Title: The Salvation of One Soul
That is, when he came home with joy, carrying it on his shoulders, he called his friends and neighbors, and said to them, “Me and me.
Let me rejoice in you, I have found my lost sheep.” I tell you. In the same way, if one sinner repents, there is a prayer in heaven for the ninety-nine righteous who need no repentance.
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1. The greatest joy of a Christian is the joy of saving one soul.
If we truly believe in Jesus and are saved believers, we must have the joy of soul salvation. If life is graciously intertwined without concern for soul salvation, of course, it is also called the grace of God. Because when people are at peace, they tend to lean more toward the world than toward God. It is easy to fall into the temptation of crime unless you have a life of faith that is cultivated through proper tension and proper training.
As you can see from the fact that David began to sin in his spare time after he became king and calmed domestic affairs, it is easy to fall into the temptation of sin when a person is comfortable.
What is originally obtained for free is not so desirable. Just as it is easy to spend money on entertainment expenses rather than doing good things when free money comes in without sweating and sweating.
It's not something to be thankful for that you've been doing well for the past year even though you haven't done anything. True thanksgiving is when we pray for one soul with tears, and when there is joy obtained by investing time, material, and all devotion for him, there is the gratitude and joy of the truly saved saint.
In the past year, our church has registered 132 people.
At the beginning of the year, 707 people participated in the movement to have a new child and started a prayer movement for 1,468 people. But until last week, we have only seen 21 fruitful ones. There is a problem with the fact that our church has a total of 3,910 people, about 4,000, and only 707 participated in the Taeshinja movement. Can you really be called a believer without knowing the thrill and joy of saving one soul? I can't help but question it.
A few months ago, a story was published in the Chosun Ilbo.
It was an article about a 43-year-old father who had been lying in bed for 10 years, and his 16-year-old high school son had a kidney removed from him to save him. Since elementary school, his father was sick and his mother went out to do business. When this son came home from school, he rubbed his father's arms and legs and gave him a hug.
In fact, if you look at it, it is. It's a very natural thing, but the problem is that in today's world, we have become a world where we can't take things for granted.
Who gave us eternal life? Jesus Christ.
If we believe and confess that Jesus Christ is the one who saved us from our sins and death, we should take a deep look at what we are doing for Him. If we really think we owe someone, can we just end up thinking? If you can only thank him in words for him, where else can he not know grace as such?
We should reflect deeply on how we are praising the grace of salvation only with words, and not giving thanks only with words, but actually doing what is right for the salvation of another soul. For example, if we were ill with a mortal disease and were healed by seeing a famous doctor, wouldn't we have to pass it on to others so that the mortal could be healed? Wouldn't that be quite normal? If I am the only one who is healed and not delivered, the humanity of that person deserves to be questioned.
How can you stand still without leading a mortal sinner like me to the Lord? Therefore, to live by faith without evangelism means that one does not know grace as grace.
The Apostle Paul said that after he met Jesus Christ, if he did not preach that Jesus Christ, he would be mad at him. There is a problem today because Christians who do not know God's saving grace by grace and only think that it is a great grace if only perishable material is helped.
When we are young, we only want to receive from our parents.
Of course, I think that if you give birth to yourself, you should do everything.
Then, when you grow up, get married, marry, and raise your own children, then you will only know how great the love of your parents was. Only then will you know the meaning of the lyrics.
"Forgetting all the pain when you are giving birth/ Your heart that you work hard day and night when you are raising your child/ You change the dry place of your pendulum/ You suffer until your hands and feet are worn out/ What can be said to be high under the sky, A mother's love is limitless"
How can we all measure God's grace? A God who gives air, sunlight, wind at the right time, gives rain, makes the five crops and flowers ripen in autumn, and gives us health so that we can digest what we eat. going. It's easy to act like that, usually because I'm healthy, usually because I'm capable.
But mature Christians come to realize that everything is God's grace.
