Today I would like to share the grace of God under the title, "Affliction Wakes Up the Sleeper." These are words for me. No one welcomes suffering in this world. Since Adam committed sins, nobody can avoid the problem of sufferings. Then why are our lives full of suffering and troubles? Sin is the fundamental cause behind sufferings that come in life. God warned Adam, saying "But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." However, Adam and Eve fell for the temptation of the devil and rebelled against God’s command. In turn, we are living a life filled with thorns and thistles. It is because Adam and Eve our human ancestors ate the forbidden fruit that brought thorns and thistles, so sufferings come to humans. Satan who once tempted Adam and Eve still deceives us with the same sins even today. Genesis 3:6 says, "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." To be ‘good for food’ and ‘pleasing to the eye’, and also ‘desirable for gaining wisdom’ means the same as the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does. Why did God have so much concern for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? If Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and had the same wisdom and intelligence as God, they would struggle against God. If God says, "It is good," Adam would say, "It isn't good at all." If Eve says, "It is so beautiful," God would say, "It isn't beautiful at all." Then the kingdom of God will be divided into two or three. Therefore, if humans take the forbidden fruit and struggle against God with God-like wisdom, the universe can't remain. Thus if God becomes our God, we shouldn't take the forbidden fruit. Satan tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to ruin their lives. Even today Satan's deception still exists. 1 John 2:16 says, "For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world." Satan is still tempting people through this sin. So their hearts become enslaved to evil desires and they struggle against God in the world. The cause of suffering lies in our cravings. As we have the cravings of sinful man, Satan tempts us through these. All evil desires tempt human beings such as the fallen character of our flesh, being promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual matters, and excessive indulgence in sensual pleasuresu. The lust of our eyes shows the environment of physical pleasure and boasting of our smartness to the world. The boasting of what we have and do means our acquisition of fortune. Since Adam, many people left God and are living their lives by claiming atheism and mammonism in the midst of sins. John 8:34 says, "Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.'" God allows those who leave Him and live in the midst of sins to be afflicted. Pain is God's megaphone. C. S. Lewis, Christian writer, once said in his book, titled, "The Problem of Pain." "Pain is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” This world is full of sins and unbelief so they would not listen to the Word of God. At this God shouts to rouse a deaf world through His megaphone of pains to listen to His Word by being afflicted. Only when people are afflicted will they turn around. Only in times of pain and suffering can humans turn around and repent of their sins. In the Bible, there was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, "Father, give me my share of the estate." So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. When a severe famine came, he was sent to the fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he repented of his sins and returned to his father, saying, "I am no longer worthy to be called your son; with my empty hands I come to you. Please help me." Suffering was his teacher. Since he was seriously afflicted, he could repent of his sins. If we believe in Jesus, our dead spirits will come back to life, John 3:5-6 says, "Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.'" To be born again lies here. God resides in this born again spirit as His temple. Those who are born again have the Spirit of God and accept all the knowledge of God. "My sheep listen to My voice." Sheep have a different character. They follow their shepherd because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger even if he tries hard to lead them out because they do not recognize a stranger's voice. We have changed into a new life and come to live a spiritual life. So we have a born again life; our spirits, souls, and bodies all revive that we will follow only Jesus Christ our Lord and the Holy Spirit our Counselor. Romans 8:1-2 says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." We can claim the theistic life and regeneration by the Holy Spirit and believe the truth of heaven and accept it. And affliction also awakens the afflicted. Through various sufferings people repent of their sins through prayer. Proverbs 22:15 says, "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him." It is well known that God disciplines those who He loves. In the past, parents disciplined their children with rods when they did wrong. They punish their children because they really love them. Hebrews 12:8 says, "If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons." God disciplines us because He takes us as His own children and loves us. Therefore, His discipline aims only for our benefits. The Bible says about the benefits of discipline as follows, Hebrews 12:10-11 says, "Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." When we are afflicted, only if we repent of our sins, God will show care for us again. Prophet Hosea said in Hosea 6:1, "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds." Isaiah 55:7 says, "Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon." Therefore, when we are disciplined, it means for our transformation. To turn to God means to repent. Individuals or nations should immediately repent of their sins and return to God when they are afflicted due to their wrongdoing. Only then will God correct and heal them. Those who are born again will be changed by the work of the Holy Spirit. When we see the process of making pottery, they first make a vessel with soil and then bake the pottery. Then the coarse surface of the pottery becomes smooth and beautiful. People also change into a beautiful person through affliction. Job realized this truth and confessed as follows, Job 23:10 says, "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." Bamboo does not easily fall down even in strong wind because it has joints. The present highest building in the world has 162 stories and it also has joints, like bamboo, every 30 stories, so it can stand tall against any wind. While a bamboo has it’s joint, it seems to stop growing. Outwardly it stops growing, but it is still making joints within itself. Our lives seem also to stop growing due to many obstacles in life. Sometimes we fail the test or business so we seem to stop moving forward. However, that will be the time of making joints in our life within ourselves, not the time of being abandoned. Through afflictions, the more joints of life are made, the stronger we become not to fall even by the strong rainstorm. Paul Trounier, a well-known Christian physician, said, "The greater sorrow is, the bigger creative energy the sorrow makes." As children of God, we can change any affliction into creative energy as God is with us. Therefore, even in the midst of difficult and hard situations, we must believe in God and stand tall again by faith in God. Every believer has his/her own miserable sins in life. However, if we repent, God will give us a changed life and lead us to live a new life.