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A Trashcan and A Treasure Box
(2 Cor. 4:1-12)

Today I'd like to share God's grace under the title of "A Trashcan and A Treasure Box." Human beings were not created to exist by themselves. When God made Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he formed them to be his holy temple in which he wanted to stay with them. Thus the jar of the human heart was meant to be filled with either trash or treasure. After the depravity of humanity, human beings that were once filled with God's glory now have been full of trash. The devil and the worldly things have occupied their hearts. What a tragedy that the temple of God is reduced to the dwelling place of the devil! What makes them a trashcan?

1. A trash can person

The reason why we become the evil trashcan which follows the worldly culture and custom is that this world has already belonged to the world and rebelled against God and is full of greed, covetousness, arrogance and pride. Ephesians 2:2-3 says, "--in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath." Today the devil tries to enter into people. The case of the demon-possessed man at Gerasenes shows us that when the Lord expelled the devil from him, about two thousand pigs rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. The number of demons that can stay in one person may be about two thousands. Therefore Jesus left his last word that we should cast out the devil. I have always cast out the devil. Sometimes I feel that my heart is so heavy and depressed and painful. "Why does my heart feel heavy and frustrated? Why does my body become painful without reason? Aha, the devil tries to oppress me again!" Whenever the devil comes, he always disturbs or oppresses or frustrates or discourage our hearts. Thus you should immediately say, "In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazareth, I command you devil, get out of me! Go away!" He will not go away at once. He pretends not to be there at the beginning so that we may be deceived easily. However if the oppression in our hearts will not leave right away, we should keep on casting out the devil. Then he will leave us soon. One after another demons begin to leave our hearts and body. The more they leave, the lighter our hearts and body become. Later we can be sure that they are all gone! Our hearts become refreshed and delightful. And then all the oppression and depression and negative thinking disappear from us and our health returns so we can sleep well at night and wake up with a fresh mind in the morning.

So the Lord said strongly, "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons." Today's churches neglect this Word. Christians ignore this command so that they suffer unnecessary oppression, depression, sadness, negative feeling, and destruction. People usually say that Christians are an off-limits to the devil, but it is not true. Unknowingly the devil infiltrates us to disturb and suppress us. Unbelievers are already occupied by the devil so he does not need to suppress or harass them any more. Nevertheless, Christians are hard to approach so the devil watches which way the cat jumps to oppress.

Consequently you must drive out the devil all the time. You already have the power and authority to cast him out. Do not leave your life alone like a trash can.
Our hearts seem to be clear and perfect and pure, but all the worldly and dirty things are piled up at the bottom. We must realize that they become a huge trash can filled with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life following the worldly culture and custom. How can we know that they are a dirty trash can in which transgressions and corruption overflow? It can be known as we view it in the mirror of the Ten commandments. As we can clearly see invisible things through the magnifying glass, we easily confirm what kind of trashes fill our hearts through the Ten Commandments. When the Pharisees and Sadducees and teachers of the law brought in a woman caught in adultery, they kept on asking Jesus, "In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. What was that? We can assume it easily. Jesus must have written the Ten Commandments to reveal each one's trashes in his/her heart. As they saw him writing with his finger over his shoulder, a shiver went up and down their spine. The Lord straightened up and said to them, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

That word shook their souls because their secret sins were exposed through the Ten Commandments. At this, everyone began to go away one at a time with putting down there stones. The Ten Commandments are as follows, "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house." They are divided into two great categories such as "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself." As we see the reflection of our hearts through this mirror, we cannot deny that trash covers up our sea of heart. "--for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."(Romans 3:23) If you insist that you are without sin, you deceive yourself. If you see yourself through the magnifying glass of the Ten Commandments all the trash of sin and corruption will be revealed. No one can deny the existence of our greed and covetousness in our hearts. Psalm 10:3 says, "He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD." All the worldly things come from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

James 1:14-15 says, "--but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." The most tempting is the trash of greed, covetousness, pride, and arrogance. When pride and arrogance come, we tend not to compromise with others, but rather insist on self-recognition and self-righteousness. We conflict with other people because greed and covetousness urge us to move beyond our limit and we clash all the time. If we get rid of the garbage of arrogance and pride, greed and evil desires from our hearts, almost all the problems will be solved and reconciliation and unity will come to us. Emptying the trash can of arrogance and pride is very important. Psalm 10:4 says, "In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God."

Proverb 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."

You can know whether a person is arrogant or not by his/her attitude in listening to other people. A proud man will turn a deaf ear to other people or their advice.
He is self-righteous. Since he strongly believes in his goodness and other people's badness he refuses to be attentive to other people's advice and ignores their words. This is typical of haughtiness. Humble people always listen to other's word and their advice and act according to it. If one reflects and repents of oneself and realizes his/her weakness according to a bitter advice of others, that person is genuinely humble. As we get rid of the trash can of arrogance and pride, we are able to enjoy peace of mind. When the tsunami leaves trash in the hearts of all the people in the world, trials and tribulations of the world will hide countless garbage in our hearts. Sometimes this trash stinks and it leads us to a trail of anxiety and fear and frustration and despair as it approaches. To repent is to cleanse this trash. When this trash fills our hearts, there will be no peace or happiness at all. However, people can be a treasure box without this trash.

2. A person who becomes a treasure box

We can be a treasure box with trash being removed. How can it be done? When our hearts are filled with Jesus' salvation, they will be changed into a treasure box.

John 3:13-17 says, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

When Nicodemus came to Jesus, he was amazed at Jesus' saying, "No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." He asked, "How can someone be born when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus said, "You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

When the Israelites passed through the desert, they grumbled and complaint against their God because of their difficult surroundings. Then God enraged and sent venomous snakes among them. They bit the people and many Israelites died. When they came to Moses and repented of their sin and prayed to God, Moses prayed for them. God said, "Make a bronze snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So anyone who was dying from the snake's poison was healed instantly as soon as he/she looked at the bronze snake. Jesus compared himself to the snake and said, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. I will heal those who are dying from the poison of the worldly snake as they look at me. I will let them be saved." Nowadays, as soon as we look at the cross of Jesus and believe in it, we receive forgiveness and salvation. God has come to us not to condemn us but to give forgiveness and salvation. Judging the world is not God's will. He came to earth for the world to be saved by himself.

Therefore, even though you are sinful, filthy, and deserve abandonment, you will receive salvation only if you look at Jesus as you are and confess that the Lord is Christ and the Son of the living God. After salvation you will realize how much trash you have piled up in you so that you will start to empty the trashccan. Salvation brings forth repentance. Saved people will rebuke the devil. Saved people will repent and confess their sins. If they try to repent before salvation, they will rebel against repentance and confession of their sins saying, "What kind of sins have I done?"
On the contrary, if Jesus fills us with salvation, precious treasures will occupy our hearts. Through the cross of Jesus the treasure of the Fivefold Gospel and the Threefold Blessing is created in us. It is because of the blood of Christ's cross we are full of forgiven righteousness. All the setbacks within us will disappear and the fullness of the Holy Spirit and holiness will fill us up instead. By Jesus' stripes all the dirty things of disease will leave us and the treasure of health will come to us.
Jesus was cursed on the cross to remove our curses so that all our curses, despair, frustration and poverty are gone and the blessings and prosperity of Abraham will
be followed. All the corruptible things that result from sin and death will be gone and the treasure of resurrection, eternal life and heaven will be heaped up. When we look at the cross of Jesus Christ all the treasures beyond our imagination will be accumulated within us. As a result, the hope and dream that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well will come to you along with the abundant life. The cross of Jesus has the great power to change you and me. Therefore look at the cross and have a hope in it. The worst thing is to lose hope. The devil comes to people to steal hope first of all. If hope is gone, despair follows and then death will begin. Only hope sheds a bright light even in the darkest night. Those who have hope in their hearts can have a dream for tomorrow. A man of hope will have confidence and faith and boldness with which everything is possible. Then he will confess these positive and active words with his mouth, "I con do it. I will fulfill it. Let's try! I will live a victorious life. I will be blessed." Thus only the cross of Jesus will fill us with the treasure of hope. Hope will provide us with the treasure of righteousness, holiness, healing, blessings and eternal life. When this treasure fully occupies our hearts, we can give glory to God.

A man with this treasure in himself will be filled with faith and obedience. Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Jesus is alive through your faith and obedience. Jesus is not confined only to two thousand years ago but he is with us here and now; this is most important. Because of Jesus all the trash in our hearts will be cleared and the precious blessings will fill them by the Holy Spirit. We should welcome Jesus Christ into our hearts by faith and obedience. Daily scripture reading and meditation of it will bring forth this treasure into our hearts every day. John 1:14 says, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." When the Word of God comes we become full of grace and truth because the Word is God himself.

