Call to Worship Psalm 119:105
Hymn JBC # 134 Sing them over again to me
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Scripture Luke 11:29～36
Prayer
Sermon “What are my eyes seeing?”
*Audio data is not available today due to the lay sermon
(message by a regular church member) today
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 296 I saw the cross of Jesus
Doxology JBC # 674
Closing Prayer
Good morning, everyone. Pastor is away to give the sermon at Kokura Church so I am in charge of the sermon today. It was more difficult and harder than I had imagined. I thought I should pray more when the pastor is preparing for his sermon.
However, since all of you brothers and sisters prayed for me, I was really encouraged and was able to do my best. Thank you very much.
Today's Bible verses are the ones I read together with everyone at a Sunday School class. In the adult class, we have been reading the Gospel of Luke under the guidance of Bro.Akiyoshi and today's passage was the one we read on August 20.
The week before it, in Sunday School, we had read the part prior to today's passage. In that passage, Jesus healed a man by casting out an evil spirit that made the victim mute, so that made some people say, "This man (Jesus) has performed this miracle by the power of an evil spirit!", and also there were those who sought a sign from heaven to test Jesus (11:14～16).
In contrast, in today's passage, Jesus says, "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah."
At the Sunday School, everyone was sharing various opinions. As I listened to their stories, I noticed a few things that I had not noticed before that time.
During the sharing, I noticed a connection between the first part where Jesus rebukes the "people wanting a sign" and the second part where he says "The light of the body is the eye."
Until then, I did not really think about the connection between the two, I just read it as such.
But Jesus connected it to the story of "visible signs" and taught us how our "eyes" should be.
First of all, for those who sought the "sign" in the first part, Jesus rebuked them for seeking to test him, saying, "This is a wicked generation."
I looked up the word "よこしまYOKOSHIMA: (wicked)" and found that it describes the state (appearance) of something that is lying down, meaning "not right" or "unreasonable"
Having an attitude of lying down is an attitude that does not want to face Jesus head-on. Lying down is probably an attitude that seeks to test people with impure motives and malicious intent,
and it may also be an attitude that is already full of your own ideas and refuses to listen to what the other person has to say.
Have they, who were asking for a sign, never seen Jesus say or do anything or perform a miracle before? The passage we read today is chapter 11 of the Gospel of Luke, but if you look at the previous chapters, you will see that many miracles had already been performed.
There was the healing of the daughter of Jairus the head of the synagogue, and Jesus raised the only son of a widower. There was also the famous miracle of feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. It is written that rumors have spread throughout the whole Jewish lands.
Perhaps these people had also seen Jesus's action and words and seen him perform miracles. They would have also heard many rumors. Yet, these people were still unable to believe in or acknowledge Jesus.
If such people asked me for a sign, I would say, "I have nothing else more to give you!" But Jesus said, "none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." In other words, "the sign of Jonah will be given."
Jonah is a prophet from the Old Testament book of Jonah. He was thrown into the sea and spent three days and three nights in the belly of a fish, but he surprisingly survived that. Jonah became a sign, and the people of the land of Nineveh feared the true God of Israel, the real God, and a movement of repentance and fearing God began.
Jesus compared this incredible miraculous "sign" of Jonah being thrown into the sea and came back alive after three days and three nights in the belly of a fish overlaps with the "sign" of Jesus's own death on the cross and resurrection on the third day.
Shortly after this, Jesus suddenly speaks of a lamp and eyes.
Let's read it once more
33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.
34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy,[g] your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy,[h] your body also is full of darkness.
35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.
36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”
The lamp is Jesus Himself. God lit a lamp that is Jesus so that everyone who came into could see. Indeed, Jesus came into the world as a being what could be seen. He is not a person who lived once upon a time in a place, but a historical person who lived in history.
During His public life, He lived with His disciples, He spoke in front of many crowds, He performed miracles, and finally He was hung on the cross. And what many of the disciples testified risking their lives was that Jesus had risen.
The disciples, who had been so frightened that they abandoned Jesus and fled, saw His resurrection, and after receiving the Holy Spirit, they publicly proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God and that He had risen, without fear of the powers of the world, persecution, or death. All these things are written in the Bible.
Jesus is always present where people can see him, just like a lamp on a candlestick which illuminates its surroundings.
He taught us that when we look at the lamp which is Jesus with our own eyes firmly, our eyes will be clear and our whole body will be bright.
The words "if your eyes are healthy (“clear” in Japanese translation)" are plainly written in other English translation as “when your eyes are good”.
When your eyes are good, it means your body is also good. Also, to have a bright body means that not only your mind but also your whole body that others can see will be bright.
Here, I don’t think "bright" mean the kind of person who has a good personality and a smile, like a help-wanted for a part-time job says “want bright/cheerful people”.
What the Bible means by whole body is bright/cheerful is that love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will be manifested in our character. This is the famous "Fruit of the Holy Spirit" passage in chapter 5 of the Epistle to the Galatians
The Holy Spirit is in us and we cannot see him with our eyes, but it says that when we live in deep communion with him, these fruits will appear in our personalities in a gradual and visible way.
Someone who has love, someone who is full of true joy, someone who has peace, someone who is truly kind from the heart, and on top of that, someone who has integrity and self-control! It is too wonderful.
Jesus told us that if our eyes are good, these fruits will appear and our whole body will be bright and visible to others. Today, I would like to explore more about how we can make ourselves brighter.
Jesus tells us in one word: "If your eyes are good." If your eyes are good, your whole body will be bright.
"Having a good eye" means that we keep our eyes fixed on the lamp which is Jesus Himself. What should we do to "fix our eyes on the lamp" that is Jesus?
One of the ways is to find God in nature. Natural revelation is to look at the visible natural world and notice the message of the invisible God.
When we look at the sky, the sea, the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees and flowers, we are not to glory them, but to ponder on the Creator who created them.
Among my favorite TV programs are NHK's "Darwin has come” and "Mysteries of the Human Body", they are truly mysterious. The Chinese character 「神秘」(mystery) is a combination of 「神」(God) and 「秘密」(secret) isn’t it?
There are beautiful, subtle, and amazing forces at work in living organisms and animals that we cannot even put our finger on, and they are at work in our bodies at this very moment.
Although NHK does not use the word "God," I cannot help but think that there really is a God.
Also, to "look into the lamp that is Jesus" means to read the Bible. As it is written that Jesus came to this world as the Word, looking at the Word is looking at Jesus.
The Bible is filled with testimonies of Jesus. Especially for today’s sermon, since "seeing" is the theme, every time I read the Bible, I noticed such words as "eyes" or "seeing". I am sure there are many more, but here are a few Bible verses I have read recently.
(Colossians 1:15~16a)
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;
The letter Paul wrote to the Colossians while in prison in Rome contains this prayer.
From 1 John 1:1
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
John, who was one of Jesus' most beloved disciples, first wrote the Letter of John with these words. He testified with emotion that he had seen Jesus, the Son of God, with his eyes, heard his voice, and touched him with his hands.
When we look at these biblical words, when we quietly contemplate His presence, our eyes will look to God, to Jesus.
I myself have been most blessed while preparing for this sermon. I am blessed just by listening to each word that comes directly from our members at the Sunday School because it contains the truths. I am also given inspiration too.
Also, as I read and meditate over and over again to prepare for today's sermon at home, I became more aware than ever of the importance of seeing with my eyes.
People are influenced by what they see. When I see my family becoming similar to one another, I am made aware that what we have constant contact with has a great influence in ourselves.
What do my actual eyes see, my eyes tend to focus on my smart-phone, Korean dramas, and people's mood (facial expression).
And what do my eyes of heart chase for, people's bad habits, being concerned how I appear in front of others, when I am occupied with worries and my eyes of heart just see those problems.
Also, my eyes of heart often see too much of myself. There are times when I am so obsessed with my own things.
At those times my eyes are darkened and it becomes easier to lose my way. That is the timing to remember Jesus.
