2016 – Page 15 – Sungrak Church

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2016.03.06_We are Baptists

March 6, 2016/in 2016 Lord's Day, Ki Dong Kim /by Suna IHM

Senior Overseer Ki-Dong Kim

Outline

[Matthew 3:13-17]

God

is the only true Father.
We have to be baptized (Ac 1:4-)
in order to become His children.
Baptism is not a ritual but an actual experience.
It did not originate from man;
it is the will of God, and His command (Mt 3:13-15).
Though the Man from Nazareth
was born through the Holy Spirit, He was from David’s roots;
He fulfilled righteousness when He was baptized,
and was declared the Son of God (Rm 1:3-4).
As Jesus Christ commanded us(Ac 1:4-)
to be baptized with water and the Holy Spirit,
whoever is baptized
is finally called a child of God,
and the Holy Spirit seals and guarantees this (2 Co 1:21-22).
Our faith is a reality which we experience (Ac 19:1-5),
and it must be guaranteed by the Holy Spirit.
We ought to bury our old self in water
and be born again into a new person by the Holy Spirit.
That is a true Baptist.
○Through baptism, though our flesh remains unchanged,
our status is changed;
we are sanctified.
○Baptism without repentance is nothing more than a ritual,
by which we cannot draw God’s attention
nor receive the forgiveness of sins.
○The person who is baptized
belongs to Jesus Christ
and calls God as his Father.

※The ordinances of the Christian Church are experiences,
not ceremonial rituals.
Let us have God-given faith.

Summary

We are God’s children
God is the only true Father. Everybody has fathers of the flesh and ancestors, and some offer sacrifices to their dead ancestors, hoping that they will bless them. However there is absolutely nothing that the dead can give us. To put one’s trust in the dead is equivalent to being united with an idol, and such a person will ultimately found to be detestable before God.

God is living. He not only created all things, but is still at work in order for the creations to sustain life. He sends the dew and rain upon the earth for the plants to grow, that they may flower and bear fruit in season. The reason we do not entrust ourselves to fate or our dead ancestors but God alone is that God is still living and at work to this today.

We came to believe in Jesus Christ and became children of God. We are not the children of the dead but of the One who is living. Now, we are under His care and nurturing, and believe in the promise that we will later inherit the glory of heaven. Do you take pride in the fact that you believe in Jesus? Do you have the pride of being a child of God?

We have been baptized
When we first came before God, we repented and were baptized according to God’s word. Repentance means to turn and change our way. When a person standing with his back to the sun, turns around towards the sun, his face will brighten up by the sunlight. In the same way, repentance means to turn ourselves towards God. Everyone makes many mistakes. However God does not want us to list out all of our sins, but rather wants us to admit that we are sinners and return to God.

We have repented and received baptism. By being immersed under water, we buried the old carnal man of the sinful nature. Water and earth are of the same nature, and hence burying the dead in the dust of the earth and burying the spiritually dead person under water are equivalent. And as we came up out of the water, we became united with Christ. A person who has been baptized has thus taken part in the Holy Spirit and become a true Christian. There are probably some who feel disappointed to find that their character did not change even after they were baptized. Yet we need to understand that it is not our flesh which has been transformed through baptism, but our spiritual identity.

Baptism is not a ceremonial ritual made by man; it is God’s command. Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was born through the Holy Spirit and came into the world. Therefore He is sinless. Nevertheless, He was baptized before He began doing God’s work. He buried his physical identity as a descendant of David and revealed His identity as the Son of God. As He was baptized and coming out of the water, God said of Him, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”, and thus confirmed that Jesus is the Son of God.

To be baptized means to physically experience the powers of the coming age, that is, the resurrection, and obtain the proof that we are children of God. However, some people refuse to be baptized because they believe their faith is not yet good enough. Though this might appear to be a very humble attitude, it is quite the opposite. The reason we receive baptism is because we admit that we have no merits of our own by which we can be saved. Whoever decides he should be baptized after he first makes up for his deficiency has not actually repented truly. If anyone admits he is a sinner, he should be baptized immediately. Baptism is about confessing, “I have no merits of my own. Thus I rely on the merits of Jesus Christ”.

We are the righteous ones
If we became children of God, it means we have become righteous. People who have committed many mistakes and transgressions may find it hard to accept that they are righteous. But if they have been baptized, they must acknowledge that they are righteous no matter what. They must not hold on to the thought that they are sinners even after they have become children of God. Though we might have many sins and iniquities, we should be able to confess, “Thank you Lord for making me righteous”. Unless we get rid of the idea of being a sinner, our souls cannot be joyful. A person who is condemned by the Law and his conscience will have to go to hell in the end. Thus we have to receive grace. We must be free from the idea of that we are sinners.

Did Jesus ever pray saying, “Father, I’m a sinner”? He was most humble, and yet He never said He was a sinner. The same applies to us also. When did Jesus ever say to us, “You are a sinner”? Of course we still sin though we believe in Jesus. However we also repent and always have a fresh new start, so that we make continuous advancement forward. What is the point of reading the Bible many times over if we cannot escape from having the idea that we are still sinners? God is not the Father of sinners; He is the Father of the righteous.

We will receive the coming Lord
We must take pride in that we are Baptists. Those who are yet to be baptized should not dwell in false humility but quickly be baptized without delay. We are righteous not because we were born as the righteous ones from the beginning but because Jesus Christ made us righteous. Jesus Christ died on the cross and took the punishment for us in our place. Yet if anyone denies His meritorious works and still bears the burden of sin upon himself, he will perish.

Love God all the more. From now on, try to live by Jesus alone and yearn to be used for God’s greater works. If you sinned, love God even more. We have to love God in order to be able to love our neighbors. When the Lord returns, the sinners will be judged while the righteous will meet the Lord with joy. Where will you stand? The righteous ones that love God, that is, everyone who received Jesus as their Savior, will not stand to be judged but stand before the Lord.

Semuon’s Letter

Dear saints, did you read last week’s column I? Please have a read of it once again. The opportunities left for this old man to write or speak are not many.

All my life, I walked a single path. And during the course of that journey, I observed the anguish of many fainthearted, and the conclusion of the lives of the mean and cowardly. Any tree that is uprooted and replanted over and over again can never be healthy or sound. Similarly, God seeks those who do not break their promises with God, and who entrust their lives completely to the Lord.

When a certain woman who was a sinner, broke an alabaster jar of perfume, poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair, those who were with Jesus criticized her and even started to doubt Jesus. However Jesus stood on her side and promised, “Wherever my name is preached, what this woman has done will be told also”. And indeed today, even after thousands of years, what the woman did is being preached together with God’s word of life.

When the world shuns and despises the works of Jesus, God stands on His side to work together with Him. Plant the seed of blessing. Even if the world ignores and turns away from Jesus, uphold His work above your own and receive it in. Studying theology is not only for those who are preparing to become pastors. In fact, that is a matter up to God’s choosing, just as He said. Therefore we need to prepare ourselves in advance until we are chosen by God. We have to be ready in season and out of season, and show our resolve before God. Then one day, God will choose and use some as ministers and missionaries, or others as leading entrepreneurs.

It is important that we prepare ourselves by receiving into our souls the great power and inspiration of God which are at work in Berea Movement, and be ready to be called and sent anywhere, at any moment. Though our church members have a pastor who is powerful, they themselves lack in power, which is quite disappointing.

Berea International Theological Seminary was established by our church, and our seminary rears powerful servants of the Lord like no other educational institution in the world. Nevertheless, I am not fully satisfied. Professors need to be further equipped spiritually. It is frustrating that I’m limited due to my physically weak body, but we need to build up our seminary to be stronger. Currently, almost all students are receiving scholarships. Please study and prepare yourselves while you are young, and become teachers in your latter years. I hope you will be pleasing in God’s eyes. Students, please strive to do your best and become spiritual intellectuals. Thank you.

