Title: Faith in Motion / Acts 3:1-10
In August 1910, the tragedy of Korea becoming a Japanese colony began. A miserable day began when our words were taken, our land was taken away, our faith was taken away, and our national consciousness was also taken away. The history of tears began as young women were taken to their will, young men to the military base, and to the coal mines.
As this history of deprivation began, on March 1, 1919, a nationwide movement was launched to reclaim the lost country. However, the Japanese people slaughtered and killed more than seven thousand five hundred people, bringing the tragedy. The roots of the Samil Movement were planted, and in 1945, our country had the morning of liberation, and found the stolen horses and land. We pray for our country so that such a tragedy does not happen again, and I hope that our love for our country will not grow cold.
It is clear that the root of this Triune Movement can be found in faith. The Japanese were forbidden to read the Bible. In particular, Exodus was stipulated as a strictly forbidden book. After reading the book of Exodus, it was forbidden to read Exodus for fear of being stimulated by the independence movement. The Samil Movement was a movement led by the church. All the members of Jeam Church in Suwon took the lead in the movement to find what was lost. At that time, Japanese police officers and military policemen entered Jeam-ri, gathered people in the church, set fire to the outside and fired, slaughtering 23 people in one spot and burning the entire thatched village of Jeam-ri.
It is not that I am trying to develop anti-Japanese sentiment through these stories. At least, it is something to remember and not to forget the historical events of the past.
The Samil Movement to regain the lost country was a faith movement led by the church. Of the 33 national representatives, 16 were Christians. It is said that when entering the names of the 33 people, the names of "the first to die" were entered first when deciding whose names to enter first. And the method of the Samil Movement was strictly non-violence. It is a movement that does not resort to violence and sacrifices itself to death. This movement is a movement that comes from the spirit of the cross. In 1923, after the Samil Movement, a magazine called New Life began to be published secretly. These magazines were published with the idea that our people who experienced the cross through the Triune Movement will now have new life through resurrection.
As such, the Samil Movement was a movement of faith. When the Israelites became slaves in Egypt, God called Moses and freed the people of Israel through Moses. The independence of the nation was God's work through Moses, and the independence of the nation of Israel was a movement of faith.
How, then, did this Triune Movement arise as a faith movement? It was because of "moving faith". God's Word doesn't leave people alone. make it move God is the mover. He creates heaven and earth with his words The universe moves, and the earth moves. He is the One who makes animals and makes them move, and he makes people to move. He not only moves our bodies, but also moves our minds.
Look at the text of the text. A person who has been crippled since birth. This man was not able to move his mind, so someone had to take him to him, and if he put it near the beautiful gate of the temple, he was begging for a few coins on the spot. Around 3pm, Peter and John go up to the temple to pray. begging for a dime I don't know if he was begging desperately. Peter and John stopped walking and approached the crippled man, and although I had no gold or silver to give, they said, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, get up and walk.” They took their right hand and got him up. .
This lame man was immobile. He was actively unable to do anything. However, through the name of Jesus I have been transformed into a person who can move, an active person who does something for the Lord.
This history also happened to our ancestors in our faith. If I had lived like a cripple, I would have been eating rations as I was dying. However, when they met Jesus in their hearts, their faith moved their hearts and made them cry for national independence. We also want to become active believers. Let's create a better environment with faith in action and faith in action. Let's make a new history.
So what's holding us back?
Fatalistic thoughts immobilize us. Fatalism is that some people are destined to live unhappy from birth, and others are destined to live happily ever after. It is the idea that some people are destined to rule and live while others are oppressed. In this crippled mind, I was born crippled, so I'll live like this and die while I'm out there. What will my destiny do for me to be born like this? At the time of the Samil Movement, the fate of our country became like this. If we thought that the fate of our country was in the hands of the Japanese, the Samil Movement could not happen. This is the fate of our country. This fatalism is used when resigning oneself.
Fatalistic thoughts make us die. Think of a woman who suffered from a hemorrhage for 12 years. This woman can be considered fatalistic enough. I've been here and there for 12 years to give birth to a disease, so I can resign, wondering if this is my destiny. But this woman did not give up and went to Jesus, believing that she could give birth just by touching the hem of Jesus' robe. In the end, he was healed by his faith. Fatalistic thoughts immobilize us.
There was a 38-year-old lame in the pool of Bethesda. There are times when the pond moves a lot, and there is a story that the first person to enter after the movement is healed. This man, having been crippled for 38 years, did not accept that this was my destiny, and tried anyway to go in first and fix it. Then he meets Jesus and the man is healed. Miracles do not come to those who give up their lives because of fatalism.
Moses meets God and is called. He tells them to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. If there were fatalistic thoughts in Moses' mind, how would he respond? Our people have lived like this for the past 430 years, so isn't it our nation's destiny to live like this? If he had asked, God would not have used Moses.
Fatalistic thoughts of resignation end up ruining us. I hope that if we receive the power that God gives us and move, we can have a clear conviction that we can create a new history.
If this crippled man had only been interested in coins, he might have been better off begging as a cripple. Those who think that matter is everything are those who can never move. The leaders of the people who participated in the Samil Movement were people who knew that there was something more important than material things. Today, in our country, many people sell their conscience and their honor because of material things. Although material things are good, the leaders of the nation knew that it was more important to live with true freedom.
Jacob was rejected after being a slave at his uncle Laban's house for 20 years. In any case, he could have had a happy time there. But he packs up all his belongings and returns to his homeland. He gives part of his fortune to his brother and wants him to forgive him. If it was in Jacob's mind that coins were the best, what would he do to return to his homeland? Reconciliation with his brother was more important to Jacob, giving him the courage to return to his homeland.
A person who lives with the best knowledge of material things, does not know how to use it wisely, lives in poverty and dies while being cursed. Dear saint! Get God's blessing and become wealthy. Don't spend too much, but save and save. And write nicely for the Lord. People who think material things are the best, how can they donate money, and how can they help those in need? Matter is like water, and if it stays in one place, the water will rot.
Rock paper scissors also has a philosophy. The person who clenched his fist, the person who made the cloth, and the person who made the fist loses. The person who cuts the furoshiki wins. Anyone who can't share what they have is a loser. The person who cuts the cloth wins over the person who can't share.
So do not resign that my destiny is to live and die this way. Those who live by thinking that material things are the best do not need faith, honesty, and conscience. How can those who live with this spirit be able to create the Samil Movement?
Dear saint! We are now in desperate need of a moving faith. After the lame rose up in the name of Jesus, they moved and jumped and praised the name of God. Abraham's faith drove him to leave Ur of the Chaldeans and move toward Canaan. Moses' faith led the Israelites out of Egypt and moved them to the land of Canaan. Peter's faith, determined to follow Jesus, left the boats and nets behind and made them move after Jesus.
The torch is lit in Athens, Greece before the Olympics. These lights will be transported to where the Olympics will be held. There are many runners, and the person holding this fire runs hard and leads to the next runner. This is what mature faith is all about. makes us move Faith moved the hearts of the ancestors of faith and caused the Samil Movement. They became the people who took the lead in saving the country.
We Christians should take the lead in thinking about our country more deeply and making our country a better country to live in. Politics is divided, and there are limits to making people and making the world a better place to live through education. The teacher who taught me to be a good person had to run away at the graduation ceremony for fear of being hit by the students. If you look at the broadcast, the situation is that they are only interested in excessive performance rather than directly guiding the people's spirit.
The time has come for the church to make a great contribution for our country. The time has come for the church to do something worthwhile for the community. The time has come to take on the role of revitalizing this decaying society. This is only possible when we have our “moving faith.”
A Jewish mother and her son bought a coat in a department store. Upon returning home, he found a diamond ring in his pocket. When the ring matched her mother's finger, the son said, "No one knows what's in your mother's clothes, so she wears it." Then the mother takes her son to the department store and talks about self-care. Let the department store owner say that the person who bought the clothes is the owner of the ring. My mother replied, "I only bought clothes, I never bought a ring. I'm Jewish." The child learned the value of honesty throughout his life through the ring. I want to be able to say, "Because I'm a Christian."
Let the church members move. Let's say hello first. Let the church give more concessions. Let the church members be kinder. Let the church members be more honest. Let the church members only tell good stories. Let the church members share a little bit more. This is the moving faith. I believe that our country will become a better country to live in when more believers move. Amen.