St Timothy Presbyterian Church in Toronto: Sermons

Romans 8:12-17

Life of the Flesh, Life of the Spirit

We reflected last week on the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came down on all those who believed. The Spirit is with us and within us. We are not alone. The Spirit helps us in our everyday living.

Paul talks about LIFE OF THE FLESH and LIFE OF THE SPIRIT in today's passage.

If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)

Live according to the flesh – What did he mean by that? Here, the flesh does not simply mean the body. The flesh is our self that is controlled by sin. Our greed, false ambition, misguided blindness, overly confident self-centredness. This creates anger, anxiety, rudeness, and fear. This affects the quality of our life. It affects not only ourselves but it also affects others and our relationship with others. We become unhappy. There is A NEGATIVE FORCE within us that enslaves us. It makes us become people we don't want to be. It diminishes us. It makes us be less than ourselves. THIS NEGATIVE FORCE IS SIN.

Sin Shapes

Sin does not leave us alone. It SHAPES US. But it shapes us not in the way we want. It shapes us to be a person we don't want to be. We don't want to live always worrying about life. We don't want to live constantly angry and frustrated. We don't want to live in fear.

We want to trust. We want to forgive. We want to be happy. But the negative force within us does not allow us to be the person we want to be.

In that way, it enslaves us. We are unhappy because we are bound, not free. Not many people live in total freedom, doing what they want to do, who they want to be. There is something, some power that takes us to where we don't want to go. Living according to the flesh means letting this negative force control us. It is giving in.

Listen to St. Paul. He described the power of this negative force working within him.

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. (Romans 7:15-18)

Paul discovered that his will power was limited. His will power did not give him the freedom he wanted. The negative force within us is stronger than our will power. We shouldn't be naïve about the power of our self-autonomy. We want to make our own choices, but we can't. We want to live as we really want to live, but we can't. When sin controls us, when this negative force controls us, we can't.

Enslavement of Sin

St. Paul recognized this ENSLAVEMENT of sin very well.

He said,

I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. (Romans 7:14)

Then what do I do? St. Paul cried out,

Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Roman 7:24)

He was very realistic about what was going on within himself. Paul's dilemma is our dilemma, and the dilemma of human beings. We want to do good. We want to live a good life. But sin within us takes us somewhere else. We want to live our life, loving others, helping them, and doing good to them. But more often than not, we get angry with them, we criticize them, and we hurt them. We want to understand their problems but their problems make us frustrated and angry. We don't really want to understand them. We rather want them to stay away from us.

The more we try, the more we face the power of this negative force. The more we try to be GOOD, the more we will see how difficult it is to be good. The more we want to be HAPPY, the more we realize how difficult it is to be happy. The more we try to UNDERSTAND people with compassion, the more we realize how hard it is to do that.

When we try to live a good life, we hit the WALL and that wall is the reality of sin that has power over us.

Long time ago, I took our young people to a FASTING RETREAT. For 3 days, we had a retreat, fasting. You know what! At the retreat, all they talked about was food. They didn't pray. They all looked so sad and powerless. All they could think about was food. Sitting around, they talked about what they planned to eat when they would go home.

An Alternative Lifestyle

When we want to be good, we face the negative force and we realize that it is pretty powerful. We cannot handle it on our own. We need help. That's why JESUS CAME. TO HELP US.

That's why St. Paul, right after saying,

Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

THANKS BE TO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD! (Romans 7:24, 25)

Then he begins chapter 8 with this:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)

He is telling us that we can have an alternative lifestyle. We don't need to live our life enslaved by the negative force within us. Jesus made it possible. Seeing our helplessness, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus did NOT CONDEMN US but he CONDEMNED THE SIN that controls us. Sin has lost its power to control us and deceive us.

God gave us the Spirit. The Spirit binds the power of sin. The power of the Spirit is more powerful than our will power and the negative force within us.

You cannot get rid of your sin. You can't. Trying to do that is a futile effort. But this is what the Spirit does. It does not allow sin grow into its full power that completely controls us. Sin will be there but it has lost its deadly power. The Spirit gives us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These positive things drive away the negative force.

Finally, we can live our life THE WAY WE REALLY WANT TO. The Spirit gives us that freedom by EMPOWERING us. Now we can CHOOSE to live a good life. With the Spirit, we can truly be who we want to be. The Spirit makes us HAPPY. The Spirit makes us SMILE. The Spirit makes us STRONG. We don't need to feel LONELY anymore. We don't have to be ANGRY all the time. We don't need to WORRY. Our visions and dreams can be fulfilled. We can live our lives, doing what is right and just. We can live with others in peace and harmony. Animosity doesn't control our relationships anymore. We can embrace others.

But we have to do our part too. We should not encourage sin to flourish within us. Yes, sometimes we may fail and give in to the power of sin. But we should immediately come out of it by acknowledging our failure. You can be angry sometimes and that's ok. We all do. But don't let the anger live within you, thrive within you, and grow within you and take control over you. The Spirit will help you.

We are not a slave anymore. We are children of God.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, Abba! Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:15, 16)

The Spirit affirms that we are God's children. No one can take us away from God. When God accepts us as God's children, he accepts our whole being, including sin within us. Instead of condemning us, God helps us overcome our sin.

We are children of God. God will never give up on us. God will never let us go. God will help us. What you need is to come to God and ask for God's help. God will give us what we need.

Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!' (Luke 11:11-13)

Ask the Holy Spirit. God will give us the Holy Spirit. Let us live by the Spirit. Don't let the negative force take hold of you. When the Spirit is with us, these negative thoughts, negative power lose their power. Now you can live as children of God.

The post The Spirit Wins, Sin Loses appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Acts 2:1-21

The Christian Movement

Today's story is the beginning of the Christian movement. The Christian movement began with the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus' ministry also began with the coming of the Holy Spirit. For 30 years, he was preparing himself but his actual ministry began when he received the Holy Spirit.

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. (Mark 1:9, 10)

Jesus did NOT carry out his ministry on his own, with his own strength. He always had a companion. His companion was the Holy Spirit. He was never alone. Even when he was alone in the mountain, praying, he was not alone. The Spirit was with him. He carried out everything with the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus showed us how we should live. He showed us how to live with the Spirit. We are not alone. The Spirit is with us. The Spirit walks along with us. Even when we walk through the darkest time of our life, the Spirit is right there with us. Our life is journey with the Spirit.

Lost Passion

After Jesus died, many people felt that it was all over. Jesus' death killed the fire of the Christian movement. They thought, with Jesus, they could do anything. But now they lost that passion without Jesus. Many of them went back to their home. When you read the story of two disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus, you can see that sentiment. They lost hope and they were going home.

But there were some people who still gathered together even though it was a small number. There were about 120 people. They gathered together and prayed but they didn't have the vitality. They didn't know what was ahead of them. They had no idea of how to carry on this movement but they didn't lose hope. They just prayed without clearly knowing what the future holds for them.

Don't we sometimes feel that? We don't have any conviction. We don't know where our life is going. But somehow, you still have a faint hope and keep praying? 120 people were like that.

Then the Holy Spirit came down on those 120 like fire and revived them. It was the Holy Spirit who kindled the fire of the Christian movement. The Spirit energized them and gave them the vitality. The Spirit gave them the new vision. Now they could have a clear hope for the future.

They realized that they were not alone. When Jesus died, they felt empty and lost. They didn't know what to do. Their leader was gone. They lost their leader. Until then, they were all just followers. It was Jesus who did everything. It was Jesus who led them.

Now when the Spirit came down upon them, they were excited. They could see the light at the end of the dark tunnel. They were very hopeful. They were all surprised. What they experienced was beyond what they expected. They were empowered to take this movement to the next level.

We could see this change clearly in Peter. Peter was timid. He was afraid. He denied Jesus three times. He was so weak. But now he was a changed man. He stood up and preached with confidence. When they heard Peter, they were cut to the heart and asked, What should we do?

But it wasn't just Peter. Everyone had this energy. There were a lot of women right from the beginning. This is how Luke records the people who were there from the beginning.

When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers. (Acts 1:13, 14)

They were all filled with the Spirit. They were full of energy, conviction, and hope.

Babel Tower

There was a true unity of humanity happened right there. People who were praying began to speak in other languages. There were people from all over the places and they started understanding in their own language.

What happened at the Babel tower was reversed. At the Babel tower, God confused their language so that they could not communicate with each other. Now they all had a different language but now they could understand each other. Understanding each other – How difficult it is!

Even though we use the same language, we don't understand each other. But through the help of the Holy Spirit, they were able to understand each other even though they had a different language. Unity is possible when we can understand each other. Racial difference did not stand in the way for them to be united. Languages, races, nations, and cultures did not become the reasons for division and hatred. That is what this world needs right now. This compelling desire to be united is what the world leaders need to have. Instead of using our differences to discriminate each other, we should recognize and celebrate our differences to experience true unity. I told you before. Unity is possible only in diversity.

People who saw that, said this.

They are filled with new wine. (Acts 2:13)

They meant they were drunk. They were not drunk but what they said was right. They were filled with new wine.

Jesus said,

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.' (Mark 2:22)

New wine was poured into fresh wineskins. Their hearts were ready to BE the new wineskins. The Holy Spirit made them a new wineskin so that they can take on the new age that was about to begin.

Our Church

This year is our church's 25th Anniversary. God has led us through the Spirit. The Spirit has guided us with wisdom we needed and empowered us with vision. We thank God for that.

Now it is the time to think of next 25 years. We need the Spirit. We cannot do it alone. The Spirit will guide us. I was impressed by the generosity of this congregation for the campaign we just had for the Rose of Sharon Nursing Home project. We raised more than $100,000 and surprisingly, more than $85,000 was raised in the ESM. It is not just the amount that is important. I see the spirit of sharing, the spirit of generosity.

The Spirit

One of the results of receiving the Holy Spirit for the early Christians was not only to gather together for learning from apostles and breaking bread together but also to share everything with each other.

All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:44-47)

The Spirit brings about changes in us personally, in our community, and in our society. The Spirit moves us forward. The Spirit breaks through the barriers and moves us forward. The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, the same Spirit is with us and revives us.

This journey with the Spirit is not necessarily easy. Moltmann said in his book, The Spirit of Life , when freedom is close, the chains begin to hurt.

When our eyes are open through the Spirit, we see not only the vision to be free but we also see how enslaved we have been and how much we have been in bondage. It hurts us to see that. When freedom is close, the chains begin to hurt. The more we have vision to move forward, the more our conditions that don't let us go, will hurt us and dissatisfy us.

We all want to grow out of our bondage. We groan. The whole creation groans.

St. Paul said,

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:22-25)

In that groaning, we are not alone. The Spirit is with us. The Spirit gives us hope. The Spirit gives us the power to wait for the redemption with patience. Even when we have no more strength left and even when we don't even know what to pray or how to pray, the Spirit prays for us. This is what St. Paul said, right after he talked about the groaning of the creation.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26, 27)

That was the secret of how the early Christians persevered when they were persecuted. The Spirit was with them and interceded for them. And they knew that.

We don't have the strength but the Spirit gives us the strength. We don't have wisdom but the Spirit gives us the wisdom. We don't create hope but the Spirit gives us the hope. The Spirit changes us.

Let us be people of the Spirit. Let us live with the Spirit.

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1 John 5:13-16

Importance of Prayer

Prayer life is so important in our lives. We need to step away from our daily busy schedule and plunge ourselves into a quiet and peaceful time of prayer. We need that for the sanity of our soul. We will experience something very different and we will be able to see things that we have missed in our busy life. Such as the appreciation of what we have. Food, shelter, family, and good friends. Deep appreciation of the air we breathe. Just the sheer joy of recognizing that I am alive. So we appreciate things that we took for granted. In that time of prayer, we experience a lot of new things. It's like going into a totally new world.

So for those who have never learned the life of prayer, I strongly recommend that you start doing it. At first, you may feel a little strange and awkward but you will get used to it. Sometimes we think prayer is something only very religious people do. Because of this misconception, many people stay away from such a beautiful thing. I want to revive this beautiful tradition of prayer for everyone. It has to be a very natural thing to do. You don't need to be so religious to have a time of prayer. Just make it as a routine of life. You don't have to follow what others do. Find your own time, your own space, and your own way. Create your own way of having a time of prayer. Be creative. Jesus said to go into your room and shut the door and pray to your God who is in secret. What does that mean? Nobody will see you. You are all alone. You can spend that time in a unique way you design. Nobody will even know that you pray. They don't need to know. You don't need to close your eyes. If you want, you can. You don't need to say aloud. Sometimes, saying it aloud becomes limiting and distracting. As a matter of fact, you don't need to say anything. If you want, you can. But you don't have to. If you want to sing rather, you can do that. You don't need to have a certain emotion. Sometimes, different emotions may come up and let them be. Sometimes you may not feel anything. That's ok. You don't need to feel anything. Also, you don't need to be perfect to pray. You don't need to be even good to pray. Just enjoy that precious moment with God. You will get a lot of positive experiences. Soon it will not be an obligation or a chore any more. It will become one of your favourite times. It will be something you look forward to. It will be a time when you simply become who you are without any pretension. We all need moments when we let down all our guards and simply become ME. No need to impress anyone. No need to hide our insecurities. No need to control. Be simply me. That is quite liberating.

Prayers Strengthen Faith

Today's passage tells us a great promise. It is a beautiful passage.

And if we know that he hears us whatever we ask we know that we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5:15 NIV)

When we make prayer our daily routine, we will experience that some changes are happening in you. You find peace that you didn't have before. Emotionally you feel more stable. Not too much of ups and downs. When you face problems, you are calmer. Worries and anxiety do not eat at you anymore. Somehow, you feel that your prayers are answered. When you see these changes, slowly your faith is being formed. In our daily routine of prayer life, our faith grows. You feel good. Faith is not something you can have just because you want it. It's like your heart you cannot tell your heart what to do. Many times it is beyond our control. When your heart is filled with worries or anxiety, you don't know what to do. Just because you don't want to worry or be anxious, you can't do it. It's like sleep. Just because you want to sleep, you cannot necessarily have a good sleep. Faith is like that. You cannot have it just because you want it. You don't form your faith. Faith is formed within you. You don't even know how it is formed within you. Faith is not something you figure out with your brain. It is the movement of your heart. Prayer creates this movement.

Boldness through Prayer

One of the greatest things that we experience when we pray, is that we become bold. That's what today's passage tells us.

And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (1 John 5:14)

At first, don't even worry about asking according to God's will. If you focus on knowing God's will, sometimes prayer becomes burdensome. Just have a time of prayer and you can ask anything. But soon, you will be able to hear and sense what God wants. You will be able to realize that God is speaking to you. And you know that God will answer your prayer. This gives you boldness. This boldness is very important in living a good life. It gives you confidence in life.

Not only we start having the COURAGE to be comfortable with who we are, but we also have boldness to dare to become who we want to be. COURAGE TO BE AND DARE TO BECOME. We don't just stay who we are. We change. That's what prayer does. It changes us. It makes us become people who dare. Dare to do things that we were afraid to do before. Dare to make changes. Dare to challenge things. Prayer makes us very positive and forward-looking.

Way too often, we just let our circumstances dictate us. And sometimes we are completely paralyzed. We don't like that. But somehow, we don't do anything about it. We just have a lot of excuses of why we couldn't do or why we didn't do. We are just good at avoiding problems. But with prayer, we now have boldness to challenge ourselves, face problems head on. When you pray, as Jesus said, you start in a room but prayer propels you to go out of your room and challenge the world.

Boldness and Faith

One of the distinct characteristics of the change that happened in the disciples was their boldness. While they were with Jesus, they were timid. Often, they were very afraid.

Once they went out in a boat and there was a great storm. They couldn't control the situation. These were all fishermen. If they couldn't control the situation, it must have been a really bad storm. They were scared and called out,

Lord, save us! We are perishing! (Matthew 8:25)

And Jesus told them,

Why are you afraid, you of little faith?' (Matthew 8:26)

See Jesus connects faith with boldness and confidence and fear with the lack of faith.

Once Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and he wanted to do the same thing. Jesus told him to come. Peter boldly went out to the water and he was able to walk a little bit. But he saw the waves and got scared. Soon he was drowning and called out for help.

Lord, save me!' (Matthew 14:30)

Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him. And he said,

You of little faith, why did you doubt?' (Matthew 14:31)

His fear drowned him and his fear came from the lack of faith.

If I translate believing in Jesus into a modern language, what would that be? It is to have confidence and boldness. Believing in Jesus means having boldness.

When we believe in Jesus, we will become bold. That is the change we will experience. This boldness or confidence is very important in living a meaningful life.

Confidence in God

Many modern writers say how important it is to have confidence. They are saying that it is a key to success. So they recognize the importance and the value of confidence. There are so many books that deal with the importance of confidence in life.

But a lot of times, they are talking about having confidence in yourself. That is not what I am talking about. Today's passage clearly says that. It is not confidence in ourselves but in God who hears us in whatever we ask. To have boldness, we need to sense that God is with us, hears us, and takes care of us.

I believe that boldness is a gift. I don't think it is about ourselves. It is not a positive feeling we have about ourselves. It is a gift God gives to those who believe in God. Jesus said,

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling-places. (John 14:1,2)

In God, there are many rooms. What does that mean? With God, you have lots of rooms. Your existence becomes fuller. Your existence will expand in God. In God our life expands. In God, new life opens up. That is what eternal life is. This is what John said.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)

Eternal life is of course going to heaven after we die. But it is more than that. Eternal life is to live with boldness. Eternal life is to live a fuller life. With eternal life, every moment comes alive. When you know that you have eternal life, you will become bold.

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John 15:9-17

Love

Today is Mother's Day. At our church, we celebrate it as Parents Day. The first word that comes to my mind when I think about mothers or parents is LOVE. We all received tremendous love from them. We thank them for their love, their sacrifice, and their many tears for us. They took care of us. They prayed for us and they always worried about us. They taught us what it means to suffer because they love. I saw my mother suffer more when I was suffering. So whenever we think about our parents, it makes us emotional. Because our parents did so much for us.

During this Covid period, we heard many sad stories. So many seniors died at nursing homes during this Covid period. Some of them died alone without being able to say a proper goodbye. People could not even visit their parents in a nursing home and spend time with them. They had to meet their parents in the nursing home from outside of their room. Not being able to take care of lonely parents is painful because all their lives they did so much for us.

Our parents are not perfect. They may not have social status or hold an important position in our society. Especially in an immigrant society, our parents suffered quite a lot. The immigrant life was not easy but they were willing to suffer for the sake of their children. They felt bad because they could not provide what normal parents would do for their children. Instead of helping their children, they had to depend on the help of their children because they couldn't speak English. But how influential they are, how helpful they are, how capable they are that's not that important. They taught us love, the most important thing in life.

What is More Important Than Love?

Isn't that what is the most important in life? What is more important than love? We have become who we are by love we received. Didn't St. Paul say that I am who I am by God's grace, by God's love? Without love, we will be lost. Without love, life will be miserable. Having love is more important than any social skills we may acquire. Being able to love and being loved. Isn't that what Jesus taught us? Jesus told the scribes – ALL WE NEED IS LOVE. Jesus said it before the Beatles sang. All the commandments are summarized into one: LOVE – LOVE God and LOVE your neighbour.

That summarizes our Scripture today. The last verse we read today summarizes our passage.

I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. (John 15:17)

Love is powerful. With love, we can deal with challenges of life. With love, we can persevere through our difficult times. Love makes life worth living. It makes our life full and abundant. Love makes our relationships joyful and fruitful.

We are successful if we are full of love. We are successful not because we are doing well in our lives. We are successful because we are able to love. Those who love – They are the ones who live their life to the fullest.

Who taught us that love? Our parents. From the moment we came out into this world, they were there. When we were helpless, they made sure that we received that love. They stayed up all night to take care of us. They changed diapers and they made sure that we would survive. And we learn from them how important it is to love. Our parents taught us the most important thing that we need, to survive and flourish in our life.

What was our parents' love like? They made us feel so special, so precious, and so valuable. That is what love is. When you love somebody, you treat that person as the most precious being in the world. When you are loved, you feel valued, appreciated, and important. That was what parents did to us. We are always special and precious to our parents. You know, feeling valued is very important for our survival. That is a very basic thing that all human beings need for their survival.

Value

Dr. Joseph Shrand, a Psychiatrist at Harvard talked about why being valued is so important. He said, millions of years ago, we human beings were very weak alone. We were physically inferior to other mammals. We could have easily eaten up by other animals who were faster, stronger, and bigger. And then we formed small groups and we got stronger together. But to stay in the group, we have to contribute something. In other words, we have to have value. Otherwise we will be kicked out and become alone and we will be prey to other animals. So, a sense of being valued has become so important. Being valued is our survival. And our parents gave that to us. Through our parents' love, we have learned to value ourselves.

I want to tell you, all young parents. Make your children feel valuable. That is the best you can do for them. That is the best parenting you can give to them. Especially when they go through troubled times and hard times, let them know how valuable they are. They need to know that. That doesn't mean that you let them be whatever they want. You can discipline them, you can say difficult things to them too. But never make them feel devalued. Never let them feel that they are not important, that they are unwanted. Don't ever make them feel they are worthless. Valuing somebody – that's what love is. Love always makes us feel that we are important.

Jesus’ Definition of Love

Jesus said today.

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. (John 15:13)

Laying down one's life for someone – no one has greater love than this. That's Jesus' definition of love. By laying down one's life for someone, you show how valuable they are. We are saying you are important enough for me to sacrifice my life. That is what true love is. That is the love of God. That is love Jesus showed to the world. That is the kind of love Jesus showed on the cross. When we say that Jesus died for me, we are saying that I am that valuable. We don't see this kind of love often. But we experience that from our parents. They are willing to sacrifice anything for their children. Because we are that much valuable to them.

Even evil parents do that for their children, Jesus said. When Jesus taught us about prayer, he gave this parable.

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:11)

To even evil parents, their children are precious and know how to give good gifts. That is what parents do. Jesus knew about parents very well. That's why he used this example. Parents' love is closest to God's love. Parents' love is in between human love and God's love.

When you look at 10 commandments, there are two categories. From 1-4, they describe our love for God. And from 6-10, they describe our love for neighbours. As Jesus said, it is to love our God and love our neighbors. But at 5th commandment, right in the middle, it has our love for parents. Parents' love is a medium through which we understand God's love.

We learn about God's love through parents. It's hard to know God's love. Because it is invisible. But through parents' love, we experience what is very close to God's love.

My friends, let us honor our parents. That is our love for them. God will bless those who honor their parents

That was what St. Paul said, quoting from Exodus.

Honour your father and mother' this is the first commandment with a promise: so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.' (Ephesians 6:2, 3)

Be interested in how they feel. Take care of their needs. They took care of your needs all their life. Show them your affection. Make them feel they are valued. Embrace their shortcomings. More than anything else, let us thank them for their love.

The post Thank You For Your Love appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

1 John 4:7-21

Preparing Sermons

Preparing sermons is one of the most important tasks of a minister. It is also the most difficult. I've been given a lot of leeway in growing into this role, having to preach once a month.

When my turn is coming up, I start feeling it. One week, two weeks ahead, my mind starts getting into a zone. I become more attentive. Everything I observe or experience gets filtered through a sermonic lens. Everything has the possibility of bearing some insight that I can reflect on for the sermon.

It's like training for a big race or the Olympics. During the week of the sermon, you feel the intensity and pressure start to grow. And it culminates until the climax on Sunday.

It's a daunting task, because the question always looming over a preacher is: who am I that I should claim to speak a Word from God? I mean, that is quite the claim. Do I really have such a close connection with and access to God to speak a Word from God? As the faulty and flawed human being that I am?

It's not easy, and preaching is a serious responsibility. Each time I get into the zone, Deb asks me: do you enjoy it? She has no idea why anyone would want to subject themselves to this stress.

I share this story, because I really felt the weight of this process preparing this sermon, with this passage.

Inseparable

Today's passage is famous and well known. It's also a very beautiful passage. What's not to appreciate and like about it? There are many nice things to say about love, community and God. But I struggled so much with it.  For 2 weeks, I read books and commentaries to understand the context, background, and to get new insights. But the more I reflected and read, the more stuck I became. And I realized that it's because as beautiful as this passage is, it seems so detached from our present reality. Everything I read rested on one basic assumption: that we are able to gather and meet as a community. Beloved, let us love one another is a beautiful statement. What does this mean for people who can't even see each other in person?

Today's passage was written by John to his faith community. Neither he nor any of the other biblical writers would ever have guessed that we would be unable to gather together. It was just unimaginable. For over a year now, this virus has broken up our ability to do what God commands of us: to gather together to worship God and love one another. It's broken up the fundamental way that human beings are wired to live: in community with one another.

God made it so that our two most essential needs as human beings – spirituality and community – are fused together. Inseparable. Deeply intertwined.

The writer John says: …those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. (1 John 4:20)

The problem is, we have not seen each other. The issue is not whether we don't love a brother or sister whom we see. The issue is that we cannot even see our brother or sister. Many of you have literally not seen each other in over a year. Can we really love a brother or sister whom we cannot see? How can we truly be a faith community without seeing each other? I'm thankful for our technology. I'm thankful for Zoom. I don't know what we would have done without it. But we all know by now how poor a substitute it is for real human connection. At best, Zoom is a form of relational life support. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to let love flourish without the real-life encounter with another human being. And without this love for one another, the writer is basically saying that we cannot love God.

In other words, according to John, without human community, our relationship with God has also been suffering. We have basically been on spiritual life support. Our weekly Zoom services have been keeping us alive until we can meet again.

A Hurt Community

I'm so thankful for our worship service. I truly believe that it's been a spiritual lifeline for many of us. Most of you have been so faithful, coming onto Zoom each week. I believe that our worship service has become a spiritual treasure.

But most of you have been the more mature members of the congregation. Through life experience and your own faith journey, you have come to see the importance of spirituality and faith. And so even without the human connection, our worship services have given you enough to get by spiritually. But for our younger members, this pandemic has been spiritually devastating.

I'm thinking about our college students and young adults, and our high school students. For them, coming online for an impersonal sermon doesn't cut it. Meeting online by Zoom is a chore and a drain. For younger people, coming to faith and getting to know God is so connected with their relationships in the community, through the love they feel in the community.  For our youth, the most formative spiritual experiences often take place at retreats, in loving community with their peers. It's through friendships, supporting one another through life's challenges, praying with one another, getting into conflict, learning how to work through them, finding forgiveness, reconciliation – all these relational things teach them about what God is like. They meet God through the embrace of the community.

The fact that our worship service has been missing whole chunks of our young people is an indication that our community has been hurting spiritually. It's like a whole limb has been cut off. Our community is not whole when chunks of our community are absent. I pray and hope that this summer, our young people can reconnect and reestablish bonds with each other and the community.

Not only young people, but Rev. Chung preached a moving sermon to the KSM. He remembered members who have passed from us over the past year. He pointed out where in the sanctuary they used to sit. He remembered the love they poured out to this community. The love that built up this church. Yes, God builds his church through the people who love God and his people. We have all been feeling the void from our separation.

Spiritual Health

The language in public discourse has been about mental health . How our mental health has been suffering. I think that's true, but I also think it's deeper than that. It's not just our mental health that's been suffering. Our spiritual health has been suffering. The health of our souls.

Without the opportunity to experience God in and through the community, our souls have become sick. Our souls have become sick.

Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a great banquet. A lavish feast full of great food. The initial people who were invited didn't accept the invitation, so the master ordered his servants to go out into the streets and round up all the poor, crippled, blind and lame to this dinner. After the servants did so, there was still room, so the master ordered them to go out again even farther, so that the house might be filled. This lavish banquet was about two things: food and community. Food that would feed them. Community that would heal them. It was not about either of them in isolation, but both of them in powerful combination. Intertwined. Inseparable. That is what the kingdom of heaven is like.

Food is most delicious when eaten in the company of others. Our take-out food just hasn't been the same, has it? First of all, it's not as fresh, nothing compared to food that comes straight out of the kitchen. Second, it's not as fun without the laughter and conversation. Somehow, good company makes food even more delicious and enjoyable. We are meant to eat food together.

This is at the heart of our sacrament of communion. Jesus gave his body and blood for his disciples at the last supper. In the same manner, we share the bread and wine with one another in community, and we also share ourselves with each other. And in that sharing of Christ with one another, God's grace and Spirit is present. Communion is a feast where Christ's grace is present in the gathered community. We tried doing virtual communion but stopped, because the virtual experience cannot replicate the grace we experience in person. When we come back, I want to enliven our communion so it's what it's supposed to be.

All of the metaphors and practices of our Christian faith feed who we are as human beings. They're given to us by God to make us complete people. To feed our souls.

Because we can't practice the things that make us fully human, our souls are sick. For over a year, you've been receiving take-out worship. It's been feeding you, but it hasn't given you joy that comes from community. I love praising and dancing around the stage, but it's nothing compared to what it would be like with a full sanctuary.

Afflictions of Our Souls

I believe that the sickness of our souls is at the root of all the languishing, burnout, lack of motivation, concentration and indifference we feel. These things are all symptoms of the afflictions of our souls.

Over the past year, we've seen so many things that are not right. Injustices. Inequities. Unfairness. We've been bothered. Disturbed. Angry.

But our souls are too sick to truly care on a sustained basis. Just handling our day to day affairs takes everything we have. It's like a sick person having to get up to exercise. Our souls are ailing and we don't have the strength and motivation to do much beyond what we need to survive. Our lives have shrunk to the people and needs of our immediate, everyday lives.

We cannot love and care for others when our souls are sick. We need healing for our ailing souls. So that they can love again and come into fellowship with God.

Healing Through Faith

Jesus' ministry was one of healing. He healed all sorts of afflictions. A woman with hemorrhages for twelve years came up and touched Jesus' cloak just so she could be healed. Blind Bartimaeus, sitting by the side of the road, kept crying out Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! . He would not be silenced by those telling him to be quiet. He wanted to see again. A Canaanite woman came to Jesus begging for him to heal her daughter. He said that he was sent only for the lost sheep of Israel, but she knelt and said Lord, help me. He became insulting, saying that it's not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs. But she would not relent, saying even dogs eat the crumbs that are thrown off from the master's table. In each of these encounters, Jesus did end up healing the people as requested. Jesus' response in each of these encounters was this: Your faith has saved you. To the Canaanite woman whom he had insulted, he said this: Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish. (Matthew 15:28)

Faith healed them. Faith was their refusal to accept their present situation as final. Faith was a belief that Jesus could heal them. Faith was a tenacity and determination that would not stop until they got what they needed.

That is faith, my friends.

This is the faith we need right now. A refusal to give in to our indifference, our apathy, our shrunken existence. Determination to fight against the numbness. And belief that God can shake me out of this.

Faith will bring God's healing for the sickness in our souls. Our faith will help us love again and keep loving.

Coming Together as a Community

As people keep getting vaccinated, I believe there is hope on the horizon to resume life in community with others. But I think many people expect that things will just snap right back to how they were. I'm not so sure. If our souls are still sick, we will not easily come back together as a beloved community. Because if our souls are still sick, we won't be able to love. It's like someone like me, who hasn't worked out the whole year, suddenly trying to run a marathon. You'll get injured! Or it's like someone who's fasted for a long time, and suddenly tries to eat all the food at a buffet. You will get sick! Our college students will have a challenge reconnecting after long absences from one another, after they've gone through their own changes. It will be awkward for many of us. What will we say to one another? Without love awakened in our hearts, it will be easier to stay away.

My friends, we need to heal our souls now and learn how to love again so that when we do come together, we can come together as a beloved community, as the community described by John. So that we are ready to love this world around us that will need healing, mending and tending to. So that we are ready to do God's work. I cannot wait for us to be together again with this love. Can you?

Let us fight our indifference with faith. Instead of a shrunken existence, let us fight to open wide and expand our existence. This is the year to Open Wide. Despite present reality, I really believe this is God's will for us.

I reflected on what the best way to strengthen our faith is. A message from earlier this year came to me: the way to strengthen our faith is through praise.

Praise is a declaration of God's reality even when what we see is bleak. I've never listened to as many praise songs as I have over the past year. They have sustained me in so many ways.

Every day, every morning or night, declare your praise for God. Open your mouth wide with praise, and God will fill your heart. Recite and listen to the lyrics of songs – some of them are so meaningful. Every Sunday, I go into the recording of our worship service and listen to the praise songs again.

Praise will strengthen your faith, the faith that fights for your soul. God will hear our praises and strengthen our faith. God will heal our souls and restore the love in our hearts.

The post Restore Love Lost appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

John 10:11-18

Merely a Victim?

I have this question.

Was Jesus merely a victim of the unjust judicial system of Jews and Romans? We all know that he was a victim of the unjust judicial system. But the question is was he MERELY the victim and nothing more?

So when you read the gospels, all the gospel writers tried to answer this question. They tried to make some sense of Jesus' life and his death. They all tried to portray the beauty of Jesus' life. Jesus lived a good life. Admirable life. He helped a lot of people. He healed them. He fed them. He freed them from the evil power. He restored their dignity. He gave them hope. He showed them how to live a good and happy life. First time, the disciples experienced the excitement about life they never had. That's why they gave up everything they had and followed Jesus. He lived a good life.

But in the end, what did the people do to him? They arrested him, framed him, falsely accused him, tortured him, and sentenced him to death. They crucified him. Why did such a bad thing happen to a good person? The disciples all struggled with this question. The gospel writers all asked this question. Jesus became a victim of the evil system.

The Trial of George Floyd

LAST TUESDAY, I was anxiously waiting for the verdict of the jurors for the trial of George Floyd. It didn't take a long time for them to come up with the verdict and so I felt hopeful. But still you never know. So I was anxious. And finally, the verdict came. More than anything else, just RELIEF. I could breathe. That was what killed George Floyd. He couldn't breathe. People in Minnesota, as a matter of fact, the whole world held their breath to see the result of this case. When the verdict came, we were all able to breathe. I could feel the tension in the city being relieved. Justice prevailed. Justice has been served. 12 jurors brought justice back to the court.

But in Jesus' case, the justice was not served. The innocent man was sentenced to death. The evil system put the innocent man to death. Jesus helplessly became the victim of the evil hands. WAS JESUS SIMPLY A VICTIM OF THE UNJUST JUDICIAL SYSTEM OF JEWS AND ROMANS?

The writer of the Fourth Gospel, John said NO. That was what we heard today in the reading we had. Jesus clearly said that he was not merely a victim.

JOHN SAID, JESUS CHOSE TO DIE.

No one takes it (my life) from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. (John 10:18)

Living with Power

Jesus said he had power. He was not merely a powerless victim. He had power, the power to lay it down and the power to take it up again. What do you mean he had power to lay it down and take it up again? It means Jesus lived like that. JESUS LIVED WITH THE AUTHORITY OVER HIS LIFE. He lived with the power to choose what was right. The power to choose to take the path of suffering, not for the sake of suffering itself but for the sake of upholding the truth and the justice. When the evil power lured him and tempted him to give up and surrender to its agenda, he didn't fall into the temptation of that power. When the evil power tried to subdue him, silence him, and intimidate him, he didn't bend down. He didn't run away. He did what was right. He had the power to choose what was right. They had the power to kill him but Jesus had the power to choose what was right.

The Good Shepherd

Jesus gives us A VERY INTERESTING METAPHOR about his life. He used THE METAPHOR OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND THE HIRED HAND.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. (John 10:11, 12)

The good shepherd does not give up when the troubles come. He does what he is supposed to do. Taking care of the sheep – that is what the shepherd does. The hired hands don't care about what they do. They care only about themselves. They were filled with fear and they didn't do what they were supposed to do. They run away when the troubles came.

We can live our lives as good shepherds or hired hands. When we live our lives as good shepherds, we care about what we believe. We care about what we do. We take our lives seriously. But if we live our lives as hired hands, we run away when the troubles come. We easily give up.

Jesus is the good Shepherd. He had the power to live out his beliefs. He kept the truth. He fought the good fight. He did that for our sake. He showed us what good life was. He showed us how we ought to live.

When he said, Good Shepherd , THE WORD GOOD IS KALOS IN GREEK. Raymond Brown said, it means beautiful in the sense of an ideal or model of perfection. GOOD SHEPHERD MEANS MODEL SHEPHERD. Jesus is our role model. We follow the good shepherd. We follow the beautiful example of Jesus. Jesus chose to stand on the side of justice, instead of bending down to the evil system. He didn't give up his beliefs for the sake of saving his physical life. He pursued something bigger than saving his physical life. God loved what Jesus did.

The Value of Sacrifice

For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. (John 10:17)

JESUS KNEW THE VALUE OF WORTHWHILE SACRIFICE. Jesus knew God would never waste that sacrifice. It is too precious to be wasted away. God will use it to create life. God made our life that way. Life is created as the result of sacrifice. Without the cross, there is no resurrection. That's why Jesus said this in two chapters later:

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)

Jesus gave us A BEAUTIFUL IMAGE OF SACRIFICE. It is like A SEED FALLING INTO THE EARTH AND DYING. That is what sacrifice is. The seed that is sown in the soil. Ultimately the seed will bear fruit. Jesus gave a tremendously positive hope and value to the worthwhile sacrifice. The cross was the archetype of all the beautiful sacrifices that were made. Many people took up the cross and followed the way of Jesus. They were not intimidated by death. They did not fall into the sweet temptation of the evil. They kept the faith and fought the good fight. The cross symbolizes not just the victimhood. It symbolizes the courage and power of the people who pursue what is right even though they may face trials, temptations, and unjust circumstances.

Living for What is Good and Right

Let us always remember that the cross does not end at the cross. The cross ends at the resurrection. The cross points to the resurrection. Jesus' life and Jesus' sacrifice were not in vain. He wasn't merely a victim. He brought life and resurrection.

WE ARE THE SHEEP who follow the good Shepherd. The good shepherd showed us the way. He showed the example of what a good sacrifice does. As we live our lives, let us remember this good example. We don't like suffering. Nobody likes suffering. But when we choose doing what is right, often suffering comes. Then we will choose suffering. Without suffering, good life is not possible. Let us not be scared of suffering. Don't let the suffering scare you and deter you from doing what is right. Suffering is a seed that produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. That hope will never disappoint us.

If you live like hired hands, you will never experience THE TRUE JOY OF LIVING FOR WHAT IS GOOD AND RIGHT. You will never experience THE FREEDOM OF LIVING FOR THE TRUTH. You will never experience THE EMPOWERMENT THAT UPLIFTS YOU.

There are SO MANY INJUSTICES going on in the world. What happened in the Minnesota court room was very rare. I hope that this case may not be forgotten but may be remembered and used as a good example that justice prevails. Sacrifice is not wasted. There are many people in the world who have been unjustly sacrificed and their sacrifices will never be wasted. God will use them to become a seed where true justice blooms. Even though it may involve sacrifice, let us continuously pursue what is right and just. And let us be in solidarity with those who are unjustly treated wherever they may be.

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Psalm 4

Beauty from Terrible Situations

It's a beautiful psalm we just read. In his email to the worship leaders, what Simon said captures the beauty of this psalm very well. He said,

It touches on distress, faith, resilience, trust, peace, gladness and more. In other words, this short psalm traverses the multitude of experiences we face in life.

Yes, it traverses the multitude of experiences we face in life. It is a beautiful psalm but what the writer experienced at the moment was not that beautiful. So, we have to examine what the writer went through when he wrote this psalm. What was the background? What was he experiencing? What struggle did he have?

This psalm is connected with Psalm 3 and Susan Gillingham, a professor at Oxford University said that it can be seen as a twin psalm with Psalm 3. Let me read Psalm 3 for you. You can see how much trouble the writer went through.

O Lord, how many are my foes!

   Many are rising against me;

many are saying to me,

   There is no help for you in God.'        

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,

   my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.

I cry aloud to the Lord,

   and he answers me from his holy hill.

I lie down and sleep;

   I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.

I am not afraid of tens of thousands of people

   who have set themselves against me all around.

Rise up, O Lord!

   Deliver me, O my God!

For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;

   you break the teeth of the wicked.

Deliverance belongs to the Lord;

   may your blessing be on your people! (Psalm 3)

We can see that he was in a stressful situation. He was attacked and criticized. He was condemned by people.

Listen to his confession.

O Lord, how many are my foes!

   Many are rising against me;

many are saying to me,

   There is no help for you in God.' (Psalm 3:1, 2)

When you read Psalm 3 in the Bible, you will see a little note at the top and it says,

A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.

When you were chased by your own son who tried to kill you, how could you be happy with your situation? How could that be a beautiful circumstance? I don't even want to think about it. It was a terrible situation. It probably was the most painful experience David had in his life.

But from this horrible situation, came out such a beautiful poem. That's the reality of life. Beautiful things come from the ugliest situation. Beautiful art, profound thinking, fabulous people, magical writing: they often come from terrible and difficult situation. That is the reality. That is the silver lining of the hardships we go through.

When life is comfortable, we human beings don't think. We are not stimulated enough to come up with creative ideas. We don't dig deeper. We cannot enjoy the true taste of life.

But when life is difficult, we become creative. Creativity blooms in the soil of hardship. When hardships come, our heart is ready to produce creative things.

Confidence

But so often, we are so weak and fearful that we just want comfort and safety. We feel threatened. We are scared that we will be destroyed. We don't have the confidence to fight the problems we face.

So, to live a creative life, we have to have confidence that we can handle our difficult situations. We have to have the confidence that there are always SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS WE FACE. We should not shrink when we see the problems. See, our theme this year is Open Wide , Not Shrink. Last week, Simon preached a beautiful sermon about Power that expands and shared his own experience of expanding.

Wasn't it the prayer of Jabez?

Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from hurt and harm! (1 Chronicle 4:10)

Enlarge my border!

I don't think he meant just the physical territory. He meant to expand his heart and expand his life. I often said at the Bible studies, you can expand your heart only when it is torn apart. Our suffering tears our heart apart but in the end, our heart will be able to expand when it is torn and healed.

If you want to live a creative life, you have to have confidence. Period. Don't shrink yourself because of challenges, problems, failures, and criticisms.

There are a lot of good traits David had but the most notable characteristic of David was his confidence. Confidence was what defined him and distinguished him from all others. The best story that showed David's confidence was the story of his fight with Goliath. He had confidence in front of the huge and powerful enemy, Goliath. What David needed was not a bronze helmet, a coat of mail, or a big sword. What he needed was confidence. That's why he took off all of them and went out with a stone. David's best weapon was his confidence. We can see his confidence in Psalm 3.

I am not afraid of tens of thousands of people

   who have set themselves against me all around. (Psalm 3:6)

In today's Psalm, we can see his confidence too.

Answer me when I call, O God of my right!

   You gave me room when I was in distress.

   Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer. (Psalm 4:1)

ANSWER ME, BE GRACIOUS TO ME, HEAR MY PRAYER.

He uses the imperative mood. It was almost like telling God what to do. But it wasn't his arrogance but his confidence. He had relationship with God in this confidence. We should not mistake confidence as arrogance. It was not arrogance of taking God lightly but it was confidence of a certain bond he had with God. Because he believed that God was with him, he could have confidence.

He said,

you gave me room when I was in distress.

In distress, he didn't shrink. He experienced that he expanded. God gave him room. God made him bigger.

He was cornered by people. People criticized him, insulted him, and made him feel small. But he didn't shrink. He didn't let them intimidate him. We see him rather rebuke them.

How long, you people, shall my honour suffer shame?

   How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?

But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;

   the Lord hears when I call to him. (Psalm 4:2, 3)

Criticisms

People can hurt us by their criticisms and misunderstanding. There are some good criticisms and we need to listen to them.  Those criticisms will help us greatly and make us grow. We can be a bigger person as we are humble enough to take heed to those good criticisms. But not all criticisms are worth hearing. Those criticisms are based on misunderstanding, prejudices, and false information. Instead of listening to their false accusations, we need to look to God. That was what David did. He received so many accusations and criticisms, but he looked to God.

There are many who say, O that we might see some good!

   Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!' (Psalm 4:6)

It is the same as what God instructed Moses to tell Aaron. We call it Aaronic blessing. We heard the beautiful chorus today of that song.

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. (Numbers 4:24-26)

God blesses us, keeps us, and makes his face to shine upon us. God will be gracious to us and give us peace. This God is with us always. We will be all right. This gives us the confidence. Let us live with this confidence. Our life will change. Darkness will move away from us and the light will fill our life.

I like verse 7 and 8 of today's psalm.

You have put gladness in my heart

   more than when their grain and wine abound.

I will both lie down and sleep in peace;

   for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety. (Psalm 4:7, 8)

Last week, I was texting with my son, Joshua. He told me that it wasn't when he had celebratory moments that he felt God's love but it was when he went through hardships. I told him I am glad that you start experiencing the spiritual reality of life.

Joy from Faith

The joy you get from the abundance of grain and wine is nothing compared to the joy God puts in our heart. It is the joy of faith and it will never disappear from you. When we go through hard times, we feel God more closely. Our body is made that way. When danger comes, our body produces certain hormones so that we can fight it. When we go through hard times, we feel God more closely because we need God. And this God will give us joy and this joy is our strength. That is the same joy St. Paul talked about when he said, rejoice always.

I will both lie down and sleep in peace;

   for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

Reading this passage, I was thinking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today is the second Sunday after the Easter. Psalm 4 is the evening Psalm. Evening means the twilight years of our life. When we go to sleep, trusting that God will keep us safe and give us rest, we can have a good sleep. Every evening, I leave everything to God. And when I open my eyes, it's in the morning. I don't know how I fell asleep.

Joshua sent me this quote.

Put in the work and wait on God.

When we close our eyes in our final day, if we do that with that attitude, we will wake up in the new world and face a bright morning with the Lord. That is the hope of resurrection Jesus gave us.

The post Stand Tall appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

Acts 4:32-27

Life After Resurrection

We had a wonderful time last Sunday celebrating Easter. Today is the first Sunday after Easter, and I would like to reflect on life after resurrection.

We see a very interesting contrast in the disciples before the resurrection and after it. Before the resurrection, the disciples were self-centred, self-focused and fearful. Even when Jesus was concerned about the suffering and death that lay ahead, the disciples were only concerned about who was the greatest among them, or who would sit at Jesus' right hand. At Jesus' time of greatest need, the disciples ran away and deserted Jesus, fearful in the face of worldly power. Peter denied Jesus. Judas betrayed him. The disciples were weak, cowardly and small people.

We see a very different picture after the resurrection.  Instead of self-focus and self-concern, in today's passage we see a concern for the community, for others.  Instead of fear, we see power and boldness.

With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:33)

After the resurrection, their hearts expanded. Their courage expanded. Grace expanded. That grace flowed from them into the community. No one was in need, and everyone's needs were met. People gave everything for the well-being of the community.

And not only that, their identity and calling also expanded.

This was their question to Jesus before his ascension:

Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6)

At first, the disciples still believed that Jesus came as the Messiah to restore the kingdom of Israel to its former glory. They were looking at their own nation. But after the resurrection, their calling expanded beyond their own nation.

Barnabas

We are introduced today to Barnabas. He was a Levite, meaning of the priestly tribe. He was brought up knowing all of the Jewish rituals and customs. He was a true Jew. But he also lived in Gentile territory, in Cyprus. He was immersed in the life and ways of Gentiles. In Barnabas, we see the beginnings of an expanded identity and calling for the Jewish people. Barnabas would pave the way for the mission to Gentiles. He was the one who vouched for Paul. Paul was a persecutor of Jesus' followers, and they were very suspicious of him after he met Jesus. But Barnabas had street cred with the disciples, and his vouching paved the way for Paul to be accepted. Barnabas and Paul were partners in mission, setting up churches and reaching out to the Gentiles. They eventually had a falling out, and Paul became the famous and prominent apostle to the Gentiles, but Barnabas played his role in expanding the identity and calling of Jewish followers of Jesus.

Acts shows the Spirit expanding their identity to include Gentiles. In Jesus, they were not losing or abandoning their Jewish identity, but expanding it.

Expanding Life

Resurrection life is an expanded life.

——–

There are so many things that shrink our life. Fear, shame and guilt shrank the disciples' life at first, and they shrink ours too. This pandemic has made it easier for us to shrink our lives. We've shrunk into our own spaces while dealing with the daily pressures, challenges and stresses of life in the pandemic. It's also revealed many forces in our world that would shrink life.

During the past year, there's been a great reckoning on race. We've seen the killing of George Floyd and others and the Black Lives Matter movement. More recently, previously silenced voices have emerged regarding anti-Asian racism. In the past few weeks alone, it has been like a floodgate has opened, and so many voices have been pouring out.

There have been so many stories of how racism has shrunk the lives of many Asians and other racial minorities. Of having to be silent in the face of discrimination. Of letting things slide. Of not creating a fuss.

The Good Old Days'

As I treaded my way through the world, the voices I heard were: that racism doesn't really exist, and so whatever you perceive is all in your head. Or that it's not as bad as it used to be and it's getting better, so just take things in stride. Or that you don't have it as bad as other groups, so be thankful and don't complain. And so I doubted myself. I wondered if I was just messed up in the head and delusionally paranoid. I wasn't sure. But the question that kept looming deep in my mind as I grew up was: do I really belong here?

Many people want to go back to the good old days of an earlier time. But for us racialized folks, do we really want to go back to that? Those good ol' days were when racism was overt, in our faces, and daily reminders for us that we did not belong here. For many of us, the good ol' days are better forgotten. Don Cherry's rants before he got kicked off of TV reminded me of my childhood growing up with hockey.

I loved hockey growing up. I would shoot the ball in the kitchen until the cupboards fell off. Every Saturday night I looked forward to that anthem of Hockey Night in Canada to watch the Leafs lose yet another game. I enrolled in a ball hockey league at the recreation centre when I was 7, and I took the bus all by myself to get there so that I could play. In the winter, I took my skates and gloves and walked to the local rink and learned how to play shinny. One day, this guy said: hey kid, you should join a league. I told my dad, and he took me to Ted Reeve Arena to sign me up. We didn't know anything about equipment: all I had was my skates, a helmet and gloves. So the guy from the league took me to a storage room where there was old used equipment. That was how I started my hockey career. I loved the game, but I didn't love the culture of hockey as I grew up. If I was better than average on my team and useful, I would get my due and playing time. If I was just average, I would see my time on the ice reduced. My dad would say that in order to be treated fairly, I had to be even better than others. He was incensed by perceived unfair treatment and he pulled me off of my teams a number of times. In the dressing room, Asian jokes were commonplace. On the ice, racial slurs were said to incite me to take a penalty, or I would feel targeted for body checks.

Needless to say, my feelings toward hockey are very ambivalent. People say it's Canada's game, but is it my game too? Do I belong to it? Do I really care for it?

Racism in the Present

Canada has changed. Hockey's actually not that cool anymore, and overt discrimination is no longer acceptable. Many people can now grow up their whole childhood without experiencing overt discrimination due to race.

But overt discrimination is not acceptable, there is a lot of covert, subconscious or unintentional prejudice that still exists. Society has allowed spaces for Asians and other racial minorities to occupy – like good professions and good neighbourhoods. But here's how I see it: we're allowed to be an occupant of that space, but not an owner of it. Keep your head down, get along. Toe the party line and be grateful for your place, and maybe you'll even be rewarded with promotions within that space. But don't critique that space or to try to lead it, because you're lucky just to be where you are.

What I've seen is that a racialized person who dares to venture out beyond their given spaces has met great racial backlash, particularly in leadership or spaces where Asian or racialized faces are not commonplace. Naheed Nenshi, the mayor of Calgary for the last 10 years, decided not to run again. He just grew tired of all the trolls on Twitter being outright racist and bigoted about his religion. When Olivia Chow ran for mayor of Toronto in 2014, she came third after being the frontrunner. The media cited a number of factors for this poor showing. But I personally believe that racism and sexism, and the combination of these two as an Asian female, were primary reasons, whether people were conscious of it or not. Paul Kang shared with me an essay written by Chloe Kim, the snowboarding champion and gold medalist. She recently wrote an essay about how she had been silent about all the racism that was directed her way, and how deeply it had hurt. There are so many more stories emerging now. Whenever Asians enter spaces they're not traditionally a part of, there is great backlash.

Unable to Prove Racial Bias

Most of the time, though, we can't really prove racial bias. In my second year of university, I applied for a summer job at a large accounting firm. There were 4 interviewees from my cohort. There was a white guy and a white girl, a Chinese girl, and me. We were all similar on paper, which is how we got an interview. They were hiring 2 students. Guess who got them? Yup, the 2 white students. Were they objectively better than us? Surely the fact that the interviewers were white had nothing to do with the selection? But of course I can't prove anything.

This has been my experience throughout my life. Noticing and observing things. Believing things, but not being able to prove anything. Questioning myself, wondering whether I'm just being paranoid, whether I'm too hyper sensitive and vigilant. I know that this isn't the case with many people, but for me, I've been pretty messed up with regards to race.

Confined in Society

Many Asians have found their safe spaces in this society. With their jobs, their families and safe neighbourhoods to live in. Many Asians believed that we've overcome past racial hostility and animus. But a lot of that has been punctured by what we've seen during the pandemic.

When we're confined to a given space, our life shrinks. I mean, life is hard as it is, so even within our own spaces, there are many problems and things to contend with. We find our joys and contentment within that space. But when we are confined to our own space, we become closed off and separated from those in other spaces. We are removed from the struggles of others.

When we don't feel like we fully belong, we become mere occupants of space. Our focus is on extracting whatever we can from this space to take care of myself and my family. What happens beyond this space is not really my concern. We start living a shrunken existence.

How many of us have consciously or unconsciously shrunken our vision for what's possible in life, for ourselves and for our children?

The Resurrection

The resurrection is not a mere continuation of the past. It is something entirely new. But it is also not separate from the past. The resurrection is a mystery. Jesus was not merely a resuscitated corpse. The disciples and women did not recognize Jesus at first. But they recognized him when he showed the wounds and scars he got from the cross.

The resurrected Jesus was different from the earthly Jesus, but the wounds from his past remained as part of his resurrected form. I realized this truth about resurrection: we are transformed into something new, but are connected with our past by the wounds we carry.

The disciples would never erase their past. Their past self-centredness, their cowardice are forever recorded in the gospels. The shame of their weakness and failure was their wounds. They would never escape these wounds of their past. But in their shame and fear they met the resurrected Jesus. That shame became the place where they experienced the forgiveness and grace of God. From that shame they were transformed into powerful witnesses. We become new people only when we carry the marks of our past pains and wounds. That is the only true and authentic path to resurrection!

A Place of Pain

I used to wonder why I had to go through all of what I did, and why I was so messed up in my mind. But I realize that I am who I am today because of all I've been through. The pain I experienced is part of who I am. And that place of pain is where God's grace is most real for me. I mean, I'm still dysfunctional, messed up and maladjusted in so many ways. Put me in a room full of white people and I still get stiff and awkward. I'm still alert and on edge. I'm messed up! And it still hurts. But you know what? Through all of that, God has been transforming me into who God wants me to be. I am dysfunctional in so many ways, but it is God who helps me function. I am maladjusted to this world, but God adjusts my direction and calling. I am so messed up, but God stitches something new and beautiful out of that messiness. By God's grace I am who I am, and who I am becoming. Last week we sang Now that you're near . The line from the chorus is Now that you're near, everything is different, everything's so different, Lord. I know I'm not the same, my life you've changed. I wanna be with you, I wanna be with you. That, in a nutshell, is my testimony. This is our testimony. The pain, dysfunction, and messed up-ness is still part of me, on me, but still I am being transformed into something new.

The Good News of the Resurrection

My friends, this is the good news of the resurrection.

What does a resurrected life look like for Koreans and Asians? First, let us hear the voices of the many stories that are emerging, and let us join in sharing our own stories too. Don't bury the pains of your past, or forget about them. Second, we need to stop seeing ourselves as occupants or guests. The prophet Jeremiah said this to the exiles who were lost and displaced in Babylon:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:4-7)

God has sent us here where we live. We have a calling to seek the welfare of this city, this country, and whatever space you occupy. Whether your workplace, social circles, this church community: don't just try to extract what you can for your own survival and benefit. Seek the welfare of that space. Seek to bring blessing to that space. Just like the disciples in today's passage: do you see anyone in need at your workplace? Help them out. Give all that you have for the needs of others in your space. This is the way you will become a leader wherever you are: by serving others in your space and attending to their needs.

Thirdly, let us expand our hearts and spaces to welcome others into them. In our own community, Brim will present today about the Rose of Sharon nursing home. Let us open our hearts to support this. I see the Korean church and community expanding our space to welcome in solidarity those from different backgrounds who seek justice and healing. We were brought here not to live enclosed in our own spaces, but to be a blessing to this city, country and world. Individually, each of us are small, broken and feeble people. But the Spirit of the resurrected Christ takes us in our brokenness, and gives us the power to expand who we are and be a blessing wherever we go.

How is God wanting to use you as a blessing for this world in the spaces you're in?

The post Power That Expands appeared first on St Timothy Presbyterian Church.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

A Heavy Heart

I have never heard of the news of death so much in my life like these days. Every day, I hear the number of deaths that happened on that day because of Covid-19. Globally 2.85 million people died of Covid-19 as of April 3. That's a lot of people. But remember that is not just the number. They are people. They were somebody's father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, and a loved one. In other words, there are 2.85 millions of sad stories people have. They lost their loved ones. There is so much sadness and sorrow. There are so many people's painful stories. In the beginning of this pandemic, I cried a lot, watching news and hearing the sad stories of people.

We have come to the Easter service with a heavy heart. Easter is the time we celebrate Jesus' resurrection. We celebrate the new life. Now we have come with a heavy heart. We are celebrating Easter in the midst of sadness and sorrow. What does it mean to celebrate that Jesus is alive in the midst of this pandemic?

Jesus' Death

I thought about Jesus' death too. Was his death in vain? He died a horrible death. The most painful death. Injustice killed him. People killed the innocent man in the cruelest way. They painted an innocent man as a criminal and put the blame on him and killed him. They proved THEMSELVES RIGHT and made the INNOCENT MAN A CRIMINAL. What a nonsense! Jesus' death very clearly exposed the nonsense of human behavior. It exposed our evilness.

But our story did not end here. Jesus was not just a helpless victim of human evil. God raised him from the dead. God proved that Jesus was right and innocent. His death brought life. Jesus had a victory over death. Jesus had a victory over the evilness of this world. Jesus showed that his death was worth it.

This is what we believe. This is our creed. He died because of our sins. But he did not just die because of our sins. He died for our sins. His death had the power to bring life. His death brought forgiveness, healing, and life. The cross did not just expose the evilness of humanity. The cross released the power to heal us.

God's Justice

That was what Isaiah saw.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

    and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

His sacrifice, his sacrificial death was not in vain. It moved God. It brought God into action. God does not move as he feels like. God does not move randomly. God moves according to his justice and righteousness. Jesus' death gave the reason for God to move. God saw the injustice in Jesus' death. God moved and God raised him from the dead. In that sense, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was God's justice. By raising Jesus from the dead, God's justice was served. God brought justice to the world.

All the good deeds Jesus did, all the good teachings Jesus taught us, all the hard works and sacrifices he made while he was with us on earth DID NOT END IN VAIN. That's what we believe for ourselves too. While living for what is good, just and right, sometimes we also suffer. Some people even died. They fought for justice. They fought for what is right. They lived for God. But they were misunderstood. They were ignored. They were misrepresented. They were criticized. They were hated and some were even killed. But we believe that their life was not in vain.

Our Life is Not in Vain

All our efforts, all our works, and all our sacrifices will not end in vain. Our life is not in vain. That is the central message of Paul's argument about the resurrection in this chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians.  If there were no resurrection, everything collapses. The evil wins. The injustice wins. Human greed wins. And death will have dominion over the whole world.

If there were no resurrection, then all we do is in vain. Our preaching is in vain. Our good works are in vain. Our sacrifices are in vain. Our life itself is in vain.

Chapter 15 of his first letter to Corinthians is a beautiful teaching of St. Paul about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and our own resurrection. And four times, he mentioned that if there were no resurrection, everything would be in vain.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:14)

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17)

And he said at the end,

Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

YOUR LABOUR IS NOT IN VAIN!

Yes, our life is not in vain because there is resurrection at the end. We may go through all kinds of things in life. Life is not predictable. Life is not always kind. We cannot demand that life should be always kind to us. Who would have ever expected this kind of pandemic would happen to us in our life time? We don't know what to expect in life. That's what life is. I hope that nothing as dramatic as this may happen again, but who knows?

Resurrection

But we can be strong. We can handle it. We will not be shaky. Because we believe in Jesus' resurrection and also our own resurrection. Jesus is risen and we will also rise. The end is not death. The end is life. Jesus made that possible. Because of Jesus, our end changed. Because of what Jesus did, our ultimate fate changed. That's why we should not be shaky but firm in living a good life no matter how difficult it may be. Don't be discouraged. Live a good life. We will not be defeated.

