Title: The Country I Wish For
Contents
♡♥♡ The country I hope for / Revelation 21:1-8
*** Introduction
A few days ago, while talking to someone, he lamented, “Why is the country like this!” He was furious, saying, “The common people work hard to death, but politicians engage in all kinds of corruption.” Isn't this the work of the world in which the flesh lives? The people of the world want to be popular and favored by any means possible because the world is their everything. It is only natural for them to have no more pleasure in the world.
In the 1700s there was a famous French writer and thinker named Voltaire. He became even more famous by writing the tragedy Oedipus. Voltaire was an atheist who denied God and criticized Christianity even though he graduated from a Jesuit school. He even set up a printing house in his home and printed books that slandered Christianity and denied God. he is,
“In 100 years from now, there will be no superstitious people on this planet who believe in God.”
swears. When the Enlightenment hit, many people liked his speech and gave him applause. The arrogant Voltaire stood on the main streets of Paris every day, swearing at God.
As the years passed, Voltaire grew old and ill. One day, I ejaculated while holding the doctor who came for the round. “If you only extend my life by six months, I will give you all my fortune.” But the doctor shook his head and said, "I can't extend it by six hours, not six months." As Voltaire died, he wrote these words: “Alas, I am going to hell!”
And 100 years have passed since Voltaire promised, 'Not one will be left who believes in Jesus.' However, the number of believers in God has increased tremendously. And his printing house, which produced books that slandered Christianity, became a printing shop that printed Bibles, and his house became a storehouse for Bibles.
This is the folly of life that can't even look ahead. People, like Voltaire, do not want to acknowledge the spirit world that they cannot see or feel. They deny, slander, and blaspheme the Creator God, relying on the insignificant life and strength of the flesh. In doing so, they build up for the body that will return to the dust, enjoy it, and plunge into pleasure. The end of the pleasures of the flesh is death. This death is not just death. It is the death of the spirit that is separated from God forever, and that eternal time must be filled with the painful life of hell. That is why Romans 8:12-13 says, “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. If you live according to the flesh, you will surely die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
But we don't have to worry about this. A beautiful paradise awaits us who have gained life through Jesus Christ. Judging from the expression of the text, it is a completely new world that is not of this world, and there is no tears, no death, no mourning, no crying, no pain, and no pain. There our Lord is, and God is our Father, so that we may enjoy eternity. This is the country we hope for and the country promised to us. But in order for us to become the heroes of that country, there are things we have to do while living in this world right now.
It is to keep your identity without forgetting it.
When a person is born and reports the birth, a resident registration number is given. This is an identification card that indicates that you are a citizen of the Republic of Korea. The person who has this number belongs to the Republic of Korea. We always ask you to present this ID whenever we try to do anything. This is because it is a privilege given only to the citizens of that country. This is also the reason why foreign workers are trying to obtain Korean citizenship.
Jesus Christ is the ID card that proves that you are a citizen of the kingdom of God. Although we who believe in Jesus Christ now live in this world because we have a body, our true belonging is the kingdom of God. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.”
Therefore, even though we live in this world, we must not forget and show the status of the kingdom of God in everything we do. Only then can we become a life that God accepts. Ask yourself this way about everything. “Is this according to God’s will?”, “Is this action done as a citizen of God’s kingdom?”, “Is this a glory to God?” If you are not ashamed of this question and are satisfied with it, you are keeping the status of a saint. Let's take a closer look.
This is verse 2 of the text. “The holy city, New Jerusalem, came down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” And in verse 10, we are talking about ‘showing the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God’. This is our country that we must not forget whether we sleep or wake up. What country is this country?
Let's look at verse 5. God seated on the throne says, “Behold, I am making all things new!” This verse tells us that the kingdom we are hoping for is not to be renewed by changing the present world, but to be given a completely newly created new heaven and new earth. This whole new country demands new people.
Let's look at Matthew 9:16-17, which Jesus taught in parables. “No one puts a piece of raw linen on an old garment, for something crooked pulls it, adding to the fraying. I do not put new wine into old wineskins, for otherwise the wineskins will burst, and the wine will spill out, and the wineskins will be thrown away. New wine must be put into new wineskins to preserve both.”
Here, raw linen pieces or new wine signify new ideas and new ideas, and old clothes or old skins signify the old times of the past. Our new kingdom created by God does not fit the worldly way of thinking and living. Therefore, those who have the status of the kingdom of God must be renewed. You cannot maintain the status of the kingdom of God with the old way of thinking and living in the grip of carnal desires. That's why Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, which is good and acceptable and perfect." Ephesians 4:22 Verse 24: “Put off the old man, which is corrupt according to the lusts of deceit, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, which after God was created in righteousness and holiness of truth.” is what you are requesting.
There is this article in a book called The Odyssey River by Gerald Callahan, a professor at Colorado State University.
“I drink too much. And my diet is as if heart attack or colon cancer had nothing to do with the death of a middle-aged man. And every morning I promise not to do that again, but nothing changes.”
This is the heartfelt confession of the artist longing for change. It is a lament for a weak life that longs for a change in life but is still buried in old habits. A lot of people make this confession. But tomorrow, you will see yourself living in the old way again.
Change is so difficult. It is very difficult to change our whole way of life or to give up certain habits. But when we open our hearts to Jesus Christ, dramatic changes are possible. Instead of relying on your own strength and ability, you must seek the help of the Holy Spirit. We are promised the help of the Holy Spirit. Whenever it is difficult and difficult, let's think about the country we hope for and think about our own identity.
Tolstoy, the great Russian writer who wrote “Resurrection,” confessed how he turned from evil to good.
“The words of Jesus Christ gave me faith. I have come to believe that word. Since then, my whole life has changed, not wishing for what I had wanted before, while wishing for something I never wanted before. What had previously been seen as evil in my eyes was seen as good, and what seemed good as evil.”
Change begins with the Word of God. Without faith in God's Word, no change will occur. And change is made slowly from the life of the spirit to the life of the body. Except for God's special providence, nothing changes overnight. Although the apostle Paul had a dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, it took 14 years for him to become a true servant of Christ.
So don't be discouraged or discouraged either. Just read, listen, and meditate on God's Word on a regular basis. And believe that those words are the voice of God speaking to me now. The world we want is not a world of suffering on this earth now. You have to think that it is not so easy to get to that beautiful, mysterious and happy country. Let's look at Revelation 22:7. The Lord said, “Look! I am coming soon, and blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecies of this book.”
Let me tell you one more thing.
I must work for the country I hope for. In John 6:27, Jesus said, “Seek not for the food that perishes, but for the food that leads to eternal life. This food is for the Son of Man to give you. God the Father sent me to accomplish this purpose.”
There are also gospel songs. “How can I meet the Lord when he calls me after the world’s riches and complacency and worldly worries? If you are entangled in worldly affairs and do only worldly affairs, how will you meet the Lord if you call on me? What I have done so far will the Lord look at me and say what will happen to me in the future.”
Let's hear the voice of God.
"Purple. The tabernacle of God is with men, and God dwells with them, and they become God's people, and God Himself is with them, and wipes every tear from their eyes, and there is no more death, but no more mourning or weeping. and there will be no more pain or suffering, for the first things have passed away.”
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will achieve a life that is not shameful for this country that we hope for.