semuon’s letter – Page 48

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2015.05.10_Prayer, the Response to Persecutions

in 2015 Lord's Day, Ki Dong Kim

Senior Overseer Ki-Dong Kim

Outline

[Acts 4:23-31]

God
is living,
thus
He fulfilled His will through Jesus Christ (Jn 6:38-39).
The creation of the world and mankind (Gen 1:1)
was God fulfilling His own will (Gen 1:31).
As a fruit’s outer skin is discarded eventually,
He will destroy the universe once He obtains the fruit (Matt 3:10)
Out of mankind that filled the earth,
He chose only one man Adam (Gen 2:7);
out of the many living souls on the earth
He chose only Abraham (Gen 12:1-2);
out of the numerous descendants of Abraham
He chose only David (Acts 13:22);
and out of them He chose the Offspring of the woman,
namely Immanuel, the Son of Man (Matt 1:21-23).
The Lord Jesus was persecuted and crucified
because He is not of the world
but of Heaven (Jn 15:18-19).
Since we are of Him, we suffer with Him,
that we may live by the Holy Spirit.

○Those who are of Jesus Christ
walk with Him forever
and receive persecutions with Him also.

○What we ought to do before our persecutors is
to demonstrate the characteristic of Jesus Christ,
which is to be equipped with the power of Jesus.

○Those who are of Jesus
rely on Him by the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
For this, there is nothing but to pray in one accord.

※Let us pray. Let us pray out loud.
Let us deliver our prayers and receive answers.
Miraculous signs and wonders are the answers.

Summary

Possess the righteousness by believing Jesus Christ

God is living. Without fail, He continues to do His works. Just as time never stops, His works continue without end. He created the heavens and the earth and humanity, and out of the countless people that filled the earth He chose Adam. Likewise, from the midst of Adam’s numerous descendents, God chose Abraham, through whom He ultimately sent Jesus Christ. Thus, we must carefully observe the works God is performing through Jesus Christ in these last days.

God’s works can be understood fully through Jesus Christ alone. God did not grant us a religion to believe, but His son Jesus Christ . By faith in Jesus Christ, we have been deemed righteous and become children of God. However, many people pursue religious beliefs, where they establish and seek their own righteousness. Such people will perish in the end like the Pharisees, who endeavoured to abide by the Law but fell away. Thus, we must remember the teachings of Jesus that, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:20).

God does not judge a man by his outward appearances, but by the presence of God’s righteousness within him. In order for us to receive the righteousness of God, we must believe in Jesus, for this is our faith. As written in the Bible, ‘Eat, drink and be clothed with Jesus´ means we should possess the righteousness of God. People who seek to establish their own righteousness by following their convictions can only grow further away from God. Regardless of how good their ideas are, if they are sourced from fleshly minds, they are adverse to God. Above all, God seeks for us to receive grace in Jesus Christ.

Those who honour God’s word must be ready for persecutions.

God cannot be seen. Given this reality, one may ask how we can place our hopes in Him. This can be achieved by seeking His words with a great sense of honour. In John 1:1, it is written, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. How can people who honour God neglect the words of God, or the people who acknowledge the words of God overlook the Bible? This is the reason why we must honour the Bible and follow the words contained in the Bible.

It is not strange for people, let alone churches, that persistently try to live by the Bible to be pressed by persecutions. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Jn 15:18).

Even if we were to combine the number of Christians who have been taken up from this world with the number of believers today, the number of unbelievers within the same time frames would be unparalleled. Furthermore, if we were to only account for the number of people who live a true life of faith according to the Bible without the pursuance of doctrines, this comparison would reveal a stark difference. Therefore, the persecutions towards the minority should not be considered strange.

Though the persecutions towards Christians cover the earth, these levels will continue to increase throughout the future. It is written in Revelations 20:4, “And I saw the thrones, and they sat on them and judgement was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years”. Those who possess the hope for the first resurrection should not attempt to avoid persecutions, but rather brace themselves and be ready to be beheaded .

Amid persecutions, seek the power to confirm the words of God.

When the disciples in Jerusalem were confronted with persecutions, they prayed, “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus” (Ac 4:27~30).

When confronted with persecutions, the disciples did not become faint but confessed that everything was the work of God’s will. They firmly held onto the Word of God for His will to be fulfilled in them. Had they denied Jesus, nobody would have persecuted them. Had they undermined the Holy Spirit by simply following doctrines, there would have been no persecutions. Resultantly, God’s will would never have been fulfilled in their lives.

Even upon such persecutions the disciples were not shaken. Rather, they earnestly sought the manifestations of the powers that followed the Word. They knew just how futile it would be if they could not experienced the power of the Word during their times of persecution. Likewise, we are in the same position. Should we follow the instructions of the Bible, we must be able to witness the powers that accompany the words of God. Be it the persecutions of the world or religious churches, we must witness the confirmation of God’s words by His promised powers. Amidst persecution, we must not flee but rather confront and overcome them.

May the words of God, the blood of Jesus and the Holy Spirit become spiritual sense.

If we hope to be considered honourable in the face of persecutions, we must have a faith that is in line with the Bible. Thus, when we receive the words of God, we must receive them into our spirit, that is, allowing the words to become a spiritual inspiration. This does not imply that when you receive the words of God, you will feel a static pulse through your body. Instead, it to possess spiritual sense through the God’s word means that these words remain in us by reigning in our lives.

We must have spiritual sense that is by the blood of Jesus together with the inspiration of the Word. People without the inspiration of the blood are constantly seized by anxiety and guilt. These people have a misconstrued tendency to think that their sins are the cause for their child tripping over or the distress of their husband’s company for example. However, we must realise that the punishment of sin is not to be inherited in this world, but eternally in Hell. One’s capacity to succeed/fail is based on how their conditions and environments are utilised, irrespective of whether they are a Christian or a non-believer. Some people think, ‘If I do this, I may be cursed!’ and are seized by the fear of such occurrences. We must realise that we were originally doomed to receive the punishment for our sins, but by the grace of Jesus who bore our sins on the cross, we are now receiving the eternal love of God. This blessing is not the result of anything we have done but purely by God’s grace imparted on us in Jesus Christ.

People with the spiritual sense of the blood of Jesus have the full knowledge of Jesus’ deeds that saved them and the righteousness that now dwells in them, which in turn, becomes a comforting assurance. The devil continually provokes us by declaring, ‘I know you are a sinner. You ARE a sinner’. However, we must boldly claim, ‘I am forgiven. I have been made righteous’. This type of faith is also necessary in order for us to successfully deliver our prayers to God. We cannot deliver our prayers with a doubtful mind that questions, ‘Would God listen to a sinner like me?’

Finally, the spiritual sense of Holy Spirit cannot be neglected. The Holy Spirit has entered us and we must allow Him to work freely. 1 Corinthians 12:7~10 states, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues”. People with the spiritual sense of the Holy Spirit can certainly possess these gifts and powers. Whilst people that use God for their personal desires ultimately become enemies of God, people that offer their lives for the will of God will be cherished and nurtured by the God.

As persecutions come, we must be filled with the words of God, the blood of Jesus and the Holy Spirit all the more. It is the Spirit that gives life, not the flesh (Jn 6:63). Do not seek God’s help simply for the wellbeing of your flesh, but for the growth and continual benefit of your soul. We must have boldness by acknowledging that our souls have put on the white robes (Rev 7:14). Leaving the church because it is receiving persecution is not a choice made for the sake of the spirit. We must neither deny Jesus before even the rooster crows, nor hide when we need to proclaim Jesus. Instead, we must boldly face persecutions and overcome them. We must earnestly seek God’s power. We must take after the words of the Bible. We must kneel before the words of God.

Semuon’s Letter

Beloved Sungrak saints!
I, Semuon, believe in God who loves your souls.
I also believe in the Son of God, Jesus Christ whom God has sent. And with the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I exhort you.

Until now, we have continued the movement of returning to the Bible in order to live according to God’s word. Because of this movement, we were misunderstood and condemned. However, the stronger the persecution, the more we tried to keep the Bible as the example of our faith and spiritual lives. We gave our lives to strictly abide by the Bible.

Thus, we did not allow not even a little for our faith and spiritual lives to drift away from the Bible
because that would be walking the opposite road of our Sungrak Church.

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me”
(John 15:4).

Semuon only walked the straight path for over half a century as a Berean. Finally, I have led the original lectures and teachings of Berea and Berea Academy. The reason for building Berea International Theological Seminary School was to perfect the faith without any misunderstanding biblically and theologically. Hence, our church should never stray from the boundary of this original teaching. Do you know how Sungrak Church has come this far today? Merely teaching is not the best method. Being a ‘Doer of Berea’ is the best.

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:28-30).

Therefore, I advise you for I am concerned. The fact that Bereans are diligently educating and encouraging saints to apply in their lives is surely a joyful work. However, departing and neglecting the functions of the church for something unrelated to the church cannot be accepted. I, Semuon as the senior overseer, have already appointed the overseer and delegated the ministry and the movement of returning to the Bible to him. Thus, even if certain positions have been appointed by the senior overseer in the past must be reappointed to be accepted by the current overseer.

