Receive Jesus Your Restorer into Your Heart-1

⁷ 그러므로 예수께서 다시 이르시되 내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말하노니 나는 양의 문이라 ⁸ 나보다 먼저 온 자는 다 절도요 강도니 양들이 듣지 아니하였느니라 ⁹ 내가 문이니 누구든지 나로 말미암아 들어가면 구원을 얻고 또는 들어가며 나오며 꼴을 얻으리라 ¹⁰ 도적이 오는 것은 도적질하고 죽이고 멸망시키려는 것뿐이요 내가 온 것은 양으로 생명을 얻게 하고 더 풍성히 얻게 하려는 것이라. ⁷ So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (Jn. 10:7-10)

²⁸ 또 예수께서 건너편 가다라 지방에 가시매 귀신 들린 자 둘이 무덤 사이에서 나와 예수를 만나니 저희는 심히 사나와 아무도 그 길로 지나갈 수 없을 만하더라 ²⁹ 이에 저희가 소리질러 가로되 하나님의 아들이여 우리와 당신과 무슨 상관이 있나이까 때가 이르기 전에 우리를 괴롭게 하려고 여기 오셨나이까 하더니 ³⁰ 마침 멀리서 많은 돼지 떼가 먹고 있는지라 ³¹ 귀신들이 예수께 간구하여 가로되 만일 우리를 쫓아 내실찐대 돼지 떼에 들여 보내소서 한대 ³² 저희더러 가라 하시니 귀신들이 나와서 돼지에게로 들어가는지라 온 떼가 비탈로 내리 달아 바다에 들어가서 물에서 몰사하거늘 ³³ 치던 자들이 달아나 시내에 들어가 이 모든 일과 귀신들린 자의 일을 고하니 ³⁴ 온 시내가 예수를 만나려고 나가서 보고 그 지방에서 떠나시기를 간구하더라. ²⁸ And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" ³⁰ Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. ³¹ And the demons begged him, saying, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs." ³² And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. ³³ The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region. (Matt. 8:28-34)

FCF: We may want Jesus to leave us alone.

주제: 예수님은 우리를 풍성한 삶으로 회복하시기에 그분을 마음과 삶에 맞이해 들여야 합니다.

Theme: Because Jesus restores us to an abundant life, we must receive Him into our hearts and lives.

Introduction: Let me begin with the German folk tale “The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats”: “A mother goat leaves her seven children at home while she ventures into the forest to find food. Before she leaves, she warns her young about the wolf who will try to sneak into the house and gobble them up. He will pretend to be their mother and convince the kids to open the door. The young children will be able to recognize their true mother by her white feet and sweet voice. The mother goat leaves and the seven kids stay in the house. Before long, they hear a voice at the door that says "Let me in children, your mother has something for each and every one of you." It was the wolf, whose gruff voice betrays him and the kids do not let him in. The wolf goes to a marketplace, store, or pharmacy and steals some honey, medicine or chalk, to soften his voice. A little while later, the kids hear another voice at the door: "Let me in children, your mother has something for each and every one of you." This time the voice is high and sweet like their mother's. They are about to let him in when the youngest kid looks under the crack in the door and notices the wolf's big, black feet. They refuse to open the door, and the wolf goes away again.

The wolf goes to the bakery or mill and steals some flour, smearing it all over his coat, turning his black feet white. He returns to the children's house, and says "Let me in children, your mother has something for each and every one of you." The kids see his white feet and hear his sweet voice, so they open the door. The wolf jumps into the house and gobbles up six of the kids. The youngest child hides from the wolf in the grandfather clock and does not get eaten. Later that day, the mother goat returns home from the forest. She is distraught to find the door wide open and all but one of her children missing. She looks around and sees the wolf, fast asleep under a tree. He has eaten so much, he cannot move. The mother goat calls to her youngest child to quickly get her a pair of scissors, a needle and some thread. She cuts open the wolf's belly and the six children spring out miraculously unharmed. They fill the wolf's belly with rocks, and the mother sews it back up again. When the wolf wakes up, he is very thirsty. He goes to the river to drink, but being so heavy he falls in and drowns under the weight of the rocks. All the children feel great to find themselves safe. The family lives happily ever after.

