Thank you
for the special song. This message title will be “The Shepherd Who Is My Path”.
Gal.4:1-5. Now I say
that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave,
though he is master of all,
But is under guardians and
stewards until the time appointed by the father,
Even so we, when we were
children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.
But when the fullness of the
time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
To redeem those who were under
the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And because you are sons, God
has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba,
Father!
So, I say again that the heir, as
long as he is a child does not differ at all from a slave though he is a master
of all. You cannot know who is a child and who is a slave. Whether the child of
a slave or the child of the master they are the same. They all were under the
guardian as steward. Rather they
regard the son of the owners, guarded under their stewards. Even so we when we were children when in
bondage by the elements of the world, but when the fullness of the time had
come, God sent forth His son born of a woman, born under the law to redeem
those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons so that
we can walk above the law.
So, who sent the Son? It was God
who sent the Son. So, because you are sons, you will receive the Spirit of the
Son and you will call him “Father” “Abba Father” until this eternal life
could be given to you I would like to
tell you the process, the kind of process of eternal life that can be given to
you. For People think that eternal life takes seven years to prepare, but our
Father prepared from the beginning of time and when the time had come, He is
the gentile son who was born from a gentile woman. For me, I was born in
the family of servants.
You know Jesus was born from the
root of David. He was born from a very sure family. But for me I was born from
a gentile family, the family of slaves. And so, as I was growing up, you cannot
tell if I was son of a slave. You know Jesus when He was twelve years old
already He was filled with the Holy Spirit. But it was only when I became
seven-teen that I tried to go to church and the church that lives most
according to the Bible is the SDA church and they live according to the truth
they say. So that’s the church that I went through when I was seven-teen when I
went to the Church for the first time when I was seventeen and until I was
twenty six until I came out to the army.
I was cast out of my house four times because of my belief in God. And after I
was cast out, then I got married. And for me, I only had trials and
tribulations endlessly.
Since I first met Jesus, then
for seven years got married, I live in the countryside, and it was the time of
reproof and chastisement for me. Even all the spirit that was flown unto me
stopped completely. And like Samson who got his hair cut and lost all the
powers, I lost all the voice of the Holy Spirit; I lost everything and I did
not have any inspiration at all. But day and night the Holy Spirit was poured
upon me. All the good truths of heaven and earth were poured upon me every
night every day for seven years, and I received those training for three to
five hours, everyday. And this ‘Eternal Life’ message was the message that I
received that time and it took me so long to prepare this message. I who was
born from a gentile, a servant family and when the time had come, when I was
seventeen years old starting from then, I learn to believe in Jesus.
After I got married, I went to the
countryside in the Haddong Mountain. For seven years I was completely cut off
from God. Daniel 25- For seven years there was a famine and just like that
Nebuchadnezzar King who lives like an animal for seven years, that’s how was
like for me. Because I was not prepared, unready if I was given the power of
heaven, then I would become proud, so God gave me these seven years so I’ve
gone in tribulation. As soon as Nebuchadnezzar said that it was his glory, he
wandered like a beast for seven years and after those seven years he realized
that it was not he who did anything but it was the God of heaven who gave him
all the power and spirit and all the glory God gave to him. And so when he had
that humble heart again he received greater glory later
That promise came to me also, and
in the book of Psalms as well. He sent a man before them Joseph who was sold as
a slave, they held his feet with fetters; he was laid in iron until the time
that His word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released him. The ruler of
the people let him go free. He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his
positions to bind his princess at his pleasure and teaches of his wisdom. So he
sent how many? He sent a man, one man before them, and who was that slave?
Joseph, who, was sold as a slave. Joseph according to God’s providence, seem
that his brother hated him and so sold him, but it was not, it was God’s
providence because the whole country will die because they have no money, so
Joseph was sent beforehand to prepare for the famine that would come so that
God’s people could be saved, so God is preparing him for that and his feet were
fetters and was laid in irons so his whole body.
So, this is talking about the final Joseph who
will come and he will be in fetters also. This is a prophecy about that. The
first Joseph, he was really in fetters, his feet were in fetters but in the
last final Joseph his heart, his soul will be in fetters. God’s word, if God’s
Spirit is taken away, then those people who have God, their souls are empty. So,
until the time that His word came to pass, until when? Until the word came to
pass. And the word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released him. This
is not the world’s king but the King of Heaven, the heavenly king, the God of
heaven released him. The ruler of the people let him go free.
The ruler is the God of heaven. And He took away His inspiration and Spirit
and bounded him but after he was all prepared. God gave him greater glory; he
was released and freed and so he made him lord of his house and ruler of all his
positions to bind all the princess of his pleasure and teaches all his wisdom.
Has that word been fulfilled?
So verse 15. He permitted no one to
do them wrong, yes He rebuked; chaste for their sake saying… do not touch my
anointed ones and do to my prophets no harm. Even Joseph was sold as a slave,
no one could touch him, and no one could touch his life. In the same way in the
last days, this eternal life message will be spread throughout the world and
when this world became empty without the word of God they were starving with
the word of God and at that time, the son of God was prepared beforehand making
him in fetters in prison so that he could be prepared and be made ready for the
final work. So in the last days, to save all the children of this world he was
sent and prepared in this way and that time of preparation since he was young
he went through many tribulations,
sicknesses and all kinds of hardships and persecutions, and in different
situations he was made to marry and there he was prepared as God’s vessel. It
took a long time for that preparation and at that time so, God made him. He
made me tastes all the paths that all humans must take.
Since I was young, I never had
experienced lacking money or being poor or in poverty. I never experienced that
when I was young. But I also went through sicknesses, and I went in different
authority, in different position and situation. And there I made a lot of money
in the city, but Daddy took all the money away and He made me poor. Daddy gives
and takes away. He makes me rich; He
makes me poor and I experienced that personally that God is the one, He is the
One who has the keys of everything and rules everything. I learned that and had
experienced personally. In great poverty still my Father fed me and clothed me,
so I experienced that also.
At that time I wrote and read you my
diary. It‘s rather embarrassing but I don’t know if I should read it or not.
