When you hear someone say they go to church, what comes to mind? Many people think the church is full of rules—“Do this, don’t do that.” So naturally, we assume that going to church means we have to become a good person. But the church is not a place for people who are already good. It’s a place for those who admit, “I’m far from being good. I’m a sinner. I’m someone who is evil.” If you come to church, thinking, “I’m righteous. I’m a good and upright person,” you’ll likely be disappointed. The ones who are truly here are those who have confessed before God, “I am a sinner. I have no hope on my own.” That’s because the result of sin and evil is destruction and a curse. And none of us wants to carry that burden by ourselves, right?  But God Himself bore the weight of it for us. That is why we are here today—to meet that God, and to receive the happiness we could never gain, to enjoy the eternal blessing we could never attain on our own.

God does not condemn. To be more precise, Jesus is the One who has introduced God to us and has given us the opportunity to meet Him.  Jesus did not come to condemn. He never condemns. And this is very different from what many people think. Some might imagine that if they come to church, they’ll be judged, condemned, and all their sins will be exposed. But Jesus clearly said He did not come to condemn. Rather, He came to save. Even if there is sin in our lives, Jesus doesn’t glare at us and say, “You sinned, so you deserve to be punished!” Instead, even when we have sins, He desires our salvation. Maybe our conscience accuses us. But Jesus doesn’t. He is not like that.

So the passage we read today is from John chapter 8. The Jews, who had originally served God well, followed God according to the Law. And that Law said this: if someone commits adultery—for example, if a woman is caught in the act of adultery—what should be done? If we think only about that one woman, we might feel she should be forgiven. But if we think about the whole society, what happens if we let something like that go? Wouldn’t more people start doing the same? That’s why the Law said she had to be punished. And the punishment according to that Law was this: she must be stoned to death. That way, such things would no longer happen in society.

But what Jesus said when He came was a little different. The people brought before Him a woman caught in adultery, and they said, “According to the Law, such a woman should be stoned. What do You say?” But Jesus didn’t answer them right away. Instead, He stooped down and wrote something on the ground. The Bible doesn’t record what He wrote, but He sat there and wrote. Some suggest that He might have been writing parts of the Law. And if we really look closely at what the Law says, there probably isn’t a single person who wouldn’t feel the weight of their own conscience.

After Jesus finished writing, He stood up and said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” That statement is truly astonishing. If Jesus had simply said, “Let her go. Forgive her,” then it would have seemed like He was going against the commandment of God—because God had commanded that such a woman should be stoned. If He had said, “Don’t stone her. Just let her go,” it would have looked like He was ignoring the Law based on His own desire.

But instead, Jesus said, “Go ahead—stone her.”

However, Jesus added something: “Let him who is without sin throw the first stone.” And that’s absolutely right—only someone without sin should be the one to cast the stone. So what happened? One by one, they began to leave. Who do you think left first? The older ones, or the younger ones? It was the older ones who quietly walked away first. Why? Because older people know the kind of life they’ve lived. They’ve gone through many things, and they know very well that it’s impossible to live without ever going against their conscience. Others may not know, but they themselves do. So they dropped their stones and left. Younger people might think differently. They may say, “That’s wrong! How could she do such a thing?” But the older ones, deep down, might say to themselves, “Well… That could happen.”

How about you? What do you think when someone commits a sin—for example, when someone commits adultery? We often see things like that on TV, don’t we? When a celebrity or a politician gets caught in an affair, it becomes a huge scandal, and they suffer a lot of public shame, don’t they? When you see that, do you say, “How could they do such a thing?” If so, maybe you’re still young. As people grow older, their thoughts begin to change. They might say, “Well… it happens. Poor thing—they just got caught.” That doesn’t mean what they did was right, but it means we understand how weak and fragile human beings really are.

So instead of saying, “How could they do such a thing?” we need to realize—they’re people just like us. They probably held on for a long time, trying to endure, trying to stay faithful, but eventually, they stumbled. Sometimes, it happens when someone has been drinking and their willpower weakens—they make a mistake they never intended. And when they sober up, they’re overwhelmed with regret. “How can I face my husband?” They do not want to break their family apart. It’s not that they don’t love their husband—or their wife. They want to ask for forgiveness, but how can they even begin to say it? They want to go on living, but what’s done is done. So what should they do? All they can do now is cry out, struggling to be saved.

That must have been the case for the woman who was caught. She had no excuse—she had nothing to say, even if she were to be put to death. But still, she wanted to live. So she came before Jesus. And Jesus said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” He said they could stone her. But one by one, they all walked away. In the end, only Jesus and the woman were left. Then Jesus said, “Woman, has no one condemned you?” She answered, “No one, Lord.”

Then, who is the only one who has the right to condemn? It is God. And Jesus, whom God sent, has the full authority to condemn. But Jesus said to the woman in this way. Jesus revealed exactly who God is. And what did He say? “Neither do I condemn you. Go.” Then He added, “Sin no more.” Right after that, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” Therefore, those who come to Him walk in the light.

Our God—and the Jesus whom He sent—has made Him known to us. This is who God truly is. The God we believe in and serve is a God with this very nature.

Now, what do you think of this God? Do you want to draw near to Him, or do you want to run away? You want to draw near, don’t you? He already knows all about your problems, your weaknesses, your sins, and even the evil in you. But He doesn’t want you to be destroyed. He wants you to come before Him and live. He wants to share with you the happiness, the life, and the joy that He has. And when you come into Jesus, you can receive all of it. I bless you in the name of Jesus—that you will meet this Jesus and meet this God.

Jesus said that He is the light of the world. What does that mean? It means that the world is in darkness. Right now, we can see because sunlight is shining and the lights are on—but the truth is, the things that really matter are hidden from our eyes. We cannot see spiritual reality. We cannot see that God is alive. We cannot see that we have a spirit. And we cannot see that our spirits are under a curse. We are blind, living without seeing any of these things. We see nothing.

I didn’t really understand what it meant to be without light—until one time when I was a child, I went to visit the countryside. My uncle sent me for some chores to the village center late at night. Usually, there would be some light from the moon or the stars. But that night, there was no moon, and not a single star in the sky. I had no idea how dark real darkness could be. I had grown up in the city, so I thought, “Even at night, I can see a little bit.” But with no moon and no stars, I couldn’t even see thirty centimeters in front of me. Nothing. It was pitch-black. I tried to feel my way along the path, but those ten minutes felt like ten years. I didn’t know the road very well, and as I walked in the dark, I stumbled and fell, stepped into muddy water, and wandered near the rice paddies. It was exhausting. Then I heard a dog barking in the distance. I couldn’t see where it was, but it sounded like it was coming closer—and I was terrified. So in the end, my knees were scraped, and I kept bumping into things.

That is exactly what we human beings are like, living in the world without light. In the end, we’re bound to fall off a cliff and perish. But into that dark world, Jesus came as the light. And when there is light, we can see. We can avoid danger. We can walk on the right path. We don’t wander anymore. We’re not afraid. Just imagine seeing a light in the distance—even if it’s small, if you head toward it, you’ll be okay. Because that light shows you the way. That’s why when Jesus said, “I am the light,” it means the same as when He said, “I am the way.”

Jesus said, “I am the light,” and He also said, “I am the way.” But He is not just a faint glimmer in the dark—He is a bright, shining light. And because of that, we can walk as if it were daytime, without fear or worry. When we believe in Jesus and follow His word, things we couldn’t see before become clear. We come to understand what we didn’t know. And through that, we gain direction for our lives—we can walk with clarity. This light gives us life. That’s why He said, “I am the light of life.”

I have a personal testimony related to this light of life. I came to believe in Jesus when I was in my third year of university. After that, I began introducing Jesus to my family members, one by one. And now, my whole family believes in Him. Not only my father and mother, but even my grandmother believed in Jesus before she passed away. My uncle and my cousins are now all living their lives of faith as well. The very first person I shared the gospel with was my younger brother. My brother is three years younger than me and is now attending the church with me.

My younger brother usually listened to me well. But when it came to talking about Jesus, it didn’t matter that I was his older brother. The same brother who had always been so kind would suddenly snap: “Ah, enough already!” That’s how he would respond. So I found it hard to bring up Jesus around him. When I first started my faith life, I tried to share the gospel actively. But over time, as I kept facing that kind of resistance—being rejected, being ignored, and even being looked down on—I started bringing it up less and less.

I joined the military not long after I came to believe in Jesus. While I was serving, I wanted to attend every church retreat, so I would apply for leave each time. I’m not sure how it is now, but back then, we couldn’t just say, “I’d like to take leave to go to a church retreat.” So most people made something up—like, “It’s my father’s birthday,” and that’s how they got permission. But after coming to know Jesus, I couldn’t lie. I spoke honestly.

I said, “I’d like to take leave to attend my church retreat.” And I applied for several 5-day leaves just for that. The retreat lasted all 5 days, which meant I couldn’t even visit home afterward. Still, I used up multiple leaves just to attend the retreats. And in between, I experienced some amazing answers to prayer. This wasn’t something I could make happen on my own, but while I was in the military, I was able to go to three retreats.

Then came the last retreat—just before I was discharged from the military. I was sure that God would help me, so I applied for leave with full confidence. And of course, I prayed. But something unexpected happened. It was the year 1995, and if I remember correctly, that’s when Kim Il-Sung , the founder of North Korea, passed away. Because of that, our entire unit went into emergency alert. No one was being granted leave. It was summer—August—and I was planning to attend the summer retreat. But they refused to approve any leave. I had submitted my request in advance, and of course, I had to first talk to my squad leader. I went to my squad leader and said, “Sir, I’d like to take leave. I need to attend a church retreat.” But you see, if I only took 5 days off, I wouldn’t even have time to stop by my house. So I applied for 7 days—6 nights and 7 days. In the military, that kind of leave is almost never approved. But I applied anyway because I wanted to go home afterward.

When I told my squad leader, he replied, “Hey, we’re on emergency alert. No way!” So I said to him, “Sir, I understand you haven’t been here long, so you might not know this—but I’ve already been granted leave three times in similar situations. God is with me, and I believe He’ll make a way this time, too. The previous squad leaders were embarrassed at first as well, but in the end, they all allowed me to go.” But even after I said that, he still refused. “I’m not like your previous squad leaders,” he said. This leader was the one who was tough and spoke very directly. He looked at me and firmly said, “No!”  So I said to him, “Sir, please just speak to the company commander for me. After that, I’ll take care of the rest.” I kept asking, and finally he said, “Fine, I’ll talk to him—but I’m not taking any responsibility!” So I met with the company commander. Now, of course, after the conversation between him and the squad leader, you can guess what happened. He said the same thing: “No!”

But I was expecting that, so I pushed back a little. He was also new to the post. So I said, “Sir, the one who grants leave is not you—it’s God.” That really provoked him. He got angry and said, “Do you want to ruin your military life? Fine. I’ll send your request up to the battalion. But let me tell you something. There’s no way you’re getting that leave. Not a chance. We’re in an emergency situation right now. Even people with important family events can’t go. And you’re asking to go to a church retreat? It doesn’t make sense. I’ll submit the request, but just know this: it’s going to be denied, and from now on, your time in the army is going to be miserable.” I said, “Thank you, sir,” and we sent it up.

About a week or two later, I finally heard back. So, what do you think—was it approved? No, it wasn’t. I was told the leave had been denied. But I didn’t stop praying. I kept praying, “God, I really need to go. I’m not trying to go home for my own sake—I want to attend the retreat. I want to receive grace and hear Your word, just as I’ve done before.” Even though I was only a week away from the retreat, I was still at the base. There was no news. Even the day before the retreat, I still hadn’t heard anything. And I remember thinking, “This is strange… Why haven’t I heard anything?”

The next morning, I opened my eyes—and I was still at the base. I was in shock. “Wait… why am I still here? I prayed. I was so sure I would go. I really believed God would make a way.” I think it was a holiday that day. Everyone in the barracks was sitting around, doing their own thing. But I remember just lying down, completely worn out. I couldn’t accept it. I was shaken, thinking, “Lord, why would You let this happen?”

But then, just before lunchtime, I heard someone running toward us—thud, thud, thud. I was still lying down, and I heard it clearly. Then I heard the company commander calling out from a distance, “Ki-Taek Lee!!” His voice was urgent, even rushed. “Hey! Do you want to take your leave?” he shouted. I jumped up and ran out. We sat down for a quick conversation, and he asked, “Would you be willing to leave as early as tomorrow?” The retreat had already started that day. He repeated, “Do you want to go on leave tomorrow?” I said, “Of course I do!” and started getting ready right away. I asked him, “Sir, what happened?” And here’s what he told me. That very morning, a staff officer from the battalion headquarters had visited our company unexpectedly. No one knew he was coming. Out of the four companies in our battalion, he just happened to walk into our 1st Company—without any notice. He was invited in, offered a seat, and served some tea. The company commander asked, “What brings you here today?” And the officer simply said, “I was just passing by.” Now, they weren’t particularly close, so this sudden drop-in felt very unusual. As they chatted, somehow my commander ended up saying, “Actually, we have a soldier in our company who was denied leave for a church retreat.” He didn’t even mean to bring it up—it just came out. But as soon as he said that, the officer—who happened to be the personnel officer in charge of approving all leave—immediately responded, “Then let him go!” And just like that, it was approved on the spot.

The company commander was honestly amazed. I think it was because I had boldly said to him, so it really stuck with him. It must have been God who worked in his heart. So he came to me and asked again, “Are you going on leave tomorrow?” And I said, “Yes, I am!” That’s how I was finally able to go. I took a 5-day leave.

So, which day of the 5-day retreat, do you think I was able to attend from? I joined on the second day. That means I had one day left after the retreat ended. So, where did I go? I went home. If I hadn’t had that one extra day, I wouldn’t have gone home at all—I would have returned straight to base as soon as the retreat ended. But because of that extra day, I was able to visit my family. During the retreat, I prayed a lot. But strangely, that time, I didn’t cry or pray with tears like I usually did. In every other retreat, whenever I prayed deeply, I would be overwhelmed in my spirit and cry as I prayed. But this time, for some reason, I didn’t have that kind of experience.

On the last morning of the retreat, we had a final service. At the final service of each retreat, they usually say things like, “You’ve received so much grace, now go and share it. Go and preach the gospel.” And during the message, the preacher said, “Let’s pray for our families.” So I began to pray for my family. “Father God… my family…” And suddenly, the tears just burst out. I didn’t plan it—it just came out of nowhere. I started crying uncontrollably. I was weeping deeply as I prayed, pouring my heart out for my parents, my younger brother, my older sister, my grandmother, and the rest of my family. I cried out to God to save them. And I thought, “How amazing is this?” I hadn’t felt much during the whole retreat, but the moment I began praying for my family, the tears just flowed. And after that, I went home.

It was the last day of the retreat—Saturday. I went home that evening, and my mother had prepared dinner for me. As I was eating, my younger brother came and quietly sat down across from me. He just stared at me for a moment. Now, he and I weren’t the type to be especially affectionate—typical brothers. And he was the kind of brother who used to avoid me all the time, afraid I’d try to evangelize him. But there he was, sitting with me while I ate. So I kept eating and watching him out of the corner of my eye. Then I felt it—“This is it.” So I said just one thing.

And what did I say? I said, “Jesus is the light of the world.”

What did I say? “Jesus is the light of the world.” I didn’t know why I said that, but that’s what came out. And as soon as I said it, I saw something change in my brother’s eyes. It was like something in him just opened up and started drawing it in. Right there, while we were still eating, I began to share the gospel with him. I introduced him to Jesus. I asked, “Do you want to receive Jesus?” And he said, “Yes.” So we stopped eating, sat together, and prayed the prayer to receive Jesus right then and there.

After we finished praying, my brother looked at me and said, “That’s so amazing!” I asked him, “What do you mean?” He said, “Actually, I had a dream last night!” I asked, “What kind of dream?” He said, “I told Mom and our sister about it, but they all said it was nonsense.” But when I came and said, “Jesus is the light of the world,” he said it felt so amazing.

So I asked again, “What was the dream?”

In the dream, he was standing in a line. It stretched on endlessly, with people waiting in a long single-file line that kept getting shorter. He didn’t know what was at the end—he just knew his turn was coming. When he finally got close enough to see, there was a staircase. And at the top of the stairs, there was a platform with a rope—a place where people were being hanged. One person would go up, put the noose around their neck, and when the floor dropped with a loud thud, they would fall and die. Then someone would take the rope off and throw the body off a cliff. Then the next person would go up, and the same thing would happen. Over and over. Then it was his turn. He was terrified. But there was no choice—he had to go. So he walked up, put the rope around his neck, and tears began to stream down his face. When he woke up, he realized he had actually been crying in his sleep. That’s how scared he was. The dream felt so real that even after he woke up, he couldn’t forget it. When the trapdoor opened and he dropped, everything suddenly went completely dark. That was it—he had died. And he felt a deep, overwhelming sadness.

But then—he wasn’t sure if his eyes were open or closed—suddenly, he saw a small light appear in the distance. Just a tiny light. But that light gave him hope. In the midst of the darkness, he thought, “Because of that light, maybe I can live again!” As he kept looking, he realized that the light was getting bigger. It was coming closer. Just like in a movie—you know those scenes where the light rushes in and fills the whole screen? That’s what it was like. That tiny light kept growing and growing until it completely filled his vision. And in that moment… he lived.

As the light rushed in and completely covered him, my brother—who had been lying down—suddenly woke up. And in that moment, he felt it: “I’m alive!” He realized it was a dream, but tears were streaming down his face. He was overwhelmed—afraid, yet full of joy. “That light saved me… What was that light? What could it be?” All day long, he kept asking. He told Mom about it—“What do you think that light was?” He asked our sister, too—“What was that light?” He kept thinking, “So this is what life is… In the end, we all die. In the end, there’s only darkness. But that light—it could save me. What is that light?”

And then, out of nowhere, while I was still eating, I suddenly said, “Jesus is the light of the world!” Imagine how shocked he must have been. It’s strange, isn’t it? I honestly don’t know why I said that. But I believe it was God who moved my heart. It was God who moved my lips. And when my brother heard those words, he realized, “Only Jesus can save me!” That’s when he accepted Jesus.

My brother had received Jesus—but that alone isn’t the end. Now that he knows Jesus, God must also know him. It has to go both ways. There has to be a relationship to know each other. So, how does God say, “Yes, I know you”? He gives the Holy Spirit. That’s the Spirit of God—His very own Spirit. People in the world may receive demons, right? But we who believe in Jesus receive the Spirit of God. When God accepts us as His own, He pours out His Spirit on us. Only then can we continue in our life of faith and preserve our spirits.

So what my brother needed at that point was to receive the Holy Spirit—to receive the Spirit of God into his life. The next day was the Lord’s Day, and at that time, our church had worship at 10 a.m. I had to return to the military that day, and the timing would work out perfectly if I attended the service and then left. So I brought my brother with me to the 10 o’clock service. After the service ended, I only had about ten minutes before I had to leave. Just then, I saw some of my friends from the college group at church. I said to them, “Hey, could you come over for a moment? Please pray for my brother so that he can receive the Holy Spirit.” A few of them gathered, and we prayed together for him—to receive the Holy Spirit.

After about five minutes of prayer, something incredible happened. My brother suddenly began to speak in tongues—the very thing Jesus had promised. Before He ascended, Jesus said, “These signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues.” And that’s exactly what happened. My brother began to cry—deep, repentant tears—and he started speaking in tongues. He had encountered God. The Spirit of God had come upon him. This is what happens for those who believe in Jesus: the words of the Bible are fulfilled just as they are written. I saw it with my own eyes. But I had to go—I couldn’t stay. I didn’t want to interrupt my brother, so I said to my friends, “Please take care of my brother. Help him from now on.” Then I rushed out, shouting, “I have to go! Bye!” I didn’t even get to say a proper goodbye to my brother—I just headed straight back to the base.

So because my leave started a day later than I originally planned—even though it was just a 5-day leave—God made a way for me to go home. In the military, they usually don’t give 6-night, 7-day leaves. It’s either 5 days or 9 days. But somehow, with just 5 days, God arranged everything so that I could still visit home. Looking back, I realize: if I had gone on leave the exact day I had prayed for, none of this would have happened. But because I went a day later, I was able to go home, and during that time, God gave my brother that dream. God let that question stay in his heart all day: “What was that light?” And then, at just the right moment, God led me to say the words, “Jesus is the light of the world.” That’s how my brother came to receive Jesus.

After I was discharged from the military, I came home and looked around—but my brother wasn’t there. So what happened? He had joined the army. By the time I came out, he was already serving. And guess what? He was serving as a military chaplain assistant—that’s like a minister in the army.

So after my brother was discharged from the army, the two of us began a new mission: “Let’s introduce God to our whole family.” And of course, our grandmother would probably be the first to pass away—she was already 83. So we began sharing the gospel with her when she was 82. Because her eyesight was weak, we typed up the Bible and printed it out in large letters so she could read it more easily. She kept reading, and she ended up finishing the entire Bible. Eventually, she accepted Jesus and was even baptized at church. And when she passed away, she went with a big smile on her face—our family was singing hymns beside her.

Now, none of us in the family had ever seen someone pass away with such peace and joy. My aunt, who had been a Buddhist, saw it happen. She had followed my grandmother in practicing Buddhism, because that’s what my grandmother had believed before. But while my aunt was still lost, my grandmother had met Jesus first. And when my aunt saw my grandmother passed, she said, “I want to go where my mother went.” What she meant was, “I want to go to the heaven where my mom has gone.” From that moment on, she started going to church. And even now, she continues to live her faith life well.

In the same way, Jesus is the light of the world. He is the light that gives us life. So I bless you in the name of Jesus—may you no longer walk in darkness but live in the light.

I bless you in the name of Jesus, that you would truly meet this light—so you no longer keep getting hurt, stumbling, and in the end, falling off the cliff. Instead, may your eyes be opened, may you walk in the light as in the day, and receive eternal life.

Let’s take a moment to close our eyes and pray together. If you’d like to pray, feel free to follow along. If not, that’s okay too. I’m here to help you pray—one line at a time.

“Father God, thank You for sending Jesus Christ.
I have lived in darkness.
It has been painful.
I have wandered and been lost.
But now, I want to come into the light.
Jesus is the light of life.
Let me walk in the light from now on.
Let me encounter the living God.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”

I’ll pray.

Father God, every soul who has made their confession before You today no longer wants to walk in darkness, but in the light, and through that light, I pray they would receive the fullness of life. Just as You have promised, Lord, please answer them. Help each one here to overcome the powers of darkness. Drive out every unclean work that hides in the dark and let them experience the work of God that walks in the light. Let them enjoy the happiness and joy that come from You. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen!