Title: Unless you repent... / Luke 13:4-5
Contents
Text / Luke 13:4-5
Title / If You Don't Repent...
This Daegu subway fire incident was a disaster caused by intentional arson by one person, and the impact was great, but the damage could have been reduced to a minimum, but it is unfortunate in that so many victims were lost.
Looking at this incident, how should we receive it in faith?
A similar incident occurred in Jesus' day.
There was an incident in which 18 people were crushed to death by people working on the tower of Siloam when it collapsed. At the time, it was widely believed that those who died religiously were punished for their sins.
Jesus' mention of this event is found in Luke 13:4-5.
“Do you think that the eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell and died were more guilty than all those who lived in Jerusalem?” "Do you think there is more sin?" This means that people at the time thought so.
This was a statement that completely overturned the thinking of people at the time.
It is not that their sins are greater than that of all those who live in Jerusalem, but that they are expecting the repentance of Jerusalem through that event.
However, this does not mean that 18 people died unfairly when they were innocent.
Speaking of sin, all the people in Jerusalem are beings who must die. We must read the will of God who wants us to repent by looking at the incident.
The same is true of the Daegu case.
That event must be heard as the voice of God calling for all of us to repent. While praying for the country and people, there must be a movement to repent of the sexual immorality, idolatry, and demon culture that abounds in this land. There is something we need to realize through this incident.
① Life is an existence that does not know the future.
If I had known that the locomotive could meet such an accident, I would not have ridden the car ...... Later, when I saw the appearance on the video tape, I saw them running and getting on the train as if they were not supposed to hit the train.
What plan would you make for 10 years without knowing what to do for a day?
Let's look at Proverbs 27:1.
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what will happen in a day.
It's a life where you don't even know what's going on for a day. Therefore, since the future and tomorrow belong to God, we must trust in God and have faith.
It is also said in James 4:14-16.
You do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a moment and then vanishes. You would say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this and that." All such boasting is evil.
Since we do not know what will happen tomorrow, we must resist all temptations of sin and live God's will while it is called today.
Hebrews 3:13 says, “Encourage one another daily, while it is called Today, that any of you do not be hardened by the temptations of sin.”
② It is a matter of how important the role of a leader is spiritually.
If the leader is foolish, the people will perish and suffer. If the driver who was driving the train had been just a little bit wiser... What would have happened? If the situation had been accurately assessed and the situation had been handled wisely, perhaps the death toll could have been only a lifetime.
130 people died due to one engineer's mistake. What does this mean? Through this incident, we are reminded of the importance of leadership.
Now we are facing the inauguration ceremony of a new president who will move the locomotive of the Republic of Korea for the next five years. We must pray. The situation in this country is more dangerous than the subway fire.
If North Korea's nuclear issue is not resolved well, it is possible that war may ignite again among the peoples on this land.
There are leaders who can save the country from the fire, and there are foolish leaders who lead the country into the fire. Therefore, we must also pray for the president, the leader of the country, and pray for the servants of the Lord, the many spiritual leaders of this country.
Because if the church goes wrong, the future of the country can be engulfed in flames. In this age, we need to meet spiritual leaders more than we can meet the leaders of the country.
God holds accountability to those who have given him responsibility. He holds accountability to those who have given him grace.
③ Sin was also involved behind this accident.
what kind of sin
It is negligence. Had he been a little more faithful to his duties, it would not have been a major disaster. What would have happened if it had been immediately detected through the CCTV screen of the command room, which monitors the subway operation as a whole?
However, it is said that the initial response was difficult because the fire did not detect anything until the cctv camera stopped working.
It is a crime to neglect one's duties. Neglect means laziness. .
The Bible speaks of the sin of negligence:
Jeremiah 48:10 says, "Cursed is the one who neglects the work of the Lord." Neglecting the work of the Lord means being lazy with the things God has given him.
Romans 12:11 tells the saints today, "Do not be lazy in diligence, but be zealous and serve the Lord."
We must not neglect the duties God has given us.
According to 2 Chronicles 29:11, King Hezekiah became king at the age of 26. The first thing he did after becoming king was to open the gates of the Jerusalem temple and repair the temple.
Hezekiah's father, King Ahaz, said in 2 Chronicles 28:25, "He built high places in every city of Judah to burn incense to other gods, and to provoke the wrath of the LORD, the God of their fathers."
King Ahaz neglected to serve God and devoted himself to serving idols.
But after his son Hezekiah became king, he reopened the door of the temple that his father, King Ahaz, had closed for idol worship. And they repaired the ruins of the temple.
Then they gathered the Levites and priests together in the temple courtyard and said, "Do not be sluggish any longer, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before him to minister and serve and to burn incense" (2 Chronicles 29:11).
is not to be lazy.
The most diligent and most diligent task for Christians in this age is to save souls. That is why evangelism must be done in season or out of season, and whether we listen or not.
There are souls who cannot die while we are neglecting the work of preaching the gospel. We must strive to spread the gospel.
And they must be diligent in all their positions in the church and actively do their best in their assigned work in the field of life entrusted to them.
Students should be diligent in their studies, and office workers should be diligent in their work.
Neglecting one's responsibilities and duties is a crime. It is not only self-defeating, but in some cases it can cause serious damage to others as well.
Even if it is not the Daegu subway disaster, there are many messages for this era. Hearing these thoughts and the voice of heaven, we must repent. Let's repent of the lives of those who do not know anything after one minute, one second, as if they knew everything. If this incident is God's discipline and rebuke for the entire nation, let's repent of the nation's sins.