Title [New Year] Look to the Blessed Land
Contents
[New Year] Look to the blessed land (Genesis 13:10-18)
The new year 2007 has dawned. How do you plan to start the new year 2007?
With what power and by what force are you trying to start?
Zechariah 4:6 says this:
'It is not by force, not by power, but by my spirit.'
I wish you a new year of victory with the strength God has given you.
Verse 10 says, “Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the earth.”
Verse 14 says, “Abram lifted up his eyes and saw the earth.”
“Saw” here is the person’s spiritual level, faith,
It is God's vision and priority.
So what kind of land do you see and what kind of land do you get? Depending on what you do, you may become a person of blessing or a person of curse.
Therefore, what we see and what we live for is really important to us.
1. Wrong value is to see the wrong thing.
Verse 9 says, “If you are right, I will be left; if you are left, I will be right. Choose as you like.”
For pastoralists, giving up pasture is like giving up a life.
But Abraham willingly yielded the pasture land to his nephew Lot.
Gentlemen, where did Abraham get such an amazing amount of freedom?
It was because Abraham saw God's promise to give the land to a bigger one, so he had room for the little things.
But Lot was greedy for the earth rather than choosing God. So Lot chose the material, and the little one in front of him.
Verse 10 says, “Then Lot lifted up his eyes and looked at the Jordan, and the whole land was well watered as far as Zoar.
What kind of land was this land?
① They say that there is plenty of water.
Therefore, there was plenty of water to feed the sheep, so there would have been plenty of grass, and they would have thought that they would be happy in the ample pasture.
②It is said that it was like the garden of the Lord.
It was like a land where there was more than we could imagine the Garden of Eden.
③ They say it was like the land of Egypt.
Lot, who had seen the splendor of the city spread out along the Nile River when he followed Abraham down to Egypt, must have thought that in a land of this size, the splendid flowers of urban civilization could blossom and live.
But, folks, what kind of land was it?
It is the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, which suffered the most terrible judgment in history. In fact, Sodom and Gomorrah were glamorous and charming cities at that time. But there was no promise of God's blessing.
It was just a city like a mirage that gave the illusion that it would promise happiness from a human point of view.
Guys, is this temptation only for Lot?
The values of our members should be different from those of the world.
In other words, no matter what decision you make, the value of your life of faith, the value of evangelism, and the value of your vision must be prioritized.
Lot's mistake here was not only that he saw the wrong land with his wrong values and went to the wrong land.
Lot's tragedy began when he left Abraham.
Gentlemen, why did leaving Abraham become a tragedy for Lot?
Abraham was a man who lived by the promises of God.
So, Lot's departure from Abraham was like abandoning God's promise.
That's right.
To depart from Abraham was to depart from God and to forsake faith.
Therefore, in the new year, I bless you to meet people of prayer wherever you go.
Congratulations on meeting people of faith.
Congratulations on meeting positive, creative and active people.
In verse 12, the splitting path between the two is recorded.
“Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and moved his tents as far as Sodom.”
Of course, the land of Canaan, where Abraham lived to the end, was a lonely land and a land of famine.
But Abraham held on to the land where God had promised.
But what about Lot?
Lot abandoned the blessings God had promised and followed the world and material things.
Here in the Bible, we are left with an interesting expression.
“He went as far as Sodom”
Of course, Lot must not have had a desire to go to Sodom from the beginning.
However, Lot, who lived with material values, eventually went to Sodom.
What are you talking about?
It means that he did not know that his way was ruined and that he went to the time of ruin.
Dear brothers and sisters, I hope you see the environment through the eyes of the Holy Spirit in the new year.
Look at your neighbors through the eyes of Jesus.
I pray that we can see history through the eyes of the cross.
2. The true blessing is that the eyes of the spirit are opened.
Abraham certainly knew one thing.
Abraham did not leave the promised land of Canaan with the belief that “the land seemed barren in the eyes of the world, but God promised, and there will be blessings there.”
It was then that God came to Abraham and said, “Do not be afraid, Abram. You have chosen the good way.”
That's right.
When Abraham needed assurance, when he needed the Word, when he needed a new dream, God came to Abraham and showed him a new dream.
Guys, what is the blessing of Abraham?
Verse 14 says, “After Lot had left Abram, the Lord said to Abram, Lift up your eyes and look from where you are, looking east, west, north and south.
After Lot left Abraham, God came to Abraham.
Everyone, why was there no conflict with Abraham?
Should I give up this land?
Also, how much heartache must he have felt when he saw Lot leaving him willingly?
On the other hand, how heartbroken was Abraham when he thought that the vision of God he had received was not recognized even by the closest Lot?
Perhaps your faith was shaken from the root, and your dreams were crumbling.
It was at this time that God came to us.
And with the eyes of faith, He said, “Look at tomorrow, and see the world with the eyes of faith.”
Guys, what does it mean to improve your faith?
It broadens the field of view.
When you believe in Jesus and receive grace, people change, your eyes change, and your vision changes.
Therefore, those who lived by looking only at the earth can see the sky, those who lived by looking only at the near, see far away, and their dreams grow bigger.
And your mind and eyes will be opened to a world you've never seen, a world you've never heard of, and a world you've never dreamed of.
This is belief and this is what we call vision.
Ladies and gentlemen, the things of this world are usually like a mirage.
So it seems to hold onto it, but at the end it turns to a handful of ashes, and it seems like it will live forever, but the world will end someday.
However, if you look at the world with faith, you will see a new world that the world cannot see.
Remember everyone.
Everything on this earth, no matter how precious, will one day leave my side.
Even my husband, my wife, my children, my life, material, and honor leave me.
Therefore, we hope that we do not cling too much to the things of this world, but to become believers who cling to and look at the eternal things with the eyes of faith.
3. As you look, your eyes will open.
In verse 14, God came to Abram, who had left Lot, and said, “Lift up your eyes and look from where you are, looking east, west, north, south and east.”
In other words, to see a new world of east, west, north and south,
to see the world of faith,
It is to look to the west with eyes that only looked east and to look to the north and the south.
In the new year, our church believes that 153 miracles will happen.
The Apostle Paul was a Hebrew and loved the Jews.
But after meeting Jesus, he saw a new world he had never seen.
I had a new dream about strangers who were treated like dogs at the time.
The eyes that had only seen the land of Judea saw the vision of God that would spread throughout the universe. So, as an apostle to the Gentiles, Paul lived the life of a witness to the gospel all his life.
But while I was praying with my eyes raised, I saw Korea dying without Jesus. So I came to Korea and established Pyongyang Theological Seminary and the Presbyterian Church, the largest denomination in Korea.
The former Soviet Union saw Alaska as a block of ice.
But US President Johnson saw Alaska as a treasure trove.
So, for just $7.2 million, we bought over one-fifth of Alaska in the continental United States.
But it was a military base, and it was full of inexhaustible oil and treasures.
L.A. was nothing more than an endless desert that was ten times larger than Seoul.
But those who had a dream drew water from 400 km 500 km away, planted trees and built a city.
And like a spider's web, a highway was built in the middle of the city, and a city of happy angels where countless races from all over the world gathered.
conclude the word.
Let's read verses 15-16 together.
“I will give to you and to your descendants the land you see, and it will last forever. I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, and if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your descendants will also be counted.”
In other words, God's blessings can unfold indefinitely, beyond counting and beyond imagining.
Guys, when I look into myself, it's just a shabby life.
But when I look at Jesus in me, I become a great being who can do all things through him who strengthens me.
You will discover that you are precious.
Please believe that you are a blessed child of God.
Dear saints,
In the new year, I bless you to enjoy God's blessings without limit through the work and power of the Holy Spirit.
And in the new year, I hope that your eyes will be opened so that you can focus like Abraham on God who is the source of your blessings.
In 2007, I pray that you will become people of faith who look to the blessed land.