back to indexBerean Community Church - Sunday Service at All Church Retreat 8/3/2025 Session 4
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for loving on this man and making me feel like I am a part of the family of God at Berean Community 00:00:06.240 |
Church. So yeah, thank you for the leadership, the elders. Again, just Justin and Miriam, 00:00:12.560 |
you guys have made me feel so welcome. And so are we ready to go to the Word of God one more time? 00:00:18.240 |
Well, we've talked about corporate worship. We've talked about equipping with the Word. 00:00:24.840 |
We've talked about the vision for the church, living in accountability and love toward one another, 00:00:30.580 |
church as family. And now we finally end with the passion for evangelism and missions. 00:00:39.820 |
And the question I ask us this morning is, what are we as the church? 00:00:56.860 |
Now, the one metaphor that I believe that probably the majority of us are most familiar with is we are the body of Christ. 00:01:06.620 |
Are we familiar with that? That metaphor is used throughout the scriptures in the New Testament. 00:01:13.320 |
But Jesus in our text this morning takes time to give us another metaphor. 00:01:17.900 |
And it's a metaphor that I don't believe once I pointed out that most of us have at least on the forefront of our minds as what it means for us to be the church. 00:01:30.520 |
A metaphor that I haven't heard much growing up in my days in the church. 00:01:35.580 |
I haven't heard this metaphor preached often with respect to who we are as the church. 00:01:43.140 |
And I would ask that once you learn it, see it, and visually image it, that you would have that at the forefront of your mind as the church. 00:01:51.880 |
So my question is, what must we see and feel that Berean might be the church that matters for the glory of God? 00:02:01.640 |
Now, if you have your Bibles, please turn with me to the book of Revelation. 00:02:16.980 |
And if you're able, could please stand with me for the reading of God's Word. 00:02:32.760 |
And I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, 00:02:41.460 |
was on the island called Patmos on account of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 00:02:47.580 |
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, 00:02:55.360 |
Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches. 00:03:00.440 |
To Ephesus and Smyrna and Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. 00:03:08.800 |
Then I turned to see the voice that I was speaking to, and turn and I saw seven golden lampstands. 00:03:15.160 |
Thus ends the reading of the word of the inerrant, inspired, infallible, living Word of God. 00:03:29.520 |
And God, I just pray, Lord, that you would grant the grace right now for us to embody the vision that you have for us. 00:03:36.840 |
You died for us to be a certain type of people. 00:03:40.280 |
And so, God, I pray, God, first that we see it. 00:03:43.380 |
And that by the power of your Holy Spirit, you would grant us grace to not only see it, but embody it. 00:03:49.500 |
And I pray these things, God, not by might, nor by power, nor by eloquence of speech, 00:03:54.620 |
but by the Spirit of the living God who deserves all glory, honor, and praise. 00:04:02.480 |
I have three questions that I want to address. 00:04:12.300 |
First, we're going to see what does Jesus see when he looks at the church. 00:04:18.600 |
And as a result, what must we see as Berean to be a church that matters? 00:04:25.140 |
Secondarily, what must we feel if we're to be a church that matters? 00:04:29.620 |
And then lastly, what will motivate us to step into this metaphorical identity that Jesus gives us? 00:04:37.260 |
So we just saw in Revelation chapter 1, verses 1 through 1, 9 through 11. 00:04:44.420 |
In verse 11, he actually identifies to whom he's addressing. 00:04:53.700 |
Now, seven is a very important number in the Scriptures. 00:04:57.260 |
God created the world in six days, and then he rested on the seventh day. 00:05:02.900 |
The number seven is a number for completion, if you will, or wholeness. 00:05:08.360 |
So even though this is a direct address to these specific churches in verse 11, 00:05:13.560 |
it is also an address to the very church throughout time. 00:05:18.300 |
So what Jesus has to say to these seven churches applies to the church today. 00:05:28.880 |
And so Jesus has something to say to us this morning. 00:05:32.520 |
He has a word that he wants to speak to us as the church. 00:05:37.020 |
Now, what I want you to do is I first want you to envision Jesus as the way the book of Revelation envisions the individual that is actually saying these words to us. 00:05:47.360 |
A lot of times we have a lot of pictures of what Jesus might look like. 00:05:50.040 |
But the Scriptures give us a clear picture of the resurrected Jesus and what he actually looks like presently. 00:05:56.280 |
And so I want you, if you will, with your sanctified imaginations, close your eyes with me as I read this picture, if you will, of the image of Jesus. 00:06:10.320 |
And in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man, clothed like a long robe with the golden sash around his chest. 00:06:24.320 |
I want you to imagine, if you will, that's high priestly garb. 00:06:28.460 |
So here we have Jesus not in casual clothing. 00:06:32.400 |
He's not our buddy, if you will, in flip-flops. 00:06:39.520 |
And then it says, the hairs of his head are white like wool. 00:06:49.400 |
I want you to picture right now, in your mind's eye, his hair. 00:06:55.600 |
First, the white demonstrating the fact that he has wisdom like the aged. 00:07:04.840 |
And that picture of his hair is one that alludes back to Daniel chapter 7, where we see the contact of the individual who is the ancient of days. 00:07:16.520 |
And so what this is a picture of, as you see that white hair, is literally one who is the judge of all the earth. 00:07:24.140 |
And he's standing before the judge, just like in Daniel 7. 00:07:27.300 |
He's standing before the earth, prepared to judge it. 00:07:30.440 |
And then it says, his eyes are like flames of fire. 00:07:37.000 |
In other words, what that is demonstrating is that he can see right through you. 00:07:41.780 |
And that he is the authority because he can see to the very depths of your heart. 00:07:46.860 |
But not only that, it says in verse 15, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace. 00:07:54.100 |
And his voice was like the roar of many waters. 00:08:03.040 |
That speaks of strength, stability, purity, under pressure. 00:08:08.680 |
That means that we're standing in front of a Jesus. 00:08:11.180 |
We're hearing from a Jesus who is unshakable. 00:08:16.520 |
And his voice, his voice is like the roar of many thunders. 00:08:22.720 |
It is as if he is giving a thundering command. 00:08:25.520 |
If you've ever heard Niagara Falls, it is so loud that you can't even hear yourself talk. 00:08:32.020 |
I want you to hear that with respect to what it hears or sounds like for Jesus to speak the words that he has to say to us today. 00:08:42.240 |
You see, some of us, I think, have shrunk Jesus down to someone that we can manage. 00:08:48.880 |
So before Jesus has anything to say to the church, he wants to give a clear picture of to whom they are dealing with. 00:09:10.180 |
And so we stand before, if you will, the ancient of days. 00:09:22.240 |
And if Jesus never overwhelms you, then you have the wrong Jesus. 00:09:30.160 |
And this is the Jesus that has a word for us as the church today. 00:09:36.780 |
Now, when he gives us this image that he's going to give us, I want it to land differently for you. 00:09:43.720 |
Because I want you to hear the image coming from this image and picture of Jesus. 00:09:50.300 |
So keep this image before you as we go through the text. 00:09:53.900 |
So now the question is, what does Jesus see when he looks at Berean? 00:09:59.320 |
When he looks at Berean right now, what does he actually see? 00:10:04.220 |
We see it as we go back, if you will, to verse 12. 00:10:10.020 |
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me. 00:10:15.180 |
And on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands. 00:10:25.300 |
As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands. 00:10:34.820 |
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. 00:10:51.600 |
What must we see if we're truly to be a church that matters? 00:11:03.280 |
My question is, have you ever seen yourself as the church, as a lampstand? 00:11:10.700 |
But a metaphor here that we see, verse 20 tells us, is that we are lampstands. 00:11:18.880 |
Now notice, this is not something that the church does. 00:11:30.500 |
You see, you've got to first know your identity before you can step into your identity. 00:11:36.040 |
So when Jesus looks at Berean right now, he sees a lampstand. 00:11:44.860 |
He doesn't see an institution for social good and justice in the world. 00:11:50.600 |
He doesn't see a place where you can bring your children to become more moral people. 00:11:56.420 |
He doesn't see a place where you can find your spouse or fulfill a performance quota. 00:12:06.960 |
Now what does that mean that the church is a lampstand? 00:12:12.800 |
I want you to see this picture of the temple. 00:12:18.040 |
And if you see the temple, you have the outer courts where the bricks are. 00:12:25.180 |
And then you see that middle place, which is the holy place. 00:12:28.680 |
And then when you see those large cherubim in the very back, that's the most holy place, 00:12:35.400 |
So in the middle where you see the priest in front of the altar there, that's the altar of incense. 00:12:40.340 |
And then there's a bread, there's a table there that's called the bread or the table of presents. 00:12:45.260 |
And then you see those lampstands that are on the far side there. 00:12:57.360 |
And if you will now give me the picture of the actual lampstand. 00:13:04.740 |
Okay, so now that's what the lampstand looked like. 00:13:22.120 |
The priest had to make sure that the lights never, ever, ever went out. 00:13:28.180 |
And I want you to notice, if you will, the garden-like imagery on it. 00:13:34.660 |
It looks like a tree, which is what it's supposed to actually symbolize. 00:13:41.480 |
And that almond tree is supposed to be blossoming, if you will. 00:13:44.960 |
And it's a tree, and there are seven branches that are coming from that tree. 00:13:53.280 |
There's a lot of representation for the lampstand or the menorah. 00:13:56.940 |
But one of the primary representations of what it represented was the very presence of God. 00:14:03.760 |
And the garden imagery of this tree and how it's branching out is to point us to the fact of what we lost in the garden. 00:14:17.820 |
And when God left, destruction and darkness ensued in the world. 00:14:23.060 |
And that's why we have what we call the fall. 00:14:25.940 |
So the temple and that lampstand, if you will, was actually a microcosm of the garden. 00:14:32.740 |
If you look at the temple, the temple actually has a lot of garden-like imagery. 00:14:43.900 |
And it has actually three different areas in the garden. 00:14:47.400 |
And I don't have the time to kind of go into that. 00:14:51.140 |
And every time a temple was built, it was built on a mountain. 00:14:56.920 |
So what does all of this mean, all of the imagery mean? 00:15:00.020 |
The imagery means is the fact that we lost God in the garden. 00:15:05.420 |
The very light of what it means to experience His presence was gone. 00:15:09.540 |
All of us, if you will, have been trying to get back into the presence. 00:15:20.100 |
C.S. Lewis talks about what's called the inner ring in his essay called The Inner Ring. 00:15:25.980 |
And he uses the term to describe the place where many of us long to be. 00:15:30.460 |
We want to be back into the presence, if you will. 00:15:33.720 |
Presence is the greatest thing that we want in the world. 00:15:39.360 |
I believe that in all men's lives, there are certain periods, and in many men's lives, at all periods, between infancy and extreme old age, 00:15:48.560 |
one of the most dominant elements is the desire to be inside the local ring. 00:15:59.120 |
How are you guys familiar with the play Hamilton? 00:16:14.280 |
But in Hamilton, it's a very clear metaphor, if you will, of that desire to get back into the presence. 00:16:25.700 |
And most of the play is spent watching Hamilton and Aaron Burr resenting Hamilton, right? 00:16:31.940 |
Hamilton, who's a nobody, gets all of this privilege, and he gets to be in the inner room, if you will. 00:16:38.360 |
Or, if you will, he gets to be in the room where it happens, the room where it happens, the room where it happens, right? 00:16:46.340 |
And he's constantly trying to get into the room where it happens. 00:16:49.700 |
And why does he want to be in the room where it happens? 00:16:53.460 |
Because it expresses the desire to be in the place where presence is, where I can be known and loved and have purpose and feel like I have belonging. 00:17:04.460 |
And so Burr gets to the point where he's so distraught with the fact that he can't get into the room where it happens that he ends up killing Hamilton for it. 00:17:15.620 |
Just because he can't get into the room, this speaks to the very essence of what we lost in the garden. 00:17:23.100 |
You see, we all have a room, if you will, or a presence where we believe we can finally gain life. 00:17:33.240 |
Every single one of us here in this room have a room where it happens, if we're honest. 00:17:40.780 |
If I can just get in the room of a spouse, then I can find life. 00:17:45.300 |
If I can get into the room of a better job, then I can find life. 00:17:49.720 |
If I can get into the room of divorce, then I can find life. 00:17:54.380 |
If I can get into the room of recognition, then I can finally get life. 00:17:58.480 |
If I can get into the presence of greater health or healing, then I will finally live. 00:18:03.120 |
If I can get into the presence of financial stability, then finally I will feel safety and security. 00:18:08.300 |
If I can get into the presence of accomplishment and parental success, my teenagers. 00:18:13.680 |
If I can get into the room of getting enough likes on social media. 00:18:17.380 |
If I can get into the presence of blank, we all have a blank. 00:18:22.120 |
If I can just get in there, then I will find life. 00:18:27.460 |
And this is where many of us find ourselves constantly striving. 00:18:38.860 |
This is where our bitterness and resentment lives. 00:18:42.920 |
This is where everyone right now in the world, outside of Jesus, your friends, your colleagues, 00:18:50.000 |
are chasing to find a room where they can finally find where it happens. 00:18:54.760 |
Because if I get in that room, then I can belong. 00:19:05.760 |
Well, what is all of that striving that we fight for, that the world is fighting for, pointing to? 00:19:16.380 |
Really, everyone is trying to get back into Eden. 00:19:22.000 |
Because in God's presence, the psalmist says, is fullness of joy. 00:19:27.240 |
And at his right hand are pleasures forevermore. 00:19:30.400 |
So God, in his love and mercy, chose a people named Israel to be a nation that would bring the nations back into the very essence or presence of joy, 00:19:53.220 |
And I will grant authority to my two witnesses. 00:19:59.600 |
And they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. 00:20:03.900 |
These are the two olive trees and the two, what? 00:20:07.760 |
Lampstands that stand before the Lord of earth. 00:20:17.260 |
And then he calls those two witnesses in verse 4, two, what? 00:20:23.500 |
So Jesus here is telling us, in Revelation chapter 1, that the church is not just the body of Christ, 00:20:33.600 |
but we are one huge, seven-stemmed, presence-bringing torch made to light the world on fire for Jesus Christ. 00:20:43.480 |
This is who we are, not what we do according to Jesus. 00:20:50.480 |
You see, we don't do evangelism and missions. 00:20:54.040 |
We as the church are evangelism and missions. 00:20:57.940 |
And the question is, is that what you see when you look around this room? 00:21:03.120 |
Is that what you see when you look in the mirror every day? 00:21:17.500 |
You guys, you're going to have to follow me because I'm going to move. 00:21:19.280 |
It began with Israel, which is why God had them put menorahs in the temple. 00:21:27.560 |
Again, the temple represented the presence of God in a dark world. 00:21:35.680 |
So the only way that the temple was lit is if the menorahs were lit. 00:21:40.980 |
Now, in Isaiah 49, 6, God says to Israel, I will make you as a light. 00:21:50.240 |
So here he's emphasizing the fact that Israel, I've made you light so that the light can go to the ends. 00:22:07.060 |
Now, in Zechariah chapter 4, verses 2 through 5, you don't have to go there, you see in that text the very symbol of God's presence. 00:22:16.220 |
The temple in that context had been destroyed, and God shows the king Zerubbabel a lampstand. 00:22:24.800 |
And he says these all too familiar words, not by might, nor by power, but by my, you guys know that passage? 00:22:41.220 |
The temple that represented the presence had been destroyed. 00:22:53.300 |
In other words, my spirit will be the light-burning power that will rebuild the symbol, the temple, of my presence in the world. 00:23:15.360 |
So now Jesus comes, he lives in perfection, he dies in rejection, and when he dies, he says it is finished. 00:23:35.740 |
What you lost in the garden can now be regained in Jesus. 00:23:41.900 |
You can get back into the room where it happens, the room where it happens, the room where it happens. 00:23:49.900 |
And after Jesus raises, after the third day, what happens? 00:23:56.640 |
In Acts chapter 1, but you will receive power, he tells the disciples, when the holy what? 00:24:05.100 |
Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my what? 00:24:10.520 |
Witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 00:24:16.860 |
So he's saying, when my spirit, in other words, my light-giving power on the lampstand of my presence, Zechariah 4, when that shows up, you will be my witnesses. 00:24:41.400 |
And dividing tongues, as of fire, everybody say fire, appeared on them and rested on each one. 00:24:54.760 |
So the spirit falls on the church, and what happens? 00:25:00.740 |
They light up, walking around like torches, like fire. 00:25:11.560 |
And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance. 00:25:18.540 |
Now they were dwelling in Jerusalem, Jews devout men from every nation under heaven. 00:25:23.760 |
And at this sound, the multitude came together. 00:25:26.760 |
They were bewildered because each one was hearing them speak in their own language. 00:25:31.540 |
We hear them telling us the mighty works of what? 00:25:39.140 |
And then from that point, what happens through the church? 00:25:45.460 |
Acts chapter 2, Peter preaches, and he lights all of Jerusalem up. 00:25:50.600 |
Acts chapter 3, Peter and John enacting healing. 00:25:54.060 |
They give witness to Jesus, and they light all Jerusalem up. 00:25:57.620 |
Acts chapter 5, the angels deliver them from prison. 00:26:03.720 |
And the officials around the disciples came to them and said, 00:26:06.600 |
Look, dude, we strictly charge you to stop teaching in this name. 00:26:09.920 |
Yet you have filled all of Jerusalem with your teaching. 00:26:17.820 |
Acts chapter 8, Philip preaches fire to the Samaritans and the Ethiopian eunuch, 00:26:24.980 |
and the surrounding towns gain the glory of God in his presence. 00:26:29.580 |
Paul and Barnabas then pick it up from there. 00:26:32.340 |
They go to Derbe, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea. 00:26:42.380 |
What do we see happening all through the book of Acts? 00:26:45.640 |
A breathtaking momentum of lamp-shining witness, 00:26:50.300 |
punctuated by this expression throughout the entire book of Acts. 00:26:54.540 |
And the Lord added to their number, day by day, those that were being saved. 00:27:00.700 |
As the church was living out its identity as lampstand, the light of God's presence was breaking into the darkness and bringing salvation, healing, and freedom. 00:27:17.780 |
Did you ever notice that the book of Acts has no end? 00:27:26.620 |
Because the torch is still lit on the lampstand of the church. 00:27:31.840 |
And the work of spreading the life-giving presence of God still belongs to us right now as the church. 00:27:39.860 |
It's no wonder when we see Jesus here in Revelation chapter 1 that we see what he sees. 00:27:53.080 |
You see, the greatest need of this world is the return of God to the souls of humanity. 00:28:08.880 |
We are the body of Jesus Christ and lampstands. 00:28:12.620 |
And the only institution, excuse me, the only body that can do that is the church when it comes to the salvation of the world. 00:28:21.220 |
You see, all the social justice in the world can't fix the hell-damning darkness that is in the human soul. 00:28:32.480 |
All the belonging and inclusion in the world can't touch it. 00:28:38.980 |
All of the economic decentralization and equity won't redeem it. 00:28:43.040 |
Equal access and opportunity will not save it. 00:28:46.280 |
You can't make, you can, you can literally, you can make all the things right in this world, 00:28:51.780 |
but if you get the very purpose of the church wrong, then you have wasted your time and you have damned the world to a living and dying and eternal hell. 00:29:01.480 |
And we got too many churches doing all of these other things that I mentioned, education reform, social justice, equal opportunity, and all these other things. 00:29:13.940 |
The greatest need in humanity is they need Jesus. 00:29:22.220 |
What then is the identity of a lampstand is telling us? 00:29:25.140 |
It's telling us that evangelism and missions is not an activity of the church. 00:29:35.220 |
It is the very image and essence of who we are as the church. 00:29:46.520 |
Which means by essence, you should just be going out there lighting fools up. 00:29:59.680 |
Because they took on that lampstand imagery that was representative in the temple of the very presence of God 00:30:06.160 |
that needed to relight the world with its presence. 00:30:16.480 |
I can't scrub it off, wipe it off, disregard it. 00:30:20.280 |
You, whatever ethnic background you are, you are always that. 00:30:24.600 |
But do we see ourselves always as what we truly are now together in Christ, a lampstand of Jesus Christ? 00:30:36.000 |
Now, if this is what Jesus sees when he looks at Berean, do you want to know how strongly he feels about us being lampstands? 00:30:45.680 |
So, what must we feel to truly be a church that matters? 00:30:50.140 |
Now, we come to see how he feels and therefore how we ought to feel in his first address to the church through the Ephesian church in chapter 2. 00:31:01.660 |
Chapter 2, Revelation chapter 2, starting at verse 1. 00:31:08.320 |
The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 00:31:25.640 |
I know your works, your toil, and your patient endurance. 00:31:31.680 |
And how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not and found them to be false. 00:31:42.240 |
I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary, but I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 00:31:58.000 |
Now, I want to challenge some of our understanding of what Jesus means about the love you had at first. 00:32:06.880 |
I think traditionally, even myself, have seen this as a lack of love for God as your first priority. 00:32:17.160 |
And some have even said it's a lack of love for others. 00:32:22.100 |
But I believe this understanding of not, of missing the love you have at first, actually misses what really Jesus is saying here. 00:32:33.340 |
And scholar G.K. Bill brings this out, and I think he's spot on. 00:32:36.840 |
If we keep verse 4 in the context of verse 5, we come to see more clearly the love that they had at first. 00:32:50.880 |
Remember, therefore, verse 5, where you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. 00:33:02.580 |
If not, I will come to you and remove your what? 00:33:19.980 |
So, the love they had at first, verse 4, was seen, verse 5, in the works they did at first. 00:33:30.580 |
And Jesus calls them to repent and return to the works they did at first. 00:33:39.540 |
So, now the question is, is, what were the works that Ephesus was doing at first? 00:33:46.100 |
The threat Jesus gives the church here at the end of verse 5 gives the answer. 00:33:53.940 |
So, what will the consequence be if they don't return to their first love? 00:34:14.080 |
So, then the question is, is, what were the works that the Ephesian church did at first? 00:34:22.920 |
If the consequence is removal of their lamp stand, then what was the first things that they loved first? 00:34:35.320 |
That's the love that they loved being a light shining witness for the glory of Jesus Christ in Ephesus. 00:34:45.860 |
And for some reason, they lost that loving feeling. 00:34:49.900 |
And Jesus is saying, repent and go back to lighting Ephesus on fire for Jesus. 00:34:59.360 |
My question for us, Berean, have we been around so long that we've lost that loving feeling? 00:35:06.080 |
Have we lost the loving feeling of the simple fact that we get to tell somebody about Jesus? 00:35:12.680 |
Have we gotten so comfortable, has the church become so large that we don't feel the necessity or the need or the requirement or the gumption or the desire to go and tell somebody that they need Jesus? 00:35:27.720 |
See, sometimes the danger of growth can be that we lose the first love that we had at first. 00:35:35.320 |
The danger can be that we can get so insular, right? 00:35:40.060 |
There's a lot of stuff to be done, and we are supposed to be insular as the church. 00:35:43.520 |
We're supposed to build one another up, equip the church for the work of ministry. 00:35:46.480 |
There's all kind of stuff that needs to be inside. 00:35:50.160 |
But we can get so consumed and preoccupied with what's going inside that we miss the vision of what the church ought to be outside. 00:36:05.420 |
The declaration of witness, or the lack thereof, speaks to something. 00:36:24.360 |
Everybody intrinsically, innately, witnesses about what they love. 00:36:57.720 |
They put the glaze, they put the clear glaze, and then they put a frosting glaze on top. 00:37:06.180 |
And everybody in my church knows, I have people going to Colorado donuts. 00:37:17.400 |
A member of our church went and said, I need a gift card. 00:37:24.760 |
The dude took a box, a donut box that said, Colorado, he cut the donut box and then put 00:37:32.520 |
on the back of it and a receipt and made a gift card, and he brought it to me. 00:37:38.980 |
You intrinsically and innately witness, right? 00:37:45.660 |
See, the declaration of witness, watch this, or the lack thereof in any category of your life reveals what loves are truly in your heart. 00:38:04.580 |
What you witness about, or the lack thereof, reveals what truly is your love. 00:38:11.960 |
So what must we feel if we're to be a church that matters? 00:38:19.720 |
You got to love being what Jesus made you to be, a lampstand. 00:38:30.760 |
And we can see how Jesus feels about a church that doesn't love being a lampstand. 00:38:39.580 |
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love that you had at first. 00:38:59.760 |
Remember that picture I gave you of Jesus who's talking right now? 00:39:02.300 |
He feels so passionate about his church being lampstands that he makes a stunning statement at the end of verse 5. 00:39:15.720 |
Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, repent, and do the works you did at first. 00:39:24.420 |
If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 00:39:36.600 |
Jesus is saying to the church, and he's saying to us right now, 00:39:41.580 |
If you don't love being a lampstand, then you won't be one, because I'm taking it. 00:39:58.940 |
Failure to exhibit the light forfeits the right to bear the name of the one who is the light. 00:40:07.600 |
Listen, a church that fails to bear the identifying mark of being a light-shining witness of Jesus Christ into a dark world is not a church. 00:40:24.640 |
It's a counterfeit, and Jesus will remove it. 00:40:28.800 |
This is how central evangelism and missions is to the identity of the church. 00:40:41.120 |
I'm asking, Berean, have you ever felt this kind of weight? 00:40:45.580 |
You see, sometime during the second century, the church in Ephesus disappeared. 00:41:00.120 |
And there was never a congregation that was known of since the church in Ephesus disappeared. 00:41:08.020 |
And the region presently in the 21st century is now almost entirely Muslim. 00:41:44.000 |
As I begin to land the plane, why is this so important? 00:41:55.160 |
This is the fuel for missions and evangelism. 00:42:04.100 |
And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. 00:42:10.940 |
To him who loves us, and has freed us from our sins by his blood. 00:42:21.060 |
He has made us a kingdom and priests to our God. 00:42:24.940 |
To his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. 00:42:49.380 |
So the very beginning of the book of Revelation begins with a primary statement. 00:42:56.980 |
I believe this is the central theme or statement of the entire book of Revelation. 00:43:05.940 |
Because when you go to the end of the book of Revelation, chapter 22, verse 7. 00:43:45.360 |
And I wish I could preach on he who testifies to these things. 00:44:13.400 |
If you really don't understand what I'm saying, surely. 00:44:16.820 |
And verses 15 through 20, it's on the strength of who I am. 00:44:34.080 |
The one on the strength of who says these things is surely coming. 00:44:41.260 |
This is the concluding promise in all of Scripture from the very mouth of Jesus. 00:45:05.700 |
There was this gospel song that I used to sing in college called, I'm so glad I'm saved. 00:45:12.860 |
I'm so glad I'm saved, Lord, I have been redeemed. 00:45:27.420 |
I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that he raised Jesus Christ and he entered my life. 00:46:07.340 |
My question for you is, who in your life right now are you not telling that he's coming? 00:46:13.060 |
Who are the people right now around your life that are dying in their sins? 00:46:23.540 |
No, when Jesus says something, he's saying it like he's coming. 00:46:35.460 |
Who in your life are you not stepping into courage? 00:46:42.760 |
Who in your life have you been building a relationship, but you haven't crossed the line and just told them you need Jesus? 00:46:50.140 |
Who needs to hear it because you're so concerned about your reputation or the fact that you might get canceled or the fact that you might lose the relationship or the fact that you might feel uncomfortable or the fact that you just don't know. 00:47:05.440 |
You don't know what you're saying like, what is keeping you from telling them? 00:47:08.240 |
Because at the end of the day, when eternity happens, they're going to look and be like, man, you knew this and you didn't tell me? 00:47:22.580 |
There's a Mack truck that's coming from my life and you called me your friend. 00:47:29.720 |
You called me your brother, your sister, your uncle, your auntie. 00:47:36.840 |
Like, I was this to you and you saw the Mack truck coming and you didn't tell me? 00:47:52.360 |
Because like C.S. Lewis says, when the author of all the earth walks on the stage, the play is over. 00:48:03.260 |
It will be too late then to choose your side. 00:48:07.840 |
There's no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. 00:48:21.740 |
Three names that you're going to commit to right now to be lamp burning fire. 00:48:28.280 |
Somebody that you got to tell that you're so glad that you're saved. 00:48:37.320 |
You don't have to know how to articulate everything. 00:48:39.580 |
Just tell somebody you're so glad you're saved. 00:48:43.000 |
Tell them your testimony and just be a witness of what God has done in your life to them. 00:48:48.120 |
I didn't have all my ducks in a row when I was telling people that I love Colorado donuts. 00:48:58.700 |
And as an evangelist, now they're getting business. 00:49:11.200 |
We witness about all kinds of things, do we not? 00:49:20.500 |
So, what does Jesus see when he looks at the church? 00:49:27.900 |
Not just the body of Christ, the very lampstand of Christ. 00:49:35.220 |
If you're really going to be a church that matters, you must feel the way Jesus feels about the lampstand. 00:49:51.540 |
And when I say we're so glad to be saved, like, what's coming for us, this world is so broken and there's so much suffering. 00:50:03.540 |
And I don't get no choked up because I've gone through a lot. 00:50:06.620 |
But all it does for me is it makes me hunger for heaven. 00:50:10.220 |
And it makes me want to tell other people because the brokenness is real. 00:50:15.680 |
