Title: Green pastures (Psalm 23:1-6)
In the old days, King David sang in his later years, saying, "The Lord is my shepherd, I will not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters...".
You can see that there are green pastures where people who are children of God live. There is warmth and warmth in the pasture, and there are lush trees. All kinds of flowers are blooming and the sounds of birds are beautiful. There is truth and beauty, and life is vibrant. If so, let's take a few moments to think about what King David meant by the green pastures.
First, it is the green pasture called the word of God.
The pasture of the word of the Bible is what our believers should have. Without the Bible, there is no right way in this world. There are no navigation marks on the path of life. Our lives, sailing on this dark sea, can only go on to eternal life when we move forward according to the instructions of God's Word. The Bible, the Word of God, is also a great blueprint. Only when we obey those instructions can we build the true life that God requires.
Of course, you can also discover God's will through the natural world. When you look at the countless twinkling stars in the clear sky, you can feel the glory of God's creation and mystery. Obviously, you can find God's laws in the natural world. But nature does not specify God's true love, His grace, and especially the way of redemption and salvation. We cannot find the promise of my own personal salvation in the natural world. Only through the Bible, the Word of God, can we obtain these promises.
In addition, our conscience can teach the existence of God from the depths of our human beings and judge us to be good and moral. However, that conscience is extremely fragmentary. And because it is perishable, it cannot be a clear and thorough foundation. Only the unchanging and perfect Bible, the Word of God, is the standard for our lives.
Genuine Christians do not deny any part of the Bible or add their own thoughts because they think the Word of God is lacking. There is no need to amend the Bible of God's Word forever, although the Korean and American constitutions are sometimes amended or discarded. A stem that has been passed down for thousands of years has sometimes encountered the savage acts of savagery. There was also the persecution that tried to correct it with the knowledge of civilized people. However, the Bible continues to come down without change. Because the Bible is the Word of God.
In fact, the Bible truly satisfies all human spiritual needs. The Bible provides answers to all of life's deep problems. For example, it is the word that answers the most fundamental problems in life, such as the universe problem, life problem, sin problem, salvation problem, the afterlife problem, and eternal life problem.
will be It is also a book that gives courage to the weak. British cultural critic T. Carlyle says the Bible is the only book that for thousands of years has given life to and nourished the human soul and answered the deepest problems of the human heart."
1 Peter 1:23 says, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of immortal seed, by the living and abiding word of God." The Word of God is a living Word. It is always a Word. It is the word that regenerates us.
The Bible is the green pasture that makes life fat, gives life to the soul, and makes life worthwhile. In the past, the reason Witt was able to succeed in his life and faith was because he lived in the pasture called the Word of God. Let us try to live in the Bible too. And let's do everything as the Bible tells us to do. Let us be refreshed in the Word of God, which gives life the richest bread.
Also, what David called green pastures is green pastures called prayer.
Prayer is a person's breath in which the soul regenerates. Prayer is a condition for accepting all the grace that God gives us. If you pray and do more, you will receive more and more abundantly. Psalm 81:10 says, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” We must open our mouths wide for prayer. If you do that, you will be abundantly filled with all kinds of answers and blessings.
Jesus was in the field of prayer and loved the field of prayer.
Luke 5:16 says, "Jesus withdrew and prayed in a lonely place." That's right. Green pastures of prayer, no more clearly, no more direct seeing the face of our Heavenly Father. Prayer is the green pasture that we most enjoy and love and should have. Let's ask for more in the green pastures of prayer. No matter how much we ask, it cannot be greater than the heart that God will prepare for us. Rather than begging for a few drops of rain, let us pray for abundant showers. Rather than praying that the sun rises in the morning and brightens peacefully, let's pray for the noon sun to shine on everyone. Rather than just praying for the salvation of ourselves or our family, let's pray for the salvation of the entire Korean, South and North Korean people, and then pray for the salvation of all the people of the world. Let us open our mouths wide for prayer. God is pleased with such prayers. God does not disappoint those who pray. More is given to those who ask. It's never about saving.
Solomon ascended to the throne at the age of 20. Feeling the burden of responsibility, I went to God and prayed earnestly. When God said, "What do you want?" I prayed, "Give me wisdom." God not only gave him wisdom according to his prayer, but also gave him more wealth and honor. The paralyzed man who was brought before Jesus prayed for healing. As I prayed, I was healed. But on top of that, he received forgiveness of sins and allowed salvation. The murder robber on the cross barely said, "Remember me."
I was just praying, not only remembering, but also saying, “Today you will be in paradise,” and he gave you paradise. Pray without limits. You give more and you give abundantly. Let's live a strong life breathing the fresh air of heaven in the green pastures of prayer. In the green pastures of prayer, let us receive all kinds of rich promises to our heart's content and work vigorously. The more a sheep is alone, the more grass it can graze. You can receive more abundant grace when you quietly pray alone before God who sees in secret. The reason that David achieved such great victories in his tumultuous life of old was because he received abundant grace in the green pastures of prayer. However, there are many obstacles to entering the field of prayer, such as indifference, neglect, social life resentment, physical fatigue, changes in our mood, environment.... Defeat all of these and continue to pray
Let us live in pastures. Then a great history will be made.
Also, the green pasture that David spoke of is my father's house where I want to live forever, the green pasture called the church. The church serves as a green pasture for the words of the Bible and prayer, and is a resting place for our souls to rest and be refreshed. God protects those people with a special fence. Beasts cannot invade. If the church had no fences, the weak Christians would have been trampled on the road of this world. Psalm 125:2 says, “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord will surround his people from now to everlasting.” The church is always a green pasture that God protects. But the church glorifies God through worship. Man's primary purpose is to glorify God. Worship is what glorifies God above all other actions. Worship is an act of turning from a human-centered life to a God-centered life. Hearing everything from God, leaving everything to God,
Worship is the way to receive love, to receive God's protection, and to give yourself up to the cross where you are saved through Christ and receive a new life.
A man like Daniel ruled over 127 provinces and was a highly trusted minister from Nebuchadnezzar to King Darius. But he valued worship first. Therefore, there was no chapel at that time, so I kept the window open toward the temple in Jerusalem, my home country, and worshiped all the time. I was in a situation where I couldn't worship because of the scheming of the clergy. However, he was prepared to enter the lions' den and worshiped. It's something we have to learn. This is Abraham's altar, and Moses' 40 years of living in the wilderness were all worship services. Worship is a mandatory life requirement. You don't have time, you're busy, or your circumstances don't allow.
This oil cannot be attached. You must live your life centered on worship only.
The church has the fellowship of saints. True Christians live with one another in the church, not to receive, but to give. It is dedicating the voice of my prayer to the prayers of others. It is to combine my praise with the praises of others to Christ. The life of the church is to apply my strength to the blessings of others so that God's holy will can be accomplished. The church is united with one another with a sense of body. And the church is where the faith grows. It's like a cultivating farm. Progress in religious knowledge, improvement of character, development of character and endurance, increase of hope, and volunteer work are like garden trees growing. Some believers have something like an expensive cedar. There is one like an olive tree that gives oil.
Others are like vines that bear fruit. It looks like a thriving pomegranate tree. By empowering the church life in Christ, our spiritual and physical life all develop and improve.
During our lifetime, when we live in green pastures called the true word of God, green pastures called prayer that answers everything more abundantly, and green pastures called the church that bestows the greatest grace on our lives Like David in the old days, we can give victory and make a great contribution to human society.