The Goodnews - September, 2017

SEPTEMBER 2017

DELIVERING THE GOSPEL & THE TESTIMONIES OF GRACE

∙ Monthly Sermon

∙ New York Times II

∙ Special Article

∙ Gospel Lesson

The Goodness of God Leadeth Thee 2017 IYF World Camp LA & NY

Pit Your Thoughts Against the Word of God The Righteous Man

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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18 Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp New York

30 Monthly Sermon The Goodness of God Leadeth Thee

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Memoirs of a Missionary Chinese People Living in Ivory Coast Who Gained Eternal Life

Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp Los Angeles

42 New York Times II Pit Your Thoughts Against the Word of God

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GOOD NEWS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2017

Cover Story: A new chapter in the history of the IYF World Camp was written with World Camps in Los Angeles and New York. God brought together students from the 1st National Native American Reservation, Christian Leaders from around the world, and students throughout North America. It was God’s great plan to lead them to LA and NY to know salvation, the eternal love and forgiveness of God, and to receive the grace of a new life with a new heart.

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68 Preaching the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth I Am Not One of the Chosen People

72 Gospel Lesson The Righteous Man

Church Directory

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Sermon of the Month

The Goodness of God Leadeth Thee Pastor Ock Soo Park | Good News Gangnam Church

Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. (Romans 2:4-5)

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However, whether it’s doing drugs, drinking alcohol, gambling, or falling into lust, when you go before God by faith, God surely works whatever darkness you may be in.

BECAUSE SATAN PLACES UNBELIEF IN YOUR HEART

Among the works that Satan does, the greatest work he does is to create disbelief in our hearts. People begin to have the heart, “If I pray, will God actually hear it? Because I don’t have faith, God will not hear my prayer.” However, what does the Bible actually tell us? In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 7, verse 7, it clearly states, “Ask, and it shall be given you.” And again it says, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”

(John 16:24) According to the Word of God, when we pray, God answers.

However, people, instead, listen to the voice of Satan and think, “If I pray, will my prayers really be answered? I have no faith. I’m so fleshly. I live only for myself. I’m evil. I have committed many sins.” When saints have cancer, or a serious sickness, the true reason they become disappointed is that Satan places unbelief in their hearts when they look to God. They fall for the lie that God will not answer their prayers and help them because they live so fleshly, or committed evil. Those people can never go in front of God with a bold heart. Even though someone has received salvation, they are still unable to receive God’s grace, and they even die from time to time. In addition, when we look closely into our hearts, rather than believing in the Scriptures that say God hears our prayers, they believe more in their thoughts that He won’t hear. It is Satan that gave rise to that heart.

BUT STILL THEY TRY WITH HUMANISTIC METHODS

God tells us to forsake our thoughts, whether it’s before we received salvation or after. However, since forsaking our thoughts is not simple but actually difficult, it seems that we cannot do it well, so we think, “Just because I forsake my thoughts, will God really work?” Eventually, we end up accepting the thought that God will not work in our hearts. However, whether it’s doing drugs, drinking alcohol, gambling, or falling into lust, when you go before God by faith, God surely works whatever darkness you may be in.

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Sermon of the Month

Satan establishes our works, and he sows disbelief in our hearts. He tells us, “Even if you pray, you will not get answered quickly. You live having fallen into your flesh. You have no faith. You love the world too much.” In this manner, Satan gives us the heart that because of our works, God will not hear our prayers.

And as a result, despite having a heart to be healed by faith, people with this heart, will actually give up. In front of the many things we have to do by faith, we should remind ourselves that, “God is with me!” and go forward. However, Satan brings out our own works and breaks apart our faith. That is why people try to work through humanistic methods. In addition, because of our limitations, we are powerless try to work on our own. Nevertheless, by nature, we try to deal with our difficulties and conflicts. We try to do it with humanistic methods, and so, there are not many people who run forward with the faith the God will achieve everything.

“IF THE LORD HELPS ME TO QUIT SMOKING, THEN WOULD I BE ALBE TO QUIT?”

One time, a certain brother came to me and said, “Pastor, I can’t quit smoking.

No matter how determined I am, it does not work.”

I replied, “Brother, it is not an easy thing. Cigarettes and alcohol may not seem serious, but if Satan grabs my heart and leads me to that point, then it is very difficult to escape. But remember that the Lord is with you and will help you to quit smoking. Then won’t you be able to quit?”

“Yes, then I would be able to quit.”

“That’s right. If the Lord helps, then what can’t we do?”

I then opened the Bible to Romans chapter 2, verse 4 and explained it to him. “Here, it says, Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? Brother, God is pleased with you repenting; therefore, he is guiding you to repent. God is leading us to stop drinking and smoking. He heals us from sickness, and allows us to escape from evil and run forward by faith. However, we have the heart that God is not going to help us. For me to stop drinking or smoking, or to escape from evil is extremely difficult. On the other hand, if God helps me and turns me around, it is very easy. It says in Romans chapter 2, verse 4 that the goodness of God leads you repentance. He leads us to be free from alcohol and cigarettes and from evil. If you are able to have the heart, ‘Although I can’t do it, but if God leads me, then I am more than able to quit drinking and smoking!’ you would be have so much peace in your heart.

I continued to explain to the brother about true spiritual life. “Spiritual life is -6-

Spiritual life is looking to Jesus who works upon us, it is not about looking at myself.

Spiritual life is looking to Jesus who works upon us, it is not about looking at myself.

looking to Jesus who works upon us, it is not about looking at myself. Ephesians 2, verse 8 and 9 read, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. When we receive salvation, or when God works in our lives, God never looks at our works. This is because no matter what wrong we may have done, the blood of Jesus has resolved all our sins. In turn, it is through the blood of Jesus that God works within us. That is why there is absolutely no reason why God wouldn’t help us when we try to stop smoking or drinking. Although God is leading us, we become disappointed and fail because we don’t realize this fact and we try to do well on our own. It’s not because God doesn’t like us.”

THERE IS NO REASON THE FATHER WOULD LEAVE HIS DIRTY, HUNGRY SON ALONE

I met with many members of various congregations and shared fellowship about spiritual life wit them. Most people perceive everything to mean that they must have faith, or that they must do well. On the contrary, Jesus Christ has already perfectly prepared all the conditions for God to work within us. That is why we do not have to go before God with good deeds, but instead, we must go before Him relying only upon the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus does not lack in any way for God to save us from all our problems.

Lastly, I said this to that brother. “When the prodigal son returned to his father, there was no reason the father would ignore his dirty and hungry son. In fact, the father would have renewed his son just for the simple fact that it was embarrassing to him. Brother, you are a child of God. And if you were in the house of God, for you to drink and smoke cigarettes would not be pleasing to God. Therefore, He helps you to break free. If we have fellowship with Jesus, we become filled with the spirit and naturally become distant from darkness. On the other hand, even if Jesus lives within us, if we become distant to Jesus, we then try to stop ourselves from doing things, and in so doing, it is extremely difficult and hard for us. There -7-

Sermon of the Month

are many people who are stubborn and resist going forward by faith, but God leads us to repent.” That day, that brother was freed from cigarettes. I often hear how other brothers were freed from alcohol by the same faith.

JUST AS A CATERPILLAR IS MADE TO BE A BUTTERFLY

God is always living and working inside us. The great and precious grace of God frees us from darkness to bless and glorify us. For us to live by faith, it is not that we must have faith. We live by faith by realizing the truth that God is leading us this way. When we veer towards our flesh, fall into the world and sin, or when we fall into alcohol or cigarettes, we shouldn’t struggle and try to stop everything on our own. It is the goodness of God leads us to repent. If we believe in God and depend on Him, God leads us so that we will repent. As a result, we are easily and peacefully freed of these kinds of problems, and we can live a life of glorifying God. When saved saints look upon unsaved people, seeing their image of struggling and anguishing in sin is so pitiful. They live that way because they have not realized the eternal salvation that Jesus has already accomplished for them. They have not choice but to live that way. It is the same for us to live by faith. In front of us, Jesus is guiding us. However, because we don’t realize this, we try to do everything. This results in everything becoming extremely difficult. We try to live by faith on our own. In turn, there are so many people who are absorbed by their flesh, living in suffering. The goodness of God is what needs to lead us. Even when the saints of the church have no faith, God helps us so that we are able to overcome sickness, bad habits, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, and even a riotous life. He has made it so that we gradually and steadily reveal and resemble the same image as Christ. Just as God has made caterpillars turn into butterflies, He has made all the saints to turn into Jesus. On reality, however, there are many saints who are not living this kind of a blessed life because Satan deceives them into thinking that they have to do well. It is my hope now that everyone will live a blessed and glorious life in 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, and 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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Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp Los Angeles

Challenge, Change, Cohesion! IYF World Camp that Makes Us Happy The IYF World Camp in Los Angeles was held at the Hilton Hotel in the LAX Airport from August 12th to 16th. During our preparations, Pastor Jong-ryung Ahn, of the Good News LA Central Church, conveyed the heart of Pastor Ock Soo Park when he said, “The IYF World Camp is Happiness.� There were approximately 900 people in attendance from the U.S., Canada, First Nation reservations, and Mexico. There were also four different programs running simultaneously during the World Camp: the IYF World Camp, Music Camp, CLF, and Youth Leadership Symposium.

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2017 IYF L.A.

WORLD s i CAMP ness

i p p a H

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y a d h c a e B

The World Camp program consisted of Mind Lectures, IYF Academies, Cultural Performances, a group 5K Run on Santa Monica Beach, a Hollywood Tour, a Culture Fair, a Gracias Choir Music Concert, and the amazing Leadership Lecture Series. The Music Camp, consisting of students majoring in music from multiple cities in the area, taught music professionally, as well as, the mindset that has allowed the Gracias Choir to be so successful. The Christian Leadership Fellowship attracted many pastors and Christian leaders from around the U.S. During the 2nd Gracias Music Camp pastors from churches in the Los Angeles area invited approximately 30 students majoring in music.

There, they were not only receiving music lessons from outsourced teachers, but they were also learning the mindset of the world’s greatest choir, Gracias Choir. The students opened their hearts and received salvation as they heard the music of the Gracias Choir and attended the IYF World Camp programs. Monica was a vocal teacher who volunteered to teach at the music camp for the 1st time. She was touched as she acknowledged that God led her there to listen to the Gospel being preached by Pastor Ock Soo Park. She received salvation and rejoiced over the fact that Jesus had washed all of her sins away forever. She expressed that she wants to continue to a part of IYF. In addition, a music camp is planned to take place in Mexico, and she promised to join and be a part of it. She said it felt like a dream. Karina

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Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp Los Angeles

Alexa Medina Vite is a 20 year-old music major at the Chihuahua University from Juarez, Mexico. She rejoiced greatly as she heard the Gospel from her group teacher and received the forgiveness of sins. She was finally able to receive this unimaginable gift at the World Camp.

The Christian Leaders Fellowship (CLF) program consisted of pastors who have been receiving Theology lessons at the Good News Central Church in LA, and various pastors from across the west coast.

The pastors attending Theology classes were pastors who received salvation through CLF programs during the Dallas Winter Camps and the World Christian Leaders Fellowship in New York, and wanted to learn more about the Gospel and the Word of God through the Good News Mission. This year, afternoon schedule was changed to allow more time to listen to the Word of God and to have group meetings, and they had time for Q&A, as well as topical debates. All of the pastors expressed that they wanted more time after each program began to touch them and move their hearts even more. In preparation for the CLF, Pastor Ahn of the Good News Central Church in LA sent out teams on moneyless witness trips to various cities. In Santa Barbara, one of the teams met a Pastor Thomas. He came to the CLF and received assurance of his salvation and the forgiveness of sins. He brought members of his youth group to attend the World Camp, and promised to continue to work with the Good News Mission. He even promised to help with and attend the upcoming Gracias Christmas Cantata in Los Angeles in October. It was an amazing time to see

5K Run

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Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp Los Angeles

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1) CLF consisted of Pastors from throughout the West Coast of the U.S. 2) Cooking Academy with a specialization on Japanese-style cuisine. 3) Many volunteers from embassy and cultural organizations came to the Culture Fair. 4) Leadership Symposium session guest speaker, renowned movie star, Ernest Reyes Jr

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people’s hearts changing whenever they accepted the gospel. We are very hopeful at the thought of God allowing us to continually preach the Word to all those we became connected to through this camp.

This year, the Christian Youth Leadership Symposium was introduced to the U.S. at this year’s IYF World Camp. The Youth Leadership Symposium consisted of young people invited by the pastors who were attending the CLF. These were students who were attending because they were interested in becoming leaders of tomorrow. The students participated in 2 major projects. One of them was researching various case studies about recent tragic events involving youths in the U.S., such as gun shootings, suicide attempts, or drug addictions. By studying them, the students came to discover the world of the heart, and came to learn just how those people came to have the hearts that led them to do the things they had done. In preparation for the World Camp, members of IYF went to the Mexican/American border town of Suarez. The police and board of education were collaborating to create programs for the youths to try to help schools with their students’ problems. However, they were ineffective, so the Police Department decided to send 3 representatives to attend and evaluate the Mind Education aspects of the Youth Leadership Symposium. As they saw the program firsthand, they saw the musical performances of the Gracias Choir and the cultural performances and stated that they wanted to introduce this very program to the students in Suarez. When IYF told them that they had plans to not only help the students of Suarez, but the State of Chihuahua, and throughout Mexico, they promised to arrange for a meeting with the mayor of Suarez, as well as introduce and promote Mind Education to the principals and teachers there.

At the World Camp, a total of 17 different academies, including yoga, boxing, hip-hop dance, cooking, vocal lessons, painting, and tea manners were held daily. The cooking academy was an especially meaningful time, after inviting Vanessa Soltero H., a chef from the TV show, “Hell’s Kitchen”.

This year, there were 3 different dance teams: Junior IYF Dance Team, LA IYF Dance Team, and NY IYF Dance Team. The Junior Dance Team and NY IYF Dance Teams had been preparing, practicing, and performing in multiple places since June. They traveled by bus from New York, all the way to Los Angeles, California. Gracias Choir

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Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp Los Angeles

p i h s r e d Lea

traveled to 4 different countries in Africa before arriving in the U.S. They also traveled to Los Angeles, as the main featured performers of the World Camp. The Gracias Choir prepared many different new performances, such as their updated South America stage, they added wonderful songs, such as, “Sing, Sing, Sing,” and “Marry a Woman Uglier Than You.” Gracias Choir’s “Beauty and the Beast” stage was also a very huge fan favorite. There was nobody who left the World Camp unmoved in his or her heart.

On the last day of the 2017 IYF World Camp in Los Angeles, a Culture Fair and Gracias Concert was held at the Grand Park, just across the street from Los Angeles City Hall. Despite the difficulty of not having a venue set with less than a month remaining, the promise that God has given happiness to everyone connected to the World Camp continued to give us hope. After a venue was finalized, the helping hand of God was evident even more so with all the other preparations despite the lack of time. Consulates and Culture Centers sent people to help us.

As we were promoting this event and the World Camp, we came across many people in the streets who volunteered to help us out. As a result, there were approximately booths representing 25 different countries set up. Ten of those countries that were represented sent officials from their respective Consulates to attend. This collaboration of various countries truly made many of the government officials of LA, as well as other countries around the world, very happy.

The World Camp finale was a music concert featuring the Gracias

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r i a F e r u t l u C

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Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp Los Angeles

Choir and Orchestra. It began at 7pm at Grand Park, where the Culture Fair had taken place. God gave perfect weather to listen to the music outdoors. As people began gathering, nearly 300 citizens of Los Angeles came to enjoy the outdoor music concert. The music of the Gracias Choir began to spread throughout the city of LA, making people want to stop and listen. The majority of the LA citizens that attended the outdoor Gracias Concert remained seated throughout the duration of the message of Pastor Ock Soo Park. At last, Soprano Jinyoung Park’s “God Bless America” brought tears to the eyes of all the listeners who love America.

During Pastor Ock Soo Park’s sermons, God worked so much in the hearts of everyone at the World Camp. The people who have God in their hearts are able to have hope before difficulties. When the heart is in sadness, it can only see sadness. On the other hand, when you turn your eyes upon joy and hope, then you can see joy and hope. In the same way, when you see yourself through your own eyes, you are a sinner. On the other hand, when you see yourself through the eyes of Jesus, He has already received our sins, and we are washed whiter than snow.

The 2017 LA World Camp has closed its curtains. Though our preparations lacked, we could see God truly filling our hearts with happiness. We are already looking forward to next year’s World Camp in Los Angeles with hopeful hearts.

Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp New York

2017 IYF

WORLD CAMPin

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The 7th Annual IYF World Camp opens in New York On August 20, 2017, the world’s best program that delivers Mind Education to youths around the world, the IYF World Camp began with Los Angeles, then Mexico, and has finally arrived in New York. The World Camp in NY, which began in 2011, has not only affected youths on the East Coast, but youths from all over North America had interest and participated in the NY World Camp, which has become America’s premium event of the year.

The World Camp in NY was being held at Mahanaim Campus and the Upper Room Christian Ministries Auditorium until August 23, which consisted of a very diverse program of IYF Academies, cultural performances, Christian Leaders Fellowship, Gracias Choir Music Concert, and Pastor Ock Soo Park’s Mind Lecture series. The camp ended on the 24th of August with a Gracias Concert on Mahanaim campus. There were 1,500 students, Christian Leaders, and participants from 25 different countries at the World Camp, and God truly worked to open their hearts.

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Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp New York

Openingony Cerem

This year, the New York World Camp registration began in Manhattan.

The very first program was a citywide Scavenger Hunt that began at a middle school in Harlem, which took the students to Central Park, Time Square, the Empire State Building, the Sky Walk, and ended in the parking lot of Citi Field in Queens, New York. During the Scavenger Hunt, the students had to immediately work together in order to complete the difficult challenges. As the students from Canada and other places in the U.S. got to see the city for the first time, it was a great environment for the students to start off the camp with open hearts. The students and teachers were able to establish bonds that lasted throughout the camp. Looking at the group photos, it was a truly memorable time for the students.

The next day, August 21st began the regular program on Mahanaim campus. The Gospel Class, which was scheduled from 6:30am – 7:30am every morning, was particularly graceful as Pastor Philip Song, from the Good News NY Church in Manhattan preached about the Gospel. Even though it was hard for many students to wake up early in the morning and take to bus to Mahanaim, but many people opened their hearts as they listened to the Word of God at the Gospel Class.

One of the most popular programs of the World Camp is the Academies. Ja’Nel Witt, winner of the 11th season of Hell’s Kitchen cooking competition, taught the Cooking Academy. Including the Cooking Academy, there was a total of 5 academy instructors who returned from last year. It was truly a wonderful array of teachers and

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Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp New York

subjects that God allowed to the World Camp. The Acting instructor actually volunteered for the Acting Academy during this year’s Dance Camp in May. This year, we were able to open 3 new series of Academies: Medical Series, Career Series, and Hair Styling. The Career Series consisted of Police Forensic Sciences by a real Police Detective. A Filmmaking Academy and Intellectual Property Law Academy taught by a real lawyer were also run during the World Camp. This year was a great success as academies ranging from Latte Art, to Life Hacks and Do It Yourself Tips, to American Jiu Jitsu, to Vocal Coaching, and Hip Hop Dancing, the students were filled with joy in their hearts as they enjoyed the Academies. The Academies were a very important part of filling the hearts of the students with joy that facilitates the opening and changing of the students’ hearts.

