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할렐루야교회
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역전하는 공동체
- 방송일 : 2011-08-10
- 조회 : 9349
역전하는 공동체
Turnaround Community
2011년 8월 10일
//
*Pastor Daniel Seung-wook Kim
Hallelujah Community Church
//
We see the Tower of Babel is
being built in today's passage.
//
It was a wrong project. According
to the Bible, people wanted to build
//
themselves a city, with a tower that
reaches to the heavens.
//
They did it because they wanted
to rebel against God's authority.
//
The creatures that were made to
worship tried to rebelled against
//
and challenge the Creator.
//
God saw the people wanted to rebel
against Him so that He confused
//
their language. This is called
the Tower of Babel curse.
//
God confused their language
and they couldn't communicate
//
with each other. Thus, they
scattered over all the earth.
//
Then chapter 11 shows us
how God turned around it.
//
God chose a family or a community.
From verse 10, we see the account
//
of Shem. God called Abraham and
his descendents, and promised to
//
bless them. Then He promised to
bless and restore the whole world
//
through them. This is the starting
point of God who turns it around.
//
So, from chapter 12, we see
Abraham and his descendents.
//
They formed a nation called Israel.
The history of the Old Testament
//
is based on the history of Israel.
Finally, God's plan reached
//
His time and Jesus Christ
was born in Israel.
//
And all the world can be saved
by Jesus Christ.
//
That is why chapter 11 is
very important.
//
It is a turning point historically.
It shows us how God turns
//
the human history around.
//
The Korean Church has been
discouraged by so much criticism
//
and negative reactions these days,
but the hope that God gave me is
//
that God will turn it around.
How does God turn it around?
//
How does God turn the darkness
into the light?
//
How does God lift up His people
who are oppressed and use
//
the nation to serve and bless
other nations.
//
How does the miracle of
God's turnaround take place?
//
What is the turnaround community?
//
We will think about three things
from today's passage.
//
First, God turns it around through
the power of the gospel.
//
It is not something really huge
or giant, just a power of the gospel.
//
If you read today's passage
carefully, you can see how
//
God reverses the Tower of
Babel curse.
//
Think about the Tower of Babel
curse. It was a curse of language.
//
God saw them trying to rebel
against Him so that He had to
//
confuse their language.
Then they couldn't communicate
//
with each other anymore.
Thus, it was a curse of language.
//
If this Tower of Babel curse
needs to be reversed,
//
the language should be
restored first.
//
There must be the language
that all people in the world know.
//
The Bible clearly talks about what
that language or message is.
//
It is the gospel. As you know,
gospel means the good news.
//
It is the good news from God.
The world was sick because of
//
the sins and separated from God
since the Tower of Babel event.
//
The world must be condemned
by God but He restored, repaired,
//
and revived the world through
Jesus Christ. This is the gospel.
//
This gospel message turned
the Tower of Babel curse around.
//
Acts chapter 2 describes
//
that Jesus Christ died
on the cross for our sins
//
and resurrected on the third day.
After his resurrection,
//
Jesus stayed on earth 40 days, and
he taught them and equipped them.
//
Then he ascended to the right
hand of God in heaven.
//
Later on, the Holy Spirit he promised
came on the day of Pentecost.
//
Listen carefully, focusing on
the language here.
//
"When the day of Pentecost came,
they were all together in one place.
//
Suddenly a sound like the blowing
of a violent wind came from heaven
//
and filled the whole house where
they were sitting.
//
They saw what seemed to be
tongues of fire that separated
//
and came to rest
on each of them.
//
All of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit
//
and began to speak in other tongues
as the Spirit enabled them.
//
Now there were staying in
Jerusalem God-fearing Jews
//
from every nation under heaven.
When they heard this sound,
//
a crowd came together in
bewilderment, because each one
//
heard them speaking
in his own language.
//
Utterly amazed, they asked:
//
"Are not all these men who are
speaking Galileans?
//
Then how is it that each of us hears
them in his own native language?
//
Parthians, Medes and Elamites;
residents of Mesopotamia, Judea
//
and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and
//
the parts of Libya near Cyrene;
visitors from Rome
//
(both Jews and converts to Judaism
Cretans and Arabs--we hear them
//
declaring the wonders of God
in our own tongues!"
