Title Prepare the Lord (Mark 1:1-8)
Contents
♣ Introduction
A lot of squirrels lived in a garden near a university campus. These squirrels were able to live safely and comfortably because people loved them cutely and harmlessly. When people brought food, they ran out of the bushes and climbed onto people's shoulders, picked up peanuts on their palms, and sometimes went into people's pockets with food.
When autumn passed and the cold winter came and the ground was covered with snow and there was nothing to eat, the students bought walnuts and peanuts and gave them to us. The squirrels get food so easily that it has become a habit and is not prepared for the coming winter.
As a result, many squirrels died of starvation when students went on vacation and schools were empty. Knowing this, an animal-loving student made a donation to the university upon graduating so that they could continue to feed the squirrels during vacation. However, since those squirrels have lost their protective instinct, it is said that they will starve to death if they are not fed by human hands.
While this story shows how important it is to be prepared, it also warns you of how terrifying a habit of complacency can be.
God also teaches through the Bible that it is important to 'prepare' for a certain time. The saints who have become God's people must always be prepared to enter the kingdom of God, their hometown.
- Luke 12:39-40, "You know that if the owner of the house had known at what time the thief was coming, he would have prevented him from breaking into the house. Therefore be prepared. For the Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour." / 2 Timothy 2: 21, "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will become a vessel for honor, holy, fit for the master's use, and prepared for every good work."
Are you ready? Or are you engrossed in the life of the world and slacking off time? Even at the time of Noah's flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, people ignored God's warnings and fell into the complacency of the world. Not only that, he said the same thing would happen at the end of the world.
- Luke 17:27-30, "Until the day Noah entered the ark, people were eating and drinking, marrying and marrying, and the flood came and destroyed them all. They planted and built a house, and on the day Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them. So it will be on the day of the appearing of the Son of Man."
Today is the 4th week of Advent and the day before Christmas. In this time, we want to open ourselves up to God and examine our spiritual life. To examine ourselves, let me ask you three questions.
1. Are you preparing for the time to stand before the Lord?
Anyone sent to this world must someday stand before God and confess their life. There are no exceptions to this.
- Romans 14:11, 12, "It is written, "As the Lord said, 'As I live, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' Therefore, each of us will give account of himself to God." 1 Peter 4:5, "They will give account to those who are ready to judge the living and the dead."
To be 'right' means to confess all of our actions as they are. If so, it is clear what we need to prepare for. We must be temperate in every word and every action we speak in this world, but we must seek to do what is good in the will of God.
-John 5:29, "Those who have done good will come out to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment." Romans 12:17, "Return evil for evil to no one, but do good in the sight of all men." Colossians 1:10, “Walk worthy of the Lord, pleasing him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing in the knowledge of God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:17 “Comfort your hearts, and in every good work and word 1 Timothy 6:18, "Do good, be rich in good works, be generous, and sympathetic. This is to lay a good foundation for yourself in the future, so that you may partake of the true life." 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be perfected for every good work. Ham"
Among the good works, I would like to introduce one particularly valuable work. This is one of the passages in the text of this hour. God sent John the Baptist to this earth six months before Jesus. This was to pave a way in people's hearts so that the world could welcome Jesus. The believers who first believed today must do the work of John the Baptist. In other words, it is to pave the way of the heart so that people can accept Jesus.
What does it mean to prepare to receive Jesus? According to the words in verses 4 and 5 of the text, this way is to proclaim repentance.
If we want to put something in a bowl, the first thing we need to do is make sure the bowl is clean and empty. If the container in which I intend to put the object already contains something or is dirty, it must be emptied. In order for Jesus Christ to enter the human spirit, we must first empty the things of the world that is full. It is the work of emptying the human spirit.
- Acts 2:38, "Peter said to him, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Repentance is a spiritual eraser. When we confess before God all that we have done in the world, it is the only eraser that can erase our evil deeds.
2. Are you living with God first?
God sent Jesus Christ to this earth to redeem a life that had been sold to sin. Our belief in Jesus Christ means that we are returned to our original identity as children of God at the price of Jesus' sacrifice. Therefore, everything of the saint is no longer his.
- 2 Corinthians 5:15, "He died for all, that the living should no longer live for themselves, but for those who died for them and were raised again" 1 Thessalonians 5:10, “Jesus died for us so that whether we awake or sleep, we may live with him.” 1 Peter 4:2, “After that, we no longer follow the lusts of men, but according to the will of God, the remnant of to live in time."
This is the reason why we as saints should live with God first.
Among the prophets called by God, the one who received the clearest and simplest calling is probably John the Baptist. However, he is also a prophet who performed the most important work between the Old and New Testaments. That is why the Lord called John the Baptist “the greatest among those who are healed of women” (Matthew 11:11).
Look at the life of these prophets! His garments were camel's robes and leather belts, and his food consisted of locusts and occasional honey, seokcheong. And his bed was the largest house in the world, with the sky as the roof and the ground as the floor. However, he did not worry about food, clothing and shelter issues. His only concern was to prepare the way for Jesus. In other words, he lived according to God first. The same is required of today's saints (Luke 12:22-34).
To seek the kingdom of God means to pray for the kingdom of God to be established on this earth and for God's will to be accomplished. And believers are told to put first what the kingdom of God accomplishes on this earth. This is the life of witnessing the gospel, which is the most precious good deeds that believers will do.
- Matthew 5:16, "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
3. Are you faithful to the duty entrusted to you?
The saved saints are given a calling to establish the kingdom of God. This too is no exception. As in the parable of the talents or the minas, the amount or result entrusted may be different, but it is given to all.
- Matthew 25:14,15, "It is like another man who is going to a foreign country and calls his servants and entrusts them with his possessions, each according to his ability, giving one five talents of gold, one two talents, and the other one talent. and left"
Now, all that is left of us, given our vocation, is to be "faithful to death."
- 1 Corinthians 4:2, "And what they ask of those entrusted with is loyalty" / Revelation 2:10b, "...Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."
Look at the ministry of John the Baptist. John the Baptist did not promote his own baptism, nor did he act as if he were the protagonist. He makes it clear that he is only a bridesmaid for the protagonist who will appear behind him.
The people of Israel have been living in an age of spiritual darkness without God's Word or God's prophets for over 400 years after the age of the last prophet of the Old Testament. And it was John the Baptist who appeared like a comet. The Israelites regarded John the Baptist as a prophet. If so, John was in a position where he could shout loudly. Nevertheless, John did not forget his duty. He was humbly devoted only to his ministry.
That's right. It is not money, fame, or power that saints should strive for. The only thing the saints should strive for is to be faithful to the end of the calling given to them. When a believer forgets his identity and does something other than his duty, judgment will follow, not praise.
Everyone! Can you confidently answer yes to all three of these questions?
Now, it is the week ending Advent and the week of Christmas. Let's take a careful look at ourselves once again. I pray in the name of the Lord that we can make new resolutions for what we lack and encourage those who are doing well so that we can welcome the Lord who will come again without shame.