back to index2019-05-19 Planning to Fail or Failing to Plan
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I mean, I know Corey can be both a male and female name. 00:00:10.660 |
You did a better job than me because I think last time I came up, I didn't even 00:00:15.180 |
So, yeah, I think I said I had two kids and I realized, "Oh, wait, no, 00:00:26.540 |
Again, I'm grateful for this opportunity to come and share the Word of God with you 00:00:32.700 |
And so, let's pray and then I'm going to jump into the sermon. 00:00:41.220 |
Lord God, thank you again so much for this morning and, again, 00:00:44.980 |
what an opportunity to come and to worship you in spirit and in truth, 00:00:50.460 |
in connection, in relationship with our spiritual family. 00:00:56.580 |
Thank you so much for providing this avenue and we pray, Lord God, 00:01:03.180 |
that as we go into your Word this morning, that you would engage us, 00:01:10.100 |
that you would help us, Lord God, to be sober, to be alert, 00:01:16.140 |
to know, Lord God, that we have been given a tremendous honor to be messengers 00:01:24.460 |
And so, please, Lord God, help us to understand that this morning. 00:01:33.100 |
This week was a little bit more hectic than most weeks because this Saturday, 00:01:40.740 |
And so, there's a lot of things that our family is just juggling 00:01:47.100 |
And so, the title of the sermon is kind of...it wasn't my first option, okay? 00:01:52.940 |
It was more like, it was Saturday morning and Pastor Mark messaged me and said, 00:01:59.820 |
And typically, for me, that's kind of an indication like, "Oh, 00:02:02.700 |
there's going to be some problems because either you don't have a main point that 00:02:06.980 |
you want to stick to and it's just like a hot mess." 00:02:13.020 |
But I titled this sermon, "Planning to Fail or Failing to Plan," 00:02:17.340 |
primarily because there was a quote that stood out to me by John J. 00:02:22.660 |
And his quote is, "Most people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan." 00:02:28.820 |
And I think as our family is getting ready to leave, there was something in my heart 00:02:35.580 |
that said, "You need to plan the next phase of your life now." 00:02:43.740 |
And it was just such a great opportunity even though life was pretty hectic this 00:02:47.660 |
week and, you know, my sister-in-law is having a baby shower today, 00:02:54.060 |
And my wife is amazing, Jen is amazing, she's juggling all that and packing all 00:03:01.540 |
But that afforded me the time to start thinking ahead. 00:03:05.540 |
What can we do to prepare for this next phase in life? 00:03:09.860 |
And obviously, this quote who came from this guy isn't anything new in God's eyes, 00:03:18.140 |
There was always a plan, there was always something that involves 00:03:23.980 |
1 Corinthians 9, 24 to 27 says, "Do you not know that in a race, 00:03:30.420 |
all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? 00:03:37.140 |
Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. 00:03:41.340 |
They do it to receive a perishable reef, but we, an imperishable. 00:03:46.500 |
So I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air, 00:03:51.460 |
but I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching 00:03:59.380 |
And so, as we see in this text, in this imagery of an athletic life, 00:04:05.140 |
Christian living is designed to be with purpose and with plans. 00:04:11.940 |
And so, as I come before you this morning with God's word, 00:04:16.940 |
I just want to share with you guys, I guess, four components of our plan 00:04:24.020 |
when we get overseas, what we hope to do and hope to accomplish, 00:04:30.860 |
primarily in regards to just our own spiritual walk, okay? 00:04:35.780 |
I hope that any one of these goals that we share with you may resonate 00:04:41.740 |
I hope that something will stick in your heart, something will stick 00:04:44.220 |
in your mind, and that you'll take away with that, and that it will be 00:04:51.060 |
And if you ever are reminded, "Hey, I remember that sermon that 00:04:55.740 |
Pastor Alex gave, and I remember this one point," take some time to pray 00:05:02.900 |
And so, the first point, and I'm sorry, I didn't make a PowerPoint today, 00:05:13.180 |
We're going to be flipping through our Bibles. 00:05:20.060 |
I felt confident I could use Hebrews 6 because you guys probably won't get 00:05:24.500 |
So, hopefully, by then, you guys will forget about this. 00:05:32.340 |
And the first component of our plan, at least in regards to our own spiritual 00:05:36.900 |
walk, is to be more assured of my salvation, to be more assured of my 00:05:49.140 |
And so, the question we must ask is, "What is assurance? 00:05:53.500 |
We're not talking about insurance, we're talking about assurance. 00:05:58.540 |
And the way I would define assurance is, it's that unwavering belief that your 00:06:08.180 |
You're not looking at the doctrine of what brings about salvation, 00:06:16.940 |
There's a book I read recently by Sinclair Ferguson. 00:06:23.180 |
And his book was basically talking about legalism, antinomianism, 00:06:28.300 |
and a specific controversy in the Presbyterian Church a long time ago. 00:06:33.180 |
And there was a specific book that was written that kind of sparked this 00:06:36.420 |
controversy called, "The Marrow of Modern Divinity." 00:06:40.780 |
And "The Marrow of Modern Divinity" was kind of written like Pilgrim's Progress, 00:06:44.740 |
where you have different characters talking to each other, and as you see their 00:06:48.900 |
conversation, it kind of produces like this understanding of certain doctrines 00:06:55.940 |
And so, there's this conversation that took place between these two characters 00:07:01.380 |
And I wanted to share with you this conversation just so you get the gist of 00:07:09.300 |
Neophytus starts off by saying, "Sir, I know that the foundation whereon I am to 00:07:15.220 |
ground my faith remains sure, and I think I have already built thereon. 00:07:20.460 |
But yet, because I conceive a man may think he has done so when he has not, 00:07:25.940 |
therefore, would I fain know how I may be assured that I have so done?" 00:07:31.660 |
And so, Evangelista, he replies, "Well, now I understand you what you mean. 00:07:36.900 |
It seems you do not want a ground for your believing, but for your believing that you 00:07:43.780 |
I know that you're going like deep dive, right? 00:07:45.260 |
You're like, "Oh, my gosh, do I believe what I actually believe?" 00:07:48.540 |
And that's what assurance is actually focusing on, right? 00:07:54.620 |
We come to Bible study and participate in filling out the worksheets and listening 00:08:02.860 |
But if that just stays in your head and it's just knowledge, and it doesn't move 00:08:08.580 |
you to some sort of action, then you have to answer this question, 00:08:18.900 |
Why do I want to be more assured of my salvation than today? 00:08:23.100 |
Well, the assurance of salvation was one of the most...one of the prominent biblical 00:08:27.420 |
truths that affected my walk with God immediately. 00:08:32.260 |
It was a chapter in J.C. Ryle's book, Holiness, called Assurance. 00:08:37.940 |
And that chapter just really flipped my world upside down because it caused me 00:08:44.700 |
to recognize that if I truly believe what I see in Scripture, then my life needs to 00:08:51.420 |
match up, at least align myself to what the Scripture is saying, right? 00:08:57.620 |
There's no halfway in, halfway out when it comes to Christianity. 00:09:01.220 |
There's no category for that in the Scriptures. 00:09:07.740 |
And so, by responding to the gospel, by going all in, there was a certain degree 00:09:11.780 |
of purpose and direction, at least for my life and in Jen's life. 00:09:18.020 |
And it gives us assurance that whatever we're doing, we know has value and purpose 00:09:27.460 |
I'm going to quote from J.C. Ryle, and I hope that this quote will help you 00:09:31.780 |
understand more about what assurance can do for the Christian life. 00:09:38.740 |
Ryle writes, "Now, assurance goes far to set a child of God free from this painful 00:09:45.620 |
kind of bondage and thus ministers mightily to his comfort. 00:09:50.420 |
Assurance enables him to feel that the great business of life is a settled 00:09:54.540 |
business, the great debt, a paid debt, the great disease, a healed disease, 00:10:02.620 |
And all other businesses, diseases, debts, and works are then by comparison small. 00:10:08.700 |
In this way, assurance makes him patient in tribulation, calm under bereavements, 00:10:14.740 |
unmoved in sorrow, not afraid of evil tidings, in every condition, content, 00:10:31.780 |
It smooths the rough places over which he travels. 00:10:35.220 |
It lightens the valley of the shadow of death. 00:10:38.460 |
It makes him always feel that he has something solid beneath his feet and 00:10:46.060 |
A sure friend by the way and a sure home at the end. 00:10:51.940 |
And so when it comes down to assurance, it provides this, I guess you could say, 00:10:58.260 |
a safety net of sorts when you walk in faith, as you walk as a Christian wherever 00:11:04.900 |
you are, whether it's on campus, whether it's at work, whether it's at home. 00:11:10.260 |
Because we have to remind ourselves, right, we are not of this world, right? 00:11:14.980 |
We're not supposed to be liked by this world. 00:11:19.180 |
And as a result, pressures will come, whether pressures from inside our own 00:11:24.220 |
hearts, whether pressures from outside, pressure is going to come. 00:11:30.340 |
And if we understand what this doctrine does for us, it frees us, it empowers us, 00:11:38.420 |
it enables us to continue to walk by faith and not by sight, 00:11:48.420 |
Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 6, 11 through 12, and it says, 00:11:56.260 |
"And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness, 00:12:00.220 |
to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, 00:12:05.740 |
but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." 00:12:10.660 |
And so, I looked at this passage because there are three reasons why we should 00:12:17.900 |
Why that should be at the forefront of our minds as we pursue Christ. 00:12:22.660 |
And the first desire for assurance is so that we may not be sluggish 00:12:33.500 |
In deepening our sense of assurance, it can only heighten the awareness 00:12:38.820 |
of God's presence, His grace, His holiness, every other attribute of God, right? 00:12:50.300 |
The word sluggishness there could be replaced with the word dullness, right? 00:12:55.420 |
So sluggishness or dullness will not be an issue because we know our purpose. 00:13:01.660 |
We know what the end goal of our lives is supposed to be. 00:13:12.860 |
The second reason to desire assurance is so that we may be imitators of those 00:13:22.820 |
Now, pursuing assurance can be a lonely thing because sometimes we don't think 00:13:31.940 |
And as a result, it can be very, very lonely. 00:13:35.820 |
But Hebrews 6, 11 through 12 tells us that it's not a lonely path at all. 00:13:42.900 |
In fact, many other believers have walked down this path in history. 00:13:47.380 |
It's a sense of assurance for us knowing that this path is the right path that 00:13:52.900 |
we're supposed to be on because so many others have gone before us. 00:13:58.780 |
We have a rich history as believers of faithful men and women who ran this race 00:14:04.780 |
of faith, and so we need to tap into that resource to know our spiritual heritage, 00:14:09.940 |
to understand what these brothers and sisters have gone through in the past. 00:14:16.620 |
The third reason we should desire assurance is because we get to inherit the 00:14:25.980 |
We get to inherit the promises that have already been given. 00:14:31.820 |
And these promises, we get to enter the kingdom of God, right? 00:14:37.700 |
We get the forgiveness of sins if we confess it in faith. 00:14:42.020 |
We're able to understand that our life does not belong here. 00:14:47.660 |
So we don't waste our resources trying to build our kingdom here, but we wisely and 00:14:54.700 |
shrewdly use our resources so that we can see God's kingdom expand here in the 00:15:02.220 |
proclamation of the gospel, in the planting of churches, 00:15:09.780 |
Now, you guys might be wondering why assurance, right? 00:15:22.020 |
And I don't share this with you because I'm doubting my salvation, right? 00:15:32.700 |
But the reason why I share this prayer request with you is because I want to know 00:15:46.780 |
And when you desire that intimacy and when you walk in obedience to what God has 00:15:51.100 |
called you to do, you will see a quality of life in you that is so much more 00:15:58.740 |
different than your past life, than before you were a believer. 00:16:03.380 |
And it should cause us to hunger more for that. 00:16:08.540 |
And so, the first one that, again, the first component of our plan when we go 00:16:11.900 |
overseas is so that we would be more assured of our salvation than today. 00:16:22.500 |
Our second component is to continually count the cost of a life abandoned 00:16:30.740 |
To continually count the cost of a life abandoned to Christ. 00:16:36.460 |
So, if you turn with me to Mark 8, verse 34, let's go ahead and open up your app 00:16:50.460 |
And in this particular section of Scripture, Christ is teaching his 00:16:59.100 |
disciples and what he is teaching them is paradigm shifting, right? 00:17:05.540 |
My professor, Dr. Harris, would say, "These are theological bombshells," 00:17:15.380 |
It's the first time that they're hearing that Jesus affirmed his messiahship, 00:17:20.820 |
The first time that Jesus affirms that he is the Messiah. 00:17:26.900 |
This is also the first time where Jesus speaks about his death and resurrection 00:17:34.500 |
And we're going to focus on this third theological bombshell because in Mark 00:17:40.100 |
8, verse 34, he lays out for them, what is the cost of being a disciple? 00:17:49.700 |
And the primary focus of this cost comes in these three commands here. 00:17:56.060 |
"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross 00:18:06.020 |
Three imperatives in the Greek, which means we have three commands here. 00:18:11.460 |
Three imperatives where there is no wriggling around whether I should obey it 00:18:21.100 |
And as we look at these three commands, I want to point out that there are two 00:18:27.740 |
relationships that are going to be sacrificed. 00:18:33.900 |
Two relationships that are going to be sacrificed. 00:18:37.300 |
In one sense, Christ is calling for an end to a relationship of yourself. 00:18:44.300 |
The word "deny" here means to act in a selfless manner, right? 00:18:49.380 |
To deny yourself means to basically no longer consider yourself. 00:18:58.500 |
One commentator wrote in regards to the word "deny," "I must not confess myself 00:19:05.820 |
and my own being nor cling to myself, but abandon myself in a radical renunciation 00:19:16.420 |
I must no longer seek to establish my life of myself, but I resolutely accept 00:19:21.740 |
death and allow myself to be established by Christ in discipleship." 00:19:28.100 |
So when it comes to denying yourself, right, it's a command in which we are 00:19:38.220 |
I mean, you can look at the culture, you can look at the news, 00:19:40.620 |
you can see what people are going after, and it's strong, guys. 00:19:46.500 |
I mean, having been in America for the last seven months, I mean, 00:19:53.820 |
I was getting my teeth done and, you know, they have a TV up on the ceiling, 00:19:57.060 |
which I've never done that before because I haven't gone to the dentist 00:20:02.100 |
And I'm just reading the little ticker things, the headlines, and I'm just, 00:20:09.300 |
And maybe it's because I'm getting drilled too, you know, by the dentist. 00:20:11.780 |
But, man, it was just, like, really discouraging to see what was going on. 00:20:15.140 |
And seeing the commercials, you know, like, "Lose weight by coming 00:20:21.460 |
to our office and, you know, sucking out your fat." 00:20:31.380 |
Call this lawyer and he'll get you all the money and he'll fight for you." 00:20:43.620 |
And sometimes even in Christian culture, that idea of promoting yourself has 00:20:51.420 |
When clearly in Scripture, Christ commands us to deny ourselves, 00:20:56.540 |
to not worry about building yourself up or to building up your family up. 00:21:04.660 |
Rather, we are called to radically renunciate ourselves and to accept death 00:21:09.820 |
and allow ourselves to be established by Christ. 00:21:15.020 |
So that's the first relationship in which we see comes to an end as we consider the 00:21:23.020 |
But the second relationship is our relationship with the world. 00:21:29.700 |
The phrase there, the command there, "To pick up your cross or to take up his 00:21:34.140 |
cross," points to the sacrifice, shame, pressure, and persecution that a 00:21:44.340 |
John 15, 18 through 19 says, "If the world hates you, 00:21:47.900 |
know that it has hated me before it hated you. 00:21:51.820 |
If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. 00:21:56.460 |
But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, 00:22:04.980 |
Now, there is always going to be an innate desire in us to be liked, right? 00:22:11.860 |
If I have offended you in any way, it's not because I purposely offended you, 00:22:21.020 |
We all want to be well thought of by our neighbors and by our coworkers. 00:22:27.340 |
But when it comes to that split-second decision of whether you're going to share 00:22:32.700 |
the gospel with them, and if that thought enters your mind where it's like, 00:22:37.540 |
"But if I share with them, they might not like me. 00:22:41.180 |
If I share with them, they might think I'm a weirdo or that I'm awkward," 00:22:47.740 |
that is where we see the need for us to pick up our cross, to recognize that we 00:22:58.620 |
We may be shamed by this world, but we will not be shamed by Christ as long 00:23:04.220 |
as we proclaim Him faithfully, boldly, and clearly. 00:23:09.260 |
Now, the last command here, "Let him deny himself, take up his cross, 00:23:20.580 |
I talked about the ending of two relationships when you follow Christ, 00:23:27.900 |
We end that relationship with ourselves, we end that relationship with the world, 00:23:36.660 |
When I see the phrase "follow me," at least in my younger, immature days, 00:23:50.940 |
That word "follow me" often carries a very like heavy and negative connotation, 00:23:59.740 |
I think we've been taught in school, like, we need to be leaders, 00:24:11.980 |
However, when I look at this command to follow Christ, I think we have to come 00:24:19.380 |
to this conclusion that though it is a command to follow Him, 00:24:25.660 |
it is a command that is inviting a relationship into your life. 00:24:33.220 |
It's a command that brings about an invitation to gain a relationship 00:24:42.700 |
We think about the word "follow" and it sounds so derogatory, and yet, 00:24:46.660 |
by following Christ, we gain a relationship with the greatest man alive in Jesus. 00:24:57.820 |
And so, when we understand this phrase "follow me," and we see what we gain by 00:25:04.500 |
having this relationship with Jesus Christ, or to deepen that relationship 00:25:08.660 |
with Jesus, then that command doesn't become a burden anymore. 00:25:15.220 |
It actually becomes an accelerant to desire Him more, to give up more 00:25:25.100 |
This particular component of our plan came into my mind because as I'm getting 00:25:31.140 |
older, I'm finding more reasons not to give up. 00:25:39.220 |
I'm finding more reasons to think about the cost and be like, "No." 00:25:46.620 |
I mean, people ask me if saying goodbye this time around is harder than the 00:25:54.220 |
Because we did something like this three and a half years ago, right? 00:25:57.980 |
And I would say it's actually much more difficult this time around. 00:26:08.140 |
I'm older and the people around me are getting older. 00:26:13.020 |
You know, it's harder to see when you come back, obviously, 00:26:24.700 |
You want to make sure your family is set up right. 00:26:29.780 |
You know, it's harder because your friends are getting older and they're going 00:26:33.220 |
through these milestones and you're like, "You're not really a part of it." 00:26:39.340 |
Like, "I'm a part of it because of Facebook and I like a picture, 00:26:43.180 |
but I'm not there with you celebrating these milestones." 00:26:50.780 |
We're not there when suffering happens in our family, both in our spiritual and our 00:27:02.060 |
The older I get, the more stability I want in my life, right? 00:27:08.820 |
When I was younger, like, it's okay if you could say, "I don't know." 00:27:15.020 |
But I'm 35 now and I'm like, "Man, I don't know if I could say, 00:27:27.140 |
And so when I'm confronted by these pressures and by these situations in my 00:27:33.020 |
life stage, the question that always comes to is like, "Is it still worth it? 00:27:41.060 |
Like, is it still worth to pack up our bags and still go overseas?" 00:27:51.260 |
And I can say with confidence, it's a thousand times yes, 00:28:02.340 |
Because in my understanding of Scripture, if I am obeying what Christ has 00:28:08.700 |
commanded me to do in very specific applications, then I'm going to be where 00:28:16.260 |
my most favorite person in the world is going to be. 00:28:22.220 |
And I'm going to experience a joy and purpose and fulfillment and satisfaction 00:28:29.540 |
in knowing that I am following my Lord and Savior. 00:28:36.260 |
And so pray, pray that our family will understand that we need to count the 00:28:41.820 |
cost more, see where we could give up more for the sake of Christ. 00:28:51.580 |
Now, the third component of our plan here is to learn how to share the gospel 00:29:00.420 |
more clearly, to learn how to share the gospel more clearly. 00:29:08.220 |
You know, prior to going out the first time, there will be moments in a day 00:29:12.260 |
where I would go through different scenarios in my mind, where if I were to 00:29:17.420 |
