Title Don't Get Exalted (Praise) by People!
Contents
Sunday day sermon
Text: Luke 16:14-18
Title: Do not be exalted by people!
There is a book called "Praise Makes Even Whales Dance", which became a bestseller worldwide. Wes Kingsley, a company executive, had a lot of worries about relationships at work and at home, but had an opportunity to go on a business trip to Florida. In the show he didn't do, he saw a great show of orcas weighing over 3 tons and wanted to know how he made them do such a great show, so he goes to the trainer.
Dave, a killer whale trainer, tells Wes that relationships with killer whales are not that different from human relationships, and the secret to making a great show is positive attention, praise, and encouragement for the other person. Hearing this, Wes realizes the importance of positive attention, praise and encouragement in human relationships. In fact, many CEOs around the world who have come across this book say that through this book written by Can Blanchard, they are drawing a lot of positive effects. This is probably because praise instills so much positive power in human relationships.
However, such a thing is commendable only in this world that lives in darkness, and it is not justified from God's point of view. Those who do not know God may be offended, but God says, “Do not receive praise from people.” To be praised by people is to be hated by God. Even those who live a religious life, these words will also sound negative to those who live in carnal thoughts.
Can Blanchard also wrote in his book, "Praise is a good word, but too many compliments from time to time can make people sick." From the human point of view, it may sound pleasant to say that “praise” is a word that inspires positive power, but God has made all human beings Satan’s servants (Adam fell into Satan’s sway, disobeying God’s word and serving as a servant of Satan). Because they see them as sinners who live as sinners, “commendation” to such sinners is rather that they drown humans in darkness.
As a good example, if you go to a country toilet, there are maggots that feed on human dung. Let's say you complimented those maggots to do better! Then, the maggots who hear the praise will receive even more strength and will eat poop hard and grow. The overgrown maggots eventually turn into dung flies, turning into harmful insects that bring disease to humans. No one in the world would praise such a maggot However, from the point of view of maggots living unaware of their existence, humans who view themselves only as dirty beings will only be savage.
There is no difference between God and man. From the human point of view, people may seem great, but from God's point of view, everyone is a maggot living under sin. Living under sin means that humans also eat sin (dung) every day, just as maggots eat dung every day. So, from God's point of view, humans are also like maggots.
To “commend” those who eat and drink sin every day for what they have done is to drive them into ruin forever. If human beings have a good amount of saliva left, of course, they should be “commended”. However, as it is written in the Bible that “there is no one righteous, not even one” among all human beings, it is forbidden to “praise” humans. Since these are words that must be seen and understood with spiritual eyes, people who see them with physical eyes may be 100% misunderstood.
Nevertheless, humans are endlessly seeking to be exalted and praised in this world. As a simple example, celebrities who live on the popularity of people do not easily shake off the temptation of drugs. The reason is that when his popularity falls to hell in one day, he inevitably drinks hallucinogenic drugs to fill the emptiness.
Once the human heart is elevated, it is difficult to return to the low place again. Not long ago, TV showed the real life of Amazon people. At first, they lived as primitive people in the Amazon jungle, but after coming into contact with the civilized world through foreigners who came to them, they do not want to return to primitive life again. As such, when humans encounter something convenient, they do not want to return to an uncomfortable place again. The fall of mankind all originates here.
The same goes for wanting to be admired and to be praised. The desire to be exalted was not originally possessed by humans. When man was first created, he had no desire because he was made in the image of God. However, since he was cast out of heaven trying to achieve equality with God, and the devil became the king of this world and took his place as the master of all humans, man always wanted to be exalted and liked to be praised.
This is the same for Jews who were born of the lineage of Abraham, the father of faith, and lived under the law, as well as Christians today who claim to have been saved by believing in Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit. The Jews regarded themselves as holy people of Israel and treated the Gentiles like dogs and pigs, but in the end they did not realize that they were also worthless sinners in the sight of the Son of God. No one can deny that Christians, too, are eager to excel in the church or in the world.
Praise makes even whales dance, so this saying is being applied to our religious life as well. Surprisingly, to those who lead a religious life, “praise” means ruin. To praise people in a more honest way is to praise the devil who is manipulating humans. Praise is nothing more than encouraging the devil to do more of that. When a person is praised, he unwittingly elevates himself, and as he rises, he cannot see himself directly. If you do not see yourself, you will eventually lead to destruction along with pride.
God gave God's law to the people of Israel who were born of Abraham's lineage and the Gentiles who believed in Jesus and received the Holy Spirit to become spiritual Israelites, which they could not keep equally, and imprisoned them all under sin in order to show great grace through His Son. In other words, in order to grant complete salvation through the Son.
Such a son came only to save sinners at the Father's command. The Son, who came to save sinners, does not “commend” those who believe they have done well in their religious life, but rather cleverly disguises them and points out the hidden sins in the hearts of believers and discovers them. However, people who were deceived by the word that they believed in Jesus and were saved and who only liked to hear “praising” hate this kind of son who pointed out sins and found them.
If this happens, a conflict will arise between man and the Son of God, and as much as he believes he is righteous (salvation), he becomes a servant of the devil and opposes the Son of God. It will be easy to understand if you look at what the Pharisees did toward Jesus at the time of Jesus. People like this should be praised for doing well, but when they point out their sins, they blush and try to kill them.
Pointing out and discovering human sins is not something anyone can do. Servants cannot do such things, no matter how much God has used them. This is where Moses and Jesus differ. Therefore, it is only the Son sent by God who can do such a thing. It is because God has given the Son the authority to forgive human sins. If the servants did such a thing, they would have to stand before the judgment seat because of the devil's accusation.
The only way a man living in sin can receive praise from God is to admit his sin in front of the Son sent by God. As you can see from the example of the Jews, the Pharisees who believed they were righteous at that time did not acknowledge their sins in front of their son, so they bought God's wrath and went to destruction. and entered eternal life.
The same thing will happen today as well. Now even before the Gentiles, God will send His Son as a type of Jacob. At that time, those who believe that they are saved will hate to hear the son point out sins because their hearts are infinitely high, and those who consider themselves sinners will listen to the son pointing out sins and admit their sins. and will receive mercy through the Son and enter into eternal life. - He who has ears shall hear and understand...-