Hymn: As the Deer Bible Passage: Psalm 42:1-2 1 A deer longs for streams of water. God, I long for you in the same way. 2 I am thirsty for God. I am thirsty for the living God. When can I go and meet with him? (NIrV) 1 ああ神様。 鹿が水をあえぎ求めるように、私も神様を慕い求めます。 2 焼けつくような渇きを覚えながら、私は生きておられる神様を慕っています。 どこへ行けば、お目どおりがかなうのでしょうか。 (JLB) Introduction: Time flies and we're back together again here at Hokusei. Can you believe how fast this year is going? I can't! Summer vacation passed too quickly! I enjoyed myself 100%. But I must admit, I'm very happy to see all of my friends again! Let's enjoy sharing the the Word of God more together this semester. Our Bible passage today is one of my all-time favorites. And that's why I chose that song for us to sing today. The song and our Bible part talk about being thirsty for God. You know what a cool glass of water tastes like when you're thirsty? That's what God tastes like to our souls. And at the end of verse 2, the psalm writer says, "When can I go and meet with him?" Well, our time to meet God is now. Let me tell you a little bit today about the God of the Bible, from the beginning to the end. 1. God at a Distance - I'm just beginning to teach the Old Testament here at Hokusei this semester. I'm really enjoying giving my students a tour of the great men and women of faith from a long time ago. God in those early days showed his people that He was separate from them. Do you recall when Moses came to meet God for the first time? Moses had gone to the top of Mt. Sinai and there God said to him, "Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals. The place you are standing on is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5) God kept even that great leader Moses at a distance! Then later God gave His people a place to worship. It was called a Tabernacle (ユダヤ神殿 [しんでん]). The people could not go inside this very special "tent" for worship. They all had to stay outside. Only the priests could enter. Then at the very back of the tent was the very holy place. Only the high priest could go in there. He could only go in one time a year to meet with the Lord! God and the people were very separate. God was trying to teach them that He was holy and they were sinful. He was pure and they were dirty! Yes indeed, God and we humans are very, very different! We cannot get close to God. He has to come and be close to us. 2. God's Son Up Close - Last semester I taught my students about the life of Jesus Christ. When you look at God's Son, you can see God so very clearly. God sent His Son, Jesus, to give us a perfect picture of Himself. God decided to become human, just like us! He lived with us, walked with us, laughed with us and cried with us! He even chose to die on the cross for us! Now let's read Jesus' words. "Come to me, all of you who are tired and are carrying heavy loads. I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) Before God said "don't come any closer." Now it's the opposite. Jesus lovingly invites all of us to come to God whenever we want! What changed? Now God is showing another part of His character - not His holiness, but His love! He loved us so much that he decided to become human. He decided that He Himself would become the sacrifice for our sins! The one thing that keeps us separate from God is our sins. God's Son takes them away for us. Now there's nothing blocking us from coming to God! 3. The Holy Spirit Is with Us - First, God seemed so far away in the Old Testament. Then, Jesus came and God walked with us. And yet, God will come even closer to us. Jesus said just before He went back to heaven, "But what I'm about to tell you is true. It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Spirit will not come to help you. But if I go, I will send him to you." (John 16:7) God's Spirit is in the world today just as Jesus promised. He is God and He is right here with us in this place! Do you understand what I'm saying? Look at these words that the Apostle Paul wrote. "Don't you know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is in you. You have received him from God. You do not belong to yourselves." (1 Corinthians 6:19) God the Holy Spirit lives inside everyone who truly believes God! This is easy to forget because we are often so busy. As we trust Jesus as our savior, then He sends His Spirit to live in our hearts forever! Conclusion: Researchers tell us that we humans are made up of 5 parts: physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual. We humans do many things everyday to satisfy some of these parts. But the one part we don't really take care of is our spiritual longing. Oh yea, we check our horoscope every morning and make sure our Feng Shui is correct. We do yoga, deep-breathing exercises and Tai Chi to see that our energy is flowing smoothly. But we're still not satisfied!
Just like our song this afternoon, deep down inside our hearts we long for God. Just like a deer longs to get to the river and take a drink, we are thirsty in our souls. I can tell you from my own personal experience that God can and will satisfy like none other! If you're longing for God this afternoon, then listen to Jesus' words and come and find rest for your souls! He'll give you the Holy Spirit and then you'll never be thirsty again! Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank you from the bottom of my heart that we can meet with you here today in our chapel time. You know our hearts and how much we long for you everyday. Satisfy us as no earthly resource can. Fill our hearts with Your Spirit and guide us through Your Word everyday. May we never be so thirsty in our souls again. I thank you now for all these things and pray in Jesus' precious name, Amen.
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About This PageThis is my personal space to share my messages and thoughts about Hokusei English Chapel and the things that God brings in to my life. Archives
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