St. Paul said, at the end of this chapter, this powerful statement.

Death has been swallowed up in victory.'

Where, O death, is your victory?

   Where, O death, is your sting?'

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

So resurrection is not just about going to heaven after we die. Resurrection is not just hopeful thinking. Resurrections gives us the power in our present life. We may not have a proof for resurrection. But if the Spirit of the resurrection is in our life, it shows its evidences. It leaves its mark. It was the Spirit of the Resurrection that changed the lives of the disciples. Until then, they were timid. Until then, their human ambitions controlled them. But the Spirit of the resurrection completely changed them. They are the proof of the resurrection.

If we have the Spirit of resurrection, we will not be shaky; we will be steadfast and excel in the good work we have been doing. We will have a desire to live a good life. Covid-19 has exposed many things. It has shown true faith. When hardships come, true faith comes out. It has shown strength and resilience. We have fought the good fight. We should continue our good efforts. But Covid-19 has shown us also UGLY SIDES of human nature, too.  One nurse said, I am a hero as a nurse but as a Chinese -Canadian, I am reduced to a stupid Asian. I saw a video of a 65 year old Filipino woman being kicked in the stomach in New York on the street on the way to her church and nobody bothered to help her or the situation. Covid-19 has revealed ugly natures of human beings such as fear, anger, scapegoating, racism, and selfishness. We should never be discouraged because of these negative things that we see around us. We should keep fighting the good fight. Fight the racism. Fight the fear of our own. Fight against injustice. Fight our greed, our selfishness, and our arrogance. Fight our spiritual laziness.

We Have the Spirit of Resurrection

I also read your pandemic reflection. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I could see how directly and indirectly this pandemic affected all of us. Giving birth to a child and taking care of her/him is challenging during Covid time.  Losing somebody special during this pandemic was hard. Going through emotional ups and downs is hard. Being in isolation for so long is hard. Doing online courses is tough both to children and teenagers. But be patient and do what is good even in the midst of this challenging time. All our efforts will not be in vain. We have the spirit of resurrection. Even though we fall, we will be able to rise again.

Let us serve each other and let us help each other more diligently and humbly with compassion. Our efforts will not be in vain. Let us keep up the good spirit. Jesus is risen. Let us rise from the darkness and shine the light. That is the proof of the Spirit of resurrection working in our lives.

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Isaiah 50:4-9

Living with Confidence

It is important to live with confidence. We need to cultivate this confidence within us. Living with confidence and living without confidence are radically different. The quality of life will be different. When you have confidence, you can deal with challenges you face in your life much better. Even the most difficult challenges will not intimidate you and bring you down. You will DARE to challenge them. But when you live without confidence, you become timid. Fear takes over and makes you paralyzed. You don't want to face your challenges. You want to avoid your problems as much as you want. You just hope that your problems may disappear but you don't do anything about them. You just want life to be problem free. When challenges come at you, the first thing you think about is running away from them rather than facing up to them.

Inner Conviction

Confidence is a belief that YOU CAN DO IT. It is the INNER CONVICTION. That was what Jesus taught us. A father who had a challenging son came to Jesus and asked him. The father went to the disciples and they couldn't heal his son. So, finally he came to Jesus and asked him to heal his son. He said,

if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us. (Mark 9:22)

Jesus said,

If you are able! All things can be done for the one who believes. (Mark 9:23)

All things can be done for those who believe. That's a tremendous confidence. You can see the inner conviction. That is how confident people see their lives. They believe that all things can be done.

That was how St. Paul saw his life, too.

He said,

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

Founded on Christianity

Jesus and St. Paul They were both very confident people. They were the ones who established the foundation of Christianity. Christianity is founded on this incredible faith that we can do all things. Jesus, Paul, and their disciples were not intimidated even by death.

Where does this confidence come from? Let us look at today's passage. This particular piece was written for the Israelites who were exiled in Babylon. Isaiah was basically saying to them; your time of captivity was over. Now God wanted to bring you home.

In chapter 49, he expressed it in this way.

Can a woman forget her nursing-child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. (Isaiah 49:15)

You see a very feminine image of God. God was portrayed as a mother who would never forget her child. God forgave them and embraced them. God wanted to bring them home.

The Servant

In today's passage, we see the third servant song in Isaiah. We are not sure who this servant is in this passage. We don't know exactly the identity of this servant. It can be one person or a collective body, like Israel. But Isaiah saw this mysterious servant. We hear what this servant said.

he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? (Isaiah 50:8)

It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty? (Isaiah 50:9)

This servant showed the kind of confidence Jesus and Paul had. They all strongly believed that God was with them and nothing could take away the confidence they had.

Let me read it again for you.

The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty? (Isaiah 50:7-9)

If God is for me, who is against me? Or if God is for me, WHAT is against me? No challenges and no problems could defeat the servant, he said. A very firm understanding of God and his relationship with God.

Truth Gives Confidence

This is exactly the reason for us to have confidence. This truth gives us the confidence. The truth that God is for us. This truth sets us free and gives us the confidence. This confidence does not come from us and our ability. It is not about how we feel about ourselves and our abilities. It is not a psychological confidence. It is a spiritual confidence. It is confidence not because our life is going well, not because we do everything well. Not because we are capable. Not because we are better than other people. Not because we are specially gifted. It is confidence that GOD HAS VALIDATED ME. So we don't need validation from people or from the world. This confidence is much stronger than the confidence that comes from believing in one's own ability. The confidence that comes from believing in our own ability will not be sustainable if we fall and fail. This confidence is not possible when we start doubting about our own ability.

When we do well, we are fine. We can live with confidence. But that is not enough. Because there are times when we all fall and fail. We need confidence even when we fall and fail. What we need is confidence NOT BECAUSE OF ME but IN SPITE OF ME. Life is bigger than us. And therefore challenges are bigger than us too. Not everything depends on us and our abilities. We need faith that hopes against hope.

Confidence in God's Love

This servant, Jesus, and St. Paul Their confidence came from their awareness that they were connected to power bigger than themselves. They had confidence not in themselves but beyond themselves. That's what confident people do. They do not stop where their own abilities come to a limit. They go beyond themselves.

St. Paul said a similar thing in Romans.

If God is for us, who is against us? (Romans 8:31)

Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. (Romans 8:33, 34)

He discovered God who embraced him, accepted him, and approved him. What gives us the confidence is this discovery of oneself whom God forgave, accepted, and approved. No one can take away this confidence from us. It comes from the realization of God's love for us.

Paul continued about this confidence by talking about love.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Romans 8:35)

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)

WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS, he said. That's confidence. It is the confidence not in himself but in God and God's love. And he said, nothing in the world can separate us from the love of God.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38, 39)

 More than Conquerors

When we have this kind of confidence, we can be more than conquerors. We can take any challenges in life. The world can be quite cold and indifferent. People can be cruel. We all experience that in our lives. The servant also experienced the same thing.

I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6)

He didn't react. He didn't get angry. He didn't retaliate. He just let them be. This is so similar to our Lord Jesus in the final stage of his life. That's why early Christians used this passage a lot, thinking about Jesus. They connected Jesus with this servant. Jesus was also humiliated, insulted, condemned, and crucified on the cross. But nothing could take away the confidence Jesus had. Jesus was not wavered. His confidence was not wavering confidence. Nothing could conquer him. He knew this truth that God was for him.

Every morning, we need to listen to this truth. God is for us. Who can be against us? Who can bring charge against us? And begin a day. When we don't do that, we will be trampled by the challenges. They will conquer us. They will make our lives difficult. They will destroy us. They will take away our confidence.

Challenge your Life

Before you begin a day, first find this confidence in God. This confidence will hold you tight. Then you don't need to react to every situation. You can keep calm confidence. In this quiet calmness, you will be able to hear what you need to do.

When you lose confidence, your life will be shaky. You will get easily annoyed. You will worry over small problems. You will be scared of suffering and when the suffering comes, you will run away. But when you have confidence, then you can love. You can fight the injustice. You don't have to worry about what others think of you. You can dare to be different. You can live out your calling. You can challenge your life.

Today is Passion Sunday but it is also Palm Sunday. Palm branches symbolize the victory and triumph. On Palm Sunday, we celebrate Jesus' Triumphant entry into Jerusalem. He suffered but he conquered. He suffered but the suffering could not take away his confidence. Jesus was confident even to take up the cross. He was strong enough to even forgive people who crucified him on the cross. If we have the confidence Jesus had, we can conquer our life. We can be triumphant. We can overcome our suffering. We can overcome our death. The message we get from Jesus' life is this. Not even the suffering of the cross could destroy Jesus but that suffering served Jesus and brought life to us.

Don't begin your day without preparation. First make sure that you remind yourself this truth. God is for you. What will be against you? And have confidence. No challenge in the world can defeat you. Challenge your life. Start the day with faith. Start the day with that prayer. Your day will be different.

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