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Sunday 1st Service Worship
Title/Scripture: The First and the Last (Matthew 20:1-16)
Speaker: Pastor Ryu Kwang-soo
Date/Location: April 24, 2022, Immanuel Church (Busan)

Matthew 20:1-16

01 For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard

02 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard

03 About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing

04 He told them, You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right, so they went

05 He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing

06 About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?

07 Because no one has hired us, they answered. He said to them, You also go and work in my vineyard

08 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first

09 The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius

10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each of them also received a denarius

11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner

12 These who were hired last worked only one hour, they said, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day

13 But he answered one of them, Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?

14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you

15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?

16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last

Summary

A woman who was told separately by the most famous fortune-tellers in Jeolla-do and Busan that she would die received Christ and confirmed that her destiny was changed, after hearing that her husband would die if she did not divorce him, and trembling in fear.

▣ Introduction _ The moment one knows Christ, one’s destiny is reversed (John 1:12, John 1:11). Anyone who has confirmed this fact cannot help but evangelize.

1. Our country was bound in a destiny of darkness for about 500 years, attacked by great powers, in incompetence, and trapped in idols. Since the light of the gospel entered our country, our destiny has been reversed to the point that we now do world missions.

2. As the gospel entered a household steeped in idolatry, the destiny of that household was reversed.

3. The moment I personally, in a life that had been hard to live, came to know the gospel, God changed my life.

▣ Main_ What is important to take away from the text

1. A meeting with Jesus Christ reverses a terrifying past destiny.

1) I discovered the fact that Satan was destroying us through 12 strategies, as I watched our struggling parents, nations receiving foreign aid, and churches distributing relief goods.

2) At this point, the covenant of why one is a Christian came clearly.

3) My destiny was reversed from this point on.

(1) Our status was changed.

(2) He gave us the authority to become children of God.

(3) We come to use that authority, and that is prayer – once I knew prayer, prayer became a joy and I was able to restore many things. And I began to understand what the blessing of the throne is, and what transcending time and space is.

2. The moment one truly meets Christ, today’s destiny is overturned.

▷ Even after being saved, people do not come out of the destiny made by unbelievers and Satan. Being saved yet remaining within it is double suffering. Seeing this urgently, I came to hold on to the conviction that we must live only by the gospel and only for evangelism. Just as the Jews could not escape their destiny (Matthew 20:2, 8), churchgoing people cannot escape from it either. We must open our eyes to this. We were in the most urgent and terrifying past destiny of Satan, and we came out of it. If so, we must also come out of today’s destiny of darkness.

▷ In today’s text there is a parable in which the vineyard owner gives the same one denarius to the workers he called at the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth hour, and the eleventh hour. This means that whether one has believed for 30 years or for one year, if one believes in Jesus, one becomes a child of God who is saved equally.

1) Therefore, when we as children of God enjoy the blessing of the throne, today’s destiny is reversed. That is why Jesus spoke precisely and only about the throne.

(1) Matthew 5:3 Even when teaching for the very first time, He said the kingdom of heaven is yours.

(2) Matthew 6:10 Even when teaching the Lord’s Prayer, He said to pray for God’s kingdom to come.

(3) Matthew 6:33 He said that even without praying for other things, since God knows all, seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

(4) Matthew 12:28-30 He said that when the Holy Spirit comes and Satan is bound, the kingdom of God has come.

(5) Matthew 28:16-20 After His resurrection, He promised to be with us, having all authority in heaven and on earth.

(6) Mark 16:15-20 It is written that the Lord, seated on the throne, worked.

(7) Acts 1:3 At Mt Olive at the very end, He explained the work of the kingdom of God for 40 days.

2) Find the throne and the 40 days.

(1) In the upper room, they devoted themselves only to prayer for 10 days (Acts 1:14).

(2) On the Lord’s Day they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the breaking of bread and fellowship, and only to prayer (Acts 2:42)

(3) Daily in the temple and in homes (Acts 2:46)

3) At this point Paul’s words became understandable – Ephesians 6:18 be alert at all times in the Spirit (24). 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 always rejoice, do not cease, and pray.

3. He said that the first will be last, and the last will be first. – He spoke of changing the future destiny.

1) That the first will become last means that although we who believed first appear to be small, our later generations will accomplish a work greater than ours. This means that this power will be passed on to later generations, to the gentiles, and to the world.

2) That the last will become first means that the history that will unfold after you will completely change the future destiny.

3) What is important is that a future age of disaster will come upon our country and the whole world. As the fourth industrial age comes, many will be covered by mental illness and great darkness and disaster. We must make sure preparation to change this.

▷ Therefore, we must hold as a covenant the promises Jesus gave us, knowing the future in full. You will be witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:16-20). I will be with you by the power of the throne (Mark 16:20). We must take hold of these promises as a covenant.

▷ We are to change our household’s and our country’s and my own past destiny through Christ. There may be many problems before us. At this time, do not remain in the destiny where Satan is playing tricks, but change it. What is even more important is the future to come. If we only take hold of this covenant, God will act.

▣ Conclusion_ Take hold of the covenant to change your past destiny, today’s destiny, and future destiny. From that point on, God will work.

▷ I told a missionary couple, If I were the missionary I would not accept help. Here I make them receive an answer. I change these people into those who overturn destiny by healing them. They will do world missions, I said.

▷ In 1987, when I planted the church, the first thing I did was this. The presbytery had assessed the smallest possible dues for us because we were a church plant, and I said I would pay more to the presbytery. Why? Because all of our past destiny must be reversed. Today must be changed.

Christian Evangelism Association www.weea.kr 〈02〉 ▷ 237 Data Missions_ National Bank 856701-04-232485 Christian Evangelism Association (Data Mission Office)

▷ During my time as an associate pastor, I saw many believers spending their time on trivial things, being hurt, and dying of illness, and within that I sought out those with a calling and evangelized them. Just by doing that, God worked. Now something important is happening for world evangelization – the Remnant has risen. If so, then we are preparing to change our future destiny. Take hold of the covenant. From that point on, God will work.

Transcript

In 1988, the Olympics were held in our country. That’s why the ’88 Olympics is talked about so much. I came to Yeongdo in 1987. The Olympics were held the following year. We were worshiping in a small church building, and it was a Wednesday. Back in the early days, there was a member, Deaconess Kim Pyeong-ji, who has since passed away. She brought a young woman with her. She was running a shop just below my place. She had gone to a relative’s wedding, and the mother said something strange there. She was the most famous fortune-teller in Jeolla-do, and she had gone to have her fortune told. She said that her daughter would die this year. Since the mother believed in the fortune-teller, wouldn’t she be worried? So she told her daughter. When the daughter heard it, since she didn’t believe in God, she felt bad hearing it. She came to Busan and told her husband about it. But the husband said, Why would you go get your fortune told in Jeolla-do, get it done here in Busan. So they went to the most famous fortune-teller in Busan. But strangely, the same answer came out. Now, how could this be? How could even a fortune-teller give the exact same answer? The woman became strange as a person. The deaconess brought her to the Wednesday service. She told me what had happened, and I told her clearly. To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Just before that, in John chapter 1 verse 11, it says, Jesus came as the light. That day, she came to know Jesus Christ and received Him through prayer. She shook all over and was covered in sweat.

Once, back in the early days, in Yeongdo, a team gathered at Deaconess Kim Geum-ae’s house to study the Bible. One woman was crouched in front, crying. So I told the person I was with to go bring her in. She came to the Bible study. The exact same thing happened here too. If you don’t get a divorce, your husband will die – that’s what the fortune-teller told her. That day she heard about Christ and received Him as her Savior. Both of these people are still very much alive today.

▣ Introduction _ The moment one knows Christ, one’s destiny is reversed (John 1:12, John 1:11). Anyone who has confirmed this fact cannot help but evangelize.

What am I saying? We tend to take the gospel for granted, but the moment you know Christ, your destiny is reversed. I have seen this. I confirmed it. I could not help but evangelize.

1. Our country was bound in a destiny of darkness for about 500 years, attacked by great powers, in incompetence, and trapped in idols. Since the light of the gospel entered our country, our destiny has been reversed to the point that we now do world missions.

Why do I say this? After the Republic of Korea was founded, the first president was President Rhee Syng-man. At that time I was still a young student. So I know the background from before Korea was even formed. Our country was completely bound in a destiny of darkness for about 500 years. It wasn’t only what we suffered from Japan. We suffered at the hands of every nation. Japan attacked us, but Russia, China, and the great powers kept attacking us too. Does it even make sense – when a king was to be enthroned, we needed permission from China? It’s unbelievable, but that’s how it was. So strange and incompetent was our situation that we were trapped in it. When a king designated the next king, isn’t that called the crown prince? Even to designate the crown prince, we needed China’s permission. That’s how it’s recorded in history, isn’t it? So we lived under Japanese oppression and then the Korean War broke out, and that was the era we lived through.

Many younger generations and scholars probably don’t know this well. It was at that time that the gospel came into our country. Before that, it was a completely idol-worshiping nation. As you know, as the gospel came in, universities and hospitals were built. Yonhee University and Severance Hospital were established. Combined, they became Yonsei. That’s how the name came together. At that time the king was Gojong, and the first telephone line in our country connected Emperor Gojong’s chamber to Dr. Horace Newton Allen, a missionary doctor who came to our country. Of course it was a bell – a Bell telephone. When the king felt unwell, he would ring that bell and the doctor would come. Fortunately, President Rhee Syng-man and Ahn Chang-ho and many such figures were all Christians. Our country was completely transformed. As the gospel came in, light shone brilliantly upon our country. Most people don’t know this well. All of our leaders, starting from Dr. Cho Man-sik, were elders and Christians. So the gospel did not simply come into our country – it has grown to the point where we now do world missions.

2. As the gospel entered a household steeped in idolatry, the destiny of that household was reversed.

I witnessed our own household, which was steeped in idolatry before the gospel came in. We had no idea what it meant to live by faith. We simply worshiped idols, bowing down to stones and to trees – that’s how our country lived. As the gospel entered our household, it transformed our family.

3. The moment I personally, in a life that had been hard to live, came to know the gospel, God changed my life.

One day I felt somehow burdened, from a young age. Life was hard. I didn’t know why. Then one day I came to know the gospel. God completely changed my life.

▣ Main_ What is important to take away from the text

As you look at today’s text, you must take away what is important.

1. A meeting with Jesus Christ reverses a terrifying past destiny.

First. Meeting Jesus Christ reverses a terrifying destiny. People don’t really understand this well. I can testify to this with certainty. I can testify with certainty even to a Buddhist monk. I can testify with certainty to people of any other religion. This is the promise God made – the Old Testament. Both Old and New Testament mean promise. He made that promise. He reversed us from a terrifying destiny. You must believe this.

1) I discovered the fact that Satan was destroying us through 12 strategies, as I watched our struggling parents, nations receiving foreign aid, and churches distributing relief goods.

I saw our struggling parents and the elders in our neighborhood. Something remained in my heart, though I didn’t know what it was. Somehow I felt in my heart, This isn’t right. I thought, even as a child, We shouldn’t be living like this. On the hillside below our house, there were cans stacked up high with English writing on them. Those of you who are older, like Elder Jeong, will remember this well. We received foreign aid and lived off of it. That’s why the writing on the cans was in English – because we were receiving it. As a child, I wore relief clothing distributed through the church in our yard, clothing that came from overseas. I’m not talking about that. We were completely in spiritual darkness. One day I discovered – I read the Bible and realized that Satan was completely destroying us through 12 strategies.

2) At this point, the covenant of why one is a Christian came clearly.

I was truly shocked. Why am I a Christian? Before, I didn’t even know – I just attended church.

3) My destiny was reversed from this point on.

One day, when the covenant of why I am a Christian came to me clearly, my destiny was reversed. It’s true. Now you look at me and think, Ah, the pastor must be an evangelist for world evangelization. But there are people who have known me since I was young. That’s right. One by one they are going to heaven, but there are still people who know me. They all say the same thing now –

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We too must believe in God – people from my hometown say this. That’s how it has turned out now. We too must believe in Jesus.

When I got married into a good family, my wife’s family did not believe. It was a very good family, but there was one bad thing – they didn’t believe in Jesus. Looking at it originally, what do we call it in our language – they were originally good people. But they didn’t believe in Jesus. Isn’t evangelism my specialty? Yet with my wife’s family alone, I did not evangelize. Why? Because they would come to believe by seeing me. Now all the members of that family believe in Jesus. Isn’t that right?

(1) Our status was changed.

When one truly knows Christ, God overturns our destiny. He changes our status.

(2) He gave us the authority to become children of God.

He said, He gave us the authority to become children of God.

(3) We come to use that authority, and that is prayer – once I knew prayer, prayer became a joy and I was able to restore many things. And I began to understand what the blessing of the throne is, and what transcending time and space is.

From that point on I began to use that authority. Why? Because I learned that there was authority. I learned that this authority is prayer. Once I truly understood prayer, how happy I became. Because I know prayer, I am able to restore so much. I began to understand what the blessing of the throne is, what transcending time and space is. Do not worry, those of you who are new believers – you must recover this blessing.

2. The moment one truly meets Christ, today’s destiny is overturned.

At the moment one truly meets Christ, a second thing happens – what is it? Today’s destiny is overturned. Today! Of course the past must be resolved, but today is changed as well.

I served as an associate pastor at six churches over a long period. I noticed one thing. I realized that these people, though saved, still would not come out of the destiny made by unbelievers and Satan. If a person is unsaved, then it’s fine to remain in it, but if they are saved and still remain in it, that is double suffering. I saw this urgently, and so the word I held onto was, We must live only by the gospel, only for evangelism. You may look like ordinary people, but you are not. God has called you because of world evangelization.

Today’s text, in verses 2 and 8, shows this – just as churchgoing people cannot escape from that destiny, the Jews could not escape from theirs. Isn’t that right? The Jews could not escape. We must open our eyes to this. We were in the most urgent and terrifying past destiny of Satan, and we came out of it. If so, then we must come out of today’s destiny of darkness too.

Today Jesus told a parable. What was that parable about? There was a vineyard owner who had many workers doing his work. Since he needed workers, he called some at the third hour. He made a contract to pay them one denarius. Since he still lacked workers, he went out again and called others who were idle outside, calling them at the sixth hour. Then he went out again, and this owner called others around the ninth hour. He called some around the eleventh hour too. When the sun went down, he had to pay them, right? He gave everyone the same one denarius. He gave one denarius to the one who came in the morning, and one denarius to the one who was called just a little while before and worked. That’s the story. So those who came early in the day complained. Didn’t I work since morning? This person just came now. Why do you give the same amount? they asked. The owner answered like this: Didn’t you and I agree on one denarius? Didn’t I give you that? What have I done wrong? If I give one denarius to this person now, that is my own business. I did not break my promise with you. That’s the parable. This is something that ordinary people cannot understand. Whether you have believed for 30 years or for one year, if you believe in Jesus Christ, you are saved equally. You have become a child of God. That is why you can enjoy the blessing of the throne. From that point on, your destiny is overturned.

1) Therefore, when we as children of God enjoy the blessing of the throne, today’s destiny is reversed. That is why Jesus spoke precisely and only about the throne.

One day I came to understand what the blessing of the throne is. I confirmed that Jesus spoke these words. To be precise, I confirmed that Jesus spoke only these words. That’s right.

(1) Matthew 5:3 Even when teaching for the very first time, He said the kingdom of heaven is yours.

Even in His very first teaching, He said, The kingdom of heaven is yours. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and are persecuted. The kingdom of heaven is theirs. Those are Jesus’ words. He was speaking of the blessing of the throne.

(2) Matthew 6:10 Even when teaching the Lord’s Prayer, He said to pray for God’s kingdom to come.

Even when teaching the Lord’s Prayer, He said, Pray, Your kingdom come.

(3) Matthew 6:33 He said that even without praying for other things, since God knows all, seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

You don’t need to pray for other things. God knows everything, He said. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, He said. Those are Jesus’ words.

(4) Matthew 12:28-30 He said that when the Holy Spirit comes and Satan is bound, the kingdom of God has come.

Jesus went in person and spoke this. He spoke to those who believed wrongly in many things. When the Holy Spirit comes and Satan is bound, the kingdom of God has come.

(5) Matthew 28:16-20 After His resurrection, He promised to be with us, having all authority in heaven and on earth.

After His resurrection Jesus said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. I will be with you always, to the very end of the age. Isn’t that right?

(6) Mark 16:15-20 It is written that the Lord, seated on the throne, worked.

At the end of Mark chapter 16, when the disciples went out everywhere to preach the word, it is written that the Lord, seated on the throne, worked.

(7) Acts 1:3 At Mt Olive at the very end, He explained the work of the kingdom of God for 40 days.

At Mt Olive, at the very end, for 40 days He explained the work of the kingdom of God. I came to see this blessing.

2) Find the throne and the 40 days.

So one day, alone, I found something in the Bible – the throne and the 40 days. I found it. You find it too.

(1) In the upper room, they devoted themselves only to prayer for 10 days (Acts 1:14).

In the upper room, they devoted themselves only to prayer, for ten days.

(2) On the Lord’s Day they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the breaking of bread and fellowship, and only to prayer (Acts 2:42)

What is the Lord’s Day? They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to breaking bread and fellowship, and devoted themselves only to prayer.

(3) Daily in the temple and in homes (Acts 2:46)

Daily, in the temple, in their homes. I began to look at this one by one.

3) At this point Paul’s words became understandable – Ephesians 6:18 be alert at all times in the Spirit (24). 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 always rejoice, do not cease, and pray.

Then Paul says, Pray in the Spirit at all times. 24 hours. Always rejoice, never cease, and pray. I came to understand what this meant.

Everywhere we go, we have no power on our own, but God raises up a work that overturns that destiny. You possess this. You must enjoy it. Wherever you go, change the destiny that has fallen into darkness. Because of you, your household will change. Don’t be deceived. Those of you suffering hardship because of the church – don’t be deceived. Because of you, the darkness in the church will change. Isn’t that right? One of you is enough. No matter how dark a house is, one lamp is enough. No matter how dark your household may be, even one small lamp is enough to see by. Completely reverse this destiny of darkness. Don’t remain stuck in it. That’s right? You must not remain stuck in past wounds. Come out of it. Jesus is continuously teaching and showing us this right now.

3. He said that the first will be last, and the last will be first. – He spoke of changing the future destiny.

Then He spoke of a third point. In verse 16, He said this: The first will be last, and the last will be first. Those are Jesus’ words.

Many pastors have explained this – Those who believed long ago are actually slower, and those who believed later become first. That’s how they explained it. There may be people like that. Some believed late but believe well. That’s right. Some believed for a long time but do not believe well. Because that’s how it was continually preached, that’s how I understood it from childhood.

1) That the first will become last means that although we who believed first appear to be small, our later generations will accomplish a work greater than ours. This means that this power will be passed on to later generations, to the gentiles, and to the world.

No theologians have explained it this way. In particular, a man named Matthew Henry gave a very accurate interpretation. He explained through biblical evidence what this saying means. I agree with what he said. I think it is the same faith. What did he explain? You who now appear to be small, who believed first and are suffering, but to those who will believe later, tremendous things will happen. Though you who believed first appear to be small, your later generations will accomplish a greater work, a greater work than yours. That is Matthew Henry’s theological interpretation, and I think it is correct. You who believed first now appear to have nothing, appear small, but later a greater work, world evangelization, will be accomplished. This power will be passed on to your later generations, to the gentiles, and to the world. I think that is correct.

2) That the last will become first means that the history that will unfold after you will completely change the future destiny.

So what does this saying mean? The last will be first. What does this mean? The history after you, the future destiny, will be completely changed. You must build such a temple. Isn’t that right? Even unbelievers, over hundreds of years, have built idol temples.

3) What is important is that a future age of disaster will come upon our country and the whole world. As the fourth industrial age comes, many will be covered by mental illness and great darkness and disaster. We must make sure preparation to change this.

What is more important is that a future age of disaster is coming, for our country and for the whole world. We must change that. We must make certain preparation. Isn’t that right? We must be fully prepared.

Many of you may not fully understand, but look at what our headquarters is doing right now. We are determined to change this certain future disaster. When the fourth industrial age comes, there will be more mentally ill people. What are we going to do? We must change this. We need you. We need the Remnant.

When the fourth industrial age comes, many things will happen. Cryptocurrency transactions will replace banking transactions more and more. People will use blockchain more than going to a bank for cash transactions. This era is coming. People will no longer go shopping in person. Everything will be delivered when ordered. Doctors know this and are preparing. Treatments that don’t require hospital visits will emerge. It’s not far off – it’s coming soon. Things are different now from the past. Things are moving faster. It will come quickly.

In such times, greater disasters will come. COVID is a huge sign given to us. Strange diseases may continue in the future. Simply put, great darkness and disaster will cover us – so change your future destiny. Jesus knew this. Isn’t it true that before long the nation of Israel will disappear? Jesus knew this. And afterward, Rome – after Israel fell, less than ten years later, Pompeii in Rome erupted. Jesus knew all of this. Go to the ends of the earth and be witnesses. Make disciples of all nations. Simply put, I will be with you by the power of the throne. You must firmly take hold of this covenant today. We are to change our household’s and our country’s and my own past destiny through Christ. What is even more important? There may be many problems before us. Wherever we go, there may be many problems even within the church. Do not remain in the destiny where Satan is playing tricks – change it. What matters even more? The future. A great age of crisis is coming. Change it. If you only hold onto this covenant, God will act.

▣ Conclusion_ Take hold of the covenant to change your past destiny, today’s destiny, and future destiny. From that point on, God will work.

One day I went to a mission field for a gathering, and I met a very sharp missionary couple. So I said something to them. Since I saw hope in them, I said this: Turn this place into a headquarters for world evangelization. Don’t rely on help from Korea. Do at least that much. Then the wife began serving even more. She came to our church for a residential training program. During the residential training, she requested a meeting. At that time my room was on the second floor, and she came there to meet with me. She asked, But if you say that, pastor, how can mission fields survive when they rely on support? I said, Anyone needs support, and giving support is not really support – it’s an offering, that’s just how it’s done. What I told you was not about that. Looking at you, I sense you have some kind of ability. It seems you know God’s power. Try doing world missions properly. But from her expression, it seemed she didn’t quite understand. So I said this: If I were the missionary in that position, I would not accept help. I would not accept it. I would raise it up from there. I would make it so that they receive answers here. I would heal these people and change them into people who overturn destiny. They will go on to do world missions.

In 1987, when I first came to our church in this neighborhood, do you know the first thing I did? The very first thing – I said this to our elder. Looking at the presbytery records, I saw that as a church plant, we had been assessed the smallest dues. I said, Elder, we must pay more. So we went to the presbytery and said we would pay more. Much more. That way the presbytery could function well. But looking at me, people seemed to look at me with eyes that didn’t quite understand. Do you know why? We must reverse all of our past destiny. We must change today. Isn’t that right? That is what I am working on right now. We must reverse our past destiny. Today, calling those workers, that parable is a tremendous parable. It is a story about the kingdom of heaven. So I did just one thing.

During my time as an associate pastor, what did I do? Many believers were spending their time on trivial things, getting hurt, and dying of illness. So what I did as an associate pastor was this – I found those with a calling among them and said, Let’s evangelize together. That’s all I did. Just by doing that, God worked. So as you know, you may not realize how important your role in world evangelization is – when we first gathered, only a few people came. That’s right. Of course it was God who did it, but the prayer that you began has now spread throughout the whole world – so many Remnant have risen up. If so, then we are preparing to change our future destiny. Take firm hold of the covenant. From that point on, God will work. May today and this whole week be the best days, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Let us pray.

Prayer. God, we thank You for giving us salvation. Free us from our past and today’s destiny. Now make us the main characters who change our future destiny. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Praise — “Under His Wings”

Confession of Faith
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
…Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord,
…Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
…Born of the Virgin Mary,
…Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
…Was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
…And is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty;
From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy universal Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body
And life everlasting. Amen.

