February 5th, 2017
ICA Sunday Pulpit Message
Transcription : Word(English)
Walk With Christ Who Came As A Man (Mt 1:18-25, Jn 1:14)
(Intro)
It is good to see you. Greet those around you. Have you had a good week? Today’s title is, “Walk with Christ who came as a man”. Last week, we received the message regarding Jesus Christ, who was prophesized and held onto it as a prayer topic. No one else was prophesized to come. At the end, He came. He came as a man. What is the reason why? If He came as a bell, all we have to do is ring it. If He came as a flower, we would just smell it and say it is pretty. If He came as a candy, we could lick it. However, He came as a man. What do we have to do since He came as a man? He came to be with us and to have relationship with us. There is a saying that you educate someone with their POV. There is a great company of education in Korea. Their motto is educating others with the POV of children. The level of students is all different. They are doing studies according to the levels of students. It has a great effect on students. There are many cases when you educate your kids from their POV. Parents know that their kids are different and would educate them. Don’t hold onto the ways of the past. It would not have an effect on them. God came in a human form to adjust to our POV. God is greater than the galaxy. God is unlimited. Because He wanted to be with us, He came as a human form. Why did He come this way? He wanted to be with us, He came as a man. He came to dwell with us. Even though He is greater than the universe, He came as a man. If you used to live in a big house and then go to a small house, it’s frustrating. If you used to drive a good car and then downgrade, it is hard. If you change your environments, it’s difficult. God came as a human. This is a great mystery.
1. God called mankind to walk with us continuously
(1) Adam and his descendants (Gen 1:26-27)
(2) Abraham and Israel (Gen 12:1-3)
(3) Early Church and its saints (Acts 1:1,3,8)
God created the 1st man, Adam, in His image. It is not in the image of a monkey. God made Him in His image to be with Him. He said that He would be with you to rule over the Garden of Eden. Be with God and conquer the world. In order to do these things, He came. As you know, the serpent tempted mankind in Gen. 3. He made mankind disobey God. That itself became a sin before God. We are full of sin, so we cannot be with God. Being separated from God is a sin and it caused all problems. It is called “original sin”. The people of the world do not understand this. This is a term that only we know. All suffering came from original sin. Jealousy and anger came from it. Murder takes place. War breaks out. All that is from original sin, but the people of the world do not know. You have to understand and be able to share this. If you truly understand original sin and the fundamental problem, you have no choice but to believe in Jesus. You will go to church also. God made us the way to meet God. It is the offspring of woman. Those who hold onto this can meet God. When you forget this, you will suffer. People continued to forget, they faced the flood during the time of Noah’s ark. Just as God started with Adam, He started again with Noah. His family held onto the covenant of the offspring of woman. Time passed and they lost hold of covenant again with the tower of Babel. Everyone was scattered. That’s why God called Abraham again. Abraham would be the source of blessings. He would be the source of the Covenant. God said that He would make Abraham a great nation. God said that He would guarantee victory for Abraham. This is an amazing covenant. Whoever is good to Abraham would receive blessings as well. The descendants of Abraham made a great nation. Israel was not an exception. When the Israelites hold onto the covenant of Gen. 3:15, they are victorious. They continually forgot the covenant of Gen 3:15, so they faced disasters. They continued to raise different idols. They suffered from slavery, captivity and colonization. Then, God would send someone every time. He raises prophets who believe the covenant of the offspring of woman to proclaim the word of God. He raises priests who hold onto the covenant of offspring of woman for the blood sacrifice. He would raise kings who believe the covenant of the offspring of woman to win wars. They would remind the Israelites of the covenant so God could be with them. 2000 years ago, God came as a man. He fulfilled the important and great things. When He went to heaven, He promised to receive the Holy Spirit. The Early Church members continued to pray while holding that His promise. The power of the Holy Spirit was upon them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit according to Jesus’ promise. They enjoyed the dwelling of God until the end. The Holy Spirit came and left at the age of Old Testament. However, it was with them until the end. Once you receive the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus, you will be able to enjoy the blessing of Triune of God. Look at the history of the Israelites. We could ask some foolish question. We could ask why does God always raise people to be with us instead of appearing in front of us. If God appears in front of you, what would happen? We would melt and disappear right away. If we move a little close to the sun, we would burn up. God’s power and glory is greater than the sun. We saw a video of an atomic bomb. Everything within the radius would turn into dust. The Almighty God is greater than a bomb, so He cannot just come before us. He came as a man for our POV. That’s why He kept prophesying that He would come as a man. We sinners cannot stand before God. God raised pastors to perform the word of God. God commissioned saints around the world because He cannot come. Why? He wants to find true disciples. If there is a person who is truly seeking God, then they will realize who they are even though they might be foolish. There were packages coming from Korea. The mailman is kind of foolish. Would you just reject it? The mailman’s physical traits would not matter, they would still deliver it. The person who is truly seeking salvation would receive it, regardless of their physical traits. God has raised me to find true disciples. In order to find true disciples, God has raised you. What is wrong with the church? The church might be strange and the members are worse off than the people of the world. God has called those who are a little bit crazy. I am not saying that you guys are like that. God is truly to find true disciples. He is trying to be with them.
2. Christ went through miracles to walk with us eternally
(1) From the infinite spiritual world to the limited physical world (Mt 1:21, Jn 1:14)
(2) From God’s glory to Satan’s curse (Mt 27:46, Gal 3:13)
(3) From the judgment of Hell to the throne of heaven (Mt 25:31, Heb 1:8, 12:2)
Christ came. In order to be with us, He went through miracles. He wants be with us until the end. That’s why He performed miracles. Even if you want something difficult, you do it. If you love someone, you might disobey your parents to see them. Have you seen an animated movie called “Marco”? It came out decades ago. There was a boy in Italy named Marco. His father was a doctor helping the poor, so he didn’t get a lot of money. The mother of the boy goes to Argentina to make money. In the 70s and 80s, Argentina was great economically. In order to meet his mom, he saves his money. He has a small pet monkey. He goes on a journey to meet her. He meets lots of people on the way. He arrives there. He meets his mom, who was suffering from overworking. They missed each other. She was so happy that she was cured from her illness. She restores her health and goes back to Italy. Whatever circumstances that he faced didn’t matter. I love movies and so does my son. Have you seen, “Taken”? The actor’s name is Liam Neeson. There is a quote from the movie. “I don’t know who you are or what you want. However, I have the skills to kill you and your people. If you bring my daughter back, I will not harm you. If not, I will go looking for you. I will find you and kill you”. Christ came to be with us and transcends everything. He was Almighty but came as a physical creation. It is a miracle. He came from the glory of God to Satan’s curse. He received the filling of the Holy Spirit. He did His ministry on this earth. After 3 years, He was crucified. He returned from glory to curse. He cried. “Father God, how can you forsake me?” God was with Him, but He forsakes Him. It is in Galatians 3:13. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." God made Him cursed on the cross. He was tortured and beaten. He shed His blood for us. They broke His knees. He went through extreme physical pain. Jesus was crucified on the cross as a curse. Why? It is because He wants to be with us. He needs to die to resurrect. He needs to resurrect to ascend into heaven. He needs to ascend to send the Holy Spirit to be with us. He went through all those things to be with us. He went to Hell by dying, broke the power of Hell and resurrected in 3 days. Then, He stayed with us for 40 days. Then, He ascended into heaven. That’s why it is written in Heb. 12:2. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” When you believe in that, you will receive grace from God. First, God called individuals. Then, Christ went through miracles. It is so that He could be with us. He could dwell with us.
3. Live a life of always walking with Christ through the Holy Spirit that you’ve never experienced before
(1) Be guided by the Holy Spirit with the Word of the Covenant (Jn 14:26, 16:13, Acts 13:2)
(2) Have fellowship with the Holy Spirit with continuous (conversational) prayer (Eph 6:18)
(3) Have the Holy Spirit work for the blessing of meeting (Acts 8:29)
What can you do to be with Christ? Be guided by the Holy Spirit with the Word of the Covenant! In John 14:26, it says, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Also, in John 16:13, it says, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” The important work of the Holy Spirit is to allow you to realize the word of God and to lead you through the word of God. What kind of words can He guide you with? We need to worship God in Spirit and in truth. You should hold onto the word through a worship. You need to receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the pulpit. When you succeed in worship, it does not mean that you receive grace. If you just think that it is a good message, then you have been deceived. During the message or word, something will move you, and then you have received grace. If you think the pastor is offending you, remember that no pastor is trying to criticize people in their message. Find the word that He has given you through the pulpit. If you think that a pastor is criticizing you, then hold onto that as a prayer topic. Pray to God to restore everything. God will give you answers. What else can you do? Communicate with God through continuous prayer! How do you have a relationship? You become close to them. It is written in Eph 6:18, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Always communicate with Him. When you do so, you are acknowledging the Holy Spirit. When you are alone in meditate prayer, He will give your realizations. You need to apply this in your life. You could ask Him what you are supposed to do. In the Catholic Church, there was a man named Lawrence. He was not a priest. He was a chef. He was a person who worked at a kitchen in a prayer center. The meal that he prepared was the meal that the people of God ate. From that moment on, He entered inside prayer. He just prayed to God to help him with his job like cleaning dishes and cooking. He prayed to do his job well. When you are serving the food, eat it well. When deep conversations took place, a miracle took place. At the end, he became a cardinal from a chef. He confessed that he only did one thing, converse with the Holy Spirit inside of him. We need to do the same. Then, you will be able to be guided by the Holy Spirit and receive answers prepared by God. Lastly, have the Holy Spirit work for the blessing of meeting! For that blessing of meeting, the Holy Spirit has to work. It is in Acts 8. “The Spirit told Philip, go to that chariot and stay near it” After hearing the word of God, Philip meet with the Ethiopian Eunuch. He was explaining Christ to him. He would baptize him and send him to Africa. God led him to that way. When you pray for the blessing of meeting, then you can become an evangelist. When you dwell in the Holy Spirit, you will receive His word. Therefore, you need to find the message through the word of God. They need to find God’s voice. Therefore, God went through many things to be with us. Hold onto the message. Jesus died on the cross. He was crucified for you. However, you are not concerned with that, you are only concerned with secular goals. The pastor always talks about Christ. When I get a small cut, I get upset, but Christ was tortured and crucified for me. Confess that you might have no interest in His word, but help me to understand it. God will come upon you and give answers. You have to write it down realistically. Many people have been in this movement for a long time. Esther Park was a Catholic and converted. She uses a certain type of diction, but we are not used to it. When you embrace the message, then you can share it during forum. The way to walk with the Holy Spirit is with the message, communicating with Him just like a mate, and meeting given by Him. Make sure to remember these three things. If you are in that spiritual state, God will allow you to have the blessing of meeting.
(Conc)
Christ’ incarnation is a glory that is not comparable with a king’s visit. The King of Kings came to me. You cannot compare with any world leader. He came into this world with His love. He came as a human form and mobilized His power. He sacrificed Himself. That is why He came. When you conclude your life to be with Him, works will take place. Have fellowship with God as you study. When you go to work, do it with God. Today, we have given worship. Our active service members will go out of state to train. Dwell with Christ. Communicate with Him with holding the word of God. Pray for your husband to be with the Holy Spirit. Believe that He came as a man to be with us.
(Prayer)
Almighty Father God, we give thanks. In order to be with us, you have performed miracles. You have surpassed miracles. You have allowed us to be with the Holy Spirit. Help us to hold onto the word and be guided. Help me to be guided with the word that touches my heart. Help me to have a conversation with the Holy Spirit through the word of God. Through it let me have meetings. In Jesus Christ name I pray, Amen.