Prayer Journal: November 1, 2025
02. Feb. 2025 Immanuel Church Sunday Worship 1st Service
Scripture Reading: Genesis 40:21-23
▣ Introduction
1. The difficulties of life, betrayal—do not fall into temptation. By nature, people have calculations about the future, and that is why. Joseph encountered the greatest hardship of his life. Though he had done no wrong, he was put in prison. There is one thing that is the hardest part of prison: there is absolutely no freedom. If you deprive a person of freedom, they cannot live. All kinds of illnesses come. That is why, in the past when Black people had no freedom, they said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” He did not even know when he might get out. Because it was essentially an incident that happened in a great house, he was suffering to the degree that it seemed almost like a life sentence.
A condemned criminal came in there. If you do wrong against the king, it is the death penalty. The official in charge of the king’s food and wine, the cupbearer—because of some wrongdoing—was put into that prison. This man was to die. In those days, unlike now, once a verdict came from the palace, they would execute immediately. So for that man it was an extreme hardship. There he met Joseph. Joseph must have shared various testimonies. Things happened in such a way that even in the prison Joseph could be trusted. In that dramatic situation, Joseph interpreted the dream that the chief official, the cupbearer, had dreamed. “You will surely live and be released. You will clear your name and go out alive.”
Such a thing happened. The official gained immense strength. Moving house outside? This was far beyond that; when someone says, “You will not die in prison, you will be released,” that is an enormous thing. When it was decided that he would be released, he returned to the house of the official—that is, he returned to the palace. At that time Joseph made a private request. We thought Joseph was always receiving grace and always praying, but Joseph made a private request. It was something Joseph normally would not do, but he asked a favor—because it was hard. Though he overcame by prayer and received many answers, it was hard. This man was someone powerful, returning to the palace. Joseph asked him for a favor: “When you go out, please remember me.” In simple terms, “Please get me out.” Since he would enter the palace. But today’s Scripture says, “The chief official forgot Joseph.” He forgot him.
In the course of our lives, there are times when we face something like that—being betrayed. Humanly speaking, this official betrayed greatly. He received such blessing in such hardship, yet he forgot Joseph. No matter how much Joseph waited, there was no word. He had asked so earnestly and had helped him, yet the official forgot. At such times we may develop resentment. When you are betrayed by people, you become tempted and shaken. Or thoughts of “I must take revenge” arise. Some, in fact, commit murder or crimes, and such things occur.
At such times, you must not fall into temptation. Human nature is like that. Having received such grace from Joseph, he should have repaid it, but he forgot. As you know, in the old days the elders would say this: if you help an animal, it repays grace; if you help a person, they repay with spite. Why is that? If you help an animal, the animal shows some sign of gratitude. But when you help a human, later they become your adversary. Why? The difference is simple. Animals have no calculations about the future. People do. Thinking it over, “Now I am going back to the palace; what benefit is there in associating with that Hebrew, that powerless beggar-like man?” Perhaps such thinking arose. Whether he even thought about it, no one knows. That is human nature. So it was not a situation in which he would say, “I must strain myself to pull Joseph out.” Even though he knew Joseph was in great suffering, he forgot him. It is a single incident.
2. The judgment you make at such a time changes into a 100-year, 1000-year, eternal answer. This is a time schedule in which we must learn many things. The judgment you make at such a time may turn into a 100-year answer. Sometimes it becomes a thousand-year, eternal answer.
3. God made him forget—when Joseph reached thirty, an age at which he could become prime minister, the king summoned him. The important point here today is this: it was not merely that the man forgot; God made him forget. This is important. God made him forget. How could that man forget Joseph? He should have thought it over, and when an opportunity came before the king, he should have spoken—but he forgot. Joseph, as you know, could not have succeeded if he had been released from prison at that age. As we will confirm in the second service today, when Joseph was exactly thirty years old—by that time, such years had passed—Joseph was still in prison. He did not know when he would come out. At that time the king dreamed a dream. When the dream could not be interpreted, he brought great difficulty to the scholars and the people. When a person is pressed, he remembers. Because he was so pressed, only then did he remember Joseph. The king summoned Joseph. As we will confirm in the second service, when the king summoned him, Joseph shaved for the first time, changed his clothes, and went before the king. He was thirty years old then. In Egypt, senior civil officials had to be thirty years old or older, and legally the prime minister had to be thirty or older.
▣ Main Message: What the Children of God Who Will Do World Evangelization Must See
We know the content, but what must we see here? This is important. What kind of answer must you and I receive? There are ordinary people, believers, those with a calling—there are many kinds, are there not? Some people live simply to make a good living. Some live to succeed in worldly terms. But for you and me, is it not world evangelization? If Joseph was indeed a person to do world evangelization, then it had to be this way. Today we must realize something important.