Pastor Ki-Dong Kim
Lord’s Day Worship Column

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2015 Video

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2016.02.28_Be Ready

February 28, 2016/in 2016 Lord's Day, Ki Dong Kim /by Suna IHM

Senior Overseer Ki-Dong Kim

Outline

[Hebrews 11:17-40]

God

is He who rewards.
He gave faith
to the world
and commanded man to live by this faith,
which is the true righteousness of God (Jn 3:16, 16:10).
While religious perfection can be achieved without faith
and through moral cultivation alone (Mt 5:17-20),
the righteousness of God is the truth
which cannot be attained apart from faith (Gal 3:11).
•Consider the faith of Abraham (He 11:17-19).
•Consider the faith of Isaac (He 11:20).
•Consider the faith of Jacob (He 11:21).
God said He is their God (Ac 7:32).
Consider Moses (He 11:27-30).
He chose to suffer affliction with the people of God
than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
and esteemed suffering disgrace for the sake of Christ greater riches
than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward.
People cannot see this glory
because they fail to demonstrate their faith before God.
The Holy Spirit comes only to help those who are ready (Rm 8:9).
○What have you offered to God in faith?
God is disappointed,
for you do not even heed His words.
○What have you done in faith?
Your love for the world is greater,
that you reject the matters of the kingdom of God.
○How will you live by faith?
Should we not sacrifice even our lives first for His kingdom and His righteousness
to be ready to receive His blessings?

※Do not deceive God.
Do not worry about what to eat, or drink, or wear,
but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

Summary

Work for the reward
God is He who rewards. A reward is not given as grace, because while grace is a gift that one receives apart from his works, a reward is a compensation for one’s efforts. We must believe that God gives not only grace but rewards also. It is impossible to please God without such faith (He 11:6). Jesus was able to please God because He looked to the reward (Mt 3:17).
A great number of Christians today claim they are living a life of faith but are actually focused on following morals and ethics. This is no different to religious people. Man’s own righteousness might receive the approval of people but it is not accepted by God. In God’s eyes, there is no one righteous in this world. For this reason, God sent the righteous One to the world, namely Jesus Christ. He came to the earth and died for us, and we have been saved by His meritorious works. Salvation is not the result of our own efforts; it is a gift from God which He has given us freely. Thus it is called grace. The reason we can go to church every Lord’s Day and worship God is not because we are sinless but because we have been empowered by His grace.
On the other hand, a reward is given when we obey the word of God. Many Christians pray to God out of habit, asking for His blessings. They believe they can receive blessings if they only pray. However, God’s blessing is a form of a reward. Before we ask God to bless us, we need to first examine ourselves whether we have done anything to deserve to be rewarded by God.
If someone won a medal in the Olympics, it demonstrates that the athlete endured through enormous amounts of training and sacrifices more than anybody else. Even though some children appear to be talented in certain areas like sports from a young age, they cannot be the best in that field with talents alone. Among the many talented children that train together every day, only the best gets chosen to represent their school. If they train harder, they may even represent their city. Yet they still have to work harder in order to represent their country and even win a medal in the world arena. The same applies when it comes to being used by God. It is not with our competency or potential that we can be used by God; rather, we have to prepare ourselves through many efforts and sacrifices, to be worthy for God to use.
Even the people of this world strive so hard to receive a reward that does not last. How much more should we exert and ourselves in order to receive a reward from God? it says in 1 Timothy 4:7-8, “Exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come”. Nevertheless, some people fall away again even after they have received the Holy Spirit and tasted the powers of God’s word. This is like as a sprout that withers as soon as it shoots above the ground.

Sacrifice for the reward
God commanded His blessing upon us. His word about keeping the Lord’s Day is also one of the blessings He commanded us. God remembers those who observe the holy day (Num 10:10). Hence anyone who wishes to draw God’s attention will keep the Lord’s Day. However some people neglect the Lord’s Day in order to profit in worldly matters. So how can they ever draw God’s attention? If they cry out to God for His blessings, will God accept them?
Abraham obeyed God in order to be a source of blessing. God said to Abraham, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house. You shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you (Ge 12:1-3). He obeyed the word of God and left his country to become a stranger. Ultimately, Jesus Christ came to the household of Abraham who became a source of blessing, and just as God had said to Abraham, anyone that receives Jesus Christ today is blessed, while anyone that rejects him will be thrown into hell.
In order to become a source of blessing, Abraham obeyed God’s command and offered the son whom he received at the age of a hundred as a sacrifice to God. Isaac also obeyed God and gave tithes. Then Jacob, through his earnest prayer and struggle at Peniel, received God’s blessing. When God introduced Himself, He did not describe Himself as “the God of everyone” but as “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. This is because only those who obey God like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, can be blessed by God. Before anyone blames God for not blessing him, he first ought to examine himself, whether he deserves to receives God’s blessing or not. We must realize that God’s blessing is not given as grace but as a reward.
It is important that our families are used by God. We must ensure our children and descendants to come have a deep longing to be used by God. For some Christians, if their child is bright and clever, they encourage them to pursue worldly dreams. But if their child is not so bright, they think of offering them to be used for God’s work. However, this is surely not the right attitude. We must offer our best to God.
God desires to entrust His blessing and do His work through that person. However, very few people are willing to accept God’s blessings. Hebrews 11:24-26 says, “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward”. At that time, Egypt was the most powerful country in the world. So how great would have been the treasures of Egypt? Nevertheless, Moses gave up his status as the prince of Egypt, and chose to bear sufferings for Christ. Even now, God is seeking those who are able to handle God’s blessings like Moses.
When God comes to our families and knocks on our doors, we should not hesitate but open the door (Rev 3:20). When an angel appeared to Mary and told her of the news that she was going to conceive and give birth to the Son of God, she replied, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word. (Lk 1:30-38). For a virgin to become pregnant at that time meant risking her life, and yet Mary willingly offered her family to God. In the same way, we need to offer our families to God.

Be ready in order to receive a reward
Though some say they want their children to be used by God, they do not make any preparations for this at all. This is the same as people desiring to be rewarded but making no efforts to achieve that. There are many things to be learned in order for us to do the work of God. Nobody knows when God will call those He wants to use. Therefore we must guide and help our children to always prepare themselves and be ready in advance.
Asking God for His blessings is equivalent to asking for a reward. Thus it is necessary for us to examine whether we are worthy to be rewarded or not. We need to ensure we are prepared and ready to be used by God. We should not be found unworthy when God desires to use us. We must look upon ourselves, our families and children with the eyes of God and be ready in advance.
Nowadays, people’s life expectancy is said to be a hundred years. Preparing ourselves to be used by God is not only for the young people. It is possible for God to call and use someone in their old age all of a sudden. So whether we are young or old, we all need to be ready. Whether or not we are financially comfortable, we need to prepare ourselves.
God desires to entrust us with His blessings. The question is whether we are worthy and able to handle His blessings. If we truly love God, then with all of our heart, all of our soul and all of our mind, we must prepare ourselves to be worthy to be used by God. Not only should we be prepared, but our families and children all ought to become the servants that please God.

Semuon’s Letter

The greatest blessing a person can receive in this world as a man of Jesus is to be chosen by God (Jn 15:16). May God’s great inspiration and blessing be upon the man and the family chosen by God.

God chose David and said, “He is a man after My own heart” (Ac 13:22). John the Baptist’s parents had no child even when they were well advanced in years. However, as God had willed, Elizabeth conceived and gave birth to John. The mother of Jesus was just a lowly woman, the word of God came to her and she finally conceived through the Holy Spirit. This was because the virgin obeyed the word of God (Lk 1:31-35, 37-38).

Though people desire to be blessed by God, they are either afraid to love the Lord or obey Him, and as a result, they cannot experience the manifestation of the Holy Spirit (Act 5:32). This is because they believe working for God does not profit their flesh, since the works of God are difficult and involve sacrifice and suffering. Are you not perhaps comparing the matters of the flesh against the matters of God? (Rm 8:5-8).

Berea movement is indeed a great movement, one of the greatest Christian movements since the ascension of the Lord Jesus. It has taken roots over a period of more than half a century through a balance of evangelism, church ministry, mission, theology and writing. How much persecution, scorn and suffering did the movement encounter during that time? Nevertheless, we triumphed, though we put ourselves to death every day.

A young man called Semuon endured through it all and persevered to this day, with a pebble in his mouth. I too have a son, and I do feel heavyhearted and sorry for my descendants. However, the Lord said, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, his father and mother, wife and children. Otherwise he is not worthy of Me” (Mt 10:36-37). He promised that when I obey and do what is worthy in His sight, He would reward me even while I am in this world (Mk 10:29-31). I testify to His words, and you are witnessing the evidence with your own eyes. The Lord foretold us that there will be severe persecution for those who are chosen by the Lord (Ac 9:15-16). Who is willing to stand by His side when the world has so rejected Him? Who will carry the cross for Him, when the world shuns and ignores His works of truth? (Mt 25:31-46).

Please accept the true calling for Berea. As if you are planting a seed, plant this calling deep into your family, and make preparations now so that the seed may sprout from your families even after Semuon passes away from this world. Please don’t regret after the door is shut. Please receive the Lord and do not leave Him alone as a stranger in the streets. “Lord, let me receive You. If it is Your work, I will do it.” With this heart, take the initiative and plant this seed deep within yourself. Though it will be up to the Lord to decide, be ready in season or out of season (2 Ti 4:2). Please enroll at Berea International Theologial Seminary (BITS) and prepare your family to become a family of servants of the Lord.

Theological studies are not necessarily for future pastors only. Though you might be running your own business, if you choose to prepare yourself in order to struggle and stand above the knowledge of this world, God will remember what you have chosen. I truly hope every member in our church will be men of the highest knowledge. Be ready, especially when times are hard…

Pastor Ki-Dong Kim
Lord’s Day Worship Column

2015 Audio

2015 Video

Credits

2016.02.21_The Weightier Matters of the Law

February 22, 2016/in 2016 Lord's Day, Ki Dong Kim /by Suna IHM

Senior Overseer Ki-Dong Kim

Outline

[Matthew 23:23-24]

God

is love.
His concern for the world
is on account of His great will (Mt 6:10).
The will of God is that He loves His Son (Jn 6:39-40),
for whom He created all things (Heb 1:3).
Therefore
when God sent His Son to the world,
He sent Him as the word of God (Jn 1:14).
The Word
is the will of God which was in His bosom (Jn 1:18),
and man has to receive His words as His commandments (Jn 10:17-18).
The Law is God’s word,
and so is the truth,
both of which the foundation is love.
Hence
there must be love in righteousness;
love in mercy;
and love in faith.
Though we know the Law and believe the Gospel, if we have not love,
then we have neglected the great will of God.
○Woe to him who understands the Law perfectly
but has not love,
which is the foundation of righteousness.
○Woe to him who fully accepts the Gospel
but has not love,
which is the foundation of mercy.
○Woe to him who has faith
but has not love,
which is the foundation of faith.

※As warned by Jesus Christ,
let us not neglect the weightier matters of
the Law, the Gospel and faith.

Summary

Obey and persevere in order to receive God’s blessings
God is love. Though He is invisible, He displayed Himself through His exceeding love for His Son. We can somewhat fathom God’s love for His Son through the love parents have for their children. Parents love their children more than their own lives. And God’s love for His Son is exactly the same. Our faith is about understanding that love of God.

