Pastor Lee Ki-sung (New Jersey Gospel Mission Church)
Hallelujah! I am Pastor Lee Ki-sung, serving at Gospel Mission Church in New Jersey, USA. Though I attended the Our Church Pastors' Seminar ten years ago, I had been putting off the THINK discipleship program. Recently, encouraged by Pastor Kim Yang-jae, I completed the five-week course and will soon return to the United States. I extend my deepest gratitude to the instructors and fellow believers who served me during this discipleship period.
Upon arriving in Korea, seeing the associate pastors who came to greet me introduce themselves by saying, “My sin is...” reminded me once again how sincere a community Woori Church is. My sin is ‘pride wrapped in humility, and weeds grown in a greenhouse.’ During the training, I discovered that pride, like weeds, had been growing continuously even within the greenhouse of my heart.
Psalm 60, which we share today, is a word David wrote to teach us to trust in God's salvation and response even amid the crisis of war. The heading reads, “A michtam for instruction,” where ‘Michtam’ means “engraved on the heart.” To protect everything God has given us—pastoral care, business, children, family—the first thing we must guard is our own hearts. Even when hardship comes, instead of unbelief and complaint, the words of the covenant must be engraved.
First, we should engrave in our hearts that God is the One who saves and answers those who fear Him.
Holding onto this truth in the midst of tribulation is not easy. Yet, in today's passage, even David, defeated in battle, confesses all these things as God's absolute sovereignty. God permitted the hardships in my life, yet simultaneously, He is still saving me. Therefore, the time called ‘today’ is God's gift.
When conflict arose within the UMC denomination in the US over the issue of homosexuality, I took a position of opposition. Ultimately, I faced suspension and dismissal, forcing me to leave the church. Living in bitterness and anger, I sought out a senior pastor, only to hear him say, “This pastor must die for the church to live.” I couldn't accept it then, but eventually I came to understand the truth of the cross: ‘I must die so my family lives, the church lives, and I live.’ We who believe in Jesus have not only the ‘right to live’ but also the 'responsibility to die.'
Second, to turn the crisis of suffering into an opportunity for salvation, we should obey and submit to the place God calls us to be—the 'bathing tub.'
God declared, “Moab is my footstool.” The footstool is the lowest vessel in the house, prepared for washing the feet of servants. It carries the meaning of ‘subordination and submission,’ symbolizing the servant's place for fulfilling God's will and the application of the cross.
Because of my pride, which refused to die completely, I faced the consequence of church division. The saints who came with me had to endure a wilderness-like period, moving their worship location six times over three years. It was by no means an easy journey for saints accustomed to stable worship environments. Yet, they never once complained, interpreting events through daily Quiet Time passages and walking silently. Looking back now, it was a time of grace where each saint humbled themselves like a ‘bathing tub’ and obeyed the Word.
Third, we should realize the futility of human salvation and rely solely on God.
Last year, God finally granted us a place of worship. During that time, I was filled with a ‘victim mentality’ due to various injustices. However, through nurturing, I saw the pride deep within my heart and realized that while there were good fruits grown in a greenhouse, there were also many weeds that needed to be removed.
This nurturing was a grace that allowed me to see myself objectively. The testimonies shared daily through Quiet Time were a great strength, helping me interpret my own suffering through the Word. Especially moving and challenging was the community life in the small group, where we wiped each other's tears and served with sincerity, much like the application of the ‘handkerchiefs and aprons’ in Acts. Remembering that this service extends beyond Our Church to build churches among the nations, I ask you to continue this work.
Beloved ones, any hardships can become a healing ingredient that gives life through God's grace. I bless all members of Our Church in the Lord's name, that you may turn every crisis that comes upon us into an opportunity for God's salvation and answer.
