The Goodnews - September, 2015 by Good News Mission

September 2015

DELIVERING THE GOSPEL & THE TESTIMONIES OF GRACE

monthly sermon Is the Word of God Leading Me?

Salvation Testimony

Gospel Lesson

Being Happy Regardless

Heaven is Received

of the Situation

in the Heart

SPECIAL ARTICLE WCLW / IYF World Camp in New York

About the Cover Spiritual leaders and pastors from North America, Central America, and South America gathered for the 2015 World Christians Leader's Workshop (WCLW) in NY. The 130 participants engaged in intensive sessions learning about the fundamentals of spiritual life that the Bible uncovers. Although many had started with the foundation of Christian mindsets, many have strayed away from the Biblical teachings but through the WCLW many spiritual leaders were renewed and established in their hearts. God's promise not only extends to preaching the gospel through America, but to the ends of the globe and we saw that promise coming true through the WCLW. We give God all the glory and thanks.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

Monthly Sermon

Salvation Testimony

I am Sure

Testimony

Is the Word of God Leading Me?

Being Happy Regardless of the Situation

Special Article

WCLW in New York True Faith is Spread from the Center of the World IYF World Camp in NY God who Leads the World Camp

NY Times My Punishment is Greater than I can Bear

Memoirs of a Missionary

God Molds Man

Gospel Lesson Heaven is Received in the Heart

Church Directory

Monthly Sermon

Is the Word of God Leading Me? Pastor Ock Soo Park | Good News Gangnam Church

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him’ and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5-6)

With My Own Thoughts, I Called Myself a Sinner

I once had a conversation during world camp in July with a female minister from Africa. She said that she had been going to church since she was young and had received the spirit as well as forgiveness of sins. However, she said she was a sinner. I told the minister, “the most important thing in spiritual life is emptying my thoughts as I read the Bible. If you don’t empty your thoughts, you won’t be able to accept the Words as the Word of God. You’ll just accept it as your thought. That’s why you can’t understand the Bible clearly.” The minister could not understand what I was saying. Having to speak to the minister without hurting her pride was very difficult. I opened to Isaiah 53:6 and read it to her. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the 4

iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Surprisingly, the minister after having seen this was shocked, and said, “I was really wrong. I’ve been reading the Bible with my thoughts until now. I couldn’t throw away the thought to consider myself a sinner because I sinned, and I was unable to see the Word of God for what it is. The Word of God clearly says that our sins have been moved over to Jesus, and that surely means I have no sin. But because of my thoughts, I’ve been calling myself a sinner.” The minister simply accepted the Gospel. Since then, our fellowship became very beautiful. Each Bible verse remained as God’s Word in her heart. Even after that, whenever the Word would enter that minister, she would change amazingly.

If You’re Interested in Becoming Good…

When people live a spiritual life, they are interested in how good, or how evil they live their lives. However, in true spiritual life, it is not a problem whether how good or evil we have lived, because we are naturally evil. Although we may say we have lived a good life, it is not so, and it is a given that we are evil. The important thing is that regardless of living a good or evil life, God’s Word has to enter into our hearts. People place interest in becoming "good", because they have the heart to become good. So living that way, they deem themselves as "good" people. Those kinds of people believe they have lived the right, "good" life, so judging right from wrong based under a structure of their own experiences and unable to receive the Word. That is why God points out and reveals man’s evilness in several parts of the Bible. By showing 5

Monthly Sermon

us that humans are filthy and dirty, He makes us realize that we are in fact evil and dirty. Should we realize our dirty image, we can throw away our thoughts since everything that comes out from us is evil. Some people say, “I’m evil; I’m dirty,” but continue not to throw their thoughts away, and live believing in themselves. Even when they read the Bible, those people read it under the impression that they are "good", so they are unable to discover their evilness. They cannot understand or realize God’s true will in the Bible. Unable to throw themselves away, they continue to flow in the evil path of human thoughts. “Regardless of whether we lived an evil life or a good life, God’s Word has to enter our hearts. But people want to be good…”

If I Truly am a Dirty, Filthy, Evil Person…

What God shows us is that we are evil and dirty. “I’m really evil. I’ve committed many sins. I’ve done many bad things.” This is not the image of us that the Bible depicts. The Bible depicts the image of humans, which can only be cursed and destroyed. When we read the Bible with an empty heart, we discover that there is nothing good in "me", only dirtiness and evilness. The Bible clearly shows us that we are people who must be cursed and destroyed. If I truly am an evil, filthy person, goodness may arise in some of my thoughts, but at the center, my thoughts are dirty, filthy, and evil. Living with that heart, we can never be close to God. If we live following our thoughts, we will come to realize that we can only be destroyed. We will be sick of ourselves and realize in front of God, “Oh, I’ve failed!” We will begin to hate ourselves, and not being

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Spiritual life is accepting God’s Word and having that Word lead us. But people who think they’re great are led by their thoughts.

able to stand throwing ourselves away, we will live a life of denying ourselves. At that moment when we sincerely want to be free from ourselves, we realize that we were crucified and killed along with Christ on the cross. We are then free from our thoughts. From then on, when we begin to read the Bible without our thoughts excluded, God works amazingly.

If the Word is Not Settled in Your Heart, You Can’t Help but Walk a Corrupted Path

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6) It is recorded in the Bible that He was wounded for our transgressions and was bruised for our iniquities. The Bible says that the chastisement of our peace was upon him. God placed our sins onto Jesus. If we just accept these Words, we feel that, “Oh, God has passed all my sins onto Jesus and Jesus paid the price! My sins are forgiven! I’m righteous!” But for how many people today doesthis not apply? Although they have gone to church and read the Bible for years, they are unable to be free from their thoughts. When they lie, steal, or commit adultery, they are led by the guilt that they feel and are unable to be free from the thought that ‘I’m a sinner,’ even though God has freed us from being a sinner. “Spiritual life is accepting God’s Word and having that Word lead us. But people who think they’re great are led by their thoughts.”

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Monthly Sermon

Although some people received salvation, when they do the work of the Gospel well, they think, “I live a good spiritual life.” From that moment, their spiritual life will not work out. Spiritual life is eventually divided between whether we believe in ourselves, or whether we believe in God’s Word. If our hearts are in the latter position, with our hearts completely crumbled down in front of God’s Word, my thoughts will not go against God or conflict with God. God’s Word simply overcomes our hearts. If God’s Word is alive in our hearts, our lives changes to a life in which Christ’s power works. Regardless of the grace of Jesus’ blood that was shed on the cross, people are still full of the heart to live a ‘good’ life and enjoy it. While people have the thought to live a "good" life, the powerful Word of God cannot settle in their hearts. Among some of our ministers, there are a few who enter missionary school, establish a church, and begin to feel that “I’m doing well.” Once the church settles and grows from then on. Those ministers walk the path of corruption because they trust themselves, and not God. God’s work does not appear through them. Although they are deceived by satan to walk such a sad path, they continue to think, “I’m doing well.” Holding onto that thought makes them walk the path of corruption.

Whoever wishes to follow me…

Spiritual life is accepting God’s Word and having those Words lead us but people who think they are great have their thoughts lead them. In order to make us live in this way, Satan makes us into good,

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If God’s Word is alive in our hearts, our lives changes to a life in which Christ’s power works.

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diligent people. Once Satan sees that we have this heart, he begins to lead us toward evil. Satan works so we become people who end up being cursed and destroyed. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24). People who believe in their thoughts and think they’re right can never have the Word of God settle in their hearts. They may have a spiritual life outwardly, but the Bible tells us that they cannot receive God’s grace. We have committed sins, but God has placed our sins onto Jesus. When we believe this fact as is, we can easily receive salvation. Although the Bible tells us that our sins are forgiven, so many people still believe they have sin. This is because they believe in their thoughts, and not in God’s Word. Therefore, people who live following their own thoughts eventually cannot help but to face destruction. People who throw away their thoughts and believe in the Word of God are those who receive blessings in front of God.