Colossians 3:16-17 says, "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Where can we meet God? We meet him in the Word. The Word is God himself and God is the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."(Jn. 1:1) Thus we meet God through the Word as we read the Bible. Through the Bible we can meet the forgiving God, the God who makes us holy and gives us the Holy Spirit, the healing God, the God who delivers us from trials and tribulations, and the God who gives us eternal life and heaven. We can come face to face with God through the Word. "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."(Ps. 91:1) The shelter of the Most High is the Word of God because it is the secret of God. We can boldly proclaim when we meet the Word. "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence."(Ps. 91:3) When the Word fills our hearts, we will be full of treasures and then hopeful dreams will follow. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God has a plan for us. It meant to give us peace not disaster, and an ultimate hope for future. What a good God he is!

Romans 15:13 says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
When hopeful dreams overflow, our hearts will leap and be filled with a dream for tomorrow. Hopeful dreams bring forth a great conviction and then joy and delight will fill our hearts. God wants us to live this kind of life and to become a treasure box with abundant life.

3. To experience change

God wishes that we will be this treasure box and experience a great change. What can we do now? In order to remove the trash can and to become a treasure box, what shall we do? First, we must empty the trash can which is the cause of all sorts of dirty smells, cockroaches, mice, and germs. Why has the devil tested you without ceasing? Why have the demons approached you? It is very simple. Since their favorite trash such as greed, covetousness, grudges, hatred, jealousy, and anger stay within us, they welcome their favorite trash and come to stay there. Above all,
we must empty the trash can.

1 Corinthians 5:6-7 says, "Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch?as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."

Jesus Christ became a sacrifice with his torn flesh and shed blood on the cross, we should get rid of all the sinful and dirty trash by his blood. Our repentance will clear up the trash can. Emptying the trash can is absolutely required. As the Bible says, "--reject every kind of evil",(1 Thes. 5:22) we have to clean our trash can all the time before God to welcome him in our hearts.

Now we are not alone. As we become a treasure box, the Holy Spirit dwells in it. The Holy Spirit is the God with personality and comes to help us. He is now waiting to give help to us. When you pray to God in the name of Jesus, the Holy Spirit will say, "All right. I will help you" and wants to deliver your prayer in the name of Jesus.
Your prayer will be carried by the Holy Spirit. However if you pray the wrong kind of prayer, the devil will snatch it away from you. If you say negative, destructive, and frustrative words, the devil waits to execute it. On the contrary, if you say positive, active, creative and redemptive words, the Holy Spirit is waiting to carry it on.

Therefore when you acknowledge, welcome, accept, and depend on the Holy Spirit, you will be a treasure box. You should always think about the blessings of Jesus' cross and dream, believe, and confess with your mouth the grace of Jesus' blood on the cross. I memorize the scriptural verses on the cross of Jesus every day. "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all."(Isa. 53:5-6) I memorize these and then close my eyes and look at the cross. Jesus' death is my death. His death becomes mine. I suffered with Jesus and died together with him. Then Jesus' resurrection is my resurrection. Through the cross of Jesus I imagine that I have become righteous and holy and received healing and health, the blessings of Abraham and eternal life. Afterwards I believe this. I believe that God will accomplish these things for me.
Then I confess with my mouth, "I am a forgiven righteous person. The Holy Spirit is with me. By his stripes, I am healed. I am the descendant of the blessed Abraham.
I have the resurrection, eternal life and heaven. I already enjoy good health and all may go well with me, even as my soul is getting along well. I always confess this with my mouth. No matter what other people say about me, I have this treasure within me. The treasure belongs to the cross. When I acknowledge, dream, believe, and confess this invisible treasure in my heart, it will become visible in my reality.
I have this treasure in my jar of clay. All of you already have this treasure in you.

Even though you seem to be a shabby clay jar to the worldly people, once the jar of clay is filled with the treasures of Jesus, it is hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed for God is with us. God knows that you have this treasure within you. Therefore, don't forget that you are made to become a victor, not a victim in the world. We are changed from a trash can to a treasure box. Now you have become a treasure in Christ and the Holy Spirit is with you. If you realize this treasure within you and believe and speak it with your mouth, it will become a reality. You who have this treasure will survive wherever you go. If you go to a desert, it will become a blessed place. If you go to a filed, it will be changed into a place of blessing. When you enter home, it will be blessed because the treasure within you will appear wherever and whenever you are. Please repeat after me, "I have a treasure. All the treasures are within me. Hallelujah!"

Dear heavenly Father, we thank you that you have made us as a treasure box and filled us with all the treasures. When we think about the treasure of the Fivefold Gospel and the Threefold blessing on the cross, we cannot thank you enough. Our Father, through the Fourth-dimensional spirituality, let us realize, look at, believe, and confess with our mouth these treasure and enjoy all of them on this earth. Even today let your miracles happen to us. In Jesus' name Amen.