The head of the church is Jesus Christ, and the church is His body. If a branch of the vine is cut off, then it immediately dries up and withers. Likewise, if the church does not agree to be under the current overseer’s jurisdiction, then the church would also wither away. ‘Doers of Berea’ is defined as ‘the more saints learn the Bible, the more saints must be loyal to the life of church as it is written in the Bible.’ If not, the fruits they bear would be completely unrelated to the church.

Our Sungrak Church members know that they must be loyal to the church with the overseer being the center. Thus, the revivals and private meetings that are not acknowledged or confirmed by the church is definitely unrelated to the church (The teaching and faith of the leaders in the meeting cannot be verified.). For the lecturers who diligently teach should not deceive people in lies, acting as though they have directly received the word. Instead, I encourage you to visit and have your teaching verified by the original source, the Berea Academy.

Wake up, Sungrak members! There should not be any breaking away from the policy of the church and wandering around. I ask you to cooperate with the church so that my heart and soul does not ache. Only the faith of the one who has become one body with the church can be approved and acknowledged.

Pastor Ki-Dong Kim
Lord’s Day Worship Column

2015 Audio

2015 Video

Credits

2015.05.03_Tonight Before the Rooster Crows

in 2015 Lord's Day, Ki Dong Kim

Senior Overseer Ki-Dong Kim

Outline

[Matthew 26:31-35]

God
is true.
He
keeps every promise for His name’s sake (Heb 9:15-16),
and His name is hallowed (Matt 9:6).
The Son of Man is
the Word which became flesh (Jn 1:14).
Every word of God is a promise (Jn 15:7).
Since God alone is self-existing
and all the worlds come from Him (Heb 11:3),
without His word nothing exists.
Our faith
is a promise towards God, hence it cannot change.
Our faith confession
means an everlasting promise to God (Jn 11:25-26).
However
if we break that promise, we are sinning willfully (Heb 10:26).
Thus we must also honor that promise forever (Ps 15:4).
If one still does not love Jesus in spirit (Jn 4:23-24),
he is unable to keep his promise for a single day.
We must confess our faith by the Holy Spirit.

○Before the rooster crows, are you not ashamed
of knowing Jesus the Galilean?
You will overcome if you know Him by the Holy Spirit.

○Before the rooster crows, are you not ashamed
that you are friends with Jesus?
You will overcome when you are by the Holy Spirit.

○Before the rooster crows, are you not afraid
that you are of the company of Jesus
You will overcome when you are united with Him by the Holy Spirit.

※Before a new day dawns,
do not deny Jesus even once,
but have the faith blessed in the Holy Spirit.

Summary

A world full of lies.

God is truthful. It is because of this reality that we are able to believe in Him and receive life. Hence, there is no lie found in Him. When God commanded, “Let there be light!” light came to be; and when He said, “Let there be an expanse!” it was so. In essence, every word spoken by God was fulfilled, for His words cannot be revoked. Even at His expense, He will always accomplish what He has spoken.

In the midst of the world we live in, we see many acts of unfaithfulness, those of which in their excessive inundation have stimulated a life that is difficult to abide by. Likewise, pastors contain immeasurable amounts of grief because of the many times they have been deceived. Many people have become involved in the church, where they joyfully receive grace and claim to faithfully remain in their faith lives. However, as a ship tied loosely by a cleat at the harbor will eventually recede into the ocean, many people have neglected their promises and left the church.

Hoping and waiting are essential elements in our life of faith. If we claim to truly love God, we must be able to trust in His promises by waiting patiently, for He is the “First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Rev 22:13). Thus, from everlasting to everlasting, His permeating words are fulfilled without fail or change. As for us, our duty is to believe in the certainty of God’s promises and simply remain faithful in patience.

The Lord speaks of Judas Iscariot, stating that “It would be better for him if he had not been born” (Mt 26:24), for he had known that Judas would betray him for thirty silver coins. Likewise, we must realize that God may still claim, ‘though at this moment you call on my Name, you will fall away on account of me’.

God does not demand righteousness from any humans. Had there been even one righteous person among us, Christ would never have died on the cross. The Bible clearly reveals that there is not one righteous person among us (Ro 3:10), for humans in their sinful minds are hostile to God (Ro 8:7). Nevertheless, we have been called righteous solely because God has given us His faith. It is unfortunate however that people do not know how to hold on to this God-given faith and wait.

People under the reign of the devil

The reason why people are constantly being deceived and similarly participating in the act of deceiving is because they follow the ways of the Devil. In the book of Ephesians 2:1-2, it is written, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient”. When Adam ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, God asked Adam, Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?” To this Adam replied, “The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree and ate it”. God then spoke to Eve, “What is this you have done?” She replied, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate”. At this, God said to the serpent, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers”. The Devil caused the corruption of man through his lies.

In 1 John 3:8, it is written, “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.” Many people make promises to do something whilst thinking to themselves, ‘I’ll do this for now, but let’s see what happens later on’. Jesus spoke of the devil as ‘the father of lies’ (Jn 8:44). After the devil placed the thought of selling Jesus in Judas Iscariot’s mind, it did not leave him. Even to the point of calling Jesus, “Rabbi”, and kissing Him, the thoughts did not elude him. Similarly, the reason why people lie is because they are being governed by the devil.

The acts of denying the Lord

Jesus said to His disciples, “This very night, you will all fall away on account of me”, to which Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will”. However, Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times” (Mt 26:35).

The words, ‘before the rooster crows’ indicates today (before the dawning of tomorrow). Though the sun may not yet have set, the moment the rooster crows, the next day is said to have started. In this way, the rooster’s call is a standardized means of dictating the start of a new day. Thus, when Jesus declared, “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times,” it is a way of saying, “before tomorrow, you will disown me three times”. This is a statement Jesus is making to all humanity.

When Jesus was being interrogated in the courtyard of the high priest, Caiaphas, some people said to Peter, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee”. To this, Peter replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about”. Moments after, another person proclaimed, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth”. At that time, people called Jesus a ‘Nazarene’ so as to lower Him, for it was a place of insignificance that was not even mentioned by prophets. Hence, when Jesus’ disciple, Nathaniel, first heard the news about Jesus he proclaimed, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”

When Peter heard the people’s claim that he was with Jesus of Nazareth, he refuted with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” Shortly after, another came and questioned him, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away”. At this, Peter began to call down curses on himself as he solemnly denied Jesus. Immediately, the rooster crowed and Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken, ”Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times”. In recalling this, he went outside and wept bitterly (Mt 26:69-75).

Similarly, there are many situations where we deny Jesus in our lives. Whilst worship is a time of coming before God and ‘kissing’ Him, our spirits must have the desire to wait upon the Lord with a heart of earnestness. However, some people, when faced with sudden events occurring on Sundays think to themselves, “Every week of the year I attend church. Surely, missing out once is fine”, and the same circumstances arise with the duty of offerings. Though they confess their love for God constantly, when the time comes for offering, it is as if they neglect God by relentless claim, “I do not know you”.

We are people who have established a covenant with God. Baptism in itself is the establishment of a covenant with God. We as people who have established this covenant, must not disregard God. Jesus taught us to pray. “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name (Mt 6:9). We do not simply pray in this way, but through our lives, the name, Jesus, is to be blessed as holy. Within the Ten Commandments, the third commandment stipulates, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name” (Ex 20:7). Though all sins can be forgiven, sins regarding the misuse of God’s name receive no forgiveness. Regarding this, Hebrews 10:26 states, “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left”. As people who have received the name of God and henceforth been saved, shall not deny the name of God.

Many people deny the Lord based on reasons of time and finances. Though with their lips they cry, “Lord! Lord!” their hearts are far from God. God clearly asserts that for these people, there is no room for these people in the kingdom of God (Mt 7:21) and thus, we must change our ways before tomorrow comes. People who swear not to betray the Lord, should not deny Him before the evening fades. Before the rooster crows, we must turn our hearts that had strayed back towards God.

The need for spiritual sense in order not to deny the Lord before tomorrow comes

Spiritual sense is an intrinsic element in our lives of faith. What is spiritual sense? Moments before Elijah was taken away from this world, Elisha followed him diligently. When he was asked what he wanted, he replied to Elijah, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit” (2 Ki 2:9). This reference to spiritual sense is not simply an emotion, nor a sensation in our bodies. When Jesus’ mother, Mary, heard the news of her conception, she asked the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” to which the angel replied, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God. For no word from God shall be void of power.” (Lk 1:34-38, ASV). When God’s words enter our souls, it becomes a spiritual inspiration. People who have this spiritual inspiration are moved and henceforth, driven by the words. Regardless of how many times a person reads the Bible, unless he is governed by the words of God in the Bible, he does not have spiritual sense.