//
We were cursed by God in Genesis
11 because of the Tower of Babel
//
and couldn't communicate with
each other under the curse.
//
But we experienced the curse was
over and turned around on this day.
//
People were not able to communicate
with each other before Pentecost.
//
But on the day of Pentecost, they all
understood the message proclaimed.
//
What was the message? What did
they hear on that day? Go to verse 36.
//
Therefore let all Israel be assured
of this: God has made this Jesus,
//
whom you crucified, both Lord and
Christ. When the people heard this,
//
they were cut to the heart and said to
Peter and the other apostles,
//
"Brothers, what shall we do?"
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized,
//
every one of you, in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
//
your sins. And you will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
//
The promise is for you and your
children and for all who are far off
//
for all whom the Lord our God
will call."
//
The gospel means that God saved us.
How can we be saved from our sins?
//
What is sin? It is like you leave God.
//
If we live in sin, that means we are
not with God.
//
We are made to have relationships
with the Creator and worship Him.
//
But the moment that we want to live
without God and, the saying that we
want to get whatever we desire, eat,
//
and enjoy the world through our own
success without God are basically
//
the foundation of sin. If We leave
God, can we be truly satisfied?
//
Can we have peace and joy?
If people leave God but find peace
//
after they become successful,
no one will commit suicide.
//
If you leave God, enjoy whatever
the world gives, have thrills, and
//
eat whatever you want, can you
be truly satisfied?
//
Today South Korea became much
more richer than 1970s when I was
//
going to the U.S. Then do we have
less problems?
//
It says in John 3:16, "For God so loved
the world..." The subject here is God.
//
It is not a human. It is not a good deed,
any religion, philosophy, human effort.
//
It is simply God so loved the world.
He just loved the world that was
//
filled with sin. He loved the world
that had built the Tower of Babel
//
to rebel against Himself. He loved
the world looking fine outside
//
but dying inside. It says God so
loved the world.
//
He gave his one and only Son and
made him die on the cross so that
//
he took God's wrath that we have to
receive. He paid the price for our sins.
//
God's wrath was pouring out into
His one and only Son on the cross
//
and the price was paid in full.
It means God's wrath became
//
exhausted and empty. It was
because God poured out His wrath.
//
Then it says, "whoever believes
in him." Because we are not able
//
to pay the price for our sins,
God made Jesus die on the cross
//
as the atonement. And God
poured out His wrath on Jesus.
//
Now whoever believes in him and
accepts him will not have God's
//
wrath, meaning, "there is now no
condemnation for those who are
//
in Christ Jesus." Through Christ
Jesus the law of the Spirit of life,
//
this blessing is given to us.
This is the gospel.
//
Have you ever heard about it?
It is the gospel.
//
It cannot be made by man.
There is no religion story like this.
//
This is the story that human
can never make.
//
This language of the gospel is being
delivered to all over the world.
//
Since the Tower of Babel event,
we were not able to communicate
//
with each other, but the language
of the gospel is the language that
//
can connect all peoples in the world.
//
Today in China, Russia, Middle East,
Africa, Americas, Central Asia,
//
Southeast Asia, wherever they are
they become God's people if they
//
hear the gospel and accept Jesus.
Their languages, cultures, and
//
backgrounds don't matter.
It is the gospel.
//
The Tower of Babel curse has been
turned around by the gospel.
//
Thus, if the Korean Church wants to
overcome all the negative criticism
//
and reignite the light of God,
what must be restored?
//
The gospel must be restored first.
It is not a program nor a very
//
impressive message at all.
It is not powerful any more.
//
You can be touched by so many
good messages through internet.
//
10 years ago, people in American
churches were attracted to fancy
//
and great stage and programs but
that is not happening today.
//
They don't care about it anymore
It is not attractive because they
//
can have more from internet and
other fascinating culture in the world.
//
Even young people they are not
impressed by it neither.
//
As far as I know, growing and
vibrant churches in America that
//
deliver the Word of God plainly
only survive today.
//
They don't decorate the gospel.
The plain gospel is the true gospel.
//
If the gospel is decorated not to
make some people feel offended,
//
we smell a human perfume.
There is no power.
//
But if you share the gospel directly,
you will smell the blood of the cross.
//
There you smell the blood the Son of
God shed for our sins.
//
You don't smell a human perfume
but this bloody gospel saves people.
//
Only this bloody gospel can save us,
our children, and people in all nations.
//
If the Korean Church want to rise up
again, we must restore the gospel and
//
experience the power of the gospel.
We must realize the only thing we
//
need is the gospel so that the church,
God's Word, and worship can be
//
restored as they were intended
by God originally.
//
You see the Tower of Babel curse
was reversed and turned around
//
by the power of the gospel.
//
Secondly, it is a glorious worship.
//
If you look at today's passage and
think about why they built the Tower
//
of Babel, the reason was that they
didn't see whom they must worship.
//
They replaced God's position
with themselves.
//
They only cared about their names
and forgot about God whom they
//
truly need to worship.
//
Thus, if the Tower of Babel curse
has to be reversed or turned around,
//
the true worship must be restored.
//
If the true worship for God is not
restored, the waves of the curse
//
cannot be stopped.
//
Jesus told us about the people
whom God is looking for.
//
Let's check it out. Turn into John 4:23
Jesus says like this, "Yet a time is
//
coming and has now come when
the true worshipers will worship
//
the Father in spirit and truth,
for they are the kind of worshipers
//
the Father seeks.
//
Worshiping God in spirit and truth
means we worship the Lord with
//
all our hearts and passion,
focusing on the Word of God.
//
Worship in spirit and truth.
What is the opposite?
//
The worship only focusing on
forms and traditions.
//
If you carefully think about
the worship controlled by forms,
//
that is not truly the worship.
//
When we think about the worship,
we usually think about the order.
//
That is not the worship at all.
It shouldn't be limited by any
//
form or methods. If you only focus
on the forms and teach your children
//
to have the same mind-set,
they cannot worship God truly.
//
They are unable to worship Him
in spirit and truth.
//
When we worship, God's Word
and His glory never change.
//
But there are always differences
depending on the generations.
//
Every generation has a different
experience for worship because
//
God pours out different waves,
especially in worship music.
//
The hymns we are singing now
were written during 1700s and
//
1800s by the Wesley brothers
in England and the great awakening
//
years when the evangelist Moody
was doing his ministry in America.
//
At that time, most Christians were
surprised by the music style.
//
Before pastor Moody came out,
they only sang the classic hymns
//
such as Bach's and Gregorian chants
if you go back to previous years.
//
But during 1700s and 1800s,
God gave us the revival and
//
congregations began to sing
the gospel songs together.
//
These revival songs are the hymns
we sing today frequently.
//
They were the gospel songs for
young generation at that time.
//
If you think about the church music,
the church worship can be dead
//
when the church music is limited
by only one kind of music style.
//
God gives us different kinds of worship
music that touch different generations.
//
The parents' generation need to sing
the old hymns that they used to sing
//
and also need to teach those hymns
to their children. However, you must
//
not be stuck in there.
//
Our next generation must experience
the Spirit of God by new songs and
//
we need to sing their praise songs
together and learn also.
//
I know you are doing great for that.
For our children's generation,
//
they also need to learn the old
hymns that their parents sang.
//
Then three generations can
worship God together.
//
If the church is limited by the form
a specific generation prefers,
//
that church cannot survive.
The growing churches that young
//
people and the next generation
keep coming is, it doesn't matter
//
they are located in the U.S., Europe,
Africa, Australia, and so on,
//
the growing and thriving churches
that young people keep coming
//
have one common thing.
They have the passionate worship.
//
They are not bounded by any form
as they worship. They worship in truth.
//
We have to worship God in spirit
and also in truth.
//
We should have the both and as we
do that our worship will be alive,
//
dynamic, and our praises will be
really exciting.
//
This is how God turns it around.
If we want to see how God reverses
//
the curse, we want to worship Him
in spirit and truth and become
//
the true worshipers that God seeks.
So, we do everything for worship,
//
offered to the Lord as the parents'
generation and the children's
//
generation are united together.
I pray we can have this kind of
//
united worship community together.
//
It is the glorious worship which can
subdue the force of the Tower of Babel.
//
There is one more. It is the ministry
that prepares God's people.
//
Preparing God's people.
If you read today's passage again,
//
as the Tower of Babel was built,
God was doing one thing quietly.
//
He was raising up His people.
When the global project, the Tower
//
of Babel was going up, the Bible talks
about the accounts of Shem.
//
It doesn't make sense in this context.
We wonder why it is here.
//
While people were focusing on this
global project, God showed us Shem
//
and his descendents.
It doesn't make any sense here but
//
it was God's strategy. He was
preparing His people.
//
Jesus did the same thing, preparing
his people.
//
When Jesus ascended to heaven,
he handed over his ministry to
//
his disciples. For three years, he
spent all his energy to equip them.
//
If you read the Bible and think about
the role of the church, it is preparing
//
God's people.
//
If you go to Ephesians 4, you will see
why God allows the church in the world
//
and why every church needs to
have spiritual leaders.
//
It is explained in Ephesians 4:12,
"to prepare God's people for works
//
of service so that the body of Christ
may be built up."
//
The order is very important.
To prepare God's people first and
//
for works of service so that the body
of Christ can be built up.
//
Preparing God's people.
That is the role of the church.
//
150 years ago, an American pastor,
E. M. Bounds wrote a classic book
//
on prayer and he said, "The church
is looking for better methods; God is
//
looking for better men. What the church
needs today is not more machinery or
//
better, not new organizations or more
and novel methods, but men who
//
the Holy Spirit can use - men of prayer,
men mighty in prayer.
//
The Holy Spirit does not come on
machinery but on men.
//
He does not anoint plans, but men
- men of prayer."
//
It is always men, God's people.
God told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6.
//
In the last days, there will be divisions,
confusion, and even the believers will
//
compromise, people will love money,
and they don't respect their parents.
//
The world will be messed up but
God said, "But you, man of God!"
//
"Timothy, O man of God!" God said,
"Timothy, You, O man of God!"
//
He said, "But you, man of God must
flee these things, and proclaim
//
the gospel, don't ever compromise
with the world for the truth, you shine
//
the glory of God from where you are.
You, man of God! You stay there."
//
Something can happen when
God's people are prepared.
//
The church should have a system
to prepare God's people.
//
It doesn't matter how many times
a pastor encourages or speaks,
//
the church must have a system for it.
The church should work together.
//
Every teaching ministry should
work together.
//
The reason why God allows
the church and the pastors is,
//
according to Ephesians 4,
to prepare God's people.
//
How can we disobey God's Word?
We are no better than Jesus.
//
Jesus' strategy was preparing
God's people.
//
He spent 3 years with them and
left asked them to continue the work.
//
We cannot have any better strategy
than what Jesus had.
//
Jesus knew that the best way is
to prepare God's people.
//
So, the church shouldn't just work.
It must have a system.
//
The church organization should
function for this purpose.
//
That is why we have training courses.
Through the training, we can build up
//
the church together. That is why
we ask you to be trained.
//
If God's people are not prepared,
nothing can happen.
//
For our children's ministry, we are
not supposed to teach them
//
passively or defensively, just telling
them not to leave the church.
//
Not all of them may follow our
direction but we must prepare them.
//
While the huge global project,
the Tower of Babel project was
//
proceeded, God was looking at
a family and preparing him and
//
make a new history through him.
That is God's strategy.
//
What should the church do if it
wants to be a turnaround community?
//
It is to prepare God's people,
systemically, like a military.
//
A slogan does not operates
the military. There must be
//
organized and structured programs
and repeated training courses.
//
After passing all those training
courses, a good solder can be made.
//
If he is trained more,
he can be a officer.
//
When we do that, our nation can
have a strong military.
//
It is not the ordinary citizens who
fight at the battle. It is the soldiers.
//
The soldiers are trained through
organized systems and trainings.
//
The church must do the same.
//
The reason we ask you to take
the training courses in our church
//
is not just because they are
the church programs.
//
They include the philosophies
of God's Word and the church.
//
It is the time for the Korean Church
to turn around and rise up.
//
We should not just defend ourselves.
Though we can defend for a moment,
//
we must attack when it is necessary.
Why the Korean national soccer team
//
became a powerful team at
2002 FIFA World Cup?
//
It was because they began to attack.
Before 2002, they only focused on
//
the midfield and defense areas.
We didn't have strikers.
//
But in 2002, we had those strikers.
They made the goals and won.
//
We win when we attack.
We cannot defend always.
//
I believe God will allow the Korean
Church to turn it around.
//
We must say that we will rise up
as the turnaround community
//
because God's Kingdom wins.
The victory belongs to God's church.
//
That is why we must rise up as
the turnaround community now.
//
Turnaround Community
2011년 8월 10일
//
*Pastor Daniel Seung-wook Kim
Hallelujah Community Church
//
We see the Tower of Babel is
being built in today's passage.
//
It was a wrong project. According
to the Bible, people wanted to build
//
themselves a city, with a tower that
reaches to the heavens.
//
They did it because they wanted
to rebel against God's authority.
//
The creatures that were made to
worship tried to rebelled against
//
and challenge the Creator.
//
God saw the people wanted to rebel
against Him so that He confused
//
their language. This is called
the Tower of Babel curse.
//
God confused their language
and they couldn't communicate
//
with each other. Thus, they
scattered over all the earth.
//
Then chapter 11 shows us
how God turned around it.
//
God chose a family or a community.
From verse 10, we see the account
//
of Shem. God called Abraham and
his descendents, and promised to
//
bless them. Then He promised to
bless and restore the whole world
//
through them. This is the starting
point of God who turns it around.
//
So, from chapter 12, we see
Abraham and his descendents.
//
They formed a nation called Israel.
The history of the Old Testament
//
is based on the history of Israel.
Finally, God's plan reached
//
His time and Jesus Christ
was born in Israel.
//
And all the world can be saved
by Jesus Christ.
//
That is why chapter 11 is
very important.
//
It is a turning point historically.
It shows us how God turns
//
the human history around.
//
The Korean Church has been
discouraged by so much criticism
//
and negative reactions these days,
but the hope that God gave me is
//
that God will turn it around.
How does God turn it around?
//
How does God turn the darkness
into the light?
//
How does God lift up His people
who are oppressed and use
//
the nation to serve and bless
other nations.
//
How does the miracle of
God's turnaround take place?
//
What is the turnaround community?
//
We will think about three things
from today's passage.
//
First, God turns it around through
the power of the gospel.
//
It is not something really huge
or giant, just a power of the gospel.
//
If you read today's passage
carefully, you can see how
//
God reverses the Tower of
Babel curse.
//
Think about the Tower of Babel
curse. It was a curse of language.
//
God saw them trying to rebel
against Him so that He had to
//
confuse their language.
Then they couldn't communicate
//
with each other anymore.
Thus, it was a curse of language.
//
If this Tower of Babel curse
needs to be reversed,
//
the language should be
restored first.
//
There must be the language
that all people in the world know.
//
The Bible clearly talks about what
that language or message is.
//
It is the gospel. As you know,
gospel means the good news.
//
It is the good news from God.
The world was sick because of
//
the sins and separated from God
since the Tower of Babel event.
//
The world must be condemned
by God but He restored, repaired,
//
and revived the world through
Jesus Christ. This is the gospel.
//
This gospel message turned
the Tower of Babel curse around.
//
Acts chapter 2 describes
//
that Jesus Christ died
on the cross for our sins
//
and resurrected on the third day.
After his resurrection,
//
Jesus stayed on earth 40 days, and
he taught them and equipped them.
//
Then he ascended to the right
hand of God in heaven.
//
Later on, the Holy Spirit he promised
came on the day of Pentecost.
//
Listen carefully, focusing on
the language here.
//
"When the day of Pentecost came,
they were all together in one place.
//
Suddenly a sound like the blowing
of a violent wind came from heaven
//
and filled the whole house where
they were sitting.
//
They saw what seemed to be
tongues of fire that separated
//
and came to rest
on each of them.
//
All of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit
//
and began to speak in other tongues
as the Spirit enabled them.
//
Now there were staying in
Jerusalem God-fearing Jews
//
from every nation under heaven.
When they heard this sound,
//
a crowd came together in
bewilderment, because each one
//
heard them speaking
in his own language.
//
Utterly amazed, they asked:
//
"Are not all these men who are
speaking Galileans?
//
Then how is it that each of us hears
them in his own native language?
//
Parthians, Medes and Elamites;
residents of Mesopotamia, Judea
//
and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and
//
the parts of Libya near Cyrene;
visitors from Rome
//
(both Jews and converts to Judaism
Cretans and Arabs--we hear them
//
declaring the wonders of God
in our own tongues!"
//
We were cursed by God in Genesis
11 because of the Tower of Babel
//
and couldn't communicate with
each other under the curse.
//
But we experienced the curse was
over and turned around on this day.
//
People were not able to communicate
with each other before Pentecost.
//
But on the day of Pentecost, they all
understood the message proclaimed.
//
What was the message? What did
they hear on that day? Go to verse 36.
//
Therefore let all Israel be assured
of this: God has made this Jesus,
//
whom you crucified, both Lord and
Christ. When the people heard this,
//
they were cut to the heart and said to
Peter and the other apostles,
//
"Brothers, what shall we do?"
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized,
//
every one of you, in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
//
your sins. And you will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
//
The promise is for you and your
children and for all who are far off
//
for all whom the Lord our God
will call."
//
The gospel means that God saved us.
How can we be saved from our sins?
//
What is sin? It is like you leave God.
//
If we live in sin, that means we are
not with God.
//
We are made to have relationships
with the Creator and worship Him.
//
But the moment that we want to live
without God and, the saying that we
want to get whatever we desire, eat,
//
and enjoy the world through our own
success without God are basically
//
the foundation of sin. If We leave
God, can we be truly satisfied?
//
Can we have peace and joy?
If people leave God but find peace
//
after they become successful,
no one will commit suicide.
//
If you leave God, enjoy whatever
the world gives, have thrills, and
//
eat whatever you want, can you
be truly satisfied?
//
Today South Korea became much
more richer than 1970s when I was
//
going to the U.S. Then do we have
less problems?
//
It says in John 3:16, "For God so loved
the world..." The subject here is God.
//
It is not a human. It is not a good deed,
any religion, philosophy, human effort.
//
It is simply God so loved the world.
He just loved the world that was
//
filled with sin. He loved the world
that had built the Tower of Babel
//
to rebel against Himself. He loved
the world looking fine outside
//
but dying inside. It says God so
loved the world.
//
He gave his one and only Son and
made him die on the cross so that
//
he took God's wrath that we have to
receive. He paid the price for our sins.
//
God's wrath was pouring out into
His one and only Son on the cross
//
and the price was paid in full.
It means God's wrath became
//
exhausted and empty. It was
because God poured out His wrath.
//
Then it says, "whoever believes
in him." Because we are not able
//
to pay the price for our sins,
God made Jesus die on the cross
//
as the atonement. And God
poured out His wrath on Jesus.
//
Now whoever believes in him and
accepts him will not have God's
//
wrath, meaning, "there is now no
condemnation for those who are
//
in Christ Jesus." Through Christ
Jesus the law of the Spirit of life,
//
this blessing is given to us.
This is the gospel.
//
Have you ever heard about it?
It is the gospel.
//
It cannot be made by man.
There is no religion story like this.
//
This is the story that human
can never make.
//
This language of the gospel is being
delivered to all over the world.
//
Since the Tower of Babel event,
we were not able to communicate
//
with each other, but the language
of the gospel is the language that
//
can connect all peoples in the world.
//
Today in China, Russia, Middle East,
Africa, Americas, Central Asia,
//
Southeast Asia, wherever they are
they become God's people if they
//
hear the gospel and accept Jesus.
Their languages, cultures, and
//
backgrounds don't matter.
It is the gospel.
//
The Tower of Babel curse has been
turned around by the gospel.
//
Thus, if the Korean Church wants to
overcome all the negative criticism
//
and reignite the light of God,
what must be restored?
//
The gospel must be restored first.
It is not a program nor a very
//
impressive message at all.
It is not powerful any more.
//
You can be touched by so many
good messages through internet.
//
10 years ago, people in American
churches were attracted to fancy
//
and great stage and programs but
that is not happening today.
//
They don't care about it anymore
It is not attractive because they
//
can have more from internet and
other fascinating culture in the world.
//
Even young people they are not
impressed by it neither.
//
As far as I know, growing and
vibrant churches in America that
//
deliver the Word of God plainly
only survive today.
//
They don't decorate the gospel.
The plain gospel is the true gospel.
//
If the gospel is decorated not to
make some people feel offended,
//
we smell a human perfume.
There is no power.
//
But if you share the gospel directly,
you will smell the blood of the cross.
//
There you smell the blood the Son of
God shed for our sins.
//
You don't smell a human perfume
but this bloody gospel saves people.
//
Only this bloody gospel can save us,
our children, and people in all nations.
//
If the Korean Church want to rise up
again, we must restore the gospel and
//
experience the power of the gospel.
We must realize the only thing we
//
need is the gospel so that the church,
God's Word, and worship can be
//
restored as they were intended
by God originally.
//
You see the Tower of Babel curse
was reversed and turned around
//
by the power of the gospel.
//
Secondly, it is a glorious worship.
//
If you look at today's passage and
think about why they built the Tower
//
of Babel, the reason was that they
didn't see whom they must worship.
//
They replaced God's position
with themselves.
//
They only cared about their names
and forgot about God whom they
//
truly need to worship.
//
Thus, if the Tower of Babel curse
has to be reversed or turned around,
//
the true worship must be restored.
//
If the true worship for God is not
restored, the waves of the curse
//
cannot be stopped.
//
Jesus told us about the people
whom God is looking for.
//
Let's check it out. Turn into John 4:23
Jesus says like this, "Yet a time is
//
coming and has now come when
the true worshipers will worship
//
the Father in spirit and truth,
for they are the kind of worshipers
//
the Father seeks.
//
Worshiping God in spirit and truth
means we worship the Lord with
//
all our hearts and passion,
focusing on the Word of God.
//
Worship in spirit and truth.
What is the opposite?
//
The worship only focusing on
forms and traditions.
//
If you carefully think about
the worship controlled by forms,
//
that is not truly the worship.
//
When we think about the worship,
we usually think about the order.
//
That is not the worship at all.
It shouldn't be limited by any
//
form or methods. If you only focus
on the forms and teach your children
//
to have the same mind-set,
they cannot worship God truly.
//
They are unable to worship Him
in spirit and truth.
//
When we worship, God's Word
and His glory never change.
//
But there are always differences
depending on the generations.
//
Every generation has a different
experience for worship because
//
God pours out different waves,
especially in worship music.
//
The hymns we are singing now
were written during 1700s and
//
1800s by the Wesley brothers
in England and the great awakening
//
years when the evangelist Moody
was doing his ministry in America.
//
At that time, most Christians were
surprised by the music style.
//
Before pastor Moody came out,
they only sang the classic hymns
//
such as Bach's and Gregorian chants
if you go back to previous years.
//
But during 1700s and 1800s,
God gave us the revival and
//
congregations began to sing
the gospel songs together.
//
These revival songs are the hymns
we sing today frequently.
//
They were the gospel songs for
young generation at that time.
//
If you think about the church music,
the church worship can be dead
//
when the church music is limited
by only one kind of music style.
//
God gives us different kinds of worship
music that touch different generations.
//
The parents' generation need to sing
the old hymns that they used to sing
//
and also need to teach those hymns
to their children. However, you must
//
not be stuck in there.
//
Our next generation must experience
the Spirit of God by new songs and
//
we need to sing their praise songs
together and learn also.
//
I know you are doing great for that.
For our children's generation,
//
they also need to learn the old
hymns that their parents sang.
//
Then three generations can
worship God together.
//
If the church is limited by the form
a specific generation prefers,
//
that church cannot survive.
The growing churches that young
//
people and the next generation
keep coming is, it doesn't matter
//
they are located in the U.S., Europe,
Africa, Australia, and so on,
//
the growing and thriving churches
that young people keep coming
//
have one common thing.
They have the passionate worship.
//
They are not bounded by any form
as they worship. They worship in truth.
//
We have to worship God in spirit
and also in truth.
//
We should have the both and as we
do that our worship will be alive,
//
dynamic, and our praises will be
really exciting.
//
This is how God turns it around.
If we want to see how God reverses
//
the curse, we want to worship Him
in spirit and truth and become
//
the true worshipers that God seeks.
So, we do everything for worship,
//
offered to the Lord as the parents'
generation and the children's
//
generation are united together.
I pray we can have this kind of
//
united worship community together.
//
It is the glorious worship which can
subdue the force of the Tower of Babel.
//
There is one more. It is the ministry
that prepares God's people.
//
Preparing God's people.
If you read today's passage again,
//
as the Tower of Babel was built,
God was doing one thing quietly.
//
He was raising up His people.
When the global project, the Tower
//
of Babel was going up, the Bible talks
about the accounts of Shem.
//
It doesn't make sense in this context.
We wonder why it is here.
//
While people were focusing on this
global project, God showed us Shem
//
and his descendents.
It doesn't make any sense here but
//
it was God's strategy. He was
preparing His people.
//
Jesus did the same thing, preparing
his people.
//
When Jesus ascended to heaven,
he handed over his ministry to
//
his disciples. For three years, he
spent all his energy to equip them.
//
If you read the Bible and think about
the role of the church, it is preparing
//
God's people.
//
If you go to Ephesians 4, you will see
why God allows the church in the world
//
and why every church needs to
have spiritual leaders.
//
It is explained in Ephesians 4:12,
"to prepare God's people for works
//
of service so that the body of Christ
may be built up."
//
The order is very important.
To prepare God's people first and
//
for works of service so that the body
of Christ can be built up.
//
Preparing God's people.
That is the role of the church.
//
150 years ago, an American pastor,
E. M. Bounds wrote a classic book
//
on prayer and he said, "The church
is looking for better methods; God is
//
looking for better men. What the church
needs today is not more machinery or
//
better, not new organizations or more
and novel methods, but men who
//
the Holy Spirit can use - men of prayer,
men mighty in prayer.
//
The Holy Spirit does not come on
machinery but on men.
//
He does not anoint plans, but men
- men of prayer."
//
It is always men, God's people.
God told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6.
//
In the last days, there will be divisions,
confusion, and even the believers will
//
compromise, people will love money,
and they don't respect their parents.
//
The world will be messed up but
God said, "But you, man of God!"
//
"Timothy, O man of God!" God said,
"Timothy, You, O man of God!"
//
He said, "But you, man of God must
flee these things, and proclaim
//
the gospel, don't ever compromise
with the world for the truth, you shine
//
the glory of God from where you are.
You, man of God! You stay there."
//
Something can happen when
God's people are prepared.
//
The church should have a system
to prepare God's people.
//
It doesn't matter how many times
a pastor encourages or speaks,
//
the church must have a system for it.
The church should work together.
//
Every teaching ministry should
work together.
//
The reason why God allows
the church and the pastors is,
//
according to Ephesians 4,
to prepare God's people.
//
How can we disobey God's Word?
We are no better than Jesus.
//
Jesus' strategy was preparing
God's people.
//
He spent 3 years with them and
left asked them to continue the work.
//
We cannot have any better strategy
than what Jesus had.
//
Jesus knew that the best way is
to prepare God's people.
//
So, the church shouldn't just work.
It must have a system.
//
The church organization should
function for this purpose.
//
That is why we have training courses.
Through the training, we can build up
//
the church together. That is why
we ask you to be trained.
//
If God's people are not prepared,
nothing can happen.
//
For our children's ministry, we are
not supposed to teach them
//
passively or defensively, just telling
them not to leave the church.
//
Not all of them may follow our
direction but we must prepare them.
//
While the huge global project,
the Tower of Babel project was
//
proceeded, God was looking at
a family and preparing him and
//
make a new history through him.
That is God's strategy.
//
What should the church do if it
wants to be a turnaround community?
//
It is to prepare God's people,
systemically, like a military.
//
A slogan does not operates
the military. There must be
//
organized and structured programs
and repeated training courses.
//
After passing all those training
courses, a good solder can be made.
//
If he is trained more,
he can be a officer.
//
When we do that, our nation can
have a strong military.
//
It is not the ordinary citizens who
fight at the battle. It is the soldiers.
//
The soldiers are trained through
organized systems and trainings.
//
The church must do the same.
//
The reason we ask you to take
the training courses in our church
//
is not just because they are
the church programs.
//
They include the philosophies
of God's Word and the church.
//
It is the time for the Korean Church
to turn around and rise up.
//
We should not just defend ourselves.
Though we can defend for a moment,
//
we must attack when it is necessary.
Why the Korean national soccer team
//
became a powerful team at
2002 FIFA World Cup?
//
It was because they began to attack.
Before 2002, they only focused on
//
the midfield and defense areas.
We didn't have strikers.
//
But in 2002, we had those strikers.
They made the goals and won.
//
We win when we attack.
We cannot defend always.
//
I believe God will allow the Korean
Church to turn it around.
//
We must say that we will rise up
as the turnaround community
//
because God's Kingdom wins.
The victory belongs to God's church.
//
That is why we must rise up as
the turnaround community now.
//