The Goodnews - December, 2016 by Good News Mission

DEC 2016

DELIVERING THE GOSPEL & THE TESTIMONIES OF GRACE

Special Article A Letter from Swaziland

Salvation Testimony

The Burden Has Been Lifted

New York Times

Blessing Comes When Lot is Sent Away

GOOD NEWS MAGAZINE

Contents

Monthly Sermon The Samaritan Woman Who Met the Messiah

Salvation Testimony The Burden Has Been Lifted

Special Article A Letter from Swaziland

About the Cover

An excerpt from the Letter of the King of Swaziland: Dear Sir, I bring you warm greetings from the Kingdom of Swaziland and I hope this letter will find you in good health Reverend Park. I have been commanded by His Majesty King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini to extend an invitation to you Rev. Park and the Gracias Choir to come to Swaziland to attend the King's Prayer Service on the 22nd October, 2016. You are kindly requested to be in the Kingdom on the 21st of October 2016 and depart on the 23rd October 2016. His Majesty will be grateful if you could honour this Royal Invitation. His Majesty is looking forward to welcoming you to the Kingdom of Eswatini with you.

Memoirs of a Missionary The God Who Broke Me Down and Taught Me Faith

New York Times Blessing Comes When Lot is Sent Away

Gospel Lesson The Mysterious Bible

Preaching the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth Enter into the House of Simon

Church Directory

Sermon of the Month

The Samaritan Woman Who Met the Messiah Pastor Ock Soo Park | Good News Gangnam Church

“The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.” (John 4:25 - 26)

The Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 was different from other people. The Samaritan woman went to the well to draw some water and met Jesus at the well. When she went to the well, her life was no different than before and she did not think that she would meet Jesus and change. She just went to draw some water and there she met Jesus and conversed with him, and the woman was led by the words of Jesus. The Heart of the Samaritan Woman that is Unlike the Heart that Rejects the Words of Jesus

In our lives, we don’t freely accept the things we encounter or the things we hear into our hearts. Since we have much experience and knowledge, they are the foundation as we think about the things we encounter and hear; whether it is right or wrong, whether it is good or bad, whether it is profitable or harmful…. As we judge in this way, if it fits our hearts, then we accept it, but if it doesn’t, then we reject it. Satan has for a long time placed into our hearts ideas and thoughts that are different from the heart of Jesus. He has made it so that no matter who they are, they cannot help but to reject the words of Jesus because it doesn’t fit their hearts. 4

The woman knew that Jesus, who was talking to her, was the Messiah that she had long been waiting for and she received the amazing grace of having all the problems of her heart resolved through Jesus. It was the same when the Samaritan woman met Jesus at the well. From the beginning, the woman did not understand the words of Jesus. She didn’t understand why Jesus, a Jew, was asking a Samaritan woman for a drink of water and even more so when he offered her living water. But just because she didn’t understand, she didn’t have the thought that the words of Jesus were wrong and reject it: “It’s just that I am uneducated, unknowledgeable and lacking that I don’t understand, but what this man is saying is right.” The woman had this kind of a heart. While the Woman Conversed with Jesus, She Became One with Jesus

When Jesus said that He will give the woman living water, she didn’t understand and asked, “Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?” Then Jesus answered her, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” The woman after hearing this knew that the water Jesus was referring to was not the same water that the flesh drinks of: “Ah, he’s talking of living water for the heart.” The Samaritan woman knew the meaning of Jesus’ words, and she accepted His words into her heart. “If I accept this man’s words, a river of living water will overflow within me! All this time, I’ve been so thirsty. In order to quench that thirst I’ve met many men and married them. Every time I married, with expectation and hope I started the married life thinking, “The man I met this time will give me happiness. He will quench my thirst,” but every time, that husband brought me disappointment. That’s why my heart was always empty and I couldn’t quench my thirst, but this man says, Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, speaking of the living water for my heart!” In the beginning, the thoughts of Jesus and the woman were so very far apart, but as she conversed with Jesus, the woman’s heart little by little became closer to Jesus. That’s why the woman said to Jesus, 5

Sermon of the Month

“Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.” If we add a little more to what this woman said, she would have said, “Sir, I have been so thirsty. The thirsting of my soul was so severe that I was truly looking for the water that would quench that thirst. But are you willing to give it to me? Sir, please give me that water!” The woman accepted the words of Jesus into her heart and became one heart with Him. Meeting the Messiah, Having Waited So Long

Jesus told the woman to go and bring her husband. The woman answered that she didn’t have one and Jesus said, “For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.” Jesus knew precisely about the woman and told her several things she needed to hear. And at the end, He told her that He was the Messiah. The Samaritan woman was speaking to Jesus about the Messiah. “I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.” Right then Jesus told the woman that He was the Messiah, the one she had been waiting for. The woman knew that Jesus, who was talking to her, was the Messiah that she had long been waiting for and she received the amazing grace of having all the problems of her heart resolved through Jesus. When I am Hungry, It’s Jesus and When I am Lacking, It’s Jesus…

As people live in the world, regardless of who they are, they suffer because of the problem of sin. And not just the problem of sin, but many various problems they encounter in life, because they cannot resolve them; we are people who worry and live being tormented by them. But when we meet Jesus, everything becomes different. It is because all our problems become the problems of Jesus who loves us. The Samaritan woman struggled with a severe thirst, but after meeting Jesus, that thirst disappeared. The problems that she had were no longer problems. Now the woman left the water bucket at the well and went into town busily introducing Jesus to other people. I am a lacking person but I too, like the Samaritan woman, met Jesus. I accepted Jesus as my Savior who saved me from sin. Afterward, Jesus has lived and worked inside of my heart. When Jesus became my master, nothing became a problem. When I am hungry, it’s Jesus; when I am lacking something, it’s Jesus; in difficulty, it’s Jesus; having many sins, it’s Jesus; when something goes well, it’s Jesus; when something goes wrong, it’s Jesus… After Jesus came into my heart, 45 years had passed. Before meeting 6

If we have difficulties and problems, then it is because of one thing: it is because we don’t believe in Jesus. I am thankful beyond words because Jesus came and found us and became everything for us. Jesus, when I encountered a problem, I was tormented and suffered, but after Jesus came into me, no matter what problem I encountered, no matter what hardship I faced, every time, Jesus resolved them for me. I could prevail over all things through Jesus. If that Jesus is Inside Us Today…

In the Bible at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee they ran out of wine, if Jesus was there, it was resolved, and when the temple in Jerusalem was dirtied, if Jesus was there it was resolved. The man with an infirmity 38 years or the blind man, when Jesus came it was resolved, and when Jairus’ daughter died, when Jesus came it was resolved. In all the problems we encounter, if Jesus who created the heavens and the earth comes, there is nothing that cannot be resolved. If we have difficulties and problems, then it is because of one thing: it is because we don’t believe in Jesus. I am thankful beyond words because Jesus came and found us and became everything for us. But regrettably, people don’t believe in Jesus; they carry their burdens as they suffer and are tormented. Jesus, whom the Samaritan woman met, Jesus whom the man with an infirmity 38 years met, Jesus who brought Lazarus back from the dead, if that Jesus is inside us today how grateful would we be! Like the Samaritan woman, if we can meet Jesus with our hearts and have all our problems become the problems of Jesus, I believe that we too would be freed from all our problems like the Samaritan woman and receive the precious grace of running to other people to introduce Jesus.