We have drunk the blood of Jesus, and to commemorate this, we take the Lord’s Supper. Jesus’ blood has become a spiritual sense within us. Jesus’ blood has become the atonement for our sins because there is life in His blood. Since we were forgiven of our sins through the blood, we have been made righteous before God and hence became God’s heirs together with Christ. Jesus’ blood thus gives us the spiritual sense to become heirs of God. For this reason, there is no need to think about the Lord’s suffering to force tears when we take the Lord’s Supper. We should instead be thankful that we have become God’s heirs through that blood, and have hope.

When Jesus commanded, “Eat my flesh”, many of the disciples who had followed him for a number of years fled, for they could not understand his words. This is because they lacked the spiritual sense to understand. Nevertheless, we must eat the flesh of Jesus, for this is how we can reap eternal life, which in turn, will allow us to resurrect and enter the kingdom of God. Thus, we must have the flesh of Jesus become spiritual sense within us.

Without spiritual sense, we cannot deliver our prayers to God. In regards to prayer, Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you”. If God’s words do not become spiritual sense, our earnest prayers will have no value. Whilst many people pray for the concerns of what we eat and drink, Jesus stated, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Mt 6:33-34).

Tomorrow is not like today. When tomorrow comes, we will suddenly transform into an imperishable body and come to see the Lord. Before this day comes, we must not deny the Lord. A boat must be tied effectively at the cleat of a harbor, so as to prevent it from receding into the ocean. Though Jesus said, “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me”, we must seek this spiritual sense so as to not deny him. We must have the true faith that will never deny the Lord in any circumstances.

Semuon’s Letter

As we completed the construction of Singil Sanctuary in 1992,
we planted Chinese quince trees to the right and Chinese juniper trees to the left of the building.
After 20 years have passed, the trunks of the trees surely have thickened. We planted both types of trees because its fragrance is aromatic. During my childhood in hometown, I remember climbing Wolsan mountain and noticing the pleasant scent of Chinese quince trees that were planted in the neighbor’s yard. Chinese juniper trees planted on an embankment of my uncle’s field emanated delightful fragrance that I used to call it, ‘the fragrance of my hometown.’

Also, in my youthful days, I remember going to the five-day flea market that sold various items. Among the products sold, this one seller cut the juniper tree trunks into logs or thin slices with a sharp knife. For each ancestral rite, people would burn incense and place the tree pieces on top. Then along with the white smoke, its strong smell would permeate the room. It was more of an odor than a fragrance. Because I hated this smell, while I led my ministry, I stopped my church members from burning this incense and place chrysanthemum flowers in front of the portrait of the deceased instead. Chrysanthemum flowers were rare to find back then, but we searched different places to use them to replace the incense burning. Yet, nowadays, I see ivory chrysanthemum flowers being used in all funeral homes.

My father passed away when I was sixteen years old. Soft hail fell from the sky that night. The chrysanthemum flowers that my father planted by the stone wall had bloomed, but they were slightly covered by the soft hail. I shook the snow off with a stick and its yellow floral leaves showed itself. On the third day of the funeral, I picked a handful of chrysanthemum flowers and placed them in front of my father’s grave. Maybe because of the cold weather, the flowers endured for long without withering away. I applied ‘placing of the chrysanthemum flowers’ for funerals in my ministry because I remembered leaving those flowers by my father’s grave.

The fragrance that emanates from Chinese quince and juniper trees planted by both sides of the church is the fragrance of my hometown. In spiritual aspect, it meant ‘the fragrance of Christians.’ I always kept this meaning to myself, but now I would like to share with you all. Just as the pleasing fragrance that these trees send forth, we all must diffuse stronger fragrance than the trees for the Lord has said, “You are the fragrance of Christ.” He probably said this because the scent from the tree and its fruits were delightful to the Lord as well.

Did I emanate the fragrance of Christ throughout my life? Just as the aromatic scent of the fruits to the right and trees to the left of our church, I hope for our church to be pleasing to the Lord that brings forth pleasurable fragrance. Not because anybody instructed us, but I hope for all of our faith to follow through on this.

Pastor Ki-Dong Kim
Lord’s Day Worship Column

2015 Audio

2015 Video

Credits

2015.04.26_The Spirit of Truth

in 2015 Lord's Day, Sung Hyun Kim

Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim

Outline

[John 16:16-22]

God
is the source of Truth and every blessing.
He gave the Gospel
in order for man to know this and have eternal life.
The Gospel is our faith (Mark 1:1).
The Gospel is God’s promise
to save and give eternal life to mankind,
which was preached to all
who have been called (Acts 2:38-39).
For the sake of the Gospel,
the blood and resurrection of Jesus was preached (Jn 11:25-26).
For this,
the Helper Holy Spirit operates.
He is the Spirit of God (1 Cor 3:16-17)
who abides in us (Jn 7:38-39)
Furthermore,
He confirms the faith of those who believe in God
and is helping His saints in the world (2 Cor 1:21-22)
knowing their suffering.
Our faith is a reality.
Our faith must be made complete by the Holy Spirit.

