Title: I Rejoice in This
Contents
♡♥♡ I rejoice in this. / Jeremiah 9:23-24
*** Introduction
Eight months have passed since the church's motto in 2002 was "a church that becomes the joy of the Lord." We really look back on 'Have we worked hard to become the joy of God?' How are you? Do you consider yourself to be the joy of God?
If we want to be the joy of God, of course, we must know what God is pleased with. Have you thought carefully about what, or what, God is pleased with? Have you not been interested in what God is pleased with and have only been interested in your own needs?
This is one of Aesop's fables.
In a forest there was a lion who reigned. However, there was a fox who was always attacked by lions, and he was thinking, 'How can I get that lion out of the forest?' Then he suddenly came up with a trick and sent a challenge to the lion.
“Listen, you lion! From now on, the thing that the animals of this forest fear the most is me, so I hope the lion will come down from the throne.”
The lion was absurd, but still doubtful, and said, 'Give me evidence that the animals are afraid.' “Follow me for a day and you will know,” the fox shouted out loud. So the lion immediately followed the fox through the forest. Oh, then, aren't the animals really joking when they see the fox? Rabbits and roe deer, as well as bears and wild boars, fled. All the animals, which were stronger and bigger than the fox, fled. When the lion saw this, he thought that the fox had some kind of great power, so he bought some stuff and ran away.
It was not because of the fox that the animals in the forest ran away, but because they saw the lion following the fox and ran away. In other words, it was because of the lion that the fox was able to stand proud in front of other wild beasts. The reason we can live the world proudly today is because God, who is our Creator, our strength, our strength, and our refuge, is with us.
However, in the past and now, people sometimes think that they are living well because they have power and ability and are proud of themselves. Or, like a fox using a lion, people come up with tricks and try to use God cunningly. They try to take advantage of their ‘faith’ as an excuse, or they think of ‘faith’ as a tool of profit.
1. Let's look at the background of the text.
Jeremiah 9, which contains the text of this time, is the content of the prophet Jeremiah accusing Judah of the sins of Judah and warning of the coming judgment of God. Jeremiah enumerates the sins of southern Judah and prophesies that Babylon will bring a disastrous destruction. At that time, the southern Judah was God's people, but they forsook God and worshiped all kinds of foreign idols. So naturally, the sacrifices to God were engrossed in hypocrisy and lies.
As the chosen people, they have lived by God's grace until now, but they did not fear God. When they faced hardships and difficulties, or when they were invaded by the Gentiles, they often cried out to God for salvation and help. In spite of their many betrayals, God repeatedly saved them and gave them grace. But now they did not know that a crisis had come to Judah because of God's wrath. Far from repenting of their sins, they fell into a peaceful reality and were busy boasting of their wisdom, strength, and wealth. They were not interested in the God who saved them. Now, why do you need God when you can enjoy peace and wealth without God? In the end, they have only taken advantage of the God who saved them, protected them, and gave them grace.
God pronounced punishment, and the prophet Jeremiah fell into despair. Now, if the rest of Judah is destroyed, Israel is in danger of being cut off from history. The Prophet exhorts Judah to return to God by declaring with tears what God hates and what pleases Him. In this very short text, you can know the heart of God, even though it is only part of it.
2. God hates the pride of the world.
To brag is a basic human desire. It is the psychology of people that people of all ages want to be proud of. Do you have something that no one else has, or do you want to show off something new when you buy something, so don't you sneak a peek?
It was when the missionary children had just arrived at the church from school in the morning. A little boy was not going into the church, but was wandering around, twisting his body. At first, I shouted, 'This guy can't get in quickly!' Then, the boy's gestures were a bit suspicious, so I took a look. The child was constantly rubbing one foot on the ground and sticking it out. Come to think of it, aren't the children's shoes new? So when you ask, ‘Did you buy new shoes?’, you nod your head as your expression brightens.
But God hates worldly boasting. Why do you hate bragging? 1 John 2:16. “For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, and all things do not come from the Father, but from the world.” For pride is of the world. Not only that, but because everything in the world is God-given. 1 Corinthians 4:7. “Who has set you apart? What do you have that you did not receive? Since you have received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” To brag about God's things as if it were mine is 'hypocrisy' and 'pride'.
We have reasons not to brag. Because we don't know what will happen tomorrow. Proverbs 27:1. “Don’t brag about tomorrow. For you do not know what will happen in one day.” Because God will discipline you. Psalm 12:3. “The LORD will cut off every flattering lips and a boastful tongue,” he said.
So, in the text, wisdom, courage, and wealth are selected as the representative things of the world to be proud of. Riches, especially those that attract everyone's attention, are of particular concern to Christians. The rich always use wealth as their strength. Would you have come up with the phrase, 'Inherited not guilty (有錢有罪)'? That is why people think that wealth protects and protects them.
To quote the famous philosopher Bacon, “Money can be a good servant, but it can also be a bad master.” A Russian proverb said, “When money speaks, truth is silent.” Money is necessary for a person to live, but as God said, “it is the root of all evil” is certain.
All of the wisdom, strength, and wealth that human beings boast comes from God. Not only that, nothing in the world can make fun of limbs without God's permission. Psalm 50:10-12. “For all the beasts of the forest and the livestock of heaven are mine; the birds of the mountain are mine, and the beasts of the field are mine. Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fulness are mine.” Even if a person seems capable, if he becomes a vegetative man, he cannot do anything. But where are we to boast?
3. God delights in knowing Him.
Verse 24 says, “Let him who boasts in this boast, that he may have understanding, that he may know me, and that I, the LORD, am a doer of kindness, fairness, and uprightness in the earth. I take pleasure in this, saith the LORD.” To be the joy of God is to know God more than anything else. In other words, it is pleasing to understand and know who God is and what He does.
To know God is to know who you are. In other words, I know that God is the Creator, my own Master, and my Savior. On the other hand, I know that I am a sinner, that I need God's salvation, and that I can only live because of God.
When the apostle Paul did not know God well, he boasted a lot. From the beginning of his ministry, Paul naturally used the name ‘Apostle’ for himself. At that time, in response to the suspicions of those around him, saying, ‘Aren’t you an apostle?’, Paul actively claimed that he was also an apostle. In 1 Corinthians 9:2, the early epistle (55-57) of his ministry, he said, “Though I am not an apostle to others, I am an apostle to you, and you are the ones who sealed my apostleship in the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 12:11 The verse says, “I was a fool, but you forced me to do it, and I deserve your praise. I am nothing, and I am not inferior in any way to the greatest apostles.”
Then, in Ephesians 3:8, written after being imprisoned for the gospel (61-63), “To me who is less than the least of all saints… ” And in 1 Timothy 1:15, which was recorded at the end of the ministry, “… Among sinners, I am the chief.” Not only that, you can see that Peter, who used to be loud and flirtatious, became humble and humbled as he got to know the Lord deeply. In this way, when we know who God is and realize who He is to us, we become humble.
When we come to know God and realize what God has done, we are not only humbled but also forced to depend on God. That is why God said, “It takes pleasure in the understanding that the Lord is a doer of kindness, fairness, and uprightness on earth. God's words, 'God works merciful love, fairness, and honesty in the human world,' tells us that we, who follow the Lord, must also do the same.
Do we have any reason to do this? That's right. Before meeting God, the people of the world will meet the saints and see the lives of the saints. It is because they seek God by seeing the love, fairness, and honest life of the saints. That's why Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
Are you clearly aware of your relationship with God? And do you know what God has done for you? Then we should not be satisfied with what we know and put it into practice in our lives. This is the way to become the joy of God.
The time in which we live is no better than the time when Judah was destroyed. Then, we must remember God's sad voice telling us to turn away from the path of destruction now. I pray that your life will not boast of the useless things of the world, but that you will live a blessed life in which you know God, know what God has done, and obey that path.