Title: Peace of Mind
Contents
Philippians 4:5 peace of mind
This happened last Saturday. As I was returning the video I borrowed from the blockbuster, I was about to get out of the parked car, and suddenly, a car was running behind me, and the person in the car showed me his middle finger and made a big impression with his eyes wide open. Taking a closer look at the man, he was a middle-aged woman, not a young and spoiled young man, but how vigorously she stretched out her middle finger was amazing.
These words came out of my mouth as I ate it in an absurd way. "Wow- that's amazing! You're comparable to a Korean!" As you all know, Koreans swear at the other person, grabbing the neck, fighting on the street, and making a fuss even if a small unpleasant thing happens while driving. But here in Canada that is largely not the case. People seem to have a bit of leeway. Even in a car accident, few people fight on the street. But as I went through the events of that day, I said, "Hey, there are people like that here too!" And I thought again.
If you look more closely at the situation at the time, there was a truck next to my parked car, so my view was blocked and the other party's view was also blocked. In a way, the other person wasn't running that fast in the parking lot. Anyway, when I came to my senses a little bit, I realized that the woman was a little bit upset. And I was starting to get angry too.
At this point, an idea ran through my head. "Hey, little things like this can ruin a good mood in an instant! Oh, I can't! If that happens, my peace and my happiness in the Lord will be taken away! Let's laugh and laugh!" I smiled and prayed inwardly. "Lord, thank you that I don't get angry like that woman.
And then there was something I felt inside. "Hey, I'm sorry I prayed for an hour or so before I left the house today, otherwise I wouldn't be able to control my emotions, so I'd be angry, my mouth would sound bad, and I'd have a bad mood!"
Everyone, there is a thing called inter-vehicle distance while driving. This means that a certain distance between the car in front of you and your car is necessary to prevent a crash. Especially on highways where cars travel fast, there should be a greater distance between cars, and it is common sense for drivers to have more space between cars even on a rainy or snowy day.
Likewise, in order to be happy every day, or in order to be happy in life, there is a mind that must be equipped. It is nothing other than a more generous and relaxed mind. This is the heart of generosity in today's text. Everyone, think about it. If you are easily annoyed, angry, and heated by a small amount of stress or event, wouldn't happiness and joy run away sooner or later?
Of course, it is not so easy for modern people to have a relaxed mind. In particular, in Korea, celery men who have a tight working life often feel a lot of pressure and stress, rather than a relaxed mind. Therefore, some immigrate to Canada to enjoy a more leisurely life.
But what about immigrating to Canada? Do you feel a little more relaxed? If so, I'm really happy. But are you still feeling restless or anxious and restless? Aren't you worried because you have little money, you're a beginner because your job and business are not going the way you want, you're discouraged because you don't speak English well, and you're worried about living in a foreign country?
How do you solve this problem when you have no room in a foreign land like this? How about quietly meditating while sipping warm and fragrant coffee or tea? Or how about listening to classical or semi-classical music? Or how about reading the Bible or a good book and taking control of your own mind? Or, why not take the time to visit or travel to Banfra? Sometimes, how about looking at the Calgary night sky and counting the stars?
Even in my case, sometimes at night I go up on Coach Hill and meditate while looking at the Calgary night view and night sky. After that, you will have a more relaxed mind and peace will come to you. Of course, sometimes, if you take the time to travel somewhere far away for a few days, you may feel more relaxed.
Everyone, a relaxed mind can give us peace, give us quiet joy, and even make me happy, and can make my home, my church, where I live, and the people I meet. I hope we can have such a relaxed mind in this foreign land. So, I hope that you and I, who will live soon, will be happier, more cozy, and warmer.
This is the story of the inventor Edison we know well. He took care of his garden beautifully. Then one morning when Edison went to the garden, he was startled. The garden had been turned into a mess. It was good for a flower thief to come in overnight and pick flowers, but in some cases, the stems were damaged and even the roots were damaged by picking flowers by hand.
So Edison went into the house and wrote on a piece of paper: "Flower thief, please use scissors when picking flowers in the future." And he hung the note along with the scissors in a place where the garden could be seen clearly. Then the next day, this reply was written. ?쏬ord, the hanging scissors do not pick up well. I would appreciate it if you could grind them well on a whetstone.??
Guys, how relaxed is this humor? However, if Edison did not have the peace of mind because he was upset and drew a picture of raising his middle finger on a piece of paper, or wrote a harsh swear word about the thief, perhaps next time Edison's flower garden will be mercilessly destroyed by the thief. It would have been ruined. However, when he writes leisurely, the thief's heart becomes more relaxed, and from then on, no thieves enter his field.
Guys, why don't you get angry and annoyed while living in this world? How can everything just work out smoothly as I set my mind to? No matter how good a place to live in Canada, this isn't paradise, is it? Sometimes even here, isn't there someone who upsets me? At this time, if you don't believe, "Let's drink, a glass of wine! And he may have fallen into drunkenness. Or "Let's see!" and may sharpen the blade of revenge.
But are we not such people? Don't you feel that if you drink alcohol in the world, use bad language, or have a bad mind about your partner because you are stressed out, you will feel more humble and unhappy with yourself? So what about us Christians? Should I just continue to live a stuffy and unhappy life with a narrow heart?
At this time, the Lord tells us: "Let your generosity be known to all. The Lord is near." In other words, it means to treat others with a more relaxed mind. It is to live as if Edison wrote a letter to a thief with a relaxed heart.
Ladies and gentlemen, we can find the relaxed heart of Jesus everywhere in the Bible. Among them, there are some that come to mind as I prepare today's sermon. It was the time when Jesus was arrested by the crowds because of the betrayal of Judas Iscariot. The disciple Peter drew his sword and struck the high priest's servant who was trying to arrest Jesus and cut off his ear. Then Jesus bent down and put back the ear that had fallen off. Then he said, "Peter, put your sword in its house."
How relaxed are your attitudes and words, everyone? Now, if Jesus is caught, he will be subjected to severe torture and death, but Jesus had a relaxed heart. When he saw that the ear of the high priest's servant, who was trying to arrest him, was cut off by Peter's sword, he thought of the pain. And he attached his ears. Also, Jesus said to the robber on the right, ?쏷oday you will be with me in paradise,??while suffering the cruel death on the cross. He had a relaxed heart to take one life to heaven until the moment of death.
How good would it be if we also had the heart of Jesus like this? Of course, Jesus also came to this earth in a human body, so it seems that he did not have such a relaxed heart from the beginning before his death. So, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus poured out his heart to his disciples. ?쏮y heart is so troubled that it is about to die; stay here and watch with me??(Matthew 26:38).
And Jesus prayed to God that his sweat would become drops of blood. "Lord, give me strength to bear it!" Then God gave Jesus strength. He gave us a generous heart to bear the cross. So, even when he was arrested, Jesus had room to spare. Even when Pilate was sentenced to death, Jesus had room to spare. Even on the cross, Jesus was concerned about his mother Mary and asked a disciple named John to take good care of his mother.
Ladies and gentlemen, like Jesus, we want to have a relaxed mind even at the moment of death. Sometimes, when circumstances or someone takes away my relaxed heart, we want to pray like Jesus did. And again, I want to receive a more relaxed heart from God and go on the path that Jesus went.
What we need today is a relaxed mind. Mind
Only when you are relaxed can true forgiveness be realized and perfect love can be revealed. How can I make others at peace when there is no peace in my heart and it is boiling with anger? How can I give true love to others when I have no love in my heart?
Today I want to ask you a question. How do you feel right now? Did you have the time to tolerate other people? There are various things, but are you still at peace? Do you truly have peace and leisure in your heart, not the false peace and false peace that only appear on the outside? If you have the time to do that, I would like to ask you again. Where the hell did you get that kind of leeway?
But you who answer so confidently - if that freedom and courage were not born through Jesus Christ, that leisure will leave you at some point. With only the freedom, courage, and peace that come from you as a human being, you cannot afford to relax at the threshold of God's judgment. Only the freedom that comes from Jesus can overcome the world and be proud in the face of God's judgment.
Today we want to have this kind of relaxed mind. And I want to show that to everyone. And with this relaxed heart and generosity, we want to beautify our church, our home, and the place where we live. And when we leave this world, like Jesus, we want to leave this world with a relaxed mind until the end.