Subject 13 : The Gospel According to MATTHEW
[Chapter 16-1] We Must Be Mindful of God’s Work First (Matthew 16:21-25)
(Matthew 16:21-25)
“From
that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to
Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him
aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this
shall not happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind
Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the
things of God, but the things of men.’ Then Jesus said to His disciples,
‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.’”
There
were many difficulties for me in the year 2000. You probably went
through some hardship as well, right? Had Jesus not protected us, we
would have passed away already, but we know that our Lord has kept us
alive, for He is truly powerful. Even when all our ministers and saints
at our Mission are added up, our number is only a few hundred, and so in
some ways, it does seem to make little sense for such a small gathering
to try to work with the whole world. However, even through this, we
once again realize just how great God’s power is. Even though we are
insufficient, the Lord is never insufficient. That’s why I believe that
if it’s the Lord’s will, then it will be fulfilled for sure. Even though
we are small in number and preach the gospel to the whole world, it is
very hard for us to work so incessantly. When I really think about it,
we are indeed doing something truly amazing.
Exhausted
from backbreaking labor, we really came close to death. When we think
about it in carnal terms, our labor is so hard on us that we cringe at
the mere prospect of the work that needs to be carried out in the days
to come, but when we think with a spiritual mind, we are very grateful
even for this. While I myself am struggling, I know that our ministry
workers and all of you supporting the preaching of the gospel are also
struggling. Yet despite this hardship, you did not perish away, but kept
yourself alive to follow the Lord all the way to this point. I am very
thankful for this.
Today,
we read a passage from Matthew chapter 16. In today’s Scripture
passage, Jesus told the disciples that He had to go to Jerusalem, suffer
many things from the elders, priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise
from the dead again in three days. Then Peter, to show his loyalty to
Jesus, said to Him, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to
You!” Peter had said this for the sake of the Lord, not realizing that
it was actually his own carnal thought. So instead of being commended
for his loyalty, Peter’s words only brought Jesus to anger, and he was
harshly rebuked as a result.
The
Lord then said to Peter and to us as well, we could truly live
spiritually: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his
life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it”
(Matthew 16:24-25).
The
Lord says here that whoever wants to follow Jesus must first deny
himself, pick up his cross, and then follow Him. Now, some of you may
think, “There he goes again; we already know all about this passage!” We
may know all about the Word, but far too often, we are unable to
actually put our knowledge into practice. As well, there are certain
passages that our minds can only fully grasp and understand after a few
years, even after hearing several sermons on them. So even if we were to
speak of all the passages in the 66 Books of the Bible hundreds of
times, it cannot be too excessive to us. That’s why we must listen to
the Word of God time and again.
What
Jesus said to Peter in today’s Scripture passage is very beneficial for
us. “You are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
The Lord rebuked Peter because of this. What, then, is the difference
between the things of men and the things of God? How are they different?
We must be mindful of the things of God. Whenever we want to do
anything somehow, we must first think of the work of God. We must also
be more mindful of greater things than smaller things, and the whole
picture than the partial picture. Above all, we must set our minds on
the greater cause. If we are not careful, we are prone to be obsessed
with petty things and then it’s quite possible for us to think that our
judgment is right in our own way. However, if we stay focused on the
will of God, then we can realize that it’s wrong for us to think based
on petty things.
We Must Follow the Thoughts of the Spirit, Not the Thoughts of the Flesh
Just
as Peter was rebuked by Jesus in today’s Scripture for this reason, it
is also what we must all infallibly remember in our lives of faith. In
other words, it’s imperative for us to first think of greater things
than smaller things, and the greater cause than the will of the flesh.
If this principle is not clearly settled in our hearts, Jesus will also
rebuke you and me just as He rebuked Peter. He will say the same things
that He had said to Peter. Our thoughts must be upright. This means that
we must first think of God’s work. Of course, I’m sure that you are all
mindful of God’s work, but it cannot be emphasized enough just how
imperative it is for us to think about how the work of God is different
from the work of mankind and to know this difference clearly.
