back to indexBerean Women's Ministry Event 10/19/24
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We're gonna start off the morning with a time of praise, 00:27:13.640 |
a time of worship, and then we're going to be hearing 00:27:18.640 |
as they recount on God's transformative work in their lives 00:27:24.640 |
We have four sisters who are going to be sharing, 00:27:41.640 |
because we've been talking about doing something like this 00:27:45.640 |
And so we hope and we pray that as we are sharing 00:27:50.640 |
that God would really be glorified and exalted 00:28:11.640 |
What a blessing it is that we can gather together 00:28:17.640 |
and share how you have been mightily working in our lives. 00:28:33.640 |
during our time of worship and fellowship even. 00:28:53.640 |
Lord, we pray that we can be honest and vulnerable 00:28:57.640 |
as we share how you have been working in our lives. 00:29:00.640 |
Lord, may you be exalted, may you be glorified. 00:29:06.640 |
Why don't we stand and prepare our hearts for worship. 00:32:54.640 |
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled 00:39:38.640 |
So next we're going to have four of our sisters, 00:39:41.640 |
our very own sisters, share their testimonies with us. 00:39:50.640 |
and then it'll be Bia Lim, Helen Shin, and Cheryl Tang. 00:39:55.640 |
It's never easy to speak in front of a large crowd of people, 00:39:59.640 |
so if you can please keep them in your prayers 00:40:02.640 |
and be attentive as they share their stories, 00:40:05.640 |
may we be encouraged by all that they have to share. 00:40:30.640 |
My husband Jason and I have been married for 14 years, 00:40:33.640 |
and we have one son, Ethan, who is 5 years old, 00:40:40.640 |
I've always been a very shy and insecure person 00:40:43.640 |
who was always worried about what other people thought of her. 00:40:46.640 |
I'm also naturally a very pessimistic and anxious person, 00:40:50.640 |
and if I had to describe my life in one word before Christ, 00:40:55.640 |
I grew up for most of my life going to church on and off with my family, 00:40:58.640 |
but I never thought too much of what I actually believed. 00:41:03.640 |
my mom passed away from cancer when she was 41 years old, 00:41:08.640 |
so I just went right back to school and wouldn't talk about it. 00:41:11.640 |
I didn't have faith or an understanding of who God was in my life 00:41:16.640 |
any time I tried to talk about what happened. 00:41:20.640 |
and thankfully my stepmom really loved and committed to me and my sister 00:41:23.640 |
and helped me navigate through my teenage years. 00:41:25.640 |
She instilled in us the importance of church and reading the Bible, 00:41:30.640 |
even after I moved out of the house for college. 00:41:33.640 |
I'm so grateful God has given me loving parents, 00:41:38.640 |
and through this I can see that family is more than being blood-related, 00:41:43.640 |
When I was in high school, I started serving at my church 00:41:46.640 |
and thought that I was a Christian because I did the right things, 00:41:49.640 |
but if you were to ask me, "What is the gospel?" 00:41:53.640 |
I really had no idea because I never thought about it. 00:41:55.640 |
I was just religious but had no personal relationship with Christ. 00:42:03.640 |
My main goal at that time was just to make friends and do well in school. 00:42:07.640 |
But by God's grace, I still wanted to go to church. 00:42:12.640 |
where older sisters and brothers invited me to Bible study 00:42:23.640 |
and want to worship Him and know Him and His word. 00:42:26.640 |
It made me actually feel really uncomfortable 00:42:32.640 |
Throughout my freshman year, I was growing in my understanding of the Bible 00:42:35.640 |
and I was learning more about God's holiness and calling for His people. 00:42:41.640 |
and why I was in need of God's forgiveness through Christ's sacrifice. 00:42:44.640 |
But throughout my freshman year, even though I was learning so much, 00:42:47.640 |
I was still living a life focused on very self-centered things 00:42:50.640 |
and prioritizing relationships and my own future plans. 00:42:53.640 |
I wasn't living according to the calling I saw in Scripture, 00:42:58.640 |
I knew deep down that the worldly things I was pursuing didn't fulfill me, 00:43:01.640 |
but at the same time, I couldn't let them go. 00:43:04.640 |
Because of this, I wasn't very open with other sisters at church, 00:43:12.640 |
He brought me to repentance and a desire to pursue Him wholeheartedly. 00:43:16.640 |
