Subject 13 : The Gospel According to MATTHEW
[Chapter 24-10] Like the Wise (Matthew 24:32-51)
(Matthew 24:32-51)
“Now
learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already
become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So
you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the
doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass
away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away,
but My words will by no means pass away. But of that day and hour no one
knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the
days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as
in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did
not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the
coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will
be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill:
one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not
know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of
the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have
watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also
be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who
then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over
his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant
whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to
you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil
servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and
begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the
drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not
looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him
in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
I
would like the Lord to come soon. If the Lord came suddenly today, I
would be very pleased, but the young people here would probably say,
“Oh, no, that can’t be.” Whether you are like that or not, I would like
the Lord to come soon and for a new world to begin. Do you also have
that desire?
People
with this desire are those who are under a lot of stress. If a person
is under a lot of stress, he may wish that this damned world would
quickly end. Nowadays, I have to take medicine to relieve my stress
because I have been under a lot of it. I didn’t even know that such a
medicine existed, but after taking it, I felt a little better.
Therefore, I found out what stress is exactly. Now, it’s not that I get
sick because I do not eat enough food or do not eat the right kind of
food; it’s a case that I have so much stress that my nerves are on edge
due to even small matters. It seems like no matter what, I have a lot of
stress building up because the duties with which I have been entrusted
are not accomplished quickly. This is called a mental disorder in
hospitals.
I
went to a hospital once, but the doctor told me to go to the mental
health department. So, of course, I went to the mental health department
as the doctor instructed. I met the doctor there and told him I was a
pastor after he asked me what my job was. After the doctor took a look
at me, he said, “Strictly speaking, you are a person with a mental
disorder. Therefore, I’ll give you medicine that people with mental
disorders take.” I took it, and it was good. I get dopey when I take it.
I can’t describe how peaceful it is. It’s just good and joyful. I
thought, “Wow! I didn’t know this kind of medicine existed.” After
waking up, I really didn’t feel good again, so I took the medicine again
and after taking all of the medicine that I had bought, I went to
receive the same prescription the next time, but the doctor didn’t give
it to me.
I
thought this type of mental disorder would happen to specific people,
but I didn’t think I would have it. There was nothing wrong with me, but
my body is stiff and I am a nervous wreck even at the smallest problem.
More than getting stress from a particular thing, it seems that I am
the most stressed by my duties that are not accomplished quickly. Even
though it seems like it will be finished soon, it’s so hard because it
won’t end. I contracted a disease of really wanting to say, “It is
finished.” I was really yearning to say so, but it’s impossible to say
so before my duties are really accomplished. Now, it’s even worse. It is
only a desire to finish my duties quickly.
I
would like for the Lord to come soon, for this world to end soon, and
for the Lord to give a new heaven and a new earth. I have a desire for
the Lord to quickly do as He has promised. But on one side, I wonder,
“What will our brothers and sisters say to me? What will people in the
whole world say to me? Won’t they say, ‘Do you think it’s all right for
you to think that pessimistically about the world as if you are the only
person who has a hard time?’” I think they may rebuke me then. All of
these things are my personal thoughts.
We
have to wait a little more until the Lord comes. Therefore, I’m giving
you these words from a feeling that I must complete all of my work
quickly before He comes. I have selected today’s Scriptural passage in
order to share God’s grace with all of you, hoping that we can complete
our work in unison with each other before meeting the Lord. When I can’t
fully complete the work that has been given to me, an extremely large
amount of stress builds up in my heart. Even more than other cases, if I
can’t complete my duties, I suffer a lot of that sort of mental
pressure. I can never sleep if I lay aside a task. I have to finish the
work I have to do even if it kills me. Whether the job was done well or
not, I can sleep and go on to some other task only after having finished
the previous one.
Therefore,
if I am exhausted while doing a task because it is too hard, I cannot
but take a good day’s rest and get up again and throw myself into that
task in order to hurriedly complete it. But I worry even more when I see
that there are still many things to do. And it’s not just me that is
like this; all the servants of God that work with me are the same.
Because they can’t live by putting the work they have to do aside
because their characters are like mine, these people continue to take
medicine together and look for work to do if they get even just a little
strength. However, seen later, the result of the work done when sick
compared with that done when well is totally different. When my body is
not well, I look at how well I have done and think, “This is good
enough,” and then, I am prone to hurry over the task somehow. But later,
when my body is healthy, I see it and think, “Oh, no. I’ve made a mess
out of this. What kind of task can just be left done like this?” It
cannot be suitable to me.
