Title: Grace to a Thousand Generations
Contents
Since God is the Creator who created all things in the world,
He is all-powerful, who strengthens the weak and heals the sick.
▣ Did God create man in His image and likeness?
Man was meant to live with all things in the world and with God in heaven.
As such, human beings are the only creatures that have received God's blessings both physically and spiritually.
Not everyone can receive the blessing of eating and drinking in the kingdom of God, but only those who know God on earth while living in the flesh and believe in Jesus as their Savior can receive the blessing of eternal life in heaven.
If a person does not gain the ability to live in the kingdom of God forever while he is on earth, he will be forever forgotten by God and dwell in suffering. Together with this, we can live forever in that heaven where there are no tears and no sorrow.
▣ God sent His Word and Son to save us eternal life, obsessing over the lusts of the flesh without realizing our sin.
▶ The word of God- is the greatest power to raise the dead and bring things into existence. God not only insists on the life and death of the people He created, but He also wants to help thousands of people by being gracious to them.
▣ It is God's will that people live well on this earth and be strong in spirit and body.
▣ It is God's will for the inheritance and descendants to prosper, and it is God's will to live a holy life.
Human beings created by God are always challenged with numerous choices at the crossroads of blessings and curses. Since God has no regrets, He is extremely righteous who works and takes action according to human decisions no matter which one he chooses.
If a person violates the limit set by God to fulfill the greed of the heart, he will be cursed and will not be able to prosper both physically and mentally. He is the one who willingly pours out blessings after giving.
▣ God gave the law to claim ownership of all things in the world we live in. The law is God's heart to train human beings who despise God's will through greed)) and who declared freedom before God in order to fulfill the desires of the flesh rather than being guided by God. It is the good news of life given to those who are born again as children of God after discovering sin and evil.
▣ So Jesus, who came to give life to the world, said in John 8:31-32,
He said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Although Jesus, who came as the Son of God, is the word in essence, he was challenged by various cultures in the world as long as he had a human form, and he could not escape the suffering and death of life.
Jesus, the first Son of God, was born in a stable in Bethlehem, the smallest town in Judea, and grew up as a carpenter's son in Nazareth. He has granted wealth and health to us, but the enemy of our faith, the devil, not only darkens people's hearts and minds so that they do not know God, but also prevents God's people from doing their own thing, so that they will buy God's wrath.
However, if a person comes to God with his own heart and will and wants to live with God's help, God will open a storehouse in heaven and bless him for thousands of generations.
▣ Everyone wants happiness for themselves and for their descendants as well.
▶ However, no matter how determined a person is to receive blessings, if God, the source of blessings, does not give them, they will not receive them, and even if they have received them, they will lose them.
▶ Also, although we have not inherited the blessings from our parents, there are blessings that God fills us through the years.
Because God wants all mankind to be blessed and prosper, He has given everyone, believers and non-believers, the right to live on this earth.
Ecclesiastes 5:18- “I have seen good and beautiful that a man should eat and drink, and enjoy the pleasure in all his toil under the sun, which God has given him, and this is his portion.”
▣ What is the share that everyone enjoys?
All of life is something that is gained in return for hard work and hard work, but sometimes it can be lost.
However, the special grace and blessings that God gives are God's from the beginning to the end, so even though they do not seem to exist, He makes them exist, and even though they appear to be destroyed, He makes them rise.
We should receive the grace and blessings that are God's special possessions in our generation and in thousands of descendants.
▣ What is God's grace?
As God's free acts for those without merit, we are talking about blessings and health. How do we receive these things?
1. You must not make idols for yourself.
There are two kinds of idols- visible and invisible.
The idols that children of God can make are not tangible idols, but intangible idols.
▣ Intangible idols are things that we value more than God.
The Bible says that the heart is the element of the soul, that is, the place where God dwells is not the mind, but the heart.
God does not exist in our minds through the Word and Spirit, but He is present in our hearts.
That's why Proverbs 4:23- "Guard your heart above all else, for out of it are the fountains of life." He says that those who give their hearts to God can receive the life of God.
If our hearts are not clean and pure, God will never be present by His Word and Holy Spirit.
Because grace and blessing belong to God, blessings come and grace comes wherever God is.
The idols of the heart are things that precede God, and there can be many things.
Ex)) Material, children, culture and environment, honor and power can become idols.
※ Curse and death are prepared for those who will perish,
※ Believe that blessings, life, and grace are prepared for those who are loved by God, and please do not make idols for yourself to receive God's grace for generations and generations.
2. We must not offend God because we worship idols.
Verses 4-5, “You shall not make for yourself idols, and you shall not serve them; for your God is a jealous God, and I will pay for the sins of those who hate me, from father to son to the third and fourth generation.”
God is very righteous in His disposition, but He shows love toward those who obey Him and love Him, but He is extremely righteous and sometimes jealous of those who worship intangible or tangible idols other than God.( verse 5)
God is the one who thinks with us what we think, sees with our gaze, and hears and does what we say (Numbers 14:28).
▣ Therefore, God's blessings and graces come to those who want to live a God-centered life, serve God with good thoughts and hearts, and use good language as salt.
Through the Bible we provoke God to those who are perishing,
You can see people who are loved and favored by God by guarding their thoughts and hearts.
▣ Saul- He bought God's wrath by putting his own thoughts ahead of God's.
▣ David- Before doing anything, he always prays first and obeys God's will, even if there is damage, so he is loved and favored.
We pray that in order to receive blessings and grace, we must remember that our own hearts and minds must never go ahead of God, and do not arouse the jealousy of God by removing the idols of the heart and the idols of the environment.
3. We must love God and keep His Word to practice.
Verse 6 - “I show mercy to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
In the Bible, the word “up to a thousand generations” appears 5 times including today’s text, and all of them are related to blessings.
Deuteronomy 5:10 says, “I show kindness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
God is the source of the blessing that people long for, but God is also the source of grace and love.
▣ There are 4 types of love in the world, but those who value their souls must receive the most valuable agape love in the world, that is, God's love and God's love.
Like a chameleon, human love changes with the environment and with time, but God's love does not change forever. It is a love that preserves human spirit and body.
Therefore, believers who love God try to obey, keep, and do the Word with a willing heart. However, believers who do not fully love God, while longing for heaven, not only love God in a dry way, but also fail to obey God's Word, which is the channel of blessing and grace.
Because God is not wrathful, He does not reap where he did not sow.
He is an upright person who surely reaps from what he sows (2 Corinthians 9:6).
▣ Everyone dreams of a life in which they receive blessings from grace and enjoy the blessings during their lifetime.
However, since blessing belongs to God, we can receive the blessing that people long for only by giving it to us. In order for all of us to prosper throughout our lives and to pass on God's grace and love to thousands of descendants, do not create idols in our hearts and minds, God Please do not be angry with God, and I pray that you love God and obey His Word.