The year that makes a life abundant

Bible: Philippians 4: 17-20

Pastor: David D. Woo

Date: January 02, 2011 (Sunday)

-Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.  But I have received everything in full and have abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.  And God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever.  Amen.

-First of all, on the first week of the New Year, I would like pray that God’s great blessings overflow on your family, your job and business in the name of Jesus.

Today, as we worship to God, your first step of the year will be blessed step for your whole life, I believe.

Many people of the world think various jewels, honor, and position is the most precious thing.  But, we can get them back even if we lost them.  However, there is a precious thing that we cannot find again if we lose.  And that is ‘Time’.

Kim , Nam Jo, who is poetess of Korea and who is 83 years old now said that, “I used myself like soap bubbles.”  This speech has two intents, one is she has lived hard with all her forces, and the other means that time have already gone.

We can see inseparable relation of life and time in this poet’s speech.  And time is the most precious treasure to people who live in this land.

I truly wish our members have abundant life of the year between body and soul.

For this, I pray for you to become great faithful believers first.

God pleases a great faith, and when He sees it, He gives the great blessing.

Actually, all true religious lives are always enjoying abundant.  There is grace always in Lord that never dries.  We must check our mind field to enjoy abundant grace and blessing. 

If we see the book of Gospel, there is the word about mind field among Jesus metaphor.

A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, some fell on the rock, and other seed fell among the thorns, and these were couldn’t bear fruits.  But, Lord said, the one that fell on good soil, it came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times, a sixty times, a thirty times more than was sown.

We must come up such abundant fruit in our life.  We all received abundant grace and blessing.  I pray we achieve more abundant life this year.

Then, I will tell you how we can enjoy abundant life depend on the Word.

1). We must serve the Lord and live with Him every day for abundant life.

In John 10:10, Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”  In other words, Lord came for our abundant life.

All graces and blessings of God are in the Only Son Jesus Christ.  No one can enjoy grace and blessing without Jesus.  Life without Jesus is an indigent life.  It is a low life.  It is a fiery life.  Everyone wants to live abundant life, but without Christ, we cannot have an abundant life.  We must full spiritually more than anything else.  Then, material thing will follow incidentally.

However, if we seek material thing first ignoring spirituality, will suffer poverty, and we cannot be the origin of blessing like Abraham.

Our spirit must be filled with the Holy Spirit and filled with grace and joy first.

Material abundance was limited.

If I gave $1000 to a poor person, $1000 is not existing in my pocket.  Like this, my material was limited.

However, spiritual property is more abundant and full as share.  Because of the Holy Spirit, there is the spring of grace that is never dry in me, that is, Lord is living and working inside of me.

There is no song that gives more great grace and being loved for a long time than Messiah of Handel among church music.  Do you know why?  It is because when Handel composes the hymn, he was filled with the grace of Holy Spirit.

Handel was very poor.  He was about to go to prison because of his heavy debts and to make matters worse; he had bad health which he was almost paralyzed on one side.  But, when he composed the holy music such as Messiah, even if he died long time ago, it gives grace continuously long after.

What is this mean?  It means spiritual thing can cause the grace to others continuously even if I died.  He made others abundant even if he died because there was Lord in him.

Apostle Paul was in prison, and he was not abundant materially, but he was abundant spiritually.  And those abundant graces are more flowing to other people.  What is the secret?  It is because he lived and enjoyed his life that overflowed with the Holy Spirit and devoted Lord in him whether he was in plain or mountain, or prison.

A person who devotes Lord is more blessed than those who serves President.

It is because a person who serves Lord already has everything.

Jesus is the Lord who came to make our life more abundant and gets a life.

Therefore, I pray that we all enjoy abundant of our body and soul while we serve and live in Lord.

2). For abundant life, we must decide our purpose clearly and run for it.

A person who lives day by day as it goes without purpose will never enjoy abundance.  We are running for somewhere even now.  What are we looking at and where are we running for ?

In Philippians 3:13-14, Apostle Paul said, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

The goal that Apostle Paul who had great faith tried to hold of it, the direction that he was run forward was just like ours that we have today.

Because the goal was have eternal value he ran powerfully until he exhausted his life.

We must decide goal first and run for it.  We must decide goal and pray for it.  Then, our step has force, and there is our prayer and power as well.

We will enjoy abundance and will achieve our goal.

This year, each one of us must have individual wish and goal.  I pray for you to achieve all your goals in Lord.

Our church has important target that we must move church this year.  And we will move church in some way.  We certainly believe that Lord is with us.  And we believe that Lord will lead us to better place.

