2015.04.25 (Sat) Cyber Fellowship Pastor Ock Soo Park
Let us read John chapter 9 verse 7, “And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.” The Bible speaks about travelling more than any other book. The God that is revealed through travelling is so amazing. If you look in Genesis chapter 28, Jacob avoided his brother Esau and travelled to Paddan Aram. Also in the book of Ruth; Ruth travelled towards Bethlehem. Furthermore in 2 Kings chapter 5, captain Naaman’s maidservant, although not willingly, travelled from Samaria to Damascus. Finally in 2 Kings Chapter 7, four lepers travelled towards the Syrian camp. Travelling in the Bible can be divided into 2 types, and the most evident form of travelling is the story of the second son in Luke chapter 15. In Luke chapter 15, the second son’s first travel had him depart from his father’s house and live according to his thoughts and fleshly desires. The second son’s second travel had him realize that he was wrong and head back to his father. Simply put, a life of living according his thoughts and desires brought failure, pain and affliction upon his life. However, when he received the guidance of God and returned to the father’s house, everything that belonged to the father became his, and he was changed into a person overflowing with joy and happiness. I have preached about the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15 hundreds of times. Every time I preach it, it still feels new to me. The path that the second son went down according to his thoughts became a life of starving to death inside a pig’s pen, and the process of returning to the father became a life where everything that belonged to the father became his. When the second son departed from his father, his heart was different and so because he was cut off from his father’s abundance, he had no choice but to starve to death in a pig’s pen. Nevertheless, when the prodigal son was led not by his will, but by his father’s will; the walk he took according to his father’s will, turned into a precious blessing whereby everything of the father became his. That is how the entire Bible is recorded. In John chapter 9 it says, “And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” This is a story where the man who was born blind listened to the Words of Jesus and headed towards to the pool of Siloam to wash. Just as I mentioned before, there are two types of travelling. There is a walk whereby we walk according to our thoughts and desires, and then there is a walk that is led by God. Even in the story of Ruth: Naomi, Elimelech, Mahlon and Chilion did not have food and so they travelled towards Moab. However it was not the will of God, but was their humanistic thought and plan. But then Elimelech, Mahlon and Chilion passed away, and when they decided to return back to Bethlehem, they were led by the guidance of God towards Bethlehem. After they had dwelled in the land of Moab for 10 years, they heard the voice of God. They heard that the Lord had remembered his people and given them bread, and so Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem together. From the moment they returned, they seemed to be very lacking on the outside and were poor, but since it was the start of the harvest Ruth was able to gather grain, and as she gathered grain Ruth fell in love with Boaz. When the harvest ended, Ruth married Boaz and started a family, and then gave birth to Obed. When observing such things, I see that for the people who follow after their thoughts and fleshly desires, the result is despair, pain, affliction and destruction. On the opposite hand, the path of being led by the Word of God is so amazing. When the four lepers of Samaria walked according to their thoughts, they were left to die at the gates of Samaria. But the path that God led them to had them walk towards the Syrian camp, and God allowed a tremendous blessing upon them. Today, we read about the blind man in John chapter 9. When the man born blind followed his thoughts he was left to beg on the streets, but one day Jesus approached him and put in a new heart. He placed the thought, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” The man born blind no longer followed his thoughts, but according to the Words of Jesus he headed to the pool of Siloam. His eyes had not been opened, and although he fell, stumbled, walked into rocks, and was scratched by branches, he headed towards the pool of Siloam. He followed and went according to Word of God and his eyes became opened. He then came seeing. Because his eyes were opened, he became healthy and got a job, made money, built his house, met and married a beautiful woman, had children and enjoyed such great blessings. When Jesus said, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.”, he was not led by his thoughts and desires but followed the Word of Jesus. Until I was 19, I followed my thoughts and ways. My life itself was a failure, curse and pain. During one day in October, I met Jesus. The life of living according to my ways and thoughts ended, and I met Jesus and he gave me the Word. As I saw the Word lead my life step by step, I was so very grateful. The path that the man born blind took according to his thoughts, only led to death and failure. But when he went to the pool of Siloam according to the Word of Jesus, it was such an amazing and glorious path. There are endless stories such as these in the Bible. There were those who followed their desires and those who follow the guidance of the Word. Loving brothers and sisters, which path are you going down? What are you heading towards? Are you not heading towards your desires and comforts? Carefully open the Word and follow after the Word of God. Then God will bestow great and unimaginable grace upon you. I thought that living for the Gospel would be difficult and hard. But after 50 years have passed, there is nothing more blessed and joyous than this kind of life I am living. Loving folks, let us now no longer live according to our wisdom, because no matter how wise we may be, we are foolish compared to God’s wisdom. It cannot be compared to God’s wisdom. Now let us be led by God and walk, and then I believe we will live a blessed and glorious life. Thank you.
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