JAN 2017
DELIVERING THE GOSPEL & THE TESTIMONIES OF GRACE
∙ Special Article
Winter Camp in Dallas
∙ New Year's Message Light of the Gentiles
∙ Salvation Testimony
My Salvation, the Opposite of What I Believed
Table of Contents
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Monthly Sermon The Scattered People Shall Preach the Gospel
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Salvation Testimony My Salvation the Opposite of What I Believed
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Memoirs of a Missionary As a Missionary of Ivory Coast
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Special Article Commemorating the New Year Where We Will Grow in Faith
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New York Times And He Believed in the Lord; and He Counted It to Him for Righteousness
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New Year's Message “I Have Set Thee to Be a Light of the Gentiles”
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Gospel Lesson The Sin that God Sees -2-
Good News Magazine | January 2017
About the Cover The 2016 Winter Camp was filled with many events starting from the Mexico English Camp workshop, t he Christian Leaders Fellowship, Christmas Cantata, and Bible Seminars. Pastor Park delivered the message of God's heart to work through us is greater than our heart that wants to change. If there is one thing we need to do, it is to believe in the Word as it is and
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disregard the thoughts that Satan gives us. God made us whole. He will work through us in greater ways in 2017.
Preaching the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth Immersing Me in the Words
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Church Directory
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Sermon of the Month
The Scattered People Shall Preach the Gospel Pastor Ock Soo Park | Good News Gangnam Church
And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.� (Acts 8:1-5)
WHAT DID THE CHRISTIANS DO AT THAT TIME? For the last few years, there have been various persecutions and difficulties in our church. During that time our hearts did not fall into worries, instead we turned our hearts to the side and continued to preach the gospel. At the end of Acts chapter 7, Stephen is killed and in entering chapter 8, a great persecution was against the church in Jerusalem and with the exception of the apostles, all were scattered throughout Judaea and Samaria as devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him. And as Saul made a havoc of the church entered into every house haling men and women committing them to prison. Such great suffering came upon the church. What did the Christians do at that time? They did not try to hide nor did they fall to sadness and despair. Acts chapter 8, verse 3 is the narrative of Saul’s
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Perhaps all the prisoners thought that the two men had gone mad. But they were not afraid and sad in worry, rather from the moment they boldly praised God, God began to work.
persecution and in verse 4 it states, “therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.” These were people who knew God and the secret of the gospel. They knew the truth that when they go through difficulties, they cannot escape Satan’s attacks just because they hide from it. Therefore, they boldly turned to preach the gospel instead. PAUL AND SILAS PRAYED AND SANG PRAISES UNTO GOD In Philippi, Paul and Silas were persecuted and imprisoned because they casted out a demon from a demon possessed woman. The magistrates tore off their clothes and after they were beaten, they were jailed with their feet placed in stocks. In this situation, Paul should be disappointed, worried, afraid, and discouraged. “God, if you are with us, how could this happen to us? When can we leave this jail? What should we do now?” But Paul and Silas were not discouraged or fearful or in sadness. In the Bible it says, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” (Acts 16:25) It is not that Paul and Silas quietly prayed and sang praises, but they raised their voices loudly to pray and sing praises so that all the prisoners could hear and blow them away. Perhaps all the prisoners thought that the two men had gone mad. But they were not afraid and sad in worry, rather from the moment they boldly praised God, God began to work. “GOD, IF I PURSUE AFTER THOSE WHO STRUCK THE CITY, WILL I OVERTAKE THEM?” When David dwelled in Ziklag, he once went out to war and when he had come back to Ziklag, the women and children who remained behind were taken captive and the city was burned down that they couldn’t find a place to rest. David and the men who were with him wept and they wept again. As they lost the power to weep, their hearts were dying and they were losing their strength. Right then, David searched for God. “God, if I pursue after those who struck the city, will I overtake them?” God answered David, “Pursue, for thou shalt
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Sermon of the Month
surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.” David, who should be sad and despairing in front of such terrible circumstances, turned to God and then amazing power appeared. Right away, he led the men who were with him and began the pursuit. Among the men who followed David, 200 men stayed behind because they were so faint that they could not cross the Brook Besor and 400 men followed David. At last, they came upon the camp of the Amalekites and from twilight to the evening of the next day, for 36 hours, they fought without rest and they struck down the Amalekites and recovered their wives and children and recovered all and took many possessions as spoils. ALTHOUGH IT WAS HARD, THE WORK OF GOD WAS GREATER AND MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN EVER BEFORE In everyday life, if hardships appear then you have to be careful, if you’re poor then you have to be meager, if you have problems then you have to be sad and worry. But the Bible does not say that. People who belong to God, when in difficulty they provided relief and provided funds for the gospel. When they suffered because of persecutions and afflictions, they boldly preached the gospel. In order for God to work inside us, we must repudiate worry and fear from our hearts, and the heart of God must be filled in our hearts. When Paul prayed and praised God in the Philippian jail, his heart was filled with God’s heart, and the amazing works of God arose. Also in Acts chapter 8, when people in Jerusalem departed to avoid persecution and traveled all around preaching the gospel, their hearts were filled with God. And as it continued, great works of God began. Today, the saints, instead of placing God in the temple of their hearts, fill their hearts with the pleasures of the world, possessions, or the desires of the flesh. That is why even when they have a lot of money, they are still miserable, and although they may have a high status, problems arise because of it. When our mission was young and going through hardships, I increased our gospel preaching seminars by 30 percent and guided them. When we boldly preached the gospel, God worked amazingly. The works of the gospel arose in Swaziland and the King received salvation. I met the president of Zambia and received land, and the work of God arose in Benin through the change that came upon the former president Boni Yayi. As he was taking office as the president, he called upon us and as he gave us land and supported us in many ways when we were in difficulty. He gave us such happiness. Also in Kenya, I met the president and preached the gospel and I was able to speak to him about the education of the youth in Kenya. In Uganda, the president asked us to educate the youth of
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I saw many times how saved brothers put away the gospel to follow after money only to be ruined. No matter how difficult, if we preach and serve the gospel, God fills our hearts and God allows our lives to overflow with his grace and blessings.
his country. And as the gospel was preached to many of the island nations in the Southern Pacific, the works of salvation continued. For the past two years, we were in great difficulty. In the history of our church, we had a very difficult time. But the works of God that arose in the past year were greater and more beautiful than ever before. Through the Christmas Cantata Tour, amazing works continued, and as the Mind Education began, many universities in the world welcomed and opened their doors to us. PEOPLE OF FAITH DO NOT LIVE BY THE METHODS OF THE WORLD When I think about these things, I know that the way of God that the Bible speaks of and the way that Satan teaches us are completely different. Satan gives us the thought, “When in difficulty, be careful and hide and you have to keep your mouth closed.” But the people who know God, when great persecution arose in Jerusalem, they rather traveled all round preaching the gospel. It was then that the amazing works of God arose. Just because we are in difficulty, if we cower and hide, the difficulties increase, and if we become stingy because we’re poor, then as much as we are stingy, we go deeper into poverty. On the other hand, if we witness of God when we are in difficulty, our hearts become filled with Jesus; and while we are poor, if we offer a little money to God, happiness arises in our hearts and from then on, I can see that God fills us with the abundance of money. This is the secret that the Bible tells us. In reading the Book of Acts, people of faith did not live by the methods of the world. When Peter raised the lame man at the gate of the temple called Beautiful, he did not reveal his glory, but he preached the gospel. It seemed that persecutions were coming, but they prevailed over all things and with the power of God, they were able to fill the whole land with the gospel. People follow the normal thoughts that Satan gives; they follow their thoughts as their hearts lean in the direction to hide when in difficulty or become stingy when they are poor. But the Bible tells us something completely different. I saw
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Sermon of the Month
many times how saved brothers put away the gospel to follow after money only to be ruined. Oppositely, no matter how difficult, if we preach and serve the gospel, God fills our hearts and God allows our lives to overflow with His grace and blessings. IN CLOSING THE YEAR 2016, AS I LOOK BACK UPON THE PAST YEAR Let’s look back carefully upon our lives. When we lived for the gospel and gave our time and money, did we become impoverished? Were we in hardship? No, we were not. It was then that all our suffering and sadness ended. If we became stingy because we were in hardship and became quiet because of persecution, then the more we live this way the more our hearts fall into hardships. The world that the Bible speaks of is different than the one that is unfolding in the world. When Elijah asked the widow of Zarephath to bring him a morsel of bread, with a humanistic heart she would not be able to bring it to him, but through the eyes of faith, something completely opposite happened. If she brings him the bread, it may seems like she is losing it, but she receives the abundant blessing of her flour bin being completely filled with flour. The people of God do not just receive blessings. In times of difficulty, they went forward fighting. They were thankful to God and praised Him and they lived for the gospel. The greater the hardship, the more they were thankful to God, and the busier they became, the more they preached the gospel and prayed to God. In closing the year 2016, as I look back upon the past year, when I compare, “The life when I lived for myself as opposed to the life of how blessed I was when I lived for God,” we can know the difference right away. If we forsake the methods of the world, and when afflictions and problems come, if we live for the gospel, and in difficulty we give abundantly for the gospel, God will bestow upon us greater grace and blessings.
