Title: Present Yourself Before God (2 Timothy 2:15)
Among Korean songs, there are songs that everyone knows, and there are songs that touch your heart every time you hear them.
Ilsongjeong The blue brush grows old and grows old / A single stream of Haeran River flows after a thousand years /
A pioneer who rode by the river the other day / Where did you have a deep dream now?
Lyrics by Haeyoung Yoon and Composed by Doonam Jo. There were men of integrity who rode horses across the Manchurian plains with the sole intention of finding their lost country while treating their own lives like a dog. This song was sung in the 1930s to appease the nation, and the hearts of those who sang it were burned with a desire to pray for another harbinger for the nation and liberation. Then and now, we are still in need of pioneers. It is an era in which we miss the pioneers of the age who will burn themselves without parting themselves, for the sake of others, for the community, and even for the kingdom of God. “Those who strive to present themselves before God” in 2 Timothy 2:15 in today's text can be said to be the forerunners of true faith.
So let's think about it now. What kind of person is Lan? What makes us pioneers?
Second, a pioneer is someone who goes ahead. As the literal meaning of the word, the person who drives a horse in the front is a pioneer (先驅者). It is very dangerous to get ahead in the rough desert or battlefield. But the reason the pioneers go ahead is because they know the cause of the war, and the reason for the march is burning in their hearts. So, a pioneer everywhere is a person with an enterprising spirit who takes the initiative and goes ahead. And history is changed by these people. Cultures also change. Life is also hopefully changing. Just as there were pioneers who always ran one step ahead, leaving everything behind, even through flying arrows and pouring bullets, so today there are no slanders, accusations, humiliations, slander, criticism, or humiliation, for good works and for the benefit of God’s kingdom. We need a pioneer who can overcome the ignorance. This is different from the cowardly and petty appearance of Peter who, in the face of the death of Jesus, who had once abandoned everything and followed Jesus, did not show himself as a disciple for his own comfort, but followed from afar, observing the progress and deciding his whereabouts according to the result. will be A pioneer is someone who goes ahead.
I hear from people who study the church that there are too many people in the church today who just want to take a look. It is said that there are many people in the church who only want to be treated as guests without a sense of ownership. If you compare it to a ship, it is that there are too few captains or crew members to move the ship, and there are too many passengers on board. In order for the ship to sail, each of them must be faithful to his assigned mission in various locations. But how would you move the ship if all were passengers? One theologian divided church members into two types. One said that there are members of the type that go into the military and the other type of members that go into clubs. Just as you have to take the lead in obedience and strong training for the country when you join the military, you train yourself and live your life of faith, while you have some freedom in club activities. If you like it, you can attend, if you don't like it, you don't have to, and you don't have to worry too much about it. Church membership is not just filling in the numbers in statistics. A saint is a person who takes the lead for God and the kingdom of God.
It is said that if you set up a burning candle in the ant nest to catch ants, the ants will climb onto the fire to help their companions and work hard to put out the fire. When an ant enters a fire and burns itself, a non-combustible sap called [Kitsunsu] is released from its hide, extinguishing the fire and saving other ants. Such a sacrificial act made the ant kingdom the strongest among insects. You must be a leader in the battle of faith, that is, a pioneer of faith, even with these sacrifices.
Fourth, a pioneer is someone who is ready to die. It is said that in the era that was the background of the song Gagok, which I thought about earlier, even a young man burning with a passion for national salvation had to confidently answer three questions in order to become an independent soldier.
1. Are you prepared to be shot to death?
2. Are you prepared to starve to death?
Just as people in the world are diverse, so are the ways in which believers live their lives of faith. It can be broadly divided into four types.
First of all, there are people who live a religious life as a hedgehog. Just like a hedgehog has thorns all over its body, these types of people are like thorns to others. He always stabs others with thorns and hurts others' hearts.
Another type is the morning glory type. Such a person likes to talk about others. They criticize others and expose their shortcomings. On the other hand, there are also ghost types. One day you see it, and the other day you don't. In other words, he is a person who lives a life of faith without responsibility with a lukewarm attitude. Next is the grain of wheat. He is a hard worker with a passion for everything. He is a person who rejoices in the revival of the church and the good of others. What would life be like to truly present yourself before God?
Tombstones are lined up at regular intervals in the park cemetery. The tombstones bear the names of different people, but there is one common style that must not be left out. The fact is that while recording the year of birth and the year of death under the name of the tomb owner, it is consistently used in the middle. For example, if you were born in 1930 and died in 2000, you would draw a line between the numbers 1930 and 2000. This is called , which is slightly longer than a dot (.), but not very long. But in this short mark, the life of the person buried in that tomb is condensed.
Our life is not over yet, but someday it will end and our life in the meantime will be marked as compressed. Therefore, while we live in this world, we have to live the world while seriously thinking about what to fill this inside with. There will be people who will fill you with a lot of money, and there will be people who will fill you with high positions. However, the inside of us who live as believers should never be filled with only such things.
Jesus Christ is the most meaningful link between birth and death. He is the real life. History without Jesus is meaningless, and life without Jesus is meaningless. That is why the Apostle Paul said that he regarded his life without Jesus as waste.
Dear saints!
The fact that we are living day by day today means that we are filling our lives.
I hope you don't give your life to worldly desires.
May you not devote your life to unbelief.
The Bible tells us how to do that today. What do you do? Today's text is the last part of 2 Timothy 2:15.
"Strive to present yourself before God"