back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 9.14.25
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How good I not love you. You offer my rescue. Raise me up from death to death. 00:03:31.880 |
Your life. Your spirit is in me. Revealing your glory. Oh, what joy as I give my life. 00:03:51.080 |
Jesus, be glorified. Jesus, be magnified. Let me be a pleasing sacrifice. 00:04:07.880 |
Jesus, be glorified. Jesus, be magnified. Here at the altar, my life is an offering. 00:04:23.700 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:04:47.700 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:04:55.140 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:05:03.820 |
Jesus, be glorified. Jesus, be magnified. Let me be a pleasing sacrifice. 00:05:36.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:05:43.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:05:46.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:05:48.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:05:50.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:05:51.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:05:53.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:05:55.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:06:02.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:06:04.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:06:05.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:06:06.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:06:07.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:06:08.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:06:09.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:06:10.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:06:11.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:06:12.780 |
I choose to lose my life, Lord, and find it in you. 00:06:13.780 |
Next Sunday, on September 28th, there is a Newcomers Welcome Lunch 00:06:19.780 |
that's happening at 1 p.m. at the Youth Chapel. 00:06:22.780 |
So if you want to find out more about the church, 00:06:24.780 |
or just kind of ask some questions or history of the church, 00:06:27.780 |
you can attend that, and lunch will be provided. 00:06:30.780 |
Again, it's September 28th at 1 p.m. after the third service. 00:06:34.780 |
The next session of membership class is starting on October 5th. 00:06:38.780 |
I think today's the last day for the current one, 00:06:43.780 |
It's an eight-week class that starts at 9:30. 00:06:46.780 |
It lasts, again, about an hour, hour and a half, 00:06:49.780 |
So it happens during this time, and that's happening at 9:30. 00:06:53.780 |
So if you want to sign up for that, go to the Welcome Tent, 00:06:57.780 |
and they'll give you more information about that. 00:06:59.780 |
October 11th, from 10 to 12 p.m., there's a volleyball outreach. 00:07:04.780 |
So if you are interested in or planning to bring somebody to that, 00:07:09.780 |
And again, that's happening on October 11th, 10 to 12 p.m. 00:07:17.780 |
And then lastly, our college ministry Welcome Week is starting on September 23rd. 00:07:24.780 |
And I know that we already have a lot of semester schools that are starting to come into town. 00:07:28.780 |
But on 23rd, starting from Tuesday, there's an event that's happening almost every day. 00:07:34.780 |
And so if you want to participate in that or you have a college student that you want to introduce to that, 00:07:39.780 |
And as you go out to the courtyard, you'll see that red tent. 00:07:42.780 |
So from now on, that red tent is going to be reserved, at least for the time being, for the college department. 00:07:48.780 |
So our college pastor, some of the staff, our college welcome team members are going to be stationed there. 00:07:54.780 |
So if you have any questions or if you're a parent or somebody that you're bringing, please go to that tent and they'll give you the information that you need. 00:08:05.780 |
And then those of you who brought a physical offering again that we have our offering box hanging in the back as you exit. 00:08:13.780 |
Father, we thank you so much for who you are. 00:08:20.780 |
We pray that your grace, your love, your power, your word would speak to us today. 00:08:26.780 |
Remind us, Lord God, of our destiny, of where we're headed, that we may live lives worthy of the gospel that you've given us. 00:08:33.780 |
I pray that our worship to you would be from the bottom of our hearts, a growing gratitude toward who you are, a greater acknowledgement, Lord God, of where we're headed. 00:08:44.780 |
Help us, Lord God, to give with a cheerful heart and may it be multiplied for the sake of your kingdom. 00:09:22.760 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to greet the neighbors around us before we continue. 00:09:40.740 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:10:10.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:10:15.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:10:19.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:10:24.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:10:34.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:10:44.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:10:54.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:11:06.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:11:16.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:11:26.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:11:36.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:11:46.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:11:57.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:08.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:09.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:13.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:17.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:20.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:23.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:25.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:26.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:27.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:28.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:29.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:30.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:31.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:32.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:33.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:34.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:36.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:12:57.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:13:00.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:13:01.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:13:03.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:13:23.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:13:28.720 |
Let us all rise and let's spend a few moments to do. 00:13:57.200 |
Our God saves, our God saves, our God saves, our God saves. 00:14:47.680 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:14:57.320 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:15:06.960 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:15:16.600 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:15:26.240 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:15:35.880 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:15:45.520 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:15:55.160 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:16:04.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:16:14.440 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:16:24.080 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:16:33.720 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:16:44.360 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:16:48.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:16:53.040 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:16:54.840 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:16:57.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:16:58.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:16:59.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:01.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:03.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:06.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:08.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:09.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:10.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:13.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:15.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:16.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:17.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:18.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:19.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:20.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:21.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:22.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:23.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:24.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:25.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:32.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:36.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:38.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:40.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:41.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:42.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:44.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:45.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:46.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:47.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:48.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:49.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:50.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:53.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:54.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:55.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:56.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:57.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:17:59.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:18:16.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:18:21.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:18:23.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:18:25.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:18:26.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:18:27.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:18:28.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:18:29.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:18:30.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:18:31.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:18:32.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:18:33.800 |
Do you know that all the dark won't stop the life from getting good? 00:19:00.800 |
Hello, my name is Elizabeth and I'm going to be sharing my testimony of how I came to receive Christ. 00:19:30.800 |
My dad was an EM pastor, my mom a teacher, my older brother, twin sister, and younger sister. 00:19:37.800 |
As a pastor's kid, I grew up learning the teachings of the gospel, but I struggled with making my faith my own. 00:19:44.800 |
Before I received Christ, I was a people pleaser, someone who feared man, someone who feared judgment from people. 00:19:54.800 |
I placed high value in my works and performances, in my academic grades, the positions I served in at church and at school, my roles in sports teams, and etc. 00:20:04.800 |
I struggled with my self-worth, was full of anxiety, full of discontentment, resentment, bitterness, and I also struggled with self-harm. 00:20:12.800 |
Growing up in a Christian household, I knew all the basic Christian beliefs and jargon, but I don't think I really understood what they meant. 00:20:22.800 |
As a young girl, I would pray that God would reveal himself in miraculous ways like he did in the Bible, so that I could know he was real and that I was one of his chosen people. 00:20:34.800 |
And when I didn't receive those miracles, I convinced myself that it was just a lack of faith, and I needed to do more as a display of faith, and then I would get the proof I was looking for. 00:20:44.800 |
And even though I outgrew many immature beliefs as I progressed from childhood to adolescence, I had already become so performance-focused that it became my identity. 00:20:54.800 |
And as I performed more and more, I began to feel extreme pressure from the people around me to meet certain expectations. 00:21:02.800 |
It became a vicious cycle of serving and fearing man and trying to prove my own self-worth. 00:21:08.800 |
With my academics, it started with getting into Whitney High School, which was considered one of the most prestigious schools in California at the time. 00:21:16.800 |
Then it was about getting better grades, getting to more advanced classes, and getting better SAT scores. 00:21:22.800 |
With my friends, it was being the better friend of the friend group, the friend that was safe to share things with, the friend that couldn't get on anyone's bad side. 00:21:31.800 |
With my parents, it was being the reliable one out of my siblings, being the independent one, and being the one that they could place their hopes in to eventually have a prestigious career that they could be proud of. 00:21:45.800 |
And with church, it was being the perfect pastor's kid, always serving in one capacity or another, always having offering for the offering basket, even if it was just a dollar, and the list goes on. 00:21:56.800 |
But then, I didn't get into the most prestigious college, and my friend group fell apart, and I was left having to choose sides. 00:22:04.800 |
And my church wasn't what it used to be, and was whittled down just to a handful of people outside of my family. 00:22:10.800 |
So when these grand expectations were met with grand disappointment, the meaning of my life began to fall apart. 00:22:18.800 |
All the hard work I put into meeting these countless expectations, and for what? 00:22:26.800 |
And because I tied all of my worth into my fruitless works, I fell into deep despair and feelings of hopelessness, which eventually led to me trying to take my life when I was in the 11th grade. 00:22:42.800 |
I'm clearly still alive, but something in me remained feeling broken and hopeless. 00:22:54.800 |
I was too scared to try to commit suicide again, but I was still desperate for an escape. 00:23:01.800 |
Being the good Christian girl that I was, my vision of rebellion was leaving my so-called prestigious high school. 00:23:07.800 |
So I told everyone that I just wanted to experience a real high school, but in reality, it was just a way for me to try and escape some of the expectations created by my friends, my academics, my parents, and myself. 00:23:19.800 |
But my escape was short-lived as all of those old expectations just came back with new faces. 00:23:28.800 |
And my mind constantly turned to death as being the ultimate form of peace. 00:23:34.800 |
No more worldly problems, no more worldly expectations, just eternity with God. 00:23:40.800 |
And if God didn't exist, maybe just a peaceful eternal sleep. 00:23:45.800 |
Then in my senior year of high school, we lost one of our church sisters to cancer. 00:23:56.800 |
Her cousin Esther, who was also my Sunday school teacher, shared a eulogy about Grace's life. 00:24:02.800 |
Esther shared about Grace's close relationship with the nurses that cared for her. 00:24:07.800 |
She shared about how Grace would always sing praise songs while she was in the hospital, 00:24:12.800 |
declaring God's goodness to all those around her. 00:24:16.800 |
And the one song that she would always sing at the hospital was, "Lord, I offer my life." 00:24:22.800 |
And as we sang the song, I came to appreciate the amount of faith it must have taken Grace to sing that song, 00:24:29.800 |
when there was so much uncertainty as she battled cancer. 00:24:32.800 |
The amount of faith it must have taken to truly lay her worries, concerns, hopes for the future at the foot of the cross. 00:24:39.800 |
Here was Grace. She fought so hard to live and instead died. 00:24:44.800 |
And yet she gave glory to God in the process. 00:24:47.800 |
And then there was me. I tried to take my own life and instead live. 00:24:53.800 |
I remember thinking, what would Grace's family give to spend just one more day with her? 00:25:00.800 |
And yet here I was willingly trying to throw that precious life away. 00:25:06.800 |
I came to realize that my attempt at suicide was a selfish choice, not a God honoring one. 00:25:12.800 |
I took my worries, concerns and anxieties and instead of laying them at the feet of Jesus, 00:25:17.800 |
in a last ditch effort to have some kind of control over my life, I tried to end it. 00:25:22.800 |
And I asked myself, if I died that day, would my friends and family be able to testify of my great faith in God 00:25:32.800 |
Would people be able to see that I was one who had lived and died as a faithful believer of Christ? 00:25:39.800 |
I weighed the value of all my work, my diligence, my self-sacrifice, and the answer was still a clear no. 00:25:48.800 |
It was then that I came to finally realize how lost I actually was. 00:25:54.800 |
As we sang that song, I repented to God for my selfishness, for making this whole journey about me and my need for reassurance. 00:26:03.800 |
I repented for daring to end the sacred life He had gifted me. 00:26:08.800 |
And in that song, for those that don't know the song, it says, 00:26:13.800 |
Lord, I offer my life to you, everything I've been through, use it for your glory. 00:26:18.800 |
Lord, I offer my days to you, lifting my praise to you, as a pleasing sacrifice, Lord, I offer you my life. 00:26:25.800 |
And as I sang the lyrics, I prayed that my life would be used to bring Him glory, rather than being about me. 00:26:34.800 |
I told God that my life was no longer my own, that I offered my life to Him, and that it was now His and only His to decide how I should live or die. 00:26:49.800 |
After I received Christ, Ephesians 2:8 began to take a new meaning for me. 00:26:54.800 |
For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. 00:27:01.800 |
It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 00:27:06.800 |
God released me from the burden of trying to prove that I was good enough for Heaven. 00:27:15.800 |
He released me from the burden of trying to live by the expectations of everyone else around me. 00:27:21.800 |
He saw me weary and burdened, chasing after the unachievable, and told me, "Come to me, and I will give you rest. 00:27:36.800 |
For I have what you seek, and I give it to you freely." 00:27:41.800 |
And I'd never experienced a peace quite like that before. 00:27:44.800 |
It's been over a decade since I received Christ, and today I'm still anxious at times, but I ground myself in His truth, and I find reassurance in Him. 00:27:57.800 |
He affirms my worth as a daughter of Christ, rather than in my accomplishments. 00:28:02.800 |
I still struggle with depression and thoughts of self-harm and suicide, but in those moments of feeling hopeless, God reminds me that the hope I place in Him has never and will never disappoint. 00:28:17.800 |
Because He is sovereign and changing, He's reliable and dependable, and He's working for my good in all of it. 00:28:26.800 |
So my desire is to please God, but in moments when I falter, and by myself performing, to people please, or trying to fulfill worldly expectations, 00:28:36.800 |
God has always redirected me and beckoned me to Him again, through His word and through His people. 00:28:43.800 |
And now, also through the people I'm able to call, brothers and sisters here at Berean. 00:29:20.780 |
All right. Thank you, Elizabeth, for that encouraging testimony. If you can turn your Bibles with me to Luke chapter 12. For the sake of time, I'm only going to be reading verse 22 to 23. 00:29:47.460 |
And again, I want to remind you that whenever we read the text, that it needs to be understood in the context of the whole text. 00:29:55.020 |
So I'm not going to be able to read all of it, but just keep that in mind. 00:29:58.240 |
The previous things that we're talking about, the sermons that we were referencing. 00:30:05.460 |
And he said to his disciples, for this reason, I say to you, do not worry about your life as to what you will eat, nor for your body as to what you will put on. 00:30:16.020 |
For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. 00:30:20.340 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this morning. 00:30:25.660 |
We pray that the power of the Holy Spirit would ignite your word. 00:30:31.080 |
That would challenge us, cause us, Lord God, to see a greater sense of your glory. 00:30:37.480 |
That our faith may be strengthened and our worship, Lord God, would be sharpened. 00:30:41.260 |
I pray, Father God, that your word would enlighten us and your spirit would convict us. 00:30:47.200 |
And that your name may be honored as a result. 00:30:53.980 |
I think many of you are very aware of what happened this week with a brother, Charlie Kirk. 00:31:01.440 |
And Charlie Kirk is somebody that I heard of many years ago. 00:31:08.820 |
And to be honest, I was not a follower of Charlie Kirk because he sounded to me more like a politician than a Christian. 00:31:18.600 |
But after what happened, like I said, I mean, I've been so disappointed with politicians, both the Republicans and Democrats, for so many years that my natural inclination is I just don't trust politicians. 00:31:33.420 |
I've been a Republican since I became a Christian because it closely aligns to what I believe. 00:31:39.280 |
And absolutely today, more than any other time. 00:31:46.220 |
But I was not a follower of Charlie Kirk for that reason. 00:31:50.380 |
Because even though I agree with him, with his policies, I saw more of a passionate politician than I saw a Christian, though I knew he was a Christian. 00:32:01.080 |
But after the events of this week, I did a deep dive of what happened. 00:32:06.800 |
And there are several things that I found out. 00:32:09.440 |
One, I was very surprised at how young he was. 00:32:14.200 |
He was 31, and I remember seeing him even 10 years ago. 00:32:18.300 |
And to think, and found out that he started this organization, Turning Point, when he was 18 years old. 00:32:24.340 |
And he was very active since high school, even as early as 16, 17. 00:32:28.080 |
There's actually recordings of him when he was 14. 00:32:32.760 |
And I remember thinking that so much of what I heard of him was many years ago, when he was in his late teens and early 20s. 00:32:48.840 |
And then, and I, that was the first thing that I realized, just how young he was. 00:32:54.320 |
But the second thing I realized was how devoted of a Christian he is. 00:32:58.120 |
And I started to go in, listen, not just videotapes, not just clips of TikTok or, you know, certain things that people have kind of cut up to make him look a certain way. 00:33:09.220 |
But I started going and listening to all these things. 00:33:11.100 |
And I realized just how overt he was about his faith. 00:33:14.380 |
And every instance he had, he would proclaim his faith in Christ. 00:33:21.520 |
And I realized the hatred toward him specifically is because he was being so effective. 00:33:26.740 |
He was going on campuses and hostile territories. 00:33:30.700 |
And he was having thousands of students coming. 00:33:32.860 |
And because he was speaking for, for causes, and, and many people will conflate thinking that he's just a Republican. 00:33:40.340 |
And the more and more I heard him, he was actually trying to evangelize. 00:33:45.200 |
And he will clearly say, and I think you could testify through watching all of the videos, not the bits and bits of pieces that, that the media wants to propagate. 00:33:55.680 |
That his commitment first and foremost was to his faith in God and the gospel, and then to his family, and then to the country in that order. 00:34:05.760 |
And it was pretty clear to me, the more I watched, that that was the case. 00:34:08.860 |
Now, the reason why I shared all of this with you is because the question comes up is, did he get martyred? 00:34:14.660 |
And I'm confident that that's the reason, right, that he got shot. 00:34:20.100 |
Not because he was against terror, or he was, you know, for tariffs, or he, he was for, you know, closing of the borders and all these things. 00:34:33.220 |
But the reason why they hated him so much is because he was propagating Christian causes. 00:34:40.360 |
He was speaking against transgenderism, homosexuality, these are things that we all profess to believe. 00:34:46.700 |
The only difference is, he was bold about it, and he went to places where it was hostile, and he was being very effective with the young crowd. 00:34:54.860 |
And so, you may have heard that there's a revival breaking out with the Gen Zs, and he has a lot to do with that. 00:35:01.700 |
Because he was so effective, thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, and not, and I'm realizing more and more that this was not limited to the United States. 00:35:09.280 |
There's, there's vigils that are breaking out all over the world. 00:35:20.300 |
And because he was speaking for the cause of Christ, and because he was making the gospel, and the teachings of Jesus Christ so clear, they hated him. 00:35:30.100 |
And so, I believe that what we are remembering today is a modern-day martyr. 00:35:39.120 |
Again, the only difference between him and us is because he was effective, and he was loud, and he was purposeful, and he was literally influencing the young generation. 00:35:50.580 |
And that's why they felt the need to get rid of him. 00:35:54.260 |
I think the events of this week has revealed just how clear this evil is. 00:36:04.480 |
And the reason why I share all of this is not simply because what happened this week, but it's right in line with what we've been talking about. 00:36:11.400 |
In verse, chapter, chapter 12, Jesus said to them, he says, 00:36:16.340 |
I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body. 00:36:22.520 |
He was preparing his disciples to be martyred. 00:36:28.180 |
If you're going to fear anybody, fear him who's able to kill the body and the soul, because that God loves you. 00:36:34.340 |
So, it's almost kind of trivial what we're about to talk today, talk about today. 00:36:44.500 |
Don't be afraid when you get dragged into the synagogues, into the rulers and the authorities, because the Holy Spirit is going to empower you. 00:36:51.100 |
And he's going to put the words in your mouth to speak so you can be my witness. 00:36:54.840 |
And then eventually, they're going to have to pick up the cross and die. 00:36:58.600 |
And then someone in the crowd in the midst of this says, hey, tell my brother to give me my inheritance. 00:37:05.000 |
And then so, all of a sudden, it seems like he does a complete U-turn and talks about something so trivial in light of martyrdom. 00:37:16.920 |
And then, not only does he address this crowd to tell them to be careful about coveting, now he turns to his disciples. 00:37:24.920 |
And he begins to have this discourse about not worrying about what you're going to eat and what you're going to wear. 00:37:33.620 |
After warning them, after telling them to be bold, even in the threat of your very life. 00:37:44.040 |
But I think it's a very practical thing that he's saying, because as much as we may be riled up in events like this. 00:37:51.720 |
And say, you know what, I'm going to live for Jesus Christ and I'm going to be a witness. 00:37:57.340 |
As much as we may be sincere in wanting to do that. 00:38:01.720 |
What trips us up more than anything else is not persecution. 00:38:04.460 |
In fact, I believe after today, because the lines have been drawn so clearly. 00:38:10.480 |
That many people who have maybe been on the sideline, many people who are maybe afraid to speak out, will get boldness. 00:38:17.240 |
And I believe somewhat of a revival is going to break out. 00:38:20.560 |
So I don't think persecution is not what squashes God's work. 00:38:32.260 |
He says, some people will fall out because of fear. 00:38:39.800 |
But where the rubber meets the road is not that. 00:38:50.400 |
We go to short-term missions and come back and say, I want to live for Jesus Christ. 00:38:57.620 |
And then all of a sudden, you're worried about paying your bills, taking care of your kids. 00:39:04.960 |
The next thing you know, the deceitfulness of riches and concern, it squashes. 00:39:17.220 |
As much as we want to fight the system, as much as we want to fight the evil outside of us, 00:39:22.540 |
what trips us up is not what's out there, but what's in here. 00:39:28.700 |
There's three things that I want to point out here about anxiousness, about worry. 00:39:33.040 |
First of all, he says, anxiousness comes from preoccupation with this earthly life. 00:39:40.760 |
What squashes this passion to be a bold witness for Jesus Christ is not the pressure that comes from the outside. 00:39:48.520 |
It's a constant distraction, constant coveting over the things of this world. 00:39:54.580 |
He begins by saying, do not worry over what you will eat and what you will wear, he says. 00:40:04.760 |
And the reason that he's talking about, in the previous text, he says, he gives a parable about this man 00:40:11.440 |
who's storing up all his wealth, built barns, thinking, I'm going to have all of this, 00:40:17.420 |
and I'm going to relax, and I'm going to live my life. 00:40:24.720 |
In other words, you don't have control over your life. 00:40:27.740 |
You may make all these plans and all the concerns that you have, but you don't know that you might find out that you have cancer, 00:40:35.640 |
that you might get in an accident, or in Charlie Kirk's situation to get shot. 00:40:45.100 |
He says, for this reason, knowing that that is the case, knowing that you don't have any control over this, 00:40:53.860 |
Do not worry about your life as to what you will eat, nor your body as to what you will put on. 00:41:01.940 |
Anybody in here that is, like, if you don't have anything to eat that you wouldn't worry, or, you know, wearing clothes, 00:41:08.440 |
I mean, this is fundamental things that you need to live. 00:41:15.080 |
How do you not worry about that, especially if you have kids? 00:41:21.280 |
Well, you have to understand the context of what he is saying. 00:41:25.220 |
He's talking to disciples who is going to be commissioned to go out and spread the gospel in hostile territory. 00:41:35.960 |
If we were to be honest, the reason why so much passion for Christ gets squashed is because of our concern for our daily life. 00:41:48.020 |
It's because of the things that we committed, the things that we covet, things that we desire. 00:41:53.520 |
It's because of fear of losing some of our comfort, our safety. 00:42:00.520 |
He's not simply talking about, take care of yourself, take care of your children. 00:42:10.800 |
You know who in our society doesn't worry about food and clothing? 00:42:16.220 |
Who in our society does not worry about food or clothing? 00:42:25.460 |
You have little children that wake up who's two, three, four years old, and they say, 00:42:28.960 |
I'm so concerned because, you know, did you go get what we need? 00:42:32.880 |
You know, I looked at the fridge before I went to sleep last night, and I saw that we didn't have enough milk. 00:42:38.160 |
I'm concerned that we don't have enough milk for cereal. 00:42:42.020 |
Do you have any child that woke up this morning and say, you know what, my clothes. 00:42:48.400 |
I'm going to church on Sunday, and I need to have proper clothes. 00:43:07.780 |
Because it's assumed that they're going to be taken care of. 00:43:10.560 |
They don't worry about that because it's there for them when they wake up. 00:43:13.200 |
Mommy and dad gets the clothes, and they put it on. 00:43:16.040 |
All they have to do is just follow what mommy and daddy does. 00:43:18.700 |
Do you know when else that adults didn't worry about food and clothing? 00:43:29.580 |
When God created Adam and Eve, He said He gave everything for food. 00:43:36.580 |
And so they didn't have to go and work hard and wait for the fruit. 00:43:59.740 |
They're going to make fun of me if I wear this. 00:44:02.060 |
Or, you know, I wore this too many times, and, you know, if I wear this, what if the other guy wears it? 00:44:07.540 |
But if you think about fundamentally, where did the clothing come in? 00:44:14.160 |
But then the clothing that came in to hide shame at some point in human history became, you know what? 00:44:22.020 |
We're going to hide shame, but while we're hiding our shame, let's look good doing it. 00:44:31.500 |
You know, I have a hard time doing anything if I don't understand it. 00:44:34.520 |
And so, you know, like, I started wearing ties out of peer pressure. 00:44:43.220 |
So I started wearing it, and then I was like, why do we wear neckties? 00:44:47.180 |
So I did a deep dive into, and no one is 100% sure. 00:44:53.700 |
One was, because a long time ago, obviously, you know, they would wear coats, and then, you 00:45:00.940 |
know, part of their body would be exposed in the winter, so they would wear scarves to make 00:45:05.720 |
sure that all their body parts are covered, and then that eventually turned into a fashion 00:45:14.840 |
Another theory, which I think makes more sense to me, is that at some point, you know, in human 00:45:20.740 |
history, only in modern history where people, because we have water coming into homes and 00:45:25.940 |
we have hot water, you know, that's a modern-day luxury that most of humankind did not have. 00:45:36.320 |
So in order to hide BO, what they did was they would get handkerchief, and they would put perfume 00:45:40.700 |
on it, and they believed that perfume, not only for the purpose of BO, it protected them 00:45:46.100 |
So they would carry it around, but because men didn't want to have this stuff, you know, 00:45:50.680 |
and put it in their pockets, so they would just hang it around their neck so that they 00:45:56.020 |
hide their BO, so it would be constantly, so they would perfume this thing around their 00:46:04.280 |
Now, so for a period, it's like, this doesn't make any sense, I stopped wearing necktie for 00:46:10.480 |
Some of you guys may remember that, but the reason why I started putting it back on is 00:46:13.920 |
because without the necktie, I realized my shirt was always doing this, and no one would 00:46:20.380 |
And Esther said, I've been trying to get your attention, but I was doing God's work, so I 00:46:28.460 |
So I was looking at the videos, and I realized, like, so, oh, this is actually more distracting, 00:46:36.280 |
So for the purpose, so it's for pragmatic reasons, right? 00:46:40.320 |
So I started putting the necktie back on, but the point that I'm trying to make is that 00:46:45.540 |
things that we wear, it came from the fall, and even this necktie, to hide BO, but in the 00:46:51.920 |
context of hiding our shame and hiding our BO, let's look good doing it. 00:47:02.020 |
So what Jesus is addressing is people who have fallen and made the physical world their 00:47:10.780 |
everything, and they're concerned that maybe his disciples aren't going to take up the cross 00:47:16.220 |
and follow Jesus because of the concern of what they're going to eat and what they're going 00:47:19.300 |
to wear, because of the concern, overly concerned about this world. 00:47:24.140 |
The word for Adam in Hebrew basically means man. 00:47:27.860 |
You know what the word for dirt is in Hebrew? 00:47:42.980 |
You said God created all of these things, and then on the sixth day, he created them from 00:47:48.140 |
the dirt, and then what separated him from the rest of creation is that God breathed his 00:47:56.240 |
So without God's image, without his breath, we're just dirt. 00:48:01.740 |
So if all you are doing is worried about this physical life, you are protecting a mound of dirt. 00:48:10.920 |
That's what he's trying to say, that you've got your values all mixed up, that what makes 00:48:16.520 |
this valuable is because of Christ's image in us. 00:48:20.840 |
See, in 1 Corinthians 15, 45, it says the first Adam basically brought in sin, and then it's 00:48:33.520 |
So when you live your life primarily and only concerned coveting the things of this world, 00:48:40.500 |
That's the point that he's trying to get at, and the real practical thing that he's trying 00:48:44.980 |
to get at is that if you live your life anxiously about what you will eat, what you will wear, 00:48:53.340 |
And when anxiousness and worry comes in, what happens? 00:49:05.820 |
And then when you have these things residing in your heart, it ends up squashing the life 00:49:11.940 |
The life he's talking about is not biologically existing, but zoe, to be alive. 00:49:18.940 |
When you're living day to day, coveting, worrying, competing with jealousy, with anxiousness, no matter 00:49:28.360 |
how much we want to worship God, the Word of God is being choked. 00:49:31.940 |
So as much as we say you want to be bold for Jesus Christ, the fear of not having these things 00:49:40.140 |
causes us to be utterly powerless and impotent. 00:49:43.440 |
Anxiousness comes from preoccupation with this earthly life. 00:49:49.720 |
Secondly, anxiousness comes from lack of faith, he says. 00:49:53.340 |
He's going to give us illustration of why we shouldn't be anxious because of who he is, 00:49:58.140 |
but at the end of that, he says, it's because you men of little faith. 00:50:08.740 |
We have more confidence in our senses than we do about God. 00:50:12.320 |
And our whole salvation is based upon faith and what he tells us. 00:50:16.960 |
But we're justified by faith, but somehow, after we're justified, we live by sight. 00:50:31.300 |
In Leviticus chapter 11, 15, they were considered dirty animals. 00:50:36.840 |
In fact, if you may remember, and we're going to get to that at some point in the study of 00:50:42.000 |
Genesis, after the 40 years of flood, Noah wanted to find out if the flood was done and 00:50:56.860 |
And the dove goes and then picks up a twig and they find out, say, okay, the water has 00:51:04.960 |
But the reason why that's there is because raven goes out and they're known as scavengers. 00:51:11.360 |
So they go and most likely they found a safe place for them and they sat down and they didn't 00:51:17.440 |
So the reason why he uses the term the ravens is that look at the ravens, these dirty birds, 00:51:29.780 |
They don't put storehouses to gather all their stuff to make sure that they have enough. 00:51:42.580 |
Everything that God has created, he created to sustain them, to feed them, to care for them, 00:51:49.700 |
But he said, how much more valuable are you than them? 00:51:54.720 |
If God created all things in that way, that even the ravens would be taken care of, why are you 00:52:08.840 |
He tells us that he has given us the rule to rule and to subdue all the land. 00:52:14.380 |
In Luke 25, 26 and 12, 25, 26, and which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his 00:52:22.080 |
If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? 00:52:26.520 |
If by your concern and anxiousness that you can't change the outcome of your life, how long 00:52:33.300 |
you will live, how short you will live, why are you putting all your energy in that? 00:52:43.920 |
Consider the beauty of the lilies, how they neither toil nor spin. 00:52:49.580 |
But he says, not even Solomon had their beauty. 00:52:52.860 |
The reason why this comparing with Solomon is because we know that Solomon had money. 00:53:01.340 |
We know that Solomon had power because he was the king. 00:53:03.560 |
We know that Solomon was to be the wisest person, so he had great knowledge. 00:53:10.940 |
Because people were coming from other places to come and talk to him. 00:53:14.320 |
So he had everything that he can, you can possibly want. 00:53:23.200 |
And you say, well, I don't remember reading that about Solomon. 00:53:28.460 |
Because the Bible says, clearly, David was handsome, right? 00:53:34.320 |
And this is objective because the Bible says it, right? 00:53:37.840 |
Because when we say the beauty is in the eye of a beholder, that's us because we're subjective. 00:53:46.000 |
All beauty is subjective, except when the Bible says it. 00:53:53.460 |
So deductive reasoning, here's this beautiful king who is tempted with Bathsheba. 00:54:26.180 |
So through deductive reasoning, this guy had money, power, knowledge, fame, and beauty. 00:54:33.480 |
So Jesus is taking the pinnacle of what the world would desire, everything that a human being 00:54:43.520 |
could possibly want, this man has, and he says, look at the lilies. 00:54:48.160 |
Even Solomon cannot compare to the beauty of the lilies. 00:54:53.160 |
And you know what makes him beautiful, right? 00:54:59.540 |
There's a difference between being pretty and being attractive, right? 00:55:06.500 |
Being pretty, I mean, you're pretty because symmetry of your eyes and your height and skin color 00:55:13.660 |
But if the inner person is ugly, eventually they look ugly, right? 00:55:17.940 |
Some of you guys who are young, you don't know that yet. 00:55:28.960 |
If they're selfish, they don't look pretty, right? 00:55:33.300 |
So he's saying, here's this man who in every human measurement, he is beautiful. 00:55:39.720 |
But compared to the lily, look at the way he created the lily. 00:55:48.540 |
They come one day and tomorrow it dries up and it's to be burned. 00:55:54.020 |
You know, one of my favorite passages in the Bible is in Matthew 12, 20. 00:55:59.020 |
It's a quote of the Isaiah passage where when the Messiah comes, that this is going to be part of his character. 00:56:05.180 |
A battered reed he will not break off and a smoldering wick he will not put out. 00:56:19.620 |
He said, a smoldering wick of a candle that's already burnt out and has ashes. 00:56:24.220 |
And all we would do is cut it out so we can go and use the good wick. 00:56:28.040 |
And he said, a battered reed and a smoldering wick he will not put out. 00:56:34.400 |
That God will love and care for and he would redeem. 00:56:39.280 |
So he's saying, if this God who created the universe, who created creation, 00:56:46.680 |
whether it's ravens or lilies or even this word, what seems to be worthless grass. 00:56:59.020 |
In fact, in Romans 8.32, that's exactly what Paul says. 00:57:02.740 |
He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all. 00:57:06.900 |
How will he not also with him freely give us all things? 00:57:12.420 |
How can we come to church every single day singing about God sacrificing his son 00:57:20.100 |
because he loved us so much, and then as soon as the worship is done, 00:57:24.160 |
go right back into worrying and coveting this world? 00:57:32.820 |
It is inconsistent with what we do every single Sunday. 00:57:39.980 |
How can you believe a God who created the ravens? 00:57:44.200 |
And then to be worried about what you're going to eat and what you're going to wear. 00:57:49.320 |
That's your primary concern, realizing that all of that is choking out the word of God. 00:57:55.520 |
When the word of God is choked out, the word of God sounds like this. 00:58:03.800 |
Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah. 00:58:09.820 |
And all you're looking at is how long is this guy going to go? 00:58:13.500 |
how long am i going to persevere through because the word of god is not bringing life to you 00:58:19.900 |
the word of god is not causing worship there's no joy in the word of god it's just a duty it's just 00:58:27.580 |
something that you need to do it's something that you need to study because that's what you're 00:58:31.260 |
supposed to do and jesus said you search through scripture because you think that it brings life 00:58:37.740 |
ultimately that it's about me and because of these worries and concerns 00:58:44.380 |
god's word and his spirit has been choked in your life and so you see everything even church even 00:58:51.580 |
the things of god through that lens is this effective is not effective are we doing the 00:58:56.700 |
right thing or the wrong thing all through the lens of coveting the world in philippians chapter 4 6 and 00:59:03.660 |
7 said be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your 00:59:08.780 |
requests be made known to god and the peace of god which surpasses all comprehension will guard your 00:59:13.420 |
hearts and your minds in christ jesus paul is sitting in prison chained to a roman guard 00:59:20.940 |
sitting in a dungeon possibly waiting a beheading and he's writing a letter to the christians who are 00:59:28.300 |
living in their comfort outside saying be anxious for nothing if anybody we would think would be 00:59:33.420 |
anxious would be paul sitting in prison but apostles paul's joy was not coming from his circumstance 00:59:40.220 |
if he was a man who was coveting who's worrying he wouldn't be able to write this letter 00:59:44.780 |
because the worrying and the concern is not about our circumstance it's about who we trust 00:59:52.940 |
who do we trust do we trust our bank account do we trust our knowledge do we trust our decision do we 01:00:02.140 |
trust our experience or do you trust the promises of god that's what saved us 01:00:07.980 |
when you believed in jesus christ did you float in the air did gold come down from the ground no it's 01:00:14.620 |
simply because you heard the word of god and you believed that's why you come that's why we sacrifice 01:00:21.980 |
but at some point in our walk with god we decided that we're going to walk by sight 01:00:26.540 |
and that was causing anxiousness fear competing coveting 01:00:34.300 |
he says first peter 5 7 casts all your anxiety on him because he cares for you 01:00:43.580 |
that our peace does not come because we have what we want because simply because he promised it 01:00:55.900 |
why why would he not provide for the trivial things why are you so worried about trivial things when you 01:01:05.500 |
every week confess that he sacrificed his only begotten son why would he withhold any good thing 01:01:12.460 |
only reason why he says because you have little faith 01:01:18.860 |
little faith now he's not talking to non-christians he doesn't say you have no faith he says you have little faith 01:01:27.020 |
that you have faith to believe some but not all but if you believed his promise to save you 01:01:34.940 |
why wouldn't you believe him to sustain you why wouldn't you believe him to glorify you 01:01:42.460 |
he who began a good work in you he will be the one who carries it unto completion 01:01:48.780 |
until the day of christ thirdly anxiousness comes from not seeking his kingdom first 01:01:56.380 |
anxiousness comes from not seeking his kingdom first luke chapter 12 29 30 01:02:00.220 |
do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink and do not keep worrying for all these things 01:02:05.180 |
the nations of the world eagerly seek but your father knows that you need these things 01:02:10.700 |
as we talked about last week he said for the first time in 2025 01:02:15.500 |
trillion dollar was spent in advertisement for the first time in history that means a trillion dollar was 01:02:28.060 |
get you to cover a trillion dollar was spent to get you to think and to believe that you need 01:02:36.300 |
those shoes you need those pants you need to travel here you need to eat this you need to get on this 01:02:40.780 |
plane you need to live here you need to experience that a trillion dollar was spent so if you do not 01:02:46.780 |
if you do not make a decision that i'm i'm not going to follow the pattern of this world you naturally 01:02:54.860 |
will that's why it says do not seek and it is in the present imperative meaning do not continue to live 01:03:02.860 |
your life in this pattern romans 12 2 do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the 01:03:08.860 |
renewing of the renewing of your mind in the previous years you allowed your mind to be tempted to be 01:03:15.740 |
coveting to be anxious by everything that you see just like everybody else and you follow the pattern of 01:03:21.580 |
this world but he said do not do that but he says to all the other nations in other words the whole world 01:03:30.940 |
in romans 6 8 6 through 8 says for the mind set on the flesh is death but the mind set on the spirit is 01:03:38.780 |
life and peace because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward god for it does not subject itself 01:03:43.820 |
to the law of god for it is not even able to do so and those who are in the flesh cannot please god 01:03:49.100 |
if your mind is constantly on the flesh what i will eat what i will dress eventually your mind your heart 01:03:56.220 |
your life will eventually flow to that and the word of god gets choked scripture says in first 01:04:04.140 |
corinthians 10 31 whether you eat or drink do it for the glory of god even these fundamental basic 01:04:10.220 |
things for survival he says do it for the glory of god seek his kingdom first and all these things 01:04:15.580 |
shall be added to you do not be afraid little flock for your father has chosen gladly to give you 01:04:21.580 |
the kingdom again seek his kingdom present imperative to keep striving to keep going 01:04:29.420 |
not simply when you're young not simply when you have plenty of time not simply when you're 01:04:34.460 |
when your children get older or when you put enough money away he says seek his kingdom continually 01:04:40.060 |
make this a pattern and the character of who you are to continue to seek his kingdom first because he 01:04:47.420 |
says our father knows your need first of all he says he's our father he's our father just like i said 01:04:55.260 |
why do children not wake up worrying about the food and clothing because of their father because of their 01:05:01.980 |
mother and he said your heavenly father is your father in other words he cares for you 01:05:07.660 |
and he has perfect knowledge of what you need again it's in the perfect tense meaning that he knows all 01:05:18.700 |
it's heartbreaking when people know but they could care less some care but they don't know 01:05:27.100 |
and i i realize that as our church continues to grow this is something that we constantly wrestle with 01:05:34.700 |
that we care we're praying but we don't know because the church is growing so we're always limited 01:05:39.980 |
some people know and some people care but they don't have any power to do anything about it 01:05:55.740 |
what do you say to a young girl who experienced sexual assault from their own father when they 01:06:03.820 |
were a child sitting in front of them trying to counsel them and encourage them what words can i use 01:06:10.700 |
and then you say something trivial like god causes all things for good you know even that god can use 01:06:16.460 |
for it sounds so trivial it almost offensive and i could i can imagine getting angry it's like oh don't 01:06:24.460 |
worry about it you know god had a purpose for this what do you say as much as i care as much as now i 01:06:31.980 |
know i'm completely healthy what can i possibly say other than to be there and and cry with them 01:06:39.340 |
and sympathize i don't have any power to change that and i remember for years feeling helpless 01:06:48.780 |
do i have to go to counseling school do i do i need more education what do i do i remember it just hit 01:06:53.900 |
me years later it hit me that's not what god sent me to do i might care and i might know but i don't have 01:07:04.460 |
any power but i do know somebody who cares who knows and who has the power and i realized that my job is to 01:07:14.300 |
introduce her to christ what i am not capable of doing god can to get her to come to christ get her to 01:07:23.180 |
know christ introduce her to the christ that i've met and i don't know how i don't know what but he's the answer 01:07:30.060 |
he says why are you so concerned and worried and anxious 01:07:38.140 |
when your father who knows all things who cares and loves you who gave you his only begotten son 01:07:43.260 |
how will he not along with him give you all things and then on top of that he says to seek 01:07:49.020 |
his kingdom not simply because it's his kingdom he says the kingdom has been given to you 01:07:53.100 |
not simply as a servant but his adopted child 01:07:58.060 |
he calls us co-heirs with christ that every sacrifice you make every trial that you go through 01:08:06.060 |
you make sacrifices you put money away from here and you and put it over here because you don't want to 01:08:14.540 |
touch it because you think this investment is going to pay off someday everybody makes sacrifices the 01:08:19.260 |
only difference is what's a good investment where's going to be the greatest payoff that's the only difference 01:08:26.060 |
is that as christians we believe the greatest payoff is coming in christ 01:08:29.740 |
why would you be so worried and concerned about the quality of your life here when the greatest promise 01:08:39.180 |
is promised for us when he comes in fact i believe what frees us more than anything else to be obedient to 01:08:49.980 |
christ is election and predestination every time we run into a predestination 01:08:55.980 |
election we get into this argument of what how does that work where does man's free will and 01:08:59.580 |
and we get we kind of get sidetracked of why he says it trying to figure out how does it work 01:09:06.060 |
i want you to i'm going to read a little bit longer passage both of them but i'm going to wrap up here 01:09:13.180 |
ephesians 1 3 to 5. blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ who has blessed us with every 01:09:18.540 |
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in christ just as he chose he chose us in him before the foundation of the 01:09:24.220 |
the world that he would be holy and blameless before him in love he predestined us to adoption as sons 01:09:30.620 |
through jesus christ himself according to the kind intentions of his will so we read that and say well 01:09:35.180 |
how does that work he predestined he adopted us how does that work why does he write this 01:09:48.620 |
i have you i have you i have you whatever path that this leads to whatever persecution however the 01:09:55.340 |
quality of your life he says i in love predestined you to be adopted as my child so you do what i tell 01:10:02.140 |
you to do predestination election frees me more than anything else to be obedient because i don't have 01:10:08.140 |
to worry about where this path leads whatever this path leads to he has me that's what he means 01:10:14.220 |
again first peter 1 3 to 5 blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ who according to his 01:10:20.220 |
great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of jesus christ 01:10:24.780 |
from the dead to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable undefiled and will not fade away 01:10:30.300 |
reserved in heaven for you in heaven for you who are protected by the power of god through faith for 01:10:35.580 |
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time he says you have been elected you have been chosen 01:10:43.100 |
you have been predestined why does he tell us this to tell us not to worry don't worry if i tell you 01:10:53.100 |
to stand up just stand up if i tell you to sit down just sit down if i tell you to speak just speak 01:10:59.260 |
if i tell you to go go if i tell you to stay stay you don't have to worry about where this 01:11:05.500 |
leads because i have you i have you that's what he was trying to encourage his disciples 01:11:13.180 |
you have a difficult road ahead of you they're going to hate you because of what i'm telling 01:11:20.300 |
you to say they're going to despise you and yes like charlie kirk some of them want to kill you 01:11:26.780 |
but whether you live a long life or whether you live a blessed life or whether you live a comfortable life 01:11:33.500 |
or this path leads to trials and difficulty and hardship i have you i gave my only begotten son 01:11:43.100 |
for you don't you think that i have enough love and power to protect you from anything that i don't want 01:11:51.980 |
to happen to you that's what he's trying to tell his disciples i have you i have you 01:11:59.180 |
that i have you follow me and pick up the cross let's pray 01:12:13.500 |
father give us faith that we would not live by sight but by the promises that you've given 01:12:23.420 |
help us lord god to have greater faith lord we are all prone to concern and worry and anxiousness lord 01:12:31.900 |
god over this life help us to see a clearer vision of what is coming that we may live lord god investing 01:12:40.380 |
in the things that are eternal give us courage lord god to speak give us courage to go give us courage 01:12:46.380 |
lord god to deny ourselves for the sake of your name may christ be exalted may your name be worshiped in 01:12:54.060 |
in jesus name we pray amen let's all stand up for the closing praise 01:13:12.540 |
before the throne of god above i have a strong and perfect plea 01:13:23.820 |
before the throne of god above i have a strong and perfect plea 01:13:33.020 |
for the throne of god before the throne of god above i have a great high priest whose name is love 01:13:41.820 |
lord above i have a great high priest whose name is love whoever lives and pleads for me 01:13:45.500 |
lord above i have a great high priest whose name is love my name is love my name is love i know that while in heaven he stands 01:13:59.180 |
no tongue can bear with us deep all no tongue can bear with us deep all no tongue can bear with us deep all 01:14:09.180 |
It's intense, it's intense, it's intense, it's intense, it's intense, it's intense. 01:14:29.180 |
It's intense, it's intense, it's intense, it's intense, it's intense, it's intense. 01:15:19.180 |
I know the world that we've been developed is in love. 01:15:38.180 |
The glory of death is, but with Himself I cannot die. My soul is precious, but it's blood, my life is pure. 01:15:55.180 |
Christ on high, with Christ my Savior, my, my living God, with Christ my Savior, my, my blood. 01:16:07.180 |
The glory of death is, but with Himself I cannot die. My soul is precious, but it's blood, my life is pure. 01:16:20.180 |
Christ on high, with Christ my Savior, my God, with Christ my Savior, my God. 01:16:37.180 |
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy. 01:16:44.180 |
To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen.