back to index2020-6-14 Christ, Our Sure Foundation
00:00:00.000 |
We're going to be reading through the end of the chapter, but mainly on the first part 00:00:09.920 |
of it this week, and then we'll get into the second part next week. 00:00:14.280 |
Let me read from verse 11 through verse 17 before we get started. 00:00:21.520 |
Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood, for on the basis of it the people 00:00:26.040 |
received the law, what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the 00:00:30.680 |
order of Melchizedek and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? 00:00:34.760 |
For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. 00:00:39.400 |
For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which 00:00:46.900 |
For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which 00:00:54.200 |
And this is clear still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, 00:00:58.560 |
who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according 00:01:05.100 |
For it is attested of him, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. 00:01:12.520 |
Gracious Father, we pray for your blessing over this time, and we pray, Father God, that 00:01:17.400 |
our hearts and our mind are so easily entangled with the things of this world. 00:01:22.240 |
I pray that your word would continue to guide and lead us, that we would hear your Son's 00:01:27.280 |
voice, that your children will know it, recognize it, and follow it, Lord God. 00:01:33.880 |
I pray for your anointing this time, in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 00:01:40.400 |
You know, at the beginning of the pandemic, I remember I was given a devotion that I posted 00:01:44.780 |
online and I mentioned how, you know, with all the things that I've seen and experienced 00:01:50.440 |
in the years that I've been a Christian, that, I mean, this is one of the craziest 00:01:55.800 |
And I remember saying that I don't know if this is the end times. 00:02:01.640 |
It's not wise for anybody to say this is it or this is not it, because the Bible says 00:02:07.740 |
But if it does begin, I would think like this is how it would feel, you know, at least the 00:02:16.600 |
And I remember mentioning that and to consider that it's gotten exponentially crazier since 00:02:23.240 |
And so I know that I've noticed that online that more and more pastors are at least thinking 00:02:27.200 |
about it, that if Christ's second coming is near, that this is at least what it would 00:02:36.720 |
If there's any time in my lifetime, and I think the lifetime of most people who are 00:02:42.400 |
living now, would say that we absolutely need to be anchored in Christ, it would be now. 00:02:48.160 |
With all the crazy things that are going on around us and all the different opinions and 00:02:51.920 |
the tidal wave of emotions and political opinions and the divide, and oftentimes even coming 00:03:00.200 |
And you could see how the church can easily be divided, even, you know, within the people 00:03:04.920 |
that I know that we are so polarized in our opinions on one end to the other, whether 00:03:09.720 |
it's political, what's going on with the marches, how we feel, what we should say, who do we 00:03:16.440 |
And that if we're not careful, if we're not really anchored in Christ, that it can easily 00:03:20.800 |
divide the church because there's so much strong opinions. 00:03:27.080 |
You know, in the Old Testament, when we're starting to the book of Leviticus, there's 00:03:30.280 |
five major gifts that the Israelites were to give on a regular basis. 00:03:36.360 |
And out of five, one of them really stands out because it is unlike the other. 00:03:41.720 |
All the other offerings, you give the offerings and then you're done with it. 00:03:45.040 |
But this peace offering was the only offering where you gave the parts where you couldn't 00:03:51.720 |
So the offer, the priests and the family members who came with them would actually, after giving 00:03:56.560 |
the sacrifice, would go on the side of the court and then they would have a picnic. 00:04:00.200 |
They would actually eat the sacrifice that they made. 00:04:02.660 |
And so it signified that vertical peace with God would create this horizontal peace with 00:04:10.000 |
And that was embedded into the Israelites' sacrifice. 00:04:13.480 |
It is only when peace with God is established that there will be peace with mankind. 00:04:23.640 |
The very first thing that happens once sin enters into mankind, do you remember the story? 00:04:30.720 |
The first thing that happens is they recognize their shame and the husband and wife cover 00:04:39.400 |
Shame comes in in this most intimate relationship. 00:04:45.000 |
And so ever since then, there is contention in the heart of man. 00:04:49.660 |
You know, right now with so much going on with marches and protests and different opinions 00:04:57.120 |
And even oftentimes within the church, one pastor's opinion is so vastly different than 00:05:03.680 |
And even within our church, there's various opinions. 00:05:09.240 |
If there's any period where we have to absolutely be anchored in Christ, it is now. 00:05:15.680 |
When you begin to drift, you don't know you're drifting or you wouldn't be drifting. 00:05:19.280 |
You drift because of the tidal wave that is around you. 00:05:24.000 |
When you're living in a time of peace and the waters are calm, even if you're not anchored, 00:05:30.300 |
You may drift a little bit out and then you recognize, oh, shoot, this is not where I 00:05:35.800 |
But in a time of storm, if you drift even a little bit, if you don't pay attention for 00:05:40.080 |
even a little bit, because the currents are so strong, you don't even know that you're 00:05:47.240 |
headed into danger until it's already too late. 00:05:51.480 |
I think we're in one of those periods where if Christians, no matter what level of maturity, 00:05:59.540 |
if you're not seriously anchoring yourself in Christ, if you're not carefully clinging 00:06:05.080 |
to Christ, without making any decision, without drawing any lines, you will head toward a 00:06:15.120 |
In Ephesians chapter 2, 14 through 16, scripture says, "For he himself is our peace," talking 00:06:20.600 |
about Christ, "who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing 00:06:26.480 |
Now, you think that Republicans and Democrats have a divide. 00:06:31.340 |
If you study how the Jews and the Gentiles hated each other, I mean, they hated each 00:06:37.440 |
other to the point where just being in their vicinity, they felt like they became unclean. 00:06:43.140 |
They would travel days around a particular city just so that they don't have to step 00:06:49.060 |
You would never see a Gentile in a Jewish home or a Jew in a Gentile home. 00:06:56.620 |
So when he says, "Jesus is our peace," and he took away the barrier, again, you have 00:07:02.360 |
to understand that within the context of how radical that is. 00:07:07.060 |
That if you fell asleep for about five, six years and woke up and you saw the Gentiles 00:07:10.740 |
and the Jews worshiping in the same church, calling each other brothers and sisters in 00:07:15.280 |
Christ, you would have thought something crazy happened, which it did. 00:07:19.260 |
Only the resurrection of Christ could have brought these two groups together. 00:07:24.360 |
Right now, the opinions and the divide in our country is so vast that if we don't pay 00:07:30.740 |
attention, what happens outside the church is beyond our control. 00:07:35.760 |
But if we're not careful, it can easily divide the church. 00:07:39.980 |
He said, verse 15, "By abolishing in his flesh the enmity which is the law of the commandments 00:07:43.960 |
contained in ordinances, so that in himself he might make the two into one new man, thus 00:07:50.340 |
establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, 00:07:58.740 |
Again, the only peace that you and I believe and profess and sing every single Sunday is 00:08:05.000 |
that we find peace in Christ and Christ alone. 00:08:10.220 |
In Hebrews chapter 10, verse 1, it says, "For the law, since it has only a shadow of the 00:08:14.340 |
good things to come, and not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices 00:08:18.880 |
which they offer continually, year by year, make perfect those who draw near." 00:08:23.060 |
Now, he said the sacrifices of the Old Testament were never meant for the purpose of curing 00:08:34.900 |
So it's kind of like, you know, maybe some of you guys who have young children may have 00:08:39.620 |
taken your kids to Home Depot, you know, and teach them how to use the saw or the electric 00:08:51.040 |
And then they would pretend like they're cutting things. 00:08:55.380 |
Obviously, you know, from Home Depot's perspective, hopefully you'll become their customers at 00:09:01.760 |
But the reason why they do that is to teach them how to use these tools. 00:09:04.760 |
But these tools that they're using is not real. 00:09:08.580 |
It's only so that they can learn when they are old enough to be able to use the real 00:09:13.740 |
tools to be able to cut real wood and build real stuff. 00:09:18.700 |
But as they are children, they are given these things so that you turn this on. 00:09:23.400 |
This is how you are safe, and this is what you do, and this is how you put it away. 00:09:27.020 |
All of this so that when they are old enough, they can handle the real tools. 00:09:33.080 |
But imagine if they became older and they say, "You know what? 00:09:35.900 |
You know, I really like my plastic saw and this fake drill makes the 'ang' sound, and 00:09:43.720 |
The whole point of chapter 7 is to tell us that the whole old system, they were plastic. 00:09:50.180 |
It has no power to bring any kind of salvation. 00:09:54.220 |
It was only there as a shadow to point to the reality that was coming in Christ. 00:09:58.980 |
Now, some of us may sit here and think, "You know what? 00:10:02.100 |
That sounds great, and that's good theology, but we're not Jews. 00:10:07.980 |
So it's good to know, but it's not relevant to us." 00:10:11.940 |
Well, we may not have ever been under the Old Testament law, but the principle that 00:10:19.820 |
When we think that somehow our religious activity is going to have some kind of power to bring 00:10:26.780 |
about true salvation, it's no different than a Jew thinking that if they make the right 00:10:36.520 |
You and I know that you can attend church all your life and not be saved. 00:10:41.500 |
You know that you can be a leader in the church and not be saved. 00:10:48.140 |
You can do all kinds of stuff in the church and engage in religious activity and have 00:10:52.980 |
no idea what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, because in and of itself has 00:10:59.980 |
Religious activity, changing the system, has no power. 00:11:05.100 |
He says in Hebrews 7-11, the first verse that we're looking at, "Now if perfection was through 00:11:10.220 |
the Levitical priesthood, for on the basis of it the people received the law, what further 00:11:14.500 |
need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek and 00:11:19.780 |
not be designated according to the order of Aaron?" 00:11:26.160 |
If you're a Jew thinking, "We have this system. 00:11:28.960 |
We have all these things that we're doing and making sacrifices. 00:11:32.820 |
Why do we need another priest to come to mediate?" 00:11:35.900 |
The point is, if Jesus was just fulfilling what they were doing in the Old Testament, 00:11:43.660 |
In fact, he doesn't even fit, because he doesn't come from the tribe of Levi. 00:11:48.060 |
But the whole point that he's trying to make is that the system that you are relying on 00:11:58.740 |
The word for perfect is a really rich theological term in the New Testament. 00:12:02.780 |
In fact, when I was in seminary, I did a whole paper just on this word. 00:12:08.260 |
The word here, obviously in English, it means something without defect. 00:12:16.200 |
But the term teleos, perfect, has a greater meaning behind it. 00:12:22.060 |
The meaning that is often used in the scripture is to bring about to the desired end of that 00:12:30.140 |
Meaning, if somebody started a race and he finishes that race, he's achieved perfection. 00:12:36.940 |
If you had a goal of starting a business and you started getting the loan, and when you 00:12:42.140 |
finally purchase it and start the business, you've received perfection. 00:12:45.880 |
Whatever your end goal is, when you achieve it, it's called perfection. 00:12:52.240 |
That's the theological connotation of this word teleos. 00:12:55.480 |
So when he says the old system has no power to bring about perfection, meaning God's redemptive 00:13:03.960 |
history of what God is doing with mankind, that old religious sacrificial system has 00:13:11.040 |
no power to bring about salvation of anybody. 00:13:19.280 |
So we need to know then, if the old system, if religious activity has no power to bring 00:13:25.040 |
about the end goal of what God desires, what is the end goal that God desires? 00:13:32.040 |
If we don't know what God desires, what his end goal is, you can be at church and be memorizing 00:13:38.880 |
scripture, be active, leading worship, leading Bible study, and still miss the whole point. 00:13:46.160 |
Because you could have been the most moral person, you could have been the most giving 00:13:51.520 |
person, you could have been the most disciplined person, but it had nothing to do with perfection. 00:14:00.800 |
See, he says in Hebrews 7 verse 19, "For the law made nothing perfect, and on the other 00:14:07.480 |
hand there is bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God." 00:14:21.520 |
Again, you and I know that you can come to church all your life and never get closer 00:14:27.560 |
You can study the Bible and know the intentions of what the Bible says, and you've never drawn 00:14:35.320 |
any closer to God than the first day that you were at church. 00:14:39.080 |
You can teach the Bible, you can share the gospel, you can lead, and never draw near 00:14:46.520 |
You know, a lot of people come to Christ because they want to fill this emptiness, or they 00:14:52.080 |
feel lonely, or something is missing in their life, and so the church fulfills that. 00:14:57.880 |
So church is very important to them, but for the wrong reason. 00:15:02.320 |
Some people come to church because they want to find purpose. 00:15:11.920 |
So you come to church and you find some direction and purpose in your life, and the church is 00:15:23.720 |
You've gone through some hardship, and it's good to have a Savior that loves you unconditionally. 00:15:29.160 |
And so the church serves that purpose, so you come to church. 00:15:33.480 |
Or a lot of people come to church because they don't want to go to hell. 00:15:37.760 |
Just in case that there's a hell, I want to make sure that I have proper insurance. 00:15:42.360 |
So they come to church and it fulfills that, and it's not hard to do because this is where 00:15:47.200 |
my friends are, my kids grow up together, good morals are taught, this is where I feel 00:15:56.600 |
All of these things may be fulfilled in the church and never find perfection. 00:16:02.880 |
Because that was not the purpose of the church to begin with. 00:16:05.080 |
All of those things are byproducts of the church. 00:16:11.280 |
The end goal in 1 Peter 3, it says, "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just 00:16:17.360 |
for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God." 00:16:22.880 |
Why did the just experience injustice to bring the unjust to salvation? 00:16:32.360 |
So the whole point is to restore our relationship with God. 00:16:37.420 |
Because the Bible says in the book of Acts, he says, "For in him we live and move and 00:16:45.040 |
So if you're not reconnected with the author of life, you may find an alternate life in 00:16:51.880 |
the church, you may find an alternate life outside the church, but it has nothing to 00:17:00.000 |
And that's why people can be at church all their life and at the end when they stand 00:17:03.480 |
before Christ and he said, "You call me Lord, Lord, but your heart was never with me. 00:17:11.040 |
All your activity, all the Bible study, all the church had nothing to do with me." 00:17:18.000 |
You know, you could be a great student and spent hundreds of hours doing a paper on Abraham 00:17:24.280 |
Lincoln and you think you're going to get an A+ and then you come to the professor and 00:17:28.840 |
he said, "No, I wanted a paper on George Washington." 00:17:33.280 |
Now if it was on Abraham Lincoln, you would have gotten A+++. 00:17:37.520 |
But because it was on Lincoln, you got an F. It had nothing to do with what the professor 00:17:48.040 |
God's whole purpose and why he did what he did, why he's doing what he is doing, and 00:17:53.880 |
why he will continue to do what he continues to do. 00:18:00.180 |
And he says, "Your whole old system has no power." 00:18:03.320 |
It doesn't say it has some power, but it's not enough. 00:18:08.600 |
In fact, the term he uses is worthless and useless when it comes to bringing us to Christ. 00:18:18.160 |
The end goal is to have this relationship restored. 00:18:22.640 |
That's why if you look at verse 12 through 16, it describes how Jesus Christ comes in 00:18:29.480 |
And when there is a change of priesthood, there's a change of law. 00:18:34.640 |
In fact, his priesthood is completely different. 00:18:37.220 |
So the whole point of verse 12 and 16, whole point of it is he's saying it's completely 00:18:51.480 |
It's relevant because anything that you and I have confidence in, that we think somehow 00:18:57.040 |
if we do a better job, if we can market the church better, if we can organize better, 00:19:05.120 |
or if we can change the system, have the right leaders, if we can just tweak certain things 00:19:13.280 |
He says, "No, that old system, you can have the best priest, best organization. 00:19:18.560 |
You can have the best animals, best sacrifices. 00:19:21.280 |
You can have the best temple, but it would still be useless because all of it was simply 00:19:28.200 |
a shadow to point to what was to come in reality of Christ." 00:19:36.720 |
At some point, everybody drives a car, and at some point you try to fix this and fix 00:19:41.360 |
At some point you have to make a decision, you cannot salvage this. 00:19:45.600 |
And so once you go up to that point, you have to buy a new car. 00:19:49.620 |
You change the tires, the alternator, everything that you could possibly do, but at some point 00:19:58.960 |
Well, that's what's happening here in Hebrews chapter 7 because the Jews are drifting back 00:20:05.000 |
He said, "You do not know that there's nothing to salvage there. 00:20:10.680 |
And when he is saying that there's nothing to salvage there, that it is finished, he's 00:20:20.880 |
For the Jews, that's what they were clinging to. 00:20:24.440 |
Whatever worldly principles, whatever worldly leaderships, whatever legal institutions that 00:20:31.040 |
you think that if you can just tweak it, you can bring heaven on earth, you missed the 00:20:45.380 |
If we put our confidence and hope in anything else outside of Christ, you will be disappointed. 00:20:52.920 |
Now he explains why they are worthless and useless in the coming verses. 00:20:58.340 |
First of all, the old priesthood was weak and useless because the priests were weak 00:21:03.100 |
He said the priesthood came without an oath, without an oath meaning that God didn't appoint 00:21:10.240 |
God just created a system and then you were born into it. 00:21:13.640 |
So these mediators that was mediating for the nation of Israel and the world, basically 00:21:18.960 |
they were men because they were just born as a Levite in Hebrews 7, 20 to 21. 00:21:23.520 |
As much as it was not without an oath, for they indeed became priests without an oath. 00:21:30.480 |
So imagine what the country would be like if every president became president because 00:21:39.500 |
You might have some good presidents and you might have some horrible presidents. 00:21:44.680 |
So that's what he's saying, the weakness of the system is they're not even anointed. 00:21:51.120 |
But not only do they come in like that, every single one of them is limited because they're 00:21:57.640 |
The former priests on the one hand existed in greater numbers because they were prevented 00:22:04.000 |
So just by the limitation of the priests themselves points to the limitation of the priesthood. 00:22:13.520 |
So again, I want you guys to be able to bridge the gap. 00:22:17.280 |
I don't want to get you in the mindset, it's like, "Oh, you know, those are talking about 00:22:20.680 |
Jews and I've never worshipped at the temple so this is not relevant to me." 00:22:24.360 |
This is as relevant as it can get because what he is saying is any human system, anything 00:22:34.720 |
that is dependent upon human beings, whether it is government, relationship, counseling, 00:22:41.600 |
finance, whatever it may be, it will always be limited by that human being. 00:22:50.180 |
And the priesthood will also be limited because of that. 00:22:53.520 |
And so their finiteness pointed to the finiteness of the system. 00:22:57.940 |
But the real reason why it was weak and useless is because the priest's own weakness and sins. 00:23:04.960 |
Hebrews chapter 2, 27, it says, "Like those high priests to offer up sacrifices first 00:23:12.440 |
Even though he was appointed, a priest was appointed to mediate for the sins of the people, 00:23:27.880 |
You know, there's a story about some young people who went up to a camping trip and a 00:23:34.720 |
lot of times, you know, when they get to a camping trip late at night, they'll tell 00:23:40.240 |
And then they told stories about ghosts and things. 00:23:43.040 |
So at the end of the camping trip, late at night, they're coming home and one of the 00:23:45.880 |
girls who were coming home remembered these stories and she got freaked out. 00:23:50.220 |
She parked her car far from her apartment and so she was walking and then she heard 00:23:53.920 |
strange noises and she turned around and she saw a white ghost behind her and she freaked 00:24:02.680 |
Then after a while, she doesn't hear anything. 00:24:11.240 |
And then after a while, she said, "Surely, you know, she's a track star. 00:24:22.240 |
So she ran into her apartment, closed the door, locked the door, went to the bathroom 00:24:25.800 |
and locked the door thinking, "Oh my gosh, what am I going to do?" 00:24:29.320 |
And then she looks into the mirror and she sees a little piece of white rice right on 00:24:40.720 |
So the whole time she was running from the ghost, it was just a little piece of rice 00:24:50.480 |
And the reason why she couldn't run from it is because it was on her. 00:25:02.020 |
You can't eradicate sin by standing in the shower and washing longer and using the right 00:25:14.780 |
You can't eradicate that by tweaking the system. 00:25:20.560 |
Because as long as sinful men are involved, there will always be sin. 00:25:27.600 |
You're not going to legislate sin out of anything that human beings do. 00:25:33.260 |
You know, the dilemma of mankind is that God has made us social, so we desire companionship. 00:25:38.960 |
Whether you are an extrovert or an introvert. 00:25:41.220 |
An extrovert may enjoy being around large groups of people, and maybe an introvert wants 00:25:47.860 |
Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, God made us social. 00:25:52.020 |
And that's why we long to be married, because we want companionship. 00:25:59.340 |
Now that we've been in isolation for three or four months, people are eager to get out. 00:26:02.900 |
Go out, play basketball, go to the gym, to the beach, and hang out, come to church and 00:26:10.020 |
And then there's a group of people who've never been isolated. 00:26:14.060 |
They're around people, dealing with their bosses all this time, and they are eager to 00:26:19.220 |
get some vacation time, to get away from people. 00:26:28.460 |
And so we desire to be with people, but then when we are with people, it becomes a problem. 00:26:37.700 |
The very thing that we long for becomes the most difficult thing to deal with. 00:26:45.860 |
That's why when Adam was created, he said it's not good for him to be alone, so he created 00:26:53.620 |
The relationship between husband and wife became contentious. 00:26:57.460 |
And the relationship between husband and wife is representative of all other relationships. 00:27:02.460 |
Whatever mankind is involved in, no matter what party that you are in, no matter what 00:27:06.780 |
legal things that we change, as long as human beings are involved, there will always be 00:27:18.140 |
That if we just change the system, if we tweak the system, somehow we can reach perfection. 00:27:23.020 |
And he says it is absolutely worthless and useless to think that tweaking things are 00:27:49.060 |
All the systems of the world are weak and useless because of weak and useless mankind. 00:27:56.740 |
But the new system, the new priesthood that Jesus brings, on the other hand, is a better 00:28:02.900 |
In Hebrews chapter 7, 22, "So much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better 00:28:10.980 |
Hebrews 7, 21, "For they indeed became priests without an oath, but he with an oath through 00:28:17.220 |
the one who said to him, 'The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. 00:28:29.540 |
And that's why in Ephesians chapter 1, it says repeatedly over and over and over again 00:28:38.740 |
It is the one, he is the one who predestined. 00:28:43.960 |
He anointed Christ to bring in a completely different priesthood. 00:28:48.840 |
Ephesians 1, 9, "He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his kindness and 00:28:56.920 |
Over and over and over again, it's saying Jesus is the anointed one. 00:29:05.760 |
He is the only king of righteousness and the only king of peace. 00:29:10.480 |
That's why in 1 Timothy 2, 5, it says, "For there is one God and one mediator also between 00:29:28.920 |
He venerated Christ and he started sharing all this stuff and Jesus never said that." 00:29:34.760 |
In John 14, 6, Jesus said to him, "I am the way. 00:29:43.200 |
You know what the key term in that statement is in John 14, 6? 00:30:00.120 |
That's what he means when he says he's the only anointed, only purposed, only predestined 00:30:06.280 |
one who is able to perfect sinners to salvation, to bring us to him. 00:30:12.980 |
Not only is he the only one, he's the only eternal one. 00:30:16.920 |
Since we have the only one that fits that category, now that we have him, there is no 00:30:22.600 |
That's what it means when Jesus says it is finished. 00:30:27.840 |
Now we have Christ, so now let's work on something else. 00:30:30.920 |
He said, "No, if you have Christ, you have everything." 00:30:38.800 |
You know, a lot of Christians start with him and think we need to move and mature beyond 00:30:46.480 |
And that's the mistake that a lot of Christians get into. 00:30:49.800 |
Since our salvation is secure and we're no longer going to hell, now let's work on our 00:31:01.720 |
When he says, "I am the way, the truth, the life, no one comes to the Father but through 00:31:06.000 |
me," and when he says it is finished, he's not saying, "I've started the finish. 00:31:15.360 |
Remember what happens when Jesus gives up his breath and he finally physically dies? 00:31:21.040 |
Do you remember the first thing that happens? 00:31:27.960 |
The curtain is what separated the holy from the holy of holies. 00:31:32.120 |
Meaning our access to God was opened permanently. 00:31:43.000 |
You say, "Well, Christ is the answer to hell." 00:32:14.040 |
Because whatever life that you try to find outside of Christ is just an imitation and 00:32:21.920 |
Because as long as sinful man is involved, you will never eradicate or legislate sin 00:32:33.280 |
It's in the person who is in power and it's in the person who is protesting. 00:32:45.320 |
In Hebrews chapter 7, 16, "Who has become such not on the basis of the law of physical 00:32:50.200 |
requirement but according to the power of an indestructible life." 00:32:55.600 |
Because it's based on an indestructible life, our union with Christ is also indestructible. 00:33:02.240 |
And because our union with Christ is indestructible, the life that you and I have received is also 00:33:14.480 |
And whenever Christians think, "Well, we have Christ now. 00:33:22.080 |
Hebrews 7, 23-25, "The former priests on the one hand existed in a greater numbers 00:33:27.200 |
because they were prevented by death from continuing. 00:33:30.480 |
But Jesus on the other hand, because he continues forever, holds the priesthood permanently. 00:33:35.680 |
Therefore, he is able also to save forever, permanently. 00:33:41.220 |
Those who draw near to God through him since always, since he always lives to make intercession 00:33:49.280 |
Not just until we get to heaven, but for eternity, he will always be interceding on 00:33:54.560 |
And Hebrews 10, 10, "By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the 00:34:14.760 |
Right now, I mean, you go online and you put up what, in any position, and you're going 00:34:25.360 |
No matter what you say, because somebody is going to have very militant views on the other 00:34:38.320 |
Racism is really at the core of our rebellion. 00:34:43.400 |
If you look at the core of our rebellion, it's being self-centered. 00:34:49.040 |
Adam and Eve saw what God had and said, "Oh, I want that. 00:34:53.560 |
Tower of Babel, as soon as they were organized, "Hey, let's build this thing. 00:34:57.680 |
And in Romans chapter one, it says they worship the creation rather than the creator. 00:35:03.600 |
And that's why Jesus says, "If you want to live," what did he say? 00:35:11.680 |
He who loses his life for my sake will find it." 00:35:15.000 |
And that's why he says, when he says, "To love the Lord your God with all your heart, 00:35:19.440 |
soul, mind, and strength, love your neighbors," what? 00:35:22.480 |
He assumed you love yourself because he knows at the core of human rebellion is self-centeredness. 00:35:29.840 |
So you know what happens with self-centered people? 00:35:33.360 |
Self-centered people want to be surrounded by other people who are like me. 00:35:37.760 |
Who looks like me, smells like me, you know, does what I do, eats what I eat. 00:35:45.560 |
And so racism is basically not being -- not wanting to be around people who are different. 00:35:55.160 |
Typically, we don't call racism when we categorize a different race in a higher light. 00:36:02.520 |
You say, "Wow, Asians are really intelligent. 00:36:09.520 |
Usually racism is we see somebody who's different and we see them lower. 00:36:12.840 |
They're not as moral, they're not as intelligent, but when we elevate them, we don't consider 00:36:21.760 |
Either way, we look at a group of people and we judge them, and so if we think they're 00:36:30.920 |
And when coveting turns negative, you say, "Why? 00:36:39.240 |
So even if it is a good compliment, there's racism in there. 00:36:44.960 |
And then it turns ugly when it's the other way. 00:36:49.360 |
We have a tendency, even within the church -- that's why when the Bible says one of the 00:36:53.000 |
qualities of an elder is hospitality, hospitality basically means to love strangers, people 00:37:00.640 |
So you can be hospitable with people who are like you all the time in your house. 00:37:06.680 |
Hospitality is surrounding yourself and reaching out to people who aren't like you. 00:37:17.360 |
Would that change simply because we changed the law? 00:37:23.240 |
I think we live in a great country, that we have the freedom to be able to protest, that 00:37:29.200 |
we have the freedom to be able to go and vote and say, "I don't want that. 00:37:37.340 |
And you say, "Well, you know, all democracies have that." 00:37:44.120 |
If you've been around enough countries, you can call it democracy, but the people who 00:37:54.840 |
You can call it democracy, but it's not actual democracy. 00:38:01.040 |
You can say it's not perfect, but it works better than any other country that I've been 00:38:07.420 |
And so if we see injustice, we should speak out. 00:38:12.380 |
If it's wrong, get to the polls and vote them out. 00:38:16.320 |
If something is wrong and we have something that we can do about it, we should do it. 00:38:22.840 |
But don't be caught up like the rest of the world, thinking that if we tweak the system, 00:38:30.840 |
You and I have different values, different set of beliefs, different places where we 00:38:41.440 |
We have the power to tweak the system, but to believe that if we tweak the system, we're 00:38:54.320 |
The hardest thing about church, you know, people ask me, "Isn't it hard being a pastor?" 00:38:59.920 |
I think it's hard being human, no matter what you're doing. 00:39:21.600 |
So people ask, "Isn't it hard being a pastor?" 00:39:23.600 |
I say, "Yeah, there are some parts of it that's hard." 00:39:26.360 |
And people would ask me, "What's the hardest part about being a pastor?" 00:39:32.360 |
You know, "What's the hardest thing about being an accountant?" 00:39:39.040 |
"What's the hardest thing about being a police officer?" 00:39:45.440 |
"What's the hardest thing about being a, you know, a lawyer?" 00:39:52.720 |
Unless you have a job where you don't deal with people at all. 00:40:02.040 |
You know, we get together, we sing, but you know, usually all the, most of the dramas 00:40:07.120 |
that are hard and draining is usually deals with people. 00:40:11.960 |
But also the greatest part about the church is also the people. 00:40:18.720 |
It's when sinners are redeemed and you see people changing. 00:40:24.320 |
You see people loving people that they would not normally love. 00:40:33.440 |
So the hardest part about the church is the people, but also the best part about the church 00:40:57.920 |
When you're a kid, you know, when you're a kid and you get a present, I'm talking about 00:41:05.120 |
And what's the latest, I'm trying to make this illustration relevant. 00:41:23.040 |
You're not old enough to really appreciate the Switch, okay? 00:41:27.880 |
So those of you who have kids, you know what I mean. 00:41:30.280 |
You get them this gift and you put it in a nice box and they don't know what it is, so 00:41:42.560 |
You spend all that money and you save it to give it to them and then they're climbing 00:41:49.040 |
They're putting, you know, little holes in the box. 00:41:52.600 |
And imagine they're starting comparing, saying, "Hey, how come he has a red box? 00:41:57.920 |
And he has a blue box and they have a polka dot box and they're all comparing the boxes." 00:42:02.640 |
It's like, wait a second, that's not even the gift. 00:42:10.040 |
But after a while, you get a little bit older and you understand what the gift is and what 00:42:17.680 |
makes that gift really valuable is not the package but what's inside. 00:42:22.880 |
And so it could be a yellow box, it could be a paper box, it could be trash. 00:42:34.920 |
So all of a sudden, it doesn't matter the package. 00:42:38.680 |
It doesn't matter what package it came in because the gift is the Switch. 00:42:44.640 |
And only a child would be comparing the package. 00:42:49.240 |
See, if we try to eradicate racism by changing our mindset, ourselves, it doesn't happen. 00:42:58.840 |
You get justice for one person which creates injustice for another person. 00:43:04.600 |
But what is attractive about an individual is not the package. 00:43:16.160 |
So you can be a 13-year-old child in Africa who loves Christ and I have more I can relate 00:43:24.800 |
to that person than middle-aged Korean American who immigrated here, who has older brother, 00:43:30.520 |
younger brother, grew up in a Christian home and speaks Korean and English. 00:43:36.400 |
I have more in common with that 13-year-old in Kenya than I do with this man because I 00:43:49.200 |
I'm trying really hard to get rid of some of this stuff. 00:43:58.000 |
I'm waiting eagerly for the redemption of this body so that I can be with the Lord and 00:44:06.080 |
And so my paradigm completely shifted when I met Christ. 00:44:11.200 |
All that I longed for in this world became rubbish in the light of Christ. 00:44:16.960 |
So now the people who are the most attracted to me are not the package that it comes in, 00:44:27.640 |
And that's what he means when he's taken the Jews and the Gentiles who had hostility toward 00:44:33.400 |
He didn't all of a sudden change the law and the system and tweaked it and had seminars 00:44:42.880 |
And so what happens to a Christian when he meets Christ is what is beautiful changes 00:44:53.000 |
That's how peace with God establishes peace with man. 00:44:59.080 |
So it is dangerous for Christians to be caught up in the tidal wave that is coming upon our 00:45:04.240 |
generation to think that if we can just change the package that we would somehow learn to 00:45:13.080 |
This is why we preach the gospel, because we believe there's only one anointed high priest 00:45:19.960 |
who intercedes for us and who has the power to bring perfection. 00:45:26.200 |
So my challenge and encouragement to all of us, be careful when the tidal waves come. 00:45:40.240 |
And make sure, is this coming from Christ or is this coming from the world? 00:45:45.280 |
Like I said in the beginning, if there's any time in my lifetime where we need to be absolutely 00:45:56.880 |
Let's be a light in this dark world that what they are really screaming for is for Christ. 00:46:05.200 |
Let's stand in that gap and intercede on their behalf. 00:46:22.600 |
And we know we're always desperate, but even now, Father God, especially now, be merciful 00:46:33.680 |
Be merciful to our generation, to churches, to pastors, to Christians. 00:46:39.240 |
Help us, Lord God, to fix our eyes upon Christ, author and the perfecter of our faith. 00:46:46.360 |
I pray that as the world becomes darker, that our love for you would become stronger. 00:46:58.400 |
That at the end of all of this, that we would have redeemed a time to proclaim Christ and