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

The Burden Has Been Lifted Jennifer Rivas | Good News Manhattan Church

I grew up in church for about 15 years. At the time my mother was pregnant with my little sister, my brother was about 11 years old and I was four and a half years old when we first starting attending. We were very warmly welcomed and cared for by many of the church members. They became like family and they showed us the ways of spiritual life. As time went by, my family became more active in the church activities. My brother, sister, and I were enrolled into the weekly kids programs and my mother started to work with the woman of the church. Soon enough we began to excel in the programs and eventually she became president of the women of the church. This meant that she would be in charge of the events, activities, and welfare of women's group. To my surprise, my mother would go on to hold this title for 10 years. Through those years I also participated in many activities from Sunday School, Nursery, VBS and even head of drama. I was very good at working in church. But even though I grew up in church and did many works for church, I had developed many bad habits and committed many sinful deeds. One of the main things I couldn’t control was my attitude and anger. During my early teenage years I had a lot of problems with my father and had a lot of resentment towards him. Naturally I started to not only despise my mother but also the people in church. Everyone would seem to be the perfect image of a family while my family just seemed to be broken in comparison to them. I also felt pressure because of my mother’s title. Many times I was told “You are the president’s daughter, you should represent her.” and “You are the daughter of the president and you need to act well 8

behaved." but because of all the frustration I had already felt it made me even more enraged and angry. I didn’t want to control and repress my feelings because of an image others thought I should be. So throughout all my teenage years I constantly was fighting against this image of being good. I felt like I was being hypocritical if I did so because I wasn't a good person. I could never control the anger, rage and hate I had inside me. So I thought, “What's the point?” But even so because I grew up in a church where good works replaces your bad deeds I thought maybe if I work more it would be okay. But about the middle of 2012, I started to feel as though there wasn't much sense in continuing to go to church. Every Sunday I would go and they would always do an altar call asking if anybody is not forgiven of their sins then please come up and they would pray for you. Eventually I would see the same people again and again going up. Then I started to think, “Why are the same people continuously going up? They're supposedly the people that seem to have the best-looking spiritual life and the ones that listen to God the most, but yet they're constantly asking for forgiveness of sins. So what type of sins tied them down?” And I also had heard many different things that our leaders were doing behind closed doors but in front of everyone would pretend they never did. “If the best of the best couldn’t have a relationship with God how can I?” I thought to myself. At that time I was going to college and I would simply go to the classes and then leave right away. I didn't talk or try to interact with anyone. I simply just wanted to go and get out. I didn't realize at the time but I had totally isolated myself. One day in front of my school I happened to see that they were promoting Korean classes. I was very excited because I had recently gotten into k-pop and k-drama so I had an interest learning Korean. But I was really shy so I never approached any of the volunteers that were promoting. I had seen in front of my classroom the posters promoting the Korean Class I was very excited and really wanted to participate but the conflict came when I discovered that it was actually in Brooklyn. I live in Queens so to be able to get to the facilities where the classes were being held it would take more than two hours, which was far for me. I prayed that the classes could 9

Salvation Testimony

somehow come to Queens and if it did I would definitely go. Towards the end of the semester I was standing and waiting for the elevator when I happen to see the poster for the Korean Classes once again but this time it said Korean Camp, so this caught my attention right away. I looked at the location and sure enough the location happened to be in Queens. I saw the date and it happened to be the next day so very late at night I called the number that was on the flyer and asked if I could still register for the camp. To my excitement they had said, “Yes.” The next morning I went to the camp and enjoyed myself and decided that I would go to the rest of the Korean Classes because I was informed that they not only had classes in Brooklyn but they had classes in Manhattan. About two months after I had attended the classes I was asked if I wanted to teach the new coming volunteers English. And strangely enough I said yes even though if you look at my academic records I did very poorly in my English Classes. Even so every morning we had lesson plans in which we would have the group of volunteers repeat dialogue. We would show them how they're able to approach the people they were meeting in the streets and how to preach the gospel. As I read more and more of these lessons and went over it with my students the more it started to sink into me. I started to learn God’s heart towards me. Many times there would be scenarios between person A, which happens to be the volunteer who would preach, and person B would be the person who didn’t have salvation. I saw that many times I was answering the same way person B responded. I thought I was a person who was full of sin and could wash away my sins with my works, I knew about Jesus Christ’s sacrifice but I didn’t know the extent of His power. The more of the dialogue I read, I could see God's heart for me wasn't to condemn me for my sins, or try to be good to wash them. It was to believe in the work that He had for us. Even though I grew up in church for more than 15 years I never knew 10

the heart of God towards me. One night I was hearing a sermon in which I was told that my sins were forgiven once and for all, that the sins I committed in the past, present, and the future were already washed by Jesus Christ so He remembers my sin no more. When I first heard it I couldn’t believe it. That night I went home and my sister was up late. So I told her, “Hey you know I was listening to the preaching tonight and they said our sins are washed once and for all meaning your past, present, and future sins.” And she just simply looked at me and said, “Of course that's what Jesus did for us. Didn't you know that already?” So when my little sister said that I felt I had to confirm this for myself. The next day I was able to speak with a sister and ask her about what it meant that our sins were forgiven once and for all and she was able to show me the words of Hebrews 10:10. “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” When I read the once for all part I felt so much burden lifted off of my shoulders because I found out this is the reason why people always go to the front asking for their sins to be forgiven because they don't know that Jesus already did it once and for all. They don't know that the sacrifice that He had for us was perfect and that even though I remember my sins and feel like they have to be paid it was already paid. There is nothing for us to do because Jesus Christ did it for us. We are no longer sinners but made righteous through His blood. I am made perfect through his sacrifice. This weight I had carried for so many years finally was relieved off of my shoulders. After that I saw how God was leading my life. I have been able to witness and be a part of the great works of the gospel for the last three years since I received salvation. Especially with the promise of this year, Hebrews 10:39 “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; With volunteers, teachers, and students but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” I am excited to continue meeting people who are waiting for that heavy burden to be lifted from their shoulders and have Christ take control.

Special Article_Swaziland

A Letter from Swaziland

Swaziland, the country that establishes God, the Word, and the servant of God before the king. The amazing works of the gospel was spread through the King's Office, which was broadcasted on TV. God has worked.

Dear Sir, I bring you warm greetings from the Kingdom of Swaziland and I hope this letter will find you in good health Reverend Park. I have been commanded by His Majesty King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini to extend an invitation to you Rev. Park and the Gracias Choir to come to Swaziland to attend the King's Prayer Service on the 22nd October, 2016. You are kindly requested to be in the Kingdom on the 21st October 2016 and depart on the 23rd October 2016. His Majesty will be grateful if you could honour this Royal Invitation. His Majesty is looking forward to welcoming you to the Kingdom of Eswatini with you .

God Works According to the Name of Jesus Christ Missionary Tae Wook Kang

1. Meeting with the King September 26th was Pastor Park's third visit to Swaziland. The Minister of Youth attended the South Korea World Camp and returned to Swaziland to report to the king. It was during this time the King of Swaziland showed interest in meeting with Pastor Park. The initial process began but nothing was confirmed. Because the Gracias Choir was on the Christmas Cantata Tour during that time, the Gracias Music students who were short-term missionaries in Africa attended instead. Pastor Park arrived on September 23rd and was looking to meet with the king. It was then when he heard the news that the king, along with Ministers and other special guests would be attending the graduation of the National University. Because we were not invited to the graduation, we were not confident that we would be able to perform on that day. But we had hope in how God would work so we drove an hour and a half from the capital to the National University. When we arrived at the venue, we were informed that because the king was in attendance, all performances had to be approved

September 26th, Pastor Park preaching the gospel to the king.

in advanced by the government. Therefore, we were not able to be added to the roster of performances. However, we were given permission to perform during the first half of the event, which was before the king’s arrival. But amazingly, when we were performing our first song, the king arrived and we were able to sing the last three songs in front of him. The king was surprised and enjoyed the performance. After the performance, the king sent his secretary to introduce ourselves to him. After we greeted, I said, “The founder of IYF, Pastor Park will be arriving to Swaziland on September 26th” and briefly introduced our organization to him. The king replied, saying “I would be delighted to meet the founder of such an organization.” We were surprised once more when we saw our news article titled, “Korean Choir Surprises the King” on the front pages. 2. Interview with the King On September 26th, Pastor Park arrived. He led the Pastors meeting as planned in the morning, and at 5 in the afternoon, he met with the king. The king canceled all prior appointments for that day and met with Pastor Park for 2 hours and 30 minutes. It was an emotional day. As soon as pastor met with the king, he spoke about what we did and preached the gospel. “True spiritual life is when our hearts are connected with God's. We look at ourselves and think we are sinners because we sinned. But what's more important is how God sees us. In Romans 3:24, it says that God has made us righteous. You are king of this country but God is established above you. That is why you must listen to the word of God. God is the judge. Just as you appoint someone as Minister, if the King of kings, God, says we are righteous, then we are righteous.” The king replied, “I listened to what you said. We didn't go to Korea to invite you personally, but you heard about our country and came here. When I see how God moved your heart to come here, I believe that Swaziland will be blessed. You may say your words are your own, but God is the one who is speaking through you. Although I am the king, God is above me. If we follow the words of God then our country will be blessed. If we depart from the word, then we will face hardship and destruction.”

