title spirituality
Contents 1 Peter 2:11-17 09Worship
So far, Peter has talked about who the saints are. Sojourners of the world, holy people, born-again people, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation... This is our status. If this is a principle, from now on, the problem of how to live according to that principle arises. In other words, if we talked about life in heaven earlier, we will talk about the reality of earth from now on.
Heaven is a holy, pure, and perfect place, but what about the earth? It is an unholy, ugly, contradictory, and painful place. Our status is heaven, but our exact place of life is this earth. cannot be denied
We must live with dreams, but we cannot live only in dreams. We must not forget where the stage where that dream comes true. That's the reality. So, if Christians are wrong, they want to be idealists. Many Christians have high ideals but not reality, so they struggle and struggle because of the gap between the ideal and reality. So I'm always looking for the ideal place.
1. What is spirituality?
We have been taught a very wrong spirituality so far. I have learned a spirituality that is far from the spirituality the Bible speaks of. What is true spirituality? Praying a lot? Reading the Bible a lot? It is a process for training spirituality, not spirituality itself. True spirituality is known by seeing how we live when we face reality. If you pray a lot and read the Word a lot, but you face reality and you can't adapt, it's not true spirituality.
1) Take the spirituality of our Lord as an example.
The spirituality the Lord had is the true spirituality. What is the spirituality of the Lord? In a word, it is not an ascending spirituality, but a descending spirituality. But that is true spirituality.
This means What kind of heaven was the Lord's original residence? Everything is perfect. The environment is perfect. No sin and no disease. no pain and no tears Perfect place. Not only the environment is perfect, but the relationship is also perfect.
What kind of relationship did God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus maintain? We got along so well with each other. The thoughts of God were the thoughts of Jesus, and the thoughts of Jesus were the thoughts of the Holy Spirit. There was nothing uncomfortable or awkward about the relationship. It is also the most ideal place spiritually. It was always filled with worship and praise. It's an amazing place. A place we all dream of. But where did Jesus, who lived in such a place, come after leaving it? You came down to the opposite environment. He came down from heaven to this earth. But where is this land? It was the opposite of heaven. The environment was poor. full of sin and disease. The pain and tears are endless. Relationships are messed up too. How many people were on the same level as the Lord with whom the Lord could talk openly? There wouldn't have been one.
Even the disciples who say they know the Lord best close to the Lord do not know how much the Lord's heart was turned upside down until the moment He took up the cross. I didn't understand the Lord's intentions at all. When they said <Be humble in the Lord>, they argued with each other who was higher. Even if the Lord delivered the word, I asked separately <what the hell does this mean?>. There wasn't much conversation. How upset were you? So as soon as the Lord opened his eyes at dawn with that loneliness and hunger, he found a quiet place and deeply shared his deep heart with Heavenly Father. Sometimes he stayed up all night talking to each other. That is where the spirituality of prayer comes from. Deep prayer and earnest spirit with the Lord will come out.
The Lord Himself came to this uncomfortable and difficult land. Why? It was to serve us. It was to save people living in trouble and suffering. It was to recover. This is true spirituality. Not finding a better environment, but finding a lower place for yourself. This is the spirituality of the Lord. So, what do those who have met the Lord do it? Throw away all the world's wealth and glory, go to the most difficult and farthest places in the world, and serve silently. This is true spirituality.
Even within the church, there is a form that appears when we receive grace. Find and do things that no one else wants you to do. Persevere through the most difficult tasks. That is why reality is important in our faith life. There is no faith without reality. Faith is what blossoms in reality.
2. Then, how should the holy people of God live in the realities of the troubled land? Verse 11 once again reviews who we are. We are ?쏿lien and sojourner??Residents are people who live in a place other than their hometown, and strangers are people who stay in a place for a while. We are the sojourners and sojourners of this land. Where is our true hometown? It's heaven. I am staying on this earth for a while to go there.
There are people who do not hesitate to throw away their bodies and minds where they pass for a while. Just like there are cases where children go on errands and sit down because they are lost in a fun game while passing by, the world is so contagious that if you are not careful, you will lose your mind. It's like the swine flu. So, while we are here on this earth for a while, we should avoid being affected by the sins of this earth if possible. How can I be affected?
1) Control the lusts of the flesh (11).
We must live in a world full of sin until the Second Coming of the Lord. This environment cannot be avoided. You have to go into the mountains to avoid it. In addition, we do not know when we will fall into the temptations of the world because we ourselves are already filled with the desire for sin.
It is like a barrel full of oil inside us. If we throw the match of the world into that barrel, we are the people who have the potential to catch fire in an instant. It is like a gunpowder that never knows when it will explode. So what does the bible say? We are told to control the lusts of the flesh within us. To control means to control the greed of the flesh thoroughly from the beginning, and to keep a distance. This means that we must continue to be vigilant and vigilant. You cannot do it while you live on this land. You should do that.
2) Why should we beware of these greed?
Because they fight against our souls. Once we believe in Jesus, the battle begins. what kind of fight? It is a battle that takes place between the desire to live according to our desires and the desire to live as God wants (Galatians 5: ).
Perhaps as long as he lives, this fight will continue. First of all, this battle is not a battle that appears from the outside, but a battle that takes place on the inside. It is not a visible battle, but a battle that takes place in the invisible mind. But it's intense And what we see when we lose this battle is revealed as our sin. It manifests itself in concrete actions. But first, remember that this fight begins inside me rather than outside. So, if we are to win this battle, we have to block the wrong things from our thoughts. All sins start with a wrong idea. If you don't get it right in your thoughts, it affects your actions.
Many people don't take their thoughts so seriously because they are invisible. So I do a lot of thinking. There are many harmful thoughts that do not help spiritually. For example, pessimistic thoughts, negative thoughts, discouragement, dirty thoughts... These thoughts constantly come up in me. No one sees, but I know. My heart is a spiritual battlefield.
However, thoughts do not end with thoughts, but they must have an effect on my life. Those thoughts make life difficult, give up, and actually lead to wrong actions. Therefore, sin must be controlled from the thought. The roots must be cut. eradicate the sin of the root. Cut from the thought. Don't let your thoughts keep going. take control Only then will it actually bear good fruit in action.
3. Reasons to have good conduct on this earth (12)
If we win the battle inside, good deeds will appear outwardly, so why should we have such good deeds? To be popular with people? no. Verse 12 says: Ultimately, it is to glorify God. important word.
What should be all our goals in life? It is the glory of God. When you have the loftiest goal, you strive to achieve it. The same is true of today's text. We live in a world. God's glory must be revealed in this world.
1) First of all, what kind of place is the world?
??Unbelievers accuse us of doing evil.
Such is the habit of the world. In any case, they want to say that believers are bad. When the opportunity arises, they try to criticize us. It always is.
??But saying no to this is not very convincing. The only way is for us to show good deeds. Then those who say that will no longer speak.
??One of the good things about such good deeds is that when people in the world who slandered us like that see our good deeds, they will look back at themselves. Through the Christians who live differently from you, you will be able to take a look inside yourself. So you will see your mistakes.
??And what is the final fruit? They, too, will repent of their mistakes. and return to God. In other words, it is to glorify God. This is what we hope for. So what does Matthew 5:16 say? In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.??This is how we should live.
< Conclusion >
1. We live on this earth. You can't escape reality. True spirituality is revealed in reality. Let's imitate the spirituality of the Lord.
2. Our reality is full of sin and temptation.
The lust of the flesh burns in us too. If we don't control it, we never know when it will explode. Always be careful and stay away. You have to be especially careful with your thoughts.
3. The important reason to live like that is to glorify God.
How precious would it be if our lives could glorify God? It is possible. Let's become a good and upright Christian enough to shut the mouths of the world.