2017.06.25_The Church Praying in One Accord

Love

God is love. Babies do not just want food from their mothers. Babies quickly fall into a comfortable sleep in their mothers’ arms. They know their mothers love them and will take care of their needs. A mother’s age or appearance is not important to a baby. A mother is a person on whom a baby can completely depend and from whom he can expect love. God is the same way with us.

God is love. True love does not change. John 13:1-3 says, “Now, before the Feast of Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come for him to depart out of this world and go to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God…” Even though the devil provoked Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, Jesus loved him to the end.

Parents encounter many difficulties in raising their children. It would be nice if children always pleased their parents, but often they do not. Some parents even tell their children, “I will remove you from the will!” (in western culture, removing someone from the will disqualifies them from receiving any inheritance), but parents do not generally mean those words. Even parents who are very strict with their own children, when someone criticizes their children, will counter with “Why are you bothering our children? Just take care of your own!”

The relationship between a teacher and a student is similar. I have suffered some adversities by the hand of some of my disciples recently. When they were toddlers I laid my hands on their heads and blessed them, and as they grew I nurtured them with God’s word. I supported them when they were in need, and I even paid for them to study abroad. I even supported some pastors and assistant pastors in our church. I trained them to be evangelists and ordained them as pastors, and even provided them the opportunity to work in the branch churches which I have labored to plant. Originally, I had planned to establish two hundred branch churches and entrust their ministry and administration to them. I thought they would faithfully discharge the Lord’s work until His return. I expected humble, Spirit filled disciples.

But there was an unexpected rebellion. Even in a small church, if a few of the members cause confusion in the church, the pastor suffers a great deal of difficulty. Now there is a fierce wind blowing in our church. My heart is very hurt but I am worried about something more important—they are abandoning the Berea movement! Since they have already committed themselves by engaging in some very harmful actions directed against the church, they will be forced to reject the ‘Picture of God’s Will’ in the future. How then will they be able to continue to preach? For a few months they might be able to preach on morality and ethics, but after that, what will they preach about then?

So far, I have seen many cases where some preachers who had preached the ‘Picture of God’s Will’ but they abandoned it and their sermons changed. And to see some assistant pastors who have several decades of preaching ahead of them forsake Berea just because of their emotions, I cannot help but feel sorry for them. How can they lead their ministry going forward after they have abandoned the precious power of their ministry? I can hardly sleep at night worrying about them.

Although my disciples speak evil against me, I cannot easily erase them from my heart. When I recall their faces individually, I remember them when they were humble. Parents love their children to the end, even when they become corrupted. Parents might rebuke their children saying, “Get out of the house, now!” But if their children do not return home they cannot sleep.

Jesus loves us unconditionally and to the end. That is why Jesus said about Judas Iscariot that it would have been better for him if he had not been born (Mark 14:21). That is the nature of God’s love – unconditional and not dependent on the circumstances.

When I was an elementary school student, other students’ mothers occasionally visited the school. I knew that my mother was much older than the other mothers. That is because many of my friends were first born children but I was the fifth child in my family. Compared to the other young and beautiful mothers, my mother was old, uneducated, and even her face was dark. But I never thought my mother was ugly. My mother hugged me, put me to sleep on her knees, and loved me very much. It did not matter how beautiful she was. For me, my mother was ‘the one who loved me.’ Similarly, for us, God is ‘the one who loves us.’

The Word

I am specifically saying this so that you may be strong in your faith. If a person is dying of thirst, it doesn’t matter if he drinks from a ceramic or glass cup. He just wants the water, not a cup or a glass. Even if your pastor seems like a clay pot, what you need is not the pot itself, but the water that is in the pot. You should not reject the water just because the pot holding the water looks simple.

Jesus Christ had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him (Isaiah 53:2). He had nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him after His birth. He hungered, suffered, and knew lack. Jesus’ disciples didn’t stay with Him because of His appearance. Peter confessed, “You have the words of eternal life, to whom shall we go?” The disciples focused on the words of eternal life. That’s right! What we need from church is the words of eternal life, nothing else.

Sungrak Church has devoted herself to the Berea Movement. The Berea Movement seeks to return to the Word. The Church of Christ has followed the trends of the world in respect to reformation and “progress”, eventually becoming a secular worldly religion. It is out of this environment that the Berea Movement arose to call upon the church of Christ to return to the Word like a prodigal son who had turned away from the Word. Jesus has called us, saying, “Follow Me, abide in Me, then you can be My disciples!” So we must return to Him.

Jesus said, “What did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? No, those who wear soft clothes are in kings’ palaces!” What we are seeking is none other than the very word that can save our souls. That is why we encourage everyone to return to the Word. Sungrak Church is the birthplace of the movement to Return to the Word. Is there any other church that has struggled to remain for half a century in the same way as Sungrak Church, even after receiving so much criticism and persecution? It cannot be done without a strong sense of duty and resolute will. But Sungrak Church has done it. In spite of several decades of persecution, we have never given up. The commitment must not be allowed to falter, it must continue.

The world’s reforms and progress are based on carnal desires. Therefore, the more the church pursues reformation and ‘progress’, the more likely it is to be corrupted into a secular institution that resembles the world. Jesus rather commands us to take the narrow path that many people find difficult. Actually living the Berea Movement is extremely difficult. Even those who have partnered with us in the past, when faced with the recent troubles, chose to disassociate from the Berea Movement and remove any connection to Semuon who has taught it to them. We must recognize the real value of our faith.

God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16). The only begotten Son is the Word who became flesh. In other words, God gave us the Word when gave us His love. Many people declare that God loves them when they get a lot of money or their business prospers. But that attitude is superstition based on material blessing. Our goal is to gain eternal life rather than material gain. We will enter our heavenly Father’s house after we leave this earth. That is our hope.

If there were no heaven, the Holy Spirit would not have come upon us. Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God whom Jesus sent from the Father after He ascended into heaven. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”(John 16:7) Jesus ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit as He had said. Likewise, God loved us so much that He gave His Word to us. If we are truly God’s loved ones, His Word must abide in us and the Word should be at work in us.

The Name of Jesus

The Word was with God in the beginning. The Word is God Himself. He came to the world, but His people did not recognize Him. But to those who believe in His name, God gave the right to become the children of God (John 1:1-12). To sum it up, the name of the Word is Jesus. The fact that the Word is in us means that the name of Jesus is in us. Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my word remains in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”(John 15:7) Jesus also said, “I will do whatever you ask in my name!”(John 14:13)

The name of the Word is Jesus! An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit! She will give birth to a son, and you shall call His name Jesus.” The Word was conceived in a woman’s womb and stayed in her womb for nine months like other people, and after He was born, grew up experiencing all the weaknesses that are common to men. He was disregarded as one who was uneducated, and experienced thirst and nakedness. He was falsely accused, and treated like a common criminal on the cross. He eventually died and was buried in a tomb. His name is Jesus Christ, the Word who came in the flesh and experienced all these things.

The name of Jesus is the name of God. The name Jesus is the name that God the Father gave His Son as an inheritance. Nevertheless, He who came in this name was mocked and subjected to all manner of scorn and contempt from people, and he eventually died on the cross. John 1:12 says, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, to those who believe in His name.” Today we have the power to become the children of God by bearing His name. That does not mean that we are guaranteed rich and comfortable lives on earth. Those who bear the name of Jesus will likely suffer loss, affliction, and face persecution because of the name of Jesus.

Some might think then, ‘What good is it for us to bear the name of Jesus?’ In order to find the answer, we must know what Jesus prayed for in the Garden of Gethsemane. He earnestly prayed, “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect by your name those whom you have given me so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. None has been lost except the son of destruction so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.” (John 17:11~12)

Jesus gave us His name to protect our souls in the world until He comes again and takes us to the heavenly Father’s house. But many people are not interested in preserving their souls in the name of Jesus, but instead only seeking material prosperity. These individuals may profess faith in Jesus but have a tendency to complain that they are not seeing any blessings. They are also likely to resent giving offerings if they don’t feel blessed. We must recognize that Jesus didn’t give us His name so that we might prosper on the earth, but rather to protect us and take us to the Father’s house in heaven. Those who bear His name may be poor or beset by trials, but they will overcome the world and eventually enter the Father’s house with Jesus Christ. This is the fulfillment of the Scripture.

Prayer

Those who bear the name of Jesus can bow before the name and ask whatever they wish. But some people misunderstand what this means and just bring a long list of their wishes before God and say, “I ask all of this in Jesus’ name,” at the end of their prayer. Understand that if you fear and trust in Jesus, God will surely hear whatever you pray for even if you don’t say, “in Jesus’ name”.

To pray is to challenge the impossible. So we must pray for what we want even if it is beyond the realm of common sense. As I have already testified many times, I have built about one hundred and twenty church buildings and education centers. I am not saying this to boast about myself or to claim any glory for it. I share this to demonstrate that, through prayer, we can make the impossible a reality.

You cannot achieve anything without prayer, no matter how strong your faith is. James 4:2 says, “You have not because you ask not.” Do not think that Jesus would force us to receive anything. If we do not ask for something we will not get it. Whether you are an ordained deacon or a teacher, you must earnestly pray for God to give you the ability to discharge your office.