What must we do about church problems?
1 Samuel 3:1~18 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel. (3~4)
♬ Hymn for scheduled worship: Korean/English Hymnal #446 I Need Thee Every Hour (#500 in previous version)
Many people experience conflicts at the church. However, because we have the Gospel, we must first know how to be thankful for the fact that we have things to learn from the adults at the church and our parents. People whose spiritual eyes are open can find topics of true thanksgiving, no matter how deteriorated their environment may be.
1. The problems of the church
There may be many problems in the church. There may be discord and conflicts in the church, and because of insufficient funds, it can be difficult. Things can become problems because workers are lacking, and chaos can happen because of people who live lives different from the Word. Because different kinds of people gather at church, it is not strange for these kinds of problems to exist.
2. How did Samuel change the problems of the church into a blessing?
We must learn what Samuel did in the midst of church problems. For Samuel to lie beside the Ark of the Covenant means that he grabbed hold of God’s covenant. Like Samuel, if we are not deceived by the problems of the church and grab hold of the Word of God, we will absolutely receive answers.
3. We must become people who defeat trials
The common characteristic of the 7 Remnants in the Bible is that in the midst of countless trials, they did not fall prey to any of them. The 7 Remnants did not get sucked into trials but overcame them. They received even greater answers because of the hardships they went through. Joseph and Moses grabbed onto the covenant God gave them through the trial of Egypt and Samuel received answers and carried out the Mizpah movement. David realized this while he was young, and Elisha realized the covenant in the midst of dire circumstances. Isaiah realized this in the midst of persecution. We should not get entangled in church problems and become discouraged, but starting now, we must find the answers to prayer, the fulfillment of the Word, and the works of evangelism that God gives us every day and every week. If we receive the answers and strength that God gives, we can easily win against any problem and trial.
° Forum Topic - Find today’s evangelism, Word and prayer that make any kind of problem into a platform of blessings. At that time, amazing answers will begin.
Remnant Study of Evangelism Lecture 210 / 2009.12.19