1. Eyes to see time (No-time). Time is short, and we must receive answers; first, the eyes to see time. What do people do? They wait for an opportunity. This is what generally happens. It is not wrong; people wait for time. “We must endure; what else can we do?” This is what normal people say. But Joseph was different. Here arises the first answer that you and I must grasp. We do not wait for a timetable. What is it? The covenant we must hold today is No-time. For Joseph, it was No-time. What does that mean?
1) Now is the best time; the field where I am is the best mission field; that incident is God’s answer. For you, people of God, now is the best time. The field is the best mission field. You must surely keep this in mind. The official’s betrayal of Joseph is an answer—because God has an important plan. All of you who must do world evangelization must hold to this. We do not hunt for opportunities. That is why problems keep coming. We, within God’s timetable, have today as the best—No-time; there is no time for us in that sense.
2) Bartizan—the real thing is what the Triune God gives and what works by the power of the throne. Why? There Jesus spoke of the bartizan. What the Triune God gives to you is the real thing. What works by the power of the throne—that is the real thing. Joseph must do world evangelization now. It is not, “How shall I get my food?” nor “How shall I rise in status?” “Though I have no power, as a child of God, this place is the best mission field; that official who betrayed me is God’s answer.” There he enjoyed it as is. Make today the best answer. That is God’s truly important plan. Joseph was inside the prison yet, there, he discovered all of God’s works.
3) Not hunting for chances, but becoming the main figure who produces the blessing of the throne in the present field. Therefore we are not like worldly people who wait for opportunities and hunt for chances. It is not that such things are unnecessary, but that is not us. You are the main figures who, even in prison, in the present field, produce the blessing of the throne. Our Remnants must truly have this faith.
I have no special technique. I have not researched something special. I feel sorry to my pastor friends, but a famous university in America once said they would conduct comprehensive research on me and grant me a doctorate. The school analyzed it: “This is not just content. We must retain this person at our school and award a degree.” I felt sorry to the person who introduced me, but though I had said okay at first, when the time came I said “No.” Why? Because I did not need it. I do not think believers come to hear God’s Word because I have earned some degree. But when we started RU, I asked for it—because it needed to remain on record. You must remember this.
When I began and went forth, my family situation was extremely difficult. Truly. When I understood the gospel, I held a covenant: “This has nothing to do with me. That is my parents’ situation; it does not concern me. Here I will craft God’s true masterpiece.” That answer has now come—three things: poverty, disease, incompetence—destroyed all three. You must never depend on people, thinking, “Who will help me?” No. When God’s true answer comes, no one can block it. I cannot tell everything. I saw this in the Word. So I went to Yeongdo; the church was so small. The answer I received then was this: God was telling me, “Do not remain in a room; proclaim God’s Word to all of Yeongdo and Busan.” Is that not right? Today is the best day. When I met you, what covenant did I hold? To create the three courtyards throughout the whole world so that people would hear God’s Word. You must not lose this. The place where you are is a mission field. The location where you are is the most blessed place. You must discover this. “Even that incident of betraying me is God’s answer.” It is certain.
- Eyes to see incidents (No-way). The second thing to grasp: the eyes to see incidents. We must see time, and we must see incidents.
1) Not seeking a path, but No-way. Many people try to find a way, do they not? Many try to find a way. Never miss this: we are No-way. First, we are No-time. We do not need the time people talk about. Remember this. We are No-way. We do not need the path people insist upon.
2) WIO. What was “the way” for Joseph? “With.” The evidence that God is with me is the way. “Immanuel.” The evidence that God is with us is the way. All things work together to accomplish the answer. “Oneness.” That way is our way.
3) Journey. In this, Jesus explained the journey. I have seen seven great journeys—tremendous. Go the way in which the Triune God works by the power of the throne. That is correct. It is absolutely not a vain statement. Rather, it is the thought “How can there be no way?” that is vain. That is the vain thought—hoping for some stroke of luck. The Bible promises ten platforms; those are our way. The ten unseen, spiritual secrets by which He works and leads us—that is the way. Is that not so? Therefore we proceed in that flow with assurance. Thus all our “today” is the camp of the throne. This is the way. Joseph knew the true timetable and the true way.
- Eyes to see the goal (Nobody). Third, how do people commonly think of goals?
1) Not depending on people or seeking people, but Nobody. They keep depending on people and seeking people. Yes, that is what people do. But not us. Nobody. What are we? We wait for God’s absolute plan. We seek that.
※ Make up your mind beforehand: No-time, No-way, Nobody. Therefore I tell the Remnants: “Make up your mind beforehand.” I tell them: “It is No-time. It is No-way. It is Nobody.” If you function at the level of the world, you will live and die like the world. You will not do world evangelization. If you misunderstand my words, you might not comprehend. I cannot say other things just to make you understand if you do not. To help those precious Remnants understand, I cannot lie. Virtually everyone in the world lives with this as the standard (eating, livelihood). Not so for us. The opportunities the world seeks—those are No-time for us; we do not need them. No-way. And what are we? Nobody. That is why God cut everything off from Joseph—so he would truly do it.
2) At that time the Word of God lives and works; the evidence of the Word begins to appear. At that time, the Word God had given Joseph from the very beginning began to live and work. The Word of God that had led him until then began to produce evidence. The timetable surely comes, because the Word is fulfilled.
3) The guidepost. Jesus called this a guidepost: “Go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Here I have astonishingly confirmed many answers that are in the Bible. You know Joseph’s timetable. We will look at it in the second service—what he took. What did Joseph take before the king? This is important. People know that he interpreted the dream before the king; everyone knows that. That is not the point. What did he bring? That is, what did Joseph possess? We will confirm that in the second service; today, we confess before God the definite answer now. We are not waiting for the chance people speak of. It is not the path on which people depend on one another and first strive simply to make a good living. What God has prepared is not to depend on people, live appropriately, and die. We are Nobody. You must surely go holding the covenant.
※ My timetable is in God’s hands. I have no timetable. Is that not so? I wear a watch, but I have not “put on time.” My timetable is with God. Today, you must firmly hold this as your covenant. Time is short, but we must go with the answer; therefore seize a definite guidepost. A definite guidepost—through Joseph, God is informing us of the facts. There are situations when you cannot speak—when you cannot say a word to people. For Joseph, this was the greatest guidepost. It sounds like a dream, but it is not. It is the most real.
▣ Conclusion
1. Your workplace is a mission field; your problem is an answer. God has given me several graces so that I might serve you well and do world evangelization. First, I could not share testimonies from my childhood. I was too ashamed to testify, so I did not. But there I seized many of God’s covenants. And in truly living church life, I have seen many churches and believers. I have seen many churches that do not do the gospel movement and do not truly serve God. However excellent they may be—though that is not unimportant—they do not do the gospel movement. So I realized, “Ah… all that is unnecessary.” Why spend an entire lifetime, money, and one’s life on what is unnecessary? You must understand this. It is not that the workplace you go to is unnecessary. That is your mission field. Apart from that, there is no meaning. The problems that come to you and the person who betrayed you—that is the answer. Why? Because there is something else. Because there is God’s true timetable that He gives. This is what I am saying. Because there is the true way that God gives. The person you truly must meet is someone else. You must hold this as your covenant today.
Sadly—and I have said this before—there were two older women than I, seniors to me in faith, who lived the Christian life very well. Both were clean, elegant, and well-looking—popular wherever they went. One of them always said, “I will not live in poverty. My family is somewhat poor. I will live rich.” I understand. It is not a bad statement, but she emphasized it so much. Truly, things happen as you say; if I named her, you would all know. She became the daughter-in-law of the most famous conglomerate in Busan. Truly. But the other senior was not like that. She simply said, “I wish to live the life of faith well and spread the gospel.” That was it. She did not seem to have any great dream. But as time went by—this still pains me—the first senior, after marriage, did not even last two years. In her words, it was hell. Hell. I met her once in America; she had gained so much weight from eating. Meanwhile, the other senior who held to the Word met a man who truly lived the life of faith well; they did the gospel movement, and their children grew up likewise. When we visited them once, what did they bring out? The couple welcomed us in the evening, and they brought out the Bible and hymnal first. “Let us worship,” they said. So—ah—those who hold the important covenant, even if they are not doing something “big,” bring transformation.
2. There is a separate bartizan, journey, and guidepost that you must truly have. Today, through Joseph, you must find what is yours. It does not mean that your present job, work, or study is wrong. Is that not so? There is a separate bartizan, journey, and guidepost that you must truly have. From the day you seize them, the work will begin.
3. Resolution—God’s work that turns weaknesses into blessings, crises into answers, and shameful parts into blessed things. Today, throughout the day as you receive this grace, resolve that your greatest weakness will turn into the greatest blessing. Take the time to resolve that your greatest crisis is the greatest answer—do this, because it is certain. Resolve that God’s work will turn your most shameful part into the most blessed thing. You must do this—because this is the highest calling. I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ that today will be the day you are healed all day long.
Prayer. We thank You, God. Let this become the time when, like Joseph, we are left alone with You. Let this become the timetable when we find what is important today. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.