back to indexBerean Community Church
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Praise God that we can gather together this morning 00:03:54.200 |
to remember His goodness and His faithfulness, 00:04:00.200 |
So let us go ahead and begin our worship this morning. 00:04:02.200 |
We're gonna sing together the song "You Are My King." 00:07:35.200 |
Let me get to a few announcements before we start it. 00:07:37.200 |
First of all, as you can see, we have communion Sunday, 00:07:40.200 |
and so I hope that you came with your hearts prepared, 00:07:44.200 |
and we'll give you a little bit more instructions 00:07:49.200 |
If you are planning to support the India pastors, 00:08:08.200 |
Today is the last day to sign up for early registration, 00:08:17.200 |
who just signed their name and was not able to pay the cost yet, 00:08:21.200 |
so if you are one of those people, you must sign up by today. 00:08:32.200 |
So if you are planning to go, please sign up for that, 00:08:39.200 |
so obviously we have about two and a half to three months 00:08:41.200 |
that we're taking a break during the summertime, 00:08:43.200 |
and so if you are planning to sign up for the Bible study too, 00:08:57.200 |
So again, if you have brought a physical offering, 00:09:01.200 |
but for the rest of us, let me pray for the offering, 00:09:14.200 |
We thank you for the love that you continue to pour. 00:09:22.200 |
that the truths of the gospel and your love, Lord God, 00:09:34.200 |
that all that we do this morning will be an overflow 00:09:37.200 |
of the tremendous work that you're doing in us. 00:09:55.200 |
also may be an expression of the gratitude in our hearts. 00:10:58.220 |
to greet those around you, and we'll continue to worship. 00:20:45.700 |
>> You know, as you guys know, you know, we've been going out to India and we've been doing, like, medical trips. 00:20:54.700 |
And some of you guys know, when we first started going out there, we thought we were going to be doing, you know, various type of things. 00:21:01.700 |
And then as time went by, we realized eye care was the most effective. 00:21:06.720 |
And so after starting from the second year, that became the primary focus. 00:21:10.720 |
And so, you know, one of the most drastic things, and I think there's people who've been out with us many times out to India. 00:21:20.720 |
Every once in a while, we'll meet somebody who may be 60, 70 years old, and I don't know how long they've lived with eyesight that was so poor. 00:21:28.720 |
And so when they are able to get their glasses and literally are able to see for the first time, it's a drastic change in the way that they respond. 00:21:38.720 |
And again, this is not something that happens every time we go. 00:21:41.720 |
But every once in a while, and again, some of you guys who do remember that, they'll be in tears because they were functioning without sight, you know. 00:21:49.720 |
And so we don't know how long they were like that, but it's the closest thing that we can experience to actually bring healing to somebody who couldn't see, couldn't function. 00:21:57.720 |
And I think out of all the senses, again, you may have a different opinion on that, eyesight will cripple us. 00:22:03.720 |
All the other things I think you can, you can adjust, but without eyesight, it would be very difficult to function, right? 00:22:10.720 |
And not to say that we can't function, but it's very important. 00:22:13.720 |
And if you look at the scripture, you'll see that there's about three or four separate instances of someone who was blind and gaining their eyesight. 00:22:22.720 |
And oftentimes, our blindness, where God gives us light, is equated to salvation, where somebody who was in darkness is coming into light, or somebody who couldn't see are able to see. 00:22:36.720 |
And oftentimes, our salvation is described exactly the same way. 00:22:39.720 |
Is it actually raining or is this just falling? 00:23:03.720 |
It's going to go for a little bit, and then, so let me explain what's going on so that you'll, okay, so you'll know what's going on. 00:23:09.720 |
The Southern California Edison came in, and they said that they were going to help us, and they have this, like, energy-saving program where to reduce electricity, they put an icebox up there. 00:23:22.720 |
And so initially, they'll use the icebox to blow cold air, and then after a while, it will turn on the regular air conditioning. 00:23:30.720 |
And so they told us that this would actually help us save money. 00:23:33.720 |
So all of it was done for free, and then this type of stuff happened. 00:23:38.720 |
So what happens, all right, so don't trust the government. 00:23:43.720 |
So basically, the ice that's in that box is melting. 00:23:49.720 |
So the ice that's supposed to be there that's supposed to stay cool and blow, you know, cold air into the room, when it melts, instead of circulating, it's coming down, okay? 00:24:01.720 |
It has nothing to do with the sermon so that when you see it, it's like, oh, you're not going to wonder. 00:24:06.720 |
So why isn't it not -- it's not raining outside while it's going on? 00:24:12.720 |
So all right, now can we get to the text, all right? 00:24:22.720 |
No one lights a lamp for the purpose of putting it under the table or covering it, or else there would be no purpose for that, right? 00:24:29.720 |
So the first question that we want to tackle is what is the light? 00:24:32.720 |
What is the lampstand that he is referring to? 00:24:35.720 |
