Title Make it like it used to be
Contents
Everyone has beautiful memories of the past. One of Korea's representative songs is 'Gopa', which was composed by Kim Dong-jin and lyricist Lee Eun-sang, and the author who provided the lyrics for this song wrote this song while recalling his childhood.
The first head of the lyrics goes like this: <I can see the blue water in the southern sea of my hometown>. In fact, the lyricist wrote the lyrics for this song on a high hill overlooking the sea in front of Masan. And if you look at the latter part of this song, you will find more friendly lyrics. ＜When there is water, I run with a crayfish on the sandboard… It starts with ＞ and ＜Go back and live naked or live… Go back and be naked and clean... The content of the lyrics leading to > reminds you of the lyricist's childhood and you can see that the feeling of longing is expressed in the song lyrics.
The same is true of this lamentation, which is today's text. The composition of Lamentations consists of three stages: the destruction of Jerusalem, followed by God's mercy, and finally, a beautiful hope for the future. The fact that the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C., the king disappeared, and the people were taken into slavery was like losing their lives to them. In the past, God had warned Judah several times about the rebellion and iniquity, but the people refused to listen to God's word. As a result, the content of this Lamentations is that now, as we go through this tragic situation, we look back on the past and seek God. The subsequent mercy of God was also at work when the Israelites suffered from the Babylonian conquerors.
That's right. Please believe that God is always working for people of faith. And the plan for them shows that their suffering is based on God's mercy to accomplish the greater God's will.
As a final step, it shows that the prophet Jeremiah's lament over the destruction of Jerusalem is now transformed into a new assurance of hope. The prophet will remind the people of the hope of salvation while recalling the history of Israel in the past when it was guided by God's grace. These words well prove the core of the soteriology theory that when the day of hope comes, the people will be restored to their relationship with God and saved again by the grace that God gives them.
Israel's cyclical history always makes God remember them. Or, to put it more precisely, even if the vicious cycle of history continues, God did not forsake His people and always prepared a new blessing of salvation.
How bitter were the people's resentment when they were walking in the wilderness? “Are you making us die here because there are no burial places in Egypt?” He blamed the leader and blamed God. This is our current address today. When things are good, they are good without limits, but once you get into trouble, the fact that you and I cannot even remember the good things from the past is the fact that it is my and your limitations.
Obviously, if God had a plan to kill the people of Israel, He would have let them die while laboring in Egypt without having to cross the Red Sea. But God is not such a God. How will God add blessings to his children? You are a person who has a heart. The people searched this way and that way to no avail. Only God has the only key, so how can we solve the problem of worshiping and bowing down to a vain god elsewhere?
In verse 19, the prophet boldly proclaims. “You, O LORD, live forever; your throne goes forth from generation to generation.” Hallelujah! That's right. I hope you first acknowledge the Almighty God, who can do everything, even in difficult and difficult circumstances, as this prophet confessed. Please believe that God will surely work in great works in the acknowledgment of the proclamation.
If you look at verse 20, there is a sigh of relief, “Have you forgotten” and “Have you forsaken? These two verses are both imperfect and are important passages that show the conviction of the prophet's faith that he could never believe that he had not been forgotten or abandoned by God. Everyone! God will not forget us. Even if we forget God, God does not forget us. Because that God is the One who neither sleeps nor sleeps, and watches over me and you day and night.
Verse 21 is the key verse of this book. “Turn us back to you, O LORD, and we will return to you; make our days new again, as they were of old,” he said. The important words here are the words “again” and the words “of old”. What these two words show is that there were happy and joyful times with God in the past. Although it is a difficult situation because we have lost God's will, these are the words of the prophet who confessed with the conviction that if God turns around, the glory of the past can be restored.
Are you having a hard time right now? Are you having health problems? Are you having a difficult problem with your business? Do you have faith difficulties? If so, please cry out once again for the power of God who has changed all these circumstances into a good path in the past. I believe that God, who made the Red Sea to cross the Red Sea, to destroy the walls of Jericho, to conquer the city of Ai, and finally to lead them to Canaan, will surely lead me and you to the most beautiful place of life.
Now, if there is a task left for us, it is a way to restore zeal. It is a way to bring your faith back to its former state. When Jesus spoke to the church in Ephesus, He said, “Restore your first love.” The church in Ephesus praised them for keeping their faith and not being lazy, but told them to restore their first love. This is evidence that you have abandoned your first love. In other words, we need to think again about the passion and emotion we had when we first started living in faith.
So, what are the characteristics of first love? It is a pure heart for the church. It speaks of the passion for the church itself. The most important problem that the Korean church needs to recover now is the problem of responding to the perfect love of Christ with perfect love. That love is not complicated. Simple. But it's pure. It is a love that gives up everything. We need to restore this burning passion and dedication to us today.
Jehovah is our Helper. Psalm 54:4 says, “God is my helper; you are with those who take hold of my life.” And Psalm 146:5 says, “Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob as his help, and whose hope is in the Lord his God.” We are all fragile earthenware. But if God helps us, we can win. The strongest person in this world is the one who is helped by God. The most blessed people in this world are those who receive help from God. The strongest nation in this world is the nation that receives God's help. Please believe that the happiest life in this world is a life that God helps.
We should always seek God's help. Psalm 105:4 says, “Seek the Lord his strength; seek his face always.” A foolish person is one who lives on human strength without God's help. A proud person depends on human knowledge, power, material, science, and health, and not on God. The devil hates that we depend on God, pray, believe, and ask for His help. This is Satan's strategy. As an animal is caught in a snare, our lives are destroyed. The true blessings we humans enjoy come from God.
Please long for God's grace to make this time as it was in the past. God has clearly spoken. Amos 5:4 says, “Seek ye me, and ye shall live, saith the LORD unto the house of Israel.” That's right. If you seek God, the way will be opened. What road is open? A way out of poverty is opened. The path to recovery from disease is opened. I believe that the path to recovery from despair and pain will open.
During this time, I hope you have a dream and a vision for our homes, churches, and businesses to stand stronger. I believe that in a few days God's good hand will change me and your environment. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will hold onto these words and become the protagonists of a victorious life.