Because there was a set time for our meeting, whenever pastor stopped the king told him to continue. Throughout the meeting, the king kept saying “Amen” aloud. He was very happy to hear the gospel. He said that he would personally help pastor with his work. "We will support you fully in all your work. Please work for Swaziland. We will set up a committee and you will set one up as well. We will build a youth center, a church, a school, and your home where you can stay whenever you are here." After pastor's word, there was a performance by the Gracias Music students. The king and his family was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the performance. After the meeting with the king, a princess approached Pastor Park requested to speak with him. He preached the gospel to her and prayed for her. The king's secretary also met with pastor and received prayer from him. God opened the heart of the king and the hearts of his family and those around him. He allowed them to hear the gospel. I believe that God has blessed this country and am truly thankful. 3. Pastor's Meeting Bishop Maseko, who attended the World Christian Leaders Forum in Korea was the one to open this Pastor's Meeting. There are over 1,000 members of his church, where even a queen is among the members. He is a very influential pastor. After receiving salvation in Korea, he continued to invite us to preach the gospel on different occassions. After the pastor's meeting, we were hopeful that the different Christian denominations of Swaziland will come together to do the works of the gospel. Because the Christian Committee attended this forum as well, over 200 bishops and pastors attended to hear the word. Many were moved by the words of Pastor Park. Pastor Park said, “In Genesis chapter 1, the earth was not able to overcome the darkness on its own. But when God said, 'Let there be light' then the darkness disappeared through the word.” When the pastors heard these words, they applauded and cheered. “When was the prodigal son cleansed? When the words fell from the father's mouth, that is when he became clean.” He spoke

The students performing in front of the king and meeting with him.

about the power of God and everyone cheered â&#x20AC;&#x153;Amen. Hallelujah.â&#x20AC;? I am thankful to see how the Christian leaders will receive change and invite us to preach the gospel at their churches. 4. Mind Lecture at the National University After the meeting with the king, there was a mind lecture at the National University. Those who attended were government officials, educational officials, and college students. The Minister of Education attended as a representative of the government, as well as the Committee Leader of the Youth Committee. There were around 200 people in total who attended to listen to the mind lecture. The professors and principals who have heard mind lectures before were excited to hear Pastor Park in person. The students were happy to invite pastor for the event as well. Around 1,500 professors have received mind lecture in Swaziland. There are many professors who want to become mind lecturers. I am hopeful when I think of the many professors who will continue to have mind lectures. God will spread the gospel widely through the mind lectures. 5. Meeting with the Empress There is the position of the Empress in Swaziland. In the event the king is too young when ascending to power, then he receives guidance from the Empress to bring stability to the country. Even to this day, the king and the empress hold the same power and lead the

country together. The king asked that when the empress arrives in South Korea, that Pastor Park would greet her, perform songs for her, and introduce himself to the empress. The empress arrived in Korea on October 7th and met with Pastor Park on October 9th. The empress had already heard of Pastor Park through the king. She thanked pastor for the many projects in Swaziland. She then spoke of her projects and asked that they work together. Pastor then prayed for the empress' health and spread the gospel to her. The empress said â&#x20AC;&#x153;Amenâ&#x20AC;? while receiving prayer. The princess who accompanied the empress on her trip also met with Pastor Park. The Minister of Forestation also heard the gospel and was happy. Among the 61 people of her party, five have attended church service and heard the word. It was a thankful time to see how God works outside of the scope of our thoughts. 6. The King's Prayer Service On October 22nd there was the King's Prayer Service. Around 500 people, including the King, Empress, their family, as well as government officials attend the King's Prayer Service each year. It is a broadcasted national event. Pastor Park and the Gracias Choir was specially invited by the King. On October 21st, Pastor Park and Gracias Choir arrived in Swaziland. Because they were personally invited by the king, they received the best hospitality the government could offer. The princess who oversaw the prayer service came to give a briefing to

The Gracias Choir was invited to the King's Prayer Service and was warmly welcomed.

pastor and pastor preached the gospel to her. The princess said the words she heard were for her and was very thankful. There were 200 pastors who attended the pastor's meeting held before the prayer service. When the meeting ended, 40 pastors invited us to preach during Sunday service at their churches. They also showed interest in attending our post events. The former Minister of Finance as well as Bishop Damini, the current King's Advisor, invited us to their Sunday service and said that they need this clear gospel. In the evening, the Youth Committee of Swaziland met with the IYF Committee which consists of Pastor Hyun Mok Lee, Pastor Yeong Gook Park, Pastor Jae Yoon Shim, Pastor Tae Wook Kang, and Brother Kil Yong Park. They discussed their future plans. The Youth Committee promised to provide full support for the upcoming projects and to help efficiently and actively. The princess who oversaw the prayer service came to meet Pastor Park with her husband, who is a pastor of a big church in Swaziland. Pastror began to preach the gospel to her husband but had to attend the committee meeting in the middle, so he asked Pastor Joe Park to preach in his stead. He preached about 1 Corinthians 6:11. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are cleansed, we are sanctified, we are justified.â&#x20AC;? When he heard those words, he was touched. The next day, Pastor Park went to the Palace Convention Hall to attend the King's Prayer Service. There were 500 people who attended, including the king, his family, and government officials. They started the event with praise and after lectures from four different bishops, it was time for Gracias Choir's performance. They performed the Swaziland hymn, Siyabonga Jesu. The people were mesmerized when they heard the first verse of the song. The king smiled while listening to them sing. People raised their hands as they were touched by the song. After the performance, Pastor Park preached the word. He spoke about having one heart with God. He spoke about Soo hyun Choi who believed in God and was healed of her cancer. He spoke about Esther who knew the heart of the king and became one with the king. He spoke about the woman who was caught in adultery and met heart to heart with Jesus. When we become one with Jesus, his power flows through us and God will be able to work. He preached

the gospel of Romans 3:23-24. "When I see myself, I am evil and dirty. But if God made me clean, then I am clean. If He made me righteous, then I am righteous. Am I right or is God right? I must throw away my thoughts and accept the words that say that I am righteous. This is spiritual life." Following this was the speech from the king. He deeply thanked Pastor Park and Gracias Choir. He praised Gracias Choir several times. The prayer service was broadcasted on national TV at 7pm. The king's speech, the prime minister's speech, Pastor Park's sermon and Gracias Choir were given much limelight. Through the King's Prayer Service, the gospel was spread to the people of Swaziland. There are surely people who received salvation through pastor's sermon. There are also people who will receive salvation. When I witnessed all this, I can see that God wants to spread this gospel greatly in Swaziland. I am grateful and moved to have been a part of the great works of Christian history in Swaziland. 7. Jesus is the Seal I am nothing but the Jesus inside of me is great and powerful. When I move forward as I rely on Jesus, the works of God appear. Because I was made perfect through Jesus Christ, whatever step I take, it is a step taken through God and He will fulfill it. Through Esther's plea to the king, she was able to overcome Haman. The signet ring that was given to Haman was later given to Mordecai. Esther pleaded that the king erase the first order to kill all the Jews. The king said that he can't erase the order but he can write another order and seal it with his signet ring. When I head these words I became very hopeful. That's right, I thought. Whatever we write, when it is sealed through the name of Christ, then God will work accordingly. When I tried to have the king meet with pastor back in September of 2015, it didn't work out. Although he wrote a letter saying he would meet with pastor, the meeting didn't happen. I thought because I lacked faith, because I made mistake and did it wrong, that was the reason the king didn't meet with pastor. I had the heart to draw back into perdition. But as I saw the meeting with the king and the King's Prayer Service this year, I felt that God made us wait to give us the best things. Because God loves us, He wants to give us the best. In order for us to be blessed, He wants to teach us faith. I thank and glorify the God who is with us always.

Memoirs of a Missionary_Cote d'Ivoire

Memoirs of a Missionary Episode 2

The God Who Broke Me Down and Taught Me Faith

The will and providence of God is clearly revealed through the life of Missionary Jung Do Lee, as he looked up to God and sought God for the things he needed as he joined the missionary school. Let us hear his testimony about how God broke down everything of man to establish solely His love and grace.

I lived as an enemy of God for 10 years ever since I received salvation!

In 1996, I was preparing to enter the missionary school after quitting my job. My older brother (Missionary Dae Do Lee of Budapest church) was dispatched to Hungary as a missionary and he had asked me to take care of his children for a while. Because I had to take care of my nephews, I gave up on going to missionary school and got a job instead. I thought to myself, “Maybe, God does not want me to become a Gospel preacher.” About a year later, I heard that my father passed away. Because I wasn’t able to preach the Gospel to my father, I started to ask myself, “What am I doing? To save whose soul did I try to become a preacher?” Although I poured all of my heart in preaching the Gospel, no one received salvation or got connected to the church through me. I felt very difficult because problems arose in everything I did. I felt like God was cursing me. Because of that, I felt that staying in church and trying to live for the Gospel was meaningless. “God, if you don’t want me here, I should leave! I will leave!” On December of 1997, I left the church, blaming God. That was the 10th year since I had been saved. Although my spiritual life failed, I could not fail in my life as well. I prepared to become an architect while working at a clothing shop ran by my uncle. I went to an academy to get a CAD certificate. I also studied English diligently. Managing my uncle’s shop was not easy. Since most of the customers were women, there were a lot of temptations. Although I had left the church, I had not fallen into sin because the Holy Spirit that was in my heart was holding me. To make a lot of money, I chose difficult works and I studied to prepare for the SATs at night. I was very busy. When I left the church, I wrote down some goals to achieve in my notebook. A year later, when I looked at the notebook, all of the goals I had written down were accomplished. I had gotten into a national university with a major in architecture, I had paid my tuition, and had saved up enough money to start a small business. In 1998, around the time when the winter retreat was about to begin, my mother told me, “If you don’t attend the retreat, I will kill myself.” I could not help but attend the retreat because my mother was a person who would really kill herself if she said so. I went to the Gospel class and slept because I was tired physically and mentally. After falling asleep in the Gospel class for three days, I was able to start listening to the sermon little by little, since I was no longer sleepy. The sermon was about Peter walking on the sea. “And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water” (Matthew 14:28). I thought, “No one else 23

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except Peter walked on the sea. Why did Peter who experienced miracles by faith fall drown? What happened while he was walking on the sea?” To Peter who felt fearful as he saw the storm, Jesus said, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” In 1 Kings 13, there is a story about Saul who was unable to wait for the prophet Elisha, and giving a burnt offering on his own because he was afraid of the Philistines that came to attack him. Why did Saul fall into fear? What made him to be caught by fear? The problem was in Saul himself. Saul had become so great. When people become great, they form their own world and are in fear in their own world. In their world, they cannot have or grow in faith toward God. People are either confident in their conditions and abilities or they are in fear. Peter’s doubt and fear also arose from establishing his own world. As I was listening to the sermon, I thought carefully, “When did I become great?” I remembered the time when I was doing volunteer work at the Daeduk Retreat Center construction site. At that time, my back pain was healed. Back then, I was established in the place where the church and God were supposed to be established. Although I received everything by grace, I thought I was a person with faith who loved God more than anyone else. After I was established, my thoughts seemed like the truth. Thus, I made all the decisions, even the decision to leave the church. I was not able to be free from my endless thoughts. However, God wanted to break down a person like myself. It was because I can neither meet God nor have faith in my world. After I received salvation, I lived my life as God’s enemy for ten years! The image of Edom in Malachi Chapter 1 was my image. God said he would completely destroy everything that I established. I was wearing a winter jacket with a hood. I put the hood over my head and cried continuously. After the retreat was over, I went back to the church and I shared my heart and had fellowship with a pastor. I gave up on going to school and read the Bible and listened to sermon tapes for a month. Each Word was new to me and I was happy. “Don’t be afraid to bringing your wife”

A few months later, the pastor asked me about the kind of women that I like. He heard my answer and became very worried. He said, “Tomorrow, you will go to Busan Daeyeon Church and meet your prospective marriage partner. But, she is different from your ideal type of woman.” As I was reading the Bible that day, the Word in Matthew 1:20, stood out, “…thou son 24

“After I received salvation, I lived my life as a God’s enemy for ten years!” The image of Edom in Malachi chapter one was my image.

of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife...” I thought to myself on the way to Busan Daeyeon Church, “What kind of person is she that people are concerned about me?” My prospective marriage partner, Sister Sukhee Kim was arrogant and bold. I was not comfortable with her attitude, but I was not too worried because I met her with a heart to get married with her. We talked for about two hours and I was about to leave. At that moment, that sister who was known for her arrogance followed me to the bus stop and said goodbye with her hands together and a 90-degree bow. She said, “Please understand.” At that moment, I heard the voice of God. “See! I told you not to be afraid!” Not long after meeting with Sister Sukhee Kim, I got married with her and entered a pastoral training center at the Busan Daeyeon Church as an auditor. A few months after my wife had gotten pregnant, she spoke to me with a worried look, “Honey, this is the third time that I’ve had a large amount of blood discharge.” Back then, we didn’t have enough money because we did not make any money and we were staying at the training center as auditors. For that reason, my wife had been hiding it, but she could no longer hide it and had spoken to me. I searched everywhere and gathered money to go to the hospital. The doctor said it was possible that my wife could have a miscarriage. Thus, she had to get a shot, take medicine, and rest well. Since my wife and I did not have any money, we told the doctor that we would come back later. On the way out, my wife started to cry and said that she would call her older sister and borrow money for the treatment. Because she was the sixth child, she had brothers and sisters who could help when a problem arose. I told my wife. “Honey, you are lucky to have people who’d help you with a simple phone call…. I have no one I can ask for help, even for a dollar. So, I can’t help but read the Bible and pray all night. Last night, God promised me that He would protect our child. Honey, how can we tell people to believe in God if we can’t believe Him. I believe in God who spoke to me. I hope you could have the same heart as I do.” My wife understood my heart and did not call her sister. 25

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After we came back from the hospital, we went to the winter retreat and came back home. One sister brought some Chinese medicine to my wife saying that the medicine is effective in preventing miscarriages. That sister’s mother-in-law and aunt had sent her the same medicine at the same time, so she wanted to give one to my wife. I did not believe that the medicine protected my wife. I heard the voice of God at that time. “Jung Do, I want you to live like this.” Like that, I stayed at the Busan Daeyeon Church as the auditor for a few months and enrolled in the Mahanaim Cyber Theology School at the Good News Hanbat Church. After my prayers, God always worked so I could feel his love

