Title: For Revival
Contents
title ; for revival
main text ; Matthew 5:9
The new year of 2003 has just dawned.
After the Song Gu-Young-Sin service, the members who shared tteokguk together or the members who could not eat tteokguk due to fasting were forced to grow older by one year.
In other words, the time to leave this world and go to heaven is getting closer. To some people, saying that you are going to heaven is 'Hallelujah!' It may sound like a good word, and to some people, 'Lord- !' And there will be some people who feel sad for some reason.
I also turned 90 this year, that is, 45 years old.
Obviously, my heart is young in my 20s, but I can't believe that I'm 45. Not only me, but some of the members of our church who have passed 80 and will soon be 90 years old, who also always say, "Even when you are old, your heart is young!"
says that.
Everyone, there is a saying, 'Time goes by so fast.'
Not long ago, there was a fuss about the coming of a new millennium, or New Millenium, but quickly 2000 passed, 2001 went, 2002 went, and 2003 came.
And this new year of 2003 will eventually pass by so quickly.
While I am sadly looking at the passing of time so quickly, I renew my resolve to be more faithful and faithful, more kind and good, and better fulfill the mission God has given me while I am on this earth.
Before I met God and I desperately realized the great grace of salvation of Jesus, the purpose of coming to church and believing in God was purely for myself, so I always prayed like this when I came to church.
“God, please grant my wish. Please solve my problems. If you do not grant my wish, I may not believe in God. And if I do not satisfy my mood, I may not come to church. So, God, you know well. I guess. What do you mean?"
However, after realizing the grace of Jesus dying on the cross to save me, the Apostle Paul said, "Now that I live in the flesh, I live by faith in God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). ), as I confessed, I decided to live a life for Jesus rather than a life for myself.
I know that not only me, but most of the people here are living with the resolve to live for Jesus.
Therefore, when the new year comes, I try to think about various things and make resolutions to please Jesus more.
Everyone, I want to ask you.
“Now that the new year has come, what thoughts and resolutions have you made to please Jesus, who gave his life to save you?”
“Yes, I have decided to read the Old and New Testaments thoroughly this year. I also plan to do evangelism in two or more families. I also pray for an hour every day. ."
Those who make this decision must have believed in Jesus for a while and have experienced the grace of Jesus.
However, those who have just believed in Jesus and have not yet fully realized the grace of Jesus' atonement may confess this.
“Jesus, I missed a lot of Sunday worship last year.
If you made this resolution for the Lord in the new year, and if you want to make this commitment, Jesus' heart will be very happy.
The Bible says that 'the kingdom of heaven belongs to the violent ones' (Matthew 11:12), so I pray that you will have a year of abundantly obtaining all kinds of good treasures in the kingdom of heaven by serving God with more zeal in the new year.
Even if we think about it, life is too short and the years pass so quickly, how short can the eternal God think?
The Bible says, “A thousand years have passed in your sight, as yesterday, and as a watch in the night” (Psalm 90:4).
And the Lord wishes for the millennium as if it were a day, and there is always something to wish for in the new year. He wants the church, which is the body of Jesus Christ, and the children of God, to be revived and prosperous on this earth.
God said to Adam and Eve:
“Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth” (Genesis 1:28).
He also said the same thing to Noah. “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth” (Genesis 9:1).
He also spoke to Abraham, the father of faith. "Look up to the sky and count the stars, if you can. So shall your descendants be." (Genesis 15:5)
Gentlemen, God desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).
In other words, each church strongly desires to be filled with more and more members. However, Satan wishes that the number of believers in each church would decrease, and that the church would be destroyed.
Furthermore, in order to destroy the church, the branch of the kingdom of heaven, and put the saints into temptation, they will make a new resolution in the new year and try to attack us like a roaring lion.
In particular, it is a very self-evident fact that the first target of Satan's attack, who knows well that his time is running out, is the body of the Lord and its members.
In the end, then, Satan and we must wage a fiercer war with each passing year. Of course, this war has already ended in our victory.
Since Jesus Christ died on the cross 2000 years ago and was resurrected on the third day, Satan had already been defeated.
However, Satan is making the final effort to destroy the church and its members, the body of Jesus, to take revenge on Jesus Christ, who drove him to defeat and judgment.
Today, Satan tries to deceive each of the saints with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of this world, and he persists in trying to instill false ideas and false knowledge to lead them away from the truth.
And Satan knows better than anyone how to most effectively destroy the church and the saints.
One of Satan's methods is to cause divisions, quarrels, and strife among the saints, and to break peace, harmony, and reconciliation. Moreover, if a party and a faction are formed and quarreled with each other, the entire congregation will be put to the test, and the church will be destroyed in an instant.
In order to prosper and develop not only the church, but also the family, society, and nation, we must avoid contention.
Naturally, it is impossible for nations that fight each other, countries that fight with each other, and families that fight against each other achieve prosperity and revival.
So is the church. In order for the church to revive and grow, there must be absolute reconciliation and harmony among the saints.
The Bible also speaks of this.
“Every nation divided against itself will be brought to ruin, and every town or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Matthew 12:25) “If you bite and eat of one another, be careful lest you each perish” (Galatians 5:15).
Everyone, those of you who have been immigrants for a long time probably know this.
Wherever you go, the immigrant society finds it very difficult to achieve reconciliation and harmony.
The reason for this is that Korean culture and foreign cultures are mixed together, and it is probably because people who are smart in their own way and who have a very strong ego come to immigrate.
And one of the bigger reasons is that prayers here are not as strong as in Korea, so the devil works harder than in Korea.
However, in order to achieve the prosperity, revival, and development we so long for, we must achieve harmony, reconciliation, and peace even in these difficult circumstances. To do this, we must drive away the forces of Satan that seek to destroy reconciliation and harmony and cause divisions and strife from our homes, our churches, and our country and people.
And there is no other way to do that, except through prayer, as Jesus said (Mark 9:29). Therefore, if you want peace and reconciliation, and if you want revival and prosperity, you must pray earnestly.
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In 2003, one of our church's goals is to 'Pray hard for revival'. Our prosperity, our happiness, our progress, our revival depend on prayer.
So each of us must make clear resolutions in the new year.
“I will become a person of reconciliation and harmony in the church.”
Ladies and gentlemen, when there are many people of peace and harmony, the church is naturally revived. Families naturally become happy families. A country can naturally pursue prosperity.
On the other hand, the greatest obstacles to our happiness, prosperity, and revival are hatred, contention, and division.
However, you cannot achieve peace, harmony, and reconciliation if you have a proud heart that you must be better than others and that you must be higher than others.
Rather, when there is a person who sacrifices himself more than others, considers others better than himself, and acts as a servant himself, prosperity, development, happiness and revival will be realized there.
Therefore, one of our church's other goals in 2003 is to 'act right for revival'. That is, let us act to achieve harmony and peace.
Folks, the Bible says.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
“God is not a God of confusion, but a God of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33).
“Therefore, let us be more diligent in the work of peace” (Romans 14:19).
“Forsake evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:14).
Ladies and gentlemen, in this foreign land, we need to be reconciled and reconciled.
The family must be reconciled, the immigrant society must be reconciled, and the church, the branch of the kingdom of heaven, must be more reconciled. And where there is that reconciliation and harmony, there is our prosperity, revival and happiness.
Therefore, in this new year of 2003, let's pray even more diligently. And let's do more right. So let's become the protagonists who make the kingdom of heaven beautiful even in this difficult foreign land.
And on that day, let us all receive praise from the Lord who loves us so much and receive great comfort. Amen !