Ki Dong Kim – Page 25 – Sungrak Church

2016.10.09_Receive the Comfort of the Holy Spirit

in 2016 Lord's Day, Ki Dong Kim

Senior Overseer Ki-Dong Kim

Outline

[Acts 9:26-31]

God
does not rest.
He
created the world and governs it,
sent the Word to the world and commanded His blessing
to fulfill it, and hence His blessing cannot be rejected (Nu 23:20).
He keeps those saved by the blood of Jesus (Ac 20:28),
and sent them the Paraclete Holy Spirit
to keep them forever (2 Co 1:21-22).
Thus
individuals, families, and the Church are edified
when they receive the encouragement of the Holy Spirit (Ac 9:31).
The Holy Spirit never leaves us (Jn 14:16).
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth (Jn 16:13).
He is not man but spirit.
He does not die nor ever change.
The Church of Jesus Christ
started through the Holy Spirit (Ac 1:8).
The Holy Spirit
is a great gift of God (Ac 2:38).
We need to receive the support of the Holy Spirit.
○ God’s great gift to us
is Jesus Christ,
our Savior.
○ Jesus’ great gift to us
is the Holy Spirit,
the Paraclete who comforts us.
○ Heavenly power is a great gift;
the Holy Spirit gives us various gifts.
Power refers to heavenly spirits.
※ He who receives God’s love
will receive His gift;
the Church and families must have a revival.

Summary

The word of God is our Eternal Life

God never rests from his work. We are nothing but dust before God. Worshiping God means letting God do His own work (Isaiah 62:6~7). As long as we rely on God, He will let us partake in His work. What a tremendous grace! Nevertheless, if the people hinder God’s work by ignoring it, will they be able to have the hope or come to know the true value of their lives?

God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light, He said, “Let there be a vault,” and there was the vault.” God’s word is accomplished in full. The fulfillment of His word is in progress in this very moment, as well. Even heaven and earth will change, but the word of God never changes, not even a stroke of a letter. On the other hand, the world constantly changes. Depending on the era, things including languages, cultures, knowledge, the way of living etc. are changing and change faster than ever. We need to keep up with the changes in order to be part of the world; however, we must remember that, even if we manage ourselves well to be part of the world, it does not provide us with eternal life. Because the Devil, the ruler of the kingdom of the air, is at work in this world, nothing of this world can help us in attaining eternal life (Eph. 2:1~3).

When Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day,” many followers could not understand his word and left him. But Peter confessed, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” (John 6:68). Faith is to follow forever the unchanging word of God. It is the word that gives us eternal life.

Jesus Christ, the way of eternal life

What has the word of God made known to us? Languages express man’s thoughts, feelings, knowledge and wisdom. Jesus Christ is God’s word that is manifested in flesh. In other words, Jesus Christ is the image of God that reveals everything of God. By manifesting God’s Will during his public life, he enabled man to meet God.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Son of Man. He surely came to the earth as a man. If he had not come to the earth as a man, but only manifested instantly to the world as God, we would have never been able to meet God. In 1John 4:2~3, it reads that every spirit that does not acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not from God. Jesus was born through a woman’s body and grew up as a man. The only difference was that there was no sin in him.

In fact, the truth that Jesus is the Son of Man gives us hope. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die, and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25~26). Because Jesus, who is without sin, has surpassed death and was resurrected, whoever believes in Him becomes without sin and lives forever. Moreover, just as Jesus sat on his glorious throne by obedience, we, too, will ascend before the glorious throne with Jesus if we obey God’s word after we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these,” (John 14:12). It was said by the One who had been like us; who knows so-well of our weaknesses. We must believe this word. Jesus Christ is our role model. We must repent of our disobedience, due to our sinful desires, and begin to obey God’s word. Likewise, God will exalt those who believe in Jesus, that he is the image of God and follow him.

Let us follow Jesus by the Holy Spirit

After the ascension, He sent us the Holy Spirit. John 16:13~14 says, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” Although Jesus has ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit, whom he has sent, manifests the word and the works of Jesus to us. The Holy Spirit does not work apart from Jesus Christ, and he reflects the image of God into our souls. Thus, everyone who has received the Holy Spirit ought to reflect Jesus in all ways.

Our faith is to believe in Jesus, about whom the Holy Spirit teaches, in Jesus, whom the Holy Spirit speaks of, and in Jesus, whom the Holy Spirit shows us. This is how to live like Jesus: live with the Holy Spirit (John 14:16~20). Those who live their faith life in the Holy Spirit are not wavered by the worldly circumstances or conditions. Jesus knows very well that we are full of frailty, so he has sent the Holy Spirit to help us. The Holy Spirit confirms that Jesus is in us. Just as Jesus was resurrected by the Holy Spirit, we who live in the Holy Spirit will experience the resurrection at last.

In obedience to Jesus who said, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” the disciples gathered and prayed in Mark’s attic and they received the Holy Spirit. That was the first church on the earth. Now, our Lord Jesus wants us to follow the Holy Spirit. The church must rely on, obey, and work in the Holy Spirit. Only through that way can the church do the work that Jesus Christ has left for us to fulfill.

Semuon’s Letter

I have lived nearly for eighty years, and ministered for fifty-five years. So far I have met numerous people and had fellowship with them, but they have changed from the start, causing harm in my life. All of them have deceived me and greatly disappointed me. I did not doubt even one of them, but trusted them all. However, that became a serious problem for me.

People have complained to me, “Pastor, you are too innocent, and you believe all kinds of people.” Deceiving me has become a great threat to me, not because I have to keep honor only for myself as a special position, but because honor is for all the dispersed, faithful believers. That is why I have been so very worried. I do not know if I will pass away today or tomorrow, and I have something to finish—being whole before the Lord.

I have lived like a foolish and ignorant person. Even if I have much money, what does that do for me, or even if I have greed, what does that mean to me? What I desire yet is to maintain the work I have started and have done, even after I die. However, I see that some who are before me have their own desires and seek their own share first, so I feel grieved.

I have done only the Lord’s work, and I want to be martyred at the last moment. We all will finally stand before the Lord for sure, and I am certain that the Lord will separate those who have deceived others from those who have only been deceived. I appreciate that I have never deceived others, even though I have been deceived a lot. If I have deceived even one, I would not be like a person of this world.

Some think that I have deceive others, but what did I do to deceive others? To whom have I lied? If anyone tells me, I will repent immediately, and reconcile with him or her. Even though I have not always been deceived and there have been those who have helped and walked with me, I have been deceived more than that, leaving me great damage. I do not have a long way to go. I want to prepare for the best faith for the sake of the very day before my eyes. If I am given money, I want to build a church again. This is because I believe in God and am full of hope of heaven.

Dear my dear friends! What I want from you is to believe in God. Surely, believe in Him. Paradise is before us, and we can see God’s house. Let us live eternally with great joy. I believe in Jesus Christ. Therefore, I strongly rely on His words, more than any kind of science and knowledge. Amen.

2015 Audio

2015 Video

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2016.10.02_Be Saved From Sin

in 2016 Lord's Day, Ki Dong Kim

Senior Overseer Ki-Dong Kim

Outline

[John 16:1-9]

God
is holy.
He
sanctified us (Ac 10:15)
and bestowed His great grace upon us to make us righteous (Eph 2:8),
that is, God sent His beloved Son who was in His bosom
to the world (Jn 1:18).
He came to the world as a man
and appeared as an accursed sinner (Ph 2:6-8),
for He carried our iniquities (Jn 1:36).
Hence,
we are made holy
when we acknowledge His merits,
that His suffering was the result of our sin,
and lay ourselves down and confess Him only as our Lord (He 10:19-25).
Concerning sin,
it is that we do not believe Him (Jn 16:9).
The Holy Spirit works
in order that we may believe in Jesus and Him alone (2 Co 1:20-21).
He who truly believes Jesus and receives His love
will receive the love of God (Jn 15:10).
○ Let us love Jesus truly.
Then,
we will receive the love of Jesus.
○ If we receive the true love of Jesus
we will receive the love of God
and become God’s children.
○ Since he who does not receive the love of God
cannot become a child of God,
the Holy Spirit does not acknowledge him.
※By believing in Jesus,
let us receive the love of God
and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Summary

Believers who belong to the Holy God

God is Holy. There are many gods. He is nothing like those gods, and He is the only God. He is the Father of Jesus Christ, the Father of all who have united with Jesus Christ. Not all men who call God the father become the children of God. Only those who have eaten and drunk the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ are children of God. In John 17:3 Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” You need to know Jesus, whom God had sent, in order to receive eternal life.

In general, sin is considered a matter of conscience. The law also regards sin as the conscience of faith. Hence people think that they are without sin, unless they feel guilty. Nonetheless, every human being is a sinner. Sinners are originally considered equal to slaves. Slaves belong to their masters. In the past, slaves had a branding mark, which was seared with a hot iron, on their body to tell to whom they belong. Sinful mankind has become the Devil’s slaves and have earned the branding mark of sin. Just as a slave never becomes free once they have been marked as a slave, mankind, with the mark of sin, could never be set free as a sinner.

Salvation by the works of Christ

Why do people believe in Jesus? All Christians are supposed to be able to answer this question. Christians are people who believe in the name Jesus. The name ‘Jesus’ means, “God saves His people” (Mt 1:21). Our faith begins with knowing in confidence that we are saved from sin. Those who are not sure about this would abandon the name of Jesus for an imminent benefit, even if they go to church.

Humans are religious; therefore, they find and serve their own gods in their own way. However, a Christian’s faith is different from that. God has sent the Son, who was in His bosom, and we have come to know God through the Son. Knowing God also means belonging to Him. Unless you belong to God, you still live under the Devil’s control (Eph. 2:2). Even though they have a church life, they will fall away. Hence, we must know for sure whether we belong to God or not.

However, one who has no trace of sin has appeared in the world. The Son of God, with the duty of Christ, came to the Earth. Pilate, the judge, could not find sin in Jesus. Even though he tried to turn down the Jews who wanted to kill Jesus, he ended up sentencing Jesus to death. Jesus was stripped and flogged. The astoundingly truth is, by that, the mark of sin on us was completely cleared away (Pt. 2:24).

We were originally doomed to destruction by sin. Nonetheless, the work of Christ have opened up the way to life for us. Acknowledging this truth is our faith. We must guard this faith to the end. Without knowing that we have gained the evidence of righteousness by the works of Christ, we do not have the guarantee of salvation.

The duty fulfilled by the Holy Spirit

God anoints the people who are saved from the sin with the Holy Spirit (2Cor. 1:21~22). Thus, you can only be filled with the Holy Spirit when you hold fast the faith that you are saved from sin. No matter how hard you pray or fast, without faith, you cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the Advocate, came into us making us saints. Becoming a saint means becoming dutiful to God’s work.

In Acts 10:38 it says, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good.” “Doing good” is not referring to ethics or morals but referring to the fulfillment of the will of God the Father. Before the fulfillment, Jesus had received the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, it could not have been done. Jesus had told his disciples to also receive the Holy Spirit before they leave Jerusalem. For it is impossible to save souls without the work of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the Holy Spirit is most fundamental in bringing the love of God.

If you refuse to do the work God gives you, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit may no longer be with you. If the work of God is not being processing through you, it means you are not filled with the Holy Spirit. In John 4:34 Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” Our food is also to do the will of him. We have received a duty from God, that is to love our neighbors and love our brothers.

Men of the Holy Spirit who bring the Truth

Those who will be glorified in heaven with Jesus Christ are those who have been anointed by the Holy Spirit. They follow wherever the Lamb leads them; moreover, no lie is found in their mouths (Rev. 14:1~5). On the other hand, liars will be consigned to the burning sulfur (Rev. 21:8). Likewise, God will clearly distinguish between those without lie and liars.

There are habitual liars among Christians, too. In John 7:38~39, it says, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.” If you were filled with the Holy Spirit, only the truth must come out of your mouth. If you have received the evidence of the Holy Spirit in your faith, you must not tell lies. Pretending to be faithful when there is no faith is also lying. When teaching, you must teach what you also believe. You should only tell truths to your family and to other church members as well. You have to be steadfast not to lie to others although you have lied to hundred times.

We are the believers of Jesus. When we accepted the works of Jesus Christ, the mark of sin on us completely disappeared. Then, God has sent us the Holy Spirit. That is God made us to think through the Holy Spirit, speak through the Holy Spirit, and work through the Holy Spirit. Menial or great, we must fulfill every work through the Holy Spirit. For the rest of our lives, think through the Holy Spirit, speak through the Holy Spirit and work through the Holy Spirit. We must become men of the Holy Spirit.

Semuon’s Letter

I have been persecuted and ignored for my whole life, since I was young. However, the reason why I have kept the way of my life is that I have fought for myself, so that I would not be cowardly, even to live just one more day. Although I seem to be pitiful, I have no doubt that I will gain the fruit later on. The life of those who have their own will is so lonely and challenging, but in my case I have just obeyed the essential work, which is the will of God that has been given to me.

I have uniformly testified to the power of the Lord’s gospel for sixty years, which is considered foolish in the world, but I have never doubt that it is the work that pleases God. I know that the world is the way of traveler. I want to believe that the reason I live is to do the work of the Lord’s kingdom. So I cannot be successful in any kind of worldly situation. Even though one suffers, it is happier for him or her to live for truth.

Time runs so fast, and I am waiting to be called by the Lord; I think the time for these two has fully come. I have not been cowardly, not fearful, no matter how much I am persecuted or insulted. Thinking of truth as my only way, I have been given power from God and blessed. My prayer has always been delivered and answered too. In my prayer, there is nothing about my physical wants or any secular, pleasurable thing – only for hopes for successful achievement of the Lord’s work, overcoming this harsh world.

How do I deal with the rest of my life, which is at most ten years? I think I have nothing but the work for the Lord’s kingdom, laying down all my honors and possessions. Whenever I preach, I deliver that message as if it were my last. This is how our church has grown, so I will never turn from this way. This is for our church to stand as pleasing only to the Lord, not worldly people.

I want to speak true words. I do not want to do any other thing for any kind of reason. I will testify only what I believe, not teaching what I do not believe. I hope that, when our saints stand before God in heaven, no one confesses that he or she has been deceived by Semuon.

Praise the Lord. I am pleased that I can preach the words of the Lord, I can do the work of the Lord’s kingdom, and I am full of love and devotion to God. Since I have never been deceived by the Lord, I will preach as it is, and this is my courage. And as long as I can breathe, I will never stop using my pen.

2015 Audio

2015 Video

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2016.06.26_Do You Love Me

in 2016 Lord's Day, Ki Dong Kim

Senior Overseer Ki-Dong Kim

Outline

[John 21:15-17]

God

is love.
For the world to know the truth (Jn 14:6)
He sent Jesus Christ,
who is truth.
The new commandment which the Lord Jesus commanded is,
“Love one another” (Jn 13:34).
To love one another is to love the Lord,
When the Lord Jesus asks,
“Do you love me?”
we must have a true confession of our faith.
Whoever does not love the Lord
does not love God;
whoever loves the Lord
loves his neighbors truly (1 Jn 4:18).
He who loves his neighbor saves, teaches and nurtures his soul
to become a true saint.
To makes excuses not to work,
is an act of betraying the Lord Jesus.
Hence let us humbly obey.
The Holy Spirit watches us.
○If you love Jesus
then feed His lambs
and win souls.
○If you truly love Jesus,
do not dishearten saints
but love and nurture them.
○If you truly love Jesus,
the Lord says you must take care of His sheep.
This is the Lord’s command.
※Our faith is truth.
It is true and without deceit.
It is love

Summary

Us, who are loved by God

God is love (1 Jn. 4:8). We can’t see love, but it exists, clearly. God loves all the people of the world, but only a few acknowledge His love, because they can’t see God’s love. We are those who are loved by God, and entered His love. The world regards us as those who chose Christianity among the numerous worldly religions, but we are not just religious people, we are those who were loved by God.

Among the spiders, there is a kind that give their bodies as food for their new-born babies. When the babies are grown up, their mother is no longer with them, because they have eaten their mother’s body. Though they have not seen their moms, it doesn’t mean that they weren’t loved by their moms. Nowadays, many people resent their parents, not recognizing their parents’ love. However, it’s not that their parents didn’t love them, but just that they are not recognizing their parents’ love. All parents sacrifice themselves for their children and nurture them with love. Likewise, God loves us. We should not neglect His love, only because we can’t see His love.

Now, Let’s Love God through Abiding by the New Commandment

Adam neither stole, nor murdered. He had just eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (NKJV). However, because of his deed, humanity was sentenced to a life in hell. This was because the words of God, “… for in the day that you eat of it (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) you shall surely die. ” (NKJV, Genesis 2:17) This was His commandment. Since God had commanded that, man who violated His commandment had to go to hell. However, Jesus Christ purged the sin of man for us. As spiders offer their bodies to their babies, He showed God’s love toward us by offering His body for us, before we even know His name.

In the past, when we were sinners, we had no ability to love God. But God cleared a way for us to love Him – who are saved, due to His love. Jesus said, “If you love God, you will love Me. And if you love Me, you will abide by My commandments.” Those who love their neighbors, according to Jesus’ commandment, are those who love Jesus, and those who love Jesus are those who love God, who sent Him (Jesus). Such people will be loved by God, and Jesus will manifest Himself to them in His love for them.

If you love your neighbors, you must care for the salvation of their spirit, and further, make disciples of them. This does not mean that you must teach those who have been already doing well in church and make them follow you. Those actions serve to make divisions in the church. First, you must serve your neighbors with love, and save their spirits by leading them to Jesus. And through guiding them by the words of God, you must make them disciples who serve the church.

Let’s Bear Fruits That God Wants

The Lord said to us ‘Be the light and the salt. Let people see your good works and glorify God.’(NKJV, Matthew 5:13 – 16). The ‘good works’ in this verse is a bit different from the worldly idea. Acts 10:38 (NKJV) says, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.’ The ‘good deeds’ in the Bible are the deeds done according to God’s will. When we do good deeds according to God’s will, we become light and salt, for the first time.

Those who truly love the Lord evangelize to their neighbors with a motherly love and make them disciples, just like the spiders that offer their bodies for their babies. If you continue, a lot of persecution will await. Nevertheless, we must fulfil the Lord’s will, not giving up. Those who do so will come to bear abundant fruit like healthy branches. On the other hand, those who will be exposed as withered branches with no fruit, will be cast into unquenchable fire on the last day.

There are many people who cast a critical eye on the growth of churches. In fact, pastoral difficulty follows an increase of church members. In spite of this, in order to abide by the Lord’s commandment, pastors try to gather more spirits. It is the way to truly love the Lord that we feed, raise and breed His sheep. We are not people who follow the trend. Rather, we must make people follow us. To do so, we, ourselves, must be models first to other people by loving our neighbors.

We must be fruitful branches by abiding by the Lord’s commandment – to love neighbors.(There is some error in Korean sentence. Confirmation is needed.) The Lord says to us, “After I bore your sins, you abide by new commandment.’ The truth is placed into us by the Holy Spirit, and He convinces us that it is the Lord’s commandment. The reason that we can’t receive answers while we pray to God is because we don’t abide by the new commandment. There will be anguish in those who think that they have to be holy only in their own eyes, as Pharisees, leading religious lives. If we love the Lord truly, we must feed the Lord’s sheep, being faithful to the new commandment.

Semuon’s Letter

As I have been living in the world I have learned a lot, and received a great amount of love. I have received love, respect, and comfort so much from others. Although there have been some people who have persecuted me, they do so because they do not know me; however, the people who know me have loved me. This is a truth – although I cannot express the love that I have received, I think of it as the power that I can live by.

When I was not educated, there were some people ignored me, but now so many people love me. Just as a stream of river becomes wider and has more water coming down the valley, so my life becomes wider. Just as thin streams of water flowing into the valley become a great river eventually, my life is now storing up a lot of knowledge and experiences, even though my stream of young age flows fast and now has become slow. However, amongst this knowledge and experience, I have nothing to bring into my soul. Even if someone gives me a great house, how can it be a help to me? Or even if I am given a great glory, how can it be a benefit to me? Only my soul proceeds alone.

Even though the world holds me, I have to leave. Even if there are some pleasing situations in the world, they cannot make me rest. I am walking only the one way. Due to my ‘flesh’ I have had regretted many things. However I am so happy in my soul. My destination is paradise, and through it I will participate in the resurrection of glory and enter the house of the Father – this is my only hope.

In my life in this world, I have been deceived a lot and even isolated, but it is like a buffeting of a wind in a season, and I never linger there. Through the love and care of my church members who truly love me, I could do the work that I wanted to, and have been doing it. They would have plucked their eyes and given them to me if they could have done so. I have been truly loved so much. My soul is filled with their love, so I have no need to be jealous.

While recalling this, I am about to shed tears. Although I have been loved so much by my family after my birth, the love I have received from my saints is the love that is sealed by God. Through the hearts of my saints, I am now receiving the love that God has given to me. Is there anyone around the world who is loved as much as I am? Not every pastor is loved by his or her people. It is the love that can be given to the one whom you truly love. The power by which I can love others is from the fullness of the Lord’s happiness in my soul.

Oh! My loving saints, the love I have received in my life, I will keep it eternally and come to the Lord.

2015 Audio

2015 Video

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