Title: How to discern the will of God
Contents
Sunday, June 7, 2009 Sermon
Sermon Title: How to discern the will of God
Word: Genesis 16:1-6
1 Sarai, Abram's wife, was barren, and she had a maidservant, an Egyptian, and her name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, "The LORD has not given me birth. Go in to my maid, please. 3 Abram's wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maidservant, and gave it to her husband Abram as a concubine, ten years after Abram had dwelt in the land of Canaan. 4 Abram slept with Hagar, and Hagar became pregnant, and when she found out she was pregnant, she despised her mistress. 5 Sarai said to Abram, You deserve the insult I receive. I have put my servant girl in your arms. 6 And Abram said to Sarai, "Your maidservant is in your hand; do to her as it pleases you." So Sarai said to Hagar, when she knew that she was pregnant and despised me. mistreated, and Hagar fled before Sarai.
0. Introduction
June is the month of patriotism. Inter-Korean relations are going through a really difficult time. I hope that it will be a month of protection for the country where people can pray for peace with love for the country and people. Abraham is positioned as the father of faith in the three major existing religions. Christianity, Judaism and Islam regard him as the father of faith. Although Christianity, Judaism, and Islam share the same root of faith with Abraham, the father of faith, they are at odds with each other due to conflicts between religions. The clash between Judaism and Islam has become a gunpowder in the Middle East, and the clash between Christianity and Islam is also making the world ignorant of terrorism.
Although Abraham is in the glorious position of the father of the faith, he also became the seed that contributed to the conflict between religions. What caused the unwillingness of Abraham, the father of the faith, to provide for a clash of religions? This is because they did not understand God's will and did it according to their own will. And he is still paying a huge price for Abraham's mistake in doing his own thing. We sincerely hope that this will be a precious time for us to understand the true way to discern and follow God's will, not our own, through our mistakes.
1. Is it based on the Word of God?
Are we based on God's Word as our first standard in following God's will? Or is it based on your own judgment? should be diagnosed. Abraham was called at the age of 75. And God gave the promise. It is to give the promised descendants through Abraham and Sarah. But 10 years have passed. There is no news from God. At this point, Abraham is challenged. His wife, Sarah, proposes to have a child with her maid Hagar. Will Abraham hold on to the word of God's promise? Or will you listen to Sarai? In the midst of her troubles, she finally listens to Sarai based on her own judgment (verse 2). This was also the case between Adam and Eve, the first human beings of mankind. Even though Adam had heard God's direct command not to eat the forbidden fruit, he listened to Eve and committed the sin of eating the forbidden fruit. It shows the folly of trusting the words of men more than the words of God.
Abraham gave birth to Ishmael through Sarah's servant Hagar. Looking at the case of Abraham, while there are answers based on the Word of God, there are answers created by humans based on their own judgment. Isaac, whom Abraham gave birth to when he was 100 years old, is a response from God's promise, but Ishmael is a response created by man. The point is that we often regard Ishmael, created by our own judgment, as a response from God. The answer he created seems like a blessing right before our eyes, but in the long run, it becomes a thorn in the side of our children and grandchildren, making it difficult for us. Therefore, I hope that we can believe and follow the fact that keeping the word of God's promises may seem difficult right now, but as time passes, it will be a wonderful blessing for us.
2. Is it for the glory of God?
The second criterion for us to follow God's will is whether my decisions are for the glory of God? Or is it for your own name? should be diagnosed. One of Satan's greatest temptations toward humans is the desire for honor. When humans invented the brick-bake technology, built a house, and started a civilized life, what humans did was to build a tower of Babel with bricks to make a name for themselves and challenge God. In Genesis 11:4, we read, ?쏛nd he said, ?쏞ome, let us build a city and a tower, and let the top of the tower reach the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over all the earth.??You can discover the desire for honor that does not hesitate to challenge God to make a name for themselves.
I think Luke is the representative person who lived for the glory of God rather than his own name. In the early church, Luke had a good job as a doctor. However, he did not pursue success in the world through that profession, and he did not leave Paul for the rest of his life, and he lived a life of serving as a doctor. Even when Paul was on the verge of martyrdom in prison, Luke stayed and looked after him. In 2 Timothy 4:11, there is a confession, ?쏰nly Luke is with me.??Also, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote the Gospel of Luke and Acts. Through the Gospel of Luke, we record the testimony of Jesus who came as the Son of Man to all the earth, and through the book of Acts, we record amazing events in which the apostles were moved by the Holy Spirit and preached the gospel to the world. Luke is not only making his name known through the documentary ministry, but also testifying to the world about Jesus and the apostles for the glory of the Lord. Luke, who lived his whole life humbly serving for the glory of God, not for his own name, was truly following the will of the Lord.
3. Do you edify the church?
Is the third criterion the virtue of the church as we follow God's will? Or is it obscuring the virtues of the church? should be diagnosed. Failing to edify the church could be my own greed. Faith that can kill oneself in order to edify the church is truly a life that follows the will of the Lord.
4. Does Spiritual Peace Come?
The fourth criterion when we follow God's will is spiritual peace? Or is it conflict and anxiety? should be diagnosed. When Hannah received an answer to her prayer from God, 1 Samuel 1:18 says, ?쏷here was no more sorrow on her face.??Because there was peace in his heart, the light of worry disappeared from his face.
When Mary conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit, how could her betrothed husband, Joseph, accept that the child he had in a virgin's body was conceived as the Savior by the Holy Spirit? I think it was possible because of the peace of mind that God gave me. Although God had heard his voice through a dream, if peace had not been given to him, conflict and anxiety would have come upon him, and he would have been stoned to death by abandoning the pregnant Mary. You are following the will of the Lord when peace comes, not conflict or anxiety in your heart.
5. Can you wait if you have patience?
The fifth criterion as we follow God's will is: Can we be patient and wait? Or are you in a hurry? should be diagnosed. Abraham is not able to wait patiently for God's promises and is hasty and haste and experiences failure. A heart that hastily to accomplish God's will means that the desire to fulfill one's desires is more advanced.
Laura, an old nurse, was with Anne, who was imprisoned in an underground psychiatric ward due to her inability to recover, and waited patiently and patiently with her. Anne Sullivan was with Henren Keller, who was blind, deaf, and speechless for 48 years. It is not the will of God to have a heart in haste and haste. The will of God and His true love are in the heart of patience and waiting.
Is it the will of God in the first place so that we do not make mistakes like Abraham in an age of increasing confusion? Or is it based on your own judgment? Second, is it for the glory of God? Or is it for your own name? Third, do you edify the church? Or is it obscuring the virtues of the church? Fourth, does spiritual peace come? Or is it conflict and anxiety? Fifth, can you be patient and wait? Or are you in a hurry and in a hurry? I pray that you will become the children of the Lord who can correctly discern God's will and win through it.