Message — “The First and the Last” (Mt 20:1-16)
Transcript…Video

Prayer — 7 Bartizans · 7 Journeys · 7 Guideposts

Sunday 1st Service Worship
Title/Scripture: The Question of Those Who Tempt (Matthew 19:3-12)
Speaker: Pastor Ryu Kwang-soo
Date/Location: April 10, 2022, Immanuel Church (Busan)

Matthew 19:3-12

03 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

04 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

05 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

06 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

07 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

08 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

09 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

Summary

Jesus, during his three years of public ministry, set a goal of 120 people and intended to teach them everything before departing. Jesus focused all of his attention on this. What we must realize here today is – when great suffering comes to me, what should I do? When great difficulty comes, most of us are unable to pray because we become preoccupied with worry and anxious thoughts. If that happens, we continue to suffer difficulty until God resolves it. But if we keep praying through it, a different answer comes. Why does God give us suffering?

▣ Introduction_ True answers come wearing the mask of suffering.

Those whose spiritual eyes are dark do not understand; those who do not know the gospel do not perceive it.

1. Why does He do this?
1) Because of counterfeits.
(1) This is why Israel suffered seven plagues. Among them, it was because of the few Remnants and those who held the covenant that deliverance came.
(2) It is because there are too many people who argue for something other than the gospel, or for wrong things.
2) Because people chase only the benefit visible before their eyes, God used suffering to deliver true truth.
(1) The disciples who knew this – with these 120 people, they conquered the world.
(2) Those who were helped after seeing Jesus’s miracles – when great difficulty came, they all fled (counterfeits).
(3) Joseph, falsely accused and sent to prison – God sent him with a magnificent answer called the evangelization of Egypt.

2. The Pharisees, who kept asking the wrong questions – while living the life of faith, do not listen to the voice of man.
▷ The disciples were not deceived by this. If you hold firmly to the covenant, history will surely happen.

1) The Pharisees who kept asking only wrong questions in order to test Jesus
To the question “Is it not true that one must not divorce?” Jesus said yes and explained (verses 4-6). They asked, “Did Moses not command that if a wife committed adultery, a certificate be given so they could separate?” That was not a command but a permission, and Jesus said yes, that was so.

2) While living the life of faith, do not listen to the voice of man.
The churches of the world have collapsed that way, and even now the churches of the whole world are going that way.

3. Let us become a church that, even if we alone do so, listens to the word of God and follows the word of God.
This is why He left 120 such people remaining. For the first time since the earth was created, they evangelized as far as Rome.

▣ Main_ How did the 120 members of the early church evangelize the world?

1. The Triune God, the power of the throne, and the kingdom of God – once you hold the fundamental covenant, history begins from that point.
1) The one and only thing Jesus taught – those who held that covenant conquered the world.
(1) Speaking of true blessing, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5)
(2) “Our Father, pray that His name be made holy. Pray that His kingdom come. Even without asking for this or that, God already knows. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6)
(3) Sending the disciples out into the field, “Say that the kingdom of God has come.” (Matthew 10)
(4) When the Pharisees picked a quarrel saying, “Are you the king of demons? How is it you cast out demons like that?” He said, “When the Holy Spirit comes and Satan is bound, the kingdom of God has come. Only then can your house be saved.” (Matthew 12)
(5) At the very end, He called the disciples to Mt Olive and for forty days explained to them the affairs of the kingdom of God.
▷ The 120 members, along with the disciples, firmly held this covenant.

2) Jesus said not to pray any other prayer. This is the prayer we must pray.
“Triune God, come and dwell within me. Let the blessing of the throne come upon me. Let me be able to deliver this covenant.”
▷ Without this, we fall into darkness and die – this was Jesus’s earnest plea. Though this group of disciples numbered 120, they saved the world.

3) The answer that comes at this time
(1) One comes to know what prayer truly is.
(2) Spiritual change occurs.
(3) The foundation (destiny) is changed.
(4) The power to change the world is born.

2. Every time we choose the spiritual, a hundred-year answer comes.
The people of the world demand only fleshly things, but the disciples held on to the spiritual. Every time God’s people cling to fleshly things, they retreat a hundred years.

1) The Pharisees, who with wicked hearts kept asking useless fleshly questions, and Jesus’s teaching (verses 8-12)
(1) In order to pick a quarrel with Jesus’s teaching, “Whoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart” (Matthew 5:28), the Pharisees ask whether it is right to divorce or not.
(2) Jesus’s word – one must have the faith and the power to live without abandoning one’s wife. In divorce, in marriage, and in not marrying or being unable to marry, God has a plan in all of it.

2) The reason for the hundred-year answer – world evangelization
The Lord blessed Isaac’s farming with a hundredfold blessing and let him find a source of water.

3) The spiritual thing Joseph chose, and the hundred-year answer
(1) When he was made a slave – he realized this was the surest path to the evangelization of the world.
(2) When he was falsely accused and thrown into prison – he confirmed this was the best way to meet a statesman.
(3) When he came to meet the king – he confessed that it was not himself, but God, who could interpret the king’s dream.
▷ The first thing Jesus taught: “Let the power of the throne come upon my work, that it may evangelize the world.” The second: do not keep following after fleshly, worldly things until you die – take hold of the spiritual and save the world with it.

3. When we look toward the future, a thousand-year answer comes.
1) Jesus called the children who came to him and blessed them and laid hands on them (verses 13-15).
2) Elder Jethro helped Moses in faith – this is a thousand-year answer.
3) Samuel went to David and anointed him with oil, telling him of his becoming king, of the ark of the covenant, and of the future.
▷ Jesus always showed these three things. First, the way to save the world of darkness is the power and blessing of the throne. That is our background and, in the end, the place we must go. Second, what becomes a hundred-year answer that saves the world is teaching the spiritual mystery no matter what persecution comes. With that, we save the world we can see with our eyes. Third, it is passing this fact on to the next generation. Then the thousand-year answer comes.

▣ Conclusion_ When we pray, the eternal answer comes.
Do not think too much – pray. As long as the Triune God exists invisibly, and the forces of darkness also exist, we must hold the mystery of prayer. The fundamental answer, the hundred-year answer, the thousand-year answer, the eternal answer – we go forward holding this covenant.

1. Joseph – when he was sold as a slave, Joseph, who began to pray, left behind an eternal answer.
▷ For the rest of your life, your prayer should be: “God, let me receive the true answer of my life.” “Give me the answer of the throne. Since I must go to the spiritual world in order to save the flesh, give me a spiritual answer. Because a very difficult age is coming, give me the blessing that will save the next generation, the Remnant generation.”

2. David – when King Saul led an army to try to kill David, David turned everything into prayer. It came out as something eternal.
▷ You must have this experience. Otherwise, you will keep holding to your own opinion and your own thoughts until you die.

3. The early church, Paul
▷ You are the remaining ones who must save the world. The remaining ones are those who know what the gospel is. If you do not know the gospel, it is a serious problem. A pilgrim is one who knows what prayer is. A conqueror is one who knows what evangelism is. Hold this covenant, and for the rest of your life, enjoy this astonishing covenant and pass it on. Either way, we must all one day answer a call before God. “In the time I have left, what is the most precious thing I should do?” This is the prayer you must pray this week.

Transcript

Thank you. According to Elder Jang Yeong-gwang’s prayer, the whole world urgently needs the gospel right now. So it is being translated and interpreted right now into more than ten – thirteen, fourteen – languages. The message is going out to the whole world. In order for you to truly receive an answer, you must become globalized and become “237.” When we sing praise, please make the sound a little louder. It needs to be heard from outside. Don’t sing as if only among yourselves – sing loudly so that the whole world can hear the praise. Last time it was also too quiet – it’s fine even if the sound and the praise are loud. You need to lift it up. Also, when filming, make sure to show the whole choir broadly, and also show it up close – do that as well. Because you are praising right now.

Right now the churches are not quickly becoming 237. In our church that worships, all the clocks should be changed to satellite clocks. There is no sense of interest in “237” at all. The clock, the watch you are wearing, is not accurate. Only a clock set by satellite is accurate. Set it that way, and together the interpretation will start all at once like that. Your worship and prayer are being watched by the whole world right now. Thank you, elder, for today. Thank you for praying exactly the kind of prayer the Lord desires. One thing elders should keep in mind when praying: prayer is spoken to God. There is a saying, “Is interpretation really necessary?” Does God not understand Korean? Is prayer not spoken to God alone? Sometimes, when our members pray, they quote too many Bible verses. You should not be reciting Bible verses to God right now. To God, you should simply pray. Please keep this in mind.

▣ Introduction_ True answers come wearing the mask of suffering.

The whole world is worshiping together right now. Jesus, during those three years, was intending to teach everything and then leave. He set a goal of 120 people. Until the time Jesus went to heaven and worked the history of His second coming, that number was 120. Jesus focused all of His attention on that. That’s because it was only three years. Even though His actual public ministry was three years, He remains with us forever, but still – that is how important it was.

Yet He allowed them to encounter many trials and difficulties. What you must realize here today is this: “Why has such great suffering come to me, what should I do about this?” But when great difficulty comes to you, most of the time you become unable to pray, so you fall into much worry and anxious thought. Then it becomes worse and worse, little by little. Until God resolves it, you keep suffering the difficulty, and even though it eventually resolves according to God’s will, we keep suffering that difficulty in the meantime. For example, try thinking, “Why is that person like that?” That thought keeps deepening, and strange things emerge. Instead, keep praying about that person. A different answer will come. That’s how important this is.

Now, why does God give us this kind of suffering? To Jesus, He gave tremendous persecution and hardship in the early church, and through that, things were accomplished. Let’s start with a simple answer in the introduction. True answers come wearing the mask of suffering. Those whose spiritual eyes are dark do not understand; if you do not know the gospel, you do not understand. It comes wearing the mask of suffering, but the real blessing, the real answer, is contained within it. Why is that so? We must think about a few things in the introduction.

1. Why does He do this?
1) Because of counterfeits.
It’s because of counterfeits. If from the very beginning of your life of faith you expect only happiness, joy, delight, plenty of food and drink, then all the counterfeits come.

(1) This is why Israel suffered seven plagues. Among them, it was because of the few Remnants and those who held the covenant that deliverance came.
Israel suffered plagues seven times. Why? Because of counterfeits. Among them, deliverance came by holding on to the few Remnant and those who held the covenant.

(2) It is because there are too many people who argue for something other than the gospel, or for wrong things.
There are too many people who keep insisting on something other than the gospel – as our elder prayed – insisting on the wrong thing. Because there are too many such people, God delivers the true answer wearing the appearance of suffering.

2) Because people chase only the benefit visible before their eyes, God used suffering to deliver true truth.
There is one more reason. Because people chase only the benefit right in front of their eyes, God began to convey true truth by using suffering.

(1) The disciples who knew this – with these 120 people, they conquered the world.
These 120, trained by the Lord for three years, knew this point. With these 120 people, they conquered the world. So you must look closely at our teaching.

(2) Those who were helped after seeing Jesus’s miracles – when great difficulty came, they all fled (counterfeits).
Those who saw Jesus’s miracles all fled when the final great difficulty came. The point at which God wants to give a true answer is not that. Even the many who saw the great things – like feeding five thousand with one lunch box and having food left over – all fled. That’s not to say that was wrong. It’s just that they were counterfeits. Those who received healing and much help all fled when Jesus was crucified and great difficulty came.

(3) Joseph, falsely accused and sent to prison – God sent him with a magnificent answer called the evangelization of Egypt.
How is the difficulty and suffering you have right now? Do not be afraid at all. Please look at it carefully. Then look at the seven Remnants. Joseph was falsely accused with no fault of his own and sent to prison. Was that unfair? Should he lament because of it? Should he give up everything because of it? Should he make an enemy of everyone because of it? No. God had the magnificent answer of the evangelization of Egypt and sent Joseph there for that reason. These 120 people conquered the world. There must have been servants in the royal palace of old who guarded great secrets, right? There must have been people who truly guarded such things. Among such people, it is said they often used the blind. Why? So that they would not see. Because it was too important.

2. The Pharisees, who kept asking the wrong questions – while living the life of faith, do not listen to the voice of man.

1) The Pharisees who kept asking only wrong questions in order to test Jesus
Today, the Pharisees were not asking a question – they asked it in order to test Jesus. Do not focus only on this particular question today. This is something they kept doing continuously. Not living a life of faith, but continuing to ask only human questions.

The disciples were not deceived by this. If you hold firmly to the covenant, history will surely happen. These Pharisees cannot receive an answer. They just keep asking, keep asking wrong questions continually.

Following up from last week, what question did they ask today? They asked Jesus such an obvious question: “Is it not true that one must not divorce? That one must not abandon one’s wife?” And Jesus’s answer was “That’s right,” and He gave a thorough explanation. The two become one – one body – and what God has joined cannot be separated; He said the same thing we always say. What do you think happened? Do you know what they asked next? “Then did Moses not say that if a wife committed adultery, a certificate should be given so they could separate?” They asked this follow-up question again. And that was not a command but a permission. “That’s right – without such a certificate, one must not divorce.” That’s what Jesus explained. Do you know why they asked this question? They are now picking a quarrel with what Jesus said earlier – that is what they are doing right now.

2) While living the life of faith, do not listen to the voice of man.
While living the life of faith, do not listen to the voice of man. If you truly want to receive an answer, do not listen to the many voices, arguments, and opinions of people. The churches of the world collapsed that way, and even now the churches of the whole world are going that way.

3. Let us become a church that, even if we alone do so, listens to the word of God and follows the word of God.
According to our elder’s prayer today, let us become a church that, even if we alone do so, listens to God’s word and follows God’s word. This is why He left exactly 120 such people. Jesus was in the midst of that very work. For the first time since the earth was created, He evangelized all the way to Rome.

▣ Main_ How did the 120 members of the early church evangelize the world?
How did they do it that they accomplished this?

1. The Triune God, the power of the throne, and the kingdom of God – once you hold the fundamental covenant, history begins from that point.
This is first. This is the first covenant you must hold onto today. What has Jesus been saying continuously up to now? He has kept explaining the Triune God, the power of the throne, and the kingdom of God. If you hold this fundamental covenant today, history will keep beginning from that point on.

1) The one and only thing Jesus taught
Jesus, you know, spoke of only one thing. We tend to say various things over and over, but Jesus truly spoke of only one thing. From the very beginning, from when He first began teaching, He taught only this one thing. Because that is what you need. Those who hold that covenant conquer the world.

(1) Speaking of true blessing, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5)
What did Jesus teach? From the beginning, calling people up the mountain, in the midst of saying various things, He said, “These are not blessings – this is the blessing,” and said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” You must remember this without fail.

People forget everything Jesus taught and keep asking other questions. There are far too many people who live their life of faith like this. They keep following Jesus around, and when He healed the sick, they say, “Why do you make him do that on the Sabbath?” – that kind of thing. So Jesus, exasperated, said, “Then if a sheep gets lost, would you not go look for it?” Even further, they picked a quarrel because the disciples, following along, plucked some wheat – saying they had “worked” on the Sabbath. Once, Jesus had said something they did not quite understand, and they are now asking about that. There are countless people who live their life of faith like this. There’s no need to make it complicated. They even dared to come to Jesus and ask questions like this. Soon their descendants would be scattered throughout the world and would truly be beaten to death, drowned, and never even imagine that such a great disaster was coming.

(2) True prayer (Matthew 6)
Jesus, you know, spoke of only one thing. What should we pray? They asked, right? It’s not that Jesus told them to pray – they asked. What should we pray? There’s nothing much to pray. To put it simply, that’s what Jesus said. “Pray that the Father’s name be made holy. And pray that the kingdom of God comes. Nothing else is needed. Daily bread is enough for the day.” And He also said, “Even if you don’t ask for this or that, God already knows. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

(3) Sending the disciples out into the field, “Say that the kingdom of God has come.” (Matthew 10)
Again, remember Jesus’s words. Sending the disciples out into the field, He said, “Pray that the kingdom of God has come.”

(4) When the Pharisees picked a quarrel saying, “Are you the king of demons? How is it you cast out demons like that?” He said, “When the Holy Spirit comes and Satan is bound, the kingdom of God has come. Only then can your house be saved.” (Matthew 12)
The Pharisees again picked a quarrel. They asked, “Are you some king of demons? How is it you cast out demons like that?” Jesus said, “When the Holy Spirit comes and Satan is bound, the kingdom of God has come. Only then can your house be saved.” That’s what Jesus said.

(5) At the very end, He called the disciples to Mt Olive and for forty days explained to them the affairs of the kingdom of God.
At the very end also, He called the disciples to Mt Olive and for forty days explained to them the affairs of the kingdom of God. The 120 members, together with the disciples, firmly held this covenant.

2) Jesus said not to pray any other prayer. This is the prayer we must pray.
You too must pray this prayer today. Jesus said not to pray any other prayer, right? This is the prayer He prayed. You must pray this prayer even when you are alone. “Triune God, come and dwell within me.” Try saying that. Doing this for three years brought about worldwide change, didn’t it? “Let the blessing of the throne come upon me. Let me be able to deliver this covenant.” Without this, we fall into darkness and die. This was Jesus’s earnest plea. Though this group of disciples numbered 120, they saved the world. Today, you must truly hold on to this very important thing Jesus taught during His public ministry.

3) The answer that comes at this time
What is the answer that comes at this time? It is very important. What is the answer that comes at this time?

(1) One comes to know what prayer truly is.
At last I come to know what prayer is. What matters most for us as Remnants is this – if a Remnant can pray, it’s fine wherever they are.

(2) Spiritual change occurs.
At last, many spiritual changes begin to happen to me. Whether you receive an answer or not is not the important thing. Jesus said this. “The answer is not what’s important. When the kingdom of God comes, all things are accomplished.” That is Jesus’s explanation. He called them to Mt Olive once more and explained it again. See how important this is.

(3) The foundation (destiny) is changed.
Only this way is our foundation truly changed. To put it simply, one’s destiny is changed.

(4) The power to change the world is born.
How is it? For those of you suffering spiritually, no matter how many doctors you visit, it likely won’t get better. Start this prayer. You know, Jesus explained only this during the three years He was with them. Peter, the most uneducated of those who understood this, moved the world, and Paul, the most educated, came to understand and moved the world. Among these 120, there were 70 church leaders. Right? We can’t know the exact number or who exactly, but they were certainly among them. These people are the ones through whom the power to change the world was born. Restore this blessing.

2. Every time we choose the spiritual, a hundred-year answer comes.
This is second. How did these 120 members of the early church evangelize the world – how were these 120 members blessed? This is the question. Among Jesus’s continued explanations, the second point is extremely important. The people of the world are all like Pharisees – they keep demanding only fleshly things – but these disciples firmly held on to the spiritual. It’s not that the flesh is unnecessary, but every time you choose the spiritual, a hundred-year answer comes. Every time God’s people cling to fleshly things, they retreat a hundred years. You must remember this without fail.

1) The Pharisees, who with wicked hearts kept asking useless fleshly questions, and Jesus’s teaching (verses 8-12)
Look at today’s question. Even at that very moment, the sick kept crowding around. The Bible clearly states in verse 8 that the Pharisees asked Jesus this question with wicked hearts. To put it simply, “Is it right to divorce? Is it not?” – that’s what they asked, such an obvious question. Verse 8 clearly states they had a wicked intent when asking.

(1) In order to pick a quarrel with Jesus’s teaching, “Whoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart” (Matthew 5:28), the Pharisees ask whether it is right to divorce or not.
Earlier, in Matthew 5:28, there is something Jesus taught while teaching on the mountain. They are now picking a quarrel with that. It was something Jesus said on a completely different level from the Law of Moses. What did He say? “Whoever has lust in his heart has already committed adultery.” Jesus taught this while teaching. Is that not correct? “It’s not about whether you did it or not – you had lust in your heart. That is already adultery. You’ve merely restrained yourself, but it is still adultery. You just weren’t caught, but it is adultery.” That’s Jesus’s answer. They are picking a quarrel about that.

(2) Jesus’s word
What does Jesus’s teaching mean? Of course one must have the faith and power to live without abandoning one’s wife. And what if great difficulty comes and results in divorce? What can be done. There, too, God has a plan. What did today’s text say further? What did it say in verses 12 through 14? “Whether one married or not, whether one could or could not – even there, God has a plan.” They kept asking useless fleshly questions.

2) The reason for the hundred-year answer – world evangelization
Amid the many things you go through, every time you firmly hold to God’s covenant and choose the spiritual, a hundred-year answer comes. Please look carefully at Scripture. Why is it a hundred-year answer? You need the hundred-year answer to come in order to evangelize the world. With what you are doing right now, world evangelization is difficult. It is recorded that the Lord blessed Isaac’s farming with a hundredfold blessing. It’s not just about digging wells – he came to find a source of water. That is the hundredfold blessing.

3) The spiritual thing Joseph chose, and the hundred-year answer
Now, let’s talk once about Joseph, whom the Remnants know best. What spiritual thing did Joseph choose?

(1) When he was made a slave
His brothers were about to kill Joseph but instead sold him as a slave. At that time, Joseph’s realization – he spoke of it when he met his brothers later. What did Joseph realize? That the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him meant world evangelization. He had to accomplish world evangelization, and he was certain of it, yet he ended up becoming a slave. “I will surely take revenge on my brothers” – that’s a different matter. Most people would think that way. “I will surely survive and take revenge on my brothers.” That is not an answer coming – that is retreating a hundred years backward. What did Joseph realize? He is walking, right now, the surest path toward world evangelization. This is the spiritual eye of the life of faith. What the Pharisees asked is a completely – right now – a question incapable of sustaining a life of faith. We too can easily fall into this. If you realize this well today, true answers will begin to come. You must receive a real answer.

(2) When he was falsely accused and thrown into prison
Now, Joseph was unjustly accused and thrown into prison. What would you do in his place? What would those of you living a good life of faith do? You would go mad from injustice. “I have done nothing wrong.” Look at people – they turn the church upside down. “I have done nothing wrong.” They turn their whole household upside down. “I have done nothing wrong.” Isn’t this the appearance of people living the life of faith in a fleshly way? Joseph confirmed that this was the best way to meet a statesman. And the hundred-year answer came again, didn’t it?

(3) When he came to meet the king
Word spread and he came to meet the king, and he interpreted the king’s dream. What mattered at that moment was the king’s question. He asked the question you would like best. “Do you interpret dreams so well?” he asked. The kind of question you and I would love most to answer with our expertise. “Yes, that’s my specialty.” That’s probably what we would have said, right? Joseph’s answer is astonishing. What did he say? “I cannot interpret the king’s dream.” That’s what he said. The king must have been startled. “It is God who can interpret the dream the king dreamed.” You see? He goes another hundred years ahead. It even surpasses world evangelization.

What is the covenant you must truly hold on to today? This does not mean you should not do business. “God, let the power of the throne come upon my work, that it may evangelize the world.” That is the very first thing Jesus taught. You must not miss what Jesus taught. What is the second thing today? Do not keep chasing after fleshly, worldly things until you die – take the spiritual and save the world with it. There is no reason to stake your whole life on someone else’s divorce issue like that – by doing so you are missing the spiritual entirely. Whether someone else divorces or marries – why should that become such a big deal that you come all the way to Jesus to ask about it? Today, you must ask what Jesus taught during His three years of public ministry that caused these 120 to hold the covenant and receive the answer.

3. When we look toward the future, a thousand-year answer comes.
This is third. There is a thousand-year answer.

1) Jesus called the children who came to him and blessed them and laid hands on them (verses 13-15).
What is this? This is looking toward the future. At this time, children came to Jesus. Because they loved Jesus, the children came running to Him. The disciples told the children to go away. But Jesus called the child to Him, blessed them, and laid hands on them. This is the thousand-year answer, looking to the future. It happens that today, at our worship service, we are grateful that Elder Choi Jong-hwan and Deaconess Jeon Ok-bun, a couple, are with us. When I see them, I am always grateful, thinking, “Ah, that’s right.” They take care of the children. There are many who have truly become successful. Those two have raised and cared for them. Without any name, without any recognition, they take care of the children, the next generation. Many have become government officials, judges, and prosecutors. That is the thousand-year answer. They themselves don’t even know it. That is the thousand-year answer. Do you know why?

2) Elder Jethro helped Moses in faith – this is a thousand-year answer.
Elder Jethro helped Moses, and this became a thousand-year answer. It’s not that Jethro aimed for that when he did it. He simply did it in faith, and it turned out that way.

3) Samuel went to David and anointed him with oil, telling him of his becoming king, of the ark of the covenant, and of the future.
Samuel went to David, anointed him with oil, and spoke to him. To you it may look like an easy thing, but it was not an easy matter at all. While the current king, the wicked King Saul, was still alive, going to find David and saying, “You will become king” – that was an extremely dangerous thing to do. In fact, he must have told David all that had happened – probably spoke of the ark of the covenant, spoke of the future, and anointed David’s head with oil. “You will become king in the future. Do this and that.” This is the thousand-year answer, isn’t it?

Jesus showed these three things. In every sense, He always showed these three things. Truly, the way to save the world of darkness is the power and blessing of the throne. That is our background, and it is, in the end, the place we must go. Jesus taught that. And what is next? What truly becomes a hundred-year answer that saves the world – what makes a single event into a hundred-year answer – is teaching the spiritual mystery no matter what persecution comes. With that, we save the world we can see with our eyes. So what is the last thing? It is passing this fact on to the next generation. That, you know, is the thousand-year answer.

▣ Conclusion_ When we pray, the eternal answer comes.
This is the prayer for this week. Your prayer should involve much thought, but do not think too much – pray. It is strange. The people who move this age today, the philosophers, tell us to think. Right? They emphasized thinking so much that they even said, “Man is like a reed that sways, but he is a thinking reed.” That’s how much importance they place on thought. Buddhism says, “Thought is everything.” That’s true. It is the most accurate answer, but it is a dangerous answer when one does not know the truth. That is true only when you presuppose that there is no God. As long as the Triune God exists invisibly and the forces of darkness also exist, what must we do – we must hold the mystery of prayer.

At this time, the eternal answer comes. Today, three things emerged. What is the fundamental answer? What is the hundred-year answer? What is the thousand-year answer? What is the eternal answer? You go forward holding this covenant.

1. Joseph – when he was sold as a slave, Joseph, who began to pray, left behind an eternal answer.
The eternal answer emerged. As you know, when he was sold as a slave into a place with no one, what thoughts would have come to him? At that time, it wasn’t that he sat there thinking. If he had let himself think, he would have gone mad. He began a prayer that enjoys a blessing far beyond mere thought. The answer Joseph left behind because of this is an eternal answer. You must hold on to this today. No matter how bad your circumstances are, it’s fine. Start for real.

We must not simply end things here, right? “God, let me truly receive the answer of my life.” This must become your prayer for the rest of your life. Since we are going to the throne, “Give me the answer of the throne. Since we must go to the spiritual world in order to save the flesh, give me a spiritual answer. Because a very difficult age is coming, give me the blessing that saves the next generation, the Remnant generation.” This is what Jesus taught. Jesus often spoke about the children. Right? That refers to the next generation. The 120 members who knew this saved the world. Hold firmly to this covenant this week.

2. David – when King Saul led an army to try to kill David, David turned everything into prayer. It came out as something eternal.
In fact, King Saul led an army around trying to kill David. Do this this week. David turned all of this into prayer. It came out as something eternal. You must have this experience. Otherwise, various problems will come. It is dying while continuing to hold on to your own opinion, your own thoughts.

3. The early church, Paul
Look at a figure like Paul of the early church.

So, as I said in today’s lesson, you are the remaining ones who must save the world. These remaining ones are people who know what the gospel is. If you do not know the gospel, it’s a serious problem. What is a pilgrim? One who knows what prayer is. What is a conqueror? One who knows what evangelism is. Hold this covenant, and for the rest of your life, you must enjoy this astonishing covenant and pass it on.

A pastor I knew well passed away suddenly, due to COVID. Also, a young person – very active, quite outstanding, doing many activities abroad – passed away suddenly this time. That person too, from COVID. Some people catch COVID and are fine, but many people die from it too. That matters too, but as I listened to these stories, what I came to feel was, “Ah, we must all one day answer a call before God.” Someday – our individual end, the end of the age, the end of the earth is coming – it is something we will all face one day. “What is the most precious thing I should do?” This is the question that kept arising as I listened to their stories. Of course, I have been living this way all along, but at that time this thought came to me: “Does great success, do many goals, really matter that much? Do the many things we do really matter that much?” When this person was called, he had to stop what he was doing and leave behind even the important things, just like that. He wasn’t even at an age to go yet, but he had to leave everything and go.

Let me tell you something else that broke my heart before. It’s not a big thing, but there was someone younger than me who went to work and died. Nowadays we would call 119 and take them like that, but back then, we had to carry the person, so we brought him back loaded on a handcart. Regarding that person’s death, my heart was troubled about it too, but what really broke my heart was this – they laid the body down and covered it, and next to it was a lunch box he had taken that morning to eat but never got to eat. That was a great lesson for me. Looking at that lunch box, it was unbearable. He had taken it intending to eat it, but never got to, and ended up like that.

In the time we humans have left, what is the most precious thing? You must pray this prayer this week. Also, as we approach Easter Sunday, during this Passion Week, what should we hold on to and pray about before God? Even a single prayer, if it is the prayer God desires, brings an answer. I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus that today, this week, may become such a day. Let us pray.

Prayer. We thank You, God. We are grateful for this time in which, in whatever circumstance, we look upon Christ by beholding the members of the early church who saved the world. Open our spiritual eyes. Enable us to carry out the mission of saving the world. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Praise — “You, Man of God”

Confession of Faith
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
…Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord,
…Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
…Born of the Virgin Mary,
…Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
…Was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
…And is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty;
From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy universal Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body
And life everlasting. Amen.

Message — “The Question of Those Who Test” (Mt 19:3-12)
Transcript…Video

Prayer — 7 Bartizans · 7 Journeys · 7 Guideposts

Sunday 2nd Service / World Mission Conference Dedication Service
Title/Scripture: The Foundation of Healing (Matthew 18:21-35)
Speaker: Pastor Ryu Gwang-su
Date/Location: April 3, 2022 / Immanuel Church (Seoul)

Matthew 18:21-35

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.
25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’
27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’
34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.

Summary

▷ 24, Healing, Power — Acts 1:3, 8:14, 2:1-47 — If from now on you continue praying the 24 prayers holding onto one theme, tremendous healing will occur and power will arise. On Mt Olive, Jesus explained and promised the work of the kingdom of God for 40 days. Holding onto that covenant and devoting oneself entirely to prayer, the greatest answers came. If you continue to experience this, you will come to know what the Word and prayer truly are. What it means to evangelize the whole world right now is to bring healing.

▣ Introduction — If you continue to pray for missions, several answers come.

1. Answers

1) Acts 2:9-11, 8:4-8, 8:26-40, 11:19, 13:1-4, 16:6-10, 19:1-7 — Through prayer, the doors of 15 nations, the door of Samaria, and doors for meeting the multiethnic peoples present were opened; the church of Antioch was born; answers for evangelism and missions came in advance; great turning points in blocked lives appeared; and answers came even before the Tyrannus movement arose.

2) 237, Healing, Summit — Answers come sufficient to heal 237 nations and find the Remnant.

3) 70 disciples, 70 fields, 70 tribes, 70 nations — In industry and everything, answers come sufficient to influence the 70 disciples. If you continue to pray for 3·9·3 and world evangelization, 70 fields come alive. Seeing the connections going out to the whole world through these people is what is meant by 70 tribes and 70 nations.

2. Healing (hidden wounds) — Every person has hidden wounds.

1) Superpowers — Completely seized by Satan and made to do his errands, the forces of darkness will certainly attack the superpowers.
2) Developed nations — Their characteristic is that they do things very slowly and precisely.
3) Underdeveloped nations — They have many wounds but do not show them outwardly. They are tremendously slow.
4) Refugees — They are in tremendous difficulty.
5) War-torn nations — There are nations that have suffered war, and that pain is beyond words.

3.

Hell, Background
↓
Ephesians 2:2, Ephesians 6:12
↓
Satan — 12 strategies
↓
The world’s nations (John 8:44)

▷ Looking at the world’s nations, John 8:44 says “your father the devil.” It is inevitable that people become sick. Invisibly, Satan is using 12 strategies to kill people. He thoroughly entraps humanity in the snares of Genesis chapters 3, 6, and 11, creates many idols and religions to lock people into those frameworks, and binds unbelievers with 6 types of snares. Furthermore, Satan seizes the power of the air and attacks with the evil spirits in the heavens. What is even more terrifying is that Satan presses down using this hell background. Resolving this is missions.

▣ Main — God’s love, forgiveness (God’s standard)

▷ God desires to save and forgive all peoples with His love. God’s standard is different from ours. He calls us to unconditionally forgive and rescue those pitiful souls. There is only one condition for not falling into darkness, Satan, and disaster: to make people be rescued through faith in Christ.

—

240 million pounds — 1 million talents

That is equivalent to one million talents. Judea and Samaria’s combined annual budget is 600 talents. Galilee’s entire income is 300 talents. This person owed ten thousand talents, which is impossible to repay, so the master forgave the debt.

5 pounds — 100 denarii.

▷ We have been rescued by God’s grace from curses we could never resolve on our own. So why can we not forgive other people? Jesus said, “Forgive seventy times seven.” God has rescued us who were in a position of being cursed generation after generation.

1. World — Healing: God calls us to heal the entire world with forgiveness and love.

1) 3 curses — Christ completely ended the 3 curses, the hell background, Satan’s background, and disaster.
2) 3·9·3 — To be together with the power of the Triune God, the throne, and the power that revives the 3 ages.
3) Future generations — To pass this on to your future generations. At this mission conference, this must be found.

2. Satan — Nations (people): Those who have completely become children of Satan; heal these nations.

1) War — Superpowers continually wage war as Satan’s errand-runners and kill people mercilessly; we must pray for this dark power to be bound.
2) Slaves (237) — 237 nations are enslaved to this.
3) 5000 — (shamanism), the future generations of 5,000 tribes are completely seized by shamanism.

3. Errand-running — Israel: Heal Israel, which does errands for these nations. This is missions.

1) Slaves — Our future generations must not become slaves to these people.
2) Captives — Is it acceptable that Christians are held captive by these people?
3) Vassal state — During Jesus’ time, they were a vassal state.
4) Wanderers — More importantly, our future generations will be scattered as a wandering people and die.

▷ To rescue them from this and instead commission them as missionaries is the mission conference. The Remnant and multiethnic peoples scattered throughout the world are to serve as missionaries.

▣ Conclusion

1. Platform (healing) — The platform is coming. Come out and hold onto the real thing.
2. Bartizan (light) — Then light will continually shine on work and church, and that is the bartizan.
3. Antenna (message) — Then God will give words and messages to the church and to work, and that is the antenna.

▷ If you enjoy this answer of healing and pray, a platform is formed; when light shines on that platform, it becomes a bartizan; and the message coming down from above is what is heard — that is the antenna.

Transcript

24, Healing, Power, [Acts 1:3, 8, 14 | 2:1-47]

We are now conducting the mission conference together between the headquarters and the churches. Each church is now taking responsibility for inviting and guiding guests. It is much better this way. Of course it may be difficult for smaller churches, but a typical missionary can be hosted by all of them. From now on, try praying continuously on just one theme. You do not need to worry about anything else. Continue your 24 prayers holding onto just one thing. At this time, tremendous healing will occur within you personally. And great power will arise. It is worth trying this experience. Where is an example of this? On Mt Olive, Jesus explained the work of the kingdom of God for 40 days. And He made a promise. Just imagine that scene. He said, “You will receive power.” Holding onto that covenant and coming to prayer, the answers came. If you continue to experience these things, you will come to know what the Word and prayer truly are.

“The Foundation of Healing”

The reason is that what we now call world missions is healing. What is the foundation of this healing? We need to know this today and begin to pray. First, I mentioned this to the Tychicus team, but when you continue to pray holding onto missions, several answers come.

▣ Introduction — Darkness, Satan, Disaster

1. Answers

So, I continued in prayer on this, and:

1) Acts 2:9-11
The doors of 15 nations opened like this. This kind of answer comes suddenly.

Acts 8:4-8
And this person is seized — the door of missions, those we thought were enemies — the door to Samaria began to open, and answers like this began to come.

Acts 8:26-40
God opened the door to meeting the multiethnic peoples who are present.

Acts 11:19
Now your answers and your church do not just end there — just as with the church of Antioch, the church that receives such answers was born. The answers come in advance.

Acts 13:1-4
Whenever you do evangelism or missions, this answer of Acts chapter 13, verses 1 through 4 comes first. Most people who struggle with evangelism go out without this preparation.

Acts 16:6-10
A great turning point appears in my blocked life.

Acts 19:1-7
Finally, answers come even before the Tyrannus movement arises. You are praying continuously about missions, about the building of our sanctuary, and the answers must come in advance like this.

2) 237, Healing, Summit
From this point, how much answer comes? Answers come sufficient to heal 237 nations and find the Remnant.

3) 70 disciples, 70 fields, 70 tribes, 70 nations
There is another answer that does not fail to appear in Scripture. Answers come sufficient to influence all the work and everything in your area — enough to reach the 70 disciples. Just keep praying on one thing.

I myself do not pray other prayers, since I am busy. I only pray the 3·9·3 and world evangelization continuously.

Then one day 70 fields come alive. Through these people, connections go out to the whole world. Seeing that is what we mean by 70 tribes and 70 nations.

Because this is the answer you will receive, wait for it, hold onto the covenant, and continue to pray.

2. Healing (hidden wounds)

As you are doing missions, something you need to keep in your heart — something you must do at this mission conference — is the healing you need to hold in your heart.

1) Superpowers
There are people who come from superpowers. These people, without even knowing it, think they are great nations, like Egypt or Rome today. Like Russia right now, the superpowers are completely seized by Satan and do not know they are running his errands. This must be told to them. Only those who are spiritually awakened in the Word know this — the forces of darkness will certainly attack the superpowers.

2) Developed nations
People from developed nations will also come. We Koreans need to remember this. The characteristic of developed nations is not that they are slow — they are deliberate. Korean people have very few examples of success in missions or overseas ministry. That is because Koreans are in a hurry. Developed nations are not in a hurry. It is not that they are slow — they are deliberate. Extremely deliberate and precise. That is why Korean people cannot do missions in Japan. Japanese people work deliberately. They come home from developed nations with their bags repacked. Because developed nations work deliberately, and Koreans are impatient. Koreans eat hard candy by biting it instead of letting it dissolve, that kind of thing. Hurry hurry, whatever the case. Even foreigners know about “hurry hurry.” At this mission conference, we need to understand these things.

3) Underdeveloped nations
And people from underdeveloped nations have many wounds. They do not show them. You need to know this and help them. People from underdeveloped nations are not just deliberate — they are truly slow. Being late is a common thing for them, unlike Koreans. There is no receipt, that kind of thing is the norm. You need to bear with it. Underdeveloped nations are tremendously slow. Some people make an appointment and then show up hours later, things like that.

4) Refugees
On top of all this, there are refugees now. How difficult must that be?

5) War
I do not know whether people from war-torn nations will be coming to our mission conference or not. But there are nations that have suffered war. How hard must that be? You might think so from just watching the news, but when war actually breaks out, the suffering is truly beyond words. We lived like beggars for decades. That is how difficult it is.

At a time like this, you are holding a mission conference.

3.

Now, as you hold this mission conference and pray for these people, what is the most important thing to keep in your heart? You absolutely must keep this in your heart.

[The world’s nations (John 8:44)]

Jesus said this in Scripture. No one understands the world’s nations. John chapter 8, verse 44 says “your father the devil.” It is inevitable that people become sick. But they do not even know why they are suffering. Only you know this. You probably know it vaguely. You may not have experienced it personally. You need to experience this (the introduction).

Every person has hidden wounds. At this mission conference, these people need to come to our church and have their wounds healed and receive strength. That is what the schedule must accomplish.

The more important third point is this: what was shared (introduction point 1) is the answer you will receive, and eventually the answer those people will also receive — but first, it works like this (introduction point 2). When it comes to evangelism and missions, if you truly understand it, just thinking about it brings answers. From the time I was young I observed this, but very few people truly understand evangelism and missions. That is because they do not truly understand the gospel. Why does hardship come? Because it works like this (the world’s nations — John 8:44). “Why are there so many mentally ill people in developed nations?” It works like this (the world’s nations — John 8:44). Nobody teaches this. Japanese people would be offended to hear it. Japan is a developed nation. There are many mentally ill people there. Because it works like this (the world’s nations — John 8:44). This is not my word — it is what Jesus said. “Your father the devil.”

[Satan — 12 strategies]
So what happens? This is not without reason. There are other levels above. Invisibly, Satan is using exactly 12 strategies to kill people — that is what this means. You will not find this in any book in the world. It is only in the Bible. I am convinced that the Bible is the Word of God. There is no book that talks about Satan’s strategies. Right? None. He thoroughly entraps humanity in the snares of Genesis chapters 3, 6, and 11. That is how he creates many idols and religions and locks people tightly into those frameworks. Then he binds unbelievers with exactly 6 types of snares and makes it come out like this ([Satan — 12 strategies] → [the world’s nations (John 8:44)]). Just understand this. It does not end there.

[Ephesians 2:2, Ephesians 6:12]
This Satan seizes the power of the air. Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12, “the evil spirits in the heavens” — he attacks with these. That is why when people do shamanic rituals, there is an immediate effect. That leads to ruin, right? And when you practice asceticism, power appears — they say. That leads to ruin, right?

[Hell background]
What is even more terrifying? Satan completely presses down using this hell background. Resolving this is missions.

▣ Main — God’s love, forgiveness (God’s standard)

Now, today, how do we heal these people? What is the best method of healing? With God’s love. God desires to save all the peoples of the world and to forgive them. We must work with this.

Now, out of nowhere today, Peter comes and asks a question. “How many times do I have to forgive?” he asked. That already tells us he knows he must forgive. “Is seven times enough?” he said. He is not testing Jesus — he is asking while already knowing. Jesus said, “Not just seven, but seventy times seven.” What does that mean? The question Peter is asking is based on his own standard.

God’s standard is different from ours. He desires to unconditionally forgive and rescue those pitiful souls. Why? Because God knows. He knows what darkness is, what Satan is. So that they will not fall into this disaster — unconditionally — there is only one condition: to make them be rescued through faith in Christ. If you cannot understand this, it is a serious matter. That is the reason the global church does not work. It is a serious matter. We keep looking through our own eyes. God desires to forgive you. Right? Therefore He wants you not to be trapped in a curse.

When a child falls into water, what does someone who truly wants to rescue them do? They dive in or throw a rope. Because if the child stays there, they will die. Someone who is not in that mindset keeps analyzing the situation. “Why did you fall in?” Does it help to interrogate the child who fell in? Because humans do not understand this (darkness, Satan, disaster), God begins to rescue unconditionally through Christ. This must be communicated.

Jewish people do not understand what it means to be saved through faith because they do not understand this (darkness, Satan, disaster). Jewish people were like that. Religion, not understanding this, thinks that performing many disciplines will work. It may seem like it is working, but it is actually more dangerous. That is why Peter asked, “Is it enough to forgive seventy times, seven times?” And Jesus said, “Do it seventy times seven.” That is when Jesus told this story.

[240 million pounds | 5 pounds]

A certain man owed ten thousand talents. Now, simply speaking, do you know how much ten thousand talents is?

You need to know this too, right? Ten thousand talents. It is roughly 240 million pounds. To put it simply, the combined annual budget of all of Judea and Samaria is 600 talents. Judea and Samaria are large regions, right? Their annual budget is 600 talents — and yet this person owed ten thousand talents. Galilee is quite large too, right? Galilee’s entire income is 300 talents. Total income. So how much is ten thousand talents? What do you think the entire annual budget of Gyeonggi Province is? This is even more than that. In plain terms, ten thousand talents is 240 million pounds. It cannot be repaid.

So the master — the king — looked at this and said, “There is no way you can ever repay this, so there is nothing to do. I will cancel it. From now on, pull yourself together and live well.” Because he cannot repay it. How wonderful that must feel. And then, as you know, he went out and found a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii. His own fellow servant. What should he have done? “Hey, today is a great day for me. You do not have to pay me back.” That is what should have happened, right? Instead, he grabbed him by the collar and shook him violently. One of the king’s servants witnessed this. How could he act like this? He told the king. The king said, “Is that right? You! Stay in prison until you pay back every last coin.” 100 denarii is 5 pounds. That is what the math works out to. A person who was forgiven 240 million pounds cannot forgive someone who owes 5 pounds — that is what this is saying.

What does this mean? We have been rescued from a curse we could never resolve on our own — by God’s grace. So why can we not forgive other people? That is the point. Jesus said, “Seven times? No, seventy times seven.” And then He told this story ([240 million pounds, 5 pounds]). We who were in a position destined to be cursed generation after generation — God has rescued us. That is what this means.

1. World — Healing
First. God calls us to heal the entire world with forgiveness and love.

2. Satan — Nations (people)
More importantly, those who have completely become children of Satan — these nations — heal them.

3. Errand-running — Israel
And even more remarkable: Israel, which does errands for these nations — heal them. This is missions.

1. World — Healing

1) 3 curses
Christ resolved the 3 curses. It is an enormous concept. Believe it and wait. He completely ended the 3 curses — this hell background, Satan’s background, all disaster.

2) 3, 9, 3
It does not end there. Having ended it, the Triune God will now be with us with His power. Just try praying. He will be with us with the power of the throne. He will be with us with the power to revive the 3 ages.

3) Future generations
He will not simply end it there — He will pass it on to your future generations. How thankful is that? I only pray this prayer. That is why I am at peace. And answers keep coming. Our entire Immanuel family — all the families in the prayer cells — need to find this at this mission conference.

2. Satan — Nations (people)

1) War
Look at the superpowers. What are they doing right now? They are completely doing Satan’s errands — continuous war. We must pray for this to cease. We must pray for the dark power that is inside them, causing them to continually wage war and kill people mercilessly, to be bound. Superpowers operate like this.

2) Slaves (237)
237 nations are enslaved to this, right? All 237 nations. And what happens to them?

3) 5000 — (shamanism)
The future generations of 5,000 tribes are completely seized by shamanism. This is the state of the world. You are living comfortably now because our elders’ generation worked hard and Korea developed. But if you go to the 5,000 tribes, you will be shocked. I cannot say everything about other countries, but I visited the back alleys of the Philippines — not downtown. “Wow, seriously.” You should not go there. That is how bad it is. And then there is Brazil, right? I preached there and stayed at a hotel near the city center, and the next day since I was near downtown I just went for a stroll by myself — right next to the hotel — but I went down a side alley a bit, and these thugs started following me. Children and women would be in real danger. It is utterly terrible.

3. Errand-running — Israel

1) Slaves
What is more urgent right now is that our future generations must not become slaves to these people.

2) Captives
Is it acceptable that Christians are held captive by these people?

3) Vassal state
Right now it is like being a vassal state. Just like in Jesus’ time. Does that make sense?

4) Wanderers
More importantly, our future generations will be scattered as wandering peoples and die.

The mission conference is about rescuing them from this and instead commissioning them as missionaries. The Remnant and multiethnic peoples scattered throughout the world are to serve as missionaries. It is not frightening. This alone is what needs to be done.

▣ Conclusion

If you continue this prayer from now on, the very first thing is that answers will come to your work around you. When you see that, what do you call it?

1. Platform (healing)
It is a platform. It is coming. Pray to find it at this conference. That is why today’s first service is important. Come out of it. Get out. Then answers come immediately. People with some spiritual issues — when I try to help them, they cannot get out. Even now there is one person continuously sending me text messages — I am trying to help this person — but they keep saying the same things over and over and cannot get out. I tell them, “Wait.” But they cannot wait, because they are someone who needs help. You will certainly receive this answer. It is not difficult. How did I get out? I attended church from a young age. I decided, “I will absolutely not be stumbled by the church.” I resolved, “Everything is a mission I must pray for.” From that point, the platform was formed. “The church exists to evangelize. I will train in evangelism. The church is not poor. If we receive God’s grace, we can overcome material limitations. Why are our forebears always sick?” I prayed. Those three things became the weaknesses that formed my platform. In some kind of judgment, everyone in my household was sick. And then I prayed, and the platform formed. And I served as an associate pastor at various churches. Throughout, up until coming here — never being swept away by human voices, always respecting people — you must never fall into that. You must come out. You must make your exodus. That is today’s first service. Come out and hold onto the real thing.

2. Bartizan (light)
Then light will continually shine on your work, on our church, on these places. What do you call that? The bartizan. Since it is a guarding bartizan, there must be a light, right? When light shines on your work, people come in from the darkness. Even if there are some complaints about the church, bear with it. Right here at our church, we need to make a bartizan and a platform so that many teams will come. Even if it is a bit inconvenient, please understand. Many people need to come here. It is not every Sunday — so that many people can use this place on weekdays — build it as a platform for Korea, and build Korea’s watch-bartizan.

3. Antenna (message)
Then God will give words and messages to our church and to your work. Right? He will give messages — that is what this means. We call that the antenna. That is certain.

If you are enjoying this answer of healing and praying, a platform forms. How thankful and grace-filled is that? If you are praying, light shines on that platform. Then it becomes a bartizan. How simple is that? Even someone like me can do it. Then the message coming down from above will be heard. What is that called? That is the antenna.

Looking at the workers here at Immanuel Seoul Church throughout my time here, they are remarkable. You have received much grace, and now you just need to grab hold of this one real blessing. The church that heals 237 nations and the multiethnic 5,000 tribes. Hold onto it tightly. This week, hold onto just this message and continue to pray. Healing and answers will come to you — these three (from the conclusion) will certainly come. I bless you in the Lord’s name to be witnesses. Let us pray.

Prayer. Thank You, Lord. Please let us come out from unbelief and darkness so that we do not miss this. Now let us have a waiting that holds onto and enjoys the things of the throne. So let us stand as a true platform that shines light, and as a bartizan and an antenna. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Praise — “I Am the God that Healeth hee”

Confession of Faith
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
…Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord,
…Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
…Born of the Virgin Mary,
…Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
…Was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
…And is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty;
From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy universal Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body
And life everlasting. Amen.

Message — “The Foundation of Healing” (Matthew 18:21-35)
Transcript…Video

Prayer — 7 Bartizans · 7 Journeys · 7 Guideposts

Sunday 1st Service
Title/Scripture: The Greatest in This World and the Next (Matthew 18:12-14)
Speaker: Pastor Ryu Gwang-su
Date/Location: April 3, 2022, Immanuel Church (Seoul)

Matthew 18:12-14

12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?
13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Summary

Why are churches around the world closing their doors, and why are members of Korean churches decreasing and failing to receive answers?

▣ Introduction_ The Bible records the story of the gospel and the ruin of Israel.

1. The Bible records the story of Israel’s ruin.
1) Great nations – seized by Satan, they ignite wars and problems.
2) Underdeveloped nations – life of slavery
3) Israel – God’s people become slaves, captives, and vassals, serving at others’ bidding. Among them, those who carry the gospel must go and preach it, because that is the only way the world can live.

2. The Bible records the gospel.
1) Sin
(1) Self-committed sin, committed in order to survive
(2) Original sin – the sin of departing from God – a more fearful sin than self-committed sin
(3) The sin of being deceived, not even knowing what original sin is – a sin more fearful than original sin
2) The kingdom of God – the one and only thing Jesus came to speak of
(1) Matthew 5:3 True blessing – “Such a person is blessed. The kingdom of heaven is theirs.”
(2) Matthew 6:10 “Pray that God’s kingdom may come.”
(3) Matthew 6:33 “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.”
(4) Matthew 10:7 “Go to every town. Tell them the kingdom of God has come near.”
(5) Matthew 13 – He explained what the kingdom of heaven is through parables.
(6) Matthew 12:28 “If the Holy Spirit comes and Satan is bound, the kingdom of God has come. If you cannot understand this, you have nothing to do with me.”
(7) Acts 1:3 – At the end, He called them to Mt Olive and spent 40 days explaining the affairs of God’s kingdom.

3. Main Text
1) “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” – the question in the hearts of believers today
2) “The one who is like a little child in the kingdom of heaven is the greatest.” – Jesus’s rebuke
▷ Confession of an evangelist – There was no background or anything to lean on. That became the opportunity to look only to God.

▣ Main – Do not be anxious at all; start anew.

1. People do not actually practice faith (信仰生活). When you come out of the practice of looking to people (人仰生活), works absolutely happen.
1) When profit, loss, hardship, and problems arise, people do not practice faith. – Come out of the curse of looking to people and not to God.
2) Evidence – those who practiced looking to people vs. those who held to God’s word and practiced faith
(1) The faith of Joseph’s brothers – the entire nation of Israel was turned into slaves.
▷ You must respect people, but you do not need to listen to what people say. You must listen to God’s word.
(2) The people who came out of slavery yet continued to grumble in the wilderness
(3) The age of the 14 judges – who had never practiced faith and were far from the word – the reason God raised up Samuel and David
(4) Medieval Christianity (incorrect Christianity) that fought for power – much philosophy, disasters, a collapsing church
(5) Luther who came out from there – through Luther, who proclaimed God’s word (Romans 1:17), God turned the world upside down.

2. Become like a little child. – Believe in God. The spiritual realm will absolutely unfold.
1) He mobilizes the Triune God and His angels to always protect you (verse 10).
2) Witnesses who believed this fact
(1) Joseph (Genesis 45:5)
(2) David, who held to God’s word (1 Samuel 17:37, 1 Samuel 17:45-47, Psalm 23:1)
(3) The three young men of Babylon (Daniel 3:16-18), Daniel (Daniel 6:10), Esther (Esther 4:16)
(4) Pastor Joo Gi-cheol (Il-sa-gak-o – resolve to die once)
▷ We think that grabbing hold of the covenant and praying in advance is nothing special, but that is not the case. Do not be deceived.
(5) Lady An I-suk
(6) Crosby

3. Do not despise even one little child.
1) If we truly believe in God and truly know God’s power, we will not despise those people.
2) The heart of the shepherd who found one lost sheep out of a hundred (verses 12-14)
3) The 120 disciples of the upper room who conquered the world – they understood where they needed to come out from, why they were told to become like little children, and what they needed to hold on to in order to be restored.

▣ Conclusion_ Hold on to the covenant now and experience it.
1. Come out of Satan’s strategy of looking to people.
2. In no circumstance be discouraged; look to that God who works from the throne.
3. We must save the next generation. We must pray that great hardship will not come upon our next generation.

▷ I prayed to God like this: “God, there are so many pastors. Must I also become a pastor? Since God has made me a pastor, what am I to do?” There are many professional pastors. Why are churches closing their doors? Then the answer to what must be done has come out. Ask that question. There are few people who truly know the spiritual realm, who carry God’s secret and save souls. If you just hold on to the covenant, God works.

Transcript

A person who has been in the faith for four generations told me something. They said that their faith life just isn’t working. They said that church life is too difficult. Well, that person might be a somewhat sincere individual. Others don’t even say that and just go about doing other things.

American churches and churches around the world are closing their doors, and I would like to talk with pastors about it. I really want to talk about why the fighting in our churches needs to stop now, why Korean churches are seeing their membership decrease, and why believers are not receiving answers. I myself grew up in a Christian household, but I did not receive answers.

▣ Introduction_ The Bible records the story of the gospel and the ruin of Israel.

1. The Bible records the story of Israel’s ruin.
What I came to see is what is recorded in this important Scripture. If you look carefully at the Bible, you will find that it has written down the gospel and the ruin of Israel. Some people say they have read the Bible through a hundred times, but I am not sure what they were doing – because the Bible is not about something else. It is the story of Israel’s ruin. Every time a great nation arose, Israel was taken captive. Isn’t that right? That is what the Bible is about.

1) Great nations – seized by Satan, they ignite wars and problems.
If you look carefully at the Bible, these great nations are seized by Satan and keep igniting wars and problems. It is the same even now. You must pray. You never know when a demon might crawl into the hearts of those strange politicians.

I was born during the Korean War, so I know something about war. Look at war – your descendants will die wretchedly. That’s why leaders who are seized by Satan act the way they do, using all sorts of excuses. It is recorded that way in the Bible, and that is how it actually is.

2) Underdeveloped nations – life of slavery
There, in that place, the underdeveloped nations were living as slaves.

3) Israel
In that setting, Israel – God’s people – were serving as slaves, captives, and vassals. That is what the Bible is about. Why is that? Because among them, those who carried the gospel had to go and preach it, and only then could the world live.

2. The Bible records the gospel.
1) Sin
When you look at it this way, important things necessarily follow in the Bible.

(1) Self-committed sin, committed in order to survive
There is nothing a person will not do in order to survive. That is what we call “self-committed sin.”

(2) Original sin – the sin of departing from God – a more fearful sin than self-committed sin
There is a more fearful sin than that. What is it? It is “original sin” – departing from God. That is what is recorded in the Bible.

(3) The sin of being deceived, not even knowing what original sin is – a sin more fearful than original sin
There is a sin even more fearful than that. Is there really a sin more fearful than original sin? It is the “sin of being deceived” – not even knowing what original sin is. That is an even more fearful sin. So people say they repent, but they don’t even know what they need to repent of. That’s why churches around the world have no choice but to become enslaved and to close their doors. They say they repent, but they don’t know what they need to repent of. They talk about the law, but they don’t even know what the law is.

2) The kingdom of God – the one and only thing Jesus came to speak of
And so Jesus came and kept telling the same story over and over. He kept saying the same thing. He was not saying something different.

(1) Matthew 5:3 True blessing
“Such-and-such a person is blessed. What you are calling blessing is not blessing. Such-and-such a person is blessed. The kingdom of heaven is theirs.”

(2) Matthew 6:10
Jesus kept on – even while teaching the Lord’s Prayer, He taught only one thing: “Pray that God’s kingdom may come.” You must understand what this means. Churches around the world and the whole world are dying. Who knows what might happen on this earth.

(3) Matthew 6:33
Jesus also said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.”

(4) Matthew 10:7
The very first thing He said when He sent out His disciples: “Go to every town. Tell them the kingdom of God has come near.” These are Jesus’s words.

(5) Matthew 13
In Matthew 13, He kept explaining through parables what the kingdom of heaven is.

(6) Matthew 12:28
People who attended church failed to understand at all and criticized Jesus. “Why is that man casting out demons, talking about evil spirits, talking about Satan?” That’s how the Pharisees criticized Him. Jesus explained: “If the Holy Spirit comes and Satan is bound, the kingdom of God has come. If you cannot understand this, you have nothing to do with me.” They couldn’t even understand it.

And so this is how Israel ended up in such a wretched state later on. He only ever talked about one thing. You need to know the reason for that.

(7) Acts 1:3
At the very end, He called them to Mt Olive and for 40 days explained the affairs of God’s kingdom. I discovered this. “Ah… of course we can’t receive answers. There’s no way we can.”

3. Main Text
Do you know why? Today we see the question the disciples put forward. The passage we read today is too long, so I only read the end of it – but what did the front part say? It is exactly the same question that is in the hearts of believers in Korea and around the world.

1) “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” – the question in the hearts of believers today
Do you know what they said? “Who is the greatest among us in the kingdom of heaven?” That’s what they asked. What that means is: “Which of us ranks the highest?” Asking it that way would be embarrassing, so they used a bit of cunning and asked: “Who is it that ranks highest in the kingdom of heaven?” Isn’t this the same question that is in the hearts of believers today? Jesus never taught anything like that. It was a question that had nothing to do with what Jesus taught. Isn’t that right?

2) “The one who is like a little child in the kingdom of heaven is the greatest.” – Jesus’s rebuke
Today Jesus was honestly very angry. He gave a lengthy rebuke. “The one who is like a little child is the greatest.” That’s what He said. In response to the disciples’ question, Jesus was so shocked that, ya – He answered like this: “Ya, not you lot – little children are the ones who are great in the kingdom of heaven.” That was the answer. Is a little child great in some way? There is a profound parable in the words Jesus spoke.

There’s no need to say much more. Jesus gave a very lengthy explanation of this. I was fortunate in that before I began the evangelism movement, I had no background. You’d need to have some sort of background, but I had none. And truthfully I had so little to my name. A person needs to have at least one skill or talent of some kind, doesn’t he? I didn’t have any. But what was fortunate about that was that it became an opportunity for me to look only to God. That’s something to be grateful for. I kept wishing for something to lean on, but since there was nothing, I just look to God. That might look like a small thing, but it gave me tremendous grace. I can boldly testify to you.

▣ Main_ Do not be anxious at all; start anew.

Do not be anxious at all and start anew. In the conversation between Jesus and these disciples today, I discovered three things I had previously found.

