Title Even if you get knocked down
The question of whether the era makes the hero or the hero makes the era has a functional relationship that cannot be separated until it falls. As the times get more dizzy, a comet-like leader appears and calms the times, and no matter how skilled a hero is, if they are born in the wrong era, they will disappear into history.
When you look at the great men who have appeared in history, you are never alone. Behind him were the foundations that made him great. Was there a mother's prayer behind a big figure, a father's culture, or a lesson from a good senior, and was there a good junior who passed on his thoughts to the next generation? have a relationship with
In that sense, even marriage, no matter how well you learn and have a good academic background, does not mean that you will be successful. Marriage is smooth when you find a good matchmaker.
I often have the opportunity to attend presbyteries, and I am very happy to hear from a minister I know that the Senate Church is very gracious. I can hear such voices because I have the right to send good comrades and raise good standing officers. Also, our blind people are doing very well.
The Apostle Paul wrote the most books in the Old and New Testaments, and he was also the one who talked about Jesus in an easy way. He wrote the book to make it easy to understand and understand the subtle words of truth. If it was not enough, I wrote a second part and put it in the New Testament along with many letters or pastoral letters and delivered it to us today.
Here is a verse that speaks of his life. If we look at the two verses from verses 8 to 9, we find four things.
“Severed in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; downturned, but not destroyed.”
A theologian named Berkeley has well interpreted the title of today's sermon, 'Even if we are knocked down', and this is 'we are not down but knock out'. We have fallen, but we have not fallen. I fell, but got up again. This is the word that expresses the text.
A Bible verse that fits this is found in Psalm 37:24.
“He stumbles, but he does not fall very down, because the Lord holds him in his hand.”
That's right. Jehovah holds his hand. In Micah 7:5 it says, “Even if I fall on my face, I will stand up.” Even if I fall down for the word of God, I will rise again; I will rise even if I am persecuted while preaching the gospel of Christ; It means that you will get up even if you suffer.
Not my strength, but the power of Jesus working in me, the power of God, and the power of the Bible this is the earthen vessel with the treasure. We have these treasures in us. The body is worn out and there are times when we fall, fall, reject, and become discouraged, but the powerful gospel of Jesus, which is like a treasure within us, is restored by the Counselor of the Holy Spirit.
In the Bible, there are many great men who fell and got up. Abraham and Isaac were the same, and Jacob suffered so much. Those injustices turned into a devastating event, saving the people of Israel as Egypt's Minister of State, and completing a chapter in the history of the nation called the Exodus. So did Moses. If he had been the son of a princess, he would have enjoyed great wealth and glory in Egypt, but how much hardship he suffered in the wilderness for 40 years to become the leader of Israel.
It was the same with his successor, Joshua. So did the judges. So did the prophets. David was like that. Solomon did. So did Mordecai, so did Esther, and so did Daniel.
These are people who have the conditions to live comfortably in the world and rise if they only seek to fulfill their personal lives, not God's work. However, as they received God's command and were doing the Lord's work, they made many false accusations. Jesus did. All the disciples of Jesus' day were like that. Among them, the apostle Paul was the person who suffered the most. He suffered a lot because of Jesus.
If you look at 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, you can see how much the Apostle Paul suffered. So, in 1 Corinthians 15:31, it says, "I die every day." Because of the witness of the gospel of God, we are wretched, oppressed, persecuted, perplexed, and thrown down.
But at that time, there must have been some people who said they were servants of Christ with their mouths, without making a big name and doing no work.
In verse 23, he said, ‘Are we Christ’s servants?’ Are you saying that he is a worker while he is a weaver but does not attend the council meeting, while he is a weaver, he does not attend meetings, does not take Holy Week, and does not clean?
In the last verse 28, it says, "There is an anxiety that is weighed down daily, which is the work of the church." “Whoever was weak, I am not weak, and when someone stumbled, I did not grieve. If there are only 10 people in our church who have this kind of heart, God's great blessings will overflow here.
Let's look at ourselves without looking at others. If you don't feel like 'accusing' when someone you hate makes a mistake, and you suffer and feel sorry for yourself, that is Paul's heart.
Today, many people fail in business and some are unfairly caught in the chain while trying to save a business. But, how hard have you been, knocked down, and bullied for the sake of the Lord's gospel? How many times have we suffered persecution for believing in Jesus? How much money did you donate to build the temple? How much time have I devoted to evangelism? How much have you helped the poor?
Today, we saints give up too easily even for small things. I get discouraged. sit down. It spit out too easily. I get annoyed so easily that even the kids can't.
Even between married couples, it was previously said that when a woman gets married, she becomes a ghost in that house. I didn't even run away. But these days, for example, if you go out on a honeymoon and go out to dinner on the weekend, the groom wants to eat seolleongtang and the bride asks for pizza.
Of course, it's fine if one does. However, the groom insisted, "I should listen to the head of the household. What if this is already the case?" The bride, on the other hand, insisted, "Heh! call it It's fine up to here. But it seldom ends up like this. So you end up fighting. In extreme cases, divorce may occur.
The same goes for those who believe in Jesus. It is the same with believers. There are many times when children are not alone. "Heh! Why did I bow my head first? Are you crazy?" But this kind of thinking discourages our faith and becomes a test. This is what it means to be knocked down and not get up. It is to be wrapped up and thrown away. It's frustrating to do something boring. It is being persecuted and forsaken.
The more we believe in Jesus, the more frustrating things are. I get bullied. get knocked down. For example, on a rainy day like today, some of you may be thinking, "Oh! It's raining today, so I wish I could rest at home without going to church..." This is precisely what other thoughts within you overthrow yourself.
There are people here who have won the hearts of ‘Oops, lie down and rest and watch TV’ and ‘No, I have to get up and go’. So, even though I was overthrown, my heart of faith won. But people who do not have such faith are the problem. Such people fall down and become unable to get up. Therefore, we should always try and pray to have strong faith. Amen. (1991.7.7)