As
we go through many different affairs in this world, we are all prone to
think of the things of men first, just like Peter. “Far be it from You,
Lord; this shall not happen to You!” This is what Peter said when the
Lord told the disciples, “I will go to Jerusalem, be persecuted by the
elders and scribes, and be crucified to death. I must die and be
resurrected.” Peter then tried hard to dissuade Him, saying, “This shall
not happen to You!” Many Christians in this world, and sometimes even
you and me, who profess to be serving the Lord, think and say like Peter
all too often. But you and I must never do so. It’s not just Peter who
expressed concern over his own prosperity, but this is something that
everyone else, including you and me, should also be concerned about.
While
serving the Lord, sometimes we compare one another based on our own
human standards and argue over who is better than whom; in reality,
however, we know that there is hardly any difference among us. We know
that when looking from a spiritual viewpoint, the difference between any
two human beings is only paper-thin. How much taller could one be even
if he were tall, and even if one is learnt, how great is secular
knowledge? The difference is insignificant. Those who are carnally
minded, those who think from the perspective of mankind—that is, those
who are concerned about only their own welfare and honor, and think
everything only for the prosperity of their flesh—think like Peter.
Recently,
I’ve been watching a historical drama on TV, and I often see people
conspiring against their political enemies and murdering them to grab
power, and how such conniving and unrighteous people prevailed. It’s no
exaggeration to say that the history of mankind is one that is marked
with endless bloodshed, instigated by those thirsting after power
seeking to fulfill their lusts. In other words, mankind’s history is the
outcome of the activities of those seeking after power. In many
aspects, it’s by a few individuals that the history of the human race
has unfolded as a field of contest to determine who would succeed, who
would be higher, who would be greater, and who would be preeminent,
rather than for any great cause.
Peter
loved Jesus so much that when Jesus said, “I must die,” he tried to
dissuade Him, saying, “This shall never happen to You!” Peter said this
because he loved Jesus too much. It’s not because Peter hated Jesus that
he said this. While we serve the Lord, however, our focus must be on
whether or not the will of the Lord would be fulfilled. We have to be
mindful of greater things. In other words, rather than arguing over
individual merits, you and I must set our minds on the greater cause.
“This is what the Lord is saying and this is what He wants. How should
we then serve Him with the same heart and same purpose with the Lord on
this issue?” It’s with such thoughts that we must lead our life of
faith.
However,
even among our ministers serving the Lord and our brothers and sisters
alike, far too many of them are delighted if they are good at something
and their work is going well, but at the very moment they get slightly
disappointed at themselves, they fall deep into spiritual despair all of
a sudden and end up spiritually dead. Of course, many of our ministry
workers are not like this. There also are believers who are rejoiced
together when the will of God is fulfilled and who are saddened together
when the will of God is not fulfilled. In other words, there are those
who set their minds on the Lord’s work and unite their hearts to this
endeavor regardless of themselves and whether what they are doing is
going well or not. Their hearts are conditioned by the work of the Lord,
rejoiced and saddened together with Him depending on how His work is
unfolding.
There
are two types of people among those leading a life of faith, those who
seek the greater cause and those who seek only their own interests. In
the Corinthian churches, there were some saints who had formed different
factions, saying, “I am of Apollo; I am of Peter; I am of Paul.”
Likewise, there are many Christians today who are mindful of only the
things of men, not caring about the will of the Lord. These people all
think like Peter. Yet God cannot work through such Christians. That’s
why the saints of such churches were the first to be corrupted once Rome
allowed religious freedom to Christians. Intoxicated by the world, they
all ended up abandoning the truth of salvation and renouncing the
righteous work of God. As a result, these regions became the first
places from where the work of the gospel disappeared.
During
the 2001 Winter Jesus’ New Life Discipleship Training Camp, I would
like to ask the following question to everyone, including myself, all
our coworkers, our saints, and even the unsaved who still do not believe
in this gospel: “Are you mindful of the things of God or the things of
men?” I would like to share the Word to address this issue. If we are
mindful of the things of men, everything must satisfy our wish in the
end. Whatever we do with such a mindset, we are only happy if our wish
is satisfied and unhappy if not.
But
how is it when we are mindful of the things of God? If God says, “I
have saved you like this,” then regardless of whether this Word suits us
or not, the proper thing for us to do is to say, “Amen! If You have
done this, then You have done so.” Depending on whether we are
spiritually minded according to the greater cause or succumb to
self-centered humanistic thoughts, the success and failure of our lives
of faith are determined. When Jesus said that He had to die, Peter tried
to dissuade Him, saying, “No, that must never happen!” Yet he was only
rebuked by Jesus, who said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan!” This means
that those who are mindful of only the things of men are a brood of the
Devil.
Because
you and I both have flesh, it is extremely hard to deny this flesh. To
lead a life of faith, however, it is still absolutely imperative for us
to deny ourselves. Just as Jesus said in today’s Scripture passage,
whoever desires to come after the Lord must deny himself, pick up his
cross, and follow Him. That’s why it’s such a struggle for all of us the
born-again to lead a life of faith. Yet even though it’s hard, we must
still examine ourselves to see what it is that we are actually mindful
of in our lives of faith. We have to ask ourselves whether we are
mindful of fleshly things or the will of the Lord, whether our thoughts
are of mankind or the Spirit, and whether we are serving the Lord
according to His desire or with the mindset of man. Those who desire
God’s work to succeed and whose hearts are devoted to the fulfillment of
the will of God are clearly God’s workers and His servants.
Even
if the will of God is not fulfilled right away, such people set their
goal on this will, they labor and sacrifice themselves for it, and they
run toward this goal. If it’s the will of God, then these people run
toward it regardless of whether it succeeds or not and they are rejoiced
when this work is achieved; in fact, they have few things that bring
any joy to them except for the work of God. Clearly, such people must be
God’s workers and His servants. In contrast, if someone does not care
about what happens to the will of God and His work, but is only
interested in his own contentment and welfare—rejoiced when his own work
goes well and saddened when it does not—then strictly speaking, he is
not a true laborer of God. All those who are serving the Lord must
examine themselves carefully to see whether they are indeed serving God
or themselves and they must completely dedicate all their hearts to
living for the Lord.
We
are now preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the
world. In some ways, proclaiming the gospel throughout the whole world
may seem like a tremendous challenge, but when looked at with faith,
it’s a challenge that we can rise up to meet. Because the Lord has told
us to spread the gospel to every tribe all over the world, because this
is the will of the Lord, His pleasure, and His commandment, because the
Lord’s commandment is infallibly fulfilled, and because we are
instruments used for this work, all that we are doing is just obeying
this commandment. There is no other reason.
Quite
frankly, I think that throughout the entire history of Christianity,
there has been no mission organization or denomination anywhere in the
world that has labored so hard like us. Is there any mission group that
is preaching the gospel to over 200 nations all over the world? There is
no denomination in this world, no matter how large, that is working
with the whole world in mind like us. This is a remarkable achievement
if we were to boast about it. But how is it when God sees us from His
point of view? How is it if we look at ourselves from God’s perspective
or through the eyes of faith? We are just doing what God has told us to
do as His servants—no more, no less.
When
we, the born-again, carry out God’s work, how will our hearts and faith
be disposed? We must be mindful of God’s work in everything we do. If
we find ourselves saddened and struggling in our lives of faith, it’s
all because our hearts are set on our own flesh. God’s work itself is
not the cause of our sadness or hardship. Of course, in some cases, we
feel as if our sadness and trials stem from serving the Lord. However,
if we reconsider this, we can see that it’s because we are mindful of
the things of men that our hearts go astray and suffer. It’s when we
think based on human standards and the things of men, that we are
saddened and feel so overworked. If we think from God’s perspective—that
is, based on the will of God—then it is only a matter of fact for us to
pay any price of sacrifice. And if we think about how much of God’s
work is achieved through our sacrifice, our hearts become rejoiced and
happy.
I
am not saying these things to rebuke you, as if some of you have done
or said something wrong. Rather, I am only saying these things so that
in this day and age when the day of the Lord’s return is not that far
away, we would all refine our faith properly and lead a life of faith
that’s truly free from any regret or failure.
You
and I are God’s people following the Lord. I know that you have labored
hard and sacrificed much while following the Lord and that you have
lost much and gained much as well. This is how we the righteous have led
our lives. At this present time, when there aren’t that many days left
for our lives of faith, I contemplate on what it is that we should do.
Ultimately, we must become the kind of people who are always rejoiced
when the work of God goes well and saddened when God’s work progresses
slowly. You are I must indeed be mindful of God’s work always. We should
never become such people who are mindful of only the things of men,
saddened and rejoiced by them. Our beliefs, our thoughts, and our faith
must be freed from the bondage of human desires and turned toward the
things of God to be mindful of them.
We
must have such faith and thoughts. Only then can we follow the Lord
unwaveringly in this age, when the end is not far away. Regardless of
our merits and demerits, we must become the kind of people who follow
the Lord unchangingly, who are grateful for Him, and who can stand up
without any shame on the last day, at anytime the Lord returns. This is
possible only if our faith is such that we are always mindful of God’s
work first. Without this kind of faith, nothing can ever be achieved.
You
and I should never allow ourselves to succumb to the thoughts of the
flesh like Peter, who had spoken from the Devil’s side in today’s
Scripture passage. Even though it may have seemed right in Peter’s eyes
to obstruct the way of Jesus to fulfill the will of God, in God’s eyes,
he was clearly speaking words uttered only by Satan’s servants. As such,
setting aside our merits and demerits for now, we must learn and
realize from today’s Scripture passage what kind of faith we should all
have. You and I must be mindful of God’s work.
Deny Your Carnal Thoughts
The
Lord said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow Me.” It would be a struggle for you to
obey this Word. Nevertheless, I know very well that you have followed
the Lord to this day precisely because you have denied yourself all this
time. Isn’t that the case? I am sure it is. However, the Lord commands
us again, demanding the same requirement from us time after time, today
and tomorrow: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow Me.” This Word is not something that
was spoken just once, but it was spoken continuously. Today and tomorrow
alike, and until the day the Lord returns, this Word is God’s
commandment for all of us.
For
us to follow the Lord, denying ourselves is not enough. The Lord said,
“Take up your cross and follow Me.” The cross here denotes hardship.
There is no one among you who has no cross. That’s why everyone
struggles. There is an excellent gospel song in our hymnbook that goes,
“♪Though I am weary and lonely, I believe that God is giving me new
strength♪.” What is important, however, is that we shouldn’t fall into
self-pity even while singing the words of such a praise song, saying to
ourselves, “Oh, it’s so hard! I’m so miserable!”
When
it comes to serving the Lord, everyone has his own cross. People
realize this right away when they meet the Lord, as soon as they are
saved. In some light, perhaps even before being saved, for anyone to
meet the Lord and receive his salvation and eternal life from Him, there
probably was a cross that he had to shoulder for this as well. Everyone
who wants to be blessed by the Lord inevitably comes across this Word
first.
This
is the Lord’s commandment to us. “If you want to follow Me, deny
yourself, take up your cross, and then follow Me.” Sometimes, it’s
harder to deny yourself and pick up your cross than to die. If the cross
were far away, then you could go around and avoid it, but is your cross
really that far away? No, your cross is so close to you that there is
no way for you to avoid it. Everything and anything can constitute your
cross—you could be your cross, your stubbornness and your thoughts could
be your cross, or your family, relatives, your closest friends, and
even your most beloved parents could be your cross. All these things can
be what make it hard for us to follow the Lord.
Is
it then a curse for us to struggle so much to follow the Lord after
being born again? No, that is not the case. Everyone has his own cross
though many people don’t show it outwardly. What about you? Don’t you
have a cross to pick up? Of course you do. I am sure that you all agree.
Because everyone has his own cross to bear, there is no one who does
not struggle while serving the Lord. We have to recognize that each of
us has his own cross to carry—if not mine, then you still have a
different type of cross to carry; and if not seen by the eye, then you
have an even larger spiritual cross to take up. Serving the gospel is
inevitably accompanied to hardship. Since that is what the Lord Himself
said, it’s actually strange to come across anyone who doesn’t struggle.
Yet
even among such trials, the Lord still commands us to follow Him. We
should therefore accept our cross and be all the more grateful for it.
If we had no cross to bear, just how prideful would we be? There are
many of us who, without a cross to carry, would turn so conceited that
it would be a completely unbearable sight. Such a person, convinced that
he alone is worthy, would despise his own brothers and sisters of faith
and turn himself into a stumbling block that leads them to spiritual
death, saying to them, “Is that all you can do? That’s not the right
life of faith; this is that proper life of faith!” There would then be
no one left here. He would then end up all alone in the Church and lead
his life of faith as if he were greater than Jesus Himself. Such people
would not be able to tolerate anyone who is even slightly weak.
This,
however, can never happen to us, for you and I alike each have a cross
to carry. If our cross were a wooden cross, we could just take it off,
but we can’t do this because this cross is always accompanying us. It’s
inevitable for those who have struggled a lot to have compassion on
other struggling souls and endure their weaknesses precisely because
they themselves have gone through such trials. It’s because both you and
I are like this, because we have tolerance for each other, that we are
now gathered here to worship and serve the gospel together.
Everyone
who serves the Lord has a cross to carry. That’s why the Lord commanded
us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. Faith is about
following the Lord no matter what happens to us. In other words, it is
all about denying ourselves and following the Lord. This Word is the
Truth that we cannot help but admit even if we hear it thousands and
tens of thousands of times. Regardless of our circumstances and
situations, we must apply this Word to our faith, thoughts, and current
circumstances. And if there is anything that compels us to deny
ourselves, then we must indeed deny ourselves. Those who consider
themselves too weak should deny such thoughts of their own and tell
themselves that they are strong in Christ, for they believe in the Lord.
On the other hand, those who think they are strong and perfect enough
should look toward the Lord and say to themselves that they are indeed
nothing. You and I alike must all deny ourselves and pick up our cross
even in our hardship and if this hardship has been permitted by the
Lord, look toward the Lord and follow Him.
The
Lord said to us, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” We have no choice but to
follow the Lord and accept this Word. Why? Because your predecessors of
faith have been following the Lord even in their hardship. If you
happen to think, “It seems to me that my predecessors of faith have no
hardship at all. They seem to get around just fine by themselves and are
always happy,” then you couldn’t be more wrong. The predecessors of
faith in God’s church have denied themselves for a long time to serve
the gospel and to follow the will of God. It’s because it’s so hard and
difficult that when your predecessors of faith get together, they play
soccer once in a while. Rev. Kim, who is now ministering alone in the
United States, once confided to me that there was no one to play soccer
with. He remembers with fondness how he had so much fun playing indoor
soccer with us with a ball made out of some pieces of sponge or socks
when he was back in Korea. He also told me that when he is driving, he
finds himself singing Korean songs all the time. I can understand this
quite well. That’s how hard it is for Rev. Kim to follow the Lord while
denying himself to achieve the things of God.
Do
you know how useful foul words are from time to time? Are foul words a
part of language or not? They are a part of language. Can you live
without language? Some people, when they hear me swearing while
preaching, say, “That pastor has such a foul mouth!” But I don’t usually
swear that much. When my heart is all fired up, however, I do swear
quite a bit. I can’t help this. Unless I swear, my blood pressure would
shoot up and I would die from it. When I am stressed, my blood pressure
skyrockets, so much so, that I can’t see anything, even people standing
right in front of me. So when there aren’t people around me, I don’t
hesitate to utter some of the worst obscenities; if there is a can lying
on the ground, I kick it; or I go into the bathroom, turn on the tap so
that no one can hear me and swear like a pirate.
What
happens after swearing so much like this? I ask myself, “Isn’t this too
much? Aren’t you also like everyone else? So why are you complaining
about others when you are no different?” I then answer to myself, “Well,
that’s right. I am no better, but it’s just so hard and difficult. I
feel so ashamed.”
What
would have happened had the Lord not lived on this earth for 33 years?
He experienced how hard it is to live with the flesh. So it is written,
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin”
(Hebrews 4:15). Had Jesus not experienced for Himself how life itself is
a cross, then He would not answer our prayers. It’s because the Lord
Himself experienced everything we go through that He knows our prayer
requests and wants to help us who are weak. That’s why we are praying to
the Lord.
Today,
I would like to admonish you all to be mindful of the things of God
rather than the things of men. We should quit clinging to the things of
men. We need to be broadminded; if we are narrow-minded, we will only
turn into worldly scoundrels. If we forsake our greater cause and only
think of ourselves, then in the end, everything will be done only for
ourselves and for our own faction. We are supposed to live for the Lord,
and so how ridiculous would it be if we cared only for ourselves
instead of the Lord? For a country to prosper, there must be many
patriots who are devoted to their country. If there are more people who
are only mindful of themselves, their own factions, and their own
interests than patriots who are devoted to their country, then the
nation will fall.
Sometimes
when we are actually involved in a large project, we see people
preoccupied with petty things and we may wonder about them, thinking
“What’s wrong with them?” But if we put ourselves in their shoes, we can
understand their mindset. What is important is that we shouldn’t be
mindful of the things of men, as Peter had been. When we are mindful of
the things of God, we can solve all the problems facing us and we can
also overcome all our difficulties. In other words, thinking of God’s
work is the answer to every problem we face. It’s when we believe in God
and carry out His work that we can overcome our insufficiencies and
take up our cross. While serving the Lord, do you ever say, “If this
goes on, I’m going to die of overwork?” In times like this, we must have
faith and stick together, telling ourselves “Let’s finish everything
that has to be done before we die. If we were to fail at this, we would
be committing a great sin before God. We must complete everything that
needs to be done. We should spread the gospel to the world now with all
our strength.”
Do
you wonder in your mind what could possibly be accomplished by a group
of people who are no more than a handful even when they are all gathered
together? God fulfills His work through whomever it takes. If God
blesses our ministry, if His servants work, and if you labor with them,
then even with our small number we are more than able to preach this
gospel to everyone throughout the world for a thousand times and more.
Isn’t this more than possible? Of course it is.
The
total membership at our Mission, including our children is about 300.
If each of you would take up one country, there still would be no less
than fifty of you left, since there are around 250 countries in the
world. If you are more capable then you can take up 10 countries; if you
are even more capable than this, then you take up 20 countries. If, on
the other hand, you are not so capable, then you can take up just half a
country, and if you are still even less capable, then five of you can
get together and collectively take up a country. When we the righteous
gather together, there is nothing that we cannot do, for God is with us.
Even though there are 5,000 tribes in the whole world, our 300 members
can each take 17 tribes. Can we do this by our own strength? No. It is
in Him who strengthens us that we can do all things. All that we have to
do is just pray to God for His work to succeed and the rest is up to
Him. Since God Himself has commanded us to carry out this work, wouldn’t
He then also give us the strength?
Starting
this year and onto the next, I am planning to spread the gospel to most
parts of the whole world within two years. And I believe that if we
work hard, we will be able to accomplish this. If the Lord strengthens
us, we will be more than able to achieve this goal; if He does not
strengthen us, then we will not be able achieve it. Since the Lord
Himself has told us to carry out this work, all that we have to do is
just do it, trusting in the Lord. However, just in Korea alone, how few
are those have accepted this gospel even though we have preached it so
diligently? And how many countless people have rejected it? The same
goes for other countries.
Nevertheless,
those looking for God anywhere in the whole world can now readily
access and read our books. We are giving out our books for free and
providing e-books, so that anyone who is looking for God can meet the
Lord. Those who do not look for God and are not mindful of His work
cannot meet the Lord, even if they live next to us in Korea. If people
cannot meet the Lord, then they can’t reach their salvation either. It’s
not because we have the power, but because the Lord has the power and
because it is His will for the gospel to be spread all over the world,
that the gospel will indeed be proclaimed throughout the whole world.
All that we are doing is just carrying out this work by faith.
Can
the work of serving the Lord fail? Will this work of preaching the
gospel of God all over the world end without accomplishing its goals?
The business that absolutely cannot fail is God’s business. Failure is
impossible for the business of God. The reason why we are so confident
that success is guaranteed for 100 percent and failure is impossible is
because this is the very will of God. It is under such conditions that
we are now serving the Lord. You and I have done a lot of work last
year. This year also, the saints and God’s servants are carrying out the
work of the gospel, but the speed will accelerate many times faster
than what we had done until now. If you take up your cross and follow
the Lord, if you think of God’s work and dedicate your body and mind to
it, and if you serve the gospel by faith, then the gospel will be
preached to the entire world so assuredly that I can say with every
confidence that it has already been preached completely.
Those Who Want to Die for the Lord Will Live, But Those Who Want to Live for Themselves Will Die
Anyone
who wants to preserve only his own life from hardship will suffer
death, but anyone who is willing to lose his life for the Lord will be
saved. That is the Word of Truth. It may seem as if we would die if we
are mindful of the Lord and His work and believe in Him, but we will
actually live. If, in contrast, we try to save just ourselves, then we
will suffer death. It’s precisely for this reason, because we want to
live, that we take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow the Lord. In
other words, we follow the Lord because we want our souls to live no
matter what happens to our flesh. If our souls were to perish and die
even after living like this, then who among us would follow the Lord? If
this way of following the Lord were a way to our own destruction, who
would really be willing to follow Him? It would be impossible to follow
the Lord if it were to lead us to our own destruction. The only way of
life that saves us is to be mindful of the work of God and devote
ourselves faithfully to this work of serving the gospel even to the
point of our death, and that is why we have denied ourselves by faith,
taken up our cross, and are now following the Lord. Even though what we
see at the present may seem failure-bound and impossible, we must still
live such a life precisely because in the end that is the only way for
us to be saved, attain eternal life, and receive blessings.
Incidentally,
do some of you wonder by any chance, “Why are there so few people in
Korea who has this gospel?” Do you know how many people the Apostle Paul
had when he preached the gospel? He only had about a dozen people in
Ephesus, around ten in Rome, a few in Thessalonica, and about ten in
Colosse as well. At every church planted by Paul, he preached to a
congregation with less than 50 members.
Compared
to this, our number is huge. Before today’s worship service, I dropped
by our Sunday school, and there I saw three teachers and about 30
students. Frankly, when compared to the Sunday school of a mega church
in the world, our Sunday school is indeed a tiny gathering, even if all
the children of our branch churches were gathered together. However, in
God’s eyes, our Sunday school is a tremendously great gathering. There
is life and the Word here, the teachers are true teachers preaching the
gospel of the water and the Spirit, and the students listening to these
teachers’ words are also clearly born-again students. When our Sunday
school students at God’s Church hear the Word, they believe in it right
away and put it into practice as soon as they learn it.
Having
attained our salvation, you and I are now gathered together like this
in Korea, worshipping the Lord and serving Him. Although the brothers
and sisters gathering together in Korea are not many, if we count all
the born-again saints throughout the entire world, the number of our
church members is very large. If there is any denomination in the world
that is larger than us let it stand up. Should we gather together all
our saints and God’s servants all over the world and wage a spiritual
battle with all the Christian sinners of the world? Even if they were to
attack us in the thousands, we would not be defeated but win over them
instead, even if we have just a dozen fellow righteous people on our
side. Because the righteous have the Word, the sword of Truth, if we
open the Bible and show them a few passages, they will admit that their
faith is false.
Long
ago, there was a time when Elijah, a prophet of God, hid himself in a
cave. God called him at that time. So Elijah said, “Lord, everyone who
fears You is now dead, and all Your servants have been killed. I am the
only one left alive.” What did our Lord then say to him? He said, “Yet I
have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed
to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (1 King 19:18). There
are God’s people left in each and every corner of the entire world. Even
though they may not be seen in our eyes, in God’s eyes His people are
everywhere.
The
servant of God who presided over the worship service before I began my
sermon said that there are about 100 ministry workers in our churches in
Korea, but in reality, there are far many more throughout the whole
world. That’s what I believe. These people are uniting with us from
every corner of the world. They are sharing our books and the gospel is
being preached through their lips. So many people have received the
remission of sin through them that in the end times our denomination
will be the largest denomination in the world. Even at the present,
their number is huge if we were to count them all, but I admonish you to
see with your eyes of faith just how many more coworkers from every
country will be added to us in the end times.
It’s
written in the Book of Revelation that a countless multitude clothed in
white robes, innumerable by man, will come before the Lord on the last
day (Revelation 7:9). So the Apostle John asked the Lord, “Lord, who are
these people?” Then the Lord said that they were those who came out of
the great tribulation (Revelation 7:14). Who are these people that the
Book of Revelation speaks of here? They are those who have been born
again of water and the Spirit. In other words, those who triumphed by
believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in the middle of the
great tribulation and received salvation from God will come out all at
the same time. I believe in this with my eyes of faith. Presently, the
workers and saints at our Mission only total about 300, but even if we
count just 300 coworkers in each of 150 countries a considerable number
of people will be saved and come before the Lord. In the end times
countless multitudes will receive the remission of sin. My fellow
believers, do you believe in this Word of the Bible?
All
these things are done by God. It’s God Himself who brings everything to
pass according to His will. We are just His instruments, but as His
instruments we must be mindful of His work in our labor. That’s all we
are doing. We worked like this in 2000, 2001 and 2002 as well, and until
the day the Lord returns we will always carry out this work. There
isn’t that much time remaining for us to work overseas. Some brothers
said, “If 2002 passes by and Jesus still hasn’t returned, then let’s
just give up serving Him,” but that’s not when the world ends and Jesus
returns. A farmer must sow the seed at an appropriate time. Only if he
sows the seed exactly in due season do sprouts come out and flowers
blossom. It is then that the farmer can harvest the crop when the time
comes. We are now laboring to sow the seed. Although this work may seem
very small for now, its end will be exceedingly great. It has already
become exceedingly great and harvested many fruits. It will become even
greater. When a single kernel of seed is sowed and sprouts, how many
fruits are born? It bears many fruits. It’s the same principle.
We
are now sowing the seed of the gospel throughout the world, and if one
person accepts the gospel he will bear even more fruits by 30, 60, and
100 fold. Imagine what will happen when not just one person, but 30
people from all over the world receive the remission of sin and bear
fruits by 60 and 100 fold. If all these people would go out and spread
the gospel, the fruits of their labor will increase exponentially. If we
have preached the gospel to one person, this means that is not the end
of everything; rather, from this alone, it’s possible for millions and
tens of millions of more people to come to receive the remission of
their sins. In other words, because of this one person, the gospel is
spread all over the world.
As
we carry on with our lives in this age, we must cast aside our
humanistic eyes and thoughts, and instead we must set our minds on the
work of God and His Word of Truth. We must think of God’s work, deny
ourselves, take up our cross, and follow the Lord. Even though in our
trials we may not be able to completely deny everything 100 percent, we
must still deny ourselves as much as possible and follow the Lord. We
have to deny ourselves everyday since there always remains something
that we still must deny today and tomorrow alike. There is no one who
has been completed. Until the day we stand before the presence of the
Lord, there will be hardships for us and there will also be many things
that we have to deny. It’s our destiny to live like this until the day
we go to the Lord.
By
any chance, do you think that you are the only one struggling? In
reality, however, all of us are struggling immensely. That’s because
each one of us has his own cross to take up and must deny himself. Yet
even amidst all this, we still deny ourselves everyday and live for the
Lord. Even in our hardship, we live everyday by the strength and grace
the Lord has given us. It is to trust in the grace of God that we are
doing His work and it is also because we have found this grace of God
that we are now carrying out the Lord’s work. As such, following the
Lord by His grace is leading the right life of faith.
Although
it’s easy to speak about leading such a life of faith in words, it’s
very hard to actually practice it in real life. It has been so hard for
you and me to carry on with our duties while denying ourselves day after
day. I am very glad to meet you again like this and I am so grateful to
God that you did not perish away spiritually but lived by faith while
serving the gospel separately in the past few months. My fellow
believers, let us not perish away but live faithfully until the last
day. Let us live by faith and put on the crown when the Lord returns.
Let us all endure by faith until that day and let us be the kind of
servants who are commended by God rather than rebuked on the last day.
In
the parable of the talent, a master left his servants with five
talents, two talents, and one talent each. While the master commended
the servants who yielded five talents and two talents in profit, the
servant who had received one talent was rebuked by the master and driven
away, as he had buried it in the ground instead of putting it to use.
It is better for us to endure our trials and follow the Lord now by
trusting in Him, so that we would not be rebuked by the Lord and driven
out to darkness on that day, but instead put on His grace. To live and
prosper more, I admonish you to deny yourself and follow the Lord
faithfully.
It is my hope and prayer that you would all follow the Lord even in your hardship until the day you see the Lord face to face.
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