It is so good to be here, to meet you my dear foreign friends, and to worship God together with you. My name is Kim Myung Hyuk. During the past 30 some years I have served local churches as a pastor and theological seminaries as a professor. I have also 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 the general secretary and the chairman. I am still the chairman. That is enough to introduce myself. I have just retired from my pastoral ministries of a local church, the Kangbyun Presbyterian church last January and began to visit small churches every Sunday throughout the country. Today I came to visit the Paju Full Gospel Elim Somang Church.

The subject of my sermon today is "What is the life all about?" 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, Jacod, Joseph and Moses they all lived on earth as an aliens and strangers. Hebrews11:12 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 since then I became an alien and stranger during the past 60 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 to 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 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. The meaningful life is the life of meeting. Salvation is meeting. Evangelism is meeting. Pastoral ministry is meeting. Happiness is meeting. Meeting is sometimes troublesome but is really meaningful and happy. It is needed for us to extend and deepen meeting.

Thirdly, the life is the life of sharing. In order to have a meaningful meeting there should be 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, pain as well as peace, flesh as well as blood, and life as well as death. The lives of the Jerusalem church believers were the lives of sharing. They shared the needy things, the coats and garments, sorrow and joy. Such lives of sharing became joys not only to the sharers and receivers but also to God. The lives of sharing of the good Samaritan, of Dorgas, and of Cornelius were pleasing to God and impressed Him. A real meaningful and happy life is the life of sharing sorrows, pains, and love. It is needed for us to extend sharing.

Fourthly, the life is the life of giving up. In order to practice a meaningful sharing there should be 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 giving up. A free and abundant life is the life of giving up. The life of Jesus was the life of giving up. Jesus gave up his life for the sheep. He gave up the heavenly glory and power. His disciples gave up their nets, boats, and fathers, when they were called. Peter said, ¡°Lo, we have left everything and followed you¡± (Matt.19:27). The apostle Paul confessed that he was willingly going to give up his mony and life for the souls of the believers (II Cor.12:15). The 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 giving up, a real Christian life is the life of giving up. It is needed for us to learn and practice the life of giving up.

Fifthly, the life is the life of joy. The graet blessing which is given to those who follow the above four ways of life is joy. In fact Jesus' coming to this world was the very thing of the good news of great joy. Jesus told his disciples that he was filling joy into their hearts. As the result, the disciples rejoiced even in persecutions. The apostle Paul confessed that he was rejoicing even in tribulations (Rom 5:3). Peter told the believer to rejoice even at the painful trials (I Peter4:13). 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). David confessed that he was rejoicing because of the Lord and because of the believers (Ps16:2,11). 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). God-willed life is the life of joy. It is very right to be joyful and happy.

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 new grass of the morning and the as the span which quickly passes and flies away (Ps90:5,10). 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. David described life as nothing and phantom (Ps39:5,6,144:4). 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 of departure as the life of exodus, decease or departure. "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 significance. 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 depart (II Tim4:6). The life is the life of departure. It is therefore necessary to prepare departure. It is so 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 giving up. Jesus lived a life of joy. Jesus lived a life of vanity. Jesus lived a life of depatrie. The Bible exhorts us to fix our thought sand out eyes on Jesus. "Fix your thoughts on Jesus"(Heb3:1). "Fix your eyes on Jesus"(Heb3:1). 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 give you peace and joy in your life. I love you all.