Title: You first
Contents
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1. The LORD said to Abram, "Leave your country and your relatives and your father's house and go to the land I will show you.
2. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3. Whoever blesses you I will bless, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
4. So Abram followed the word of the LORD, and Lot went with him, and Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
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15. If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
16. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you forever.
17. He is the Spirit of truth, and the world cannot receive him, for it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
18. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
19. In a little while the world will see me no more, but you will see me, for I live and you will live.
20. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, you in me, and I in you
21. The one who keeps my commandments is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.
Content
Title: You first
Text: Genesis 12:1-4, John 14:15-21
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, and you will be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2). The blessing promised to Abraham, the father of faith, was for all mankind. It is natural because it is the promise of blessing from Heavenly Father, the Creator. So it was the grace that existed even at the time of creation (Genesis 1:28). Our loving Father, our Creator, does not discriminate among the children he has made in his image. The object of the blessing is probably the meaning of ‘all the families of the earth’ (Genesis 12:3b). But there is an order. It is the fact that Abraham, who was called, came first (You first). First and second order. Knowing what Heavenly Father's will is, who gives us blessings, and following that will will be our mission. The procedure of all reforms is also ‘you come first’.
This kind of work of God is not an exception in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament. Among God's blessings, the incident of “God who came to this earth in human flesh” (John 1:14) was a mysterious event. Because it was the highest peak of love in the high and low. It was the news of the angels who announced the birth of the baby Jesus, who was lying in a manger in Bethlehem. 'Purple. I bring you good news of great joy that will come to all the people. Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). The cosmic news of the Gyeongcheondongji (驚天地地) where Jesus came to this earth was also in order. Of course, it was the procedure that God had ordained. As the wise man of old said, these are things that only God knows and proceeds from the beginning to the end of history (Ecclesiastes 3:11). There was also an order.
The New Testament text (John 14:15-21) also reminds us of the order of salvation history. These are the words of Darakbang strengthening on the last night of Jesus' earthly ministry. These are the words he spoke to the disciples who were worried when they heard that you were leaving, knowing their judgment. ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1). You have said that your departure is a part of the history of redemption and will continue with the coming of another Comforter. ‘I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever… you know me, because I dwell with you. and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). First of all, to those who are called 'you'. The words before the ascension make this even clearer. These are the people who give us the mission of being witnesses (Acts 1:8).
The same content is also found in the prophecy of the coming of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament prophet Joel. He said that the Spirit of the Lord, who will be poured out on all people, will come first on male and female servants (Joel 2:28-30). This is the story of the title of today's sermon, 'You first'. This is the sequence in which all peoples of the world will receive blessings. First, Abraham, the father of faith, had to receive the blessing first. Next, along with the blessing prayers of the priests (Numbers 6:22-27), the chosen people of Israel had to receive the blessing. The New Testament era, which began with the incarnation of Jesus Christ, leads to the coming of the Holy Spirit. The age of the Father, the age of the Son, and the age of the Holy Spirit are what the expression means. In the life of faith, ‘You first’ can also be ‘I first’ due to the nature of the mission. It is a slogan necessary for all changes and the entire process of sanctification as well as being born again. It is a mission that inspires and a grace.