December 31st, 2016
ICA New Year’s Message
Start the 2nd RUTC Movement
2nd Start Towards Evangelization Towards the Future Generation (1 Sam 1:26-28)
(Intro)
Here, we are in the US. When we look back on this past year, what was the most sensational piece of news? There were drastic changes in climate as well as Trump’s presidency. It was described as a race of the lesser of 2 evils among 2 controversial candidates. People actually predicted that Hillary would win. However, it was Trump, who made extreme statements, that won. There were a lot of people who protested Trump. People would vocally boycott him. I want to say that as Asian-Americans, there are a lot of things that we could learn from Caucasian-Americans. Sportsmanship is something that Americans excel it. Unfortunately, it’s not easy for Asians to have good sportsmanship. I say that American people are good at accepting the outcome. With that said, with this presidential election, it wasn’t easy for people. That is how shocking it was. There is still a division amongst people. I think how he adjusts to the role is vital. That is how greatly concentrated the attention is amongst the leaders. Let us take that spotlight and place it on South Korea. There are a lot of issues there because of the impeached president. It has been very chaotic. It has halted the operations of the government. Her impeachment has just been approved. The final decision is at the Supreme Court level. A lot of people hold public protests against her. There are certain people who say they still support her. However, there are others who say that we need a new president. There is great chaos all around the city. We are living here in America. We are living in a foreign land as immigrants. This country is now full of immigrants. At this point, what must we see? Because of all this chaos, must we go into prayer or go out into the streets? Before you take action, there is something you must see. You need to see how God moves things in different directions. This past week, we spoke about Moses. There was a time of silence for him. This is a time for God to prepare you for His great plans. If you stay in your discouraged state, it will be a burden. As we are living here, what must we do in this chaotic time? Let me tell you. God performed the works of Exodus. There is a reason why God called Moses. He was called to restore the lost Gospel. Through many different methods, Moses was able to complete that goal. They were able to restore the blood sacrifice. The covenant was restored. Through that, it was also the restoration of Immanuel. With that, there is something else that God does. What did they do to restore the Gospel? They relied on God’s power and went forward with faith. Then, God would perform miracles. He prepared everything. In order for the Gospel to not be lost again, they had to continue it. The method is recorded in Numbers 6. There is no other answer for the continuation of the Gospel, other than sharing it with the next generation. They experienced the suffering when the Gospel becomes lost. Through History, the conclusion was shown. In Numbers 6, Moses gives the command. He tells them to take the word of God and record it in your hearts. Don’t forget it. God is telling you to make it your root, imprint and nature. In verse 7, something strange comes out. Even to your children, you need to diligently teach them. Wherever you are, you need to imprint the word on your kids. You might think that this drives them crazy. That is not enough. Write it everywhere. What is the reason why there is so much emphasis on relaying the walk of faith to the next generation? It is because when it is not relayed, disasters will come. Deuteronomy 6 is the first time we have the RUTC movement. We need to understand that this is the first movement of the RUTC. We need to take the word and place it on our kids. They need to see, read and memorize the word. It is to the point where the Gospel will not be lost. That is the purpose that God desires. After the time of Moses and Joshua, we have the time of Judges. That is when there is a change. There are ups and downs spiritually. There are peaks and valleys. People often become drunken with blessings. They become assimilated with the world and become corrupt. They are struck with disasters. These disasters are painful so they seek out the Lord. God gives them new blessings. It is a repetition. It’s a cycle. After 14 repetitions, God calls Samuel. God raised up Samuel so He can use him for the Mizpah movement. Today’s scripture is about Samuel’s mother’s prayer. She was initially asking for a son because she didn’t have one. She said that she would give him up as a Nazarite and then she gets a child. She was happy. A lot of people forget when they receive blessings. Hannah takes Samuel to the gates of the temple. She is asking God if He is alive. She is asking if He knows her. This child grew up to be Samuel, the servant of God. Why do people continually fall into unbelief? People always lose the Gospel. Why? Satan will always bring unbelief. This is why the world is chaotic. This is the word of God that was prophesized before time.
1. The individual, nation and the world are indeed following God’s prediction (Mt 24:1-51)
(1) Pain of the individual (Gen 1:2)
(2) Chaos in the nation (Mt 24:6)
(3) Disasters in the world (Mt 24:7)
What does it say in God’s word? In Genesis 1, it introduces God the Creator. The 2nd verse talks about the suffering of mankind. It talks about chaos, void and emptiness. We have the incident of Genesis 3. People are stuck in chaos and depression. It becomes a mental illness. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, they feel lonely. They need to receive help, but there’s no one that can help. When you are seized by darkness, you can’t be helped by others. We raise our kids but they will go on to live their own lives. It really disheartens parents. This has no choice but to happen. Some people eat on their own or watch TV on their own. Some people get surgical procedures to hide inadequacies. It says that nations will fall into wars. All over the world, natural disasters will arise. We have seen so many earthquakes take away lives. 2000 years ago, the Bible predicted all these things. Everything has been fulfilled. I watch a documentary that was a reflection of this past year. Climate change, economic downturns as well as terrorism has been on a rise. The country of South Korea is an uproar. There will be a lot of disorientation. Here, we are living in the US. Again, this is the situation that has been predicted. We are looking forward to this. All of these things are happening according to the word of God.
2. Then, we must find that answer within God’s word
(1) What God has prepared in the age of spiritual stagnation (1Sam 3:1-9)
(2) What God has prepared in the age of national chaos (1Sam 16:11-13)
(3) What God has prepared for the immigrants of the world (Est 2:7)
We can find the answer in God’s word. We will be victorious if we do so. In 1 Samuel 3, the 2 sons of Eli did not take worship seriously. Their father was the priest Eli, who should’ve disciplined them. This is the reason why they become spiritually darkened. The word of God has been diminished. At that time, what must we see? Without anyone knowing, God prepared the Remnants. Young Samuel heard His voice. How does Samuel respond to this? Priest Eli lost his authority as a spiritual leader. Samuel would not leave the side of the Ark of the Covenant. This is how much he served Eli. This is the kind of remnant that God has prepared. God will prepare a remnant who will hold onto the word. Think about this. Priest Eli didn’t have any strength. If the translator was acting out of line, then you would wonder what is going on. If that continues to happen, people will be critical. Despite all that, what did God prepare? He prepared Samuel to not fall into criticism. This young Remnant was a secret tool that God prepared. He performs a great miracle of the Mizpah movement. When the country is a disarray, God prepares individuals like Moses and Samuel after long periods of silence. I believe that remnants must yield to this kind of calling. Samuel is the one who raises up David. We all know what happened to David. David abided with God and wrote the words of Psalms. He was a shepherd. He practiced to have the skills needed. When David was a shepherd, what was the time like? Saul was the king, but he was demon-possessed. He had his interests elsewhere. So, God raises up David, the son of Jesse. From that day on, he was filled with the spirit of the Lord. God will prepare Remnants. We all know what happens to David later on. Israel becomes a strong nation over time. Remnants must become specialized in tasks. There are remnants who half-ass tasks. Don’t be discouraged. There are Remnants whom God has hidden. There are Remnants who will be able to overcome chaos. It doesn’t matter what kind of strange things the former president of Korea did. We need to realize that it is the forces of darkness. What must we see? God has quietly prepared the Remnants who will overturn the age. That is the movement in which you will be used. We are living as immigrants. We cannot freely go back to Korea. That is the definition of the life of a gentile. The Israelites had to go into war in 4 different regions. In Midian region becomes taken by Babylon. Their children were growing up as captives. This was the time of Esther and Mordecai. Her parents died early, so she was raised by her uncle, Mordecai. They were living as immigrants, but still had the answer of Remnant. We all know that later on, Esther becomes queen. She was a Remnant who served God correctly. She is guided correctly. She had the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The prior queen was taken out because of a wrong-doing, but she was guided accurately. All the people of Israel were at the brink of death. No one knew that she was a Jew. She could’ve kept it to herself to save herself. Because of her faith, she was able to save all of Israel. I pray that the remnants here will have the answer of becoming kings and queens. That doesn’t mean that you need to be a president. There are answers that have been prepared. You need to correctly raise your kids to serve God. We need to raise them up to be used. We need to raise up people like Samuel who can serve God correctly. Remnants need to enjoy Immanuel. Not having parents is one of the worse things that can happen. However, Esther rose up as a Remnant. I bless that you will be victorious.
3. The RUTC movement, which is the correct evangelization towards the future generation, is the only way to victory
(1) The future generation that enjoys the mystery of prayer (1Sam 7:5)
(2) The future generation that enjoys the power of the word (PS 103:20)
(3) The future generation that fulfills the duty of the disciple (Est 4:16)
Like Samuel, our Remnants must have the answer of enjoying prayer. In 1 Sam 7:5, it says, “Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the LORD for you." In 1 Samuel 3:19, it says that the Lord was with Samuel and none of his words fell to the ground. This is the confession of faith that Samuel makes. They need to have this kind of prayer. We cannot have Remnants who sway. This is God’s time schedule. David understand the power of the God’s word. In Psalms 103:20, it says, “Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.” We need to raise the Remnants who understand the value of the Word. We need to find the Remnants who will keep the place of worship. You might say that it is too hard. You might say that all the messages are the same or you don’t like people at church. That means you don’t know the Gospel. This is the time that God has prepared. This is where the everlasting word stands. Esther risked her life going before the king. She served Mordecai as her spiritual leader. She didn’t just try to protect herself. She was willing to die. Mordecai adopted and trained her. He told her not to tell anyone that she was a Jew. She asks him to pray for all people. When you receive the queenlike answers, the world will view you differently. You have to receive the answer of saving the world. That is the kind of answers that the remnants must receive. You might come and just want to go. God will never be at a loss. He will never let you be at a loss. He will give His blessings at this worship.
(Conc)
These kinds of remnants will arise with us. The answers of the 2nd RUTC movement will come. There was a church member who brought me their 2016 prayer topics and answers. I bless that God will grant answers to the point where our prayer topics will be answered. How can we start the 2nd RUTC movement? Hannah comes before God. She says that God has allowed this prayer. Samuel is the outcome of her prayer. She entrusts him to God. That is what she says. As parents, we all wish success on our children. We need to entrust them. We need to pray that they will be used by the Lord. Don’t worry about financial concerns, just entrust them onto God. We have to entrust that they will be used by God. God will grant us the Remnants who will facilitate the future.
(Prayer)
Almighty Father God, we pray as your sons in Christ. May you have mercy on us and our descendants. Because of the lacking of the parents, our kids grow up with scars. God, we pray that they will enjoy Immanuel to change their scars into specialties. Help them to grow up as Remnants. With their prayers, may they open up your kingdom. May they become the people of power so that no word will fall into the ground. The answers of God will still reign. We pray that all the Remnants will enjoy the king and queen-like answers. We believe that the current period of chaos is a time when you will work. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.