The Disciple With God as a Witness (Romans 1:1-10)
Rev. Kwang-Su Ryu
“1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.”
Introduction - Prayer to which God is a witness
Next week, we will have the World Missions Conference. A lot of missionaries have come in and when you go out as a missionary or support a missionary, all of that becomes a ministry of missions. We must not go as slaves but go out to do missions. God’s plans are absolute so whether you go out as a slave or to go share the gospel; it is all part of God’s absolute plans. Israel didn’t realize this so they wondered for 1,000 years. Amongst them, only a minority realized this and realized the gospel. A few people who realized this, they saved the world. What must we take with us today? Honestly, Paul was someone who was very educated. I don’t think there were many people who were as well educated as Paul during his time. He was also from a very renowned family, he was from the tribe of Benjamin which was a very prized tribe at that time. As you know that Benjamin was from a beloved son of Jacob so his tribe was very prized as well. The first king, King Saul, was from the tribe of Benjamin. The Benjamin tribe was from a family line where they had citizenship of Rome even though they did not live in Rome. There was a cultural hub at that time and where Paul was from, Tarsus, Cilicia, it was considered a cultural hub. Alexandra, Athens, and Tarsus and Cilicia were all cultural centers at that time. Paul was a pupil of a renowned teacher, Gamaliel. If you speak about this from today’s terms, Paul was part of the Sanhedrin which was like being part of the National Assembly. He was also a Pharisee, a high status member of the society. What did Paul confess? Paul said that God was his witness in verse 9. This was it. This was the faith that moved the entire world. Paul said that God was his witness who prayed for him. We must place this in our heart. A beggar was not his witness but Paul said that God was his witness.*** When we are acknowledged by others then we can achieve success easily. This must be a requirement for success but we are not talking about this kind of standard. But with this, we cannot do world evangelism. With this, we cannot sustain ourselves. We must be recognized by God. From here, we must be aware of three things. First, we need to have a prayer where God is our witness. What kind of prayer is this? It is where prayer is a spiritual science. We can see where God’s works are being carried out. If our spiritual state is ready, then answers will come. The representatives of this were the 7 remnants.
Joseph stood before Pharaoh and this was what Pharaoh said in Genesis 41:38 “And Pharaoh said to his servants, 'Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” ’ - This is it. That is why Pharaoh told Joseph to become the prime minister. This is spiritual science. If we don’t know spiritual science and prayer then we cannot save the world. Science is advancing so we can discover many things that we cannot see and discover many spiritual mysteries. God was a witness to Joseph. The world cannot understand this. In order to do world evangelism, we must possess this strength. It doesn’t matter what circumstances that we are in, God is our witness.*** This may sound like foolish words to Joseph’s brothers but this was the answer for Joseph. Who prevailed? Prayer is a spiritual science. Prayer is a time where the heavenly throne is moved, forces of darkness are broken down, and the power of the Triune God comes upon us. These are the absolute results. We stand at the top. We don’t try to achieve success but success will become ours. We need to remember this as remnants.
God called Moses who was on Mount Horeb. Moses was praying on Mount Horeb and God called him in Exodus 3:10-12 “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. 11 But Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?' 12 And God said, 'I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” ’ - In simple terms, God promised Moses that He will be with him. God will be his witness. This is my evidence. Then that’s it.
1 Samuel 3:19 So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. - Those who know prayer. We can see that God was witness to the words that Samuel spoke. We need to know this. That is why prayer is a spiritual science. If you are angry all year long, then you will develop spiritual problems. If you are constantly traumatized then it will impact your brain. If you are in constant disbelief then you will be bound by darkness. If you take the words of others, then you will go down the wrong path. You need to gain this strength. Look at the 7 remnants in the Bible.
2 Kings 2:9 “And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, 'Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?' Elisha said, 'Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” ’ - Elisha who knew this, he gave up everything else. He confessed that he didn’t need high positions or anything else but he just needed the power of the Holy Spirit that his teacher, Elijah had. He realized this correctly. That is what the Dothan movement was raised up by Elisha.
Daniel 6:16 “So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, 'May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” ’ - That is why when people looked at Daniel, they wanted to serve the God that Daniel served.
1.Prayer to which God is a witness is applied science. Actual answers will occur when you reach a certain spiritual state.
We need to take this mystery with us as spoken in today’s Biblical passage. Prayer is a spiritual science that people don’t know about. We need to take two things into focus. For 40 days, Jesus Christ spoke about the kingdom of God. Since I was young, I didn’t hear about this at all even though Jesus spoke about this for 40 days. The disciples had a hard time to digest this too but one person realized this. That was Paul. For 3 months, Paul spoke about the kingdom of God. If we know this and remain in prayer, then the bartizan will be planted. Then, we can take the journey that no one else can take. Our business and work will become God’s guideposts. How can we lose hold of this? Don’t hear my words but take hold of God’s words. Confirm God’s words. Paul spoke about this boldly. The prayer that moves the throne is a spiritual science. We must understand this.
2. Prayer to which God is a witness is spiritual science.
Prayer is full of God’s authority. Acts 9:15 “But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.” - Paul who heard this, he confessed of Acts 19:21 “When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, 'After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” ’.
Acts 23:11 “But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, 'Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” ’ and Acts 27:24 “Saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.” ’ - God is our witness. No matter how much darkness we may face, God is our witness. My mother would always tell me that it is okay if God knows. I thought this was very foolish of her but after time passed, I realized that my mother received the most answers. God is our witness. We may not see with our eyes but the Triune God is our witness. No one can take this away from you. We must confirm this first. This is a spiritual science.
3. Prayer to which God is a witness is science of the authority that breaks down the forces of darkness
Don’t give up but continue to pray. The problem with Christians is that they don’t know how to pray. They don’t know what to wait for. God tells us to wait for the kingdom of God and for God’s kingdom to work. Wait for that and God promised that we will be witnesses to the ends of the earth. There will be many things that will try to deceive us when we go to the field but don’t be deceived. There will be many wicked people in this world but that is not it. People will try to give you a hard time but don’t be deceived. They are just lamenting inside. Don’t fear. They are just struggling among themselves. Don’t be deceived. Just like the 7 remnants, go save those people. True science will save the world. Science in worldly terms is important. Scientists, doctors, business people, professors, musicians and sports athletes have created science and development in this world. These people cannot do spiritual things. That is why Paul spoke in today’s Biblical passage that God was his witness and he prayed all night long. God was his witness of his prayer. How can you pray at all times? You need to do five things.
Main message - the 24-hour mystery (praying day and night)
1. Pray that the 7 bartizans, 7 journeys and 7 guideposts would be imprinted into you during worship. You will see answers for you to enjoy for the week.
During worship service, pray that the 7-7-7 will become our imprints. This is our standard for our worship. During prayer, pray for God’s bartizan, journey, and guidepost to become imprinted in us. Then, our answers for this week will be visible to us. This is 24. Then, we can be imprinted with what God spoke about on the Mount of Olives. Don’t be concerned with your illnesses but change your imprints. Doctors can help you scientifically and medically but they cannot be responsible for your life. With God’s power, we must revive ourselves.
2. Three concentrations
This is 24. When you wake up, for five minutes try to pray. When you sleep at night, pray for five minutes. During the daytime before you go to work and at work, gain strength through prayer. These are the three concentrations. I continue to pray within this. I wake up at 5AM and I come here at 8AM, for 3 hours long, I pray. I change all things to prayer during the daytime. During the night time, I have to organize many messages. Even 30 years can’t change anything so you need God’s guidance.
3. Three settings
We need to make a platform that can save others. We can edit. Our elderly people, don’t be discouraged but gain strength and prepare for what is most important. Then, we can make the watchtower. We can raise the antenna to change and communicate with the world. This is the design that saves the field.
4. Three answers
All problems become paths for us to receive answers. All conflicts will be a time where we can have a time of renewal and to overcome ourselves. All crises are times God has presented to us as opportunities.
5. Absolute answers - Build the absolute bartizan.
The absolute bartizan with our studies and the absolute bartizan within our businesses. We need to do these five things. I pray all day long and God is our witness. When Paul went to Rome, he met a storm. The ship was sinking and there was no hope. Nothing was helping at that time, science, money, or politics could help. But within that ship, there was someone who could not die no matter what. Who was that? It was Paul. It was not because he was renowned. It was not because it was a waste of a life. This was because Paul had to go share the gospel. That is why God sent an angel to tell Paul to not be afraid. This Paul sent a letter to Rome. God is my witness, this was what Paul confessed. Paul said that he will keep them in his prayers and God was his witness of this. Prayer is a spiritual science and it is at work. People don’t know this. That is why they continue to dwell within their problems and disasters. This is why they continue to fall down. Prayer has the power to break down darkness. Who is witness to your prayers? It is God. Hold onto this firmly.
Conclusion - The conclusion of answers to prayer
1. Why Christ?
This is the conclusion to our prayers. This world needs Christ. America needs Christ because of crises and disasters. Presidents cannot block disasters and the power of Satan. Presidents cannot block the forces of hell. That is why I constantly remember the words of a pastor and this pastor said that people were trying to kill him because he was preaching the gospel to a Muslim nation. He contacted me and told me not to worry. He confessed that it is okay if he perishes because his nation, a Muslim nation, needs Christ. When I heard his words, I realized that he was a true man of God. People fall into trials and leave the church. Is this person really a person of the spirit? Our nation needs Christ, this was what this pastor confessed. This was what Paul confessed.
2. God is our Watchman.
The fact that God is our witness means that God is our watchman. God has appointed us as ambassadors and as a prophet, priest, and king. We need to receive the true power through God’s word. We need to establish the absolute bartizan. Through us, many people need to come to life. We need to change our family line. Wherever we go, problems will come but we need to change this. All we need is God’s blessing and power. When we enjoy this, then problems will not be seen as a problem. Wherever we go, it is a problem that comes to us but it is an answer. Whenever we go, there are no blocked doors but we only have stepping stones. It is not a crisis but an opportunity. Who was more influential as much as Paul? Napoleon, all he did was kill people. What did he fulfill? Genghis Khan and Hitler, what did they all do? All they did was kill people. But Paul saved the entire world. The gospel that Paul held onto, Abraham Lincoln held onto that and liberated slaves. Today, may we enjoy the 5 points and as we look towards the spiritual science where we can enjoy authority through prayer. People will listen to your words and will change. You will receive answers and your thoughts will change. Don’t worry about anything else. Joseph told the king not to worry but confessed that God will use the king and will help him realize. The greatest ruler of that time knelt before God when he heard the words of Joseph.
3. God has established us as the king, the prophet, and the priest.
Verses 3-4 and verse 7 - What we need the most is God’s grace. The greatest conclusion that we need is peace. That is we need Christ because we need the True Prophet, True Priest, and True King.
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