Title: The Way to Meet God 1
Contents
way to meet God
(John 1:12) To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
A British prisoner named Thrusts spent 40 years in prison in England and Australia and was beaten eight times with leather whips 50 times each, but his life did not change at all. So neither the police nor the prison didn't know what to do with him. However, he was saved by Christ and became a born-again man because he was taken care of overnight in the Salvation Army dormitory.
After that, he served for 18 years at the Salvation Army's Refugee Shelter. He testified:
"I was not changed by 400 leather whips or 40 years of prison life, but because of Christ, I was changed in just a minute or two."
It is because of accepting Jesus that I have a new life, such a wonderful change of life. What is reception? If you look at the original Bible, it is lambavnw, which means “to take, to take, to catch.” This prisoner originally held onto the devil and Satan, the god of this world and followed him. But now I have accepted Jesus and I have lived holding on to Jesus. In the past, I continued to sin by following the devil and Satan, but now, by following Jesus, I can lead a new and happy life without sinning. Today, we would like to look for three changes that are made by accepting Jesus. We bless all of you that you will enjoy the wonderful life changes and happiness that come from accepting Jesus.
The first acceptance is not following the devil and Satan, the gods of this world, but living a new life of following Jesus.
What is sin? It is following the devil, Satan, and the gods of this world. In the end, you will become guilty and unhappy. There is a “ruler” and there is a “scale”. There should be standards for scales and rulers. But if you go to the countryside, there are places where you use different characters. Whoever writes some aunts wears a curved one. If you see the clothes worn by the generals who sell cloth, they can make them as they please. But these people are wrong. That's right. Following the devil, Satan, and the gods of this world is like following the wrong person. In the end, we make mistakes, we sin, and we become unhappy.
In John 14:6 of the Bible, Jesus taught that 'I am the way, the truth, and the life'. No one in this world has ever said such a thing. How dare you say you are the truth? But Jesus was no ordinary man. He was a man, yet He was a true God. It was then that I was able to say this. What do we define as rulers? What does the school teacher say? your parents say? The words of famous philosophers, Socrates or Kant? But such things cannot be the truth. That's right. The only true “one” we must follow is Jesus.
That is why we must make Jesus the “Son” of our life. You have to judge what is right and what is wrong according to what Jesus shows, and decide what to follow and what not to follow. Only then will you be happy without sinning. Otherwise, you will sin and become unhappy. However, there are many people in the world who are so unhappy.
One time, on the Sabbath, Jesus healed a man with withered hands, that is, a man who was suffering because of dry hands. (Matt. 12:10 or less) Was it a good thing because he healed you? didn't it? Yes, that's good! However, when the Jewish Pharisees saw this, they could not do anything good, no one, no doctor, or even today's medicine could fix it with good deeds, because they said that they did what should not be done on the Sabbath, that they had broken their Sabbath laws, or that they were not in conformity with their “rules”. , He did not follow Jesus, who did the work of healing the sick, but wanted to kill them. Is it weird?
They did not follow Jesus, but they followed the god of this world, the devil and Satan. Outwardly, they say that they are God's people who believe and follow God, but they are following the god of this world, the devil and Satan. Why? It is because they do not regard Jesus as “the Son”, but as “the Son” of others. What else is that? The god of this world, the devil and Satan. There are many examples of this in the Bible.
They also asked Jesus: At the time of Jesus, the king who ruled the country was King Caesar. ' he asked. They didn't ask to learn and follow Jesus, who was the true "Son," but to reveal that Jesus was wrong, and to say that it was right to follow their "man", the god of this world and the devil and Satan. At that time, Jesus answered correctly. King Caesar's to King Caesar, God's to God!
What did all the high priests and elders of the people do? Shall we earnestly follow Jesus, the true “Son”? That wasn't it. Rather, they wanted to follow their “son” the devil and Satan, so they decided to kill the true “one”, Jesus (Matthew 27:1). So, in the end, he bound Jesus and handed him over to the governor Pilate.
Jesus shed His blood and suffered on the cross to save us for the sins of these people and for the sins of our lives today.
Even though Jesus is the truth and “the Son”, many people live in opposition to Jesus in order to follow their “one”, the devil and Satan, the god of this world, so there are many people who sin and live unhappy lives.
Unlike many of those people, accepting Jesus, the true “one,” no matter what others do, now I save you from sin by dying for me, Jesus! It means making a decision to follow Jesus. It refers to the determination to live differently from them. Acceptance is not following the devil and Satan, the gods of this world, but living a new life of following Jesus.
Second, to accept Jesus means to receive precise and precious treasures.
What do you really want to have? nice house? car? pretty doll? Pin money? TV and computer to your liking? Going to a fun place to play? etc… How much would you like to have! But Jesus is truly the most precious person that I can have, incomparable to anything I want to have.
The king placed stones on the road to know the people's feelings
A person goes and sees
"Why is there a stone on the sidewalk?" I just passed by.
Another man came and saw it and said, "Why? No one is taking this stone away?" And he passed by.
Just then, a vegetable vendor came and saw it, and, in silence and trouble, moved the stone to the roadside.
But beneath the stone was a letter, along with treasures of gold and silver.
"This treasure belongs to the one who removed the stone."
He was paid the price he sacrificed for more people than he suffered.
There is always a price, good and bad punishment, there is a price to reward for doing good, and punishment for doing evil. What do parents regard as good and as a reward? It's about making money by working. So I work hard even when it's hard. What do children like? To receive allowances, to receive compliments, etc., for this purpose, he runs errands and works hard to obey. Receiving Jesus is just like that. It is to win the biggest prize that cannot be compared with him, which cannot be compared with any other award in the world.
If you look at Matthew 20:1 and below, while explaining the parable of the kingdom of heaven, you will find that the laborers who worked are receiving a single Narion each. One denarius is the daily wage of a group. The owner of the house distributes a denarius each to those who do the work. Why do workers work when they work? You work to make money. How much money do you want to make? Because working hard all day, putting up with it, and working hard, money is so precious
But who's the biggest prize? Jesus. Those who know this will live for Jesus. You will continue to follow Jesus. Eventually, you will overcome your sins and become happy. Then, if we receive Jesus, what will we gain if we accept Him? You will receive eternal life that neither money nor anything can buy. You will live the happiest life on this earth living with Jesus who is the true bedding. Jesus, who brings all these things and makes us enjoy them! I bless all of us who receive that Jesus and enjoy the true happiness of living for Jesus.
Third, if we accept Jesus, we become the most human.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, a successful trader was appointed an important ambassador. He thanked the Queen for this great honor, but asked to be discharged from this office. He said that if he went abroad, he would not be able to properly take care of his business and would incur huge financial losses.
The Queen replied:
“You go abroad and take care of my business. I will take care of you.”
So he accepted the ambassadorship and went abroad for several years. When he returned, he found that the Queen took great care of his business as promised.
If I accept Jesus and live for Jesus, so if I put Jesus' work ahead of my own, wouldn't it be my work? no! It will be better. Why? Because Jesus takes care of you.
But many of my friends give their time and talents to the Lord only when they can do their own fun or plans. Who did the trader's job? King! Did it go well? Well done! If I do the work of Jesus first, who will do it tomorrow? Jesus! Will it be okay? All right!
If you look at Matthew 25:1 and below, you will find the following story.
(Matthew 25:1-4) “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom, of whom five are foolish and five are wise. No, but the prudent took oil in vessels and brought them with their lamps.”
If you look at these words, lamps and oil come out. What if you have a lamp but no oil? It's of no use! It's like this. Let's say a person is a back. So what does a person need? It's oil! The oil is Jesus! If Jesus does not abide in him, he is a man, just like an oilless lamp, a useless lamp, but he cannot be human.
In Genesis 1:28, a human being is to be fruitful, multiply, and replete with God's blessing to subdue and rule the earth. This can happen when you accept Jesus. Only then can you live a happy and blessed life. That's how you become a human being. Just as a tree has land, a fish has water, and a bird has a sky, people are happy when they meet God. To meet that God is to accept Jesus. Just as when you receive Jesus, your lamp is filled with oil and shines brightly, when you receive Jesus, you become the happiest person, the most blessed person, and the most human person living while meeting God.
Let's organize the words. Let's welcome Jesus. First, let’s make Jesus the “self” in all of our lives and follow Him. Second, consider that Jesus the most precious treasure, and let's live for Him. Then I can do all my work better. Third, when we accept Jesus, we become the most human. You can live a happy life and a happy life. I bless all of us who meet God by accepting Jesus and enjoy the happiest life in which we are transformed and renewed.