February 26th, 2016
ICA Sunday Pulpit Message
Transcription : MS Word (English)
Bulletin : PDF (English)
(Intro)
It is good to see you. Greet those around you. Have you had a good week? Today’s title is, “Sons of God are the ones that have made a life conclusion”. Those people who know what will happen at the end have leisure. Those who know the conclusion cannot be shaken. This means that if you have concluded your life with Christ, you will not be shaken. The conclusion in life is Christ. The final destination is heaven. This is the introduction and conclusion of our lives.
1. The life conclusions of people who have influenced the age
(1) Life is beautiful and history develops
(2) It is the journey of finding the real life from the fake one
(3) It is loving our Lord God with all our heart, will and life, and loving your neighbors
The former president of Korea, President Kim, left behind a legacy. There are a few things I would like to share with you. He is famous as a politician, but also allowed Korea to become a developed country. Even though he was persecuted and criticized, he brought about good change. He was firm in his beliefs. He didn’t say that life was suffering and painful. He said that life was beautiful and that history will develop. When he said those words, people agreed with him. He was able to confess and complete his life the way he wanted to. You need to think about how you want to confess and live. Nietzsche was a famous German philosopher. He influenced the world, but he was unable to influence himself. He was sick at 35. For 10 years, he was trying to restore his health. He lived until 55, but his last 10 years, he was hospitalized in a mental institute. Even though he was renowned, he wasn’t able to fulfill his life. What is the greatest blessing of life? It is to meet the creator God. When you discover what is inside of Christ, you will discover true blessings. John 14:6 says that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. He is the way to meet God. We only live once. We need to think about how we should live. Jesus said that with your whole heart, you should love Jesus and your neighbors. In Deuteronomy 6:4-6, it says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” He said this to the Israelites. Jesus was saying this to someone trying to test Him. Jesus answered by referencing the Pentateuch. It is loving our Lord God with all our heart, will and life, and loving your neighbors. Those who don’t believe in God cannot believe His Word. However, those who believe in His glory, have faith in His Words. How can we live according to His will and truth? How can we live our lives in that path? It is very simple. You need to conclude your life before God and the world. What kind of conclusion must we have?
2. The life conclusions of Christ, who solved all problems of life throughout the ages
(1) The life of uncovering God’s will from the secular temptations of Satan (Mt 4:1-11)
(2) The life that performs and completely fulfills the work of God, the Father (Jn 4:34, 19:30)
(3) The life that shares the Gospel to all nations and all peoples to the ends of the world (Mt 28:18, Mk 16:15, Acts 1:8)
You need to see what Christ did in His life. for 40 days, He was tempted by Satan. He was able to overcome Satan and give us answers. Jesus came in the form of a man. We need to find answers through Him. The answer is in Matthew 4:1-11. We found the answer through last week’s pulpit message. God has given Jesus the guarantee that He loves Him. Jesus went to the wilderness to pray and was tempted by Satan. That way was for Jesus to prepare the way to meet God. This was the start of His ministry as the true prophet. That was His first training as the true priest to solve our sins. That was His first step to destroy Satan as the true king through crucifixion and resurrection. Just like Jesus, I hope that you will overcome temptations in the world. What trials came before Jesus? Jesus was a man. So, when He fasted for 40 days, He was hungry. Satan tested Him by saying that Jesus should turn stone into bread. Satan was attacking Jesus in a moment of weakness. This is the evidence that we are exposed by Satan when we are weak. It is written that man will not live on bread alone, but with God’s word. In Deuteronomy 8:3, it is written as well, “man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” It talks about how the word has strength to overcome everything. Satan tested Jesus again to jump off a cliff so that the angels can save Him. Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Do not have unbelief! Do not fall into Satan’s schemes! Satan tests Him again by telling him to bow down before him and he would give Jesus all this land. One of the strategies of Satan is to make you work hard to achieve something. I hope that you will have victory in life to serve God. I bless that you will only serve God, who is the only way, truth and life. Jesus was able to overcome Satan’s temptations and conclude His life. If you look in John 4:32-34, Jesus met a Samarian woman. He preached the Gospel to her. And, He told her to give worship with a whole heart. Afterwards, He was having a meal with His disciples. He told them that He had food that they’ve never even heard about. The disciples were wondering what that was. Jesus said that His food is to do the will of Him who sent him to finish His work. You must hold onto the word of life. Jesus overcame the temptations of Satan and was informing His disciples. He was also telling them about His conclusion to be crucified on the cross. He said in John 19:30, that it is finished. Jesus finished the will of God and freed us from sins. We are born with original sin. When you believe that everything was finished on the cross, you will be saved. We have salvation through God’s grace. We need to share this with others. Jesus was trying to explain missions and evangelism. He said to share this to all people and nations until the end. He was telling them to conclude their lives within the Gospel. You will see that Jesus lived His life within the Gospel and evangelism. In Mark 1:38, it said, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." He wanted to share the Gospel. He came to evangelize. He wanted to spread the good news. He was able to fulfill the mission given by God and show that to His disciples. He went to Galilee and many other synagogues. He took down many evil spirits. He went everywhere. There were many people who were demon possessed. He accurately saw the problems and did His ministry. And, in Mk 3:14, He was able to raise 12 disciples and formed a system. We have the 1st discipleship worship every Sunday. We have completed the 40 days intensive training. Jesus concluded His life to save souls and to raise disciples. Jesus fulfilled the work of God. He only gave glory to the Father God. We need to know the conclusion of our lives in Christ.
3. The life conclusions that we must make as sons of God who serve God as our Father in this age
(1) The life that is not self-centered and follows the Word
(2) The life that is not centered on physical things and pleases God
(3) The life that is not centered on world success and only serves God
It is the conclusion of you and me. We need to have the life that is not self-centered and follow the Word of God. It is recorded in Matthew 4:6 that Satan also knows the Word of God. Satan was interpreting the Word for his own personal means. You need to follow the Word of God every week through the pulpit message. Also, do not become centered around the physical things. Last week, there was a Remnant who was sweeping the church. I took picture from far away. I thought about uploading these pictures. I sent them to that Remnant. I told them that you are a Son of God. Last week, we heard the message of Jesus when He was young. I thought that he put those words into action. Without physical motives, he did the works of heaven. Discard your own motives to do God’s work and will. When you have a pure heart, all these things are recorded in heaven. You will be rewarded. You need to find the work that will please God. I hope that you will do the work that will please God. I pray that you can have the life that is not centered on worldly success and only serve God. When you open the book of Genesis, there are the 3 strategies that allowed mankind to fail. We need to hold onto this as our spiritual lesson. In Gen 3, due to being self-centered, they lost hold onto the word of God. That was not the end. They were separated from God. From that point on, sins and curses came upon them. When vast amounts of sins and curses accumulated, disasters came. It was the work of Satan. They lost ahold of everything. It means that you will lost everything if you lose the word of God. In Genesis 6, the Nephilim were on the earth in those days so they were corrupt and followed the things of the world. When people follow physical pleasure, they have no choice but to fall curses and disasters. When you continue to live like this, you will fall into disasters. In Genesis 11, there was an incident of the tower of Babel. People only wanted personal success. They had no interest in God’s plan or method. They lived according to their own ways. At the end, they might be successful. More disasters followed. Everyone will scatter. At the end, they had nothing. When you are able to overcome the 3 schemes of Satan, you will please God. This is the conclusion of our life that we must have. Following the Word is complete victory. When you first seek the spiritual things, the physical things will follow. When you gain worldly success, you will fail. When you fulfill God’s will, eternal success will be guaranteed. You need to find the conclusion and truth of your life in God’s word.
(Conc)
Deeply go into the Word. Hold onto the pulpit as your covenant. There is a method to do this. You need to constantly be filled with the Holy Spirit. Conquer your spirituality. God will allow you to enjoy the summit.
(Prayer)
Lord, thank you for giving us our conclusion in your Word. Help us to praise you with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength. Allow me to hold Jesus Christ, who was successful in the world, as the conclusion of my life. With God’s grace, bless our life to have Your guarantee. Help us to conclude our life in the Gospel. I give thanks in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.