Skip to content
Home
About Us
Ministries
Activities
Resources
Contact
Ctrl K
EN
ES
Give
Plan Your Visit
Peace Offering
Ch. 1 · Audio in EN
EN
ES
Chapter 1
The Peace That God Wanted More
64:31
0:00
The Peace That God Wanted More
0:02
Leviticus 3:1-17
And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the Lord; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord. And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering unto the Lord be of the flock; male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the Lord; the fat thereof, and the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire unto the Lord. And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about. And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the Lord's. It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
2:55
The Heart Must Flow Together with God
2:58
I don't know if it's okay to talk about this, but from time to time, people listen to my sermons and say that they are very graceful. If I were a graceful preacher, then I would hear that, I would just be thankful to God, and that would be the end of it. However, I am not that way, so I begin to think, "Wow, I am giving graceful sermons." Then the next time I give sermons, I begin to feel burdened, thinking, "Last time I gave a graceful sermon, so I need to do well this time, too." I could feel that burden beginning to press down upon my heart. No matter who it is, the person who can do something freely, with everything just flowing out from his or her heart, is truly a free and happy person. However, whether that work is something good or something bad, at times the heart feels, "I must do well," or, "I must do it a certain way." Sometimes these laws get established in your heart. From then on, it is no longer your heart leading your thoughts—it is the law. There is a big difference between something that comes straight from your heart that guides you versus someone else guiding you. I am talking about attending services from your heart, prayers that flow from your heart, the heart to witness flowing from your hearts, and praises flowing from your hearts. God is satisfied and joyous when He receives these kinds of things. And on top of all that, these things bring true freedom and joy to our hearts.
4:29
For example, a wife who respects her husband, but can be free in front of him, and a child who respects and follows his or her parents, can also be free in front of them. If a family could get along that way, how happy and wonderful would that family be? Before Adam and Eve committed sin in the Garden of Eden, there was no wall between God and man, whatsoever. There was no law that bound Adam and Eve's heart; therefore, they were completely free. However, as we very well know, Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which brought death, sadness, and pain to mankind. And not only that, the very scary thing was that new thoughts entered them. Those thoughts began to rule man.
5:19
After you receive salvation, your family and friends might occasionally ask you, "Hey, what church do you attend?" They may say, "Don't you go to a strange church?" Why does this happen? It happens because the hearts of the people of the world are flowing in a direction different from the heart Adam and Eve had before they committed sin. The fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil not only taught man good and evil, but it also blocked their hearts from flowing together with the heart of God. In addition to that, it also filled man with the heart to oppose and go against God. Today as well, the heart of man flows into sinfulness. We, who were living that way, get to have the true freedom and peace we never had before inside of God once we are saved. At that time, the people around us see that we have a heart we never had before. Therefore, it is only natural that they consider it to be strange. The problem is that after you are saved, when your heart flows in a wrong direction that is contrary to the word of God, you lose true freedom in your heart. For example, suppose I am not at home and an emergency suddenly happens there. My wife needs money. But suppose my wife opens my desk drawer, and finds lots of money there. That is surely my money, and since she does not know exactly how I was going to spend that money, my wife would feel burdened to spend it. On the other hand, if my wife feels in her heart, "In this situation, even my husband would spend this money this way," then my wife would feel free about using it. However, if she has the heart, "My husband would definitely hate for the money to be spent this way, but I still want to spend it like this," then she would lose freedom.
7:13
One of the reasons you are unable to have true freedom in front of God today, is that you are not pleased with what God is pleased of. And what you want to do is not what God wants to do. What you are joyful about is not what God is joyful about. If what you like becomes what God likes, and if what you do not like becomes what God also does not like, then whether you are eating, sleeping, or whatever you do, you would be able to have true freedom.
7:43
People Who Live a Spiritual Life Being Tied Down to the Law
7:48
What is the reason that people are always nervous, afraid, and trembling before God? We may not know the exact moment in time, but there was a moment when people's thoughts began to flow in a different direction than God's thoughts. That is why even though people know that praying is good, they have to become determined in order to pray. Other people say that they pray all night long. A person says, "I'm going to pray all night long, too." In order to stay up all night long and pray, that person takes a long nap during the day, drinks a lot of coffee, and then goes to church late at night. Then at around midnight, the church begins its all-night prayer service. However, after about 10 minutes of prayer, and about two hymns, the person begins to fall asleep. The person first becomes sleepy. Then, while he or she is sleepy on his or her knees, he or she eventually falls asleep. Why do these kinds of things happen? It's because our hearts are different from the heart of God. Sadly, what God is pleased with is not what we are pleased with. When what the husband is pleased with, and what his wife is pleased with are the same, the couple can be happy. However, whether it is something good or bad, if what the wife wants to do is not what the husband likes, that married couple cannot be happy.
9:15
One time, the husband of a sister who attended my church called me.
9:20
"Is this Pastor Ock Soo Park?"
9:22
"Yes it is," I answered.
9:25
"Pastor, why do you make my wife come to your church?" he asked.
9:30
So I responded, "Is it wrong to come to church? What's so bad about coming to our church, that you don't want her to attend?"
9:39
When I said that, he replied, "Going to church is fine. But it's bad for her to lie and say that she's going somewhere else, and then go to church."
9:49
Do you know what I told him? "There are many married sisters in my church. They all have husbands. All of them are able to freely come to church. But, sir, why is your wife unable to freely come to church? What is the reason behind that? All the husbands allow their wives to go to church freely. Why do you take your wife's freedom to attend church? From now on, allow your wife to go to church freely. Then she won't lie just to come to church." The fact that she lied to you, and then came to church means that she has no freedom to come.
