Title: I Will Build You Again (April 6)
Content span id="writeContents">◆ Main text: Jeremiah 31:1-6
This is the story of a church school. It seemed that the teacher was teaching the children what they called “the way to heaven” that day. You tell your children this.
“Children, if you work hard at church and listen to your teacher, will you go to heaven?”
“Yeah,” it should be, but the kids are strangely “no.” That's right.
Now, as you are elementary school students today, say “no”.
“If you work hard at church and listen to the Word, you will go to heaven, right?” (Amen)
It's "no", not "amen".
“Will you go to heaven if you listen carefully to your parents’ words and come to church without doing anything else?” (no)
The teacher is starting to panic.
“Hey, how do you get to heaven then?”
The butler's son jumps up and says:
“I must die.”
The teacher said, “Yeah, that’s right. Heaven is where you have to die.”
I did that to myself.
“Does everyone go to heaven when they die? Heaven is not a place you have to die to go, but a place you go through faith.”
Today, if you have faith, the kingdom of heaven is yours, and if you have faith, you can do anything.
There are people who live in the world very easily. “Maybe it’s easy to live like that.” It's admirable. On the other hand, there are people who have a very difficult life. Even in the church, some people make the life of faith easy, while others make the life of faith difficult. But what the Bible teaches us is that those who live by faith can easily live in the world.
“Lord, save me today.”
But I'm really good at driving. People these days are really good at driving. But if you say you're good at driving and there's always a problem, you can't put it back when parking.
There I learned a lesson. It is easy to go forward in anything, but not easy to go backwards. Cars have a principle of going forward, but going backwards is difficult. Going forward for hours and hours is easy, but how hard is it if you try to go back 2 to 30 minutes? The same goes for people going. Moving forward is not difficult. In the future, I can walk any way. Sometimes, there are people who take a step backwards with something like “Oh my God,” but it is very difficult if you go back 20-30 minutes.
The world is meant to go forward, and that is what today's text is telling us. A person of faith should look to the Lord and move forward. It is also about living your life of faith. If the people of Israel had a good relationship with God, they were blessed with life. The history of the Bible is such a history. Depending on your relationship with God, it can be a blessing or a hardship.
What kind of place was originally called the Garden of Eden? where it gets through. It's an open place. It is a place to meet God. His eyes met with God. But since I have sinned, I am afraid of God's gaze. You start avoiding God's eyes. Everyone, if you love, you have to make eye contact.
Yesterday too, three families from our church had a wedding. Please don't do it three times a day. I'm so tired. Dongseon Lee grew up well in our church and got married, and he made a song for an event and told it to the bride, but we are not that impressed. It's a bit wrong, but Mijin, who is the bride, is crying because she is so moved. Why are you crying? Because it's so good... It's so good. They get along with each other.
When Jesus came to this earth, many people came to see Him. Everyone brings their own problems. Thousands of people approached Jesus, but not all of them were answered. Who got answers? When we make eye contact with Jesus like Zacchaeus, when we touch the hem of Jesus' robe like a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years, it is grace. Faith means contact. Even today, many church members have approached this church, but my friends, faith is not access, but contact. Just as they received grace through contact when they met Jesus, everyone, you must contact Jesus. Contact Jesus...
This is what God is saying to the people of Israel today.
“You who have gone far, come back. As long as you come back, I will build you up again.”
A person may be tested and may face difficulties. The most important thing in your life of faith is knowing how to turn around. As I have always said, the life of faith is about moving forward in order. What's the easiest way to live your life of faith? Thank you. Is there any other way to thank you?
Everyone, if I am grateful, others will also be happy. Even though it is the same thing, we can see a different side of life in those who are grateful for it. What do you mean by complaining? To say that complaints enter into me means that I have already passed the test. The ground has hardened. My heart has hardened. Words never sprout. Why do you plow the ground in spring? It is of no use to sow seeds on the hardened ground.
Everyone, just as it is spring and we plow fields and rice fields, we need to plow our hearts a little. Only then will the seed of the gospel enter and the seed of thanksgiving will enter and grow and bear fruit. It's very easy to say that you live with gratitude, but that's not really possible. Everyone, think about it. Is it easy to be grateful? Is it easy to complain? Complaining makes me uncomfortable and others uncomfortable. If you are grateful, you will be happy and others will be happy too, so live a grateful life.
I've heard rumors that it's famous, but looking at it, it looks like you're sick, and it's not a suit, or just a jacket, and it's not clean? There is nothing to see at a glance. After talking for a while, he talks like that.
“I went around, but so did the pastor.”
It wasn't a long meeting, but before he passed away, tears welled up in his eyes. And then he has a story to tell me.
That's it. That's it. Who made me? Christ. Who has established you? Jesus Christ. Isn't that what gives us strength because of him? “I will always love you, wait for you, and restore you when you return.
A member of the church who left 20 years ago came to visit. It looks very shabby. At one time, he was a man who lived his life of faith hard. Sometimes, whenever I meet people like that, my heart gets weird. He was the kind of person who loved the church the most and prayed diligently at our tent church. He really loved the church. Although ignorant, his sincerity was truly commendable. But since it is a prayer center and I follow you wherever I go, you are tempted to do theology because you have a mission.
In a word, I did.
“Master, that is not your mission. How much has God blessed your family? Keep the church and keep the family.”
Why do we have to live like this? Knowing how to be grateful for this precious reality given to you today is the life of faith. Everyone, how grateful are you? How precious is it to say that I can live with gratitude for each day that is given to me? When I'm weak, it seems like I can't do anything with my weakness, but because I'm weak, "God, I need you." I get to pray, and every time I pray, doesn't he build me up again? Build it up again, build it up again... and live in that grace. To such a person, God said that He would give them the blessing of picking fruit. Everyone, God blesses those who live a rational life of faith, those who live a comfortable life of faith, and those who live a life of faith with thanksgiving.
Some of our church deacons receive immediate answers. Oops, I'm scared. Whatever you do, it will be done quickly. But this is not good. That deacon didn't come to church last Sunday because he was angry. I didn't go to church because something bad happened in the house. I'm angry, but why don't you come to church? I had a car accident the next day. That day, my daughter suddenly had surgery again. What else did your son have stretched ligaments? I lost money too. The sound coming out of the deacon's mouth was, "Oh, he died after not going to church once." When you preach your own sermon, you get up and say Amen. Butler Lee Bok-hyun, are you going to miss Sunday again? (You won't fall for it.) You have to be that pure.
God immediately... I'm crazy about what happened in the middle of the day. I lost my daughter once a week, my daughter had appendectomy, my son's ligaments were stretched, I had a car accident, I lost money... If that's the case, then there are a lot of people here who will explode their heads. God is not like that, but if you realize and turn around, this is a blessing. He is not such a God, but even in the smallest things, we can realize and live righteously. correctly...
“Thanks and thankful Father God, thank you for loving us and helping us over the past week. As you promised, I will love you again and build you up again if you just turn toward Israel, help us to turn around and live a blessed life where we can see God. I earnestly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen."