주일낮설교(한영중)
Title: Let’s sacrifice thank offerings
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2017.02.03 14:06
Scripture: Psalm 50:23
Title: Let’s sacrifice thank offerings
[개역]시 50:23
감사로 제사를 드리는 자가 나를 영화롭게 하나니 그 행위를 옳게 하는 자에게 내가 하나님의 구원을 보이리라
[NIV]시 50:23
He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.
[SRV]시 50:23
El que sacrifica alabanza me honrar~: Y al que ordenare su camino, Le mostrar/ la salud de Dios.
Missionary Mary Reed carried out his mission work in India. He recalled the sufferings of the mission work when he was working for the headquarters in his country after he came back from India. His mission work involved lepers. Hansen’s disease was classified as incurable at that time, and no medication worked. He thought that he could not be any help for them.
On a day when he was working for the headquarters, he found that he had unusual symptoms in his body. His knuckles grew hardened and weaker. He got medical treatment for them, but to no avail and even worsened. His disease had not been diagnosed until it turned out to be Hansen’s disease or leprosy.
The people around him were shocked by his disease, and they felt hopeless with it. However, Missionary Mary Reed responded to the final diagnosis of leprosy quite differently than they thought. He became confident and determined about his mission work in India, where he had thought he could not be any help for lepers there.
“God must have accepted my prayer! He wants to use me for lepers in India! So, he allowed me to be exposed to Hansen’s disease.” Having realized like this, he kneeled and prayed, “Thank you, God. Thank you for accepting me, a useless man, as your worker for the people with Hansen’s disease in India.”
He immediately came back to India. And he devoted himself with all his strength to the mission work for the sick souls, whom he took care of for his rest entire life with thanks to God. He has never grumbled against the disease infected to him and has never been frustrated with it. Conversely, he thanked God and thought of it as an opportunity to live for and glorify God. Hallelujah!
We are full of thoughts about how to please God as the year 2011 began. ‘What makes us sacrifice offerings to God and honor Him? How can we glorify Him?’ If you want to live in accordance with God’s will, you are living with those questions.
Thinking about how we will live as the year 2011 began, I meditated about the verses in hope that we can live by God’s helps and guidance and we can believe that He is with us for this year, as we lived with God’s presence, helps and guidance for the last year.
Despite the unfolding hard situations, we can thank God. Even though we don’t feel grateful for God at the moment we face difficulties, we can thank God afterwards.
As God has a lot of plans of how we live for this year, I believe we can live thankful for this year. I pray that Kyongdong Church Sisters and Brothers who came before the Lord from all nations may sacrifice thank offerings to God for this year in Jesus’ name.
1. God is pleased with our service
Let’s read Hebrews 11:6 together.
[개역]히 11:6
믿음이 없이는 기쁘시게 못하나니 하나님께 나아가는 자는 반드시 그가 계신 것과 또한 그가 자기를 찾는 자들에게 상 주시는 이심을 믿어야 할지니라
[NIV]히 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
[SRV]히 11:6
Empero sin fe es imposible agradar ~ Dios; porque es menester que el que ~ Dios se allega, crea que le hay, y que es galardonador de los que le buscan.
Amen. God is pleased with those who worship to Him. We can find that God is glorified by our services that were set to be a channel through which God blesses us.
Here is a story that happened to Ireh Church in Mongolia. The church was established in the Berrh area of Mongolia. In the church, Missionary Lee YongGyu is carrying out his mission work. There lives a girl called Bulrerh who is deaf. People in the church prayed together for her when she could miraculously hear.
She was a shepherd who takes care of cows. When she was taking care of a herd of cows, she lost a cow of them. She was looking for that lost one, but she could not find it. Since the time of service was coming, she had to give up either of the two: looking for the lost cow or going to the service.
Cow means to Mongolians their future and the life. A well-raised cow in old times in Korea used to be funds for the children’s tuition fees or an animal pulling a plow.
Bulrerh made a decision between the two. She turned her steps to the church, thinking ‘God gave me hearing ears and the blessing of eternity through the ears. I am determined. I don’t care the lost cow. Since Ireh Church was distant from where she brings up cows, she ran to the church not to be late for the service.
