Title The greatest service (Matthew 6:1-4)
Contents
Title The greatest service / Scripture Matthew 6:1-4 / Space Daebok Church
*** Introduction
There is an old saying, 'Hosayupi is famous for greetings'. “Tigers die and leave their skins, and when people die, they leave their names.” The most important thing for a person is honor. Especially in today's information age, it is recognized that it is very important to express and express oneself to others. In this way, the desire to reveal oneself if possible is a common desire of people in the world of faith as well as in the world of unbelief.
However, the principles of Christian behavior that God tells us are far from these worldly phenomena. God said that all Christian actions should be done in secret. In other words, Christians should not seek approval from the world because they live before God. In particular, he made them strictly apply when it comes to helping others and righteousness related to one's own faith. A typical example is Matthew 6:1-18, which includes the text.
You are familiar with this saying, but was it so easy to put into practice?
Wouldn't it be disappointing if the investment of one's wealth, time, effort, strength, and talent was not recognized by anyone? No, if you don't expect anyone to know and invest like that, how many people would want to do it?
People put all sorts of names on business cards to show off their splendid resume. On the business card of a reservist training instructor, there was a history of ‘advising Saemaul Women’s Association’ and ‘serving as the president of a mother alumni association’, and in the history of one minister there was also the title ‘serving as a teacher of a mother English language school’.
How would you like to be proud of yourself and want to make it known!
A young lawyer started a business. A person visited the office. Just in time, the lawyer was on the phone, so I waited. Lawyers keep calling, saying yes, yes. “Yes, President, leave that matter to me. Yes. I'm a bit busy these days. There are a lot of visits and a lot of customers,” and then politely asks the person who came in, “What happened to you?” Then the visitor said, “Yes. It's from the phone company. I came to connect the phone line after work on the phone line was finished, but it seems to be working well even without the phone line.” and went to the phone line terminal.
There is no end to people's desire to show off and boast.
If you don't have what others have, you have to pretend to have it to unlock your intuition. It doesn't change people by using a famous company's product, but I feel as if I've become as famous as a famous company's product. People's psychology is a celebrity syndrome that imitates celebrities' clothes, accessories, tone, and attitude. But not everything that appears and is known is wrong. However, the warnings of the Lord are intentional. This is clearly not the path for Christians to go.
The Christian way is the secret way of allegiance.
There are many people in the Bible who do good deeds and whose names are not known. For example, who provided the donkey on which Jesus rode when he entered Jerusalem? Who else provided the attic for the Last Supper? What are the names of the wise men from the East who have come a long way to worship Baby Jesus, and where did they come from? Who else would have given his lunch box to feed 5,000 people?
Not only that. Most of the twelve disciples of Jesus do not know the whereabouts of them. Judas, also known as Thaddeus, and the little James, were also called the Unknown Apostles because they were not well known. They were faithful to their work, but nowhere in the Bible is their track record. Not only these, but also about the relatively well-known disciples, little is actually recorded.
In the same way, the history of the church has been maintained since the early church by secret loyalists who are unknown even in the midst of many difficulties. At least in the sight of God, small things and secret things that go unnoticed are important. This is because God is the one who judges and rewards people's actions, good or evil, and God examines them in secret. The Lord said in Matthew 16:27, “The Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of the Father, and at that time he will repay each one according to what he has done.” In Romans 2:6-8, “God He will repay people according to their deeds, but to those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfish and do not pursue the truth but pursue unrighteousness, wrath and wrath.”
At the Walker Museum of Art in London, England, there is a famous painting by a painter named 'Contrer'. The painting depicts the miserable state of the city of Pompeii being wiped out by the volcanic eruption of Vesbius, buried in the ash. Volcanic ash and lava fell on Pompeii like rain and snow. People rushed out of the castle to escape the ash and fire. These caused the Great Tribulation.
In the midst of the chaos, there is a man standing silently by the gate of the city. He was the gatekeeper of the castle. In the midst of the chaos of scorching volcanic ash and fire pouring down like hail, he does not move from his seat and silently awaits death. The title of the painting was 'Loyalty'.
Loyalty is a sense of duty that does not abandon one's responsibility even in the face of death, in other words, overcomes death. Loyalty to God with all your life toward God is pleasing to God in the place of your life that God has set for you. This is the Christian way. In addition, covert loyalty has another meaning.
The secret path of loyalty is the greatest service before God.
One day, on the way to Capernaum, the disciples quarreled with each other. After arriving at Capernaum, Jesus asked his disciples. “What did you discuss with each other on the road?” The disciples could not answer. Because they were fighting each other for being big. Jesus taught his disciples the order of the kingdom of God (Mark 9:35). “If anyone wishes to be first, he must be the last of all, and he must be the servant of all.” Let's look at Mark 10:43-44. “It is not so among you; whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be a servant of all.” The Lord said that the order of the kingdom of God and the attitude of the Christian life is ‘serving’.
And what he said next is the purpose of Jesus' coming to this earth. “For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” The purpose of Jesus coming to this earth was to serve sinners by offering Himself as a ransom sacrifice. The Lord walked silently and silently on the path of the mission that He had to accomplish. This is secret loyalty. Secret loyalty is something you do with a very natural mind because it is your mission. This fact was taught by the Lord in Luke 17:7-10 with the ‘position of a servant’. Verse 10 is the conclusion, let's take a look. “In the same way, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We just did what we were supposed to do.’ Let it be.” There is no reason to brag or show off in doing what you are supposed to do!
When you silently and faithfully take on the task given to you in this way, you are the most beautiful figure in the sight of God and the greatest service. Not only that, but a reward from God has been prepared. In the text of the text, the Lord says that there is a reward for secret faithfulness.
There will be times when you too want to brag or want to show off your work. When that happens, let's think that the life we have now is not mine, but the Lord's, and we are doing what we are supposed to do as a servant. Then you will be able to be faithful to your work with peace and joy.
One car racer said that as the race nears, his nerves become extremely sharp. So on the day of the match, he couldn't even come up with a word. However, when he visited a rural area, it is said that he had a great realization from an aging farmer. He realized that he had been fooling himself all this time. Let's listen to him.
'Back in the day, when I raced, I ran with my eyes on the target. But now I have changed my attitude. I don't race to win the race. Without keeping an eye on the goal line, I first check the car's mechanics in preparation for the race to prepare it for top speed. And what I do is get the car to get maximum speed and maximum horsepower. Then I hit the brakes and the clutch and drive to the best of my skill. The farmer taught me that when I did this, my skill was better than that of the other racers, and my car speed reached my goal faster than the other racers' cars. The farmer assured me that I don't have to be nervous, I just need to be as calm as possible and focus on my work. Being obsessed with victory and overreacting and overreacting will not speed you up.'
That's right.
Our Lord is most pleased, and the greatest service before God is not to accomplish many things, great things, or great things, but to be faithful to the work given to us silently and secretly.
Now, let's look to God and do our best in the things that are given to us every day. Then, someday, when you stand before the Lord, you will be able to see the Lord with joy. Finally, I will close by quoting a verse from the Bible.
Galatians 6:4-5. “Let each one examine his own work. Then he will have pride in himself, and not in others, for each will carry his own burden.”