back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 7.26.2020
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service. Just a reminder that the song lyrics will be in the Borean app. So if 00:00:05.800 |
you guys want to take some time to open that up and we'll get started. 00:03:48.360 |
All right good morning Beroean Community Church. First off let me correct the mistake that I made last week. I think I announced the birthday is a little bit too early. 00:03:55.360 |
Carol and Harvey is having birthday this week and I made a mistake of saying Carol is turning five and so I got persecuted for that. So I am correcting my mistake. 00:04:04.360 |
Happy birthday, fourth birthday to Carol and also happy birthday to Harvey coming up this week. We have a couple announcements this morning before we get started. 00:04:12.360 |
Sunday service and again many of our you know members went to the first service so we thank you for that. If you are planning to come if there's other people like online if you are planning to come to service 00:04:24.360 |
please let Pastor Mark know. We do have room in the second service. Our first service is kind of packed but our second service is now we have a little bit more space but please let Pastor Mark know and he'll give you more directions on that. 00:04:37.360 |
Again going forward. We don't know how long we're going to be staying out here but I suspect it's going to be for a few more weeks. Again we don't know how things are going to progress but again as long as we're out here if you need to if you're planning to come if you haven't come and you're planning to come 00:04:53.360 |
please let Pastor Mark know so that he'll give you some guidance on that. Today at 2.30 there's a members meeting online on Zoom and if you haven't gotten a link for that please let Pastor Mark know and he'll give you a link and you do need a password to get in. 00:05:08.360 |
So for whatever reason you can't find it please let him know ahead of time and then he'll be able to give you the access to that and it's probably going to last about an hour so about 2.30 to about 3.30 so please mark that after the second service. 00:05:22.360 |
Again you can go home grab lunch take a short nap and 2.30 we'll meet you online today. 00:05:28.360 |
Family ministry is having a Feudoship at 2.30. Again it's an opportunity for people in the family ministry to get to know other people. 00:05:39.360 |
Rachel is heading this up basically it's just an opportunity to fellowship and get to know other family members. So if you're interested in signing up for that again with fun games and if you've played that online with them before again it's a great opportunity to be able to interact like that. 00:05:56.360 |
So if you signed up great if you haven't signed up reach Rachel Wong. Again sign ups will be on the Facebook page our website or our app and so please go on there and sign up for that and that's taking place in August 2nd which is next Sunday. 00:06:12.360 |
On August 14th we are planning to have a praise and prayer night here at church physically. We've been planning to have this online but considering now that we're outside we are going to have the all church praise and prayer night at 7.30 for those of you who are able to come. 00:06:29.360 |
On August 14th we will be having it here at 8.30 or 7.30. So it's been a while since we've been able to do that because of the of the lockdown but since we're outside we want to be able to do that. 00:06:42.360 |
So we're going to try to space people out but it'd be a great time for the church to gather together to pray together. Okay so that's happening on Friday August 8th 14th. 00:06:52.360 |
Gospel night taking place on August 29th at 4 p.m. again the announcements went out last week please watch out for that. 00:06:58.360 |
And then today after our worship time we have Angel and Abby who are going to be getting baptized today so they'll be coming up after the service after the praise time and they'll be giving their testimony and we'll have time of baptism. 00:07:12.360 |
So let me pray for us for our offering so you will give you some time to to give electronically if you did bring it physically we have a box way in the back over there and then so you can kind of drop it off there. 00:07:25.360 |
Let me give you one more announcement about the restrooms. If you are planning to go to the restroom you can just kind of go through either door and use the use the bathrooms downstairs for the men and the women. 00:07:40.360 |
Heavenly Father we thank you so much for your continued grace. We thank you Father for loving us for saving us justifying us Lord God by the blood of Christ. 00:07:53.360 |
I pray that these truths would never become old. It would renew us strengthen us anchor us in Christ Lord God especially now as the world there's so much chaos and distraction help us Lord not to be caught up like the rest of the world but shine even brighter Lord God at this time. 00:08:14.360 |
So we pray Father that even in our giving help us to give it as an act of worship may be multiplied for your use and your glory. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 00:20:57.360 |
Good morning church family. My name is Abby Bechtel and this is my testimony. 00:21:01.360 |
I grew up in a nominally Christian home. My family went to church on Sundays. 00:21:05.360 |
We prayed before every meal and read the children's story Bible before bed. 00:21:09.360 |
When I was five years old with my parents, I prayed a prayer that I didn't understand. 00:21:13.360 |
I recall asking for forgiveness of my sins and believing in stories I heard about Jesus Christ. 00:21:19.360 |
But I don't count this as my moment of genuine salvation because at such a young age, 00:21:23.360 |
I didn't truly understand the depths of my sin. I didn't repent or put my faith in my heavenly father. 00:21:29.360 |
Throughout grade school and on, I continued living a life of sin. 00:21:33.360 |
I confessed with my mouth that I knew Jesus Christ, but I was lost. 00:21:37.360 |
My family situation worsened and I took the burden of fixing it upon myself. 00:21:41.360 |
I wanted to live the perfect life, to have the perfect parents, be the perfect student, 00:21:47.360 |
and I thought I could live by my own strength. I tried to hold it together. 00:21:51.360 |
I was prideful. I was resentful. I was angry. I lied to those around me. I was bitter. 00:21:57.360 |
I was a sinner not seeking saving because I didn't recognize my need. 00:22:01.360 |
I had no understanding of the width and depth of my sin and my desperate need of salvation. 00:22:07.360 |
My life revolved around myself and my family. I found security in my capability, 00:22:13.360 |
and I sought for joy in the respect and admiration of others. 00:22:17.360 |
This phantom of control came crashing down when I was around 13 years old. 00:22:21.360 |
My parents' relationship was always rocky, and it was brought to the point where talk of divorce was circling. 00:22:27.360 |
And that cloud of ability that was around me disappeared, and I was left with just an empty feeling of anger. 00:22:34.360 |
I didn't know where to turn to, but God used these trials in my life for His glory. 00:22:39.360 |
My conversion was by no means immediate. After God showed me my incapability to fix my family, I turned to myself. 00:22:47.360 |
Achieving a certain grade, having enough people respect me, or living a comfortable life would do nothing to fix the hole in my heart. 00:22:54.360 |
I had come to the point where I had exhausted the options that the world had to offer. 00:22:58.360 |
For once in my life, I didn't know what to do. It was then that I opened my Bible to Romans. 00:23:03.360 |
I read Romans 5, "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 00:23:09.360 |
For one would scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die. 00:23:14.360 |
But God shows His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5, 6-8. 00:23:21.360 |
The truth of Scripture cut like a sword into my heart. 00:23:24.360 |
I had never thought intently on the character of God and His love in contrast to my weakness. 00:23:30.360 |
Over the next few weeks, I went back to reading Romans, examining who I was in respect to a holy God. 00:23:36.360 |
My respectable sins as I saw them were an offense to Him. 00:23:39.360 |
Without Christ, without relationship with the one true God, my life was meaningless. 00:23:44.360 |
All of those things were searching for fulfillment outside of Christ. 00:23:50.360 |
God opened my eyes through that time to the sorrow that my sin caused Him. 00:23:54.360 |
Scripture made the truth that I had known in my head, that Christ had atoned for my sins, that had eternally separated me from life with God, 00:24:02.360 |
become a truth that was life transforming. Acts 3, 17-19. 00:24:07.360 |
"And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also. 00:24:11.360 |
But the things which Christ announced beforehand by the mouth of the prophets, that Christ would suffer, He is thus fulfilled. 00:24:18.360 |
Therefore, repent and return so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." 00:24:25.360 |
One evening that year, I sincerely prayed for forgiveness of my sins. 00:24:30.360 |
It was then that I believed that Jesus, the Son of God, could save me from my sins. 00:24:34.360 |
I knew that I fully deserved the just punishment and separation from God. 00:24:39.360 |
I prayed that I would be dependent on God to define my life and my future. 00:24:43.360 |
It was then that I believed I received the free gift of salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ. 00:24:48.360 |
For this salvation, I praise God. He used trials in my life to show my sin to me. 00:24:53.360 |
In His kindness and grace, He brought me to repentance. 00:24:56.360 |
This is a story of how God rescued me from my sin. 00:24:59.360 |
He led me out of darkness, and by the sacrifice of His Son, I was justified. 00:25:04.360 |
He is continuing to sanctify me, and I look towards the hope of being glorified with Him in eternity. 00:26:01.360 |
Again, if you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews 9, verses 11-14. 00:26:56.360 |
Christian, loving Father, we pray that Your Word would go forth, will not return until You have accomplished what You have ordained for it. 00:27:05.360 |
I pray that You would soften our hearts, open our ears, Lord God, that we may hear from You and You alone. 00:27:12.360 |
May Your Word have its impact that You've desired from us, and let it be ordained according to Your Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 00:27:22.360 |
If you've been watching the news at all, and I highly encourage you to follow the international news and what's going on with, especially in the Christian community. 00:27:31.360 |
I think in the last two to three years, the uptick in persecution, whether it is in the Middle East or India or China, 00:27:39.360 |
I think most people who have been paying attention, been Christian for a while, will agree that persecution has been increasing exponentially everywhere. 00:27:48.360 |
But this is not just what's going on internationally, it's happening locally. 00:27:53.360 |
And so all the more we need to be paying attention. 00:27:56.360 |
Because there's going to come a time, if not pretty soon, where nominal Christianity is not going to be an option. 00:28:05.360 |
Just like in China now, they made an official edict that in the churches they have to hang a picture of Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping, 00:28:14.360 |
and to acknowledge them as their ultimate authority, or else they're not going to get social help from the government. 00:28:23.360 |
And so they made that clear, and again the persecution has been increasing there, but more and more we see signs of that beginning to happen in the United States. 00:28:32.360 |
So this casual church attendance, I think at some point, is going to go out the door. 00:28:38.360 |
People who just grew up in the church and happen to go to church will be forced to make a decision where you stand. 00:28:45.360 |
And nominal Christianity will not, I think, when persecution comes, is not going to be an option. 00:28:52.360 |
One of the benefits of persecution causes Christians, whether nominal or true, to ask the question, "Where do I stand with Christ?" 00:29:05.360 |
Again, you and I live in a generation where the churches have worked extra hard to make it as easy as possible for as many people to come to church. 00:29:15.360 |
And as a result of that, the gospel has been watered down. 00:29:19.360 |
Anything offensive, anything that doesn't sit right, anything that goes against our culture, the sharp edges have been taken out. 00:29:28.360 |
So we have masses of people who are attending churches and have never really asked the question, "Do I really believe this?" 00:29:36.360 |
And when the Bible tells us to count the cost, we have churches filled with people who have never seriously considered that. 00:29:45.360 |
And so the benefit of persecution, persecution forces us to take a step back and take a hard look at what it is that we believe, 00:29:53.360 |
what are the consequences of our belief, and causes us to make a stand. 00:30:01.360 |
The reason why I say all of this is because the book of Hebrews is written in that same spirit. 00:30:07.360 |
The first generation of Christians, they didn't know what Christianity was, and all they knew was there's something new swept the land, 00:30:15.360 |
and all of a sudden there's this hope of eternal life, and if you believe in Jesus Christ, you're going to have eternity secure. 00:30:22.360 |
So there was some pushback from the secular world, there was some pushback from the Jewish community, 00:30:27.360 |
but for the most part, it was just something new and novel. 00:30:31.360 |
And so this church that the author is writing to, initially was excited, initially they participated in this growth, 00:30:40.360 |
but now, about 20 to 30 years removed from that, Nero's persecution most likely is in full swing, 00:30:48.360 |
and some of the leaders are being beheaded, crucified, people are being dragged into the Colosseum, 00:30:54.360 |
and in the midst of that, some of them were beginning to slide back into their old life. 00:31:00.360 |
Now, they didn't outright deny Christ, they didn't say, "You know, we don't believe this." 00:31:07.360 |
They were trying to synchrotize their past with the new things that they were learning, 00:31:11.360 |
and so the whole point of what he says about Jesus being superior to angels, to Moses, to the sacrificial system, 00:31:18.360 |
he's the greatest high priest, he has better sacrifice, better tabernacle, all of it is to really ask the question, 00:31:26.360 |
"Are you going to follow Christ, or are you going to drift back into the world?" 00:31:32.360 |
The text that we're looking at, even though it is not stated in the form of a question, but that's actually what he's doing, 00:31:38.360 |
he's asking the question, "Now that there are serious consequences for being a Christian, 00:31:43.360 |
is Jesus better than whatever it is that you are placing your hope in?" 00:31:48.360 |
So there's three things that I want to highlight in what he says today. 00:31:52.360 |
Verses 11 and 12, he's really asking that question in a statement form, he's asking the question, 00:31:58.360 |
"Is Jesus better than anything that you have?" 00:32:01.360 |
Number two, Jesus is better because he delivers us from empty works, from dead works, verses 13 and 14. 00:32:08.360 |
And then verse 14, Jesus frees us to serve the living God. Those are the three things that we want to be looking at this morning. 00:32:15.360 |
So the first thing that he says in verse 11 and 12, that Jesus is better high priest, he's the better sacrifice, in a better tabernacle. 00:32:24.360 |
Now, we didn't practice the tabernacle, we're not from the Jewish community, so we may look at that and say, 00:32:32.360 |
"Well, that's good to know, but I don't know if there's any practical application here because we never struggled with the tabernacle being better." 00:32:42.360 |
But if you understand why the tabernacle was created in the beginning, 00:32:46.360 |
the whole purpose of the tabernacle and the sacrificial system was to do two things. 00:32:55.360 |
So that we would know that God is holy and that we would know how sinful we are, so that sin would become utterly sinful. 00:33:04.360 |
And then two, to point to the only solution to our sins is the atonement of Jesus Christ. 00:33:12.360 |
To teach us who we are and who God is, and then to give us a solution in Jesus Christ. 00:33:18.360 |
But by the time that this is being written, the tabernacle became nothing more than religion. 00:33:24.360 |
Now, at the core of every community, if you go back and if you travel anywhere in the world, 00:33:30.360 |
if you go back 30, 40, 50 years, and maybe in some cultures even to this day, 00:33:36.360 |
you'll see what religion means to most people. 00:33:39.360 |
I remember the first time I went to China, I think it was in 1991. 00:33:47.360 |
I went and we were traveling the Silk Road for about 30 days, and almost every single day we were in a new city. 00:33:55.360 |
We were on a train to go to the western side, to the southern side, the northern side, 00:34:01.360 |
and outside of the major cities like Beijing or to Shanghai, 00:34:07.360 |
we would go to these obscure cities that usually tourists don't go to. 00:34:11.360 |
And every city that we went to, we would eventually end up at some Buddhist temple. 00:34:16.360 |
And by the time we were about 15 days into it, I was so sick of it. 00:34:20.360 |
We would travel miles, and sometimes we would be on a train for 20, 30 hours, 00:34:26.360 |
and we get to the end, and we walk up this hill, and it said, "This is called 100 Buddha Temple." 00:34:33.360 |
And exactly what it is, it's just they have 100 Buddha in this temple. 00:34:39.360 |
And I said, "Oh, great." And then we would go to another train, and we get to the other side of China, 00:34:43.360 |
and then we'd walk and get up to the top of the hill, and then this is called a 1000 Buddha Mountain, 00:34:48.360 |
because they carved a thousand Buddhas up on this mountain. 00:34:52.360 |
Then we go to another city, and we hike up to the highest hill, and we get up way up in the top, 00:34:56.360 |
and we have two, three hours of hiking. This is called the Buddha's highest heaven temple. 00:35:01.360 |
So about 15 days of this, I got so sick of this, and I started to think, "Why was this so important?" 00:35:08.360 |
Like everything that they did centered around Buddha, because it was a Buddhist culture. 00:35:13.360 |
If you traveled in any amount, most cultures, if you go back in history, 00:35:22.360 |
whether it is a Buddhist culture, whether it is an Islamic culture, whether it is a Hindu culture, 00:35:29.360 |
religion is not just a part of their life. It affects their diet. 00:35:35.360 |
It affects what they wear, where they live, what they hope for, everything that they do. 00:35:41.360 |
And at the core of religion is if we appease this God, we can get his blessings so that our farm will grow, 00:35:49.360 |
we would have more children, that we would be healthy, wealthy, and that we could progress, 00:35:54.360 |
and we can get ahead in life. So no matter what religion it is, it was their avenue to be successful in this world. 00:36:03.360 |
Now whether that's Buddha or Islam or whatever religion, at the base of it is, 00:36:08.360 |
if your goodness outweighs your badness, you're going to get good things. 00:36:14.360 |
By the time of Christ, the temple and the tabernacle became nothing more than an avenue for them to tap into this God 00:36:24.360 |
so that they can have God's blessing. So when they were saying Shalom to one another, peace, 00:36:29.360 |
they were saying, well, if we obeyed the law and if we went to the temple and gave enough sacrifice, 00:36:34.360 |
and if our goodness outweighed the badness, that God is going to bless us. 00:36:41.360 |
They completely missed the mark. Now we can hear now, you know, say, you know, 00:36:47.360 |
we don't live in a necessarily a religious culture. You know, at best we live in a post-Christian culture, 00:36:55.360 |
but it's not a religious culture. It's a secular culture. But in a secular culture, 00:37:00.360 |
our avenue to get what we want has changed. We may not go to Buddha and light incense, 00:37:06.360 |
or we may not be Hindus, but the avenue in which to get there is no different. 00:37:11.360 |
A lot of people come to church for the same reason. That if I do enough right things, 00:37:16.360 |
that maybe God will bless my business, my life, my children. 00:37:20.360 |
Or we may think that maybe if we get the right president, maybe if we change the culture, 00:37:25.360 |
maybe if we change this and change that, my life would be better. 00:37:30.360 |
So we may not have physical idols, but whatever it is that we are pursuing, 00:37:36.360 |
that through that somehow we're going to get a better life. We may not have a specific name for that, 00:37:42.360 |
other than secularism or materialism. The idol is still the same because the idol is worshipped 00:37:48.360 |
for the purpose of getting something good out of it. 00:37:51.360 |
See, the tabernacle became nothing more than religion to these Jews. 00:37:56.360 |
And so they were beginning to drift back because now it seemed like if they continued to follow Christ, 00:38:01.360 |
they would actually forfeit something meaningful. Maybe even their life. 00:38:06.360 |
And as a result of that, they were kind of drifting back and they weren't denying Christ. 00:38:09.360 |
They were trying to combine the two. Maybe a part of Judaism where they came from, 00:38:14.360 |
and then to retain some of the gospel that they had. And it is in the middle of that. 00:38:19.360 |
And this is the reason why he keeps saying over and over again, "Jesus is better than the angels. 00:38:24.360 |
Jesus is better than Moses. Jesus is better than the high priest. He's better than the tabernacle." 00:38:28.360 |
And at the end of the day, he's asking the same question over and over and over and over again. 00:38:35.360 |
Is Jesus better than your pursuit? Is Jesus better than your comfort? 00:38:42.360 |
Is Jesus better than whatever it is that brings joy in your life? 00:38:46.360 |
Is Jesus better than your family? Is Jesus better than your children? Is Jesus better? 00:38:52.360 |
Because anything that we place between us and God is an idol. 00:38:57.360 |
And that's why he says, "Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come." 00:39:02.360 |
He doesn't promise that if you follow Christ, that if you sacrifice now, if you do good things now, 00:39:08.360 |
great things are going to happen to your children. 00:39:11.360 |
That if you come to church and serve and give enough, that if you started a business, that it's going to take off. 00:39:17.360 |
That whatever struggles that you have, if you appease this holy God, that you're going to have a better education, 00:39:22.360 |
find a better job, find a better husband, find a better wife. 00:39:26.360 |
It doesn't promise that. In fact, some of the most godliest people live miserable lives following Christ. 00:39:34.360 |
You may be the most faithful Christian and get cancer and die the next day 00:39:40.360 |
because our long life is not promised in Christ. 00:39:43.360 |
You can pursue God, be the most faithful Christian, give the most, serve the most, sacrifice the most, 00:39:49.360 |
and in the eyes of the world, live a tragic life and die. 00:39:53.360 |
Because it is not promised. He said, "Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come." 00:39:59.360 |
And the good things he's talking about is not necessarily this life. 00:40:02.360 |
They're godly people who are beheaded because they follow Christ. 00:40:07.360 |
Apostle Paul was an aristocrat. He was actually famous before he met Christ. 00:40:13.360 |
And as a result of following Christ, he became a tent maker. 00:40:17.360 |
Every city that he went, he was driven out, went to prison, then ultimately beheaded. 00:40:23.360 |
His life was miserable because he followed Christ. 00:40:30.360 |
If a good life here is not promised in the gospel, why would anybody follow Christ? 00:40:35.360 |
Only people who would genuinely follow the Christ of the Bible 00:40:40.360 |
is a person who believes that good things are coming. 00:40:46.360 |
If the payoff is here, then it's nothing more than religion. 00:40:50.360 |
Nothing more than how the Jews view the tabernacle. 00:40:53.360 |
It's nothing more than the Buddhists who are building 100 temples 00:40:56.360 |
because the more that they go there, they're going to get blessing from God. 00:41:00.360 |
You may call him Jesus, but Jesus has become another idol to get what we want. 00:41:07.360 |
And it is in that context, he says he entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle. 00:41:17.360 |
He entered the holy place once for all and obtained eternal redemption. 00:41:21.360 |
He says this term over and over again, once for all. 00:41:27.360 |
It's final, it's complete. Why does he emphasize that? 00:41:31.360 |
Because our temptation to continue to drift back into our idols is constant. 00:41:38.360 |
You may commit one day and then be tempted the next day. 00:41:42.360 |
And we are constantly in need or wanting and tempted and coveting something else. 00:41:47.360 |
And that's why every time we hear about Jesus' atonement, it emphasizes it is done once for all. 00:41:54.360 |
It is not through Jesus you are looking for something else. 00:41:57.360 |
Jesus is not strengthening us so that we can get something else. 00:41:59.360 |
But when you have come to Christ, you have come to the end of the road. 00:42:09.360 |
You know, years ago, I think it's been about 12 years, we were doing our membership class or our BCC class. 00:42:16.360 |
And we had a Hindu lady who came to church and started attending this class. 00:42:21.360 |
And we teach doctrines about God, Christ, Holy Spirit, about the inerrancy of Scripture. 00:42:26.360 |
And so we're going through these doctrines and she sat through all of it. 00:42:29.360 |
And then, you know, we were hearing that she wanted to become a member. 00:42:33.360 |
So we got excited, you know, that a Hindu lady was committed Hindu all her life. 00:42:38.360 |
And all of a sudden she wants to give her life to Christ. 00:42:40.360 |
And so we were trying to interview her and talk to her. 00:42:45.360 |
And in the process of talking to her, we realized that she wasn't converting at all. 00:42:49.360 |
You know, so initially we asked this, oh, so you want to follow Jesus Christ? 00:42:54.360 |
Oh, so you're going to denounce your Hindu faith? 00:43:00.360 |
We said, well, you know, I, you know, like it's very intriguing and all. 00:43:05.360 |
Christians are very friendly, you know, and then when I come to church and everybody's so happy and so I want to be a part of that. 00:43:14.360 |
So in her mind, she was basically adding Christ to all the other idols so that she can have all the other things that all the other idols promise. 00:43:24.360 |
And then to have what the Christians have by following Jesus. 00:43:28.360 |
So all she did was add Christ to the idols that she was she was already following. 00:43:36.360 |
Sad to say, Christianity looks very similar to that in many circles, in many Christians. 00:43:50.360 |
That maybe if I had Christ, you know, all these other things that I can do to live a better life. 00:43:54.360 |
And then I want assurance that if I die, I'm not going to hell. 00:43:57.360 |
And it's nothing more than adding Christ as an idol to the existing idols they follow. 00:44:03.360 |
And again, it is in this where he says over and over and over again. 00:44:15.360 |
Is he better than whatever it is that you're shooting for or hoping for? 00:44:18.360 |
If your life turns miserable and you have Christ, will it be enough? 00:44:25.360 |
Whatever it is that you're pursuing, you don't get it. 00:44:28.360 |
And at the end of your life, you live a difficult, hard life. 00:44:39.360 |
I know this is something that we ask up in the pulpit. 00:44:44.360 |
Is this something that you only hear up in the pulpit once a week or at Bible study? 00:44:50.360 |
Or is this something that you ask yourself in your daily life? 00:44:56.360 |
Do you ask yourself, "Am I genuinely following Christ? 00:45:03.360 |
Because he who drinks of the water that the world gives, he says he will thirst again. 00:45:10.360 |
If you eat of the bread that this world gives, you will hunger again. 00:45:16.360 |
He who drinks of the water and eats of the bread that only Christ can give, 00:45:21.360 |
he will no longer thirst and he will no longer hunger. 00:45:27.360 |
He may not phrase it in those words, but basically that's what he's saying repeatedly over and over. 00:45:32.360 |
At every single chapter, at every conclusion, of every Christology that he's stating in the book of Hebrews, 00:45:57.360 |
At the end and conclusion, which is a question that every Christian needs to be able to answer. 00:46:03.360 |
Because especially now, if we're not anchored in Christ, 00:46:10.360 |
And if we're drifting or we're just thinking like we're just going to casually just kind of sit on our boat, 00:46:16.360 |
the tide is violently taking us away from Christ. 00:46:20.360 |
We need to anchor in Christ and to be able to answer this question with an emphatic yes. 00:46:29.360 |
You know, people snickering and not liking you, that's not persecution. 00:46:37.360 |
When persecution comes, if you are not anchored, you will not stay in place. 00:46:43.360 |
Secondly, he is better because he delivers us from dead works. 00:46:49.360 |
In verse 13 it says, "For if the blood of goats and bulls and ashes of hype for sprinkling, 00:46:53.360 |
those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh." 00:46:59.360 |
What they were doing had some value because it allowed them to enter into the tabernacle. 00:47:05.360 |
And they were able to come and give sacrifices because they cleansed themselves and went through this ritual. 00:47:11.360 |
But outside of that, he says, it does nothing. 00:47:16.360 |
Because the whole point of the tabernacle was to demonstrate to them that they are not able. 00:47:24.360 |
In Hebrews 6, 1-2, it says, "Therefore, leaving the elementary teachings about Christ, 00:47:29.360 |
let us press on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, 00:47:36.360 |
and a faith toward God of instruction about washing and laying down of hands and the resurrection of the dead, 00:47:43.360 |
In other words, this religious activity of thinking that if we serve enough, if we give enough, if we sacrifice enough, 00:47:52.360 |
is that all of these things of the old covenant, it's dead. 00:47:59.360 |
Just like if you've been driving a car, you know, if you drove it for 10 years, I mean, you milked that car. 00:48:05.360 |
And then you want to buy a new car. Nobody pays money to buy a car that has 400,000 miles on it. 00:48:14.360 |
But if you have 400,000 miles on it, it's like, wow! 00:48:19.360 |
You don't expect it to go another 400,000 miles, right? 00:48:23.360 |
I know somebody after service is going to come up and say, "Oh, I have a car that's 500,000 miles." 00:48:31.360 |
You don't buy because you know it's about to die. 00:48:35.360 |
So what he's saying is the tabernacle was given in order to show who God is and ultimately to point to Christ. 00:48:44.360 |
That all that you were doing in the tabernacle, it is passed away. 00:48:48.360 |
It has no function anymore. That's why the temple was destroyed. 00:48:51.360 |
God allowed it to be destroyed because it had no use for it anymore. 00:48:56.360 |
And in the same way, now that Christ has come and has redeemed us, he says the dead works are behind us. 00:49:05.360 |
Now we can say, you know, I've never been to the tabernacle. 00:49:08.360 |
I've never given sacrifices, so this is not relevant to me. 00:49:12.360 |
At the core of who we are, at the core of who we are, because we are born in this world, 00:49:19.360 |
we have a works-based righteousness embedded deeply inside of us. 00:49:26.360 |
Because ever since you are born, you are taught to be independent. 00:49:32.360 |
So if you have a child and you're raising it, we have markers, right? 00:49:36.360 |
By the time they're one, those of you who raise children, by the time they're one, what are they supposed to do? 00:49:48.360 |
Usually around one is when the kids start walking. 00:49:52.360 |
So parents get nervous. Some kids walk at 10 months, some kids walk a little bit later than that. 00:49:56.360 |
But around one, they say, oh, that's when they start walking. 00:49:59.360 |
And then by the time they're about two is when they're starting to formulate words. 00:50:04.360 |
They'll put two words, three words together, or some of them are a little bit faster, some of them are a little bit slower. 00:50:11.360 |
They get to a certain point, they start wiping their own butt. 00:50:17.360 |
They get a little bit behind that and they start tying their own shoes. 00:50:22.360 |
You know, and they come and they compare your kids to the other kids. 00:50:32.360 |
After a certain point, they wake up and they pour their own cereal and then they can make their own breakfast. 00:50:36.360 |
And then they go start taking their own showers. 00:50:43.360 |
You know, they become independent, walk to school by themselves or come back and forth. 00:50:47.360 |
And then eventually they become mature enough, independent enough where they get a job, they move out and make their own life. 00:50:53.360 |
And so we have these maturing marks where because they've worked hard. 00:50:58.360 |
Because they put in the work in from the parents and the kids, they become more independent. 00:51:10.360 |
And at the core of who we are, works-based righteousness or reward makes sense. 00:51:19.360 |
So imagine if you weren't a Christian and you heard for the first time, 00:51:25.360 |
here's this criminal who lived all his life selling drugs and doing no good things. 00:51:34.360 |
And so he comes out and he's going to go to heaven for eternity. 00:51:38.360 |
And here's this person who paid his taxes, was a good citizen, was kind to his neighbors, and was generous. 00:51:48.360 |
And because he didn't believe in Jesus Christ, he's going to go to hell for eternity. 00:52:01.360 |
Because everything inside of us says that's wrong. 00:52:05.360 |
The guy who worked his tail off, he should get the greater reward. 00:52:17.360 |
Even as I shared that illustration to you, my guess is most of you are agreeing with me. 00:52:32.360 |
Not realizing what that sounds like to non-Christians. 00:52:38.360 |
Unless, unless you realize that we are all dead in our trespasses. 00:52:48.360 |
That this was not a race between the fast and the slow. 00:52:52.360 |
That some people worked hard, got fast, and some people who didn't work as hard, didn't make it. 00:52:58.360 |
The Bible says we are dead in our trespasses. 00:53:08.360 |
Whether you are rich, or whether you are moral, and you lived all your life to be a good person, 00:53:14.360 |
versus somebody who lived all his life to do no good. 00:53:17.360 |
That in the presence of a holy God, there is no hope. 00:53:26.360 |
To break, to break this concept of, if I'm good enough, if I work hard enough, that somehow I can appease this holy God. 00:53:39.360 |
And that's why religion is a shaking of fists toward this holy God and saying, "I will!" 00:53:51.360 |
"I've achieved everything else. I was successful in business. I was successful in school." 00:53:56.360 |
"I raised up good children. I can do this too." 00:54:00.360 |
A religious philosophy, a religious living, is nothing more than shaking his fist at a holy God and saying, "I'm going to bridge this gap." 00:54:09.360 |
See, the whole purpose of the law came to tell us that we are dead in our trespasses. 00:54:16.360 |
In Romans 3, 19-20, it says, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be closed." 00:54:30.360 |
The purpose of the law came to basically to shut us up. 00:54:35.360 |
That we would all be humbled. Whether you are Nicodemus or whether you are the Samaritan woman, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 00:54:46.360 |
That we are all humbled before this holy God. 00:54:49.360 |
There's no one who can stand before a holy God. 00:54:52.360 |
No sinner can ever stand before a holy God and demand justice. 00:54:56.360 |
Because justice requires condemnation for eternity, even to the most moralist of persons. 00:55:10.360 |
It is useless in bridging this gap between us and God. 00:55:14.360 |
"And all the world may become accountable to God, because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. 00:55:21.360 |
For through the law comes the knowledge of sin." 00:55:30.360 |
Any Christian man who becomes more and more proud because of his learning, because of his experience, because of his fruit, has completely missed the mark. 00:55:42.360 |
The more mature we become, the more humble we become. 00:55:47.360 |
Because the more we recognize the distance between us and him without Christ. 00:55:52.360 |
Galatians 2.16, "Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus. 00:56:00.360 |
Even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law. 00:56:06.360 |
Since by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified." 00:56:10.360 |
You see, when we repent, when we repent, we're not coming to God and saying, "I'm sorry, I'll do better." 00:56:22.360 |
Repentance is coming before God and saying, "I am unable." 00:56:27.360 |
It's not, "I will try harder. You know, I screwed up. Give me another chance so that I'll do it again." 00:56:34.360 |
True repentance is recognizing that we are unable and surrendering to this God. 00:56:40.360 |
See, the blood of Christ frees us from dead works. 00:56:45.360 |
Until a man rests in Christ, he will never be able to labor in Christ. 00:56:52.360 |
Because human experience by his own works, like Solomon says in Ecclesiastes, 00:56:59.360 |
"It's nothing new under the sun. It's all vanity. All our hard work's vanity. 00:57:04.360 |
All this time raising godly children, vanity." 00:57:08.360 |
Or whatever it is that we have hoped for. If we work hard enough, we'll raise good children. 00:57:13.360 |
We're going to have good jobs, get married to a godly woman, godly husband, 00:57:17.360 |
settle down, and be able to live a nice, comfortable life, 00:57:20.360 |
according to Solomon, according to the wisdom of the world, according to the gospel, 00:57:29.360 |
Nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 2, 22-23, 00:57:32.360 |
"For what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun? 00:57:37.360 |
Because all his days, his task is painful and grievous. 00:57:42.360 |
Even at night his mind does not rest. This, too, is vanity." 00:57:48.360 |
Until every human being, every person in this room, 00:57:52.360 |
learns to find rest in the atonement of Christ, 00:58:15.360 |
So either pride or self-loathing is a result of a righteousness based on our work. 00:58:25.360 |
The atonement of Christ frees us from the bondage of dead works. 00:58:30.360 |
And only an individual who has been freed from the bondage of dead works 00:58:35.360 |
can be useful, number three, to serve the living God. 00:58:43.360 |
The word for serve here is the same word that he uses in verse one. 00:58:47.360 |
Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. 00:58:52.360 |
But in this passage, in verse 14, the same word, same root word is used to describe to serve, "lechu'o." 00:59:01.360 |
The word proskuneo means a position of surrender. 00:59:08.360 |
And that's the word that is used most prominently in the New Testament. 00:59:13.360 |
But this word lechu'o is describing a physical action. 00:59:17.360 |
In this context, talking about the tabernacle, the priests are going and giving sacrifices 00:59:22.360 |
and everything that they were doing, it was an act of worship. 00:59:25.360 |
So to apply that to today, when he says that only a man who has been freed from his dead works, 00:59:31.360 |
that he is free to serve the living God, to worship the living God. 00:59:36.360 |
Worship is not simply what happens in this room from 1030 to 12. 00:59:44.360 |
By nature of the word worship, it means to love something, to adore something, 00:59:53.360 |
Just like if you get too carried away with sports, your friends will say, 01:00:03.360 |
Or maybe you fell in love with the girlfriend or husband or wife or whatever, 01:00:09.360 |
and all you're thinking about is this person. 01:00:15.360 |
It means that you find so much joy in this, that that's all you think about. 01:00:22.360 |
Some people get so carried away and just love Lakers 01:00:28.360 |
to the point where they know where these basketballs are made. 01:00:32.360 |
If I asked you how much the Spalding basketball weighs, I bet you some of you guys know. 01:00:38.360 |
I bet you you know where the leather is made. 01:00:41.360 |
I used to be made in this country, but because of the weather condition and the political climate, 01:00:46.360 |
the leather was cheaper out in China, and then the political situation, so they moved to Vietnam. 01:00:51.360 |
Starting from next year, they're going to bring another ball, but the weight is too high, 01:00:56.360 |
Then next year, the eastern side is going to use this basketball, 01:00:59.360 |
but the western side is going to use that basketball. 01:01:01.360 |
But after two months, they're going to try it out, and they're going to see what's going to happen. 01:01:10.360 |
No one's paying you to do that, because you love it that much. 01:01:14.360 |
That's what we mean by worship, that you adore it so much. 01:01:17.360 |
You get so much enjoyment out of it that you give yourself fully to that. 01:01:27.360 |
So when the Bible tells us to worship God in spirit and in truth, 01:01:31.360 |
He's not simply talking about going through the regulation of coming to church, 01:01:36.360 |
and singing songs, and giving, and becoming a member. 01:01:41.360 |
He's talking about seeing God's glory, and becoming a worshiper of God. 01:01:48.360 |
That we become obsessed with Him, because there's nothing better than Him. 01:01:57.360 |
I remember when I first became a Christian, asking the Bible study leader if I could come to Friday Bible study. 01:02:03.360 |
I was living in Burbank in the middle of baseball tryouts, 01:02:07.360 |
and I spent eight months preparing for this baseball tryout, 01:02:09.360 |
and I became a Christian in the middle of winter break. 01:02:14.360 |
And I just lost interest. I just wanted to be at this Bible study. 01:02:17.360 |
And as a young believer, I didn't know that you were allowed to come to Bible study. 01:02:24.360 |
You know what I mean? So I asked, "Can I? Is it possible?" 01:02:29.360 |
So not only did they want me to come, they said, "I'll pick you up." 01:02:32.360 |
So I had one of the Bible study leaders come from LA and pick me up in Burbank 01:02:40.360 |
But I remember thinking, "Wow! This is so awesome!" 01:02:49.360 |
And I was like, "Can I come to this prayer meeting?" 01:02:56.360 |
They let me stay sometimes two or three in the morning. 01:03:00.360 |
And then we would just sleep at the church, wake up the next day, and they would take me back home. 01:03:03.360 |
I don't know if my parents were worried or not. They never asked. 01:03:07.360 |
So I just stayed Saturday. We would spend all day. 01:03:10.360 |
And it's not just me. I know other believers. 01:03:13.360 |
When they first become a Christian and first become a worshiper of Christ, 01:03:20.360 |
I say, "Yes! I'm trying to get people to sit more in the front." 01:03:26.360 |
I've had people ask me, "Can I dress this way? What kind of Bible do I need to get?" 01:03:37.360 |
Usually, you have a group of people who are eager to serve. 01:03:41.360 |
And it's like, "Oh, can I serve? Where can I serve?" 01:03:45.360 |
And then you have the other half that's like, "Do I have to serve? Is this mandatory? Can I have to be there?" 01:03:53.360 |
That's the difference between worshipping and religion. 01:03:58.360 |
People who are going through the motion and checking off the things that you're supposed to do 01:04:02.360 |
versus somebody who's seen the glory of Christ and fell in love. 01:04:08.360 |
That's why he describes the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. 01:04:29.360 |
It showed us the beauty of the God that created us. 01:04:34.360 |
So that we may come back to worship Him, adore Him, because that's where we find life. 01:04:43.360 |
That's why we come to church. That's why we serve. 01:04:49.360 |
Because I find greater life here than anywhere else. 01:04:53.360 |
That's what he means. That when we recognize who He is, that He's better than anything else that we can possibly pursue in this world. 01:05:02.360 |
And He delivers us from the dead works that continue to bind us. 01:05:08.360 |
Then He frees us so that we can serve and worship this living God. 01:05:13.360 |
That's the whole point of what he's trying to get. 01:05:17.360 |
He's not telling people who are drifting, "Hey, you better come back!" 01:05:22.360 |
He said, "Do you not recognize what you are drifting from?" 01:05:27.360 |
You're drifting from where the greatest joy and greatest life is found. 01:05:34.360 |
I pray that, especially now, again, you and I live in a generation where Christianity, the name Christian, has lost its meaning. 01:05:46.360 |
Because the Gospel has been watered down so much. 01:05:49.360 |
We've been worried so much about losing numbers in the church. 01:05:54.360 |
That we've just, as long as the church is full, we're doing great. 01:06:01.360 |
He said He's looking for people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. 01:06:07.360 |
The greatest witness that you and I can be in this world is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. 01:06:15.360 |
And this world that doesn't know God will look at your life and say, "What is it about Jesus that you would worship Him like that?" 01:06:24.360 |
"Why would you sit in the hot sun? Why would you risk your health?" 01:06:29.360 |
Then we can say it's because of what Christ has done. 01:06:34.360 |
So my prayer is, especially now, as the turmoil and the tide violently is pushing our culture away from Christ, 01:06:45.360 |
that we absolutely must be anchored in Christ. 01:06:50.360 |
And that we ask ourselves, not just this morning, not just today, but ask ourselves, "Is Christ enough?" 01:06:59.360 |
And if He is not, there's nothing else more important than to deal with that question. 01:07:07.360 |
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your kindness, Your goodness, Your mercy. 01:07:19.360 |
I pray, Father God, that as You open our eyes to see the glory of Jesus Christ, 01:07:25.360 |
the glory of who You are that caused us to be born again. 01:07:30.360 |
If we've drifted from that and been tempted and coveting things, Lord God, that are worthless, 01:07:35.360 |
help us, Lord God, to be re-anchored in Christ and Christ alone. 01:07:40.360 |
Help us to be a witness in this dark world that we may be the light. 01:07:45.360 |
Help us to have opportunities, Lord God, to be able to share the gospel, 01:07:50.360 |
to be ready in season and out of season to preach Your Word. 01:07:55.360 |
Help us, Lord God, as a church to stimulate, to provoke one another on toward loving good deeds, 01:08:01.360 |
that in our community that Christ may be exalted, that joy and worship may flourish, 01:08:09.360 |
that the world may know that we worship the living God. 01:08:19.360 |
Let us all rise as we sing our closing praise. 01:08:44.360 |
In the ground is he who will save the sinners 01:09:14.360 |
In the ground is he who will save the sinners 01:09:27.360 |
There are many joys to see the mountain in whose stead 01:09:41.360 |
there may I go, how the tear of my soul stands a-weeping, 01:10:07.360 |
And there may I go, how the tear of my soul stands a-weeping, 01:10:33.360 |
And there may I go, how the tear of my soul stands a-weeping, 01:10:58.360 |
And there may I go, how the tear of my soul stands a-weeping, 01:11:25.360 |
And there may I go, how the tear of my soul stands a-weeping, 01:12:38.360 |
Gracious and loving Father, you truly are a God worthy of worship. 01:12:44.360 |
Help us, Lord God, to become more and more of this worshiper who 01:12:51.360 |
That our mind, our heart, our life, our finance, our youth, 01:12:54.360 |
our old age, Lord God, all of it may be surrendered. 01:12:58.360 |
That we may learn to adore you, to love you, to find the greatest 01:13:02.360 |
joy, Father God, in the act of worshiping you and serving you. 01:13:06.360 |
Lord, I pray, Father God, that you would give us compassion for 01:13:10.360 |
this lost world as they are striving and angry and bitter, Lord God, 01:13:16.360 |
because of sin, their own sins and the sins of the world. 01:13:21.360 |
Help us, Lord, to be a good witness to them that we would be the source 01:13:28.360 |
Help us to be broken for those lost souls, Lord God, that we would be 01:13:31.360 |
in prayer, that we would see them, Lord, with compassion as you had 01:13:37.360 |
Help us, Lord God, not to just drift along in this life and just to 01:13:45.360 |
Lord, I pray that you would ignite in us a great passion for your name 01:13:53.360 |
Help us to be the aroma of Christ wherever we go, whether we eat or 01:13:57.360 |
drink, Lord God, today, tomorrow, and forevermore, that Christ and 01:14:01.360 |
what he has done may be proclaimed, Lord God, until he comes. 01:14:06.360 |
Now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy 01:14:09.360 |
Spirit, eternal love of God the Father, overwhelm and transform us 01:14:15.360 |
that we may live the rest of our lives in true worship. 01:14:48.360 |
By my power and deed, an empty grave is there to me, 01:15:23.360 |
Because I know he holds the future and life is worth the living 01:15:51.360 |
Alright, if you would just take a moment to take a seat. 01:15:53.360 |
We are going to be excused just progressively from the backside. 01:15:57.360 |
And so those of you who are in the front, just hang tight for a little 01:16:04.360 |
Is that one, people have asked, can I enter the sanctuary to fill up my 01:16:09.360 |
If you forgot to bring a water bottle, we do have some extra individual