Pastor Ock Soo Park Pastor Park is currently the senior pastor of the Good News Gangnam Church. He is the founder of the Mahanaim Cyber Theology School and International Youth Fellowship. Annually, he is the guest speaker for Bible Crusades domestically and internationally and serves as a guest lecturer to university students. He is the author of several titles such as: The Secret of Forgiveness of Sin and Being Born Again, Repentance and Faith, Navigating the Heart. These books have been translated in 17 different languages, and in addition he is the author of 40 other books on spiritual life.

Salvation Testimony

I am

Sure

Vincent Mwale - Minister of Youth and Sports of Zambia

It’s nice to be here this morning at this church. It’s a rare thing for me. Back home, I’m the minister of youth and sports, and most of the sports activities happen during the weekend. So most of the time, I have to be the guest of honor during sports activities that happen on Saturdays and Sundays. So for me to find time and spend time with the Lord in this manner, it’s such a huge blessing. I’ve felt reconnected to God for the whole time that I’ve spent here. The

time that I’ve spent listening to the Word of God preached by Pastor Park and the others, and the music by the Gracias Choir has really reconnected me to God. The job that we do as ministers and as members of parliament is so huge because you have to serve the people. This means that you have to visit the people and talk to them, and listen to their problems so you can represent them in Parliament. Now if you don’t have the heart of God, a heart of kindness, a heart of love, a heart that makes you able to talk to people in a humane manner, it is very easy to get frustrated because you would be doing it, as you do any other kind of job. But being here this last week has made me believe that it’s actually a calling by God to make me a leader. I don’t think that I will look at this ever in the same way again. So spiritually, this past week has transformed me which will make me become a better leader. I have a new heart altogether for the time that I have been here. I know that I speak for many of the other visitors who have come from Africa and other countries, who are a part of this program. The second thing is the assurance that I’ve found, and this is picking up from where the Minister of Lesotho left. Interacting with Pastor Park and listening to his sermons here has just made me realize what salvation by Jesus Christ means. Yes, the Bible tells us about how in the past, the children of Israel used to slaughter bulls, goats, and animals on the altar to have their sins have forgiven. There was a routine procedure that had to be followed for you to be sure that your sins had been forgiven. You had to strictly do that and get feedback that said, “You are now forgiven; you can go.” Each time you committed sin, you had to go through the same process. But when Jesus died for us and sacrificed his body for us; he did that for all of us, once and for all.

Salvation Testimony

There is no need for us to begin the process each time we sin, get the blood of bulls to go to the altar and ask for forgiveness. Now this gives me assurance that I am saved. It gives assurance to the world that once they believe in Jesus and receive him, they are saved. And you now all have one heart, and live in one accord. I think that this confidence had been lacking in me, and it is lacking in many others. So you give up on doing well, and you think that, “I am an evil man, a bad man,” because you have not been following the scriptures. And I think that the difference is that in the past, you physically had to go to the altar. You physically had to slaughter an animal. And once you do that physically, you believed that your sins were gone. But we don’t have to do that physically anymore, which causes people to have doubts. People have doubts about salvation, including myself. But because Pastor Park showed me this in the Bible and he had to pack it up to me from the scriptures. This proves that once it was done by Jesus, it was done once and for all. So I have an assurance that I’ve found here at this church, and I’m taking it with me back to Zambia. I’ve never had this kind of an assurance before. That is the biggest testimony that I have, it’s an echo of what the Minister of Lesotho testified in front of us. And I think that we need to carry this message forward to the rest of the world. It’s so assuring, that it gives a lot of peace, a lot of liberty in one’s heart to believe that they are saved. It brings joy, because when you go to bed,

you know you are a saved person, you meet people knowing you are a saved person, you do your work, knowing you are saved person. There’s nothing that gives more joy than that. You can imagine someone who’s been sentenced to death in prison. I don’t know if this happens here, but back home in Zambia, people are sentenced to death and they are kept in one prison. They are not told when they will be killed. So you don’t know whether it’ll be tomorrow, the next hour, maybe next week, or next month. But they just keep you there without telling you. It’s such a terrible feeling, and that’s the kind of feeling that you have if you are not saved. But now, with this information and assurance that I have that I believe I am saved because Jesus died for me. It brings a lot of peace and joy to me. There’s so much that I have to say about what I’ve learned here, but I think that that’s the biggest message that I have received spiritually from here. Thank you very much. <Watch the testimony here: https://vimeo.com/134172440>

Testimony

Being Happy Regardless of the Situation

Jim Moler | Atlanta Church

I was born in San Antonio, Texas. When I was about 20 years old I started going to an American Baptist church with my girlfriend. The pastor of the church said that if I confessed I was a sinner in front of the congregation, asked for forgiveness, accepted Jesus into my heart as my Savior, and got baptized then I would be “saved”. So, I did all of that and thought I was saved. I really didn’t know anything about the Bible then and had no interest in heaven. I did all of that because I was told that if I received salvation then my life would change. So, I did exactly as I was instructed. After two years passed by, I was still smoking and drinking and nothing had changed. Attending church

seemed meaningless to me so I stopped going. I got married to my girlfriend and soon after I enrolled into the U.S. Army. Once, I came home after being in the field training for 25 days and found my wife committing adultery. I was so angry. I raised my fist at God. I divorced her in 1986 and met my present wife, Helen, in 1989 through my friend. Two years after we got married, my wife started going to church. She asked me to go with her so I did. Helen was attending church every Sunday but my heart was completely shut towards God so going to church didn’t mean anything to me. But, I saw Helen involved with the church and working so diligently that my heart was moved a little. I, too, wanted be a good person and live like her. I was in the army for over 10 years but I hated it. So, without consulting with my wife, I discharged out of the army in 1997. I thought I could find a job easily because I had a lot of experience but, it didn’t work out that way. In 1998 we sold our house and moved from Savannah, Georgia to Atlanta, Georgia. Now that I look back at those times, I can clearly see that it was God who was leading me to save me. In Savannah where we lived there wasn’t a Good News Mission Church. After we moved to Atlanta, my wife started “church shopping”, but some time after she was tired of the religious life and had met her limit. One Saturday afternoon, I was mowing the lawn when the mailman handed me a rolled up Korean newspaper. It was in pretty rough shape. So, I took it inside the house and gave it to my wife. Apparently the newspaper contained one of Pastor Park’s sermons. My wife kept reading that paper for several months and started attending the Atlanta Good News Church. One day I came home from work and my wife asked me three

Testimony

questions. First, did I have sin in my heart? Second, was I righteous, and third, was I holy? I replied, “Of course I have sin! I’m a human being. What do you think?” “How can a man be as righteous and as holy as God?” She just grinned at me and said she didn’t have any sin and that she was holy and righteous. At that moment, I thought my wife had lost her mind from moving around to too many different churches. Then she started giving me her salvation testimony and explained to me why she did so much “church shopping”. I tried to convince her she was wrong. I said, “If people like you who worked so hard for the church hadn’t received salvation, then who could? Don’t worry, you are saved already.” Several days later my wife asked me to go to a bible seminar with her. I told her no way! What could a Korean church teach me about God? I refused to go. I had been to other Korean churches with her and all the pastor did was scream for twenty minutes, everyone would pray very loudly and then we would eat. However, my wife kept insisting to attend one time and hear the truth. I had never seen her so serious before so, I was a little curious. But most of all, I wanted to avoid world war three in my home. On the first night of the seminar, she told me the pastor had invited an English speaking minister from a different state to translate just for me. After the service, the minister began having fellowship with me and asking me the exact same questions my wife had asked me. Thanks to my

wife I already knew the right answers and told him. Of course he knew those answers weren’t from my heart. So, he ended the fellowship and I thought that was it. But, my wife went and asked him how the fellowship went. He said to her, “Your husband is so arrogant! He is so stubborn and full of self-righteousness that it is impossible for him to receive salvation!” That night, as soon as we got home, my wife started having strong fellowship with me. I had never experienced anything like that before! Her voiced was raised and after a while she figured out that the fellowship wasn’t working so she stopped and got up to turn the light off to go to bed. But, before she turned off the light, she looked dead into my eyes and said, “If you die tonight, you will go straight to hell.” Then, she turned off the light and went to sleep. I was shocked because I had been going to church with her for over ten years and she had never said such a thing to me before. I couldn’t sleep thinking about what she said. I had always had that question in the back of my mind about whether I could go to heaven or not and what she said had scared me. I decided to attend the seminar the next night. I heard the pastor preach about King Saul and I thought that I was also like Saul; I followed my thoughts and only trusted in myself. So, I had fellowship with the minister again and he showed me the difference between God’s definition of sin and man’s definition. I always thought I was a sinner because I did bad things, but he showed me through the Bible that I was a sinner from birth because of Adam. I couldn’t dispute that I was a sinner in front of God and couldn’t help but go to hell. On the third night of the conference, Wednesday, April 24,

Testimony

2002, I received salvation and became a holy righteous child of God who was finally free from sin. Colossians 2:13 and 14, “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” After receiving salvation, the minister gave me fellowship on 1 Peter 2:2, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” He also explained that the Atlanta church was the church where I heard the Gospel so it was my “mother” church and the place where I should be fed and grow. That same week, I called the American pastor of the church I was attending and told him that I had received salvation and was holy and would no longer attend his church. Later on I gave him a copy of the Secret of Forgiveness and Being Born Again. Several months after I started attending the Atlanta church, I started struggling because I couldn’t understand that man was always evil and that we couldn’t do anything. It really confused me, especially, the saints who were having problems in their lives would go to the pastor or his wife for fellowship to be led by them. I love my daughter so much but my wife wanted to be led by the church on how to raise her and I had a big problem with that and eventually I closed my heart toward the church and everyone in it. About three years after my wife and I got married, we adopted

an 18-day old beautiful baby girl through the Presbyterian Church that Helen was attending. I was so happy! I decided I would be a good father to her. As she grew up, we decided to send her to an expensive private Christian school because we didn’t want her to be mistreated. But after we received salvation, my daughter was in the 6th grade at the time and my wife wanted to transfer her to a public school. She said she felt uncomfortable with our daughter going to a school that didn’t teach the true Gospel. She said the pastor’s wife said to pull her out and put her in a public school. I had so many arguments with my wife about that matter but, in the end my daughter transferred. My heart was completely closed to the church and I began complaining about everything. No one could do or say anything to my daughter and I was overprotective of her. Regretfully, I did not understand the heart of God, the pastor, or the church and their love for my daughter’s soul. I lived that way for a long time. My body had separated from my old church but my heart hadn’t. I had my set of standards, the knowledge and experience that I gained from the world; I hadn’t thrown any of those away but was still relying on them while going to the church where God is. I really wanted to raise my daughter the right way. But when she started going to middle school and then high school, she began creating a lot of problems. It was just too painful. I also began having financial hardship and for the first time I realized that I couldn’t be a good father or a good husband. So, I surrendered to God and told my wife, “let’s go and have fellowship with the pastor.” That’s how God was establishing the church and the servant in my heart. I felt like God was saying, “Okay, now you’re mine!” and He grabbed me and turned my life inside-out and upside-down!

Testimony

The jobs I had either closed down or I was fired. I lost my job four times within seven years. I really couldn’t understand then why all that was happening but now, when I look back, I can see that God was trying to teach me and lower my heart. In Psalms 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” I am very stubborn, self-righteous, and only trust in myself. If I think I am right, I won’t listen to anyone. Because of my strong selfrighteousness I ruined my daughter and caused a lot of pain to my wife for a long time. I used to work in an office as management but, for a while I had to work in construction and God broke my heart down to the ground. Through that time, God was pulling me out of the world. I didn’t know then but now I can see that God had plans for me and was leading me. In December 2009, I attended a conference in New Orleans with some brothers from church. Pastor Young Kook Park was the guest speaker. During the conference, I had an opportunity to sit down with the pastor and we were just talking about this and that. The pastor started telling me about the English Speech Contest in Korea and I suggested that the Lincoln House school students come to my house for home stay and it would be fun to teach the Lincoln House students. He thought that was a good idea and told me to get a TEFL certification. I told him my situation wasn’t that good but if God opened the door then I would do it. After that I completely forgot about it. In 2010 it was the first Christmas Cantata in Atlanta and Pastor Ock Soo Park also came. During that week the pastor said he wanted to have fellowship with the brothers. I told pastor what I discussed with Pastor Young Kook Park. He said that when I was ready, to go ahead and come to Korea. Deep in my heart I knew God was doing this so I

went ahead and got my certification. Amazingly, soon after that God opened the way for us to come to Korea. My wife and I carried three bags full of clothes and arrived in Korea on July 25, 2010. For the first two years we lived inside the Daegu church. Everyone made us feel welcomed and was nice to us. We didn’t have a car then and had to take a bus or use the subway and it was difficult. The food was hard to adapt to but especially the weather was difficult. It was way too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter! I know I came to Korea because God led us here but because of the hardships I began to regret and asked myself why I had come here. One day we were at the bus stop waiting for the bus and my wife asked me if I was happy. I told her that my heart was so sad and heavy. At that time, my daughter, who had been attending the Gracias Choir Music School for several months, had run away because she couldn’t adjust to it. But my wife said she was happy and I couldn’t understand how she could be happy in the situation we were in. That same night when we returned to our room, my wife told me about the fellowship she had had with the pastor’s wife. She said she couldn’t ever say she was happy when she looked at the situation. But, she could say she was happy because God said she was and showed me Romans

Salvation Testimony

4:6~8. She said she was happy because she had received salvation, not because of the situation. Then she said that the reason I was sad was because I didn’t have God in my heart. I knew she was right but I really wanted to see if she was truly happy like she said so, I started observing her from that day on. She was so grateful, even for little things, and looked so peaceful and happy. My daughter had left and I was living in the opposite world of my wife - she was happy and I wasn’t. Naturally, I was seeking God and started reading the Bible more. My wife also told me to register for the Mahanaim Cyber College. Every day through listening to the words of God, I began to slowly learn the heart of God. During the past 13 years since receiving salvation, the phrase I heard the most was, “Hardship is a blessing and it is good for you.” or “Hardship is a good connection between God and us.” I couldn’t understand this because my concept of happiness was having a nice car, nice home, lots of money, and filled with materialistic things. Psalms 146:5 says, “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” In the summer of 2014, I was reading my Bible and for the first time I “saw” the word happy and I discovered that true happiness and hope is in God. My prayer used to be like, “God, protect me from this or that and to not have this or that problem.” I never knew my prayer was wrong. In other words, if I had all those good conditions then I would not have needed God. All of these years,

I was rejecting Him and pushing Him out of my life. God wanted to meet me for a long time and wanted me to rely on Him and live only by Him. God didn’t want to give me material things only, but He wanted me to have true peace and hope. After I discovered the heart of God toward me, I finally understood why He allowed all of those hardships in my life. I felt His love for me and I was so grateful. Both of my parents have passed away since I’ve been in Korea. Right before I came to Korea I visited my father in Texas and preached the Gospel to him but unfortunately he didn’t receive salvation before he passed away. Because of that, my heart was very heavy. But, I think God poured mercy on my mother and me at the same time. The day before she passed away God gave her a clear mind so I could preach the Gospel to her again through the phone. She received salvation and the next morning she passed away. I have a younger brother and sister who I preached the Gospel to but they haven’t received salvation yet. However, I am sure God’s mercy will also reach them someday. I don’t have a whole lot but at the same time I have everything because God is with me. I’m so grateful that God uses me as a teacher at the Lincoln House Daegu School. I’m so thankful to the church who accepted and preached the Gospel to an arrogant and worthless person like me. All I ever did was doubt God, complain, and go against the church and I don’t know why God loves me so much and holds me even today but, I’m truly grateful and yet ashamed. It’s not that I don’t have any problems in my life but, regardless of the situation, I’m happy and peaceful. My only hope is that God will continuously use me in the church for the Gospel and continue to pour His grace on me.

WCLW New York

True Faith

is Spread from

the Center

of the World

Special Article WCLW in New York

This year the “World Christian Leaders Workshop” that began in Korea was held in New York. The workshop was held simultaneously during the New York World Camp that started on August 17th. 130 participants from the United States, as well as Central America, attended the event. Missionaries from the United States region teamed up to visit neighboring churches and invite the pastors to the workshop, while Good News Corps volunteers connected with church pastors during their No-Money Witnessing trip. We were especially able to see the power of the Christmas Cantata tours when many of the pastors connected through previous Cantata's attending the workshop this year. On the first evening, the Opening Ceremony was held for both the workshop participants along with the World Camp attendees. The cultural dance performances, as well as the Gracias Choir performances, gave a new energy to the audience. The melodious tunes heard every evening moved the hearts of the Workshop participants. The program officially began on the second day. The pastors opened their hearts through group fellowship as they discussed difficulties they have experienced while ministering. The wall that was blocking the pastors from God began to crumble. On the morning of the third day, the participants listened to the performance of the Gracias Choir and Pastor Ock Soo Park’s sermon that followed. Pastor Park preached about how we are already God’s children through Jesus Christ, and how the works of God will manifest through us if only we believe in the Word of God. After the sermon, the pastors from the different regions had time to testify. Pastor Moshi John from Toronto Canada testified about how he ministered at his own church before meeting our mission. Now that he has received salvation, he said he is now preaching the gospel at his own church. True faith was established in the hearts of the pastors who attended the World Christian Leaders Workshop. We are truly hopeful to think of the fruits of the gospel that will blossom as the pastors return to their churches.

2015 World Camp NEW YORK

Special Article IYF World Camp in New York

he highly anticipated 2015 World Camp finally began on August 17th. Close to 1,600 participants gathered at Mahanaim School located in New York, the center of fashion, finance, arts, and the capital of the World. Volunteers who were connected through the English Camps held in South America, Haiti and Canada experienced the joy of volunteering through those camps, and shared that joy during the World Camp as they learned about the world of the heart. The participants were filled with anticipation and apprehension as they gathered for the orientation that started at 2pm that afternoon. Classes consisted of around ten students each. Scavenger Hunt was the following program that acted as an ice breaker amidst all the awkwardness. For more than three hours, the students ran here and there around the city of Huntington, solving the puzzles togetherwithonheart. “The weather was hot and I sweated a lot but I had a great time with the new people I met. We shared clues with other classes along the way and took water breaks. It was really fun.” –Betzabeth Camacho (25, Mexico)

God Who Is Leading the World Camp

The Opening Ceremony that commenced the World Camp took place at the Tilles Center on August 18th. We had the honor to invite many distinguished guests from various fields and career paths to attend the event. Dr. Betty A. Rosa, Philippine Ambassador Jose Cuisia Jr., and Uganda Ambassador Oliver Wonekha all gave welcoming speeches, followed by a dance performance from the Righteous Stars. The stage was filled with dynamic performances from a cultural Indian dance to a traditional Polynesian dance. After all the performances ended, Pastor Ock Soo Park gave a speech to the attendees. “God wants to give us His son’s signet ring. Because there is power in the Word, the amazing power of God will lead us, regardless of our abilities.” “The program was better than I had imagined. I’m having more fun as each day goes by. Tonight’s Opening Ceremony was amazing. I could tell everyone poured their hearts into each performance. I’m from Haiti, so I was overjoyed to see how the IYF English Camp is bringing hope to my country as I saw the “Happy” performance.” – Adena Maxim (20, University of North Florida)

2015 World Camp NEW YORK

Special Article IYF World Camp in New York

On August 19th, the third day of the New York World Camp, the 5K run began with the sound of the start horn. It was a blazing 93 degrees that day but the participants were filled with joy to challenge themselves by overcoming their difficulties. “The last time I ran a marathon, my stomach hurt so much that I fainted. When I ran this, the same thing happened so I stopped for a second. I wanted to give up but my friend ran together with me, so I was able to complete the whole run. I also sought God to give me strength during the run. I wanted to overcome this burden in my heart and challenge myself. Although I didn’t get a prize, I was able to finish within hundredth place so I was thankful.” – Kyung Jin Ryu (Houston) The highlight of this day was the Easter Cantata. The Righteous Stars gave an opening dance performance and the participants saw a video about the Gracias Choir and how they became the world’s best choir through God’s promise. The start of the Easter Cantata was moving and when the audience saw Jesus being crucified on the cross, the pain that Jesus experienced was conveyed to the audience. They were able to reflect on Jesus’ death with sincere hearts. Finally, the audience was overcome with emotion when they saw the resurrection of Jesus and applauded the Jesus who died and washed away our sins.

August 20th was the fourth day of the World Camp. The Christmas Cantata was held twice at 3:00pm and 7:30pm. The afternoon performance was for the Camp participants, while the evening show was for the neighboring community. People have become familiar with the Gracias Choir through the yearly Christmas Cantata tours that are held across the country. The citizens of New York filled the 2,200 seat Tilles Center that evening. The Choir’s acting gets better each year as the singing and stage production are the reasons why people love the Christmas Cantata. The silent night of Bethlehem; the birth of Jesus over 2,000 years ago not only moved the hearts of those in Israel, but also the hearts of those sitting in the audience that evening. The second act was a musical stage based on world renowned short story author O. Henry’s work, “The Gift of the Magi.” The audience was filled with tears when they reflected on the importance of family through the performance.

2015 World Camp NEW YORK

Special Article IYF World Camp in New York

That evening Pastor Park spoke to the people of New York about the true happiness brought about by the birth of Jesus. He spoke about the love of Jesus to those who have lived a life cut off from God. The Cantata ended with an extravagant performance by the Gracias Choir. The audience cheered during the encore performance of the American patriotic song, â&#x20AC;&#x153;God Bless America.â&#x20AC;? The Closing Ceremony, highlighted events of the 2015 New York IYF World Camp held on August 21st at the Pennysaver Amphitheater in Long Island. Around 3,000 people came to watch the Closing Ceremony. The Closing Ceremony featured cultural performances from around the world, as well as performances from the Gracias

Choir. This was a very special event being that it was the first time the Gracias Choir performed at an outdoor venue in New York. They performed “You Raise Me Up,” “Time to Say Goodbye,” “God Bless America,” and a marimba and flute solo. The dynamic performances moved the audience. Pastor Park, the main speaker of the World Camp, gave his final speech during the Closing Ceremony. The heart of God that brought about hope in the students’ hearts was strengthened once more. The 2015 New York IYF World Camp was a time for those isolated youths to learn about the world of the heart. We ended the Closing Ceremony with high hopes for next year’s Camp.

New York Times: Notes on Genesis I

My Punishment Is Greater than I Can Bear Pastor Ock Soo Park | Good News Gangnam Church

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. (Genesis 4:1~5)

Faith Is Becoming One Heart with God Whenever I’m reading the Bible, I often feel that I should throw my thoughts and perceptions away. I often feel there is nothing wrong with the thoughts I have in general, but I strongly feel that my thoughts are very different from God’s when I enter the Bible and search the heart of God. Likewise, spiritual life is discovering that your heart is different from the heart of God, and uniting your heart with His, little by little. Once your heart becomes one with the heart of God, there remains nothing for you to do. I preached the gospel in the city of Gimcheon, Korea a long time ago. We had planned to hold a children’s retreat, but we didn’t have a place, money, or anyone to help us. We only had a vague idea that we should have a retreat, but there was nothing actually prepared with which to hold a retreat. We began to pray. At the time, all the brothers had hard manual labor jobs, so they would fall asleep when they attended the evening prayer meetings after work. However, we continued to pray because we had no other way to accomplish our goal besides prayer. We prayed for one week, two weeks, three weeks, one month, and all the while, not one thing had changed circumstantially. But our hearts had changed a little. We used to think when we began the prayer meetings, “This will never work,” but we met God through prayer, and the heart of God, which was different from our own, flowed into us and we became strengthened more and more. “That’s right. This is not our work to accomplish, but it is God’s work to accomplish. God is pleased with this retreat! Then, God will help us!” There was no change in the circumstances, but after one month of praying, our prayers had changed. “God, we believe that you will help this retreat. We believe that you will

