Title: The Blessing of Cyrus/Isaiah 45:1~4
Content Cyrus' Blessing/Isaiah 45:1~4
Key Verse: “I have called you by name for the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel, whom I have chosen; though you did not know me, I gave you a title” (verse 4).
Word: Today's text is God's blessing on King Cyrus, who conquered Babylon as the king of the kingdom of destruction. King Cyrus was a Gentile who did not know God, but God gave King Cyrus a wonderful blessing.
God said to King Cyrus, “I will go before you to level the rough places, to strike down the bronze gates, to break the iron bars, and to give you the treasures of darkness and the treasures hidden in secret places, that I, the Lord, the God of Israel, have called you by name. I will make known” (Isaiah 45:1~3). He said that he was called by name for Israel. You can see why God gave this blessing to King Cyrus in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23.
King Cyrus, a Gentile who did not know God, was moved to build the house of God. He proclaimed the building of the temple to the people and performed it. We shouldn't just let it go when God touches our hearts. King Cyrus, the king of the great empire, had the small people of Judah from the colonies go to his homeland and build a temple.
Ezra 1:4 urges us to help with the building of the temple with silver and gold, other objects and animals, and to offer gifts for the building of the temple. When the king of a foreign country did not just let God's inspiration flow, he received God's blessing.
Every Christian must build two things. The first is to build a church. The church is a gathering of those who are called. Building a church is to save souls, that is, to evangelize and revive the neighbors around you. Another construction is to build a chapel. If you look at the world without faith, it seems that there are too many churches, but if you look through the eyes of faith, there are still too few churches in this world.
Currently, about 35 million people in Korea do not know Jesus. To save them, we need at least three times the number of chapels we have now. Some people quietly leave the church because it is difficult to build. And people flock to the newly built church. But Almighty God sees everything. He remembers our deeds. We must do our best to build churches and chapels.
Building churches and chapels for us today is a blessing that God has given us to bless us. Don't miss this time and take up your cross. It is hard and heavy, but God will bless you just as He blessed King Cyrus.
Prayer: Lord, give me the faith to know and devote myself to building a church, not as a difficulty, but as an opportunity of blessing from God. Give us the same blessing as King Cyrus did. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Lord's Prayer