[Introduction: Who is the True Master of My Life?]

Beloved saints of Smyrna Church, have you been at peace this past week? It is such a great joy and blessing for me to see your faces every week. I believe our God is also looking at you with a heart full of joy.

Before we dive into today's message, I would like to share a memory from my childhood. Because my father was a pastor, I grew up in a very difficult and poor environment. But ironically, once or twice a year, I had the privilege of sitting in the best VIP seats to watch a magnificent orchestra concert. This was possible because the director of that orchestra, who supported my father’s ministry for the disabled, invited us every year.

To be honest, at first, I didn't understand classical music at all. I just sat there. But as I went back year after year, at some point, the music started to reach deep into my heart.

There is one specific moment that I still cannot forget. It’s the moment right before the performance begins. When the musicians come up on stage and start tuning their instruments, the sounds of the violins, cellos, and wind instruments all mix together. It creates a very loud noise. It’s not beautiful music at all; it’s just chaotic noise.

But then, the conductor walks onto the stage. The moment he raises his baton, the noise stops. All the instruments enter into a single flow. And the chaos from just a moment ago transforms into a magnificent symphony that touches people's souls.

Watching that moment, I always thought to myself, "Ah, music isn't beautiful just because there are many instruments. It becomes beautiful when there is a conductor."

Beloved saints, as I prepared this message, I realized that our lives are very much like an orchestra before the performance. When we look back on our days and weeks, we have worked so hard. But at the end of the day, what remains in our hearts is often fatigue rather than peace. We hear dissonance rather than harmony. Even as I prepared this sermon, I found myself getting irritated at my wife and angry at my children.

The Corinthian church in today’s passage was exactly like this. God had poured out so many spiritual gifts upon this church. But everyone started making their own loud noises. Imagine how noisy it must have been!

To them, the Apostle Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 14:40:
"But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way."

Beloved, we are not the masters of our own lives. We are simply 'stewards' managing the life God has entrusted to us. Today, I hope we can recognize who the true Conductor of our lives is, and receive the grace to retune our lives before God.

[Point 1: Spiritual Dignity - Consideration for Others]

First, the image of a steward we must restore is keeping our spiritual 'dignity'—not boasting about the grace we've received, but being considerate of our weaker neighbors.

Let's look at the first half of verse 40: "But everything should be done in a fitting [decently]..." Paul is telling us to do everything in a fitting way. The original Greek word used here is 'euschēmonōs (εὐσχημόνως)'. It means 'in a beautiful manner, politely, and properly.' In other words, it’s an exhortation to maintain a flawless 'spiritual dignity' as Christians.

Think about the members of the Corinthian church. They were truly amazing people. They spoke in tongues fluently, they prophesied, and they had countless mystical experiences of the Holy Spirit. But there was one fatal problem. They received an abundance of grace, but they lacked the 'character' and 'dignity' to contain it.

Whenever they gathered in the sanctuary, they would boast that their gift was the best. On one side, people were praying loudly in tongues no one could understand. On the other side, people were stepping over each other to prophesy. There was no consideration for others; it was all about self-display: "I received the Holy Spirit! Look how great I am!" As a result, the sanctuary, which should have been the holiest place, turned into a noisy marketplace.

Beloved saints. No matter how great a spiritual gift is, no matter how high a church title may be, if it lacks 'self-control' and 'consideration for others,' it becomes a weapon that pierces the church. Why do churches today get so loud and divided? It’s not because we haven't received God's grace. It is because of our 'spiritual rudeness'—treating grace as our own privilege and power.

Then what exactly does this spiritual dignity look like?
Look at David in the Old Testament. When David encountered King Saul, who had been hunting him down to kill him, in a dark cave, David had the perfect opportunity to kill his enemy with a single strike. But David quietly put his sword away. He gave up his rightful claim, saying, "I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the Lord’s anointed."

True dignity is not holding back because you lack the power. It is choosing not to use all the power and rights you have, but voluntarily restraining yourself and yielding for the sake of God and for the weak. This is spiritual manners. This is the dignity of a steward!

Dignity is spiritual self-control that places the benefit of the community above the certainty that I am right.
Let us bury our rude faith at the foot of the cross today—the faith that raises its voice in the church, flaunting mystical experiences, long years of attendance, titles, and hard work. This week, I bless you in the name of the Lord to lower your voice and your rights just a little bit, and become warm, dignified stewards of Smyrna who generously embrace our brothers and sisters.

[Point 2: Holy Order - Submitting to God's Sovereignty]

Second, the image of a steward we must restore is dropping the worldly standards of our own eyes and entering into the 'order' of submitting to God's unseen sovereignty.

Let's look at the second half of verse 40: "...and orderly way."
Paul strictly commands that everything be done 'in order'. The Greek phrase used here, 'kata taxin (κατὰ τάξιν)', is originally a military term. It doesn’t mean soldiers moving according to their own moods or judgments; it means keeping their exact positions according to the absolute, unseen standard of the commander’s orders.

But what did the Corinthian believers do? They disrupted the church not with spiritual order, but with the 'worldly order' they saw with their own eyes. They thought the ones who spoke the most flashy tongues or had the best worldly knowledge and eloquence were the best. They compared, competed, and divided themselves into ranks. The judgment of their own eyes came before the Word of God.

Beloved saints, there is a ministry philosophy that I have engraved deepest in my heart as I walk this path of pastoring. As some of you may know, my father also dedicated his entire life to pastoring. But he is visually impaired.

Because of this, my father always tells me:
"Geumbu, not being able to see is a great blessing in my ministry."

At first, I couldn't understand this at all. He had suffered so much his entire life because he couldn't see. How could that be a blessing? But he continued:

"When you can see, you look at people's outward appearances. You judge them by their clothes, and you interpret them by their facial expressions. But because I cannot see their faces... I focus much harder to hear the true sound of their 'souls'."

Beloved saints, when I heard those words, I felt so ashamed. Because as a pastor, I was so easily swayed by what was visible. Even inside the church, how often was I influenced by a person's title, their worldly abilities, their eloquent speech, or the visible atmosphere?

And these days, my father jokes with me since I moved to America. With a big laugh, he says:
"Hey, since you left for America, you have no idea how much more the other pastors and church members are helping me here!"

(Pause)

Beloved saints.
Perhaps... our problem is that we see too well. We see the world's standards too clearly. We see social status and economic power too well.
So we constantly compare ourselves with others.
So we get hurt.
So we become arrogant, thinking we can control our lives however we want.

But my father...
Because he cannot see, he relies on God even more.
Because he cannot see, he listens more closely to the sound of souls.
Because he cannot see, he trusts the Lord more completely.

Looking at my father's dark yet radiant path, I learned something profound.
The life of a true steward is not a life lived trusting our own two eyes, but a life lived holding tightly to the unseen hand of God!

I believe this is the holy 'order' the Bible speaks of today.
Ultimately, order is the attitude of throwing away the standards of our own eyes and accepting the sovereignty of God.

Beloved saints of Smyrna Church.
I wish that we, too, could be a little bit 'blind' spiritually. I wish we couldn't see the worldly ranks of people. I wish we couldn't see our own petty pride that makes us raise our voices. I wish we couldn't see the size of the money in our wallets.

I pray that we only have the eyes to clearly see the precious 'souls' of our saints, and to clearly see the 'hand of our Conductor, God' who rules over us!

Now, lay down at the cross the steering wheel you tried to control so desperately with your own eyes. Throw away your shallow judgments, and fully entrust your life to the Lord’s sheet music. I bless you in the name of the Lord that this beautiful 'order' will be restored in the lives of every saint here at Smyrna Church!

[Conclusion & Prayer]

Let me close the message. Beloved saints.
Now, close the eyes that used to look at the world's standards, and look at Jesus on the cross.
The Master of the entire universe died on that cross in the form of the lowest and most despised servant. He gladly gave up all His rights to save us. It was the ultimate 'dignity'. And by breaking the power of death and resurrecting, He completely restored the 'order' of life on this earth.

A true steward who knows the grace of the cross does not try to show off.
Can we all imagine this in our hearts right now?
Imagine our Smyrna Church putting down all our worldly badges and stubbornness. Imagine us considering others better than ourselves and yielding first. When no one makes a disruptive noise, but we all move in perfect harmony to the fingertips of the Great Conductor, the Lord... what a beautiful and glorious heavenly symphony will echo through this dry land of Enterprise!

Now, let us also become instruments that play according to the Conductor's hand. I pray in the name of the Lord that the dignity worthy of grace, and the holy order of acknowledging God as our Master, will abundantly fill your lives and our Smyrna Church.

Let us pray together.

"God, our Father, full of love and grace.
We repent of our spiritual rudeness and arrogance—living as if our time, our money, and our gifts were our own, trusting our own two eyes and gripping everything so tightly. Lord, we lay down our stubbornness now. Grant us the spiritual dignity to generously embrace our weak brothers and sisters.

Let us realize that yielding is not a loss, but the way of the cross. Help us to choose love rather than claiming our rights.
Cover our eyes that were so easily swayed by the noise and standards of the world, and let us only look at souls. Let us hold firmly only to the hand of God, the Great Conductor of our lives.

We believe that when the sovereignty of our lives was in our hands, it was a dissonance, but when entrusted to Your hands, holy order is restored.
Let our homes, our workplaces, and our Smyrna Church not be communities that follow the terrible noise of the world, but become a beautiful symphony that reveals the glory of the Lord.

We love You, Lord.
We pray in the precious name of Jesus Christ. Amen.