Title: Successors/Isaiah 57:14-21
Content Today, far from the cross of Christ, there are many people who call themselves 'children of God' while living together within the limits of the religion of Christianity. However, children of God have nothing to do with anything like that, but only refer to those who live under the control of the Word of God. A child of God is not a person whose outward appearance is adorned with a religious framework, but a person whose inner man is reborn by the Holy Spirit. This person is a child of God who is caught up in the Word and is governed by the Word.
However, people misunderstand the meaning of the word 'caught by the Word' to mean that they are holding on to a religious framework. However, to be caught up in the Word means to live a life that reveals the thoughts and intentions of the Word.
Living by the Word does not mean that the Word forcibly suppresses the will and thoughts of man and then the Word controls the man. Simply put, humans are not treated as robots. Human beings have no intention of living according to the Word, but the Word does not rule the human will to live according to the Word. To live by the Word means to change the way of thinking and thinking of people in the past. That is, you are born as a new human being.
In the past, he had lived a life only for himself, but when he realized that it was nothing but a foolish and futile life, the direction of his life was changed in the direction the word intended. In other words, instead of living with the mindset and stubbornness of thinking only of yourself in the past, you have come to live with the thoughts and mindset of Jesus. In other words, the heart of Jesus becomes my heart, and the thoughts of Jesus become my thoughts, so I naturally pursue the life that Jesus lived in the world, and go the way of the cross that Jesus went. By referring to this, we say that we are born again and that we are children of God.
Before receiving the Holy Spirit, the apostles ran away from the cross because they valued their lives more than Jesus. However, after receiving the Holy Spirit, the apostles did not look at their own lives, but only focused on preaching the gospel. Therefore, even if I die, Jesus is exalted and the gospel is witnessed, which is bound to be the concern of believers who have received the Holy Spirit.
If you are a child of God, the spirit of your life should be 'a heart that only wants Jesus to be honored even when I am declining'. This is a phenomenon that can only happen naturally if you are a believer who has lived with the heart of Jesus. Do not expect my one body to become rich and develop, and I long for a life where only Jesus is honored and exalted even when I am declining.
Seen in this way, the problem in our lives today is that we gather to the church and call on God without the heart of Jesus, only with the heart of a human being, hoping that we will be richer and higher than Jesus. I mentioned last time that the God who is called this way is obviously a fake God and an idol. If a believer truly knows God and calls on Christ by the Holy Spirit, he will call upon God and pray in order to obey the Word and be governed by the Word rather than to be honored.
If a believer sincerely wants to follow the path of Jesus and follow the life of Jesus, what will they seek by calling on God? Surely, while confessing your weakness, you will pray that God will be with you and that you will follow the path of the Lord as a believer who only obeys the Word. This is a prayer that is in harmony with the heart of Jesus, and therefore it is a prayer in Jesus' name. And God clearly answers this prayer. This is the image of a child of God who knows the heart of God and lives with that heart.
Therefore, to the believer, himself is not falling apart. Only Jesus is alive. Those who truly know Jesus and know the judgment will collapse even the thought of 'I must be saved'. This is the mindset of a truly saved person. It is a way of thinking that is impossible without completely breaking away from oneself and holding on to Jesus.
Serving idols is not achieved only when you make a certain image and bow down to it. Anything that cares more than Jesus is already an idol. Isaiah 56:1 says, ?쏤or thus saith the Lord: Keep ye justice, and do righteousness, for my salvation is at hand, and my righteousness will soon be revealed.??Keeping fairness and doing righteousness is impossible for those who do not have the heart of God. Justice and righteousness are only shown by Jesus. Therefore, all who do not serve only Jesus, who revealed God's fairness and righteousness, as the Messiah, are worshiping idols.
However, in today's text there is a person who has been sanctified by the Lord. Verse 15 says, ?쏤or thus says the one who is supreme and impermanent, who dwells forever, and whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and I also dwell with the contrite and humble of heart, which revives the spirit of the humble and revives the heart of the contrite. to do it," he said. According to this verse, the one who lives with the Most High and the eternal dweller is said to be 'one who is contrite and humble in heart'.
The world always wants success. If I do not succeed, I live my life dreaming of success through my children. But success from a secular perspective is not static. The perspective of success inevitably changes depending on the circumstances and circumstances of the times. Success means money, fame, power, these three things. If you own any one of these three, you are a successful person. In other words, the perception of 'who is a successful person' changes depending on which side is given money, fame, and power.
Even if he lives in poverty without money and suffers neglect and suffering, if he has a contrite and humble heart, God will be with him even if he is a murderer. Doesn't being with God mean that we live forever in the new heavens and new earth?
A person who can make the confession, 'Have mercy on me' is a great person. Because the confession to 'have pity on me' is a confession that broke the self. This confession is a confession that cannot come from a person with a living self-esteem. This is a confession that cannot be made unless you have lost all your self-esteem and have a earnest heart that says, 'I cannot live without the grace of Jesus.'
That is why the contrite and humble heart of 'Please have pity' cannot exist in a person who has something to believe and depend on in the world. Contrition means knowing that I am a sinner, and knowing that I am a sinner means that I have finally realized that I cannot live without Jesus. Therefore, it is natural that such a believer will not depend on money just because he has money, and he will not boast about his child's success just because he or she succeeds. God's blessings return to this heart.
Here, we need to reconsider what it means to be with God. Verse 15 says that God is with the contrite and humble of heart, 'to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.' In other words, God is with you and controls your heart. God will be with you with a contrite and humble heart, and will continue to guide and heal him. It is because only the humble heart that has broken down will be able to obey God's guidance and obey God's teachings. In other words, unless you have a contrite and humble heart, no matter how much God is with you and speaks and teaches, you will never accept His teachings.
This is because the heart of those who want God to be with them without a contrite and humble heart expects that God will be with them for their own benefit. If God is with him, he expects that he will prevent disasters and difficulties that will come upon him, so he wants God to be with him for his own benefit. To those who have such a heart, no matter how much they preach and teach the gospel, they will reject the gospel of the cross and accept only what becomes the gospel in their body. This is the proud heart.
Therefore, a proud person complains and grumbles when there is difficulty, but a believer who lives with a contrite and humble heart discovers the love and mercy of God who intervenes to heal and guide them in the midst of difficulties. Verse 16 says, ?쏧 will never quarrel, and I will not be angry for a long time, lest the spirit and soul I have formed become weary before me.??God is not with us to chastise us when we make a mistake, but He is with us and is with us to heal us. If a believer believes and leans on such a God, there must be stillness in the midst of storms. Just as the rain and wind are blowing outside and the young in the wings of an eagle are peaceful and quiet, so believers must have peace in God. This will be possible when, with a contrite and humble heart, we all fall down, look only at God, and focus all our attention on Jesus.
However, a person who cannot escape from himself until the end, and whose only one body is his greatest concern, will not be stable or at peace. Verses 20 and 21 say so. ?쏝ut the wicked cannot rest; their waters are like a tossing sea, always gushing up mud and dirt. For the word of my God says, There is no peace with the wicked.??If you are in a difficult and difficult environment, think of God first before complaining, resenting, and worrying about it. And when I repent in front of God for my own weakness that I have no choice but to worry about because of the things of the world, and finally realize that I am a worthless person who cannot live without the grace of Christ, God is with me, heals and comforts me, and eventually I reach the kingdom of eternal blessing. will make you do it. Please do not forget that such a person is the most successful person and live your life.