<\/strong><\/p>\n\u79c1\u9054\u306f\u30a4\u30a8\u30b9\u306f\u4e3b\u3068\u544a\u767d\u3057\u3001\u544a\u767d\u306e\u307f\u306a\u3089\u305a\u3001\u3053\u306e\u4e3b\u306e\u8a00\u8449\u306b\u8074\u304d\u5f93\u3046\u4eba\u751f\u3092\u6b69\u3082\u3046\u3067\u306f\u3042\u308a\u307e\u305b\u3093\u304b\u3002\u304a\u7948\u308a\u3057\u307e\u3057\u3087<\/p>\n
Believe in our Lord<\/p>\n
May 1. 2011<\/p>\n
Once there was a soccer player named Bismarck who was known to be a very quiet person. He was the youngest player of the Brazilian team to play in the 1990 World Cup held in Italy and in year 1993, he became a player in the Japanese professional soccer team. He was once chosen as a MVP of the year, Japanese soccer fans became really attracted to him not just because of his amazing playing techniques, but from this one unique pose he made when he made a goal or won the game.<\/p>\n
Before he went to hug his teammates, Bismarck always thanked God first for the victory or the goal. At the time, there were many young boys playing soccer at the park did the same pose as Bismarck when they made a goal without knowing the meaning of it. When I was in Japan, I had several chances to see him and I was also invited to his house. Whenever he had written autographs, he wrote one phrase.<\/p>\n
He probably asked his manager to teach him how to write this phrase in Japanese and practiced hard to learn it. He wrote \u201cIesu wa Shu\u201d, which means \u201cJesus is Lord\u201d. I went to Brazil 5 years ago and asked one pastor how Bismarck was doing. He told me that Bismarck has retired and he ran a business in Rio de Janeiro. I strongly believe that he is still living with passionate faith glowing inside his heart quietly.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know how many autographs Bismarck has signed when he was in Japan, but same number of times he signed the autograph, same number of times he wrote \u201cJesus is Lord\u201d. That was the most important message he wanted to tell to his Japanese fans. Though, what does this phrase, \u201cJesus is Lord\u201d, really means?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a phrase \u201cI believe in our Lord\u201d written in the Apostles\u2019 Creed that we have been learning. Today we will be focusing on this phrase \u201cJesus is Lord\u201d. First of all, I would like to talk about the meaning of \u201cLord\u201d.<\/p>\n
Who is LORD?<\/p>\n
In John 20:27~29, it says,<\/p>\n
27 Then He said to Thomas, \u201cPut your finger here: see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. 28 Thomas said to Him, \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d. 29 Then Jesus told him, \u201cBecause you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the words of Jesus Christ Himself who appeared to Thomas. He was one of the disciples. He once said confidently \u201cUnless I see the nails marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it\u201d.<\/p>\n
But when Jesus told him as verse 27~29, Thomas instinctively said \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d He said to Jesus \u201cMy Lord\u201d. This is the same as the phrase \u201cJesus is Lord\u201d that Bismarck wrote in his autographs.<\/p>\n
\u201cSHU\u201d in Japanese means \u201cLORD\u201d in English. This LORD came from YHWH in Hebrew meaning GOD in the Old Testament. (Exodus 3:14) YHWH means \u201cto be\u201d or \u201cI am that I am\u201d. God is the source of everything and He is the Creator of all things in the universe and governs this world.<\/p>\n
I said YHWH because about 1400years before Jesus birth, Moses was given the Ten Commandments and it said, \u201cYou shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.\u201d(Exodus 20:7)<\/p>\n
People accepted this commandment as it was written and they used only consonant words to make the holy name of God.<\/p>\n
This word YHWH could be inconvenient sometimes since it is impossible to pronounce, so in some passages in the Bible, YHWH is replaced with the word \u201cAdonai\u201d.<\/p>\n
And when the Old Testament written in Hebrew was translated into Greek, YHWH became CURIOS and then it became SHU in Japanese. In the English Bible, this YHWH is replaced with the word LORD in capital letters. Some Japanese translations use the word SHU in bold letters.<\/p>\n
Back in the days, my teacher told me about his experience of learning Hebrew with a Jewish professor when he was studying in an American seminary.<\/p>\n
He told me that the Jewish professor was reading a Hebrew Bible and whenever he came across to a verse with the word YHWH in it, he closed his eyes and became silent. And after a moment of silence, he started reading the following verses again. I think that was a reflection of how he felt, that he was not worthy to call \u201cHis\u201d name which is so great and holy. This great God that became human and lived among us is our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
Thus when Thomas said, \u201cmy LORD\u201d, it meant the same as \u201cmy GOD\u201d. The word referred to an existence so holy and absolute that people feared to even say His name.<\/p>\n
When we think about this, we can understand why Thomas said to Jesus, \u201cMy LORD, my GOD\u201d.<\/p>\n
Because Jesus, who died, buried in grave with scar in his hands, after being pierced at his side, appeared and stood before Thomas to tell him \u201cReach out your hand and put it into my side\u201d, Thomas replied \u201cMy LORD, my GOD\u201d.<\/p>\n
As I mentioned two weeks ago, Theologian J.G. Maychan said that Christian faith is not a religion in which \u201cwe believe God in the same way Jesus Christ believed in God\u201d. But rather, the Christianity is the religion in which \u201cwe believe Jesus Christ as God.\u201d Because of this, we confess our faith this morning by saying \u201cI believe in our Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n
Let me talk about the second thing: The confession of \u201cJesus is LORD.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let us read the Romans 10:9~13<\/p>\n
If you declare with your mouth, \u201cJesus is Lord,\u201d and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10<\/sup><\/strong> For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11<\/sup><\/strong> As Scripture says, \u201cAnyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.\u201d 12<\/sup><\/strong> For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile\u2014the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13<\/sup><\/strong> for, \u201cEveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.\u201d<\/p>\nWhen we read these verses, we realize the phrase \u201cJesus is Lord\u201d has a power. Yes, if we confess \u201cJesus is LORD\u201d by our mouth, Jesus is GOD and if you believe that Jesus was resurrected among the dead, you will be saved.<\/p>\n
As I have been saying repeatedly, we can understand certain things with reason. But the resurrection of Jesus cannot be understood relying on our experience and intelligence; it needs to be believed in our heart and we have to confess from our own mouths.<\/p>\n
This is very important. Until then, people were trying to receive salvation by their own effort. Though the object of faith is God and because He is far beyond our common sense, we cannot reach Him without faith.<\/p>\n
Jesus understood such a human limitation and treated it kindly and talked to Thomas. \u201cPut your finger here: see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. 28 Thomas said to Him, \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d. 29 Then Jesus told him, \u201cBecause you have seen.me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.\u201d(John 20:27~29)<\/p>\n
This February, I went to Israel and walked around the town of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is surrounded by rampart. There is a gate named Damascus and outside of the gate is an Arab district. There is a cave where Jesus might be buried. The reason why that is called Jesus\u2019 grave is there is a rock looked like human skull next to it. Many people visit there from all over the world.<\/p>\n
I was fortunate to stay wherever I want to stay as long as I wished because I was traveling alone. If timing allowed, I could have stayed there alone. I was in the cave alone at the time. On the wall, the plaque said \u201cHe is not here, for he is risen.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would be wonderful if Jesus called me \u201cBrother\u201d from the back as Mary experienced, when I was in the cave alone. But Lord did not appear. Even if I waited and waited, Jesus never showed up. When I was thinking such thing, what happened to Thomas came in my mind. Thomas must have seen Jesus in somewhere in Jerusalem and saw his resurrected body and heard his voice. And he answered \u201cMy LORD\u201d.<\/p>\n
When I was in the cave, Jesus was not there. But at the time, before the grave, the same word came from my mouth. \u201cMy LORD my GOD.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was my sincerer word from my heart without any doubt and the confession of my faith of Jesus who was resurrected there is my LORD and my GOD.<\/p>\n
And by confessing this way, by confessing with his mouth \u201cJesus is Lord\u201d, the believer will be saved, and will be filled with joy of that promise.<\/p>\n
Brothers and sisters, the salvation God has granted us is this simple. And this salvation is given equally to every one of us.<\/p>\n
Thirdly, I would like to talk about who your Lord is.<\/p>\n
Who is your Lord?<\/p>\n
When we say \u201cJesus is our Lord\u201d, it means that Jesus is our master and we are his servants. We don\u2019t put anybody else in the place of this master.<\/p>\n
There are a number of important things in our life, such as our own well being, parents, siblings, husbands, wives, children, our wealth, status, and honor. Though as long as we say Jesus is our LORD, we do not put these things in the place where Jesus is.<\/p>\n
Aren\u2019t we saying to Jesus, \u201cPlease do this and that, please do this right now!\u201d by sitting where Jesus should be?<\/p>\n
If we do so, we can\u2019t see who the master is and who the servant is. Instead, the servants must listen to the Lord\u2019s voice and always pray that the His will is fulfilled.<\/p>\n
We are concerned about what true leadership is, especially because of last month\u2019s disaster in Japan. When such disasters happen, we realize how important the leader\u2019s existence is. We realize that the leader will influence the nation\u2019s fate.<\/p>\n
Because of this, who we think of as our Lord, the master of our lives is the very first thing we should consider. Many people think they should control their life by themselves or should be steered by husband, children or wealth. But the Bible says, NO your master should be LORD Jesus only.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t go home and say to your husband \u201cI went to church and heard my master is not you.\u201d Originally a husband and wife are created to be equal and to look up to the same direction to God and help each other. This is the secret to the happiest marriage.<\/p>\n
If any of you is having a problem with your spouse, family, or you are the one who has been sitting where Lord should be and realized that that is not the place you should be, why don\u2019t you think about who the real master is for yourself, for you and your spouse, or for your family?<\/p>\n
In the athletes\u2019 world, if the team cannot achieve its goals, its coach will be changed. If you feel your life is stuck and confused by some old masters sitting on your throne, why don\u2019t you ask our new Lord, Jesus Christ to come to sit on the throne for your life from now on?<\/p>\n
Lastly, I would like to talk about what it is like to live by proclaiming \u201cJesus is Lord\u201d.<\/p>\n
How should we live with \u201cJesus as Lord\u201d?<\/p>\n
In Luke6:46~49, the bible says as Jesus parable. \u201c<\/p>\n
46<\/sup><\/strong> \u201cWhy do you call me, \u2018Lord, Lord,\u2019 and do not do what I say? 47<\/sup><\/strong> As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48<\/sup><\/strong> They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49<\/sup><\/strong> But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.\u201d<\/p>\nThere is nothing difficult to understand in this parable. People lived a normal life until the flood came. They all lived as usual with no regards to who built their house on the rock or who built their house without a foundation. Perhaps people who built their house without a foundation would have spent the money and the time that was left for their pleasures or they might have used those for gorgeous exteriors. They might have not understood the people who built the house on the rock because they did not think the flood would ever come to their place.<\/p>\n
But the time has come. The flood attacked these houses. The houses on the rock remained and the houses without a foundation collapsed and the damage was severe. This is not talking about the flood such as the tsunami that happened in Japan, but the huge waves that affect our lives. When this happens, the foundation will not be there for those who just say \u201cLord, Lord\u201d. The foundation will stand for only those who listen to the words of the Lord and obey Him.<\/p>\n
As Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, \u201cNot everyone who says to me \u2018Lord Lord\u2019 will enter the kingdom of heaven; but only he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps we say \u201cLet\u2019s praise our Lord!\u201d and sing to Him every Sunday and we might pray in the name of Lord Jesus Christ every day. But the essential thing is not singing \u201cLord, Lord\u201d or praying repeatedly.<\/p>\n
Are you really listening to the words of the Lord Jesus and obey Him?<\/p>\n
James said the same thing in James 1:21~25<\/p>\n
21<\/sup><\/strong> Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.22<\/sup><\/strong> Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23<\/sup><\/strong> Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24<\/sup><\/strong>and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25<\/sup><\/strong> But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this\u2014not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it\u2014he will be blessed in what he does.<\/p>\nEach of our lives is different. Though, the causes of these differences are not complicated. These days, I am starting to realize that the whole concept is very simple. What makes these differences in each of our life is if you \u201cdo it or not\u201d.<\/p>\n
Yes, \u201cDo it or not\u201d. We tend to say we know what we should do, but some of us \u201cdon\u2019t\u201d do it and some of us actually \u201cdo\u201d it. There is such a huge difference in our life whether you DO or NOT. James said in verse 25<\/p>\n
25<\/sup><\/strong> But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this\u2014not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it\u2014he will be blessed in what he does.<\/p>\nLet us not only confess that Jesus is our Lord, but also listen to His words and obey His words in our lives. Let\u2019s pray.<\/p>\n
Translated by Kaori Machida<\/p>\n
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