Well, the scripture tells us that this is actually connected to the previous text that we were looking at, the parable of the sower or the seed. 00:24:45.720 |
And clearly it tells us that the seed is the word of God, and the word of God is the light that he's referring to. 00:24:51.720 |
Psalm 119.105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path," right? 00:24:57.720 |
So he said the seed is not given for you to hold on to it, it's for it to be planted so that the darkness would be revealed, right? 00:25:05.720 |
So one, it is connected to the previous text of the seed. 00:25:09.720 |
The word of God is a light that is meant to be seen, right? 00:25:13.720 |
It's not for somebody just to study it, right? 00:25:17.720 |
And that's why the Bible said the word of God is useful for us, to equip us for every good work. 00:25:25.720 |
So if you're studying it simply to gain knowledge, you've missed the point of the word of God. 00:25:30.720 |
The word of God is meant to be a light, light unto you to bring you to salvation, 00:25:34.720 |
and then the word of God is given to you so that you would be equipped to bring the light to the world. 00:25:39.720 |
And so that's how it's equated with the previous parable, right? 00:25:44.720 |
The word of God, those of you who are receiving the word of God week after week after week, 00:25:47.720 |
if you're not a Christian, is to shed light in whatever darkness that may be in you to bring you to Christ. 00:25:54.720 |
And then those of you who are receiving the word of God week after week, 00:25:57.720 |
if all you are doing is listening and you're not being equipped, 00:26:01.720 |
you're not using this as an equipment to be able to shine the light to the world, 00:26:05.720 |
it says then all we are doing is lighting a lamp and then putting it under the table, right? 00:26:15.720 |
Second, in John 8.12, it says Jesus is called the light. 00:26:21.720 |
He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." 00:26:28.720 |
So the main purpose of the word of God is to bring you to Christ. 00:26:32.720 |
So if you're learning the word of God and it's not causing you to come to Christ 00:26:36.720 |
any closer than you were before, then you're missing the whole point. 00:26:41.720 |
So the word of God sheds light on the true light, which is Christ. 00:26:45.720 |
And then those who receive Christ, it says the light comes inside of us, 00:26:52.720 |
Ephesians 5.8, "For you were formerly darkness, and now you are light in the Lord. 00:26:59.720 |
So you see the word of God, the light goes in, right? 00:27:02.720 |
It shines in darkness to bring people to Christ, who is the light of the world. 00:27:08.720 |
And then when that light comes inside of us, when Christ becomes us, 00:27:13.720 |
or he is in us, we become the light, and then the gathering of the people 00:27:21.720 |
who are the light in Revelations 1.20 says we are the lampstand. 00:27:27.720 |
We are the lampstand. The church, collectively, is the lampstand. 00:27:31.720 |
So the whole process of salvation is illustrated by the light. 00:27:36.720 |
The word of God is a light goes forth, and the light brings people to shed light, 00:27:41.720 |
to bring them to the true light, which is Christ. 00:27:43.720 |
And then Christ, when we repent and receive him, we become the light, 00:27:47.720 |
and then the gathering of that light is the lampstand. 00:27:53.720 |
And so in Revelations 1.20, at the end of every letter, it says, 00:27:59.720 |
"If you do not respond to my word, if you do not allow the light of God to shine on you," 00:28:08.720 |
What does that mean? He's saying the same thing that he's saying here in verse 16. 00:28:12.720 |
You're going to light the lamp, but there's no purpose of this lamp. 00:28:15.720 |
So when he says he's going to take away the lampstand, you will no longer be the light. 00:28:20.720 |
That the church that gathers together is no longer functioning to bring glory to God. 00:28:25.720 |
When non-Christians can't tell the difference between the church and the world, 00:28:31.720 |
When people are not hearing the word of God and causing them to come to Christ, 00:28:37.720 |
So the Bible tells us that the consequence of not living according to the word of God, 00:28:43.720 |
not allowing the light of Christ, and the light of the world, 00:28:50.720 |
where we are not being the lampstand, all we are doing is lighting it and hiding it. 00:28:55.720 |
So the purpose of the light, number two, the purpose of the light is clear. 00:29:01.720 |
It is to shine light in darkness. That's the purpose. 00:29:06.720 |
So when we gather together, in order for us to be the light to the world, 00:29:16.720 |
We are created to be the image-bearer of God. 00:29:21.720 |
And so when we become Christians, we're able to reflect that glory. 00:29:25.720 |
And that's why worship is central to the church. 00:29:29.720 |
If you have a church that's not worshiping God, 00:29:32.720 |
and that's not the central purpose of the gathering of the church, 00:29:37.720 |
You maybe have a shiny mirror, but there's nothing to reflect. 00:29:40.720 |
That's why, first and foremost, the gathering of the church is to worship God, 00:29:45.720 |
and a church that is worshiping God will naturally be the light to the world. 00:29:52.720 |
It's not simply for people to gather together because we have a hard life, 00:29:56.720 |
we want to help raising our children, to learn good morals, 00:30:00.720 |
