back to index2021-08-01 Mount Sinai vs Mount Zion Pt 4
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Turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 12. 00:00:10.360 |
Hebrews chapter 12, we're going to be reading from verse 18 through 24, and we're going 00:00:16.320 |
to be finishing up what I started a few weeks ago. 00:00:31.920 |
And again, I'm going to finish up the third point that I started last week, but wasn't 00:00:41.160 |
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched, and to a blazing fire, and to 00:00:48.880 |
darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words, 00:00:54.120 |
which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. 00:01:00.400 |
For they could not bear the command, if even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned. 00:01:05.880 |
And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I am full of fear and trembling. 00:01:11.480 |
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, 00:01:15.600 |
and to the myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, who 00:01:20.760 |
are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous 00:01:25.160 |
made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, 00:01:35.360 |
Heavenly Father, as we come before you, we ask, Lord God, that you would protect this 00:01:42.160 |
pulpit, that you would use it, Lord God, to declare your word and your word alone. 00:01:48.120 |
I pray that you would soften our hearts, open our ears, and give us wills to apply. 00:01:53.560 |
May your word be proclaimed, and as you have ordained it, not return until it has accomplished 00:02:01.520 |
And so we pray for guidance in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 00:02:09.820 |
In your memory of your life up to this point, whether it's 18 or 60 or 70, however old you 00:02:15.600 |
may be, up to this point, what is your happiest memory in life? 00:02:26.700 |
As I was preparing this message, I was kind of contemplating, what's the happiest memory 00:02:33.480 |
There's three distinct things that I remember, and I remember the first memory was in 1975, 00:02:39.320 |
when my father came to the United States first in 1974 to get his doctorate. 00:02:45.280 |
And so we were separated for about a year, and then when we first came in 1975, I remember 00:02:50.440 |
the just so eager to see the plane doors opening so we can run to our dad and then be reunited 00:02:59.740 |
And so that's one of the most fondest memory I have of childhood. 00:03:03.960 |
And then as an adult, the fondest memory that I remember is when I got married and Esther 00:03:10.320 |
and I, we were driving up to San Francisco, you know, on our honeymoon. 00:03:14.960 |
We were just kind of driving up and we were playing John Gibson. 00:03:17.800 |
Some of you guys may know who he is, may or may not know who he is, but he was the only 00:03:24.800 |
And so we probably played that about 20 times. 00:03:27.040 |
So every once in a while I hear that tape, and to this day, it reminds me of that drive 00:03:32.480 |
up the, I think the Pacific Coast Highway that we took the long, you know, nice route, 00:03:40.080 |
And I remember just fond memory of that, just being so happy, you know, that finally I was 00:03:46.560 |
And then the other memory that I remember very specifically was, you know, Esther already 00:03:52.880 |
And when she got pregnant with Jeremy, the doctor already told us that she couldn't have, 00:03:59.000 |
And the doctor already told us that she couldn't have children in the normal way. 00:04:02.900 |
And so that we were already talking about possibly adopting in the future, maybe that's 00:04:07.680 |
And then, so she didn't really do anything for the third pregnancy. 00:04:11.200 |
She actually went to Magic Mountain because I was a youth pastor, a college pastor. 00:04:16.920 |
She went on the revolution, you know, and because she liked roller coasters, because 00:04:21.720 |
she, we thought she already had the miscarriage. 00:04:24.520 |
And then she went back by herself for a follow-up meeting. 00:04:27.120 |
And then she came back with the ultrasound and said, "Oh, the baby lived." 00:04:31.920 |
And then since then we've had three other children, right? 00:04:35.240 |
And so I just remember that very distinctly that day when she came back with that just 00:04:42.360 |
And those are memories that I can think very distinctly that I remember. 00:04:46.840 |
But of all the memories that I have, and as great as those memories are, the first day 00:04:53.120 |
that I met Christ is by far anything that I've ever experienced. 00:05:03.360 |
Because I knew that day that my life would completely change, right? 00:05:07.880 |
You know, some people, it takes them time, it's a process to understand what was happening. 00:05:13.000 |
But that day, every bitterness, every anger, every regret, all of a sudden it disappeared 00:05:22.320 |
And even though this is a Christ that I sang about, you know, memorized verses in Sunday 00:05:30.840 |
He wasn't just a figure, you know, some big picture God. 00:05:40.840 |
And you know, our small group leaders told me that I was singing in my sleep, you know, 00:05:46.600 |
the new songs that I learned, and that I was just mumbling as we were driving down, you 00:05:53.280 |
And to this day, when I think of like one that stands out, as great as those memories 00:05:58.840 |
are, the day that I met Christ was the happiest day of my life. 00:06:06.580 |
The Bible says that Zion is a place where we're headed, that as great as whatever you've 00:06:14.640 |
experienced up to this point, pales in comparison to the joy and the celebration that we're 00:06:23.240 |
And so we talked about how in the previous passage that it's a place of celebration, 00:06:28.120 |
and it was equated with a wedding banquet, and the angels are going to be there celebrating 00:06:38.940 |
Not just people who are gathered because of whatever the reason, but the pure church is 00:06:45.360 |
And he says, along with that, God who's the judge, who's going to protect us and guide 00:06:50.640 |
us and lead us in righteousness, he will be there, obviously. 00:06:55.160 |
And then the text that we're looking at that I want to get to where he says, this is where 00:06:58.880 |
the spirits of the righteous will be made perfect. 00:07:04.340 |
Spirit of the righteous who will be made perfect, meaning that those who believed in God who 00:07:08.600 |
went ahead of us, that's where the final destination is going to be. 00:07:13.380 |
And ultimately it will be our final destination. 00:07:17.140 |
That what he started here, he will perfect it when Christ comes. 00:07:23.160 |
But that word perfect is a theologically rich word, teleos. 00:07:26.800 |
In fact, back in seminary I did a whole paper just on this word teleos. 00:07:34.100 |
You can do a whole series on the word agape or another word in the New Testament, the 00:07:40.140 |
That's another word that can't be translated with one word. 00:07:42.920 |
And so in the Greek, in Colossians chapter 128, it says, "We proclaim him admonishing 00:07:48.560 |
every man and teaching every man with all wisdom so that they may present every man 00:07:56.560 |
In the NIV, it says to be made perfect in Christ. 00:08:00.740 |
And in the ESV, it says to be made mature in Christ. 00:08:04.860 |
So the word perfect, teleos, in this passage is not referring to perfect as in reference 00:08:11.980 |
to not being perfect, not like having some sort of a defect. 00:08:16.260 |
The word perfect has the idea of fulfilling, meaning to bring to conclusion what was started. 00:08:24.060 |
And so theologians call this theology here and not yet. 00:08:31.420 |
We are in the process of sanctification, but ultimately we will get to glorification when 00:08:37.460 |
These are all one thing that he describes in different ways to help us understand. 00:08:41.620 |
So the word teleos has the idea of reaching its goal, to fulfilling its purpose, to reach 00:08:52.360 |
the finish line, to finish the term, and to make something complete and full, that there 00:09:02.940 |
Meaning that everything that God has started here is going to be fulfilled when we are 00:09:09.220 |
And as great as that day was when I met Christ, he said it was just the initiation. 00:09:16.980 |
Every other memory that I have on this earth, and probably that you have, is temporary. 00:09:21.480 |
As great as that memory of meeting my father, it's temporary. 00:09:26.380 |
And as great as it was that the day that I got married, it's only here. 00:09:31.460 |
Whatever memories that you may have, it's temporary because life is temporary. 00:09:36.380 |
But what he initiated with us, he said he's going to teleos. 00:09:42.900 |
And we talked about that last week, how heaven is a place of celebration. 00:09:47.340 |
And he says it, John 15, 11, "These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be 00:09:52.380 |
in you, and that your joy may be made full, complete, teleos." 00:10:00.020 |
What he initiated, this joy, this celebration, we're going to be in heaven celebrating in 00:10:06.460 |
John 10, 10, "The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. 00:10:10.180 |
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." 00:10:17.240 |
So the purpose of salvation isn't simply to save us from judgment. 00:10:22.180 |
He saved us from judgment so that we may have this Zoé and have it eternally and have it 00:10:29.300 |
So anything that you and I have experienced on this earth was just the initiation of that. 00:10:34.900 |
And that's why the Bible calls us to taste and see that the Lord is good. 00:10:40.360 |
Because if you have tasted his goodness, that taste is what drives us to pursue him further. 00:10:46.300 |
That taste is what causes us to praise him and worship him. 00:10:50.580 |
In Luke 10, 17-20, Jesus sends out the 70 disciples and they come back elated, joyful, 00:10:58.660 |
happy, because they were able to cast out demons in his name. 00:11:02.700 |
Remember, we talked about the power of angels, whether they were fallen angels or whether 00:11:11.540 |
Remember, we talked about how one angel wiped out 185,000 Assyrian soldiers? 00:11:21.220 |
In fact, angels were so venerated that some people in the early church started to strain, 00:11:36.140 |
They went out in the name of Jesus and they started casting out demons. 00:11:39.700 |
And they come back and say, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name." 00:11:44.860 |
And he said to them, Jesus said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 00:11:48.700 |
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all power 00:11:55.300 |
Imagine the joy and excitement of hearing that and seeing the kind of power that God 00:12:02.220 |
But Jesus says in verse 20, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are 00:12:08.540 |
subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." 00:12:15.060 |
There are other times it recorded where the disciples were trying to cast out demons and 00:12:18.340 |
they couldn't cast out because the demons were too powerful and they come back discouraged. 00:12:23.780 |
The reason, what he is saying here, he's not saying don't rejoice or don't be happy. 00:12:29.100 |
He said if you're going to place your hope in anything, place your hope in something 00:12:32.740 |
that cannot be taken away, that the Son of God died for you. 00:12:38.580 |
If you're going to rejoice in anything, rejoice over the fact that the Son of God loves you. 00:12:45.540 |
In fact, in Luke chapter 15, verse 10, it says, "In the same way, I tell you, there 00:12:49.140 |
is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." 00:12:53.980 |
It says, "Whole heaven rejoices when a sinner repents." 00:13:02.180 |
People ask me, as a church grows, how big do you want the church to get? 00:13:11.580 |
Now, I don't know the motive behind that question because I can't read what they're asking. 00:13:18.340 |
Part of it is because, especially if you came to our church when our church was small, and 00:13:23.580 |
as the church grows, there's an initial excitement of, "Oh, the church is growing, the church 00:13:28.140 |
Then it grows to a certain point, it's like, "It's just not the same." 00:13:31.940 |
Some of you guys remember when our church was smaller where you knew every part of my 00:13:39.300 |
You knew every part of my house because we had Wednesday Bible study there, Friday Bible 00:13:42.460 |
study, we had leaders meeting, and we even celebrated New Year's Eve. 00:13:47.500 |
I'm sure our neighbors didn't like that, but we did everything out of our house. 00:13:55.620 |
I remember when our church was young, remember when we would send people off to China? 00:14:01.220 |
We had 120 people, and 120 people would show up at the airport to send people off. 00:14:07.980 |
Our church was known as a loitering church because once we got together, we would never 00:14:13.580 |
Every once in a while, somebody may ask, and again, I'm not saying that that's the reason 00:14:19.380 |
behind it, but I know sometimes when that question is asked, it's because, "How do 00:14:30.980 |
Whenever they ask me that question, I tell them, "How big do you want the church to 00:14:43.700 |
If the purpose of our church and the reason why we're doing what we're doing is to build 00:14:54.460 |
If our goal is to reach the lost, the Bible says every sinner that comes to Christ, He 00:15:03.060 |
Some of the greatest joys in my life after I became a Christian was seeing sinners come 00:15:09.220 |
I remember, and this was the second person that I was able to share the gospel that came 00:15:18.700 |
We were up in Seattle, Washington, and this is when I was about sophomore in college. 00:15:27.260 |
They were trying to share the gospel, but there was this homeless man that stood out 00:15:33.860 |
I could tell he had a bit of alcohol in his breath, but he wasn't drunk. 00:15:39.500 |
As I was walking around, I stopped and I tried to share the gospel with him. 00:15:51.580 |
Normally, I would just kind of walk by and talk to somebody who's more interested, but 00:15:56.420 |
I could tell in his eyes that even as he was angry, that he wanted to engage. 00:16:02.340 |
I asked him, "Hey, can I ask you a personal question? 00:16:05.140 |
If you're offended, you don't have to answer me." 00:16:12.140 |
Then with tears in his eyes, he started to share with me. 00:16:16.140 |
He said he was a middle-class engineer, had a nice house, had a wife that he loved, and 00:16:26.740 |
He had a great life, except him and his wife got into this habit of doing drugs. 00:16:33.700 |
After work, him and his wife would do drugs, and it just got more severe. 00:16:39.620 |
One day he came home and found his wife overdosed, and she died from that. 00:16:44.460 |
He loved her, and you could tell he loved her. 00:16:51.940 |
He said, "I just lost all motivation to live." 00:16:57.580 |
Because he lost his job, he couldn't pay for his house, and so he lost his home. 00:17:05.060 |
He couldn't pay the bills, so the government came and took the small children away from 00:17:09.700 |
Then he just said, "After that, I just want to die, but I just can't." 00:17:14.260 |
He was out in the street, drowning his sorrows whenever he can. 00:17:23.340 |
Obviously I wanted to help him, but I remember that story. 00:17:26.700 |
Peter and John at the temple, they're begging for money. 00:17:31.140 |
He says, "Silver and gold, I have none, but what I have I give unto you. 00:17:38.940 |
But can I share with you something that happened to me?" 00:17:42.380 |
I started sharing my testimony, and then I started to share the gospel with him. 00:17:47.700 |
I went through the whole ... that we all have sinned, fall short of the way, how I was trained 00:17:52.780 |
I came to the end, and he was very attentive. 00:17:56.060 |
I asked him at the end, "Do you want to accept Jesus Christ?" 00:18:08.580 |
By that time, shared the gospel maybe about 100 times, but he's only the second guy who 00:18:23.940 |
We were standing there with all these people walking around, and they started staring at 00:18:30.060 |
When I said, "Let's pray," he grabbed my arms and he got on his knees. 00:18:35.220 |
I said, "This is the middle of downtown, people walking around, and I'm embarrassed, but we're 00:18:42.380 |
I led him through the prayer, and as I was leading him through the prayer, I said, "Lord, 00:18:55.420 |
After we finished the prayer, he opened his eyes, and I looked at his eyes. 00:19:07.580 |
He got up on his feet, and then he said, "Give me your tracts." 00:19:11.660 |
I had a pocket full of tracts that I was trying to hand out, and he took all of it. 00:19:18.940 |
I didn't live in Oregon at that time or Seattle at that time, so our leader said, "Hey, we 00:19:23.220 |
have to go," so we packed up, and I wasn't able to follow up with him. 00:19:26.500 |
I remember that experience made such a deep impression in me. 00:19:29.860 |
What could I have possibly given this man to change his situation? 00:19:34.940 |
Even if I was a millionaire, gave him $100,000, couldn't bring his wife back, his children, 00:19:40.100 |
everything that he lost, he just wanted to disappear, but what I did give him was a hope 00:19:46.220 |
in Christ, his sin forgiven, and I could tell he had a new reason to live. 00:19:54.180 |
So it was at that time I thought to myself, I didn't think about pastoral ministry, but 00:19:58.580 |
I said, "This is what I want to do the rest of my life. 00:20:04.180 |
I want to spend the rest of my life and give my full attention to share the gospel to as 00:20:08.540 |
many people as possible," not simply because it was an obligation, not because the Bible 00:20:17.440 |
To see that joy in his heart brought so much joy in my heart. 00:20:24.880 |
The Bible says that true celebration is coming, and once we forget that, Christianity becomes 00:20:38.100 |
Those of you who have small children at home, you're huffing and puffing just to make it 00:20:43.540 |
You come back and you're exhausted and tired. 00:20:46.740 |
If your walk with Christ isn't because it produces the greatest joy, on top of all the 00:20:52.820 |
burden of living in this sinful world, you have to appease this God that you cannot appease. 00:20:59.260 |
You have relational problems at church, you have relational problems at home, and you're 00:21:03.500 |
trying to do it, constantly feeling guilty, because that's all Christianity is if you 00:21:16.340 |
You know the parables, the three parables in Luke chapter 15? 00:21:20.740 |
Jesus gives the same three parables because he was hanging out with the sinners, the prostitutes 00:21:27.060 |
and the tax collectors and the Pharisees and the scribes became angry because he was gaining 00:21:31.180 |
