Title: People Seeking Baby Jesus / Matthew 2
Contents Hallelujah! I bless you in the name of the Lord that God's grace and peace may be with you, your loved ones, your family, your workplace, your church, and this nation.
With the world watching, we have finished our 15th presidential election.
Through this election, the people have a lot of expectations and changes for the new president.
We hope that the economy will recover as soon as possible and the trust of the international community will be restored to achieve social stability. These things don't happen overnight, but I want to ask new leaders three things:
First and foremost, I ask you to become a leader who shows humility and service.
The attitude that the president-elect should show to the people right now is not to be intoxicated with joy and ecstasy, but to show the virtue of humility and an example of serving in the face of numerous national tasks. Because a leader is never a ruler, but a servant. The president should not be a ruler, but I ask that he show an example of humility and service as a public servant for the people.
Second, I urge you to become a leader who shows love and justice.
When it comes to elections, we sometimes confront each other with excessive words and actions under intense emotions, but after the election, we must love each other, tolerant of each other, and achieve national unity.
Nevertheless, the most important thing is to be able to uphold the cause of the national cause.
Leaders themselves must receive a fair evaluation and live their lives.
I ask that you become a leader who shows love and justice until the end, realizing that the object of reform is never someone else, but first.
Third, I ask you to become a leader who realizes reality and ideals together.
Don't be overly attached to reality, and don't stress only the ideal of the future.
How to live in harmony?
Clearly, history is passing. We must face the flowing history and show our ideals for tomorrow while overcoming the challenges of today.
Our Lord came to this earth and accomplished what humility and service are, love and justice, and reality and ideals together.
The Lord did not take equality with God when he came to this earth, but showed the form of a servant as a servant to the end of his life.
In addition, the Lord showed the justice and love of God together through the event of the cross. Although he loved sinners so much, he did not tolerate sin.
The Lord came to this earth to fulfill the ideal of heaven and the vision of heaven.
Rather than 'begotten' on this earth, we can say that the Lord 'comed' theologically.
Many people are born as human beings on this earth, but the Lord came to this earth as a human to save them.
When the Lord came to this earth, there were three types of people.
First, they are indifferent to Jesus Christ.
The scribes and priests were of this class.
They saw, studied, and discussed the words of prophecy a lot, but their knowledge could not be confessed as faith.
When Jesus came, they were indifferent.
Second, those who tried to kill Jesus Christ.
When Herod and his associates heard that Jesus had been born as king, a great commotion arose.
Although Herod was at an age difficult to sustain the kingship in terms of his age and ability, he was startled and confused by the question, "Where is the one who was born as a king?
In a dream, the baby Jesus escaped to Egypt through an angel in a dream and escaped, but about 14,000 children near Bethlehem were killed because they did not hear the news.
How ignorant and weak human behavior is this?
However, it can never stop the work of God.
Our Lord was crucified again by those who tried to kill him, but it did not end there. Our Lord rose from the dead three days later and made the country that persecuted Him into a Christian nation.
Third, they are those who have been greeted with anticipation and longing for Jesus Christ.
Even King Herod, who ruled the land, did not receive Jesus properly.
Even the priests and scribes, who had been reading and studying the prophets all their lives, did not receive Jesus properly. Even the owner of the inn could not know that the Son of God would be born in his house.
Unexpectedly, wise men from far away came to know about the birth of the Messiah.
This East is presumed to be near present-day Iran and Iraq, but they have come a long way over a thousand miles in anticipation and longing for the birth of Jesus Christ.
How can we celebrate Christmas like the wise men?
First, this Christmas, we have to visit and welcome it.
"When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." (Matthew 2) Chapter 1-2)
The Magi were not on a vague journey. They set out on a journey with a clear purpose. The purpose of this trip was to meet the baby Jesus.
Even though the Jews had to greet the "King of the Jews" first, the Gentiles, the wise men from the East, came to greet them.
At that time, Israel was a dark society.
It was politically dark enough to kill many children with just one word of Herod, and there were people who studied the Bible religiously, but it was dark enough to not know Jesus when Jesus came.
It was also a morally dark time.
No matter how ruthless a person is, it is common sense to lend even his own room to a woman who is about to give birth, and despite the etiquette, Jesus was born in a manger.
But the wise men did not blame the darkness; they saw the stars and came to Jesus.
?쏻hen they saw the stars, they rejoiced and rejoiced the most??(Matthew 2:10).
While publishing this year's sermon book, I set the title of "Darkness has never overcome the light", but in these words, everything about this age is expressed.
For all who do not know Jesus Christ, may this Christmas be a visiting Christmas!
Second, this Christmas should be greeted with worship.
"Where is he who is born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." (Matthew 2:2)
The word ?쐗orship??appears three times in the text, including 2:2, 8, and 11.
Three occurrences of "worship" means that there must be sincere worship.
Christmas is a day of worship.
The text contains the worship of Herod and the other worship of the Magi.
Herod's worship was to kill the baby Jesus who was disguised as worship, and the worship of the wise men was to worship the baby Jesus with sincerity.
We have the same worship service, but there are people who worship with a murderous heart and hate their neighbors.
Cain and Abel worshiped the same, but Cain remained a murderer and Abel a martyr after the service.
The image of this martyr is the image of a true worshiper.
In Romans 12:2, ?쏿 living sacrifice??means that you must sacrifice your life as a martyr to worship.
As we enter 1998, we must not encroach upon God's realm.
'Keeping the Sunday' doesn't mean that I can keep it or don't have to keep it.
There are people who still cannot distinguish between God's realm and their own, such as 'tithing'.
It's not that I do worship if I want to and don't do it if I don't want to.
Five years ago, when presidential candidate Kim Young-sam came to the forefront for the election, I said several times, "Go to church on Sundays and pray."
Individuals and people who guard God's domain well receive God's grace.
'Worship' means 'risking your life' to offer.
Rather, the Lord spares those who risk their lives to worship.
"Worship" means "to kneel down" and is a sign of the greatest courtesy towards the other person.
Although they were the wise men of the Magi who were higher in the economy of life or the economy of the world, they worshiped the newborn baby Jesus.
Christmas is a compound word of christ and mas, meaning worship.
Instead of rushing to and fro outside the Christmas season, we should first kneel down and worship.
Third, we must welcome this Christmas with giving.
?쏻hen he entered the house, he saw the child and Mary his mother, and fell on his face, and worshiped the child, and opened the treasure chest, and offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh??(Matthew 2:11).
The wise men did not come empty-handed to worship Jesus.
One of the most stressful things about traveling is stuff. But the wise men did not care, and prepared gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Different scholars have different interpretations of this, but Calvin interpreted this gift as 'gold is the kingship of Jesus Christ, frankincense is the priesthood of Jesus Christ, and myrrh is the eternity of Jesus Christ'.
They prepared the most precious gift.
At the end of the year and Christmas, I want to receive it from myself, but this Christmas, I will give it to you and welcome it! Please make it a Christmas where we give and receive rather than receive, looking after the members of my district, teachers and saints!
Our Lord came to this earth as the baby Jesus and gave everything for us. What do we have to offer for the Lord?
However, there are still times when I feel sad whenever a gift of 100 won for 10 won comes out.
Even beggars passing by will not accept anything other than 1,000 won.
Dear saints! Everyone says that our country is facing an economic crisis. It is said that it is dark, and even the decorations for Christmas are simplified in each church.
But it shouldn't be too gloomy.
Even if the people of the world do, even our hearts cannot calm down.
No matter how dark the world is, look to Jesus, who is the light, and visit us first and welcome us!
Let us welcome you as we worship!
Let me welcome you!
Individuals and people who give a lot receive God's blessing.
Individuals and people who grab hold of it will be deprived of their blessings.
Dear saints! Let us realize the clear meaning of Christmas.
Christmas is not limited to cards, cherries or decorations, but has a real purpose in true worship of Jesus Christ.
I bless you in the name of the Lord that you may become a saint who can rejoice and rejoice in the presence of Jesus Christ while expecting and longing like a magi.