all of those things may be side benefits of being a follower of Christ, 00:30:05.720 |
but the primary reason why we gather together is to know God and to make him known. 00:30:13.720 |
So the purpose of our gathering is to shine this light. 00:30:17.720 |
Matthew 5, 14, 15, "You are the light of the world. 00:30:20.720 |
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, 00:30:25.720 |
but a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house." 00:30:30.720 |
The purpose of why we exist is to shine light in darkness. 00:30:38.720 |
It's to shine a light, let the world know that God is real. 00:30:48.720 |
If we lose our purpose, our gathering becomes nothing more than social club, 00:30:56.720 |
where we gather together and say, "I like it, I don't like it. 00:30:59.720 |
I like these people, I don't like these people." 00:31:02.720 |
And that's how we evaluate what is good or what is bad. 00:31:06.720 |
What makes a church good is that we are functioning as the light, 00:31:14.720 |
Christian life was never meant to be lived in private. 00:31:19.720 |
I hear so many people say, "I love the gospel, I love Christianity, but I don't love the church." 00:31:27.720 |
And I can understand why some people say that, because they've been hurt. 00:31:31.720 |
But it's just like saying, "I love my mom, I love my dad, but I hate the family." 00:31:38.720 |
So if you hate the family, you hate your mom and dad. 00:31:43.720 |
You can't separate Christianity with the church. 00:31:48.720 |
So if the church is sick, then we need to make it healthy. 00:31:51.720 |
But we need to participate in making it healthy. 00:31:54.720 |
But you cannot abandon the church, because the church is what God has ordained to be the light to the world. 00:32:01.720 |
You know, in Psalm 139, 11-13, the psalmist says, 00:32:06.720 |
"Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night." 00:32:11.720 |
"Even the darkness is not dark to you, and the night is as bright as the day." 00:32:15.720 |
"Darkness and light are alike to you, for you form my inward part, you wove me in my mother's womb." 00:32:25.720 |
And this will hit you two different ways, depending on where you stand with God. 00:32:32.720 |
If the omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient God, who knows all things, 00:32:40.720 |
if he is your father, this is a source of tremendous comfort. 00:32:45.720 |
Because it says, no matter where you are, no matter what circumstance, no matter what darkness you may be, 00:32:51.720 |
there is no darkness that Satan can create, that the love of Christ cannot penetrate. 00:32:58.720 |
He said God is everywhere, so if a loving, caring, powerful God is your father, 00:33:04.720 |
he says you are in the light, and you will always be in the light, because you will always be with Christ. 00:33:10.720 |
But he says, if he is not your father, and all he is, is a judge of righteousness and unrighteousness to you, 00:33:20.720 |
he says this is a source of tremendous anxiety. 00:33:24.720 |
There is no darkness where you can run to, where you can hide from his eyes. 00:33:30.720 |
There is no power greater than God where you can hide and be protected. 00:33:34.720 |
If God is an antagonist to you, this light is a source of tremendous fear. 00:33:40.720 |
But for those who have received it, and have become followers of Christ, 00:33:45.720 |
believers of Christ, worshippers of Christ, it is a source of tremendous comfort. 00:33:50.720 |
And so that's why the light naturally divides. 00:33:58.720 |
And there's no way, the light and darkness cannot co-exist. 00:34:04.720 |
That's why the Bible says, if you love the world, the things in the world, 00:34:10.720 |
Because as soon as the light appears, darkness will disappear. 00:34:16.720 |
It says in John 3, 19-21, he says this is the judgment that the light has come into the world, 00:34:21.720 |
and men love the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. 00:34:25.720 |
He says the reason why people remain in the dark is because they choose to. 00:34:31.720 |
For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 00:34:38.720 |
But he who practices the truth comes to light so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God. 00:34:45.720 |
When the light gets turned on, do you like it or don't like it? 00:34:53.720 |
When the light gets turned on, do you like it or don't like it? 00:34:57.720 |
You can't answer that because I didn't give you the context. 00:35:00.720 |
Three in the morning, if you're deep in sleep, if I turn the light on, do you like it or not like it? 00:35:13.720 |
And so if the light gets turned on, when you have gotten ready and comfortable, 00:35:17.720 |
and that's exactly where you want to stay, and the light gets turned on, 00:35:21.720 |
you're going to hate the light and you're going to hate the person who turned the light on. 00:35:27.720 |
People who want to remain in darkness will not only hate the fact that light is on, 00:35:33.720 |
they're going to hate the fact that you turned the light on. 00:35:42.720 |
When the light gets turned on, you will know. 00:35:45.720 |
When the light is clear, just as clear the light is, the reaction from the darkness will either be, 00:35:56.720 |
Maybe you're having dinner and the power went off. 00:36:06.720 |
You're playing baseball at night and the light gets turned off. 00:36:09.720 |
And somehow you figure out how to turn it on. 00:36:11.720 |
"Thank you for turning the light on," because light means that you can function. 00:36:15.720 |
But 3 in the morning, you don't want that light on. 00:36:18.720 |
If your intent is to stay in that darkness, you don't want that light on. 00:36:23.720 |
So the purpose of the light is to cast out darkness. 00:36:28.720 |
And that's why you say you cannot be in darkness and in the light at the same time. 00:36:35.720 |
Because as soon as the light gets turned on, the darkness disappears. 00:36:38.720 |
Unless you run from the light and you run to darkness. 00:36:45.720 |
How you receive the word of God depends on where you're headed. 00:36:51.720 |
If I told you that in the next few minutes we're going to have 10 officers fully clothed and in uniform march into this room, 00:37:12.720 |
Maybe having police presence in our church, maybe you feel safer. 00:37:16.720 |
And we have officers in our church and their presence makes us feel safer, maybe, right? 00:37:23.720 |
Or maybe you just blew through about four or five lights and you thought you didn't get caught. 00:37:32.720 |
And so the officers decide, you know what, let's scare these guys. 00:37:36.720 |
And so they came in here to write the tickets for everything that you thought you got away with. 00:37:41.720 |
Depending on what's in your heart, the police of authority and power is going to affect you differently. 00:37:49.720 |
And the Bible says the light, the word of God, the presence of Christ, the Holy Spirit, will naturally shun the light. 00:38:01.720 |
Let me ask you, if we want utter darkness in this room, what do we have to do? 00:38:09.720 |
If I ask you, you know, and I don't want to see anything, like turn -- okay, I already said it. 00:38:21.720 |
So the first thing that's obvious is turn off the light. 00:38:23.720 |
But we're in the middle of the day, so if you turn off the light, you're going to have light coming in, right, 00:38:28.720 |
through these holes, or maybe through the cracks of the door. 00:38:31.720 |
Anywhere that light is coming in, you'd have to figure out a way to block that light. 00:38:38.720 |
You don't need to figure out, like, how do we make it darker in here? 00:38:42.720 |
There's no system, there's no -- we gathered together and we found a new way to bring darkness into this room. 00:38:49.720 |
All you have to do is to make it as dark as possible is to prevent any light from coming in. 00:39:00.720 |
All Satan has to do is to prevent the light from having its presence in darkness. 00:39:12.720 |
There's no special strategy, there's no new science that will shun if we turn this switch on, 00:39:24.720 |
If you want to make a dark room to be bright, what do you do? 00:39:33.720 |
Is there some mechanism where you just turn a machine and it's just like somehow there's a new way of brightening the room? 00:39:40.720 |
No, it's always been the light, whether it is through fire, the sun, or whether it's the light bulbs, or LCD, whatever it is. 00:39:50.720 |
All you have to do to brighten up a dark room is to turn the light on. 00:39:56.720 |
And the brighter the light, the more the darkness disappears. 00:40:02.720 |
And that's what he says that the church is supposed to do, that we are called to do. 00:40:08.720 |
We are called to be the presence of light in darkness. 00:40:15.720 |
Until the church functions as the light, all the concerns that we have of what the darkness is doing, 00:40:23.720 |
it's just, to be honest, it's just a waste of time. 00:40:27.720 |
Because there is no new method to deal with darkness other than to function the way God had called us to function. 00:40:35.720 |
Right now, again, I know that you already know because I've said it multiple times, our greatest need is not more churches. 00:40:46.720 |
Just in Orange County, we have hundreds of churches, hundreds. 00:40:54.720 |
If you include all the churches, we have probably tens of thousands, maybe a hundred thousand or more. 00:41:06.720 |
We don't have churches that are shining the light to function as a lampstand. 00:41:12.720 |
And so, yes, we are in dire need of healthy churches, churches that's going to shine the light, that reflect the word of God. 00:41:21.720 |
So he says, what good is it if you're the salt and you lose its flavor? 00:41:24.720 |
What good is it other than to be trampled onto the ground? 00:41:26.720 |
What good is it if you light a lamp, if you're going to put it underneath the table? 00:41:32.720 |
All we need to do to combat darkness is shine brighter. 00:41:45.720 |
To do what he called us to do, to function like the way we're supposed to function. 00:41:49.720 |
We cannot be worried about darkness while our light is flickering. 00:41:57.720 |
And then somehow, that we're going to muster up enough strength and knowledge and courage to fight the darkness if our light is dim? 00:42:05.720 |
No, all you have to do is brighten the light that is already in you. 00:42:12.720 |
If you've been living with the night light just functioning, then all you need to do to fight darkness is to turn that light on brighter. 00:42:21.720 |
Matthew 5.16, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." 00:42:30.720 |
I've read books and heard sermons from pastors in the last 20 years who are trying to sell social justice, 00:42:41.720 |
talking about how we need to separate the gospel from our good works. 00:42:47.720 |
Because the world is going to think that we're somehow manipulating them if we feed the poor and take care of the need and we preach the gospel. 00:42:54.720 |
It's like, "Oh, the only reason why you're good to me is so that I can become a Christian." 00:43:02.720 |
We need to do good works and the gospel preaching needs to be separate. 00:43:09.720 |
If somebody asked me, "The only reason why you're good to me is because you want to share the gospel with me." 00:43:20.720 |
Because if I believe that you're going to be judged, what kind of friend would I be if I feed you, care for you, take care of your needs, and I never share the gospel? 00:43:30.720 |
If I knew that you had cancer and I had a cure of cancer and I feed you, take care of you, shelter you, but I never give you the medicine for cancer, what kind of a friend would I be? 00:43:41.720 |
So the good works was never meant to be independent. 00:43:44.720 |
Good works is to come along with the gospel so that they may see the light. 00:43:51.720 |
Purpose of the light is to shine on darkness and when we function the way God wants us to function, it naturally casts out darkness. 00:44:03.720 |
Therefore, he says, number three, pay careful attention to what you hear, Luke 8, 18. 00:44:09.720 |
So take care how you listen for whoever has to him more shall be given and whoever does not have even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him. 00:44:18.720 |
What's interesting is the word for take care is blepo. 00:44:21.720 |
In Greek, blepo basically means to open your eyes to let light in. 00:44:26.720 |
He says if you, considering that you have been called to be the light, let light in. 00:44:41.720 |
Be a righteous, good listener of the word of God. 00:44:49.720 |
In Matthew 17, 5, when Jesus is introduced to us and the heavenly father says, "This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased," listen to him. 00:45:01.720 |
First and foremost, if we want to be the best light that God wants us to be, he says you have to let the light in. 00:45:07.720 |
That's why worship is central because worship is first receiving and giving to reflect who he is. 00:45:15.720 |
If you're not a worshiper of God, you can't reflect who he is. 00:45:19.720 |
He says, first and foremost, pay very close attention. 00:45:26.720 |
In Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 2, 13, Paul says that this city was a model city. 00:45:34.720 |
This is what it says, "For this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, 00:45:39.720 |
you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe." 00:45:49.720 |
When they heard it, they heard it as the word of God, you know? 00:45:53.720 |
Were they listening into it and says, "Okay, word of God, check," right? 00:46:01.720 |
What did he observe that he said they receive what we are saying as the word of God? 00:46:09.720 |
Obviously, it's not simply his theological position. 00:46:12.720 |
He's not saying that when he spoke, he recognized like, "Oh, that's God's word. 00:46:25.720 |
That when they spoke and they knew that it was from God, they jumped. 00:46:30.720 |
That it wasn't just spoken as a theological position. 00:46:38.720 |
So whatever was coming out of Paul's mouth, they listened to it as God himself was speaking. 00:46:43.720 |
And so the reason why they were able to know that is because of the way they responded to the word of God. 00:46:49.720 |
If Paul was just speaking, he said, "You know what? That's your opinion. 00:47:02.720 |
But when God speaks, you don't sit there and say, "Well, that's your experience. 00:47:19.720 |
And then persecution happens in Thessalonica. 00:47:33.720 |
That's where we get our church name, Acts 17.11, right? 00:47:37.720 |
There's so much material on the Thessalonians. 00:47:40.720 |
How he got there, the gospel was preached, and letters are written. 00:47:48.720 |
Mentioned in Acts 17.11, it says, "Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica." 00:47:54.720 |
What is it that they did that they're even more noble-minded than the Thessalonians? 00:47:58.720 |
"For they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." 00:48:05.720 |
Oh, they were--I would think, like, if I preach the word of God and you start, like, "Is that really the word of God?" 00:48:13.720 |
Maybe I would respond by saying, "What's wrong with you? You don't trust me?" 00:48:26.720 |
Actually, it wasn't Paul, it was Luke who said that. 00:48:34.720 |
Because they knew that the authority came from the word of God. 00:48:37.720 |
They weren't following man, they were following God. 00:48:45.720 |
They listened carefully to see, "Is God speaking or is man speaking?" 00:48:49.720 |
And the reason why they needed to know is because if it is the word of God, they respond differently. 00:49:01.720 |
I mean, I've been preaching long enough, and I've been criticized about everything about me. 00:49:08.720 |
I mean, that's just the nature of standing in front of people. 00:49:10.720 |
You can just stand here for--that's why people are afraid to stand in front of people, because you'll get judged. 00:49:15.720 |
And it's not because they're necessarily judgmental, it's just because we're human. 00:49:19.720 |
Because it's like, "Oh, he's wearing a--that tie doesn't fit. 00:49:26.720 |
I've been criticized about even the way I point. 00:49:28.720 |
It's like, "How come you split your finger every time you point?" 00:49:31.720 |
I never even knew that until they told me that. 00:49:33.720 |
And I went back to the video, it's like, "Yeah, I do do that. 00:49:38.720 |
Or you have your hand in your pocket too much. 00:49:53.720 |