Students of the Mahanaim Theology School had to learn how to live by faith before they become ministers. For that reason, all students prayed to God and received everything they needed from God, such as their living expenses and child rearing expenses. Learning how to live only by relying on God was the most important part of the theology school. Not long after I had joined the theology school, my wife had to go to her mother’s house to deliver our baby, but she did not have any maternity clothes. Because she did not have any maternity clothes, she would tie her pants with a rope and cover her belly with long shirts when she went out to witness. At that time, one of the pastor’s wives gave my wife some maternity clothes that she had previously worn. I was really thankful. The clothes were a bit tight on my wife, but there were extra inner cloth. We decided to alter the clothes and left the clothes at a tailor shop. The problem was that we did not have the money to pick up the clothes. I prayed early in the morning in the chapel. “God, I am used to poverty. So living without many things is not a problem. However, I could not provide anything for my wife although you gave her to me. Those clothes weren’t even new. I tried to alter used clothes for her. I can’t even do that,” I was crying while praying for a while. I felt like God was next to me. I kept praying with my eyes closed because I felt God would leave if I open my eyes. God spoke to me. “Jung Do, I will listen to your prayer. Don’t cry.” “God, really? Then I will stop crying.” After the early morning service, I read the Bible. The Words in Mark 11:24 gave me assurance. “… What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” I came back to the room and told my wife. “I received money for the alternation.” “Really? Where is it?” “God just tossed money from heaven a while ago. It is just taking some time for us to receive it. I will pick the 26

clothes up from the tailor shop.” After talking with my wife, I was going to eat breakfast. On the way there, one of brothers who was a colleague in training called me. He gave me ten dollars and said, “Brother Lee, we found this money while organizing our closets. As soon as I saw the money, I thought about you. I think this belongs to you.” It was my money from God. After her postnatal care, my wife came back to the theology school with my first daughter Do Hee. I was thankful and happy. After having a child, we needed others things that we did not need when it was just the two of us. I always had to pray for diapers and baby formula. It was a really good time for me to get close to God. Once, we ran out of baby formula, so we had to feed Do Hee with barley tea and rice boiled water. During the daily witnessing time, sisters took turns taking care of the babies. They found out that we did not have baby formula for our daughter. In the evening, one brother came and gave me some money and said. “Brother Lee, I heard. Buy some baby formula with this money.” “Brother, did you pay for food expenses? This morning, the captain made an announcement. He said we have to pay for food expense first if we have money.” “No, not yet….” “Brother, that money is not mine. If God wanted to receive your money, he would first give you enough to pay for your baby formula. Pay for your food expenses first.” This time, the finance captain called me. “Brother Lee, I heard about Do Hee. Buy baby formula with this money. Even when I prayed, God sometimes did not answer my prayer.” “I don’t think that way. God always answered my prayers. Thank you. But I can’t take this money.” When I looked at myself after exiting the room, I felt so miserable. I went down to a theology classroom and prayed in tears. Many thoughts crossed my mind. I was a bit confused wondering if my pride was what was making Do Hee starving. However, I recalled the moments when God helped me. That was how I spent that night. After the early morning service was over, I came back to my room and saw a container of baby formula. I carefully opened the container and it was full. My wife started to explain how she got the formula. One of the sisters in church fed her baby with baby formula that she received as a gift. However, her baby would have diarrhea whenever the baby ate the formula. Early that morning, as she looked at the baby formula, she thought, “Someone in church may need 27

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this formula….” With that thought, she brought the formula to the church. She met my wife as soon as she entered the church and gave it to her. There were many kinds of baby formula on the market, but the one that the sister gave us was the exactly same one that Do Hee was using. Because of Do Hee, my wife and I cried often in tears. After each prayer, we were able to feel the care and love of God. We were so happy. Grandmother Jeon Boon

There were things that caused me pain while I was in theology school. It was the fact that no one received salvation through me. However God also worked and bestowed grace upon me in this matter as well. One day, the church was looking for a theology student who could give spiritual counseling to a mentally unstable person. I quickly ran down with a Gospel picture book for witnessing. He was a young man who stopped by church after drawing water. It was not easy to preach the Gospel to him. The young man lived with his mother not far from church. My wife and I often visited his house and preached the Word to Grandmother Jeon Boon, the young man’s mother. She was lovely, hale and hearty. Even though she believed in Buddhism, she opened3her heart and listened to the Word well. She also shared her heart and problems that she had. After her husband passed away at an early age, she had a difficult life raising a mentally unstable son. Additionally, she was going through a court case because she had a problem with a person whom she lent her money to. Since she lived a good life on her own, the more we talked about the Bible, the more conflicts arose between the Word of God and her thoughts. She did not like to hear about people’s evil hearts and sins. She said she would go to a different church. I was feeling strongly that God wanted to lead her life to salvation. I spoke to her, “Grandma, you can never win this case. God was working like this to save you. Believing in God means believing in the Word of God. You don’t believe God just to receive blessings.” “Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it…”(Jeremiah 33:2). Like this Word, God worked in her life. She came back after losing her court case and listened to me well. Her trial of appeal day was in the middle of the retreat, so I invited her to the retreat. She listened to Pastor Ock Soo Park’s Sunday sermon and told me. “Pastor Park preached for me today. He said to take away the stone from the place where Lazarus was laid. That means I should take away my thoughts. I will go to the retreat tomorrow.” She heard the Gospel during the retreat 28

1. Missionary Jung Do Lee and his wife Suk Hee Kim when they were newlyweds 2. The first daughter Do Hee grew healthily by the grace of God. 3. Grandmother Jeon Boon who got connected and received salvation when I was in theology school 4. Older brother of Missionary Jung Do Lee, Missionary Dae Do Leeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family (he is currently ministering in the Budapest Church in Hungary)

Memoirs of a Missionary_Cote d'ivoire

and received salvation. She was so happy and said, “Do you know who I’m the most thankful to? It’s the lady who was trying to steal my money. Because of her, I was able to see my evilness.” The grandmother called me on the night the retreat was over. “I got a letter from the court on the day that we left for the retreat. Actually, the appeal date was already postponed.” “Grandmother, don’t prepare any extra paperwork. Just bring what you prepared. You will surely win the case!” The grandmother won the case by the grace of God. She lived happily in church living her spiritual life and passed away in 2010. When I think about Grandmother Jeon Boon who gave her salvation testimony during the service, I can only be thankful and happy. The first location of mission work, Good News Jincheon Church

After graduating from the theology school, I was dispatched to the Good News Jincheon Church as a minister. I poured all my heart into witnessing, home visits, giving rides, and even helping brothers and sisters in their farms. For the first summer retreat in Jincheon, I rented a bus and went to the retreat with a bus full of people. It was the first time that a church was established in Jincheon. However, there were so many problems in the brothers’ and sisters’ lives that I could not rest even a day. One time, I shared another pastor’s testimony with a sister who was having difficulties. Before I finished the testimony, she left to cry in her car. Unlike that pastor, I did not have the Word in my heart. That was why I couldn’t solve any of the brethren’s problems, although they clearly had problems. I was just following my thoughts as I spoke. The result of living diligently in “my” world was deceiving and killing myself, the brothers and sisters, and the church. I was able to think about the Word in Exodus 17:11. “And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.” The victory of the war was not in the hand of Joshua. It was in Moses’ hand. Joshua had to just. All Joshua had to do was to check if he was connected to Moses or not. God showed me my powerless ability to lead Jincheon church and once again, He established the servant of God and the church in my heart.

