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August 3, 2024
Leading verses:
15: "And said, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel!"
35 "And in the morning, before daylight, he got up and went out. And he went to a solitary place and prayed there."
We want to serve the Lord Jesus Christ well. What should we do to serve Jesus Christ? When we get to know the work of the Lord Christ, we can learn the right way.
Today, we want to get to know the work of Christ and draw from it what we should do.
This passage tells us what Jesus did in the days of his first ministry. We can learn from it what he did and with what orientation he worked. We want to find our orientation from Him.
1. The message of God's kingdom (14-15)
When Jesus began to work as the Messiah, he proclaimed, "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come. Repent and believe in the gospel!"
Jesus Christ proclaims that the kingdom of God has come.
God's kingdom is the reign of Jesus. Anyone who accepts Jesus as the Son of God and Christ is accepted under the reign of God. But those who reject Christ as the Son of God will unfortunately not be accepted into the reign of God.
Coming into the kingdom of God means "coming under the reign of God". If you accept Jesus Christ as your King, you come under the reign of God and will be under the protection of God and enter the glorious resurrection world after your bodily death. Therefore, all believers are in the kingdom of God both on earth and in heaven.
That is why it is important to accept Jesus Christ as our King and Savior. Then we are immediately taken into the kingdom of God.
This message can free us from the sin and the power of death and give us a happy, eternal life. That is why we can live on earth with joy and then enter the kingdom of heaven and live happily ever after.
That is the glorious message of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ came into the world to welcome us into the kingdom of God. This message is the gospel, the best news for us.
I share my experience of the kingdom of God!
When I accepted Jesus Christ as God's Son and Christ in 1970, I experienced God's reign so that I felt like I was walking in paradise.
When I was to marry Esther in 1977, I had so much joy about God's love that I didn't think about my marriage at first.
When Esther fell asleep, I believed that she lived in God's kingdom in heaven and continued to support me, so I didn't lose my heavenly joy.
Even now, I more or less feel that I feel God's kingdom.
It is true that God's kingdom has dawned through the coming of Jesus. Through the gospel, everyone can taste the kingdom of God.
Let us now work for the extension of the kingdom of God in the following way, so that we can imitate Jesus and get the orientation of working for the kingdom of God.
2. The work for the kingdom of God (16-39)
What did Jesus do specifically to extend the kingdom of God?
First, calling some fishers of men (16-20)
From the very beginning, Jesus began to call some disciples to be fishers of men.
As Jesus passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brothers, casting a net into the sea to catch fish.
Jesus said to them: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
As Jesus went a little further, he saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee, mending their nets after their work.
Jesus called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the day laborers and followed him.
Jesus began his work by calling some people to be fishers of men. Fishers work mainly for their earthly life. But fishers of men work for people to receive eternal life and God's kingdom.
Jesus, the Son of God, preached the gospel to many people during his three-year ministry. But he put his best efforts into raising up 12 disciples.
Peter, Andrew, James and John got to know Jesus personally through their fellowship with him, became his friends and learned about his work. Jesus' work was to lead people to believe in him so that they could have eternal life and receive the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus' disciples are those who come to know Jesus Christ and his work.
James was later martyred. Andrew died on an X-cross in Greece in his 60th year. Peter was crucified in Rome. John was banished to the island of Patmos.
But all of them live in the heavenly kingdom of God.
Second, Jesus preaches the gospel to many people (21-28)
Next, Jesus preached to many people.
He preached God's word to many visitors in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Through faith in Jesus, they can experience forgiveness of sins, receive eternal life and also be set free from the captivity of evil spirits.
Jesus did not preach to make his knowledge known. Rather, he proclaimed the good news. That is why his preaching was so powerful, so that his listeners were freed from the power of sin and death and also freed from the evil spirits.
Then the evil spirits screamed: "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? You have come to destroy us. I know who you are: the Holy One of God!"
When Jesus commanded them: "Be silent and come out of him!" Then the evil spirit cried out and came out of him. The people were delivered from such evil things and were healed. Above all, they received eternal life through the gospel.
So Jesus has authority over sin, death and evil spirits. And his message brings freedom and eternal life to all people who believe.
Thirdly, Jesus takes care of Simon's mother-in-law and heals others (29-34).
After Jesus had preached the kingdom of God in the synagogue in the morning and healed the sick, Jesus came from the synagogue to the house of Peter and Andrew, because Peter's mother-in-law had a fever and was in bed.
Jesus took the mother-in-law's hand and the fever left her. With a grateful heart, she cooked for Jesus and his disciples.
Perhaps she was grieved because she thought that Peter did not care for his wife because of following Jesus.
But Jesus cared for Peter's family and healed his mother-in-law. Although it seems that following Jesus means neglecting family members, Jesus cares for the family of his followers. That is why you can follow Jesus without worrying.
Jesus also took care of his mother after his father died. On the cross, Jesus said to John about Mary: "Behold, this is your mother!" and to his mother: "Behold, this is your son!" (Joh. 19,27+26).
The disciples of Jesus should first and foremost follow Jesus well. Nevertheless, they should take care of their parents.
When I look back over my life, I realize that Jesus took care of me. He raised Esther and me, put us together, gave us enough to live on and raised both sons, even though I became Jesus' disciple and missionary.
All disciples of Jesus can rely on Jesus to take care of them.
The Sabbath ended at sunset. Because it became known that Jesus was with Peter, people who were sick or possessed by demons brought them to him. It seemed as if the whole city had gathered at Peter's doorstep. And Jesus healed many who were suffering from various diseases and cast out demons. (Mark 1:32-34).
He has great compassion for people suffering from illness or demons. That is why he healed everyone. He helps all who come to him. His love and mercy are great, wide and deep. We should appreciate his love and mercy and bring all problems to him, be it illness, financial problem or other problems.
He helps us with our various everyday problems. And we thank God for physical healings or financial help, for example.
But these are temporary blessings. What Jesus emphasizes again and again is to help with spiritual problems. He forgives our sins and gives us eternal life and the kingdom of heaven. The spiritual blessing is a permanent, best thing.
Fourth, Jesus prays (35-39)
When you have worked until late in the evening, you want to sleep in.
Jesus had worked a lot on the Sabbath. He had called some fishers of men, preached in the synagogue, healed Peter's mother-in-law and healed many sick and possessed people. That's why he had to work late into the night. He must have been very tired and had enough sleep at first.
What did he do then?
The Bible tells us that he got up in the morning, much earlier than daybreak, and went out to a lonely place and prayed there.
Jesus' hour of prayer was his hour of conversation with God. Jesus had fellowship with God.
He wanted to receive rest and new strength from God. His hour of prayer was an hour of new strength and direction for him. He reported what he had done on the Sabbath. He asked him for advice and direction. He knew that God's direction was the best way to fulfill his task. He did not want to work according to the wishes of men, but according to the will of the Father.
When he finished his prayer, Peter and other people came to him and said to him: "Everyone is looking for you!" By this they meant: "Everyone is looking for you to be healed." The people wanted Jesus to heal them of their illnesses or solve their current problems.
Jesus replied: "Let us go to the next towns, so that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out."
Jesus acts according to the will of the Father, as Jesus confessed: "The Son can do nothing of Himself" (John 5:19).
Jesus is the Son of God who lived according to the will of God. We too should live the way God wants us to. Then God will bless our lives abundantly.
We should follow the example of Jesus. We should ask for God's will in prayer. To this end, we should seek God's direction in prayer.
Conclusion:
1. We should share the gospel with all people.
In the past, many students and people have come to Bible study and church services. Most of them have moved on. This is also God's work. Because many of them have at least accepted the gospel. Just as Jesus preached the gospel to the crowds, we should continue to make the gospel known to all those who come to Bible study or church services, even though they may later move on somewhere else. They are like the crowd to whom Jesus preached. When they believe in the gospel, God's kingdom is extended. That is why we should thank God for it. And we should continue to share the gospel with all people.
Andrew helped Christof, Oriel etc. by studying the Bible. After that, Christof moved to Münster because of the job and Oriel moved to southern Germany because of the language test problem. In my autobiography there are many names of students who had come to know the gospel in Korea, Dortmund and Bochum. They are similar to the crowd who had heard God's word from Jesus. The kingdom of God is also being extended through them. We want to continue this work, because this is God's commission to us for the expansion of the kingdom of God.
2. We are to pray and work for some to grow as disciples of Jesus.
Andreas had put up invitation posters on the wall in Cologne. It was through these posters that Eberhard Groß came to the Cologne church and became a good disciple of Jesus. Now he is the preacher and leader of the Cologne church.
Renate had invited Ulrike and Anja to Bible study and helped them through the Bible study so that they are now serving God in Cologne and Aachen.
Isn't it a coincidence that Eberhard and Ulrike have become a family and are serving the church there together?
I raised David Lim as a disciple in Korea through Bible study. Now he is the pastor of three churches. In Germany, by God's grace, I have ministered to Ludger, Andreas and Renate, who are faithful disciples of Jesus.
We are to help other people to become Christians. We are also to help some to become fishers of men or disciples of Jesus. Without becoming disciples of Jesus, the expansion of the work of the gospel may disappear over time. But if we do not forget these two concerns, but pray and work for them, God will continue his saving work and expand his kingdom worldwide.
Therefore, let us pray with all our hearts that we will invite young people and all to Bible studies and worship and help some faithful people to grow as Jesus' disciples.
So our work consists of:
1. prayer
2. preaching and helping with practical problems of need.
3. disciple-making
Let's read verses 15 and 38 together:
15: "And said, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel!
35 And in the morning, before daylight, he got up and went out. And he went to a solitary place and prayed there."
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