In community, how can we focus on Christ Jesus? “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, adn I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, fro I am gentle adn humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt. 11:28-30) 1. Full awareness of Christ in you Beware of allowing your self-awareness tocontinue, because slowly but surely it will awaken self-pity, and self-pity is satanic... Learn to leave others alone regarding this. Simply ask the Lord to give you Christ-awareness, adn He wil steady you until your completeness in Him is absolute. A complete life is the life of a child. It is the sick person who really knows what health is. A child of God is not aware of the will of God because he is the will of God. When we have deviated even slightly from the will of God, we begin to ask, “Lord, what is your will?” A child of God never prays to be made aware of the fact that God answers prayer, because he is so restfully certain God always answers prayer. - Oswald Chambers, MUFHH, 8. 20. Yes, indeed. If you are full of grace of God, fully aware the Christ in you, You don’t have to be troubled or try to guess what is the will of God. When you are fully absorbed in the presence of God, you are the very will of God. Beloved child doesn’t have to ask to his father, “Father, am I your child?” Being is first, after that doing comes. It is like a skillful swimmer in the water. In Ezekiel 47, the water flows from the temple. The water risen higher and higher until the river in which man can swim. (cf. Eze. 47:1-5). Do you have ever seen the skillful swimmer in the river? He seems to be one with the water. He plays in the water, sinking into the deep bed and comes up again and again. Like a fish, he swims freely in the water. If you are fully sinking in the presence of God, you don’t have to concern whether you are in Christ or not. You only need to pray to God, praise Him and play your life! Full awareness of Christ in the community Then, how about in the communuity? Christian living is not about lone ranger, but about walking together. When you are alone with God, in the morning devotional time, everything might be good. The presence of God is so so sweet. His voice heals you. His gentle rebuke corrects you. When you are alone, everything is good. When you come out fromt he presence of God, however, everything is different and difficult. Someone beside you may not taste the presence of God today. The other may not know Christ at all. Someone goes deeper than you today. The other couldn’t meet God today. Various men make community and you live in this community. Then, how can you focus on God in your communuity? Wait. Wait patiently. Wait for your neighbor until he come to the water. Paul wrote to the community of Corinth regarding food sacrificed to idols, saying “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (1 Cor. 8:9). In community, in solitude- Meditation on Psalm 41 Psalm 41 says something beautiful about the ‘full awareness of Christ in community.’ In this psalm, there are three characteristics: Blessed one, the weak and the LORD. Verse 1 said, Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the LORD delivers them in times of trouble. I think the blessed and the weak is different person. But it is ambiguous whom the LORD delivers in their trouble. the LORD delivers those who have regard for the weak. Whenever you do good thing, you are surely rewarded by God, the All knowing. He remembers your good deeds and repay you, on earth as in the heaven. So, when the one who have regard for the weak is in trouble, the LORD surely save him. the LORD delivers the weak. It is the very attribute of God. He is the father of the fatherless. He take care for the weak and needy. If you are weak, take good courage! You are the one who is greatly loved by God! 3) The LORD takes care anyone who is weak and crying upon the Him. How does He take care the weak? He delivers them in times of trouble (1). He protects them (2) He preserves them (2) He does not give them over to the desire of their foes (2). He sustains them on their sickbed (3). And He restores them from their bed of illness (3). So, when you are in trouble, pray to God. How can we pray? It’s simple: Have mercy on me, LORD (4). Plea to God for His mercy. Heal me (4). Ask what you need simply and directly to God (not man!). I have sinned against you (4). Confess every sin to God. If you think there is only ‘angels’ in the Christian community, you are so simple! Enemy can evoke anyone in our community. Discern!! When you meet the one who does like the below, you should think, “Oh! Behind him, there is an ENEMY!” Enemy does... say of me in malice (5). come to see me whether I am OK or not (6). speak falsely (6). Yes! The major part of the enemy! goes out and spread bad news around (6). whisper together against me (7). imagine the worst for me (7). (even though he is your best friend) he turns against you (9). These are the actions of the enemy, not man but satan. Then, how can we do in times of trouble, in community and in solitude? Just come to Jesus. Be alone with God first, and keep focus on Him in community. From the verse 4, the psalmist says in singular, not in plural. It may indicate that the view point is changed from general to the specific. The psalmist is now in trouble. He remembers good memories of God (vv. 1-3) and now he pleas to God (4-13). When the psalmist says in 1st singular, he is not alone but in the community. He is in solitude with God, in the turmoil of the community. He faced the trial and discern the enemy’s attack (4-9). But he keeps his focus on God, relying on Him and prays to God. “I know that you are pleased with me” (11), He surely remember good memories with God. “for my enemy does not triumph over me” (11). What a great confidence he has! “But may you have mercy on me, LORD; raise me up, that I may repay them” (10). With the powerful plea, “have mercy on me, LORD,” the psalmist say something radical, “I may repay them.” I don’t think his thinking is confused due to the rage. We cannot repay anything. Only God can repay for us. But he did say, “I may repay them.” It is his confidence that he is in God, fully absorbed in Him, greatly aware the Christ in him. He believed that his will is God’s will so that he could say, “I may repay them.” “Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever” (12). There is no one could say boldly “I am honest,” or something else. In his prayer, however, he confessed his sin against God. After the confession, he has confidence that the righteousness, the right relationship with God, is completed. So that he boldly says that ‘I am honest. So that He uphold me.” In community, sometimes we meet trouble and hardship. In times of trouble, come to Jesus. Be alone with God. Plea to God. But remember that you are not alone at all. Though you are alone with God, you are still in your community. When you say something, therefore, your saying should influence to your brothers and sisters in your community. Psalm 41 ends with the praise to God. “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.” (13). This end is not only for the psalm 41 but for the book 1 of Psalms. In community Then, how can we do good in our community? There are many teaching in the Bible. I select just one thing: live in peace and be holy. Hebrews said “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone adn to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). It is interesting that living in peace and being holy come together. Why did the Bible say like this? Because the holiness is not about the lone ranger. Christian life is not about the one of the monk in the desert, but about the real life in the community. So James said “Religion (I think it should be translated as ‘godliness,’) that God our Father accepts as pure adn faultless is this: to look after orphans adn widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:27). Therefore, make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy (Heb. 12:14). How can we live in peace with everyone as well as be holy in our community? Be merciful to each other. Psalm 41 clearly said “blessed are those who have regard for the weak.” (41:1). When you face the trouble, come to Jesus and pray to God (psalm 41:4-9, 10, 11). Tell only to God not to man, never! Do not quarrel at all (Pb. 20:3). In case of dispute, just make clear and do not say something secret about your neighbor. In short, do not make worse! Forgive your enemy and keep watch over not to make the bitter root to grow. Unforgiving spirit makes bitterness. The bitterness cause another trouble and defile many. Therefore the unforgiving is the sin. Be holy, holy, holy, like your Father God is holy. In thinking, saying, doing, wearing, and everything, be careful to be holy. Again, being holy is not only about keeping pure in your heart and body, but about taking care the orphans and widows. Conclusion Beyound your destructive self-awareness to full awareness of Christ is achieved not by your might but by His Spirit. Come to Jesus, in every time. Consider yourself as the beloved child of God, again and again. Live simple, express your joy and sorrow. Be at peace and holy. Remember: you are not a lone ranger. You are in Christ and in your community. That’s your highest calling.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 06:17:56 +0000
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