Title: Faith with Vision (Acts 16:6-10)
Content: After we believe in Jesus Christ and receive His grace, the life of the debtor begins.
Our Korean church received the gospel and started preaching the gospel in Jeju Island, Manchuria, North Gando, and Siberia. However, it was insignificant to see this as a clear mission.
According to the report of the inquiry committee when the 1st Asian missionary conference was held in Seoul in 1990.
Among the 27 countries in Asia, the country with the most evangelization was Korea, which was reported at 18%.
It ranked fifth among countries that sent the most missionaries. The first place was India, which dispatched 4,400 people, with 1,000 people from Burma, 670 from the Philippines, and 420 from Indonesia. The ratio of evangelized believers to missionaries sent was 177 from 9,7200 in Singapore. One missionary was sent per 549 members.
Burma (1200:1), India (1886:1), Sri Lanka (2861:1), Philippines (6199:1), Nepal (7,000:1). However, there is no mention of Korea. At that time, the number of believers in Korea was 7758,000, but 360 people were sent from there, so it is about 21550:1.
However, in fact, this statistic is a statistic of 1985, and in 1990, it was rapidly growing to 1,509, and it is a good thing that the number of missionaries is still increasing.
Our Korean church is a church in debt. At least, the Korean church is a church that grew up eating the blood of martyrdom. Now we have a responsibility to give it back to the world.
- The subject of mission is clearly the Holy Spirit.
Verse 6 says, “The Holy Spirit”.
Paul wanted to preach the gospel in Asia, but the Holy Spirit did not allow it, and allowed him to reach out to Europe.
The gospel bears fruit and bears fruit when the Holy Spirit works, and it is almost impossible with human strength.
Evangelism is a spiritual battle. This is the battle between heaven and hell. Building the kingdom of God on this earth is impossible without destroying the kingdom of Satan.
To do this, we must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit and receive His guidance.
-There must be human willful effort (verses 7, 10).
The kingdom of God does not arise without effort. You cannot do God's will by sitting still.
To do this, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. Without the filling of the Holy Spirit, any zeal is short-lived and difficult to sustain.
Only when God's workers are filled with the Holy Spirit can they obey God's commands in whatever way, go wherever they go, and work tirelessly for the kingdom of God by giving their bodies and materials.
- We must hear the voice of the dying soul (verse 9).
People are not the only beings who have ugliness. They have souls. The body tempts and demands of the world, but our soul desires to draw near to God and resists the lusts of the flesh. Therefore, without real harmony of this, the person has no peace of mind and no joy.
The soul knows the fear of hell. The soul cries out for help. When we love the poor soul and look back at it, we can show enthusiasm for missions.
Yes) my testimony.
- The local church must grow (verse 5).
If a local church is not revitalized by evangelism, it cannot carry out God's great missionary work. When the church grows and has strength, we can preach the gospel.
The church of God must grow. For this we must invest and work hard. We must challenge ourselves with one mind for the growth of the church.
- In order for the church to grow and fulfill its missionary work, the church must have a vision above all else.
Paul had a vision. This is seeing the vision.
A nation without a vision perishes. A church without a vision cannot grow. A person without a vision cannot succeed.
A vision is a clear conviction of what God is doing through us and a realization of its meaning.
Let's have a dream. Let's have the vision of our Western Church. There is a clear purpose that God wants to accomplish through our church. As we look forward to that day, when we work hard together and do our best to build the church together, the kingdom of God will be full and our lives will be blessed.
With this vision, let's endure even when the test comes, do not back down in the face of any problem, and move forward by taking on challenges together.
In the near future, our western church will grow and send out many missionaries, and all of our members will receive God's great blessing and experience us as people who do great things in society.
There are very few churches that grow with joy and grace like ours.
Ex) Graceful things at the missionary bazaar-
Let's all be stronger. Our church has to take on a bigger work. When God gives us a new way to devote ourselves and be faithful again, let's do our best to accomplish it.
With the blessing of God working in our church, I hope that all of us will experience more grace in the midst of that work.
Amen.