Title: Grace to All
Contents
If there is one wish that everyone has in common, it would be happiness. In this sense, we can say that Paul was a very happy man. He had a self-sufficient heart. He did not live for himself, he lived for others. I have always been humble. Even in prison, I lived with gratitude. I lived by blessing others. I forgot what I had already accomplished to catch up on what was in front of me, and I lived a life of non-stop running towards my vision. I lived today proudly with the conviction that even if I die tomorrow, I can enjoy eternal life in heaven. Truly, he can be said to be a truly happy and successful person. As I continued to study Ephesians weekly, I said, “Like Paul, I want to be successful in God. Through the grace of the Holy Spirit, I want to establish a happy family and a happy ministry.” As we look at the last part of the book of Ephesians today, I pray in the name of the Lord that all of us saints live like Paul, happy people, successful people, and recipients of grace.
First, what is “grace”?
Second, how can we receive this grace?
First, we need to know where grace comes from. Grace is not something I create. Grace comes only from Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who gave up his high and high throne and came to this earth to give us grace. And the Lord said, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). He also said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-38). In a word, the Lord gave grace to those who were desperate because of many diseases, failures, and misfortunes by calling unqualified people. So, He allowed us to rest in the Lord, enjoy the blessing of eternal life, and live a life of grace that overflows the river of living water every day. But the devil makes good things bad. It makes the bad guy even worse, preventing him from fully standing up. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that our Lord is the Lord of grace, who makes good people better and bad people good.
Also, grace can be received through the church. Guys, what kind of people come to church? We believe that we come to church to long for God's grace, to receive more grace every day, to live in grace, and to come to church. When we are living in this harsh wilderness-like world, if the grace of the Lord is with us, we will be able to live in this wilderness like heaven. If you look at the lyrics of Korean-Japanese Hymn 495, it is sung as follows.“1. My soul has been blessed with the burden of heavy sins, and when I see that this sorrowful world is transformed into heaven. 2. The kingdom of heaven, which I had seen far before I saw the face of the Lord, is being fulfilled in my heart, and it is getting closer day by day. 3. High mountains, rough fields, cottages, palaces, or wherever my Lord Jesus is enshrined, the kingdom of heaven Hallelujah, praise me, for all my sins are forgiven, and I walk with the Lord Jesus, wherever I go to heaven” (Amen).
I will conclude
Do you want to live as a successful person in your life? Do you want to live a happy life? If so, I pray that you will long for the grace of God. Just as the Apostle Paul was able to live a happy life in God's unchanging grace, which he confessed through the book of Ephesians, and to live a happy life in the midst of hardship, praising and giving thanks, not according to my feelings or emotions, but by the grace of God. I wish you a prosperous life each day. So, I pray in the name of the Lord that Paul's life of faith, which he confessed in 2 Corinthians 6:9-10, will be a happy life, a life of grace, and a life of blessing for all the dear servants of the Southern Kyoto Church and all of us members. do. 6:9 As unknown, yet famous; as dead, yet behold, we live, as disciplined, and not killed; 6:10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet as nothing. He who has everything” (Amen).