The passage we read today is from Leviticus 26. It contains the promise that God gave to the people of Israel. He said, “I will set My tabernacle among you…” This tabernacle means a dwelling place. In other words, His house will be among us. It means He will live with us. And then He said, “I will be Your God, and You shall be My people.” This is the promise He made.

God originally gave this promise to one man. Who was that man? About four thousand years ago, in the land of Iraq, there lived a man named Abraham. To him, this god gave this promise: “I will be your God, and you and your descendants shall be My people.” As we read today, later this god appeared again to Abraham’s descendants and repeated this promise. But this promise is also connected to us. At first, people thought that “the descendants of Abraham” meant only the Israelites who had inherited his lineage. But when Jesus came, He revealed something to make us know—that being Abraham’s descendants is not only about physical lineage. Even if someone has the lineage, if they lack the essential thing, they are not truly Abraham’s descendants. What is the essential thing? It is the faith that Abraham had. “If you have that faith, then you are also a descendant of Abraham.” This is what Jesus taught us. Therefore, we have now become Abraham’s descendants—the descendants of faith. Which god did Abraham believe in? It is the same god whom we now encounter today.

Are there many gods in the world, or only a few? There are many. So many. If someone were to pray, “God, let me see the gods,” that person would not be able to live a normal life. There are too many of them. When these gods appear in visible form, they often show themselves in horrible ways. If you were to see how densely they surround us, it would be horrifying and unbearable. But such gods approach us. Even if you stay still, they keep drawing near. But for what purpose? Never to do you any good. They come only to use you. When we cast out demons, sometimes they resist and cry out, “I don’t want to leave! I don’t want to leave!” At such times, we may ask, “Did you feed off this person?” What does that mean? Some demons answer, “I didn’t get to eat! I didn’t get to eat!” What haven’t they eaten? It means they missed eating food offered in ancestral rites. Demons enter a person’s body, eat what they desire, and so during ancestral rituals—perhaps some of you have prepared such rites—you may recall what happens. Especially at night, once the ritual is complete, people close the door and step outside for a moment. Why? So the demon can come and eat. After waiting outside, they return and say, “Our elder came and ate.” Then they themselves share the food and drink. This is called “eumbok (飮福)” in Korea—literally “drinking blessing.” They believe that by drinking that rice wine, they are receiving blessings. But in truth, that food was sacrificed to demons. Can demons truly give blessings? No. In fact, it often happens that after such rituals, on the way home, people get into accidents. I personally know of several cases where people died this way. Why? Because when demons eat such food, they need a body. Without a body, how can they eat? So they have a method to actually consume the food. Although it’s the people who actually eat the food, later, during the eumbok, demons enter into the body of the one drinking and thus enjoy it together. The person drinks, but the demon inside drinks with them. That is how it works. They use people. They exploit them.

So in this way, those who are exploited by demons—those who accept and welcome them—will end up sharing their fate. But what is the fate of demons? Do demons have any hope? No. Demons have nothing but despair. In the original Greek Bible, the word for demon is defined as “unclean spirit.” That is what demons are—”unclean spirits.” Yet those who do not know this reality often think of demons as “fearsome spirits.” The culture of this world has shaped people to believe that “demons are something to be feared.” And indeed, if we do not know Jesus, it is only natural to fear demons, because there is no way to defend ourselves against their attacks. Then, why do demons come in? As I said before, they come to exploit. If you ask any demon, “Why did you come in? What are you doing here?” their answer is always the same: “I came to kill.” Always to kill. Did you ever once invite a demon into your life, saying, “Demon, come in”? Of course not. And yet they entered. They came in without being invited. What kind of being comes in like that? A thief; a robber. And does a robber ever break in to do you good? Not to bring good, but to kill. That is exactly what demons do when they enter—they kill. Some might still think, “But if it’s the spirit of my father or grandfather, wouldn’t they treat me well since I am their descendant?” No. Once a demon enters a person’s body, it does not matter if that person is their own child or grandchild. They cannot help themselves—they seek to destroy.

Do you know why? Relationships in this world apply only while the body is alive. Once the body is lost, there is nothing anyone can do. Even if a demon enters with the thought, “I will do good, I will be kind,” in the end, it still kills. Why? Because it can only give what it has. And what are demons? They are dead beings. Unclean beings. They are without life. And because they have no life, they are unclean. When we say, “You, unclean demon!” it also means, “You demon, without life.” Having no life means there is no more chance. It means, “You, hopeless demon.” Demons have nothing but despair. Let me give you an example. Suppose a child has died. No matter how much you love that child, would you continue to hold on to the body forever? No. You must deal with it. You either burn it or bury it. And burning or burying are, in fact, ways of disposing of waste. Why do we treat even our beloved ones like waste? Because once life is gone, the body is unclean. Likewise, demons are unclean spirits. When they enter people, they cause them to become like themselves—unclean. What do they defile? They corrupt the mind, and even the environment around them. That is why those possessed by demons often live in filthy surroundings. Sometimes they are naked, sometimes they injure their own bodies, sometimes they seek to kill. And if a demon once had cancer, when it enters a person, it brings cancer into that body. If a demon was addicted to smoking, it makes the person crave cigarettes. If it was addicted to drinking, it makes the person drink. That is why people say, “the spirit of alcohol.” They cannot control it. They lose all self-control. A person may say, “I don’t want to drink anymore. I have made up my mind to quit.” And yet they keep drinking. Why? Because even though they don’t want to, there is a being inside that keeps disturbing them.

So then, there is a way to deal with this. What is this? We must cast out the demon. But sometimes, even if we cast it out, it doesn’t work. Why not? Because deep inside, we still want to drink. This is why our will must come first. We must firmly set our will. If we recognize, “Drinking is harmful to me,” then we must boldly declare, “I do not want this!” Pray like this: “I don’t want it, but I have no strength. I don’t want to drink, but I have no strength.” Or, “I don’t want to sin, but I keep on sinning.” Confess it honestly to God. Say, “I don’t want to go clubbing anymore, but I keep ending up there.” Or, “I don’t want to hate my father, but I keep on hating him.” Be honest. Don’t lie, saying, “I don’t hate him.” Instead confess in truth that you do. “I hate him, but I don’t want to hate him anymore. I want to obey God’s word. Please help me.” This is repentance. We repent for the hatred, and we seek God’s help. After that, we cast out the demon. So first, our will must come first. Therefore, we do not cast out demons unilaterally. It may be possible to cast the demon out by the authority of the one casting it out, but if the will of the person who had the demon is weak or unwilling to resist, the demon can return. And when it returns, it thinks, “Last time I was cast out because I was too weak. This time, I must never be cast out again.” So it looks for others to come with it. It gathers seven more demons and enters again. Then, the next time it is cast out, it becomes much harder. This is why our will is of great importance.

Then how can we possibly cast out demons? What power do we have? What we must first understand is that demons are already judged. Their king is the devil. Yes, demons have a king, and he is the one who reigns as ruler over this world. But that king has already been judged. How was he judged? To bring judgment upon that king, God sent His Son Jesus two thousand years ago. Yet the One who came to judge did not appear like a mighty judge. He came as a man, like a powerless man. People expected Him to appear as a mighty judge because they heard that when the Son of God came, He would bring judgment. So they thought that He would declare, “You devil! Be judged!” But instead, Jesus was seized by men and nailed to a cross without any power. As long as He hung there, there still seemed to be hope—perhaps He would come down again, perhaps He would summon angels and win the victory. But no, He simply died powerlessly. His disciples were terrified and fled, confused about what was happening. After He died, His body was laid in a tomb. The next day was the Jewish Sabbath, when no work could be done, so they remained still. Then, on the morning of the third day, the women who had served Jesus went to the tomb, but it was empty. The cloth that had wrapped His body was neatly folded and lying there. Only the body was gone. What had happened? God had raised Him from the dead. He had risen! And this is what we believe. It may sound unbelievable, yet there is proof. Before He died, Jesus had already said, “I will go to Jerusalem and be killed.” He also said repeatedly, “But on the third day, God will raise Me up.” And truly, He did die. He really disappeared. Because of that, at first, people thought, “Someone must have stolen His body.” Even the disciples said, “His body has been taken away.” But later, He appeared before the disciples after being risen. Imagine their shock! From that moment, they could no longer stay silent. They wanted to go out with burning passion to proclaim, “Truly, God is alive! Truly, Jesus is the Son of God whom He raised from the dead!”

The disciples were so overwhelmed with excitement that they could not contain themselves. They wanted to run out at once. But the Lord restrained them, saying, “Wait, wait, wait! Do not go yet. If you run out now, saying you saw Me risen, people will think you are out of your mind. You need to have evidence. Do not go yet!” And they asked, “What evidence?” He answered, “I must go to the Father first.” The risen Lord had to ascend to heaven. There, He would ask the Father, and the Father would send something. What would He send? A god. And what kind of god? The spirit of God—not a demon, but the holy god. We call Him the “Holy Spirit”—the Spirit of holiness. There may be many demons in this world, but He promised to send the Holy Spirit from God Himself. And when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we will receive power. “Then, when the Holy Spirit has come, go and testify about Me. Only then will people believe. How could they believe such an embarrassing story otherwise? But when you receive the Holy Spirit, you will go out with power and testify. And when you preach My word, I will work with you from heaven and confirm your message. How? Lay your hands on the sick, and they will recover! Drive out demons in My name, and they will be driven out! If you drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt you. Even if by mistake you drink poison, if God is with you, it will not harm you.” Isn’t this wonderful? There are so many harmful things in the world. Yet the Lord said, “If you drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt you.” So if you are troubled by many worries in this world, firmly believe in Jesus. “If you drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt you; you will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover!” And also, “They will take up serpents.” Now, we don’t usually talk much about this, because it is not common to handle snakes. But in the past, among those who preached the gospel, there was Paul. One day, he was in a certain region to preach the gospel, and while gathering firewood, a viper hidden in the wood fastened on his hand. Seeing this, the people around him said, “This man must be a murderer! That snake is deadly; when it bites, a man dies at once. Surely this is God’s judgment on him.” So they waited for him to die. But nothing happened. Paul remained unharmed. Later, the people who had been waiting for him to fall down dead changed their minds. They knelt before him and said, “This man is a god!” And in this way, the word of God was fulfilled exactly as it was spoken.

So then, what did Jesus accomplish by His death and resurrection? He judged the devil and the demons. Why? Because who was it that ultimately drove Jesus to His death? It was the devil. He stirred up the people to accuse Jesus, saying, “He is a sinner!” and in the end, Jesus was condemned and killed. But then God raised Him from the dead. That means then that one of those judgments must be wrong. Jesus was condemned to death—legally sentenced and executed. Yet God brought Him back to life. The verdicts are contrary. So which judgment is greater: the judgment of men or the judgment of God? Of course, God’s judgment is greater. Think about a court system: local court, high court, and then the supreme court. Which ruling stands? The supreme court’s ruling. No matter what the lower courts decide, if the supreme court gives a different verdict, that is the one that prevails. In the same way, though this world declared, “You are sentenced to death!” God declared, “No! Jesus is righteous!” and raised Him from the dead. Thus, God’s judgment was, “Jesus is righteous!” while the world had said, “Jesus is unrighteous.” But if the Righteous One is condemned as unrighteous, then who is truly unrighteous? The accuser is. By condemning the righteous, they revealed their own unrighteousness. And in this way God made it clear: “Devil, you are unrighteous!” He exposed him and placed judgment upon him. The devil has now been marked by judgment. And from that moment, his rights were stripped away. God declared to him, “From now on, every right once given to you is finished!” The devil has no authority left.

Do you know what authority the devil once had? He used to be able to stand before God. That means he couldn’t go up to heaven, but he could appear before the one whom God had sent. And what would he do there? He would point a finger and say, “That person—he has sinned!” He would accuse. That was the work of the accuser. “He sinned! He sinned!” And because the person had sinned, God was forced to judge and condemn. But now that authority the devil had is gone. The devil no longer has the legal right to bring those accusations before God. So he cannot cry before God, “He sinned!” anymore. Instead, stubbornly refusing to give up, he turns his attention to someone else. To whom? To people. He goes to individuals and whispers, “Hey, you sinned. God hates you. How could someone like you ever receive a blessing? How could you stand before God?” He works to drive wedges between people—they are all lies. Back then, he could make legal accusations; but now, after judgment, he lies directly to people. What does he say? Not, “You’re wonderful; you’ll surely go to heaven.” No—he says, “You sinned. So where will you end up? Hell, right? You deserve to be hated. How could God love someone like you? You go to church? Don’t be ridiculous! I know how sinful you are. Didn’t you argue with your husband? Didn’t you get into an ugly fight? You even wanted to kill him in your heart! How could someone like that go to heaven? You belong in hell! Did you treat your mother-in-law well? Didn’t you treat her badly?” On and on he goes condemning. He deceives people.

So what happens? A person listens to those words, and those thoughts begin to take root in their heart. “Yes, I am not worthy. I don’t have a conscience pure enough to believe in God. I…” And so they become unwilling to come to God. I once met someone who even said, “Pastor, I will come to church later. Right now is not the time.” “Then when will you come?” “When I have cultivated myself more, when my guilty feelings are gone, then I will come before God. Only then will He accept me.” Absolutely not! That is a lie. You don’t need to become good first in order to come. God is the One who seeks sinners. And as I just said, sinners originally had no choice but to die. But two thousand years ago, Jesus died—not only to judge the devil, but to bear our sins and take the curse in our place. That is why we must believe. When the devil tries to whisper into our heart, “You are a sinner. You must be punished,” then make this confession: “Yes, I sinned! But I am not a sinner. Why? Because Jesus already paid the price for my sins! I don’t need to be cursed. Why? Because Jesus was cursed in my place! I don’t need to be punished. Jesus already died on the cross! I will not make His merit of no effect. I will accept it fully.” And when he says, “But you are such a terrible person!” you can answer, “It doesn’t matter. Even terrible people can accept it.” This is why our faith is no longer bound by the guilt of conscience. What matters is this – that I have received Jesus, and I have received the merit He has given.

And not only this. Jesus commanded us to be baptized in His name. What is baptism? He said, “Be baptized in the name of Jesus.” In other words, “Be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism means becoming one with Jesus. When we are baptized in the name of Jesus, we become one with Him. Now, if salvation simply meant that we were rescued and no longer going to hell, God could have said, “That’s enough. Be satisfied and go away.” But that is not the case. Why did He cleanse us so thoroughly? It was so that He could pour out His love on us. Why does He love us? Because we have become one with His Son. So it is already amazing that He forgave us, but on top of that He unexpectedly gives us love as well. And what kind of love is this? It is not the love we originally deserved, but the love that belongs to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Therefore, those who believe in Jesus are people overflowing with joy because they receive this love. Believers are not those who say, “Oh, what if I sin again?” Rather, they are those who exclaim, “I have been forgiven! I am treated as a child of God!” Their hearts overflow with joy. This is what it means to believe in Jesus. And the Holy Spirit comes upon us and testifies to this truth.

So when God says, “I will be your God,” this is exactly what He means. You might ask, “What does it mean for God to be my God?” Do you remember what I said earlier? “I will be your God, and you shall be My what?” He said, “You shall be My people.” Now what is the opposite of “people”? Think of other relationships: “I become your teacher — you become my student.” “I am a police officer — you are the criminal.” “If I am your king, what are you? You are my people. If you are the people, then I am the king.” So when God says, “I will be your God, and you shall be My people,” it means that He becomes our King. The very God who gave His Son becomes our King.

What does a king do? Does a king simply seize and rule by force? No. The true form of a king is like a “shepherd.” We don’t see many shepherds today, but when God chose a king from among Israel, He chose a shepherd —a man named David. What does a shepherd do? A shepherd has three precious concerns. First, the sheep are important. But there is something even more important than the sheep—the one who entrusted those sheep. They are not his own sheep; someone entrusted them to him. For David, that person was his father. The father mattered most. David’s heart was full of, “I must not lose even one of my father’s sheep.” Once a bear grabbed a lamb by the neck and carried it off. Do you think that lamb lived? Of course not. Still, David chased the beast. Why? To snatch back even the lamb in the bear’s mouth. He fought the bear, he fought the lion, he forced open their jaws and brought the sheep back. Who would risk their life like that? Most would value their own life, but David did it because he understood a father’s heart. Even if the lamb was dead, he wanted to return it to his father—because he treasured his father. He cared for the sheep and would not let a single one be lost. “Once the father entrusted them to me, I will never lose them; I will raise them up on the last day.” Jesus made that promise. And this shepherd has enemies—wolves, bears, lions—those worldly gods that seek to kill us, the demons we spoke of earlier. Our King Jesus hates those enemies. Once they were the enemies of God; now they are the enemies who oppress and seek to kill God’s children. Therefore, He condemns them, He destroys those false gods and demons, and He rescues us, bringing our spirits to the Father. Because of his love for the Father, He desires to raise us all on the last day. That is what a king does. That is what a shepherd is.

This is exactly who our god is. He has promised, “I will be your God.” Jesus is the One. So though there are countless gods in this world, do not play around with them. When such gods try to approach, cut them off without hesitation. And if in your household you still hold ancestral rites while asking for demons to be cast out, it is useless. You must put an end to those rites completely. And then, you must deal with your guilt. Perhaps you committed sins long ago, hidden from everyone else. If you try to escape from demonic oppression while still keeping those sins tightly hidden, the demons will grab hold of them. They will condemn you: “You are a sinner. Others may not know, but I know!” If you are deceived by that, you become a slave. Instead, boldly confess: “My sins are forgiven! Jesus paid the price for my sins!” Acknowledge this truth, and then you will be freed. Not only will the oppression in your heart be broken, but even your body can be made clean. This is why believers in Jesus so often experience healing. May you also experience Jesus, our King, in this way. In the name of Jesus, I bless you.

I will pray.

God our Father, though there are many gods in the world, we have seen clearly that the god who came close to us and made a covenant with us is the One who loves us, never gives up on us, protects us from every enemy, and will finally lead us into heaven. Work in our hearts, we pray, so that all our souls may truly serve You as our God and thus receive Your help. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.