Maybe it’s better not to read this diary. In the future you may go through this
kind of poverty and there are people who will go through in the future too. You
know that physical food is not a great strength, rather this God who is our
great strength and that we can be prepared as Gods vessels when we endure
through all the trials, He permits and maybe it will encourage you, so, I will
read to you just a little bit of my Diary.
That was a Poem book or a diary that I
burned before. It seems that you know everything about my past, so
there’s something only I and my Daddy must know so I burned everything except
for a few things that I kept that I did not burn and I will read that to you.
You know, I was the son of a
rich family and I had to sell junk on the streets, sell things on the streets
and at that time I was a young man. But then when I got married, this was
something happened after I got married 1972, October 15.
Sunday, October 15, 1972. Today
I went to the construction work where the big road had collapsed. This is the
first time I ever did, this construction work. Before going there, having never
had any experience doing such construction work. I was filled with fear as I
went with my back handled it. But upon actual trying it was not so difficult,
perhaps because I only ate boiled barley but while carrying sandbag, the
strength on my legs seems to falter as I fear my legs would gave out and brake.
But upon finishing work for the day having earned six hundred won – seventy
five cents I felt accelerated. At that time, daily wages was six hundred won.
Monday, October 16, 1972 Clear.
Today we did the work of mixing concrete and so I have to carry gravel for
countless number of times back and forth. Since I was so far away home for
lunch, my wife brought it and I went up to the mountain to eat having a homely
husband who cannot even make for livelihood and has become a worker for wages.
And yet my wife gave the greatest meticulous attention bringing me lunch as if
I were a great money making husband. Among those many construction workers, I
was the only one whose wife brings lunch everyday in a regular basis. Though I
asked her to just pack my lunch in the morning she was resolute. I must buy
lunch for my beloved wife for fifty one six cents a meal. When I received my
wages I will have to calculate her share. This is fun.
Wednesday, October 18, 1972.
Clear. Today is my fourth day on the job. Though I’ve worked so laboriously for
several days now, no sleep comes to me at night. For what reason sleep does not
come? I do not know but last night for the sake of today I took some sleeping
peals but still there’s no sleep. I worked so hard all the day but I could not
sleep at night so even I ate sleeping peals. I ate sleeping peals for the first
time in my life but still I could not sleep.
Tuesday, October 24, 1972. Today
is the day I received my four days wages from the fifteenth to the eighteenth
of two thousand, four hundred won -two dollars. For my wife who works so hard
to bring me lunch, everyday, I gave her fifty one per meal so twenty won-
twenty four cent in all. She was so happy and looking at my wife in childlike
happiness I felt an ache in my heart. If I will have no other need for this
money I would like to give it all to her. I felt ache in my heart for being so
poor unable to give my wife spending more often. I determined to work even
harder just to see my wife happy. Perhaps it was because of having Daddy
yesterday, but I was unable to focus on my work today being outbalanced all
day.
Wednesday, October 25, 1972.
Clear. While working today, I step on a piece of glass mixed in the dirt and
accidentally cut my feet quite deeply. More blood has spilled, and my wife who
came to bring me lunch seems surprised. After lunch, because of the wounds at
my foot I could no longer work and returned home determined to live without the
help of my unbelieving brothers. Our way of life seems parts. For breakfast
usually a sweet potatoes and boiled barley, lunch usually bread and for dinner
fills our stomach with noodles and dangle to sleep.
Sunday, April 17, 1977, Rain.
Sang chon, this is five years later. I lived like that for five years, this
kind of life of poverty. Waiting… waiting…waiting….poverty, destitution,
poverty, destitution. This waiting with an endless poverty... Past days in a
rare mountain of Kwang-Guido Kwang-gyogon upon seeing a vision I had cried out,
“Send me out as a reformer, Send me out as reformer as Elijah that this people
may live aright, please send me”. Since my crying then until today it has been exactly ten years of waiting of the amazing false story of ten
years of waiting, anguish tearful time of ten years, I still do not know for
how much longer I must go on this road,
this remote far rough road. So at that
time at night my Father had promised to send me but He would not send me out
and He continue to make me live in this poverty and destitution and waiting and
He took away all my inspiration, so even at night the whole family at night
when everybody was sleeping, I would shed tears as I walked at night for
several kilometers unable to sleep, unable to relieved my grudge. Because this
waiting is so miserable, tormenting and with tears, I had spend times wandering
at nights. One time, I was shaving off my hair I cried out in tears filled with
sadness and sorrow to my Daddy.
I will continue reading. Sang chon and Sonmi said they are going on
the picnic that day after tomorrow night, so, I don’t have any coin in my pocket. I received a letter from Chang-
gyun and was touched, that his wife is a major patient at Jesus Hospital on
Choonju. Choonju, the first hospital that I must have to go five months, but as
of now I don’t have even a fare to visit him. Leave alone a friend that needs a
financial aid. Not only that, a next door neighbor brought one thousand won
worth of sweet potato seeds but usually I don’t have money to pay them, I cut
my hair and cried. At the time, last time and under this circumstances upon
hearing Sang Chun and Sonmi are going the day after tomorrow, if I’m not able
to give them and I send money. How much of the moral of these impotent ones
falling at the sight of other children unable to lift up their heads. As a
father I cannot endure that thought. And so piling about 8 kilograms of grain
seeds I must carry to a six kilometer long distance sweating, wiping because of
the endless rain to the Hansel town where teacher Jang -Byong –Wol lived.
Perhaps teacher Jang can give me money for the grain seeds I could use it to
give the young ones something for their picnic, thus comforting my wife as
well. And so Suk Kim’s wife upon arriving there he said no money and I should
come for the few days later. Disappointed I went to the church treasurer
teacher Jang asking him for the three thousand won which was only for the cost
of books a couple days ago. I thought I should be able to cope up for a mean
while. Anyway, I’ve been too much trouble a few days ago. The town should have
their monthly meeting and gave notice that if there’s no money for roofing they
will be fall down. How can I imagine buying those expensive towers or should a
special command actually fall from heaven right now for me to go out. It so old
house but the town is saying we don’t change that roofing of the house, then
the tower house down or should a special command actually fall from heaven
right now for me to go out, I don’t think I will be able to believe it all just
seems so far away in my mind.
