Title: Great Decision, Great Life
Contents The Apostle Paul was on his way up to Jerusalem for the last time after a long missionary journey. On the way, when he stopped for a while at the port of Miledus, he asked the elders of the church in Ephesus, which he had pioneered. And looking at the elders in Ephesus, he said these things. “I am on my way up to Jerusalem, and I do not know what will happen when I go. The Holy Spirit says to me that bondage and tribulation await me in every city!” At the same time, the Apostle Paul clearly stated his determination. Acts 20:24.
“I do not regard my life as of any value in any way, so as to finish my course and the mission I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
What a great decision indeed. It means that he will run to the end of the path given to him, no matter what difficulties he may face.
1. The Apostle Paul had a strong will to be consistent.
“My way,” he said. He had a strong spirit that he had to run to the end no matter what the path given to him. The Apostle Paul met the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus when he was young. From then on, during his life of faith, he suffered many kinds of persecution and suffering that cannot be described in words. Nevertheless, he had a strong will to run to the end. He had to give up everything he had. I was naked and hungry. He was beaten and thrown into prison. However, he had a strong will to keep running until the end of the road that was given to him, without becoming discouraged or discouraged. He was able to live a great life because he was determined to be consistent.
The people who decorated a page in human history have something in common. They went through the same hardships as we did, but they did not give up and did not give up and continued to achieve great lives until the end.
2. The Apostle Paul had a burning sense of duty with one heart.
The apostle Paul had a burning sense of duty in his heart, “to finish the mission he received from the Lord Jesus, that is, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” The Apostle Paul is a man who lived on a mission and died on a mission. He must have suffered so much persecution in order to testify of the gospel, but he was a man with a strong sense of duty who did not regard his life as precious at all in order to fulfill the mission given to him.
3. The Apostle Paul had the spirit of martyrdom.
“I do not count my life of any value,” he said. In order to accomplish the mission entrusted to him no matter what difficulties he faced on the road given to him, the Apostle Paul said that he would not regard his life as precious at all.
Who is the scariest person in the world? I know that there are people who risk their lives. There is no fear for those who risk their lives. There are no scary people. Also, only those who risk their lives will be able to fulfill the mission given to them.
It was a time when Korea was under Japanese rule. An independent army was formed, vowing to return to the homeland. At that time, it was said that in order for anyone to join the independence army, they had to confidently answer at least three questions to enter.
① Are you prepared to be shot to death? ② Are you prepared to starve to death? ③ Are you prepared to freeze to death in the cold?
There are three questions, but in fact you are asking one thing. Are you ready to die? is to do It's a one-shot. People die once, not twice. It's a life we all have to go through at least once someday. If so, shouldn't we put our hearts on something more valuable, meaningful, and great? I know that we also need to have the spirit of 'one-sidedness', 'one-sidedness', and 'one-sided resolve'.
application of the word life
(1) What grace did you receive during the sermon on Sunday?
(2) A person who wants to run to the end no matter what path is given to him
Are you willing?
(3) Do you work with a sense of mission to fulfill the mission given to you?
(4) When it comes to the Lord's work, do you work as a martyr with every step of your mind?
(5) To live according to the spirit of “Choji and Consistency”, “One-sided heart” and “One-sided resolution”
Do you want to offer a prayer of confession?