Title: Reform from Self/Acts 9:1-9
Contents Reform from Self/Acts 9:1-9 Rev. Choi Young-kwan
Where do you start when you wash your hair?
Fortunately, there are no large bald spots among our church members, so it is easier to talk. Do you know where bald people start when they wash their hair and apply lotion? Apply the lotion from the bald head. So, my hair shines brightly.
But the question is, how far is the face and the head? "When I encounter something absurd, my face usually turns red. If I quickly draw a chalk line on this reddened area, that is, only the reddish part is the face and the rest is the head."
Anyway, where do you start when you wash your hair?
Close your eyes!
Close your eyes so the soapy water doesn't get in. Before God, we must close the eyes of the flesh, the eyes of greed, the eyes of selfishness, the eyes of pride, the eyes of pride, and the eyes of blood.
Paul (Saul) was blinded by the intense light from heaven. Up until now, he has served God with his eyes, knowledge, and experience. So Stephen, the deacon, also drove him down the road of death. Now he was on his way to Damascus with a letter to the high priest. There he was going to arrest, imprison, kill, and transport Christians. How much knowledge do we have? How much do we know? How much have we experienced? With that, they were running wild in the church as if they were the best, claiming that you were the best and running wild. Like Paul (Saul), we jump and jump.
But Paul (Saul) closed his eyes on the road to Damascus. I closed my eyes because of the intense light of the jade from the sky. With his eyes closed, Paul could not do anything. I completely abstained from food for 3 days. I couldn't do anything.
If you study philosophy, you will learn phenomenology, and one of the things that comes out of this is Husserl's epoch, or 'stop judging'. Husserl first revealed the life world through the cessation of judgment on “objectivist positing”, and through the analysis of the life world and the cessation of judgment on “mind-body dualistic understanding”, he carried out a reduction to the a priori self, the creator of the life world. recommend that you do.
In self-reflection, that is, in a priori phenomenological reflection, we are liberated from the objectivist ground through universal cessation of judgment about the existence and non-existence of the world. “The task of reflection is not really to repeat the original experience, but to observe that experience and interpret what is found in that experience. are demanding." The bystander's attitude...
With his eyes closed, Paul is experiencing a world of cessation of judgment. I have been able to look back on all my knowledge, my actions, and my life so far. Here you will find your true self. We too must stop all judgment before the Lord. All knowledge, experience, etc. must stop. If you don't stop, you'll be living in countless problems and events. Now stop and see what God is doing.
Last week on the last day of October I called my family and asked how we are spending our last night in October. How did you spend? This day is historically very important. This is the day Luther raised the banner of the Reformation.
Your reform begins with yourself. Luther cried out for only faith and only salvation under the slogan to return to the Bible. This is reform. Reform begins with yourself. Reform is accomplished when we throw away our pride, blood, and knowledge and stop all judgment and return to the Lord.
* Old man growing up *
David Livingston exclaimed with confidence and joy on his last birthday: "I'm not old! You know I'm not old? No one has ever had a brighter hope or a brighter future than me!" A few days later, a friend praised Livingston for this brilliant and triumphant declaration.
"You are an old man growing up!"
The future of all of God's children is also bright like this. But it is clear that the future of those who reject Christ is shrouded in darkness! As the day of judgment approaches, their souls are enveloped in darkness and paralyzed with fear.
Thomas Hobbes, a talkative atheist, said at the end of his sinful life:
"Now you are going into darkness."
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no heart has conceived of all that God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
If we do not stop judging and close our eyes, we cannot see, hear, or understand all that God has prepared.
To go from a world of darkness to a world of light, there must be a light shining from the sky. When you receive this light, if you read the Bible, you will understand, and if you listen to what you say, it will become grace. When this light does not shine, even if you worship, you will not receive grace, you will not be able to evangelize, and you will be in darkness.
Real reform comes from within when you are illuminated from heaven. When you receive the light shining from heaven, a change takes place from within, and you see and hear the truth. Reform must start with that person, and change must happen from that person, not me. However, true change and reform must start with me. Now we have to stop talking, stop thinking, stop judging, receive the illumination of the light from heaven, hear the voice of God, see what God is doing, and change and resolve within us.