Upon waiting and waiting I’m exhausted these days
working hard for the Lord for souls mixed up with poverty and destitution. My
heart feels as though about to shiver dropped down right to the very bottom. Oh
I long for a resting place for my exhausted body and soul, the resting place I
yearn for seeking at day and night is the grave were nothing am known where I
can lie resting in peace. Oh how I long for a peaceful refuge in the grave. For
ten long years I had cried out to send me out as Elijah in the mountains I had
cried out and wept for Daddy’s answer while all the World are rushing to death
rushing to the path of death when Daddy showed me that vision. From then ten
years I had passed in tears and praying the answer fall from heaven, and I
received all this vision and left me even though Daddy had promised it to send
me out as Elijah. But those ten agonizing years I loved.
January 24, 1978, From January
24-30. I finished the seventy days fasting prayer today so I fasted that time.
February 10, 1978. Friday Rainy
day. These days what disasters my heart and torments me most terribly is that
my father is now on his sickbed at home in? He is leaving life looking more
dimly day to day but because I do not have fare I’m unable to go visit him not
even once a year on New Year’s Day. Am I not the most disloyal son even a pious
people will not do something like this. On top of that if I go out to our
barley field about the houses is green growing vigorously without
fertilization. This is when I was living in, province while our field was
yellow with malnutrition, dying because we are unable to buy fertilization.
Back at home, I see the barley is dying, but I cannot save them. But back at
home at household are in good condition. The Kim chi in the kitchen run out a
long time ago and food probation are scanty. Tomorrow is the registration day
for the young ones but I don’t have money to give them not even for a pencil.
That day before yesterday my nephew came by and I brought five hundred won from the church book fund and gave it to
him for fare and though this what
has become my state to the family and on
the pulpit I still insist with a loud that religious faith is the most
important. I preached that if you believe in God you will become the head and
not a tale; that you receive all blessings and whatever if you ask for God, God
will give it and so I went as if my wife thus not see her husband as perhaps
can he’s mentally lose but she does not say anything her head must learns from
what. I was so upset, I prayed like this: “Oh Lord why are you miserly
answering my prayer? Why did you keep putting it off from day to day, will you
seek to answer my prayer after I leave this world and become dirt? Will you
seek to send me out? Will you see answer my prayer after I become dirt? Will
you seek to send me out with my mission after my youth is all passed? When I’m too old to experienced, is that your
pleasure? Will you answer after your holy name had been completely disgraced,
cursed and trampled on the ground? Will
you answer after the Lord’s people are mocked and cheered with contempt and
then all killed? Will you call me after the probation period pass this era.
Please answer me, please answer me. Today I’m calling of for the last time so please
after calling to you Lord. I had lived only according to your commands I have
done according to your promised so please answer today or please don’t make me
a liar. Send another messenger and from tonight may somebody takes my place and
may I just live quietly for my own family and my life like that just let me go.
Oh Lord please answer this final prayer, please give the answer to this final
prayer. Today all the prayers of heaven and earth, all those special power and
authority and strength you gave me. Please let me go out to do your work. You
are the creator God so I know that you can answer over flowingly ten thousand
fold or I beg you to let me just end my life quietly and let go the hand that
you are holding me I pray in Jesus name.
At that time, I was just a lonely warrior so
I wrote something like this. A warrior without his clothes has lost his path,
what a pitiful warrior he is. How did this soldier become so pitiful? Who will
take care of him? Who will even take him into? Only the Holy Spirit can. Though
His body is aching and urgent, a warrior's road has no end. The path is so
slow. Without the changed of the season during the long repeated years of
winter the mountain and lake of the distance south are unfamiliar, lonely,
mournful, hungry and cold the tiny young bird with the wings frozen heart his
heart fierce with longing for the day when his wish will come true he waits and
waits in distressed the solemn years of this young nameless little bird seeing
his immovable legs and frozen wings swayed like that slay this nameless little
birds gives a sigh.
But our Real Father the God of
heaven with your warm breathe, with your tender breathe melt the frozen legs
and wings of this tiny young bird with wings melted by your breathe with his
soft feathered light wings let him fly the vast and blue, high and lofty as
your heavens. As high and wide as
Your heart’s desire and as far and
vigorously and endlessly and eternally as he wishes let him fly and fly to his
hearts contents. Through your warm breathe your loving breathe with his soft
little wings melted, let him fly soaring through the heavens, Small bird
Myung-ho waiting this time at the mountains of Kyung Sang Province.
And so on
this agonizing time of waiting, it was to give you this eternal life. It was not our Father’s true heart and
it was not that our family is originally poor but it was for all of you to give
you this eternal life that my Father planned this kind of providence for me and
so through that, I tasted all the sorrows, all the loneliness of humans. I
endured all the poverty, all the love of humans. I tasted the wretchedness, the
wealth of humans and the disease of humans, I tasted the breaking of bones of
humans and for all of you for your sake, I even walked on the path of
imprisonment and so in all the path, that you must walk on this road in order
to go to heaven. There’s not one path that I’ve never gone before, I have gone
on them all. Talking about when I went to prison, being imprisoned, it is
something that you must endure.
There are people who will go through this
experience in the future and so I want you to have courage knowing that I also
went to prison in order to give you this kind of encouragement and strength. My
Father has permitted this path for me so that I can walk on this path before
you to give you courage. However, there’s no reason for me to go to prison.
Since I was young I never have any kind of criminal record and in order to
visit my brother I had a motorcycle accident and I bump to somebody but that
person do not bleed, that persons bone was not even broken, there was no scars
at all but there’s nothing wrong with that person, not even the slightest
scratch. And there was a doctor who said that if there could be no scratch even
in the bones, because if there is a scratch or the bone is fractured then it is
so painful but that person has not pain at all but we brought up into his house
and took good care of that person; gave that person everything she wanted and
there’s nothing wrong with her. But because it was my Father’s providence I
ended going to prison. When was that? And in order to put me into prison the
enemies outside spent thousands and thousands of dollars in order to make this
problem, but it was to fulfill my Father’s will that this was all permitted. So,
I’m really thankful for those people and the judge who put me into prison. I
was very thankful to that judge even while I was in prison. why? Because when I
was in such darkness I could be in the same place with those prisoners and to
eat with them. To be with them was I was so happy and so it was such a good
experience. Do you see why I was so happy? But I was really so happy. It was?
