Genesis 44 - The Gospel and the Kingdom of God

God's word is from Genesis chapter 12, verses 1 to 4.

 

“The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.” Amen.

 

Abrahamic Covenant: Gospel for Us

Today's text includes content of God's gospel that is as important as the blessing for Abraham shown in the text itself, and we have been examining this gospel over several weeks now. As recorded in the New Testament, this part is not just a story about Abraham, but is spoken of as the gospel God preached to Abraham. You and I are people who believe the gospel, were saved by the gospel, and have come to this place of worship because of the gospel. Therefore, by understanding this amazing gospel in the Old Testament, it would be right and proper for us to discover what the principle of faith we believe in is, how we became people who received salvation, and what kind of life we should live.

 

Beginning of the Gospel: Leaving (Country, Relatives, Father's House)

Since last time, we have been examining the structure of God's gospel appearing in the text, and we looked together at the beginning part of the gospel. First, I mentioned that the gospel begins with leaving. Abraham also left his own land. He left his own country. This tells us the fact that his country changed. The country changed. The gospel is not simply about coming to the church sanctuary and confessing belief in Jesus, but it means the very kingdom within you changes.

Next, we leave our relatives. This means that from the moment you and I believe the gospel, all the relationships we have formed and lived by have changed. Then it says to leave the father's house. That is, we examined together last Sunday the process of leaving all the idols existing within oneself, and I mentioned that this means our worship has changed.

 

Destination of the Gospel: God Becomes the Subject ("I will...")

If it is true that we left like that, where exactly is the place we arrived after leaving our place? If there is a ‘From’, there must be a ‘To’. Today, in this time, we intend to examine together what kind of place our destination, resulting from the gospel, is.

 

First, before finding where this destination of the gospel is in the biblical context, I want to examine a very important and clear linguistic feature seen in the Bible verses describing this destination. It has a very different special structure from the characteristics of the sentences that appeared until now, and that is, there is a phrase repeated as many as 7 times in this passage. That phrase is precisely ‘I will’. That is, unlike the preceding sentences, the subject has changed from the 2nd person to the 1st person. If the 2nd person subject was used in the previous chapter in the format ‘You leave, you go’, from today's text onwards, the subject of the sentence has changed to a 1st person sentence directly referring to God Himself.

 

Likewise, for us, the gospel also means the actual subject of our lives changes. The Word says that the gospel is precisely the subject of our lives changing from 'I' to 'God'.

 

Beyond Master-Servant Relationship with God (Father, Friend)

The statement that the subject has changed, meaning the owner of one's life has changed, might seem easy, but on the other hand, it might be somewhat difficult to understand. At this point, we easily tend to think of the gospel as a relationship where, since God is the master, God determines everything arbitrarily, commands us, and we mechanically follow. We think we just need to meekly follow and obey whatever God tells us to do. That would be a concept similar to a slave contract. Or it could look like a relationship between 'Gap' (the party with power) and 'Eul' (the party without power).

 

However, this concept, which frequently appears in the Bible, does not mean the feudal master-servant relationship we think of. Rather, the Bible describes the relationship between God and us as father and son, and depicts Him as a friend who comes to us when we are lonely, sad, and struggling, comforting us and giving us strength. This is different from the feudal master-servant relationship we know. Because the master-servant relationship is one where you do exactly as ordered. That is why Jesus also said He would no longer call us servants. Because a servant is merely someone who follows the master's words exactly. But because we are those who know God's will, we are not servants, and thus He called us friends. Therefore, the relationship between us and God is something more than a master-servant relationship.

The English Bible uses the word ‘Lord’ for the word ‘주 (Ju)’ meaning God in the Bible. This word itself was also used when Sarah referred to Abraham, but if you watch old movies, this word is primarily used when referring to the king of a country. You can think of the relationship between the king and the people commonly encountered in historical dramas you enjoy watching. That's why you might have seen scenes where even the king's children call the king 'Your Majesty'. He is also a father, but because he is the king. However, such titles include the meaning that we are the king's children, princes and princesses. Thus, the meaning of a life where God is the subject is not merely a master-servant relationship where God commands everything arbitrarily and we blindly follow, but rather, you should first think of the image of princes and princesses, as children standing before God the King.

