back to index11-03-19 Lord, Lord, We Will Do What You Say
00:00:05.800 |
If you can join me in prayer, I'd like to just seek God's favor and blessing over our 00:00:16.480 |
Lord, we have gathered here this morning to hear from your word and to ask that you would 00:00:25.720 |
help us to just be attentive, God, to your voice, help us to discern, God, how you would 00:00:32.800 |
have us live and apply what we see today and hear today. 00:00:37.840 |
I pray for your provision and protection over our time together. 00:00:43.840 |
Lord, would you be magnified through just every aspect of our service. 00:00:53.920 |
Well last week we started a series on our church's tenfold covenant and Pastor Mark 00:01:00.200 |
started it off with covenant number one, which is I confess Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. 00:01:07.440 |
And today we're going to be covering covenants two and five together because they are related. 00:01:14.640 |
And because one directly leads to the other, we will be combining the second and fifth 00:01:18.520 |
covenants for the purposes of our sermon today. 00:01:26.440 |
Just number one was I confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and here are two and five. 00:01:32.720 |
Covenant number two, I confess that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, which has ultimate 00:01:40.880 |
And covenant number five, I commit to attending and preparing for weekday Bible studies every 00:01:50.640 |
So if I'm confessing that the word of God has ultimate authority over my life, I absolutely 00:01:55.960 |
must commit to devoting myself to the study of it. 00:01:59.940 |
And as most of you guys know, the teaching of the word of God is one of the, just the 00:02:03.760 |
main, if not the main, priorities at our church. 00:02:08.040 |
And we want to lead you in reading the word of God. 00:02:11.420 |
We want to help you to study the word of God, to share the word of God, to love the word 00:02:19.100 |
And ultimately, Lord willing, we want to guide you and lead you to also help others to love 00:02:25.640 |
the word of God and to live out the word of God and to share it. 00:02:33.080 |
Most of you guys, 100% of you guys probably should. 00:02:35.160 |
We're called Berean Community Church, after the community of Christians at Berea in Acts 00:02:41.080 |
1711, who not only listened to Apostle Paul's teaching with great eagerness, they really 00:02:46.560 |
wanted to hear from God through this man, but at the same time, they poured through 00:02:51.440 |
the scriptures, they combed through the Old Testament, which was at their access, to see 00:02:55.740 |
if everything that he was saying was in line with what they believed to be true. 00:03:01.960 |
Last week, Pastor Mark started his sermon off with a reading through a section of Matthew 00:03:05.760 |
chapter 7, and we're going to actually take a deeper dive into Matthew chapter 7, and 00:03:11.400 |
we'll be expanding on this, and under the idea of what Christ's Lordship means in relation 00:03:19.600 |
Okay, so I'm going to be reading Matthew 7, 13, just to start us off. 00:03:26.240 |
Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to 00:03:32.120 |
And there are many who enter through it, for the gate is small, and the way is narrow that 00:03:40.340 |
So here we see that there are two eternal destinations. 00:03:44.120 |
There are only two paths leading to their respective entrances. 00:03:47.120 |
You have the wide and the broad, and then you have the small and the narrow. 00:03:51.160 |
The wide and the broad lead to destruction, the small and the narrow lead to life. 00:03:56.120 |
And Jesus exhorts all of the people who are hearing this to enter through the narrow. 00:04:02.260 |
So the invitation is there, but he also says that tragically, many will find themselves 00:04:07.480 |
having declined the invitation, and Jesus gives us a very sobering glimpse into the 00:04:13.120 |
spiritual reality by saying that there are many headed for destruction and only a few 00:04:19.920 |
So in 2003, you guys know the Barnett Research Group? 00:04:25.320 |
The Barnett Research Group conducted a survey in America, you can actually look through 00:04:29.440 |
that online, of their beliefs on the afterlife. 00:04:33.160 |
So 2003 survey on Americans and their view on the afterlife. 00:04:37.960 |
Of the Americans surveyed, 81% believed in an afterlife. 00:04:44.520 |
So about a fifth of Americans said, "Nah, I reject that completely," but 81% believed 00:04:50.120 |
And of the Americans surveyed, 64% believed that they would go to heaven. 00:04:56.800 |
And of the Americans surveyed, 0.5% believed that they would go to hell. 00:05:03.080 |
So for the Americans who believe in the existence of an afterlife, basically most of them believe 00:05:08.200 |
themselves to be fit for heaven, while very, very, very, very few believe themselves to 00:05:16.040 |
So according to this survey, the Americans of 2003 believed that they were on their way 00:05:24.640 |
And so they believe the very opposite of what we see in Matthew 7, 13 to 14. 00:05:29.320 |
Generally, the Americans of 2003 and likewise, the Americans that are around you and me today 00:05:38.480 |
