*** 02/28/2021 Summary of Sunday’s Sermon by Pastor Yong Doo Kim ***
<Scripture>
Luke 19:12-27
Matthew 25:14-30
<Sermon>
The End of My Life is Approaching
In God’s kingdom, there exist two words, “already” and “not yet.” The moment we believe in Jesus, God’s kingdom “already” came upon us. But at the same time, we have “not yet” entered the perfect kingdom of God. This is because we have our God given calling and mission to complete in this world. That’s why how and in what manner we serve the Lord is very important.
We shall not try to receive and enjoy all the glory in this world. We need to be determined to enjoy all the good things in heaven. We must do our very best on the things the Lord has entrusted us to do while He is still away. Our life is heading towards the end times. We must bear in mind that our last day is approaching to stand in front of the Lord. People are born with some kind of ability or skill, one at the minimum, meaning at least one ‘mina’ is given to all of us.
Prophet Hosea said, Israelites are being destroyed because they don’t know God. When you misunderstand God and do not know your mission, you can be destroyed as well. Disobedience starts when you misunderstand God. Until Jesus comes, do not judge anyone. Those who live in the Spirit [or God’s people] are not subject to merely human judgement but only subject to God’s judgement. We need to put our utmost effort to know God. Even if you are attending church, you will not know God when you do not read the bible. Even if you read the bible, you will not know God in depth [and understand His deeper meaning] when you do not pray. Even if you pray, you will not get the detailed guidance from God when you are not filled with the Holy Spirit. You need to put your effort to know God and to do His will. But nowdays, churches are heading towards putting less effort and less commitment in knowing God. We need to cry out to God and live spiritually. When we do that, we will experience God’s power and see it in action in our lives.
Jesus will reward you when you perform the tasks to the best of your ability. Do not go easy or do things intermittently. When you see someone receiving the power from God, do not think that it doesn’t apply to you or you are not capable of receiving things from God. The kingdom of heaven is for people who gives and performs their best to take hold of its power. The master called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. Suddenly, he returned one day and requests for evaluation of his profit. The servants that received five talents and two talents knew the will of the owner and went at once to put his money to work to double the profit. The servant who received one talent hid the money and brought it back because he did not know the will of his master. Those who don’t know the will of the Lord will judge Him with words and go against His will.
Even for us, the day will come where we need to provide our evaluation of profit to the Lord. On that day the Lord will ask you, “I have given you the life changing opportunity. What have you done with that chance?” If you are evil, lazy, and unprofitable, you will be the enemy of the Lord and perish. When you do God’s work, don’t do it to show off to other people but only do it to show off to God.
First, restore your relationship with God. Second, restore your relationship with other people and whatever you do, give your utmost effort. Then, there will be a reward for you. Think of the last day when you will be standing in front of the Lord. Such person who fears God will not behave recklessly. Their sight will be on the things above and will be patient and have self-control to obtain the crown in heaven. Satan can enter into us at anytime when we sin. Therefore, we always need to have a thankful heart. The Lord wants your best and utmost effort. At times, the Lord wants your never-ending passion. Sometimes, He wants your patience, endurance to the end, being thorough, faithfulness and thoughtfulness.
The servant who received one talent misunderstood his master and performed only minimal work. The servant condemned his master and thought that he harvested crops he didn’t plant and gathered crops he didn’t cultivate. The servant made his master angry and became an enemy to his master. This servant thought his master was assigning work to his servants so they won’t be idle. He was deluded and therefore, became lazy from doing his work. He did not understand that the master wanted his servant to learn to become good, diligent, and faithful by performing his work.
God’s kingdom has already started but did not arrive yet. If there is anything that you did not give your utmost effort, find out, repent, and get yourselves ready to enter the kingdom of God. That’s the kind of work God wants us to do. Especially, let’s give thanks to God for giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit and the ability to continue the late night prayer. You live your life only once and there certainly will be a difference at the end. Give your utmost effort to be more faithful, loyal, and good servant of God.
<Summarized by: Hyun-Jung Choi from the Holy Fire Ministries Church in South Korea>
<Translated/Edited by: Gina Choi from the Fire of God Church – Northern California Branch>