Title The Burning Wick / Matthew 12:9-21
The dying wick / Matthew 12:9~21 Rev. Kiho Um
These days, such as human trafficking, the rapid rise in divorce rates, the collapse of ethical values among families, the increasing disintegration of families, natural destruction and environmental problems, homosexuality and AIDS problems, youth derailment, materialism and the widespread ideology of money laundering, etc. It is becoming a darkening factor in society. The historical tragedy of this day is that there is no spiritual lamp to illuminate the darkness. With the development of science and civilization, the darkness of the world is shining brightly with the development of high-candle lamps, but people's hearts are only getting darker. Why? It is because God has set each one of us as a lamp to illuminate the darkness, but has become like a dying wick.
Like the hymn, “The road to God’s lighthouse of truth is shining, let us also become a lighthouse and shine on the love of the Lord, turn on our little fire to shine on the rough sea, and save this drowning person and live.” God’s heart toward us He wants you to become a spiritual lamp and to illuminate the world with the light of God. That light is the light of life, the light of grace, and the light of salvation. But our heart toward God is smoking, fading, and smelling like a burning wick. We, who should lead the people of the world, are rather partnering with the people of the world.
When the Israelites left Egypt, God Himself told them how to build the tabernacle. There were no windows in the tabernacle. No sunlight, moonlight, starlight, or any light from nature could enter it. Only the lamp became the light for the priest to work and the light to illuminate the inside of the tabernacle. So, the lamps were not to be extinguished 24 hours a day. The tabernacle was a type of the holy Jerusalem temple and a type of the holy church to be revealed in the New Testament. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare oil and take care of the wick so that the fire does not go out at all times in the church. The servants of the Lord must allow the saints to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit so that the fire of the Holy Spirit does not go out, one by one.
God has chosen us as lamps to light up the world. Even a small light should shine that light on many people. In this dark world, we must be a light for God. Jesus has given us grace so that we can carry out the mission of light. Jesus said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). The work of the Holy Spirit in Mark's upper room on the Day of Pentecost was the work of splitting apart like tongues of fire, and it was the work of having a pure heart, common tongues, and fearless fulfillment of the light mission.
In today's church, there are fiery believers and smoke-like believers. Fire and smoke are the closest, most similar, but most different. Fire has heat. Fire has light. But smoke is neither fire nor light. Smoke darkens the surroundings and harms the seal with air pollution. In this way, if you become a saint who is filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit, which has heat and light, you can bring reconciliation where there is hatred, and burn your body and mind where there is negativity and darkness to burn the world. It brightens like a lamp. But the smoker becomes a believer full of guilt, anxiety, anger and hatred, creating bigger problems where there are problems, and deepening simple problems into complex ones. Therefore, you must renew the smoke and the burning wick to become a fiery saint. How do we do that?
The wick must be burned.
To light a lamp, you need a wick. Because without a wick, there can be no light. The life of the wick can only shine when it burns and disappears, only when it burns to ashes. If the wick does not burn, it will only smoke and smell. When the saints deny themselves, see the cross, die and be burned with the fire of the Holy Spirit, the light shines. I need to burn my own pride, lust, and feelings for light to shine.
Jesus Christ came to this earth in the form of a servant and became a sacrifice to become the light of life that illuminates this dark world. Our ancestors of faith made the important decision to give up on ourselves a light that illuminates the world. Therefore, the fire of the Holy Spirit must be kindled in my wick. The impurity of the wick must be removed and cut off, the wrong part must be cut off and set on fire.
Those whom God uses as light are those who have organized themselves, and those who know how to give up whatever God wants. It is said that a heavy thing is a stumbling block. If there are obstacles in your life of faith, you cannot live a life of light. Is there anything that bothers your conscience when you look to Jesus? I hope you throw it away. A person who repents cuts off things that are not pleasing to God.
We must also cut off our arrogant wick. Pride is like a wick that rises unaware of its own demise. When the wick rises high, there is no light, but only smoke. Therefore, we must cast away our proud heart. Pride is a heart that only raises me, sees only my benefits, is comfortable with me, and thinks only of me. Above all else, my centered life is pride. You have to cut off your proud heart to become a believer who does not smoke.
The wick must follow the master's adjustments. Just as smoke blocks his eyes from opening, tears come out of his brother's eyes. Where the smoke of doubt, the smoke of complaints, the smoke of envy and jealousy, comes only discouragement, frustration, sorrow and pain. So let's burn me for the church. I hope that all of you who burn for your home and burn for your neighbours.
The wick should be straight.
The wick of the lamp must not be tilted from side to side. When the wick lies on its side, there is no light, only smoke. The wick should stand upright, facing upwards and not sway from its position. The wick must be strong. The wick is weak, so it does not light up when it falls and falls sideways.
In Isaiah 26:3 it says, “You will keep in peace those whose hearts are steadfast, for they trust in You.” A person with a strong heart is a person with a consistent heart. In any case, Christians must be consistent. If we decide to believe once in a life of faith, we believe, and once we decide to go to church, it must rain or snow. We must become members who come to the church every day to pray and worship, not just church members who come only once a week. In our church, we see more believers coming to church on rainy and cloudy days than on sunny days. Thank you so much. As we live in the world, we are stained by the world and our wick is tilted and smoked, but when we go to church on Sunday, we receive grace and are rebuilt.
Eventually, the invitation party was postponed to Thursday evening, a fact recorded in American history books. But how could such a life of fellowship with God and the name of a person who had fellowship with God be recorded only in American history books? It must have been written in the book of life in the kingdom of heaven.
In this world, light and darkness coexist, but until now in the history of human civilization, darkness has never overcome light. Until now, on the stage of human history, lie has never triumphed over truth, injustice has never triumphed over justice, hatred has never triumphed over truth, and hate has never triumphed over love. As long as anyone lives in the light, the darkness will naturally disappear.
When the wick falls down, the fire goes out.
We must never give up on our mission to shine a light on the world. You don't even have to stop. I hope that you will shine until the day when Jesus comes. Just like the ax that cuts juniper trees, I hope you do your best to shine and show the fragrance of Christ, even if you are torn and abandoned by the world.
When people believe but are betrayed and become discouraged, when their lifelong investments disappear like nothing, when they lose their health and lie down ill, let's light the light of conscience of little faith.
The burning of the wick is one's death, self-denial, and self-extinction. The wick exists because it burns, and because it burns, it has value and life. We must burn our blessings, our gifts, our talents, our time and our money, generously for our Lord and our God. I pray that all of you who do not fall into the opportunity of the glorious blessing of the kingdom of heaven, cultivate the heart of faith in the Lord, and ignite the fire of the Holy Spirit, illuminate Gyeonggi-do and the world, and lead the way of the nation.