This passage you read today is from the very first book written in the New Testament of the Bible. It is the Gospel of Mark, written by Mark, a disciple of Jesus. The book records the works Jesus did.

Do you remember what the title of this sermon is? It is “The Word to Which the Spirit Responds”.

The event which took place in this passage occurred roughly 2000 years ago in the land of Israel, at a town called Capernaum. That town still exists today. In Israel, there is a lake called the Sea of Galilee, and Capernaum is a small town just north of the Sea of Galilee.

It was at Capernaum that Jesus first began His ministry, and it was there that He performed many miracles. The synagogue in Capernaum was the place He preached for the first time after He started His ministry. A synagogue was a place where the Jewish people gathered to share the word, and Jesus also had an opportunity to preach there.

While Jesus was speaking, something happened. Among the people listening, there was a man who was possessed by a demon. Of course,  no one could know that by looking at him. But as Jesus preached, people were surprised and murmured among themselves. The preaching of Jesus was different to what they were used to hearing. The Scripture says, “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Usually, the teachers of the Law (scribes) preached in the synagogues. They can be likened to theology professors of today. People were used to hearing their lectures. But when Jesus came and preached, the people exclaimed, “This is a new teaching unlike that of the teachers of the Law, for it has authority!”

What kind of people have authority? People like kings, emperors, and governors do. In the modern times, people don’t have such authority. But back in those days, nations were ruled by kings. So, the people were saying that Jesus spoke with authority like that of a king.

Think about it. As they listened to His preaching, they felt some kind of authority in His words. They were fearful, just as when a king speaks to someone.Then suddenly, someone among them shouted. “Jesus of Nazareth!” What that person was saying didn’t sound normal, for he went on to say, “I know who You are! You are the Holy One of God!”

Who was it that recognized Jesus? At that time, people didn’t believe Jesus was the Son of God. They didn’t even know He was the Christ. People in our church believe in Jesus as the Son of God, and Christ and Savior, but back then, this truth was not widespread. People simply thought of Jesus to be a young man from Nazareth, a spiritual leader, a saint, or the like.

But suddenly, someone shouted, “You are the Holy One of God!” That someone recognized who Jesus was. It is our faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God who is equal to God, and the one who recognized Jesus as the Son of God was a demon. The demon went on to say, “Did You come to destroy us? Have you come to drive us out?”

People like us who are alive have the right to know Jesus and worship Him. However, demons don’t have that right. Once a person dies, they forfeit that right. What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be alive in the body? It means there is a golden opportunity to meet God. It is your golden opportunity to receive God into your spirits. If you miss this opportunity, there won’t be a second chance. That is why when the demon said, “You are the Holy One of God. What have we to do with You?” Jesus commanded, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” He cast the demon out of the person.

Who do you think can make a demon come out of a person? Prior to today, what kind of people did you think could drive out demons? Generally, people think mediums or shamans make demons leave. However, what they do is not driving out demons but pacifying them. They simply appease the demons to hush them. But it doesn’t last very long. The shamans have to hush them again. Not long later, the demons torment them again, and they have to call a shaman to hush them. That means they need to spend more money. This is how shamans and mediums make a living.

However, Jesus cast them out. He said, “Come out!” And the demon came out of the person. All the people there were astonished, and news about it spread everywhere. “Jesus is driving out demons! After He cast out the demon, the demon-possessed person became well again!” “The sick are being healed!” This news spread everywhere, so that the sick, the demon-possessed, and those who were suffering all came to meet Jesus. Thus, news of Jesus began to spread—and it has even reached us today.

This church is where the people who met Jesus come together. Therefore, the work that started 2000 years ago continues in this church, and everyone in the church has met Jesus. Or some may be seeking to meet Jesus by coming to church, just as you have. In Jesus’ name, I bless you all to truly meet Jesus.

In order to meet Him, He said, “Seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” You will definitely meet God.

Personally, I met Jesus when I was a university student. And when I graduated from university and got a job, there were many situations where I was surrounded by people drinking. However, since I was a believer, I didn’t want to drink alcohol. Yet my seniors in university and others often offered me a drink. And usually in the workplace, people are expected to drink with their colleagues. Once, I applied for a sales job and passed the first interview. I passed the next set of interviews, and at the final interview, I was asked, “How much do you drink?” So I answered, “I don’t drink alcohol.” The interviewers were surprised. “How can you not drink? How do you expect to work as a salesman without drinking?” I told them, “I will drink cola instead.”

They were very disappointed. They obviously expected me to drink if I was going to work in sales, but I told them I couldn’t. Up until then, they were quite happy with me and ready to hire me, as I had already passed the first and second interviews. But they were taken aback by my answer. So, they went and discussed among themselves. “What should we do?” Then they came back and asked me, “What will you do if your senior offers you a drink?” I answered, “I will politely refuse and drink cola instead.” They went away to discuss again. When they came back, they asked, “What if you’re having a meal with a buyer and they offer you a drink?” I answered the same as before. They told me they will be in touch with me the following Monday, but what do you think happened? They never got back to me. I did pray that God would help me get the job, but I didn’t get it.

After some time, I applied for another job. That position was relevant to my degree and qualification, which was in social services. It was known to be a great organization, and they had just one position open. I applied, and in the end, I got the job. Just one position—and I was chosen. It was remarkable.

After I was recruited, there was a company dinner. It was a welcome dinner for me. I should mention that this organization was a Christian organization. It was managed by the Christian Methodist Foundation. Since it was run by the Methodist Foundation, I naturally assumed there would be no drinking of alcohol. But to my surprise, everyone drank. Some of my colleagues included pastors’ sons and ex-seminary students. Being a Christian organization, all the employees were Christians who attended churches. However, at this welcoming dinner where the director, manager, and supervisor were all present, everyone was offered alcohol. But I spoiled the fun, unintentionally, for I said to them, “I don’t drink.” “Hey, don’t make such a fuss. We all believe in Jesus and go to church like you. It’s okay,” they told me. Nevertheless, I still refused to drink, and they didn’t force me to. They were respectful.

Then it was time for me to introduce myself, so I stood up. “In 1992, I met Jesus. I met God.” I started my introduction with these words. The next day, when I got to work, my manager, who was almost 60 years old, called me to her office. She said, “Last night, you mentioned that you met God, that you met Jesus. What did you mean by that? As a cradle Christian, I grew up in the church and have been living as a Christian all my life. Yet, I’ve never heard anyone say they ‘met Jesus’ or ‘met God’. What did you mean by that?” So, I explained to her, “I don’t merely believe in Jesus—I truly met Him. I don’t just believe in God—I know Him.”

Concerning this, our Senior Overseer, Ki-Dong Kim, explained it very thoroughly—and I did exactly what he taught. And I experienced it myself. Here’s what he said: When we go home to our mother, do we ever say to her, “I believe you are my mother”? Nobody ever says, “I believe you are my mother.” If anyone did, the mother would think, “What’s going on with him?” Moreover, if he repeatedly stated that about ten times, what would happen? Probably the mother would become seriously concerned about her son’s mental condition. Imagine something similar happening to a married couple. If a husband comes home and says to his wife, “I believe you are my wife,” at first she would laugh it off. But after repeating that about ten times, she’d start suspecting something. “Are you cheating on me?”

In this way, the parent-children relationship is not built on belief; it is something you know. It is an experience. There is no need for belief. Likewise for married couples. They know they are married as husband and wife; they need not try to believe that. In the same way, our relationship with God is not something we have to try to believe—it’s an encounter. I vividly remember exactly when I met Jesus. It was in August of 1992. I met Jesus. I met God. In that single moment, my life was completely changed. My world view, my view on life, and even other people’s perception of me—all of it was completely changed. I had met Him.

My manager had been a Christian for more than 50 years, but when I said that, she answered, “I don’t think I have met God. I do believe in God, but it seems like I haven’t met Him yet.” Then she asked, “What should I do?” I told her, “It’s just as it is written in the Bible. Scripture tells us in Acts 2 that we ought to ‘repent.’” It says that we must repent. But what should we repent about? It doesn’t mean we should make a list of all our sins. If we did, the list would never end, even if we spent our lifetime listing them. We—our whole being—are sinners. Before whom? We are not sinners before men but before God. We are such ungrateful sinners. All this time, we lived without the knowledge of God. Yet it is God who gives us breath and keeps are hearts beating, so that the fact that we are healthy and alive itself is a miracle.

It is easy for us to take our health for granted when we are well, but the moment we become even slightly unwell, we realize we shouldn’t. Our body temperature increasing by even 1 degree is unbearable. How painful and stressful is it when new shoes cut our heels? But have you wondered about our tongues moving constantly around our hard teeth every time we talk? We would expect our tongues to be cut and bleed over time. However, no matter how long we talk for, our tongues are not worn down. Isn’t it remarkable? Why is it that our heels are cut so easily by new shoes, but our tongues remain unaffected? That is the way our God made our bodies. But we never paid God for that, nor did we thank Him. We had denied God Himself altogether. Furthermore, while God has been stretching out His arm to save us, we have been resisting Him. We are sinners. This is what we need to repent about. We need to turn our hearts toward God.

And if we have turned our hearts toward Him through repentance, the next step is this: “Be baptized in Jesus’ name.” That’s what the Bible says. Baptism means to be immersed in water. You go into the water and come back out. And what does that mean? It means burial. Earlier, I said that we are sinners. Do you know what the result of sin is? A sinner who doesn’t know God’s grace. A sinner who has turned away from God. A sinner who refuses to give thanks and even denies God who has granted life. What does such a person deserve? Death. And baptism means that the sinner is buried.

So when a person comes out of the water after being baptized in Jesus’ name, God no longer perceives him as a sinner. He is accepted as one who is united with Jesus whom God loves and is pleased with. Therefore, he is no longer filthy in God’s eyes from that day. He is not a sinner anymore. He is clean and justified. Though his actions have not changed, God sees him as righteous.

However, he has not yet met God. He has simply been cleansed in God’s sight. So then, when does he actually meet God? It is when God pours His Spirit into the spirit that has been made clean. God’s Spirit, which is also called the Holy Spirit. God pours the Holy Spirit into his spirit. That’s when he encounters God. When the Holy Spirit comes into us, He inspires our reason, our emotion, even our spirits. That’s the encounter with God.

What I did when I received the Holy Spirit was, as I repented, I gave thanks for how Jesus shed His blood for me on the cross for my sins and accepted me. I confessed that I was a sinner, and I gave thanks to Him. Then I prayed for God’s Holy Spirit to come upon me. I kept praying about this for several days. I’m not saying I prayed without stopping for a few days. But I continued in prayer regarding this matter for a few days while I was at church camp. As I earnestly prayed, the Holy Spirit came upon me. To put it simply—in terms people in the world might use—it was like being possessed. Yes, a spirit came upon me.

While the worldly spirits, namely demons, enter our fleshes, the Holy Spirit I received came into our spirits. He comes into our spirits. Therefore, He never leaves once He comes in. And do you know what happened when the Holy Spirit came upon me? From somewhere deep within my belly, I felt something like a spring welling up, which I had no control over. Suddenly, a cry burst out of me, and I started weeping.

As I burst out in tears and cried out, the first word that came out of my mouth was, “Father!” I was personally shocked to hear myself say this word. Because during the previous three months that I went to church, I couldn’t say “Father” since I had not yet encountered God. And I felt guilty if I tried to say it. “I have a father who is at home. How can I call anyone else my father?” I simply couldn’t say it. What I could say was “God” and “Jesus.” At other times, I even prayed, saying, “Dear Truth!” because Jesus is the Truth. It sounds funny, doesn’t it? And at the end of prayer, I used to say, “In the name of the Truth I pray,” instead of “In the name of Jesus I pray.” However, the moment I received the Holy Spirit, I cried out, “Father!” I burst into tears and wept for an hour. My face was covered in tears and snot.

It was on that day that my life was totally changed. My mother was happiest about it—because my grades went up. Up until that time, I loathed studying. But I finally found the purpose of my life. By the strength I received in my spirit, I was able to exercise control over myself. My spirit began to respond. From that day, I began to know more of Jesus and lived by the power of Jesus. That was the day I met God; the day I met Jesus. I am someone who has met God. I have met Jesus. You can too. In fact, you should. This is the grace God gives freely to those whom He calls. So don’t ever think, “I’m the exception.” You are not.

I explained this to my manager and then asked her, “Do you think you have received the Holy Spirit?” Before I had explained this to her, she told me she believed she received the Holy Spirit. But after listening to me for some time, she admitted, “I’ve been in the church for 50 years, but I don’t think I have ever met God. I haven’t met Jesus yet. I want to meet God. What should I do?” She asked me what she needs to do. I answered, “Repent and pray. Let’s pray out loud and pray earnestly.” But she was hesitant because we were in the office environment. So I invited her to our place that evening, the day after my welcome dinner. I rang my wife to let her know.

We were having dinner together at our place, but she was in such a hurry that she asked question after question, and the food was getting cold. So I said to her, “Why don’t we pray right now?” We started praying at the dining table. She opened her mouth and prayed, “God, I didn’t know You very well all this time. I want to meet You God. Send Your Holy Spirit to me.” She also confessed that she was originally a sinner and acknowledged how Jesus forgave her—a sinner—and asked the Holy Spirit to come into her, since her spirit was sanctified.

Not long later, she began to cry. The exact same thing happened to her as when I received the Holy Spirit. Tears flooded from her eyes, and mucus flowed out of her nose. Where do you think all that fell on? It went all over the food on the table and became very messy. Yet we were overjoyed. She had finally met God.

Afterwards, I asked her, “Have you met God?” She answered, “Yes, I have!” I forgot to mention earlier, but she began to speak in tongues. The words of Scripture were fulfilled as it is written, “These signs will follow those who believe: in My name, they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues.” And in accordance with those words, she began speaking in tongues.

This happened to me when I received the Holy Spirit, too. The words of the Bible came true to me and her. The Bible writes about the things that took place about 2000 years ago, and yet those things are fulfilled upon us today. These are words that Jesus had spoken 2000 years ago, before He ascended to heaven, after His resurrection, and now, they were fulfilled to us—just as He said. It was truly remarkable.

This is how we begin our faith life, and the faith life of believers in Jesus is also called “spiritual life.” This means a life in which our spirit worships God. In the past, people worshipped God, but not in spirit.

When Jesus preached in Capernaum, the people of Israel didn’t understand the spiritual word. However, who recognized Jesus and reacted when Jesus preached? Demons. Why? Because demons are spiritual beings. They responded to Jesus’ words. Those words came from the mouth of Jesus Christ. They are the words that give us life. They are the spiritual words that we come to receive at church.

Do you know the difference between oil painting and watercolor painting? Oil painting uses oil-based paint. As the name suggests, the substance used to thin oil paint is oil. On the other hand, water-based paint is thinned using water. Oil cannot be used on water-based paint. Water dissolves in water, while oil dissolves in oil.

Now, in this scene at Capernaum, when Jesus was preaching, people did not only respond on an intellectual level but spiritual, for spiritual beings reacted to Him. Why do you think that was the case? The words of Jesus don’t just stimulate the intellect—they stimulate the spirit. Jesus’ words are spirit. Jesus Himself said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” They move people’s spirits. Whenever we come to church and receive the word, we are not receiving it in our flesh but our spirits.

Up until this event at Capernaum, people believed that by receiving God’s word, they will prosper in the flesh, enjoy peace in their lives, and have successful futures for their children. That was all they thought about. However, when Jesus came and began preaching, what responded to His words? The spirit within man. Just as demons reacted to His words, the spirit within man begins to respond.

What our God wants to bestow on us through Jesus is spiritual. What is meant by spiritual? Spiritual refers to the eternal, the everlasting. I’m sure all of you are seeking joy. But what is spiritual joy? It is eternal joy. Everyone probably wants to be happy. However, you must seek spiritual happiness. Why? The reason for that is, happiness in the flesh is temporal; it will fade away. However, spiritual happiness is everlasting. This is what Jesus wants to afford us. He wants to provide you with good health—but more than that, what He wants you to have more is eternal health. Hence, He desires to give us eternal bodies. It is for this reason that everyone ought to believe in Jesus. Prosperity in the flesh is of secondary importance. What truly matters most is the well-being of the spirit. For in the end, the spirit will later be transformed into an eternal body at the resurrection.

Later, when you enter the kingdom of heaven after the resurrection, you will not have your present bodies. Our present bodies wrinkle and experience all kinds of pain such as back pain. Imagine living in heaven with such a body? We don’t want to be relying on walking sticks forever in heaven, do we? As a matter of fact, there will be no need for such equipment. For in heaven, we will have totally new bodies. Our spirits will be clothed with new bodies. This is why we take care of our spirits beautifully. We come to church to meet God for the sake of our spirits to live; we lead our spiritual lives for the well-being of our spirits. In addition, we obey God’s word so that we can adorn our spirits beautifully. If we beautifully adorn our spirits, we will get to enjoy eternal happiness later.

We can have a taste of that happiness on the earth, for God grants His miracles and signs to us. One of them is healing and casting out demons.

I bless you all in Jesus’ name, that you will accept the spiritual words—the words of Jesus—and have your spirits may truly meet God.

Any of you feeling unwell? If you are unwell in any part of your body, place your hand there now. Place your hand upon the part of your body that is unwell. If it’s your shoulder, put your hand on your shoulder. If you have a headache, place your hand on your head.

If God is with us, then the words I am speaking to you right now are also spirit—and they will be active in you. This spirit does not only stimulate us intellectually, but also physically and spiritually. You can experience that even now.

So, place your hand on the part where you are feeling unwell. After this, don’t keep this experience to yourself, but tell the people around you. “When we prayed, I was healed.” And don’t just rejoice over the healing—realize what it means: “God’s word is spirit and living and active, that it truly touches my soul, my heart, and even my body.”

I’ll pray. Keep your hand where you have placed it.

Father God, thank You sending Jesus Christ so that we could receive this spiritual word, life-giving word. At this moment, we accept the word of Jesus, the life-giving word, the spiritual word, and in accordance with the word, we have placed our hands on our bodies where we are unwell. Lord, accept the faith of those who have put their faith into action, and reveal to them that You are with them. As You said, “They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” They have laid their hands on their sickness. So Lord, work upon us in this hour! We know You are still working just as You did 2000 years ago! Lord, use me as Your hand and use the hands that are laid on their bodies as Your hand and heal them! In the name of Jesus Christ, I command, every uncleanness, weakness, and wickedness, get out of them! Our God, our Lord Jesus, manifest Your presence with us. Let us know that Your word is living and active, and fulfilled even today. We give thanks. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.