Title: Jesus! (Eph 1:3-14)
Contents
All religions in the world are humanism. It is centered on people. It is a religion to make people better.
But Christianity is neocapitalism. Some people who don't know much about God sometimes have a humanistic belief that uses God as a means to their success and blessings.
But that is wrong, and Christianity must be thoroughly theocratic.
Our goal is to please God. Because... we humans were created for the glory of God.
In verse 14 of today's text, it is said that he has given us grace and blessings to the praise of his glory.
When people feel the happiest and most rewarding... It is living according to their purpose.
Just as a ballpoint pen has value when it is written by someone, and a car has value when it is driven and rolled by someone... It is when we have the greatest happiness and joy.
We should all live our lives according to the purpose for which God has called us.
In June 1995, the Sampoong Department Store collapsed. Many people lost their lives that day, but there was a sister named 'Jung Yun-min' among them.
This sister truly transcended circumstances and lived a life praising the Lord.
At the age of eleven, he became blind from 'Mr. Coat's disease', in which blood vessels form behind the retina, and he had no choice but to live as a blind person.
Sister Yoon Min believed that as a disabled person... the only way to lead a normal life and live a worthwhile and rewarding life was through academic achievement.
So he studied hard. I went on to a university that even normal people could not go to with excellent grades, and I did not stop there, I went to the United States to study, and received a doctoral degree at Butley University.
But somehow, his heart was empty. Even if I succeeded through academics, it seemed that I would not be very satisfied.
In the midst of troubles and conflicts... I was introduced to Jesus through a sister.
After meeting Jesus... Sister Yoon Min realized that physical blindness was not the problem. Realizing that a doctorate was nothing, I gave up on everything and hurriedly returned to Korea to work as a teacher at a school for the blind.
It wasn't because I wasn't good enough, it wasn't because it was hard. It was because of the strong desire to save time and evangelize and serve others because I was already so satisfied and happy with just being a child of God. Four years of believing in Jesus... I don't know how many people met Jesus through him until he died in a three wind accident.
Sister Yunmin was a genius of relationships. He loved everyone around him and was willing to be friends with him.
With a persistent interest in the other person... I became an ear to listen to their concerns. Anyway, to solve the problem in the Lord's way, we stayed up all night talking and praying together.
If anyone went to Sister Yunmin, she had the power to put down the wall that defended her and open her heart...
It was probably the strength that came from his great interest and love, who wanted to put everything aside and make the other person happy.
Truly, Sister Yoon Min was an example of a Christian who was captivated by Jesus Christ, transcending her circumstances, and literally exclaiming “Blessed be the Lord!”
Count Zinzendorf said so.
"I have only one ambition. It is Jesus Christ!" It was.
'Oswald Chambers' confessed, "I have only one goal: Jesus Christ. You are my goal!" It was.
What was the Apostle Paul like before he met Jesus?...
He was of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law a Pharisee, and as to the righteousness of the law, blameless. He was educated under Gamaliel, the greatest scholar at the time, and was a citizen of Rome (Philippians 3:4-9).
He had nothing to envy physically and was a successful person.
As for now, he had a good family background... He met his father well and was brought up with the best education... He was a rich man with nothing to be envious of, and a perfect man with no blemishes in the law.
From a physical point of view, he was a successful and successful person.
He was a person who was really asking for a path to success. When Paul met Jesus, his life was completely changed.
Everything except Jesus is considered harm... In Philippians 3:8-9, it is said that all things in the world are regarded as excrement. What is excrement? that's shit
After all the things I valued in the world, I thought they were shit.
But just think about it.
What the Apostle Paul called dung, aren't we looking for it today?...
Everything in the world has its own value.
If you pay 100 won, the item is 100 won, and if you pay 10,000 won, the item is 10,000 won.
So, how old are we humans?
Because he bought Jesus with a price, it is called 'Jesus-worthy'.
Paul found it now.
I'm not a trivial being, but Jesus' worth... In other words, I'm a being of great value in exchange for God.
How frustrating would it be if you didn't know that you already have such a great fortune?...
A person who is starving without knowing that the plane ticket includes all in-flight meals... It is like a person who has a free pass to Everland, but is envious of other people riding it.
People who do not know what they have, people who live in poverty despite having abundance... How frustrating is it? By the way, did you know we are like him?...
That's what Paul is telling us now.
Dear saints,
We are like Jesus. It's not a frivolous thing. It's a huge being. It's an awesome existence.
It is a being exchanged with God.
In Jesus Christ, He has given us a great heavenly blessing.
In a word, 'Jesus' is a being who has received a bundle of blessings from Heavenly Father.
That blessing is 'a spiritual blessing belonging to heaven', and this blessing has already been given to us.
God has given us a bundle of blessings that contain everything He owns. But most people don't know about it.
It's like a person who can't use it even with a free pass
Therefore, all we have to do for the rest of our lives is to open that bundle of blessings and taste and experience all the good blessings in it.
The important thing is that since you have become a life like Jesus, you will have to live a life like Jesus.
Isn't it the life of having all the blessings of heaven and still searching for the blessings of the world?
Even after becoming a prince and princess of Heavenly Father, aren't you living your life forgetting your great status and blessings?...
We all want to live a life like that of Jesus, and I hope that it will be like that. (Rev. Park Ki-wan)