True Followers of Jesus-2

하나님이여 주는 나의 하나님이시라 내가 간절히 주를 찾되 물이 없어 마르고 곤핍한 땅에서 내 영혼이 주를 갈망하며 내 육체가 주를 앙모하나이다 ² 내가 주의 권능과 영광을 보려 하여 이와 같이 성소에서 주를 바라보았나이다 ³ 주의 인자가 생명보다 나으므로 내 입술이 주를 찬양할 것이라 ⁴ 이러므로 내 평생에 주를 송축하며 주의 이름으로 인하여 내 손을 들리이다. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. ² So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. ³ Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. ⁴ So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. (Ps. 63:1-4)

¹⁸ 예수께서 무리가 자기를 에워쌈을 보시고 저 편으로 건너가기를 명하시니라 ¹⁹ 한 서기관이 나아와 예수께 말씀하되 선생님이여 어디로 가시든지 저는 좇으리이다 ²⁰ 예수께서 이르시되 여우도 굴이 있고 공중의 새도 거처가 있으되 오직 인자는 머리 둘 곳이 없다 하시더라 ²¹ 제자 중에 또 하나가 가로되 주여 나로 먼저 가서 내 부친을 장사하게 허락하옵소서

 ²² 예수께서 가라사대 죽은 자들로 저희 죽은 자를 장사하게 하고 너는 나를 좇으라 하시니라. ¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. ¹⁹ And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." ²⁰ And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." ²¹ Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." ²² And Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead." (Matt. 8:18-22)

FCF: We tend to stop following Jesus when we fail to get what we want from Him.

주제: 예수님은 최고를 받으시기에 합당하신 주님이기에 어떠한 대가에도 그분을 따라가야 합니다.

Theme: Because Jesus is the Lord worthy of our highest pursuit, we must follow Him at all costs.

Introduction: I like driving a car. I often observe how people drive on highways. When I take a road trip, I usually follow a car ahead of me at night. On interstate highways during the night, there are only a few cars in the western states. After midnight, I barely see cars on highways. I need to fight sleepiness. So, I need a company so that I can keep awake. I often follow the taillights of a big truck which serve as a guiding light through the night. Following it is helpful in fighting sleep and loneliness. As for me, following a truck during a dark night is a routine in my road trip. But, some do not like following other cars. In fact, they can’t stand someone cutting in front of them. They are mad at them, hurling curses at them. When they are passed by another car, they take it personally and attempt to catch up with it and pass it. They don’t want to see anyone going ahead of them. Apparently, they want to be the first place. These people may wish to occupy the top place in life. I remember the old couple who complained about their middle-aged son. The son used to be the number one student. He was studious and smart. He was a Christian. He had two kids, who were excellent students. The gentleman would go with his parents by car to take him back to school. He would drive fast, passing the speed limits. He couldn’t stand anyone driving in front of him. His parents asked him to slow down because they were scared. However, their son said, “Don’t worry. I am fine. I can’t let this guy pass me. I should go faster then him.” He was a fun-loving guy. He had a good relationship with others. But deep down in his heart, he had a tendency to go faster than others instead of following others.

            How about you? You want to go faster than others so that you become the first place. Believe it or not, we may have such a tendency hidden in our hearts. We may feel like becoming losers if we always follow the heels of others. So, we create our own paths, trying to demonstrate others our superiority and get praises from people. Unless it is helpful in following someone or something, we will refuse to follow. Instead, we may desire to say to others, “Follow me, for I know the way.” This kind of tendency is seen in our relationship with the Lord Jesus. Though we may say we follow Christ, we are not following Him in our everyday life. We often insist on going on our way, like wandering, foolish sheep. So, we get lost on the way. We must make sure we should be followers of Jesus Christ, not followers of a rebellious world. The Lord Jesus knew what was the cost of His discipleship. The large crowd, having heard and seen the supernatural works of Jesus, flocked together around Him. Jesus, though He didn’t want it at all, became a religious star in Palestine. People wanted to see Him. A lot of them wanted to follow Him without calculating the cost of His discipleship. Certainly, following Jesus is not easy at all, being filled with hardships. It may bring persecution, oppression, loss of job, loss of family tie, etc. On the way of following Jesus, we may encounter life-threatening dangers. Considering our tendency of self-complacency, we certainly feel it difficulty following Christ. Nonetheless, we must follow Him at all costs because Jesus is the Lord worthy of our utmost pursuit. Certainly, we should follow Jesus in spite of life-threatening obstacles. This is what we considered last Lord’s Day. Today, my second point is you should…      

I.               위협적인 장애물에도 불구하고 예수님을 따르라.

Follow Jesus in spite of life-threatening obstacles.

II.             우리의 이익이 아닌 예수님의 목적을 위해 그분을 따르라. 

Follow Jesus for His purposes, not for your gains.

When He saw a large crowd around Him, Jesus gave orders to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee was a huge body of waters. A large crowd would have a hard time in crossing over the lake to follow Jesus. Jesus already knew the majority of them quit following Him before an obstacle which might be life-threatening. Many of them would have fear of “the other side” or “Sea.” So, they would prefer to stay in their secure, safe zones where they could control their lives. Instead of venturing to follow Jesus through a dangerous route, they chose a place where they felt safe. If they could, in fact, they wished Jesus to stay where they were and bless them with a lot of blessings. However, Jesus was inviting them to the other side of the lake, expecting many to go away. He didn’t want to produce a host of people merely interested in His popularity. He didn’t want to establish His fandom like the BTS’ army, fandom. Jesus’ real business was not to draw a large crowd to earn popularity, but to make them His disciples and expand the kingdom of God.

Without knowing His plans and intentions, however, the crowd attempted to follow Jesus for their personal gains. They were invited to come to Him. Jesus was presented as a miracle-worker, healer, moral teacher, or would-be messiah. The crowd heard a lot of rumors about this young religious leader who spearheaded the Jesus movement. Many of them heard His teachings of the law of God. They were quite impressed with His teaching authority which was unlike those of Jewish religious leaders. They were amazed with His healing power which cleansed the leper, restored the paralytic, healed Peter’s mother-in-law, and cast out demons. So, people may have had different reasons to see Jesus. They may have had different interests in following Jesus. It was nothing wrong for them to come to Jesus for teaching, healing, restoration, etc. If they had thirst and hunger, they could come to Jesus for water and food. However, these temporal fulfillments were not the end in and of themselves. They served as signs of eternal reality, that is, the Person of Jesus Christ. They were signs pointing people’s attention from temporal needs to Jesus Christ.

However, many of the crowds missed this essential point, still wishing to fill their empty stomachs and purses alone without getting their souls filled with Jesus Christ, the Bread of Heaven and the Living Water. Their real motive of following Jesus was to fill their temporal needs alone. Instead of coming to the Father through the Son of God, they tried to install Jesus as their earthly king to resolve their economic issues. However, Jesus didn’t come to resolve their issues of food, water, or house. He came to save their souls from sin and eternal condemnation through His crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus came to save them from fear of death so that He would give them eternal life. Jesus came to save them from hell that He would give them heaven. However, they were preoccupied with how to succeed and attain happiness on earth. Including a lot of Jesus’ contemporaries, people in general are preoccupied with food, clothing, and shelter. People are religious and spiritual by nature. They have made a lot of religions and cults to manage fear of death and future, and to secure possessions, popularity, and prosperity. In other words, they have bowed down to worship so many gods who they believe are helpful for their happiness. People are deeply ingrained in such a trait.

Thus, Jews in Jesus’ day sought to follow Jesus for similar reasons. When they first came to Jesus for such reasons, they were welcomed by Jesus. However, when they sought to follow Jesus for such reasons as food, clothing, shelter, health, wealth, etc., they were using Jesus for their selfish gains. Being well aware of this fact, Jesus knew the majority of them betrayed and abandoned Him at the end. Also, He knew one of His apostles would hand Him over to the religious authorities and the rest would abandon Him for their lives. Following Jesus to the end is no easy task. It involves a lot of unexpected, unwanted troubles on the way. Jesus warned His disciples about them, showing them how to following Him: ²⁴ 아무든지 나를 따라 오려거든 자기를 부인하고 자기 십자가를 지고 나를 좇을 것이니라 ²⁵ 누구든지 제 목숨을 구원코자 하면 잃을 것이요 누구든지 나를 위하여 제 목숨을 잃으면 찾으리라. ²⁴ "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matt. 16:24-25). Following Jesus is a serious matter, even risking one’s life.

            If we want to succeed in following Jesus, we should be willing to come and die for Jesus. In his book “The Cost of Discipleship,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, 그리스도께서 어떤 사람을 부르실 때는 와서 죽으라고 명령하시는 것입니다. “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” Theologically speaking, indeed, we have died with Christ on the cross, which means we are dead to sin. And we have risen with Christ, which means we are alive to God. The life we live is to live in union with Christ. Paul expresses this mystery this way: ²⁰ 내가 그리스도와 함께 십자가에 못 박혔나니 그런즉 이제는 내가 산 것이 아니요 오직 내 안에 그리스도께서 사신 것이라 이제 내가 육체 가운데 사는 것은 나를 사랑하사 나를 위하여 자기 몸을 버리신 하나님의 아들을 믿는 믿음 안에서 사는 것이라. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20).

Following Christ means walking with Christ. Also, it means obeying the lordship of Christ. We are not merely following the steps of Jesus aimlessly. Of course, Jesus is leading our way. But He walks in steps with us. He is the Lord and we are His followers. We relinquish our right to insist on our own way. We trust Christ always leads us to a right way. Christ is the way Himself through whom we come to the Father. However, some of you still may not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. You may have grown up in a Christian home. You may have been baptized. You may attend church regularly. You may read your Bible consistently. However, you may be still lost. You may not have a saving knowledge of Jesus and a saving relationship with Him. Your mere assent to biblical information on the person and work of Jesus is not saving faith. It is part of it. Even evil spirits knew Jesus was the Son of the Most High God. So, you should put trust in your knowledge of Jesus. Rather, you should trust Jesus as your personal Savior and commit the entirety of your life to Him. The incontestable evidence of it is to follow Jesus as your Lord. If you do not honor His lordship and follow Him, then you may not really know Him yet.

Others of you may follow Jesus for your own reasons. What matters to those who are unwilling to follow Jesus is they must follow Him at all costs. And what matters to those who follow Him for wrong reasons is that they should follow Him for His own purposes. People tend to have Someone helpful to them. As long as that person is helpful, they are willing to follow him or her. However, if that person is no longer helpful, it doesn’t take much time for them to abandon him or her. Even the large crowds who flocked around him were no longer seen around the cross of Jesus. As far as they were concerned, Jesus was dying a helpless death as a criminal. There was nothing He could do for them on the cross, they supposed. So, a lot of them mocked him, hurling curses at Him. They were saying, “If you are Christ, come down from there. Then, we will believe in you.” Following Jesus was a matter of convenience to them. Following Jesus was a matter of self-interest to them.

However, this is a form of idolatry. God condemns it furiously. We read a lot of OT stories about spiritual adultery of Israel who attempted to serve Yahweh and Baal together. They couldn’t give up offering sacrifices to Yahweh because they believed Yahweh would bless them for their offerings. That wasn’t enough to secure their blessings. So, they sought after Baal, burning incenses and making offerings to Baal, a Canaanite god of fertility. They believed Baal controlled rain and it was inevitable for them to serve Baal for rich crops. Yahweh condemned their offerings. He condemned their abominable idolatry. Due to this sin, Yahweh sold them to the hands of Assyrians and Babylonians. Jerusalem was destroyed. The temple was destroyed due to the Judeans’ syncretism. The Judeans were taken captive for their idolatrous practices. They attempted to secure their happiness free from misery, abundance free from deprivation, security free from foreign invasions, etc. However, they lost everything, wriggling in pain without the help of God. They put one foot on Yahweh and another foot on Baal. They were trying to use Yahweh and Baal for their prosperity. But they couldn’t have it through their idolatry. Their worship was at best a form of self-worship, which led them to Yahweh’s punishment.

A great number of people today are self-serving idolaters. I was watching a little video-clip which featured Rama Buddhism. A family visited a temple. An old lady, a middle-aged teacher, and a young girl bowed down before an idol. They kept doing it while saying their wishes for health, wealth, and happiness. They were sincere and devout. They were willing to do anything to show a homage to the huge idol of Buddha. Then, a middle-aged monk brought a toddler monk out to them. The little boy sat down in front of them. These Buddhists bowed down. The boy extended his hand and touched their heads barely. So, the middle-aged monk helped the boy monk touch their heads gently. Then, those Buddhists were deeply touched. They were blessed by the little boy, who they believed was a reincarnation of one of the fourteen monks in their history. Later, the little monk was playing with toys in the same place. And he was riding on a toy truck and making a happy noise. He was simply a boy who knew nothing about Buddhism, troubles in life. He was installed as the reincarnation of a revered monk. People worshiped him and wished to be touched by him. In so doing, they believed something good would happen to them. It was a funny scene. But, they were so sincere that they were happy with his touch.

We see here the folly of idolatry people commit. The fundamental purpose of all idolatry is self-promotion, self-fulfillment, or self-interests. Prosperity-gospellers are following the similar paths. They show enthusiasm to Jesus because their enthusiasm, prayer, or religious faithfulness would bring them material blessings. The purpose of their worship is not to exalt, please, rejoice in, and glorify God. It is to get whatever they want from God. They are more interested in the GIFTS of God than the GIVER, that is, God Himself. They hold a large gathering, named “the assembly of blessings.” They have famous guest speakers who preach the prosperity, health, and wealth gospel. They have a great music band. People jump up and down and dance in the name of the Holy Spirit. Their worship is noisy, enthusiastic, and ecstatic. There is no reason and rhyme. They are there for their happiness in the name of faith, God, or Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. They use some kind of Christian language. But there is no biblical truth or teaching. They are there to receive a solution to their selfish needs. They pray fervently, not for the kingdom of God, for their personal kingdom.

People’s religiosity is deeply ingrained in their souls. As some anthropologists say, they create their own religions out of fear of death and future. The religions of this world seek to bring peace and prosperity to their followers. They promise to give their followers success and happiness. However, Jesus Christ doesn’t promise material prosperity to His people. He is the Prosperity. He is the Purpose. He is not a mere means to happiness. If we have Him, we are already happy. We don’t need to attempt to be happy. Since we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, we are forgiven, justified, and sanctified. We are happy beings in Christ. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, a lot of people try to please their sad souls by using Christ. They have to see whether Christ is in their hearts or not. If they have Christ, then they are happy, not because they are materially rich or famous, but because Christ is their happiness. We shouldn’t forget this truth. If we forget it, we are likely to act like pagan idolaters. We try to show our devotion to Christ to secure our goals, blessings, or standings. Blessings are the outcome, not the purpose of following Christ. Following Christ, we may have to give up our privileges, rights, even our lives. But it is perfectly ok even though we lose our lives, because our lives are eternally hidden in Christ and our riches are secure in Christ.

People in Jesus’ time and in our day are basically the same by nature. We are all sinners who seek to be kings over our lives. To establish our own small kingdoms, we are ready to use anything, particularly, religions. However, Jesus is not a founder of a religion. He is the life and the resurrection. He is the Living Water. He is the Bread of heaven. He is the Light of the world. He is the way, the truth, and the life. We follow Him for His own sake and purpose, not for our own personal gains and purposes. In the text, we meet with a scribe who was willing to follow Jesus for his own reasons. Verses 19-20 say, ¹⁹ 한 서기관이 나아와 예수께 말씀하되 선생님이여 어디로 가시든지 저는 좇으리이다 ²⁰ 예수께서 이르시되 여우도 굴이 있고 공중의 새도 거처가 있으되 오직 인자는 머리 둘 곳이 없다 하시더라. ¹⁹ And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." ²⁰ And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." We can easily picture one man out of the large crowd was coming forward to Jesus. We may say he was one of the representatives of the crowd.

Then, he was a scribe, a religious expert who studied the law of Moses. He interpreted the law and taught it to people. He must have been proud of his religious knowledge of God and His law. He was not nobody in the Jewish community. He may have enjoyed popularity and his social standing in the synagogue. At any rate, he heard about Jesus who also taught the law of Moses with the authority that was different from that of Jewish religious teachers. He may have heard Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. He may have agreed with Jesus’ right interpretations of the law. He came to revere Him as one of the rabbis. Or he came to Jesus to be one of His pupils so that he could enjoy an association with this newly-known teacher of the law. Back in those days, there was two Jewish schools of the law, Hillel and Shammai. The Hillel school is equivalent to a liberal school of Christianity. The Shammai school is equivalent to a conservative school of Christianity. The pupils were proud of being taught under the tutelage of their rabbis. Paul was trained under the tutelage of Rabbi Gamaliel. The scribe may have wanted to follow Jesus as one of the rabbis so that he would benefit from His instructions. Certainly, he may have wanted to learn from Him so that he would grow in knowledge of the law. Especially, he may have wanted to be a famous teacher like Jesus so that he could be popular, enjoying a large following. In short, following Jesus, he would learn from Him as much as possible and become a famous teacher to enjoy popularity and wield a great influence on people.

Surely, it was worthwhile for him to follow Jesus as his teacher. He addressed Jesus as “teacher.” People addressed Jesus in a variety of ways. Some mocked Him as a son of a carpenter. Others called Him as the Son of David. Some called Him as “Lord.” Mostly, they showed their respect to Him. The ways they addressed Jesus reveal their beliefs, thoughts, expectations, or interests in Jesus. The scribe seemed to be interested in His marvelous teachings. That might be the reason he addressed Him “Teacher!” Jesus already knew why he was interested in following Him. His motive was not something right. So, when he said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go,” Jesus knew of course he wouldn’t be able to follow Him. Also, He questioned his motive in His heart. So, He said something quite strangely sounding, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Beasts in the natural world have their natural habitats. But the Son of Man has nothing. Jesus, addressing Himself as “the Son of Man,” which sounds as a messianic title, emphasized His utter poverty, though He owned the entire universe. It seems that Jesus was testing the scribe to see whether he was really willing to follow Him.

If he had kept his word to follow Jesus wherever He would go, the scribe may not have earned anything he wanted from Jesus but he would have Jesus with him. This was the point Jesus was trying to make to him. He was saying, “I have nothing you are looking for. But I can give you Myself. Will you follow Me to earn Me?” This is what Jesus is asking us today. Before we say we will follow Jesus wherever He goes, we must ask ourselves why we want to follow Him. Even though we get nothing, or nothing but loss, defamation, persecution, or even death, are we willing to follow Him and be content with Him if we can get Him? At the end of losing everything, we say we are fine if we have Christ with us. This is the essence of Christian discipleship. Without much thinking, however, people today say we will follow Jesus wherever Jesus goes. Many passionately sing the song titled “Mission” with tears flowing on their cheeks. But how many of them truly follow Jesus in such a way?

Let me quote the first verse of this song: 주님이 홀로 가신 그 길 나도 따라 가오. 모든 물과 피를 흘리신 그 길을 나도 가오. 험한 산도 나는 괜챦소. 바다 끝이라도 나는 괜찮소. 죽어 가는 저들을 위해 나를 버리길 바라오. 아버지 나를 보내 주오. 나는 달려 가겠소. 목숨도 아끼지 않겠소. 나를 보내 주오. “I follow the way the Lord had gone by Himself. I follow that way the Lord shed all the water and blood. I am fine with a rough mountain. I am fine with the end of the ocean. I want to abandon myself for those dying. Father, please send me. I will run. I will not spare my life. Please, send me.” It is easy to sing it during worship. It is easy to pray this way. But it is another thing to practice what we sing and pray. How many of you today are willing to go and follow Jesus wherever He goes? Are you really willing to go anywhere He sends you? Honestly speaking, we are quick to speak such nicely sounding words to the Lord. But our hearts are not there with the Lord. We are so insensitive to the sin of hypocrisy and our double-mindedness that we act as if everything were ok with us. But if we examine our hearts under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, we will see our stenchy hypocritical religiosity.

Many today follow Jesus out of wrong motives. They seek to follow Him for personal gains such as moral teachings, spiritual insights, wisdom, money, power, health, wealth, or prosperity, etc. It is like a woman who gets married to her husband only for money. Why do you want to get married? Why did you get married? It is for your personal gains such as money, happiness, fame, housing, etc. If you hear your dating partner says, “I want to get married with you because you are smart, rich, and famous”, how will you respond to him or her? Will you really want to keep dating that person. A loving couple wish to stay for the rest of their lives together. So, they choose to get married. The motive of their marriage is love. But if one partner wants to get married to his or her counterpart because of money, fame, or power, his or her counterpart would feel like being cheated. Imagine you have married with your spouse for fifty years. Now your partner asks you for divorce, saying, “I have never loved you. I have been bearing with you all these years to get a huge alimony from you at divorce.” Certainly, you will be shocked.

Christ is our Bridegroom and we are His bride. If we follow Him for the sake of temporal blessings, we are like cheating Jesus, using Him for our gains. Some try to follow Jesus because they can find peace of mind in Him. Of course, we may find peace in Christ. But earning peace is the purpose of following Jesus. It may be a byproduct of following Him. Even heaven is not the purpose of following Jesus. A lot of people fear hell. They don’t want to fall into hell. So, they choose to believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him, not to go to hell. Well, the ultimate purpose of following Christ is not to avoid going to hell, but to have Christ with us. Indeed, Christ is always with us. We know it from His Word. We know it by faith. We experience it by faith. We are willing to live and die for Jesus Christ. A Christian man said, “Discipleship begins with an unconditional commitment to Jesus Christ and with the acceptance of a sentence of death.”

Again, we must make sure we follow Jesus for His own purpose, glory, and joy. Jesus is the reason itself we should follow Him. Even though we may not get what we desire from Him, we must follow Him because He is worthy of all of ours. We must not attempt to enhance our worth by using Christ. We must follow Him at all costs because He is the purpose of our pursuit. Oswald Chambers said, “His purpose is to make a man exactly like Himself, and the characteristic of the Son of God is self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain, but what He pours through us that counts. It is not that God makes us beautifully rounded grapes, but that He squeezes the sweetness out of us. Spiritually, we cannot measure our life by success, but only by what God pours through us, and we cannot measure that at all.” We follow Jesus not for our personal gains, but for His purpose of making us like Christ and glorifying God through His work upon us.

Conclusion: I got the following story from Michael Jinkins: “Clarence Jordan, author of the "Cotton Patch" New Testament translation and founder of the interracial Koinonia farm in Americus, Georgia, was getting a red-carpet tour of another minister's church. With pride the minister pointed to the rich, imported pews and luxurious decoration. As they stepped outside, darkness was falling, and a spotlight shone on a huge cross atop the steeple. "That cross alone cost us ten thousand dollars," the minister said with a satisfied smile. "You got cheated," said Jordan. ‘Times were when Christians could get them for free.’” Salvation through the cross of Christ is for free. We are indeed saved by grace, which is costly. Dr. Bonhoeffer wrote, “Such grace is costly … because it costs a man his life and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner.” Have you received such great grace of salvation through Christ? If you answer “Yes,” then, the question you should ask at this point, “Are we fans of Jesus or disciples of Jesus?” Fans of Jesus can easily abandon Jesus for their own reasons. Since they have chosen to follow Him for their own gains, they can easily depart from Him when they gain nothing from Him. However, disciples of Jesus learn from Him. They follow Him at all costs because He is worthy of their utmost pursuit. They are willing to lose all things to find Jesus Christ. As long as they have Him, they believe they have more than enough because Jesus Christ is all-sufficient to them. So, the question now is “Do you have Jesus Christ with you? The apostle John says, 아들이 있는 자에게는 생명이 있고 하나님의 아들이 없는 자에게는 생명이 없느니라. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 Jn. 5:12). I would like to quote a poem written by Seok-Hun Ham.

Do you have that Man? 그 사람을 그대는 가졌는가?

On a long distance journey,만리 길 나서는 길

A Man to whom you can entrust your wife and children freely,처자를 내 맡기며 맘 놓고 갈 만한 사람,

Do you have that Man? 그 사람을 그대는 가졌는가?

Even when you feel lonely, abandoned by the whole world,온 세상 나를 버려 마음이 외로울 때에도

A Man saying trustingly, “You are the only one!” 너 뿐이야 하고 믿어 주는

Do you have that Man?그 사람을 그대는 가졌는가?

When your ship is sinking, 탓 던 배 꺼지는 시간, 구명대 서로 양보하며

A Man giving you His life jacket, saying, “Please, you alone must live” 너 만은 제발 살아 다오 할

Do you have that Man?그 사람을 그대는 가졌는가?

When you depart from this unforgettable world, 잊지 못할 이 세상을 놓고 떠나려 할 때

A Man closing His eyes with a smile너 하나 있으니 하며 방긋이 웃고 눈을 감을

Do you have that Man? 그 사람을 그대는 가졌는가?

At a place of unjust execution불의의 사형장에서

A Man saying, “Please, let him live for the light of your world even though all die 다 죽어도 너희 세상 빛을 위해 저만은 살려 주거라 일러 줄

Do you have that Man? 그 사람을 그대는 가졌는가?

A Man who shakes his head, saying “No” rather than approval of the whole world온 세상의 찬성보다 “아니”라고 가만히 머리 흔들

At a thought of His face, defeating a temptation그 한 얼굴 생각에 알뜰한 유혹을 물리치게 되는

Do you have that Man? 그 사람을 그대는 가졌는가?

I don’t know exactly whom the poet describes in his poem. But I can tell there seems to be no person like Him in the world, so trustworthy and praiseworthy. I think we can tell that Man is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Man to whom we can commit our entire lives through ups and downs in life is Jesus Christ. Through our life journey and our life after death, Jesus Christ is the One whom we trust, follow, and worship. Do you have Jesus Christ? You should be able to answer this question with all honesty. If you are unable to answer it, please, accept Him by faith and invite Him into your heart. Then, follow Him by walking with Him. If you have Christ, you are blessed. Relying on His enabling grace rather than your own willpower, continue following Him for His own glory! 

Benediction: ²⁴ 여호와는 네게 복을 주시고 너를 지키시기를 원하며 ²⁵ 여호와는 그 얼굴로 네게 비취사 은혜 베푸시기를 원하며 ²⁶ 여호와는 그 얼굴을 네게로 향하여 드사 평강 주시기를 원하노라. The LORD bless you and keep you; ²⁵ the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; ²⁶ the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.