Sunday Worship Service March 17, 2024
Call to Worship Hosea 6:6
Hymn JBC # 232 On the cross of Calvary
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 227 Up Calv’ry’s mountain
Offering
Scripture Luke 6:1~11
Prayer
Sermon “What is unlawful on the Sabbath”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 230 On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
Doxology JBC # 674
Benediction
Postlude
In today's Bible passage, Jesus and his disciples go through a grain (wheat) field on the Sabbath (Jewish Sabbath: Saturday).
There the disciples, probably hungry, picked ears of wheat, rubbed them with their hands, and ate them. (Perhaps Jesus ate them too.)
The wheat field surely belonged to someone else. However, Jesus' disciples plucked the ears of wheat, rubbed them, and ate them.
It was permitted by the Biblical law. The Old Testament book of ‘Deuteronomy’, chapter 23, verses 25~26 (24~25 NIV), states the following.
24 If you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. 25 If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels (*edible parts) with your hands, but you must not put a sickle (*a farming tool to cut the grain effectively) to their standing grain.
This is the commandment that when one is truly hungry, he may take the produce of another's (neighbor's) field and eat it. This is God's commandment that the owner of the field must also be willing to help his hungry neighbor.
However, that commandment in Deuteronomy forbids taking the crop beyond truly satisfying the hunger, saying, "You shall not put it in a basket (to store it) " and "You shall not use a sickle (to cut it more than needed quantity)”.
The commandment reminds us that we are all guilty of covetousness (greedy, excessive desire), of wanting more than we need, and that we are all capable of the sin of "coveting" more than we need.
Having said that, God has decreed that none of us should be short of the food we really need, the food we need to live, and that it is the duty of the community to strive to prevent that from happening.
However, there were some people who saw Jesus' disciples passing through the wheat field and taking wheat and eating it. And they condemned the disciples and questioned them.
The Pharisees, who were strictly interpreting the biblical law, asked Jesus' disciples, who were taking wheat and eating it, "Why do you do what you should not do on the Sabbath?"
That day was the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a commandment established by God and strictly enjoined (ordered) by Him to be kept by the Israelites from generation to generation.
In the Old Testament book of ‘Exodus’, God tells Moses the words of the Ten Commandments. In the Ten Commandments, the law about the Sabbath is recorded as follows.
(Exodus 20:8~11)
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Among the Ten Commandments, the commandment concerning the Sabbath is relatively large in quantity and detailed as so described.
Those called the Pharisees and the teachers of the laws, in order to strictly observe the commandment, defined what (what kind of action) constituted "labor".
It is said the rules also included a "distance allowed to be walked in a day”. It is said that the distance was about one kilometer, and any distance beyond that was considered "labor”.
The act of plucking the ears of wheat and rubbing them to extract the berries was also considered a labor as "harvesting work".
The Pharisees asked, " Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"
They said, "You are violating the law by not keeping the Sabbath!" and thus they accused Jesus and His disciples.
What is happening here? What is happening here, it seems to me, is a lack of empathy for the other person.
Jesus' disciples should have been familiar with the Sabbath commandment. Jesus had already taught the Word of God to many, and his reputation as a teacher (and healer of the sick) was widely known.
There is no way that Jesus and his disciples could have been unaware of the important Sabbath commandment and the interpretation of its application. Jesus and his disciples must have known that the normal "harvest" was a labor which the Sabbath forbids.
If so, the fact that Jesus' disciples still took the wheat and ate it there means that they were so seriously hungry.
The Pharisees needed to see Jesus' disciples and their hunger and feel compassion (empathy) for them before they accused them asking "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"
I often judge people based on their appearance, on the surface, and often judge them in my mind.
Not trying to understand the person's situation, but instead I just dismiss him or her as "they are different from me" only on the surface.
Letter to the Hebrews Ch.13 verse 3 says as follows.
Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
We would never know what it is like to be “in prison” or "mistreated" unless we also have truly experienced such a thing.
Still, we should be able to use our imagination to wonder what would happen to people if they were placed in such an environment.
It is my hope that by exercising our imagination with compassion, we will not make sin that is to judge other people so easily.
I hope and pray that we will not judge a person only by surface, and that we will try to put ourselves in his or her shoes as much as possible, without losing the heart (that God has given to us) of caring for others.
Jesus responds to the Pharisees' question by referring to an event concerning David as depicted in the Old Testament book of ‘Samuel’ 21.
David had been chosen by the prophet Samuel to be the next king after Saul. However, David was envied by Saul and even had his life threatened by Saul, so David fled.
Then David goes to a priest named Ahimelech and asks Ahimelech to give him food.
There was only consecrated (specially portioned) bread. Consecrated bread was something that only the priests were allowed to eat.
However, David even lied that he had been sent by the king and he obtained the bread, which in principle only the priests were allowed to eat.
The Bible does not encourage lying. But David was in a life-or-death situation, and the rule that only priests are allowed to eat consecrated bread loses its validity before the life of one man, David.
Today's story from verse 6 also concerns what is and is not allowed on the Sabbath. Jesus was teaching in a synagogue. There was one man whose right hand was shriveled, meaning his right hand was paralyzed from some cause.
The person's right hand paralyzed was not a condition where his life was in danger if it were not treated right away. Therefore, healing the person on the Sabbath was considered a non-emergency medical procedure, a kind of "labor.
There, the teachers of the laws and Pharisees were waiting intently to see if Jesus would heal the man with the shriveled right hand.
If Jesus healed the man, they were going to accuse him, saying, "You are performing a labor of a non-urgent act of healing on the Sabbath, a violation of the law!" and they would accuse him.
Indeed, on the face of it, the person's symptoms may not have been life-threatening if not fixed now.
But what were the thoughts of the person whose right hand was shriveled, and how was he feeling at that time? How much suffering had he had to go through before that moment?
Jesus still urges us through the Bible to try to imagine those things and try to sympathize with them.
Jesus saw the man's suffering and thought that the man had to be healed right away at that time, and so Jesus, the Son of God, healed him there.
Let’s confirm the words of Jesus in verses 5 and 9.
“The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
“I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
“What is lawful or unlawful on the Sabbath?"~ when the only thing that matter is whether or not religious rules are observed, the original grace and joy of the Sabbath will be lost from it
Today's passage’s theme is about "commandments" or “religious rules”, and what is it to keep those.
The common image people have of religion may be "a life bound by various rules”.
“You have to go to worship services every week”, “you have to give offering”, “you have to read the Bible”, etc., etc., etc.
However, the believer who is connected to Jesus Christ can live a life of freedom based on the joy of being made a child of God through Christ, rather than a life of "I have to this or that".
We can say that a believer in Christ is one who can live in free in anything. Let us remember again how fortunate we are as believers who have received freedom in Christ and can live in it.
Both the Sabbath and God's other various blessings are for us to obtain through them God's love, mercy, and salvation of life.
We desire to live out our faith in the grace of Sabbath we receive from God, and we desire to live and enjoy the grace of the true Sabbath from God.
Beppu International Baptist Church
別府国際バプテスト教会
Saturday, March 16, 2024
Saturday, March 9, 2024
Sunday Worship Service March 10, 2024
Prelude
Call to Worship 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Hymn JBC # 232 On the cross of Calvary
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 105 There is sunshine in my soul today
Offering
Scripture Exodus 4:18~31
Prayer
Sermon “Moses returns to Egypt”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 255 Face to face with Christ, my Saviour
Doxology JBC # 674
Benediction
Postlude
God appeared to Moses and commanded him to lead his fellow Israelites out of Egypt where they were suffering in slavery.
At that time, Moses was living as a shepherd in a region called Midian. For about 40 years, Moses lived as a shepherd in the Midian region and was now 80 years old.
Moses hesitated to obey God’s commands several times, but God provided him with various signs (miracles) so that the Israelites and Egyptians would believe him.
And Moses finally accepted what God said and decided to go to Egypt and serve in God’s plan to rescue the Israelites.
The first thing Moses did after making this decision is recorded in today’s Bible passage (Exodus 4:18 – 31).
Moses first told Jethro, his father-in-law (Moses’ wife’s father), “Please let me return to Egypt.”
Before Moses left Midian to go to Egypt, he disclosed this to his father-in-law and asked for his understanding and permission.
Moses and Jhetro first met as follows. When Moses first fled Egypt and arrived in the region of Midian, he was sitting by a well. Seven daughters of a priest of Midian had gone there to get water for the flock. (Exodus Ch.2)
The male shepherds there tried to chase the women away, but Moses rescued them.
The daughters’ father was Jethro, a priest in the region of Midian. (For some reason his name is originally written as Reuel in Exodus 2:18. He may also have been called Reuel.)
Moses decided to stay with Jethro, so Jethro gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
When Moses was told by God, “Go back to Egypt and rescue the people of Israel,” Moses was worried that his fellow Israelites would not believe him.
Likewise, he was hesitant because he thought the Egyptians would also not believe him.
However, up until today’s passage, there is nothing written about Moses worrying about what his father-in-law Jethro would say about his return to Egypt.
Despite that, today’s passage shows a hesitant Moses who must explain his decision to “return to Egypt” to his father-in-law, Jethro first, and ask for his permission and understanding.
For Moses, his father-in-law, Jethro, may have become a very important person, perhaps as much as his own father.
Moses must have felt indebted to Jethro for taking care of him and taking him in as he fled from Egypt.
God commanded Moses. God showed him miraculous signs, and he was convinced that it was God’s will for him to be sent to Egypt.
Even so, Moses probably hoped to convey this to his father-in-law Jethro first, gain his understanding, and have Jethro send him off.
Moses didn't think, “Since God told me and I decided so, it doesn’t matter what my father-in-law has to say.”
I think it’s fair to say that even though they weren’t blood-related, there was a strong bond between Moses and Jethro.
In the church, church members and Christians call each other as “brothers and sisters.” It expresses the belief that all believers in the same God, Jesus Christ, are children of God and that we are God’s family united by the same faith.
The fact that we are now a family of faith in the same church is a wondrous thing led by God, just like the encounter between Moses and his father-in-law Jethro.
I hope that those of us who have met in this way and who have become members of God’s family will be able to deepen our relationship as much as possible, where we can share our faith and encourage each other.
Jethro responded to Moses, as Moses had told him “let me go to Egypt”, with just one thing, “Go, and I wish you well.” Although it is just one sentence, it seems to be a statement that clearly expresses Jethro’s heartfelt desire for peace and safety for his son-in-law.
Behind the words, “Go, and I wish you well,” we can imagine Jethro thinking of the path Moses is about to take and praying.
We too, through our connection as believers in Christ, can think of each other and pray for one another to spend our days in peace and reassurance.
Moses was sent out by Jethro, and as recorded in verse 19, the Lord told him, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.”
Then Moses puts his wife and sons on a donkey and headed to Egypt.
Following that, verses 24 - 26 depict a very strange occurrence. God tries to kill Moses who is on his way to Egypt with his wife and children.
Why did God suddenly try to kill Moses, who was following God’s orders by going to Egypt? We do not know the reason.
One interpretation is that the reason was that Moses had not circumcised his son, a sign of an Israelite— one of God’s people.
In the Book of Genesis, the Lord God calls to Abraham, and Abraham leaves his birthplace and journeys to the promised land shown to him by God.
In Genesis 17, God told Abraham, “You will be the father of many nations,” and commanded Abraham and his descendants to keep the Lord’s covenant (commandments).
One of these commandments was circumcision, which was performed on the male children of Israel. This was a sign that distinguished God’s people of Israel from others.
Moses lived in the region of Midian for a long time (and because he was raised in the royal palace of Egypt from infancy to adulthood), and perhaps he didn’t fully understand the importance of the covenant with the Lord God, which was important to the people of Israel.
God (although the severity of killing Moses is beyond our understanding) may have wanted to remind Moses that he himself is a member of the people of Israel and a son of God, and therefore his son is also in the covenant with God and living in His grace.
It was no other than his wife Zipporah who saved Moses’ life then. When Zipporah cut off her son’s foreskin and circumcised him, the Lord released Moses.
Moses’ wife played a role in saving his life. If it wasn’t for Zipporah, Moses might have died there, and we are once again reminded of the importance of the role played by Zipporah, a woman.
Zipporah was Moses’ wife and a woman. As a woman in the culture and customs of the time, she was in a position that was considered weak.
However, the Bible tells us of this important event in which Zipporah’s quick judgment and action saved the life of Moses, who later did the great work of leading the people of Israel out of Egypt.
Compared to Moses, his wife Zipporah’s role was never small, unimportant, nor supporting character.
One of the famous parables that Jesus told is the story of the lost sheep.
The story goes that if a person had 100 sheep and one of them went missing, he should leave the 99 sheep on the mountain and search for the missing one until it is found.
That person in the parable is God. God would never think that “1 out of 100 animals is unimportant.”
Such is our God. Through faith, we can believe that each of us and the roles we play are equally precious and important before God.
Each of us is irreplaceable before God. I hope we can remember that within our current church congregation, everyone has been entrusted by God with an equally important role (even if it doesn’t seem that way to others).
After his life was saved by Zipporah, Moses was led by God to meet his brother Aaron in the wilderness (at the mountain of God).
God had already told Moses, “I will send your brother Aaron to you to speak in your stead because you are not good with words. Speak to him (Aaron) and put into his mouth the words that you need to say.” (Exodus 4:15)
And as it happened, Moses was able to meet Aaron. Moses gradually learned through his own experiences and with the help of others, including his family, that God’s words are powerful and that they are true and reliable.
Moses goes with Aaron and gathers all the elders of the Israelites. And, as God had told him, Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had said to Moses, who in turn showed them the signs (miracles).
From that we see in verse 31 “and they believed.” The word of God was delivered to the people of Israel, and they believed it.
We have read the story of Exodus so far and know how many events took place before the word of God spoken to Moses was finally delivered to the people of Israel by the mouth of Aaron.
At first, Moses was afraid and hesitant, not believing that he could take on the role of preaching God’s word to the people.
But in the end, a patient and merciful God gave Moses the courage to believe in His word, believe in the help of others that God was giving him, and take the first step to complete his difficult mission.
God’s word is so powerful, and God’s word is indeed true. God’s word gives us strength, courage, and hope to carry us through each day.
We have been given such an abundance of God’s word. We have also been given helpers of faith and the family of God.
Therefore, let us walk in faith every day, trusting in the strength and richness of God’s word, without getting caught up in our own weaknesses and doubts.
Prelude
Call to Worship 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Hymn JBC # 232 On the cross of Calvary
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 105 There is sunshine in my soul today
Offering
Scripture Exodus 4:18~31
Prayer
Sermon “Moses returns to Egypt”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 255 Face to face with Christ, my Saviour
Doxology JBC # 674
Benediction
Postlude
God appeared to Moses and commanded him to lead his fellow Israelites out of Egypt where they were suffering in slavery.
At that time, Moses was living as a shepherd in a region called Midian. For about 40 years, Moses lived as a shepherd in the Midian region and was now 80 years old.
Moses hesitated to obey God’s commands several times, but God provided him with various signs (miracles) so that the Israelites and Egyptians would believe him.
And Moses finally accepted what God said and decided to go to Egypt and serve in God’s plan to rescue the Israelites.
The first thing Moses did after making this decision is recorded in today’s Bible passage (Exodus 4:18 – 31).
Moses first told Jethro, his father-in-law (Moses’ wife’s father), “Please let me return to Egypt.”
Before Moses left Midian to go to Egypt, he disclosed this to his father-in-law and asked for his understanding and permission.
Moses and Jhetro first met as follows. When Moses first fled Egypt and arrived in the region of Midian, he was sitting by a well. Seven daughters of a priest of Midian had gone there to get water for the flock. (Exodus Ch.2)
The male shepherds there tried to chase the women away, but Moses rescued them.
The daughters’ father was Jethro, a priest in the region of Midian. (For some reason his name is originally written as Reuel in Exodus 2:18. He may also have been called Reuel.)
Moses decided to stay with Jethro, so Jethro gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
When Moses was told by God, “Go back to Egypt and rescue the people of Israel,” Moses was worried that his fellow Israelites would not believe him.
Likewise, he was hesitant because he thought the Egyptians would also not believe him.
However, up until today’s passage, there is nothing written about Moses worrying about what his father-in-law Jethro would say about his return to Egypt.
Despite that, today’s passage shows a hesitant Moses who must explain his decision to “return to Egypt” to his father-in-law, Jethro first, and ask for his permission and understanding.
For Moses, his father-in-law, Jethro, may have become a very important person, perhaps as much as his own father.
Moses must have felt indebted to Jethro for taking care of him and taking him in as he fled from Egypt.
God commanded Moses. God showed him miraculous signs, and he was convinced that it was God’s will for him to be sent to Egypt.
Even so, Moses probably hoped to convey this to his father-in-law Jethro first, gain his understanding, and have Jethro send him off.
Moses didn't think, “Since God told me and I decided so, it doesn’t matter what my father-in-law has to say.”
I think it’s fair to say that even though they weren’t blood-related, there was a strong bond between Moses and Jethro.
In the church, church members and Christians call each other as “brothers and sisters.” It expresses the belief that all believers in the same God, Jesus Christ, are children of God and that we are God’s family united by the same faith.
The fact that we are now a family of faith in the same church is a wondrous thing led by God, just like the encounter between Moses and his father-in-law Jethro.
I hope that those of us who have met in this way and who have become members of God’s family will be able to deepen our relationship as much as possible, where we can share our faith and encourage each other.
Jethro responded to Moses, as Moses had told him “let me go to Egypt”, with just one thing, “Go, and I wish you well.” Although it is just one sentence, it seems to be a statement that clearly expresses Jethro’s heartfelt desire for peace and safety for his son-in-law.
Behind the words, “Go, and I wish you well,” we can imagine Jethro thinking of the path Moses is about to take and praying.
We too, through our connection as believers in Christ, can think of each other and pray for one another to spend our days in peace and reassurance.
Moses was sent out by Jethro, and as recorded in verse 19, the Lord told him, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.”
Then Moses puts his wife and sons on a donkey and headed to Egypt.
Following that, verses 24 - 26 depict a very strange occurrence. God tries to kill Moses who is on his way to Egypt with his wife and children.
Why did God suddenly try to kill Moses, who was following God’s orders by going to Egypt? We do not know the reason.
One interpretation is that the reason was that Moses had not circumcised his son, a sign of an Israelite— one of God’s people.
In the Book of Genesis, the Lord God calls to Abraham, and Abraham leaves his birthplace and journeys to the promised land shown to him by God.
In Genesis 17, God told Abraham, “You will be the father of many nations,” and commanded Abraham and his descendants to keep the Lord’s covenant (commandments).
One of these commandments was circumcision, which was performed on the male children of Israel. This was a sign that distinguished God’s people of Israel from others.
Moses lived in the region of Midian for a long time (and because he was raised in the royal palace of Egypt from infancy to adulthood), and perhaps he didn’t fully understand the importance of the covenant with the Lord God, which was important to the people of Israel.
God (although the severity of killing Moses is beyond our understanding) may have wanted to remind Moses that he himself is a member of the people of Israel and a son of God, and therefore his son is also in the covenant with God and living in His grace.
It was no other than his wife Zipporah who saved Moses’ life then. When Zipporah cut off her son’s foreskin and circumcised him, the Lord released Moses.
Moses’ wife played a role in saving his life. If it wasn’t for Zipporah, Moses might have died there, and we are once again reminded of the importance of the role played by Zipporah, a woman.
Zipporah was Moses’ wife and a woman. As a woman in the culture and customs of the time, she was in a position that was considered weak.
However, the Bible tells us of this important event in which Zipporah’s quick judgment and action saved the life of Moses, who later did the great work of leading the people of Israel out of Egypt.
Compared to Moses, his wife Zipporah’s role was never small, unimportant, nor supporting character.
One of the famous parables that Jesus told is the story of the lost sheep.
The story goes that if a person had 100 sheep and one of them went missing, he should leave the 99 sheep on the mountain and search for the missing one until it is found.
That person in the parable is God. God would never think that “1 out of 100 animals is unimportant.”
Such is our God. Through faith, we can believe that each of us and the roles we play are equally precious and important before God.
Each of us is irreplaceable before God. I hope we can remember that within our current church congregation, everyone has been entrusted by God with an equally important role (even if it doesn’t seem that way to others).
After his life was saved by Zipporah, Moses was led by God to meet his brother Aaron in the wilderness (at the mountain of God).
God had already told Moses, “I will send your brother Aaron to you to speak in your stead because you are not good with words. Speak to him (Aaron) and put into his mouth the words that you need to say.” (Exodus 4:15)
And as it happened, Moses was able to meet Aaron. Moses gradually learned through his own experiences and with the help of others, including his family, that God’s words are powerful and that they are true and reliable.
Moses goes with Aaron and gathers all the elders of the Israelites. And, as God had told him, Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had said to Moses, who in turn showed them the signs (miracles).
From that we see in verse 31 “and they believed.” The word of God was delivered to the people of Israel, and they believed it.
We have read the story of Exodus so far and know how many events took place before the word of God spoken to Moses was finally delivered to the people of Israel by the mouth of Aaron.
At first, Moses was afraid and hesitant, not believing that he could take on the role of preaching God’s word to the people.
But in the end, a patient and merciful God gave Moses the courage to believe in His word, believe in the help of others that God was giving him, and take the first step to complete his difficult mission.
God’s word is so powerful, and God’s word is indeed true. God’s word gives us strength, courage, and hope to carry us through each day.
We have been given such an abundance of God’s word. We have also been given helpers of faith and the family of God.
Therefore, let us walk in faith every day, trusting in the strength and richness of God’s word, without getting caught up in our own weaknesses and doubts.
Sunday, March 3, 2024
Sunday Worship Service March 3, 2024
Prelude
Call to Worship Ezekiel 11:19
Hymn JBC # 232 On the cross of Calvary
Prayer Time
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 134 Sing them over again to me
Offering
Scripture Luke 5:33~39
Prayer
Sermon “New wine into new wineskins”
Prayer
Hymn JBC #656 Give of your best to the Master
Doxology JBC # 674
Benediction
Postlude
In today's Bible passage, people ask Jesus a question:
“John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”
John here refers to "John the Baptist." The man known as John the Baptist was the one who baptized Jesus. John's disciples and the Pharisees frequently fasted and prayed.
However, those who asked this question had the impression that Jesus' disciples, although they believe in the same God, did not seem to fast much, but rather were always eating and drinking.
The passage before today's passage tells the story of a tax collector named Levi, who was sitting at his tax booth when Jesus called out to him, “Follow me”, and he became Jesus’ disciple.
Levi immediately followed Jesus, and he threw a great banquet for Jesus at his house. Levi was very happy that Jesus called him and that he became his disciple.
Many other tax collectors and other people were also invited to the banquet.
During that time, tax collectors were regarded as people who cooperated with the Roman Empire, who ruled the Jewish people, and therefore they were shunned and hated by their fellow Jews because they were regarded as traitors. Tax collectors were seen even as “sinners”.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law, who strictly interpreted the commandments of the scripture (in their own way) and tried to live their lives in accordance to the law, saw Jesus eating with people who were regarded as “sinners” and asked the following question:
“Why do you (Jesus and his disciples) eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” (Luke 5:30)
Those who were called Pharisees and teachers of the law had decided not to eat with tax collectors or sinners, or to associate with them at all. So, for them the act of eating with sinners is unthinkable.
Therefore, they expressed their doubts by asking, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? (Even though it is not right to do so)?”
Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
By saying this, Jesus was trying to teach the Pharisees and the teachers of law who thought they are righteous, that “all people, including you, are sinners and in need of God's healing and forgiveness”.
In today's passage, Jesus and his disciples were eating together with tax collectors and sinners, and they don't seem to be fasting much so people may have thought in their hearts that Jesus and his disciples were inferior in terms of religious belief.
In reality, Jesus and his disciples were also fasting. Since the times of the Old Testament, people who believe in God have fasted to express their feelings of sadness, suffering, and also repentance.
There are passages in the Gospels where it is recorded that Jesus himself fasted. It happened when Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry of evangelism.
In Luke 4:1-2 (also written in Matthew 4) it says:
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
Jesus fasted for 40 days, resolutely putting himself in a very severe situation, and trying to resist the temptations of the devil with the words of God (the power of God).
Jesus also did not forbid his disciples to fast.
However, Jesus gave the following warnings to his disciples regarding fasting.
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
The original purpose of fasting should have been to express suffering, sadness, and repentance by abstaining from food and becoming hungry, and through hunger receiving more spiritual power from God and increasing one's trust in God.
However, as Jesus points out here, fasting was deviating from such spiritual purposes to a "performance to impress others that you are virtuous and religious."
When Jesus said "hypocrites," he did not refer to only a few certain people at the time Jesus lived, but actually any of us today can become such hypocrites. That’s why we must be careful and keep this in mind.
I hope we can learn from today's passage that we can become like these hypocrites: using even our own faith to fulfill our desires to be proud of ourselves and to be recognized by others.
Fasting and prayer (Jesus also tells us in another passage not to pray in public like hypocrites with too many words) are actions that deepen our relationship with God; they are not ways to show people how religious we are.
Jesus taught his disciples the right attitude towards fasting and prayer. Therefore, Jesus never forbade fasting itself.
But Jesus' disciples didn't seem to be fasting as often as John's disciples and the Pharisees, so people asked, “Why don't your disciples fast instead of eating and drinking?”
Jesus answered as follows. It’s from verse 34-35.
34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”
Jesus answers with a parable. The bridegroom is Jesus himself.
There, Jesus asked the people whether they truly have the joy of knowing that the Savior Jesus Christ, God, was with them.
That means when putting first the joy of knowing that there is God who forgives our sins and lives with us (eats with us), we would never be able to fast and would rather have a grand banquet.
In other words, Jesus was asking those who question the faith of others by saying, “Why don't you fast?” this question: Jesus asked them “Do you really have the joy of faith?”
That question is indeed directed to each of us today. Sometimes it is meaningful to fast and receive spiritual nourishment from God.
However, we must ask ourselves the following question: Do I really have the joy of knowing that “God is with me”, “I am so loved by God that Jesus Christ died for me” as the foundation of our faith? Each of us must take this seriously once again.
Let us once again remember the ultimate joy we have in Christ, in God’s calling, and offer our heartfelt gratitude and joy to God.
However, "the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away" - that is, the time will come when the Lord Jesus will bear our sins and die on the cross in our place.
At that time, Jesus said that His disciples would also do fasting as a form of sincere repentance.
We are currently in the season of Lent. As we remember the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ on the way to the cross (regardless of whether we actually fast or not), let’s observe the season of Lent with gratitude and repentance (turning our hearts toward God).
Starting in verse 36, Jesus tells a parable about wine and wineskins: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one.”
New cloth will shrink when washed. So, if we patch old cloth with a part cut from new cloth, the new cloth will also be wasted, and when we wash them, the new cloth will tear the old cloth, ruining the old cloth as well.
Jesus also gives the example of how the force of fermentation of new wine tears the old wineskins apart. (For those of us who don't have the habit of putting wine in a wineskin, this parable may be difficult to understand)
The meaning of this illustration is that Jesus is the one who brings a completely new life and way of life to people, and those who believe in Jesus Christ cannot remain the same as they were before they met Jesus.
This means that you cannot receive the life of Christ while maintaining your old lifestyle.
When you accept Jesus Christ into your life, you are no longer the center of yourself.
If we are the center of ourselves, we will always try to find our worth by boasting to others about our own righteousness and abilities.
Therefore, even acts of faith such as prayer and fasting will become a means of boasting and showing off to others.
However, once we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts and truly make Him the center of our lives, we no longer have any reason to be proud of ourselves. Because there’s no need to do that anymore.
Since Christ is the one to be worshiped, believers in Christ will not find self-value (value of their existence) by boasting their own deeds or abilities.
When this happens, prayer, fasting, and the worship we offer will become acts of heartfelt joy and gratitude. That joy will become the light of faith, and will surely illuminate those around us.
If we are rejoicing in our new life in Christ, then the worship we offer should also be one filled with gratitude and joy. And people will naturally be drawn to such worship.
By encountering Jesus Christ, believing in Him, and allowing Him to live in our hearts, we can no longer remain in our old selves.
Rather, the "old wineskin" of our old "self" was broken through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us live a life centered on Christ and walk the path of a new life led by Christ.
Prelude
Call to Worship Ezekiel 11:19
Hymn JBC # 232 On the cross of Calvary
Prayer Time
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 134 Sing them over again to me
Offering
Scripture Luke 5:33~39
Prayer
Sermon “New wine into new wineskins”
Prayer
Hymn JBC #656 Give of your best to the Master
Doxology JBC # 674
Benediction
Postlude
In today's Bible passage, people ask Jesus a question:
“John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”
John here refers to "John the Baptist." The man known as John the Baptist was the one who baptized Jesus. John's disciples and the Pharisees frequently fasted and prayed.
However, those who asked this question had the impression that Jesus' disciples, although they believe in the same God, did not seem to fast much, but rather were always eating and drinking.
The passage before today's passage tells the story of a tax collector named Levi, who was sitting at his tax booth when Jesus called out to him, “Follow me”, and he became Jesus’ disciple.
Levi immediately followed Jesus, and he threw a great banquet for Jesus at his house. Levi was very happy that Jesus called him and that he became his disciple.
Many other tax collectors and other people were also invited to the banquet.
During that time, tax collectors were regarded as people who cooperated with the Roman Empire, who ruled the Jewish people, and therefore they were shunned and hated by their fellow Jews because they were regarded as traitors. Tax collectors were seen even as “sinners”.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law, who strictly interpreted the commandments of the scripture (in their own way) and tried to live their lives in accordance to the law, saw Jesus eating with people who were regarded as “sinners” and asked the following question:
“Why do you (Jesus and his disciples) eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” (Luke 5:30)
Those who were called Pharisees and teachers of the law had decided not to eat with tax collectors or sinners, or to associate with them at all. So, for them the act of eating with sinners is unthinkable.
Therefore, they expressed their doubts by asking, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? (Even though it is not right to do so)?”
Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
By saying this, Jesus was trying to teach the Pharisees and the teachers of law who thought they are righteous, that “all people, including you, are sinners and in need of God's healing and forgiveness”.
In today's passage, Jesus and his disciples were eating together with tax collectors and sinners, and they don't seem to be fasting much so people may have thought in their hearts that Jesus and his disciples were inferior in terms of religious belief.
In reality, Jesus and his disciples were also fasting. Since the times of the Old Testament, people who believe in God have fasted to express their feelings of sadness, suffering, and also repentance.
There are passages in the Gospels where it is recorded that Jesus himself fasted. It happened when Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry of evangelism.
In Luke 4:1-2 (also written in Matthew 4) it says:
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
Jesus fasted for 40 days, resolutely putting himself in a very severe situation, and trying to resist the temptations of the devil with the words of God (the power of God).
Jesus also did not forbid his disciples to fast.
However, Jesus gave the following warnings to his disciples regarding fasting.
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
The original purpose of fasting should have been to express suffering, sadness, and repentance by abstaining from food and becoming hungry, and through hunger receiving more spiritual power from God and increasing one's trust in God.
However, as Jesus points out here, fasting was deviating from such spiritual purposes to a "performance to impress others that you are virtuous and religious."
When Jesus said "hypocrites," he did not refer to only a few certain people at the time Jesus lived, but actually any of us today can become such hypocrites. That’s why we must be careful and keep this in mind.
I hope we can learn from today's passage that we can become like these hypocrites: using even our own faith to fulfill our desires to be proud of ourselves and to be recognized by others.
Fasting and prayer (Jesus also tells us in another passage not to pray in public like hypocrites with too many words) are actions that deepen our relationship with God; they are not ways to show people how religious we are.
Jesus taught his disciples the right attitude towards fasting and prayer. Therefore, Jesus never forbade fasting itself.
But Jesus' disciples didn't seem to be fasting as often as John's disciples and the Pharisees, so people asked, “Why don't your disciples fast instead of eating and drinking?”
Jesus answered as follows. It’s from verse 34-35.
34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”
Jesus answers with a parable. The bridegroom is Jesus himself.
There, Jesus asked the people whether they truly have the joy of knowing that the Savior Jesus Christ, God, was with them.
That means when putting first the joy of knowing that there is God who forgives our sins and lives with us (eats with us), we would never be able to fast and would rather have a grand banquet.
In other words, Jesus was asking those who question the faith of others by saying, “Why don't you fast?” this question: Jesus asked them “Do you really have the joy of faith?”
That question is indeed directed to each of us today. Sometimes it is meaningful to fast and receive spiritual nourishment from God.
However, we must ask ourselves the following question: Do I really have the joy of knowing that “God is with me”, “I am so loved by God that Jesus Christ died for me” as the foundation of our faith? Each of us must take this seriously once again.
Let us once again remember the ultimate joy we have in Christ, in God’s calling, and offer our heartfelt gratitude and joy to God.
However, "the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away" - that is, the time will come when the Lord Jesus will bear our sins and die on the cross in our place.
At that time, Jesus said that His disciples would also do fasting as a form of sincere repentance.
We are currently in the season of Lent. As we remember the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ on the way to the cross (regardless of whether we actually fast or not), let’s observe the season of Lent with gratitude and repentance (turning our hearts toward God).
Starting in verse 36, Jesus tells a parable about wine and wineskins: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one.”
