Title: Open Mind
Contents
▒▒ Bible : 2 Corinthians 6:11~13
Jesus had no barriers. He preached the gospel to the Samaritans, whom no one had been looking for at that time, and Jesus did not block anyone who came to Jesus, he opened them all up, and told everyone to come to me. Likewise, today, in order for the church to fully carry out the precious work of Jesus, I believe that our church, like Jesus, must move forward as an open church.
One of the churches with many graces and gifts was the Corinthian church. However, in Paul's view, he judged that he was still in a religious and spiritual infancy. 1 Corinthians 6:11-13 “O Corinthians, I do not open my mouth, but open my heart and speak to you. Your mind is too narrow. As I treat my children, so I say to the Corinthians, open your hearts.” You are saying such a precious thing.
The important reason why the Corinthian church did not grow is that the hearts of the Corinthians have become closed rather than open. Only when we have an open mind can we continue to receive and grow with precious graces from heaven.
The reason why the church in Corinth became closed-minded as the Apostle Paul pointed out was that it was deceived by the first false gospel. When we hear a false story, our hearts are closed and hardened about the truth. That is why we cannot continue to grow in our faith because we do not receive the truth.
The second reason our hearts are hardened is, “Why can’t you throw away the sins that we need to throw away?” In other words, it is the history of sin that always closes and hardens our hearts. As such, sin is something we must throw away, but if we do not cast away the sin, we can see that our heart is hardened and closed. So sin is a terrible thing.
The Apostle Paul said today, “Corinthians, I say to you as I speak to children, broaden your hearts. Be open minded.” You are saying something very important. How can we keep our hearts open?
In order to have an open heart, we must open our heart to God at this time. All of you say that your heart is open, but if you are thinking of something else, your heart is closed at this time too. During this time of worship, please think about the love of our Lord who truly loves me. I want you to think about how much our Lord has worked to melt my hardened heart until I am here today.
When the prodigal son returned home, he thought of his father. 'My father won't let me go if I come. He will accept it.’ As his heart was opened to his father, the prodigal son was able to go toward his father. As for how we open our hearts today, I believe that if we take a moment to reflect on what kind of heart God has for us, we will feel how much God loves us.
Then there's another important thing, if you look at the little one, they reach out as soon as they give birth. So, as soon as they give birth, they grab the mother's milk and drink it, which is a survival instinct. So, if a child catches it, he does not know how to release it. It is characteristic of young children to reach out and grab other people's things. However, when this child is a little older, he learns to live a life of giving, reaching out and giving what he has to others. This is an open mind, an open life. In the past, I took everything from others and only took care of my own, but now I am spreading my hands and sharing them. Until now, “God give it to me.” I did. Now we give thanks to God for what we have received and dedicate ourselves to it. This is an open life. It's not about taking someone else's things, it's about reaching out and treating yourself with an open mind. This is an open church.
When I went to America with the mindset of 'how to revive the church,' I went to Willow Creek Church in Chicago and benchmarked it more than once. . I felt a lot of things while looking at both churches, but the most impressive thing is that they are both open churches. Willow Creek Church and Saddleback Church are churches where anyone can come and participate in worship, receive grace and feel comfortable. It is truly an open church where anyone can come to worship, receive grace and return. I looked at it and said, ‘Oh, I want to build a church like that. I want to be an open church where anyone can come to our Hanshin altar to hear the word, pray, receive grace, and return, and an open church where people who believe first reach out their hands so that they can come and worship in a comfortable way.’
Dear saints, a closed heart cannot grow. An open heart is favored by God, blessed, and matured. I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will become an open church, an open church.
2007-10-03 16:15:01