Title: Loyalty! there is a reward
Contents
Text: Revelation 2:8-11
“Loyalty” is a term often used by men when saluting in the military. In this case, loyalty means loyalty to the country. For a soldier, nothing is more precious than loyalty to the country. In wartime, loyalty to the country is more precious than one's own life. Soldiers should honor it. Although the discipline of the military has been relaxed a lot these days, personal problems should not be raised in front of the cause of loyalty for the country.
When China and Japan fight each other for supremacy in Asia, the national security of our country will be sandwiched between them, and moreover, the Kim Jong-il regime armed with communist ideology's ambition to invade the South is truly an era that requires a strong military spirit to be loyal to the country. I can't help but think once again how the military of this country, which has lost the concept of the main enemy and no discipline in front of the word human rights, will protect this country and be loyal in wartime while listening to people worrying that "Yosai's army is not an army."
Soldiers must be loyal to their country.
We must love our country and people and also pray.
Today's text is not the loyalty that the state demands of young soldiers, but the loyalty that the Lord demands of us.
These words are the faithfulness of the saints to Jesus, and the promise of Jesus' reward for it. There is no such thing as “moderate” loyalty to Jesus. The Lord rebuked the church in Laodicea, which appears last among the seven churches in Revelation, saying, “It is neither cold nor hot, cold or hot.”
In fact, we are those who have been forgiven of our sins and saved through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and have been placed in the class of children of God. Therefore, loyalty to him is a natural principle, and you must be faithful even if there is no reward or reward. Unfortunately, Jesus promised to give us a crown.
This text is about the Church of Smyrna, which appears next to the Church of Ephesus, and to those who live in tribulation and privation, being slandered by the Jews, and living in hardship, Jesus encouraged them to triumph through faith more strongly and boldly than by comforting them. In the face of greater difficulties and trials to come, the church members in Smyrna will be given a crown if they come as the spirit of martyrdom, “If they die, they will die.” This is loyalty.
If there is such a spirit of martyrdom, there is nothing to fear or fear, but rather strong and courageous loyalty. Jesus also spoke about loyalty several times in the Gospels, among them Matthew 24:45-51.
A faithful servant in the work entrusted to him
(1) You can know that he is a servant who does his best (verse 45)
“Let’s give out food at the right time… ” My IQ and EQ are on the bad side, but if I did my best to match a good person, that would be more valuable. The best is important, not the best or the most. A person who lives shoulder to shoulder with a person who is in a good situation because he did his best despite his poor family and circumstances is a successful person. God sometimes entrusts things that are right for a person according to his talents, but sometimes he entrusts a lot or a little according to his abilities.
What matters is not the greatest, but the best. Even in the church, it is important to do your best in the work, whether it is a choir or a teacher, a restaurant service or a vehicle service.
Ahn Chang-ho, who we know well, is recognized as a national thinker, revolutionary, and patriot. His education was all that he attended until the second year of a rural middle school. However, he was recognized as the spiritual leader of the nation by doing his best responsibly in the task entrusted to him. Loyalty to do your best! It is a worthy loyalty.
(2) A servant who walks in truth (verse 48)
“Because the master is slow to come . . . “Jesus said, “Truly,” when referring to important words (Matthew 5:18; mentioned 54 times in the Gospels), and when referring to very important words, “Truly, truly, I say to you” (25 times in John alone) mentioned) and emphasized the truth.
The opposite of truth is a lie. Lies are the attributes of the devil (John 8:44). Conversely, truth is an attribute of God.
Yes, one should seek the truth and live truthfully. You cannot escape the sight of the Lord who sees with your flame-like eyes. So, in Galatians 6:8, the Apostle Paul said, “For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. He who sows to his flesh will also reap corruption, but whoever sows to the Spirit will also reap eternal life.