Give me anyday, Lord !

[Dongoh Shin]

예년과 다르게, 매일 한차례씩 비가온다.
요즘만 같으면, 아프리카도 살만할텐데...
물이귀한 곳이기에, 비만오면 사람들의 마음도 들뜨는 곳... 따라서 비오는 날 오가는 인사도, " It is beutiful day !!" 비오는 날이 반가운 날이라는 인사가 우리에게는 무척이나 생소했는데, 어느덧 나도 같은 인사를 인사를 하게 되었으니...

지난 주일 16년 동안 머물렀던 교회에서 마지막 이임 설교를 마치고 나오는 아내와 나의 마음은 표현하기 힘든 감정으로 가득했다.
돌아보는 과거에대한 감상 보다는, 다가올 내일에 대한 설레임과 두려움이랄까?

그날저녁,
아내와 나는, 둘만의 가정예배를 드리며, 많은 눈물을 흘렸다...

저 멀리뵈는 나의 시온성,
오 거룩한곳 아버지 집,
내 사모하는 집에 가고자,
한밤을 새웠네...
저 망망한 바다위에.
이 몸이 상할지라도
오늘은 이곳 내일은 저곳,
주 복음 전하리..."

흑인 정부가 들어선, 지난 14년 동안
아프리카는 많은 변화가 있었다.
아직은 공과를 평하기에 이르지만, 시간이 갈수록 미래에 미래에 대한 불안함은 늘어만 간다.
이러한 어려움속에서, 교회도 자유롭지 못하기에 우리의 불안함은 더 해지는가?

그럼에도 불구하고,
우리의 발길을 멈출 수는 없다.
얼마나 많은 믿음의 선배들이 어려움과 좌절 속에서 묵묵히 그 길을 갔던가?
늘 부르고 다니는 "순례자의 노래" 처럼 나도 그 길을 가야 하겠지...

3월 9일 전한 이임 설교문을 함께 올립니다... ( 영문 설교라서 미안하지만)


Valedictory sermon for Potchefstroom north Mar 9, 2008
Rev. Dongoh Shin

Scripture reading: Acts ch. 20 :vv17-38
Text verse: Acts ch 20: vv 17-24
Theme: Our task and race to carry on for the Lord Jesus Christ


Beloved brothers, sisters and children,

In looking back at the time spent in this congregation during the last 16 years, many things have passed our minds. There were the many moments of joy, in spite of difficult times. We wish to remember these for the rest of our lives. We realized that these were days filled with grace for me and Youngyee, and we do not know how we should thank our Lord Jesus Christ for his grace, love and guidance for my family, and also for your love and care in Christ.

The day I was ordained is still so fresh in my mind that it feels as if it were only a couple of days ago. In my inauguration sermon, I stressed the points that “God gathered us together through our Lord Jesus Christ who is the chief cornerstone of His building.” And I promised to follow our Lord in His obedience to His Father, remembering of our Lord’s humbleness and His reconciling works among us through His Holy Spirit.

Afterwards, as a mission minister, I tried to do my best to keep my footsteps following in the way of our Lord Jesus Christ with joy, humbleness and perseverance. However, it is also true to say that in those days, there were more days and hours of frustration and difficulties than days of satisfaction and easiness.

I would in this regard like to draw your attention to verses 17 to 24, from chapter 20 of the Acts. Here we find the theme for this morning: ‘Our task and race to carry on for the Lord Jesus Christ.’ Let us listen again verses 17 to 24 of Acts chapter 20.

The pericope comprising verses 17 to 38 contains some important issues that concerns a conflict between the Apostle Paul and the Ephesian elders, also the difficulties Paul had to deal with and Paul’s principal values in his works for the Lord Jesus Christ. If these difficulties, conflicts and frustrations are inevitable as being part of our work for the kingdom of God, then how should we overcome the obstacles and finish our race to serve our Lord Jesus Christ and His kingdom?

Beloved in Christ,
Serving our Lord is not an ordinary job. It is a vocation and a calling. Being a minister, on the one hand, is a profession where skill, knowledge and passion are required. On the other hand, it is also a calling for God’s Kingdom which has more weight for the spiritual aspects and our conviction. Therefore it is different from the other temporal jobs in life; we should give more attention to our preparation and readiness in order to take up all the challenges and difficulties that may weaken us.

Martin Luther, the founder of the Reformation in early 16th century, says of ‘vocation and calling’ for the Kingdom of God and the church in his book “Colloquia Mensalia (Divine Discourses at His Table)” the following;

When they who have the office of teaching have no joy therein, that is, have no regard for Him that called and sent them; it is, for them, an irksome work. Truly, I would not take the wealth of the whole world now, to begin the work against the pope, which thus far I have done, by reason of the exceeding heavy care and anguish wherewith I have been burdened. Yet, when I look upon him that called me thereunto, I would not for the world’s wealth, but that I had begun it. It is much to be lamented; that no man is content and satisfied with that which God gives him in his vocation and calling. Other man’s conditions please us more than our own.

Although the socio-cultural background of this statement may differ with current ones, the nature of work and its goals are very much similar.

Apostle Paul stressed to the Ephesian Elders that he served the Lord with great humility even under the most severe challenges
(v. 19) and he also wishes to complete the given task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace and finish the race (v. 24). Furthermore, He will not hesitate to proclaim the whole will of God (v. 27).

1. Our tasks for the Lord Jesus Christ

Beloved congregation and dear friends,
The given task that the Apostle Paul mentioned here was testifying to the Gospel of God’s grace and proclaiming the whole will of God. The foundation of these lie in Paul’s doctrine of justification.

In his letter to Romans, the Apostle Paul stressed; “ for in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’.” The apostolic preaching stands, here, in the sharpest contrast to the Jewish-synagogical doctrine of redemption, and without this background the great Pauline doctrine “by faith, without the law” is not to be understood. It means that the manner in which the righteousness of God is received is totally different in the gospel than in the theology of Judaism:

The Apostle Paul further defines the righteousness of God as revealed in the gospel, namely, as righteousness by faith and a righteousness freely given by God’s grace. For this reason, in the antitheses of faith and works the term “faith” can be replaced by “the grace of God,” with which then the true ground of justification is designated as opposed to works. This is clearly illustrated in verses 22 to 24 from Romans chapter 3 :

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
In this unbreakable connection between “by faith” and “by the grace of God”, for a correct understanding of the character of both, we should take full account of the redemptive-historical content of Paul’s doctrine of justification as grounded in the death and resurrection of Christ.

For by “grace”, one is not to understand a timeless attribute of God, which is “discovered” by faith in the way of a consciousness of guilt and awareness of the insufficiency of one’s own works. It consists rather in the redeeming activity of God. It is the grace that manifests itself in the redemption of Christ, whom God has set forth as a means of reconciliation. Justification has been accomplished by his propitiatory blood and reconciliation by his propitiatory death.

2. Our race to carry on

Beloved in Christ, let us read again verse 24 of Acts chapter 20.
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, If only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given to me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”

Apostle Paul used, in many occasions, the word “race”, as a metaphor for his new life that he served for the Lord Jesus Christ. He wished to complete and win the race (new life) with humbleness and commitment. However, he feared failing that his race may end in vain. It is obvious to say that the race means the new life-not as Saul but as Paul after his conversion on road to Damascus.

Anyone who confesses and believes that Jesus Christ is their savior and King, is running the same race for their new life.
We find that the origin of a Christian’s new life through the death and resurrection of Christ, comes into being through the Holy Spirit. The Apostle explains this notion of a new life on the basis of an ethical transformation of man himself. The realization in the individual man as a new creation with a regenerated power for good through the Holy Spirit can be denoted as a new birth, related to the death and the resurrection of Christ by way of remembrance.

The Apostle Paul also described the new life in all sorts of ways as the new humanity, the renewal of the heart, and of the body and its members to becoming subservient to the will of God. This nature of the new life has become clear to us in particular from the significance of faith in it, as the way in which the new creation is effected and communicated in the reality of this earthly life, and is to be characterized as a new obedience.

Faith as obedience is of central significance for Paul’s conception and is repeatedly defined as such in his letters. He says immediately at the beginning of the letter to the Romans that he has received his apostleship unto “obedience of faith” among all the gentiles; at the conclusion of the letter this is repeated. The same thought is present when the apostle speaks righteousness is the great essence of the gospel. Unbelief means therefore not being obedient, being disobedient to the gospel. Faith and obedience belong together and can be employed as interchangeable ideas as can be unbelief and disobedience.

When an athlete stands on the starting line for 100 m sprint, what is the most important thing he/she should have? All the physical readiness for the race should be done in the practice grounds and one last thing should be the faith readiness.
From the meeting of the living God on the way to Damascus, Paul had his conviction of God’s calling and the tasks for the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the same way, we as the believers in Jesus Christ should run our race for the new life in Christ until we reach the glory of the kingdom of God.

Dear brothers, sisters and children, we should not forget that Our Lord Jesus will accompany us through the works of the Holy Spirit. As we know, the race ahead of us has many obstacles. The encountering –power will seek every opportunity to weaken us. Without the help and guidance from our Lord, we can never finish our race. Therefore, let us pray hard and consistently that we may run our race steadfast of the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

Beloved in Christ,
Every race has its ending. It is not the matter how long does it takes or how far we should run.
Our departure for Makolokwe, however, is not an ending or new beginning. It is an ongoing race because the task and the race we should carry on are the same as in the past.

Youngyee and I will continue testifying to the Gospel of God’s grace and continue to carry on our race as new life in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Please pray for our strength and perseverance that only comes from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us pray together.

[오리(신인성)]

"신의 가호가 있기를 바랍니다!" ~~어제부터 신동오 목사가 올린 이글을 읽고 하루종일 마음이 무거웠다. 우린 지구끝에 나뉘어 살고 있어도 어릴적 친구라서 그렇겠지!!! 며칠전 마음과 마음이 안통하는 세상에 내가 내놓는 돈은 돈이 아니라 내마음이라며 많은돈을 희사하는 사람을 보면서 언제쯤이면 나도 저런 마음을 갖게 될까 생각해본 적이 있었다. 부끄러운 내마음을 숨기려고 "God bless you!"만 외쳐보지만 먼길 떠나는 친구에게 도움이 될지....친구여~~ 개척자의 길은 외롭다지만 불굴의 용기와 신념이 있는 한 길은 열리게 마련이랍니다.

[Dongoh Shin]

인성이의 마음이 무거웠다니... 멀리 있는 친구 생각날 때마다, 성경도 읽으시고, 기도 해주세요...

[최향심]

더더욱 이국땅에서 하나님을 위해 수고하신 선교사님의 노고를 하나님께서는 분명 칭찬하실 것이며, 더나아가 선교사님의 앞날도 분명히 축복하실 것입니다. 너무나 편히 하나님을 섬기고 있지않나 자문해 봅니다.

[Dongoh Shin]

후배님, 감사합니다... 각자 있는 곳에서, 주신 은혜대로 섬기는 것이지요... 기억해주시고, 함께 기도해 주세요...

[오정기]

두분이 많이 기도하고 심사숙고하여 가는 곳이지만 지금보다 더 열악한 환경에서 시작을 해야한다니.... 건강으로 보살펴 주시기를 기도합니다.

[Dongoh Shin]

친구야, 건강에 늘 신경쓰고... 선배님도 안녕하시지?

[정향숙]

항상 기도중에 기도 할께요~~~

[Dongoh Shin]

고마워요 ~~~