back to index2019-10-13 Christ, Our True Refuge
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Alright, if you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 6, and I'll be reading 00:00:36.200 |
For when God made the promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he 00:00:40.720 |
swore by himself, saying, "I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply you." 00:00:45.400 |
And so having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. 00:00:48.500 |
For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation 00:00:55.800 |
In the same way, God desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness 00:01:03.240 |
So that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have 00:01:07.440 |
taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 00:01:12.240 |
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast, and one which 00:01:16.460 |
enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high 00:01:21.600 |
priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. 00:01:32.240 |
We pray for your Holy Spirit to be revealed in a very powerful and tangible way. 00:01:38.200 |
We pray for your word, Lord God, that you are ordained to speak to us, to plant seeds 00:01:43.480 |
in us, that we may bear fruit, and that you would stir in us a hungering and thirsting 00:01:48.680 |
for righteousness, to be in the presence of Christ, that all that we do, all our affections, 00:01:53.800 |
Lord, would lean toward him more and more each day. 00:01:57.360 |
So I pray that you would ordain this time, may it be a time of genuine worship before 00:02:04.960 |
Okay, so I think most of you guys already know that I'll be heading into sabbatical 00:02:13.200 |
So next Sunday, myself and a pastor from Cross Life and another member, we're going to be 00:02:18.840 |
headed out to India to do pastoral training out there in the villages, and we're going 00:02:26.080 |
Then after that I'll be headed out to Korea, and I have to give a sermon at a church, and 00:02:30.920 |
then Esther's going to come join me, and so we're going to be headed out there for a little 00:02:36.640 |
So I'll be gone physically for a little bit, and then I'll be back here I think three weeks 00:02:44.460 |
People have been asking me, like, "What are you going to do in your sabbatical?" 00:02:49.120 |
You know, you have three months of doing nothing. 00:02:56.320 |
You know, when people ask me, "What do you do on your free time?" 00:03:00.720 |
You know, since I've been a youth pastor since I was 19, and so my schedule has been dictated 00:03:06.780 |
by the group that I've been leading since I was a teen myself. 00:03:13.280 |
You know, so I got married early, I was a youth pastor from 19 to 20, and so every summer 00:03:19.440 |
retreat speaking, you know, every Sunday speaking. 00:03:23.120 |
And so for the first time, and I've taken breaks before, maybe I've taken like two, 00:03:27.520 |
three weeks off, but usually just the pulpit, but the rest of ministry went on and I was 00:03:32.360 |
in Bible study and I was engaged in church, but this is the first time when I'm actually 00:03:36.240 |
taking a longer break and the elders are actually telling me to stay away from church, period. 00:03:42.100 |
So I don't know if that's going to happen, but I will be around, I just won't be actively 00:03:49.520 |
So you know, only thing I have in mind is I want to take care of my health and I want 00:03:55.120 |
to spend more extended time just to focus on my family and I have some gardening to 00:04:01.480 |
And so I got some stuff that I have on schedule, but other than that, you know, I'll explain 00:04:09.160 |
Why after almost 23 years am I taking this now? 00:04:13.280 |
You know, I think previously I don't think I was in a situation where I would have felt 00:04:16.800 |
comfortable just not being on the pulpit and not engaged in ministry because, you know, 00:04:21.760 |
early on in ministry, it was obviously I was the only pastor and then Pastor Aaron was 00:04:25.240 |
here and then we had interns at church, but they weren't fully involved yet. 00:04:29.680 |
They were just being trained and so if I left earlier, I would have just had to dump everything 00:04:34.140 |
on Pastor Aaron and so I didn't feel right doing that. 00:04:37.440 |
And then after that, Pastor Mark took his spot and so it was me and him for a long time. 00:04:43.700 |
So if I left then, I would have ended up dumping everything on him and he would have went nuts. 00:04:48.420 |
And so for the first time in our church history, I feel that our church is in good hands. 00:04:54.260 |
Not that it wasn't before, but that it's good enough hands where we have, you know, elders 00:05:01.560 |
We had, you know, Phillip and Joe, who's been elders for a very long time in our church 00:05:07.060 |
and they have been tested and I can honestly say that, you know, both of them has been 00:05:13.720 |
tested in every way in the church and their character is something to me that stands out. 00:05:19.340 |
They are gifted in areas and even their temperament is so different than mine. 00:05:24.760 |
There's a lot of ways that they respond to things that I observe and I'm encouraged and 00:05:32.300 |
Adding Elder James to the church has been a huge help. 00:05:35.020 |
You know, I tell them as much as I can, but, you know, I remember when he was a younger 00:05:40.540 |
man back in college and right out of college, like his, you know, he brought it on himself 00:05:48.580 |
And so whenever I would go to speak somewhere, he would kind of ask and sometimes tag along 00:05:53.360 |
and he would wear his leather jacket, you know, to intimidate people. 00:05:58.300 |
And so, you know, he said like he wanted to be my bodyguard and to have, you know, somebody 00:06:02.940 |
who has my back like that on the team to work together. 00:06:06.060 |
I mean, it's been a huge encouragement just even in the short period of time, you know, 00:06:16.300 |
