From First Day Until Now

Phil 1:1-11

 

1. Today we celebrate 25^th anniversary of our congregation. 25 years is a long time for a newborn to be an adult to start another generation. A quarter century was a long time to survive and sustain, for many Korean immigrant churches could not survive even a decade. Today we confess that it was impossible without the wonderful and powerful grace of God. Glorious and joyful times have been possible by His power, while painful and sad times have been overcome by His grace. We praise God for His 25 years of wonderful grace!

2. How can we properly celebrate 25^th anniversary before our Lord and the Korean community? Apostle Paul offers a model of remembrance in the Philippian church. Following his example, we want to celebrate our 25^th anniversary in gratitude, repentance, and hope. First, we sincerely thank God when we look back the last 25 years of His abundant and strong grace, as Paul said that “I thank God every time I remember you… with joy.”(3-4) A quarter century ago, God used a small number of faithful people to plant this congregation. Even though they did not know where to go and what will come in the future, they courageously started their journey of faith like Abraham, the ancestor of the faithful.

3. Why did Paul thank God with joy because of the Philippian church? It was “because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now.”(5) The Gospel is the message of God’s love to give salvation from darkness to light, from sinful slavery to spiritual freedom, and from egoistic self-destruction to eternal life of love. We thank God because He has used us and built up the most important and powerful Korean institution in Southwestern Michigan—the ark of salvation, the beacon of truth, and the lighthouse of the Gospel. The successful and fruitful Gospel work is the reason of gratitude with joy. So many people have been saved and baptized through our church for the last 25 years. So many immigrants have found their true calling and purpose for which God called them to immigrate to America, the providence of God for them to pursue not simply selfish dream to prosper but self-less devotion to the love of Creator and Savior, and the Kingdom of God. So many people have been comforted and strengthened in their life crises in this foreign land. So many students and professors from Korea found Jesus Christ and changed their direction of life. So many children have been educated with the Word of God to learn why and how they have to live faithfully in spite of their identity problem, and to understand the Korean language and culture with appreciation of the divine providence. Because we surely believe that the Gospel is the power of salvation for eternal life, the existence of our congregation as the door of salvation is the most important and powerful Korean institution in the area. And its very existence is the love of God for the Korean community in this area. God used our congregation even for the salvation and enrichment of the non-Korean people. Therefore, the evil powers continuously attempted to weaken and even destroy our congregation in many ways. But God has protected our congregation from every threat, external and internal, with rich and powerful grace “from the first day until now.” So, today we rejoice and thank God for the Gospel work in the last 25 years by the instrumental use of this weak and small congregation.

4. Second, we repent to God when we look back the last 25 years of our shortcomings, disobedience, and unfaithfulness. In spite of Paul’s joyful gratitude for the fruit of the Gospel work, he prayed God to fill some shortcoming and lacking of the Philippian church. Most of all, Paul prayed for the growth of their love: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more.”(9) It is also our shortcoming. We are nice to nice people. We are kind to kind people. Our love has grown that we can be nice to little un-nice people, but we have a serious limitation. But Christian love is to love un-nice people and even those whom we hate, our enemies. Of course, it is not only our problem. Many churches do the same and some do even worse than us. But still it is our weakness and disobedience. We are friendly to Korean people, but we are shy to the other peoples and even discriminate some peoples. We are hesitant to approach sinners, the poor and needy. We do not want to associate with our dislikes and we do not want to reconcile with them. In fact, it is not easy for us sinners. But just because it is not easy, we have to constantly try it. We humans are born hard to love. We are so selfish. Therefore, the new commandment of Jesus Christ to overcome our innate egoism and achieve genuine love is the necessary way of salvation. And it is the reason why God created church as the training camp and community of love and reconciliation. To initiate the next stage of our congregation, we need genuine repentance for this shortcoming, even hesitating to try. We have to grow in love more and more.

5. To grow in love, we have to recognize what our weakness is and obediently try it in prayer and faith. Also, Paul pointed out that love will grow “in knowledge and depth of insight.”(9c) We have to overcome secular level of knowledge and insight to stop secular way of relationship to love the lovely and hate the unlovely. To grow in love, we have to give up such secular wisdom and accept God-given knowledge and depth of insight from eternal perspective. Because love is the most essential thing for salvation and the most crucial key for the successful church, the shortcoming in love results in some grave failure of the church. It leads the failure of discernment: “so that you may be able to discern what is best.”(10a) In the operation of the church, discernment and judgment are crucial. Or, it loses the right direction. Love must be our vision and principle.

6. Third, we hope for the bright and wonderful future of our congregation. Paul had a strong hope for the Philippian church in spite of external persecution and internal conflict: you “may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.”(10b) Our future is the Day of Christ when His Kingdom is perfectly consummated. We believe it and therefore we have strong hope for it. Some are pessimistic about the future of our congregation that it will disappear some day when Korean people do not come to this area. It is possible, but it depends on your faith and hope. I hope that more Korean people would come to this area for some unexpected reasons. I hope that more students would come to the schools in this area. But even if it does not happen, our congregation has the bright future, if you have faith and hope. Even with the present number of Korean people in this area, our church can grow far bigger than now. But the number is not everything. We can be a model church, so dedicated in evangelism, mission, and benevolence. Further, we can be seedbed for a great multi-ethnic congregation with Korean spirituality. The question is whether we hope or despair. If we are fully committed for the Gospel and this church, a great thing beyond our imagination will happen. The Day of Christ is coming! If we stop to be satisfied with mere maintenance of the church but to be fully committed to the Day of Christ with strong hope, we would be “pure and blameless”!

7. In retrospect of the last 25 years and prospect of the future, let us be confident “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” As a matter of fact, our life is a small block in the whole providence of God. We don’t really know what will happen tomorrow. Only God knows it. And God will use those who believe and obey His Word and create wonderful future! Amen.