The Opening Ceremony at the Upper Room Auditorium was held the next evening on the evening of August 21st. Before the Opening Ceremony began, there was a reception that was held for many prominent people from the New York area, where the Mind Education program was explained in detail, and the special guests were able to meet with IYF Founder, Pastor Ock Soo Park. Ambassadors for Kosovo, Cabo Verde, and Uganda were in attendance. The Consul Generals from Kazakhstan, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and the Counselor of the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Swaziland to

Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp New York

the UN also attended. It was a diverse guest list with representatives from Universities, local, state, and even federal government. As they listened to the presentation, everyone showed great interest in the implementation of Mind Education. Pastor Ock Soo Park met with the President of Uganda last year, and this year. When the Ambassador of Uganda heard of this he was overjoyed and promised to make plans to work with IYF. This year, the World Camp introduced the Mind Education Presentation. With every group participating in this competition, every student was able to focus on the world of the heart. It was a very effective way to get the students to work together and to start the students thinking about Mind Education. The students were divided into “colleges.” Each college was given a topic and each group was therefore charged with creating a diverse presentation, ranging everywhere from power point presentations, to testimonials, to even skits. Every group was tasked with not only identifying the issues of the heart that acted as the sources of the problems and difficulties youths go through, but to also come up with solutions of the heart that could actually be practically used and understood by the audience. There were judges for the preliminary round that took place in according to “colleges” and on Wednesday, August 23rd, which would then accumulate to the final rounds that would take place at Mahanaim Auditorium on the afternoon of the last day, Thursday, August 24th.

There were many difficulties that different groups had gone through, but there were many different presentations that really were amazing and insightful into the hearts of the students in the group. There were groups of students who attended from the First Nation Native American reservation in Canada who were in attendance at the World Camp. Half of the group attended both the World Camp in Los Angeles, as well as the one in New York. One group in particular spoke about how addiction was playing a devastating role in the hearts of the people living on the reservation. They were in so much hopelessness that the only thing that they seem to resort to is gambling, drugs, and even suicide. However, they spoke about their personal stories, but also how coming to the World Camp, participating in all of the programs, and especially listening to the Word of God through Pastor Park’s sermons gavel them all hope. They specifically mentioned how they were able to have faith that God had saved them and changed

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Students entering Upper Room Ministries, the evening venue of the World Camp in NY

New York IYF Dance Team, which performed at the World Camps in Korea, Los Angeles, and New York performing a dance from Benin.

The instructor for the Jujitsu Academy returned for his second year to teach during the IYF Academy session

The Gracias Choir melted the hearts of those who attended the World Camp as the featured - 23 performers every morning and evening.

Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp New York

them, and that now they have true hope in God. So they will be able to overcome addiction because God has made them happy in their hearts.

One groups stated, “In IYF, we will not be addicted because IYF gives us hope and happiness.” To see God at work and the Gospel changing the hearts of all the people at the World Camp was truly amazing to see.

Pastors from various countries, South Korea, Paraguay, Canada, Brazil, Swaziland, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and more attended the Christian Leaders Fellowship, which was part of the World Camp. There were also pastors from different cities in the U.S. who were in attendance as well. Pastor Ock Soo Park, the CLF Main Speaker, preached in detail about eternal redemption through Jesus Christ as described in the Bible. He spoke about the secrets of the Ark of the Covenant. The verdict that God has reached about us is no longer the old covenant, but the new one. Pastor Park spoke about how we can now stand before the promise that states that He has forgiven our sins, and remembers our iniquities no more. Therefore, the words in Romans 8:33 ring true: “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.” Therefore, if we are to believe in God, then we have to say the exact same thing that God is saying.

Therefore, if God says we are righteous then we are righteous.

Ironically, the meeting place for CLF was a mock courtroom in the past. However, it was here that Pastor Park powerfully preached about how God’s verdict for man. Pastor Park mentioned how the Word of God is like that of a judge’s verdict. Therefore, no matter what other people may say, it is actually God’s judgment that we are justified Pastor Ock Soo Park spoke to the CLF every morning and shared about how the verdict of God for everyone is, “We are righteous.”

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and forgiven of all of our sins. This has resulted in God making us righteous. All the attending pastors shouted, “Amen!” and “Hallelujah!” and glorified God through a great show of applause. Unfortunately, many people have the completely wrong idea of God and His heart.

They think, “If I work diligently and do well, then God will hear my prayers. On the other hand, if I commit sin and do wrong things, then God will ignore me and will not hear my prayers. This is only the thoughts of man, and does not apply to God at all. God does not want to just take care of sin, but rather took care of it perfectly Himself, so that nothing more could be remaining regarding sin Pastors Cielos Abiertos, from Atlanta, Georgia, attended the CLF and in the end, stated, “I am righteous! I am so thankful to realize my true identity as being righteous through the blood of Jesus and the Gospel.” Pastor Hebel, who accompanied Pastor Cielos, stated, “Even as a leader in the church, we often mix our thoughts with the Word of God. But through the CLF, we were able to listen to the true Word of God preached from various angles. Most people focus on Romans 3:23, but ignore the next verse, verse 24. As a result, people only know they are sinners. They don’t know that they are justified, and that God has forgiven us. However, if God has said so, then it is the truth. We are righteous!”

Many other pastors in attendance came to realize the truth in the Word of God and the fact that Satan was deceiving them into believing that they are only sinners. In the end, there were countless pastors, missionaries, ministers, and Christian leaders who left the CLF with faith and hope and peace in their hearts. We can see that God rejoiced in the work of CLF and that it was God who was leading everything to - 25 -

Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp New York

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Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp New York

take place and be completed by His grace. As the pastors were returning to their churches and homes, we were so full of hope imagining how God was going to open the ways for us to preach the Gospel together throughout the North America.

The 2017 NY World Camp came to a conclusion with the Gracias Concert held on the lawn of Mahanaim campus. It was a very difficult task since Mahanaim campus was in the middle of a highly residential area. To secure a permit was something that was not feasible until now. Other events in New York City take 6 to 8 months to secure the necessary permits. In the Town of Huntington, there were other permits, such as a carnival permit, which would delay the approval for the concert. With only two weeks left before the start of the World Camp, we went to the Town Clerk’s office to inquire about the permit or permits that may be required. We were also skeptical of how long it would take. However, upon entering the Town Clerk’s office, we were able to secure the sound permit in about half an hour. The Deputy Town Clerk also determined that the sound permit would be the only other permit we needed from the town.

The next hurdle would be the stage that would be big enough and suited for outdoor performances. If one was to build a fixed stage, then there are additional structure or building permits that would be needed.

We used a fixed stage for the Opening Ceremony in LA last year, and it took 2 full days of labor to construct the stage and a day and half to break it down. However, we were able to discover a company that rented mobile staging. Stages that were large scale outdoor performance stages. God had prepared everything so perfectly in order to allow us to host the first outdoor concert for Gracias on Mahanaim campus.

Everyone rejoiced to see how God was opening brand new doors for the next chapter of God’s work during the World Camp.

New York State Assemblyman, Ted Lupinacci, and the former Mayor of Santiago, Dominican Republic, Gilberto Serulle gave congratulatory remarks to open the concert. Mayor Gilberto Serulle played host and prepared the venue and supported the IYF World Camp in the Dominican Republic for 5 years straight. He was also the one who introduced us to a mayor of a city in Puerto Rico, which resulted in IYF holding a World Camp there as well. It was also working with the mayor while in office that we were able to establish the Gracias School

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1st outdoor concert held on Mahanaim Campus was made possible by the grace of God.

Gracias ert Conc

Soprano Jin Young Park touched the hearts of everyone as she sang, “God Bless America”

Gracias Choir performed various music including their “Beauty and the Beast” stage

Marimba solo performance by Marimbist Dae Hyun Yoon from the Gracias Orchestra

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Leadership Lecture by Ryan Hreljac, founder of Ryan’s Well Foundation, who started building wells for people from 6 years old inspired the students with his story

Students giving their Mind Education presentations on the last afternoon.

Former Mayor of Santiago, Dominican Republic giving a Congratulatory Message during the Gracias Concert NY IYF Dance Team’s final performance of US cultural dance titled, “One More Time”

Skit part of a group’s Mind Education Presentation

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Special Article 2017 IYF World Camp New York

of Music and the Gracias Music Camp. We were thankful to listen to how Mayor Serulle still holds Pastor Ock Soo Park as the servant of God in his heart. He also promised to continue to work with IYF in the future in the best of his capacity.

The Gracias Choir held everyone’s heart as they took stage for the last time during the World Camp. It was a time when we could all reflect on the heart of God for giving us a truly wonderful and the best World Camp. It was a time to be thankful for the grace of the world’s best choir performing for the entire World Camp. Soloists Jinyoung Park, Hyemi Choi, Taejik Woo, and many other Gracias members performed with all of their hearts. As the Gracias Choir ended their performances in “God Bless America,” it was Gracias Choir’s final gift to the World Camp. The evening filled with the applause and gratefulness of all who listened. The Gracias Concert closed its curtains as it left such a great impact, not only in the hearts of many people, but opened a new hope and direction of how IYF is going to work in New York. The 2017 New York World Camp was 4 days of happiness that may have ended for now, but was full of the works of God preparing for the works of the Gospel for the future. We are truly hopeful to see how God will lead, change, and spread the seeds of hope through all the students who attended the IYF World Camp.

Thank you

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Memoirs of a Missionary_Cote d'Ivoire

Memoirs of a Missionary Episode 11

Chinese People Living in Ivory Coast Who Gained Eternal Life God first established faith to believe only in God within the heart of Missionary Jung Do Lee. God asked him, “Why don’t you come out to me with this matter?” In so doing, God opened the way to preach the Gospel to Chinese people living in Ivory Coast, and saved many people who were living bound by money and desire without hope.

Pastor Jeongdo Lee (Missionary of Côte d'Ivoire)

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“Why Don’t You Come out to Me? And, Why Do You Try to Solve the Problem Through a Humanistic Way?”

As I lived among the brothers and sisters of my church, there were times I became involved in many different situations and was unable to receive the guidance of God because I was the one doing the work. I was just trying to help them, and I was not thinking deeply in my heart.

Once, Brother Yapi was looking to buy a house, and found one listed at a good price and in a good location that was close to the church. However, the owner of the house stated that he was only looking to sell the house to a white person. As a result, Brother Yapi asked me to sign the contract. As a result, Brother Yapi and I met with the owner, and signed the contract acting as if I were the one who was going to live in the house. Since the house was very big, Brother Yapi’s family, and three other families were able to move in together. They were happy because they could all equally pay for the rent, electricwty, and water. They lived this way for two years.

Eventually, a problem arose with Brother Yapi’s business.

He began to struggle financially, and he ended up spending the money that all the families gathered for living expenses for his own personal usage. They ended up not be able to pay the rent and utility bills for an entire year. However, he received help from a meterman he knew personally in order to continue to receive electricity and water. Eventually, they all had to move out of the house. However, since I was the one who signed the contract, the owner came to the church and caused trouble with me. At first, he only mentioned about the electric bills, so those three families paid the bills together. Few days later, he brought the water bill. I ended up paying for water. After paying off the water bill, the owner told me to pay the rent for the past year and two months. Because I could not handle paying over $4,000 for the rent, I explained the situation to the church elders and asked for help. The next day, I met the - 31 -

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Memoirs of a Missionary_Cote d'Ivoire

owner with the elders. He said if we were to pay right away, he would only charge us $2,000, and so we came to an agreement.

The elders said they would gather the money amongst themselves, along with other group leaders in the church, and pay off the rent.

The next day, as I was praying early in the morning, I felt uncomfortable with the heart I was living with. God spoke to me: “Who gave you this problem? I gave you this problem! How come you are trying to solve this problem with humanistic methods instead of coming to me?”

I replied, “God, how can I pay all of the debt off myself?

Where can I get the money?”

God spoke to my heart again, saying, “Just because you don’t have a solution, does that mean that I do not have one?”

I remembered the words in Lamentations. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. (Lamentations 3:25-28) I called an elder that morning, and told him, “Elder, as I was praying this morning, God showed me my mistakes.

This problem was given to me from God. I will take care of it.

Forget about the agreement we made.”

“Pastor, how are you going to handle that much money?”

“God gave me this heart. Therefore, He will take care of everything. If God works, this could be resolved without even paying any money at all.”

I hung up the phone, and I immediately called the owner, and said, “I am sorry. Yesterday, we agreed to pay $2,000 immediately. However, while praying this morning, God showed me that I was wrong. This is not a problem that the church has to take care of. God gave this problem to me, so I alone will take responsibility for it.”

“Then, are you going to pay $2,000?”

“No, I don’t have that much money. I will have to pay you $100 a month.”

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“You can’t do that. If you are going to pay like that, you have to pay the $4,000.”

“Yes, I will do that.”

However, later that day, the owner and his son came to our church, and told me that they were going to sue me if I did not pay them $4,000 at once. The owner eventually filed a lawsuit against me, and I had to go to court for this for over a year. However, by the grace of God, we won the first trial.

The owner appealed, but I won again. However, I still had to pay back what I owed, even though I won the trial. I was supposed to pay the entire amount, but even though it has been more than a year, the owner has not contacted me for anything until this day.

In Genesis chapter 32, when Jacob went to meet Esau, he used his humanistic method. He divided his people into groups so he could save one group if Esau attacked the first group. As a result, God dislocated Jacob’s thighbone so that he could not run away. It was because God could not help Jacob as long as he tried to save himself. It was then that God gave Jacob, who could not protect himself, the name, “Israel.”

The world of God is a world where the one who has lost wins. Because God wanted to work on my behalf, God showed me how I could win through God. Although God worked like this with Jacob, Jacob continued to try to protect himself. As a result, he disobeyed God and stayed in Succoth in Genesis 33. Eventually, he faced another disaster.

When the homeowner said he would only sell the house to white people, I used the humanistic method of signing my name instead of using Brother Yapi’s own name. God revealed everything that I did and tried my own way, and He placed me in the midst of these many problems that I could not resolve on myself. If I continued to try and use humanistic methods again in order to protect myself, even though God was working so greatly, I would have been in even bigger problems. Thankfully, God gave me wisdom as I prayed.

In the Bible, I read these words, In the Lord put I my trust: - 33 -

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Memoirs of a Missionary_Cote d'Ivoire

how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.

(Psalms 11:1-2) As soon as I accepted the heart to run away to a safer place, I was then escaping to go to God. However, arrows still came at me. Just believing in God seems foolish and dangerous at times. However, there is no other safe path besides God. God’s foolishness is wiser than all of man’s wisdom. And God’s weakness is much greater than man’s greatest strength. Honestly, I blamed Brother Yapi for everything and was angry with him. However, as I gained God in my heart, my heart was at peace. Brother Yapi, who stopped coming to church because of this incident, repented his heart and returned to church. I was so thankful that I was now able to greet him with an open heart, without any hesitation. As it says in the Bible, For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings. (Philippians 2:13-14) If I Had a Heart to Preach the Gospel to Chinese People

There are Chinese people living all over the world. There are also many Chinese people living in the Ivory Coast, too. I always wanted to preach the Gospel to them, but most of them spoke very little French. It was really hard to communicate. Because of that, I wanted to receive Good News Corps volunteers from China. There were many Good News Corps volunteers in Africa, but none of them came to Ivory Coast. Whenever I met the Good News Corps volunteers from China, who were serving in Ghana and Togo, I told them to come to Ivory Coast. I also contacted the pastors of our churches in China to send some volunteers. However, no one came.

God changed my heart through Word of God before he sent Good News Corps volunteers. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 9:10). We usually think that - 34 -

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The bridge that was built right next to our land

the sower of seeds must have seeds, because you cannot sow seeds if you don’t have any. However, in the Bible, a sower was not a person who had seeds, but a person who had the heart to sow seeds. You can be a sower if you have the heart to sow seeds, although you do not have any seeds. It was the will of God to give seeds and food to the sower.

What I actually needed to preach the Gospel to the Chinese people here wasn’t knowing the language. I needed the heart to preach the Gospel. If I had the heart to preach the Gospel to them, God would provide me with everything that I needed. Then, I will become someone who preaches the Gospel to Chinese people.

The Word of God says, Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

(Jeremiah 33:2-3) “There Are Chinese People Who Believe in God, Right?”

Sister Dejire, who went to Korea as a Good News Corps volunteer, brought a Korean Chinese lady, Sul Yui Chae, to the church. God worked in the heart of Ms. Chae a lot, so she accepted the Gospel purely and received salvation in August of 2012. Sister Chae explained about how she met - 35 -

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Memoirs of a Missionary_Cote d'Ivoire

Sister Dejire. Sister Chae and her husband, Brother Gwan Pyo Kim, went to a restaurant to eat Alloco, which are fried plantains. Sister Dejire was also there eating Alloco. Sister Chae and her husband only communicated in Chinese, except for one Korean word, “Oppa.” When Sister Chae called her husband, “Oppa,” Sister Dejire understood the word, and asked them, “Are you Korean?” It was the first time Sister Chae and her husband saw a person from Ivory Coast speaking Korean. They were shocked. Through that incident, Sister Dejire decided to teach the couple French.

That was how Sister Dejire brought Sister Chae to the church few days later. Sister Chae went to church China ever since she was young. And after she got married, she gave birth to her daughter, and her family was living very happily. However, she lost her husband in a car accident.

After she heard the news of her husband’s car accident, she prayed, “God, let me see my husband, even for a short while before he dies.” However, he had already died by the time she arrived at the hospital. From that day on, she resented God, and did not go to church. Later, she met her current husband, and she came to Ivory Coast with her daughter.

After she heard the Gospel, she realized that God had been working in her life so that she could receive salvation. As a result, her grudge against God was completely resolved.

Her husband, Brother Gwan Pyo Kim, was a person who was only interested in earning money, and had no interest in God. He came to the church with his wife and received salvation after listening to the Word of God. Through Sister Chae and her husband, we started a regular Bible meeting with Chinese people.

I gave a testimony to Sister Chae and explained about my heart. “Sister, I have prayed for a long time because I wanted to preach the Gospel to Chinese people. Until now, I could not preach the Gospel because of the language barrier. However, God saved you and your husband, who can speak Chinese. Sister, please help me preach the Gospel - 36 -

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photo caption needed 1. 2. 3.

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Memoirs of a Missionary_Cote d'Ivoire

to the Chinese people here!”

“Pastor, the Chinese people here don’t believe in Jesus. They are not interested.”

“No, surely, there are people who will. Please, look for them.”

“I looked around, but there’s no one I could find.”

In that manner, a year had passed. Brother Si Fu Yang was a Good News Corps volunteer serving in Togo. He returned to China, but later came to Abidjan because he got a job.

However, as he was working at his job, he did not come to the church regularly, and he lived a life of drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. The brother’s health grew worse and worse as a result of this. His lungs were in a particularly severe condition. Eventually, he was hospitalized. As a result, he had no other choice but to stay with us for 3 weeks. As this brother listened to the Word of God through Sister Chae’s translation, his heart came alive. As Brother Yang’s heart returned to the church, we held our first Chinese Bible Conference in his house. At that time, Brother Yang invited his nephews, Zhou Jiang Wei, Fan Buaren, and Jo Heiwe. All three of them received salvation and have been connected to the church.

On the last day of the conference, I told Sister Chae. “Sister Chae, there are Chinese people who believe in God, aren’t there?”

“Yes, you are right, Pastor. I’m sorry.”

Sister Chae became my mouth whenever I preached the Gospel to Chinese people. We even started an IYF Chinese Academy for our brothers and sisters and my oldest daughter, Do Hee. Do Hee visited China in 2014 and learn even more Chinese. The brothers who studied Chinese from the academy got jobs in Chinese companies in Ivory Coast. One day, Do Hee went out with a few church sisters in order to witness. They met Mr. Hubin and his wife. They were practicing Buddhists. They had good impression of Do Hee, and they opened their hearts to her. Eventually, they came to our church a couple of times. However, all of a sudden, Mr. Hubin got an unknown disease. Even though he went to the best hospital in Abidjan, he could not be cured. Sister - 38 -

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Chae, my wife, and I visited him and had packed him some porridge. I prayed for him, and right away, he was healed.

This precious couple have been uniting their hearts with the church until now.

A Meeting for Chinese People That God Had Grown

More Chinese people began coming to the church, but it was difficult for them to understand about a life of faith because they had no knowledge of the Bible. They lived their lives as atheists for such a long time. As I was facing my limitations regarding this matter, a missionary from China came to our church as a guest speaker for the World Camp in 2015. The missionary preached sermons in the morning and the afternoon. The elder and sister who had accompanied the missionary from China gave their testimonies about their lives as Christians. After the World Camp in Ivory Coast, we held a Chinese Camp in Ghana.

Our brothers and sister attended and continually listened to the sermons from the missionary. After returning from the two camps, the testimonies of our Chinese brothers and sisters have change so much.

Brother Si Fu Yang attended the World Camp in Ivory Coast, and the Chinese Camp in Ghana. His boss had not given him permission to attend, but he was able to overcome the situation by faith. Through this, he gained a precious testimony. The missionary and the elder were touched by Brother Yang’s testimony, and introduced him to a sister from Beijing. Eventually, they got engaged and married.

They had wedding ceremonies in China and Ivory Coast.

Our Chinese brothers and sisters were very happy.

On the wedding day, the missionary and those who accompanied him planned to leave Ivory Coast. However, the elder said he wanted to see the land, on which we planned to build a new chapel. He saw the land and immediately gave and offering of $20,000 for the construction. With that offering, we purchased a brick-making machine. We received so much grace through the World Camp. This - 39 -

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a H w r

Memoirs of a Missionary_Cote d'Ivoire

resulted in the Chinese meeting starting to grow. There were people who came to our church after hearing that we have a Chinese speaking church.

One day, a Chinese lady called Sister Chae to inquire about where she could purchase a Bible. Mr. Ryu Jien-jien is a dentist and his family was connected to the church through this lady. Mr. Ryu Jien-jien did not stop his wife from going to church when they lived in China, but he, himself, had never been to a church his self. However, ever since he attended our church service, he has been continually coming to hear the Word of God. He never really had any interest spiritual issues or the Bible. However, his heart completely changed after he attended the World Camp in Korea. He gave three different testimonies, in relation to three different subjects regarding the World Camp. His wife, Sister Tuurey, and his two daughters decided to go to Korea to attend the World Camp after see how much their father had changed.

During a Bible Crusade with Pastor Ock Soo Park, our church sisters worked in the kitchen, while our church brothers drove and helped with the Good News Medical Volunteer program. Our Chinese-speaking brothers and sisters formed a choir and sang hymns in French and Chinese, which surprised many people because most people assumed that Chinese people were either Buddhists or Atheists. There are currently 25 Chinese members attending our church services. Many of them came all the way to Ivory Coast to make money. However, after meeting our church, they received eternal life, which is much more precious than money. They now give offerings, and work for the Gospel. I feel so amazed and happy. I still have many shortcomings, and sometimes, it doesn’t feel like a church gathering. It rather feels more like a community meeting at times, but I am truly full of hope because these brothers and sisters are getting to know God as they hear His Word.

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New York Times: Notes on Genesis II

Pit Your Thoughts Against the Word of God Pastor Ock Soo Park Good News Gangnam Church

And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. (Genesis 21:1~4)

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us to do this, but we shall have a child through the handmaid,” because they had no faith in God. The distrust that God would not give them a son worked inside their heart.

Why does distrust form in your heart? It is because faith does not take place in your heart. “Is it I or God who will have me father a son?” It was not Abraham who was allowing a son to be born.

“That's right! It is God who would allow a son to be born. There is nothing God cannot do. W hy would He not allow me to father a son?” This faith is all he needed, but his heart shook because he did not have this faith although God promised him a son. It seemed that he could not have a son when he thought of the circumstances.

Therefore, he took a young and healthy handmaid, someone who seemed that she could deliver a child well, to give birth to a son.

This son was the son borne of distrust, Ishmael.

Much time had passed after the birth of Ishmael. In fact, it was 14 years afterwards that Abraham had Isaac. Abraham and Sarah were older, and it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. It seemed absolutely impossible that they would have a child.

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NEW YORK TIMES

If You Know the Law of Faith...

Spritual life is something that is truly easy, fun, and blessed. It is quite easy if you know the law of spiritual life, but there is nothing as unclear, difficult, and tiring as spiritual life when you do not know the law of spiritual life. In other words, spiritual life is believing in God because it cannot be accomplished through the power of man. When doing something through faith in God, one should not calculate whether it is possible, but should think, “Can God do this, or not?” We believe in God when we cannot do something with our humanistic efforts. However, within this belief, believing when t hings seem possible in your calculations while not believing when things seem impossible, is not believing in God. Abraham had two sons. One was Ishmael, born of a handmaid, and the other was Isaac, born of faith in God. Abraham had no faith in God when he had Ishmael; he was old and so was his wife, and he judged that he could not have a child. However, that was his judgment. No matter how old he is, if God wants him to have a child, can he not have one?

Abraham and Sarah thought in their humanistic judgment, “We cannot have a child. It saddens

New York Times: Notes on Genesis II

That is why Abraham and Sarah laughed when God said that they would have a son.

“Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?”

But t hey did have a son.

How was that so? “Surely this is impossible, but since there is nothing God cannot do, it can be done if He does it.” They were able to have a son because this faith arose in their heart.

As I, too, live a life of faith, I often face circumstances like that of Abraham having a son. “This is absolute nonsense! Impossible!

There is no way this can be done!”

This is the judgment I often arrive at. However, after a little while, when God gives me thoughts, I say, “This is impossible, but if God does it, it can be done!” and I add a little more to what I thought before. Spiritual life truly became easy after I learned this.

My Heart and the Heart God Leads When I entered the military and was training at the training center, I one day lost my gloves.

In the army, this was a huge problem. There was no way for me to replace them. Right then, Satan continually spoke to my heart: “This is the army. Where can you get gloves? There is no way for you to get any. However, there is one way. When everyone is sleeping, steal the pair of the person next to you. Yours were stolen, so don't think of this as stealing. This is how army life is.”

These thoughts strongly entered my heart.

I often felt in my spiritual life that the flow of my thoughts differed from the direction in which God leads my heart. I was then able to think, “This is how my thoughts are, but I wonder what God's thoughts are,” and received much grace although I was, from time to time, led by my thoughts. Even though I thought of stealing the gloves, I experienced a complete change of hea r t: “I a m now sta r ting my military life. Suppose I do steal a colleague's gloves and get caught. Then nomatter how my army life goes over the next three years, my life of witnessing here is

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"Surely this is impossible, but since there is nothing God cannot do, it can be done if He does it."

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father of many nations like the stars in the sky and the sands of the seashore.

This Is My Thought, but What Would God Say? You always flow towards your thoughts as you live your spiritual life. It is only natural that you flow that way, but I am urging you to ask the question, “This is my thought, but what would God say?” after you arrive at your conclusions. Then, when you lay down your thoughts and the Word of God on the table and say, “Which one of these two is correct? Of course God is correct,” and select the Word of God rather than your thoughts, the works of God begin.

Humanistic thoughts arise in you to lead your heart to a side opposite of the Word of God, and this is true with everyone. The important thing at this point is to hold your thoughts for a moment and then think, “This is what I think, but what does the Word of

NEW YORK TIMES

absolutely over!” When I arrived at this conclusion, I decided that I would rather suffer for having lost the gloves, and the heart to steal completely disappeared from me.

We have our own heart, and there's the heart led by God. Not being able to have a son was originally the heart of Abraham and Sarah. Therefore, they took her handmaid to have Ishmael. But after 14 years passed, it seemed even more impossible that they would have a son. However, God put a thought inside Abraham: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Why did Sarah laugh? Your wife, Sarah, will surely have a son, and thou shalt call his name Isaac.”

Right then the Word of God entered the heart of Abraham and Sarah, and the faith, “That's right!

It is humanly impossible but if God gives us a child, why will we not have one?” arose in them.

That faith gave Sarah the strength to conceive, and ultimately, they had Isaac according to the Word of God. This Isaac became the

New York Times: Notes on Genesis II

God say?”

This is something I often talk about. The wedding at Cana of Galilee was short of wine. Right then, Jesus told the servants there to fill some water pots with water. When they did so, He said, “Draw out now and serve unto the governor of the feast.” The servants' thoughts were, “This is water, not wine. We should not serve this.” However, the words of Jesus were to draw out and to serve. The servants looked to see which was right between their thoughts and the words of Jesus.

They believed that the words of Jesus were right and followed them. This faith accomplished the miracle. Miraculous works are always formed in such conditions.

There was a man who had an infirmity for 38 years. Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” This ill man thought, “I cannot walk. How can I take up my bed and walk when I can't even move? But Jesus is telling me to walk. Then am I right, or is Jesus right? Of course Jesus is.

Then let me follow Jesus' words.”

Then, when he moved, the works of him taking up his bed and walking arose within him.

W hen Peter f irst met Jesus at the Sea of Galilee, Peter had

cast his net all night long but had not caught a single fish. In the morning Jesus said to him, “Cast the net into the deep.” Peter thought about this: “Cast the net into the deep? What fish are in the deep? There are no fish there.

That is what my thoughts say, but Jesus is saying that there are fish.

Then let me throw my thoughts away and follow the words of Jesus.” Then Peter cast the net into the deep end and ended up catching so many fish that his net almost burst.

When I meet demon possessed people from time to time I shout before the demon. “Demon! I am not going to fight against you!

Why would I fight with you? I'm going to tell Jesus to fight for me.

Can you beat Jesus?” I do not fight against the demon, but I pit Jesus to fight against him. Then Jesus defeats him.

I cannot break my thoughts.

Can you break your thoughts? I have lived by my thoughts and have always believed that my thoughts were correct. But one day, I came to believe in Jesus.

When I leave my thoughts as they are, those thoughts reign, but after receiving Jesus, I pit Him against my thoughts.

“My thoughts are like this,

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You must pit the Word of God againt your thoughts. Then the Word of God wins. There is no need for you to fight to defeat your thoughts.

When Colliding Against the Word of God Abraham had his own thoughts: “How can I have a son? I am this old, and it has ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women ... .”

In the heart of God Abraham had a son, but in Abraham's thoughts and in Abraham's heart there was no son. Then whose thoughts are correct? There is no one among you who thinks that your thoughts are more correct than God's. People think that God's words are all correct. But the problem is you separate your - 47 -

thoughts from the Word of God and that is why you flow to your thoughts. You must pit the Word of God against your thoughts.

Then the Word of God wins.

There is no need for you to fight to defeat your thoughts.

People's hearts are bound to be led by circumstances. As I, too, grew older my memory weakened. I am sure I know a certain thing, but it does not come to mind at times. I cannot remember the names of people who I am close to. My vision has become weaker as well. A little while ago, I went to South America. After the service in Peru, the brothers and sisters wanted to take a picture together a nd we did. However, after a couple of flashes, I could not see.

NEW YORK TIMES

but what does the Lord say?”

When I put the words of the Lord against my thoughts, the heart, “No matter how correct my thoughts seem, the words of the Lord are correct. I am wrong.

The Word is right,” arose in me so that my thoughts become powerless. The words of the Lord then led me. Each time this happened, I could experience t he work s of t he power of God a rising.

New York Times: Notes on Genesis II

In your eyes, it seemed that you could not have a son, but when God says that you will, and when your thoughts differ from the Word of God, you must select the Word of God.

I regretfully asked them to take more pictures later. Nowadays, unless it's absolutely necessary, I try not to take pictures that require flash. I can't do anything about becoming older, memory loss, weakening vision, my body becoming weaker . . . . Before, I felt nothing although I drove all day long. But now I cannot do that.

Abraham was 99 years old, so how do you think he felt? “Me, have a son?” It must have seemed a like joke to him. Sarah, too, was an old woman. I often say that I would be afraid that such an old woman would have a child. Even if she did become pregnant, how could she give birth? That is why people naturally think that such a woman cannot have a child.

“God said that He would give us a son but we are so old. How could we have child?”

These thoughts are very natural to us. But when colliding against the Word of God, these thoughts are not higher than the Word of

God and thus, must be denied before the Word. In your eyes, it seemed that you could not have a son, but when God says that you will, and when your thoughts differ from the Word of God, you must select the Word of God. The problem is that you do not remember the Word of God and erase it from your hearts. When you lay your thoughts against the Word of God you can see that the Word of God is correct.

Being Justified This is also true with you receiving the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus was crucified for your sins and He bore your sins. But you sin every day.

“I am a sinner. I sinned yesterday, and I am a sinner who sins even today.

Jesus was crucified, but I am a sinner who cannot live without sinning.”

“I have committed filthy, dirty, deceitful sins. I have many sins that are shameful to speak of. I have lived hiding t hose sins.

That's the kind of person I am - 48 -

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says, “You did commit those sins.

But you are washed, sanctified, and justified inside the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of God.” Now, will you believe in your thoughts or the Word of God? After receiving salvation, it seemed that all the other brothers and sisters changed when I heard their testimonies, but it seemed that I had not changed at all. It seemed there was no answer to my prayers, there was no one receiving salvation even though I witnessed, and there were no works of God. Those were my thoughts. What does the Bible say about this?

Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17) All things have become new a nd you have become a new person. How God sees and how I see differs. Is my view correct, or is God's? “In my eyes nothing has changed, but God says that I am changed. Then I am changed.”

That is what I believed.

You often hold only to your thoughts. You do not pit them against the Word of God, and thus, your own thoughts take hold of you. However, when those thoughts collide against

NEW YORK TIMES

and how can I say that I have no sins? I am a sinner.”

Those are your own thoughts.

If this is true, what does the Word of God say? W hatever the Word of God says is correct.

There is no way how you judge could ever be correct.

One day, I wa s reading 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and was completely shocked.

Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:10) And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of out God. (1 Corinthians 6:11) The Bible says, “and such were some of you.” You committed the sins of stealing, being covetous, being drunk, and being extortionists.

However, afterwards it says, “. . . but ye are washed, ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” You had clearly sinned, but the Bible says that you have been cleansed, you have been sanctified, and you have been justified. Here, let us not believe only in our thoughts, but pit them against the Word of God. I am a dirty sinner in my thoughts, but the Word of God

New York Times: Notes on Genesis II

the Word of God, the Word of God crumbles your thoughts and they are all destroyed.

Search the Word of God Abraham thought that he could not have a son until he faced the Word of God. God said, “Is anything too hard for the Lord? Your wife, Sarah, will surely bear you a son and you shall call his name Isaac.” When these words came upon Abraham and he no longer stubbornly exerted his thoughts: “God said that He would give me a son. I do not think I can have a son. Then whose thoughts are correct? Of course God's words are right. Then let me believe in God.” Abraham threw his thoughts away and believed the Word of God. From time to time, you have your thoughts, but let not your thoughts be the end.

“This is what I think, but what does the Bible say?” When you pit your thoughts against

the Word of God, the Word of God will prevail and your thoughts are broken. W hen your thoughts break and the Word of God is alive in you, the works of God begin from then on. This is called the, “Works of faith.”

Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed ...

(Hebrews 11:11) Sarah gained the strength to conceive when she believed. Faith does not come from nothing. Faith arises when the Word enters you. Loving folks, do you want to have the faith of forgiveness of sins? Do you want assurance? Do you want to become born again? Do not search within your thoughts but search inside the Word of God. In your thoughts, you are a sinner who has sinned, but see what the Word of God has recorded. Then no matter how you think, believe that your sins are washed away if the Word of God says they are because the Word of God is higher than your thoughts. All people such as these are people of faith.

W h e n t h e Wo r d o f G o d reigns in you, the works of the power of God arise in your lives.

I hope that through faith in the Word, all of you will gain the assurance of the forgiveness of sins.

Gospel Lesson

The Righteous Man

Pastor Han Gyu Lee Good News East Seoul Church

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Should You Say You Are a Righteous Man? I received salvation in 1985. I was working as a schoolteacher at the time. One year later, I was transferred to the Angye Girls High School in Uiseong-gun, Gyeongsangbuk Province due to the reshuffling of faculty. There were a few Presbyterian churches, along with a few other churches of different denominations in the area. At work, whenever I had nothing to do, I went to my classroom during the students’ individual study period, pray, and read the Bible. My students thought I was a teacher who was very diligent in my spiritual life. It was probably because I was a newly appointed teacher who came to work, prayed, and read the Bible in the classroom. I thought they told the pastors of their churches, “Our newly appointed teacher seems to live a diligent spiritual life. Therefore, before he attends another church, we should bring him to our church.”

One Saturday afternoon, a pastor, a few elders, and a few deacons from one of the surrounding churches visited our house without notice.

That pastor requested to have service. I told him to go ahead, and after a brief service, the pastor said, “Teacher, you should register and come to church.”

So, I gave him my salvation testimony. The pastor said, “That’s great,” and told me to start coming to church the next day.

However, I asked one of the elders that was sitting next to me, “Elder, do you have sin in your heart?”

He replied, “I have lots of sin. Who does not have sin?”

“If you have sin in your heart, then you have not received salvation yet. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, so if you have sin then are you not a person under sin?”

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Gospel Lesson

The elder could not answer me. Then I asked another elder sitting next to him, “Elder, are you a sinner, or a righteous man in front of God?” This person hesitated. If he said that he was a sinner, then he has not received salvation. Therefore, he cannot say he is a sinner. On top of that, he didn’t have the faith to say he was righteous either. So the pastor who was next to him said, “You should say you are a righteous man.”

Then the elder answered without much confidence, “I am a righteous man.”

So I said to the pastor, “Among the two elders who attend the same church, one says he is a sinner, and the other says he is righteous. Then the spiritual life of one of the two elders must be wrong. Therefore, one of the you elders will surely go to hell then.”

The pastor then became very flustered and said, “We are very busy with other matters. Please excuse us.” After they got up and left, they never visited me again. As I preached the Gospel, I told everyone that I was a righteous man, and people began to say, “He’s so arrogant. He is preaching a doctrine of heresy.” They then began to regulate the students. The church then established a new doctrine, and taught it to my students in order to keep them being led astray by me.

Their doctrine was like this: “We are sinners because we commit sin every day. Saying you are a righteous man is arrogance.” They were saying that in the Bible, it reads, “There is none righteous, no not one,” so how could anyone be righteous?

A Righteous Man by Faith, and a Sinner by Works As time passed, however, one by one, the students at my school started to realize that they were not sinners. They were made righteous

by Jesus Christ, and many received salvation as they heard the Gospel I was preaching to them. As a result, the church then began to make an even stranger assertion: “We are righteous men by faith, but sinners by works.”

In Leviticus chapter 11, there were clean animals and unclean animals, according to the Law. Among the unclean animals is a bat.

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It is neither a bird, nor a rat. It is like a bird, but also like a rat. You are a sinner if you have sin, and you are righteous if you don’t have sin. What do it mean that a person is a righteous by faith, but a sinner by works? You are righteous if you have faith, and you are a sinner if you have no faith. Theirs is no middle ground. The devil mixes the truth with man’s thoughts, and he likes to create a middle zone. If it is Heaven, it is Heaven. If it is hell, it is hell. There is no middle zone. A middle zone is Satan’s trap.

At first glance, the words, “Righteous by faith, and sinner by works,” seem true. However, people who do not know about the Bible very well who hold the assertion, “sinner by works.” We were born as sinners

ㅉ ㄷ We became righteous through the grace of Jesus, regardless of our actions. under Adam, regardless of our deeds. We are not sinners because we committed sins after we were born. Because we were born inside of Adam, who had departed from God, we became sinners regardless of our determination or deeds. A lot of people do not know the Word, and there are even others who just do not accept it. They believe they are sinners based on their own deeds. They believe that their deeds must be perfect in order for them to become righteous.

Romans chapter 5 clearly explains that inside one man, and through one man, Adam, we became sinners. And through the obedience of Jesus, we became righteous. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners. (Romans 5:19) When you read this here, did we become sinners because we sinned after birth, or have we become sinners through Adam? However, people do not accept the Bible because Satan deceives them. Satan always connects our hearts to our own actions, not the Word of God. When you pay attention to the Word of God, it tells you that we are justified. When you depart from the Word of God, and begin to pay

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Gospel Lesson

attention to your actions, you feel like you are a sinner. Because we became sinners regardless of our actions, it is also true that we became righteous through the grace of Jesus, regardless of our actions. 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) By Jesus' obedience to God's will, God forgave our sins and we became justified.

However, people still try not to sin and to become justified through their own obedience. However, that is not faith, faith is accepting Christ's obedience as my own.

Am I Righteous Even ThoughI Sin Every Day? Those without faith cannot admit that they are righteous in their hearts. But those who trust in God's promise can only say they are righteous. Those who do not know the Gospel of forgiveness say, "How are we righteous if we sin every day?" They are those who look at themselves sinning daily, and do not believe in the power of Christ, who has abundantly saved us from our sins. The reason why we have become sinners is not because we sin daily. When sin entered through Adam, we became sinners. The result of becoming sinners is that we commit sin. Christ came into the world to wash away our sin. And by the death of Jesus, all our sins were completely washed away. The Bible bears witness to this fact!

And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (1 John 3:5) For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:26) This is the purpose for which Christ came to this world. Jesus appeared at the end of the world to pay for our sins. The words, “end of the world,� here is not something to understand with a temporal concept. When John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, He took all the sins of mankind. He took the sins of all the people of the world: the sins of every human being born in Adam upon His own body. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 45 portrays Jesus as the last

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and final Adam. Because Jesus was crucified, carrying the sins of the world, the sins of the world were finished. Jesus made it so that the sin of the world no longer exists.

However, we think, “How can we be righteous when we commit sin every day? We need to humbly say that we are sinners in front of God.” This sounds correct, but it is actually very ignorant. After we received the forgiveness of sin, the Holy Spirit leads us and guides us and gives us a new heart. It is written, …for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. (1 Peter 4:1) It is the pride of true Christians that we

The lives of true Christians are not lives of trying not to commit sins or condemning one's self after committing them. They are lives of being led by the Holy Spirit. have received the forgiveness of sin and walk with God, receiving guidance from the Holy Spirit.

Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

(Acts 2:38) The Holy Ghost leads us to live a holy life, and walk the path of righteousness, and follow the will of God. For people who are young and weak spiritually, it is possible for them to be deceived by Satan and fall into the temptations of sin. However, the Holy Spirit inside of us does not sit still. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26,27) This is the reason we live the life of, And we know that all things work

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Gospel Lesson

together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) The lives of true Christians are not lives of trying not to commit sins or condemning one’s self after committing them. They are lives of being led by the Holy Spirit.

As It Is Written, There Is None Righteous, No, Not One When I used to go to work, there was a person who was against the Gospel. He asked me a question because he wanted to test me. He said, “Mr. Lee, where was the verse that says, ‘There is none righteous, no, not one?’”

I wanted to say, “You don’t even know where that verse is located, and you are acting like you know something?” but instead, I told him that the answer could be found in Romans chapter 3, verse 10. According to this verse, then there must be no righteous people in the Bible. However, there are many righteous people in the Bible. Let me give you an example. When you look at Genesis chapter 6, verse 9, it says that Noah was a just man.

Now it seems that the Bible has a contradiction, right? How was Noah a just man? Was it because he did not commit any sins? If Noah did not commit any sins, then Romans 3:23, which says, “For all have sinned…” and Romans 5:12 are incorrect. And again, the Bible would then be contradicting itself. Actually, however, according to the words in Romans 3:23 and 5:12, Noah also committed sins.

Then, how did Noah become a righteous man?

The answer is written in Genesis chapter 6, verse 8: But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:8) Although Noah committed sins, he became righteous by the grace of God. We, too, commit sins, but we become righteous by the grace of God. Originally, we were sinners before God. However, by the grace given to us through Jesus Christ, we have received the forgiveness of sins and became righteous.

Romans chapter 3, verse 10, reads, There is none righteous, no, not one.” Verse 11 reads, “There is none that understandeth.” This is saying that Romans chapter 3, verse 10, “There

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is none righteous, no, not one,” is speaking about the people who do not understand. Once you clearly understand, you become righteous.

Romans chapter 3, verses 9 through 18, reveals who we are under the Law. Under the Law, there is no one who is righteous. However, starting from verse 19, it testifies that we are justified by faith, as the righteousness of God that is outside of the law is manifested (verse 21). Romans chapter 5, verse 19 even states: For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Faith is to purely accept the Word of God as it is.

When people look at their own works of committing sins, they feel it’s easier to say, “Amen,” to the word, “sinner,” instead of the Word of God that states we are “justified.” Being filled with the experiences they have of sinning, they feel much closer to the word, “sinner.” As a result, they feel very burdened to accept the words of God that state that we are righteous. They try to accept the Word of God, but as they look at take into account and believe in their own experiences and works; the Word of God cannot enter them purely. Faith is to purely accept the Word of God as it is.

Justification When I share such words, some people retort, “Since you are saying that you don’t have sin forever, you won’t have sin even if you recklessly commit sins? You are free to live however you want since you won’t be going to hell?” If you truly discover that you are a sinner, then you could only be speechless even if you were destroyed. You’d also realize that Jesus came and went to the cross for a person like you. Upon truly knowing and understanding this, what kind of heart would you have? You would have thankfulness and gratitude for the grace of the Lord. When you

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Gospel Lesson

have thankfulness for the grace of the Lord in you heart, you wouldn’t recklessly commit sins and live however you would like. That is a heartless dispute from people who’ve listened to the Gospel within their own thoughts. To those who have tasted the grace and love of the Lord, it’s simply a foolish question.

A holy life is a life in which you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, and receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

When our hearts become distant from the grace of the Lord, and His Word, we are tempted to sin and are dragged by the flesh.

Those who reside inside the grace of the Lord can live holy and clean lives. After having come inside of our church, I’ve seen and heard of the lives of many precious servants of God over the years.

I’ve seen their love and the lives they lived for the Gospel and the church with my own eyes. I have also witnessed their selfless service for the Lord. Their lives and the words they speak are beautiful, precious, and respectful. They live lives that go beyond a reckless lifestyle, and they rather live passionately for the Gospel. They love the Gospel greater than anyone else. Additionally, the lives of the brothers and sisters who have received the forgiveness of sins is very pure and spiritual beyond comparison.

Some people also say, “You’re right. It is true that Jesus cleansed our sins of the past, present, and future. It is also right that we become righteous by faith. However, we can’t just stop there. That’s cannot be everything. After receiving salvation, we need to live well to become like Christ. We need to live a life of justification.” Of course, receiving salvation and being born again is the starting line of spiritual life. It doesn’t complete spiritual life. We can’t become holy just by us trying to live a holy life. People don’t understand

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how futile their commitments and efforts are. That is why they think that they can refrain from sinning if they try not to. They believe that they can live a holy life if they try. A holy life is a life in which you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, and receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit. When you try and labor to become holy, you are relying on yourself and your works. In our lives, we need to continue to receive the grace of the Lord because, without the grace of God, the flesh and the thoughts of Satan can only drag our lives around.

Sons resemble their fathers. Do they resemble their fathers because they try to? Or do they naturally resemble their fathers?

My son never tried to be like me. He was simply born that way, and he lived with me. Therefore, he naturally became like me.

A lot of people see my son nowadays and say, “Hansol looks just like his father.� Spiritual life is like that as well. After being born again, we naturally take the image of the Lord, as we receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit and walk with the Lord through fellowship. We do not become like Jesus by trying to live a holy life. As you receive guidance from the church and stay close to the Bible, all of the confusion and questions you have will be resolved, one by one. You will also begin to naturally develop Christ’s character. I hope that you will become closer to God as days go by. And I hope that you will live a precious life to redirect many people from the way of destruction to the kingdom of heaven.

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T E S T IM O N Y O F PA S TO R O CK S O O P A R K

I Am Not One of the Chosen People

路路路路

My mother attended church since she was young. After she got married, she could not dare tell her parents-in-law that she was attending church. When I was young, I often heard the hymns that my mother would sing while sewing. "When Christ Jesus returns to this world..." Then one day, my mother started to take us to church.

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Preaching the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth

I attended church since I was very young. At church, there were so many fun things such as Sunday School, Summer Bible Camp, and Christmas preparations. I received many awards and heard many compliments.

It is not an exaggeration to say that I basically grew up in church.

Therefore, it must be normal for me to be a good person. However, that was not the case. I started to commit more and more sins as I grew up. At first, I committed small sins as I hung out with my friends thinking, "It is fine as long as I do not commit too many sins." But strangely, while it was extremely boring, not committing any sins, it was so fun when we actually did commit sins. So I grew up drinking and feeding off of sin. As a result, it was so painful for me to go to church on Sundays.

As I moved up to Seoul, I attended school while living with some older friends. Every month, my family would send some money from home, but for about three months, they did not send me anything.

My older roommates would pressure me more and more for the rent to the point where I would not even want to go home after school.

I thought to myself, "I shouldn't just sit here, I should make some money." Coincidentally, I saw an advertisement in the news for a newspaper delivery boy, so I went to the newspaper agency and had an interview. They told me that I would need to put down a deposit of 10 won in case I would run away with the money collected from selling the newspapers. Back then, 10 won was a large amount of money, so I just barely got the money. The manager told me that I would not be able to get my deposit back if I quit within 3 months.

After agreeing and signing the contract, I was given around 300 houses for newspaper delivery.

I was told that the money remaining after submitting in the set amount to the agency would become my income. I estimated that around 50-60 houses would amount to be my income. But after diligently delivering newspapers to households for about a month, many households would not pay, saying, “Who asked you to give us newspapers?� There were around 50 households like that. It seemed the agency included those houses to increase the number of subscribers. I delivered like a madman for a month, but there was no

money remaining, whatsoever. I wanted to quit, but I would not be able to get the money I deposited if I left within 3 months. Thinking back, newspaper delivery was a completely unprofitable job. After thinking, “How should I pay the agency back?” I collected all the delivery money in one day, and ran away with the money which was about twice the amount of the deposit.

I felt nervous staying in Seoul, so I returned to my hometown.

My father and brother were concerned, saying “Why did you come back in the middle of your semester?” However, I could not tell them anything. It would not have been a problem if I just told them, but I was very scared. Whenever my father called me, I just put my head down and did not answer. My roommates and the school sent letters, saying that they would take responsibility for whatever happened, but I ripped up all the letters. Around 2 months later, the incident was appeased, but the countryside was just so boring that I could not bear it anymore. My father told me, “If you are going to play, go and weed the barley field,” so I went, but all day long, I only weeded one row of barley. Country life was so boring, and whenever I would hang out with my friends, I would only go around doing bad things. I would also go to church all the time because I had no other choice.

At church, I would fall into this fear: “I think Jesus will come soon, but I think I would fall into hell as soon as He comes.” I was always tied down to the fear and guilt I felt from sin. 1962, was a year in my life which I do not want to remember. I could not continue

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Preaching the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth

with school or farming, and I did not have the skills to take the civil service exam. My last resort was enlisting in the military, but I failed the physical exam. I begged the medical officer, I'd rather die if I can't get into the army.” but he rejected me saying, “I can clearly see that your front tooth is broken, so how can I pass you?”

Nobody welcomed or wanted me. This is when I realized that there is no greater loser than me in the world. Before this occurred, I thought I was great and smart. I decided to kill myself, but being a man with complicated thoughts, I was not able to. I was also afraid of death. I considered what I did back in Seoul to be just, but at church, all of that was considered sin. I drank and smoked out of distress.

When I got together with my friends, we would go to the peanut or sweet potato fields. Once, I dug up and ate a whole bunch of peanuts in someone's field, but that field turned out to be ours.

Even in church, all we would do is play, when we got together. In the summers we went to the orchards, and in the winters we went to the movie theaters or bakeries. As soon as service ended, the youth group members would put away the New Testament pocket Bible in their pockets, and we would meet to eat, drink, and play.

It was fun when we played, but it was painful to stand in front of God later on. “Yeah, I've done wrong all this time, but from now on if I set myself straight, things will work out fine.” I would try to depart from sin, but strangely, the more I tried with all my heart, the worse it turned out. Every revival and every New Year, I cried, vowing not to sin and repenting; but I fell into sin again. “Oh, I'm not one of the chosen people! I am destined to hell.” I even thought, "I'll just sin all I want and go to hell with a comfortable heart, since that's where I'm going anyway." It would have been okay if I felt comfortable after sinning, but my heart felt much pain. So once again, I had to go back to church.

Once during a revival, I heard the words, "Jesus washed all our sins away on the cross." It would have been good to stop there, but I also heard, "If all your sins are washed, you won't remember any of them." I was distressed for a long time thinking that my sins were not washed, because I still remembered them. On the days

we did not have service, I would go to the chapel and cry, "God, tell me if my sins have been washed or not. If all my sins are washed, just tell me they're forgiven." No matter how long I waited, God did not speak and all I heard were the sounds of rats shuffling around in the ceiling.

I always confessed and asked for forgiveness of sins in my prayers.

It was embarrassing to confess my sins in front of others, so I would go out to early morning prayer service. Being the first to arrive, I would turn on the lamp and ring the bells. It was a huge bell, with a sound reaching more than a meter long so the only way I could ring it was by hanging onto the ropes. After ringing the bell, I would go to the parsonage and wake the pastor up, saying "Pastor, it is time for early morning prayer." After that was a time for me to confess my sins alone. I would sin and repent, sin again and repent... I did not know the basic way of dealing with my sins, so I cried and confessed.

One evening, I went to see the pastor.

“Pastor, I came for spiritual counseling.”

“Oh, Mr. Park, come in.”

“Pastor, this is embarrassing, but while studying in Seoul, I committed these kinds of sins. And I'm a bad person who also committed such other sins. I tried confessing my sins, and they told me that my repentance should bear fruit, so I even paid them back. But the root of sin in my heart still remains and torments me.

Pastor, what shall I do! Without getting this off my back, I can't live a spiritual life any longer.”

It was so serious, that I still remember the conversation that I had with the pastor.

“Mr. Park, I too have three daughters whom I send away for school. Nobody knows the things they do away from home. Mr. Park, everyone commits similar sins when they're young. Just because they're my daughters, I can't say they do not do the same. Mr. Park, it is times like these you have to strengthen your faith. If you fall down here, your faith will crumble, and it'll be the end of you. It is times like these you should pray and live a life of faith even more zealously.

Mr. Park, do you understand?”

“I understand.”

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Preaching the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth

I answered, but I had no strength. Even if the pastor did not tell me, I knew that I had to pray and read the Bible zealously. But those things did not work out for me.

On October 7, 1962, it was a Sunday early in the morning and I was praying alone in the empty chapel. While I was confessing my sins, people started flooding in, so I stopped, and continued my confession after everyone left. But that morning, the fact that "Jesus washed all my sins on the cross," had entered my heart. No one preached to me about the Old Testament sin offering, or about the eternal remission of sins Jesus brought. But my heart felt at peace as I thought, "All my sins were taken care of back then on the cross."

Amazingly, I started to change without even realizing it. I started to feel that God was close to me, when he seemed so far before. I did not pray formally as I did before, but I started to pray one by one about the things that were in my heart. The Bible became more and more exciting each time I read it. I could not put down the Bible from my hands, and oftentimes, I fell asleep holding it.

God first showed me what kind of a person I was before he gave me salvation. He showed me how I was a lacking, incompetent, and dirty sinner, and I could only go to hell. After receiving salvation, I only looked up to God because I hated my old life so much. When I stopped expecting things from myself and looked only to God, He amazingly held onto me with the Word and began to lead me.

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Church Directory (North America) EAST COAST Good News New York Church 718-878-4246 300 Nassau Rd, Huntington, NY 11743 Good News Manhattan Church 917-678-3344 2152 3rd Ave, NY, NY 10035 Good News Bronx Church 646-339-6432 685 Morris Park Ave 2nd Fl, Bronx, NY 10462 Good News Brooklyn NY Church 917-526-7498 765 43rd St 1st FL, Brooklyn, NY 11232 Good News Flushing Chinese Church 631-535-1169 134-24 Cherry Ave, Flushing, NY 11355 Good News Atlanta Church 404-966-6352 11000 Rogers Circle, Johns Creek, GA 30097 Good News Atlanta Spanish Church 678-387-9271 2635 Fairlane Drive, 2nd FL, Doraville, GA 30340 Good News Philadelphia Church 215-379-0501 305 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027 Good News Chicago Church 847-329-0237 4825 W Jarlath St, Lincolnwood, IL 60712 Good News Washington Church 703-973-7975 7461 Miramar Dr, Manassas, VA 20109 Good News Memphis Church 901-646-0055 764 Chatwood Cove, Memphis, TN 38122 Good News Minneapolis Church 612-275-3348 3000 West Broadway Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55411 Good News Orlando Church 407-312-4028 301 S Oak Ave, Sanford, FL 32771

Good News New Jersey Church 201-406-4677 1075 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666 Good News Detroit Church 248-608-1409 1181 Harding Ave, Rochester Hills, MI 48307 Good News Indianapolis Church 317-294-5329 383 S Emerson Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46219 Good News Miami Church 954-667-7753 331 NW 65th Way, Hollywood, FL 33024 Good News New Orleans Church 504-602-9930 3720 Saratoga Dr, Metairie, LA 70002 Good News Jacksonville Church 904-646-7885 3850 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32207 Good News Boston Church 617-320-3296 180 Blue Hill Avenue #3, Boston, MA 02125 Good News Charlotte Church 704-500-6063 2009 W Arrowood Rd, Charlotte, NC 28217 Good News Fort Wayne Church 260-797-3412 3316 S Calhoun St, Fort Wayne, IN 46807 Good News Nashville Spanish Church 615-927-8980 120 Arbor Knoll Blvd, Antioch, TN 37013 Good News Maryland Chinese Church 301-250-1138 900 Westmore Ave, Rockville, MD 20850 WEST COAST Good News Central Church 213-386-0097 3500 W 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90004 Good News Tacoma Church 253-582-3599 10103 South Tacoma Way, Lakewood, WA 98499

Good News Albuquerque Church 505-300-9807 3001 Cuervo Dr, NE Albuquerque, NM 87110 Good News Dallas First Church 972-272-4724 4502 Lawler Rd, Garland, TX 75042 Good News San Jose Church 619-559-6287 1548 Curtner Ave, San Jose, CA 95128 Good News San Jose Spanish Church 408-784-0163 1710 Moorpark Ave, San Jose, CA 95128 Good News Las Vegas Church 702-248-0572 2880 Red Rock St, Las Vegas, NV 89146 Good News Salt Lake Church 801-656-5299 2364 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84115 Good News O.C. Church 714-814-9436 3330 W Lincoln Ave, Anaheim, CA 92801 Good News Anchorage Church 907-258-9987 1020 W Fireweed Lane, Anchorage, AK 99503 Good News El Paso Church 915-309-7075 6869 Enid Ct #74, El Paso, TX 79912 Good News Portland Church 971-300-1127 6225 SW Dale Ave, Beaverton, OR 97008 Good News San Antonio Church 210-993-9414 405 Walton Ave, San Antonio, TX 78225

Good News Hawaii Church 808-679-2800 1219 Keeaumoku St, Suite 400, Honolulu, HI 96814 Good News Houston Church 346-400-1812 2516 Wavell St, Houston, TX 77088 Good News Phoenix Church 480-273-2199 5239 N 17th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85015 Good News Sacramento Church 916-996-4655 3501 Bradshaw Rd #115, Sacramento, CA 95827 Good News Oklahoma Church 405-535-9553 5801 S Pennsylvania Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73119 Good News Amarillo Church 806-447-9993 927 N Mirror St, Amarillo, TX 79107 CANADA & CARIBBEAN Good News Vancouver Church 1-778-881-5508 409 Goyer Crt, Coquitlam BC V3K 6A2, Canada Good News Ottawa Church 819-431-0377 132 Rue Brodeur, Gatineau, QC J8Y 2R2, Canada Good News Toronto Church 1-416-321-2004 70 Mcgriskin Rd, Toronto, ON M1S 5C5, Canada Good News Jamaica Church 1-876-318-0189 63b Deanery Road, Kingston 3, Jamaica W.I.

Good News Denver Church 720-308-3442 6400 W 26th Ave, Edgewater, CO 80214

Good News Dominican Republic Church 1-809-350-1429 Calle 26 #2, Valle Verde 1, Santiago, La Republica Dominicana

Good News Kansas Church 816-437-5440 1301 E 100th TER, Kansas City, MO 64131

Good News Haiti Church 509-70-8253-2511 Rue Jeremie #22 Delmas 33, Port-au-Prince, Haiti