[The Letter of the Holy Spirit]
Acts: 23:25~35
Many letters were sent to those who might accept the gospel this Easter as well. We are also sitting here thanks to someones letter and tears. I want to think about the letter of the Holy Spirit.
First, there are senders and recipients.
Paul is ironically in the midst of being safely escorted by the Roman troops from Jerusalem to Caesarea due to the threats from forty assassins who have vowed not to eat anything until they kill him. But Claudius Lycias, the chief commander does not just escort, but sends a letter in advance to the place for Paul to arrive at. It is important who wrote the letter. You already have a name (mother, father, sister, brother, brother, etc.) that has a great influence on someone, and you have to preach the gospel in your home because that name itself has great power in the words that you convey. Lycias, who paid for Roman citizenship, was so proud to be a Roman citizen that he put the Roman name 'Claudius' before his name. We also received heaven citizenship, so we should name it 'I met Jesus and received heaven citizenship because of this inscription of sins.' Then you can send a letter of the Holy Spirit under that name. The recipient of the letter was Governor Felix, who was originally a slave, and the way of thinking and the mental world that dominated him was also slave mentality and servility. The recipient we need to send the letter of the Holy Spirit is a man like Felix, who lives in this land as a slave of sin. He who is just like Felix, is going to be the recipient of my letter, who is apparently successful and has money and lives as a slave, not a citizen of heaven, even if he lives as a good personally. The salvation is to turn a life in a secular history into a salvation history, but Felix, who had much money and high position, failed to lead his life to th salvation history. The letter that after we are sending after we are moving to a salvation history is the letter of the Holy Spirit and the letter to visit the person who is the servant of the world.
Secondly, its not an accusation.
Jews accused Paul of taking away the pride and identity of their people, but the important key of commanders letter to Felix the governor was to say that Paul was innocent. The purpose of the letter of the Holy Spirit is not to accuse him, but to prove his innocence. Having married Jesus Christ, we should not fall over a charge of condemnation. The accusation of the Holy Spirit is for the accusation to awaken and sanctify the saints. Jesus is innocent, but he was killed on the cross because of my sin, and therefore the contents of the letter of the Holy Spirit should be to convey his innocence and my sin. God declares Paul is innocent through the Roman courts although he considers himself a sinner to the end. To apply Pauls story to us, the person who seems to have ruined my life, the person who deceived and betrayed me, is innocent because he worked hard to make me aware of my sins. To write down that I am a sinner is the letter of the Holy Spirit. The saved saints must be able to apologize to anyone and live in this land by writing a letter of the Holy Spirit testifying his wife, husband, and all of them is innocent. In the distant future, when I stand before the heaven courts, God will wipe my tears while looking at the letter and say, 'You are innocent.'
Third, you have to escort well.
We are all letters of the Holy Spirit. The sender is Jesus and the receiver is the unbelievers around me. The contents of the letter should be my life as a saint.
Since I am Gods letter, it is my mission to live without dying in any case and to deliver this letter to someone. Paul didnt die until the end of his mission because he himself was a letter to the Roman Emperor, and he was escorted to different strategies in accordance with the environment and time. The cross is wisdom and wisdom is timing, so when you send a letter, you must have a strategy and then timing is important at this time. Wisdom comes to us when we got to know the environment and the situation. You can escort well when you go to the small group of church, a planning office where numerous sharing, strategies, and tactics have already been practiced. Herod the Great built the Herod Palace on the seashore and built an artificial sea in it, and he made Paul stay there. It is Gods amazing providence that Paul stayed in Herod Palace, not in prison because he was not a prisoner, and that Paul, who had been running nonstop all his life, had two years of sabbatical.
Its a community confession.
This is the touching letter I received last week. 'According to the wish of my mother, who is 90 years old, I brought her to Wednesday worship. Mom even took a picture with the pastor Kim and tried to buy a QTin book, but both of us were out of cash and we couldnt help leaving the book weve already chosen and we annoyed to each other. And then I received a text message from a church employee and it said that since someone paid for the QTin book, come and take it. And therefore I thought she took pity on my elderly mom so I brought it without much emotion. The next evening, a church employee left two pastor Kims books (A woman who is doing QT every day and Great Marriage) and a small box of snacks for my mom in front of my house because he thought he would miss the date if he sent it by courier. No one knew my marital situation, so I couldnt communicate with my children due to increased irritation and anger, but the moment I saw the box, I got goosebumps. The books didnt seem to have come to me by chance. The week before that, I came to worship alone on the church, and I was surprised that the title of the sermon was the same as the title of the book, I didnt know the Bible well but the story of Abraham and Sarah was so touching and I felt that it was too similar to my married life which my husband have had two concubines. It was hard for me to forgive my husband and I only hated him and had too many difficulties looking at the child who looked like him. I went to church on and off in the past but then I came to church for the first time in seven years, and I opened my mouth and prayed while crying while listening to Words and praise for the first time in a long time. 'Can my family who my husband had two concubines, not one come back? I wish I could be more courageous. And I want to keep coming and worshiping. Thank you for your kind words.' says the letter. Of course she and her family can come back. A good church employee seems to be the leader of small church group, I think he visited her as a letter of the Holy Spirit. But the Lord listened to the prayer of the 90-year-old mother, he led her daughter in their single visit. I think I had a missionary event for only this one person.
Todays sermon conclusion is
The letter of the Holy Spirit must have a good sender, receiver, and we need to know itsnot for an accusation. It can make me speak to him whom is like my enemy 'Im guilty and youre innocent.' To do that, we need to escort him well and we need a strategy to deliver well to him. After all, we all have to be the messengers of the cross.
