Contents Genesis 17:9-14
2004. 3. 7. Sermon on Sunday Day Worship
■ Opening story
A preacher had a son who was mentally ill. The youngest is so cute..but the insanity has forced the family to suffer together. But the preacher said, "Our youngest child is a treasure, because through the youngest I came to believe in the Lord, and I am the Lord's servant today." The evangelist was shattered with pride in his heart because of the youngest. I fell on my knees to the Lord. The pain caused by the youngest was very great. However, the benefit of faith because of the youngest was greater. That's why it was called "our youngest is a treasure." Is there something in you that makes you bow before God? Is there anything that makes you feel refreshed even when you are sinning? If you are proud or sinful when you think about it, if there is anything you cannot do, it is a gift from God for your gender.
■ circumcision
God gave Abraham a mark for sex. It is circumcision. He commanded all men in the house to be circumcised, from Abraham to his servants. He also told Abraham's descendants that we must keep the ritual of circumcision. Circumcision was given as a sign of sex. Circumcision itself is not a gender power. However, looking at the mark in the flesh, he must have thought, "We are different from other nations. We must live differently. We must live a sanctified life before God!"
What has God given me as a sign of gender? In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul speaks of the thorn in his body, saying, "He could not be proud of it." What do you have? John Newton praised his past as a slave trader as a basis for humility, saying, "Amazing the grace of the Lord who saved a sinner like me!" I believe that the pain of a brother becomes a stimulant of gender. When I think about dirty things coming up in me, I endure it. In that sense, it cannot but be the grace of the Lord. Inconvenient, but to be grateful for.
■ A warning to the unconsecrated
Verse 14 warns that if you refuse to be circumcised, you will be killed. In fact, there was a time when God was angry with Moses' son because he was uncircumcised and wanted to destroy the family of Moses. At that time, Zipporah, Moses' wife, circumcised her son to escape the wrath of God. Why did he say that if he refused circumcision, he would kill him?
Circumcision is a symbol of gender. To reject a sanctified life is to live in obscurity of the glory of God. Those who live while hiding the glory of God will sin as long as they live in the world. Maybe it's love to take it at all. Church is difficult these days. It is said that 3,000 churches are built every year. However, the number of churches is declining. There are many stories of churches disappearing. The reason evangelism is not working well is because people who pretend to be Christians are covering up all the glory of God. Unsanctified Christians are obscuring the light of the gospel. You are blocking the door of evangelism. Being set apart is no longer just my problem. This is a problem for the entire Korean church. If I stand upright and glorify God, more opportunities for the gospel are given to my neighbors. But if I enjoy a wrong life, the light of the gospel darkens. Now is the time to miss one consecrated person. Looking at the appearance of the Korean church, I criticize this and that. And he doesn't look back at himself. We must take a look at ourselves. Are you really a consecrated person? ☆