1. People do not actually practice faith (信仰生活). When you come out of the practice of looking to people (人仰生活), works absolutely happen.
This is the first point. People don’t actually practice faith (信仰生活). They practice looking to people (人仰生活), not faith. But when you come out of that, works absolutely happen in your life. Please believe this. People don’t actually practice faith.

Occasionally you meet someone like that, and it is tremendously gracious. Isn’t that right? What do you think? Pastors, what do you think? Is this a question about who is great right now?

1) When profit, loss, hardship, and problems arise, people do not practice faith. – Come out of the curse of looking to people and not to God.
When profit and loss, hardship and problems arise, people don’t practice faith. So this isn’t about saying this is good or that is bad. It’s not about who is right or wrong. I’m telling you – don’t be anxious, don’t look to people, start practicing faith before God. That is what Jesus is saying. What does that mean? Come out of the curse of looking to people and not believing in God.

2) Evidence – those who practiced looking to people vs. those who held to God’s word and practiced faith
I will give you evidence.

(1) The faith of Joseph’s brothers – the entire nation of Israel was turned into slaves.
Joseph’s brothers made an enormous blunder because they did not believe in God. They believed in God – but they didn’t actually believe. “Why does our father treat only Joseph so well?” Well, there are reasons to treat him well. “What are we then?” That was the life of Joseph’s brothers. And so the entire nation of Israel later ended up being turned completely into slaves. Joseph went in and bore witness to the covenant, but because of the faith of Joseph’s brothers, the entire nation of Israel was turned into slaves. We are told to come out from there. You must honor and treasure people. But you don’t need to listen to what people say. You need to listen to God’s word. Truly. True answers will begin.

When I was young, I saw our church fighting. I saw them fighting in factions. And those were church leaders doing it. I saw it when I was young. Because of that, I lost my faith and became discouraged. So I completely fell apart. When I came back, it was because I grasped the gospel. Today, what Jesus said –

This question – is this really a question from disciples? It would be understandable if an unbeliever asked it, but disciples asked it, and Jesus was exasperated. They were mistaken in their own hearts – they didn’t say it out loud but were thinking: “Wow, Jesus really is an incredible person. Who’s going to become prime minister going forward? Who’s going to be a cabinet minister?” That’s the petty scheming going on right now. “From what I can see, this person raised up works with just one lunchbox – he’s incredible. Going forward there will be enormous financial resources – who’s going to handle the finances?” That is this question. What kind of faith practice is this? Pay close attention to the flow.

(2) The people who came out of slavery yet continued to grumble in the wilderness
How grateful should they have been to come out of slavery? Yet they kept complaining in the wilderness. They kept grumbling in the wilderness. They didn’t practice faith. “How thankful I am for God’s grace…” – that’s what they should have said, but instead: “Why did you drag us out into the wilderness to kill us?” That’s what came out.

(3) The age of the 14 judges who had never practiced faith and were far from the word – the reason God raised up Samuel and David
Going through the age of the 14 judges, there had never been any faith practice. Eli was completely removed from the word – he just slept. That’s why God raised up Samuel and David. There’s nothing more to say.

(4) Medieval Christianity that fought for power (incorrect Christianity) – much philosophy, disasters, a collapsing church
Even though there isn’t much time, I need to say a word for the sake of our next generation. I can’t mention the name, but I listened to a certain professor’s lecture, and ah – I was so heartbroken. I even had a thought that I ought to meet that professor at some point. The lecture went on for over an hour, and half of it was about Christianity. What that professor calls Christianity is not Christianity. What happened in the medieval period? When Rome became evangelized, the whole world should have been evangelized. But then the emperor and the pope finally started doing exactly what the disciples asked about today – fighting over who is greater. That’s what it was. It’s the same story. It’s the same as the very first trick Satan uses to deceive us. “Well, isn’t the emperor still greater?” The pope said: “But am I not still greater, being God’s servant?” They became enormously powerful – unimaginable wealth and positions. From that time on, anyone who deviated from the rules set up by the pope and the emperor was automatically declared a heretic. For a long period of time. So they killed more people than wars did.

What kind of Christianity is this? That is not Christianity. That professor doesn’t know it and calls it Christianity. That’s not right. They were complete shells, fake Christians, yet they considered it Christianity. They were all wrong themselves but if you differed from what they said, they branded you a heretic and burned you, drowned you, and tore you apart – that’s what the church did.

That is when all the philosophies came out. Of course they would. Many philosophers who opposed Christianity emerged. All the left-wing and right-wing came out of that. That church was a fraud. Wars broke out all over the land and problems came. That professor knows a great many things, being a professor, but it was a completely wrong lecture. Students here need to be careful when you go to university. In that age of counterfeit Christianity, many theories and ideologies emerged. What should be done? University students would have to read all those books, wouldn’t they? And after reading them, what then? You’ll just end up on the left or the right forever. And so there is no way to stop the disasters on this land and churches are collapsing. You need to come out from there.

(5) Luther who came out from there – through Luther, who proclaimed God’s word (Romans 1:17), God turned the world upside down.
Do not be anxious. When you come out of trusting in the things of people rather than believing in God, works absolutely happen. The person who came out from there was Luther. Isn’t that right? He was remarkable. It was Luther. You might think this person carried out a religious reformation, but that’s not it. Luther proclaimed God’s word. “We are currently saved by accumulating many merits – isn’t that wrong? You can be saved by giving a lot of money? Isn’t that wrong?” He taught to that extent. “If you give enough money you can go up from hell to heaven? Isn’t that wrong? Is it not written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’?” That is what Luther declared. God turned the world upside down regardless of Luther’s personal abilities. You understand, don’t you?

2. Become like a little child. – Believe in God. The spiritual realm will absolutely unfold.
And so today, grab hold of the second covenant. What is it? It is to become like a little child. What does that mean? It means to believe in God. Little children just trust their parents. That’s what He means – believe.

1) He mobilizes the Triune God and His angels to always protect you (verse 10).
Verse 10 has something very important today. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” You must believe this. He mobilizes the Triune God and His angels to always protect you.

2) Witnesses who believed this fact

(1) Joseph (Genesis 45:5)
Joseph believed this fact. Isn’t that right? No matter how much hardship you face, no matter how lonely you are, do not be shaken. Joseph believed this. When he became prime minister he said: “The reason I became prime minister is because God intended to save lives.” That is what he said. Do not be shaken. You will truly receive answers. In the midst of all that hardship, in the midst of a life surrounded by people’s voices and looking to people, David grabbed hold of the covenant. Grab hold of it today. They say they don’t believe in God. Believe in God. The spiritual realm will absolutely unfold.

(2) David, who held to God’s word (1 Samuel 17:37, 1 Samuel 17:45-47, Psalm 23:1)
Even when David went out to fight Goliath, he said the same thing: “The Lord delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear. I believe He will deliver me from the hand of this one who mocks the Lord.” He said this before King Saul, who had no faith. Saul had no choice but to perish. Looking at the faithless King Saul, young David said: “You come to me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord.” He said this to Goliath. And not just “in the name of the Lord,” but: “I come in the name of that very Lord whom you mock.” He said: “I will prove that life and salvation do not lie in the sword.” That is remarkable. Recover this kind of faith, that’s what He’s saying. Why should we hold on to unbelief out of fear and end up ruined? Isn’t that right? You will absolutely receive answers. Do not be deceived. There are so many human-minded words out there – do not be taken in by them.

Hold firmly to God’s word. David held to God’s word. Saul kept pursuing him to kill him. “Because the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing at all.” Who won? David won completely. Grab hold of this – that is what He is saying. The Bible is now talking about its flow. What is the first great flow of the Bible? What operation is Satan carrying out – that’s what it is saying. The Bible tells us this, and if you miss all of it you cannot practice faith. So don’t look to people – don’t practice looking to people – but believe in God, that’s what He is saying.

(3) The three young men of Babylon (Daniel 3:16-18), Daniel (Daniel 6:10), Esther (Esther 4:16)
Isn’t this what we always talk about? Going into the fire: “Even if the Lord does not deliver us, we are fine.” Daniel prayed to God the same way even knowing he was about to die. Grab hold of that faith today. Esther: “If I perish, I perish.” We all die only once anyway.

(4) Pastor Joo Gi-cheol (Il-sa-gak-o)
Pastor Joo Gi-cheol: “We only die once anyway.” That’s what he said. “It’s not dying multiple times. We die once – so why should I tell lies to get by?” That man saved Korea. You think it’s nothing special to grab hold of the covenant and pray in advance. It is not nothing. Do not be deceived.

I am not someone who teaches you; I am a witness. I am not your teacher. I have no qualification for that. I am someone who tells you what I have seen.

(5) Lady An I-suk
Do not waver – you must firmly grab hold of the covenant. Just like Lady An I-suk: “Whether I live or die, it makes no difference to me.” That’s what she said. She brought about so much work. She said: “I can go into the fire. I can go into the water. Because the Lord is there with me.”

(6) Crosby
Like Crosby: “I no longer pray that I will be able to see before God. Because God is guiding my path.” That’s something else. Now, seeing Jesus, I am at a loss for words. After following Him around at length and having Him explain the kingdom of God at length – and then this is the kind of question that comes out. Jesus was beside Himself. “Ya……”

3. Do not despise even one little child.
You need to discover the third thing. Didn’t we talk about today’s main text?

1) If we truly believe in God and truly know God’s power, we will not despise those people.
Jesus said: “Do not despise even one little child. Do not despise the lowly.” If we truly believe in God – isn’t that right? If I trust in people, in status, in money, why would I respect the lowly? I cannot. But if I truly know God’s power, I will not despise those people.

2) The heart of the shepherd who found one lost sheep out of a hundred (verses 12-14)
And so in today’s passage, Jesus told this parable. “If a shepherd who tends a hundred sheep loses one, will he just stay still? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine and go looking for the one?” He talked about the heart of the shepherd. “Then, if that shepherd finds the one lost sheep – how joyful would he be? Wouldn’t he be more joyful than over the ninety-nine waiting there?” That is what Jesus said.

3) The 120 disciples of the upper room who conquered the world – they understood where they needed to come out from, why they were told to become like little children, and what they needed to hold on to in order to be restored.
Where do we need to come out from? Why are we told to become like little children? What do we need to hold on to? What do we need to recover? That is what He talked about. The 120 disciples who understood this message went out, and those 120 conquered the world. Those 120 gathered in the upper room of Mark. There is clear evidence. Please firmly grab hold of the covenant.

▣ Conclusion_ Hold on to the covenant now and experience it.

You are in an enormously important time schedule, at an important place – the family gathered here right now. You must truly experience receiving answers. Because later, when we go to the kingdom of heaven, that cannot be changed. You must hold on to the covenant now and experience it.

1. Come out of Satan’s strategy of looking to people.
In conclusion, come out of Satan’s strategy of looking to people. That is Satan’s strategy.

2. In no circumstance be discouraged; look to that God who works from the throne.
In no circumstance be discouraged; look to that God who works wonders from the throne. That is the second point.

3. We must save the next generation. We must pray that great hardship will not come upon our next generation.
What is the third? We must save the children – the next generation. That is why He used the parable of a little child. We must pray for the whole world that great hardship will not come upon our next generation.

I hope that today will be the day great doors of answers open for you, the day your life is turned around. It is possible. Prayer alone is enough. How so? I prayed to God like this: “God, there are so many pastors. Must I also become a pastor? Since God has made me a pastor, what am I to do?” There are many professional pastors. The answer is simple. But why are churches closing their doors? Then the answer to what needs to be done has already come out. Ask that question. God will work in remarkable ways. There are many people who earn well, live well, and die well. There are capable professors and scholars. There are many scientists. But those who truly know the spiritual realm, who carry God’s secret and save souls, are few. It is simple. If you just hold on to the covenant, God works. Let us pray.

Prayer. God, may today be the very day of grabbing hold of a precious covenant. May this be a worship service that transforms my life. May this be a worship service that breaks the power of darkness. May this be the day I stand as a true believer and a witness who saves souls. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Praise — “Blessed Assurance”

Confession of Faith
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
…Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord,
…Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
…Born of the Virgin Mary,
…Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
…Was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
…And is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty;
From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy universal Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body
And life everlasting. Amen.

Message — “The Greatest in This Land and the Afterlife” (Matthew 18:12-14)
Transcript…Video

Prayer — 7 Bartizans · 7 Journeys · 7 Guideposts