We had added Pastor Nate to the church and he's the only pastor in our 22, 23 years of 00:06:22.180 |
history that we've ever brought from outside the church. 00:06:25.320 |
And so it was somewhat of a risk to bring him, but he's somebody that we've been talking 00:06:29.740 |
about, Pastor Mark and I have been talking about him for years. 00:06:33.780 |
If we ever did bring anybody from outside, he's the only person that we can possibly 00:06:38.660 |
And so we've done plenty of research, you know, thinking about him, would he ever be 00:06:43.580 |
And so when we actually did even contact him, it was just for the future. 00:06:47.640 |
If by any chance something happens and you think you're going to move, you know, consider 00:06:51.620 |
us and just by God's providence, it just happened that he was actually having that conversation 00:06:57.460 |
with his staff and his wife right when we came to him. 00:07:00.140 |
And so when he came in, it's been about a year, almost two years, and just seamlessly 00:07:06.240 |
he fit into our church and our college and our whole church has benefited just in the 00:07:12.740 |
Pastor Peter Chong, you know, was an intern before he went out to China and thinking that 00:07:17.580 |
he was going to come back in a year, but he rebelled and stayed three more years after 00:07:22.620 |
And then like a prodigal son, instead of coming back, he went to Korea for five years to travel. 00:07:27.420 |
He traveled all over the world, you know, for compassion. 00:07:30.420 |
And he's probably traveled and seen more things than 99.9% of the world will ever see. 00:07:35.680 |
And so when he came back, we knew he was going to be a huge asset because we knew his sharp 00:07:40.100 |
memory, we knew his teaching ability, but, you know, one of the things that I've noticed 00:07:44.420 |
since he came back is his shepherd's heart and how tender his heart is for the church 00:07:50.880 |
And I don't have to say, I think many of you have been deeply affected by him already. 00:07:56.300 |
And so we knew that he was going to be a benefit, you know, when he came, but there's areas 00:08:01.440 |
of the church that he's been helping out in that we didn't even know we had holes in until 00:08:08.140 |
And then Pastor Mark, you know, I can't say enough, you know, last, I don't know how many 00:08:12.740 |
years, six, seven, eight years, I don't think our church would have lasted. 00:08:16.100 |
I don't think I would have lasted without him. 00:08:18.440 |
You know, I feel like he's a guy that I went to battle with multiple times, you know, we 00:08:25.620 |
And so, you know, I've shared this so many times, but I remember it's very specifically. 00:08:31.260 |
And it's not just this one time, but that event kind of solidified for me, you know, 00:08:37.100 |
that God placed him in my life for my personal encouragement. 00:08:41.260 |
And you know, years ago on Thanksgiving, at Thanksgiving, I think it was about five years 00:08:45.460 |
ago, five or six years ago, I got a phone call that our church was flooded, not this 00:08:52.880 |
And so I had to leave our family Thanksgiving dinner and I came to church and I opened the 00:08:56.660 |
door and found our church flooded, about three inches of water. 00:09:00.700 |
And you know, obviously I was really distraught because if we don't have those rooms, you 00:09:06.220 |
They would have to have their Sunday school in the parking lot. 00:09:08.940 |
And so there's no way that I'm going to be able to take care of this. 00:09:12.540 |
And so I was just with the door open, I tried to drain the water as much as possible, but 00:09:17.340 |
And then I felt bad calling anybody at church because it was Thanksgiving dinner. 00:09:21.880 |
So if I called them, they would have to leave their home and come. 00:09:24.980 |
And as I was thinking that, I saw Pastor Mark just drive up. 00:09:31.820 |
And so we stayed all night together till five or six in the morning, just draining the water, 00:09:36.100 |
pulling the carpet out, moving all the furniture out of that room and try to dry it out. 00:09:40.740 |
And I think I was there till about seven in the morning and there was still a lot to do 00:09:45.100 |
to prepare and dry it out for the children to come the next day. 00:09:48.440 |
But he was worried about me that, you know, he knew that I had to preach the next day. 00:09:52.180 |
So he said, "You know, you need to go home and get some sleep and get ready for Sunday. 00:09:57.220 |
And so he called a few people who were available, came, and he finished the work. 00:10:01.180 |
And so by the time we came on Sunday, we had it ready enough so that we can use it that 00:10:07.740 |
And so I remember going home just with a huge sigh of relief because Pastor Mark just showed 00:10:13.980 |
And I just give you that as an example because that's how he's been all these years with 00:10:17.700 |
me, you know, whether it's the lights, the toilets, or, you know, even just this building, 00:10:23.860 |
And we literally went to war together while we were here. 00:10:31.060 |
And I tell Esther, you know, God knew that I needed somebody like her in my life to balance 00:10:36.980 |
And Pastor Mark is kind of like my wife at the church in a good way, right? 00:10:45.740 |
So God knew what I needed and he kind of balances me out. 00:10:48.300 |
But he kind of like, there's nothing beneath him. 00:10:54.580 |
So I feel comforted to know that the church is in good hands, even if it's just for a 00:11:01.540 |
You know, when people ask me what I love about Berea, I love the people more than anything 00:11:08.940 |
Our Saturday morning meetings is not a burden. 00:11:11.660 |
You know, I look forward to just spending time with our leadership and just, you know, 00:11:15.780 |
whether it's, you know, serious stuff or joking around, these are my brothers. 00:11:20.820 |
These are the guys that we're laboring together. 00:11:23.260 |
And so that's part, obviously a big part of the reason why I feel that I can do that. 00:11:32.340 |
You know, sabbatical, just to kind of, to put it in a layman's term, is kind of like 00:11:39.140 |
You know, we pray to kind of break away, to connect with God, and then if we want to really 00:11:45.380 |
We'll set aside a day where we kind of break away from everything and to focus our attention 00:11:55.460 |
To take a break from your daily routines and to be able to ask the question and answer 00:12:07.660 |
And I know that this is a cliche and you've probably heard it hundreds of times if you've 00:12:10.980 |
been a Christian for a while, but to be able to answer that question emphatically, yes. 00:12:17.860 |
And it's easy to answer that question in the midst of routine. 00:12:21.540 |
You wake up in the morning and you don't have time to really deeply think, especially if 00:12:29.700 |
Maybe you give a couple minute here, a couple minute there, but to really contemplate and 00:12:33.140 |
think, "If God took away your friends, your health, your job, maybe even the church, is 00:12:48.140 |
Christ and my friends, Christ and my future, Christ and my bank account?" 00:12:52.740 |
And so the time of sabbatical is really to kind of take time off to answer that question 00:12:57.740 |
and to refresh my convictions, "Is Christ truly enough?" 00:13:03.340 |
And really, that's the question that the author of Hebrews has been asking this question to 00:13:13.740 |
And it's because they couldn't answer this question, that's why they were drifting. 00:13:20.480 |
They were willing to get their properties confiscated. 00:13:22.940 |
When their friends were going to jail, they were fellowshipping with them, supporting 00:13:27.260 |
But at some point, that pressure of picking up their cross and living a life of suffering 00:13:31.980 |
and denial got to them, and so they began to drift back into their old life. 00:13:36.660 |
So they were holding on to a form of Judaism, and they were trying to hold on to the newfound 00:13:41.460 |
life in Christ, and they were trying to synchronize these things so that they could make it work 00:13:47.460 |
But the whole book of Hebrews is to continue to ask them, "Do you really know this Christ? 00:13:57.140 |
Is it Christ and friends, Christ in church, Christ in the family, or is it just Christ?" 00:14:04.060 |
In verse 13 it says, "When God made the promise to Abraham, since he could not swear by no 00:14:12.180 |
Verse 13 to 16 is to remind us that the promise that he made, that he couldn't say it with 00:14:20.080 |
more emphasis than by invoking his own name, is Christ truly enough? 00:14:28.300 |
You know, verse 17 is written when it says, "I will surely bless you, and I will surely 00:14:33.980 |
The context of this verse is extremely important, because if you don't understand the context 00:14:37.580 |
of this, you may just kind of extrapolate what you want from it. 00:14:41.280 |
The context of this verse is given to Abraham and his descendants after God asks Abraham 00:14:50.380 |
Now you have to understand the historical context of who Isaac is. 00:14:55.280 |
God called Abraham from his homeland, Ur of Chaldeans. 00:15:01.740 |
When he left Ur of Chaldeans, he didn't leave with an empty bag. 00:15:10.540 |
So for God to enter into his life and say, "Pack up your bags and go into the desert," 00:15:17.280 |
Why would you go into the desert, risking your life with all these powerful enemies 00:15:21.880 |
surrounding you, simply because God told him to? 00:15:25.800 |
And that's why Abraham was considered a man of God, because of his faith. 00:15:29.560 |
Because God told him to, and he believed him, he packed up his bags and family, and he went. 00:15:33.920 |
And so Genesis chapter 12, God makes this promise, that because you obey me, I will 00:15:40.800 |
I will give you land, I will multiply your children, and as I bless you, I will bless 00:15:45.840 |
This was a promise that God made to Abraham and ultimately to the world. 00:15:49.600 |
In Genesis chapter 15, he ratifies this promise with a covenant. 00:15:54.760 |
And typically at that time, when people entered a covenant, they would cut animals in half, 00:15:58.960 |
put it in a row, and the two people who entered the covenant would hold hands, and they would 00:16:04.800 |
And the purpose of this was to say, "If any party on either side breaks this covenant, 00:16:10.120 |
let them be like these animals, to be slaughtered." 00:16:15.720 |
But this covenant that we see in Genesis chapter 15, God sets up this row with animals, and 00:16:21.680 |
instead of Abraham entering into this covenant, Abraham actually falls asleep. 00:16:26.800 |
And God enters through this covenant by himself. 00:16:29.280 |
Did you know that the Christian wedding is representative of that covenant? 00:16:33.640 |
And that's why we sit on the aisles, and we have one party sitting on one side, and then 00:16:37.000 |
the other party sitting on the other side, because it signifies the covenant that God 00:16:45.960 |
It was not a covenant that he made with Abraham, saying, "If you do your part, I will do my 00:16:50.880 |
God was making a promise to Abraham and to the rest of the world that he is going to 00:16:57.360 |
And it is in that context where God tells him this, but it takes 25 years before he 00:17:10.320 |
He wasn't a 25-year-old man when he left the world of Chaldeans. 00:17:15.800 |
Now, some of us may think, "Well, 75 back then, maybe that was equivalent to 25." 00:17:25.080 |
He was already a grandpa, and so was his wife. 00:17:28.480 |
So they have been waiting and longing for a child, so when God told them that he was 00:17:32.680 |
going to be a father of many nations, finally God's going to answer his prayer. 00:17:37.880 |
So by the time God answers the prayer with Isaac, he's 100 years old. 00:17:42.960 |
And that's why they laughed when God said, "I'm going to give you a child." 00:17:45.840 |
They laughed, because they were already old at 75, and Sarah, his wife, is not much younger 00:17:57.360 |
Even though he lived his whole life trusting in this promise, when God finally says he's 00:18:09.400 |
They laughed in unbelief, and they also laughed in rejoicing. 00:18:16.160 |
So up to that point, you can say, "Wow, God fulfilled the promise because of his faithfulness." 00:18:20.400 |
But it is that child, it is that child of promise, God says to offer him up, sacrifice 00:18:29.160 |
By the time he asked him to do that in Genesis chapter 12, Abraham's faith in God had grown. 00:18:36.800 |
It wasn't just, "Well, you said it, so we're going to give you a chance." 00:18:41.120 |
By the time he makes that promise, he doesn't ask. 00:18:44.800 |
He actually packs up his bag, takes Isaac up to the hill. 00:18:49.280 |
He said, "Well, God said we're going to do this." 00:18:51.400 |
As he is bringing the knife down, he is stopped. 00:18:55.640 |
And then because of his act, and again, as he promised, he says, "It's a fulfillment, 00:18:59.800 |
it's a type of what was going to happen with his son, Jesus Christ, that he was going to 00:19:05.480 |
And it is in that context where God responds to Abraham's faith, and he says in Genesis 00:19:15.720 |
Again, he's referring to that covenant in Genesis chapter 15. 00:19:19.760 |
"By myself I have sworn," declares the Lord, "because you have done this thing and have 00:19:26.400 |
Indeed, I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of 00:19:30.800 |
the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore, and your seed shall possess the 00:19:38.760 |
Now, did God make this promise because Abraham was faithful? 00:19:51.400 |
But why does he say, "Because you have done this by myself I have sworn." 00:19:55.160 |
Now, we're going to get into that because he basically is making a double promise. 00:20:03.320 |
What he has purposed, now he's making an oath to guarantee, just in case you had any doubt 00:20:14.240 |
Now we don't know what Abraham was thinking at this time. 00:20:18.600 |
But in Hebrews chapter 11, 17 to 19, it actually spells out what was happening with Abraham. 00:20:24.240 |
Hebrews 11, 17 says, "By faith, Abraham when he was tested offered up Isaac and he who 00:20:29.320 |
had received the promises was offered up his only begotten son. 00:20:34.000 |
It was he to whom it was said, 'In Isaac your descendants shall be called.'" 00:20:41.080 |
When God asked him to offer up Isaac, this makes absolutely no sense. 00:20:44.320 |
I mean, he waited 25 years and God answers the prayer. 00:20:51.480 |
It made no sense because he was the promise that God said he was going to fulfill. 00:20:57.040 |
But here's what it says in verse 19, "He considered that God is able to raise people even from 00:21:03.560 |
the dead from which he also received him back as a type." 00:21:07.320 |
In other words, Abraham understood that the fulfillment of the promise wasn't dependent 00:21:17.680 |
The fulfillment of the promise was God himself. 00:21:20.360 |
See, the struggle with a lot of Christians is that we never move beyond the gift and 00:21:32.120 |
And when things don't make sense, we begin to question the giver. 00:21:38.400 |
There's certain things and certain places and certain circumstances God places us in 00:21:43.000 |
and takes us through which doesn't make any sense. 00:21:51.920 |
But Abraham knew by this time after everything that he's seen that the assurance of God's 00:21:58.000 |
promise wasn't on Isaac, but it was God himself. 00:22:03.800 |
That's why it says in Hebrews 11, verse 6, "And without faith, it is impossible to please 00:22:10.160 |
The reason why it's impossible to please him is because it's faith that anchors us to Christ. 00:22:17.000 |
And if we're not anchored to Christ in our faith, our worship, it changes based upon 00:22:25.000 |
So when God answers our prayer and we get a great job, I want to worship him. 00:22:28.640 |
When we get a difficult circumstance and we don't get the raise, we don't get the things 00:22:33.200 |
that we want or we get sick, all of a sudden, where is God? 00:22:40.120 |
So when he says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please him," because it is only by faith 00:22:47.960 |
For he who comes to God must believe that he is, that he is a rewarder of those who 00:23:01.160 |
He's not the vehicle that we ride to get to the destination. 00:23:06.440 |
That's what he means when he says, "I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. 00:23:18.600 |
And so all the "I am" statements is to teach the nation of Israel and all of mankind that 00:23:23.760 |
he didn't just come to give the gift, but he himself is the gift. 00:23:27.280 |
And that's what Abraham knew when God asked Isaac to be sacrificed, that even in sacrificing 00:23:41.400 |
You know, when I was a younger believer, when I was 18, 19, I couldn't get this thought 00:23:48.860 |
out of my head because the Bible says that the greatest commandment in the Bible is to 00:23:52.640 |
love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. 00:23:56.060 |
And then second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. 00:23:59.500 |
And I couldn't shake that because I can honestly confess that I admired Jesus, that I appreciated 00:24:13.360 |
But I couldn't say with confidence to love Jesus because I didn't know what to compare 00:24:18.920 |
Because I can say, you know, I love my mom, I love my dad, I love my brothers, I love, 00:24:28.800 |
And I couldn't relate because it's different. 00:24:35.120 |
So you know, I've had different people giving me advice saying like, "If you really want 00:24:39.000 |
to love God, just say I love you God a hundred times. 00:24:42.720 |
Maybe your brain's going to be washed and you're going to wake up from that and say, 00:24:50.920 |
You know, every Friday night I would go to prayer meeting and I would say that as often 00:24:54.480 |
as many times as possible because the guys that I looked up to told me to do that. 00:24:59.360 |
And at the end of that, I said, "Huh, that didn't work. 00:25:03.380 |
And then I would hear people telling me, "Well, it's not how you feel. 00:25:10.320 |
And said, "Okay, maybe it's not about how I feel. 00:25:12.840 |
Maybe loving God just means just do whatever He tells you to do and I'm doing this." 00:25:16.280 |
But then I would come across passages that you call me Lord, Lord, but your heart is 00:25:20.760 |
I see passages in Revelations where it's saying, "You're doing all these right things, but 00:25:28.680 |
No, He doesn't just mean to obey because worship is dependent upon my affection for Him. 00:25:36.120 |
So if the greatest commandment is to love the Lord you got with all your soul, mind, 00:25:39.340 |
and strength, and I can't say that with confidence, where do I go from here? 00:25:46.860 |
So every opportunity I got, I prayed that, "Lord, if that's what you want, I don't know 00:26:03.260 |
And God answered that request in such a powerful way. 00:26:09.180 |
Like to this day, to this day, everything that I preach, everything that I know, everything 00:26:19.060 |
There was a period when I was trying to really spiritually grow and separate from my non-Christian 00:26:25.840 |
friends and it wasn't even my non-Christian friends, it was my Christian friends because 00:26:35.180 |
They would come to Bible studies, but every time we were away from it, it had nothing 00:26:42.900 |
Sometimes if you don't talk about God with non-Christians, I mean, it's different. 00:26:46.500 |
But when you're surrounded by other Christians who supposedly are running together, but all 00:26:51.900 |
that's in the midst of conversation has nothing to do with God. 00:26:55.860 |
So I really wanted to grow spiritually, so I decided, "You know what? 00:26:58.940 |
I'm going to break away from that group," and I ended up being isolated. 00:27:04.780 |
At that time, I was working as a janitor at a Hughes Aircraft. 00:27:13.020 |
And at that time, it was that whole Fullerton area was dominated by this company, and so 00:27:21.020 |
You know, and all the employees, they clock out at five o'clock and they had a few people 00:27:26.300 |
And so I was in charge of cleaning out the bungalows eight hours a day from five to two 00:27:32.800 |
And so I'm just isolated because there's nobody around. 00:27:39.260 |
And you know, when I first started, I would go to the end of the trailers and I would 00:27:42.820 |
turn on the light and have to come all the way to the back. 00:27:45.940 |
But after a while, I realized that takes about 30 extra minutes to go and turn the lights 00:27:50.820 |
So I spent most of the night just in a dimly lit bungalows, just vacuuming and cleaning 00:27:59.820 |
I worked at that company for about nine months, but I did that for about three, four months, 00:28:07.380 |
Now, that period of my life was so lonely because I started having really depressing 00:28:19.940 |
I was working from five to two, and I was going to school full time during the day. 00:28:25.620 |
So I was getting about three, four hours of sleep, and then I'd wake up in the morning, 00:28:31.260 |
And I remember one day, I was in between class about 30, 40 minutes in between, I got so 00:28:36.540 |
tired, and I laid on the grass where we had hundreds of students just walking by, and 00:28:43.940 |
I'm such a light sleeper, but I conked out on the grass because I was that tired. 00:28:49.560 |
I remember having this depressing thought, if something happened to me here, if I just 00:28:56.740 |
disappeared here, I wonder how long it would take before anybody notices that I'm gone. 00:29:06.340 |
And then I started calculating, it's like, you know what, I'll bet you it'll take about 00:29:12.220 |
She'd be the first one that looked for me, because I wasn't living at home at that time. 00:29:17.180 |
And then another month goes by, my guess is she would probably ask my older brother and 00:29:26.180 |
And then it would take probably another few weeks to see what happened. 00:29:29.060 |
And so in my mind, it would take about three months before somebody comes and says, "Hey, 00:29:40.340 |
And I remember being so isolated that the thoughts that I had, it sounded like audible 00:29:47.860 |
And I remember one time I was throwing the trash out, and I started having those thoughts, 00:30:08.580 |
But during that period, I started to think, even the person who probably would miss me 00:30:18.100 |
the most, which at that time would have been my mom, it would have taken her a bit of time, 00:30:23.020 |
and then my brothers to come and look for me. 00:30:31.900 |
Even before anything happens, God knew I was there. 00:30:35.580 |
And so God became so real and intimate to me. 00:30:39.700 |
It was just my realization of His grace in my life. 00:30:43.980 |
And so my affection for Him started to grow during that period. 00:30:47.820 |
And to be honest, to be able to say, "I love you," and to mean it from the bottom of my 00:30:53.380 |
heart, that He means more to me than anything that I've ever had or experienced in my life, 00:31:02.340 |
And so that's the foundation to me in what I desire from our church. 00:31:07.200 |
Because without that, you can run and give your body to be burned, speak tongues of men 00:31:18.900 |
Because God said, that's the greatest command. 00:31:20.860 |
That's what He desires more than anything else. 00:31:26.220 |
He says there's two reasons why we can put our confidence in Him. 00:31:33.180 |
One, His unchangeableness of His purpose in Hebrews chapter 6, 17. 00:31:39.420 |
Interposed with an oath, just like He did with Abraham. 00:31:42.220 |
God made His covenant with Abraham, but because of His faithfulness, He made an oath to him. 00:31:48.280 |
It was a double whammy, just in case one wasn't enough. 00:31:51.380 |
He wanted to make sure that Abraham understood that God is not going to change his mind. 00:31:56.620 |
That He not only doesn't say He's not going to do it, He says it's impossible for him 00:32:08.460 |
Think about how easily and how quickly you and I change our mind. 00:32:13.160 |
When you were in high school, you probably had liked certain type of girls. 00:32:21.840 |
Some of you say yes, some of you will say no. 00:32:24.420 |
Some of you love computers in high school but hate it now. 00:32:28.620 |
Some of you came in thinking you're going to be one major and then you switch and then 00:32:32.020 |
you're probably not the last time you're going to switch either. 00:32:38.260 |
Those of you who graduate and you start working, you had all these things that you wanted to 00:32:41.860 |
accomplish, you start working and all of a sudden, your values change, the way you look 00:32:49.620 |
You get married and have a wife, your paradigm about the world changes. 00:32:52.980 |
Then you have a kid, that rocks your world and all of a sudden you change over and over 00:33:09.180 |
In Malachi 3.6 it says, "For I, the Lord, do not change. 00:33:12.220 |
Therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed." 00:33:15.540 |
The reason why you and I are here is because God does not change. 00:33:23.660 |
He knew that if that covenant, if his desire to save the world was dependent upon Abraham, 00:33:31.660 |
Abraham would have failed during his lifetime and every single one of his children would 00:33:41.700 |
Jesus' disciples, every single one of them, not would have failed, failed. 00:33:47.780 |
So when God decided to leave his great commission, he didn't leave it to them. 00:33:54.820 |
When the Holy Spirit comes, you will receive power because it wasn't in them. 00:33:59.620 |
The only reason why you and I are here today is because God made a promise. 00:34:07.340 |
After he wiped out the world, he said, "I'm not going to do this again." 00:34:12.220 |
And he gave the rainbow as a covenant, as a symbol that he's not going to do this again. 00:34:16.620 |
And the reason why you and I have not been wiped out repeatedly over and over and over 00:34:29.320 |
And that's why you need to be anchored to him because God does not move. 00:34:32.300 |
Hebrews chapter 13, verse 8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." 00:34:38.620 |
That God who is immutable is the same Jesus that we worship. 00:34:42.260 |
Romans 11, 29, "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." 00:34:47.780 |
And so the reason why he's saying all of this is that everything else that you anchor yourself 00:34:52.740 |
to, everything else that you anchor yourself to, to your friends, to your circumstance, 00:35:00.620 |
to your education, to your bank account, it will change. 00:35:06.460 |
The only thing that does not change is God himself. 00:35:08.460 |
In Revelation 1, 8, the book of Revelation begins by saying that he is the Alpha, Omega. 00:35:15.120 |
And then it ends in Revelation 22, 13 by reminding them again that he is the Alpha and Omega. 00:35:24.620 |
And everything in the middle is God-ordained and he does not change. 00:35:30.980 |
All of human history is contingent upon his immutability. 00:35:40.100 |
And again, not only is his purpose not changeable, but his oath. 00:35:45.420 |
I mean, it's redundant to say, "My purpose," and then, "My oath," because his purpose is 00:35:52.460 |
But he wanted to make sure that the people who are hearing this, that he is guaranteeing. 00:35:59.380 |
Whenever we buy a house or a car and you don't have enough income, you need to get a guarantor 00:36:06.140 |
And if you're young, you may have one of your parents do it or somebody, a close friend 00:36:12.380 |
The guarantor cannot be a lesser of a person. 00:36:16.080 |
If you're an older person, right, you're not going to ask your younger sister who's in 00:36:19.700 |
high school to, "Hey, can you co-sign for me?" 00:36:24.620 |
Because the guarantor has to have more money. 00:36:26.920 |
The guarantor has to have a better job, a good credit, to be able to come alongside 00:36:31.620 |
If they default, I will take the responsibility." 00:36:35.020 |
They said, "But there is no guarantor that is greater than God. 00:36:39.460 |
There's nobody that can guarantee the promises and the oath that he's making that is greater 00:36:44.900 |
So because of that, he says, "By my name, by myself, I declare." 00:36:50.500 |
What his purpose is, what his promise is, cannot change. 00:36:54.260 |
"God is not man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent. 00:36:59.280 |
Has he said and will he not do it, or has he spoken and will he not make it good?" 00:37:05.120 |
There are many things that the scripture promises that we can absolutely bank on. 00:37:10.840 |
And one of the most important things that you and I need to believe with all our heart 00:37:14.840 |
and anchor ourself to is that if you confess your sins, that he is faithful and just to 00:37:24.720 |
And as fundamental as that truth is, as foundational as that truth is, you wouldn't be a Christian 00:37:31.320 |
if you didn't believe that and if you didn't practice that. 00:37:34.760 |
And yet, there's something in our heart that always believes that I have to do my part. 00:37:41.360 |
Some of you are sitting in here because you're struggling with the same sins over and over 00:37:46.400 |
And maybe you think that you have exhausted his grace. 00:37:51.360 |
And you're trying to get your life straight before you get to God. 00:37:55.800 |
But the whole reason why he came and sent his only begotten son is because he knew you 00:38:01.860 |
Think about if the covenant that God made with us, if the promise that he's given us 00:38:06.360 |
for eternal life was contingent upon your goodness. 00:38:10.620 |
Whether you've been a Christian for a couple months or whether you've been a Christian 00:38:13.160 |
for dozens of years, how many of you would be here today? 00:38:20.660 |
How many of you would be here be able to worship God? 00:38:24.340 |
How many of you here could continue to pray and participate in the communion? 00:38:31.400 |
I could think of dozens and dozens and dozens of times where by my own effort, I should 00:38:50.120 |
And that's why he says, "By my name, I make a unilateral covenant that I will save you." 00:38:57.880 |
So if you confess your sins, and that's the only contingency, if you confess your sins 00:39:03.600 |
and you own up to your sins and you ask for forgiveness in faith, God will forgive you. 00:39:11.240 |
As long as you confess that our righteousness is not based upon our own merit. 00:39:18.520 |
God gives it to us because he made that promise as long as we profess. 00:39:23.200 |
But secondly, in our walk with God, not only is that important, he says, "Seek ye first 00:39:29.400 |
the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you." 00:39:32.080 |
And that is a constant challenge for us because we're wealthy. 00:39:36.880 |
If we give all that we have to God, will he really take care of us? 00:39:46.080 |
So in order to hedge our bets, we give some to God and we hold on to some. 00:39:53.400 |
We hook our legs on one side and then we hook the other legs on the other side, frustrated 00:40:01.960 |
But when he says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added 00:40:05.160 |
unto you," it doesn't make sense to believe that God, who would send his only begotten 00:40:09.840 |
son to die for me, would be reluctant to take care of my physical needs. 00:40:13.840 |
And that's exactly what it says in Romans 8.32, "He who did not spare his own son, but 00:40:20.160 |
How will he not also with him freely give us all things? 00:40:23.660 |
It just doesn't make sense to confess that Jesus died for my sins, that he gave his only 00:40:30.160 |
begotten son, and then to have such a hard time believing in the trivial things. 00:40:36.800 |
If I gave you my son, you can bank that whatever else that I have would be much easier to give 00:40:47.320 |
And that's exactly what he is saying, that he made this promise and that is his purpose. 00:40:55.760 |
In 2 Corinthians 1.24, "For as many as are the promises of God, in him they are yes. 00:41:01.960 |
Therefore also through him is our amen to the glory of God through us. 00:41:11.040 |
Because God is not man that he should lie, nor the Son of Man that he should repent. 00:41:21.840 |
So the two implications of knowing his nature, that he cannot lie about his purpose and he 00:41:27.680 |
cannot lie about his oath, the two implications is that we can take refuge in him, in Hebrews 00:41:35.080 |
6.18, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we 00:41:39.240 |
who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 00:41:45.320 |
So that two things that we are challenged to do is to take refuge and to take hope. 00:41:56.640 |
Refuge is a place we go to for safety when there's storm, when there's fire, when there's 00:42:14.520 |
If you're a child and danger comes, what do you tell the child to do? 00:42:18.200 |
Look for your parents because that's their refuge. 00:42:21.680 |
It could be a place, but it's a place of safety. 00:42:26.960 |
Refuge is where you come to hide from trouble. 00:42:36.640 |
So he says, if you believe that God is faithful to his promise and he cannot lie about his 00:42:42.640 |
oath, he says we are called to take refuge in Psalm 46.1-3. 00:42:46.980 |
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 00:42:50.480 |
Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip 00:42:54.920 |
into the heart of sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its 00:43:02.880 |
Everybody knows to thank God in times of goodness. 00:43:08.480 |
You know, even gangster rappers, when they win the Grammy, thank you, Jesus. 00:43:18.560 |
Even people who deny Christ in every which way of their life, they win the lottery. 00:43:26.800 |
Any of those who is anchored in Christ knows how to give praise to him in the context of 00:43:41.560 |
My guess is most of you probably have never heard of it. 00:43:46.600 |
Those of you nodding your head, I know your age. 00:43:52.920 |
It was a popular song back in the '80s, you know, and maybe early '90s. 00:43:57.440 |
And I realized why I had such a hard time finding this song, because I thought Amy Grant 00:44:02.280 |
So I would always Google Amy Grant, and then whatever, and it never came out. 00:44:06.220 |
And so I remember a couple of verses, and so I typed it in. 00:44:08.800 |
So I've been looking for this song for years. 00:44:14.160 |
It wasn't by Amy Grant, but Twila Paris sang it. 00:44:17.320 |
And then Gary Valenciano was the one who wrote it. 00:44:20.920 |
The title of the song is "Warrior is a Child." 00:44:23.880 |
And the reason why I want to introduce this to you is because the lyrics to me is so powerful. 00:44:33.000 |
Lately, I've been winning battles left to right, but even winners can get wounded in 00:44:41.240 |
People say that I'm amazing, I'm strong beyond my years, but they don't see inside of me, 00:44:49.680 |
They don't know that I come running home when I fall down. 00:44:53.720 |
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around. 00:44:57.400 |
I drop my sword and cry for just a while, 'cause deep inside this armor, the warrior 00:45:05.520 |
Unafraid because his armor is the best, but even soldiers need a quiet place to rest. 00:45:12.460 |
People say that I'm amazing, I never face retreat, but they don't see the enemies that 00:45:20.520 |
They don't know that I come running home when I fall down. 00:45:24.400 |
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around. 00:45:27.800 |
I drop my sword and cry for just a while, 'cause deep inside this armor, the warrior 00:45:39.680 |
I think this song really captures what it means to have Christ as our refuge. 00:45:52.500 |
My children know one of my favorite things that I say is suck it up. 00:46:11.700 |
Don't wait for somebody else to fix your problem. 00:46:15.420 |
Suck it up and keep going, because that's the world that you live in. 00:46:23.780 |
In every other human relationship, don't wait for a handout. 00:46:34.040 |
Don't constantly search for somebody to lean on. 00:46:45.460 |
But the God that you and I serve, his purpose, his promise is unchangeable, and he cannot 00:46:56.820 |
The reason why we can bank on him is because he is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. 00:47:04.860 |
You know, the reason why we anchor is because we found a place that we need to be. 00:47:17.580 |
And that's why we're challenged to anchor in Christ. 00:47:30.020 |
In Matthew 12, 20 to 21, it says, "A battered reed he will not break off. 00:47:38.700 |
Until he leads justice to victory, and in his name the Gentiles will hope." 00:47:43.340 |
How often have you felt like a battered reed, just about to break? 00:47:50.460 |
How often have you felt like smoldering wick, a little bit of wind, a little bit more, and 00:48:01.420 |
And yet he says in his gentle voice, "A battered reed he will not break off. 00:48:24.020 |
Because when Christ is not enough, everything else will mean too much. 00:48:33.460 |
When Christ is not enough, everything else will become too much. 00:48:40.340 |
So as I enter into sabbatical, that's my goal. 00:48:50.180 |
I remember years ago, the only worthwhile possession I had was my Hyundai XL, which 00:49:03.260 |
The Hyundai's gotten better since then, but I remember I cracked the engine because I 00:49:07.740 |
didn't put enough oil in there, and the engine was ruined. 00:49:10.460 |
So I took it in, and the mechanic said, "I have good news and bad news. 00:49:25.740 |
So I can get a brand new engine for 500 bucks. 00:49:30.460 |
So I said, "I'll have to go to the junkyard and get one put it in." 00:49:36.620 |
I remember that I was driving that Hyundai XL, and in the parking lot, I was just kind 00:49:44.420 |
It had like huge cement in the bottom, and I was driving too hard, and I didn't see it 00:49:51.340 |
And the whole side and the bottom part, and it bent the frame. 00:49:55.900 |
So I took it in, and he said, "Oh, you really jacked this up." 00:50:00.700 |
And he said, "They're going to have to use crane to bring it back. 00:50:06.740 |
And I remember coming home from that feeling so free because that's the only thing I owned. 00:50:23.140 |
So when he said, "Pick up your cross," I was like, "Sure. 00:50:31.660 |
I didn't have friends that I have to give up. 00:50:41.620 |
But since then, I've gotten married, had four kids, bought a house, and the church has grown, 00:50:54.460 |
and had a certain kind of reputation, and have to worry about so many different things. 00:51:06.380 |
And so I have to constantly ask myself, "Is Christ enough? 00:51:21.380 |
If God took away everything, would you still love him? 00:51:30.260 |
And my honest confession is, it hasn't been that simple since then. 00:51:35.580 |
Every good gift that he has given to me has become something that I had to give back, 00:51:44.620 |
My prayer for us is stated really in Habakkuk 3, 17 to 18. 00:51:51.060 |
I think Elder James really loves this verse because I remember him quoting this a lot. 00:51:55.660 |
"Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the 00:52:02.780 |
yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be 00:52:08.180 |
cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exalt in the Lord. 00:52:22.740 |
My wife, my kids, this church, it's not the fulfillment of God's promise. 00:52:33.020 |
And my desire is, for our church, is that not that we become the biggest church in Orange 00:52:39.220 |
County, that we would have the most influence, that we would be filled with people who are 00:52:48.140 |
It's hyper-organized, run like a well-oiled machine, that this is the place you come if 00:52:59.260 |
But what God wants more than anything else are people who will worship Him in spirit 00:53:07.180 |
And you can't do that if you love Him, if you don't love Him with all your heart, soul, 00:53:12.620 |
So my desire for us, as I go into my sabbatical, is that we would learn to love God. 00:53:23.880 |
Not to be a good student alone, not to be a good businessman, not to be a good child 00:53:35.020 |
And I know, I know that you know what I'm talking about, how easily we can be distracted, 00:53:41.860 |
how easily we can fool ourselves, how easily we can love the gift more than the giver. 00:53:48.780 |
Why we need to take a step back and anchor ourselves to Christ. 00:53:56.340 |
Let me wrap up with this, and I'm going to ask the praise team to come up. 00:54:00.420 |
And I want to sing this song with you, this hymn, "My Hope is Built on Nothing Less." 00:54:05.180 |
And this is a hymn that we sing quite often at our church, but my prayer is that as we 00:54:09.060 |
sing it, that we would make this our prayer and our honest confession. 00:54:14.460 |
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ, my righteousness. 00:54:19.940 |
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. 00:54:24.780 |
On Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is 00:54:33.220 |
When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace. 00:54:37.700 |
In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil His covenant, His blood. 00:54:45.460 |
Support me in the whelming flood, when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my 00:54:51.860 |
Father, I pray that the words of this song would be our honest confession. 00:55:04.820 |
Help us, Lord God, to realize that we cannot serve mammon and God. 00:55:12.080 |
Help us to know the surpassing knowledge of knowing Christ, that all the temptations in 00:55:21.500 |
Help us to bank and to invest and to take refuge and hope in Christ and Christ alone.