10:25
If her husband had a great desire for his wife to go to church, even after going to the shopping mall, wouldn't she say, "I just went to church." His wife likes going to church, but she knows that her husband hates her going. He blocks his wife from going to church, so in order for her to come, she has to lie.
10:46
Now, I want to frame this around spiritual life. God rejoices when people come to church, but people do not like it. So, what happens, then? Even though they attend services, they attend with the heart, "If you go somewhere else and don't go to church services, you might get into a car accident." Therefore, they force themselves to sit in. Even though these people give offerings, they have the heart, "If I don't tithe, my business will fail." And therefore, they force themselves to give an offering. Today, pastors of many churches in Korea have turned God into a bully. They think, "Why do you not tithe? Your business will fail!" So, they think, "Okay, I'll pay." In their hearts, they do not want to tithe, but they are afraid that their business might fail, so they tithe. They say things like, "You're not going to come to Sunday service? Do you want to get into a car accident?" They reply, "Okay, I'll go." This is how they go to Sunday services. They force themselves to sit through service, even though they do not want to. And then, when the service is over, they run out as quickly as they can. Instead of people attending services with a will that springs from their hearts, they live a spiritual life that is tied down to the law. Is there anyone, among you, who is serving God without heart? "I should go to service. I should tithe. I should read the Bible. I should pray." If laws like these are dragging you around, then you are tied down to the law.
12:22
Before man committed sin, there was no need for the law between God and man. After man sinned, it brought about the law because people did not come forth to God. If people do not commit murder, adultery, steal, or lie, then would the Bible say, "Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not covet, and do not bear false testimony?" Would the Bible say that? It is because people murder that the Bible says, "Do not murder." Because people keep lying, the Bible says, "Do not lie." Because they do not honor their parents, the Bible says, "Honor your parents." And because people continue to commit adultery, the Bible says, "Do not commit adultery." Sadly, people live tied down to the law, which is not their heart. Therefore, even if you do keep the law somehow because you are bound to it, that does not bring true joy to God's heart.
13:18
The Oblation of the Peace Offering
13:21
Today, I want to talk about the peace offering. I do not know how much I will actually be able to speak about the peace offering, but I would like to explain it to you, part by part, as much as God allows. There are many offerings in the Bible. There is the burnt offering, the meat offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. There is also the peace offering. However, there is a difference between the peace offering and the other offerings. In Leviticus 3:1, it says, "And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it to the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord."
14:04
When you give a burnt offering, that offering must be a male. When you give a sin offering, it clearly indicates that it must be a male calf, a male goat, or a female goat, etc. This is made very clear. However, it says that with the peace offering, it does not matter if it is a male or female. There is a reason for that. The burnt offering is an offering only for God. You must please God only. The sin offering is an offering to pay the price of man's sins. However, the peace offering is not an offering to please only God. It is an offering that must bring true peace between the heart of God and the heart of man. Therefore, the offering must reconcile the heart of God, as well as the heart of man. There should be absolutely no burden in man's heart as well. In this way, the difference between the peace offering and the other offerings is that both God and man must be completely satisfied.
15:08
In Leviticus 3:3, it says, "And he shall offer a sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the Lord; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards." So it says that the peace offering, was an offering given by fire. It also says, "...the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away." (Leviticus 3:3-4) It is taking all the fat and giving that part to God, and it is man who eats the meat of the peace offering at the Holy Place.
15:52
There Has to Be No Uneasiness on Man's End as Well
15:57
When you give service to God, God receives the service that springs forth from your heart. If God were not like that, why would God have His Son sacrificed for man on the cross? Think about a computer. You input the list of all the people who attended the retreat and their information into a computer, and then you give the command to print the nametags. It can quickly print the nametags of many people. You tell the computer to quickly print the list of names of pastors or the people who are not saved, and then the computer prints it very quickly. And, if you type the words, "Hallelujah! Give glory to God," and save it on the computer, and set the print command to repeat, then the computer will repeatedly print, "Hallelujah! Give glory to God," and praise God. Would God be pleased with that? In the same way, many people are sitting in churches even though their hearts are not there. Inside, they think, "Why is the time going so slow? Why is the pastor giving such a long sermon, needlessly? He should make it simple and compressed, like the food they eat in outer space and just spoon-feed it to us. Why is he making his message so long, talking about this and that?" People may be thinking while they are sitting there. Would God be satisfied with a service that is given with that kind of a heart? God joyfully receives the testimonies and the praises that spring forth from the center of our hearts. In order for that service to be achieved, all the problems that block the way between us and God must be resolved.
17:39
Being at peace is not accomplished by saying, "God, how are you? Let us reconcile and be at peace from now on." That is not how it is done. When people get into fights, sometimes, the people watching say, "Hey! Stop it! Make up! Shake hands and let's go get a drink." This is very different from that. For example, suppose I fought with a brother, and I beat him up badly. I hit him badly and he was severely beaten. But then I say, "Brother, let us make peace." Then would the brother say, "Okay, let's be at peace?" He may force himself to stretch his hand out and shake mine, but he was beaten severely. He would feel very wronged. Instead, he would probably say, "We'll see about that." On the outside, we may appear to be reconciled, but we did not reconcile in our hearts. God does not want that kind of reconciliation. True reconciliation is when we look at ourselves from God's point of view. And, not only should there be no uneasiness in God's heart, but there should also be no uneasiness on our end as well with coming forth to God. We can read in many places throughout the Bible that God wants our reconciliation and peace to be achieved on that level.