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New York Times: Notes on Genesis I

Blessing Comes When Lot Is Sent Away Pastor Ock Soo Park | Good News Gangnam Church

And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. (Genesis 13:14~17)

heart and cursed and destructive things continually come upon that heart. Lot represents the f lesh. The Bible tells us in detail what happens when hearts such as the heart of trusting in your flesh and the heart to be for and exalt yourself arise in you and also what happens when such hearts depart from you. People think of spiritual life as having service, giving offerings, praying, or keeping the law well. Thus they are focused on whether they are doing these well or not. But if you read the Bible, such things are not important. The important thing is which heart has entered you. The Bible tells us clearly what transpires when we possess or lose certain hearts. Ah, My Heart Is Dirty and Evil by Nature! I attended church ever since I was young. I thought I believed in God fine without any problems, and I thought I was living my spiritual life well. However, I fell more and more into sin regardless of how hard I tried or how hard I prayed. Then one day I came to know, “What a terrible person I am! What an evil and dirty human I am!” Before this, I thought I was good and I thought that stealing, lying, and hating others were just small faults of mine. Therefore, I tried not to commit such sins, but the graver problem was that in me were dirtier hearts. I left that heart alone and only tried to keep my

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Lot Who Summons Curse Staying in the book of Genesis, I will continue from our last sermon and talk about Abraham and Lot. As I said in the last sermon, there was strife between Abraham’s shepherds and Lot’s shepherds as there were so many possessions in such a small plot of land. Abraham tells Lot, “We are of one blood. Let us not have our shepherds fighting. Leave me. If you go right, I will go left. And I will go right if you go left.” Then Lot departed for the plains of Sodom and Gomorrah, a place with plentiful grass fit to herd sheep. After Lot left, God blessed Abraham, saying, “Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward. For all the land you see I will give to you, and to your seed forever.” But a war broke out in the peaceful city of Sodom once Lot entered it. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah lost the war and Lot was taken captive. Then ultimately the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with fire and sulfur. This story is recorded in detail in Genesis. What we must remember whenever we read the Bible is that the Bible speaks about the world of the heart. If you think of each person’s heart as a country, when a covetous or arrogant heart enters as it did with Lot, war and desire break out from a peaceful

New York Times: Notes on Genesis I

outward actions good and clean. I tried to leave the dirty heart I had as it was and labored to not commit adultery and to not steal. I could not see that there was a filthy heart rising within my very core. As I became older I committed sins more and more and thought, “Why am I sinning so much like this? I’d better not be this way. I’d better not sin and live a good life!” and I made up my mind. I lived a spiritual life with this determined heart and I came to realize one thing I had not known before: “Ah, my heart is dirty and filthy by nature! That is why a lustful heart, a jealous heart, and a deceitful heart arise in me! That is why it is impossible for me to do something good. Even though dirty and lustful hearts arise in me and I do not act on them, even though I may not actually commit those sins, I am already a dirty and lustful person in the eyes of God. How then can I ever become good?” I erased my heart as I came to realize this fact. “I am a human who cannot be trusted! I cannot become good even if I try to live in a good way! I can only be cursed and destroyed!” I had believed that I could do good deeds, that I could live honestly, and that I could keep the law. I, then, from my heart, erased the heart to believe in myself completely. Afterwards, various thoughts entered

me, but I did not accept them. “What has ever gone well when I followed my own heart? What has ever become good from the things done by my thoughts?” Just as Abraham cast Lot out, I cast out from my heart the heart to believe and trust in myself. Then blessings began to come upon my heart. The Starting Point of a True Spiritual Life Is Discovering Yourself One day the thought to sell Jesus entered the heart of Judas Iscariot. Satan placed that heart in him. That one heart dragged Judas Iscariot to be cursed. It destroyed him. One day the ambition, “Let’s hide some money,” entered the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira. Ananias and Sapphira were killed because of that ambition. One day, the heart, “My father is uneducated. I can be more successful than my father because I am well educated. I can do well!” entered the prodigal son’s heart, and that heart made him pitiful and dragged him into a pig pen. The heart, “I am great! I’m smart! I can become king!” entered the heart of Absalom and pushed him to death. We see actions with our eyes, not the heart. But God’s eyes see the heart. When a person approaches us smiling, he seems to be a kind person. We only see his face, not his heart. But God’s eyes see the deceitful heart

You must erase yourself from your heart. You must erase heart to acknowledge and trust yourself. It means that the thoughts of your flesh must depart from you. That is Lot leaving abraham. “I am truly filthy! Dirty! Evil!” They discover what pitiful beings they are, and come to distrust themselves. And right then, God blesses them. God could not bless Abraham while Lot was with him, but Abraham was blessed when Lot left him. Likewise, God cannot bless us while we have the heart to believe in ourselves. Because our hearts are dirty, filthy, cursed, and evil, there can be no good no matter how hard we try. Just as Abraham sent Lot away, you must erase yourself from your heart. You must erase the heart to acknowledge and trust yourself. It means that the thoughts of the flesh must depart from you. That is Lot leaving Abraham. The Cause, Not the Symptom, Must Be Treated Lot entered the city of Sodom upon leaving Abraham. Sodom and Gomorrah was doing fine and at peace in Genesis chapter 14. But as soon as Lot enters the city, a war breaks out. And then Sodom and Gomorrah’s army is completely destroyed in that war. In the end, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with sulfur and fire. If the heart to be fleshly and the heart of arrogance to

New York Times

and the fabricated heart within him. You may comb your hair, wash your face, wear beautiful clothes, and cover your filthy heart with sweet words and actions, but God does not listen to your words. He sees your evil and filthy heart; that heart within you. Therefore, the beginning of true spiritual life is discovering yourself. Our heart, seen in the eyes of God, is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. God said that there is no good in man. In Romans chapter 3, it says that man is filled only with filthy, dirty, and evil things. However, Satan deceives us. Man has a dirty, lustful, and deceitful heart, but he magnifies the one rare good heart that arose within him and deceives him, saying, “You are good. You are honest. You are truthful.” Although people sin, they say, “I sinned that time by mistake. I did it because I had no choice. I am good and truthful,” and continue to live in Satan’s deception. Then they try to do good things. They think they can live truthfully if they try; keep the law if they try; and do good if they try. They deceive themselves. Then in their lives, they discover themselves before receiving salvation.

New York Times: Notes on Genesis I

believe in yourself enter you like Lot, chaos then begins in your heart. There was a man named Absalom among the sons of David. One day the thought, “I should become king,” entered his heart. As that thought entered, he committed many sins. He rebelled to take the throne from his father, committed adultery with his father’s concubines, stole the hearts of the people, and used his brother Amnon to kill many people. You do not sin without a cause. A dark heart first enters you, then you end up committing many sins. People consider murder and adultery as sin but they do not think badly of themselves when they begin to possess such a heart. Certain hearts enter you and stir up many things in you to lead you to commit sins. Therefore, you should not have remorse and suffer over stealing, but fear the heart that leads you to steal. You should not torment yourself, saying, “I committed adultery! How dirty!” upon seeing the results of adultery. You need to cast out that evil and filthy heart that remains in you and manifests itself with hatred whenever it gets a chance. That heart which remains as a cluster of lust in your heart and shows itself at every opportunity must be cast out. The heart of man became connected with Satan from the day Adam and Eve sinned. The hatred, arrogance, lust, deceit, and covetousness that were put into us by Satan continually

arise in us. Many wrongful Christians today simply cover that heart up and only outwardly realize that they have committed theft and try to not steal. They realize they have committed adultery, lied, and they try hard to live as good people. They only see what has made its way to the surface. Think about it. If a leper’s eyebrows fall out, his fingers fall off, and he loses all of his senses, then what must happen? Should he try to stop his eyebrows from falling off, or use bandages to keep his fingers from falling off? He should not do that, but treat the disease from its root. If I have the disease of sin, and everyday the filthy, dirty, and lustful hearts arise in my heart, I should not merely realize my outward actions, one by one.

Depart from Believing in Yourself How is true spiritual life achieved? One day, Abraham told Lot to leave. “Leave me. We are not compatible. Therefore, fight no more and leave. If you go right, I will go left. And if

If you erase the heart to believe and exalt yourself from your heart, your spiritual life automatically works out. Spiritual life is truly easy and fun. when we accept Lot (the heart to believe in yourself), arrogance arises in us, lust arises in us, deceitfulness arises in us, and covetousness arises in us. Evilness overflows. Remember that Abraham was blessed after sending Lot away. Remember that Sodom and Gomorrah was cursed as it received Lot. You, too, should not accept the heart to believe in yourself, but depart from it. From then on, even if lustful and deceitful hearts arise, Jesus will lead you because you do not believe in yourself. If you erase Lot (the heart to believe and exalt yourself) from your heart, your spiritual life automatically works out. Spiritual life is truly easy and fun. This life is so blessed. On the other hand, if you accept the heart to believe in yourself, that is the path to curse and destruction. One day Judas Iscariot accepted the heart, “I want to sell Jesus,” and that thought led Judas Iscariot to the pathway of curse. The thought, “I don’t want to give all the money we received for the land, so I am going to hide some,” entered the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira and led them to be cursed. The heart to covet the Babylonian garments entered Achan’s heart and that led Achan to the path of destruction.

New York Times

you choose the left, I will choose the right.” Just as Abraham sent his own kindred away, we, too, must send away the heart to believe in ourselves. You must distrust yourself. “I had nothing but dirty sins appearing when I lived, following after my heart. I said I was doing good things, but I have only been evil. I continually became lustful as I lived following my own heart. Now I should not follow my thoughts any longer! I should throw my heart away!” Isaiah chapter 55 says, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, because following the many thoughts and plans that arise in you only result in curse-worthy things. Throw those things away and follow God. “God, I now cannot believe in myself. I will throw my thoughts away. I will not follow my own thoughts. God, you come and lead my heart.” When you can say this and distrust your heart and accept the Word of God, God will lead you with the heart of Jesus to be graced and blessed. Just as a war broke out in Sodom and Gomorrah when Lot entered, and that city was burned in fire and sulfur,

New York Times: Notes on Genesis I

...when we say, "I cannot live following my thoughts," and not believe in our thoughts and send them away, we can receive all blessings. Spiritual Life Is Composed of “Repentance” and “Faith” Loving people, Genesis chapter 13 is showing us that when the heart to believe and rely on yourself leaves your heart, all blessings come upon you. But people do not know this and are deceived by Satan, thinking, “I sinned and was evil, but I still am a good person,” and continue to believe in themselves. They believe that they can be good if they try hard. They believe that they can keep the law if they make up their minds to. And they think that they can do well if they try. The moment you have the heart to believe in yourself and the heart to do things yourself, Satan puts in you the lustful and evil hearts and leads you to the path of curse. When Abraham had true faith, he thought, “Lot is my loving kindred, but I cannot stay with Lot,” and told Lot, “You, leave me.” Just as Abraham sent Lot away, when we say, “I cannot live following my thoughts,” and not believe in our thoughts and send them away, we can receive all blessings. Most people say that spiritual life is extremely difficult and tiring. That is not so. Spiritual life is truly

easy. I discovered myself when I was 19 years old. I came to know that it was not by accident that I was lying, stealing, fighting, and coveting. That was how I had thought. But after knowing myself exactly, I hated myself so much and I was so filthy that I distrusted myself. I cast out the heart to believe in myself. But as Jesus entered my heart, I could see I was blessed in thousands of ways. This is spiritual life. It is repenting from the heart to believe in yourself. Spiritual life is made up of “repentance,” and “faith.” This is turning from the heart to believe in yourself and trusting Jesus. Then Jesus enters your heart and leads you instead of your leading yourself and lives your life for you. Right then all the blessings of Jesus come upon you. Abraham was blessed after Lot left him in Genesis chapter 13, and Sodom and Gomorrah was cursed and destroyed after Lot entered it. This is talking about the world of our hearts. You are cursed when the thought to believe in yourself enters, and all the blessings come upon you when that heart disappears from you.

Gospel Lesson

Mysterious Bible Pastor Han Gyu Lee | Good News East Seoul Church

Amazing Mosaic

Most people who do not believe in God, are those who havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t actually read the Bible. Even those who do read the Bible, often times read with their own thoughts of the scripture. In this world, there is definitely no book that is more marvelous and amazing than the Bible. Since the Bible is like a self-introduction of God, when we enter into the Bible, we can know exactly about Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character and His world. We can see that the Bible is a life compass, a map that leads to heaven and a letter sent by God to us.

“For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:21) The Bible has a total of 66 books and it is divided into The Old Testament and the New Testament. The Bible as a whole is like a mosaic that if you were to accurately connect the pieces together, it becomes a big picture. Each piece is in perfect and amazing harmony knit together and does not contradict one another. People who’ve discovered this hidden mystery cannot resist but to be marveled and moved by the Word of God. The first scriptures were written around 1500 B.C. and the last book called, “Revelation,” was written around 100 A.D. The Bible was written throughout 1600 years within 3 continents and each writer’s class and status varied. Luke, who wrote the book of Luke was a doctor, Peter was a fisher man, Joshua was a commander of an army, and Amos was a shepherd. Matthew was a tax collector, Ezra was a priest, Nehemiah was a Babylonian captive. Esther was a queen, Solomon was a king and Jeremiah was just a young child. The writers of the Bible lived in different places and times, so they received the revelations in many places when writing the Bible. Moses wrote it while journeying in the wilderness, as Paul did in prison, and Daniel in a palace, as John wrote on a solitary island. David wrote parts of the book of Psalms as he was fighting his enemies and even while being chased by his enemies, he wrote. Also, the Bible is composed in many forms. The history of the people, a person’s biography, poems, series of laws, letters written to others and also precise prophecy of what is to happen in the future. However, the amazing thing is that the 66 books are not a mixture of different contents, but all the books have one topic and it shows an amazing balance and uniformity. Let's say you go to a bookstore and pick out 66 books written by a politician, a doctor, a soldier, a captive, a fisherman, a farmer, a revenue officer, a philosopher and etc., up to 40 writers throughout 1600 years. After you go through the contents, could you create one mosaic

Gospel Lesson

picture put together with all those books to have one topic and have harmony and uniformity? Even though the Bible was written by many people and throughout many years in different forms, how is the Bible able to show such systematic balance and an amazing conformity? The answer is simple. Even though the writers were around 40 people, the author is by the one and only God. In the 39 books of the Old Testament, which was written before Jesus Christ came, it promised the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who will come and save all people from sin. In the 27 books of the New Testament, which was written after Jesus’ resurrected, it writes about how all words written about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament has been perfected through the death and resurrection of Christ. The New Testament also writes about the promises of this world’s future. It will probably take more than several months to explain all the amazing details of how the Bible is different from other books in this world. One thing for sure is that the Bible revives people’s soul and has the power to change lives. Numerous people have had their sins washed, have become set free from despair, and have gained hope and strength through the promises in the Bible.

Amazing Prophesy

BIble

is the collection of sacred writings of the Christian religion, comprising the Old and New Testaments. It is also called Hebrew Scriptures. The English word Bible is from the Latin biblia, from the same word in Medieval Latin and Late Latin and ultimately from Koine Greek. The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was the first major book printed using massproduced movable metal type in Europe.

Another thing that distinguishes the Bible from other books in this world is that the Bible is the book of prophesy. It prophesizes about the world’s future precisely and those prophesies are amazingly accurate. In the Bible, it does not only talk about what will happen in this world, but it also talks about many prophesies about Jesus Christ. There are also prophesies on the fate of Israel, future of an individual, and many more. All prophesies written in the Bible had been fulfilled without even one failing. That is because God, who is the Alpha and the Omega, already saw and wrote the future that we cannot see that has been spoken throughout the Bible. “Declaring the end from the beginning,

day, I tasted the “That love of God inside of

and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10)

Accurate Weather Report

Jesus Christ for the first time and believe in the promise of God... For the first time, my life became new and filled with thankfulness.

I have ministered in Kyoung-In Province, and all pastors there were planning to go on a witnessing trip to islands nearby at the end of August in the year 2000. One day before departing to an island called Young-Heung Island, We turned on the morning news, it said there was a huge typhoon named “Saomai” suddenly approaching from Jeju Island. I was in a city called “Incheon” at that time, and the weather there was very nice. In the news, they talked about the gust of wind as strong as 40 miles per second that caused parked cars to roll over and even utility poles to collapse. They gave everyone a typhoon alert saying if the typhoon continues to go up with that speed, then it will even reach up to Incheon. Eventually, that typhoon came all the way to Heuksan Island of South Junla Province with the speed over 58 miles per second, and it became the strongest typhoon in history. After watching the weather report, we cancelled all the flights booked for the witnessing trip to those islands, and we ended up going on a witnessing trip to another island called Dukjuk Island. If we didn’t see the weather report or ignored it, then we would’ve been in big trouble. When we arrived at the Dukjuk Island after the typhoon, there were many giant trees rooted up and there were numberless broken branches lying around. We were able to clearly see how strong the typhoon was. Nowadays, it is possible to precisely predict the exact time for sunrise, sunset, high temperature, low temperature, and type of weather will come the next day. Since the weather center reports accurately, people prepare for the weather in advance relying on the reports. If we can predict our future accurately, then we would not be able to live however we want. We would definitely prepare for our future. Those who live thoughtlessly every day is because they do not know their future precisely. Animals do not think about the future, but people live looking forward to the future, pursue a better future. The Bible prophesizes about the future of mankind and the world much more accurately than the satellites that we have. It is because God does

Gospel Lesson

not only know our past, but also knows everything that will happen in the future of the world accurately. Let us think about this. Suppose there is a certain weather center where the weather reports have never been wrong for past 1000 years since it was established, then wouldn’t everyone believe in their ability? Even if the weather was sunny and hot today, and they report the weather tomorrow will suddenly drop with a heavy snow, everyone will still believe as it is. That is because people believe in the ability of this weather center more than the weather they see with their eyes. “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning…” (Hosea 6:3) Christians are assured that there is a heaven and a hell with the same reasoning. If a certain man has been keeping the same credibility for a long time, then we would trust his personality. Based on that trust, we would be able to believe everything he says.

The Prophesy of the Old Testament and of Jesus Christ

Let us also think about this case. There is a person, who called our church and said, “Pastor, I would like to visit you for a spiritual counseling, but I’m not sure where you are located.” “Our church is located near Hanyang Plaza. Do you know where that is?” “Yes, then I will go to Hanyang Plaza. Can you come to the main entrance of Hanyang Plaza by 2:00 PM?” “Sure, but I’m not sure how I can recognize you since I do not know how you look like.” “I will introduce myself to you. My name is Youngshim An and I am 40 years old. I will be wearing a black skirt and a white blouse.” “But what if there is another person that looks similar to you with the same name?” “Oh, I see. Well, I have polio, so I will be with crutches, and I have a big mole above my right eyebrow. Also, I speak with a regional dialect because I’m from the Kyung-sang Province. I will also wear a yellow hat and a violet quartz neckless.” “Ah okay. Then I should be able to recognize you right away.” This way, it shouldn’t be too hard to find this lady who called to meet for counseling. Even in the case where someone is wearing similar

how can we not “Then believe in the Bible or Jesus Christ...?

clothes, if she doesn’t have a mole on top of her right eyebrow, then it wouldn’t be Isn’t the Bible an her. Let’s suppose there are two ladies with amazing book? It is the same mole, then we should be able easy to believe in the to distinguish them by their hometown or their names. If it’s not a special case, then it Bible when you know, would be easy to recognize her through her and it is actually description. impossible to not That is how the Bible is introducing Jesus. Just as what I mentioned earlier, the Old believe in the Bible. Testament prophesized in detail of how Jesus will come to this earth way before He came to this world. It prophesized about Jesus with more than 300 descriptions including his name, place of birth, lineage, the purpose of his coming to the world, his looks, his life and ministry, the affliction on the cross, his death and resurrection, and the Second Coming. All of these prophecies came true precisely in Jesus’ life and ministry. You can easily recognize Ms. Youngshim An with barely 10 different things that are different from other people. Jesus has hundreds of special promises only found in Him, not anyone else in this world can have. Then how can we not believe in the Bible or Jesus Christ that the Bible witnesses, when all these promises acceded to Jesus? Isn’t the Bible an amazing book? It is easy to believe in the Bible when you know, and it is actually impossible to not believe in the Bible. However, people cannot obtain faith because they are deceived by Satan and live without having any interest in the Word of God and their own soul.

Mark 666

There are many prophesies in the Bible, but I will introduce to you this one prophesy that we can feel close to our skin in this generation. When you look at Revelation Chapter 13 Verses 16-18, it prophesizes about the antichrist (servant of Satan rebelling against Jesus Christ) who will appear in this world to mark ‘666’ on the right hand or the forehead of those who did not receive salvation. The scientists who believe in the Bible say this is the number of the computer barcode. The Bible writes that whoever receives this mark will fall into eternal destruction. “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and

Gospel Lesson

bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” (Revelation 13:16-18) The year I personally heard about this mark 666 through media was in 1985. By then, the words ‘barcode’ or ‘666’ were still strange. A few years afterwards, most of the products in the market came out with barcodes. Nowadays, this barcode is not only on products, but on animals, and even on certain individuals in some countries. 2000 years ago the Bible amazingly prophesized about the day when Satan will rule over all mankind through the computer. Now the day for you to get this mark has come right before your eyes. Isn’t the Bible amazing? Aren’t the facts written in the Bible scary? Last year, when the twin towers collapsed due to the 9/11 incidents, the whole world was appalled. The United States is the strongest country in the world with the most advanced technology. If they were able to see even 5 minutes into the future, then they could’ve prevented such disaster. However, no matter how developed they are in their technology and civilization, our life and future is something we cannot foresee or control. Then how could the Bible precisely prophesize the things that will happen thousands of years later? This is telling us that someone definitely knew about this world and our future already in the past. “The LORD hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old.” (Lamentations 2:17) “I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.” (Isaiah 48:3) You can see your image and your future precisely in the Bible. God is telling you that if you do not receive forgiveness of sin, then you will face eternal destruction. Do not ignore God’s warning, which states, you will never be able to enter the kingdom of God with sin, but come out to the Word of Christ with a humbled heart and receive His grace of forgiveness of sin.

Preaching the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth

Enter into the House of Simon Testimony of Pastor Ock Soo Park

When I was ministering in Daegu, I got a request to lead a Bible Conference at a leper colony. After meeting with the pastor of the leper colony and discussing what to prepare for the Bible Conference, he took me to a restaurant and treated me to some ribs. Back then, I never had much money, so such food was very precious to me. But feeling burdened to be eating with lepers, I only ate a little bit of the meat in front of me. When I announced to the church that I would be having a Bible Conference at the leper colony, a brother who always speaks nonsense said, “When you go to the leper colony, the lepers will peel an egg with their puss-filled hands and offer it to you to test you. Will you eat it, or not?” I brushed him by, thinking it was nonsense, but as the conference date approached, my heart was filled with worry. ‘What should I do if those people offer to shake my hand during the conference? What if they want to share a room with me, or really peel an egg with their puss-filled hands and offer it to me?’ One night, I was unable to sleep due to the worry that filled my heart for the upcoming conference, so I kneeled before God. As I was seeking God with all of the problems pressuring

my heart, I remembered the Word in Matthew 26:6, “…they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew.” At that moment, I thought, ‘Ah, even Jesus went into the house of lepers. Is there any reason a person like me can’t stay with lepers? Who am I to feel uncomfortable around them?’ I also thought, ‘I’m no better than a leper. If the Lord chooses to make me a leper today, then I’m a leper too!’ Until then, I had thought that I was different from the lepers, but in front of the Lord, I was no different. There was no reason for me to feel uncomfortable around them. It wasn’t something painful or difficult for me to shake hands, eat, and sleep in the same room with them. That night was an unforgettable night in which God filled my heart. A few days later when the Bible Conference began, I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all being with the lepers. For a while, I lived with them and preached the Gospel to them, and many lepers opened their hearts and received the Word. Some of them even asked me, “Pastor Park, you’re a leper aren’t you?” That’s how close I had gotten with them. Through that conference, God allowed the Gospel to be preached to many people at the leper colony and countless lepers received salvation and returned to the Lord.

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