We
want to have a little rest after finishing each of our tasks, but
aren’t we doing really difficult work? Actually, even though a
missionary goes to one country to spread the gospel and spends his whole
life just doing it, it is something he cannot do well. Because we are
spreading the gospel to the whole world, it seems that our bodies pass
over the limits of being able to carry it out. A couple of days ago, I
got a call from Pastor Jung, who is in charge of printing our books. He
said, “Pastor, our book’s binding is good, but one of the picture films
came out backwards. If we change that one thing, it will be okay. Should
I take it to you?” I said, “Hey, why do you need to bring it to me?
Stay there. You take care of it all and bring it to me when it’s all
finished. Please don’t come to me.” Because I retorted irritably, Pastor
Jung responded with “yes, sir” and hung up.
I
wasn’t like that before. I used to address myself to my coworkers in a
kind manner, saying, “OK, come on over. Coming over is better than not.
Come and we’ll get something good to eat and talk for a while. It’ll be
good.” But nowadays my head hurts so bad that I say, “You do your own
stuff. Isn’t the part of printing your responsibility? You do your own
job. That’s your job. My part is editing the documents. You do your own
job. It is clear that you have your job and I have mine. Let’s keep it
clear.” Lately, I’m brutal, so I respond like this, “Whose job is that?
What department does it belong to? The staff that has been given that
task should do it. What are you saying? What do you expect me to do
after telling me such and such? I can’t do anything. I don’t have the
strength to respond to you like a nice guy anymore. I’m not a nice guy.
Now, I’m overwhelmed, too. I’m overwhelmed because I don’t have the
capacity to even do my own work. If I can only finish all of my own
work, I’ll dance for joy.” This is how I feel lately.
I
feel acutely that publishing a collection of sermons in one book is
truly not an easy thing. I work while thinking, “When will this work be
done? This is annoying. I’m sick of it. It’d be nice if this damned
thing were finished soon. When I’m tired, I think, “This is good enough.
It’s done.” Then, even though I have put down the finishing touches, I
quickly take out again what I have finished when I get even just a
little better and think, “No, this is a total mess. What kind of sermon
have I spread out like this?” Then, I do it again. Since I have no
skill, my work doesn’t turn out well even if I work so much that it
kills me, so lately I feel irritated and get nervous. I have to quickly
finish my work before the Lord comes. I can only rest if I finish it. If
it is the work that I have to do anyway, I have to finish it soon. But
it doesn’t turn out the way I have determined.
The
Lord has said that if the evil servant who says the return of the Lord
is delayed drinks liquor, beats his fellow servants, and eats and drinks
with his drunkard friends, the Lord of that servant will come at a time
he did not think of and at an hour he could not know, severely beat
him, and appoint him his place with the hypocrites where there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 24:48-51). I really don’t want
that to happen to me. Also at this time when the coming of the Lord
approaches, I want to work more faithfully.
However,
whether it is physically, mentally, bodily, or spiritually, all of my
energy is exhausted and it doesn’t work out the way I think. But I want
to do my work better until the Lord comes. I want to spread the gospel
to the whole world no matter what country it is until the Lord returns.
The door to North Korea, too, is being opened and I want to spread the
gospel there, as well. Lately, we are making a Russian book. The
printing of the pages has all been done so the only thing needed for the
book to be published is to make the cover art and do the binding. It is
anticipated that the versions of various languages such as Romanian and
Hungarian will come out sometime this month. So the gospel is being
spread in Europe, as well.
We
are now doing missionary work through the literature ministries in
order to continuously lay the foundation of the gospel of the water and
the Spirit. I hope that publishing will be completed quickly to a
certain extent, so that we can hold a revival meeting again. I want to
declare the gospel to my heart’s desire, and I have an earnest desire to
fight if there are people who stand against the true gospel. It’s been
quite a long time since we have not held a revival meeting for over a
year. If there are those who haven’t received salvation, I would like to
shout, “You people. Throw off your worthless faith and receive the
remission of your sins!” I would like to yell at them. I have the desire
to be a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his
household, to give them food in due season, and I want to spread the
gospel to the whole world until the Lord comes. Do you also have the
same desire?
There
have been many changes all over the world lately. Conflict between
Israel and Palestine is continuously amplified. In today’s Scripture
passage, we can find an important lesson on the last day that says, “Now
learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already
become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So
you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the
doors!” The Lord said, “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by
no means pass away till all these things take place” (Matthew
24:32-34).