19:00
This time, as I prepared my sermon on the peace offering, I searched many places about peace within the Bible. Of course, I did not search every place, but I found many places and stories throughout the Bible about peace. For me to talk about everything, it would take lots of time. Therefore, I want to talk about the stories that are most representative of peace. I will talk about the true meaning of those stories. Today, no matter who you are, God wants to be at peace with you. That is why, no matter what sin you may have committed; and no matter what kind of a life you are living; and even if you had probably refused and gone against God, God hopes that all of you will be at peace with Him. God also wants to be at peace with those who hate Him or consider Him to be the enemy. God does not want you to just be church members who simply come and attend services. God wants everyone to open their hearts in front of Him; to feel no shame or uneasiness, but rather come boldly before Him and freely be at peace with Him. As I read the words in the Bible about the peace offering, I was able to strongly feel this. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, it says, "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) God has given us the position and title to make peace. It means that God has asked us to do the work of bringing peace between God and man. That is why I'm able to preach these words to you with joy.
20:55
The Brothers Who Hated Joseph
20:58
If you look in Genesis, Israel had twelve sons. In the Bible, Israel is Jacob. Jacob had two wives named, Leah and Rachel. His wives also gave Jacob their maidservants, and sons were born through them as well. Of all his wives, Jacob loved Rachel the most. Of his twelve sons, Joseph and Benjamin were born of Rachel. His ten other sons were their half brothers. Jacob loved the sons of Rachel the most out of the twelve, and out of the two, Jacob loved Joseph the most. Because of this, Joseph's brothers hated him. On top of that, Joseph told his brothers, "I had a dream where all your sheaves bowed down to mine." Then Joseph was hated even more by his brothers. However, it did not end there. After Joseph's second dream, he told his brothers, "I had a dream where the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me." Because of this, his brothers began to hate Joseph even deeper.
22:04
Everyone, have you ever hated someone? One time, a lady, living in New York called me on an international phone call. She said that she was in the middle of reading, The Secret of Forgiveness of Sin and Being Born Again. She said she wanted to ask me, the author, a question,
22:24
"Pastor, I hate this person so much. How can this sin be forgiven?"
22:29
I answered, "Read the entire book."
22:33
Then she asked, "Then will it be taken care of? What if it does not get resolved?"
22:39
I said, "If it does not, then read it one more time."
22:44
Later on, I was able to hear her testimony of how her sin of hating somebody was taken care of. Have you had an extreme heart to hate someone?
22:54
In Genesis chapter 4, Cain killed his younger brother, Abel. Satan put that hatred into him. It was not a heart that came from man to begin with. A heart God did not have at all flowed into man. And so, all mankind, inside Adam, became filled with an evil and dirty heart. When people reveal the thoughts that are inside of them, they are too filthy and dirty. However, even though people have that kind of an evil heart, they are able to live without many problems because they have the ability to refrain from acting that way on the outside, even though they are that way on the inside. This kind of special talent is very developed in people. Therefore, even though you have filthy, dirty, and evil thoughts inside, you do not honestly express them, do you? Even though you hate someone, you do not express that hatred, am I right? You hold it in and hold it in until you cannot bear it anymore, then you express it. But you just usually act like you are kind, and just go on, don't you? That is the heart that God cannot add. That is a talent that only man has. God could never do that. In the heart of Joseph's brothers, the heart to hate Joseph arose in them very strongly. They hated him so much that they even began to say, "Let's kill him." Of course, they did not kill him, but they sold him into slavery. Nevertheless, the strange thing was that the heart to kill Joseph strongly arose in his own brothers' hearts.
24:35
Jesus Christ, to Bring Peace Between Christ and Young Taek Kim
24:40
I want to tell you a story about a brother in my church and how he got married. He was an older bachelor, and was married in his forties. In the Bible it does not say to tie the groom up, but the brothers in the church tied him up, and they beat his feet so badly. Even though he was being hit, the brother was overjoyed. He did not get angry at all and he just continued to laugh. He was pretty good at taking hits since a long time ago--this brother used to be a boxer. He calls himself, "E.S.D." So, when I first met him, he told me his name was "E.S.D.". Then, he explained his name to me. He said, "I dropped out of the second grade of elementary school. Elementry school Second grade Drop out. He abbreviated this "E.S.D." His real name was Young Taek Kim. He was a former national amateur boxer. However, he could not even write his own name. He was very embarrassed. He hung out with bad people and committed crimes. He was arrested and put in prison. Even in prison, he caused many problems and spent a lot of time in solitary confinement. Afterwards, he went to the Bible study of Pastor Kim of the Hanbat Church, which was held at the Daejeon Prison, and heard the Gospel and got saved. After this brother got saved he was released. Pastor Kim cared for him a lot, and urged him, "If you get out into the world, you will fall back into a crooked path, so come and live in the church."
26:14
Not long afterwards, Pastor Kim went to America as a missionary, and I came to the Hanbat Church. Whenever I saw this brother, he was a very kind person. I would think to myself, "How was it that he committed such a crime a long time ago?" However, when I was not around, once in a while, he would cause chaos in the church. One time, that brother came to me and said, "Pastor I want to sell ginseng." I thought, "Could he run that kind of a business?" However, he was so bent on doing it that I said, "Okay, fine. Go ahead and do it." This brother bought a used van and began his business. However, the ginseng did not sell very well. And on top of that, when he came to church, there were brothers younger than him that would tell him, "Brother, your heart's not crumbled down yet." The young brothers, even though they didn't know this person's heart or his circumstances, said it to him because they loved that brother. His business was not going well, and he was being told things he did not want to hear. This brother got angry, so he destroyed his van. The next day, a tow truck came and towed his van away.
27:29
Once, I received a phone call at midnight. This brother was very drunk and with a drunken voice, he said, "Pastor, I'm at a bar right now." I replied, "At a bar? Then come to church right now." He had been out of prison for a year, he was in his forties, and he had such a strong heart for marriage. This brother told me that he wanted to get married and I agreed with the idea, but the problem was whether there was a sister willing to marry him. That was how time passed, but one day, some church brothers came to me and said, "Pastor, I think Sister Koh likes Brother Kim." They told me, "I think she's willing to marry him." The brothers had to be sure about this in order for them to tell me this in the church. If they were not sure, they would not have said such a thing to me. On top of that, it was a more senior brother telling me this. So I thought, "Wow, it must be true."
28:27
I told that brother, "Brother, why don't you first go to Brother Young Taek Kim's house, and subtly ask him about getting married?"
28:36
I guess this brother went to Brother Kim's house and spoke to him as if they were going to get married right away. Because of this, Brother Kim's mother was very happy, along with his siblings. Actually, when inmates are released from prisons, the families get very worried. When they heard that their son was staying in the church and getting married, Brother Kim's mother was so happy that she went around the entire neighborhood telling everybody.
29:04
A few days later, I called Sister Koh. As my wife was bringing her in, I guess she asked Sister Koh, "What do you think about getting married to Brother Kim?" The sister was stunned saying, "Is that all you think of me?" In my eyes, she was not that great, and she was not much better than him, but she was really offended. The two of them are now married, and that is why I can talk about this. That sister graduated from theology school, and she used to be a minister before she received salvation. After getting saved, she humbled her heart, got a job, and served the Lord. But after that morning, I heard that she fell into trial. She even stopped coming to church. I thought, "If this continues, she may leave the faith," so I called her to see me.
29:56
I told her, "Sister, if you don't want to get married, then you don't have to get married. Why are you not coming to church? You should still come to church. If you don't want to get married, don't marry him. If you don't want to do it, how can I force you?" That sister then told me that her heart felt so relieved and she even smiled as she left. Now, the problem was Brother Kim.
30:22
One day, that brother came to see me. "Pastor, how's my wedding coming along? My mother has told everybody already."
30:31
I told him, "Hey, you think getting married is something that can be rushed so easily like this? It's something that God has to allow. Why are you so impatient and rushing? You've done a fine job waiting for 40 years, why can't you wait just a little more?"
30:49
That brother heard what I said, and he thought it was going well, so he was very happy. "Pastor. I didn't know your heart very well." Then he gave his testimony in front of the church, saying that by the grace of God, he was getting married. Most of you who are married, I'm sure you have your stories about how you got married. But there is no other wedding-related stories that remain as deeply in my heart as this one.
31:17
One Sunday after the morning service, my wife came to me and said, "Honey, let's listen to Sister Koh's testimony." So, I listened to her testimony. After she knew she was free from having to marry, the Holy Spirit worked powerfully in her heart. If she got married because Pastor Park told her to, it would be a problem. But since the Holy Spirit worked in her heart so she could get married, then that is not a problem at all. I heard this sister speak and it was the clear will of God that she decided to accept this marriage—the decision was not made with human emotion. My wife and I were very joyous and thankful in our hearts. There was no need for me to arrange weddings, or do the works of the church with my humanistic ways at all. If you have done the works of the church and other things in humanistic ways, receive the heart to let everything go and let God oversee everything.
32:16
Finally, we had the wedding for the two of them. That wedding became a joy to our church. All of our members rejoiced. Do you think these two people had any money? Everyone was all the same; all the brothers and sisters did not have money. There is a brother in my church who is really stingy. This brother is stingy not because he is simply stingy, but because he does not have anything. He is a brother who, when we have a retreat, pays the fee only once, but attends five or six times for free. That brother bought the bride and groom nice pairs of new shoes. I think it was the first time doing such a thing after being saved. The entire church had this kind of a heart, and they blessed the wedding of these two people. Upon seeing this, it was so graceful to my heart, too. My heart becomes joyful even thinking about that wedding because it was something God did. A house was prepared and furniture was prepared, all within one week after they got married. The parents of both sides were very happy with the decision. He was a 40-year old bachelor, and she was a thirty-nine year old bachelorette; of course their parents must have been happy.
33:31
After their wedding, during the Sunday service, Brother Kim came to the front of the chapel and gave his testimony. And he sang a special hymn. "Precious is the Lord's blood. Precious is the Lord's blood. He gave a rib to Young Taek Kim, precious is the Lord." This brother is not bound to any laws at all. In his own eyes, he does not even see the music score written by famous composers. His music level is so high; he makes up his own rhythm and sings the melody any way he wants. Then he just makes up the lyrics he wants and adds them in. He could have gone twenty verses if we let him but there was no time for it all. Anyway, this brother's joy became the joy of the whole church. I believe that in my church, there was not one person who did not participate in Brother Kim's and Sister Koh's joy. I was so unspeakably thankful in my heart.
34:32
Before, I used to go to prisons and preach the Gospel. There was something the prison staff used to tell me. "Pastor, do not tell the inmates your phone number or your home address." They were telling me that nothing good would come from telling inmates my phone number or my home address. I remember one person who was released from prison a long time ago. The day he was released, he spent the night at my house. However, because he needed something, he took something from my house when he left. When I was preaching the Gospel at Suwon Prison, I discussed this problem with our pastors in the Seoul area. "As we preach the Gospel in prisons, when saved brothers and sisters are released and they stay at your homes for a brief time, let's not worry about that. Even if those brothers take something from our homes, how much could it possibly be? Do not hesitate telling them your addresses or phone numbers. Let's open our hearts and deal with them freely." We decided to do that, and all of our pastors united our hearts to do just that. Since then, after their release from prison, there were many people who bought things and brought them to us. No one took things from us.
35:45
For the most part, people do not like people with criminal records that much. The brothers in the prisons would say, "Even the famous pastors come and act like they have love for us. They tell us that, but when we get released and go to their churches, they avoid us." It is not that we had love that we embraced Brother Kim. What we surely felt was that Jesus wanted to make peace with him. Jesus aggressively approached him and worked very assertively to bring peace to his life and establish his family. People's eyes are strange. Sister Koh, who I never thought was pretty, began to appear so pretty. After Sister Koh said, "I realized that God is pleased with this marriage," I told my wife, "Honey, Sister Koh is very pretty." It feels as though that sister and that brother were so blessed.
36:40
Two days after Brother Kim and Sister Koh were married, a brother came to me and said, "Pastor, I've been a chauffeur for a long time. But now I'm getting a nice position in the company I work in, and I'm about to move there." I replied, "That's great." This brother got a nice new job, so he was planning to move. He asked me to recommend someone who could take over his old job. However, I was unable to think of a person. Then that brother said, "Pastor, what if Brother Kim takes over my old job, and drives that car?"
37:15
I asked, "Is Brother Young Taek Kim a good driver?"
37:20
"Yes. I heard he used to drive taxis," the brother said.
37:25
"Really? Does that car have insurance? Anyone can drive it?"
37:30
He replied, "Yes. It has insurance."
37:34
Then I asked, "Are they not asking for a resume?"
37:38
"No. They're not asking for it," he answered.
37:42
This was how Brother Kim got the job the very next day. We could clearly see that Jesus was trying to make peace with Brother Young Taek Kim. I could strongly feel that Jesus was holding nothing back in trying to make peace with him. If I were not the servant of Jesus, I would probably not have this heart, but because I am His servant, I also felt, "I should pour all my heart for him and do something." That heart arose in me.
38:11
God, Who Wants to Make Peace with Everyone
38:15
Jesus, the one who died on the cross for us, truly wants to make peace with us. He hopes that there is not even a tiny bit of uneasiness between Jesus and us. If your heart and the heart of Jesus flow together as one, what would happen? Then the joy of Jesus will be your joy. And your satisfaction will be Jesus' satisfaction. What you hate will be what Jesus hates. If that is so, then there is no need for you to decorate yourself in front of Jesus. There is no need for you to trim, decorate, or exaggerate yourself. A single brother wants to get married and prays to God asking to get married. I am positive there are many sisters who also pray for this. However, most do not pray honestly saying, "God I want to get married, please send me a good spouse." Do you know how they pray? They pray in the same way you go to your neighbor's house to borrow some money. You first check the atmosphere of that person's home, and then you try to make the owner of that home feel good. Then you say, "Can I borrow five hundred dollars?" They pray in that manner. When you come to borrow money, can you talk about how much you hate the person, or mention what you argued about with that person? You would never talk about something like that.
39:38
When bachelors and single women pray before God, they do not say from the get-go, "God please help me get married." They say, "God, I thank you for all kinds of grace you have given me. God, allow me to preach the Gospel to so-and-so at work." After praying like that, and trying to make God feel good, this is what they say at the very end: "God please let me get married." It is obvious what is on their minds. In this way, people do such things in front of God all the time. If they want to get married, they can say, "God, I want to get married." But then why do they first lay out the things that they assume God would be happy to hear and then say what they want to say?
40:22
What I want to tell you is that, no matter what kind of a person you are, God truly wants to make peace with all of you. If you read the Bible, the people who listened to the words of Jesus could be at peace with God. Jesus did the work on His end to make that person able to be at peace with God. Of course, this does not include the people who are arrogant and refuse the words of Jesus. Without hating or refusing Jesus Christ, if you receive the true words of Jesus into your heart, then without even you knowing it, you will have made peace with God. That was the case with the Samaritan woman, Zacchaeus, and the man with an infirmity for 38 years. Because it was Jesus who worked to bring peace between mankind with God, the Bible is filled with the heart of God. Jesus sincerely wants to make our heart be at peace with God.
41:15
Joseph Who Hid Himself
41:18
Let us continue with Joseph. The second half of Genesis is all about the story of Joseph. Joseph's brothers tried to kill him. One day, the brothers conspired and stripped him of his clothes and threw him into a dry well. The funny thing is, a well springing with water will save people who are dying of thirst. However, wells without water will kill people. In other words, the churches that spring forth with spiritual words will save the souls of people, while churches without the word become snares for people to get trapped in. Anyhow, Joseph was thrown into a mud pit, which was a well without any water. His brothers wanted to kill him, but they changed their minds and sold Joseph to the Midianites as a slave. Consider this for a moment. Joseph was sold to Midian merchants at the age of 17. When Joseph was being sold, he begged his brothers. The Bible tells us that when Joseph was begging his brothers, they felt the pain in his heart. "And they said one to another, We are very guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us." (Genesis 42:21)
42:38
This is just my assumption, but when Joseph was being sold, he must have said, "Brothers, I'll do anything you want. Please don't sell me away! Please take me back home!" He must have begged them like this. Even though the brothers heard Joseph begging them, they sold him away. As Joseph was being dragged into the very distant land of Egypt, imagine how much he must have hated and felt bitterness towards his brothers. After Joseph was sold to the house of Potiphar and started to live there as a servant, he was tempted by Potiphar's wife. He overcame the temptation, but what happened to him? Potiphar's wife claimed that Joseph tried to violate her and framed him. Then, Joseph was put in prison. While in prison, Joseph probably thought, "Is my father peaceful and well?" He would miss his home and his father, thinking, "Why did my brothers sell me out?" And with that, he must have harbored bitterness and hatred against his brothers. However, God was with Joseph, and that is why, as we know, Joseph eventually became governor. Not only did he become governor, he became the savior for all the people throughout the land during the great seven-year famine. He stored up a tremendous amount of food during the great seven years of prosperity, so there was lots of food in Egypt. Now, Joseph has food, wealth, and glory. On the other hand, what about his brothers who were in the land of Canaan? They ran out of food, and were starving and dying.
44:16
One day, Joseph was selling food and his brothers came from the land of Canaan. They knelt before Joseph and did obeisance to him. Why did they come to Egypt? It was because they did not have food and they were hungry. At that time, Joseph was no longer the Joseph of old. He was no longer the Joseph who was being sold at the hands of his brothers, begging, and saying, "Brothers, don't sell me away. I'll never do it again, so please take me back to our father!" Joseph now had wealth and power. And not only was Joseph different outwardly from the way he was before, his heart was also no longer the same. "Ah! My brothers selling me was the providence of God. Christ must be born through our descendants. God was afraid that the famine would come to the land of Canaan, and my entire family would die. That is why He sent me beforehand into Egypt. He was making me prepare food for my brothers and my family in order to save them." There was no hatred in Joseph's heart against his brothers. There were no complaints or bitterness. Rather, his heart was full of hope and joy. "How could I enjoy this abundance? I have to share it all with my brothers. How can I share the plentiful food of Egypt with my brothers? How can I share this glory, blessing, and joy that I have with my brothers?" With that heart, Joseph was waiting for his brothers to come.
45:47
Finally, his brothers were standing in front of him. "Are you my brother, Reuben? I am Joseph. You're hungry, aren't you? Come and eat to your heart's content. Take however much food you want from this place. If you need more, come whenever you want and take it with you." Joseph's heart was packed with the heart to say this. However, he could not just come out and say that. So, instead, he said to his brothers, "You are spies!" Why did he do that? If Joseph had let his brothers know that he was Joseph, given them a lot of food, and sent them back home, then what would have happened? His brothers would act obedient in front of Joseph. But then after they would leave Egypt and arrive in Canaan, they would say, "Whew! That was a close one. A long time ago, when Joseph begged us, we just sold him away. But now that he's become the governor of Egypt, if we go back he will surely kill us." Would they not say that? Later, after their father Jacob died, his brothers thought that he was exacting his revenge on them even though Joseph treated them with a genuine heart. We can see in the Bible that they were afraid.
47:00
When we think about Joseph, if he lets his brothers know that he is their little brother, gives them food, and sends them away, it is certain that the brothers would never have come back. There are many reasons why the brothers could never come back. After his brothers sold Joseph, they dipped Joseph's clothes in goat's blood and brought it to Jacob. As Jacob saw the coat, he grieved sadly believing that Joseph was destroyed and killed by wild animals. If Joseph appears, the fact that they had lied is also revealed. If their father finds out about that, he would be so angry with Joseph's brothers. They could not stand before Joseph, the person they had sold away. If this fact were to be revealed, they would not be able to stand before their father. That is why the brothers' hearts were like, "We'd rather starve to death. We're never going back to Egypt. We will never go back to Joseph." This is the heart that they must have had.
48:00
So, let us once again hone in on what the problem really is. When Joseph was begging his brothers, they knew his pain, but hated him and sold him away, regardless. Joseph had no heart to hate his brothers, but his brothers were full of fear and burden when they came before Joseph due to the sins that they had committed. Then, what should Joseph do for his brothers? Joseph wanted to take the abundant food of Egypt to make his father and family full. He had the heart of wanting his brothers to share in his wealth, glory, and power. But what must he do to make that happen? In his brothers' hearts, as long as they have that guilt, they could never be open to Joseph because their act of selling him out would weigh on them. That is why no matter what it took, Joseph needed to first relieve the hearts of his brothers. Joseph had no heart of vengeance toward his brothers at all, but he needed to get his brothers to understand and realize his own heart. Peace had to be made between them. Joseph realized this, so he hid himself. Before saying, "I am Joseph," and revealing himself, he wanted to first relieve the hearts of his brothers.
