Title: Living together by faith!
Contents
Today is Seollal, the biggest festival along with Chuseok among Korean folk holidays. So on New Year's Day, I say goodbye like this. "Best wishes for a Happy New Year!" I think we believers should say hello like this.
“Happy New Year!” These greetings are biblical greetings.
Beliefs, or beliefs, are sometimes broken so easily. Sometimes it's not the right path, but you have to follow reality as an excuse, or sometimes you give up your belief in the right path. People abandon their beliefs or beliefs like that when they are overwhelmed by certain conditions that are immediately visible. People do not readily admit that visible conditions are always variable. That's why so many people fall into that trap so easily. In this case, people do not live their lives on their own, but depend on visible conditions.
But on the other hand, the human mind is not always so swayed by the visible. A man knows how to put his heart into something truly worthy of hope. In some cases, they keep their own beliefs and beliefs by going beyond certain conditions that are not immediately visible or only seemingly insignificant. People like this live their lives proudly regardless of conditions. Also, new history is always unfolded by people living with that attitude.
Crossing the Red Sea by Faith...
We read together a passage from Hebrews 11, which is well known as the chapter of faith. This passage refers to the incident where Moses and his people crossed the Red Sea. It is a passage to remember the Passover, the day of the liberation of the nation of Israel. “By faith the Israelites crossed the Red Sea on dry land. But the Egyptians did so and drowned.” Today's sermon prepares us like this.
Whenever we think of this scene, we think of a scene from a fantasy movie. When the Israelites reached the front of the Red Sea, the water split apart, and when the pursuing Egyptian soldiers entered, they reunited and buried them. However, this verse interprets the event as a matter of faith. It is said that the people of Israel experienced that miracle through faith. On the other hand, the Egyptians are said to have drowned in the same way. Their actions are not predicated on faith. It suggests that they did not have the faith the Israelites had.
Faith here is not the belief that the waters of the Red Sea will part. Faith here is the expectation that we can live as free people according to the will of God. It may satisfy their material needs, but that faith was desperate for the Israelites who could not enjoy freedom. They truly wanted to live freely according to God's will, and they had a firm belief that when they followed God, they could live like him. A miracle happened that seemed impossible to them. Finally they were reborn as free people. The Egyptians, on the other hand, only believed in their wealth and military power. They only believed and boasted about what they saw now. They did not have the will to do God's will or the desire for freedom. No miracle happened to them.
We have formed a community by faith. We are a group of people who share the same faith. Many relationships in the world are precious, but we do not know how precious the relationships we share in our beliefs are. A community that is not entangled by any other interests, but shares the same purpose and dreams the same, is invaluable. This is because we can treat each other most purely in faith, not in our interests, and in such a way, we can give each other strength and comfort.
Of course, it may not be entirely free from the interests of the world. Even within the church, there will be times when you want to weigh the pros and cons. In fact, sometimes such cases happen unexpectedly. However, the church community is based on the character of a community united by faith, not by interests. That is why we constantly strive to become one in faith to enjoy a truly new life.
Just think about it. How precious it is to meet the brothers and sisters sitting next to me right now. We are together in one place as brothers and sisters because of one faith. If you were to consider the truth that is commonly spoken among us, what would it be? As we gather together, of course there will be. But what binds us is not the visible truth. What binds us is our faith in a free and abundant life in God. It is a belief in salvation.
I hope that this opportunity will deepen that faith and further deepen the love with the brothers and sisters who share that faith.
Today, a folk holiday, New Year's Day.... Many people will greet each other by sharing good wishes. We ask that we believers, in the name of the Lord, have a blessed holiday with sincere compassion for their souls in their hearts and anticipation of their return to the Lord. I will pray....