[Brazil] Bible Seminar in 4 Main Cities

A clean and whole person before God

Good News Brazil Church in South America is spreading the gospel by beginning this year with a World Camp in January, a Mind Education in February, and a Bible Seminar in 4 main cities of Brazil in March.

The bible seminar was held for two days from the 22nd to the 23rd of March in Rio de Janeiro (Missionary Sang Hyun Choi) where the Olympics will be held in August; for four days from the 24th to the 27th in Sao Paulo (Missionary Bum Sup Kim) where the Good News Mission Church was established for the first time in Brazil; for four days from the 28th to the 30th in Porto Alegre (Missionary Pyeong Ho Kim) that is situated in southern Brazil with Pastor Oh Yoon Hong of Good News Gangneung Church in Korea as guest speaker. At the same time for two days from the 29th to the 30th, Pastor Sang Rae Cho of Good News Inje Church in Korea preached the Words at Sao Bernardo, Sao Paulo (Missionary Dae Gwon Cho).

The main speaker, Pastor Oh Yoon Hong began the message with the Scriptures in Acts 3:19, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” He mentioned that refreshing meant that we regain vitality.

Moreover, he compared the tares in Matthew 13:38 and explained that God sows the Words in the hearts of people but because Satan spreads tares thus, they are unable to accept the Words. He also exclaimed that our souls must meet with the Words and God, and we must accept the Words as life.

Many people attended every session and, the faces of the participants who paid careful attention to the guest speakers from Korea were filled with excitement.

Also, Pastor Hong preached saying, “Today, God does the work of plowing the hearts of people to allow the seeds of the Words to bear fruit in their hearts. He makes our life difficult so that we cannot trust in ourselves and we return to God by throwing away our thoughts and coming out of our flesh and the world. And I am grateful to the God that allowed the redemption of sins through the grace of Jesus.”

After Part1 sermon ended, Part2 meeting was held by dividing into groups and having the time to share the Words and contemplate on it.

On the second day of the seminar, March 25th, the Easter holidays began in Brazil. In Brazil where there are a lot of Catholics, a majority of people wait for Easter from months before and celebrate it boisterously by gifting eggs-shaped chocolates but, there are few people who know the true meaning of Easter in their hearts. People who yearned to reflect upon their souls and gain life gathered to the chapel this day.

On this day, Pastor Hong began his message by saying the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke chapter 15 that we need to know what is wrong in order to repent ourselves. He spoke that we need to be like the second son, not the first son, and throw away the heart of believing in oneself and look for God. He also said that at times, God makes us locked and bounded to lead us to find God and, when we find God, there is peace in our heart. This made us think again about true repentance and faith.

On the third day, the gospel of salvation was delivered. The guest speaker exclaimed that all of our sins being cleansed eternally once for all is the salvation mentioned in the bible and once we receive this salvation, we gain happiness that no one can imagine.

On the other hand, 11 people who came from the Drug Addict Rehabilitation Institute all received salvation after hearing the gospel. The people who used to live a miserable life addicted to drugs spoke about their hearts after hearing the gospel on this day. We could clearly see the Holy Spirit helping and working amidst us.

Among the people who received salvation on this day, Jefferson(30) expressed his grateful heart saying, “I was divorced as I lived a life addicted to drugs. After being divorced my heart was in pain and I took more drugs. For a year, I lived on the streets like a beggar. But after meeting with Jesus today and thinking that he is recovering my life, I am very thankful. I felt that Jesus was working in me as he is working in many other people.”

Bruno (27) also expressed his joyful heart saying, “As I listened to the sermon today, I realized that the person God sees me as is someone who is useless and incompetent. So I realized that it is not I who has to do something but Jesus must do it for me. As I listened to the mind lecture and gospel all day today, I was able to believe that my sins have been cleansed eternally by the sacrifice of Jesus. I am righteous. Amen!”

The evening session was made into a special night of culture in which the people who have continuously been attending the academy (every Saturday) and the people who came for the bible seminar for the first time enjoy world cultural performances and listen to the gospel.

The 28th, the last day of the seminar, was like a Sunday like that of a Korean Easter thus, a message of resurrection and life was delivered.

Moreover, the guest speaker read the Scriptures in Romans chapter 4 and says, “We don’t need to be sad or difficult because of ourselves that we see right now because our real selves are sitting on the right side of God. Also, our real selves are in heaven so it isn’t a problem if this self here breaks down and, our true selves are drawn inside the heart of God.”

Lastly, he delivered a message that led the participants’ hearts to a holy and blessed land of God saying, “Don’t look at yourselves right now but look at yourselves inside the Word of God and inside the plan of Jesus; there, you will find yourself clean and whole.”

In the evening of 27th, Pastor Sang Rae Cho of Good News Inje Church preached the Words at Sao Paulo Church.

Pastor Cho testified of the God that worked in his life after receiving salvation and gave the comparison of Hannah and Peninnah in 1 Samuel chapter 1. The reason why God gave Peninnah to Hannah is to allow her to empty herself. Likewise, the reason why He gives us difficulties is to let us know that we are incompetent people through these difficulties. When we surrender to God, our hearts are emptied out, peace finds us, and the grace of Samuel comes. And he ended his message saying that he hoped that the grace Hannah received arises in our hearts as well.

From the 28th to the 29th, a bible seminar was held with Pastor Sang Rae Cho in San Bernardo, one of the cities in Sao Paulo. Pastor Cho preached the Words under the subject “I must throw away myself.” He continued saying that people do not consider, ‘Efforts to do something’ as sin; I am someone who has left God and in order to have faith, I must throw away myself. He said it is the work of the Holy Spirit to realize this.

The 29th, Pastor Cho spoke through the Scriptures in John chapter 12 saying that God’s Words are the what is believed in by the strong-hearted and, although we try hard to overcome our problems and circumstances in life, we cannot overcome them because we have no promise of God in our hearts. Moreover, he emphasized that we should not be the ones trying to solve our problems but instead, listen to the Words of God; when we remember the Words, God’s Words can do anything therefore contemplating on the Words will allow all things to work out well in life.

The conference was a time for the land of Brazil to be immersed in the grace of God through the true gospel and great works of salvation will occur in Brazil in the future.