Title: Look to the Lord
Contents
look to the Lord
(July 9, 2006) (Mt 14:28~32)
The world is wide and there is much to see and hear.
If possible, I hope that you will live a happy life while seeing beautiful things and hearing good sounds.
One of my childhood classmates had a son who was a gangster, a playboy, and a drug addict. - He cursed his father when he opened his mouth. - Later I found out that he only did drugs, but he lived as a gangster and a prankster and died in his 40s. - He lived in a bad environment, seeing bad things, and then he became the same person.
Dear saints, today, you can hear prayers, hymns, and Bible readings. You came to the church where you can hear the Amen.
You came to Kyungil Church where you can see the cross from the outside and see the saints sitting and worshiping reverently.
If you lift up your heart and look to heaven, look at God, and look at Jesus, I believe that you will never become failures and become successful people.
What are you looking to buy? What sound are you listening to? As a result, the future often depends.
I pray that you will become successful people who see well, listen well, and live righteously.
In today's text, what did Peter see when he walked on water? It teaches you how to almost drown when you see something.
1. Consider Peter's experience.
① He saw Jesus walking on the water - At that time, Peter had a thought, “I want to walk on water like Jesus” - Jesus asked, “Please let me walk on water like Jesus.” Jesus granted Peter's request - (14:29) "Come." Then Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. - Hallelujah !!! - When I saw Jesus, I had faith, and with that faith, I experienced the miracle of walking on water.
②I saw the wind that made the waves sway - At that moment, I was terrified - The moment I had fear, the miracle was over. -(14:30) “When he saw the wind, he was afraid and went away.”
Take a look at these two things that happened in the same place for a short while - a completely different sight.
The same person Peter, in the same place at the sea, makes such a big difference depending on what he sees.
When I looked only at Jesus - I experienced a miracle of walking on the water - When I looked at Jesus and looked sideways, I saw the waves crashing, I saw the wind that made the waves, I felt fear in my heart, and my faith disappeared in an instant - I almost died from drowning.
Dear saints, if you look at the world, there will be temptation, failure awaits, and destruction awaits.
When you look to Jesus, look to God, and look to heaven, you will have faith, you will gain power, you will taste victory, and you will become a success. - I pray that you will become believers who only look to the Lord.
<① Look at the face of the Lord when you are in trouble, look at the Lord of peace, friends who are troubled in the world, look at the Lord of comfort Lift up your eyes and look at the Lord. Leave all your worries to the Lord. When you are sad, look at the face of the Lord Jesus. The Lord of love will give you rest.
②When I am weak and my heart is weak, look to the Lord of strength
-Lift up your eyes and behold the Lord, cast all your worries on the Lord, in times of sorrow, look at the face of the Lord Jesus, the Lord of love will give you rest.
2. Let's see the Lord by faith.
If there is no temptation of the world, no temptation of the devil, no temptation of sin - I would always look to the Lord and live - but the world is not like that. Like a rose with flowers and thorns, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly are mixed in the world.
Even with the same rose, those who see flowers will say it is beautiful, and those who see thorns will say it's scary. - Be a person who can see flowers rather than thorns.
You must become a person who can see heaven instead of hell, a person who can see God not the devil, and a person who can see righteousness instead of sin. What's the secret? Please have eyes of faith.
*The land of Canaan seen by the unbelieving spies - men with great bones seemed likely to kill them. However, Joshua and Caleb, who were full of faith, saw the land of Canaan as a fertile land, and God gave it to them.
*To the unbelieving King Saul and the soldiers, Goliath looked like a terrifying general who could not be challenged - but to David armed with faith, he looked like a humble Goliath who had been turned away from God - Instead, he saw God who would help him overcome Goliath.
*When the unbelieving people stood in front of the Red Sea, they complained because it looked like a sea that killed them. - The priests, who were filled with their faith after 40 years of training, - It is a river that can be crossed while looking at the Jordan River, where the water overflowing the bank of the river flows swiftly. As I saw God telling me to cross the river, I saw a miracle that the river stopped the moment I entered the river without fear.
*In front of Joseph, who was full of faith, he did not care about Potiphar's wife, who seduced him, but only God told him not to sin.
Dear saints, those who live by looking only at God become a winner. - The secret to staying away from the temptations of the world, from the temptations of sin, from the temptations of the devil, and only seeing God is through faith. I pray that you will become believers who are armed with faith and look only to God.
3. There are times when you have to turn your back on the world and see the Lord.
No matter how the devil tempts you, it would be really good if you had faith that could only look to the Lord without being shaken.
No matter how much temptation is in front of you, it would be great if you had faith that could only look to the Lord.
*On TV a few days ago - I saw a person who once smoked more than 5 packs of cigarettes a day and now completely quit - He still has cigarettes on display in the house - I tell you why - " You have to have the will to be a winner. - If you can't win just because you can see it - you're not a real winner." it has become a person. - Aren't you envious of your will?
The same is true of faith - how great would it be if we had faith that could overcome temptation, even if there was persecution, that we would have faith that could overcome the devil's attacks? I pray that you will grow in that kind of faith.
But sometimes our faith is shaken and our faith cools down - how can we look only to the Lord at that time?
*There is an anecdote of General Kim Yu-sin of Silla - I often went to a gisaeng house when I was young - I came to my senses and vowed not to go to a gisaeng house anymore - But because of the habit of going to a gisaeng house when only Kim Yu-shin was on it... It is said that he had his head cut off and went to a parasitic house. - You must break the cycle of temptation.
It would be nice to have faith that can overcome the temptation of sin - but if you don't have that kind of faith, you must break the chain of temptation.
*Why did you say that the first and second floors of the ark do not have windows and that only windows should be made on the third floor? - Because I was afraid to see the water swaying next to me and to be afraid of the pouring rain - I couldn't see the waves, I couldn't see the rain - I couldn't see the sides and only looked up.
*If you can't swim, don't go to the water. If you can't drive, you shouldn't hold the steering wheel. If you lack faith, you should not go to a place where you will be tempted. It's like avoiding a fight if you don't have the confidence to fight it.
Dear saints, if you look and follow the temptations of the devil, you will become a failure.
If we only look to God and move forward, we will overcome the world and become a victor. I pray that you will overcome all temptations of the world and devils with faith and follow only the Lord.
But the important thing is that no one has the faith to be sure. -
When Peter, who was walking on the water in faith, saw the waves, saw the wind, and had no strength to fight, he called Jesus and asked for help. When Jesus took his hand and rescued me, I could live a new life.
When you lack faith and have no strength to fight, what is the one thing left? Knowing that you lack faith, I pray that you will turn away from being tempted by the world and look to the Lord. I pray that you will win with the help of the Lord.