DISCIPLESHIP: Taking up one’s cross

Posted by Yong Joo Park on 6 August 2014 in Luke | ∞

Luke 9:23Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

Crucifixion was the cruel death penalty sentenced to people who have rebelled against Roman Empire. Jesus was crucified not because of His rebellion against Roman Empire but because of jealousy of people who didn’t believe Him. So it was unjust for Him to be crucified. But Jesus has voluntarily taken up His cross in order to obey God’s will for Him to pay for our sin and save us.

Based on His motive of taking up the cross, the cross represents ‘sacrifice’, ‘Love (Agape)’ and ‘obedience to the Father’. Based on His purpose of taking up the cross, the cross represents ‘forgiveness’, and ‘reconciliation’. Based on the result of taking up the cross, the cross represents ‘shame’, ‘pain’, ‘humiliation’ as well as ‘God’s wisdom and glory’ revealed through it.

In Luke 9:23, Jesus asks to take up our cross daily and follow Him.

So, I would say ‘taking up the cross’ means …

Living sacrificial life, obeying God, practicing unconditional love and forgiveness, bearing shame, pain and humiliation for the mission God entrusted us to do, trusting God whose wisdom and glory will be revealed through our obedience.

Above description of the cross may sound familiar but it may take each individual certain amount of time in order to understand deeply enough. No worries. God will help you in your life journey.

As for Uni students, they are very busy on their study courses. So if they can make commitment to regular bible study 1 hour per week as well as managing their course works well, it would be ‘taking up their cross’ to follow Jesus.

God’s Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path

Posted by Yong Joo Park on 27 July 2014 in Psalms | ∞

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

I became a born-again Christian through the faith of my relative sister when I was 18-year old. She told me that Psalm 119 was her favourite chapter in the Holy Bible. I call her my spiritual mother.

My spiritual mother was a Sunday school teacher to take care of children in a small local church. I didn’t have anyone among family members and relatives who guided me biblically for the 1^st 18 years of my life. This means that I was in spiritual darkness for a long time. So, I understand how important to have a spiritual parent in childhood and young adulthood. After being born again, I continued to study the Holy Bible for many years.

While driving from Parramatta toward the Blue Mountains via Great Western Highway for half-an-hour at night, there are some parts of the highway with no street light. So, it is impossible to drive without headlight in those parts of the highway. In those places, I find myself in total darkness and realize how important a lamp for my wheel and a light on my path are. Sometimes, I have to turn on high beam to see as far as possible.

Without God’s Word, we are in spiritual darkness. In darkness, how important a lamp for our feet and a light on our path are!

The Holy Bible is written Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). I can’t imagine living without God’s Word. There is no exception for this importance in student life in universities. Without God’s Word, students are in spiritual darkness as a matter of fact. Even for Christians who have studied the whole Holy Bible, regular bible reading is important to remind themselves of what are written in the Holy Bible. Regular bible study will help you to have a lamp for the feet, a light on the path.

One of easy-to-read books in the Holy Bible, I think, for young people is Proverbs (http://www.biblica.com/en-us/bible/online-bible/niv/proverbs/1/).

The Holy Bible can be downloaded to your smartphone. I find “The Bible” application is good and it can be downloaded by searching “YouVersion” in Google Play.

I pray our weekly post in our website, daily text message to your mobile, meetings and events may help your spiritual growth and Psalm 119:105 may become your confession.

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

Amen

In Easter Camp 2014 of Come & See UNSW Student Club

Posted by Yong Joo Park on 24 June 2014 in Luke, Resurrection | ∞

Young man, I say to you, get up!

Posted by Yong Joo Park on 15 June 2014 in Luke | ∞

Luke 7:11-17

The parade of Jesus met the parade of a dead person. It was an encounter between the life and the death.

Who was this dead person? He was the only son of a widow.

Widow means a woman whose spouse has died. A widow is sad, lonely and helpless. The Holy Bible teaches us to take care of the alien, the fatherless and the widow[1].

This widow had one and only son. This son was her only hope in her life. But she lost him at his young age. This was the heart-breaking and unbearably sad situation. This son is supposed to grow up, get a job, marry with a right person, live happily and take care of his mother. Nothing could replace this son. When she lost her son, she lost the whole world. She lost what she should not.

Jesus comforted her by saying “Don’t cry” (13^b).

Jesus sympathises our weaknesses[2]. He takes our hunger, thirst, loneliness, poverty, sickness, and misery as His own[3]. Jesus initiated the following miracle because He sympathised the situation.

Jesus touched the coffin and the parade stopped. Jesus said “Young man, I say to you, get up!” (14^b)

At His Word, what happened to the dead man? See v15^a.

The dead man sat up and began to talk (15^a)

At his Word, the dead man was raised. As shown in Mark 4:39, when Jesus said to the wind and the waves, “Quiet! Be Still!”, they obeyed[4]. Jesus is son of God, and God almighty created the heavens and the earth by his Word (Genesis 1). Jesus is God[5]. The Word spoken by Jesus was of God almighty.

Jesus gave him back to his mother (15^b). Here, I want to pay attention to the word ‘gave back’. This word teaches us the sovereignty of Jesus. When this widow lost her son, it was final in human eyes. But in Jesus, God almighty, it is not. There is no fate in Jesus. Never ask a fortune-teller about the future. Believe God and create the brightest future.

Through Jesus, the parade of the death, sorrow and anxiety turned into the parade of life, joy and praise (16-17).

What is your current situation that Jesus sympathises?

Have you ever disappointed someone or your family member who you are important to?

Are you powerlessly lying in coffin of any failure?

I pray that you may be wakened up at the command of Jesus:

“Young man, I say to you, get up!” (14^b)

[1] Isaiah 1:17^b Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

Hebrews 13:2 (NASB) Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

James 1:27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Exodus 22:22 Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.

Jeremiah 7:6-7 ⁶ if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, ⁷ then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever.

[2] Hebrew 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

[3] Matthew 25:34 – 45 ³⁴“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

[4] Mark 4:39 ³⁹He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

[5] Colossians 1:15 – 16 ¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

The Parable of Garment, Wine and Wineskins

Posted by Yong Joo Park on 8 June 2014 in Luke | ∞

Luke 5:33-39

³³They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

³⁴Jesus answered, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? ³⁵But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

³⁶He told them this parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. ³⁹And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”

See v33. Here “They” are the Pharisees and the teachers of the law (30). They criticized that disciples of Jesus went on eating and drinking without any fasting. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law are leaders of religion in Israel. They are supposed to know and obey God better than others. But here they were opposing Jesus. The fact is they were sons of the Devil (John 8:44). How incredible, confusing and deceptive this world is! Have eyes to see behind of the scene. Have spiritual eyes.

The devil is an accuser (Revelation 12:10). Do not be surprised if people who belong to the devil criticise or accuse us. When they criticize, Jesus’ answer to them revealed the truth about Christianity. What is the answer of Jesus? See v34.

The disciples of Jesus are like the guests of the bridegroom. This means they are invited to the wedding and in the middle of the feast! Wedding banquet is where we would eat and drink with joyful heart. The bridegroom is Jesus. This shows the characteristics of Christianity. The characteristics of Christianity are celebration, excitement, and joy like wedding banquet. When Jesus is at our heart, we are delightful, happy, and joyful. But if our life has lost room for Jesus in this world of sins and error pining, we should fast so that Jesus may be in the centre of our heart and life (35)

At v36 – v38, Jesus told them the parable of old/new garment and old/new wine/wine skins. Christianity is like new garment. So it can’t be fit into old garment – the traditional religion and its practice in Israel. Also it is like new wine, which requires new wineskins. New wine is the spirit of Christianity, which is different to old wine – Judaism. “New wineskins” is the form of Christianity, which is different to old wineskins – Jewish conventional practice of Judaism.

In Old Testament, it is written that “Love your neighbour.” (Lev 19:18) But in New Testament, Jesus commanded not only “Love your neighbour” (Luke 10:28), but also “Love your enemies” (Luke 6:27). This makes Christianity way different from Judaism. Their enemies were Romans that colonised Jews at that time. Romans crucified their enemies to scare and control them if they rebelled against Roman Empire. But in the view point of Jesus, Romans were also lost sheep of God. All human beings need salvation through Jesus. We shouldn’t withdraw Gospel from anyone just because they are enemies or related to enemies. We still need to give them the chance to believe and accept Jesus.

We are in the exciting journey with Jesus since we believed in Him. We learn His new way through this journey with Him.

What is your old garment? What is your old wine and wineskins? Let us put down our old way and stop patching new garment to old garment or pouring new wine to old wineskins.

I was a Buddhist. In Buddhism, I was taught to call the name of a saint thousand times for my wish to come true. But I know I don’t have to repeat my request in a prayer because God knows what I need even before I start to pray (Matthew 6:7-8). In addition to this, I had many ideas from my old Buddhism belief. But the Word of God has healed many preoccupations of mine.

I pray that everyone who listens to this message may overcome his/her preoccupation, follow, listen and experience Jesus. Amen.

RESIST the devil

Posted by Yong Joo Park on 2 June 2014 in Uncategorized | ∞

1 Peter 5:8, 9 ⁸Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

James 4:7 ⁷Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Both verses of 1 Peter 5:9 and James 4:7 teach us to “Resist the devil”.

When we stand for the truth, we can see the enemy even though the devil is not visible. There are people closely linked to Satan. For example, sorcerer and witch.

You shouldn’t allow the devil damage your life. Fight and push it away!

What method and how much effort you use for resistance will depend on what type of the devil you are dealing with.

And God will teach you how to fight.

Stand for the truth. And fight the good fight (2 Timothy 4:7)!

I pray in the name of Jesus that you may be victorious in all realm (spiritual and physical).

Shepherd and Sheep

Posted by Yong Joo Park on 26 May 2014 in Luke, Proverbs, The Good Shepherd | ∞

See Luke 2:8-12

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

When Jesus was born, an angel made the news known to shepherds while they were keeping watch over their flocks at night (Luke 2:8). Shepherds are people taking care of sheep. Sheep are mild animals with short-sight and low intelligence. Their front legs are shorter than the rear legs. So they are easily fallen down and not able to get up by themselves easily. Without protection by shepherds, they become preys of wild animals like wolfs and lions. In Luke 2:8, shepherds were watching over their flocks to protect them from predators. Shepherds use various tools to protect their flocks.

See Psalm 23:4.

⁴Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

“rod” & “staff” are deadly weapons that shepherds use to strike predators. They are thrown directly to hit the body of lion or wolf, resulting in immediate death.

In 1 Samuel 17:34-37, David testified his experience as a shepherd of his father’s flock:

³⁴But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

As for David, “sling and stones” might be his weapon to rescue a sheep from predators (1 Samuel 17:40).

In this generation, there are many types of predators that carry off a sheep from the flock. Spiritually speaking, the evil forces that cause “Sin” are the predators (Ephesians 6:12). The evil forces and the followers of the evil may cause sins like (sexual) immorality, unbelief, and worries of life that make sheep slain and result in spiritual death in the end (James 1:15).

A sheep’s life depends on protection provided by the shepherd. Let us protect our sheep from various sins.

See Proverbs 27:23

²³Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,
give careful attention to your herds;

Let us keep watch over them and provide adequate protection, swinging the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) (Ephesians 6:17).