Title Responses Filled in the Empty Sack
Contents
♡♥♡ Answers to fill the empty sack / Ephesians 4:21-24, Genesis 35:1-5
*** Introduction
This time, you have made an excellent choice. Because I decided to entrust the work of finishing one point and starting another point to God. I believe that God will be pleased with the heart of your dependence on Him. And I believe that you will prepare and allow for a better 2003.
We are now at the end of the 365 days of 2002 with the last 30 minutes remaining. We all worked hard. Now, whether we are satisfied or sad, we have to spend another point of view regardless of our thoughts. As long as we live in the bondage of time on this earth, the sending and receiving will be repeated over and over again. God spoke after Noah's flood.
Genesis 8:21b-22. “… I will not destroy every living thing, as I did before; while the earth remains, planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will not cease.”
However, our life has a time limit. In other words, the amount of time allotted to me is fixed. We need to be wise in using our time because we do not know the final time that God has set. So, at this time of passing the year and welcoming another year, we have gathered here to be with the Lord, the Lord of time. We must make a decision of our hearts for a new hope in this place.
There's an old legend about procrastinating and getting frustrated.
There was a princess from a certain country. She was given the privilege of taking any jewel she wanted as she walked down a path covered with beautiful jewels. But it is a path that can only be taken once. And there was no going back, it was the only way to go forward. Just like in our lives.
The princess saw the road glittering with countless gems, large and small, diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Pearls the size of a cherry, diamonds with polka dots, etc. were lined up in rows and sparkled splendidly. The princess wanted them all, but she put up with it, thinking, 'You must not pick too quickly, as more and more and more shiny gems will appear.'
However, the brilliance of the gems began to diminish as they moved forward. It also seemed to be getting smaller. But I kept putting off the decision, hoping and hoping for something bigger to come out.
After some time, when the road was nearing its end, the jewels were nothing but cheap glasses of glass. So they passed them as well. Unbeknownst to her, the princess was already off the jeweled path, but she had nothing in her hands. Now it's too late. I looked back, but there was already nothing there.
This is wise advice for those who are dissatisfied with their assignments and are chasing bluebirds who are not faithful. There is an old saying, "A bird in your hand is worth more than two birds in the forest."
God says “If ye have heard of him and been taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, then put off the old man, which is corrupt according to the lusts of deceit, and be renewed in the spirit of God, Put on the new man, which was created in righteousness and holiness of truth.”
This is your chance to eternal life. Putting off the old self that followed the lusts of the flesh and putting on the new man through Jesus Christ is a must for eternal life. You will put off this decision and try to stay in the world a little longer, a little longer, and then the opportunity will pass without you realizing it.
1. Now, let's empty the sack of our hearts.
To put off the old things is to empty the sack of my heart, the sack of my desires. Emptying the sack is to contain something new. A sack full of something can no longer be filled with anything. If you want a better life, if you want your beautiful wishes to come true, wealth, fame, success, peace, etc. You must empty your mind's sack full of worldly thoughts for self-satisfaction.
And if there are people who are satisfied with themselves, saying, 'It's okay to live a life of faith like this, to keep the Sunday holy, to donate properly, and to do volunteer work in moderation!', please think again. The ‘event on the Mount of Transfiguration’ is recorded in Matthew 17:1 and below.
One day, Jesus took his three disciples, Peter, James, and John, and went up the mountain of transfiguration. There, the disciples saw a mysterious and terrifying sight that they even forgot. In ecstasy, Peter said, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." . In other words, they expressed their desire to stay here.
But the Lord never tolerated it. This is because Christians are not called to be faithful only to their own religious life. A life without sharing the gospel of salvation, seeking the benefit of others, and loving, devoting, and serving one another is never the Christian life. The Christian's faith must be God's satisfaction, not self-satisfaction.
Now, let's empty the sack of our hearts filled with our own. Genesis 35:1-5, the text of the Old Testament, records Jacob's decision with his family. Jacob was heading to the promised ‘Bethel’ with God. But on the way, they stopped in the beautiful and prosperous Shechem. They followed the people of Shechem, forgetting God and immersed in worldly life. God reminded them of the Promised Land to settle in Shechem and said, ‘Go to Bethel.’
Jacob gathered his family and said, “Put away the foreign gods among you, and purify yourself, and change your clothes.” They decided. He emptied his sack. Let's look at verse 4. “And they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their hands and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob buried them under an oak tree near Shechem.”
That's right. They buried their old life into the world. Let us bury our old self under the cross of Jesus. Now, record what you will empty in the ‘Empty the Sack’ column of the ‘Decision for a Precious Life’ that you gave out.
2. Let's fill the empty sack with new hope.
Jesus spoke of the situation of those who did not fill the sack of their heart with cleanliness. Let's look at Luke 11:24-26. “When an unclean spirit goes out from a person, it goes through waterless places, seeking rest, but cannot find it. And he said to him, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' He brought in seven evil spirits and dwelled there, and the person's last condition was worse than before."
Be careful. Emptying our minds only makes our condition worse. After emptying, you need to fill it up quickly. What do you fill it with? In the text of Ephesians, after emptying the old man, it says, “Be renewed in your mind, and put on the new man, which after God was created in righteousness and holiness of truth.” And in the text of Genesis, when Jacob's family gave up their old life and headed for Bethel, the promised land, "God made the towns around him greatly fear, so no one pursued the sons of Jacob."
Success is right here. It is filling our hearts with God. That is, putting God first in my life. I think of God first when I work, I think of God first when I rest, I think of God first when I eat, I think of God first when I study, I always think of God first when I am happy, sad or sick. It is going in the direction that God likes. When we do this, God will arrange all the things in all directions and make our wishes come true.
Do you also want a better life than before? We must live higher, and we must elevate the level of our faith. “The kingdom of heaven belongs to the violent.” The kingdom of God is not a place to sit still and gain. I have to try to get it.
Don't be a passive person who has to do it. Do the work of God willingly and willingly. Worship, service, devotion, or offering that God is pleased with throughout the Bible is offered with a voluntary heart. You must not make concessions as much as gaining the kingdom of God. Because it is giving up eternal life.
In the text of Genesis, God tells Jacob's family to go up to Bethel. He tells me to go to God who helped me in difficult times. Where is your Bethel? Have you made any promises to God when you are having a hard time? Promises made to God must be repaid. He said that it is a sin if you are slow. And if you sit down in a worldly peaceful and satisfying life now, it is the land of life and the promised land, and the place where your hopes are fulfilled will never be given.
If you have made a promise to God, make a commitment to fulfill it now. And think of the desire to fill the empty sack of your heart. God will answer. Record your wishes for 2003 in the ‘Fill the sack’ column of the paper ‘Prayer for a Precious Life’ that has now been handed out.
When you're done, keep the "Empty Sack" sheet for one year to renew your resolve. And please submit the paper for ‘Filling the sack’ to me. I will pray with you as the subject of the morning prayer for a year.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will lead a life of obedience to the word of the Lord and that your hopes toward God will be fulfilled throughout 2003.