Title: Rank
Seongwon Full Gospel Church Pastor Hong Cheol-ki November 1, 2023
I had a pet dog a few years ago. The name is bunch. He is ranked 3rd in our church. This is my wife, my son, Mungchi, and me, the pastor. When dogs show their bellies, it means they are higher than you, and if they growl, it means they are lower than you. Our group always growls at me. However, our group shows the boat to the wife and son.
It seems that there is a hierarchy in our country too. Ranking seems to be determined by education level, annual salary, and bank balance. Which university do you graduate from? The marriage partner varies depending on the salary at work. Athletes are ranked by salary, and movie stars are ranked by salary. Recently, Jeon Cheong-jo (27), the remarriage partner of Korea’s former national fencing team member Nam Hyun-hee, showed a balance of 51 trillion won and said that he was the out-of-wedlock child of the Paradise Hotel. He was said to be a third generation chaebol. It’s a really sad reality.
Wild dogs have a special hierarchy. It is a leadership of concession. Wait until your family is full. The male’s consideration symbolizes that he is always in control of the herd. (Perfect leaders found outside of humanity, p. 36) Gives a sense of stability to all members. Additionally, in the case of high-ranking leader wolves, they always take the lead and lead their members.
How does Jesus determine hierarchy?
First, we live when we die (John 12:24), we are exalted when we are humbled (Mark 10:43), we are exalted when we serve (Philippians 2:5-8), and when we give, we give immediately, pressed down, shaken together, and running over (Luke 6: Verse 38). This is how Jesus lived. He did not assume equality with God, but emptied Himself and came in the form of a servant, humbled and submitted to the point of death. For this reason, God highly exalted Jesus and gave him a name that is above every name (Philippians 2:5-9). This is called irony or paradox in Christianity. This is a word used when a situation or event is contradictory or paradoxical.
Second, is there a living hope in your heart? (1 Peter 1:3) How much do we live with the living hope of Jesus’ resurrection in our hearts? With a living hope, Appenzeller and Underwood entered Incheon Port on Easter morning, April 5, 1885, and transformed the poorest country into a developed country. Jesus is our living hope. Even though our situation is a wilderness, if Jesus is there, the miracle of five loaves and two fish can happen. Wherever Jesus was, diseases were cured, and wherever Jesus lived, the storms calmed. If we have Jesus, the living hope in our hearts, such miracles will happen even today.
Third, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed (Acts 19:2)? When the Lord ascended to heaven, He told us to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8, Ephesians 5:18). Because the most precious thing is the Holy Spirit (Matthew 7:11, Luke 11:13). David’s confession is needed. God, create in me a pure heart, renew a right spirit within me, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me (Psalm 51:11). We cannot confess the Lord without the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to love hateful people without the Holy Spirit. The church revives when it is filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the beginning and the Holy Spirit is the end. We all must pray earnestly for the Holy Spirit.
