Today I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “The Cross, the Power to Change Our Lives.” Nelson Mandela was the first black president of South Africa and a symbolic being of the world human right movement. He participated in the human right movement and was put in prison for 27 years as a political prisoner and then released and became president right away. In the autobiography of former US president Clinton, there was a recorded conversation between two. Clinton asked, “It is so wonderful for you to invite former prison guards who had once harassed you much to your inauguration. Didn’t you hate them?” Then Mandela answered, “I hated them for a long time. But if I still hate them because they had thrown me into the prison for 27 years, I would be locked up there even now. If I hate them even after my body was released, it would still be there. Therefore, I throw away all my hate and grudge.” He believed in God and was changed so he could get rid of judgment and condemnation but fulfill peace with love and forgiveness. We can’t be changed on our own. For example, education and knowledge are believed to change people; it is not true in reality. Our educational level becomes much higher than before, but the crime rate keeps skyrocketing and becomes even worse than before. Education may change people a little, but it is unable to change our inner being, namely,a fundamental change in us. Neither law nor public power can change people. It may restrict or suppress evil deeds, but there is no fundamental change at all. When people believe in Jesus and are born again by the Holy Spirit, fundamental change comes to us. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Anyone who believes in Jesus and is born again by the Holy Spirit can be a new creation. By Jesus’ blood on the cross, our sins and transgression are all washed away and we become renewed. Sam Walton, the Founder of Walmart, the world-renowned retailer, said that to succeed, you must be on the top of changes all the time.” He always said it! It means that to succeed one has to dream always. Bill Gates replied to the question how to be a rich person in the world, “I am not brilliantly smart. Neither do I have excellent wisdom. But I always try to move my heart to change my thought and then transform my thought to my action.” Whether company or individual must have dream and desire for change to expect a better life. When we have dream and desire to change in our hearts, God will allow the miraculous work of change for us. There aren’t many people who apply their faith to their life even if they say that they believe in the Bible. James 2:26 says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” We must believe that Jesus’ suffering as the lamb of Passover and the grace of His redemption on the cross is available even today and apply them to our life. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus who met Jesus and his whole life was changed. He lived a foolish life while extorting others. Zacchaeus means “a pure and innocent heart,” but he lived an opposite life. He was a chief tax collector, who became synonymous with sinners and the target of scorn of his people. It is because he extorted tax from his people by the authority to collect tax from the Roman government. If he had collected a fair tax, it would be no problem, but he collected far more tax and kept a part of it to himself. One day, Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was so he climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Him. When Jesus reached the spot, He looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." The calling of Jesus was like the light of life to him who once lived in darkness. All the people regarded Zacchaeus as a rascal and had no fellowship with him. But Jesus said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” By His word, Zacchaeus saw a brilliant light in the pitch darkness. Jesus said, “"Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” Luke 19:7 says, “All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.’” At that time people didn’t eat with someone like tax collectors. However, Jesus entered Zacchaeus’ house and ate with him. After meeting with Jesus, Zacchaeus’ life was totally changed. He said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8). When we meet Jesus, our thoughts are changed and our lives are also changed. Humans were very beautiful in the beginning, but sins changed them into infinitely corrupt and filthy people. Then Jesus was crucified on the cross and was torn in the flesh and shed His blood to settle and wash away all our sins. Today many people live their lives by becoming slaves to the devil unknowingly. In the Bible, there was a man like that. When Jesus sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, He was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time, this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills, he would cry out and cut himself with stones and threatened passers-by. Nevertheless, after Jesus met him, he was wholly changed. After a legion of demons had gone out of him, he became a whole person again. Luke 8:35 says, “And the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.” Once this demon-possessed man was a threat to others and they all feared him, but as soon as he met Jesus, he was fundamentally changed. He once lived as a slave to demons between tombs, but he was changed into a new person when he met Jesus. To believe in Jesus is not to have a religion. It means that we are born again and become a new person. His change was not ended here. Luke 8:39 says, “So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.” He was not only set free from the bondage of the devil but also become a disciple to preach Jesus. Even today there are many people who live like this demon-possessed man. Day and night they cry out and shout and harass themselves and threaten their neighbors. They seem like living, but they are dead. However, whenever they meet Jesus, their lives will be amazingly changed. Nowadays the stress our people experience seems to be higher than ever. According to a recent survey conducted on major 13 countries in Asia Pacific region and Europe, Korean well-being index ranked last among 13 countries. A political insecurity, long-term economic recession, aggravated unemployment problems, skyrocketing price, and the threat of war all make people restless and depressed and exposed to difficulties. Now 9 out of 10 Korean people are stressful. However, even in the dark ages and circumstances, when we look up to the cross of Jesus, it will enter into our hearts and give us peace of mind. When you play the sports game, you may always hear this word. Whether you play the baseball or tennis, there is a very important principle in all ball games; you should not keep your eyes away from the ball! We must focus on the ball throughout the game. Every runner should focus on the finish line. It is the same with us who are running the race of faith marked out for us; we must not keep our eyes away from Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” When we fix our eyes on Jesus all the time and run our race of faith, we can win a victory. However, no matter how marvelous our thought may be, if we do not practice it, there will be no good result of it. Likewise, if we do not apply what Jesus accomplished on the cross to our lives, it can’t be beneficial to us. We must cherish the Fivefold Gospel and the Threefold Blessing in our hearts and through the cross we should look up to the Lord who forgives our sins, gives us righteousness, washes away our filth by His blood, gives us holiness instead, by His stripes gives us healing, was cursed on the cross on our behalf and gives us the blessing of Abraham, destroyed death and the grave and gives us resurrection and eternal life instead. When we look up to and think in our hearts and confess it with our mouths, the credit of Jesus will be applied to us. Suppose young eagles gather together to listen to the lecture, “How to fly the sky.” Even if they listen to the best lecture, they can’t fly at all if they do not jump from the cliff to fly into the sky. We often say that we listen to the word of the Lord and experience God’s miracles, but if we do not experience it in reality, there will be no work of God in our lives. Therefore, we must apply the power of the cross to our daily lives. When we know the love and grace of the cross, we can love others and forgive them their sins. Furthermore, when we realize the Fivefold Gospel Jesus finished on the cross, we can prosper spiritually, materially, and physically. I bless you in the name of the Lord that all of you may experience the power of the cross in your lives. Always look up to the cross and think of its grace and dream a positive dream, and pray a prayer of faith, and confess your faith and then it will be accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When Moses lifted up the bronze snake in the wilderness, all those who betrayed God and worshiped the idols and were dying being bitten by fiery serpent were healed from its poison and survived. Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Therefore, Jesus was crucified on the cross on behalf of those suffering people from the poison of sins in hell. We should look up to Jesus Christ who was on the cross being shed His blood to accept us into His bosom and believe in Him and confess our faith with our mouths. We must kneel down under the cross and say, “Lord, Your shed blood washes away all my sins and makes me righteous.” When we look at Him, we must say, “I believe. Lord, I am saved.” Then the Spirit of God will change you from the inside according to what you say. “Lord, Your blood washes away my filthy life and makes it sanctified.” As you look at it, you should say, “I believe. And I confess it with my mouth.” Then the Holy Spirit our Counselor will accomplish it for us. When we look up to Jesus and say, “Lord, I look up to You who took up my infirmities and carried my diseases and confess it with my mouth.” The Lord will accomplish it for you, too. “Lord, you carried my curses for my place and was crucified on the cross to settle my curses and give me the blessing of Abraham instead. I look at it and believe it and give thanks to you for it and declare a positive confession. Please accomplish all of them for me.” Then it will be done. By Jesus’ death and resurrection, He gives us a promise that we were died together and buried and then will be resurrected together with Him. “Lord, give thanks to You who gives me a grace of dying together and being resurrected together with You. I do not fear death at all. I dream about it and believe it and confess it with my mouth.” Then God will accomplish it accordingly. Through the cross of Jesus, we can enjoy unimaginable grace of God. We should look at the cross and our thoughts should be positively changed and we must dream! Without dreaming a dream, nothing will be accomplished. When we dream and pray with faith and confess with our mouths what we have been changed and blessed by God, the power of the Holy Spirit will accomplish all of them. Even if we say that we believe in the Lord, it will be to no avail if it isn’t accomplished in our lives. Our spiritual, material, and physical prosperity will be accomplished if we look at the cross with positive faith and dream our blessed grace through the cross and believe it and confess it with our mouths, it will be done in our lives. We must not become a religious man and woman, but a changed man and woman. When we are changed, all people around us will be amazed at us like those people around Zacchaeus or the demon-possessed man in the region of the Gerasenes, who were startled as they saw their dramatic changes. They thought that the life of God entered into them caused the change. Now we are here in this church as we are guided by the word of God. God calls each of you to be here. The Lord chooses us and calls us and accepts us and leads us to this church, not by our own choice or power. God loves you and embraces you as His children into His bosom and rejoices over you. God wants to forgive you and wash away your filth and heal your bodies and hearts and minds and give you eternal life so He can live with you together for eternity. Now we are living on earth to fulfill His will here. Otherwise, all our life will be to eat, drink, and die meaninglessly. Jesus opens a world of new life for us. Therefore, we must look up to what Jesus accomplished on earth and realize His will. Jesus carried for us our whole life and lived and died and was resurrected and ascended. Jesus’ death is our death, Jesus’ resurrection is our resurrection, Jesus’ ascension is our ascension, and Jesus’ eternal life becomes our eternal life, too. Therefore, when we believe in Jesus, we receive enormously huge blessing already. Today Jesus is involved with your desires and works for you. Dream a dream. “I can’t make it. It is impossible. It is beyond my ability.” It is true, but you must know the grace of the Lord. “I can make in Jesus. It is possible. It will be done.” Jesus wants to fulfill His kingdom through you. As Jesus’ death becomes our death and Jesus’ ascension is our ascension, we can live with hope in Christ. Today the Holy Spirit works a miracle in you in the name of Jesus Christ.