Title: You Must Believe in the Reward
Contents
title ; You must believe in the reward.
main text ; Hebrews 11:6
There are places that children and adults alike don't like to go to. That's where dentistry is. When I go to the dentist, no matter how kind the doctor treats me without any pain, I get scared, nervous, and painful for nothing. And as an adult, going to the dentist in Canada is something to think about.
Of course, there are reasons why it is not easy to make an appointment with a doctor, but the bigger reason is probably that the cost of treatment is not satisfactory. However, going to the dentist is not a pleasant experience for both men and women, regardless of whether they are in the East or the West. Perhaps the most reluctant place to go is the dentist.
Is there anyone sitting here who is reluctant to go to church as if it were going to the dentist? When you come to church, your heart becomes tense, stressful, and painful, as if you were at the dentist, so don't you wait for the service to be finished as soon as possible?
Or, as soon as the service is over, say, "Oh, I'm alive! Now it's liberation!" Isn't there anyone who wants to jump out of the church door in a hurry? If there is even a little of this kind of appearance, I need to check my faith.
Guys, then, why do you hate going to church so much? Man-jae Lee, the author of the book 'Fresh Steamed Steamed Bread', wrote '77 things I hate to go to church' in that book. It turns out that there are roughly the following reasons why people do not want to go to church.
In other words, the church is no less fun than a theater, a swimming pool, or a baseball field. Maybe ask the children of our church Sunday school, "Do you like your church or the swimming pool better?" If you ask me, what would be the answer? Most likely, "Yeah- I- !" You will not be able to speak well while stuttering.
If you answer that the swimming pool is better, you won't be able to answer readily because you seem to have no faith and feel sorry for God. But if you say you like church better, you say to yourself, "Ah, that's a lie!" and you will blame yourself.
But to this question, "I like the church better!" If there is a child who answers without hesitation, that child is likely to become a person of great faith in the future. And wouldn't the faith of the parents who have such children be reliable too?
If I asked you these questions, what would your answer be? "Everyone, do you like church? Or do you prefer there (a swimming pool, a bedroom, a bar, a golf course)? Are you hesitant to answer this question with "Ah- I- I- I- !"?
But, thankfully, there are quite a few, quite a few, quite a lot of people who answer like this in our church. Of course, until you answered this question, it was not just something that happened, or it was not because of your own efforts, but it must have been done entirely by the grace of God.
In my case, I have been going to church since high school, but the church did not become such a fun place. I liked places like bars, billiards, and amusement parks more than churches. So, when I have a Sunday service at church once a week, I am half asleep and half thinking about something else. I didn't know how boring it was.
Nevertheless, I kept going to church because of my mother's earnest request, and more importantly, because she gave me pocket money after watching the Sunday service. And another internal reason is that if you don't go to church, God might say, "Hey!" And he went to church because he was afraid of being struck by lightning in the sky.
Of course, there are times when I have problems and my life is so hard that I go to church to ask for God's help. However, after living in this way for 10 years, the church suddenly started to improve.
From then on, when I sing hymns, I feel happy, when I read the Bible, my heart is filled with emotion, and during worship, I feel a joy that the world cannot feel, and I just wanted to do evangelism. The time was when I received the Holy Spirit, met God, and heard the voice of God.
After receiving this grace, worshiping and coming to church became so much better, so when God said to me, "Go out as the servant of the Lord!", "Amen! Hallelujah!" and gladly obeyed.
Everyone, think about it. I don't know if any of you have ever had a first love in adolescence. Doesn't it make you feel good just looking at or thinking about your first love at that time? And if you can meet your first love at the bus stop, why don't you look forward to seeing her (or the other person) at that stop?
And when she finally appears, doesn't it make your heart flutter, your face turns red, and you feel like you're floating on a cloud? Moreover, when she smiles softly at me, doesn't her thoughts run through her head all day long?
And the next day, to meet her again, do you not eat properly and go out in a hurry? How long would it feel like five minutes before meeting her? No matter how torrential rain pours at the time I meet her, or even when the weather is cold and a strong blizzard blows, don't I always go out to the station where she appears with the joy and anticipation of meeting her?
Ladies and gentlemen, in today's text, God tells us to come out with such anticipation and joy even when we come to God. In other words, when you come to church, come with the expectation that you will meet the God you love the most. And when you meet God, you have no choice but to love him and come to him in a happy way.
But how can God's heart be happy if you come to church and come to the dentist reluctantly with a bitter or worried expression as if you were going to the dentist? Everyone, please change the wrong notion of the place of the church. The church is not a dentist. Not even a prison. Church is more fun than a swimming pool, more than a theater, more than a shopping center.
The church is the place where the Jesus I love the most is located, the place where we go on a date with Jesus, and work in the kingdom of heaven like Jesus, and it is our resting place where we live with Jesus. Therefore, when you come to church, believe firmly that Jesus is there. Jesus is always present in the church where two or three are gathered in the name of the Lord.
And if you come to church for Sunday service, Wednesday service, or all-night service, God rewards you and gives you money. Good things happen. The problem is solved. Heal me and give me health. Believe that you will be happy. Today God speaks clearly to us. ?쏦e who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him??(Hebrews 11:6).
Ladies and gentlemen, no matter how busy we are in this foreign land, no matter how hard we work, God rewards us without punishing us when we come to church. He gives joy, not sorrow. He gives peace without anxiety, no curses, blessings, no misfortunes, but happiness.
Guys, never forget this for the rest of your life. So, first of all, be successful in your church life. Once we are successful in church life, God rewards us at work, business, home, school, everywhere, so we can be happy people everywhere. You can be a happy person.
Gentlemen, God is the One who gives us abundant rewards (blessings, healings, joys, and happiness). And the church is a place that receives a reward from God. So, don't hate coming to church like going to the dentist. Believe firmly that the church is the funniest place on earth, the happiest place in heaven, and the happiest place in heaven.
Believe that God gives greater rewards and greater blessings to those who make such efforts. I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will be grateful for this fact for the rest of your life, be moved and be intoxicated with happiness.