When she came to the church, she was soaked with sweat. Sweat from her forehead did not stop. Nevertheless, she did not stop worshiping to God at the service.
She talked about what had happened to her to the pastor and asked him to pray for her. Look, something amazing happened. Cries of a cow were heard outside the church. That one outside the church was the very cow she lost.
Sisters and Brothers! She believed that worshiping to God was more important than looking for a lost cow, which pleased God. Hallelujah!
God is pleased with worshipers to Him. This morning, I pray that you and I before God may have miracles and blessings of God in Jesus’ name.
Let’s read Psalm 50:23 together again.
[개역]시 50:23
감사로 제사를 드리는 자가 나를 영화롭게 하나니 그 행위를 옳게 하는 자에게 내가 하나님의 구원을 보이리라
[NIV]시 50:23
He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."
[SRV]시 50:23
El que sacrifica alabanza me honrar~: Y al que ordenare su camino, Le mostrar/ la salud de Dios.
Amen. God is pleased with those who sacrifice thank offerings. What kind of offerings we should sacrifice? It is thank offerings. Today’s verse says “thank offerings.” When we sacrifice offerings we should do with thank offerings. Thank offerings mean not only that we thank God at services but that we should thank God during our entire lives. Hallelujah! “The blessing of success will be given to those who thank.” Amen.
Colin Powell was born to a black family from a New York slum area. Later, he became a hero of the Gulf War in 1991 as the supreme commander of the multinational force. In addition, he became influential enough to be the first black candidate for U.S. president. How could he be influential? It did not happen in a day. He could be so because he has lived with gratitude.
The summer break came when he turned 17. He worked as a part timer in a beverage factory. In those times, racial discrimination was severe. The beverage factory was not exceptional. One of his colleagues, a white part timer, was given the job of putting the coke bottles in front of the machines, while he was given the job of mopping the floor.
Colin Powell didn’t grumble. Why didn’t he grumble? He had a dream. His dream was to be best at mopping in the factory. Whether it was a mopping job or else didn’t matter to him.
Far from grumbling, he did the work given to him with a grateful heart. Other than his job, he came up with an idea about how to clean up the factory and he was able to make the entire factory clean with that idea.
As the summer break was over, his part timing was over. The factory manager praised him, saying “You did a good job. You are the best.” And Colin Powell answered “Thank you. Call me again. I am going to be the best dustman.” The manager was so pleased with his attitude and he called him again for the next year. The factory manager gave him the job of putting the coke bottles, not the mopping job. That winter, Colin Powell became the foreman of the factory and then the manager of the company.
He never grumbled against the job given to him. Gratitude flowed from him. At last, he could be a politician who was the most influential figure in America.
When we feel grateful about a small thing, God gives us a much bigger thing. So, we should live with a grateful heart about a small thing. Sacrifice of thank offerings means that gratitude should take root in our lives. Thanking should be our lives themselves.
Let’s think of drinking a cup of water. We should be grateful before we drink it. What’s surprising is when we drink gratefully, the water crystal turns out to be a hexagon and it makes our bodies healthy.
I realized one thing when I prayed just before I had a meal last week. We habitually pray before meals. But we should pray to God with sincere gratitude, not with mere habit of praying before meals.
Why? It is because there is a big difference between eating meals with gratitude and eating meals habitually. That has been proved through experiments. You put cooked rice in two plastic containers separately. You say words of love and praises to one of the container and you say words of complaint and curses to the other for a week.
To the amazement, the rice to which you said praises became full of a healthful enzyme, while the other rice to which you said curses became full of a poisonous blue mold.
Everyone! What do you think affects the rice full of a healthful enzyme or the rice full of a poisonous blue mold? It comes from the man who said curses or praises. The Bible says, “The tongue has the power of life and death.”
What kind of words we should say? How we should live? These questions are quite important. I pray that Kyongdong Church Sisters and Brothers who came before God from all nations may be grateful always in Jesus’ name.
I pray that our church Sisters and Brothers are full of the confession of love in Jesus’ name. I pray that our church Sisters and Brothers live with praises and blessings in Jesus’ name. Hallelujah!
Let’s praise people around you. Think about what words would be good as praises!
2. He who sacrifices thank offerings honors God
Let’s read the today’s verse again.
[개역]시 50:23
감사로 제사를 드리는 자가 나를 영화롭게 하나니 그 행위를 옳게 하는 자에게 내가 하나님의 구원을 보이리라
[NIV]시 50:23
He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."
[SRV]시 50:23
El que sacrifica alabanza me honrar~: Y al que ordenare su camino, Le mostrar/ la salud de Dios.
Amen. We opened the year 2011 with a great dream and plan. This year began as we are reserved and determined. The Bible says, “He who sacrifices thank offerings honors God.”
Being honored means being glorified. The word ‘honor’ that was used in the New International Version comes from a coronation ceremony or the like in Britain, where a precious sword is held up as means to symbolize the honor and dignity of the king.
When the precious sword is held up, all the subjects and people bow down in honor of it. The king’s sword is the same as his honor.
The ultimate meaning of thanking is when you live gratefully, God will be honored and His honor will be exalted. So, we should live with a grateful heart.
Republic of Korea Criminal Law deals with defamation. Under Article 307 of the Criminal Law, anyone who harms someone’s reputation shall be sentenced to imprisonment for no more than two years or be fined no more than five million won. And anyone who harms someone’s reputation through information networks shall be sentenced to imprisonment for no more than three years or be fined no more than twenty million won.
On the other hand, when someone commits criminal assault which directly imposes violence, under Article 260 he shall be sentenced to imprisonment no more than two years or be fined no more than five million won. Why is defamation heavier or the same as criminal assault? It is because when you harm someone’s reputation you are as liable as or more liable than when you harm someone’s body.
That is to say that harming someone’s reputation is heavier than harming someone’s body. When we live with a grateful heart, God’s reputation will be exalted. You are the reputation of church. When you live holy and devoted to your neighbors, God’s honor will be exalted.
Since God’s redeeming work happens through churches, when we live with a grateful heart, we exalt church’s honor and furthermore God’s honor.
Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”Like a Korean saying “A tiger leaves his skin when it dies but a man leaves his name when he dies,” we Christians should choose to live a life that exalts God’s name.There lived a young man called William Carry who makes a living with shoe repairs. On a day, he accepted Jesus and devoted himself for God. He became a pastor and then a missionary in India when he was 31 years old in 1792.
In India, he spread the Gospels with a sense of gratitude and passion.
However, he faced misfortune several times in his life. He lost his five years old clever son one year after he came to India. His wife died with schizophrenia after she got shocked by the death of her son. And he had never made anyone a disciple of Jesus. Nevertheless, God kept on pouring out love for Indians to him.
In 1812, he completed the translation for the bible book written in Bengali 20 years after he came to India. And he started printing the books with press machine sent by the missionary department in his country. He looked at the press operating with a sense of gratitude. He went out to spread the Gospels even while printing the books.
It was not long before something bad happened to him again. A pressman’s fault caused fire and his efforts burst like a bubble. The manuscripts he made every effort to translate, the Bengali grammar materials and the dictionaries were all burnt.
When he saw the fire scene there, he trembled on his legs. He could think about nothing. At that moment God gave him peace in his mind. He went to the heap of ashes and prayed kneeled, “Oh Lord! Even though you took away my 20 years efforts, I thank you for not taking away my faith for you.
And he talked to people around there. “Everyone! Don’t lose your courage. This fire is just a process with which we can press forward.” Afterwards, he could make a better Bengali bible in a faster way than before.
History has been on the side of those who overcame his difficulties. Sometimes despite hindrances we should believe our God’s goodness and thank, and the hindrances will be our stepping stones. Even though the visible situations are disastrous, our devotion will be fruitful. Therefore, we should love more, devote more, and thank more in doing the missions. Hallelujah!
The year 2011 began. I pray that we may live with deep-rooted gratitude in our lives and may have God’s blessing touches in Jesus’ name.
Title: Let’s sacrifice thank offerings
[개역]시 50:23
감사로 제사를 드리는 자가 나를 영화롭게 하나니 그 행위를 옳게 하는 자에게 내가 하나님의 구원을 보이리라
[NIV]시 50:23
He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.
[SRV]시 50:23
El que sacrifica alabanza me honrar~: Y al que ordenare su camino, Le mostrar/ la salud de Dios.
Missionary Mary Reed carried out his mission work in India. He recalled the sufferings of the mission work when he was working for the headquarters in his country after he came back from India. His mission work involved lepers. Hansen’s disease was classified as incurable at that time, and no medication worked. He thought that he could not be any help for them.
On a day when he was working for the headquarters, he found that he had unusual symptoms in his body. His knuckles grew hardened and weaker. He got medical treatment for them, but to no avail and even worsened. His disease had not been diagnosed until it turned out to be Hansen’s disease or leprosy.
The people around him were shocked by his disease, and they felt hopeless with it. However, Missionary Mary Reed responded to the final diagnosis of leprosy quite differently than they thought. He became confident and determined about his mission work in India, where he had thought he could not be any help for lepers there.
“God must have accepted my prayer! He wants to use me for lepers in India! So, he allowed me to be exposed to Hansen’s disease.” Having realized like this, he kneeled and prayed, “Thank you, God. Thank you for accepting me, a useless man, as your worker for the people with Hansen’s disease in India.”
He immediately came back to India. And he devoted himself with all his strength to the mission work for the sick souls, whom he took care of for his rest entire life with thanks to God. He has never grumbled against the disease infected to him and has never been frustrated with it. Conversely, he thanked God and thought of it as an opportunity to live for and glorify God. Hallelujah!
We are full of thoughts about how to please God as the year 2011 began. ‘What makes us sacrifice offerings to God and honor Him? How can we glorify Him?’ If you want to live in accordance with God’s will, you are living with those questions.
Thinking about how we will live as the year 2011 began, I meditated about the verses in hope that we can live by God’s helps and guidance and we can believe that He is with us for this year, as we lived with God’s presence, helps and guidance for the last year.
Despite the unfolding hard situations, we can thank God. Even though we don’t feel grateful for God at the moment we face difficulties, we can thank God afterwards.
As God has a lot of plans of how we live for this year, I believe we can live thankful for this year. I pray that Kyongdong Church Sisters and Brothers who came before the Lord from all nations may sacrifice thank offerings to God for this year in Jesus’ name.
1. God is pleased with our service
Let’s read Hebrews 11:6 together.
[개역]히 11:6
믿음이 없이는 기쁘시게 못하나니 하나님께 나아가는 자는 반드시 그가 계신 것과 또한 그가 자기를 찾는 자들에게 상 주시는 이심을 믿어야 할지니라
[NIV]히 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
[SRV]히 11:6
Empero sin fe es imposible agradar ~ Dios; porque es menester que el que ~ Dios se allega, crea que le hay, y que es galardonador de los que le buscan.
Amen. God is pleased with those who worship to Him. We can find that God is glorified by our services that were set to be a channel through which God blesses us.
Here is a story that happened to Ireh Church in Mongolia. The church was established in the Berrh area of Mongolia. In the church, Missionary Lee YongGyu is carrying out his mission work. There lives a girl called Bulrerh who is deaf. People in the church prayed together for her when she could miraculously hear.
She was a shepherd who takes care of cows. When she was taking care of a herd of cows, she lost a cow of them. She was looking for that lost one, but she could not find it. Since the time of service was coming, she had to give up either of the two: looking for the lost cow or going to the service.
Cow means to Mongolians their future and the life. A well-raised cow in old times in Korea used to be funds for the children’s tuition fees or an animal pulling a plow.
Bulrerh made a decision between the two. She turned her steps to the church, thinking ‘God gave me hearing ears and the blessing of eternity through the ears. I am determined. I don’t care the lost cow. Since Ireh Church was distant from where she brings up cows, she ran to the church not to be late for the service.
When she came to the church, she was soaked with sweat. Sweat from her forehead did not stop. Nevertheless, she did not stop worshiping to God at the service.
She talked about what had happened to her to the pastor and asked him to pray for her. Look, something amazing happened. Cries of a cow were heard outside the church. That one outside the church was the very cow she lost.
Sisters and Brothers! She believed that worshiping to God was more important than looking for a lost cow, which pleased God. Hallelujah!
God is pleased with worshipers to Him. This morning, I pray that you and I before God may have miracles and blessings of God in Jesus’ name.
Let’s read Psalm 50:23 together again.
[개역]시 50:23
감사로 제사를 드리는 자가 나를 영화롭게 하나니 그 행위를 옳게 하는 자에게 내가 하나님의 구원을 보이리라
[NIV]시 50:23
He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."
[SRV]시 50:23
El que sacrifica alabanza me honrar~: Y al que ordenare su camino, Le mostrar/ la salud de Dios.
Amen. God is pleased with those who sacrifice thank offerings. What kind of offerings we should sacrifice? It is thank offerings. Today’s verse says “thank offerings.” When we sacrifice offerings we should do with thank offerings. Thank offerings mean not only that we thank God at services but that we should thank God during our entire lives. Hallelujah! “The blessing of success will be given to those who thank.” Amen.
Colin Powell was born to a black family from a New York slum area. Later, he became a hero of the Gulf War in 1991 as the supreme commander of the multinational force. In addition, he became influential enough to be the first black candidate for U.S. president. How could he be influential? It did not happen in a day. He could be so because he has lived with gratitude.
The summer break came when he turned 17. He worked as a part timer in a beverage factory. In those times, racial discrimination was severe. The beverage factory was not exceptional. One of his colleagues, a white part timer, was given the job of putting the coke bottles in front of the machines, while he was given the job of mopping the floor.
Colin Powell didn’t grumble. Why didn’t he grumble? He had a dream. His dream was to be best at mopping in the factory. Whether it was a mopping job or else didn’t matter to him.
Far from grumbling, he did the work given to him with a grateful heart. Other than his job, he came up with an idea about how to clean up the factory and he was able to make the entire factory clean with that idea.
As the summer break was over, his part timing was over. The factory manager praised him, saying “You did a good job. You are the best.” And Colin Powell answered “Thank you. Call me again. I am going to be the best dustman.” The manager was so pleased with his attitude and he called him again for the next year. The factory manager gave him the job of putting the coke bottles, not the mopping job. That winter, Colin Powell became the foreman of the factory and then the manager of the company.
He never grumbled against the job given to him. Gratitude flowed from him. At last, he could be a politician who was the most influential figure in America.
When we feel grateful about a small thing, God gives us a much bigger thing. So, we should live with a grateful heart about a small thing. Sacrifice of thank offerings means that gratitude should take root in our lives. Thanking should be our lives themselves.
Let’s think of drinking a cup of water. We should be grateful before we drink it. What’s surprising is when we drink gratefully, the water crystal turns out to be a hexagon and it makes our bodies healthy.
I realized one thing when I prayed just before I had a meal last week. We habitually pray before meals. But we should pray to God with sincere gratitude, not with mere habit of praying before meals.
Why? It is because there is a big difference between eating meals with gratitude and eating meals habitually. That has been proved through experiments. You put cooked rice in two plastic containers separately. You say words of love and praises to one of the container and you say words of complaint and curses to the other for a week.
To the amazement, the rice to which you said praises became full of a healthful enzyme, while the other rice to which you said curses became full of a poisonous blue mold.
Everyone! What do you think affects the rice full of a healthful enzyme or the rice full of a poisonous blue mold? It comes from the man who said curses or praises. The Bible says, “The tongue has the power of life and death.”
What kind of words we should say? How we should live? These questions are quite important. I pray that Kyongdong Church Sisters and Brothers who came before God from all nations may be grateful always in Jesus’ name.
I pray that our church Sisters and Brothers are full of the confession of love in Jesus’ name. I pray that our church Sisters and Brothers live with praises and blessings in Jesus’ name. Hallelujah!
Let’s praise people around you. Think about what words would be good as praises!
2. He who sacrifices thank offerings honors God
Let’s read the today’s verse again.
[개역]시 50:23
감사로 제사를 드리는 자가 나를 영화롭게 하나니 그 행위를 옳게 하는 자에게 내가 하나님의 구원을 보이리라
[NIV]시 50:23
He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."
[SRV]시 50:23
El que sacrifica alabanza me honrar~: Y al que ordenare su camino, Le mostrar/ la salud de Dios.
Amen. We opened the year 2011 with a great dream and plan. This year began as we are reserved and determined. The Bible says, “He who sacrifices thank offerings honors God.”
Being honored means being glorified. The word ‘honor’ that was used in the New International Version comes from a coronation ceremony or the like in Britain, where a precious sword is held up as means to symbolize the honor and dignity of the king.
When the precious sword is held up, all the subjects and people bow down in honor of it. The king’s sword is the same as his honor.
The ultimate meaning of thanking is when you live gratefully, God will be honored and His honor will be exalted. So, we should live with a grateful heart.
Republic of Korea Criminal Law deals with defamation. Under Article 307 of the Criminal Law, anyone who harms someone’s reputation shall be sentenced to imprisonment for no more than two years or be fined no more than five million won. And anyone who harms someone’s reputation through information networks shall be sentenced to imprisonment for no more than three years or be fined no more than twenty million won.
On the other hand, when someone commits criminal assault which directly imposes violence, under Article 260 he shall be sentenced to imprisonment no more than two years or be fined no more than five million won. Why is defamation heavier or the same as criminal assault? It is because when you harm someone’s reputation you are as liable as or more liable than when you harm someone’s body.
That is to say that harming someone’s reputation is heavier than harming someone’s body. When we live with a grateful heart, God’s reputation will be exalted. You are the reputation of church. When you live holy and devoted to your neighbors, God’s honor will be exalted.
Since God’s redeeming work happens through churches, when we live with a grateful heart, we exalt church’s honor and furthermore God’s honor.
Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”Like a Korean saying “A tiger leaves his skin when it dies but a man leaves his name when he dies,” we Christians should choose to live a life that exalts God’s name.There lived a young man called William Carry who makes a living with shoe repairs. On a day, he accepted Jesus and devoted himself for God. He became a pastor and then a missionary in India when he was 31 years old in 1792.
In India, he spread the Gospels with a sense of gratitude and passion.
However, he faced misfortune several times in his life. He lost his five years old clever son one year after he came to India. His wife died with schizophrenia after she got shocked by the death of her son. And he had never made anyone a disciple of Jesus. Nevertheless, God kept on pouring out love for Indians to him.
In 1812, he completed the translation for the bible book written in Bengali 20 years after he came to India. And he started printing the books with press machine sent by the missionary department in his country. He looked at the press operating with a sense of gratitude. He went out to spread the Gospels even while printing the books.
It was not long before something bad happened to him again. A pressman’s fault caused fire and his efforts burst like a bubble. The manuscripts he made every effort to translate, the Bengali grammar materials and the dictionaries were all burnt.
When he saw the fire scene there, he trembled on his legs. He could think about nothing. At that moment God gave him peace in his mind. He went to the heap of ashes and prayed kneeled, “Oh Lord! Even though you took away my 20 years efforts, I thank you for not taking away my faith for you.
And he talked to people around there. “Everyone! Don’t lose your courage. This fire is just a process with which we can press forward.” Afterwards, he could make a better Bengali bible in a faster way than before.
History has been on the side of those who overcame his difficulties. Sometimes despite hindrances we should believe our God’s goodness and thank, and the hindrances will be our stepping stones. Even though the visible situations are disastrous, our devotion will be fruitful. Therefore, we should love more, devote more, and thank more in doing the missions. Hallelujah!
The year 2011 began. I pray that we may live with deep-rooted gratitude in our lives and may have God’s blessing touches in Jesus’ name.
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