설교일 : 2018.09.02
설교자 : Rev. Tae Hong Kwon
본문말씀 : Psalms 39:1-7 |
September
2, 2018
‘The Living Hope’
Psalms 39:1-7
Rev. Tae Hong Kwon’s
sermon at the KUMC of Metro Detroit
Hallelujah!
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that the love, grace and abundant blessings
of the Lord be bestowed upon all the members here, your homes and children and
also upon your workplaces!
Let us greet
people sitting next to you and in front and back of you with a smile, gazing
into their eyes with these words, “I am happy to be here with you!”
I am Pastor Tae
Hong Kwon, a junior member of the pastoral staff of this church, and today I
want to share God’s grace with you and my sermon title is ‘The living hope’.
Some time
ago, I found out through the news media that a Congressman in Korea jumped from
17th floor of an apartment building to commit suicide and he was
Hoe-Chan Noh, a member of Justice Party.
I am not
particularly interested in politics, but was shocked and saddened at his passing.
<Slide 1
– The numbers of each Party members in Korean National Assembly>
Justice
Party has only 6 members among the total 300-member National Assembly/Congress
and the yellow part on the lower right shows their members. Justice Party is a
progressive, minor Party in the Congress and mainly advocating the laborers,
handicapped people, women and socially under-represented people. Mr. Noh was
one the founders and decision-makers of the Party, and many people outside of
politics as well as those in politics mourned over his death deeply.
<Slide 2
– People calling to offer their condolences>
A big crowd
flocked to offer their condolences at his funeral and at the incense-burning altars
for the deceased in many parts of the country and there was about 70,000
mourners grieving for him.
One picture of
the mourners really stood out for me and it was the group of cleaners working for
the Congress paying their respects.
<Slide 3
– The cleaners of the Congress building>
It was
reported that one of the cleaners had said in an interview that among 300
members of the Congress, usually less than 10 of them say hello to the
cleaners. But, Mr. Noh never failed to greet them warmly and always shook hands
with them, and once even offered his office for their rest breaks.
The reason
for so many people mourning over his death was due to his authenticity. He was
genuinely interested in fighting for the underdog in the society against vested
interests, and the Speaker of the Congress, Mr. Hee-Sang Moon, lamented that
his passing was an important milestone in the lives of all the people.
According to
the mass media, the reason Mr. Noh was successful in elevating the political
atmosphere in Korea was due to his oratorical skills. He was especially adept
at speaking to any crowd with eloquence and had many nicknames related to his
oratorial power.
<Slide 4
– Killer tongue, alchemist of speeches, the mouth of
progressivism>
Killer tongue, alchemist of speeches,
the mouth of progressivism, linguistic magician, best political orator, the
symbol of progressivism, eternal spokesman for the labor.
His nicknames
were; Killer tongue, alchemist of speeches, the mouth of progressivism,
linguistic magician, best political orator, the symbol of progressivism,
eternal spokesman for the labor, and so on. Even though a very talented
speaker, tragically he chose to take the extreme measure of committing suicide.
The main reason for his action was being suspected of receiving an illegal
campaign contribution from his friend.
The momentary
misjudgment and mistake early in his career led him to make this ultimate decision
at his old age. Having been the voice of progressivism with his reputation of
being ethically superior, he must have felt extremely miserable, as the special
prosecution was coming closer to indict him.
The charges
against him had been reported by the news media already, and perhaps he could
not endure the accusations of moral duplicity by many acquaintances any more. He was supposed to be so good with his words,
but he chose not to defend himself. Why? He may have felt that he had lost all
the hope about his future.
In Psalm 39,
like the Congressman Noh, David is feeling sad and depressed, now in his old
age and in ill health. He is asking God to forgive him and restore his health
before he dies.
<Slide 5
– Psalms 39:13>
Look away from me, that I may rejoice
again before I depart and am no more.
Now, David
is in his old age and has been in ill health. He felt he was nearing his death,
very close to departing from this world and dying, and he was barely holding on
and panting for breath.
We see him
full of regrets at this decisive moment of David’s life after his crucial and
momentary mistake of committing adultery with Bathsheba.
And many
people around David are jeering at him, just like what many people in Korea did
at Congressman Hoe-Chan Noh for his moral duplicity.
Previously, David
had relied on God only and experienced many miracles and triumphs in his life.
He was able to hear the fine voices of God, so he wrote many Psalms to praise
God. But now, he is a fallen man in ill health, still hearing the jeers and
slanders against him and seeing their cold stares toward him.
When we
think seriously about David’s situation, we realize David must have been filled
with remorse and regrets and guilty conscience about making such a tremendously
bad choice. He could have wanted to explain or defend his actions, or to punish
those jeerers with his power and position.
But David
chose a completely different manner.
<Slide 6
& 7 – Psalms 39:1>
I said, “I will watch my ways and
keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked
are in my presence.”
David, who
has written many excellent psalms to describe all the various emotions, has
decided to keep his silence. He is putting a muzzle on his mouth to keep his
tongue from sin. Even when he wants to explain or defend himself, he just keeps
his mouth shut.
He has
decided to keep silent, so that he could watch his ways and go on the right
path. He puts a muzzle on his mouth, when the wicked are in his presence. His
choice was keeping silence.
<Slide 8
– Psalms 39:2>
But when I was silent and still, not
even saying anything good, my anguish increased.
David keeps
silent and still, and he is not even saying anything good. But what was the
result?
<Slide 9
– Psalms 39:2b>
My anguish increased.
After David
chose to keep silent, the result of his silence is that David’s anguish has
increased.
My beloved
congregation:
In our daily
lives, sometimes we decide not to speak to the person whom we are not happy
with, and that person can be your spouse or your child, or colleague or boss.
But who is suffering as the result of your decision to keep silence? By
choosing to keep silent, we suffer more, as our anguish will increase, like in
David’s case.
<Slide 10
– Psalms 39:3>
My heart grew hot within me, and as I
meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
Let us
imagine David getting really angry, even while he was meditating upon the Word
of God. Do you think it is possible to meditate on the Word of God when you are
angry?
Dear
congregation, have you ever succeeded in meditating on the Word of God, when
you were exploding with anger? I don’t think so.
But, we have
to make note of the fact that David didn’t leave his place of meditation.
<Slide 11
– David did not leave his ‘place of meditation’>
But David didn’t leave his place of
meditation on the Word of God, as his anguish increased after his long silence, and he was
getting angry.
We should be
doing the same thing as David did, but will it make our anger disappear? No.
<Slide 12
– Psalms 39:3>
My heart grew hot within me, and as I
meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue to the Lord.
David was
ready to explode with anger. Sometimes we are ready to explode with anger at
someone (perhaps our spouse) or at something or at some past decisions. This
will lead us to get really sick with pent-up rage, which has 4 stages of illness.
1) Shocked stage – Angry and shocked, may feel
the urge to kill
2) Mental conflict stage – Got over the shock and
now reasoning comes back with anguish
3) Resignation stage – No real solution but
accepting it as your tragic fate (comes with depression)
4) Symptoms stage – Physical symptoms caused by
the pent-up rage (indigestion, anxiety, losing temper, neurosis, seeking
compensation)
This pent-up
rage will eventually destroy our normal emotions and then the quality of our
life.
But, David did things differently under this
circumstance.
<Slide 13
– Psalms 39:3b>
The fire burned; then I spoke with my
tongue to the Lord.
His heart
grew hot with anger and he was ready to explode, but David went before God and
spoke to Him. David told the Lord everything and cried out to Him.
<Slide 14
– Psalms 39:4>
“Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and
the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.”
We know
David didn’t cry out to the Lord gently. He must have been bursting into a fit
of rage, so he cried out violently and demanded to know when his life would end
and how many days were left for him.
We see
ourselves in David’s rage.
At times, we
get so angry at our spouse, our children, our business, our health, etc. that
we cry bitter tears, like David is doing here. He continues to cry out to the
Lord.
<Slide 15
– Psalms 39:5>
“You have made my days a mere
handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is
but a breath.”
David says
his life has the linear measure of the palm of the hand, so it is like nothing
to the Lord. Everything is meaningless, utterly meaningless, and our lives are
fleeting like the morning fog.
David is
crying out to the Lord to complain about His indifference and apathy toward
himself, but was David’s life so meaningless and brief?
We remember
David from his triumph against Goliath as a shepherd youth, then winning
numerous battles, and later fighting to survive, because he wrote many Psalms
showing the details of his life. Moreover, he eventually became the king of
Israel and reigned the nation very well. He also brought up his son Solomon
properly and did all the preparations for Solomon to build the temple later,
but now that he is old and in ill health, nothing seems to matter and his life
seems to be so brief.
<Slide 16
– Psalms 39:6>
Man is a mere phantom as he goes to
and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing
who will get it.
David
continues to talk about the meaninglessness of our lives; we are very busy in
life, but are like phantoms doing meaningless works.
By working
hard, we may accumulate our wealth, but we do not know who will be able to use
it. Therefore, life is meaningless, and David feels hopeless in his situation.
But, now David is turning toward God and paying all his attention to Him.
<Slide 17
– Psalms 39:7>
“But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.”
David was sick
in bed and lamenting the meaninglessness of life, but now all his attention is
on God. He lays down everything and puts all his hope in God.
Having
experienced jeers, contempt, disdain and persecutions in his life, David may
have felt like a phantom and that his life was a short interlude and a fleeting
violent storm.
We also go
through violent storms in our lives, and sometimes we choose silence to deal
with our regrets and guilty conscience, but it doesn’t work and our anguish
only increases. Soon our pent-up emotions turn into a rage and we may reach the
boundary of life or death decision.
<Slide 18
– The fork in the road for life or death>
At the turning
point of life or death decision, David chooses to have his hope in God. Being
sick and nearing death, David was ready to explode with anger at his life, but
he chose hope at the crucial moment.
The hope
David had in God was not a dead hope, but a living hope.
After
writing Psalm 39, David held onto his hope in God until the end.
<Slide 19
– Psalm 42:5>
“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why
so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my
Savior.>
Whom is
David talking to? He was not talking to others, but talking to himself, to his
soul. He is telling his soul not to be downcast or disturbed, and to put his
hope in God, as he praises Him. His hope is alive.
<Slide 20
– Psalm 62:5>
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from Him.>
David is
telling his soul to find rest and to lay down all the fears and worries, and to
look toward God. His hope comes from God, so he should get up and look toward
God, not toward all the problems in his life. And he will keep on praising God
and the hope in heaven.
<Slide 21
– Psalm 71:14>
“But as for me, I will always have
hope; I will praise you more and more.”
‘Hope’ and
‘praising the Lord’ are important words in Psalm 71:14, but the most important
word is ‘always’.
David’s hope
in God is not a temporary one, which he carries when things are all right or he
is in worship, but a permanent one for every moment of his life.
If we do not
hold hope in our hearts always, we tend to forget our hope in the midst of our
busy lives and then we fall down. We should keep our hope close to our hearts
and look toward God always, so that we can get up easily even after we have
fallen down.
<Slide 22
– Psalm 146:5>
“Blessed is he whose help is the God
of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord, his God.”
Who is
blessed? Blessed is he who is helped by God and who puts his hope in his Lord.
In Psalm 146:5 the blessed person is emphasized three times. I want to urge you
to insert your own name in this verse.
<Slide 22
– Psalm 146:5>
“Blessed is ‘your name’ whose help is
the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord of ‘yours’, ‘your’ God.”
I hope and
pray that this will be our confession, every day and every moment of our lives.
God is my
help and my hope is in the Lord, therefore, I am blessed! Amen!
Not only in
the Old Testament, but also in the New Testament, Apostle Paul talks about the
hope many times. In Romans 5:4, Paul says that perseverance produces character
and character produces hope, and we experience in our lives that perseverance
helps us to build our character and our character helps us to have hope. In
Romans 5:5, Paul confesses more about the hope he has.
<Slide 23
– Romans 5:5>
And hope does not disappoint us,
because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He
has given us.
Our hope
will not disappoint us. Why? Because God has poured out His love into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit, so the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross is flowing
in our hearts, after the love of Jesus Christ has been poured out into our souls.
This is not
a dead hope but a living hope, which has been poured out into our hearts.
<Slide 24
- 1 Peter 1:3>
“Praise be to the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
We praise
God for mercifully giving us new life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
and for giving us a living hope! Ours is not a dead hope, but a living hope.
My beloved
congregation:
Do you have the
living hope in God?
When
everything in your life seems like deadlocked, do you still have the living
hope in the Lord? I hope your living hope is with you as the true hope not only
when you are inside of the church, but also in every area and at all the places
of your life.
At this time,
I pray fervently that all of you be bestowed with the living hope in your
hearts!
The answer
to “What is hope?” is as follows.
<Slide 25
– Jude 1:21>
“Keep yourselves in God’s love as you
wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”
How can we
keep ourselves in God’s love? It is possible for us to do so with the Word of
God, as the Word of God only can bring us hope in our lives.
<Slide 26
– The forest of God’s Word>
Our Bible
Academy of ‘Walking through the forest of God’s Word’ will begin classes on
Tuesday evening and on Thursday morning of this week. Let us take a break from
our busy lives, and take a ‘walk through the forest of God’s Word’ together! I
am convinced that this will be a blessed journey for all of us to find the love
of God and the living hope.
<Slide 27
– The names of the registrants for ‘Walking through the forest of God’s
Word’>
These are
the names of those who have registered for the course, and I welcome everyone
to our Bible Academy and to ‘Walking through the forest of God’s Word’. Among
these registrants, some are young adults, the second-generation children of
ours, newcomers to our church, deacons, exhorters and elders. All of us will
take a walk through the forest hand in hand and experience the love of God
together.
If you are
unable to join us in our ‘Walking through the forest of God’s Word’ because of
various circumstances and difficult situations, your intercessory prayers will
be appreciated. In the name of the Lord, I hope and pray that you will continue
to read the Bible on your own and meditate upon the ‘Bible Time’ at your own
place.
Dear
congregation, in case you are wondering why I showed the list of the names, my
intention is to emphasize the importance of holding onto the Word of God always,
reading the Bible night and day, meditating upon the words in the Bible and
applying them in our lives. Are we building up the altar of the Word or not?
Are we reflecting upon ourselves and seeing if we live our lives in accordance
with the proclaimed Word in the Bible?
Only when we
build up the altar of the Word firmly within ourselves, we will be able to hold
hope. Now that we are in September, everything is being started again. I pray
that the altar of the Word of God be restored in each of us.
Again, I
hope that as the altar of the Word is restored in you, you will be able to testify
the Word in your life every day, and that the living hope will restored to you
as well.
Any peace
that is not based on the Word will not last, and any joy that is not based on
the Word will disappear in an instant.
We can find
God’s hope in the Word of God. According to chapter 1 of Colossians, the hope
that is stored up for us in heaven is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Word became
flesh and made His dwelling among us. Through His hope, we have seen the glory
of God and the glory of Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus Christ is the hope
of all the nations and the comforter for all of us.
Dear
congregation:
In closing, I
want to share the following verse.
<Slide 28
– Romans 15:13>
“May the God of hope fill you with
all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by
the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The one that
fills us with all joy and peace is the God of hope. Thanks to this God of hope,
we will be overflowing with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
May your
life be filled with abundant joy and peace by the God of hope and you will be
overflowing with hope always!
I pray in
the name of Christ Jesus that even at the most critical moment of our lives, with
our living hope inside of us, our soul will look toward heaven, choose the hope
of the kingdom of God and go on living our lives on earth with the heavenly hope
in our hearts.