I continued to grow and be a part of the church, 00:43:20.640 |
and learning what it meant to live a sanctified life under Christ's Lordship. 00:43:23.640 |
I also realized that God was sovereign over every event and circumstance in my life, 00:43:27.640 |
and I came to have a joy, thankfulness, peace, and contentment 00:43:33.640 |
This was 21 years ago, and I wish I could share 00:43:35.640 |
that since then I've always been faithful to the Lord, 00:43:37.640 |
but it has truly been a growing process to remember God's promises every day. 00:43:41.640 |
When I first graduated from college and moved back home to NorCal, 00:43:44.640 |
it was the first time I had been away from my church community since God saved me. 00:43:50.640 |
but I quickly realized how weak I was by my own strength, 00:43:53.640 |
and I found myself questioning my own salvation. 00:43:56.640 |
In my pride, I didn't openly share these feelings with others 00:43:59.640 |
and would tell myself that once I was doing better that I would share with them, 00:44:03.640 |
but that led me to feeling more hopeless and isolated. 00:44:06.640 |
God used that period to humble me and remind me why Christ had to die on the cross for me. 00:44:10.640 |
He helped me see that I really could not do anything on my own 00:44:13.640 |
and truly I need a repentance daily and an honesty with my struggles 00:44:16.640 |
because only then could I lift them up to him 00:44:19.640 |
and be able to start again knowing that he is the one who will carry me to completion until the end. 00:44:23.640 |
This season of life carried into the early years of my marriage after I finished nursing school. 00:44:28.640 |
I'm so thankful that God has given me a godly, loving husband 00:44:32.640 |
who genuinely desires to live faithfully and humbly before the Lord, 00:44:35.640 |
but we did go through a time of drifting earlier in our marriage 00:44:38.640 |
when we were living in L.A. and working really high-stress jobs. 00:44:41.640 |
I could feel that my heart was distant from God 00:44:44.640 |
and I couldn't honestly say that I was seeking his kingdom over my own. 00:44:47.640 |
I thank God that in his grace he caused our hearts to repent 00:44:50.640 |
and see that we need to abide in him and obey when he convicts us in his word. 00:44:54.640 |
Throughout the years, we like many couples had plans for our lives, 00:44:58.640 |
finishing school, finding jobs, starting a home and a family together, 00:45:02.640 |
and it wasn't until our life didn't go according to our timeline 00:45:05.640 |
that I realized I was constantly waiting for that next season of life to be more faithful. 00:45:10.640 |
God, in his grace, convicted us through his word 00:45:13.640 |
to see that he alone is worthy of our worship and pursuits 00:45:18.640 |
During that time, Jason and I had already been open to having children for a few years 00:45:22.640 |
and I had switched my nursing job to a mother-baby postpartum unit. 00:45:25.640 |
In God's plan for me, I never actually ended up getting pregnant, 00:45:29.640 |
but during those years, he opened our hearts to adoption. 00:45:32.640 |
Honestly speaking, it was not easy waiting on God's plan for our family 00:45:36.640 |
and I would have moments of sadness, stress, and impatience. 00:45:40.640 |
I wrestled with comparing myself with my peers, 00:45:43.640 |
feeling behind, not feeling in the same season of life as them. 00:45:47.640 |
I wrestled with my identity and if I could still live a fulfilled life 00:45:54.640 |
"Can I bring glory to God without having kids?" 00:45:57.640 |
and my answer that God gave me was always yes. 00:46:00.640 |
During those years, God gave us many opportunities to read through scripture 00:46:05.640 |
I saw God's sovereignty and faithfulness to his promises throughout all of time 00:46:08.640 |
and in particular, I remember meditating on Sarah's life 00:46:11.640 |
when she was waiting on God's promise for children 00:46:13.640 |
and Joseph when he was wronged and forgotten through the prime years of his life. 00:46:18.640 |
And yet, God was always working and desired for them to trust him 00:46:21.640 |
and live faithfully in the circumstances he had ordained. 00:46:24.640 |
Jason and I asked God to help us trust him during those times of waiting and uncertainty 00:46:31.640 |
During those years of waiting, I worked in a department where all my coworkers were women 00:46:37.640 |
which allowed me to more clearly share my hope in joining Christ alone. 00:46:40.640 |
And through being familiar with prenatal records 00:46:42.640 |
and meeting birth moms, foster moms, adoptive moms at work, 00:46:46.640 |
I grew a heart for them as we started our own adoption journey. 00:46:51.640 |
As many of you know, we adopted our son Ethan almost four years ago 00:46:54.640 |
and he is such a gift and blessing and joy to our family. 00:46:57.640 |
Each step of the adoption process was truly in God's perfect plan 00:47:00.640 |
which I would love to share with you one day when we have more time. 00:47:04.640 |
God has continually been growing me to see in our salvation. 00:47:08.640 |
He has purposed good works for us to do in this life 00:47:10.640 |
and I hope to trust in him in the ways he has planned out for my life, for his glory. 00:47:15.640 |
I was also asked to share about God's faithfulness 00:47:19.640 |
in teaching me to be the wife that he calls us to be 00:47:24.640 |
Before I was a Christian, my thoughts were always around how could I benefit myself. 00:47:29.640 |
I wanted to have a successful career, be financially stable 00:47:33.640 |
and if I were ever to get married, it would definitely have to be 50/50. 00:47:36.640 |
I couldn't stand the thought of being taken advantage of or being mistreated 00:47:42.640 |
There were many marriages and relationships around me that were broken 00:47:45.640 |
and I had dated before and knew that relationships don't always last. 00:47:49.640 |
At one of my first Bible studies at Berean, they were going over Ephesians 5 00:47:53.640 |
and I remember feeling really, really upset about the passage 00:47:58.640 |
I believe that submission could never work because of the subjective experiences I had been around 00:48:04.640 |
but I grew in my understanding that God is the creator and sovereign 00:48:09.640 |
and that he intended all things including marriage for good and for a specific purpose. 00:48:13.640 |
I had to reconsider and objectively think about what marriage was intended for 00:48:18.640 |
and thankfully God allowed me to observe godly marriages at this church 00:48:21.640 |
and I was surprised to see that their obedience and desire to honor God first, 00:48:26.640 |
that their marriages were actually more joyful and peaceful than what I had observed in the world. 00:48:31.640 |
When I considered marriage while I was dating Jason, I had a lot of fears. 00:48:36.640 |
Fears if one of us died early, what if we had a lot of difficulties, 00:48:42.640 |
I wrestled with so many things but ultimately I realized I could trust God with any outcome 00:48:49.640 |
He calls us to seek his kingdom first and to lift up any anxieties or worries to him in prayer. 00:48:54.640 |
Jason and I have been married for 14 years now 00:48:57.640 |
and I can honestly say that marriage is such a gift and a blessing 00:49:00.640 |
which comes a long way from how I thought before. 00:49:03.640 |
It wasn't always easy though as our marriage revealed a lot of my own sins, 00:49:07.640 |
selfishness and ways of thinking that I needed to change. 00:49:10.640 |
Philippians 2 is a passage that I cling to often and pray and meditate over 00:49:15.640 |
when I selfishly want to think in marriage, what about me? 00:49:18.640 |
Because when I see the humble servant love of Christ, 00:49:21.640 |
though he was God yet would choose to love simple people like us, 00:49:24.640 |
how can I say that I cannot give more or forgive more 00:49:30.640 |
I see more clearly that being a wife is simply being a Christian in a marriage context. 00:49:34.640 |
Being a faithful wife is not only a blessing to our husbands 00:49:37.640 |
but it is a building up of the church and a testimony to the world 00:49:41.640 |
that God's covenant, love and promises are so good and better than the world has to offer. 00:49:45.640 |
I have not lived perfectly but in repentance and obedience 00:49:49.640 |
I've experienced the sweetness and joy of living in God's will as a wife. 00:49:52.640 |
I see that I'm called to be Jason's helper to pray for him 00:49:58.640 |
In opposition to what the world tells us, as Christian wives 00:50:01.640 |
we are called to seek the benefit of others above ourselves. 00:50:04.640 |
Even at times I may feel justified in my anger or frustration 00:50:07.640 |
or when I may feel discontent, God has shown me that ultimately 00:50:13.640 |
I see that being a good helper is not a passive thing but very active 00:50:16.640 |
and I cannot be a good helper if I myself am not right with the Lord 00:50:20.640 |
and I need to know God's word to get biblical input when we make decisions together. 00:50:24.640 |
I hope that I and all the wives in this room can pray and be guided by God's word 00:50:29.640 |
as we seek to help our husbands so that we can be a blessing to them 00:50:32.640 |
and know that God's will for us is to be their suitable helper. 00:50:38.640 |
and I have personally been so blessed to have examples for me to learn from 00:50:43.640 |
and I hope that we can all run this race together 00:50:49.640 |
As I was reflecting on a song to sing together with you all 00:50:53.640 |
I chose one where the lyrics reflect how I see God's goodness in my life 00:50:57.640 |
and this is my song, "Yet not I, but through Christ in me." 00:51:14.640 |
What gift of grace is Jesus mighty to give me? 00:51:21.640 |
There is no more for heaven and earth to give. 00:51:35.640 |
my steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace. 00:52:03.640 |
oh, it's mighty yet not I, but through Christ in me. 00:53:07.640 |
and I shall overcome, yet not I, but through Christ in me. 00:54:09.640 |
All the chains are released, I can see I am free, 00:55:14.640 |
When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, 00:56:09.640 |
I'm in family ministry, and I am married to Mark, 00:56:14.640 |
and I have two sons, Josiah, who is in 8th grade, 00:56:20.640 |
And this is my story of God's faithfulness to me. 00:56:25.640 |
That statement, "God is faithful to me," is so humbling. 00:56:42.640 |
That is so mind-blowing, and it is at times unbelievable. 00:56:51.640 |
is increasingly more and more evident in my life. 00:56:55.640 |
Loving kindness is a description of God's love, 00:57:01.640 |
but a love that is loyal, steadfast, and persistent, 00:57:27.640 |
I had absolutely no interest in God or the things of God. 00:57:32.640 |
If I showed any interest, it was for my own gain, 00:57:36.640 |
to get a ticket, a prize, to brag of my accomplishments. 00:57:41.640 |
By his grace, this all changed the summer before I turned 12. 00:57:46.640 |
One day that summer, my tummy was in extreme pain. 00:57:54.640 |
No problem; it's a simple outpatient surgery, usually. 00:58:02.640 |
I lay on the hospital bed, filled with gratitude. 00:58:15.640 |
and I knew that he didn't just save my physical body from death, 00:58:26.640 |
As I felt a heavy burden lift off my shoulders, I wept. 00:58:30.640 |
From my perspective, this is when I started to see 00:58:36.640 |
To highlight some evidence of his loving kindness in my life, 00:58:44.640 |
"For those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, 00:58:51.640 |
"He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share his holiness. 00:58:56.640 |
"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, 00:59:03.640 |
"afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." 00:59:17.640 |
I still got angry so easily and did not so smart things in my anger. 00:59:24.640 |
I had learned of his commands, and yet I continued to fail them. 00:59:36.640 |
There's no way a holy God can actually love me. 00:59:41.640 |
And if that's the case, what's the point of living? 01:00:01.640 |
But I also knew that God will not be pleased if I take my own life. 01:00:14.640 |
If you don't know what a pager is, ask someone older. 01:00:30.640 |
His love for me is steadfast despite all my failures. 01:00:40.640 |
Yeah, there were some battles of the heart that I was forced to fight. 01:00:45.640 |
While many of my friends were starting to wear makeup and dress to impress, 01:01:05.640 |
to the point I couldn't even look at myself in a mirror. 01:01:09.640 |
He was disciplining me, and I had a choice to make. 01:01:14.640 |
Will I allow my worth to be measured by my looks, 01:01:20.640 |
or will I believe that God fearfully and wonderfully made me? 01:01:24.640 |
Finally, I found the courage to look in the mirror, 01:01:27.640 |
and the words that came to mind was, "Jesus loves me." 01:01:36.640 |
During my high school years, I grew in confidence, 01:01:58.640 |
I yelled at my brother all the time for being foolish. 01:02:17.640 |
It was certainly not driven by the love of Christ. 01:02:26.640 |
I forgot about His love and His mercy toward me. 01:02:30.640 |
I forgot that I only stand because of His love for me. 01:02:36.640 |
My mom would say that I finally bloomed in college. 01:02:46.640 |
but I did become more social during that time. 01:03:10.640 |
I began to get obsessed with how people viewed me, 01:04:04.640 |
they were so worried that I began to get worried. 01:04:09.640 |
I want to have a lovey-dovey relationship with someone. 01:04:27.640 |
Jesus has and is and will continue to love me. 01:04:34.640 |
While God's plan for me did include marriage-- 01:04:42.640 |
It was not the lovey-dovey relationship I imagined. 01:04:46.640 |
There were lots of days I didn't feel understood. 01:04:51.640 |
In those moments, I didn't know it at the time. 01:04:57.640 |
I was tempted and had succumbed to the temptation 01:05:00.640 |
that my husband was going to satisfy all my needs. 01:05:11.640 |
The Lord has also been faithful to me as a mom. 01:05:17.640 |
It's most physically and mentally exhausting at first. 01:05:20.640 |
Then sometime around 2, they discover their will, 01:05:25.640 |
and they begin to explore how to express that will 01:05:32.640 |
crying, pulling, pushing, punching, biting, etc. 01:05:44.640 |
In the frustration, you realize--or I realize-- 01:06:02.640 |
I was losing my mind, literally trying to pull my hair out. 01:06:45.640 |
to look back and see God's faithfulness to me. 01:06:48.640 |
I do not have a perfect record, but God does. 01:07:03.640 |
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 01:07:16.640 |
The more I trust Jesus, the more awesome He is, 01:07:22.640 |
And the closest I'll ever be to Jesus is in heaven, 01:07:26.640 |
so I can't wait to meet my Jesus face-to-face on that day. 01:07:30.640 |
And so this is my song, "I Want to Know You." 01:08:49.640 |
♪ And this weary heart finds all in You ♪ 01:09:43.640 |
♪ The sun should curse before Your name ♪ 01:11:59.640 |
We've been at Berean for over nine years now, 01:12:04.640 |
It's always a challenge to share my salvation story. 01:12:19.640 |
my family having four generations of churchgoers. 01:12:28.640 |
And I'm so thankful that God used the obedience of others 01:12:45.640 |
Church was community, where my closest friends were. 01:13:01.640 |
Thankfully, though, because of his hedge of protection, 01:13:04.640 |
my childhood was generally peaceful and content, 01:13:07.640 |
even with financial hardships like bankruptcy, 01:13:12.640 |
Our family was always fed, clothed, and housed, 01:13:26.640 |
and remind him that his hope should only be in God 01:13:34.640 |
just feeling very plagued with where I would go 01:13:39.640 |
and that led me to make a confession of faith 01:13:44.640 |
But my understanding of my true need for Christ 01:13:51.640 |
with the sense of responsibility to follow God, 01:14:01.640 |
and my eyes were open to this world and its depravity. 01:14:18.640 |
and everything felt more like a burden than a joy. 01:14:32.640 |
I still thought there was something redeemable about me. 01:14:37.640 |
Because I was raised up in a loving and God-fearing home, 01:14:40.640 |
there were many circumstances I was never placed in, 01:14:43.640 |
so where the true realities of my heart were not tested. 01:14:48.640 |
"Wouldn't I lie, cheat, steal, and even murder 01:14:58.640 |
God had been preparing me to face my true self. 01:15:06.640 |
because I had not properly prepared for an exam. 01:15:14.640 |
and so I had to muster up the guts to go confess 01:15:19.640 |
and by grace, he still let me retake that exam. 01:15:22.640 |
But that was just one of several promptings from the Lord 01:15:30.640 |
not only would I lie, cheat, steal, and murder, 01:15:46.640 |
but when confronted with the truth of who I was, 01:15:59.640 |
let alone stand before God's standard of holiness. 01:16:06.640 |
already committed all those wrongs against God. 01:16:09.640 |
So, where I had previously been self-deceived 01:16:13.640 |
to believe I was worthy of being called by him, 01:16:18.640 |
prompted me by his grace and helped me to see, 01:16:59.640 |
to be free and being fully known and covered by him. 01:17:03.640 |
His righteousness now covered my shamefulness, 01:17:06.640 |
something I could never do with any amount of effort. 01:17:24.640 |
And that truly only comes as a gift from the Lord. 01:17:28.640 |
Since that time, sorry, I'm getting a napkin. 01:17:53.640 |
I call them my Jacob wrestling with God times. 01:17:57.640 |
Some of the hardest times where God brought me 01:18:04.640 |
became some of the biggest reasons to praise and honor him. 01:18:18.640 |
So as Hebrews 12 speaks of the father's discipline, 01:18:27.640 |
I experienced the blessing of his love as the father 01:18:34.640 |
Some examples of those times include my dating season, 01:18:44.640 |
and showed me that only Christ is the true husband 01:18:55.640 |
I got caught up in the lie of the comfort trap, 01:19:01.640 |
that this "normal life" shouldn't be so hard. 01:19:07.640 |
and convinced me not to give up the best life for the easier one. 01:19:10.640 |
And he convinced me that existing rather than living 01:19:15.640 |
There was the sweet season of obedience and abandon for his gospel, 01:19:20.640 |
moving to Central Asia with our two young children for missions, 01:19:30.640 |
There were also the several times my husband got laid off 01:19:34.640 |
and we repeatedly learned to be on the receiving end of generosity 01:19:40.640 |
resting on God's provision, being humbled and stretched. 01:19:49.640 |
and we wondered whether he'd be able to hold a pencil properly 01:20:01.640 |
where our church network of 25 years, for me, 01:20:04.640 |
crumbled into broken expectations and big disappointments. 01:20:11.640 |
that Christ is to be the center of all worship, not man. 01:20:18.640 |
there was the season when God led me out of despair 01:20:24.640 |
where God's comfort and conviction truly gave me peace, 01:20:30.640 |
and that I can actively wait and pray with hope. 01:20:37.640 |
when I'm caring for my mother with advanced Alzheimer's, 01:20:45.640 |
where God reminds me in points to how he has proven his love 01:20:49.640 |
and his full sufficiency in this fallen and broken world. 01:20:53.640 |
He continues to prove that his ways are good, 01:21:07.640 |
I was also asked to share how God's faithfulness-- 01:21:24.640 |
was when the Lord really provoked me to consider, 01:21:35.640 |
can I truly say that he's my Savior and my Lord? 01:21:39.640 |
Having a lot of head knowledge, yet flaccid spiritual muscles, 01:21:45.640 |
"Am I truly willing to obey and follow the Lord?" 01:21:49.640 |
So I spoke to some of that in what I just shared, 01:22:02.640 |
convicted me that love must be in action and in truth, 01:22:09.640 |
So he's continually prompted me to check and repent 01:22:13.640 |
if my service to him is just an empty lip service 01:22:22.640 |
but rather his accountability toward my obedience and fruit 01:22:28.640 |
where he checked me by asking if Christ is my Lord 01:22:31.640 |
over and over and reminding me that he owns me, 01:22:35.640 |
that he can and he will call the shots without negotiation 01:22:43.640 |
If he's my Lord, then he must win every time. 01:22:47.640 |
Dean and I often chuckle about one of our marriage mottos. 01:22:55.640 |
God is likely almost always usually telling us 01:23:04.640 |
So it isn't a suggestion, it's not a request, 01:23:07.640 |
but in fact, you know, since I'm redeemed by Christ, 01:23:16.640 |
and turned over to the one who knows me best as my master. 01:23:20.640 |
So this may have at times graded against my desire 01:23:25.640 |
not to do anything unwillingly or half-hearted, 01:23:40.640 |
to take the same pathway of self-denial and death, 01:23:56.640 |
I can't help but think, you know, what will I say 01:23:59.640 |
when I have to give an account of my life before God? 01:24:02.640 |
And he asked me, "Why did I not serve him with my whole life 01:24:05.640 |
"and waste away the time, talent, and resources he lent me 01:24:09.640 |
"on frivolous, ungodly, and temporary pleasures and pursuits?" 01:24:13.640 |
I know these sound like words from an old person, 01:24:23.640 |
and I do wish I could redeem time from the past 01:24:31.640 |
to be generous to others and frugal to myself. 01:24:36.640 |
I want to expend the life that I've been extended 01:24:40.640 |
in my neighborhood, with my friends and my family, 01:24:43.640 |
pointing them to the liberating truth of the gospel of Christ 01:24:46.640 |
and demonstrating concretely the love of Christ 01:25:13.640 |
and he continues to lead me through the joys and difficulties 01:25:20.640 |
to the fulfillment of his promise in eternity 01:29:35.640 |
and I've had the privilege of leading you all in song this morning. 01:29:41.640 |
I am the wife of Mike Tang and mother of three kids 01:29:51.640 |
and by God's mercy and the faithful labors of those around me, 01:29:57.640 |
I came to understand that I was a sinner and needed a savior. 01:30:03.640 |
but meandered my way into the thick woods of the world in high school, 01:30:08.640 |
questioning the Christian faith and God himself. 01:30:17.640 |
forgetting the gospel and the truth that had freed me. 01:30:21.640 |
Right before college, by God's faithful hand, 01:30:24.640 |
I reluctantly attended a Christian conference, 01:30:28.640 |
and there the Lord spoke to me through the worship and prayer time. 01:30:32.640 |
I had denied him for so long, but he had never left me. 01:30:36.640 |
I had seeked validation from peers and performance. 01:30:40.640 |
I came out empty, and he was calling me back to him. 01:30:44.640 |
I repented of my willful ignorance and sought to follow after him, 01:30:53.640 |
I have been asked to share about God's faithfulness 01:31:07.640 |
It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness, 01:31:28.640 |
the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable, 01:31:31.640 |
and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness, 01:31:35.640 |
which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin. 01:31:41.640 |
In short, worship is the posture of abandoned pride, 01:31:45.640 |
and in the past few years, the Lord has led me through the deepest valleys 01:31:49.640 |
to see my sin for what it is and to humble me. 01:31:53.640 |
Before traversing the darkness, I thought I had a good grasp 01:32:00.640 |
but when I was met face to face with the parasitic weeds of bitterness 01:32:11.640 |
I attempted to resolve difficulties by my own strength, 01:32:15.640 |
not knowing that I was just sowing poisonous seeds of self-reliance. 01:32:20.640 |
My time with God was lacking, and maybe it's because, deep down, 01:32:29.640 |
I knew I could always go to him, but did I believe it? 01:32:33.640 |
My actions showed that I thought that I had to get myself right, 01:32:39.640 |
so that I could go guiltlessly before him and say, 01:32:43.640 |
"Look, Lord, here I am, your faithful servant." 01:32:47.640 |
But when I was left with the ruins of what was supposed to be good, 01:32:54.640 |
I entered his presence day after day in brokenness, 01:33:12.640 |
Even before there is a word on my tongue before, 01:33:56.640 |
And then he assured me that if we confess our sins, 01:33:59.640 |
he is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins 01:34:07.640 |
God looked upon me with compassion and turned my eyes to the cross. 01:34:25.640 |
It was through his loving kindness that I came out of the valley saying, 01:34:59.640 |
"You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever." 01:35:06.640 |
I have beheld his glory and been consoled by his tender mercy. 01:35:16.640 |
And it is because of this that I worship him, 01:39:42.640 |
These four sisters have been such a huge encouragement to me, 01:39:47.640 |
and I'm sure they've been the same for all of you. 01:39:50.640 |
Thank you for sharing the ways that God has been faithfully using you 01:39:55.640 |
to be a wife, a mom, and the ways you serve him, 01:40:04.640 |
I was reminded that it is truly by the transformative work of the gospel 01:40:10.640 |
And it's really a humble reminder how God chose to save us. 01:40:18.640 |
We're so undeserving, but God still chose to love us and call us his own. 01:40:25.640 |
So something that I was thinking was how am I living in response to this? 01:40:30.640 |
Do we believe that God is our true Lord and our Savior, 01:40:34.640 |
or is this something that we just say because that's what we've been taught? 01:40:38.640 |
How often do we try to live our lives as if we're the author of it, 01:40:45.640 |
So I really pray and I hope that we could continue to lay down our lives for God 01:40:57.640 |
It really blessed me, and I'm sure it blessed a lot of you guys as well. 01:41:03.640 |
The second part of our event, it's now our turn to share our stories with our group. 01:41:09.640 |
And if you also have a worship song that you have in mind, 01:41:15.640 |
There is a facilitator assigned to your group who can help guide the time together. 01:41:26.640 |
So some of the groups here will be moved to the cafe so that we'll have more room 01:41:35.640 |
This is--oh, the other one, the numbers--oh, no, this is right now. 01:41:39.640 |
The next slide shows--that's in the fellowship hall or the cafe. 01:41:45.640 |
This is the front of the stage, so the numbers will snake like this. 01:41:52.640 |
And there are table numbers there, so you can use those table numbers 01:41:59.640 |
I believe--do we have a little break right now? 01:42:03.640 |
Yes, so we have a 10-minute break, I believe. 01:42:07.640 |
And then you can go into your groups in around 1140. 01:42:12.640 |
I'm going to--maybe around 1135, I'll call you guys back, 01:42:15.640 |
and then 1140 is when we'll meet again for our last time, our closing praise. 01:42:25.640 |
Oh, and there's also snacks, so you can get snacks from the back during your break 01:42:37.640 |
Sorry, us meeting again at the very end is 1140. 01:42:51.640 |
And then I will come back with announcements then.