In fact, the next morning after I learned at the Sunday School, I woke up a little early and was praying.
At that time, I had one concern, and although I was praying, my heart was at the state of closed. At that time, the Bible verse we had studied the day before came to my mind.
Just like those who had seen Jesus and many miracles before their eyes but still could not believe, I, too, have seen many miracles during my 26 years of being a Christian.
I have experienced many prayers answered, some major and some minor, and even if I did not know it at the time, when I look back, I have seen for myself a lot of prayers are heard.
I have read much of the Word of God, however, I was still hesitant to trust Jesus, and even after seeing several times, my worry was not yet cleared.
At that time, I was taught from a prayer that I pray without believing even seeing many times, I must believe and pray even one word remembering who Jesus is.
Since that day, almost every day, these words, "Even seeing many times, (you still can't trust Jesus and worry?)", have come up in my mind, reminding me and encouraging my faith.
I was so moved by that teaching and so grateful for what I have learned at the Sunday School that I chose this passage as my theme of today's sermon and thus I wanted to share it with all of you.
Everyone who has come to faith knows about Jesus, but there are some who have come to church just recently, so I will end today's sermon by introducing who Jesus is again, whom I learned from the Bible.
Speaking of His character, Jesus is someone who talks a lot with people that everyone despises and gently explains who He is.
He is the gentle one who heals the sick of their diseases and declares that your faith has saved you and your sins are forgiven.
When it comes to power, He is the One who can walk on water and feed thousands, tens of thousands with a little bread and fish.
His holiness does not reserve to rebuke human’s hidden hypocrisy and sins. We must one day stand before His holiness and be accountable of our lives.
The end of Jesus' life was that he was hung on the cross in our place for the forgiveness of our sins.
In a psalm there is a graphic expression that every bone was dislocated and the tongue was attached to the jaw, but for what purpose did Jesus die in the most feared, shameful, insulting, and cursed way of all men?
I hope you will find the answer to that question in the Bible and in the church.
We are promised that our whole body will be brightly illuminated when we abandon the lying down attitude which does not listen to Jesus’ words and look to Jesus and believe in him.
More than anyone else, Jesus Himself wants us and our lives to be brightly illuminated.
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 296 I saw the cross of Jesus
Doxology JBC # 674
Closing Prayer
Good morning, everyone. Pastor is away to give the sermon at Kokura Church so I am in charge of the sermon today. It was more difficult and harder than I had imagined. I thought I should pray more when the pastor is preparing for his sermon.
However, since all of you brothers and sisters prayed for me, I was really encouraged and was able to do my best. Thank you very much.
Today's Bible verses are the ones I read together with everyone at a Sunday School class. In the adult class, we have been reading the Gospel of Luke under the guidance of Bro.Akiyoshi and today's passage was the one we read on August 20.
The week before it, in Sunday School, we had read the part prior to today's passage. In that passage, Jesus healed a man by casting out an evil spirit that made the victim mute, so that made some people say, "This man (Jesus) has performed this miracle by the power of an evil spirit!", and also there were those who sought a sign from heaven to test Jesus (11:14～16).
In contrast, in today's passage, Jesus says, "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah."
At the Sunday School, everyone was sharing various opinions. As I listened to their stories, I noticed a few things that I had not noticed before that time.
During the sharing, I noticed a connection between the first part where Jesus rebukes the "people wanting a sign" and the second part where he says "The light of the body is the eye."
Until then, I did not really think about the connection between the two, I just read it as such.
But Jesus connected it to the story of "visible signs" and taught us how our "eyes" should be.
First of all, for those who sought the "sign" in the first part, Jesus rebuked them for seeking to test him, saying, "This is a wicked generation."
I looked up the word "よこしまYOKOSHIMA: (wicked)" and found that it describes the state (appearance) of something that is lying down, meaning "not right" or "unreasonable"
Having an attitude of lying down is an attitude that does not want to face Jesus head-on. Lying down is probably an attitude that seeks to test people with impure motives and malicious intent,
and it may also be an attitude that is already full of your own ideas and refuses to listen to what the other person has to say.
Have they, who were asking for a sign, never seen Jesus say or do anything or perform a miracle before? The passage we read today is chapter 11 of the Gospel of Luke, but if you look at the previous chapters, you will see that many miracles had already been performed.
There was the healing of the daughter of Jairus the head of the synagogue, and Jesus raised the only son of a widower. There was also the famous miracle of feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. It is written that rumors have spread throughout the whole Jewish lands.
Perhaps these people had also seen Jesus's action and words and seen him perform miracles. They would have also heard many rumors. Yet, these people were still unable to believe in or acknowledge Jesus.
If such people asked me for a sign, I would say, "I have nothing else more to give you!" But Jesus said, "none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." In other words, "the sign of Jonah will be given."
Jonah is a prophet from the Old Testament book of Jonah. He was thrown into the sea and spent three days and three nights in the belly of a fish, but he surprisingly survived that. Jonah became a sign, and the people of the land of Nineveh feared the true God of Israel, the real God, and a movement of repentance and fearing God began.
Jesus compared this incredible miraculous "sign" of Jonah being thrown into the sea and came back alive after three days and three nights in the belly of a fish overlaps with the "sign" of Jesus's own death on the cross and resurrection on the third day.
Shortly after this, Jesus suddenly speaks of a lamp and eyes.
Let's read it once more
33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.
34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy,[g] your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy,[h] your body also is full of darkness.
35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.
36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”
The lamp is Jesus Himself. God lit a lamp that is Jesus so that everyone who came into could see. Indeed, Jesus came into the world as a being what could be seen. He is not a person who lived once upon a time in a place, but a historical person who lived in history.
During His public life, He lived with His disciples, He spoke in front of many crowds, He performed miracles, and finally He was hung on the cross. And what many of the disciples testified risking their lives was that Jesus had risen.
The disciples, who had been so frightened that they abandoned Jesus and fled, saw His resurrection, and after receiving the Holy Spirit, they publicly proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God and that He had risen, without fear of the powers of the world, persecution, or death. All these things are written in the Bible.
Jesus is always present where people can see him, just like a lamp on a candlestick which illuminates its surroundings.
He taught us that when we look at the lamp which is Jesus with our own eyes firmly, our eyes will be clear and our whole body will be bright.
The words "if your eyes are healthy (“clear” in Japanese translation)" are plainly written in other English translation as “when your eyes are good”.
When your eyes are good, it means your body is also good. Also, to have a bright body means that not only your mind but also your whole body that others can see will be bright.
Here, I don’t think "bright" mean the kind of person who has a good personality and a smile, like a help-wanted for a part-time job says “want bright/cheerful people”.
What the Bible means by whole body is bright/cheerful is that love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will be manifested in our character. This is the famous "Fruit of the Holy Spirit" passage in chapter 5 of the Epistle to the Galatians
The Holy Spirit is in us and we cannot see him with our eyes, but it says that when we live in deep communion with him, these fruits will appear in our personalities in a gradual and visible way.
Someone who has love, someone who is full of true joy, someone who has peace, someone who is truly kind from the heart, and on top of that, someone who has integrity and self-control! It is too wonderful.
Jesus told us that if our eyes are good, these fruits will appear and our whole body will be bright and visible to others. Today, I would like to explore more about how we can make ourselves brighter.
Jesus tells us in one word: "If your eyes are good." If your eyes are good, your whole body will be bright.
"Having a good eye" means that we keep our eyes fixed on the lamp which is Jesus Himself. What should we do to "fix our eyes on the lamp" that is Jesus?
One of the ways is to find God in nature. Natural revelation is to look at the visible natural world and notice the message of the invisible God.
When we look at the sky, the sea, the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees and flowers, we are not to glory them, but to ponder on the Creator who created them.
Among my favorite TV programs are NHK's "Darwin has come” and "Mysteries of the Human Body", they are truly mysterious. The Chinese character 「神秘」(mystery) is a combination of 「神」(God) and 「秘密」(secret) isn’t it?
There are beautiful, subtle, and amazing forces at work in living organisms and animals that we cannot even put our finger on, and they are at work in our bodies at this very moment.
Although NHK does not use the word "God," I cannot help but think that there really is a God.
Also, to "look into the lamp that is Jesus" means to read the Bible. As it is written that Jesus came to this world as the Word, looking at the Word is looking at Jesus.
The Bible is filled with testimonies of Jesus. Especially for today’s sermon, since "seeing" is the theme, every time I read the Bible, I noticed such words as "eyes" or "seeing". I am sure there are many more, but here are a few Bible verses I have read recently.
(Colossians 1:15~16a)
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;
The letter Paul wrote to the Colossians while in prison in Rome contains this prayer.
From 1 John 1:1
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
John, who was one of Jesus' most beloved disciples, first wrote the Letter of John with these words. He testified with emotion that he had seen Jesus, the Son of God, with his eyes, heard his voice, and touched him with his hands.
When we look at these biblical words, when we quietly contemplate His presence, our eyes will look to God, to Jesus.
I myself have been most blessed while preparing for this sermon. I am blessed just by listening to each word that comes directly from our members at the Sunday School because it contains the truths. I am also given inspiration too.
Also, as I read and meditate over and over again to prepare for today's sermon at home, I became more aware than ever of the importance of seeing with my eyes.
People are influenced by what they see. When I see my family becoming similar to one another, I am made aware that what we have constant contact with has a great influence in ourselves.
What do my actual eyes see, my eyes tend to focus on my smart-phone, Korean dramas, and people's mood (facial expression).
And what do my eyes of heart chase for, people's bad habits, being concerned how I appear in front of others, when I am occupied with worries and my eyes of heart just see those problems.
Also, my eyes of heart often see too much of myself. There are times when I am so obsessed with my own things.
At those times my eyes are darkened and it becomes easier to lose my way. That is the timing to remember Jesus.
In fact, the next morning after I learned at the Sunday School, I woke up a little early and was praying.
At that time, I had one concern, and although I was praying, my heart was at the state of closed. At that time, the Bible verse we had studied the day before came to my mind.
Just like those who had seen Jesus and many miracles before their eyes but still could not believe, I, too, have seen many miracles during my 26 years of being a Christian.
I have experienced many prayers answered, some major and some minor, and even if I did not know it at the time, when I look back, I have seen for myself a lot of prayers are heard.
I have read much of the Word of God, however, I was still hesitant to trust Jesus, and even after seeing several times, my worry was not yet cleared.
At that time, I was taught from a prayer that I pray without believing even seeing many times, I must believe and pray even one word remembering who Jesus is.
Since that day, almost every day, these words, "Even seeing many times, (you still can't trust Jesus and worry?)", have come up in my mind, reminding me and encouraging my faith.
I was so moved by that teaching and so grateful for what I have learned at the Sunday School that I chose this passage as my theme of today's sermon and thus I wanted to share it with all of you.
Everyone who has come to faith knows about Jesus, but there are some who have come to church just recently, so I will end today's sermon by introducing who Jesus is again, whom I learned from the Bible.
Speaking of His character, Jesus is someone who talks a lot with people that everyone despises and gently explains who He is.
He is the gentle one who heals the sick of their diseases and declares that your faith has saved you and your sins are forgiven.
When it comes to power, He is the One who can walk on water and feed thousands, tens of thousands with a little bread and fish.
His holiness does not reserve to rebuke human’s hidden hypocrisy and sins. We must one day stand before His holiness and be accountable of our lives.
The end of Jesus' life was that he was hung on the cross in our place for the forgiveness of our sins.
In a psalm there is a graphic expression that every bone was dislocated and the tongue was attached to the jaw, but for what purpose did Jesus die in the most feared, shameful, insulting, and cursed way of all men?
I hope you will find the answer to that question in the Bible and in the church.
We are promised that our whole body will be brightly illuminated when we abandon the lying down attitude which does not listen to Jesus’ words and look to Jesus and believe in him.
More than anyone else, Jesus Himself wants us and our lives to be brightly illuminated.