go and share the gospel with this person and this person responds in that way, 00:29:23.140 |
I know, you're probably thinking like, "You're such a weirdo. 00:29:30.380 |
And I remember when we were in East Asia this past time and we were sharing the 00:29:36.540 |
gospel with people, and we're talking about sin and we're talking about law, 00:29:42.420 |
right, we're talking about you fail the commands of God and so you're destined 00:29:48.340 |
I mean, people were like nodding their heads in like polite, 00:29:54.060 |
But there wasn't like a category in their minds for that. 00:30:01.500 |
And I was reading journal articles, I was just reading stuff on like, 00:30:04.020 |
"Okay, where are more effective ways to share the gospel in Asian context?" 00:30:10.420 |
And I realized that certain categories are not built in their cultural mindsets, 00:30:16.780 |
I know, I'm like Asian, I should have picked this up a lot sooner. 00:30:21.740 |
And so I remember thinking about, "Oh, man, what if I talk...instead of talking 00:30:24.900 |
about sin, we talk about shame, embarrassment, right? 00:30:31.300 |
And we talk about honor and share the gospel in terms of those words and that 00:30:38.340 |
And I just remember when I was sharing it in that way, it was like a light switch 00:30:48.780 |
He took away my shame by dying on the cross and replaced me, 00:30:56.100 |
It was mind-blowing for the people that we were sharing the gospel with. 00:31:01.300 |
And so it got me understanding like, "Okay, I need to learn how to share the 00:31:10.460 |
And Apostle Paul had the same prayer request too. 00:31:26.900 |
This brought me so much encouragement, right? 00:31:32.580 |
Colossians 4, verse 3 and 4, we read that here. 00:31:38.300 |
"At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word to 00:31:44.380 |
declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I am in prison, 00:31:49.340 |
that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak." 00:31:56.780 |
So he's asking for prayer requests for open doors, right? 00:32:02.860 |
But on top of that, he's saying, "Pray that I may speak clearly. 00:32:06.900 |
Pray that I could speak the mystery of Christ in such a way in which the audience 00:32:17.140 |
Now, if you know Paul's speaking history, it's kind of a mixed bag, okay? 00:32:20.940 |
He wasn't this dynamic speaker in according to the cultures and customs 00:32:32.020 |
And I'll read some Scripture passages that might paint that picture more fully. 00:32:39.140 |
"And I, Paul, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the 00:32:43.420 |
testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom." 00:32:51.580 |
"Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge. 00:32:56.540 |
Indeed, in every way, we have made this plain to you in all things." 00:33:00.260 |
So again, the phrase, like, "Even if I am unskilled in speaking." 00:33:10.940 |
"For they say, 'His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak 00:33:21.660 |
I know we read his letters and we're thinking, "Man, Paul's such a clear 00:33:25.300 |
Why is he asking for, like, more prayer that he may speak it clearly?" 00:33:30.100 |
Well, because he recognizes that you don't assume communication. 00:33:36.780 |
You don't assume that you are the clearest communicator in this world. 00:33:43.820 |
Even though Paul has written almost 50% of the New Testament, 00:33:48.420 |
it appears that his preaching didn't fit the stylistic demands of his time. 00:33:58.140 |
And so, if Paul is making this prayer request, then I think it provides for us a 00:34:07.260 |
Maybe we need to pray and ask God to improve our abilities to speak biblical 00:34:13.620 |
truths so that we know how we ought to speak. 00:34:19.060 |
Again, communication is always going to be hazardous to your own health because of 00:34:26.860 |
I remember I was learning Chinese and I was paired up with Alicia and we had one 00:34:37.500 |
And he were just going over tones and going over certain words. 00:34:40.940 |
And I don't know what happened, but I think I was trying to say that, 00:34:43.980 |
"Oh, I teach kids who went over to America and they came back." 00:34:51.100 |
Like, the literal translation of that word is like sea turtle. 00:34:53.820 |
But, you know, for Chinese people, it's like they looked at us, "Oh, 00:35:02.700 |
And when I told it to my teacher, I like basically said a curse word. 00:35:08.980 |
And he knows I'm a Christian and he knows like why we're here. 00:35:12.620 |
And so, he was just laughing uncontrollably for like 10 minutes. 00:35:24.460 |
And finally, he pulled up his dictionary, he showed me the word, 00:35:26.100 |
I was like really embarrassed, like what I said. 00:35:32.180 |
That lesson is like imprinted in my mind because of the country that we're trying 00:35:38.620 |
In one sentence, you could say either Jesus is Lord or Jesus is a pig. 00:35:47.060 |
And so, the question we have to ask ourselves is, have we ever wrestled with 00:35:50.820 |
the practical aspect of how to communicate the gospel? 00:35:54.980 |
Have we considered that the gospel work that is presented to us requires us to 00:35:58.940 |
pray and ask God for help to figure out what to say and how to say these 00:36:09.700 |
As most of you guys know, we're going to be going overseas, 00:36:12.140 |
but the first two years is really just going to be focused on language study. 00:36:17.180 |
And if you asked me three years ago about it, I would be very, very, very, 00:36:22.100 |
very, very, very reluctant just because I'm like, "I don't want to go back to 00:36:30.740 |
But this time around, I'm really excited to learn because I know if I learn this 00:36:39.020 |
language, if I'm able to master it, if God gives me and Jen the grace to learn 00:36:45.460 |
this language, how many more people will be able to understand the gospel? 00:36:55.340 |
There will be no barriers or misunderstandings, but rather, 00:37:00.220 |
they will understand it very clearly that they are in need of a savior. 00:37:08.020 |
That's, again, that's our third component of our plan, which is to learn the 00:37:12.100 |
language well so that we could share the gospel as clearly as possible. 00:37:18.220 |
Now, the last component of our plan, the last component is to trust and seek 00:37:32.860 |
If you want to flip there with me, Isaiah Chapter 12. 00:37:42.260 |
Isaiah Chapter 12, to trust and seek after obedience and joy in Christ. 00:37:50.380 |
Now, we got to understand the book of Isaiah. 00:37:53.220 |
So, in broader context, Chapter 7 through 12 could be considered like a unit in 00:38:00.620 |
And the reason why is because there are just recurring themes that are connected 00:38:04.540 |
in all of these chapters from Chapter 7 through 12, right? 00:38:09.300 |
We see in Chapter 7 through 12, there's a lot of judgment, right? 00:38:18.020 |
These judgments in Chapter 7 through 12 are against Israel and the nations. 00:38:24.140 |
In fact, if you go after 12, in Chapters 13 and on, you'll see much more judgment 00:38:35.140 |
And so, because there are so much judgment in Chapter 7 through 12, 00:38:38.420 |
when you come across the blessings, right, it just really stands out to you, right? 00:38:47.100 |
And some of these blessings include the promise of the Messiah, right? 00:38:53.180 |
Right, the root of Jesse, the Prince of Peace. 00:38:59.100 |
Blessings include a remnant that will be kept by the Lord, right? 00:39:04.300 |
That there will be a small group of the people of God. 00:39:11.260 |
And that the nations will be accepted into the kingdom of God. 00:39:15.620 |
So, though there is a bunch of judgment against the nations, in these same 00:39:19.460 |
chapters in 7 through 12, there are promises that the nations themselves will 00:39:28.700 |
So, when we look at Isaiah Chapter 12 specifically, we have to understand that 00:39:32.260 |
this is a concluding chapter to this entire section. 00:39:37.940 |
And if you just look at Isaiah Chapter 11, it's describing this beautiful, 00:39:41.900 |
peaceful, and just world because the Messiah is on the throne, the root of Jesse. 00:39:51.580 |
And so, Chapter 12 kind of gives us the answer to a question. 00:39:56.380 |
And the question is, how should the people of God respond when all 00:40:04.020 |
When there's all this peace, when there's all this, you know, 00:40:07.980 |
this goodness that comes from knowing that the Messiah reigns on high? 00:40:16.580 |
Remember, the audience has just heard a bunch of judgment. 00:40:20.460 |
And now, all of a sudden, these blessings are coming. 00:40:22.100 |
So, they're probably trying to reconcile, "What are we supposed to do here?" 00:40:26.980 |
And we see in verse 1 that they're called to be thankful, right? 00:40:30.760 |
"You will say in that day, 'I will give thanks to you, O Lord, 00:40:34.540 |
for though you were angry at me, your anger turned away that you 00:40:38.820 |
might comfort me.'" And there are, again, two reasons for their thankfulness. 00:40:46.140 |
And the same God who was angry is now there to comfort them. 00:40:51.220 |
Now, again, we could come across this verse and read it as if it was nothing. 00:40:57.180 |
But if we sit and dwell upon this truth, I think it will be beneficial for us. 00:41:07.240 |
I hope as believers and as members of our church that we don't fall into the trap 00:41:11.160 |
of thinking that God is somehow some irrational, knee-jerk-reacting God, right? 00:41:19.760 |
God's anger is not based off of an emotional response. 00:41:25.120 |
God's anger, when we see in Scripture, does not come as a result of him just 00:41:33.880 |
As we know, God and Israel had this relationship because of the Mosaic Covenant. 00:41:42.000 |
If Israel obeyed, God would richly bless them. 00:41:45.680 |
If Israel disobeyed, then God will bring upon discipline and judgment. 00:41:51.600 |
And again, we must know that God's anger is something we do not trifle with. 00:41:56.840 |
If you look at chapter 7 through 12 in Isaiah, you will see a lot of anger and 00:42:04.440 |
In fact, Isaiah chapter 9, 14 through 16 talks about God eliminating Israel's king 00:42:13.320 |
In essence, saying, "Relationship with you is done." 00:42:18.280 |
We see in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 17, that God is not going to rejoice 00:42:22.920 |
over their young men nor have compassion on the fatherless and the widows. 00:42:32.080 |
Isaiah 9, 18 through 21, in God's judgment, he allows sin to run amok, unabandoned. 00:42:44.280 |
Isaiah chapter 10, 5 through 11, there's a raising of enemies that are just bent 00:42:53.720 |
And that's just a small snippet of what God's anger comes in the form of. 00:43:01.560 |
Now, Israel in these last days where the Messiah is reigning has to recover 00:43:10.320 |
They have to recover from what they have experienced, they have to recover what 00:43:12.720 |
they have seen, they have to reconcile what just took place and what is taking 00:43:30.080 |
Again, if I were Israel and if I was fully aware of my sins, again, 00:43:37.520 |
it would be very, very hard for me to think that God would ever forgive me. 00:43:43.240 |
If our nation has fallen that far off, if I'm a member of Israel, 00:43:48.760 |
if our nation has gone so far away, how do we know that we have been forgiven? 00:43:54.760 |
How do we know that these good blessings are not just simply going to be taken away 00:44:00.680 |
Again, we're not just simply talking about facts and doctrines here, 00:44:03.320 |
but we need to be assured and believe that in fact God has forgiven, 00:44:09.760 |
that God has replaced our shame and has shown us his love and his mercy. 00:44:16.040 |
And so I want to give you guys just two fruits that are going to come forth that 00:44:20.000 |
will be indicators of that assurance and forgiveness that we see in Isaiah 12, 00:44:29.440 |
We see in verse 2, "Behold, God is my salvation. 00:44:38.840 |
The word trust here describes a reliance upon someone confidently. 00:44:44.080 |
Again, don't mix up the word trust and faith or belief, right? 00:44:52.720 |
One theological dictionary states, "It is significant that in the Septuagint 00:44:58.600 |
or the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, they never translate this 00:45:08.720 |
In fact, the word trust in the Septuagint is translated to have hope in, right? 00:45:17.600 |
This would seem to indicate that this Hebrew word for trust does not connote 00:45:23.800 |
that full-orb intellectual and volitional response to revelation, 00:45:29.920 |
Rather, it stresses the feeling of being safe and secure, right? 00:45:36.520 |
So it's one thing to say you believe it, but it's another thing to trust it. 00:45:40.440 |
Because when you trust in something, you feel safe, you feel secure. 00:45:46.000 |
And so again, how can Israel trust God after seeing all of this anger and 00:45:52.160 |
Well, the first thing that they trust is that they see God as their salvation. 00:46:03.040 |
And the word salvation there gives us the image of something that was once narrow, 00:46:10.800 |
It is a move from something distressful to safety, okay? 00:46:15.440 |
So the first thing of trust is recognizing who God is. 00:46:21.960 |
Secondly, it's what the word promised would happen. 00:46:27.760 |
If you don't like spoilers, I'm sorry, but Deuteronomy 28 kind of spoils it 00:46:35.880 |
Deuteronomy 28 reveals all these blessings and curses. 00:46:40.360 |
But when you get to Deuteronomy 30 verse 1, that is the spoiler here. 00:46:45.360 |
Because God, through Moses, tells the nation of Israel, 00:46:48.880 |
"And when all these things come upon you," right? 00:46:58.440 |
And so if there was some Israelite in Moses' camp that was thinking, "Oh, 00:47:01.480 |
yeah, we're just going to obey God and we're going to get all these blessings. 00:47:11.240 |
God has made it clear that the blessings and curses are going to fall upon Israel. 00:47:22.000 |
"And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have 00:47:26.120 |
set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your 00:47:30.960 |
God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, 00:47:35.040 |
and obey his voice and all that I command you today with all your heart and with all 00:47:38.960 |
your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy 00:47:43.560 |
And he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has 00:47:49.520 |
And so trust came in the form of trusting in God, knowing that the same God who 00:47:56.360 |
judged Israel is now the same God who is our salvation. 00:48:03.880 |
But to trust and also to trust in his word, to find safety and security in what 00:48:13.840 |
You believe what you read to be true and it informs how you ought to live, 00:48:18.160 |
which then leads into the second evidence of knowing whether you have, you know, 00:48:29.600 |
"With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation." 00:48:36.640 |
Now, we have to unpack that phrase a little bit because you're thinking like, 00:48:38.920 |
"What does drawing water have to do with joyful obedience?" 00:48:44.160 |
The first phrase in the Hebrew text is the phrase, "You will draw water." 00:48:48.080 |
Now, we know that drawing water here is not like a literal, like you have to take it 00:48:52.400 |
It's not literal because you're taking it out of the wells of salvation. 00:48:56.560 |
So this sentence is meant to be taken like metaphorically here. 00:49:02.240 |
And so this phrase is a metaphor for a renewed life. 00:49:11.160 |
It is a life recognizing that you have been renewed. 00:49:16.680 |
By drawing out the water, it is telling us that the people are living their life 00:49:20.800 |
according to God's word in faithful obedience. 00:49:33.000 |
And while that word obedience, again, brings up this connotation of drudgery 00:49:37.080 |
and forced action, again, I think what I was struck by was the next phrase, 00:49:50.800 |
Now, I don't know about you, but I've never drawn water from a well before, 00:49:55.480 |
but I can imagine that it's very tiresome, right? 00:49:59.200 |
It's a lot of work to pull up that little bucket of water and then pour it 00:50:01.800 |
into a bigger bucket, and then to carry that bigger bucket back home. 00:50:09.720 |
And so I find it hard to believe someone is going to wake up in the morning really 00:50:12.160 |
excited to go to a well and draw water from it. 00:50:17.280 |
But the more I think about this metaphor, the more appropriate I believe it reflects 00:50:24.600 |
Because again, obeying what we see in Scripture is hard, right? 00:50:29.400 |
A lot of times we see what we see in Scripture and we're like, 00:50:38.440 |
"No, God, you didn't really call me to do that. 00:50:45.400 |
But as we see from verse 3, if we really believe that we have this 00:50:51.440 |
renewed life in Christ, then the commands that we see in Scriptures 00:50:59.800 |
We see it as a choice, and it's a joyous choice. 00:51:02.200 |
It's a choice that we choose with joy to follow and to obey. 00:51:09.600 |
And so this metaphor really, again, just captures what we want to try and do 00:51:15.200 |
when we're overseas, to continue to trust, to continue to obey, 00:51:24.680 |
And the reason why I share that with you is because when we're, again, overseas, 00:51:32.080 |
I mean, there were days where you're just in darkness, and it's not because 00:51:37.160 |
of the pollution, but you're in darkness because spiritually, 00:51:47.000 |
You're dwelling upon disappointments, discouragements, uncertainty, 00:51:50.440 |
and it just piles and piles and piles on your shoulders. 00:51:58.600 |
And again, you start answering some of these questions with, "I don't know. 00:52:12.440 |
It appears that you don't know what you're doing. 00:52:18.640 |
And I think in the end, what this verse reminds me of is the fact that it's okay. 00:52:29.520 |
It's okay to have those burdens because you get to draw water from the wells 00:52:40.400 |
It's a battle to maintain obedience in a worshipful and joyful manner, 00:52:48.360 |
But isn't it necessary for all of us to draw water from these wells 00:53:02.280 |
In a book that I'm reading, Maurice Roberts, "The Thought of God," 00:53:04.960 |
he wrote, "Let no one imagine that the spending of much time conscientiously 00:53:10.480 |
in daily fellowship with Christ will result in loss of service. 00:53:16.440 |
Time spent with God in the secret place is never the case of spiritual inefficiency. 00:53:22.160 |
On the contrary, it is the highway to fresh vision and to new triumphs. 00:53:30.520 |
This motto was Luther's and announces to us the secret of his immense labors 00:53:42.280 |
I just want to say in conclusion, I have a lot of thank yous for this church, 00:53:51.760 |
I am grateful for the leadership here who has supported and encouraged, 00:53:57.440 |
affirmed a lot of friendships there that I'm going to miss. 00:54:04.840 |
I'm thankful for the pastor's wives and the leadership wives and, you know, 00:54:07.800 |
them, like, just really just loving on Jen while we've been here. 00:54:20.440 |
You guys are just constantly a source of encouragement for us. 00:54:23.080 |
And, yeah, I mean, I think about Andrew Fuller and the analogy of the rope, 00:54:30.680 |
and every missionary needs someone to hold the rope, to pray, to support, 00:54:36.000 |
to encourage, and I'm always grateful for our MCARE team for all of that. 00:54:42.280 |
I'm grateful for the Sunday school program here. 00:54:45.120 |
Man, my kids are, like, loved, and I'm just sad that they have to leave. 00:55:07.800 |
Thankful for old friends and new friends that we made here. 00:55:14.960 |
I'm thankful that we'll be in a country where a lot of you came from, 00:55:18.160 |
and so hopefully we'll see you in the summers. 00:55:25.160 |
But overall, I'm thankful that we are part of a healthy church. 00:55:31.680 |
And though we leave, obviously, we're going to pray for Berean, of course, 00:55:38.760 |
but there's a sense where we don't have to worry about what's going on here as much. 00:55:46.080 |
And so I'll share some prayer requests for our team. 00:55:50.000 |
I don't know if you get the PowerPoint slide up on the board. 00:55:55.680 |
There'll be some, like, these magnets that look like this. 00:55:57.920 |
I don't think we have enough for everyone, but just one per household if possible. 00:56:04.120 |
If you have, like, roommates, one refrigerator per person, please. 00:56:10.160 |
We'll try to get more next week after we're gone. 00:56:12.240 |
And so maybe if you want to wait until then, you can get it then, too. 00:56:16.120 |
But obviously, sanctification and salvation for our family, everything I shared with you this morning, 00:56:23.000 |
that's part of the sanctification process that we want prayer for. 00:56:26.400 |
So I was interweaving these sermon points to our prayer requests, so please have that with you. 00:56:34.960 |
Salvation for our kids, salvation for our lost loved ones. 00:56:43.440 |
I keep asking prayer for this because I know that I can easily get frustrated, 00:56:48.640 |
and I want to push the limits of my own body, but I want to trust in God in this. 00:57:00.000 |
Obviously, our family is going through a lot of transitions right now. 00:57:05.280 |
Our kids, especially, are going through these transitions. 00:57:09.720 |
The first time, Haddon was only a year and a half, and he really didn't know what was going on. 00:57:14.680 |
But now we have, like, you know, Haddon got older, but, you know, we have Ryle, too. 00:57:19.320 |
And I think, yeah, it's going to be hard on them. 00:57:26.000 |
And lastly, just pray for the growth and sanctification of the Chinese church. 00:57:30.440 |
As some of you guys know, there's a lot of pressure and opposition to the unregistered churches there. 00:57:38.520 |
And so continue to pray that the church will grow as a result of this persecution, 00:57:43.680 |
and that they will continually be involved in their gospel-sharing ministries, 00:57:51.440 |
And so if you guys could take some time to pray for that, that would be very, very great.