In Exodus Chapter 3, God appears to a man named Moses. At that time, Moses was a shepherd. He had been living in the wild for 40 years, taking care of sheep. But actually, Moses grew up in the Egyptian palace. The king of Egypt is called Pharaoh, and Moses was the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter. So, even though he wasn’t a biological prince, he lived just like one and received a great education. However, he had to run away and hide in the wilderness because he killed someone. He stayed there for 40 years. Moses was a descendant of Abraham. At that time, Abraham’s descendants were living in Egypt, but they were living as slaves.

One day, a god appeared to Moses while he was tending his flock as a shepherd. While Moses was looking after his sheep, he saw a tree a distance away. The tree was on fire, but as he watched closely, the bush didn’t burn up. It was so strange that he went closer to take a look. As he did, he heard a voice calling out, “Moses! Moses! Take the sandals off your feet, for where you are standing is holy ground!” He was astonished. It was an angel sent by God appearing to him. Even though the angel was right there, Moses didn’t know yet exactly who this god was.

Let me ask you a question. Are there many gods in the world, or is there only one? Most people here at Sungrak Church would answer, “There are many!” However, people who only know a little bit about church often think, “Don’t Christians say there is only one god?” Many Christians actually misunderstand this and believe that only one god exists in the entire world. This misunderstanding comes from the very first commandment in the Old Testament (the books of Moses). The first commandment says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” This means, “To you, there should be no other gods. I must be the only one for you.” Think about it this way. Are there many men and women in the world? Yes, many. But it’s like saying, “From now on, you must have no other man but me.” That is what this god was saying. He meant, “To you and your people, there must be no other gods but me. I am your only god.” He wasn’t saying that he is the only god that exists in the world. There are actually many gods. Some people say this is their first time hearing this at a church. They say, “Other churches don’t talk like that.” But that is a mistake. The Bible talks about many different gods. That’s why we even add an ‘s’ to the word “god” and call them “gods.” Since there are so many gods in the world, then what exactly is a “god”?

First, a god is an eternal being. Gods exist forever. This piano you see here will eventually disappear one day, right? These chairs we are sitting on will also disappear someday. Even the human body will eventually pass away. But a god never disappears; it is an eternal being. This is the same for any god. It’s not only God who exists forever, but other gods also exist forever. Demons exist forever, and angels exist forever too. That is the nature of a god. That is why all gods are spiritual beings—eternal beings.

Second, a god has a personality. A god has intellect, emotion, and will. They know how to think, how to speak, and they can feel joy, sadness, and even hatred. They have what we call “personality,” which is made up of knowledge, feelings, and will. A god has personality, but he is an eternal being. He has eternal personality. This is what we call a god.

Gods also have personalities. They have intellect, volition and emotion. They can think, speak, feel joy and sadness, and even hate.  These qualities—intellect, emotion, and will—are what we call personality, aren’t they? A god has a personality and is an eternal being. God is an eternal personal being. This is a god.

Then, are you gods or not? Are you eternal? Do you have a personality? Our bodies will rot and disappear. However, inside us, there is a spirit. The word “spirit” itself means an eternal personality. You are gods. But if this eternal personality goes wrong, it becomes a demon. However, if you receive the word of God, you become a god who has gained holy glory.

Demons wander around and sometimes torment people. A demon enters a person and brings disaster, though sometimes it may look like they are helping. However, if you associate with a demon, you will eventually end up with a destiny similar to that demon. What is a demon’s destiny? It is to be a failure. Even if a demon had a lot of money when it was alive in the flesh on this earth, it is now a being that has lost everything. No matter how healthy it was, a demon is a being that has lost it all. That is why if you stay close to a demon, you are bound to follow its path.

Like this, there are demons, many angels, and many gods in the world. So, the question is: among all of them, which god should you stay close to? That is the problem.

You might want to say, “Oh, I don’t like any god! I’ll live my life without them!” But you can’t actually do that. Even if you say, “I hate air! I’m going to live without it!” you have no way to survive without breathing. Even if you try to hold your breath, you will eventually breathe while you sleep. There is no way to live without coming into contact with spirits or gods. Why? Because the gods are trying to get close to you. There are far more gods in this world than there are human beings. All those many gods are constantly trying to be near you. They keep trying to get close. You’ve probably seen horror movies with demons. What do the demons in those movies keep trying to do? They keep trying to enter people, right? They try to get into the human body. Isn’t it strange? There are so many movies all over the world that portray demons that way. How do they all have that same idea? It’s because it is the truth. The Bible says the same thing.

In the Bible, when a demon is hiding inside a person and gets driven out, it wanders around looking for a new home. It keeps trying to get close to people. But it can’t find a spot. Why? Because every house already has an owner. So, it’s very hard for a demon to enter a new place. Eventually, it goes back to the place it came from. When it looks at the person it left, it sees the place is empty! No one has moved in yet. So, it enters again. Even though the demon was driven out, it goes back in. But this time, the demon worries, “What if I get driven out again?” To make sure it doesn’t happen, it thinks, “I need to completely control this person this time! I should bring my friends with me!” Then, it calls seven of its friends and says, “Hey, there’s an empty room here!” and they all go in together. In the end, that person’s situation becomes much worse than it was before the demon first left.

That’s why in our church, when Christians cast out demons, they don’t just do it for anyone. First, the person suffering from the demon must clearly know God and long for His word. If we just cast the demon out without that, the demon might actually leave. It might not, but there are cases where it does. However, even if it leaves, there is a high chance it will come back. If that happens, that person’s situation becomes much worse than it was at first.

So, these gods don’t just listen to you just because you say you don’t want to be near them. Have you ever heard stories from people who become possessed and undergo a ritual to become a shaman? You might want to say, “That’s just in your head!” but the pain they go through is too desperate for that. It’s not just an idea; their bodies actually ache so much it feels like they are dying. They can’t even get up. It’s not just for a day or two; they feel pain so intense they could actually die. That’s why they have no choice but to compromise. While they are suffering like that, a shaman comes and says, “You have to accept the spirit!” and once they perform the ritual, the pain completely disappears. Why? Because the demon was actually planning to enter them all along. So, because they try to force their way in like this, you cannot live a life unrelated to gods—no matter how much you claim, “I’ll just live my own life. We live in an age of modern science, so who cares about spirits!”

So, to someone who cannot control a god, that god is a very terrifying being. Demons are scary, aren’t they? I don’t know about you, but when I was young, I used to watch TV programs that told ghost stories. After watching them, I was so afraid that someone might jump out from behind the wall that I couldn’t even go into the house alone. My young heart was so scared that I would wait outside until my mom and dad came home. Does it get better once you grow up? It was the same for me as an adult. When I visited my grandmother’s house in the countryside, I had to go to the bathroom at night. To do that, I had to cross the yard, open the gate, and go outside. If I just had to pee, I could do it anywhere in the field, but for the “big one,” I had to go to the bathroom. How scary is it to sit there with a candle lit in that pitch-black darkness? But what exactly are we afraid of? We are afraid of demons—beings we have never even seen in our entire lives. We feel like something is going to jump out at us. It’s so strange. Why are we so afraid of something we’ve never seen? It is because those beings called demons actually exist.

One interesting thing is that after I started believing in Jesus, those fears completely disappeared. They are totally gone. Now, no matter how dark it is, I am not afraid. Before, whenever I went into a dark place, my hair would stand on end and I’d get chills down my spine, but that never happens anymore. I used to feel that way even just by visiting a house of mourning. I was scared for no reason. But now, that’s all gone. This is because believing in Jesus means I am in fellowship with a god who has enormous power—a power that cannot be compared to those spirits or demons.

The issue is which god you are coming into contact with right now—among the many gods in this world, which one will you choose to meet? At church, people might say to you, “Live a good life! Stay healthy! Get along with your neighbors!” However, those things are not the core message. The purpose of this place is to introduce a specific god to you. And you must understand clearly who that god is.

Before you sign up for insurance, what should you read carefully? You have to read the terms and conditions. If you just listen to what people say and sign the contract, you might end up in trouble later. You need to read it thoroughly, but the problem is that the font is too small and there is too much text. It’s hard to tell what’s important and what’s not. No matter how hard you read it, insurance companies word things so cleverly that you might still end up losing out in the end. So, if you don’t read it carefully and ask others for advice, the insurance might turn out to be different from what you expected. When you actually need it, you might not get any help.

There are many companies in the world. They approach you and say, “Invest with us!” Sometimes I get phone calls like that too. “Sir, we have some great land for you!” Then I say, “If it’s so great, why don’t you buy it yourself? I’m not related to money. You’ve got the wrong person!” and I hang up. Recently, there was a case where people were told to invest because a real treasure ship had been found, but it turned out to be a scam. I also heard about a place that attracted investments by saying they were building a solar power plant, and then they just disappeared. People get scammed. The results are so different from what they expected.

It’s the same with gods. Gods also approach you in a way that sounds very convincing. But can they truly give you eternal happiness? Perhaps there are some gods who can make you happy for a short while. There are gods who can give you a brief moment of joy. Some gods might even help you make money for a little bit. However, that is not eternal. Many gods already cause people to experience trouble even while they are living on this earth. But even if they treat you well here, in the end, they cannot give you what is eternal and will only drag you down the same path they are taking.

All the gods in the world were created by God. I am telling you simply what the Bible teaches. There are many gods in the world, but there is one god who created every single one of them. There are many gods, but there is one god who decides the final destiny of all those other gods.

But the question is, how can you believe that? That’s why you have to judge carefully. You must look closely at the gods that approach you and figure out what kind of gods they really are. When those gods say, “I will give you something good!” you should check where they actually came from. It’s just like when a company says, “Invest in us, and we’ll make you rich.” You have to research when that company was started and who the CEO is. It is the same with gods.

A certain god appeared to my cousin. It said, “If you serve me well, I will make your business successful!” The day after meeting that god, my cousin decided to start a business, performed a ritual, and began his work. And it actually went really well! His company was even featured on TV as a top-performing business. In return, because of the promise he made, he had to perform rituals faithfully. He did well like that for about 10 years. But after 10 years, he went completely bankrupt. Several people who worked at that company ended up in a very bad way. Two of them even died after suffering from liver cancer. Strangely, he was cursed, and the people close to him were also cursed. So, even though this god said, “I can give you happiness,” and he started his business based on that, it turned out he was tricked. Where did this god actually come from? It has no history.

But the god I want to introduce to you today has a clear track record of everything he has done. There is a record of his work, who the first person to meet him was, and exactly what he wants right now. There is such a book. What is that book? It’s the Bible. This Bible is quite thick, isn’t it? It’s very thick, with hundreds of pages. The Bible is actually made up of 66 individual books. How many? 66 books.

This book is made up of so many parts, and do you know when the very first part was written? Jesus lived about 2,000 years ago. But the first book of the Bible was written 1,500 years before that—which means it was written about 3,500 years ago. These five books—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—were written by a man named Moses 3,500 years ago. And the events recorded in those books go back even further, to about 4,000 years ago. That book even records the story of how the universe was created. Even though he wasn’t there to see it, it is written there. A man who never saw the universe being made wrote down that story. Regarding the creation of the universe, he wrote that a certain god created it. He wrote that this god made the Earth, the moon, the trees, and finally, human beings. But how can we believe in that god? The person who wrote this 3,500 years ago recorded things that happened 500 years before he was even born, and even things from thousands or tens of thousands of years before that. He wrote about things he never even saw, so how can we believe that it is all true?

But there is something amazing. This man named Moses, who wrote this book, didn’t just write about the past. He also wrote about things that would happen 2,000 years after his time. And even more! Although 3,500 years have passed since then, he even wrote about things that would happen 3,500 years into the future—up to our time today. We Christians are the ones who experience, witness, and testify to those things coming true.

Think about it. How could that man, 3,500 years ago, write about things happening today? How could he write about things that would occur 2,000 years later? He didn’t write it by his own ability. He was inspired by a certain god to write like that. How was he able to write about the past? It was because he was inspired by that very god. If the future events he spoke of had turned out to be false, I wouldn’t be able to believe the stories of the past either. However, because it was confirmed that the events he wrote about—set 1,500 or 2,000 years into his future—actually happened, and because we see that what was recorded back then has continued to be fulfilled until now, we can confirm: “Wow! This is credible. It’s real! He truly was inspired by a god!” He simply continued to record the story of that god.

I mentioned earlier that a certain god appeared to Moses, right? The very same Moses we were just talking about. At that time, even he didn’t know exactly what kind of god this was. So, when that god appeared to Moses, He said, “Go and bring my people, Israel, out of Egypt! You are the one to do it! Go to Pharaoh and say, ‘Let my people go!’” and He prepared to send Moses. Then Moses, who was just a shepherd, said, “Who am I to dare face the King and bring the Israelites out? What am I?” The god gave him signs, and Moses gathered the courage to go. But then Moses asked that god, “Okay, I will go. I will go to the Israelites and say, ‘A god sent me to bring you out!’ But they are going to ask me, aren’t they? They’ll say, ‘Who is the god that sent you? There are so many gods in the world—exactly which god’s instructions are you following?’ What should I tell them then? Who are you?” He asked.

That’s when the scene comes where this god gives His answer. What did He say? He replied, “I AM WHO I AM!” He is the god who exists by himself. This means that other gods do not exist on their own. All other gods in this world were created; they were made. But finally, the self-existing God appeared before humanity.

Then, how can he prove that he is the self-existing one? After that, Moses truly experienced this god’s power. He wasn’t the only one; the entire nation of Israel experienced it together. They witnessed it in many different ways, but to put it simply—how else could the Israelites have escaped Egypt? Pharaoh was using military force to keep over a million Israelites from leaving. Would the King of Egypt just let that many slaves go? Yet, despite Pharaoh’s resistance, they broke through that power and came out. There was also an incident along the way. The sea was in front of them, and the Egyptian army was chasing them from behind. You know the movie Moses, right? Since it’s a film, some parts are realistic and some are not. But there is a scene directly recreated from the Bible: while the people were wailing in front of the sea, Moses, instructed by God’s inspiration, said, “Do not cry. God is at work!” He lifted his staff and stretched it out toward the sea, and an east wind began to blow. The wind blew from the east incredibly hard. It blew all night long. The wind was so powerful that the sea eventually split in two, and walls of water stood up. Then, the ground beneath the sea became like dry land. Moses and his people crossed the sea just like that. It’s unbelievable, isn’t it? That is the kind of god he is. Such a thing actually happened.

I bet you find it hard to believe. You can’t bring yourself to believe it because you’ve never seen a god with such power before. But the god I am introducing to you is exactly that kind of god. He is a god of power. Because he is powerful, he took the Israelites and settled them in the land of Canaan, which is now Palestine. Isn’t that amazing? Originally, that land was inhabited by other nations. However, God had made a promise to their ancestors 500 years earlier, and He fulfilled that promise exactly at the appointed time. A remarkable historical event took place. And that’s not all. Later, they were scattered and lost their nation, but after 1,500 years had passed, they recovered it, and that is how the nation of Israel exists today. All of this is recorded in the Bible. The god we serve now, the god we are meeting today, is that very God.

You might think, “Wait, then isn’t the god we’re meeting just some Middle Eastern god? Just a god for Israel?” But that’s not it at all. Israel was used like a mirror to show our own story. Everything that happened back then was a picture for us. The Israelites being stuck in Egypt and then breaking free was a living picture—it was showing how God would rescue us from this world ruled by the devil. And to make that picture real, that God sent a man named Jesus.

2,000 years ago, Jesus came and said, “The god who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and later to Moses—that is the very God I serve! That God sent me! I am His Son! I am the image of who He is. In the past, God showed His work through physical things, but I have come so that He can live inside you, and you can live inside Him. But you are too dirty; you are full of sin. So, I will shed my blood to pay the price for your sins. I will wash your souls clean. After that, I will go to the Father and send the Holy Spirit to you. Then, the Holy Spirit will come into your heart, and finally, you and the Father—you and that God—will become one!” This is the promise He made.

It looked like everything was over when Jesus was executed on the cross. But three days later, He rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples just as He had promised. Then, He went up to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit, which is how the church began. This church isn’t just a place that teaches ethics or how to be a good person, like you might think. It is a place that introduces this god to you.

That god has a history of working since a long, long time ago—even from eternity. He is the self-existing god who has been there since forever. And that god wants to be with us. He wants us to be in him, and he wants to be in us. That’s why he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to us. So, through Jesus, we get to know and build a real relationship with the god who introduced and showed himself to us.

If someone asks me, “Who is your god? What kind of god is he?” or if they say, “Ki-taek Lee, who is this god you believe in and talk to? Is he the god of Moses or what? Tell me in one word!”—here is my answer. A man named Jesus died on a cross 2,000 years ago, and there is a god who raised Him from the dead. Death means you can’t live again. It means you can no longer do anything by your own power. When Jesus was performing all those miracles and signs, people said, “That’s just his own power!” But then, Jesus died. He couldn’t do anything anymore. He wasn’t even breathing. A soldier pierced Him with a spear, and all His blood drained out. He was dead. As a human, He couldn’t live again. Yet, He came back to life. Why? Because someone raised Him. That god raised Him. The same god who pulled the Israelites out of Egypt through Moses, the god who built walls of water in the sea so his people could walk through—that is the one who raised Jesus from the dead. And that is the very same god working in the church today.

The god we serve has been in constant conversation with humanity for thousands of years. He has recorded everything—who he is, what he loves, and what he hates. Because of this, I know exactly what he is going to give me. I know it for sure, and I have the evidence to prove it. When you are close to this god, everything he gives is good. He provides this and that for our lives. But do you know the final, greatest, and most important thing he promised me—the one I already hold certain proof of? It is eternal life. It is the resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the dead, I will be resurrected too. And where Jesus is now, I will go as well. That is why I believe in Jesus.

Jesus showed plenty of proof while He was on this earth. He said, “If you believe in me, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and you will perform miracles.” And actually, since I started believing in Jesus, I’ve been casting out demons. I’ve even healed the sick. I had never done anything like it before, but I’ve seen the blind open their eyes. The mute began to speak, and the deaf began to hear. To be honest, I’m not the only one doing this—almost everyone at Sungrak Church who lives a faithful life and truly knows Jesus has had experiences like that. From the very beginning, we were taught that this is what it truly means to believe in Jesus.

Not only our own believers, but countless people all over the world who have come to know Jesus through our teachings are experiencing the same miracles. Just the other day, I received a video from China. It was a scene where a mute person started speaking. We send out our weekly sermons to China, and one of the churches receiving them held a retreat. A mute person came to that retreat, and suddenly, they started saying, “Ye-su gan-xie-ni, gan-xie Ye-su, gan-xie Ye-su!” It means, “Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus!” Everyone around was so overjoyed they were clapping and cheering—it was total chaos. Things like this are happening all over the place.

In other words, this God we are meeting heals our diseases and helps us in our daily lives right here on earth. But He gives us all these things as proof—proof that we will eventually be resurrected. Among the things we can do through this God’s power, one is making other spirits submit to us. The reason I’m not afraid of demons anymore is that they are actually terrified of me. Now, we are the ones who make them surrender. When we command, “Demon, come out! Take all your curses, your cancer, and your depression that you used to torment this person, and get out!”—the demon leaves. This isn’t something that happens just once or twice. We at Sungrak Church experience this all the time.

Everyone, stop contacting the gods of this world. Instead, build a relationship with the god we are introducing—the one who raised Jesus from the dead—and listen closely to what he says. He has already written out the terms and conditions. If you look at those terms carefully and follow them, you will gain eternal life and resurrection. I’m not forcing you to believe, nor am I asking you to believe blindly. Just read the terms and conditions, understand what happens when you believe in this god, and then you can make your own choice.

If you’re someone who says, “Oh, I don’t need eternal life! I’m satisfied with my life right now! I’ll just go to hell!”—then you don’t have to sign up. You don’t have to choose this god. If you pick a god that promises to make you rich, that god might help you make money for about ten years, but in the end, it will drag you down to destruction with it. My cousin, whom I mentioned earlier, ended up going bankrupt and was sent to prison. That god promised to make him happy, but after all those rituals and sacrifices, that’s how it ended.

But our god—this god is truly faithful and keeps his promises. Since he is the only one, we Christians don’t just say, “Oh, our god! Our god!” to describe Him. Instead, we say, “Our God!” because there is only one like Him. So, while we could say, “Our God, the one who raised Jesus from the dead,” since we are among ourselves, we say, “My Father, My God!”

Even if you say, “I haven’t experienced Him yet, so I don’t know if He is really God,” listen closely to who I am introducing. Once you realize that this God isn’t here to harm you but to give you good things, go ahead and sign those terms and conditions. That “signing” is exactly what baptism is. When you are baptized and become one with Him, His destiny becomes your destiny. Your old fate and your old luck disappear, and from then on, His life is your life. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that you all become one with Jesus in this way.

Father God, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, help and inspire these souls to believe that You will also raise us to life. Help them to believe in Your terms that say “whoever believes and in baptized will be saved,” so that they trust, obey, and take part in it. Help them to also experience that You are living. In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ!