Title: Life's Blessings
Contents
In Japan, September 17th is established and celebrated as Respect for the Aged Day every year.
As we feel the need for consideration for the elderly at a time when the church is aging, we want to comfort and bless the elderly while keeping it as Respect for the Aged Day.
In today's society, we are reluctant to use the word old man. So, in the United States, older people, especially pensioners, are called senior citizens. In Korea, when you take a bus or subway, you use the terms senior seat and preferential seat.
In life, the peak of memory is at the age of 10-23, the peak of imagination is at the age of 20-30, the peak of creativity is at the age of 30-55, and the peak of judgment is at the age of 45-80. And the peak of physical strength is 18-28 years old, the peak of energy is 25-35 years old, and the peak energy is 33-43 years old. The peak of manpower is 38-48, and the peak of intelligence is 40-70. If that is the case, it is 70-80 years old to judge things or reason and make up their own minds.
Many of America's top court judges are 80 years old. British Prime Minister De Gaulle and American President Reagan became leaders in old age. Even in Japan, some ministers were over 70 years old.
Dear saints,
A philosopher named Plato was a 50-year-old student, and at 60 he did his best. And Michelangelo wrote poetry until the day he died, and at the age of 89 he designed his own life, and at the age of 90, he climbed onto a stool and sculpted on the ceiling of the chapel in Rome. And Milton wrote Paradise Lost at 57, Paradise at 63, Goethe started writing Faust at 60, and finished at 82.
In this way, looking at the history of mankind, we see that many people have accomplished great things in their later years of life.
Everyone hates being old, and it is our honest heart that we want to keep our youth forever. It is said that Queen Elizabeth of England, who once boasted wealth, fame and power, gradually lost her youth as she grew older, and refused to look in the mirror for 20 years for fear of growing old.
So one day one of his court ladies brought a mirror and stood before the queen. As soon as she saw her face in the mirror, the queen was compelled to turn her head away from it with a face full of anguish. The words of comfort from the ministers of the palace actually broke the queen's heart.
It is a story that the queen's last life lived a corrupt life.
The happiness and unhappiness in life must be seen later. In life, the latter is more important than the beginning, and the end is more important than the beginning. That's why the Korean proverb says, "When you're young, you buy hard. “There is a saying.
Job, who appears today, is a representative figure who faces the happy end of the Bible.
Today's text proves that.
Notice verse 12. It is written: “The Lord blessed Job’s mother’s years, making it more than the first. Here, the word “mother year” originally comes from the Hebrew word “to stay, to delay, to procrastinate,” and it means “the back part”. In other words, “It is the moment when the sun sets over Seosan Mountain.
That is, the end of life, the second half of life. Therefore, in life, motherhood is the period of entering old age.
This is the time when the energy begins to weaken. This is also a time when frustration, fear of death, and feelings of helplessness dominate everyone. It is a time when the mind seems young, but the body does not keep up.
But that doesn't matter. A blessed life is to be spiritually healthy rather than materially and worldly.
In today's text, Job says that the blessings he received in his last years, that is, in the last years of his life, were greater than the blessings he received when he was young.
This refers to the perfection of God's recovery. Likewise, God's salvation is perfect. And the kingdom of God is perfect.
We believe in this perfect God, Almighty God, and believe that you have come to this place.
If anyone is here for the first time today, I bless you in the name of the Lord to welcome this perfect God.
If we compare Job 1:2-3 and 42:12-16, we can see how different the blessings Job received.
1. Blessings of Gratitude in Everything
Look at 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
Some people say, “Gratitude is a sure guarantee that you will be richer.” Another said, “Gratitude creates miracles. “Some say.
When we give a gift to someone, of course, we don't send it in hope of a reward. But I want to see how grateful I am to receive that gift. It is a gift I sent with all my heart, but if the recipient is not grateful or even irritated, I will be greatly disappointed. And he decides to never give a gift to that person again.
However, on the other hand, it is not a very good gift, but when we see how happy we are when we receive it, our hearts are moved. The man named Job who appears in today's text is a person who does not blame God in the midst of tribulation, persecution, or suffering, but has faith to give thanks.
Job was not only grateful for the good. Job always and everywhere trusts in God and has faith to thank God for his grace. The hardships and sufferings that Job suffered were too much for us to bear.
He had lost all his children in one day, lost all his wealth, and even his beloved wife tormented Job's heart by telling him to curse God and leave.
And Job himself contracted a terrible skin disease, and his life was endangered. Will there be any more suffering like this in the world? No matter how bad we are, how can we ever be in such a ruined situation?
Even when the three best friends come to comfort him in the world, he is a person of faith who never complains or complains about God, but rather gives thanks to God.
Just as Job always gave thanks, I bless you in the name of the Lord that you may have faith to be thankful and blessings to be thankful for, no matter what hardships and pains there are.
2. The unchanging blessing of faith
Look at Psalm 1:1-2.
We cannot be blessed apart from Jehovah God. The secret to being blessed is that, like Job, our faith in Jehovah God does not change.
Blessings are not something that people have from the beginning, or that everyone gives and receives each other. The word “blessed” in Psalm 1:1 is derived from the word “ashre,” which is a verb “asum”, which means “go, bless, call to be blessed.”
Therefore, blessings are not deserved by God, but are given by grace. Therefore, it can be well understood through this one word that the initiative of blessing is God. Those who do not know God live rich, and even if they are better off than us, it is only for a moment. For a moment, it seems that we are enjoying and enjoying the blessings, but in the end it is destruction.
However, it is not the end of the Mimeum man's suffering and suffering for a short time, and even saying that he has misfortune.
2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For our light affliction, which is for a little while, works for us an exceedingly great and eternal weight of glory.”
Faith is trust, and faith is conviction. Hebrews 11:1 is the most understandable explanation of faith.
3. Faith waiting only for God's help
Look at Psalm 121:1-2.
There are even cases where the deacons and elders go to jumbo.
A pastor says that he goes to receive a prophetic prayer on which day is the best day to be ordained.
Especially during the season when their children are taking the school entrance exam, some people go to jumbo to see if their child will get into a good university.
If you pass or fail, you will pass if you study hard, otherwise you will fail.
And if I just pray in the morning without studying, do I pass? Nor is it. God is pleased only when we go out in the morning prayer while studying hard.
If a person who does not trade does not do business, only studies the Bible, and only prays, will the business be successful?
no. You have to pray hard while doing business.
The more we do this the more we need to draw closer to God.
I hope you will have faith that waits for God's help rather than human words. we ask God for help
You must have faith. God is pleased with those who come to Him, who cry out to Him, and who ask Him for help, and He wants to bless them.
This is Job's faith. Even when difficulties and trials come, they are not people who depend on people or seek sympathy from people. He was a man of absolute trust in God.
Like the psalmist who says, “Where does my help come from, from the Lord, who made heaven and earth,” I pray in the name of the Lord that we too may have this kind of faith and receive the blessing of our mother’s birth.