My and Our 237 Empty Places (Matthew 28:16-20) 1/10/2021
The Field of Answers of 1st 2nd 3rd RUTC:
My and Our 237 Empty Places (Matthew 28:16-20) 1/10/2021
This year, we want to take some time to confirm and apply the mission God gave us for the three fields. In the three empty fields, there are answers that each of us will receive and blessings that our church will receive, which we must discover for ourselves. In the passage, Jesus tells his disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations.” This is quite unrealistic. However, if we lost hold of the blessings within these words, at least three things will happen.
First, even after receiving salvation, we and our descendants will live a life in spiritual captivity, slavery, and colonization.
Why does this happen? The representative figure is Jonah. The Nineveh people, whom Jonah did not care for nor want to evangelize to, eventually ended up crushing the Israelites and taking them captive. What must we do when the world becomes more and more evil, and there are evil people around us? We can either leave that evil world, save them and live with them as neighbors, or suffer under their evilness.
Second, if we lose hold of this mystery, we will lose hold of all the answers and blessings that God has prepared within that. Joseph was sold as a slave but what was the blessing he enjoyed? He ultimately blessed his owner Potiphar and gave answers to the prisoners and ultimately the king. The King realized who God was through Joseph (Genesis 41:38). All of this was evangelism and missions. That is why we must interpret all problems and situations with the gospel, evangelism, and missions. That is God’s absolute plan.
Third, if we lose hold of this mystery, there would be no reason for us to enjoy the greatest blessing, which is the authority of heaven and on earth.
What was the reason Christ, who has all the authority of heaven and earth, promised to be with us until the ends of the earth? It is because we must be used for the work of saving all nations; the absolute work that Christ came to this earth to fulfill on the cross.
- What is the most important key that we must hold onto in order to save all 237 nations?
1) Christ, who has sent us and is with us, has all the authority of heaven and earth.
The authority of heaven is the authority of the triune God that has created this world and is governing it with his absolute sovereignty. Our life, death, success, and failure are up to him. Authority on earth is the authority to break down all the forces of darkness that dare to hinder God and his people. The one who possess all this is with us.
2) This blessing is a spiritual blessing. It is an absolute blessing that transcends time and space. The world is connected through the internet, but it cannot transcend time. Spiritual things can.
3) This is when you can realize how tremendous true worship and prayer is (1Samuel 7:10).
When you receive grace and strength through worship and experience prayer in your life, that strength will be relayed (to children, workplace, missions field).
4) When we realize this spiritual reality, we can understand and embrace all nations and 237.
5) That is when the throne, the world and we become one. That is where we will be (oneness). We are living in the same world, and we face similar problems, but we are living a different life. That is called the spiritual standard, spiritual summit.
- The 237 empty places and “me.”
God desires to bless you to use you to bless and save the world.
1) Enjoy Christ, who is the absolute answer in all problems, as “only.” The works of uniqueness and recreation will arise.
① Problems are not a problems (John 19:30). Look at is with spiritual thoughts and eyes. No matter how hard Satan tries to work, he will be broken down.
② “Only” does not mean you will not need anything else. It means that you are able to have a deep relationship with God. Amidst problems, you will be able to see and feel God’s depth (His deep love, deep heart, deep plan).
2) Thus, we must allot a time for concentrating on him in our daily lives.
① The important element of concentration is meditation. What is the difference between meditation and transcendental meditation? Transcendental meditation is emptying ourselves. It is perhaps necessary. However, if it ends there, you will face spiritual problems down the road (Matthew 12:44-45). Meditation is going further and filling up with God’s things.
② We are filling up with the covenant and the word, thinking about God’s will, and applying it (the principle is analogous to cow’s rumination).
The Bible emphasized the blessing of meditation (Genesis 24:63, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-3, Psalm 19:14).
3) Pray about your own evangelism and missions.
① First, pray for all the commissioned missionaries as a spiritual watchman.
Even if there is a web of network, you must be connected to be able to use it. There are platforms where those webs are gathered, and there are people who maintain it. We can now be a part of a greater, spiritual network and perform the role of a watchman.
② When you continue with this, even if you do not go, there may be individuals around you from the 237 nations ( Acts 2:9-11). Just like deacon Phillip, he will attach the right people at the right time (Acts 8:26, 29, 39).
- The 237 empty places and “our church.”
When we gather our strength and become one, great doors of world evangelism will open up and we will be able to handle great works.
1) The church must be strengthened through us as individuals.
That is why each department is important. This is why in the wilderness the Israelites were broken up into 12 tribes and 70 elders. It is like the members of a body. Someone’s small devotion is precious (Ephesians 4:16).
2) The church must go into true concentration. We must pray so that our church can bear the role of being the watchman of 237 missions. The church can do many things, but there are things that God desires, needs, and are absolute. IT is evangelism, missions, and saving the next generation. When we gather, we pray, and in our fields, we evangelize and carry out our missions. Those blessings will be inherited to our posterity. The flow of the family and the church will be determined by what the 1st generation parents focused on.
3) Many specialists in our church must gather strength to do specialized missions.
① Medical missions, military missions, and college missions is the beginning.
We must devote until there is a system by which this becomes consistent, the next generation inherits, and the remnants arise.
② The IT mission team, media mission team, and cultural mission team in this age are historical ministries. It will radiate great influence. There are hidden talents in our church. There is already a system in which these people can go forward together in the Upper Room ministry. Our church needs someone to raise this flag and gives their devotion in 24-hour prayer.
Conclusion – Why do we use the term “empty place”? It does not mean there is no one. It means there is no one that will relay the gospel. If we give the spiritual answer through the work that Christ has done, we can heal and save everything. We are the spiritual watchman of this age.