Return to the bosom of God’s love-4

주 여호와의 신이 내게 임하셨으니 이는 여호와께서 내게 기름을 부으사 가난한 자에게 아름다운 소식을 전하게 하려 하심이라 나를 보내사 마음이 상한 자를 고치며 포로된 자에게 자유를, 갇힌 자에게 놓임을 전파하며 ² 여호와의 은혜의 해와 우리 하나님의 신원의 날을 전파하여 모든 슬픈 자를 위로하되 ³ 무릇 시온에서 슬퍼하는 자에게 화관을 주어 그 재를 대신하며 희락의 기름으로 그 슬픔을 대신하며 찬송의 옷으로 그 근심을 대신하시고 그들로 의의 나무 곧 여호와의 심으신 바 그 영광을 나타낼 자라 일컬음을 얻게 하려 하심이니라. The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; ² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; ³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. (Isa. 61:1-3)

¹³ 저가 귀고리와 패물로 장식하고 그 연애하는 자를 따라가서 나를 잊어버리고 향을 살라 바알 들을 섬긴 시일을 따라 내가 저에게 벌을 주리라 나 여호와의 말이니라 ¹⁴ 그러므로 내가 저를 개유하여 거친 들로 데리고 가서 말로 위로하고

 ¹⁵ 거기서 비로소 저의 포도원을 저에게 주고 아골 골짜기로 소망의 문을 삼아 주리니 저가 거기서 응대하기를 어렸을 때와 애굽 땅에서 올라 오던 날과 같이 하리라 ¹⁶ 여호와께서 이르시되 그 날에 네가 나를 내 남편이라 일컫고 다시는 내 바알 이라 일컫지 아니하리라 ¹⁷ 내가 바알 들의 이름을 저의 입에서 제하여 다시는 그 이름을 기억하여 일컬음이 없게 하리라 ¹⁸ 그 날에는 내가 저희를 위하여 들짐승과 공중의 새와 땅의 곤충으로 더불어 언약을 세우며 또 이 땅에서 활과 칼을 꺾어 전쟁을 없이 하고 저희로 평안히 눕게 하리라 ¹⁹ 내가 네게 장가들어 영원히 살되 의와 공변됨과 은총과 긍휼히 여김으로 네게 장가들며 ²⁰ 진실함으로 네게 장가들리니 네가 여호와를 알리라 ²¹ 여호와께서 가라사대 그 날에 내가 응하리라 나는 하늘에 응하고 하늘은 땅에 응하고 ²² 땅은 곡식과 포도주와 기름에 응하고 또 이것들은 이스르엘에 응하리라 ²³ 내가 나를 위하여 저를 이 땅에 심고 긍휼히 여김을 받지 못하였던 자를 긍휼히 여기며 내 백성 아니었던 자에게 향하여 이르기를 너는 내 백성이라 하리니 저희는 이르기를 주는 내 하나님이시라 하리라. And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the LORD. ¹⁴ "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. ¹⁵ And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁶ "And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me 'My Husband,' and no longer will you call me 'My Baal.' ¹⁷ For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. ¹⁸ And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. ¹⁹ And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. ²⁰ I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD. ²¹ "And in that day I will answer, declares the LORD, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, ²² and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, ²³ and I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, 'You are my people'; and he shall say, 'You are my God.'" (Hos. 2:13-23)

FCF: We may betray God by idolatry and commit spiritual adultery.

주제: 하나님의 사랑은 변치 않기에 그분 사랑의 품으로 돌아와야 합니다.

Theme: Since God’s love is unchanging, we must return to the bosom of His love.

Introduction: My favorite sport to watch is soccer, whereas my favorite sport to play is table tennis. Sports fans are thrilled as they watch best teams or players competing each other. Let me tell you a little about the UEFA Champions League, which is an annual soccer competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations and contested by top-division European clubs. The champion team in 2022 is Real Madrid, which beat Liverpool by 1:0. But the really exciting match was the two semi-final matches between Real Madrid and Man City. Real Madrid belongs to the La Liga League in Spain, whereas Man City belongs to the Premier League in England. The two teams are the best teams in the whole world. In the first match, Man City won over Real Madrid by 4:3. When the second match started, Real Madrid was the underdog. They had to win the game by at least two points. They were neck and neck. No one could predict which team would be the winner. Since Man City was leading by one point, however, experts were predicting Man City had better chances to reach the final. For the first 70 minutes, they were exchanging numerous shots. In 72 minutes, Man City finally scored a goal first. So, they were leading by two points. If nothing miraculous didn’t happen, Man City seemed to win. The game was about to be over. It was 89 minutes that Real Madrid made its first goal. The game score was 1:1. But in the previous game, it was 4:3. So, Man City was still leading by one point. It passed 90 minutes. Additional three minutes were given. A miracle goal was scored by Real Madrid. Now, they were even. And three minutes later in the extended time was scored again by Read Madrid. The whole stadium was under excitement. The real Marid fans were jumping up and down. They felt their team couldn’t reverse the game, though they were continuously cheering for their team. There was less than 1 minute left for the first 90-minute game. The second half was coming to an end. A little after 89 minutes, a fantastic goal was scored. The Real Madrid fans got frenzy and frantically shouted for their team. When another goal was scored, they couldn’t suppress their bursting joy. Hope for victory came alive. When the third goal was scored in a few minutes, they were uncontrollably exuberant. A few minutes before, they were feeling hopeless. Everything seemed to be bleak. But in total six minutes, they completely reversed the game and went up to the final. No one on both sides expected that Real Madrid would score three goals in the final few minutes. If they had been leading to begin with, their joy wouldn’t had been that great. Seriously, heir hope of winning was soon about to fade out. At that unexpected, hopeless moment, a ray of hope begun to shine with the first goal. The second and third goals completely reversed the whole game and blew the minds of all watchers.  

            We see here the power of reversal that changes the whole atmosphere of the game. We see here the reversal of hopelessness into hopefulness. We see here the reversal of defeat into victory. Positive reversal always compounds joy and excitement. Joy from such reversal lasts for a long time. Such reversal sets a milestone in history. For this reason, we naturally try to keep the fire of hope of reversal even in the midst of a hopeless situation. We know reversal in drama or life is real. Indeed, we do find a lot of reversals in the Bible. That’s what we have been dealing with in Hosea, which is divine reversal through repentance. God is a God of reversal that transforms a lifeless desert into a flourishing vineyard, transforms an unrepentant sinner into his godly child, or transforms defeat into victory. God is sovereign, which means He controls all things with His mighty power. He gives and takes away. He raises and brings down. Nothing is impossible with Him. So, He orders His sinful people to repent and come back to the bosom of His unchanging love. The prophet Hosea delivers such a powerful message to the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Due to their unfaithfulness to Yahweh, that is, spiritual adultery with the Baals, Yahweh had to discipline them through Assyria. Their spiritual sins and social injustices were rampant. As forewarned, they would be taken captive by Assyria and suffer in despair. They would forfeit all things they tried to secure through idolatry. They would be complaining that Yahweh had abandoned them. But, Yahweh said, “Repent and return to me, for I still love you.” Repentance is an act of God’s sovereign grace. We can’t truly repent without God’s intervening grace. So, we need to seek God’s grace so that we can truly repent and return to God. As soon as we realize God’s unchanging love, we will move to come back to God. So far, we have considered the following points: we should return to the bosom of God’s love that disciplines us, never gives up on us, and restores us. We shall continue to discuss the third characteristic of God’s restoring love. I want to call your attention to v. 15 today, in which we see a God who makes exciting reversals for His people.      

I.               징계하시는 하나님 사랑의 품으로 돌아오라.

Return to the bosom of God’s love that disciplines us.

II.             포기하지 않으시는 하나님 사랑의 품으로 돌아오라.

Return to the bosom of God’s love that never gives up on us.

