No Other Gospel But The Gospel Of Christ
Galatians 1:1–24 Lesson 1
Key Verses: 1:6–7 Delv’d by Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 7-10-11 (Adapted from Chicago UBF)
“ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.”
Galatians is a very liberating book. It has been called "the Magna Carte of Christian freedom." It first set the early Christians free from the legalism of Jewish religion. During the Reformation, Martin Luther's study of Galatians, together with Romans, brought a birth of freedom to the Christian church. Luther said, "Galatians is my letter. I married Galatians. It is my Catherine"(wife). Paul wrote Galatians to churches he had pioneered in person. He addresses a specific problem of legalism, perpetrated by a certain type of Jewish convert to the Christian faith, called "Judaizers." We will find out who they are later. The key word of Galatians is "freedom." Paul proclaims that the gospel gives freedom from both sin and legalism. Paul explains the nature of this freedom and how we are to use it. In our times, many people assume that freedom means doing whatever they want without any responsibility or consequence. This is not true freedom. In fact this leads to slavery of the soul. In Galatians we discover true freedom and how to truly enjoy it.
Paul will also emphasize the uniqueness of the gospel. We live in a multicultural society with people of many beliefs. We practice mutual respect as we try to coexist. It is important to respect others, for God made us all in his image. However, in the course of doing this, we must not fall into the error that all truth claims are equally valid. (For example all religions point to Jesus in one way or the other. But Jesus only points to himself. Not every one is correct.) The gospel is the unique truth of salvation from God. In our time, there is also a strong influence from "universalism." This is the error that all people will be saved, no matter what they believe, as long as they live with integrity and sincerity and don’t hurt anyone. However, Paul urges that what we believe really matters. Today Paul challenges us with a clear teaching on the uniqueness of the gospel. There is only one gospel, the gospel of Christ.
We will study this chapter in three parts: the core of the gospel (1-5), the uniqueness of the gospel (6-10), and the revelation of the gospel (11-24).
Part I: The Core Of The Gospel (1-5)
In verses 1-5, Paul introduces himself and greets the churches in Galatia. In doing so, he reminds them of the core of the gospel. Look at verse 1. "Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead...." Paul identified himself as an apostle. It was a special claim to represent Jesus Christ and God the Father. This gave credibility and authority to his teaching. Paul emphasized that his apostleship came not from man, but from Jesus Christ. This was an unusual element of Paul's introduction which is not repeated in his other letters. Paul wrote this way in Galatians to counter the "Judaizers," who said that he was not an apostle, since he was not one of Jesus' original Twelve. They wanted to undermine Paul's authority and discredit his message so that Galatian Christians would abandon Paul and follow them.
However, Paul held firm to his identity as an apostle. It was no because he was one of the original 12 but on the basis of his own personal encounter with the Risen Christ. In the Book of Acts, while Paul traveled from Jerusalem to Damascus to persecute Christians, suddenly, a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Ac 9:4) It was the Risen Christ. The Risen Christ overpowered Paul with love, conquering his soul, changing him from an enemy to a follower. The Risen Christ called him to be an apostle and blessed his ministry to the Gentiles in every way. It was nothing but the work of God by the almighty power that raised Jesus from the dead. Paul may not have known the historical Jesus who lived in Galilee, but he knew the Risen Christ intimately and received his commission from Christ. On this basis, Paul claimed to be an apostle on par with the other apostles.
There is a special quality to Paul's apostleship. He had spiritual authority from the Risen Christ to preach and explain the gospel in a way that no one else could. Paul's special perspective greatly enriches our understanding of the gospel and its application to daily life. Paul's letters in the New Testament carry the weight of Scripture. Peter even attests to this in 2 Pe 3:15-16. No one can claim to share Paul's apostleship in regards to writing Scripture. No one can add their personal letter to the Bible claiming that it has the same authority as Scripture. However, in another respect, as believers, we can share Paul's claim to apostleship. In Romans 1:5, Paul said, "Through him and for his name's sake we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith." Anyone who receives Jesus as Savior has the same privilege and calling that Paul had, to preach the gospel to the people of their times. We don't need a seminary degree, only Christ's grace of salvation and his personal calling. With this conviction and faith we can preach the gospel boldly to any person.
In verse 3, Paul blesses the Galatian churches with grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The blessing of grace and peace from Jesus, is the gospel. When we examine verses 1-5 carefully, we find that Paul was eager to share the core of the gospel with the Galatians very eagerly, right from the very beginning of his letter. Let’s think a little more deeply what the Gospel is.
Jesus died to rescue us from our sins. Look at verses 4-5. "...who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." The Bible tells us that our real problem is a sin problem. Sin is like an invisible cancer of the soul that affects every human being. It cuts people off from God, the source of life, and eats away at the goodness of God in us. Though one sin may seem like an insignificant act, it enslaves a soul permanently. For example, to look at pornography just one time, to take dangerous drugs just one time, to betray a trust just one time, to steal one small thing, and the like can lead to a lifetime bondage that brings utter ruin. Unforgiven sin finally brings death and eternal punishment in hell. This is the destiny of all people without Jesus, for the Bible says, "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Ro 3:23). Though people suffer greatly from sin, there is no way to solve the sin problem outside of Jesus. Psychology cannot solve it; neither can money, technology, reason, education, willpower, or medication. We are totally helpless to solve our sin problem.
Yet, while we were helpless, Jesus Christ came to rescue us. Jesus came down from heaven and lived among us as a man. By experience, he came to understand us fully and deeply. Then Jesus went to the cross and died, shedding his blood. Christ's death paid the full price of the sins of all mankind. Then God raised him from the dead. In this way, Christ purchased our forgiveness of sins and reconciled us with God. Now we can call God "Father," as Paul repeats in verses 1,3,4. Jesus did this to obey God's will. God willingly sacrificed his One and Only Son, Jesus because he loves sinners. Thank you, Father God for sending Jesus to save us! Thank you, Jesus Christ, for forgiving all our sins through your death on the cross!
The gospel is not a man-made story. It has been accomplished according to the will of God. It is God's story. So we find the core of the gospel flowing through the Bible from the beginning to the end. Right after Adam's fall, God promised to send an offspring of woman who would crush the head of Satan (Gen 3:15). God promised Abraham that through his offspring all nations on earth would be blessed (Gen 12:3). God promised David to raise up from his offspring an eternal king who would reign on the throne of an eternal kingdom (2 Sam 7:13-16). Christ fulfilled all of these promises (Gal 3:8; Lk 1:32). Isaiah foretold that Christ would be pierced for our transgressions and wounded for our healing (Isa 53:5). John the Baptist said of Jesus, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29). Jesus repeatedly foretold his suffering, death and resurrection (Mk 8:31; 9:12; 9:31; 10:33-34) for the salvation of mankind. Peter and John proclaimed the forgiveness of sins through the death of Christ and eternal life through his resurrection (Ac 2:38; Jn 3:16 et al.). The gospel may have been stated most clearly by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3b,4. It says, "...that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...." This is the core of the gospel. By this gospel we are saved, when we hold firmly to its truth.
Part II: The Uniqueness Of The Gospel (6-10)
In most of his letters, Paul thanks God for working in his audience and offers words of appreciation for them. Even in writing to the problem-filled Corinthian church he thanks God for working among them and admits that they are a very gifted community (1 Cor 1:4-7). But he does not do this with the Galatians. Instead, right after greeting them he begins to rebuke them. Let's read verses 6-7. "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." Paul uses strong language to awaken a sense of problem in the Galatians. He says they have deserted God; they have turned to a different gospel; they allowed themselves to be confused by those who have perverted the gospel. To understand the seriousness of their condition, we need to compare "the gospel of Christ" that Paul preached with "a different gospel" that the Judaizers preached.
Paul had preached the gospel of Christ to the Galatian believers on his first mission journey. The Book of Acts tells us how the Holy Spirit led Paul and Barnabas to Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe (Ac 13-14). While the context of his message differed from place to place, the essence of Paul's message was that Christ died for our sins and God raised him from the dead. Whoever believes in Christ receives forgiveness of sins and is justified by God (Ac 13:26-41). Many Gentiles accepted this message and received eternal life through Christ. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in each church, committed them to the Lord, and returned to Syrian Antioch.
In Paul's absence, some people, called "Judaizers," came into the churches in Galatia. The Judaizers did not deny Christ; they claimed to believe in Christ. But they added something to the gospel. They taught new Gentile believers that faith in Christ was not enough. They said that unless the Gentiles were circumcised, and obeyed Moses' law, they would not be saved (Ac 15:1). This is what Paul calls "another gospel." The Judaizers added an element of human work to the work of Christ as a matter of salvation. At first glance this may not seem to be a serious matter. To Paul, it was so serious that he called it "perverting the gospel." We must learn from their mistake.
Here we must realize that salvation comes totally from what Christ has done for us, not from anything we have done. All we do is believe in Christ. There is nothing we can add to the work of Christ. So we cannot claim any credit for our salvation. In doing so, all glory belongs to Christ, and to God the Father who sent him. However, in our times, there are people who claim we must add something to the gospel. Some say that unless one is baptized in their church, that person is not saved. Others claim that some kind of specific spiritual experiences must accompany salvation or you are not truly a child of God. They are all adding to the gospel. We can also add to the gospel by taking pride in ourselves or our works. Some think they will be accepted by God and go to heaven because they donate money to charity, volunteer at homeless shelters, pray at set times of the day, skip meals, make pilgrimages to holy sites, or spare the lives of insects. Some think they will merit heaven by being tolerant and supportive of others without discernment of good and evil. A popular music video called "Firework," (by Katy Perry) proposes the image that anyone can be a spark that inspires others by just being themselves, overcoming inhibitions. This is a kind of “other gospel” that emphasizes the authenticity of being as the way of salvation. The problem is that this message ignores the problem of sin and the need to be cleansed by Jesus.
We should remember that we are forgiven sinners, nothing but forgiven sinners, helpless to save ourselves. Yet God, in his great mercy, saved us through Christ by his grace. We are not saved because of anything we do. We are not saved because we write weekly Bible testimonies, meditate on Daily Bread everyday, deliver Gospel messages, teach the Bible frequently and well, evangelize others, go out as missionaries, or endure discipleship training for 30 years. These can be very helpful to our spiritual lives, but they do not merit our salvation. We are not saved because we have a title or position in the church, such as pastor, elder, missionary, fellowship leader, or prayer servant. We are saved by Christ alone, through faith alone, by grace alone, for the glory of God alone. When we receive the gospel of God's grace it makes us thankful; it makes us humble; it fills us with love and inspires us to love God because he first loved us. But when we add any human effort to the gospel of Christ it makes us proud, self-righteous and ungrateful.
The temptation to magnify human merit along with Christ is very strong. It is also very deceptive. While sounding good, it leads people away from the gospel of Christ. When sinners glorify their polluted works God is greatly offended, (perhaps more than he is by drug addiction or sexual immorality. Why? Because our polluted works muddy the waters so that people can not see Jesus.) We need to clearly discern this tendency and to regard it for the wickedness that it is. In verses 8-9 Paul gives a strong warning. He says that no one can change the gospel of Christ, not Paul, not an angel from heaven, not anyone. Anyone who tries to change the gospel of Christ will be cursed by God--- which means, eternally condemned.
In verse 10, Paul revealed his motive in preaching the gospel so clearly. It was to please God. Paul rebuked sin in people, magnified the grace of Christ and the mercy and love of God, and challenged people to repent and believe. This did not please people. In fact, it sometimes made people angry. However, this gave glory to God. When God was glorified, Paul was satisfied. Paul knew that salvation comes only from God, only through the gospel of Christ. So he preached it clearly, regardless of then human response. In this part we mainly learn that the gospel is God's unique message of salvation for sinful men. It is the only way God has provided for people to be saved. We must hold on to the gospel of Christ alone, regardless of other ideas that are circulating and regardless of people's response to the gospel. We must also teach and influence others to do the same.
Part III: The Revelation Of The Gospel (11-24)
In this part, Paul tells us why the gospel he preached is true and how he received it. He stated to help the Galatians come back to the true gospel. Look at verses 11-12. "I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ." Here Paul clearly explains why the gospel of Christ is unique. It is because it came from God, not people. Paul received the gospel which came from God by the direct revelation of Christ. Paul did not formulate a theory from his Jewish education. He was not taught it by some guru. It was revealed to him directly by Jesus Christ. Christ revealed what Paul could never have figured out by himself. Paul simply received the revelation and passed it on. Since the gospel Paul preached was nothing but Christ's revelation, it was the true gospel. Who is God who give such a revelation to anyone? God is the Creator and we are his creatures. God is holy and we are fallen sinners. God is perfect and we are full of mistakes. God is eternal and the source of all wisdom and we are but a mist that appears for a while then vanishes. So we must respect God's words more than our human ideas.
In verses 13-17, Paul shares his personal testimony. He was once a zealous Pharisee who was crazy for Moses' law. He was just like the Judaizers. He wanted to destroy the church of God, thinking it was a dangerous cult. It was beyond imagination that he would be a gospel preacher. However, God called him by grace and revealed his Son in Paul. Paul became the most prominent gospel preacher. Only God could do this. After meeting Christ, Paul did not seek human confirmation of the gospel or of his calling. Rather, he went to Arabia and stayed there for three years. He must have spent time in prayer and deep Bible study to harmonize his overwhelming experience of Christ with the Scriptures. He came to know the gospel by Christ's revelation, without help from the other apostles. He stood purely on faith in Christ's revelation to him. This emphasizes that his authority to preach came directly from Christ, not through the other apostles or the Jerusalem Church.
In verses 18-24 Paul clarifies his relationship with the other apostles and the Judean believers. Paul had visited Jerusalem. He met Peter and stayed with him for fifteen days. He also met James, the Lord's brother. Paul had fellowship with them, but he was not taught by them. Paul met them as a coworker in the gospel, not as their student. Later Paul went to Syria and Cilicia. The churches of Judea remembered Paul as an enemy of the gospel before he met Christ. But they heard that the man who formerly persecuted them was now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. They realized that only Christ could bring about such a change. So they praised God for his work in Paul. This was further evidence that Paul had been changed by Christ and called by Christ. Paul wanted the Galatians to recognize Christ's work in him and to come back to the gospel.
In this study we have mainly learned the core of the gospel and the uniqueness of the gospel. Christ died for our sins and rose again from the dead. When we believe this we are saved, solely by what Christ has done for us. We can add nothing to Christ's work. We must not add anything to Christ’s work. We only humbly accept what he has done for us by faith. This gospel came from God and is the only way of salvation that God has provided. There is no other gospel. We must hold to the gospel of Christ alone and help others to do the same. Let's pray to do so for the remainder of the summer and into the fall semester.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
2 Timothy 3:1-16
Terrible Times and the Scripture
2 Timothy 3:1-16 An Adaption of a message delivered by David Kim of Yonsie UBF
Key verse: 16-17, Adaption done by Kevin Jesmer of NIU UBF 6-26-11
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
The following is an adaption of a message delivered by David Kim, the pastor of Yonsie University in Seoul Korea. He delivered his message at the closing of the UBF 50th Anniversary celebration. This is not exactly the message. There have been some changes, but it is essentially his message. I pray that you may leave here today with the same spirit and vision that our shepherds and missionaries in Korea carried away when they attended the 50th anniversary celebration live in Seoul Korea. And so here it is….
I give thanks and glory to God who called us out of darkness, appointed all Christians as a royal priesthood in our generation. I thank God for using us greatly for campus evangelism and the campus discipleship ministry. I thank God for helping us to participate in world mission through sending out self-supporting, lay missionaries for the last 50 years. I thank and praise God who helps us to look back on the spirit and the ministry of God among us for the last 50 years and who gives us clear spiritual direction and vision for the future. I earnestly pray that we may hold firmly to the spiritual direction and vision that is given to us by the Holy Spirit and carry out our mission faithfully as a kingdom of priests, until we can send out 100,000 missionaries to 233 countries in the whole world including 140 countries that UBF has not yet sent out missionaries to.
The book of 2 Timothy is a letter that Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy who was in charge of the church in Ephesus when Paul was in the prison right before being martyred. At that time there were conflicts and arguments inside the church because of the teachings of false teachers. Moreover, worldly corruption began to sweep into the church. The foundation of the truth began to be swayed and some people began to lose their faith (2 Tim 2:18). Paul prayed and wrote this letter for Timothy who served the Ephesus church in this terrible time. Let’s learn some of the things that Paul set out to encourage young Timothy with.
Part l: There Will Be Terrible Times In The Last Days (1-13)
Paul did not look at the world with rose colored glasses. He saw it the way is. Look at verse 1. "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days." Paul tells Timothy to mark this. This means to take special note of and don’t forget it. In other words, “Remind yourself of it.” He also said, “…there will be terrible times in the last days”. Apostle Paul was very cognizant of the spiritual reality. He looked ahead into the future and reminded Timothy of the danger that the churches were submerged in and the hard times ahead. He had in mind the church in his age as well as the church in the future. Timothy had to be alert and constantly pay attention, because when spiritual leaders are negligent or ignorant of the present and future dangers that churches are falling into, churches will be in great danger. So let’s open our own spiritual eyes, in this, our own generation, and see what is happening to the church and respond accordingly.
Paul includes a description of the times that he is referring to. Look at verse 2-5a , "People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power…” Some may say that every generation is marked with these characteristics. Indeed there are terrible times in every generation. But there is a root cause of every terrible time. They stem from loving ourselves too much. Lovers of themselves cannot love God and their neighbors. Fights and arguments inside churches and in communities start from loving ourselves. Terrible symptom will occur among those who love themselves. Personal pleasure becomes the prime focus of people. Look at verse 5a, “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power…” Loving pleasure rather than God means indulging in forbidden pleasure. People who love pleasure more than God are hedonistic. Indulging in pleasure without control darkens people’s souls, ruins their moral and spiritual consciences and brings destruction upon their lives and the societies in which they live. A pleasure seeking society is one of the factors that brought down the Roman Empire. It may be one of the factors that his contributing to the decline of the American empire. A pleasure seeking hearts become corrupt and are against the truth. They don’t like the good. Even though they are alive biologically, they are actually dead, spiritually. When it comes to the last days, there will be more people like them and they will make their generation terrible.
But these kinds of people are not only in the world. Look at verse 5a again, “…having a form of godliness but denying its power” This means that these kinds of people are also inside the church. The fact that they have a form of godliness means they may look like people of faith and spiritual leaders outwardly. But the fact that they deny the power of godliness means that they have no spiritual power and no inward strength to follow and obey the truth and the faith that they confess with their mouth.
Paul strongly urges Timothy deal with such people decisively. Look at verse 5a again. “…have nothing to do with them”. He means not to emulate them or have a relation with them. (Of course they should pray for them and study the Bible with them, if they will allow you to do that.) Some of these people, who deny the power of the gospel, gain control over weak-willed women who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires and teach them in their own way…their own false gospel, like the Judiazers or Gnostics etc. But these women are always learning something, but never acknowledge the truth. (There are people like this.) Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. They are not the ones who serve God with sincere gospel faith, but they are those who live hypocritical and superficial lives before people, drawing people to themselves with their false teaching. Their folly will be clear to everyone, especially to God. Paul clearly warns Timothy to turn away from them, that is don’t learn from them or include them in the leadership of your church.
Part II: Continue In What You Have Learned And Have Become Convinced Of (10-17)
Paul presents the example of himself that Timothy should imitate and follow. Look at verse 10-11. “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings-what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.” To have a good example, in terrible times, is very important. Timothy needed a good example to follow since he was living in the godless world full of false teachers. Once Paul said, “Follow me as I follow the example of Christ.” ( 1 Cor 11:1) In reviewing Paul’s life, it is important to see why he was such a good example. Paul preached only the gospel while the false teachers testified falsely against Jesus. Paul lived a godly life as he preached. His life purpose was to glorify God. He had faith that Jesus’ death for our sins and his resurrection was enough. He loved weak people with patience and was willing to be persecuted and suffer for Jesus’ name’s sake. Once he was persecuted, almost to death, in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. But God rescued him from all of them.
Through his own personal experience, Paul was certain about a particular fact. Look at verse 12. “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Those who live for themselves and love pleasure more than God have only a form of godliness. They are undifferentiated from the world and thus they don’t receive persecutions. However those who want to live a godly life in Christ are different. They don’t compromise with the world. They are growing to be like Jesus. They are not surprised when persecutions come their way. In fact they are ready for them. What if we only hold onto a powerless form of godliness, avoiding sufferings and persecutions for Jesus’ name’s sake? Look at verse 13 “While evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” If we live like a hypocrite, we will not be able to flee from hypocrisy and corruption. We will go from bad to worse..
Paul gives Timothy some clear direction in regards to these matters. Look at verse 14 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it.” Timothy was convinced of what he learned from Paul and he led the church and the flock of God standing firmly on this truth. It was not easy for Timothy to be a leader of the church. The world was full of sins, so much so, that the sins attacked God’s churches. Those who were infected with the sins were losing the power of godliness even though they had a form of godliness. Some of them wandered away from the truth. (2 Tim 2:18) The churches began to follow the trends of the world. People loved physical pleasures and sought new things that led them away from the truth. It got more difficult to lead God’s churches and ministry. Timothy didn’t know how to deal with these new situations and how to serve the new generation who were different from people in the past. Should he join the popular trends of the day or stick with what he learned and was convinced of? Should he understand the new generation and their circumstances looking for the new ways to serve it? His heart must have been troubled.
What did Paul say to Timothy to bring clarity? Look at verse 14a, “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of”. Why did Paul say this? Look at verse 14b “…because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures”. What Paul learned and became convinced of is not human thoughts or ideas. It was the truth of God. Because Timothy followed Christ, he too learned many things from God himself. That is why Paul says, “Continue what you have learned and have become convinced of”. This is the best word and the best spiritual direction for young Timothy who was in trouble when serving the new generation.
God has a similar message to us. We are living in a world that is changing rapidly. The circumstances where we live are totally different from those in 1960’s when UBF was founded and in 1970’s and 80’s when campus ministry flourished. We encounter difficulties and limits in serving this new generation, who tend to follow the popular trends of life, even if they are infected with sins and follow the mainstream of secular society. For this reason many began to wonder if we should look for alternatives and changes, different from what we had in the past. If there are better ways and alternatives to serve this generation, we should try to find them. From 1990’s we have made every effort to find better ways and alternatives to serve the rapidly changing generation. New programs were sought out. Some UBF chapters gave up raising disciples through one-to-one bible study and shepherding because it was so difficult. Other chapters tried to live a religious life without implementing the spiritual discipline of sharing daily bread and writing Bible testimonies. There were also some chapters that tried to attract the attention of the young through praise and worship rather than focusing on profound Bible studying and deep testimony writing training. However, they have not shown their methods to be able to bear good fruit. In the last 50 years of ministry, we have not found other ways or alternatives better than one-to-one bible study, daily bread devotionals, writing testimonies, fostering a life giving spirit that offers God our five loaves and two fishes, having a pioneering spirit, a community spirit, and a self-supporting spirit. These are the characteristics that we have had from the beginning of UBF history. These have shown to bear fruit that lasts.
We learned and have became convinced of the fact that the spirit and ministry that worked among us for the past 50 years was not a typical UBF spirit or UBF ideas, but it was from the eternal truth of God’s words. Therefore we should continue in the truth that we learned and stand firmly on it. We should repent of becoming spiritually weakened by the world. And we should stand firm on the truth that God has revealed to us all the more. When we continue to stand firm on the truth of the Bible, without being swayed by this changing generation, what great hope and blessing will be given to us through the Gospel! Let’s think a little about the blessings that will be poured out on us when we hold onto the Bible’s teachings.
First, the Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation. Look at verse 15 “and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Wow! Wisdom for salvation! All people want to be wise for salvation. Even though a person gains the whole world, he would still be the poorest and the most pitiful person if he is not saved from his sins. Although we are lacking in possessions our missionaries and shepherds, are the happiest and most blessed because we are saved through faith in Christ Jesus. Where did we get the wisdom leading us to salvation? Did we get it from a lot of books or human knowledge? Or from enjoying romantic love or marriage? Or from money and success? None of these things could save our souls from spiritual poverty, fatalism, a sense of inferiority, meaninglessness and emptiness of life. But when we studied the Bible and believed the word of God in the Bible with humble minds, we received wisdom for salvation. I thank and praise God who has done great work of salvation among us only through the Holy Scriptures for the last 50 years.
Second, the Scriptures educate a servant of God so that they can be fully mature. Look at verses 16, 17. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” All Scripture is God-breathed. 2 Peter 1:21 says, “men spoke (prophecy) from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”. How great is the word of God in the Bible. These words are “God-breathed”! Because all Scripture is God-breathed, it is good for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Theodore Roosevelt once said, "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education."
There are so many educational institutions and teachers and books in this world. But what is truly useful for teaching us? Look at verse 16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” Teaching without the “heart-moving” spirit of God but only makes our mind complicated and our heads big. That kind of teaching is not good for changing our inner hearts and lives, nor for making us mature. In fact it can be harmful for our souls rather than useful. The problem that we confront is that there is a flood of knowledge so that our heads become bigger and bigger until they are about to burst but our hearts become smaller and smaller and our love and passion for God becomes cold. But because all Scriptures are God-breathed, His breath opens our narrow minds, fills our hearts with love and passion for God and enables us to love our brothers and neighbors. This is the whole point of Bible study.
All Scripture makes the inner heart and character of a Christian mature and enables them to do every good work. It means that it changes one person completely into one who is fully prepared to do every good work. What a great encouraging word this is to us! When we truly love the Scriptures and devote ourselves to being educated by the Scriptures, we will be mature and thoroughly equipped for every good work, and that includes all good works, not just preaching and teaching.
The Scripture moves hearts with the Spirit of God because it is God-breathed. Look at verses 16 and 17. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” When God moves one person’s heart, even an ordinary person begins to become fully equipped and great. When God works by moving people’s hearts, people who could not do even one good thing well begin to be thoroughly equipped for every great and good work. When God worked by moving the hearts of our missionaries, they left their homes, extended family, good jobs and future security on this earth and went to Africa, CIS, middle east, India, China, South America, Australia, Europe and North America. And they have been dedicating themselves to serving campus discipleship and world mission sacrificially so far while supporting themselves. When God worked by moving people’s hearts, so many native Bible students repented and were raised up as shepherds and Bible teachers for their own people. When God moved their hearts, great works of God began. These native Bible students went to others countries as self-supporting missionaries and now serve the campus discipleship ministry and world mission.
The Scripture brings the breath of God because it is written by the breath of God. People’s hearts become hardened because of sins and because they love themselves and pleasures more than God. We cannot minister to such people in this generation by depending on our own strength, wisdom and power. But when God works, by moving their hearts, their hearts will be melted and changed and they will be raised up as a holy nation and a royal priesthood.
When we look back on U.B.F. history for the last 50 years, the amazing and great work of pioneering all the campuses in Korea and the sending out of self-supporting missionaries to over 87 countries has been done only by God who moved people’s hearts. Could we send even one person to Africa, CIS and India as a missionary? Could we enable missionary Peter Kim and Sarah Kim to decide not to leave Kiev but to stay there as martyrs when the fear of Chernobyl’s radioactivity spread through all of Europe? This happened only when God moved their hearts. When God works, a great work happens beyond human imagination. We confront many obstacles and difficulties in our ministries in this terrible time. Sometimes a sense of despair and frustration creeps into our hearts. But when we look back on the U.B.F. history for the last 50 years, we learn that the great and amazing work of God was done not because the spiritual environment and condition was good or by depending on our own strength or power. It was done only when the Almighty God, the sovereign Lord who has all power and authority in heaven and on earth, worked by moving sinners’ heart through the word of God.
When Late Dr. Samuel Lee started pioneering Seoul National University, he studied the Bible and meditated on the word of God and wrote Daily Bread wholeheartedly every morning until noon for 6 years. Then God anointed him with the Holy Spirit that enabled to bring the fire of God and the breath of God to SNU students. Then, messages and announcements of Dr. Samuel Lee moved SNU students` hearts. Great works of God were ignited. Young students in SNU, moved by God, dedicated their time, money and youth to God. They regarded being called to be shepherds and missionaries as the greatest honor. They became full time shepherds by leaving everything behind and were willing to establish a missionary family with anyone and were ready to go at anytime as missionaries. God did truly great and unsearchable works, beyond our human ideas and reasonings. He did it by moving their hearts.
The hope of this generation of Christians is not in having a better spiritual environment on the campus. It is not found when each one of us has all kinds of knowledge and information. The hope of this generation is found when each one of us becomes moved by God and become servants of God who can bring the word of God to the young people of their generation. When each one of us is full of the word of God and becomes a servant of God who can bring the word of God to others, God will use us greatly whatever our situation. God will use us as great pioneers, great disciple-makers and great servants of God who can send in turn can raise disciples and send out great missionaries.
In order to do this we need to go back to the Bible, which is God-breathed. We have to love the Bible wholeheartedly. We need to give our whole hearts to study the Bible and meditate on the word of God. We need to do our best to be professionals in the Bible. The word of God says, “ But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Psalms 1:2,3 When we delight the law of the LORD and meditate on it day and night, we will not be withered. We will be like a tree planted and flourishing by streams of water even in the dry and terrible times of last days. We will bear much fruit in season. I earnestly pray that we may give our whole hearts to love the word of God so that we can be filled with the word of God, as our lungs are filled with breath. May we become servants of God who can share the word of God that moves hearts. May we be able to serve the great and heart-moving work of God in our own mission fields. May God move students’ hearts so that they can go out bringing the gospel to the 140 countries that do not yet have a UBF ministry. I pray that God may send out 100,000 missionaries to 233 countries by the year 2041 because of the heart-moving work of God.
Let’s read our key verse together, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16,17)
2 Timothy 3:1-16 An Adaption of a message delivered by David Kim of Yonsie UBF
Key verse: 16-17, Adaption done by Kevin Jesmer of NIU UBF 6-26-11
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
The following is an adaption of a message delivered by David Kim, the pastor of Yonsie University in Seoul Korea. He delivered his message at the closing of the UBF 50th Anniversary celebration. This is not exactly the message. There have been some changes, but it is essentially his message. I pray that you may leave here today with the same spirit and vision that our shepherds and missionaries in Korea carried away when they attended the 50th anniversary celebration live in Seoul Korea. And so here it is….
I give thanks and glory to God who called us out of darkness, appointed all Christians as a royal priesthood in our generation. I thank God for using us greatly for campus evangelism and the campus discipleship ministry. I thank God for helping us to participate in world mission through sending out self-supporting, lay missionaries for the last 50 years. I thank and praise God who helps us to look back on the spirit and the ministry of God among us for the last 50 years and who gives us clear spiritual direction and vision for the future. I earnestly pray that we may hold firmly to the spiritual direction and vision that is given to us by the Holy Spirit and carry out our mission faithfully as a kingdom of priests, until we can send out 100,000 missionaries to 233 countries in the whole world including 140 countries that UBF has not yet sent out missionaries to.
The book of 2 Timothy is a letter that Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy who was in charge of the church in Ephesus when Paul was in the prison right before being martyred. At that time there were conflicts and arguments inside the church because of the teachings of false teachers. Moreover, worldly corruption began to sweep into the church. The foundation of the truth began to be swayed and some people began to lose their faith (2 Tim 2:18). Paul prayed and wrote this letter for Timothy who served the Ephesus church in this terrible time. Let’s learn some of the things that Paul set out to encourage young Timothy with.
Part l: There Will Be Terrible Times In The Last Days (1-13)
Paul did not look at the world with rose colored glasses. He saw it the way is. Look at verse 1. "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days." Paul tells Timothy to mark this. This means to take special note of and don’t forget it. In other words, “Remind yourself of it.” He also said, “…there will be terrible times in the last days”. Apostle Paul was very cognizant of the spiritual reality. He looked ahead into the future and reminded Timothy of the danger that the churches were submerged in and the hard times ahead. He had in mind the church in his age as well as the church in the future. Timothy had to be alert and constantly pay attention, because when spiritual leaders are negligent or ignorant of the present and future dangers that churches are falling into, churches will be in great danger. So let’s open our own spiritual eyes, in this, our own generation, and see what is happening to the church and respond accordingly.
Paul includes a description of the times that he is referring to. Look at verse 2-5a , "People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power…” Some may say that every generation is marked with these characteristics. Indeed there are terrible times in every generation. But there is a root cause of every terrible time. They stem from loving ourselves too much. Lovers of themselves cannot love God and their neighbors. Fights and arguments inside churches and in communities start from loving ourselves. Terrible symptom will occur among those who love themselves. Personal pleasure becomes the prime focus of people. Look at verse 5a, “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power…” Loving pleasure rather than God means indulging in forbidden pleasure. People who love pleasure more than God are hedonistic. Indulging in pleasure without control darkens people’s souls, ruins their moral and spiritual consciences and brings destruction upon their lives and the societies in which they live. A pleasure seeking society is one of the factors that brought down the Roman Empire. It may be one of the factors that his contributing to the decline of the American empire. A pleasure seeking hearts become corrupt and are against the truth. They don’t like the good. Even though they are alive biologically, they are actually dead, spiritually. When it comes to the last days, there will be more people like them and they will make their generation terrible.
But these kinds of people are not only in the world. Look at verse 5a again, “…having a form of godliness but denying its power” This means that these kinds of people are also inside the church. The fact that they have a form of godliness means they may look like people of faith and spiritual leaders outwardly. But the fact that they deny the power of godliness means that they have no spiritual power and no inward strength to follow and obey the truth and the faith that they confess with their mouth.
Paul strongly urges Timothy deal with such people decisively. Look at verse 5a again. “…have nothing to do with them”. He means not to emulate them or have a relation with them. (Of course they should pray for them and study the Bible with them, if they will allow you to do that.) Some of these people, who deny the power of the gospel, gain control over weak-willed women who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires and teach them in their own way…their own false gospel, like the Judiazers or Gnostics etc. But these women are always learning something, but never acknowledge the truth. (There are people like this.) Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. They are not the ones who serve God with sincere gospel faith, but they are those who live hypocritical and superficial lives before people, drawing people to themselves with their false teaching. Their folly will be clear to everyone, especially to God. Paul clearly warns Timothy to turn away from them, that is don’t learn from them or include them in the leadership of your church.
Part II: Continue In What You Have Learned And Have Become Convinced Of (10-17)
Paul presents the example of himself that Timothy should imitate and follow. Look at verse 10-11. “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings-what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.” To have a good example, in terrible times, is very important. Timothy needed a good example to follow since he was living in the godless world full of false teachers. Once Paul said, “Follow me as I follow the example of Christ.” ( 1 Cor 11:1) In reviewing Paul’s life, it is important to see why he was such a good example. Paul preached only the gospel while the false teachers testified falsely against Jesus. Paul lived a godly life as he preached. His life purpose was to glorify God. He had faith that Jesus’ death for our sins and his resurrection was enough. He loved weak people with patience and was willing to be persecuted and suffer for Jesus’ name’s sake. Once he was persecuted, almost to death, in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. But God rescued him from all of them.
Through his own personal experience, Paul was certain about a particular fact. Look at verse 12. “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Those who live for themselves and love pleasure more than God have only a form of godliness. They are undifferentiated from the world and thus they don’t receive persecutions. However those who want to live a godly life in Christ are different. They don’t compromise with the world. They are growing to be like Jesus. They are not surprised when persecutions come their way. In fact they are ready for them. What if we only hold onto a powerless form of godliness, avoiding sufferings and persecutions for Jesus’ name’s sake? Look at verse 13 “While evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” If we live like a hypocrite, we will not be able to flee from hypocrisy and corruption. We will go from bad to worse..
Paul gives Timothy some clear direction in regards to these matters. Look at verse 14 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it.” Timothy was convinced of what he learned from Paul and he led the church and the flock of God standing firmly on this truth. It was not easy for Timothy to be a leader of the church. The world was full of sins, so much so, that the sins attacked God’s churches. Those who were infected with the sins were losing the power of godliness even though they had a form of godliness. Some of them wandered away from the truth. (2 Tim 2:18) The churches began to follow the trends of the world. People loved physical pleasures and sought new things that led them away from the truth. It got more difficult to lead God’s churches and ministry. Timothy didn’t know how to deal with these new situations and how to serve the new generation who were different from people in the past. Should he join the popular trends of the day or stick with what he learned and was convinced of? Should he understand the new generation and their circumstances looking for the new ways to serve it? His heart must have been troubled.
What did Paul say to Timothy to bring clarity? Look at verse 14a, “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of”. Why did Paul say this? Look at verse 14b “…because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures”. What Paul learned and became convinced of is not human thoughts or ideas. It was the truth of God. Because Timothy followed Christ, he too learned many things from God himself. That is why Paul says, “Continue what you have learned and have become convinced of”. This is the best word and the best spiritual direction for young Timothy who was in trouble when serving the new generation.
God has a similar message to us. We are living in a world that is changing rapidly. The circumstances where we live are totally different from those in 1960’s when UBF was founded and in 1970’s and 80’s when campus ministry flourished. We encounter difficulties and limits in serving this new generation, who tend to follow the popular trends of life, even if they are infected with sins and follow the mainstream of secular society. For this reason many began to wonder if we should look for alternatives and changes, different from what we had in the past. If there are better ways and alternatives to serve this generation, we should try to find them. From 1990’s we have made every effort to find better ways and alternatives to serve the rapidly changing generation. New programs were sought out. Some UBF chapters gave up raising disciples through one-to-one bible study and shepherding because it was so difficult. Other chapters tried to live a religious life without implementing the spiritual discipline of sharing daily bread and writing Bible testimonies. There were also some chapters that tried to attract the attention of the young through praise and worship rather than focusing on profound Bible studying and deep testimony writing training. However, they have not shown their methods to be able to bear good fruit. In the last 50 years of ministry, we have not found other ways or alternatives better than one-to-one bible study, daily bread devotionals, writing testimonies, fostering a life giving spirit that offers God our five loaves and two fishes, having a pioneering spirit, a community spirit, and a self-supporting spirit. These are the characteristics that we have had from the beginning of UBF history. These have shown to bear fruit that lasts.
We learned and have became convinced of the fact that the spirit and ministry that worked among us for the past 50 years was not a typical UBF spirit or UBF ideas, but it was from the eternal truth of God’s words. Therefore we should continue in the truth that we learned and stand firmly on it. We should repent of becoming spiritually weakened by the world. And we should stand firm on the truth that God has revealed to us all the more. When we continue to stand firm on the truth of the Bible, without being swayed by this changing generation, what great hope and blessing will be given to us through the Gospel! Let’s think a little about the blessings that will be poured out on us when we hold onto the Bible’s teachings.
First, the Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation. Look at verse 15 “and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Wow! Wisdom for salvation! All people want to be wise for salvation. Even though a person gains the whole world, he would still be the poorest and the most pitiful person if he is not saved from his sins. Although we are lacking in possessions our missionaries and shepherds, are the happiest and most blessed because we are saved through faith in Christ Jesus. Where did we get the wisdom leading us to salvation? Did we get it from a lot of books or human knowledge? Or from enjoying romantic love or marriage? Or from money and success? None of these things could save our souls from spiritual poverty, fatalism, a sense of inferiority, meaninglessness and emptiness of life. But when we studied the Bible and believed the word of God in the Bible with humble minds, we received wisdom for salvation. I thank and praise God who has done great work of salvation among us only through the Holy Scriptures for the last 50 years.
Second, the Scriptures educate a servant of God so that they can be fully mature. Look at verses 16, 17. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” All Scripture is God-breathed. 2 Peter 1:21 says, “men spoke (prophecy) from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”. How great is the word of God in the Bible. These words are “God-breathed”! Because all Scripture is God-breathed, it is good for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Theodore Roosevelt once said, "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education."
There are so many educational institutions and teachers and books in this world. But what is truly useful for teaching us? Look at verse 16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” Teaching without the “heart-moving” spirit of God but only makes our mind complicated and our heads big. That kind of teaching is not good for changing our inner hearts and lives, nor for making us mature. In fact it can be harmful for our souls rather than useful. The problem that we confront is that there is a flood of knowledge so that our heads become bigger and bigger until they are about to burst but our hearts become smaller and smaller and our love and passion for God becomes cold. But because all Scriptures are God-breathed, His breath opens our narrow minds, fills our hearts with love and passion for God and enables us to love our brothers and neighbors. This is the whole point of Bible study.
All Scripture makes the inner heart and character of a Christian mature and enables them to do every good work. It means that it changes one person completely into one who is fully prepared to do every good work. What a great encouraging word this is to us! When we truly love the Scriptures and devote ourselves to being educated by the Scriptures, we will be mature and thoroughly equipped for every good work, and that includes all good works, not just preaching and teaching.
The Scripture moves hearts with the Spirit of God because it is God-breathed. Look at verses 16 and 17. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” When God moves one person’s heart, even an ordinary person begins to become fully equipped and great. When God works by moving people’s hearts, people who could not do even one good thing well begin to be thoroughly equipped for every great and good work. When God worked by moving the hearts of our missionaries, they left their homes, extended family, good jobs and future security on this earth and went to Africa, CIS, middle east, India, China, South America, Australia, Europe and North America. And they have been dedicating themselves to serving campus discipleship and world mission sacrificially so far while supporting themselves. When God worked by moving people’s hearts, so many native Bible students repented and were raised up as shepherds and Bible teachers for their own people. When God moved their hearts, great works of God began. These native Bible students went to others countries as self-supporting missionaries and now serve the campus discipleship ministry and world mission.
The Scripture brings the breath of God because it is written by the breath of God. People’s hearts become hardened because of sins and because they love themselves and pleasures more than God. We cannot minister to such people in this generation by depending on our own strength, wisdom and power. But when God works, by moving their hearts, their hearts will be melted and changed and they will be raised up as a holy nation and a royal priesthood.
When we look back on U.B.F. history for the last 50 years, the amazing and great work of pioneering all the campuses in Korea and the sending out of self-supporting missionaries to over 87 countries has been done only by God who moved people’s hearts. Could we send even one person to Africa, CIS and India as a missionary? Could we enable missionary Peter Kim and Sarah Kim to decide not to leave Kiev but to stay there as martyrs when the fear of Chernobyl’s radioactivity spread through all of Europe? This happened only when God moved their hearts. When God works, a great work happens beyond human imagination. We confront many obstacles and difficulties in our ministries in this terrible time. Sometimes a sense of despair and frustration creeps into our hearts. But when we look back on the U.B.F. history for the last 50 years, we learn that the great and amazing work of God was done not because the spiritual environment and condition was good or by depending on our own strength or power. It was done only when the Almighty God, the sovereign Lord who has all power and authority in heaven and on earth, worked by moving sinners’ heart through the word of God.
When Late Dr. Samuel Lee started pioneering Seoul National University, he studied the Bible and meditated on the word of God and wrote Daily Bread wholeheartedly every morning until noon for 6 years. Then God anointed him with the Holy Spirit that enabled to bring the fire of God and the breath of God to SNU students. Then, messages and announcements of Dr. Samuel Lee moved SNU students` hearts. Great works of God were ignited. Young students in SNU, moved by God, dedicated their time, money and youth to God. They regarded being called to be shepherds and missionaries as the greatest honor. They became full time shepherds by leaving everything behind and were willing to establish a missionary family with anyone and were ready to go at anytime as missionaries. God did truly great and unsearchable works, beyond our human ideas and reasonings. He did it by moving their hearts.
The hope of this generation of Christians is not in having a better spiritual environment on the campus. It is not found when each one of us has all kinds of knowledge and information. The hope of this generation is found when each one of us becomes moved by God and become servants of God who can bring the word of God to the young people of their generation. When each one of us is full of the word of God and becomes a servant of God who can bring the word of God to others, God will use us greatly whatever our situation. God will use us as great pioneers, great disciple-makers and great servants of God who can send in turn can raise disciples and send out great missionaries.
In order to do this we need to go back to the Bible, which is God-breathed. We have to love the Bible wholeheartedly. We need to give our whole hearts to study the Bible and meditate on the word of God. We need to do our best to be professionals in the Bible. The word of God says, “ But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Psalms 1:2,3 When we delight the law of the LORD and meditate on it day and night, we will not be withered. We will be like a tree planted and flourishing by streams of water even in the dry and terrible times of last days. We will bear much fruit in season. I earnestly pray that we may give our whole hearts to love the word of God so that we can be filled with the word of God, as our lungs are filled with breath. May we become servants of God who can share the word of God that moves hearts. May we be able to serve the great and heart-moving work of God in our own mission fields. May God move students’ hearts so that they can go out bringing the gospel to the 140 countries that do not yet have a UBF ministry. I pray that God may send out 100,000 missionaries to 233 countries by the year 2041 because of the heart-moving work of God.
Let’s read our key verse together, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16,17)
1 Peter 2:9-10
YOU ARE A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD
1 Peter 2:9-10 Pastor Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 6-12-11
Key verse 2:9 Inspired by and adapted from a message delivered by Dr John Jun at the recent
UBF 50th Anniversary in Seoul Korea, 5-29-11
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
The following was inspired by and is an adaption of a message delivered by Dr John Jun in Seoul Korea at the recent 50th anniversary celebration. It was been modified and adapted to our situation, but essentially I have kept the essence of his message. We could not go to the 50th anniversary celebration, for it would cost too much, but I think it is very important that we review the messages and even the life testimonies, (at our World Mission Night) in order to get catch the spirit of this historical conference. We can catch the vision and the hope that God wants our ministry to have. Last week we studied Mother Sarah Barry’s message concerning Matthew 24, The Signs Of The End Of The Age. This week we are going to learn about our calling and our identity as Christians in this world, from 1 Peter 2:9. Our identity, in a nutshell, is that we are a people chosen by God to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So let’s sit back and listen to message and renew our identity in the Lord.
About 120 years ago, God spread the gospel across Korea through Western missionaries such as Dr. Underwood. When this country was under Japanese occupation, God used the Pyeong Yang spiritual revival to preach the gospel to every corner of the nation of Korea. We give thanks to God that he established UBF in 1961, and for the last 50 years, sent around 2,000 missionaries out to 93 countries for world campus evangelism.
Today's passage is a letter for the Christians who were scattered in Asia Minor due to the persecution of the Roman Emperor, Nero (AD 54-68). They were treated as criminals, despised, hiding like wanderers under the public order of arrest. They probably wondered who they were in this world and what was their role in the midst of all their hardships. Were they there only to survive, or was their a greater purpose for them in God? We can learn so much from Peter’s encouraging words to them. According to today’s passage, let us ask ourselves, what is our spiritual identity in this world? What is God doing and what is our mission?
Part l: We Have Been Chosen By God To Be Citizens Of His Kingdom (9a,c)
What did Peter say the spiritual identity of the believers, who were scattered like wanderers, was? Look at verse 9a, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God …” The Apostle Peter clearly talked about the spiritual identity and privilege of these believers living in pathetic circumstances. Humanly, they were despised wanderers, considered low class people by the rest of Roman society, scattered in remote foreign countries. Yet, spiritually, they were a chosen people, a holy nation, a people belonging to God chosen to share the blessings of the gospel with the whole world.
Let’s think more about their spiritual identity. First, they are a chosen people, a people belonging to God (9a, b). Isaiah 43:20-21 reads, “The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” God chose the Israelites as his own people in the time of the Old Testament. They were God’s people…citizens of God chosen nation. They prided themselves in this fact for centuries. But in the time of the Apostle Peter, Israel was a Roman colony. They lost their identity as the Israelite nation. Some may have wanted to become Roman citizens. But it was very difficult for the Israelites, a people of a Roman colony, to receive Roman citizenship. Unless they paid a huge amount of money, or achieved distinguished services for the Empire, to secure a Roman citizenship was practically impossible (Ac 22:28).
But attaining Roman citizenship was not on the agenda for the new believers. Any of them could receive citizenship in the only real kingdom that counted, the kingdom of God. For you see, in the time of the New Testament, we have become the people of God, citizens of the Kingdom of God, through redemption by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. It comes through faith in Jesus.
We have also become citizens of the Kingdom of God through the gracious calling of our Savior Jesus. Ephesians 2:18-19, reads, “For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,” God declares that we are a people of God, exclusively chosen by him. This is God’s grace. Therefore, we must be sure of his calling, made possible by the blood of Jesus and determine to live as a people of God.
These days, for many people who live in third world counties, or under oppressive dictatorships, their biggest dream is to escape their country to go to America and receive U.S. citizenship. Yet how much more glorious it is to become God's people and citizens of God’s kingdom more than U.S. citizens! We Christians are the citizens in the kingdom of God. This is the best citizenship to obtain. We must have confidence in our heavenly citizenship and value it each day and live in this world as those who are called to be the people of God.
Part ll: Our Spiritual Identity, A Holy Nation (9c, Ex 19:6b)
What is the character of the spiritual nation that we are part of? Look at verse 9c. "But you are... a holy nation". In this world each nation has its own nature, unique culture, and national philosophy. God's nation also has its own nature and character also. American’s character is patriotic, honest and hard working, and believing that nothing is impossible if we put our minds to it. Korean people’s unique character is diligence, hardworking, and quickness. God’s holy nation also has its own character. In Exodus 19:5-6a God said "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." As we can see from these verses the characteristic of the people in the kingdom of God is holiness and purity. This characteristic is common to all the believers even though they are scattered around the world. It should be the atmosphere that permeates every Christian’s heart, family, church and fellowship. In order to make such a pure and holy character, God's people have been cleansed of their sins by the blood of Jesus. They are enabled to, and must live holy and pure lives, unlike the secular people in the world. This is accomplished by the power of God. Some believers, being tempted by sin, fail to live holy lives and end up being harassed in their hearts and criticized by the people of this world as being hypocrites. Some heavenly citizens live in shame, just as secular people, rather than live in the power and victory that citizens of God’s holy nation should. Most spiritual leaders deplore this compromised lifestyle, lived by some believers, but in most cases they do not know how to effectively tackle the problem. Let us pray that we may be consecrated to Jesus, holy and pure, different from the world. Let us pray to live as a holy nation people.
Part lll: Our Spiritual Identity, A Royal Priesthood (9b)
What does the Lord say is another aspect of our spiritual identity in God? Look at verse 9b. "But you are … a royal priesthood." This verse tells us that our identity is like the identity of a king and a priest, and that is why Peter says, “a royal priesthood”. This is like Melchizedek, the king of Salem (Ge 14:18). Melchizedek was a king and a priest. He is a shadow of Jesus, who is our King of kings and also our faithful High Priest. Through spiritual union with Christ, believers reign over the whole world with Jesus and, at the same time, serve God as priests like Christ (Rev 5:10).
What does the Lord say our spiritual identity is again? Look at verse 9b again. "But you are …. a royal priesthood." In this verse the verb ‘are' is in the present tense. This means we are a chosen people, not later in time after the Tribulation, but right now and we will continue to be so. We are called to be a royal priesthood now. Even though we are sinners and some may even be despised people in this world, from God's point of view, we are all a royal priesthood. Even though we may be rejected or scattered like the early Christians, God appointed us as a royal priests. Do you accept and believe that you are a royal priest of God? This is God’s grace. We must hold onto this identity and live with this identity in our hearts.
The Lord appointed our UBF brothers and sisters, shepherds and missionaries as royal priests. This was not just a flattering title to make us feel good. 1 Peter 2:9 is the certificate that we are appointed by the King of kings and the sovereign God, for those who accept it. At first we may accept this word and this hope only theoretically. There are some who feel like they don’t qualify, and, do you know what? They don’t. But we must remember that it is God who makes any of us qualified. Others may feel like they are on top of the world, flying through the air as one taking a first class flight on a luxurious airplane. Most may find themselves in the middle of these two extremes. Which ever person we may be, the truth is, though we are called, the fact is we do not live as royal priests in our practical lives. We must accept God’s grace and our calling and repent and live up to our high calling very practically. We must renew our spiritual identity every morning and be faithful to the fulfillment of our task as a priest working with Jesus.
What then is the task of a priest? In the time of the Old Testament, priests offered sacrifices for the sin of the people (Lev 1:1-17). Yet in the time of the New Testament, Jesus became the atoning sacrifice once and for all, and therefore, we no longer need any other sacrifice. Their second task was to teach the word (Lev 10:11) and third, was to give an intercessory prayer for the people (1 Sam 7:5-9, Ex 32:11-18). Yet, in the time of the New Testament we can learn about the task of a priest through Jesus who is both King and Priest. The task of a priest in this New Testament era is a little different. And so in this time, what is the task of a priest?
First, the task of a priest is to deliver the gospel of salvation. Look at verse 9c. “…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." This is the purpose of appointing us as his chosen people, as a royal priesthood. It is to declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once, in the region of the Gerasenes, when Jesus healed a man possessed by an evil spirit, the healed man wanted to follow Jesus. But what did Jesus say to him? At that time Jesus said to him, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis (Ten Cities) how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mk 5:19, 20) We too must declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.
As High priest, Jesus taught the word. Therefore another task of a priest is to faithfully spread the life giving gospel. When we were in college, we received the grace of salvation through the gospel. We wonder why young people today don’t accept the Gospel as we accepted it? The people in this generation worship post-modernism and materialism as their gods. This generation ridicules the gospel and despises believers like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah did (Ge 19:14). Even though today's situation is spiritually tough, we must actively teach the word of God, one to one, to young students. We must have confidence in the gospel and boldly preach the life giving gospel like Apostle Paul did with faith.
Second, the task of a priest is to make intercessory prayers for the people. (1 Sam 7:5-9, Ex 28:29). 1 Samuel 7:9 reads, "Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel's behalf, and the LORD answered him." In this passage, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle while the Israelites were at Mizpah. Samuel, the judge and priest, sacrificing the burnt offering to the Lord made an earnest intercessory prayer for the Israelites. God answered his prayer and routed the Philistines. Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines (1 Sam 7:10, 11).
In this 21st century, we can clearly see the signs of the end of the age. This generation worships all kinds of idols: materialism, hedonism, and technology. It is like the time of Sodom and Gomorrah. There are earthquakes and disasters, it seems in increasing frequency. In particular, about three months ago, a tsunami struck Japan devastating a country which was believed to have been fully ready for all kinds of natural disasters. Despite of their claim that they were fully reinforced and protected by their modern technology, Japanese people now wander with fear of nuclear radiation and further earthquakes and tsunamis. This is not just the problem of Japan. It is a warning of God for all people in the world (Mt 11:24). If we do not serve God but continue to worship the idols of science and money we may face the judgment of God. In light of this, what is our task as royal priests? Like Samuel, we must make earnest, intercessory prayers for the campus students of the world. Prayer is the most potent and effective tool.
At the last Middle East directors' new year conference, one missionary said that he felt helpless when he realized that he and his wife could not do anything for the Muslim country he lived in, which has one of the largest populations in the Middle East. But through studying the Bible and writing a testimony on 1 Samuel chapter 7, he learned that he could make an earnest intercessory prayer for the people of his nation every morning. The Lord would surely cause political earthquakes through his prayers and they would be able to preach the gospel very effectively. The Lord says in 1 Corinthian 15:58 "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." When one missionary in the Middle East continued to make earnest intercessory prayers for the Middle East people, God accepted his prayers and his labor in the Lord was not in vain. There are great spiritual breakthroughs being made in the Middle East even today.
Sometimes we feel that our labor is in vain serving campus mission. There is not much we can do when people may want to listen but don’t want to be disciples. But we are not helpless and our labor is never in vain. We can offer up intercessory prayers, every morning and throughout the week and continue to preach the word and God will surely work. He will surely make many spiritual breakthroughs in us, among us and through us. We must be faithful priests of God. There are breakthroughs among us. Hope is teaching the Bible to Emma. Mark spent time with Isaiah. I am making friends with the Pastor of the Church in DeKalb, Jamie. We are getting ready for two Christian music festivals. Steve is back. The list goes on. We just need to be faithful to our task as a kingdom of priests.
God has used Korea as a royal priesthood for the last 50 years. The founder of UBF, Dr. Samuel C. Lee, sent around 350 missionaries to South East Asia, Germany and to U.S.A. as soon as UBF was born. He gave all the UBF members the direction to make earnest intercessory prayers for Korea and the world. By faith, he sent UBF brothers and sisters as missionaries for world mission. From 1970 to 2010, UBF sent out 3,300 missionaries. God used these missionaries to pioneer and raise disciples in North America, Europe, CIS, South America, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East. God used Korean brothers and sisters as royal priests. And God still does. Our Korean brothers and sisters have worked hard to be used by God as a royal priesthood for 50 years. Now is not the time to retire. But the Lord appoints, not only the Koreans, but all people of all nations, to be a royal priesthood. He does not want anyone to retire from the priestly duty.
I thank and praise the Lord who saved sinners with the Gospel, the word and the Holy Spirit and appointed them as a royal priesthood. I praise the Lord that he has been using UBF and America as a kingdom of priests for the whole world. Through this passage we have tasted the grace of God, that despite of our own sins and our unworthiness and under qualifications, God has chosen us by his grace. When we were orphans in this world, with no place to call home, he has made us into citizens of his heavenly kingdom. And what a privilege and honor that is! It carries with it all kinds of privileges and also all kinds of responsibilities. We are chosen to be two things, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. As a kingdom of priests we must preach the word of God and pray. We must lead others to our only and true High Priest Jesus Christ, who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. As a holy nation we must live holy and pure lives in this world. We must declare the praises of him who called us out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Christians who are called by God, should continue to devote themselves to the task of living as a royal priesthood. Look at 1 Peter 2:9 once again. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." I pray that we may renew this certificate of appointment from the Lord, found in 1 Peter 2:9. In Christ, we are a royal priesthood and so we must faithfully fulfill that responsibility. We can through faith in Jesus and the power of God manifest in his word and in his spirit. Let us read our key verse once again, 1 Peter 2:9, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
1 Peter 2:9-10 Pastor Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 6-12-11
Key verse 2:9 Inspired by and adapted from a message delivered by Dr John Jun at the recent
UBF 50th Anniversary in Seoul Korea, 5-29-11
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
The following was inspired by and is an adaption of a message delivered by Dr John Jun in Seoul Korea at the recent 50th anniversary celebration. It was been modified and adapted to our situation, but essentially I have kept the essence of his message. We could not go to the 50th anniversary celebration, for it would cost too much, but I think it is very important that we review the messages and even the life testimonies, (at our World Mission Night) in order to get catch the spirit of this historical conference. We can catch the vision and the hope that God wants our ministry to have. Last week we studied Mother Sarah Barry’s message concerning Matthew 24, The Signs Of The End Of The Age. This week we are going to learn about our calling and our identity as Christians in this world, from 1 Peter 2:9. Our identity, in a nutshell, is that we are a people chosen by God to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So let’s sit back and listen to message and renew our identity in the Lord.
About 120 years ago, God spread the gospel across Korea through Western missionaries such as Dr. Underwood. When this country was under Japanese occupation, God used the Pyeong Yang spiritual revival to preach the gospel to every corner of the nation of Korea. We give thanks to God that he established UBF in 1961, and for the last 50 years, sent around 2,000 missionaries out to 93 countries for world campus evangelism.
Today's passage is a letter for the Christians who were scattered in Asia Minor due to the persecution of the Roman Emperor, Nero (AD 54-68). They were treated as criminals, despised, hiding like wanderers under the public order of arrest. They probably wondered who they were in this world and what was their role in the midst of all their hardships. Were they there only to survive, or was their a greater purpose for them in God? We can learn so much from Peter’s encouraging words to them. According to today’s passage, let us ask ourselves, what is our spiritual identity in this world? What is God doing and what is our mission?
Part l: We Have Been Chosen By God To Be Citizens Of His Kingdom (9a,c)
What did Peter say the spiritual identity of the believers, who were scattered like wanderers, was? Look at verse 9a, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God …” The Apostle Peter clearly talked about the spiritual identity and privilege of these believers living in pathetic circumstances. Humanly, they were despised wanderers, considered low class people by the rest of Roman society, scattered in remote foreign countries. Yet, spiritually, they were a chosen people, a holy nation, a people belonging to God chosen to share the blessings of the gospel with the whole world.
Let’s think more about their spiritual identity. First, they are a chosen people, a people belonging to God (9a, b). Isaiah 43:20-21 reads, “The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” God chose the Israelites as his own people in the time of the Old Testament. They were God’s people…citizens of God chosen nation. They prided themselves in this fact for centuries. But in the time of the Apostle Peter, Israel was a Roman colony. They lost their identity as the Israelite nation. Some may have wanted to become Roman citizens. But it was very difficult for the Israelites, a people of a Roman colony, to receive Roman citizenship. Unless they paid a huge amount of money, or achieved distinguished services for the Empire, to secure a Roman citizenship was practically impossible (Ac 22:28).
But attaining Roman citizenship was not on the agenda for the new believers. Any of them could receive citizenship in the only real kingdom that counted, the kingdom of God. For you see, in the time of the New Testament, we have become the people of God, citizens of the Kingdom of God, through redemption by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. It comes through faith in Jesus.
We have also become citizens of the Kingdom of God through the gracious calling of our Savior Jesus. Ephesians 2:18-19, reads, “For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,” God declares that we are a people of God, exclusively chosen by him. This is God’s grace. Therefore, we must be sure of his calling, made possible by the blood of Jesus and determine to live as a people of God.
These days, for many people who live in third world counties, or under oppressive dictatorships, their biggest dream is to escape their country to go to America and receive U.S. citizenship. Yet how much more glorious it is to become God's people and citizens of God’s kingdom more than U.S. citizens! We Christians are the citizens in the kingdom of God. This is the best citizenship to obtain. We must have confidence in our heavenly citizenship and value it each day and live in this world as those who are called to be the people of God.
Part ll: Our Spiritual Identity, A Holy Nation (9c, Ex 19:6b)
What is the character of the spiritual nation that we are part of? Look at verse 9c. "But you are... a holy nation". In this world each nation has its own nature, unique culture, and national philosophy. God's nation also has its own nature and character also. American’s character is patriotic, honest and hard working, and believing that nothing is impossible if we put our minds to it. Korean people’s unique character is diligence, hardworking, and quickness. God’s holy nation also has its own character. In Exodus 19:5-6a God said "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." As we can see from these verses the characteristic of the people in the kingdom of God is holiness and purity. This characteristic is common to all the believers even though they are scattered around the world. It should be the atmosphere that permeates every Christian’s heart, family, church and fellowship. In order to make such a pure and holy character, God's people have been cleansed of their sins by the blood of Jesus. They are enabled to, and must live holy and pure lives, unlike the secular people in the world. This is accomplished by the power of God. Some believers, being tempted by sin, fail to live holy lives and end up being harassed in their hearts and criticized by the people of this world as being hypocrites. Some heavenly citizens live in shame, just as secular people, rather than live in the power and victory that citizens of God’s holy nation should. Most spiritual leaders deplore this compromised lifestyle, lived by some believers, but in most cases they do not know how to effectively tackle the problem. Let us pray that we may be consecrated to Jesus, holy and pure, different from the world. Let us pray to live as a holy nation people.
Part lll: Our Spiritual Identity, A Royal Priesthood (9b)
What does the Lord say is another aspect of our spiritual identity in God? Look at verse 9b. "But you are … a royal priesthood." This verse tells us that our identity is like the identity of a king and a priest, and that is why Peter says, “a royal priesthood”. This is like Melchizedek, the king of Salem (Ge 14:18). Melchizedek was a king and a priest. He is a shadow of Jesus, who is our King of kings and also our faithful High Priest. Through spiritual union with Christ, believers reign over the whole world with Jesus and, at the same time, serve God as priests like Christ (Rev 5:10).
What does the Lord say our spiritual identity is again? Look at verse 9b again. "But you are …. a royal priesthood." In this verse the verb ‘are' is in the present tense. This means we are a chosen people, not later in time after the Tribulation, but right now and we will continue to be so. We are called to be a royal priesthood now. Even though we are sinners and some may even be despised people in this world, from God's point of view, we are all a royal priesthood. Even though we may be rejected or scattered like the early Christians, God appointed us as a royal priests. Do you accept and believe that you are a royal priest of God? This is God’s grace. We must hold onto this identity and live with this identity in our hearts.
The Lord appointed our UBF brothers and sisters, shepherds and missionaries as royal priests. This was not just a flattering title to make us feel good. 1 Peter 2:9 is the certificate that we are appointed by the King of kings and the sovereign God, for those who accept it. At first we may accept this word and this hope only theoretically. There are some who feel like they don’t qualify, and, do you know what? They don’t. But we must remember that it is God who makes any of us qualified. Others may feel like they are on top of the world, flying through the air as one taking a first class flight on a luxurious airplane. Most may find themselves in the middle of these two extremes. Which ever person we may be, the truth is, though we are called, the fact is we do not live as royal priests in our practical lives. We must accept God’s grace and our calling and repent and live up to our high calling very practically. We must renew our spiritual identity every morning and be faithful to the fulfillment of our task as a priest working with Jesus.
What then is the task of a priest? In the time of the Old Testament, priests offered sacrifices for the sin of the people (Lev 1:1-17). Yet in the time of the New Testament, Jesus became the atoning sacrifice once and for all, and therefore, we no longer need any other sacrifice. Their second task was to teach the word (Lev 10:11) and third, was to give an intercessory prayer for the people (1 Sam 7:5-9, Ex 32:11-18). Yet, in the time of the New Testament we can learn about the task of a priest through Jesus who is both King and Priest. The task of a priest in this New Testament era is a little different. And so in this time, what is the task of a priest?
First, the task of a priest is to deliver the gospel of salvation. Look at verse 9c. “…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." This is the purpose of appointing us as his chosen people, as a royal priesthood. It is to declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once, in the region of the Gerasenes, when Jesus healed a man possessed by an evil spirit, the healed man wanted to follow Jesus. But what did Jesus say to him? At that time Jesus said to him, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis (Ten Cities) how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mk 5:19, 20) We too must declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.
As High priest, Jesus taught the word. Therefore another task of a priest is to faithfully spread the life giving gospel. When we were in college, we received the grace of salvation through the gospel. We wonder why young people today don’t accept the Gospel as we accepted it? The people in this generation worship post-modernism and materialism as their gods. This generation ridicules the gospel and despises believers like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah did (Ge 19:14). Even though today's situation is spiritually tough, we must actively teach the word of God, one to one, to young students. We must have confidence in the gospel and boldly preach the life giving gospel like Apostle Paul did with faith.
Second, the task of a priest is to make intercessory prayers for the people. (1 Sam 7:5-9, Ex 28:29). 1 Samuel 7:9 reads, "Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel's behalf, and the LORD answered him." In this passage, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle while the Israelites were at Mizpah. Samuel, the judge and priest, sacrificing the burnt offering to the Lord made an earnest intercessory prayer for the Israelites. God answered his prayer and routed the Philistines. Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines (1 Sam 7:10, 11).
In this 21st century, we can clearly see the signs of the end of the age. This generation worships all kinds of idols: materialism, hedonism, and technology. It is like the time of Sodom and Gomorrah. There are earthquakes and disasters, it seems in increasing frequency. In particular, about three months ago, a tsunami struck Japan devastating a country which was believed to have been fully ready for all kinds of natural disasters. Despite of their claim that they were fully reinforced and protected by their modern technology, Japanese people now wander with fear of nuclear radiation and further earthquakes and tsunamis. This is not just the problem of Japan. It is a warning of God for all people in the world (Mt 11:24). If we do not serve God but continue to worship the idols of science and money we may face the judgment of God. In light of this, what is our task as royal priests? Like Samuel, we must make earnest, intercessory prayers for the campus students of the world. Prayer is the most potent and effective tool.
At the last Middle East directors' new year conference, one missionary said that he felt helpless when he realized that he and his wife could not do anything for the Muslim country he lived in, which has one of the largest populations in the Middle East. But through studying the Bible and writing a testimony on 1 Samuel chapter 7, he learned that he could make an earnest intercessory prayer for the people of his nation every morning. The Lord would surely cause political earthquakes through his prayers and they would be able to preach the gospel very effectively. The Lord says in 1 Corinthian 15:58 "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." When one missionary in the Middle East continued to make earnest intercessory prayers for the Middle East people, God accepted his prayers and his labor in the Lord was not in vain. There are great spiritual breakthroughs being made in the Middle East even today.
Sometimes we feel that our labor is in vain serving campus mission. There is not much we can do when people may want to listen but don’t want to be disciples. But we are not helpless and our labor is never in vain. We can offer up intercessory prayers, every morning and throughout the week and continue to preach the word and God will surely work. He will surely make many spiritual breakthroughs in us, among us and through us. We must be faithful priests of God. There are breakthroughs among us. Hope is teaching the Bible to Emma. Mark spent time with Isaiah. I am making friends with the Pastor of the Church in DeKalb, Jamie. We are getting ready for two Christian music festivals. Steve is back. The list goes on. We just need to be faithful to our task as a kingdom of priests.
God has used Korea as a royal priesthood for the last 50 years. The founder of UBF, Dr. Samuel C. Lee, sent around 350 missionaries to South East Asia, Germany and to U.S.A. as soon as UBF was born. He gave all the UBF members the direction to make earnest intercessory prayers for Korea and the world. By faith, he sent UBF brothers and sisters as missionaries for world mission. From 1970 to 2010, UBF sent out 3,300 missionaries. God used these missionaries to pioneer and raise disciples in North America, Europe, CIS, South America, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East. God used Korean brothers and sisters as royal priests. And God still does. Our Korean brothers and sisters have worked hard to be used by God as a royal priesthood for 50 years. Now is not the time to retire. But the Lord appoints, not only the Koreans, but all people of all nations, to be a royal priesthood. He does not want anyone to retire from the priestly duty.
I thank and praise the Lord who saved sinners with the Gospel, the word and the Holy Spirit and appointed them as a royal priesthood. I praise the Lord that he has been using UBF and America as a kingdom of priests for the whole world. Through this passage we have tasted the grace of God, that despite of our own sins and our unworthiness and under qualifications, God has chosen us by his grace. When we were orphans in this world, with no place to call home, he has made us into citizens of his heavenly kingdom. And what a privilege and honor that is! It carries with it all kinds of privileges and also all kinds of responsibilities. We are chosen to be two things, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. As a kingdom of priests we must preach the word of God and pray. We must lead others to our only and true High Priest Jesus Christ, who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. As a holy nation we must live holy and pure lives in this world. We must declare the praises of him who called us out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Christians who are called by God, should continue to devote themselves to the task of living as a royal priesthood. Look at 1 Peter 2:9 once again. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." I pray that we may renew this certificate of appointment from the Lord, found in 1 Peter 2:9. In Christ, we are a royal priesthood and so we must faithfully fulfill that responsibility. We can through faith in Jesus and the power of God manifest in his word and in his spirit. Let us read our key verse once again, 1 Peter 2:9, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
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