Title: Patience of Hope (1 Thessalonians 01:2-4)
Content Example) I saw an article one day - It was a story of a man who worked in a coal mining village, and the coal mine was sunk and he became like a few colleagues. When many people gave up their lives in despair, thinking they were dead, and wept in sorrow, one person, as a believer in God, sang a hymn, relying on God until the end. As he got out of breath and the oxygen in it gradually disappeared, he continued to sing hymns even though people told him not to speak. At that time, the people who had been digging in the pit heard the hymn that was heard at the moment they gave up and were about to return, and they dug in, and miraculously survived.
In today's text, the Thessalonian church records that they lived with the patience of hope along with the work of faith. Today, I hope that you will receive the grace of God through the faith of hope.
If we truly believe in God, we must not forget the word 'hope' in our lives.
The courage God has given us to believe in Him comes from “hope”.
Even when we have no choice but to despair, we do not despair because we have hope. Even when we have to give up, we do not give up because of hope. Even when we fail, because we have hope, we can take on the challenge of a new life.
The famous psychologist Eric Fromm defined human beings as “Homo esperans”, that is, “the wishing man”.
Philosopher Emile Brunner once said, “Just as the lungs need oxygen, so the meaning of life needs hope.”
Example) A psychologist's experiment - If you put a rat in a dock, seal it completely, and block any light from entering, the rat died in 3 minutes.
However, under the same conditions, only a little light was allowed to enter, and it is said that they lived for 36 hours.
To have the hope of seeing a small light under the same conditions is also related to life.
That is why, in the dark despair where the light of hope does not shine even in our lives, health is lost and life does not last long.
However, if we know, believe, and rely on our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the light of hope, believe that we can always have peace of mind, boldly overcome the difficulties and sufferings of life, and overcome the misfortunes that may come upon us and be victorious.
I hope you have hope in this year of 1993.
This hope is a dream. Follow the mercy and mercy of our God and have a dream. Have a big dream with the grace of our good Father, and engrave a great vision in your heart.
At least, as a child of God, I hope you have a dream and take on new challenges.
And to make this dream come true, we must pray. You must cast aside doubts and worries about whether this dream will come true and pray to God. He does not turn away from the prayers of those who come to the Father with the dream of God and pray, and He answers that dream and makes that dream come true and blessed. Therefore, in order for our dreams not to become dog dreams and bubble-like dreams, above all else, we must not stop praying.
This year, the church also has a dream. It is a vision of absolute doubling. The church is to be revived by doubling, to save dying souls, to expand the kingdom of God, and to achieve a continuous vision for the nation and the world.
You will have dreams in your family, and there will be dreams in everything you do. To make all these dreams come true, we ask you to pray to God our Father, who can make these dreams come true.
In particular, there are important attitudes that we must take for prompt answers to our prayers.
The representative life of faith is the Sunday holy water. When we keep Sunday, God is pleased and He hears our prayers.
Isaiah 56:6 “And every Gentile who serves in unity with the LORD, who loves the name of the LORD, is my servant, and keeps the Sabbath undefiled, and keeps my covenant fast
Isa 56:7 I will bring him to my holy mountain and make them happy in my house of prayer, and their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called the house of prayer of all peoples.”
Please pray and make an effort to keep Sunday in particular this year. Sunday is a day to glorify God who saved me, and it is a day to receive blessings. In the seven days that the Lord created, God only blessed the Sabbath. That is why God blesses those who keep the day.
Ex) Deaf grandfather I go to church every Sunday. When I asked him why he went, he said, “I am going to show the devil who I belong to.”
Anyway, we bless you that our prayers will be answered by keeping Sunday and our dreams will come true throughout this year.
And worship God well. When we cherish the worship we give to God, such as Sunday worship, evening worship, three-day worship, regional worship, home worship, and morning worship, God grants our wishes when we give glory to God in each worship service.
Psalm 145:19 “He will fulfill the desires of those who fear him; he will hear their cry and save them.” I did.
Ex) Abraham was acknowledged to fear God.
Go ahead and obey the word of God.
Proverbs 10:24, “The desire of the righteous is done,” he promised.
God is most pleased with living obedience to His Word. So, if you live according to the Word, God grants your wish.
♬ Chapter 542 “Lord, I saw you in my dream last night, please make that dream come true. Show me in your revelations at night and in the morning, always giving me grace. My amazing dream is sure to come true, believing in me is a sign of great grace in the future. My wonderful dream will come true and I will see the face of the Lord.”
- By the way, all these wishes must fall into three categories.
1. We must have hope in the Word.
In other words, we must have hope and dreams based on God's promises. Some people have false dreams. There are times when we show our dreams for our own greed. It is not heard by God.
Romans 15:4 says, “The comfort of the scriptures gives you hope.”
Ex) In Cheongdam's book [Finding the Lost Me] - If you have an affair wife or husband, have a wish to live well in the future and do better.
This is not a wish.
Our hope is to have a dream, hope, challenge, and pray to God, centering on everything that God has promised in His Word.
2. We must have hope in faith.
Faith is the power that can make our hopes come true. Therefore, we must strengthen our faith and challenge ourselves with boldness to achieve our hopes through that faith.
Romans 4:18 says, “Abraham hoped and believed in hopelessness.” I looked with hope, but saw nothing. There were no conditions for that wish to come true. But when I believed in God, I saw it. Believe me, the way is open. The goal of hope seemed bright. Therefore, faith and hope must always exist together.
3. We must have hope in Jesus.
Hope that leaves Jesus is not hope. We do everything in Jesus, and that's our whole life.
Physical health is also in Jesus. Material blessings are also in Jesus. The daughter-in-law and power of the world are in Jesus.
Anything apart from Jesus cannot be a blessing or happiness.
Ex) Kanjo Uchimura - During the agricultural school days, Dr. Clark's sermon, "Boys, have a vision in Jesus," moved me to believe in Jesus, and to the people who lost the war and lost their sins.