And a lot of you guys are in a lot of brokenness. 00:50:20.700 |
You are feeling the results of the fact that God is not present here in this world outside of the church. 00:50:37.080 |
But what we have coming should make you hunger for it and tell somebody that they can have it too. 00:50:44.380 |
So I did a study of heaven and I wrote a little something. 00:50:49.260 |
And I'm going to share with you what we have coming, my version of it, mixed in with the scriptures. 00:51:01.660 |
1,500 miles in every direction, the shape of a cube. 00:51:05.220 |
The city is a volume of about 3,375,000 cubic miles, no guessing. 00:51:12.440 |
600 stories, the new heavenly city will be enormous is what I'm stressing. 00:51:16.080 |
Walls of red jasper, the foundation, sapphire, agate, emerald, like the 90s group, the 90s rap group. 00:51:23.720 |
It's got onyx, carnelian, chrysalite, beryl, topaz, chrysopass, jacinth, and amethyst. 00:51:34.520 |
Streets of pure gold, transparent like glass, slippers, but don't call me Cinderella. 00:51:39.800 |
Well, of the main street, it's lined with rows of trees of life. 00:51:47.600 |
Take a bite of its fruit and watch your eyes roll back like the food critic on Ratatouille, Anton Ego. 00:51:53.500 |
Imagine heaven's food, how your taste buds will explode with life pouring out of your veins, mind blown. 00:52:05.360 |
Food from the finest chefs, cooking the finest cuisine from the finest restaurants. 00:52:13.360 |
Every place you go in the city, it's got five stars. 00:52:19.600 |
Smells so good, you could cry, but you can't because it's heaven. 00:52:32.540 |
Streets buzzing with people from every tribe, tongue, nation. 00:52:40.340 |
You're going to rule and reign with Christ over the entire universe your mind's racing. 00:52:45.380 |
Imagine the adventures as Christ sends you on a quest to discover a new planet, build a new city, write a new song, learn a new glory of the creator of his story. 00:53:03.040 |
Sidewalk musicians in heaven will make Michael Jackson sound like Tito Jackson. 00:53:24.860 |
Beholding the very face of the creator of the universe, where God himself is going to bend down and wipe away every tear, every single pain, injustice, and dark cloud over your life. 00:53:53.580 |
Not one of your tears will fall to the ground like the seasons. 00:54:00.400 |
You'll have powerful bodies free from disease, death, and God will give you a new name, an eternal purpose, and you will reign, and you'll meet the one who made it all happen. 00:54:15.000 |
And the God, man, Jesus, who took nine-inch nails in his hands, was beat to shreds by the wicked hands of Romans, and he's coming back, y'all, to take us home. 00:54:25.580 |
He's going to roll back the old zone like he rolled the stone. 00:54:29.680 |
Then I'll look around and say, this is what I was made for. 00:55:01.720 |
We've got the greatest gift that eternity in the universe has to offer in Jesus. 00:55:06.560 |
So, let us be the lampstands that he has made us to be so we can burn because he deserves all glory, honor, and praise. 00:55:19.580 |
God, I just bring my church, your church, before you. 00:55:23.480 |
And I ask you, God, in Jesus' name, grant us the grace, please. 00:55:29.860 |
Grant Berean the grace to be the lampstand burning witness that you called her to be. 00:55:39.920 |
That as the body of Christ, you would use this church, God, to push back the darkness, to push back, Lord God, the rejection of your name in the world, where your glory is trampled upon. 00:55:54.440 |
God, where people are drowning in their sins. 00:55:58.660 |
God, will you help Berean be the church that you have made her to be? 00:56:05.020 |
And will you return her, God, to her first love? 00:56:07.520 |
That she would be so glad, so glad that she's saved. 00:56:14.740 |
That we would tell everybody and that they might come to a saving knowledge of our Lord, Savior, and treasure, Jesus Christ. 00:56:33.980 |
Should nothing, should nothing of our efforts stand, 00:57:04.940 |
Alas, the Lord does raise the house in vain, its builder's strife. 00:58:11.160 |
His will be done, His will be done, His kingdom come on earth. 00:58:47.720 |
Let living water satisfy the thirsty without price. 00:59:01.180 |
Will take a cup of kindness, yet, all glory be to Christ. 00:59:41.180 |
When on the day, the great I am, the faithful and the true, 01:00:03.420 |
The Lamb who was for sinners slain, is making all things new. 01:00:17.200 |
Behold, our God shall live with us and be our steadfast life. 01:01:04.840 |
All glory be to Christ, his rule and reign will ever sing. 01:01:04.840 |
All glory be to Christ, all glory be to Christ, our King. 01:01:09.840 |
All glory be to Christ, all glory be to Christ, our King. 01:01:19.840 |
All glory be to Christ, his rule and reign will ever sing. 01:01:38.840 |
All glory be to Christ, our King, our King, our King, our King, our King, our King. 01:01:45.840 |
Okay, before we close with our final prayer, you can put the picture up. 01:01:52.840 |
Okay, so I'm going to embarrass some people, okay? 01:01:59.840 |
So the people, there are some people who are still left here. 01:02:02.840 |
We wanted to take a picture before Pastor Ray leaves and also Pastor Aaron is also here with us. 01:02:08.840 |
So we asked, I asked them, I'm going to embarrass them a little bit to come up to the front. 01:02:12.840 |
And we want to take a picture, okay, because it's going to be too hard. 01:02:15.840 |
So if you're in this picture, can you please come up? 01:02:18.840 |
Okay, just stand right here, stand right here. 01:02:22.840 |
So if you're in this picture, please come up. 01:02:32.840 |
We're going to take a quick picture right here. 01:02:45.840 |
Well, I mean, I don't know if you're going to be able to do that. 01:02:51.840 |
But I wanted to share a little bit before I send them back. 01:02:56.840 |
One of the guys who are here, I think, where is he? 01:03:00.840 |
Newley is the guy standing next to Elder Joe. 01:03:04.840 |
He actually is one of the elders at Living Way. 01:03:12.840 |
And then, obviously, there's some who are not here. 01:03:15.840 |
But at 2003, if you notice, our church was planted in 1997. 01:03:22.840 |
So for the first six years, we didn't have any retreat. 01:03:25.840 |
We had just Friday Bible study and then Sunday. 01:03:28.840 |
And part of the reason why is because the first six years of the church, it was so difficult 01:03:36.840 |
And right before this happened, this picture happened, even the people here, most of them 01:03:43.840 |
don't know just how close we came to shutting down the church. 01:03:46.840 |
Because the six years up to this, you know, it was a struggle. 01:03:50.840 |
I mean, people were growing, but it was a struggle. 01:03:53.840 |
But the year prior to this was probably the hardest year of my personal life and in the 01:04:00.840 |
church where I had to manage, you know, Esther was pregnant with our third child with Faith. 01:04:05.840 |
And we, again, this long story, but I had to run a business out in Vegas. 01:04:12.840 |
And so I was going back and forth for about eight, nine months. 01:04:15.840 |
And then there were long stretches of periods where I was gone all week from Monday through 01:04:21.840 |
I had to come back, preach, and then I had to go back and work. 01:04:24.840 |
And so there was a period when, you know, I remember this one particular day I was calling 01:04:30.840 |
Esther saying, hey, don't buy milk today because I didn't have enough money to move around. 01:04:35.840 |
And I remember after getting off the phone, it's like, what father with three kids tells your 01:04:40.840 |
wife you can't buy milk today in the United States? 01:04:43.840 |
And so it got, it was a crisis point where we were wrestling. 01:04:47.840 |
And I remember having a conversation with Elder Joe saying, I'm not sure if I can keep doing this. 01:04:55.840 |
And he was basically, he just told me, well, if you don't, if you quit, the church is going to fold. 01:05:03.840 |
And which is right, you know, that that's how weak the church was at that time. 01:05:08.840 |
And, you know, we were praying, we're wrestling. 01:05:15.840 |
So right before this happened, about six months before this picture happened, Esther and I made a decision. 01:05:25.840 |
And then hopefully at the end of the next eight months, then even if we quit, you know, what more could we do? 01:05:35.840 |
I got three kids at home and I can't, I can't even buy groceries. 01:05:39.840 |
So how, how much longer are we going to last? 01:05:42.840 |
So we made a decision thinking that eight more months and then we're done. 01:05:46.840 |
And I remember pastor Aaron is here and I heard through the grapevine and he was still a college student at that time. 01:05:52.840 |
And I heard that he was organizing a prayer meeting on Saturday nights because he knew what our family was going through. 01:06:00.840 |
And just, just hearing that they were praying for me and praying for our church just gave me the strength to persevere. 01:06:09.840 |
And so that's what Esther, Esther and I decided. 01:06:13.840 |
And then in that eight months we had, we lost some people during that eight months because they were frustrated. 01:06:24.840 |
And there's some picture, some people who came, I think they were already at church. 01:06:28.840 |
I think Steve Lee was here at the church, but he was so new. 01:06:31.840 |
I don't think he was a Christian at that time. 01:06:38.840 |
He was at church, but he didn't come to the retreat. 01:06:44.840 |
So those guys who've been here long, you know, it's like an inside joke. 01:06:50.840 |
He might still have that star on his, uh, anyway, there's some other people, you know, and then there's a, there's a few of you who came right after this. 01:06:59.840 |
Um, but this is pastor Ray came and he preached, uh, this first retreat. 01:07:05.840 |
And you, you, those people who were here will tell you, it was almost kind of like lights are going off. 01:07:12.840 |
It's like, Oh, that's what we're supposed to do. 01:07:16.840 |
And then I remember thinking like, wow, I'm seeing some light for the first time. 01:07:21.840 |
I mean, they were growing, but, but he really, God used him to spark that desire for evangelism. 01:07:28.840 |
And then from that, from that retreat on, we start to stay steadily increase like, you know, at the end of the year, we had 60 and the year after that, we had almost like 80 and then just kind of gradually grew since then. 01:07:46.840 |
God has used him to serve us so greatly in the past years. 01:07:50.840 |
And, and I think, I forget how many times he's been here, but just even this retreat, you know, how I've been hearing from everybody, how challenged and blessed you you've been. 01:07:58.840 |
And just, you know, even the way he challenged us today, that, uh, looking forward to Christ and, and hopefully that sparks a desire to be a witness. 01:08:09.840 |
And, and when a church gets to a certain size and we've been, we're almost, we're 28 going on our 29th year. 01:08:15.840 |
And we lose that desire to be a church planting. 01:08:20.840 |
When you first plant a church that desire, we want to go reach out to people, be an evangelist. 01:08:25.840 |
But then after about 28 years, you kind of become so focused on me and what do I need? 01:08:31.840 |
And how do we, how do we pay attention to the people? 01:08:33.840 |
And we no longer function like a church plant. 01:08:36.840 |
You know, I was so challenged and blessed in this Korea trip because the team that the people that we were working with, we were supposed to go evangelize to Seoul University and Yonsei and these places, but it was raining the whole time. 01:08:49.840 |
So we thought, oh, maybe we're not going to be able to do this, but rain or shine under the umbrella, they went out meeting students. 01:08:56.840 |
And whether we were able to bear fruit or not, we were just challenged that rain or shine, they're going to be a witness. 01:09:06.840 |
And just like Pastor Ray has been challenging us through this whole time to that, that God would use us to be a light. 01:09:14.840 |
And he say, hey, you know, we have a thousand people. 01:09:17.840 |
But at the end of the day, it's not about Berean Community Church, right? 01:09:24.840 |
And so my prayer is that God, as you can see, there's a small number of us that as God blessed us, I pray for the next 30 years to come. 01:09:34.840 |
And even beyond that, for the next generation of young kids in this church, the kids who are in that room, that one day they will be sitting here praising God and take the baton to continue to be a witness. 01:09:46.840 |
And so that our labor and what we're doing will not end with us, that we would be faithful enough so that our children and next generation will also take the baton. 01:10:34.840 |
Thank you, Pastor Ray, for just breaking away from your church and your family to come minister to us. 01:10:39.840 |
And, again, as I've mentioned, God has used you tremendously for our church. 01:10:43.840 |
And, you know, hopefully the next time you come. 01:11:03.840 |
Heavenly Father, we just want to thank you so much, Lord God, for the blessing of knowing you. 01:11:17.840 |
Thank you, Father God, that in various ways that you've opened our eyes, that we may observe, see, and to be affected deeply by the glory that you allowed us to see. 01:11:29.840 |
Help us, Lord God, that our faith in you would never grow cold. 01:11:34.840 |
Help us, Lord God, to not just be hearers of the word, but that the word that you've implanted in us through this weekend would bear much fruit. 01:11:44.840 |
We thank you, Father God, that we thank you for Pastor Ray, his family, and his church, that you would continue to bless him, the challenges that come, Lord God, with the growing church that he is overseeing. 01:11:53.840 |
I pray, Father God, that you would fill his heart with reminders, Lord, that he is not running this race alone. 01:11:59.840 |
I pray that you would surround him with men and women who will continue to support and pray for him and his family. 01:12:04.840 |
I pray that you would raise up leaders in his church that in the area of Pasadena, that they would be a tremendous lampstand. 01:12:11.840 |
And so we pray, Father God, that you would bless this brother's service, his sacrifice, and the gift that you've given him may be proclaimed, Lord God. 01:12:21.840 |
May your name be magnified through him and his church. 01:12:25.840 |
So we pray that as we wrap up this retreat, that we would not simply hoard the blessing in our heart. 01:12:34.840 |
Help us, Lord, to think deeply of the people that you love. 01:12:41.840 |
And help us to bear much fruit for the sake of your kingdom. 01:12:44.840 |
So now, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and eternal love of God the Father, rest, restore, strengthen, and remind us that we may be the aroma of Christ wherever you send us. 01:13:02.840 |
Let us all rise as we sing our closing praise because he lives. 01:13:46.840 |
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives. 01:14:32.840 |
And life is worth the living, just because he lives. 01:14:59.840 |
I know it's our favorite part of the session. 01:15:01.840 |
I must admit, I'm going to miss giving these announcements. 01:15:05.840 |
I did want to just start off just with some thank yous. 01:15:16.840 |
Something I wanted to share was just on the first night, after the Friday session, it was late. 01:15:30.840 |
And, you know, I was supposed to go back with him to his room to help him with something. 01:15:34.840 |
And we were supposed to leave around like 10 something. 01:15:37.840 |
And we stayed in this main session area until about like 11:45, I think. 01:15:42.840 |
Because so many people were coming up to him. 01:15:45.840 |
And he was just engaging with so many of our church members. 01:15:57.840 |
Yeah, I was just really encouraged by that and moved by that. 01:16:01.840 |
I also want to thank our, sorry, give me a moment. 01:16:12.840 |
Thank you to our leadership for, yeah, just supporting me and for trusting me with planning this retreat. 01:16:19.840 |
I know that our church is the way it is because of how they've led us for so many years and for all these decades. 01:16:30.840 |
I want to thank our retreat team who just planned all the registrations, welcoming, ushering, all the signage and everything. 01:16:36.840 |
As well as just all these other teams, like there's the media team, AV team, worship team, especially our childcare. 01:16:43.840 |
I think we had like over a hundred volunteers help out with the childcare. 01:16:46.840 |
And, you know, for all the parents here, that's such a huge blessing to have that. 01:16:51.840 |
I want to thank, you know, our medical team as well and our activity and games team. 01:16:56.840 |
I saw some of the games and the clips and everything and it looked amazing. 01:17:03.840 |
And I just want to thank, yeah, just our church family. 01:17:16.840 |
Yeah, I know many of you have been praying for this retreat. 01:17:41.840 |
And, yeah, so many of you have come up to me and just encouraged me and share your thank yous. 01:17:51.840 |
And I think just our church family is such a blessing. 01:17:59.840 |
And, yeah, I know that we have this because ultimately I just want to thank God and give all praise and honor and glory to God because he's deserving of it. 01:18:13.840 |
We're only able to be here because of what God has done in our lives. 01:18:18.840 |
And so, yeah, I'm just thankful that we're able to have this retreat. 01:18:22.840 |
You know, I joke about coming up here and making the announcements, but, like, looking out and seeing everyone here, it really is such a blessing and it's an honor and a privilege for us to gather together to just worship and praise God to, you know, come on this retreat. 01:18:41.840 |
And my prayer is, you know, just as Pastor Peter and Pastor Ray and many, many people have been sharing is just that we'd go back home, that we'd be bold in sharing the gospel, bold with our faith, that we would, you know, just light a flame and just shine brightly. 01:18:57.840 |
And that even how we interact with each other at church and our small groups and our home groups and all these things that, you know, this isn't just here for this weekend, but that our lives would just radiate this joy and this, like, love for God because he's worthy of all of our praise and he's deserving of it. 01:19:14.480 |
And how can we not share this with the people around us just as Pastor Ray was sharing? 01:19:18.440 |
So, yeah, now I'm going to move on to the announcement portion. 01:19:25.580 |
Okay, so right after this, we have small groups and I know a lot of you guys still have your lanyards and name tags. 01:19:31.360 |
We are going to ask the small group leaders if you guys can collect them from the members of your small group because it's going to cause this huge traffic jam and line if we just drop them off at the registration table. 01:19:43.140 |
So, if the small group leaders can take the name tags and lanyards and return them to the registration table after the small groups. 01:19:53.300 |
So, if you guys haven't checked out yet, there's a couple ways you can check out. 01:19:59.280 |
You can go to the front desk or I guess if you're going to go back to your room, you can call zero to the front desk. 01:20:04.840 |
An important note for the parking, you will need your room key to exit, you know, you scan your room key to exit the parking. 01:20:12.640 |
There will be, like, a drop-off after you scan the exit. 01:20:15.960 |
So, make sure you still have your room key when you exit. 01:20:20.560 |
And, yeah, just thank you, everyone, for this retreat. 01:20:23.480 |
Basically, we're dismissed after the small groups end.