Good Works and Good Fruits (Galatians 6:9)

I am standing before you now because Pastor Park said it would be a good idea to report about the El Salvador missions camp as well as the children’s ministry.  

Good Works and Good Fruits (Gal. 6:9)

If I were to write down the title of today’s message, it is from the pulpit message: Good Works and Good Fruits.  Let us read the Bible verse together, Gal. 6:9.

Today is the last day of the El Salvador Mission Camp and they will be returning tomorrow.  Yesterday, I got to speak with our disciple Elvia’s friend, Raquel, and she gave me her testimonies of the evangelism that is taking place through this mission team is something that almost seems like a dream for her, and she is so thankful.  And, as I was looking at this El Salvador Mission Camp team, I realized that the message we were given from the New years that the light of the 237 nations will shine, is specifically being fulfilled through the time schedule of our church.  

If you look in the photo, this is the picture of the team in the airport, and the one that is holding the sign is Elvia, towards the camera.  There’s someone with a white headpiece next to Assistant Pastor Lim, this is a female pastor from a church that is near where Elvia lives.  Through Elvia, she was connected to our Senior Deaconess Tae Song, and in the midst of that, our missions camp took place.  Because of course, through the darakbang meetings, we are nurturing up the disciple Elvia, however through them the evangelism movement must take place so we asked her to write down a list of evangelism targets and this female targets said she also wanted to participate so we have been praying for these two on our evangelism list.

The person who was sitting on the chair was one person among that list. And if you’ve been looking in the kakaotalk chatroom, she was a nonbeliever and through this mission camp she received the gospel and salvation. 

Next photo.  The lady wearing the white gown next to Pastor Park is 16 years old, and her name is Elisa.  And Elisa is a student that is living with Elvia right now, and she is separated from her mother and father.  I’m not so sure about the father, but the mother has schizophrenia, so she’s not able to live with her daughter, so that’s why she is living with Elvia.  When she heard Pastor Park would be coming through Elvia, she wanted to receive baptism and she even decided on this location, which was an hour away. 

So the lady in the purple on the right is Elvia, and the student on the left is 16 years old just like Elisa, she’s a student.  This student is a relative of the female pastor, and she is living with her.  The reason this student is living with her aunt, the female pastor is because her parents practice witchcraft.  I’m not sure what her mother was thinking, but she actually put a demon into her daughter Maria so she could never leave.  I was able to meet with her through zoom just once and every time I asked her if she wanted to pray, she kept on disappearing, and she kept disappearing about 4 times, so we’ve been holding onto the prayer topic of meeting this girl through the mission camp.  

This location here is the church of the female pastor, and she asked if we could have a conference at her church as well, so on Tuesday afternoon, they had worship there.  He’s a little hard to see, but there’s a gentleman sitting closest to the camera, and he’s not someone on the evangelist target list.  However, I heard he is a public official who works in Elvia’s office.  All of a sudden, Elvia thought about this man and invited him to this conference and even though it was an hour and a half away, he still came, and that really moved Elvia and as he was listening to pastor park’s message I heard the report that he was listening to the gospel very intently.  

This is the progress of the missions camp until now, and I believe this evening, they will have a conference or meeting in Elvia’s house, and they will be leaving tomorrow.  I began to think that this El Salvador Mission Camp was being led by God very quietly, almost like the flowing of water. As I was thinking about the fruit we have been hearing about in the messages, I thought the first fruit was the Spanish-speaking Darakbang meeting that was taking place between Raquel, Senior Deaconess Tai Song, and Elvia on Thursday at 7pm.  If there’s anyone who has a hard time speaking English and prefers Spanish instead, you can invite them to the Thursday 7pm Darakbang at any point.

The second fruit I saw is not Elvia, but Raquel who was a friend of Elvia who lives in Hollywood was able to participate in the mission as well.  In fact, it was only because Raquel opened up her home in El Salvador that senior deaconess Tae Song decided to go on the mission trip.  Raquel was thinking about it, and she realized that her home was located in the city, which is a little bit more dangerous of a region, so she actually thought of getting a hotel that was closer to Elvia’s house.  Raquel actually funded the hotel fees as missions offering.  I believe that this was her participation in the missions camp, and in order to continue missions, we must experience the works of God, and through this, she allowed Senior Deaconess Tae Song to join the mission camp.  So, we said, “Thank you” to her and accepted her missions offering for the hotel fees.  

The third one I’m thankful for is Elisa, the 16-year old girl, and Pastor Park gave the prayer topic of bringing her to LA to receive missions and evangelism training throughout her summer vacation. The fourth and final fruit is that there is now a setting for worship to continue in the El Salvador region.  As I was looking at the El Salvador missions field, I realized there are so many places that have never heard this accurate, true gospel.  I began to feel that most of the fields of the 237 nations are either filled with religions or something different.  

Now I will share Pastor Park’s prayer topics for the El Salvador missions field.  For a location or platform to be made so more people can receive the gospel through Elvia.  For the work to arise so that disciples like Elisa who are currently in the field may arise as the watchtowers as they receive training in the gospel of missions and evangelism, to shine the light, and in the future, to set the direction of the RUTC movement in that field.  For the stream to begin and to continue for the church officers to go into the stream of saving the 237 nations, the 5000 people groups, and raising up the 70 disciples in 70 regions.  

Now, I will give you a report of the remnant ministry that is taking place within the church. On Saturdays in our church, we have the Children’s Evangelism School, the Saturday Mission School, and the Young Adult Evangelism School. The Children’s Evangelism School has a history that dates back 10 years, in our church, very soon our church began. Assistant Pastor Lim said, “We must do this,” so we did.  Now, we have changed the name from “Children’s Evangelism School” to “Summit School.”  Because of the pandemic, we took a hiatus, however, Assistant Pastor Lim said very firmly, “We must start again,” so we did.

The messenger who rose up is Tiffany Han and Teacher Noorim Oh is now serving as the praise leader.  As this is progressing, a lot of the children who are gathering are Mongolian.  I think because of a lot of senior deaconesses and our teachers are taking care of the Mongolians throughout the week, this is carrying over into Saturday, and most of our students are Mongolian.  In order to save the Mongolian children, the Mongolian teachers must arise, and Teachers Nomin and Monica have agreed to that.  One week per month, we go to Remnant Day in person, and that’s the week the Mongolian teachers arise.  

Starting from last week, Teacher Stephanie began to join us as well to teach the students a musical.  Our conductor Anna said she would also join later on, so I said, “Thank you.”  So, through these little children, many teachers are able to go together, sharing their talents as the multiethnic teachers.  These fruits have been in progress.

Even now, if there’s any people who have any skill, we’re always open and we’d be very thankful if you would come on Saturday and teach these skills to the remnants.  What we’re always thinking about is this, the Word of God: “What is the Word of God that must be relayed to the children?”  In the world, there are many meetings and programs for little children, but what is it that God desires?  We are holding onto the prayer topic of the spiritual things, the Word of God being imprinted and rooted into these little children’s thoughts and hearts through this meeting.  

Through this Word of God, as the little children are imprinted, as they imagine the future, that becomes the future camp.  The prayer camp that really relays to them, what is the prayer that allows this Word to become rooted deeper into their hearts.  The talent camp that allows them to wait for and enjoy believing in the talent that God has given to each one of them to shine the light of the gospel into the world. I will be thankful if you would participate in prayer with us. 

Finally, from this week’s pulpit message, I received Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  I believe that confirming every day whether we truly have the good thing God desires the most deep in our hearts is important.  I believe the fruits will be given by God in God’s time schedule, and while we are doing this, undoubtedly, we will face reasons to be discouraged.  Without a doubt, there will be times we want to give up because we see nothing.  I believe that even if it seems like it’s late, and even if it seems like there’s nothing, it is not late and it is not nothing.  God has given us His Word that God will do this in God’s time and I believe that is the gospel.  

The final thing I want to say is, we have received a vision from God through Pastor Park for the remnants and the multiethnic missions, and God has guided us so we may come into this large church.  However, for a long time, we did not have any little children to fill it.  The senior deaconesses saw this and really held onto this prayer topic.  I saw that and I began to pray as well.  We have this large building but there are no children to carry on the movement, it’s too quiet with the adults and there are no loud children running around, and I don’t believe that is aligned with God’s vision.

In Isaiah 54, God says to widen your tents on all sides, to set your tents very wide so that all nations can come.  From that Word, I received the thought that, if there were many Korean children in the church now, I would focus on them, and I believe God was allowing that time of no children so we could really stretch our tent curtains wide to welcome in people of all nations.  

About 1-2 years after that, Deaconess Jini and Deacon Jay’s grandchildren came to our church.  Now, moreso than Korean children, there are many Mongolian and Hispanic children.  Now that I look back, I see that God really shares with us His Word, and God fulfills the Word God gives us. That is God, and that is why worship is truly everything, and believing in God’s Word is truly everything.  Though we seem weak, we are not because God does God’s work.  

I believe you will have victory in faith to not become discouraged or despair, but to hold onto this word in faith.  At this time, let us pray together for the remainder of the El Salvador mission camp on the way back and as well as the Karen mission camp that is to come.

Prayer

Our next prayer topic will be for the Sunday worship.  Just like the Word the Pastor’s wife gave us, God always gives us His word in advance and He fulfills that word, and all we must do is to have faith in that Word and hold onto it as we wait.  Let us also pray for the upcoming Youth Retreat, Young Adult Retreat, College Retreat, and the World Remnant Conference, because the pulpit message is the message God gives us through our church; however, through these trainings and retreats, God is giving His word to remnants all around the world, so let us first pray for the forces of darkness to be broken and for this gospel to go into the hearts of these remnants. Let us pray.

So let us pray for all the missions fields our church is serving, not only El Salvador and Karen, but there are so many in Niger, Ethiopia, and Mongolia and all the remnants who are out of state.  And we will pray for God to continue to open up more doors of evangelism in all of the mission fields just like the pastor’s wife said, God told us to open the curtain of the tents wide for all nations and that is being fulfilled through the Mongolians and the Hispanics. Let us pray so that God may continue to open doors.

We will sing one more hymn then we will close with the Lord’s prayer, then do the church prayers, and then we will go home.