It is so good for me to come back and meet you again and have Sunday worship service together with you. Kkumusta po kkayo? (How are you?) Mabuti? (Fine?) Ppag Ppalain kkayo nang Dyios (God bless you) Mahalkitta (I love you). Ssalamat Bbo (Thank you). I was here in July 2009 and delivered a message entitled “What is the life all about.” I was here in April 2011 and delivered a message entitled “Happy dwellers in the house of the Lord.” I was here in January 2013 and delivered a message entitled “Goodness of affliction and suffering.” I was here in March 2014 and delivered a message entitled “Loving the Lord, Loving the church.” I was here in April 2015 and delivered a message entitled "Happiness is worshipping God and Sunday observing. Today I am going to deliver a message entitled “God loves aliens and strangers.” The Rev. Whang Ho Sang asked me to deliver a message about “aliens and strangers.”
Firstly, I am going to tell you the important fact that the believers on earth have lived as aliens and strangers on earth.
The Bible tells us that the forefathers of faith have lived as aliens and strangers on earth. Abraham our forefather of faith said "I am an alien and stranger among you."(Gen 23:4). Jacob said to Pharaoh as the following. "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult.”(Gen 47:9). Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses they all lived on earth as aliens and strangers. Hebrews 11:13 described that all of our forefathers of faith lived on earth as aliens and strangers. “And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.”(Heb 11:13).
Jesus came to this world and lived on earth as an alien and stranger. There was no place for him to be born, no place to sleep, no place to die. Jesus said as the following. "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."(Matt 8:20). All of the disciples of Jesus also lived on earth as aliens and strangers. The apostle Peter said that believers are all aliens and strangers in the world. “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires.”(I Peter 2:11).
The apostle Paul lived on earth as an alien and stranger with many difficulties and much pains. The apostle Paul did not have house or possessions. He did not have a nice church building or a nice car. He did not carry food to eat or clothes to wear. Paul confessed as the following. “I have been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.”(I Cor 11:23,26,27). He also confessed that he learned how to overcome many difficulties and much pains as an alien and stranger and how to be content as the following. “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”(Phil 4:11,12). The apostle Paul confessed that he learned to be content with whatever difficult and painful circumstances. When I read the remarkable confessions of the apostle Paul my heart was deeply touched and deeply moved. The apostle Pau was really the ideal and model believer who lived the kind of life as an alien and stranger which God wanted.
Now you, my dear Pilipino friends, are living in Korea as aliens and strangers. You might face many difficult and painful circumstances here in Korea. It is not a strange thing. It is a normal thing for the alien and strangers to live lives of difficult and painful circumstances. I was living in North Korea till I was 11 years old. I myself left my home country, I left my mother and father when I was 11 years old and came to the South Korea. At a dark night I crossed the borderline and came to the south. The only reason and purpose of my coming to the south was keeping faith, worshipping God on Sundays free and becoming a servant of God. Since then I became an orphan and have lived a life as an alien and stranger. There were pains and sorrows. I was crying often because I missed my mother and father so much.
It is not easy for us to live as aliens and strangers in foreign counties. It is hard and difficult. There could be pains and sorrows. But it is useful and helpful. The experiences of life as aliens and strangers could become spiritual blessings. It is because when you live as aliens and strangers you become free from self-centeredness. You could go beyond nationalism and racism. You could possess understanding and warm hearts for other lonely people. You could take care of the poor and sick people such as aliens and strangers. You could gradually become free from the attachment to the worldly things and become heaven-ward. It is very useful for us to live as aliens and strangers on earth. I have lived my whole life as an alien and stranger for the past 68 years. Now I confess that the life as an alien and stranger has become very useful and helpful and brought me abundant spiritual blessings.
Secondly, I am going to tell you the important truth that God is merciful and compassionate towards the aliens and strangers on earth and loves them so much.
God is of course a fearful God of judgment. God punishes sinful and evil men on earth. God announced that He would come to judge the sinners. “So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me, says the LORD Almighty.”(Mal 3:5). God is really a fearful God of judgment.
But God is most of all a merciful, forgiving, compassionate, and loving God. King David confessed as the following. “The LORD is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger, abounding in love.”(Ps 103:8). “The LORD is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”(Ps 145:8,9). God is merciful and compassionate especially towards the orphans, widows and aliens. It is really strange for the almighty, powerful and fearful God to be merciful, compassionate and loving towards the poor and insignificant persons like orphans, widows and aliens. Now I am going to quote a few Bible verses which tell the truth.
Deuteronomy 10:17,18 tells the truth that God is merciful, compassionate and loves aliens and strangers on earth. “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.”(Deut 10:17,18). God is here described as the God who defends the orphan and widow and loves the alien. God is described as the God who gives food and clothing to the aliens. God is really a strange and wonderful God of mercy and love.
Psalm 68:5,6 also tells the same truth. “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing.”(Ps 68:5,6). Here the fatherless, widows and prisoners could be homeless and aliens. Here God is called as the father of fatherless and orphan who takes care of them. God is really a strange and wonderful God of mercy and love. God was really taking care of Joseph and Moses when they became fatherless homeless orphans and aliens in foreign countries. Psalm 146:9 also tells the same truth. “The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow.”(Ps 146:9).
The New Testament also tells us the same truth. Jesus was much concerned about poor and helpless people such as hungry, thirsty, naked, sick and imprisoned strangers. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”(Matt 25:35,36). Jesus was very much concerned about a traveler who was going to Jericho and captured by robbers and stripped and beaten. “In reply Jesus said: A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.”(Luke 10:30).
God is merciful and compassionate towards the aliens and strangers on earth and loves them so much. I have lived my whole life as an orphan and alien. God has been so much merciful and compassionate towards me. God has blessed my life so much. God has forgiven all of my sins and made me a servant of God. God has provided me with opportunities to study at the best schools both in Korea and in the USA. I was able to obtain many degrees in the USA. God has then provided me with opportunities to serve churches as a pastor for more than 40 years. God has provided me with opportunities to serve theological seminaries as a professor for about 40 years. God has provided me with opportunities to do the ministries of mission and charities in many parts of the world. God is still using me as his errand and servant even after I retired. God has provided me with enough health and enough materials. I was not sick, I was not poor. I was not afraid or depressed. I lived a satisfied, joyful, optimistic and happy life. Therefore I confess as the following. “The Lord is my shepherd. I am not in want. I am not afraid. I do not fear. O death, what can you do to me? Nothing. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” God is so much merciful and compassionate towards aliens and strangers on earth and loves them so much. God provides them with so much blessings.
Thirdly, I am going to tell you the important lesson that God wants us to love and take care of aliens and strangers on earth with compassion and love.
Deuteronomy 10:19 tells us the important lesson that God wants us to love and take care of aliens and strangers. “And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.”(Deut 10:19).
Isaiah 1:11,15,17 tells us the important lesson that God is more concerned about our loving and taking care of the oppressed, fatherless and widows rather than formal worship of prayers and of offering animals. “The multitude of your sacrifices-- what are they to me? When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”(Isaiah 1:11,15,17).
Isaiah 58:6,7 tells us again the important lesson that God is more concerned about our loosing the chains of injustice, setting the oppressed free, sharing our food with the hungry, providing the poor wanderer with shelter, and clothing the naked rather than formal prayers of fasting. "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”(Isaiah 58:6,7).
The New Testament also tells us the same important lesson that God is concerned and pleased of our taking care of the oppressed, fatherless, orphans, widows, and aliens. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.”(James 1:27). “Now the overseer must be above reproach, respectable, hospitable.”(I Tim 3:2). “An overseer must be blameless and hospitable.”(Titus 1:7,8).
Jesus was much concerned about taking care of the poor and helpless people in disasters and exhorted us to extend hands of mercy and help to the disaster stricken helpless traveler. "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The expert in the law replied, the one who had mercy on him. Jesus told him, Go and do likewise."(Luke 10:36,37).
Jesus exhorted us extend hands of mercy and help to the poor, hungry, thirsty, naked, sick and imprisoned strangers. Jesus even pointed out that those who extended hands of mercy and help would go to the kingdom of heaven and those who did not extended hands of mercy and help could not go to the kingdom of heaven. “Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”(Matt 25:34-36). “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”(Matt 25:40). “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”(Matt 25:46).
God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ are really concerned about our loving and taking care of the poor and helpless people living on earth as aliens and strangers. Jesus exhorted us to extend hands of compassion and love towards all kinds of poor and helpless people as the following. “If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”(Luke 6:29-31). The apostle Paul also exhorted us to do good towards all kinds of people in need. “Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”(Rome 12:13,14,15,17,21,22).
Now I am going to confess about my life. I was born as possessing selfish, passionate, critical, negative, hypocritical, and false natures. As I grew up and as I studied at the conservative theological schools I became critical and negative against liberal view of the world. I became an anti-liberal, an anti-Japan, anti-North Korea, anti-China and anti-Moslem. I have, however, begun to be changed little by little. I began to see the cosmopolitan view of God who was pleased to save all kinds of sinful people in the world including Egyptians and Assyrians as well as Ninevites. I was much touched and moved to read such cosmopolitan view of God as the following. “And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”(Gen 12:3). "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."(Is 49:6). “But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"(Jon 4:11). Jesus was merciful and compassionate even towards the Roma soldiers who were beating and hanging him on the cross. Jesus was merciful and compassionate even towards the robber hanged on the cross. Jesus was merciful and compassionate even towards Mary Magdalene and a woman caught in adultery. Jesus was merciful and compassionate even towards Peter the betrayer and Saul the persecutor.
When I meditated the both-sided, comprehensive and cosmopolitan view of men and the world of the apostle Paul, St. Augustine, St. Francis, Rev. Son Yang Won, Rev. Han Kyung Chik and others, I began to carry a sincere wish to possess a heart of mercy and compassion towards all kind of people. I came to have a positive attitude towards North Korea, Japan and China. I visited Burkina Faso in North Africa and extended hands of help to the famine stricken African Moslems. I visited Bangladesh and extended hands of help to the disaster stricken Bangladesh people and children. I visited North Korea and extended hands of help to the poor and sick North Koreans. I visited Yan-bian area in China and extended hands of help to the poor orphans and sick Chinese Korean people. I visited Afghanistan and extended hands of help especially poor school children. I helped them to build a new school building. And they were so much grateful and thankful and happy.
Whenever I visit other countries to extend hands of help I feel grateful and happy. It is because human beings are created to live, to love and to help each other. I visit Yan-bian areas in China once a year during the past 15 years in order to meet and encourage 160 poor students living in Yan-bian areas. The Korea Evangelical Fellowship has helped about 160 poor students Yan-bian areas. sending each student 50 thousand Korean won every month. Most of the students are motherless or fatherless orphans. They live with sick grandmother or poor grandfather. Just last month from June 15 to June 19 I visited Yan-bian areas. I met most of them treated them with food and present and encouraged them. They were so grateful and happy. During the past 15 years I did not preach. But most of them became believers and attend churches. I am so grateful. Some of the students send me mails of gratitude. I am going to introduce two mails to you.
“Grandfather, How are you? I am Shin Hye Sung. When I was 2 years old my mother was captured and taken to North Korea. My father raised me carrying me on his back. I grew up as a healthy and good student. As you saw when you visited our house, my father collects waste junks and sells the junks. Our house is full of junks. My father carries serious stomach diseases. My nick name was once ‘junks’ but now I am an ‘ordinary’ and ‘good’ student. Honestly speaking I was able to go to school and became a good student because of grandfather’s help. When you visited our house you gave me scholarship in the amount of 556 Chinese wian. Later you sent us again 300 Chinese wian through Mrs. Lee Young Sook. I appreciate and thank you so much. You, my grandfather, became an orphan when you were 11 years old. You studied well and became an admirable person. I would like to become a person like you, my grandfather. I would like to help poor children and sick people like my father. Grandfather, I really thank you. May you be healthy! Sincerely, Shin Hye Sung. June 21, 2015”
“Grandfather, How are you? I am Yang Man Bock. My mother was captured and taken to North Korea when I was just two month old. My grandmother took care of me begging milks and food from village houses. I grew up as a healthy and good student. You helped me for many years. Thank you for your visiting our house on June 15 and giving me scholarship in the amount of 556 Chinese wian. Later you sent us again 300 Chinese wian through Mrs. Lee Young Sook. I appreciate and thank you so much. For many years I wanted to ask grandfather questions. Why does grandfather help so many poor students? What does grandfather gain from helping others? When I heard grandfather’ saying I came to understand what life is all about. Life is helping each other. Life is enjoying when you see happy smile in the face of others you help. When I heard grandfather’ saying I came to have a desire to live such a life of happiness and joy. I also think that grandfather is a strong man. You overcame many difficulties and became a great man. When can I become a grandfather like man? I think it is not yet late. I will do my best. I hope I could help many poor people. Thank you so much. Sincerely, Yang Man Bock. June 21, 2015”
Now I am going to summarize my message today. I have mentioned three important fact, truth and lessons. The first important fact is that believers on earth are living as aliens and strangers on earth. It is not easy for us to live as aliens and strangers in foreign counties. But it is useful and helpful. It could become spiritual blessings. The second important truth is that God is merciful and compassionate towards the aliens and strangers on earth and loves them so much. The third important lesson is that God wants us to love and take care of aliens and strangers on earth with compassion and love. Let us remember the three important fact, truth and lessons. Let us live our lives as aliens and strangers very meaningful. Let us remember the important truth that God is merciful and compassionate towards the aliens and strangers and loves us so much. Let us do our best to love and take care of aliens and strangers on earth with compassion and love. May God bless you my dear brothers and sisters living as aliens and strangers in Korea! May God use you as God’s useful instrument and vessels! May you live a meaningful and happy life!
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