Title: Traces of Jesus / 2004.3.28
content enemy
Galatians 6:17, 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
Today, the Apostle Paul is saying, 'I have enemies in my body.' Enemy--what does that mean?
The word for trace is stigmata. In Greek, stigmatha refers to a stigma put on a slave or livestock. A stigma is a mark that proves that it belongs to its owner. The enemy, the stigma of Jesus, is, so to speak, the stigma of being a servant of Jesus. This is a sign that proves that he belongs to Jesus Christ.
What is the enemy that the apostle Paul spoke of that you had in your body?
1. It is a sign of suffering.
The words that the apostle Paul is talking about in the body refer to the traces of the persecution that the apostle Paul suffered because of Jesus. Paul was actually persecuted and tortured all over his body because of Jesus, so there were many scars.
...and let me toil more, more imprisoned,
I was beaten countless times and almost died many times.
He was beaten five times by the Jews, less one forty times.
Three times with a wreath, once with a stone
I was shipwrecked three times, and I spent a day and a night in the depths.
On many trips, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from our own people, in dangers from strangers,
Perils in the city and perils in the wilderness
And toil and toil, many times sleepless, hungry and thirsty
Many times I was starved, cold and naked. 2 Corinthians 11:23-27
Isn't this the enemy--in other words, the traces of faith in Jesus, the traces of Jesus' disciples, and the traces of Jesus' love?
Can we have traces of Jesus in this ordinary age? How can we have the traces of Jesus when we are not persecuted for our lives, nor will we face any great suffering because of Jesus?
Today we do not put any visible stigma on ourselves. However, a Christian must be a person with an invisible mark, a spiritual stigma, that reveals that he or she belongs to Jesus Christ. That stigma is not a stigma on our face, palm, or body, but a stigma that appears in our lives, in our character.
What kind of enemy is this invisible stigma that we Christians have? In this age in which we live, there is no direct suffering or suffering because of believing in Jesus. Suffering in our day is perhaps hidden suffering. The real suffering in these times will be the labor of faith of Christians who have to get through the harsh secular sect. In some ways, keeping your faith in this tempting world may be as difficult as keeping your faith in the age of persecution.
Striving to maintain chastity in a world full of sin, striving to live honestly in a world dominated by lies and hypocrisy, sweating from living a devoted life in a world full of selfishness, seeking only what is comfortable Aren't these images of obedience, obedience, and faith like a fool or a child to change the world by giving them time, materials, and talents to change the world? Is there any reason to do such a thing without Jesus? To live that way because of Jesus--that is the enemy. I wish you all these traces.
(Master Kwon, who smiled and said that he couldn't even go to cherry blossom viewing because of Jesus---Enemy)
2. Traces of Evidence
The things that Apostle Paul speaks are the traces he received because of the testimony of Jesus. The Apostle Paul gave everything he had, including his knowledge, experience, and power, to the testimony of Jesus. It would be said that his life became an enemy. As he went up to Jerusalem for the last time, he invited the elders of Ephesus to say in a sermon:
Behold, now I am bound by my spirit to go to Jerusalem.
I don't know what you'll find there.
But the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.
In order to finish my course and the mission I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify of the gospel of God's grace,
I do not count my life of any value. Acts 20:22-24
When my son was about 10 years old, he had a minor surgery. So I went to a private hospital and waited, and there were about 10 people sitting around the waiting room, reading magazines or reading newspapers, waiting for their turn. Then a child came out. He was a boy who was probably in the first grade of elementary school. The child approached each of the waiting people and gave them something. When I received it, it was a tract. The child was the son of the house doctor. After a while, I had surgery. My child was lying on the operating chair, and before the operation, the doctor held the child and prayed like this.
'God, I am just your instrument. May God be with me and help make this operation a success.'
It's not a serious operation, and I never said that I am a believer in Jesus, let alone a pastor, but I was really surprised and moved to see the doctor do that. Perhaps the doctor was thus proving his faith, and by doing so, he left an enemy in his heart that he was a child of God.
How can we have enemies today? Witnessing Jesus is the enemy. The confession that the Apostle Paul said that I have enemies in my body is a sign of his testimony of Jesus.
When they reported after evangelism school, they all looked like warriors who had returned with their enemies. Tears shed while confessing that I've been lazy--Isn't that the enemy? They are the disgrace, the wounds, and the enemy that you suffer while preaching. It bears the fruit of evangelism and rejoices--Having enemies.
Saints, I ask you to have enemies through the things you have and the knowledge and positions you have. I hope that you will become saints who have traces of my being a child of God, that I am a saved person of God, and that the gospel is witnessed through me.
3. Inner Traces
The reason that the Apostle Paul endured such hardships and testified of Jesus was because there was an enemy in him. Inner confidence, inner fullness, and the fact that we have worked in such a situation gives us the strength to endure pain and difficulties.
Even today, if we do not have the inner fullness and inner grace, our outward dedication and hard work will soon be exhausted or become a vacuum. It takes strength.
Not all of us have to go through these dramatic life-changing or mysterious experiences. However, the experiences of grace, the experiences of receiving grace from the Word, the experiences of answering prayers, the experiences of joy received through devotion, the experiences of gratitude felt through sharing, these will become the traces of Jesus as our inner experiences. This will be the evidence that we are saved children of God, the evidence that we are God's beloved people, and the evidence that we have the marks of Jesus on our bodies.
We are now in the season of Lent. Lent is the season of participation in the sufferings of Jesus on the cross. How dare we say that whatever we do, we are participating in the sufferings of Jesus on the cross? Moreover, in these days of living mainly with comfortable things, the participation of Jesus in the sufferings of the cross is not a very popular topic. But Christians are those who believe that the message of the cross is the power of God. Therefore, we need to know how to spend this Lent with grace. That is why even those who do not normally pray in the morning try to come to the early morning prayer meeting with a special mind during this period, even if they reduce their sleep. This cannot be compared with the sufferings of Jesus on the cross and even a millionth, but we do it with a heart to be grateful for the grace of the Lord and to participate in that grace. The cleaning we did together for the church yesterday and the evangelism by participating in the evangelism school are all signs that we are God's people, and they will become enemies.
Enemy--A trace of Paul's love for Jesus, a testimony of Jesus, and a trace of being an apostle of Jesus. As we spend Lent today, I pray that we too will become saints who have enemies through the smallest decisions of faith.
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