Title: How Will You Live Your Life?
Contents
How will you live your life?
(2 Corinthians 5:1-10)
2009. 6. 28
“Oh, by the grace of God”
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
1 For if the earthly house of our tents is torn down, we know that we have a house made by God, an eternal house in heaven, not made with hands.
2 Yea, we are here with groaning, earnestly longing to be clothed with our dwelling place from heaven.
3 We are clothed in this way, that we may not be found naked.
4 Yea, we who are in this tent groan as burdened, not that we may be stripped off, but that we may be put on, that death may be swallowed up by life.
5 It is God who made this happen for us and gave us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee.
6 Therefore we are always courageous, knowing that when we are in the body, we are separate from the Lord.
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
8 We are of great courage, that we would rather be away from the body and be with the Lord.
9 Wherefore, whether in body or absent, we strive to be pleasing to the Lord.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive according to what he has done in the body, whether good or bad.
This is the story of the Cherokee tribe. A grandfather tells his grandson that there are two wolves in the people, one is a good wolf and the other is an evil wolf. Evil wolves are united with anger, jealousy, unforgiveness, pride, and laziness, and on the contrary, good wolves are love and kind, humility and temperance. The grandson thinks for a moment, then asks, “Which wolf will win?” Grandpa says, "Hey, you're the wolf you feed."
In today's text of 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, I looked at the attitude of the Apostle Paul in his life. In fact, the circumstances he faced were the worst. But his life was at its best. I believe that his life is because he overcame his environment by feeding good wolves rather than feeding evil wolves.
1. We must live with eternal hope.
The Apostle Paul articulated his hope by contrasting ‘our tent house on earth’ with ‘the eternal house in heaven’. Here, ‘our tent-house on the earth’ refers to our flesh and speaks of human weakness and temporaryity. On the other hand, 'the eternal house in heaven' means heaven and speaks of the eternal life that God's people enjoy.
▶Proverbs 14:32 says, “The wicked fall in their troubles, but the righteous have hope even in their death” ◀. And ▶1 Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his clear mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
How will you live your life? Dear brothers and sisters, I earnestly pray in the name of the Lord that by living with eternal hope, you will live a born-again life with hope in death and praise in tribulation.
2. We must live with firm faith.
▶Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen” ◀. And ▶1 John 5:4 says, “Everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.”
How will you live your life? Dear saints, I earnestly pray in the name of the Lord that you will live a life of victory over the world by seeing the evidence of invisible things by living with firm faith.
How will you live your life? It is closely related to the purpose of life. ▶In 2 Corinthians 5:9, the Apostle Paul said, “Therefore, whether we are in the body or departing, we strive to be pleasing to the Lord” ◀. The Apostle Paul set the purpose of his life to the glory of God. He wanted more to leave the body and be with the Lord. But he couldn't decide his own death. Although life was difficult and difficult, he did his best to be a man that pleases God, whether he lives or dies. As a result, he believes that he will receive a considerable reward when he comes to the end of his life and appears before the judgment seat of Christ.
How will you live your life? Dear saints, I earnestly pray in the name of the Lord that you may please God in life or death and receive praise and rewards from the Lord when you stand before the Lord by living with eternal hope and living with firm faith. Amen!
“Only for the Glory of God”