Today Pastor Choi talks about God’s commandment on fathers: honor them (Exodus 20:12).  Pointing out the reality in America, he exhorts the congregation to reconcile with their earthly fathers not by feelings but by will.  He gives three pieces of advice to those who want to reconcile with their estranged fathers: obey God no matter what.  Forgive.  Be proactive.

   On Fathers

Following is a summary of the sermon:

On Fathers 

• Exodus 20:12  New American Standard Bible

• ¹² “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

   

  Introduction

  Happy Father’s Day!   Let me begin with a story of my own father.  Had he been alive today, he would have been 107 years old.  He passed away at 59 (I was 11 years old).  He was a kind man and never violent yet dysfunctional due to his alcoholism.  He was often sick and couldn’t hold a steady job and left a heavy burden on my mother’s shoulders to raise six kids.   I wish he had lived a little longer, but it didn’t happen.  I always had the longing in my heart for my father as I grew up into my adulthood.

   

  Contents

  Reality:  What about your father?  Is he a wonderful father?  Are you proud of him?  Then, be thankful and honor him.

• Is he not so good, in fact, a terrible father?  Forgive and still honor him.

• Not every one of us is proud of our fathers: in fact, there are many children wish that their fathers would’ve been different.  E.g.  One year a greeting card company offered free Mother’s Day cards to prison inmates.  It was a huge success!   So, for Father’s Day, the company did the same: free cards for fathers.  However, this time, unlike the Mother’s Day offer, it was received very poorly among the inmates.   Hmmm… it tells us something, doesn’t it?   Did you also know that Father’s Day is the busiest day of the year for collect calls (because so many fathers are in jail)?   Sadly, many fathers in America have a poor track record when it comes down to bringing up their children right (cf. Ephesians 6:4 says, ^“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord”).

• Two kinds of father we see in the Bible: two different Hebrew words are used for father (when no such biblical distinctions  are made for mothers): 

  1) Ab:  it occurs in most references for fathers; five out of six times (also used in all occasions for father: e.g.1. father of all who play the harp and flute (Genesis 4:21).  e.g. 2. Paul was the father to all Corinthian believers (1 Corinthians 4:15).  

  2) Yalad: (biological fathers) occurs in one out of six times in the Old Testament references.   This one reminds me of the fathers who are good at creating babies but very poor in relationships with their children.   

• My heart goes out to those young and grown-up children who have difficult relationships with their earthly fathers.  E.g.  I remember one female student in seminary who refused to call God in Heaven ‘Father.’   Why?  Because her difficult and abusive relationship with her earthly father made it impossible to call God ‘Father.’ Thank God that we have only one perfect Father in Heaven.  Jesus points out that we all have one Father who is in Heaven (Matthew 23:9) (we’d best stop relating the imperfect image of earthly father to that of heavenly Father).

• With such reality (of two kinds of fathers) in mind, let’s pay attention to the fifth commandment once again: ¹² “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.”

  Why Should We Honor Fathers?

• I asked myself a question: Why should we honor fathers? 

• Simply because God commands us to do so (like the other nine commandments in the Ten Commandments.)  It is God’s will for us to honor our parents.  It’s a commandment of God not an option or suggestion.  If we don’t honor our fathers, we are disobeying God.  

• This commandment is not conditional, either. 

• In other words, God wants us to honor our fathers

  • Not because of what they have done for us.

  • Not because of societal pressure or culture.

  • Not because we may feel like doing it.

  • But because we owe them our lives.  Like they owed theirs to their parents.  It goes all the way up to God—the Giver of Life.  One reason we ought to honor our fathers is for the life in us.  Proverbs 23:22 says: “Listen to your father, who gave you life.”  By honoring our fathers, we ultimately show our respect to God the Giver of Life.

    By the way, God promises a reward to those who honor their fathers: a blessed long-life on earth.    

    What Does It Mean to Honor?

• Honor: Note here that it is different from “obey.”  To honor means: to show respect [Nahash, 2 Samuel 10:3].  To Reward [Balaam, Numbers  22:17, 37].  To think more important [sons of Eli. 1 Samuel 2:29].  To make them proud of you.  Not to ‘embarrass’ [Saul to Samuel, 1 Samuel 15:30].  Not to ‘despise’ [Jerusalem, Lamentations 1:8, Despise vile men, Psalms 15:4, 1 Samuel 2:30].  To Care for, show affection, glorify, prize and cherish.

  How Do We Honor the Unworthy Fathers?

• My honest thought: It would’ve been far easier if the commandment said, “Honor your father and mother only if they deserve it.”  Or, “Honor them only when they are good to you.”

• But, that’s not how the commandment is written.  Rather, it says: “Honor your father.”  Period.   Plain and simple.  The way I see it is to honor all types of fathers, both good or bad.  

• So, the real question is: how can we honor our fathers who deserve no respect or honor from us?   Impossible with our own might, but it is doable in the Lord.  Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

• Here are three things to start with to honor your father. 

• First, be resolved to obey God no matter what.  Be resolved that you are not going to let your hurts and feelings stand in the way to obey God’s commandment.  Resolution determines attitude; attitude determines approach; approach determines outcome (Derek Prince).

• Next, forgive him.  Remember the Lord’s prayer: forgive our trespasses as we forgive those [our fathers] who trespass against us.   Forgiveness is not done by feelings but by your will. 

• Thirdly, be proactive, not reactive.  Honor your undeserving father not because of but inspite of.  This commandment is one of the two commandments in positive formulation in the Ten Commandments [i.e., it is not “You shall NOT…” but “Do…”   When we are proactive, it opens a door for us to honor them in many ways. 

  Closing

  Folks, for closing, I am going to say a prayer especially for those who have very difficult relationships with their earthly fathers.  Please close your eyes and join me in prayer.  If you need to forgive your father, don’t wait for another day to do so.  Now is the time.  

  If you want to forgive your father, say after me in silence:  Father in Heaven, it is your will to honor my father.  I am determined to obey you no matter what.  Today I forgive my own father not by feelings but by will.  By myself I cannot do, but I can with your help.   In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Today Pastor Choi explains the meaning of confirmation: it is a life-long faith journey where God is fully committed to strengthen the believer’s faith and practice until s/he is transformed into Christ’s image (Ephesians 5:1).  He exhorts God’s children to be Christ’s representatives to the world in this life and stand blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ.

      Confirmation Sunday Message

Following is a summary of the sermon:

Confirmation Sunday Message

2 Corinthians 2:14-17   New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. ¹⁵ For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; ¹⁶ to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.

Introduction

Congratulations!  This is a great day for the confirmands who completed a three-month long class.  I am very proud of you all.  Thanks to the parents for their encouragement and support.  Thanks to the congregation for your prayers.  Today is also great day for our church because we received four new members to God’s family!  Special thanks to c0-teachers , Randy and Vanessa Estelow: we had such a great fun teaching about God and about God’s Church.  Also, special thanks to Rosemary Molinaro who provided each confirmand with a very special stole to wear this morning.

Let me begin my message with a question: What is confirmation to you?  How would you explain to your friend if she asks you ‘what confirmation is all about’?   A typical answer would be something like this: you complete a three-month (or a year) long class and you get confirmed on a Sunday (typically in June) and you become a full member of the Church of God.  Let me tell you.  Confirmation is much more than that.

I looked up the word ‘to confirm’ in the dictionary.  This is what I have found: the word “confirm” is originated from a Latin word “confirmare” which has two parts: con—(together) and firmare—(to strengthen).  Therefore, ‘to confirm’ means ‘to strengthen together.’   So, in the context of Church, ‘to confirm’ means ‘to strengthen together someone’s (typically youth) faith and practice.’

Contents

At the first confirmation class, I explained to the youth that confirmation is a life-long journey, not a three-month long class.  By taking the class, I said, they are taking their first step in their faith journey to Heaven.  I encourage the confirmands to continue their participation in the life of the Church after they are confirmed.

Sadly, however, that’s not the reality in America.  A vast majority of confirmands, as soon as they are confirmed, drop out of the Church (statistics show that they don’t come back to the Church until they are married and have their own kids).   My experience of 25 years of ministry testifies to that reality.  It shouldn’t be.  Let us remind ourselves that Confirmation Sunday is not the end, but the beginning of faith journey.

Remember the ‘together’ part?  In this faith journey, no one travels alone.  We go together.  In fact, God assigns to us four travel partners: family, friends, Church, and God Himself.   Families sometimes can discourage us.  Friends at other times can abandon us.  Even the Church of God can disappoint us as well.  However, we do have one partner, eternal and divine, who never abandons or forsakes us.   He is God.   His name is Immanuel.   He is with us forever.  He is our faithful partner in our journey to Heaven.  In fact, the Scripture says that God is fully committed to this journey of confirmation and sanctification to the end (through and through).  He will carry out His work in us until we are transformed into Christ’s image (Ephesians 5:1).   Listen to the promise of God: who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:8).   We can trust in Him.  We can rely on His commitment to make us whole and blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ—this phrase deserves our attention.

You see, our final destination in our journey is Heaven.  Heaven is not a physical place like the USA or Australia.  Heaven is a place where God is.  We are going to this place where God is and we will be with Him in His presence for eternity.

To be with God, we must know who God is and His attributes.  God is holy and righteous.  Nothing impure/unclean is permitted in His presence.   That means, to be with Him and in the presence of God who is holy, we too need to be holy like He is.  That’s why God expects us to be perfect, pure, and blameless (1 Corinthians 1:8) not just in human standards but in His own.  Of course, all of us would fail that holiness test before God due to our sin and iniquities.  That’s precisely why God sent His Son Jesus Christ the sinless so that He would take care of our sin and its consequences (the Bible calls it ‘the wages of sin’).  So, Jesus took our sins to the cross and paid the wages of our sins once and for all at the cross through His own death.  Now, we are pardoned of our sins and we are free from the condemnation of our sins that culminates in eternal judgment in Hell.  Because of Christ’s merit, not our own, and because of our faith in Him, we can stand in front of God with Christ’s righteousness that was imputed on us (like we are wearing Christ’s righteousness on us).

During our faith journey to Heaven, in this life God calls us to be His representatives to the world.  The Scripture puts in the following four ways: we are the salt, the light, the letter, and the aroma.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth.”   Imagine a food that is without salt.  A right amount of salt brings out the best taste of the food.  So do you.  Be the salt where you belong (family, school, work, community and church) and bring glory to God.

Jesus also says in Matthew 5:14 that weare the light of the world.  Imagine the world without God’s children—how dark it would be!  E.g.  A satellite picture of the earth at night with the background of pitch darkness studded with countless points of light.  Brighten the corner of your place with the light of God.

Thirdly, each one of us is a letter of Christ to the world.  People read us as if they read a letter.  Listen to Paul: (to the Corinthian believers) he wrote “…you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:3).  When the people in the world read our lives, what would they think of us, of the Church, and of God?   Would they think of Christ the author and give glory to God or would they be disappointed and stay away from the Church altogether?  E.g. My bumper sticker: IXΘUS (Jesus Christ Son of God Savior) makes me a little more conscious of my driving behavior.

Lastly, the Bible says that we are a fragrance of Christ to God (2 Corinthians 2:14).  I am sure we are a fragrance of Christ to the world as well.  Let’s be an aroma of Christ, not a stench, to whomever we meet and interact.

One more thing before I am done.  For our Heaven-bound journey God never leaves us unprepared.  Rather, He fully equips us with essential tools (for lack of better terms)—things that we must have for the journey.  There are two: God’s own Word and God’s own Spirit.  The Bible and the Holy Spirit.   First, the Bible.  This morning we gave the confirmands God’s Word so that they may get into God’s Word daily.  We also gave them a 365 day Bible reading plan.  I pray that they diligently get into God’s living Word.   I believe God’s Word is more important than ever before.   Why?  Because we are living in a perilous time where everything is relative and permissible.  When everything is permissible, nothing is sacred including God’s Word.  For instance, nowadays, people don’t want to offend each other, so they remove anything that is offensive to someone.  E.g. An atheist sues the church to remove the sign board that posts God-references.  He claims that he is offended each day as he drives by the church sign with God-references in it.  The court sides with him!   Why is the Bible more important than ever before?   Because it is filled with absolutes and with God’s Word (not just human’s words).  I give Psalm 119:9, 11 to all: How can a young man keep his way pure?  By keeping it according to Your word.  Your word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against You.

For our Heaven-bound journey, God also provides us with His Holy Spirit as our constant companion.  Who is the Holy Spirit?  God’s own Spirit who dwells in our hearts (2 Corinthians 1:22).  What is He doing in us and in our lives?  He is the Helper and the Counselor.  He comforts us in times of sorrow.  In times of confusion, He guides us into the right directions.  He even intercedes for us even when we don’t know what to pray for ourselves (Romans 8:26).

Conclusion

So, folks, and especially confirmands, we are taking our first step in our Heaven-bound journey.  Our final destination is Heaven.  Our family, friends, Church, and God are journeying with us.  We do have the right tools—the Bible (map to Heaven) and the Holy Spirit (our guide)—that will guide us into the right paths and help us to stay on the course.  May God help all of us to complete this journey and stand blameless in His presence on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.   When we do, God will say to us, “Welcome Home!”  That day would be the most glorious day of all.   Amen.    Let us pray.

Today Pastor Choi continues his sermon series on dunamis (God’s power).  Based on Derek Prince’s Book “The Holy Spirit in You,” he lays out seven steps to receive the Holy Spirit: 1. Repent 2. Be baptized. 3. Ask God. 4. Be thirsty. 5. Come to Jesus. 6. Drink—receive within yourself. 7. Yield your body and members to God. He concludes his message with an invitation prayer to receive the Holy Spirit.

    Dunamis 2

Following is a summary of the sermon:

Dunamis—the Power of God, Part 2 of 2
Acts 2:37-38 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Introduction
The night before He was crucified, Jesus promised His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth, the Helper, the Comforter, and the Advocate (John 16:7). After He was risen from the dead, He stayed with His disciples for 40 days. As the risen Christ was ascending into heaven, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit. Indeed, 10 days later, the Holy Spirit like a tongue of fire descended upon the 120 praying disciples and filled them with dunamis (the power of God). That event is called Pentecost.

On Pentecost the Church was born. Since then, for the next two thousand years, the Holy Spirit has stayed with the believers and still dwells in every child of God providing timely help. He also fills them with dunamis—the power of God.

Two Sundays ago, I spoke to you what dunamis is all about. Dunamis is God’s power and it came down on the believers through the Holy Spirit two thousand years ago. It is God’s will for us to experience that same dunamis. He makes it available to us through the Holy Spirit today.
As I promised two weeks ago, this morning I am going to talk about how we can receive the Holy Spirit and dunamis.

Contents
Now, there are a couple of things we must prepare ourselves with before we talk about how to receive the Holy Spirit. First and foremost, we must acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit within us and among us. How do we know He is within us and among us? By trusting and believing God’s Word that says so. 1 Corinthians 6:19: 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you?
We also must bring in the right attitude; that is to acknowledge the authority of the Holy Spirit over us. The Holy Spirit is not our servant. We are His servants. He is not a genie in a bottle. He is the Spirit of God. If you are only interested in dunamis, and not in the Holy Spirit, forget about receiving it. You cannot separate dunamis the gift from the Holy Spirit the Giver. No Holy Spirit, no dunamis. The Holy Spirit won’t give you dunamis unless your heart is right with Him. Dunamis is only given to those who obey the Holy Spirit no matter what.

When we meet these conditions, then we are ready to receive the Holy Spirit and dunamis. In order to receive the Holy Spirit and receive all the blessings promised including dunamis, we need to be open up to the Holy Spirit. I am going to share with you seven practical steps to receive the Holy Spirit from Derek Prince’s book The Holy Spirit in You.

1. Repent and Be Baptized (Acts 2:37-38): On the day of Pentecost Apostle Peter preached to the crowd and they responded to his message as follows: “37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Here are the first two conditions for us to meet. Repent and be baptized. Repent means a complete turn-around from our sins and rebellion and submit ourselves to God without reservation. E.g. Switching the train. Be baptized means to openly acknowledge that we are dead to sin and to old self-centered life styles (that is, we have been crucified with Christ—Galatians 2:20) and alive to God (Romans 6:11—Christ was risen. So were we in Christ) and giving ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13).

2. Ask God (Luke 11:9-13): You never receive the Holy Spirit if you don’t ask for Him. Whoever wants to receive the Holy Spirit must ask for Him. 9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 11 Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Here, Jesus promises us that those who ask God for the Holy Spirit will receive Him. So we should ask God to give us the Holy Spirit.

3. Be Thirsty, Go to Jesus, and Drink (John 7:37-39). Three more simple conditions are stated here. 37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

This passage is clearly about who will receive the Holy Spirit—those who are thirsty, who come to Jesus and drink. God never forces anyone who doesn’t feel thirsty for His blessings including the Holy Spirit. E.g. Perhaps the reason why we don’t receive the Holy Spirit and dunamis is because we don’t feel the need of them let alone thirsty for them. Are you thirsty for the Holy Spirit and His dunamis? Then, you go to Jesus who baptizes you with the Holy Spirit. No human being but Jesus can baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Go to Him. Then, you must drink too—the decision is totally up to you. “Just being totally passive and saying, ‘Well, if God wants to do it, let Him do it!’ is not drinking. Drinking is actively receiving within you” (Ibid., p. 100). Make up your mind to drink and receive the Holy Spirit.

4. Yield: your body and members to God. Here are two more relevant facts. 1 Corinthians 6:19: 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? Our bodies are the places where the Holy Spirit dwells—the temple of God. Romans 6:13: 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. We are commanded to offer our bodies as instruments for His service.

Recap: seven conditions for receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit and dunamis:
1. Repent. 2. Be baptized. 3. Ask God. 4. Be thirsty. 5. Come to Jesus; He is the baptizer. 6. Drink—receive within yourself. 7. Yield your body as a temple for the Holy Spirit and your members as instruments of righteousness.

Conclusion
Perhaps you may wonder how you can do all this at once. You can begin with a simple prayer. I am going to lead you in prayer that is taken from the book of Derek Prince. Say after me if you would like to receive the Holy Spirit and dunamis in your life: “Lord Jesus, I am thirsty / for the fullness of Your Holy Spirit. I present my body to You / as a temple / and my members / as instruments of righteousness, especially my tongue, the member I cannot tame. Fill me, I pray, and let Your Holy Spirit / flow through my lips / in rivers of praise and worship. Amen” (Ibid., p. 103).

Receive the Holy Spirit—it is God’s will and God’s promise for you and me. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we can also experience dunamis. Start walking in the Holy Spirit, and you will lead a victorious life day in day out. Also, when you do, the church too will grow in dunamis every day: In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power (Acts 19:20). Amen.