Title: Like a Torch / Isaiah 62:1-3
I have five brothers.
As a family of seven living in a poor family, I always felt like I was getting ripped off.
Of the five brothers, I am two years older than the younger brother, but I remember fighting a lot with this younger brother without knowing it.
He and his younger brother were brothers and rivals.
I had unconsciously divided the younger brother and the younger brothers, saying who was on my side and who was on your side.
I often quarreled with my younger brother in the yard while playing games such as plucking the ground or playing marbles, and when that happened, my older brother used to take my younger brother harshly.
Thinking about it now, my heart aches for how I made my brother so evil, but at the time, that was not enough, so I think I pressed it with all my might to make my brother hurt even more.
Because of the poor family, the younger brothers rarely tried on new clothes.
He inherited the clothes his brothers wore.
When I was in elementary school, most of the school textbooks were inherited from what my older brothers had learned.
As a result, the younger brothers were dissatisfied with the fact that they were not brothers.
I remember thinking like this.
It would have been better if the mother and father had only given birth to the younger brothers, and not the younger brothers.......
Brothers are taught to be at peace and deep in friendship because they are children of one parent.
But in reality there is competition and jealousy among the brothers.
He thinks he knows best because he is my brother, but in reality he pays little attention to him.
You are sure to be anxious and hopeful at times for your brother, but how much do you know about your brother's life and how are you helping him?
Just as I am working hard in my own way, don't you think that my brother is also living hard and neglect it?
Children say that they do not want their parents to love them the same as other siblings, but they want them to love only themselves specially.
Parents don't.
We want to love all our children equally.
A child understands such a parent's attitude in their head, but in their heart they feel that their parents love their other siblings more than they do themselves.
In a way, we have ambivalence towards our parents and siblings.
I hate my parents and brothers while I love them.
why do you love me
Because it is blood.
Then why do you hate it?
Because they don't give me as much love as I would expect them to.
If you look deeply into marital conflicts as well as quarrels with siblings or conflicts between fathers and mothers, common feelings are hidden.
There is.
“I did what I had to do, but the other person didn’t do that to me.
It is not a matter of which one is good and which one is bad.
It's not about who's right and who's wrong.
Both are victims.
No matter who you listen to, the other person is wrong.
The consciousness of being a victim is the thought that I am not loved.
It is the thought that I have been abandoned.
I think that I can be happy only when the other person changes.
The problem cannot be solved because each other is a victim.
Everyone!
We are not victims.
We are not forsaken.
When the Israelites lost their kingdom and were taken captive to Babylon, they thought that God had abandoned them (Isaiah 49:14)
People from other nations who hated Israel also said that God had forsaken the Israelites.
But God did not forsake the Israelites.
God did not forget the Israelites.
Today, God has chosen us through Jesus Christ.
God has made us His children in Jesus Christ.
We are those who please God.
We are called to do the work of God.
What else inspires us more passionately than this?
We are not of the world, but the chosen of the world.
Our purpose is not to eat well and live well in this world, but to accomplish God's will in the kingdom of God.
Therefore, we should not think of things on earth, but on things above.
There is nothing more capricious than the human heart.
Instead of trying to receive the love of a floating cloud, we must be content with the love of God who loves us forever in Christ.
Why did God call us?
It is important to know why God has called us.
Knowing this can lead to a happy life.
Knowing this, we can discern what to do and what not to do in our lives.
Knowing this, you don't get distracted by unimportant and useless words.
First, we are called to preach the gospel of Christ.
Jesus came to this world in the flesh to save sinners.
Jesus paid for our sins and died on the cross.
If anyone believes in this Jesus as Lord and Christ, his sins are washed away and he is saved.
But people have not heard of Jesus, and even if they do, they do not know what it means.
Here arises the need to preach clearly about Jesus and his death.
The reason we have been called is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross.
The apostle Paul made it his life's mission to preach the gospel.
Paul thought of nothing but preaching the gospel.
Paul lived only for Christ.
So Paul was happy.
Paul could be thankful for everything and always rejoiced, which means that he lived such a happy life.
Today, it is easy to live a complex life.
Because there is a lot of work to be done.
Living a complicated life means that you are always busy and always chased, but you are always lacking and there is no sense of fulfillment in your life.
You don't have to live like that.
You need to simplify your life.
You have to rearrange everything around the one thing that matters most.
With only one core as the mission, the rest must be reorganized as a process or means to carry out that mission.
Only then can your life be in order, you can feel relaxed, meaningful, and happy.
What is the most important thing in our life?
What is the central mission in our lives?
For Paul, it was preaching the gospel of Christ.
We want to see many among us who, like Paul and the other apostles, make it their mission to preach the gospel of Christ.
Second, we are called to worship God.
It was eight days ago when the youth members held a concert at Oryu-dong Station Square. I was standing next to a parasol on one side of the square, and an older man approached me and asked me:
"Who is God?"
I thought for a moment about how I should explain God, and then I answered:
“God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and He is our Lord.”
He said, "Who created heaven and earth?" ' I asked and nodded and walked away.
God is the creator of heaven and earth.
God is the Lord of all things.
Glory and honor and power and praise be to God.
Do you know why God created man?
It is to glorify God. (Isaiah 43:7)
Sinners do not glorify God.
Sinners seek their own glory.
Sinners worship idols because they believe it will glorify them.
But God has called us to worship Him only in the midst of it.
How did people in Bible times worship God?
I fell down and worshiped.
Today, people bow their heads or bow to greet them.
People visiting their hometown for the holidays do not just bow their heads or bow to bow to their parents, but bow down or bow down.
The servants who came before the old king also bowed down and bowed.
The more people you respect, the greater your bending angle.
In Bible times, people usually bowed down to the ground and worshiped God.
There are several places in the Korean Bible where it is said, “I bowed my head and worshiped,” but the original meaning is that I bowed down and worshiped. (Genesis 24:26, Exodus 4:31, 12:27, 1 Chronicles 29:20)
Moses fell to the ground and worshiped (Exodus 34:8).
Solomon also fell down and worshiped God (2 Chronicles 7:3).
Ezra blessed God, and all the people bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground (Nehemiah 8:6).
The wise men from the east fell down and worshiped the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:11).
The devil tempted Jesus to give him all the kingdoms and their glory if he bowed down and worshiped him (Matthew 4:8,9).
The elders and angels around the throne also bowed down and worshiped God (Rev 5:14, 7:11).
When people in the Bible times worshiped God, they not only worshiped with their hearts, but bowed down and bowed their faces to the ground to worship.
Contrary to this, today we do not bow down when we worship God.
We only kneel or bow our heads when we pray.
Worship today is sermon-centered.
Prayer, Bible reading, praise and offering during worship are also important.
But through all of this, the most important thing is to worship God.
God has called us to worship.
Third, we are called to serve others.
When Jesus came to this earth, he not only preached the kingdom of God and the gospel, but also healed the sick and fed the hungry.
Service is not something that can be converted into money.
Because God has called us to serve, only those who serve can enjoy God's joy.
Those who do not serve will gradually lose the joy of life.
Everyone!
Being comfortable is never pleasant.
When I share the pain of others, help them, and share what I have for them, I can enjoy God's grace in abundance in my life.
Much has been lost while modern people have their own time, pursue their own pleasures, and avoid hard service.
If you don't serve, the world will just turn into a meaningless and workless place.
There are so many places for Christians to serve.
You do not have to receive money to serve, but you must serve according to God's call.
Everyone!
When we live worthy of God's call, we become benefactors, not victims.
The kingdom of God will come through us, salvation will be preached through us, and thanksgiving and praise will come out of the mouths of many.
We will not be forsaken, but a beautiful crown in the hand of God, a crown in the hand of God.