We are super confident in our morality and our goodness, we believe that our way is right. 00:05:44.360 |
And so these surveys actually reflect the opinions and the views that each individual 00:05:51.240 |
And as you and I both know, that personal views, opinions, and preferences matter very 00:05:57.440 |
little when it comes to the matters of faith. 00:06:00.800 |
So truth is truth, regardless of our opinions of it. 00:06:05.520 |
So Jesus says that there's a wide and a broad for destruction, and many are on that road 00:06:10.920 |
and enter through it, and they're bound for condemnation, destruction. 00:06:14.720 |
And there is a small and a narrow, and only a few find it. 00:06:18.940 |
And Jesus continues in verse 15, "Beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep's 00:06:31.200 |
Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 00:06:35.720 |
So every tree bears good fruit, or every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears 00:06:41.600 |
A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 00:06:45.640 |
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 00:06:52.560 |
So Jesus continues, "He warns that there are false prophets on these roads. 00:06:57.400 |
So they look gentle, meek, friendly, harmless enough, but inwardly they are seeking to tear 00:07:03.560 |
you apart from limb to limb and to devour you, and they are ravenous." 00:07:09.160 |
But Jesus says that though they may be disguised, there is actually a way for you to discern 00:07:16.920 |
So you can distinguish a false prophet from a good one by their fruits. 00:07:27.600 |
Can you spot a false prophet when you see one? 00:07:35.360 |
If it is obvious to everyone that that person is a false prophet, that guy is not going 00:07:41.160 |
If it's everyone that that guy is teaching such weird stuff that it is clear that he 00:07:45.040 |
is a false prophet, that's a bad false prophet. 00:07:52.760 |
Can you pick out a false prophet from a speaker of truth? 00:07:57.920 |
Now this is not an exhortation for you guys to think through just a catalog of all the 00:08:07.060 |
That's not a charge for you guys to go on a witch hunt. 00:08:11.220 |
But this is a skill, the discernment of a truth versus discernment of a false, between 00:08:18.680 |
That is a skill of utmost importance as many of these false prophets, Jesus says, are on 00:08:30.800 |
And I bet that many of these on the broad and the wide are absolutely convinced that 00:08:34.680 |
if they were to meet a false prophet, they would be immediately be able to pick one out. 00:08:40.560 |
So a lot of these people on the broad and the wide are probably thinking, "The false 00:08:44.680 |
prophets are probably the weirdos on that side." 00:08:49.000 |
So they believe that the false prophets are on the small and the narrow, and they're likely 00:08:53.920 |
to be the ones that are being duped by these religious false prophets. 00:09:00.080 |
So there is a wide and a broad that leads to destruction, many enter through it. 00:09:02.880 |
There's a small and a wide that leads to life, only a few find it. 00:09:11.320 |
Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who 00:09:15.720 |
does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. 00:09:19.020 |
Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your 00:09:24.600 |
name cast out demons and in your name perform many miracles?" 00:09:29.600 |
And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you. 00:09:32.320 |
Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness." 00:09:36.700 |
So Jesus is saying there is a group of people here that have submitted themselves to the 00:09:41.000 |
lordship of Christ and enter the kingdom, but it's not everyone. 00:09:46.360 |
There is a group that has entered the kingdom. 00:09:53.080 |
So there is a group that receives this ultimate eternal rejection, and these are the guys 00:09:58.760 |
on the broad and the wide, and perhaps they include the false prophets. 00:10:07.080 |
First, they're rejected despite their profession of Lord, Lord. 00:10:13.760 |
So these on the broad and the wide recognize Jesus as Lord. 00:10:22.040 |
They recognize Christ's lordship, and that's not surprising as Scripture teaches us at 00:10:27.280 |
the name of Jesus, "Every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and 00:10:37.800 |
So recognition of his lordship, we can conclude easily, is not enough. 00:10:43.480 |
Secondly, these guys are prophesying in the name of Jesus. 00:10:47.840 |
So prophesying in the New Testament has more to do with teaching and exhorting properly 00:10:52.760 |
than it does like a foreseeing of the future. 00:10:56.920 |
So it appears that these guys on the broad and the wide not only recognize Christ's lordship, 00:11:04.640 |
they have been teaching in Jesus' name as well. 00:11:09.200 |
Third, they're casting out demons and performing many miracles. 00:11:14.480 |
Now if I were to bring you a legitimately demon-possessed person and we brought him 00:11:20.320 |
to the front like they do on TV, okay, and I cast out the demon from him, some of you 00:11:26.880 |
will be skeptical, some of you may be in awe that I have that kind of power. 00:11:32.640 |
And if I could perform miracles, and let's say one of you guys called me saying, "Pastor 00:11:36.400 |
Peter, one of my family members is sick at the hospital, maybe it's a terminal disease, 00:11:43.520 |
And I go to that hospital, I lay my hands on that person, I pray in the name of Jesus, 00:11:51.960 |
You guys would probably be amazed and stunned and likely attribute this healing to the supernatural 00:12:02.760 |
After all, why would God give such a beautiful and wonderful gift to an enemy of the cross 00:12:08.720 |
Now if I were to be able to perform many miracles like this, and you could validate these miracles 00:12:15.520 |
to be authentic, and you could see that I have this kind of power, you likely will swallow 00:12:27.040 |
You may treat me like a celebrity, you may treat me like a spiritual guru, why? 00:12:32.400 |
Because that's a very natural reaction to the supernatural. 00:12:36.960 |
So we are naturally reverent toward those who we are amazed by. 00:12:45.160 |
The interesting thing is, Jesus does not say to this group, "No, you didn't do those things." 00:12:52.080 |
Jesus doesn't say, "No, you didn't, you're mistaking." 00:12:56.000 |
He simply makes a declaration of condemnation. 00:12:58.960 |
"I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness." 00:13:07.440 |
For me, Matthew 7, 21 to 23 is actually the scariest passages, is one of the scariest 00:13:17.120 |
It's because I'm not 100% convinced that I am not a false prophet. 00:13:22.560 |
I am hoping with all my heart that I am not one, but I am not 100% convinced. 00:13:30.400 |
So when I look at my life, and when I look at my heart, there are too many blemishes, 00:13:34.640 |
too many bad fruits in my flesh, I am rotten to the core, which you guys probably already 00:13:42.640 |
So I don't trust me enough to be able to say, "Oh, for sure, absolutely, I'm not a false 00:13:50.000 |
As it reads in 2 Timothy 3, 13, false prophets who hold to a form of godliness, as it says 00:13:56.440 |
in verse 5, they themselves are deceived, so that they do not know that they are false 00:14:05.000 |
So it is possible that most false prophets are not aware that they are false prophets. 00:14:10.920 |
So are there false prophets and folks on the broad and the wide who have orthodox theology? 00:14:18.240 |
Are there false prophets and folks on the broad and the wide who profess Jesus Christ 00:14:23.080 |
to be the only way and the truth and the life? 00:14:27.960 |
Are there false prophets and folks on the broad and the wide who have supernatural power? 00:14:38.440 |
If someone were to ask you how you know with absolute certainty that you are truly a believing 00:14:42.880 |
child of God, you will likely come up with some kind of theologically sound verbal answer, 00:14:50.760 |
and then in your mind, you will probably try to kind of validate those things by listing 00:14:58.540 |
And sometimes we seek reassurance by the Christian activities and experiences in our lives, so 00:15:03.720 |
what is on your Christian resume that you try and find reassurance in or others may 00:15:16.200 |
I have a few, and allow me to share with you some of mine, okay? 00:15:21.080 |
First, I've been a pastor for over 19 years, and objectively, I've forsaken comforts and 00:15:28.800 |
We've immigrated again to Korea, and now we came back. 00:15:37.440 |
Although, I would not be on this pulpit if I were. 00:15:41.480 |
My teaching and preaching, people have said, is mostly in line with Orthodox Christianity. 00:15:48.800 |
I've traveled to many parts of the world visiting orphans and widows, probably more than you 00:15:53.000 |
guys have and probably more than you guys ever will for the most of you. 00:15:57.600 |
And after all, isn't visiting orphans and widows in their helplessness something that 00:16:02.320 |
our God and Father consider as pure and undefiled religion? 00:16:08.280 |
I've preached Orthodox biblical truth and dispensed Bible information in many different 00:16:13.960 |
cultural contexts, and I actually can say I put myself in harm's way for the ministry 00:16:20.480 |
I've traveled in North Korea more than I have in the South, and I could have lost freedom 00:16:26.840 |
So, I've done that, and I've led many of you in here in Bible study, in discipleship. 00:16:32.520 |
So, I've done all these things, but none of these things guarantee that I'm not a false 00:16:41.480 |
None of these things guarantee that I am on the small and the narrow. 00:16:45.360 |
I may have a form of godliness, but is this truly good fruit in my life? 00:16:51.800 |
So, like I said, I am not 100% convinced that I am not a false prophet. 00:17:00.320 |
I'm trusting that I'm not, but that's where I stand because I refuse to put 100% of my 00:17:14.760 |
What are the things that you might say, "Lord, Lord, did I not," and then you fill in the 00:17:20.600 |
"Lord, in your name, did I not do these things?" 00:17:24.080 |
What are the things that you can state and claim? 00:17:27.860 |
If you guys have been studying with us through the book of Philippians, you know that all 00:17:31.560 |
of these things that I just listed, it's scabalon, excrement, rubbish in the sight of a holy, 00:17:39.500 |
These things do not guarantee entrance through the small and the narrow. 00:17:44.240 |
So, Jesus says, "There's a wide and a broad, many enter through it, it leads to destruction. 00:17:50.000 |
Small and the narrow leads to life, only a few find it. 00:17:53.480 |
There are false prophets, you can distinguish them by their fruits. 00:17:57.360 |
But many of these guys are so deceived, they get to judgment and they think they're on 00:18:03.760 |
So, let me ask you guys, you will know them by their fruit sounds easy enough, but is 00:18:18.520 |
How do I discern who's teaching me truth, who's feeding me lies? 00:18:23.640 |
Matthew chapter 7 verse 24, "Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on 00:18:31.400 |
them may be compared to a wise man who had built his house on the rock." 00:18:39.920 |
And as we have learned, wherever there is a therefore, you have to ask yourself, what? 00:18:46.800 |
So there has been a very heavy exhortation from Christ and the therefore, there's an 00:18:58.520 |
Therefore is a very important word in every language and in English, therefore connects 00:19:03.800 |
what was previously just said about all of this stuff to what the application is. 00:19:11.800 |
"Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them may be compared to 00:19:22.620 |
And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and slammed against that house, 00:19:27.280 |
and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 00:19:31.360 |
Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish 00:19:37.320 |
The rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and slammed against that house 00:19:44.440 |
So Jesus describes a man building on the solid foundation of a rock. 00:19:48.720 |
This man and the few who are on the small and the narrow are one and the same, okay? 00:19:53.400 |
Jesus also describes a man building on the sand. 00:19:57.000 |
This man and the many who are on the broad and the wide are also one and the same. 00:20:04.240 |
Or you could say the torrent, the flood, it comes. 00:20:07.280 |
But the house that stands the test is built by the man who, one, hears the whole counsel 00:20:12.960 |
of God, and two, acts on the whole counsel of God. 00:20:17.360 |
ESV says, "Does the whole counsel of God," and IV says, "Puts it into practice." 00:20:21.840 |
But the idea is hears the word of God and does the word of God is the person who's building 00:20:30.700 |
And here at Berean, our goal is for you to be on the small and the narrow. 00:20:41.520 |
Our desire is for all of us to be on this small and the narrow and we want to equip 00:20:45.760 |
you to bring others also onto this small and the narrow. 00:20:50.360 |
And according to Jesus, the way you do this is through the dispensation of his word. 00:20:57.560 |
What are Jesus' last words to the apostles who will build this church? 00:21:03.040 |
And Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, "All authority has been given to me in heaven 00:21:10.600 |
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and 00:21:15.120 |
of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. 00:21:21.080 |
And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." 00:21:25.760 |
If you look through the scriptures, parable after parable especially, for example, Mark 00:21:31.200 |
chapter 4, the parable of the sower, the thing that bears enduring, lasting, persevering 00:21:39.900 |
So the church's main responsibility is not to make you feel loved or inspire you to be 00:21:46.760 |
a more moral person or to become a better you or to become a good leader. 00:21:53.640 |
The job of the church is not to surround you with good friends or to make you feel welcome 00:22:03.080 |
These are not bad things, but by doing these things, we might actually mislead you or give 00:22:10.160 |
you a false assurance of your salvation without even knowing that we're doing that. 00:22:17.240 |
The church's main responsibility is to restore you to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. 00:22:22.920 |
The church's main responsibility is to disciple you and make you a worshiper of Jesus Christ. 00:22:32.320 |
And Jesus says the church is to do that not only by teaching you all that he has said, 00:22:38.920 |
but also to lead you in doing all that he has said. 00:22:43.560 |
So I'm going to turn your attention back to covenant number two. 00:22:46.400 |
It says, "I confess that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, which has ultimate authority 00:22:54.800 |
So for you guys who are members, if you sign this as a member, this is what you are agreeing 00:23:07.280 |
Our standard is not church people's expectations or even Berean leaders' expectations. 00:23:13.800 |
Our standard is not the ever-changing trends of our modern age. 00:23:19.000 |
Our standard is not policy or political affiliation. 00:23:23.120 |
Our standard is not what the world thinks Christians ought to look like. 00:23:28.400 |
Our standard is not the person next to me or the person in front of me. 00:23:33.800 |
Our standard, which is ultimate authority over our lives, is the word of God. 00:23:41.480 |
And the word of God alone has ultimate authority for your life. 00:23:46.380 |
I confess that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, which has ultimate authority over 00:23:54.800 |
So that first part, you might get tripped up. 00:23:59.520 |
And let me explain briefly to you what this is. 00:24:02.560 |
I'm not going to be able to go into this so much in detail, but I do want to talk about 00:24:08.320 |
2 Peter 1.21, "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter 00:24:17.720 |
For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit 00:24:25.400 |
2 Timothy 3.16-17, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, 00:24:31.920 |
for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequately equipped 00:24:40.580 |
There are passages in the Scriptures like this that tell us that we have what God intended 00:24:51.580 |
We have what God wanted us to have in His Word, okay? 00:25:01.880 |
Wayne Grudem, a theologian most of you guys are familiar with, defines it this way. 00:25:07.640 |
The inerrancy of Scripture means that Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm 00:25:20.380 |
And this is what the Webster's Dictionary defines as inerrancy. 00:25:24.780 |
The belief that the Bible is free from error in matters of science as well as those of 00:25:32.280 |
So basically, the Bible as we have it is God's Word as He would have us have it. 00:25:44.980 |
The Word of God, the Bible, is God's Word as He would have us have it. 00:25:55.840 |
And this is what every single one of our leaders believes. 00:25:59.420 |
This is the formal stance of our church, and that is why we study the Word of God as passionately 00:26:07.740 |
What I've noticed in my near two decades of ministry, it's not a long time but it's enough, 00:26:13.720 |
is that people who have a trouble with inerrancy ultimately have an issue with the Bible's 00:26:25.400 |
People who wrestle with inerrancy ultimately don't want God's Word to be God's Word. 00:26:32.440 |
And though they may spend hours reading about the Bible, about textual criticism, canonicity 00:26:38.100 |
of Scripture, they don't actually spend a lot of time studying the Bible themselves. 00:26:45.320 |
Because if I can poke holes in the Bible and to say that it's not God's Word, I have some 00:26:50.680 |
wiggle room and I ultimately don't need to submit to it. 00:26:55.200 |
And in almost 100% of the cases, and this is again, personal subjective experience from 00:27:00.520 |
someone who's potentially a false prophet, okay? 00:27:06.000 |
But in my flawed subjective experience, almost 100% of the cases, liberal theology leads 00:27:22.280 |
And rejection of the Bible as the inerrant Word of God never leads to freedom. 00:27:35.160 |
Liberal theology always leads to liberal living. 00:27:40.960 |
Liberal theology leads to a rejection of truth, a rejection of God, and a rejection of the 00:27:52.520 |
And if someone's mind is made up, you can't convince them otherwise. 00:27:58.800 |
And the sad thing is that this is often done in the name of truth, in the name of God, 00:28:12.280 |
Wolves like to dress themselves in sheep's clothing so much so that eventually, wolves 00:28:17.840 |
often convince themselves that they are sheep and not wolves. 00:28:24.920 |
The Apostle Paul says something similar in 1 Corinthians 14, 37 to 38. 00:28:31.000 |
If anyone thinks he's a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I 00:28:37.360 |
But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 00:28:42.000 |
So basically, what Paul is saying is you reject the authority of the Word of God, the author 00:28:49.280 |
If you, in your arrogance, reject the authority of the Word of God, the author of life himself 00:28:57.600 |
And actually, it's not more of a you do this and he'll do that. 00:29:02.520 |
And so, the natural byproduct is you say, "Well, forget the Word of God. 00:29:12.760 |
Now, proper doctrine and belief in the inerrancy of Scripture, it does not automatically equate 00:29:22.000 |
But trust me, lawlessness, the potential false prophet, okay? 00:29:26.880 |
Lawlessness always accompanies a rejection of the authority of Scripture. 00:29:32.040 |
And rejection of the inerrancy of God usually leads to rejecting all things that are good. 00:29:42.760 |
So why do I believe that the Word of God is truth? 00:29:46.960 |
Objectively, I believe it can't be conspired by man. 00:29:51.200 |
40 different authors, including prophets and kings and a shepherd, carpenter, musicians, 00:29:58.480 |
learned men, unlearned men, educated and trained men, unskilled and mumbling men, they wrote 00:30:06.280 |
40 different authors, three languages, different contexts, different cultures, different countries 00:30:19.400 |
And he sent his son or he will send his son to deliver us from our sin and restore proper 00:30:28.320 |
That's the consistent message throughout the Scripture. 00:30:30.080 |
So objectively, man cannot have made this up. 00:30:32.640 |
Secondly, everything I know to be good and true and moral and upright and kind and compassionate, 00:30:41.440 |
And everything that this world says is really noble and honorable, all of that is found 00:30:49.640 |
And subjectively, I will share, the Word of God has absolutely and radically changed my 00:30:56.080 |
I was a very lost, very angry, very selfish, insecure, confused young man. 00:31:01.560 |
I had addictions, I had idols, I had major issues. 00:31:03.840 |
