People whose eyes were open

Acts 3:1~12 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” (3~4)

♬ Hymn for scheduled worship: Korean/English Hymnal #540 I am Thine, O Lord, I Have Heard Thy Voice (#219 in previous version)

Jesus overcame the world and told us not to worry about anything. Why is it, then, that many believers shake? It is because Satan takes a foothold and deceives us because he knows how important the saved children of God are and that he can never overcome them. Ultimately, he makes us lose hold of the spiritual blessings. However, people who have opened their spiritual eyes do not shake.

1. At the time of prayer - open your spiritual eyes

For the disciples, the Mount of Olives and Mark’s upper room were prayer times when they enjoyed blessings in the midst of great grace. Peter also had his personal scheduled prayer time. Our eyes must open to be able to see what this means. Although we must sustain the rhythm of our physical bodies through exercise and the rhythm of our minds through the pursuit of hobbies, we must have the spiritual rhythm of going before God through the Word and prayer. When is your time of prayer? If we center our day on our time of prayer, our eyes to see the field and the people around us will change. It is at this time that we will be able to hear the voice of God and see the heavenly mandate.

2. The crippled beggar who sat next to the temple gate called Beautiful - come out of your 

snare

The eyes of Peter who looked at the crippled beggar were already changed. When the crippled beggar who always sat at the temple gate, looking and waiting for people’s good deeds, came out of his snare, he was able to discover answers. We must come out from the snare of the church and the walk of faith that has the outer appearance but no content; we must also come out from within the snare of materialism and legalism. If we do not come out from this snare, we will be stagnant our entire lives. What is the snare I must discard?

3. True value - come out of the illusion

It is imperative for us to discard the illusion of being people-centered and become God- centered. We must discard the illusions presented by fame, prestige, and boasting. For the one who knows that everything is in the Gospel, it is easy to discard these illusions. Although there were many snares for the people of faith in the Bible, they came to possess true faith when they let go of the illusory values of the world.

Forum Topic

Are my spiritual eyes open to understand the Word of God? What are the snares and illusions that I must come out of, and what is the true answer that I must pursue? Meditate on this at this time.

Immanuel Church Sunday Worship 1st Service / 2013.6.9