Pastor Ock Soo Park
Pastor Park is currently the senior pastor of the Good News Gangnam Church. He is the founder of the Mahanaim Cyber Theology School and International Youth Fellowship. Annually he is the guest speaker for Bible Crusades domestically and internationally and serves as a guest lecturer to university students. He is the author of several titles such as: The Secret of Forgiveness of Sin and Being Born Again, Repentance and Faith, Navigating the Heart. These books have been translated in 17 different languages, and in addition he is the author of 40 other books on spiritual life.
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Salvation Testimony
My My Salvation Salvation The Opposite of What I Believed
My name is Felo Kanene, I am from the Democratic Republic of Congo. I emigrated to the United States in the state of Vermont with my family in 1996. I started my belief in 1985, believing in the Pentecostal doctrine that one can lose their salvation if you were to commit a sin; and every time a sin is committed you must confess and ask for forgiveness. Five years ago, I was working for refugees from Nepal, who were predominantly Buddhist. By coincidence, I met a lady who happened to be Christian, and we quickly became friends sharing the Word of God. One day, she invited me to her house for dinner and fellowship, because her pastor was visiting from Boston. I gladly accepted her invitation. I went with no expectations. The only thought I had on my mind was about eating the delicious food my friend would prepare. When Pastor Dale arrived, we ate, and he shared his journey and salvation according to the Good News Mission. In his message, he preached the opposite of what I had been taught since being born again over 30 years ago, which was that one can never loose salvation once being born again. Once God has forgiven, it becomes eternal. When Jesus Christ died on the cross all our sins are wiped away. Personally, I didn’t agree with him but politely listened to his message. I thought to myself, “I’m a Christian and pastor. How can I not believe in confess ing my sins as I was taught all these years?” It did not feel right that I did not have - 10 -
"Today I know that all my sins are forgiven: past, present, and future." 1. Felo proudly holds her certificate of completion for the Christian Leaders Fellowship 2. Felo enjoying the evening performances of the 2016 Winter Camp. 1
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to confess my sins. I would only feel at peace if I confessed my sins. After our first meeting, we exchanged our contact information, but I didn’t think much of it and continued living my life. I continued with my usual routine which was always confessing my sins when I prayed. Pastor Dale started to visit me with his wife, driving many hours back and forth between Boston and Vermont. Sometimes I would just ignore his calls. But once in a while I would go see him preach. For almost three years, he never gave up on me and would visit me in rain, sleet, or snow as he promised he would be there. When his wife became pregnant, and had the baby, I thought maybe this will slow him down and he wouldn’t come as often and leave me alone, but that wasn’t the case. Eventually little by little, I came along and started to truly listen and understand that his message was the truth. I saw how he persevered to preach the gospel to my family. In the beginning, my children were reluctant like myself and started to listen but still had concerns. I had attended multiple World Camps, Winter Camps, Pastoral Meetings, and finally, after five years of fellowship in the Good News Mission, I believe that I have eternal life through Jesus Christ. I can say that my two daughters and I received salvation when we went to Dallas for the Winter Camp. After I received salvation I started to preach this message to my church congregation. Because of this, my former church no longer wanted me to preach the good news of salvation. And my senior pastor even asked me to stop attending service at his church. There is a fight that has started because of this, but I know that God is on my side and will fight this war. I would like to thank God for Pastor Dale, for not giving up on me. I was such a stubborn person who would argue and not listen to the Word. Today I know that all my sins are forgiven: past, present, and future. Jesus Christ took care of all my sins when He died on the cross 2,000 years ago.
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Special Article 2016 Winter Camp
Commemorating the New Year Where We Will Grow in Faith
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DALLAS, TX
severe car accident he was in on the way back home from the Cantata last year. He hurt his head badly in the accident but the surgery was done successfully. However, the after effects were too difficult to bear and this became a path Early morning service, morning lecture, for him to connect to Pastor Ock Soo Park. group fellowship, gospel class, etc.. our Pastor Park said difficulties are a great hardened hearts melted as we listened to the opportunity for God to work. He spoke Word. We disregarded the heart of wanting about Isaiah 40:31 which states, “But to do something for ourselves and our hearts they that wait upon the Lord shall renew were led to accept the word as it is. their strength; they shall mount up with There was a laying-of-hands prayer wings as eagles; they shall run, and not after early morning service for those be weary; and they shall walk, and not who were sick. The prayer service began faint.� He said that if you just open with Pastor Dale Roh of the Detroit your heart, God will work accordingly. Church giving his testimony about a Those who were ill were able to connect
December 28, 2016 was the last day of the Dallas Winter Camp.
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Special Article 2016 Winter Camp
Pastor Young Jun Park of the Good News Busan Church shares the Word in the women's meeting.
to God through their sickness. The Gracias Choir's sweet and fancy South American stage received much love and applause from the audience. It was a joy to watch. During the morning session, Pastor Park preached about Sarah in Genesis chapter 21. Sarah received a son just as she was promised. He spoke about the testimony of Brother Choong Hwan Kim who was dying of cancer, and how he helped the brother to fight with his thoughts which made him to follow the circumstances. Pastor Park said to him, “Brother, this is your situation! Electricity flows through electrical cords. God's works flow through the heart. Have faith that God will heal you. So hurry get up from your bed.” We were able to feel the heart of God which will never fail and give up on us until the very end. In the evening, the LA dance team
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and the New York “Happy” dance team performed dynamic pieces. The LA play team performed a real story play of John Choi and expressed the power of God and the process of the heart becoming connected. Following program was a time for the testimony. Pastor Felo Kaneneof the Redeemed Church of God gave her salvation testimony. “I received my spiritual life training through Catholic church and then the Pentecostal Church. I was taught that if we acknowledge the Lord as our Savior who has cleansed our sins, we are saved. But we had to continue to confess the sins we commit daily. We were taught to seek God's forgiveness. So whenever I prayed, I first asked God to forgive my sins and then I asked for things I wanted. Five years ago, I met Pastor Dale Roh and learned that we no longer need to confess our sins. But I couldn't accept it at
1. Pastor Dale Roh shares his testimony about how God worked during his preparation for the Christian Leaders Fellowship. 2. Pastors performing hands-on prayer for the sick. 3. The dance team has an encore presentation of "Happy" which was highly acclaimed during the New York World Camp.
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Special Article 2016 Winter Camp
1. The Good News LA Church performing the true story play “John Choi.” 2. The Good News NY Church performing the play “Modern Miracle.”
that time and even though he drove four to five hours through the snow to meet me, I would try to avoid him. “I thought, ‘I can’t go to hell because of Good News Church,’ and continued to confess my sins daily. Then I attended the Christian Leaders Fellowship and now I came to realize the Gospel completely. God did not only wash our past sins, but our present and future sins also. A war broke out in our church between the congregation and our head pastor. After this camp ends, I will fight strongly for the gospel.” During the evening service, Pastor Park preached about Genesis chapter 24. He ended the last sermon for the Dallas Winter Camp by speaking about the change that arose in Abraham, the father of faith. “If you know for sure, it is more difficult to not believe than to believe. You heard the Gospel and received forgiveness of sins; the fact that you believe - 16 -
this is a testament of how you've passed a tremendous threshold. Now that you believe this truth, if you know this fact precisely, living by faith is extremely easy. “Abraham believed that God will make him into a great nation through Isaac. He also believed that God had already prepared a daughter-in-law for him, so he was able to entrust everything to God. God wants to be together with us and to work through us. From now on, don't say that God will not work through me. Starting from 2017, believe in the promise of God. ‘I believe that God will work greatly through you!’ God's heart to work through us is greater than our heart to change. If there is one thing we need to do, it is to believe in the Word as it is and disregard the thoughts that Satan gives us. God has made us whole and worked greatly through the Good News Mission in 2016. He will work in greater ways through us."
Felo Kanene who freely testified of how she received salvation.
“I went from church to church looking for the truth. I believed that Jesus washed our sins, but I was unable to say that He washed away all of my sins. Because we continue to sin, we had to attend church diligently and confess our sins in order to wash them. As I attended the Winter Camp and listened to the words, I realized that all of my sins were washed. My past, present, and future sins have all been washed through Jesus. I thank God for leading me to this Gospel.”
“It wasn't easy driving 20 hours to Dallas to attend the retreat, especially during the Christmas season. But as I heard Pastor Park's words, listened to the music of the Gracias Choir, and heard the testimonies of the brothers and sisters from other US churches, I felt that it has been a blessed time. I came to realize that the happiness I try to achieve on my own is nothing compared to the happiness that God gives me. Also, through the words in 2 Kings chapter 7, which speaks about the four lepers, I realized that I was one of those lepers. The lepers were filled with gratitude and went to spread the good news to the city of Samaria. Just as they have received God's grace, I received that word that states, ‘We are just as the four lepers in God’s eyes.’”
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“I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles”
“For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.” (Acts 13:47)
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H
ello, brothers and sisters all around the world. God has helped our mission throughout 2016 and has worked for our mission for many years. The biggest grace He has allowed us is that although there are a lot of people in the world, He has saved us from our sins first and has kept us here for God to work within us in 2017. When I became 50 years old, I thought, “What if I could live for only 10 moe years?” That is why in the year I turned 50, I planned to live for 10 more years and began to arrange everything. But for the 10 years I lived, God blessed me so much and did not take me away. Although I am now in my seventies, God still gives me chances to work. By Korean age, I will be 74 and I am living an unbelievable life. My father passed away when he was 70 and King David also died when he was 70. David became king when he was 30 and lived as a king for 40 years. Just before his death, the king had no strength and was lying in bed most of the time. That is why people like Adonijah came and tried to be the usurper. Actually, in the year of 1999, I had a heart problem and it was difficult to withstand that year. Now I am 74, but God gave me really good health, so it’s no problem for me to go on plane rides and travel around the word. In the year of 2016, there were many changes in our ministers. It became a huge joy to us as many ministers came out of their own worlds and were used before God with new hearts. As we face 2017, there is something I want to say from my heart. Life within God is a huge blessing, which cannot be described by words. This blessing is not given to anyone. God has decided to give this blessing only to the people who have faith. Once, there was a widow of Zarephath. There was no rain for 3 years and 6 months and there was no food. She only had a handful of flour left. She thought that if she starved any further, she wouldn’t get a chance to even eat that, so she decided to make bread from it, eat it, and die with her son. In order to make fire, she went out of the gate of the city to pick up some sticks to use to make bread. But that is when she met Prophet Elijah. Elijah said he wanted a little water so she went to fetch water. But what he said was not simply to bring him water but also a morsel of bread. She replied saying she had no cake in her house but a handful
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Special Article New Year's Message
of meal in a barrel and a little oil and she will gather sticks, make bread, eat it, and die with her son. But Elijah said, “Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.” (1 Kings 17:13-14) Here, there are two barrels of meal. One has a handful of meal, which is visible in the barrel, but the other barrel, which is full of meal, can only be seen by those with faith. That is why a person with faith will obviously choose the barrel full of meal, make cake, and continue to have cake. But a person without faith will say, “Where is the barrel full of meal? There is only a handful in the barrel and I will take this.” This is how spiritual life is. With the eyes of faith, we cannot compare the life we live for ourselves and to the one God lives for us. I am very thankful when I think about myself. I am not someone who is special or has faith. I am someone who is doubtful and that is why I cannot easily believe anything. But although I could not believe anything else, I can believe in God. I decided to believe neither what I see, nor this world but only the world seen by God. Therefore, I live by faith in God. In 1994, I was supposed to die because my heart was not well. If God did not help, I would have died. Until August 1994, my body was as good as dead. But, in August, God completely cured me. When my heart was cured, my liver became better and so did my stomach. Not only did my body become healthier, but also God continued to open doors in front of me. As we enter into 2017, there is something I really want to say. If the widow of Zarephath did not want to lose this handful of meal, being unable to have faith to see the barrel full of meal, and chose the handful of meal, she would have died. If she had seen with eyes without faith, she might have thought, “If there is no meal again after giving this to Elijah, it will be a loss to us.” What is important is that God does not lie. What’s even more important is that people who believe in God also believe the words of the servant of God. God did not speak directly to the widow but spoke through his servant. Many people say, “Although I believe God, I cannot believe in the servants of God."
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The Bible says, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7) If you experience any losses by believing in the servants of God, then He will compensate all. If you believe God, you also have to believe His servants. There are so many people these days who are saved and living spiritual life as if holding onto a handful of meal in a barrel. They are unable to see with faith, unlike the widow of Zarephath, even though they will be hundreds and thousands of times more blessed if they live for the Lord. Now when we look at Acts chapter 13, there is the church of Antioch. The prophets were gathered praying, and the spirit of God said to separate Barnabas and Saul. That is why God sent Barnabas and Saul separately to Cyprus. In Cyprus, there was the wonderful work of God in which the governor was saved. Despite the wonderful work of the governor receiving salvation, Mark and John fell into trial and returned to Jerusalem. Paul begins from the Antioch church and goes to Cyprus to preach the Gospel. Then, he takes a ship from Paphos and sails to Antioch in Pisidia. It is the same, but not the one in Israel but in Pisidia and that’s where Paul preaches the Gospel. In Acts chapter 13, verse 44, it is written, “And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.” Almost the whole city of Antioch in Pisidia gathered together to listen to the words of Paul. I do not know how they were able to gather and preach to all those people. I don’t think there was a huge gymnasium, broadcasting facility, or any microphones. But Paul started to preach the Gospel. The Jews there disturbed Paul and in verse 45, it is written, “But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spoke against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.” At that time, Paul did not say, “Why are there people disturbing us when we are preaching the gospel? Let’s just go rest.” Instead, Paul said, “Now it is time for us to preach to the gentiles.” In the history of the Good News Mission, there was the year 1989. In the year 1988, the Olympics took place in Korea. The motto of the Olympics was ‘the World to Seoul and Seoul to the World.’ People all over the world gathered in Seoul for the Olympics and ‘the World to Seoul’ part was really successful. At that time, my son was in middle school, and I remember going to see the Olympics with my son. And
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Special Article New Year's Message
then it became 1989. The motto was ‘the World to Seoul and Seoul to the World’ but although the world gathered in Seoul because of the Olympics, Seoul did not go to the world. This was not possible because Korea was very poor back then, so the government did not make passports for the people. The government thought that if they made passports for people, they would travel abroad and waste their money. At that time, the people given passports were only diplomats and presidents of huge companies. Passports were not made for ordinary people in the country. But God wanted us to spread the Gospel we had to the entire world. Afterward, one of the many reforms of President Roh Tae-woo was the promise to make people passports. In March 1989, the government of the Republic of Korea announced that they will make passports for people who are above 45 years of age. At that time I was over 45 so, I was issued a passport. In the beginning, I went to L.A. in the United States and then to Berlin in Germany to hold a Bible seminar. That is how I went abroad for the first time in March 1989. From March 1989, we decided to send missionaries all over the world to preach the Gospel. Back then, our Good News Mission had about 30 churches in Korea and there were only about 30 ministers. Yet, we dispatched as many missionaries as possible abroad. But amazing miracles happened. Korea was always a poor country. We had such small limited land that we lacked food for our own people even after farming. We began to dispatch missionaries in 1989 and after about 5 years later in 1994, we sent our first missionary to Africa. From the day we began overseas mission, amazing miracles began to take place. Korea was famous for being the poorest country in the world’s history of poverty. Although Korea used all its land to farm, ¼ of the people were in shortage of food. It was a really poor country, but Korea began to become wealthier. In the year 1990, we properly began to dispatch missionaries. We sent hundreds of missionaries all around the world. Our country has no petroleum, underground resources, and small land, but from the day we began our missions abroad, Korea began to
