A Life Full of Hope 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NIV Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Let us greet each other, saying, “Jesus loves you.” Jesus loves you. Hallelujah! I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “A Life Full of Hope,” which is based on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. Please repeat after me: A Life Full of Hope - A Life Full of Hope. A missionary went to India and preached to children that Jesus died on the Cross for all humankind. A little girl began to cry while he was preaching. After the missionary finished his sermon he asked the girl: “Sweetheart, why are you crying? Is there anything wrong?” The little girl replied, “I cannot help crying because I am so grateful that Jesus died for sinners like me.” The missionary was shocked at her reply. He said to himself, “Am I preaching the gospel of Jesus with as pure a heart as this little girl’s heart? Do I love the Lord Jesus as much as this little girl does? Am I touched enough to cry whenever I think of the Cross of Jesus?” This experience gave the missionary a lot of insight into human nature. We were all overjoyed when we first became Christians. Initially we were thrilled to go to church, to worship the Lord, to sing praises, and to pray. We used to yearn with joy for more of God whenever we came to church. We used to cry at every worship service. However as time passed, our lives have become busier and we have forgotten our first sense of enthusiasm. Now we are almost lethargic to our Christian faith. When Jesus said people needed to be like little children to enter heaven; He meant that they needed to be as pure as little children. We need to humbly worship the Lord with a most reverent attitude. This is also the attitude that we should maintain in our daily lives. I pray that you will be as pure as little children. I want you to go back to the state of mind you were in when you first believed. With purity of heart, I want you to worship the Lord in joy and thanksgiving. I want you to confess to the Lord: “It is by the power of your grace that I can worship the Lord with honor and joy.” Some people say, “I have been a Christian since I was in my mother’s womb. I know everything about Christianity. I can even tell what the pastor will say just by looking at the sermon title.” It is okay to know all things but we need the grace of God. Christians live on the grace of God. We live by toil without God’s grace. If Christians do not acknowledge the grace of God in their lives they will not have joy and thanksgiving. They will be negative, always complaining, and criticizing. When we have the grace of God, we will be thankful in everything and will serve the Lord with joy. A pastor went to a town with recovered Hansen disease patients. He said that in every service they worshipped the Lord with tears. They thanked God for saving lepers like them. They cried out with gratitude to God. Every service was a revival meeting in this town and each time God was able to touch them with overflowing grace. The preacher was deeply touched just by looking at them. Their outer appearance was grotesque and even intimidating. Some had lost their nose, ears, fingers, or hair; but regardless of their physical deformity, these people worshiping the Lord filled with joy and gratitude. Do we worship the Lord with as much joy and thanksgiving as these recovered Hansen patients do? How much do we praise God for having complete limbs and body parts? I pray that you will not worship the Lord out of habit only once a week. I pray that our Holy Communion Service will be more than a monthly scheduled event. I want you to meet the Lord in every worship service so that it can be an hour of miracles, grace, personal encounter with God and revival of souls. We have three teachings in today’s Scripture. First, we should not lose heart in order to live in the blessing of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 4:16 says: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” We should not lose heart. Christianity is a religion of hope. Christianity speaks of hope from the beginning to the end. Jesus Christ is the only hope for humankind. Dr. Juergen Moltmann, a German theologian of hope, said: “Faith is hope but hope and faith are not synonymous. The hope of the Christian faith is hope in the resurrection of Christ crucified.” We can hold on to hope and march forward with faith because we have the blessing of eternal life beyond our death. We are not going to lose heart no matter what kind of problems, hardship, sorrow, or suffering may come to us because we have holy hope in our hearts. We are not going to give up or step backwards. Why do people despair, dismay and become frustrated? They despair because they cannot overcome their past. They keep remembering the wounds and failures in their past as they suffer from past betrayals by other people or business failure. Such memories build a nest in their hearts and push them into constant despair. The past has past. It does not come back. Nonetheless, people are apt to dwell in their past, look back and sink into hopeless frustration. When I pastored in America; I visited a child of a new Christian at a mental hospital. I was told that there were as many patients in mental hospitals as there were patients in other hospitals combined. I was quite surprised. Mental hospitals are not visible because they are generally located in wooded areas. Every visitor who entered these hospitals had to check in. When I entered, the first gate was locked behind me. It was hospital policy that no one could go back out unless these gates were opened by officials. I went in and saw people dressed in normal clothes doing normal things. The doctors said that the patients usually acted normally without causing any problems; but when they remembered some event in their past, they would suddenly change. These patients would stay in the hospital until they could forget that particular memory from their past. More serious mental patients were kept behind a second set of