Title: Sell and Buy (Luke 22:35-37)
Contents
Those who know the changes of the times and prepare for them in advance are the ones who lead the way. If you try to seize the opportunity from behind, it has already passed and you cannot seize it. In today's text, Jesus foretold a tremendous change of time between verses 35 and 36.
Look at verse 35, “Did you lack anything when I sent you away without bags and bags and shoes?” "There was none." I did.
And in verse 36, Jesus said, “Now whoever has a wallet, let him have it, and a pocket, and whoever does not have a sword, let him sell his cloak and buy it.” He said that we should now have what we were told not to have before. Jesus' public ministry lasted only three years. However, even in that short period of time, things that were not necessary before have been changed into things that we must now have. It means that the times have changed significantly. If you don't change, you die; if you don't, you die.
The fastest change can be felt in the market. Stores that had previously lined up are closing, and new ones are popping up full of new items. And in the midst of a bustle, bargaining is taking place. Markets change, merchants change, and consumer preferences change rapidly. People who read these changes quickly, invest quickly and get out quickly make money.
It's not much fun to follow behind. The whole market is lost.
If you look deeply into this world, it is a market where goods are sold and bought by bargaining. We are doing our best to sell and buy well for each other. The modern age is the age of sales. Not only entrepreneurs, but also the president and heads of local governments are evaluated to be competent when they become salesmen. Now the whole world is marketed. This world is a market. You have to sell and buy something. Therefore, we need to know right away that we live in a world where we have to think and act in the logic of the market. The market tries to sell well and buy well. Therefore, the market is always a place where the good and the bad are mixed. Some people are good at buying and selling, so they have a sweet smile, and some people are bad at buying and selling and have a sad face. The market is also the place where the most deception and deception occur. As Christians, we should never buy or sell useless things.
It is the squadrons and pockets that dominate and drive the market. That is money. However, in today's Bible, Jesus says, "Take the belt and pouch." In the early ministry, Jesus told us not to have the belt and pouch. However, in the later ministry, he was told to have this.
In modern times and into the future, the power of money will only increase. In the old days, things other than money played a big role in human relationships. For example, kindness, loyalty, respect, relationships, etc. Now, we are in a world where it becomes difficult for everyone to be treated as a person unless they have a squadron and a pocket. It is a world where everything is converted into money. It is a world where father's love is converted into money, mother's love is converted into money, and brotherly love is measured in money. In the past, they were considered children and sometimes referred to as elderly people, but this is not the case these days. In today's world, money is very expensive. Therefore, I hope that all the members of the church will put away their negative thoughts about money and have a large bag and pockets.
There are also dark spots on the squadron and pockets. It is a dark part that money and pockets can be a threat to our relationship with God. Money causes us to distance ourselves from God, and money causes us to cut off our relationships with people and become enemies. However, the bags and pockets are rather a means to improve our relationship with God, to promote fellowship between people, and to express our love. Hope you can see the bright side of the squadrons and pockets. And I hope you will pray and train so that the squadrons and pockets can work brightly in my life.
What are the characteristics of the bag and bag that the Lord calls for branches? There is a mechanism to open and close the entrance. It means being good at “controlling and using”. Saints who have been properly taught and trained can own property without corruption and use their property as God pleases.
I bless you in the name of the Lord that wealth and resources be given to God's people who are well-trained in controlling and using them.
Abraham used much of his possessions for the glory of God and for greater public good. So was Job, and so was David and Solomon. Nicodemus and Barnabas in the New Testament did the same.
And he said, "Sell your coat and buy a sword." For the Israelites, the outer garment has several meanings. First, outerwear is one of the most important assets. And secondly, outerwear refers to all human adornment. However, outerwear wears out with time and needs to be replaced with fashion. When Bartimaeus, a blind and beggar, ran before Jesus, he threw off his cloak and ran to Jesus. He sold his coat and bought the gospel.
However, there are many people in this world who do this backwards. There are many people who sell the gospel and buy outerwear. When it comes to holidays, there are some people who sell the sword of the Word to buy face, and sell the sword of the Spirit to buy bluffs.
The Lord said to the church of Laodia among the seven churches in Asia in Revelation 3:18, "I beseech you, buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and buy white clothes, so that you may not see the shame of your nakedness, and buy eye drops, so that you may see them. do it," he said.
You have to open the bag and pockets, and if you don't have enough, you have to sell the outer garments to buy the sword of the word.
A woman rides a train from Manchuria to the Yalu River with a bag of opium and a baby
I was crossing an iron bridge. At that time, a security guard was approaching while examining the passengers. The woman, restless, pondered whether to throw away the opium or hide it, and finally decided to throw it away and threw the baby bag out the window of the iron bridge.
When the security guards finally arrive, they say, "What is it holding in his arms?"
"Yes! I only have a baby bag." While doing so, the woman gave the package of opium to the security guard.
Are you not giving up on the Lord of life and serving the riches as your master? Should we throw away the bundle of words of life and hold on to the bundle of idols of the world that are full of only corruption?
I hope that you will become Christians who can sell these and buy the word of the Lord.
As the Apostle Paul pointed out, it is increasingly "a world that does not seek to receive sound teachings, but pursues its own lusts". If you do not buy and possess the sword of the Word at such a time, the foundation of your faith and the foundation of your life will really crumble and cause chaos. You don't know how terrifying the chaos of knowledge is these days. It denies the absolute and believes that only the relative is the truth. So I try to believe only what I feel and feel. As a result, they fall into self-interest rather than sound teaching.
The times are constantly changing rapidly. It's a difficult world to live in the old way of thinking. The market is constantly flooded with new products. What to sell and what to buy is very important. We shouldn't be living a foolish life where we are satisfied with giving away expensive things and buying cheap things. We must not be Christians like the foolish peasant who leads cattle out of the stalls and exchanges rotten apples for them.
A certain jolbu bought a BMW. An accident occurred while I was digging the form while I was going. 119 came to the rescue. When he pulled the driver out of the crashed car, he said, "Oh my BMW, my car, and so on." So the 119 paramedics said, "It's not the BMW, you bastard, you cut off your arm." So, do you know what else he said while looking at his severed arm? "Oh, my Rolex watch, my Rolex watch," he said.
What's important to you? Is BMW heavy? Does life matter? Are Rolex watches important? Are arms important?
Those who are enjoying the blessings are using the principle of blessing in their own way. We Christians should have the wisdom to buy the sword of the Word even if we rob our belts, our pockets, and our cloaks in this huge spiritual market. We must sell idols and buy God. We must sell the sacrifices of the dead and now buy those that worship the living God. Only then will this nation live, my family will live, and our souls will live.