a lot of popularity and they thought that they needed to be pure. 00:21:35.700 |
We need to keep the law perfectly in order to get God's blessing so that God doesn't 00:21:42.900 |
So here's this Messiah and all these people are coming to him and yet he's hanging around 00:21:50.740 |
So they became angry with him, and in response to that, he tells these three parables. 00:21:55.820 |
The parable of the 99, leaving the 99 and going after the one lost sheep. 00:22:01.260 |
Parable of the one silver coin that's lost and she sweeps the whole house and gets it. 00:22:09.100 |
And all three parables are really meant to be understood together because it makes the 00:22:14.440 |
The first point that he makes with these three parables is that they did not understand the 00:22:24.620 |
And he said, "You don't know the heart of God." 00:22:28.700 |
He's not saying he's going to forsake them, but how every single sheep is precious. 00:22:36.900 |
So he was reversing the table and he said, "You're saying that we don't know God." 00:22:46.500 |
He would leave, like sweep the whole house and get one. 00:22:51.180 |
He's eagerly waiting for the prodigal son to come back. 00:22:55.260 |
If we dissect these parables, there's certain parts of it that really doesn't make a whole 00:23:04.760 |
Because the third part of this message, or another universal part of this message, is 00:23:12.980 |
And I was thinking about that, when he comes back with that one sheep and they say, "Hey, 00:23:21.460 |
And usually when they celebrate, they slaughter the sheep. 00:23:24.980 |
They find one coin, they say, "Oh, I found this coin. 00:23:34.320 |
The point of it is how it is precious, how every single one of these things are precious. 00:23:40.720 |
And that's the point that he was trying to make. 00:23:44.020 |
The only reason why the nation of Israel was called is so that he would bless them and 00:23:55.640 |
But you've used your blessing to get on a pedestal and look down at everybody else. 00:24:02.260 |
So his point was, you do not know the heart of God. 00:24:07.180 |
God celebrates the salvation of each sinner when they repent. 00:24:13.300 |
And if you look at the prodigal son's message, he says in verse 15, the prodigal son wasn't 00:24:24.100 |
able or wasn't willing to wait until the father died because he was not the first son and 00:24:37.340 |
So when he went and hired himself out to the one of the citizens of the country and he 00:24:52.660 |
He grew up in a faithful Jewish home and for him to work to feed swine is the lowest job 00:25:01.580 |
And Jesus is telling this story on purpose to demonstrate just how far he fell. 00:25:07.660 |
And then the very next page, verse it says in verse 16, and he would have gladly filled 00:25:12.380 |
his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating and no one was giving anything to him. 00:25:17.860 |
Not only was he feeding the swine, he fell so far. 00:25:26.480 |
That would have been so sacrilegious for a Jewish man. 00:25:29.960 |
But that's the point that Jesus is trying to make. 00:25:33.580 |
And it wasn't until he became that desperate he realized what he did. 00:25:38.780 |
And he says in the next verse, but when he came to his senses, he said, how many of my 00:25:43.980 |
father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger. 00:25:50.300 |
I will get up and go to my father and will say to him, father, I have sinned against 00:25:54.100 |
heaven and in your sight I am no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:26:00.340 |
He was so filled with pride when he demanded to have his possession and left, but it wasn't 00:26:05.820 |
until he fell flat on his face and he was so hungry, he was willing to eat swine food, 00:26:16.820 |
I remember when I first became a Christian, I was so excited about my faith. 00:26:24.660 |
I didn't know much about the Bible, even though I grew up in a pastor's home. 00:26:30.960 |
We moved around so much, but I was just so eager to tell people about God. 00:26:34.820 |
And I remember in my mind thinking that I'm going to preach to as many people as possible. 00:26:43.240 |
And I've always wanted to be in the military. 00:26:48.540 |
I was going to be a general in the kingdom of God. 00:26:51.340 |
I remember thinking that as a young Christian. 00:26:55.040 |
And then, just like many young Christians, reality set in. 00:27:16.320 |
And so every Friday, we had a prayer meeting in LA, and every Friday I was praying for 00:27:24.560 |
In fact, I prayed so much for forgiveness, I was crying out to every Friday, just, "God, 00:27:32.320 |
And I would sit on Monday, and I would wait until Friday so that I can repent and get 00:27:37.680 |
And I didn't realize just how loud I was when I was praying. 00:27:40.920 |
One of our Bible study leaders pulled me aside and said, "Peter, we can't pray when you pray." 00:27:45.000 |
I was so hurt by that, because I'm praying to God, and he's telling me, "This guy's 00:27:50.600 |
leading me Bible study, he's telling me to stop praying." 00:27:54.520 |
I must have been really loud, because every Friday I was pounding, "God, forgive me. 00:27:59.840 |
And then it got to a point where I got tired. 00:28:07.040 |
And it wasn't because of a temptation in the world. 00:28:16.400 |
And so for about a year and a half, I fell away from my faith. 00:28:20.800 |
I just kind of let myself be, and I started getting into things that I didn't get into 00:28:31.680 |
And so my friends that I didn't talk to for a while, they started driving, have money. 00:28:38.800 |
And so we got into things that I didn't get into even before I was a Christian. 00:28:43.180 |
So I remember this one particular night, about a year and a half of just doing this, that 00:28:48.840 |
I'm not going to get into the details, but we got wasted. 00:28:55.320 |
He dropped me off at my parents' apartment, got home about 3.30 in the morning. 00:29:00.780 |
And I was sitting in the living room in the middle of the night in my parents' apartment, 00:29:06.500 |
and I was just talking to myself, "Is this fun? 00:29:15.800 |
Maybe before I was a Christian, I could have enjoyed this, but as a Christian, in the back 00:29:24.980 |
And I remember half drunk, sitting in that room thinking, "I'd rather sit in the back 00:29:38.540 |
I'd rather sit quietly in the back, even if it's just an inch of progress a year. 00:29:50.500 |
My first repentance was like, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe God is real and He loves me, 00:29:55.420 |
and I'm going to tell the whole world about God." 00:29:59.300 |
But the second time I repented, it was just, "My Father's house as a servant is better 00:30:07.100 |
See, it says in Luke chapter 15, "When the Son came," verse 21, "the Son said to Him, 00:30:14.940 |
'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in Your sight. 00:30:17.980 |
I am no longer worthy to be called Your Son.'" 00:30:21.700 |
But He was expecting His Father to come out and He said, "You, after what you've done, 00:30:30.380 |
everything you blew, the disgrace that you brought to our home," He says, "But the Father 00:30:36.700 |
said to His slaves, 'Quickly, bring out the best robe, put it on Him, put a ring on His 00:30:42.780 |
hand and sandals on His feet, and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and 00:30:50.380 |
For this Son of Mine was dead and has come to life again. 00:30:59.540 |
He was trying to tell the Pharisees and the scribes, "This is your Heavenly Father. 00:31:06.160 |
What you think Heavenly Father is, you've missed Him. 00:31:10.260 |
This is the Heavenly Father who is eagerly waiting for sinners to repent and come. 00:31:16.340 |
But not only He will celebrate, that they're going to be celebrating for eternity in Zion. 00:31:25.140 |
See, all that you and I have experienced, all the joy that you and I have known as Christians, 00:31:37.420 |
You go to a wedding and they'll present the hors d'oeuvres. 00:31:40.340 |
You don't go to the hors d'oeuvres and then go home. 00:31:43.940 |
You get the hors d'oeuvres because it kind of whets your appetite and prepares. 00:31:47.100 |
So you go to some places and the hors d'oeuvres are ridiculous. 00:31:53.860 |
In fact, some of the people at church have pictures of me standing by the door waiting 00:32:00.980 |
You got to stand in the right place because when they come out, the hors d'oeuvres that 00:32:04.140 |
aren't that popular will make its way around, but the good ones don't make it past 10, 00:32:14.620 |
I have a picture of me and him standing by the door. 00:32:19.420 |
Because the hors d'oeuvres are to prepare us, and if the hors d'oeuvres are this good, 00:32:30.340 |
That's what this means, the here and not yet. 00:32:32.500 |
That's what the word teleos means, is to be made whole, to bring to completion. 00:32:36.740 |
That everything that he has shown us, everything he has taught us, is just to whet our appetite. 00:32:42.980 |
So he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion, until the day of Christ 00:32:49.740 |
He will bring to teleos what he has intended. 00:32:54.060 |
In 1 Corinthians 13, 9-12 it says, "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but 00:32:59.860 |
when the perfect comes, teleos comes, the partial will be done away with." 00:33:03.660 |
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. 00:33:07.720 |
When I became a man, I did away with childless things. 00:33:10.220 |
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. 00:33:13.500 |
Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known. 00:33:20.380 |
I can't describe to you with words the day that I became a Christian. 00:33:28.860 |
Some of you are probably sick and tired of me sharing my testimony, because you've heard 00:33:49.460 |
I didn't have to get counseling, I didn't have to get discipled. 00:34:00.940 |
And to think, those were just hors d'oeuvres. 00:34:08.220 |
That when we get to heaven, this God who opened my eyes to see Him, I'm going to be in front 00:34:16.540 |
And it's not going to be temporary, it's going to be forever. 00:34:22.700 |
That's why Jesus says He went to the cross because of the joy set before Him. 00:34:30.100 |
Not because He was obligated, not because somebody was twisting His arms. 00:34:34.780 |
Because of the joy set before Him, He was able to endure the cross. 00:34:39.220 |
The moment we take our eyes off of what's coming, it just becomes the cross. 00:34:52.460 |
It isn't until we have firmly placed our hope in Christ. 00:34:56.100 |
That's what it says in Philippians 3, 12-15, "Not that I have already obtained it or have 00:35:01.260 |
already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also 00:35:08.500 |
He says He's pressing on because He wants what God has already given Him, but He hasn't 00:35:20.100 |
In 1 John 3, 2-3, it says, "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared 00:35:26.700 |
We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 00:35:31.260 |
And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself just as He is pure." 00:35:46.060 |
He says sanctification is the individual who recognizes this hope in Christ. 00:35:51.300 |
And he who hopes in this Christ, he purifies himself just as Jesus said, "He endured the 00:36:02.900 |
If we believe that true joy is coming to Christ, true life is coming to Christ, and that's 00:36:11.180 |
why anything that gets in the way of tainting that, we don't want anything to do with. 00:36:18.980 |
That's sanctification, not just hard work, not just right organization, not just right 00:36:31.100 |
He who believes it, sets his hope on Him, will purify himself as He is pure. 00:36:38.820 |
You know, some of you guys probably have different bucket lists, right? 00:36:45.900 |
I like traveling, but some of you guys are really like traveling. 00:36:49.140 |
And every once in a while, I ask you like, "Hey, can you tell me if we go here what to 00:36:53.820 |
And then the itinerary you give, 7 o'clock wake up, 7 o'clock brush your teeth, 7 o'clock 00:37:01.540 |
It's just, I don't want to go to this vacation. 00:37:10.100 |
I'll wake up when I feel like waking up, and then if I'm hungry, I'm going to eat. 00:37:14.500 |
And then if I'm bored, I'm going to go see something. 00:37:16.100 |
And then when I'm tired, I'm going to come home. 00:37:22.420 |
But because you love it, you love traveling to the point where you want to go maximize 00:37:31.480 |
And you pour so much energy to maximize it, right? 00:37:40.980 |
You put time and effort and energy and money because it brings joy. 00:37:47.500 |
If we recognize the things that God has given us in eternity is so much more than anything 00:37:54.780 |
else that we can experience here, how much more energy and time and effort should we 00:38:05.940 |
Let me close with this, Isaiah 25, 6 through 8. 00:38:09.660 |
The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain, a banquet 00:38:15.660 |
of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow and refined aged wine. 00:38:21.060 |
And on this mountain, he will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the 00:38:27.500 |
He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all 00:38:32.340 |
faces and he will remove the reproach of his people from all the earth for the Lord has 00:38:40.940 |
I pray that the promise of Zion will be so deeply embedded in us that what he started 00:38:48.820 |
in us now will cause us to long for the day, right? 00:38:54.780 |
Long for the day that we would also eagerly wait and be purified as a result. 00:39:13.100 |
You know how easily we get entangled and tempted by the things that are temporal. 00:39:18.240 |
We know, Father God, in our minds that all of these things are passing away. 00:39:24.980 |
And yet we are constantly concerned, worried. 00:39:33.380 |
I pray that your word and your spirit would lead us, guide us, help us, Lord God, to know 00:39:38.160 |
that true joy, true celebration is coming with Christ. 00:39:42.460 |
That though our life is now hidden with Christ, help us, Lord God, to wait for him coming 00:39:48.640 |
and when he is glorified, that we will be glorified in him.