III.           회복시키는 하나님 사랑의 품으로 돌아오라.

Return to the bosom of God’s love that restores us.

Let’s see what God reverses. He reverses punishment, pain, dearth, trouble into prosperity, healing, fertility, and hope. In v. 15, Hosea says, ¹⁵ 거기서 비로소 저의 포도원을 저에게 주고 아골 골짜기로 소망의 문을 삼아 주리니 저가 거기서 응대하기를 어렸을 때와 애굽 땅에서 올라 오던 날과 같이 하리라. “And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.” God will bring back to Israel everything sh has lost due to her idolatry. God has taken away riches and prosperity in the wilderness. As she suffers scarcity in the wilderness, God provides her with all her needs. She used to cultivate, expand her vineyards in the name of Baal, even though her vineyards were given by God. Her vineyards represent what she has worked for, that is, her labor accomplishments, hope, and trust. She worked hard for the success of her farming. Instead of thanking and trusting Yahweh, she called on the name of Baal to bring her fertility. But God has exposed her folly of idolatry and awakened her out of her folly. As she learns to rely on God alone in life and death through the wilderness experience, Yahweh returns her vineyards to her in the wilderness. This is a metaphoric expression. As mentioned above, God gives back His blessings to His people because they no longer put reliance on materialistic blessings. They no longer seek materialistic success through God. Rather, they realize prosperity is a gift of God. They don’t trust God’s gift. They enjoy it as God’s gift. They don’t worship it. They simply trust God for all and worship Him with all their hearts, which is spiritual faithfulness to God. This is what is required of all God’s people.

Notice the next clause “I will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.” The Hebrew word “achor” refers to trouble, disaster. The historical background of the reference “the Valley of Achor” is found in the story of Achan (Josh 7:1-26). Achan out of covetousness took some valuable articles during the total annihilation of Jericho. Jericho was completely dedicated to Yahweh. So, no one was allowed to take anything from it. But Achan disregarded Yahweh’s command and took some of them and buried them underneath his tent. On account of it, the army of Israel was unexpectedly defeated in the battle against Ai, which they believed they could easily win. Joshua couldn’t understand why Yahweh handed over His army to the hands of Ai. Later, Yahweh revealed the reason for Israel’s defeat. So, Achan and his family were arrested and stoned to death. They were buried. The stones piled up their burial ground. Their burial site was called “the Valley of Achor.” This place represents God’s punishment for covetousness, idolatry, and disobedience. The Israelites would suffer such punishment under the hands of the Assyrians.

But God will reverse His punishment and restore Israel’s fortune and status. Israel will be forgiven and restored fully. Out of such a hopeless, dreadful place of Achor, God will give Israel a confident expectation of divine reversal. Relying on God’s unchanging love, Israel would come back with hope of full restoration. Such hope of God’s reversal would keep them alive during the Assyrian captivity. When they are tempted to follow the Assyrian gods, culture, or money, they will refuse them because of hope of return to the Promised Land. As He has promised them such a complete reversal, God encourages them to come back with hope despite bleak circumstantial hardships. Indeed, hope of divine reversal makes us seek God and return to His love. It sustains us through troublesome realities.  

Furthermore, Yahweh will restore Israel to an intimate relationship with Him. In the past when Israel burned incense to the Baals, she didn’t respond to Yahweh even though He called her repeatedly and tenderly. Now, she responds in song to Yahweh as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. “The days of her youth” and the time of her Exodus” imply the joyful time of deliverance. During that time, she was enjoying intimate fellowship with God. She sang praises to Yahweh after she came out of Egypt. She was obedient to Yahweh. She relied on Him. She was committed to Him. It was like a time of honeymoon, a time of pure, passionate, marital love. Now, Yahweh will bring Israel back to a time of closeness, intimacy, and bond. Israel will enjoy Yahweh, not Baals. Through His unfailing, covenantal love, Yahweh will restore all her losses to her. His faithful love will triumph. It will reverse every loss into every gain. God’s love is so powerful that it always achieves its intended goals for God’s glory. And God’s people should have a hope of full restoration while returning to the bosom of God’s love.

