The Goodnews - March, 2016

MAR 2016

DELIVERING THE GOSPEL & THE TESTIMONIES OF GRACE

Special Article Bible Seminar in LA

Salvation Testimony

Not by Works, But by Grace

New York Times

Enter the Ark

GOOD NEWS MAGAZINE

Contents

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04 08 12

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Monthly Sermon Do Not Follow the Wisdom That Comes from the Evil Spirit Salvation Testimony Not by Works, but by Grace

Special Article When I Disregard My Own Heart & Receive the Heart of God, Then I Become an Honorable Person

About the Cover

The cold, snow-filled winter has passed and the lush spring where new buds sprout has come. God, who planted life and hope through the Word on the land that was filled with darkness and chaos is faithfully accomplishing the promise that He has given us through His servant this year. Just like how spring brings forth new life, let us meet the amazing works of the Gospel within the mission through the Good News Magazine.

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Memoirs of a Missionary “Pastor, there are many Myanmarese here as well!�

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New York Times Enter the Ark

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Gospel Lesson The Way to Wash Sins

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Preaching the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth The God Who Never Disappoints Those that Seek Him

Church Directory

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Sermon of the Month

Do Not Follow

The Wisdom That Comes From The Evil Spirit

Pastor Ock Soo Park | Good News Gangnam Church

“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”

THE WIFE WHO LEFT HER HUSBAND BECAUSE OF A SUDDEN THOUGHT, “LET’S NOT GO HOME.”

Once I met a young married woman and shared a conversation. This married woman said that she constantly thinks that she wants to die. She doesn’t know the reason why, but the thought that she wants to die rises repeatedly. As I conversed with this woman, I heard the story of her past. She said that in the past she married and lived a nice life. Her husband had a nice job and was a good man and she gave birth to a child and was living well, but one day she went outside with her child and all of a sudden she said a thought rose up, “Let’s not go home.” Following that thought, she just didn’t go home and went into hiding by moving to a different city and lived with her daughter.

As we continued to converse, this woman said that she knew a shaman very well. As I listened to her story of the shaman, I thought, “She came into contact with a demon. An evil spirit is leading her.” In the beginning, this woman just had a heart not wanting to go home, but as she kept meeting the shaman she knew well, there were many opportunities to come into contact with the evil 4

In my view I was always right and I couldn’t understand why my friends wouldn’t accept my thoughts. spirit. The evil spirit has slowly entered this woman’s life and was leading her to become ruined.

WISDOM FROM SATAN AND WISDOM FROM GOD

When Satan places a certain thought inside us, he places a thought that seems to be wise and good according to our judgment, thereby leading us to destruction. But in the Bible it states, “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.” (James 3:14-15) Although it may seem wise, if there is envy and strife in the heart, then that wisdom has come from Satan.

There are two types of wisdom, one is the wisdom that comes from God and the other is wisdom that comes from Satan. The Bible states that the wisdom that comes from God is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, and is without partiality and hypocrisy.

And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

The evil spirit worked to lead the woman I mentioned to destruction. First, Satan placed the thought within the heart of this woman who lived happily with her husband: “Let’s not go home.” Most people, because they don’t know very well about the evil spirit that places those thoughts inside, just follow those thoughts. This woman just followed the thought that came up by separating from her husband and lived raising her daughter.

After some time passed, there arose a thought in this woman that she wanted to die. If this woman had lived with her husband and had a family centered on her husband as the head of the household, even if a thought that she wanted to die rose within her, she wouldn’t be able to do it. When she lives sharing her heart with her husband, if a wrong thought rose up and she tried to follow it, her husband would block her and she wouldn’t be able to follow through. That is why Satan, in order to have this woman die, made her leave her husband. Then he incited her to commit suicide.

Satan isolates us in order to lead us to destruction. Among the people, the one who is mostly likely to end up badly is the one who is isolated. Whoever it is, if they think they are better than others and think that they are smart and wise, then they will always insist they are right and begin to ignore the opinions of other people. If they live this way, they become isolated. When people become isolated and when they are unable to share their hearts with SATAN, FIRST ISOLATES US, IN ORDER TO LEAD US TO DESTRUCTION

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Sermon of the Month

other people or become difficult to be influenced by others, then Satan can freely work inside them.

The young married woman who conversed with me thoughtlessly followed the thought that rose inside her and left her husband. Afterwards, because she was alone, it became even easier for her to be led by wrong thoughts.

When the thought that she wanted to die came up, it greatly increased the possibility of her suicide.

When people have certain wisdom, they use it without distinguishing whether it has come from Satan or from God. But, when they use Satan’s wisdom, Satan rules their hearts even stronger and in the end leads them to destruction.

As I saw that woman, I was scared. Satan has been leading her, and now he was constantly raising the thought of wanting to die. This woman has been living alone, and because she has lived according to the thoughts that have arisen from within her, if the thought to die were to come up, there was a high possibility that she would have followed it. That is why I preached the gospel to this woman. Thankfully, the woman, who was led by the thought of Satan, accepted the word of God. Afterwards, she broke free from the thoughts of Satan and began to live a blessed life.

THE WOMAN LED BY THE THOUGHTS OF SATAN, ACCEPTED THE WORD OF GOD.

Not too long ago, I saw a certain brother antagonize the church with evil words. Very wisely, he spoke and antagonized the church and caused the brothers and sisters to distrust the church. I remember thinking while seeing his image, “What he is doing is evil, but it sounds very wise.” Then not too long after, he called me over the phone and then cursed at me with words one shouldn’t use and I saw how angry he was that he couldn’t bear it. I was shocked.

“He wasn’t like this before…” That was really not him, but an evil spirit held onto his heart and was slowly leading him. He was truly a good brother, but I saw him being led by the evil spirit.

There are many saints who think that the evil spirit does not work upon those who have received salvation. But even the saved people can do wrong and fall into wickedness and commit crimes. Those things happen when a saved saint becomes led by the evil spirit.

The brother I mentioned was a good brother, but one day Satan caused a heart to rise up to antagonize the church and gave him wisdom to antagonize the church. That wisdom, as stated in the Book of James, is not wisdom that descended from above, but it is wisdom that is earthly, sensual, and devilish. As THE EVIL SPIRIT HELD AND LED THE BROTHER’S HEART

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Jesus had this wisdom! Then the Jesus inside me also has this wisdom! If I am close with Jesus, then I would gain this wisdom too! the brother received this wisdom and dwelled in it, little by little, he was led by Satan and become even weaker.

Consequently, he lost sound judgment, discernment, and rationality and his heart became very weak. There was no longer any tranquility that used to reside in the brother’s heart, but rather being full of an evil force, I saw him being led by an evil spirit.

When we are led by an evil spirit, we lose rationality and end up being led into a world that is apart from our will. When this occurs, we can no longer live a normal life or think deeply. In every aspect, we would live being led by the evil spirit and in the end become ruined.

Most people don’t read the Bible a lot. They read a few parts of the Bible but because they don’t know it in detail, in front of certain problems they simply judge for themselves and follow those thoughts. Likewise, as they follow their thoughts considering themselves to be wise, but often they are being led by the evil spirit.

When the evil spirit enters our hearts, right away we must recognize that it is the evil spirit and be afraid to follow it. “How good or evil one is does not depend on how good or evil one lives. It depends on whether I am being led by God’s good heart and His word or by evil Satan and by the thoughts that the evil spirit places inside. When we are not led by evil thoughts, but by the spirit of Jesus inside God’s word, then the Lord who is the King of Peace will give us joy and peace in our hearts and bestow grace.

When we are in difficulty, we use wisdom. But just because a certain thought seems wise and good doesn’t mean you should follow it, but we must think deeply, “This wisdom, did it come from God or from Satan?” If bitter envy or hate or strife is in the heart, that is not wisdom that descended from God. It is wisdom that is earthly, sensual, and devilish. The Bible states that wisdom that descends from God is pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and hypocrisy; and the fruits of righteousness are sown in them that make peace.

WE MUST THINK, “DID THIS WISDOM COME FROM GOD OR FROM SATAN?”

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.

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Salvation Testimony

Not by Works,

But by Grace Pastor Leo ArgaĂąaraz | Iglesia JesĂşs Mi Amor

I

was born in Argentina and was raised Roman Catholic. I moved to the United States and that is when I met my wife, Gladys. After going through serious problems with cocaine addiction which led to difficulties in our marriage, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior in 1993. After I changed, pastors realized my calling as a preacher, and in 1997, I was preaching at other churches and on the radio.

My wife and I studied the scriptures at seminary school and at various seminars. I went into depth about the gospel of super faith and the moving of the Holy Spirit. From 2007, I began ministering my own church called Jesus My Love. By then we had a girl and two boys. As pastors, we experienced some success but it did not last long. The church seemed to grow well but it began to break apart. People followed their own desires and sought after material things of the world rather than seeking the Word of God. Because they did not have accurate knowledge, they were unable to receive blessings from God. 8

“Although I was a pastor, I had never experienced the abundant life that God promised in His Word.�

I taught my congregation to pray in tears, to fast, and to speak in tongues in order to grow my church spiritually. And for those who did not change, I sprinkled water, oil, and even salt to cast the evil spirits out of them. It seemed that they were changed for a while but that did not last long. In some cases, they turned out even worse afterwards.

Although I was a pastor, I had never experienced the abundant life that God promised in His Word. I always felt guilty and condemned for what I did because I thought I could never please God. In 2012, I went to preach the words in Argentina. There were large churches that many people sought. I thought I had come to a good place in terms of my calling as a preacher. However, my wife was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2013. The specialists said she was too young to have this kind of cancer since it is usually found in people over 50. Everyone close to me who had cancer all died whether they were Christians or not, so I did not have any hope.

After several operations and chemotherapy, the tumor was removed. Although our hope was always in God, there were moments of doubt and sadness. For the past 20 years, my wife had been a Christian and a faithful On a Christian broadcasting station servant of God. I could not understand why this illness came upon my wife. By that time I began to hear the word of grace and God showed me the scriptures in Galatians 3:10.

I was under the curse and tried to fulfill the law. I tried to live by the commandments and not by faith. After my wife underwent surgery, we came to believe in grace when we realized that man cannot overcome diseases on their own. There were times when I doubted myself, questioning whether I was believing in the right thing or not.

It was then that someone gave me a book, With my loving family The Secret of Forgiveness of Sins and Being Born Again.

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Salvation Testimony

“My eyes were finally opened to the truth and I received the forgiveness of sins from my past, present and future.”

While my wife was undergoing surgery in the hospital, I read the story of ‘Cain and Abel’ and ‘Jacob and Esau’. Never before in my life had I explained the word in the way that the author, Pastor Ock Soo Park, spoke. I felt like I returned to the time when I first believed in God. These teachings of Pastor Park confirmed that I was wrong for many years and I had never heard of true forgiveness of sins. I did not know about the righteousness of God and that we can be justified by faith and not by works. Now the Bible made sense to me for the first time. I saw Jesus in all the scriptures. My eyes were finally opened to the truth, and I received the forgiveness of sins from my past, present and future. I glorify God. My wife became perfectly healthy as she received the forgiveness of all her sins by the grace of God. I apologized before my congregation on the radio and TV broadcasts, explaining to them that I lived under the law and ignored the true forgiveness of sins throughout my 20 years of ministry. I thank God who gave us the true servant who teaches the word of the true gospel. I also thank the ministry of the Good News Mission for spreading this word to everyone. Today we also preach about grace, justice and true forgiveness of sins. I rest in the promises of God with my healthy wife and children. Now I preach the word of the new covenant and grace.

Attending Pastor Yeong Kook Park's Bible Seminar with other church leaders

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Special Article Bible seminar in L.A.

When I Disregard My Own Heart & Receive the Heart of God, Then I Become an Honorable Person

â–˛From January 27th to the 30th, Pastor Yeong Kook Park held a Bible seminar at the Good News L.A. Church.

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Earlier this year, Pastor Ock Soo Park visited L.A. during a layover on his trip, and preached about the heart of Hannah. Just as Hannah sought after God, we too have the heart to seek after God regarding someone’s salvation. I prepared for the conference with this heart.

In preparation for the conference, we held Regional Group conferences at the Korean Community Center, as well as other churches, with the Regional leader as the guest speaker. As we witnessed for the conference, both the Regional leader and the members of the group received grace to seek after God in regards to the saving of souls.

Brother Sang Hyuk Park of Regional Group 5 said, “When we were first told to hold the Regional Group conferences, the brothers and sisters of our group did not have one heart. Everyone had a different opinion as to who should be the guest speaker, and where the conference should be held. After seeking God and having fellowship multiple times, we were able to tune our hearts together and decided that I should be the guest speaker. I did not want to be guest speaker, but I remembered the New Year's message that stated, ‘we are not those who draw back,’ so I did not draw back. After service, I had fellowship with a certain woman. She was a divorcee and was overwhelmed with life, having to take care of three children on her own. She also did not understand her husband who left her. I recalled the person I was before receiving salvation. Everything I did failed and did not work out; it was one catastrophe after another.

Just as the man caught by robbers, I was not able to do anything under those circumstances. It was then when Jesus, the Good Samaritan, saved me and brought me to church. I did not do anything for the church and the church cared for me, but I was deceived by Satan into thinking that I was someone who did something for the church. As I preached the word and had fellowship, I recalled how Jesus left me under the care of the church, and how He promised to give twofold if any other expenses occur. He did everything so that the church will look after me. I was very thankful.”

On the first day, guest speaker, Pastor Yeong Kook Park, preached about the conditions under which God is able to work through me. He spoke about the man with the infirmity for 38 years. Through these words, he preached about what kind of heart we should have to have faith, and what faith is. He also preached about Esther and Mordecai. If we do not ignore voices that seem trivial to us, then we will be blessed just like Esther. The heart of the church was hidden in the heart of Mordecai, and if we accept even the most 13

Special Article Bible seminar in L.A. insignificant words and go forward in faith, God will work. He preached many testimonies of faith and wished that everyone who attended the conference to have the same heart of faith. Just as a person who is drunk would not attempt to drive but hand over the keys to someone who is not drunk, handing over the keys signifies choosing the word and not their own thoughts. That is faith.

He also preached about how God worked through the Dallas Retreat, as well as the Christmas Cantata. He received the heart of the servant who has the faith that God will work 500 times greater than this. We, too, have hope and received the heart that God will work 500 times greater than we can this year.

People from different ethnic backgrounds attended the conference every evening. The whole chapel was filled with people having fellowship and some people had fellowship outdoors.

Pastor Jong Ryong Ahn of the Good News L.A. Church said, “There are many people waiting for us; let’s go out and meet them.” The brothers, sisters, and pastors all went out in the afternoon to witness and preach the gospel. People whom we met through witnessing, and people with whom we were acquainted to also attended this week’s conference.

Coworkers and family members of the brothers and sisters attended this conference and received salvation. An employee of Sister Oh’s company in Orange County received salvation, so they decided to hold Bible study at work. There was also a person named, Diana, who received salvation.

She borrowed a book seven years ago and returned the book two weeks before the conference. Karen, who was connected through the Tecate English Camp, received salvation and that brought joy to our hearts.

▲ The LA Church choir sang hymns every evening before service

▲ Guest Speaker Pastor Yeong Kook Park preaching the word.

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Park ord.

Last October, I received a flyer promoting volunteers for the English Camp. I was interested in volunteer work, so I liked the fact that I would be helping people of my country, Mexico. I also wanted to take a break from school, and more than anything, I liked that this camp was teaching the love of God. I was a very zealous person. I grew up in Catholicism, and when I turned 14, I converted to Judaism. I always wanted to learn about God and sought after Him. But under Judaism, the harder I tried to keep the laws, the more I realized that I could not keep them.

I was conflicted and stopped attending the synagogue because I realized that God will not accept me because I was not born a Jew. I continued to pray and ask God to help me find the truth. I lost my job back in 2010 and I returned to Mexico, a land of despair, to open up a donut shop. At first business was doing well, but I got conned by the owner and ended up closing the business. I returned to the States, and through the requests of some friends, I assisted people in entering the country illegally. I was caught and imprisoned. My heart to seek after God grew greater during these times. I heard the gospel during the workshops for English Camp. The words were good but I did not believe them at that time. After returning home from the camp, I was invited to attend this conference. As I heard the words of the pastor, I was able to believe in them wholly. As I heard the words, I realized that this was the truth that I was looking for.

We were made perfect through the one offering of Jesus, and I was thankful to realize that no other offering, prayer, good works are needed to cleanse my sins. It is true that we cannot keep these laws, and even if we are to make mistakes, Jesus has already made us perfect. Now that I think about it, God led me through His plans so that I would be able to meet him. I am so touched and thankful to have met this truth. I am hopeful in how I will receive the guidance of this church.

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Special Article Bible seminar in L.A.

Just as the words said that we are people with faith to the saving of souls, we are hopeful and have high expectations in how God will work 500 fold in America this year.

We held the Pastor’s Meeting on Saturday, January 30th, at 3pm. We invited the pastors whom we met during our witnessing for the WCLW. 25 pastors attended and many of them attended the Christmas Cantata

▲ Having fellowship with newcomers.

and the Dallas Retreat. Many pastors showed interest in our program and listened to the word intently.

Pastor Terry of the Good News New York Church preached about the ten lepers who appear in Luke 17. He preached about the one leper who was healed not by the laws, but by having faith in Jesus Christ. Just like this, we were made perfect for eternity as well.

Pastor Guy, who attended both the Christmas Cantata and Dallas Retreat, received much grace while listening to Pastor Ock Soo Park’s sermons.

“Many people are bound by sin. It’s not that we should be freed from it and live according to the laws, but we should live by the grace of Jesus.

As pastors, we should not preach the words of condemnation but we should preach about the Jesus who was crucified on the cross for our sins.

Jesus came to fulfill the laws and all we need to do is accept this truth.

The same thing is told in Pastor Park’s book, Repentance and Faith. I 16

am so thankful and joyful to see Pastor Park preach these words to those places of the world that we are not able to go. We must pray for Pastor Park, the youths of IYF and the Gracias Choir. As I see these wonderful programs that they have for youths, I want to preach this gospel too.

I also wish that you will come to my church to preach the word and perform too.”

▲ Pastors listening to

▲ Pastor Terry preaching the word during

the words intently.

the Pastor’s Meeting.

“As I listened to Pastor Park’s words multiple times, I can see that he speaks only about Jesus, what Jesus did. As a pastor, I learned many things while at seminary school and believed that I knew a lot, so it was difficult for me to listen to other people preach. It is also difficult to preach in front of other pastors. But while here, I listened to words I’ve never heard before and I was thankful to preach these words during service on Sunday. I believe all the pastors who attended today think the same way. If given the opportunity, I want to attend the WCLW in Korea and learn about spiritual life. I want to partake in the Grand Conference this coming February and wish to gain young people.” (Pastor Alex’s testimony)

The pastors who attended the WCLW were in awe when they heard our gospel and saw our programs. God promised that He will establish 500 churches in the U.S. and we believe that He will fulfill His promise soon.

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Memoirs of a Missionary_Myanmar

“Pastor, there are many Myanmarese people here as well!”

Pastor Dae In Kim | Myanmar Missionary

Visiting Myanmar with my mother

“Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.”

Brothers and sisters who were saved and spiritually nurtured in Myanmar are going all over the world with the Gospel. In the eyes of man, they are mere poor people who are going abroad to earn money. Yet, in God’s eyes, they are like Phillip who witnessed Christ in the city of Samaria. We introduce the testimony of Missionary Dae In Kim who were moved by seeing the works of the Gospel and salvation wherever they went.

Missionary Dae In Kim was saved on February of 1989. While working as an elementary school teacher and serving the Gospel, he joined the missionary school by the calling from God. After gaining faith by discovering the will of God who called him by grace and regardless of my lacking image, he was dispatched to Seoul Dobong Church and currently is ministering in Myanmar as a missionary. Throughout 12 issues, we will see God who powerfully worked in his life and ministry.

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‘It would be good, if there was a saved brother or sister who lives near the big intersection in 8 mile’ One day, the landlord came to us and told us to move out since his daughter was coming from the United States. We did not know what to do. A 70-year-old grandmother who was the mother-in-law of the head of a village coincidently found out about our situation and told us not to worry. She eventually walked with us for for 8 miles and found a home for us. On May 15th of 2003, we moved to the new house after the conference. The rental fee for the new house was around 180 dollars per month. It was cheaper and bigger than the previous house and convenient for transportation.

Additionally, the living room was two times bigger than before, so it was suitable for use as a chapel. ‘Jehovah Jireh!’ It was the moment that I was able to feel that God knew in advance and led me carefully once again.

In a town 8 miles away, there was a big supermarket called, “City Mart.”

When we were living 9 miles away, and we often stopped by to do grocery shopping. It was the only place where the air conditioner was always on. It was a good place to avoid the heat while drinking juice. As I was going back and forth to City Mart, I thought, “It would be nice, if there was a saved brother or sister who lived near the big intersection 8 miles out. I wish I could have some cool beverages and have fellowship.”

My mother visited Myanmar around 6 months after I arrived in Myanmar. She came all the way to Myanmar alone with a lot of luggage.

When she heard that I would be dispatched to Myanmar, she cried a lot because she did not want me to go. However, one day, she called me and said, “Son, I heard the sermon about 1 Samuel chapter 1. I had a heart that my son, Dae In, is not my son just like Samuel was not Hannah’s son. God is freeing my heart so that you could preach the Gospel strongly in Myanmar.”

My mother came to Myanmar and bought many things for the church.

I took my mother to the Sunday Service at the the church 8 miles away to show her that there were also many people seeking God even in Myanmar.

After service, a young couple was passing by holding their son. A prayer just came out. “God! If this couple lives near the big intersection in the town 8 miles away, I will believe that you sent them to me!” I followed the couple, and they actually were living in an apartment by the intersection. Although they met us for the first time, they served us coffee and bread. At the time, we were not good at speaking Burmese, so we were not able to converse much. Yet, we promised to meet again when we left.

After we moved to area around the 8th mile out, I remembered the couple and decided to visit them. I was able to walk there since their house was close to the church. Though it had been a while since I had visited them, 21

Memoirs of a Missionary_Myanmar

Dae In!

they joyfully welcomed me. As I was having Bible study with them, I invited them to the conference. The lady, Deliah, came and received salvation. Her husband was a sailor, so he was often away from home. Yet, after 1 year, he also received salvation. Later on, Sister Deliah’s family members were connected and eventually all of her family received salvation. Her first younger sibling, Makera, was a judge. She had strong self-esteem and was self-righteous. Because she was also doing volunteer work at her church, she was not able to easily accept the Gospel of grace. However, she also received salvation and became a worker of the church. Deliah’s second younger sibling, Delsi, got married with a minister serving the Gospel, and her third younger sibling, Samson, got married in the church and soon later he and later became a captain.

Hoping for the opportunity to preach the Gospel in Malaysia Since the Since the economic situation in Myanmar grew bad, many young people wanted to go abroad to earn money. They wanted to go to the United States, Japan, and Korea, but if they were unable to go to those countries, most of them went to Malaysia or Singapore. Perhaps for that reason, there were not many educated young people in small towns and the countryside. Sister Ingingmoe, who received salvation in 2002, went to Malaysia to earn money, and, in 2005, Sister Mashei also went to Malaysia.

Ssosantoa was a Myanmarese person who worked in Malaysia for 15 years as a veterinarian. During his short trip to Myanmar, he heard about our conference and came to our church. He received salvation in November of 2003. Brother Ssosantoa attended the 2005 IYF World Camp in Korea.

After he came back, his heart was completely changed and served the Gospel.

It was the power of the churches in Korea.

As I saw a few brothers and sisters going to Malaysia, I sincerely hoped the path to preach the Gospel in Malaysia would open. Once, I had a heart that Lunar New Year's Day would be a good time to witness the word. In Malaysia, Lunar New Year’s Day was the biggest holiday season because many Chinese people lived there. I thought that would be the best opportunity to preach the Gospel and planned to hold a conference in Malaysia.

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Now it was Lunar New Year’s Day, but there was a problem. Brother Ssosantoa had a visa problem. To prepare for the conference, Brother Ssosantoa was supposed to go to Malaysia before Lunar New Year’s Day to book the venue, and promote the event. However, his Malaysian sponsor who was supposed to sign as his reference went on vacation (Brother Ssosantoa’s visa was vaild only with the signature from his sponsor). He was not able to contact his sponsor. Thus, the brother would only be able to go to Malaysia after Lunar New Year’s Day. I was frustrated but there was nothing I could do.

This incident made the church and me anxious, and this incident led us to sincerely pray. From a long time ago, Malaysia was a country that was in the providence of God and was in the promise of God – “I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance.” I was able to feel that Malaysia was the holy land that many congregations prayed for. I felt like God was telling me to take off my dirty humanistic shoes for the place I was standing on was holy ground. We had to receive new guidance from the Holy Spirit. God ridded our hearts of relying on the plans that we came up with, and led us to only look upon the holy providence of God. The Gospel that completely washed sins and sorrow while living in a foreign country Brother Ssosantoa told us that he asked an acqauintance to pick us up from the airport in Malaysia, but when we arrived at the airport, there was no one. I heard that that person was unable to come due to personal reasons.

We did not know what to do, but Sister Ingingmoe barely got excused from her job to come pick us up. I was so thankful and it was good to see her. I thought, “This saved sister is the best.”

Malaysia looked more glamorous than Seoul. Maybe, it was because of the world famous Petronas Twin Towers. Monorails were constantly running into the city. Monorails were helpful to traffic congestion. In my opinion, Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, was more developed and better than Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. There were many foreigners and the downtown area seemed free in many aspects regardless of the fact that it was an Islamic country.

After we arrived in Malaysia, Sister Mashei and her sister, Sister Majashei, came. Sister Mashei’s house was far from the downtown area so we took a taxi and went to her house because she really wanted to invite us. Sister Mashei invited around 16 people there. I preached the Gospel about ‘Jacob and Esau” for two nights and all of them received salvation. “How can a person gain a new life if curse and death have never come upon that person’s heart? Before Jacob went before his father, death already came upon his heart. Because he was a ‘smooth’ man, he knew that he would be cursed and not blessed. That is why 23

Memoirs of a Missionary_Myanmar

1. Missionary Jae Hyo Seo with brothers and sisters from Malaysia and Myanmar) 2. In front of the new house in 8 mile) 3. Myanmar brothers and sisters in Japan with Missionary Jong Sik Joo(front row, first from the left)

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Why would you go?

Jacob did not believe in himself and received the blessing by relying on Rebecca.”

People knew Jacob as a liar, but, after I explain about the secret of the Gospel, they had assurance in their salvation. The Gospel that they accepted washed away the sorrow that they had experienced from departing Myanmar and living in a foreign county as well.

The sisters also invited their friends to the hotel that we were staying at.

Near the hotel, there was a Myanmar church, and there was a conference going on there. Approximately 300 people were attending, and they seemed very diligent. I visited the church and asked if I could preach for an hour. Unexpectedly, they allowed me to preach. After listening to the sermon, everyone was happy. After the conference, they held another unplanned conference for three days where I preached the Gospel. It was after the holidays, so many people went back to work. Yet, around 40 people continued to attend the conference. I brought some of them who were interested in the Word to the hotel and preached the Gospel. Most of them received salvation. Many people heard the Gospel and opened their hearts.

That church asked me to preach for their Sunday service. I preached for about an hour and a half. I guess it was more interesting because a Korean pastor was preaching in Myanmar. They listened very carefully to the story of Jacob and Esau from the book, “The Secret of Forgiveness of Sin and Being Born Again.” At that service about 500 people came to listen to the Word. I felt like my heart was going to explode. After the service, five young people came to me offering to buy me a meal. In that small hotel room, they heard the Gospel until 11 p.m. and received salvation.

God, He works alone!

Because I had to go back to Myanmar, I wrote down the addresses of the people who received salvation and departed to Kuala Lumpur airport at 5 a.m. Newly saved brothers and sisters asked me for the address for the church in Myanmar and told me they would surely visit the church when they go to Myanmar. I believed that God would preach the Gospel in 25

Memoirs of a Missionary_Myanmar

Malaysia through them.

I was still unable to meet Brother Ssosnatoa. I wanted give him the addresses and share the testimony about how God worked in the past week and tell him to start the church in Malaysia… I did not have a phone and departure time was nearing, so I just started to pray. I checked in all my bags and was waiting and looking around. I saw a person walking afar off with a red cap who looked like Brother Ssosantoa. I shouted, “Ssosantoa!” He hurried to me and it was in fact Brother Ssosantoa. We had an amazing and awesome reunion! The brother was being held by an immigration officer and had just been released. He said that if he was a minute late, he would not have been able to meet me. I felt dizzy. I gave him the list of addresses of the people I preached the Gospel to and told him my testimony for an hour.

God was so precise. God did all the work Himself to establish a church in Malaysia. We gave all our thanks s and glory to God. When Sister Ingingmoe and Sister Mashei told me that they would go to Malaysia to earn money, I felt disappointed. “Why would you go? If you leave me behind, you will not be well!” I wanted to stop them. I thought, “I forsook Korea and came to Myanmar. But, you are going to forsake Myanmar and go to Malaysia? Let’s serve the Gospel together in Myanmar.”

I sincerely wanted to keep them in Myanmar. Regardless, they left to Malaysia and occasionally sent their tithes to Myanmar church. Eventually, they became the foundation of the Malaysia church through God. After I got back to Myanmar, I got a call from Malaysia. It was Brother Ssosantoa. He had been meeting with the saved brothers and sisters and started a new church with about 10 people. He said that there would be more people attending the church. “It is good that the church is established in Malaysia, but now there would be no tithes from Malaysia!” I was a faithless and selfish person who went against the flow of the Holy Spirit with my desire.

It was like dispatching a missionary I received a CD of the cyber chatting with Pastor Ock Soo Park and listened to the sermon. It was the sermon on 1 Corinthians 9:9, “For it is written in the law of Moses, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?” “Yes, likewise God would not muzzle the mouth of the ox that works and let the ox eats freely, He will provide food, clothes, and everything to me who is the Gospel Preacher!” The heart of God gushed into my heart. I abstained from receiving financial support from the mission and wrote a letter requesting a missionary be dispatched to Malaysia.

After that, the Myanmar church became more prosperous. When Pastor 26

Ock Soo Park visited Myanmar, he mentioned that the Myanmar church would dispatch missionaries to different countries. Something amazing happened. Myanmar brothers and sisters who were nurtured in the Malaysia church would go abroad with a refugee visa. That was like dispatching missionaries. Myanmar brothers and sisters were spreading out to Australia, Canada, United States, and so on! Now, about 170 Myanmarese are attending the retreats in America.

On April of 2007, I got a call from Japan. Sister Dojaeong and Sister Donanbu went to Japan to earn money and were attending the Good News Tokyo Church. The sisters told me that they wanted to invite me and hold a conference for the Myanmar people living in Japan. “Pastor, there are many Myanmarese in Japan as well. Please, come and hold a conference. We will send you the ticket.” By the grace of God, I was able to go to Japan in May of that year.

Sister Dojaeong invited us to the restaurant where she worked and treated us. At that time, one of costumers got connected to us. He was a middle-aged man from Myanmar and his name was Chinkoko. He received salvation and brought many of his friends to church. I heard that around 50 Myanmarese brothers and sisters were gathering at the Good News Tokyo Church. “Pastor, these days, we eat Myanmar noodles once a month for Sunday lunch. Japanese brothers and sisters like it too. There are many people who get a second bowl.” When I thought about the brothers and sisters being happy, I could only be thankful.

Wherever I go, I could feel that people after becoming saved are becoming one hearted regardless of race, sex, and wealth. Pastor Jong Sik Joo from the Tokyo church gave rides to Myanmarese brothers and sisters to their houses.

Some Myanmarese are staying in Japan illegally, so it would be difficult for them to travel. However, because the missionary was giving them rides, they were able to freely attend the conferences. Just how the host of the inn took care of the man who fell among the thieves, the Tokyo church cared and served the Myanmarese brothers and sisters. Just like resting in an inn, it was so beautiful to see the brothers and sisters resting inside of the church.

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New York Times: Notes on Genesis I

Enter the Ark Pastor Ock Soo Park | Good News Gangnam Church

Enter the Ark And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him. (Genesis 7:1~5)

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“Tommy, you have walked in darkness until now, but Jesus will now have you live a new life. Jesus shed all of His blood on the cross for all of your sins. He has made you holy and righteous.”

Upon hearing the gospel, he laughed, “Ha, ha, ha, ha!” He could not believe it.

“Was Jesus crucified for a person like me? Did He really wash my sins away? Is it really okay to believe this?”

But he returned with joy after accepting the gospel into his heart.

As he was turning to leave, I called him over and spoke to him.

“Tommy, throw that cane of yours away the next time you come. God will surely help you if Jesus is with you. He will renew you.”

New Creature After the conference in Los Angeles was finished, I held conferences in Atlanta and Dallas, and then I returned to L.A. to leave for Korea. I stopped by our church in L.A. because I had some time before my flight, and Tommy came to church to see me because he heard that I was coming. He was wearing jeans and a white jacket. He looked brand-new and young.

“Tommy, jeans look really good on you. You should wear jeans from now on. You look really good, and you look very young.”Tommy began to speak to me.

“Pastor Park, I threw away my cane like you told me to. Now, I don’t need my cane anymore. It was a bit weird, but yesterday I played basketball with some students. I was not good, but I

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New York Times

Tommy, Throw Away That Cane of Yours the Next Time You Come I speak often about Genesis, and whenever I find out the heart of God, I would think, “God loves me!

God bestows grace upon me! I am lacking but God accepts me!” and be so thankful.

Not long ago I held a conference in Los Angeles and a man with a cane came limping toward me after the evening sermon and said, “Pastor, your sermon tonight knocked on my heart very much.” I sat down and spoke with him and he told me all about his past. He said that he turned 52 this year, and that he had been doing drugs for 40 years. He lived as a beggar and a homeless man. He had many diseases, but married a Korean woman and was deeply touched by her love and care. Even so, he would take all of the money she would earn and use it to fulfill his addiction. I asked him a question.

“Tommy, have you ever seen a butterfly? Do you know what turns into that beautiful butterfly?”

I continued speaking to him.

“Disgusting, ugly caterpillars are what become butterflies. This is the providence of God. God made humans filthy and dirty rather than good and honest so that He may save them, making them holy and glorious. Tommy, God has had you live a filthy, sinful life like that of a caterpillar for you to be able to eventually live like a butterfly.”

Then I preached the gospel to him.

New York Times: Notes on Genesis I

threw the ball, too. I am going to buy a treadmill and start exercising.”

I was so thankful before God to see how much Tommy had changed.

Tommy had lived in darkness until he met Jesus, but his life was exchanged with Jesus’ after he met Him. The powerful, glorious, and beautiful life of Jesus came upon Tommy, and Tommy’s sinful life moved over onto Jesus.

Not only Tommy, but as I preached the gospel al l over the world, I have seen how the lives of murderers, death row inmates, Russian mafia members, and drug addicts changed through meeting Jesus. Anyone who enters Jesus changes.

That is why 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17 says, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

It is not that we should live honestly, keep the law, and pray zealously in order for our lives to change. We must meet Jesus. Our lives before meeting Jesus were sinful lives that needed to be destroyed.

But just as a disgusting caterpillar becomes a pretty butterfly that flies in the sky, we change when we meet Jesus. God has made us that way.

However, anyone outside of the ark can only be destroyed no matter how good or honest he is. Genesis tells us about that very well.

Satan had man eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which gave man his standard of good and evil. Thus, people think that they will be cursed and destroyed if they do something evil, and think that they will be saved and blessed if they do something good. According to these thoughts, every person pursues goodness. But precisely put, true goodness is not helping others or providing relief for others. Jesus, Himself, is good.

True wickedness is not murdering, committing adultery, or stealing, but the life outside of Jesus, itself, is evil. Therefore, we should not try to do good to receive salvation, but we must enter into Jesus.

The big and little problems we face are no longer ours but Jesus’ once we enter Jesus. The woman taken in adultery was being dragged out to be stoned when she met Jesus.

She faced the pitiful fate of being stoned to death before she met Jesus.

But she had changed as she met Jesus.

All of her problems became Jesus’ If You Enter the Ark problems. Jesus bore the problem of God tells Noah in Genesis chapter her having sinned, and the glorious, 7, verse 1, Come thou and all thy beautiful life Jesus lived had now house into the ark. It was because become this woman’s. Jesus asked the judgmen t was coming, and the the woman: only way to survive the judgment “Woman, where are those thine was the ark. Even if one cannot accusers? Hath no man condemned swim and is exhausted, he can have thee?” rest and freedom if he enters the ark.

“No man, Lord.”

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For Jesus Has Become Our Wisdom, Righteousness, and Redemption The funny thing about the life in the ark was that, if there were a lion, for example, right next to a group of zebras, the zebras would hear the lion and become frightened, thinking, “Oh, no! There is a lion next to us!” They would be able to hear the lion, but the lion would be unable to eat them because rooms were made. The zebras would be so free.

“Lion, are you there?”

“What? How dare that zebra talk to me like that!”

“Hey, Lion! You should learn manners from now on. Why do you always try to catch and eat me?