Eating and sleeping with all of you, the fact that I could be eating and
sleeping with those prisoners to live with them together made me so happy. It
was one of the happiest moments of my life, when was that? It was after the 64th
seminar. So, if I ended the seminar today I went tomorrow morning I do not even
rest but after the seminar the next day I had to go to prison. You know, I only
heard about prison. I never knew in this whole universe if there is another
hell, there can be no other hell than that prison. If there is a hell that those
Presbyterian talk about, there’s no greater hell than a prison. I was so
shocked.
Long ago, I met a person who was X-
convict and when I saw them I just felt sorry for them. I never knew that they
lived in such a terrible place before coming out. And those people who are X-
convicts I do not know their hearts; I could not understand how I can help them
but once I was in prison, I was able to understand their deep heart and know
what they went through and I was able to comfort them and lead them on the
right way. It was the key that Daddy permitted. That time I went to the court
and I was going right into the prison immediately. The elders after ten days
they say, oh you just go there visit for a while. There was no reason for me to
go to prison and so they didn’t imagine that I would be sent to the prison,
that everything was already resolved with that person, already seven months ago
was all resolved. That person also said she was okay and so it was all finished
and forgotten. But they made a case out of nothing spending lots of money, these
enemies do that.
The Jews tried to make something to kill Jesus that even when
they did that, they were just working and living and moving under the
providence of God, and so when I went to prison I was so really thankful. When
I went to the court, you cannot even believe your eyes the things that you see.
An elderly man, he has a white hair but this twenty year old inmate while like
his own children this young men beat him, they stepped on this elderly man. They
did that to him. You know in this world, there are brethren here who went to
prison, so they know. There are some people who went there and they understand
what I am saying. I never imagine such prison like that in this world. They
trampled and stepped on that elderly man and when they beat that person they
beat with their fist, and they kicked them on the chest and you can hear that
sound. And even though there are such elderly people when you go to prison there’s
order. What are their laws and rules is that if there’s someone imprisoned
longer than you, then you have to treat that person like your ancestor like an
honorable man. So, that’s why you have to treat them well because they were imprison longer than you
do, so even if you are old and that person is young, you have to treat that
person so reverently and respectfully. That’s the rule in prison. If they beat
you, then you have to be beaten, you can’t say anything or do anything about
that, so I cannot believe in my eyes. I could not believe there’s such a place
like this in this world and that the elderly man was being beaten by this young
man and they were calling him by his name and this elderly man will say “Yes
sir!” Sing a song. I want to be happy so sing me a song. Then that elderly man
has to sing a song for that person who is like his own child and do whatever he
says. Just because he went there late, he has to wash the socks of that person
who is like his own child and just to clean everything for that person.
Those are the rules in prison. You have to
sweep everything with your hands because there are no brooms in the jail, in
the prison that’s cleaning and once a week they will clean with their own hands.
They would clean and these guards they don’t hate you. It’s not the guards who
will hate you, it’s the prisoners who will hate each other and they get broken
bones. It was a cold winter, at that time it was very cold when I went to
prison and it was like below zero and you have to sleep on the floor without
any warm heating and only one thin blanket per person and there’s so much dust
on the blanket. The blanket was so dirty and there’s no sunlight in the prison
of course in such a place. Like that in
the cold winter elderly man who over fifty’s , sixty if he goes to that prison
the first thing he has to do is they take off the clothes and make
him shower with cold water and there’s a place where you can take a shower in
the prison and even in the cold winter below zero, but imagine having to take a
cold shower and so that person would cough so much because it seems he
have some kind of a lung- disease
because he became so cold. And there are some people who even get some kind of
lung- disease because they suffer so much in prison. So, it was really as if
they are accursed human beings. You know, they should try to feel sorry for
each other, help each other but rather they try to kill each other in prison. And
so if he got in trouble then you think he’ll be better to that person but no,
he will be worst to that person below him. It was such a terrible and rough
place. There are some people who live in prison, they don’t even listen to you,
and they are so terrible. That’s a kind of place a prison is, and so once you
enter the prison, it’s like that.
You might happen to enter that place in
the future, that’s why in order to encourage you, I’m giving you this message.
So when I go to prison at that time the elders said you just go there for a
while but I knew that I will enter the prison that time. So I told my wife to
prepare the under clothing, warm under clothing. And immediately I went there,
the judge told me, and I was sent to prison and all the brethren were shocked. They
didn’t imagine that such a thing would happen. This is not something that you
will go to prison for, you know maybe you have to pay a fine. But there’s no
reason for me to be sent in prison. There’s absolutely no reason. But at that
time my heart was such at peace. I had such peace in my heart, and I entered
into prison as I was going on to my own room. And as soon as I entered there,
the soldiers would take off your clothes and they take all your money; they
take out everything in your pocket and then they give you prisoner’s clothes;
and you can’t even wear eye- glasses or watch because you might kill yourself
and use it as a weapon. So, they never let you wear eye-glasses or watch or
anything and after they check you and completely made you naked, they sent you
into prison. And so after they checked everything, they just let me wear my
clothes.
You know when you go to prison, they take off your shoes and you
have to go barefoot, and I went barefoot and the concrete floor was very cold
and there was dirt on my feet. So, as soon as you enter the prison room, the
prisoners would tell you to clean the floor, wipe your feet on the rug and then
they would say, put the rug in your mouth then after you wiped your foot with
the rug you have to put the rug in your mouth, and they said, take off your
clothes, take up a shower then even it is cold then you have to take a shower. That’s
how they treat other people and then they start beating you as soon as you
shower they call it initiation so they bit you, they say why did you come?
What’s your situation, do you have a wife? Do you have children? Why did you
come in prison and you have to answer everything and if you don’t answer
properly they have to beat you for not answering properly, they beat you so
much; they beat you in the chest. I saw that happening and if you just make
smallest mistake they beat you and they don’t make any excuse to beg you. So,
some people have broken ribs and they screamed out in pain, and there are some
people who even commit suicide even though the guards are watching all the
time. There are so many people who commit suicide because they cannot endure the
agony.
But anyway, during at that time it was a
64th seminar, after I finished the sixty fourth seminar I was
already exhausted after speaking for ten days, ten hours a day. So, imagine if
anybody just even hit me once. I would die because I was so exhausted already. My
body was already exhausted even if I rest, my body is aching. But with that
kind of body without having rest at all after the 10 days seminar then yesterday
I entered the prison and today it was like that. But as soon as I went in, I
went in with hands and at that time the prisoners were eating instant noodles
as their snack. And when I went there nobody told me wiped my feet, nobody told
me to put a rug in my mouth as soon as I set they said, come and eat and they
gave me their noodles. This is something that could never happen in prison. They
never did to anybody with such respect like that you know, but they gave me
noodles and said, eat that, and I said, No. no, it’s okay you eat that. They
never say, please eat it, they just say, hey! You eat this and eat that! Do
this and do that!
They talked so terribly. Even before the
prisoner even before the guard if they told you to kneel then you have to kneel
as soon as gates open but they told me to eat and they were treating me so
respectfully and so I said, no, okay you eat that. You know of course I cannot
eat that instant noodles so I said no it’s okay you eat that and after they ate
they asked me, how did you come in? They were as respectful as they asked me so
I said; I came because of a car accident problem. And they say, what’s your
job? And so I said, I don’t have a real job. I said, I’m just a person who
teaches, preaches, about God’s love. They asked me, what’s your education? I
said, no. I graduated from Junior High
school. They asked me, oh! You are a pastor? I said no. I’m not a pastor. Then,
you are an elder? No, I said. Not an elder not a deacon. Then what shall we
call you? I said people call me teacher. So they said, “Teacher” Then can you
teach us that kind of lecture about God’s love. You know they never call me
“hey you” they never told me to put a rug in my mouth, they never made me took
a cold shower, they never made me to walk in the dirt they treated me with such
respect and you know the judge he said, that my face looks so scary but does my
face look scary? Those prisoners surrounding me, they were not
like wicked being, they were like my lambs who were surrounding me, they were
my flocks of lambs. they asked starting from tomorrow please give us a lecture
also about God’s love and so I said if you want then I will do for you I will
give you lectures about God’s love.
And then, when you go there for the first
time and you are the first person to enter, then you have to sleep in front of the
smelly bathroom and that person don’t even get blanket, they just have to sleep
on the floor with one thin blanket and they cannot sleep because it’s so cold and so smelly and so people who come in new to
the prison they have to sleep by the
bathroom, and in order to graduate from that bathroom side you have to live at
least two months until you can sleep at the middle of the room and so at that
time when I went in, there are people who were deceivers, there were adulterers , there were all kinds of people
in that prison, all kinds of thieves but when I went there the person who is
in-charge of the room he said, Teacher Park, Teacher Park called me, please
sleep here with me and you know for the room of prisoner leader they give him a
special blanket and everybody else gets a thin blankets. Even if they beat me,
I cannot do anything about it and I don’t know who would beat me anytime and so
they had to sit still and wait to be beaten but for me, they were so
respectful. They even beat those people who have white hair and they kicked
them and if you say why you are hitting me, then, they would even kill you. You
have to be beaten and continue working without saying a word. There’s no adult
there and there’s no order there. That’s kind of place prison is. Really it’s a
curst place.
There’s no respect for elderly, there’s is
nothing like that in prison, but the room leader said sleep beside me and he
let me sleep in the nice place and we talked about this and that but something
surprising happened before that. When I entered in that prison, there was one
person who was a very famous for being a deceiver and a gambler, and he came
into prison for cheating. But that person was beating people who come in. But
as soon as I entered, he said to me, I’m telling you something, “God so love
the world that to our prison He sent His only begotten son”. He said that and I
was so shocked. I thought in my ears after I heard who would say that? It was
Daddy who is speaking using the mouth of that person. You know, the only
begotten was Jesus two thousand years ago but this person he said that God love
this world so much that He sent His only begotten son to our prison until now I
cannot forget those words that prisoner doesn’t know why He said that and while
I was there, later they asked me to teach the Lord’s prayer. In that prison
there’s a team or room leader and the room vice leader. And there’s one person
who always hits with the other people according to the commands of the leader
in the room so at that time there was only one floor and there were fifteen people per prison and
so that person called me and said don’t
set here, you have to set there because
this place is where the new people set; just
say where you came from so just repeat after me. So I said okay. And
then the room leader said, just leave him alone. And then he said, then just
tell me your name, you don’t have to say anything else. So I just sat there,
and I said my name is Park Kwang-Gyu. And then they said, Oh don’t bow just say
your name, don’t bow just say your name, in other thing they said they need not
the bow from God’s son.
That
time was Friday, the Sabbath preparation day and from that night on for me it’s
Sabbath so how can I keep Sabbath if anybody is going crazy? But from Friday
night on Saturday I gather the prisoners and start preaching to them. Because I
was a prisoner they will listen to me so
well because I was one with them because I’m not different from them.
I’m same as them so they listen me so well because we are the same position. It
seemed their eyes were round as they listen to me and the leader of the room
called me” Teacher, Teacher” and treated me so respectfully, so of course everybody below him treated me
respectfully also. And I was preaching
and they were accepting, while I said so
well and they were saying, amen, amen, and after preaching they will say oh
please pray. So then I would pray and they were saying amen.
When they go out
to receive the sentence they said, please pray for me that I would receive a
good sentence, and then if I pray for them then they would be freed. The room
leader, I don’t know he was an X-convict but he hates people who believe in
Jesus because he was an Atheist. But he asked me to pray for him, so I pray for
him and he was freed. And when he came, he said to me, “Because you pray for me
I am freed”. He bowed to me so respectfully. Also at that time there was one
person who was mumbling by himself and I said what do you believe in? and he
said he believes in Buddhist. He is believing in the Buddhist faith and he was
chanting himself, so I said, don’t do that. Just pray like this and so I taught
him how to pray. And then the next day he was praying and I said, what did you
say? And he said, I pray just how you taught me to pray. He was praying just as
I taught him to pray and this person he had received the five years sentence. If
he received the final sentence then he has to live for over ten years in prison.
When we were talking together his story was so sad and he was shedding tears. He
was a taxi driver and what happen, he said that he had this woman ride in his
taxi. You know in the prison there were people who were judge unfairly, treated
unfairly so that’s why the lawyers in this world are all stupid, foolish and
terrible. And this person was saying that this drunk women got into his taxi
and after he took her to the destination, she said she has no money to pay for the taxi fare. And so he
demanded, but she wouldn’t. So, he told her to get out and she went out, and
she was frost to death. But then he was charge for murder because she died
frozen to death, and so that’s why he was sent to prison that’s not even his
fault. So I said, don’t worry, God is alive. I told him don’t worry just
believe what I say, “God is alive”
No matter what, he would still live
at least two years in prison. You know this prisoners, they already know how
many years they will live in prison. They know everything about the law; they
know how many years they will live in prison, they already know how the judge
will sentence them. All the judges are there in prison they know everything
already and they know everything about
what’s happening outside the world because those prisoners always come
back in and out of the prison, so they know everything; they know everything
about the law. So I said,” don’t worry, God is alive just believe me, trust me”.
Then, he went out to prison and he was shedding tears and I said don’t worry,
just believe in God and he shed, he wiped his tears and he was freed. He said
because you prayed for me, everybody I prayed for that would be freed. So,
that’s why they are calling me “Teacher Park, Teacher Park “and they followed
me around and since I went there, since the first day I went there, they let me
sleep in the nicest place, the warmest place and they would always fold my
blanket for me. They said, because his shoulder is aching so they will always
fold my blanket for me. So I never fold on my blanket, they always did
everything for me.
They treated me like a king in there, so, that’s why if you
are acknowledge as king in heaven then you are acknowledge in the world as
king. If you are discarded by heaven then you are discarded from this earth.
Not once. They always call me “Teacher” from the beginning they treated me with
such respect and they will always thank me as they were freed, and asked me to
pray for them and those person who always passes the food. And even though
women came, you know they all call me Teacher. My wife would bring food so then
she would bring it to me so the prisoners will all come and look to see.
Everybody heard, there were rumors about me already so they wanted to see who I
was, they wanted to meet me. Then the guard of the prison will come to meet me
and see who I was and they said, “Oh cell number five there’s only good people
living there and our cell was number five”. Before, they try to hit somebody,
but when I came they never hit somebody anymore. The room leader never hits
anybody, there’s nobody who tells the room leader to come or go but I’m the
only one, so I said, why do you hit that person? That person is like your own
son, your own child. Don’t you feel sorry for that person, they said, oh, we
have to bit that person because he is very disrespectful. I said stop beating
that person. So, since I went that prison, they never hit anybody, they did not
hit others and they said, you know our cell number five, our cell number is a
church not a jail room. There’s a church in here, they call cell number five a
church.
And I received such a special
treatment. When you go to prison no matter who goes in there you cannot wear
eye-glasses in there even though who you,
even if you are blind you can never wear eye-glasses in prison, but for
me I wear eye-glasses in prison and nobody. No matter how high position you are
or elder you are, you have to wear bonds, but they don’t put bonds on me but I
walk throughout freely into that prison so they said, you know that person is a
gentle man, he is not a prisoner he is a gentle man and they call me that in
prison a gentleman. And so I have such a happy time teaching those prisoners.
And another miracle happened you know how I get so cold even in the summer I
had to wear two pairs of socks even three pairs of socks in the summer because
I got so cold sometimes. I even wear
five or ten socks when I get so cold. I’m a person whose feet is always so cold
but in that very cold winter in that prison, it was February, so it was still
very cold at that time I step on that prison floor and I always have to put my
foot in a warm water even in the summer, but no matter how warm socks I wear I
feel so cold and sigh always. And seems as ice-cold water coming out of my feet
that’s how cold my feet are all the time. And so I’m always suffering because I felt my feet are always so cold and then I can’t even digest
my food. So, in the winter time I cannot digest food very well but a miracle
happened that even that was such a cold place and I only ate the cold barley
rice, I was able to digest the food so well, and it was a miracle. Even though
I wore warm clothes I am always so cold because it just a cell room and outside.
So it’s very cold; there was no warmth there in the cold flue even if I sleep
there I always wake up once in a while at night because it was so cold. But
there was nothing wrong with me, Daddy really took care of me so well. And so I
became like that not once did I pray to Daddy, please let me quickly get out of
the prison I never prayed like that, not once. If I was not doing my Father’s
work then I wouldn’t mine ending my life in prison that’s why I just want to
live in that prison forever, those lambs that I learned to love so much and I
did not want to separate with them and when they left; when they would go out
to prison they would say, Oh I’m going to come and meet you for sure and they greet me like that before they left.
After I left when I went to visit the prison
at that time when I went, the Eternal Life book I gave fifty books per prison
room and gave it to the guards and they all read those books. Last time I went
there, they all say, Oh teacher Park is here, they welcome and bring all the
books and how beautiful they looked on my eyes. Prison is truly still the best
place to save souls. Just because you are doing worldly work, business and
there are people who are busy doing bad things and stealing from others, living
and eating. But in prison there’s nothing to do and you are the same prisoner
and so they listen to me well because I am the same prisoner like them. And no
matter if they’re ten time convicts they all came and listen to me so well and
obeyed me. One time a young man came and I said, why did you come? And he was a
seven timer convict, he got stealing and I said why did you keep coming here,
aren’t you married? He said he’s over thirty years old, but because he goes to
prison in and out so he didn’t have a chance to get married and I felt so sorry
for him. He was so busy going in and out to prison that he didn’t get a chance
to get married. So I gather all the prisoners and preach, why? Why did you
always come visiting this place that is like a hell, why did you come back in
here? I know the reason why you come back in here. When you go out into society
you cannot survive there and you keep on coming here because you are thinking,
I will make a smarter way to save those judges, those guards, I will charge to
make more money but that’s a foolish thought. You must not think like that. If
you come into prison you must get rid of your heart of revenge thinking, oh
next time I go out I will get revenge on that person who reported against me. I
will use my head to be smarter than those judges and those investigators and
those policemen. Don’t think such foolish things. There’s no one who can help
you I said we, (because I’m the same as them) there’s no one who will help us
here.
Among all these who formerly
leaving here in this country is there anyone who will help you? If you run away
after sinning something then all come up to you, and there’s no one on your
side. Why do we have to fight amongst each other? Let’s throw away our
foolishness and you must love the world first. If you love the world the world
will love you back. If you hate the world and you try to defy the world then
the world will defy and hate you. And so I taught them, how do you must live.
And then nodding and agreed what I said; I taught them how they cannot come
back in and they all agreed and if they believe and did what I said then I’m
sure there’s not one person who comes
back to prison; and I said, why did you bit each other? You know in this world
there’s no one where we can rely or trust. There’s no one where they can trust
us; whom we can trust. In prison we are the ones who can trust each other, so
we should love each other more and so if we become prisoners, then I say,
beloved brethren I hope that you will return happily and die safely and happily
with a peaceful heart. Your wife and your children, I will take care of them.
If we love each other like that, how wonderful that would be that you are in
the world. While we are in prison this love that we have for each, to help each
other, to support each other, to care for each other.
There’s a neighborhood were only ex-convicts
lived. Because they cannot survive in society they leave their own community
and they live there. And there’s a prisoner like that and I said, why did you
kill each other and try to hate each other, and beat each other? How foolish it is that there’s no one in our
side. I said you must love each other. Later the head guard of the prison said
to me, can you give a lecture to all the prisoners? I said, if there’s an
opportunity I will give a lecture to all the prisoners. Before the next seminar
date, I came out after twenty one days. To come out after twenty one days is a
miracle they said that no one, once you go in, you have to stay at least one
month or two months. There’s no one coming out before then, only when the final
decision is made, and they always make a decision after at least one or two
months. No one can come out before that. The laws in this world are really,
really terrible. The laws of this world are all wrong. The law is only filled
with people, it’s not a law of justice but it’s a law of bribery. Only those
who have can get away with things. And
so while I was there, not once did I pray, Daddy please let me out of here
quickly rather those lambs those prisoners I learned to love so much and I
wanted to just live and die with them together. I learned to love them so much
because they were so innocent and they were so obedient and they were so
beautiful in my eyes. I did not know they were such beautiful people and those people
who gave bribes who have money, they don’t go there. Only those who are pitiful
people, only those people who have no choice and who are attacked by those who’re
rich, they are the only ones who are imprisoned. The rich and those who have
are not in prison. So when I was there I pray just for one thing “Dear Father,
my brethren for sure they will come to prison in the future like me and when my
brethren come into prison just as you treated me so gloriously please let them
be treated gloriously and respectfully also. That was my only prayer until I
came out. That’s my only prayer but if possible please don’t make sure none of
my brethren ever come into prison. To be beaten and had to take cold showers.
There was a person who was fifty
two years old and he came because he does something wrong. He was rather smart
man but he did something wrong and he had to come to prison. And he was being beaten by those who are like his
own sons. He was beaten like almost thirty times and I felt so bad as I saw him
being beaten. And he called me “Teacher Park, Teacher Park”. There’s no one
ever in the history of prison that was treated so respectfully like me. Why?
And as soon as I went in, the prisoners, they said, this prison room cell
number five is like a society atmosphere, they don’t know how to say heavenly
atmosphere so they said society atmosphere and they followed me around and
whether the leader of the cell room or those just came in they all followed me
and obeyed me so well. I really wanted
to live together with those prisoners and while I was there, you know my
personality and character by now, when they were going out to get their
sentence I prayed like this, Oh, Father this precious son, let this son not
become the sacrifice or the victim of those wicked judges according to their
motive or motions. So that’s how I would pray for those prisoners who were
going to get sentence. And that prisoner who is supposed to live in prison for
five years to ten years that taxi driver was freed. The fact that he was freed
was really, really a miracle. Usually if you receive a five to ten years then
you be judged like that but he was freed. So, no matter what the situation, I
want to tell you that no matter what the situation, our Father is the One who
never betrays us. I hope you will believe in that God whether you are in prison
or whether you are in fire or in death no matter what or wherever you are, our
Father is always with us and never leave us. No matter what kind of place we
are in, our Father will never leave us or betray us.
You know, I am a person who can never set in
the room. I always have to go to
mountains or move around. I’m very active or visit people but I can’t
just set in the room with my door closed. But for prison like that for
twenty-one days I had to set in that prison doing nothing just set, and that’s a greatest
torment and tortured for me to just sets
still and that place where there’s no
sunlight and there’re prisoners and guards all around me. That place is the
place where you can die in frustration and suffocation, but My Father made me
so happy there and at that time I read the book called “The Light of the World”
I do not feel that I was in prison. That’s how happy my heart has felt and my
soul was so freed and it was all words
to me.
The highest God, the Son of God
who is in the paradise of heaven came to this lowly earth. Before Jesus came to
this earth, He was the Captain of all the angels; He was the most brilliant Son
of the Morning, the glorious Son of God and when He set on His throne, the
angels cover their faces because of His glory and His majesty, and they throw
their crowns upon His feet and they sang praises to Him. But that glorious
being loved these pitiful sinners and for our sake He determined to become as a
human being; as a slave and die on this earth. So Jesus who had worn the robe
of a King and a crown of a King, He could not stay remaining behind beside our
Daddy on the throne, but in order to save us He inspite of the glories in
heaven, came for this shabby world. He
throws away all His position and all His angels He determined to leave them
behind to save us. He exchanged the place of angels for the condemnation of
humans. And He left the throne of heaven for this shabby life and for the life
of poverty on this earth. He love us so much that He live a life of agony and
death countless of times just like Jesus of two thousand years ago. For me, the
fact that I was in prison I realized what such a special treatment that I
received, I was so thankful and satisfied. And at that time I was able to come
out that prison,
Daddy gave me the word so clearly, I
could hear Daddy’s voice. He was saying, that the work of Redemption is almost
about to end. If I went after five or ten seminars maybe I go crazy but already I had done my best and
for sixty seminars without in my conscience I did my best to save the world. Before my Daddy
and the World I did my best and therefore when I went to prison after this 64th
seminar I had no regrets, my heart was so satisfied and I had no anxiety at
all; I had no regrets, my heart was so in peace and even before the judge I
know what the judge said but the judge said he was so afraid with me, those
murderous of peace. That judge can scold as much as he wants but I don’t know
why he was so afraid of this woodsman who just a shabby woodsman, but he was so
afraid of me. It was just like Pilate who beheld Jesus and when Pilate beheld
Jesus he feared and trembled before Jesus divinity. You know when the sinner
judge beholds God’s Son, they cannot help but tremble. And without any regrets
at all I was so happy and how I was at peace because even if I die I had no
regrets I had done my best for the world and I did whatever Daddy told me to do,
so I had no shame or disgrace at all.
That’s why we must be pure, without sin to be strong and to have power and be
filled with joy. If at that time I had gone as a sinner with sin in my hearts then how afraid I would be, I
would be filled with darkness then I
will tremble before the judge scolding me . The judge of course does not scold
me at all and at the prison, if I had sin in my heart they would trampled on
me, but because I was God’s holy son without any sin at all and they never saw
me before they treated me like a king; they called me Teacher and they treated
me so respectfully and well. Usually if you get in there you have to wipe socks
for other prisoners and you have to be beaten and you have to clean everything,
but I never did any of that, they treated me with such respect. But I offered
all that I had for God’s work and this is the word that I received, “The
work of redemption of this world is ended. The time has come for Him to return
to have his heavenly home. He has gained victory beside the Father. The time
has come for Him to set again on the throne of His glory.” This word
came to me personally, so strongly I read it again and again and it came to me
so often so strongly. And when that Soul was frustrated before me I’ve gone all
about the walls of prison because my heart and soul was so released. And this
talking about heaven and there’s a river always flowing there and by the river
there are so many trees and there are those who are sitting under the tree who
were saved by our Lord. Now we will never have this prison bars or doors and
there’s a meadow and the mountains of God throughout the meadows and that place
where the river of life flows, the tree of life is. God’s people will live
happily and joyfully forever and that place where the fruit of life and the
river of life flows and grows and all those beautiful trees they all became a
shade for God’s people.
In that new heaven we could
learn about our hearts contents and sing to our hearts contents. There’re no
cars there, there’re no motorcycles, no wicked judges there; there are no wicked
human beings there and no wicked religions. Everything there is only happiness
for everyone loves each other and lives happily as God’s sons and daughters. My
people will live in a quiet place in a restful place and they will build their
houses and live in it; they will build vineyards and eat what they plant and
they will not build houses and others live, but live in houses they build, at
least they will eat the fruit that they have farmed. My people will plant and
they will harvest and they will take what they have harvested and they will
live long in happiness with the fruits of their labor. So, in that place I
imagine that all of you brethren from that beautiful paradise building your
house so beautifully in a beautiful paradise like that.
You know while living in Shinsundong in
our house four years ago, I never gone that place in a summer, winter, fall,
spring every season. The beauty is like a picture and the picture is only
mountain that’s always engraved in my heart, so I never get to enter on that
place. Everything is always new everything is like for the first time. But in
that heavenly home in that beautiful, incredible world, when we live in a house
of our Father that house is a place where
though we live for million, billion years will never get tired of it.
And so, that beautiful house you built I will always visit today, tomorrow I
will visit another house and you will give me delicious fruits to eat.
As
I was thinking of that, that prison became a heaven as I imagine those things. Let
us live in the midst of our beautiful imagination and we will always abide with
God no matter where we are and what we do. So, the Father came to me so
strongly, I forgot everything, His words and visions. He had me to forget my
prison bars. And if we do our best, for He has finished the work of redemption,
He has gain victory, and the time has come for Him to return to heaven to
ascend in the throne of glory with His Father. This word came to me so strongly
and He gave me happiness and joy. And so it’s not because I did something wrong
but I went to prison for because the judge, though the enemies had spend money
to buy that judge still the judge did not put me in prison because he wanted to,
but it was my Father’s providence, my heavenly Father, so that I could prepare
the path that you would walk on in the future. And so I was really thankful,
honestly thankful to that judge with all my heart. I was thankful to that judge
and I felt sorry for him. And when I was coming out the guard he said to me,
you know they had to treat you well but they were so wicked to you, and they
are so sorry and that guard was apologizing to me. Then I used to get letters
from prisoners and there are prisoners
who even came to visit me and come to the seminar and they called me “ Teacher
“ they asked me to pray for them, but since I came here they don’t even listen;
they all run away, so I said, Oh how he’s
not blest there in prison. He said he will follow me, but when he came
to the seminar he run away. I felt so sorry for him but among them I know there
are people who have born the fruits for sure. There must be some who bore the
fruits and I sent fifty, maybe one hundred books I sent to the prisoners. I
sent fifty books to that prison so that anybody in that prison could read that,
and I heard that they even sent Poem book this time.
That prison is truly blest and so as I
said before, Jesus said in John…”I am the way the truth and the life” .All you
have to do is to follow me. For I’ve tasted the sadness, the sorrow of humans,
I walked on the path of loneliness of humans, I’ve walked on the path of
poverty and the path of riches of humans, I’ve tasted the love and the disease
of humans, I’ve tasted the experienced of my bones being broken, I’ve
experienced even going to prison, yet there is only one thing that is left,
then I have walked on the path that you must walked on. And so, as soon as I
finished walking the path of prison, there was someone else that went to
prison. Our brother Choi was a Presbyterian before and he was a person to work
in this, and he gave up his profession, and his own grandfather put him in the
prison for receiving this light, and so this brother went to prison. Then
another elder Byan, he had a car accident and he had to go to prison also, but
when they go in, what happen? They were all treated like kings just like me. They
were treated with such respect. Nobody beat them or hit them, so Daddy
remembered my prayers that I prayed there and I know that He will listen to my
prayers to the end. And even if you are tortured, I know that Daddy will give you
the strength and power to overcome, no matter how you’re tortured or beaten. I
know Daddy will give you the power, so no matter what the situation, never leave
accord in Daddy’s hand and abide with Him. In your daily lives you must not
have any wrong; you must not have any shame or sin because only then can Daddy
abide in you through your greatest tribulations and trials. So, the path that you have walked on,
I’ve walked on that path too that you must walk on in your life. So, do not worry and just remember me and I
hope that you’ll always gain victory no matter what the situation, no matter
where you’re going and no matter what happens to you.