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prosper. People do not know this very well. People think Korea became wealthier because Koreans are hardworking and smart. There was a time when the U.S. sent missionaries all over the world. The U.S. was still a small country that had just gained independence, but they became the greatest country in the world ever since they began sending missionaries abroad. Korea received the baton from the U.S. for sending missionaries. Now, Koreans are in all the places where there used to be American missionaries. Our mission branch is in 200 places across the world. From that time onward, God blessed Korea very much. The things we ate changed, our lifestyles changed, we became wealthy, and we changed into a country of blessing. I am an incapable person, but as long as I live for the Gospel, God gives me a healthy body, supports me financially, and opens ways. Before receiving salvation at the age of 19, I was the most lacking person among my peers. As I worked for the Gospel, I was incapable but I saw God bless me and my country. Although I take 20-30 hour flights, I do not feel tired. God gave me a healthy body. The books written by a person such as myself all became best sellers, being read worldwide. Our Gracias Choir became the world’s best choir, and Christian leaders all over the world are surprised by the Gospel we have. Nowadays, the door to the world is opening up not only through IYF or Gracias Choir but also through mind education. Recently, I met the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. I was just passing by Ethiopia on my visit to Africa when I met the Minister of Education of Ethiopia. I told him that although the students of Ethiopia seem to be docile now, because the economy of Ethiopia is developing very quickly, the students will become violent as the economy grows. Not long after, the students rose up and demonstrated against the government. The government personnel were surprised and said they did not know their students could be this violent. The Minister of Education I met received salvation at that time. After receiving salvation, the Prime Minister began to value this Minister and kept him by his side. When I visited Ethiopia this time for two days after my visit to India, the Minister of Education spoke to the Prime Minister. “Pastor Ock Soo
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Special Article New Year's Message
Park said the problem of youth will become serious in the future.” The Prime Minister was surprised by these words and he invited me to the Prime Minister’s official residence. When I spoke to him regarding youths, he said, “You have come exactly at the right time when our country needs you.” I asked him to give us a building and some land for our work. I said we also need people in the working level to work, otherwise, nothing will happen even if we might meet with the Prime Minister or the President. When I met with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, the Minister of Youth and the Minister of Education advised others saying, “Do everything as Pastor Ock Soo Park says.” This is how God opened the door in each country we visited. In the beginning, the works of the Gospel seemed difficult to me. I thought, “Can a person like me do this?” But every time we worked, I saw how the precious hands of God were helping us. Before, I used to be the most lacking person among my peers, but now, there is no one who is as happy as I am and no one living a life as blessed as I am. Paul and Barnabas are now departing from Antioch and are going forward by the guidance of God. Paul and Barnabas preached in Antioch in Pisidia and the Jews distracted them. Paul said, “God must be telling us to preach to the gentiles now.” He realized this was not simply a disturbance by the Jews but God opening ways for him to preach to the gentiles. From that time onwards, Paul began to preach to the gentiles and we can see how God worked amazingly. Pastor Young Joo Park said he lived half of his life abroad. Even in 2017, we plan to preach the Gospel to gentiles all over the world. In Acts chapter 13, verse 47, “For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." Through us, God has opened the ways to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth and to the gentiles. When we join hearts in preaching to gentiles and to the world, just as God gave the widow of Zarephath a never-ending great barrel of meal when she did not eat the handful of meal for herself but gave it to the servant of God, He will do the same for us. I want to
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tell this to everyone in our Good News Mission who is now facing 2017. Will you throw away the never-ending big barrel of meal because you are unable to give the precious handful of meal? Do not be afraid but believe in God. God promised that He will give that great barrel of meal when you give that handful of meal to Him, and he will work accordingly. Satan is deceiving us so that we keep that handful of meal and die, by giving us thoughts such as, “working for the Gospel will give me difficulty, I will become poor, I will suffer, it will be hard, I have no faith, and this is why I can’t do it." There are still many people in the Good News Mission who are unable to let go of that handful of meal and receive a great barrel of it during the famine because they are scared. Now, everyone in Good News Mission, let us believe in God. Put down the way that you put your expectations in, and give your life into the hands of God. When you give a handful of meal, you will be able to have a barrel full of meal that will be able to save your family, relatives, and the many people around you as well as yourself. The Bible says, “For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." That’s correct. If the widow of Zarephath lived on with the handful of meal, she would have starved to death. But when she gave this to God, she rejoiced as she received a never-ending big barrel of meal and saved many people from the famine. Give the little barrel of meal you have to God. I gave myself to the Lord, I gave my family to the Lord, and I gave everything to the Lord. I thought I was poor and in difficulty because I believed in God, but as my books are being sold very well, God made me financially adequate. And when I did not use money for myself but for the Gospel, God opened doors for us to preach the Gospel to the ends of this earth and gave us the happiness of sharing this salvation to people. We don’t know how many times Satan might have whispered to the widow of Zarephath, but the widow did not listen to Satan and listened to the words of the servant of God. Until now, we have been foolishly holding onto this handful of meal and been afraid to give it away. In the year 2017, God has commanded us saying, “I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.” He has given us such a beautiful blessing, but you
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Special Article New Year's Message
have to give yourself to the Lord to receive this blessing. Before we are given this blessing, God checks if we believe Him or not. If you believe God, you can give that handful of meal without the slightest doubt. He is holding onto a great barrel of meal that can save everyone around you and is waiting to give it to you. I have given myself to the Lord and I am very happy. I am healthy, my wife is healthy, my daughter is being used for the precious work of God, so is my son, and my grandchildren are growing well. He has opened the doors of the Gospel to the ends of this earth in thousands and ten thousands of ways. Let not only Pastor Ock Soo Park and a few others have this blessing. I hope everyone in the Good News Mission has this blessing so that we can receive unspeakable blessings from God, go to His kingdom soon after, and receive eternal blessing. In the year 2017, God said He will make us a light for the gentiles. Now, 2017, a new year has begun. I hope you experience the wonderful works of many gentiles being saved through you. I pray God will lead us so that none of us foolishly hold onto this handful of meal and miss the great blessing. We lack ministers to work for the Gospel all around world, and in 2017, I hope everyone will work together in preaching the Gospel. Let us give ourselves for the Gospel and I hope you will be used in fulfilling the will of God of saving the whole world. I believe God will bless all of you. Like the widow of Zarephath who gave the handful of meal, I believe the blessing God has prepared for us in the year 2017 is to give ourselves and become people used in the wonderful works of saving this world. I praise God who gave us this precious blessing. I glorify God who is saving many dying spirits through us.
Watch it on Youtube: youtube.com/watch?v=l1_YFDj1ilw
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Memoirs of a Missionary_Cote d'Ivoire
Memoirs of a Missionary Episode 3
As a Missionary of Ivory Coast Let us listen to the testimony of Missionary Jung Do Lee, who tells us how God formed his heart to listen solely to the voice of God before providing him with money, a house, and language skills when he was sent to the Ivory Coast in West Africa.
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“Don’t Be Affected by the Situation but by the Words of the Pastor!” It had been less than 6 months that I have been ministering in Jincheon, when a notice for a pastoral dispatch came out. It stated that I would be dispatched to the Ivory Coast as a missionary. In order to go to the Ivory Coast, I had to prepare a visa to stay in Ghana first. At that time, it was almost impossible to get a one-year visa for Ghana. However, Pastor Ock Soo Park still told me to get it regardless. On that weekend for Sunday service, Pastor Ock Soo Park preached about Herod who killed John the Baptist. There were two people who affected Herod’s life. They were Herodias and John the Baptist. Though Herod listened to two people, he could not accept words from both at the same time. If he chose Herodias, he had to forsake John. If he chose John, he had to forsake Herodias. Because Herod loved Herodias, He locked John in jail and killed him. The kind of heart that Herod had toward John was not important. Because eventually, Herod locked John in jail and killed him. I realized that whether I respected the pastor or not was not important because I already locked the pastor up in my thought and killed him while I was accepting my flesh. To receive a visa, I went to the Ghanaian embassy with a brother who was working in a travel agency. The brother told me that it was impossible to receive the one-year visa, but that I might receive a three-month visa if I received grace. I told the brother about the sermon about Herod that I heard on Sunday and told him that I would receive the one-year visa. Then, we reviewed documents explaining what our mission was in Africa and why I had to receive the one-year visa before we met the Ghanaian consul. As we entered the Ghanaian embassy, there was a Korean lady who was ushering, so we approached her. “Excuse me, I am a missionary and have to go to Ghana. In order to receive the one-year visa, there are a few things to explain to the consul. Could you translate for me?” The lady said she would do that for me. I then waited in a waiting room on the second floor of the embassy. Soon after, the door of the consul’s office opened and the consul came out and said something in English. It seemed like he was asking why I was there. I said, “Visa! Visa! 1 year!” The consul smiled and told me to go downstairs. I wanted to show him the documents that I prepared and explain more to him, but the consul went back to his office, so I just went downstairs. I felt so disappointed at the Korean lady who agreed to translate for me. I came down to the first floor and spoke to the lady as if I was arguing with her. “You told me that you would help me. How come you didn’t follow me upstairs?”