And unfortunately, I brought them into the pastoral in my first few years of ministry. 00:31:09.720 |
So actually, there are some of my former students who are now here in their 30s who are in that 00:31:13.720 |
original youth group, asked them, "I was pretty messed up, but God has changed my life." 00:31:28.720 |
The delight in the Word of God, the commitment to study it, to memorize it, and to share 00:31:32.360 |
it has absolutely changed everything about me. 00:31:39.400 |
So I believe in the sufficiency of Scriptures, not only for the objective reasons, but also 00:31:51.880 |
Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways, acknowledge Him. 00:31:56.040 |
I want to exhort you to love the Word of God because that is the lamp unto your feet and 00:32:05.640 |
We want to point you to Christ through His Word. 00:32:10.600 |
Covenant number five reads, "I commit to attending and preparing for weekday Bible 00:32:15.480 |
studies every week to the best of my ability." 00:32:20.600 |
Now because we believe that the Word of God has ultimate authority over our lives, the 00:32:24.760 |
main responsibility of our church is to direct you to learn, to love, and to live out His 00:32:36.880 |
John 14, 15, Jesus says, "If you love me, you will obey my commandments." 00:32:41.760 |
We want to teach you and we also want to learn how to love our God the way He desires to 00:32:55.520 |
And if you notice, our church doesn't have too many programs, right? 00:33:01.000 |
To the complaint and derision of some, "We don't have many programs." 00:33:06.880 |
And when we do have a program, there's a Bible study in it, right? 00:33:13.000 |
Because growing together in the knowledge and the practice of His Word is non-negotiable. 00:33:22.240 |
Everything else are good benefits that come with that, but the central thing is our fellowship 00:33:31.800 |
And our covenant number five, our Bible study, is actually the very bare minimum for your 00:33:54.520 |
And it's sometimes so disheartening that so many of you here struggle to keep up, struggle 00:34:07.800 |
And you struggle to just prepare for something so basic, which is just an hour and a half, 00:34:21.560 |
Our worship must be fueled by a proper understanding of the whole counsel of God. 00:34:28.600 |
Our worship must be fueled by a proper understanding of the whole counsel of God. 00:34:32.840 |
Our personal worship has to be fueled by a proper understanding of the whole counsel 00:34:36.840 |
When life is good and things are comfortable, we have to be reminded that this is not our 00:34:41.560 |
We have to be reminded that we are to love the Creator, not the creation. 00:34:45.240 |
We need to be reminded that the things of this world are passing away, that our treasures 00:34:51.400 |
Those are the things that we need to be reminded of when things are good and comfortable and 00:34:55.320 |
But when life is hard, and some of your lives are very hard, we need to be reminded that 00:34:58.760 |
God is in control, that He is love, that He is good, He doesn't make a single mistake, 00:35:03.400 |
that He has ordained all things for your good is what we need to be reminded of. 00:35:11.240 |
Our personal worship has to be founded on truth, because He is looking for those who 00:35:18.680 |
will worship not just in spirit, but also in truth. 00:35:24.680 |
Our personal worship has to be fueled by Scripture. 00:35:26.640 |
Our corporate worship must be fueled by Scripture. 00:35:36.280 |
So 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 to 22, this is, you want to discern and know and test God's will 00:35:42.680 |
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks, for this is God's 00:35:50.920 |
Do not quench the spirit, do not despise prophetic utterances, but examine everything carefully. 00:35:57.640 |
Hold fast to which is good, abstain from every form of evil. 00:36:02.040 |
One of the negatives about a typical Bible church is a lot of times they reject all things 00:36:08.400 |
And I'm not saying that that's of our church, but a lot of times Bible churches that are 00:36:14.840 |
very conservative do reject things of more spiritual in nature, but here it says, do 00:36:20.880 |
not quench the spirit, do not despise prophetic utterances, examine everything carefully, 00:36:26.880 |
hold fast to what is good, abstain from every form of evil. 00:36:29.480 |
So I can't just reject stuff like that, but I will test it by the Word of God. 00:36:38.040 |
Don't believe what the church stands on, you search the scriptures for yourself. 00:36:54.080 |
And how do the leaders shepherd the flock of God? 00:36:57.320 |
What are you to expect from the leaders in their shepherding of the flock of God? 00:37:00.760 |
And how are you supposed to pray for and submit to the leadership of the church according 00:37:08.800 |
Our worship must be fueled by a proper understanding of the whole counsel of God. 00:37:15.080 |
Second, our fellowship must be fueled by a proper understanding of the whole counsel 00:37:19.680 |
John 17, 17, "Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth." 00:37:23.480 |
Jesus is praying on the path of all the saints to come and in their relationship with one 00:37:28.240 |
another and he says, "Sanctify them in your truth, your word is truth." 00:37:33.120 |
The Word of God will impact positively or negatively your relationship and it's supposed 00:37:41.140 |
So our fellowship must be fueled not by personality, what do you call it? 00:37:46.240 |
I'm at a loss of words, I'm talking too fast. 00:37:52.760 |
Our fellowship must first and foremost be founded upon our understanding of his Word. 00:38:00.760 |
Our evangelism and our engagement in the Great Commission must be fueled by the Word. 00:38:07.280 |
Learning and teaching to do everything that God has taught. 00:38:12.600 |
John 10, 16 says, "I have other sheep which are not of this fold, I must bring them also 00:38:18.920 |
and they will hear my voice and they will become one flock with one shepherd." 00:38:24.240 |
So Jesus has other sheep, they will hear his voice. 00:38:27.900 |
We have to make sure that when we are trying to lead his sheep to the shepherd that they 00:38:33.660 |
are hearing his voice correctly and not our opinion. 00:38:39.040 |
When we are evangelizing our unbelieving family and friends, we have to make sure we're not 00:38:47.360 |
First Timothy 4, 16, "Pay close attention to yourself." 00:38:50.920 |
And this isn't an endorsement on like self-worship, this means scrutinize your living, okay? 00:38:55.360 |
Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching, persevere in these things for as 00:39:00.360 |
you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. 00:39:07.760 |
We need to be reminded that we need to persevere in scrutinizing both our doctrine and our 00:39:13.520 |
So that we don't become a stumbling block to those who we're trying to reach and save. 00:39:22.160 |
Being a member at Berlin Community Church is not enough. 00:39:24.880 |
Being a member at a Bible church is not enough. 00:39:28.040 |
Being at a Bible church hearing sound teaching is not enough. 00:39:36.120 |
You being at this church and not engaging in the scriptures is like going to the gym 00:39:45.520 |
It actually causes jealousy if anything, right? 00:39:52.460 |
Being at a Bible church and not engaging in the study of the word is like you just going 00:39:57.820 |
to the gym, paying money, and then popping out. 00:40:04.360 |
Covenant number five is not something that we aspire to. 00:40:09.220 |
It's the bare minimum for your well-being as a church member. 00:40:13.800 |
Now in our house, in our home, I have a twin son and daughter. 00:40:23.300 |
They're not like set in stone, but these are our table manners, eating rules. 00:40:28.180 |
It's such a struggle to get four and a half year olds to eat. 00:40:38.440 |
Number one rule, we wash our hands before we eat. 00:40:46.480 |
Number two, we pray and give thanks to God before we eat. 00:40:50.440 |
Now they pray, they're just saying words at this point, and they say random stuff, right? 00:40:55.240 |
They talk about bunny rabbits and stuff in their meal prayer, but we want to get them 00:40:58.840 |
in the habit of thanking the Lord, so that's rule number two. 00:41:01.640 |
Number three, we do not throw our food or play with our food. 00:41:06.160 |
They used to do this, and they got in trouble for this a lot. 00:41:08.640 |
They probably don't remember, but that was a rule that we established, and we disciplined 00:41:19.280 |
They're throwing away the food, and that is something we don't do, right? 00:41:21.920 |
Because it's wasteful, and that's just not acceptable in society. 00:41:33.240 |
It's not that we don't want them to play with toys. 00:41:37.960 |
And fifth, we're to have both butt cheeks on the chair when we eat. 00:41:42.400 |
You may have never heard the word butt cheek in a sermon, but here it is. 00:41:45.940 |
You need to have both buns on the chair because they keep getting up. 00:41:50.560 |
They wander around, and it's like, "Get back on there." 00:41:53.520 |
That's a rule that we almost always have to remind them of, and sometimes have to put 00:42:02.640 |
Ultimately, the rules are there to ensure our kids properly eat. 00:42:08.400 |
I don't care if they play with a toy or if they get up off the chair. 00:42:14.960 |
Them staying on the chair is not my desire for them. 00:42:18.740 |
My desire for them is to eat, ultimately to grow. 00:42:22.620 |
These house rules are not there for them to become good house rule keepers. 00:42:26.740 |
They're there for them to eat, for them to grow. 00:42:30.700 |
And I'm hoping that none of you are judging me as a bad parent for having these rules. 00:42:37.420 |
It's to make sure that our members at our church are eating. 00:42:43.940 |
And as I have said before, weekday Bible study is the bare minimum when it comes to the study 00:42:48.920 |
of the Bible for our members because there are eternal consequences potentially at stake. 00:42:56.700 |
One Bible study a week and one sermon are totally not enough. 00:43:02.500 |
This is not to restrict or stifle you or make you feel guilty, okay? 00:43:06.980 |
But if you were to eat only two meals a week every week, I lovingly should call you out 00:43:13.720 |
on that because you should be eating on average 20 times a week feeding your face, something, 00:43:27.380 |
So being in the habit of coming to Bible study not prepared or regularly skipping it, that 00:43:42.260 |
And I found that usually people who aren't prepared for the study, who are regularly 00:43:47.300 |
the slack in their preparation for the corporate study of His Word, are usually not engaging 00:43:54.580 |
Now again, there are exceptions to the rule, so don't throw something at me, okay, if you're 00:43:58.460 |
like, "Well, I don't prepare for the Bible study, but I do it on my own." 00:44:01.460 |
Okay, so if that's you, then great, hallelujah. 00:44:03.900 |
But generally speaking, people who aren't prepared for the proper study of His Word 00:44:08.420 |
usually aren't doing Bible intake the rest of the week. 00:44:18.700 |
Generally speaking, one of the first signs of struggle I observed at our church is a 00:44:28.500 |
And my guess and my assumption is that if you're not keeping up with the church Bible 00:44:31.380 |
study, you're not keeping up with your own personal devotions. 00:44:37.220 |
And that's of great concern to me because I care about your well-being. 00:44:41.940 |
The Word of God is foundational for your growth. 00:44:45.260 |
Now this is for you guys who are keeping up with the Bible study, who are enjoying the 00:44:52.740 |
May I encourage you to an intense, passionate study of His Word? 00:44:58.260 |
May I encourage you to memorize as much Bible as you can? 00:45:01.940 |
Make it your ambition to have a bucket list memorizing 31,100 plus verses. 00:45:07.820 |
Know His Word, love His Word, live His Word, share His Word, and make sure you know exactly 00:45:14.560 |
Let the Word of God transform every aspect of your life. 00:45:23.060 |
Imagine if you just memorized one book a year and retained it 10 years from now. 00:45:27.940 |
Do you not think you're going to be a more intimate believer? 00:45:30.980 |
You don't think you'll have a deeper walk with God? 00:45:32.940 |
You don't think you'll be sounder in your faith? 00:45:34.940 |
Shame on you if you've been a Christian for 20 years and you have no understanding of 00:45:39.560 |
Know His Word because what I say on the pulpit, if I say wrong things, you should call us 00:45:52.880 |
The blessing of the Lord and the nearness of the Lord follows those who meditate on 00:45:59.340 |
And you cannot meditate on something you have not memorized. 00:46:04.420 |
You cannot meditate on something day and night if you just do a Bible skim. 00:46:11.860 |
You reading the Bible through in one year, great for you. 00:46:15.480 |
It does zero for your soul in that if that's all you're doing it for, you're not feeding. 00:46:21.300 |
It's just like licking a hamburger and then saying, "I've eaten." 00:46:30.780 |
Memorization is not the goal, it's the means. 00:46:33.300 |
The means for properly responding to the Word of God throughout every moment of every day. 00:46:37.940 |
That it kind of flows through your prayers even. 00:46:40.460 |
That the Word of God is so saturating your mind and your heart, you see things clearly. 00:46:55.980 |
That's not there for you to get just a whack on the spiritual bottom. 00:47:06.140 |
As a church, we want to hold fast to these covenants so that we can build His church 00:47:18.420 |
We want to be those on the small and the narrow encouraging others on the small and the narrow. 00:47:24.340 |
We want to be able to say, "That's a false prophet, but hey, let me reach out to this 00:47:28.580 |
Maybe he can be on the small and the narrow too." 00:47:30.220 |
The only way to do that is not by logic, is not by study, or apologetic study. 00:47:35.300 |
It's by the Word of God, which is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword. 00:47:41.540 |
It's sufficient to change and transform dumb people to make them saints. 00:47:49.540 |
Luke 6, 46 to 49, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? 00:47:58.460 |
Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and acts on them, I will show you whom he 00:48:05.460 |
He is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock. 00:48:10.460 |
And when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it 00:48:17.740 |
But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly is like a man who built his house 00:48:21.780 |
on the ground without any foundation, and the torrent burst against it, and immediately 00:48:26.240 |
it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great. 00:48:32.380 |
May the Lord move us to be a church full of people building on the solid rock of Jesus 00:48:47.980 |
Let his truth sanctify this church, grow this church, and build. 00:49:12.300 |
I came in ninth place because we got some crazy people. 00:49:15.700 |
But on that diet, everyone was asking me, "How's it going?" 00:49:20.700 |
And then they take me to a soup plantation and fatten me up, right? 00:49:30.940 |
Bare minimum, you're going to get messed up with bare minimum. 00:49:36.980 |
Bare minimum is going to cause you over time just to be a shell of religion. 00:49:58.460 |
Ask him to lead you to people who will help you learn it. 00:50:02.340 |
Ask him to make you so adept in the knowledge of the word of God that you are a soul saver 00:50:09.300 |
So let's take some time to pray, and then the worship team is going to come up.