Witness

May 7th, 2017

ICA Sunday Pulpit Message

I give all glory to God that I am able to meet the members of Immanuel Austin. It has been a great pleasure. I think this is my 3rd visit to the church, since it was constructed. I am even more thankful to God on how beautiful the construction went. You come here weekly, so you are used to the place. So, you might not be moved coming here. It is moving for me to be here today. I am thankful. I am happy that I am here and able to confirm that God is alive and working through His people. A long time ago, I used to have a ministry in D.C. Pastor Kim called me. Pastor Kim told me about his decision of whether to move to Austin or go back to Korea. I told him that Korea would always be there. However, with the power of Christ, you need to preach that to Austin. We shared that prayer topic over 10 years ago, and now he is enjoying that answer. In D.C., there are over 300 Korean churches. When you look at the number of churches who give their own worship, it is less than 10%. The fact that you are able to gather here today is allowed by God to give you special blessings and grace. We are all children of God. Is that true? Do you believe? I feel like you guys have a hard time repeating, “Amen”. If you agree with me, say it. Are you a child of God? It is the miracle of all miracles. It is a blessing that you find Christ believable. If you possess everything, but don’t have salvation, then what does it sum up to? God has determined to make you into His child. It is the blessing of all blessings. Today, we want to receive grace together regarding the witness. Let us say that you go to trial and you share the facts you saw. It is about telling your story. We became children of God, because we believe in Christ. God will start to write His story. Actually, it is not your story. You need to become a witness of Christ, who is inside of you. Last Friday, I shared the Word with this church. We are the people who belong to heaven. Our identity has changed. As you are holding onto the blessing of heaven, how must you live? You need to live a life of revealing Christ. Through you, God desires to write the story of Christ. May you enter inside of the Covenant. Peter was a fisherman. For 3 years, He followed Christ during His ministry. However, when Christ was crucified, he denied Him 3 times and ran away. In today’s reading, he met with a cripple. What did he say? In chapter 3:6, he said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." It means that he has Christ. What kind of witness must we become? You have to become the witness of what you possess. Who is the Christ you enjoy every day? Can you heal a cripple? What kind of Christ you experience determines the witness you become. Before Peter, Christ ascended into heaven. He said that he gives what he has, and what he has is Christ. Although Christ departed, Christ is still with Peter. When did Peter realize this Christ? Jesus asks Peter who do people say I am? He asks this to the rest of His disciples as well. In the entire history of mankind, Peter gave this first answer. He was the first to say that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. How happy was Jesus? He would raise him on this rock and the gates of hell would not overcome him. He would give Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. When was that? It was the moment when he confessed that Christ was the Son of the living God. How did Peter give this confession? He knew that Christ was the way to meet God. Christ was the one to set me free from sins and curses. Christ is the way to set you free from Satan. The day that you confess that Jesus is the Christ, is when you meet Him. We need to enjoy the blessing of Christ. Peter says to the cripple, what he has, he gives. In the name of Christ, walk. How was Peter able to do this? Jesus Christ is with me, so He has set me free from sins and curses. He is confessing that He has no power to break away from Satan, but Christ does. Peter was a witness of the fact that Christ finished it all on the cross. Peter is confessing that the name of Christ is with him. Jesus did depart the earth, but left behind His name. We just need to pray in Christ’s name. Not only is He the name of salvation, it is the promise given to use by which we will be answered. It is the name that saves. The name saves you. It is not just knowing it, you just believe it. That is when the power will be revealed to you. Peter believed that the power of the Gospel can save the cripple. That is the name that will save us. We will be set free. When you pray in the name of Christ, the forces of darkness will crumble. Previously, I had my ministry for 13 years in D.C. I am not that influential, but my wife was able to share the name of Christ and power was revealed. She would do Bible study and come back with prayer topics. She met a hair stylist, but was unable to use her hands anymore. So, she wasn’t a stylist anymore. They could not find a source of her problems. However, she received the message. When you accept Christ, you have the privilege to pray in His name. What do you think happened afterward? When she accepted Christ and prayed in His name, she was healed.  She thought about her friend. Then, she brought her, who was also a stylist. She had a problem of not having a child. The name of Christ has the power to overturn your fate. It is the name of Christ by which curses will be broken. If you believe in the Christ, who healed the cripple, works will take place. My wife returned another prayer topic. The day the friend accepted Christ, she dreamed that a snake came into the room and left. The snake represents the devil. The forces of darkness are blocking you. The day you accept Christ and pray in His name is the day they will depart from you. Later on, she had a child. There are 2 reasons why people don’t respond with Amen. First, it is because they experienced so many miracles. Second, it is because they do not believe it. They do not find it believable. The child is now in 5th grade. They sent me their picture. The student received an award from the president. That is how the child has grown to be a good Remnant. Are you having a hard time? Who is Christ? Is he truly the one who finished everything on the cross? Let us say that Jesus is the one who died for us. The bible tells us that Jesus is the Chris, the Son of the Living God. Christ is the one who is everlasting. The Christ who Peter believed is the same Christ today. Do not let the Bible be a book, let it be active in your life. The events that occurred in Jerusalem can occur here today. When you believe in the name of Jesus, works will take place. We are therefore, witnesses. That is why when Peter told the cripple to get up, the entire city was an uproar. People were amazed. That is why Peter said in verse 15 and 16. “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.” That is what He is sharing. It is subjective faith, but the confession to the cripple is objective. You must have 2 different colors of faith. They are subjective and objective faith. Let us say that it has been 5-10 years since you believed in Jesus, but if you do not have any experiences or incidents, you need to examine your faith. How was Peter able to make a confession of faith and allow a cripple man to walk? The name of Christ is complete.  There are numerous religions in the world, but they do not offer salvation. There are 5 conditions to becoming a Savior. Problems came when we were separated because of Satan, so the Savior must solve the problem of Satan for us. Satan is unseen to our eyes. There is only one thing that can overcome Satan. It is the Christthat is God. Second, they must resolve our problem of sin. Our savior must be an offspring of a woman. He will shatter the head of the servant. It is written in 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,” The son will come through the woman. I cannot take sins away from people. I am a sinner myself. So, I cannot save anyone. Only the one from the offspring of woman can do it. In Hebrews 9:12,” He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.” He died because of our sins. However, He resurrected from death. The Holy Spirit will abide by us when we believe that. With knowing that, Peter was able to proclaim that boldly. My son has been married for a while. After 1 year, they were having problems. My son cannot control his emotions, but his wife is the opposite. It is the work of Satan trying to break apart your family. You have to use the name of Christ to bind the forces of darkness that tries to break your family. I would tell my daughter-in-law if she married him to nag at him. Why are you nagging at him? This is not your true self. This is a spiritual problem. You know that is a spiritual problem, by which Satan works. You need to break away from it with Christ. Chase him away. We must be able to see the works of Satan. Today is the wedding day of Jongtae and Seonmi. I think they are fortunate to be wedded after hearing this. Couples who get married out of love, end up hating each other later on. Most couples who break up attribute it to personality differences. You must break away from Satan who will try to use that. I think that church members are too nice for that. Satan is not the subject of our love. He is the subject of our enemy. Because you are a child of God, when you confess the name of Christ, the forces of darkness will flee. When I was in D.C., I saw this couple, but they were not married. They lived together. They were also the department heads. Someone ratted them out. If you are going to live together, you might as well get married. I asked them if they are children of God and if they believed in Christ. I told them that they had no reason to separate. I married them on the spot. I let them stay at a hotel. Now, they are living happily ever after. It does not matter. What is vital is that you proclaim the name of Christ. I bless that Christ can break down the forces of darkness in your life. Christ can heal a cripple. Christ resurrected from death. Even if you do not realize it, you need to proclaim in the name of Christ. This miracle can also take place in your life. When you believe and declare, the forces of darkness will flee. The Lord did not leave us in the midst of problems. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Today, may you pass along all problems onto Christ. The works of darkness and curses will crumble when you proclaim the name of Jesus Christ. The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees questioned how can this man walk. They told Peter to not talk about Christ. Peter responded, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." What does that mean? They experienced the name of Christ daily. That is what must happen to you. Before Jesus was crucified, Peter went into prayer. Jesus told Peter to pray to not fall into trial.  However, Peter was not able to pray, so he denied Him 3 times. Nevertheless, Peter changed. Wherever he goes, he prays. When you look at Acts 3:1, it says that He is going into the temple to pray. During the same time, He goes to pray. Peter experienced great failure and is determined to pray. At that point, he lives a different life. Then, he becomes a witness of Christ. Satan does not care how long you attended church. Satan is not afraid of your knowledge of the Bible. Satan only fears when the children of God pray in the name of Christ. I want to truly pray for you. I will pray that the doors to prayer will be opened. How can you experience this every day?  That is the prayer. Peter says he is a witness of that. What kind of prayer did the Early Church pray? They all joined constantly in prayer. They raised their voices together in prayer to God. They were earnestly praying to God for Peter. When the church is praying, the forces of darkness of region will crumble. If you belong to heaven, you need to live according to the law of heaven and hold your standards to that of heavens. I taught at theological seminary school. They do not know how to pray. We started a project and I told them to have 100 prayer topics. When they confirmed it, they started praying. At the seminary school, they prayed at early dawn for 2 hours. During lunch time, if they were in the middle of scheduled prayer, they had to stop eating and pray. Regardless, they continued. 10% are multi-ethnic in our seminary school. One day, they came to me because they wanted to hike mountains and pray. If you are unable to pray, then you can list reasons why that blocks you. Peter failed and ran away. What was it that allowed him to overcome limitations? He entered into pray, holding onto Christ. We did this for 4 years. What kind of work did we receive? Starting from the 1st week of April, we started an evangelism project. The amount of works that arise are amazing. We have 1,000 accept Christ. We established a system in the field. We had dozens of people come to the church. We are going to continue until September. About 5,000 people accepted. This can happen here at Austin. The pastor and his wife came here to start. Seonmi and Seonae were very young. This church started because of their prayer. Look at the works that are taking place. I feel like the works that happened because of them are 30-fold. If you multiply that, how much works will take place? How else can it happen? I feel like your faith is wavering. The power of Christ who saved you can save Austin and the world. This is the faith you must hold onto. I have a friend in Gangnam and he said that he couldn’t do his ministry. He started his church right next to Pastor Ryu’s, and the assistant pastor took 30 members to Pastor Ryu’s. A bunch of young adults prayed together every week for 3 years. 10 years had passed. On the Lord’s day, they have over 800 members in Gangnam. Christ is everywhere, so this can happen here. You must arise. The Gospel inside of you is more than enough to save Austin. When you truly pray, God will work. Today, I am relaying this message with the answer that will take place 10 years later. I pray that disciples will arise to be numberless. God has given us this tremendous name. God has given us this great name of Jesus Christ. I bless that you will be able to be a disciple who holds onto His name and experiences His power.

(Prayer)

God, we thank you. Help us to become witnesses of the name of Christ. Due to His name, let us discard all worries. Help us to live daily with your name. Let evangelism take place. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

Austin Immanuel