Matthew 16:13~20

God is the Word. His Word is his providence and prophecy. To fulfill His Word which had been spoken through the prophets, God sent His Only Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior to rescue man who was destined to perish in hell for the wages of their sin (Matthew 1:21~23, Isaiah 53:5~6, John 19:30). Jesus Christ came to this world as the Savior of sinners, the sick, those in trouble, and those with demons. Jesus died and was risen from the dead, and He Himself commanded His disciples to preach the saving grace which was accomplished by His death (Matthew 28:19~20, Matthew 16:17~20, John 21:15~17, Acts 1:4~8). The first church was built when His disciples and the early church members gathered for prayer in Mark's upper room in obedience to Jesus' command. They prayed fervently and finally they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1~4). Likewise all churches have to be churches of prayer. They should be full of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit by prayer. The early church was filled with the Holy Spirit and they proclaimed the Gospel to Jerusalem and to all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 2:38~41). The church was planned by Jesus and He works for it as its head (Ephesians 1:23, Colossians 1:17~18). He was conceived, led and worked by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the church must reveal the life of Jesus (John 14:12) and do the same ministry as He had done. The church was built by the Holy Spirit, so it has to be led by the Spirit. Its first mission is to witness Jesus who had won souls. The church has to follow the Lord, taking its cross for the salvation of the world, and to possess the eternal glory of resurrection (Romans 8:16~18). The church has to preach the truth that salvation comes only from faith in the working of Jesus' blood. We should not avoid saving souls with the same passion as the early church members and the disciples had done, even to the point of death. Jesus Christ had fulfilled the Word of God by His absolute obedience, and the church should do the same. The church should never be shaken by the working of the devil, which is the power of hell. Jesus destroyed sin, curses, suffering, death and hell, and He redeemed human beings, so the church should do his work (1 John 3:8, Hebrews 2:14~15). For this reason, we must overcome our enemy, the devil, who works to make us unhappy and to take us to hell. This is the commandment of Jesus Christ and the mission of our church, the Korean church and every church in the world. Dear brothers and sisters! Let us not be tempted by the devil until we go to heaven. Let us not be deceived by unworthy things by our sinful nature like money, honor and power. In Matthew 4, the devil had tried to tempt Jesus in the same way, but He overcame. So we should be with Jesus Christ in order to overcome the devil, sin and the world. We should live by the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit to reproduce the life of Jesus with a sincere heart to win dying souls by spreading the Gospel of Jesus' blood.