back to index2021-03-06 God's Work, God's Way
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If you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 13. 00:00:11.200 |
This is going to be the second to the last sermon that we're going to be in the book 00:00:26.200 |
So it's going to be the second to the last sermon. 00:00:28.960 |
Actually when I'm about to finish, I kind of have a good idea of where I'm going to 00:00:36.320 |
I kind of dwindled it down to two possibly areas that I might be focused on. 00:00:41.920 |
One is maybe go through the minor prophets or to my jump into the gospel of Luke. 00:00:49.840 |
So if you, those of you who are studious who've been asking me where are we going, you can 00:00:55.960 |
And then so when we jump into that, you'll kind of get a headstart. 00:01:00.800 |
But Hebrews chapter 13, and I'll be reading verse 20 and 21. 00:01:06.560 |
Now the God of peace who brought up from the dead, the great shepherd of the sheep through 00:01:10.560 |
the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus, our Lord equip you in every good thing to 00:01:14.760 |
do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom 00:01:23.960 |
Heavenly father, we praise you and thank you that we have the privilege to be able 00:01:30.040 |
to call you our Abba father, that we have hope that is eternal, that will never fade, 00:01:39.000 |
never perish kept for us, Lord God, by the power of Christ. 00:01:45.280 |
We thank you that we're able to pray and come to the throne of grace with confidence. 00:01:52.120 |
We thank you, father God, for brothers and sisters that we can run this race with. 00:01:57.080 |
We thank you that despite all that is happening around us, that you are our peace, that you 00:02:08.480 |
Help us, Lord God, to continue to focus our attention upon Christ, the author and perfecter 00:02:19.000 |
I want you to imagine for a minute what kind of letter you would write to our Ukrainian 00:02:28.600 |
And I kind of want to give you a, you know, just to give you more information on how to 00:02:36.240 |
Imagine if the Ukrainian situation right now, with all that's going on, there's a lot of 00:02:42.760 |
attention given, there's funds going, and so the church has been ignited. 00:02:46.600 |
And we're hearing a lot of encouraging things that are going on over there. 00:02:52.520 |
Let's imagine for a minute that the Russian government does come in and they take over 00:02:58.760 |
and make it into a communist country, and they make it illegal to gather as a church. 00:03:05.600 |
And let's imagine for a minute that this has been going on now for about 20 to 30 years. 00:03:13.000 |
So at the beginning of all of this, there was a lot of excitement. 00:03:17.480 |
There's a lot of like igniting of the church, like this is what God is doing, and a lot 00:03:23.120 |
of great work and evangelism that's taking place, but 20, 30 years have gone by, and 00:03:28.760 |
now some of the leaders in the church have been jailed. 00:03:33.800 |
Some of them are actually starting to get publicly executed. 00:03:38.360 |
And so the church is beginning to kind of slide back, to kind of synchrotize and stay 00:03:44.360 |
undercover, and they're no longer actively evangelizing. 00:03:49.260 |
And so they're starting to realize that there are serious consequences and that that struggle 00:03:54.440 |
is not momentary, that this may be a permanent thing that they need to accept. 00:03:59.880 |
And so in a large part, the church begins to drift back and start to compromise. 00:04:08.680 |
What kind of letter would you write to that church to encourage them, to get them back 00:04:14.920 |
I give that scenario to you because that's the historical background behind why this 00:04:22.700 |
It says that this was a church that was ignited in the beginning, and they were excited even 00:04:27.640 |
in the persecution as their brothers and sisters are being dragged into jail. 00:04:31.480 |
They were visiting them joyfully, even as their possessions are being confiscated. 00:04:36.220 |
But the struggle is 10, 20, 30 years have gone by, and it wasn't letting up. 00:04:43.920 |
It started actually increasing, and the people who are leading them and inspiring them are 00:04:51.920 |
And so the author of this letter is writing this letter to encourage them from drifting 00:04:58.960 |
And so the whole letter is written to kind of get them to refocus and re-anchor in Christ. 00:05:05.320 |
So the author spends majority of this letter reminding them who Jesus is. 00:05:11.920 |
So if there's one letter in the New Testament that you want to know about Jesus, about Christology, 00:05:16.200 |
I'm not talking about the life of Jesus, the gospels, but the doctrine of Jesus and what 00:05:23.860 |
And the whole reason behind that is not simply so that the recipients of this letter will 00:05:30.880 |
If you ask me anything about Jesus and the sacrifices and the covenants, I can tell you 00:05:38.120 |
The purpose of this letter is very practical. 00:05:42.000 |
It's written to a church who's drifting back and began to compromise certain things and 00:05:52.060 |
And so we talked about this last time I was up here, and there's a reason why he's concluding 00:06:04.280 |
He could have emphasized all kinds of different aspects of who Jesus is and who God is. 00:06:13.280 |
He didn't just pick of all the attributes that he just picked that one. 00:06:17.440 |
He's telling them that because their peace has been disturbed. 00:06:22.840 |
And the reason why they're drifting back into their old life is because they think that 00:06:26.760 |
if they compromise a little bit, if they began to embrace their old life, the persecutors, 00:06:32.880 |
the Jewish community, if they began to just begin to accept some of that, that maybe they 00:06:41.480 |
And that's why in conclusion to this letter, and he says he's reminding them, God is the 00:06:47.840 |
He's giving all the peace that this world can give. 00:06:50.360 |
But just like Jesus said in John 14, 27, "Peace I leave with you. 00:06:57.520 |
Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor let it be fearful." 00:07:00.760 |
That passage in John chapter 14 is also written to disciples who is about to lose their peace, 00:07:12.800 |
As long as they were following Jesus, they were walking with him with this great hope 00:07:16.680 |
that the new kingdom was going to come and that they were going to be soldiers for this 00:07:22.040 |
And so they were constantly wrestling who's going to sit to the left or to the right. 00:07:25.680 |
But right before he wrote John chapter 14, he told them, "Where I go, you cannot come." 00:07:36.360 |
Because soon after he says that, he's going to go to the cross and they're going to be 00:07:43.800 |
So he wasn't just randomly saying these things and say, "This is who I am." 00:07:51.000 |
When everything around you begins to fall apart, I want you to remember that the peace 00:08:01.400 |
That even if all the world power, even if all the world ends and the whole world begins 00:08:06.080 |
to hold hands and we have utopia, he said, "The peace that I give to you is not a peace 00:08:16.520 |
So he reminds us, the whole book of Hebrews is to remind us of who Jesus is. 00:08:20.880 |
And then in conclusion to that, he says in verse 21, there's a very practical application. 00:08:25.920 |
It isn't just God is the God of peace, so therefore enjoy life. 00:08:30.140 |
In verse 21, he says, "He's the one who equips you in every good thing to do his will, working 00:08:36.280 |
in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ. 00:08:42.440 |
The reason why he's saying all of this is not simply so that you wouldn't be anxious. 00:08:46.280 |
It's so that we may be anchored to this God of peace so that you may be equipped to do 00:09:03.280 |
As we spend some time unpacking verse 21, because this is the conclusion of everything 00:09:22.280 |
Before God can ever use us, he always empowers us. 00:09:26.480 |
I think one of the biggest problems that you and I run into is we're rich. 00:09:32.540 |
We have access to education, to books, experience, churches, training, seminaries, Bible studies. 00:09:42.840 |
We have so much access to everything that we have the danger of what Jesus warned us 00:09:51.680 |
We have a tendency to think that we're self-reliant. 00:09:55.640 |
Then we have a tendency to minimize the power of God. 00:09:58.400 |
That's why, again, even in Bible teaching churches, where there's a heavy emphasis 00:10:02.160 |
on studying and knowledge and knowing, but for whatever the reason, the Bible teaching 00:10:14.360 |
If we're not careful, even as we study the Bible, it's filling us up with pride, thinking 00:10:25.160 |
In Isaiah 40, 28-31, it says, "Do you not know, have you not heard, the everlasting 00:10:29.400 |
God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, does not become weary or tired. 00:10:39.560 |
To be anchored to God, he says in verse 29, "He gives strength to the weary, and to him 00:10:48.400 |
Our might, our strength doesn't come from our education, from any experience, from being 00:10:56.160 |
It's that he's the one who gives us strength. 00:11:00.800 |
Verse 30, "Though youth grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet 00:11:06.920 |
those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. 00:11:11.340 |
They will mount upon the wings of the eagles. 00:11:13.920 |
They will run and not get tired, and they will walk and not become weary." 00:11:19.840 |
You know, I think one of the most arrogant words in the modern language for a sinful 00:11:30.080 |
Because when we say, "I will," it means like, "I determine, I'm going to carry it out, and 00:11:36.000 |
Now, we may not think through all of that when we say it, but oftentimes a sinful man, 00:11:44.520 |
Remember what it says in the letter of James? 00:11:48.720 |
It said, "I'm going to go to this city, and I'm going to do it that city." 00:11:54.360 |
The problem is you think that all of this is going to happen simply because you will." 00:11:59.640 |
Rather say, "If the Lord wills, if He allows it." 00:12:12.920 |
The power that you and I need for sanctification, for good works, doesn't come from within us. 00:12:18.120 |
If we just go into our closets and just search deep within, that we're going to encounter 00:12:22.400 |
something inside, and then it's going to come out. 00:12:48.600 |
You can have all the experiences and pour all the money and latest technology. 00:12:51.920 |
He says, "No, that's not where the power, that's not where the strength is." 00:13:01.160 |
He reminds us the God of peace, He's the one who will equip us for all good works. 00:13:11.640 |
You know the interesting word, the word equip here, in some of your translations has been 00:13:22.360 |
Teleos basically means that you've come to the end conclusion of what God had intended. 00:13:27.640 |
Basically it means to make it suitable for you for good works. 00:13:33.360 |
So everything that God has done, everything that He has said, knowing who He is, to commune 00:13:37.600 |
with Him is so that you may be suitable for good works. 00:13:43.160 |
Let me take a minute to explain this because I think there's so much misunderstanding 00:13:49.200 |
of good works because in our generation, in some circles, when you ... That's legalism. 00:13:57.360 |
We don't talk about what we do, we talk about what He did. 00:14:00.120 |
So good works has become a dirty word because that burdens people. 00:14:07.400 |
Good works causes us to look at other people and say, "Why do we keep talking about things 00:14:12.520 |
So let's not talk about what we do, let's talk about what He does." 00:14:16.680 |
And oftentimes the verse that is often quoted for that, Isaiah 64 verse 6, is, "For all 00:14:22.320 |
of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like filthy 00:14:29.640 |
And all of us wither like leaf, and our iniquities and like wind take us away." 00:14:33.780 |
How many of you heard this ... Don't raise your hand, okay? 00:14:37.600 |
So I may say something to contradict you, I don't want to embarrass you. 00:14:41.200 |
How many of you have heard this passage being taught saying that very thing that I said? 00:14:56.080 |
Let's talk about His righteousness as He's imputed to us, that He's given to us. 00:15:00.720 |
So when we emphasize good deeds, all it is is dirty rags. 00:15:06.840 |
This is exactly why we need to study the Bible, because you can take verses out of context, 00:15:16.400 |
You ever have a conversation with a Jehovah's Witness, and they are intimidating because 00:15:22.400 |
they know so much scripture, until you actually open the Bible, and then you show them what 00:15:27.960 |
it says before, and what it says after, and the context, and all of a sudden it's like, 00:15:38.480 |
Because if you look at the context of this, the very next verse, He says, "There is no 00:15:43.860 |
one who calls on your name, who arouses himself to take hold of you, for you have hidden your 00:15:48.900 |
face from us, and have delivered us into the power of our iniquities." 00:16:06.560 |
Romans chapter 3, when He describes all of sin and falls short of the glory of God, and 00:16:15.660 |
So if you're not convinced, the very next verse absolutely makes it clear. 00:16:21.920 |
Verse 8, it says, "But," just that word alone, "But," you know He's going to change what 00:16:30.120 |
This is the state that man is in, "But now, O Lord, You are our Father. 00:16:37.080 |
We are the clay, and You are potter, and all of us are the work of Your hand." 00:16:43.820 |
He's not saying to believers that everything that you do is just simply dirty rags. 00:16:48.400 |
He's talking to unrepentant sinners, that when you try to do things, you're kind of 00:16:54.400 |
like taking a dirty rag and you're just washing and just moving the dirt around. 00:16:59.240 |
Because the rag is much dirtier than what you're trying to clean. 00:17:03.440 |
So if you are an unrepentant sinner, every good deed is like washing things with dirty 00:17:13.600 |
In fact, the scripture makes it very clear that we are saved for good deeds. 00:17:20.400 |
Ephesians chapter 2, 8 and 9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. 00:17:25.080 |
It is the gift of God, not as a result of us, so that no one may boast." 00:17:33.760 |
But when you quote this verse outside of the context, and you leave out the whole part 00:17:39.040 |
of what He says in verse 10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for," 00:17:46.560 |
He didn't just pluck us out so that you're no longer judged, and then the salvation is, 00:17:57.420 |
We have Christian liberty, and then you just enjoy life until we get to heaven. 00:18:02.360 |
He says, "No, He saved us not only from the penalty of sin, but the power of sin." 00:18:10.660 |
The reason why He gave us grace is so that through the grace that you may commit yourself 00:18:17.940 |
Again, in 2 Corinthians 9, 8, "And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that," 00:18:25.060 |
the purpose of this grace, "so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, 00:18:36.460 |
For whatever the reason, in our generation, we have separated the grace of God and good 00:18:41.180 |
Either you commit to it, oh, this church is about good works. 00:18:45.420 |
I think it's very legalistic, the way that people use the term legalistic. 00:18:53.100 |
Every time we talk about good works and working hard and sanctification, it's like, "Oh, that's 00:18:59.700 |
The beauty of the gospel is not the good works. 00:19:04.660 |
But the reason why He did what He did, He says, is so that we can have good works, that 00:19:12.220 |
2 Peter 1, 3, it says, "Seeing that His divine power has granted us, to us, everything pertaining 00:19:18.860 |
to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and 00:19:26.140 |
Again, because of the generation that you and I live, our natural tendency, and if you 00:19:33.820 |
go seek counseling, sometimes, sad to say, even within the Christian circle, when you 00:19:39.020 |
confess your sins, one of the first things that they look for is, "What caused you to 00:20:07.660 |
Your older brother picked on you, and you got in trouble every time. 00:20:10.260 |
You got in a fight with your younger brother, so everything was your fault. 00:20:16.700 |
You're loved all the time, so you got spoiled. 00:20:19.420 |
That's why you're ... Because your parents didn't raise you properly. 00:20:24.300 |
In modern psychology, when you say, "Hey, these are the problems," the first thing they 00:20:30.280 |
What are the circumstances that you grew up in? 00:20:33.740 |
Indirectly, you say, "Oh, you sinned because of the woman that you put in here." 00:20:44.780 |
I shouldn't have done that," he said, "Well, I did it because of the woman that you put 00:20:48.620 |
He doesn't directly say, "It's your fault," but in essence, that's what he's saying. 00:20:51.820 |
He said, "Oh, bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh." 00:20:56.380 |
Then as soon as he sins, he's like, "Yeah, that woman, that woman that you put in here 00:21:05.740 |
See, he says, every time we make excuse, and we play the victim, you know what that 00:21:15.780 |
That means God had enough power to pluck you out of hell, but he didn't have enough power 00:21:25.700 |
You're indirectly saying, "I don't have everything that I need for a life of godliness. 00:21:31.540 |
Every time we come before God, I am the way I am because of those people treated me this 00:21:35.940 |
So the power of God is not enough to save you from that? 00:21:40.660 |
He said, "Everyone who knows Jesus Christ has been given everything that you need for 00:21:50.620 |
In Colossians 1, 28 through 29, we proclaim him admonishing every man and teaching every 00:21:55.020 |
man with all wisdom so that we may present every man complete in Christ for this purpose. 00:22:00.620 |
Also, I labor, striving according to his power, which mightily works within me. 00:22:07.860 |
Paul says, sometimes he seems like he's superhuman, right? 00:22:13.860 |
He's getting beaten, forsaken by his own countrymen. 00:22:23.500 |
He's been whooped to the point of death, bitten by scorpions, and he just keeps marching. 00:22:41.180 |
He had Gamaliel, the top scholar of his nation behind him. 00:22:49.020 |
He said, "The power, the power that's working powerfully within me, it's that power that's 00:22:57.660 |
giving him the power to be able to do what he is doing." 00:23:02.580 |
If that is true, which you and I all believe, then shouldn't the greatest priority of every 00:23:10.220 |
Christian all the time is to abide in Christ? 00:23:16.340 |
Before we try to transform the world, before we try to be educated, before we try to do 00:23:21.620 |
discipleship, before we do anything else, shouldn't the greatest priority of every Christian 00:23:26.340 |
every single day is, "Am I genuinely abiding in Christ?" 00:23:33.860 |
Because the moment we begin to do anything by our power, we realize how impotent and 00:23:42.380 |
You know what's interesting is, in Isaiah chapter 6, 3, 17 to 19, Isaiah prays to God 00:23:51.060 |
But if you know anything about the context of the book of Isaiah, Isaiah is basically 00:24:08.620 |
At one point in Israel's history, they actually did that. 00:24:16.460 |
But Isaiah, Isaiah indictment against Israel wasn't that. 00:24:22.020 |
They were very busy at the temple, making many sacrifices. 00:24:26.740 |
And he says then, because of the superficial worship, the Babylonians are going to come 00:24:32.860 |
So at the end of the book of Isaiah, after presenting his case, he prays to God for Israel. 00:24:39.260 |
So I want you to pay attention to this prayer. 00:24:41.420 |
He says in verse 17, "Why, O Lord, do you cause us to stray from your ways?" 00:24:49.380 |
Does that sound very familiar to what we've been studying? 00:24:56.660 |
Most of us, most people who fall away or backslide, however you want to use that term, you see 00:25:14.380 |
Maybe you're dating somebody you shouldn't date. 00:25:21.140 |
And you just kind of sweep it under the rug, sweep it under the rug. 00:25:26.160 |
Most people that I know who abandoned their faith don't wake up one day and say, "You 00:25:34.020 |
Most people that I've seen that walk away from their faith, you saw it years before 00:25:39.980 |
They were just drifting and drifting and drifting, compromising one after another. 00:25:53.980 |
And you only need one excuse to break that thread because it's not that strong. 00:25:58.900 |
He says, "Lord, do you cause us to stray from your ways and harden our hearts?" 00:26:05.040 |
Everybody who continue to drift away from God, their hearts are hardened. 00:26:08.420 |
They attend worship, but songs are just songs. 00:26:17.180 |
You're serving the church because that's what you do as part of a community. 00:26:22.080 |
And the only sin that grieves you is the sin that you get caught in, that has immediate 00:26:27.820 |
consequence, that you can't belong and part of this community. 00:26:31.140 |
So it's not grieving God that you're concerned about. 00:26:36.980 |
So it's really the only sins that we grieve over are the sins that bothers us. 00:26:47.240 |
And we know that we're in the church long enough to know that true worship isn't just 00:26:53.420 |
So once your heart is hardened because we've been drifting and drifting and drifting, you're 00:27:01.740 |
And then he says, "Why have you hardened our hearts from fearing you?" 00:27:07.520 |
He says the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. 00:27:10.220 |
But when your hearts have become hardened, there's no fear of God. 00:27:16.420 |
So like I said, the only things that we repent of are the things that have immediate consequence 00:27:21.300 |
And that's why you see pastors, elders, and leaders, and church people who can live a 00:27:28.040 |
double life, committing all kinds of sin, and it doesn't bother them year after year 00:27:48.880 |
So as long as nobody calls them out, they're fine. 00:27:52.540 |
He prays and he says, "This is what has happened to Israel. 00:27:55.900 |
We've allowed compromise after compromise after compromise." 00:28:03.380 |
And yet they're coming to the temple, making sacrifice after sacrifices. 00:28:16.360 |
Everything that you're singing is just noisy, is noisy to me." 00:28:20.020 |
He said, "Take your evil assembly away from me." 00:28:28.340 |
As a result of that, verse 18, it said, "Your holy people possessed your sanctuary for a 00:28:32.540 |
There was a period when there was genuine worship going on at the temple, but it said, 00:28:38.340 |
We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called 00:28:45.140 |
And if a church continues to go down this path and there's no fear of God, there is 00:28:49.740 |
a form of godliness, and yet there is no power, eventually the church doesn't look anything 00:28:58.900 |
There's people who've never worshipped you, but there's no difference, other than you 00:29:03.060 |
go to church on Sunday and those people do not. 00:29:06.820 |
This is Isaiah's prayer describing the nation of Israel. 00:29:12.580 |
And so his prayer is in chapter 64, verse 1 and 2, "Oh, that you would rend the heavens 00:29:17.580 |
and come down, that the mountains may quake at your presence as fire kindles the brushwood, 00:29:24.460 |
as fire causes water to boil, to make your name known to the adversaries, that the nations 00:29:32.060 |
If you look at the content of his prayer, he's asking for prayer of things that they 00:29:39.500 |
When's the last time that you considered moving a mountain? 00:29:49.700 |
So when he prays to the Lord that you would come move the mountains, it's because he recognizes, 00:29:55.980 |
he recognizes that their problem, their sin, is like a mountain. 00:30:02.060 |
When we don't recognize the problem, we naturally think, let's gather together, let's make a 00:30:08.460 |
Can you imagine the ridiculousness of seeing a mountain ahead of you and then having a 00:30:13.260 |
meeting, how are we going to level this mountain? 00:30:21.300 |
Who's going to say, "Yes, who's going to lead us in this endeavor?" 00:30:25.300 |
Because you're a fool to think that somehow, that if we gather all our resources together, 00:30:32.380 |
right, and buy enough shovels that we can move this mountain. 00:30:38.340 |
First and foremost, God brings us to a point where we recognize that this is a mountain 00:30:44.580 |
And even the way he describes, "Kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil." 00:30:51.860 |
Now if you've ever watched, you know, was it Man vs. Wild, Bear Grylls, he teaches us 00:30:57.860 |
how to make fire, drink your pee, all kinds of stuff, right, to survive, right? 00:31:03.780 |
And you know, I've seen, you know, like various ways that he creates fire, but I've never 00:31:12.940 |
Just rub your hand real hard, all right, and it gets hot enough, just go, psh." 00:31:21.140 |
Because he doesn't have that ability, so he has to get a stick or he has to get tinder 00:31:32.780 |
Even something as simple as lighting the brush fire or boiling water, you need something 00:31:39.300 |
supernatural, something outside of you to do that. 00:31:42.820 |
So when he prays that you would come and you would shake the mountain and that you would 00:31:47.100 |
burn the fire, because all of this is a description of man's sin. 00:31:52.700 |
Because the greatest obstacle to mankind that disturbs our peace is not government. 00:32:04.740 |
And it's this arrogance of mankind that thinks, "I will. 00:32:14.700 |
And that's why Jesus says it's harder for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 00:32:20.940 |
And he's not saying rich people can't enter the kingdom of God, but the temptation for 00:32:24.300 |
rich man is that he thinks he can, because he has more resources. 00:32:33.220 |
We have more seminaries, more churches, more Bible translations, more books to read, more 00:32:42.200 |
We have people filled with MBA degrees who've been successful in businesses, who are managers. 00:32:49.100 |
So our natural tendency is like, "Come on, let's get it together. 00:32:52.260 |
If we just use our smarts and ingenuity, we can do this." 00:32:59.660 |
Isaiah, in his prayers, is admitting, "Only you can move the mountain. 00:33:09.300 |
Roger Ellsworth, in his small book, Come Down, Lord, says this, "If we're not careful, we 00:33:16.700 |
can think pushing all the right buttons will produce lasting spiritual results. 00:33:22.380 |
We can reduce the work of the church to shrewd maneuvering with statistical probabilities 00:33:32.340 |
We need to realize that God can do more in a minute with his power than we can in a lifetime 00:33:39.820 |
There's a reason when you travel and you go to the remote parts of India that doesn't 00:33:45.020 |
have half the resources, even a tenth of the resources that you and I have, and yet you 00:33:50.420 |
see power of the gospel spreading through the villages. 00:33:54.860 |
Men who are not educated, don't have the financial backing, didn't go to much training, they 00:33:59.620 |
weren't properly discipled, they don't even have a way to get into some of these villages, 00:34:04.340 |
and yet the power of God is moving tremendously through these villages because they understand 00:34:14.260 |
They tend to pray more because they're desperate. 00:34:17.740 |
They tend to cling to God more because they're desperate. 00:34:33.100 |
God has given us intellect, he has resources, use it to the best of our ability. 00:34:37.940 |
But the temptation is to think that that's where the power is. 00:34:46.900 |
You know, the scripture says, and he ends this section in verse 23, "I urge you, brethren, 00:34:54.260 |
bear with this word of exhortation I have written to you briefly." 00:34:58.700 |
In other words, take the word of God seriously. 00:35:04.940 |
We have a tendency, again, because we have so much resources, experience, gifting, money, 00:35:12.940 |
talent, I say, if we can gather all of that together, right, we can manipulate to get 00:35:21.780 |
I don't know how often, at least four or five times a year, I get an email from some organization 00:35:27.020 |
promising me that if I use their strategy that I can milk more money from you. 00:35:38.940 |
But is that the goal of the church, to milk money from you, right? 00:35:42.500 |
I want to try it to see if it actually works, right? 00:35:50.940 |
Because God can do more with the little that you give honestly as an act of worship than 00:36:00.940 |
And that is true not only of finances, but everything that you do. 00:36:05.700 |
You know what's interesting is in Matthew chapter 28, that's where the Great Commission 00:36:11.740 |
But before the Great Commission is given, before he commissions them to go, he allows 00:36:20.420 |
Where Jesus says, "I'm going to go to the cross and you're going to deny me." 00:36:44.460 |
And so after they're humbled, because they're like, "Yeah, we're going to do this, you know, 00:36:48.900 |
we've got as long as the Messiah is with us." 00:36:50.500 |
And then Messiah is crucified on the cross and everybody's hides and they're in fear. 00:36:58.500 |
You read the gospel, how many times Jesus says, "I'm going to be resurrected on the third 00:37:03.460 |
I'm going to be resurrected on the third day." 00:37:04.460 |
They're so scared that they don't even go check the tomb. 00:37:10.060 |
And then when they came back, they didn't believe him because they were so fixated on 00:37:16.540 |
But after they fail miserably, remember Jesus shows up and he feeds the disciples and he 00:37:20.380 |
pulls Peter aside and he says, "Do you love me, Peter?" 00:37:32.220 |
You know, and some people think that maybe these, he's talking about the fish. 00:37:41.420 |
I think he's just pulling to the other disciples because that's exactly what he said before 00:37:50.500 |
It's like, "Peter, are you still confident that you love me more than these?" 00:38:12.500 |
He's just thankful that Jesus receives him back. 00:38:15.900 |
And then he tells his disciples, "Meet me in our hometown in this mountain in Galilee." 00:38:21.660 |
So this is where we pick up in Matthew 28, verse 16. 00:38:26.140 |
He's meeting them at the mountain where he's going to give the great commission. 00:38:31.900 |
"But the 11 disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 00:38:45.540 |
To a Jew, I mean, to anybody, you can't worship any of that. 00:38:52.900 |
"Thou shalt not have any other gods before me." 00:39:01.180 |
But then after the resurrection, they worshipped him. 00:39:05.260 |
So if they had any doubt of his identity, his deity, this would have been blasphemous, 00:39:14.140 |
Even the angels were in terror when somebody would mistaken them and bow down and worship 00:39:23.540 |
Because if you worship me, you're going to be destroyed, and I'm going to be destroyed." 00:39:28.580 |
But the disciples knew exactly who Jesus was, and that's why they bowed down. 00:39:35.140 |
"They worshipped him, but some were doubtful." 00:39:46.460 |
And then think to themselves, like, "Is he God?" 00:39:50.460 |
You think that's what that meant when he said, "They worshipped him, but they were doubtful"? 00:39:56.900 |
You know, what's interesting is the word for "distazo," "to doubt," means "to waver" or 00:40:06.540 |
Clearly, they didn't waver about his identity, because they already worshipped him. 00:40:12.740 |
So many commentators believe, which I also believe, their doubt was themselves. 00:40:19.460 |
And if you read the context in where the Great Commission comes out, it makes more sense. 00:40:24.480 |
Because we often see the Great Commission, it says, "Go therefore and make disciples. 00:40:28.300 |
Baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." 00:40:31.720 |
But the context in which he says it is right after they fail. 00:40:39.200 |
And then they meet and they worship him, thankful that he restores them, but some of them are 00:40:48.360 |
You see the attitude difference between before the crucifixion? 00:41:03.120 |
You know, I think many of us, if you've been walking with the Lord for any period of time, 00:41:08.040 |
you know, in the beginning, you know, you come out thinking like, "I'm going to turn 00:41:17.240 |
I'm going to share the gospel to the remotest part of the world. 00:41:24.080 |
Three, four, five, six, 10, 20, 30 years go by and you have lost all confidence. 00:41:32.760 |
You've compromised more than you can remember. 00:41:41.400 |
And you just kind of, "I just want to stay in the back. 00:41:50.280 |
And we have a tendency when we face these obstacles, which oftentimes it is ourselves, 00:41:59.880 |
Let those guys who are gifted, let the younger guys take care of that." 00:42:05.280 |
And I believe that that's where the disciples were. 00:42:10.000 |
And it's in that context that Jesus says, came up to him, spoke to them and saying, 00:42:28.480 |
You're not going to be able to start any fire. 00:42:36.280 |
Go not because you're smart, not because you have a proven track record, but because all 00:42:45.720 |
And then he concludes by saying, "And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the 00:42:54.400 |
As much as the Great Commission is important, the context in which he says it and the power 00:42:59.760 |
that they need to do it is his authority and his presence. 00:43:05.080 |
And that's why he says, "You cannot bear fruit unless you abide in me." 00:43:21.920 |
And yet so few people give their total attention. 00:43:25.720 |
You cannot bear fruit unless you abide in me because the power is not in you. 00:43:32.960 |
That's why the disciples, they say, "Okay, okay, thank you for restoring us." 00:43:36.520 |
And then right before they go, remember what they're told? 00:43:40.360 |
"Wait, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, when the power that you need, Holy Spirit 00:43:49.180 |
comes upon you, then you will be my disciples." 00:43:53.980 |
In Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the remotest part of the world. 00:44:03.020 |
The passage that we looked at in the beginning of the sermon. 00:44:07.460 |
It said, "Those who will not grow weary, mount up on eagles. 00:44:17.060 |
Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength." 00:44:34.620 |
What does it mean then for God to empower us? 00:44:38.060 |
We naturally think, "Okay, there's some supernatural power. 00:44:40.540 |
I'm going to go home in the closet until power comes. 00:44:44.340 |
I'm going to raise my hand and the Holy Spirit come now right here." 00:44:49.820 |
I used to be in a charismatic, I got saved in a charismatic circle and we would have 00:44:55.180 |
worship and we raise our hand and the Holy Spirit that's hovering around the room would 00:45:08.380 |
And so we would wait and worship for the Holy Spirit. 00:45:17.660 |
If that's what you think that that's what that means, then I've actually ruined you. 00:45:25.060 |
Not only are you not going to do the work, you're going to have biblical reasons. 00:45:27.860 |
"No, I can't do it because I don't have the power." 00:45:34.660 |
You know, every time I lead worship and you know, like somebody comes up, "Oh, thank you 00:45:38.860 |
for leading worship and you know, I really like the way you do this and that." 00:45:47.000 |
That's one area that you can't pump me up in because I've been deflated. 00:45:56.220 |
Years ago when I was back in college, the ministry that was there at Biola, they were 00:46:02.980 |
having some sort of like, I won't say a competition, it was worship, but they gather all the students 00:46:12.580 |
So I was part of that choir and there was probably about 30 of us and all my close friends, 00:46:19.160 |
So the choir director, she was leading us and she said, "We need somebody to do a solo." 00:46:25.540 |
And so my friends, they say, "Oh, Peter has a good voice." 00:46:35.180 |
You know what comes next when they offer you up. 00:46:40.180 |
And so she said, "Peter, why don't you come down?" 00:46:42.500 |
So she gave me a line that I'm supposed to sing and I did a solo, right. 00:46:51.100 |
So I walked down from everybody and I stood there and I said, "Go ahead, Peter." 00:47:00.940 |
It's like waiting for standing ovation, right. 00:47:05.940 |
After I did my little piece, I could tell by her expression that she wasn't impressed 00:47:15.260 |
She just like, after I finished, dead silence. 00:47:31.340 |
And I was humiliated in front of all my friends and I crawled back into the choir and I sang 00:47:36.900 |
as small as I could and I realized, okay, my voice is a choir voice. 00:47:44.100 |
There's some people, I mean, the people who sing up here, I mean, they have good voices. 00:47:49.420 |
It sounds good when it's drowned out by other noise. 00:47:55.180 |
So people say, I say, "Oh, if that's how insecure you are about your voice, then why do you 00:48:04.860 |
Because I'm not trying to lead you in singing. 00:48:19.700 |
It's like, you know, I'm not trying to be fake humble, right? 00:48:33.600 |
If my goal was my own glory, I would not do that because I know there's room filled with 00:48:39.500 |
people who are much more talented than I am, much more gifted than I am. 00:48:43.380 |
There's a lot of things that I do that I know there's people who are much better than I 00:48:59.820 |
And there's a reason why Jesus says, "He who seeks his life will lose it, and he who loses 00:49:09.540 |
I have been freed from myself so that I can live my life to give him the glory. 00:49:26.260 |
And every single one of you have been freed, if you can just accept that. 00:49:36.660 |
Because when you're at the center, it ruins you. 00:49:42.340 |
Even when we're doing good works, we'll always have one eye out the other to see if somebody 00:49:48.820 |
Or we have the other eye looking, is anybody else judging me? 00:49:54.900 |
And so that concern for you is ruining everything that you do. 00:50:01.620 |
But if you place God where he needs to be, you're free. 00:50:13.700 |
It doesn't matter how good of a job that I do. 00:50:16.580 |
Because in the end, all I want is to glorify God and for you to join me. 00:50:24.940 |
I pray that every single one of us would know this Jesus, surrender to this Jesus, to be 00:50:32.740 |
anchored to this Jesus, that we may be properly equipped for every good work for his glory. 00:50:43.060 |
Again, as our praise team comes up, let's take a few minutes to come before the Lord 00:50:51.900 |
Let the word of God not just enter into your head, but enter into your heart. 00:51:06.140 |
To take some time to come before the Lord and find your confidence in him. 00:51:12.180 |
Again, as our worship team leads us, let's take some time to pray.