Title: Those Who Respect Me
Contents
1 Samuel 2:29-30 Whoever honors me
A church distributed questionnaires to those who were about to get married. On the questionnaire it was written: “What do you think is the most important and precious thing in your marriage?” Along with the question, the answer sheet contained these things. ① Occupation ② Spouse ③ Children ④ Friends ⑤ Parents ⑥ Education ⑦ Money ⑧ Leisure life ⑨ Self-actualization ⑩ Other (write anything else you think is important)
And, based on these examples, I asked them to write down the things that they thought were most important to them in order. However, one of the examples was deliberately omitted. It had to do with God and His work. Rather, many people wrote down what they considered important and valuable in order based on those examples. However, about 10% of people listed God and His work (worship, prayer, evangelism, service, etc.) first in the other column.
Everyone, I want to ask you. What is the most important and precious thing in your immigration or study life? Of course, the happiness of you and your loved ones. And for that happiness, you need money, health, education, children, and unmarried bachelor virgins will need someone to become a spouse for happiness. And the things that are closely related to your happiness will be more important and valuable.
Then I'll ask again. What do you think has the greatest impact on your happiness? Like the 10% of people who answered this question a while ago, if you think that God and His work have the greatest impact on your happiness, how happy would you be with the Lord who is here today? Let's check it out. If you think that God and His work have the greatest influence on your happiness, please raise your hand vigorously.
In the 1930s, the United States suffered from severe restructuring and wage cuts at each company due to a severe recession. At the time, there was a salaryman named Beverly Shea who worked for an insurance company. But one Sunday morning he sat down at the piano to practice a hymn. However, due to company problems, I could hardly find peace of mind. Then Shea found a small piece of paper on the keyboard. There it was written: "There is nothing more precious than the Lord Jesus. It cannot be exchanged for the wealth of this world..."
This was a poem written by her mother, Rhea Miller, for her afflicted son. My mother wrote this because she wants her son to clearly set priorities in life, no matter how difficult it is to eat. Shea was shocked to read this poem. It was a time when God was gradually moving away from me in my busy life, and reading this article touched my heart. So I made a hymn by attaching a song to this article. This song is from that famous hymn, No. 102, “There is nothing more precious than the Lord Jesus.”
Ladies and gentlemen, mothers are your children's traffic cops. A mother's wisdom, love, and example to respect the Lord the most stopped her children's wanderings. Through her mother's teaching, Beverly Shea came to regard Jesus as the most precious thing in her life. After that, even when he became very rich, there was nothing more precious than the Lord Jesus as the number one priority in his life as Hymn 102.
In today's text, we see a priest named 'Eli'. He had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. However, these two sons did not respect God at all, even though their father was a priest. Rather, they even despised offerings to God. But Eli the priest also regarded his son as more precious than God.
Then God said to Eli the priest: “Why do you tread on my sacrifices and offerings, which I have commanded in my dwelling place, and esteem your sons more than me? I will honor those who honor me, and those who despise me I will despise” (1 Samuel 2:29-30).
But at that time there was a child named Samuel. His mother, a woman named Hannah, had been barren for a long time and prayed to God to have a child named Samuel. To Hannah, Samuel was a very precious son. However, Hannah offered her precious son to God. And Samuel valued serving God in the tabernacle and encouraged him to do it well. Because of his mother's influence, Samuel respected God, and God also respected Samuel and gave him grace to become a great leader, prophet, and priest in Israel.
Ladies and gentlemen, we should cherish the God who gave birth to our soul just as we cherish our parents who gave birth to our body. Moreover, to save a sinner like me, Jesus, who gave up the throne of heavenly glory and came in human flesh, who did not hesitate to suffer and die on the cross for me must be valued. And you will have to do your best not to disappoint him.
A short life, forgetting God and ignoring God, do not seek God in the hospital of death when you are old. If possible, you should seek God, meet God, and value God while you are young. The Bible says “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, before the year draws near, when you will say that I have no pleasure in you” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
The Bible clearly states that God loves those who love God, and God honors those who respect God. Guys, make God the VIP of your life. Then God will make you a VIP. Would you like to follow along? “God is my VIP.”
After I was discharged from the army, I prayed to God for this and that at the Osan-ri Prayer Center. Then I heard the voice of God. “I gave it all. He gave Alpha and Omega. He also gave me a present.” Gentlemen, God has given us His only begotten Son, Jesus. What more could God give? God hid all precious things in Jesus. When we receive Jesus and love Him, we can discover what is hidden in Him.
Everything you need to live happily in heaven as well as in this world is in Jesus. Don't say, "Pastor, are you serious?" The Word of Truth Colossians 2:3 says: “In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” In other words, if you honor and love Jesus, you will receive all of them. But if you forsake Jesus, you will lose everything.
But a young man named Paul did not think so. Jesus is
I only thought of him as a carpenter and a cultist. As a result, instead of valuing Jesus, they despised and persecuted Jesus. And he clings to what he considers valuable. What does he think is precious? “I am a halley person. I am from the tribe of Benjamin. I am a student of Gamaliel, the greatest jurist of his time.” It was a human thing to do.
Because I valued human things so important, Jesus was not regarded as precious. But when he met Jesus, he realized. “Ah, all the things I once sought and boasted about are like dung!” And then he confesses: “Nevertheless, whatever was useful to me, I count not only as loss for Christ’s sake, but also as loss for the sake of all things, because of the noblest knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3:7-9) “According to my earnest expectation and hope, I will not be ashamed of anything, but now, as before, have full courage, that Christ may be honored in my body, whether by life or death” (Philippians 3:7-9). Philippians 1:20)
Gentlemen, no matter how great the honor and wealth of this world are, will they be as great as Jesus? What in this world is more precious than Jesus? Even if you lose everything in the world, as long as you do not lose Jesus, you are still successful and still happy. But if you miss Jesus, it will end eventually. Jesus is in charge of your life and happiness. Jesus died on the cross for your success and prosperity. If we forsake and ignore Jesus, where will we find success and happiness?
Keep that in mind. We must not ignore and forsake Jesus. You should cherish the things he tells you to cherish. The Bible says “Keep the sabbath day and honor my sanctuary, for I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:30) “If a man serves me, my Father will honor him” (John 12:26).
Everyone, cherish Jesus. Cherish the community, the body of Jesus, the church. Cherish the office that Jesus gave you as a saint. Cherish your worship of Jesus. Then God will value you, and your family and events will be precious to you. Today's text says: “I will honor those who honor me, and those who despise me I will despise” (1 Samuel 2:30).
In the Bible, there is a man named Esau. He neglected his birthright. At that time, the firstborn son of Israel was a priest who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of his family. He sold this precious birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of red bean soup because he was hungry. Then later, knowing that there was a great blessing from God in the birthright, I wept and wept.
In the end, Jacob, who valued the birthright, was his younger brother, but he received God's blessing, and Esau took the birthright lightly, so he turned away from God's blessing. Ladies and gentlemen, the grace that God chose me and you, one in a thousand, to become God's children is a very precious and precious grace. Don't throw away something so precious. The privilege of being a child of God is a privilege that even angels envy.
If someone gave me a very precious gift that I only have in the world, and I don't value it and ignore it, how would the giver's heart be hurt? Everyone, the greatest gift God has given is Jesus. How sad would God be if we did not cherish this Jesus? Everyone, cherish the grace that God has called you. Cherish the grace he has given you. Do your best to cherish and keep His word even in this foreign land. And while you value Jesus, I pray that your life will become a precious and beautiful image.