When the rooster crows, let us repent

(Matthew 26:69~75)

We, who are loved by God

God is love. All things that the invisible God has done and shown to mankind are love. However, there is one thing that must not be misunderstood. It is said that some organs of our body are wholly made up of a blood clot. However, it does not mean the blood clot itself can replace the organs. In the same manner, all things that God has done for us are by his love, but love itself is not God. A newborn baby cannot even enjoy the most basic things in life such as eating without somebody’s help. The parents are life itself to the baby. Today we are breathing because our parents did not abandon us when we could not do anything for ourselves.

Parents pay dearly for their children. The reason the parents do that for their newborn baby who cannot even recognize them is that it is their child. The parents’ love toward their child is special. God has manifested this kind of love to mankind. However, from the beginning mankind has rejected God’s love. The world is full of creatures that God has made. Man is one of those creatures. God has no great attachment to creation. When all of it disappears, He does not think it regrettable or pitiful. God has even wiped out men in a single stroke seemingly without feeling even though they had been made in His image.

However, God made a distinction between creatures and men, because men are spiritual beings who can communicate with Him. And He loved them as parents loved their children. Even with such great love, people still complain that their problems have not been solved in spite of them trying diligently to live their faith and turn away from Him. What we need to know is that the purpose of the life of faith is not to solve the practical problems of life.

God wants to give us eternal life. Many people know that the life of the flesh is precious, but they do not know how much more precious eternal life is. On the other hand, those who come to understand the value of eternal life try to get it even if it means giving up the life of the earthly body. The devil tries to remove the life that God gives from us by any means. He tries to make us love only our flesh.

Adam was deceived by the devil and lost eternal life by disobeying God’s word. Since the death of Adam, his descendants have received the eternal punishment. However, God did not leave men to perish but sent His Son into the world in order to take the sin of men upon himself. The Son of God had to lay down His life to save mankind according to the Father’s will.

It is the Christians’ faith to realize and accept this love of God.

Let us trust that love to the end

Even though God has bestowed such great love on us, many people still say, “Perhaps God has forsaken me”. They might have the eternal life that God gives, but as soon as they encounter any difficulties in their lives they doubt His love. Judas Iscariot left Jesus because he chose to do it, not because he was abandoned. On the contrary, Jesus loved him to the end. Everything in the life of faith depends on your choice. You can be blessed or cursed as you choose. God never abandons us first. However, if we forsake God, He will also forsake us. You must keep it mind that God respects our will.

Many people are deeply moved by the love of God and do their best in respect to their life of faith when they first believe in Him. Then, as they gain more experience in the church life, they lose their initial passion. The Bible says about those who were sealed on the last day, “these were the first-fruits unto God and unto the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit: they are without blemish.(Revelation 14:4~5) It says that those who follow the Lamb with the same heart as they did when they started to believe at the first and who don’t make a false vow will be sealed on the last day.

Those who confess, “I love you, Lord”, must maintain the confession until the Lord returns. Such people can sing a new song and receive a crown in heaven. When Jesus said to the disciples, “You will all fall away on account of me”, Peter said, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will”. Then, Jesus answered, “This very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times”. A rooster crows when a new day dawns. Therefore, ‘before the rooster crows’ means ‘before the day is over’.

So Jesus meant that Peter’s oath that he would lay down his life for the Lord would be broken even before the day was over. Of course, Peter might not have agreed with the Lord. However, when he saw the Lord suffer helplessly in Caiaphas’ courtyard, Peter became scared. Peter was proud that he was one of the Lord’s disciples more than anything else, but he wanted to hide the fact that he was His disciple when he saw the Lord practically treated as a sinner.

At that time a servant girl saw him. “This fellow was with Jesus!” Peter denied it before them all saying, “I do not know what you are saying”. But other people also recognized him. “That’s right. He was following Jesus”. Peter denied with an oath, ‘I do not know the man’. Immediately a rooster crowed. Jesus turned and looked back at His disciple. Peter went out and wept bitterly, remembering what He had said: “This very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times”. Even though Peter had gone through such a painful experience, he worked for Jesus the rest of his lifetime, enduring suffering, and it has been said that he died on the cross like the Lord. The Lord had said earlier, pointing to Peter, “On this rock, I will build my church”(Matthew 16:18). He meant that those who steadily kept the faith like Peter were true Christians, and He would regard them as the church.

Let us repent and remember our first love

Let us repent. The New Testament church in Ephesus was exemplary among the churches at that time. The Lord praised it in eight different areas. Nevertheless, He said, ‘I have one thing against you’, and if the church didn’t correct it, He would remove its lampstand. What did Jesus have against the church in Ephesus? It lost its first love. Jesus called the Jews the brood of vipers because they refused to repent. Even today, a lot of people might appear pious outwardly, just like the Jews did, but to the Lord, they look like a brood of vipers.

Dan is called the tribe of the viper among the twelve tribes of Israel. They have been said to bite a horse’s heels so that its rider falls backward(Genesis 49:17). We must know that even while people are ignoring God, He continues to do His work.

Repent before the rooster crows. Remember the grace that God has bestowed upon you and repent. Those with responsibilities in the church must recognize that God requires their loyalty and for them to thoroughly carry out their duties. Do not let the matters of the church be influenced by your own personal circumstances. Do not be antagonistic toward the example of the Lord who spent His life in order to save our lives. God asked us to pray continually and to be joyful always, not to lose the fervor.

He will remove the lampstand of those who lose the fervor. Before the rooster crows, we must repent. We must bring back the faith of the time when we first realized God’s grace for us and were joyful.

January 1, 2017, Lord’s Day Worship Sermon

Preached by Pastor Kim Ki-Dong

Summarized and translated by Sungrak Mission Center