Title: Keep the Harvest Festival
Contents
“…to observe the Feast of Harvest, because you reap the firstfruits of what you sowed in the field…”
Among the many festivals that the Israelites must observe, there are the three major festivals, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Harvest Festival, and the Feast of Ingathering.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is also called the Passover as it is the same feast as the Liberation Day in Korea. Harvest Festival is Thanksgiving Day, and Ingathering Festival is Thanksgiving Day. Except for one of these three great festivals, the two festivals of Harvest and Ingathering are related to agriculture.
However, the Feast of Harvest is mentioned again in verse 19 of the main text. “Take the first of the firstfruits of your land and offer it to the house of the LORD your God.” The Feast of Harvest is the season of offering the first thing to God with all sincerity. First thing, first time, first offering.
At the beginning of this year, as I delivered the sermon, “I believe well,” with the common title “I believe well” every week, I gave the first emphasis on the first thing, the first hour, the first gift. Let's give the first of the harvested grain to God.
Our situation is different from that of the Jews. The situation of the Jews is that they farmed well in Egypt's fertile land, had a good harvest, and then went into Canaanite welfare, but in fact, it's not welfare.
It is a barren mountainous area like Gangwon-do in Korea. So it's hard to get rich there.
If you sow the seeds, there is a harvest enough to avoid a bad harvest, barely enough to fill your mouth. It doesn't rain very often, so enemies are looking up at the sky. After planting the seed, looking at the dry land, you look at the sky saying, “God will give us rain so that our farming will go well.”
Without the grace of God, farming cannot be done. So, we offer the Feast of Harvest to God and give thanks for the Feast of Ingathering. From a human perspective, the people of Israel are in a difficult situation to thank God, but because they give thanks and give gifts to God, no matter where they go in the world now, they do not know how blessed their Jewish descendants are.
By God's grace, I came back after studying well in the United States for about 20 days. However, since the United States is a United States, various ethnic groups come to live in villages.
The neighborhood where Jews live is called Juicy Town, the neighborhood where Chinese people live is called Chinatown, and the neighborhood where Koreans live is called Koreatown. And there are Japantown where Japanese people live, Mexican town where Mexicans live, and Vietnam Town where Vietnamese people live.
Among the towns, there are three representative towns: Chinatown, Koreatown, and Juicy Town. The distinctive feature of Juicy Town is the building. If it stands, it is a building, and if it is the owner of the building, it is a Jew.
By the way, Chinatown smells like jjajangmyeon. Standing up, it is a Chinese house. The street vibrates with the smell of jjajangmyeon. And Koreatown is already a cross. Where Koreans gather, there is a cross. So, I believe in Jesus fervently.
At our church, I met some members who moved to the United States and lived there, and it was nice to see how passionately they believed in Jesus. Even in our church, people who believed in Jesus well, believed better there and became husbands who did not believe well in our church, went there and believed well and played a leading role in that church. Thank you so much.
By the way, if you divide the streets of all those towns into two, you can divide them into a street of gratitude and a street of complaint.
Strolling down the street of thanksgiving is cheerful and full of joy, the leaves of trees are cut down, the lawn is well-groomed, and the streets are clean. The expressions of the people walking down the street of gratitude are bright and their steps are light. Eating food at a street restaurant of thanks is so delicious and feels good.
However, when I go to the street of complaints, I keep looking back, I get my wallet, and I feel anxious and anxious that someone will come after me and point a gun at me and take my money. When you eat at a restaurant in such a place, it seems that digestion is not good because of the rush, and it is unpleasant, and it is not good at all.
I hope you and I are grateful. Today is not a Thanksgiving Day, but I hope that our lives will be just a life of gratitude.
look. Isn't our nation a nation of choice? Out of hundreds of millions of spermatozoa, one spermatozoon is selected and combined with an egg to become you and me. What a great gift this is. And we are human beings in the image of God.
Among them, we are simply grateful and moved by God's special love, saying, "You are my son. You are my daughter," and have lived until now.
But this is the reason.
What I'm studying at McCormick right now is not a theory or a logical study.
However, the emphasis there is on 'theory of change'. This is talking about triggers. Each person has their own reasons for believing in Jesus, turning over and over and over and over again, receiving the work of the Holy Spirit and becoming loyal.
So, how can we revitalize this church? How can we revitalize members with only a poor name and become a church where faith grows through loyalty, participation, and bearing fruit? Study the contents you can actually use in this ministry... … I get stimulated.
Some of you guys decide to stop drinking and quit smoking. But we don't just do it. Because there is a certain motive, because there is a certain trigger, because there is a stimulus, we make such a decision. However, if that decision is 3 days old, and you drink again, smoke again, get close to drugs again, and go to gambling again, it is not a decision.
To revitalize our church this year, we have a revival meeting, a couple invitation event, an outdoor social event... … Also, let us launch various campaigns to combat environmental pollution, plan summer retreats on the mountain, and through faith lectures in the fall, make new decision-makers, especially those who are not yet husbands, into active members of our church. That is why we are working hard to select a one-on-one caregiver, pray, talk, confront, and spend time together.
Then it is not just one clergyman. I am not studying to get a PhD on my own. What good is a degree you can't use? And you are not alone. When a certain opportunity arises and the clergy emphasizes, the associate clergy unite, the members of the persevering office unite, the officers make a decision together, and the whole church moves toward this goal.
While I was eating at a restaurant, I was impressed by the writing hanging on the wall of the restaurant. "The bee gets nectar from the flower, but it does not harm the flower in the slightest." Human beings, the primate of all things, and the image of God, have to conquer, rule, manage, and protect this nature, but how many things are they doing that is impossible to nature right now?
That's why we can't just say 'yes' to this campaign to purify the environment and restore nature to its natural state. Participate together, and some action should come out through this stimulus. It's hard to do alone, but it's easy to do when you're swept together in any of these big waves.
The chicken always looks up at the sky after dipped in water. If you say what that means, take a sip of water and say, "Thank God." It means, “Thank God,” and eat it together once.
Unlike other beasts, this beast called a chicken simply dips water in it and eats it, and the water does not spill over. Be sure to raise your head and raise your neck like a giraffe towards the sky so that the water runs down your throat and into your stomach. You must look up to the sky. You have to look up to the sky to drink even a sip of water.
How about us humans? Life makes money, but I hope you believe that you can use that money for good only if you look to God and give thanks. I make money, but this is not what I earn. When you look to the sky and give thanks, the money will be beneficial to you, your body will become healthy, and it will be used meaningfully and meaningfully for the glory of God.
The Jewish thanksgiving was given voluntarily. I gave you something precious. I gave you something valuable. I gave it my all.
After McCormick's summer study, I visited Niagara Falls near Buffalo to visit a large church. The word 'Niagara' means the sound of thunder, with 120 million liters of water pouring out every minute and the sound of seventy-six thousand trombones.
And every year, 12 million tourists come and pour their money. Looking at that Niagara Falls, I couldn't help but praise God's great creation order in the universe.
And seeing the exquisite atmosphere of the Grand Canyon, the 38 million lakes in Canada, and the beautiful nature looking down from the air, I couldn't help but appreciate God's providence of creation.
Is that all? If you look down on the river mountain of my country from above Korea, you can see that even though it is not a small piece of land, it is a dense farmland, the rice fields planted with rice are green and fresh like grass, and our country with a thick forest really makes up Mt. Geumsu. When I saw it, I felt really grateful, and the hymn came out automatically.
Everyone, let's take a look at hymn 40. 'All the worlds created by God, when I see it in my heart, the city of heaven is filled with the resounding thunder and the power of the Lord in the universe.'
Thank you for your grace through this natural phenomenon. It is the grace of the Lord that has given us good health and has allowed us to live until now.
I go to a church called 'Will Creek Church' in Chicago to worship, and it must be the day of the baptism. Many male and female church members come up on a wide platform like a theater stage. But instead of just coming up, they come up with a piece of paper. It's something, so he comes up with a note with his name on it. There is a large wooden cross behind the pulpit, and you put your name on it. So, how cool is it that it moves like a pinwheel in the gentle breeze of a fan.
These Americans are free-spirited. We worship with our legs crossed, but we just cannot point it out. But I am very reverent during that time of worship. Thank you so much. I just shed tears of joy. I just get the feeling that this is worship that pleases God. touches it
Everyone, even if we sing one hymn, we sing a hymn that touches us, and even if I give a sermon, I try to deliver a sermon that touches me. Everyone, I pray that you will feel something, touch it, and become believers who believe and follow our Lord. Thank you for the grace of the Lord.
'My soul praises the high and greatness of the Lord... … ' I pray that tears will flow while singing, enlightenment will come while singing, the disease will recede while singing, and a miracle will appear while singing.
I would like to conclude with a few thanks. First, I hope that you thank God for the grace you have kept so far. Guys, look at what we do. Have you done anything to be blessed? I've only done things that deserve punishment for everything I did. I've only been whipped. Let's take a look at ourselves. Don't blame yourself for your mistakes, blame your husband, take your anger out on your children, and don't always blame others, not mine. Let's thank God for His grace.
Second, thank you for the grace of apology. What do you do if you sin and live well? I'd rather live in poverty, but I don't know how honorable it is to live while being poor and having sins forgiven. Thank you for the grace of forgiveness.
Third, thank you for the promise of eternal life. I hope that you and I will thank you for the great grace that promised us eternal life in heaven.
'My Jesus, who has given me great grace, I love you more than before.' Let's take a look at 512:1.
'I truly love my lord, and soon I will confess all my sins to him. You are my Jesus, who gave me great grace. I love you more than ever before.'
We try to call together once, and people hold hands next to us. Holding people's hands next to each other, changing the lyrics to "Let's love more than before", looking at each other's faces, "Let's rejoice more than before" Then "Let's be more loyal than before" "Okay" Come on, hold hands tighter than before. Let's hold and praise. I love you more than before. Let's pray. Amen.
(1993. 7. 11)