To the Lord Whether We Live or Die (Romans 14:7-9)
Rev. Myung-Sin Choi
7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Introduction
You should know how the world is running right now. It is becoming more wicked and demonized. They call it the New Age movement and they are creating a culture where they welcome evil spirits. That is why many people have fallen into drugs and corruption. From here, we need to have victory. The Bible tells us that darker times will come. The world is telling us that even when the world is dark, it is okay to live like that but the Bible does not tell us that. You will bear fruits according to how you live. I am not sure if I can say this but the president of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, is in jail right now. I used to like him but he is in prison. I think that he had no choice but to go to prison. He was a person who persecuted the former president, Park Geun-hye. I am sure the truth will come out sooner or later but I think he received God’s judgment. What am I trying to tell you? If you sin, the consequence of that sin will come back to you. There may be joy and pleasure of that sin but that consequence of that sin will come back to you. I told you during the New Year’s message of Romans 14:7. Whether we live for the Lord or we live for the demon. What happened in LA, the wildfires, the people there lived for the demons. That is why God’s judgment came upon them. Think about who is the master of your life right now. If God is not the master of your life, then you are serving another master.
1. The Bartizan of the Word
1) The posture of the disciples
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” - What is absolute is that if you serve another master other than God, then your soul will die. You need to hold onto this. That is why you must hold onto only Christ, only worship, and only the word of God.
Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:7 “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.” - You may think that you have gained many great things in this world but toss that aside. Because that is what is killing you and leading you to destruction. Always hold onto this. You need to control your thoughts. Whatever you do, what kinds of thoughts do you have? When someone speaks to you, what kind of thoughts do you have? What kinds of thoughts you have, that determines everything. If you think of everything in an optimistic way, then you will lead a life of optimism. Are you living a God centered life or a world centered life? You need to always have gospel centered thoughts. If you have gospel centered thoughts, then you will be able to discern things in the way of the gospel. How you think, that will determine what kind of actions and resolutions you will make. This is what forms your personality. Your thoughts will eventually lead to actions so you need to be able to control your thoughts. If you are not having gospel centered thoughts, then you need to discard those thoughts. If you have incorrect and self centered thoughts then Satan will control and manipulate your thoughts. If you do bad things, then you will eventually lead a bad and destructive life. What is absolute is that that is the way towards destruction. If you start realizing this, then you can make a detour and change your thoughts. You need to start with gospel centered thoughts and thoughts centered on the word of God. You need to nourish a good mindset and have a successful life. In order to have a successful life, you need to memorize Bible verses. That is why when you wake up, read the Bible. When you wake up, when you read the Bible then you can start the day with concentration. The moment you read the Bible, then healing will take place and spiritual power will come upon you. Make a resolution today. The moment you wake up, read the Bible. When you do that, then God will give you wisdom and strength.
Psalms 19:10-11 “More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.” - Hold onto this passage. The Bible you have, nothing is more precious. It is more precious than any gold. The fact that God has given you the Bible is such a blessing. Take hold of the word and look into the Bible because it is so precious than anything in this world. Our remnants, before you go to school, read one chapter of the Bible. Then you will taste the word of God as sweet as honey and honeycomb. You will realize what the word is. Then you will start to receive blessings.
Psalms 19:11 - If you keep the word of God, there is reward.
2) Our resolution
Always hold onto Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” - The elders at our church along with the pastors used to memorize 100 Bible verses. I started to restart memorizing the 100 Bible verses. I forgot them so I started to re-memorize them again. This gave me great strength. Before you pray, start reading and memorize the Bible verse.