We find numerous examples for the love, wisdom, and power of divine reversal. One example is the story of Ruth. Noami, her husband, and her two sons left Bethlehem the land of inheritance and immigrated to Moab a foreign country during famine. She lost everything in Moab. She went out with fullness but returned empty-handed. When she returned to Bethlehem, she had nothing but Ruth her daughter-in-law. But God restored everything to her by His providence. She became the ancestor of King David. The whole story shows the grace of God’s reversal for the poor Naomi and Ruth. This reversal began to play out at her return to Bethlehem, which signifies her return to faith in Yahweh and His favor. No one expected Naomi would recover her husband inheritance. No one expected Ruth would be the great grandmother of King David. And Ruth put her name in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. We find the great reversal God made in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Jesus bore the punishment of our sin on the cross. Satan believed he won when he saw Jesus hanging on the cross. He thought everything was over. The onlookers thought the Jesus movement was over with His death. Even Jesus’ disciples were in deep despair, feeling everything was over. At that moment, however, God reversed the place of judgment into the place of redemption. He reversed the place of death into the place of life. He reversed the place of despair into the place of hope. What God promised Israel through Hosea was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the way to return to the bosom of God’s faithful love. 

As God asked Ezekiel, “Son of man, Can these bones live?” (Ezek. 37:3), so God asks the same, “Can God bring life out of death?” Surely, God can make a great saint out of a heinous criminal. God can do all things for His glory. He does wonderful things for His people. God can transform your rebellious children into great warriors of Christ. When all say, “Everything is over,” God says, “No, I can turn poverty, sorrows, and wounds into abundance, joy, and soundness. God can bring good out of a hopeless situation. God works out everything for His good. Let me say an apt illustration borrowed from Chuck Swindoll’s The Quest for Character: “By His sovereign grace, God can bring good out of our failures, and even out of our sins. J. Stuart Holden tells of an old Scottish mansion close to where he had his little summer home. The walls of one room were filled with sketches made by distinguished artists. The practice began after a pitcher of soda water was accidentally spilled on a freshly decorated wall and left an unsightly stain. At the time, a noted artist, Lord Landseer, was a guest in the house. One day when the family went out to the moors, he stayed behind. With a few masterful strokes of a piece of charcoal, that ugly spot became the outline of a beautiful waterfall, bordered by trees and wildlife. He turned that disfigured wall into one of his most successful depictions of Highland life.” 

As he encourages God’s people to repent, Isaiah expresses the certainty of divine reversal as follows: ⁶ 너희는 여호와를 만날 만한 때에 찾으라 가까이 계실 때에 그를 부르라 ⁷ 악인은 그 길을, 불의한 자는 그 생각을 버리고 여호와께로 돌아오라 그리하면 그가 긍휼히 여기시리라 우리 하나님께로 나아오라 그가 널리 용서하시리라 ⁸ 여호와의 말씀에 내 생각은 너희 생각과 다르며 내 길은 너희 길과 달라서 ⁹ 하늘이 땅보다 높음 같이 내 길은 너희 길보다 높으며 내 생각은 너희 생각보다 높으니라 ¹⁰ 비와 눈이 하늘에서 내려서는 다시 그리로 가지 않고 토지를 적시어서 싹이 나게 하며 열매가 맺게 하여 파종하는 자에게 종자를 주며 먹는 자에게 양식을 줌과 같이 ¹¹ 내 입에서 나가는 말도 헛되이 내게로 돌아오지 아니하고 나의 뜻을 이루며 나의 명하여 보낸 일에 형통하리라 ¹² 너희는 기쁨으로 나아가며 평안히 인도함을 받을 것이요 산들과 작은 산들이 너희 앞에서 노래를 발하고 들의 모든 나무가 손바닥을 칠 것이며 ¹³ 잣나무는 가시나무를 대신하여 나며 화석류는 질려를 대신하여 날 것이라 이것이 여호와의 명예가 되며 영영한 표징이 되어 끊어지지 아니하리라 하시니라. ⁶ "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; ⁷ let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. ⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ¹⁰ "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. ¹² "For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. ¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off" (Isa. 55:6-13).

We are living in an age of Mammonism, that is, worship of money. Apparently, people believe the whole world is run by the power of money. So, they try to accumulate more for security. They rely on the power of money rather than the love of God. Since people of the world have no knowledge of God, it is natural that they worship anything, including money, rather than the true God. So, they are duly idolaters. Then what about God’s people in the church? Do they rely on Christ for livelihood if they relied on Christ for salvation? Do they love God with their hearts or do they love things pleasing and helpful to them? Well, whether we are believers or not, we must return to the bosom of God’s love. We have broken His heart by our sins. However, God is still waiting for our return. As I said above, there are some who are unwilling to accept your apology and make reconciliation with us. But God’s heart is widely open to sinners. He has compassion on them. His arms are widely open to embrace those returning through Christ. Please, turn around from your idolatry to God’s bosom. You will experience God’s wisdom and power of love. You may feel as if you were trapped in the wilderness. You may feel as if your heart were lifeless, hopeless. Whatever you worship becomes your God. It may be your money, family, career, even church. God alone deserves our utter devotion and love because God is our Maker and Savior. As seen above, God’s tenderly and powerful love restores everything to us, above all, blessed reliance on God and intimacy with God.

So, all of us should make a way to the welcoming bosom of God’s unchanging love. While doing so, we should hold unto God’s promise with hope. The prophet Isaiah, Hosea’s contemporary, preached in the southern kingdom. He prophesied of God’s restoration of His people from the Babylonian captivity, which would take place almost two centuries later. Can you feel the hopefulness of the Judeans in Babylon while holding unto the promise of Yahweh? Yahweh said through Isaiah this way, 대저 나 여호와가 시온을 위로하되 그 모든 황폐한 곳을 위로하여 그 광야로 에덴 같고 그 사막으로 여호와의 동산 같게 하였나니 그 가운데 기뻐함과 즐거워함과 감사함과 창화하는 소리가 있으리라. For the LORD comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song (Isa. 51:3).

Isaiah 61:1-3 says,  주 여호와의 신이 내게 임하셨으니 이는 여호와께서 내게 기름을 부으사 가난한 자에게 아름다운 소식을 전하게 하려 하심이라 나를 보내사 마음이 상한 자를 고치며 포로된 자에게 자유를, 갇힌 자에게 놓임을 전파하며 ² 여호와의 은혜의 해와 우리 하나님의 신원의 날을 전파하여 모든 슬픈 자를 위로하되 ³ 무릇 시온에서 슬퍼하는 자에게 화관을 주어 그 재를 대신하며 희락의 기름으로 그 슬픔을 대신하며 찬송의 옷으로 그 근심을 대신하시고 그들로 의의 나무 곧 여호와의 심으신 바 그 영광을 나타낼 자라 일컬음을 얻게 하려 하심이니라. The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; ² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; ³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified (Isa. 61:1-3). This promise was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. So, we must return to God’s love through Christ. Christ is our hope of restoration.

            God honors the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite. Repentance is to humble ourselves before God and acknowledge our sinfulness and God’s righteousness. It is rending our hearts, not rending our garments. When we kneel before God with a contrite spirit, God promises to reverse our lot from disaster to blessing, from recipients of no mercy to those of God’s mercy, from loss of status to restoration of status. God reverses our fruitlessness and hopelessness into fruitfulness and hopefulness. This is what we desperately need. God is longsuffering with us. His wrath won’t last forever for those returning to His love. We will experience God’s healing and restoration. We will experience peace with God. What are you going through? Do you feel like you have lost everything you have been pursuing? See what remains in your life. Covetousness won’t make you happy. It won’t be fulfilled. It will make you thirstier and thirstier. It will make you spiritually bankrupt. You still may possess more than enough. But you may not have true gratification even with all you have now, because of your spiritual idolatry. Whatever you worship other than God won’t make you truly fulfilled.

