Title: The Day with Beautiful News (December 31)
Content span id="writeContents">◆ Text: 2 Kings 7:3-9
A wise person is a person who quickly forgets things to forget, and keeps things that should be remembered in their hearts. A person who keeps in mind what should be forgotten and forgets what should be remembered, who changes the order can be said to be a fool. Today is a precious day to end the year. Everyone, I hope you have a good day to forget everything you need to forget during this year, and keep the good things to remember and things to be grateful for in your heart.
When I was young, there was a butler in my neighborhood who had an ugly lump around his neck. The children made fun of the butlers and called them a grumpy grandmother. But even though he looked so bad, he was very kind and nice to us. Also, the butler is a person who has a very prosperous life. Once, the butler and our children had an opportunity to talk together, and a friend asked that question.
“How did the deacon receive so many blessings?”
Then, unexpectedly, the deacon said, “It’s because God has blessed this bump on me. I have been blessed with this lump.”
In my young mind, I said, “Ah, that lump is a blessed lump.” I was so envious of that... How much I wished for blessings, I prayed like that before God.
“God, let me also have a lump around my neck.”
But a church school teacher passed by, heard my prayer, smiled and said, “Jongsoon, God will surely put a lump on you when you grow up.”
I didn't know what that meant at the time.
But now I have a lump on my neck. There is definitely a lump now. It's a very lucky lump. do you see I can't see my face... there's something here... but I can't see him or his eyes. The butler is the one who used his shortcomings as his strengths. Everyone has weaknesses. However, a person of faith has the wisdom to use that weakness as an advantage rather than thinking of it as bad luck.
I added a comment at the end of the post.
“Honey, even if I don’t have everything, if I have you alone, I am happy with that. If you still want to give me something, then go to church with me.”
The man who got up the courage to say that to his wife, came to church and worshiped with tears, gained strength and started again, is sitting next to us.
Sometimes we get frustrated in the face of difficult and difficult things, and sometimes we say that being ahead of others, having more than others, and being better than others is a blessing. But the true blessing is the emotion and joy that comes after tears. We believe that the confession of overcoming difficulties, overcoming difficult circumstances, and saying, “I did not overcome this with my own strength, but with the help of God” should be our confession today.
The words in today's text are words you are familiar with. The Syrian army invaded the city of Samaria. With great military force, they surrounded Samaria in two, three, and so many that even a mouse could not move. If we did not surrender, we had no choice but to starve to death. How hard it must have been, how severe the famine must have been, to the point where people could not see... to the point of eating other people's children... It's time to go through such hardships.
Today the four lepers who live by the gates face the same difficulties. If you go in, you will starve to death, if you go out, you will die by the Arameans... If you say you are going to die, the four of you agreed to go to the Syrian army with a glimmer of hope and talk about their hunger. According to the Bible, four lepers took his hand and kissed his foot. hand in hand? Where did you hear it a lot? Hand in hand... In a sense of urgency that no one should fall... I take my hand and put my feet together and go to the Aramaean army. Go where death awaits. But the Bible says that God was with the four lepers as they took their hands and put their feet together. It was obviously the place of death, but God was with them.
Ladies and gentlemen, God has been with us all this year. God was with us. Even in difficult times, God is always with us. When a healthy person unexpectedly heard the story, “You have cancer,” and was despondent and had difficulties, surprisingly, his faith began to sprout out of those difficulties. A person who has overcome cancer is attending this worship service. What cured cancer? God was with him. God was with them. God was with us. During the year, we have experienced so many miracles. There are so many things we cannot live on in our own strength without God being with us.
When God was with you, your lepers... It was a march of four insignificant lepers, but because God was with them, the footsteps of the Arameans were heard not as the footsteps of four people, but as the footsteps of tens of thousands of soldiers. It was heard as the footsteps of thousands of God's army. Doesn't that mean that he ran away with confusion? If God is with us, we can overcome any difficulties. It also overcomes disease. It also overcomes failure. You can overcome anything, and that is the great power of faith.
God was with you. When the lepers went, they saw that all the Arameans had run away. Eat, drink and have fun... But if you say what I can't understand this bible, no, it's all about eating leprosy. What do you need gold and silver pieces for? I took it, hid it, hid it, hid it again... I thought this would come out, Amen. Amen to this is a person who likes gold. Hide it again... Yeah. The person who says Amen this time is real materialism. Hiding it again... Oops, Amen doesn't come out.
There is no end to human greed. With material things, we no longer need God. After solving food, you became greedy and hid, hid, hid... How much did you hide? Hiding the apartment, hiding the money all this year... Not a good thing. That would be funny. After eating, they run because they feel they have to convey this beautiful, joyful, delightful, and thrilling image to their people in the starving city. If you say Amen here, this year will go well... I run. (Amen) I run. Run until your breath catches your chin. The good news is you don't have it alone. The good news is to share. I like it... I like it so much...
I am so grateful for the grace I received... Everyone, I have to live with this feeling of gratitude. Through these words today, we must first realize that God is with us. Even if you don't have everything, if God is with you, you have everything. Guys, why do you think there isn't? Even if you don't have everything, if God is with you, you have the whole world. Even if you have material things, even if you have power, if God does not exist, you will lose everything. The place where God is is a place of happiness, a place of blessing, and a place of emotion.
Ladies and gentlemen, that God has guided you through this year. How grateful are you? How grateful the lepers were, and how grateful they were to the point that they were beyond words. The language of the person of faith is the language of thanksgiving. Guys, if you want to see if a person has faith or not, you know when you talk. A person who speaks a lot of words of thanks is a person of faith. Now, this is the last sermon this year, and I would like to thank the person next to me. Those who do not hold hands while saying “thank you” are not grateful. do it again.
"Thank you."
Did the couple fight? I told you to hold my hand, but why are you turning away? Come on, let's hold hands and talk.
"Thank you. Thank you."
Because of my voice, I couldn't even hold a meeting in Hawaii and ran right away. Then he didn't show up the same week I came. It's okay not to come. I don't know why what he said was so good. Everyone, you have to write a lot of thanks. If you are grateful, the conditions of gratitude will come over and over again. As the last gift of the year, I am giving thanks to you as a gift. With that season of gratitude, everyone in the New Year, just bring in all the conditions of gratitude.
The third time I saw it, I said, “I must tell you this beautiful news.” What is our church proud of? Our church is a church with good news. He said that when he came to Songnae Central Church, things went well... He was cured of his illness... People changed when he came to Songnae Central Church. I hope it will be a year of many good stories. Let God bear fruit on the lips of those of our faith. Everyone, if it goes well, please do it well. God takes responsibility for our language. I hope that we will continue to spread the word about good things.
It's our last Sunday, so let's talk about a blessing to the person next to us.
“You are very good.”
Guys, how much have we fulfilled our mission as the messengers of this news? We don't end up seeing other people doing well. It does not end with my prayers being fulfilled. We must confess to the person next to us. I must confess that I am good. A lot of good things happen during the year. There are many difficult things. Thank God for what you have done well. Be grateful for sometimes refusing. That refusal is not an eternal refusal, but God's temporary concession to give something greater. I hope that you will become a person of faith who can communicate the grace you have received while praising and giving thanks to God who has been with us during this year. We will pray together.
“Grateful and grateful Father God, I am here today in the form of victory because God is with us in our lives throughout the year. The blessings of faith gathered. God, receive their worship. Hear their thanks. Please help us to continue the work of blessing in which gratitude produces thanksgiving in their lives. Please help me to be the ones to share this joyful and beautiful news that I have received. We thank and pray in the name of Jesus. Amen."