Title That You May Have It Abundantly
Contents
John 10:10 that they may have it abundantly
The theme of our church's united prayer this year is 'Relaxation'. By gaining peace of mind, time, material freedom, and environment, we wish not only personal and family happiness but also our neighbors to be happy, and we hope that the kingdom of heaven will expand beautifully as we use it for the Lord. Probably not one of us would want to come all the way here to Canada and live a chased life. Even if you lived a chased life in Korea, you must have come to Canada to lead a more relaxed life mentally, environmentally, physically, and physically.
The definition of the word 'leisure' in the Korean dictionary is as follows. ① There is plenty and leftovers. Ex) A comfortable living, ② A mind that is not impatient and thinks generously. Yes) peace of mind. no time to think And there are adjectives of the English word corresponding to 'free time'. generous, plentiful, sufficient, broad-minded, rich, full
And the opposite of the word 'relaxed' is: Tight, short, needy, hasty, narrow, stuffy... If we were to use another word for ‘free space’, it would be as follows. A leisurely cup of coffee, time to look back on life, a leisurely date, a relaxed smile and facial expressions... The word 'relaxed' does not mean that you are lazy. That doesn't mean you're in a hurry, though. 'Relaxing' means living a life that achieves the peace and happiness that God gives to you while fulfilling your duty as a human being. And furthermore, he is a kindhearted person who lives for the happiness of his neighbors.
The God we believe in is a relaxed God. He is not a narrow-minded person, but a broad-minded person. To put it in a biblical expression, He is a God who is rich in mercy and mercy (Psalm 86:15). Our God is very easy-going and forgives up to seventy seven times. And God, who is relaxed, wants us to receive abundant blessings and live a leisurely, prosperous, and happy life.
In today's text, Jesus says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10) The thief here refers to Satan. In other words, when Satan comes to us, he wants to steal and take away what we have, and furthermore, to kill us and lead us to ruin. But Jesus is coming to make us rich, relaxed, and happy.
In other words, if you believe in Jesus, your life will be rich, relaxed, and happy. If you believe, let's say Amen. See also when God created the world. After you made the wide sky, you filled it with countless stars. And even after he created the sea, he filled it with all kinds of fish, and after he created the earth, he filled it with all kinds of animals. And in the Garden of Eden, He made the fruit of various trees to be abundantly opened.
Of course, if you look at the world we live in now, sometimes it doesn't look so rich with famines, floods, and many natural disasters. However, we are well aware that the present world is not the affluent and livable world that God first created, but a world that was thoroughly destroyed by Noah's Flood. And we know that because of the fall of Adam and Eve, the abundance of the Garden of Eden has also disappeared.
When humans lose the Garden of Eden, it means that they have lost joy and happiness, and it means that they cannot enjoy the leisure and abundance of life. In other words, we need a savior who can restore our Garden of Eden. That person is Jesus. If you truly believe, let's say Amen. The original meaning of the name “Jesus” is as the angel told Joseph. “You will give birth to a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
In other words, the name ‘Jesus’ means ‘savior’. Jesus saves us from being robbed by Satan, deprived of the rich blessings God has given us, being cursed, groaning in pain, and eventually leading to eternal death and destruction. That is, Jesus turns curses into blessings, death into life, and eternal destruction into eternal happiness. And as Jesus himself said in today's text, Jesus wants us to be richer. In the name of the Lord, I bless you that you will have more time in your life in this foreign land with more abundant blessings from God this year.
According to the Bible, God appeared to the Israelites who were slaves in Egypt and led them to the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey. When milk and honey flow from the land, it means that there is plenty of abundance even without hard work. However, when I first believed in Jesus, when I heard the word ‘land of Canaan’, I mistook it for ‘the land of poverty’. So, I wondered, 'Why does God lead the people of Israel to a poor land instead of to a rich land?' And further, he misinterpreted it in his own way, saying, “The Bible says, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,’ so that’s why.”
However, even today, there are people who sometimes misinterpret it like this. In other words, “God came to us to make us poor, so that we do not fall, so that we may long for the kingdom of heaven.” Of course, these interpretations are also possible interpretations under certain special circumstances. But God's will is not to make us poor, but to make us rich and prosperous. God sent Jesus to this earth to make us rich, not to make us poor.
In 2 Corinthians 8:9 there is this verse. “And you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.” In other words, the poverty of Jesus is for the purpose of making us rich. However, some people do not know this verse and say, “Jesus lived poor, so to be poor like Jesus is to believe in Jesus well.” This is not knowing the Bible.
God wants us to live an abundant life, a rich life, and a leisurely life. God blesses us when we come in, blesses us when we go out, blesses us in the fields, blesses us in the cities, blesses our children, blesses the young of the beasts, blesses the baskets and dough bowls. you want to receive The Bible says “The Lord has commanded that he will bless you in your storehouses and in all the work of your hands, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that he is giving you; and if you lend to many nations, you will not borrow” (Deuteronomy 28: 8,12)
Everyone, I want to ask you. Do you want to be the person who borrows money from others and cannot pay it back? Or do you want to be a lender and giver? In Psalm 37:21 we find this verse: “The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous are gracious and give.” In other words, those who live affluent and leisurely lives and give and give to others are objects of overthrow that the communists say, and are not evil. On the contrary, the Bible says that a person who borrows from others and does not pay back is a wicked person.
Of course, it is not a sin to borrow from others because you do not have it. And it wouldn't be such a big sin to not be able to pay it back because there was nothing to repay. However, to have the symbol that you will take away money when you borrow money from others is clearly not a righteous person but a wicked person. And furthermore, we should always expect a good God, a God who fills us abundantly, in order to receive abundant blessings from God, to share, and to stand in the position of the righteous.
In the Bible, David, the blessed king of Israel, made this confession. “As soon as they heard my riches, they obeyed me, and the Gentiles would obey me. (Psalm 18:44) The meaning of these words is that God poured out great blessings on David, so that the people of the surrounding nations feared David and that he was friendly with him. On the contrary, the Bible says that when we become poor, our friends will also leave us.
There are many such verses in the Bible Proverbs. Let's introduce ourselves. Proverbs 19:4. “Wealth adds many friends, but the poor have few friends.” Proverbs 14:20. “The poor man is hated by his neighbor, but the rich man has many friends.” Proverbs 19:7. “If a poor man is hated even by his brothers, how much more, my friend, will he not be far from him?”
Of course, when I hear these Bible verses, I think, “Hey, poverty is so scary!” Think about it. If the parents are old and poor, the children will hardly come to visit them. And in Korean society, there are more and more of this phenomenon. Poor people sometimes don't even treat them like people. Therefore, the sorrow of the poor is considerable in Korea. In that respect, Canada seems to be a better place to live than Korea. No one here despises any profession. Even driving an old car is not so despised.
God is well aware of the reality that sometimes we are despised on this earth when we become poor. Therefore, God had promised this to the people of Israel. “I will make the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field abound, so that you will never again suffer the reproach of the famine from the nations” (Ezekiel 36:30).
I want our Republic of Korea to become one of the richest countries in the world. We want to become a nation that lends and distributes. And I pray that the members of our church who have come to this land in Canada will receive God's abundant blessings in this foreign land, live a leisurely life, share and give.
I want Jesus came to enrich us. If we receive and welcome Jesus in this foreign land, Jesus will surely enrich us. The Bible clearly testifies to this. “My God will supply all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. Glory be to our God and Father for ever and ever. Amen” (Philippians 4:19-20)
And in order to receive God's abundant blessings, there is something we must do. If you do this, God promises to open the gates of heaven and pour out blessings so that there is no place to accumulate blessings. He also said that the nations call us blessed because it forbids locusts, prevents fruit from falling before the due date, and makes the earth beautiful. So make sure you do this in this foreign land too. If anyone is unfamiliar with this, look at Malachi chapter 3, the last book in the Old Testament. By all means, I pray in the name of the Lord that your life will become richer and happier in abundant blessings and leisurely blessings on this earth as you do this.