Title The Church is the Hall of Blessings
Contents
When American wealthy and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) built a large and magnificent chapel called Riverside church in New York and held a dedication service, one person said, “The church you see is the real thing. It's not a church, so why do we need to spend so much money to build a large chapel?” Mr. Rockefeller replied: He said, “Even though your father’s clothes are not your father’s, isn’t it the way to become a child by making expensive, well-made clothes that will hold your father’s body?” Even today, people who have the name of a Christian but do not have true faith or have not been born again can be seen criticizing and criticizing the Church without hesitation.
◎ Some people say that instead of building a large chapel, it is better to spend the money on philanthropy, and why waste it on unproductive things. However, he said this because he did not know that the more churches that were the body of the Lord were built, the more blessed that kingdom would be. In North Korea, they destroyed all existing churches and built no church-like chapels in 50 years. Is North Korea prosperous? Aren't a million people starving to death every year? The church (chapel) is the hall of blessing. The more it is, the more the country will be blessed. ◎ Some people say that those who believe in Jesus are worse. But if that person was as bad as attending church, it would have been worse than now if he had not believed in Jesus. Believing in Jesus is such a bad thing.
◎ Some people say that even if the salt content of seawater is only 2.5%, sea creatures do not rot. There are 25% Christians in Korea, so why is there so much corruption and sin in Korea? Of course, the Korean church should reflect on this after hearing this, but even if there are many churches, sin will not be eradicated. There were many sins when the great leader Moses led, and there were many sins when the Holy General David reigned. Even when Jesus, the Son of God, was on this earth for 33 years, all kinds of sins arose. Would he have crucified the sinless Son of God and put him to death? According to the Bible, in the last days, sins will become more pervasive, but only after Jesus comes again to judge them and imprisons the devil in the abyss, sins will be eradicated and the millennium kingdom will be established, making the world a better place to live. After that, there are those who enter the eternal kingdom of heaven and those who enter the eternal lake of fire. If there were not many churches in South Korea, it would have already been communist and would have led a miserable life like North Korea. The church is a hall of blessings.
1. The Church is the Hall of Blessing
Why is the church so important and called the Hall of Blessings?
① The church is the place with the keys to heaven
Therefore, almost all of the saved Christians heard the gospel through the church and received evangelism. In that sense, the church is the hall of blessing with the keys of heaven. What institution is more valuable than this? In Acts 20:28, “… The church that God bought with His own blood… ” he said.
② The church is a place of worship
In John 4:23 it says, “The hour is coming, and now is, when those who truly worship the Father will worship him in spirit and truth, for the Father is looking for those who worship him like this.” Of all human actions, there is no action more valuable and valuable than the action of worship. The first article to serve God is worship. Worship is the purpose of the church's existence. If worship is destroyed, the church will be dismantled, and life of faith will be impossible. The church is a place of worship.
③ The church is a house of prayer
There is nothing more precious than prayer to talk with God and solve problems. Jesus said in Matthew 21:13, “… My house is a house of prayer... ” he said. Isaiah 56:7 says, “I will bring him to my holy mountain, and I will make them happy in my house of prayer… ” he said. When Solomon built the temple and dedicated it, 2 Chronicles 6:40 said, “Now, my God, open your eyes and give ear to the prayers of this place” (2 Chronicles 7:12, 7:15). When the country is in trouble, calamity, or famine, they prayed in the temple and asked for it to be heard.
④ The church is a house that proclaims the word of truth
The church is the house that proclaims the word of life and the word of truth. In 1 Timothy 3:15, “… I want you to know what you must do in the house of God, which is the church of the living God and the pillar and foundation of the truth.” What in the world could be more blessed than this?
⑤ The church is the place where the glory of God appears
The glory of God does not appear as a first-class university, nor does it appear as a National Assembly building. In Haggai 2:7, “… I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts." 2 Chronicles 7:1-2 "When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD It was full, and the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not enter it.”
⑥ The church is the salt and light of the world
The statistics are from the 1980s, but there were 455 welfare facilities in Korea, namely orphanages, nursing homes, single-mother and child homes, facilities for the disabled, and facilities for the mentally handicapped. 84% of them were established and operated by the church. About 20 years ago, when it was announced that the total budget of the Korean church was 440 billion won, the entire media hit, criticized, and criticized the Korean church. It is said that 2.3 trillion won was lost by drinking alcohol that year. Now, it is estimated that more than 20 trillion dollars of alcohol will be eliminated. Satan tries to criticize and destroy the church, the body of the Lord.
It is because the United States is a Christian nation that the United States is trying to protect the world from terrorism and brutal communism. American money has the words "In God, We Trust" written on it. Washington, D.C., the heart of the United States, has a mega park and the “Korean War Veterans Memorial” on the other side. The following text is engraved at the center of this sculpture. There is also an article titled “Freedom is not free” and an article like this next to it. “We respect our sons and daughters who gladly responded to our country's demand for freedom and peace for the sake of people we've never been to and people we've never met.” How heartbreaking. And 54,246 Korean War veterans died and 150,000 were wounded. This is because it is a country based on the Christian faith and is the influence of the church.
⑦ The church is God's blessing house
What greater institution of blessing is there than the church? If you travel around the world, you can see that developed countries where people live well are countries with many churches with crosses and bell towers. Communist countries that destroyed churches, killed Christians, and imprisoned them, without exception, have suffered human rights violations and have become terribly poor countries. Psalm 84:4-5 says, “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they will always praise you.” (Selah) Blessed is the one whose strength is in you, and whose heart is the highway to Zion. . There is no institution or place of greater blessing than the church, which was purchased with the blood of the Lord.
The Father Tertullian said, “He who has God as his Father must think of the Church as his mother.” You cannot be properly nurtured as a Christian apart from the church.
2. Correct Church Life
Someone once said, “If you do the church life right, your descendants will surely be blessed if you go down 2 or 3 generations.” What should a proper church life be like?
① We must yearn for the church In Psalm 84:1~2, “O LORD of hosts, how lovely is your tent! My soul longs for your courts, and I grow weak; my heart and body cry out to the living God.” , in John 2:17, “… The zeal for your temple will consume me... ” he said. A normal Christian is a believer who waits for the day to go to church and longs to hear the word. If you are bothered by the time of worship on a Sunday, like returning to a poor house on the day of the funeral, you are not a normal believer.
② We must love the church
Those who believe in Jesus must love and value the church more than their home, just as believing in Jesus is their main job and the world's job should be a side job. Previously, there was a man named Jeong Chan-yu in Jaeryeong-eup, Hwanghae-do, and he was blessed with material things because he had a good Sunday holy and tithing life. So, in order to build a two-story Western-style house well, I entrusted the design to a designer. But that night, in a dream, God rebuked him, saying, “Why do you leave my house as a tin house while you build your house so splendidly?” Startled, he got up, knelt down and repented, saying, “God, forgive this sinner. Wrong. From tomorrow onwards, we will start building the holy house where God will dwell.” The chapel that was built was “Jaeryung Eastern Chapel”, and I heard that his sons also came to Seoul to receive blessings and live well.
③ We must dedicate ourselves to serving the church
I was really thankful and rewarded to see the amazing work of the Holy Spirit appearing in this middle and high school retreat. However, another thing was that 276 middle and high school teachers came up and I was really grateful for how hard they worked. I was truly grateful when I saw the suffering of taking a vacation to serve and dedicate myself to the body of the Lord. Teachers who work hard every Sunday, vehicle guides who work hard from dawn to late at night, rain or shine, worship service guides, women missionaries who work hard in the restaurant, and each choir who gives grace and glory with praise The hard work is truly beyond words.