Title: The Secret of the Gospel
Contents
I've heard news that someone has succeeded in breeding pheasants, which he thought was almost impossible among birds. He went there with an acquaintance. It's not tied to the legs or covered in nets, but thousands of pheasants show no sign of flying at all. It was not even covered with a net over the kennel, but the sight of them pecking only feed was a spectacular sight.
Originally, the pheasant was said to be a fearful bird. That is why, if they do not see their eyes covered, they are afraid that they will not be able to fly. He had wings and had the strength to fly in the blue sky, but when he put a curtain over his snow, he lived day by day, waiting for the day he would die. There are flapping wings to take off, and a life of eternal blessing is unfolding. However, the appearance of a pheasant who does not even try to escape because he cannot see one thing is similar to how we live accustomed to this world.
Those who have been doomed to sin from birth cannot see how miserable they are. We do not dream of eternity, judgment, salvation, or eternal life just because we are invisible. Just as the Lord said when He came to this earth to preach the gospel, no one mourns even when the flute is blown. In this generation whose heart is hardened like a stone, the story of the cross only sounds like a clich .
The first gospel in history was preached in the Garden of Eden, which was called the Garden of Joy. In the Garden of Joy, the ancestors of mankind, Adam and Eve, were trembling with shame and guilt. God delivered the bad news to them before the good news.
“In the sweat of your face you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for you are dust and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19). It clearly shows that fate has been separated from God, resulting in a miserable state. The rich young man mentioned in the Gospels shows zeal to seek the Lord with unsatisfied hunger even though he has more wealth and honor than anyone else, but he has sincerity, but he cannot respond to the Lord with all his heart and cannot enjoy eternal life.
In this way, the law by which we meet the Gospel is
Proverbs 8:17 “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.”
Whole heart begets whole heart, and life begets life. Therefore, even if you give with your whole heart, if you do not receive it with your whole heart, you cannot receive or know the heart of the person who gave you with all your heart. The gospel is everything to the Lord. Therefore, we can only know when faith is everything. But we have a fear that the gospel will be everything.
Hebrews 2:15 “And that he might release all those who were in bondage all the days of their life out of fear of death.”
This is the inner appearance of us who encounter the Gospel.
a. Fear of the past (signs of life)
Isaiah 54:4 “Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; do not be dismayed, for you will not see shame: for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood will you remember no more.”
b. Fear of the future (fear of fruit, health, material problems, problems with children)
c. Fear of your unchanging self? This is because they did not face the Gospel because they had put up a camp in front of the Gospel. You will never know the mystery of the gospel unless you face it with your whole heart. Then, when you stand before the Lord in the last days, what kind of treatment do you want to be treated?
So what we really need is nothing but the Lord. Jesus Christ is what we need, not just a solution to the problem. For most people, “want” and “need” are two different things.
What we want is not what we need most. Conversely, what we need most is not what we want. This is the reason why many people get frustrated. You might say that you want the material right now. But you find that the inside of you wants other things too. Only the Lord can provide both our wants and our needs at the same time.
Therefore, the Lord is the master of our life. Then, what are the life changes that happen to those who meet the Lord? Two kinds of bad luck...
a. unbeliever? A person who does not believe even after hearing the word
b. A person who hears the word but does not become a reality? wandering of faith
Psalm 49:20 “He who is honorable and does not understand is like the beast that perishes.”
Then, if the gospel is real, why is the gospel not real? Is the gospel a deceiver? Or does it mean that our faith in the gospel has gone bankrupt? It is clear that one of the two has a problem. What is the reality of my faith in the gospel?
The gospel is real. The kingdom of God is to be enjoyed on this earth. Today's text is talking about it. You can see the heart of a farmer in Matthew 13:44.
The farmer's whole heart lies in that treasure. Then what is my whole heart? Thus, the kingdom of God is real. It is reality, not theory and abstraction. The early church is a community that lived by the real gospel. This is the gospel. A person's life in which the gospel is real cannot be given priority over the gospel by anything. Just as treasure is real to the farmer...
What we need is that wholehearted attitude is the secret to enjoying the gospel. Your attitude toward the Word determines your beliefs. So where and how can we use beliefs that are not real? Because they have never put their whole existence in front of the gospel and believed in it, they cannot actually experience the gospel.
God's view of the whole heart
a. life priorities
b. focus
c. Payment (Look at the entrance exam to see what kind of payment you have to pay)
If we love God, we must learn about loving God. We need to know what he likes, what he hates, and how he loves us. Faith is the way to deal with the invisible God. He said that faith in what you see is not true faith. In every moment, we must live with a heart that deals with the invisible reality rather than the visible. It means to use our faith... The basis of that faith must be thoroughly based on the Word...
1. There is a very pretty word 'prime water'.
2. When dissolving water with a pump, you have to pour in about a bucket of water first. The water that is poured first is called 'priming water'.
3. God is like a pump. This is because they first require 'priming water' from us.
4. I really like the 'miracle of the five fish' in the Bible. I believe that Jesus can do anything he wants because he is God.
5. But Jesus performed the miracle only after the little boy brought five barley loaves and two fish. The child's five ears were, so to speak, a 'priming water'.
6. God wants to work with us in whatever He does. So they are asking us to invest. Of course, God also invests.
7. However, our investment and God's investment are incomparable. The investment of a child who was the main character of Oh Byeong-Ear was one person's lunch, and God's investment in him was lunch for more than 5,000 people. (Because there are 12 baskets left) How much is our faith investment in God?
The gospel becomes a reality for those who know its value and respond with all their heart....