Title Because of me/Galatians 1:20-24
Admiral Yi Sun-sin, who is being re-emerged in light these days, is a good example of how one person with outstanding leadership, strong will, and love for the nation can instill positive influence and hope in many people and do creative work.
Through him, we come to realize that the environment around us can be changed positively or negatively by one person “I”.
According to Matthew 13:32 in the Bible, a mustard seed is smaller than any other seed, but “when it is grown, it is larger than the grass and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
In this way, the existence of one person seems to be nothing, but the influence of one person changes the history of the world and brings about war and peace. And one person's wrong judgment can destroy the world.
One man, Adam, planted the seed of sin in us humans and brought death as the fruit of that sin. However, one man Jesus washed away this sin (1 Corinthians 15:22) and gave us life and eternal life through the fruit.
So, what kind of influence do we really have?
Paul, who confessed in Galatians 1:24, “I gave glory to God through me,” was the “one man” who had the greatest influence on the church in history.
He not only founded numerous churches, but also led countless people to Jesus, and wrote about two-thirds of the New Testament.
What was Paul's life like, so that he could become a 'person' with such a great influence and glorify God? Looking at his life, we would like to share the grace with him.
Paul lived a life of giving up on himself.
The Apostle Paul had the education and knowledge that no one could lose, and he was a citizen of Rome. He was also a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee of Pharisees, and blameless in the law. However, Paul said that, in order to glorify God, all these are considered waste (Phil 3:7-9).
Likewise, we too must learn to give up all our glory for the glory of God.
We must be able to give up all the conditions to be proud of, education, knowledge, high positions, material possessions, and even life for the glory of the Lord.
He boasted about his weakness.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:5, “I will boast about such a person, but for my sake I will not boast except in weak things.”
Paul was a man who had come face to face with God and was given many gifts. He is also a person who has had many spiritual and spiritual experiences. He saved countless souls, healed the sick, cast out demons, raised Eutychus from the dead, and established numerous churches.
But he did not boast about them, but rather boasted about his weaknesses and shortcomings.
Because I realized that it was the secret to allowing God's grace and the power of Christ to remain. Not only that, but because he knew that it was the secret to being used by God to the end.
Then, what happens when you boast about your weaknesses and shortcomings?
Those who boast about their weaknesses and shortcomings have a clear spirit. So, you come to know your own faults (Matt. Before looking at the speck in another's eye, I look at the log in my own eye, and I neither judge nor criticize others. And I know how to be generous with others.
Also, a person with a clear spirit can discern the spirit (1 John 4:1), draw closer to the Lord (1 Timothy 1:15), and hear hidden mysteries from God (Genesis 6:13, Genesis 18:20-21).
The Prophet Amos said, “The Lord YHWH will never do anything, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).
Therefore, like Paul, let's confess our weaknesses and inadequacies, and live close to the Lord by confessing that we are sinners.
Paul died every day.
In 1 Corinthians 15:31 Paul said, “By the boasting in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I affirm, brethren, that I die daily.”
As the apostle Paul confessed, our blood and stubbornness, our selfishness and our beggar humanity, all our sins and pride must be broken. Every day we must die, giving up our human thoughts, the lusts of the flesh, and our ego. When that happens, you become the person Jesus wants, the person Jesus wants.
Paul boasted of the cross.
Paul confessed in Galatians 6:14:
“But I have nothing to boast about except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
What kind of people were we? They were sinners who suffered destruction, did not know God, did not know Heaven, and went to Hell. However, through the merits of the blood of the cross, we were saved, became children of God, and became the people of the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, we must not be fools to boast about the things of the world or what we have. I hope you will glorify God by becoming a person who only boasts of knowing God, your weakness, and the cross of Jesus.
Paul lived a fruitful life.
Paul was a man who lived a fruitful life all his life thanks to the grace of Christ Jesus.
Just as Jesus said that he is the vine and we are the branches, Paul lived a fruitful life in the Lord. And he lived a fruitful life with a mature faith that reached the maturity of Christ.
On the other hand, the Bible says that those who bear fruit enter the treasury of heaven and receive the reward prepared before the Lord. A crown of righteousness to those who obey the Lord to the end despite all kinds of hardships (2 Tim 4:8), a crown of life to those who are faithful to death (Revelation 2:10), and to those who have cared for the sheep of God with all their body, mind and life The Bible says that the crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4) is reserved for those who preach the gospel and bear much fruit of evangelism, the crown of joy and pride (1 Thessalonians 2:19).
Therefore, like Paul, we should all become fruit-bearing saints who receive the prepared reward.
In this way, we must live a life of giving up, just as Paul gave up on everything, putting God's will as the priority in life in gratitude for His grace and His redemption and love. In addition, we must confess our weaknesses and shortcomings and that we are sinners and live a life of death every day, and furthermore, we must live a life that boasts the cross of redemption. We must become saints who glorify God through a fruitful life.
As the Apostle Paul did, because of me, because of me, the church must be revitalized, the environment must be positively changed, and people's thoughts must change positively.
May your life be like Paul, making a positive impact on the world and changing the environment. So, I hope to become a saint who glorifies God.