Title In the Grace of Jesus / 2005.4.3.
content in grace
2 Timothy 2:1-4, Philippians 4:10-13
A life of faith is a life in Christ. It is because we have been saved by the grace of Jesus Christ, praise that grace every day, give thanks for it, and live by the word of faith. In fact, an important verse in all of Paul's words is 'in Christ'.
The word common to the two texts today is 'in Christ'. In 2 Timothy it says, 'Therefore, my son, you are strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus' (2 Timothy 2:1), and in Philippians it says, 'I can do all things through him who strengthens me' (4:13). said. The expression looks different, but in reality, it means to become strong in grace.
If you look at the history of Christianity, there are many great men, but there are many more histories of great things being accomplished by weak and poor women, those who did not learn and have nothing, and those who had no status or background. Even those known as great men were not people of status, well-education, and background. Most of the disciples were fishermen. When the gospel was preached in our country, the people who first believed in it were not people from noble families or high-ranking officials, but people who were like grasses abandoned by the roadside. However, just as a mustard seed turns into a large tree, these insignificant people have become great and wonderful missionaries of the Lord.
How could these people accomplish the great things that change the world? How did people with no background, education, or status achieve such a thing? Because they were strong in grace.
By not looking at yourself with your outward appearance, seeing your soul with your soul, and becoming a strong person in grace, you overcome harsh persecution, overcome difficult circumstances, and endured people's misunderstanding, and you have accomplished God's work. This was because they were strong in grace, not in learning or status, so they were able to handle them. Not by their own strength, but by faith in the grace of the Lord, they became stronger than the world could bear.
In fact, if you look at all the words of the Bible, the teaching of the Bible is not to depend on your strength or your talents, but on God's grace and be strong in God's grace. Also, in the Bible, those who were loyal to God and who please God consistently confess that they endured everything through Him who strengthens them.
David was not able to stand boldly before Goliath because he was a good soldier. It's not that his weapons are great either. It wasn't because he was a strong trader. It was his faith in God that made him bold. Because he became a strong man in God, he was able to stand boldly in front of a giant that was several times his size. Hear what he calls Goliath to the incense.
You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I am the name of the LORD of hosts
I come to you in the name of the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have insulted...
Let this crowd know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear.
The war belongs to the LORD, and he will deliver you into our hands. 1 Samuel 17:45-47
How could young David be able to say this? Was it possible to run in front of Goliath and defeat Goliath not only with words but with such faith in reality? Because by the grace of God he could become strong. Because he clearly believed that the grace of God was with him, he did not fear or tremble at his outward appearance, but when he looked at Goliath with the eyes of his spirit, he realized that he was nothing more than an old animal with a squeaking iron. it has been So David defeated him in the name of God. It was a victory through the power of grace.
In addition to this, the consistent message of all the words of the Bible is telling us that the Christian life is to bear the world with grace, overcome the world with grace, and live by grace.
Why is the Lord making Abraham leave his hometown, Jacob leaving his hometown, and Joseph leaving his hometown to become a servant and then a prime minister? This is the message that tells you to believe that you are not a person who lives by your talents, but a person who lives by the grace of God. The reason Moses was not appointed as a leader in Pharaoh's palace, but as a leader after he was called out into the wilderness was to teach him to live by God's grace, not by your own strength. That's all the message of the Bible. To Gideon, even though there were few 20,000, he sent them all away and made 300 men to fight. He humbled and humbled himself to believe in victory in grace without boasting, and to become strong in grace and believe that all things are possible through him who gives strength. I believe you did.
God has always been and is the unchanging God. Even today, when we are in grace with such a heart, we become strong. I believe that he wants us to become people who can do all things through him who gives us strength today.
Even when Paul and Silas were imprisoned, they were able to sing praises in any case, believing that grace is there, believing that God's grace is with them in the place of suffering, and being able to bear the pain and suffering in that grace. is. So the Apostle Paul confessed:
I am for Christ
I rejoice in weakness, in reproach, in want, in persecution, in hardship.
For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10
I am weak, but I can be strong when I believe in God. I have no background, but I can be strong when I believe that God will help me. I am lacking, but when I believe that God is with me, I can handle anything. I have nothing, but when I believe that God is with me, I can reap abundant fruits. This is the secret to being strong in grace. I couldn't do it, but the Lord made it happen. I was lacking, but it is a confession that the Lord made me bear it. I have failed, but I have faith that the Lord has restored me. This is what life looks like strengthened in grace.
May you always have faith looking to the Lord. Don't look at the environment. Don't look at people. Don't just look at yourself. Rather, look to the cross of the Lord. Look at the power of the Lord. Look forward to seeing the Lord be with you. Then you will be strong in the grace of Jesus Christ.
I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances...
I know how to be miserable and I know how to abound
I have learned the secret of being satisfied in all things and of hunger, abundance, and want.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
There are times in everyone's life when they find themselves in a lowly position that they can't help but feel. When you have no material possessions, when you suddenly fall into business failure, when you lose your job, when you are alone and in adversity without friends, when you are surrounded by criticism from many people, when a loved one has passed away, when you feel parted. When you struggle alone in the agony of sorrow and sickness, in any case, there are times in your life when you go through one and another valley of death. There are times when everyone falls to the ground. This is the state of being in a wretched state.
If you spend time with resentment, jealousy, and hatred at this time, it will never escape the place of humiliation. Rather, 'I can do anything through him who gives me strength!' When we cry out and grab the grace of the Lord from the low place, we can always stand up again. I can't do it in my own strength. I can't do it with my pride. All my powers were exhausted. But with the power of grace you can do it. You can be strong in the grace of the Lord. You can stand up by the grace of the Lord.
I recently read a book called 'The Tabernacle of David'. I found a surprising passage in that book. 'We always want to keep our composure while maintaining a noble face. Meditate on how the Lord, the King, forsook himself all fame and did what he had to do in the form of a servant. Give up your face to seek the face of the Lord. Lay down your reputation to long for the divinity of the Lord.' 'The Lord died naked. He gave up all face and died in agony! The Lord has given up his face, and we are still trying to keep our face.'
Ah! It really is. Think of Jesus, who gave up all his fame for us, lost all his face, and hung on the cross naked there. When we think of the Lord, what are we unable to do, and what difficulties are we unable to bear? I can't do it, but looking to the Lord, we can do anything. I am weak, but with the grace of the Lord I can handle it.
Dear saints, I hope you will learn to be humbled by the grace of the Lord. I hope you will learn the resoluteness to believe that God is with you and stand firm even when you are in trouble. Even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, do not be afraid of harm, but believe in the comfort of your rod and your staff. Rather, please believe that if you open your ears to hear the voice of God in the place of lowliness, it will be the path to a blessed life.
Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep Your word...
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. Psalm 119:67-71
It is important to have hope, persevere, and overcome well in times of affliction, but it is even more important to keep faith with humility and gratitude in times of abundance. Faith that knows how to be grateful for the grace you have received and how to devote yourself joyfully is the heart that knows how to be rich. It is the faith that knows how to abound in a life that glorifies God in gratitude for the abundance given--whether material, talent, knowledge, health, ability, position or office--whether it be material, talent, knowledge, health, ability, position or office. I hope that you will always be the saints who remember the grace of the Lord. Just as I know how to face lowly in that grace, I hope you will become a saint who also knows how to abound in that grace.
This is what God said to the Israelites when they entered the land of Canaan.
You will eat and be satisfied, and you will build a beautiful house and live
And when your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold increase, and all that you possess,
lest your heart become proud and forget the LORD your God.
...Remember the LORD your God. for he has given you the ability to acquire wealth. Deuteronomy 8:12-18
Dear saints, I hope that you will become believers who know how to abound in the grace of Christ. God blesses those who know the reason to have abundance. I believe that this is the image of a true Christian who can endure anything in grace, and that it is the image of a strong person in grace.
In the name of the Lord, I pray that you will become strong in grace and become a true Christian who can do all things.
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