Title James 02:14-20 must be changed
Contents James 2:14-20 / It must be changed
Tolstoy, a Russian writer, was talking to many of his followers one day when he was asked a question. "Teacher, when is the most important time in a person's life and what is the most important thing?" Tolstoy, after pondering this question for a long time, replies: "The most important time in a person's life is 'now', and the most important thing is 'to honor the person standing in front of you'." That's right. Now is the time and loving your neighbor is the most important thing. I hope that you will become believers who change your priorities in life with this realization. There was a time when a song called "Change everything," sung by a female singer named Lee Jung-hyun, which was popular these days, became popular. During the presidential election, politicians often used this song for their own purposes. Anyway, today we must change. No, we must actively change ourselves.
Our faith is externally gentle, and in terms of knowledge of faith, it is not inferior to other people at all, and we are envious of others because we have the history and years of faith. But our faith conscience senses that there is something wrong with us. That is, there is no heat that should be in faith. There is no deep interest in other souls. So it's like a lump of charcoal going out.
Those who draw near to God cannot be cold. A Christian cannot be a refrigerator. A Christian should be a hot pot. Because God is so hot. God is always burning with love. As in the words of this morning, the heart must be on fire.
To be transformed into a heart of love for the soul,
First, there must be a clear experience and realization of God's love.
I need to know clearly that I did not love God first, but that God loved me first. Because only those who have experienced that love can have it. First of all, I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will become saints of faith who experience the love of God.
I need to realize and be convinced that our Lord loves me deeply. I hope that you will become believers who discover that the fact that you exist, breathe, and live in this world is God's great love. Some pious monks said, "Oh, I'm alive. Oh, I draw water. Oh, I chop wood." He said he was moved by the love of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, our greatest strength is that the Lord loved us first. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become believers of faith who fully possess the love of the Lord. God love! Therein lies the possibility of our lives.
Once upon a time in Arabia, there lived a great chief named Yushu, who was religious and was good at being kind to others. One night, a stranger from Saengmyeonbuji came to his house. And said: "I am being chased by someone. If caught, I will die. How can you not sleep in this house just for tonight?" Upon hearing this, Yushu immediately said, "All right. Come in and rest in peace. Just as I have freely received many things from God, you can use what is mine as you please. And he allows anyone who knocks on the door of the house of God to enter." He warmly comforted me. Gilson, who was treated with great hospitality, got up early the next day and was about to leave.
Second, God's grace must flow to others through faith.
Having faith means that God's grace flows through me. I bless you in the name of the Lord that God's grace will flow through you all.
It is through faith that the grace of God is opened. When I say that I have faith, it means that God's grace flows through me. Just as if you put a pipe in the ground and water comes out of it, faith is the channel through which grace flows. It is you who receive the most grace, but it must overflow. If it is blocked, the channel of grace is also blocked. Therefore, God's grace should not only saturate me, but flow toward others. Only then will the Christian world become a world of good taste. We are too stingy. I repent of that stinginess. must be changed. We must share God's grace. I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will become believers of faith who possess love that is expressed concretely.
We, too, should have that love expressed with warmth and active interest. People who have love have different eyes. The fountain of oasis overflows in his heart. Modern people live armed with indifference.
In Kafka's novel, Clamance, indifferent, tries to help a man he meets on the bridge, but passes by, but commits suicide with a plunging sound from behind. But he rationalizes to himself that it has nothing to do with me. In Martin Buber's memoirs, he talks about how precious love and attention are. He sends the person who came to him back because of his busy work and asks to meet again later, but he jumps into a moving train and dies while returning home. With that shock, Martin Buber came to realize that meeting is more important than anything else, and that love is important.
When a good thought comes to your mind and you think it pleases God, don't think twice and act. If you think twice, you will become stingy and block the path of grace. If you wait to do perfect good, you can't do good until you die. Even if it is imperfect and ridiculous, even if it is small, the good deeds are pleasing to God. Love for God and neighbor! This is faith.
The resurrected Lord asks Simon, not whether you believe, not whether you have a gift, not whether you can speak in tongues, or whether you love me. I didn't even ask you to memorize what you've learned so far. You didn't ask me to summarize what I studied for 3 years in 10 sheets of A4 paper. He asked me if you loved me in spite of my many transgressions and entrusted me with the flock. That love must flow. Now someone has to ignite and light the fire of love. Someone has to express the love of God within them. Then the fire begins to spread like a fire in a dry drought. Christianity will be all over the place. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become the saints who save this spark of love and become the channels of God's love.
Third, we must change the world with this fire of love for the Lord.
Do you really love God? Do you truly love our Lord? The Lord knows that I love You. I truly love the Lord. This is our confession.
It's okay if you don't understand the sermon. It's okay if you don't know the doctrine. It is okay to go out and say that you believe in Jesus because you have little faith. I can't even eat in a restaurant for fear of seeing others. However, if he can truly confess, "I love God, I love the Lord," then he is clearly a centered person. From now on, you just have to build them one by one. A person who does not love criticizes others a lot and does nothing for himself. It would be good to do this, and it would be good to do that, but I do not move myself. Such a person stops and stands and asks, 'Do I really love God?' 'Do I really love Christ?' We should seriously ask, 'Am I a real Christian?'
Today's Christianity and the church are excellent in form. But you overlook something important. You're missing out on the most important thing. It is the passion for loving the soul It is the passion to love the Lord. What we really need is love. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become the saints who change the world with this love of the Lord.
Satan is most afraid of the soul who loves the Lord with one heart. Because he is truly a man of power. I hope that you will become people of faith who change the world with the flames of love for God and neighbor. If someone loves the Lord, then you too. Light the fire for that love to be perfected. If you don't, your belief is in vain. It's just self-satisfaction, it's a luxury ornament, not the true Christian faith. It is a dead faith.