Acts 2:36-41
God is the Savior of the whole world. He is the Creator and has absolute love for man. We are beings who have the mission to live for the glory of God. But man was deceived by Satan, the enemy of God, and Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which God told them not to eat. The result of disobedience was death. “Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:12-13. See also Genesis 6:5-7. God loved us, but we rebelled against him. But God had mercy on us, and had set His plan for our salvation and carried it out. There were some cities and empires in history such as the Roman Empire and Pompei which were destroyed by their sexual immorality, adultery and so on. Korea has become so corrupted nowadays - suicide, abortion, and sexual immorality. We rank 1st or 2nd in the world. This is very fearful before God. Dear brothers and sisters! We should know that we face destruction physically and spiritually due to our sins. We should repent, for this is the only way to live spiritually. God has taught us this through the Bible. Although people offered the blood of sheep for their sins in the Old Testament times, it couldn't make complete atonement for their sins. See Hebrews 10:3. Therefore, God made an arrangement for sins to be taken away once and for all - physical curses and eternal spiritual suffering. “Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:9-10. To solve our sin problem, Jesus Christ came to the world in the flesh, and died on the cross. This was according to the Father's will. See Isaiah 53:5-6. He was resurrected from the dead and asked His disciples to be His witnesses by the Holy Spirit. See Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:18-20 “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” Mark 16:17-20 The Lord truly longs than not even one single person would perish under their sins. See John 6:38-39. For this reason He has built His church, which is His body, so that we can reveal the life of the Lord with the same passion of the Lord for winning souls. This thought is from the Holy Spirit, and is not based on our conscience; but on the conscience of the Triune God. The church has to be the voice of the Lord which delivers the message of the salvation to the world by the blood of Jesus Christ. We should cry for this with the mind of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. Our cry should be the voice of the blood of Jesus Christ which destroys all of our sins and curses. We should win a great number of people and let them be freed by healing their diseases and casting out demons. This is the life of Jesus, the working of the Holy Spirit and the accomplishment of God’s will for the salvation of the world. Thus, our church should fulfill the mission for winning for souls even to the point of death, like Jesus did. Let us give Him glory who has redeemed us and has used us for this amazing mission for the last 25 years. Let us give thanks to Him who is the most worthy of our praise and glory.