THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH
(2001 Baltic and CIS National Directors' Conference Report)
Missionary Peter Kim (Kiev UBF)
"See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright-but the righteous will live by his faith...." (Hab 2:4)
Here in Russia and CIS, it is the height of the winter season. Those who saw the movie, "Dr. Zhivago" can
remember the beautiful theme music and the magnificent Russian winter scenery. The
Baltic and CIS missionaries had the 2001 Baltic and CIS National Directors'Conference near Moscow during February 5-7.This conference was held in such beautiful surroundings.
We all were full of joy because
we met as those who had fought the good fight of the faith as good soldiers of Jesus Christ in each mission land. The worldly powers of sin, death, and Satan
tried to test us, but the great power that Christ gave us held each one of us, and helped us to overcome the world and win the victory. We gathered together with joyful hearts, renewed the hope of God's high calling, and gave thanks and praise to God for his power and work. Shepherd Mark Yang, Cephas Kae, Wesley Yoon, and Kisung Um from Korea, and Pastor Abraham Lee from Germany served this conference wholeheartedly. Especially, Shepherd Mark Yang made
every effort to serve the word of God during the conference. We thanked these shepherds who spent their precious time for us. We were so captured by God's word that moved us by the Holy Spiht that we didn't want to go home. The title of the conference was "The Righteous Will Live by His Faith."
Part 1. Fight the good fight of the faith (Opening message, 1Tim 6:1-12)
Shepherd Cephas Kae from Korea delivered this message. The Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy to fight the good fight of the faith, that is, fight with endurance against the power of Satan and keep the faith in the midst of all kinds of false ideas and teachings that threatened gospel faith. For this, Paul encouraged Timothy and us to pursue sound doctrine-doctrine that is in accord with godliness, that is, to study and obey the Bible diligently. The false knowledge that has nothing to do with the life-saving truth of the gospel is rampant these days. Many people do not follow the sound instruction of Jesus Christ found in the word of God, but follow worldly and human doctrines.
So, there are many Christians who are not proud of Christ but of themselves. They do not take up the mission of preaching the life-saving gospel, but devote themselves to human knowledge or philosophical controversies; they do not do their best to establish God's church but only disturb peace and promote division. The Apostle Paul warned that such people think that godliness is a means to financial gain because they have corrupt minds and have been robbed of the truth.
Through this message, we learned that we should devote ourselves to godly teaching all the more and fight
the good fight of1 the faith. We learned that we should have the fear of God, seek right things ir the sight of God and live lives . that are against the flow of this world. We learned that we should trust in the word of Goc absolutely, and forgive ou enemies, entrusting them tc God. We must fight the gooc fight of the faith. We aisc learned that we should no conform to the pattern of this world, which is characterized by selfishness, religious pluralism relativism, humanism success-seeking, and enjoying the prosperous economy. We must be transformed by the renewing of our minds and persist in the holy struggle of faith.
1) Moscow UBF
The missionaries and shepherds in Moscow are exemplary. It is very difficult for foreigners to adapt themselves to the Russian environment. Especially, it is hard for women missionaries to endure the long, cold and damp winterseason (5-6 months). Low air pressure and gloomy weather make it worse. High prices and finding jobs are other problems. Most of all it has been difficult for many missionaries and sheep to meet together because the Russian government's unreasonable system and persecution made it difficult to rent or buy a Bible house. Missionaries had to open their homes and use them as meeting rooms. Under the leadership of Missionary Stephen Kim, the Moscow UBF is united with one heart and has overcome all difficulties and served the discipleship ministry positively. They studied the Bible diligently, and devoted themselves to prayer all the more during these inner and outer troubles.
They are praying that Moscow and Russia might be a kingdom of priests and a shepherds' nation for the world in the 21 st century. I thanked God when I saw their mature faith and serving hearts and hands. I also thanked God forAndrei and Natasha Petrukhin's family who worked hard and humbly served duhng the conference. I could see the work of God in the Moscow leaders, for so many who in the past have been served have made decisions of faith to live sacrificial lives for the sake of the Lord and his gospel. When I thought about the meaning of God's training for our missionaries in Moscow and Russia, I deeply understood that there is God's will even in sufferings. I believe that through these meaningful sufferings, God will bless Moscow and Russia to be a shepherds' nation, a kingdom of priests, and a Zion from which the word of God goes out. There are 46 missionaries in the Moscow chapter. They pray that they may cowork with one heart, serve John's Gospel, have 300 one-to-ones and 200 Sunday attendants. Their key verse is Php 2:10,11: "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and underthe earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
2) Almaty Chapter (Kazakhstan)
In the time of the former USSR, Kazakhstan was the largest land next to Russia and its land contained the
most natural resources. It is the most powerful nation of Central Asia. The capital was Almaty, but according to the migrational policy of the government, Astana became the new capital.
Missionary David Byun's family, who coworked with Gideon Kang's family in Almaty, began to pioneer Astana. Kazakhstan is a traditional Islamic country. There are many restrictions for meeting and preaching. Missionary Gideon Kang has fought the good fight of the faith for the last 10 years. It was very difficult for him to get a job. He earned his living working part time as a newspaper man. When Missionary Mark Park's family began to cowork, Missionary Mark Park offered half of the salary of his wife, who works at the embassy, and supported Missionary Gideon Kang's family. We thanked God so much and were very happy because of that. Missionary Gideon Kang bore the visible marks of his struggle, because he has fought the good fight of the faith like a man through all difficulties for the last 10 years. Even though his family did not eat well, he got a 2-flat building to use as the center in order to prepare a better environment for the sheep. He devoted himself to Bible study and had 30 Sunday worship service attendants. He faithfully arises at dawn each day to pray, meeting with seven common life members. We were greatly moved by Missionary Gideon and Maria Kang's good fight of the faith. We prayed that God might establish the first house church in Almaty and grant us a time to encourage each other and give thanks to God.
Part 2. Spiritual blessing (Bible study Lesson 1, Eph 1:1-23)
Shepherd MarkYang led Ephesians Bible Study. St. Paul prays that God may give the saints in Ephesus the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they may know him better. He prays also that the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened in order that they may know three great truths (18-19): "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power tor us who believe." Why is it important for us to pray that the eyes of our heart may be enlightened? It is because human beings become like blind people who cannot see the spiritual world because of total corruption due to sin. We can see the spiritual world when the eyes of our heart, that is, spiritual eyes are opened. Our spiritual eyes can be opened and we can see the spiritual world and accept the world of faith when God has mercy on us and enlightens the eyes of our heart. It is the most unhappy thing for a Christian when he lives without knowing God's blessing even though he has received it. Paul helps us to realize that we must know the hope to which he has called us, the riches of his glorious inheritance, and his incomparably great power through the Holy Spirit who renews our minds.
Through this Bible study, God poured out the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, and helped us to see the world of promise and faith that lies before us. He helped each of us to decide to live a thankful life because of God's grace. We could remember his grace that enlightened the eyes of our hearts and blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. We earnestly prayed that we might know God's hope, inheritance, and great power which was given to us, and that he may make us more than conquerors through all our trials. We also prayed earnestly that God might help us serve the Lord with new hearts, make our lives victorious, and help us to live as men of God who do not get frustrated or anxious.
3) St. Petersburg Chapter
Missionary Caleb Han deeply despaired because of the present reality. He has been pioneering St. Petersburg for more than 10 years but could see no visible fruit. He felt unbearable shame and frustration when he realized that he had failed to invite sheep to the last Summer Bible Conference, and so he sat alone. He frequently thought that it would be better for him to give up this hard missionary life of seeking to save men, go to the countryside without a word, and raise goats. But God did not give up on him. God has hope for him. God helped him to take a rest and to have fellowship with some UBF chapters in Germany. Through this, he learned faith that believes in God and the importance of having a good shepherd's heart that loves one soul. When the eyes of his mind were opened through Bible Study, he could see his oppressive reality newly and have hope and a thankful mind. He was greatly moved by God who had hope for him and for his family to be a royal priesthood and who took care of them, even though there was no visible fruit. He thanked God so much for his grace that has led him until now. He decided to renew the grace of God's calling and challenge the disciple-making ministry newly.
