Quotation: Psalms, 81:1-16
The Bible is the most wonderful treasure given to humans. This is because it consists of the words of our Lord. Certainly, the Lord used humans: to write the Scripture. What kind of men were chosen to serve Him? They were those who had ears to hear. 'Lord, please speak. Your servant is listening.' I am not just listening, but I want to obey. I will accept all the words of the Lord. I will also spread these words of yours to the world. Some 40 people took this attitude, and the Bible was completed as a result. These verses we just read above were certainly recorded by some humans, but they were the calling of the Lord. Verse 10, "Open your mouth that I may fill it". The Lord desires to fill our mouths. However, I think what we truly need is to have an open mind. With what are we filled? What kind of strength drives us forward? Who governs us? The thoughts of people who see things from the standpoint of so-called humanism are totally different from the thoughts in the Bible. This is because their thoughts are based on the idea that there is something very good in the hearts of humans. They believe that if their circumstances are improved and they make efforts based on their own thoughts, everything will work out well and anyone can be a better person. This is totally different from what the Bible says, which consists of the words of God: humans' hearts are extremely infected by evil. The Bible says that there is nothing good inside them. In fact, it is even mentioned in the very first book, Genesis, 8:21, that, 'Human inclinations remain evil from youth'. It is not that humans commit sins and become sinners - they are born as sinners. Jeremiah wrote the same thing. Jeremiah, 17:9
Humans' hearts are more deceitful by nature than anything in this world, and they are extremely steeped in vice, so says the words of God. This is true not just in the Old Testament - the same thing was spoken from the mouth of Jesus. Mark, 7:21-23
The Bible makes it clear that it comes from inside, not from the outside. In the above verses, we can substitute the word 'human' with 'people', or even 'the whole human race'. The Bible says that it is not limited to non-believers. This is exactly what all humans have in their minds. When we think of the things surrounding us in this world, namely news in weekly magazines and TV programs, the loveless marriages of so many people, anomalous economic conditions, the decline of politics in nations without futures, we can't help but admit one thing: the things pointed out in the Bible are the only truth. No one can deny that they are the truth. Ecclesiastes, 9:3
The prophet Ezekiel also wrote similar things. Ezekiel, 9:9
Indeed, it seems as if these words speak of the situation of the world today. I would like to use three examples from the New Testament to show that humans' hearts are totally stained by wickedness. The first example is the sorcerer in Acts, chapter 13. His name was Elymas. Paul wrote about this man. Acts, 13:10
Very harsh words, aren't they? Why did he have to say such things? It was because Elymas was a man who contended the truth of God with clear intentions. Characteristic of the true words of God is that they are just as they are spoken, and that they are so straightforward. However, this man called Elymas was totally the opposite and was said to be full of deception and trickery. The second example concerns the people living in Nazareth back in those days. It can be seen in Luke, chapter 4. Jesus visited Nazareth to preach the gospel to the people of His hometown. Their first reaction was the praise Jesus. In fact, it is recorded that people were so impressed by the words of blessing coming out of Jesus' mouth. However, the moment Jesus started to talk about them, that is to say, when Jesus candidly pointed out their wicked minds that were filled with vice, their attitudes changed abruptly. Luke, 4:22, 28-29
The people of Nazareth became so furious, and filled with anger, they drove Jesus out of the city and even tried to slay Him. They believed that they were religious and sincere people. They never failed to gather in the churches on every sabbath to listen to the words of God, but they totally lacked the minds to look straight into their own hearts and repent. You can express your belief in your own words, but if you don't sincerely want to repent, all these words are empty lies. Belief without repentance is absolutely meaningless. As a consequence, their hearts were filled with fury, instead of joy from being in the presence of the Lord. The third example is the couple that appears in Acts, chapter 5: Ananias and Sapphira. Acts, 5:3
In the Japanese Bible we use, it is said, 'your soul was stolen by Satan', but in the original language, it is written that 'Satan filled their hearts'. Ananias and Sapphira belonged to the early church, and they were willing to abandon most of their property to serve the Lord. They may have taken the attitude of offering up all their possessions and serving the Lord, but actually, they were just pretending. They were not truly sincere in their belief. And thus, they gave Satan the chance to slip into their minds. It was not the truth of Jesus but Satan's hypocrisy that filled their hearts. And thus, they soon had to face the justice of the Lord God. We too always have to be examined by the words of the Lord. Is there any discrepancy between our words and our deeds? What are we filled with? When you read the Bible, do you read it like a ritual, or because you feel it is an obligation? Or do you read it with a sincere attitude just like Samuel when he said, 'Your servant is listening (he had ears to hear). Lord, please speak'? You will obtain a wonderful blessing when you read the Bible with an attitude like this. Are we prepared to humble down before the Lord and are we willing to be broken into pieces? So far, we have briefly seen how the Lord God judges us humans. God's judgment of humans is summarized well in the epistle to the Romans. Actually, Paul collected these words from the Psalms, and sent them in his epistle. Romans, 3:10-18
Do we fear the Lord in a true sense? If we don't fear the Lord, we will receive no blessing and our family or other acquaintances will not be led to Him. Without the blessing of the Lord, there will be no peace of mind, no joy. There are so many verses in the Scripture that emphasize the importance of fearing the Lord. Psalm 111, verse 10 is famous and is one of such verses. Psalms, 111:10
What kinds of people are well-accepted in this world today? It is the excellent people, intelligent people, competent people and people who have a lot of money. The Lord God is looking for totally different kinds of people: those who are contrite and have broken hearts, those who respect the words of the God, those who fear the Lord. If you don't fear the Lord, you have no hope. You will receive no blessing. Those who don't have a broken heart will never be blessed. Those who don't respect His words will have no blessing at all. Those who don't fear the Lord have no chance to be blessed no matter what they do. The man called Abraham feared the Lord and testified. It was a wonderful testimony and such a brilliant confession. Although it is short, it is so meaningful. 'I am only dust and ashes'. No matter how much dust and ashes you collect, they will never make you rich. They have to be cast away. They are totally valueless. Not only did Abraham say these words, but he believed them from the bottom of his heart. He knew only deserved to be abandoned (just like dust and ashes). However, when men take this attitude, they will never be abandoned. Dust and ashes have no value at all, and they ought to be thrown away. But, when people understand that they only deserve to be thrown away and express it in their attitude, they will never fail to be blessed. Asaph, one of the authors of the Psalms said something similar. Psalms, 73:22
This was his confession. 'After all, I am miserable and hopeless man'. The brothers and sisters who fear the Lord are those who know to humble and have broken hearts. And they are the brothers and sisters who came to realize how valueless and empty they are, by being illuminated by the light of the Lord. Today, what kind of people is the Lord desperately looking for? Isaiah answered this question. He transferred the words from the Lord to humans. Isaiah, 66:2
To those who obtained the salvation of the Lord, Paul wrote: Galatians, 5:19-21
Paul wrote these things. Needless to say, these words were sent to the believers. Why are there still so many people walking the path of destruction without even hearing about Jesus? It is all because of our sins, the believers. Isn't it because we put too much importance on ourselves? Why are our brothers and sisters, although they are the parts of Jesus' body, all so weak, powerless and too spineless to tackle the evil spirits? Isn't it because we hold ourselves in high esteem? Why are so many people so weak-hearted, lazy and self-pleased? Isn't it because they only seek for their own satisfaction? We don't recognize that we were saved by the Lord to become His vessel, to serve the Lord. Because of this, very often, the old men inside us control and lead us. Do the thoughts that come into our minds meet the purposes of Jesus? Do we look up to the Lord? Is the desire to form the image of Jesus inside us sincerely and purely? Paul could say that he worked together with God with the help of the Holy Spirits. How about us? Do we truly deserve to serve His intentions? Can Jesus use us exactly the way He wants? Or are we acting just the way we want? Let's look at some very important words that Paul wrote in his letter to his brothers and sisters in Corinth. 1 Corinthians, 6:19-20
Jesus paid our debts and redeemed us. To those who had accepted the salvation and blessing of the Lord, James wrote very harsh words. Most of the time, Paul started his letters with "My beloved brethren". In contrast, James used these very awful words: 'You adulterers!'. They were, needless to say, believers who eagerly wanted to devote their lives to Jesus, but it was not what they actually did in reality. James, 4:4
It is highly possible that we too can unknowingly become the enemies of God. How do we get to the path of obtaining the salvation of the Lord? You first need to realize that you are covered with filth, recognize that you are lacking so many important things, so unsatisfied, then feel hunger and thirst. Many people complain about others instead of themselves. They criticize and judge other people. When we feel unhappy about other brothers and sisters, we are only pleasing the devil. Before we let out our complaints about other brothers and sisters, shouldn't we think of what we are lacking? What is the mission given to us, the believers? It is to be the sanctuary of God. We do not belong to ourselves, but we belong to the Lord. John wrote an important thing in the Revelation. I will finish the sermon with these verses. Revelation, 2:4
This was actually said to the brothers and sisters in Ephesus. It was one of the largest churches. Revelation, 2:4-5
They won't perish. But, they won't be used by the Lord any longer. |