Title: Faith and Determination/Mark 2:1-12
Content Faith and Determination/Mark 2:1-12 Rev. Kiho Um
The motto of Eiji Toyota, president of Toyota Motor Japan, who is called “the magician who created the world’s best automobile company,” can be summarized in two mottos: “Silence and Strength” (實質剛健).
The success or failure of everything depends on the decisions you make at the decisive moment.
A person has many good opportunities to live a successful life throughout his life, but because he cannot make a decision, he misses the opportunity and regrets it for the rest of his life.
The determination to act boldly without hesitation if it is judged right is the wisdom that leads to success in life.
Today, I don't know how many people today believe in Jesus and know that it is the will of the Lord, but because they do not have the determination, they cannot stop what they want to quit and cannot take what they want, so they remain in the shameful Christian life for the rest of their lives. There are many decisive figures in the Bible, and one of them is Moses.
The Bible says, "He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's princess" (Hebrews 11:24) in order to share suffering with the people of Israel. Moses was a man of determination who regarded the splendid wealth and glory as dung and cut it off.
Because of this decision, Moses became God's true servant and the leader of the century, freeing millions of Israelites from slavery and leading them to Canaan, flowing with milk and honey.
A person with determination always achieves great things. And God still wants such a decisive person. Therefore, we earnestly hope that we will become saints with the determination of faith through the determined people of faith in the Bible.
The paralytic's faith and determination
According to the text, when Jesus was in Capernaum, a large crowd gathered and there was no room for doubt. There were clergymen who tried to rebuke them, the curious audience, and the sick who came to be cured.
In this diverse crowd, Jesus was quietly preaching the gospel of the kingdom. And there a paralytic was on a stretcher carried by four men and came to meet Jesus.
However, he couldn't get in because of the people who had reached the front door.
He was ill. He was sick in heart and sick in spirit, and he was really dry. He was a weak being who could not live without the help of others.
Although he was alive, he was unable to sustain his own life, and he was a straggler who led a meaningless and defeated life without the strength to lead his own life.
But he was the one who took advantage of the opportunity.
Jesus' visit to Capernaum was one of the most blessed moments of his life.
As soon as he heard that Jesus had come to Capernaum, he made a decision. He made the decision to meet Jesus even if he was in the hands of other people. He was determined to accept any sacrifice and shame.
Of course, obstacles awaited him. There was a situation in front of him where he had no choice but to give up. But he didn't come back. I wasn't disappointed, I wasn't disappointed, I wasn't giving up. I didn't even put off coming back tomorrow.
Although he lived like a wretch for a long time because of the sins of the past, when the opportunity to meet the Lord came, he decided to seize the opportunity and overcome any obstacles. As a result, he experienced a miracle of healing.
We need the belief and determination that ‘the problems facing today will be resolved clearly at this moment’.
What Jesus saw in the paralytic was not his appearance, the depth of his illness, or his material. It was his determination and faith.
Even if you are in a situation where you cannot go to church or pray because of complicated problems with work and business, health and family, children and school, make up your mind that you will draw closer to the Lord on the spot.
Then, not only will the spiritual fellowship be active, but the fullness of grace will be revealed in your life. The work of faith will take place, the forgiveness of sins will be given, and joy will overflow.
Bartimaeus' faith and determination (Mark 10:46-52)
One day Jesus passed through Jericho.
The disciples and thousands of people were following the Lord, and an unfortunate young man was sitting on the side of the road, sadly waiting for the Lord to pass.
He was blind and a beggar.
Although he had a wonderful name, 'Badimaeus,' meaning 'son of a noble man', he belonged to the lowest class of the poor and was cursed and crippled.
He was in a state of complete despair. It was such a life where there was no light of hope at all. But that's when I heard the news that Jesus was going down this road.
At that moment, he was determined to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He was in a desperate position where he had to meet the Lord, and he was burning with earnest hope.
Bartimaeus shouted loudly at the people who were muttering blindly, bursting their throats.
“Jesus, Son of David! Have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47).
He was ignorant, but he was sure that if the Lord had mercy on him, he would surely help him. But he also ran into difficulties. Many people rebuked him for ‘be quiet’.
There was no one in the crowd to lead him to Jesus or to help him. Everyone criticized him and pressured him to be quiet.
But he didn't give up. I begged and screamed even more. I didn't even step back.
Moreover, he cried out to Jesus with a clear purpose. He knew what the fundamental problem was to be solved. He doesn't need everything else, but to see is his most earnest wish. Prayer is just that.
Most of the prayers of the saints are only prayers for their husbands or wives, for their children to be healthy and study well, or for success and success.
But we need earnest prayer, high-level prayer, and clear-purpose prayer.
Bartimaeus' decisive actions and beliefs solved his fundamental problems and finally made him a victor in life.
In addition, when the woman who suffered from bleeding for 12 years made a decision of faith, the work of healing occurred (Luke 8:48).
When Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, came to the Lord with determination and pleaded with him, his daughter was raised from the dead. Although he did not know where he was going, Abraham, who made a decision and acted in faith in the Word of God, was blessed to become the father of faith.
Psychoanalyst Theodore Rubin once said, “I believe that success is the result of extraordinary decisions made by ordinary people.”
Do not hesitate while predicting circumstances or fate, and let us become believers who make decisions with confidence and hope when the opportunity to meet the Lord comes.
In Proverbs 8:17-19, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. It is better than a thousand silver.”
I pray that you will become saints who discern God's will and live a life that produces the blessings and miracles that God has promised through decisive faith and actions.