Missionary Caleb and Sarah Han pray that they may raise Sister Oksana as a mother of faith, have 15 one-to-ones each week, live a self-supporting life through maintaining a stuffed animal toy factory, hold on to Mk 11:22, and win the victory this year.
4) Minsk Chapter
During his school days, Missionary Paul Oh of Minsk took an active part in student demonstrations because he had such a strong sense of justice that he could not bear to see unrighteousness. After studying the Bible, he decided to live as a disciple of Jesus and went to Minsk as a missionary. He received much storm training and suffering when all of his growing sheep were scattered. He could easily have abandoned God's high calling, but God granted him grace and held him, so that he and Missionary
Hannah Oh could keep their faith, hold on to world mission, and decided to live as a remnant in any situation. In order to renew the Minsk ministry, Missionary Paul Oh turned the direction of his ministry from a foreign student-and Korean-centered ministry to a Minsk College student-centered ministry. I pray that God may bless Brother Andrei and Brother Dennis to grow as men of faith. Missionary Paul Oh's family holds on to Jn 10:11 ("I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.") as their key verse and they are challenging themselves to raise 12 disciples in this year.
Part 3. The new self, created in Christ
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." We were dead in our transgressions and sin as slaves to Satan; we lived in the tust of our flesh, and were objects of God's wrath by nature. But God who is rich in his love and mercy had mercy on us, sent Jesus Christ, and saved us from eternal damnation by grace through faith in him. We missionaries serve the gospel ministry as the Diaspora and like the early Christian saints who scattered throughout the world according to God's will, without knowing the future. From a human point of view, we have many troubles when we think of all the crosses we must take up in the mission land. Moreover, when many negative things within our UBF community arose because of jealousy, quarrels, -isms, etc., and other complications are further added to this, we could replace the praise from our lips with harmful judgment and hateful criticism and so displease God. But we can come to know that the outer environment or circumstances don't matterwhen we look into and examine our inner selves.
I learned that I must think and behave as God's workmanship, created in Jesus to do good works, no matterwhat. The Apostle Paul praised God for granting him spiritual blessings in Christ, even though he was in prison. He could do that because his eyes and spirit were longing for things above. When we are eager to have earthly things, we cannot but be sad and despair because of the limitation of reality. It is because our spiritual eyes are closed, clinging to earthly blessings. We can understand how glorious and precious spiritual blessings in heaven are when we open our spiritual eyes and realize the valuelessness and emptiness of earthly blessings.
5) Volgograd
Missionary Pavel Laska's family is a good example of missionaries like the Diaspora. They suffered a lot when they served the pioneering ministry in Volgograd. Once, he had to leave the mission field and wander from country to country for three months with a pregnant wife and little children, because the Russian government did not extend their visas. At that time, they could have lost joy from their hearts because they seemed to bear the pain of unjust suffering. They could have complained and despaired, seeing the hard reality. But when they recognized their participation in the Lord's suffering as joy and glory, and devoted themselves to prayer in order to approach the throne of grace, holding on to Mk 3:31,32 with the heart of loving things above, God moved the heart of a person in authority and solved their residential problem. Missionary Pavel Laska is preparing to live as a self-supporting missionary using the skills he learned in college to start an Internet business and solve his financial problems. I pray that God may receive glory through this family who loves sufferings and seeks spiritual blessings. May he bless their disciple-making ministry abundantly. Brother Sergey is growing as an Abraham, and Nadya, Ryuba, and Pavel are gradually growing. They pray that they may remain in God's grace through maintaining their prayer life, holding on to Mk 3:31,32 as their key verse.
