Title: Faith alone (Matthew 26:57-68)
Contents Lent Special Special (19) - Faith alone (Matthew 26:57-68) - Rev. Il-guk Eom
[Matthew 26:57-68]
We see Jesus being taken away to the high priest and council and suffering. Although Jesus is innocent, he is in a situation where he will eventually be judged by the high priests and councils with the threats and false witnesses of many. Seeing that Jesus was pure and without sin, yet exposed to the threats and tricks of these people, we remember the words of Jesus that we will also face suffering, persecution, and judgment from people in the last days. There will come a time when we Christians too will suffer through Satan's schemes. Jesus didn't say anything at that time, but said that whatever the Holy Spirit said, he would say it. He is telling us to live as wise as serpents and innocent as doves in the last days. Although Jesus is the innocent Son of God, you can see that he is silent and silent, trusting the Lord step by step through these sufferings, and wisely coping with the heart of a child.
Even today, many people testify falsely. In The Da Vinci Code, Jesus' wife is Mary Magdalene, and the tomb of Jesus' family has been discovered. In the last days, there will be a trend of denying Jesus, denying the power of the Holy Spirit, and disregarding the end times of God. Satan is trying to somehow threaten the steps that God is now leading us to the end times. They attack spiritually and try to take the seeds of faith before it takes root. We need to be aware of this and be alert, so that we can take root of faith deep in our hearts and examine ourselves daily to see what God wants us to do.
In that sense, as we watched Jesus go into the midst of the high priest and council, we thought that we should keep our hearts completely rooted in Jesus, standing on Him, and that Jesus is always looking at us among us. The truth we need to keep in our midst every day is that the Lord is among us. If there is any reason why we should live with fear and trembling, it is the fact that the Lord, the true Judge, is in us. At the same time, if there is a basis for living our lives with peace of mind and joy, it is also that the all-knowing Lord is with us as our advocate. Therefore, every word, deed, thought, and decision we make will be the best resource for the Lord to determine our destiny in the last days. For that reason, living in the Lord as we live before God becomes the spirituality we should most seek in this age.
These days we are really living in the end times. The day that the Lord has promised to come is drawing nearer. That means the tension is increasing. Now is a time of change of everything, and we have entered the transition mode of the end times. There will be new events that will unfold in history. As Daniel prophesied, there will be people who shine like stars, and there will be people who will be healed, and as the autumn of history becomes the harvest time, many people will be saved. The news we hear even now is that we are now living at a time when the number of people being saved is the highest in history.
At this time, God is saying that what God requires is that the church be as pure as doves and wise as snakes. As the Lord's brides, the church needs to watch and pray and become like the Lord to prepare for the wedding feast. Our enemy, Satan, is by no means an easy enemy. All the accusations, slanders, judgments, pains, and false witnesses inflicted on Jesus will be done to the believers. If possible, they will threaten the saints with suffering unto death, trying to steer them away from the faith. Ironically, however, in this tension and conflict, the Church, the bride of Christ, is restored to purity and love for Christ. God's providence and guidance are hidden in this mystery.
Therefore, what each church really needs to prepare is to adorn their body and mind as the bride of Christ. It starts with laying down the weapons of the world I have. It is to lay down my agenda and wait for the grace of the Lord. We come out with many prayer topics. All my problems are my thoughts. I don't know how many conclusions I have made with my carnal thoughts about what the Lord's will is for me to do in this world. We have to start by putting this down. This is because, in order to accomplish God's will, what is more important than my will is 'a heart to love the Lord with purity and purity.' If I wait for the grace of the Lord, things will happen in my heart that yearn for the clothes of the Lord. Our hope must be in the Lord, and the only ground for rejoicing must be in the Lord. Even though our appearance appears to be broken, broken, and crumbling, in the midst of it our Lord is exalted and praised.
In this text, the Lord is truly wise in dealing with the spiritual battle. The Lord does not converse with Satan. He does not respond and is silent. He does not stand against those who practice lawlessness. In order to fight and win in the world, you must become a strong person with a strong weapon. It is a worldly battle that can be won by fighting with worldly weapons. It is a battle of blood and flesh. The most worldly weapons are lies and trickery. The only way to win a fight with someone armed with this is to fight with a lie and trick that is stronger than your opponent. This is not pleasing to the Lord, so Christians should not engage in this fight. Therefore, the treasure of the Lord is made.
Aren't our workplaces and homes surrounded by this kind of circumstance where we must use lies and trickery? Rejoice and be grateful!! God is making us. We have no choice but to fight against false evidence, whether created by the world or planted in our hearts by Satan, and only when we overcome this can we develop pure love for the Lord in our hearts. The Lord's way of fighting and winning over Satan was simple. Instead of mobilizing Satan's methods, he simply defeated them and looked only at God. The way to fight and win in this spiritual warfare is not to confront them, but to fix our eyes on God, check our clothes, and see if the ground we stand on is solid Jesus Christ. The Lord said, 'You can do nothing apart from me'. Now God doesn't judge us by believing in Jesus, but He looks at what we have done in Jesus and what we have said in Jesus. Our Lord remembers what we have done in Him.
Although he was heading down the road of suffering, the Lord's gaze was only on the Father and the people who would be in his kingdom. In today's text, we see the Lord revealing the truth without being involved in conspiracies with unwavering firmness. We must examine ourselves to see if we are following the path the Lord has walked. We need to examine ourselves to see if we have the inner strength to boldly testify of the Lord in the face of the attacks of many. We need to check whether we are focusing on God with a firm heart to seek the Lord in purity in the face of the attacks of all people and the world. The mission given to us is not to live a life of faith to fulfill my will on this earth, but to engrave in our hearts the call of the Lord who has planted us on this earth to fulfill God's will in the last days.
I pray in the name of the Lord that this morning will come when I renew my heart toward the Lord.