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Berean Community Church Sunday Service 11/03/24


Whisper Transcript | Transcript Only Page

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00:12:44.860 | - Good morning, church family.
00:13:03.060 | Happy Lord's Day.
00:13:04.180 | We will now begin our service.
00:13:05.680 | (soft music)
00:13:10.100 | ♪ O for a thousand tongues to sing ♪
00:13:15.100 | ♪ My great Redeemer's praise ♪
00:13:20.100 | ♪ The glories of my God and King ♪
00:13:25.100 | ♪ The triumphs of His grace ♪
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00:13:38.100 | ♪ O for a thousand tongues to sing ♪
00:13:43.100 | ♪ My great Redeemer's praise ♪
00:13:47.100 | ♪ The glories of my God and King ♪
00:13:52.100 | ♪ The triumphs of His grace ♪
00:13:56.100 | ♪ My gracious Master and my God ♪
00:14:01.100 | ♪ Assist me to proclaim ♪
00:14:05.100 | ♪ To spread through all the earth ♪
00:14:09.100 | ♪ The wonders of thy name ♪
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00:14:15.520 | ♪ Jesus, the name that calms our fears ♪
00:14:25.100 | ♪ That bids our sorrows cease ♪
00:14:30.100 | ♪ 'Tis music in the sinner's ears ♪
00:14:34.100 | ♪ 'Tis my comforter when He is near ♪
00:14:39.100 | ♪ O praise the power of His holy Spirit ♪
00:14:43.100 | ♪ He sets the prisoner free ♪
00:14:48.100 | ♪ His blood can make the bowels clear ♪
00:14:52.100 | ♪ His blood availed for me ♪
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00:15:01.940 | ♪ Jesus, Jesus ♪
00:15:14.520 | ♪ Listening to His voice ♪
00:15:17.520 | ♪ You like the dead receive ♪
00:15:22.520 | ♪ The mortal broken hearts rejoice ♪
00:15:26.520 | ♪ The humble born revealed ♪
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00:15:33.520 | ♪ O praise to God and praise and love ♪
00:15:37.520 | ♪ Be ever, ever given ♪
00:15:42.520 | ♪ Thy saints below and saints above ♪
00:15:46.520 | ♪ The church and earth and heaven ♪
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00:15:53.520 | ♪ O a thousand tongues to sing ♪
00:15:58.520 | ♪ My great Redeemer's praise ♪
00:16:02.520 | ♪ The glories of my God and King ♪
00:16:07.520 | ♪ The triumphs of His grace ♪
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00:19:25.520 | - Hi everyone, my name is Tiffany
00:19:33.520 | and today I'll be sharing a little bit
00:19:34.520 | about what we did in Taiwan.
00:19:36.520 | This past week has been so sweet
00:19:38.520 | as God graciously allowed us to see him working
00:19:40.520 | starting from our very first day.
00:19:42.520 | We landed around 4 a.m.
00:19:43.520 | and we went straight to Pastor Alex's apartment
00:19:46.520 | where we had a brief introduction
00:19:48.520 | and overview for the trip.
00:19:50.520 | That afternoon we also went to Hope Church
00:19:52.520 | where we met Stephen,
00:19:53.520 | a seminary student and member of Hope Church.
00:19:55.520 | Throughout this week I was so encouraged by Stephen
00:19:57.520 | in the way he serves the church,
00:19:59.520 | spends time with the youth,
00:20:00.520 | and just loves on people in action.
00:20:02.520 | We spent some time flying at two nearby elementary schools
00:20:05.520 | for the children's game night
00:20:07.520 | that would be taking place later on in the week.
00:20:09.520 | Several families did end up coming out to the game night
00:20:11.520 | and for many of them it was actually their first time
00:20:14.520 | ever stepping foot into the church.
00:20:16.520 | That first night we also went to NKUST
00:20:18.520 | which stands for National Kaohsiung University
00:20:20.520 | of Science and Technology
00:20:22.520 | to meet Sherry and the first group of students in her class.
00:20:25.520 | Sherry is one of the English professors at NKUST
00:20:28.520 | and she's also a member of Hope Church.
00:20:30.520 | Throughout this week we were able to go to NKUST four times
00:20:33.520 | and Yixiu University once
00:20:35.520 | where we led English presentations,
00:20:37.520 | had discussion times,
00:20:38.520 | and just spent time with the students in smaller groups.
00:20:41.520 | The goal of these campus tours was to build connections
00:20:44.520 | and get to know the students,
00:20:45.520 | ultimately trying to invite them out to Hope Church
00:20:47.520 | for English corners and church activities.
00:20:50.520 | For the most part the students were surprisingly
00:20:52.520 | very open and honest about their struggles.
00:20:54.520 | A common theme that I noticed was the overwhelming pressures
00:20:57.520 | of going to after school academies
00:20:59.520 | and preparing for college exams their whole life.
00:21:02.520 | And even now as college students
00:21:05.520 | they still face the pressures of academics
00:21:07.520 | and wanting to do well so that they could find a good job
00:21:09.520 | and escape from this life.
00:21:11.520 | The fight for a better future weighs heavily on a lot of them.
00:21:14.520 | We only had a couple hours with each group
00:21:17.520 | and a part of me did wonder if the short time we had together
00:21:20.520 | would actually make a difference.
00:21:22.520 | However, God graciously showed us
00:21:24.520 | how he is already moving in the hearts of several of them.
00:21:27.520 | Many of them did come out to the English corners
00:21:29.520 | and activities such as our hot pot night
00:21:31.520 | and the night market outing that we had.
00:21:33.520 | It was encouraging to see their openness
00:21:35.520 | and several of them asked very good questions.
00:21:37.520 | One of them even came out to Sunday service for the first time
00:21:40.520 | and although he didn't understand
00:21:42.520 | all the lyrics to the worship songs we sang
00:21:44.520 | he said he felt touched for some reason.
00:21:46.520 | I think we all felt touched during that worship service
00:21:49.520 | as we reflected on the brokenness of Taiwan
00:21:52.520 | but found comfort in Christ's sovereignty
00:21:54.520 | knowing that he is working as we worship
00:21:56.520 | alongside fellow faithful believers at Hope Church.
00:21:59.520 | I believe that God is working in several of their hearts already
00:22:02.520 | and he will continue to do so long after we leave.
00:22:05.520 | My prayer for them is that they will continue to seek the Lord
00:22:07.520 | and he would reveal himself to them bit by bit in his perfect timing.
00:22:11.520 | During this trip we also had the pleasure of meeting Wei Wei,
00:22:14.520 | a nine years old boy who lives about five minutes away from the church
00:22:18.520 | and randomly walked in one day as Pastor Alex was preparing for his sermon.
00:22:22.520 | His parents neglect him and they often fight about finances.
00:22:25.520 | Wei Wei is a sweet kid and is honestly a pretty good kid
00:22:28.520 | considering his circumstances
00:22:30.520 | but he's also formed some bad habits already.
00:22:32.520 | It touched my heart to see the way Hope Church has welcomed him in
00:22:35.520 | and loved on him, providing him with food and loving
00:22:39.520 | and showing him the love of Christ.
00:22:41.520 | My heart breaks for Wei Wei but at the same time
00:22:43.520 | I'm also reminded that God sees each one of his tears
00:22:46.520 | and he loves Wei Wei and desires to save him
00:22:48.520 | even more than any of us want that.
00:22:51.520 | I know and trust that God is working something out for Wei Wei,
00:22:54.520 | something better than I can imagine in my limited mind.
00:22:57.520 | I came into the trip not knowing exactly what to expect
00:23:00.520 | and to be quite honest there were so many things to do leading up to the trip.
00:23:04.520 | Even on the morning we boarded the airplane.
00:23:06.520 | My prayer going into it was that my heart would be in the right place
00:23:09.520 | and for God to use me in some way.
00:23:11.520 | And God really did answer that prayer
00:23:13.520 | because when we got there the things of this world did become strangely dim.
00:23:17.520 | The trivial things in my day-to-day life that I tend to get so caught up in
00:23:21.520 | do not seem to matter anymore.
00:23:23.520 | I found myself just wanting to love on the students we were interacting with,
00:23:26.520 | just wanting to spend time with those in the church
00:23:28.520 | and just wanting to get to know the people there.
00:23:31.520 | Because really each person has been created so beautifully in his image,
00:23:34.520 | so how could we not love on them?
00:23:36.520 | To be honest, Taiwan is a place that is very spiritually dark.
00:23:39.520 | There's so much brokenness and just a sense of a loss of direction in life.
00:23:43.520 | And the brokenness may manifest itself in different ways
00:23:46.520 | and look different over in Taiwan,
00:23:48.520 | but at the end of the day the root of it is still the same.
00:23:51.520 | It's sin and the pursuit of life apart from Christ.
00:23:54.520 | But at the same time I'm also reminded
00:23:56.520 | that it's the same God who loves each beautiful soul he created
00:23:59.520 | and he desires to save them and he can save them.
00:24:02.520 | I came in wanting to serve the people of Taiwan,
00:24:04.520 | but it was them who showed me God's love.
00:24:06.520 | And I'm reminded that the only thing that matters in this life is the cross.
00:24:10.520 | I'm reminded that God, I want to live for you and I want to be spent for you.
00:24:14.520 | And I can also have peace knowing that it's not man who saves but God who saves.
00:24:18.520 | And he has been working and he will continue to work and I can trust in that.
00:24:22.520 | Thank you.
00:24:24.520 | [applause]
00:24:30.520 | Again, we want to thank you for your prayers.
00:24:32.520 | I think this trip was to pray and to see if the doors would get open
00:24:37.520 | for us to continue to work there.
00:24:39.520 | And I think we all agree that this is an opportunity that's been given to us.
00:24:44.520 | And we are planning to return in October.
00:24:47.520 | And we apologize that there were quite a few of you who wanted to go but couldn't
00:24:51.520 | because we lacked space and we didn't even open it up
00:24:54.520 | because so many people contacted me.
00:24:56.520 | Somehow the word went out through the grapevine.
00:24:58.520 | And so don't come to me now because I will completely forget.
00:25:01.520 | So don't send me an email and say, "Hey, put me on the list."
00:25:04.520 | I'm not going to remember.
00:25:06.520 | So when the time comes and we are near and we say we're going to take sign-ups for that,
00:25:11.520 | just be praying for it.
00:25:14.520 | As Tiffany shared, the need there is tremendous.
00:25:17.520 | There are churches there, but for whatever the reason, evangelism is not part of their culture.
00:25:22.520 | And so just like Korea, when you go on campus, the Christianity is 2% or less.
00:25:28.520 | And that's across the board in the country.
00:25:31.520 | And we found that they are more open.
00:25:34.520 | They are open--they're very intrigued.
00:25:36.520 | Because of the struggles that they're having within the country,
00:25:38.520 | they're intrigued with what's happening outside the country.
00:25:40.520 | So they're eager to talk to foreigners, especially the college students, the younger ones.
00:25:45.520 | And so we're going to use the manpower that we have.
00:25:50.520 | And we have so many Taiwanese-American.
00:25:52.520 | And the majority of our team was able to speak some Chinese,
00:25:55.520 | so we didn't have much problem communicating with them.
00:25:58.520 | And so we're going to continue to pray that as the door has been opened,
00:26:02.520 | that what God will do through this channel.
00:26:04.520 | So please continue to keep that in your prayers.
00:26:06.520 | A few announcements.
00:26:07.520 | First of all, this coming Saturday we have Men's Fellowship, November 9, 9 a.m.
00:26:12.520 | And so please sign up as soon as possible.
00:26:15.520 | We are making small groups this week, and so we need to know exactly who's able to come.
00:26:19.520 | This coming Saturday we have some of the older men in our church that are going to be interviewed.
00:26:24.520 | We're going to have some Q&A about their struggles in marriage early on.
00:26:28.520 | And, you know, most of them--all of them have been married for many, many years.
00:26:32.520 | And then all of them have grown children.
00:26:35.520 | And so it will be an opportunity to have Q&A for the people in our church to be able to interact with them.
00:26:40.520 | And so please sign up for that.
00:26:42.520 | Thanksgiving Outreach Dinner that's happening on November 16 at 6 p.m.
00:26:45.520 | If you have people that you want to invite to that where they're going to be able to share the gospel with them
00:26:49.520 | and meet some of our outreach team members, please sign up for that.
00:26:53.520 | Cleanup and Maintenance Day on November 23, 9 a.m.
00:26:56.520 | So please, again, out in the courtyard the sign-ups will be there.
00:27:00.520 | Regional Thanksgiving Dinner.
00:27:02.520 | Please sign up for that if you are participating.
00:27:04.520 | So we're going to put you in whatever region that you're a part of.
00:27:08.520 | And so please sign up for that.
00:27:10.520 | And then you'll get notice through the e-mail of which group that you're going to participate in.
00:27:15.520 | And then lastly, our Sisters Ministry is sponsoring Operation Christmas Child.
00:27:19.520 | And so you will need to turn that in by--if you've taken the shoebox, you'll need to turn that in by next Sunday.
00:27:28.520 | So if you are going out there--if you visit the table, there's more information on that.
00:27:32.520 | So please go visit that.
00:27:34.520 | And then they'll give you more information about that.
00:27:36.520 | All right, let me pray for us.
00:27:38.520 | And then after our offering, our Sister Clara is going to come up and give her testimony and be baptized this morning.
00:27:43.520 | All right, let's pray.
00:27:46.520 | Father, we thank you for the privilege and the grace that allows us to be here together to worship you.
00:27:54.520 | I pray that you would search us and know us and see if there's any hurtful ways in us,
00:27:59.520 | that if we in any way are living in some form of rebellion against you,
00:28:05.520 | I pray that your Word and your Spirit would convict us, guide us,
00:28:09.520 | and that this worship truly would be given to you in a way that honors you.
00:28:14.520 | I pray that the offering that we give would be an overflow of gratitude in our hearts
00:28:19.520 | and may it be multiplied for the sake of your kingdom.
00:28:21.520 | In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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00:29:03.520 | Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to greet the neighbors around us.
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00:29:53.520 | ♪ ♪
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00:30:03.520 | ♪ We can fly ♪
00:30:05.520 | ♪ We can fly on the clouds ♪
00:30:07.520 | ♪ A hundred thousand birds and suns ♪
00:30:10.520 | ♪ Wings of paper planes ♪
00:30:13.520 | ♪ There is one and one in the sky ♪
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00:33:55.520 | ♪ Oh Lord, you're rock and my redeemer ♪
00:34:02.520 | ♪ Greatest treasure of my longing soul ♪
00:34:09.520 | ♪ My God, like you there is no other ♪
00:34:16.520 | ♪ True delight is found in you alone ♪
00:34:24.520 | ♪ Your grace a well too deep to fathom ♪
00:34:32.520 | ♪ Your love sees the heavens reach ♪
00:34:40.520 | ♪ Your truth a fount of perfect wisdom ♪
00:34:47.520 | ♪ My highest good and my unending ♪
00:34:54.520 | ♪ ♪
00:35:07.520 | ♪ Oh Lord, you're rock and my redeemer ♪
00:35:14.520 | ♪ Strong defender of my weary heart ♪
00:35:22.520 | ♪ My sword to fight the cruel deceiver ♪
00:35:29.520 | ♪ And my shield against his hateful dark ♪
00:35:37.520 | ♪ My song when enemies surround me ♪
00:35:44.520 | ♪ My hope when tides of sorrow rise ♪
00:35:52.520 | ♪ My joy when trials are abound ♪
00:35:58.520 | ♪ Your faithfulness my refuge in divine ♪
00:36:05.520 | ♪ ♪
00:36:17.520 | ♪ Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer ♪
00:36:24.520 | ♪ Gracious savior of my ruined life ♪
00:36:32.520 | ♪ My guilt and cross laid on your shoulders ♪
00:36:39.520 | ♪ In my place you suffered, bled, and died ♪
00:36:47.520 | ♪ You wrought the grave and death of hunger ♪
00:36:55.520 | ♪ You broke the bonds of sin and shame ♪
00:37:03.520 | ♪ You wrought the grave and death of hunger ♪
00:37:10.520 | ♪ You broke the bonds of sin and shame ♪
00:37:18.520 | ♪ Oh Lord, you're rock and my redeemer ♪
00:37:24.520 | ♪ May all my days bring glory to your name ♪
00:37:31.520 | ♪ May all my days bring glory to your name ♪
00:37:41.520 | Amen. May be seated.
00:37:51.520 | Hello, my name is Clara, and this is my testimony.
00:37:55.520 | I grew up in the church, but I also grew up in a broken family.
00:37:59.520 | In the first grade, I was introduced to my home church where I first witnessed God's grace.
00:38:04.520 | I scared away the kids around me because of my angry nature.
00:38:08.520 | However, I was surprised how each teacher loved all of us equally, despite how I was.
00:38:13.520 | I had never been treated like this anywhere else.
00:38:16.520 | I fell in love with the church because of these benefits I received.
00:38:20.520 | I never liked being home because of all the sin and brokenness,
00:38:23.520 | and I didn't have many friends at school, so church was my comfort.
00:38:27.520 | I never skipped a children's Bible study and did whatever I could to attend church.
00:38:32.520 | I still did not know who God was.
00:38:34.520 | I simply thought that since God is love, I must receive it, but I was never willing to give it.
00:38:40.520 | I first learned what it meant to be a sinner in sixth grade
00:38:43.520 | when I was challenged by my youth pastor at the time.
00:38:46.520 | I started seeking God simply because I didn't want to go to hell,
00:38:49.520 | and I saw a life full of gifts ahead of me.
00:38:52.520 | Throughout middle school, I had so many youth teachers praying for me and sacrificing so much for me.
00:38:57.520 | I was never truly grateful for them, but I thought I deserved them.
00:39:01.520 | I took advantage of them, relying on them to be my walking Bible.
00:39:06.520 | I never once sought after the word on my own.
00:39:09.520 | The more my knowledge grew, so did my pride.
00:39:12.520 | I said all the right answers in my small group, but my heart was always the same.
00:39:16.520 | In my freshman year of high school, my church split.
00:39:20.520 | These youth teachers I clung to were gone.
00:39:22.520 | I had no source of the word without them, and I was lost.
00:39:26.520 | I turned to my friends in my youth group, trying to find security in them,
00:39:30.520 | but I also chased them away with my anger during times of conflict.
00:39:34.520 | At the end of tenth grade, I was alone, bitter, and blamed God.
00:39:38.520 | I stopped actively seeking God during my last two years of high school
00:39:42.520 | to the point where I don't even remember if I went to church.
00:39:45.520 | I planned on returning to God once I was satisfied with my life at a certain point,
00:39:50.520 | but this plan backfired.
00:39:52.520 | My life was the opposite of what I'd planned.
00:39:54.520 | By the end of high school, I was broken.
00:39:57.520 | I started to take God seriously after graduation
00:39:59.520 | because I saw that this life I planned was not working out on my own,
00:40:03.520 | so I sought after God as an avenue for my plans.
00:40:06.520 | When I first came to Berean, I met with P'Ne,
00:40:09.520 | and I learned that I only ever wanted God for what he could give me.
00:40:12.520 | I didn't see how I could ever be undeserving
00:40:15.520 | because I never asked to be born into my life.
00:40:18.520 | I thought God owed me for everything I went through,
00:40:21.520 | but God continued working in this selfish heart
00:40:24.520 | without me realizing it at the time.
00:40:27.520 | As I kept--oh, sorry.
00:40:31.520 | As I kept learning more about his holiness,
00:40:34.520 | the Lord started to humble my heart.
00:40:37.520 | During our last college retreat,
00:40:39.520 | I felt that I needed to have all the answers about God.
00:40:42.520 | I needed to understand predestination and why he created us.
00:40:46.520 | I felt that once I knew all these things, only then would I trust him.
00:40:50.520 | But through God's grace and mercy,
00:40:52.520 | he reminded me that part of faith is believing what we cannot see.
00:40:58.520 | Hebrews 11:3 says, "By faith we understand
00:41:00.520 | that the words were prepared by the word of God
00:41:02.520 | so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible."
00:41:06.520 | Shortly after, I went to gospel night.
00:41:09.520 | During PPK's presentation,
00:41:11.520 | I truly thought that this life I sought after had no meaning.
00:41:14.520 | As Matthew 10:39 echoed in my head,
00:41:17.520 | "Whoever finds his life will lose it,
00:41:19.520 | and whoever finds his life for my sake will find it."
00:41:23.520 | PPK then presented a picture of a nuclear power plant,
00:41:26.520 | saying how it is similar to who God is.
00:41:29.520 | It serves a great purpose, but we would die if we got near it.
00:41:35.520 | So we have to be dressed in a suit to survive being in its presence.
00:41:41.520 | Similarly, God has allowed us to be in his presence
00:41:43.520 | by dressing us in his righteousness.
00:41:46.520 | The following morning, I panicked.
00:41:48.520 | I started to feel the weight of my sins.
00:41:50.520 | I knew that if I died, I would go to hell because God is righteous,
00:41:53.520 | and he is right to send me to hell for my sins,
00:41:56.520 | and I was incapable of being in his presence.
00:41:59.520 | Just then, I remembered what was said on gospel night,
00:42:02.520 | which is the exact reason why God dresses us in his righteousness.
00:42:06.520 | However, I saw that I was not dressed in a simple suit.
00:42:09.520 | God sent his only son to die on the cross for my sins and suffered for me.
00:42:17.520 | And through his blood, I have been forgiven.
00:42:20.520 | I couldn't believe it.
00:42:22.520 | I tried to make sense of why God did this,
00:42:25.520 | but no matter how much I tried, I couldn't.
00:42:28.520 | I tried to ask God if there was a reason,
00:42:30.520 | but Ephesians 2, 8 through 9 says,
00:42:32.520 | "For by grace you have been saved through faith and not that of yourselves.
00:42:36.520 | It is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one may boast."
00:42:41.520 | It was then that I truly realized that God has forgiven me
00:42:44.520 | for every single one of my sins through the blood of Jesus Christ.
00:42:48.520 | Even all those times when I stood before him
00:42:50.520 | and pointed the finger at him or intentionally hurt someone.
00:42:54.520 | I knew this truth for almost my whole life,
00:42:56.520 | but the Lord finally opened my eyes.
00:42:59.520 | There were many times when I questioned my faith due to the present sin in me,
00:43:02.520 | but God is faithful and he constantly gives me assurance of my salvation.
00:43:07.520 | The hatred I once had for God has turned into love and gratitude.
00:43:11.520 | I am made for him, not the other way around.
00:43:14.520 | He has helped me forgive those I told myself I would never forgive.
00:43:18.520 | I know that I will continue to struggle with my sins,
00:43:21.520 | and I know that life will not go as planned.
00:43:23.520 | But if all my joy and even suffering brings joy to my creator and fulfills his will,
00:43:28.520 | there is nothing more I could ask for.
00:43:31.520 | Thank you.
00:43:33.520 | As you understand, when you go into the water, you're being united with Christ's death.
00:43:55.520 | When you come out, you're being united with his resurrected life.
00:43:58.520 | And I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
00:44:02.520 | All right. Thank you, Claire, for that very encouraging testimony.
00:44:22.520 | If you can turn your Bibles with me to Luke chapter 9.
00:44:26.520 | I'll be reading from verse 37 all the way to verse 45.
00:44:30.520 | Luke chapter 9, verse 37 to 45.
00:44:34.520 | Reading the NASB.
00:44:36.520 | On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him,
00:44:40.520 | and a man from the crowd shouted, saying,
00:44:42.520 | "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only boy."
00:44:47.520 | And a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams,
00:44:49.520 | and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth,
00:44:52.520 | and only difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves.
00:44:57.520 | I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.
00:45:00.520 | And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation,
00:45:03.520 | how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."
00:45:08.520 | While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground
00:45:11.520 | and threw him into a convulsion.
00:45:13.520 | But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.
00:45:17.520 | And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
00:45:20.520 | But while everyone was marveling at all that he was doing,
00:45:23.520 | he said to his disciples, "Let these words sink into your ears,
00:45:27.520 | for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men."
00:45:30.520 | But they did not understand his statement,
00:45:32.520 | and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it,
00:45:35.520 | and they were afraid to ask him about this statement.
00:45:38.520 | Let's pray.
00:45:41.520 | Father, we pray that your word would speak to us,
00:45:45.520 | guide us, lead us, encourage us, rebuke us, and strengthen us,
00:45:49.520 | that we may be obedient, that we may worship you in spirit and in truth.
00:45:54.520 | In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
00:45:57.520 | As our Taiwan team comes back, there's always--
00:46:02.520 | when there's a spiritual high,
00:46:05.520 | there's always a caution for the valleys that usually follow.
00:46:09.520 | I remember as a young pastor being warned
00:46:13.520 | that whenever I'm at a conference or speaking at some retreat,
00:46:17.520 | that when you come back, that's when you're kind of the most vulnerable.
00:46:20.520 | And many pastors usually fail after a spiritual high.
00:46:25.520 | And I've noticed that through the years.
00:46:27.520 | People come back from short-term mission trips,
00:46:30.520 | and then from that high, because they were so encouraged and challenged,
00:46:34.520 | there's a tendency to kind of relax.
00:46:37.520 | And then when you relax, you have the discouragement that comes in.
00:46:41.520 | What we're looking at this morning is right after the transfiguration.
00:46:45.520 | A couple weeks ago we looked at that,
00:46:47.520 | and that was kind of like the spiritual high of Jesus' ministry,
00:46:51.520 | the transfiguration, Moses and Elijah coming in glory,
00:46:55.520 | God the Father saying, "This is my son. Listen to him."
00:46:58.520 | And so the three disciples see the transfiguration,
00:47:01.520 | and they saw the glory of Jesus Christ,
00:47:04.520 | and heard the direct, audible voice of God,
00:47:07.520 | and they come down from the mountain, and they find this discouragement.
00:47:11.520 | They come down, and they find a man who is desperate
00:47:15.520 | because his son is demon-possessed, and the disciples couldn't do anything.
00:47:19.520 | And you could sense frustration in Jesus' tone.
00:47:22.520 | "How long will I be with you?"
00:47:25.520 | This morning I want to look at what Jesus is doing here.
00:47:28.520 | And again, I want all of us to understand the context of this,
00:47:31.520 | where Jesus has now turned his face toward the cross.
00:47:35.520 | He's preparing primarily his disciples.
00:47:38.520 | He's revealing himself to them,
00:47:40.520 | because they needed to know why he was doing what he was doing.
00:47:44.520 | They didn't fully understand,
00:47:46.520 | and even at the end of this text it says they don't fully understand,
00:47:49.520 | but they needed to know who he is,
00:47:51.520 | so that they would understand why he came,
00:47:53.520 | and what he was going to do on the cross.
00:47:56.520 | First thing that we come into, that Luke reminds us,
00:48:00.520 | is just the desperate situation of this man.
00:48:03.520 | For the sake of time, I won't read the text, because we just read it.
00:48:06.520 | But the man's situation is highlighted for us about his son,
00:48:10.520 | that "This was my only boy."
00:48:13.520 | Not to say that if he had ten children that it wouldn't have mattered,
00:48:16.520 | but Luke highlights the fact that it was his only boy,
00:48:19.520 | meaning how desperate he was.
00:48:22.520 | You have to understand, at this particular time,
00:48:24.520 | children was directly related to their wealth.
00:48:28.520 | So the fact that he only had the only son,
00:48:31.520 | meaning that it wasn't just because he loved his son.
00:48:34.520 | His whole family was tied to this son.
00:48:37.520 | His whole generation, the inheritance, all of it was tied to this son.
00:48:41.520 | So if this son is ruined, the family line will end here.
00:48:46.520 | Highlighting the desperateness of his situation.
00:48:50.520 | And then it goes into detail.
00:48:52.520 | I don't think there's any other demon possession
00:48:54.520 | that has gone through this much detail of what it was doing to this child.
00:48:59.520 | In Luke 9.39 it says, "The demon seizes the boy."
00:49:02.520 | And then again it says, "The child is screaming."
00:49:05.520 | Again in verse 39 and 42, "The spirit slammed him to the ground
00:49:08.520 | in convulsion so that he foams at the mouth."
00:49:11.520 | And then in the other Gospels, Matthew 9.18,
00:49:15.520 | "He grinds his teeth and becomes stiff as a board."
00:49:18.520 | Matthew 17.15, "Many times he had been cast into the fire and water
00:49:22.520 | by evil spirits."
00:49:24.520 | Mark 9.25, "He's covered with scars."
00:49:26.520 | And then Mark 9.25, "The spirit has made him deaf and dumb."
00:49:32.520 | We look at this, and again, it's to highlight the desperateness of his situation.
00:49:36.520 | And then on top of that, he said, "The disciples did everything that they could
00:49:39.520 | to help this boy, but they could not cast this demon out."
00:49:44.520 | So in desperation, they're running to Christ.
00:49:48.520 | First thing that we look at, we see, I mean, clearly,
00:49:50.520 | if we look at this to today's lens, he has epilepsy.
00:49:55.520 | He's having severe seizures.
00:49:59.520 | So we may look at that, and some people may look at that as because,
00:50:01.520 | you know, 2,000 years ago, they didn't have the medicine.
00:50:04.520 | They didn't have the sophistication, so they just attributed to the demons.
00:50:08.520 | And so people may look at certain things that are happening and say,
00:50:12.520 | "Oh, that's a--medically, this, and medically, this is happening."
00:50:15.520 | And it may not be wrong.
00:50:18.520 | And so if we're not careful, we may look at that and say,
00:50:21.520 | "We are more sophisticated than the first century,
00:50:24.520 | so therefore, they're just simply diagnosing it as demonic."
00:50:29.520 | But I want to give you a different perspective on that.
00:50:33.520 | Because the Bible clearly says that our fight is not against flesh and blood.
00:50:39.520 | There is a demonic world that all of us live under.
00:50:44.520 | And so everything has been tainted and is in the influence of Satan.
00:50:50.520 | So if we're not careful, we can easily dissect--Satanic? Not Satanic.
00:50:55.520 | Of God? Not of God.
00:50:58.520 | How much of what we consider to be medical possibly is also demonic?
00:51:07.520 | That you and I clearly distinguish,
00:51:10.520 | because we can identify physically what's going wrong,
00:51:13.520 | because we've come with medicine to deal with the symptoms of epilepsy,
00:51:17.520 | we found the cure.
00:51:20.520 | But in the first century, when maybe the medical and the medicine that they have,
00:51:26.520 | the chemicals that may reduce the symptoms, and we suppress the symptoms,
00:51:31.520 | but the problem that was caused by the demonic presence,
00:51:35.520 | oftentimes we ignore because we think we've come up with the answer.
00:51:39.520 | And all that medicine could do, at least for this, is to hide the symptoms
00:51:43.520 | so that we can survive.
00:51:46.520 | How much of what we think is the answer is simply just covering up the problem?
00:51:51.520 | How much of the medical things that we identify
00:51:54.520 | is also because it is being influenced by demonic powers?
00:52:00.520 | The Bible clearly tells us that the god of this age is Satan.
00:52:04.520 | And the Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
00:52:08.520 | And so this generation is influenced and under the power of Satan.
00:52:13.520 | And it is a very powerful, very knowledgeable,
00:52:19.520 | and it is actively pursuing to devour us.
00:52:26.520 | In Ezekiel 28, 13-17, I'm not going to read all of it.
00:52:29.520 | Most scholars believe that this prophecy about the king of Tyre
00:52:34.520 | is ultimately in reference to the fall of Satan.
00:52:37.520 | I'm not going to read all of it, but I'm going to read verse 14 and 15.
00:52:40.520 | It says, "You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there.
00:52:43.520 | You were on the holy mountain of God.
00:52:45.520 | You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
00:52:47.520 | You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created
00:52:50.520 | until unrighteousness was found in you."
00:52:53.520 | And then you skip to verse 17.
00:52:55.520 | "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty."
00:52:59.520 | In other words, because God has exalted you, because you were beautiful,
00:53:02.520 | you started to become arrogant.
00:53:05.520 | "You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor."
00:53:09.520 | Because you are wise, because you are knowledgeable, you became arrogant.
00:53:13.520 | And as a result, "I cast you to the ground.
00:53:15.520 | I put you before kings that they may see you."
00:53:20.520 | In fact, in that text, it also describes how he walked in the Garden of Eden.
00:53:24.520 | That could not be king of Tyre.
00:53:27.520 | Jesus himself says in Luke 10-18, and he said to them,
00:53:32.520 | "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning."
00:53:36.520 | Again, many commentators believe that that, Luke 10-18,
00:53:40.520 | is in reference to the prophecy in Ezekiel.
00:53:44.520 | That what Jesus was saying was the fall of Satan.
00:53:48.520 | Now, I say all of this because in our generation,
00:53:54.520 | especially in our circles,
00:53:57.520 | predominantly we're not aware how much, how active Satan is
00:54:03.520 | to hinder us, to defile us.
00:54:07.520 | The schemes that he is constantly scheming to divide the church,
00:54:11.520 | whether it is in your personal life or in the church,
00:54:14.520 | and oftentimes in the name of righteousness,
00:54:16.520 | oftentimes in the name of being biblical.
00:54:19.520 | Satan is constantly scheming to destroy the church.
00:54:23.520 | And if we're not paying attention, we can easily fall.
00:54:28.520 | The people who are in the most danger are the ones who are not aware.
00:54:32.520 | They're resolved, they're educated, they read,
00:54:36.520 | and they're passionate, but they don't realize
00:54:40.520 | that there is Satanic scheming behind all that is happening.
00:54:45.520 | If Satan is the god of this age, as it says in the Bible,
00:54:51.520 | where do you see the Satanic influence the most?
00:54:54.520 | How does it come into our culture?
00:54:57.520 | It's a rhetorical question, but I want you to think for a second.
00:55:00.520 | How does Satanic influence come into our culture in general,
00:55:05.520 | and probably even into the church?
00:55:08.520 | Because he does it through scheming.
00:55:12.520 | He doesn't come in the devil's suit.
00:55:14.520 | He doesn't come in and say, "I'm Satan. Worship me."
00:55:17.520 | It comes in scheming. It crawls in. It creeps in.
00:55:21.520 | And people are not aware that they're being influenced by Satan.
00:55:26.520 | I would say, probably through entertainment, for the most part.
00:55:31.520 | We tend to think that we have things that are of God, things that are of Satan,
00:55:36.520 | and then we have a bunch of neutral things.
00:55:39.520 | It's neither sinful, nor is it godly, but it's a bunch of neutral things.
00:55:44.520 | The gray areas that we have the freedom to enjoy, and to pursue, and to have,
00:55:50.520 | as long as it's not explicitly sinful.
00:55:53.520 | What I don't identify is this is clearly wrong in the Bible.
00:55:57.520 | There is no such realm.
00:56:00.520 | Either it is of God or of the devil.
00:56:02.520 | The Bible doesn't say there's things that are of God, things of the devil,
00:56:06.520 | and then a bunch of neutral things in the middle.
00:56:09.520 | Either it is in the kingdom of Satan, or it's under the kingdom of God.
00:56:14.520 | If somebody's living in the gray area, it means that you're allowing some sin.
00:56:20.520 | Acceptable. It's just not as bad as the other obvious sins.
00:56:26.520 | A person who is pursuing holiness is not somebody who is pursuing the middle ground.
00:56:32.520 | Somebody who is pursuing holiness is you want it as close to God as possible.
00:56:38.520 | And I want you to see how it creeps in, and I can give you example after example after example.
00:56:44.520 | But there's a song called "New York."
00:56:47.520 | How many of you know this song?
00:56:50.520 | Don't be embarrassed.
00:56:52.520 | We all know this song, "New York, New York."
00:56:55.520 | Jay-Z and Alicia Keys sings this song.
00:56:58.520 | In New York, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can't do.
00:57:02.520 | Now you're in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new.
00:57:05.520 | The lights will inspire you. Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York.
00:57:09.520 | They're probably not singing it this week.
00:57:12.520 | [laughter]
00:57:15.520 | Some of you guys know what I'm talking about, right?
00:57:19.520 | But I want to continue to read the rest of it.
00:57:23.520 | Girls need blinders so they can step out of bounds quick.
00:57:27.520 | The sidelines is blind with casualties.
00:57:29.520 | Who's sipping the life casually then gradually becomes worse.
00:57:32.520 | Don't bite the apple, Eve. Caught up in the crowd.
00:57:35.520 | Now you're in style, and in the winter gets cold and vogue with your skin out.
00:57:40.520 | The city of sin is a pity on whim.
00:57:43.520 | Good girls gone bad. City's filled with them.
00:57:45.520 | Miami took a bus trip, and now she got her bust out.
00:57:48.520 | Everybody rides her just as a bus route.
00:57:52.520 | I mean, did you know that that was in there?
00:57:54.520 | But I want you to pay attention to this.
00:57:56.520 | Hail Mary to the city, you're a virgin, and Jesus can't save you.
00:58:01.520 | Life starts when the church ends.
00:58:06.520 | Did you know that that was in there?
00:58:09.520 | We know the first part because we sing that, and it's on TV, it's on radio.
00:58:14.520 | So many people have memorized, but did you know that that was in there?
00:58:17.520 | How many of the songs that you listen to have satanic lyrics?
00:58:24.520 | Directly blaspheming the name of God.
00:58:28.520 | And yet, through entertainment, it's creeping in.
00:58:31.520 | Some of you may have been aware that Taylor Swift, that's made a huge news.
00:58:39.520 | And some of you may have been aware, not aware, why she has satanic symbols at her concerts.
00:58:45.520 | You know, I'm not being crazy, go look it up yourself if you haven't been paying attention.
00:58:49.520 | Why does she push satanic symbolism?
00:58:53.520 | Why was there satanic symbolism at the Super Bowl?
00:58:56.520 | And at the Grammys?
00:58:59.520 | Why are they blatantly putting satanic symbols out?
00:59:03.520 | And we have people, maybe even in this room, our children,
00:59:10.520 | are just kind of casually led into this without much thought.
00:59:16.520 | If the god of this age is Satan, Satan is scheming to introduce thoughts and ideas.
00:59:22.520 | And we are not aware, many times, that Satan is a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
00:59:29.520 | There's a reason why the Bible describes him as a roaring lion.
00:59:33.520 | Because typically, when we see lions, they're in the zoo.
00:59:35.520 | They're already well-fed. They're under the shade just sleeping.
00:59:39.520 | Can you imagine if a roaring lion was just roaring around here?
00:59:43.520 | And some of you guys get scared because you saw a little coyote walking around, right?
00:59:48.520 | Now, that's dangerous too. We have to watch our children. We don't want coyotes coming around.
00:59:52.520 | But the coyote is scared of human adults.
00:59:56.520 | Can you imagine a hungry lion walking around?
01:00:01.520 | There's a reason why Peter describes the spiritual battle that we're in.
01:00:06.520 | There's a roaring lion, a hungry lion, that is eagerly waiting and looking to devour.
01:00:14.520 | And yet we're not aware.
01:00:17.520 | I want you to see the seven satanic creeds of the satanic temple.
01:00:23.520 | I'm assuming most of you don't know what they are.
01:00:26.520 | There's a separate creed of the Satanists.
01:00:29.520 | And the central creed of the Satanists is "There is no God but you."
01:00:33.520 | "Do whatever makes you happy." That's the satanic creed.
01:00:36.520 | This is the satanic creed. You can look it up yourself.
01:00:39.520 | In order to participate in the temple of Satan, these are the seven creeds.
01:00:44.520 | "One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason."
01:00:51.520 | Now, that sounds great, compassion and empathy.
01:00:55.520 | But pay close attention to the wording, "to all creatures."
01:01:00.520 | So much of evil is coming into our generation under the guise of compassion and empathy.
01:01:06.520 | That's the first creed of the satanic temple.
01:01:11.520 | Second, "The struggle for justice is an ongoing necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions."
01:01:20.520 | Does that sound familiar?
01:01:22.520 | Just in our last two, three years, in the name of demanding justice, buildings are burned down.
01:01:28.520 | People are shot. Our economy is ruined.
01:01:32.520 | All in the name of justice.
01:01:36.520 | Look at number three, "One's body is inviolable subject to one's own will alone."
01:01:45.520 | What does that sound like?
01:01:48.520 | What does that sound like?
01:01:50.520 | Even before I point it out to you, I hope you can make the connection.
01:01:54.520 | This is the mantra of the abortionist.
01:01:57.520 | My body, my choice. Evil is being propagated in our generation.
01:02:02.520 | Murdering of children is propagated in the name that this is my body, my choice.
01:02:08.520 | If I kill the baby, that's my freedom.
01:02:12.520 | This is part of the creed of the satanic temple.
01:02:17.520 | And it is unconscionable that this is creeping into the church.
01:02:23.520 | We made this part of the essential doctrines of our church.
01:02:29.520 | And I remember when we were discussing this in our leadership meeting, it sounded so ridiculous.
01:02:35.520 | That we even have to put this in as distinctive in our church.
01:02:39.520 | Because we're a church.
01:02:42.520 | This is the body of Christ.
01:02:45.520 | Why would a professing Christian ever need to be convinced that this is evil?
01:02:51.520 | This is part of the satanic creed.
01:02:56.520 | And people are creeping into this, people are accepting this, propagating this.
01:03:01.520 | Not realizing that they are doing satanic work.
01:03:06.520 | And then in number seven, every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought.
01:03:11.520 | The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.
01:03:19.520 | Does that sound familiar?
01:03:22.520 | Your compassion, your wisdom, your sense of justice should prevail over anything written or spoken.
01:03:30.520 | What does that sound like?
01:03:33.520 | Where your sense of right and wrong is not determined by the word of God.
01:03:38.520 | But you, because you're God.
01:03:41.520 | You determine what is right, you determine what is wrong.
01:03:44.520 | You determine if somebody lives, you determine if somebody dies.
01:03:48.520 | As you guys know, we have an election coming up this Tuesday.
01:03:53.520 | I've gone through maybe, but I counted about ten or eleven different elections after I became a Christian.
01:03:59.520 | I've never felt, and even now, the answer is not Republicans.
01:04:08.520 | Because they are also sinful and falling short of the glory of God.
01:04:14.520 | And I've never seen evil be so highlighted and celebrated by one party and demanding that others submit in my life until now.
01:04:31.520 | I don't think any Christian can see the agenda that's being pushed by the Democratic Party.
01:04:39.520 | They have a clear conscience that they are practicing compassion and righteousness.
01:04:46.520 | This is part of the satanic creed.
01:04:49.520 | Satan has duped the church.
01:04:53.520 | And it's shocking to me that it is penetrating into the church.
01:04:58.520 | I'm not as concerned about what's happening over there because Christ came because of that.
01:05:05.520 | The world has always been in rebellion. They've always blasphemed God.
01:05:09.520 | The concern I have is what's happening inside the church.
01:05:13.520 | When we're not aware of what is happening and the satanic power that it has, and it's beginning to creep into the church,
01:05:22.520 | that's when the alarm and the bells need to be rung, which I believe it is today.
01:05:28.520 | Look at what Jesus says, Luke 9, 41.
01:05:31.520 | Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."
01:05:41.520 | He looks at the problem and the desperate situation they're in, and Jesus declares a very simple answer.
01:05:50.520 | "You couldn't cast it out because you didn't believe."
01:05:55.520 | "You didn't cast it out, you unbelieving, perverted generation. How long will I be with you?"
01:06:00.520 | In other words, how much more miracles do you need to see? How much glory do you need to see?
01:06:05.520 | How much more do I have to give you before you really start to believe?
01:06:10.520 | The problem under Satan's rule has always been the case.
01:06:15.520 | Some are more severe, some are more obvious than the others.
01:06:18.520 | He didn't say, "Hey, I took you to training. I showed you how to cast out demons. I gave you the authority."
01:06:24.520 | You didn't use the right technique.
01:06:27.520 | Instead of doing it by yourself, take him up to the mountain, anoint him with oil, say some words.
01:06:35.520 | He directly rebukes the disciples.
01:06:40.520 | "It's because you didn't believe."
01:06:43.520 | "You didn't believe. How much more do you have to see?"
01:06:49.520 | How many people in the church have convinced themselves the problem of this world is lack of manpower?
01:06:57.520 | That if we march, if we speak, if we do this, that this is somehow, we're going to match evil with good.
01:07:06.520 | And we're just going to march, we're going to speak, we're going to write, we're going to call people out.
01:07:11.520 | And if we can match their energy, that we can somehow conquer demonic forces.
01:07:17.520 | Jesus didn't see that.
01:07:20.520 | He said, "The reason why you don't have any power is because you're doing it by your own strength."
01:07:25.520 | "You don't have the power to do that."
01:07:28.520 | Hebrews 11, 6 says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."
01:07:37.520 | Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. Without faith, it is impossible to engage in the spiritual battle.
01:07:44.520 | Without faith, you have no power over Satan. Without faith.
01:07:50.520 | He said, "If you have faith and you seek Him, it's because you believe that He is the rewarder."
01:07:59.520 | "He is the answer. He is the power that you need to tap into."
01:08:05.520 | But without that, you're completely helpless. You cannot please Him.
01:08:10.520 | Unbelief and a perverted generation is tied together.
01:08:15.520 | We see that in Matthew 24. He said, "Because of the increase in wickedness, love of most will grow cold."
01:08:22.520 | Now, why do most people's love grow cold? Because of wickedness. I think it's pretty simple.
01:08:27.520 | Because of the increase of wickedness, our sins don't seem that bad.
01:08:32.520 | We look at the sin of Hollywood. We look at the sin in the internet. We're not as bad as that.
01:08:38.520 | You hear stories of perversion to the extent that even non-Christians are shocked.
01:08:45.520 | So, as a result, sin is not utterly sinful.
01:08:49.520 | The whole reason why God waited all this time in the Old Testament is so that, through the law, that sin would become utterly sinful.
01:08:56.520 | And so, when you live in a society when utter sinfulness becomes normal, it negates what the law has done.
01:09:04.520 | And so, the sin doesn't seem as utterly sinful. It's a mistake.
01:09:09.520 | This is what everybody struggles with, but we're not at a state where we believe that we are desperate.
01:09:14.520 | And as a result of that, grace becomes cheap.
01:09:18.520 | We don't realize what it is that we've been saved from, so because grace becomes cheap grace, it taints our worship.
01:09:26.520 | Because worship is an overflow of gratitude with what God has done and what He saved me from.
01:09:31.520 | But if I don't see sin as utterly sinful, and grace becomes cheap grace, what is it that we are worshiping?
01:09:41.520 | We worship what is great, whatever that may be.
01:09:45.520 | Whether that's music, whether that's location, whether that's sports, whatever it is, we worship what is great.
01:09:53.520 | But when we don't understand what it is that we've been saved from, we don't see the glory of God that saved us,
01:09:59.520 | it naturally taints worship.
01:10:01.520 | You can come to worship, you can sing the songs, you can cry if you want, but you don't see.
01:10:07.520 | You're just doing what you think you should do.
01:10:12.520 | And because you don't worship, you don't hear from God.
01:10:16.520 | And the Scripture says, "Faith comes from hearing, and the hearing of the Word of Christ."
01:10:20.520 | Now you say, "Well, the Bible has been opened, we have inducted Bible study."
01:10:25.520 | Hearing from God is not simply coming and studying.
01:10:29.520 | How many university professors do you know who have a PhD in New Testament and hate God?
01:10:35.520 | So the Bible isn't simply saying, "Hearing from God, hearing from Christ is just reading the Bible, studying the books, knowing all the theology."
01:10:43.520 | There's a difference between revelation and illumination.
01:10:47.520 | God has given us the revelation, and through the revelation, He illuminates where He opens our ears, softens our hearts,
01:10:53.520 | and we hear from God through His Word.
01:10:56.520 | But because we are not worshiping God, because grace has become cheap, because sin is not utterly sinful,
01:11:03.520 | our faith becomes atrophied.
01:11:07.520 | And the greatest evidence of an atrophied faith is we become self-reliant.
01:11:14.520 | The most tangible expression of faith is prayer.
01:11:19.520 | Because prayer is us saying, "I need you. I am helpless.
01:11:25.520 | Whatever it is that I'm endeavoring in, I cannot do it myself."
01:11:29.520 | The danger that you and I are in is that we think that if we march, if we speak, if we shake our fist,
01:11:37.520 | if we can rally, if we can get more willpower, and more people gather together,
01:11:42.520 | that we're going to match evil with goodness, and somehow we're going to conquer.
01:11:47.520 | You cannot fight spiritual warfare with fleshy weapons.
01:11:55.520 | Jesus Himself said in Matthew 17, 19-20, and then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it up?"
01:12:02.520 | He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith.
01:12:05.520 | For truly, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
01:12:09.520 | you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.
01:12:14.520 | But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."
01:12:18.520 | There's two rebukes that He says.
01:12:20.520 | One, "Your faith is smaller than a mustard seed."
01:12:24.520 | After everything that they've seen, after everything that Jesus showed them.
01:12:31.520 | If you've ever seen a mustard seed, a friend of mine went to Jerusalem and picked one up and gave it to me.
01:12:38.520 | It looks like lint.
01:12:40.520 | That's how tiny it is.
01:12:42.520 | So he put it in a bookmarker, and I was kind of trying to scrape it off because I thought lint went into the bookmark.
01:12:47.520 | He said, "No, that's the mustard seed."
01:12:49.520 | I said, "Oh."
01:12:51.520 | Jesus was using the smallest seed that He could possibly think of and said, "If your faith is even this small,
01:12:56.520 | that faith that connects you to a gigantic God, it gives you power."
01:13:01.520 | So one, He said, "You couldn't pass it out because you don't even have faith of a mustard seed yet."
01:13:06.520 | And He'll explain why at the end of this.
01:13:10.520 | It says they did not understand.
01:13:12.520 | And because they didn't understand, because they didn't understand the cross,
01:13:15.520 | everything that Jesus was saying didn't make a lot of sense to them.
01:13:19.520 | And two, they weren't praying.
01:13:23.520 | That this was not going to be by your might.
01:13:26.520 | That if you have a faith of a mustard seed as tiny as that,
01:13:29.520 | and that little tiny seed that connects you to this powerful God when you pray is what's needed,
01:13:36.520 | but your faith is too small, and as a result, you're not praying.
01:13:43.520 | We cannot engage in this spiritual warfare with more might.
01:13:50.520 | Some of you guys know in the last ten years, there's been a lot of fights between MMA fighters and boxers.
01:13:57.520 | So when the professional boxer gets in the ring, and he may be a mediocre boxer,
01:14:02.520 | but you have a champion MMA, and then the MMA fighter gets whooped
01:14:07.520 | because he has to fight according to the rules of the boxer.
01:14:10.520 | The boxer knows how to punch. He knows how to take a punch.
01:14:13.520 | He can't use his legs.
01:14:15.520 | So he's not going to be effective with those rules.
01:14:17.520 | And in the same way, the other way.
01:14:20.520 | You can be a champion boxer, and you have a mediocre MMA fighter,
01:14:23.520 | but you go in there, they put you to the ground, and use the jiu-jitsu to put you in a lock.
01:14:29.520 | It doesn't matter how powerful your punch is.
01:14:32.520 | In that arena, you're not going to be effective.
01:14:36.520 | He says, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood.
01:14:42.520 | For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers,
01:14:45.520 | against the world forces of darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness and heavenly places.
01:14:50.520 | Therefore, take up the full armor of God."
01:14:54.520 | 1 Peter 5.8, "Be of sober spirit. Be on the alert.
01:14:57.520 | Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
01:15:02.520 | And then finally, 2 Corinthians 10.3-4,
01:15:05.520 | "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
01:15:09.520 | For the weapons of warfare are not of the flesh,
01:15:12.520 | but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses."
01:15:18.520 | We cannot fight a spiritual warfare by matching pound for pound our will, our power, our voice.
01:15:26.520 | It is not the flesh that we're fighting.
01:15:30.520 | This is a spiritual warfare.
01:15:33.520 | So he says to have faith, and if you have faith, to come to him.
01:15:38.520 | That's why Jesus says to his disciples,
01:15:41.520 | "Your spirit is willing, but your flesh is weak.
01:15:46.520 | So therefore, pray." Pray.
01:15:49.520 | Prayer is the most tangible expression of what we believe.
01:15:53.520 | If we believe that Christ is our answer, we need to go to Christ.
01:15:56.520 | If we believe that man is the answer, you need to mobilize men.
01:16:02.520 | If we believe Christ is the answer, anything that leads me to Christ is the answer.
01:16:08.520 | If you think man is the answer, mobilize men, as many men as possible.
01:16:14.520 | Influential men, wealthy men, educated men, articulate men, influential men.
01:16:22.520 | But that's where we're going to focus our attention.
01:16:25.520 | If we can just gather a large group of people who are outraged and march with us,
01:16:30.520 | that we can match their evil with our goodness, and we're going to conquer this evil.
01:16:36.520 | And we fall right into the devil's trap.
01:16:41.520 | We cannot engage in spiritual warfare outside of spiritual weapons.
01:16:48.520 | And that's why we must pray.
01:16:51.520 | Look what happens in Luke 9, 42-43.
01:16:54.520 | "While he was still approaching, the demons slammed him to the ground and threw him into the convulsion.
01:16:58.520 | But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father."
01:17:02.520 | One sentence with all the things that have been described about this boy.
01:17:10.520 | The effort that they made, the disciples coming and trying to cast out the demons.
01:17:14.520 | And how elaborate description of the mess that they are in.
01:17:19.520 | And all Jesus says, "I rebuke you."
01:17:23.520 | One sentence of his deliverance.
01:17:27.520 | There's no paragraph, there's no chapters devoted to what technique he used,
01:17:32.520 | or how many people that was gathered, what kind of training was given to them.
01:17:35.520 | He just showed up and he said, "I rebuke you."
01:17:39.520 | And in verse 43, "And they were all amazed at the greatness of God,
01:17:42.520 | but while everyone was marveling at all that he was doing."
01:17:45.520 | One sentence.
01:17:48.520 | With our effort, with our strength, we are constantly frustrated.
01:17:52.520 | We don't have enough manpower, we don't have enough know-how, we don't have enough training.
01:17:57.520 | But God is not depending on us.
01:18:01.520 | He's not looking for men who are strong enough, powerful enough, articulated enough.
01:18:08.520 | He's looking for men who will depend on him.
01:18:11.520 | God is not depending on us.
01:18:14.520 | He's looking for men who will depend on him.
01:18:19.520 | James 4, 2, it says, "You lust and you do not have, so you commit murder.
01:18:22.520 | You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.
01:18:25.520 | You do not have because you do not ask."
01:18:29.520 | All the problems in the church and quarrels and divisions,
01:18:32.520 | "Why don't we organize this way? Why don't we do small groups this way?"
01:18:35.520 | And all of these things are tools that God has given us.
01:18:37.520 | But he says, "The primary problem is because you did not pray."
01:18:41.520 | Why is there division in the church?
01:18:43.520 | Why is there grumbling? Why is there complaining?
01:18:45.520 | Why are people not getting along?
01:18:47.520 | It's because you did not pray.
01:18:50.520 | So you can implement all the solutions in the world.
01:18:55.520 | If we did this, if we did that.
01:18:57.520 | But he said, "But God says the primary problem is you did not pray."
01:19:02.520 | In other words, if you did not pray,
01:19:08.520 | your greatest problem is you did not pray.
01:19:12.520 | Not the people, not the organization, not anything else.
01:19:18.520 | Your biggest frustration is coming from the fact that you did not pray.
01:19:22.520 | Whatever frustration. You're frustrated with people,
01:19:24.520 | you're frustrated with organization, you're frustrated with leadership.
01:19:28.520 | If you ever are convinced, "I cannot grow because..."
01:19:36.520 | "I cannot grow because..."
01:19:38.520 | Because I don't have fellowship, because I don't have mentors,
01:19:40.520 | because I don't have this, because I don't have that.
01:19:43.520 | And then God says, "Everything you need for life of godliness"
01:19:46.520 | "has been given to you in the knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ."
01:19:49.520 | "You do not have because you did not ask."
01:19:54.520 | And you see from God's perspective, "How long do I need to be here?"
01:19:57.520 | "How much more do you have to be given?"
01:20:00.520 | "I gave you the Word of God. I gave you the Holy Spirit."
01:20:02.520 | "I gave you the church. I gave you fellowship."
01:20:04.520 | "What more do you have? How long do I have to be here?"
01:20:08.520 | You unbelieving and perverted generation.
01:20:12.520 | Our primary problem is not more know-how, more willpower.
01:20:17.520 | If we did not pray, it's because we did not pray.
01:20:22.520 | Matthew 7, 7-8, "Ask, and it will be given to you."
01:20:25.520 | "Seek, and you will find." "Knock, and it will be opened to you."
01:20:27.520 | "For everyone who asks receives, and who seeks finds."
01:20:30.520 | "And to him who knocks, it will be opened."
01:20:33.520 | Take your frustration to God.
01:20:38.520 | First and foremost, before you bring it to leadership, before you bring it to your small group leaders,
01:20:43.520 | take your frustration to God.
01:20:46.520 | Seek me and know me. See if there's any hurtful ways in me.
01:20:49.520 | If I believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him,
01:20:52.520 | why am I not going to Him?
01:20:55.520 | Why am I going to the world?
01:20:57.520 | Why am I going to training?
01:20:59.520 | First and foremost, did you ask Him?
01:21:04.520 | Did you plead with Him?
01:21:06.520 | Do you actually believe?
01:21:08.520 | Jeremiah 29-13, "You will seek me and find me when you search me with all your heart."
01:21:14.520 | The primary reason why the church is in the condition that it is in
01:21:18.520 | is we are half-heartedly devoted to our Christ.
01:21:23.520 | There's a part of us that desperately wants to be something in the world,
01:21:27.520 | and there's a part of us that wants to be in Christ.
01:21:30.520 | And it is that frustration within our own body
01:21:34.520 | that we have not determined that, "I want Christ and Christ alone,"
01:21:38.520 | that's causing our prayer to be weak and faint.
01:21:44.520 | This is why Jesus said, "It is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven
01:21:48.520 | because rich people never feel anything desperate."
01:21:53.520 | And you say, "Well, I'm not rich."
01:21:56.520 | Well, if you make more than $30,000 a year, you're rich.
01:22:00.520 | You're the top 5%, 4% in the world.
01:22:03.520 | If you woke up and you didn't struggle,
01:22:05.520 | it's like, "I don't have enough money to buy breakfast," you're rich.
01:22:08.520 | After this is over, you have a home to go,
01:22:10.520 | and you have a nice bed to sleep on, you're rich.
01:22:13.520 | Is there anybody in this room that struggled with that?
01:22:17.520 | In comparison with what 99% of the world experiences according to wealth,
01:22:22.520 | you and I are not just rich, we are filthy rich.
01:22:27.520 | And so when He warns the rich that it is difficult to enter the kingdom of heaven,
01:22:32.520 | it's because we don't feel a sense of urgency.
01:22:35.520 | We want Christ. We don't need Christ.
01:22:38.520 | So we feel guilty when we don't pray,
01:22:41.520 | but we don't recognize the desperate situation that you're in.
01:22:45.520 | You don't realize that it's a roaring lion about to devour you.
01:22:49.520 | If you heard the news that there is a mountain lion up on the hills,
01:22:52.520 | you're probably going to stay away from that,
01:22:54.520 | or you're going to have some form of protection,
01:22:57.520 | or for sure you're not going to allow your children to go there.
01:23:02.520 | It's because we think that we have found the answer,
01:23:07.520 | and we don't have a sense of urgency.
01:23:11.520 | We feel guilty.
01:23:13.520 | I should be holy. I should be praying. I should be.
01:23:19.520 | But we don't realize the demonic power that's constantly scheming.
01:23:26.520 | We don't even realize the thoughts that you have may have been planted by the enemy,
01:23:30.520 | and you're not even aware of it.
01:23:35.520 | But this is how this section ends, Luke 9, 43-45.
01:23:40.520 | "They were all amazed at the greatness of God,
01:23:43.520 | but while everyone was marveling at all that he was doing,
01:23:45.520 | he said to his disciples, 'Let these words sink into your ears,
01:23:48.520 | for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.'"
01:23:54.520 | He said, "Let these words sink in."
01:23:56.520 | That's a huge thing that we need to understand.
01:23:58.520 | After doing everything that he's done, people are amazed.
01:24:01.520 | Again, he casts out these demons just simply by his word.
01:24:06.520 | He says, "You're marveling, but while everyone was marveling at it,
01:24:13.520 | he said, 'The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men.'"
01:24:16.520 | It says in verse 45, "They did not understand the statement
01:24:19.520 | because it was concealed from them that they would not perceive it,
01:24:22.520 | and they were afraid to ask him about this statement."
01:24:24.520 | And the reason why the disciples didn't understand
01:24:27.520 | is because they didn't understand the cross.
01:24:31.520 | They saw Jesus' glory, and we're going to see next week,
01:24:34.520 | if Jesus is glorified and we're the closest companion to him,
01:24:38.520 | we're going to benefit from this.
01:24:40.520 | And so we see in the next text, after Jesus says he's going to be murdered,
01:24:44.520 | well, who's going to stand to the left and to the right?
01:24:47.520 | Who's the greatest?
01:24:48.520 | I mean, as ridiculous as this is, this is what they were wrestling with,
01:24:51.520 | because they did not understand the cross.
01:24:56.520 | How many people in the church do not understand the cross?
01:25:00.520 | That you see the cross as a get-out-of-jail card?
01:25:05.520 | And so I want to believe. I believe.
01:25:09.520 | But you do not realize that following Christ is going to lead you to the cross.
01:25:15.520 | That the life that he has promised is on the other side of the cross.
01:25:20.520 | And because of that, the idea of suffering and persecution doesn't make sense.
01:25:24.520 | There's no room for that in your life.
01:25:26.520 | That's for those people.
01:25:30.520 | We know very well that he was speaking to all of us.
01:25:37.520 | And once we have determined that that's not for us, you have rejected Christ.
01:25:45.520 | You cannot say you're following Christ if Christ is going to the cross.
01:25:49.520 | Up to this point, they didn't understand,
01:25:51.520 | because they saw everything that Jesus was doing,
01:25:54.520 | that somehow they're going to receive glory.
01:25:56.520 | And then when glory didn't come, and Jesus actually went to the cross,
01:25:59.520 | they abandoned him.
01:26:01.520 | As many people today abandon Christ as soon as things go wrong.
01:26:05.520 | He doesn't answer our prayers.
01:26:07.520 | We don't get married in a timely manner.
01:26:10.520 | We pray for our business, our relationship, our marriage, our children,
01:26:13.520 | and it doesn't turn out the way we want.
01:26:15.520 | They say, "How come God is not gracious to me? He doesn't answer my prayers."
01:26:20.520 | Just like the disciples, they didn't understand
01:26:25.520 | that God's blessing was going to come at the other side of the cross.
01:26:30.520 | That's why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:22,
01:26:32.520 | "For indeed, Jews ask for signs, Greeks search for wisdom,
01:26:35.520 | but we preach Christ crucified.
01:26:38.520 | To the Jews, a stumbling block, Gentile foolishness,
01:26:40.520 | but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks,
01:26:42.520 | Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God."
01:26:48.520 | The answer to man's problem is the cross.
01:26:56.520 | No matter who sits in the office, no matter who sits in the office,
01:27:03.520 | if Christ is not king, it doesn't matter who the president is.
01:27:14.520 | Do you believe that? Do you believe that?
01:27:21.520 | I mean, I pray that the truth of the Word of God would sober us
01:27:28.520 | and examine how much of the world we have allowed to creep into us.
01:27:34.520 | That even in the name of righteousness,
01:27:36.520 | even in the name of fighting what is wrong,
01:27:41.520 | how much of that is our own flesh?
01:27:45.520 | Pray, believe, pray, believe, and pray, believe, and then pray.
01:27:55.520 | Let's pray.
01:28:07.520 | Father, open our eyes, soften our hearts,
01:28:14.520 | that we may fix our eyes upon Christ,
01:28:17.520 | the author and perfecter of our faith.
01:28:20.520 | May Christ's name be exalted, adored, loved, obeyed,
01:28:24.520 | and followed, and depended upon.
01:28:29.520 | Lead us, guide us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
01:28:33.520 | Let's all stand up for the closing praise.
01:28:37.520 | [music]
01:29:05.520 | A voice was lost, a voice was lost in darkest night.
01:29:11.520 | I thought I knew the way.
01:29:15.520 | The sin that promised royal blood had led me to the grave.
01:29:25.520 | I had no hope that you would own.
01:29:29.520 | A rebel to go wrong.
01:29:34.520 | And if you have come at me first, I will refuse to stop.
01:29:44.520 | [music]
01:29:55.520 | But as I let my doubt pass, indifferent to the cost,
01:30:04.520 | you looked upon my helpless soul and led me to the cross.
01:30:13.520 | Guide me now, God's love displayed, you suffered in my place.
01:30:22.520 | You bore the wrath, you served for me, now all I know is grace.
01:30:34.520 | Hallelujah, all I have is Christ. Hallelujah, Jesus is my life.
01:30:53.520 | Hallelujah, all I have is Christ. Hallelujah, Jesus is my life.
01:31:11.520 | [music]
01:31:30.520 | I would have loved to be yours alone, and this all might seem.
01:31:39.520 | The strength to follow your commands could never come from me.
01:31:48.520 | Oh, Father, use my words of life in any way you choose.
01:31:57.520 | And when my soul will never be, I only trust in you.
01:32:09.520 | Hallelujah, all I have is Christ. Hallelujah, Jesus is my life.
01:32:27.520 | Hallelujah, all I have is Christ. Hallelujah, Jesus is my life.
01:32:45.520 | Hallelujah, all I have is Christ. Hallelujah, Jesus is my life.
01:33:05.520 | Let's pray.
01:33:07.520 | Now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
01:33:13.520 | the eternal love of God the Father, rest, restore, equip the children of God
01:33:20.520 | that we may be the light wherever you send us. Amen.
01:33:26.520 | God sent his Son. They called him Jesus. He came to love, heal, and forgive.
01:33:48.520 | Every day and hour, to my, my calling, an empty grave is there to my Savior rest.
01:34:10.520 | Because he rests, I can face tomorrow. Because he rests, all fear is gone.
01:34:32.520 | Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living just because he lives.
01:34:57.520 | The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell.
01:35:10.520 | It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell.
01:35:23.520 | The guilty bear bowed down with care. God gave his Son to win.
01:35:36.520 | His erring child he reconciled and pardoned from his sin.
01:35:49.520 | The love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless.