Believing God Forgave My Sins is Salvation

Pastor Ock Soo Park's Sermon

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. (Romans 4:1-5)

A CERTAIN THEOLOGY STUDENT I MET

One day I was going up to the 4th floor of the church when I ran into a brother who was cleaning the elevator. He had been studying at Mahanaim Theology School but decided to go home to rest because his health wasn’t good and return later on. However, a year passed and he still didn’t return. As his illness got worse, he came to me to receive spiritual counseling. I found out that God couldn’t work because he was too arrogant. When he came to me the second time, I told him, “You will only believe in God’s word if your heart is humble. When you believe in God’s word, no matter what kind of problems you meet, they won’t be problems anymore. That morning when I met him in the elevator I asked him, “What are you doing here cleaning?” “Oh Pastor, I’m all healed.” He was even healthier than before. Everyone, there is nothing more foolish than trying to believe when we don’t have faith. When we stand in front of clear evidence and the precise truth, then automatically we have faith and God works amazingly.

A HUSBAND’S SUSPICIONS ABOUT HIS WIFE

I had spiritual counseling with two couples. The majority of the couples in Korea doubt their spouses from time to time. One husband had serious doubts about his wife. I was worried that if it got any worse, something terrible might happen. The other couple was not as bad but the husband doubted his wife as well. I spoke with the husband who had serious suspicions about his wife and he told me, “Pastor, my wife cheated on me.” So I asked, “Do you have any evidence?” The husband began to detail all the evidence piece by piece. “Is that it?” I asked. He talked about a lot of things but none of it was real evidence. I explained, “As you observe your wife you imagine and assume that she’s cheating on you, but there’s no actual proof that she is.” His wife was sitting next to him and looked at him with a worried face. How heartbreaking it must be to be accused of cheating by your husband when you really didn’t?

IF YOU BELIEVE YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Once, my wife and I were on our way to visit someone when I got a phone call. A man said, “I am a doctor from the Yong-In mental hospital. There is a patient here that I’d like your help with.” So my wife and I went to the hospital and met her. She was extremely suspicious of her husband. She even tried to stab him once. Luckily, her husband dodged the attack and took the knife away and hospitalized her. The wife cried, “Pastor I’m so miserable. Every night my husband goes to the apartment across from us and sleeps with some other woman. How can he do that?” I asked her, “How do you know that he is sleeping with another woman?” I never expected to hear what she said next. “When I sleep I’m like a corpse, but I am sure he’s doing it.” “But how did you find out?” I asked again. She replied, “In the morning when I wake up, my husband is snoring. The moment I see that, I think ‘he slept with that woman last night.’ So I said, “That’s just your thought. It’s not reliable evidence.” Patients that are suspicious of their spouses are dangerous because they believe in their assumptions. Instead of having clear evidence, many times their own imaginations get away from them and they think their spouse really did something. This is the source of their torment and misery. Ultimately family problems arise.

The HAPPIEST PERSON

When we are suspicious of our spouses, we are in pain. We are also in pain when we are suspicious of our friends or our partners. However, what is most painful is when we are unable to have clear faith towards God. Of all the problems you may face, the cause of all of them is that you don’t have steady faith towards God and you believe things that aren’t true. However, if your faith in God is firm you will be joyful no matter what problems may arise because you believe that God is with you. You said that you believe in Jesus but you prayed for your sins to be forgiven. You ask, “Are my sins truly washed? Is God really listening to my prayers? The Bible said that I am righteous, but am I really righteous?” No matter how diligently you go to church or pray, you will be miserable. However, even if you are little poor or aren’t able to have a nice job because you didn’t study well, you can still be truly happy if you have firm faith that your sins are forgiven.

“I WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN BUT...”

A few days before my father passed away from a gastric ulcer, he vomited the blood that accumulated in his stomach. That day my wife and I both thought that he would pass away soon. I told him, “Father, I brought a voice recorder so we can hear your voice after you die. If there is anything you’d like to say to us please say it.” For an hour my father recorded his last will. He said, “If I die put my body next to your mother in the field behind our house and have the funeral like this and this…” We responded, “Yes father. We will prepare the funeral just as you’ve said. We will lay your body to rest just like you told us but, where will your soul go?” At that moment a shadow came over his face and with a weak voice he said, “I want to go to heaven but I haven’t done anything for God…”

IN FRONT OF MY FATHER’S DEATH BED

At that moment I was so thankful to be a pastor. I preached the gospel to my father for two hours. My father received the forgiveness of sin and he was all set to go to heaven. Afterwards we took him to our hometown and he told us to call his friends. When my father’s friends came he preached the gospel to them. He told them, “I’m going to heaven by believing in God that my second son, Eun Sook’s father, serves. I’ll go there and save a good spot, so all of you believe in Jesus so we can meet in heaven and live joyfully.” My father’s words were so strong and full of assurance. I was so joyful and happy. When my father passed away I didn’t shed tears; I was just thankful to God. Everybody that’s born dies later on, but if you can be sure that your sins are forgiven and you can go to heaven, you‘ll be very happy.

DO WE RECEIVE FORGIVENESS OF SINS WHEN WE DO GOOD?

Once we had a pastors’ meeting at the Daedeok Retreat Center. I talked about Romans 4. In the world, people who work a lot and do well are acknowledged. When Christianity came to Korea, the majority of sermons were about faithfully keeping the law while doing good works and receiving blessings.

This is the type of spiritual life most Koreans led until now. That’s why they pray, read the Bible, and do good works. That way they have some sense of assurance until the time comes when they go through hardships. They feel like there is something wrong with their spiritual lives after they get into an argument with their spouse or when they didn’t pray or read the Bible. However, the words in Romans 4:5 says something completely different, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” This word is completely different from that type of spiritual life.

