조영진목사 (와싱톤한인교회)
Today is the third Sunday of the serial sermons I am delivering under the title "My Cup Overflows" about the messages in Psalms chapter 23. On the first Sunday, I told you that a new life truly without thirst begins when the Lord becomes the shepherd of our life. Last Sunday, I delivered the message of verse 2 that the Lord leads us to green pastures and watersides to rest. When the shepherd leads us, there is a true rest. Then, we may live an abundant life without thirst.
Today, based upon verse 3, I would like to talk about God's the work of restoration within each of us. King David praises based upon his own life and experiences as a shepherd and says: "… He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."
I.
We may understand literally the meaning of these words, restoring my soul. However, we may also understand the meaning beyond the simple meaning of restoration of the spirit. Doctor Moffatt translated this portion into "He revives life in me." Another biblical scholar expressed it as "You restore my self." In short, the Lord, our shepherd, saves our lives. He leads our lives so that our being itself may be meaningful and our lives may be truly joyful and worth living.
This confession of David is based upon his own experiences. According to the experiences of shepherd, the sheep has poor ability to find the way for itself compared with the dog or cat. Not only that, when a sheep accidentally falls down and be capsized with two feet lifted upward, the life of sheep is threatened. It is especially true when a sheep has long grown hair or it is too fat to regain balance for itself and that can result in death of a sheep in a day if the weather is too hot. Therefore, one of important responsibilities of a shepherd is to watch if there is a sheep with its feet lifted. When he finds one, he immediately rushes to it, calms down the sheep shivering for anxiety and fear, and helps it stand on its feet. From this, we can find the meaning that a shepherd revives a sheep's life. Shepherd brings the restoration of life by visiting the sheep that has fallen down, trembling in anxiety and fear and putting it back to its position.
In David's memory reflected in this song, David remembers his experience of when he went far away from God and committed a sin. It was when David ruled the world as a king. Caught by temptation, he had an affair with Bathsheba, the wife of his loyal man Uriah. And as Bathsheba conceives, he tried to conceal this sin. When the attempt to hide his sin fails due to the Uriah's faithful attitude toward his life, David sent Uriah to the front line in war and let him die. David, who committed a serious sin, was rebuked by prophet Nathan. David had gone far apart from God and fallen into the mire of sin but he came back to experience God's restoration of his life through tearful repentance. We can regard David's experience as the background of the song for the grace of restoration the Lord as the shepherd performs within each of us.
II.
Today, in 21st century, God also grants this grace of restoration in each of us. He revives our lives, and leads us to the path of righteousness. Let's me tell you in more details.
(1) First of all, God restores our life from the vanity and meaninglessness in our lives.
Dear congregation, there is one thing very clear. It is the fact that we could not taste the true meaning and abundance of life apart from God. Why cannot we be truly happy when we go away from God? It is because God has made us that way. It is because God has created us in his own image. Some people try to fill their vanity and meaninglessness with substitutes other than God, but this effort is in vain. It is meaningless and vain, just like holding the wind.
Tolstoy has written in his Confession. "Well, I have 6000 issues of government bonds, and 300 horses. So what? I have sent my children to good schools to study. So what? Everybody talks about prosperity and success of people but what does it have to do with me? Even if I would become more famous than the great writers like Gogel, Pushikin or Shakespeare, what is the point? No matter how great work I may accomplish, my activities disappear someday. No one would find fractions of my life. Then, isn't it unnecessary to run a busy life like this?
Why should I live? What do I want? And why should I be busy? What is the need for me to move in hurry everyday? What meanings are there in life? Is there any way for me to avoid inevitable death that is awaiting me? Even if though Tolstoy has thought about suicide in vanity of his life, he realized that he was too weak carry out his thought to commit a suicide.
After wandering in such vanity, Tolstoy moved his steps from the reality of life that he diagnosed through his own reasoning into the world of faith. He defined faith as "knowledge about the meaning of life, through which people may avoid ruining themselves but they may live." He found a positive conclusion about this life in faith and confessed as follows:
"When I don't believe existence of God, I do not live. Without the faint hope to find God, I must have terminated myself long times ago. Only when we know God and search for Him, we truly live. God is life."
That's right. God is life. The Lord, as a shepherd, also accomplishes restoration of soul from vanity and meaninglessness today. Today, He revives soul within us.
(2) Secondly, God saves us from solitude, loneliness and broken relationship, and leads to restoration of life.
Loneliness of people in modern world is different from that of Robinson Crusoe who had no one around him. It is loneliness felt among many people, or a crowd. It means that today's human relationship lacks its depth. We even find many of the relationships are tainted with envy, jealousy and hatred. Particularly, a heartbreaking problem of Korean is that we feel pain when we see others succeed. Therefore, there is a saying that a Korean may endure his own poverty, but not the pain we feel when we see other people succeed.
Even many families, which God established to live intimately with open heart , to help and hold each other, are experiencing shaking and breaking. Rather than understanding and accepting, they are busy to blame and point fingers to each other. Breaking and interruption of relationship are mass-producing solitude and loneliness. Loss of community is transforming even the church into a lonesome and solitary desert.
God, as a shepherd, accomplishes the work of restoration in this broken relationship, or wounded community. He builds our families, and leads us to a joyful life and world where we may encourage one another.
Millard Fuller, who is leading Habitat Humanity movement, is the very person who has experienced this grace of restoration. He was born in 1935 in a devout Christian family in Montgomery, Alabama. Because he was poor in his youth, he lived with only one goal of being a rich. He started his business with a friend when he was a law student at Auburn University and became a millionaire at his age of 29. He owned a luxury mansion and a villa, two speedy boats, a Lincoln Continental automobile and three ranches. With an immense wealth, lovely wife and two children, Millard Fuller seemed like the happiest person in this world. His business flourished. However, there started being a problem in his marriage and his relationship with his wife and children went astray. It was one day in November in 1965, his wife demanded for a separation and told him that she could not endure any longer a meaningless life of him pursuing only money. He was very shocked at his wife's demand. They reunited in New York a week after and his wife Linda said to him: "If you really love me, I want you to sell all of our properties, distribute them to the poor and deliver them the love of Jesus together." Millard Fuller accepted his wife's advice and determined to live a new a meaningful life before God. When they returned to Montgomery, they sold out all properties except their old house and donated the money to a charity organization. In December that year, on the way home after their vacation in Florida, they visited Koinonia farm near Americus, Georgia. Deeply impressed with the community where the black and white people were sharing their possessions under lead of pastor Clarence Jordan, Mr. & Mrs. Fuller determined to participate in their work. Pastor Jordan emphasized, before his death in 1969, on providing houses for the poor. The Fullers continued the voice of pastor Jordan, and started what is called today "Habitat Humanity" movement.
Really, God has revived the Fullers' breaking relationship. And through them who experienced the grace of God's restoration, God is spreading today the movement to restore souls of numerous people.
(3) Thirdly, God is also accomplishing his work of restoration to our weak and sick bodies.
Dear congregation, how wonderful would it be if there were no illness or sickness? However, the reality is different. When we look around our neighbors, there is almost no one who is not sick. God, our shepherd, is continuing His work of restoration in our sick bodies as well.
The work of restoration God performs is carried out through various channels. The modern medical science and hands of doctors are important channels through which God restores our lives. Some people think healing of God through prayers is the only work of God's restoration. That is such a narrow view. Dear congregation, who had given the brain of mankind who developed modern medical science? Who had given the ingredients of medicines, that cure men? They are all God given. Development of modern medical science is nothing more than discovering and developing the secrets of restoration of life God had given us. In addition, God may directly work within us and restore lives. Sometimes, He may heal us by making us have healthy habits of life. And sometimes when a sickness continues, God gives us inner power and comfort to fight it, and makes us enjoy restored soul, even if we may still have the physical illness.
God today is continuing restoration movement to revive our lives. He also revives lives of me and you in this century. Today, He is our shepherd.
(4) Fourthly, God accomplishes work of restoration of those who had walked in faith but slipped away and tired. Dear congregation, how good would it be if the road to follow Christ were open wide like a highway? How happy would it be if there were no hardship or obstacle in the path to live according to conscience of faith? However, the reality of today is different. The world full of sin 2000 years, where innocent Jesus was crucified, still exists unchanged until today. That is why living with faith is difficult. You may face criticism and trouble when you try to live honestly. They may ask, "You are so clean?" And they may ostracize and treat you unfairly. Therefore, while we follow Jesus, we may get discouraged and we may become tired. We may want to sit down and just give up.
Our Lord as a shepherd inflates new souls to us. He revives our faith, our spirit and our life. He encourages us to stand up again. He builds us not to give up this path, the path that leads to life and eternal victory. As the God had fed and revived Elijah who were tired and chased by enemy after all his splendid victory in the Mount Carmel against those who were following the Baals and Asherah, He reaches his touch of restoration today to us. He comforts us and encourages us again. He builds our faith so that we may walk this path, the path of life again.
III.
David praised: "… He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." God leads us in paths of righteousness for His name's sake, or His existence's sake. According to another translation, He leads us to right way. He leads us to the paths of grace where our souls are restored because of His amazing love and endless mercy.
Important thing is to open our life before this work of God's restoration. We cannot accomplish restoration of our life for ourselves. It is the same as a sheep cannot stand up for itself when it falls down. We need to quietly seek the voice of our shepherd before we hurry and rush to plan things. Before we set up our plan and urge Jesus to approve it, we need to first listen to Jesus' plan. In order to receive the guidance of a shepherd, we should open our mind and our heart. We should lay down our plan, and listen to the voice of our shepherd. We should obey and follow the shepherd's guidance.
Professor Je Eun Oh, who visited D.C. last week, gave me a gift, a book titled, "To Jisun With Love." The story of Jisun Lee, the heroine of this book, has also been introduced in the religion section of the Korean Daily last Thursday.
She was a senior at Ewha Women's University in Seoul, studying Education. On July 30, 2000, the direction of her life has totally been changed. When Jisun finished studying, her brother picked her up and they were waiting in the car for the traffic light to change around ten o'clock pm. Then a drunk driver rushed against their car and it led Jisun and her brother into a six multiple collision accident. Though her brother had escaped from an open window, Jisun trapped between two cars and was surrounded with blaze of fire due to the explosion of a fuel tank. Although her brother hurriedly extinguished fire with his shirts, Jisun had 55 percent of her skin burned. Her beautiful face was severely distorted. Her whole body became stained with burns. She had not given up and endured a seven month hospitalization and eleven times surgeries. Everyone who saw her questioned whether she could live with that condition. Jisun cried again and again before God: "God, what would you do with me now? What would you do? God, are you there, aren't you? You are almighty, aren't you? Please help me! Please help me."
Not only she stayed far from standing in the choir, she attended the worship at church in a mask and a hat, with a towel in her mouth to stop her spit from running. She was afraid to be seen by others. She listened to a pastor after he finished his sermon, came down from the platform, embraced her with two arms and said,: "Jisun, my lovely daughter, I will build you in the world. I will make you become the message of hope to the sick and ill."
When she revealed her gruesome story on the Internet and introduced God who she met in pain, it drew interests and affection from may people around the country. Korean Broadcasting System, the national television network, had broadcasted Jisun's story in a five series documentary. This book titled, "To Jisun With Love," contains a story of restoration from the pains, became a best seller in Korea, and this book is touching and awakening many people. God accomplished the work of restoration even in the life of Jisun who was wounded with many many burns. There is diary written by her on January 2001 at the prologue of the book. This diary was the first one written after the tragic accident.
It seems that I have lost everything, It became impossible to do anything …
I am not free to go to church, sing at choir or go to school …
It seems that I have lost everything …
In the weakness, in a body full with wounds and with shortened fingers
God gives me new life and hope
And He gives a heart stretching out for God and wanting to praise Him everyday.
Though I am not what I have prayed myself to be …
God makes me enjoy the life,
And He makes me do a significant work than a big work, I believe.
I began to take a walk since several days ago.
Running in the lobby of hospital, pushing mom in a wheel chair
It was nearly a month since last time I went outside.
I saw on trees in the hospital, the big and beautiful
Christmas decorations.
And the snow heavily falling down.
O, God, thank you.
Let me be alive to see white snow and
Meet this cold winter again!
I am blessed.
The Lord is restoring our soul today. He guides us in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. The Lord is truly the shepherd of our life. In the Lord, is the abundant life where our cups overflow. "He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." Amen. Amen.
Today is the third Sunday of the serial sermons I am delivering under the title "My Cup Overflows" about the messages in Psalms chapter 23. On the first Sunday, I told you that a new life truly without thirst begins when the Lord becomes the shepherd of our life. Last Sunday, I delivered the message of verse 2 that the Lord leads us to green pastures and watersides to rest. When the shepherd leads us, there is a true rest. Then, we may live an abundant life without thirst.
Today, based upon verse 3, I would like to talk about God's the work of restoration within each of us. King David praises based upon his own life and experiences as a shepherd and says: "… He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."
I.
We may understand literally the meaning of these words, restoring my soul. However, we may also understand the meaning beyond the simple meaning of restoration of the spirit. Doctor Moffatt translated this portion into "He revives life in me." Another biblical scholar expressed it as "You restore my self." In short, the Lord, our shepherd, saves our lives. He leads our lives so that our being itself may be meaningful and our lives may be truly joyful and worth living.
This confession of David is based upon his own experiences. According to the experiences of shepherd, the sheep has poor ability to find the way for itself compared with the dog or cat. Not only that, when a sheep accidentally falls down and be capsized with two feet lifted upward, the life of sheep is threatened. It is especially true when a sheep has long grown hair or it is too fat to regain balance for itself and that can result in death of a sheep in a day if the weather is too hot. Therefore, one of important responsibilities of a shepherd is to watch if there is a sheep with its feet lifted. When he finds one, he immediately rushes to it, calms down the sheep shivering for anxiety and fear, and helps it stand on its feet. From this, we can find the meaning that a shepherd revives a sheep's life. Shepherd brings the restoration of life by visiting the sheep that has fallen down, trembling in anxiety and fear and putting it back to its position.
In David's memory reflected in this song, David remembers his experience of when he went far away from God and committed a sin. It was when David ruled the world as a king. Caught by temptation, he had an affair with Bathsheba, the wife of his loyal man Uriah. And as Bathsheba conceives, he tried to conceal this sin. When the attempt to hide his sin fails due to the Uriah's faithful attitude toward his life, David sent Uriah to the front line in war and let him die. David, who committed a serious sin, was rebuked by prophet Nathan. David had gone far apart from God and fallen into the mire of sin but he came back to experience God's restoration of his life through tearful repentance. We can regard David's experience as the background of the song for the grace of restoration the Lord as the shepherd performs within each of us.
II.
Today, in 21st century, God also grants this grace of restoration in each of us. He revives our lives, and leads us to the path of righteousness. Let's me tell you in more details.
(1) First of all, God restores our life from the vanity and meaninglessness in our lives.
Dear congregation, there is one thing very clear. It is the fact that we could not taste the true meaning and abundance of life apart from God. Why cannot we be truly happy when we go away from God? It is because God has made us that way. It is because God has created us in his own image. Some people try to fill their vanity and meaninglessness with substitutes other than God, but this effort is in vain. It is meaningless and vain, just like holding the wind.
Tolstoy has written in his Confession. "Well, I have 6000 issues of government bonds, and 300 horses. So what? I have sent my children to good schools to study. So what? Everybody talks about prosperity and success of people but what does it have to do with me? Even if I would become more famous than the great writers like Gogel, Pushikin or Shakespeare, what is the point? No matter how great work I may accomplish, my activities disappear someday. No one would find fractions of my life. Then, isn't it unnecessary to run a busy life like this?
Why should I live? What do I want? And why should I be busy? What is the need for me to move in hurry everyday? What meanings are there in life? Is there any way for me to avoid inevitable death that is awaiting me? Even if though Tolstoy has thought about suicide in vanity of his life, he realized that he was too weak carry out his thought to commit a suicide.
After wandering in such vanity, Tolstoy moved his steps from the reality of life that he diagnosed through his own reasoning into the world of faith. He defined faith as "knowledge about the meaning of life, through which people may avoid ruining themselves but they may live." He found a positive conclusion about this life in faith and confessed as follows:
"When I don't believe existence of God, I do not live. Without the faint hope to find God, I must have terminated myself long times ago. Only when we know God and search for Him, we truly live. God is life."
That's right. God is life. The Lord, as a shepherd, also accomplishes restoration of soul from vanity and meaninglessness today. Today, He revives soul within us.
(2) Secondly, God saves us from solitude, loneliness and broken relationship, and leads to restoration of life.
Loneliness of people in modern world is different from that of Robinson Crusoe who had no one around him. It is loneliness felt among many people, or a crowd. It means that today's human relationship lacks its depth. We even find many of the relationships are tainted with envy, jealousy and hatred. Particularly, a heartbreaking problem of Korean is that we feel pain when we see others succeed. Therefore, there is a saying that a Korean may endure his own poverty, but not the pain we feel when we see other people succeed.
Even many families, which God established to live intimately with open heart , to help and hold each other, are experiencing shaking and breaking. Rather than understanding and accepting, they are busy to blame and point fingers to each other. Breaking and interruption of relationship are mass-producing solitude and loneliness. Loss of community is transforming even the church into a lonesome and solitary desert.
God, as a shepherd, accomplishes the work of restoration in this broken relationship, or wounded community. He builds our families, and leads us to a joyful life and world where we may encourage one another.
Millard Fuller, who is leading Habitat Humanity movement, is the very person who has experienced this grace of restoration. He was born in 1935 in a devout Christian family in Montgomery, Alabama. Because he was poor in his youth, he lived with only one goal of being a rich. He started his business with a friend when he was a law student at Auburn University and became a millionaire at his age of 29. He owned a luxury mansion and a villa, two speedy boats, a Lincoln Continental automobile and three ranches. With an immense wealth, lovely wife and two children, Millard Fuller seemed like the happiest person in this world. His business flourished. However, there started being a problem in his marriage and his relationship with his wife and children went astray. It was one day in November in 1965, his wife demanded for a separation and told him that she could not endure any longer a meaningless life of him pursuing only money. He was very shocked at his wife's demand. They reunited in New York a week after and his wife Linda said to him: "If you really love me, I want you to sell all of our properties, distribute them to the poor and deliver them the love of Jesus together." Millard Fuller accepted his wife's advice and determined to live a new a meaningful life before God. When they returned to Montgomery, they sold out all properties except their old house and donated the money to a charity organization. In December that year, on the way home after their vacation in Florida, they visited Koinonia farm near Americus, Georgia. Deeply impressed with the community where the black and white people were sharing their possessions under lead of pastor Clarence Jordan, Mr. & Mrs. Fuller determined to participate in their work. Pastor Jordan emphasized, before his death in 1969, on providing houses for the poor. The Fullers continued the voice of pastor Jordan, and started what is called today "Habitat Humanity" movement.
Really, God has revived the Fullers' breaking relationship. And through them who experienced the grace of God's restoration, God is spreading today the movement to restore souls of numerous people.
(3) Thirdly, God is also accomplishing his work of restoration to our weak and sick bodies.
Dear congregation, how wonderful would it be if there were no illness or sickness? However, the reality is different. When we look around our neighbors, there is almost no one who is not sick. God, our shepherd, is continuing His work of restoration in our sick bodies as well.
The work of restoration God performs is carried out through various channels. The modern medical science and hands of doctors are important channels through which God restores our lives. Some people think healing of God through prayers is the only work of God's restoration. That is such a narrow view. Dear congregation, who had given the brain of mankind who developed modern medical science? Who had given the ingredients of medicines, that cure men? They are all God given. Development of modern medical science is nothing more than discovering and developing the secrets of restoration of life God had given us. In addition, God may directly work within us and restore lives. Sometimes, He may heal us by making us have healthy habits of life. And sometimes when a sickness continues, God gives us inner power and comfort to fight it, and makes us enjoy restored soul, even if we may still have the physical illness.
God today is continuing restoration movement to revive our lives. He also revives lives of me and you in this century. Today, He is our shepherd.
(4) Fourthly, God accomplishes work of restoration of those who had walked in faith but slipped away and tired. Dear congregation, how good would it be if the road to follow Christ were open wide like a highway? How happy would it be if there were no hardship or obstacle in the path to live according to conscience of faith? However, the reality of today is different. The world full of sin 2000 years, where innocent Jesus was crucified, still exists unchanged until today. That is why living with faith is difficult. You may face criticism and trouble when you try to live honestly. They may ask, "You are so clean?" And they may ostracize and treat you unfairly. Therefore, while we follow Jesus, we may get discouraged and we may become tired. We may want to sit down and just give up.
Our Lord as a shepherd inflates new souls to us. He revives our faith, our spirit and our life. He encourages us to stand up again. He builds us not to give up this path, the path that leads to life and eternal victory. As the God had fed and revived Elijah who were tired and chased by enemy after all his splendid victory in the Mount Carmel against those who were following the Baals and Asherah, He reaches his touch of restoration today to us. He comforts us and encourages us again. He builds our faith so that we may walk this path, the path of life again.
III.
David praised: "… He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." God leads us in paths of righteousness for His name's sake, or His existence's sake. According to another translation, He leads us to right way. He leads us to the paths of grace where our souls are restored because of His amazing love and endless mercy.
Important thing is to open our life before this work of God's restoration. We cannot accomplish restoration of our life for ourselves. It is the same as a sheep cannot stand up for itself when it falls down. We need to quietly seek the voice of our shepherd before we hurry and rush to plan things. Before we set up our plan and urge Jesus to approve it, we need to first listen to Jesus' plan. In order to receive the guidance of a shepherd, we should open our mind and our heart. We should lay down our plan, and listen to the voice of our shepherd. We should obey and follow the shepherd's guidance.
Professor Je Eun Oh, who visited D.C. last week, gave me a gift, a book titled, "To Jisun With Love." The story of Jisun Lee, the heroine of this book, has also been introduced in the religion section of the Korean Daily last Thursday.
She was a senior at Ewha Women's University in Seoul, studying Education. On July 30, 2000, the direction of her life has totally been changed. When Jisun finished studying, her brother picked her up and they were waiting in the car for the traffic light to change around ten o'clock pm. Then a drunk driver rushed against their car and it led Jisun and her brother into a six multiple collision accident. Though her brother had escaped from an open window, Jisun trapped between two cars and was surrounded with blaze of fire due to the explosion of a fuel tank. Although her brother hurriedly extinguished fire with his shirts, Jisun had 55 percent of her skin burned. Her beautiful face was severely distorted. Her whole body became stained with burns. She had not given up and endured a seven month hospitalization and eleven times surgeries. Everyone who saw her questioned whether she could live with that condition. Jisun cried again and again before God: "God, what would you do with me now? What would you do? God, are you there, aren't you? You are almighty, aren't you? Please help me! Please help me."
Not only she stayed far from standing in the choir, she attended the worship at church in a mask and a hat, with a towel in her mouth to stop her spit from running. She was afraid to be seen by others. She listened to a pastor after he finished his sermon, came down from the platform, embraced her with two arms and said,: "Jisun, my lovely daughter, I will build you in the world. I will make you become the message of hope to the sick and ill."
When she revealed her gruesome story on the Internet and introduced God who she met in pain, it drew interests and affection from may people around the country. Korean Broadcasting System, the national television network, had broadcasted Jisun's story in a five series documentary. This book titled, "To Jisun With Love," contains a story of restoration from the pains, became a best seller in Korea, and this book is touching and awakening many people. God accomplished the work of restoration even in the life of Jisun who was wounded with many many burns. There is diary written by her on January 2001 at the prologue of the book. This diary was the first one written after the tragic accident.
It seems that I have lost everything, It became impossible to do anything …
I am not free to go to church, sing at choir or go to school …
It seems that I have lost everything …
In the weakness, in a body full with wounds and with shortened fingers
God gives me new life and hope
And He gives a heart stretching out for God and wanting to praise Him everyday.
Though I am not what I have prayed myself to be …
God makes me enjoy the life,
And He makes me do a significant work than a big work, I believe.
I began to take a walk since several days ago.
Running in the lobby of hospital, pushing mom in a wheel chair
It was nearly a month since last time I went outside.
I saw on trees in the hospital, the big and beautiful
Christmas decorations.
And the snow heavily falling down.
O, God, thank you.
Let me be alive to see white snow and
Meet this cold winter again!
I am blessed.
The Lord is restoring our soul today. He guides us in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. The Lord is truly the shepherd of our life. In the Lord, is the abundant life where our cups overflow. "He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." Amen. Amen.