But at the end of the day, whether you like the style or you don't like the style, 00:49:57.720 |
at the end of the day, was the Word of God preached? 00:50:05.720 |
But if you discount everything that is being said simply by, "I don't like the style," 00:50:09.720 |
or, "I don't like this," or, "You didn't say this enough." 00:50:12.720 |
And so every week, you're just kind of discounting the content of the Bible. 00:50:18.720 |
If the Word of God is open, to be a careful listener means that you receive it as God's Word. 00:50:24.720 |
Not everything that I say, but the content of what it says. 00:50:26.720 |
That's why we want to expose the Word of God to you. 00:50:30.720 |
You know, there's a lot of things I can do up on the pulpit. 00:50:33.720 |
Entertain you, tickle your ears, tell you stories, you know, 00:50:38.720 |
maybe cause you to have a greater heart, whatever that may be. 00:50:42.720 |
And you can leave this room because maybe I did a good job. 00:50:45.720 |
I've been doing this long enough to know if I did this and say this and if I kept my sermon this way 00:50:50.720 |
and gave more stories and illustrations and organized them. 00:50:54.720 |
And I could cause you to feel a certain way after the sermon is over, 00:51:04.720 |
I presented a lot of time just decorating the gift. 00:51:14.720 |
So I want to go through four bad listeners and one good listener that we are called to be. 00:51:21.720 |
One, a bad listener, number one, is somebody who is dull of hearing. 00:51:27.720 |
In Hebrews 5, 11-12, "Concerning him, we have much to say, 00:51:32.720 |
and it is hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing." 00:51:36.720 |
In other words, he says he can't go deep into theology because you just don't have the appetite. 00:51:42.720 |
So as soon as we go beyond God loves you, has a wonderful plan for your life, 00:51:49.720 |
For believers, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. 00:51:56.720 |
But as soon as we get beyond that and we talk about Melchizedek, 00:51:59.720 |
and we start talking about the Leviticus and we start talking about the covenants 00:52:03.720 |
and how God is using all of that, it gets dull of hearing. 00:52:05.720 |
I don't want to hear it. Just tell me about the love of Christ. 00:52:12.720 |
The reason why we get theological is because it's in the Bible. 00:52:17.720 |
So we're trying to teach the whole counsel of God, 00:52:22.720 |
So somebody who is dull of hearing is you keep hearing the same thing over and over again. 00:52:31.720 |
And he says, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, 00:52:35.720 |
you have need again or someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, 00:52:39.720 |
and you have come to need milk and not solid food." 00:52:42.720 |
I think Vody Bachman did such a great job illustrating this. 00:52:48.720 |
"Christianity is the only thing that men engage in for decades 00:52:54.720 |
and think that we are humble when we say, 'I don't know.'" 00:53:00.720 |
If somebody says that they were an electrician for 30 years, 00:53:03.720 |
we would assume that guy would be the expert. 00:53:06.720 |
If somebody was a plumber and he said, "I've been a plumber for 50 years," 00:53:21.720 |
You could have been a Christian for 30 years. 00:53:23.720 |
You're like, "I don't know. I asked my pastor." 00:53:31.720 |
"I don't know. I'm not a pastor. I'm not a missionary." 00:53:37.720 |
It's become normal to be in the church for decades 00:53:42.720 |
and don't know any more than when you first entered the church, 00:54:03.720 |
If you've been a disciple and only a disciple for more than a decade, 00:54:19.720 |
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, 00:54:24.720 |
they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires." 00:54:42.720 |
So they choose churches based upon whatever leaning that they have. 00:54:51.720 |
I want to go to church that's going to tell me these things or preach this way. 00:55:01.720 |
who will only go to church if they never feel judged. 00:55:05.720 |
Always feel encouraged at the end of the sermon. 00:55:12.720 |
But people who want their ears tickled are not all people who only demand grace. 00:55:20.720 |
There's also people who have leaning toward judgment. 00:55:23.720 |
They're angry, and so God's angry, and so you need to be angry. 00:55:27.720 |
And so the people who are selective hearers are whatever happens to be your hobby horse, 00:55:40.720 |
They hear only if you say what I already agree with. 00:55:48.720 |
The Bible, if you talk about the harshest or the most offensive things 00:55:55.720 |
that you could have possibly heard in the pulpit, read the Bible directly. 00:56:02.720 |
Anything that you've been offended by, by the pulpit, 00:56:06.720 |
pales in comparison to what's actually written in the Bible. 00:56:11.720 |
You talk about judgment, like wipe out the whole nation, 00:56:20.720 |
God was so angry with the world that he killed all of them except for eight. 00:56:25.720 |
A third of the heaven and earth is just wiped out because of his anger. 00:56:30.720 |
So whatever you may have been offended by that was preached in the pulpit, 00:56:37.720 |
It is much harsher, much more direct, much more fierce 00:56:42.720 |
than what you may have ever heard in the pulpit. 00:56:45.720 |
But no matter how gracious and loving and patient, 00:56:51.720 |
no matter how gracious that is you've heard from the pulpit, read the Bible. 00:56:56.720 |
