Title The Proud Church (2 Thessalonians 01:3-10)
Contents Today is the 19th anniversary of our Suyeongro Church established in this place. I thank God for the great grace that has enabled me to revive both qualitatively and quantitatively during this time.
It is God's grace that a sinner like me was saved by believing in Jesus. Moreover, it is a much greater grace to become a pastor and attend God's work for the rest of our lives.
However, we realize that the revival of our Suyeongro church over the past 19 years was entirely due to God's grace. Therefore, we cannot but give all glory to the Lord.
Looking back on the past 19 years, I can confidently say that our church is the blessed church. If we look at the reasons why our church can be said to be a blessed church,
First, because it is a church established by the Lord.
Matthew 16:15-18 He said, “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for making this known to you. This is not flesh and blood, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of Hades will not overcome it.] Suyeongro Church is the church the Lord has established.
Whenever there was a difficult situation, I fell down on this pulpit and prayed. Each time, the Lord spoke and blessed me. We do not know how many testimonies we have received so far.
I was not always [alone]. The Lord has always been with me and never left me. Sometimes he rebuked and other times he comforted me with his kind voice. Moreover, I am thankful that I cannot lift my head because I think I am too lacking before the Lord, but the Lord says [You are the servant in which I am pleased] [I love you] [You are the servant whom I love].
I am not able to please the Lord, but the Lord is pleased with me. I didn't do anything that deserves the Lord's man, but the Lord is saying that I am a servant whom the Lord loves.
Third, because grace is always overflowing.
There is always something that our church continues to do non-stop.
①Prayer movement ②Word movement ③Evangelism movement.
These three cannot rest even for a moment. You must not rest again. In some ways, it seems that the church becomes gracious by doing these three movements, but in fact, these three movements themselves are the grace of God.
If you look at the prayers of the members of our church, you can see that there are many members who have received grace. Also, whenever you study the Bible, you can see that there are many believers who long for the Word and gather like a cloud.
Not only that, but every year, whenever an evangelism movement takes place for the evangelization of Busan, you can see that there are many members who are burning with a sense of mission when you see the devotion of countless members. All of this is due to the grace of God. We give thanks and glory to God who fills us with grace in this way.
(1) It is a church that is known for its faith.
In 1 Thessalonians 1:6-8 it says:
[And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all who believed in Macedonia and Achaia. We have nothing to say because the word of the Lord is not only heard from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but also the news of your faith in God is spreading everywhere.
The church can be rumored in many ways. Rumors that it is a church with a large gathering, a church with a lot of money, a church with many famous people, a rumor that the temple is a large church, etc. But I know there are no better rumors than the rumor that it is a church with good faith. Because even if everything else is good, you cannot please God without faith.
According to Hebrews 11, all those who pleased God and who were greatly loyal to God's glory were all people of good faith.
If we think wrongly, it is easy to see that everyone who comes to church is a believer in Jesus. To know if that person really has accepted Jesus and has faith in Jesus, we need to see if they repent. A person who has not repented even after attending church all his life is not a believer, but a person without faith.
And to know how good a person is of faith, you have to see how much you live according to the word of the Lord.
If we obey God's word and live according to God's word, our faith will grow and improve as much as we live according to God's word. As much as we live according to the word of God, the beautiful fruits of faith will be opened. And as our faith improves, our disposition changes and we become more like the image of Christ.
It is easy to think that people who do not believe in Jesus persecute and criticize people who believe in Jesus unconditionally, but in reality, this is not the case. When I see people who believe in Jesus, even those who do not believe in Jesus are moved, praised, and respected.
We hope that Suyeongro Church will be able to spread good news, but it will also spread the word that it is a church with good faith.
(2) It is a growing church.
In 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 we read, “Brothers, we should always give thanks to God for you, for this is natural, because your faith increases and you all love one another abundantly, and out of all the persecutions and afflictions that you endure, you For we ourselves boast in the churches of God because of perseverance and faith].
Because this church was a church with good faith, when I wrote 1 Thessalonians, the word of faith had already spread everywhere, but it was a church where that faith was growing more and more. What a beautiful church. The true growth of the church is the growth of faith. Even if everything else has grown, if there is no growth in faith, there is nothing to be proud of.
Therefore, above all else, the church must have the growth of faith.
2) [For each of you abounds in your love for one another]
This church was not only growing in faith, but also in love more and more abundantly. Love is the fruit of faith. Even if faith looks good, if there is no fruit of love, faith is not good.
In Revelation 2:1-5, the church in Ephesus was good at defending the truth and keeping the church, but unfortunately, they lost their first love, so they were rebuked before the Lord. Verse 5 says, “Therefore remember where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works.
The root of faith must be deeply rooted and the stem of faith must grow rapidly. But above all else, the fruit of love must be abundantly open in every branch of that tree. However, the Thessalonian Church says that they love each other, but that love has grown more and more abundantly, so it can be said to be a beautiful growing church.
3) [And we ourselves boast in the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions that you endure.]
It was a church that endured tribulation and persecution well. When tribulation and persecution come, there are those who flee. Also, there are those who become discouraged when tribulation and persecution come. When tribulation and persecution come, there are people who blame God.
However, no matter how severe the tribulation and persecution, there are believers who keep the foundation of faith by persevering while awake and praying. Because of tribulation and persecution, such people ① receive greater grace, ② become a person of better faith, and ③ a greater work of revival will occur.
(3) It is a church that diligently preaches the gospel.
It is the third pride of the Thessalonian Church. At the end of verse 5, it says, “For the sake of the kingdom you also suffer.” [The kingdom] means the kingdom of God, and wherever there are people who believe in Jesus, the kingdom of God will be established. If the whole family believes in Jesus, that family is heaven. The same goes for countries and the world.
Therefore, the act of making people believe in Jesus by preaching the gospel diligently is a movement to build the kingdom of God. Jesus came to this world and died on the cross for this purpose.
In 1 Peter 2:19-21, the Apostle Peter said: [Even though we suffer hardship, if we endure sorrow because we think of God, it is beautiful; but what praise is there if we endure being beaten for sin? is called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
Because building the kingdom of God by preaching the gospel is what pleases the Lord above all else, Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” And in Mark 10:29-30, “Anyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will soon receive a hundredfold more houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, but persecution. and there is no one who will not receive eternal life in the age to come.]
Also, in 2 Timothy 4:1-5, the Apostle Paul said to Timothy: [As for his appearing and his kingdom in the sight of God and in the presence of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, I solemnly command you to preach the word; do your best in season and out of season; rebuke, rebuke and exhort with all patience and teaching. The time is coming when people will not receive sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from the truth and follow myths. Do your job]
This year too, our church is praying hard for the evangelization of Busan. We are following the path of the cross that the Lord walked. I believe that in the not too distant future, today's hard work will bear fruit and appear before us.
I pray that our church will become a proud church like the Thessalonian church and that you and I will receive the greatest glory on the day of the Lord's return.