Pray for the church-3-i

¹⁵ 그리스도의 평강이 너희 마음을 주장하게 하라 평강을 위하여 너희가 한 몸으로 부르심을 받았나니 또한 너희는 감사하는 자가 되라 ¹⁶ 그리스도의 말씀이 너희 속에 풍성히 거하여 모든 지혜로 피차 가르치며 권면하고 시와 찬미와 신령한 노래를 부르며 마음에 감사함으로 하나님을 찬양하고 ¹⁷ 또 무엇을 하든지 말에나 일에나 다 주 예수의 이름으로 하고 그를 힘입어 하나님 아버지께 감사하라. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col. 3:15-17 ESV)

¹⁴ 이러하므로 내가 하늘과 땅에 있는 각 족속에게 ¹⁵ 이름을 주신 아버지 앞에 무릎을 꿇고 비노니 ¹⁶ 그 영광의 풍성을 따라 그의 성령으로 말미암아 너희 속 사람을 능력으로 강건하게 하옵시며 ¹⁷ 믿음으로 말미암아 그리스도께서 너희 마음에 계시게 하옵시고 너희가 사랑 가운데서 뿌리가 박히고 터가 굳어져서 ¹⁸ 능히 모든 성도와 함께 지식에 넘치는 그리스도의 사랑을 알아 ¹⁹ 그 넓이와 길이와 높이와 깊이가 어떠함을 깨달아 하나님의 모든 충만하신 것으로 너희에게 충만하게 하시기를 구하노라 ²⁰ 우리 가운데서 역사하시는 능력대로 우리의 온갖 구하는 것이나 생각하는 것에 더 넘치도록 능히 하실 이에게 ²¹ 교회 안에서와 그리스도 예수 안에서 영광이 대대로 영원 무궁하기를 원하노라 아멘. ¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith-- that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 3:14-21 ESV)

FCF: We tend to forget to pray for the spiritual well-being or unity of the church.

주제: 하나님은 우리가 구하는 것 이상으로 응답하시기에 교회를 위해 우리의 주권자 아버지께 기도해야 합니다.

Theme: Because God answers more than we ask, we must pray to our sovereign Father for the church.

Introduction: Does prayer work? The Bible says prayer works because God answers prayers. However, we know from experience that there are still a lot of prayers unanswered in our lives. I have been praying for the healing of my diabetes ever since I was diagnosed with it. I still have it. Does this fact imply that prayer doesn’t work? Recently, someone gave a book about prayer to me. The title “A Prayer Life” is written by Paul E. Miller. In the first chapter “What Good Does It Do?” Mr. Miller talks about one episode related to the efficacy of prayer. He and his five children were camping in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania for the weekend. His wife chose to stay home with their eight-year-old daughter, Kim. Walking down from the campsite to his Dodge Caravan, Mr. Miller noticed his fourteen-year-old daughter, Ashley, tense and upset in front of the van. She lost her contact lens. There were a million little crevices for the lens to fall into and disappear. Mr. Miller said to her, “Ashley, don’t move. Let’s pray.” Before he could pray, she burst into tears, saying, “What good does it do? I’ve prayed for Kim to speak, and she isn’t speaking.” Kim struggles with autism and developmental delay. She is mute.

Feeling pain at her little sister’s handicap, Ashley has sincerely been praying for God’s miraculous healing of her sister. But nothing happened. Her little sister’s muteness was testimony to a silent God. Prayer, it seemed, doesn’t work. What do you believe about prayer? Whether or not God answers your prayers, have you persisted in praying anyway? Are you weary and doubtful about the efficacy of prayer even though you glibly confess God answers prayers? Mr. Miller says, "진심 어린 기도에 응답이 없을 때 우리 안에 생기는 조용한 냉소주의나 영적 피로감을 표현할 수 있는 애슐리 같이 용기를 가진 사람은 거의 없습니다. 우리는 나쁜 크리스천처럼 들리고 싶지 않아서 스스로에게 조차 의심을 숨깁니다. 냉소주의에 부끄러움을 더할 이유가 없습니다. 그래서 우리의 마음은 닫힙니다." “Few of us have Ashley’s courage to articulate the quiet cynicism or spiritual weariness that develops in us when heartfelt prayer goes unanswered. We keep our doubts hidden even from ourselves because we don’t want to sound like bad Christians. No reason to add shame to our cynicism. So, our hearts shut down.”   

Does our prayer make any difference? Paul affirms the truth that God answers more than we ask. With faith in this truth, Paul prays for the Ephesian believers who have struggled with conflicts and divisions in the church. When Ashley burst into tears, Mr. Miller was caught between Ashley’s doubts and his own. Ashley’s prayer for Kim went unanswered. Mr. Miller was fearful for Ashley’s faith and for his own. He didn’t know what to do. He had little confidence God would do anything to find Ashley’s contact lens, but he prayed silently, “Father, this would be a really good time to come through. You’ve got to hear this prayer for the sake of Ashley.” Then, he prayed aloud with Ashley, “Father, help us to find this contact.” After he finished, they bent down to look through the dirt and twigs. There, sitting on a leaf, was the missing lens. Prayer made a difference after all. Regardless of whether or not you feel doubtful, guilty, or confident about your prayer life, I want to invite you to pray to the sovereign Father for the church. So far, we have covered the first two points: 1) pray to the sovereign Father and 2) pray for your inner person to be strong. Today, I will call your attention to the third point: "Pray for Christ to dwell in your heart.” 

I.               주권자 아버지께 기도하세요.

Pray to the Sovereign Father

II.             속사람이 강건해 지도록 기도하세요.

Pray for your inner person to be strong.

III.           그리스도께서 마음에 거하도록 기도하세요.

Pray for Christ to dwell in your heart.

Paul was a man of prayer. So, he experienced divine enablement whereby he carried out his gospel ministry amid all kinds of trials. While ministering to the churches of God, he watched them suffer from conflicts or divisions caused by petty, theological, or moral issues. When he heard the Ephesian church divided between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, Paul felt he should explain that Gentile Christians were equal-heirs in the kingdom of God, equal members of the body of Christ, and equal participants of the covenantal promise. He may have felt how these Gentile Christians were discriminated against by their Jewish counterparts in the church. Instead of advising them to fight for their rights, Paul has taught them about the blessings of salvation in Christ, their privileges in the kingdom of God, and their responsibilities in the church. Also, he has prayed for them in vv. 14-21. He must have thought about what they needed most while facing discrimination in the church and working for the harmony of the church.

Considering this background, we can easily imagine why Paul has directed his prayer to the Father who has named every family in heaven and on earth. In his prayer, Paul reminded the Gentiles that God is the Father to Jewish and Gentile Christians and that the Father is surely capable of bringing them together in harmony through the cross of Christ. Also, Paul sensed that these Gentile Christians needed inner strength through the Holy Spirit because they were looked down on or discriminated against. If they had been wounded by their Jewish brothers and sisters in the church, they would have needed spiritual power in their inner persons to overcome inferiority, anger, hatred, or chagrin. Paul was maligned, mistreated, or wrongly accused by his fellow Jews. He suffered all kinds of trouble while preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, he knew how painful and difficult people would feel when they were rejected or discriminated against.

So, Paul first prayed these Gentile Christians would be strengthened with divine power through the Holy Spirit in their inner persons. If their inner persons had been strong in Christ, they would have been able to get over negative, destructive feelings against others and themselves as well. Knowing it well, Paul first prayed for them to find inner strength through the Holy Spirit (v. 16). His first petition in v. 16 is closely linked with his second petition in v. 17. Paul elaborates on inner strength through the Holy Spirit in v. 17. Inner strength through the Holy Spirit comes through the dwelling of Christ in the heart by faith. In other words, if we are strong in our inner persons, it is because we have Christ in our hearts. Christ is the source of inner strength for Christian life. So, we can surely ask Christ to give us inner strength against trials in life. Christ is in heaven. Christ in heaven as our High Priest can answer our prayer by strengthening our inner persons through the Holy Spirit.