49:18
Bring Your Youngest Brother
49:21
Joseph thought deeply about this. "Who is the person who could bring the most peace between me and my brothers?" It had to be a person who was close with Joseph and his brothers. It was Benjamin, because Benjamin was close with his other brothers and he was close with Joseph because they shared the same birth mother. Benjamin had no problems with his older brothers, or with Joseph. Joseph needed Benjamin to bring peace between he and his brothers. Joseph discovered this fact, so, he accused them all of being spies. The brothers then said that they were not spies, and began to explain who they were. They said, "Your servants are a total of ten brothers. We are the sons of a man from the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is with our father, and our other brother disappeared." Right then, Joseph said, "I swear on the life of Pharaoh, unless you bring your youngest brother here, you will not be able to leave this place." Why did he do that? It was because the youngest brother had to come in order for them to have true peace. Because Joseph's older brothers sold him, they would only feel burdened to come before him. However, Benjamin had nothing to do with that, and therefore, he feels no burden towards Joseph whatsoever. Also, Benjamin has been living with his older brothers and father in the land of Canaan, so he has no burden towards his older brothers at all. Benjamin, who has no walls on either end, must come as the peace offering in order to bring peace between the hearts of Joseph and his brothers. True peace must be achieved for the brothers to enjoy the wealth, glory, and power of Egypt.
51:05
Joseph said, "You are all spies."
51:09
This must have made his older brothers' hearts melt. They pleaded, "Oh no, Governor, that is not true!"
51:16
Joseph continued, "What are you talking about? You don't think that I see through you? I see your faces. You all look like criminals!" He almost said, "You are punks who sold your younger brother," but Joseph held it in. Instead, he said, "Surely, you are spies."
51:34
They asked, "Is that how we appear before you? We are brothers, so we all have similar faces. Maybe that's why we look like spies to you."
51:45
Then Joseph said, "Are you saying that you're all brothers?"
51:50
They replied, "Yes. Our father is alive. We were originally twelve sons. One is gone and the youngest is at home."
52:00
Then Joseph said, "Really? I swear on the life of Pharaoh, unless you bring your youngest brother here, you will not be able to leave this place. I will test your words to see if they are true. I swear on the life of Pharaoh, if your youngest brother is not brought to me, then you are indeed spies."
52:19
Joseph locked his brothers up for three days. On the third day, he said to his brothers, "Bring your youngest brother to me. That will then prove your words to be true, and you shall not die."
52:32
What's the point of having all that power if Joseph has it all to himself? He needs to share his wealth and power with his brothers, and he also needs to share it all with his father and family. If Joseph has it all to himself, then it is worthless. If his brothers did not know Joseph's heart and never came back, then Joseph would have cried so much. Because he did not want that to happen, Joseph had to lock up his brothers for three days even though he did not want to do that.
53:04
Then he said to his brothers, "I fear God. In this way, I will preserve your life. If you are true men, let one of your brothers remain in the prison, and the remainder of you, take the food and satisfy the hunger of your families. Then, bring your youngest brother to me. That will prove that your words are true, and you will not die."
53:26
Joseph bound Simeon. In his heart, he wanted to send him with his brothers, but he knew if he sent them all away, they may never come back. What was he going to do if they failed to return? In reality, it seemed as though Joseph's brothers would not come back even if he did hold Simeon captive. Later on, they returned because everyone was once again very hungry.
53:53
Joseph, Who Let Himself Be Known When the Brothers Felt Most Right
53:58
Joseph knew that because of the sin his brothers committed against him, they felt so burdened to stand before him. However, he hoped that the sin in their hearts would be washed away so that true peace could form between them. If his brothers would eat the food Joseph had stored without any burden, their bellies would become full and Joseph could preserve their lives. Therefore, Joseph hoped that they would be able to share in the power, wealth, and glory. This was what Joseph was working for that day. Upon hearing the words of Joseph, his brothers were deeply worried.
54:34
Reuben said to the other brothers, "You all have committed sin, and we are now paying the price of that blood."
54:42
They discussed this amongst themselves, and tried to come up with a plan. The brothers spoke to one another, thinking that Joseph did not understand the Hebrew language. Joseph heard everything his brothers discussed in Hebrew. Then he went outside, cried, and came back in. He locked up Simeon in the full view of his brothers.
55:04
Joseph ordered, "Put this person in prison. The rest of you, return quickly and bring your youngest brother."
55:12
After many days had passed, the brothers returned to Joseph with Benjamin. Joseph threw a feast and treated his brothers, along with Benjamin. Once again, he made something up. He filled his 10 older brothers' sacks with food, but in Benjamin's sack, he planted a silver sup. Then he sent a steward to follow them. The steward caught up with them and said, "Why do you repay evil for good? Why have you stolen the silver cup that our master uses to drink and tell the future?"
55:45
Joseph's brothers replied, "Why do you say that? Your servants have not done anything like that. If a silver cup is found, then that person shall be put to death and we will be your servants."
55:59
The steward then said, "Whosoever has the silver cup, he shall be our servant. The rest of you will not be rebuked." However, the silver cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Benjamin and his brothers were once again brought back to Joseph's castle.
56:16
Joseph responded by saying, "As promised, let Benjamin be a servant here, and the rest of you go back in peace."
56:25
Right then, Judah said, "I will be your servant instead of this child. Send the child away. The child's life and our father's life are bound as one." A while ago, Joseph's brothers sold him away, but now, they have turned their hearts around and are willing to give up their own lives for the life of Benjamin. Was that the moment when the brothers felt most right? Only then was Joseph able to say, "I am Joseph," and reveal himself. Joseph was able to let them know that he was Joseph when he knew their hearts were most free.
57:02
In Genesis chapter 44, it tells us in detail how Judah knelt down before Joseph and said, "My Lord, let your servant, I pray you, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not your anger burn against your servants. When my lord asked us if we have a father, or a brother, we told you that we had a father, who has a son in his elderly years. His older brother is dead, and he is the only child that remains from his mother. Therefore, our father loves him. My lord, you told your servants to bring him to you. But we told you that this child couldn't depart from his father. If he did, his father would die. However, you told your servants that unless we brought our youngest brother here, we were to never see your face again. And we relayed those words to our father, exactly as you said them. Afterwards, my father told us to go again and buy us some more food. But we told him that we could not go down. If we take our youngest brother with us, then we can. We may not see the man's face except with our youngest brother. The father told that if his youngest one goes, and if harm comes upon him, that he would go to his grave with his gray hairs in sadness. My father's life and this child's life are bound as one. If we return to our father without him, our father will die. Then that will surely send my father to his grave with gray hair and great sorrow."
58:36
After saying this, Judah said, "I pray you, let your servant take the place of this child. Let this child return with his brothers."
58:46
Upon hearing Judah's words, Joseph melted and cried. He revealed to his brothers that he was Joseph. Because his brothers were willing to give themselves up for Benjamin, he was able to reveal that he was Joseph. Now Joseph was able to relieve his heart and the hearts of his brothers and be at peace. Joseph had no bitterness in his heart towards his brothers, and he also thought they would open their hearts to make peace with him. He hoped they would become united in heart with him, and enjoy all that he had together.
59:20
The Holiness of Jesus Christ as My Holiness
59:25
As I thought about the story of Joseph towards the end of the book of Genesis, I discovered that this was not Joseph's heart, but the heart of God. Even though his brothers had done so much wrong to him, Joseph's heart had no bitterness at all towards his brothers. In the exact same way, we lived our entire lives breaking God's heart and going against Him. However, God does not condemn us and He does not remember our sins. Not only that, He is afraid that our hearts will close to Him, and so He works very hard to open them up. Through this story, which stretches from Genesis chapter 37 to chapter 50, God was not expressing Joseph's heart. He was expressing His own heart. God is not worried that we have sinned. It is because we have committed sin that God is afraid that we might lose the courage to come boldly before Him. Even though Joseph's brothers sold him out, Joseph worked so that his brothers could come to him, without any uneasiness in their hearts. That is why even though you may have gone against God and done evil against Him, God does all He can so that we can come before Him without any uneasiness in our hearts.
60:41
God is waiting for us to come freely to Him with no burden. Just as Joseph wanted his brothers to come to Egypt and share his power, glory, and wealth, God wants to make the power of Jesus, our power. He wants Jesus' holiness to be our holiness. He also wants Jesus' righteousness to be our righteousness. He wants us to accept it and enjoy it. God recorded the story of Joseph and his brothers in the second half of Genesis with the heart of hope that we can enjoy true freedom inside Christ.
61:17
In the book of Exodus there are also many stories about peace. However, what God is trying to tell us through the words of the peace offering in the book of Leviticus is exactly this. I do not know exactly what sins you have committed in front of God. Nonetheless, the brother who was released from prison, his heart changed so many times even though he was out of prison. However, God continued to love him. He wanted to be at peace with that brother, so He opened many doors for him. In addition, God made it so that brother could live in front of Him freely, without any shortcomings. God not only made it this way for the brother, He did the same for me. I am a person who is no better than that brother. God led my life in every way so that I could go boldly before Him and live for the Gospel.
62:07
Today, Satan whispers to us, "Joseph will get his revenge on you. Right now, Jacob is alive so Joseph can't do anything, and he is holding back. However, once father dies, Joseph will surely have his revenge on you. Sooner than later, he will get his revenge on you." That is how Satan whispered to Joseph's brothers in order to lead their hearts to flow in a direction opposite of Joseph's heart. Then they could make Joseph worry, and furthermore, made him cry.
62:39
Even today, Satan says, "God is going to hate you. You committed so many sins. How could God accept you? God will throw you away. God will not hear your prayers. God will not heal your disease." He stirs these types of thoughts in us, and with that, he torments God. On the other hand, through the words of the Bible, God shows us how passionately He loves us. Because God loves us so deeply, He does not look at our blemishes. He says that He does not remember any of our sins or iniquities. If there is something that breaks God's heart today, it is that you have not opened your heart to come before God, and you are unable to enjoy God's glory, power, and righteousness. God wants us to freely enjoy His things and be satisfied. To have that happen to us He established the peace offering. He had Jesus crucified on the cross so that we can come before Him without any uneasiness. He has washed away all of our sins completely.
63:40
Perhaps I do not know if Joseph's brothers had uneasiness in their hearts when they came before Joseph, but I hope that we will not go before God with that kind of a heart. Joseph's brothers saw him begging them, yet they still sold him into slavery. However, Joseph did not consider this a sin. He said, "Do not be grieved that you sold me into Egypt. Do not be despaired. To save life, God sent me before you. Therefore, it was not you who sent me to Egypt, but God." In this way, God does not place our blemishes on us—He gives us the word to make peace with Him. I hope that you, too, will take that position. I hope that you will be used in the work of making peace with the people around you and with God.
End of chapter
The Peace That God Wanted More
Ch. 1 / 1
0:00
−64:31
15
30
Speed
1×
Ch. 1
/ 1
0.75×
1×
1.25×
1.5×
Stay Connected
The week, in your inbox.
Sermon recaps, prayer needs, and events — every week.
Email address
Subscribe
