Title: To the Narrow Gate of Life
content ght:150%}
<First Sunday after Christmas on January 4, 2004>
[Nurture Sermon] / [Video]
to the narrow gate of life
Isaiah 35: 1-2
Matthew 7:13-14
On the first Sunday of the new year, may the grace of God, the source of life, fill you and your family. I wish you all the success of your life this year, living under the wings of God's power and because of his guidance and care.
Since 2000, our church has set the theme of life and has been carrying out its own life movement. This year is the final year, and the theme is "Towards the Gate of Life". He said that the gate that leads to life is too narrow and the road is rough, so few people come to it. Nevertheless, Jesus told us that we must go through the narrow gate and go through even the rough road to get life. So this year's theme is "Towards the Gate of Life". The life movement we are developing is the movement through the narrow gate. So far we have come along the broad road, but it is clear that going further along that road will lead to ruin, so we should turn around and go on the narrow road from now on.
The life movement in which we participate is a movement toward eternal life in our relationship with God, so it is bound to be a narrow path that is different from the way we have lived according to our desires. There are "Ten Principles of the Narrow Gate on the Path of Life" established by the Christian Environmental Movement and adopted by the life saving movement developed by the general assembly of our denomination. Our church also wants to take these ten principles as they are and put them into practice as much as possible. Today, I would like to highlight just a few of them.
The first principle is "serving only God and living in poverty".
We must humbly serve only 'God', away from the scientific universalism and 'mammon' worship of modern material civilization. In fact, even if various practical guidelines to protect the environment while leaving the limitless desires of human beings intact, they are only temporary prescriptions. When we are free from material possessions and live a life of poverty and humility, serving only God, we can truly enjoy happiness and restore the destroyed order of creation.
In order to do that, we must first give up the lust for water. Jesus said that you cannot serve God and material things at the same time. Therefore, to serve only God means to renounce water lust. Human lust for water has disrupted our relationship with God and destroyed ecosystems. This is a sin that breaks God's community of life. Therefore, in order to serve God properly, we must give up our lust for material things. The lust for material things gives birth to sin, and when sin matures, it leads to death.
Next, to serve God rightly means not only to renounce greed, but also to be good stewards of God's created world. It is the mission of a good steward to participate in the work of reconciliation of Jesus Christ, who came to unite the broken world.
The second principle is "to lead a godly life of faith".
If we want to live a right life centered on God rather than materially, we must lead a godly life of faith. Religion is the heart and attitude to fear God. A life of worshiping the Lord of our lives with fear and trembling is godliness. Godliness is a life of renunciation of my will and living according to God's will. Therefore, godliness is the basis of the religious life and is the key to eternal life.
For a godly life of faith, it is most important to keep the Lord's Day holy. God said, "Six days be diligent and do all your work, and remember the sabbath day to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8,9). It is a day sanctified for God and a gift from God to man. On this day, we commemorate the salvation and unification of all things through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it is a day where we pledge to participate in that work. Also, even if you work for six days, you will need to rest for a full day, trusting that God Himself will provide for you. At the same time, not only me but also my neighbors should enjoy rest so that animals and nature can also rest. We should keep the Sabbath day holy, remembering that the Sabbath is an important day to make the world God created healthy.
The third principle is "to lead a temperate life"
Temperance (影?? is a very important virtue in the movement to save lives. Temperance is not simply to feed excessive consumption and revive our economy, but to restore social morality and realize social justice, at the same time, to attain godliness, to pursue a social community, and to further fellowship with God. that's for the sake of it. He said that if we pursue godliness with this temperance, we will be fully qualified to enter the eternal kingdom of Christ (1 Peter 1:11). Temperance is an essential subject in our religious life aiming for the kingdom of God. Without temperance, you can never inherit the kingdom of God. In particular, temperance as an environmental preservation is a proper attitude that a person who fulfills the mission of stewardship before God devoutly should have.
??We Christians need to conserve supplies and energy. We need to conserve water, paper, and the electricity we get from consuming a lot of resources. Conservation of material and energy is a life of temperance, since it is precisely to curb our desires.
??We must not lead a life that is pressed for time. Due to the busy and unrestrained lives of modern people, the creation world is constantly being destroyed and groaning in pain without any room for recovery. If humans do not rest, nature cannot rest either. Now, I hope you realize that you need to repent before God even if you are too busy, so that you have time to do everything. Reduce unnecessary appointments, prioritize important tasks, and try to keep your rhythm of life slow. If you control your desires, you will not be pressed for time and you will have more time. If you have free time, you will be able to pray more and meditate on the Word, and you will be more diligent in your godliness. A busy life drives us far away from the Kingdom of God. Please do not wander around in vain, and always take a leisurely pace and focus on developing your own spirituality.
The eighth principle is "Enjoy the inconvenience and lead a diligent life".
Although it is said that it is the advantage of civilization (?⒴솳), convenient machines (?⒴솳) actually weaken human functions. For example, overreliance on cars significantly weakens human legs. If we put in an effort to overcome inconveniences and overcome them, the human body and mind will be strengthened and there will be no burden on the environment due to the selfishness of civilization (?). If you deeply recognize the soundness of discomfort, you can rather tolerate it. The problem is that the inconvenient method is less efficient and requires more time than the convenient method. Therefore, you will have to hurry up earlier than others. In the end, you have to be diligent. A total revolution must take place in the way of life and values.
??If possible, use public transportation and develop a habit of walking for short distances. ??Stop using disposable products ??We need to encourage children to avoid instant food and eat home-made natural snacks, and create a culture where packed lunches become common.
These things are inconvenient, but they are good for my health and the preservation of the environment, and as a result, it will be the work of building the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is not achieved by any grand achievement, but when we cooperate in the smallest things and follow the will.
The ninth principle is "make friends with dirt".
It may sound strange, but it is important to know that over-cleaning is a major cause of environmental pollution. These days, even if it's a little dirty, I wash it in the washing machine, and even if it's not dirty, I wash clothes that have been worn once. As water, electricity, and synthetic detergents are abused, environmental pollution is getting worse. In addition, people have developed various convenient insecticides, disinfectants, and cleaning agents to easily kill, sterilize, and clean insects, but these substances are affecting the human body through various routes.
Before the development of urban civilization, humans lived on shabby houses, simple clothes, and food harvested from nature. However, the life of city dwellers now is a clean living environment (not only dust but also small insects do not come around), wearing colorful clothes and very cleanly washed clothes, eating more desirable and tasty (?) flawless vegetables and fruits, and various detergent I live in a very hygienic (?) environment using detergents and chemicals. But when you become accustomed to a civilization that is close to this obscurity, you tend to become cleaner, more beautiful, more commercial, and more artificial. These urban civilizations are the main culprits in the destruction of ecosystems. The phrase "get close to dirt" is also synonymous with "pursue naturalness". It is more important to clean the spirit that is defiled with our desires rather than to clean the outside. Like a glistening, splendid whitewashed tomb, this urban civilization is ultimately against the Kingdom of God.
It would be close to a revolution to change the life of consuming, eating, and wasting as much as it is convenient right now into the controlled life like the ideal. That's why people eventually give up and go on a broad path without making an effort in the first place. A Christian cleverly separates this real life from his religious life, and even though he claims to lead the most pious life of faith, he is actually living a life without restraint. We need to make our life of faith more real. If we truly want to serve God and follow His will, we need to make a change in our concrete lives by examining whether we are floating our faith too much in the air. The cross we have to bear is not something we have to be prepared to die on, but rather living inconveniently by changing the convenience and abundance we have enjoyed, making friends with dirt, and saving resources. So it is the narrow gate that leads to life. It is a narrow gate that many people do not like to enter. But since we are determined to live like Christ, shouldn't we go through the narrow gate of life?
Beloved, the society we live in is still 80% poor people, and our environment is heavily polluted and damaged. This is the result of everyone going on the broad road. From now on, we must come to our senses and enter through the narrow gate that leads to life. This year, I hope that we can work hard to change our own lives little by little. I hope you can spend a little less, eat less, be less busy and try to live closer to God.
Now, in order to obtain the abundance of heaven, not the abundance of this earth, I hope that you will lead a godly life by restraining yourself and persevering in your life on this earth.