What
does this mean? Wasn’t the country of Israel destroyed about 2000 years
ago? However, in 1948 the country of Israel was founded through the
Zionist Movement. This happened about 1,900 years after Israel had been
destroyed. But the problem is that it is a fact that the Palestinians
who had been living there one day all of a sudden had to be chased off
of the land where they were living. After nearly 2000 years of leaving
that land and living scattered all over the world, one day they suddenly
gathered there, formed a government, and proclaimed it as an
independent nation. They drove out the Palestinians and conducted
themselves as if they were the real owners. Therefore, it’s continually a
case of life or death and they cannot but keep fighting against each
other. Until now, the wars that have sprung up in the Middle East have
all been that war.
About
2000 years ago when the Lord was on this earth, He said, “Now learn
this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become
tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also,
when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!” You
all understand what this means, right? You must know that the end of the
world is near when Israel is restored and prospers. The Lord will come
again before the end of the world when Israel is restored and before it
is ruined again. We must know that the Lord is at the door when the
nation of Israel puts forth its leaves and they turn green. The Lord
said He would come again before Israel is destroyed. That day is not
far.
Actually,
the existence of Israel is an explosive warehouse in the Middle East.
For nearly 2000 years, the Palestinians lived normally on that land, but
all of a sudden the Jews came, said it was their land, and told them to
give it up. If that were you, would you just sit still and let it
happen? Our country is proud of its 5000-year history. If some outsiders
came to our country shooting our people and telling us to leave,
telling us to give over the land because they had lived here 5000 years
ago and it was their land, would you fight against them or not? Wouldn’t
this make you furious? This kind of battle is continuing in the Middle
East now. But if war arises there, the chances of it spreading to a
world war are great. The Jews have close connections with the United
States, so if a war develops in Israel, the United States will thrust
itself into it, and it will eventually become a world war. That is
because it is a war in which neither side can compromise. The Lord will
come when such things are developed.
We
must be aware that the time of the Lord’s coming is right at the door.
This generation is that kind of age. You all are probably well aware
that this generation is like that. This generation is calm as if nothing
is wrong like the night before the storm. If it were only possible, it
would be nice if that kind of war or natural disaster didn’t happen. It
would be nice if we lived well finishing our work quickly until we went
before the Lord.
Actually,
my human desire is that I would like for us to live and eat well until
we finish all of our labors and go before the Lord without natural
disasters or wars. But I know well that it won’t turn out that way just
because it’s what I want. That is because the Lord has decided on a
certain point. The Lord has told us what will develop in the future in
order to let us know the time and prepare for it. We must prepare in
advance perceiving that things will develop as the Lord has said. We can
think, “Oh, these things are going to develop.” But ultimately what can
we do when such things are actually brought about? We can’t do
anything.
No
one knows when the Lord will come, but we can know approximately from
the signs that will appear in the last days. Since the Lord said to
learn the lesson of the fig tree, we have to distinctly see if that kind
of event is developing in Israel. If something develops in that
country, world war will arise and the end will approach according to the
Word of God. We believe the Word of God above all else.
“When
its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know
that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know
that it is near—at the doors!” The Word of the Lord never passes away
and will be all fulfilled. He said, “Heavens and the earth will pass
away, My words will by no means pass away.” Therefore, this will happen
according to what God has said, and the Word about Lord’s coming is
Truth. “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah
entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all
away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” When the Lord
comes, the people will be like the generation of Noah; they will reach
the peak of seeking sin and living lives of the flesh.
At
that time, there will be the contrast of some people being raptured
before God because they have received the remission of their sins while
others remain on this earth and suffer all of the tribulations. It is
written that two people will be grinding with a hand mill and one will
go and the other remain; two people will be working in the field and one
will suffer abandonment while the other will be taken away. The Lord
has said that this will happen in the future.
Therefore,
if there is someone in your family who has not yet received the
remission of his sins, you must help him do so. You also have to
separate yourself from the person who does not believe in the gospel of
the water and the Spirit until the end, even though he may be one of
your family members. Because that kind of person is the one who will
betray us to death at the end, we must say an eternal farewell to him
from our hearts. The salvation of our family members is truly very
important. If there is someone in our families who hasn’t received the
remission of sin, he will be left behind when the Lord comes, even if we
are sleeping together or working together now.
Have
you seen the movie called The Rapture? There was a person in that movie
named Patty. She had a husband and several female friends. She went to
sleep one night, and when she woke up, her husband was gone. She
wondered where he went and searched inside the house, not to mention the
streets. As she went out to the street, other people were seen coming
out of this and that house and looking for their families. And on the TV
news, it was reported that a strange event had developed and people
were vaporized all of a sudden.
After
that, soldiers came to grab people, telling them to receive the mark of
666, but Patty fled. When she found no other place to go, she entered a
manhole, but some other people were already hiding there. There was a
barcode expert among those who were in hiding, and he gave her a fake
barcode. So, she went to the market and bought some things with her fake
barcode but ran away again after being detected. She was trying to get
away in a car, but she was chased to a road blocked by barbed wire. She
couldn’t go by car anymore, so she got out and climbed the barbed wire. A
helicopter was hovering overhead and someone said through a microphone,
“There is no where for you to go.” She was totally surrounded and
thought for sure that she was done for, but she got away again with the
help of her friend.
Patty
and a number of her friends all vowed that they wouldn’t get the mark.
But one of her friends had already gotten the mark and had become the
pursuers’ guide. She hid her true colors by pretending to be on their
side and said she would take them to a safe place, but she led them to
the pursuers. The pursuers compelled them to receive the mark. They said
they would never get the mark and ultimately died at a guillotine.
Before going to the guillotine, they praised the Lord, singing,
“♪There’s a bright and heavenly pathway♬ ♪That ever leads me on,” and
prayed to the Lord, “Please receive my soul.” The movie ended with her
being martyred in that fashion.
The
lesson of this movie is this: “People who are not raptured and left
behind on the earth at the end are those who have not received the
remission of their sins. But if they think about what their families had
told them, and never received the mark until they embrace their
martyrdom, they can be delivered.” But, this story is really stupid.
This movie was made according to the perspective of the Evangelicals,
and we can see that they misunderstand the point of the rapture. This
movie unfolds a story that the rapture comes before the tribulation, but
God has said that the rapture and the Lord’s Second Coming in the air
would occur at the point when the seventh trumpet sounds, that is, when
three and a half years have passed of the Seven-Year Tribulation.
Until
then, even those who believe the gospel of the water and the Spirit
will remain living in the tribulation and will be persecuted by the
Antichrist and compelled to receive the mark of 666. But only the
righteous can defeat Satan by faith and embrace martyrdom because they
are truly born again by believing only in God and the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. Those who believe in this gospel now will never
surrender to Satan. They will all be raptured after being resurrected
along with the righteous who will survive until the end.
However,
it is impossible for those who to that point don’t know the gospel to
be martyred. On the contrary, they become the tools of the Antichrist
after surrendering to him. We have to deliver the gospel well to our
family members also because those who will persecute and betray us to
death at the last day will be our family members who have not been born
again. Therefore, at this time when the Lord’s coming approaches, we
have to become people who please God by staying awake to work and
becoming loyal and wise servants. We have to become those who all do
God’s work firmly together until we are victorious and stand before the
Lord. Let’s quickly complete the work that God has entrusted us and go
before the Lord.
And
the thing that I am really bidding is that we all do more of the Lord’s
work more faithfully. When the time of the Lord’s coming has all been
accomplished, let’s not live with the heart of “gather roses while you
may; play while you’re young because you can’t when you’re old.” We
really need to know exactly what we have to do. We have to concentrate
our attention upon how we spread the gospel to the whole world. Then we
can stand before the Lord proudly after faithfully accomplishing the
tasks to which we have been entrusted. The closer the end draws near,
the more we must work faithfully before the Lord and go to Him. That is
what today’s Scripture passage is talking about.
We
really don’t know when the Lord will come. The Lord said that He would
come as a thief. The Lord will come not far from the time that people
are pursuing only the pleasures of the flesh by eating, drinking,
marrying, and being given in marriage. I think that now is that time.
Therefore, you and I living in this generation must do God’s work even
more faithfully. I think that we have to live by spreading the gospel
more precisely and faithfully. That is what I believe. As you and I
continue to live on this earth, stress builds up and our bodies are
weakening, but I feel that we must do a lot of work before our bodies
catch serious diseases.
I
know that you all have work that has been given to you, too. I know
well that working for the gospel is something that can’t be done alone
but is accomplished when we are united with each other concentrating our
strength on this task. I hope each of you stand before God as virtuous
and loyal people after faithfully doing the work given to you. Do you
understand?
You
and I have hit the limit of our ability. Therefore, there is nothing
else we can do. However, I haven’t forgotten that the purpose of my life
is to do all of the work that has been entrusted to me. I believe that
God will give us a lot of new work to do when we finish the work that we
are doing now. We have prepared lots of books that we will distribute
to the whole world now. I want to take the brothers, the sisters, and
the ministers to the revival meetings frequently, and I hope to give out
our books and preach the gospel. I believe that if we do the work of
the gospel by faith, the work of the Spirit that was unfolded in the
Early Church age will be brought about by us.
Let’s
faithfully do the work that has been given us at this time. Let’s both
you and I faithfully do the Lord’s work. I will pay attention to
everything until I have done all of the work with which I have been
entrusted. If I lazily do the work that the Lord has given me I will
really become a thorn and of low existence in His eyes. If I don’t
quickly do the work that has been given me but instead do it lazily, the
Lord will not feel comfortable with me. Aren’t we the same? If we
entrust someone with a task and that person was just a sluggard and only
pretended to work, would we feel good or bad toward that person? Won’t
these words immediately escape our lips? “You did the work in such a
manner. You have to put your heart into it; but you did it like this?”
When God looks on us, too, it will be the same.
If
we are given work, it is worthy to do it sincerely. It will be okay
anyway if we haven’t been entrusted with some work, but we must
faithfully do the work once we have been entrusted with it. I’m not
telling you this because I think you haven’t faithfully done the work
you have been given; I’m giving it as a precaution to you and myself. I
know that you, too, are really working with all of your hearts.
Therefore, I know that it is hard for all of us. I also, have to do the
work that has been given to me well. Whatever happens, I have to do all
of the work that has been given to me. I can request for something
before the Lord only after I have finished all of the work that has been
given to me; if I ask for something even though I haven’t done all of
it, God will feel uncomfortable with me. If that happened to us, we
would be really frustrated; then, imagine how frustrating it must be to
God.
Dear
fellow believers, let’s work more concretely while the end gets closer.
Our goal is to spread the gospel to the whole world. What is the work
that you have been given? What is the work that each of you has to take
care of? I hope that you do your part faithfully. I, too, must
faithfully do the work that has been given to me. There is no peace of
mind for me until it is done. It is too bad that I cannot serve the
gospel to my hearts’ content due to my health problem. Lately, I can
barely finish preaching a sermon with my whole strength. I am living
everyday by obtaining new strength from the Lord. Let’s you and I both
do all of our work faithfully. You each have work given to you, don’t
you? Let’s faithfully do that work.
Some
pastors admonish their church members to sell all their property and
give the money to their churches while emphasizing that the coming of
the Lord has drawn near. They also have these people quit their jobs and
tell the youngsters to stop going to school. But we are different. The
closer the coming of the Lord approaches, the more we do the Lord’s
work. Even if the Lord came tomorrow, we would work up to today to
finish all of our work. I hope that you faithfully accomplish the duties
with which you have been entrusted because that is truly the right
attitude. Isn’t that the only way for us to honorably stand before the
Lord at the end? I will be really pleased if I only finish all of the
work that has been given to me. I can’t explain how pleased I was and
how much peace of mind I had when I completed proofreading the pending
manuscripts the other day. Even though I would like to be with you and
have fun with you, I cannot but work now looking forward to that short
time that I can rest.
Let’s
each of us do well the work that we have been given, not worry about
other things until we are finished with it, endure well, and live well
by faith. It’s hard for you and me to work for the gospel, but I am sure
that there aren’t many days left for us to do God’s work. I’m not sure
exactly how the world’s going to turn out in the future in detail, but I
am sure that we don’t have much time to do God’s work. Therefore, we
must do all of our work in a short time. Otherwise, it will be too late
and God’s work can’t be accomplished. Isn’t the servant of God a
prophet? The servant of God knows what will happen in the future. Since
what will happen in the future is recorded in the Word of God, the
person who believes it can prophesy about it by faith. It isn’t that we
will run about in confusion at the end; on the contrary, we will have to
have peace of mind. Won’t we have to cope with everything of the world
and finish all of our work since we know the Lord will come soon? The
person who prepares in advance is a person with peace of mind.
In
the future when we have finished all of our work, that is, the world
evangelism, I will hold a revival meeting for the people of our country.
Now spreading the gospel to the whole world is more urgent, so I am
setting a priority to it, but when it is finished, I want to open
revival meetings in Korea and spread the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. We have actually spread this gospel a lot to our people for a
long while, but they didn’t accept this gospel well because they were
legalistic Christians. Even so, I have thoughts to do so again. If we
spread the gospel to the whole world and then spread the gospel in Korea
by opening some revival meetings, everyone who will believe will all
come to believe. I hope that the Lord will keep you and me until that
day. And I hope that the closer the end comes, the more we awaken,
become truly wise and loyal servants to manage all of the work we have
been given, and stand before God proudly.
Halleluiah!
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