Title Sixth Principle of Faith
Contents
Deuteronomy 7:7 The sixth principle of faith
I went downtown three months ago and had a minor car accident. I parked my car on the street and left the tailgate open to buy ribs for a picnic at a butcher's wholesaler in Chinatown. But a truck driver was parking his car back and lightly slammed into my car's tail door. But when I got a quote, to my surprise, it came out to over $1,000.
As you know, accidents that cost more than $1,000 must be reported to the police. I went to the police station to write a report in English, and I thought, ‘How should I write it?’ Then, suddenly, the ‘6 lower principle’ came to my mind. I was able to write the report very simply and accurately because I wrote the report in the way of ‘when, where, who, how, what, why’, which is the 6th principle.
When you make a plan or organize an event, if you proceed according to the 6th principle, you can make a plan more accurately and understand the case more accurately. In particular, if you understand the events in the Bible based on the 6th principle while living your life of faith, you can observe God's appearance and truth in those events more accurately and in detail.
People often ask. “When the hell is it? When did the world come into existence, and when will the world really end? And when will my problems be resolved?” Gentlemen, our God has set times and deadlines. God is the One who establishes the order of the universe without a single second error, and fulfills his will in a very precise time. But sometimes God's timing can be very different from what humans think.
For example, to God, a thousand years are like a day, and a day can be seen as a thousand years as a day. But humans who live a hundred years at most do not have this view. For example, a ephemera that only has one day to live does not know tomorrow. And grasshoppers that live only one season do not know the next year. Likewise, humans do not know God's timing well.
The same is true of the time of Jesus' second coming. Obviously, the Bible records that that day does not even know the angels in heaven, but only God knows. However, there are many cases where human beings are arrogant and misjudging the timing of Jesus' second coming, becoming a heresy. I don't know if it will take a thousand years or a day, as humans think. When God promised Abraham the blessing of his descendants, that promise was not fulfilled until 25 years later, when Abraham turned 100, and it took thousands of years for Jesus, the spiritual descendant, to be born.
One of the reasons people become discouraged and disappointed in believing in God is that God's timing does not match their thoughts. He thought he would receive the blessing sooner, but if the blessing does not come as soon as he expected, he will be disappointed. Therefore, we need to see God's timing in a broader way rather than too narrowly. It is the right attitude of a believer to wait patiently for God's time rather than to draw conclusions and answers to the question of 'when?'
And people often ask. "Where do I have to go? Which Canadian city should I go to, or live in the South West, South East, North West, or North East? Gentlemen, God is the one who sets the limits of our dwelling. God has designated the Earth as a place among the countless stars in the universe. And among them, it is God's ordained providence that we live in Canada, Alberta, and Calgary.
God designated a place called the Garden of Eden for the first humans, Adam and Eve. Likewise, God has designated a neighborhood in which each of us can live. God also designated Bethlehem as the place of birth for Jesus, and he also designated Jerusalem as the place of death and the place of the Second Coming. Therefore, people of faith often confess this. “Lord, I go where you tell me to go, and where you stand I will stand. Just tell me.” That is, I will be where God wants me to be.
If you look at the hymn, there are lyrics like this. “I will go anywhere in this body I have been called to. Even in the empty places, in the streets of Sodom, I will go anywhere.” But people often pre-determine where they are going and beckon God to follow me. Furthermore, there are cases where we deliberately visit places that are contrary to Hana Nam's will. On Sunday, God set a place called the church and told us to come and worship here, but staying in a different place is an act of disregarding God's providence.
After Jesus was resurrected, he prophesied these words to Peter. “When you were young, you girded yourself and went wherever you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your arms, and another will gird you and take you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). There is. There are places that children like, there are places that students like, there are places that girls like, and there are places that men like. The same is true. There are places that humans like, and there are places that God likes. I pray that you will stand in the place God wants you to be in response to the question ‘Where?’.
Another one of the six sub-principles is ‘who?’. Because Korean is different from English, the subject is often omitted. For example, in Korean, “I understand. I'll go." But in English, "I understand. I will go." At this time, if you omit the subject 'I', the sentence will not be formed. If you listen to the conversation between Christians and unbelievers, there is a difference in the subject. Unbelievers are the subject of all their actions. But For Christians, the subject of action is the Lord.
For example, when doing certain things, unbelievers have the premise of ‘if I want’. However, Christians have the premise that ‘if the Lord wills’. And no matter what you achieve, unbelievers say, 'I did it.' But Christians say, “The Lord did it.” Furthermore, Christians say that living life is not what I live, but what the Lord who is in me lives.
We often joke, 'Am I the gospel or who is the gospel?' As you know, there is a 'Gospel of Luke' in the Bible, but there is no 'Gospel of I'. However, when people lead their religious life, they like to be the subject of themselves rather than being controlled by the Lord. But keep in mind. Right faith is for humans to follow the Lord, and the Lord should not insist on following me. When we call Jesus and God ‘Lord’, it means that I will follow the Lord, but if Jesus and God tell me to follow, I become the Lord on the contrary. When this happens, this becomes obstinacy, not faith.
Another one of the 6th principles is ‘how?’. Methodological issues are very important. In particular, if the method of solving the problem is wrong, the problem will not be solved properly. In response to the question, “How in the world do we receive salvation and how do we enter the kingdom of heaven?”, the method God suggested is “Only through faith in Jesus.” In any other way other than this, we cannot be saved and we cannot reach heaven.
In a way, Christians are quite savvy in their methodology. In the eyes of the world, Christians seem very clogged and inflexible. However, since God said there is only one way to heaven, what should we do? If God says there are many ways to get to heaven, we too will be flexible, but in this regard, we must follow the method God has given us. God's ways are sometimes incomprehensible to humans. But keep in mind. God's method is far better than the clever human method.
Also, one of the six principles is ‘what?’. That is, the purpose must be clear. One of the books that Christians are reading a lot these days is a book titled 'Purpose-Driven Life' by Pastor Rick Warren. As you know, the purpose for which all things and humans were created is for the glory of God. Of course, the purpose of your life is also ‘the glory of God’. Money, fame, or pleasure pursued by the world cannot be our goal. A Christian without a right purpose is an unregenerate Christian and a fallen Christian.
Think about it. What is your purpose here in Canada? Of course, you can answer this way. “To study English, to live a happier life, and to educate our children…” But if you came to Canada with this purpose, do you not feel that you are lacking in something as a Christian? At least, if you are a Christian, you must have a purpose of ‘for the glory of God’.
Finally, one of the six principles is ‘why?’. We sometimes talk like this between lovers “Do you love me?” “Yes, I love you!” “How much?” “Yeah, as much as the sky and as much as the sea!” "Really? But why do you love me?” This question sometimes causes lovers to hesitate and become more thoughtful. Imagine answering this question like this. “Yeah, you’re pretty, aren’t you?” “So do you love me? So if I'm old and not pretty, then you don't love me?
When the other person is like this, the man is very difficult for the next word. In other words, the answer to the question ‘Why?’, ‘Because you are pretty!’ is an honest answer, but it is not a very good answer. Now, on the contrary, men ask women. “Why do you love me?” At this time, women also need some time to think. Imagine if a woman answered this very frankly. “Yeah, you have a lot of money!” Then the man thinks to himself. “This woman, if I run out of money, I will run away!” Of course, women are weak and would not answer this way. Most wise women respond well to this. “You just like him!” “No, how is it good?” “I don’t know, I just love it!”
Everyone, if you look at the lyrics of the gospel hymn, there is this verse “Jesus, you died for me. why do you love me Why do you love me?” How does Jesus respond at this time? “Yeah, I loved you because you had a lot of money.” I loved you because you are handsome.” Of course, this answer is completely wrong. Jesus' love is unconditional. That's why his love is called 'unconditional love'.
When God sees us, we have no conditions to love. As the object of God's love, we are so inadequate. It's so stupid. It's too dirty. Still, God loved us. If we have some good conditions and God loves us, we are always proud before God. You should be proud of it. However, God loved us as we are, with no good conditions and only bad conditions.
In today's text, God chose Israel and loved Israel not because Israel was stronger than other peoples, but rather because it was weak. Therefore, we who have received that love are always thankful to God. Even though we are ugly, we always trust in Him because He is a loving God. And furthermore, we give our lives to be faithful and devoted in gratitude to God for saving a sinner like me.
conclude the word. In the Bible, there are six sub-principles of God. Through the 6th principle, I hope you will understand God more accurately and confirm His love. And I pray that God's glory will be accomplished through you as you continue to dedicate yourself to God by imitating His 6th principle.