Title: People of the Cross
Contents
4th week of February
people of the cross
Galatians 5:24
Many people believe in Jesus. But what does it mean to believe in Jesus? What does it look like to believe in Jesus? If we divide the Christian life into three broad categories, first, there are those who lead a self-centered religious life. It is a way of thinking only about my own life of faith, that is, my Jesus and my salvation. Second, they are people who have Christian ethics and good citizenship, so they do not cause inconvenience or damage to others, and they expect others to be like that to me. The third is the form of faith to pray and receive answers no matter what. A disciple of Jesus! Life Following Jesus!. They are people who influence others with the inspiration they received in Jesus.
Before the disciples of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit, their lives were full of humanity. However, after receiving the filling of the Holy Spirit, we live a life of changing names. The filling of the Holy Spirit changed the disciples into a life of “new name” and “new life.” A name change is very important. God changed ‘Abram for Abraham’, ‘Jacob for Israel’, and ‘Paul for Saul’.
Saints! What is your new name? We are crucified. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to gain the conviction that you are a person who was crucified. This is a very big event from God. In God, we must die to live. Those who believe in Jesus are filled with the Holy Spirit and have been crucified. So, your new name is ‘The Crucified One’. After this confession, God will turn the famine in our lives into abundance and make a way where there is no way.
In the book of Isaiah, God gives us another wonderful name. “You are my crown,” he says. As we go through life, we are hurt by small things. But our new name is ‘Jehovah’s Crown’. This means that God has appointed me and I have been chosen. The life of faith is hard and difficult. However, He makes us bear it and allows us to live a victorious life in the name of God's 'crown' in spite of difficulties.
And the Lord tells us, 'You are my bride.' This is the word 'my joy'. Dear saints, Do not sit down and stand up. The Lord calls us, “You are my crown, you are my bride, you are my joy.”
When the people of Israel are struggling and weary, God calls, “You are my watchman.” He says, “Go out and keep, and I will keep you.” He also says, “You are my priests.” A priest is one who serves. “You will be called servants of God. Let all the world know that you are the people of God.” God, who leads the missionary path of Abraham and Paul, calls us “the crown of God, the bride, the joy, the watchman priest.”
Saints! We must now pioneer. Shouldn't this be to glorify God and please Him? Shouldn't we prepare the way for the people? So we are “pioneers of God”. Because of this, we must receive the Word of God in our respective places of life.
Now our new name is ‘The Crucified Man, the Crown of God’. It is also ‘the bride of the Lord and his joy’. And we must not forget that we are “guardians, priests, and pioneers of the kingdom of God.”
Lecturer: Pastor Jinyoung Gil