Title: People with Hope (November 26)
Content span id="writeContents">◆ Main text: 1 Timothy 6:17-21
Today is the day of the session to wrap up the year. It is such a Sunday to check your faith life once a year and also the church itself. Have you received much grace from your Word during the year? For those who have never been able to Amen in the meantime, I have to hallelujah, so if you haven't Amen in a year, please say Amen.
"Hallelujah." (Amen)
Still, there are people who don't say Amen to die.
This is the confession of a deacon's husband. As we have been living together for 20 years, I am so grateful and grateful to my wife that I can't think of a gift that will please my wife, even if I think about it for a few days thinking that I should give her a present that makes her happy on the 20th anniversary of marriage. I didn't think about it, so I told my wife about it.
“I’m so happy that I met you. I want to give you the best gift for your 20th wedding anniversary. What gift would you like to receive?”
When I asked that question, the wife answered like this.
“I have one gift that I would most like to have, and since you say so, I will tell you what I want. The best gift for me is that you go to church with me as a gift for my 20th wedding anniversary.”
It is such a confession that he followed the church to please his wife. I wanted a really nice gift, and I gave him a nice present.
People say that they are not happy with what they see, and with what they have. They are happy when they are present, unhappy when they are not, proud when they are ahead of others, and unhappy when they are sagging. Today, however, the Apostle Paul is deeply planting in Timothy, the son of faith, that happiness in human life does not consist in possessions, but in those who have hope in heaven, and that such a person is a truly happy person.
I went to a revival and met the boxer I once loved and liked the most. He was the kind of boxer who was so cool on TV that he became the KO King, got applause from people, and was once the most popular. To this day, when I think of his name, he was such a great person that I would remember him as a powerful and great person. But the person I met after a long time was very miserable. Perhaps that lively, clenched man had become an alcoholic... and his wife and children... and the unfortunate life he had lived a miserable life. In the brief meeting, he regretfully talked about his life path.
Last week, we finished our last domestic rally of the year. We held a coalition meeting. Pastor Bang Hyeon, my friend, is in tears from the first hour to the last hour. So I asked.
“You have listened to my sermon dozens of times, so why are you crying?”
Then he gave me an unexpected answer.
It was a confession that “I did not receive grace from your sermon, but I can’t help crying because Jesus Christ, who raised you from your sickness, raised you from your difficulties, and made you today, is with you and looks so happy and envious.” .
That's right. What is a truly blessed life? That is, Jesus Christ is walking with me. We can be thankful for today because of God who was with our church over the past year, God who is with us and always with us. “Those who have stored up hope in heaven” This is what we call our confession.
I'm watching two people who left the company at the same time and about the same age. In my early 50s, when I was working for a long time, in a way, it was too unfair and I left the company even though I didn't want it. When everyone else said it wasn't good, one said so.
"no. I was really tired, but it worked out. I will do my best to properly live my religious life, which I have been lazy about because of work.”
After that, I worked hard in my prayer life that I had never done before. I went to the Bible study diligently. He works hard in church service. From my point of view, you seem to have entered the life of faith ten times more deeply than when you were at work. There was always gratitude on his face. He was always thankful for saying that I could do church work like this and that I could live a life of faith.
But the other person who retired from the company at the same age was so impatient, how did I dedicate my youth to... How hard I worked for the company... How hard I worked... I worked hard at the company without taking care of things... The company treated me like this... I couldn't bear my anger and started to appease that anger with alcohol. After all, he is now an alcoholic. My thoughts are interrupted and I am always drunk. I ended up becoming a delinquent.
After retiring, he was working hard during his time of retirement. When the company established a subsidiary and needed people, he was the first to find him. The company found him again and gave him a subsidiary. However, one did not recover. When I told him that, he was so upset. “Pastor, people are wrong. The environment is wrong. I’ve been living my life so unfairly.” He was full of dissatisfaction, vomited in tears, and could not recover. In any case, opportunities come to those who believe. Because faith is an opportunity. Let's believe in this opportunity. And when the opportunity comes, seize it. That opportunity will be a blessing to you. Be a hoarder of hope in heaven. Because faith is hope.
Second, those who live with hope live a life of sharing. It is not a life that claims what is mine as mine. People who know how to share a life together are said to be people of hope. Today's society lives a very selfish life. We are living in a society where people think that if only I do well, I will be happy. Ladies and gentlemen, when God created man, He divided the entrance and the exit. We need to think carefully about this principle of creation. Going in and going out are not the same. If you think about this principle, economic principles are the same, and everything is the same. It should be a shared life. sharing life.
There are two seas that symbolize Israel. Sea of Galilee and Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee knows how to take water and send it back out. Therefore, the Sea of Galilee is a beautiful sea, and many fish families live abundantly in the Sea of Galilee. But the Dead Sea only knew how to accept, but not let go. It is the sea with no exit. That's why there is no life in the Dead Sea. Dead sea. Ladies and gentlemen, when our life becomes a life we cannot share, we become unhappy. You think a life of accumulating only your own is a happy life, but that's wrong. It will one day rot and one day there will be nothing left of it. It is saying that the life of knowing how to share is the life of a person with hope.
Third, it is a life with God. “In any case, Timothy, you are not going to let your life go on your own. God is always with you. You believe this.” Ladies and gentlemen, not only the words given to Timothy, but also calling each of you by name today, saying, “God will be with you.” You say. Anyone who believes in this has hope.
I thought that one of the butlers had overcame all cancer while fighting cancer, but when I finally looked at it, I found that there was only one faint cancer left in a place like a bloodline. We have to remove it, but he weeps while receiving prayers.
“Pastor, I thought my misfortune was over, but it is still faintly left and I need surgery. Please pray, Pastor.”
But the next words make the pastor happy.
“But, Pastor, I am not worried. I believe that the God who has protected me until now will also protect the last gate.”
That's it. Why would God, who has protected you until now, turn away from you, and why would you leave? That God is with me now and he will be with me in the future... People of faith believe in this. A person of faith does not think about my efforts or my measures, but believes that God is with us, that God is in charge, and that God will work. These are people of faith.
As we wrap up the year ahead of today's session, we have organized our church diary. Looking at it, he said, “The grace that God has for us has been so great. The blessings that God has bestowed on our beloved saints are so great.” I think. At the same time, it is sometimes dark in my heart as I think of the church members who are struggling, but I have decided to change my mind once more and give thanks. Because God is with them... Because we believe in God's measures... As we share this confession with you today, "God gives us another chance," when the opportunity of faith comes, make sure to hold on to it. let's go Let's use the opportunity of faith as a blessing. We will pray together.
“Thank you, Father God. Help us to accept the precious advice of faith that told us to live with our hope in heaven for Timothy, our beloved son of faith, in our hearts today. When the opportunity of faith comes, do not let it be missed, help us to seize the opportunity of faith, and help us to firmly believe that God is with us in any circumstance and in any circumstance. I earnestly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen."