University Bible Fellowship Should we be the same or be different? Orginally posted at UBF Pioneering History God led our UBF ministry for the last 40 years based on Ex 19:5,6a, "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Looking back, we realized that God led us to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation for the last 40 years. Then what is the meaning of 'a holy nation'? Even though we can explain the meaning of 'a holy nation' in many ways, Mother Barry explained it as "people whom God is with." Last night Shepherd Andreas Krawinkle explained it as "those whose hands and hearts are clean." Here the word, "holy," means "separated or different." Therefore, "a holy nation" means, in one word, "different people." When God led the Israelites out of Egypt, God intended them to be different people from peoples of other nations. God wanted them not to serve man-made idols but to serve God, not to follow their sinful desires but to live according to God's laws, not to worry about what to eat, what to wear but to carry out God's mission as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. But to our disappointment, as soon as they went into the land of Canaan, they became identical with the Canaanites. Like worldly people, they served idols, only enjoyed flowing milk and honey, and abandoned God's mission. Finally they invited God's wrath upon themselves. When God established our ministry, God intended us to become "different people." God raised us up to be different from worldly people, gave us a specific mission different from that of other ministries, and led us to carry out our mission in different ways. Now it has been 40 years since our ministry began. Forty years reminds us of the forty years of the Israelites' wilderness training. Since the forty years are over, shall we go to the land of Canaan and enjoy flowing milk and honey? Sometimes it may be good to enjoy milk and honey. But one thing is clear: whether we enjoy milk and honey or not, in any and every circumstances, God's will for us is that we become different people, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. For the last two years our ministry experienced a painful division. Someone said, "Well, the time is changed. We have been persecuted a lot. Now let us change our ministry as one which serves the same common functions of the church." Others said, "We must maintain our specific mission, spirit and way of working in UBF to the end." To be the same or to be different: that is the question. But we know the conclusion very well. Until now, God led us to live different lives from that of the world. Because of this confidence that we are different people, we were willing to dedicate our youth to God and endure all kinds of hardships. If the UBF ancestors and we wanted to be the same with worldly people, why did we rejoice in all kinds of sufferings? The spiritual heritage God had given to the UBF ministry is, in one word, "different lives." No matter how difficult it may have been and how many persecutions we had to endure, we must maintain this spiritual heritage God had given to us through the UBF ancestors of faith. Therefore, we must go back to a Bible-centered ministry. In order to serve the word of God, we must encourage one-to-one Bible studies, Daily Bread and testimony writing. We must study the Bible and write messages based on the Bible passages. We must continue to raise up spiritual leaders through campus evangelism and carry out the world mission work through self-supporting lay missionaries. We must treasure the UBF ancestors' gospel faith and missionary spirit such as manger spirit, soldier spirit, giving spirit, self-supporting spirit, and pioneering spirit, and maintain them to the end. "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Exodus 19:5,6a (NIV)