Title: Let's Awaken the Sleeping Heart (Luke 24...
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Let's Awaken the Sleeping Heart (Luke 24:30-35) 2001.04.22.
After the resurrection, the heart of Jesus' message was peace. Every time he met his disciples after his resurrection, he said, "Peace be with you." Resurrection should be a daily life, not just a one-day celebration on Easter Sunday. Even after Easter Sunday, if you do not regain peace and lose your joy, this is unbelief and is like a disciple of Emmaus.
Jesus spoke seven words on the cross, and after being resurrected, He appeared to people 11 times while He was on this earth for 40 days, and He left four words. Do not doubt, do not be afraid, love me, and preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. Believers who live by faith in the resurrection should not doubt or be afraid, love the Lord and do their best to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.
restoration of faith
In our church, there are many stylish members who look young for their age. There are many such people among the elders, priests, and deacons. If you count under one or ten years old, there are too many suitable people.
How many non-grandmothers are there? There are many people who encourage and challenge young people, dreaming of a hopeful future with more open thinking and fresh will than young people. Although they have heard of Yonsei, they are people who can feel the same faith as young people in terms of faith. In a worldly way, we can say that we are rejuvenated, but they are people who are rejuvenated spiritually. It can be said that it is encouraging that there are more and more such people these days. I hope that all of us Christians will greet the spring of faith and that such faith will be restored and resurrected.
Every church holds various events on Easter and celebrates the resurrection with various gifts, but the most important thing on Easter is to accept the Lord's resurrection with faith and also to share the risen Lord with us and live a life of resurrection.
place to be
That is what today's text challenges us. The main characters of the text are two disciples who leave Jerusalem without tasting the joy of the resurrection. Still, many of the other disciples remained there, but two of them leave. There are people who can't stand it in their personality when their anger rises like that and go out on the road recklessly. So there are people who are not in the places they should be, and that is not desirable. Until there is a special guidance, keeping the blessed position until the end is the secret to receiving grace.
What is the most important factor in human success? It is where it should be. It is also very important in the life of faith. You have to be able to keep your place. It's a small promise. Those who keep small promises give people confidence that they will keep big promises. So if other people trust me, wouldn't that be a great asset?
During the last US presidential election, there was a TV debate between Gore and Bush, in which Bush often passed without answering any questions. After the discussion, a poll was conducted. "Who has a better discussion?" A survey revealed that Gore did well, but Bush's approval ratings increased. Because people had a feeling that Bush was going to keep his promise. Therefore, it is wisdom in life to keep small promises rather than broad knowledge and broad promises. Everyone! Seek the faith to bear even the smallest responsibilities.
hug me softly with love
In verse 14, we can feel the loneliness of the two disciples on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The resurrected Lord saw it. So he came to them and told them. “What are the conversations you guys have with each other as you go along the road?” (Luke 24:17) What do you feel when you see the Lord walking with the disciples who have forgotten their mission? Isn't that comforting to those of us who often show shameful things like the two disciples?
When we look at ourselves, how much shame are there before the Lord? When someone comes and says, "Are you really a believer?" no one can say with confidence. Still, we must not be discouraged, nor must we be so conscientious that we give up our faith. Because we are not finished beings, we are beings that are constantly being made. That's why the Lord didn't come to us and say, "Why is it that way!"
Hold on to the Lord by Faith
In response to the Lord's question, a disciple named Clobara explained what had happened to them. Hearing that explanation, how frustrated was the Lord? So you say Verse 25 says, “You foolish and slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” Says. When these words of the Lord are pierced in our hearts this morning, miraculously, the strength and power of faith will arise.
Then the Lord explained to them the principle that the Lord must suffer to be glorified. Believe firmly in this promise of God and do not despair if there are hardships. We must not forget that we are the children of God who have been saved from death and have received eternal life. Why do such children of God worry about being hit by the rain and live swaying in the wind? What are you still afraid of? Are you really slow to believe? We must keep the promises of God in mind and strive to follow the principle of faith more. That is why we need to pray to God so that we do not lose sight of who we are by asking for grace.
Everyone! If you are afraid, look to the Lord. All the forefathers of faith lived that way. Martin Luther King received numerous death threats, but he says: “When fear knocks on the door, open the door with faith and there is nothing but the door.” Fear and fear are because there is no faith. Please hold on to the Lord by faith.