New York Times: Notes on Genesis I

send many children to the retreat. We believe that you will give us the place and the funds we need.” Faith entered our hearts and we were no longer saying, “God, please answer us,” but we were praying, “God, thank you. We believe that you will provide everything for this retreat.” Hope arose in our hearts, and we were filled with peace and joy. At that moment, I felt, “This is what faith is!” From then on, whenever I faced difficulties in my spiritual life, I had the heart, “The problem is that my heart is different from the heart of God. What could be a problem if my heart is the same as the heart of God?” That is why I began to not question whether something was possible or impossible through human effort. I proceeded to only do work with which God assured me He was pleased. God worked every time I did so. Why Did God Not Receive Cain’s Offering? Why did God not receive Cain’s offering in the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis chapter 4? Why did He accept Abel’s offering? Many people think, “Cain did not have enough sincerity. Cain gave of the fruit of the ground, but he probably didn’t offer the good crops, but crops like shriveled ears of corn. And Abel probably gave his offering with all his sincerity.” Sure, sincerity is important. But even more important is where that sincerity came from. Did your sincerity come from the heart of God or did it come from your own heart? Because God has said that everything that proceeds from man is dirty, wicked, and filthy, our sincerity is meaningless no matter how much of it we display. Although it may appear to not be much in our eyes, the important thing is that the sincerity must come from the heart of God. Cain may have sincerely given the fruits of the ground as an offering before

"The important thing is that Cain had the heart to trust in himself because he was better than God, but one thing Abel in every aspect.Abel could have faith is clear, Cain did not because he lacked in every aspect."

receive the heart of God. We cannot know every detail of Cain and Abel, but there are things we can understand by simply thinking a little bit. The name Cain means, “to gain.” Adam and Eve were so happy after having Cain. They had named their son with much hope. “We have gotten a man from the Lord,” who was Cain (to gain). He was strong and healthy. Therefore, he was able to farm. It must have been difficult to farm during that time! But Abel was not this way. Abel means “vanity.” Just as your breath vanishes into thin air, his name means to disappear in vain. Why did Adam give his son, Abel, this name? It’s not that he wanted to name him this way, but Adam constantly wondered, “Why is this child so vain? Will he ever become a man? How disappointing.” Therefore, the child was named Abel (vanity). Abel could not till the ground like Cain because he was not healthy. He most likely took sheep to sunny pastures, dozed off, and then brought them back home after sunset. The important thing is that Cain had the heart to trust in himself because he was better than Abel in every aspect. Abel could have faith because he lacked in every aspect. That is why Cain thought to himself, “If I offer desirable crops and fruits to God, He will be pleased,” and followed that thought to give his offering. On the contrary, Abel was not good at anything and inquired of God, received the heart of God, killed a lamb, shedding its blood, and offered that blood and oil to God. Cain must have been extremely irritated watching Abel work. “Abel, what are you doing right now? Why are you shedding this disgusting blood when you are giving an offering to God? You only need to offer these wonderful crops. I’ll give some of them to you, so take them and offer them to God!” Cain might have said

New York Times: Notes on Genesis I

this, but God accepted Abel’s offering, but He did not receive Cain’s. There is a fine line throughout the 66 books of the Bible. That line is that God accepts nothing that belongs to the flesh. In other words, God can never accept things that proceed from the thoughts of man. Even if you pray, read the Bible, or witness, God cannot accept any of these things if they came from the will of man. This is the true will of God. Cain offering God the fruits of the ground is offering the things of man. The fruits of the ground: the things from his own thoughts and methods were given to God. But no matter with what sincerity we offer them to God, He does not accept the things that come from man. Because Abel knew that he was useless and unacceptable, he earnestly sought the things of God. “God, I am truly lacking. I am good at nothing. What offering should I give you that would please you?” Then he received the heart of God and offered what pleased God. This story may seem meaningless but people today, like Cain, try to go before God with the things that come from their own zeal, their own goodness, and their own efforts. What they say is, “If I pray a little harder, God will be pleased. He will accept me.” God Let Cain Kill Abel Because Cain became wroth when God did not accept his offering. Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell. (Genesis 4:5) Then God said to Cain, “Why are you wroth? And why has your countenance fallen? If you did well, why couldn’t you lift up your face? Rule over sin.” True good is not helping the poor, caring for the sick, or offering money. True good must be able to overcome sin. God told Cain, “Do good, if you have any good.” He was indeed saying, “Fight against sin. Rule over sin. Can you rule over sin? You can’t rule over sin. You cannot do good. That is why you must deny yourself.”

But Cain could not understand these words. One day, Cain killed his brother Abel. God let Cain to kill Abel. In the Bible, when Abraham tried to kill his son Isaac with a knife on Mt. Moriato give him up as a burnt offering, God shouted, “Abraham, Abraham!” and appeared to him quickly to stop him. If God had said, “Cain! What are you doing?” when Cain was killing Abel, Cain would have been so surprised that he could not have killed him. But God let him to do it. Why did He do that? The Cain who was seen in the eyes of God was different from the Cain who was seen in his own eyes. In the eyes of God, Cain was wicked and there was no good that could come from him. But in the eyes of man, it seems that there was some good in him. Man thinks “Fight against sin. Rule over sin. Can that he can do good, and thinks that you rule over sin? You can’t rule over everything will be fine if he puts sin. You cannot do good. That is why forth a little more effort. That is you must deny yourself.” why God told man to try to do good and to try to keep the law. But no one was able to do good, and no one was able to keep the law. God lets man commit sin because only then does man realize, “Ah, I truly am a wicked human!” Killing his brother was in Cain’s heart even when he was giving his

New York Times: Notes on Genesis I

offering to God. However, that heart was hidden and only his good heart of giving an offering had shown itself. That seemed good to Cain and to other people, but God saw the evil heart that was able to kill his brother hidden underneath. God could not accept this offering that had been given with such a heart. Cain did not know of this so he thought to himself, “I must be good.” That is why God allowed Cain’s wickedness to be revealed. Cain ultimately killed his brother. Cain hid after killing Abel. God asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” What did Cain say right then? “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” He not only said that he did not know, but he was even back talking God. God was showing him that he even had this kind of a heart. Afterwards, God cursed Cain. What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; (Genesis 4:10~11) Cain lived a spiritual life in which he tried to be blessed by God through doing good by himself, thanking God, and giving offerings. God crumbled all of that down. Cain ended up killing his brother Abel, going against God, and was cursed by God. Right then Cain’s heart completely collapsed. “My punishment is greater than I can bear!” His will to do good to come before God completely collapsed. Clean if Leprosy Covers the Whole Body Leviticus chapter 13 speaks about leprosy, and it contains information that is quite interesting. A person is unclean if he has a little bit of leprosy. He is still unclean if the leprosy is spreading throughout his body. But it says that he is clean if the leprosy completely covers his entire body.

While reading these scriptures, I once thought that this must have been a translation error. “A person is unclean if he has a little bit of leprosy. How can he be clean if his entire body is covered in leprosy?” So I searched in many other Bibles, but they all said the same thing. I quietly thought about this. If I had only a small amount of leprosy, I would try to quickly heal it. But if it has spread throughout my entire body, then there is no hope. This is teaching us the way of spiritual life. If we are only slightly evil, we would try to do good and keep the law to go before God. However, our chances of going before God by doing good completely collapse if we are completely evil. Likewise, when the path to God through doing good ourselves falls apart, we can change the path of our spiritual life into one that goes before God through the grace of Jesus. That is when true faith is formed. Just as we buy a new car instead of trying to fix a junked one, we will throw away our spiritual lives and look for a new path if we can see that it is impossible to repair our wicked selves.

Cain moved his hope from his own effort or good to the position of seeking the grace of God. But people are constantly trying to fix their junked car-like spiritual life to come before God. Cain was this way. That is why God crumbled down all of his ways so he could not come to God that way. Cain’s heart became filled with rage once his offering was not accepted, and he, while trying to do something good, killed Abel. On top of all of this, he back talked God and his true wicked nature was completely revealed. Now all of his ways of coming to God through his good deeds have been blocked. This is where true repentance came upon Cain. He said, “My punishment

New York Times: Notes on Genesis I

is greater than I can bear!” and his methods and heart crumbled. Cain moved his hope from his own effort or good to the position of seeking the grace of God. “God, I can only be cursed because I am a dirty, wicked human. Have compassion on me. There is no way for me other than destruction if you do not bestow your mercy upon me.” God began to work for Cain from that point on. To Cain who said, “My punishment is greater than I can bear!” God said, “Not so!” and placed a mark on him that allowed him to avoid death from anyone he would meet. God led him to receive salvation. When We Crumble Down like Cain God has already shown us the secret of salvation in Genesis chapter 3. We have lived with the method of us doing well and trying not to commit evil. But the method of God was different from our method. The thoughts of Jesus differed from the thoughts of the disciples when looking at the blind man. The scribes and the Pharisees thought Jesus would say, “Stone her,” or, “Don’t stone her,” in regard to the woman taken in adultery. But instead, Jesus said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her,” which was completely different. The thoughts of God and our thoughts concerning our sins are very different as well. We try to take care of sin by saying, “God, I sinned. I committed adultery. I stole. Forgive me.” That is not God’s method. He did not forgive our sin, but punished and took care of our sin before our very eyes. For our hearts to have true freedom, God covered our sins completely on the cross.

For our hearts to have true freedom, God covered our sins completely on the cross.

The Bible clearly shows us the difference between God working and our works. In Luke chapter 15, the prodigal son wore filthy rags and could only starve to death in the pig pen when it was he who was at work, no matter how hard he worked. But when the father worked, the prodigal son became clean and truly blessed. We cannot become whole when we work, but we can become whole when the father works. Even now, you are filthy, dirty, and evil. Do not try to make yourself diligent and good, but believe in God who perfected you. No matter what sin you may have committed, God has perfectly and spotlessly disposed of your sins on the cross. He has already delivered punishment for and has gotten rid of all sins. Loving folks, the works of the Lord are completely different from ours. That is why we throw away our own methods and ways and believe solely in the Lord. Just as God made the coats of skins and put them on Adam and Eve to give them freedom, Jesus took care of every single one of your sins through dying on the cross. Do not think of anything else, but believe this and gain freedom from sin. And I hope that you will thank God, who has cleansed you from sin. When you become freed from the position of sinner and stand before God, the grace of God will surely overflow in you.

Memoirs of a Missionary

God Molds Men Pastor Joon Hyun Lee | LomĂŠ, Togo

There were unimaginable incidents occurring as I was living in Africa. There were inconceivable situations which made me seek God inevitably. In the midst of all of those situations, God precisely led us, and we could see everything ended beautifully by the grace of God. God greatly worked in the middle of persecution. We were able to have a conference in the national theater for the first time, broadcasting sermons on a TV station, and so on. He also led me to empty myself.

Funeral

People in Africa rarely go to the hospital even if they are sick because they could not afford it. It is strange because people spend a lot of money to have glamorous funerals. People should eat well and take care of themselves when they are alive, instead of holding grand funerals. Usually, it takes three days to complete all the funeral ceremonies in Korea. On the other hand, people in Africa spend anywhere from a week to a month, sometimes six months or even a year. If people are from a distinguished family, they use very nice coffins. An Unexpected Accident at the Funeral

In 2005, a brother sincerely asked me to attend his fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s funeral who was a Catholic. I did not feel needed to go because the brother was a bit strange and was lazy. However, he continued to ask me, so I went to a village

Memoirs of a Missionary

in his countryside where there was no electricity. People set up a big tent and were having the funeral. The brother said I could preach for about an hour, but I suggested that he confirm with his family since I was going as guest. I used to have the heart that I needed to change anyone I met, but I realized that there was no meaning to that. There were about 600 people sitting down. I confessed before God saying, “God, only you could change them.” I wanted to preach the Gospel because employees talked about God at the funeral. It was getting dark, so we used a generator for lights. Then, I delivered the Word with a brother who interpreted the sermon. Not long after, I got a note on the table. It said I have to wrap up the sermon since five minutes had passed even though I prepared a fifteen-minute-long sermon. I thought I should preach the Word of God since God had given me the opportunity. Because I kept preaching even after ten minutes had passed, they shut off the power. The lights and microphones went off. I did not know what to do. “Oh my God! They won’t even allow a pastor to preach during the service at the funeral!” Nevertheless, I wanted to finish up what I wanted to say. I started to shout to the audience. The atmosphere was getting worse. However, a new strength came into my heart. When I was about to finish, the power came back on and I received a microphone. “Father God, thank you. I am thankful that you gave me a chance to preach the Word here. God, the wages of sin is death according to the Bible. Many people go to church, but they still have sin in their hearts. If people, at this place, have sin in their hearts, they can only go to eternal hell because of their sin….” I prayed for three minutes. I could not tell if it was a prayer or a sermon. On the way back from the funeral, I was really thankful to God for allowing me to preach the Word regardless of the situation.

"God is the One who makes all things work together for His will."

Three Years Later, a Meeting with the Immigration Commissioner

Three years later, I went to the immigration office for a green card. The procedure of applying for a green card was complicated and employees asked for money. The employees at the immigration office did not work if you did not give them money and they were brusque and impolite. However, as I walked into the immigration office, the chief manager asked, “You are Pastor Lee right?” “Do you know me?” “Yes, I know you. Three years ago, I attended a funeral in my village, and heard your sermon. Right? You preached the Word even though the lights and microphones shut off. It was very impressive. I still clearly remember even after three years. I think you are truly a man of God. You are my pastor.” After he said that, he told his worker, “This is my hometown pastor. Take care of everything for his green card application.” Everything was done without any fees. “Truly, God is the one who makes all things work together for His will.” I was overflowing with gratitude. Pastor’s Confrontation

In August 2006, we decided to have a conference with Pastor Ock Soo Park for the third time. For the first time, we rented the national theater. One day, I was sitting down in the chapel, and a missionary student came to me. “Pastor, I witnessed to a college student today. He said that a pastor on the

Memoirs of a Missionary

radio was criticizing our conference for an hour saying, “People should not go to our conference because we were deceiving the Togo people.” The missionary student was scared and worried. “Okay, brother. Go and get some sleep.” Though the brother’s heart was at peace, the fear creeped up on me little by little. “This is a big problem. Many people must have heard that criticism on the radio. What should I do if people disrupt the conference? What should I do if the venue gets cancelled? Should brothers and sisters put posters up or not? I am scared. Will this conference happen?” My heart got weakened being caught up by the circumstance. When I came into the room, my wife was sleeping in the mosquito net. It was 11 pm. I thought to myself, “You must be happy because you could sleep without knowing what I know. I wanted to sleep but I couldn't.” I was sitting down worrying and opened the Bible. One Bible verse came across my mind. I wanted to find where that verse was. I was looking through the Bible and was able to find it in Acts chapter 28. “Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” (Acts 28:31) After Apostle Paul got out of jail, he preached the Gospel to people while living in a rented house for two years. At that time, the circumstance could not bound Apostle Paul. Did Paul not have any problems while preaching the Gospel? He had been to jail and beaten. Paul went through countless afflictions. However, the work of preaching the Gospel was the will and plan of God and no one could go against what God has determined and His will. Paul realized that there was no one who could stop the Word of God. Like the Word in Acts 28:31, there was no one who could block our conference. An assurance from the Word of God settled in my heart and peace and joy was overflowing. When the Word settled in my heart, new strength was

1,500 new people attended the conference in Togo at the national theater and they heard the Gospel with passionate hearts

amazingly raising my heart. The next day, I talked about the heart that I received from the Word to the brothers and sisters. The brothers and sisters were also happy and gained hope that God would work. They said they would start to put up posters for the conference. It costs $1,000 per day to rent the national theater. $4,000 for four days was a tremendous amount of money, but brothers and sisters took responsibility over everything. During the conference, 300 brothers and sisters and 1,500 new people attended. We were so happy and joyful. Praises from Gracias Choir also gave us great joy and hope. God created an illusionary world that we saw before us and a true world that we could not see. Because the world that God sees is the truth, God told me to think of that as the truth even though it was invisible to me.

Memoirs of a Missionary

Many Received Salvation Through You

In October 2007, Pastor Ock Soo Park visited Togo for the fourth time with the Gracias Choir. Brothers and sisters danced and sang songs under the mango trees as pastor arrived. I still remember the vibe at that moment. The pastor went up to the podium right away and preached about Peter in Luke chapter 5. “We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:5). I was overwhelmed as I was interpreting next to the pastor. The pastor said, “There are countless diseases such as: the cold, body ache, malaria, AIDS, diabetes, cancer, and etc. No matter how healthy, if the person has a disease in a certain part of his or her body, they are in danger even though the rest of his or her body is normal. Likewise, there is a disease in peoples' hearts as well. If a person embraces a thought that he or she can do well, for instance: “I am handsome, smart, good at dancing, well educated, good at playing soccer, or good at singing,” that becomes a disease in his or her heart.” People usually accept their thoughts without doubting them. People think they can do better than others for sense of accomplishment. However, that is a sick heart. They have a disease in their hearts, but they cannot sense it like a leper. Pastor continued talking about the disease of the heart. “Wow, that’s so precious! So many people received salvation through you. Before you only spoke English, but now you can also speak French well. How Precious!” As I was listening, I was able to sense who he was talking about. The pastor kept on going.

God Opened the Way to Preach the Gospel through TV

“There are some missionaries who ran way, but you did not. How Precious! Wow, the chapel is well built. I heard that you built the chapel by faith, starting from three sacks of cement. Well built.” It was obvious that He was talking about me. “I thought I did not have any problems. However, there were many disease in my heart that I couldn’t feel.” My wife and I went to the pastor to receive spiritual counseling. “Pastor, as I listened to the sermon during the welcoming service, there are things that I felt in my heart. I did not express this but I felt I could do better than others. Many people received salvation, and I built the chapel by faith. All these things you pointed out.” “Right? You should not keep that heart. You need to get rid of it. You did not do those works, but God did them. You have to draw a clear line

Memoirs of a Missionary

in your heart. If you don’t, you will end up in trouble. That is why you need to open your mouth and share your heart. If you don’t talk about your heart, everything is mixed with your thoughts and you can’t separate them. Also, you need to organize your heart. Did I do this work? No, God did it. If you think that you are the one who did it, you will become a foolish person who can no longer be used for the work of the Gospel.” You Can't Do It Unless God Allows You To

As I listened to the pastor, I was so thankful. I also got to think about myself again and look back upon my life. I recalled the time that I was on the way to Togo passing Ghana after the retreat in the Ivory Coast. My wife and I were waiting at the station for two and a half hours and got in the car. 12 people packed into a small car and we departed. The sun set and it got dark. The car was passing the forest in the countryside. I was sitting in the back and I closed my eyes. The driver suddenly screamed. A boy was hit by our car and was tossed in the air and fell. The driver took the boy to the hospital. The rest of passengers were left in the forest not knowing what to do. I spent all the money that I had for transportation, so I had to find a way home without any money. I took my bags and came out of the forest with my wife. As I was living in Africa, I experienced many near death occasions. If God did not open the way, I could not go back to Togo even if I wanted to. People usually change the tires when they wear out completely, because tires are expensive. I often saw flat or ripped tires on the road. Even so there are not many who change their tires. If I asked

them if they are okay, they would said its fine until it bursts. In 2007, I came back to Ghana after the conference in the United States. I wanted to visit Togo. My wife and I grouped up with Pastor Young Sam Kim and his wife and the short-term missionaries. We loaded the luggage and drove to Togo from Accra, Ghana. All of sudden, one of rear tires went flat. I thought it would be okay because it was a rear tire. However, the car was shaking and flipped. The window shattered but no one was severely hurt. We wanted to get to Togo in time for Sunday service, but we ended up going to the hospital. As I was in the hospital, I started to hear hymns from churches at 10 am. I looked at myself pitifully sitting down in the corner of the hospital. As I was listening to the hymns I deeply thought about what I could do if God does not help me. If God does not allow it, I could not go back to Togo, stand at the podium, and preach the Word. Nevertheless, amazing things happened. Pastor Young Sam Kim could not lift his right arm due to the frozen shoulder. After he was bumped several times during the accident, his frozen shoulder was completely healed. Pastor Ock Soo Park said, “If people do not control their hearts and treat the diseases that are in their hearts, they could inevitably become miserable eternally. Like the prodigal son, who had a small heart to trust oneself, one’s life is led to great misery and destruction. God gives us pain and sorrow so that we could be healed from the disease of trusting ourselves and continuing serving God. I could not do anything without God’s grace. God is forming us so that He could bestow grace upon us.

Gospel Lesson

Heaven is Received in the Heart Pastor Kim Sung Hoon | Hanbat Central Church

A Certain Man and the Lord “And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.’ And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.” (Luke 15:11-13)

The story of Luke chapter 15 appropriately expresses the image of humans who have left God. The Bible is a mirror that reflects your spirit’s image. We must realize our own image in the Bible. Your image is in the Bible. Now, Jesus wants to show us the image of man who has left God. Here, it shows a father and a son who wants to leave because he feels uncomfortable living under his father. When the story starts in verse 11 it says “A certain man,” who do you think this is representing? It represents God. Why was Jesus not able to express this “certain man” as God even though he meant God? A “certain man” is so vague. Inside the heart of man, God has become vague. He has created us, and He truly lives among us and is able to help us. He has loved us and has come looking for us, but God

Gospel Lesson

In simpler terms, she had discovered the Lord. That is why she could give all of her life’s burdns unto Christ.

has become “a certain man” inside of man’s heart. We had an international youth camp last year and there were two students from America who did not have a good mindset mentality. They were beautiful youths but as we were staying with them for over a month, never did we hear them talk. We all thought, “Is there problems in their household?” A few months before, I had gone to Los Angeles to lead a retreat, I told this to the pastor of the LA church, “Their mother was in a very bad mental state.” She had so many burdens, and because it was too much to bear on her own, she became frustrated and gave up on life. She separated herself from everything and lived like a crazy person. Since she only ate and slept, naturally, her children became weak-hearted and nervous. However, she attended the last winter retreat and listened to the Word and she discovered God in her heart. She realized the truth that “My master is Christ.” In simpler terms, she had discovered the Lord. That is why she could give all of her life’s burdens unto Christ. She was changed amazingly and I cannot describe enough how much brighter her children are. If someone does something wrong, he or she doesn’t become responsible but his or her guardian becomes responsible. About ten years ago, my son was diagnosed with meningitis and was hospitalized. One day, the hospital administration looked for me saying, “The guardian for Kim Ju An,

please come to the hospital administration.” As I heard that announcement, a strange feeling came over me. ‘What? The guardian? Am I my child’s guardian? If I am the child’s guardian, what was I doing when the germs infected my child? My child is in torment and in the hospital, but am I able to save him from this torment? Sadness was coming towards my family, but what can I do about it? Am I truly his guardian?’ This was when I had this kind of heart: ‘God, I am not a guardian. Have I created Ju An? This child was born in your providence. You are this child’s guardian.’ I couldn’t take it when I was carrying the burden of the guardian, but when I discovered that God was the guardian and when I gave my burden to God, I became free. I now have a testimony that my child would be healed the next day. One brother went to the hospital with me and there was one sister who worked at that hospital as well, and as soon as she saw me she broke out in tears. She told me, “Minister, there is a crisis. Your child has another disease.” My son’s eyeball was protruding out of his eye socket, and they told me it was because of a brain tumor. The brother that came with me heard and asked me in tears, “What do we do, minister?” We proceeded with absolutely no hope. In my heart, I said, “God, you are the guardian of this child, not me. This child has surely been given over to you.” The hospital had decided to perform surgery, so after a few days, I prayed in front of God when I went to

Gospel Lesson

If you take him, he is your responsibility and even if you leave him, he is your responsibility.

sign the memorandum. The memorandum stated that the child could become blind during surgery because he was still an infant. â&#x20AC;&#x153;God, I am going to sign the memorandum now, but this child is yours. If you take him, he is your responsibility and even if you leave him, he is your responsibility.â&#x20AC;? With a light heart, I went to sign the memorandum. However, the amazing thing was that his eyes that were bulging for one whole month had gone back in the night before surgery and the doctor said there was no need for surgery. The operation was canceled. Not a long time afterwards, the meningitis was healed and he was able to come out of the hospital. When I was trying to hold the burden, it was very heavy. However, because God held my burden for me, I felt so light and free. People try to act as the owner because they are arrogant. However, how many burdens do we have? Folks, we have truly lived controlling our own lives, without having anything to do with God. This is truly evil. This is what you call arrogance. I hope that your hearts return to God. In Order to Fly God created us and it is written in the Bible that He created us weak. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in

Genesis 1:20-21 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

vain?” (Psalm 89:47) God has created man to be weak and vain. Animals have strong legs and sharp teeth; they do not walk around in clothes during winter. However, people are weak and are incomparable. There is a reason why God created man different from animals. God made a bird and a dog. The bird saw the dog running and it complained against God. The dog has thick legs; it was built to run as it stomps the ground. But the bird’s legs were thin and additionally, because it had two body parts of baggage (wings) on its back, every time it tried to run, they hampered the bird. When the bird complained to God, “Why did you make me like this?” God made the bird go off a cliff. Then, the bird spread its wings and it started to fly. As the bird flew in the sky, it was thankful to God. If the legs of the bird were as thick as the dog, how uncomfortable would it be to fly and how bad would it look? When God made the bird, He did not focus on running but He put his focus on flying. However, the bird has to have its focal point on flying for it to have a thankful heart towards God. It starts to have the heart ‘Hey, I’m really cool.’ But because it put its focus on running, how much resent and how many complaints would it have? When God made man, He had his focus on Heaven. However people have their focus on the earth. Thus, how many things of discomfort would we have? Everything is a complaint. Folks, if you

Gospel Lesson

When God made man, He had His focus on heaven. However, people have their focus on the earth.

change your focal point just a little bit, you will find out in a single moment, that the conditions for resentment are conditions for thankfulness. It is very uncomfortable for the bird to run with its legs; it is beneficial when it spreads its wings to fly. It can fly very well. The reason why God has made people weak is so that God can pull our hearts into the world of God. However, disregarding the heart of God, we lost the object of our focus and we lived until now with our heart tied to the flesh and to the earth. As we lived our lives, many times we have stood in front of a forked road. Every time, we chose one way, we now have reached the present. As we chose our paths, we drove the car of our life in our own way. However, most people, as they think about the fork that they have just passed, “Oh, at that time, if I had gone left rather than right, my life could have been...” We made decisions moment by moment and lived making good judgments, but when we look back, we always have regrets, asking ourselves “Why did I do that then?” The reason is that the path that you entered was not the eternally precise path. If you entered the assured and distinct path, you would think that you had made the right decision. Let’s say you were going somewhere while driving. Even if it is a confusing route, if you come to your precise destination, you would have the heart that “It is

good that I got here.” If you lived your life following the way that God has led you, after life is over, you would have this heart. “I walked a really good path. If I were to go back to when I was twenty, I want to live exactly how I lived before.” However, since you always enter the wrong path, you always have regrets in life. I heard Pastor Ock Soo Park from our church say this once, “If I went back twenty years, I do not have the confidence to live the life exactly as I lived for the past 20 years. I don’t think I can live better than this. If I had chose and judged, I would have always entered the wrong path, but after I knew God, since I followed the path that God has led me, I did not know at that time but I feel that I have walked such a precious path.” It is the same for me. After I was born again, I lived by the guidance of the Word. If I were to look back, I am glad I have come this far. When I look at the past year, I would think to myself, “My life is so blessed. What I saw with my eyes were so beautiful, and what I heard were blessed words.” Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no has said He is the way. If so, if you do not walk by Jesus, then where you are walking now is not the way. He or she has to return. With that way, they will never be able to arrive at their destination. They would be living a life in vain. When we clearly know the reason God has created us through the Bible and when our hearts meet God, our lives start to become so worthy and bright. You would

Gospel Lesson

be able to live with satisfaction in your heart, just like when you are hungry and then eat something to satisfy your hunger.

Sychar Mentioned only once, in connection with the visit of Jesus to Jacob's Well (John 4:5). He was passing through Samaria on His way to Galilee, “so he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph: and Jacob's well was there.”

A Vessel to Carry God In John Chapter 4, Jesus went into the city of Sychar. “Sychar” has the meaning of “Dirty.” When the Jews saw the region of Samaria, it was a very dirty place, but the Sychar village was an especially dirty place. The city of Sychar speaks of this world we live in. Also, it represents our flesh we are dwelling in. When God made us, He made this flesh and the spirit inside of it. Because the flesh was made with dirt, it will go back to the dirt. However, the spirit was made so that it would be good for God to dwell in. Because the sock was made to fit the foot, it is good to look at and satisfies the purpose. Just like this, the heart of man is the same. In Ecclesiastes Chapter 3:11 God says “He has put eternity in their hearts.” Because the flesh was made with dirt, it will go back to dirt. However, the spirit was made so that it would be good for God to dwell in it. Man has the heart to long for his spirit. Animals do not have that heart. That is why animals live the same way no matter how many years pass as people continuously change. We try our best to get better little by little because we long for the eternal world; we try to move to a more joyful place, a happier place. Some

people wonder, “Where is the eternal place?” That person truly wants something eternal. Korean people like to eat black noodles at Chinese restaurants. When our missionaries who live abroad come to Korea, we buy them black noodles and they really like it. They don’t want to eat meat but they really want to eat black noodles. Why do you think this is so? We have been living eating black noodles ever since we were young. If there were a special day, we would eat black noodles. That is why we cannot forget the memories associated with that taste. Because we tasted it, and because it has lingered in we are able to long for it. People, although they say nothing is eternal, they long for eternal things. It is because we are from God who is eternal. That is why we are satisfied when something eternal comes into our heart. However, we try to fill our hearts with other things. We try to fill our heart that wants eternal things with the temporary joy of the world. That is why people are always feeling empty. Howard Hughes was the man who invented the electric fuse. He was a billionaire and his wife was a famous actress. However, he died of malnutrition. Since he ate so many delicious foods, he lost his appetite, and there was nothing else more delicious. There was good food but he lost his taste so he died of malnutrition because he did not want to eat. All over the walls of his apartment “Vanity” was written. He thought it would be good if he had a pretty wife and money. Despite obtaining all of these things, he was empty.

Gospel Lesson

We are happy only after God comes into our hearts.

We are happy only after God comes into our hearts. However, the heart to want to stand in the position as one’s own master and build one’s own castle started to effect man. Man departed from God in their hearts. From then on, their heart started to chase after the flesh. They disconnected their relationship from God and they served their flesh. The flesh is only the house I dwell in but they lived serving this shell. Let’s say if you go to our house, there is a doorplate that says ‘Kim Sung Hoon’. If so, is that house “Kim Sung Hoon?” I who live in the house am Kim Sung Hoon. Just like how if I move from house to house, I am the same, my flesh changes but I who am inside remains the same. Therefore, it is not that we should put our focal point on changing ourselves in the flesh but we have to put our focus on our spirit. But people today have become slaves to the flesh. I will tell you one amazing truth. God has made the heart of man the basis of the works of God. And so, we have no limitation in our hearts. Our body is here, but our hearts can go to the U.S., Japan or Europe. As much as it likes, the heart moves without restrictions. Therefore, our hearts can be lifted to where God is. Also, through the space called the heart, the things of God can be dragged down completely. God made a tabernacle on this earth. Originally,

the tabernacle was the house in heaven where God resided but God wanted to send the tabernacle down to earth. So, He called Moses and showed him the tabernacle in heaven. Moses moved the tabernacle that he saw into his own heart. Then, that tabernacle appeared in form on earth. When God sent down the tabernacle in heaven to the earth, He used the heart of Moses. He made our hearts in this way. God made the heart into the passageway that He sends down all the things of God and all of His power. In the heart, we can hold the entirety of heaven. In my heart, I can build an enormous palace and I can reside in the amazing heavens with God. However, the problem is that man has closed his heart toward God. By that result, man has become the slave of his flesh. If they are hot, then their heart is hot; if their body gets cancer, then their heart gets cancer; they are so disappointed that they do not know how to get up. Man has completely become slaves to their flesh. The flesh is continually defeated, and has no choice but to become ill and go into a grave. The heart of man follows that flesh and man cannot help but to be in pain.

Pastor Kim Sung Hoon is currently the head pastor at Han Bat Church. This is the sermon that he preached at the 29th Summer Retreat, titled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;For the Lost Soulsâ&#x20AC;?

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