Title: Victory of the Church
Contents
Sermon Day-090816 Sunday Noon
Title: The Victory of the Church
Bible - Acts 20:32
Paul called the elders of the Ephesian church from Miletus and gave his final farewell sermon, and the text is part of the final part of that farewell sermon.
That is, it is mentioned about the character of the church governed by the Holy Spirit and warns of the expected crisis of the church by wolves and false teachers, which is expected to come to the church in Ephesus, while the way for the victory of the church is that of Christ and his Word. It emphasizes standing on the rock.
Paul's sermons are the words of life that all churches today should listen to together. I'll try to think about it.
Yehwa - Gold Medal
The International Automobile Race was held in 1980 at the Swiss Auto Racecourse. As the size of the prize money was large, they were world-class racers that all the contestants wanted to see. Among them, a Swiss player and an Italian player were selected as the strongest rivals.
Soon, the flag of the departure signal was swung down, and after a while, Switzerland and Italy took the lead side by side, as people expected. However, in the corner where the goal was not far away, Italy showed outstanding potential and jumped forward, beating Switzerland.
But just then, the Italian car in front of it smashed into the firewall and overturned. Now, for anyone to see, the victory was clearly Swiss. But at that moment, the Swiss car crashed and stopped next to the car with a sudden braking sound. Then the Swiss player took out the car's emergency fire extinguisher and ran to the Italian car, which had just started to catch fire, and put out the fire. The Italian injured player was quickly rescued by an ambulance. Meanwhile, other cars have already crossed the goal line.
Many years have passed since then. Even the winners of that day have long been forgotten. However, the name of the Swiss team's great racer, 'Philip Lou', who boldly gave up his championship in the face of a competitor's life crisis, is still remembered as a true gold medalist in the hearts of car racing enthusiasts around the world.
The courage he showed that day was nothing other than 'the small actions of Jesus'!
We live too often confused between the true victors and the losers, the true great and the small. Perhaps it is because they see the world only through the eyes of the body instead of the eyes of the heart and the eyes of the word.
1. Characteristics of the Church
Earlier, Paul spoke of the church in Ephesus as “the church that God bought with His own blood.”
This means that the church is a group of believers who have been saved by the atoning blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross.
God purchased His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of mankind, thereby purchasing all sinners who believe in it.
This is the most basic characteristic of the church.
No religion other than Christianity has ever sacrificed the object of its beliefs for human beings.
Only the Church of Christ holds the truth that life (man) was purchased by paying the ransom sacrifice.
Therefore, the church is not earthly or human, but heavenly and belongs to God.
Thus, Christ becomes the head of the church, and the church becomes his body.
Therefore, the church is a group of believers who believe in Christ as Savior and are born again by the Holy Spirit, so it should not be operated artificially like the group of people (sinners), a secular group.
It is an institution that should not be governed by the human mind.
The church must be governed by the Word of God and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Yehwa - Livingston's victory in believing in God's walk
David Livingston, the great missionary in Black Continental Africa, received an honorary doctorate from Oxford University in his later years. During a worship service before the awards ceremony, Livingston was recounting his experiences in front of the students.
Many students were nodding their heads at Livingston's remark that he had continued to fight with himself through hot, irritating middays and many cold, creepy nights. And he said again, that the suffering suffered by all kinds of beast attacks and Indian disturbances was not the same.
In fact, his right arm was maimed by a lion attack. After the speech, a student stood up with his hand raised. "Teacher! If there was any secret that made you get through life in Africa, what was it?”
2. The way the church wins
On the other hand, Paul is saying that in order to protect the church from external and internal enemies that threaten it, and to win the church, you must first keep in mind the admonition of the true shepherd.
“Wake up and remember that for three years, day and night, without ceasing, I admonished each one with tears.”
Pastors must truly love their members.
We need to share their pain and make their worries our own, pray and worry together.
Paul's confession of ministry for three years at the church in Ephesus implies that.
The church must not forget the admonition of this sincere shepherd.
Because they love their souls more than their own.
On the other hand, the more important way for the church to win is to stand firm in the word of the Lord and His grace. Because the Word is the truth, and the truth is the life of the church.
This is because the Word is the power, and the power is the power of the church.
Without Christ, without truth, and without power, the church can never triumph. Therefore, the victory of the church is the victory of the Word.
The victory of the church is the victory of Christ and the victory of truth.
As such, the church can overcome all trials and triumph only when it stands firmly on the rock of the Word.
The church is God's institution in this world.
Only the church that obeys the rule of the Holy Spirit is the true church.
Only the church that triumphs over all enemies is the church with vitality.
Only the church that stands firm on the rock of the Word is the church of Christ.