7-29-2018 Weekly Message
The contemplation of the week: Psalm 84:1-12
Text: Acts 2:22-41
The title of the Word: Present evil world, and the kingdom of God coming in heaven and earth
Through the Holy Ghost who came to the world in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Day of Pentecost, Apostle Peter testified, what kind of the world where we live in. “Save yourselves from this untoward generation!”
The Holy Spirit is saying that this world is a wicked place. He also encouraged them to escape from this evil world and be saved. After the first man Adam and Eve sinned against God and were cast out of God’s Garden of Eden, the world became a world full of sin, curses, and death. Since then, this world has become such a sinful world.
God consecrated the Israelites to save those in the world of sin from their sins. He also gave the law through Moses and let them offer sacrifices for their sins in order to forgive and remove their sins. God Himself became the Son of Man and died for the sins of the people of the world. For four thousand years until the Jesus died to take away the sin of the world, the whole world had been dead and corrupted spiritually, and became a sinful world filled with the smell of sin, like a rotten corpse.
When Jesus appeared in the Jordan River, John the Baptist testified of him ” Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). So that Jesus could remove the sins of the Jews as well as all the world It is the testimony that Jesus is the sacrifice to be offered for the world to take away the sin of the world.
In order to testify of his purpose, Jesus let Lazarus sleep in death for four days, whom he loves, and proclaimed to the world when his body was rotten and unable to revive: ” I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11: 25-26)
The Lord let Lazarus die for four days in the tomb, Jesus witnessed of the sinful world that had been dead spiritually four thousand years before he came without any hope of revival. Jesus proclaimed unto the world saying, whosoever believe in him shall live again to have eternal life. And Jesus asked Martha,”Do you believe this?” The Holy Spirit who came in the name of Jesus, is still asking same question unto everyone that lives in the world.
Jesus, who appeared to the people of Israel, came as the King of the Jews. Had they repented and believed in Jesus, the kingdom of heaven would have been established in the land of Israel. John the Baptist cried out of the kingdom saying, , “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 3: 2). In other word, the king came to the land of Israel, which had been destroyed by Babylon in 606 B.C. and lost their kingdom. When they repented and believed and received him, as he testified, the kingdom of Israel could have been restored after they had lost for six hundreds of years and so. The heaven he has testified is not heaven in heaven above , but Jesus, who is God, appeared in the earth as the king, and the kingdom of heaven is to be made in the land of Israel
However, the Jews rejected the kingdom of heaven crucifying Him.. Apostle Peter testified about this very strongly: ” This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
36Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. “(Acts 2: 32-36)
Upon hearing from Peter saying, King David whom they admired called Jesus to come as his Lord, they were piersed in their heart, and said to Peter “Brethren, what shall we do?”
At this time, the apostles testified that if they repented of the slaughter of Jesus, they would be forgiven of all their sins and baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, they would receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and be saved. Peter and apostles encouraged them to receive the Holy Ghost to be children of God to be saved from the evil generation.
The words spoken unto the Jews to repent were also words to all men who are living today. At that time, the Jews killed Jesus, but all those who not believe in Jesus are also murderers of this Jesus. For in the body of Jesus crucified was the sins of the people of the world. At that time, not only the group killed Jesus, but all those who did not believe in Him were sinners who killed Him. Therefore, if anyone repents and believes in Him, they will receive the Holy Ghost and enter the kingdom of God
Jesus knew that His purpose for coming to the earth was to die for the sins of the world, and He knew that He would be rejected by His people and be put to death. And also knowing that by his coming, the kingdom of heaven that came upon the land of Israel will be taken away by the violent ones:
” And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.“ (Matthew 11-12).
Therefore, since the kingdom of the Jews was rejected, the kingdom of heaven was seized by the servants of the devil and the people who were with them, and the world was ruled by the devil, and the sinful world became wicked world. Therefore, anyone who repents and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ must be born of the Spirit and enter the spiritual kingdom of the God within him saved from the evil world.
Apostle Paul testified about those who came out of the evil world and entered into the kingdom of God: ” For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.“ (Romans 14: 17)
That’s right! He who is born again by the Holy Spirit and whose spiritual kingdom of God is made in the body, though he lives in a wicked world, lives in the spiritual kingdom of God, so he always enjoys the joy of heaven.
Finally, when the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer the King of the Jews alone, he will come back to the world as the king of kings, the Lord of Lords to judges the wicked world that does not believe in him. After he is glorified ruling the earth for a thousand years, the devil who defiled the earth by sin and death and curse shall be judged in the eternal fire, and there shall be no more evil in heaven and earth. and in the kingdom of God, the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to reign forever and ever.
Apostle Peter testified of this hope and exhorted,
“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
8And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
10As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
11If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen“(1 Peter 4: 7-11)
Apostle John concluded by exhorting all the people of the world to accept the gift of grace given through Jesus Christ through the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible:
“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.“(Revelation 22: 20-21) Hallelujah!