바울의 마지막 문안 인사 (30) 바울 은 마지막 문안 인사에서 이렇게 말씀했습니다 : “아킵보에게 이르기를 주 안에서 받은 직분을 삼가 이루라고 하라” ( 골 4:17). 아킵보는 자신의 직분을 충분히 입증하라는 말씀 입니다 . 신약성경에 나타난 주요 직분으로는 목사 , 장로 , 집사 등이 있습니다 . 직분자들은 자신의 직분을 충분히 입증하기 위해선 (1) 그리스도 예수님께 감사해야 합니다 . 디모데전서 1 장 12 절입니다 : “나에게 힘을 주신 우리 주 그리스도 예수님께 내가 감사하는 것은 나를 충성스러운 사람으로 여겨 나에게 직분을 맡겨 주셨기 때문입니다 . ” 바울은 자신이 예수 그리스도를 믿지 않았을 때에 모르고 하나님을 모독하고 성도들을 핍박하던 난폭한 사람이었는데 하나님께서 자신을 불쌍히 여겨 주시사 회심케하셨을 뿐만 아니라 사명을 주시사 이방인의 사도로 세우셨기에 예수님께 감사했습니다 . (2) 은혜의식 속에서 더 많이 수고해야 합니다 . 고린도전서 15 장 8-10 절입니다 : “맨 나중에는 부족하기 짝이 없는 내게도 나타나셨습니다 . 나는 사도들 중에 가장 보잘것없는 사람이며 하나님의 교회를 박해했기 때문에 사도라고 불릴 자격마저 없습니다 . 그러나 오늘날 내가 이렇게 된 것은 하나님의 은혜로 된 것이며 내게 주신 그분의 은혜가 헛되지 않아 내가 다른 모든 사도들보다 더 많이 일했습니다 . 그렇지만 그것은 내가 한 것이 아니라 나와 함께 하신 하나님의 은혜였습니다 . ” 그래서 그는 은혜 의식 속에서 다른 모든 사도들보다 더 많이 일을 했습니다 . 우리도 그 리 해야 합니다 .
God will surely help us
“With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah” (2 Chronicles 32:8).
Do we surely believe in God's help? If so, we must cut off everything we depend on beside God. If we don’t cut off them, that mean we don’t fully believe in God's help. We should not be mistaken.
Hezekiah, king of Judah, did right in the sight of God, according to all that his father David had done (2 Chron. 29:2). He consecrated the Levites and the house of the Lord (v. 5). He cleansed the house of the Lord by removing every unclean thing in it (vv. 15-17). Also after he destroyed all the idols (31:1) he made the priests and the Levites not only to minister, to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord (v. 2) but also he made them to devote themselves to the law of the Lord (v. 4). In one word, King Hezekiah reformed Judah. He did what was good, right and true before his God (v. 20). “Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered” (v. 21). But after these acts of faithfulness, Hezekiah had a crisis (32:1). The crisis was that Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities (v. 1). Isn’t this strange? If Hezekiah had sinned against God by worshiping idols and by being unfaithful to God, we would understand that this crisis came to him. We can understand that because of his sin, he was in crisis as the discipline of God's love. But even though King Hezekiah did what was good, right and true before God (31:20) and reformed Judah, the crisis came to him. Why did he face such a crisis? Don’t you think it’s strange? One of the reasons was that God wanted Hezekiah, who walked faithfully in the sight of God, to trust God's help and completely depend on Him through the crisis so that he might see the glory of God. Indeed, King Hezekiah fully believed in God's help. That was why he took courage and rebuilt all the wall that had been broken down and erected towers on it, and built another outside wall and strengthened the Millo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in great number (32:5). “He appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the square at the city gate, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, ‘Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.’ And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah” (vv. 6-8). Hezekiah never expressed his faith in God's help with these words alone. Surprisingly, when he saw Sennacherib king of Assyria coming to Jerusalem, he decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were outside the city (v. 3). This is just like suicide when we think in common sense. It was because when he cut off the water supply, not only the king of Assyria and his soldiers who came to battle the people of Judah outside the city couldn’t get water but also King Hezekiah and the people of Judah who were inside as well. Why did King Hezekiah do this? What did he lead himself and his people to the crisis in which they might die by thirst (v. 11)? That was because King Hezekiah completely believed in God's help. He believed that God would help him and the people of Judah (v. 8). Do we really believe that God will help us?
After I proclaimed this message during the Morning Prayer today and as I was praying, I reflected on myself with this word of God. In doing so, I remembered the two promises God gave me to me (Jn. 6:1-15 and Mt. 16:18). And as I looked at the cross of Jesus Christ, I sought my God and asked Him for help. I asked the Lord to build His church as He promised to us in Matthew 16:18. As I was doing so, the thought that came to my mind was as King Hezekiah decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off the water supply from the springs which were outside the city (2 Chron. 32:3) maybe God wanted me and my church leaders needed to come together to discuss and make wise decision for our church for His sake. The thought that came to my mind was if there was anything that we relied on more than God, we must decide to cut off all those things so that we might completely depend on God. We must cut off everything that we depend on besides God. If we aren’t cut them off, the means we do not fully believe in God's help. But if we are convinced that God will surely help us, like King Hezekiah, we must cut off water sources, even if we may be thirst for water. When we cut them off, we will be able to receive true help through the God who made the heavens and the earth.
“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth” (Psalms 121:1-2).
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