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Subject 22 : The Gospel According to LUKE
[Chapter 9-2] The Kingdom of God That Has Come upon This Earth (Luke 9:57-62)
(Luke 9:57-62)
“Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, ‘Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’ Then He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.’ And another also said, ‘Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’”
What Kind of Place Is the Kingdom That Has Come upon This Earth?
Through the sermon in this morning’s service, I spoke to you on the theme of “We Must Go on Living with the Purpose of Saving Souls.” Dear fellow believers, if we truly live for the work of saving the souls of others, then God will take care of the remainder of our lives for us. So, more than anything else, I am sure that we must first carry out God’s work of saving souls all throughout the world from sins. I believe we must put our goal on that work with our hearts.
In this hour, I read with you the Scripture passages from the Gospel of Luke chapter 9. Looking at verses 59 and 60, it is said, “Then He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.’” Before this passage, when someone here said to Jesus, “I will follow You,” the Lord said, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Then, the Lord went to another person and told him to follow Him. Just then, the man answered, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” What did Jesus say after that? “He said, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” And another person said to Jesus that he will also follow Him and asked the Lord, “Let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” But then Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Dear fellow believers, what do you think is the true meaning of this Word? It means that people who wish to follow the Lord must put efforts into the work of preaching the Kingdom of God more than anything else.
I want to examine the Kingdom of God with you. Here, the Lord tells you and me to preach the Kingdom of God, but in order for a kingdom to be formed soundly, there first has to be a king. Also, there has to be the people under him. Only then can a kingdom be formed properly.
Then who is Jesus Christ whom we believe in? Jesus is our Savior who has saved us from sin. And He is our Judge. In the Book of Revelation chapter 20, verse 11, there is someone sitting on a great white throne passing judgment, and that someone is none other than Jesus Christ. Jesus, who has saved us by His baptism and the blood of the Cross, He will come as the Lord of judgment on the last day of this world, and sit on the judgment seat and pass judgment on all humanity. We must recognize that none other than that Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of God. Only when we properly recognize and believe in Jesus, who has become our King, being our Savior as well as Judge, the Kingdom of God will stand perfectly. Jesus Christ, who is God, is our King. And the Bible tells us that this Jesus Christ is also the Judge and the Creator. In the Book of Genesis, the Creator created the heavens and the earth, but who is this Creator of the heavens and the earth? It is none other than Jesus Christ who has saved us.
Dear fellow believers, actually, we know the Lord only as the Savior who has saved us. However, the Lord has told us today to preach the Kingdom of God. We must properly recognize the meaning this Word suggests. What is the Kingdom of God? Who is Jesus Christ? What kind of work did this Jesus Christ do for us? Who is the Master of the Kingdom of God? The King of the Kingdom of God is precisely our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Creator. We must believe in our hearts the fact that Jesus Christ is God the Creator. We should not just believe in Him as the Savior, but instead, what I’m saying is that we must have the faith that He is the Creator who has created us. That’s right. He is the Omnipotent. Our Lord is the Omnipotent who can calm even the stormy sea. He is the Judge. Such an omnipotent Lord has told those who desires are to follow the Lord to preach the Kingdom of God. This in turn means that He wants them to preach His Kingdom.
But why do you think the Lord told us here to preach the Kingdom of God? Actually, this world had once been taken away by Satan the Devil. God entrusted Adam and Eve with this world He had created, but Adam and Eve had this world taken away from them for having been tempted by Satan the Devil. When that happened, our Lord came to this earth in human body and reclaimed this Kingdom of His. Hence, He is telling those who follow Him to preach this Kingdom of God so that they would never again have this world be taken away by Satan the Devil.
Dear fellow believers, our Lord genuinely wants us to preach His Kingdom. The Lord, who is the King of this world, came to this earth and completely annihilated all the sins that have occurred because of Satan the Devil. He completely destroyed the powers of Satan the Devil. Having reclaimed this Kingdom like this, He bestowed it to you and me. He bestowed it upon the people of God. And once again, He became the true King of this earth.
Dear fellow believers, precisely because of this reason, the Lord told His people to preach His Kingdom. I know that we will take this Word, which tells us to preach the Kingdom of God, into our hearts. What command did God give to those of us who have been born again? The Lord told us, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). And this precisely means He wants us to preach the Kingdom of God. “Jesus Christ is the King of this earth. Jesus is God, the Creator, and the Judge. This Jesus is the One who has blotted out all our sins and all the sins of this world.” We must be the ones to preach this truth. Preaching the Kingdom of God precisely, means this. There are still many people in this world getting deceived by Satan the Devil. Therefore, we must preach the Kingdom of God to these people. As we do so, those people will receive liberation from sins for they will properly know God, and also, they will worship God and put on the grace of God. And, that is why our Lord told us this Word today. The Word in which He says, “The world of Satan the Devil is over. The true Master of all people is Jesus Christ.”
Dear fellow believers, who is the Master of not only you and me but all the people in this world? Also, who is the Lord Creator of this world? Who is the Judge? It is none other than Jesus Christ. Do you believe in that truth? Only when we properly know and believe in God, we become His genuine people. Only when we have such faith, we become the people of faith who serve the King and preach the Kingdom of God by going forth to the throne of the King.
Our Lord has taken back this world that had been taken away by Satan the Devil because of sins. That Jesus now wants to receive worship from His people as the King of this world. He wants to be served and praised. He wants to receive thanks from you and me. Dear fellow believers, we must engrave well in our hearts this Word that the Lord has told us today. And we must genuinely worship the Lord. If so, how do we worship the Lord? We the born-again must have a heart that reveres the Lord. Should there be no heart that reveres God and should we be satisfied just by having received salvation, then we cannot but depart from God and become unbridled.
Who is Jesus? The Lord is our King, our Judge, our Savior, and the Creator of all things. We must clearly realize the fact that Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of God and that we are His people. And after clearly realizing this fact, we must preach the Kingdom of God. What I am saying is that only by doing so, we will be able to accurately preach to people, “Jesus Christ has destroyed the powers of Satan. He has blotted out the sins of all people,” as we speak about the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
Our Lord Is the One Who Remits the Sins of All Human Beings
Our Lord has blotted out all the sins of people as the Savior of this earth. Because of that, Lord, there is no longer a single person who cannot but have sins in this world. However, Satan the Devil still lies to people to prevent them from worshiping God, saying, “Jesus Christ did not blot out all the sins. He blotted out only the original sins, so the personal sins must be remaining intact in your hearts.” This is why our God told those who follow Him to preach the Kingdom of God. And then, He said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Dear fellow believers, we must preach the Kingdom of God in accordance with this Word of the Lord, but really, what must we preach? We must preach Jesus Christ having blotted out all the sins of the world by speaking out. When we preach the Kingdom of God accurately like this, Jesus Christ’s omnipotent power will show. Souls tied up for having been deceived by Satan the Devil will receive liberation, and as God’s people, they will get to know Jesus Christ, offer worship before Him, and praise God. That’s right. Therefore, the work that you and I must do is none other than the work of preaching the Kingdom of God. And in order to do that, we must first realize the fact that we are His people. Along with that, we must realize the fact that He is our King, the Judge, the Creator, and the Absolute. We must have the accurate understanding that He isn’t someone exactly the same as us but rather He is the One befitting to receive worship and that He is the Almighty who has blotted out all our sins. In order for us to preach the Kingdom of God, what else do we need? We must know how Jesus, who is God, has blotted out all our sins completely. It is because we will only then be able to accurately witness Jesus’ ministry of salvation in front of the people of the world.
Dear fellow believers, what must we put our efforts into in our everyday lives? If we are the born-again Christians, then more than anything else, we must exert our effort into the work of preaching the Kingdom of God. Truly, not only around us but in every corner of this world, many people are tied up by sins for having been deceived by Satan the Devil. If so, what must we preach to those people? We must preach the Kingdom of God. We must preach to them that Jesus Christ is the King of this world and that He has blotted out all the sins of this world. Because of Satan the Devil, many people are acting as servants to sins right now, but we must preach to them the fact that these sins have completely disappeared because of Jesus Christ. That’s right. We must deliver to people the fact that “Jesus Christ blotted out all your sins because He loves you. And so, the Kingdom of God has come upon such heart of yours.” Dear fellow believers, you and I must preach all over the world the fact that the Kingdom of God once again has come upon this earth. The spreading of the gospel is the Great Commission given to us by Jesus Christ, but this is also in turn the preaching of the Kingdom of God. This doesn’t mean that we should turn this earth into the season of Jesus Christ with our own effort. Such is the motto of some legalistic Christians who believe that the Kingdom of God hasn’t come upon this earth yet. They say they should serve the world and sacrifice themselves to construct the Kingdom of God that hasn’t come yet.
However, the green season of Jesus Chris has already arrived. That’s right. Upon this earth, the Kingdom of God has already come. I am not telling you that we must make it come in the future, but rather, I am telling you that the Kingdom of God is already here on this earth. We who know and believe in this fact must preach it to those who haven’t gotten to know the Kingdom of God, yet. That is precisely the mission for us saints. As we live on this earth, we must worship God, serve God, sing songs of praise to God, and we must also witness to everyone on this earth the fact that the Kingdom of God has come upon this earth in Jesus Christ. This is precisely what preaching the Kingdom of God is.
Are you preaching the Kingdom of God? If the Lord had told you to just spread the gospel, then we would have understood that we must just spread the gospel, per se. However, our Lord has told us to preach the Kingdom of God. He said it clearly like that. He said, “I have blotted out the sins of all the people on this earth, and the Kingdom of God has already come upon this earth. Yet, why do you continue to live being weighed down by sins and still not know God properly?” God isn’t someone who received our worship for no particular reason. He is the Savior who has clearly blotted out all our sins, and He is the God of love, as well as the Judge. Also, He is just, and He is truly the God of the Truth. We must tell the people of the world the fact that He has completely blotted out all our sins by having come to this earth just as He had promised. We must let them know that the Kingdom of God has already come.
But many people who are deceived by Satan the Devil are not interested in the fact that the Kingdom of God has already come. But we must continue to let people know about the Kingdom of God. We must first believe in our hearts that the Kingdom of God has come, and next, we must accurately bear witness to this fact inside people’s spirits. The world of Satan the Devil has already ended. “The Kingdom of God has come upon this earth, and Jesus Christ is the King, the Creator, the Judge, and the One who will reign over us. We are His people. Also, the entire humankind is His people, and they are the ones to serve Him.” Just like, when we announce and witness that the Kingdom of God has come, Satan the Devil will no longer be able to deceive us or the souls of people in this world.
Dear fellow believers, who has deceived the souls of people? It is Satan the Devil. Even now, this Satan the Devil goes into people’s spirits and deceives them as if he were a king and as if his kingdom is still on this earth. Satan the Devil exists inside the hearts of sinners as some demons that place curses and woes upon them should they not listen to his words. If so, then we must tell those people that the kingdom of Satan the Devil has already come to an end. We must install this truth in their hearts and souls. We must preach that the Kingdom of God has come to people who have been seduced by Satan the Devil. When we do so, Satan the Devil will no longer be able to sway people. Dear fellow believers, our Lord is speaking to us, “The Kingdom of God has come. Preach My Kingdom. Fight against Satan the Devil.”
Long ago, the people of Japan occupied almost all the countries in East Asia. Korea was also in the hands of the Japanese, but soon after the United States dropped atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan unconditionally surrendered. When the Emperor of Japan announced the surrender, the Koreans found about it by hearing the news from a radio broadcast. The people of Korea found about the fact that “The owner of this country is no longer Japan. This country has been liberated. Now, this country is our country.” Hence, what do you think the people at the time had felt as many of them had shouted hurrah with Taegukgi, the national flag of Korea, in their hands? When Koreans realized the fact that “This country is no longer Japan’s. It is our country,” that is, when they actually believed that fact in their heart, from that very moment on, Japanese invaders were no longer able to actually wield power in Korea.
Dear fellow believers, preaching the Kingdom of God is same as this. There still are many people on this earth getting tormented and ruled by Satan the Devil, and so we must tell these people precisely about the Truth: “You are currently being deceived by Satan the Devil. Do not listen to what Satan the Devil is saying any longer. Jesus Christ came to this earth, and He has already won back this world as the Kingdom of God. By blotting out all our sins, He has blotted out all those curses from people tied up by Satan the Devil. Jesus Christ took away Satan the Devil’s kingdom and once again made it the Kingdom of God. Therefore, you must now believe in Jesus Christ. When you do so, you will receive salvation. You will receive the remission of sins in your heart, but not only that, all the powers of Satan who torments you will withdraw. Therefore, accept Jesus Christ and believe in the fact that Jesus Christ has blotted out all your sins and all the powers of Satan.”
This is how we must preach the fact that the Kingdom of God has come upon this earth when we spreading the gospel. As we do so, Satan the Devil will no longer be able to wield power. Dear fellow believers, today’s Scripture passage in which the Lord tells us to preach the Kingdom of God is a Word that is of immense importance to us.
Even now, many people are getting deceived by Satan the Devil. How are they deceived? They still think that this world is a world managed by Satan the Devil. But, what is the truth? This world isn’t a world ruled by Satan the Devil. However, Satan the Devil always attacks you to deceive you. Also, Satan the Devil instills in you the thought that if you don’t listen to him, you will be destroyed, but please do not be deceived by it. When you think that you are getting destroyed, all you have to do to defeat Satan is to yell out, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, be gone Satan” by faith. When you do so, Satan the Devil won’t be able to use power for having heard the name of Jesus Christ, who is the King of the Kingdom of God and our King. Dear fellow believers, we must bear witness to the fact that “The Kingdom of God has come in our hearts. The Kingdom of God has also come upon this earth,” wherever possible at every corner of this earth. Do you understand? When Korea was liberated from Japan, Koreans made it be known to all people by shouting out that fact. Like so, now it is our turn to preach the fact to every one of the world, yelling out, “The Kingdom of God has come upon you and that Jesus Christ has blotted out all your sins, liberated you from all the curses of Satan the Devil and saved you.”
When our Lord Jesus was journeying on a road, a certain man tried to follow Him. When he said to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever You go,” the Lord answered, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). I think the Lord knew the heart of this man well at the time. This man was actually someone who had wanted to act as a king on this earth while trying to follow Jesus. That is why Jesus said such words to Him. When Jesus was on this earth, He had no place to lay His head. No where on this earth did He find peace until He had completed the salvation by taking on all the sins of this earth by receiving the baptism and then dying on the Cross. All the enemies of our Lord Jesus rose against Him. And so, our Lord told those who had wanted to follow Him to preach the Kingdom of God. The Lord wanted to bear witness to the fact that He came to this earth as the King, destroyed Satan the Devil’s authority, and fought to victory against Satan the Devil.
His true warfare was the fight against Satan the Devil, not the fight against us. Originally, Satan the Devil was an archangel, but later he stood against God. And Jesus Christ personally fought against Satan the Devil with God’s just law and claimed victory over him. Thus, the Lord tells us to preach the Kingdom of God.
But here, what is another thing that is important? Our Lord allowed certain people to follow Him but not the others. That is, He refused those who had placed their hopes on this earth, but He told those who hadn’t to follow Him and entrusted to them the work of preaching the Kingdom of God. Dear fellow believers, our Lord clearly mentioned the Kingdom of God. He wasn’t speaking about the kingdom of this world. Genuinely, our God wants to give His people His Kingdom. Not only does He want to give us His Kingdom, He also wants the Kingdom of God planted truly inside our hearts. Yes, this is true. He truly wants to engrave in our hearts the fact that we are His people, that He is our King, and that we become the Kingdom of God by uniting with Him.
Our God has the wish in His heart for the realization of the Kingdom of God through the preaching of the Kingdom of God on this earth. What is it that our God earnestly wants on this earth? God’s will is for every single one of our souls to receive salvation, but along with this, the ultimate goal of His is for the Kingdom of God to be engraved inside the spirits of all the people on this earth. It is the realization of the Kingdom of God on this earth. This is precisely the purpose that God has toward us.
What does our Lord want from us? Truly, He wants the Kingdom of God to be realized inside our spirits. Have you received the remission of sins in your heart? If you did receive the remission of sins, then aren’t you God’s people? Is Jesus Christ your Master? Is He the King? Is He the Creator? Is He your Judge? Jesus Christ wants not only to be our Savior but also the King to us, and He want to receive worship from us. All of this being realized is precisely what the Kingdom of God is. When He tells us to preach this, He is telling us to carry out the work of preaching the Kingdom of God.
I believe the Kingdom of God has come first upon those of us who have been born again. But, we must accurately put this into order that Kingdom of God is inside our hearts. “Is Jesus Christ truly in my heart as God? Is He there only as the Savior? Is He in my heart as the absolute God? Is He in my heart as the Judge? Is He in my heart as the God of absolute Truth? Is He in my heart as the Creator? Above all things, is He the King to me?” Like so, we must examine our own heart once again.
Fundamentally, He was God to us humans. He was fundamentally the Creator and the Judge from the beginning. He was originally in the hearts of people and in the hearts of Adam and Eve. However, after Adam and Eve committed the sin because of Satan the Devil’s deception, Jesus Christ came to stand as just a man among humans and as just the Savior for the descendants of Adam and Eve instead of standing as the King of the entire humankind.
But, what is the truth? Jesus is the King of all kings and God. This Jesus wanted to recover God’s royal authority. He wanted to make known that He is the King of the entire humankind. Hence, He says here to preach the Kingdom of God. Jesus truly wants to exist in our hearts as God: the God of creation, our Judge, omnipotent God, the King of those of us who believe, and God who has created us. Is Jesus Christ inside your spirit as God? Jesus is genuinely God, but if this isn’t properly set inside your heart, then you start having the thought, “The Lord is simply the Savior who has saved us. Although He has blotted out our sins, could there be some other gods? Wouldn’t God be somewhere else?” But there can only be one God, Jesus Christ who has saved us, created us, and shall judge us. Only Jesus Christ is God in this world, the King of kings, the Lord of all lords, the One who shall receive worship and praise for generations.
When we read the Book of Revelation, it is written that Jesus Christ will sit at the right hand of the throne of God the Father, open the Book sealed with seven seals, and judge everything that is in it. Who is the One who will manage everything in this world from alpha to omega and from the beginning to the end? He is none other than Jesus Christ who has saved us. He is the One who has created us, saved us, blotted out all our sins, and granted us the eternal Kingdom of God. This Jesus Christ wants to recover the royal authority as the King inside our hearts. He wants to be the King inside His Church, the King inside the hearts of the saints, and the King of this world. The reason why Jesus Christ came to this earth was in order to recover His authority as the King.
However, there are saints whose hearts do not have Jesus Christ set as the King inside. Put differently, there are people to whom Jesus Christ hasn’t become their King. Despite having received salvation, there are people to whom that Lord hasn’t become their King, and there are people who do not know what kind of a being that Lord is.
What would happen if you and I were like that? When we do not correctly know what kind of a being the Lord is, strength drains out from us. Hence, you and I must clearly set in our hearts the fact that He is our Creator, the fact that He is the Savior who has saved us from sins, and the fact that He will be the God of judgment at the end of time. Like so, when we get to know Him properly, strength will rise inside the hearts of the saints and abilities will sprout up. And also, bold faith shall grow before Him. I am saying that when we clearly realize the fact that the Lord is God, the Creator, and our King, we will be able to receive the omnipotent strength of His power.
Has the Kingdom of God Come inside Your Hearts?
Dear fellow believers, has God genuinely become the King to you? Is Jesus Christ truly your Judge? Is He the Creator? Then, I want you to preach to the world just exactly who that Jesus Christ is. That God Jesus has asked us to preach the Kingdom of God.
Dear fellow believers, Christianity isn’t a religion. What is it which must be set inside the spirit of yours and mine who believe in Jesus Christ? What must be organized inside our hearts? The fact that Jesus Christ is our God and our Divine Entity must be planted in our hearts. Jesus Christ is our God, and He is the only God. We must have in our hearts the enlightenment that He is the absolute God. Only then, can the Kingdom of God truly come inside our hearts. Only then, can we preach the Kingdom of God to others, and then will the power of God appear when we preach.
Dear fellow believers, if we the saints are losing strength and not praying very well, and our faith is becoming clouded is all due to the results coming out from our ignorance of Jesus. All 66 Books of the Bible speak of Jesus Christ. In the Book of Genesis, it is said, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (Genesis 1:1, 3). Here, who is the One that said, “Let there be light”? He is none other than Jesus Christ who has saved us. This means that the One who had created this world from the beginning was none other than Jesus.
When we look at the next Scripture passage, it says, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). This passage describes the Holy Spirit, but then again, who is the One who had shown this Holy Spirit? He is none other than God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. When we read the Book of Revelation, God the Father and the Holy Spirit appear, and then the Lamb of God, that is, Jesus Christ appears. How about the account of Jesus’ baptism? There appeared Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and then God the Father, in turn.
What does this mean? It means that Jesus, who has saved us, is God. He had existed from the beginning when He created this earth and we human beings. And, who is the Lord who will judge this world in the end? He is also Jesus. It means that God the Father has given Jesus Christ all the authorities to rule, judge, and save the heavens and the earth, and thereby, He had Him rule this earth and judge it as well. Therefore, we must clearly engrave in our hearts that Jesus Christ is the true King; He is the true God; He is God. When we do this, we can pray before Him, depend on Him, boldly witness the Kingdom of God, and fully offer our entire life for Him.
Dear fellow believers, the Lord said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Truly, only when the fact that “The Kingdom of God has come upon this earth” is set well inside our hearts, can we preach the Kingdom of God powerfully.
Dearly beloved saints, can you now understand what the Kingdom of God is? Do you understand God’s intention when He orders you to preach the Kingdom of God? Truly, upon all the people on this earth, the Kingdom of God has already come. However, many people still do not know this truth. We must preach to them this truth.
Jesus Christ wants to show inside our hearts the truth that He is the Creator. He wants to show that He is the Judge and the King. I hope you will all become the type of saints who gain strengths in Jesus Christ and witness the gospel by accurately knowing and believing in Him. Halleluiah!
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