You don't just enjoy receiving without effort. If there are people who think that they have had a good time even though they haven't done anything in the past year, these are the people who should put an effort into evangelism. It is because it is the duty of a true man to know grace as grace.
Everyone! Please join us in the evangelism ministry while you have time. Everyone! Please participate in church service activities while you are in good health. When it's gone, nothing can be done. No matter how much you regret it, what good is it?
Today we need to reflect deeply on whether we are living a life of faith without knowing that grace is grace.
God gave me health, gave me a good family, and gave me the ability to work. Now, why do we not know that grace as grace?
It is said that more and more people are homeless on the streets these days.
In times like these, I think it's time for us to start the salvation movement for one soul.
Today's text explains that very well.
2. The greatest joy in heaven is the joy of saving one soul.
Today's text is about 99 sheep and one lost sheep.
Somewhere, there is a shepherd tending 100 sheep, and when one sheep is lost, it is telling us how great the joy will be when the lost sheep is found and carried on his shoulders. And he connected it with the problem of the salvation of one soul.
He said that he rejoices more to see a sinner returning from heaven than for a righteous person who has no need of repentance. You must understand the meaning of this word.
In John 10, the Lord calls himself a shepherd.
I am the good shepherd, I lay down my life for the sheep.
I will guard the sheep in my fence.
Not only that, but also for the sheep that are not in the pens, he said.
It is said that this is the heart of a shepherd.
December is Advent. The spiritual significance of Advent is to become a shepherd's heart.
Why is Christmas called a Merry Christmas?
By giving and receiving gifts? Or will the scattered families be reunited in one place? no. The joy of Christmas is because it is the season when the Lord came to us for the sake of one lost soul. The purpose of the Lord's coming to this earth was not for the righteous. He came to call and save sinners. Therefore, Christmas is the season for sinners to rejoice. That is why he said to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.
What does it mean to prepare the way of the Lord?
It is an act of seeking for one soul.
Therefore, Christianity is a religion to seek. It is a religion that preaches the good news.
It is a common religious teaching that the sinners are punished and the righteous are rewarded.
However, Christianity is a religion that rejoices in the repentance of one sinner than in the joy of a righteous person who needs no repentance. This joy of salvation must be in us believers. This is because we know God's saving grace through grace. Truly, the great grace is more than, more than, more. The joy of devotion to God! Serving the Lord! What greater joy could there be than that?
When we are busy with the affairs of the world, we often pass without realizing this.
But in the end, everything in the world wears out, breaks up and falls apart.
As the evangelist said, "It is vanity and nothing but vanity" is the work of the world.
Isaiah 2:22 "Do not trust in man, for his breath is in his nostrils. Where is it worthy to be numbered?" Indeed it is. How many of us live our lives forgetting God's grace while saying arrogant things that we have lived for nothing? One spirit more than the joy of a righteous man who needs no repentance in heaven
He said that he rejoices more when the soul is saved.
3. For one soul, how much challenge do you have before the Word and the thrill of accomplishment?
We must not be like the Pharisees. "When all the tax collectors and sinners came near to hear the word, the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
What does the Pharisees' resentment mean?
The complaint is that the Lord talked and ate with sinners.
Even today, we who believed first may have this kind of heart.
The problem is the preconceived notion that that person is branded a sinner. The Pharisees thought that they would gather among themselves to hear the word.
In the past year, we need to reflect deeply on whether there has been any blocking of those who would rather listen to the Word rather than evangelize one soul.
Because this is preparing the way for the coming of our Lord on the day of Advent.
We must pay special attention to verse 4 today. "...if one of them is lost, don't you leave the ninety suckers in the field and search for the lost one?" he said.
We should go looking to find it, but it is how much we searched for it.
And they say that there are still a lot of empty seats.
How long have you been looking for it?
This is something you should ask me.
If I feel ashamed in front of these words, I know that the Holy Spirit still loves me, so I should not spend the month of the Lord's coming for a month, but search for a soul. This is God's message to us today.
May we all become obedient people and enjoy the joys of heaven on this earth. ♣