God's love and grace and mercy and patient goes far more deeper 00:57:06.720 |
The same Bible that tells us that if you love your mother and father more than me, 00:57:12.720 |
The same Bible tells us that if you want to live long and prosper, 00:57:28.720 |
All of the scripture, not just pick and choose, not just the New Testament, 00:57:33.720 |
And we need to hear all of it because all of it is a presentation of his light. 00:57:39.720 |
So he says you need to be good listeners, not dull of hearing, not selective. 00:57:45.720 |
And then there are slow hearers, James 1, 19 to 20. 00:57:48.720 |
"This you know, my beloved brethren, but everyone must be quick to hear, 00:58:00.720 |
Somebody who is quick to speak has already made a judgment. 00:58:04.720 |
Any word, anything that you said, I've already judged you. 00:58:09.720 |
He says no, a quick listener is somebody who is committed to understand. 00:58:19.720 |
One of the people that have the hardest time applying this is pastors that I found. 00:58:24.720 |
It's not just pastors, but that's my field, so I know this better. 00:58:31.720 |
I remember, as you guys know, and I've shared this before, years ago when I used to run a business out in Vegas. 00:58:36.720 |
Vegas is such an interesting town that you shouldn't go to. 00:58:41.720 |
Vegas is such an interesting town because every time they have a convention, 00:58:47.720 |
you have like hundreds of thousands sometimes of them coming in all at the same time. 00:58:52.720 |
So when you see a NASCAR fan, one person, you say, "Oh, that guy's nice." 00:58:57.720 |
But when you see 10,000 of them, it's like, "Oh, there's a certain culture in this group," right? 00:59:03.720 |
So I used to love it when the NASCAR fans and the Cowboys used to come to town 00:59:07.720 |
because they save money all year long, and they just want to have fun. 00:59:14.720 |
They're just happy to be there, and they want you to be happy. 00:59:18.720 |
The most obnoxious group of people that I met were there was a sales convention. 00:59:25.720 |
Every single one of them was the best seller. 00:59:28.720 |
Every single one of them made millions of dollars, right? 00:59:33.720 |
But at one point, they saw them be millionaires, and they're constantly selling, constantly talking. 00:59:39.720 |
And you see one or two of them, you say, "I have one thing." 00:59:42.720 |
But when I saw a convention of them, I was like, "Wow, these guys are obnoxious." 00:59:49.720 |
And then we had one group of people come in, and I'm going to kind of go off track. 01:00:08.720 |
Because they're white-collar workers who are used to having the movie stars and models, 01:00:13.720 |
and people want to be kissing up to them because they want to get a gig or something. 01:00:18.720 |
And you have a whole town filled with them, and they talk down to everybody. 01:00:39.720 |
Every time I'm--again, I'm not saying that pastors do this on purpose, 01:00:42.720 |
but because our job is to give counsel and to teach, we're sometimes too quick to speak, 01:00:51.720 |
And so whenever I'm in a room filled with pastors, I actually have to pray in the morning, 01:00:59.720 |
"Lord, help me to keep my mouth shut because I'm going to be in a room filled with people competing to speak. 01:01:12.720 |
Usually I get into some kind of a discussion, you know, argument about some theology, right? 01:01:21.720 |
A slow hearer is somebody who's not ready to listen, right? 01:01:26.720 |
And you know how that feels if you're married to somebody like that, right? 01:01:30.720 |
They just have a lot to say, but they don't--they make no effort to understand you. 01:01:34.720 |
And if you're one of those people, right, change. 01:01:44.720 |
James 1, 23-24, "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, 01:01:48.720 |
he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. 01:01:51.720 |
For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was." 01:01:59.720 |
The purpose of the mirror is so that we can see what we look like so we can change. 01:02:06.720 |
Every Sunday before I come into this room, I have to check the mirror, right? 01:02:09.720 |
And I don't check the mirror to admire myself, right? 01:02:16.720 |
I check the mirror because I had so many times where I had my collar like this, 01:02:23.720 |
I don't know how many times I preached sermons like this. 01:02:26.720 |
And then I go outside, and then somebody--you know, I would go into the mirror, 01:02:29.720 |
and I'd see, and it's like, "Nobody said anything." 01:02:40.720 |
So I would look to Esther sometimes and see--and sometimes I don't see her, 01:02:46.720 |
So I have to go and check in front of the mirror. 01:02:48.720 |
If I don't go in there, it's just like, "Oh, yeah, I did a good job today," right? 01:02:53.720 |
So when you woke up in the morning, did you go into the bathroom to admire your work, right? 01:03:01.720 |
It's like, "Oh, man, nice," and then you walked away, right? 01:03:10.720 |
I'm thinking probably most of us did not, right, so that you could see. 01:03:15.720 |
Did you put your lipstick--did you put it on? 01:03:17.720 |
You thought you put it right, and it's all over your face, and you got to erase that? 01:03:20.720 |
Whatever it is that you've done, it's not right, and to fix it. 01:03:23.720 |
He says the Word of God is like a mirror that comes before you, and he forgets. 01:03:31.720 |
It's like somebody who's looked himself in the mirror, and he's like, "Nice," 01:03:37.720 |
The forgetful here, the Word of God has no impact on your life. 01:03:45.720 |
And then fifth and finally, which is connected to the seeds, Luke 18. 01:03:51.720 |
"But the seed and the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest 01:03:56.720 |
and good heart and hold it fast, bear fruit with perseverance." 01:04:03.720 |
Here's the Word of God, and you don't just hear it like, "Oh, I like it," or, "I didn't like it." 01:04:08.720 |
An honest and good heart, meaning that you saw the Word of God is a reflection 01:04:19.720 |
Are you the first soil, second soil, third soil, fourth soil? 01:04:28.720 |
Are you listening, and all you're doing is accumulating knowledge? 01:04:32.720 |
If all you do week after week is hear the Word, and then you just walk out, 01:04:40.720 |
"Thank you for that great sermon," or, "Can you keep it short?" 01:04:45.720 |
And you just critique the sermon, and then you go out, and nothing changes about you. 01:04:53.720 |
All you are doing is accumulating knowledge that you can reveal to other people. 01:04:59.720 |
A good hearer is somebody who hears it and is honest and reflection on themselves, a good heart. 01:05:05.720 |
And you say, "How is what you've heard going to change you? 01:05:10.720 |
What application are you going to make from what you've heard? 01:05:15.720 |
How is it going to cause you to be a greater light? 01:05:25.720 |
What will change because the Word of God came into you?" 01:05:29.720 |
If we're going to be the light, we need to allow a greater and greater influence of that light in our life. 01:05:44.720 |
Just enough light so you don't stub your toe. 01:06:08.720 |
To be the light that Christ called us to be with a good and honest heart. 01:06:13.720 |
Who hold it fast and then bear fruit as you continue to persevere. 01:06:22.720 |
Revelation 3.20 says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." 01:06:27.720 |
Every time the Word of God is open to you, the light is coming in and Christ is knocking on the door. 01:06:37.720 |
And he's knocking on the door because when you open the door, the light will come in. 01:06:42.720 |
He says, "If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him." 01:06:46.720 |
Light will come in and I will dine with him and he with me. 01:06:51.720 |
No matter where you are in your walk with God, every time you hear the Word of God, 01:06:55.720 |
it's God, it's Christ in his light knocking on your door. 01:07:06.720 |
So that we may be the light that he has called us to be. 01:07:11.720 |
Don't say you're the light and then hide it under a table. 01:07:15.720 |
And then cover it up and wondering why you're not bearing fruit. 01:07:24.720 |
So this morning as we participate in the communion table, 01:07:30.720 |
And as we prepare for the communion table, again, he says to do this in remembrance of him. 01:07:39.720 |
This is where Christ goes to the cross and he shines the light on the world 01:07:50.720 |
And because of what Christ has done on the cross and because of his resurrection, 01:07:55.720 |
And so we do this in celebration and remembrance. 01:07:59.720 |
Nobody comes to this table by their own merit. 01:08:02.720 |
If you're looking at this week or this month and you say, 01:08:04.720 |
"You know what, I just didn't walk right with God so I can't come to the communion table." 01:08:09.720 |
Then you have completely missed understanding of the communion table. 01:08:17.720 |
You can only participate in the communion table when you recognize that you are in need of his grace. 01:08:28.720 |
we don't want to participate in an unworthy manner. 01:08:33.720 |
One, that you think somehow you've earned your way to come here. 01:08:38.720 |
Two, an unworthy way is you have unrepentant sin. 01:08:46.720 |
You know that this is an area that God's knocking and you refuse to open. 01:08:52.720 |
Take this time to come before God and confess your sins. 01:09:03.720 |
So when you are ready, again, this is for people who are baptized believers that we invite to participate. 01:09:09.720 |
If you are not a believer at this point or you have not been baptized, 01:09:13.720 |
we ask that you would be seated at your seat because this is more of an anniversary ceremony 01:09:19.720 |
to remember our covenant relationship with God. 01:09:22.720 |
Baptism is a ceremony that unites us to Christ. 01:09:29.720 |
after we sing our communion song, that one by one you would come and participate. 01:09:37.720 |
"For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, 01:09:40.720 |
that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread. 01:09:44.720 |
When he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 01:09:46.720 |
'This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' 01:09:50.720 |
In the same way, he took the cup also after supper, saying, 01:09:55.720 |
Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. 01:09:58.720 |
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, 01:10:01.720 |
you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.'" 01:10:29.720 |
This is the cup that holds the blood of the new covenant 01:10:57.720 |
Take a long look inside and tell me what you see 01:11:27.720 |
This is the cup that holds the blood of the new covenant 01:11:55.720 |
Take a long look inside and tell me what you see 01:12:25.720 |
Take a long look inside and tell me what you see 01:12:48.720 |
When you are ready, we invite you to come to the communion table.