back to indexBerean Community Church - Sunday Service 8/17/2025
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The end of the day is a very difficult time to get the same. 00:00:07.000 |
The end of the day is a very difficult time to get the same. 00:00:14.000 |
The end of the day is a very difficult time to get the same. 00:00:21.000 |
The end of the day is a very difficult time to get the same. 00:00:30.000 |
The end of the day is a very difficult time to get the same. 00:00:36.000 |
The end of the day is a very difficult time to get the same. 00:00:42.000 |
The end of the day is a very difficult time to get the same. 00:00:48.000 |
The end of the day is a very difficult time to get the same. 00:00:53.000 |
The end of the day is a very difficult time to get the same. 00:00:57.000 |
The end of the day is a very difficult time to get the same. 00:01:00.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:03.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:07.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:10.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:15.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:17.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:18.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:20.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:21.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:22.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:23.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:24.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:25.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:26.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:27.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:28.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:29.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:31.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:32.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:33.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:34.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:35.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:36.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:37.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:38.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:39.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:40.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:41.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:42.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:56.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:01:59.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:03.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:07.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:11.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:40.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:43.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:45.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:46.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:47.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:48.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:49.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:50.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:51.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:52.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:53.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:54.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:55.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:02:59.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:01.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:02.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:04.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:05.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:15.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:18.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:20.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:22.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:24.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:26.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:29.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:32.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:34.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:35.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:37.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:38.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:39.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:40.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:41.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:42.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:43.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:44.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:45.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:46.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:47.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:03:59.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:03.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:05.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:07.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:08.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:09.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:10.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:11.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:12.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:13.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:14.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:15.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:16.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:18.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:19.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:20.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:24.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:27.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:29.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:30.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:32.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:34.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:36.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:38.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:40.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:42.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:44.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:46.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:04:48.000 |
Good morning, church family. Happy Lord's Day. 00:05:56.000 |
My gracious Master and my God assist me to proclaim. 00:06:12.000 |
The end of the day is a difficult time to get the same. 00:08:43.000 |
And our shuttle will be going back and forth. 00:08:51.000 |
And so they say today is the last day that you can sign up. 00:09:01.000 |
The family ministry is hosting a workshop called peacemaking. 00:09:11.000 |
And that's happening again in September 13th at 10 a.m. 00:09:17.000 |
Our sister Jenny Yang is going to be coming up. 00:09:42.000 |
We thank you for the fellowship that we have. 00:09:56.000 |
That we may worship you in spirit and in truth. 00:10:00.000 |
For your grace to be sufficient for all things. 00:10:51.980 |
Let us all rise and spend a few moments to greet the neighbors around us before we continue. 00:11:01.500 |
Let us all rise and spend a few moments to meet the neighbors around us before we continue. 00:11:31.480 |
We won't fear the battle, we won't fear the night. 00:11:40.960 |
We will walk the valley with you by our side. 00:11:45.840 |
You won't go before us, you will lead the way. 00:12:02.340 |
The Father's love is a strong and mighty fortress. 00:12:12.200 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:12:17.040 |
Even when I stumble, even when I fall, even when I turn back, still your love is short. 00:12:36.080 |
You will cheer me on, no never ending dreams. 00:12:46.780 |
The Father's love is a strong and mighty fortress. 00:12:55.900 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:13:20.800 |
He who gave his Son to free us holds me in his love. 00:13:57.400 |
The Father's love is a strong and mighty fortress. 00:14:06.900 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:16.400 |
The Father's love is a strong and mighty fortress. 00:14:22.060 |
Raise your voice now, raise your voice now, no love is greater. 00:14:26.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:31.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:32.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:34.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:35.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:36.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:37.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:38.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:39.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:40.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:41.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:42.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:43.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:14:44.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:01.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:04.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:05.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:06.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:07.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:08.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:09.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:10.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:11.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:12.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:13.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:14.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:15.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:16.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:17.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:18.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:23.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:24.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:25.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:26.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:27.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:28.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:29.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:30.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:31.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:32.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:33.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:34.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:35.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:38.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:39.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:41.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:43.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:44.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:45.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:46.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:47.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:48.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:49.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:50.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:51.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:52.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:53.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:54.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:55.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:56.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:58.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:15:59.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:00.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:01.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:02.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:03.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:04.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:05.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:06.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:07.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:08.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:09.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:10.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:11.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:12.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:15.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:16.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:17.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:18.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:19.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:20.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:21.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:22.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:23.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:24.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:25.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:26.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:27.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:28.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:29.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:34.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:39.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:44.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:46.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:49.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:51.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:54.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:56.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:57.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:58.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:16:59.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:00.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:01.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:02.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:03.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:04.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:05.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:06.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:07.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:08.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:09.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:10.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:11.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:12.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:14.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:15.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:16.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:17.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:22.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:24.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:26.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:27.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:28.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:29.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:30.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:31.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:32.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:33.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:34.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:35.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:36.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:37.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:38.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:39.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:40.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:41.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:42.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:43.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:44.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:45.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:46.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:47.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:48.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:49.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:50.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:51.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:52.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:53.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:56.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:57.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:58.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:17:59.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:00.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:01.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:02.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:03.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:04.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:05.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:06.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:08.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:09.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:10.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:11.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:16.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:17.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:18.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:19.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:20.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:21.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:22.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:23.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:24.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:25.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:26.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:27.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:31.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:32.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:34.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:35.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:36.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:37.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:38.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:39.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:40.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:41.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:42.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:43.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:44.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:45.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:46.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:47.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:48.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:18:49.060 |
We can stand against us if our God is for us. 00:19:10.060 |
I grew up going to church with my family from a young age. 00:19:17.060 |
And like many other people, church was more of a routine than a personal relationship with God. 00:19:24.060 |
I learned about God, but I didn't truly understand what it meant to believe in Jesus Christ and live for him. 00:19:32.060 |
When I was 12, I moved to the U.S. by myself to study and learn English. 00:19:39.060 |
Being away from my family at a young age was hard, but I adjusted well. 00:19:46.060 |
I adjusted well to my new life here, and I went to school and had fun playing with friends. 00:19:53.060 |
So it didn't seem too bad on the outside, but inside my heart there was always a sense of instability, loneliness, and an emptiness. 00:20:07.060 |
But in that loneliness, God was working, and he placed me with a host family who welcomed me with love and kindness. 00:20:20.060 |
They brought me to church, and my host mom chaperoned to join me at my first church retreat. 00:20:30.060 |
At that retreat, I made new friends and learned that God is our Father and that we are his adopted children. 00:20:41.060 |
Through the messages and worship, God continued to speak to me in my heart, and he was telling me that I was not alone. 00:20:49.060 |
On the last day of retreat, my host mom took the time to sit down with me and explain the gospel and what it truly meant to follow Jesus and accept him into my heart and to live for him. 00:21:04.060 |
We prayed together and asked the Holy Spirit to come into my heart, and that was the moment I decided to surrender my life to Jesus, accepting him as my Lord and Savior. 00:21:15.060 |
And I learned that Jesus is not only the Savior, but also the Savior of my sins, and he is the only one that can give me hope and peace. 00:21:28.060 |
From then, I began to seek and learn more about God and what it meant to live for him. 00:21:34.060 |
But even as I walked with God, there were still times I felt anxious and empty, and I tried to fill that with friendships or activities. 00:21:45.060 |
And even in my marriage now, I try to find stability and peace. 00:21:51.060 |
But in all this, God reminds me again and again that nothing in this world can truly satisfy my heart, and only Jesus can. 00:22:01.060 |
It's been 20 years since I came to the U.S., and throughout my time here, God has provided me with loving host families that encouraged me to grow closer to him and modeled how to live like Jesus. 00:22:19.060 |
And looking back, I see so clearly how God was always providing for me and protecting me. 00:22:26.060 |
And he placed the right people in my life to remind me of his love. 00:22:33.060 |
And whenever I prayed in my loneliness, he met me there, and Jesus was with me all along, pursuing me and waiting for me to turn to him. 00:22:44.060 |
Though I was far from my biological family, God provided me with a new family in Christ through church, friends, and host families. 00:22:55.060 |
And he showed me that I was cared for and drew me closer to him. 00:23:01.060 |
Today, I know that my joy, peace, and identity are found only in Christ. 00:23:08.060 |
I hold on to the truth that God's love and faithfulness will never fail, and I commit myself to Christ and his people. 00:23:21.060 |
To be honest, I was so nervous and scared to share my testimony and be baptized in front of the whole church. 00:23:30.060 |
But Pastor Mark encouraged me that everyone here is church family, and baptism is not something to be afraid of, but something beautiful to celebrate. 00:23:42.060 |
And as I prepared for my testimony, I was reminded of God's provision for me throughout my life. 00:23:53.060 |
And Jesus' promises to the disciples, when they went out to share the gospel, that the Holy Spirit will speak through them and guide them just like he is guiding them. 00:24:47.040 |
Thank you, Jenny, for that encouraging testimony. 00:24:59.520 |
I must be getting old because I thought she was a college student. 00:25:03.660 |
If you can turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 12. 00:25:09.960 |
I'll be reading from verse 1 through verse 7. 00:25:15.160 |
And again, this is all within the context of all 12 verses, but I'll just be reading from verse 1 through 7. 00:25:24.500 |
Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, 00:25:30.880 |
he began saying to his disciples, first of all, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 00:25:36.600 |
But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known. 00:25:40.580 |
Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, 00:25:44.360 |
and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops. 00:25:48.280 |
I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that, have no more that they can do. 00:25:57.140 |
Fear the one who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. 00:26:08.340 |
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 00:26:17.940 |
Father, we come before you asking, Lord God, that you would use these words, 00:26:22.640 |
that you would empower it with your Holy Spirit, 00:26:25.440 |
that you would cause our hearts, Lord God, to be softened, 00:26:32.620 |
and that you would help us to surrender our wills to yours. 00:26:36.580 |
Help us to know you, Father God, and to see your glory, 00:26:39.860 |
that we may be changed, Lord God, from one glory to another. 00:26:43.360 |
May Christ's name be exalted, and only your word go forth. 00:26:48.460 |
So, again, the text that we're looking at is in, again, 00:26:53.420 |
in the context of Jesus' popularity is growing to the point 00:26:57.880 |
where the crowds are so large that they're stepping on one another 00:27:05.420 |
and that's the largest number that they can use to describe. 00:27:11.220 |
but, again, the fact that the word myriad is used here 00:27:15.300 |
is trying to convey to us just how big this crowd was. 00:27:19.260 |
Jesus' popularity is growing, but the hostility toward him is also growing. 00:27:24.700 |
So the context in which he is warning and encouraging his disciples here 00:27:29.880 |
is he's about six months away from the cross. 00:27:35.720 |
he knows that his disciples will also have to follow. 00:27:38.300 |
And as long as they were with Christ, they just needed to do whatever Christ did. 00:27:43.020 |
But he's trying to encourage them and warn them 00:27:46.520 |
that as he goes, that eventually what he faces, they are also going to face. 00:27:53.240 |
So the three imperatives that we see in this text from verse 1 through 12, 00:27:58.920 |
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is the hypocrisy. 00:28:02.400 |
That they present themselves to be righteous. 00:28:05.000 |
On the surface, they're talking about the law, about obeying the law, 00:28:09.760 |
But behind the scene, they were conspiring to get rid of him. 00:28:14.760 |
They had hatred in their hearts because Jesus exposed their hypocrisy. 00:28:19.220 |
And if they let Jesus' popularity grow, that they're going to ruin the life. 00:28:24.680 |
Jesus is going to ruin the life that they built up. 00:28:27.260 |
So he tells his disciples, don't be fooled by them. 00:28:38.100 |
The text that we're going to be looking at today, in verse 4 through 7, 00:28:45.760 |
And then the third part, when we look at verse 8 through 12, 00:28:51.940 |
and the whole reason why he's giving them warning 00:28:53.740 |
is because the command he's going to give to go preach the gospel. 00:28:57.320 |
As long as they stay silent, they fed the poor, and they healed the sick, 00:29:13.320 |
He said, he who preaches me, he who confesses me before men, 00:29:19.160 |
He was ashamed of me before men, I will also be ashamed of him before my father. 00:29:23.980 |
And so he's going to leave them with that command, because I am going to command you to say the very things 00:29:32.140 |
I'm warning you, and I'm cautioning you, that you will go the same path that I went. 00:29:40.500 |
So the text that we're looking at basically deals with the idea of fear. 00:29:47.660 |
What fear causes you to make decisions, or do things, or not to do things? 00:29:53.240 |
You probably heard it said in the world wisdom, you have nothing to fear but fear itself. 00:30:00.240 |
