bought him a chair, and told him to come to their church. They give him so much, and though he’s grateful, when he went to worship there he found the preaching better at Yewon Church, where he comes. He said he wants to hear this. He said that just last Sunday that other church even bought him a refrigerator. Ah, is that so. I answered like this. “Receive what they give you with gratitude, but decide for yourself about worship and church.” His face looked very troubled. Our church must never do such a thing. Isn’t that right? That person who crossed over through death from North Korea carries many wounds. We must heal that. What our church is preparing now is not just something ordinary — going forward, spiritual problems will become serious. We must do proper evangelism.
3. How far must we go? To the ends of the earth!
How far must we go? This is the third point. How far must we go? I told you to go to the very ends of the earth.
1) We must supplement theology and doctrine so that a proper evangelism movement can take place
We must newly supplement theology and doctrine. We must supplement it so that a proper evangelism movement can happen.
2) We must change into a church system where the 237 nations can come, be healed, and stand as a summit
How far must we evangelize? We must change the church system. We must truly change into a system where the 237 nations can come, be healed, and be given what is right for them.
3) We must transform into an industry with enough capability to influence 70 regions. Only then can we go to every nation.
You must change into something capable enough to influence 70 regions. Isn’t it absolute for your industry to see a hundredfold work? This work must happen so that it becomes so. Only then can we go to every nation. God destroyed the first, second, and third temples of Jerusalem. You must know why he destroyed them. It is from that point that the absolute answer comes.
▣ Conclusion: Ask about God’s absolute plan.
Now ask. “God, why did you make me a member of this church, a church leader?” You must ask about the absolute plan. “Why must I do this work?” You must ask. God is certain to answer that prayer. Think about it. “Give it or not, it’s up to you.” Why would he answer that kind of prayer? It means you have realized God’s absolute plan. You come to hold on to an answer that no one else can give. Seeing that, we say, “I have realized the absolute plan.” You don’t need to believe what people say. People are objects to help, not objects to believe in.
1. At this point the “absolute covenant” comes forth.
From this point on, what comes forth? The absolute covenant comes forth.
2. Because the world’s methods cannot save the world, he gives us the “absolute journey.”
The world’s methods cannot save the world. That’s why God gave us the absolute journey.
3. Because the things of the earth cannot save the things of the earth, he gives us the “absolute goal.”
The things of the earth cannot save the things of the earth. That’s why he gave us the absolute goal.
I have no testimony to give you. Because my level is too low, I have nothing to testify about. But I do have something I can stand as a witness to you about, through God’s Word. It turns out that God let me experience this so that I could preach the gospel for the sake of such people. How could our childhood have been so difficult? This was training so that God could carry out world evangelization. While everyone else had things, I had no background. I kept asking, “Why is this so?” and that became the secret to realizing what is God’s absolute. I truly have nothing to envy now. Why? Because I have you, and if world evangelization happens, what else is needed? Nothing. When I look at the churches that evangelize, when I look at you, when I look at our Immanuel churches, is there any greater thanks than this? If world evangelization happens, that’s enough. Nothing more is needed.
You must pass this covenant on to the next generation and to the whole world. Once this prayer begins today, you will surely be victorious. I hope that all the disciples among our family of faith around the world will hold on to this covenant. I bless you in the name of Jesus to become key figures of the absolute covenant. Let us pray.
Prayer
We thank you, God. We believe today in God’s absolute sovereignty. Let us see God’s absolute plan in our lives. Grant us the absolute covenant every day. Let us walk the absolute journey that can save the world. Grant us the absolute goal that changes and saves the things of the earth. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.