[Cambodia] “Everyone, Are You Sinners? Or Are You Righteous? You are Righteous!”

Cambodia is a Buddhist country in which 95% of the population are Buddhists. Even in a Buddhist country like Cambodia, there are Christian ministers who have the same heart with God. During the three days of the World Camp in Cambodia (27th March – 29th March), the Christian Leaders Fellowship (CLF) took place at a Kohpich Theatre in Penompen, Cambodia.

For the CLF, in which there were 100 participants, the Gracias Choir came to perform and the participants also watched the video of the CLF that took place in the USA. This was followed by the Lecture of the Main Speaker, Pastor Ock Soo Park.

Pastor Ock Soo Park, who took to the stage, explained about how we can have one heart with God.

“If you know spiritual life precisely, then it becomes extremely easy and fun.

In Acts 13:22, God says that David ‘the son of Jesse, was a man after my own heart.  ‘. Do you know how to have one heart with God?

John Choi went to volunteer in Liberia and was stung by a scorpion. I was able to call John Choi, who was dying. ‘John, you have been stung by an African scorpion and you are dying. But, those who seek for the Lord, their strength will be renewed! In order to beat the poison of the scorpion, you need new strength! Look only towards God!’. This is what I told him. John knew that he was dying because of the poison of the scorpion and he looked towards God.

Having one heart with God is, despite having in my thoughts that I am dying, believing in the new strength that God gives you and moving forward. In other words, in order to believe in Jesus, one must not believe in one’s own thoughts. Although it does not agree with my own thoughts, it is accepting the words of Jesus. Living spiritual life well does not consist of giving a lot of offering, praying, and going to church on Sundays, but it is becoming one heart with God and believing that all of our sins have been washed, as white as snow, by the blood of Jesus.

In the Bible, when the lame man was told to rise, take up his bed and walk, and when the servants were told to go serve the water that they had just brought at the wedding feast, you cannot do any of these things with my own thoughts. It is something that only becomes possible when you throw away your own thoughts and accept the word.

Now! Everyone, are you sinners? Are you righteous?

Please raise your hand if you have become holy and righteous by having the same heart as God!

Yes! Your thoughts are not important at all. If God says that we are righteous, then we are righteous and if he had told us that we were sinners then we would be sinners. Let us look in 1 Corinthians 6:10-11.

In verse 11 it says, ‘And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God’. The Bible is telling us that we have been sanctified.

I hope that you can live a life where you do not trust you own thoughts but believe in the word of God so that God can bestow his grace upon you and help you in your life.”

“Today, Pastor has clearly protrayed my heart and the word of God. This was something that I was not sure about before, but now I was able to clearly learn the meaning of ‘we are sanctified’. Despite my own image, all I have to do is just have the same heart as God who has said that I am righteous.

The most important part of Pastor’s sermon was the fact that, despite what I may know, if I have the same heart as God, he will work through me. This is something that I have learnt for the first time.”  – Ni Sse Mun/ Blessing of God Church

“Although I knew that in the Bible, it is written, ‘my thoughts are not your thoughts’, I could not have a deep understanding of this. God has redeemed all of our sins so he is calling us righteous but because we still believe in our own judgements, we still thought that we were sinners. This truth was so amazing for me and I am thankful to God. This word is not only for us to listen to and change but I hope to share it with those around me, and as a Pastor’s wife, I would like to share it also with other Christian leaders. God has made us righteous and clean. I felt so thankful for the sermon today and I feel so thankful to God.”- Deena / Seruepeup Ssanssok Church

Just like the CLF in New York, that planted the seed of the Gospel into the hearts of 900 ministers around the world, there are people in Cambodia, who are rising up with the same heart as God. In the same way that God worked so greatly through David, despite David only being a shepherd, because he had the same heart as God, we hope that God will work powerfully through the many ministers in Cambodia.