doors which we entered through. Finally the most serious patients were confined in isolated rooms behind a third set of door. The doctors said that these most serious mental patients could be released from the hospital if they could just forget the bad memories from their past. Generally they would act normal until a severely bad memory was triggered. These patients would then go into a fit and act crazy. What does our past have to do with our present? Can we change our past or can we go back to our past? Not at all! The past has past! It is gone. When we believed in Jesus, all our sad, painful, agonizing, and bitter past disappeared. The old has gone. The new has come. We are new creations in the Lord now. We must replace our past memories with holy dreams and hope in the Lord. We must march forward with faith, expecting a bright future. We should not dwell in the wounds, despairs, and failures of our past. I pray that you will always march forward with faith in the Lord. We will find JC Penney department stores in almost every city in the United States. J. C. Penney, the founder of JC Penney Department stores, once lost everything and sank into a personal depression. He was on the verge of death. Before the Great Depression, J.C. Penney made a fortune which he heavily invested in banks and real estate. Then in the 1930’s he lost both his fortune and his health. In utter hopelessness and depression, J.C. Penney contemplated suicide. An old friend convinced him to enter a sanitarium. The rest and medical attention did him good, but there was another event which spiritually restored him. One morning he awoke before breakfast and wandered the corridors when he heard a hymn he remembered from childhood. He mindlessly followed the sound. He heard: Be not dismayed whate’er betide, God will take care of you All you need he will provide God will take care of you He followed the sound to a chapel which was filled with worshiping doctors and nurses. He approached the door of that chapel as someone was reading Matthew 11:28: “Come unto me all you that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He felt the grace of the Lord in his heart when he heard that Scripture passage. He felt peace in his heart. The many rocks of failure and despair which had been pressuring him rolled away. He now had peace from the Lord. At that very instant, J.C. Penney rose up from despair; and a dream and hope was restored back into his heart. He later confessed, “I cannot explain exactly what happened that moment. It was a life-changing miracle. I became a completely different person than before. I beheld the glorious God and made a plan to be baptized and to join a church.” He rose up from his despair, rebuilt his department stores, which God greatly blessed. J.C. Penney built more than 1700 department stores all over the United States. A great miracle took place when his dream and hope was restored in the Lord. Do not give up. Do not despair. Never step backward. As long as we march forward with faith, God will perform His miracles for us. Gold’s blessings will be bestowed on us. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” I pray that you will receive God’s overflowing grace whenever you worship the Lord. I pray that you will be filled with a new dream and hope in the Lord. You may be depressed, tired, and weary when you come to church. I pray that, while you worship the Lord, you will receive God’s marvelous grace. I pray that all your worry, trouble, and anxiety will disappear. I pray, in the name of the Lord, that you will, in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, be filled with holy dreams. You are new creations in the Lord. You have been renewed. By believing in Jesus, you are transformed as children of God. Your lifestyle should be transformed as well; so that you will live like changed and precious children of God. We should not only forget our bad memories but we need to turn away from us wrong habits and behavior which are not pleasing to the Lord. We must turn around from all our bad habits before believing in Jesus. Some of us had bad lives. Some of us would yell and hurt others because we could not control our anger. Others of us told lies which caused much trouble and pain to people. We must be willing to give up all such behavior. When we became Christians all the old has gone; which means that all our past wounds as well as our past bad habits and behavior must be gone. We must change to be holy, beautiful, and gracious and serve the Lord as renewed Christians. 2 Corinthians 4:16 says: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” Whether we like it or not we get more gray hair when we age. Outwardly our hair turns gray, and we grow weaker and begin to waste away. However, inwardly we are still being renewed day by day. With age God’s greater grace and blessings will be on our lives. This is called Christian maturity. What is the difference between new believers and experienced believers in Christian faith? Experienced believers have had more time to grow in faith and imitate the Lord Jesus in their daily lives; consequently they experience deeper grace of God. Therefore, our inner being should be renewed every day. When our inner being is renewed, we can live victoriously and overcome all the problems, pain, and hardships of life. We will be renewed as we sing praises to the Lord. We will be renewed when we listen to the Word of the Lord and put it into practice. We will be renewed when we come to the Lord with prayer and repentance. We will be renewed when we give overflowing thanks to the Lord. We are renewed every day. Hallelujah! Christians live in the Lord regardless of their age. I hope senior members are more blessed today. My uncle, who is now an American citizen went to North Korea and brought back a photo of my aunt’s wedding 67 years ago. Guess who the matron of honor was? I saw the sister of Rev. Ji-Il Bang standing next to the bride who was my aunt. I called Rev. Bang. He remembered it clearly. He said, “Yes, my sister was the matron of honor at your aunt’s wedding.” Rev. Bang