The psalmist debunks the folly of serving idols as follows: ⁴ 저희 우상은 은과 금이요 사람의 수공물이라 ⁵ 입이 있어도 말하지 못하며 눈이 있어도 보지 못하며 ⁶ 귀가 있어도 듣지 못하며 코가 있어도 맡지 못하며 ⁷ 손이 있어도 만지지 못하며 발이 있어도 걷지 못하며 목구멍으로 소리도 못하느니라 ⁸ 우상을 만드는 자와 그것을 의지하는 자가 다 그와 같으리로다. ⁴ Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. ⁵ They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. ⁶ They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. ⁷ They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. ⁸ Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them (Ps. 115:4-8). Idols are lifeless, powerless, making their worshipers lifeless and powerless. They are nothing. But people decide to believe idols as the fulfiller of their dreams. They are deceived. They will come to nothingness even though they express their utter devotion to idols. They are nothing; so their followers will come to nothingness at the end. That’s the way it is.

I heard a testimony of an old famous comedian in Korea. She was well-known years ago. She used to serve all kinds of idols. She used to call her spiritual medium to find out what to do and what to avoid, where to go and where to avoid going, etc. She was very superstitious, believing her idols brought her fame, money, and success. She didn’t doubt the efficacy of her idolatry. Anywhere she would go in Korea, she received recognition and applause. She made a lot of money. One day, she was invited to her best friend’s church. Her friend had been praying for her salvation for years. Though she wouldn’t go to church, she decided to go there to please her best friend. When the pastor preached the message of salvation, she thought he was joking. She completely disregarded his preaching. She didn’t pay attention to him. Her friend introduced her to the congregation, asking her to come up and sing a song. So, she went up to the stage. Since she was in the church, she didn’t want to sing a pop song. The only hymn she knew was Amazing Grace. So, she decided to sing it for the congregation out of courtesy. She opened her mouth and sang the first phrase in Korean, which is “A wretched sinner like me.” All of a sudden, she burst into tears. She couldn’t continue singing. She couldn’t stop crying and shedding tears. All her make-up was dissolved by her tears. She realized how sinful she was, met with Christ, and returned to the love of God. She was converted at the moment. She became a new person by God’s grace.

What a complete reversal that took place by God’s sovereign grace! It was His irresistible grace that reversed her disbelief into faith in Christ. She rejoiced in being saved by grace. She began to share the gospel with her family members. She led them to Christ one by one. All her family members turned to Christ and got saved. What a miracle of God! Such a supernatural work is of God. Repentance is surely a work of God’s mighty grace. It is a response to God’s unconditional love, which restores us to holiness and righteousness in Christ. She no longer chased after money, fame, or prosperity through powerless idols. She realized everything was given to her not by idols but by God. She no longer worshiped money. Money didn’t control her. Rather, she was able to use money for God’s purpose. She became God’s steward. She considered all her possessions as God’s. She was able to control them for God’s glory. She began to visit poor and rural churches to help and comfort them. She still continues to serve and worship God. What a miracle of reversal from idolatry to true worship through repentance! All the promises of God as to restoration are given for us to repent and make a way back to God’s love. God’s unchanging love calls us back to the foundation of life in Christ. Let’s turn back to a God of love for life.     

Conclusion: God’s love calls us back to God. God’s love looks for us. God’s love moves our hearts back to God. God’s love restores us. God’s love transforms us from deprivation to fullness. God’s love reverses our losses into His abundance. It reverses despair into hope. The power and love of Yahweh would secure Israel's return through the wilderness. Indeed, repentance is a response to God's unchanging love. We are saved by Gods sovereign grace; our repentance is an act of God’s sovereign grace. Surely, God reverses our sin and its misfortune into His overflowing blessings through repentance and faith in Christ. What are you suffering in sin? Are you still pursuing fortune as your God? Are you chasing after the god of fertility? Are you running after success as the most valuable thing? Are you still trying to fill a void in your heart with new devices, toys of the world, carnal pleasures, or success? Well, you are God’s image bearer. You need to come back to God your Maker and Savior. Think about how He loves you as you look at His Son Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose again to reverse your sins into the blessing of forgiveness and acceptance. God’s unchanging love calls you back to God. If you have tried to live apart from Christ, it is time to return to Christ and reestablish your intimate fellowship with Him.

            Let me talk about the testimony of a former thief in North Korea. He stole and sold the 18 pheasants, which the North Korean dictator Jung-Il Kim caught to give to his 18 loyal followers. Finding it out later, he was afraid he would be arrested and executed. He escaped from North Korea and defected to South Korea. By God’s grace, he was converted from the idolatry of the Kim dynasty to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Later, he came to know his father was executed. Years ago, his mother was classified as a misfit for communism because she was a daughter of the famous pastor Ik-Doo Kim, who was martyred for his faith. This gentleman didn’t know his grandfather was the Rev. Ik-Doo Kim. By God’s sovereign grace, he became a pastor to continue the mission of his grandfather. See how God’s love has transformed his life entirely as you listen to his words: “나는 죄로 가득해 살 소망을 잃었었다. 이렇게 사느니 죽자는 생각 뿐이었다. 진짜 살아도 지옥 같은 삶이었다. 복음을 들은 후 빛을 봤다. 소망을 본 거다. 내가 하나님의 아들이 된다고 느꼈다. 땅속에서 진주 보석을 받은 거나 다름없다. 지옥에서 나와 천국으로 왔다고 늘 말한다.” “북한에서 범법자로 우상의 아비인 거짓을 배워왔던 저에게 이 땅에서는 하나님의 아들로 살아갈 수 있도록 참 진리를 가르쳐 새사람으로 변화시켜 줬다.” “하나님과 이 나라에 평생 빚진 자가 되어 섬기며 살려고 한다.” Because of my sinfulness, I lost hope for life. I was preoccupied with nothing but suicidal thoughts. Though I was still alive, I felt like I were living in hell. When I heard the gospel, I saw a ray of hope. I felt like becoming God’s child. It was like receiving precious pearly gems from the underground. I always say I have come out of hell to heaven.” “I was a criminal who learned to worship the idol father. But God has made me a new man through His truth so that I could live as God’s child.” Always indebted to God and this country, I want to live a life of service.” You see here a reversal of his life by God’s love. God took him out of the idolatrous regime of North Korea. He turned an idolater into His preacher. Such is the work of God’s unfailing love. We see something similar in the life of Paul. We see a countless number of people who have experienced the reversals of their lives through the power of God’s love. The same love of God calls us back to Jesus Christ who is able to reverse our lives into the life with God. Let’s commit ourselves with unfading hope to the unchanging love of God in Christ.

Let me leave the same text of God’s mighty love with you: 그러나 이 모든 일에 우리를 사랑하시는 이로 말미암아 우리가 넉넉히 이기느니라 ³⁸ 내가 확신하노니 사망이나 생명이나 천사들이나 권세자들이나 현재 일이나 장래 일이나 능력이나 ³⁹ 높음이나 깊음이나 다른 아무 피조물이라도 우리를 우리 주 그리스도 예수 안에 있는 하나님의 사랑에서 끊을 수 없으리라. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:37-39).

Benediction: ²⁴ 여호와는 네게 복을 주시고 너를 지키시기를 원하며 ²⁵ 여호와는 그 얼굴로 네게 비취사 은혜 베푸시기를 원하며 ²⁶ 여호와는 그 얼굴을 네게로 향하여 드사 평강 주시기를 원하노라. ²⁴ The LORD bless you and keep you; ²⁵ the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; ²⁶ the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace (Num. 6:24-26).