7) Yekaterinburg Chapter
Missionary Dr. David Lee's family served the gospel ministry wholeheartedly in Yekaterinburg. Then God blessed his sincere and earnest heart by giving them abundant fruit of mission, and revealed the progress of the gospel. Especially Shepherd Vitaly, a professorof English at UPI, and his wife Shepherdess Tanya became faithful coworkers. Many fruitful sheep are growing and receiving discipleship training. But suffering and hardship came one after the other. One missionary family was in trouble. Our missionaries had to bearthe terrible cold, -20 N degrees. Some of them had to wait for a bus for more than 30 minutes at the bus stop in the cold in order to visit sheep, and as a result, their wrists and ankles became swollen. The narrow minded Russian Orthodox Church persecuted them so much. Some Russian racists beat our missionaries in order to oppose and stop our mission. A thief sneaked into the center and stole the copy machine, computers, etc.. Some sheep's parents threatened Missionary David Lee, saying, "I will shoot you! I will blow up your church! I will do something to your
children!" But our missionaries struggled to live by faith by any means. They spent much money to repair the center in order to prepare a good one-to-one environment, and invited many sheep to one-to-one with great joy. Missionary Andrew Mann's family decided to take root in Ural as missionaries. They coworked very well and their faith was a good influence on others. Their key verse is 2Tim 2:2. They pray for 25 one-to-ones and 25 Sunday attendants. May God bless our missionaries in Yekaterinburg who love Jesus wholeheartedly. I pray that God may comfort them with the reward of the heavenly kingdom, and grant them abundant fruit of disciple-making, so that God may use Ural UBF as an outpost for Russian mission.
8) Moldova Chapter
God laid the foundation of discipleship ministry through Missionary Joshua Kirn's family. They love Jesus and are not afraid of suffering. God established the first house church in Moldova between Shepherd Vasily and Shepherdess Olga. They struggled to live by faith in God in spite of much suffering and persecution. Then, they could have Russian worship service with Shepherd Vlad as the messenger and send Shep-herdess Tanya to the Darmstadt Chapter in Germany, and Sisters Diana and Victoria, and Brother Daniel could overcome persecution and grow as men and women of gospel faith. During the last year, Missionary Joshua Kirn's family asked themselves continuously if they could become martyrs for one sheep, because they suffered a lot. I thank God for blessing their shepherd hearts to lay down their lives forthe sheep, enabling them to overcome many sufferings, and using them as good shepherds for God's flock.
9) Lithuania Chapter
Last year Missionary Stephen Kang's family struggled to live as good shepherds and parents for Brother Marius, holding on to Jn 10:11.
10) Tashkent Chapter
MissionaryGideon Park's family prays that they may serve the gospel ministry with a clear spiritual value system, holding on to Mt 6:33. They pray for Sister Seva's marriage and for one Abraham of faith.
11) Astana, Kazakhstan Chapter
Missionary David Byun's family began to pioneer Astana in May of 2000, because the capital was changed from Almaty to Astana. They suffered from illness and cold. But when they fought the good fight of the faith in order to live by faith, Marina, Sasha, Maria and Olga began to study the Bible and are growing.
12) Kiev Chapter
Missionary Peter Kirn's family prays that they may grow as good Bible teachers, holding on to 1 Pe 2:1,2 as their key verse. Shepherd Mark Yang asked Missionary Sarah Kirn a question, "What is your good point?" "A sincere heart that never changes from first to last", she answered. This moved our hearts. They pray that they may fight the good fight of the faith for 24 disciples, 120 one-to-ones, and 70 Sunday attendants, and live as the lamp of God that enlightens this dark generation with God's hope.
Missionary Susanna Yoon (Astana), Lukas Ko (Lithuania), Francis Yoon (Astana), and Mark Park (Almaty) shared their positive points, key verses and prayer topics. Missionary John Lee (Odessa) and Moses Kim (Irkutsk) wanted to attend, but they could not, because they were in Korea.
Conclusions
1) We learned that we must study and teach the Bible more diligently and stand firmly on gospel faith. There seemed to be many problems in Russia and CIS, but the fundamental prob-lem is the lack of the word of God. It seems that we have many problems, but the real problem is that we do not study the Bible diligently and, as a result we lose our direction, which must be a gospel-centered life. Even though Russia has a long Christian history of 1000 years with many churches and monasteries, the churches are empty and full of tourists and religious pictures. The Russian Orthodox Church did not teach the people the Bible, but taught religious formalities. They have a Christian culture but no gospel and no power that can change society. As a result, Russia was changed from the great genius nation of Tolstoy, Dostoevski, Pushkin, and Tchaikovsky to a lazy, powerless nation, and the people have forgotten about sacrifice and devotion. So, we as missionaries must recognize the restoration of Russia as spiritual restoration, and make every effort to change this nation to be a nation that loves the word of God and the law of God. We learned that each one of us must redouble our efforts to grow in faith, language study and in depth of thought in order to be a well-prepared missionary.
2) We learned that we must hold on to the prayer topic, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, and a missionary-sending nation for the 21st century.
Russia, Ukraine, and Belorussia have a 1000 year Christian history, but did not send out any missionaries. They were absorbed in investigation and mysteries, and liked to debate, but they lacked the attitude of loving God with all their hearts, minds and strength, and did not teach others to do so. As a result, even though they have unlimited human and material resources, they became a poor nation and a laughingstock. Finally, Communism that denies God closed the churches and ruled over the whole country. Here we can see that we cannot but be lost and destroyed when we do not love the word of God and share God's blessing positively. As the Lord taught, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." We should hold on to one prayer topic that Russia and CIS may be a kingdom of priests and a missionary-sending nation for the world. For this we must raise many spiritual leaders and disciples of Jesus who love the word of God and teach the Bible devotedly. For this, we must boldly invest all our human and material resources.
3) We learned that we must renew our attitude toward suffering and the gospel. We serve our mission in times of religious pluralism and relativism. People laugh at the suffering and the gospel of the cross. So, we are apt to be swept away by the false trends of the world, and to lose the power of the Spirit and godliness that enable us to endure suffering. But when we heard the mission reports from other missionaries who suffered a lot in the mission land, we realized that there is always suffering in mission. All Russia and CIS missionaries, without exception, endure hardship. .
Through this, I learned that where the gospel is spread there is always suffering and hardshipformissionaries. I could see that mission life is life that loves suffering, and this is the way to become a disciple of Jesus. Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." We learned that we must love and be proud of the cross in any situation, because we believe that Jesus'cross, the cross that we believe in, is not a cross of weakness or failure, but a cross of victory and the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. We learned that we must decide to teach Jesus' sacrifice and love, love the cross positively, and give something to others. We must be missionaries who are captured by the gospel of Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection. We also learned that we must pray earnestly that the ministry of selfdenial and the cross may
prosper over all of Russia and CIS.
4) In conclusion, we learned that we must raise many men of faith, and men of righteousness who live by faith in Jesus. I also learned that God is the Sover-eign ruler through this confer-ence, and what God wants from me is for me to live by faith, depending on him absolutely. I learned that this is the way to overcome these unrighteous times and please God. I pray that I may live by faith, without shaking, depending on God absolutely in any situation. I pray that God's great grace may be with Dr. Samuel Lee whom God uses as a prophetic servant of the word. I pray that the power of the word and the Holy Spirit and heavenly wisdom may be with Dr. John Jun so that he may serve God's will for these times. I also pray that each one of our coworkers who works hard in Korea and all overthe world may receive comfort and joy from heaven. For the pain and suffering for Christ that we receive in this world is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance and reward in the kingdom of God. I pray that we all may be faithful to the end of our lives and receive the crown of life from the Lord.