One: Dont Ask For Help Joy.
As pleasing, always be honest and fear the Lord.
Paul told the church in Colossia. I think Paul wrote this letter to show that there were slaves in the church at that time. Slavery was common in ancient Rome. At that time, as long as one country defeated another, everyone in the failed country would become slaves, whether you were a rich aristocrat or a common people. This led to one of the reasons why there were so many slaves in Roman countries. Paul was accompanied by an escaped slave named Mother Anisi, who finally repented and turned to the Lord. Paul wrote a letter to his master Philemon. In the face of such a person, what was his identity when Cor was called? 7:20? You should still keep it that way. Are you called a slave? Do not worry about this, for those who are called slaves by the Lord have set them free. Those who are called free men are slaves of Christ.
Although there are no slaves now, we are all slaves of the Lord, so Paul's exhortation to slaves at that time still applies to all our children of God and servants of the Lord. Everyone likes to be praised and no one likes to be criticized, so we gradually learn to be likable. At home, we often educate our children that you should be obedient so that people will like you. In school, teachers teach students, and you should study hard, so that teachers will like you. When we get to work, we will be taught to work hard, so that leaders will like you. These are all fine. We have been taught to be likable since childhood, but we are not often taught to be honest and awesome. Because we are likable, we often see the rewards immediately. If you are obedient, mom will buy snacks and study hard. The teacher can make you a class cadre and work hard. The leader will give you a promotion and a raise. But what about pleasing God? Can you see the return immediately? No, sometimes it seems that we have to get hurt or even suffer losses for it. Yue Se is an example. When he was young, he was harassed by a plump woman every day, but Yue Se didn't like his mistress. He thinks he can't do such a terrible thing to offend God. Because he was killed in prison to please God, not people. Is it easy? It's not easy. It's easy for us to talk about it now, because we saw the end of Yue Se in prison. But when Yue Se refused to put his mistress in prison, Yue Se might have made another choice if it weren't for his confidence and fear of God.
The Lord Jesus has taught us many times to please the Lord in everything, because at the moment we become Christians, we have already left this world. Jesus is light, shining in the darkness, but the darkness does not accept light. Follow the Lord Jesus, and we will be the light of this world, and darkness will not accept us. The values, outlook on life and ethics taught by the Lord Jesus are incompatible with the world still in darkness, but water and oil are the same.
The scribes in the Bible were studied and educated by the Bible. Jews have always had great respect for learned people. They like to parade in long dresses and people meet them in the market. Pharisees are a group of people who think they are keen on loving the Lord and observing the teachings of their ancestors. They can't do it, so to speak. They tie up the burden and carry it on others' shoulders, but they can't even move a finger. Everything they do is for people to see, so they broaden the classics they wear and dress well. The child has grown up. They deliberately show their fasting in front of people and strictly abide by the law. The Lord Jesus said that they got their reward and they won people's joy. Only the Lord Jesus teaches us to fast and pray in the dark, because our father will repay us when he sees us in the dark.
An elder of the church testified. He said that at every party, you can always see many people sweeping the floor with brooms. At first, he felt very happy. Later, he found that these people were only so concerned in front of him, so he said, don't sweep the floor in front of me. It's no use. You are sweeping the floor for the heavenly father, not for me.
Of course, we shouldn't think that just because we heard today that Dont Ask For Help likes this word, we will be disgusted. That's not what we mean. Our understanding will be extreme. We should pursue harmony with others in everything and let people see the appearance of Christ in us. What God's son was born to do is to create peace and harmony, so that we can live in peace with God, others and ourselves.
Second, but for the Lord
Whatever you do, you should do it from the heart, as if it were for the Lord rather than for people. This is the principle of all of us, whether serving in the church or living in society. Why are Swiss watches so accurate, so high-end and so accurate in time? Why are German cars so good in quality and so expensive? Because they have faith, they think that everything they do is responsible for God, and then for people. Although they muddle through in front of people, they can't get through in front of God. We all have a Lord who judges us in heaven, and everything we do in the dark will be revealed in the future. The Lord doesn't look at people like men on the outside, but on the inside. No matter what happens, if we think our heavenly father is watching, our hearts will be calm.
However, people are sometimes weak. On the one hand, sometimes when we have served in the church for a long time and have certain service experience and ability in a certain aspect, our hearts often begin to deviate. We wouldn't be so eager to pray for God's ability to be with us at the beginning, because these things are things that we all forget to do for the Lord, because basically everything we do serves our visible brothers and sisters. Therefore, we sometimes feel that we are doing things for our brothers and sisters. I hope we can return to God forever and simply lean on our mother's arms like babies. When our hearts begin to swell and we proudly think that we can do things by ourselves, we lose the power of God. Because God's power is accomplished in man's weakness, Paul prefers to praise his weakness in order to call the power of Christ. That treasures may be put in our earthen vessels, and that this power may be revealed from God and not from us. Oh, my god 1:25 Because God's stupidity is always wiser than man's, and God's weakness is always stronger than man's.
On the other hand, we will think that we have done so many things in the church and done so many sacred things for our brothers and sisters. I am a spiritual person in the church, and I will have spiritual pride. When we first got grace, no matter how much work we did, we felt warm in our hearts, but after a long time, our mentality gradually changed, just like those workers who thought they were working hard all day. We think that we do more and get more, which is the case in many parts of the world. But since Martin Luther's reform, we have heard the word "only grace". We should have perished, and only the grace of God can save us. What can we judge others by? Just like the worker who worked all day, they began to blame the owner for his judgment on other workers and forgot that they came to work in the vineyard because of the owner's "grace". The first worker who came to work in the garden, thinking that he had any advantages, was called by his master to work in the vineyard, but forgot that his master had the right to choose anyone to work for him at any time. This was his right, and we chose passively.
Rom 4:4 Who are you to judge other people's servants? Whether he stops or falls, his master is there. This tells us that we are all servants of God and have the same status, and we are not qualified to judge the servants of God. May we all remember the words in the Bible.
This is the duty of a servant. The servant did as he was told. Does the master still thank him? We have done our work, can we still ask the host to thank us?
Human nature causes our eyes to focus on other people's shortcomings rather than their advantages. God gives everyone a different gift. We shouldn't look down on others because we have all the talents and others don't have such talents, or feel inferior when we see others have what we don't have. God has a plan and meaning for everyone, and every child has a special place in God's plan.
So we don't have to feel inferior. There is only one you in the world, unique and precious. There is a sketch at the Spring Festival party called "The five senses compete for favor". All the five senses on the face say that they are the most important, and nothing else is important. They quarreled endlessly. They finally found that nothing is the most important, everything is equally important, and no one can live without anyone. Oh, my god 12: 17 If you keep your eyes on all directions, where can you hear it? If you have ears all over your body, where can you smell them?
Just as Rome 12:4-5, just as we have many limbs in one body, they are not of the same use, so many of us become one body, connected with each other and become limbs in Christ. According to different gifts, to do your duty well is to love the Lord. God has different plans for everyone. If you do what God entrusts you with, as the Bible says, you should predict according to the degree of faith; If you are a deacon, you should be a deacon, you should be a teacher, you should be a persuader, you should be a persuader, you should be honest in giving alms, you should be diligent in governing, and you should be willing to be compassionate. It's just that we have to remember that all this is for the Lord, not for us to show ourselves. A man said: if God's servant can't stop God's glory, what God has done to him will be beyond words. May everything we do be from the heart, as if it were for the Lord rather than for others.
Third, get a reward from the Lord.
For you know that you will receive this inheritance from the Lord as a reward, and you will serve the Lord Christ.
The Bible promises that after death, when Jesus comes again, he will rise again and be with the Lord forever. Our most intuitive statement is to believe in Jesus and go to heaven. Faith can solve the ultimate problem of human beings, that is, the ultimate concern, the problem after death. Confucius said: If you don't know life, how can you know death? True faith is to solve what happens after death. Here I don't want to talk about the reward we received from the Lord after death, sharing the lamb feast with the Lord and being with God forever. I want to talk about the rewards we have received from the Lord in this life.
Jesus said to Peter, whoever leaves a house, a brother, a sister, a father, a mother, children or a field for my name will receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. What is this hundredfold? Can I get 100 if I leave a family? Can you get 1 00 mu of land if you leave1mu of land? This is like a sermon on the mountain: blessed are the gentle, and they will inherit the earth.
In that case, there is a little skill and successful theology.
Dear brothers and sisters, let's ask ourselves, how many times have we been happy in this life? Jacob said to Pharaoh, the years I lived as a stranger in the world were 130 years old, and the days of my life were not as bitter as those of my fathers. How many people can compare with Jacob? He is very rich. He has two wives, one he loves deeply, two concubines, 12 sons, one of whom is the prime minister. Moses, the national hero of Israel, also said, "Our past days were all under your wrath. The years we spent were like a sigh. The date of our life is seventy years old. If you are strong, you can live to be 80. But all they boast about is hard work and anxiety. In the blink of an eye, we will fly away. "
Job cursed his birthday in the ashes, because his body was worse than death and his heart was dead. Paul said, I'm really in pain. Who can save me from this dead body?
There is nothing new under the sun. It was like this in the past and it is like this now.
What did the Lord Jesus come into the world for? The son of man came to find and save those who were lost. The Lord Jesus also said, Come to me, all you who are tired and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Human life has been so innocent for several years. Since we are a little sensible, we have started this hard life. How many people have worked hard all their lives and ended up miserable? How many people have died at an early age, and haven't had time to see this world that is defiled by sin but still has God? How many people don't know why they are alive all their lives and are afraid of death because they don't know where they will go after death? How many people died in their prime? A few years ago, Lu Ruoqing, the most beautiful anti-cancer girl, suddenly ended her life at the most lush time, leaving her parents with endless pain and thoughts. There are so many people under the high wall and so many patients in the hospital bed. What should I do when the elders, brothers and sisters and the world are hungry? What is the most rare thing in a person's life/is inner peace. When he encountered any trouble, any encounter, or any dead end, Jesus said loudly: If a person is thirsty, he can come to me to drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture says, will flow out of his belly rivers of living water.
If a man drinks the water given by the Lord, he will never be thirsty. The water given by the Lord will become a fountain in him, enduring forever.
Nightingale, founder of nursing: at the age of 30, I was desperate for the world: I wrote in my diary, Lord, what kind of person do you want me to be? I don't want anything now. I just want to die. I don't know what happened to her. But when she stood up again by the Lord, when the fountain of living water of the Lord Jesus flowed into her thirsty heart, she found her purpose in life. Before she returned to heaven at the age of 90, she left a beautiful footprint and witness of a Christian in history. /kloc-in the 9th century, she and those who introduced disinfectants and anesthetics into the medical field. Her reward from God is to be the blessing and help of others.
The reward of the Lord is not necessarily the wealth of the family, the wealth of high officials and the success of the career, but the peace that the Lord has given us, unlike what the world has given us. We should not be sad or timid. We have sufferings in the world, but we can rest assured, because the Lord has conquered the world. One of the greatest gifts that the Lord has given us in this life is inner peace and joy. It is up to the Lord to put on all the military uniforms given by God and win this dark and powerful world.
Jacob finally worshipped God with his staff and became the ancestor of the 12 tribe. Moses finally led the Israelites out of Egypt and fulfilled God's prophecy to Abraham. Job's experience has been an infinite comfort to countless other suffering souls. I have heard of you before, and now I have seen you with my own eyes.