2. The Bartizan of Worship
1) The posture of worship
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” - This is the most important part of the bartizan of worship. Hold onto and remember this passage. What I am telling you is that your body and life does not belong to you. Your death and your life is not your own. Why is that? It is because you do not belong to you. What does this mean? My original master of my life was the devil but through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, what belongs to the devil belongs to God. We no longer belong to the devil but we belong to God. Jesus Christ died on the cross for us and resurrected for us. Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross and gave us life. God said that we are His. We need to hold onto this. Then the one who gave me a new life was Christ so we need to live for Him. We need to give thanksgiving to Him. This is the rightful way for us to live. I told you this earlier but the Hollywood celebrities, none of them gave glory to God during the award ceremony. That is because they belong to the devil and have no choice but to go towards destruction. But we belong to God. But at a Korean award ceremony, many of them gave glory to God. I was so thankful when I saw this. God takes joy when you give Him glory. As evidence that we belong to God, He gave us the Holy Spirit and protects us. Rightfully, we need to live for God.
Revelations 7:11-12 “All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.’ ” - This is the image of how people in heaven worship God. All angels, the elders, and living creatures fell on their faces and worshiped God. These angels are the ones who are with us when we give worship to God. The moment we give worship to God, they take our worship and God takes our worship. As we give worship to God, they all proclaim, “Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might to God…!” When we give worship to God, the angels give our worship to God. Don’t forget this. All of our thoughts and everything that we have, it all goes to God. Always remember this. We are giving worship to the Triune God, the God who is sitting on the heavenly throne. We need to make a resolution when we give worship.
2) The resolution of worship
Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” - This is spiritual worship. When God hears our worship, all glory is given to Him. We are giving our entire bodies as living sacrifice when we give worship to God.
Romans 12:2 - Don’t follow after the things of this world but think about what is God’s will and what God desires the most when we give worship to God. Thinking about that will make God pleased.
Matthew 22:37-40 “Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. ”
3. The Bartizan of Prayer
1) The posture of prayer
The best way to deepen your relationship with God is through prayer. Whenever I pray, I always feel this. Whenever I pray to God, I feel like God’s only focus is towards me. I feel like God is only listening to me. When I say something to God, the fact that I am talking to Him, we are talking to the living God. When I pray to God, I have no doubt that I am speaking to the living God. When I pray, I feel like God is actually listening to me. That one to one time with God is prayer. Don’t lose hold of this. The more you pray to God, the more you can meet God. People ask where is God? Those who ask this question, they don’t pray. When you pray, God gives you peace and answers. You can communicate with God, and your hearts connect. When you have troubles, you ask God for help and God knows what to do. When you ask God to help you but you are asking for help for someone who is right in front of you. When you have cell phones, you are able to call someone who is not right in front of you. That is the same thing with prayer. When you ask God for help, God will say okay. That is prayer. May you enjoy prayer. Whenever you pray to God, God will absolutely answer you.
John 14:14 “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” - When you pray to the living God, then you will receive living answers. Experience this when you pray. Give thanks to God truly. Because God said that He will do it. He promised it in the Bible. It will absolutely happen.
Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” - If you have family problems or other problems, pray together. God will hear you.
Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” - This is more important. If you have faith that God will answer you when you pray, you must have this assurance. Pray according to the method I told you now. Hold onto this Bible verse and pray. God promised that He will answer us according to whatever we ask. Hold onto God’s promise and pray. Then God will answer you. Hold onto this.
2) The resolution of prayer
We must pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit. When problems come to us, cry out to God. If hardships come to you, cry out to the Lord. Jeremiah 33:2-3 “Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the Lord is His name): 3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ ” - Then God promised that He will show you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Hold onto this. Hold onto the bartizan of worship, prayer, and word. There is something that I pray for every single day. What do I pray about? I pray that Jesus is my master, the master of my thoughts, and the master of my life. “May my life and day be a glory to God.” Pray about this. Ask God to guide you. “I am your lamb, God. Be my shepherd today.” Pray this prayer. “Lord, let me not wonder but follow your faith.” I prayed this morning, “Lord, I am like a young lamb, I don’t know anything. Whatever I do and say, take control over me. May you be glorified through me. May it be testified that you are my Lord and master.” I was happy with this prayer. I think God is pleased with this prayer. Pray the same prayer. When you confess that Jesus is your Lord and master, it will humble you. I bless you that this year will be a year where you live or die for the Lord.
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