THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
The image of a true church seen through the “cross section” of Acts chapter 7 and the
“longitudinal section” of Hebrews chapter 11
Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Timothy 4:1-2
*Sermon by Huisun Rev. Abraham Park (February 8, 2006, at the L.A. sister church)
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age’”
-Matthew 28:18-20
“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction”
-2 Timothy 4:1-2
The family must be in harmony before any job. If the rest of the family all have different hearts while the breadwinner is struggling, then things will not work out well. All things go well in a family that is in harmony. Only when the whole family prays and their minds unite will prosperity and improvement follow. Wednesday in particular is the “Day of Prayer for the Family.” It would take at least 30 minutes to pray for all our grandfathers, grandmothers, father, mother and brothers. Do not give simple prayers for your children, but instead pray, “My son or my daughter likes doing this. Father, please pour grace upon them and send Your intelligence, wisdom and knowledge to understand the Word, and by doing so may they fear You, and have the great faith of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:28.”
We cannot receive the great faith of the Canaanite woman just by coming to church, listening to the sermon, and taking notes. Such faith only comes when we humbly and fearfully believe in God. On Wednesdays, we must come to church and pray. Church is the place God has designated and rejoices in. It is the place where God hears and sees our prayers and gives His answers (1 Kgs 6; John 14:13-14). Your body is not as healthy when you are older than 40 as it was when you were younger. We must come to church and pray even for our own health, but we do not. How long do you think we will be working in this world? What are you doing at home instead of being at church? It is really frustrating.
Today’s scripture (Matt 28:18-20) is the Word of the Lord when He ascended from the Mount of Olives after 40 days on the earth after His resurrection. Also, Apostle Paul, through the Holy Spirit, said, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God, who is to judge, preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.” This is the mission of a church.
Acts 7 which sees the history of the church at a cross section
Acts 7 and Hebrews 11 shows two different perspectives of the same history. First, Acts chapter 7 is a sermon of Stephen’s great martyrdom. Stephen goes through the history from Genesis to the coming of Jesus, and lists the crimes of religious leaders and people. He exposed their sins in detail, that they insulted, ostracized, fought in groups, and grumbled instead of uniting in church. He said of them, “Do not deal with that person”. While Stephen was preaching this, the religious leaders who heard it stoned him to death. They felt that they could not be leaders in the church if someone like Stephen, who created a disturbance everywhere he went, stuck around. If we brought this to present day, it would be as if the pastors, elders, elderesses and deacons united to kill Stephen. We should not take this case of killing Stephen as something that happened long time ago.
Even in the churches today, there are so many invisible battles and deaths. No one in this church should ever commit the sin of saying things like, “I’m going to kill that guy.” We will be judged according to what we have said, done and planted. When we say, “I hate the very sight of this elderess. I hope she doesn’t come to church,” an angel will immediately go to God and report to Him. What does it matter if you are a pastor, an elder or a deacon? Are you born again? Are you godly? Are you holy? Aren’t you all far from it? If ungodly and unholy people go to Heaven, Heaven would be hell. If we are not written in the book of life, we will be all thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:12; 15). Please listen to me carefully. Who knows if this will be my last sermon?
If the church is not in harmony with love, it does not matter how much we praise and pray. God will just say, “I don’t want to hear this.” God said, “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates” (Mal 1:10). God warned if the church fails to serve as a church, then He will blow it out. Please give ear to this warning.
Those who look at the history of the church only at the cross section
On the contrary, Hebrews 11 lists the forefathers of faith one by one. They were great people of the Word who fled to caves for the will of God and kept their faith even in the midst of persecution and when fighting against wild beasts. Their love for their nation and people are recorded in detail along with their acts of faith in striving to keep their families from falling into darkness. One person with this kind of faith can defeat a whole nation.
The first perspective of looking at history is the cross-sectional view that is stained with mankind’s flaws, sin, corruption, and fallenness. From this perspective, you think to yourself, “I heard someone from that church sinned. That’s not even a church. Let’s not attend that one.” The second perspective is the longitudinal view where the will of God continues down consistently even in the midst of such a history. The cross section is the section cut horizontally, while the longitudinal section is cut vertically.
When we look at the history of Israel in a straight line, we can find many traces of fallenness, like that of a drunk person who can’t even step properly and stumbles about. These are traces of worshipping idols, loving bribes, and forming sects. Over decades while in ministry, I have heard many people criticize the church. These are criticisms from those who only have a cross-sectional view of history. They see the life of one saint and speak ill of the entire church. “Oh, that person? If that person attends, then that church is doomed.” Even inside the same church, if another saint is not at another’s level of faith, they give a glance, purse their lips and do not talk to them after that. They look slyly from the corner of their eyes. That is not a church.
Jesus shed his blood for He so loved us
Jesus shed so much blood from having the crown of thorns on His head and both of His hands and feet nailed to the cross. Even His sides were pierced with a spear. I’ve experienced the pain of losing blood because of a gunshot wound during the Korean War. The pain was so excruciating that it felt as if I was being stabbed through with spears and knives. Despite such indescribable pain, Jesus prayed, “Please forgive them for they do not know what they do.” The brutal whips with strands tied to sharp fragments of animal bones dug into His flesh and left deep furrows on His back. But still, Jesus prayed for forgiveness on behalf of them. We are the ones who have received His spirit. His divine body was ripped, crushed, and torn apart to forgive us of our sins that could not be forgiven even if we were to offer up everything we have. Having received such salvation, how can we come to church and cause dissension? Such people are not worthy of salvation. They will not be able to evade the tragic end. The Bible shows that creating factions and divisions are the works of Satan. How can the church be healthy if people are divided into different sides? Just because the person doesn’t suit us, can we condemn the person as the devil, or denounce the whole church because of a few people?
Paul who embraced the Corinthian Church which was full of problems
If you look closely, you can always find some fault even in the most righteous man. Even saints have faults. Only when you look at people out of love do they seem lovely. If you look at them with resentment, cursing, and hatred, then everyone will seem hateful. No one is completely innocent. Even if you are a good believer, there is at least one side that is not right. However, if we look at the history of man through the history of God’s providence, you will be able to find light and receive hope. Look at the Corinthian church. There was even incest between mother and child. They committed adultery. They often took sides and fought, saying, “Don’t even go near where that side meets and don’t give offering.” Apostle Paul felt as if his liver and heart were burning like a furnace because of the saints of the Corinthian church. Nevertheless, he carried the Corinthian church on his back and gave an intercessory sacrifice before God. In prayer, Paul saw the vision of the saints of the Corinthian church being united after repenting of their past when they had no faith and living godly before God. That is why he wrote, “To the Church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling” (1 Cor 1:2; 1 Cor 6:11). What an amazing scene it was. He called those who committed unspeakable sins, fought with each other forming sects, and were not even coming to church “sanctified”, and as “saints by calling.” I cried a lot while I was preparing this sermon. Look at how it melted the hearts of even the evil-minded people like ice melting in a burning pot, causing a great repentance among them. Paul had a different view when looking at the history of the church. Dogs can only see dog poo. But God’s grace makes everything possible. There is nothing impossible in God. It can only be well. When Apostle Peter cried out, look at how three thousand people repented while striking chest, saying, “What shall we do?” and bowed before the feet of Peter.
The Church is like a big river
This church is like a large river current. In God’s providence, the river waters rush. There is no one to stop it. There are people who say, “Let’s see if it goes well.” But the church must be prosperous. In the billows of grace, when the river is wide, the water flows so calmly and peacefully that we do not even realize that it is flowing. Such scene makes us want to jump into it and swim. But when there is an obstacle, the river becomes narrow. It makes a lot of noise as it flows. And then you start to wonder why you have come to this church. The water becomes muddy when it rains, and when it hits a rock there is a loud sound of water splashing. The church also makes noise when there are quarrels between groups. Some want to avoid such trouble and flow sideways quickly. These people are like those who slip out of the sanctuary before the benediction in order avoid seeing others. Sometimes the boat just rotates in one place while the water flows. Your mind cannot settle and think, “Do I need to settle in this church?” And you find yourself wandering around in other churches. But you still can’t find the right church, and you come back thinking that this church is the best for you after all, but you still end up with people you don’t want to see. And all the while many years will pass without a definite destination. There is no pleasure in life and you give offerings only because of the eyes of others. Apostle Paul embraced all of this. Because he could take everything in, along with Paul, the river flowed in a great stream amidst resonant praises, prayers, and repentance. God’s providence never ceases. Water does not flow upstream but downstream. It is never too much to emphasize humility. The church life is definitely not easy.
The sin of grumbling
Dear saints, do not commit the sin of grumbling (1 Cor 10:10). No matter how many generations in your family have believed, if you grumble, nothing will work for you. The Israelites, after they left Egypt, grumbled for forty years in the wilderness. Of the 603,540 able-bodied men, only two, Joshua and Caleb, were the exceptions. The rest of the 603,548 all grumbled. Because of them, God felt as though He couldn’t express how torn apart and in agony He was. In the wilderness in their tents, a wife would whisper to her husband. Even in the tent, God could hear each word (Deut 1:27). God said “just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you” (Num 14:2, 24-38). Eventually, in the thirty-eighth year after the exodus at the brook Zered, God sent an angel who killed them all (Deut 2:14).
“Now the time that it took for us to come from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war perished from within the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them” (Deut 2:14). God did not even give exception to Joshua and Caleb’s families. Only the two of them who did not grumble remained alive and went into Canaan. God is showing this to us as a reflection. Let’s say a husband wants to believe, but his wife wickedly says, “Dear, wake up! Do you know whose side the pastor is on?” God hears all of that, so with whom would He be angry? God’s heart was hurt and agitated because of the church members who say, “Lord, I believe” (Heb 3:17-19). The words of man cannot deceive Pyungkang Cheil Church. If someone blames the church, the saints must stop them by saying, “Why are you saying such things at this church of grace?” No matter how much a person tries to clamor about, if the listener says, “Don’t do that and just pray,” then that person will get so scared that she can’t speak. This is how a church should be.
Exhortation to the educators and elders
Dear saints, it is impossible to love the enemies who despise us or have ruined our families and businesses. But God commands us to “pray for our enemies.” This His command, so is not something we may or may not do. He also commands us to feed our enemy if he is hungry. He tells us that if we do not forgive our brothers, then He will also not forgive our sins (Matt 18:35). Please do not forget this. Educators must never hate or dislike any saint. If you do so, then you are already entering the dark world yourself, and you will become the devil’s servant instead of God’s. When you repent, saying, “I am a servant who has received God’s grace, I cannot be like this,” then your heart will open and you will be able to love again. Then, the next time you see them, you will be able to exhort them and have a warm meal together. This is how the church revives. If one person stops coming to church, it is a very big loss.
Elders are reflections of the church. You must truly become humble and holy. You must practice immensely to become godly. How can someone who does not even come out on Lord’s Days be an elder? Even if you are unable to make it to service, you must at least give that offering for the next time. One church in Seoul even says that an elder who does not attend dawn services is not qualified as an elder. You must pray diligently, live a godly life, and be a good example to the saints. You must become leaders and teachers who study and teach the Bible. The entire church must march in unison like this, singing the sonorous battle hymn and waging war against Satan.
Our church is also the history of a river
I have been in charge of this river’s long history and have been flowing with it for decades. Many people have left this world. Many of them moved away. Some showed up for only while then completely stopped coming. Many newcomers have joined as well. Within all these changes and its history of ups and downs, it feels worthwhile when I realize that my own history is flowing together with the Pyungkang saints. Sometimes I feel pity when I think of the souls that served Pyungkang with me but have left now. The ones who renew history are the saints. The saints must change history anew. We must become one in order to deliver and teach the Word before the solemn reality of bearing God’s providence at the forefront of history, just like waters flowing through the neck of the rapids. We can boast all we want, but we do not live to see 100 years. After living 70-80 years, we will all be in heaven. We must all meet again there.
Now is the time to fulfill church duties
“I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor” (John 4:38). Our forefathers of faith have sown and grown large, bountiful fruit while being beaten and hiding in caves. All we have to do is go and reap. What labor have we done? All we have to do is to trust Jesus and press on. However, we are not even doing this. All we have to do is partake in reaping from the labors of our forefathers of faith, and by doing so, fulfill a small portion in history. The duty of this generation is to bear fruit from the seeds sown by our forefathers. We, who are living today, are indebted to the past. We also bear the duty to pass down those fruits to the future. We must spread the seeds.
We must not be wanderers
I’ve read the Bible 1700 times. Biblically, the most unrighteous person in this world is a wanderer. Wanderers have no responsibility. They just come and go. They just come and use the bathroom, waste water, and leave. Saints must never be wanderers. We must bear Christ’s remaining afflictions, and finish the remaining duties in faith. We must partake in the suffering of Jesus to fulfill His desired will. This is Jesus’ hope as well as our own. Wanderers don’t fulfill their duties or roles at church, yet do whatever is pleasing to them. And when things don’t go their way they say, “Do it yourself! I am never coming to this church again!” Many people come to church as wanderers throughout their entire lives. It is a life that only brings in dust. How tragic is to live a life like an old, deteriorated vehicle that releases black fumes into its surroundings? We are all owners who have settled down at this church. We must always conserve and clean out the webs. We must never just say, “That place needs to be painted,” but must actually be the painter.
Do not cause others to stumble (1 Cor 10:31-33). Do not become an obstacle. Do not despise the church. Whenever you speak or serve at church, do it in the name of the Lord (Col 3:17; 1 Pet 4:11). Never cause division by saying, “Let’s meet after that elder leaves. Don’t let him find out.” All we have to do is to put an extra spoon on the table, so why are you polarizing the family members of one church? When meeting other saints, shouldn’t you be saying that everything is good? Shouldn’t we cherish each other and think we need to treat each other well by saying, “I really like that deaconess!”
If we remember Jesus is still standing
When the crowd was about to stone Deacon Stephen, he was filled with the Spirit and looked up to heaven. He then saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God surrounded in glory (Acts 7:56). While he was being stoned, he saw “the Son of Man standing.” When children are in trouble, parents cannot sit at ease. They will be anxious, constantly walking about in the house with all the doors open. Dear saints, behold Jesus who is standing! He will remain standing until we return. So how can we sit comfortably, play, and have fun while eating and drinking somewhere else? Jesus is interceding for us even now at the right hand of God. If we really knew what this meant, we would be unable to speak a single word because we are so sorry. “Lord, I am a sinner. I sinned because my faith was immature and I was so ignorant in the Bible. Lord, please let me stand now so You can take Your throne.” Shouldn’t we pray like this? How happy would our God be when we think like this!
Standing means “action.” When we receive a command while standing, we can move much faster. As such, this means “Jesus who was working,” just as He said, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working (John 5:17). Only awakened saints can see Jesus who is working. This also means “Jesus in action.” We must be ready with faith to run when God calls us. When asked to serve at church, some say, “Can I be excused tomorrow since I have an engagement that happens only once or twice a year?” This is a slumbering faith.
Hebrews 11: A Longitudinal Survey of Church History
Unlike Acts 7 that gives a cross-sectional survey of church history, Hebrews 11 surveys the church history with a longitudinal view, showing the line of faith that bore the fruit of God’s will in each generation. Hebrews 11 records:
-Abel who offered a true offering in faith (Heb 11:4)
-Noah who prepared the ark without seeing the future (Heb 11:7)
-Abraham who left his home country without knowing where was going (Heb 11:8)
-Moses who chose to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin (Heb 11:25)
They all lived and died in faith. Although they died without receiving what was promised, they looked toward it and rejoiced. How great were their faiths! They found their true home country in their lives. God saw such a faith in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and prepared a city for them and guided them to look toward the city. Hebrew 11:13-16 truly inspires our hearts, filling us with a resolution, “My church life must be like theirs! I must look only ahead!” A church should not have groups split into pastors, elders, elderesses, or deacons. A true pastor never takes the side of a certain elder, elderess, or deacon. By faith, he must embrace, love, and care for the entire congregation with a fervent heart, and pray for them all the same way. Once a rumor spreads that the pastor is leaning toward an elder, or that an elderess is siding with someone, the church will break apart. Today, I said to the senior pastor of this church, “Pastor, there will be many tribulations in this church from now on. However, it will be easy as long as the church is united in faith. It will be a lot easier than previous years. May your heart never waver to the right or left. As said in Galatians 1:10, please remember that if we try to please men, we are not servants of Christ.”
Combining Acts 7 and Hebrews 11
When combining Acts 7 and Hebrews 11, we see the image of the true church, the true path a church must take. What was Jesus’ final commission for us? “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season” (2 Tim 4:2). Paul said, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word…” (1 Tim 4:1-2). The church has received this ultimate commission. Please believe that unprecedented work of God will be upon everyone once this church attains unity. May you always be filled with the Word, prayer, grace, and love of Christ, so that the devil can never find an opportunity in you. “I like this person, but I don’t like that person.” These thoughts are works of the devil. We should be happy to meet, eat together, talk with whomever we meet at church. How wonderful and gratifying would our lives be if everyone seems like a father, mother, brother, or sister to us? Wouldn’t our children be well and all our endeavors prosper? Let there be no factions from now on! “To those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath, and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek” (Rom 2:7-9). When we create factions and dissension, there will be tribulation and distress, ultimately leading to great chaos in our lives. We will eat but never be satisfied; we will earn but always lose money. God will say, “You are mocking Me!” and blow everything away.
Let us all be like the members of the Colossian Church that fulfilled Jesus’ remaining work in faith. If we only just have their faith, philosophy, and ideology to fill up our flesh with what is lacking in Christ’s affliction, then our church will be kindled with an unquenchable fire. I am certain that the God who once said to Joshua, “Be strong and be courageous, for I will be with you till the end,” will never leave this church, always uphold this church, and work through this church until that day of peace. Let us repent for all our wrongdoings to this day, and fill up our flesh with what is lacking in Christ’s affliction for the sake of God’s will. Even when we don’t feel like going to church, let us protect our church with the faith that we will not let the devil take our place. As all the congregation members are renewed with such determination, we shall together confess our faith to dedicate and serve God and march toward the kingdom of heaven.
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Huisun Rev. Abraham Park preached this sermon when he visited the branch church in LA during his missions trip to USA in February 2006. During the Lord’s Day service three days prior on February 5, he shared a message: “Decades ago, when I had just begun missions work in the US and there was no church and held services at home, I prayed hard for LA to become the center of global evangelism. The LA church is like a mother church in the US. This is the very first place where I sowed the seed of the Gospel in the States. When there is unity in the elders’ session, in women’s ministry, and among the officers, then this church will grow three-fold. When the church unites, the devil perishes. So, do you expect the devil to just sit still and watch you? Even when one hundred people are united, one person can still be tested. A church cannot run on human thoughts. There must be a fervent, trembling prayer while thoroughly discussing every matter, even with the least of all the families, and also seeking advice from the body of elders in the end. Once the well is dug, we must unite our strength to not lose even a single drop of water. We must never say out of indifference, ‘Since you dug the well, you take care of it!’ Please be of one accord. Please do not make excuses. We must never be split. Let us unite our hearts so that the morning of resurrection may dawn upon our new church!” |
*This post can also be read in 'Champyungan'. (http://champyungan.com/en/)
