John 20:15-18
Preacher : Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee
(Women’s Mission Church dedication service 2009)
This time is given as a devotional service for the Women’s Mission in 2009. We give all the glory to God the Father for guiding us to offer devotional worship. I also give thanks to all the devotees who prepared for the devotional service with all their hearts, minds, and sincerity. God the Father spoke about Mary Magdalene to the Women’s Mission this year as well as last year.
The main text also gave the scene where the resurrected Lord first appeared to Mary Magdalene, just like last year. There is a good reason why the Lord gave Mary Magdalene these blessings. It is because she has a beautiful heart that Mary Magdalene deserves to be loved as much. Also, she, Mary Magdalene, was a woman who gave off good incense that God her father was pleased with. God the Father wants to receive a good fragrance that can be smelled with joy through Women’s Mission. So, this year, God the Father gave me a message titled Good Fragrance that God delights in.
- The first good incense, serving from the heart
You can feel the fragrance of goodness from those who serve from the center. Those who serve others from the heart do not only serve superiors and worthy of serving from their own standpoint, but serve anyone sincerely. In terms of order, if you are a superior, of course you serve, and if you are a subordinate, you serve. It is to serve everyone, regardless of whether they are children or adults, poor or rich.
I hope that all of you will also respect and elevate each other from the center and give true service that you value. The younger should serve the older, and the older should serve the younger. Those with lower positions should serve those with higher positions, and those with higher positions should serve those with lower positions. The rich should serve the poor, and the poor should serve the rich. The learned serve the unlearned, and the unlearned must serve the learned. I hope that we can serve each other from the center like this.
Jesus said in Matthew 23:11, “The greatest among you must be your servant.” However, if he serves well to be recognized, that is not true service. It is because the goodness of service itself is so good that it serves anyone, anywhere, anytime. This is true service.
Matthew 10:42 also says, “And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, that person will by no means lose his reward.” In fact, serving a small child with a bowl of cold water is something anyone can do. Even so, Father is pleased with such service and repays it with a reward. However, there is a clue that it is in the name of the disciple. In the second half of John 8:31, Jesus said, “If you abide in my words, you are truly my disciples.” Therefore, serving in the name of a disciple means serving from a good heart cultivated by the Word of God. It does not mean serving in human culture or serving out of human sympathy, but rather means that the good itself of serving comes from the heart and manifests itself in true deeds.
Such a person listens well to the voice of the Holy Spirit and accurately receives the guidance of the Holy Spirit. So, you can achieve the most suitable service for the other person’s situation. It doesn’t embarrass the opponent by being too excessive, and it doesn’t make the opponent uncomfortable by not being enough. For example, even if you serve them a glass of water, serve them best for their current situation. Whether you should serve warm water, cool cold water, serve in a transparent glass cup, serve in a wide bowl, or serve in a small teacup, you can show the service that the other person is most comfortable with and satisfied with. The good fragrance that God the Father desires comes from such a heart of service. When you serve like this and don’t expect anything in return, a thicker scent of goodness comes out.
Mary Magdalene served Jesus with full consideration for His heart, but she did not expect anything in return. It wasn’t that I had any expectations, thinking that if I served the Lord like this, the Lord would do the same for me. Rather, she served with a heart that was not regretful at all even if she gave her all. Because she already received great grace and love, and because she loved Jesus, who gave her such love. I just want to give more to the person I truly love. It is not spiritual love to think that if I gave everything I had because I love, the other person will also give me this much. If I work hard at the mission, the members will know me better. So, if you serve with the expectation of a certain price, thinking that you will be elected as a more recognized worker in the next election, no matter how much you plant, work hard, and work hard, no good fragrance will come out that will make your father happy. This is also true in the areas of guidance, fellowship and service. If I serve so diligently, my superiors will recognize me more and assign me to a better seat next time.
The good fragrance that pleases God comes from those who sincerely serve because they are happy that they can serve even if no one knows about it. Psalm 51:6 says, “Thou wilt be truth in my heart, and thou wilt make wisdom known within me.” By remembering this and fulfilling it, I hope that all of your service will be a good fragrance worthy of the Father’s delight.
- The second fragrance of goodness, a heart that rejoices with the truth
A heart that rejoices with the truth is a heart that truly rejoices when others produce more fruit than you and receive praise, recognition, and love. This is the heart corresponding to the spiritual love described in 1 Corinthians 13. If you form a heart that rejoices with the truth, you will become one in the Holy Spirit and bear more fruit than now.
For example, if all the members of the woman mission became rejoicing with the truth, when one person is praised, it is not just one person’s joy, but the entire Women’s Mission. Happiness is multiplied hundreds or thousands of times. However, on the contrary, if you cannot rejoice together, praising one person will rather give birth to the result of making others difficult. In the end, even the praised person becomes uncomfortable as if he were sitting on a cushion of thorns. It’s because you become the target of envy and jealousy.
God wants all of you to have a good heart that fully rejoices with the truth. When the other person does better than me, I feel happy as if it were my own work. When the other person produces more fruit than I do, I can truly thank them for filling in the gaps I hadn’t been able to fill. When it is fulfilled, the fruit that guarantees the gospel of holiness comes out, and the heart that can rejoice and rejoice together. A good fragrance that pleases the Father comes out from a soul that has such a heart.
There were not only Mary Magdalene but also other women around Jesus, and there were disciples. But when Jesus praised someone, Mary Magdalene rejoiced as if it were her own work. Also, when someone else became the joy and strength of Jesus, she felt grateful for him. Why can’t I be strong? Why can’t I be happy? I am not discouraged, why won’t I praise you? I didn’t even have a sad heart. He was always by Jesus’ side with joy and gratitude, and faithfully fulfilled his mission.
Likewise, Mary Magdalene always gave off a good fragrance that her father would be pleased with, and she continues to give off an extremely good fragrance with her truth and rejoicing heart. Mary Magdalene rose to the position most loved by her father among the saved women from the time of her creation until now. But what would Mary Magdalene’s heart be like if a woman ascended in spirit more than herself appeared? Will her heart be bitter at having to give her father her supremely beloved place to someone else? Absolutely not. Rather, she is more of a heart to rejoice than anyone else. Because Mary Magdalene has this kind of heart, she is able to attain her most beloved position among women.
A good person, a person of spirit, is happy and happy when others are doing well. When my neighbors, my friends, and my co-workers are praised, awarded, or acknowledged, they rejoice as if it were my work. Even in loving God, if the other person receives more love and blessings from God, that becomes my happiness. They are not saddened by the question of why they gave such blessings to him and not to me. This is because the blessing the other person receives is my blessing, and the other person’s joy is my joy. I hope all woman mission members will be filled with the same happiness and joy.
- The third good fragrance, a heart that loves the Lord more deeply in any situation
The moment when Mary Magdalene’s love for the Lord is felt most intensely is when Jesus suffers on the cross. After Jesus was arrested, most of the disciples fled, fearing that they too would be harmed. But Mary Magdalene, along with her virgin Mary, stood by Jesus until she died on the cross. If only I could receive the blood shed by the Lord, if only I could contain the pain of the Lord, how could I comfort that pain and share that pain? Even after Jesus passed away, the first thing to do was visit the tomb in the early morning to anoint her body with perfume. Just then, Mary Magdalene saw the risen Lord for the first time.
When Jesus performed many wonders and signs, countless people respected and followed him. Mary Magdalene seemed to be one of those people at the time. But Mary grew more and more in her heart of love for her Lord during those times. She received her words from the Lord as her own and bore the fruits of her perfect spirit in her heart. As a result, she was able to show even deeper love to the Lord when he was in the worst situation. God wants the female mission members to deepen their love like this. Of course, there are many of you who love the Lord deeply, but I hope that love will deepen. So, like Mary Magdalene, she hopes that she can show perfect love in any situation.
The more you unite in love, the more accurately you can understand and convey the other person’s heart. It is for this reason that the Lord first preached the news of the resurrection through Mary Magdalene. After the Lord ascended into heaven, Mary Magdalene also preached the Lord’s resurrection diligently. Each time, Mary conveyed the love of the Lord flowing from her heart to her people, and those who met her were changed into people who loved her Lord. It is very important to become one in love like this. Even in the church, we can see that the fruits of the workers who manage souls become one with the Lord in love.
The more the workers become one with the Lord in love, the better the love of the Lord is conveyed to the souls. So, through the worker, souls are properly connected to the Lord, and faith grows. Also, Women’s Mission has ecclesiastical areas to work on behalf of the shepherd. For example, if guests come from outside, the Women’s Church is also responsible for guiding and serving them. At such a time, I hope that Women’s Mission will be able to convey the heart of the shepherd well. Please do not forget that the image of the church and the shepherd is planted through you, and convey the heart of the pastor well.
Dear devotees, in line with Mary Magdalene’s heart, I have mentioned three good fragrances that God the Father is pleased with. The first scent is called service, and the second scent is a heart that rejoices with the truth. When your opponent is praised or considered better than you, please examine your heart. I hope you look back to see if you feel uncomfortable and sad, or if you do not realize that it is not right even though you have such a heart. Lastly, I said that the third incense should be a heart that loves the Lord more deeply in any situation. This is because the more we become one with the Lord in love, the better we can correctly convey the Lord’s heart. I hope that these words become life and power and produce truly good and beautiful fruits. So, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will be used to the fullest in the kingdom of God and loved in heaven.
#goodness #mary #mary macdalene