New cloth will shrink when washed. So, if we patch old cloth with a part cut from new cloth, the new cloth will also be wasted, and when we wash them, the new cloth will tear the old cloth, ruining the old cloth as well.
Jesus also gives the example of how the force of fermentation of new wine tears the old wineskins apart. (For those of us who don't have the habit of putting wine in a wineskin, this parable may be difficult to understand)
The meaning of this illustration is that Jesus is the one who brings a completely new life and way of life to people, and those who believe in Jesus Christ cannot remain the same as they were before they met Jesus.
This means that you cannot receive the life of Christ while maintaining your old lifestyle.
When you accept Jesus Christ into your life, you are no longer the center of yourself.
If we are the center of ourselves, we will always try to find our worth by boasting to others about our own righteousness and abilities.
Therefore, even acts of faith such as prayer and fasting will become a means of boasting and showing off to others.
However, once we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts and truly make Him the center of our lives, we no longer have any reason to be proud of ourselves. Because there’s no need to do that anymore.
Since Christ is the one to be worshiped, believers in Christ will not find self-value (value of their existence) by boasting their own deeds or abilities.
When this happens, prayer, fasting, and the worship we offer will become acts of heartfelt joy and gratitude. That joy will become the light of faith, and will surely illuminate those around us.
If we are rejoicing in our new life in Christ, then the worship we offer should also be one filled with gratitude and joy. And people will naturally be drawn to such worship.
By encountering Jesus Christ, believing in Him, and allowing Him to live in our hearts, we can no longer remain in our old selves.
Rather, the "old wineskin" of our old "self" was broken through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us live a life centered on Christ and walk the path of a new life led by Christ.
Saturday, February 24, 2024
Sunday Worship Service February 25, 2024
Prelude
Call to Worship Zephaniah 3:17
Hymn JBC # 26 We praise You, O God, our Redeemer
The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Supper
Offering
Scripture 2 Corinthians 1:23~2:11
Prayer
Sermon “You would all share my joy”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 437 The trusting heart to Jesus clings
Doxology JBC # 673
Benediction
Postlude
Let us hear God's message together today from a passage in the New Testament from the ‘Second Epistle to the Corinthians’.
The letter written by the evangelist Paul to the congregation of the church in the Greek city of Corinth is still with us today as part of the Bible, the book of faith for Christians.
Many letters written by Paul, and others too, are included in the New Testament. Why were those letters, which at first glance appear to have very personal matters, preserved in the Bible?
Why were the letters written by Paul and others actually preserved in the Bible as "God’s letters," so to speak, from God to many people?
The Bible, besides today’s passages too, was actually written by many other people (believers in God).
Some of them (or most of them) may not have imagined that their writings would later remain as "the Bible," as the book of the Christian faith.
But God intended for His Word to be recorded as the Bible through the hands of the faithful people.
At times, the records or letters could be very personal or human in nature, such as in today's passage.
It shows that God was at work (intervening) in the midst of the real lives of the believers of that time, in the midst of the problems, troubles, and sufferings they actually faced.
How God was involved with them in the midst of their lives, how God was involved with each individual's life, is actually handed down to us today in the form of the "Bible," a document written by human beings.
The Corinthian church had many problems. God did not say, "Those problems are none of my business; let the people solve them among themselves."
Our God, as communicated in the Bible, is with us in the midst of our lives. God is with us in the various problems, worries, and sufferings we face.
Therefore, we should not think, "God is so high and mighty that He is not interested in my little problems," but rather, we should be honest and can say anything before God about everything.
As Christians, we can pray that "May the Lord God guide me in all my life, and may His glory be seen in the way I live and in the place in which I live."
Today's passage reveals that there were some problems and tensions between Paul and the congregation of the Corinthian church.
As a background of today's passage, Paul had hoped to visit the Corinthian church, but for some reason he had postponed his visit.
We do not know the details, but today's passage reveals some of the reasons for Paul's postponement of his visit to the Corinthian church.
In verse 1:23, it is written as the following:
23 I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.
Paul claims "I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it" that he is postponing his return to Corinth not for his own sake, but for the sake of the Corinthian church.
He says, "I will not to go to Corinth now, because I think of you and love you."
Paul seems to be making a very bold statement when he says, "I call God as my witness."
But it seems to me that this is not so much "God will prove me right," but rather a humble attitude before God, saying, "If I am wrong, let God correct my mistake."
In verse 24 it is written as the following:
24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.
The Corinthian Church was established by Paul's evangelism. Paul can be called the founder of the Corinthian church, but he says even he never controls the faith of each member of the church.
It means that Paul, who was the founder and leader of the church too, was not different from each member of the church in terms of the position before God, and they were equal.
That is why he says, "we work with you for your joy."
And when Paul says "it is by faith you stand firm", he acknowledges the faith of each member of the Corinthian church who stands in faith in Christ.
I hope that we in the church today will not be in a relationship where we try to control each other's faith (imposing our own faith and beliefs on others), but rather cooperate and serve each other for the joy of one another.
And I also desire for us to recognize the faith of others who "stand firm in the faith of Christ" and to respect one another.
When Jesus healed people of their illnesses, He often said, "Your faith has saved you."
For example, in Mark 5, Jesus healed a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for twelve years.
In the crowd, the woman quietly came up behind Jesus and touched his clothes. The woman firmly believed that if she touched even his clothes, she would be healed.
The woman was immediately healed. Jesus said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you."
It was Jesus who healed her. Jesus could have said, "I healed you. I saved you." But instead Jesus said, "Your faith has saved you." By saying that He recognized faith on the part of the human being, the desire to seek God.
Jesus taught us (and Paul's words in today's passage too) that we are to recognize each other's faith, and that brothers and sisters who stand by faith should respect each other.
It is a little bit long, but let us read verse 2:1-4.
1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. 2 For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?
3 I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy.
4 For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
We can only speculate on the details, but it seems that Paul wrote and sent another letter to the Corinthian church than the ones preserved in the Bible.
In verse 4, we read that Paul wrote that letter "with many tears". This was because he wanted the Corinthians to know the deep love that Paul had for them.
Paul may have wished that he could go to Corinth right now to talk directly with the Corinthians and resolve misunderstandings and other problems.
But God had given him the feeling that "now is not the time to go”.
We, too, may not always be able to do what we wish. Perhaps this is because God is urging us to be patient, saying, "Now is not the time."
Rather than our own thoughts and desires, we should seek the best time and way to do whatever we do through prayer and the Word of God, and through prayer and conversation among brothers and sisters of the same church.
Chapter 2 verses 5 through 11, writes about a person who has committed some offense in the Corinthian church.
According to verse 6, the person had already been punished in some way. Paul, in verses 7-8, said the following:
"7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him."
When someone was hurt by someone or when they are victimized by someone else, I do not think that even Christians or churches can simply say to that person, "Let's forgive others of their sins."
No one can force a hurt person to heal his/her feelings and take a step toward forgiveness.
So how are we to think about "forgiveness" and "forgiving others" in today's passage and in many other places too in the Bible?
In today's passage, "you ought to forgive and comfort him" in verse 7 is addressed to the church, saying "you" in plural. It means that “Forgive and comfort him" is an exhortation to the whole church.
As a church, as a gathering of those whose sins have been forgiven by Christ and as a member of the church, are entrusted by God to do this act of forgiveness as well.
I do not think there is a simple answer in the Bible that tells us how to forgive.
But let us first remember that we have received great forgiveness from God through the cross of Jesus Christ, through which our sins are forgiven.
Then, can we pass on to others the forgiveness we have received from Christ?
There seems to be a great suggestion (hint) about our forgiveness in the words of today's verse 10. Let me read verse 10 for everyone.
10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,
Here Paul says, "I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake."
I believe this means "Christ has forgiven" and "Christ, through me, has forgiven."
Love and forgiveness have been given to us abundantly through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Having been given Christ's love and forgiveness, we, as His church, are entrusted by God to share that love and forgiveness with others.
The source of both love and forgiveness is Jesus Christ. The joy of being loved and forgiven by Christ is shared throughout the church.
As we share in Christ's love and forgiveness, we hope that His love and forgiveness will spread to others through us, and we will live our life of faith step by step.
Prelude
Call to Worship Zephaniah 3:17
Hymn JBC # 26 We praise You, O God, our Redeemer
The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Supper
Offering
Scripture 2 Corinthians 1:23~2:11
Prayer
Sermon “You would all share my joy”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 437 The trusting heart to Jesus clings
Doxology JBC # 673
Benediction
Postlude
Let us hear God's message together today from a passage in the New Testament from the ‘Second Epistle to the Corinthians’.
The letter written by the evangelist Paul to the congregation of the church in the Greek city of Corinth is still with us today as part of the Bible, the book of faith for Christians.
Many letters written by Paul, and others too, are included in the New Testament. Why were those letters, which at first glance appear to have very personal matters, preserved in the Bible?
Why were the letters written by Paul and others actually preserved in the Bible as "God’s letters," so to speak, from God to many people?
The Bible, besides today’s passages too, was actually written by many other people (believers in God).
Some of them (or most of them) may not have imagined that their writings would later remain as "the Bible," as the book of the Christian faith.
But God intended for His Word to be recorded as the Bible through the hands of the faithful people.
At times, the records or letters could be very personal or human in nature, such as in today's passage.
It shows that God was at work (intervening) in the midst of the real lives of the believers of that time, in the midst of the problems, troubles, and sufferings they actually faced.
How God was involved with them in the midst of their lives, how God was involved with each individual's life, is actually handed down to us today in the form of the "Bible," a document written by human beings.
The Corinthian church had many problems. God did not say, "Those problems are none of my business; let the people solve them among themselves."
Our God, as communicated in the Bible, is with us in the midst of our lives. God is with us in the various problems, worries, and sufferings we face.
Therefore, we should not think, "God is so high and mighty that He is not interested in my little problems," but rather, we should be honest and can say anything before God about everything.
As Christians, we can pray that "May the Lord God guide me in all my life, and may His glory be seen in the way I live and in the place in which I live."
Today's passage reveals that there were some problems and tensions between Paul and the congregation of the Corinthian church.
As a background of today's passage, Paul had hoped to visit the Corinthian church, but for some reason he had postponed his visit.
We do not know the details, but today's passage reveals some of the reasons for Paul's postponement of his visit to the Corinthian church.
In verse 1:23, it is written as the following:
23 I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.
Paul claims "I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it" that he is postponing his return to Corinth not for his own sake, but for the sake of the Corinthian church.
He says, "I will not to go to Corinth now, because I think of you and love you."
Paul seems to be making a very bold statement when he says, "I call God as my witness."
But it seems to me that this is not so much "God will prove me right," but rather a humble attitude before God, saying, "If I am wrong, let God correct my mistake."
In verse 24 it is written as the following:
24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.
The Corinthian Church was established by Paul's evangelism. Paul can be called the founder of the Corinthian church, but he says even he never controls the faith of each member of the church.
It means that Paul, who was the founder and leader of the church too, was not different from each member of the church in terms of the position before God, and they were equal.
That is why he says, "we work with you for your joy."
And when Paul says "it is by faith you stand firm", he acknowledges the faith of each member of the Corinthian church who stands in faith in Christ.
I hope that we in the church today will not be in a relationship where we try to control each other's faith (imposing our own faith and beliefs on others), but rather cooperate and serve each other for the joy of one another.
And I also desire for us to recognize the faith of others who "stand firm in the faith of Christ" and to respect one another.
When Jesus healed people of their illnesses, He often said, "Your faith has saved you."
For example, in Mark 5, Jesus healed a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for twelve years.
In the crowd, the woman quietly came up behind Jesus and touched his clothes. The woman firmly believed that if she touched even his clothes, she would be healed.
The woman was immediately healed. Jesus said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you."
It was Jesus who healed her. Jesus could have said, "I healed you. I saved you." But instead Jesus said, "Your faith has saved you." By saying that He recognized faith on the part of the human being, the desire to seek God.
Jesus taught us (and Paul's words in today's passage too) that we are to recognize each other's faith, and that brothers and sisters who stand by faith should respect each other.
It is a little bit long, but let us read verse 2:1-4.
1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. 2 For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?
3 I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy.
4 For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
We can only speculate on the details, but it seems that Paul wrote and sent another letter to the Corinthian church than the ones preserved in the Bible.
In verse 4, we read that Paul wrote that letter "with many tears". This was because he wanted the Corinthians to know the deep love that Paul had for them.
Paul may have wished that he could go to Corinth right now to talk directly with the Corinthians and resolve misunderstandings and other problems.
But God had given him the feeling that "now is not the time to go”.
We, too, may not always be able to do what we wish. Perhaps this is because God is urging us to be patient, saying, "Now is not the time."
Rather than our own thoughts and desires, we should seek the best time and way to do whatever we do through prayer and the Word of God, and through prayer and conversation among brothers and sisters of the same church.
Chapter 2 verses 5 through 11, writes about a person who has committed some offense in the Corinthian church.
According to verse 6, the person had already been punished in some way. Paul, in verses 7-8, said the following:
"7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him."
When someone was hurt by someone or when they are victimized by someone else, I do not think that even Christians or churches can simply say to that person, "Let's forgive others of their sins."
No one can force a hurt person to heal his/her feelings and take a step toward forgiveness.
So how are we to think about "forgiveness" and "forgiving others" in today's passage and in many other places too in the Bible?
In today's passage, "you ought to forgive and comfort him" in verse 7 is addressed to the church, saying "you" in plural. It means that “Forgive and comfort him" is an exhortation to the whole church.
As a church, as a gathering of those whose sins have been forgiven by Christ and as a member of the church, are entrusted by God to do this act of forgiveness as well.
I do not think there is a simple answer in the Bible that tells us how to forgive.
But let us first remember that we have received great forgiveness from God through the cross of Jesus Christ, through which our sins are forgiven.
Then, can we pass on to others the forgiveness we have received from Christ?
There seems to be a great suggestion (hint) about our forgiveness in the words of today's verse 10. Let me read verse 10 for everyone.
10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,
Here Paul says, "I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake."
I believe this means "Christ has forgiven" and "Christ, through me, has forgiven."
Love and forgiveness have been given to us abundantly through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Having been given Christ's love and forgiveness, we, as His church, are entrusted by God to share that love and forgiveness with others.
The source of both love and forgiveness is Jesus Christ. The joy of being loved and forgiven by Christ is shared throughout the church.
As we share in Christ's love and forgiveness, we hope that His love and forgiveness will spread to others through us, and we will live our life of faith step by step.
Saturday, February 17, 2024
Sunday Worship Service February 18, 2024
Prelude
Call to Worship Leviticus 19:2
Hymn JBC # 120 Praise to the Lord Almighty
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Testimony
Scripture Luke 5:27~32
Prayer
Sermon “Call sinners to repentance”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 321 Years I spent in vanity and pride
Doxology JBC # 673
Postlude
Today’s passage starts with, “After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him.”
At the beginning of Luke 5, we read that Simon (Peter), who was fishing as his job, and James and John, Simon's friends (or co-workers), were called by Jesus, and they "left everything and followed Jesus" (Luke 5:11).
In today’s passage too, we see another person (a tax collector named Levi) whom Jesus tells to “follow me.” Levi left everything and followed Jesus as same as Simon and others.
Let’s listen to the message of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, from today’s passage.
Jesus saw Levi the tax collector sitting in the tax booth. How did Jesus view (see) this man at this time?
The same event as today’s passage is also recorded in Matthew 9. In Matthew the tax collector is referred to by the name Matthew, the very same name of the person who wrote the gospel of Matthew.
Whether or his name was actually Levi, Matthew, or even if there are two names recorded but he was actually the same person is unclear.
This is because not enough information is given in the Bible for us to know for sure.
However, we do know about how people who were called tax collectors at the time were.
The glossary of the Japanese translation of bible that we use at our church (The New Interconfessional translation) describes the following about tax collectors.
Tax collectors: A position entrusted by Roman government or feudal lords (for example Herod Antipas in Galilee) to collect taxes.
Not only did these people work for their foreign, Gentile rulers, but these tax collectors would also often demand more than the designated tax amount for their own personal gain. As such, the tax collectors were hated by the Jews and they were regarded as "sinners" as well."
With this information in mind, we can imagine that Levi, or Matthew, was likely this type of person. Tax collectors were viewed by the Jews as traitors who served their foreign rulers.
We can also imagine that Levi may have lined his own pockets by taking more than the designated tax amounts from his fellow Jews.
However, was Levi really that type of tax collector? Since we have information that states that tax collectors of the time were this type of person, it’s natural to think that he was that way as well.
However, we do not actually have any proper information about what type of person Levi was. It may be that while many other tax collectors were profiting from unjust gains, Levi may have been collecting only the designated amount.
What I am trying to tell you is that we often only have a very superficial (one-sided) view of a person when we think about and evaluate what kind of person he or she is.
We often have the tendency to judge people easily based off of what people generally think, or do to things we may have heard, or even due to one or two events or mere impressions.
However, people are complicated. One person has various different sides to them. I think we understand how jumping to overly quick conclusions about what type of person someone is can be connected to divisions among us.
We, with our limited abilities (and our prejudices), are often unable to see people as they are and judge them correctly or accept them.
However, God is not like this. In today’s passage, our God’s son Jesus Christ “sees” Levi sitting in the tax booth. It means that God Jesus Christ had a good look at this Levi and knew all about what type of person he was.
God knows everything about us. Unlike us, He knows even the inner workings of our hearts.
In 1 Samuel Cht.16 in the Old Testament, King Saul disobeys God, and was removed as king. The prophet Samuel then searches for the next king.
The Lord God leads Samuel to invite a person named Jesse and to choose the next king from his sons.
Samuel first tries to judge Jesse’s sons by their physical appearance, thinking the strong looking ones would make a good king.
However, the Lord told Samuel the following:
“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Jesus looked at Levi with this same godly perspective. Even now, Jesus looks at us not in the way that people look at things, but in God’s way of looking at things.
Therefore, we can rest at ease. No matter what our situations, no matter what people may think of us (even if we are misunderstood or overestimated), God understands us accurately.
From Jesus’ perspective, what must Levi have looked like? What type of tax collector was Levi actually? Like I mentioned before, we have no way of knowing for sure. He may very well have been an honest and diligent tax collector.
However, the opposite could also be true. He could have been a much worse and more corrupt tax collector than all of the others.
What did Jesus say to Levi? Jesus calls to Levi and says “Follow me.”
Jesus calls to Levi and says “Follow me. Follow me and become my disciple.”
This was not because Levi was a good person (or a diligent tax collector). Nor was it because Levi was a bad person (a corrupt tax collector).
Regardless of what type of person Levi was, Jesus told him to “Follow me.” Regardless of how Levi was, he was the object of God’s love whom Jesus must call to follow him.
In other words, regardless of who we are, we are all invited (called) to follow Jesus Christ. All of us are called to accept God’s love and live obeying God.
In this way we are all as Levi or Matthew. Jesus still now and always calls all of us to follow Him.
If we heard Jesus calling us, then we should obey and follow Him.
Levi left everything to follow Jesus when he was called.
He was so joyful. He was so joyful that he invited Jesus to his home and held a great banquet, inviting other tax collectors and many other people.
Things that bring us happiness and joy ought to be shared. We want to share our happiness and joy. This feeling is also a gift given to us by God.
But, there were also those who did not take joy in this situation. While the tax collectors were celebrating with Jesus and His disciples at the banquet, there were others who were displeased and complained about it.
They were the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They were rigid in their interpretation of scripture and strict in living righteously according to the law (however, as I mentioned earlier, we need to be careful of making overgeneralizations even here too).
Here we see the Pharisees and teachers of the law making an effort to live righteously. In order to do so, they decided it was wrong to mingle with tax collectors and other sinners.
They said the following to Jesus’ disciples:
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
This is how Jesus responds to them (5:31-32)
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
How did the Pharisees and teachers of the law receive Jesus’ words?
They may have not understood what He meant. We (Christians) may also not understand the full weight of Jesus’ words.
Even though we have lived selfish lives of sin separate from God, He forgives us and shares a meal with us (sharing a meal showed a desire for companionship and living life together). Jesus Christ is with us.
People who live righteously before God do not need Jesus Christ’s salvation. However, does such a person even exist?
The understanding that not a single person is righteous before God is the basis of the Christian faith from the Bible.
We must listen to Jesus calling us to follow Him and obey.
When we live obeying that Christ’s calling, we receive true joy and peace in living together with God.
After meeting the resurrected Christ after he was crucified and rose again, Paul was changed into an evangelist of Christ’s gospel and said the following:
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. (1 Timothy 1:15)
“sinners-of whom I am the worst” ~ I believe it is fair to say that this confession is one of the great attainments of our faith as Christians.
“sinners-of whom I am the worst” ~ These are not words born of a comparison between oneself and others, but words that a believer can only confess in that way when we look single-mindedly to Christ and truly understand His love and forgiveness.
Let us daily follow Jesus' call to "follow me”. Let us rejoice from our heart in the grace of Jesus who eats with us and lives with us.
Prelude
Call to Worship Leviticus 19:2
Hymn JBC # 120 Praise to the Lord Almighty
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Testimony
Scripture Luke 5:27~32
Prayer
Sermon “Call sinners to repentance”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 321 Years I spent in vanity and pride
Doxology JBC # 673
Postlude
Today’s passage starts with, “After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him.”
At the beginning of Luke 5, we read that Simon (Peter), who was fishing as his job, and James and John, Simon's friends (or co-workers), were called by Jesus, and they "left everything and followed Jesus" (Luke 5:11).
In today’s passage too, we see another person (a tax collector named Levi) whom Jesus tells to “follow me.” Levi left everything and followed Jesus as same as Simon and others.
Let’s listen to the message of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, from today’s passage.
Jesus saw Levi the tax collector sitting in the tax booth. How did Jesus view (see) this man at this time?
The same event as today’s passage is also recorded in Matthew 9. In Matthew the tax collector is referred to by the name Matthew, the very same name of the person who wrote the gospel of Matthew.
Whether or his name was actually Levi, Matthew, or even if there are two names recorded but he was actually the same person is unclear.
This is because not enough information is given in the Bible for us to know for sure.
However, we do know about how people who were called tax collectors at the time were.
The glossary of the Japanese translation of bible that we use at our church (The New Interconfessional translation) describes the following about tax collectors.
Tax collectors: A position entrusted by Roman government or feudal lords (for example Herod Antipas in Galilee) to collect taxes.
Not only did these people work for their foreign, Gentile rulers, but these tax collectors would also often demand more than the designated tax amount for their own personal gain. As such, the tax collectors were hated by the Jews and they were regarded as "sinners" as well."
With this information in mind, we can imagine that Levi, or Matthew, was likely this type of person. Tax collectors were viewed by the Jews as traitors who served their foreign rulers.
We can also imagine that Levi may have lined his own pockets by taking more than the designated tax amounts from his fellow Jews.
However, was Levi really that type of tax collector? Since we have information that states that tax collectors of the time were this type of person, it’s natural to think that he was that way as well.
However, we do not actually have any proper information about what type of person Levi was. It may be that while many other tax collectors were profiting from unjust gains, Levi may have been collecting only the designated amount.
What I am trying to tell you is that we often only have a very superficial (one-sided) view of a person when we think about and evaluate what kind of person he or she is.
We often have the tendency to judge people easily based off of what people generally think, or do to things we may have heard, or even due to one or two events or mere impressions.
However, people are complicated. One person has various different sides to them. I think we understand how jumping to overly quick conclusions about what type of person someone is can be connected to divisions among us.
We, with our limited abilities (and our prejudices), are often unable to see people as they are and judge them correctly or accept them.
However, God is not like this. In today’s passage, our God’s son Jesus Christ “sees” Levi sitting in the tax booth. It means that God Jesus Christ had a good look at this Levi and knew all about what type of person he was.
God knows everything about us. Unlike us, He knows even the inner workings of our hearts.
In 1 Samuel Cht.16 in the Old Testament, King Saul disobeys God, and was removed as king. The prophet Samuel then searches for the next king.
The Lord God leads Samuel to invite a person named Jesse and to choose the next king from his sons.
Samuel first tries to judge Jesse’s sons by their physical appearance, thinking the strong looking ones would make a good king.
However, the Lord told Samuel the following:
“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Jesus looked at Levi with this same godly perspective. Even now, Jesus looks at us not in the way that people look at things, but in God’s way of looking at things.
Therefore, we can rest at ease. No matter what our situations, no matter what people may think of us (even if we are misunderstood or overestimated), God understands us accurately.
From Jesus’ perspective, what must Levi have looked like? What type of tax collector was Levi actually? Like I mentioned before, we have no way of knowing for sure. He may very well have been an honest and diligent tax collector.
However, the opposite could also be true. He could have been a much worse and more corrupt tax collector than all of the others.
What did Jesus say to Levi? Jesus calls to Levi and says “Follow me.”
Jesus calls to Levi and says “Follow me. Follow me and become my disciple.”
This was not because Levi was a good person (or a diligent tax collector). Nor was it because Levi was a bad person (a corrupt tax collector).
Regardless of what type of person Levi was, Jesus told him to “Follow me.” Regardless of how Levi was, he was the object of God’s love whom Jesus must call to follow him.
In other words, regardless of who we are, we are all invited (called) to follow Jesus Christ. All of us are called to accept God’s love and live obeying God.
In this way we are all as Levi or Matthew. Jesus still now and always calls all of us to follow Him.
If we heard Jesus calling us, then we should obey and follow Him.
Levi left everything to follow Jesus when he was called.
He was so joyful. He was so joyful that he invited Jesus to his home and held a great banquet, inviting other tax collectors and many other people.
Things that bring us happiness and joy ought to be shared. We want to share our happiness and joy. This feeling is also a gift given to us by God.
But, there were also those who did not take joy in this situation. While the tax collectors were celebrating with Jesus and His disciples at the banquet, there were others who were displeased and complained about it.
They were the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They were rigid in their interpretation of scripture and strict in living righteously according to the law (however, as I mentioned earlier, we need to be careful of making overgeneralizations even here too).
Here we see the Pharisees and teachers of the law making an effort to live righteously. In order to do so, they decided it was wrong to mingle with tax collectors and other sinners.
They said the following to Jesus’ disciples:
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
This is how Jesus responds to them (5:31-32)
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
How did the Pharisees and teachers of the law receive Jesus’ words?
They may have not understood what He meant. We (Christians) may also not understand the full weight of Jesus’ words.
Even though we have lived selfish lives of sin separate from God, He forgives us and shares a meal with us (sharing a meal showed a desire for companionship and living life together). Jesus Christ is with us.
People who live righteously before God do not need Jesus Christ’s salvation. However, does such a person even exist?
The understanding that not a single person is righteous before God is the basis of the Christian faith from the Bible.
We must listen to Jesus calling us to follow Him and obey.
When we live obeying that Christ’s calling, we receive true joy and peace in living together with God.
After meeting the resurrected Christ after he was crucified and rose again, Paul was changed into an evangelist of Christ’s gospel and said the following:
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. (1 Timothy 1:15)
“sinners-of whom I am the worst” ~ I believe it is fair to say that this confession is one of the great attainments of our faith as Christians.
“sinners-of whom I am the worst” ~ These are not words born of a comparison between oneself and others, but words that a believer can only confess in that way when we look single-mindedly to Christ and truly understand His love and forgiveness.
Let us daily follow Jesus' call to "follow me”. Let us rejoice from our heart in the grace of Jesus who eats with us and lives with us.
Saturday, February 10, 2024
Sunday Worship Service February 11, 2024
Prelude
Call to Worship 2 Corinthians 12:9
Hymn JBC # 215 Go to dark Gethsemane
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Testimony for membership transfer
Scripture Exodus 4:1~17
Prayer
Sermon “Sign that God provides”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 297 I hear the Saviour say
Doxology JBC # 673
Benediction
Postlude
Today, we will listen together to God’s message from the Old Testament’s [book of Exodus].
The Lord God chose the man Moses as the leader to lead out the Israelites from Egypt where they spent a life of slavery.
In today’s scripture, Moses answers God [What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say “The Lord did not appear to you”]?
“They” refers to the Egyptians primarily Pharaoh the king of Egypt. Prior to this, God told Moses [Go to the king of Egypt and tell him that you will lead the Israelites and leave Egypt]
God personally revealed Himself, talked to Moses, promised [I will be with you], even encouraged him and yet Moses hesitated.
What is Moses so afraid of? Surely, the king of Egypt is (an absolute) a big authority.
To stand before someone so powerful, much more to ask that king [please let the Israelites flee from Egypt] must have needed a great courage.
However, God was with Moses. If Moses could have paid attention to God’s magnificence and power, he shouldn’t have feared, hesitated and refused God’s command to this extent. Nevertheless, what was Moses so afraid of?
It seems that one of the things that Moses was afraid of was the matter of “change”. If we think of it, Moses had lived as a shepherd for 40 years until then.
Moses didn’t want to live such life. By wondrous fate, Moses, born into a Hebrew family was taken in by the princess of Egypt and brought up in Egypt’s king’s palace.
However, when Moses was 40 years of age, wanting to help an Israelite who was his countryman, killed an Egyptian that oppressed that man.
For that reason, Moses whose life was sought after by the Egyptian king, fled from Egypt, got married in the land of Midian, had children and there, lived the life as a shepherd.
Detailed matter on what sort of life did Moses have for 40 years in the land of Midian is not written in the bible.
If we try to imagine the 40 years that Moses lived in the land of Midian as a shepherd (also as a husband and father), there must have been some hard times but certainly there must have been many happy moments as well.
In my opinion, we can also imagine that to Moses, his life as a shepherd in the land of Midian was settled and happy.
God’s command to Moses was a demand to give up entirely the life that he (Moses) got used to. It was one that required a great “change” to Moses’ way of life itself.
As expected, we feel secured if we remain in a condition that is settled and got accustomed to. In various meanings, it requires energy to “change”.
However, if God commands and guides us, it is my prayer that we can accept “change” fearlessly more than the settled one that we got used to.
And it seems that there was also another factor that made Moses so afraid of change besides turning his back from the life that he became accustomed to.
It is his age. Moses was brought up in Egypt’s king’s palace, at the age of 40 fled Egypt, went to the land of Midian and there spent his life for 40 years as a shepherd.
That means, in today’s scripture, when God revealed Himself to Moses and commanded him [Go to the king of Egypt and tell him that you will lead the Israelites and flee Egypt], Moses was 80 years old.
To my idea, it’s no wonder if Moses would think [At this age, it’s impossible for me to be the leader of such numerous Israelites, go to the king of Egypt and persuade him.]
However, if God uses us even at old age, it’s strength rather than weakness.
In today’s scripture, God asks hesitating Moses [What is that in your hand?] What Moses had in his hand was a rod (walking stick).
The fact that Moses held a stick demonstrates that he was of old age, and I think it’s also a symbol.
God commanded Moses to cast that stick on the ground. Then the stick became a serpent, Moses wondered and fled from it.
God said to Moses, “Put out your hand and take the serpent (changed from stick) by the tail”, and as Moses did so, the serpent turned back to stick as it was.
God said (v. 5) [If you do this, they will believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has appeared to you.]
It says that a stick turns to serpent by God’s power which serves as a sign and becomes apparent that “God has used Moses”.
At this point, I think the first “sign” that God initially showed Moses, by using the stick that was in his hand has a profound meaning.
Even the stick, which is a sign of old age, that is, even the aged Moses will be greatly used if used by God.
In my opinion, being old to Moses was one reason to hesitate in obeying God’s command, however, it is well to bring before God as is even the weak point that we consider.
It is my prayer that we walk a life of faith believing that if we bring even our weaknesses before God, He will greatly use them far beyond our thoughts.
After that, God also showed a sign letting Moses to put his hand into his bosom and that hand became leprous, and when he put back his hand into his bosom, his hand was restored.
Again, in verse 9, in case the Egyptians won’t believe even with those two signs, God moreover provided a sign that the water of Nile River will turn into blood.
God provides all things that we need. Let us walk the life of faith trusting God who gives or provides the things that we need when it’s necessary.
And yet, however, although the Lord God had provided so many signs, Moses couldn’t obey and refuses God’s calling.
Let me read the words of Moses in verse 10.
10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
Moses said [Basically, I am not good at speaking. I’m not good at talking. You command me to go and talk to the king of Egypt, but still, I’m not a good talker.]
In my opinion, here is demonstrated our figure that set the limits of our own abilities by ourselves, saying “I can’t do this”, and underestimate ourselves whom God plans to use.
Hence, the Lord said to Moses as follows.
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
We can do things more than we think through the Lord’s help and guidance.
The Lord himself promises here that He will teach us what we must speak, what to do or should say.
I think the real reason why Moses hesitated so much to obey God’s command was because he couldn’t believe in himself.
Thinking that he wasn’t that young anymore, that he didn’t have the ability, etc., Moses couldn’t believe in himself.
The important thing here is that we don’t remain in a condition where “we can’t believe in our self” but to believe God more than our own. To believe God who uses us is important more than our self.
If we just believe ourselves or our own ability, and try to believe only our own, there eventually is just limit and despair.
However, when we rely on and acknowledge the magnificence of God who uses us and not looking at ourselves, great thing far beyond our imagination becomes possible (through God’s power).
Jesus says as follows. John 14:12.
12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
When we believe the Lord God, the Lord Jesus Christ, we can do magnificent work as Jesus did.
We can walk the life of faith by believing and relying on God who gives us such strength.
In fact, in today’s passage, Moses still opposed God and said [Pardon your servant Lord. Please send someone else.] (verse 13)
It is written in verse 14 that even God was angry at this. However, God is of everlasting love.
Even as He was angry, God told Moses [I will send to you Aaron your brother who speaks well, for you who is not good at talking].
God promised that He will send Aaron, Moses’ brother as his speaking partner in place of him.
Just as Moses will be to him as God, he shall entrust God’s word to Aaron, and Aaron who is entrusted that word shall tell the people, they were introduced to each other by God as brothers of faith to help one another.
Even us don’t walk the path of faith alone. We never do even evangelism by oneself.
As each one make the most of each other’s spiritual gift given from God, while we respect, support and complement each other, let us walk the life of faith and do evangelism as well to spread the kingdom of God.
The church is a gathering of such brothers/ sisters of faith, a family of faith. Just as God had introduced Aaron to Moses, similarly, church’s brothers and sisters are given as family of faith that should help one another.
As one of this family of faith provided by God, let us respect one another and walk together the life of faith even from now on.
Prelude
Call to Worship 2 Corinthians 12:9
Hymn JBC # 215 Go to dark Gethsemane
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Testimony for membership transfer
Scripture Exodus 4:1~17
Prayer
Sermon “Sign that God provides”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 297 I hear the Saviour say
Doxology JBC # 673
Benediction
Postlude
Today, we will listen together to God’s message from the Old Testament’s [book of Exodus].
The Lord God chose the man Moses as the leader to lead out the Israelites from Egypt where they spent a life of slavery.
In today’s scripture, Moses answers God [What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say “The Lord did not appear to you”]?
“They” refers to the Egyptians primarily Pharaoh the king of Egypt. Prior to this, God told Moses [Go to the king of Egypt and tell him that you will lead the Israelites and leave Egypt]
God personally revealed Himself, talked to Moses, promised [I will be with you], even encouraged him and yet Moses hesitated.
What is Moses so afraid of? Surely, the king of Egypt is (an absolute) a big authority.
To stand before someone so powerful, much more to ask that king [please let the Israelites flee from Egypt] must have needed a great courage.
However, God was with Moses. If Moses could have paid attention to God’s magnificence and power, he shouldn’t have feared, hesitated and refused God’s command to this extent. Nevertheless, what was Moses so afraid of?
It seems that one of the things that Moses was afraid of was the matter of “change”. If we think of it, Moses had lived as a shepherd for 40 years until then.
Moses didn’t want to live such life. By wondrous fate, Moses, born into a Hebrew family was taken in by the princess of Egypt and brought up in Egypt’s king’s palace.
However, when Moses was 40 years of age, wanting to help an Israelite who was his countryman, killed an Egyptian that oppressed that man.
For that reason, Moses whose life was sought after by the Egyptian king, fled from Egypt, got married in the land of Midian, had children and there, lived the life as a shepherd.
Detailed matter on what sort of life did Moses have for 40 years in the land of Midian is not written in the bible.
If we try to imagine the 40 years that Moses lived in the land of Midian as a shepherd (also as a husband and father), there must have been some hard times but certainly there must have been many happy moments as well.
In my opinion, we can also imagine that to Moses, his life as a shepherd in the land of Midian was settled and happy.
God’s command to Moses was a demand to give up entirely the life that he (Moses) got used to. It was one that required a great “change” to Moses’ way of life itself.
As expected, we feel secured if we remain in a condition that is settled and got accustomed to. In various meanings, it requires energy to “change”.
However, if God commands and guides us, it is my prayer that we can accept “change” fearlessly more than the settled one that we got used to.
And it seems that there was also another factor that made Moses so afraid of change besides turning his back from the life that he became accustomed to.
It is his age. Moses was brought up in Egypt’s king’s palace, at the age of 40 fled Egypt, went to the land of Midian and there spent his life for 40 years as a shepherd.
That means, in today’s scripture, when God revealed Himself to Moses and commanded him [Go to the king of Egypt and tell him that you will lead the Israelites and flee Egypt], Moses was 80 years old.
To my idea, it’s no wonder if Moses would think [At this age, it’s impossible for me to be the leader of such numerous Israelites, go to the king of Egypt and persuade him.]
However, if God uses us even at old age, it’s strength rather than weakness.
In today’s scripture, God asks hesitating Moses [What is that in your hand?] What Moses had in his hand was a rod (walking stick).
The fact that Moses held a stick demonstrates that he was of old age, and I think it’s also a symbol.
God commanded Moses to cast that stick on the ground. Then the stick became a serpent, Moses wondered and fled from it.
God said to Moses, “Put out your hand and take the serpent (changed from stick) by the tail”, and as Moses did so, the serpent turned back to stick as it was.
God said (v. 5) [If you do this, they will believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has appeared to you.]
It says that a stick turns to serpent by God’s power which serves as a sign and becomes apparent that “God has used Moses”.
At this point, I think the first “sign” that God initially showed Moses, by using the stick that was in his hand has a profound meaning.
Even the stick, which is a sign of old age, that is, even the aged Moses will be greatly used if used by God.
In my opinion, being old to Moses was one reason to hesitate in obeying God’s command, however, it is well to bring before God as is even the weak point that we consider.
It is my prayer that we walk a life of faith believing that if we bring even our weaknesses before God, He will greatly use them far beyond our thoughts.
After that, God also showed a sign letting Moses to put his hand into his bosom and that hand became leprous, and when he put back his hand into his bosom, his hand was restored.
Again, in verse 9, in case the Egyptians won’t believe even with those two signs, God moreover provided a sign that the water of Nile River will turn into blood.
God provides all things that we need. Let us walk the life of faith trusting God who gives or provides the things that we need when it’s necessary.
And yet, however, although the Lord God had provided so many signs, Moses couldn’t obey and refuses God’s calling.
Let me read the words of Moses in verse 10.
10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
Moses said [Basically, I am not good at speaking. I’m not good at talking. You command me to go and talk to the king of Egypt, but still, I’m not a good talker.]
In my opinion, here is demonstrated our figure that set the limits of our own abilities by ourselves, saying “I can’t do this”, and underestimate ourselves whom God plans to use.
Hence, the Lord said to Moses as follows.
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
We can do things more than we think through the Lord’s help and guidance.
The Lord himself promises here that He will teach us what we must speak, what to do or should say.
I think the real reason why Moses hesitated so much to obey God’s command was because he couldn’t believe in himself.
Thinking that he wasn’t that young anymore, that he didn’t have the ability, etc., Moses couldn’t believe in himself.
The important thing here is that we don’t remain in a condition where “we can’t believe in our self” but to believe God more than our own. To believe God who uses us is important more than our self.
If we just believe ourselves or our own ability, and try to believe only our own, there eventually is just limit and despair.
However, when we rely on and acknowledge the magnificence of God who uses us and not looking at ourselves, great thing far beyond our imagination becomes possible (through God’s power).
Jesus says as follows. John 14:12.
12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
When we believe the Lord God, the Lord Jesus Christ, we can do magnificent work as Jesus did.
We can walk the life of faith by believing and relying on God who gives us such strength.
In fact, in today’s passage, Moses still opposed God and said [Pardon your servant Lord. Please send someone else.] (verse 13)
It is written in verse 14 that even God was angry at this. However, God is of everlasting love.
Even as He was angry, God told Moses [I will send to you Aaron your brother who speaks well, for you who is not good at talking].
God promised that He will send Aaron, Moses’ brother as his speaking partner in place of him.
Just as Moses will be to him as God, he shall entrust God’s word to Aaron, and Aaron who is entrusted that word shall tell the people, they were introduced to each other by God as brothers of faith to help one another.
Even us don’t walk the path of faith alone. We never do even evangelism by oneself.
As each one make the most of each other’s spiritual gift given from God, while we respect, support and complement each other, let us walk the life of faith and do evangelism as well to spread the kingdom of God.
The church is a gathering of such brothers/ sisters of faith, a family of faith. Just as God had introduced Aaron to Moses, similarly, church’s brothers and sisters are given as family of faith that should help one another.
As one of this family of faith provided by God, let us respect one another and walk together the life of faith even from now on.
Saturday, February 3, 2024
Sunday Worship Service February 4, 2024
Prelude
Call to Worship Psalm 32:5
Hymn JBC 94 We are called to be God’s people
Prayer Time
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Scripture Luke 5:17~26
Prayer
Sermon “Jesus saw their faith”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 296 I saw the cross of Jesus
Doxology JBC # 673
Benediction
Postlude
The Bible features many kinds of people. People really are all so different in many ways.
There are many of these people written about in the Bible, people who are all different and who, through all sorts of circumstances, receive God’s grace and are changed.
Some people come before God and repent of their sins. Some people are moved by meeting with the true God, and receive faith anew.
However there are also some people who, rather than believing in God, refuse to break out of their shell.
In today’s passage (Luke 5:17~26), we see many different people. Firstly, we see Jesus, teaching people about the Kingdom of God through the Bible.
It is written that the Pharisees and teachers of the law were seated there, where Jesus was.
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were well versed in the Scriptures of the time (the Old Testament), learning, studying and strictly following the precepts written in the scriptures.
While Jesus was there teaching about the Kingdom of God, he also healed people of their sickness. However, although this passage does not say how many of these sick people were there, we can assume that there were many there suffering afflictions.
Then there was a paralyzed man lying on the floor, and the people who had carried that man to where Jesus was. (In chapter 2 of the gospel of Mark, where it talks about the same story, it says “four people” carried the paralyzed man to where Jesus was)
Paralysis is a condition that is the after-effect of an illness such as a stroke, where feeling is lost in the body and it can’t be moved.
The people who brought the paralyzed man, most likely his friends or family, were desperate to bring him to Jesus.
They tried to bring him into the building where Jesus was but it was too crowded to bring him in, so they climbed up to the roof and removed the roof tiles.
Then they lowered the sick man down to the floor, in front of Jesus in the middle of the crowd. I think there must be people who are familiar with this Bible story, who have read this passage many times.
The actions of these people who brought the paralyzed man are truly astonishing. No matter how desperate they were to carry this man to where Jesus was, climbing up to the roof and removing the roof tiles is extreme.
If our church was too full for someone to enter in the usual way, so they climbed to the roof and broke through the ceiling to come in, what would we do?
Perhaps we would do our best to try to stop them before it came to that.
When Jesus saw those people, what did Jesus think (or what did he say)? In verse 20 it is written “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.””
These people behaved in way that we could not imagine doing. Even so, from Jesus’ point of view, these people’s actions were seen as “faithful”.
That is, they were convinced that these people had that only Jesus could heal the root cause of his illness, and that they must bring the paralyzed man to meet Jesus now.
If that wasn’t the case, they would have thought “There are too many people, we can’t do this today, let’s try again another time”.
But, for whatever reason, the thought that “Now is the time, if we let this chance go there may never be another chance for him to be saved” must have come to them from God.
I think even these people must have hesitated at climbing the roof and removing the tiles. However, tiles can be put back after they’ve been removed. The part that’s broken can be repaired later.
If people get angry at you, you can apologize to them profusely. However, the instinct that now was the time to meet Jesus, hear his teaching and receive healing and salvation, surely that instinct was given to them.
There may be times when we too feel the call that “Now is the time”, lead by the Holy Spirit.
“Now is the time to have faith in God”, “Now is the time to make this decision”, “Now is the time to tell them about God”, or “Now is the time to invite them to church”, etc.
If you feel callings like this, shouldn’t we have faith in God and, by his power, obey these callings and make them a reality?
Jesus saw these peoples’ faith and said “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
These words from Jesus should surprise us. There were others (perhaps doctors) who had the gift of healing, others who were healing people of illness.
There was no issue (problem) at the time for Jesus to be healing people of their illnesses. That was considered to be an ability that ordinary people could have.
However, the forgiveness of sins was something that only God could do. The legal scholars and Pharisees were right to think “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”, as is written in verse 21.
Grammatically, the phrase “your sins are forgiven” is in the passive voice. People’s sins must be forgiven by someone else.
And, just as the legal scholars and Pharisees were saying, it is God is the one who can forgive sins.
At the beginning of this sermon, I said “the Bible features many kinds of people”. There are the people who, wanting to bring the paralyzed man to meet Jesus, believing that He had a special power, brought the paralyzed man to where Jesus was.
There are also the legal scholars and Pharisees who, when they heard Jesus say “your sins are forgiven”, said “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (and possibly became angry).
They certainly thought that in their hearts, as is written in today’s passage. Since Jesus was the Son of God, he understood what they were thinking in their hearts.
Then Jesus said the following.
“Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”
If Jesus only said “Get up and walk”, and the paralyzed man was healed and got up and walked and that was the end of the story, what would happen then?
Perhaps people would have been happy that the paralyzed man was able to walk, gone around praising Jesus telling people of his amazing gift for healing, and no one would have been upset.
However, by saying “your sins are forgiven”, something that only God could say, it was inevitable that he would be criticized by the Pharisees and legal scholars in particular.
Even so, Jesus said to the paralyzed man from the beginning “your sins are forgiven”.
The reason for that is that the “forgiveness of sins” is the most important part, and is something that all of us need.
The forgiveness of sins is where those who’ve turned away from God to live lives their own way are forgiven for turning their back on God, and welcomed back into relationship with God.
If one doesn’t have such peace with God, even if the disease is cured and the body seems healthy, the sin remains as a deep rooted problem of the soul.
Continuing this way means there will always be an unease, all the time, wherever you are, living without peace in your soul ~ this is the message Jesus was trying to convey.
However accepting the One who has the authority to forgive sins, that is, believing in Jesus Christ and living in Him, you can receive the true peace that is the forgiveness of sins.
Isn’t this message, which Jesus was desperate to convey even if he would be heavily criticized and end up losing his life because of it, one that we should receive again today and believe?
After Jesus said this, He said to the paralyzed man “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
So that the people there (particularly the Pharisees and legal scholars) would understand that the One who had authority to forgive sins was wielding that authority, He commanded the man to “get up”.
When He did this the man stood up before everyone, took up the mat he had been lying on, and went home praising God.
The man must have been happy that he was now able to walk. Even so, he went home “praising God”.
When people who have seen the works of God rejoice at God’s blessings, they come to praise God in this way. They give thanks to God, and sing God’s praises.
Something I earnestly pray for as a pastor is that when everyone gathered here in Church goes home after worship, that they go home praising God.
I pray from the bottom of my heart that you receive the blessings of the Word abundantly through worship, and that you go into the new week praising God.
If we read the last verse in today’s passage, verse 26, the people there were all astonished, and began to praise God.
Faith in God was awoken in many people. Seeing the works of God’s grace, seeing the paralyzed man receive forgiveness of his sins and then stand up and go home praising God, many others came to believe in God and praised Him.
I think that even the people called Pharisees and legal scholars, who said “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy?”, saw these works of God through Jesus, believed in the Lord, and became people who praised God.
That part is not clearly written, however it does say that “Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God.”, so it should mean that the Pharisees and legal scholars too (or at least some amongst them) became people who praised God.
Receiving the Word of God, seeing the works of God and rejoicing, aren’t these things that we share amongst ourselves too? Aren’t the works of God changing us as well? We pray that this is the case.
Believing the words of Jesus when he declares “Your sins are forgiven”, when you follow the Word, that is when we receive the utmost joy through the grace of God.
Prelude
Call to Worship Psalm 32:5
Hymn JBC 94 We are called to be God’s people
Prayer Time
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Scripture Luke 5:17~26
Prayer
Sermon “Jesus saw their faith”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 296 I saw the cross of Jesus
Doxology JBC # 673
Benediction
Postlude
The Bible features many kinds of people. People really are all so different in many ways.
There are many of these people written about in the Bible, people who are all different and who, through all sorts of circumstances, receive God’s grace and are changed.
Some people come before God and repent of their sins. Some people are moved by meeting with the true God, and receive faith anew.
However there are also some people who, rather than believing in God, refuse to break out of their shell.
In today’s passage (Luke 5:17~26), we see many different people. Firstly, we see Jesus, teaching people about the Kingdom of God through the Bible.
It is written that the Pharisees and teachers of the law were seated there, where Jesus was.
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were well versed in the Scriptures of the time (the Old Testament), learning, studying and strictly following the precepts written in the scriptures.
While Jesus was there teaching about the Kingdom of God, he also healed people of their sickness. However, although this passage does not say how many of these sick people were there, we can assume that there were many there suffering afflictions.
Then there was a paralyzed man lying on the floor, and the people who had carried that man to where Jesus was. (In chapter 2 of the gospel of Mark, where it talks about the same story, it says “four people” carried the paralyzed man to where Jesus was)
Paralysis is a condition that is the after-effect of an illness such as a stroke, where feeling is lost in the body and it can’t be moved.
The people who brought the paralyzed man, most likely his friends or family, were desperate to bring him to Jesus.
They tried to bring him into the building where Jesus was but it was too crowded to bring him in, so they climbed up to the roof and removed the roof tiles.
Then they lowered the sick man down to the floor, in front of Jesus in the middle of the crowd. I think there must be people who are familiar with this Bible story, who have read this passage many times.
The actions of these people who brought the paralyzed man are truly astonishing. No matter how desperate they were to carry this man to where Jesus was, climbing up to the roof and removing the roof tiles is extreme.
If our church was too full for someone to enter in the usual way, so they climbed to the roof and broke through the ceiling to come in, what would we do?
Perhaps we would do our best to try to stop them before it came to that.
When Jesus saw those people, what did Jesus think (or what did he say)? In verse 20 it is written “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.””
These people behaved in way that we could not imagine doing. Even so, from Jesus’ point of view, these people’s actions were seen as “faithful”.
That is, they were convinced that these people had that only Jesus could heal the root cause of his illness, and that they must bring the paralyzed man to meet Jesus now.
If that wasn’t the case, they would have thought “There are too many people, we can’t do this today, let’s try again another time”.
But, for whatever reason, the thought that “Now is the time, if we let this chance go there may never be another chance for him to be saved” must have come to them from God.
I think even these people must have hesitated at climbing the roof and removing the tiles. However, tiles can be put back after they’ve been removed. The part that’s broken can be repaired later.
If people get angry at you, you can apologize to them profusely. However, the instinct that now was the time to meet Jesus, hear his teaching and receive healing and salvation, surely that instinct was given to them.
There may be times when we too feel the call that “Now is the time”, lead by the Holy Spirit.
“Now is the time to have faith in God”, “Now is the time to make this decision”, “Now is the time to tell them about God”, or “Now is the time to invite them to church”, etc.
If you feel callings like this, shouldn’t we have faith in God and, by his power, obey these callings and make them a reality?
Jesus saw these peoples’ faith and said “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
These words from Jesus should surprise us. There were others (perhaps doctors) who had the gift of healing, others who were healing people of illness.
There was no issue (problem) at the time for Jesus to be healing people of their illnesses. That was considered to be an ability that ordinary people could have.
However, the forgiveness of sins was something that only God could do. The legal scholars and Pharisees were right to think “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”, as is written in verse 21.
Grammatically, the phrase “your sins are forgiven” is in the passive voice. People’s sins must be forgiven by someone else.
And, just as the legal scholars and Pharisees were saying, it is God is the one who can forgive sins.
At the beginning of this sermon, I said “the Bible features many kinds of people”. There are the people who, wanting to bring the paralyzed man to meet Jesus, believing that He had a special power, brought the paralyzed man to where Jesus was.
There are also the legal scholars and Pharisees who, when they heard Jesus say “your sins are forgiven”, said “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (and possibly became angry).
They certainly thought that in their hearts, as is written in today’s passage. Since Jesus was the Son of God, he understood what they were thinking in their hearts.
Then Jesus said the following.
“Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”
If Jesus only said “Get up and walk”, and the paralyzed man was healed and got up and walked and that was the end of the story, what would happen then?
Perhaps people would have been happy that the paralyzed man was able to walk, gone around praising Jesus telling people of his amazing gift for healing, and no one would have been upset.
However, by saying “your sins are forgiven”, something that only God could say, it was inevitable that he would be criticized by the Pharisees and legal scholars in particular.
Even so, Jesus said to the paralyzed man from the beginning “your sins are forgiven”.
The reason for that is that the “forgiveness of sins” is the most important part, and is something that all of us need.
The forgiveness of sins is where those who’ve turned away from God to live lives their own way are forgiven for turning their back on God, and welcomed back into relationship with God.
If one doesn’t have such peace with God, even if the disease is cured and the body seems healthy, the sin remains as a deep rooted problem of the soul.
Continuing this way means there will always be an unease, all the time, wherever you are, living without peace in your soul ~ this is the message Jesus was trying to convey.
However accepting the One who has the authority to forgive sins, that is, believing in Jesus Christ and living in Him, you can receive the true peace that is the forgiveness of sins.
Isn’t this message, which Jesus was desperate to convey even if he would be heavily criticized and end up losing his life because of it, one that we should receive again today and believe?
After Jesus said this, He said to the paralyzed man “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
So that the people there (particularly the Pharisees and legal scholars) would understand that the One who had authority to forgive sins was wielding that authority, He commanded the man to “get up”.
When He did this the man stood up before everyone, took up the mat he had been lying on, and went home praising God.
The man must have been happy that he was now able to walk. Even so, he went home “praising God”.
When people who have seen the works of God rejoice at God’s blessings, they come to praise God in this way. They give thanks to God, and sing God’s praises.
Something I earnestly pray for as a pastor is that when everyone gathered here in Church goes home after worship, that they go home praising God.
I pray from the bottom of my heart that you receive the blessings of the Word abundantly through worship, and that you go into the new week praising God.
If we read the last verse in today’s passage, verse 26, the people there were all astonished, and began to praise God.
Faith in God was awoken in many people. Seeing the works of God’s grace, seeing the paralyzed man receive forgiveness of his sins and then stand up and go home praising God, many others came to believe in God and praised Him.
I think that even the people called Pharisees and legal scholars, who said “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy?”, saw these works of God through Jesus, believed in the Lord, and became people who praised God.
That part is not clearly written, however it does say that “Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God.”, so it should mean that the Pharisees and legal scholars too (or at least some amongst them) became people who praised God.
Receiving the Word of God, seeing the works of God and rejoicing, aren’t these things that we share amongst ourselves too? Aren’t the works of God changing us as well? We pray that this is the case.
Believing the words of Jesus when he declares “Your sins are forgiven”, when you follow the Word, that is when we receive the utmost joy through the grace of God.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)