It is common where people consider materialistic fortune such as winning the lottery when it comes to blessings. We may often see people asking God for materialistic wealth, only to later abandon their faith in disappointment when they receive no answers from God. We have to understand that the word of God is like a seed that contains God’s blessings. Whoever desired to be blessed must receive that word, for rejecting the word is equivalent to rejecting God’s blessing.

To accept God’s blessing is like planting a seed in the field. God promised Abraham, “I will bless you”, and indeed Abraham received the seed God planted in him. Farmers first plant seeds, in order to later harvest fruits. It requires time and patience for that seed to grow into a tree. In the same way, it is imperative for one to wait and persevere to reap the fruit of God’s blessings.

God does not break His words. He never changes His words but surely fulfills everything He says (Num 23:19). Hence God’s words never disappoint us. We should not doubt God’s words, for to doubt mean to reject God’s blessings. We ought to patiently wait and persevere so that the seed which God planted within us can root itself and grow healthily.

Be a source of blessing, so that our children will be blessed for generations to come
When God promised His blessings, He always said, “You and your children will be blessed” or “Your children will be blessed for a thousand generations”. Though we might not immediately see the fruits of God’s blessings before us, if God’s word roots itself within us as we fellowship with God, one day its fruits will grow, and our children will eat those fruits for generations to come. On the contrary, idolatry is equivalent to planting a seed of curse, and as a result, the children of idolaters will eat the fruits of curse to the third and fourth generations.

Every parent desires their children to be born healthy and be happy. However, there are unfortunate cases where children are born disabled or experience unforeseen accidents, and parents have to bear the agony for the rest of their lives. None of us knows what could happen to us in the future, or who will be born to us. The best choice we can make is to receive God’s blessings. If we become a source of blessing, our children can eat the fruits of blessing for generations to come. The population of Israel is only 8 million, and yet they are able to stand against the neighboring Arab nations with more than 400 million people. Moreover, roughly thirty percent of recipients of the Nobel Prizes to date are Jews. The reason they enjoy these fruits of blessings today is because their forefathers had chosen God’s blessings.

Prove your love for God
If we were to describe the central theme of the Bible in one word, we could say it is relationships. The Bible firstly talks about the father-and-son relationship, which is bound by love and filial piety; secondly, the relationship between husband and wife, which in turn, explains the relationship between Jesus, the groom and the church, His bride; and thirdly, brotherhood, that is, how the saints form one body in Christ. And in all of these relationships, love is emphasized as the most important and fundamental element. The Bible strongly emphasizes that even if we abide by the Law perfectly, it means nothing if we do not know the love of God which is more important than the Law; though we accept the Gospel completely, it means nothing if we have not love for our brothers; and though we have the faith move mountains, it means nothing if we have not love for God.

It may seem foolish in the eyes of the unbelievers in the world, however we give tithes to God because we love God. Tithing is different to the offerings we give to God voluntarily out of our own. If anyone is burdened to tithe, it is because he considered tithes as his own from the very beginning. Tithes belong to God (Mal 3:7). A person who struggles to give tithes properly, will also try to give as little offering as possible to God. The word offering originally has the meaning of “blessing”. When we give offerings with joyful hearts, we are proving and boasting of the fact that we are the blessed ones.

It is very difficult for someone who used to belong to the world to become a Christian. Yet it is neither easy for a Christian to remain faithful until Christ’s return, and enter the wedding banquet with Christ. We need to repent before the door is shut. We have to love God while we still have the chance. People like Judas Iscariot and King Saul who lost their opportunity to love God, took their own lives. We must not neglect the chance God gave us to repent any more. How many times have we challenged God, beginning with robbing Him of what is rightly His? When God gives us His words, we ought to quickly repent and turn back.

Do not neglect righteousness, mercy and faith
When it comes to our faith life, it is vital that we know God’s righteousness. Otherwise, we cannot but live a religious life out of a sense of obligation. The Pharisees’ lives were absolutely spotless, that one could find no fault in them in terms of the Law. However, they did not know the righteousness of God. Righteousness refers to how God demonstrated His love for His Son. Whoever understands this relationship of God and His Son understands God’s righteousness, and such a person can see the glory of God.

God loves us with the love He has for His Son. We must accept that love which God revealed to us. Not only should we, but our children should also be taught about that love. How great is the love people have for their own children? If God gave such love to man as his nature, how much greater will the love of God be? At times, people think they are not being loved by God. However, that fact that God gave us His words to hear and desires to plant those words into our hearts itself proves His love towards us.

In the same way that God revealed His love for us through Christ, we ought to demonstrate our love towards God through the church, the body of Christ. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is like that of husband and wife. This marriage relationship is not a contract agreement that is forced upon, but based on genuine love. That love is not ephemeral; both husband and wife sacrifice themselves for each other. Even though they discover a fault in the other person, they endlessly forgive and maintain their relationship.

What Christ desires from us, His wives, is righteousness, mercy and faith. At the heart of all these is love. Though we might observe the Law perfectly, if we have not love, it is the same as straining out a gnat but swallowing a camel (Mt 23:24). Though a person is outwardly perfect like the Pharisees, it means nothing if he does not receive God’s love; though a person received God’s grace, it means nothing if he does not love the church; and though a person has great faith, it means nothing if he does not love God. We have to understand what God desires from us, and demonstrate our love towards God. To love God is what our faith is about. We must turn away from our unbelief and disobedience before God, and instead love God.

Semuon’s Letter

I’ve had many friends in my life who I’ll never forget, though I won’t name every one of them. However there is a friend I do want to share about. Being a pastor is a very unique and demanding job. People desire pastors to be perfect like god, while a pastor is perceived in the world as but a gentle and refined sage. Thus there is one too many things a pastor has to struggle and overcome on his own, as a mere human being in the flesh.

There is an old fable about a barber who went to give the king a haircut. He was shocked to see the king’s ears for they were like donkey’s ears. He was strictly warned not to tell anyone about having seen the king’s ears; if not, he would be executed. From that day, the barber had to keep this a secret but it became too much for him to bear alone that he fell ill.

One day, a doctor examined his conditions and noticed that it couldn’t be cured with any medicine. So he told the barber, “Go and cry out the secret you have in your heart, into the hole of an old tree stump on a windy day”. The barber did as the doctor prescribed and immediately, he recovered his health.

People can’t keep what they have seen a secret. Instead people can fall ill from trying to hide a secret. Yet a pastor has to live like that barber his whole life. Otherwise he would have to bear severe consequences. What if there is another person like this barber close to the pastor?

A pastor is not a god; he is a man with flesh, an average human being. The only difference is that he lives a holy and devout life on account of his heavenly office. It is difficult since he has to bear the agony by himself, but actually it’s not easy for his close friends either. Still, I couldn’t be happier if there was someone who genuinely knows me to stand in my defense. In the Bible, there is the story of Ham (Canaan) who was eternally cursed along with his descendant, because he couldn’t keep it to himself but told his brothers how he saw Noah’s nakedness. This demonstrates how significant a subordinate person’s conduct can be.

Elder Kwi-Il Cho was first employed as the church bus driver 36 years, and finally became ordained as deacon and then an elder. During those 36 years, he was with me every single day except when I was overseas, but now he has left my side due to his old age. I want to commend him, for he was not just an employee of the church but had a sense of ownership. He was a true steward indeed.

As one who attended to every matter that concerned my residence and family, as well as my every move as a pastor, he was most faithful and knew how to keep silent. There’s probably no pastor, lay minister or deacon who haven’t received a scolding from elder Cho at least once, not because of his character, but because he had a real sense of ownership of the church.

He indeed brought me great joy. I hope we would all have this sense of ownership.

Pastor Ki-Dong Kim
Lord’s Day Worship Column

2015 Audio

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