Title Ephesians 01:3-6 Blessed be
Contents
Title: Praise
Text: Ephesians 1:3-6
A couple, who were waiting for a baby, got pregnant and the time came to give birth. Relatives and neighbors wept together in sorrow, and they also wept in despair. But the next day, when the husband visited his wife's room alone, the wife's face had completely changed. After the wife held her husband's hand tightly, she prayed to God all night, and she thought that sending this baby to her house would be the most loving way to raise her, and she said that she received a response from God saying that she had sent this baby to their home. I did. She also asked her husband for help, saying that she would raise this baby well because it was also a blessing and something to be grateful for.
One of the most important meanings of the word praise is recognition. It means acknowledging God's plan and acknowledging what God is doing. If it's what he does, it means that whatever he has plans he knows and accepts as good. So, praise can be defined as the belief that God is working without any error in this world and in my life, and going one step further, the reality I am experiencing now is painful and sometimes not in my heart. Even if it is the opposite, it can be defined as praise to know that it is also a part of God's love for me and to be thankful for it.
If the Bible teaches this most clearly, for example, Moab, Ammon, and Maonites unitedly attacked Israel, which had sinned and worshiped idols until now, but all repented and lived as a holy nation after the rise of King Jehoshaphat. At that time, Israel was so weak that it was difficult for even a single nation to handle it. Upon hearing this, Jehoshaphat decided to inquire of God and prayed with the people. According to God's response, when he went to war, he organized a choir and put it in front of the soldiers, and continued to praise the Lord, saying, 'Thank the Lord for his mercy is everlasting.' As they continued to sing praises like this, a strife broke out with the enemy army, and few of them survived, and Israel achieved a complete victory without using a single hand (2 Chronicles 20:1-30). It is a miraculous work, but through this work, God is teaching us how powerful and powerful we are to sing and praise.
But even though we believers have heard a lot about this, why can't we give thanks and praise? This is because even those who believe put their praise and thanksgiving on worldly and worldly things. As we focus our eyes on worldly things, we cannot see spiritual blessings thousands of times greater than that, so we cannot give thanks or praise. There are times when things are good and times when things are not. So, there are times when we are thankful but not thankful, and there are times when we are not able to sing when we sing. How often do you complain and get upset? It is precisely this part that causes the problem. Because God knows this part, he reminds us today that what believers truly appreciate and praise is spiritual blessings, not worldly ones. If so, have we really received spiritual blessings? That's right. received. God is saying that he has already given it. But because we do not know this spiritual blessing and only know things of the world, we cannot praise and give thanks.
The second reason is the fact that God has already given us something special that the world cannot give, which makes us praise. My peace I leave with you, said the Lord, the peace I give not as the world gives. That's right. Everyone, those who have tasted this will know. I worked hard in the world and had a lot of joy in various circumstances, but as I come to worship before the Lord, without realizing it, I can feel my heart at ease and my heart rejoicing. When I look at the cross, I can feel that all my hatred is accepted and my heart is purified. This is the reason God chose us and it is a blessing. For this we can praise God.
The Lord also said that the joy I give can never be taken away by the world. Guys, how many things are taken away from us when we enjoy a little bit of joy? When there are so many things to be grateful for, I thought that I would live my life with just this one thing to be grateful for. it all disappears. But the peace you give and the joy you give cannot be taken away from the world. So we want to rest, but we come before the Lord. Because when you come before the Lord, you can receive the warmth of the Lord.
Another reason can have the meaning of praise because of the fact that God has called us to be His children. When the Romans adopted the child, they brought the child back to their biological father, who was unable to raise them, through a symbolic trade, though not a price, to bring the child back. At that time, as the custom could only do this up to three times, the stepfather paid money and brought the child to him after saying that he could not take the third time. The adoptive father brings the child and makes the consul declare that this child has become his adoptive son. From this point on, the son loses all his duties and rights in the previous family and lives as a son of the new family. God has called you to be these children. This is why we should be thankful and praised.
You may have seen cases in the media where Angbal organizations buy children in advance. It is said that he buys an unborn child, puts him in his family register as soon as he is born, and then sends him to work. Depending on who takes this child, the child's fate will change. If you are adopted into a good family, won't you live like that for the rest of your life? God has called you to be like this. How grateful are you? God saved us through the cross of Jesus. God called us, who were the children of death, who were wandering in sin, darkness and death, as children of life and eternal happiness. This is why we should praise it.
Ladies and gentlemen, my life is a child of God, and the kingdom of heaven is my home, so the environment of this world does not affect me in the slightest. It is because God has called us that way, and that is why we should praise Him.