back to indexBerean Community Church - Sunday Service 6.21
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♪ I will boast in knowing Christ at the cross ♪ 00:02:56.440 |
♪ He is my joy, my righteousness and freedom ♪ 00:03:03.160 |
♪ My steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace ♪ 00:04:14.780 |
♪ To this I hold, my shepherd will defend me ♪ 00:04:56.740 |
♪ The future's sure, the price it has been paid ♪ 00:05:04.860 |
♪ For Jesus bared and suffered for my pardon ♪ 00:05:36.940 |
♪ I am free, yet not I, but through Christ in me ♪ 00:05:46.360 |
♪ With every breath, I long to follow Jesus ♪ 00:06:01.480 |
♪ For He has said that He will bring me home ♪ 00:06:33.580 |
♪ When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat ♪ 00:07:00.240 |
♪ When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat ♪ 00:07:13.520 |
♪ When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat ♪ 00:07:43.100 |
♪ Who else can mend all the hosts of heaven ♪ 00:08:03.520 |
♪ Who else can whisper when darkness trembles ♪ 00:12:27.620 |
Let me get to a few announcements before we get started. 00:12:56.660 |
It's starting at nine o'clock to 1030 upstairs at the cafe. 00:13:11.100 |
Okay, so July 26th, there is a members meeting 00:13:30.300 |
And those are the only announcements that we have. 00:13:32.940 |
And just, again, we wanna thank our sister Rachel Wong 00:13:51.660 |
And I know some of you guys are bitter and angry. 00:13:54.180 |
You're gonna have to deal with that for a while. 00:14:05.140 |
Okay, so right now the needs for our Indian pastors 00:14:09.220 |
in the village, the leaders and the evangelism 00:14:17.920 |
And also for, you guys know what's going on in Ecuador 00:14:20.580 |
and the churches and the children that you're supporting. 00:14:22.740 |
So the money is going to be put into good use. 00:14:25.260 |
So if you're hurt in your pocket, that's a good hurt. 00:14:29.780 |
So again, we wanna thank you for all the labor for that. 00:14:40.900 |
But also for those who are giving electronically, 00:14:53.020 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for just your kindness. 00:15:00.820 |
Lord, sometimes we take for granted the ability 00:15:12.260 |
and bodily harm, and we know that's not the case 00:15:15.420 |
with many of our brothers and sisters around the world. 00:15:18.820 |
Help us to be good stewards of every good gift 00:15:21.420 |
that you have given us, that our singing, our worship, 00:15:25.860 |
even in our giving, Lord God, may reflect your kindness 00:15:35.300 |
and that it would be from the bottom of our hearts 00:15:38.300 |
to signify lordship, that ultimately all of it 00:15:42.020 |
belongs to you and may be multiplied for eternal purposes. 00:19:13.740 |
♪ Lift up our eyes, you're the giver of life ♪ 00:21:32.860 |
♪ Thy praise, dear saints, has made me whole ♪ 00:23:58.780 |
In case some of you guys did not know, right? 00:24:02.060 |
It is Father's Day today, so hopefully you guys 00:24:06.780 |
Normally, obviously, we have lunches and things like that 00:24:12.900 |
So again, we just wanna thank you for the Father's Day. 00:24:18.420 |
so if you haven't read that yet, please read that, okay? 00:24:23.980 |
verse 26 through 28, and we're gonna be really spending 00:24:28.980 |
most of the day on one verse, the first verse. 00:24:33.260 |
But I wanna read that within that whole context, 00:24:38.980 |
For it is fitting for us to have such a high priest, 00:24:43.860 |
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners 00:24:46.780 |
and exalted above the heavens, who do not need daily 00:24:49.820 |
like those high priests to offer up sacrifices, 00:24:52.340 |
first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people, 00:24:55.580 |
because this he did once for all when he offered up himself. 00:24:59.060 |
For the law appoints men as high priests who are weak, 00:25:01.860 |
but the word of the oath which came after the law 00:25:12.100 |
we pray for your Holy Spirit to help us, guide us, 00:25:24.300 |
You know, at church, we've been doing inductive Bible study. 00:25:31.800 |
I mean, that's kinda like the backbone of our church 00:25:38.900 |
because the Bereans were considered more noble 00:25:40.860 |
because they tested to see if everything was biblical. 00:25:43.640 |
If there's any time in the years that I've been in ministry 00:25:49.220 |
where the church needs to be absolutely grounded 00:25:57.760 |
and so many different people, even within the church, 00:26:00.420 |
demanding that we follow one direction or the other. 00:26:05.420 |
And if we're not careful, we may find ourselves 00:26:11.900 |
So if there's any time where we need to examine 00:26:14.700 |
the scriptures carefully, that we may be anchored in Christ, 00:26:18.740 |
Remember I talked about how the Bible warns us 00:26:24.340 |
and he gave us little things that we ought to be looking for 00:26:29.560 |
like thieves coming in the middle of the night. 00:26:31.420 |
And the reason why the Bible uses that illustration 00:26:38.860 |
'Cause it's not a positive thing for a thief to come. 00:26:42.080 |
So he tells the church not to be caught off guard, 00:26:46.460 |
Well, Jesus tells us this in Matthew chapter 24 00:26:51.980 |
about the end times, and these are some of the things 00:26:54.020 |
that we ought to be sober and pay attention to. 00:27:09.820 |
There's gonna be people in the name of Christ 00:27:11.860 |
who are saying, "This is right and this is wrong." 00:27:31.820 |
you just assume that he was speaking for God. 00:27:36.060 |
So the modern day translation for that is say, 00:27:40.020 |
they're basically saying, "I am speaking the truth. 00:27:42.960 |
So the deception is going to come within the church 00:28:31.800 |
And if you've been paying attention to what's going on, 00:28:49.300 |
I remember the last time there was a lot of talk 00:29:48.020 |
He said, "All the nations, they will hate you 00:30:15.980 |
There's gonna be division that is so intense in the church 00:30:21.600 |
where we're gonna be going to different churches 00:30:32.600 |
and both sides are gonna think that they are right. 00:30:38.040 |
"Many false prophets will arise and mislead many." 00:31:10.860 |
But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 00:31:26.340 |
but there will be also greater preaching of the gospel. 00:31:39.840 |
"For false christs and false prophets will arise 00:31:46.420 |
This misleading is so intense and so deep and so wide. 00:32:05.680 |
by their falling out, will prove that they were not. 00:32:30.720 |
I've been telling you that as long as you've been here. 00:32:33.440 |
Because I could have the best intention and be wrong. 00:32:46.760 |
so that your confidence doesn't come from this pulpit. 00:32:49.380 |
In fact, the greatest way to deceive you in this room 00:32:56.480 |
So, pay attention to what the word of God says. 00:33:01.400 |
If there's any time where you need to be grounded 00:33:05.680 |
If you are not, if you're not daily walking with a God, 00:33:26.840 |
So, at best, it's best if you're not walking right with God 00:33:30.640 |
and the word of God is not affecting you on a daily basis, 00:33:43.440 |
Ground yourself with the word of God and cling to him. 00:33:49.200 |
Now, what does that have to do with the book of Hebrews? 00:33:54.380 |
who are in similar situation that you and I are in today, 00:34:04.520 |
they jumped on board and they were high-fiving each other, 00:34:06.920 |
visiting each other in prison, but it didn't die down. 00:34:26.440 |
The Jews and the Gentiles are sitting together 00:34:30.840 |
Well, the initial honeymoon of that has waned. 00:34:40.000 |
they're starting to realize that that's what he really meant. 00:34:45.360 |
they're really starting to have to count the cost. 00:34:48.080 |
And so, some of them were beginning to drift back 00:34:50.840 |
into their old life, which happened to be Judaism. 00:34:54.560 |
Because that's where the persecution was coming from. 00:35:01.440 |
They didn't deny Christ, nor did they deny the world 00:35:05.800 |
straddling both fences, and that's why he says, 00:35:11.960 |
And over and over again, he says, you must not drift. 00:35:22.080 |
So, the situation that Paul, or the author of Hebrews, 00:35:31.860 |
Because there is so much confusion with so much voices, 00:35:52.400 |
See, Hebrews chapter 7, 26 starts out by saying, 00:35:55.900 |
for it was fitting for us to have such a high priest. 00:36:09.080 |
The word fitting means suitable, or proper, or right. 00:36:12.560 |
For Jesus to be our high priest, that it was simply fitting. 00:36:19.840 |
I don't know about you, but when I look at that, 00:36:22.760 |
that's the furthest thing that I can think of 00:36:47.580 |
When will you ever see in our justice system, 00:36:51.060 |
a just person taking the punishment of an unjust person, 00:37:01.380 |
Well, the word fitting, and I think in the English, 00:37:11.140 |
I think that the better way for us to understand 00:37:15.500 |
what he means by fitting, that it was necessary. 00:37:18.280 |
That only Christ could fulfill that role as our mediator. 00:37:23.820 |
It was necessary because he's the only one who qualifies. 00:37:31.100 |
There's only one mediator between us and God, Jesus Christ. 00:37:40.900 |
a better way for you and I to understand it is, 00:37:45.960 |
There was no other way that you and I would have had 00:37:49.280 |
access to this holy God, other than for Christ 00:37:54.600 |
In the very Lex 9, he actually describes what qualified him. 00:38:02.180 |
And so as we look at the meaning behind these words, 00:38:07.760 |
as much as he's describing the qualification of Christ, 00:38:15.140 |
And that's why it says, he is holy, innocent, undefiled, 00:38:19.400 |
separated from sinners, and that's the whole point. 00:38:22.140 |
He is unlike any other priest that came before him. 00:38:25.920 |
He is unlike any other priest that may come after him. 00:38:29.000 |
He is unlike any other human being that has ever lived. 00:38:32.040 |
And that's why it was necessary for him to be high priest. 00:38:36.680 |
So as we study these words, these three words, 00:38:43.260 |
remember, as much as Christ is being separated 00:38:47.880 |
from the other high priest, remember that these 00:38:50.940 |
are descriptions that disqualify every single one of us. 00:38:54.040 |
He starts out by saying, the reason why it was necessary 00:39:02.120 |
So if you read this casually, what you may get from that is, 00:39:10.160 |
All three words basically means that he is perfect, 00:39:15.600 |
And you may just move on without really thinking 00:39:21.320 |
All these words on the surface is saying the same thing, 00:39:24.760 |
that Jesus is perfect, he is holy, he is holy, he is holy. 00:39:51.960 |
and then I studied, obviously, theology and seminary, 00:39:55.560 |
and I took six, seven years just studying the Bible. 00:40:00.040 |
And so most of what we do is just study the text 00:40:04.120 |
and write papers, study the text and write papers. 00:40:06.440 |
So just writing papers, I just pump out papers 00:40:10.920 |
But I remember one of my professors would always say to us, 00:40:15.720 |
if he didn't like your paper, he would write on the top, 00:40:21.520 |
And what basically that means, if it was a 10-page project, 00:40:30.540 |
Meaning you could have said that in three pages, 00:40:50.320 |
you can Google it and spend the rest of our life 00:40:52.400 |
writing a letter to make it as perfect as we can, 00:40:56.400 |
using the perfect vocabulary to gain all the wisdom 00:41:05.000 |
And we cannot come close to the depth of meaning 00:41:10.240 |
Because this is an omniscient, omnipotent God 00:41:17.600 |
is only a drop in the bucket with what he knows. 00:41:24.840 |
He used certain people, he used certain contexts, 00:41:26.800 |
he used certain cultures to communicate with us 00:41:34.320 |
My point is, we should never read the scripture 00:41:42.360 |
I've done it, I've done my Bible reading project. 00:41:50.840 |
one of the first things that we learn, we teach, 00:41:54.160 |
Even if just one word, ask questions, ask 10 questions, 00:41:59.120 |
Because the asking of the questions will uncover 00:42:07.720 |
holy, innocent, undefiled on the surface may look the same, 00:42:12.700 |
As much as it describes the holiness of Christ, 00:42:19.600 |
it also describes in depth the sins that disqualify us. 00:42:28.900 |
when God says to give offerings and sacrifices, 00:42:31.840 |
he doesn't simply say, you've missed the mark, 00:42:35.560 |
He was so specific of what that sin looks like. 00:42:45.960 |
at home, medically, things that you did on purpose, 00:42:52.720 |
about the animals, about children, about families, 00:43:03.560 |
The purpose of all of that is that we recognize 00:43:10.000 |
where we are in our relationship with this holy God. 00:43:17.140 |
The typical word that you and I think of holy 00:43:22.640 |
So oftentimes when we talk about the word holy, 00:43:28.560 |
Agios basically means, literally means to be set apart. 00:43:57.880 |
Anything that has been set apart for God's use is holy. 00:44:08.280 |
something that has been set apart for God's use. 00:44:12.280 |
So you and I are holy because we have been set apart 00:44:26.520 |
That you and I or whoever obeyed God's command perfectly. 00:44:48.400 |
but he was the only one who was perfectly holy. 00:45:10.360 |
and they were considered holy because they were set apart 00:45:16.400 |
But they disobeyed God by offering strange fire. 00:45:25.880 |
in order for you to be able to come before me. 00:45:35.320 |
And as a result, they see the capital punishment. 00:45:43.200 |
"Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? 00:45:51.920 |
We all together are agios 'cause we have been set apart. 00:45:59.080 |
You know, if you're a Jew, the word without defect 00:46:04.360 |
Because over and over again in the book of Leviticus, 00:46:06.480 |
you will see the term without defect, without defect. 00:46:44.760 |
"is to come near to offer the Lord's offering by fire 00:46:49.040 |
he shall not come near to offer the food of his God." 00:46:52.000 |
If you believe that this is the way to get to God, 00:47:00.320 |
what a tremendous burden. Who can fulfill this? 00:47:04.900 |
You make even one mistake. You know people joke about having, you know, Asian parents that A is not enough. 00:47:12.180 |
You have to be A+, and if you get A+, you have to A++, 00:47:15.500 |
and you get A++, you have to get A+++. You can never satisfy 00:47:20.260 |
these Asian parents. I don't think Asians are the only ones guilty of that, but that's where the typically the joke is. 00:47:27.880 |
I mean, it makes Asian parents look like the gracious people in the world. 00:47:42.620 |
the right seat at the right time, and the right penmanship. 00:47:53.180 |
because the moment that you get that 1% wrong, you're defected. 00:48:06.580 |
But that was not the point. The whole point of all of this was the point to somebody who was going to fulfill all of 00:48:20.140 |
No man could be without defect. No method could be perfect. No location, no animal is perfect. 00:48:30.540 |
for Christ to be our mediator. Now, we can stop right there, 00:48:35.020 |
because that alone disqualifies every human being that has ever been born on this earth. 00:48:43.120 |
Past, present, and future. And we can move on just from that and say, "Okay, we're done. We need Christ." 00:48:49.700 |
But the Bible is much more accurate than that. 00:48:53.420 |
And then he says, "Not only is he athias, he is innocent." And the word there is akakas. 00:48:59.740 |
In the King James, it's translated "harmless" or "blameless." 00:49:08.040 |
Whenever you see in the Greek the word "a" in front of a word, the "a" basically means "without." 00:49:17.640 |
You know what's really interesting about this word is that the theologians believe the application of this word literally means to not be 00:49:43.120 |
because of our fallen nature, there is some coveting. There is some self-righteousness. 00:49:54.920 |
There is some pride that always taints every good thing that we do. 00:50:05.120 |
Without evil. And that's what it means that He is separated from all the other human beings. 00:50:16.680 |
it is with our fallen nature that we do what we do. 00:50:20.520 |
You know, the perfect example of that is found in Matthew chapter 16, 22 to 23. 00:50:25.080 |
This is right after Jesus tells Peter, "Who do men say that I am?" And Peter gives the right answer. 00:50:32.400 |
And then Jesus says, "Upon this rock I will build my church." So he's flying high. 00:50:36.160 |
And then in the very next passage, Jesus says, 00:50:41.120 |
And Jesus and Peter, with his good intention, 00:50:45.840 |
and you have to remember that Peter loved Jesus. 00:50:53.240 |
He was in his heart willing to die. I believe that he was willing to die. 00:51:00.640 |
And that's what he was doing at the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:51:05.760 |
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke Jesus and saying, 00:51:09.000 |
"God forbid it, Lord. This shall never happen to you." 00:51:16.560 |
Not only does he say that, he says, "It's not going to happen to you. Even if they all fall away, I will not. 00:51:24.320 |
I'm going to stay loyal to you, and I'll fight till death. If you die, I die." 00:51:28.160 |
And I think Peter meant it with all his heart. 00:51:46.960 |
that all the other disciples were wrestling with, and Jesus rebukes him. 00:52:08.400 |
Can you imagine how shocking this must have been for Peter? 00:52:16.800 |
I said this because I'm literally willing to die for you. 00:52:22.880 |
I can't speak for the other disciples, but I will go to death with you, for you. 00:52:32.560 |
He doesn't just say, "Peter, you missed the point. 00:52:36.160 |
You missed the mark. You didn't come all the way." He says, "No, it's satanic." And he describes why. 00:52:45.440 |
for you are not setting your mind on God's interest, but man's." 00:52:51.200 |
What is the man's interest that he's talking about? 00:53:02.960 |
And he said, "It's satanic because you're concerned about my flesh." 00:53:13.520 |
God came for the spiritual redemption of mankind. That's what he means. 00:53:44.960 |
there is no hidden motive behind him, that all that even when it seems to be no good, that only Christ is good, 00:53:51.280 |
the best and the safest place for you and I to be is to be where he is. 00:54:02.880 |
That we do not make our own cause and then cry out to God to join us. 00:54:08.160 |
That we see what his cause is and we join him. 00:54:22.880 |
People come to Christ with a friend that they have who is lame. 00:54:33.280 |
I mean, they took a risk messing up someone's house. 00:54:36.480 |
They cut the line with many people who are there and they're there because they're desperate. 00:54:42.320 |
So you can imagine the pain of the paralytic. 00:54:52.000 |
That even if we get yelled at, even if we get put to jail, even if we get stoned, 00:54:58.960 |
So you can imagine the suffering of that individual and the friends who are coming alongside to help him, 00:55:05.360 |
but Jesus doesn't heal him. What does he say? 00:55:26.480 |
"Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk.' 00:55:30.880 |
But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." 00:55:38.000 |
Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed, and go home." 00:55:42.880 |
He fed the poor. He opened the eyes of the blind. 00:55:46.880 |
And he raised paralytics all for this purpose. 00:55:52.880 |
So that mankind may know that he came to forgive sins. 00:55:58.560 |
Because man's problem is not his, is not being paralytic. 00:56:51.360 |
And that same word is being used in Hebrew chapter 13, 5, 00:56:54.400 |
saying that, "Do not defile the marriage bed." 00:57:04.240 |
Externally, he did everything that God told him to do. 00:57:07.760 |
Internally, he is without defect, without sin. 00:57:13.260 |
And then the third word, "undefiled," means that he continues to remain in that position forever. 00:57:18.560 |
You see how precise this is? It covers everything. 00:57:22.240 |
It covers your external obedience, it covers your internal obedience, 00:57:42.960 |
let's say an animal to be dedicated and to be given as a sacrifice, it became agyos, it became holy. 00:57:49.920 |
But an individual inadvertently defiles that animal, that person who gave the offering now can't offer that animal. 00:57:59.360 |
So the guilt offering basically called the man to basically give sacrifice to atone for his sin, but also 00:58:07.040 |
to compensate for the damage that he's done by giving an extra 20%. 00:58:16.240 |
So the whole offering was, if you defile someone else's offering, 00:58:20.800 |
you have to give them and compensate them along with repenting for your own sins. 00:58:30.160 |
Obviously the animal was without defect when they brought it to the temple, 00:58:38.400 |
Because if it was already defiled, he wouldn't be able to bring it to the temple to begin with. 00:58:51.440 |
is declared without defect and he is dedicated to the Lord and another defiled human being touches it. 00:59:03.520 |
And so they can no longer use that animal for sacrifice. 00:59:13.200 |
You know, one of the best explanations of this is found in the book of 00:59:19.280 |
The Holiness of God, if you've read that. There's a section on that that describes about the punishment that Uzzah got. 00:59:28.560 |
the Ark of the Covenant is with the Philistines and so he sends people to go get it. 00:59:33.280 |
And Uzzah is on that team and he gets it. And as they are bringing the cart back, the Ark of the Covenant 00:59:39.700 |
slips and Uzzah reaches over and he touches it to keep it balanced so that it doesn't fall to the ground. 00:59:54.080 |
I remember reading that for the first time thinking, how is this fair? 01:00:03.520 |
Uzzah was trying to straighten this out so that the Ark of the Covenant would not get dirty. 01:00:09.680 |
And he went all the way over there to get it. 01:00:17.120 |
I think R.J. Sproul does the best job describing this because I remember years ago when I read Holiness for the first time, 01:00:26.400 |
Because by that time I was already several years as a pastor and I've given sermons on holiness. I've memorized scriptures on holiness. 01:00:34.240 |
You know, he would evangelize by saying that we've offended a holy God. So I've been talking about this. 01:00:52.960 |
and you know, you kind of read it, you skim through it, but you don't really understand the gravity of this. 01:01:00.960 |
He says in his book on that chapter about that event, 01:01:04.720 |
we must ask the question, what was the Ark doing on an ox cart in the first place? 01:01:10.160 |
God was so strict about the holy things of the temple that the Kohothites were not even allowed to gaze upon the Ark. 01:01:18.560 |
God had decreed that if a Kohothite merely glanced at the Ark in the Holy of Holies for an instant that he would die. 01:01:25.440 |
Not only was Uzzah forbidden to touch the Ark, he was forbidden even to look at it. 01:01:32.400 |
He stretched out his hand and put it squarely on the Ark, 01:01:35.100 |
steadying it in place lest it fall to the ground. An act of holy heroism? No. 01:01:41.820 |
It was an act of arrogance, a sin of presumption. Uzzah assumed that his hand was less polluted than the Earth. 01:01:48.700 |
But it wasn't the ground or the mud that would desecrate the Ark. 01:01:52.140 |
It was the touch of man. The Earth is an obedient creature. 01:01:56.540 |
It does what God tells it to do. It brings forth its yield in its season. 01:02:00.380 |
It obeys the laws of nature which God has established. When the temperature falls to a certain point, the ground freezes. 01:02:05.680 |
When water is added to dust, it becomes mud, just as God decided. The ground doesn't commit cosmic treason. 01:02:12.540 |
There is nothing polluted about the ground. God did not want his holy throne to be touched by that which was contaminated by evil. 01:02:20.140 |
That which was in rebellion to him, that which by its ungodly revolt had brought 01:02:25.740 |
the whole of creation to ruin and cause the ground and the sky and the waters of the sea to groan together in travail 01:02:54.140 |
In Jeremiah 6, 14 to 15, before the Assyrians come and take Israel to captivity, 01:02:59.440 |
Jeremiah pleads with the nation of Israel. And one of the constant themes of the book of Jeremiah 01:03:04.960 |
is that they have taken the sins of my people lightly. 01:03:10.380 |
And you see that phrase repeated over and over again. 01:03:14.300 |
They have healed the brokenness of my people, superficially saying, "Peace, peace," but there is no peace. 01:03:22.380 |
And then he describes, "Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? 01:03:25.580 |
They were not even ashamed at all. They did not even know how to blush. 01:03:30.460 |
Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall." 01:03:38.540 |
But God says there is no peace. There will be no peace. 01:03:49.500 |
People today are shocked because they've seen racism on videos. 01:04:07.180 |
But the problem with mankind goes much deeper than what you have seen. 01:04:18.460 |
What you are seeing on video that is different than maybe 10, 15 years ago, 01:04:23.900 |
it's being blasted on video everywhere, but mankind has not changed. 01:04:27.840 |
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The condition of man has not changed. 01:04:35.440 |
The problem that we see now is much deeper than what you have seen. 01:04:48.940 |
I mean, you thought you and your wife Esther thought that you were going to do that full time and that 01:05:07.980 |
I was out on the street and I saw this lady, a middle-aged lady, 01:05:17.420 |
and what I remember about those two kids were like this bright brown eyes. 01:05:27.100 |
But they were living out of their mom's truck and this wasn't a truck that had the, you know, the 01:05:32.220 |
camping thing in the background. It was just, you know, the two-seater in the front. 01:05:35.900 |
That's where they were at. The mom was in the driver's seat and the other two kids on that and that's where they were living. 01:05:45.660 |
and I said, "You know what? Why don't you come with me? I'm going to get you a hotel room. 01:05:49.580 |
We'll pay for your stay. We'll buy you food and then send your kids to school. 01:05:54.940 |
Send your kids to school and then maybe hopefully we can help you get on your feet and then, 01:06:00.380 |
you know, we'll provide whatever it is that you need." So she agreed. 01:06:07.020 |
put her in a hotel near where we were living at that time, 01:06:10.140 |
and I would come and check up on her every once in a while and about a week to a week and a half passed 01:06:18.140 |
and she said, "You need to come here because the lady won't open her door." 01:06:44.220 |
because there's no way they could have created this trash in that short time. 01:06:47.260 |
She must have brought it in from outside. So something was not well with her. 01:06:50.380 |
So I convinced her, "Let the ladies come in and clean up. That's all you need to do. 01:06:54.940 |
Just leave for 10 minutes, let them clean up." And 01:06:59.420 |
cleaned it up, and I asked her, "Just let them come in and do that. You don't have to do it." 01:07:03.420 |
Another week goes by and I get a phone call and he said, "The lady hasn't let us into the room for the last 01:07:16.060 |
Then I asked her to do that and she said, "Okay." 01:07:18.620 |
And then the very next day she packed up her bags and she disappeared. 01:07:30.620 |
I've seen plenty of ladies like her out on the street during that time, but these two kids were bright young kids 01:07:37.420 |
who were just following the mom around, just sleeping in their truck. 01:07:48.540 |
He was a Cuban African-American guy that I met out on the street. 01:08:02.060 |
So he said, "Can I stay at the church?" And not at this church, but the previous church 01:08:08.140 |
And so he stayed at the church. He stayed there for months and months. 01:08:11.420 |
And so our church guys would take him out to eat, buy him stuff, but after a few months 01:08:18.940 |
we would see him disappear and then find him in bars, completely drunk, out of control. 01:08:24.460 |
And then I'd have to reprimand him and then the next 01:08:27.500 |
week or so he'd be fine. And then after that, same pattern over and over again. 01:08:31.980 |
And after about two, three months of that, he ended up leaving. 01:08:37.660 |
Remember I told you that I was out on the street for a few days because I wanted to see what it was like? 01:08:42.380 |
If I'm going to work with the homeless, I need to know what it's like. 01:08:50.700 |
He was a ex-gang member, a drug addict that I met out on the street. He became a Christian while he was in prison. 01:08:59.260 |
So he came out and I met him and I befriended him. 01:09:03.740 |
And we were good enough friends where I would invite him to church and he would come 01:09:06.940 |
on the weekend. I would go pick him up, hit up church, and then I would take him back to his 01:09:14.220 |
And so when I was out on the street, he was the one who took care of me. 01:09:18.700 |
And that's why I was able to go out because him and another friend 01:09:23.260 |
basically stuck with me the whole time, all three days. He's the one who took me to the shelter, 01:09:27.420 |
to the food lines, and showed me what was going on. 01:09:32.460 |
But after a while, Angel couldn't kick his crack at it. 01:09:36.940 |
So he would disappear for two, three months and then he would show back up at Santa Ana. 01:09:46.940 |
And he was embarrassed, but he told me I was in jail. 01:09:50.460 |
I said, "What happened?" He's like, "Yeah, I fell. I got back on with crack." 01:10:00.140 |
He went through that for about a year, year and a half before he disappeared. 01:10:03.340 |
And I didn't know where he went. I just assumed that he did something more serious and he got sentenced to jail. 01:10:09.580 |
Again, this is before cell phones. This is before internet. So once they disappeared, they disappeared. 01:10:18.220 |
of frustration after frustration after frustration. 01:10:21.360 |
The story that to me stands out the most, remember I shared with you, I had a 01:10:28.780 |
a guy that I met out on the street. He slept with us in our house for a while. 01:10:35.660 |
He has an Asian name, but he was an African-American guy. 01:10:38.300 |
So I met him out on the street and you know, you would never know he's homeless. He was homeless. 01:10:47.260 |
because of drugs, came out, he cleaned himself up. 01:10:49.820 |
And Esther and I were just talking about him just a few days ago. 01:10:53.740 |
And the thing that we remember the most about Michael is he smelled like soap. 01:11:03.420 |
I don't know. I never really put it together that maybe maybe I 01:11:11.020 |
that he constantly felt dirty because he couldn't kick 01:11:19.260 |
was at our church and I was with him for almost a year and a half, two years. 01:11:26.140 |
Some of our old, old Korean members know, again, I'm not talking about our church member, that when I say old I literally mean old. 01:11:32.140 |
They loved him because you know, we used to play so much basketball and he was good at it. 01:11:38.540 |
He was our best rebound. He played like Dennis Rodman. 01:11:44.540 |
Who picked up everything, he hustled like crazy and he would give it to the shooters. I like to shoot so I liked him. 01:11:52.700 |
So our church guys bought him basketball shoes because it was his birthday. He was about two, three years older than I was. 01:11:58.380 |
But they went too far. You know, this is a guy who was struggling with crack and they bought him 01:12:03.580 |
Michael Jordan's and I remember it was ridiculous amount. It was like 160, 170 dollars. 01:12:09.180 |
They bought it from because they they loved it. They loved the fact that we he's there and he's getting off of drugs and 01:12:20.700 |
And I was so frustrated with him because I was doing discipleship and he'd be doing fine for a while. 01:12:25.420 |
Remember I told you I got pulled over by a cop 01:12:27.900 |
with an African-American friend. It was Michael. 01:12:30.940 |
So in order to help him, I told him to come into my house 01:12:38.060 |
so that we can watch him, keep him accountable. 01:12:48.220 |
and a few days later he disappeared for two weeks. 01:12:50.460 |
After two weeks, I said man, what's going on with Michael, you know, and I went out to Santa Ana looking for him 01:12:57.900 |
and I knew it had to be something with drugs because he was constantly struggling with that. 01:13:01.660 |
Two weeks later, he showed up at my house barefoot 01:13:04.800 |
and he was older than me, but he was crying like a baby. 01:13:16.460 |
He was crying because he couldn't kick his habit. 01:13:23.420 |
I wanted to just lay hands and just cast that out of him. 01:13:45.020 |
it was like a good friend that I couldn't bring out of the mud. 01:13:59.580 |
And again, this is before the internet. This is before cell phones. So I would get letters every once in a while 01:14:10.700 |
where they would move him from place to place so that he doesn't get comfortable and find drugs. 01:14:15.100 |
And he would send me every time. He's like, "Hey, I'm doing well. 01:14:18.620 |
You know, thanks for your support." And this was going on for about maybe about a year or so. 01:14:23.180 |
Then he just started disappearing and I stopped hearing from him and I just assumed 01:14:40.780 |
You and I do not have that power. It is the arrogance of man to think 01:14:50.460 |
if we put better policy, that we can fix this problem. 01:14:53.580 |
You know, so many people can say, "Oh, we got to stop the sex trafficking." 01:15:03.020 |
and bring you to tears, there's something wrong with you. 01:15:09.420 |
But the way that we go about helping is, "Oh, we're going to go and we're going to deliver them from these evil men." 01:15:18.220 |
is that majority of these young girls are coming out of their villages voluntarily. 01:15:24.300 |
They walk into where these Westerners are and offering up their bodies because that's the only way they can eat. 01:15:36.780 |
And we think that if we just eradicate these bad men, that that will take care of the problem. 01:15:43.980 |
The fallenness of where you and I are is much deeper and greater 01:16:08.460 |
that we can even make a dent on what you and I see. 01:16:13.820 |
The years of frustration of trying to help people, I realize I don't have the power. 01:16:41.180 |
Foolishness to those who are perishing, but the power of God for those who are being saved. 01:16:47.260 |
So as we are stirred by what's going on around us, 01:16:51.420 |
do not run to the same hope that the world is running to. 01:16:55.820 |
Do not run to the same things that they think are going to fix this. 01:17:01.020 |
It should remind us even further to get back to what God called us to begin with, to go make disciples of all the nations, 01:17:09.020 |
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 01:17:13.260 |
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and lo, I am with you to the end of the age. 01:17:22.080 |
because the church has in the last three, four decades have tried so hard to make God so accessible 01:17:30.460 |
to as many people as possible and they have completely 01:17:36.300 |
Exodus 32 verse 33 verse 20, but he said, "You cannot see my face for no man can see me and live." 01:17:46.300 |
why should we die? For this great fire will consume us if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, then we will die." 01:17:53.580 |
They didn't see God's presence as something to be welcomed 01:18:01.020 |
They were trembling in fear when God told them to come. They said, "If we go we might die." 01:18:05.740 |
Even when Moses came up and just glory, a reflection of his glory brought fear to the nation of Israel 01:18:15.660 |
because the reflection of God's holiness scared them to death. 01:18:20.940 |
1 Samuel chapter 5 verse 10, the Philistines wanted the ark to be gone 01:18:39.180 |
thought we're going to bring this presence of God and God's going to bless us again and he learned 01:18:48.620 |
And that's why in Isaiah chapter 6 verse 5 when Isaiah is confronted with God's holiness 01:18:53.260 |
he doesn't say, "Thank you for showing me your glory." That was not his response. 01:18:58.220 |
He broke down and he says, "Woe is me for I am ruined 01:19:01.980 |
because I am a man of unclean lips and I live among people of unclean lips. 01:19:08.860 |
For my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. He saw that he wasn't holy. 01:19:18.800 |
That's what he means when he says it was necessary. 01:19:34.000 |
If there's any time that we need to be reminded of this is right now. 01:19:46.960 |
It is against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of darkness, 01:19:52.560 |
the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 01:20:10.800 |
If there's anything that we are served to do now more than ever is to be the light. 01:20:22.880 |
Let the world where it's hurting know there's hope in the name of Jesus Christ and Jesus only. 01:21:03.360 |
you saw the hurting world and you had compassion and that's why all of us are here. 01:21:18.560 |
Help us, Lord God, not to be indifferent to the suffering of sinners. 01:21:21.760 |
But in the midst of that, help us never forget 01:21:32.800 |
Help us to be your ambassadors and be a light, especially now 01:21:37.360 |
that we would not turn from your word to the left or to the right. 01:21:41.360 |
With all the confusing voices, Lord God, even coming from within the church, 01:21:53.360 |
May it be a great opportunity for revival. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 01:22:11.540 |
Hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness 01:22:33.060 |
The sweetest bread, but wholly laid On Jesus' lap 01:22:40.060 |
Across the solid rock I stand All other ground is sank in sand 01:23:11.060 |
When darkness veils His lovely face I rest on His unchanging grace 01:23:20.060 |
In every high and stormy vale My anchor holds with faith 01:23:29.060 |
On Christ the solid rock I stand All other ground is sank in sand 01:24:01.060 |
His covenant, His blood Support me in the well You flood 01:24:10.060 |
When all around my soul is wet It is all my mistake 01:24:19.060 |
On Christ the solid rock I stand All other ground is sank in sand 01:24:33.060 |
On Christ the solid rock I stand All other ground is sank in sand 01:25:03.060 |
He shall come, He shall come with trumpet sound 01:25:09.060 |
Oh may I then in Him be found Dressed in His righteousness alone 01:25:18.060 |
Faithless to stand before the throne On Christ the solid rock I stand 01:25:28.060 |
All other ground is sank in sand All other ground is sank in sand 01:25:42.060 |
On Christ the solid rock I stand All other ground is sank in sand 01:26:01.060 |
Our benediction is going to come from Hebrews chapter 7 verse 27 and 28 01:26:06.060 |
Why does not, who does not need daily like those high priests to offer up sacrifices 01:26:12.060 |
First for his own sins and then for the sins of the people 01:26:15.060 |
Because he did once for all when he offered up himself 01:26:19.060 |
For the law appoints men as high priests who are weak 01:26:22.060 |
But the word of the oath which came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever 01:26:28.060 |
Heavenly Father we pray for your grace to be sufficient this week 01:26:32.060 |
Lord we are weak men and women who are desperately in need of you 01:26:39.060 |
So we ask Lord God that the Holy Spirit that you've deposited in us 01:26:48.060 |
Help us Lord God not to be moved, not to drift 01:26:51.060 |
But to be firmly anchored in Christ and His word this week 01:26:54.060 |
May His grace, His love and His power and fellowship consume us in all that we do