 

God's Purpose: Abraham Himself, Not the Land of Canaan

Therefore, God's purpose concerning Abraham is also not the land. What would be the purpose of a king concerning his prince? It is precisely for the prince to possess the qualifications of a king, and through fitting education, acquire the demeanor of a sovereign. It is the same. When God spoke about Abraham, He did not see Abraham merely as a servant or slave, but rather saw him as God's purpose. For God, the purpose concerning Abraham was not Canaan. Abraham himself was the purpose. God's eyes were fixed on Abraham.

 

Abraham's Blessing = Our Blessing (By Faith)

However, the Bible reveals that the blessing God gave to Abraham was not Abraham's personal blessing, but a blessing directed towards all of us. In Galatians, Paul says this: “So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” Here, 'those who rely on faith' refers precisely to you and me. We, who rely not on works or conditions, but on faith, are blessed together with Abraham who relied on faith, as recorded in Galatians. It means the blessing God bestowed upon Abraham applies equally to us. That is, it is the promise that those who rely not on themselves but on Jesus will enjoy the same blessing God permitted to Abraham.

 

Promise (1): I Will Make You into a Great Nation (Gadal - Important)

Then the destination of the gospel in today's text becomes extremely significant for us as well. First, the promise that comes as that destination is the promise, ‘I will make you into a great nation’. However, this passage contains something as important as the subject changing from Abraham to God earlier, regarding its content and form. Because this tells us the content of the gospel and the results that follow, and tells us what kind of beings we will become.

 

The phrase 'great nation' in the text is a statement very well understood by Abram. Because Abraham is someone who left a nation, and since God is promising to make a great people and nation through him, it must have been a very heart-stirring gospel destination for Abraham. As we well know, through Abraham, God created the people and nation of Israel. Then what relevance does this gospel destination have for us? Let's examine this passage a bit further.

 

The Hebrew word for ‘nation’ in the text is translated into English not as ‘tribe’ or ‘people’, which we commonly know, but as ‘nation’. However, when saying ‘great nation’, this word ‘great’ is very interesting. It belongs to a very difficult category of Hebrew words; it is not a word referring to size. Therefore, it's not ‘big nation’. In English Bibles too, it is always translated as ‘great nation’. It means magnificent. That is, it shows it's not about simple size. The word used in the Hebrew text is also 'gadal (גָּדוֹל, H1419)’, and this word too is used not to show actual size, but in the sense of being great and important. Let's read a passage where this word is used in 1 Samuel 26:24. “As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble.’” This story is one of the stories of David and Saul that you know well. It is David's words, shouting across to Saul after letting him go instead of killing him, because he was the anointed king, even though David, who was being chased, could have easily killed Saul. The Hebrew word used here for ‘valued’ (literally ‘made great/important’) is precisely the ‘gadal’ used in today's text. Therefore, I believe thinking that the phrase 'great nation' in today's text refers not to its size, but to the promise of making them a nation and people that God holds precious, is closer to its meaning.

 

Concept of Greatness: Making Something from Nothing (Creation)

If so, it becomes very clear that this promise in today's text is God's word not only to Abraham but also to you and me. God makes not only Abraham but also us into beings more precious than anything else. At this point, some might have this question: When God exchanged covenants with Abraham, He also promised to make Abraham's descendants as numerous as the sand on the seashore and the countless stars in the night sky. If so, you might think this ‘gadal’ could simply mean large size or great quantity. However, the current population of Israel is about 6 million, and even if you add up all the Jews scattered around the world, it doesn't compare to the populations of China or India. Just looking at this, the great nation in the text likely does not simply mean the number of people. There is a more ultimate meaning than this.

Then why did God express this in terms of numbers? It was precisely for contrast. At the moment this promise was being spoken, Abraham had no descendants at all. It was ‘0’. And God speaks of the vast multitude of sand on the sea and stars in the night sky as a contrast to Abraham, who had nothing. It is the promise to make something exist from nothing.

 

Romans 4: God Who Gives Life to the Dead

There is another Bible passage that interprets today's text this way. It is the word from Romans chapter 4. “As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’ He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.” Here, ‘you’ is, of course, Abraham. God calls Abraham into being from nothing, like raising the dead. This is the language of creation. It is not just a story confined to Abraham, but a word that makes us think of the beginning part of Genesis. And He used it as if calling Abraham, who had no children, as though his descendants were already numerous. It is creating something out of nothing.  

 

Starting Point of Grace: Coming Empty-Handed

Not only that, but in addition to this, He promises to make a great and precious nation through Abraham. There is a part here we must not miss. It is precisely that He creates this great nation, the nation God holds most precious, from nothing. This is truly a tear-jerkingly moving and thankful passage shown in today's text. God does not tell you to bring anything. He does not complete this blessing upon the things we think we did well, our obedience, the deeds of the law we kept, thereby making us a great people and nation. Not that, but God called us from nothing. That is the order in which we approach God.

 

This is the part we get most confused about. In starting our life of faith, what do we ask from God first? Some will ask for better faith, or the kind of faith that loves someone and doesn't hate. And some will ask for the faith of someone who lives obeying God's will, or faith with an abundant heart and peace. But this kind of faith has the order wrong. It is not the correct order.

 

Galatians 4: Joy of the Barren Woman

We must first become people who come out empty-handed and grasp God with those empty hands, not holding onto all those things. Then, the rest are people for whom things are accomplished by God's grace. However, if this order is reversed, we end up pursuing other things and actually forgetting the cross and Christ. Even if one thinks they possess it, it inevitably becomes self-adornment. Because it is only for oneself.

 

Everyone, Abraham has no descendants now. So it is a situation where nothing can be accomplished. Yet the Bible says such a situation is a blessing. Let's look up a passage. Galatians 4:27. “For it is written: ‘Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child; shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.’” Right above this verse is the part where the story of Sarah and Hagar, which you know well, appears. Sarah is called the heavenly Jerusalem, while Hagar is called Mount Sinai where the law was received. And He promises that through Sarah, the heavenly Jerusalem, God's people will be born.  

 

Posture of True Faith: Utter Dependence ("Rock of Ages")

And the verse that follows is precisely this verse 27. It is a very famous verse. But it might sound a bit strange: the barren woman rejoices. And the woman who does not know the pains of childbirth is told to shout and cry out with joy. Because the children of the desolate woman will be more numerous than those of her who has a husband. This is truly an amazing and grace-filled scene.

 

We often pray to God asking for the ability to conceive, and with that ability, we will give thanks to God, serve, become someone who doesn't hate others but loves completely, and live a life dedicating everything. However, this passage in Galatians says the barren woman rather rejoices. It says the gospel begins with becoming someone who has nothing, empty-handed, and thus has nothing to cling to but God, someone who holds only onto the cross of Christ.

 

There is a hymn we know well, ‘Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me’ (Korean title: 천부여 의지 없어서 - Heavenly Father, lacking reliance). As you well know, the lyrics for this hymn were written by Pastor Charles Wesley. If we translate these English lyrics directly into Korean, it becomes like this: ‘I stretch my hands long towards God. Because I have no other help!’

Do you perhaps have things you are holding onto in your hands? Are you holding onto your service? Are the number of times you attended worship, or the prayers you offered to God, held in your hands? So, are you planning to go before God by polishing well the things you hold in your hands, without stretching out your hands to God anymore? But the Bible speaks to us very clearly. We must approach God empty-handed. If that order is reversed, trying to grasp something first, our faith, no matter how much we struggle to move forward, cannot help but remain in the same place. We must empty both hands that held onto my happiness or wealth, my merits or service, my failures and sorrows, even my worship, stretch out those empty hands forward, and confess that my only help is Jesus of the cross.

 

Is Clinging to the Lord Enough?: Dynamics of Love

Only the Lord is my help, my salvation, my strength, and I must hold onto only such a Lord. Then, the question naturally arises here: If so, do we just need to hold onto the Lord without any effort? If we do nothing and just hold onto the Lord, will everything be resolved? Everyone, have you ever thought about how tremendous an act it is to hold onto the Lord? That act means loving the Lord more earnestly than anything in the world, placing the Lord above all things in the world, and approaching the Lord with all that I am.

 

Jesus' Way of Loving: Obedience to the Father

Therefore, we yearn to hear the Lord's voice, and just as Jesus loved God, we too live loving the Lord. Everyone, do you know how Jesus loved God the Father? Because He loved God, Jesus possessed only what the Father gave Him, listened only to the words the Father spoke, and did only what the Father commanded. Therefore, we can examine through the Gospels what kind of life Jesus lived.

 

Life of Knowing the Lord

However, because we have not lived such a life of Jesus directly, it is also true that we know nothing about that life of Jesus. That is why the question arises whether everything might be easily resolved if we just hold onto the Lord. Then, is it really okay if we just hold onto the Lord? Let me teach you the correct answer. You just need to hold onto the Lord. This is everything. If you truly hold onto only the Lord, if you can truly love only the Lord and be satisfied only with the Lord, and thus come to know the Lord more deeply, realize what He truly desires from me, and know what kind of person He is in my life, then you will come to know the power of His love towards us, you will also come to know how the life of one who loves the Lord changes, and such a life of ours becomes one that cannot help but live for the Lord. However, because we often live with that order reversed, we often become lazy in loving the Lord, and because of this, our lives also become lazy together. Zeal disappears, and we live thinking only of ourselves. Thus, we become endlessly lazy in knowing the love of the Lord who loved you. How much do we truly want to know the Lord's heart? How much do you and I know how amazing it is to love the Lord? Do you know the secret to Jesus' victory on this earth? It was precisely His love for the Father. That is why He could die for us.

 

Promise (2): I Will Make Your Name Great (Reversal of Babel)

That is precisely the correct meaning of becoming a great nation, a precious nation, in today's text. And another amazing fact is precisely that this event overturns the event of the Tower of Babel. In the Tower of Babel, this ‘tower’ is the Hebrew word ‘migdal (מִגְדָּל, H4026)’. But do you remember what the Hebrew word for ‘great’ we examined earlier was? It was precisely ‘gadal’. However, these two words share the same root. That is, the phrase 'build a tower' carries the meaning of making something high together. Therefore, the phrase 'build a great tower' implies the meaning of forming a great nation. Yet, humans could not build the tower they wanted to make great. But God chooses Abraham and establishes him as a 'gadal' nation, a great nation. And this nation is not one that ends with Abraham, but becomes the true ‘nation of gadal’, or ‘great nation’, that God completes.

 

Revelation 3: Promise of a New Name (Saints, Name of the Triune God)

A similar expression appears in Revelation chapter 7; shall we examine it together? Verse 9: “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,” Here, ‘no one could count’ is not just a phrase meaning a very large number. Now you understand, right? The true meaning of this expression is that this is a number God created from nothingness. It is a number God made one by one, a number He formed. It is a number God established and is still establishing now. It is a word pointing precisely to you and me.

 

Let's continue examining: “standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,” And in verse 15, it says this: “Therefore, ‘they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” This is the content of God's work in creating the great multitude. God protects that multitude, guides them, feeds them, and leads them to the springs of living water.  

 

He is not trying to create a colossal empire by making them as numerous as the stars. He is not making an incredibly powerful nation, incomparable to any other, possessing immense strength and height. This nation refers to one where God becomes the shelter, where they rejoice in God's protection, walk with God, and eat the fruit of life given by God. It speaks not of a nation of power, stronger than anything else, but the nation where God becomes our shelter, the nation where He is the shepherd. That is why He speaks of this as God giving blessing.

 

Repentance Itself Is a Blessing

Because of the term 'prosperity gospel' prevalent in the church, we sometimes have a slight aversion to this 'blessing'. However, the Bible is a book that talks about blessing from beginning to end. What is the theme of the Psalms? ‘Who is the blessed man’. And today's text is also concerning this blessing of God. And that blessing is precisely that we will become the very blessing God gives. Therefore, this blessing is not something we simply receive and enjoy, but the Word says we ourselves become that blessing. Simply put, the Word says we are bundles of blessing. And the most amazing thing is the fact that previously, we were 'bundles of sin'. But the Word says He will make such us into 'bundles of blessing'.

 

Name Made Great: Jesus Christ

And another promise made is that He will make our name great. This promise is one of the promises of God that I hold very precious. And we can easily fall into a trap with this word. So it is important to understand this part properly. Here too, the word ‘make great’ uses the word ‘gadal’ explained earlier. Therefore, it is not the meaning of making our name big and high, but the promise of making it precious.

 

The story concerning our name is actually content that has continued from Genesis chapter 1. From the beginning, the Bible has repeated content concerning this name. In the Tower of Babel story, the problem was that people wanted to make a name for themselves. And the result of that is failure. And now God says He will exalt Abraham's name. The phrase 'make the name great' means God's creation is completed and restored. It is not humans becoming God, elevating their own name, sitting in God's place, but God making us the most precious beings and giving us a true name.

In your opinion, what do you think is the greatest, most beautiful, highest name in history? How about ‘Saint’? This is also correct. What else? Without needing to hesitate, it would be ‘Jesus Christ’. For our names to be made great, what we need is ‘Jesus Christ’. Therefore, you understand now what name God will give us, right? The Bible records that the promise to make our names great is fulfilled this way in Revelation. Revelation 3:12. “The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.”  

 

Have you ever thought about what name you received when you were baptized? Even now, in the Catholic Church, one receives a baptismal name together when being baptized. But Protestant churches do not give baptismal names. Why is that? It is precisely because our baptism is received in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

Most Honored Name: Saint, Child of God, Christian

This statement, indeed, carries the meaning that baptism is received relying on the name of the Holy Spirit, but more than that, it carries the meaning that God seals us solely with His name. Because there is no name higher than the name of the Triune God. Therefore, when we are baptized, the reason to have the names of apostles as baptismal names has disappeared. What name do you possess? Like this verse in Revelation, you possess the name of the new Jerusalem, the name ‘Saint’. And you possess the name of God the Father among the Trinity. Not only that, but you possess the new name, Jesus Christ, who saved us. Therefore, we have become saints possessing the name Jesus Christ. This is the name engraved on our foreheads.

 

Completion of Creation: God's Will Accomplished Through Us

Therefore, you possess the true name of the offspring of the woman, fearing nothing else, and you are experiencing and accomplishing the completion of creation in your individual lives at this very moment. Creation begins from us, and God's will is accomplished, right? Jesus taught this in the Lord's Prayer like this: “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” To whom is God's will accomplished on earth? Yes, precisely to us. God's will is accomplished, and the completion of creation is being achieved right now in us. He has made our name great. If there is a name better than the name of Jesus for you, please let me know too. If not, then there is no name better than your name.

 

Promise (4): Mediatorial Role of Blessing/Cursing (Church)

Because God has made your name great. Then now, do you understand this statement, ‘I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse’? You should not think this means, 'Okay, I shouldn't speak carelessly to Abraham lest I be cursed, but just flatter and say only good things to receive blessing.' This is the story of Abraham and Israel. And this promise of God is a promise fulfilled in Jesus Christ and the church. Because the true Israel is the ‘Church’, and Abraham is precisely the shadow of Jesus Christ. Therefore, this promise is fulfilled by the church and Jesus Christ.

One theology professor explained this meaning this way: That is, the passage stating God will bless those who bless Abram actually has the sentence structure of a prayer formula. And its meaning is that through Abraham, who is 'God's blessing' itself, people will receive blessing, and at the same time, Abraham himself will become the basis for all God's judgment. Phrased differently, this means: Abraham will stand precisely in a mediatorial position. All blessings and judgments for humanity will pass through Abraham. Then who does Abraham become? Yes, precisely Jesus Christ.

 

Matthew 16: Keys of the Kingdom and Privilege of the Church

Abraham appears as the shadow of Jesus. If so, let's confirm through the Bible the moment this promise is fulfilled through Jesus. It is the promise Jesus made to Peter, which you know well. Matthew chapter 16. “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Jesus says He will build His church through Peter. And He is speaking of all the apostles, including Peter's confession of faith, and their teachings, and says He will build the church upon them. And after that, there is a promise we often overlook. It is precisely Jesus giving the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And He gave the promise that whatever we bind and loose on earth will be bound and loosed equally in heaven.

 

Role of the Church: Channel Conveying Blessing to the World

This speaks of God's blessing coming upon this earth through the church of Jesus Christ, which will be established through Peter, and in this process, Jesus tells us what status and privilege we possess. Christ became our blessing as our mediator, and so it is the amazing promise that all the blessings of this earth come through us, the church who are in Christ.

 

Everyone seems unsurprised. If there is such a thing as blessing on this earth, it is the promise that it is determined precisely by you, God's people. If you loose, it will be loosed in heaven, and if you lock it up, it closes in heaven too. That is why this last part is important. “All nations will be blessed through you.” Through Christ and the church, through your lives, through your prayers, through you, this earth enjoys blessing. Because you are the blessing, and you are people who live by that blessing. We are, in essence, living, breathing bundles of blessing. And that is not because we did well, but because of Jesus Christ. Therefore, if you do not breathe, this earth too cannot help but stop breathing. Isn't it amazing?

 

Danger of a Self-Centered Church (Rotting Blessing)

Everyone, now let's think about Abraham once again. He longed for the land of Ur he had left. If Abraham had tried to build the Tower of Babel, which was bound to collapse, what would have happened? He, the source of blessing, would have become impoverished and withered, and accordingly, the world would have withered along with him. Let me give an easier example. What would have happened if you hadn't known Jesus and couldn't become God's child? Just thinking about it is horrifying. But what was the reason you came to know Jesus and become God's child? It was God's grace. Then how did you receive that grace? Is there anyone among you who suddenly came to believe in Jesus while sleeping at night? We all came to realize the truth of God and gained faith through God's church, through the saints, and through the word proclaimed in the church, the sermon. Therefore, we too are people enjoying blessing through the church and Jesus Christ.

 

However, if we do not live as the church, and thus all the blessings of this world disappear, what will happen? If you begin to confuse the subject of your life as ‘I’ instead of ‘God’, what will happen? The world will be in chaos, and the church will also be in chaos. It is something we can often see in the church too. If a church has many believers who become masters themselves, they will easily take offense to their pride and misunderstand that they are being disregarded in the church. In such a church, they will criticize each other and fight over who does better or worse. They will fight over Bible knowledge, over who prayed more. Among our ancestors of faith who were excellent, great, and respected, were there any who boasted about praying much or having abundant Bible knowledge?

 

Speaking of prayer in Korea, there is someone whom no one can match. It is Pastor Kim Hyun-bong of Ahyeon Church. He prayed for at least 8 hours a day. And he had several disciples, one of whom is Pastor Ahn Byung-mo of Sinchon Chapel Church in front of Ewha Womans University. He kept his hair short and favored wearing a black jeogori (traditional jacket). Pastor Ahn prayed for 8 hours every day like Pastor Kim Hyun-bong. Among the sermons he preached, there was one that moved me to tears the most. Even someone who prayed so consistently for such a long time confessed that the time of prayer was so difficult. The temptation to rest for just one day because praying was so undesirable was so intense that the moment of going up to the place of prayer was extremely hard - hearing these words from the pastor, I, a proud person lazy in prayer, dared not say anything. Yet, even such pastors were not ones who boasted at all about praying much.

 

Then what did they boast about? They boasted only of Jesus. That is why such zeal for prayer emerged from them. We are not people who can get closer to Jesus by praying a lot. That is a very big misunderstanding. We are people who go to Christ empty-handed. We are people who approach Him out of love for Christ. We are people who pray to meet the Lord. We must never go to the Lord with the zeal of my prayers. We can approach Him relying only on the Lord, not through my pride, my achievements, my zeal. Otherwise, the church cannot help but stink. Such efforts will pile up, and it will become a church reeking of decay. And the blessings resulting from such believers will also pile up and rot away. Because people cannot enjoy such blessings. In such a church, the immense blessing God gave stops with us and cannot flow out. We who received the blessing cry and beg for more blessings, while people outside the church are starving and dying for that blessing.

 

Living by Blessing: Going Out into the World to Share Blessing

Doesn't make sense, right? You and I were called to be a blessing. We who were called and set out must now live by blessing. I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact that you are a blessing. Wherever you go, whatever words you speak, as much as you love Christ, all those around you receive blessing and see that blessing of God. Therefore, you must try going outside the church. Only then can we know and see that blessing better. Instead of just gathering inside this church sanctuary, racking your brains daily about how faith can grow and how to live a slightly better life of faith, I urge you to go outside and try telling even one person about the blessing you possess. When meeting other church members too, share the blessing you received. Talk to each other about how you came to believe in Jesus, how you came to know Christ, and how He is working in you today. Who could be greater than Jesus? What being could be more magnificent than Jesus? What could thrill our hearts and move us more than Jesus? Hold onto that Jesus. And live because of that Jesus. That is your blessing.

 

Closing Prayer

Let us pray. Loving Lord, since we have come before that Lord, let our hearts race because of that cross. Let there be tears in our eyes because we hold onto that cross, and let our hearts melt because of the love of Christ hanging on that cross. Thus, let us live because of that Lord, and live by that blessing. Wherever we go and whomever we meet, let the blessing of Jesus flow. Let us not keep looking at our lacking selves, and let not the flow of God's blessing be blocked because of these useless selves. Let us know Christ. Let us live because of Jesus. Lord, though we are lacking, weak, and powerless, we follow only the Lord; following that call, let us go anywhere and proclaim the Lord, and let us live only by the Lord's blessing. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!