You should change.”

The zebras were always nervous when they ate grass out in the prairies.

When lions would come, they would have to run away. But they were so free inside of the ark. They did not need to be nervous; they were at peace. If we, too, enter Christ, we will have such freedom as well.

I saw Tommy entering Jesus and becoming free from sin which had always suppressed him. I saw him being freed from diabetes, the palsy, 31

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“Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.”

The Bible tells us that the precise moment we meet Jesus and enter Him, all of our problems are no longer our problems, but they become Jesus’ problems.

In October of 1962, I realized and believed that all of my sins were washed as white as snow through the blood of the cross. From then on, the heart of Jesus and my heart became one. Before I met Jesus, I would try and labor to do good things and be honest whenever lustful and dirty ambitions would boil inside of me. I was always exhausted from fighting against sin. I would sin, regret, sin again. . . . Such life endlessly continued for me. Yet after Jesus entered my heart, my flesh was still being led to eat, drink, and enjoy itself, but another heart arose in me which allowed me to overcome the desires of the flesh. It was not I who was fighting against my evil thoughts or lust, but Jesus was fighting against them which enabled me to live a bright life. Jesus led me to be bright, holy, and glorious.

If the animals that entered the ark were outside the ark, they would have died in the flood. But once they were in the ark, it was not a problem, no matter how much it rained. It was because the ark blocked out the entire flood, judgment, and curse.

In the same way, if you enter Jesus, in your place, He takes the curse, destruction, and misery you should be receiving. That is why there is true rest and freedom inside of Jesus.

New York Times: Notes on Genesis I

and many other diseases. His heart looked truly free and at peace. The fight against drugs ended in his life and the fight against sin also ended.

Jesus Christ fought instead of him.

Sin, disease, and the big and little problems that faced his family were all of his problems when he was without Jesus. But those were no longer his problems after he entered Jesus for they were all now Jesus’ problems.

From the day I received salvation and Jesus entered my heart, I have gone through many difficulties and hardships, but not once was I ever in pain or afraid. It was because I could see that the Lord was taking charge of everything and watching over all things.

Curse and judgment departs from whoever is inside of Jesus, while salvation, true rest, grace, and blessings come upon them; just like being inside the ark.

The Bible says, But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30) Jesus has become our wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and salvation.

So if you enter Jesus, no matter what sin you have committed or what kind of a pitiful life you may have lived, those are no longer your problems, but the problems of Jesus.

asked me, “Father, how can I accept Jesus into my heart? Should I eat Him like I would cookies?” Many people ask similar questions.

“Pastor, how can I accept Jesus?

How can I enter into Jesus?”

John chapter 1 says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (verse 1) Jesus is the Word. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (verse 14) Hence, entering Jesus is entering the Word. What should we do to enter the Word? First, you listen to the Word. Then, when you unite your heart with the Word, you become one with Jesus.

There are many amazing words recorded in the Bible. Of them, Romans chapter 3, verse 23 says, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, then in verse 24, Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. The Bible tells us that we are dirty people who have sinned and done evil, but because Jesus received all the punishment and said, “You do not have sin. You are righteous,” and, “You are holy.”

The Word of God says that we do not have sin. It says that we are holy. It says that we have been Do You Believe in Your Own made as white as snow. What Thoughts, or the Word of God? do your thoughts say? In your How can one enter Jesus? When thoughts it seems that you are evil, he was very young, my son once dirty, and still have sin. Now the 32

question is, “Will you believe in your own thoughts or the Word of God?” Many people go to church, tithe, and try to keep the law, but they believe in their own thoughts rather than the Word of God. Therefore, even though they are told that their sins have been washed whiter than snow, they say, “But I am a sinner. How can I say that I do not have sins when I’ve committed so many?” Such people believe in themselves, not in Jesus. No matter how evil, dirty, and filthy you may appear to be, people who say, “God has called me holy! I am holy because my sins have been washed as white as snow!” and accept the Word, are those who believe in Jesus.

Only then do you become one with Jesus, and you are in God and God is in you. From then on, Jesus takes charge of every aspect of your life.

was crucified, shed His blood, was whipped, and then killed. The pain the Lord suffered cleansed us from all sins. It has made us righteous.

Jesus has become our wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and salvation.

Believe and Dwell in Jesus People do not know this fact very well, and they try to become righteous, holy, and truthful through doing good on their own. That is our own goodness, not the goodness or the righteousness of God. God told Noah to enter the ark. The reason was that everything was perfectly prepared in the ark so that it would lack nothing in saving Noah’s family and the animals. Jesus Christ did not die on the cross for face value.

It was the Lord Jesus Christ who met all the conditions necessary to save you perfectly. The Lord, for this deed, 33

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How amazing this is! I praise God the Father!

I had always anguished in sin, but one day, I b elieved in Jesus who died for my sins according to the Word. I believed that that death made all of my sins as white as snow. I was very joyful and thankful that all of my sins were washed as white as snow.

After believing in this one thing, Jesus was always with me.

If we are outside the ark, no matter how much good we do, we can only be destroyed, but we can receive salvation if we are inside the ark, no matter what evil we may have done.

Salvation depends on whether you are inside or outside the ark. It does not depend on whether you are good or evil. It is not that we have to do something to receive salvation, but we must enter into Jesus. When you believe that the blood Jesus shed washed your sins away and have the same heart as Jesus, you become a person inside of Jesus. I hope that you all will believe in Jesus who forgave your sins and justified you, and that you will dwell inside of Him.

Gospel Lesson

The Way to Wash Sins Pastor Kim Sung Hoon Good News Hanbat Church

The Tabernacle

“For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)

According to this verse, we have become sinners, not because of our disobedience but because of the disobedience of Adam. Many people think they are sinners because they have sinned. That is incorrect. As people who were within Adam, we died with him when he died because of sin.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

(1 Corinthians 15:22) In other words, we, the descendants of Adam, have died in front of God. Just like how a dead fish is carried away by the current, we were occupied by sin and it dragged us wherever it wished. All the thoughts we have now were all formed within that sin. Just like how all the water becomes contaminated when even just a small amount of poison is added, our thoughts are evil and fit to receive judgment. However, God has prepared salvation for us, who were supposed to be destroyed.

In the times of the Old Testament, the Israelites left Egypt and were heading towards Canaan. Between Egypt and Canaan was a wilderness.

While the Israelites walked through the wilderness with the guidance of Moses, there were times when they sinned. When they sinned, God had no choice but to depart from the Israelites. The reason is that God is unable to dwell with sinners. If their guardian, God, departed from them in a wilderness without water, food, or shelter, it could only mean death.

And so, Moses pleaded for God to wash away the sins of the people and to dwell with them.

“God, please do not depart from these people. Even if you have to blot my

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name from the book of life, please forgive them and be with them.”

Moses thought if he did so then God would be with the Israelites.

However, because God is holy, He cannot dwell with sinners. Since Moses did not know how to wash away sin when it was committed, he begged in front of God. At that moment, there was something God showed Moses. It was the tabernacle. God taught him how a person who had committed sin could come out in front of God. The way to do so was inside of the tabernacle.

When God gave the law, He also gave the tabernacle with it. The reason was that He already knew man would break the law and commit sin. The tabernacle is the place where a person who had sinned could make peace with God. That is why the clear method of how to make atonement is in the tabernacle. This is why the tabernacle was built.

As the Israelites lived in the wilderness for a long time, their tents became stained with dust and dirtied. In the midst of those dirtied and unclean tents was the tabernacle made out of white fine-twinned linen. If the tabernacle did not have the white fine twinned linen, then the Israelites would not been able to tell how dirty their own tents were.

Likewise, the righteousness of God has to appear in order for man to see that their own righteousness is like dirty rags.

The tabernacle was the house that perfectly produced the conditions for God to dwell amongst Israel who had sinned. Because of the tabernacle, God was able to dwell amongst Israel who had sinned.

The tabernacle has a door, and if you go The Tabernacle through that door, there is the altar of burnt The Tabernacle, according offering. The altar of burnt offering was made to the Hebrew Bible, was the portable dwelling place for out of acacia wood and horns were attached the divine presence, from to the four corners. On the horns, the sins of the time of the Exodus from Israel were recorded.

Egypt through the conquer“The sin of Judah is written with a pen of ing of the land of Canaan. iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is Built according to specifications revealed by God to graven upon the table of their heart, and upon Moses at Mount Sinai, it was the horns of your altars;” (Jeremiah 17:1) transported by the Israelites If we buy food with credit, that fact is on their journey through the written on our hearts and the restaurant’s books. wilderness and their conLikewise, sin is written on our hearts and also quest of the Promised Land.

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Gospel Lesson

on the horns of the altar, the book of God. If you pass the altar, there is the laver, and if you pass that, there is the sanctuary. The sanctuary is a tent with a roof. The sanctuary is divided into two areas, the Holy place and the Most Holy Place. In the Holy Place, there is the lamp stick, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense; when you open the veil and enter the Most Holy Place, there is the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant is the ark holding the two tablets of stone where the Ten Commandments have been inscribed.

The lid of the Ark of the Covenant is referred to as the mercy seat.

If you look at all the articles of the tabernacle together, they form the shape of the cross. The tabernacle is the model that reveals Jesus Christ.

Throughout the entire tabernacle, there are images that portray Jesus Christ exactly. The tabernacle contains the life of Jesus Christ. Inside of the tabernacle, the priests do their work. A priest is the person who resolves the sins of man so that they can go out in front of God.

The Unending Sin Offering

Now, let’s look in the Bible to see how the people of Israel received forgiveness when they had sinned.

“And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;” (Leviticus 4:27) A person broke the commandment of the Lord, the law, and committed sin without realizing it. But, that person has not yet realized that they have committed sin. Lastly, they realize the fact that they have committed sin.

“Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge…”

(Leviticus 4:28) There is a state of having sin and there is a state of realizing sin.

Likewise, there is the state of having a disease, and there is a state of realizing that one has a disease. Just because you have a disease doesn’t mean that you will try to get treated. The disease has to be discovered in order for someone to want treatment.

People are weak, lacking, and covered with blemishes. However, people think that even if they don’t rely on God, they can live. That is not the state of having realized sin. It is remaining in the state of Leviticus 4:27. Afterwards, there is a time when sin is realized. There is a time when you distinctly realize in your heart that you are a person that cannot help but to be destroyed.

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“Atonement” is when both hearts are resolved towards one another—it does not happen when only one heart is resolved.

If so, do you know where that person has to go? Just as it is written in the Bible, that person goes to a goat without blemish or a lamb without blemish.

“Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.” (Leviticus 4:28) The kid of the goats without blemish refers to Jesus Christ. If a person truly realizes their own image, no matter who it is, they will go to Jesus Christ. No matter who it is, if they do not meet Jesus Christ, they will never be free from sin. Leviticus 4:27 and 28 seem like simple verses, but they are very important verses. There is a state of being a sinner who has sinned and there is the state of realizing that fact. Only the person who has realized that they are a sinner can naturally go to Jesus Christ.

After committing sin, the Israelite who realized that they have committed sin brings a female goat without blemish or a kid of the goats, goes to the tabernacle, and lays their hands on the head of the offering.

“And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering…”

(Leviticus 4:29) Why do they have to lay their hands on the head? God told them to do so.

“And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.” (Leviticus 1:4) If that person does not put his/her hands on the head and kill the goat or lamb, then his/her sins are not forgiven. The process of the laying of the hands must be passed in order for it to be offered and for the forgiveness of sins. There is the laying of the hands. When Jesus was on the Earth, He often put his hands on the sick. The meaning of the laying of hands means that “You and I have become one.” Simply put, it means that “what is mine has become yours and what is yours has become mine.”

If this person who has committed sin lays his/her hands on the young lamb, that person and the lamb become one. If so, then who does the sin of this person belong to now? It becomes the lamb’s. That is why the lamb is killed. It is because “the wages of sin is death.” In order for sin to be washed, death has to be paid for sure. The only way to get rid of sin is for death to be paid.

Now, the lamb has borne the sins of the person. After the laying of the hands, God has commanded for this lamb to die. After the priest has

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Gospel Lesson

killed the lamb according to the commandment of God, he receives the blood and sprinkles it on the horns on the altar of burnt offering.

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” (Leviticus 17:11) Blood and life are one. The fact that blood is spilt means that life has been paid. God commanded for that blood to be put on the horns of the altar. It means that the wages of the sins written on the horns of the altar have been paid for. Blood has covered those sins. Now, God looks at the blood on the horns of the altar. That person’s wages of sin has been paid and their sins have been washed. Now, they are able to go out in front of God. The blood is put on five places: it is put on the four horns of the altar and the rest is poured on the ground. And so, blood flowed like a river from the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.

This means that the blood put on the horns of the altar has relieved God’s heart. The sins written in the books of God have been erased.

The rest of the blood poured on the ground is for the relieving of the heart of man. It is done so that the sins recorded on the books of the heart of man are washed away.

The blood of the lamb is sprinkled on the The High Priest's Role horns of the altar and on the ground in order The most important duty of to make atonement between God and man. the high priest was to conduct the service on the Day of Atone- “Atonement” is when both hearts are resolved ment, the tenth day of the towards one another—it does not happen when seventh month of every year. only one heart is resolved.

Only he was allowed to enter If a person gives an offering in this way, one the Most Holy Place behind sin they have committed is washed. One time, the veil to stand before God. I asked a certain elder, “If you have to wash Having made a sacrifice for himself and for the people, he away sins like this, what would happen?” He then brought the blood into the then replied, “Then, I guess I have to become Holy of Holies and sprinkled it on a shepherd.” If you have to offer a sin offering the mercy seat, God’s “throne” every time you sin, there would be no end to (Leviticus 16:14-15). He did this sin offerings. That is why the Israelites gave sin to make atonement for himself and the people for all their sins offerings without end. committed during the year that God told them to wash sins in this way. just ended (Exodus 30:10).

However, this offering was not the true form

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that God has prepared to wash away sins. Through making the Israelites give these offerings, God wanted to drag their hearts to a certain place.

In order to do so, God gave them the second sin offering. It is the “Atonement Offering” made on the “Day of Atonement.”

The Sound of the Bells

God told the people of Israel, “All of you gather in front of the tabernacle and wash away your sins for the whole year.” At that time, the high priest, the highest amongst the priests, gives the offering. The high priest is the person representing the people. In front of all the people, the high priest lays his hands on two goats prepared beforehand. Because it is to wash all the sins of the people, all the people should have to lay their hands, one-by-one on the goats, but because that is not possible, he lays his hands on the goats as their representative to pass all their sins over to the goat.

After the high priest has given a calf as an offering for his own sins, he puts his hands on two goats for all the sins of the people of Israel.

After doing so, all the sins of the congregation are passed onto the goats.

One of the two goats is called “the scapegoat” and it is sent out into the wilderness where no one lives. Why do they do this? When people look at it, it is the goat that bears all of their sins. If that goat goes far away and disappears, then what do they also feel has disappeared as well? They feel that their own sins have disappeared far away. Sin has gone far away. And so, that goat dies in the uninhabited wilderness.

After the remaining goat has been killed, the high priest takes its blood and enters the Most Holy Place. The high priest enters the Most Holy Place once every year, on the Day of Atonement. Inside of the Most Holy Place is the Ark of the Covenant which holds the ten commandments.

The law demands two things from man. The first is to “keep the law perfectly,” and the second things is “If you can’t keep the law, then pay with life.” In front of the law of God, we have to do one or the other.

Either we keep the law, or we pay the wages of sin which is death. God can never tolerate sin. One of the characteristics of God is that He is holy.

The holy nature of God is contained inside of the law.

Man cannot keep the law. Since man has already been born in the state of being drenched with sin, he cannot help but to break the law. If that is so, then man has to pay the wages of sin, which is death. And so, the high priest

39

Gospel Lesson

takes the blood, enters the Most Holy Place, and sprinkles the blood which is the sign of death onto the lid of the Ark of the Covenant seven times.

The high priest sprinkling the blood means that the people of Israel are paying for their sins. And so, if the high priest acts incorrectly, and is not able to sprinkle all of the blood, and dies, then the sins of the Israelites cannot be washed. The people of Israel are immensely curious when the high priest is sprinkling the blood, but since they are outside and cannot see inside the Most Holy Place, they do not know what is happening.

However, the interesting fact is that bells are attached to the garments of the high priest. Every time the high priests moves, they are able to hear the bells. The people outside of the tabernacle are able to know what the high priest is doing when they hear the sound of the bells. The high priest sprinkles the blood on the mercy seat. Then, you hear the sound of the bells, “ring ring.”

The people count, “One.” If they hear another “ring ring,” they count, “two” and then, “three”… and if they hear it seven times, then they yell out a cheer.

The blood has been sprinkled and all sin have been washed.

The people are unable to directly see the high priest sprinkling the blood on the mercy seat. But, they are able to hear the sound of the bells.

The sound of the bells represents the Word of God. We cannot see the cross directly. Also, we are unable to climb into Heaven and confirm with Jesus about how He washed away our sins.But there is one way we are able to know for sure. It is through the Word of God. Just like how the bells are hanging from the garments of the high priest, the Word precisely testifies what works Jesus Christ has done and how He has done them.

After the high priest finishes the offering for sin and comes outside, two silver trumpets are blown. Then, the Israelites give a great cheer; their sins for an entire year have been washed away. However, the problem is that this offering for sin is not the perfect method to wash away sin. It is not able to perfectly make atonement between God and man. The reason is that man will sin once again.

The reason that God has given us these methods to wash away sin is to show us the good work that is coming in the future.

Pastor Kim Sung Hoon is currently the senior pastor at Good News Daejon Church. This is the sermon that he preached at the 29th Summer Retreat, titled, “For the Lost Souls.”

40

41

Preaching the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth

The God Who Never Disappoints Those that Seek Him Testimony of Pastor Ock Soo Park

I

spent a chaotic first week at the Communications Training Base, getting berated by my senior officers. As I began to feel a bit more at ease, the heart to pray, to read the Bible, and to have service sincerely arose within me. One Saturday night, I used my break time to call a colleague over and preached the Gospel to him. His name was Soon Jong Song, and his salvation was assured through the Words. Later on, another friend named Chang Won Kim also listened to the Words and received assurance of salvation. The three of us gathered our hearts, saying, “Let’s preach the Gospel to other trainees, and have Sunday service at the base.” It was decided that I will lead the service, Brother Soon Jong Song will gather the trainees, and Brother Chang Won Kim will address any internal conflicts.

There were various challenges for a trainee like me to lead a religious service. Back then, there were many cases of desertion. Trainees were kept back from attending such events, even when they were off-duty.

Brothers Song, Kim and I had to get permission from the commander, the cadet instructor, the sergeant, and the barracks leader. And even when we received their permission, we still had a problem – we did not have a chapel for service! We visited each barrack shouting, “Those who want to attend service, come out.” Over a hundred trainees would gather together.

There was no place to hold a service, so we ended up having service outside at a mountain valley. It was a cold winter, so everyone was shivering at 42

the service. After preaching the Word, when I asked, “Those who want to believe in Jesus, please raise your hands and come forward,” several people raised their hand and stepped forward. I preached the Gospel on the forgiveness of sins. One hundred, two hundred, three hundred... As time passed, more and more people attended service. I was able to preach the Gospel to many of the trainees at that place.

One morning as I was on going out on a departmental business trip, I heard an announcement from the headquarter speaker, saying, “ROC 311 Ock Soo Park, report to the head office.” I felt nervous, since such announcements made in the army are rarely due to something good. When I went into the head office, the lieutenant, said, “Private Park, come sit here.” My eyes became round. It was given for a private to be yelled and cursed at in the army, but this lieutenant was treating me formally, offering me a seat.

“Private Park, what sort of work did you do before coming to the army?

“I was a minister.”

“Ah, as I suspected! I was a fervent believer before coming to the army too. But once I came here, I began drinking, smoking, and wasted my spiritual life away. Now I’m just like a non-believer. It hurts my heart a lot to live like this. Yesterday, I went to the valley because I heard the sound of hymnals, and saw you leading a service with the trainees. Seeing that really hit me hard. I thought to myself, ‘A private, a trainee is even doing the work of God! What am I, a lieutenant doing?’ And throughout the whole night, I was tormented. Private Park, I want to help you with what you do.

Is there anything for me to help you with?”

“Yes, lieutenant. We have no place to hold a service. I would like it if you could provide us with a room.”

“Oh, such things are possible.”

The lieutenant gave orders right away to the sergeant next to him.

“Sergeant Kim, give Private Park the key to room 16 so he can have service there at any time.”

That is how I obtained a place where we could have service, and the lieutenant and I became personally close. He would often say, “Private Park, pray for me. And when you have the time, tell me about the Words in the Bible.”

After sixteen weeks of training at the Communications base, we were to be sent to the next base where we would serve out the remainder of our service to the army. My two friends and I had a discussion, “At least one of us should stay at this training base. If all three of us leave, who’s going to lead the service? Let’s pray to God, so at least one of us can remain here.” We 43

began to pray for at least one of us to remain at the base and continue to do the works of the Gospel.

After sixteen weeks of training, we graduated. On graduation day, I was promoted to Private First Class, and I was so thankful to the lieutenant that I went to say goodbye to him.

“Lieutenant, thank you so much for helping me in many ways during my training. We graduate today.”

“Wait, Private Park! I have something to say to you. I knew you were graduating today, and I actually tried hard to send you to a good base. I was thinking of this base and that base, but I thought that you could be of great help to my spiritual life, so I made arrangements for you to remain here. So I hope you won’t complain and help me to do the work of the Gospel at this base.”

“Yes, sir!”

As I left the headquarters, I was moved beyond words. Even as I prayed to God to remain here and preach the Gospel, I deemed it impossible. For a trainee to go to the base he chose would require him to be within the top five highest ranking scores on graduation day, or have significant backing, but I had neither one of those. When I graduated, I was ranked thirteenth place. Looking at the situation, remaining at the Communications Training Base was impossible. That day, I had no other way to contain my thankfulness, so I went down to the soundproof communications bunker, where I used to kneel and pray.

“God, you are truly God. You are the living God who does not disappoint all those who pray to you. How can there be any other like you?

God, you are the best!”

I screamed this after locking the doors to the soundproof bunker. As I walked out after screaming my prayer of thanks, I was so filled with thankfulness that I shed tears. Until I had fulfilled my service to the army and was discharged, I stayed at that base living my army life and preaching the Gospel to countless trainees through the grace of God.

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