is 101 years old. Even though he is 101 years old, he clearly remembers what happened 60 or 70 years ago. He is invited to preach at various churches twice a day. He is doing the work of the Lord with excellent health. Hallelujah! Since his inner being is renewed day by day, God blesses him greatly with good health. I prayed to God, “Heavenly Father, bless Pastor Cho as much as Rev. Bang so that he will serve the Lord with good health even after he turns 100.” Hallelujah! When our inner being is renewed, our gray hair has nothing to do with our Christian life. Rev. Bang still travels around even though he is 101 years old. He also eats well. He used to be a missionary to China so he likes Chinese food. He drinks his coffee with 7 spoonfuls of sugar. I wonder whether he drinks coffee or sugar. Even so, he has no diabetes. Older generations liked sweet coffee with several spoonfuls of sugar. It reminds me of my grandfather who is still healthy. How gracious! Our body gets healthy when our inner being is renewed. I pray that your inner being will be renewed. I pray that God will bless you with good health. Second, we must overcome trouble. 2 Corinthians 4:17 says: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” We will from time to time encounter troubles in our lives. Our problems may look overwhelming but remember that our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. In other words, our troubles lay foundations for God’s blessings. This is why trouble is called blessing in disguise. In fact, the whole world is covered with troubles. This is why people call the world “a sea of trouble.” People are born with cries and they die with cries from their families. Humankind is sometimes called “a thorny path of tears.” The apostle Paul and his companions were so severely persecuted for preaching the gospel that they even lost hope to live. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 says: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.” One time Paul was stoned by the Jews for preaching the gospel of Jesus. People dragged him outside the city gates because they thought he was dead. The disciples gathered around Paul but he got up and went back into the city to continue preaching. Paul suffered a great deal in his missionary work. All our earthly troubles are only temporary while God’s blessing is eternal. Do not despair at suffering. Do not be dismayed in the middle of problems. Rise up with faith and focus on the Cross of Jesus. Do not despair even when people betray and forsake you; when your business collapses; or when your children become rebellious. Do not be dismayed. Do not look at the terrible situations you fall into. Focus on the Lord Jesus. Hold on to the Cross and overcome all things with faith. Our sufferings will turn into blessings of God when we cry out to the Lord in prayer. King Saul hated David after he defeated Goliath. David was on the run from Saul for many years but after his season of suffering and trouble; he was enthroned as the second king of Israel, giving glory to God. The same is true with us. We must focus on the glory that will one day be given to us and march forward with faith. 1 peter 4:12-13 says: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” 2 Corinthians 1:9 says: “Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. C. S. Lewis said in his book The Problem of Pain: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” We wake up to God through suffering. God uses suffering to force us to focus on Him, trust Him more, cry out to Him and to march forward with faith. Do not give up nor step backwards when you encounter various problems and trouble. I want you to march forward with faith, fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. The following is the testimony of Mr. Il-Duk Shin, an elder of the Global Mission Church and a pilot with Korean Air Lines. Over his 41 years as a pilot, Mr. Shin had clocked 21,200 flight hours without an accident. The Kookmin Daily News carried his personal testimony on August 31, 2002 under the title “Captain Hallelujah.” Then on one clear and sunny day in November, 1990, with 165 passengers on board, Captain Shin was flying an airplane to Saipan. Captain Shin tried to lower the wheels in his landing preparation procedures. Unfortunately there was a mechanical malfunction and his wheels would not disengage from their locked position. His flight was in trouble. Captain Shin announced to the passengers, “We are going to have a gear-up landing. Lower your heads and embrace yourselves. Be prepared.” Gear-up landing is generally very dangerous. The aircraft may explode. If the aircraft collides with the ground too strongly, it could prove fatal. Pilot Shin fervently prayed to God. He was a man of faith so he always prayed when he flew an aircraft. However this time he prayed most fervently. “Heavenly Father, perform Your miracle now. Allow all the passengers to survive this crisis.” As a Spirit-filled Christian, Captain Shin prayed so fervently that the pilot’s cabin was like a place of revival. He felt the overflowing grace of God and the Lord spoke Isaiah 41:10 into his heart. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” In the fullness of the Holy Spirit Captain Shin continued to pray in tongues. The message of God, “Do not fear,” worked strongly in him and he filled with joy. He gained confidence. God gave him the courage to try to lower the landing gear one more time. Using all his strength, he tried again and this time the landing gear unlocked the wheels. Hallelujah! Let us give glory to God. While the passengers, with their bodies curled up and their heads lowered, waited for the landing in great fear; they heard Captain Shin through the speakers: “Hallelujah! God worked!” The airplane landed safely and everyone waved their hands, saying, “Hallelujah!” Hallelujah! Let us give glory to God. A newspaper article carried a photograph of this incident, featuring people waving their hands in thanksgiving for this miracle, saying: “Hallelujah!” after coming out of the aircraft. It is true. The