Fearful heart and stammering tongue

“The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.” (Isaiah 32:4)

 

Christ came to this world for the salvation of life. The Holy God was born in the form of man, and it was done by eternal providence. God predicted the birth of Messiah through the prophet in the Old Testament. The prophet Isaiah foretold Messiah the righteous king, in the text of Isaiah the Chapter 32. The rule of Christ the Heavenly king is done by righteousness, and the officials of the kingdom deal fairly with affairs. Everyone in the world must be governed by Christ, and the people of Christ must rule everything fairly.

 

This year, we are having Christmas again. Christmas is a day of peace and happiness for all, and it is the most enjoyable time of a year. Therefore, many people on the earth really look forward to Christmas. It is good to have an attitude of waiting for the day, but what’s more important is to know the meaning of Christmas and practice it right. It will be worthless if it is a holiday that has nothing to do with Christ’s reality. The title may look a little awkward in your view, however I hope we will have a day to learn the teachings of the text and observe the true Christmas in Christ Jesus. Christmas is the day when God came to man personally, to put it in the Bible.

Christ Jesus has a nickname Immanuel. When Joseph knew about the pregnancy and wanted to cut off the relationship with Mary before they lived together, the angel of the Lord came to Joseph in the dream and told him that Mary had been conceived by the Holy Spirit. And the angel gave a name Jesus for the baby in the womb, and the angel said that Jesus’ supernatural birth was done according to prophecy, “~ The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” in Isaiah 7:14. Here, Immanuel means, “God is with us.” in Matthew 1:23. After all, the word ‘God in the world’ is what Jesus is.

People are saved only when they believe in Jesus, because He is Immanuel. He had a supernatural birth caused by the Holy Spirit. The birth of Christ was not a myth, but a real event. Looking at the origins of countries and peoples, we can see a record of the myths of a kind of supernatural birth. The birth of Dangun, the ancestor of Koreans, also has a legend about the bear. According to the myth of Hwanwoong in the History of the Three Kingdoms written by Irryon(一然, 1206~1289), Hwanwoong married Ungyeo and gave birth to Dangun, and it is said that Gojoseon, 古朝鮮 ancient Korea, was built by Dangun. This story is based on the ideology of building a nation of humanitarianism, 弘益人間 Hong-Ik-Man. For we know there is a presence of ancient Chinese King Yo in the background of the story, and Hwanin did not design creation but to rule the pre-existing world.

But Christ, the Son of God the Trinity, is the Creator who had worked in the beginning, and all things were built by Him, in John 1:2~3. He came to the world to give a man a new life. Those who had not met Him were forced to live tired lives on a wild land like the desert, in the midst of the unjust tempest and the heavy rain of the world. But Christ the ruler of righteousness became a rock for them to flee. False and unjust things never make a person’s mind feel peaceful. So, the world is always about hard work and sorrow. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,” in Matthew 11:28. If you listen to the Lord’s voice, you will not be tired in life, for there is a genuine peace of rest for those who are saved in Jesus. Just that is the basic nature of Christian people. on the other hand, those who don’t believe in Jesus or who don’t stand up properly in the faith are always impatient and depressed with stammering tongue. Then “I am articulate than anyone else?” someone may speak a grumble.

 

At the end of the day, everything in the world becomes faster and people’s minds become more impatient. That’s because they have not done what they had to do. The ‘stammering tongue’ means not being able to express one’s own thoughts fully in words. Without truth and certainty, everyone must become anxious and depressed. May your tongue be free to praise the Lord and treat the people in a relaxed manner, by gaining knowledge of faith and having peace in the Spirit of Jesus!

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Dec 22nd 2019)