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Memoirs of a Missionary_Cote d'Ivoire
“Missionary, they don’t issue one-year visas here.” While I was talking to the lady, the office door opened and a staff member came out. The lady pointed to that person and told me, “If you ask that person, you might be able to get the visa.” I went up to the staff member and said. “Good morning! I want to get a visa. 1 year! 1 year! Help me!” “Ok. Ok.” “Thank you very much.” I thought everything went well, so I went back to the lady and said thanks to her. Then, she asked me. “Missionary, did you ask for 1 year multiple?” “How do you say many years in English?” “It’s multiple, multiple.” I revisited the staff that I just spoke to and shouted. “Visa! 1 year multiple!” He smiled at me and said, “Ok. Ok.” I was so happy. I felt so happy and thankful that I told the brother who worked in the travel agency, “Brother, I told you right? I told you that I am going to get the one-year visa right?” He said, “Minister, people who work here always say things like that so easily. This is the embassy and people here work according to paperwork. I already applied for a multiple visa for 3 months. You can never get the one-year visa.” I told the brother. “Why don’t you believe in the Word? Don’t be affected by the situation but by the words of the pastor. Anyways, please pick up the visa when it gets approved next week.” I told him that and came back. One week later, I got a call from the brother. “Minister, the visa was approved.” “It’s 1 year multiple, right?” “Yes.” Before He Sent Me, He Formed a Heart that I Needed in Me The day for me to leave to Ghana was approaching, and I got a cold in the middle of December. I could not eat for a whole day and vomited. I also had a fever. Every morning, I had fellowship with Pastor Ock Soo Park and other pastors. On that day, Pastor Park called the retreat center in Daeduk after having breakfast and said, “Let’s go to Daeduk and help out with the construction work.” On my way to the bus, I met Pastor Park and told him that I was sick. The pastor stopped for a moment and told me, “I’d like to share words on the way to Daeduk. So, you can take a rest when we get to Daeduk.” As soon as the bus departed, Pastor Park started to preach in the first row and finished preaching when we were about to arrive in Daeduk. When we arrived in
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“Why don’t you believe in the Word? Don’t be affected by the situation but by the words of the pastor.”
Daeduk, all the pastors went to the construction site. I did not know what to do, so I just followed them. A pastor who was in charge of the construction knew that I was sick, so he told me to rest. Soon after, Pastor Park came and asked about the work that we had to do that day. The pastor who was in charge said, “Today, we have to install iron plates on H-beams. Since it’s a dangerous job, we need four strong men.” Pastor Park chose four people on the spot to work on installing the iron plates. However, I was also chosen among the four people. I thought to myself as I was going up to the third floor. “The pastor knew that I was sick. Then, why did he choose me?” As I kept thinking about it from the morning to the afternoon, I was able to understand the heart of the pastor little by little. “He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:12-13). In Luke 19, there is a story about a nobleman who gave his servants a pound each and told them to trade it as the nobleman was his way to a far country to receive a kingdom. If you look at the story from the perspective of the nobleman, it’s not simply about the nobleman leaving to a far country, but it was actually a story of the nobleman sending off his servants. The nobleman represented the heart of the church and the servant of God who sent me to a far country, the Ivory Coast. In the story, there were servants who traded with the pounds that they received, following the heart of the master, but there were also servants who did not do anything as they held onto their own hearts. Eventually, the master took away the pounds that they failed to trade. When the master gave the pounds to his servants to trade, the heart of the master was in the pounds. They could not help but receive curses because they did not use them. If I had a right to decide about my life and lived however I wanted to live, I could never have worked in Daeduk on that day. It was impossible for me to work. However, because the pastor had the right to decide, the heart of the pastor allowed me to work. Even until that morning, I thought I could not do anything because I was sick. Yet, I was able to work until late in the evening with other people regardless of the cold weather. It was okay to work like that. If I were to live in the Ivory Coast, there could be times where I could be unable to do anything. In times like that, if I follow my heart, I would lose all the pounds that the church gave me. However, if I live with the heart of the church, whenever I meet my limitations, I
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Memoirs of a Missionary_Cote d'Ivoire
could live a life of protecting the things that the church gave me and gain many things out of it. God formed the heart that I needed through this incident before He sent me to the Ivory Coast. A Person Who Needs to Receive Grace from the African People On December 18, 2001, I received grace to stop by Hungary where my older brother was ministering, after making a stop in Germany before going Ghana. After I arrived in a church in Hungary, I met my brother, but his life seemed very difficult. He did not have any heating, though it was cold a winter. Although he prepared a special dinner for me, all I could see was nothing but him trying hard. As I left Hungary and headed to Germany, I gave him all of the little money that I had. When I arrived at the airport in Germany, there was a problem with the luggage. When we departed from Korea, we received grace to check in our luggage though it was overweight. However, as I transfered to a different airline in Germany, I had to pay $100 for the overweight charge. I did not know what to do since I did not have any money. At that time, my daughter Do Hee showed up, held by an African gentleman. While my wife and I were talking to the airline staff regarding our luggage, Do Hee walked around the airport by herself. The gentleman saw Do Hee walking around alone and brought her back to us looking for the parents. Amazingly, Do Hee was not scared of the gentleman, but was having a good time, touching the man’s cheeks. The gentleman who brought Do Hee was Ghanaian and was a friend of the airline staff who I was talking to. They greeted each other and had a short conversation. The gentleman heard about our situation through the airline staff and paid $100 for the overweight charge. Not only that, he gave handful of money to Do Hee saying that we would need some money when we arrived in Ghana. I thought “ministering in Africa” meant giving what I have to African people, but God showed me that I was the person who needed to receive grace from them. Because it was the Will of God to Preach the Gospel After spending about a month in Ghana, I went to the Ivory Coast to get a room with Missionary Jun Hyun Lee. We headed to the Ivory Coast with a mere phone number of a younger sister of a sister from the Togo church, Ameline. On the first day, we set up a tent by the bus station and slept there. On the second day, we met Ameline. She took us to her aunt’s house where she lived. We spent the night there, but her aunt felt uncomfortable. So, we decided to set up a tent on the roof and sleep there beginning the next day. However, I caught malaria on the
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1
2 1. Visiting the church in Hungary, with my older brother’s family. 2. With Do Hee in front of the house that we used as the first chapel. 3. The African gentleman who helped us at the airport in Germany, with Missionary O-Seon Gwon.
3
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Memoirs of a Missionary_Cote d'Ivoire
third day. Inevitably, I had to occupy one of the rooms. After arriving in Ghana, I spent one month to adjust. However, as I followed Missionary Lee for two days looking for the house, I reached my limit. I caught malaria for the first time and had to lie down for a few days. I felt so lost. Luckily, we found a house around the house we were staying in. One week later, my wife and Do Hee moved to the Ivory Coast. The beginning was not easy at all. The house was a semi-basement-house and there was a dumping ground in front of the house. There were too many bugs. We could not even eat properly. Since we could not live without setting up mosquito nets on windows and doors, I went to the market and bought the head of a hammer and mosquito nets. I walked around the village looking for wood. From a liquor store made out of wood, I got wood and nails and fixed the house. I also got a wooden board made out of wood scraps and some left over paint from a construction site. I built a sign for the church with them. I could only get green and red paints. Thus, I had no other choice but to make the sign for the church with a green background with red letters. There was rarely anyone who came to the church through our sign, but I couldn’t say anything. However, because it was the will of God to preach the Gospel, children from the village came to me and taught me the language. I did not expect this at all. Before a month passed after I arrived in the Ivory Coast, I had a Sunday service with children from the village in French. One evening, there were people gathering in front of the church and a lady was on the ground covered with dirt. People caught and brought her to the church because she was demon possessed. At that time, I barely spoke French, so I put my hands on her head and prayed in Korean. Thankfully, the lady calmed down, so a youth sister took her to wash her and gave her clothes. Though I was not fluent in French, I preached the Gospel to her in French. The lady accepted the Gospel and went back home joyfully. All I did was put up the sign for the church. I did not know how to speak French and did not have anything. I was a missionary who could not help but be despised. However, through this incident, people in the village started to call me a pastor. Just like how Mephibosheth who could only be despised sat by the king’s table and was treated as a son of the king through Jonathan, I was thankful that I, who was nobody, could live a precious life because of the Gospel.
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New York Times: Notes on Genesis I
And He Believed in the Lord; and He Counted It to Him for Righteousness Pastor Ock Soo Park | Good News Gangnam Church
And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:4~6)
G
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with their mouths, “How are you doing? I love you.” This is not love; it is lying. Scheming to do good deeds while you have an evil heart is deceit. Faith Is Obtained When Going Beyond Your Thoughts In the last sermon we spoke about Lot. God was unable to bless Abraham when Lot was with him. God blessed Abraham after Lot left. Then a war broke out in the peaceful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as soon as Lot moved there. And ultimately, we see that those cities meet a tragic fate of being destroyed with fire and sulfur. Lot represents the flesh which is the heart to believe in yourself. You receive the blessing of God when the heart to believe in yourself departs from you. On the other hand, when the heart to believe and exalt yourself enters you, you become cursed. If so, why does one become cursed when he believes in himself? The Bible tells us in detail about this. There are many stories in the Bible in which the works of God arise. One example was when Jesus went to a wedding in Cana of Galilee and the house was in need of wine. Jesus told the servants of that house to fill empty waterpots with water. When the servants filled the waterpots, He said, “Serve now to the governor of the feast.” The servants could not understand this. “We are supposed to serve wine to the governor of the feast. Surely it is water that we filled these waterpots with.”
New York Times
enesis chapter 15, verse 6 says, And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. God saw that Abraham believed in Him and He called it “righteousness.” Faith is righteousness. In this sermon, I would like to answer the question, “Then how should I believe that my faith becomes righteousness?” Spiritual life is not you going to heaven through your becoming good or righteous. Although you are filthy and evil, you become good if you accept the goodness of Jesus and make it your own. Then you become a good person. Although you are dirty, you are a justified, righteous person if you accept the righteousness of Jesus as your own. In this way, spiritual life is not you becoming righteous through living righteously, but becoming righteous through faith. Becoming righteous by faith does not mean becoming righteous through your doing righteous deeds. It is talking about receiving the righteousness Jesus has given you by faith. People who do not know what spiritual life is try to keep the law, do good deeds, and strain not to commit sins in order to become righteous. But that is absolutely impossible because man can never be good. It seems that man is good in some aspects, but deep inside, there is no good in man whatsoever. Thus, bringing forth good things outwardly, while inwardly, you are dirty by nature, is false goodness. It’s not true goodness. People have a heart of hatred in them while saying
New York Times: Notes on Genesis I
“Jesus, we cannot serve this, can we? The Word of God Gives This is water, not wine.” Rise to Faith This was their thought. Thus, serving Such works occurred in Abraham’s it when it was evident that it was water life as well. Abraham was old and aged. filling the waterpots was only possible He was 99 years old, and it seemed for people who have had their thoughts that there was no way he could have a thrown away. People who believe in their son. But right then, God appeared to thoughts think, “This is water,” and are Abraham and said, “Your wife Sarah unable to serve it. shall have a son.” Abraham laughed. One day Jesus met the man who “How can a person one hundred years had an infirmity for 38 years at the old have a child? Sarah is ninety.” pool of Bethesda. This man had been Then he said to God, “I would that ill for 38 years and was lying next to Ishmael may live before you.” That the pool with a body that could not was Abraham’s thought. God once move on its own and without family or again said, “No, your wife Sarah will relatives. Jesus asked him a question. surely have a son. You shall call him “Wilt thou be made whole?” Isaac.” Abraham heard these words “Lord, there is no man to put me in and said, “I have once again spoken to the water when it is troubled, and from believing in my thoughts. What while I am coming, another steps in is impossible if God does it?” So he before me.” threw his thoughts away, saying, “Yes, Right then Jesus said, “Rise, take God, I believe you will give me a son.” up thy bed and walk.” Upon hearing God then worked in Sarah. this, how do you think the thoughts of “Where is your wife Sarah?” this man’s heart reacted? “She is in the tent.” “Please, Jesus, don’t make me “At this appointed time, Sarah shall laugh. Would I be crazy to be lying have a son.” here when I could walk? Nice joke. It Sarah laughed when she heard would be great if I could do that. But I this. “After I am waxed old shall cannot walk. My legs are withered like I have pleasure, my lord being wooden logs. I’ve tried so many times old also?” She expressed her own to move. It is impossible!” thoughts just as Abraham had. “I am Those were his own thoughts. People old and it has ceased to be with me who believe in their own thoughts can after the manner of women. How never accept the Word of God by can I have a son? That’s nonsense!” faith. The man with the infirmity for But God rebuked her, and asked, 38 years was able to rise, take up his “Sarah, why did you laugh?” Sarah bed, and walk because he denied his panicked and said that she did not thoughts and accepted the words of laugh. But when God said, “You did Jesus by faith. laugh,” Sarah’s thoughts to believe in
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Lot represents the flesh which is the heart to believe in yourself. You receive the blessing of God when the heart to believe in yourself departs from you. hold their own thoughts at the bottom of their hearts and say, “I will accept these words because I like them.” Or they say, “That makes no sense,” and refuse the word. Many people today say that the Bible is not the Word of God. They say there are many parts of the Bible that lack validity. “How can you feed five thousand people with five barley loaves? How can a person walk on the sea? How can a virgin give birth?” Such words come from the lips of a person who trusts his own thoughts more than the Word of God. Someone who believes in his thoughts, knowledge, and experiences more than the Word of God can become an outward churchgoer, but cannot enter the true world of faith. When people hear something and they understand it and feel that it is valid, they believe it. They believe such things even if it is a beggar on the street or a con man saying it. But if they feel that something is not valid and they cannot understand it, they Your Thoughts or the Word of God: do not believe it regardless of who said Which One Will You Choose? it. That is not believing in the speaker People do not know about faith very but in yourself. True faith is wholly well and think that going to church to accepting the words of the person who attend services, praying, reading the is speaking them, not because it is Bible, giving offerings, and keeping understandable to you, but because it is the law and living honestly is what from someone trustworthy. Thus, it is believing in God is. But those are just impossible to have the faith to believe actions, not faith. People, when having in God with the heart to believe in to actually believe the Word of God, yourself still in the background.
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New York Times
herself crumbled, as it had done for Abraham. Then she accepted the Word of God. “That’s right. So what if I am old and it has ceased to be with me after the manner of women? If God gives me a son, then I shall have one. What can stop that?” In Romans, it says, Who against hope believed in hope . . . And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb. (Romans 4:18~19) Abraham was not this way to begin with. He first believed in himself. But he gained faith in his heart as he calmly listened to the Word of God. “That’s right. It seems impossible in my eyes, but what is impossible if God does it?” and he accepted the word. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 11 says, Through faith Sara herself received strength to conceive seed. Sarah had gained faith just like Abraham.
New York Times: Notes on Genesis I
The story of Abraham being blessed upon Lot’s departure is exactly about this. You must deny and throw all of your thoughts away. You must say, “It looks like this in my eyes, but what does God say?” “I’m the closest thing to being dead, but if God says that I will conceive a child, then I shall!” That is faith. Every person hesitates before entering into this boundary of faith. In other words, people do not deny themselves. Jesus said, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself . . . , (Matthew 16:24) which was telling us to deny ourselves. People who travel in the desert see mirages. Although a mirage may appear to be an oasis, the guide says that it is a mirage and tells the people not to go there. If there is no difference between what you see and what the guide sees when traveling through the desert, there is no need for a guide. You need a guide when there is a difference, and following the guide in those times of difference is believing in the guide. This is also true when walking the path of life which is like a desert. There is no problem when your thoughts do not differ from the thoughts of Jesus. But when they do differ, which one will you select? This is what faith is all about. If you select your thoughts, that is believing in yourself. But if you throw your thoughts away and follow the words of Jesus, that is believing in Jesus. God said to Abraham, “I am your exceeding great reward.”
“What will you give me? You have given me no seed, and Eleazar whom I have gotten from Damascus shall be my heir.” “He will not be your heir. One from your body shall be your heir.” Then God led Abraham outside and had him look to the stars in the sky. “See if you can count the stars in the sky. So shall thy seed be.” Abraham believed in God who said this to him. “God will make my descendents like the stars in the sky!” Abraham had no son in his own eyes, and he thought that he should make Eleazar, whom he brought from Damascus, his heir. But he heard the Word of God, threw his thoughts away, and selected the Word of God. Are You at Romans Chapter 3, Verse 23 or Verse 24? This is also true with receiving the forgiveness of sin. Romans chapter 3, verse 23 says, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, which is saying that all people have sinned. But verse 24 says, Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Surely it was we who sinned, but Jesus paid the price for our sin and made us clean. We have lied, hated, committed adultery, murdered, and committed many other terrible sins. It is not that we have not sinned, but Jesus received the punishment for all the
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If you select your thoughts, that is believing in yourself. But if you throw your thoughts away and follow the words of Jesus, that is believing in Jesus.
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New York Times
sins we committed on the cross and fail!” He never told the patient that this redeemed us. In other words, He was had happened. But after this patient punished for all of our past, present, was released from the hospital, every and future sins, and He washed them month he would go to the grocery all away and left nothing remaining. store and buy lots of groceries with That is why He saw us and called us his paycheck, and deliver them to this person’s home. He met with me one righteous. “You do not have sin! You are day, and spoke about this. He said how difficult it was for him to say that righteous! You are clean!” All of you probably have sinned. he is not a sinner when he had this guilt. If you raped a woman, causing her There is no difference between sins, but it seems that some sins you can kind to be in pain and she became mentally of ignore while other sins bring much ill, making her live a pitiful life and guilt to your conscience. “I committed unable to marry, would you not feel such a terrible sin!” Such heavy sins tremendous guilt? “I’m a crazy man! continually accuse your conscience I deserve to die! How dirty I am! I completely ruined that woman’s life!” and then you feel extremely guilty. I know a person who works at There are many people who live in the Red Cross Blood Bank, and he such guilt. The shapes of sin differ and people told me that by mistake, he once transfused type B blood to a patient do not show it, but everyone has sin who was blood type A. The patient and feels, “I am a terrible person. I am was receiving the blood when all of so dirty,” and has guilt in their hearts. a sudden he went into shock. They When I tell such people, “Jesus washed stopped the transfusion to see what your sins away and you are righteous,” was wrong, and saw that it was the they say, “Jesus died for my sins and wrong blood type. They immediately they are washed, but I am a sinner,” switched to the right blood and the and follow their own thoughts. That patient did not die, but he suffered is why people’s hearts do not become lots of damage. This man could not be freed from sin, although they have the freed from the guilt of his conscience knowledge that Jesus forgave our sins on that came about from this incident. the cross. They are not freed from guilt “My mistake almost killed a patient, and dwell in sin. and I have caused this man’s health to
Throwing away the many thoughts that arise in you and believing the Word of God is true faith.
Believe the Word! The Bible says, And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. Regardless of how it appears in your eyes, you must empty all of your thoughts before the Word of God. Although it was water that was filling the waterpots, when Jesus says, “It is wine. Go serve it,” then you must say, “God’s words are more correct than my thoughts,” and serve it. This is faith. When Jesus said to the man with the infirmity for 38 years, “Rise, take up thy bed and walk,” saying, “I cannot walk, but I will be able to walk for you are telling me to walk,” is faith. Receiving the forgiveness of sin is also not through your thoughts being consistent with the thoughts of Jesus. In your thoughts, surely you are a sinner. In my thoughts, I too, have committed many sins that cause me grief and cause me to feel much guilt in my conscience. Surely we are dirty and evil human beings. But the Bible says that we are righteous through the grace of God and through the redemption in Jesus Christ. “I am an
evil human worthy of being cursed, but God has called me righteous. Are my thoughts right? Or is the word right? The word must be right. Then I am righteous! I am clean!” In this manner, not believing your thoughts and believing the Word of God is true faith. Many people today do not know the Bible deeply, and they believe in their own thoughts. They think that they are sinners if they feel that they are sinners, and they think that they are honest if they feel they are honest. I threw those kinds of thoughts away a long time ago. Whatever the Bible says, that is what I decided to believe in. Loving folks, when God calls you righteous, regardless of your personal thoughts, say, “Yes, I believe it. Thank you,” and believe that you are righteous. Throwing away the many thoughts that arise in you and believing the Word of God is true faith. Abraham, the father of faith, also had many sins a nd blemishes, but he gained righteousness through having this faith.
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Gospel Lesson
The Sin that God Sees Pastor Han Gyu Lee | Good News East Seoul Church
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* The Professor’s Corruption A letter without a sender’s address came to a famous professor’s home. The content of the letter said, “I know of your wrongdoings and I am gathering detailed evidence. You need to gather X amount of money by X date.” The professor scoffed, “There are some crazy people out there,” and just ignored it. On the date stated in the letter, the professor received a phone call, “I am going to your house tomorrow. Have you prepared the money?” The professor yelled, “Quit your jokes,” and tried to comfort him by asking, “Why are you doing this, young man?” However, the man said, “I’m going to your house tomorrow and you better have the money or else you can leave it to the news articles.” The man hung up right after he spoke. From then on, the professor felt extremely nervous and didn’t know what to do. “If he is so sure, there must be some evidence. Did he take pictures of me urinating during my mountain climb, perhaps? Did he take pictures of me drinking with ladies? Will he make those into big issues?” The next day, the man showed up at the professor’s house without any hints of hesitation. He handed the professor an envelope that was full of what seemed like photos. He threatened the professor by saying, “These are evidence of your corruption.” In the end, the professor gave him the money in exchange for the envelope. As soon as the unidentified man was gone, the professor opened the envelope. There was a stack of advertisement cards and a letter that said, “I am a student who studies Social Psychology. I am planning to write a thesis on the conscious of the so-called famous people of society. The money you gave me will be going to my school expenses. Thank you.” This story is a piece of a short novel.
Deceptive Humans There is a proverb that says, “If you shake people, there is no one who is dust free.” People look like they are clean, gentle and truthful on the
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Gospel Lesson
outside. However, if you look closer at their heart, everyone is ugly, untrue, lustful, and having the desires to insist on their rightness. I, as well, thought that I was a nice person when I was young. Also, if I could, I would have the desire and determination to live a straight life following my conscience. That is why I loved the poem titled, “Seo Si,” written by Yun Dong Ju. Till the day I die, I gaze at the sky I have not a single shame Even when a leaf moves in the wind I feel guilty. However, as I lived life, I looked inside my heart closely. I was so untrue, dirty and shameful. However, people try to cover their own image as much as possible and like to show their good and smart side. Because of that, people don’t really know their own true image. People who like to boast about their goodness don’t boast because they have a lot of goodness inside of them. It is because they try to cover their evilness. There are a lot of people who like to boast their rightness. There are not people who honestly show their wrongness as much as their rightness. A lot of people like to show their intelligence, but there is no one who truthfully shows their stupidity as much as they want to show their intelligence. That is why if you turn over the heart of a person who looks like a good person, the other side is so ugly and evil. People, without exception, want to look right and beautiful. People who love, defend, and decorate themselves are hypocrites. This “self” is the root of all evil. The Chinese characters of the word, “hypocrisy,” is pronounced as “woe-sun.” “Wie” is a character that means “untrue,” but this character is a combination of the two characters. One character means, “person,” and the other character means, “act.” It means that all things humans do is untrue. However, people are all for themselves and spare themselves. They live without precisely knowing about themselves. Even the objects that look smooth to us are actually rough if you look through a microscope. If by chance we were in front of God, who is watching us through his fiery eyes, who would be able to lift their head when the most shameful, dirty, cheap and naked images hidden in our hearts were to be revealed?
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As They Did not Like to Retain God in Their Knowledge The Bible is evidence of the fact that man was under sin, that sin was in the heart of man, and that death came because of sin. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Romans 5:12) It does not say in the Bible that lying, hating others, or having a lustful heart is sin. The Bible says it is sin when you leave God and live believing in yourself. It is the fundamental sin when you leave the Word of God and follow the flesh. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,” (Romans 1:28-29) Not liking to retain God in your knowledge is sin itself. People who do not retain God in their hearts are guided by Satan and have no choice but to follow their flesh. That is why all the fruits of sin
He created man so they could communicate and walk with God through the spirit. are revealed and we have no choice but to bear dirty and ugly fruits of sin. Many people do not think that not wanting to retain God in their hearts is the fundamental sin. They think that things that are contrary to their ethics or conscious are sin and they think, “how is leaving God and not wanting to retain God in our hearts is such a bad sin?” However God says this: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his mater’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.” (Isaiah 1:3-4) If the child does not know his parents that bore him, he does not think of the grace of the nurturing parents but follows his desires and stubbornness as he lives, how is that not a great sin? If it is that kind of
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Gospel Lesson
child, no matter what kind of life they live, their whole life is evil. If a woman, who has a husband, leaves her husband, who sincerely loves and lives for her, lives for another man, isn’t her whole life unclean? God said that even the ox knows its owner and even the donkey knows that its owner made a trough for him. However, man does not know God who created him. God says that man lives without knowing their spirits’ owner, which means they are worse than animals. If you look in Genesis, it says that God created the whole earth and He created man as well. The first man God created was Adam, and for him, God created a woman called Eve. God made man in His image and made man into an existence with a spiritual sense. He created man so they could communicate and walk with God through the spirit. God put them in a place called, the Garden of Eden, and gave them blessings. God loved them and they listened to the voice of God. They received the guidance of God and lived in the garden where God had already prepared everything; a place like paradise. God told Adam, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) However, one day, Satan came in the form of a snake and approached Eve who was alone and away from Adam. “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4,5)
Satan’s Identity and Hell Here, I will briefly explain about the existence of Satan. Satan was originally one of the archangels that God had created. If you look in Ezekiel chapter 28 or Isaiah chapter 14, against God and to exalt himself. As he tried to compete with God, he was cast out of heaven. The evil spirits that were cast out of heaven came down to the earth putting distrust and rebellious hearts in man to go against God and
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to exalt himself. They would make man to plan plots to challenge God. The Bible calls this corrupted archangel Satan or the devil. The evil spirits work in the midst of the disobedient sons and lure all the people of the world to drag them to their destruction. His envoys are called demons. God made an eternal prison for them and that is what we call hell, the lake of fire. “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” (Matthew 25:41) For God, all people who left the Word of God and stood on the side of Satan will receive the curse of God. It means they will be thrown into eternal hell, the lake of fire, with the devil.
Satan Who Made the Heart of Eve Arrogant Satan said to Eve, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5) Satan put false thoughts into Eve and also put the desire to be like God. He made it seem as though, for her own good, he was telling her a secret without God knowing. Though Eve used to listen to the voice of God and received His guidance, Eve feels confused and hesitation after she accepts the words of Satan. “God said that if we eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we would surely die. But the snake said that not only would we not die but we will become like God. Whose words are true? I should look at the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil and judge it for myself. I should look at the fruit itself and think about if we will die or live and whose words to follow.” Eve changed into someone that believed in her own eyes and in her own judgment the most. The last decision was not left up to God but she gave it to herself. She decided to believe in herself. She even
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Gospel Lesson
decided to look again at the words of God with her own eyes and then accept them. A life that should have the Word as the standard has changed to put themself as the standard. Eve’s heart was dragged like this and was corrupted because the devil was the one controlling everything in the back. The devil was intervening. The devil put desire into Eve’s heart and Eve who was taken by desire became arrogant. The arrogance that the Bible talks about is nothing else but putting your own judgment higher than the Word of God. Arrogance is when you put your eyes and your thoughts higher than the Word of God. On the other hand, humility is denying yourself in front of the Word of God, the servant of God and the church of God. Satan made our hearts arrogant. While being arrogant, you cannot meet God or walk with God. That is why God does the work of lowering our heart that Satan has exalted. God knows that when our spirit is connected with God’s and filled with God, it results in the most blessed life. In order to remove the thoughts and the arrogant heart that Satan puts inside of us, God gives us hardship, labor, failure, difficulty and suffering. All of these things are the works by the hand of God to lower our heart.
Distrust and Spiritual Death After Eve listened to the voice of Satan, she looked at the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil with her own eyes. She saw that it was good for food, pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise. In Chinese characters, the character that holds the meaning “to covet” is a combination of the symbols for two trees and a character for a woman under those two trees. In the middle of the Garden of Eden, there was the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The woman standing under those trees was Eve. This Chinese character symbolizes, “to covet.” As Eve looks at the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil with her own eyes, she thinks, “Oh, God has deceived us until now. We have believed in God all this time and followed him, but God told us not to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil because He knows - 50 -
that if we ate it, we would become like him. If the serpent had not told me, we would have been deceived by God.” Distrust formed in her heart against God. She closed her heart towards God. However, the truth is that Satan deceived her and put confusion and distrust towards God in her heart. Eve, who listened to the voice of Satan and whose heart was infatuated, was guided by her desire to be like God and, in the end, ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. As the distrust that Satan put came into her heart, the flow of the heart of God to her was cut off. The Bible calls this state, “Dead to God.” In other words, “Spiritual Death.” “For as in Adam all die. . . .” (1 Corinthians 15:22)
Man, who died spiritually, became blind to the world of the spirit. Eve also gave the fruit to her husband to eat and Adam ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil that Eve gave. Now, men who’ve turned their backs on God stood on the side of Satan and they continued to accept Satan’s thoughts to rebel against God. Men became the slaves of Satan and men's hearts became the stage for Satan’s works. Satan started to conquer men's spirits. Now, man, who was made in the image of God, does not show the image of God but started to show the image of Satan. Man, who died spiritually, became blind to the world of the spirit. They became sinners and started to focus on their flesh. Now their focus was not on God but on their flesh. “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. . . .” (Genesis 3:7) They did not know that their spirit had died and only knew that they were naked.
Genesis 3:24 The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise 1791 West, Benjamin (American, 1738 - 1820) - 51 -
Gospel Lesson
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Ephesians 2: 1-3) This is the image of life that has left God and receives guidance from Satan.
N The Cursed Flesh Man who used to live following the Word of God started to serve the standard of good and evil and the desires of the flesh. That is what the Bible calls sin. God cursed the snake and cursed the flesh of man. It was because after man committed the sin, Satan ruled man’s heart and flesh. The hearts and thoughts that Satan planted were “the flesh.” “. . . cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;” (Genesis 3:17) God cursed the ground because of Adam, and the Bible shows that this “ground” is our flesh. When God created man, because He made the flesh out of dust of the earth, curse came to our flesh at the time the ground was cursed. Because God cursed the flesh, man, who followed the flesh, realized that there was no hope in the flesh and wanted to turn back to God. God wanted man to depart the flesh that has no hope and to think about our spirit. I hope that God’s blessed providence is made known to everyone and for everyone to receive the grace of forgiveness of sin.
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T e stimony of P astor O ck S oo P ark
Immersing Me in the Words ····
When we first began having our retreats, there were many difficulties. These days, there isn't that much trouble coming up with money for retreats, but back then, it was hard when retreat dates would come up and I had no money. Kimchi and side dishes needed to be prepared at least three days before the retreat, but because we had no money, we had no other option but to pray. “God, you are the one who's happy with this retreat, so please take care of it. We lack, we'll just move on regardless.” Although I prayed like that, worry still filled my heart, making me pray again. “God, please give us the money.” Once the retreat was imminent, God would give us some money, but at that time, I couldn't help but feel that God was stingy. If we needed 1 million won, He should give us at least 8 hundred thousand won, but when God would give us only 2 or 3 hundred thousand won, it worried us. As a result, we had to come up with a good plan on how to use that money. Because I had prepared for retreats many times before, I knew approximately how much money we would need to feed a certain amount of people. So, one look at the treasury and I would know whether we used a lot of money or a little bit. At times, I would get frustrated at my wife when she'd use money, saying, “Seriously, you think I just make money appear?” But because we lacked so many things, I couldn't even get frustrated. I could see that my wife tried her best to use as little money as possible, and I couldn't get mad at her for that.
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Preaching the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth
At last, this is how we prayed, “God, we have no other way. We have no money to buy mosquito repellent for all of these mosquitoes. Let all the people attending this retreat be so immersed in the Word, that they'll be unable to feel the mosquito bites. God, sleeping accommodations aren't fully prepared, but let all the people attending this retreat be so immersed in the Word, that they'll be unable to feel uncomfortable when sleeping. God, the food we prepared is so little, but let them be immersed fully in the Word, that they'll be unable to feel how bad the food is.� Most of our prayers were like this when the retreats were approaching. After finishing retreats like this, there were many instances where we were so very touched. We were people who always ate whatever came our way, but people from the city came to our retreat and said our food was great. Although sleeping accommodations were uncomfortable and the restrooms were a mess, no one felt that it was so. Even as they were getting bitten by mosquitoes, people would listen to the Word, clapping, trying to catch the mosquitoes. But still, no one felt uncomfortable, so our hearts were so thankful in front of God. Through that retreat, many people listened to the Gospel and received assurance of salvation in their hearts. They returned home full of Christ and joy. When we saw that, we were thankful beyond words. If we had everything and our situations were not challenged, what reason would we have to pray before God, and for what would we have to receive grace? Without going through hardships and trials in Christ, we can never obtain joy and hope. God gives us ordeals and difficulties first to give us consolation from heaven. Inside of Christ, sadness never remains as sadness, but it will eventually turn into joy over time. If sadness remained as sadness and pain remained as pain, that person is not in Christ. Every retreat, I think of God's immense love for us and I am immersed in thankfulness.
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