하나님이 나에게 편지를 써 주신다면 - 김충만 목사 | 26. 9. 27. 주일오전예배

Amen. Let's read the title of today's message together. Start. "If God Wrote Me a Letter." Yes. I would like to share grace under this title. Ah, first, I will read a letter. Yes. There is also a title. "On Every Path You Walk Daily"—I will tell you whose letter this is shortly. Shall we read it together? Yes. Start. You. I will read it again. Start. On every path you walk daily, your 68-year-old knees send heavy signals every time you climb the stairs. Yet, how can your steps be so light? You place a delicious soybean paste stew in front of you, quietly crossing the threshold of a solitary elderly person living alone, becoming a friendly companion and covering their hearts with fervent prayers. When a long warning signal rings, your heart drops, and you rush, but when you return home, you act as if nothing happened, always preparing warm and steaming meals. Even in front of painful stairs, instead of frowning, you wear a gentle smile, filling each week with heavy joy. Between the fine wrinkles created by time, there is a love deeper than words and a fragrance of prayer richer than brush strokes—love is placed on every path you walk daily, warming the world as it crosses our threshold. Kim [Name]. She is a deaconess in our church, and this is a letter sent by her husband via KakaoTalk. He sent this letter to my wife, and when I asked to see it, we were deeply moved as we read it together. So, I wanted our congregation to read it together. Thus, I read this letter before the sermon. However, I heard that the deaconess's husband does not attend church. Yes. He does not attend church, but as I understand it, that is the case. Nevertheless, he must have been deeply moved by seeing his wife, the deaconess, serving souls with unwavering love. Although he does not attend church, he was touched by how one person could do such a thing and wrote this letter of love. Looking at this letter, I realized that what the deaconess does is not a matter of a day or two. It is a steady and continuous effort, and her husband has been watching all of it, moved to write this letter to give strength and encouragement. I have never met that husband. I could not meet him because he does not attend church. But the fact that he was so moved by his wife... Yes, the work of serving souls that you do is something we all should do. We call this a mission. It is the mission given to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Ah, reading this letter brought back many memories from the past. I have read this letter several times. As I read it repeatedly, I kept thinking about the past. Every time I read this letter, I recall the day I first received grace and the day we first started the church. When we first received grace, I brought my grandmother, who had dementia, to our home—with my daughter-in-law and grandson—and for over a year, I carried my grandmother on my back to church. Thus, I helped my grandmother, who had been a lifelong Buddhist, to believe in Jesus Christ and go to heaven. Next to our apartment, there were three children left behind after their mother left home and their father went to prison. They were siblings, about 4 and 7 years old, and were essentially abandoned. Knowing that they were surviving only on bread or rice brought by neighbors, we took them in and lived together in our apartment for about three months until their father was released—our two children and those three children lived together. Also, when we started the church, we prayed daily with tears for the poor and the sick. Ah, there is someone who remains in my memory. A female member named Lee Si-kyung came to us when our church was on the second floor across the street. She was incredibly thin; I had never seen anyone so thin. She could not walk by herself, so every Sunday, we would go to pick her up from her studio apartment near the museum, and the members would help carry her up to the second floor for worship. When there was not enough volunteer help to take her home after worship, I would carry her back home myself. She lived on the fourth floor without an elevator, so every week, I would carry her on my back to her home. Among our members, there was a remarried couple, and their daughter, suffering from severe depression, kept saying she wanted to die. She could not live at home, so we took her into our home and lived with her and our daughter for about 6 to 8 months. Additionally, I spent three months with a young man who was captivated by his soul at the station. There were many other unimaginable things we faced, and during that time, I dealt with these issues alongside the church members. There was earnest prayer as we handled those situations. There was a sincere hope. I call it a plea. There was a desperate plea before God. And when that did not work, I would come to the empty church and struggle hard. Looking back at that time, it was truly difficult. Yes. Can you feel it? It was hard and challenging, but the reason I was able to understand the Lord's will and obey through it all was... Upon deep reflection, it was because of the letter God gave me. A letter of God's love. There were two verses that came to me as letters of love. One was from Revelation 2:10, which conveyed to me the love letter saying, "Be faithful until death." Ah, after I believed in Jesus, that letter was delivered to me, and I received the Lord's letter saying, "Be faithful until death." And the other was a love letter from Psalm 46:10, which says, "Be still, and know that I am God." After receiving this love letter, I thought, "Even if it is hard, I can say yes," and so I did. And I believe I obeyed. And now, as time has passed, I have read the deaconess's letter several times. While reading the love letter given by her husband, who does not attend church, I thought. Also, it has been about 33 or 34 years since I started my faith journey. I still say that I serve God in various ways, but what is my attitude in serving now? Am I still serving souls, accepting all given tasks and situations as God's will, and unconditionally saying yes and obeying? And yes, even if there are difficult and challenging things or things to be thankful for, am I still grateful for everything? Am I recognizing God in all things and confessing, "Yes, I understand, God"? Yes. If God were to write me a letter again now, would it be like the letter written by the husband of the deaconess, who does not attend church? Would God look at me and, setting aside complaints, gently smile and ask, "Are you doing well?" I wonder if I am filling those heavy steps with joy throughout the day, multiple times, all week long. Before time passes, through your fine wrinkles, is there a love deeper than words and a fragrance of prayer richer than flowers, with love placed on every path you walk daily, warming the world with gratitude as it crosses the threshold of our new church? Ah, I was thinking that way. Truly, the husband who was asked by his wife to attend church was moved by seeing his wife serve souls, and yes, if he were to write me—write to you—this love letter, would he write it that way? Ah, how about all of you here today? We spent this Chuseok as believers. You must have met your parents, relatives, and family in your hometown. And you probably met your children too. But during this Chuseok, did your parents, relatives, or family—excluding your spouse—say something about not bowing to ancestral rites? Did you feel that you suffered during this Chuseok because you believe in Jesus Christ? Or did your parents, siblings, or relatives hurt you with words that were hard to understand, even though you did your best? If I served with true love, prayed earnestly, and pleaded before God, but they hurt me with words I could not understand, is my heart aching now? We can experience such things, but in those times, how did I act towards them? Yes. This is a story from a few days ago. Yes. How did I act then? Did I smile at them without complaining or frowning? Do you understand? When I felt discontent and was hurt by something, did I smile at them instead of shaking them? And even so, did I say, "God, my prayer was insufficient"? Did I return with a more earnest heart to pray for them? If you did that, you did very well. And what was the reason you could do that? It is because God has written each of us a letter of love. Yes. God has written you a letter of love directly, and you read that letter and engraved it in your heart, confessing, "Yes, God, I understand." You confessed, "Because you love me, I will live in that love," and I believe you returned from this Chuseok holiday without complaints or disputes, smiling. Amen? Yes. And now, the content of that love letter appears in today's scripture. Yes. What is God's love letter in today's scripture? Let's examine it through the Word. Shall we read verse 28 about Jesus' sheep together? Start. "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand." Yes. Jesus spoke to His sheep. Yes. Jesus has given eternal life to the children of God who believe in Jesus Christ. They will never perish. And He said, "No one will snatch them out of my hand." Verse 29 says this. Start. "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." To us, who have become children of God by believing in Jesus Christ, God predestined us before the foundation of the world, allowed us to hear the gospel in due time, led us by the Spirit to believe in Jesus Christ, gave us the assurance of salvation, and made us His sheep—then what does God say? "No one will snatch them out of my Father's hand." The content of this verse is that Jesus Christ... How? Is absolutely protecting and guiding us. When we go through difficult times, hear harsh words, feel hurt, and wonder what to do, or when people point at us, what does Jesus say? "You are my sheep. No one can touch you. I will protect you to the end." And God says the same. Not only Jesus but God also says, "I prepared you before the foundation of the world, saved you, made you my sheep, and will protect and take responsibility for you to the end. No one will snatch you out of my hand." Hallelujah. Amen. Yes. Jesus said, "I and the Father are one." Believers live under the absolute protection of God the Father and Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. Therefore, if we realize and understand this grace—our Savior Jesus and God, the King of Kings, regard us as His sheep, take responsibility for us to the end, and ensure that no one can snatch us from their hands—how overflowing with gratitude our lives would be. No matter what anyone says, how will we live? We will live joyfully, happily, and energetically, right? If God loves us like this, and if Jesus loves us like this, writing and sending us a letter of love, imagine how much more vigorous and powerful our lives as believers can become. I believe that the words of verses 28 and 29 are God's love letter given to us. Amen. In verse 30, Jesus says, "I and the Father are one." This is a declaration to the Jews of His divinity and status as the Son of God by proclaiming, "The Father and I are one." How do the Jews respond to this statement? They pick up stones to throw at Jesus. Jesus says in verse 32. Shall we read it together? Start. "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" Yes. Jesus said, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" The Jews interpreted Jesus' statement "I and the Father are one" as a declaration of "I am God." Because He said He was equal to God, the Jews thought, "How can Jesus of Nazareth be God?" and accused Him of blasphemy. Thinking this way, they attempted to stone Him to death. At this time, Jesus responds in verses 34 and 35. I will read it in the standard translation. Start. "Jesus answered them, 'Is it not written in your Law, "I have said you are 'gods'?"'" "If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—" Jesus is proving that He is God and the Son of God by quoting Psalm 82:6 to those who are about to stone Him. He is demonstrating that He is one with God. Shall we read Psalm 82:6 together? Start. "I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.'" In the Old Testament, those who received the word of God were the prophets. Those who received the word of God were called prophets. Yes. These are those who received the word of God, and the Bible refers to them as "you are gods." In the Old Testament, those who proclaimed and spread the word of God were called gods, and the sons of the Most High were called sons. Then, Jesus Christ, whom God sent into the world, says, "I am the Son of God." He says, "I am one with the Father." Why do you accuse me of blasphemy? The Scripture calls those who received the word of God gods, so why is it blasphemy for me, as one who has received the word of God and been sent into the world, to declare, "I am the Son of God"? Here, Jesus goes a step further, clearly declaring that He is not just one of the prophets who received the word of God but is one with God. Jesus says, "I am one with God." It should not be a problem for Him to say that He is the Son of God, but what do people say? They say, "You are committing blasphemy." To those who still do not believe, Jesus says, "If you cannot believe that I am God, if you cannot believe that I am one with God, then believe the works I do." "If you believe the works I do, you will know who I am." However, the people who heard these words did not believe what Jesus said, nor did they want to believe the works Jesus did. Instead, they tried to seize Jesus to stone Him, and the content of today's scripture is that Jesus escaped from their hands and fled to another place. What we must truly emphasize in today's scripture is our identity as holy children of God while we live. Not only during this Chuseok but also, as I mentioned earlier, if spouses, parents, or relatives criticize our faith, or if we suffer losses or wounds because we believe in Jesus, or if we are deeply hurt by unfair remarks, even though we served with true love and prayed earnestly, if they hurt us with words we could not understand, we should smile at them instead of resenting them and say to God, "Lord, my prayer is still insufficient." We should carry a sincere prayer for them, and the reason we have come here today is simple. It is because God has written this love letter to us. That's right. Yes. Because God has written this love letter to us, reading His word strengthens us. And the Lord gives us a heart to embrace and pray for those who have hurt us and burdened us. When external difficulties arise—believers also face many difficulties—there are truly hard things. Sometimes people make things difficult for us. We may also face many economic hardships. In such times, what situation do we find ourselves in? What we experience is described in Psalm 62:3. Shall we read it together? Start. "How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down—this leaning wall, this tottering fence?" Here, the wall and fence represent things that have become unstable and can easily collapse. Perhaps it could be our bodies, our lives, or our families. When we find ourselves in a position like a leaning wall or a tottering fence due to various trials and difficulties, the reason we must calm our souls and look only to God, why we must pray earnestly, and why we must move forward with a hopeful longing is for one reason. It is because God has written this love letter to us today. Have you engraved that letter in your heart? This love letter that God has given us, if we read it and engrave it in our hearts, I believe we will gain the strength and courage to embrace, understand, and run the race of faith in love once again. Amen. Today, let’s read the love letter that our Lord wrote for us once more. I will read verses 28 and 29 in the revised standard translation. Start. "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." Amen. Amen. How did you hear that? Yes. I have clearly stated. This is the love letter our Lord has given us. If today’s message sounds to you and me like God’s love letter, I believe that starting today, we can say "yes" and obey, and no matter how difficult and challenging things may be, we can earnestly pray, long with true hope, struggle hard, and understand and love those around us. Amen. I sincerely bless all of you to become members of this new church. Amen. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we have read the love letter of a man who was moved by love to write to his wife. How much strength and courage must the deaconess have felt! There must have been countless difficulties, hardships, pains, and tears, but I believe those moments will fade away, and instead, Heavenly Father, you will give them the strength and courage to obey you and move toward souls. The God who loves us here has written a love letter to us today. Who dares to touch us? We believe that because we are your children, no one can treat us carelessly or harm us. You will never allow us to be taken away, and you will take responsibility for us throughout the rest of our lives. So we must gather our hearts and remember that you are our Father. Help us to engrave this love letter in our hearts and work in us so that we can return to our homes, workplaces, parents, siblings, and relatives. Amen. I believe you will grant such grace, and I thank you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Let us give a round of applause in glory for what our Lord has done. Yes. Thank you.