Prayer Journal: July 6, 2026
02. Sep. 2025 237 New Believers
Lecture 01: 『 The Start of True Repentance – To Turn Away from Your Sins 』 (Matthew 11:28)
Chalkboard
Introduction – Self (Genesis 3, 6, 11)
1) Life, future, family, church, reality, work
2) No answer
(1) My own thinking
(2) My own center
(3) My own position
(4) My own insistence
(5) My own benefit
3) The way to live
(1) Remnant 7
(2) Hebrews 11
(3) Paul’s team
Main
3-year public ministry (together) / Living together (daily life) / Standard (24)
1. What to change
1) Sermon on the Mount
2) Matthew 13
3) Matthew 16
4) Matthew 17
5) Matthew 18
2. What to discard
1) Systems
2) Legalism
3) Humanism
4) Mysticism
5) Secularism
3. What to seek
1) John 14:16
2) John 14:26
3) John 16:13
4) John 20:22
5) Acts 1:3, 8
Conclusion
1) Work – reason it doesn’t work (human-centered)
2) Church – the study of human beings
3) Faith life – center
Why is our entire world turning into an age of calamity?
We need to look carefully and pray about this, but right now in the Middle East, and in Russia, wars continue. Historically speaking, those regions are places where the demon of war has always been attached. And actually, our own country — South Korea and North Korea — is in a situation that requires much prayer. And on top of that, the number of mentally ill people is rapidly increasing.
This is the first thing we absolutely must teach our new members today.
We need to understand this word well. “The beginning of true repentance.”
The most important point is this: without knowing this, repentance is not possible. You need to know the most important starting point.
“Do not steal,” “Do not lie” — those are common-sense things, that comes after. What we need to teach is: what is the beginning of true repentance?
In English, it goes like this. Turn — it means to turn around. Our Korean word may not quite capture it. It means to turn around. And not just a little — to turn around completely and go far. From where? Starting from where? It says: From your sins. It doesn’t use the word “crime” but “sins.” This word “sin” carries a more religious meaning. In English, “crime” refers to miscellaneous criminal acts, but when you say “sins,” that’s a different matter. It means to turn away from there.
Then what is the thing that is most difficult to do?
You yourselves need to know it and teach it to others. You have to come out of yourself. You have to come out of yourself and go to God. This is the very first repentance. If this doesn’t happen, even if you die, there will be no answer. No matter how hard you try and keep all the law, there will be no answer. You can’t even keep it all, but even if we assume you could, even if you kept it all, there would be no answer.
I am held captive by myself. If I were almighty, that might work — but that’s not the case, yet I remain captive. And so Jesus said this. Because it cannot be done — “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened” — he said that. Why? Because it cannot be done any other way. “I will give you rest,” he said, come. He said to come just as you are. If the prodigal son had to go away, recover, change his clothes, and then come back, he could never come. He was told to just come.
Introduction – Self (Genesis 3, 6, 11)
Now, you also need to realize this — and from what I can see, almost no one does. That is why it doesn’t work.
There is something more frightening than drugs. With drugs, people know it is wrong, right? Even those who use them do so in hiding — because they know it is wrong. But this sin, which is more terrifying than drugs, cannot be recognized. What is it? It is the self. You have to come out of this. This will be difficult to understand. Why? Because for all of us, our standard is ourselves. Even what we call being “blessed” — isn’t I the standard? That’s not to say erase all of that. The point is that we are not coming out of this enormous, horrifying darkness called “I.” What is the answer? Isn’t it this? Satan knew this and said: even without believing in God, you can become like God — that is Genesis 3. In Genesis 6, even without believing in God, power is generated. Right? All religions are the same — if you are devoted to your religious life, something comes. Power. It has to come. Does a shaman performing a ritual not gain power? They do. And then, there is something in us that becomes energized when we form a faction. Going along together while sacrificing myself is hard, but when forming a faction, a tremendous amount of energy is generated. That is the Tower of Babel. That’s how it came about. This one (Genesis 6) is the Nephilim; this one (Genesis 3) is the Garden of Eden event. “You are a remarkable person — become like God” — this message is still coming out the same way today. So when you study famous singers, there is a pattern common across every nation. It always comes out exactly like this: “You are an amazing person,” and “Let us go together” — how good those words sound, right? Satan used the most beautiful words as his weapon. In the end, they are sunk in the Nephilim. You need to understand this, and new members need to understand it. “Ah, I see!”
1) Life, future, family, church, reality, work
But while you are just standing there, this thing bores its way in — and where does it bore into? It bores into your life. It bores in like this. And it is connected to your future. Endlessly, endlessly it bores in. It bores into your family. It even bores into the church. Even in the church, people with a bit of low IQ or strange ideas say, “Our church will be revived,” and they’ll do anything. Whether it collapses later or not, they think, “If I go to the upper room it’ll be revived,” so they come unconditionally. “There’s not much benefit to our church,” so they leave unconditionally. There’s nothing you can do about it. Because they’ve been caught in this thing called “I,” which is more frightening than drugs, they cannot get out. How much more so for new members? When I first meet a new member, I always talk to them. “How did you come to church?” They give a reason. “No, that’s not it — God called you by his grace.” If they can’t understand that, they’ll keep getting caught. This bores into reality. And in every matter, it all becomes “me.” That’s how it goes.
2) No answer
Then the second thing you need to know and teach — it has to be this way, doesn’t it? The second thing you must absolutely teach. Because there is no answer, because the answer God gives is not coming to me, this is the inevitable result.
(1) My own thinking — doing things my own way. This is extremely frightening, isn’t it? You have no choice but to do things according to your own thinking. If I were at the same level as God, that might be fine — but that doesn’t work, does it? So truly, you need to receive God’s answer; if you can’t receive this, this is what happens — there’s no way around it.
(2) My own center — everything is self-centered. The question “What does God want from this person?” never comes up. Self-centered — it can’t come out. In some sense, it’s hard to say whether someone is saved or not, whether they have the gospel or not — but from what I see, almost everyone is sunk in this. It’s not that the person is bad; it’s that they have not seen the answer that God gives. They needed to see it but did not. The seed of the woman crushes the power of the serpent — resolving all of humanity’s problems; enter the ark and you will live; go to the land I will show you; leave Chaldea — at first, Abraham didn’t understand either, did he? So he had no choice but to go according to his own thinking. He had no choice but to live self-centered.
(3) My own position — and so all you know is your own position, right? It’s already difficult to take care of my own position — how can I consider someone else’s position? My own situation is hard right now — how can I live for the church? You cannot. If elders are in this state, they struggle their whole lives but no answer comes. For pastors, ministry will not go well. It won’t. They won’t even know why. That’s why this is more frightening than drugs. For new members, there will come a day when they collapse. Why? Because this answer hasn’t come out. Please, pray and do the forum.
(4) My own insistence — so you have no choice but to insist on your own way, because it feels like a crisis is coming.
(5) My own benefit — so what is the conclusion? “What is my benefit?” — that is what it inevitably comes down to.
3) The way to live
So what comes out of Genesis 3, 6, and 11 for new members is the way to live. They don’t even know what original sin is. This is original sin. Having departed from God. Having been seized by Satan. And yet, it looks like things are working out. It looks like success is possible. So people live on a sense of achievement and then collapse. The moment you and your new members seize this covenant, the darkness has no choice but to collapse. Right? You must bring it down. It is proof that you have not seen God’s work. Then you are in the state of an unbeliever, aren’t you? So it won’t work. If you were simply an unbeliever, at least you could enjoy some benefit as an unbeliever before dying. But you are not an unbeliever. If you were at least a thief, you could steal and buy yourself a meal — but you’re not even a thief, yet you’re wearing the accusation of a thief. That is an unbearably unjust way to die.
(1) RT 7 — So you need to give examples quickly. The Remnant 7 — among them, give the one who best matches that person.
For male students in particular, I usually talk about Joseph and David. It would be great to talk about it at length when there’s time, but you need to apply at least one. David was enjoying this answer, so even as a shepherd, he was fine. “What will I do with my life?” — there’s no need for that kind of worry. Let’s be precise. Should we worry about the future? If you haven’t been saved, then of course you should. Right? But preparing and worrying are different, aren’t they? David, from a young age, was a shepherd — yet he was a great success. So I tell the Remnant: you don’t need to discover your talent — if God is with you, he will make you discover it. Right? Joseph’s talent was not slavery. Yet he succeeded even there. That’s all that matters. What comes after is God’s work. “Where will I get a job?” — no need to worry about that. God took Joseph everywhere. Right? While he was just standing there, he was taken to Egypt; while standing there, he was sent to meet an official; while standing there, he was brought before the king. That is the real thing. What need is there for my own insistence? That is the talk for when there is no answer, for someone who has not been saved. We are saved children of God. Completely different. “He has passed from death into life” — the place of origin is different. Right? The origin is different.
(2) Hebrews 11 — You need to talk about this. The people of Hebrews 11…
(3) Paul’s team — In the early church too, there were people who did well in this. Peter was a little less so. Those who had completely come out of themselves — Paul’s team — evangelized the world. These people said that it’s okay even to die. Not “I want to live.” Whether we die or live…
Main
Now then, there are parts you absolutely must hold onto and communicate. There are several things you must look at in the Main.
3-year public ministry – living together – daily life standard – 24
①3-year public ministry (together) – What was the standard by which Jesus lived during his three-year public ministry? The standard Jesus maintained throughout his three-year public ministry was different from others. What was it? It was togetherness.
②Living together (daily life) – That’s why I used the word “living together” up there. “Why so many words?” We need the word so we can say, “Let’s live together” — otherwise, would we just say “Let’s be together”? This is what Jesus spoke of as most precious. Together — and actually being present together.
③Standard (24) – But what is this standard? The reason Jesus lived together was to establish a very important standard: so that daily life on one’s own would be supported. This is the key. The blessing of having been with the Lord had to continue uninterrupted, even alone. That standard is 24. This is the standard.
If you have understood this, or if this becomes real for you, then from this point on, it is essentially finished. Without even needing to emphasize evangelism, if new members become like this, the door of evangelism continues to open. Sometimes elders make verbal mistakes. “These days, there’s no evangelism movement in our church” — that’s wrong. If the elders and new members become like this, it happens naturally. God desires a life movement, not a revival movement. Right? God desires that you enjoy the presence of the triune God with you — not that you enjoy a sense of achievement. You must come completely out of yourself. That is the first thing of repentance. And then you must go to God. This must absolutely be communicated.
As far as I know, when I first encountered Christ, I came to this realization. From that time until now, the evangelism movement to the 5,000 tribes has continued without stopping. Isn’t that only natural? When difficulties came to me, I didn’t think of them as difficulties. I thought, “God must have a plan,” and indeed, that was right. Friends, those with great trauma are the ones who have God’s great plans. If you say, “I have a great problem,” that won’t do. But I — I respect my parents, you know. They were all remarkable people. However, I thought I must not become the level they were. Is that arrogance? I’ve been told many times that I’m arrogant. But no. Love your family — that’s good. But you must not become at that level. Absolutely not. It must be the level God gives. I served as an associate pastor at six churches, and then I entered Yeongdo. Those people are the most precious people to me. But I must not become at their level. Right? Not knowing that — that is arrogance. We are aiming for God’s level — whether we can reach it or not — we must go toward God’s level; we cannot go at my own level. There can be a sense of achievement. “This thing worked out a bit” — yes, fine, hallelujah, you may enjoy that. But this must absolutely be communicated.
What I think was the strongest in this area was the orthodox church — what I’d call the Pharisee church. Right? Even now, when I see people without the gospel, people who don’t know the gospel well — they use the exact same language as the Pharisees today. It was to the point that Jesus, looking at the Pharisees who “believed well,” called them “children of vipers.” Isn’t that right? “Children of vipers” — and even more precisely, he said: “Your father is the devil.” These people were shocked. “What? We are children of the devil?” That’s exactly right. And so they hated Jesus. He was speaking words that would save their lives — they should have said, “Ah, I see!” and realized it — but instead they pushed back. They didn’t even know the Christ. “The ancestor you respect most, Abraham — he believed in Christ and was saved; he believed in me and was saved.” These people completely lost their minds. “How old are you, anyway?” That’s how they came back at him. They couldn’t understand a word of it. Christ must be the eternal Christ — from before eternity — otherwise he cannot be the Savior. Right? He put on human flesh to save human beings. The resurrection is the evidence that Satan and darkness have been broken. Right? And he comes again as the Lord of the Second Coming, and as the Judge. And more precisely, he remains with us and then stands as the Lord of the Second Coming, and stands as the Judge. Some misunderstand this and talk about Jesus as if he ran away somewhere and comes back out of hiding. That’s not right. People who set a date for the Second Coming, obsessing over that, will shake new believers when they see it.
So once this answer comes out clearly, you need to communicate three things.
Things will change. ①What to change, ②What to discard — those will be discarded. ③What to seek — but because it is important, it must be mentioned at least once. You are fully capable of explaining these things.
1. What to change
1) The Sermon on the Mount
It was explained in the Sermon on the Mount. It needs to change. The blessings we think of right now — those are not blessings. That is chapter 5. Becoming part of God’s kingdom and his people — that is the true blessing. Prayer — the prayers you are currently doing are not prayer. New members don’t know how to pray. You need to teach them. What? God’s kingdom. The worship we do, the way we do our faith life — it is wrong. Isn’t that Matthew 7? “I did well, you did well” — saying that every day — what kind of faith life is that? “First remove the plank from your own eye” — that is the Sermon on the Mount. This needs to be taught seriously to new members. Otherwise, they will spend their whole lives without receiving an answer.
2) Matthew 13
What is the second thing to change? As stated in Matthew 13 — it’s not the enormous visible achievements and accomplishments you think it is; it is a very small seed, yet it becomes a tree with life. It doesn’t show on the outside, does it? But like leaven it spreads — this life does. Right? This continued on and on. The most shocking thing among them — isn’t it the parable of the field? It looks like just working in a field, but it’s not — underneath it lies hidden treasure. And then at the end, another shocking statement. Not everyone is saved — he gave the example of fishermen. Friends, professional fishermen and hobby anglers don’t catch just any fish. I only catch sea bream. No matter how good another fish is, I throw it back. And fishermen, being professionals, go out targeting a specific fish. If something else bites — they throw it back. And there is wheat and there are weeds — Jesus said that, right? Just leave them. You need the weeds too — that’s what you use to light the fire when you cook. There are many things to change. If you don’t change, you can’t go on.
3) Matthew 16
They don’t even know who the Messiah is. They say he is like Jeremiah. They say like Elijah. They say like John the Baptist. They say like a prophet. What kind of salvation can come from that? There are elements of those, but he’s not them, is he?
4) Matthew 17
Even after making a confession of faith, Peter said he would build shelters for Elijah and Moses and Jesus — it needs to be completely changed.
5) Matthew 18
In Matthew 18, even after seeing those important things, they asked: “Who among us is the greatest?” You’d think that’s bad enough, but the really terrible ones pretend to have faith while asking, “When we get to heaven, who among us will be the greatest?” — and those who harass others actually do so while quoting Scripture. The devil also tempts by quoting God’s Word. Right? “Jump off the pinnacle of the temple — angels will come and catch your feet” — that was a direct quote from Scripture. At that point, what did Jesus do, exasperated? He called a child. He held the child and said: those who are like this child are the ones who become the most precious in heaven — this is what greatness is. You need to explain at least up to this point.
2. What to discard
From here, what needs to be discarded comes up.
1) Systems
Systems are not unnecessary. They may be needed at times. But this must be discarded. The Jewish people missed something enormously important because of their attachment to one system.
2) Legalism
The law is necessary. But it is not life. It must be discarded. This is not saying the law is unnecessary. Legalism — that must be discarded. Can one be saved by the law? No. You cannot even keep it all, and even if you did, you still cannot be saved. Why? Because original sin is not resolved. God gave us the resolution of original sin through Christ. Even if you try legalism, it doesn’t really work.
3) Humanism
Humanism is used. But humanism doesn’t really work either.
4) Mysticism
“Forget it, I don’t know anymore, let’s just receive grace” — that becomes mysticism. Mystery is a good word. Right? Our very salvation is mysterious. But mysticism is different. Continually emphasizing some mysterious thing — that is not mysticism as good. When the Word is alive, what need is there for mysticism? That is evidence that the Word has not come to you as an answer. “I wonder if this might work” — this means the Word has not come to me. Right? It means the answer has not come to me. If you’ve been accepted to Seoul National University, you just go — you don’t need to keep asking, “Should I go or should I not?”
5) Secularism
In the end, when nothing else works, it becomes secularism. Living in the world is one thing, but secularism is different, isn’t it?
3. What to seek
What to seek — Jesus talked about what to change and what to discard, and at the end spoke about what must be sought.
1) John 14:16
“I will send you the Helper, the Holy Spirit.”
2) John 14:26
“And he will make you understand” — the Holy Spirit — he continued to speak this.
3) John 16:13
Not only will you understand, but he will be with you forever.
4) John 20:22
“Breathe in and receive the Holy Spirit.”
5) Acts 1:3, 8
At the very end he also said: if you receive the kingdom of God and the fullness of the Holy Spirit, you will be witnesses — you will be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth — there’s no way you won’t be.
Conclusion
Now, this is what new members and you yourselves must do. From my perspective, it is actually the older members who are more of a problem than the new ones. The longer people do their faith life, the more self-centered they become. “Is there any need for my insistence in the church?” That’s something you say when you’re not receiving answers. Right? Please — now you must receive answers as what God has given.
1) Work – the reason it doesn’t work (human-centered)
What is the reason work doesn’t work? You need to teach this. Work should be working, but why isn’t it? Because it is human-centered. We value people — but we are not human-centered.
2) Church – the study of human beings
What is the reason the church doesn’t work? We should be studying about God, but instead we’re doing the study of human beings — the study of people. That is why. This must absolutely be taught.
3) Faith life – center
What is true faith life? What is a faith life that receives answers? You need to teach this. God-centered, Word-centered — that means God is with me. If God is not with me but you say “God-centered,” that also becomes a lie, doesn’t it? If you’re missing the whole flow of the Word yet say “Word-centered” — that won’t do. You ride the flow of prayer. Prayer-centered — this must be taught. On Sunday you hear the pastor’s sermon, and this Word works its way into you. Word-centered — prayer working and moving with life is visible. Prayer-centered. Right? And then evangelism becomes visible. Evangelism-centered. At that point the church becomes truly important. Church-centered. Those who don’t find the church important say “this church, that church” — about their own church. You need to help them understand what faith life is, what the center is. It is all found within that answer. This must absolutely be taught.
Let me organize a few things and wrap up.
When I evangelize and go to the field, “I used to go to church” — this is 30%. One out of three people. Why does that happen? When you visit certain homes, certain fields, the home itself is like a mental institution. Why is that? Why are people wandering around unable to find this answer in one place? It’s a sad thing. If even one among you receives this answer, it’s okay wherever you are. If even two elders have this center, the church lives. Right? Why does it have to be two? Because you need a motion and a second. Right? One person makes the motion, another seconds it, and it’s done.
Start doing it now. Something has not yet been discarded. The self has not yet been changed. Being inside that low-level self of ours — can we be at that level? You must not stay there. Come out of it. And return to God. Why do people go toward heresy and cults? Give them the answer. Why do they go there? They’re saying things that are wrong, things that make no sense — why do they go? Because the spiritual problem is not resolved, they are thrashing about. Right? So, because this foundation is not in place, spiritual problems have no choice but to come. So those evangelists here — stop using words like “revival is happening” or “revival isn’t happening.” If it doesn’t happen, what will you do? If it does, what will you do? People give testimonies that make no sense. “Evangelism is working, evangelism isn’t working” — does that make sense? “Revival isn’t happening” — of course it won’t. You must not use those words. Even if my congregation is small, if God is pleased, that is enough. Right? God can work through one person, and God may not work through ten thousand people. Living for myself has turned so many into merchants. Absolutely not. Right now there are five flows — Word, prayer, evangelism, the field, the nation — there is a flow, but because you can’t see that flow, naturally it doesn’t work. So this is how you must conclude: Look through the Bible. In the Bible, those who truly received answers confessed like this — not “I did this and that.” Not “This is how you do it.”
God being with me. God being with us. God being with us here in this place. That is the confession they made. You even need to tell those who went as Babylonian captives about that characteristic. God specifically sent those in whom this was established. They didn’t even blink. Standing completely before Nebuchadnezzar, refusing to worship idols even in the face of death — they were not shaken at all. When you look at the records of those who were martyred, the records show it was not that they gritted their teeth and endured and won. Right? Like Stephen, the fullness of the Holy Spirit came upon them. That’s why people like Daniel and Esther are representative examples. You need to talk about that. “Why did you come to church?” — give them a conclusion. “They’re being arrested at that church — will you still go?” — yet the early church members went. There is no reason. Only by the grace God has given, by salvation, going there to enjoy that blessing — nothing else matters.
From this point on, your life is a relationship with God. Right?
And more specifically, it is a relationship with the triune God who works concretely — and it would be even better to then talk about the 7 bartizans, the journey, and the guideposts. This afternoon as well — confirm without fail that the Word, prayer, and evangelism are alive and working.
Let us pray.
Prayer. We sincerely thank God. We thank you for saving us. We thank you for guiding us so that we may preach the gospel to those who have not yet heard it. To those of us who have not yet come out of ourselves, work in us so that we may go toward God. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.