It is so good to be here to meet my dear friends from Philippine, Peru, Nepal, Vietnam and Mongolia and to worship God together with you. My name is Kim Myung Hyuk. During the past 37 years I have served local churches as a pastor and theological seminaries as a professor. I have served the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia as one of the founders and as an associate general secretary. I have also served the Korea Evangelical Fellowship as one of the founders and as the general secretary and as the chairman. I am still the chairman. I have retired from my pastoral ministries of a local church, the Kangbyun Presbyterian Church in 2008 and after that I have begun to visit small churches every Sunday throughout the country. I also visit foreign countries often. This year I visited Los Angeles USA, Bangladesh, China, Thailand, Mongolia and Florida USA. Next month I am going to visit Philippine. Today I came to visit the Ammi Mission Church to worship God together with you. I am sure that God is so much pleased to see us different people gathered together to worship God. The subject of my sermon today is "What is the life all about?" It is because the most important thing is to know God and to know ourselves. I am going to speak about the life with seven points.

Firstly, the life is the life of an alien and stranger. Abraham our forefather of faith said "I am an alien and stranger among you"(Gen 23:4). Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses they all lived on earth as aliens and strangers. Hebrews11:13 described that all of our forefathers of faith lived on earth as aliens and strangers. The apostle Peter said that we are all aliens and strangers in the world (I Peter 2:11). Jesus lived on earth as an alien and stranger. There was no place for him to be born, no place to sleep, no place to die. All of the disciples of Jesus also lived on earth as aliens and strangers. Now you, my dear foreign friends, live in Korea as aliens and strangers. I myself left my mother and father in North Korea when I was 11 years old and came to the south for the sake of keeping faith in God and of worshipping God rightly. Since then I became an alien and stranger during the past 60 some years. It is not easy to live as aliens and strangers in foreign counties. It is hard and difficult. But it is useful and helpful. It is because when you live as an alien and stranger you become free from self-centeredness and become understanding other people. You will also become gradually free from the attachment to the world and become heaven-ward. It is very useful for us to have experiences of the life as aliens and strangers.

Secondly, the life is the life of meeting. The meaningful life is meeting God and meeting people. When an alien and stranger meets God and meets other people his life is changed. When Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses met God and other people their lives were changed. The Bible is, in a sense, a story book of meeting God and meeting people. Jesus came to the world in order to meet us and in order to teach us to meet other people. Jesus met a Samaritan woman and helped her to go and meet other Samaritan people. Jesus met Peter and forced him to go and meet Cornelius the Roman centurion. Now you, my dear foreign friends, live in Korea and came to meet God and many kinds of people. It is very meaningful and blessed to meet God and people. Since I left North Korea I came to meet God more intimately every day in South Korea and came to meet many kinds of people. Gradually I have learned that meeting God and meeting people is most important and most meaningful. Now I enjoy meeting many different kinds of people. I even enjoy meeting Communist people and Muslim people. The meaningful life is the life of meeting. Salvation is meeting. Evangelism is meeting. Pastoral ministry is meeting. Happiness is meeting. Meeting is sometimes difficult and troublesome but it is really meaningful and blessed. It is much needed for us to extend and deepen our meetings.

Thirdly, the life is the life of sharing. In order to have a meaningful meeting there should be a sharing. Man is naturally possessive and greedy and thus become unhappy. The way to be free from it is to practice sharing. When you practice sharing you experience love, joy and fullness of life. Jesus¡¯ life was the life of sharing. Jesus shared sorrow as well as joy. Jesus shared pain as well as peace. Jesus shared flesh as well as blood. Jesus shared life as well as death. The lives of the Jerusalem church believers were the lives of sharing. They shared with others the needy things, the coats and garments, sorrow and joy. Such lives of sharing became joy not only to the sharers and receivers but also to God. The life of sharing of the Good Samaritan, the life of sharing of Dorgas, and the life of sharing of Cornelius were all pleasing to God and impressed Him. I have also learned that one of the most meaningful and happy life is the life of sharing. I have tried to share love with many suffering people in Africa, North Korea, Bangladesh, China, and Afghanistan. A real meaningful and happy life is the life of sharing sorrows, pains, and love. It is needed for us to extend our sharing.

Fourthly, the life is the life of leaving and giving up. In order to practice a meaningful sharing there should be a leaving and a giving up. Man is naturally possessive and greedy and that makes man foolish, ugly, and miserable. A smart and shining life is the life of leaving and giving up. A free and abundant life is the life of leaving and giving up. The life of Jesus was the life of leaving and giving up. Jesus gave up his life for the sheep. He gave up the heavenly glory and power. His disciples left and gave up their nets, boats, and fathers, when they were called. Peter said, ¡°Lo, we have left everything and followed you.¡±(Mark10:28). Jesus replied. "I tell you the truth. No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life."(Mark10:29,30). The apostle Paul confessed that he was willingly going to give up his money and life for the souls of the believers(II Cor.12:15). The most respected Korean elder and medical doctor Chang Ki Ryou lived a life of sharing and giving up almost everything and when he died the Korean news media all reported that ¡°a 'Korean Schweitzer' died¡± and ¡°a 'small Jesus' died.¡± A real meaningful life is the life of leaving and giving up. A real Christian life is the life of leaving and giving up. Through the abundant grace of God I was able to leave and give up home, brothers, sister, mother father and later a son. It was a very sorrowful and painful experience for me to let the dearest little son of mine die and leave this world when he was only 4 years old. But even the sorrowful experience of leaving became a precious jewel of blessing. It is needed for us to learn and practice the life of leaving and giving up. One of my sincere wish and prayer is giving up all of my possessions and my life for the Lord and for the some needy people.

Fifthly, the life is the life of joy. The great blessing which is given to those who follow the above four ways of life is joy. In fact the purpose of Jesus' coming to this world was to bring the good news of great joy. "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy."(Lk2:10). Jesus told his disciples that he was filling joy into their hearts. ¡°I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.¡±(John15:11). As the result, the disciples rejoiced even in persecutions. The apostle Paul confessed that he was rejoicing even in tribulations. ¡°We rejoice in tribulations.¡±(Rom 5:3). Peter told the believer to rejoice even at the painful trials (I Peter4:13). David confessed that he was rejoicing because of the Lord and because of the believers (Ps16:2,11). The king Solomon confessed at the end of his life that the gift of God and the very lot of man is to enjoy his work and to be happy (Ecc3:12,22). Moses' last prayer was ask God "to satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days."(Ps.90:13,4). Paul wrote that it was God's will and commandment to be joyful always(I Thess5:16-18). Paul confessed that he was rejoicing even when he was imprisoned. ¡°I rejoice greatly in the Lord.¡±(Phil.4:10). God-willed life is the life of joy. It is very right to be joyful and happy in the Lord. I have to confess that the gracious God has been pouring into my heart joy and happiness throughout all of my life.

Sixthly, the life is the life of vanity. Even though the meaningful life is the life of joy and happiness, the life on earth is transient, uncertain, wretched and vain. Moses described the life as the grass of the morning and the as the span which quickly passes and flies away (Ps90:5,10). David described life as nothing and phantom (Ps39:5,6, 144:4). He described life as the following. ¡°His days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field.¡±(Ps.103:15). Solomon confessed at the end of his life that all the achievements of life such as riches and honors, business and success, learning and knowledge are all vain. "Vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities; all is vanity."(Ecc.1: 2). Job experienced the vanity of life most seriously that he could not believe any person including friends and wife. Paul also confessed that the honorable families, highest learning and religious zeal were nothing but the loss and rubbish (Phil 3:7,8). Jesus also warned that the remarkable achievements, if they were made for the sake one's honor, could be dammed as unlawful and evildoing at the end of the world (Matt7:23). St. Augustine described the life on earth to be ¡®wretched¡¯ compared to the blessed life in heaven. It is much needed for us to learn the vanity of life on earth and long for the eternal blessed life in heaven.

Seventhly, the life is the life of departure. The Old and New Testament described the life as the life of departure, as the life of exodus and as the life of decease. "They spoke about his exodus, his departure, his decease"(Lk9:31). Life is the continuation of the life as an alien and stranger, the repeating of the life of departure and lastly the final departure of the life from earth to heaven. Departure carries both the negative and positive meaning. It means the entering into the land of Canaan as well as entering into the heavenly Father's house. Jesus said that the end of his earthly life was to leave and depart this world and to go to the Father (John13:1). Paul also said that the end of his life was to depar t(II Tim4:6). The life is the life of departure. It is therefore necessary to prepare departure. It is good to forsake the attachment and affection towards the worldly things. We should leave this world light and without regret. We should leave this world light after we have used fully all the gifts which God has bestowed upon us. It is not necessary to try to posses positions too long. It is neither necessary to posses wealth too long. We should leave and depart the world lightly and joyfully after we have stored all the treasures in heaven.

I have summarized the life with seven points. I often call these seven points as the "Seven Ways of Life." Jesus, the ultimate model of ours, lived the seven ways of life. And many forefathers of faith also lived the seven ways of life. Jesus lived a life as an alien and stranger. Jesus lived a life of meeting. Jesus lived a life of sharing. Jesus lived a life of leaving and giving up. Jesus lived a life of joy. Jesus lived a life of vanity. Jesus lived a life of departure. The Bible exhorts us to fix our thoughts and fix our eyes on Jesus. "Fix your thoughts on Jesus"(Heb3:1). "Fix your eyes on Jesus"(Heb12:2). I pray that the grace and mercy be upon you all. I pray that God bless you and your family and your work. May God help you to live meaningful and blessed lives on earth. May God give you peace and joy in your life. I love you all.