The secret to opening your spiritual eyes
Eventually, the two disciples got enlightenment from the Lord's words, and while they were staying at an inn near Emmaus, they asked the Lord to stay with them, and the Lord granted their request. And when we ate at the inn, the Lord took the bread, blessed it, and gave it to us. When they ate the bread, their eyes were opened, and only then did they recognize the Lord. This scene gives you some secrets to opening your spiritual eyes. What is it?
1. When we give thanks, our spiritual eyes are opened.
In verse 30, the word to give thanks means to give thanks, and it reminds us of the importance of giving thanks. No matter how smart a person is, when he is in sorrow and despair, his eyes are inevitably covered. However, if you have a grateful heart, your eyes will be opened to see the Lord mysteriously. Also, when we say thanks to each other, the door of God's grace opens in that community.
So, gratitude is the highest character of a believer, and is the most important factor for happiness. If you want a happy life, you must know that there is no happiness without a life of gratitude. And those who are grateful will truly give hope to the community and change the world. If you have frustration, dissatisfaction, envy, and jealousy, you can never produce creative works.
What does it mean to say, as it is often said, "I am mature"? It means knowing how to be grateful. And gratitude is to feel God's grace and love through what God has given. Every moment of our life is virtually a chariot of God's grace. See the world with gratitude. You will see a lot of truly beautiful things.
2. When you break the bread of love, your spiritual eyes will be opened.
The disciples did not know the Lord yet. I only knew him as a good stranger. But the moment they broke the bread of love with the stranger, their eyes were opened and they saw the Lord.
What lesson does this scene teach us? When we break the bread of love with a stranger in love, our eyes will be opened and we will find the Lord in that love. In true sharing, we will see and feel the risen Lord.
Everyone! Help your neighbors in need. Help even strangers. Don't turn away and say, "What will God do? Others will help." Could it not be that God made me aware of the fact that I came to know people in need because God's providence to help them is contained? Helping people in need doesn't just mean doing good things. This is because it is a very precious way to recognize the Lord and meet the Lord.
Korean people have a great love for family. You make any sacrifices for your family. But once you're out of the family, your spending will be very different from then on. It's unfortunate. We must love our family, but that love must not stay within the family. We need a big family concept. We must look at the needy neighbors we have come to know. In that way, when our love goes beyond our family, we have a bigger family. How good are you?
He spoke of Him in Matthew 25 three days before He was crucified. “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Those who truly meditate on this fact and live by expanding their love according to the Word will be the ones who open their eyes to the true truth of Christianity.
the most beautiful helmet in the world
This is a tribute to Adam King (Korean name Oh In-ho, 9 years old) who gave the first pitch in the opening game of professional baseball held at Jamsil Stadium on the 5th. Many events were held to commemorate the 20th Disabled Persons Day, but the most sincere message was the emotion conveyed by King and his adopted family, Charles Robert King. It presented a vision for how our society should embrace people with disabilities.
From birth, King was severely handicapped with no lower knees and even fingers attached. After giving up even his biological parents, the American King and his wife adopted him. King, who has adopted and raised seven children, including four Koreans, even though he has three biological children, said, "The most difficult time in the past seven years was when my children had 21 surgeries." King, who walked out with a red and blue titanium leg and threw a ball, said that next year he would have finger surgery.
Like King, there are a lot of dramas in the world about “human victory” that rises over obstacles. Hirotada Ototake of Japan, author of "Unsatisfied with the Five Bodies", recently married a college junior and started a family. A congenital amputee, he is optimistic enough to describe his body as "super-individual", but now he is a sports critic. The story of childbirth and child-rearing of a woman without a lower body was aired on TV before the year before, creating a sensation.
The background of their ability to "stand alone" over obstacles and impossibility is based on warm care and an open mind to treat them like normal people. Wouldn't a society where parents who raised disabled people brightly and willingly become their friends and spouses would be a "disabled paradise"? These days, the number of persons with personality disabilities as well as those with physical disabilities is increasing rapidly. The logic is that when society is sick, neither body nor mind can be whole.
We must break the bread of love and be sensitive to the needs of our neighbors. Without it, how can we claim to be saints and expect the blessings of the Lord?