Title: Trust is precious
Contents
Faith is precious (Matthew 9:18-22)
The current trend of the times is often referred to as appearanceism. It is a time when appearance is very important. It is said that even if you try to find a job, you will be at a disadvantage if your appearance does not support you. So these days, you and I are going to have plastic surgery. Where would you like to be? When evaluating a person, we value what we see first, rather than looking at the person's personality or hidden abilities. For example, people are easily judged based only on these aspects, such as being good at speaking, having an active personality, or coming from a good family.
But if God chooses people based only on their outward appearance, how many people will enter the kingdom of heaven? If the condition to enter heaven is appearance, there will be a lot of people who will not be able to enter. You must be tall to enter heaven. If a man is over 180 and a woman is over 165, there are only a few people who will go to heaven. You need to study well or have some money to enter the kingdom of heaven. There are also many people who cannot go to heaven.
But what does the Bible say? (1 Samuel 16:7) "The LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or height, for I have forsaken him. I do not look like men; man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." Instead of looking at the outward appearance, you look at the person's heart You don't look at how handsome or ugly a person is, how much money or how much money he has, but how genuinely his heart is toward God. How humbly do you trust God? I mean, look at this part. Today's text also says that Jesus does not look at a person's identity, but rather on the person's faith.
1. one management
In today's text, verse 18, an official came to Jesus. In other Gospels, the official was none other than the synagogue leader. The synagogue leader was a very important position in overseeing the worship ceremonies of the synagogues in each region, running the day-to-day school, and selecting who to preach in the synagogue. Therefore, the synagogue leader is not only a respected celebrity in the area, but also a very influential person. Such a person came to Jesus and bowed before him. It is kneeling. It is not easy for a synagogue leader to kneel to Jesus in front of everyone.
The official who came to Jesus in today's text said that his daughter had died. If you look at the Gospel of Mark or other gospels, it appears that he died on the way home with Jesus, but Matthew's Gospel describes the process as already dead because it condensed and recorded the process. This official could neither save nor heal his daughter on his own. It cannot be left as it is. So I finally came to Jesus with hope. And even though people were watching, he knelt down in front of Jesus. Because there was something more important than people's face and eyes. It is to save his own daughter.
Those who can kneel before God are those who have hope. It is because he is a man who earnestly trusts in God. However, there are people who do not kneel before God despite having to kneel before God. Obviously, now is the time to get down on your knees and cling desperately, but some don't. I'm really sorry. Everyone! If I can change my life by kneeling, if my family can be happy, I must get down on my knees at least a hundred times. I can't get down on my knees, so it's an expression of asking God for help. If you could earnestly pray to God like that, what could you not do?
- I hope you get down on your knees for your children.
- Kneel down for your family.
-For the church, for the sake of our neighbors and people, please kneel
The Lord is moved by the prayer of kneeling down in prayer. The Lord listened to the synagogue leader's earnest request and walked toward the house. Do you want to move the heart of the Lord? I wish you prayers on your knees. Do you want to move the footsteps of the Lord into your home? Please get down on your knees and pray. The Lord will answer.
2) Another strength of this synagogue leader is the fact that he had faith.
This man's daughter is already dead. From a human point of view, it's over. Yet this man came before the Lord. And cling to the Lord. What beliefs? Let's look at verse 18. ?쏞ome and lay your hands on him, and he will live.??
Although it was humanly over, I had faith that if the Lord touched me, I would come back to life. I hope you have this kind of faith. Although my life is hopeless from a worldly point of view, my health, my business, and my family seem to be over, but I believe that if the Lord touches me, I will come back to life. I hope you have this kind of faith.
2. A woman
This is when the Lord, who accepted the request of the synagogue leader, is heading towards the person's house. When the Lord goes to that person's house, it's not just the Lord who goes. A large crowd rushed together to see what would happen. However, while they are walking in a group, an incident occurs along the way. What event? It's about a woman. In today's text, a woman appears. What kind of woman are you? This woman had been bleeding for 12 years.
1) The Bible does not say many things about this woman, but it does tell many things in this one thing that she was suffering from bleeding. It's a disease I've had for 12 years. It's an old bottle, not a day or two old bottle. If I had been ill for 12 years, I would have suffered a lot from that disease.
In particular, let's consider what kind of disease is hemorrhagic disease. Hemorrhage is a kind of gynecological disease. The bleeding continues without stopping. Because he had been bleeding continuously for 12 years, he must have suffered from pernicious anemia due to lack of blood. I've seen a woman with exactly the same ailment. I've seen anemia prevent me from going to work and I've been mostly bedridden at home.
In particular, according to Israeli law, while a woman is bleeding, she is not allowed to have contact with other people because she is unclean. Because if you touch it, the person will become unclean. So, you can't have a normal social life. I suffered from this disease for 12 years. So how hard would it be? I don't know if any of you have such an old disease that you can't tell. Even if it is not a disease, you may not know that there is an old problem that cannot be solved. Please bring the matter to Jesus.
2) If you look at today's text, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for 12 years squeezed the crowd and approached Jesus' back. Because he was in a position where he could not stand before Jesus proudly. So I went to Jesus without anyone knowing. And he lightly touched Jesus' cloak. Why did you touch Jesus' cloak? In verse 21, it is because she had such faith in her heart.
?쏧f I touch the hem of Jesus??robe, I will be saved. This disease will be cured.??
The woman had faith that she would be healed if she just touched the hem of Jesus' robe. Everyone! What we need to be concerned with here is not whether this woman's behavior was right or wrong. It is not a matter of whether or not the disease can be healed just by touching the hem of the garment. What is important? It is true that this woman had faith. What is your belief? It is the faith that if you touch Jesus, you will be healed.
So what did this woman believe? This woman did not believe in her efforts and devotion. I did not believe that the disease would be healed because I put in my intellect, and the disease would be healed because I worked so hard. This woman just had faith in Jesus that he would be healed if he touched his body because he could do everything. Everyone! This is faith. Faith is trusting in the existence and power of Jesus, not in my convictions, my feelings. Although the expression of faith was different from that of the synagogue leader. I haven't been able to do it openly. But what is important is the center of the woman's heart. It is faith in the Lord.
The way we come to the Lord can be different. Some people come out proudly, some secretly, some come out with a high social status, and some come out with a normal status. The important thing is that the Lord hears the prayers of anyone who comes to faith. It is the fact that just as you have heard the sincere supplications of the ruler of the synagogue, you also hear the very quiet and insignificant supplications of a woman.
The Bible says a woman touched Jesus' cloak. Outerwear is literally a piece of clothing worn over underwear. If you secretly touch your outerwear, you don't know if you've touched it. Because it's not about putting your body on it. And now, around Jesus, the disciples and a large crowd are surrounding and pushing, so it is impossible to know if someone touches his clothes. But I was surprised. Verse 22.
Jesus stopped walking. And turned around. And he saw the woman. And you said ?쏡aughter, take it easy. Your faith has saved you.> No one knew her actions, but the Lord did. I am very impressed with this part. What's the point when people rub against your clothes while they're pushing and pulling? Did one or two pass by? However, the Lord made a clear distinction between what was rubbed like that and what was rubbed by faith. You clearly knew the act of faith.
The Lord doesn't just look at the act of faith. There is no way to neglect the prayer of faith. No matter how small the prayer is, God listens to us when we pray with faith. He responds to even a small moan. Even if you go into your closet and pray without anyone knowing, the Lord hears you. I don't have the strength to pray, so just Lord! And I hear weeping prayers. In 1 Samuel in the Old Testament, it is said that Hannah went to the temple of God and wept because she was sad. God heard those cries. Faith is precious.
The Lord said, "Take heart, daughter, your faith has saved you." The Lord values faith. Although she was a woman of nothing, she was cured of the disease that had suffered for 12 years through faith.
< Conclusion >
What God wants us to see is faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, ?쏻ithout faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.??
The centurion healed his daughter by faith. Even the poor and sick woman healed her own disease through faith. There is no discrimination in belief. Anyone can come to God by faith. There is nothing impossible with God. I hope you can trust him by faith. So I hope that faith can solve all your problems.