Holy Spirit will move us giving us power to overcome any trouble when we remain spiritually alert and pray fervently to God. Never give up. If Captain Shin had not prayed and landed his aircraft gear-up; the situation might have been fatal. Many lives could have been lost. But he was focused. He prayed fervently to God, speaking in tongues. Then God gave him a message of hope. Captain Shin could trust that message and safely land the aircraft. Hallelujah! The Lord is with you no matter what kind of overwhelming trouble or problems may face you. Do not despair. All 165 passengers survived the crisis. God’s grace is wonderful. In John 16:33 the Lord says: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” The Lord Jesus who has overcome this world is with us. The Lord Jesus who has overcome this world dwells in our hearts. Let us trust in the Lord and march forward with a holy dream and hope. Third, we must march forward with eternal hope in the Lord. I want to speak about the faith that has eternal hope. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Scripture says that we fix our eyes on something. We usually decide and judge things by what we see. However what we read in this Scripture is that we should focus our goal on things above not on what is seen. We should concentrate on eternal heaven. We must spiritually focus on the heavenly kingdom and march forward with faith. The apostle Paul could more than adequately conquer all hardships and sufferings because he had clear hope in the eternal heaven. People are too much concerned about worldly things. They care too much about the things that do not last forever. We should give glory to God with the things that the Lord has given to us. But people still mix up their priorities. 2 John 16-17 says: “For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” Romans 8:24-25 says: “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” God will bless us marvelously when we look unto eternal heaven. He will pour His grace upon us. The kingdom of heaven will be established in our hearts when we believe in Jesus. We can enjoy the kingdom of heaven while we live on earth; then when the Lord calls us home, we will enter the eternal kingdom of heaven and praise the Lord forever and ever. Many ministers of faith were martyred for preaching the gospel. They labored for Christ and praised the Lord even when they were being martyred. Byung-Hak Oh wrote a biographical book called Ki-Chul Joo. Mr. Oh wrote about Rev. Ki-Chul Joo and his martyrdom. Many Koreans were forced to worship the Japanese king as a god when they were under Japanese control. Rev. Joo was a leader of the many Korean pastors who refused to do this. When the General Assembly of Korean Presbyterian Churches decided to worship the Japanese king in shrine worship, Rev. Joo proclaimed in his sermon: “Jesus was crucified for me. He wore thorns on His head. His two hands and feet were nailed and torn away. He shed His blood to the last drop. The Lord died for me but why should I pretend as if I did not know Him because of the fear of the enemy? I am determined to serve Him even to death.” “I am willing to sacrifice my life for the Lord since Jesus died for me, shedding His blood. Even though severe suffering is waiting for me, I am not afraid. I will live for His glory alone. I will be preaching His gospel and go home to be with the Lord.” The whole congregations wailed together when Rev. Jo finished his sermon. On August 25, 1941, the Pyungyang Police Department arrested those who opposed shrine worship and put them in prison. The torture and suffering that fell on Rev. Joo was beyond description. He was tortured so severely that he could only stand or walk without great difficulty. His wife, Jung-Mo Oh, exhorted him with strong faith whenever she visited him. She said, “I love you dearly but not as much as the Lord loves you. Please, never forget that.” She was such a great woman of strong faith. She was encouraging her husband to hold on to his faith, reminding him that the Lord Jesus loved him far more than she did. Rev. Joo was unable to get his wounds properly treated. On April 21, 1944, at the age of 48 he went to be with the Lord. His last prayer was, “My God, take me now.” The Japanese handed his body to his family after he died. His body bore fresh scars of burns and bruises all over it. All his finger nails and toe nails had been plucked out. Rev. Joo always held on to the hope for heaven and overcame all suffering and pain. He must have walked through the gates of heaven with confidence. He is with the Lord now, wearing a brilliant crown for his martyrdom He often said during his life: “I will pray for the Korean Church even after I go to heaven. Please, pray for me so that my weakness will never turn me around. I leave my 80 year old mother, my frail wife, and four young sons to the hands of the Lord. He was known to encourage the pastors who were in prison with him, saying: “Our Lord wore a scarlet robe for us. What an honor that we are wearing this blue robe for the Lord? Let us not be shaken in our Christian faith.” Rev. Joo served the Lord most honorably until he was martyred and went to be with the Lord. He who has the hope for eternal heaven is neither afraid of death nor any trouble. He will live with confidence a life of faith as a great victor and overcome all problems and trouble. I urge you to live as a great victor in the Lord. Hold on to the unchanging dream and hope of the Lord and march forward with faith. I pray that you will be praised by our Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” when you stand before Him. It is my earnest prayer for you in the name of the Lord. Let us pray. Our Father of infinite love, grace, and mercy, we thank You for calling us. Pour Your grace on us so that we will be one day be praised by You: “Well done, my good and faithful servants,” when You call us home. Help us to meet You then with joy. Help us to serve the Lord Jesus as our Savior without changing throughout our lives. I pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen. 1