THE BLESSING DAVID GAINED

Romans 4 talks about the process of a dirty sinner becoming righteous;

“Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” (Romans 4:3-8)

When you look in 2 Samuel 11 and 12, it shows how David became righteous. It tells us how David committed adultery with Uriah’s wife and how he tried to cover it up by having Uriah killed on the battlefield. Whenever David was lost in sin, the prophet Nathan came and chastised him. David acknowledged his sins and said “I have sinned against God.” Then Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin.” After David realized his with Uriah’s wife and killing Uriah, the moment he said, “I have sinned against the Lord,” he was told, “the Lord also has put away your sin” Even though David didn’t do anything, he was forgiven of his sins.

ON A FLIGHT TO NEW YORK

Once, my wife and I were flying to New York when the pilot passed by and asked, “Aren’t you Pastor Ock Soo Park? Would you like to come into the cockpit and talk with me?” He was a frequent reader of my sermon books so he was really happy to meet me. The pilot explained about the plane and I sat in the back. “Pastor, you came on a good day. This is the season when the aurora is active and this flight is the only route where you can see it.” He turned off the lights in the cockpit and after we saw the aurora, we had a long conversation. When we were close to arriving to New York I returned to my seat. As soon as I got to my seat my wife asked, “Did you grab the stick?” “No, why would I grab the stick? That’s nonsense. Honey, this plane has 400 passengers on board. The pilot wouldn’t even allow me to handle the stick. The only one who should handle the stick is the pilot.” Just as the pilot should handle the stick, when it comes to my sins being forgiven, or solving problems with my spiritual life, God teaches us that no matter how correct my judgment seems, if I do it, I will fail.

BECAUSE I CAN’T WASH MY SINS

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (Ephesians 2:2~3)

We were people who were supposed to receive God’s judgment and his wrath. We didn’t receive salvation through our own efforts to wash our sins or by keeping the law.

That is why in Ephesians 2:4-5 it says, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive tighter with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”

Jesus entirely finished our sins. Even though I didn’t work, my sins are perfectly washed clean because Jesus worked. You taking charge of your life can’t compare to God taking charge of your life. When it comes to problems in spiritual life, you shouldn’t think in a humanistic way that, “I should do my spiritual life well. I need to be zealous and do my best.” That’s like someone who doesn’t know how to fly a plane trying his best to fly the plane. Everyone, just as we let the pilot fly the plane because we can’t, our lives to Jesus to wash away our sins because we can’t.

SALVATION GAINED BY GRACE

Let’s read Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gif of God.” If I gain something because I worked for it, then that’s not grace. Anything gained by your work is a wage. The reason Jesus calls us righteous is because he shed his blood on the cross and perfectly washed away all our sins. People who don’t know this truth struggle to wash their sins themselves. So, in Ephesians 2 were it’s written, “not of works, lest anyone should boast,” it is saying our sins can’t be washed by our works. So instead of vaguely believing that your sins were forgiven, open the Bible and see if the price of your sins has been paid and if your sins have truly been washed white as snow. That’s what God wants everyone to precisely check so they can automatically have faith.

TO BELIEVE IN THE WORD AND NOT IN MY WORKS

The problem with being suspicious of your spouse is that you become obsessed with something that is not certain and get it confused with your assumptions and imagination. If you suspect your spouse did something wrong when they actually didn’t, how difficult would it be? That’s why there are many problems in families and many couples who get divorced nowadays in Korean society.

If you want to live a spiritual life, then don’t just accept things that seem good.

You must compare everything with the Bible and see if it’s true or not. We must believe that Jesus forgave our sins, through the Bible. However, when we consider our works to be more important, we often think lightly of what Jesus did.

SO THAT THE LORD MAY LEAD

Romans 4:5 states, “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” When I see scriptures like these, I begin to wonder, “All I did was sin and nothing I did was righteous, so what can I do to become righteous?” However, the word is saying that God perfected everything already so that there is nothing left for man to do. Regardless of what I did, God, through Jesus, perfectly washed away my sins. When I believe He saved me is when salvation happens. Don’t believe in your feelings or emotions but believe clearly in God’s word with faith.

Loving brothers and sisters ask yourselves, “Who is better at forgiving my sins, me or God? Is it better for me to hold on to my life or for the Lord to hold on to my life?”

If you can’t believe that God will lead you well then you will end up using humanistic methods. However, if you truly believe that God will lead you, then there will be no reason for you to work. So, while we live in this world, we will enjoy God’s grace of blessing in our lives and when we go to heaven, we will have a blessed life of glorifying God there.

(A Mustard Seed) A Conversation I Once Had in a Car

Pastor Ock Soo Park's Testimony

HOW CAN I BE DEAD WHEN I STILL HAVE AMBITIOUS

I travel a lot, and usually by car. In one day, if I visit the churches near Seoul and return from preaching, usually I travel about 600 kilometers and close to 800 kilometers when I have traveled a lot that day. There have also been times when I traveled up to 1,000 kilometers in one day. During those times, I travel with other pastors, and we buy some soda at the rest area or talk about the Bible together or have a prayer meeting inside the car. As we have a prayer meeting or talk about the Bible together in the car, those 3-4 hours do not seem very long, and before we know it, we have reached our destination.

One time, I was riding a car with another pastor, and we were discussing spiritual life. Then our discussion led to the fact that when Jesus was crucified on the cross, we were also crucified with him. Although he is a pastor, he only knew that ‘I have been crucified with Christ and was buried,’ but he didn’t have true faith. He discovered that he had the heart, ‘I am alive now and the ambitions of the flesh arise within me, so how can I be dead?’ So I opened up the Bible and continued to speak with him.

There are many places in the Bible that record the fact that we have been crucified on the cross with Jesus Christ. It also says in the Bible that, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Therefore, we know “I am dead,” but a question arises in our hearts. There are a lot of people who live spiritual life with the thought that “If I died, then the ambitions of the flesh with its lust should not arise, but when it does, it doesn’t seem like I died.”

It is easy to think that I am following God’s Word when, in reality, I am following my own thoughts because these kinds of questions are not resolved by accurate faith. These kinds of people, who believe they are following God’s Word, are actually following their own thoughts. They slowly go in the wrong direction and end up living a wrong spiritual life far from God.

CLEAR LINE BETWEEN GOD’S WORDS AND MY THOUGHTS

God called Abraham when he was 75 years old, and when he was 99 years old, God told Abraham, “Your wife, Sarah, shall bear you a son.” At that time, Abraham thought, “How can a 100 year old man have a child? And Sarah is 90 years old…” We can see that Abraham’s heart did not match God’s heart. When Peter met Jesus at the Sea of Galilee, he caught a lot of fish when he listened to the words of Jesus and let down his net into the deep. However, at the last supper when Jesus said, “You will all forsake me.” We can see that Peter put forth his own thought, “Even if I were to die, I will not forsake you.”

People have many thoughts and live following them. However, there is the temptation of Satan in those thoughts. The temptations of Satan not only come to the unsaved but also to those who are already saved. That is why Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.” This is the reason why we must draw a clear line between God’s Word and my thoughts in order for us to live a true spiritual life following the Lord. Among the saved, there are many who live according to a standard of spiritual life that seems similar to God’s Word.

Living a true spiritual life is following the Word of God instead of my own thoughts, by realizing that I am fundamentally evil, filthy, dirty, and denying myself. When God’s Word and our thoughts are different, we need to throw out our thoughts and receive the Word of God.

OLD THINGS PASSED AWAY, ALL THINGS ARE NEW

We should not only deny ourselves but believe in the fact that we have died with Christ. When Jesus was crucified on the cross, certainly he died for our sins. I am the one who committed the sins, but how is it that when Jesus was crucified on the cross, my sins were washed? It is because God is the one who passed our sins onto Jesus. The reason that Jesus died on the cross was not for his own sins but for our sins. In addition, because Jesus died for our sins, his death is really our death.

The body of Jesus is different from ours, so it may not make sense. However, when the heart of Jesus and our own heart become one, and we believe in the words of Jesus by faith, in the world of the heart, we have become as one. That is why when Jesus was crucified on the cross, we also died with him. Because Jesus and I become one spiritually, the death of Jesus was really my own death, and my sins ended at the cross. Afterwards, Jesus resurrected with a holy body that had nothing to do with sin. If we have become one with Jesus, we have died together with Jesus, and we have also resurrected with Jesus.

Apostle Paul in Romans 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” We were slaves to sin, always being dragged and tempted by it. However, if we believe that we have died on the cross with Jesus and that his death was my own death through being one, we will no longer have to be dragged around by sin. We will be free from sin, and God will lead us to live a holy life.

In Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace might abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Also in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Only our outer covering is left, inside of us we have completely become new. We will live a bright life because we have a new life free from sin.

Not Through My Strength But Through the Blood of Jesus

Salvation Testimony_Berenice Camargo (Good News Central Church, United States)

I now understand the love and mercy that God wanted to give to me. Because of this love, He broke down the pride that I strongly held on to. He slowly and patiently taught me to see my true self and eventually gave me the wisdom to understand why I needed salvation. Now, my life, instead of being empty and pointless, is full of hope and happiness through Jesus Christ.

I met IYF in June, 2008 at UCLA through a Good News Corps flyer. I had the plan to volunteer abroad right after graduation so this really interested me. I wanted to do volunteer work because I felt it would help me find out what kind of career I wanted in the future so when I read about the Good News Corps program, I really liked it and attended the workshops.

Through those workshops, I met the Good News Church. Besides the workshops, I was not involved in church and I just kept living my life the same way. I had many plans and many things to do that I didn’t have time for or interest in church. I thought that I was better than most people, in front of God, because my whole life I had been Catholic and attended church diligently and volunteered almost every day at church until high school. I thought God was blessing me for serving him because I was a good athlete and one of the best students at school. I believed and trusted in all the good things I did and thought that I would always have a good life. However, when I got to college, I began to go to church less and less and I began to change into a very different person. I became very selfish and arrogant but I tried to cover this image up by being a very nice person outwardly to others.

I was continually invited to Bible seminars and I would attend just to keep up a good Christian image and not feel guilty for rejecting the invitations. However, truly in my heart, there was no need for me to seek God or his Word. I would come, listen, and return home unchanged. Nonetheless, God had a plan for my life that I never could imagine.

Even though during that time I was a student at a great university like UCLA, had a great job, many friends and a loving family, I had a great emptiness in my heart that I could not fill. It seemed that I had everything I needed but I was still searching for happiness through spending time with my friends, traveling together, spending money, going to parties and drinking. Even though I did all this, I suffered even more. I tried to stop and become a good person so God could help me.

I was still attending the Catholic Church, from time to time, to feel better about all the “bad” things I was doing and every time I went, I would determine myself to be good from then on. I prayed for forgiveness in the morning and at night or whenever I felt guilt. However, the more I did all of this, the more sinful my life became. Even though I seemed to always be cheerful, nothing in my life brought me happiness and my heart fell deeper into despair.

At the university, one of the classes I took was Introduction to Buddhism. I began to study the religion and its ideas out of interest but, later, I started to believe that this could be the truth I was searching for. I still considered myself Catholic and I thought that I believed in God but I also believed in the Buddhist theories. I was trying to gain all the knowledge and wisdom I could. After reading a lot of books and learning about Buddhism, I firmly believed that I could do good things and that I could become happy through my own strength if I was truly determined.

On the other hand, whenever I attended the Good News Church, I would always hear the opposite from the pastors and their wives. Their message was so different from what I had always known to be true. As I listened, I would write everything down because it was interesting but because I had ideas from other religions firmly established in my mind, I would get confused and I was not able see my true self through the Bible. I would hear that man is one hundred percent evil but I thought they were talking about other people, not about me. As time went on, God would show me that many of the things the church preached were true and I started to believe that this was a true church. Whenever difficulties came to my life, I would remember the words from the Bible and knew that whatever they said was true. Because on my own I could not believe, and because I did not know anything about faith, God taught me to believe in the Bible through difficult things that were happening in my life.

My life at the time became very uncertain so I did not know which way to go in terms of deciding my life. I was going to quit my job and I was soon going to graduate but I had no idea what I would do afterward. I had so much ambition for the future, but, little by little, God was making me fail in many things even though I was working harder than ever.

In April, 2009, I was invited to another Bible seminar so I attended once more. I had heard many times about Genesis 6:5, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” but I had never once received that word. During those days of the Bible seminar, I would continually think about this part of the Bible, and, little by little, I started to see my heart reflected upon those words.

I was very shocked and sad when I finally discovered that my heart was really one hundred percent evil; but then a sister had fellowship with me after the morning session on the last day of the Bible seminar. She showed me the words in Hebrews 10:17-18 that said, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” At that moment, I understood that I, too, had been forgiven of my sins. I continually thought that I had to try to do good things to please God but this word made me see that God had already done everything for me to become righteous. When I read these words, I knew that I was righteous—without sin—not because of my effort, but through the blood of Jesus.

At that moment, I threw away all the knowledge, experience and thoughts I carried and I simply accepted the Word of God in my heart. The burden of having to do something to make God happy disappeared. From that day on, I felt so much joy and thankfulness with the church because this is where God brought me to help me understand the gospel. I finally found true happiness when I discovered that I had become righteous and perfect in God’s eyes.

A year later, I went to Peru as a short term missionary and, during that time, God taught me faith and thankfulness. I also discovered the joy of preaching the gospel to others. I had many chances to share with others the Word of God; so little by little, I saw how easy and joyful it was to preach the precious message of salvation.

Nowadays, I am working inside of IYF to help create and establish programs like the IYF English Camps in Mexico. I am really happy because I feel I have the best and most enjoyable job in the world. I now look back and I can see that God really wanted to use me, but first, He had to teach me how to humble my heart. I am very thankful to God because He didn’t throw me away when I complained and rebelled against Him. Instead, He took me, washed all of my sins and is using me for the work of the gospel. Through salvation, God gave me the happiness I could not find in the world.

Do Not Live like Lot Who Was Not Able to Leave Sodom

Pastor Ock Soo Park's Sermon

Lot lived with the people of Sodom even though he saw them commit sin. Ultimately, he left empty-handed and pitiful when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. If we doesn’t trust in oneselves and compare our thoughts to the Word, we will throw them away immediately. However, if we start to accept our thoughts little by little, we will be led by sin.

BEFORE SODOM AND GOMORRAH WERE DESTROYED

In Genesis 12, God called Abraham out of his country, kindred, and father’s house and led him to the promised land of Canaan. Abraham left everything behind and went to the land of Canaan. When God gave Abraham hardship through a drought, Abraham left Canaan for Egypt and went ended up losing his wife Sarah to Pharaoh. When Abraham prayed to God, God blessed him and returned Sarah.

Abraham returned to Canaan with much cattle and wealth that he obtained through Sarah. Lot also went to Egypt and returned to Canaan with his uncle Abraham. Lot also had many sheep and cattle. Abraham’s and Lot’s shepherds started to fight because they had many sheep and cattle. Abraham started to think, “Why are the shepherds fighting so much?” One day, he made up his mind and thought, “It’s great that Lot and I are together, but bad things will happen if he stays with me.” He told Lot, “Separate from me. If you take the left, I will go to the right. If you take the right, I will go to the left.”

That’s how Lot left Abraham. Lot chose the plain of Jordan before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. It was well-watered and a great place to keep sheep. However, it is written in the Bible, “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.” Lot might have felt uncomfortable about it, but he thought, “In the end, a plain is better to feed my sheep. I have to choose the plain of Jordan!”

TO REMOVE THE HEART OF TRUSTING ONE’S SELF

There is one thing born again brothers and sisters should know when they serve the Lord. It’s great if we can serve the Lord by reading and following the Word, but Satan prevents us from living spiritual life by continually giving us thoughts. Just as the devil put in Judas Iscariot the heart to betray Jesus in John 13:2, Satan continually gives us the thought of liking the flesh and the world. If we are led by those thoughts, we will turn our backs to God and leave Jesus. Many people actually live like this.

That is why a clear line needs to be drawn when we start to live spiritual life. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself.” It is also written in Isaiah 55, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts” and “For my thoughts are not your thoughts saith the LORD.”

A person who trusts himself in spiritual life follows every thought that arises within. If we do that, we will eventually fall into sin. That is what Satan wants. He makes us think it is burdensome to walk in faith by believing in the Word of God. He plants the thought that things will not work out and we will fail, and it is better to follow the methods of man. If a born again person believes in the Word of God, that person will live a powerful life of faith because the Word lives and works inside of him. On the other hand, if he accepts Satan’s thoughts, then he won’t be able to live spiritual life. Thus, brothers and sisters that happily served the Lord after receiving salvation gradually fall back into the world, and turn away from God like Lot.

The most important thing is to remove the heart of trusting yourself. The thoughts that arise from within are from Satan; therefore, we need to think, “Is this thought correct? Is it consistent with the Bible? Is God pleased with it?” However, people who trust themselves accept the thoughts that seem good in their eyes.

HE LEFT SODOM BUT HIS WIFE TURNED INTO A PILLAR OF SALT

A war broke out as Lot entered Sodom and Gomorrah. After the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were defeated, Lot was also taken prisoner. Abraham went to save Lot.

God gave such hardship to Lot because He wanted him to leave Sodom and Gomorrah. He wanted him to depart that sinful city and be together with Abraham, the man of God. Yet Lot was not able to bring himself to it. Eventually, sinful Sodom and Gomorrah were cursed by God and destroyed with fire and brimstone. Lot remained in Sodom until the end and left with help from an angel. Unfortunately, his wife turned into a pillar of salt, and his two daughters gave birth to Moab and Ammon, sons by incest. Lot left all his cherished sheep and cattle to burn in Sodom and came out empty-handed. We see how pitiful Lot become.

Satan is using the same method on born again children of God to make them fall into hardship and failure. Therefore, we should not trust ourselves when we live spiritual life just as Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself.” If I trust myself, I will follow my thoughts. However, I don’t immediately listen to someone I distrust. First, I try to figure out whether that person’s story is true or not. Likewise, we shouldn’t follow our thoughts but rather ask ourselves, “Is this thought the same as the Word of God or is it from Satan?”

If we don’t trust ourselves but compare our thoughts to the Word, we can throw them away. We will think, “Oh, this is wrong. I will fail if I follow this thought.” However, if we follow our thoughts little by little, we will become incapable of throwing away what is bad.

UNABLE TO RUN AWAY EVEN THOUGH WE SEE THEM DOING WRONG

It is written in 2Peter 2:6-7, “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked.” Lot was just and man of God, but the Bible said, “For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.”
The following is written starting with verse 9.
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption (2Peter 2:9-12)

Lot’s righteous soul was vexed when he was with people that walked after the flesh, and defied and despised God. Later, Lot saw them do wrong, but was unable to turn away. He spent time with them, and lost everything and left in a pitiful state when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.

That’s why the Bible is telling us not to trust our thoughts. All our thoughts come from Satan; so it is telling us not to follow them. When thoughts arise, we must judge if it come from God or from Satan. If it is different from the Word, we must throw it away, and yearn and seek for the Word of God.

ARE MY THOUGHTS THE SAME AS THE WORD OF GOD

Many people follow their thoughts if they seem good because they trust themselves. The Bible is showing us that we will end up like Lot if we live that way. We can live a blessed life if we always yearn for the Word of God and not trust ourselves. On the other hand, we will eventually turn away from God if we trust and follow our thoughts just because they seem right. Many people fall and are unable to live spiritual life when they live believing in themselves.

Many people serve God with thanks and joy after receiving salvation. However, there are those that are saved but walk the path of destruction after turning away from God because they followed their thoughts. Do not accept your thoughts because they seem right. Judge whether it came from Satan or not. Search the Bible often to find whether your thoughts are the same as the Word, and have faith in following the Word of God.

(A Mustard Seed) Mayor Pablo Bruera of La Plata City

GOD HAS WORKED IN HIS HEART!

It has been 50 years since I received salvation. When I look back, I can see it was God who worked in me and led me in His plan so I could work for the Gospel, not my own effort or good works. This is especially clear when it comes to preaching the Gospel. Whenever I preach the Gospel, I feel strongly, “Oh, God has been working in this person so that he could listen to the Gospel.”

After receiving salvation, I made a plan, prayed, and witnessed to preach the Gospel to certain people. There were many times I was disappointed because the people did not accept the Word that I preached to them. As I do ministry work, people often come to see me. While conversating with them, I can strongly sense, “Oh, God loves this person! To save him, God brought problems to the things that were going well for him and put him through difficulty to humble his heart!” Therefore, even though I preach the Gospel, in reality all that I do is just add a few words to what God has already done. Whenever this happens, I cannot express how thankful I am to God.

EVEN THOUGH I NOTICED SECRETARIES URGING TO FINISH IT …

Not long ago, we held the World Camp in La Plata city, Argentina where I met Mayor Pablo Bruera before the camp. He was pleased with having the camp in La Plata city and welcomed us with hospitality. After I delivered my words of thanks to the mayor, God strongly aroused my heart to preach the Gospel to the mayor.

“Mr. Bruera, In the past, I lived a poor and difficult life after going astray. However, after Jesus came to me my life changed.”

Starting with my testimony on how God healed me when I had sickness in my stomach and my heart, I preached the Word of the Bible to him. In my eyes the mayor didn’t look healthy. Later, I came to know that his health was poor due to his extreme concern for his mother’s health which had worsened after her son was elected mayor.

Being a mayor, he was extremely busy and I could not preach the Gospel to him for a long time. I needed a certain amount of time to tell him the necessary things. When I started to preach the Gospel, I could feel that his heart was drawn into the Gospel. The problem was that he had to move onto the next thing in his schedule. There were two secretaries. I noticed his two secretaries were urging the mayor to finish the meeting with me and to leave for the next event.

Nevertheless, he continued to listen to the Word sincerely without caring about the next meeting. I did not know whether I had to keep preaching or to stop. However, I could not stop because the mayor was listening very seriously to the Word. I could read the mayor’s heart, while preaching the Gospel.

“Ah, this person really loves the Gospel! He made up his mind to cancel the next scheduled event!”

Regardless of his secretaries’ complaints, the mayor did not even look around, but focused on my words. I preached the Gospel through translation. He read the verses in his Spanish Bible very carefully following along with his finger, and accepted the Gospel.

I WAS SO THANKFUL TO GOD AND TO THE MAYOR

Watching the mayor receiving salvation, I was so thankful to God.

“God, there is nothing that I did! You loved this mayor and allowed difficulties to him to save him.”

Before I finished preaching the Gospel and got up, I told him, “I want to pray for this city, you, and your health.” He gathered his hands and put his head down in front of God in a humble manner. I was so thankful to God and to the mayor while I was praying.

Usually, people like mayors are so busy that they tend to signal that they want to finish the meeting soon so they can attend the next event. However, Mayor Pablo Bruera was different. When I think about this, I am extremely thankful.

By the time we stood up to leave after praying, it had already been too late for the mayor to go to the next event. Receiving salvation, the mayor came to the World Camp with us. There, he gave the welcoming speech to the students at the camp. After giving his speech, he excused himself, ”I’m sorry that I have to leave now to attend my next event.” Saying good bye to him, I felt very thankful. I saw him for the first time on that day, and I did not know when I could see him again. God made his body sick, caused him to think of God, let him listen to the Word for a long time, and had him accept the Word. As I think about what happened to the mayor, I am inexpressibly thankful.

BECAUSE I FEEL SO HAPPY LIVING MY LIFE TO PREACH THE GOSPEL WITH GOD…

Even now, the reason why I go out to preach the Gospel with the Bible is that there are many people that God loves. He is working in them to save them in Seoul and many other cities and counties. Just As God connected the Ethiopian eunuch with Philip, Ananias with Saul, and Cornelius with Peter and led them to listen to the Gospel, God is using me to save people that God prepared, and for which I am very thankful. I do not just preach the Gospel. I am so happy living my life for God and preaching the Gospel. I give all glory and thanks to Him.

I have preached the Gospel to many politicians and public figures. I could not meet with most of them again because they are so busy. However, when I pray, I sometimes think about them. I pray that God will pour his grace on them and receive glory through them.

Although I am away from them, I hope that the Holy Spirit of God will lead them and let them grow as workers of God.

When Elijah said “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left”, God said to Elijah “I have left Me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal.” As I see that God has left His servants in this world to accomplish His will, I am unceasingly thankful.

2014 Kenya National Peace Bible Crusade Videos

Kenya National Peace Bible Crusade Videos in Nyayo National Stadium

Speaker: Yeong Kook Park 

 

(A Mustard Seed) Changes in a Certain Consulate’s Daughter

“PASTOR, PLEASE HELP MY DAUGHTER!”

As I am doing the work of IYF, I meet with many ambassadors and consulates from many different nations. Once, a consulate from a nation in South America attended the World Camp and we were able to greet each other. Afterwards, I frequently had chance to meet with him. One day, he came to me and asked for my help with his daughter.

“Pastor, please help my daughter.”

He had been living with his daughter after his divorce. However, the daughter fell into depression while being alone and in agony from missing her mother. For a long time his daughter had been staying alone at home, contemplating in her own thoughts. She could not find the true meaning of life, and survived few suicide attempts over the years. Right before he came to see me, the daughter attempted suicide again, so he called on me for help.

It was his only daughter, and the father cared for his daughter dearly and wanted what was best for her. However, the daughter lost any interest in life and was in constant watch for suicide attempt. The father’s heart was breaking for his daughter and was in profound pain. There was nothing he could do to solve the problem, so he came to me for help.

It may be absurd to think that I could guide his daughter, when the father himself could not. However, I had God with me and I am a witness to the workings of God, so I visited the consulate’s house. When I arrived at his place, his daughter locked herself in her room and would not come out. The consulate continuously pleaded with his daughter for a long time.

“Honey, this pastor is a very busy man. I am begging you, please open the door!”
There was silence. After 30 minutes had passed, the daughter came out from her room.

I WANTED TO HELP THAT GIRL TO COME OUT FROM HER OWN WORLD

I was able to sit down with her and speak. No one quite knows about the world of the heart, especially people who suffer from depression or have problems in their heart. The illness of the heart arises due to not opening and using one’s heart. This girl also had been closing her heart and living inside of her own world for a long time. Therefore, no one was able to provide any kind of influence in her heart. While living in this kind of isolation, a certain thought arose in her continually and pulled her into the direction to commit suicide.

I felt compassion for her and wanted to help her. God created mankind in the midst of all things and made a heart in man. The heart is more precious than any other thing in this world, and God made it well. The heart will respond when in love, and feel happy and pleased when it flows with the heart of others.

People have vague ideas of how the world of the heart works. Today, the world is so corrupted it came to a point where no one can trust each other. Consequently, many people tend to shun away from sharing what’s in their heart. This is because they are in fear of being despised and treated dumb by saying the wrong thing. Therefore, many youths tend to close their heart. Especially when they are into computer games for a long time, they feel burdened to meet other people. Hence, they end up closing their heart towards others.

Sadly enough the heart of consulate’s daughter also was tightly closed. I wanted that girl to open her heart and run out from her own world.

HER FACE WAS FILLED WITH JOY

People who are caught within themselves will feel peace when they are in contact with the feelings of other people and feel a bond with them. For two hours, I spoke about Jesus to that girl—how Jesus had been crucified for her, and about opening her heart. Surprisingly, the girl accepted the Word in the Bible and received salvation. The more I think about it, I cannot erase the feeling of joy I felt at that time. The girl’s face lit up.

I told the girl, “My wife makes delicious Korean dishes. If you are not busy, can you come over to my house tomorrow morning? I want to invite you and your father for dinner.” The girl was not busy since she stayed home all day. The next day, she came to my home with her father holding a small gift for us. We sat at the table and ate dinner together. The girl seemed very happy, and she said this was the first time she had dinner at someone’s home in Korea.

“Madam, this food is so delicious. How do you make this kind of food? Can you teach me how to make it?” The daughter of the consulate conversed with my wife, and joyously ate the food. Her face was filled with joy. It was pure delight to see how just putting two extra spoons on the table could bring so much happiness to the person. After dinner, for two more hours the consulate’s daughter enjoyed our company and went home.

“PASTOR, PLEASE COME TO MY RESTAURANT AND ENJOY THE FOOD.”

Ever since that time due to my busy schedule I did not have a chance to see her again.
 However, one day the consulate came to visit me.

“Pastor, I am going to be dispatched to another country. I received a call from my government. I will be going to Taiwan. I really liked Korea, and truly feel love for Korea. I am saddened to depart this land. Pastor, please visit Taiwan when you have a chance. I want to spend some time with you.”

The consulate then took out his phone, called his daughter, and transferred the call to me.

“Where are you?”

“I am in Montreal, Canada. Pastor, I am studying cooking here. After I finish my studying, I am going to Paris and start a restaurant of my own. I want to especially invite you to my restaurant and taste my cooking. Thank you, pastor.”

I was truly happy to see the girl coming out of her own thoughts of darkness and speaking brightly, planning a new life by studying cooking.

THERE IS NO ONE WHO WILL NOT CHANGE WHEN THEY MEET JESUS

Jesus has the power to change a person’s heart. Whoever accepts His heart, He enters into their heart and works. When He works, anyone can become beautiful. I never had another occasion to see the consulate’s daughter since then. However, I believe Jesus in her heart will guide her through. I don’t know where she is, but she may have opened a restaurant somewhere in Paris by now. I feel very thankful to know that she will be living a life of joy in Jesus.

Before I met Jesus, I was a person who gave worries and heartaches to many people. But through Jesus, I have become a person who gives peace by introducing Jesus to other people. I am also thankful to see people change and become happy when Jesus works in them. Even today, Jesus works amongst many people. He changes their heart and gives His righteousness, holiness, peace and love which they previously did not have. It is so amazing and thankful to know that there is no one who will not be changed when they meet Jesus. (An excerpt from With the Gospel to the Ends, With the Lord to the Last by Pastor Ock Soo Park)

Fear, A Condition Where God Works

Pastor Ock Soo Park’s Sermon

Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, [even] unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves [of] gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went [to worship] before the one, [even] unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that [is] in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. (1 Kings 12:25~32)

EVEN THOUGH GOD MADE JEROBOAM AS A KING

Jeroboam should have thought this way whenever fear arose from his heart:

“I cannot win over this fear. However, who is the one who made me king? Isn’t it God who made me king? In that case, I will depend upon the Lord.”

If Jeroboam had this heart, then God would have surely worked to make his kingdom solid and would have truly blessed his life. However, Jeroboam was captured by fear and tried to solve his fear by using his human methods.

If you look in the Old Testament in 1 Kings, there is a king named Jeroboam. Saul was the first king of Israel, then David became king, then David’s son Solomon became king. Solomon, who built the temple in Jerusalem, became corrupt right after completing the precious work. He had many wives, and became corrupt by serving the gods of his foreign wives. Therefore, God declared that He would divide the kingdom of Israel.

Afterwards, the prophet Ahijah took hold of a new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. Then he took ten pieces and gave them to Jeroboam. He told Jeroboam, “God has given you ten tribes of Israel to rule over.” That is why after Solomon, his son Rehoboam ruled in the southern part of Israel, and Jeroboam became king in the northern part of Israel.

JEROBOAM THOUGHT THAT HE HAD TO MAKE THE GOLDEN CALVES

If you look in 1 Kings 12:25, after Jeroboam became king, he built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim and dwelt there. A fearful heart formed inside of Jeroboam, he thought, ‘Rehoboam may attack anytime!’ So he began to build cities everywhere, and while he dwelt there, he had the heart to protect himself. Afterwards, fear continually arose in the heart of Jeroboam and gradually fear took over his heart.

A fearful heart arose in Jeroboam: ‘Now the kingdom may return to the house of David. The people will go up to Jerusalem for the Passover and other sacrifices. If they go into the temple, their heart will return to Rehoboam the king of Judah. Then they will kill me and go back up to Rehoboam.’

Jeroboam had thought of many ways, one of which, ‘I must stop the people from going up to the temple of Jerusalem. In order to do so, I must make golden calves for the people to serve instead of God.’ So he made the golden calves. We can see that through his sin, his whole household was doomed to destruction and curse in the Bible.

JESUS WHO IS INSIDE OF US CAN SURELY WIN OVER FEAR

One of Satan’s most powerful weapons is fear, and Satan often fills our hearts with fear. Satan also filled my heart with fear numerous times, and tried to lure me to use those familiar humanly methods to overcome those fears. I was deceived, and there are a few times that I ended up using my own humanly methods to overcome those fears. However, I experienced that I was wrong at each of those times.

We must first remember that fear comes to even people who are inside of God, but in the Bible, it says clearly that God does not give the fearful heart. Therefore, we must not fall into fear, but we must win over it. We ourselves cannot win over it, but Jesus who is inside of us can surely win over fear. That is the reason why when we fear, we should not use our humanly ways to be free from fear, but we must look up to Jesus and win over fear by faith in Jesus.

This is the first gate we must pass through in living spiritual life. When fear comes or problems come, one must consider, ‘Will I solve this by faith in God or through my own methods?’ This is where all decisions are made. Many people use their humanly ways to solve their problems without much thought, but as they continue to use their humanly ways, they become father from God.

In our lifetime, fear comes to everyone. This fear becomes the condition for God to work inside of us. When fear comes, God says to us, “Believe in me and depend on me. Then I will make you to win over fear. I will solve your problems.” It is God who gives us the strength to win over the fear.

THROW OUT THE BARLEY AND COVER IT WITH DIRT…

Recently, a sister gave me a call as she cried.

“Pastor, I need some counseling I met with the sister for a counseling session. This sister had married her husband in order to live for the gospel. However, the opportunity to preach the gospel was rare, and it became difficult. The sister could no longer live this way and had made up her mind to divorce her husband in order to be free from this hardship.

When I looked at the sister, I thought, ‘I should not comfort this sister. If I look through the eyes of Jesus, if the sister relied on Jesus, what kind of problem would this be?’ I spoke softly to the sister: “Sister, if your circumstances were better, instead of the heart to preach the gospel, you would want to go shopping with your children on the weekends, you would want to eat at a nice restaurant, you would want to enjoy yourself with your friends, isn’t this how you would have flowed in the worldly ways? The difficulty you are facing right now, seems to us like a difficulty, however, God is preparing your heart in order to do the work of the gospel.”

I told the sister, “Sister, please think. The barley is inside and thinks that it is safe. One day, the owner comes and throws the barley on the ground. The barley may think, ‘I am being thrown out by my owner.’ Then the owner covers it up with dirt. If the barley could think like a human, ‘The owner has thrown me out and covered me with dirt, so that I’ll never meet the humans again! He’s given me this hardship.’ He would be in despair. However, the owner didn’t really throw out the barley on the ground nor did he cover up the barley with dirt to prevent people from finding the barley. Actually, the owner wanted to make a condition for the barley to take root so that it could produce grain for the people to eat. Right now, “Sister, it seems difficult, but it is really not a difficulty. God is allowing this process to produce you into a true worker for the gospel. What problem is there that cannot be solved inside of the Lord? Please rely on the Lord.”

The sister turned from her heart of wanting to divorce and decided to rely on God. You don’t know how thankful I was when I saw the Lord start to work in her life with power.

THIS IS HOW JEROBOAM SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT . . .

When fear continually arose from Jeroboam’s heart, this is how Jeroboam should have thought, ‘I cannot win over this fear. But who is the one who made me king? Isn’t it God who made me king? Then I must depend on God. God will surely help me.’ If jeroboam had this kind of faith, then God would have surely made his kingdom solid and would have given him a blessed life.

However, jeroboam fell gradually into fear, and could not be free from the fear. So he used his humanly ways to free himself from the fear. This is what he thought, ‘I must stop the people of Israel from going up to land of Judah. I must prevent them from going up to the temple in Jerusalem.’ Jeroboam had this thought so he did not want the people to go up to Jerusalem for the Passover and other sacrifices. He made two golden calves; he set one in Bethel and the other one in Dan. We can see that through this sin, his life was cursed and how he was shamefully doomed to destruction.

GOD WANTS TO HELP US

Satan puts many kinds of fears into the heart of people. He makes us to think of humanly ways to be free from fear instead of relying on God, making us to follow our humanly ways. However, when fear or problems come our way, no matter what it may be, God gives us the strength to overcome them. God has already made a way out for us from the difficulties and fears, and wants us to go out in front of Him. However, we can see many people waver in front of the fear and problems, and eventually use their humanly ways like jeroboam. In the end, they are cursed and doomed to destruction.

Even today, Satan gives fear to the brothers and sisters who are saved. However, God can free us at anytime from those fears. Whatever fear it may be, God, who has the power to overcome, wants us to come out in front of him. When fear or problems come, Satan gives us the thought that God will not help us. However, God truly wants to help us. That is why when we have the faith in God who will overcome He will surely overcome the problem, and we will truly live a blessed life. Sadly, not many people live this kind of life. There are many cases where people who face fear use their humanly ways to solve it and while trying, they fall into sin and darkness.

Jeroboam chose his humanly ways and tried to protect himself by making the golden calves, and because of that he made Israel to collapse and consequently himself. Today, Satan leads us in this way. No matter what kind of fear or problems we may face, it is of no consequence. I believe that if we come out to Jesus, Jesus will solve the problems for us, and we will be able to dwell in joy and live a blessed life.

The Lord Had Set Me Free!

Salvation Testimony _ Christian Parry (Good News Salt Lake Church, United States)

This is my story. I had so much joy in my heart! Although it’s true that I am a dirty, filthy sinner, God calls me righteous. God forgot all my sin like Joseph forgot all his toil after he begot Manasseh! The Lord had set me free from sin. I have the righteousness of God now. Oh, thank You, Lord!

My name is Christian Parry. I was born in Baltimore MD, in 1958. After that, my family moved to Delaware and there, my father became a millionaire. We moved to NYC when I was thirteen years old. Later, I became a pothead and I used to drink alcohol when I was attending private schools. I thought that my life was meaningless. My father failed in business and the family moved from town to town. Eventually, I began my journey to true faith. I believed that I had received salvation in the early 1990’s. At the time, my parents were living in Salt Lake City. One day, I received the bad news that my father was in a coma after a brain surgery that was meant to remove a benign tumor. I was devastated. I knew none of my family was saved. They were involved in false faith.

I went to the hospital and I prayed Psalms 107:20 “He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.” The next morning as I stood beside his bed, he awoke! Only my mother believed God did it through grace but I was able to speak about God to my father. During the six years I stayed with him, I taught him several things about Jesus though he was an atheist. During that time, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Shortly before his death, he was comatose again. The Lord spoke to my heart that my father would be saved, that my father would return to God soon. A sense of peace came over me. When I went to his bed and asked him, “Now dad, do you belong to Jesus?” He awoke and stated, “Oh yes!” He was serious. The next morning, he was gone. I had peace regarding my father’s soul.

I wanted to add things to my salvation. I attended “deep” Bible studies and began playing drums in many praise bands, trying to please God. To pack knowledge upon knowledge seemed to be so good.

As I went on with that life, my spiritual life became more difficult. Although I experienced

God’s grace from time to time, sadly I fell deeply into sin. I had become useless. I fell into fornication, drinking alcohol and smoking pot. I became very depressed and went to secular counselors, even to a Christian counselor, but nothing helped. I had moments of grace and joy but they faded. I suffered from sin.

One day, the church I was attending had a Bible seminar held by the Good News Church. It captured my interest. The Lord was calling! As I sat and listened to pastor Sang Yul Kim, I began to weep; I could not stop crying. I said to myself, “Lord what’s going on?” The message was about Jesus and two thieves on the cross. At the end of the seminar, someone asked me “Christian, are you free from sin?” I was deeply conflicted. I mumbled something like…

”I know Jesus died for me but, but, but… Oh I’m not free from sin.” Then some students and a counselor sat with me. I felt the love of God. They gave me a book Notes on Genesis 1 by pastor Ock Soo Park. As I read the book, starting from Cain and Abel, I could learn the world of the heart before God. Our works to please God are worthless. However Jesus’ works are perfect to God but I did not understand God’s grace fully. I was not free yet.

The Good News Church did not arrive in Salt Lake City for another year. I waited, but during that time I fell back into alcohol. I didn’t have a church I wanted to go to because the Lord told me, “This Good News Church is for you to attend.” Finally, after one year, I found a flyer next to my truck. Good News Church had arrived in Salt Lake City!

There was Bible seminar; Pastor Eddie Pennoyer came to speak. He spoke the words from John 5: 25, Jesus said “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” I knew I was dead according to Jeremiah 17: 9. And the Lord shined light on that, and I knew I was His. Also he spoke about Genesis 41: 51~52. ‘Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh for God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house. And the name of second he called Ephraim for God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

This is my story. I had so much joy in my heart! Although it’s true that I am a dirty, filthy sinner, God calls me righteous. God forgot all my sin like Joseph forgot all his toil after he begot Manasseh! The Lord had set me free from sin. I have the righteousness of God now. Oh, thank you, Lord!

When I first met Pastor Andrew Nam, I noticed he was much younger than I. Satan tried to deceive me and said “He is a novice, don’t listen to him.” After one service at the Good News Salt Lake Church, I knew he was truly a servant of God. God gave me a very special love for Andrew and his wife Nicole. I finally found a church that actually witnesses the true gospel together and teaches the Bible correctly. Since I’ve been attending the service and Bible study, I have learned the Bible much more than before. Now I have a grateful heart. Thank You Lord.