This story illustrates the point we should be careful about Satan and his servants disguising themselves to come into our hearts to engulf our lives. We must never open our hearts to their cunningly deceptive voices to enchant us. Evil spirits are working behind the scenes in the world day and night to destroy people’s lives. People, without being aware of the existence or evil activities of evil spirits, feel comfortable with spiritism, fortune-telling, Ouija Board, necromancy, voodooism, Satan worship, etc., clothed in their national heritages and cultures or entertainment out of curiosity. Demons are real and make havoc on the lives of people, no matter how people deny their existence. C. S. Lewis said, 사람들이 귀신들에 대하여 빠지는 두 가지 비등하면서도 상반된 오류가 있습니다. 하나는 악귀들의 존재를 믿지 않는 것이며 다른 하나는 그들의 존재를 믿고 해로운 관심을 가지는 것입니다.  “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence, the other is to believe and to feel an unhealthy interest in them.” Of course, we do affirm their existence and stand against them in the power of the Lord.

Today, we encounter the two demon-possessed man in the text who dwells among the tombs. They were living in a dark den hidden in white limestone tombs. They looked monstrous, smelled stenchy, cried out crazily, and acted devilish. No one dared to approach them. They were wholly controlled by the demons. They needed help to be set free. There was no one in the city who had a concern for them or power to release them. Only Jesus came to deliver them from demon possession. He restored them to a normal and abundant life. The narrative teaches that we must receive Jesus into our hearts and lives because Jesus restores us to an abundant life. If we welcome evil spirits into our hearts, we are like the foolish people who knowingly open the gate of their city to their enemies and welcome their own destruction. Unquestionably, we must receive Jesus Christ, not evil ones, into our hearts and lives. Let’s examine the narrative to see how Jesus restores us to an abundant life. My first point is…  

I.               섭리를 따라 우리를 만나러 오시는 예수님을 맞이해야 합니다.

We must receive Jesus who comes to meet with us by His providence.

Every encounter between God and man is not accidental, but providential. It is not by chance, but by design. This truth should be applied to every meeting between Jesus and people. Every and each meeting of Jesus with His disciples, the sick, the demon-possessed, the crippled, the hungry, the ignorant, the drunken, the sinners, some prostitutes, or all those who needed Jesus for help were intentional. Jesus came to fulfill His mission of redeeming them from their sin and death. Jesus brought healing, freedom, restoration, deliverance, knowledge, etc., to people according to their practical needs. Also, Jesus encountered those who hated and opposed Him, such as the Jewish religious authorities-Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, elders, and so on. Though He reached out to them in love, they rejected Him and handed Him over to Pontus Pilate the Roman governor. They tempted Jesus to entrap Him and bring Him to death. Jesus’ multiple meetings with such people were not accidental, but intentional. Jesus intended to debunk their religious hypocrisies and depravities and to lead them back to God.

Jesus used His time for teaching, preaching, healing, praying, and worshiping. He moved from place to place to do the will of God. He had no time to waste. He was carrying out His itinerant ministry according to His divine schedule. He was moving toward the cross of redemption, that is, the Father’s redemptive purpose. He visited Gentile villages, which Jews viewed as unclean. Also, He went through the land of Samaritans, which Jews views as religious mongrels. He went anywhere He could go to preach the gospel of God’s kingdom. Again, His visitation, travel, and encounter with people, were designed by His perfect will and plan though they seemed to happen by accident. His birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, session, and return are under God’s decree. All of them are under the Father’s perfect plan. The entirety of His life was under divine decree.

With this in mind, we should interpret Jesus’ encounter with the two demon-possessed men. Jesus’ meeting with them reveals His premeditated plan and good intention for them. When He ordered His disciples to go to the other side of the lake, Jesus foresaw His disciples struggling over the physical whirlwind and the two demon-possessed men struggling over their whirlwinds in their minds. He had the best intention for both the disciples and the two demon-possessed men. He gave the disciples the orders to cross to the other, not to destroy them, but to deliver them from the tempest. Surely, He knew how to deliver them from the different kinds of turmoil, the one physical and the other spiritual. Not wasting His words saying “Let’s go to the other side of the lake”, Jesus planned out all that He would do for the two upcoming occurrences. In both cases, Jesus calmed down both a physical whirlwind in the sea and a spiritual whirlwind in the mind. He intended to teach His disciples about His divine power over nature and increase their faith in Him. He intended to save the two men residing among the tombs from demon-possession. He surely demonstrated His divine power over the supernatural.   