○Faith that goes beyond the Holy Spirit is dead
and merely a religion.
Our faith is a reality.

○We should not doubt what we believe,
nor overstep the Holy Spirit,
but be spiritual by the Holy Spirit.

○Let us believe as God has willed
and be transformed as God desires.
This is our faith.

※Faith is not a religion.
It is God’s gift
and the proof of an everlasting covenant.

Summary

Significance of the Holy Spirit

God is the source of Truth and every blessing. He is the only One who can and who actually desires to bless mankind. He desires to give what He has abundantly according to His perfect blueprint. In other words, He helps man overcome his limitations and weaknesses in order that he might receive what God is giving.

Out of everything God gives us, the Gospel is the most important. He Himself came to deliver that Gospel to us, and made it possible for us to actually receive that through experience. Hence we have received salvation and the right to enter Heaven.

God revealed Himself through His only begotten, Jesus Christ, and witnesses Him through the Holy Spirit. So in order to know God, we must know Jesus Christ; and in order to know Jesus Christ, we must rely on the Holy Spirit. God saved us through Jesus Christ, and for us to hold on to our salvation until we enter Heaven, God helps us by the Holy Spirit. Whoever wants to come before God must rely on Jesus Christ, and to be led by Jesus Christ, he must receive the Holy Spirit’s help. In short, nobody go before God without the help of the Holy Spirit.

Despite such significance of His role, not all Christians actually honor the Holy Spirit. With their lips they might acknowledge His existence and honor Him in their prayers, but in reality, they do not give Him any room to do His work. Perhaps they regard Him as a mere accessory to God.

Whoever desires to go to Heaven has to depend on the Holy Spirit wholly. Some people argue, “Isn’t it right to say that a person doesn’t have to receive the Holy Spirit to be saved?” That is correct. People can still receive the forgiveness of sins and obtain life, even if they have not received the Holy Spirit because the One who died on the cross is not the Holy Spirit. However, underestimating the importance of the role of the Holy Spirit by fixing oneself upon such argument is the same as ignoring the order of God’s plan, which will ultimately devastate their eternal life. We must keep in mind that even God does not disregard the Holy Spirit’s operation, nor does Jesus Christ go beyond it.

The Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit

Before we go on to looking at the importance of the Holy Spirit’s role, there is one thing we need to clearly understand, and that is, if anyone is of Christ, the spirit of Christ is in him. Through the death of His flesh, Christ paid the price of sin that our souls were meant to pay; and by His resurrection He gave us the spirit of Christ. This did not come about by merely becoming aware or grasping some kind of notion. Jesus’ life does not come inside us simply through our awareness of some particular concept. Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (Jn 6:53). One must have the experience of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of Man in order to possess the life that is in Jesus.

Then what does it mean to eat and drink the flesh and blood of the Son of Man? John 5:25 says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.” The spiritually dead mankind needs to hear the voice of the Son of God in order to live, because faith comes from hearing (Ro 10:17). So verse 24 says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” The moment we hear the Gospel and believe, our souls are moved from death to life, which is the spirit of Christ coming into us.

The spirit of Christ is not the Holy Spirit. Unlike the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ is not a person; it refers to the spiritual essence of the life that is in Jesus. The spirit of the Adamic man is a living spirit, while the spirit of Christ is the life-giving spirit (1Co 15:45). When Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (Jn 6:63), it was the life-giving spirit He was referring to.

Jesus is the Word which became flesh. To eat and drink the flesh and blood of the Son of Man means to receive the Word that became flesh, and believe in His works. The reason we can eat and drink Jesus’ flesh and blood is because He suffered in His own body. For us to eat and drink His flesh and blood means we accept the merits of His death and resurrection. This is how we abide in Him and He in us.

The fact that we have been brought to life through the life-giving spirit is not just a perception but a reality. Therefore having the spirit of Christ in us should not be taken in an abstract sense. Is it possible for some notion in our minds to become the condition for our salvation? If it was, that would suggest that people with memory loss due to health problems could lose their salvation. Salvation is not an abstract notion but a fact and an inerasable experience. This is the reason we can humble ourselves on the earth as we head confidently towards eternal life.

If the Holy Spirit Did Not Indwell Us…

One day Jesus said to His disciples, “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart” (Jn 16:5-6). The disciples were in shock and lost for words to hear that Jesus was going away. Their hearts were overshadowed with despair because they did not realize what Jesus was about to do. So then Jesus told them, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (Jn 16:7). What was going to happen when the Helper Holy Spirit comes for Jesus to say this?

No mother would ever say to her newborn baby, “Do you know how hard it was to birth you? From now on, you’re going to have to look after yourself.” Children need the care of a mom. Mom has to do all kinds of things for her baby throughout day such as feeding and changing diapers. That does not mean that a baby cannot survive without receiving mom’s love. As long as food and clothing are provided, the baby will survive. However, people who grow up without their mom’s warm touch and gentle care are likely to have troubled personalities. These people tend to have a defensive attitude towards others, and because they never received tender care and attention from other people, they struggle in giving attention and care to others. They regard it a loss for them to show kindness or service to others, but moreover, they have trouble appreciating and cheerfully accepting favor and kindness from others.

Jesus paid the heavy price by bearing all kinds of suffering and made us God’s children. So how precious are we to God? Now, would Jesus abandon us saying, “Do you know what I had to go through to make you become God’s children? From now on, you have to live on your own”? If Jesus did really treat us that way, our souls would probably fall into trouble before He returns.

If Jesus had simply disappeared from the disciples’ sight without a word 2,000 years ago, it would not have been easy for them to follow His will to the end. The same goes for us. Though we have obtained the glorious citizenship of Heaven, if Jesus is not near us to care for us, we cannot experience any transformations and development both inwardly and outwardly. We would still be tainted in our old temperament, habits and frame of mind, unable to use our lives to prepare for the Kingdom of Heaven.

If the Holy Spirit does not indwell and help us, we cannot successfully worship God; whether we pray or give service, they would all be void of God and we would only be trying to follow our moral conscience. We would neglect matters such as storing our treasures in Heaven which is only possible by the inspiration of God, let alone think about resisting the Devil. We would not obey God’s word that came from His own lips, and forsake His word at the slightest difficulty.

When we continue to live separated from God in this way, the fact that God’s life came inside us would turn into a long distant memory. Then, the dividing work of the Devil would only increase, and the demons would become even more vicious in their operations to torment our flesh and cause sicknesses. Despite such circumstances, the church will be left without any provision of God’s power and gifts to solve all the problems on its own.

Jesus commanded us to love one another, which does not imply that we do only if we can. He called this brotherly love “a new command” and so emphasized it that it was almost as if it replaced the Law. That is because this is essential to the church’s continual existence and growth. However if the Lord is not near us, we would follow the old rough habits and ways of our former days in the world inside the church too, resulting in all sorts of irresponsible and low conduct and behaviors. And if somebody is evangelized to the church under these circumstances, s/he would feel doubtful as to whether they want to associate with such people and leave. These awful scenarios that remind us of the verse, “in the end times the love of many will grow cold,” are possible if we suppose that the Lord is not near us.

The Holy Spirit’s Teaching and Guidance for Each Person

What if Jesus had not ascended to Heaven and still remained on the earth? It would be impossible for Him to care for each and every Christian throughout the world. When He was on the earth, even the disciples, apart from Peter, John and James did not get many chances to be beside the Lord. So what about the countless Christians from all the nations around the world in the present time? If Jesus had remained in Jerusalem, most people would never get the opportunity to even shake His hands, other than those near Jerusalem who are likely to be the ones holding ecclesiastical authority. Jesus desired to look after each and every soul by sending the Holy Spirit from Heaven, and thus nurture us better than He did His disciples while He was on the earth. That is why He said, “It is to your advantage that I go away.”

Though people were able to take Him away when He was on the earth, they cannot any more. The Lord, whom we could only see from afar in the past, now abides in each of us individually. Hence He is truly our Lord. But that is not only for this present time, for He promised to be with us to the end of the age (Mt 28:20), the promise of Immanuel.

After the resurrection, Jesus stayed on the earth for forty days, and this was a most critical time for His disciples. Having witnessed His resurrection, they believed Him as the Son of God and were saved. Nevertheless, they still did not know much about Jesus Christ, and so those forty days were very significant to them. During that time, they came to comprehend the Scriptures as well as understand the works of Jesus Christ and God’s heart for sending Him. It was like a dream for them to walk together with God who had come down to the earth during those forty days, as if they were on honeymoon. It was a time when Jesus personally met the souls who were saved, to teach and guide them. The reason He sent us the Holy Spirit is to lead and guide all the believers in the same way.

Be Trained and Used by the Holy Spirit

There is another important thing we need to understand. When the Holy Spirit descended in Jerusalem, the Jews had been trained by the Law over 1,500 years. Hence they were already disciplined in self-control, patience, kindness, obedience and so on. So even young children were able to hold back their tears and suppress themselves from crying when they got hurt. These people became better-trained after meeting Jesus, and later received the Holy Spirit. In contrast, we the Gentiles are lagging behind them considerably.

Since Jesus told us to preach the Gospel to all the nations, we must obey His word. However in order for us to work to the measure of the Jewish Christians, a great deal of effort is necessary. By being transformed under the tender care and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we need to become a bigger and finer vessel than the Jews. Just as Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:29), we need to be changed in our characters that the Holy Spirit may use us. We must conduct ourselves by the guidance of the Holy Spirit instead of conforming to the desires of our flesh as we did in the past. Only when we do so will the church grow, and after that be able to preach the Gospel to all the nations.

Each of us needs to carry our own cross and lead a public ministry. If we have hope in the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, we must have a public ministry. For the Jews, they always remembered and dedicated for the temple, even though they were not near God. But now, God abides within us and wants to fulfill His will through us. Therefore, we need to be used by God so that God’s will is fulfilled swiftly. God will later reward us according to what we have done. Just because we have been saved, we must not be conceited and remain stationary, nor is it proper for us to think of going to Heaven at this very moment. The Holy Spirit wants to nurture and use our souls which Jesus has saved through such tremendous cost.

Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth has come, He will glorify Me” (Jn 16:13-14). He also said, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. At that day you will know that I am in You and you in Me” (Jn 14:18-20). This does not mean that the Holy Spirit will pop up in our thoughts once in a while. The Holy Spirit enables us to experience. The experiences we have through the Holy Spirit will teach and nurture us, and also lead us to the eternal kingdom. We need to humbly follow the Holy Spirit’s teaching and guidance. The Lord’s words which said, ‘It is to your advantage that I go away’, should be fulfilled in us.

Semuon’s Letter

Beloved Sungrak saints!
We have been born again by the blood of the Holy God, and He has called us righteous so that we can call Him our Father. We now run toward the goal of resurrection.

Seoul Sungrak Church is the only church in the world that began the Berea Movement. God has given the Bible to the church that was bought by God’s blood. However, we have wept much and experienced great hardship because the many Christian churches have become distant with the Bible. Yet, we walked with determination even through persecution and disdain. For the past century, we dedicated ourselves to God, returning to the Bible so that we may resemble it.

Though such dedication was difficult, we gave our best to become the leader of the world with all of our strength. And as we can see, our church left great records of signs and wonders that can proudly be displayed to the world. What other church could have worked as diligent as our Sungrak Church today? From a saint to a pastor, everyone dedicated themselves with all of their heart and strength to build Berean’s churches in many places. It was a true mission. The construction for the Christian World Mission Center was finally completed, and the Leaders Center was built. And when our dream, the learning institute of Berea International Theology Seminary, is finally constructed, then our preparation would be complete. It was difficult; however, we put all of our strength in unison for the glory of God without complaints. We also continued in our faith-life according to the Bible for each of our spirits. And the fruit we bore is worth displaying to the churches in the world.

Now, we must begin more revivals so that our workers could work. Hence, from this moment on, we must think about in what ways we could be helpful and profitable to Seoul Sungrak Church. We must have the faith that it is difficult alone, but nothing is impossible when we are together. We must fear these Lord’s words when He said to ‘depart from me those who are unprofitable for the Kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus.’ Later, we would be just waiting for the final judgment of the Lord.

I have aged, and now I’m just waiting for the last voice of the Lord. On this earth, I have earned, held on, and learned as my life passed by like an movie film. Yet, I’m now waiting for the time when I can no longer take the flesh with me. So while I am in the flesh, the works that I have done for loving the Lord will become a memorial monument. And I’m just leaving a stone monument called Song-Jook-Ahm as mine.

Beloved Sungrak members! Do not fear dedication but rejoice. Do not force yourself but have true faith and hope. Though you cannot dedicate financially, offer many saved souls to the Lord. Laugh. Give thanks. Show your faith. Love God. Eventually, everything will be revealed before Him. The Holy Spirit will treasure you and be with you. Thank you.

Pastor Ki-Dong Kim
Lord’s Day Worship Column

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