Title: Thank You, Happy (July 8)
Content span id="writeContents">◆ Text: Psalm 18:1~3
It has been 3 years since the dog that was wandering has settled in our church. When I come up to lead the service, the best thing is that the stray dog makes eye contact with me and wags its tail. Today, we make eye contact with me more kindly. Bring one of the babies you gave birth to last time and say hello to the baby.
You don't know how good it feels to say that.
You don't know how happy it is to see each other, to see each other with loved ones. That God looks at me and that I look at God is joy and blessing. David is the most dramatic person in the Bible. As we know David is the eighth son of Jesse. But even the parents did not know the son properly. He did not notice anything in the son.
People evaluate what is on the outside rather than what is inside, and even David's parents did not see the precious thing inside of David. Even when the prophet Samuel received the prophecy that there would be a second king of Israel in the house of Jesse, he came to find his son, but his parents thought that David did not have such qualifications, so he prepared all the other sons, but the son went out to the field kept the sheep.
He was a person who was not recognized even by his parents, but if you watch his life, maybe he repeats the twists and turns... fly Then he confessed, “I can never get up, but it is by the grace of God that I can get up again today.”
People around the world say that only when the environment is good can you lead a successful life. Also, even people of our faith know that it is a blessing when something goes well, and that it is a blessing when it is healthy. So, with the idea that being healthy makes you happy, and having more than others makes you happy, you make a lot of confessions saying, “Thank you for being happy.”
But today, through David’s story, I am not thankful for being happy, but “I am happy because I am grateful.” David's confession that he confessed should be the confession of us living today. The environment doesn't make us happy. Because the Bible teaches us that we can be thankful for the belief that we are loved by God while we live on this earth, and that our lives can be happy because of receiving love. If there is love, anything is happy. Love understands and forgives. Love makes you confident in everything.
Seunghee Lee and his wife, Kwon Lee, went to the United States to meet their last married son. I don't speak well with the American daughter-in-law, but the American daughter-in-law treats her father-in-law well from far away. The daughter-in-law says, as she prepares the table and sits down on her knees in Korean style, looking at her father-in-law.
“Father, eat a lot.”
Now, “Father, eat a lot.” How funny is that? It can be surprising, but the couple, Seunghee Lee, who tells the story, are so happy. No, the subordinate said, “Eat a lot.” But why did those words bring happiness to the couple? It is said that we can be happy and grateful because of the love contained in the words rather than the right or wrong of expression.
All the characters in the Bible are like that. This confession, “I am happy because I am grateful,” is a confession that only those who have met God can make it. No one in the world makes such a confession. I don't confess that I've learned a lot. I can't make such a confession that I have a lot. Only those who have met God can confess, “I am happy because I am grateful.”
While I was in the hospital this time, someone visited my room. He came to me in a patient uniform. To greet me politely and ask me:
“Do you go to church?”
“Yes, I do.”
“What is your position?”
So I just laughed. Then he looked at my face for a while and said, “Oh, you look like a butler.”
And then we started talking. He was the elder's son. Also, he was a good person these days. Perhaps the company he runs is also doing so well... It is said that he lived with the feeling of being happy to the point that there is nothing to be envious of. But three months ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. It was also sentenced, “If you live long, you will live three months.” The sky fell and my whole body trembled. Everything that had been built up until now was destroyed in a single word.
He went to church as an elder's son from a young age, but it is said that he led a life of faith that only went out once a week. An uncontrollable fear has come. He couldn't bear the loneliness that comes from illness, especially during the difficult time when death was approaching him every moment. It is said that he could not eat or speak for several days. One morning at dawn, I saw myself looking for the God that I had forgotten for a long time, which was really hidden in my heart.
“God, God.” It was a trembling voice. “God, God.” Tears come out. Then, from the depths of his heart, such a warm and comfortable comfort that he had never felt before began to come to him. In the voice that cried out to God, a hymn that he had never sung before began to come out.
“I never know when I will die. But I came to this hospital and met God. I met God again. I am now experiencing that it is not that I am happy because I am healthy, but that I am happy even when I am sick. May the butler feel the same happiness as me.”
I chose today's sermon title from those words. If you can be grateful in any circumstance, that is happiness. Being able to be thankful even if you are sick, and being able to be thankful even if you fail is a blessing that faith gives you. So we are happy to have this belief.
Second, faith gives us the power to transform our entire lives. Accepting anything as it appears is not faith. It is said that in faith God gives us the power to use it for good. David turned his tears into joy with faith. At the very bottom, David was a man who, through God-given power, even changed his position as a king among the kings of this world.
Friends, in any circumstance, faith gives us the power to turn our lives around. That's something to be thankful for. This confession of David, his confession that I am happy because of God, I am thankful for God, and that I can be thankful for any adversity, should be our confession. As long as you don't fail in gratitude, your life doesn't fail either. The reason we live a life of failure is because we fail to be grateful. We forget happiness because we fail to be grateful. Now we need to learn how to make such a confession that we are happy because we are thankful.
Third, we live with a heart of precious faith that is given to us with thanksgiving. It is said that everyone thinks about three things when they are in the hospital. The first is to give a little more and live life and regret it. The second is that I will be more tolerant of others, and I will feel that I have been less tolerant. Thirdly, it is said that I will have more patience, and I will have a feeling that I have lived without patience. Even though it was a short time, I had a good time feeling a lot of things in my own way. Even though I was sick, I was able to be true to myself and had more time to look at myself before God.
A butler has been preparing something for a long time. I also prayed a lot. I also prayed a lot. One morning, a thank-you offering came up. In my mind, I thought, “Oh, what I planned has come true.” I called the butler.
“Congratulations, Master.”
“Pastor, what are you talking about?”
“Looking at your donation this morning, it seems like everything you’ve been preparing has gone well, haven’t you?”
But the butler said something unexpected.
As I listened to that story, I said, “Hey, our church is a powerful church. It’s a church with a lot of gratitude.” That's it. Everyone, thank you talented people, do not fail in life. Thanks to a talented person, it can happen again in any environment. Like this confession I had today, I hope that you will be happy because you are thankful. Everyone, please follow this confession with me.
“Thank you, I am happy.”
Everyone, I hope that you will become the victors of faith that become such a life, and that you will live a life of success in gratitude. We will pray together.
“Thank you, Father God, thank you for always being with us. Today, this morning, I bow down before the Lord. Forgive our foolishness in confessing that we have to be happy, healthy, and ahead of others in our lives, allow us to be thankful in any circumstances, and confess 'I am happy to be thankful'. Help me to become people of faith who can do it. Help me succeed in what I am grateful for. Help me to take the lead in giving thanks. Therefore, help them to have victory and happiness always with them in their lives. We thank and pray in the name of Jesus. Amen."