(Ep. 22) “Follow Me, and I Will Make You” | Pastor Ock Soo Park's Lectures on Matthew

Hello everyone. In Matthew chapter 4, after Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, He departed from Nazareth and came to dwell in Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee. There, Jesus began His ministry by proclaiming a very important message: “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). We spoke previously about repentance, but immediately after preaching repentance, Jesus began calling disciples to follow Him. As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, He called Peter and Andrew, and later James and John. Jesus did not only preach the gospel—He raised disciples. There was a reason for this. Jesus already knew that He would be crucified, rise again, and ascend into heaven. After His ascension, He desired for His work to continue through others. While Jesus was physically one person in Jerusalem, after Pentecost, many people began appearing who lived and worked just like Jesus. Though the disciples had once been weak, sinful men full of failures, after receiving the Spirit of God and the words of Jesus into their hearts, they became transformed people who carried out the same works Jesus had done. Jesus was originally God Himself who came into this world clothed in human flesh. He had the same body we have, yet within Him was God. But we are different. We were originally only flesh. However, through faith, Jesus comes into us. Though the order is different, Jesus lived with a human body containing God, and now we are people of flesh who receive Jesus Christ within us. Therefore, Jesus enables us to live as He lived. When Jesus overcomes sin, we overcome sin. When Jesus preached the gospel, the gospel continues through us. Just as Jesus healed the sick, He enables His work to continue through those who receive Him. However, this transformation does not happen through our own strength. Even while the disciples walked beside Jesus, they were still very different from Him. But after Jesus was crucified and resurrected, something changed. Jesus said to His disciples, “It is expedient for you that I go away”, because if He did not depart, the Holy Spirit would not come. On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God came upon the disciples, and they were no longer the same people. They still had the same physical bodies, but now the heart and Spirit of Jesus worked inside them. Pastor Ock Soo Park’s Lectures on the Gospel of Matthew streams live every Saturday on CTN: Time: Saturdays at 9 PM (ET), 6 PM (PT) Link: https://www.ctntelevision.com/live-st... Watch the Lectures on the Gospel of Matthew on YouTube:    • Lectures on Matthew with Pastor Ock Soo Park   Connect with a Good News church near you! https://www.gnmusa.org​ Reach us at: 1-888-466-9846 Follow us! Youtube:    / @gnmusa   Facebook:   / gnmusa.org   Instagram:   / gnm.usa   TikTok:   / gnmusa   #OckSooPark #Goodnewsmission #gnmusa #matthewseries #gospelofmatthew #gospel #sermons