If that's true of your life, this is probably one of the most foolish things that you can say. 00:30:07.000 |
If you're not afraid of danger, you're going to die. 00:30:19.180 |
When you're raising your children, you have to teach them from a very young age. 00:30:24.320 |
That if you don't do certain things, that if you don't get up, you don't do your homework, 00:30:29.760 |
So there should be some level of fear, of consequence. 00:30:32.920 |
The fear of disappointing people that you love, that part of the consequence is that this is going to affect other people. 00:30:40.440 |
So if you live saying, I don't fear anything, I don't fear any man, it is foolish. 00:30:44.860 |
There's good fear that we need to have, that we must have, that directs us, protects us, and guides us. 00:30:53.620 |
Obviously, the fear that he tells them not to fear is a fear that will actually harm them, the fear of the Pharisees. 00:31:02.580 |
We talked about last week how they were basically the guardians of the synagogue. 00:31:09.880 |
And if you got kicked out of the synagogue, basically you couldn't function. 00:31:20.440 |
You probably couldn't even do business because you were shunned from the society. 00:31:24.220 |
So generally, they lived in fear of these men. 00:31:30.400 |
The text that we're looking at this morning as Jesus is warning them, the second warning, or encouragement, is that I broke it down into three parts so that it would be easier for us to follow. 00:31:40.460 |
If you look at this text carefully, he's not simply warning them or telling them not to fear these men. 00:31:59.720 |
He's basically saying don't fear death because he doesn't say don't fear these men who can kill you because I'm going to protect you. 00:32:07.520 |
You're going to have a long and prosperous and comfortable life. 00:32:12.000 |
He says don't fear them who can kill you because that's all they can do. 00:32:16.220 |
In fact, the reason why Jesus is saying that is because that's exactly what's going to happen to them. 00:32:21.900 |
He's not just saying don't live in fear of these people because they can only harm you physically. 00:32:28.040 |
He's actually telling them don't be afraid to die because that's all they can do. 00:32:33.820 |
And every single one of them, with the exception of John, that's exactly what happened. 00:32:42.900 |
Don't live in fear of death and don't live in fear of people who can put you to death. 00:32:48.880 |
It's a very challenging thing to hear, but how do you practice this? 00:32:56.380 |
If I just told you, hey, don't fear death, you know, you might hear that and say, well, thank God. 00:33:03.760 |
You told me that because I was living in fear of death. 00:33:05.680 |
So now from now on, I'm not going to fear death. 00:33:07.520 |
It's just like saying you two people fall in love and get married. 00:33:14.580 |
How do you change and overcome fear of death? 00:33:20.440 |
I didn't know that you're not supposed to fear death. 00:33:27.660 |
Well, this idea of living in fear of death has more depth in it than we look at on the surface 00:33:35.920 |
because the idea of living in fear of death isn't simply the fear of the end. 00:33:46.360 |
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise also partook of the same, 00:33:51.180 |
that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. 00:33:56.340 |
He says the whole purpose of the cross and why Christ came was to deliver us from the power of death. 00:34:04.320 |
He describes a person who does not know Christ as somebody who is living in bondage of fear of death. 00:34:16.940 |
Now we look at that and say, how many of you sitting here woke up this morning in fear of death? 00:34:25.820 |
We only really think of death in reality when someone close to us dies and we go to the funeral. 00:34:32.300 |
Or maybe something tragic happened, you get an accident, you almost died. 00:34:35.360 |
Or maybe you get news that you only have so many days to live. 00:34:40.820 |
Outside of that, in our culture especially, we don't think about death. 00:34:46.560 |
We put them away, we put them in a hospital, we put them in a morgue, 00:34:49.320 |
and only at a short period of time do we even think of death. 00:34:52.580 |
That as soon as that's over, we don't think about it. 00:34:57.960 |
In fact, it's interesting that even on the podcast and TikTok, when they say death, they have to say on a life. 00:35:14.940 |
So what does it mean when it says that those who lived in fear of death live in bondage? 00:35:20.940 |
Was that just something that the first century Christians understood? 00:35:25.120 |
Well, in order to understand what he means by living in fear of death, 00:35:30.340 |
we have to understand that death was more than just the final part where we're physically not breathing. 00:35:38.180 |
Fear of death, fear of death is fear of not living. 00:35:42.460 |
If you remember when Adam and Eve, when God said, if you eat of this tree, you shall surely die, 00:35:49.340 |
and they eat of it, did they fall to the ground and physically die? 00:35:53.100 |
They lived for hundreds of years, physically. 00:35:55.720 |
But when he says, you shall surely die, they were separated from the author of life. 00:36:08.740 |
Instantaneously, they died because they were separated from God. 00:36:12.020 |
And they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. 00:36:14.720 |
And the Sabbath, where God existed, was broken and they couldn't be there. 00:36:19.480 |
But then their whole life was a gradual march toward the physical death. 00:36:26.480 |
And then it says, after death comes the second judgment. 00:36:34.100 |
As soon as Adam and Eve fell, all mankind, from the moment that they are born, 00:36:42.380 |
When you say something reigns, it means that it has absolute power over every domain. 00:36:49.280 |
Not simply that he has jurisdiction over certain aspects of life. 00:36:53.360 |
Everything that you experience as a human being is under the reign of the judgment of God. 00:37:08.100 |
That you're afraid that one day you're physically not going to breathe? 00:37:12.880 |
But the biblical understanding of death is the opposite of the biblical understanding of life. 00:37:20.000 |
And so when the Bible talks about life, it's not simply talking about existing forever. 00:37:25.600 |
Every human being has a soul, so they will exist forever. 00:37:30.140 |
So when the Bible talks about eternal life, it's not that those who believe in Jesus will exist forever. 00:37:36.680 |
Because even those who go to hell will exist forever. 00:37:42.800 |
Bios is the word that we use for human physical life. 00:37:48.160 |
But the word that the Bible uses when it says that he came to give life, give this life abundantly, is zoe. 00:38:09.440 |
I hope that at least helps you understand some of it. 00:38:14.720 |
But to help further, I think the best way for us to understand the fear of death is FOMO. 00:38:23.680 |
Some of you guys who are a little bit older may not know FOMO. 00:38:25.900 |
FOMO basically is an acronym for fear of missing out. 00:38:39.100 |
So you see, actually this passage is talking about FOMO. 00:38:48.080 |
How much of our decisions and what we do in life is to fit in to whatever culture that you belong to. 00:39:01.980 |
How much of that dictates, how much of the compromise is because you're afraid. 00:39:07.140 |
Not, you make certain decisions and you're afraid that if you continue to go down this path that you're not going to have the thing that you want. 00:39:15.900 |
Everybody else seems like they're having a great life. 00:39:18.340 |
But if I make this decision, what if God causes me to do this and that? 00:39:24.740 |
And fear that you're not going to have what other people have. 00:39:41.080 |
And out of fear of getting hurt, you stiff-armed certain people. 00:39:46.780 |
And so, so much of your life decisions are based upon fear of rejection. 00:39:56.180 |
He says all of this because the Pharisees had the power over life. 00:40:06.620 |
And if you live in fear of them, that if you make decisions, say things or not say things because you're afraid of the consequence, 00:40:17.080 |
You become mastered by the people and the things that you fear. 00:40:23.920 |
So the first thing that he says is do not fear. 00:40:27.980 |
See, when the disciples didn't understand what Jesus was talking about, as Jesus was heading to the cross, 00:40:33.620 |
because they didn't understand what Jesus was saying, they feared death. 00:40:39.180 |
So when Jesus was going to the cross, it didn't make any sense because they thought that following, 00:40:44.720 |
Jesus, that the next stage was going to be glory. 00:40:47.580 |
But they didn't realize that that path to glory was going to come through the cross. 00:40:52.360 |
So when Jesus says, if you follow after me, you must deny yourself, pick up your own cross and follow me. 00:41:03.780 |
He literally meant the path to life that I have come to bring is going to come through your suffering. 00:41:11.640 |
So if you live in fear of death and fear of those people who will put you to death, 00:41:30.520 |
And so people will praise you for being kind. 00:41:36.400 |
People will praise you for serving other people. 00:41:46.260 |
You must tell them where they stand before God. 00:41:50.640 |
You know, typically in 1 Corinthians 15, 55-57, 00:41:54.420 |
this is a passage that is often heard at funerals. 00:42:00.140 |
This is a passage where Paul reminds the Corinthians to not to fear death. 00:42:08.600 |
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 00:42:11.580 |
But thanks be to God, who gives the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:42:20.540 |
we hear it in the context of a funeral where people are grieving 00:42:24.060 |
to comfort them to say that they're in a better place, 00:42:30.940 |
That we do not grieve like the world because, 00:42:36.480 |
So it's said in the context of people who are grieving. 00:42:41.460 |
But if you know the context of 1 Corinthians and why he writes this, 00:42:49.760 |
That passage was written so that they may live their life in victory. 00:43:08.840 |
That somehow that if you do things, if you go somewhere, 00:43:11.340 |
if you say these things, that somehow you're going to miss out in life. 00:43:14.460 |
There are so many people who are good people. 00:43:39.380 |
Because when I go, you're going to have to preach. 00:43:42.320 |
And just as they hated me, they're going to hate you. 00:43:49.480 |
And so Christ came by delivering us and paying the penalty of sin to deliver us from the bondage of death. 00:44:04.100 |
But the power behind that, the power behind understanding and obeying that, really comes from the second part where it says, do not fear them, but fear God. 00:44:18.000 |
Luke chapter 12, verse 5, it says, but I will warn you whom to fear. 00:44:22.000 |
Fear the one after he has killed as a story to cast into hell. 00:44:29.700 |
If you're going to fear anybody, it says to fear God. 00:44:32.540 |
In our culture, even saying fearing God seems kind of off. 00:44:48.060 |
Doesn't the Bible say that love casts out fear? 00:44:51.700 |
So when you mention fearing God, it almost seems like, oh, you're picking and choosing. 00:44:55.940 |
Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verse 13, at the end of Solomon's life, the conclusion that he comes with, with all the wisdom, all the power that he had, all the experience that any human being could have possibly experienced. 00:45:11.220 |
There's many people who have a lot of money, but they don't have power. 00:45:14.820 |
There's a lot of people who may have power, but they don't have the opportunity. 00:45:18.220 |
Solomon was a king who was wise, who had all the money in the world that he, so there was nothing that he could not do as a human being. 00:45:29.660 |
So he experienced everything that he could possibly experience, that this world had to offer, and at the end of his life, he says this, conclusion is this, when all has been heard, fear God and keep his commandments, because this applies to every person. 00:45:46.040 |
That's the end conclusion of an individual who's experienced everything. 00:45:51.440 |
Every once in a while, you hear a movie star who had a lot of money and say, hey, this is nothing, or he has a politician who had all the power, this is nothing. 00:45:58.720 |
Every once in a while, we hear bits and pieces of this, but here's a man who experienced everything he could have possibly experienced. 00:46:04.620 |
Every imagination, every temptation, he had the power, he had the knowledge, and he had the money. 00:46:14.740 |
Proverbs 9.10, it says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 00:46:27.220 |
In order to understand all that is written in Scripture, you must learn, first and foremost, what it means to fear the Lord. 00:46:34.060 |
Some people may say, well, he's talking about the Old Covenant, because that's not what I see in the New Testament. 00:46:41.820 |
New Testament is about the cross, about the love of Christ, and some people, whenever we talk about this, it's like, he's not preaching the gospel. 00:46:52.220 |
Because the gospel is about the love of Jesus. 00:46:57.700 |
That there's nothing we can do because we're saved by grace, and all of that is true, but you're only pointing to one side of the cross. 00:47:07.460 |
In Acts chapter 9.31, it describes what the early church was like. 00:47:13.280 |
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up and going on. 00:47:20.240 |
We can skim over the part where it says they were going on in the fear of the Lord, and then just jumping, oh, comfort of the Holy Spirit, because that's what makes me feel good. 00:47:41.020 |
If you remember, those Gentiles in the early church who became followers of Yahweh, they didn't fully embrace Judaism, but they became followers of Yahweh. 00:48:07.760 |
So that, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 00:48:18.960 |
So that idea of fear, in the New Testament, has been so watered down, it almost seems strange to hear it. 00:48:26.420 |
In fact, one of the ways that we take the edge off of the idea of fear is, oh, fear doesn't mean trembling. 00:48:40.660 |
Because that's exactly what the word fear means. 00:48:46.240 |
It does mean honor, but it also means being terrified, because that's exactly how it is portrayed in the Bible. 00:48:56.260 |
Every time you saw the presence of God, people just didn't have, oh, reverence. 00:49:10.060 |
They didn't even want to hear his voice because they were so afraid. 00:49:14.840 |
Just a reflection of God's glory in Moses' face terrified them. 00:49:24.280 |
They couldn't even be in the presence of a reflection. 00:49:28.420 |
When you studied the book of Leviticus, does that seem welcoming to you? 00:49:35.500 |
Do you know how many times in the book of Leviticus it says, you shall die, you shall die, you shall die? 00:49:40.840 |
I only allow that this tribe to touch this, and if you do, you shall die. 00:49:47.680 |
If you come in with strange fire, you shall die. 00:49:51.600 |
In Leviticus chapter 10, Native and Nebihu bring up a fire, bring up on the altar, 00:49:58.060 |
something that was not prescribed, and the very first offering, they're consumed by fire and they die. 00:50:11.240 |
So why has this idea of the fear of God been weeded out in our culture? 00:50:18.760 |
You know, you can give many reasons for this, but one of the reasons is, 00:50:28.880 |
in order to make the stories of the Bible more palatable, 00:50:38.300 |
So when we think of Adam and Eve, we have a picture of Adam and Eve in the garden. 00:50:42.680 |
They're, you know, like covered in leaves and, you know, 00:50:57.160 |
almost everybody probably has a picture in their head when I say Noah's Ark. 00:51:05.140 |
You have male lion and a female lion sticking their head out on the side. 00:51:09.760 |
And you have the eagles and you have the squirrels and, you know, 00:51:13.540 |
and you have a little umbrella protecting them from the rain. 00:51:17.420 |
And so you get a Sunday school version of that. 00:51:23.520 |
We have a culture where they've been taught about who God is through Sunday school programs, 00:51:29.860 |
So they have an idea of what they think God is. 00:51:32.680 |
And it is a cute, cuddly picture that teach morals. 00:51:39.260 |
But if you had a picture of God that came out of the Bible without the Sunday school pictures, 00:51:48.300 |
The flood was God graved over his creation and he decided to wipe out the earth. 00:51:56.360 |
So we don't have pictures of people drowning, but that's what happened. 00:52:01.900 |
And the only people who were saved was eight people. 00:52:05.840 |
Eight people out of all, of all mankind was completely destroyed. 00:52:14.060 |
We go to the book of Revelation and he said, that's going to happen. 00:52:17.020 |
It's going to make what happened at the flood seem like a minor glitch compared to the judgment that's coming. 00:52:25.340 |
And so we have a picture of what we think God is because we've been taught it through Sunday school, 00:52:34.060 |
through pictures that have watered it down so that little children would not be frightened. 00:52:40.880 |
And then you grow up and you don't really study the Bible and you don't really look at it. 00:52:44.200 |
And so your idea of God has been embedded in you as a child and you never grew out of that. 00:52:52.220 |
David is describing why judgment was going to come upon the nation of Israel. 00:52:58.040 |
And he describes the sins of Israel in Psalm 36. 00:53:01.320 |
And he begins by saying, there is no fear of God before his eyes. 00:53:05.440 |
All other sins that crept into the nation of Israel is because there's no fear of God. 00:53:21.400 |
If you ask most people, even inside the church, what is the greatest problem of man today? 00:53:30.380 |
People may say, it's our economy, maybe our leadership, maybe some politics, maybe social justice, whatever it may be. 00:53:43.840 |
So if you're theologically astute, you may say, it's sin. 00:53:54.060 |
He said all of the Old Testament, all of the law giving in the Old Testament was to make sin utterly sinful. 00:54:01.820 |
So if sin becomes utterly sinful, it's just like, oh yeah, yeah, sin is bad. 00:54:11.500 |
Just so that we can understand, yeah, sin is really bad. 00:54:16.080 |
What was the point of revealing sin to be utterly sinful? 00:54:23.220 |
So that the man would recognize the desperation of his situation. 00:54:27.180 |
So that he would recognize how holy God is and how desperate he is. 00:54:34.900 |
He's not simply like, oh, it'd be great if I had God. 00:54:43.140 |
Every promise of the curse is upon every sinner. 00:54:47.020 |
But let me go a little bit further than that. 00:54:53.960 |
The problem with sin isn't simply that sin ruined your life. 00:55:05.160 |
You know, it's frustrating because you don't find satisfaction in work. 00:55:12.280 |
You wake up and you do things that you don't want to do. 00:55:16.680 |
I don't know how accurate that is, but I heard a majority of people hate their job. 00:55:21.480 |
So if we can deal with sin, then maybe it'll fix our family. 00:55:44.280 |
The problem of sin is the penalty of sin is the wrath of God. 00:55:56.120 |
The central problem of mankind is that because of his sins, the Bible says the wrath of God is being revealed. 00:56:07.420 |
When Christ came and he covered us with the blood, what is he covering us for? 00:56:28.540 |
Not simply the consequence of having a difficult life. 00:56:35.280 |
He says, you're living in fear of these people. 00:56:37.940 |
All they can do is to kill your physical body. 00:56:45.940 |
Only he can ruin you after this physical life. 00:56:49.540 |
If you're going to fear anybody, you should fear him. 00:56:52.960 |
It's because we do not have this sense of fear of God. 00:56:59.560 |
That a sinner could come to God every Sunday. 00:57:23.800 |
And in the New Testament, when the church was going astray. 00:57:29.600 |
Do you not know that you are the temple of God. 00:57:37.320 |
Do you understand what it means to the Holy Spirit to dwell in us? 00:57:43.160 |
And if you ruin the temple of God, God will ruin you. 00:57:47.500 |
But you didn't have to explain that to the early church. 00:57:49.940 |
Because they understood that from the Old Testament. 00:58:00.140 |
Do you understand what it means that the Holy Spirit, that people were terrified of, is now dwelling in you? 00:58:10.300 |
Is because we have lost the ability to fear God. 00:58:16.700 |
That when we talk about the grace of God, or the gospel of God. 00:58:22.060 |
Because they don't understand what has happened. 00:58:28.400 |
I remember when my son, Jeremy, when he was a little kid. 00:58:37.140 |
And he was in the hospital for about 13 days. 00:58:44.400 |
And so while all the adults were inside, he decided to get on this little, you know, little thing. 00:58:52.640 |
And, you know, those of you who know, the kids can drown in seconds. 00:59:01.560 |
And the next thing we hear, we hear a splash into the water. 00:59:04.400 |
And we run in, run outside to see what happened. 00:59:06.560 |
And my dad, who was in the hospital for 13 days, had to jump in to grab him out of the water. 00:59:14.500 |
If my dad wasn't there, he would have drowned. 00:59:24.460 |
And he ended up spraining his ankle in the water. 00:59:41.560 |
He only knows the danger that he was in because we tell him. 00:59:46.840 |
That you literally could have died if Harabaji was not there. 00:59:50.700 |
It's because we don't understand what we have been saved from. 01:00:03.140 |
If you're a Christian, and because you don't know who God is, you think of him as like, 01:00:13.780 |
And if I can quote the right people so somehow I can get closer to God. 01:00:18.780 |
Or if I worship God and if I pray out loud and if I sing out loud so I can somehow reach God. 01:00:29.480 |
If I'm disciplined enough so I can somehow reach God. 01:00:48.200 |
This is the reason why he says first and foremost you must fear God. 01:00:54.180 |
If you're going to fear anything you must fear God. 01:00:58.320 |
And then he concludes by saying in Luke 12, 6-7. 01:01:10.620 |
Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 01:01:13.300 |
Do not fear you are more valuable than many sparrows. 01:01:22.840 |
The love of God is going to be very self-centered. 01:01:31.200 |
God uses something that would have been considered worthless. 01:01:39.120 |
That you can get five sparrows sold for two cents. 01:01:46.220 |
Which is the Roman smallest of the Roman coins. 01:01:52.380 |
Even these worthless things that you can get for two sparrows. 01:01:57.160 |
You know, when we think about creation of who he is. 01:02:02.720 |
In Romans chapter 1 it tells us that he left the imprint of himself in creation. 01:02:12.120 |
And their expanse is declaring the work of his hands. 01:02:34.400 |
He said, well we know it points to his power. 01:02:46.620 |
You think how all things fit together and work together. 01:02:54.500 |
Every part of our body was there for a purpose. 01:02:59.080 |
You know, we travel places and we look at man-made structures. 01:03:05.140 |
But sometimes we forget the creation that it's on. 01:03:07.520 |
You can't compare with what human beings have done. 01:03:17.580 |
We think of his power, creativity, sovereignty. 01:03:23.180 |
But he uses creation to tell us even these insignificant sparrows, God does not forget. 01:03:32.700 |
How the polar bears, how he covered them with their fur so that they can go into freezing water and still survive. 01:03:41.520 |
How the eagles, the way he feathered them so that they can fly so high. 01:03:45.700 |
How the fish and their scales, where they can go through the waters like we're running on land. 01:03:52.040 |
How every part of that was done purposefully. 01:03:58.360 |
And he tells us that every strand of hair, he numbers. 01:04:05.580 |
And I think about, you know, those of us who struggle with hair follicles. 01:04:13.420 |
I didn't grow up with girls so I didn't realize how much females shed. 01:04:21.320 |
You know, when we're in Korea, we live in an apartment complex and we all kind of have common space. 01:04:26.080 |
And every ten minutes you have to sweep the ground. 01:04:35.040 |
I just think, you know, next time I see that I say, God really loves them. 01:04:46.440 |
That even something that seems so insignificant, he says, God, it's a display of God's love toward us. 01:04:54.840 |
It says that in our galaxy there's 200 billion planets. 01:05:03.600 |
And it says in, there's over 2 trillion galaxies. 01:05:10.700 |
And just the Milky Way galaxy has 2 billion planets. 01:05:14.140 |
And every single one of them, God created for a purpose. 01:05:19.860 |
Right now, it says there's 8.2 billion people in the world. 01:05:22.840 |
And every single person, 8.2 billion people have a unique identity. 01:05:28.660 |
Even identical twins don't have the same fingerprint. 01:05:30.860 |
He says he uses something that seems so mundane to describe the depth and the intricacy of his love. 01:05:44.460 |
Because we need to understand his love in the context of who it is that loves us. 01:05:53.040 |
If all you understand about love is that God is so loving that you can create him into a grandfather who never gets angry about anything. 01:06:05.640 |
So, you know, grandpa is where we go to get candy. 01:06:08.820 |
Because you don't understand what we have been saved from. 01:06:13.060 |
You don't understand who it is that loves us. 01:06:17.920 |
That the love of God must be understood in the context of what it is that he has saved us from. 01:06:30.940 |
Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you at the proper time. 01:06:34.840 |
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 01:06:42.760 |
The only thing that can deliver us from the fear of death is the life of Christ. 01:06:55.000 |
Yeah, there are certain things that you will do. 01:07:00.680 |
If you speak the truth and say Christ is the only way, you will lose some friends. 01:07:07.420 |
If you're faithful to the one that they've crucified, they will also want to crucify you. 01:07:14.380 |
So if you live your whole life wanting to be accepted, you must, you have to move away from Christ. 01:07:20.200 |
But if you follow him, he says, you must also deny yourself. 01:07:31.540 |
And do not live in fear that somehow the consequence is too hard. 01:07:39.600 |
But in order for this to be the power behind which we live, you must first believe it. 01:08:09.820 |
Only those who find true life in Christ can live their lives not being afraid of death. 01:08:21.180 |
Because rejection of this world, rejection from this world, means acceptance from Christ. 01:08:27.580 |
Hatred from this world is proof that he loves us. 01:08:32.780 |
Death from this world is a path to eternal life in Christ. 01:08:38.560 |
I pray that we will believe that, refresh that, and live by it. 01:08:45.480 |
Father, we thank you for your continued grace and love that you pour upon us. 01:09:00.400 |
Help us to put aside our fears, our prejudice, our hypocrisy. 01:09:10.220 |
Help us not to be religious people who pretend on the surface. 01:09:17.800 |
When our hearts and our lives are so far from you. 01:09:29.900 |
That the world may truly become rubbish in light of him. 01:09:55.180 |
Do you know that all the dark would stop the life from getting through? 01:14:10.320 |
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling, 01:14:13.320 |
and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, 01:14:18.320 |
to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord,