Due to COVID-19 and disruption to international mail service
we have temporally suspended our ‘Free Print Book service’.
we have temporally suspended our ‘Free Print Book service’.
In the light of this situation we are not able to mail you the books at this time.
Pray that this pandemic will end soon and the resumption of the postal service.
Pray that this pandemic will end soon and the resumption of the postal service.
Subject 24 : Sermons for Those Who Have Become Our COWORKERS
[24-23] We Must Promptly Preach The Gospel of The Water and the Spirit (Mark 2:1-12)
(Mark 2:1-12)
“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you.’ And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, ‘Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins’—He said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’ Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this!’”
Do You Think Just Like the Scribes Did?
Today we will be studying the passage where the Lord healed the paralytic. When Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you,” many people thought that what He said was strange. And, when He said to the paralytic, “Take up your bed and walk,” the paralytic picked up the bed that he used to lie on until then and walked. This amazed a lot of people. In this manner, many people saw the righteous works of Jesus that He performed on this earth. These people exclaimed that they had never seen such a thing as this up until now in their lifetimes and gave glory to God.
Dear fellow believers, we are now spreading the same spiritual gospel of salvation as this. You and I are diligently spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit to the whole wide world. Of course, we are worn out by spreading this gospel so diligently.
My eyesight is falling rapidly, too. When I take off my glasses, I can hardly see small writing.
Right now, we are spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit to the whole world. You and I are sharing this gospel together, and I think that preaching the gospel really starts now. This gospel was passed down from the time of the Early Church, but I think that the preaching of the gospel of the water and the Spirit really begins from here on out. The Bible often says that God would give us “the early and latter rain” (James 5:7, Jeremiah 5:24, Joel 2:23) in His season for the precious fruit. Thus, we can tell that now is the time of the latter rain, while the revival of the Early Church age that is written throughout the Book of Acts can be called as “the early rain” of the Holy Spirit. During the time of the Early Church, the Apostles and the disciples of Jesus Christ had devoted themselves to the preaching of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Why is this so? Jesus taught His disciples the gospel of the water and the Spirit and commanded them to preach it all across the world. Jesus Christ is the God who created Christianity. Jesus the Savior finished the work of our salvation through the gospel of the water and the Spirit and returned to Heaven. And, He had His disciples preach the gospel of water and the Spirit to the whole world.
When we look back at the pages of Christian history, we see Emperor Constantine uniting Eastern and Western Rome. It is said that at one time before the Emperor Constantine was victorious in the battle to take the throne, he saw a vision of a cross in a dream. A voice was heard in the dream saying to wage war with a cross flag at the head. And so, his armies placed a cross flag at the forefront of the battle and were victorious in the battle. And, not long after that, the Roman Empire established Christianity as the state religion. Thus, Christianity became the official religion of the Empire. And so, Christianity seemed to flourish in the Empire, but in reality, it collapsed into a worldly religion. And later on, Roman Catholicism stemmed from that religion. This is what is called the great contribution of Emperor Constantine. And, the state of things continued on in this way for another 1200 years until the Reformation which began prominently in the 1500s. It is said that there are five great religions in this world. The five are made up by Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism.
When we take a look back at the history of Christianity in a perspective of the gospel preaching, we can come to the conclusion that you and I are preaching the gospel in the last days. It has been quite a while now where we are spreading the gospel through our literature. We first believed in the gospel of water and the Spirit, and after a period of prayer and preparation for the proclamation of this genuine gospel, we have been spreading this gospel for over a decade now. Although we have not preached this gospel for a long time, we are overjoyed by the news that the whole world is hearing the gospel of water and the Spirit. This is despite the fact that at times it is physically overbearing to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But, our God has answered all our prayers. There is nothing among our prayers that our God has not answered. And so, we are truly thankful and grateful, but our hearts’ burden is that there is more work to do than before and so our shoulders are becoming burdened down by this.
Some People Thought That Jesus Was Insolent
When we look at today’s passage, Jesus says, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” When He said this, people thought this was strange or suspicious. In other words, people thought, “How does He have authority to forgive the sins of human beings?” To them, Jesus appeared to be quite proud and arrogant. If Jesus would have healed the man’s sickness first, then they would have thought that He had great ability and would have wondered where He obtained such ability. But since Jesus said, “Son, your sins are forgiven you,” the people thought that Jesus was really absurd. And, they probably thought to themselves that He was a dangerous person because He not only was proclaiming His forgiveness but also was claiming to be the Son of God. But, when the Lord stated, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house,” the paralytic man stood up immediately, picked up the bed that he was lying on and walked out.
There are Christians today who worry about the same things. Most Christians nowadays do not know that Jesus has the authority to grant the remission of sins through the gospel of water and the Spirit. They just think of Jesus as the One who can heal the sickness of people just like He did to the paralytic. There are many who believe in Jesus in this way. This is despite the fact that Jesus proclaims in this passage, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
However, today’s Scripture passage reveals that Jesus Christ is performing the work of granting remission of sins to every sinner through the gospel of the water and the Spirit through His servants. Jesus spoke that the authority of Jesus’ forgiveness of sins was also given to His disciples. He clearly said His disciples would have the authority to forgive sins. We know this because Jesus says in John 20:23, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Jesus has given such authority to you and I who believe in the gospel of water and the Spirit.
But what do those who profess to believe in Jesus as their Savior today think about this? They think it is natural that Jesus has the authority to forgive the sins of human beings. But they do not know the fact that the disciples of Jesus can also grant forgiveness of sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And so, they have believed in Jesus but have not received the remission of sins in their hearts. Although they have not received the remission of their sins, they believe that Jesus is a Person who heals all their sicknesses. And, they know Jesus to be the One who casts out demons and brings just material blessings.
But, dear fellow believers, what we must know is not only that Jesus has spoken, “Son, your sins are forgiven you,” but that the gospel of the remission of sins, which is the gospel of the water and the Spirit, can be heard through His disciples. If you have not received the remission of sins, then nothing can be accomplished in your heart. The Lord not only has the ability to forgive sins, He also has allowed it to His disciples so that they can forgive sins of others by preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Lord desired to forgive the sins of every person through His disciples. However, most Christians ignore this Truth and make light of it. They know that Jesus has that kind of power; they know that He is the Son of God and God Himself and that He is our Savior. However, they cannot receive the remission of their sins because they haven’t heard the gospel of the water and the Spirit that they should have heard through the disciples of Jesus. These people do not consider the remission of sins that can be obtained through the disciples of Jesus to be important because they have the illusion that they also will receive the remission of sins someday. This is the problem with today’s Christians.
Today’s Church Members Have Become Like the Pharisees
Today’s Christians are professing, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” but they have not received the remission of their sins because they haven’t heard the gospel of water and the Spirit yet. And so, Christianity today has been degraded into one of the worldly religions. As I mentioned earlier, the proclamation of the gospel of the water and the Spirit is taking place in full-scale from this point onwards, even though there once was a great revival of the true gospel in the Early Church age. As the twenty-first century has dawned on us, we who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are proclaiming this gospel. This period in which we are proclaiming this gospel is the age when the gospel of the water and the Spirit begins to be preached again. The Lord said to His servants that He would give the early rain and the latter rain in His season. To the Early Church, He gave the early rain of the Holy Spirit. Through the Apostles and the servants of God, He raised up the revival of the gospel to an answer to their prayers.
We can say spiritually that right now is a time of the latter rain. True evangelists proclaim the good news of salvation in these last days. For the last time, God has given us the remnant believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit the opportunity to preach this gospel to the whole world. The Lord has given us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in this period these blessings.
As I mentioned earlier, through the proclamation of the gospel that we His disciples of today are undertaking, the whole world can now hear this genuine gospel. The gospel of the water of the Spirit was preached for a short while in the Early Church age, but because the persecution was so severe, it was difficult for this true gospel to be preached or to be believed in. So, the gospel of the water and the Spirit was not preached to the whole world at that time. On the contrary, as time went on, the gospel of the water and the Spirit was changed or distorted.
But now, this gospel of the water and the Spirit is being spread across the whole world. This period is the time where we are preaching this genuine gospel and it is the era of the latter rain and it is the time when it is to be proclaimed to the whole world. However, even now many church members are not able to comprehend the Word of Jesus that “Son, your sins are forgiven you,” in the gospel of the water and the Spirit by which Jesus has blotted out all their sins. They cannot believe in this true gospel because they do not know that Jesus has blotted out all their sins through the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. Jesus has remitted all the sins of those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit through us the preachers of this gospel who trust in the righteousness of Jesus. But, most of them still are not aware of this fact. So, it is possible to say that true Christianity is now just beginning in this twenty-first century.
We are proclaiming this gospel of the water and the Spirit. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there are many more genuine believers other than us in the different parts of the world? Then, we will not feel alone. We will be very happy if there were people who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and preach this gospel other than us. However, other than us, we haven’t found anyone yet. Some people may preach the gospel in similar ways but they are not the same in the end. And their leaders are none other than those who try to build big church buildings and wring money out of their congregation. Other than us and our coworkers all over the world, there are few who preach the gospel of the forgiveness of sins, which is the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
However, we are going to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit through whatever means available. When the internet becomes more available worldwide, there will be many opportunities for everyone to come into contact with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But, not all people will accept this genuine gospel in their hearts. The gospel of the water and the Spirit must be proclaimed when peoples’ hearts are still pure so that they will accept it in their hearts and be saved. In the future, the internet will be widespread throughout the whole world and, for a while, people will accept the gospel of the water and the Spirit by it, but later on the internet will become an obstacle to the gospel. A time will come when people will follow false teachers and listen attentively to their teachings so that they will reject the Truth of God. And so, we are going to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit as soon as possible. Christians today are only interested in physical blessings in which Jesus said, “Son, arise, take up your bed and walk” and the fact that he picked up his bed and walked. They are not interested in believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They are really not interested in this powerful gospel that makes their hearts as white as snow. In circumstances like these, we are preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to others.
Nevertheless, the part where Jesus said, “Son, your sins are forgiven you,” contains the blessings of salvation. Now, the whole world will start to receive the latter rain and God’s blessings will be poured out. Among the things God has desired, there is nothing that has not been realized. We have prayed much for the preaching of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and God has fulfilled everything that our hearts have desired. I personally give thanks to God for allowing everything that I have desired. And, I give thanks for the fact that God has blessed all of you as well. Dear fellow coworkers, there will be much that we will need to do from here on out and things will become much more difficult. However, we must seek our every need to God by faith and continue to do God’s work with His help.
Christians must not be focused only on healing their physical diseases. Even if physical diseases are healed there will still be death. Of course, it is probably better that physical diseases are healed than they are not, but the healed also must die in the end. This means that we humans all die in the end. So, if there is sin in a person’s heart, isn’t it more important to receive the remission of sins rather than having securities of life? Is living this life all that we seek while in this world? This life on earth is a life of a traveler where we briefly come and go. And then, there is either eternal Heaven or hell that awaits us in the future. And so, it is wrong that Christians today are only seeking physical blessings.
Of course, it is not only in Christianity where people are seeking the desires of their flesh. We can see this happening in other religions as well. Is it satisfactory that only the sicknesses in your body are healed? Is it just okay if you were to become rich or famous after believing in Jesus? By believing in the blessing of the Word, “Son, your sins are forgiven you,” which denotes the gospel of the water and the Spirit, your salvation must be accomplished in your heart. You must hear and believe in the good news that the Lord has blotted out all of your sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Only when we receive the remission of our sins by hearing with our ears and believing with our heart in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can Jesus become our Savior and we can then become the very children of God. This is why we are so grateful to God. Otherwise, if we become rich only in this world, would that be something to be thankful for? Honestly speaking, no matter how hard you serve Jesus by not planting the gospel of the water and the Spirit in your heart, it will not lead you to the real blessings.
This only means that you make your pastor richer, but honestly the church members can never become freed from their sins.
Believing in Jesus does not just mean that we become rich physically. Of course, religious beliefs often work a little, but one must work diligently in order to become rich. Does a lump of gold fall from the sky only if any businessman believes in Jesus? Businessmen must receive God’s wisdom and reduce the cost of production while planning how to do sales strategically. While we are idle spiritually, will God’s blessings simply fall down from the sky? That is definitely not true?
Christianity has nothing to do with superstition. However, Christians nowadays are superstitious. True Christianity consists of the flock of believers who trust in and follow the righteousness of Jesus. Who are those who believe in and follow the righteousness of God? They are those who have received the remission of sins by believing that Jesus is the Savior and by trusting in His work where He removed all of our sins away with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. These are the people who live according to God’s will. This is the faith of Christians. God has made those of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit His workers.
From now on, we are going to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit even more. According to our perspective, the devastating natural disasters and the achievement of the Great Commission of the Lord that we should preach will accompany with each other. Therefore, we must hope that God’s will be fulfilled quickly on this earth. People must now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Those who do not believe are accursed. You also must know that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is your salvation, and if you do not believe then you will surely be accursed. But, if you believe, you will be blessed.
We are God’s representatives from Heaven. As the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon represents the people of the whole world and works for the U.N., we are people who represent Jesus Christ’s righteousness and do spiritual work throughout the whole world. So let’s have people believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit we are preaching. If we work in this manner, the ministry workers in our country can handle the work all throughout this world. And, we can train our coworkers overseas so that they can proclaim the gospel of the water and the Spirit to their peoples. And through them, the will of God can also be fulfilled. And, they also will gather together faithful disciples. And so, much more work will be accomplished together.
Dear fellow believers, if you have any good ideas in spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit, please let me know. If you have any great ideas, I will try to implement them. I ask the Lord that He will be with us and bless us in all the things that we plan to do.
This sermon is also available in ebook format. Click on the book cover below.
Copyright © 2021 by The New Life Mission