Title: Fighting the most terrifying enemy
Contents
fight the most terrifying enemy
Matthew 10:34-39
※ Among the gospel hymns, there are gospel hymns with these lyrics. “The world wants peace, but there are more rumors of war. All these human suffering and fear are the only ones, the boredom is endless.”
But, saints, does the world really want peace? People want peace, but they continue to fight endlessly. And the nature of enjoying competition and fighting is inherent in man.
Sports are booming these days. The Olympics and World Cup are now global festivals. Among them, the World Cup regional qualifiers are currently in the final battle, and the interesting thing is that the blood pressure of the people of that country rises and falls depending on whether the soccer team in my country wins or loses.
There are many countries that were in danger of being eliminated even in the regional qualifiers this time from the countries that had advanced to the finals in the last competition and were winning the championship. The football powerhouse Netherlands has already been eliminated, and I know that Brazil is also performing a close-knit stunt of advance or elimination. And the countries that were unexpectedly eliminated from the World Cup qualifiers are in the mood of a portrait house.
Game by game It's not just the players who get distracted. The appearance of the people who leave the stadium when they win and when they lose is the difference between heaven and earth. If our country, as the host country of the World Cup, had not been able to automatically qualify for the finals, we would be preoccupied with the World Cup qualifiers by now.
But do you know why I'm talking about war and peace and then suddenly I'm talking about sports? I want to tell you why sports are so prosperous in this era. Why is the sport so prosperous?
Modern people are passionate about sports because it satisfies the nature of human competition and fighting. In the human heart, there is a desire for peace, but on the other hand, there is another nature that wants to conquer something by fighting it. In the past, those desires were satisfied through war, but now, in the era of peace and coexistence, the desire for fighting and conquest is satisfied through sports.
Again, humans have a desire for peace, but on the other hand, the instincts of fighting for pioneering and war for conquest are living and breathing separately. Now, it is only because of the great proposition of peace and coexistence that the human instinct to fight and conquer is being restrained. So what we must remember is that there can be no peace in the world. There is only peace in Jesus. If you go outside of Jesus, the whole world is full of battles.
These days, an abnormal current is forming in the world that used to lead to peace and coexistence. Countries are heating up missile development, and conferences for peace are cracking. Religious and ethnic conflicts are rekindling all over the world, and I think mankind has endured it a lot. During World Wars I and II, I was able to endure it because I had seen so many miserable faces.
Ladies and gentlemen, it may be sometime, but when you think you have endured it, mankind may play another gamble by following the instinct of fighting and conquering. This kind of war is a war that should not exist, and a war that must be stopped somehow. Because it's a fight that doesn't benefit anyone in the world at all. So, our prayers must be broadened. We must have the eyes of prayer that see further. When prayer is short-sighted, faith is also narrowed.
But in today's text, the Lord is talking about fighting. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. I have not come to give you peace, but a sword.” (verse 34)
He clearly says, “He came to fight.” And that fight is a strange fight. A man fights his father, a daughter fights her mother, and a daughter-in-law fights her mother-in-law. He says that it is a battle in which his family members become enemies. What the hell is this fight? What kind of fight is this? What is Jesus trying to say?
■ First, you are saying that ‘the most fearful enemy is within me and in the deepest part of me’.
※ Oda Nobunaga is one of the representatives of the “Azuchi Period,” which can be said to be the Warring States Period in Japan. As this man succeeded his father and became the lord of Owari, he defeated the surrounding forces one by one and set right through the chaotic era. And in my heart, I set the ultimate goal of unifying the world of Japan, and set my ambitions on fire.
And finally, he planned to mobilize a large army to subdue Mori, who was the last strong enemy, and to jump into the decisive battle himself and win the victory. How long have you been waiting for this moment? After all preparations are complete, tomorrow, the night before the final conquest, I slept at the temple called Honno-sa in Gyeong-do, which was the provisional staff headquarters.
But that night, on the night that tomorrow will be the main character of history, Oda Nobunaga is assassinated by his most trusted aide, Mitsuhide Akechi. That is why even today, when Japanese people say, “Beware of betrayal,” they are quoting the proverb “there are few enemies in Honno Temple.” It means “the worst enemy is not on the outside, but always on the inside.” Oda Nobunaga was unaware of this fact.
Where are the only people who have suffered fatal blows from the enemy from within, Oda Nobunaga? ?Park Jeong-hee? The president is Kim Jae-gyu, the head of the bodyguard that protects him. He was shot to the end by the chief of the bodyguard. Jesus? He was delivered to death by the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, a disciple who poured out love, ate and drank together, and had entrusted the money box with special trust.
What are you talking about? This is the lesson that ‘the most fearful enemy is not the enemy who is fighting with a gun, but is among those who believe in me the most’.
That is what Jesus is telling us today. I brought a sword, so I don't really mean to go and fight my father, wield a sword with my mother, or fight with my mother-in-law. You are saying that “if spiritual problems intervene, there will inevitably be unexpected fights even with very close family members.” So, you have to be careful about that battle, and you must never lose the spiritual battle. This is the battle that must be won by holding on to the word, the sword of the Holy Spirit, and fighting to the end.
But who is the scariest enemy in this war? There may be conflicts between husband and wife over matters of faith. There may be quarrels with father or mother, mother-in-law or daughter-in-law. So, are couples each other's worst enemies? Are your father and mother your greatest enemy? Is your mother-in-law or daughter-in-law the enemy you should be most wary of?
Jesus did not see Judas Iscariot, who betrayed and sold him, as a terrifying enemy. Moreover, he did not even consider him an enemy. Rather, he calmly embraced Judas Iscariot to the end. On the day of the Last Supper, the Lord did not say a single word of bitterness toward Judas Iscariot, who was brazenly seated among the other disciples. All he had to do was dip a piece of bread for Judas and say, “Do quickly what you are doing” (John 13:27). And he was so sorry for Judas' betrayal that he simply said, "It would have been better for me if I had not been born" (Matthew 26:24b).
Gentlemen, the enemy was not in Judas Iscariot, but in Judas Iscariot. The Bible says: “Soon after receiving the piece, Satan entered into it. Then Jesus said to Judas, “What you are doing, do quickly.” (John 13:27) The most fearful enemy and enemy was Satan, who had entered Judas.
Folks, our most terrifying enemy hides within me, in the deepest part of me. The enemy gives me laziness and indolence, gives me a heart to compromise with sin, and gives me a petty and narrow-minded heart so that I cannot forgive others. They try to destroy me through their closest family. You corrupt me through my closest friends. Through the relationship of brothers and sisters in the church, it hurts and hurts the heart.
The fact is that if the first stage operation is successful, the next step is that it enters the depths of me and begins to sink me.
■ Second, a cold bout with this very enemy is prayer.
Jesus certainly came to us as a messenger of peace. He came to bring peace between God and us, and to bring peace to our hearts. Look at the words of Jesus in John 14:27. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. What I give to you is not as the world gives.”
Therefore, we too, like the Lord, must stop fighting with guns and swords, and stop fighting with fists at any cost. However, the battle with Satan within us is a battle that must be actively fought.
Notice in verse 34 that Jesus, the messenger of peace, says, “I have come to give you a sword.” It is a terrifying declaration of war. This war that Jesus proclaims refers to the battle against Satan, the most dreadful enemy within us. The enemy that cannot be united is something that must be fought and defeated.
Dear saints!
Friends, sometimes peace is good, but sometimes war is good. That is the point of what the Lord is saying today. Peace that ignores the will of the people, and their alliances among themselves, eventually return as a heavy burden to be borne by the people. So when you need to be at peace, you have to be at peace, but when you fight, you have to fight. No matter what, in any relationship, if Satan is involved, there is no need for compromise. You have to fight. You must pick up your sword.
But how do we fight? We need to kneel down with the word of God. It is a battle that can only be fought on the knees of prayer. We must cast out the laziness and indolence that Satan gives us with the knee of prayer. Don't open your knees of prayer until your heart for compromise with sin has dried up. We must fight each other on our knees in prayer, until the petty, narrow-minded hearts that twist our love relationship are ash and powder.
Don't forget, the fight must be cool. When Jesus spoke of this battle, what he was saying about the relationship between mother and daughter, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law was that ‘we should not be swayed by emotions, recognition, or blood lineage’. It is true. Shouldn't my wife not eat the fruit of the knowledge of the knowledge of the knowledge of the knowledge of the knowledge of the knowledge of her? Shouldn't my friend's friendship not keep me from getting drunk? You should not be in a place other than the chapel on a Sunday just because it is ‘for your children’.
Ladies and gentlemen, this fight must be so cold that you even have to cut yourself off. So Jesus speaks again. “And he who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” (verses 38-39)
It says, “You must risk your life for prayer.” When we pray, we must throw away our tiredness. At most, there are people who fall asleep with me during prayer time. It is because they do not know how to risk their lives in prayer. If it's a battlefield where life comes and goes, you can't sleep even if you haven't slept for a few days. If you lose to prayer, the game is over. Do not sleep. Even if you pray for just five minutes, you must risk your life to pray. Prayer is a sober bout against the most formidable enemy within me.
Ladies and gentlemen, prayer is a victor. Because those who pray cannot lose. When Israel went to war with Amalek in the wilderness, Moses raised up his hands in prayer (Exodus 17:11). As long as this hand did not come down, Israel only prevailed. If you pray, you will surely win. There is no need to follow the charter. If the heavenly hosts and angels are together, why do we need to worry about the premortal world?
Let's raise our hands of prayer this night. Let's risk our lives to fight the enemy inside of us in a cold game. As long as we pray, please believe that the winner is ours. - Amen -