Then, why did Paul ask God to let Christ make residence in our hearts? Was it not enough for Paul to ask Christ in heaven to help him live a Christian life? Certainly, Christ’s presence in their hearts was the source of inner strength for a victorious Christian life. Paul knew Christ was not physically with them, but spiritually with them. Christ’s spiritual presence in their hearts was a blessing and privilege they should utilize for their benefit. It was definitely what they needed most amid the situation of church split. Christ’s presence in their hearts was the ultimate solution to all their problems in life. Then, did they know from experience that Christ was living in their hearts? Were they applying that truth to their lives? We may not be able to answer all these questions. But we can tell Paul knew they needed the dwelling presence of Christ in their hearts.

Let me raise some questions related to Paul’s request in v. 17 and answer them. First, how important is Paul’s request in v. 17? It is of utmost importance. Paul’s prayer for Christ’s dwelling in their hearts reveals our greatest and most fundamental need is the living Christ. I will discuss this point alone today, saving the other points for next Sunday. Paul asks God to let Christ dwell in their hearts. These Gentile believers were placed in Christ. When they turned to Christ by repentance and faith, they were indwelt by the Holy Spirit, which means Christ makes a home in their heart. Before they were saved, they were without Christ. Now, they have Christ in their hearts. The fact they have Christ in their hearts is most valuable and significant because there is no salvation apart from Christ. Apart from Christ, there would be no forgiveness or eternal life. Apart from Christ, there would be no heaven. Apart from Christ, they would not find strength, joy, or hope throughout their perilous faith journey to the Celestial City. Apart from Christ, they would get courage, encouragement, or victory. Christ is all they need in life and death. So, Paul asks God to let Christ dwell in their hearts.

Scripturally speaking, they had Christ’s presence in their hearts. This implies they were inseparably one with Christ. Christ was in them and they were in Christ. When they were placed in Christ, they received every blessing of salvation in the heavenly places. Because they were united with Christ, everything Christ attained through His death and resurrection became theirs. When God saw them, God saw them in Christ. This means they were justified through the blood of Christ. They were regarded as holy and righteous as Christ was holy and righteous. They were regarded as God’s children just as Christ was His Son. God would rejoice in them just as He rejoiced in Christ His Son. God would accept them as He accepted the person and work of Christ. They had free access to the Father because they were one with Christ. God would answer their prayers just as He answered His Son’s prayers. What a blessing and privilege to have Christ live in their hearts!

Why did they need Christ to live in their hearts if they were already united with Christ? The answer is that Christ is the only answer to all the problems of man’s heart. We should have Christ, not only beside ourselves but also within ourselves, so that we can courageously face all kinds of trouble in life and still joyfully worship God with all our hearts. Whatever may happen to us, we surely need Christ within our hearts. We should be assured of God’s presence in our hearts so that we might fight temptations, trials, and adversities in our faith journey. But the problem lies in our hearts. We can’t control our hearts. We have no power to drive our hearts to do whatever we wish to do. Sometimes, our hearts seem to do whatever they want to do against our will. Due to our unruly and uncontrollable hearts, our faith journey or church life falls into various difficulties. Surely, we know how hard it is to make our hearts obey God’s commands. We must first be aware of what man’s heart does. 

The human heart is the seat of one’s personality. The heart does the functions of thinking, feeling, and willing. The heart controls all our activities. The heart is the seat of one’s personhood. Of course, man is made up of body and soul. There is an organic unity between body and soul. The heart represents one’s inner spiritual life. The Bible uses different terms to refer to one’s inner life. They are “soul,” “spirit,” “conscience,” “inner person,” and most often, “heart.” Our spiritual dimension is the fountain of what it means to be human. Out of the heart flow all our thoughts, desires, emotions, and decisions. So, we are what we are in light of what’s in our hearts. In other words, what controls our hearts determines what we are.

Unfortunately, our heart is the seat of all sins, evil passions, and schemes. We are sinners by nature. This means we sin according to our total depravity. Our total depravity lies in our hearts. Jeremiah says of the human heart as follows: ⁹ 만물보다 거짓되고 심히 부패한 것은 마음이라 누가 능히 이를 알리요마는 ¹⁰ 나 여호와는 심장을 살피며 폐부를 시험하고 각각 그 행위와 그 행실대로 보응하나니. ⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? ¹⁰ "I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds" (Jer. 17:9-10). The Lord Jesus says about the contents of one’s heart as follows: ¹⁸ 입에서 나오는 것들은 마음에서 나오나니 이것이야말로 사람을 더럽게 하느니라 ¹⁹ 마음에서 나오는 것은 악한 생각과 살인과 간음과 음란과 도적질과 거짓 증거와 훼방이니. ¹⁸ But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander (Matt. 15:18-19).

We Christians know how depraved our hearts are in light of the holiness of God. We have realized how sinful we are by looking into what’s happening in the invisible realms of our inner persons. We have all kinds of sins in our hearts. Paul expresses his inner struggle as follows: ²² 내 속 사람으로는 하나님의 법을 즐거워하되 ²³ 내 지체 속에서 한 다른 법이 내 마음의 법과 싸워 내 지체 속에 있는 죄의 법 아래로 나를 사로잡아 오는 것을 보는도다 ²⁴ 오호라 나는 곤고한 사람이로다 이 사망의 몸에서 누가 나를 건져 내랴. ²² For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, ²³ but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

 ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Rom. 7:22-24). Christians have internal struggles between their desire for righteousness and their desire for sin in their hearts. 

When we surrender ourselves to the power of sin, we fall into sin. In addition to the presence of sin in our hearts, we harbor negative feelings such as depression, discouragement, discord, despair, doubt, guilt, fear, and anxiety. Also, we contain sinful desires such as hatred, vindictiveness, jealousy, lust, greed, etc. What the apostle James says is true: 욕심이 잉태한즉 죄를 낳고 죄가 장성한즉 사망을 낳느니라. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death (James 1:15). We sin according to our sinful desires. Also, we keep our sinful attitudes or motives such as pride, arrogance, hypocrisy, self-righteousness, selfishness, or smugness.

Who controls the hodge-podge of man’s heart? Can you control your anxious heart? Can you control your anger or jealousy? Can you get rid of depression and fear from your heart? Can you overcome a nagging sense of guilt plaguing your mind and destroying your own life? Do you suppose you can conquer all these negative desires and feelings when you have greater willpower? What have you done to handle your depression, anxiety, or panic attack? Many Christians suffer from all these negative feelings and desires and cry out for help. They turn to doctors, counselors, or pastors for help. They try to extricate themselves from the curse of all destructive feelings in their hearts. The one word that defines all their internal struggles is 무력감 “helplessness.” Surely, all of us feel helpless before our unruly hearts. We feel hopelessly struggling while watching the sins in our hearts wreaking havoc on our lives.       

  God allows us to feel helpless so that we may turn to Christ for true help. When we feel helpless during a fiery trial, we can’t help crying out to God for help. Helplessness may be included as part of God’s providence. God may drive us to be helpless so that we may give up our own efforts and invite Him to come and rescue us. Christ wants us to come to Him weary and heavy-laden. But we desire to remove our helplessness before we approach God. One Christian put it this way: "저는 '기도를 하는 것'과 정직한 기도 사이에는 차이가 있다는 것을 알기 시작했습니다. 겉으로 보기에는 둘 다 똑같이 들리지만 전자는 의무감과 죄책감에 의해 동기가 부여되는 경우가 너무 많은 반면, 후자는 내가 스스로 삶을 살아가기에는 완전히 무력하다는 확신에 의해 동기가 부여됩니다. 또는 다른 사람을 위해 기도하는 경우, 하나님의 은혜와 능력 없이는 다른 사람을 도울 수 없다는 확신에서 비롯됩니다." “I am starting to see there is a difference between “saying prayers” and honest praying. Both can sound the same on the outside, but the former is too often motivated by a sense of obligation and guilt; whereas the latter is motivated by a conviction that I am completely helpless to do life on my own. Or in the case of praying for others, that I am completely helpless to help others without the grace and power of God.”   

Our prayer should be an expression of what’s in our hearts. In other words, we should express our hearts honestly before God. We must bring our helplessness to Jesus. Thomas Merton puts it this way: "기도는 우리가 누구인지를 표현하는 것입니다....우리는 살아 있는 불완전함입니다. 우리는 채움을 필요로 하는 공허한 틈, 공백입니다." “Prayer is an expression of who we are….We are a living incompleteness. We are a gap, an emptiness that calls for fulfillment.” We feel empty, insignificant, and insecure in our hearts. What can fill the void in our hearts? Cars, houses, electric devices, sex, toys, careers, drugs, or money can’t fill the void. Only God can fill our empty hearts. Only God can fix our broken hearts. Only God can heal our sick hearts. Only God can rectify our sinful hearts. God does it by letting Christ dwell in our hearts. This is what Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers. This is what we need, too. Only Christ is the solution to all the problems of our depraved hearts.

Strong Christians pray much. We often say, “If I were a strong believer, I would pray more.” But we must know strong Christians pray more because they know how weak they are. Weakness leads them to come to Christ for grace. Edith Schaeffer, wife of Christian philosopher and apologist Francis Schaeffer, answered the question, 기독교 철학자이자 변증가인 프란시스 쉐퍼의 아내인 에디스 쉐퍼가 "오늘날 살아 있는 가장 위대한 기독교 여성은 누구인가요?" 라는 질문에 다음과 같이 답하였습니다: "우리는 그녀의 이름을 모릅니다. 그녀는 인도의 병원 어딘가에서 암으로 죽어가고 있습니다. 저는 그 여성에 대해 이야기하고 있습니다. 그녀의 순종적인 삶의 밑바닥에는 무력감이 깔려 있습니다. 그것은 마치 숨 쉬는 것처럼 그녀의 본성의 일부가 되었습니다. 왜 그럴까요? 그녀는 약하기 때문입니다. 그녀는 자신의 불안한 마음과 자신을 다른 사람과 비교하는 경향을 느낄 수 있습니다. 그녀는 자신 안에서 질투심이 얼마나 쉽게 솟아날 수 있는지에 충격을 받습니다. 그녀는 세상이 얼마나 쉽게 자신을 낚아채는지 알아차립니다. 요컨대, 그녀는 자신을 불신합니다. 다른 사람들을 볼 때 그녀는 같은 것으로 갈등하는 것을 봅니다. 세상, 육신, 마귀는 그녀가 감당하기에는 너무나 큽니다. 결과는? 그녀의 마음은 하나님께 기도로 부르짖습니다. 그녀는 예수님이 필요합니다. “Who is the greatest Christian woman alive today?” this way: “We don’t know her name. She is dying of cancer somewhere in a hospital in India. I’m talking about that woman. Underneath her obedient life is a sense of helplessness. It has become part of her very nature…almost like breathing. Why? Because she is weak. She can feel her restless heart, her tendency to compare herself with others. She is shocked at how jealousy can well up in her. She notices how easily the world gets its hooks into her. In short, she distrusts herself. When she looks at other people she sees the same struggles. The world, the flesh, and the devil are too much for her. The result? Her heart cries out to God in prayer. She needs Jesus. 

Our heart is sinful. So, it suffers all kinds of negative and destructive feelings. It feels unhappy, insecure, and insignificant. It feels empty. God knows how to solve this fundamental problem of man’s heart. The answer is Jesus Christ. God has given us Jesus Christ so that we can have eternal life. The apostle John says, 하나님이 세상을 이처럼 사랑하사 독생자를 주셨으니 이는 저를 믿는 자마다 멸망치 않고 영생을 얻게 하려 하심이니라. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (Jn. 3:16). Do you have Christ in your heart? Do you need Christ every hour? Does your heart feel that need and cry out to God for help? All of us need Christ more than anything else in the world. Paul knew his readers needed Christ in their hearts more than anything else. So, he prayed for them to have Christ in their hearts.

What do you have in your heart today? What occupies your heart now? You will be controlled by whatever occupies your heart. Surely, all of us have the remaining sins in our hearts with which we struggle every moment. Most probably, all of us may have fear and anxiety in our hearts even though we profess we have Christ in our hearts. No matter what plagues our hearts and lives, we need Jesus Christ to move forward. We need Jesus Christ in our hearts to have victory against our sinful desires and passions. We need Jesus Christ in our hearts to fight pride and selfishness so that we can work together for the harmony of the church. We need Jesus Christ in our hearts to fight laziness so that we may stay diligent and prayerful for the church. We need Jesus Christ in our hearts to handle our loneliness and emptiness. We need Jesus Christ in our hearts to handle fear of death and danger. We need Jesus Christ in our hearts to overcome negative feelings such as fear and anxiety. 

A much-beloved man, a leader in a little community of Christian students, lived such a life of serenity and peace that all his student-companions wondered. At length, they determined to approach him and ask to be told the secret of his calm. They said: "우리는 많은 유혹에 시달리고 있으며, 그 유혹은 너무 자주 그리고 너무 강하게 다가와 우리를 쉬지 못하게 합니다. 선생님은 이런 것들에 시달리지 않고 사는 것 같은데, 그 비결을 알고 싶습니다. 우리 영혼을 괴롭히는 유혹이 선생님의 마음의 문을 두드리지 않나요?" “We are harassed by many temptations, which appeal to us so often and so strongly that they give us no rest. You seem to live untroubled by these things, and we want to know your secret. Don’t the temptations that harass our souls come knocking at the door of your heart?” He replied: "내 자녀들아, 나는 너희가 말하는 것들 중 일부를 알고 있다. 너희를 괴롭히는 유혹이 다가와서 내게 호소한다. 그러나 그들이 내 마음의 문을 두드릴 때 나는 "그 자리는 이미 차 있습니다."라고 대답한다. “My children, I do know something of the things of which you speak. The temptations that trouble you do come, making their appeal to me. But when they knock at the door of my heart, I answer, “The place is occupied.” If your heart is occupied by the Lord Jesus Christ, sin will not find a resting place there.

Let’s apply the blessing of Christ’s presence in our hearts to a time of church split or discrimination in the church. We have learned that pride is behind every church split. When we get arrogant toward those who are different from us in the church, we may push them away from the circle of our fellowship. When we let the spirit of pride control our hearts, we will refuse to welcome them into our fellowship. This will cause them pain. The Lord will rebuke us for our pride and lovelessness. However, if we let Christ dwell in our hearts, we will feel uncomfortable when we act proudly against our fellow Christians in the church. Christ in our hearts will gently remind us of our duty to them. Christ’s holy presence is contradictory to our sinful pride. If we are conscious of Christ’s presence in our hearts, we may feel as if we are vacillating between sin and righteousness, between pride and humility, or between discord and harmony. If we listen to Christ in our hearts telling us to accept them fully with love in Christ, we will find joy and contentment in obeying Him for the harmony of the church. So, we must let Christ dwell in our hearts to deal with our problems properly.  

IV.           그리스도의 사랑으로 충만해지도록 기도하세요.

Pray to be filled with the love of Christ.

V.             하나님의 영광을 위하여 기도하세요.  

Pray for the glory of God.

Conclusion: Let me ask you this question? What dwells in your heart? Which one controls your heart, the indwelling sin or the indwelling Christ in your heart? Christians are supposed to have Christ dwell in their hearts through the Holy Spirit. Whether you feel it or not, you have Christ in your heart if you are a child of Christ in Christ. If you don’t have Christ in your heart, you are not a child of God. The apostle John put it this way: 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). What you need most in your heart is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life to you. You need to have Christ dwell in your heart because your heart is the seat of your personhood and your total depravity lies in your heart. Sin causes you pain and trouble. Sin indwells your heart. Christ is the only answer to this fundamental problem. Christ is the answer to all sinful desires, negative feelings, and wrong attitudes and motives of your heart. If you have Christ in your heart, you can face any trial or hardship in life. Christ is your daily strength, joy, and hope. No matter what you encounter in this troublesome life, you will find the courage amid a dreadful situation to stand strong in Christ who dwells in your heart.

Let me close my message with the following story in Soul Fuel: Courage written by Bear Grylls. Five people, including the author, were attempting to cross the frozen North Atlantic in a small inflatable boat. They were going through a monster storm during the nighttime. They were four hundred miles off the coast of Greenland, facing subzero, gale-force 8 winds, and waves as big as houses. Of course, they were struggling. They felt as if it was only a matter of time before one of the walls of roaring waves would soon capsize their little boat. All five of them were utterly terrified. Anticipating a horrible death was a genuine reaction to their dire situation. They had been sticking to the order of rotation, taking turns at the wheel, desperately trying to outlast the storm and endure the night. But they were exhausted, tight on fuel, and hundreds of miles from any civilization. 

Mr. Grylls knew that the times when they changed over the helm were always their most vulnerable moments. It was those dangerous few minutes as the new helmsman started a fresh battle to feel the rhythm of these huge waves in the pitch dark. One slow reaction and they would be over. Twice they came so close to capsizing at this critical handover point, and instinct told Mr. Grylls they might not get so lucky a third time. He made the decision to carry on and helm the boat himself, in a desperate attempt to see the storm through. It was hard to explain, but he just knew that this voice was telling me to keep steering. Fear can break people, but it doesn’t have to be the final answer. Courage steels people, but they have to find it from somewhere. Mr. Grylls said, "용기는 두려움이 없는 것이 아닙니다. 오히려 두려움 없이는 진정한 용기가 될 수 없습니다. 용기가 있으려면 먼저 두려워해야 합니다." “Courage isn’t the absence of fear. On the contrary, without fear we cannot truly be courageous. To be brave, we must first be afraid.” 

He remembered so vividly asking Jesus to be beside him in that storm, to steel him, to sustain, strengthen, and deliver him. And Christ was there, so much so that one of their crew, Nigel Thompson, who had never known faith in his life before, swore that he saw an angel calmly sitting on the front of their small boat throughout that storm. Still, the winds and waves roared — if anything, they got worse. 그의 인생에서 가장 길고 위험한 밤이었지만 그는 단 한 번도 외롭다고 느끼지 않았습니다.그는 "내가 결코 너를 떠나지 않고 버리지 않겠다"는 그리스도의 약속을 기억했습니다. It was one of the longest, most high-risk nights of his life, but never once did he feel alone. He remembered Christ’s promise “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And as dawn broke and the storm subsided, they finally saw the coast of Iceland in the distance. They had been steeled and delivered. Fear and anxiety might shout louder. But isn’t it just like God to answer in the still, small voice of calm? When we ask, Christ will always be beside us. The author says, "저는 신학의 모든 것을 다 알지는 못하지만, 가장 힘든 순간에 하나님이 주신 임재와 용기는 알고 있습니다. 그리고 그것으로 충분합니다." “I don’t know all the ins and outs of theology, but I know the presence and the courage that God has provided in the tightest of moments. And that is enough for me.”

Struggles are a part of life, and we all need the presence of Christ in our hearts. When storms in life strike us so hard, we desperately cry out like the panicked disciples, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing" (Matt. 8:25). The Lord was sleeping in the same boat while the disciples were dying in fear. But the Lord is not only with us in the midst of a fearful storm we face in life, but He is also with us in our hearts. The Lord surely answers our heartfelt crises. When we are filled with the presence of Christ in our hearts, we can find courage, joy, peace, and hope amid stormy times in life. Even though we fear and worry during those times, Christ will calm the storms of our fear and anxiety down with His almighty voice. Paul went through all kinds of trials throughout his missionary journeys. The reason he could withstand them lies not in his wisdom and power, but in the presence of Christ in his heart. So, he said, 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. 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). Please, enjoy the blessings of Christ’s presence in your heart for the glory of God as you apply the presence of Christ in your heart to every situation you encounter in life.

Benediction: ²⁰ 우리 가운데서 역사하시는 능력대로 우리의 온갖 구하는 것이나 생각하는 것에 더 넘치도록 능히 하실 이에게 ²¹ 교회 안에서와 그리스도 예수 안에서 영광이 대대로 영원 무궁하기를 원하노라 아멘. ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 3:20-21)