I have visited South Korea: I met a lot of people in 9 days. It was meaningful for me to meet my family and relatives who I had not seen for a long time. It was also nice to see friends again. Some of whom I had not seen for 20 years. Although our bodies and faces were changed since time passed, we were as friendly as we met yesterday. I thought about why. My friends whom I met were those who studied Bible together at Korea Campus Crusade for Christ (KCCC). They are also friends who have confessed that they have become one in the Holy Spirit, living a changed life in the Holy Spirit. We are brothers and sisters in the Lord.
If I put together the stories of my friends, I can summarize them in one sentence.
"God has guided our lives".
This was also my confession. I also want your confession.
Above all, while I was in Korea, it was my father's change that surprised us. In the past, he hated to go to church very much, but now, every time my father prays for the meal. I don’t know what he prayed but I know that he prays sincerely.
And my father has repeatedly said: "I thought this world was over, but I knew there was another world. This is my faith although I do not see it, but I wish for the world. "
I can tell that my father had changed. My father, who I knew before, disappeared and became a totally different person. How can we explain this?
Is it because my father is getting old and his mind is weak? Do you think your father was shocked to lose his beloved wife?
It's not like that. Of course, my father must have overcome the hard times, but there is definitely something else. That is the Spirit of God.
People do not change easily. It is not easy to change a person's values in a moment. Nevertheless, it is because the Spirit of God has come upon someone in power and he can accept a completely different thing from his own values and be completely different from the past.
How about you? Are you a completely different person from the past? Or did not you make any changes?
This is what we should be willing to do. We must desire the Spirit of God. We must have a heart to hope that the Spirit of God will lead our lives. It is a very important prayer for us all to pray that the Spirit of God will come upon us.
2.
Through the process of becoming Saul as a king, we can know who Saul is. Saul's appearance was outward. In other words, his face was handsome and his height was bigger than the others. In addition to this external appearance, his inner side was also very good.
He was a man of obedience and a sincere man. He was a person who listened to other people. He could care for someone else than himself. And Saul was a man who could forgive those who opposed him. But there was one more thing for him to become king. It was the Spirit of the Lord. Therefore, how God made Saul a king is repeatedly related to as 'Spirit of the LORD'.
“The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. (1 Samuel 10: 6,7)”
This also indicates that the Spirit of God must come upon him in order for Saul to be a king who God wanted.
When the Spirit of God came upon Saul, Saul became a different person.
1 Sa 11: 6, “When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger.”
Saul's old form did not like to stand up before people. Saul did not tell his relatives that Samuel had anointed him; God informed Saul through various things that he was elected as a king. Saul has hidden himself among the baggage even though he had chosen him among the children of Israel. But Saul was changed into a different person after the Spirit of God came upon him in power.
It was only after the "Spirit of God" had come upon him that he was able to take it seriously and be able to take on the role of a leader when Israel was in risk.
When the Spirit of God comes upon us in power, we will become a totally different person. I pray that the Spirit of God will come upon you in power that you will be a whole new person. This change is a good change. It is also necessary for me that the Spirit of God is coming upon me in power. Please pray for me also.
3.
When I visited South Korea this time, I saw that everything changed greatly. Everywhere I went, tall buildings, cars and people overflowed. People's values and living styles were also changing. It was not the kind of Korea I knew.
But I knew that there must be more powerful changes than these changes. It is a change caused by the coming of the Spirit of God upon us. It is a change that changes the whole person. The sinfulness of man will be able to be changed into a new man resembling Jesus, our Lord.
When Saul worked in the field, the Spirit of God came upon him. When the Spirit of God came upon him, he could not ignore the pain of the nation. Saul was no longer hiding among the people. And Saul appealed to gather people and to go through the crisis of the nation. Saul has turned into a king that God has established.
Saul's change was not due to his strength enough to defeat the enemy. The change that happened to him was that the Spirit of God came upon him and he became a totally different person. This change is important. This change of Saul made the Israelites one. This change of Saul was a sign that he was well qualified as a king. Above all, this change of Saul was a testimony to God's presence.
I hope the wind of change will blow in your life. This change is caused by the great influence of the Spirit of God. And I hope that the change will be a testimony for you to be a people of God. I also want you to be a testimony of God's presence with you.
Jesus' public life began with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
"As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. (Matthew 3: 16,17)”
Jesus was revealed to God as a testimony with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The most important events for Jesus' disciples were also related to the presence of the Spirit of God. Jesus’ disciples completed three years courses of training with Jesus. However, they were scattered after the cross of Jesus Christ. Through the resurrection of Jesus, his disciples were again gathered in the upper room of Mark, and the Holy Spirit came upon them as they prayed.
When the Holy Spirit came, Jesus' disciples became completely new people. The disciples were no longer hiding in this attic. Then the disciples began to do what Jesus had commanded them. When the Holy Spirit came to them, they became completely different persons. This change is good. It is a change that God uses. It is to experience that God is with us. It is a change we should be willing to make.
There was the Word of God in Isaiah 42: "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.
What the Spirit of God come upon us means that we will be a different person. I hope that the heart toward the Lord will be growing in us. I hope that the Spirit of God of will come upon us and turn off our sinful nature and become a new person resembling Him.
So, I hope that our confession will be like this praise. 'Now I am the newborn of the Lord, and the old is past, and the new is. The life flows like a river in my heart, and the love shines like the sun from me. Taste eternal life and live in the Lord. I will live with you today and tomorrow.' I bless you in the name of the Lord that you have grace to be renewed as the Spirit of the Lord comes upon us. Amen!