Title: Reputable Church (Acts 4:13-21)
Contents
(…) There is a famous restaurant in Yeomni-dong. <Eulmildae> is a Pyongyang naengmyeon restaurant. There is no parking lot and the place to eat is quite inconvenient, but the customers are bustling. Under the scorching heat of midsummer, to eat naengmyeon, you have to stand in line in three rows and wait about 40 minutes. Once the food is rumored to be delicious, then rumored to be friendly, many people come to visit it even if it is difficult to find, even if the traffic is complicated. Hopefully, the rumors of our Sinchon Church and yours will be heard better (…) The Jerusalem Church in today's text was a well-known church at the time. What is the content of this rumor?
① These are the rumors of Jesus.
(…) After Jesus died on the cross and ascended to heaven, I thought that the rumors of Jesus would be silenced. But the rumors of Jesus did not stop. Everyone received him, and those who called on the name of the Lord were saved.(…) Even in prisons and earthquakes, there were people who preached the name of Jesus. While they were naked, starved, going to prison, and being beaten to death, they spread the word about Jesus. Please believe that those who spread the word of Jesus save souls and families.
② It is the rumor of the church.
The early church was a church that worked hard to gather and succeeded in worship (…) A church with good news is a place where the members strive to gather. I long to hear the word of God in spirit and in truth. When all people come together to truly worship and become a church that establishes true fellowship among believers, it becomes a well-known church. Such rumors are a light to those who live in darkness. “The members of Sinchon Church lead a church-centered life” and “The members of Sinchon Church always strive to get together.” When you become a famous church, the great glory of God will be revealed through you.(…)
③ It is a rumor of a changed life.
(…) Peter and John turned away from the crucified Jesus. But after they prayed and received the Holy Spirit, they were renewed. When we preached the gospel for the Lord, the Lord was with us (…) The church must live a changed life. Look at our Sinchon Church. You can see the change from a negative life and a life of failure to a life of victory, a life of success, and an active life. (…) The life of faith is when you believe in Jesus in the church and devote yourself in that faith to love. When we change from ‘my life’ to ‘the life of Jesus’, our church becomes a well-known church.
④ It is the blessing of people who spread good rumors.
Reputable churches are good, but people who spread good rumors are also blessed. Who is the one who spreads good news, the one who evangelizes? The good news goes from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. I hope that November 14th will be the day when good rumors run 10 million miles.