Unlike Satan who tries to use every means to destroy us, Jesus has come to save us from sin and eternal perdition. He has come to give us eternal life and lead us to an abundant life. Indeed, Jesus is our Good Shepherd who died in our place for our sin and rose again from the dead to seal our justification. His coming was for our salvation. His coming was for our good. Ultimately, His coming was for God’s glory. The apostle John said, ⁹ 내가 문이니 누구든지 나로 말미암아 들어가면 구원을 얻고 또는 들어가며 나오며 꼴을 얻으리라 ¹⁰ 도적이 오는 것은 도적질하고 죽이고 멸망시키려는 것뿐이요 내가 온 것은 양으로 생명을 얻게 하고 더 풍성히 얻게 하려는 것이라. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly (Jn. 10:9-10). He has come to save His own sheep from perdition and make them enjoy an abundant life in Him. This truth encourages us to receive Him with all gladness for God’s glory and our good as well.

However, people in general tend not to welcome Jesus into their hearts and lives. Some see Jesus as someone who restricts their freedom. If they receive Him into their lives, they suppose, they should abandon their freedom and put themselves under the bondage of Jesus. However, they are seriously mistaken about true freedom. People usually define freedom as a state in which they can do whatever they desire to do. According to this definition, they consider Jesus a restrictor of their freedom. However, Jesus gives them free will. He honors their free will. He neither restrain nor forfeit their freedom. Rather, Jesus helps them exercise their free will to choose righteousness rather than sin, holiness rather than immorality, the kingdom of God rather than the kingdom of the world, and Jesus rather than Satan. Jesus has come to set them free from the bondage of sin and death. Once they are set free from it, they freely put themselves under the gracious reign of Christ. They volunteer to be servants of Jesus. They give their free will back to God to serve Jesus and establish His reign all over the world. So, people’s common misconception of Jesus as a freedom robber is flatly wrong. Jesus is a true freedom-Giver.

Another misconception of Jesus is that believing Jesus makes one superstitious and outdated. Some, so-called rationally or scientifically minded, see religion as a product of evolutionary process. People created religions to control fear of death and worry for their future. So, believing the religion of Christianity may be helping in soothing, comforting the weak-minded. But people today get educated enough, not to need any religion to control fear and worry. Such an argument disregards the fact that faith and science do not contradict each other, not mutually exclusive. There are a lot of distinguished Christian scientists who do their researches under the guidance of God. They ascribe glory to God for their scientific breakthroughs. Their faith never gets in the way of doing science. Rather, faith assists science. They work together to fulfill the will of God and promote the good of the world. Believing Jesus is not an uncivilized superstition, but a way of life that benefits us forever.    

Another common misconception of Jesus is that Jesus is a demanding person. People don’t want to come to Jesus because they believe Jesus demands practically impossible things from them. They simply don’t want to follow His commands. However, all Jesus wants them to do is to love God with all their hearts and love neighbors as themselves. If Jesus were an evil, violent, cunning, and destructive conman, we should not believe in Him. However, because Jesus is a totally trustworthy person, we must trust Him. Instead of taking things from us, Jesus is the Savior and Lord of the world who gave Himself to us on the cross. Jesus is the total opposite of Satan. People are deceived by Satan about the true identity, person, and work of Jesus Christ. Satan makes every effort to make people disbelieve and reject Jesus.

In his book The Case for Faith, Lee Strobel talks about a man who used to be a great evangelist but departed from the faith. His name is Charles Templeton. His story goes like this: “He was a close friend and preaching associate of Billy Graham in the 1940s. He effectively preached the gospel to large crowds in major arenas. However, intellectual doubts began to nag at him. He questioned the truth of Scripture and other core Christian beliefs. He finally abandoned his faith and made an unsuccessful attempt to persuade Billy to do the same. He felt sorry for Billy, saying, “He committed intellectual suicide by closing his mind.” Templeton resigned from the ministry and became a novelist and news commentator. He also wrote a critique of the Christian faith titled Farewell to God: My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith.

Interviewed when he was eighty-three and suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Templeton talked about some of the reasons he left the faith: 나는 지구의 여러 지역을 덮쳐 마구 사람들을 죽인 전염병에 대하여 생각하기 시작했습니다. 모든 종류의 사람들, 일반인, 좋은 사람, 썩은 사람, 종종 차별 없이 고통스럽게 죽였습니다. 나에게 명백하게 분명해 진 점은 지적인 사람이 사랑하는 신이 존재한다는 것을 믿는 것이 불가능하다는 것입니다. ‘I started considering the plagues that sweep across parts of the planet and indiscriminately kill—more often than not, painfully—all kinds of people, the ordinary, the decent, and the rotten. And it just became crystal clear to me that it is not possible for an intelligent person to believe that there is a deity who loves.” When asked what he thought of Jesus Christ, Templeton would not acknowledge him as God. Rather, he responded: 그는 지금까지 살았던 사람 중에 가장 위대한 사람입니다. 그는 도덕적인 천재입니다. 그의 윤리적 감각은 유일합니다. 나의 삶과 독서에서 만난 사람들 중에 가장 지혜로우신 분입니다. 그는 내 인생에 가장 중요한 분입니다. 이상하게 들릴지 모르겠지만 나는 그분을 추앙한다고 말해야 할 것입니다. 내가 아는 좋은 모든 것, 고상하고 순수한 모든 것은 예수님께 배운 것입니다. 그는 존재하는 모든 것 가운데 가장 중요한 분이십니다. 이렇게 말하고 싶습니다. 나는 그분을 그리워합니다. 템플턴의 눈에는 눈물이 가득했고 자유롭게 우셨습니다.  그리고 더 이상 말하길 거부했습니다. “He was the greatest human being who has ever lived. He was a moral genius. His ethical sense was unique. He was the intrinsically wisest person that I’ve ever encountered in my life or in my readings. He’s the most important thing in my life. I know it may sound strange, but I have to say I adore him! Everything good I know, everything decent I know, everything pure I know, I learned from Jesus. He is the most important human being who has ever existed. And if I may put it this way, I miss him.” Templeton’s eyes filled with tears and he wept freely. He refused to say more.”

This is a sad, unfortunate story. He knew a lot about Jesus Christ. But he refused to have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ because of his intellectual pride. There are so many people in the world who follow his footsteps and boast about their intellectual prowess and achievements. But they are deceived by Satan. Paul says of the deception of Satan among unbelievers as follows: 그 중에 이 세상 신이 믿지 아니하는 자들의 마음을 혼미케 하여 그리스도의 영광의 복음의 광채가 비취지 못하게 함이니 그리스도는 하나님의 형상이니라. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4). Also, he says of the work of Antichrist as follows, ¹⁰ 불의의 모든 속임으로 멸망하는 자들에게 임하리니 이는 저희가 진리의 사랑을 받지 아니하여 구원함을 얻지 못함이니라 ¹¹ 이러므로 하나님이 유혹을 저의 가운데 역사하게 하사 거짓 것을 믿게 하심은 ¹² 진리를 믿지 않고 불의를 좋아하는 모든 자로 심판을 받게 하려 하심이니라. ¹⁰ and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, ¹² in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thess. 2:10-12).

Unbelievers are under the deception of Satan; so, they are blind to the gospel of salvation. They are blind to their sin. So, they can’t see the reason why Jesus has come to them through the gospel of salvation. When they reject Jesus and His gospel, they choose eternal perdition rather than eternal life. Their choice won’t make them better, freer, or happier as they anticipate. They wallow in the quagmire of ephemeral pleasures of the world, which never make them truly happy but rather make a void in their hearts deeper. They constantly search for something gratifying forever. But there is no such thing in this world. Only Jesus can satisfy their spiritual emptiness. He can quench their spiritual thirst through His living water. He can feed their spiritual hunger through His bread of heaven.

The apostle John describes how Jesus has encountered with people to meet their fundamental needs. One day, Jesus chose to go through the land of Samaria, which was shunned by the Jews for religious uncleanness. However, Jesus made His way into the city of Sychar. He went to the well of Jacob to meet with a Samaritan woman who was reeling in pain due to her multiple marriage failures. Jesus began a conversation with her to expose her fundamental need, that is, constant thirst for the living water, which was demonstrated in her immoral life. He presented her with the living water, that is, Himself the Messiah. She was saved by grace. She began to spread the news of the Messiah of Israel to her townspeople. Many of them came to believe Jesus as the Son of God, the King of Israel.

This truth encourages us to receive Jesus into our hearts and lives. Jesus is both the living water and the bread of heaven. He still comes to people and knock on the doors of their hearts, saying, 볼찌어다 내가 문밖에 서서 두드리노니 누구든지 내 음성을 듣고 문을 열면 내가 그에게로 들어가 그로 더불어 먹고 그는 나로 더불어 먹으리라. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (Rev. 3:20). Jesus is not like the wolf in the story of the wolf and the seven young goats. He doesn’t come to deceive and harm you. Rather, He comes to give Himself to you. He comes to save you and make you God’s children. So, open your hearts to Him and receive Him into your lives. You will be given a privilege of being children of God. John says it this way, ¹² 영접하는 자 곧 그 이름을 믿는 자들에게는 하나님의 자녀가 되는 권세를 주셨으니 ¹³ 이는 혈통으로나 육정으로나 사람의 뜻으로 나지 아니하고 오직 하나님께로서 난 자들이니라. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (Jn. 1:12-13). 

No matter how you may try, you can’t make yourselves children of God. Even though you suppose you have chosen to believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord, your choice is made under God’s sovereign grace. Your salvation is a product of your choice+divine grace. It is a work of 100 % divine grace. Salvation is of the LORD. This truth is to be applied to the deliverance of the two demon-possessed men. You are saved not because of your faith, but through your faith. Your faith is not the ground for your salvation. It is the means whereby you extend your hand of faith to receive eternal life from God. All that your hand of faith does is to receive salvation from God. So, there is no reason you can boast about your faith. Rather, you should glory in Christ alone as far as your salvation is concerned.

The two demon-possessed did nothing to deserve Jesus’ care and love. They didn’t invite Jesus into their dwelling among the tombs. When they saw Him stepping out of the boat on land, they immediately ran toward Him to meet with Him. They fell down before Him. They cried out loudly, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God. Have you come here to torment us before the time?" Certainly, Jesus didn’t come to torment them, while He came to cast out the demons of the legion. He came to set them free from demon possession. This is a critical point that we should remember. He was coming to them before they came to Him. His coming is a reflection of His care and love for the two poor men. It seems that He called the men to come to Him. That is why the demons responded to His command to come out of them, saying, “Do not torment us.” They begged Jesus not to send them out of the country but to send them into the pigs. When they saw Jesus coming to them, they shuddered with fear, knowing that their time of possession would immediately come to an end. Instead of escaping from Jesus the Son of God, they were compelled to come to the holy presence of Jesus.

We can infer it from this verse: 이는 예수께서 이미 더러운 귀신을 명하사 이 사람에게서 나오라 하셨음이라 (귀신이 가끔 이 사람을 붙잡으므로 저가 쇠사슬과 고랑에 매이어 지키웠으되 그 맨 것을 끊고 귀신에게 몰려 광야로 나갔더라). For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert) (Lk. 8:29). Jesus already knew how they were suffering from demon possession. They suffered chronic seizures. They were bound with chains and shackles. They were driven to the desert. They were living among the tombs. They were naked. They were violent, harming their bodies. They were aloud. They were strong. they were shameless. They were unclean. They were deadly. They were living in isolation and desolation. No one wanted to get close to them. Everyone wanted to stay away from them.

However, Jesus took mercy on them and made His way to meet with them. He came to set them free from the control of evil spirits. Jesus showed His special, impartial love to them because they were Gentiles, whom Jesus considered as dogs, unclean creatures. Their town was in a Gentile territory. Pigs were unclean to the Jews. Their land, culture, religion, or race were abhorrent to the Jews. But, Jesus, a Jew, didn’t care about the Jewish religious animosity against the Gentiles. He went beyond it because He cared about all sinners, Jews and Gentiles. No one was able to subdue them. No one was interested in them. No one in the city dared to save them from demon possession. All they cared about was that the two demon-possessed men would do nothing to harm them. As long as they didn’t do anything against them, they were happy to incarcerate them in the tombs. The demon-possessed men desperately needed a help from others. But none of them were able to help them. They chose pigs rather than people. Even though they weren’t possessed by evil spirits, they were under the heavy influence of evil spirits, which caused them lack of compassion on people in need and covetousness. So, they asked Jesus to leave them. Even though they witnessed the evidence of Jesus’ divine power and love, they didn’t want to have Jesus with them. This fact demonstrates they were under the control of Satan. So, they desired to have nothing with the demon-possessed men, who were social outcasts, not their neighbors.

However, Jesus paid attention to them, which is His unconditional love for them. His love was not based on their characters and behaviors. His love is pure and unfeigned. His love is practical. So, He came through the tempest to calm their agitated, darkened, and disordered minds. In so doing, He demonstrated both divine love for the helpless and divine power against the kingdom of darkness. Jesus never minds meeting with an unclean, crazy, violent, shameless person because He knows such a person is ravaged by Satan and his servants. Rather, He has compassion on them. That’s why He took a human body upon Himself so that He would destroy the work of the devil through His death. The author of Hebrews says it this way, ¹⁴ 자녀들은 혈육에 함께 속하였으매 그도 또한 한 모양으로 혈육에 함께 속하심은 사망으로 말미암아 사망의 세력을 잡은 자 곧 마귀를 없이 하시며 ¹⁵ 또 죽기를 무서워하므로 일생에 매여 종노릇하는 모든 자들을 놓아 주려 하심이니. ¹⁴ Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

 ¹⁵ and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery (Heb. 2:14-15).

What hinders you from receiving Jesus into your hearts and lives? Is it fun, entertainment, games, intellectual pride, ambition, political ideology or relationship? Whatever that may be, don’t let it stop you from trusting Jesus Christ Savior and Lord. Don’t let any demonic influences hinder you from coming to meet with Jesus. Don’t let your intellectual prowess make a spiritual suicide. There is nothing more important than Jesus. Even Charles Templeton admitted it with tears. Salvation, that is, an abundant life with God in Christ, is the gift of God. So is the air, but we have to breathe it. So is bread, but we have to eat it. So is water, but we have to drink it. So how do we accept this gift? Not by a feeling, for “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). It is not for us to sit down and wait for faith to come upon us with a strong feeling of some kind. Rather, salvation comes when we take God at His word. So, let’s all receive Him into our hearts and lives for God’s glory and our good as well. We should bow down before the Lord Jesus Christ in adoration and praise. Jesus Christ is not only our Lord, but also our Friend forever.

Conclusion: Why would anyone want to reject Jesus Christ? For some, it is because Christ does not fit into their concept of a world leader or savior, a point well illustrated in the life of a former American leader. In the fall of 1775, the manager of Baltimore’s largest hotel refused lodging to a man dressed as a farmer, because he thought this fellow’s lowly appearance would discredit his inn. So, the man left and took a room elsewhere. Later, the innkeeper discovered that he had turned away none other than the Vice President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson! Immediately he sent a note to the famed patriot, asking him to return and be his guest. Jefferson replied by instructing his messenger as follows: “Tell him I have already engaged a room. I value his good intentions highly, but if he has no place for a dirty American farmer, he has none for the Vice President of the United States.”

Now, do you have a room for Jesus Christ the King of the entire universe? There is no reason to reject Him. He is good and faithful. He loves you with unconditional, impartial, and eternal love, that is, perfect love. We find such love demonstrated in the narratives in the book of Matthew. Jesus rebuked the tempest and the waves to calm them. Also, He rebuked the legion of demons and cast them out into the pigs. He restored their totally darkened, isolated, deprived lives into a normal and abundant life with God. These facts demonstrate the truth that He is the Ruler over both the natural and the supernatural worlds. We must open our hearts and receive Him into our hearts so that we can live an abundant life with Him. To which one we open our hearts, Jesus or Satan, determines our destinies. There is nothing more important and urgent than to welcome Jesus into our hearts and lives. We can’t emphasize enough the importance of spiritual conditions of our hears.

However, we often overlook or neglect the spiritual conditions of our hearts. Only a few examine their hearts daily to see whether or not their hearts are in a right condition. Biblically speaking, a right condition of one’s heart refers to the state that Jesus sits on the throne of one’s heart and guides his or her life. Our heart is a spiritual battlefield between the Holy Spirit and the devil. We have to choose the good rather than the evil. If we surrender our hearts to the evil one, we will be seized and controlled by the evil one. Then, our lives will be plundered and devasted. The narrative of the demon-possessed man in Gerasa illustrates the point well. We must never welcome evil spirits into our hearts and lives. Evil spirits may masquerade themselves as the angels of light. Promising us happiness, they indeed try to take away our freedom, right mind, and abundant life in Christ. We should never give them a foothold in our hearts. Rather, we must fill our hearts with the Lord Jesus Christ while resolutely rejecting evil things. Indeed, Jesus is the Lord who restores us into an abundant life with God. Receiving Him into our hearts, let’s continue worshiping Him with all our hearts!

Benediction: ²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. 능히 너희를 보호하사 거침이 없게 하시고 너희로 그 영광 앞에 흠이 없이 즐거움으로 서게 하실자 ²⁵ 곧 우리 구주 홀로 하나이신 하나님께 우리 주 예수 그리스도로 말미암아 영광과 위엄과 권력과 권세가 만고 전부터 이제와 세세에 있을지어다 아멘 (Jud 1:24-25)