My Mighty God
(Isaiah 9:6-7, Revelation 21:1-6)
The First Advent and The Second Advent
Advent's meaning is "coming" or "arrival"
This is a season of anticipation. It is a penitential period since an early
church. We will celebrate this Advent with Jesus' identity from Isaiah 9:6-7
for 4 weeks; 1. Mighty God, 2. Prince of Peace, 3. Light of the World, 4.
Immanuel.
There are two Advents from the beginning to the end. The First Advent is the period from the beginning to Jesus' first coming. The Second Advent is the period from Jesus' first coming to Jesus' second coming.
The baby would be born and called a Wonderful Counselor,
Might God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Isaiah prophesied Might God
would come to us as a baby, and also, He would reign forever. Who could believe
it at Isaiah's age? We do not know how it would happen, but the zeal of the
Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Mighty God in the Bible
We can find Mighty God in the Bible. As we just read our call
to worship, He covered the earth with a flood, opened the red sea, trembled the
wall of Jericho, let a giant slain by a boy, a barren womb birthing a son, a
man sleeping in a den of lions, another surviving the belly of a fish, a virgin
conceiving in her womb! That is our Mighty God, we can find Him in the Bible.
Mighty God in my life
I can find Mighty God in my life, too. When I was bullied in
middle school, He let me defeat my fear of a giant. When I prepared a Christian
concert in the non-Christian high school festival, He trembled the wall of
stumbling blocks, and we had a concert wonderfully. He opened the red sea with
miracles nobody imagined when I was stuck between the red sea and the Egyptian
soldiers. He has been my Mighty God!
Recently, I felt I have been stuck between a new red sea and
a new Egyptian soldier again. I did not know what to do, I did not know what to
say, I didn't know how to solve these problems. I just felt overwhelmed.
However, two days ago, when I woke up in the morning, He said, "I am your
Mighty God!" Right after I heard His inner voice, amazingly my all fear,
and worries have gone! He became my Mighty God again at this very moment.
Mighty God gives us our identity
When we know God's identity, we can know our identity, too. He is the Alpha and the Omega, and the beginning and the end. As revelation 21:1-8 says, we are like a bride preparing for her husband. When we truly believe in him, He will be our God and we will be His children. He warns people those who do not believe in him will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
John the Baptist at the beginning of the Second Advent
There was an expert and an excellent example for us to wait
for Jesus' coming. He was John the Baptist. He did not only prepare for Jesus'
ministry but also prepare for Jesus' second coming. Malachi prophesied about
John the Baptist who lived at the beginning of the second Advent, who would
prepare for the way of the Lord, who had an urgency about Jesus' second coming.
John identified himself as not the Messiah, not Elijah, and the prophet, but he is the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, preparing for the way of the Lord.
In Matthew 3:11, we can find John prepared for Jesus'
ministry on the earth, but in verse 12, we can find the preparation for Jesus'
second coming, too. Even though he lived in the same period as Jesus, John had
been preparing for His Second coming. He prophesied the end of the day and
taught us how to prepare for the way of the Lord.
John the Baptist at the end of the Second Advent
When we enter the mall, we usually find the red dot saying
"we are here". Where are we in Mighty God's timeline? I believe that
we are almost at the end of the day in the Second Advent. God calls us John the
Baptist in the 21st century. That is our family vision and mission statement.
Victor and I named all our children Korean names along with this identity.
Lydia's name "Yejoo" (예주) means "Preparing the way of the Lord", Abe's name
(예성) means
"The voice of preparing the way of the Lord", Grace's name(예신) means "The bride of preparing
the way of the Lord", Esther's name (예빈) means "The light of preparing
the way of the Lord", and Hannah's name (예인) means "The Person preparing
the way of the Lord" That is our family's identity and calling. I believe
that it is not just our family's identity. I believe that God calls all of us
John the Baptist in the 21st century almost at this end of time. I hope that
you and I walk this journey together with other John the Baptists in the end of
the day, and we will meet our Mighty God together. Amen.
Service: https://fb.watch/he0OQetA0H/?mibextid=cr9u03
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