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Christ Ahnsahnghong taught us a lot about the spirit of slavery and the spirit of ownership. An owner always works with a sense of responsibility. However, a slave is not concerned about the result of his work, but just pays attention to the passing of time. As the slave thinks that he is not accountable for the result of the work, he always remains an onlooker and hesitates while waiting for an opportunity.
So, we cannot help but look back at ourselves to see if we have been carrying out the gospel mission with a sense of responsibility. Those who feel a sense of responsibility for the gospel are the ones who have the spirit of ownership, and those who don’t have a sense of responsibility for it are the ones who have the spirit of slavery. Preaching the gospel is the work of our Father and Mother. So, it is the work of our spiritual family. It is our work, and it is my work. All of us, people of Zion, must have a sense of responsibility for the gospel and gather our minds together as one.
The sense of responsibility for the gospel that its owners must have
“Dosan” Ahn Chang-ho, a Korean independence activist during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea, left behind the following words: “A responsible person is an owner, and an irresponsible person is a stranger.” The person who has a sense of responsibility towards society devotes himself fully to the cause of his country’s independence because he is an owner. However, the person who is in the position of a stranger, not an owner, thinks it has nothing to do with him and just remains a spectator.
If something urgent has happened at your house, you will run straight home and struggle to manage it. It’s because you are the owner of the house. However, strangers just stand by and watch, thinking, ‘Something must have happened at that house’; they do not take any direct action. Dosan asked, “How many owners are there in our society?” and empathized that everyone should have a sense of responsibility to save our society as an owner.
It is the same with the gospel; its owners are those who have a sense of responsibility for it. We are the ones who have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel (1 Th 2:4). As those entrusted with the work of God, we must all take the lead in preaching the gospel with a sense of ownership and responsibility.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Mt 28:18–20
In the aforementioned words of Jesus, “you” refers to God’s people who will be saved by being taught in the new covenant of Christ. Of course, “you” also refers to the disciples of that time, but more directly it refers to us who have received the truth in the Holy Spirit’s age when baptism is to be conducted in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
We, God’s people who will be saved, have the responsibility of going into all the world to preach the gospel. We have the responsibility of making disciples of all nations, the responsibility of baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and the responsibility of teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded us. But what if we shun our responsibilities and remain idle onlookers, thinking, ‘Someone else will do it’?
If you do not feel responsibility to preach the gospel, you need to think about whether you still have a non-ownership mindset. Those who have an ownership mindset get worried when the gospel spreads slowly. On the other hand, those who have a non-ownership mindset are indifferent; they don’t get worried when the gospel is slow in progress, nor do they feel joy when the gospel progresses.
We are all owners, not strangers. The Church of God is not a place managed by some people. We should be united together in one Spirit, thinking about how we can follow the will of Heavenly Father and Mother obediently and gathering our wisdom together. The gospel ministry is not something that only the leading members like the pastoral staff or title and position holders have to do, but it is what all God’s children must do. When we all have that kind of responsibility and preach the gospel, God will allow us to achieve something amazing and unimaginable.
Preach the gospel of the kingdom to the whole world
Jesus told us to teach people to obey everything He had commanded us. Jesus’ teaching, which we must preach to all nations, is the very gospel of the kingdom.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria . . . Mt 4:23–24
“. . . but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Mt 24:13–14
Everything Jesus preached and practiced as an example for His disciples to follow is the gospel of the kingdom. Many churches today claim that they are preaching the gospel, too. However, they have forsaken God’s commands and are keeping man-made rules (Mk 7:6–9). Has God ever taught us to worship on Sunday or celebrate Christmas? It is not God’s will that man-made rules and not the truth of the new covenant dominate the whole world. Jesus commanded us to teach people to obey everything He had commanded us.
In this respect, we can say that the gospel is the law. Jesus established the new covenant—the law that gives life to those who keep it—in Mark’s upper room at His first coming. Before long, however, it was abolished by Satan. Just as Jesus said in the parable of the sower that the enemy planted weeds among the wheat He had sown, the world was full of weeds and there was no one who could distinguish the truth from falsehood (Mt 13:24–43).
For this reason, God has come to this earth in the flesh, as the Spirit and the Bride; They have restored the truth that was lost and destroyed, so that we can discern the truth from falsehood. The gospel of the kingdom mentioned in the Bible only refers to what is preached by the church that baptizes people in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In that church where baptism is conducted in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit the Bride—God the Father and God the Mother—dwell together. All these things are being fulfilled only in the Church of God.
Ultimately, it is our responsibility and obligation to preach the gospel of the kingdom. The vision of the Apostle John shows that human beings can receive the water of life when they come to the place where there are the Spirit—God the Father—and the Bride—God the Mother. We must go to Samaria and to the ends of the earth, preaching and teaching the words of God, contained in the Bible, to all people.
The mission of workers for the new covenant
Parents want their children to get good jobs where they can be respected and recognized by others. Heavenly Father and Mother also want us to do the most valuable work, and that’s why They have made us ministers of the new covenant.
This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. Col 1:23
He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant . . . 2 Co 3:6
The Apostle Paul, the author of Colossians and 2 Corinthians, referred to himself as a servant of the gospel in his letter to the members in Colosse, and he called himself a minister of the new covenant in his letter to the members in Corinth. The Bible records that Paul kept the Sabbath, preached the Passover, and testified to God’s word. He described the work of obeying God’s word and preaching it as the work of the new covenant and the work of the gospel. In other words, the gospel of the kingdom that must be preached to all people is the new covenant.
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance . . . Heb 9:15
The eternal inheritance that we will receive is the kingdom of heaven. God has promised us the kingdom of heaven through the new covenant. So, we should preach the new covenant to all people so that they can go to the eternal kingdom of heaven.
The Bible tells us that we must preach all the laws of God, including the Passover of the new covenant and the Sabbath of the new covenant, and must also proclaim the truth about God the Mother, who is the reality of the new covenant, to Samaria and even to the ends of the earth. God wants the gospel of the new covenant, which Jesus preached when He came to this earth, not a “different gospel” (Gal 1:6–9), to be preached to all nations.
As workers of the new covenant, let us give the chance of hearing the gospel to many people who are spiritually hungry and thirsty. With a mindset of ownership and a sense of responsibility, let us do our best to preach the gospel to Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
The gospel of the kingdom being accomplished through prophetic protagonists
When the walls of Jericho collapsed, the Israelites put their minds together as one and participated in carrying out God’s command. They all shouted when God told them to shout, and gathered their voices together, regardless of age or gender. They all had a sense of responsibility. There was no one who refused to shout, thinking, ‘It will be okay although I do not shout.’ As all the people shouted together like that, God answered them.
God told us to go to Samaria and to the ends of the earth and to teach all people to obey everything He had commanded us. It is our responsibility to teach them to obey God’s commands. With a firm determination to save souls by carrying out our God-given mission, let us put the words of prophecy into practice, as “prophetic protagonists.”
We have the responsibility to clear up any misunderstandings from those who do not know about Zion properly and to let them know the truth. With such a strong sense of responsibility, our brothers and sisters in Zion all around the world arose and shined the light of truth. As a result, over 7,000 Zions were established by the end of last year. Even at this moment, the prophecies of the Bible are being fulfilled amazingly, according to God’s will.
As the prophecies are coming true so fast, we must not stand aside as onlookers. Instead of just sitting back and watching, let us participate in accomplishing the gospel work as prophetic heroes. There is no main character in a drama or movie who just keeps silent, doing nothing. Angels in heaven are looking down upon this earth. How disappointed will they be when they see the protagonists of prophecy keep silent, without carrying out the mission entrusted to them? The protagonists must move actively. So, let us run forward powerfully with a strong sense of responsibility to take part in the gospel work as its owners, instead of spending each day doing meaningless things.
Blessings for those who have fulfilled their responsibility to preach the gospel
The Apostle Paul, who had a strong sense of responsibility as a worker for the gospel of the new covenant, explains the reason we should preach the new covenant gospel, as follows:
In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel . . . Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 1 Co 9:14–16
Paul said, “I am compelled to preach.” This means that he had the responsibility to preach the gospel. The owners are those who have the mindset of faith that it is their duty and responsibility to preach the gospel, like the Apostle Paul.
We are in the same position as Paul. Just as Paul was a minister of the new covenant, we are also the new covenant ministers who must preach the gospel of the kingdom. So, as the Apostle Paul said he was compelled to preach the gospel, we must also carry out the responsibility of preaching the gospel.
God has clearly reminded us that it is our responsibility to preach the Word, and has also promised to give eternal rewards and blessings to those who have fulfilled this responsibility.
. . . Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season . . . But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Ti 4:1–8
The Apostle Paul spent all his time preaching the gospel until the end of his life. Even when he knew that the time had come for him to leave this world, he was so happy. “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness.” By this, the Apostle Paul meant that he would receive the promised eternal inheritance—rewards and blessings in heaven, didn’t he? Those who have fulfilled their responsibility can receive the eternal kingdom of heaven with such a joyful heart.
In the parable of the talents, the man who gained five more talents had faithfully fulfilled his responsibility. The one who gained two more talents had also faithfully fulfilled his responsibility. However, the man with the one talent had hid it in the ground, thinking it was not his responsibility. When their master returned home, he said to the third one, “You wicked, lazy servant!” and commanded his other servants to “throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness.” By this he meant, “There is no reason for a stranger to stay in the house where there are only the master and his children. So set him away!” (Mt 25:14–30).
Jesus said the same thing in the parable of the minas (Lk 19:12–27) as well as in the parable of the talents. It’s because that prophecy must be fulfilled without fail. Heavenly Father and Mother have entrusted us all with the mission of evangelizing the world. So, let us work hard for the gospel with faith and determination to fulfill our gospel mission, having the mindset of an owner instead of thinking irresponsibly, ‘Someone else will do it.’ Brothers and sisters in Zion! Just as all the Israelites shouted towards Jericho, let us all shout the gospel of the new covenant to the whole world.