Title: You who want to imitate that person
Contents
You who want to imitate that person (Romans 15:1-7)
It's a conversation before the daughter of a certain house gets married. It was a shock.
In the United States, this question was asked to the public. Rockefeller came out the most. First, let me introduce you to the Rockefeller anecdote.
The candy store owner said to the little boy. said the little boy. The owner praised the greedy child and gave him a handful of candy. mother asked her son. The child said:
This child is Rockefeller, the richest man in the world, whom Americans most want to emulate.
My father was a bluffing drug dealer. He was always away from home because he sold drugs on the street. The family has always been poor. I went to high school and had to drop out because I had no money. And I had to get a job and take care of the family. I went to work for the first time on September 16th when I was 16. So he held a small party at home that he called September 16 his whole life.
Rockefeller features.
(1) He is a diligent person.
I was so happy that I had a hard time getting a job, so I went to work early in the morning and stayed loyal to my job until late at night.
(2) He is a wise person.
When I was 20, I started my first business. At that time, immigrants began to come to the United States. They started making and selling their daily necessities. Flour, pork, and beans were processed and sold. The business went well and I started making money.
(3) A person who is not satisfied with the present.
With the money he earned, he bought a small oil field. I worked hard. The inheritance went well. At the age of 33, he became a millionaire. In 1904 he produced 91% of America's oil. At 43, he became the richest man in America. It is now three times the wealth of the richest man, Bill Gates.
(4) A person who distributes.
53 years old ill. Doctors warned that it would last no more than a year. The hospital covered the cost of the operation of the dying person because there was no cost for the operation. Watching him come back to life and smile happily, I made a new view of life. He created a charitable organization that distributes the money he earned to others rather than spending it himself. I love the cycle. The sickness was also healed. By earning, he became a giver without spending much.
(5) He is a frugal person.
Rockefeller came to the hotel with his son. My son was in the most luxurious room with a great view. But Rockefeller found the cheapest room.
the hotel staff asked. said Rockefeller.
(6) I am a creative person.
He was always creative. When an idea came to mind and there was nowhere to write it, I wrote it on my sleeve. And immediately put it into action. he always said That's why Americans say that Rockefeller is the person they most want to imitate. Then, who should we as believers imitate the most? It goes without saying that we must imitate our Lord Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews makes it clear.
(Hebrews 12:2) How do we imitate Jesus? Today's text teaches us how to imitate Jesus.
1. Take charge of your weaknesses
(One)
Jesus is the one who came to this earth to take care of our weaknesses. Therefore, believers who imitate Jesus must bear the weaknesses of those who are weak in faith. Jesus came to take our sins away. Jesus came to take our sickness. Jesus came to take our transgressions and curses. (Isa 53;5)
2. Make your neighbor happy
(1-2) The concrete life of imitating Jesus is not to please yourself, but to please your neighbor. Jesus never lived to please him. From the very beginning of leaving the throne of heaven and coming to this earth, he caused a life of suffering. Jesus was determined to live for others. He came to this earth and said this from the beginning. (Matthew 20:28)
I give good things to others and I am happy. I rejoice when I see others happy. You feel happy by making others happy. This is a life that imitates Jesus.
The Guinness Book of Records is a book that only records world records. There is a man in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's best-selling carmaker. This is Joe Girard. His pocketbook lists 13,000 people who have bought cars. The secret is written down. After writing a letter to customers, there is a saying that is always written at the end. (I like you) Making people happy was the secret. Those who imitate Jesus do not please themselves but please others.
3. Glory to God
(5-7)
Isaiah clearly states the purpose for which God created man. (Isa 43:21) Therefore, we should all live to glorify God. But they are not glorifying God. Because they are committing the sin that God hates the most. Paul is speaking. (Romans 3:23) People have no choice but to glorify God.
This is the story of Gulliver's Travels. Gulliver entered Soinguk while traveling. Humans the size of ants lived together. There was a fire. The ants carried water from a bucket like a jar and poured it on the fire. But the fire burned more vigorously. Gulliver took a sip of the water and blew it out. Houses were washed away and hundreds of children were injured. It may have been featured in the So In-guk newspaper.
There are limits to human power. God is omnipresent. In this way, man has no choice but to glorify God. There are ways to be like Jesus. All you have to do is give all glory to God.
Just 40 years ago, America did not treat black people as people. The bus also had black and white seats. There were jobs that black people couldn't enter, and there were restaurants where black people were banned. But now a black man is the owner of the White House. If God overturns it, it can overturn it in an instant. God can do it with you. If we only glorify God, we will imitate Jesus.
Americans want to imitate Rockefeller. But we must want to imitate Jesus. How do you imitate Jesus? Notice three words in today's text.
1. Take charge of your weaknesses
2. Make your neighbor happy
3. Glory to God