If we see Genesis 25, Isaac lives in Gerar and he reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham.  So whenever he dug in the valley, he always discovered a well of fresh water there.  But when the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac people that the water is theirs.  Since Isaac was a person of peace, just gave to them and moved another place and dug again and found the fresh water.  Then, Gerar people came again and insisted that the water is theirs again.  Isaac did not fight, and moved tent to another place and dug the ground to find well with fresh water.

Finally Gerar people did not pursuit Isaac any more.

I believe that if God blesses us and is with us, we will get over all tests of the world easily.  We can overcome all the hardship

In Genesis 26:22 it said, “He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, “At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

Long time ago, I went to Atlanta, and there was Rehoboth Baptist Church and it was very big church.  And I thought that this church name came from an Isaac’s well name in Genesis.

I do believe that our good God will make our church more abundant.

We will move forward for this goal and will pray for this goal.

We bought building in Maui as of July 01, 2009.  And come to think of it now, we fell secure.  And I am sure the value of building will rise more.

Because it is secure, we were thinking that we could buy Salvation Army church.

God will give us our own church in some way.  Even if the Salvation Army church does not come up the way we wish, we do not have to worry greatly.

If it’s necessary, we can find a place where we can have worship for the time being.

Because Maui building will become our great property as time flows, and as times passes, money that borrowed from bank will pay back gradually.  Isn’t it so thankful?

About three years ago, a pastor of Honolulu said to me, “Pastor Woo, don’t spend money to build church, instead let’s do missionary work together with the money.”  I know it is good speech and who does not know it?

I know as well and thought he could say that because he has own church building already.

Dear members!  What is mission?  We are right here in missionary field.

This land that we stand right now, this is the most important place that we have to do our mission work urgently.

Before Pastor Kim, Woong Min of Christ Union Methodist church told me like this.  When his members keep saying that must pay more for missionary work, he replied that this is the place that we have to do our missionary work right now.  Missionary work is not only at Africa or South America, because this is the missionary place, and it is also the mission that we are trying to build own church.

Missionaries who work in abroad also trying to have own church building, so that they can get along together easily and they can do mission work properly.

Church was build first when Puritan who crossed to American continent crossing the Atlantic Ocean stepping on new land.

They built church first not their home.  That is why this country became a country that received blessing by gospel or by material. 

We cannot always depend on other’s church. We must finish the work.

We must pray concentrically for this goal, and must go straightly.

I pray that God gives blessing greatly to you and our church.

3). We must live giving life for our abundant life.

Today’s Scripture is thank you letter that sent to Philippians church which endeavor to serves and gives.  Apostle Paul blesses and inspires Philippians church

“B ut I have received everything in full and have abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.  And God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”(Verse 17-18)

Apostle Paul said, it is a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.

Things that we gave in the name of Lord, is same as offering that gave to God.

The Biblical instruction said that a person who gives more blessed person than a person who receives.

There is new lunch service list came out.

And I am so thankful to all people who gave material and who gave their own time.  And I wish this service continue in this year.

Because of giving and sharing, our church could move on gracefully and powerfully, I think.  As Apostle Paul said, this will please our God and it will become a fragrant aroma, sacrifice offering before God.

If we give and share neighbor by things that we have and make God delight, God also will fill our need.

Verse 19, it said, “And God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  What a wonderful resource we have here?  How wonderful privilege this is!

Passage of God’s blessing is open infinitely in Jesus Christ.

Our God is just like generous father who wants and waits to give good things to his children.  No, God is more merciful and more generous which is we cannot even imagine.

Whatever we do, do it in the name of Lord, and if it makes Lord happy, there will be reward of God, and I want you to believe this.

God’s treasure house is widely open to all of us today.

God is not stingy person.  Look at this universe and all the creation.

How God is generous and how great He is!

People are worried about what to eat because there are so many populations today, but, God left stock that mankind still can live on for a long time.

God always gives return for our devotion and service that fills abundantly which is more than we need.  We already received lots of things from Him.

I don’t want you to be a stingy person in giving life before God, I pray.

“With the kind You show Yourself kind; with the blameless You show Yourself blameless; with the pure You show Yourself pure, and with the crooked You show Yourself astute.” (Psalm 18:25-26)  

God is accurate.  We must fear the God.  This is our faith.

Also, we must live abundant life.  Our Father God wants us to live abundant life.

So, to live abundant life, what should we do?

-We must serve the Lord and live with Him every day for abundant life.

-For abundant life, we must decide our purpose clearly and run for it.

-We must live giving life for our abundant life.

We should live hard this year.  We must become true people of God as the Bible said.

Dr. Norman Vincent Phil said, “Enthusiasm makes the difference.”  A lazy person cannot even do a good deed.

Dear members!

I pray that you serve and live with Lord every day in this year 2011 and set a clear goal and live a giving life.  And think everyday is precious and live hard

And I bless all of you today that you enjoy abundance of life and live this year without any regret in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen!